Scoville
Scoville Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board (a puzzle assembled from four pieces), depicting the Farmer's Market, the Auction House, the Chili Cook-off, the Town Hall, the Pepper Field, and the Turn Order Track
- A large supply of pepper tokens in 10 colors: Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Brown, White, Black, and Phantom (theoretically the number of peppers in the game is unlimited — if you run out of a color, substitute something suitable)
- 6 player screens (for hiding your holdings from the other players)
- 6 Farmers (these little guys move around to harvest peppers)
- 6 discs (used to mark turn order)
- 65 Auction cards — players bid on these to obtain additional peppers; 30 from the morning batch and 35 from the afternoon batch
- 48 Market cards — players can sell peppers for various rewards, including money, peppers, and points; 24 from the morning batch and 24 from the afternoon batch
- 30 Recipe cards — earn a lot of points at the Chili Cook-off by turning in the pictured pepper combinations for them
- 12 Award Plaques — players can win these for extra points by planting the color of pepper shown
- A pile of coins in various denominations
- 18 Bonus Auction Tiles — use these special one-time actions on your turn to gain an advantage in the competition, or hold on to them for extra points at the end of the game
- 4 Cross-Breeding Charts — keep these handy to remember how to combine peppers for hotter, more valuable peppers (a player aid is also printed on the back)
Setup
A. General: Assemble the board in your play area. Sort the pepper tokens into piles by color next to the board. Also set up a bank of coins.
B. Players: Give each player a screen, Farmer, and discs of their color, one of each Bonus Auction Tile, $10 in coins, and three peppers: one red, one yellow, and one blue. Players should set up their screens to hide their holdings from other players during the game.
C. Farmer's Market: Shuffle the morning Market card deck, then draw a number of cards equal to the number of players, as indicated on the board; place them face up next to the board. Return the rest of the morning deck to the box, shuffle the afternoon deck, and stack it as shown on the board (on the large, empty, square space).
D. Chili Cook-off: Shuffle the Recipe cards, then draw a number of cards equal to the number of players, as indicated on the board; place them face up next to the board, overlapping one another to save space. It's a good idea to arrange them by point value as shown — from lowest to highest. Return the remaining Recipe cards to the box.
E. Auction House: Shuffle the morning and afternoon Auction decks separately and stack them face down next to the Auction House. Draw a number of cards equal to the number of players from the morning deck and place them face up in the slots on the board. Place the rest of the morning deck and the entire afternoon deck face down nearby.
F. Town Hall: Sort the Award Plaques by pepper color and stack them at the marked spots on the Town Hall roof, in decreasing order of value. In a two- or three-player game, remove one plaque (the highest-value one) from each stack and return it to the box.
G. Starting Plot: Take the red, yellow, and blue peppers into your hand. Randomly choose two of them and place them on the starting plots of the Pepper Field (marked with a green outline). Return the remaining third pepper to the supply.
H. Turn Order: Take each player's discs and randomly place them on the spaces of the Turn Order Track. Don't use track spaces with a value higher than the number of players (for example, in a three-player game don't use spaces 4, 5, and 6; to help remember this, you can place coins on the unused spaces).
I. Cross-Breeding Charts: Keep these handy so players can consult them.
Below is an example of setup for a three-player game.
In all of the game examples, we'll call our green player "Greg," our red player "Ruth," and our yellow player "Yuri."
Round Overview
Every game of Scoville consists of several rounds. Each round consists of these five phases:
- AUCTION (Players bid for turn order and claim Auction cards.)
- PLANTING (Players plant peppers and can win Award Plaques.)
- HARVESTING (Players move their Farmers up to 3 steps, cross-breeding peppers along the way.)
- FULFILLMENT (Players may fulfill a Market card, a Recipe, and sell one color of peppers.)
- TIME CHECK (Check whether Morning has progressed to Afternoon... or Afternoon to the endgame.)
1. Auction
In the Auction phase, all players bid for turn order, then in turn order claim Auction cards.
Bidding for Turn Order
Note: In the very first round, no bids are made; turn order is set randomly during setup. In subsequent rounds, players will bid for turn order.
First, slide all discs on the Turn Order Track up to the faded circles, preserving the turn order from the previous round.
To bid, players secretly take any amount of their coins (including possibly zero) and hold them in a closed fist. When everyone is ready, they simultaneously reveal their bids.
