The Whatnot Cabinet
The Whatnot Cabinet Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Collect tiny objects and score the most points by creating the best Whatnot Cabinet. Each round, players travel away from home to find unique and new treasures to add to their Cabinet. As they do, they score points for sets of different or like object types, and various other types of sets.
Components
- 4 Cabinets
- 1 Journey Board
- 1 Cloth Bag
- 4 Reference Cards
- 12 Curiosity Cards
- 5 Wonder Cards
- 12 Rival Cards for Solo Play
- 85 Curio Tiles
- Over 60 Point Tokens
- 8 Pawns (2 per Player)
Game Setup
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Each player takes a Cabinet and a Pawn of the same color. In a 1- or 2-player game, take two Pawns.
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Place the Journey Board in the center of the playing area. Leave an open area below the board for the "Outdoors."
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Place all Curio Tiles into the cloth bag. Leave room for a discard area next to it.
Advanced Setup for 2-Player Games: For 2 players, remove all of the tiles marked with the flower symbol. You will play with the tiles that remain.
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Shuffle the 12 Curiosity Cards, flip, and place 5 face-up in a row. Return the others to the box.
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Shuffle the 5 Wonder Cards, flip 1, and place it face-up next to the Curiosity Cards. Return others to box.
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Place all the Point Tokens on the table to create a supply.
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Randomly choose the starting player. He or she places their pawn on the #1 space on the Landscape Section of the Journey Board. Each other player, going clockwise, places a Pawn in the next space to the right (e.g., Player 2 in the #2 space).
In a 2-player game, the starting player places Pawns in spaces #1 and #4, while the other player places Pawns in spaces #2 and #3.
Information regarding Solo Play is shown on pages 11 through 14.
Gameplay
The Whatnot Cabinet is a tile placing game played over a series of rounds. Each round, all players take a turn by placing exactly 2 Curio Tiles into their Cabinet. In a 1 or 2-player game they take 2 turns per round.
Each turn, players use their pawns to select an action from the Journey Board. They'll acquire 2 Curio Tiles and place them into their Cabinet, potentially scoring a column, row, or Curiosity Card. Players compete to score the most Curio Points.
The game is played over 6 rounds (3 rounds in a 2-player game).
Steps in a Round
I: Prepare
II: Taking Turns — In each player's turn, they take the following actions (in order):
- A. Select an action
- B. Add to Cabinet
- C. Claim rewards (if earned)
III: Clean Up
I: Prepare
Draw 4 Curio Tiles from the bag and place them face-up near the Journey Board. These tiles are in the "Outdoors."
If the bag is empty, refill with all discarded tiles.
First Round Exception: If you draw a special Curio Tile in Step 1 of the first round, return it to the bag and choose a new one until there are no special tiles in the Outdoors.
II: Taking Turns
Players take turns in order of the Pawn placement in the Landscape section; the player with the Pawn in the leftmost space (#1) takes the first turn, followed by the player with the Pawn in the second space, and so on.
A. Select an Action
On a turn, move your Pawn from the Landscape section and place it into any vacant action column on the bottom portion of the Journey Board. This denotes you selecting that action and determines where you will place your Pawn in the Landscape section for the next round during Step 3: Clean Up.
- A Pawn may not be placed in any column with another Pawn.
- After placing the Pawn, perform the actions of the chosen space. (See details on page 10 or Reference Cards.) For each space, there are 1 to 3 actions that must be performed in order.
- As a result of an action, players will take tiles. Whenever a tile is taken, it must be placed immediately into one's Cabinet (see "Add to Cabinet").
- A player must perform the actions.
After a player takes a turn, the player with a Pawn in the next space on the Landscape section takes the next turn. Note: In a 2-player game, it could be the player who just took a turn.
When no Pawns remain in the Landscape Section, Step 2 ends.
When a tile is "added to the Outdoors" it is always added face-up.
B. Add to Cabinet
When taken, a Curio Tile must be added to one's Cabinet immediately, according to these rules:
- Each Curio Tile (except special action tiles) must go into an empty space in one's Cabinet.
- If a player takes a special action tile as the result of an action, it must be used immediately.
