Palago Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• What Games Can Be Played?
• How to Become a Pala-master
  • The Principle of Color Affinity
  • Limits of Palagonia
• Palalaboratory (1 player)
  • How a Form Comes From an Idea
  • How to Create Transformations
• Palago (2 players)
  • Start of the Game
  • Basic Rules
  • Winning
  • Holes
  • Tactics and Strategy
• Palagonia
  • Object of the Game
  • Start of the Game
  • Continuation of the Game
  • Basic Rules
  • Scoring
    • Shells
    • Limbs
  • Cooperation in Palagonia
  • End of the Game
  • Tips
  • Palagonia as a Solitaire Game
• What Next?

What Games Can Be Played?

The game Palalaboratory (Palaborator) for one experimenter offers a set of pictures of funny Pala-creatures, from the simplest to the highest. Try to create a Pala-creature having only its portrait and the tiles, or perform transmutations: obtain one Pala-creature from another. Or dare to sculpt your own unknown Pala-oddity.

In the logic game for two, Palago, the first legitimately born Pala-creature earns victory for its creator. The rules are fairly simple, but one can improve for a lifetime. The delicate balance between attack and defense sometimes resembles the ancient game of Go.

Populating the world of Palagonia with a cheerful company of highly organized Pala-oddities will be very difficult without cooperation with competitors. Palagonia, a game for 3 to 5 Pala-masters, requires the ability to build a strategy, think creatively and work in a team.

How to Become a Pala-master

You have 48 identical hexagonal tiles. Each of them has two different colors and two types of lines: "straight" and "arc". Having learned to join these opposing principles, you can begin to grow Pala-creatures.

The Principle of Color Affinity

Joining happens by the principle of color affinity, i.e. at the junctions of tiles all colors match.

Any living organism is a closed system. The act of birth of a Pala-creature is considered complete when the outer shell has been formed. A creature of a certain color must have a closed outer contour, completely surrounded by an environment of another color.

Pala-creatures may have any number of inner figures (these may be facial features, details of clothing, a swallowed breakfast: you decide...).

Limits of Palagonia

From one game set no more than a quadrillion Pala-creatures can be born, and no more than five Pala-masters can play Palagonia. An additional set can expand your possibilities.

Palalaboratory (1 player)

You have portraits of twelve funny creatures of varying difficulty (a set of cards). Assemble one Pala-creature after another, joining tiles according to the principle of color affinity (see the section "The Principle of Color Affinity").

Two types of tasks are offered:

• the "red task": building Pala-creatures from tiles,
• the "green task": transforming one Pala-creature into another.

How a Form Comes From an Idea

The simplest Pala-creature is made of 5 tiles. Take the portrait of the Pala-virus in all its glory (card no. 1). The red circle shows the number of tiles required.

Imagine the silhouette of the Pala-virus in your mind. Join the tiles so that the desired silhouette results. Choose the color of the Pala-creature as you see fit. Try not to be distracted by the model's grin and the "extra" details on the tiles.

This is the algorithm for solving "red tasks". You may take any card for building a Pala-creature. Keep in mind that the difficulty of the task increases as the card number increases. The number in the red circle shows how many tiles you will need for the act of Pala-creation.

How to Create Transformations

The goal of the "green tasks" is to obtain the intended Pala-creature by transforming another Pala-creature. You will need to perform some manipulations:

• Lay out the cards in order.
• Create Pala-creature no. 1.
• To create Pala-creature no. 2 from the previous one, you must displace 2 tiles (rotate them or move them to another place) and add 1 tile (to the edge of the figure on the required side). The number in the green circle shows how many tiles must be displaced.
• A tile must be added if the new creature is made of more tiles than the original one. The numbers in the red circles will tell you.
• Continue creating transformations in sequence, starting with the second Pala-creature and ending with the twelfth.

The indicated number of moved tiles is the "shortest path" from one figure to another. You should strive for this result, but longer chains of mutations are also possible. To make it easier to imagine the result of rotating a tile, you can hold another tile on top of it and try different variants, then remove it.

Be careful: do not get too carried away with transmutations. If you have nevertheless gone too far in the chain of transformations, do not despair. Take a deep breath and return to the original Pala-creature, checking against its portrait on the card.

For those who decide to achieve perfection in Palachemistry, 12 more "green tasks" are offered. The table shows the number of tiles to move (↔) and the number of new tiles to add (Δ).

