Tranquility: The Ascent
Tranquility: The Ascent Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Components
- 72 Ascent cards. These are numbered 1-12 in three different colours with two of each number/colour. This means that there are two Green 12s, two Blue 12s and two Red 12s, for example.
- 3 Campfire cards
- 5 Bridge cards
- 3 Guide rope cards
- 5 Summit cards
- 10 Panoramas (and their reverse side, used only with the Panorama expansion)
- 1 Hiker meeple
- 12 Goat meeples
- This rulebook
Use Panoramas to form the base of the mountain. The number sequences on the reverse are only used when playing with the Panorama expansion.
2. The Goal
In Tranquility: The Ascent, you must work together to brave the dangers of the mountain and attempt to scale the summit.
To be successful, you and your fellow climbers will need to complete the mountain-shaped grid of 44 cards before topping it with a single Summit card.
Everyone wins if your ascent up the mountain is successful and a Summit card is placed atop, crowning your successful expedition.
However, everyone loses if a single player is unable to play or discard any cards on their turn - see Section 4 - causing the team to abandon the climb and return to safety.
Tranquility: The Ascent is a game of limited communication.
You may NOT discuss your actions with other players.
3. Game Setup (2-5 Players)
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Place the 10 triangular Panoramas in a line, face-down, as per the image below.
This represents the base of the mountain, so make sure to leave enough room on the table for nine rows of cards above this.
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Determine a First player at random and then distribute Bridge cards based on the chart.
Players will take turns in clockwise order from the First player.
Players Bridge card 2-3 Player 2 4-5 Players 2 and 4 -
Shuffle all of the Ascent, Summit and Campfire cards together with any remaining Bridge cards to create a face-down deck.
Some Ascent cards have this goat symbol - these have special effects if playing with the Mountain Goats module (see Section 7.3) but act the same as any other Ascent card if you're just playing the base game.
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Divide the deck as evenly as possible to form draw piles for each player. If the deck does not divide evenly, give the starting player one of the larger draw piles and distribute the rest of the piles randomly.
For example, in a 4-player game, 83 cards will be divided into one deck of 20 cards and three decks of 21 cards, one of which is given to the starting player.
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Each player now draws a starting hand of five cards.
Note: as a result of step 2, players with a Bridge card in their hand will only draw 4 cards.
You are now ready to begin Tranquility: The Ascent.
4. How to Play
(For changes to the Solo rules, see Section 6.)
Starting with the First Player and moving clockwise, players take turns performing one of two actions:
a. Play a card or b. Discard two cards.
After taking an action, you must draw back up to five cards from the top of your draw pile.
If your draw pile runs out, you will be unable to draw but the game is not lost until you are unable to perform an action on your turn.
Play continues until the players either win - when a player completes the mountain with a Summit card - or they lose, as described below.
4a. Play a Card
The mountain is formed by playing cards from left-to-right in individual rows forming a pyramid shape.
On your turn, select a card from your hand and place it in a legal space on the mountain, following these rules:
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They must be placed either:
- Immediately adjacent to an existing card on the mountain *
- On a new row of the mountain (as long as rule 3, below, is obeyed)
- Covering over a Bridge card (explained in more detail in the Bridge card section)
* Each row of the mountain has a maximum limit. Refer to the image of the full mountain overleaf.
You will find that the mountain develops differently from one game to the next. Players are never required to complete a whole row before starting the next one above as long as the placement rules are adhered to.
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You cannot have two cards of the same colour immediately adjacent to each other on the same row.
This applies to both Ascent cards and Campfire cards meaning you cannot place a green Ascent card next to a green Campfire card, for example.
This blue '2' cannot be placed adjacent to the blue '5' card.
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Cards placed on any mountain row must have two cards immediately below to support it.
This blue '2' cannot be placed with only one card below it.
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A card cannot be placed in a row of a higher number than their value.
For example, a '2' can only be placed in the 1st or 2nd rows of the mountain whereas an '8' can be placed in any row.
This blue '2' cannot be placed above the 2nd row.
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When you place an Ascent card immediately adjacent to an existing card on the mountain, you must discard cards from your hand, into a personal face-down discard pile, equal to the difference between the numbers shown on the two cards.
Mary places her '5' next to a '3', so she must discard two cards.
You may not place a card if it would require you to discard more cards than you have in your hand.
Summit Cards
A Summit card can only be placed as the final card on top of the mountain, and only once the rest of the mountain is complete.
This means all spots have been filled by either Ascent or Campfire cards, and Bridge cards must be covered before a Summit card is played.
If this card is played before any player cannot take a legal move on their turn then you all win the game.
Summit cards may be discarded using the normal rules but beware: there are only five in the game. You cannot win unless a Summit card is played, so choose your discards wisely!
Bridge Cards
Bridge cards offer a temporary extension to a mountain row, but they must be covered in order to be able to win.
