Moon Bunny Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Overview
• On Your Turn
  • 1. Move Bunny
  • 2. Place Tile
  • 3. Refill Empty Space
• Optional Actions
  • Spend a Mooncake
  • Use Scroll
  • Place Tile (From Storage)
• Game End & Scoring
  • Scoring Example
• Appendix
  • Herbs
  • Colors
• Recipe Reference
• Solo Mode
  • Setup
  • Changes in Gameplay
  • Special Symbol Cards
  • Scoring
  • Solo Variants

Components

• 1 Moon board (double-sided)
• 1 Lounge board
• 108 Herb/Recipe tiles (double-sided)
• 8 Bunnies (2 each of jade, gold, fire, and twilight)
• 4 Bunnies workshops
• 12 Scrolls
• 20 Mooncakes
• 14 Crater tiles
• 2 Recipe Placement tiles
• 1 First player marker
• 29 Solo cards (16 Letters, 13 Numbers)
• 4 Reference cards
• 1 Tile bag

Setup

Place the following items in the center of the table:

1. Moon board: Choose the correct side for your player count by looking at the number of icons in the upper left corner of the board.

   i. Place all Herb/Recipe tiles into the bag and shuffle them. For a 1-2 player game, randomly return 18 tiles to the box. Then, place a tile on each space of the Moon board as follows: place tiles herb-side up on each blank space, and place tiles recipe-side up on each space with the Recipe symbol.

   ii. Each player draws 2 Recipes from the bag. If there is a symbol at the bottom right-hand corner of the Recipe, exchange it for a new Recipe.

2. Recipe stack: Draw and form a Recipe stack with the indicated number of tiles, Recipe-side up, and place it in a public supply in reach of all players:

   • 1-2 Players: 12 Recipes
   • 3 Players: 16 Recipes
   • 4 Players: 18 Recipes

3. Tile bag: Place the indicated number of Crater and Recipe Placement tiles into the bag, shuffle them with the remaining Herb tiles, and place the bag near the Recipe stack. Return the remaining Crater and Recipe Placement tiles to the box.

   Players	Craters	Recipe Placement Tiles
   1-2 Players	8	2
   3 Players	12	1
   4 Players	14	2

4. Lounge board: Shuffle the Scrolls and place 4 Scrolls (for 1-2 players) or 6 Scrolls (for 3-4 players) on the Lounge board, ability-side up. Return the remaining Scrolls to the box.

5. Place the Mooncakes in the public supply in reach of all players.

A. Player setup: Each player takes a workshop board, the 2 bunnies matching their board's color, and a reference card.

B. Each player places their bunny with the Lounge icon on the Lounge board.

C. Give the first player marker to the person who most recently visited the moon.

D. Starting from this player and going clockwise, each player chooses 1 of the 2 Recipes from step ii, places it onto the Lounge board, and places the other Recipe in the Storage area of their workshop board.

TIP: We recommend that players first understand the game rules, then choose which Recipe to place on the Lounge board and Storage area.

E. Each player places their Hopping Bunny on the tile at the corner closest to their workshop on the Moon board.

Overview

Moon Bunny is played in rounds. During a round, each player takes one turn, starting with the first player and going clockwise. On your turn, move your Bunny and bring the Herb or Recipe it landed on back to your workshop board. Optimize points by matching the public and private Recipes. The game ends when either the bag or Recipe stack is empty: players complete the current round, play one more round, and compare scores. The player with the most points wins.

On Your Turn

On your turn:

1. Move Bunny
2. Place tile
3. Refill empty space

Optional:

• A. Spend Mooncake
• B. Use Scroll
• C. Place tile (from Storage)

Bonus Turn: Take another turn when a Recipe is surrounded by Herbs in your Workshop.

1. Move Bunny

Each player has two bunnies, though only one can be on the Moon at a time. When moving:

A. Bunnies cannot move into or through spaces with another bunny.

B. Bunnies that move off the board will reappear on the other side (because the Moon is round!).

TIP: On your turn, before you move your bunny, you may spend a Mooncake (from your Workshop, not Storage) to swap your bunny on the Moon with your bunny on the Lounge board. See "Spend Mooncake" below.

Adjacency: In Moon Bunny, spaces/tiles are adjacent when they are orthogonally connected (up, down, left, or right), but not when they are diagonally connected.

The Hopping Bunny: This bunny hops exactly 3 tiles orthogonally in any direction. It cannot hop back onto a space it just hopped off of and it can never end its movement adjacent to its starting space.

A hopping bunny cannot backtrack, and it cannot end on a space that is adjacent to its starting position — including across the edge of the board, since the moon is round.

