Mythwind
Mythwind Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Overview
- Components
- Beginning Your Journey
- First-Game Setup
- Basic Concepts
- Playing the Game
- Phase 1: Dawn
- Phase 2: Daytime
- Phase 3: Dusk
- End of Season
- Additional Rules
- Building Tree
- Building Appendix
- Saving the Game
- Continuing the Game
- Clarifications
- Spoilers!
- Event Card Tree
- Achievements
- Credits
- Icon Reference
Overview
Mythwind is a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players in which each player controls a unique character with a distinct role. During the game, the characters are working together to establish and build a new town in the magical Mythwind Valley. They work to achieve various goals by constructing buildings within the town, adventuring throughout the region, navigating relationships with the mysterious sprites who inhabit the valley, and developing their character-specific professions.
As an open-ended game, Mythwind has no distinct conclusion. Although many players may find a natural end point to their game at the conclusion of the story, players can continue to play the game for as long as they would like over as many game sessions as they wish. As players progress through the game, their town will develop and grow, reacting to changing seasons and to the members of the community over time. Progress made can be easily saved using the provided game trays, which offer a quick and easy solution for both tear-down of the current game and setup of future games.
Components
- Adventure Cards (80)
- Adventure Card Cover
- Event Cards (154)
- Weather Cards (9)
- Reference Card
- Goal Cards (28)
- Game Tray
- Building Cards (42)
- Season Tiles (2)
- Forest Cards (12)
- Town Sections (3)
- Town Resource Tokens (4, plus 4 extra)
- Town Action Tiles (4)
- Workers: Sprite Dice (8), Villager Dice (8)
- Game Tray Dice Divider
- Goal Tokens (5)
- Coins (120): 1 value (52), 5 value (44), 10 value (24)
- Secret Envelopes (4)
Beginning Your Journey
The rules of Mythwind are divided among two types of books: the Town Charter and the Character Journals. Throughout the rules, these books may be referenced using icons for Town Charter and Character Journals.
The Town Charter (this book) includes the primary rules of the game, including setup and reference materials. To learn how to play Mythwind, it is recommended that players begin by reading the Town Charter.
After reading the Town Charter and learning the primary rules of the game, players should explore the Character Journals. Each character has their own Character Journal that includes the rules that are unique to them. Each journal begins with a detailed summary of its character's role and play style to help players decide which character they would like to use. After selecting a character, a player should read that character's journal completely to learn the details and rules that govern their unique mechanics. Players should only learn the characters they are interested in playing for their first game to decrease complexity.
Solo play is possible without any rule adjustments and it is recommended that players start with one character. Players can increase their complexity by adding more characters at the end of a season.
Tip: To easily remove tokens from the various trays, press in on one side of the token to lift it up.
First-Game Setup
To set up the first game of Mythwind, perform the steps presented in this section. To set up subsequent games, see "Saving" and "Continuing" below.
- Create Town Board: Create the town board by placing the three town sections in the center of the table within reach of all players.
- Place Starting Season Tile: Place the spring season tile, which is indicated by the spring icon, on the season space on the first section of the town board.
- Set Starting Resources: Place each of the four resource tokens on its respective resource track on the first section of the town board. Each resource token begins the game in a slot next to a "1."
- Place Forest Cards: Gather the 12 numbered forest cards. Then, place each card in the location on the town board that matches that card's number. There is not a forest card for space 7.
- Place Town Action Tiles: Place the town action tiles on their designated spaces on the town board.
- Place Longhouse: Place the "Longhouse" building card face-up in location 7 on the town board.
- Set Workers: Gather one sprite die (blue) and one villager die (orange). Roll them, and then place them on the town board near the tower. If a roll produces a blank result, re-roll that die until the result is no longer blank.
- Place Event Card: Place event card 1 into the game tray.
- Create Adventure Deck: Gather adventure cards 01–10 and shuffle them to create the adventure deck. Place the adventure cover card on top of the deck, and then place the deck into the game tray.
- Place Weather Deck: Gather the weather deck, shuffle it and place it into the game tray.
- Create Goal Deck: Gather goal cards 01–07, shuffle them, and then place them into the game tray.
- Supply: Place the coins, goal tokens, dice divider, and unused worker dice in the game tray to create the supply. Place the supply of building cards near the game tray; these are open information and players can look at them at any time.
- Choose Characters: Each player chooses a character. Characters have unique roles and play styles as described below. Players may choose to change characters when they reach the end of a season.
Basic Concepts
This section contains the basic concepts for Mythwind that provide a foundation for players who are learning the game.
Characters
During a game, each player controls a character. Characters are represented by miniatures that are placed on the town board when visiting different locations throughout the valley.
In addition to their miniature, each character has their own unique set of components, which includes a game tray that is used both during the game and for storage between games. Character components and the rules that govern them are detailed in the Character Journals.
Character Descriptions
Here is a brief description of the characters. For a detailed summary of a character, read page 3 of their Character Journal.
- Crafter (complexity: medium): The Crafter's goal is to make items for the townsfolk. As the Crafter perfects their craft, they can bolster their reputation and sell their items for a greater profit.
- Farmer (complexity: medium): The Farmer's goal is to plant and grow crops to sell for a profit. Crops are polyomino pieces that the Farmer must manage within their farming area.