Transformation	↔	Δ
Pala-worm → Pala-newt	3	2
Pala-snail → Pala-rat	2	3
Pala-rat → Pala-goat	2	3
Pala-newt → Pala-star	1	3
Pala-whale → Pala-cobra	3	3
Pala-rat → Pala-cyclist	4	3
Pala-star → Pala-cyclist	7	2
Pala-star → Pala-sloth	4	2
Pala-rat → Pala-sloth

All solutions to the tasks are presented on the website www.palago.ru. There you will also find several other mosaics, including the Pala-gorilla and the little Pala-dragon, each of which consists of all 48 tiles.

Palago (2 players)

Palago is a logic game for two Pala-masters. The first to succeed in bringing forth a Pala-creature wins.

Start of the Game

• Each player chooses a color. As a reminder, place a tile "back side" up: its color may become the color of the "back" of the newborn Pala-lucky one.
• Which "color" moves first can be determined by the back color of a randomly drawn tile.
• The first player places two tiles on the table and joins them by the principle of color affinity (see "The Principle of Color Affinity").
• The players continue to play in turn, placing two tiles per turn, observing the basic rules below.

Basic Rules

1. The tiles placed in one turn must touch each other.
2. At least one of these two tiles must touch the mass of previously placed tiles.
3. The colors at the junctions of tiles must match.

Winning

The player who first closes a figure, a Pala-creature, wins. A circle is not an independent figure.

Both the outer and the inner shells of the Pala-creature must be closed.

It is permitted to place one tile in a turn if this leads to a win for one of the players.

A player loses if, in closing their own figure, they simultaneously complete the opponent's figure.

Palago can be played with any number of tiles. The game is considered a draw if the tiles run out before either player has brought forth a Pala-creature; the probability of such an outcome with a set of 48 tiles is very small.

Holes

In the process of Pala-creation, holes may appear in the Pala-matter. Small holes the size of one tile can be filled only if a figure is closed by doing so, i.e. a Pala-creature is born. A skillfully used hole can bring victory. In large holes, tiles may be placed without restriction.

Tactics and Strategy

Players may try out their tiles, choosing their best placement, next to the Pala-matter (the played game mass) without touching it.

There are six possible opening moves, but only one of them is the most successful. Other variants can lead to a quick loss.

The picture on the right shows a direct attack, where Blue can win with the next move. The player with Yellow must block such moves immediately.

Creating "forks" (double threats) is one of the main tactical techniques.

In the picture on the left, in one move the player with Blue cannot block both attacks at once; Blue's defeat is inevitable.

Double or triple rows of identically oriented tiles at the edge of the Pala-matter can be dangerous. The picture below shows how to turn a triple row into a "fork" and ensure victory for Blue.

In general, in Palago it is important to find a delicate balance between attack and defense. At the beginning of the game, defense rather than attack may turn out to be strategically more advantageous. Attacks can worsen the position as a whole, while defense most often strengthens it. Then the right moment may come to switch to attack.

Palagonia

In Palagonia the birth of a Pala-creature is not a victorious finish, but the beginning of a fascinating process of creating a Pala-community. The more full-fledged Pala-creatures you have to your credit, and the more highly organized they are, the closer you are to victory.

Palagonia is a creative game in which players can build strategy together. The minimum number of players is 3. All 48 tiles, 2 dice and a bag are used in the game. You will also need pen and paper to record points and, if desired, the names of the Pala-creatures. If you want more than five people to take part in the game, it is recommended to use another set.

Object of the Game

Players score points by creating closed figures, Pala-creatures. The value of a Pala-creature depends on its size and shape. Joining forces with a neighboring Pala-creator leads to the birth of a larger and more complex figure, and the points go equally to both players. There is almost no limit to the variety of creatures created.

Start of the Game

All tiles are put into the bag. Each player rolls one die. The player who rolled the highest number (2, 3, 4 or 5) starts. That player draws as many tiles as the number rolled and places them on the playing surface in one turn. The tiles may be joined in any way; the main thing is that the colors at the junction match (by the "principle of color affinity", see "The Principle of Color Affinity"). If nobody rolled a number on the die, everyone rolls again. After the first player, all following players take their turns clockwise.

Continuation of the Game

From this point each turn consists of the following steps:

1. roll two dice,
2. choose one of the dice,
3. perform the action indicated on it.

Three types of actions on the dice:

• removal: remove an outer tile (one with at least one side open)
• rotation: rotate an inner tile (one surrounded by tiles on all sides)
• number: place a certain number of tiles

(The rulebook illustrates an outer tile and an inner tile.)