- Once placed, a Curio Tile may not be moved or removed.
C. Claim Rewards (if earned)
As a player fills their Cabinet, they may earn a point token and/or Curiosity Card(s).
1. Earning Point Tokens
- Players earn Point Tokens when they complete a row and/or column of Curio Tiles in their Cabinet.
- The point token earned depends upon the "Point Condition" satisfied (see page 7).
- When a player completes a Point Condition, they take the matching Point Token from the supply and place it adjacent to the row and/or column for which the point token was earned.
- Each row or column will only be scored once per game. Thus, a player will earn a total of 7 Point Tokens, one for each row and column.
- For the purposes of earning Point Tokens, players are concerned with object types in rows and object colors in columns (see "Scoring" on page 7).
To avoid confusion, perform all the actions of an action column before taking Point Tokens. Thus, it is easiest to evaluate your Cabinet at the end of your turn, rather than in the middle.
For example, in action #1, if you complete a row or column after performing the first action, perform the second action and then take the appropriate Point Token(s). Point Tokens should be taken on any turn that a row and/or column is filled.
Scoring
2. Scoring Columns
- You earn a 4 Point Token by completing a column with 4 objects of the same color (object types are not relevant).
- You earn a 2 Point Token when you complete a column of 4 different colored objects (object types are not relevant).
3. Scoring Rows
- You earn a 3 Point Token by completing a row with 3 of the same object type (colors are not relevant).
- You earn a 1 Point Token when you complete a row of 3 different object types (colors are not relevant).
If you finish a Row OR Column without meeting any of the above conditions, take and place a Blank Token. These can act as tie-breakers in close games.
Color and Object Type Key
Colors: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple
Object Types: Leaf, Crystal, Bottle, Shell, Animal
Don't forget ~ Point Tokens should be scored after each turn in which a column or row is completed!
4. Earning Curiosity Cards
- A player may also earn a Curiosity Card by being the first player to meet its conditions. If so, they take the Curiosity Card and place it near their Cabinet. It scores at the end of the game and is not replaced.
- A player may earn more than one Curiosity Card per turn/game. Once earned, a Curiosity Card may not be taken by any other player.
This player earns two Curio Points at the end of the game for displaying three different colored Leaves in the same row of their Cabinet.
5. Special Action Tiles
There are 2 types of special action tiles:
Sweep, Add 4 Tiles, Take 1 Tile — When taken, this tile must be used immediately then discarded. Remove all tiles in the Outdoors, add 4 new tiles to the Outdoors, and choose 1 tile from the Outdoors and add it to your Cabinet. This is the same as Action #5, except the player only takes 1 Curio Tile.
Draw a Curio Tile and Earn 1 Curio Point — If taken, draw a Curio Tile from the cloth bag and add it to your Cabinet. This special action tile is not discarded, but is kept until game end and is worth 1 Curio Point.
You may end up drawing another special action tile. If so, follow that tile's rules until a regular Curio Tile is drawn and added to your Cabinet. Your turn ALWAYS ends with 2 Curio Tiles being added to your Cabinet.
III: Clean Up
A. Players check for a game-end condition (see "Game End").
B. If the game is not over, discard any remaining Curio Tiles in the Outdoors into the discard pile face-down.
C. Players move their Pawns from the Journey Board action columns to the corresponding spaces on the Landscape section e.g., the Pawn in action column #2 is moved to #2 on the Landscape area. Then, the player in position #1 of the Landscape area begins the next round.
Game End and Scoring
After 6 rounds (or 3 for one or two players), all players' Cabinets will be filled. Players then sum the following:
- Earned Point Tokens: Total points for all tokens earned.
- Earned Curiosity Cards: Curio Points as listed on the card(s).
- Special Action Tiles: 1 Point per tile.
Then they also add the Curio Points earned from these at game end:
- Wonder Card: For each tile of the specified object type in one's Cabinet (regardless of color), the player earns 1 Curio Point.
- Crowns on Tiles: For each Crown in one's Cabinet, the player earns 1 Curio Point.
- First Three Landscape Spaces: Players earn additional Curio Points if they end the game with their Pawn in one of the first three spaces in the Landscape area. In a 1-2 player game, you may receive points for both of your Pawns if they are both in one of these 3 places.
