Stampfarm
Stampfarm Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 5 animal stamps (cow, goose, chicken, pig, sheep) and 1 stamp with a haystack
- 3 dice (each with the 5 animals and a haystack on its faces)
- 12 condition cards (divided into 3 types: scissors, shovel, or pitchfork)
- A pad of player boards
- These rules
Object of the Game
Players must place animal stamps of different types on their boards, combining them into groups.
Groups are animals of the same type adjacent to each other horizontally or vertically (but not diagonally).
The bigger the groups, the more points you score at the end of the game!
Setup
- Place the 5 animal stamps and the dice in the center of the table.
- Each player takes a player board and places it in front of them. This is your "ranch", where you will place animals.
- The haystack stamp and the condition cards can be left in the box. They are needed only for the advanced mode (see "Advanced Mode").
Gameplay
In the normal mode, ignore the fences shown on the boards (see the "Advanced Mode" section).
The player who most recently saw a cow goes first. Play then passes clockwise.
- On their turn, the first player must roll all three dice into the center of the table, then choose one of them and put it in front of themselves. After that they take the stamp with the same image as on the die they chose (for example, if the player chose a die showing a sheep, they must take the sheep stamp). The player stamps this image on any cell of their board, then returns the stamp to the center of the table. The die they chose stays with them.
- The next player clockwise does not roll the dice again, but chooses one of the dice remaining in the center of the table. They do not take the die for themselves. This player also takes the stamp with the chosen image and uses it on their board.
- The next player does the same, and so on. The round continues until every player has placed one stamp on their board. After that, the first player returns the die they chose to the center of the table.
- The next round begins with the player sitting to the left of whoever went first in the previous round. This time they roll all three dice and take one of them for themselves, while the other players use the two remaining dice without taking them.
Note: the haystack on a die acts as a joker: the player who chose it may stamp any stamp of their choice on their board.
The game continues until every player has filled all the empty cells of their board with stamps. After that, players count their points and determine the winner (see "End of the Game and Scoring").
When one player fills their board first, they skip the following rounds and wait for the other players to finish.
Note: stamps are available to all players at any moment. If you need a stamp that is with another player, wait until they finish and then take it.
Example: Liza goes first and rolls three dice. She is lucky: one of the dice shows a haystack! She takes this die and decides to place a stamp with a chicken on her board.
Next, Sasha chooses. On the two remaining dice came up goose and sheep, but Sasha does not want to place those stamps, so he takes the die showing a goose and places that stamp in his barn. The die he chose stays in the center of the table.
Matvey also decides to use this die and places a goose on his board. The third die, with the sheep, was not used by anyone.
In this round Matvey stamped the last cell of his board, so now he simply waits until Liza and Sasha finish filling theirs.
Sasha begins a new round and rolls three dice.
Barn
If you do not want to add an animal to your board on your turn, you can place it in your barn. The barn cannot hold more than 2 animals.
If both cells of the barn are occupied, you will have to place the animal on the main board. Animals placed in the barn do not earn victory points.
End of the Game and Scoring
The game ends when all players have filled all the cells of their boards (empty barn cells are not counted).
Find the largest group of animals of each type on your board. For each animal in the largest group you receive 1 point. Mark the points received for the largest groups at the bottom of your board.
If your board has groups of the same size of the same type, the animals in those groups bring you only 1 point.
A separately placed animal is not considered a group and earns no points (even if it is the only animal of that type on your board).
Add up all the points received for the largest groups. The player with the most points wins!
In case of a tie, the players share the victory.
Example: Liza counts her points. She receives:
- 4 points for the group of 2 pigs
- 0 points for geese -- there is not a single one on her board
- 3 points for the group of 3 sheep
- 0 points for cows -- she has two cows on her board, but they are not adjacent to each other
- 4 points for the group of 4 chickens
Animals placed in Liza's barn are not counted.
In total Liza got 11 points!
Advanced Mode
Sally has special requirements for the placement of animals on the ranch! Some of them are quite... unusual. Can you fulfill her conditions?
We recommend moving on to the advanced mode after a few games in the normal mode.
Haystack Stamp
During setup, place the haystack stamp in the center of the table together with the other stamps. When this image comes up on a die, you may:
- use it as a joker, as in the normal mode
OR
- place the haystack stamp on one of the cells of your board (or the barn).
Haystack stamps are not counted when scoring by the normal rules, but they can bring additional points for fulfilling Sally's conditions (see "Condition Cards").
Condition Cards
During setup, divide the condition cards into three decks according to the symbols shown on them (scissors, shovel, or pitchfork).
Without looking at the cards, shuffle each of the three decks separately.
Reveal one card from each deck and place them face up in the center of the table.
Return the remaining condition cards to the box -- they are not needed in this game.
During the game you can try to fulfill the conditions of the three open cards to earn additional points.
At the end of the game, check whether you managed to fulfill the conditions on your board. If so, add the additional points to those earned by the normal rules.
Fences
Each board has a fence. Two cells separated by it are not considered adjacent to each other, so two animals of the same type placed on opposite sides of the fence are not a group and earn no points.
This rule also applies to the condition cards.
Condition Cards and Clarifications
Adjacent cells are cells located next to each other horizontally or vertically (but not diagonally). Two cells separated by a fence are not adjacent.
Scissors cards
Hungry? -- 1 point for each goose adjacent to a fence.
Shelter from the Fence -- 1 point for each sheep or chicken not adjacent to a fence. All chickens and sheep that are not adjacent to a fence horizontally or vertically are counted.
One of Each... -- 2 points for each unique animal adjacent to a fence.
Lunchtime -- 1 point for each cow or sheep adjacent to a fence.
Shovel cards
All Together -- 6 points if your board has at least two animals of each type. Animals of the same type do not have to be adjacent to each other.
Tight Squeeze -- 6 points if three identical animals are placed in three corners of the board. 8 points if four identical animals are placed in the four corners of the board. If in the corners of your board there are 4 identical animals, you get 8 points (not 8 + 6).
Good Nose -- 2 points for each pig not adjacent to a cow or a chicken.
Pair -- 5 points if there are exactly two cows on your board. The condition is not considered fulfilled if there are more than 2 cows on the board, regardless of whether they are adjacent to each other or not.
Pitchfork cards
Pig on Hay -- 1 point for each pig adjacent to at least one haystack. Even if a pig is adjacent to several haystacks at once, it brings you only 1 point.
Hay for Sheep -- 4 points for each haystack adjacent to at least two sheep. Each haystack brings points only once, even if more than 2 sheep are adjacent to it.
Protect the Hay -- 3 points for each haystack not adjacent to a goose or a pig.
Feeder -- 5 points for each group of two haystacks. 8 points for each group of three haystacks. One and the same haystack can bring points only as part of one group. (For example, 6 adjacent haystacks are counted as 2 groups of 3 and bring 8 + 8 points.)