Uluk Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Goal of the Game
• Game Components
  • Main Board
  • Tribe Boards and Pawns
  • Tokens
  • Harvest Markers
  • Cards
• Resources
  • Types of Resources
• Game Setup
• Game Overview
  • Game Round
  • Errand Phase
  • Harvest Phase
  • Processing Phase
  • Feeding Phase
  • Ecology Phase
  • Clean-up Phase
• Ending the Game
• Solo Rules
  • Game Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Freeloaders
  • Ending the Game
  • Freeloaders Cards Explanation

Introduction

Elders say that our world is a fruit of the sacred uluk tree. No humans have ever stepped on this magical land, and you are the leaders of its hunter-gatherer tribes of sentient animals, collecting food, developing inventions, and erecting monuments in honor of the ancient gods to fulfill spiritual needs. The winner in this competition will ensure happiness and well-being for their folk and will be praised as the Archleader of all tribes!

Goal of the Game

The goal of the game is to have the most Happiness Points at the end of the sixth round (season). There are several different ways to gain Happiness Points, but the most important activity in the game is to send your tribe members (called here "tribers") to various spaces on the main board and perform actions corresponding to them.

Game Components

• main board
• 4 tribe boards
• 4 alternative Harvest track tiles (for solo and 2-player game only)
• 36 triber pawns in four colors
• 6 yellow wooden Harvest markers
• 63 yellow cardboard resource tokens
• 12 Hunger tokens
• 20 Poison tokens
• 6 Monument tokens
• 6 cardboard Monuments in plastic stands
• 4 Happiness markers
• First Player marker / Freeloaders marker
• 30 Invention cards
• 4 Feast cards
• 20 Freeloaders cards (for solo mode)
• 1 Freeloaders Camp card (for solo mode)

Main Board

Harvest tracks: Each area related to a raw resource contains a Harvest track and three spaces marked with a sickle symbol on which the players may place their tribers. Each such space may only contain one triber.

Monument construction sites: The top part of the main board contains six big round spaces for Monument tokens. Each of them is surrounded by small spaces for tribers (from two to six). These spaces may only contain one triber each.

Resource processing: Below the spaces marked with a sickle, there are resource processing spaces, marked with symbols of processed resources that may be obtained from a particular raw resource. These spaces have no triber limit.

Village: Spaces in the bottom part of the main board, where the players can also place their tribers (Workshop, Shaman's Hut, Temple) are described in detail later in this rulebook.

Happiness track: Around the main board runs the Happiness track. Each time a player gains or loses any Happiness Points, move this player's Happiness marker by the appropriate number of spaces on the track.

Tribe Boards and Pawns

Each tribe board is slightly different, which reflects differences in culture and technology of particular tribes. All tribe boards have a space for available tribers at the bottom. Resources owned by a player are placed on spaces on the tribe board. Each of the six columns corresponds to one raw resource, marked at the top. The arrows show how a given resource may be processed.

There are nine triber pawns in a single color. Not all of them are immediately available for a player, but it is the maximum a player may have. Tribers are stored on your tribe board and sent to different spaces on the main board to perform actions.

Tokens

There are three types of tokens:

• Resource tokens are universal - only after being placed on specific spaces of a tribe board do they become specific resources, depending on the symbols on these spaces. The symbol at the top of each space indicates what resource it is, while the symbol at the bottom indicates what type of resource it is and what special rules it has.
• Poison tokens are used to hunt for fnōrd and hlák. Any Poison used here counts as an extra triber. To use Poison, place a triber on an available space as normal, then take a Poison token from your tribe board and place it on a space marked with a skull below the triber you have just placed. You may only use one Poison token per triber sent. In solo and two-player games, each player may only use one Poison token per area.
• Hunger tokens are a penalty for not feeding your tribers. For every unfed triber, you take one token from the general pool. At the end of the game each Hunger token is worth -3 Happiness Points.

You are not limited by the quantity of these tokens in the box. In a very rare but possible situation that there are not enough tokens, use any other items that can serve as a replacement.

Harvest Markers

Six wooden markers are used to mark the current Harvest levels on the main board.

Cards

There are two types of cards in the multiplayer game. For details on cards used in the solo mode, see: Solo Rules.

Feast cards indicate special requirements to gain extra Happiness Points at the end of the game. You receive one such card at the beginning of the game. A Feast card shows the resources required at the end of the game, and a reward depending on the number of sets collected (x1 = lower value, x2 = higher value; e.g. x1 = 6, x2 = 9).

