Project L
Project L Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Credits
Project L Original game concept by Adam Španěl Game design by Jan Soukal, Michal Mikeš, and Adam Španěl
Project L: Ghost Piece Game design by Jan Soukal, Michal Mikeš
Project L: Finesse Game design by Jan Soukal, Martin Řehořík, Michal Mikeš, and Filip Daňhel
Project L: Ambassador Pack Game design by Jan Soukal, Michal Mikeš
Project L: Finesse Ambassador Pack Game design by Jan Soukal, Martin Řehořík
Project L: Phoenix Game design by Jan Soukal
Art direction by Marek Loskot Graphic design by Pavel Richter Product design by Jaroslav Juřica Rulebook 2.0 editing by Paul Grogan and the Gaming Rules! team
© 2023, Boardcubator s.r.o. — www.boardcubator.com Rulebook version: 2.5 — digital version at www.boardcubator.com/resources
Project L Base Game
Build an engine, upgrade pieces, perfect your strategy.
Components
- 32 White puzzles
- 20 Black puzzles
- 135 Pieces (15× each of the 9 shapes)
- 6 Player mats
- 4 Markers (2 white and 2 black)
- 1 Cotton bag
Setup
The following instructions describe how to set up the game for 2–6 players. For the solo game, see the Solo Variant. For a game with more than 4 players, we recommend using the Line Clear Variant.
- Shuffle all the White puzzles to form a White puzzle deck and place it face down in the center of the play area.
- Shuffle all of the Black puzzles and then take a number of them at random based on the number of players (as per the table below). Shuffle them together to form a Black puzzle deck and place it face down beside the White puzzle deck. Return any remaining Black puzzles to the box.
| Number of players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black puzzles | 12 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 24 |
Note: For 6-player games, either the Ghost Piece or Phoenix expansion is required.
- Reveal the top 4 puzzles from each deck, placing them face up, in rows to the right of each deck.
- Place all of the colored pieces in a reserve nearby.
- Take 1 Player mat for each player, making sure you include the board showing the first player marker. Shuffle them and then deal one at random to each player. The player who receives the first Player mat will start the game. Players place their Player mat in front of them.
- Each player takes one level-1 piece and one level-2 piece, placing both of them in their own personal supply to the right of their Player mat.
Gameplay Overview
In Project L, players will complete a range of puzzles using their pieces to try and earn as many points as they can. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Pieces
Pieces come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are divided into 4 levels, which relates to their size. During the game, you will build up your supply of pieces so you can complete increasingly difficult puzzles to earn more and more points!
Puzzles
During the course of the game, you will try to complete a number of different puzzles to score points and gain more pieces. Each puzzle has the following:
- A recessed area which you are aiming to fill with your pieces to complete it.
- The points value of the puzzle at the end of the game if you have completed it.
- The new piece you will gain when the puzzle is completed.
Gameplay
The game is played over a number of rounds. In each round, beginning with the first player and going in clockwise order, each player takes a turn. This continues until the Black puzzle deck is empty. Players complete that round and then play one final round.
On your turn, you must perform 3 actions. The 5 possible actions are detailed below. Unless stated otherwise, you may perform the actions in any order and any number of times.
Take
Take any one puzzle from one of the rows and place it above your Player mat. Replace the puzzle you took from the row with another one from the corresponding puzzle deck.
Alternatively, you can take the top puzzle from either of the decks, placing it face up above your Player mat. You cannot look at the front of the puzzle before you take it.
Note: You can have a maximum of 4 unfinished puzzles; if you already have 4, you cannot perform this action.
Recycle
Choose one of the rows of puzzles, remove all the puzzles from that row and place them on the bottom of the corresponding deck, in an order of your choice. Then, refill the row by revealing 4 new puzzles from the top of the corresponding puzzle deck.
Upgrade
When taking this action you do one of the following two options:
A: Take a new level-1 piece from the reserve and add it to your personal supply.
B: Return a piece from your personal supply to the reserve and take a replacement piece. The new piece may be from the same level, any level lower, or one level higher.
Place
Place a piece from your supply into one of your puzzles. It must be laid flat in the recessed area and not overlap any other piece. You may flip the piece or rotate it freely.
Note: Once a piece has been placed in a puzzle, it cannot be later moved or removed until that puzzle is completed.
Master (once per turn)
Place up to 1 piece from your personal supply into each puzzle above your Player mat. You may choose to not place a piece on a puzzle, and you cannot place more than 1 on each.
