Samara Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Content & Preparation
• Equip, Build, Increase or Rest
  • Get a Tool
  • Get a New Worker
  • Complete a Building
  • Take Vacation Months
  • None of the 4 Actions Above is Possible?
  • No Workers Left in the Current Month?
  • A Timetrack Tile Gets Emptied?
• Special Powers
• Who is the Most Prestigious Foreman?

Content & Preparation

1. Place the game board in the center.

2. Mix the 36 Building tiles and randomly place 30 tiles face up on the 30 gameboard spots. The remaining 6 tiles aren't used.

3. Take one set of tools per player. A set consists of:

   • 2 Saw tiles
   • 1 Trowel-compass tile
   • 1 Trowel-square tile
   • 1 Glass-blowing-block A tile
   • 1 Glass-blowing-block B tile

   Combine and mix these sets. Place them on the Building tiles, per tile the number as written below the tiles: the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th figure is for playing a 2, 3, 4 or 5 player game respectively. This set-up is for 4 players. Then each tool spot gets 2 tools.

4. Take the 2 Timetrack boards. Attach the current month to the 'NOW' space of the game board. Connect the second board to its last month.

5. Each player is a Foreman. All Foremen get 1 Foreman board and 5 pawns in one color. Place 1 of your male and 1 of your female pawns on your board.

6. The Foreman born closest to Samara is start player, the second-most close born is second player, and so on. All Foremen place 1 woman and 1 double-pawn man in the current month. Lay the first player's woman the nearest to the gameboard, the second player's woman next, and so on. Then add the double-pawn men in opposite order.

Equip, Build, Increase or Rest

Each turn, the Foreman with a worker in the current month which is the most close to the game board, has to choose an action for this worker. The possible actions are:

• Get a tool
• Get a new worker
• Complete a building
• Take vacation months

Get a Tool

For most building projects, you must get skilled (equipped) first. Therefore you need saws, trowels and glass-blowing-blocks. You can collect up to 2 saws, trowels and glass-blowing-blocks.

• Getting skilled in sawing is easy. Just get the saw(s).
• Getting mason skills is a bit harder: if you collect 2 trowels, it must be a trowel-compass and a trowel-square tool.
• Getting skilled with glass is the most difficult: your first glass blowing tool must be the 'A', the second must be the 'B' tool.

The tool types are: Saw, Trowel-Square, Trowel-Compass, Glass blowing tool A, Glass blowing tool B.

The tools lay in the rows and columns of the game board.

Columns: Getting a tool from the 1st column costs 1 month's time for 1 or more of your workers. A tool in column 2 costs 2 months, in the 3rd column 3 months, and so on.

Rows: Getting a tool from the lowest row requires only 1 labor strength. A tool in the second-lowest row requires 2, in the 3rd row 3 and in the top row a labor strength of 4.

Each single-pawn Worker has a labor strength of 1. A double-pawn worker has a strength of 2. Later you can strengthen your workers more, to get a worker with strength 3, 4 or 5 (3, 4 or 5 piled pawns).

To get a tool, the required workers must stand in the current month (September in the example picture). They don't have to stand adjacent to each other! The Foreman moves these (own) workers forward on the Timetrack by the needed number of months, and places them close to the gameboard (without changing their order). If there are workers already in that month, you add yours next to them.

The obtained tool you place at its spot on your Foreman board.

Example: Yellow chooses to get the Trowel-compass tool in column 1. Therefore a labor strength of 3 is needed. So Yellow uses its single-pawn together with its double-pawn. Getting the tool there costs the workers only 1 month. So Yellow shifts the 2 workers 1 month forward. In October they will be available for new orders again.

Get a New Worker

Only women can add a new worker. To do so, you place her at the last month of the Timetrack and add one of your pawns from your Foreman board to the same month.

Example: Orange chooses to multiply. The last month on the Timetrack now is June. So it costs Orange's woman 9 months, from September to June. The new worker starts in that month too.

Complete a Building

To win prestige, you must build objects. Each Building tile shows its prestige points at the right upper corner.

At the tile bottom you see which tools you must have, to build it. You don't lose the tools you use!

The required labor strength and the number of labor months, is determined by the place of the tile on the game board. (The same as for the tools, see above.)

