The Yellow House Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• I. Components
• II. Setting up the Game
• III. Playing the Game
  • Debate (trick)
  • Action: Making a Claim
  • Action: Strengthening an element & making a Claim
  • Using Support cards
  • Playing Example
• IV. End of the Round
• V. End of the Game
• VI. Variant
• Credits

I. Components

• 35 cards
  • 28 Topic cards — 4 elements (suits) x 7 identical cards: Skill, Passion, Inspiration, Money (front); a painter (back)
  • 5 Support cards
  • 2 Reference cards (used in the variant)
• 4 Element tokens
• 2 Pallet tokens
• 1 Canvas board

II. Setting up the Game

1. Place the Canvas in the center of the table. Next to it, leave space for a row of cards.
2. Each player takes 1 Palette token and places it in front of them.
3. Place all 4 Element tokens on the first level position of the Canvas.
4. The player who most recently visited a museum becomes the dealer. Alternatively, choose the dealer randomly. The dealer shuffles all 28 Topic cards and deals 12 cards to each player. Keep your dealt cards in your hand without showing them your opponent.
5. The remaining four cards are not used in the first round and should be kept face down aside from the game area. Next to them, leave space for a discard pile.
6. Place the 5 Support cards in an easily accessible pile.
7. Reference cards are not used in the standard game and should be returned to the game box.
8. Each player chooses any 2 Topic cards from their hand to exchange with their opponent.
9. Reveal these cards, then for each revealed card, advance the corresponding Element token by 1 level, and complete the exchange.

III. Playing the Game

This game proceeds for up to 5 rounds, each round consisting of multiple Debates (tricks). If a player runs out of cards, the round immediately ends and that player wins the round.

Debate (trick)

1. Starting with the dealer, players take turns playing an action: either making a Claim, or Strengthening an element and making a Claim.
2. If a player cannot or does not want to take an action, they pass. Then the trick immediately ends. All Topic cards played in this trick are discarded into the discard pile.
3. The player who made the last Claim begins the next trick.

Action: Making a Claim

• Every trick starts only with the Making a Claim action: You play any Topic card of your choice from your hand.
• Following that, when players make a Claim, they must play a Topic card of an element that is both stronger than the opponent's last (the current) Claim and new (not yet played in this trick).
• An element is stronger than another if its position on the Canvas track is higher.

Example: Currently, Money is the strongest element. Passion and Skill are tied; neither is stronger than the other. Inspiration is the weakest element. The Topic cards played as Claims are placed in a single line next to the Canvas.

• Elements that have already been played in this trick cannot be played again. Since there are 4 elements, the trick ends immediately once all 4 have been played.
• If you want to make a Claim on a topic with an element equal to or weaker than the current Claim, you must take the other action, Strengthening an element and making a Claim.

Action: Strengthening an element & making a Claim

• This action can only be taken when you want to make a Claim with an element that is not stronger than the current Claim.
• Through Strengthening, the element is raised to a level one step above the current Claim. Afterward, you must immediately make a Claim using the strengthened element.
  1. Advance the Element token until it is EXACTLY 1 level higher than the Element token of the current Claim.
  2. Play Topic cards of the corresponding element equal to the number of levels advanced. For example, if you raise the level by 3, play 3 cards for Strengthening. These cards are placed in front of you, not next to the Canvas, to indicate that they were used for Strengthening an element.
  3. You may use a Support card in place of a Topic card for Strengthening. When you use a Support card, play one less Topic card, take one Support card from the pile, and place it in front of you.
  4. After Strengthening an element, immediately make a Claim by playing one Topic card of the corresponding element next to the Canvas.
• To Strengthen, you need cards equal to the level difference between the element you want to make a Claim with and the opponent's last claimed element, plus 1. Please note you also need a card to make a Claim. If you lack the required number (the difference in levels + 2) of Topic cards of the element, even with the help of a Support card, you cannot take this action.

NOTE The number of Topic cards you may play is restricted. When starting a trick or if the element you intend to play is already stronger than the current Claim, you play only 1 card via Claiming. Otherwise, you can only play the required number (the difference in levels + 2) of cards for Strengthening & Claiming, or choose to pass. Using a Support card is the only way to play one fewer cards for Strengthening.