The player with the highest bid chooses a spot on the Turn Order Track and moves their disc there, then the next-highest bidder does the same, and so on until everyone has chosen a spot. Players pay their bids to the bank.
- In case of a tie for a bid (higher than zero), the player whose previous turn order was earlier chooses first.
- Players who bid zero do not choose spots on the track. After all players who bid more than zero have chosen, players with zero bids are placed on the remaining spots (in the previous round's turn order), from lowest number to highest.
Example: Bids are revealed. Greg bid 7, and Ruth and Yuri each bid 5. Greg chooses first. He wants to lead the Harvesting phase, which proceeds in reverse turn order, so he chooses spot 3.
Ruth and Yuri tied on bids, so they choose in the previous round's turn order. Ruth chooses spot 1, and Yuri (who has no choice left) ends up on spot 2.
The new turn order is Ruth, Yuri, Greg.
Claiming Auction Cards
In the new turn order, players each choose one card from the Auction House. The player takes the peppers shown on the card from the supply and discards the card.
After everyone has chosen, draw new cards from the deck to refill the Auction House (use the morning deck if it is still morning, and the afternoon deck if it is afternoon). In the rare case where a deck runs out, shuffle its discards and create a new deck.
Example: In the new turn order — Ruth, Yuri, Greg — Ruth picks a card with a purple pepper, then Yuri picks a card with a yellow and a blue pepper, and Greg takes the remaining card with a red pepper. Players discard these cards and take the pictured peppers from the supply. The Auction House is then refilled with three new cards from the morning deck.
2. Planting
In the Planting phase, all players (in turn order) must plant one pepper. To plant, choose any pepper from your supply and place it on an empty plot of the Pepper Field.
- A player may plant only on a plot that is horizontally or vertically adjacent to a plot that already has a pepper on it.
- A player may plant one additional pepper by using the corresponding Bonus Auction Tile (for details, see Bonus Auction Tiles).
Example: Ruth goes first. She may plant one of her peppers on the plots marked with a checkmark. Plots marked with a red X are not available because they aren't horizontally or vertically adjacent to a planted plot.
Ruth decides to plant a purple pepper on the indicated plot.
Award Plaques
If a player plants a pepper whose color still has a plaque remaining on the Town Hall, they may take the highest-value plaque of that stack (plaques are stacked with the most valuable on top).
- Striped-pepper plaques apply to planting a purple or orange or green pepper.
- A player may only earn one plaque per round, even if they used a Bonus Auction Tile to plant a second pepper that would also qualify for a plaque.
- A player may earn more than one plaque of the same color, provided they are earned in different rounds.
Example: Ruth planted a purple pepper, and the Town Hall still has purple/orange/green plaques available. Ruth takes the most valuable plaque, earning her a nice two points!
3. Harvesting
In the Harvesting phase, players (in reverse turn order) move their Farmer up to three steps along the paths between plots, gaining a pepper for each step that ends between two planted plots.
- In the first round, on your turn, place your Farmer on the star, then begin moving (in any direction). In subsequent rounds, Farmers begin their movement from wherever they stopped.
- Farmers may take up to three steps, but are required to take at least one step. A step means advancing the Farmer along a path between plots, until the Farmer reaches a point exactly between two plots (or a point next to a plot, if the Farmer is moving along the outer edge of the field). It doesn't matter whether the plots are planted or not.
- Farmers cannot pass through or stop on an opponent's Farmer (in the rare case a Farmer is completely blocked and cannot take a single step, that player must skip their turn during the Harvesting phase).
- At the start of a Farmer's turn, it may be turned to move in any direction, but once movement has begun it cannot be turned around. So you cannot travel back over any part of the path already traveled this turn.
- When a Farmer's step ends between two planted plots, the Farmer harvests a pepper. The player takes the pepper(s) indicated by the Cross-Breeding Chart.
- See "Cross-Breeding" below to learn how to read the Cross-Breeding Chart and harvest the best, hottest peppers!
Example: It's Greg's turn, and this is the first round. He places his Farmer token on the star and begins.
(Starting on the star does not count as a "step"; the player does not harvest.)
Step 1 brings him to a point between an empty plot and a yellow pepper, so he gets nothing.
After step 2 he is between an orange and a purple pepper. Checking the Cross-Breeding Chart, he harvests a white pepper!
