Mycelium: Descubriendo el reino fungi Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components, Number & Details
• 1. Goal of the Game
• 2. Initial Setup
• 3. Game Start: Spores
• 4. Growth and Flow: The Mycelium
• 5. Obtaining Nutrients
• 6. Mushroom Blooming and Reproduction
• Mushroom Card Effects
• 7. Connectivity Cards
• 8. End of the Game
• 9. Alternative Team Game (2 vs 2)
• Turn Sequence Summary

Components, Number & Details

• Spores (4): These are the chips that mark the initial point of growth and represent the reproductive cells of the fungi, which propagate and germinate.
• Meeples (4): They are the markers that indicate the point where the action of the fungus is taking place.
• Mycorrhizal markers (32): They represent a mycorrhizal symbiosis between the mycelia of a fungus and the roots of trees or plants.
• Wood substrate (18): They represent wood from living or decomposing plants, from which some fungi absorb nutrients.
• Soil substrate (18): They represent the organic matter that fungi decompose in the soil, from which nutrients are absorbed.
• Nutrients (32): These are cubes that represent the nutrients absorbed by the fungi from the soil (yellow), the wood (pink), or those obtained through Mycorrhizae.
• Board (1): Represents the habitat in general where fungi spread. The hexagonal region is underground, where the Mycelia grow.
• Mycelium (64): These are tiles that represent the growth of fungi and that when connected, form the Mycelium Network.
• Rocks (8): These are tiles that represent rocks or stones found on the ground, through which the mycelia cannot pass.

1. Goal of the Game

The goal of the game is to be able to reproduce the largest number of mushrooms and, in COOPERATIVE MODE, also fulfill the connectivity missions. For this, networks of mycelia must be assembled, decompose matter, and make symbiosis with trees.

2. Initial Setup

a) Set difficulty. In COOPERATIVE MODE, you must choose three connectivity cards, Funga, Forest Symbiosis and Forest Communication, of the same difficulty and place them to one side of the board. In the case of COMPETITIVE MODE, only the Forest Communication card is chosen to define the location coordinates of Trees on the board.

b) Location of Trees. All 4 Trees are placed on the board according to the Forest Communication card. In COMPETITIVE MODE, once the trees are placed, the card is out of play (there's no need to complete the mission of that card).

c) Place 4 substrates on the board according to their coordinates: 2 wood and 2 soil. If a substrate falls on a Tree, it is discarded and another one is placed. All other substrates must be located in the designated area of the board.

d) Place both Mushroom Decks aside of the board and face down. Reveal three cards from each deck.

e) Place the nutrients in their respective locations on the board.

f) Mycelium and Rock Tiles are placed in the bag according to the number of players (see color on the back of the tiles). Then the bag is left within everyone's reach.

• 2 players: 48 tiles - Only fuchsia tiles.
• 3 players: 60 tiles - Add purple tiles.
• 4 players: 72 tiles - Use all tiles.

g) Each player must choose a Meeple, a Spore token, and Mycorrhiza Markers of the same color.

3. Game Start: Spores

The life cycle of fungi begins from reproductive cells called spores, which are dispersed by different means, such as wind and water, until they reach a suitable substrate and germinate if environmental conditions are favorable.

Before the game starts, all players must draw 3 Tiles at random from the bag.

To determine who starts, all players must randomly draw 1 Soil or Wood Substrate token, and whoever rolls the highest number starts. In the event of a tie, the game will start with whoever has the highest alphabetical placement. Starting from this player, the order of turns is established to the left.

In the first round, each player must place the Spores face up (without the X mark) in any of the outermost spaces on the board, leaving at least one space away from another player's Spore. Then, the Mushroom Meeple must be placed on the respective Spore.

4. Growth and Flow: The Mycelium

From the spore, the growth of the fungi begins through filaments called Hyphae, which grow rapidly. The hyphae form a complex network that covers a large area, even kilometers: The Mycelium, which is the body of the fungus, grows on a specific substrate, such as soil or wood, among others.