Exception: if a tile lays in a column which is further than the last month on the Timetrack (that can happen in column 7, 8 or 9) you place your worker(s) on the furthest Timetrack month.

Example: Red chooses to build the hut. That takes 3 months time for 1 worker. Red places the tile face-down on its space on Red's board.

Example: This building gives 2 Prestige points. For this building you need to have: 2 Saws, 1 Trowel and 1 Glass tool.

Place obtained Building tiles on your Foreman board, face-down! If tools were laying on the Building tile, you leave the tools in their space.

Take Vacation Months

To take vacation, you move your worker to the first-next month where you already have one or more workers. (To gather workers, available in a later month.)

Example: The Red worker takes 3 months vacation.

None of the 4 Actions Above is Possible?

Then shift your worker just 1 month forward. (This can happen to male workers only.)

No Workers Left in the Current Month?

Then shift the whole Timetrack along the game board until there are workers again in the month at the NOW sign.

Example: All workers in September are sent out to work, or took vacation. The Timetrack shifts only 1 month, because in October workers are available again. So Yellow must put his workers to work again.

A Timetrack Tile Gets Emptied?

Then you first complete your turn and then add the empty tile at the other end of the Timetrack.

Example: December is over, so the Jul-Dec tile gets placed at the other side of the Jan-Jun tile.

Special Powers

For the first game you could decide to ignore the icons at the top of the tiles with a name. But it's recommended to use these powers. The grey tiles are about TOOLS, the blue tiles about TIME and the red tiles about WORKERS.

General rules:

• If an action brings your worker(s) further than the Timetrack end, they go to the furthest month of the Timetrack.
• Tiles with an encircled Prestige number, you keep face up near your board. These count for the remaining game.
• A special power can never make you lose your last remaining woman worker.

Boat — You lose 1 Saw. You place this tool at the space where you took the Boat. The tool is now available for all Foremen.

Sculpture — Same role as the Boat, but you lose one of your Trowels.

Vase — Same role as the Boat, but you lose one of your Glass blowing tools. The 'B' if you have that.

Ruin — Same role as the Boat, but you lose 2 tools of your choice. (It must be the 'B' if you choose 1 of your 2 glass tools.)

University — Henceforth, you only need to match the number of tools. (So that the type of tools plays no role. Number limits, and the order of tool A and B, still count.)

Barracks — If you take this tile, then all OTHER Foremen simultaneously choose 1 of their tools (if they have tools) to place at the space where you took the Barracks. (It must be the 'B' if one chooses 1 of their 2 glass tools.) These tools are available for all Foremen.

Hospital — All OTHER Foremen lose 1 strength of one worker. They can choose which worker. First your left neighbor chooses, then in clockwise order. A 1-pawn (1 strength) worker dies from this loss. The lost pawns go to their Foreman boards.

Weight Room — One of the workers who spends time for this tile, moves 1 month extra to gain 1 strength. Place one of your remaining pawns under this worker. (A matching male/female pawn, if possible.) If you had no pawns remaining, you don't move the extra month.

School — Henceforth, you have one strength extra if 2 or more of your workers do an action together.

Tombstone — You lose one of your workers. (Not necessarily a worker who builds this Tombstone.) So you lose a complete worker, not just a strength! The lost pawn(s) go(es) to your Foreman board.

Bridge — Henceforth, your workers do EVERYTHING 1 month quicker than you normally would. (Though minimum 1 month required for actions.) This even counts for the WEIGHT ROOM training, and for increasing.

Prison — You move one of the weakest workers (so a worker with strength 1, if available) of each OTHER Foreman, 5 months forward on the Timetrack. If not possible, then move a second-weakest worker 5 months forward. If that's impossible too, you choose 1 of his/her workers to move to the Timetrack end.

Hermit House — Henceforth, if another Foreman's worker(s) already stand(s) in the month where your worker(s) moves to, you move your worker(s) to the first-next month without workers of other Foremen.

Who is the Most Prestigious Foreman?

The game ends when all 30 Building tiles are taken.

Then all Foremen show and count their own Prestige points. The Foreman with the most points wins.

Among Foremen who have an equal score, the Foreman with the first-next available worker on the Timetrack wins.