Pondscape
Pondscape Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 jumping frog card
- 3 movement cards
- 6 solo cards
- 1 scoring card
- 1 scoresheet
- 20 player food cards (5 per player)
- 5 jumping frog food cards
- 120 pond cards (95 frog cards and 25 habitat cards)
Game Setup
- In the center of the play area, arrange 5 jumping frog food cards in a food row, according to the symbol on the bottom of each card.
- Place the jumping frog card above the start of the row.
- Thoroughly shuffle the pond deck and place it within reach of all players.
- Draw three cards from the pond deck, place them face up next to it to create the card display.
- Place the movement cards (0, 1, and 2) above the three cards in the display.
- Place the scoring card next to the display.
- Each player places five food cards in front of them. These cards have a strict order. See the symbols in the lower part of the cards. These serve as the foundation of their pond and as a food supply for their frogs.
- Each player then draws 3 cards from the pond deck into their hand.
- Randomly determine the starting player.
At the end of the game, each player will have a pond of 15 cards (3 rows of 5 cards). Therefore, leave enough space above your row of food cards.
Gameplay
Pondscape is played over 15 rounds, with players taking turns starting from the first player and continuing clockwise.
On your turn, follow these steps:
- Choose one frog or habitat card from the display and take it into your hand.
- If the card was under a movement card with value 1 or 2, move the jumping frog card forward 1 or 2 spaces clockwise around the food row.
- Immediately refill the card display.
- Then play one card from your hand (you may choose any card, including the one you just took from the display) and place it in front of you in your pond, either face up or face down.
- Resolve any effect shown on the card, if present.
- Play passes to the next player.
The game ends when each player has placed 15 cards grid in front of them. The player with the highest score wins.
The jumping frog card must always straddle two adjacent food cards - position it so it spans across the border between two cards.
Placing Cards
You may place your card anywhere within your pond area. The cards do not need to be next to existing cards, and you don't have to start from any particular spot. However, once you place a card, you cannot move it for the rest of the game.
Cards
The deck contains frog cards and habitat cards. Cards may feature food symbols, immediate effects (on a green leaf in the bottom right corner), or end-game scoring conditions. These elements can appear on either the front or back of the cards.
Card Backs
You can choose to place any card face down in your pond as a water card. When you do, you will gain immediate effects or food symbols printed on the back side.
The top right corner of each card shows what you'll get when placing the card face down.
Habitat Cards
Habitat cards work just like frog cards - you can take and place them on your turn. They may provide immediate effects or help fulfill scoring conditions. There are 5 different habitat types. Having more variety of habitats in your pond will score you more points at the end of the game. This is indicated by the scoring condition icon (different types) at the bottom of the habitat cards.
Habitat cards have this symbol in the top left corner.
Card Effects
When you play a card that has a tree leaf symbol in its bottom right corner, resolve its immediate effect right after placing it.
Jumping frog action
When you play a card with jumping frog action symbol, follow these steps.
Move the jumping frog card 1 or 2 spaces forward along the food row. If it reaches the end, continue clockwise at the beginning of the other side.
You may then tuck up one card from your hand under each of your two food cards that the jumping frog is currently spanning. You may choose to tuck under both food cards, just one, or none.
Each tucked card will score 1 point at game end for every matching food symbol in your pond.
Tucking the cards allows you to use the remaining cards in your hand to score the food symbols in your pond at the end of the game. It is good to watch the jumping frog's position and use it at the best time.
Note: You may tuck any cards from your hand without any further requirements.
Draw Cards
When you play a card showing this effect, draw the indicated number of cards (1, 2, or 3) from the pond deck into your hand.
Always fill the empty display slot before drawing your new cards.
The 'Draw a card(s)' effect may appear on either side of a card.
Special tucking effect
If you play a desert rain frog card with a special effect, first resolve its special tucking effect. Then, if the card also has a leaf effect in the bottom right corner, resolve that effect.
You can tuck any 1, or 2 cards from your hand. Tuck them under any food card(s) of your choice. You can split these cards among different food types.
Scoring Conditions
The game features 8 different frog species. Each species has its own unique scoring condition that will be evaluated at the end of the game. The scoring conditions are explained in detail on the following pages.
Frog clusters
Frogs enjoy living together. At game end, if you meet a frog species' scoring condition, look for groups (clusters) of orthogonally connected frog cards of that species, and score each cluster separately based on its size. See the scoring card.
When you meet a frog species' scoring condition, the size of their cluster matters. The larger it is, the more points you'll score. If you have multiple separate clusters in your pond, each one is scored separately.
The scoring card shows two tables:
Cluster of the same frog species:
| Cluster size | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 21 |
| 4 | 32 |
| 5 | 45 |
| each +1 | +10 |
Different habitat types:
| Different habitats | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 3 | 21 |
| 4 | 36 |
| 5 | 50 |
ORNATE HORNED FROG
You will score points for this frog if your pond cards contain symbols of at least four different food types. It doesn't matter whether the symbol appears on a card facing up or down.
Note: The food symbols in the upper right corner of some cards cannot be counted. It is only a preview of a back side of the card!
RED-EYED TREE FROG
You will score points for this frog if your pond contains no more than 3 different species of frogs, including the tree frog.
