Twinkle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup for 2-4 Players
• Dice Assortment
• Overview
• Gameplay
• Choosing a Die
• Placing and Connecting a Die
• Scoring Cards
• Scoring Example in a 3 Player Game
• Game End and Scoring
• Setup for Advanced Players
• A. Bronze Mission Cards
• B. Silver Mission Cards
• Solo Campaign Mode

Contents

1. 30 polyhedral dice in 5 types and 6 colors
2. 28 Connectors
3. 1 two-sided Board (Galaxy side & Scoring side)
4. 7 Scoring Cards (one for each dice color & the Twinkle Card)
5. 20 Mission Cards (10 silver, 10 bronze)
6. 4 Solo Campaign Cards
7. 4 Scoring Markers

Setup for 2-4 Players

1. Place the Board at the center of the table so that each player is facing two Starting Stars of the same color, which belong to them. This side of the Board represents the galactic center which is home to the players' constellations. Then give to each player the Scoring Marker that matches the color of their Starting Stars.

2. Depending on the number of players do the following:

   • For a 2-player game, randomly select 4 out of the 6 Scoring Cards.
   • For a 3-player game, randomly select 5 out of the 6 Scoring Cards.
   • For a 4-player game, use all 6 Scoring Cards.

   Place all selected Scoring Cards face up on the table so they are clearly visible to all players. Then, place all dice of each color, except the d8 (eight-sided dice), next to the corresponding Scoring Card, as shown in the image (setup for 4 players).

3. Take the corresponding d8 dice, roll them and place them on the center of the Board without changing their results.

4. Place the Twinkle Card face up next to the other Scoring Cards.

5. Each player receives 7 Connectors.

6. Return any unused components to the box.

7. The player who most recently saw a shooting star goes first, then proceed clockwise. Otherwise, choose randomly a player to start.

Dice Assortment

There are 5 different types of dice in this game, pictured below from the smallest to the largest. After rolling each die, its result is the number shown on its top side. In the case of the four-sided dice, its result is the number shown on the apex of the pyramid.

• Four-sided dice, name: d4 - range of results: 1-4
• Six-sided dice, name: d6 - range of results: 1-6
• Eight-sided dice, name: d8 - range of results: 1-8
• Ten-sided dice, name: d10 - range of results: 1-10 (10 is depicted as 0)
• Twelve-sided dice, name: d12 - range of results 1-12

These 30 dice are comprised of 6 colored sets (red, yellow, blue, green, black, purple). Each colored dice set has a corresponding Scoring Card.

Overview

Players compete in building the best constellation. Each player chooses and places dice as stars on their table space, connecting them with each other to form their own unique constellation. Placing the right dice on the right spots will make these stars shine bright in the night sky and thus determine who will win the title of the best stellar creator.

Gameplay

The Board has 8 Starting Stars, where 2 Stars of the same color correspond to each player. From these Starting Stars, players will begin adding dice to their constellation (1 die per turn), eventually placing a total of 7 dice. At the end of the game, players score Victory Points according to the dice of their own constellation and the various Scoring Cards.

Choosing a Die

In each round, every player in their turn selects one die and connects it either a) to one of their Starting Stars or b) to one of their already placed die, adding a Connector between them.

Choosing a die can be done in one of two ways:

1. Choose a die after rolling three: The player selects 3 available dice of their choice. This means that this selection may contain any combination of dice from these next to the Scoring Cards and/or those from the center of the Board.

   Then the player rolls these 3 dice and selects 1 of them. Finally, they place the selected die in their constellation, either connected to one of their Starting Stars or connected to a die that was already placed in a previous round.

   The other 2 dice are returned to their original location; dice that were taken from a Scoring Card are returned back to the same Scoring Card. Any d8 dice are returned back to the center of the Board without changing their new result.

2. Choose a d8 die without rolling it: The player selects any d8 die from the dice placed on the center of the Board. Then, without changing the die's result, they place it in their constellation, either connected to one of their Starting Stars or connected to a die that was already placed in a previous round.

Placing and Connecting a Die

When adding and connecting a die, the following two conditions must be satisfied:

1. Every die which is placed and connected to an already placed die must have a strictly lower result.
2. Each Starting Star and each die may have at most 2 Connectors attached below them.

Attention! Players must always add a die to their constellation, if possible. If a player is unable to add any of the dice they rolled due to the above conditions, they skip their turn and the next player's turn begins. At the end of the 7th round, players that have skipped one or more turns continue playing in a clockwise order until they have placed all their Connectors.

In the extraordinary case that a player has filled their Constellation with dice with a result of "1" so that it is impossible to add any new die, their turns are skipped entirely until the end of the game.

Scoring Cards

Each colored dice set has its own scoring method, outlined in the corresponding Scoring Card. These cards, together with the Twinkle Card, help the players form a strategy.

The Scoring Cards are the following:

YELLOW DICE - "THE MORE, THE MERRIER"

They score victory points depending on their quantity, no matter where they are placed in a player's constellation, according to the table below:

Quantity of yellow dice	1	2	3 or more
Victory Points	1	3	6

BLUE DICE - "THEY GO HAND IN HAND"

Every pair of blue dice connected under the same die or Starting Star scores a total of 4 Victory Points. In any other case, each blue die scores 1 Victory Point.