Using Support cards

• Support cards can be used only for Strengthening. You can take one from the pile to use it as 1 Topic card of any Element.
• You cannot use more than 1 Support card in a single Strengthening, and each player can use up to 3 Support cards per round. There are a total of 5 Support cards, so if you have used 3, your opponent can only use up to 2.
• The used Support cards are not discarded at the end of the trick but kept in front of you to indicate how many you have used in this round.
• When you need to advance the Element token by just 1 level, you may use a Support card without a Topic card for Strengthening. However, you cannot use a Support card for your Claim.

Playing Example

1. Starting player Marco claims that Passion is important. He plays a Passion card from his hand next to the Canvas. The position of the Passion token remains unchanged.
2. Now it's Kevin's turn. Since Passion has already been played, players cannot claim Passion anymore in this debate. Currently, Money is stronger than Passion, so Kevin can claim that Money is more important by playing a Money card. To claim that Skill or Inspiration is more important, he would need to strengthen that element before making a claim. Kevin wants to claim that Skill is more important. Currently, Skill and Passion are at the same level. Therefore, for the Strengthening & Claiming action, Kevin needs a total of 2 Skill cards. Kevin has enough Skill cards in hand but decides to use a Support card.
   1. Kevin advances the Skill token by one level so that it is one level above the Passion token.
   2. He takes a Support card, placing it in front of him.
   3. Then he plays a Skill card from his hand above the Passion card next to the Canvas.
3. Now it's Marco's turn again. To play, Marco needs either 2 Money cards or 4 Inspiration cards. If he uses a Support card, he will need 1 Money card or 3 Inspiration cards. Otherwise, he must pass. Marco wants to claim that Inspiration is more important.
   1. Marco advances the Inspiration token by 3 levels so that it is one level above the Skill token.
   2. He places 3 Inspiration cards in front of him and
   3. 1 Inspiration card next to the Canvas.
4. Kevin can only play Money cards now. He needs 3 cards to take a turn (two to Strengthen Money, one to make a Claim). Of course, he may use a Support card again. However, Kevin decides to pass. The debate is over. All Topic cards played are put into the discard pile except for the Support cards.
5. Marco wins this debate and begins the next one.

IV. End of the Round

If a player runs out of Topic cards in their hand, the round ends immediately, and that player wins the round. The winner takes their last Claim as a reward. They place it face up under their Palette token to distinguish it from other Topic cards. Prepare and start a new round. The winner becomes the dealer. Excluding the Topic cards given as rewards, prepare for a new round using the same method as the game setup. Therefore, the number of remaining Topic cards will decrease by 1 each round. In the fifth round, where 24 Topic cards are used, there are no cards left after dealing them out.

V. End of the Game

At the end of any round, if a player has two Topic cards of the same element or any three Topic cards under their Palette token, the game immediately ends, and that player wins.

VI. Variant

Once you have played your first game(s) and feel familiar enough with the game, you may use this variant for a deeper strategic experience.

When using a Support card to Strengthen an element, you trigger a special effect depending on the element. These effects must be resolved if possible.

Passion The trick ends immediately after this turn. You begin the next trick.

Skill As this turn ends, choose an Element token other than Skill and advance it by 1 level.

Money A Support card that Strengthens Money counts as two cards. It means the Support card advances the Money token by 2 levels instead of 1 level. Therefore, in situations where you only need to Strengthen Money by one level, you cannot use a Support card.

Inspiration As this turn ends, choose 1 Topic card from your hand and give it to the opponent. Your opponent must give you a Topic card of a different element. If your opponent doesn't have such a card, you don't receive a card in return. If you don't receive a card back and have no cards left in your hand, you win the round. Gain your last Claim (Inspiration card) as a reward.

• There is no limit to the level. In rare cases where an Element token exceeds level 8, adjust the level of all elements by lowering all Element tokens by 1 level.
• These special effects are summarized on the reference card. When playing with the variant, each player places the reference card in front of them.

Credits

• Game Design: Geonil
• Illustrations: Edu Valls
• Graphic Design: Chong, Eva Dream
• Development: Tylor Kim
• English Rules Editing: Mathieu Rivero
• Project Management: Marco Jung

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