Reptile Tank Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Game Objective
• Course of the Game
• Placing Cards
• Card Types
• Scoring Conditions
  • 1) Shape and Environment Condition
  • 2) Specific Enclosure Condition
  • 3) Area Condition
  • 4) Adjacency Condition
  • 5) Quantity Condition
  • 6) Row or Column Condition
  • 7) Connected Water Area Condition
• Flipping Cards
• End of the Game
  • Score Pad
• Objective Card Variant
• Game for 2 or 3 Players
• Solo Play
  • Terrarium Master Scoring
• Species Overview

Game Contents

• 126 Animal and Environment cards
• 10 double-sided Objective cards
• 12 Reference cards
• Score pad

Game Objective

The goal of the game is to earn as many Victory Points (VP) as possible by placing cards in your Terrarium (a 4×5 grid). Players score VP for fulfilling conditions on the Animal and Environment cards. After 20 rounds, the player with the highest score wins.

Course of the Game

The game is divided into 3 phases, which are further divided into individual rounds. At the beginning of each phase, every player draws 7 cards into their hand. In each round, each player chooses one of their cards and places it face-down in front of them. Once all players have selected their card, they reveal and place it in their Terrarium simultaneously. The remaining cards are then passed to another player – in the first phase to the player on their left, in the second phase to the player on their right, and in the third phase again to the player on their left. In the final, 20th round, players choose between their last 2 cards, placing one into their Terrarium and discarding the other.

Placing Cards

You must place your cards within the 4×5 grid of your Terrarium (4 cards vertical and 5 horizontal). The card you just placed does not need to be adjacent to the cards already placed in your Terrarium, but it must fit within the 4×5 grid. Once placed, cards within the Terrarium can no longer be moved.

(Illustrations: cards placed in this way can be in any part of the Terrarium at the end of the game; cards placed in this way clearly define the width of your Terrarium.)

Card Types

There are a total of 16 types of cards in the game, divided into 2 groups: Animal cards (10 types, square frame) and Environment cards (6 types, round frame). Additionally, the Animal cards are divided into 4 categories, marked at the top middle of each card: Snakes, Lizards, Turtles and Cockroaches. The Environment cards are divided into 2 categories: Land and Water, which is on the reverse side of all cards. Each card has a number in the bottom right corner, indicating how many times that particular type of Animal or Environment card appears in the game.

Card anatomy: Category, Basic condition, Advanced condition, Victory Point value, Group, Number of cards of the same type.

Scoring Conditions

Each card has a basic scoring condition in the top left corner, some cards also have an advanced condition in the top right corner. The orange or red panel shows the number of VP you will earn if you fulfil the condition. The conditions are represented by the following symbols:

• Animal card of the same type
• Animal card of any other type
• Environment card of the same type
• Environment card of any other type
• Any Environment card anywhere next to the Shape condition
• Most cards of this type in the Terrarium
• 2 different categories of Animals (2≠); 3 different categories (3≠)
• Exactly one card of this type in the Terrarium (1!)
• A specific Animal/Environment somewhere in the column/row; cards do not have to be adjacent to each other

1) Shape and Environment Condition

To earn VP, the required 2 or 3 Animal cards of the same type (as depicted on the card) must be placed in the Terrarium in a specific shape, and at the same time, there must be 1 or 2 different Environment cards adjacent to this shape. You may have multiple sets of the same type of Animal in the Terrarium, but each Animal card may only be part of one set. An Environment card, on the other hand, can be used to fulfil multiple Shape conditions.

Example: Michael has two sets of Blue-Tongued Skinks in his Terrarium. At the end of the game, he can score VP for each set individually. The set in the first row has three Animal cards of the required type next to each other, and it is also adjacent to two different Environment cards (Rock and Golden Pothos). Michael will score 13 VP for this set. The second set below has two Animal cards and one adjacent Environment card (Hollow Log). For this set, Michael will score 5 VP.

2) Specific Enclosure Condition

To earn VP, you must have multiple Three-Toed Box Turtles (2/at least 3) in your Terrarium surrounding one Environment card. Each Three-Toed Box Turtle card may only be part of one such enclosure.

3) Area Condition

To earn VP, cards of these types must be placed in specific positions within the Terrarium grid, marked by darkened squares. To score, you need to place a sufficient number of cards of the same type (2/at least 3) in the required positions under the same condition.

Unlike the Shape condition, the Area condition can only be fulfilled once. Cards outside the marked area do not count towards scoring.

Example: Charles has fulfilled the Specific Enclosure condition for the Three-Toed Box Turtle. Two Turtle cards are adjacent to a single Golden Pothos card, earning him 6 VP at the end of the game. If he adds another Three-Toed Box Turtle to the right of the Pothos, he will score 12 VP instead.

For three Ringneck Snakes, he will earn 9 VP, as they are in the correct areas. However, if Charles adds another Ringneck Snake, he won't earn any additional VP for it.