Invention cards help your tribers hunt, gather and process resources. There are three types of Invention cards. They grant you permanent bonuses until the end of the game. You may not have more than one copy of the same Invention card. An Invention card shows a set symbol (upper left corner), an image representing the invention, and available actions. Always perform one in the appropriate game phase.

Cards enabling free processing let you process a certain limited quantity (one or two pieces) of a resource in the Processing phase without previously spending a triber on it.

Example: Once per Processing phase, you may process one raw uluk into fermented uluk OR one raw zork into fermented zork for free.

Cards providing extra resources provide you with one extra piece of a given resource if you send one or more tribers to hunt or gather in a given area. This type of cards grant you one piece of a resource even if your triber(s) would normally bring 0 resources from an area during the harvest.

Example: When you hunt for hlák, you get one extra piece of raw hlák for free.

Cards providing extra Happiness points are activated in the following situations:

• When you move your triber out of the Shaman's Hut.
• When you spend holiday substance during a celebration.

Resources

The central part of the main board contains six areas corresponding to six basic, raw resources available in the game. These are:

• sacred fruit: uluk
• hard bulb: mgobu
• poisonous mushroom: tlön
• nutritious larva: zork
• flying fish: fnōrd
• oinking mammal: hlák

Tribe boards show how raw resources can be processed into new ones:

• pickled uluk, fermented uluk, boiled uluk
• ground mgobu, baked mgobu
• roasted tlön, tlön brew
• dried zork, fermented zork
• salted fnōrd
• smoked hlák, roasted hlák

Types of Resources

• Food: This resource is considered food and may be used to feed your tribers.
• Perishable Food: This resource is considered food, but it is perishable and must be removed from the tribe board back to the pool at the end of the season.
• Treat: This resource is considered food, and it brings you 1 Happiness Point if eaten.
• Holiday Substance: It is not considered food, but it may be used to have a celebration.
• Poison: Whenever you obtain it, place a Poison token on its space instead of a regular resource token. Return the resource token used for this process to the general pool.

Game Setup

1. Place the main board in the middle of the table. In a solo or two-player game, use the alternative Harvest track tiles, covering the corresponding tracks on the board.
2. Place each of six Harvest markers on the central space of each Harvest track, the blank side up.
3. From the six Monument tokens, randomly select as many as there are players taking part in the game. Move the Harvest marker one space up on each Harvest track corresponding to the symbols on the selected tokens.
4. Shuffle all Monument tokens again and place them face down on the spaces in the top part of the main board. One randomly selected token should be placed on each big round space.
5. Shuffle the Invention and Feast card decks separately. Place them face down next to the main board. Allow some table space for the Invention discard pile.
6. Give one randomly selected tribe board and one randomly selected Feast card to each player. In a game for fewer than four players, put the remaining boards and cards back to the box. You may look at your Feast card, but do not show it to the other players.
7. Place all Happiness markers corresponding to the players' tribe boards on space 0 on the Happiness track. In a game for fewer than four players, put the remaining Happiness markers back to the box.
8. Place triber pawns in the corresponding color on the space at the bottom of each tribe board. In a two-player game, each player gets six tribers; in a three-player game, each player gets five tribers; and in a four-player game, each player gets four tribers. Place the remaining tribers on the table next to the main board to form the general triber pool.
9. Sort the cardboard tokens according to their types, and place them on the table next to the board, creating the general token pool.
10. Assemble Monuments with plastic stands and place them near the token pool.
11. Draw as many cards from the Invention deck as there are players taking part in the game, and place them face up in a row next to the board.
12. The player who last prepared a meal on their own starts the game. They get the First Player marker and place one piece of baked mgobu on their tribe board. The second and third players get two pieces of baked mgobu. The fourth player gets three pieces of baked mgobu.

Game Overview

Game Round

The game lasts six rounds called seasons. A season is divided into six phases:

1. Errand phase
2. Harvest phase
3. Processing phase
4. Feeding phase
5. Ecology phase
6. Clean-up phase

Each phase is started by the current owner of the First Player marker, then the other players take actions in a clockwise order.

Errand Phase

• At the beginning of each Errand phase, reveal one Monument token which is still face-down - first from the left. Spaces around this token become available for tribers this season.
• Then, the players take turns to place one triber each on various spaces of the main board until all tribers available to the players have been placed. To place a triber, move it from your tribe board to a chosen available space on the main board. If you have more tribers than the other players, you may place your remaining tribers after the other players have finished placing theirs.

Monument Construction Sites: You send tribers there to build Monuments. Filling all spaces around a Monument token will result in finishing the construction and can bring extra Happiness Points in the Clean-up phase (see: Clean-up phase), depending on the number of tribers sent, as marked on the chart on the left side of the board.

