Moonshell Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Cards
  • Composition and Array
  • Trove
  • Pairs
  • Collector
  • Secret Objectives
• Turn Order
  • Rotate
  • Pull 2
  • Collect
  • Turn Example
• Running out of Seashells
• Ending the Game
• Scoring
  • Scoring Template
• Advanced Elements
  • Moonshell
  • Mermeeples and Mermaid Powers
• Solo Variant
  • Game Modes
• Lunar Reef Expansion
  • Sea Anemone and Clownfish
  • Event Cards
• Mermaid Powers
  • Passive
  • Active

Components

• 1 Ocean Board
• 6 Player Boards
• 6 Wooden Mermeeples
• 1 Tides Token
• 12 Objective Cards
• 4 Treasure Chest Boards
• 1 Seashell Bag
• 24 Sea Urchin Tiles
• 48 Seashell Tiles
• 4 Moonshell Tiles
• 8 Trove Cards
• 8 Collector Cards
• 12 Pair Cards
• 8 Array Cards
• 8 Composition Cards
• 5 Sea Anemone Tiles and 5 Clownfish Tiles
• 15 Lunar Reef Event Cards

Setup

1. Place the ocean board in the center of the table so that the rock spaces face the players.

2. Place a treasure chest board in front of each player. Each player chooses a mermaid board and places it beside their treasure chest board.

3. Place the tides token next to the board, with the even side face up.

4. Randomly place the seashell tiles (excluding the sea urchin tiles) face up on the ocean board, on all ocean tile spaces in the 5x5 grid. Place the rest of the seashell tiles in the bag.

   Note: If playing a two player game, add 8 sea urchin tiles to the bag before placing the tiles on the ocean board.

5. Separate the open objective cards into the five distinct decks: Composition, Array, Pair, Trove and Collector. Shuffle each deck and randomly choose one card from each deck. Place all five cards face up on the table where every player can see.

6. Shuffle the secret objective cards and deal out two cards face down to each player. Each player secretly picks one to use and places it face down. Discard the others without looking at them.

7. Place the sea urchin tiles to the side. When the bag of seashell tiles runs empty, place the sea urchin tiles into the bag.

Cards

The cards will list the objectives for the game. Each of the open objective cards will show certain requirements that each player can meet on their treasure chest board and then score at the end of the game.

• Points Value: the number in the corner of the card.
• Card Title.
• Seahorses: Seahorse icons show how many times a player can score that objective.
• Pattern or Objective: the pattern a player must build.
• Card Description.

Icons:

• Rainbow icons: any color may be used.
• Moonshell icons: any shape may be used.
• Square icons: any one shape.

Composition and Array

Each player can score these patterns.

Example: The composition pattern must be made of four diagonal sand dollars, but each sand dollar can be of any color. The pattern may be flipped, rotated or shifted to any location on the treasure board. Either of the right configurations will score 10 points for the composition card.

Trove

Only the players with the most of this tile type can score.

Example: The player to the left has 5 pink shells and the player to the right has 4. The player to the left will score 6 points, while the player to the right will score 0 points for this card.

Pairs

Each player scores pairs of tile types in any location on their treasure chest board. The tiles do not need to be adjacent.

Example: The player to the left has 3 pairs and scores 6 points. The player to the right has 1 pair and scores 2 points. Even though they have another white seashell, they do not have another orange seashell to create a pair.

Collector

Each player scores 1 point for each tile of the indicated type.

Example: Each player has 3 starfish tiles and scores 3 points. The color of the starfish tiles doesn't affect scoring.

Secret Objectives

This pattern must be all of the same color or the same shape, as indicated on the card. Some objectives may be completed multiple times (check seahorse icons). Each player may only score their own secret objective card.

Example: The player must complete this pattern using seashells of one single color, but all of the seashells may be any shape. Either of the above configurations will score this secret objective card for 8 points.

Turn Order

The player to last visit a body of water (beach, lake, pool) or an aquarium goes first.

Each player has three actions. They may choose from any of the below, in any order, and they may choose the same action multiple times if possible:

Rotate, Pull 2 or Collect

Players continue taking turns in a clockwise order.

Rotate

Rotate the ocean board 90 degrees in the direction indicated on the tides token.

Pull 2

If both rock spaces in front of the player are open, they may crash a wave from one of the five columns to fill the rock spaces. The farthest rock space is filled first; if pulling from the center column, the player may choose which rock space to fill first. The tiles in that column shift two spaces forward to fill the empty spaces. The player draws new tiles from the bag to fill the empty spaces (start with the space closest to the player).

Example: A player chooses the second column to pull 2 tiles. The closest tile to the player in the column, the white clamshell, will move to the farthest rock space. The second tile, the purple sand dollar, will move to the next rock space. The rest of the tiles in the column will shift toward the player. Refill the empty spaces with new tiles from the bag.

Collect

If there is a tile on one of the two rock spaces directly in front of the player, they may collect that tile and place it in one of the columns of their treasure chest board. Tiles sink to the bottom of the board, towards the player.

