Shoal
Shoal Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 40 Fish Cards
- 8 Goal Cards
Object of the Game
Players will compete to score the most amount of points by creating their own busy shoal of fish.
Every fish is worth 1 point, but you can lose or earn extra points depending on the chosen Goal Card. After each player has layered 10 Fish Cards, add together your total amount of fish combined with the points won or lost from the Goal Card, and whoever has the most points wins!
Setup
- Separate the Fish Cards and the Goal Cards.
- Shuffle the deck of Fish Cards and deal out 2 cards to each player.
- Then create 2 central draw piles of Fish Cards:
- For 2 players = 8 cards per draw pile.
- For 3 players = 12 cards per draw pile.
- For 4 players = 16 cards per draw pile.
- Flip one of these draw piles so they are face up.
- Pick 1 Goal Card and place it on the table where everyone can easily see it.
- Set any unused cards aside.
The setup diagram for a 4 player game shows each player (P1 to P4) seated around a central Goal Card and the Draw Piles.
How to Play
Each player will take turns to create their shoal one card at a time. To begin, choose a starting player.
The starting player picks a Fish Card from their hand and places it in front of them to start their Shoal. Once a card has been added to a Shoal, it cannot be moved.
The player then draws 1 Fish Card from either draw pile to add to their hand.
Play then passes to the player on their left, who does the same.
Play 1 card, draw 1 card, simple! When everyone has played 10 cards, it's time to add up your score and see who's won!
Each turn is therefore:
- Play a card.
- Draw a card.
How to Play a Fish Card
There are 4 important rules to follow when playing a Fish Card:
- Fish must be placed swimming to the left, and Fish Cards cannot be rotated.
- After the first card, Fish Cards must layer on top of another Fish Card, not next to each other, and no tucking!
- When you layer cards, add fish next to another fish adjacently, not diagonally.
- Fish can cover empty spaces and other Fish, but empty spaces can only cover empty spaces.
Fish Cards
There are 4 sections of every Fish Card. Each section will have Fish or some empty space. As you play cards to grow your Shoal, there are a few different ways you can choose to layer your cards:
- Place a single section over a single section.
- Place 2 sections over 2 sections.
- Cover a whole card with a whole card.
When you layer a card, you must at all times follow the 4 rules of how to play a card. There is also a handy reference on the sides of the box.
Key:
- Fish-Filled Space - can only be covered by fish, not an empty space.
- Empty Space - can be covered by fish or another empty space.
Example of a Player's Complete Shoal
After each player has layered 10 Fish Cards into their shoal, add together the total amount of fish combined with the points won or lost from the Goal Card, and whoever has the most points wins!
Note: the rulebook shows the fish and empty-space counts as icons; the bracketed descriptions below name those icons as words.
The printed example (Player 1) scores:
- Total fish = +37
- 2 fish (with the Each Fish bonus) = +4
- 8 empty spaces (Largest Amount of Empty Spaces) = -6
- 12 fish (Total Amount, 10 or more) = -8
- Player 1 total points = 27
Goal Card
Each player will compete to earn bonus points from the central Goal Card. In the event of a tie, the players will both gain/lose the described amount of points. There are 3 goals on each Goal Card, which are described below.
- Each Fish - Bonus points per fish in the player's Shoal.
- Largest Amount - Reward for having criteria more than opponents.
- Fewest Amount - Reward for having criteria less than opponents.
- Total Amount - Score depending on the required criteria.
- Tallest Shoal - Reward for having the most fish-filled spaces in a vertical line.
- Widest Shoal - Reward for having the most fish-filled spaces in a horizontal line.
- Connection - Meeting criteria by placing fish-filled spaces adjacently to form connected lengths.
The example Goal Card printed in the rulebook shows these values:
- Each Fish: +2
- Largest Amount of Empty Spaces: -6
- Total Amount of [horizontal fish piece] in your shoal:
- x4 = +6
- x8 = +12
- 10 or more = -8
End of Game
Once all players have played all 10 of their cards, the game is over and it's time to see what everyone has scored! Each fish is worth 1 point, so add together the total amount of fish in your shoal combined with the points won or lost from the Goal Card, and whoever has the most points wins!