Instead of playing an Ascent card on their turn, players may place a Bridge card from their hand following the usual rules for placement except for one additional restriction: bridges cannot be played on the end of any rows.
After placing a Bridge card immediately adjacent to an Ascent card, no cards are discarded. You also do not discard cards when placing an Ascent card to the right or left of a Bridge card.
Sam plays a Bridge next to this '6' card then Angela plays a '9' next to the Bridge. Neither of them discards any cards.
Reminder: a Summit card may not be played until every Bridge card on the mountain has been covered by an Ascent card. This means that the game cannot be won while an uncovered Bridge exists.
When covering a Bridge card, it is possible for an Ascent card to be placed between two cards. In this case, you must discard cards equal to the difference between the card you placed and one of the cards on either side, whichever result is the greatest.
Stewart covers this Bridge with a '7', placing it between the '6' and the '9'. This means they must discard two cards, as that is the greater difference.
Campfire Cards
Campfire cards allow players to relocate existing Ascent cards further up the mountain. Instead of playing an Ascent or Bridge card on their turn, players may instead replace an Ascent card in the mountain with a Campfire card using the following placement rules:
- Campfire cards can only replace Ascent cards; they may not replace Bridge cards.
- A Campfire card may only replace an Ascent card of the same colour.
After placing a Campfire, the replaced card must be moved up the mountain to a new location. This card must be placed at least one row higher up the mountain and follow the usual placement rules.
Laura replaces the green '7' with a green Campfire, then moves the '7' to start a new row as it has no other legal placement.
Campfire cards do not need to be covered in order to win the game; in fact, covering a Campfire is not a legal move!
When playing a card next to a Campfire, the player must discard cards as if they were placing next to the closest Ascent card to the left.
After Gareth placed the red Campfire card here, it assumes the '8' value from the card it's next to. Placing a '6' next to the red Campfire would mean discarding two cards.
4b. Discard Two Cards
Rather than playing a card, you may instead discard two cards either because you cannot legally play a card, or because you do not wish to do so.
To take this action, you must place two cards of your choice from your hand face-down into your discard pile. Players may not look through any discard piles during the game.
Note: we recommend keeping your discard pile "messy" so you don't confuse it with your draw pile.
5. End of the Game
All players win if someone is able to successfully place a Summit card atop a finished mountain of 44 cards.
This means all Bridges must be covered and all rows must be completely filled.
All players lose if any player cannot take a legal action on their turn.
This could happen because a player has no cards left to play in their hand, or has only one card that they cannot legally place (for instance the number is too low for the higher rows of the mountain, or because playing it would require them to discard more cards than they have in hand.)
Guidance for Communication
Strictly speaking, communication during a game of Tranquility: The Ascent is heavily discouraged, particularly any discussions about hidden information e.g. the content of one's hand.
Practically, however, this does not mean the game has to be played in complete silence. Feel free to use this time to chat to your fellow players about anything and everything!
Turn Summary and Card Placement
Play a card or Discard two cards. Then draw back up to five cards.
Row sizes, from base to peak:
- 1st row - 9 cards
- 2nd row - 8 cards
- 3rd row - 7 cards
- 4th row - 6 cards
- 5th row - 5 cards
- 6th row - 4 cards
- 7th row - 3 cards
- 8th row - 2 cards
- 9th row - the final card to be placed is a Summit card
Playing cards:
- Start a new row from the left / play to the right of a card / play on top of a bridge.
- No two cards of the same colour directly to the left or right of each other on the same row.
- Cards on higher rows need to be supported by those below.
- Card numbers must be equal to or higher than the number of the row. e.g. you can play a 2 on the 1st or 2nd row.
- Discard cards to place numbered cards if necessary.
6. Solo Mode
The solo version of Tranquility: The Ascent is played in largely the same way as the multiplayer version but with a few changes:
- During setup, find and remove all six Ascent cards with a '1' on them.
- Find the 3 Guide rope cards and place them next to your draw pile.
- Play with a hand size of six throughout the game instead of five.
Guide Rope Cards
Instead of taking actions a. Play a card or b. Discard two cards, Guide ropes present an extra option to solo mountaineers. Using a Guide rope "mulligans" your hand. Shuffle all six cards from your hand into your draw pile and then draw a new hand of six cards.
We recommend using all 3 Guide rope cards during your first solo games but you can reduce this number (or decline to use them at all) if you wish to increase the difficulty.
We also recommend playing with the Green Path module from your first game, and then adding in the Panorama objectives and/or Mountain goats modules if you are winning frequently or wish to change the gameplay experience.
7. Expansion Modules
Mastered the base game of Tranquility: The Ascent? Included in the box you'll find three small expansion modules that will add an extra layer of difficulty to your climb if you're tough enough to brave these new challenges.
7.1 Green Path
The Green Path module is the simplest addition to the base game of Tranquility: The Ascent.
In addition to the rules discussed previously, the players are also tasked with building a consecutive path of green cards from the foot of the mountain to its peak.