After placing the Spores, each player can execute the following actions once per turn and in the order they prefer.

a) Place or discard a tile (mandatory). b) Flow through the tiles (optional). c) Remove a tile from the board (optional). d) Use the spore ability (optional).

a) Place or discard a tile: On your turn you must perform one of these three actions.

a.1) Mycelium growth.

The placement of Mycelium tiles represents the growth of the mycelium. The pink mycelia grow through the wood; the yellow ones through the soil; and the green ones through the soil as well, but forming mycorrhizae with the trees (symbiosis). When placing a tile, the following rules must be respected:

• A tile must always connect to another previously placed tile or to the Spore token of the active player (the one who is on its turn).
  • In the case of connecting to the Spores tile, the tile must connect with it with at least one mycelium (1).
• The two tiles must be connected by at least one mycelium of the same color (2), thus forming a Mycelium Network.

MYCELIUM NETWORK: They are all the mycelia OF THE SAME COLOR that are continuously connected, considering all the ramifications that are formed.

The active player's Meeple must always be located on any tile that is part of the Mycelium Network being grown. In this way, tiles can be placed both from distant and adjacent locations.

A Mycelium CANNOT be placed in the following cases:

• I - If there is a meeple of another player between the active player and the place where you want to place a new tile.
• II - From a Rock.
• III - On a previously placed tile.
• IV - On a Tree.
• V - On Spores.

a.2) Rocks.

The Rocks are special tiles that can come out of the bag and are not used to grow the Mycelium network; quite the opposite, they can be very annoying in COOPERATIVE MODE, but very useful in COMPETITIVE MODE.

To place a Rock, the following rules must be respected:

• They are always placed adjacent to the tile where the active player's Meeple is.
• Placing a Rock doesn't depend on any connection with mycelia.

Rocks can be placed:

• On an empty space.
• On a space with a Mycelium tile, which is crushed and must be discarded.
• On a tile with another player's meeple on it, the crushed tile is discarded and the affected meeple is returned to its Spore.
• On a Substrate, which is discarded without anyone obtaining nutrients from it. Then another Substrate must be placed.
• On another player's Spore. The affected player must relocate the spore.

A Rock CANNOT be placed:

• On a Tree.
• On another Rock.

a.3) Discard a tile.

If you cannot or do not want to place a tile, you must discard one from your hand of choice, as long as it is not a Rock.

IMPORTANT: If a player ends its turn and has 2 tiles on its hand, it must draw 1 random Tile from the bag. There must always be 3 tiles in players hands.

b) Flow through the tiles:

Fungi distribute their food and water through the mycelium, developing large highways in the substrate where they grow, through which nutrients and water flow between the organisms that share the mycelia.

Moving through the mycelia is critical to establishing growth points, nutrient flow, and mushroom blooming. To move you must take into account the following:

• The movement can be before or after placing a Mycelium tile.
• The Meeple must move from its location to the space it deems appropriate, as long as it advances through the same Mycelium Network; that is, there is a continuous connection of the same color.
• If a player stands on a tile that has Mycelium Networks of different colors, one of the colors must be chosen to move through.
• If at the end of the movement a player lands on a tile that has Mycelium Networks of many colors, it must wait until the next turn to change the color.
• You can move through spaces with meeples of other players standing on it, but NOT locate yourself in the same space (x).

Players CANNOT move:

• I - Through Mycelium Networks of different colors in the same turn.
• II - Over another player's Spore, or stand on it.
• III - Over Rocks, or stand on them.
• IV - Over Trees, or stand on them.

c) Remove a tile from the board:

Tiles can be removed from the board. To do so, this action must be paid for with nutrients.

Mycophages are organisms that feed on fungi. They can be birds, mammals, plants, and insects, among others.