2. Place Tile

After moving your bunny, take the tile it ended on and place that tile (same side face up) in your Workshop or Storage (maximum of 1 in Storage). Some Herb tiles have a Mooncake symbol in the top left corner. When you place a tile with that symbol, take a Mooncake from the supply and place it on the tile. See "Spend a Mooncake" below.

TIP: Your tile in Storage can (and should!) be moved to your Workshop. See "Place Tile (From Storage)" below.

Tiles placed in your Workshop must follow these rules:

A. Your first tile must be placed in one of the four starting spaces.

B. Subsequent tiles must be placed adjacent to previously placed tiles (at least one side touching).

C. Tiles must be placed above the workshop board or in one of the four spaces on the board.

Place carefully because once placed, tiles usually cannot be moved!

TIP: There is a Scroll that allows limited adjustment of tiles in your Workshop. See "Use Scroll" below.

Tiles: Each tile has 2 sides, either Herb or Recipe. Tiles drawn from the bag during the game are Herb tiles. Tiles can never be flipped.

• Herbs: There are six types of Herbs and each Herb can be one of six Colors. See "Appendix" below.
• Recipes: Evaluate Recipes at the end of the game to see which ones you have completed. See "Recipe Reference" below.
  • Recipes with points in the top left corner will score only once no matter how many times the condition is satisfied.
  • Recipes with points in the middle will score for each time the condition is satisfied, up to the maximum points, if any.
  • Private Recipes: Recipes placed in your Workshop can only be satisfied by your tiles.
  • Public Recipes: Recipes on the Lounge board can be satisfied by any player.

Bonus Turn: Surrounding a Recipe with Herbs. If placing a tile causes a Recipe to be surrounded by Herbs on all possible sides, take a bonus turn after you complete your current turn. Repeat if another Recipe becomes surrounded by Herbs. Placing a fourth Herb to surround a Recipe with Herbs gives you a bonus turn. Placing a Herb that surrounds two Recipes at once gives you two bonus turns. Any placement that surrounds a Recipe on all possible sides gives you a bonus turn — for example, a Recipe is surrounded by Herbs when you cannot place tiles below it, or when you cannot place tiles below or to the right of it (because those spaces are off the edge of the Workshop layout).

IMPORTANT: Placing a tile that causes a Recipe to be surrounded with both Recipes and Herbs (or just Recipes) does NOT give a bonus turn.

3. Refill Empty Space

A space on the Moon is empty when it has nothing on it, neither tile nor bunny. At the end of each turn, including bonus turns, refill the empty space with either the top tile from the Recipe stack or a Herb tile from the bag, according to the type of space. The bag also contains these special tiles:

• Crater Tile: When a Crater tile is placed on a space on the Moon, it means Herbs are no longer available there. Bunnies can move through this space, but they cannot end their movement on a Crater.
• Recipe Placement Tile: When a Recipe Placement tile is placed on a space on the Moon, it immediately is considered a new, empty Recipe space. Place the top tile from the Recipe stack on top of this tile. A space with nothing on it except for a Recipe Placement tile is considered an empty Recipe space.

Optional Actions

Spend a Mooncake

During your turn, you can spend Mooncakes in your Workshop, returning them to the supply, to do one of the following:

A. Purchase a Scroll: Spend 1 Mooncake to purchase 1 Scroll. Each player can only do this once per round. See "Use Scroll" below.

IMPORTANT: You cannot purchase more than one Scroll per round, even if you take bonus turns.

B. Swap Bunny Type: Spend 1 Mooncake to swap your bunny on the Moon with your other bunny resting on the Lounge board.

TIP: At the end of the game, each uneaten Mooncake in your Workshop is worth 1 point.

IMPORTANT: A Mooncake on a tile in Storage cannot be spent, and is not worth any points.

Use Scroll

After you purchase a Scroll, you can use it immediately or can save it to use later that turn or on one of your future turns. Place Scrolls near your workshop board. Each Scroll can only be used once per game — flip it to its blank side after use.

Scrolls that move your bunny can be used before or after (not during) its regular movement and must obey all movement rules, e.g. hopping bunnies still cannot end movement adjacent to their starting space. Place only one tile per turn after all regular and scroll-based movement is complete.

There are 6 types of Scrolls:

1. Move your Bunny one space orthogonally.
2. Move your Bunny one space diagonally.
3. Replace a Recipe on the Moon with the top Recipe from the Recipe stack. The replaced Recipe is removed from the game.
4. Draw two Herbs from the bag and choose one to replace a Herb on the Moon. Both the unchosen and replaced Herb are removed from the game.
5. Swap the positions of two Herbs in your Workshop.
6. Swap the positions of two Herbs on the Moon.

IMPORTANT: Scrolls are not refilled after they are purchased from the Lounge board, so get them before they are gone!

