Pepper & Carrot: The Potion Contest Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• How to Win
• Components
• Setup
  • Setup - Level 1
  • Setup - Level 2
  • Setup - Level 3
• Gameplay - Phases
  • 1) Order
  • Personal Orders
  • 2) Verification
  • 3) Maintenance
• Victory!
• Handicap Table

Game Overview

Pepper&Carrot: The Potion Contest is a game for 1 to 4+ players in which you have to use memory and planning in order to win the game. Each turn the players will simultaneously use the main order card to rotate, trade, or push ingredients on their personal puzzle boards in an attempt to match the recipes on the main board. But you have to carefully plan your moves because not all the orders are useful in any given turn if you focus only on one recipe. This is where the magic of the game expands your mind, because you will have to think what to do with the orders that cannot help the recipe you are focusing on. Maybe start paying attention to the patterns of another recipe as well so when you create one you are close to the next recipe as well. Passing is an option but it is always better to plan ahead.

There are 3 levels in the game. Level 1 is a good start to understand mechanics or to play with the younger players. Level 2 allows you to think more and plan new possible strategies. And Level 3 is the true brain burner. The more you play, the more the patterns will become evident until you master the thinking process to plan ahead for all of your potions. For this you can even count on the orders. But go slowly and persevere. As with physical exercises the mind expands better if you do not stress it too much in a single strike.

How to Win

Complete the 3 recipes before the other players.

Components

• 18 recipes tiles
• 18 ingredient tiles per player
• A main board
• 1 Personal Mat per player
• 13 Main order Cards (4 push, 4 trade and 5 rotate)
• 3 special order cards per player (1 of each)
• 3 complete recipe tokens per player

Setup

a) Choose a difficulty level.

b) Give each player 3 recipe tiles of each ingredient and the 3 special order cards.

c) Mix all the main order cards and place 3 in the "turn order space" (see samples) and in the "next turns orders space". Keep the rest face down on a pile next to the board.

d) The left player will mix and turn all the ingredients from the right player's puzzle (face down) and shape the grid as defined by the proper level setup.

e) A random player will do the same for the main recipes and will place the ingredients on the board according to the level chosen still face down.

f) Once every ingredient is prepared each player will reveal their initial puzzle setup by turning the tiles from left to right until all the ingredients are face up.

g) After that, a random player will do the same for the main recipes. The game begins!!!

Setup - Level 1

1. We will use only 4 ingredients for this level. Remove the Ogre Horn and the Dwarf Vampire Wings from the main recipes tiles and from each player's puzzle tiles.
2. Return the "special orders cards" to the box. We will not be using them for this level.
3. The puzzle grid will be 4 columns and 3 rows.

Setup - Level 2

1. We'll use only 5 ingredients for this level. Remove the Ogre Horn from the main recipes tiles and from each player's puzzle tiles.
2. We will use the "special order cards" for this level.
3. The puzzle grid will be 5 columns and 3 rows.

Setup - Level 3

1. We will use all the 6 ingredients for this level.
2. We will use the "special order cards" for this level.
3. The puzzle grid will be 6 columns and 3 rows.

Gameplay - Phases

1. Order
2. Verification
3. Maintenance

1) Order

Three orders will always be visible down the main board. The one from the current turn (to the right) and the others for the next 2 turns (to the left). This will allow the players to plan in advance the next moves and exploit the tactical advantage of that knowledge.

Each player will use the effect of the main order to move or rotate the ingredients in their personal puzzle. You cannot affect other players puzzles. The orders are:

• 1.1) Rotate 90 (turn an ingredient 90 degrees left or right)
• 1.2) Trade (choose 2 tiles next to each other and trade them in the same position they were originally, that is do not rotate any of them at all. You can trade horizontally or vertically.)
• 1.3) Push (choose a column or row and push all the tiles occupying the vacancy space with the leftover tile from the push. Do not rotate any tile while accommodating the line. You can push in any direction.)
• 1.4) Pass (you simply do not use an order in the turn)

Personal Orders

Players will have at disposal 3 Special Order cards that will work as the main Orders but that will have only one use and then will turn inactive for the rest of the game. When you have no use for the main order or whenever your strategy demands, instead of using it you can use one of your personal orders.

For example: A player doesn't want to use a PUSH main order because she wants to ROTATE one of her ingredients. She simply activates her personal ROTATE order and discards the card face down. This Special Order won't be available for the rest of the game so you have to be careful when you decide to do this. The rest of the players won't get any benefit from this use as you cannot affect them in any way.

2) Verification

Each ingredient have connectors that will point to two or three directions. A recipe is considered complete when each ingredient in a player's puzzle connects as depicted on a recipe in the main board. Since there is not simple left or right in a player's puzzle you can complete the recipe in any of the two directions.

For example in the graphic above the second recipe is connected starting from the right potion and ending on the left eye. So as long as the ingredients in between are connected the recipe is completed.

One important rule to consider is that a complete recipe MUST have its ingredients in a continuous path from the first to the last without having at any point in between an ingredient connecting with other of the same recipe outside the order expected (Usually this problem occurs with the 3 connector ingredients and is something that have to be planned to avoid a false victory).

3) Maintenance

The main order will be discarded and the next one will be moved to its place. Then the third order will occupy the second order space and on the empty space a new order will be flipped from the order pile. If the order pile ever gets depleted simply mix the discards and continue the game.

Victory!

If on the Verification Stage a player manages to complete their third recipe, they will be the winner of this year's "Komona Potion Championship". If there is a tie, the tied player with fewer used Special orders will be the winner. If the ties continue all the main ingredients in the main board will be removed and after mixing them face down a new 5 ingredients recipe will be created randomly. Only the tied players will participate in this final challenge. The first one to complete it will be the winner. On a subsequent tie all the tied players will be considered winners.

Handicap Table

Playing with opponents in different levels of experience requires an increase in the challenge for those that have already mastered the fine art of creating potions so here is a suggestion on how to balance a game in this conditions:

• VERY EXPERIENCED PLAYER (Can think 2 recipes at once when playing) VS BEGINNER: The experienced plays the game without personal orders.
• EXPERIENCED PLAYER (Can think 3 recipes at once) VS BEGINNER: The experienced player can play only 1 of his personal orders (instead of the 3 plus the stretch goal ability order, if it's in the game).