- Merchant (complexity: medium): The Merchant's goal is to buy and sell goods within the marketplace. They must monitor the supply and demand of the various goods while also competing with rival merchants.
- Ranger (complexity: medium): The Ranger's goal is to explore and collect resources for the town. The Ranger spends their time preparing for and embarking on expeditions throughout the valley.
Town Boards
The town board represents a region within Mythwind Valley where a new town is being founded. The town board is where characters construct buildings, manage their resources, and place their miniature when performing actions during their turn.
Locations
The town board consists of 13 numbered Locations that begin the game covered with forest cards and the Longhouse. As the game progresses, players can remove the forest cards to create space for constructing buildings at those locations.
Resources
The town board contains four resource tracks, which indicate the number of each of the four shared resources the characters have at their disposal: Income, Production, Food, and Culture.
Throughout the game, each resource may be gained or lost. When this happens, move a resource's token up or down its resource track as appropriate, so it accurately reflects the number of that resource the town currently has.
Example: The town has 2 food and gains 2 food. The food token is moved up its resource track to indicate that the town now has 4 food.
Workers & Coins
Workers and coins are additional assets available to characters. Unlike resources, these assets are not communal, but belong individually to the characters who have them.
Workers
During the game, workers from all over the valley will come and settle at the town. There are two types of workers: sprites and villagers. Sprites are represented by blue dice and villagers are represented by orange dice. When a worker of either type is gained, it is removed from the supply, rolled, and placed on the tower location on the town board. If a worker is lost, remove it from the tower location and place it back into the supply.
During the game, characters can hire workers to aid them with various tasks. The number of pips showing on a particular die indicates the current value of that worker.
Dice may be rolled and rotated during the game, changing the workers' values. Game effects that cause a player to rotate a die are presented using sprite and villager icons along with an arrow that indicates if they must increase or decrease the number of pips showing on the die.
Example: "Increase Sprite at the Tower" or "Decrease Villager at the Tower."
To increase a die, rotate its face so it shows one more pip. To decrease a die, rotate its face so it shows one less pip. A die cannot be rotated above three or below zero. If a die ever has zero pips in the tower, re-roll it immediately. If you roll a die for an in-game effect, return it afterward to where it came from at the value that was rolled.
Coins
Coins are the general currency throughout Mythwind. Characters can spend and gain coins in unique ways in addition to using them to resolve some of the game's basic actions, which are described later. Players track the coins they have using coin tokens in denominations of 1, 5, and 10. Players can make change with the coins in the supply at any time. Any coin value is shown using the coin icon.
If the coin supply is depleted, players can use any suitable replacement.
Playing the Game
Mythwind is played over multiple Seasons, and each season is made up of multiple game rounds called Days. During a day, the characters resolve the following three phases: Dawn, Daytime, and Dusk. These phases contain a series of steps or actions that typically affect the town and are described in detail throughout this Town Charter.
Additionally, each character has a number of unique steps and actions to resolve that are specific to them and focus on their specific roles and professions. These are described throughout the Character Journals.
Mythwind does not have a defined ending or a winner. Rather, players are encouraged to continue playing and exploring the game at their own pace for as many game sessions as they wish. Even when the story has been fully experienced, the gameplay can carry on. When playing Mythwind, players can end the game at the end of a season, saving their progress for a future game session.
Simultaneous Play
When resolving each of a day's phases, characters can do so simultaneously. Portions of the game may require discussion and cooperation to resolve, while other portions are resolved individually.
During play, ensure that all characters have completed the current phase before proceeding to the next one.
Phase 1: Dawn
Each day begins at dawn. Dawn reveals the weather for Mythwind Valley, and that weather ushers in various bounties and blights that can affect the town for the coming days.
During this phase, characters determine the weather for the day and then resolve any necessary season and weather effects. To resolve this phase, perform the following steps:
- Determine Weather: Draw the top card of the weather deck and place it face-up near the town board. The weather icon along the top of the weather card indicates if the day will be sunny, cloudy, or rainy.
If it is the first day of a season, there will only be one face-up weather card. During subsequent days, place the weather card face-up on top of any other existing weather cards so that the weather icons at the top of the previous days' weather cards are showing.
Example: During the dawn of the third day, there will already be two other weather cards displayed.
- Check Season Effects: Each season tile has three different Weather Patterns. A weather pattern is a vertical grouping of weather icons that is read from top to bottom. Each weather pattern also has a corresponding Season Effect.
During this step, check the three most recent weather icons that are displayed on the face-up weather cards near the town board. If those three icons match (from top to bottom) a weather pattern on the season tile, resolve the season effect that corresponds to that weather pattern.
Example: The icons on the weather cards match the rightmost weather pattern on the season tile, so characters resolve that weather pattern's season effect.
Season effects can influence the town in both positive and negative ways, including gaining (+) or losing (-) the town's resources. Other effect icons presented on the season tiles are described later.
- Resolve Weather Effect: Many weather cards have a weather effect. During this step, if the current weather card has an effect, resolve it. The details for the various effect icons presented on the weather cards are described in the Additional Rules section below.
Phase 2: Daytime
Daytime is when the characters are hard at work. In addition to engaging in their own character-specific professions (as detailed in the Character Journals), daytime also allows the characters to improve the town by constructing and using buildings, discovering new land, hiring sprites and villagers, or embarking on an adventure.