Place Tile (From Storage)

If you have a tile in Storage, at any time during your turn you may take that tile and place it into your Workshop (along with its Mooncake, if any), following the usual rules.

TIP: While a tile is in Storage, it is not active and is never considered during scoring, whether it is a Recipe, Herb, or even if it has a Mooncake. Be sure to move the tile into your Workshop to activate it before the end of the game!

Game End & Scoring

The end of the game is triggered when either the bag or Recipe stack is empty. Complete the current round, then play an additional final round, and count points:

1. Score points for your private (your Workshop) and all public (Lounge board) Recipes.
   • For private Recipes, if the player who has the Recipe is tied for most/least, they score full points.
   • For public Recipes, tied players each score full points.
2. Score 1 point per uneaten Mooncake (Mooncakes in your Workshop, not Storage).

IMPORTANT: Each Herb can be counted for each Recipe, but only once per Recipe.

The player with the most points wins and becomes the Master Bunny Alchemist, gifting the ultimate elixir of life to the world! If there is a tie, the player with the fewest number of Herbs in their Workshop (not Storage) wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Scoring Example

Player 1

Private Recipes:

• A. 0 points with 1 Lingzhi Mushroom while the opponent has 3.
• B. 6 points with at least 3 green tiles.
• C. 3 points with 3 Longan. The Longan in the Storage does not count.
• D. 3 points with 3 Longan.
• E. 9 points with 3 yellow tiles adjacent to the Recipe.
• F. 6 points with both players having 1 Snow Fungus in their Workshop.

Public Recipes:

• i. 0 points with only 2 uneaten Mooncakes remaining in the Workshop. 2 Mooncakes were spent, and the Mooncake in storage does not count.
• ii. 6 points with at least 3 diagonally connected Longan.
• Uneaten Mooncakes: 2 points with 2 uneaten Mooncakes.

TOTAL POINTS: 35

Player 2

Private Recipes:

• A. 6 points with 1 green tile.
• B. 4 points with 4 purple tiles.
• C. 5 points with at least 3 purple tiles in a row.
• D. 6 points with 3 Ginseng while the opponent has 2.
• E. 8 points with 4 types of Herbs while the opponent has all 6 types.
• F. 6 points with 3 pairs of Herbs: 1 pair each of Longan, Ginseng, and Lingzhi Mushroom.

Public Recipes:

• i. 0 points with 2 uneaten Mooncakes in the Workshop. 1 Mooncake was spent.
• ii. 0 points with only 2 diagonally connected Lingzhi Mushroom.
• Uneaten Mooncakes: 2 points with 2 uneaten Mooncakes.

TOTAL POINTS: 37

Appendix

Herbs

There are 6 different herbs in this game.

• Lingzhi (Reishi) Mushroom: Also known as the "mushroom of immortality" in ancient days, it features a shiny, reddish-brown or dark-colored cap, often in a fan-like shape. Boosts the immune system, alleviates depression, and decreases fatigue.
• Ginseng: A light-tan, forked root with a long stem. It often looks like a human body, with stringy shoots resembling arms and legs. Increases energy levels, improves cognitive function, and potentially reduces inflammation.
• Lotus Flower: A plant whose flowers have large, round petals, often in white or pink, surrounding a central seed pod. High levels of minerals, protein, and fatty acids.
• Goji Berries: Small, oval-shaped, orange-red colored berries. When fresh, they are soft and juicy, while dried ones have a chewy texture. High in vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system.
• Longan (Dragon's Eye): A sweet and juicy tropical fruit which grows in clusters on trees. Promotes restful sleep and decreases anxiety.
• Snow Fungus: A white, translucent, gelatinous fungus. Rich in fiber, aids digestion, beneficial for skin hydration.

Did you know? These six herbs are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine but are also often added to soups, dishes, and desserts to improve flavor and add health benefits.

Colors

Each herb has 6 different colors:

• Yellow (No pattern)
• Light Blue (Triangles)
• Purple (Horizontal dashed lines)
• Green (Zig-zag lines)
• Grey (Cube pattern)
• Pink (Vertical dotted lines)

TIP: Each Color also has a specific pattern to help differentiate it from the others.

Adjacency: In Moon Bunny, spaces/tiles are adjacent when they are orthogonally connected (up, down, left, or right), but not when they are diagonally connected.