Mycophages: One Mycelium tile may be discarded from the board. It must be adjacent to the active player's meeple. Cost: any 1 nutrient.

Lichens are organisms formed by the symbiosis between fungi and algae. Many lichens have the particularity of demineralizing and disintegrating rocks, thanks to their metabolism.

Lichens: One Rock tile adjacent to the active player's meeple can be removed. Cost: any 2 nutrients.

d) Use the ability of the Spore:

The active player can flip his Spore upside down and perform one of the following actions:

• Discard one of their tiles (it may be a Rock), return the remaining 2 to the bag, and draw another 3 at random. Or...
• Relocate its Spore and Meeple to another starting space.

The ability of the Spore must be used at the start of the turn, and no other action can be taken until the next turn. Once used, this ability will be disabled until THAT PLAYER acquires a Mushroom card.

5. Obtaining Nutrients

Nutrients are the chemical substances that are obtained from food and provide the energy necessary to carry out all kinds of vital functions.

Nutrients are essential to achieve the objective of the game, and you can obtain them in three different ways:

a) Degradation of substrates. b) Formation of mycorrhizae with Trees. c) From other players.

IMPORTANT: It is not allowed to have more than 8 nutrients. If more are obtained, nutrients must be discarded until only 8 are left.

a) Substrate degradation

Fungi feed by absorbing nutrients from a given substrate. They do so by secreting enzymes that break down the substrate and thus obtain the nutrients that they will absorb through the mycelium.

Nutrients are obtained by decomposing Substrates, whether they are Soil or Wood. To achieve this, a tile must be placed on the substrate, respecting the following rules:

• The tile placed on a Substrate must respect the Mycelium growth rules (point 4.a.1).
• The tile to be placed must connect from a Mycelium Network of the same color as the substrate to be absorbed.
• For each decomposed Substrate, you must absorb Nutrients, taking 2 cubes of the same color from the Substrate.
• The Decomposed Substrate is discarded and randomly replaced with another of the same color.
• If the new substrate lands on a space that has a tile, either Mycelium or Rock, the tile is discarded.
• If the new substrate lands on a square where a player's Meeple is, the tile it is on is discarded and the Meeple must return to the corresponding Spore.
• If a substrate falls on a Tree, the substrate is discarded and another one is placed.
• There must always be 2 Substrates of each color on the board.

b) Forming mycorrhizae with trees.

Mycorrhizae are the symbiosis between the mycelium of the fungus and the roots of the plants. This relationship is beneficial for both organisms: on the one hand, the plants receive mainly nutrients, minerals and water from the fungus, and the fungus obtains carbohydrates from the plant for its development.

Nutrients can also be obtained through mycorrhizae. To achieve this, the following should be considered:

• Place a tile that has Green Mycelium, which in turn must connect with a Tree.
• It is not necessary for these Green Mycelia to have a connection continuity with a previous tile.

When forming the Mycorrhiza, a Mycorrhiza Marker must be placed in the corresponding circle of the Tree.

• 1 Nutrient of the color of your choice is obtained for each Mycorrhiza formed.
• In the same Tree, up to 4 mycorrhizae can be formed.
• If a player connects where there is already another player's Mycorrhiza Marker, it may replace the Marker with his own, but without gaining nutrients.
• If a Tree is filled with all of its Mycorrhizae, all players with Markers on that Tree gain 1 extra nutrient for each respective Mycorrhiza Marker. (See example to the right).

c) From another player.

The Mycelium is a great highway where nutrients flow.

A player can give nutrients to another, which is very useful when playing COOPERATIVE MODE. To do so, the following should be considered:

• If two players are connected in the same Mycelium Network, the active player can pass ONE nutrient to the other player.
• A player who is not on its turn may NOT give nutrients to another.

6. Mushroom Blooming and Reproduction

Mushrooms, sporomes, carpophore or k'llampa, are the reproductive bodies of the fungi where the spores are produced, which propagate, germinate and thus begin a new cycle. The shape of the setae is strategic to facilitate the dispersal of the spores.

