Philosophia: Floating World Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Box Contents
• Aim
  • How to use this guide
• Setup
• Game Play
  • Draw Phase
  • Collect Phase
  • Action Phase
    • Actions
• Winning the Game
• End of the Game
• Advanced Play Opportunities
  • The Teapot Expansion
  • Unique Player Powers
  • Unique Player Boards
• Solo Mode
  • Setup
  • Winning Conditions for the Unmei Player(s)
  • During the Collect phase
  • During the Action phase
  • Influence Contests
  • Changes to Human players in Solo-Mode
  • Turn Taking Variant

Box Contents

In addition to this guidebook:

• 158 Location Cards
• 24 Item Cards
• 20 Unmei Cards
• 6 Character Miniatures
• 39 Monster Cards
• 6 Bushido Tokens
• 18 Shrine Tokens
• 25 Wisdom Cards
• 6 Zen Tokens
• 6 Boat Tokens
• 6 Pagoda Miniatures
• ??? Time Tokens
• 6 Kamon Tokens
• 6 Character Cards
• 6 Secret Location (Padlock) Tokens
• 20 Location Tokens
• 1 Matsuri (Festival) Token
• 6 Player Boards
• 6 Reference Cards
• 6 Shinto Tokens
• 24 Builder Tokens
• 1 Double Sided Main Board
• 6 Chie Tokens
• ? Coins
• 1 Teapot Miniature

Components of the final game may differ from those pictured.

Aim

The aim of Philosophia is to be the first to achieve one of the many victory conditions available in the game. You can do this by achieving all four of the ganbaru tokens: Shinto, for building three Shinto shrines, Zen for building a Buddhist pagoda, Bushido for defeating a legendary monster and Chie, for learning ancient eastern philosophies. Alternatively you can win by achieving any two of these goals and discovering the location of an opponent's secret.

How to use this guide

White Boxes — These contain the rules of the game. Everything in these boxes is written to get you playing as fast as possible. If it is not in a white box then you do not need to know this to play Philosophia. They are also designed to be easy to read.

Blue Boxes — These boxes feature towards the end of the guidebook. They are rules needed to play a variant of the game. For example if you want to play solo you will need this information in addition to that in the white boxes.

Green Boxes — These boxes will be more prevalent at the end of the rule book. They do not need to be read in order to play the game but instead are useful as reference information during gameplay, especially for the first few games.

Setup

To set up Philosophia: Floating World, follow the steps in the order shown below:

1. Place the main board in the center of the table with the appropriate side for your number of players. This is indicated at the bottom-center of the main board.

2. Each player chooses a character card (use the side marked A). Take the corresponding miniature, starting location cards, kamon token and starting items (see character card image above). Starting location cards are those that have your character's icon in the top left. They will match with your player's kamon token. There are 12 for each player.

   The character kamon symbols are: Geisha, Kabuki, Onna-Bugeisha, Ronin, Samurai, Sumo.

3. Place your kamon token onto the influence track on the top-right of the main board. The player with the highest number on their character card starts at the top of the influence track. The second highest goes in the second highest position and so forth until all players have placed their tokens onto the track.

4. Each player then chooses a player board (use the side marked A). Place 3 shinto shrine tokens and one buddhist pagoda miniature onto the corresponding areas of the chosen player board.

5. Shuffle the location cards and place this deck (known as the season deck) near the main board. Turn over the top 5 cards of the season deck and place them upright near the main board.

   The season icons are: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.

6. Shuffle the monster deck and place it face down in the corresponding area on the main board.

7. Place the builder tokens, time tokens and coins near the main board within reach of all players. These will be referred to as the 'general supply'.

8. Shuffle the item cards and place them in the corresponding area on the main board. Turn over the top 4 cards and place them into the corresponding shop locations on the main board.

9. Shuffle the wisdom cards and place them face down on the far left corresponding space on the main board. Turn over the top three cards and place the top two in the corresponding places on the main board. The third sits face up at the top of the deck.

10. Take the location tokens and place them all face down near the main board. Shuffle them round so no one knows which is which. If playing with 1 to 3 players, you will first need to remove the following 7 tokens back into the box: Hakodate, Asama, Nagoya, Takamatsu, Oki, Matsue and Aso.

11. Take two location tokens randomly and keep them hidden from the other players. Look at them and choose one to be your secret location (place this on the search icon on your player board). Place the other on an action icon on your player board, this is known as your decoy.

Note: For the action you cover with your decoy, you will not be able to use the player board to perform this action. For your first game, we suggest covering the move icon. Action icons are explained on pages 6, 7 and 8.

12. Place the boat passage tokens in the appropriate place on the main board.
13. Take the ganbaru tokens and place them in a pile in the appropriate places on the main board.
14. (Optional for first time players) Give each player a reference card.

Congratulations you are ready to play!