4) Adjacency Condition

To earn VP, cards of these types must be adjacent to other cards of a certain type.

• The Rock requires any Environment card to be diagonally adjacent to it (including another Rock card).
• The Hollow Log requires a sufficient number of any Animal cards to be adjacent by edge.
• The Brown Anole earns 2 VP for each Environment card adjacent to it by edge. Each Environment card must be different.
• The Scarlet Star requires 2 or 3 categories of Animals (Snakes, Turtles, Lizards) to be adjacent by edge.

5) Quantity Condition

There must be exactly one Cockroach in your Terrarium, or you must have more Cockroaches than any other player. If you have more than one, but not the most, you earn no VP. If you have exactly one Cockroach and at the same time the most Cockroaches of all players, you earn 12 VP. In case of a tie, all players with the most Cockroaches get 12 VP.

Example: Barbara has 2 Brown Anoles in her Terrarium. She earns 4 VP for one and 6 VP for the other.

She earns 3 VP for the Rock, as it is diagonally adjacent to one Environment card.

She currently earns no VP for the Hollow Logs, as they do not meet the condition of being adjacent to at least 3 Animal cards. For both, there is still room to add more Animals and earn the VP.

She earns no VP for the Cockroaches, as she has 2 but not the most.

She earns 5 VP for the Scarlet Star, as it is adjacent to Animals from 2 different required categories (a Snake and a Lizard).

6) Row or Column Condition

To earn VP, cards of this type must be placed in the same column (Common Box Turtle) or the same row (Silver Inch Plant). The cards do not need to be adjacent and can be anywhere in the same column or row. This condition can be fulfilled multiple times, allowing you to have multiple columns of Common Box Turtles or rows of Silver Inch Plants.

7) Connected Water Area Condition

To earn VP, Water cards must be connected by edges to form a single large Water area. The shape of the area doesn't matter. You score VP for each individual Water area. You earn 1 VP for a 1-card area, 3 VP for a 2-card area, 4 VP for a 3-card area, and 8 VP for a 4-card area.

Flipping Cards

Each card shows Water on its reverse side. Water has its own scoring condition and is considered the sixth kind of Environment. After each of your turns, you can flip one already placed card to its Water side, including the one you just placed.

End of the Game

The game ends when all players have placed their final (20th) card into their Terrarium and discarded one last card. Then, tally the VP for all your card sets. To keep track, use the score pad to record the VP for each type of card in your Terrarium. The player with the most VP wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the highest number of 3-card sets wins. If the tie persists, the player with the higher number of Dry-land Environment cards wins.

Score Pad

Columns: 1 Player names; 2 Total VP for all Lizards; 3 Total VP for all Snakes; 4 Total VP for all Turtles; 5 VP for Cockroach cards; 6 VP for Water cards; 7 VP for Dry-land Environment cards; 8 VP for Objective cards (see Objective Card Variant); 9 Total score.

Example: Charles 11, 17, 12, 8, 13, -, total 61; Michael 13, 4, 25, 12, 4, 14, -, total 72; Barbara 19, 11, 5, 2, 12, 10, -, total 59.

Objective Card Variant

If you are already familiar with the basic version of the game, you can add Objective cards. There are 10 double-sided Objective cards in the game, and before each game, you randomly choose (or select) two cards and place them in the middle of the table for all players to see. These cards set additional conditions for earning VP, and each player can fulfil them. They are evaluated at the end of the game and for each fulfilled Objective card, you earn 6, 8, or 10 VP in addition to the VP for your Terrarium. Below you will find a description of the scoring conditions for all Objective cards:

1. Have one or two Water cards in your Terrarium.
2. Have a different type of card (Animal or Environment) in each corner of your Terrarium.
3. Have a completed set from each of the three categories (Lizards, Snakes and Turtles) in your Terrarium. The basic scoring condition (on the left) is sufficient.
4. Have at least two types of Animals represented by at least three cards in your Terrarium.
5. Have at least four Lizard cards in your Terrarium.
6. Have at least four Snake cards in your Terrarium.
7. Have at least four Turtle cards in your Terrarium.
8. Have at least one column in your Terrarium that contains only Turtles, Snakes, or Lizards, in any combination.
9. Have at least one column in your Terrarium that contains only Environment cards without any Water cards.
10. Have at least four different Environment cards (including Water) in your Terrarium.
11. Have four Environment cards in your Terrarium forming a square.
12. Have four Environment cards in your Terrarium arranged diagonally, from the top-left corner to the bottom-right.
13. Have four Environment cards in your Terrarium arranged diagonally, from the bottom-left corner to the top-right.
14. Have a column of Animal cards in your Terrarium, where each Animal card is of a different type.
15. Have a row of Animal cards in your Terrarium, where each Animal card is of a different type.
16. Have one or two Environment cards in the marked positions in your Terrarium.
17. Have no Water cards in the marked positions in your Terrarium.
18. Have no Environment cards in either of the outermost columns of your Terrarium.
19. Have no Environment cards in the marked positions in your Terrarium.