Blooming Mushrooms is the main subject of the game, since in this way the score to win is obtained. Victory Points (VPs) are indicated in the upper right corner of each card.

To obtain one of these cards, the active player must pay the Mycelia and Nutrients on the card as follows:

a) Mycelia Payment:

• The number of Mycelia tiles indicated on the card must be removed from the board and discarded.
• The Mycelia must be of the same Mycelium Network and of the color indicated on the card.
• The player who gets the card must be on the Mycelium Network to be used.
• There must NOT be another player's meeple located on the Mycelia that will be removed from the board; if so, the purchase of the card will be locked.

b) Nutrient Payment:

• In Competitive mode (b.1), each player pays the amount of Nutrients of the color indicated on the card (see example).
• In Cooperative mode (b.2), each player on the team pays the amount of Nutrients indicated by the color of their Meeple. If one of the players is not there, the payment of that color is not considered.
• Paid Nutrients return to their designated area on the board.

Whoever acquires a Mushroom card starts the cycle again, so they must relocate the Spore at any starting point (it can be the same). Additionally, that player must place the Meeple on top of the Spore and start from that location on their next turn.

Mushroom Card Effects

• Permanent Pink Nutrient: Permanently grants a wood nutrient, reducing the nutrient payment of that type by 1. This ability cannot be used to pay white cubes.
• Permanent Yellow Nutrient: Permanently grants a soil nutrient, reducing the nutrient payment of that type by 1. This ability cannot be used to pay white cubes.
• Swap Nutrient Color: Once per turn, a player can swap a nutrient of one color for one of another color.
• Wood Degradation Bonus Nutrient: Grants an additional wood nutrient when degrading a wood substrate.
• Soil Degradation Bonus Nutrient: Grants an additional soil nutrient when degrading a soil substrate.

IMPORTANT: Mushrooms that grant extra resources are cumulative. For example, if a player has two cards that grant 1 extra soil nutrient, that player will get 4 yellow cubes instead of 2 when degrading a substrate.

• Permanent Wood Mycelium: Grants a permanent Wood Mycelium, reducing the Mycelium payment of that type by 1.
• Permanent Soil Mycelium: Grants a permanent Soil Mycelium, reducing the Mycelium payment of that type by 1.
• Permanent Mycorrhizal Mycelium: Grants a permanent Mycorrhizal Mycelium, reducing the Mycelium payment of that type by 1.
• Mycorrhizal Bonus Nutrient: Grants an extra nutrient of your choice (yellow or pink) when forming a mycorrhiza.

This information is available in Summary Cards.

7. Connectivity Cards

Fungi are nature's interconnectors, being an essential part of the water and nutrient cycles. This connectivity between organisms sustains the habitats where the fungi develop, forming a mycelial network of codependency between the organisms that inhabit the ecosystems. This interconnected network can extend and cover large areas, connecting organisms miles away.

These cards are only used in COOPERATIVE MODE, and each one has an associated mission that must be completed in order to win the game. If at the end of the game one or more of these missions has not been fulfilled, the team loses the game.

a) Forest Symbiosis: The team must place as many Mycorrhizae in the trees as indicated by the difficulty of the card. As soon as this mission is accomplished, the team gains the card and the associated ability becomes available to either player when it is their turn.

Ability: On its turn, a player located on a tile with green mycelia will be able to give a nutrient to any other player who is also on another tile with green mycelia, even if they do not share the same Mycelium Network.

• Easy: 1 Tree with at least 2 mycorrhizae and another one with at least 3.
• Medium: 2 Trees with at least 3 mycorrhizae.
• Hard: 1 Tree with at least 3 mycorrhizae and another one with all 4 of them.

b) Funga: The team must get as many Mushroom cards as indicated on the card.