GREEN DICE - "THEY VALUE THEIR RELATIVES"

Each green die scores 1 Victory Point. Additionally, they score 1 Victory Point for every die of the same type but of a different color which is placed anywhere in a player's constellation.

BLACK DICE - "THEIR SUM IS IMPORTANT"

If there is only one black die anywhere under a player's Starting Star then it scores 1 Victory Point. If there are more, then they score Victory Points depending on their sum according to the table below:

Sum	6 or less	7	8	9	10	11 or more
Victory Points	2	3	4	5	4	3

Players should calculate the black dice separately for each Starting Star.

PURPLE DICE - "NEED A LOT OF FRIENDS"

They score 1 Victory Point for every connection they have to another die (but not to a Starting Star).

RED DICE - "ODDS OR EVENS? THAT'S THE QUESTION..."

Each red die -regardless of its result- scores as many Victory Points as the quantity of the rest odd or even dice which exist in the same line with it. A "line" is a group of continuously connected dice, which begins from a Starting Star and ends at the last connected die. Each red die scores Victory Points only from a single line.

For example, if in a line that includes a red die, there are 3 odd dice, then it scores 3 Victory Points.

TWINKLE (AFFECTING ALL DICE) - "TWINKLE, TWINKLE... BIGGEST STAR!"

Whenever a player places under a die a new one with more sides, (keeping in mind that its result must be lower), it scores 2 Victory Points.

This die is the star that, despite being placed under other dice-stars, is larger and thus twinkles brighter in the night sky.

Scoring Example in a 3 Player Game

Bill scores 16 Victory Points:

• 2 points for the Twinkle of the red d12.
• 1 point from the black d10, because no other black die is located anywhere under the same Starting Star.
• 3 points from the two yellow dice in his constellation.
• 2 points from the green d10, because there is one more d10 in his constellation.
• 8 points from his red dice. In detail, the red d12 scores 3 points because it belongs to the same line with the black d10, the yellow d8 and the yellow d4 that have an even result. The red d8 scores 3 points from black d10, yellow d8 and yellow d4 that have an even result. Finally, the red d4 scores 2 points from the green d10 and red d12 that have an odd result.

Elizabeth scores 18 Victory Points:

• 4 points for the Twinkle of the black d12 and blue d8.
• 5 points from the black dice. In detail, the black d8 and the black d12 have a sum of 10 and score 4 points, because they are both under the same Starting Star. The 5th point comes from the black d6, because there are no other black dice under its Starting Star.
• 4 points from the blue dice, because they are connected under the same die.
• 5 points from the green dice, because there are two d6 and three d8 in the constellation.

Anna scores 19 Victory Points:

• 6 points for the Twinkle of the blue d10, the yellow d12 and the purple d12.
• 2 points from the blue dice. In detail, they score 1 point each because they are not both connected under the same die or Starting Star.
• 2 points from the red d10 which has two dice with even results in its line.
• 3 points from the purple d12 which is connected to 3 other dice.
• 6 points from the three yellow dice in her constellation.

Game End and Scoring

The game ends once all players used all 7 Connectors (if possible). Thus, all constellations are considered completed.

Any unused dice are returned to the box. To calculate the final score, flip the Board to its back side where the Scoring Track is located.

Every player places their Scoring Marker on the beginning of the Scoring Track, (number 0).

Then, each player's score is calculated according to the Scoring Cards. Players advance their Scoring Markers according to the points scored from each card.

The player with the most Victory Points is the winner. In case of a tie, the tied player who played last is the winner.

Have fun!

Setup for Advanced Players

Players who have already played the basic game and wish to try a more advanced challenge, they can make 1 of the 3 following choices during setup, creating additional scoring options:

Bronze Level: Randomly choose a Bronze Mission Card and place it face up next to the other Scoring Cards, so that it is clearly visible by all players.

Silver Level: Randomly choose two Silver Mission Cards and place them face up next to the other Scoring Cards, so that they are clearly visible by all players.

Diamond Level: For even more advanced players, randomly choose 1 Bronze and 2 Silver Mission Cards and place them face up next to the other Scoring Cards, so that they are clearly visible to all players.

A. Bronze Mission Cards

Bronze Mission Cards are divided into two types of missions and they all score 3 Victory Points at the end of the game.

i. The 6 Bronze Mission Cards which display the symbols < & < are competitive and give 3 Victory Points to the one player that best fulfills the mission's criteria. In case of a tie, all tied players score 3 Victory Points.

ii. The other 4 Bronze Mission Cards give 3 Victory Points to any player that fulfills them.

(All cards are numbered on their lower part for ease of reference in this rulebook.)

Card No.1 — The player who has the most dice in one line of their constellation scores 3 Victory Points. A "line" is a group of continuously connected dice, which begins from a Starting Star and ends at the last connected die.

Card No.2 — The player who has placed in their constellation the most dice with the same result scores 3 Victory Points.

Card No.3 — The player with the lowest sum of all dice results in their constellation scores 3 Victory Points.