During this phase, each character takes a turn by performing one Town Action followed by their unique Character Actions and any number of available Worker Actions. The town actions are described here, in this Town Charter, and the character and worker actions are described in the Character Journals to be read later.
There are four basic town actions that are found on the town board. The fifth town action is available through certain buildings as the game progresses.
The town actions a player can perform are:
- Adventure
- Improve Town or Discover Land
- Construct or Demolish
- Hire
- Use Building
To perform a town action, a player takes their character's miniature and places it either on any basic action on the town board or a specific building that provides an action—these buildings are described later. A player cannot place their character on a basic action or building that is already occupied by another character. As such, it is important for players to communicate when planning their turns to avoid blocking each other.
When a character performs their town action, they align themselves with either the sprites or villagers for the remainder of that day. Their Alignment may affect what they can do during the character-specific portions of their turn (see Character Journals). The sprite and villager icons presented near each action on the town board indicates which type of worker—sprites or villagers—the character becomes aligned with when they perform that action.
If an action can be aligned to either the sprites or the villagers, the type that the character aligns with is determined when resolving that action. If an in-game effect allows a player to take multiple town actions, the character miniature will move to each action space as it performs them, but the first town action will determine the alignment.
Example: To perform the adventure action, the Crafter places their miniature on the adventure action icon on the town board. The adventure action can align a character to either the sprites or villagers. Which type a character aligns with is determined by how the action is resolved.
If there are no actions available that the player can perform (because they may require coins, resources etc.) the player may choose a location on the town board for its alignment, and forgo the available action. If the alignment depends on the action, the player must choose the alignment.
Adventure Action
The adventure action allows characters to journey through Mythwind Valley in search of resources and other boons that can benefit the town.
To resolve the adventure action, the player takes the first adventure card from the adventure deck that is underneath the cover card. The cover card permanently resides on top of the adventure deck to hide the contents of the double-sided adventure cards.
Then, the player reads the front of the card followed by the back of the card. The front side of many adventure cards provides a choice. After the player makes the choice, they read only the section on the back of the card that corresponds to that choice.
The sections on the back of the card also have either a sprite or villager icon. The icon in the resolved section indicates that character's alignment for the day.
After both sides of the adventure card are read and resolved, it is removed from the game unless the card indicates otherwise. If your adventure card deck is empty, the 'Into the Unknown' cards have been removed and should be returned to the adventure card deck.
Improve Town or Discover Land Action
The improve town or discover land action allows a character to purchase resources for the town or find locations in the town where buildings can be constructed.
To resolve this action, a character must choose to either improve town or discover land. The improve town or discover land town action will align the character with the sprites.
Improve Town
To improve town, a character can spend any amount of their coins to purchase resources for the town. Each character purchases resources at different rates. A character's rate for each resource is displayed on the back side of each character's header (see Character Journals).
Example: Because the farmer specializes in growing food, they could spend 20 coins to purchase two food (5 coins each) and one production (10 coins each).
The coin value that precedes each resource on a character's header is the number of coins that a character must spend to gain one of that resource. When resolving this action, a character can purchase any number and combination of resources by paying the cumulative cost.
After gaining resources, increase the appropriate resource tracks on the town board to reflect the new totals.
Discover Land
To discover land, a character can spend five coins to remove a forest card from any location on the town board. When removing a forest card, the player reveals the effect printed on the back side of the card and resolves it. Forest cards offer a variety of benefits.
Example: After removing this forest card, the player immediately gains any one resource.
After resolving a forest card's effect, the card is returned to the game box and the card's previous location is available for placing a newly constructed building.
Construct or Demolish Action
The construct or demolish action allows characters to begin constructing new buildings for the town or remove existing buildings so they can be replaced.
To resolve this action, a character must choose to either construct or demolish. The construct or demolish town action will align the character with the villagers.
Construct
This action begins the construction process for a building of the character's choice. However, the character must first pay the building's construction cost and the town must meet that building's prerequisite.
The back of each building card shows its construction costs and prerequisite, as well as the building's level. A building's construction cost varies depending on the number of players (there is a cost for 1-2 players and a cost for 3+ players).
To pay a building's construction cost, the character simply spends the number and type of resources shown on the building card, making sure to pay the cost that matches the current number of players in the game. Most prerequisites are the names of other buildings. If the named building exists uncovered on one of the 13 locations on the town board, the prerequisite is met. Some buildings may not have costs, or building specific prerequisites, making them much easier to construct.
If a building's costs have been paid and its prerequisite has been met, the player begins construction by placing the building card on the Construction Queue. The construction queue has four slots that represent the stages of construction. A building card that is in slot 1 of the construction queue is closer to being complete than a building in slot 4. Each building card has a slot icon that indicates where it is placed in the construction queue.
If a building card cannot be placed in the construction queue because there is already another card in the indicated slot, the building card is placed in the next available slot that is lower on the construction queue instead, increasing its build time. If all lower slots already contain a building card, the new card cannot be placed, and the construct action cannot be completed using that building card.
During the game, the construction queue can advance. This increases the progress of a building under construction or completes the construction of a building at the top of the queue. Advancing the construction queue is described in the Additional Rules section below. A building tech tree and appendix can be found in the Building Tree and Building Appendix sections. Further clarifications are in the Clarifications section.