Step 3 brings him to a point between two orange peppers. Checking the chart again, he sees this yields a black pepper!
Next round, his Farmer will begin moving from this spot, between two orange peppers.
Cross-Breeding
When a Farmer's step ends between two peppers, the player cross-breeds the peppers and takes the resulting pepper(s) from the supply.
Players quickly learn many of the combinations, but it's always best to check the Cross-Breeding Chart to confirm the result.
To use the Cross-Breeding Chart, find one of the peppers in the left-hand column of the chart, then follow that row across until it meets the column of the other pepper. The cell where the row and column intersect shows the result of the cross-breed.
- Most combinations yield one pepper.
- Some combinations yield two peppers.
- Some combinations (all involving brown peppers) are marked with an X on the chart, meaning the player gets nothing.
Example 1: Your Farmer is between two blue peppers. The blue row and blue column meet at the marked spot; you get two blue peppers!
Example 2: Your Farmer is between an orange and a purple pepper. The orange row and purple column meet at the marked spot; you get a white pepper!
Example 3: Your Farmer is between a brown and an orange pepper. The brown row and orange column meet at the marked spot; you get nothing!
4. Fulfillment
In the Fulfillment phase, all players (in turn order) may perform all or some of the following actions. Players may perform the actions in any order, but each action can only be performed once per round.
Visit the Farmer's Market
A player may choose one of the available Market cards from the Farmer's Market. The player pays the cost shown on the "WANTED" side of the card, in peppers, to the supply, and receives the reward(s) shown on the other side. The player hides the Market card behind their screen.
Example: Yuri chose this Market card. He pays the required yellow and orange peppers to the supply, takes a brown pepper and $3 from the supply, and hides the Market card behind his screen. At the end of the game it will earn him 1 point, as shown on it.
Enter the Chili Cook-off
A player may choose one of the available Recipe cards from the Chili Cook-off. The player pays the pepper combination shown on the card to the supply, then hides the card behind their screen.
Example: Yuri chose this Recipe card. He pays 2 black, 2 brown, and 2 red peppers to the supply and hides the card behind his screen. At the end of the game it will earn him a hefty 16 points!
Sell a Batch of Peppers
A player may sell up to five of their peppers of one color to the supply. Each pepper sold earns $1 for every two peppers of that color currently planted in the Pepper Field.
Example: Yuri may sell up to five of his peppers of one color. Given the peppers currently planted in the field:
Red peppers are worth nothing.
Purple peppers are worth nothing.
Orange peppers are worth $1 each.
Blue peppers are worth $1 each.
Yellow peppers are worth $2 each.
Yuri decides to sell 3 yellow peppers; he returns them to the supply and receives $6 from the bank.
5. Time Check
The game is divided into Morning and Afternoon. The game begins in the morning, so the morning Market and Auction decks are used during setup. The Time Check phase proceeds as follows:
If It's Morning
First, count how many cards remain at the Chili Cook-off.
-
If fewer cards remain than there are players (for example, 2 or fewer in a three-player game), the Afternoon is skipped. One more round is played, and after its Fulfillment phase, the game ends.
Note: This doesn't happen often in the morning, but it's possible.
Then count how many Market cards remain at the Farmer's Market.
- If at least as many cards remain as there are players (for example, 3 or more in a three-player game), it's still morning. A new round begins!
- If fewer cards remain than there are players, the game transitions to Afternoon.
- Discard all remaining morning Market cards from the Farmer's Market, then draw new cards from the afternoon deck, filling the market to the same number of cards as at the start of the game; return the remaining afternoon deck to the box.
- Remove the morning Auction deck to the box, but leave in place any Auction cards currently in the Auction House. A new round begins!
Example: This is a three-player game, it's currently morning, and we see that only 1 card remains at the Farmer's Market. This means the Afternoon will begin next round.
We discard the remaining Market card, deal 9 Market cards from the afternoon deck (discarding the rest of that deck), and remove the morning Auction deck.
If It's Afternoon
Count how many Market cards remain at the Farmer's Market and how many Recipe cards remain at the Chili Cook-off.
- If one of these two counts is fewer than the number of players, one more round is played, and after its Fulfillment phase, the game ends.
- If both counts are fewer than the number of players, the game ends immediately, without a final round.