This example shows that the Green Player earned 26 Points: Cabinet Points 13 + Curiosity Card Points 3 + Special Action Tile Points 1 + Wonder Cards (Leaves) 3 + Crowns on Tiles 4 + Landscape Area Points 2 = Total 26
The player with the most Curio Points wins.
If there's a tie, the player with the most Blank Tokens wins. If there's still a tie, the player whose Pawn is in, or closest to, space #1 in the Landscape area wins.
Journey Board Reference
Each action always leads to a player taking and adding 2 tiles to their Cabinet per turn.
Column 1: Draw 3 tiles, take 2, then discard the other tile face-down to the discard pile.
Column 2: Draw 2 tiles, take 1, and place the other into the Outdoors. Then, take 1 tile from the Outdoors.
Column 3: Add a tile from the bag to the Outdoors. Then take 2 tiles from the Outdoors.
Column 4: Add 2 tiles from the bag to the Outdoors, then take 2 tiles from the Outdoors.
Column 5: Discard all tiles from the Outdoors face down to the discard pile, add 4 tiles from the bag to The Outdoors. Then, take 2 tiles from the Outdoors.
Early Morning Outing — Solo Play
Solo Play by Keith Matejka
As the sun creeps in through your window, you wake with a sense of wanderlust and discovery. Head outside and see what you can find!
In "Early Morning Outing," a single player collects objects to score Curio Points. Compare your score to the chart at the end of these rules to see how well you did.
Solo Play Setup
Place the Journey Board at the top of the play area. Setup is the same as the 2-player game with the following changes:
- Only use 1 Cabinet Board. Place it in front of the player.
- After selecting a player color, find 2 Pawns in an unused color to represent a Rival Player.
- Place the player's Pawns on the Landscape spaces #2 and #4 on the Journey Board, and the Rival's Pawns on spaces #1 and #3.
- Find the deck of Rival Cards. Shuffle it and place it face-down near the player's Cabinet.
- Draw 4 Curio Tiles from the bag to create the Outdoors.
- Shuffle the 12 Curiosity Cards, flip, and place 5 face-up in a row. Return the rest to the box.
- Shuffle the 5 Wonder Cards, flip 1, and place it face-up directly in front of the player. The Rival does not receive a Wonder Card. Return the rest to the box.
Rival Pawns are Green.
The Rival Player takes the first turn.
Return the remaining Wonder and Curiosity Cards to the box.
Solo Gameplay
I: Prepare
This step is not performed in the Solo Play game.
II: Taking Turns
Turn order is determined as in the multiplayer game. The player takes two turns each round, as will the Rival Player. The Rival Player goes first.
A. Rival Turn:
Draw the top Rival Card. Place the Rival's pawn on the action column indicated on the top of the card. If this space is already occupied by another pawn, move it to the adjacent action column in the direction indicated by the arrow until it is on a free action column. If necessary, loop from the far right space to the far left or vice versa.
Remove tiles from the Outdoors as indicated on the bottom half of the card.
Rival actions are found on cards, not action spaces.
IMPORTANT: Add one Curio Tile to the Outdoors at the end of the Rival's turn.
B. Player's Turn:
During the player's turn, choose which of the actions to take from the remaining unoccupied action columns. Move the player's Pawn to the chosen action column, and take the action.
If at any point in the player's turn or the Rival's turn, there are no tiles in the Outdoors, add one Curio Tile to the Outdoors from the bag.
C. Column Bonus
The player earns Bonus Points for choosing column 1, 2, or 3. If they choose column 4 or 5, they receive no Bonus Points. This bonus is earned at the end of each turn (and then also as part of end game scoring per normal rules).
- 3 Curio Points for column 1
- 2 Curio Points for column 2
- 1 Curio Point for column 3
D. Earning Point Tokens
As in the multiplayer game, if the player completes a row or column in their Cabinet they immediately score the appropriate Point Token. Solo Play uses the same score conditions for rows and columns as the multiplayer game.