If at any time during the game all triber spaces around a Monument token are occupied by tribers, immediately raise the Harvest level of the resource marked on the token.

Hunting and Gathering Areas: Spaces marked with a sickle symbol are related to hunting and gathering resources. Below each Harvest track, there are three such spaces, corresponding to a particular raw resource. Each such space may only contain one triber. The current position of the marker on the Harvest track determines the available quantity of the given resource (see: Harvest phase). Poison tokens may only be used here (see: Tokens).

Processing Spaces: Below the spaces marked with a sickle, there are spaces related to processing a given resource, marked with the symbols of processed resources that may be obtained from the given raw resource. These spaces have no triber limit. Tribers placed on these spaces will let you process the resources stored on your tribe board (see: Processing phase).

Workshop: If you place a triber on the Workshop space, immediately take one of the available Invention cards and place it next to your tribe board. This space has no triber limit.

Shaman's Hut: If you place a triber on the Shaman's Hut, you immediately gain 1 Happiness Point. Additionally, when all players have placed all of their tribers on the main board, you may move your triber from the Shaman's Hut to any other available space. Shaman's Hut may only contain one triber.

Temple: If you place a triber on the Temple space, you immediately gain 2 Happiness Points. This space has no triber limit.

Harvest Phase

During the Harvest phase, players receive the raw resources gathered by their tribers. The round resource tokens in the general pool next to the main board are universal - only after being placed on specific spaces of a tribe board do they become specific resources (either raw or processed): uluk, mgobu, holiday substance, etc. To mark the quantity of the resources obtained, take as many tokens from the pool as needed, and place them on specific spaces of your tribe board. One resource token means one piece of the given resource. During this phase, you only obtain raw, unprocessed resources that are placed on the top spaces of the tribe board.

The outcome of the Harvest phase depends on the Harvest levels in particular areas. For areas with uluk, mgobu, tlön and zork, the value on the left determines the quantity of the given resource obtained by the player who has sent the most tribers to gather in the given area. All the other players who have sent at least one triber to gather in the area obtain the quantity given on the right. If there is a tie in the number of tribers, all tied players obtain the lower quantity. Except for deciding the majority, the exact number of tribers placed by a single player does not affect the quantity of the resources gathered.

For areas with fnōrd and hlák, the values on the board determine the quantity of the given resource gathered by each triber sent to hunt in the area. Any Poison used here counts as an extra triber during the Harvest phase. To use Poison, place a triber on an available space as normal, then take a Poison token from your tribe board and place it on a space marked with a skull below the triber you have just placed. Each such space may only contain one Poison token.

If you have acquired cards providing extra resources when hunting or gathering, this is the time to use them (see: Cards).

Note: Do not remove your tribers from the main board after the Harvest phase has finished. You may only do it in the Clean-up phase.

Processing Phase

During the Processing phase, tribers previously placed on resource processing spaces (bottom spaces of the central part of the main board, marked with symbols of processed resources) process resources. Each such triber placed on a space corresponding to a particular resource lets you process any quantity of the resource once. You may decide to keep any quantity of resources unprocessed. To process a resource, take the appropriate number of resource tokens off their initial space on the tribe board and place them on the target processed resource space. If the number of your resource tokens decreases or increases in the process, return or take resource tokens from the general pool. The exact process is carried out according to the arrows on the tribe board (see below).

If you have acquired cards enabling free processing, this is the time to use them (see: Cards).

• x2 symbol next to the arrow means that you get two pieces of a processed resource from one piece of an unprocessed resource.

  Example: You have two pieces of raw uluk on your tribe board and a triber on the corresponding processing space on the main board. In the Processing phase, you turn two pieces of raw uluk into four pieces of pickled uluk.

• 2:3 symbol next to the arrow means that you get three pieces of a processed resource from every two pieces of an unprocessed resource; any remaining single piece may be processed at a 1:1 ratio.

  Example: You have two pieces of raw hlák on your tribe board and a triber on the corresponding processing space on the main board. In the Processing phase, you turn two pieces of raw hlák into three pieces of smoked hlák.

  You have five pieces of raw hlák on your tribe board and a triber on the corresponding processing space on the main board. In the Processing phase, you turn four pieces of raw hlák into six pieces of smoked hlák (twice 2:3). The remaining single piece of raw hlák is processed at a 1:1 ratio, so from five pieces of raw hlák you obtain seven pieces of smoked hlák in total.

• +1/-1 symbol next to the arrow means that after processing any quantity of the resource you obtain one piece more/fewer of the processed resource.