PANAMANIAN GOLDEN FROG
You will score points for this frog if you have at least four cards tucked under any single food card.
TOMATO FROG
You will score points for this frog if you have at least 4 cards in your pond placed with their water side facing up. These cards don't need to be connected to each other or to the tomato frogs.
CLOWN TREE FROG
You will score points for this frog if it is adjacent to at least 3 other different frog species. This condition needs to be met by the frogs in the cluster as a group - it's not necessary for each frog in the cluster to meet it individually.
BLUE POISON DART FROG
You will score points for this frog if it is adjacent to at least two habitat cards of any type. This condition needs to be met by the frogs in the cluster as a group - it's not necessary for each frog in the cluster to meet it individually.
INDIAN BULLFROG
You will score points for this frog if it is adjacent to at least one water card, one frog card, and one habitat card. This condition needs to be met by the frogs in the cluster as a group - it's not necessary for each frog in the cluster to meet it individually.
DESERT RAIN FROG
These frogs are solitary and are the only ones that DO NOT form clusters! They provide immediate benefits during the game, but this species doesn't score points by itself at the end of the game. However, some cards have scoring conditions that allow players to score points even for solitary frogs. Points are only earned based on the specific condition on the card.
Scoring Solitary Frogs
Some desert rain frog cards have specific scoring conditions that apply only to them as individual cards.
- Earn 3 points for each adjacent water card.
- Earn 3 points for each adjacent habitat card.
- Earn 2 points for each adjacent frog card.
- Earn 2 points for each different food symbol on adjacent cards.
- Earn 3 points for each water card in the same row as this card.
- Earn 3 points for each habitat card in the same row as this card.
Other desert rain frog symbols:
- (single question mark) At the end of the game, assign this card to any food type.
- (double question mark) At the end of the game, assign this card to any two different food types.
These two symbols in the bottom left corner of the cards indicate whether the scoring condition applies to all cards in your pond, or whether they need to be adjacent to the specific species.
End of Game and Scoring
The game ends when the last player places their fifteenth card in their pond. Then, add up your points and record them in the scoring sheet one by one, according to the scoring card.
Scoring:
- Players count total the points earned for each frog cluster. First, evaluate each frog cluster separately according to the scoring table on the scoring card.
- Next, score any solitary frogs in your pond, if you have any.
- Then, add up the points shown on the water cards' reverse sides.
- After that, calculate points for different habitat cards according to the scoring card.
- Finally, evaluate the points for the cards placed under your food cards. Each tucked card will score 1 point for every matching food symbol on the cards in your pond.
The player with the most points wins!
In case of a tie, the player with more cards remaining in their hand wins. If there's still a tie, the players share the victory.
Scoring Example
The player ended the game with the pond shown in the rulebook illustration. Now they will add up their victory points.
- 1a For one separate ornate horned frog card, they earn 5 points. The condition of having at least four different food types in the pond is met.
- 1b For a cluster of two blue poison dart frogs, they earn 0 points because the cluster of frogs is not adjacent to two habitat cards, so they don't meet the condition's range.
- 1c For a cluster of four clown tree frogs, they earn 32 points because this cluster is adjacent to three different types of frogs.
- 1d For a cluster of two panamanian golden frogs, they earn 12 points because they have four cards tucked under the dragonfly food card.
- 1e For one separate panamanian golden frog card in the bottom right corner of the pond, they earn 5 points because the condition is met as we know from the previous point.
- 2 For the solitary desert rain frog card, they earn 6 points because there are two habitat cards in its row.
- 3 For one water card, they earn 5 points, visible on the card.
- 4 For three different habitat cards, they earn 21 points.
- 5 For food, they earn 28 points:
- 5a 2 spider symbols x 1 card tucked under the spider = 2 points.
- 5b 5 dragonfly symbols x 4 cards tucked under the dragonfly = 20 points.
- 5c 2 butterfly symbols x 3 cards tucked under the butterfly = 6 points.
The player earned a total of 114 points.
Solo Game
During setup, shuffle the 6 solo cards and form a deck of your opponent - Croaker. The player starts the game. Then, Croaker alternates turns with the player until both have taken 15 turns.
Croaker doesn't build a pond - it only takes cards from the display and moves the jumping frog card.
On Croaker's turn, flip the top card of its deck and resolve it:
- The upper number determines how many spaces the jumping frog moves (this is the total number, not added to the movement card value above the display).
- The lower picture determines which card Croaker takes from the display.
After turning over the sixth card, take all 6 solo cards, shuffle them, and form a new deck for Croaker's remaining turns.
On each of the Croaker's turns, resolve the top part first, then the bottom part. After that, refill the display and take your turn.
At the end of the game, compare your score to the achievement table to see what level you've reached. Keep improving and try to climb as high as possible!
Achievement Table
| Points | Frog Rank |
|---|---|
| 140+ | Expert Frogger |
| 130-139 | Frog Master |
| 120-129 | Frog Leg |
| 110-119 | Tadpole |
| 100-109 | Slacker |
| 0-99 | Troubadour |
Credits
- Game Designer: Tomáš Holek
- Illustrations: Jiří Kůs
- Graphic design: Michal Peichl
- Development: Milan Zborník, Michal Peichl, Petr Plášil, Štěpán Peterka
- www.pinktroubadour.eu - [email protected]