Tales & Games: Jack & the Beanstalk Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the game
• Contents
• Setup
• Description of an Action card
• Gameplay
  • Overview of the game
  • Turn Overview
  • End of the Turn
  • The end of the Beanstalk!
    • The Beanstalk falls
    • You reach the Giant's Castle!
  • Axe strike!
  • End of the Round and Game
• Gameplay Example
• "Bean Expert" Variant

Goal of the game

You are trying to climb the Magic Beanstalk to reach the Giant's castle and bring back as many sacks of gold as possible! Taking turns, choose the number of dice you will roll, then stack them to make the Magic Beanstalk grow. If a player knocks over the stack while building the Beanstalk, the other players can steal the Giant's sacks of gold! The richest player at the end of the game wins.

Contents

• 12 dice
• 1 mini-board
• 15 Treasure tokens shaped like clouds (5 colors / 1 per player)
• 2 wooden cylinders
• 35 Action cards (7 per player)
• 30 Sack of Gold cards valued 10, 15, and 20
• 1 Magic Bean token
• 5 Axe tokens
• 1 Big Axe
• 1 Castle to assemble
• 1 Eye token (Expert variant)

Setup

Refer to the diagram on the inside of the box that shows the setup for 4 players:

1. Place the mini-board in the middle of the play area and put one of the dice in the center on the space reserved for the die. This is the first level of the Beanstalk. Place the 11 other dice nearby.
2. Each player takes the 3 Treasure tokens, deck of Action cards, and Axe token in their color.
3. Shuffle the Sack of Gold cards and put them face down near the players. Put the Big Axe, 2 cylinders, and castle nearby as well.
4. The youngest player takes the Magic Bean token (which you will use to break ties in turn order).

Before play begins, every player shuffles their deck of 7 Action cards, puts it face down in front of them, and draws 3 cards that they keep in their hand without showing them to the other players.

Let the game begin!

Description of an Action card

• The value of the card shows initiative and, therefore, your place in turn order. It can have a value of 1 to 7.
• The number of dice you can roll on your turn. In the example (a card showing 2/3), you can choose either 2 or 3 dice.
• Special Power used in the advanced "Bean Expert" game mode.

Gameplay

Overview of the game

A game plays over several rounds and ends either when everyone has played all the cards in their Action deck or the deck of Sack of Gold cards is empty.

Each round is organized in this way:

1. Each player secretly chooses one of the Action cards in their hand and puts it face down in front of them.
2. All players turn over the card they chose and put it face down in front of them (or on top of the previous round's card). (Printed as such in the source.)
3. Each player takes a turn in the order indicated by the initiative of the card played this turn, from smallest to biggest. If multiple players played the same card, the player closest to whoever has the Magic Bean token (starting with him and going clockwise) plays first.
4. After playing, the last player takes the Magic Bean token.
5. When all players are done, everyone draws (if needed) a new Action card to fill their hand to 3 cards. A new round may now begin.

Turn Overview

Turn order is determined by the value of the Action card played by each player. The lower the value, the earlier a player will go during the round. On their turn, a player must choose the number of dice they will roll (see Description of an Action card), then stack them on top of each other in the order of their choosing to make the Beanstalk grow. You must place each piece one at a time.

Once you have chosen a number of dice, roll them and apply the effects of each die:

Eye: If at least 2 dice have this face, the Giant opens his eyes and wakes up! You must return all of the dice without the Eye face to the pool, then stack all of the remaining dice with the Eye on the Beanstalk.

Die: If a die has this face, you can, if you want to and depending on the number of available dice, take an extra die from the pool and roll it before stacking your dice on the Beanstalk. If you roll this face again, you can repeat the action. If you roll this face multiple times in the same roll, you must decide how many extra dice you want to roll before taking any extra dice.

Treasure: If a die has this face, stack this die on top of the Beanstalk, then add a Treasure token on top of the die. If multiple dice have this face, repeat this action until every die with this face is stacked.

