Tang Master Tailor
Tang Master Tailor Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Objective
In the golden age of the Tang Dynasty, clothing is about much more than just looking good; it is a symbol of social status, occasion, and dignity.
Players take on the role of tailors in the city of Chang'an, fulfilling orders from various social classes, including nobles, military officers, and maids. By matching fabrics, choosing patterns, dyeing, and cutting, you will craft the perfect garments to meet their demands.
As you complete orders, you will earn reputation and points. When any player reaches 40 base points, the end of the game is triggered.
At the end of the game, tally up the base points from your orders and the bonus points from your patterns. The player with the highest total score becomes the most celebrated "Master Tailor" of the Tang Dynasty!
Components
- 4 Player Boards
- 104 Order Cards
- Level 1: 20 cards
- Level 2: 30 cards
- Level 3: 33 cards
- Level 4: 21 cards
- 110 Fabric Tokens
- Double-sided Red/White: 50 tokens
- Double-sided Orange/Blue: 40 tokens
- Magic Fabric: 20 tokens
Setup
Starting Resources are distributed based on turn order:
- 4th Player: Reserve 1 Order Card from the display and gain 1 Magic Fabric. Permanent Fabric Limit +1 and gain 1 White Fabric.
- 3rd Player: Reserve 1 Order Card from the display and gain 1 Magic Fabric.
- 2nd Player: Permanent Fabric Limit +1 and gain 1 White Fabric.
- 1st Player: No extra resources.
Note: Order cards reserved by the 3rd and 4th players are placed face-down in front of them as their "Exclusive Orders".
Setup steps:
- Shuffle the Order Cards by level, then place them in order (Level 1 to 4) to form four decks.
- Reveal 4 cards from each level and place them face-up next to their decks. (For 2 or 3 players, reveal only 3 cards per level).
- Place all Fabric Tokens in a common supply pool within easy reach of all players.
- The player who most recently wore "traditional ethnic clothing" becomes the starting player (or choose randomly using the Player Boards).
- Take the Player Board matching your turn order and place 6 White Fabrics on it. This represents your working capacity at the start of the game.
- Starting with the player to the right of the first player and proceeding counter-clockwise, players collect their Starting Resources according to the reference table.
- Replenish any Order Cards that were taken from the display.
You are now ready to play!
4-Player Setup Example
The printed example shows a 4-player table layout (player boards, the Order Card display for each level, the fabric supply, and the decks) with callouts numbered 1 to 7. The page carries no further text.
Gameplay
Starting with the first player, take turns in clockwise order. On your turn, you must choose to perform one of the following two actions:
Dye Fabric
Through the dyeing process, transform plain cloth into gorgeous fabrics.
During this action, you may dye twice. For each dye, choose a continuous section of identically colored fabrics on your board (this can be a single piece or multiple adjacent pieces of the same color) and replace all fabrics in that section to another color.
Dyeing Example
In the first round, Weaver Ru wants to dye her fabrics into a "White-Red-Blue-Red-Red-White" sequence. Therefore, she can do the following:
- First, select the four "White" fabrics within the yellow frame.
- Flip and replace all of them with "Red" fabrics. The fabric sequence now becomes "White-Red-Red-Red-Red-White".
- Next, select the "Red" fabric within the yellow frame and replace it with a "Blue" fabric.
Complete Orders
The second action is completing orders. When you meet the fabric requirements on the right side of an Order Card (you can read it from top to bottom, or from bottom to top), pay the exact color sequence of fabrics to the supply pool to complete the order. Take the completed Order Card, place it face-up in front of you, and immediately gain the reward on the card (please refer to the last page for Order Rewards).
Next, if there are any remaining fabrics on your board, they will automatically slide together to close the gap. If this newly combined fabric sequence happens to match the requirements of another order, you can immediately cut it and complete that order too! As long as you have enough fabrics, there is no limit to the number of orders you can complete in a single turn.