You may only do this action once per turn.
If you have any actions remaining after completing a puzzle, you continue with your turn.
Taking Pieces from Reserve
Anytime you should take a particular piece from the reserve (as a result of the Upgrade action or as a reward for completing a puzzle) and there are no more pieces of that type available, you may instead choose any other piece of the same level. Furthermore, if there are no pieces of the same level available in the reserve, you may take any piece that is one level higher or any level lower.
For example: If you should take a level-1 piece and there are no level-1 pieces left in the reserve, you may instead take a level-2 piece. If there are no level-2 pieces left as well, you may then take any piece of level-3 instead. And so on.
Known Victory Points
If you want to play a more strategic game, play with your Victory Point pile face up, so that everyone can see the points everyone else has scored. This should be agreed by all players before the game starts.
Completing Puzzles
At the end of an action in which the recessed area of a puzzle is completely filled with pieces, that puzzle is considered completed. Multiple puzzles may be completed with a single action. When you complete a puzzle, follow these steps in order:
- Return all the pieces from the puzzle to your personal supply.
- Take a new piece (as depicted on the puzzle) from the reserve and place it in your personal supply.
- Place the puzzle face down on your Victory Point pile to the left of your Player mat.
Game End
When the Black puzzle deck is empty, the end of the game is triggered. Finish the current round and then play one final round. This ensures that all players have played the same number of turns.
As soon as the end of the game is triggered, any Black puzzles taken are not replaced. Also, each player may now only take a maximum of 1 Black puzzle during their turn (this includes the player who triggered the end of the game; any puzzles they may have taken before the end of the game was triggered do not count towards this limit).
Finishing Touches
After the final round ends, each player may place any number of pieces from their supply into the puzzles in front of them following the normal rules for the Place action. For each piece placed this way, 1 point is deducted from that player's final score.
Note: You must perform all of your Finishing Touches before any of your puzzles are considered completed, i.e. you cannot complete one puzzle with a Finishing Touch and then use the pieces gained from that to perform additional Finishing Touches.
Also, completed puzzles at this time do not give any bonus piece.
Final Scoring
Each player counts up their points as follows:
- Total of the points on all the puzzles in your Victory Point pile.
- Deduct points for each incomplete puzzle, equal to its point value.
- Deduct 1 point for every piece you placed during Finishing Touches.
The player with the most points wins!
- In case of a tie, the player who has completed the most puzzles wins.
- If there is still a tie, the player with the most pieces leftover wins.
- If there is still a tie, all tied players share the victory. You are all awesome!
For example: The last round of the game is over and now Paul is ready to take the Finishing Touches step. First Paul decides to finish the big 5 point puzzle with a level-2 piece, and a level-3 piece, scoring minus 2 victory points for completing it with 2 pieces. Then, Paul finishes the second puzzle with a level-1 piece, scoring minus 1 point. Altogether, Paul scores 21 points (24 points for completed puzzles, –3 for Finishing Touches).
Solo Variant
Do you have what it takes to challenge the artificial mastermind?
Setup
The following instructions describe how to set up the solo game:
-
Select 15 random White puzzles and 10 random Black puzzles. Shuffle each set of puzzles separately and place the Black puzzles face down in the centre of the play area, and then place the White puzzles on top. This is the puzzle deck.
-
Reveal 9 puzzles from the top of the puzzle deck and arrange them into a 3 × 3 grid.
-
Place all of the colored pieces in a reserve.
-
Take four random pieces from the reserve and place one above the 1st and 3rd columns and two above the 2nd column of the puzzle grid.
Note: Use random pieces for the locks and the opponent's supply. During the game, you may interchange pieces between the reserve, the locks, and the opponent's supply so that no piece type gets depleted in the reserve.
-
Take one Player mat for yourself, and place it in front of you. Designate an area for your opponent. No Player mat is needed for your opponent.
-
Take one level-1 and one level-2 piece and place them in your personal supply.
-
Place a number of pieces into your opponent's supply based on your chosen difficulty level:
- Normal – 6 pieces
- Hard – 3 pieces
- Unbeatable – 0 pieces
Gameplay
You take the first turn, followed by your opponent. This process continues until the end of the game is triggered.
Your Turn
Play your turn in the same way as you would in the base game with the following exceptions:
-
Each time you take a puzzle from any of the columns of the puzzle grid, take one piece from above the corresponding column and place it into your opponent's supply. Skip this step if there are no pieces above the column.