Game Play

Philosophia: Floating World, is a simultaneous game that takes place over a series of rounds made up of three phases. These phases repeat until a player has achieved a victory condition (victory conditions are explained on page 9).

The Draw Phase where you choose an opponent's cards for the round and select your own from two options.

The Collect Phase where you collect the benefits indicated in the collect section of the location cards in your hand.

The Action Phase where you attempt to achieve your goals by performing actions.

Draw Phase

In this phase you will take the top 6 cards from your draw deck and hand them to the player sitting to your left. If your draw deck is empty then shuffle your discard deck and it becomes your draw deck.

Take the cards from the player to your right and choose one of these cards to place into their discard deck. Separate the remaining five into two piles: one pile containing three cards and the other pile containing two. Once you've done this, give these two piles back to the player to your right to choose from. You will receive two of your own piles from the player on your left. Choose one pile to play in that round and place the other pile into your discard deck. The pile you chose will be known as your 'hand'.

• 1st Pile: 2 cards
• 2nd Pile: 3 cards
• Discard 1 card

When you have done this you can immediately move onto the collect phase. There is no need to wait for the other players to finish the draw phase.

Note: In the unlikely event that a player does not have 6 cards available in their draw deck or their discard deck, they will also draw the top location card from the season deck and place it in their discard deck. You should still discard one of their cards and separate the remaining cards into two piles as evenly as possible.

For example, if a player has only 5 cards available, after placing the top location card into their discard deck, you should then discard one of these 5 cards and then separate the remaining 4 cards into two piles (both containing two cards).

Tip: Keep your draw deck face down in the indicated space to the left of your player board and keep your discard deck face up in the indicated space to the right of your player board, this will make play much more streamlined.

Collect Phase

Once you have selected your hand for this round and discarded the other pile to your discard deck, you will collect the benefits on the cards in your hand, specified in the green boxes on the bottom left of these location cards (if there are any benefits specified). You must collect the benefits in the order shown below:

Draw cards - This must be done first before collecting any other benefits. Draw cards for each draw card icon in your hand. These cards are drawn from your draw deck. If you run out of cards to draw, shuffle the discard deck and it becomes your draw deck. If you run out of cards entirely do not draw anymore cards. If the newly drawn card allows you to draw another card, then do so. The maximum cards you can have in your hand to play in a round is 6. If you are able to draw more than 6 (which is not uncommon), draw them all and then discard down to 6 before collecting any other benefits.

Collect coins - Take a coin for each coin icon shown in the green boxes in your hand.

This symbol indicates that you can take a coin for each wisdom card you possess. Wisdom cards will be discussed in the Action phase.

Note: Coins are not intentionally limited, so in the rare case you run out please use a suitable substitute.

Collect Time - Collect a time token for each time icon shown in the green boxes in your hand.

Note: Time tokens are not intentionally limited so in the rare case you run out please use a suitable substitute.

Collect builders - Take a builder token for each builder icon shown in the green boxes in your hand.

Note: You can only ever have a maximum of 4 builders. If an icon indicates you to get a 5th one then ignore the icon.

Special Icons:

Both piles: If this icon is on one of the 5 cards you receive during the draw phase then you may play all five cards in your hand this round, there is no need to discard a pile.

Rearrange the piles: If this icon is on one of the 5 cards you receive during the draw phase then you may play any three of those cards i.e. you can rearrange the piles as you see fit however, to do this, the card containing this symbol must be one of the three you choose.

Note: For both of these special icons the icon must be on one of the original 5 cards you receive in the draw phase. If you later draw a card with one of these icons during the collect phase, then it has no effect.

Finally, in this phase you have the option of placing any time tokens you have onto uncovered action icons on your player board. This can only be done during the collect phase and you may only place a maximum of one time token on each icon. The time token will be spent and sent to the general supply during the action phase in order to allow you to perform the action beneath it. If you do not perform the action you will still lose the time at the end of the round so choose carefully!

Note: When you collect a ganbaru or secret location token, these will be placed onto your player board and will cover an action icon. You can no longer place time tokens on the covered action (see 'Winning the Game' section for more details on page 9).

At the start of the game you will place a location token here. When a player discovers your secret location you gain access to the search action below.

When you gain a ganbaru token it is placed onto your player board, blocking one of the possible actions.

During the collect phase you may place time tokens onto available actions on your player board in order to perform these actions during the action phase. The time tokens are discarded after use or if the round ends without them being used.

Do not move on to the action phase until all players have indicated that they are ready to do so.

Action Phase

During this phase players will simultaneously take the actions they have available for this round.

Actions can come from four locations:

1. Most actions are indicated in the red boxes in the bottom right of location cards in your hand.

   The green boxes in the bottom left hand corner of location cards contain the items you can collect during the Collect phase. The red boxes in the bottom right hand corner of location cards contain actions. These can be performed during the action phase. Discard the card after you perform the action. You may also discard a card without performing the action and claim a coin.

