The Girl Who Made The Stars Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Turn Order - The Night Sky Track
• Stargazing Phase
  • Star Tiles
  • Stardust
  • Completing a Constellation
  • Bonus tokens
  • End of Phase Trigger
• Wood Ash Phase
  • Wood Ash Tokens
• Action Phase
  • Scouting
  • Foraging
  • Offering
  • Refreshing the Offering card & Leftover Fruit/Animal tokens
  • Stargazing
  • Recall
  • Gain Stardust
  • Using Wood Ash tokens
• Cleanup Phase
• Game End and Final Scoring
• Reference Summary

Components

• 1 Main board
• 1 Score board
• 1 Night Sky board
• 1 Girl Who Made the Stars Meeple
• 50 Stardust tokens
• 90 Light crystals (30 each in Red / Blue / Yellow)
• 13 Wood Ash tokens
• 5 Bags
• 4 Player boards
• 128 double-sided Star tiles
• 16 double-hex Bonus tokens
• 4 Elder Meeples in 4 different colors
• 4 Scoring Markers in 4 different colors
• 16 Villager Meeples in 4 different colors
• 16 Fruit / 12 Fish / 12 Rabbit / 12 Antelope tokens
• 20 Connection Reward tokens
• 4 Offering cards

Setup

1. Place Main Board in the center of the table.
2. Place Score Board near the main board.
3. Place Night Sky Board near the main board.
4. Placed Girl Who Made the Stars Meeple onto the sixth space of the Night Sky board (the space to the right of her silhouette).
5. Place Star Dust tokens in a supply near the main board.
6. Give 1 of each color Light crystal to each player. Place the rest near the main board, separated by color.
7. Placed Ash tokens into a bag and set near the Night Sky board.
8. Give a bag to each player containing an identical set of 38 double-sided Star tiles.
9. Give a player board to each player.

(The printed rulebook numbers the steps 1-9 and then 11-15; no step 10 is printed.)

11. Give each player 1 of each unique Bonus token (4 total). Randomly place 1 token into the top-right, top-left, bottom-right, and bottom-left corner of your board.
12. Select a color, and take the matching components.
    • Place your Scoring Marker on the "0" space of the Score board.
    • Place 3 Villager Meeples near your player board.
    • Place the 4th Villager Meeple onto the "Gain a Villager" Bonus token.
    • Place your Elder near the Night Sky board.
    • Randomly arrange the Elders and place them into the positions directly behind the Girl.
13. Place 1 Fruit, Fish, Rabbit, and Antelope token on the matching spaces on the board, per player.
    • 2 players: 2 tokens on each space
    • 3 players: 3 tokens on each space
    • 4 players: 4 tokens on each space
14. Sort the tokens into four face-down piles based on the Light amount shown on the back of the tiles [ 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+ ].
    • From each of the four piles, take a number of tokens equal to the number of players.
    • Sort each selection of tokens into a face-up, descending-value stack.
    • Place it over the circular space above the space that matches the token's back.
    • Each of the four circular spaces should have a number of tokens in it equal to the number of players in the game.
15. Shuffle the Offering cards and place them face-up into the designated space on the main board.

Gameplay

The Girl Who Made the Stars is a game played over the course of eight rounds. Each round is composed of 4 phases:

1. Stargazing Phase: Players will simultaneously draw 3 double-sided Star tiles from their bag and place them onto their board.
2. Wood Ash Phase: In turn order, players will draft Wood Ash tokens from the Night Sky - discarding them for Light or keeping them to use this turn.
3. Action Phase: In turn order each player takes 2 Actions. There are 6 available actions, and players can take them in any combination, or even the same action twice.
4. Cleanup Phase: Used Connection Reward tokens and potentially Offering cards are discarded, the Girl moves forward on the Night Sky track, and the Elders are adjusted.

Turn Order - The Night Sky Track

Turn order, when relevant, is determined by the order of the Elders on the Night Sky track. The player who's Elder is closest behind the Girl meeple is the first player, and the player who's Elder is furthest away is the last player.

Stargazing Phase

Pull 3 Star tiles from your bag and place them onto your board. There are a few rules to keep in mind while placing tiles.