There's nothing wrong with starting multiple green paths early on, but only one can make it to the summit!
As per the base game rules, green cards may not be placed adjacent to one another on the same row so careful planning is required to ensure your path can continue.
We recommend using the green Hiker meeple as a reminder of this new goal, moving it up the mountain as new green cards are added to the path. It can be freely moved between different green paths and does not affect the gameplay but purely acts as a visual reminder of the Green Path module.
7.2 Panorama Objectives
The Panorama objectives module provides an extra layer of difficulty, challenging your team to capture specific sequences of Ascent cards during their climb.
During setup, shuffle the 10 Panoramas with the number sequences face down and then place them from left-to-right to form the base of the mountain as per the base game. Then turn over the first three Panoramas starting from the leftmost.
The revealed cards show the specific panoramas that you're trying to capture on film this game. The Panorama objectives can be achieved in any order but the numbers on Ascent cards must follow the exact order from left-to-right when looking at the mountain the correct way up.
The moment a Panorama objective is completed, flip the corresponding Panorama. The achieved sequence does not need to be kept intact.
If you enjoy this module and wish to increase the difficulty then you may increase the number of Panorama objectives to four or even five cards though we don't recommend going above that as this may make the game far too difficult and unenjoyable.
The sequence of numbers indicated on a Panorama must be completed with consecutive adjacent Ascent cards on a single row of the mountain.
So far, Jonny has completed Panorama objective 3-4-3. Once all three have been completed, he will win the game if he can make it to the summit (as per the base game rules.)
7.3 Mountain Goats
Finally, the Mountain goats module signifies the toughest challenge that Tranquility: The Ascent has to offer. In addition to the base game rules, your team of intrepid climbers will also need to herd lost goats up to the summit where the air is pure and the grass is greener.
During setup, place the 12 Goat meeples nearby. The remaining setup steps are identical to the base game of Tranquility: The Ascent.
Whenever an Ascent card with a Mountain goat symbol is placed onto the mountain, the player must also place one of the Goat meeples onto that card.
From then on, there are three available actions:
a. Play a card or b. Discard two cards or c. Herd goats.
Only eight goats need to make it to the 8th row to win. Ascent cards with a Mountain goat symbol may be discarded using the normal rules but beware: there are only 12 in the game.
Herd Goats
You can discard one or more cards to move a single herd of goats that many rows up the mountain, via adjacent cards. You may only move one herd per turn, but all goats on a single card are considered part of the herd. As a result, it's possible to "collect" goats from spaces that the herd moves through, increasing the size of the herd you're moving and saving you some actions in the process.
Goats automatically move onto the summit at the end of the game.
For example, on her go, Amy discards one card to move a goat up one level, from the green 12 to the red 3.
James then discards three cards to move goats up three levels, collecting the herd as he goes.
Four goats are now on the blue 8.
Special Rules for Goats
- Goats may not be herded onto or over Bridges; they've been reading too many fairy tales and are petrified of trolls.
- Cards with Goat meeples on them may also not be replaced by Campfire cards. No teleporting your herd of goats to the summit! Note: you may play a Campfire card on an Ascent card with a goat symbol as long as there are no goats present on the card.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
Can we place the Summit card and then cover the last Bridge to win?
No, you must cover all Bridges before you're allowed to place a Summit card atop the mountain.
We made a mistake during play but didn't notice it immediately. How do we rectify it?
We recommend starting again, not only because Tranquility: The Ascent is so quick to set up and play, but also because two adjacent blue cards or a '2' on the third row of the mountain can be very difficult to fix mid-game.
I can't legally play any of my cards. Have we lost?
If you still have two or more cards left in your hand, you can still take the discard two cards action. The game is only lost when someone has no cards they can play nor two cards to discard.
Can I complete a Panorama objective in reverse?
No. If you draw the 9 - 8 - 7 objective, a sequence of 7 - 8 - 9 would not be valid. Objectives are always completed from left-to-right as you look at the mountain the correct way up.
Can I move goats sideways?
No. You can only move goats up the mountain using the Herd goats action. They are stubborn and want to reach the summit as soon as possible.
Credits
Designer: James Emmerson Illustrator: Tristam Rossin
Graphic Designer: James Hitchmough
Editor: Jonny Foster Developer: Peter Hazlewood
Playtesters: Emma Hazlewood, Andrew Hazlewood, James Hitchmough, Jacob Bell, Jonny Foster, Stewart Watt, Gareth Hughes, Sam Guille, Matt Warwick, Karen Lodge and everyone else who's played Tranquility: The Ascent during its development!
Special Thanks: You!
James gives special thanks to Bridget and David Emmerson for their patience, positivity and playtesting!
A big thank you to all our backers on Kickstarter. Without you this would not have been possible.
Imported and distributed in the UK by: Esdevium Games Ltd - trading as Asmodee UK, 6 Waterbrook Road, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 2UD