2. Actions are also located on your player board. To take these actions you will need to have placed a time token over them in the collect phase. Actions covered by other tokens such as location or ganbaru tokens are not available to use.

3. If you possess a boat passage token you may discard this to take a movement action to any space on the board (this is explained in the movement section).

4. To take the fight monster action you need to be in the relevant section of the main board. This can only be done once per round (see fight monster action on page 7). You need to be in one of these sections on the main board in order to perform the 'Fight Monster' action.

Each action is represented by an icon. They can be performed in any order.

Actions are not compulsory. If you do not wish to perform an action on a location card in your hand during the action phase, you may discard it and collect one coin. This can be done at any time during the action phase. If you decide not to perform an action from your player board then you do not collect a coin and still must pay the time token to the general supply at the end of the round. You also do not get coins for not performing the fight monster action or for not using boat tokens.

Tip: In order to keep track of which actions you have taken, you should discard the location card that gave you the action as you perform them. Similarly, you should return time tokens on your player board to the general supply as you perform their actions.

Note: Being simultaneous, there are times in the game where two or more players will want to take conflicting actions, for example two players may want to purchase the same item card. Such issues will be resolved by an influence contest using the influence track in the top right of the main board. The player whose kamon token is highest on the influence track gets to be the decision maker. If this player decides in their own interest, they move to the bottom of the influence track. Specific instances where this may occur are marked with this symbol.

Actions

Move: These icons allow you to move along the black dotted lines on the main board. The number of red arrows on the icon indicates how many times a player may move, with one move being from one location to a connecting location. The icon pictured for example allows up to three moves. You can move through locations containing other players but, if you end your movement in a space containing another player then that player must move to the location you started your movement action (no matter how far away that was) and you will move into their location. If the player who is being moved does not want this to happen, then they may challenge the move and the decision on whether it is permitted is made using the influence track.

Boat Passage Tokens: If you have purchased a boat passage token from the shop, you may trade it in to move to any location on the map. Please be aware if you move to a location containing another player and they challenge it, then the decision will be made using the influence track. Whatever the outcome of this challenge, you will put the boat passage token back to the available section in the shop.

Influence track: If a player wants to move into a space occupied by another player, and they are not willing to exchange spaces with that player voluntarily, then an influence contest is initiated. The decision is made by the player involved who is highest on the influence track. If they decide in their own interest then they must move their kamon token to the bottom of the influence track. If they choose in any other player's interest then they may keep their position on the influence track. All players involved in an influence contest still discard the relevant action card, boat passage token or time token on their player board as if they performed the action even if they don't move.

Example: Caro uses a boat token to move from Iwaki to Nagasaki (a long trip!). Ali is currently in Nagasaki so she has to decide whether to challenge this move. Ali decides she will challenge it. Caro's kamon token is currently higher on the influence track and so she makes the decision to decide in her own favor and move to Nagasaki. Ali therefore must move to Iwaki, Caro's kamon token moves to the bottom of the influence track and all tokens below hers move up one space on the track.

The influence track in the top right of the main board is used to resolve disagreements in the simultaneous game. The player who has their kamon token higher on the track gets to make the decision. If they chose in their own interest then they move their kamon token to the bottom of the track and all players below them move up one space. For example, if two players wish to take the same card then the player involved in the dispute who is higher on the track gets to make the decision. If they choose to take the the contested card, then they move their kamon token to the bottom of this track.

Burn card: This item indicates that you can permanently remove a location card from your deck and place it back in the box. You may only burn cards from your discard deck or hand. You cannot burn cards from your draw deck.

Flip Location Token: Flip one of the facedown location tokens left to the side of the board during setup. Place it on the corresponding location on the main board for all to see. Collect one coin after performing this action. If there are no location tokens left available to flip, then just collect a coin. Do not flip location tokens that are hidden on players' player boards, a search action is the only way to do this (see page 8).

Matsuri (Festival). Place the festival token onto your current location. Being in a location with a festival has two effects. Firstly, whenever you are in the festival location you may exchange coins for time tokens and vice versa, essentially they are interchangeable. You may do this during any phase of the game as long as your character is in the festival location. Secondly, you are not allowed to perform the search action in the current festival location. The search action is explained on page 8. The festival may move multiple times in one round if the action is taken several times.

Study Action: This consists of taking the next available wisdom card from the main board. The available card is the one on the far right of the track. Once you take it, move the other two visible cards one space to the right and flip the top card of the wisdom deck. If you do not like the available wisdom cards, you may pay 1 time token to remove all 3 of them to the bottom of the wisdom deck and replace them with 3 new ones from the top of the deck.