  Example: You have three pieces of raw fnōrd on your tribe board and a triber on the corresponding processing space on the main board. In the Processing phase, you turn three pieces of raw fnōrd into two pieces of salted fnōrd.

  You have one piece of raw tlön on your tribe board and a triber on the corresponding processing space on the main board. In the Processing phase, you turn one piece of raw tlön into two pieces of roasted tlön.

• No symbol next to the arrow means that the resource is processed at a 1:1 ratio.

Processing into different resources at the same time: Depending on your tribe board, some raw resources may be processed into two different resources. The possibilities vary, but raw tlön is a good example, because it may be processed this way by all tribes. If you have more than one piece of raw tlön on your tribe board, you may process some of them into edible roasted tlön, and process the others into poisonous tlön brew, but you need two tribers placed on the corresponding space on the main board.

Processing tlön into Poison: Whenever you obtain any quantity of tlön brew as a result of the process described above, do not use regular resource tokens to mark it. Return the resource tokens spent to the general pool, then take the appropriate number of Poison tokens from it and place them on the corresponding space on your tribe board.

Feeding Phase

During the Feeding phase, players spend their previously obtained resources on feeding their tribers. First of all, each triber eats one piece of any chosen food available on your tribe board. You must feed your tribers if you have any food available on your tribe board. Remember that resources with no symbols on their spaces on the tribe board are not food! For each unfed triber you must take one Hunger token (-3 Happiness Points at the end of the game) from the general pool and place it next to your tribe board. If you have managed to feed all your tribers, you gain 1 Happiness Point. Then you may also reproduce tribers and/or have a celebration.

If you've fed your tribers with treats, remember to add 1 Happiness Point to your score for each piece of treat eaten.

Reproduction: If you have managed to feed all your tribers, you may spend extra food to reproduce them. For every two pieces of any food (perishable, non-perishable or treats) spent, you get one new triber from the general pool. Place the triber pawns on the bottom space of your tribe board. They will be available for you from the next season on.

If you've used treats to reproduce, remember to add 1 Happiness Point to your score for every treat used.

Celebration: To have a celebration, you must feed all your tribers first, then spend one piece of any food and one piece of holiday substance. Take the tokens spent off your tribe board and return them to the general pool. Having a celebration brings you 6 Happiness Points. You may spend a Poison token instead of food, but then you only gain 3 Happiness Points.

One player may only have one celebration during a single season.

Remember to add 1 extra Happiness Point to your score if you've used a treat for celebration.

Treats: Treats are a special type of food. Whenever spent on feeding your tribers, reproduction or having a celebration, they bring you 1 Happiness Point per piece spent. You may decide to spend any extra quantity of treats to gain more Happiness Points.

Perishing: At the end of the Feeding phase, all unused perishable resources (marked with a sandglass symbol) perish and must be taken off the tribe boards and returned to the general pool.

Ecology Phase

During the Ecology phase, Harvest levels of particular resources change. This happens in two steps.

First, move the Harvest markers on each Harvest track, depending on the number of tribers placed on the spaces marked with a sickle corresponding to each resource.

• If no triber has been sent to gather a given resource this season, the Harvest level of this resource increases by 1.
• If exactly one triber has been sent to gather the resource, the Harvest level remains unchanged.
• With 2 or 3 tribers, the Harvest level decreases by 1 or 2, respectively.

After this step, if any of the Harvest markers is on a space with a resource symbol on its left side, flip the marker on this resource's Harvest track to the side with the arrow. This means the Harvest level of this resource will increase again. Then introduce changes caused by ecological dependencies and move every Harvest marker with the arrow side up by as many spaces as there are markers that previously landed on spaces with this resource symbol on their left (usually one, rarely two). These changes happen simultaneously and do not affect one another.

The Harvest level may never be higher than the maximum position on the Harvest track or be lower than the minimum position on the Harvest track. If for any reason the Harvest level should be higher or lower than these, nothing happens.

Clean-up Phase

During the Clean-up phase, you build Monuments of the ancient gods and prepare for the next season.

Monument Building: If at the beginning of the Clean-up phase all spaces around a given Monument token are occupied by tribers, the Monument has been built! The players who have sent their tribers to build this Monument gain Happiness Points according to the chart on the main board. The number of Happiness Points gained depends on the number of tribers sent by each player. The player who has sent the most tribers to build the Monument, gets the Monument token and places it next to their tribe board. If no player has sent more tribers than any other player, the token is removed from the main board and no player receives it (but the Monument is still considered built). Place a Monument standee on the space from which the token has just been taken off (regardless of whether given to a player or just removed). The spaces for tribers surrounding this Monument will not be available anymore.