Example: The Bakery begins its construction on slot 2 of the construction queue.
Demolish
This action removes a building from the town board. To resolve it, a player chooses any building card from among the 13 numbered locations on the town board and places it back in the building supply. Demolished buildings can be built again using the construct action.
Hire Action
The hire action allows characters to hire and gain the aid of the workers on the town board.
To resolve this action, a character spends two coins to hire one available worker or five coins to hire two available workers from the tower on the town board.
Example: A character can spend two coins to hire either one villager or one sprite, or spend five coins to hire both a villager and a sprite.
Each character has a dice well on their character tray that is described in the Character Journals. After hiring a worker, the player takes the worker die of their choice from the town board and places it in their dice well, preserving the die's facing.
Then, the character becomes aligned with the type of worker they hired. If a character hired both a villager and a sprite, they must choose to be aligned with either worker.
Use a Building Action
The use a building action allows characters to visit the buildings constructed within the town and gain their benefits.
To resolve this action, a player places their character's miniature on any building on the town board that has a use a building icon and for which they are able to meet the requirements. Then, they resolve that building's effect one time.
Effects on buildings have a requirement followed by an outcome. The requirement typically includes spending resources/coins and decreasing workers. After fulfilling the requirements to use the building, the character resolves the outcome. If an effect has no requirements, the character can resolve the outcome at no cost.
Each building has an alignment indicator. When a character uses a building, they become aligned with the type of worker that is indicated on that building.
A "/" is considered "either or" when meeting a requirement or resolving a building effect. The Longhouse is a unique building and can be used by any number of characters each day.
Example: A character using the Bakery becomes aligned with the sprites. To use the Bakery, a character must decrease a hired sprite and spend four coins to gain one food.
Phase 3: Dusk
Each day ends at dusk. Characters, sprites, and villagers retire for the day and prepare themselves for the labor of tomorrow.
During this phase, each character simultaneously performs the following two steps:
- Return Character: Each player takes their character miniature from the town board and places it on their character tray. These characters are now ready to perform another action during the next day.
- Return Workers: Place all sprite and villager dice used this day as follows: If a die has one or more pips remaining, return it to the character's dice well. If a die has zero pips remaining, roll it and place it on the tower on the town board—similar to setup, continue re-rolling any die that produces a blank result.
In addition to these two steps, characters may have character-specific steps to resolve during this phase (see Character Journals for details).
After all characters have completed the dusk phase, they check the deck of weather cards. If there is at least one card remaining, characters begin a new day starting with dawn. If the weather deck is depleted, the season has ended, and characters resolve the end of season upkeep steps.
End of Season
At the end of the season, the characters check for benefits from buildings in town, determine the outcomes of their goals, and prepare themselves for the coming season.
To resolve the end of the season, players collectively perform the following steps:
- Resolve End-of-Season Actions
- Resolve Goal Cards
- Reset Weather Deck
- Change Season Tile
- Regrow Forest
- Change Characters
After completing all steps, players can begin a new season starting with dawn of its first day, or save the game. To save the game, see "Saving the Game" below.
Resolve End-of-Season Actions
Some buildings have effects that resolve at the end of each season. During this step, characters resolve the end-of-season effects for all constructed buildings in town. Any buildings with these effects use the end-of-season icon. Characters or workers on the town board after the end-of-season actions must be returned to their character tray (or to the tower in the case of a worker with zero pips).
Example: At the end of each season, the Chapel increases the town's culture by one.
Resolve Goal Cards
During this step, characters check for completion of the current season's goal, and then select a new goal for the coming season. Each goal card is double-sided. The front of a card describes a minimum goal for the players to achieve during a season, and the back of a card provides results for either success or failure in achieving that goal.
To resolve this step, the players read the goal on the front of the current season's goal card. Then, they resolve the appropriate effect on the back of the card, as follows:
- Success: If they successfully achieved the goal, they resolve the top portion of the card and remove the card from the game. Achieving a goal provides each player with the reward and typically instructs them to shuffle a specific goal card into the goal deck.
- Failure: If they fail to achieve the goal, they resolve the bottom portion of the card and shuffle it back into the goal deck.
After resolving the goal card, the players shuffle the deck and draw the top two cards. Then, they choose one of those cards to be the goal card for the coming season, leaving it face-up on the top of the deck. The goal card that was not chosen is shuffled back into the goal deck.
Goal Tokens
Players place goal tokens on the goal card to track the progress of their goals. For example, if a goal requires the players to construct three buildings, they place a goal token on the goal card each time they construct a building. If there are three goal tokens on the goal card at the end of the season, the players know they successfully completed the goal.
Reset Weather Deck
To resolve this step, the players gather all the weather cards, shuffle them, and place them in the game tray as a new weather deck to use for the upcoming season.
Change Season Tile
Players remove the current season tile from the town board and replace it with the next tile in season order. Each of the four seasons is identified by its season icon: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.
Regrow Forest
The magic of the Mythwind Valley causes the forests to regrow rapidly. During this step, forest cards are added to the town board.
Players ignore this step at the end of the first season.
