Paddy Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• How to Play
• Sowing Phase
• Growing Phase
  • 2.1 Place Paddy
  • 2.2 Place Animals
  • 2.3 Place Waterfall
  • 2.4 Draw Cards
• Harvesting Phase
  • 3.1 Terrace Profile
  • 3.2 Terrace Irrigation
  • 3.3 Highest Terrace
• End of Game
• Event Cards
• Gameplay Reminder
  • Setup
  • Game Overview
  • Sowing Phase: Steps in Order
  • Growing Phase: Steps in Order
  • Harvesting Phase

Components

• 1 main board and 1 scoring board.
• 45 cards: 13 paddy cards, 12 day and night cards, 16 event cards and 4 help cards.
• 8 waterfall tokens.
• 56 paddy field tiles of 3 types: 28 of 1 plot, 16 of 3 plots and 12 of 4 plots.
• 8 score tokens, 2 per player.
• 1 cycle token.
• 12 animal pawns, 3 per player.

Setup

1. Place the boards in the center of the table.
2. Place the cycle token on the first cycle box on the scoring board.
3. Lay the 56 paddy field tiles near the boards.
4. Each player chooses a color and takes their 2 scoring tokens, 3 animal pawns and help card. Then each player takes 2 waterfall tokens. All this makes up their reserve supply.
5. Place the scoring tokens on the 0 square of the scoring board.
6. Separately shuffle the paddy cards and the day and night cards, forming a face down deck for each type of card.
7. In a game with 2 players, return to the box the event cards marked with this icon (a red cross). Then shuffle the rest into a face down deck. Each player takes 4 cards from this deck and chooses which 2 different cards to keep. The cards not chosen, and those left in the deck (if any), are returned face down to the box and will not be used in this game.

During the game, keep your cards (except the help card) either in your hands or face down in front of you. Each player can check their own cards at any time, but they cannot see those of the other players.

How to Play

The game is played over 4 cycles. Each cycle consists of 3 phases:

1. Sowing phase: Draw cards and determine the turn order.
2. Growing phase: Take turns to play cards, creating and populating terraces of rice paddies on the board.
3. Harvesting phase: Calculate the points obtained in this cycle.

At the end of the harvesting phase of the fourth cycle, whoever has the most points wins the game.

Sowing Phase

Carry out these steps in order:

1. Move the cycle token one space forward (ignore this step in the first cycle).
2. Separately shuffle all the paddy (including the one discarded face down!) and day and night cards, forming a deck for each type of card (ignore this step in the first cycle).
3. Discard the top card of the paddy deck face down, without anyone seeing it.
4. Deal 2 paddy cards and 2 day and night cards to each player.
5. Determine the first player for this cycle and move on to the growing phase:
   • If it is the first cycle, the player who has eaten rice most recently starts.
   • In other cycles, the player with the most points starts. If there is a tie, the player seated after the previous first player starts.

Growing Phase

In this phase you take turns to cultivate the terraces of paddy fields and populate them with your animals. Starting with the first player, take turns. On each turn, the player goes through the following steps:

2.1 Place Paddy

In this step you add a paddy tile, creating terraces. A terrace is made up of all the plots on the same level that are joined at their sides. Plots that are only joined at their corners are different terraces.

(Diagram: examples of a 4-plot terrace and a 2-plot terrace, with the plots of each terrace labelled by level, 1st to 4th.)

You must play 1 paddy card and 1 day and night card from your hand. The paddy card indicates which type of tile you will place, and the day and night card indicates which half of the board you will place it in.

Following the instructions on the chosen cards, take and place a paddy tile on the board.

You must follow these rules:

• The plots on the placed tile must be aligned with the grid on the board.
• At least one of the plots on the placed tile must be in the half of the board corresponding to the chosen day and night card.
• None of the plots on the placed tile can be outside the board.
• You can place the tile on the board or on top of other tiles. If you place it on top of other tiles, it must be completely flat, there can be no gaps under the placed tile.
• You cannot place the tile on top of plots occupied by other players' animals.
• You can place the tile on top of plots occupied by your animals. You can place these animals on the new tile or return them to your reserve.
• You cannot place the tile on a plot with a waterfall, nor adjacent and level to a plot edge that has a waterfall.
• You cannot place the tile in such a way that 2 or more terraces containing a waterfall are joined together in the same terrace.

In the rare case that your cards in hand do not allow you to place any tiles according to these rules, take your turn as normal except that instead of placing the tile corresponding to the chosen paddy card, you place a 1-plot tile.

2.2 Place Animals

In this step you can add animal pawns to the tile you have just placed. This will allow your animals to feed, which will probably earn you points at the end of the cycle.

You can place one or more of your animal pawns, distributed as you wish among the plots on the tile you have just placed. You must follow these rules:

• You must place the animals entirely within the plots, never on their sides.
• The animals can come from your reserve, or you can move them from other plots.
• When placing animals from your reserve or moving them from other plots, the total number of animals left on each terrace cannot coincide with the highest number of animals that other players have on those same terraces.

(Diagram: 1 animal on a terrace where another player has 2 is allowed; 2 animals on a terrace where another player has 2 is not.)

At any time you can return to your reserve any of your animal pawns that you have on terraces (you must respect the previous rule of animals on terraces).