Star Tiles

Each player has a matching set of 3 Star tiles. Each tile is double-sided, and one side of each tile is always the same: a non-Light-bearing Star with a single line.

1. Star tiles can be placed with either-side face-up.
2. Star tiles can be placed onto any vacant space as long as you don't violate rule 3.
3. Lines running off the edges of Star tiles must connect to other lines or vacant hex-spaces when placed. Star tiles can NOT be placed such that a line extends into anything else.
   • Lines on newly-placed tiles cannot touch the edge of the board, a Bonus token, Stardust, or a non-line side of another Star tile.
   • Newly-placed meaning at the moment of placement, not the entire turn.
4. If you place a Star tile face-up that is Blue, Red, or Yellow immediately place a matching-colored Light crystal on top of the tile. These are considered Light-bearing tiles.
   • White-colored sides of tiles do not generate light, and are not considered to be Light-bearing.
5. Gaining Light: If, at any time, all lines on a Star tile are connected to either another line, or Stardust, immediately collect the Light crystal from the top of it, and place it near your board, ready for use.
6. Gaining Stardust: If, at any time, you manage to complete an enclosed shape made of lines (not Stardust), gain 1 Stardust token. If a single Star tile placement creates multiple, distinct enclosed areas, gain 1 Stardust token for each area. See Stardust below.
7. Completing a Constellation: If, at any time, you complete a pattern containing at least 1 Light-bearing tile that has no lines extending into vacant spaces, move to Completing a Constellation.

Stardust

Stardust are white circular discs that can be gained in a variety of ways, such as:

• Completing enclosed-line shapes on your board. (see right)
• Taking a Stardust token during the Wood Ash phase.
• The Early Bird reward on Fruit Foraging spaces.

There is no limit to the amount of Stardust you can have at once.

Stardust can be used at any time, regardless of phase, or whose turn it currently is.

Stardust is used to terminate line connections from Star tiles that extend into a currently vacant space. When you use Stardust, it is placed into a chosen vacant space that has at least 1 line extending into it. You must place a number of Stardust exactly equal to the number of lines that currently extend into the chosen vacant space.

Stardust can potentially cause you to gain Light by surrounding a tile, or even to complete a Constellation. Stardust, however, can NOT be used to gain more Stardust by enclosing a line area.

Completing a Constellation

A constellation is a pattern of Star tiles that has at least 1 Light-bearing tile with no lines that extend into vacant space. Enclosing and creating a Constellation is one of the main three ways to score points.

1. Count the number of Light-bearing Star tiles within the Constellation.
2. If there are [ 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+ ] immediately score the VP printed on Connection Reward token in the matching space.
3. Once a Connection Reward token is scored, place a Stardust token near the corresponding pile, if it does not already have one.
   • This indicates that the topmost token will be discarded during the Cleanup phase.
   • However, because it is not discarded immediately, all players will have the opportunity to score it at the shown value in a given turn.
4. If the completed Constellation was bordering (physically touching) an unused Bonus token, gain that token.
   • You can only gain 1 Bonus token per completed Constellation, even if it touches multiple bonuses.
   • Each Bonus token can only be gained once (see Bonus tokens below).

Bonus tokens

• x2 VP: Immediately score this Constellation again.
• Three Light icons (Yellow, Red, Blue): Immediately gain 1 of each color Light.
• +2 Actions this Turn: You may perform 4 total Actions during your next Action phase turn, instead of the usual 2.
• Gain a Villager: Remove the Villager Meeple from this token and add it to the side of your board, ready for use.

End of Phase Trigger

Once all players have placed their three Star tiles, move onto the Wood Ash phase. While rare, if for some reason a player cannot place a tile they drew, they lose 1 VP per tile they cannot place.

Wood Ash Phase

The first player pulls a number of Wood Ash tokens from the bag near the Night Sky board equal to the number of Meeples on the Night Sky track. This includes the Girl, Elders, and any Villager Meeples placed via the Stargazing action.

After pulling the appropriate number of tokens, the first player should shake them in their hands, and cast them into the Night Sky. Tokens that land outside the target area should be moved towards the center of the area in a straight line until they are just within the target area.