Study Action Continued:

Wisdom cards come in four different types, Shinto, Zen, Confucian and Daoist. These are indicated by the symbols at the top of them. These can help you gain ganbaru tokens as Shinto cards are needed to build shrines and the Zen cards are needed to build your pagoda. In addition to this, if you can gain one of each type of card you gain the Chie ganbaru token. (See page 9)

Note: You may only ever possess a maximum of 4 wisdom cards at any one time. If you collect a fifth you must discard one of your choice to the bottom of the wisdom card deck.

Note: Wisdom cards may have more than one icon at the top. These cards can mean any one, but only one of the icons listed when played/used.

The icons in the top left of the cards represent the type of wisdom card. Some cards have several icons. The wisdom card types are: Shinto, Zen Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian.

Influence track: If two or more players want to take the same wisdom card or one wishes to refresh the available wisdom cards and one does not, then the decision of which player gets their way will be decided by an influence contest. To trigger an influence contest all contesting players must immediately announce their desire for one clearly, as soon, for example, as the wisdom card is taken. In order to take part in an influence challenge you must have a study action available for this phase. Once the contested card has been taken and the player taking it has performed their next action, that card is no longer eligible to be contested (if there is any doubt as to whether a player has performed the next action, assume they haven't).

During an influence contest, the player involved in the contest who is highest on the influence track can make the decision as to who gets the contested card or decides whether to replenish the cards. If they choose in their own interest then they must move their kamon token to the bottom of the influence track. If they choose in any other player's interest then they may keep their position on the influence track. If a card is taken, the wisdom card track is then renewed and all other players involved can decide whether to perform their action to get the next card or cancel performing that action altogether. All further contests should be decided in the same manner as above. If a player wishing to replenish the cards is prevented from doing so, they do not have to pay one time.

The wisdom card deck goes in the slot on the far left with the top card turned face up. The wisdom cards are placed face up on this track on the main board. The card in this far right slot is the one that is currently available. The cards to the left will be available next.

Example: Caro and Ali both wish to take the same wisdom card and both have a study action available. Caro takes a study action, taking the available card and Ali announces that she is challenging this action. Caro is currently higher on the influence track and so gets to decide the outcome. She takes the card and therefore moves her kamon token to the bottom of the influence track. All other players below Caro move one space higher on the influence track as a result.

Note: Especially in two player games there may be times where neither player wants to take a wisdom card before another player and you can reach an impasse. This is perfectly normal in the game but please remember the following:

1. All time tokens placed on the player board must go to the general supply at the end of the round whether the player has performed the action or not.
2. Once an action has been taken it cannot be undone.
3. The end of the action phase must be agreed upon by all players so you cannot wait until someone says they are done then, jump in with a final action or actions.

Build: In order to build your shrines and pagodas you will need to perform the build action. Pay the cost of the building, this is indicated next to it on your player board. You may then take the build action and place that structure onto the relevant area of the main board.

The red box indicates the items needed to build a shrine: 1 builder, 1 Shinto wisdom card, 1 coin and 1 time token. The grey box indicates the items needed to build a pagoda: 2 Zen Buddhism wisdom cards, 3 builders, 3 coins and 3 time token.

Shrines: must be placed in the indicated section at the location your character is currently in. If there is already a shrine in that location or if you are in a fight monster location, then you cannot build a shrine. However, you can still build a pagoda in both cases.

Most locations on the main board have an available space next to them where you can build a shrine. You must be in that location to build a shrine. If there is one already there then you can't build a shrine in that location.

Pagoda miniatures start on your player board, when you build one, you earn the Zen ganbaru token.

Pagodas: These cost more than shrines and can be built from any location. Pay the cost then place your pagoda in any of the free indicated spaces on the main board.

Pagodas can be built from any location. Once built, take the Pagoda miniature from your player board and place it into one of these spaces on the main board (put it somewhere that looks good!).

Battle a Monster: This action is different from the others as it is not available on a card or on your player board. You must travel to one of the two indicated locations on the main board to perform this action.

When you are in one of the fight monster locations you can perform this action by drawing the top card from the monster deck on the main board. At the bottom of the card are a series of requirements needed to defeat that monster. If you possess them then you have successfully defeated that monster! Pay the requirements into the general supply and place the item cards to the bottom of the item deck, place that monster card at the bottom of the monster deck and collect a bushido ganbaru token. This token is placed on your player board obscuring an action icon. The icon you obscure can no longer be used in this game. If you do not have the required items place that monster card at the bottom of the deck and continue the game.

Note: You may only perform this action once per round and you must be in a fight monster location to perform it.

Note: You cannot build shrines in the fight monster locations however you may build pagodas from there.

Tip: Monsters usually require a special type of weapon to be defeated. You can find these in the item deck.

When you successfully defeat a monster you claim a Bushido Ganbaru token. To take this action you must be in one of the two indicated locations on the main board. You may only take the action once per round.