Fabric Restock and Order Replenishment: At the end of your turn, take White Fabrics from the supply pool to fill your board up to your fabric limit. Your initial working fabric capacity depends on your starting turn order, and you can increase this limit later by gaining the "Expand Dyehouse" reward. After that, reveal new cards to fill any empty spots in the Order Card display for each level.
Completing Orders Example
- Cut the "Blue-Blue-White" sequence to complete an order.
- Gain the "Expand Dyehouse" reward from the order, which is one White Fabric.
- The remaining fabrics slide together towards the middle. You then cut again to complete an "Orange-Red-Blue-White" order.
- Left "Orange" fabric remains on the workbench. Afterward, you refill with White Fabrics up to your limit.
End Game & Scoring
When any player's total Base Points from completed orders reaches 40 points or more, the end of the game is triggered.
Finish the current round so that all players have taken an equal number of turns, then proceed to final scoring.
Final Score Calculation
Your final score consists of two parts:
- Base Points: Add up the numbers on the top-left corner of all your completed Order Cards.
- Pattern Bonus Points: Check your completed orders for cards with a "Pattern Bonus". Formula: [Total number of orders you own with the matching pattern] x [Multiplier on the bonus card].
Final Scoring Example
- Base Points: 1 + 2 + 2 + 9 + 6 + 7 + 7 + 4 + 3 = 41 points
- Bonus Points:
- 2 Orders x Total Multiplier of 2 = 4 points.
- 2 Orders x Total Multiplier of 1 = 2 points.
- 3 Orders x Total Multiplier of 5 = 15 points.
- Total: (2 x 2) + (2 x 1) + (3 x 5) = 21 points
- Final Total Score: Add the two parts together to get the final total score: 41 + 21 = 62 points
Victory
The player with the highest total score wins and becomes the "Master Tailor"!
Tie-breakers: If tied, the player with the most completed Order Cards wins. If still tied, the player with the highest Fabric Limit wins.
Order Rewards
Different orders provide special benefits to help you expand your business.
Magic Fabric
After completing this order, take 1 Magic Fabric token from the supply and place it on this order card. You may use it and return it to the supply at any time during your turn to change one fabric to any color.
- This is the only type of order in the game that can be completed multiple times by paying the required fabrics again.
- When re-completed, you only gain the Magic Fabric and do not score the points again.
- Each order of this type can hold a maximum of one Magic Fabric at a time.
Expand Dyehouse
After completing this order, your fabric limit permanently increases by 1 space. Immediately gain 1 White Fabric and add it to the end of your fabric sequence (on either the left or right side).
- The maximum fabric limit for each player is 12.
Client Referral
After completing this order, you may reserve one Order Card from the display or the top of a deck. Place it face-down in front of you as your "Exclusive Order". You also gain 1 Magic Fabric alongside this action.
- You can complete an Exclusive Order immediately upon receiving it if you currently meet the requirements.
- At the end of the game, uncompleted Exclusive Orders do not score points or grant rewards.
Pattern Bonus
Provides extra bonus points during final scoring.
Formula: [Total number of completed orders with the matching pattern] x [Multiplier on the bonus card]. The number to the right of the symbol is the multiplier.
If you have multiple bonus cards of the same type, their multipliers stack.
FAQ
Q: Can I choose colors when restocking fabrics at the end of my turn? A: No, restocked fabrics are always White. However, you can choose to place them on either the left side or the right side of your existing fabrics.
Q: After cutting fabrics for an order, does the order of my remaining fabrics change? A: No, the remaining fabrics simply slide together while maintaining their original relative order.
Q: Can the same Magic Fabric order be completed multiple times in a single turn? A: Yes, as soon as the Magic Fabric on the card is spent, the order can be completed again to gain a new one.
Q: Can I immediately use a Magic Fabric from an order I just completed this turn? A: Yes, rewards are gained immediately and can be used right away.
Q: Can I use Magic Fabric to change the color of fabrics on another player's board? A: No, you can only change the color of fabrics on your own player board.
Q: What happens if a specific level runs out of cards when replenishing the display? A: Leave that display space empty. Do not fill it with cards from other levels.