Ability: On its turn, a player may give any two nutrients to another as long as both players are in the same Mycelium Network. If the Forest Symbiosis quest has already been completed, a player will be able to pass two nutrients to another player instead of one through green mycelia, even if they don't share the same Mycelium Network.

• Easy: Buy at least 3 Mushroom Cards.
• Medium: Buy at least 4 Mushroom Cards.
• Hard: Buy at least 5 Mushroom Cards. c) Forest Communication: The team must be able to connect all Trees to the same green Mycelium Network. The starting location of the trees is determined by the difficulty of the card. As soon as this mission is accomplished, the associated ability becomes available to all players at once.

Ability: Once this mission is accomplished, all players gain 2 nutrients of their choice.

The difficulty is determined by the location of the Trees.

8. End of the Game

The game ends when the last tile is drawn from the bag or if the following conditions are met depending on the game mode:

COOPERATIVE MODE

• If all 3 Connectivity cards missions are completed (Funga, Forest Symbiosis, and Forest Communication).
• If, in addition, the team obtains the minimum number of Victory Points (VPs) from the Mushroom Cards according to the difficulty chosen at the game setup.
  • Easy: 12 PV
  • Medium: 16 PV
  • Hard: 20 PV

Both conditions must be met. If the game is over, and at least one objective hasn't been completed yet, the team will lose.

COMPETITIVE MODE

The first player to get 10 Victory Points (VPs) wins. If the game ends before someone gets 10 VPs, the person with the most VPs wins. In the case of a tie, whoever has the most Cards wins. If the tie persists, whoever has the most Nutrients wins. Finally, if there is still a tie, the winners share the victory.

9. Alternative Team Game (2 vs 2)

In a team game, two players compete against two other players to be the first to earn 15 VPs by collecting Mushroom Cards. In this game mode, two teams compete for game resources and blooming Mushrooms, in a combination of COOPERATIVE and COMPETITIVE modes. The rules for this alternate game mode are as follows:

a) Setup: The game is prepared according to the rules of the COMPETITIVE MODE (read point 2: Initial Setup); that is, the missions of the COOPERATIVE MODE must not be completed and the Forest Communication card must be discarded once the location of the trees has been determined.

To establish the order of the turns, one member of each team draws a Soil or Wood Substrate token and the team that rolls the highest number starts. In the event of a tie, the team with the highest alphabetical placement will start. Then, players alternate turns between the teams and between members of each team; in other words, a player won't be able to play again if his rivals and teammate haven't played alternately.

b) Gameplay: The game goes as normal, with players being able to give nutrients to their teammate, just like in COOPERATIVE MODE.

c) Mushroom Cards: Paying for Mushroom cards is determined by the COOPERATIVE MODE rules (read point 6: Mushroom Blooming and Reproduction). The payouts are balanced in such a way that no color has an advantage over another.

Example: Let's suppose that players of team 1 choose Blue and Orange meeples. In order for a player on this team to acquire a Mushroom card, it must consider the nutrient costs of both Blue and Orange meeples listed at the bottom of the Mushroom card.

The team that reaches 15 VPs first wins the game. If the game ends before the goal is reached, the team with the highest score wins. In the event of a tie, the team with the most nutrients wins.

Turn Sequence Summary

1. These actions can be performed once per turn, in any order depending on the action to take:

   • a) Place or Discard a tile (mandatory).
   • b) Move the meeple through a Mycelium Network.
   • c) Give nutrients to a teammate.
   • d) Remove a tile from the board:
     • Mycophages: Remove a Mycelium tile from the board, paying any 1 nutrient.
     • Lichens: Remove a Rock tile from the board, paying any 2 nutrients.
   • e) Use the ability of the Spore: If this ability is used, the player must acquire a new Mushroom card to reactivate it.
   • f) End of turn: Draw 1 tile from the bag if having 2 tiles in hand.

2. Get Mushroom cards (Optional, only if you have the resources).

This information is also available in Summary Cards.