The items required to defeat a monster are listed on the bottom of the monster card. In this case you would need the following: A Yumi item card, A Shuriken item card, 2 time tokens.

Shop: Take this action to buy an item from the shop, located in the bottom right of the main board. The cost for each item is indicated by the coins above the position the card is in on the main board. Once you purchase the item take it to your playing area and then move all the item cards in the shop one space to the right, flip the top card of the item deck and place it in the newly available 4 coin spot on the shop track. You can also buy a boat passage token or a builder token instead of an item card using the same action. You may only purchase one item per shop action taken. If you do not like the cards available in the shop then you may pay 1 time token to the general supply to remove all 4 to the bottom of the item card deck and place 4 new cards from the top of the item card deck.

Builder tokens can be bought from the shop. They cost 1 time token and 1 coin each.

Boat passage tokens can be bought from the shop. They cost 2 coins each as indicated at the top of the token. Boat passage tokens allow you to move to any location on the main board.

The coins at the top of each item card indicate the cost of the card. The costs get cheaper as the cards move to the right. Four item cards are always placed face up on this track. When one is bought, all cards to the left move one space right and a new card is brought in from the item card deck. The item card deck is shuffled and placed face-down in this section of the main board during setup.

Influence track: As detailed in the study action, if two or more players wish to purchase the same item, or one wishes to refresh the available item cards and one does not, then an influence contest is initiated and decided by the player involved who has the highest influence. If they choose in their own interest they move their kamon token to the bottom of the influence track.

Boat passage tokens: Players can also buy boat passage tokens using the shop action. These cost 2 coins each and allow you to take the boat passage movement action (see move section on page 6). There are only 6 boat passage tokens available and when they have all been bought it is no longer possible to buy one until one is used and placed back into the shop.

Builders: You may also purchase builders using the shop action. These cost 1 coin and 1 time token each. Remember, you may only possess a maximum of 4 builder tokens at any one time.

Influence track: As before, if two or more players wish to purchase the last boat passage token then an influence contest is initiated and decided by the player involved with the highest influence. If they choose in their own interest they move to the bottom of the influence track.

Example: Ali performs the shop action to purchase a katana sword from the 1 coin space in the shop track. Caro also wishes to buy the katana and has a shop action available so she challenges this decision. Ali is higher on the influence track and so she gets to make the decision. Ali decides to let Caro have the katana and so retains her higher position on the influence track as well as her coin. Caro takes the katana card, pays for it and all item cards move one space to the right. Ali can now perform her shop action to buy a different card at its new price.

Many of the cards in the item deck are weapons. These are needed to defeat monsters and gain the Bushido ganbaru token. There are three types of weapons available:

• The Katana sword
• The Yumi bow
• The Shuriken throwing star

Some of the item cards allow you special powers and abilities. These are explained on the card. This card for example allows you to play both piles of location cards you receive during the draw phase. Visit our website for a detailed explanation of each card.

Buy Card: Use this action to buy a new card for your deck. When you take this action you may buy any card from the 5 available location cards from the season deck. If you wish, you can pay 1 time token to remove all 5 cards to the bottom of the season deck and put 5 new ones out from the top of the deck. The cost for each card is indicated in the top right corner. Please be aware that some cards are free so do not have a cost indicated. You may only buy one card each time you perform this action.

This symbol indicates that the location card is permanent. If this card gets to your hand it is not discarded after use. Instead you may use the benefit of this card once per round. Permanent cards always feature landscape artwork. Once played, permanent location cards do not count towards your 6 card hand limit.

These icons indicate the season of the card. This is only relevant if you are playing with the B side of the player boards, explained on page 9. Remember your starting cards will not have season icons in the top left, instead they will have your character's kamon.

The coins at the top right of each item card indicate the cost of the card. The more powerful the card the higher the price. Some cards will not have costs, this indicates that they are free.

The green boxes in the lower left corner are the 'Collect' boxes. These indicate what you can collect in the collect phase. The card above allows you to draw an extra card each round. The card to the right allows you to take any 3 of the 5 cards you receive in the draw phase to play this round. However to do this, this card would have to be one of them.

The red boxes contain actions. Discard the card to perform the action indicated in the box.

Influence track: As with other challenges, if two or more players wish to purchase the same card or one wishes to refresh the available season cards and one does not, then an influence contest is initiated and decided by the player involved with the highest influence. If they choose in their own interest they move to the bottom of the influence track. Players must have a buy card action available in order to do this.

Search: Take this action to search your current location. Announce that you are searching the location and then all other players must let you know if they have that location on their player board. If they do, then one of two things happens:

1. If the location you searched was their secret location, then they place that token face up on the relevant space on the main board for all to see. The player performing the search action (you) then collects a secret location token. Place this over an action on your player board. You are no longer able to use that action during the game.
2. If the location you searched was a player's decoy, take the location token and place it over an action on your player board. You are no longer able to use that action during the game and the action that was covered on the other player's board is now available for them to use in the normal way.