Trunk: If a die has this face, stack this die on top of the Beanstalk, then add a cylinder on top. If you need to place a cylinder on a die but there are none left, you must place the Giant's Castle on it instead (see You Reach the Giant's Castle!).

Careful! You cannot touch the dice, Treasure tokens, or cylinders on the Beanstalk while you are stacking a piece on top!

End of the Turn

After placing every piece you need to this turn, you must wait a few seconds to make sure the Beanstalk is stable. Say "Fee-fi-fo-fum!" (or another magic spell of your choice) before the next player in initiative order begins their turn. In addition, if you played at least one Treasure token and the Beanstalk did not fall over, draw one Sack of Gold card per Treasure token you placed this turn.

The Sack of Gold cards you draw this turn are kept face down. You cannot look at their value until the end of the game. Have you ever tried to count gold while hanging from a giant beanstalk? It's impossible!

The end of the Beanstalk!

Your turn is interrupted in the following 2 cases:

The Beanstalk falls

The Beanstalk falls over because of your clumsiness!

• Every other player draws one Sack of Gold card per Treasure token in their color that was stacked on the Beanstalk before it fell. You do not draw Sack of Gold cards (even if one or more of your Treasure tokens was on the Beanstalk before it fell). The Giant caught you and your turn is over.
• Every player puts their Treasure tokens in front of them.
• Then set the dice and cylinders aside and put one die in the middle of the mini-board to begin a new Beanstalk.
• Resume play following the initiative of the current round (or start a new round if necessary).

You reach the Giant's Castle!

• If you must stack a cylinder but there are none left, you must stack the Giant's Castle instead.
• If you must stack a Treasure token but you have none left (because they're already on the Beanstalk), you must stack a cylinder instead.
• If you successfully stack the last available die (and every other piece you had to stack on top), you must also stack the Giant's Castle on top of the Beanstalk.
• If you successfully stack the Giant's Castle (after assessing the stability of the Beanstalk), take a bonus Sack of Gold card.
• Then draw one Sack of Gold card per Treasure token in your color on the Beanstalk. If other players have Treasure tokens on the Beanstalk, they do not draw anything.
• Dismantle the Beanstalk and leave one die in the middle of the board to begin a new Beanstalk.
• Each player puts their Treasure tokens back in front of them.
• Then set the dice and cylinders aside and put one die in the middle of the mini-board to begin a new Beanstalk.
• Resume play following the initiative of the current round (or start a new round if necessary).

Axe strike!

Once per game and at the beginning of your turn, you can decide to use your Axe token:

• Put it back in the box,
• Choose the number of dice you will roll,
• Take the Big Axe before rolling,
• Sit up straight in your chair, keeping your elbows against your side, and throw the Big Axe at the Beanstalk.
• Any piece that fell off the Beanstalk after being hit by the Big Axe is put back in the reserve or returned to its owner in the case of Treasure tokens (no players gain any Sack of Gold cards).
• Any piece that remained on the Beanstalk after being hit by the Big Axe stays in place.
• After throwing the Big Axe, finish your turn normally by rolling your dice and taking the corresponding actions.

End of the Round and Game

A round ends once all players have taken a turn. Give the Magic Bean token to the player who played last this round and begin a new round.

If no players have any more Action cards to play (deck and hand are empty) or the Sack of Gold deck is empty, the game ends.

Reveal your ill-gotten Sack of Gold cards and add up their value. The richest player is declared the biggest thief... and wins the game! If there is a tie, throw a Bean Festival to celebrate!

Gameplay Example

Juliette, Fred, Pierre, and Pauline begin a game. Since Juliette is the youngest, she takes the Magic Bean token. Everyone shuffles their 7 Action cards, draws 3, and secretly chooses the one they want to play on the first turn. They reveal their cards and evaluate initiative:

• Juliette: card 7 (2/3 dice)
• Fred: card 5 (2/3 dice)
• Pierre: card 4 (1/3 dice)
• Pauline: card 5 (2/3 dice)

Pierre is the first player for this round since he has the lowest card with initiative 4. His card lets him roll 1 or 3 dice. Pierre rolls 3 dice without hesitating and gets: Die, Treasure, Trunk.