Basic Rules

1. All tiles placed in one turn must touch each other. This rule is lifted if ALL these tiles together close a figure.
2. The birth of a creature is registered if ALL the tiles placed in the turn make up its body. A figure that arises from the merging of two other Pala-creatures by means of rotation alone earns no points.
3. Rolling a double (the same number or symbol on both dice) gives the right to an extra turn.
4. There is no choice of action if it cannot be performed on one of the dice. If both actions are impossible, the player must instead remove any one of the outer tiles.

Scoring

"You must share!" is the key principle of Palagonia. Points for a Pala-creature are recorded both for the current player and for the player before them. The exception is closing a figure during the extra turn after rolling a double.

The value of a Pala-creature is determined by the sum of shells and limbs, each of which gives one point. Figures worth 1-2 points, including the Pala-virus (see the Palalaboratory section), do not count.

Shells

Every creature has an outer shell separating it from the outer world; some Pala-creatures have insides. All these contours count, including the insides of insides.

Limbs

For movement and orientation in outer space, Pala-creatures extend tentacles. An individual limb may be of any length and may bend. Its main feature: a "straight" and three connected "arcs" complete the appendage (see picture).

Cooperation in Palagonia

You will often have a dilemma: close a smaller figure during your turn, or build up a larger unfinished Pala-creature so that the next Pala-creator can bring it to birth. In this there is a risk that the next partner will choose a different tactic. An obvious gain in points may collide with the unpredictability of interaction between players.

Suppose that in situation A you roll 2 and 3 on the dice.

You could play with two tiles to close a figure worth 3 points, as shown in picture B. Another possibility is to play with three tiles, as in picture C, in order to help the next player (and yourself) get 5 points or more.

Note that the two tiles in picture B need not touch each other (they close the creature), whereas in picture C all three tiles must be connected.

Suppose that in situation A you have a removal die and a rotation die. In this case rotation is impossible, since there is not a single inner tile. Therefore removing a tile is the only possible action, and you open the figure in picture B, helping the next player give birth to a more complex Pala-creature.

Counting points is not difficult at all:

• 1 point for your figure (outer contour)
• 1 point for each inside (inner contour)
• 1 point for each outer limb (inner limbs do not count).

The yellow Pala-creature pictured has: 1 outer shell + 4 inner shells + 2 limbs = 7 points. All of the insides of this Pala-camel resting after dinner add to its value, including the egg in its stomach.

End of the Game

The game ends when a number is rolled on a die equal to the number of tiles remaining in the bag. If the number on the die is greater than this quantity, the action is considered impossible.

• If only 1 action is possible, you have no choice. For example, if only 4 tiles remain and the dice show 3 and 5, then placing 3 tiles is the only possible move.
• If both actions are possible, and one of the numbers equals the number of remaining tiles, it is up to you to decide whether to continue or end the game.
• If both actions are impossible (too few tiles in the bag), one outer tile of the Pala-matter is removed and the game continues.

When no tiles remain in the bag, the game ends and the player with the greatest total number of points wins.

Tips

• At the beginning of the game, rotation and removal rarely need to be used. But these actions at once become very useful when one or several Pala-creatures appear on the playing field.
• Removal is often the most profitable move, since you can open a closed figure and help the next player get more points.
• With rotation you can merge two figures located next to each other, potentially raising the value of subsequent moves.
• Rotation can also be used (though rarely) to open a figure, thereby helping a neighbor create a large creature.
• A player who is lucky with a double should try to create, in two turns, as large a creature as possible, bearing in mind that they are not obliged to share the points for the Pala-creature with anyone.
• The color of the first closed figure often determines the color of subsequent creatures. Do not forget the fragments of the other color, among which unexpected possibilities may be hidden.

Palagonia as a Solitaire Game

You can also play Palagonia without partners, using the same rules, except that all the tiles are yours.

You can also try to build from all the tiles the creature that is most profitable in points and think up a name for it...

Capture the most interesting characters and send them with their names to our website www.palago.ru, and they will become known to the general public.

What Next?

Are you familiar with another of our abstract strategy games, Tantrix? If not, you do not yet know what you are missing. It is a game with 56 tiles, also hexagonal, only all of them differ in pattern. The goal of the game is to build as long a path of your color as possible while hindering your opponent. With Tantrix tiles there is one more game and many tasks and puzzles (see www.tantriks.ru).