Example: The player collects a white clamshell tile. They may choose to add it to any of the four columns on their treasure chest board. The tile will sink to the lowest open space in that column.

Turn Example

Action 1: The active player chooses to pull 2 from the center column. They check to make sure both rock spaces in front of them are open, which means they can perform this action.

They slide the first two tiles in the column onto the open rock spaces. The rest of the tiles in the column slide toward the player.

Another player fills the open spaces with two new tiles from the bag while the active player performs their next actions.

Action 2: The active player collects the purple auger and chooses the leftmost column on their treasure chest board. The purple auger sinks to the first open space in that column.

Action 3: The active player decides not to use their third action to do the collect action again, and decides to rotate the board. They check the tides token, which indicates Even with a counter-clockwise arrow. They rotate the board 90 degrees counter-clockwise.

The player to the left then begins their turn.

Running out of Seashells

If the bag runs out of seashell tiles, place the sea urchin tiles into the bag and draw and place them just like the seashells. Sea urchins are worth 1 point each at the end of the game.

Ending the Game

The end of the game is triggered when a player fills their treasure chest board with tiles (12). They may complete any remaining actions or pass. Complete the round so all players have had an equal number of turns.

Scoring

At the end of the game check to see who has completed which objectives. Open objectives can be completed by multiple players, but secret objectives may only be completed by the player who has the card. Score any additional tiles such as sea urchin tiles (1 point) as well.

The mermaid who scored the highest is the clever winner!

If players are tied for first, the player who did not use their moonshell is the winner. If players are still tied, the player with fewer tiles on their treasure board is the winner.

Scoring Template

Secret Objective - Each player reveals their secret objective card and scores it if completed. Some secret objective cards may be completed and scored multiple times, indicated by the number of seahorse icons.

Composition - Each player who completes the pattern scores 10 points (may only be completed once per player).

Array - Each player who completes the pattern scores 8 points (may only be completed once per player).

Pair - For each pair of seashells of the indicated types, each player scores 2 points (up to six pairs for a maximum of 12 points). The pair of seashells do not need to be adjacent.

Trove - The player with the most tiles of the indicated type scores 6 points. Tied players all score 6 points.

Collector - Each player scores 1 point for each tile matching the indicated type (maximum of 12 possible).

Urchins - Each player scores 1 point for each urchin on their treasure board.

Moonshell - A moonshell on a treasure board can be used for scoring any and all above objectives. If a player does not use their moonshell, they score 4 points.

Advanced Elements

Players may choose to add more advanced and more competitive elements as they get familiar with the game.

Moonshell

If playing with the moonshell, distribute one moonshell tile to each player during set up.

During a player's turn, they may choose to collect the moonshell and place it on their treasure chest board (as a collect action). It falls to the bottom of the column just like a regular seashell.

The moonshell counts as any shape and any color of seashell for each objective during scoring. If the moonshell remains unused at the end of the game, the player scores 4 points.

Example: The player collects their moonshell tile and chooses the middle left column on the treasure chest board. The moonshell tile falls down to the first open space in that column.

During scoring the moonshell tile will count for multiple objective cards if possible. In this case, the moonshell helps the player score the Composition, Pairs and Collector cards. It will possibly help the player score the Trove, Array and secret objective cards as well.

Mermeeples and Mermaid Powers

If playing with the mermeeples and mermaid powers, choose to play with the passive abilities (light side) or active abilities (dark side) for all players. Place the corresponding mermeeple on each player's mermaid board.

Players may use their mermeeple ability as a free action, and at any part of their turn, unless otherwise stated.

Active mermaid powers (on the lighter ocean side) augment a currently available action and that action still counts as one of the three available actions for a player's turn. Passive mermaid abilities (on the darker ocean side) are free additional actions. The mermaid abilities are explained in more detail in the appendix.

When a mermeeple comes onto the field (either on the tides board or a player board), flip the tides token. The token should show counter-clockwise for an even number of mermeeples (and zero), and clockwise for an odd number of mermeeples in play.

Source note: the printed text of this page describes the light and dark sides of the mermaid powers inconsistently. The setup line above and the Submerge and Dive game modes call the light side passive and the dark side active; the sentences that follow say active powers are on the lighter side and passive on the darker side. The mermaid powers page below follows the printed layout, with the Passive column for the lighter-coloured powers and the Active column for the darker ones. Transcribed as printed; the contradiction is in the source.

Solo Variant

Set up the game as if for a two player game (optionally follow the modes listed below for more set-up options and to level up the solo game challenge over time). The second treasure chest board will be used by the game, but does not need a secret objective card, moonshell or mermeeple. Place the solo reference card face up. Shuffle the rest of the solo cards and place the deck facedown.

On the second player's turn, do these actions in order as possible until 3 actions total have been taken.