2.3 Place Waterfall

In this step you can add a waterfall token to a terrace. Water is the source of life, and vital for rice, it increases the value of the terrace that receives its flow.

You can place one of your waterfall tokens on the edge of any one plot of your choice. You must follow these rules:

• The chosen edge cannot have an adjacent plot at the same level.
• The chosen plot must be empty (it cannot contain neither a waterfall nor animals) and be at level 4 or higher.
• The terrace where you place the waterfall cannot already contain a waterfall.

2.4 Draw Cards

Take 1 card from the paddy deck and 1 from the day and night deck, and pass the turn to the next player. If no one has any paddy cards left in their hand, move on to the harvesting phase.

Harvesting Phase

In this phase you will receive points according to how well fed and positioned your animals are: the higher, bigger and better irrigated the terraces where your animals are, the more points you will get. Each terrace where you have majority (more animals than each other player) can earn you points in up to 3 different categories: for profile, for irrigation and for being the highest. Each time you score, advance your score token accordingly.

3.1 Terrace Profile

On each terrace where you have the majority, multiply the number of visible plots by their height level, and receive that number of points.

(Examples: 4 plots at level 1 = 4 points; 4 plots at level 2 = 8 points; 2 plots at level 1 = 2 points.)

3.2 Terrace Irrigation

On each terrace where you have the majority and which does not contain a waterfall, multiply the number of waterfalls flowing towards it by 10, and receive that number of points.

(Example: a terrace receiving 2 waterfalls scores 20 points.)

Any terrace with one or more waterfalls flowing onto it, and which itself contains a waterfall, does not score in this category. The points for all these waterfalls are calculated for the lowest terrace onto which these waterfalls flow.

(Example: the terrace that contains a waterfall does not score the waterfalls it receives, because it contains a waterfall. The terrace below it receives 3 waterfalls, which is worth 30 points.)

3.3 Highest Terrace

If you have the majority on a terrace that is at the highest level, you receive 5 points. In the same harvesting phase, several players can score the highest terrace; however, the same player cannot score the highest terrace more than once in the same harvesting phase.

Once the points for the 3 categories have been received, the cycle ends. If you have finished cycle 4, go to the end of the game. Otherwise start a new cycle for its sowing phase.

Example of the harvest phase (values shown in the illustration): Highest terrace = 5; 3 plots at level 5 = 15; +10 (irrigation); 1 plot at level 5 = 5; 11 plots at level 2 = 22; receives 2 waterfalls = 20; 3 plots at level 1 = 3. The red monkey does NOT score because it is not in the majority.

End of Game

Whoever has the most points wins. In case of a tie, the winner is the one with the majority of animals in the higher terrace. If the tie persists, the tied players share the victory.

Event Cards

The event cards allow for specific exceptions to the rules. Each event card can only be used once in the whole game. When used, it is returned to the box.

Each event card contains the icon of the moment of the cycle in which it can be played, and each player can only use one event card per cycle.

• A. Meridian eclipse: You can play this card in the Place Paddy step. Place the tile in the half of the board of your choice (ignore the chosen day and night card).
• B. Poaching: You can play this card in the Place Paddy step. Place the tile on top of plots with animal(s) from other player(s). Then return those animal(s) to the corresponding reserve(s).
• C. Devastating erosion: You can play this card in the Place Paddy step. Before placing your tile, remove a tile that does not have any of its plots covered by another tile. Then return any animals on it to the appropriate reserve(s), and any waterfalls on it to the box.
• D. Summer migration: You can play this card in the Place Animals step. You can place animals on any tile, instead of on the one you just placed.
• E. Monsoon rains: You can play this card in the Place Waterfall step. You can place the waterfall on a plot of any height level (it does not have to be on level 4 or higher).
• F. Restorative fallow: You can play this card on your penultimate turn of the growing phase. Regardless of the turn order, you will play the last turn of this growing phase.
• G. Dew on the peaks: You can play this card at the beginning of the harvesting phase. Choose a terrace. This cycle, when scoring terrace profile, add 1 to its height level.

Gameplay Reminder

Setup

• Form the decks for each type of card.
• Each player takes their 3 animals, 2 waterfalls, 2 event cards and 1 help card.
• Place the tokens in the corresponding boxes on the boards.

Game Overview

The game lasts 4 cycles, with 3 phases in each cycle: sowing phase, growing phase and harvesting phase.

At the end of the 4th cycle, the winner is whoever has the most points. You can play the event cards at the time indicated on them, but only 1 per cycle.

Sowing Phase: Steps in Order

1. Advance the cycle token.
2. Draw 2 paddy cards and 2 day and night cards.
3. Determine who starts.

Growing Phase: Steps in Order

Take turns until no one has any paddy cards left. On each turn, the player carries out these steps in order:

1. Place paddy, using 1 paddy card and 1 day and night card.
2. Optional: Place animals on the tile placed.
3. Optional: Place waterfall on any eligible tile.
4. Draw cards: 1 paddy and 1 day and night.

Harvesting Phase

Each terrace where you have the majority of animals can earn you points in up to 3 different categories:

• Terrace profile: number of visible plots on the terrace x its height level.
• Terrace irrigation: number of waterfalls flowing towards the terrace x 10.
• Highest terrace: +5.