You may still take puzzles from the draw decks instead of taking one from the puzzle grid. If you do, the pieces above the puzzle grid do not move.
-
You cannot use the Recycle action.
Your Opponent's Turn
Your opponent always attempts to take one puzzle and place it directly into their Victory Point pile, as if they have completed it.
They cannot take puzzles from a locked column (one with at least one piece above it). If all columns are locked, remove one piece from above each column and return them to the reserve.
If they can take a puzzle, they take the one worth the most points. In case of a tie, they take the one in the lowest numbered position (the puzzle grid positions are numbered 1–9, left to right then top to bottom).
Remember: Your opponent cannot take a puzzle from a locked column.
After your opponent takes a puzzle:
- Move all pieces from the opponent's supply to above the column where the puzzle was taken from.
- Move 1 piece from above each other column to above the column where the puzzle was taken from.
- Replace the puzzle your opponent took with a new one from the puzzle deck.
Game End
The end of the game is triggered when the puzzle deck becomes empty. You then finish the current round and then play one more round. Unlike the multiplayer game, there is no limit on how many Black puzzles you can take during the final 'end of game' rounds. After that, take any Finishing Touches you wish to, then proceed to Final Scoring.
Final Scoring
Total the points in both your and your opponent's Victory Point piles. Deduct points from your score for any unfinished puzzles or Finishing Touches as normal.
If you have beaten your opponent's score you win! In case of a tie, your opponent wins.
Line Clear Variant (5–6 Player Games)
When playing with more than 4 players, use the Line Clear Variant. Can you handle 4 puzzle rows?
Setup
Follow the base game setup, but place only 3 puzzles into each of the puzzle rows. After that:
- Create a second row of 3 White puzzles and a second row of 3 Black puzzles to the opposite side of the puzzle decks.
- Place one of the White markers between the rows of puzzles on the left. Give the other one to the first player.
- Place one of the Black markers between the rows of puzzles on the right. Give the other one to the 3rd player in a 5-player game, or to the 4th player in a 6-player game.
Note: The Ghost Piece/Phoenix expansion is required to play with 6 players.
Gameplay
A player with a marker in front of them takes a standard 3-action turn with the following changes to the rules:
- Both players must play simultaneously.
- Players may only take puzzles from the rows on the side of the play area with the marker matching the one that is in front of them.
- Only the player who has the White marker can take puzzles from either of the puzzle decks, or use the Recycle action (only targeting the rows on the left).
- After both players have finished their turn, they each pass their markers clockwise to the next player.
Game End
The end of the game is triggered once the Black puzzle deck runs out. The game continues until the first player has been passed both of the markers again (in any order). Once the first player gets the second marker the game ends. Resolve Finishing Touches and Final scoring as normal.
For example: Paul, Vicky, Martin, David, and Emma are playing a 5-player game and are sat in that order around the table. Paul is the first player. The Black puzzle deck is emptied when Vicky has the White marker and David has the Black marker. After 2 turns, Paul is passed the Black marker; the game continues as normal. After 2 more turns, the White marker is passed to Paul and the game ends immediately.
Ghost Piece Expansion
This expansion introduces special level-5 Ghost pieces and puzzles with different rewards.
Components
- 12 White puzzles
- 12 Black puzzles
- 30 Pieces (10× each of the 3 shapes)
This expansion is compatible with the Project L base game and all other expansions.
Gameplay
Ghost pieces are special level-5 pieces. Not only are they large, but if you have one of the Ghost pieces in your supply, you have access to a new action on your turn. You can get Ghost pieces in two ways, both require completing the puzzles from this expansion:
-
As a reward for completing puzzles.
-
When you upgrade a piece to level 5 using a 'Level Up' reward (single-arrow or double-arrow icon).
Note: It is not possible to get Ghost pieces (level 5) by using the regular Upgrade action during your turn.
Level up reward
Some of the new Black puzzles have a Level Up reward depicting a single or double arrow icon. This reward allows you to Upgrade any pieces in your supply, including those you just took back from the completed puzzle. With the double-arrow upgrade, you may Upgrade the same piece twice, or two different pieces once each.
Ghost
If you have a Ghost piece in your supply, you may use the new Ghost action to return that Ghost piece to the reserve and take a number of level 1–4 pieces which form the same shape as the Ghost piece you returned. You may immediately place these new pieces on the puzzles you have, but no more than one new piece per puzzle. Any pieces you do not place are put into your personal supply.
Note: You cannot exchange Ghost pieces for other pieces during Finishing Touches.