To regrow the forest, the players shuffle all forest cards that are not currently in the town board. Then, they draw a number of forest cards according to the number of characters in the game, as follows:
- 1 or 2 Characters: 1 forest card
- 3 or more Characters: 2 forest cards
Place the drawn forest cards on any empty location on the town board, if able. The forest card does not need to match the town location number. Each forest card that cannot be placed in an empty location is placed on top of any building of the players' choice instead. If a building has a forest card on it, it cannot be used until the forest card has been removed.
Players can remove forests, including forests on buildings, by performing the discover land action. When resolving a discover land action, players gain the benefit from any forest cards removed from empty locations as normal.
Change Character (optional)
During this step, each player can choose to play a different character for the next season. Players may even be added or removed, changing the character count. When changing characters, players take all of the villagers and sprite dice from their current character and place them at the tower on the town board. All other character-specific components remain in place, preserving that character's game progress for any player who changes to that character in the future.
Additional Rules
This section contains additional rules required to play the game.
Advancing the Construction Queue
To complete the construction of a building, that building must advance through the construction queue. Effects throughout the game can cause the construction queue to advance, but it occurs most commonly from weather and season effects during dawn.
A game effect that advances the construction queue uses the "Advance Construction Queue" icon.
When the construction queue advances, each building moves upward one slot on the construction queue. If there is a building in slot 1 on the construction queue, that building is complete.
Example: The Cathedral and Courthouse move up one slot on the queue. The General Store is complete and is removed from the queue.
When a building is complete, it is removed from the queue and its Building Benefit (the effect at the bottom of the card) is resolved.
Example: When the General Store is complete, the town gains either a Food or a Culture. In addition, they gain a Sprite to the tower.
After resolving the building benefit, the players flip the building card and place it in any empty location on the town board.
Some buildings have a Replacement Prerequisite. This is similar to a normal prerequisite but includes a replacement icon.
Example: The Quarry is a replacement prerequisite for the Forge, so the Forge can only be built in the Quarry's location.
A building with a replacement prerequisite must replace the prerequisite building on the town board. The replaced building is simply removed from the town board and placed in the supply. The building on the town board will serve as the prerequisite for the building that it replaced, should it be required.
If a completed building cannot be placed on the town board because it cannot meet its replacement prerequisite, the building card will, regardless, be placed in any empty location on the town board. If the town board is full, the building card will remain in the construction queue. This can cause a backup on the construction queue, preventing other buildings on the queue from advancing.
Some cards may display a "move down" icon. If this is the case, move each building downward one slot. Buildings cannot move below slot 4.
If a single building is moving up or down the construction queue, it cannot move into a slot that already has a building in it. Place it in the preceding available slot.
Building Effects
There are two types of building effects:
- Action Effects: These buildings can be used as a town action (see the Use a Building Action section above) and have the action-effect icon on them.
- End of Season: These buildings activate during the end of season upkeep (see Resolve End-of-Season Actions above) and have the end-of-season icon on them.
Some buildings may have multiple types of effects.
Events
Events can affect the town in both positive and negative ways. Players resolve an event when an effect, typically from a weather card, requires them to do so. Game effects that require the players to resolve an event use the event icon.
To resolve an event, players together draw the top event card from the event deck. They read the card aloud and make a choice if prompted. Players must collectively agree on any choices on event cards. After an event card is resolved, it is removed from the game.
If an event card requires the characters to suffer a penalty they cannot satisfy, they must suffer as much of that penalty as possible. For example, if they are forced to decrease food by 2, but they have only 1, they decrease their food by 1.
If there is a benefit that requires a cost, characters must pay the entire cost to receive the benefit. Otherwise, the benefit is forfeit.
Skills
Skills are abilities that characters can purchase. Each character has their own set of unique skills that are linked to their unique character actions, which are described in the Character Journals.
Game effects that allow characters to gain skills use the skill icon.
Example: By using the Longhouse, a character gains either a coin or a role skill.
The most common way for a character to gain a skill is to use the Longhouse, which begins the game on the town board. More details about skills and their cost can be found in the Character Journals.
Building Tree
The building tree shows the prerequisite chain that unlocks each building, organized into four tiers of increasing level (I through IV). Buildings are unlocked by constructing their prerequisite building (shown to their left/above in the tree); buildings marked with a replacement icon must physically replace their prerequisite on the town board rather than simply requiring its presence.
Level I: Longhouse (start of game) unlocks Trading Post, General Store, and Post Office. Trading Post unlocks Bakery. General Store and Bakery unlock Tavern. Post Office unlocks Monument. Lumber Mill unlocks Lumber Yard. Lumber Yard and Quarry unlock Forge (replacement). Chapel is a standalone level I building.
Level II: Trading Post/Bakery area unlocks Delicatessen, which unlocks Abattoir and Com. Garden (Community Garden). Monument unlocks Printing Press. Quarry unlocks Clay Pool. Chapel unlocks Church. Fishing Ground unlocks Port, which unlocks School. Port also connects toward Church.
Level III: Com. Garden and Printing Press lead toward Com. Center (Community Center) and Road Works. Com. Center unlocks City Hall and Sporting Field. Road Works unlocks Courthouse, which unlocks Jail. Church unlocks Cathedral, which unlocks Library. School and Cathedral lead toward Harbor, which unlocks Shipyard. Forge unlocks Guild, which unlocks Foundry, which unlocks Union Office. Union Office unlocks Train Station.