Card No.4 — The player who has placed in their constellation the fewest different types of dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12) scores 3 Victory Points.

Card No.5 — The player who has the highest sum by adding the results of the three highest dice in their constellation scores 3 Victory Points.

Card No.6 — The player with the fewest dice colors in their constellation scores 3 Victory Points.

Card No.7 — Players score 3 Victory Points if under each Starting Star all dice (if any) are all odd or all even.

Card No.8 — Players who have placed in their constellation all 5 different dice types (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12) score 3 Victory Points.

Card No.9 — Players who have placed in their constellation only dice with a result equal to or lower than 6 score 3 Victory Points.

Card No.10 — Players who have placed in their constellation all dice colors available in the game score 3 Victory Points.

B. Silver Mission Cards

Silver Mission Cards can be accomplished multiple times by each player in their constellation and score at the end of the game according to each card's ability. (All cards are numbered on their lower part for ease of reference in this rulebook.)

Card No.11 — Every time a die is connected to another die of the same color, the player scores 1 Victory Point.

Card No.12 — Every time a die has a result lower by 2 from the result of the die connected above it, the player scores 1 Victory Point.

Card No.13 — Every time two dice of the same type are connected under the same die or Starting Star, the player scores 2 Victory Points.

Card No.14 — Every time a d4 (four-sided die) is connected to any other die and the sum of their results is 9 or 10, the player scores 2 Victory Points.

Card No.15 — Every time the sum of the results of all dice of one color in a player's constellation is equal to 13 or 14, the player scores 2 Victory Points.

Card No.16 — Depending on the number of dice with a result equal to "1" that are placed in a constellation, players score Victory Points at the end of the game according to the table below:

Amount of "1" results	1	2	3 or more
Victory Points	1	3	5

Card No.17 — Every time there is a six-sided die (d6) and a die with a result of "3" or a ten-sided die (d10) and a die with a result of "4", anywhere in a player's constellation, then the player scores 2 Victory Points. Each die cannot score more than once.

Card No.18 — Every time, anywhere under a Starting Star, there is a die with the same color or result with a die anywhere under the other Starting Star, the player scores 1 Victory Point. Each die cannot score more than once. However, if such a pair has both the same color and result, it scores 2 Victory Points.

Card No.19 — Every time two dice with the same result are connected under the same die or Starting Star, the player scores 2 Victory Points.

Card No.20 — Every time the sum of the results of two dice (B+C) is equal to the result of the die (A) they are both connected to, the player scores 3 Victory Points.

Solo Campaign Mode

TWINKLE features a challenging solo mode, consisting of 40 unique levels. In order to win the whole campaign you must complete all levels, one by one.

This is highly unlikely to happen in a single game session, so it is recommended to keep track of the last completed level.

Set up the game as explained on page 2, with the exception of step 2, in which you should place the 4 Scoring Cards with their corresponding dice and the Silver & Bronze Mission Cards, according to your current campaign level as shown on the Campaign Card.

To successfully complete a campaign level you need:

1. To gather at least 20 Victory Points from the Scoring Cards and the Twinkle Card combined.
2. To fulfil the requirements of the campaign level's Mission Card(s).

Achieving only one of the two criteria or none, results in defeat and you should retry to complete the level from the beginning.

Most Bronze Mission Cards fulfillment rules are different from the 2-4 player game and are explained below:

• Card No.1: Make a line of 5 dice or more.
• Card No.2: Have 3 same number results in your constellation.
• Card No.3: Your 7 dice sum must be lower than 30.
• Card No.4: Your constellation must contain only 3 dice types.
• Card No.5: The sum of 3 of your dice must be 16 or higher.
• Card No.6: Your constellation must contain only 3 dice colors.
• Card No.7: Each Starting Star must contain only odd or only even dice results.
• Card No.8: Your constellation must contain all dice types.
• Card No.9: All dice results must be 6 or lower.
• Card No.10: Your constellation must contain all dice colors.

All Silver Mission Cards are fulfilled when you accomplish their regular requirements (pages 12-14) at least once.

For example, you may fulfill Mission Card No.16 when you have in your constellation at least one die with the result "1".

Important: Silver and Bronze Missions do NOT grant any Victory Points during the solo campaign mode. They only restrict your options during the game and you should just fulfill their requirement as part of completing each level successfully.

During the game, you may flip face down those cards whose requirements are completed, in order to stay focused on the active objectives.

The last rule, which differs from the 2-4 player game, is that in every single turn you are obliged to discard 1 die out of the game. After rolling 3 dice and choosing 1 to connect to your constellation, then you should decide which from the other 2 must be discarded. However, in case of selecting a d8 from the Board, then you must discard another d8. If there are no d8 left to discard, then you should discard one available die of your choice.

This means that during a game the player should discard a total of 7 dice.

Hint: The campaign is not easy. You should learn how to earn as many Victory Points as you can from each single die and don't forget to score the Twinkle Card several times!

Apart from the standard campaign levels, you might want to create your own levels combining any Scoring and Mission Cards you prefer. This might help you focus on certain cards, understand their rules better and play TWINKLE like a pro!

Good luck, Stellar Creator!