Ambassador Pack
The Ambassador Pack includes exciting new puzzles and a first player marker.
Components
- 1 White puzzle
- 2 Black puzzles
- Ambassador Coin first player marker
This expansion is compatible with the Project L base game and all other expansions.
Gameplay
Unlike the base game puzzles, the Ambassador puzzles do not grant you an immediate reward. Instead, they allow you to take a special one-time Ambassador action, shown by this icon: M. When you complete an Ambassador puzzle, place it face up next to your Victory point pile. During any future turn, you may flip this puzzle face down to use its Ambassador action. You still get the Victory Points for the completed Ambassador Puzzle, regardless of if you have used the action or not.
Ambassador
This action works just like the regular Master action, with the exception that you may take it any number of times during your turn, providing you flip one of your Ambassador puzzles face down each time.
Finesse Expansion
This expansion introduces a new game module – Finesses. You will have to adjust your tactics to perform various Finesses for which you are rewarded with Credits, a new useful resource which may be traded for extra actions.
Components
- 35 Credits
- 30 Finesse tiles
- 10 of "Set A"
- 10 of "Set B"
- 10 of "Set C"
This expansion is compatible with the Project L base game and all other expansions.
Setup
Follow the setup instructions from the base game as normal and then set up Finesses by performing the following steps:
- Place all of the Credits nearby to form the bank.
- Separate the Finesse tiles by set according to their backs (A, B, or C).
- Randomly select 2 tiles from sets A and B, and 6 tiles from set C. Return the rest of the tiles back into the box unseen.
- Shuffle the selected 10 Finesse tiles together without looking at them and deal them below the Black Puzzle row (or rows if playing with the Line Clear variant), placing the first two tiles face down and the rest face up.
Gameplay
During a round, only the leftmost Finesse tile can be achieved, and only if it is face up.
At the end of each round, the leftmost Finesse tile is removed from the game. Therefore, in the first two rounds of the game, no player can achieve a Finesse (because the initial two tiles are face down).
All players can attempt to achieve the current Finesse on their turn.
Achieving a Finesse
To achieve a Finesse, you must complete the objectives shown on the card.
- Set A tiles require you to place certain pieces into puzzles.
- Set B tiles require you to have certain pieces at the end of your turn.
- Set C tiles have a variety of requirements.
If you are about to take a Credit and the bank is empty, the player or players who have the most Credits must return 1 Credit back to the bank. Then you take the Credit you would have gained.
At the end of your turn, move all Credits from the left of your Player mat to the right (near their supply of Pieces). Those Credits are now active and can now be spent to perform the Insert special action on a future turn as described below.
Insert
At any time during your turn, you may spend 2 of your active Credits (placing them in the bank), to immediately take any one action. This action does not count towards your 3 actions per turn limit and you can use this special action multiple times, spending 2 Credits each time you use it. The Master action can still only be taken once per turn.
Game End
The game may now end in one of two ways (whichever happens first):
- As per the base game rules: The Black Puzzle deck runs out. Complete that round and then play one additional round, followed by Finishing Touches.
- When the last Finesse tile is removed (at the end of the 10th round). If this happens, there is no additional round, just Finishing Touches.
Finishing Touches
After the end of the last round, move any Credits you have on the left side of your mat to the right. You may spend 1 Credit instead of losing a Victory Point for each Finishing Touch placement. You may still lose a Victory Point as normal, if you do not have enough Credits.
Final Scoring
If more than one player has the most Victory Points at the end of the game, the tied player with the most Credits is the winner. If still tied, proceed to the standard game tie-breaker rules.
For the pink tiles, each time you achieve the Finesse, take the Credits depicted on the bottom of the tile from the bank and place them to the left of your Player mat; they cannot be used until the next round.
For the blue tiles, check the Finesse tile at the end of your turn and take Credits based on how many times you achieved the Finesse.
Finesse Tiles Appendix
Set A
All Finesse tiles in this set work in the same way.
Whenever you place any of the depicted pieces onto any puzzle above your Player mat, gain 1 Credit.
Example: If you place the cyan piece and the purple piece on your puzzles with a Master action, gain 2 Credits.
Set B
All Finesse tiles in this set work in the same way.
At the end of your turn, gain 1 Credit for every depicted piece in your supply or on puzzles above your Player mat.
Example: If you have two orange pieces in your supply and one blue piece in a puzzle, you gain 3 Credits at the end of your turn.
