River Wild
River Wild Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
16 River Cards, 1 Source Card, 1 Reference Card
The illustration on each River Card shows land, a runestone, a river, mountains, and a scoring goal.
Wildlife Types
Frog, Jackalope, Unicorn, Dragon
Setup
- Place the Source Card on the table, leaving a large build area below it. (Both sides of the Source Card are identical.)
- Shuffle the 16 River Cards together to form a deck.
- Draw a hand of 3 River Cards. You may keep your hand on the table as a row of cards.
- Place the Reference Card nearby.
The Reference Card summarizes Scoring: score 2 points per Protected Land. The largest Protected Land uses the first number on a scoring goal to score; all other Protected Lands use the second number. A scoring goal may ask for 1 animal of the specified type per icon shown, 1 animal of each type, or 3 animals of any type(s).
Gameplay
Over a series of turns, extend the river down from the source to form Protected Lands: gapless areas of land completely surrounded by the river and/or mountains.
Turn Structure
Each turn, place a card from your hand to extend the river by connecting its river to a river or mountain section on the card above. It must be placed upright below an existing card, either directly or offset by half a card width, without any overlap. Land and river may not touch, but mountains may touch either land or river.
You may look at both sides of cards in your hand (the back is a mirror image of the front), and place the chosen card with either side up.
After placing the card, draw a new card from the deck if possible. Then, begin the next turn. The game ends when you have placed all 16 River Cards, or if no card in your hand can be placed.
Placement Notes
- River extends from river or new source in mountains. Valid.
- Card offset by half a card width or directly below. Valid.
- Land meets land or meets mountains. Valid.
- You may leave horizontal gaps between cards, but Protected Lands must be gapless. Valid.
- River cannot meet with land and is not extended. Invalid.
- Placement that does not extend the river. Invalid.
Runestones
A runestone grants animal spirits to its card. Each Protected Land that the card is part of gains one animal of your choice for scoring.
A runestone may not grant more than one animal to a Protected Land. If a runestone's card borders two different Protected Lands, it may grant a different animal to each Protected Land.
Scoring
Find your base score by scoring 2 points for each Protected Land (see Gameplay for examples). Then, evaluate each scoring goal within each Protected Land.
For each goal, see if the surrounding Protected Land contains the required wildlife. Remember to include animals from runestones.
If the goal is met, check if it is on the largest Protected Land. If it is, score points equal to the first number (2 points in this example). Otherwise, use the second number.
A Protected Land is the largest if it is formed from more cards than any other Protected Land. If two lands tie for largest, treat one as the largest.
Find your Rank to see how you fared.
Scoring Notes
Each diagram in the rulebook depicts the largest Protected Land within its respective game.
If a land contains enough wildlife, you may score a goal multiple times. Goals are scored individually, and an animal may help score multiple goals.
Example: a Protected Land has 1 Frog, 1 Unicorn, and 1 adjacent runestone.
- A goal asking for 1 animal of the specified type (per icon) scores 1 point for the frog, and 1 point for the runestone.
- A goal asking for 1 animal of each type scores 2 points for one frog and unicorn.
A runestone may not grant more than one animal to a Protected Land. If a land has a runestone bordering two goals, whichever goal you choose, you can only score 2 points for this land from that runestone.
A runestone may grant different animals to each Protected Land it borders. Example: a runestone grants a Unicorn to the land on the right, so that goal scores twice for a total of 4 points. That same runestone grants a Jackalope to the land on the left, so that goal scores 3 points.
Rank
| Score | Rank |
|---|---|
| 0-29 | Embarrassing Environment |
| 30-34 | Decent Domicile |
| 35-39 | Harmonious Habitat |
| 40-44 | Sublime Sanctuary |
| 45+ | Heavenly Haven |
Credits
Design: Steven Aramini Art: Milan Zivkovic Rules Editing: Michael Lee
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