Note: If no one has that token on their player board play simply continues.

Secret location token. Collect one of these from the main board if you discover another player's secret location.

At the start of the game, each player places a location token onto this space. This is their secret location. If another player discovers this using the search action, the location token is removed and the search action below becomes available to that player.

Note: You cannot perform the search action in the festival location.

Note: If you run out of action spaces to cover on your player board you may still search and should place any decoy tokens onto the main board as usual instead of covering an area of your player board.

Example: Ali is in Edo and uses the search action. Unfortunately for Caro this is her secret location and so she flips the token and places it on the main board face up under Ali's character. This opens up the possibility for Caro to perform search actions by placing time tokens on the newly revealed space on her player board. Ali collects a secret location token and places it on her player board covering an action. She can no longer place time tokens on that action to perform it. Ali now only needs two ganbaru tokens in order to gain a victory condition.

Winning the Game

To win the game, a player needs to gain a victory condition. There are two ways to do this. The first is by collecting all 4 of the ganbaru tokens, the second is by finding another player's secret location and collecting any 2 of the ganbaru tokens. You may only collect each ganbaru token once (and only one secret location token). The 4 ganbaru tokens can be achieved as follows:

Chie (Wisdom): This means you have collected one of each type of wisdom card: Shinto, Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian. If you manage to collect all 4, you immediately discard them all to the bottom of the wisdom deck and collect a Chie ganbaru token and place it onto an action icon on your player board. This action is no longer available to place time tokens onto it. You must discard all 4 in one go and cannot discard them individually over the course of the game. You may only ever gain one Chie ganbaru token.

Shinto + Zen Buddhist + Confucian + Daoist = Chie

Note: Some wisdom cards represent multiple types of wisdom. These can mean any one of the icons represented but cannot be used for multiple. 4 cards always need to be discarded to gain the Chie token.

Shinto: This means you have built all three of the shinto shrines that begin the game on your player board. Once the third shrine is built, collect a Shinto ganbaru token and place it onto an action icon on your player board (this action is no longer available to place time tokens onto it).

Shrine + Shrine + Shrine = Shinto ganbaru token

Zen: This means you have built the pagoda that begins the game on your player board. Once this is built, collect a Zen ganbaru token and place it onto an available action icon on your player board (this action is no longer available to place time tokens onto it).

Pagoda = Zen ganbaru token

Bushido: Bushido is the warrior code of the samurai. To gain this token you need to move to a fight monster location on the main board, take the fight monster action and then have the required items to defeat it. If you do, collect a bushido ganbaru token and place it onto an available action icon on your player board (this action is no longer available to place time tokens onto it). You may only have one Bushido token.

Finally, you may also win a game by finding another player's secret location and achieving any two of the ganbaru tokens. If you use the search action and discover another player's secret location, then they place that token face up on the corresponding space on the main board. You then collect a secret location token and place it over an available action icon on your player board. You are no longer able to place time tokens onto this action (you may only ever gain 1 secret location token).

Any two different ganbaru tokens = VICTORY CONDITION

OR

Bushido + Zen + Shinto + Chie = VICTORY CONDITION

End of the Game

Play continues in a series of rounds until a player has achieved a victory condition. When this happens, play continues until the end of the action phase of that round. If no one else has achieved a victory condition, then the player that has is the winner. If more than one player has achieved a victory condition by the end of the round then the winner is the player who is highest on the influence track (of the players who have a victory condition).

Final Tip: If there are any disagreements during the game and players are unsure how to progress, resolve them using the influence track as normal.

Advanced Play Opportunities

The Teapot Expansion

This rule is relevant to games of 3 or more players only. It prevents the same player choosing your draw cards every round/ you choosing for the same person each round. Just add in the teapot token and the following rules:

During set up, instead of step 12:

• give the teapot to the player who wants it the least… or randomly

At the start of each round (except the first round) the player with the teapot hands it to the player sitting to her right. The player gaining the teapot at the start of each round points the spout either left or right, this indicates whether the cards are passed clockwise or anti-clockwise during the draw phase of that round.

Unique Player Powers

This allows for more interesting variability in games of Philosophia: Floating World by giving each player a special ability.

During set up in step 3, use the B side of the character cards to give each player a unique player power. The red box at the bottom of the cards will explain what this player power is. There is an overview of each below:

The Geisha - Usually building Shinto shrines costs 1 coin, 1 builder, 1 time token and 1 Shinto wisdom card, however the Geisha does not need to pay any coins to build her shrines.

The Ronin - Boat passage tokens usually cost 2 coins from the shop, however for the Ronin they only cost 1 coin each.