Level IV: City Hall/Sporting Field lead toward Hotel, which unlocks Casino and Saloon. Saloon unlocks Restaurant. Restaurant unlocks Vineyard, which unlocks Winery.
(This is a faithful summary of the building-tree diagram's prerequisite connections; consult the Building Appendix below for each building's exact prerequisite, level, and effect, and the printed diagram for the precise branching layout.)
Building Appendix
Each entry lists the building's name, its prerequisite (in parentheses), its level, and its action/effect text.
| Building (Prerequisite) | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Abattoir (Delicatessen) | II | Decrease 2 hired sprites and spend 2 coins to gain 1 food. At the end of the season, gain 1 food. |
| Bakery (Trading Post) | I | Decrease a hired sprite and spend 4 coins to gain 1 food. |
| Casino (Hotel) | IV | At the end of the season, gain a culture or food for every sprite that is in excess of villagers at the tower. (Example: There are 3 sprites and 1 villager at the tower. Gain 2 food or culture.) |
| Cathedral (Church) | III | At the end of the season, gain 2 culture. |
| Chapel | I | At the end of the season, gain 1 culture. |
| Church (Chapel) | II | Decrease 2 hired sprites and spend 2 coins to gain 1 culture. At the end of the season, gain 1 culture. |
| City Hall (Community Center) | III | Construct a level 1/2 building and gain any 1 resource. |
| Clay Pool (Quarry) | II | At the end of the season, if the season goal was successful, gain 1 production and each character gains 3 coins. |
| Community Center (Church) | II | At the end of the season, each character may perform any 1 of their skills. |
| Community Garden (Monument) | II | At the end of the season, if the season goal was successful, gain 1 food and each character gains 3 coins. |
| Courthouse (City Hall) | III | Spend 10 coins and lose 1 villager or sprite from the tower to gain 1 villager or sprite to the tower. |
| Delicatessen (Bakery) | I | Decrease a hired sprite and spend 4 coins to gain 1 food. At the end of the season, gain 1 food. |
| Fishing Ground | I | Do not perform a character action this game day. You may lose 1 income or production to gain 1 culture or food. |
| Forge (Quarry) | II | Decrease 2 hired villagers and spend 2 coins to gain 1 production. At the end of the season, gain 1 production. |
| Foundry (Forge) | III | Decrease a hired villager and spend 5 coins to gain 2 production. |
| General Store (Longhouse) | I | Spend 3 coins in order to perform 1 additional character action this game day. |
| Guild (Community Center) | II | Lose 1 production or income to hire 2 villagers. |
| Harbor (Port) | III | Decrease a hired villager and spend 5 coins to gain 2 income. At the end of the season, if the seasonal goal was successful, gain 1 income and each character gains 3 coins. |
| Hotel (Inn) | II | Lose 1 culture or food to hire 2 sprites. |
| Inn (Tavern) | II | Spend 2 coins to increase all villagers or sprites at the tower. |
| Jail (Courthouse) | IV | At the end of the season, you may demolish a building to ignore a season goal outcome. |
| Library (School) | II | At the end of the season, if the season goal was successful, gain 1 culture and each character gains 3 coins. |
| Longhouse | — | Gain 1 coin or gain 1 skill. This building can be used by any number of characters each day. |
| Lumber Mill (Lumber Yard) | I | Decrease a hired villager and spend 4 coins to gain 1 production. At the end of the season, gain 1 income. |
| Lumber Yard (Trading Post) | I | Decrease a hired worker and spend 4 coins to gain 1 production. |
| Monument (General Store) | I | Decrease a hired sprite and spend 4 coins to gain 1 culture. |
| Port (Fishing Ground) | II | At the end of the season, if the season goal was successful, gain 1 income and each character gains 3 coins. |
| Post Office (General Store) | I | At the end of the season, draw an additional goal card before choosing the season goal. |
| Printing Press (Post Office) | II | Decrease 2 hired villagers and spend 2 coins to gain 1 income. At the end of the season, draw an additional goal card before choosing the season goal. |
| Quarry (Lumber Yard) | I | At the end of the season, gain 1 production. |
| Restaurant (Saloon) | III | Decrease a hired sprite and spend 5 coins to gain 2 food. At the end of season, gain 2 income. |
| Road Works (City Hall) | III | At the end of the season, gain 2 production. |
| Saloon (Inn) | III | Decrease a hired sprite and spend 5 coins to gain 2 food. |
| School (Chapel) | II | At the end of the season, each character can perform an additional character action. |
| Shipyard (Harbor) | IV | At the end of the season, gain a production or income for every villager that is in excess of sprites at the tower. (Example: There are 3 villagers and 1 sprite at the tower. Gain 2 production or income.) |
| Sporting Field (Community Center) | III | Remove a building to add a forest back to that space and gain any 2 resources. |
| Tavern (General Store) | I | Decrease a hired worker and spend 4 coins to gain 1 income. |
| Trading Post (Longhouse) | I | Spend 2 coins and a town resource to gain any one town resource. |
| Train Station (Foundry) | IV | Decrease a hired sprite to resolve an event card. |
| Union Office (Guild) | IV | Decrease a hired villager to resolve an event card. |
| Vineyard (Community Garden) | III | Decrease a hired sprite and spend 5 coins to gain 2 culture. At the end of the season, if the season goal was successful, gain 1 food and each character gains 3 coins. |
| Winery (Vineyard) | III | Decrease a hired sprite and spend 5 coins to gain 2 culture. At the end of the season, gain 2 food. |
Saving the Game
Players can save their game at the end of each season. To save a game, take all worker dice from the tower on the town board and place them in the supply tray, preserving each die's value. Use the dice divider to indicate the unlocked dice from the tower from all other dice in the supply.
