Pollen
Pollen Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents of the Game
The game contains 55 cards divided as follows:
A set of 17 Bees cards and a set of 17 cards Bumblebee, each comprising:
- 2 cards with 0 insect;
- 3 cards with 1 insect;
- 3 cards with 2 insects;
- 3 cards with 3 insects;
- 3 cards with 4 insects;
- 1 card with 5 insects;
- 2 Moving cards (Carpenter-bee).
5 Flowers cards.
10 Objective cards, each showing 3 flowers (2 cards share always 1 or 2 flowers in common).
1 First player card with a bee on a face and a bourdon on the other.
Goal of the Game
Each player (Bourdon or Bee) must send more bees than his opponent on each flower to gather pollen.
Set Up
Put the 5 Flowers cards in the center of the table, side by side between the 2 players.
10 Goals cards are mixed and each player receives one that he looks at secretly.
A player receives a set of Bees cards and the other one receives the Bourdons cards set. The Bees player (red) also takes the first player card, which he places next to him on the side "Bees". Each player shuffles his set of cards and places it face down in front of him in order to have a personal pick, before taking the first 3 cards and keeping them on hand.
Layout diagram: Pick of red player (Bees) and Hand of the red player; the 5 Flowers cards in the middle; Pick of yellow player (Bumblebees) and Hand of the yellow player.
Playing the Game
Players play one after the other.
On my turn I have 2 action points (2 AP) that I use as I wish for:
- Place one Bee card face up on my side (1 AP): I put one card from my hand on my side.
- Discard a card (1 AP): I throw a card from my hand to the discard pile, face up.
- Making a Move on my side (1 AP): I discard face up one Moving card from my hand and move a card of my kind already played (visible or hidden) from one location to the right, left, or diagonally, in my camp. If another card of my kind is in the place where I would move my card, I swap the 2. Attention, I cannot move a card of the opponent.
- Moving one of my Bee cards on the opposing side (2 AP): Similarly, I can move one of my cards on the opposing side. Attention, it is still impossible for me to move a card of my opponent.
- Place one card face down on my side (2 AP): I put a card from my hand on my side, face down. I will not have the right to watch it during the rest of the party.
- Place one card face up on the opposing side (2 AP): I put a card from my hand on the opposite side.
- Return an opponent's card (2 AP): I make visible a card that my opponent had placed face down on his side.
At the end of my turn, I complete my 3-card hand by drawing 1 or 2 cards from my deck.
Example
- During his turn, the Bumblebees player (bottom) uses its 2 AP to put a "3" face up on his side (1 AP) and for movement (1 AP): he can move his card "1" already played one location to the left, or reverse it with the card "3" on the right, or diagonally. He cannot move his card down because it would create a hole. He then draws two cards.
- Then the Bees player (top) uses its 2 AP to put his "4" card on the opponent's side before drawing a card.
Diagram annotations: 2 AP for the Bees player's action; 1 AP and 1 AP for the Bumblebees player's actions.
Important Rules
- Whatever the actions performed in your turn, you should never end with a "hole" between two cards in a column.
- It cannot be more than 3 Bee cards in front of a flower on each side (meaning 6 cards on an entire column).
End of the Game
If the first player has no more cards in his hand, then his opponent plays one last time and the round is over.
If this is the second player who has no more cards in hand, the round is at once over.
Scoring
(Example page 6)
We return face-down cards to make all cards visible and count the number of bees and bumblebees on each column. The majority species on a column wins the Flower card that earns him one point.
If this flower is one of the 3 ones present on the Objectives card, it gains an extra point!
If there is the same number of bees and bumblebees on a column, the player with the most cards wins this column. And if there is still a tie, nobody wins the flower.
You can make a second run, but this time it will be the bumblebees that will begin. You will add points in 2 rounds.
Example of the End of a Round
The round is over and we made visible the cards that were face down.
Here Bees (top) are the majority on 2 flowers, allowing them to score 2 points. They are tied with the Bumblebee on the last column, but have one more card on this column, so they also win this flower with one point. In addition, 2 of these 3 won flowers appear on their Goals card, so they have 2 points more, for a total of 5 points.
The Bumblebees (bottom) predominate on the Willow and therefore "Trèflells" [sic, as printed] and thus mark 2 points for the 2 flowers. As they appear on their Goals card, they have 2 extra points for a total of 4 points.
Bees (5 pts.) win the round against the Bumblebees (4 pts.).
Variations
Variant: Young Osmia
You play exactly the same way, but without the Goals cards.
Variant: The Old Sneaky Bee
Early in the game, the two players choose 5 cards of their set and give them to the opponent. Each incorporates the 5 cards received into his own set.
The rule of the game is exactly the same, and we play the opposing cards like ours. As in the classic rule at the end of the round, it totals up all the bees on one hand and all the other bumblebees.
Please note, a small difference, however: you cannot discard an opponent's card!