Set C
At the end of your turn, gain 1 Credit for every unfinished puzzle you have above your Player mat.
Example: If you have four unfinished puzzles above your Player mat at the end of the turn, gain 4 Credits.
Whenever you use the Master or Ambassador action, gain 1 Credit for each piece (of any type) you place.
Example: If you use the Master action to place three pieces (any types) on your puzzles, gain 3 Credits.
Whenever you complete a puzzle, gain 1 Credit.
Whenever you Take a puzzle, gain 1 Credit.
At the end of your turn, gain 1 Credit for every type of the depicted pieces that you have one or more of in your supply or on unfinished puzzles.
Example: If you have two different types of pieces (three orange and two pink pieces) in your supply or on puzzles, you gain 2 Credits at the end of your turn.
Whenever you place any of the depicted pieces onto any puzzle above your Player mat, gain 1 Credit.
Example: If you use the Place action to put an orange piece on your puzzle, gain 1 Credit.
Whenever you use the Upgrade action, gain 1 Credit.
If you are playing with the Ghost piece expansion, you also gain 1 Credit for each instant Level Up reward that you receive (1 Credit for a single-arrow icon and 2 Credits for a double-arrow icon).
Finesse Ambassador Pack
The Finesse Ambassador Pack includes a whole new array of exciting Finesse tiles with advanced gameplay mechanics.
Components
- 10 Finesse tiles
- 2 of "Set A"
- 2 of "Set B"
- 6 of "Set C"
Add the new Finesse tiles from this pack to the respective sets from the Finesse expansion. Choose the 10 starting Finesses as normal from the two packs shuffled together.
Gameplay
Follow the rules of the Finesse expansion.
Finesse Tiles Appendix
Finesse tiles from Sets A and B work in the same way as those from the Finesse expansion.
Set C
At the end of your turn, if you have no unfinished puzzles above your Player mat, gain 4 Credits.
Whenever you perform the Recycle action, gain 2 Credits.
Note: Remove this tile if you are playing the solo game.
At the end of your turn, if you have at least one piece of every level, gain 4 Credits. This does not include Ghost pieces if you are playing with that expansion.
After using the Insert action, gain 1 Credit.
At the end of your turn, if you do not have any duplicate pieces in your supply or on the puzzles above your Player mat, gain 4 Credits.
At the end of your turn, if you have no level-1 or level-2 pieces in your supply or on any of your unfinished puzzles above your Player mat, gain 3 Credits.
Finesse Solo Variant
The artificial mastermind now takes 2 puzzles per turn, so don't forget to use Finesses to your advantage.
Setup
Follow the setup for the standard Solo variant, but use 20 White puzzles and 15 Black puzzles. Then set up the Finesse expansion according to the Finesse rules (see the Finesse Expansion section). Place the Finesse tiles anywhere near the puzzle grid.
Your Turn
Follow the rules of the standard Solo variant and the rules of the Finesse expansion.
Your Opponent's Turn
Your opponent does not collect Credits or perform Finesses. They play according to the standard Solo variant rules, with the following exception:
Your opponent always takes two puzzles during their turn:
- The first puzzle is chosen in the same way as in the standard Solo variant i.e. the most valuable puzzle.
- The second puzzle is chosen from the same column as the first one, but the opponent takes the puzzle worth the least amount of points.
- If there are two puzzles tied for the least amount of points, they take the one closest to the top of the column.
- If there are no puzzles remaining in that column, skip this step.
Only replace the puzzles after both have been taken. First, replace the topmost one, then the other one.
Game End
The end of the game can be triggered using both the standard Solo variant rules and the Finesse expansion rules.
Finishing Touches
Follow the rules of the standard Solo variant and the rules of the Finesse expansion.
Final Scoring
The standard Solo variant rules apply.
Finesse Line Clear Variant
Can you handle 4 rows with Finesses?
When playing the Finesse expansion with the Line Clear Variant, the start of the new round (when you move onto the next finesse) happens when the first player gets the White marker again.
Phoenix Expansion
This expansion introduces 7 new 6-point Black puzzles.
Components
- 7 Black puzzles
This expansion is compatible with the Project L base game and all other expansions.
Endless White Deck Variant (2+ Player Games)
Love White puzzles but hate running out of them?
Anytime the White puzzle deck is empty:
- All players note down points for their finished White puzzles.
- Then take all those puzzles, shuffle them, and form a new White puzzle deck.
If you are playing with the Ambassador Pack puzzles, players should also note down any unused M actions for those puzzles.