Example: When storing the game, use the divider to separate the dice in the supply from the dice that are in play.
Place the town boards on top of the game tray, place the lid over it, and place it into the game box. Then, stack the character trays on top of it. Follow the Saving the Game steps in the Character Journals to save each character.
Example: Stack the trays and town sections as pictured before placing them in the game box.
Continuing the Game
To continue a game of Mythwind, perform the steps presented in this section.
- Create Town Board: Create the town board by placing the three town sections in the center of the table within reach of all players. All buildings and resources will have been saved from the previous game of Mythwind.
- Take all of the unlocked dice from the game tray which are on the unlocked side of the dice divider and place them on the tower on the town board.
- Choose Characters: Each player can choose a previously used character, or start a new character. Follow the steps for setup and continuing in the Character Journals.
Clarifications
This section contains clarifications for questions that may arise during play. They are organized alphabetically by topic.
Actions
- Characters can choose a town action solely for the alignment it grants, and forgo performing the action itself.
- If a character can perform multiple town actions during the same day, they move their miniature following normal rules for each action. However, the first action the character performs determines their alignment.
Buildings
- A building can be placed on the construction queue even if there is not an empty location on the game board. If there are no available spaces on the construction queue, then it can not be placed, even if rewarded by an event or adventure card.
- If a building is in the construction queue and its prerequisite building is returned to the supply from the town board, the building remains in the queue and can be placed on the town board when construction is completed. This applies even when there is a replacement prerequisite. You can not construct a building if the prerequisite has been removed or is covered.
- If a building is rewarded from a specific card and no prerequisite is mentioned in the reward, gain the rewarded building by placing it in an empty location on the town board. If the card mentions the prerequisite and that prerequisite has not been built, do not gain the rewarded building.
- If a building has to resolve an end of season action that requires the season goal to be successful, wait until you have completed step 2 of the end of season steps to resolve this building's action.
- Do not gain building benefits if the building had been previously constructed.
- An upgraded building is treated as all the downgraded versions of the building for the purposes of prerequisites. For example, the Lumber Mill is treated as the Lumber Yard for the purposes of constructing the Quarry.
- If a building that was discovered through an adventure card or event needs to be built or rebuilt, it can be added to the construction queue for free using the construct town action. Place it in Slot 1 if no slot is indicated.
- If a building is offered to the town as a reward and there are no empty locations on the town board, the building can be placed on the lowest available slot of the construction queue.
Character Actions
- There are certain cards or events that will allow the player to take an extra set of character actions or will cause the player to lose their character actions for the day. When that happens, refer to the Character Journal to see what is considered the character actions by the character-action icon.
Goal Cards
- Discover Land (06): Each player gains a level 1 skill at no cost.
- At Rest (25): If there were less than four forest cards at the start of the season required to complete this goal, treat it as a success at the end of the season.
- Awards Ceremony (27): To succeed, each resource must be a different value.
Resources, Coins & Dice
- Resources cannot go above 10 or below 0. Ignore any gains or losses that would adjust a resource past one of these thresholds.
- Players cannot trade coins or workers with other players.
- If a die ever has zero pips in the tower, re-roll it immediately. If you roll a die for an in-game effect, return it afterward to where it came from at the value that was rolled.
- If an effect asks players to check for the highest or lowest resources and there is a tie, the tied resources are treated as highest or lowest, as appropriate.
Secret Envelopes
- Players will be directed to open secret envelopes throughout the game. Do not open these envelopes until instructed. A list of the special mechanics can be found in the "Spoilers!" section below.
Skills
- If a character purchases more skills than they have room for on their character tray, they must remove one from their tray. They may rearrange their skills before deciding which will be removed to the character's supply. The removed skill may be purchased again in the future.
Workers
- If a player is instructed to gain a worker to the tower and there is no worker of that type in the supply, instead gain any one resource.
- If a player is instructed to lose a worker and there are no workers of that type at the tower location, a hired worker from any player must be placed back into the supply. If there are no hired workers of that type, ignore the instruction.
- Workers will be commonly rewarded through a building benefit of a completed building. However, they can also be added through other means such as event or adventure cards.
- If a player must determine an outcome based on the workers at the tower (like an alignment based on whether there are more villagers or sprites), but there are no workers at the tower, the player may choose their outcome.
- If a player is required to roll a die at the tower or from the supply but all dice are on player boards, the action can not be taken. If this prevents an event or adventure card from being resolved, shuffle them back into their respective decks and draw a new card.
Spoilers!
The following section reveals mechanics unlocked later in the campaign via secret envelopes and events. Consult only if you want to know these details in advance.
Tower Upgrades
- Tower Upgrade #1: Gain a coin for each production and income level used to construct a building.
- Tower Upgrade #2: Gain a coin for each culture and food level used to construct a building.
- Tower Upgrade #3: When you perform an improve town action, you may spend a coin to increase all sprites at the tower.