E. Earning Curiosity Cards
As in the multiplayer game, if the player has met the condition on a Curiosity Card, they may claim it by removing it from the row, and placing it near their Cabinet.
III: Clean Up
A. End of Round 1 and 2:
Choose and flip 2 Curiosity Cards face down. These cards can no longer be claimed by the player.
- If only one face-up Curiosity Card remains, flip it face down.
- If no face-up Curiosity Cards remain, do nothing.
Then move all Pawns from the action columns to the corresponding spaces in the Landscape section.
B. End of Round 3:
The game is over. Proceed to Scoring.
Solo Play — Game End and Scoring
When Round 3 ends, sum the Curio Points from the following sources to find the player's final score. Check the chart at right to see how well you did.
- Earned Point Tokens from completing rows and columns of the cabinet, as well as bonus points earned during the game.
- Earned points from Curiosity Cards.
- Earned points from Special Action Tiles.
- Earned points from the player's Wonder Card.
- Earned points from crowns on Curio Tiles in the player's Cabinet.
- Earned Points from having their Pawn(s) on any of the first three Landscape spaces of the Journey Board at the end of the game.
- 3 Curio Points for spot 1
- 2 Curio Points for spot 2
- 1 Curio Point for spot 3
Solo Play Score Chart
| Total Points | Player Level |
|---|---|
| 20 or Fewer Points | Clumsy Collector |
| 21-25 Points | Bauble Hoarder |
| 26-30 Points | Trinket Taker |
| 31-35 Points | Collectible Connoisseur |
| 36-40 Points | Knickknack Antiquary |
| 41-45 Points | Curiosity Claimant |
| 46 or More | Relic Fanatic |
Curiosity Card Appendix
4 of the Same Object Type (Anywhere) (worth 2 Curio Points) — Place 4 of the same object types anywhere on your board. They can be in the same and/or different rows or columns.
Fill the Corners (worth 1 Curio Point) — Place an object in each corner. The object types and colors are not relevant.
A Different Object Type in each Row (worth 1 Curio Point) — Place a different object type in each row. It does not matter which column.
7 Objects Placed with no Row or Column Completed (worth 2 Curio Points) — Place 7 objects in such a way that no row or column is completed.
Same Object Type & Different Colors (in a Row) (worth 2 Curio Points) — Place 3 of the same type of object, each with a different color, in the same row.
5 of the Same Color (Anywhere) (worth 2 Curio Points) — Place 5 of the same colored object anywhere on the board, regardless of type.
Collect 4 Crowns (worth 1 Curio Point) — Collect 4 Crowns.
1 Row each of 3 Different and 3 Same Object Types (worth 2 Curio Points) — Complete 1 row of all same and 1 row of all different object types.
Complete a Row and Column (worth 2 Curio Points) — Complete 1 row and 1 column. It does not matter which row or column.
Same Color & Different Types (in a Column) (worth 1 Curio Point) — Place 4 different object types that are all the same color in a column. It does not matter which column or which color.
5 Different Colored Objects (Anywhere) (worth 1 Curio Point) — Place 5 different colored objects anywhere, regardless of type.
1 Column each of 4 Different & 4 Same Colored Objects (worth 2 Curio Points) — Complete 1 column of all same and 1 column of all different colored objects.
Wonder Card Appendix
For Every Crystal — Earn 1 Curio Point for every Crystal in your Cabinet regardless of color.
For Every Shell — Earn 1 Curio Point for every Shell in your Cabinet regardless of color.
For Every Bottle — Earn 1 Curio Point for every Bottle in your Cabinet regardless of color.
For Every Animal — Earn 1 Curio Point for every Animal in your Cabinet regardless of color.
For Every Leaf — Earn 1 Curio Point for every Leaf in your Cabinet regardless of color.
Credits
Game Design: Steve Finn Illustration: Beth Sobel Game Development: Eduardo Baraf Solo Design: Keith Matejka Graphic Design: Kim Robinson
SPECIAL THANKS to Andrea Emmes, our incredible Kickstarter backers, the amazing board game community, and our loving families.
Pencil First Games — Design with Passion, Pencil First PencilFirstGames.com
Check out more Dr. Finn's Games at: www.doctorfinns.com
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