Otherwise, a new round begins!
Example: We see that in this three-player game, 2 cards remain at the Farmer's Market, while 3 remain at the Chili Cook-off. Since one of these counts is fewer than the number of players, we play one more round, after which the game ends.
Endgame
When the game ends, players tally their points. Points are earned in five different categories:
- Points on Market cards
- Points on Recipe cards
- Points on Award Plaques
- Points on the back of unplayed Bonus Auction Tiles
- Every $3 = 1 point (ignore any remainder)
The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most money wins.
Example: At the end of the game, this player has 8 points from Market cards, 21 points from Recipe cards, 7 points from Award Plaques, 4 points from one unused Bonus Auction Tile, and 5 points from $17. In total this player scores 8 + 21 + 7 + 4 + 5 = 45 points. Is that enough to win the game? (Maybe not... this is just an example to show you how the scoring works, so it depends on how many points the other players have!)
Bonus Auction Tiles
At the start of the game, each player receives 3 Bonus Auction Tiles. These tiles are kept behind the player's screen. They may be played on the player's turn to gain their benefit, after which they are discarded. (Players must discard tiles face up in front of their screen, so everyone can see which tile was used.) A player may use multiple tiles on their turn if they wish. Each tile remaining in a player's possession at the end of the game is worth 4 points. (Points are shown on the back of the tile.)
Plant 1 Extra Pepper (Planting)
Played on your turn, during the Planting phase, to plant a second pepper of your choice, following the normal planting rules (the first pepper counts as already planted).
If the first pepper earns you an Award Plaque, the second pepper does not let you claim one as well, even if it would also qualify. (You may only earn one plaque per round.) You are allowed to decline the plaque for the first pepper in order to claim it for the second instead.
Move 1 Extra Step (Harvesting)
Played on your turn, during the Harvesting phase, to take a fourth step if you've already taken three. All normal movement and cross-breeding rules apply to the fourth step.
Example: This theoretically allows you to go around a plot in a circle and end where you started. You aren't breaking the "no moving backward" rule, because you technically aren't retracing your path.
Double Back Once (Harvesting)
Played on your turn, during the Harvesting phase. This ability lets your Farmer turn around once during the turn. (To be clear, it does not grant an extra step — it only lets your Farmer turn around once and thereby travel over part of the already-traveled path.)
Remember, you may freely turn your Farmer in any direction before the start of a turn.
Example: Greg starts at the indicated spot and takes two steps. Since he turned left, his next step under normal rules would have to bring him to one of the three points marked in red. If he plays the Double Back tile, he can turn his Farmer around and, with his next step, reach one of the points marked in green.
About the Authors and Acknowledgments
Scoville Game Design: Ed Marriott
Game Development: Seth Jaffee
Graphic Design & Rules Development: Joshua Cappel
Published by Tasty Minstrel Games, L.L.C. PO Box 442, Morgan, Utah 84050 Copyright and Trademark 2014 Tasty Minstrel Games, L.L.C. www.playtmg.com
The designer would like to thank Michael Mindes & Seth Jaffee for working with a first-time designer and taking a chance on him.
The designer would also like to thank the following people for providing feedback and helping make the game better: James Slager, Jon McGee, David Felker, Gary Schweisthal, Dustin Foster, Brad & Kendra Hansen, Andrew & Kelley Marriott, Mark Wyse, Carl Klutzke, Espen Klausen, Neil Roberts, Scott Metzger, Grant Rodiek, Chevee Dodd, Casey Clark, Brian Holt, Brett Myers, Francois Jolie, Ryan Metzler, Andrea Dexter, Nathanuil Demille, Matt Worden, Tom Fennewald, Steve Dast, Peter Dast, Beth Van Maanen, Paul Texidor, Mark Tucker, Debbie Wudtke, Josh Wudtke, Paul & Elizabeth Spurgis, Corey Young, J. Alex Kevern, Adam MacIver, Ben Rosset, Matthew O'Malley, Eric Leath, Jeff Large, David Chott, Matt Loomis, Brian Frahm, SDG.
And the designer would especially like to thank the Platinum Playtesters, without whom the game would not exist: Erin Marriott, Jeremy "J" Van Maanen, Adam "A-Game" Buckingham, Ben "Bosun" McQuiston, Michael "Zeke" Lashua.