- Tower Upgrade #4: When you perform an improve town action, you may spend a coin to increase all villagers at the tower.
- Tower Upgrade #5: When you perform a hire action, you may decrease a hired villager to also perform an adventure action.
- Tower Upgrade #6: When you perform a hire action, you may decrease a hired sprite to also perform an adventure action.
- Tower Upgrade #7: When you perform an adventure action, you may decrease a hired villager to advance a villager-aligned building in the construction queue.
- Tower Upgrade #8: When you perform an adventure action, you may decrease a hired sprite to advance a sprite-aligned building in the construction queue.
Sprite Actions
Sprites will become an unlocked action space through the events of the game. A character can decrease a hired sprite to go to the sprite action space if it is empty during the town action step. Then, they may perform the ability offered by the sprite who is there at the time. The hired sprite will remain there until Dusk. A sprite in the sprite action space will follow the Return Worker steps in Dusk.
- Fyxx (Keeper): Spend one coin to hire a villager.
- Bouque (Wood Golem): Spend one coin to hire a sprite.
- Chunk (Rock Golem): Perform the Construct a building action. Then gain a town resource of your choice.
- Messler (Swamp): Perform an Improve Town action. Then you may resolve a skill on your character tray.
- Elida (Faerie): Spend two coins to use a building with an action effect.
- Ponk (Creator): Perform an adventure town action. You may then immediately perform an additional character action.
Rotate Sprite
Inside of the first secret envelope there is a weather card which players will be instructed to insert into the weather deck. This card has a unique weather effect called "Rotate Sprite."
To perform the rotate sprite weather effect, remove the sprite token which is currently in the sprite action location on the town board, then insert the next token in sequence (if sprite token #1 was removed, insert sprite token #2). If there is no number above the current sprite token, insert sprite token #1.
Event Card Tree
The Event Card Tree is a branching diagram (printed across two pages of the Town Charter) that shows the unlock order of the 154 numbered event cards, along with branch points that lead into specific Adventure Card sets (cards 11-20, 21-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-79) and four Secret Envelopes, opened as the branching path reaches them. Because it is a purely graphical flowchart of card-number connections rather than rules text, consult the printed diagram directly when tracking which event card unlocks next; the numbering and branch structure is not reproduced here.
Achievements
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Growing City | Have 8 Villagers in the town. |
| Magical Creatures | Have 8 Sprites in the town. |
| Constructor | Construct a building in every town location. |
| Business Tycoon | Have 10 Production at the end of the season. |
| New Seasons | Have 10 Culture at the end of the season. |
| Plentiful | Have 10 Food at the end of the season. |
| Abundance | Have 10 Income at the end of the season. |
| Blue Sky | Trigger 3 season events in a single season. |
| Walking Stick | Go on 8 adventures in 1 season. |
| Storyteller | Read event card 124. |
| Skilled | Fill in the skill locations for all 4 characters. |
| Money Lender | Earn 100 or more coins in a season. |
| Builder | Construct 4 buildings in one season. |
| Friend of the Valley | Use the Sprite action 10 times in one season. |
| Enthusiastic Workers | All 16 workers at the tower must have a value of 3. |
The rulebook provides a blank "Date" column next to each achievement for players to record when they earned it.
Credits
Game Designers: Brendan McCaskell, Nathan Lige, Babis Giannios
Graphic Designers: Marv Peters, Dan Hughes, Taryn Emerick, Lauren Marshall
Game Development: Jonathan Thwaites
Writer: Steve Daldry
Technical Editor: Adam Baker
Editor/Writer: Adam J Nicolai
Artist: Dan Wang Creative Studios, Amanda Kadatz
Tray Design: Bryce Cooke
Sculptor: Nicholas Hein
Playtest Coordinator: Andrew Jeneba
Creative Catalyst: Lance Priebe
Finance: Aimee Ward
Localization Agent: Michael Raftopoulos
Playtesters: Liz Thompson, Mark Yeldham, Linus Cadenius, Jacob Knol, Katharina Lotz, Ricardo Nußbaum, Anna Falk, and many, many others who participated in our playtests!
Without the support of our Kickstarter backers, none of this would be possible. Thank you!
2025 OOMM Games ltd. dba. Open Owl Studios. All rights reserved.
Icon Reference
The rulebook uses pictogram icons throughout, referenced here in words for clarity:
The Town: Production, Income, Culture, Food, Any Resource, Sprite Die at Tower, Villager Die at Tower, Worker Die at Tower, Hired Sprite Die, Hired Villager Die, Hired Worker Die, Improve Town/Discover Land, Adventure, Construct, Use Building, Forest, Goal, End of Season, Construction Queue, Advance the Construction Queue, Build Queue Positions, Hire Worker Die, Hire Villager Die, Hire Sprite Die.
General: Town Charter, Character Journal, Event Card, Dawn, Day, Dusk, Sunny, Rainy, Cloudy, Weather Card, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Character, Character Action, Skill Action, Rotate Sprite, Coins, Increase, Decrease, Gain, Lose, All, Success, Failure, Replace.
This rulebook (the Town Charter) is version 1.1 of the core Mythwind rules. Each character's unique rules — Crafter, Farmer, Merchant, Innkeeper, and Ranger — are printed in separate Character Journal booklets that are not reproduced in this transcription.