1. Rotate (once only, then remove from the order of actions): rotate the board in the direction indicated by the tides token.
2. Pull 2 (if possible): If both shallow water spaces are open, move tiles into those spaces. Draw a card from the solo deck to determine which column to pull tiles from. Discard the card next to the deck. When all cards have been discarded, shuffle the discard to replace the deck.
3. Collect (if possible, twice): If there is a tile in front of the second player, the second player takes a tile and adds it to the player board in the leftmost space. If there are multiple tiles, first try to choose the tile that matches the Collector objective card, then try to match the Trove objective, and then try to match the Pairs objective. If none of the tiles match one of those objectives, take the leftmost tile. Place the collected tile anywhere on their treasure board. Do this Collect action again if possible, if not, return to step 2.

See previous page for how to score, then use the ranking system to claim your title.

• 0-24 Nymph
• 25-34 Kelpie
• 35-44 Siren
• 45+ Merqueen

Game Modes

Start with the Wade game setup and level your way through the increasingly challenging game modes. Can you achieve merfolk royalty at every depth of the ocean?

Wade (Beginner)

Setup notes: Use objective cards from the base game, use secret objectives, and use the moonshell. Do not add sea urchins to the seashell bag during setup.

Submerge (Intermediate)

Setup notes: Choose to use objective cards from the base game or Lunar Reef expansion, use secret objective cards, use moonshell, and choose a passive mermaid power (light side). Remember to flip the tides token when your mermaid power is used. Do not add sea urchins to the seashell bag during setup.

Dive (Advanced)

Setup notes: Choose to use objective cards from the base game or Lunar Reef expansion, use secret objective cards, use moonshell, and choose a passive mermaid power (light side) or active mermaid power (dark side). Add 8 sea urchins, 3 clownfish and 3 sea anemones to the seashell bag.

Tsunami (Chaos)

Setup notes: follow the Dive setup notes, except when choosing objective cards. Mix the base game and Lunar Reef expansion for each of the 5 objective card types and randomly select one. Add in the event deck.

Lunar Reef Expansion

In the Lunar Reef expansion, there are 2 additional bonus tiles that can be added, additional objective cards to use, and event cards.

Sea Anemone and Clownfish

Take the number of players in the game and add one. Add that number of sea anemone as well as clownfish tiles to the seashell bag during setup.

Sea anemone and clownfish are not worth anything alone. However, they can be stacked together on treasure chest boards and each set is worth 3 points at the end of the game.

When a player collects a clownfish, they place it on top of an open sea anemone tile on their treasure chest board if available. Likewise, when a player collects a sea anemone, they check for an unstacked clownfish and place it underneath that clownfish. If a corresponding pair is not available, they place the clownfish or sea anemone on their treasure board following the regular collect rules.

Event Cards

During set-up, shuffle and place the event cards deck face down near the first player. Before the first player's turn, reveal an event card for the round. The event card may have an immediate one-time effect or an effect that lasts the entire round.

Example: The first player draws this event card before their turn. Starting with the first player and moving clockwise, each player may choose to place their Moonshell seashell (if it is still in their reserve) for free. Then the first player takes their turn and play continues.

Mermaid Powers

Passive

Passive actions modify existing actions. After using their ability, a player will put their mermeeple on the ocean board. At the end of their next turn, they return their mermeeple to their mermaid board. They may not use their ability again until their mermeeple is returned to them.

• (Pink) Tide Pool - When pulling, you may move the frontmost tiles from two adjacent columns, instead of only one column, into the open rock spaces in front of you.
• (Red) Inlet - You may pull a tile onto a rock space, even if only one space is available.
• (Blue) Rising Moon - You may rotate the ocean board once or twice as one action.
• (Gold) Slide - You may pull tiles away from you onto the rock spaces on the opposite side of the board.
• (Purple) Swap - You may take a tile from the rocks that are not in front of you, but you must swap it with one of either the same shape or color that is on the rocks in front of you.
• (Green) Buoy - You may take a tile and save it on your mermaid board instead of placing it on your treasure board. Only one tile may be saved on your mermaid board. Later, when taking another seashell, you may place both tiles in any order on your treasure board.

Active

Active actions are additional free actions that may be used on players' turns. At the end of your next turn, you may choose to return your mermeeple to your mermaid board. Otherwise, after your power resolves, return your mermeeple to your mermaid board - you may use your power again on your next turn after that.

• (Dark Pink) Tide Pool - Place your mermeeple on a tile in the water - no one else can take it.
• (Dark Red) Inlet - Place your mermeeple on a rock space in front of you. No one else may take tiles from that space.
• (Dark Blue) Rising Moon - Place your mermeeple on a corner of the board, in-between the rock spaces. At the beginning of your next turn, rotate the board so your mermeeple is in front of you.
• (Dark Gold) Slide - Place your mermeeple on a tile on your treasure board. You may slide that tile onto one or more open spaces to the left or right. When released, the tile will sink on the treasure board like other tiles.
• (Dark Purple) Swap - Place your mermeeple on a tile on your treasure board. You may swap it with another tile on your board, but they must be either the same shape or color (the moonshell cannot be swapped).
• (Dark Green) Buoy - Place your mermeeple on an empty space on your treasure board. Anytime later, when taking a tile, you may replace your mermeeple with that tile.