• With the Die face, Pierre may roll an extra die from the reserve. He chooses not to do so and must stack his three dice on the Beanstalk. He starts with the Treasure die and immediately stacks one of his three Treasure tokens on top of his die. Then he stacks a cylinder on top of his second die (Trunk). Finally, he ends his turn by stacking his third and final die (Die). After checking the stability of the Beanstalk by saying "Fee-fi-fo-fum!", he draws a Sack of Gold card thanks to the Treasure token he stacked this turn. It is then the next player's turn.
• Fred and Pauline both played a card with initiative 5. Since Fred is nearest, clockwise, to the Magic Bean token (held by Juliette), he plays first. He also chooses to roll 3 dice and gets: Eye, Trunk, Die. Disappointed by his lack of treasure, he decides to roll an extra die thanks to his Die face. He gets a second Eye! Since this woke up the Giant, he discards all his other dice and only stacks the 2 Eye dice on top of the Beanstalk, one at a time. After checking the stability of the Beanstalk by saying "Fee-fi-fo-fum!", the next player begins her turn.
• Pauline thinks that the Beanstalk is becoming precarious and decides to only roll 2 dice. Luckily, she gets 2 Treasure. She stacks her first die, a Treasure token, her second die, then another Treasure token on top of the Beanstalk. After checking the stability of the Beanstalk by saying "Fee-fi-fo-fum!", she draws 2 Sack of Gold cards thanks to the 2 Treasure tokens she stacked this turn.
• Now Juliette can play. In light of the situation, she decides to roll 2 dice and gets 2 Trunk. There is only one cylinder left in the reserve. If she successfully stacks the last cylinder on her first die, she will have to put the Castle on top of her second die, which will give her a big reward. However, in her excitement to reach the Giant's domain, the Beanstalk falls over just after she stacks her first die.
• Juliette does not take any Sack of Gold cards since she made the Beanstalk fall over (moreover, she and Fred had no Treasure tokens on the Beanstalk). However, thanks to the fall, Pierre draws 1 Sack of Gold card and Pauline draws 2, one for each of her Treasure tokens on the Beanstalk.
• The round is now over. Since she played last, Juliette keeps the Magic Bean token for the next round.

"Bean Expert" Variant

In this variant, players may use the powers depicted on the bottom half of their Action cards. Play with the basic rules, but return the Axe tokens to the box (the power on card 4 replaces them). On your turn, you can use the power on your Action card. You are never required to use the power, but it is limited to once per round. All of the powers are described below and clarify the exact moment you can use them. If the Beanstalk falls over before you can use your power, you cannot use your power.

The powers, in the order printed (card numbers are not printed beside them; the Axe power is on card 4):

• Giant (Eye): The Giant is a light sleeper, he already opened one of his eyes! At the end of your turn, after checking the stability of the Beanstalk, give an Eye token to a player who hasn't had a turn yet. On their turn, this token will count as a die with the Eye face. Discard this token at the end of the targeted player's turn.
• Cauldron: At the beginning of your turn, hide and skip your turn before rolling any dice.
• Thief: Use this power at the beginning of your turn, before rolling dice. Steal a Sack of Gold card (randomly) from a player who has more than you. If no player has more than you, this effect is not applied.
• Axe: Apply the effect of the Axe token (see Axe Strike!).
• Goose: Use this power at the end of your turn, after checking the stability of the Beanstalk. If you stacked at least 2 Treasure tokens on the Beanstalk this turn, draw an extra Sack of Gold card.
• Giant's wife: The Giant's wife is much less cruel than her husband and will help you when times are rough. After rolling your dice, you can return one of your dice to the reserve before applying their effects. Useful against the lightly-sleeping Giant!
• Harp: Use this power after rolling all of your dice (including any extra dice from the Die face). If you roll at least one Eye face, reroll (once) each of the dice with Eye.

Each power can only be used once per round! If multiple players choose the same card in a round, only one of them can use the power (often the first in initiative order unless they do not or cannot use the power).