If not all spaces around a given Monument token are occupied by tribers at the beginning of the Clean-up phase, the Monument has not been built. No Happiness Points are awarded, the Monument token stays on its space, and the spaces around it will still be available for tribers next season.

If more than one Monument should be resolved at the beginning of the Clean-up phase, proceed from left to right, fully resolving one before proceeding to another.

Preparing for Next Season: After resolving the Monument building, regardless of whether any Monument has been built or not, all players take their tribers back from the main board to their tribe boards. All Harvest markers with the arrow side up are flipped back to the blank side. All Invention cards that have not been taken by any player this round are discarded to the face-up discard pile next to the Invention deck. Draw as many new cards from the Invention deck as there are players and form a new row. Pass the First Player marker to the next player in the clockwise direction. This player will begin the new season.

Ending the Game

The game ends after six full seasons. To determine the winner, perform the following steps:

1. The players whose tribe boards contain sets of resources shown on their feast cards gain Happiness Points marked on the cards. If you have exactly one set of required resources, you gain the lower value. If you have two sets, you gain the higher value. You do not gain any extra Happiness Points for having more than two sets of resources.
2. Each player loses 3 Happiness Points per each Hunger token they have.
3. The player with the most Monument tokens gains 3 Happiness Points. If there is a tie on the number of Monument tokens, only the player who has the token marked with the highest number gains the extra Happiness Points.
4. A player who has a set of three different symbols on their Invention cards (upper left corner) gains 2 Happiness Points. A player with a set of four different symbols gains 5 Happiness Points. A player with a set of five different symbols gains 8 Happiness Points.

The player who has the most Happiness Points after performing all the above steps wins the game and will be praised as the Archleader of all tribes! Only until the next game, of course...

If there is a tie on Happiness Points, the player with the most Monument tokens wins. If still tied, the player who has the token marked with the highest number wins.

Solo Rules

Game Setup

Proceed with the setup as in a two-player game, but after selecting your tribe board, take also another set of triber pawns in a different color. They will act as Freeloaders - opponent tribers, operated by means of Freeloaders cards. Place the Freeloaders Camp card near your tribe board and put six Freeloaders on it. Return the remaining Freeloaders to the general pool. Next, shuffle the 20 Freeloaders cards to create a face-down Freeloaders deck.

Gameplay

You are the First Player in the first season. After the Clean-up phase, flip the First Player marker to the side showing the Freeloaders image to mark the Freeloaders will go first in the next season. After the Clean-up phase in the second season, flip the First Player marker back and begin the next season, etc. Proceed in this way until the end of the game.

Proceed according to the normal rules, except for the Errand phase. When it is the Freeloaders' turn to place a triber, reveal the top card from the Freeloaders deck and apply its rule. Then shuffle this card back into the deck unless it is a New Triber! card - then it is discarded. Repeat the procedure each time after you place a triber on the main board. If you have fewer tribers than the Freeloaders, keep drawing cards until all Freeloader tribers have been placed on the main board.

Freeloaders

If a Freeloader triber is to be placed on a space that is unavailable for any reason, place it on the Temple instead. Freeloaders never get any Happiness Points.

Ending the Game

The game ends after six seasons. Count your Happiness Points according to the normal rules and use the chart below to determine how good a leader you are.

• 90 or more - You are the true Archleader, foretold by the Gods!
• 60 or more - A good Archleader, will go down in history books.
• 30 or more - Not a great Archleader, maybe your scion will do better?
• Under 30 - Archleader? You? Good we're still alive at all...

Freeloaders Cards Explanation

• Hlák Hunt: Place a triber on a space in the hlák hunting area.
• Broken Invention!: Place a triber on the Workshop. Discard the leftmost Invention card available.
• Shaman's Advice: Place a triber on the Shaman's Hut. After all other tribers have been placed, draw another card for this triber.
• Prayer to the Patron: Place a triber on a space at the rightmost Monument token available.
• Prayer to the Ancient Patron: Place a triber on a space at the leftmost Monument token available.
• New Triber!: The Freeloaders get a new triber. Take a pawn from the general pool and place it on the Freeloaders Camp card. It will be available from the next season on. If it is the last season of the game, immediately draw another card and apply its rule instead. Do not shuffle New Triber! back into the Freeloaders deck, discard it after use.
• Uluk Harvest: Place a triber on a space in the uluk gathering area.
• Mgobu Harvest: Place a triber on a space in the mgobu gathering area.
• Tlön Harvest: Place a triber on a space in the tlön gathering area.
• Zork Harvest: Place a triber on a space in the zork gathering area.
• Fnōrd Hunt: Place a triber on a space in the fnōrd hunting area.