The Onna-Bugeisha - Replenishing the 3 available wisdom cards usually costs 1 time token, however for the Onna-Bugeisha this is free.

The Kabuki - The hand size limit for players is 6 cards, however the Kabuki player can have up to 7 cards in their hand per round.

The Sumo - Replacing the 5 available location cards usually costs 1 time token, however for the Sumo this is free.

The Samurai - Fighting a monster often requires players to pay 1 or more coins to the general supply, however the Samurai does not need to pay any coins to kill a monster and will only need to pay the other indicated items.

The red boxes at the bottom of the B side of each character card detail the special power of each character card.

Unique Player Boards

These add even further variety to a game of Philosophia: Floating World, by allowing players to have special discounts on location cards and a unique set of player board actions.

During set up in step 5, use the B side of the player boards. This will give you a unique discount for location tokens. This discount is indicated on the bottom right of the player board.

There are two kinds of discounts on location cards available and these are explained below:

The bottom right hand corner of the B side of the player boards contain the instructions of your location card discount. This box indicates that players will pay 1 less than the indicated cost when purchasing all location cards with the autumn (fall) season icon in the top left corner.

The bottom right hand corner of the B side of the player boards contain the instructions of your location card discount. This box indicates that if this player is in a yellow location then, whenever they purchase a location card, they pay 1 less than the indicated cost.

If you play with both unique player powers and boards this will give you 36 different possible starting abilities!

Solo Mode

The automated players in Philosophia: Floating World are known as the Unmei. You can play Philosophia: Floating World solo against one or multiple unmei players. You can even add unmei players into games with multiple human players.

Setup

Follow the normal set up instructions with the following additions and exceptions.

1. During set up choose a character for yourself and one for each unmei player. Unmei players do not need their character's starting deck.
2. Choose your player board and another for the unmei player(s). Use the A sides of the character card and player board for each unmei player, however you may use side A or B for your own card and board.
3. Take 2 random location tokens and place them facedown one on top of the other onto the secret location area on each of the unmei player boards, do not look at these.
4. Take the unmei dice and place them near the unmei player board(s).
5. Take the unmei location cards and remove the following if you are playing with 3 players or less (including unmei players): Hakodate, Asama, Nagoya, Takamatsu, Oki, Matsue and Aso.

Unmei location cards have this icon on the back.

Winning Conditions for the Unmei Player(s)

The victory conditions for the unmei player are identical to those for human players with one notable exception. Unlike human players, unmei players can gain multiple Bushido and Chie ganbaru tokens. They still however only need to gain 4 ganbaru tokens, or any 2 ganbaru tokens in addition to discovering one of their opponent's secret locations to get a victory condition.

During the Collect phase

Before you collect your items, you must collect items for the unmei player(s). To do this, roll the unmei collect die 3 times for each unmei player. Give the unmei player the acquired items. The icons below explain what each die roll will give the unmei player:

• If you roll this icon, give the unmei player 1 coin
• If you roll this icon, give the unmei player 1 builder token
• If you roll this icon, give the unmei player 1 time token

Note: Unmei players can only ever have a maximum of 4 builders and 12 coins in their possession so ignore any die roll that would give them more than this.

During the Action phase

Before you complete your own actions, you must perform the actions for the unmei player(s).

Roll the unmei action die 3 times and perform the actions that appear on the die as they appear. If the unmei player currently has more than 4 time tokens, re-roll the unmei action die and perform actions for each additional time token they possess. Discard these additional time tokens after each roll.

Note: For both collect and actions phases, if playing with more than 1 unmei player, perform the instructions above for each in order of where they are on the influence track, with the player highest on the track going first.

Study: Take the available wisdom card and give it to the unmei player. If the unmei player gains all 4 different types of wisdom card then discard these cards and give the unmei player a Chie ganbaru token. The unmei player can have unlimited wisdom cards in their hand. In the unusual situation where the wisdom deck runs out and one needs to be taken, shuffle the wisdom cards of all unmei players with more than 4 wisdom cards and randomly take one from each of them to replenish the wisdom deck.

Note: Unlike human players, there is no limit to the number of Chie ganbaru tokens the unmei player can gain (if you run out of the tokens use a suitable alternative).

Shop: Buy the cheapest available weapon (that the unmei player does not already possess). If there are none available, then the unmei player will pay a time token to replenish the cards. If they do not have a time token or if the unmei player cannot afford an item then ignore this action.

Fight monster: Remove the top monster card from the deck and see if the unmei player has the required items to kill it. If so, the unmei player gets the Bushido ganbaru token as normal. They do not need to be in the fight monster location to perform this action.

Note: Unmei players have different victory conditions than human players and they can receive multiple Bushido ganbaru tokens (if you run out of these use a suitable alternative).