In turn order, and continuing in order for any remaining Villager Meeples, players will select a Wood Ash token in the dish and use it. Tokens can either be taken into your supply, or immediately discarded for Light. As the Girl moves forward each round, more spaces will open up - allowing more players to Stargaze, adding more Wood Ash tokens to the Sky, and awarding an extra selection to that player.

Tokens discarded for Light can grant you any color of light underneath of the token. If the token overlaps the center area, you can select any color of light. If a token is on the line between two different colors, you can select either color of light. Return discarded tokens immediately to the bag.

After all players have made a selection for each of their meeples (Elder and Villager Meeples), move to the Action phase.

Wood Ash Tokens

"x2" Wood Ash tokens can only be discarded for Light, and grant 2 Light when doing so. If discarded from the center area, the Light can be of any color, including 2 of the same or 2 different. If discarded from an area between two colors, you can take 2 of either color, or 1 of each.

• Scouting (Starry River)
• Foraging (Footprints)
• Offering (Open Hands)
• Recall (Hut)
• Stardust (Swirling Disc)

If you take any of the above tokens, and choose not to discard them for Light, place them near your board, ready for use on your turn.

On your turn during the Action phase, you may discard (and return to the bag) a Wood Ash token in order to take the effect on it. Unspent tokens are lost at the end of the round.

Four of the tokens [ Scouting / Foraging / Offering / Recall ] allow you to immediately take the indicated action.

• This does not count towards your two actions each turn.
• Foraging and Offering do not require a Villager Meeple to use.
• If you take the Foraging action and choose a space where the Early Bird reward space is uncovered, you must pay the full cost, and you will receive the first-player bonus printed there.

The Stardust Wood Ash token allows you to immediately gain a Stardust.

Action Phase

In turn order, each player takes two actions of the available six. You can take actions in any combination and sequence, and can even take the same action twice, provided you can pay for it. You will take all actions on your turn at once, before moving to the next player. Here are the six actions, followed by a small section on the use of Wood Ash tokens.

• Scouting / Foraging* / Offering* / Stargazing* / Recall / Gain Stardust
  • * requires a usable Villager Meeple

Scouting

Scouting is one of the main three ways to gain points in the game. As you spend light to illuminate the darkness, the whole tribe prospers. By using the Light you've gained from your Star tiles and the Night Sky, you can connect the Village to dark and distant Foraging spaces, gaining VP in the process.

When you take this action, spend Light by placing it onto the path spaces on the main board, connecting either the Village, or an existing Lit* path space to a Foraging space.

1. Select a starting space.
   • If you start in one of the two spaces adjacent to the Village, you can place any color of Light to begin.
   • If you start adjacent to a Lit path space, the first color of Light you place must match the Light on the adjacent space.
2. Select an ending space. The path of Light you place must end next to a Foraging space. Each such space requires a specific color of light, as shown on the board.
3. Any spaces in between the starting space and ending space must be filled with any color of light.
4. If you place [ 3 / 4 / 5 / 6+ ] Light in a single Scouting action, immediately score the Connection Reward bonus in the corresponding space.
   • Then place a Stardust from the supply next to the scored token, if it does not already have one.

* Lit Path spaces: Any path space with a Light crystal on it is considered to be Lit. If there are Lit path spaces connecting the Village to a Foraging space, they are considered connected.

Foraging

(requires Villager Meeple)

You can only take this action if you have an available Villager Meeple.

Choose a Foraging space on the board that is connected to the Village, and has at least 1 remaining Fruit/Animal token in it. Pay the indicated amount of Light based on what is currently revealed, and take one of the remaining tokens. Then place your Villager Meeple near the space, or covering the Early Bird Reward space if it is uncovered.

Early Bird Reward space: If the Early Bird bonus is uncovered on a Foraging space that you use, you must pay the additional cost shown in the gold square. In addition to paying this extra cost, you immediately gain the printed reward (Stardust, 1VP, or 2VP). After paying this cost and gaining the associated token and reward, place your Villager Meeple so that it covers the Early Bird reward.