Recipe Reference

Recipe tiles use icons and a point value to describe how each Recipe scores. Below is a reference for every icon and point value used on the Recipe tiles:

• 1 — Score [X] points for each tile you have with this [Herb/Color].
• 3, adjacent to this tile — Score [X] points for each tile you have with this [Herb/Color] adjacent to this Recipe.
• 6, Most — Score [X] points if you have the most tiles with this [Herb/Color] among all players.
• 6, Fewest — Score [X] points if you have the fewest tiles with this [Herb/Color] among all players. 0 is a number.
• 8, Fewest — Score [X] points if you have the fewest Recipes among all players, including this one.
• 6, Most types — Score [X] points if you have the most types of [Herb/Color] among all players.
• 8, Fewest types — Score [X] points if you have the fewest types of [Herb/Color] among all players.
• 12, Exactly 2 types — Score [X] points if you have exactly 2 types of [Herb/Color].
• 6, Exactly 3 types — Score [X] points if you have exactly 3 types of [Herbs/Colors].
• 5, Missing — Score [X] points for each type of [Herb/Color] that you do NOT have in your Workshop.
• 2, in largest orthogonally connected matching set (Max. 10 points) — Find your largest set of orthogonally connected tiles of any one [Herb/Color]. Score [X] points for each tile in this set, up to the maximum points. If there is a tie, score only one set.
• 2, adjacent to this tile (Mooncake) — Score 2 points for each Mooncake tile adjacent to this Recipe. They can be any [Herb/Color].
• 2, in largest orthogonally connected set (Mooncake) — Find your largest set of orthogonally connected Mooncake tiles. The [Herbs/Colors] do not need to match. Score 2 points for each tile in this set. If there is a tie, score only one set.
• 6, 3 different, adjacent to this tile — Score [X] points if you have at least 3 tiles with different [Herbs/Colors] adjacent to this Recipe.
• 3, Matching — Score [X] points for each trio of tiles you have with the same [Herb/Color]. Multiple trios of the same [Herb/Color] are allowed. Each tile can only be part of one trio. The tiles in a trio do not need to be connected.
• 2, Matching (Max. 10 points) — Score [X] points for each pair of tiles you have with the same [Herb/Color], up to the maximum points. Multiple pairs of the same [Herb/Color] are allowed. Each tile can only be part of one pair. The tiles in a pair do not need to be connected.

Solo Mode

With years of experience under your fur, you complain to Chang'e, your guardian, that the alchemy has become too easy. Chang'e smiles and suggests that you need a new challenge. Your whiskers twitch as you prepare for her alchemic test!

Chang'e (嫦娥) is the enchanting Moon Goddess who resides with the Moon Bunny in the ethereal Moon Palace. Many of her tales are mythical and often intertwine with those of her husband, Hou Yi (后羿), the greatest archer, as well as the legendary folklore of the Ten Suns.

Setup

Follow the same setup as a 2-player game, with the following changes:

1. After drawing 2 Recipes during setup (for the solo mode, you can keep Recipes with a solo-mode symbol), place 1 in Storage and return the other to the box. Do not place any Recipes on the Lounge board.
2. Give yourself the first player marker.
3. Assign an unused bunny to Chang'e and place it near the Moon board.
4. Shuffle the 16 Letter and 13 Number cards to form their own respective decks, then place both decks face down nearby.

Changes in Gameplay

Each round you will take a normal turn, followed by Chang'e. When it is Chang'e's turn:

Reveal the top card from both the Letter and Number deck, and move Chang'e's bunny to the designated space.

If the space is already occupied by your bunny or a Crater tile, reveal another Number card and move the bunny to the new space instead.

In the rare case that the bunny cannot land on any spaces in that column, reveal another Letter card instead and move the bunny to the new space.

Take the tile it lands on and set it aside for Chang'e. Refill the empty space as normal. Discard all revealed cards to their respective discard piles.

The game ends as usual — when either the bag or Recipe stack is empty, finish the round, play one more round, then count points.

TIP: Chang'e does not score points, but her tiles compete with yours for Recipes that count most/fewest, so keep an eye on her collection!

Special Symbol Cards

Chang'e has some cards with special symbols:

Play Again: This type of card is only found in the Letter deck. When it is revealed, set it aside and reveal the next Letter card. At the end of Chang'e's turn, if there are 1 or more Play Again cards set aside, discard one and Chang'e takes a bonus turn. Repeat until all Play Again cards are discarded.

Shuffle: This type of card is found in both the Letter and Number decks. When it is revealed, shuffle all the cards of that type to form that deck again, including that Shuffle card, the discard pile, and any revealed cards (exception: do not shuffle set aside Play Again cards). Then reveal a new card from this shuffled deck.

Scoring

• 0-39 points: Novice Bunny alchemist
• 40-59 points: Intermediate Bunny alchemist
• 60-84 points: Expert Bunny alchemist
• 85+ points: Master Bunny alchemist

Solo Variants

Now that you have completed a solo game, how about another challenge with these variants:

1. Play the game without Scrolls.
2. Play the game with only the Hopping Bunny.
3. Challenge yourself by combining variants 1 and 2.