Build: If the unmei player has the required items to build a pagoda then the unmei player builds a pagoda in the normal way. If they do not (or if they have already built their pagoda) then check to see if they have the required items to build a shrine. If they do, build a shrine in the normal way. If they do not have the required items or if they are building a shrine and they are in a location where one already exists, ignore this action. If they have already built their pagoda and their shrines, ignore this action.

Search: Draw the top location card from the unmei deck. Move the unmei character into that location. If another player is already in that location then the normal movement rules are applied. The unmei character will always initiate an influence contest to move into the new location if there is a player in that location who does not wish to move (see below). Regardless of whether the unmei character moves into that location or not, the location listed on the unmei card is the one that is searched. If your secret location is found, put that location token faceup on the designated area of the main board. Then, put a padlock token onto their playerboard. If your decoy location is found, place that location token faceup on the designated location on the main board and remove the corresponding unmei location card from the deck.

Note: The unmei player may search locations even during festivals. Additionally, if playing with multiple players, unmei players cannot discover each others' secret locations.

Influence Contests

You may challenge the unmei player in their movement, study and shop actions they may also challenge you. This is done using the rules below:

Movement Contest: It is always assumed that the unmei player will initiate a contest to move into the location drawn from the unmei location deck and that they will choose in their own interest if they win the contest. They will also always challenge to remain in their current location should you try to move into it. Adjust the positions of the kamon tokens on the influence track accordingly. Remember, unmei players move if they roll the search icon on the action die.

Study Contest: You may challenge an unmei player to take the available wisdom card. You must have a study action available this round to do so. If challenged, it is always assumed that the unmei player will try to take the first available wisdom card and will choose themselves if they win the contest. Adjust the kamon token positions on the influence track accordingly.

Shop Contest: You may challenge an unmei player to take an available item card. You must have a shop action available this round to do so. If challenged, it is always assumed that the unmei player will try to take the cheapest weapon item card (unless they already own an identical one) and they will always choose themselves if they win the contest. Adjust the positions of the kamon tokens on the influence track accordingly.

Changes to Human players in Solo-Mode

Your play will be the same as in the multiplayer game with the following exceptions.

During the Draw Phase:

Take 6 cards from the top of your own draw deck as normal. Look at them, then discard the 1 that has the highest price in the top-right hand corner. If there is a tie for the highest (or no cards have a cost) then you choose which to discard. After doing this, shuffle the remaining cards and deal them into two piles as usual: 1 pile of 3 cards and the other pile with 2 cards. These are your choices for this round.

Note: These changes only occur when playing solo and do not apply if just adding an unmei player into a multiplayer game. In this case, just play as normal when passing cards to other players ignoring the unmei player.

During the Action Phase:

Movement changes: If you wish to move into a location containing an unmei player, assume that the unmei player will challenge this. Adjust the positions of the kamon tokens on the influence track accordingly.

Flip Token Action Changes: Whenever you perform this action you must locate the corresponding card from the unmei deck for the location you revealed then discard this card from the game. You also cannot perform search actions until you have flipped all of the facedown location tokens that were left to the side of the board during set up.

Search Changes: The biggest change here is that you cannot perform a search action until you have flipped all of the facedown location tokens left to the side of the board during set up. After this, when you perform a search action in any location, remove the top location token from the unmei's player board and put it onto your player board, blocking one of your player board action spaces. Next, take the corresponding card from the unmei deck and discard it. If this is the second time you are performing a search action then, instead, place the location token onto the corresponding space on the main board, discard the unmei card. Then, take a padlock token and place it onto your player board, blocking one of your player board actions. You have discovered the unmei player's secret location!

If playing against multiple unmei players, you only need to perform the search action twice on any one unmei player, the same as you would if playing against one unmei player.

If playing against human and unmei players then human players can only discover the secrets of other human players.

Note: To adjust the difficulty level of an unmei player, simply add in, or take away an extra collect or action roll each round.

Turn Taking Variant

Philosophia: Floating World is a fully simultaneous game, however we know that some players prefer to have more time and play a turn based game. As such, it is also possible to play Floating World in a slower turn based method.

To do this simply do the following:

• Give one player the teapot token at the start of the game. Give this to the player who knows the most Japanese (or randomly).
• Play the Draw and Collect Phases simultaneously as usual.
• In the Action Phase, have players take turns to do their actions, starting with the player who has the teapot token. Players take one action per turn until all players have run out of actions. Skip past players who have finished their actions for this round, until all players are finished.

Note: You may pass at any point in the action phase, however if you do, you can take no further actions in this phase.

• Pass the teapot token one player clockwise at the end of each action phase.

Note: The biggest change here will be that the influence track in the top right hand side of the board is only used for movement challenges and to break ties at the end of a game. For all other issues which would have used the influence track simply allow the active player to take the card or item they wish on their turn unchallenged.

For movement challenges, when a player wishes to move into a location occupied by another player and for breaking an end game tie, use the influence track as normal.