Offering

(requires Villager Meeple)

Offerings are one of the main three ways in the game to get points. Forage tokens from connected spaces, then offer them for points in the Village.

You can only take this action if you have an available Villager Meeple.

Place one of your Villager Meeples into the Village near the Offering Card and make an Offering. An Offering is either 1 Fruit or Animal token, or one printed space as shown on the Offering card.

Fruit and Animal tokens can always be offered 1 at a time, for the reward shown on the main board to the sides of the Offering card. Discard tokens offered this way near the board.

If you make an Offering as shown on the card, place all required tokens onto the matching Offering on the card then gain the indicated VP.

Refreshing the Offering card & Leftover Fruit/Animal tokens

If all Offerings on a card are ever filled, immediately discard that card and all tokens on it, revealing a new card.

During the Cleanup phase, if the Offering card has spaces covered equal to the number of players (or more) it will be discarded, revealing a new card.

If you have any Fruit, Rabbit, Fish, or Antelope tokens at the end of the game, they will be worth a reduced amount of VP. See Final Scoring below.

Stargazing

(requires Villager Meeple)

You can only take this action if you have an available Villager Meeple.

Place one of your Villager Meeples onto the Night Sky track. You can only place a Villager Meeple into a vacant space behind the Girl and the Elders. You cannot place in front of the Girl. For each Villager Meeple here, an extra Wood Ash token will be tossed during the Wood Ash phase, and you will be awarded an extra token selection, granted based on where your Villager Meeple(s) appears in the turn order.

Recall

Return any number of Villager Meeples from Foraging, Offering, or Night Sky track spots to beside your board, readying them for use.

Villager Meeples are not compelled to return, and you may decide to leave them behind on Stargazing or Foraging spaces to capitalize on their effects later.

Gain Stardust

Gain 1 Stardust token. See Stardust above.

Using Wood Ash tokens

Wood Ash tokens cannot be saved between rounds and must be spent during your turn, or discarded back to the bag for no benefit. You can use a Wood Ash token at any time on your turn, before, in between, or after your normal actions. As it is normally, you must complete each action you take on your turn in full before starting another, whether from a Wood Ash token or not.

Cleanup Phase

1. Adjust the turn order track.
   • Move the Girl forward one space.
     • If the Girl cannot move forward because she is at the end of the track, proceed immediately to Game End and Final Scoring.
   • Take the Elder currently in last position, and move them into the vacant space left by the Girl, thus making that player the new first player.
2. If there is Stardust near a Connection Reward token, discard the Reward token, then return the Stardust token to its normal place.
3. If there are Offering spaces on the Offering card equal to the number of players or more that have been filled, discard that Offering card and all the tokens on it, revealing a new card.

Game End and Final Scoring

Before the game is officially over, players may spend any remaining Stardust they have. Once all players are done, move to Final Scoring where players will get VP for Fruit/Animal tokens they neglected to Offer during the normal course of the game.

• Fruit: 1 VP
• Rabbit: 2 VP
• Fish: 2 VP
• Antelope: 3 VP

After all players exchange their leftover tokens for VP, the player with the most VP is the winner! If there is a tie, the tied player with the most combined unspent Light and Stardust is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied player with the most vacant spaces on their board is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied players enjoy a shared victory.

Reference Summary

The heading below is added here; the printed final page is a reference card (phases, Wood Ash tokens, actions) with no heading of its own.

Phases

1. Stargazing Phase: Players will simultaneously draw 3 double-sided Star tiles from their bag and place them onto their board.
2. Wood Ash Phase: In turn order, players will draft Wood Ash tokens from the Night Sky - discarding them for Light or keeping them to use this turn.
3. Action Phase: In turn order each player takes 2 Actions. There are 6 available actions, and players can take them in any combination, or even the same action twice.
4. Cleanup Phase: Used Connection Reward tokens and potentially Offering cards are discarded, the Girl moves forward on the Night Sky track, and the Elders are adjusted.

Wood Ash Tokens: Foraging, Offering, Scouting, Recall, Gain Stardust, Gain 2 Light.

Actions: Scouting / Foraging / Offering / Stargazing / Recall / Gain Stardust.