Objective cards number 2 and 17 operate with a symbol that represents any card – Environment or Animal.

Game for 2 or 3 Players

The game can be played fully with all cards regardless of the number of players. However, when playing with 2 or 3 players, fewer cards will come into play, which reduces the chances of fulfilling certain scoring conditions. Therefore, for optimal gameplay, we recommend removing all cards with a star in the bottom-left corner (Animals: Corn Snake and Brown Anole; Environment: Rock).

In a two-player game, the rules are the same as in a game with more players, with one difference: each round, when players pass cards to each other, they randomly discard one card and draw a new one from the deck. They may then look at their cards, choose one and place it in their Terrarium according to the standard rules. Players place the seventh and fourteenth cards without discarding or drawing new cards. The game continues in this way until the twentieth and final round, when players pass the last two cards to each other, without drawing a new one. They place one card into their Terrarium and discard the other.

The cards to be removed from the game are marked with a small star symbol in the bottom-left corner.

Solo Play

In solo mode, you will compete against the Terrarium Master, and your goal is to score more VP than him. Like in the two-player variant, you can remove the cards with a star symbol in the bottom-left corner.

The game is divided into five phases. At the beginning of each phase, draw eight cards from the deck. Look at the cards, shuffle them, and reveal the two top cards. Choose one of them and place it in your Terrarium according to the standard rules. The Master receives the second card left from the pair. Continue this process until both you and the Master have four cards in your respective Terrariums.

The Master does not build a grid for his Terrarium. Instead, place the Master's cards in rows of five next to your Terrarium. Whenever the Master gets a card he already has, place it on top of the first card of the same type, creating groups of identical cards.

Terrarium Master Scoring

Before calculating the Master's VP, follow these steps:

• Animals: Flip all Animal cards that do not meet the condition to the Water side.
• Environments: Take all Environment cards and form as many pairs of the same type as possible. With the remaining ones, form random pairs, and if a single card remains, flip it to the Water side.
• Water: Take all cards and create one continuous Water area.

Example: At the end of the game, the Master has these cards. First, he combines two individual Environment cards into a pair. He randomly chooses the Rock and the Hollow log for pairing. He flips the remaining third Environment to Water.

Next, he flips the three individual Animal cards in the left column to Water, creating a continuous area of four Water cards.

Now, start recording your and the Master's scores on the score pad.

• Animal groups: The Master automatically fulfils the conditions for the Animals if he has enough cards of their type, without needing to consider the Environments. For each Anole card, the Master scores as many VP as he has different types of Environments (to a maximum of 4 Environments, meaning 8 VP per Anole card). For each Cockroach card, the Master scores 2 VP, and if he has more Cockroach cards than you, he scores another 12 VP.
• Environments: Each pair of the same type of Environment scores points for their advanced condition, without needing to fulfill it. Each pair of different Environment cards scores the lowest point value of the shown conditions.
• Water: The Master scores VP for the largest continuous Water area, to a maximum of 8 VP.

Example: The Master scores:

• 8 VP for the Water area
• 5 VP for the Blue-Tongued Skink
• 3 VP for the Rock Environment
• 7 VP for the Golden Pothos Environment
• 11 VP for the Corn Snake
• 8 VP for the Anoles (4 per Anole for 4 different Environments)
• 12 VP for the Three-Toed Box Turtle
• 5 VP for the Common Box Turtle

Objective cards: Solo mode can also be played with Objective cards. Add three Objective cards to the game. At the end of the game, you will score VP for the Objectives you have completed. But attention! Any Objectives that you fail to complete will be scoring for the Master!

Difficulty: To increase the difficulty in the solo game, you can form random pairs out of the remaining Animal cards (flip any remaining single cards to their Water side), just like with the Environment. The Master then scores the lowest point value of the shown conditions for each individual pair. To achieve an even greater level of difficulty, the Master can score the highest point value of each individual pair, both for Environment and Animal cards.

Species Overview

In the game Reptile Tank, the represented species are primarily non-aggressive animals that could live together peacefully. Below you will find an overview of all types of Animal and Environment cards:

Animals:

• Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)
• Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)
• Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca)
• Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
• Three-Toed Box Turtle (Terrapene Carolina triunguis)
• Red-Footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonarius)
• Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei)
• Blue-Tongued Skink (Tiliqua scincoides)
• Neon Day Gecko (Phelsuma klemmeri)
• Dubia Roach (Blaptica dubia)

Environments:

• Silver Inch Plant (Tradescantia zebrina)
• Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
• Scarlet Star (Guzmania lingulata)
• Hollow Log
• Rock
• Water

Creating a terrarium with many species requires a lot of care, maintenance, and knowledge. For beginners, it is recommended to start with one or just a few animals in one tank.