Undo: Cherry Blossom Festival
Undo: Cherry Blossom Festival Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
These are the General Rules for playing the missions of the UNDO series. There is no information about the missions and cases in this document. You can use it to better understand how the missions work, or in place of the Manual Cards included in the series' mission boxes.
Components
Each mission is made up of large and small cards. Here is an overview of the cards and their ordering in the stacks.
The large cards are:
- Manual Cards (numbered at the bottom M1 to M9; 5 in this mission): The Manual Cards explain the game as you play, making it unnecessary to read the rules beforehand.
- 13 Story Cards (numbered at the top left from 1 to 13): The Story Cards tell the story that you must change.
- 4 Solution Cards (numbered at the bottom S1 to S7): The Solution Cards tell how the story unfolds and its ending, and whether you were able to change the deceased's fate for the better.
These cards are pre-ordered. Do not shuffle this deck or the deck of small cards. Turn the cards over only when instructed to do so! This game needs no rulebook. When you want to start playing, turn this card over and keep reading.
The small cards are:
- 33 Fate Cards (numbered 1A, 1B, 1C and so on): The Fate Cards reveal whether you changed the story for the better, for the worse, or changed nothing. Sometimes they also contain additional information or special rules.
- 9 Time Cards: you must discard 1 Time Card whenever you travel in time.
- 4 Magnifying Glass Cards: you must discard 1 Magnifying Glass Card to reveal a Clue Card.
- 13 Clue Cards (numbered at the top left corner): Each Clue Card is associated with a Story Card and provides additional information.
Setup
- Separate the Manual Cards and the Solution Cards. You have all the rules here in this manual or in the Manual Cards, and you will not need the Solution Cards until the end of the game.
- Place all Time Cards (usually 9) and Magnifying Glass Cards (usually 4) in two piles within easy reach of all players.
- Lay out all Story Cards in ascending order without looking at the backs. If space allows, it is best to place them all in one long single row. If there is not enough space, two rows also work. Important: leave enough space above and below each card to place 1 of the smaller cards horizontally.
- Place each of the Clue Cards directly below the Story Card of the same number, without looking at the back.
- Now reveal the Story Card that has a different background color in its title. Usually this will be card 12, and its title will read "Circumstances of the Death". Also reveal the corresponding Clue Card.
- Place the whole pile of Fate Cards, without looking at the backs, above the revealed Story Card.
- Now read the revealed Story Card and Clue Card to begin the story and learn the circumstances of the death. Will you be able to re-stitch the threads of fate, thus preventing this tragic death?
How to Play
You play as a group, with each player taking a turn in clockwise order. You discuss everything as a group, but the final decision is made by the active player. This applies to choosing the destination of your next time travel, the change to be applied to the current event, and whether or not you will use a Magnifying Glass Card.
You may now choose a starting player and discuss when you would like to time travel first; that is, which Story Card you want to reveal. The game comes alive when players build theories about what happened and discuss what needs to be done to prevent the tragic death.
Your First Time Travel
Once you have decided when to make your first time travel, you must first discard 1 Time Card. You must do this whenever you are going to reveal a new Story Card. Then reveal and read the Story Card you chose.
On most cards, after reading the story, you will face a decision based on 3 options for how you want to influence that event. Take time to develop different theories and discuss them together before deciding on one of the options.
Fate
Once you have decided on one of the options, find the appropriate Fate Card in the pile of Fate Cards above the Story Card with the Circumstances of the Death. Reveal this Fate Card and place it above the current Story Card.
Return the other 2 Fate Cards of this Story Card to the box without looking at them. You will no longer need them.
Example: You decided on Option B on Story Card 4. You must now find Fate Card 4B, reveal it and place it above Story Card 4. You must return Fate Cards 4A and 4C to the box, without revealing their backs.
- You gain points if you changed the story for the better (if you made the tragic death less likely).
- You lose points if you changed the story for the worse (if you made the tragic death more likely).
- You gain zero points if you did not change the story (because this is usually what happened and helped seal the deceased's fate) or the event had no influence on the deceased's death.
Further Time Travels
Now, clockwise, it is the next player's turn.
Again, consider which Story Card you want to reveal next. If you cannot agree, the current player has the final decision. Remember to discard a Time Card in order to time travel.
Keep in mind that you have fewer Time Cards than the total number of Story Cards, which means some Story Cards will not be revealed.
Clue Cards
The Magnifying Glass Cards you have available give you access to additional information. You may use only 1 Magnifying Glass Card per turn. If you use it, you may reveal and read 1 Clue Card of your choice from any Story Card that has already been revealed.
In most situations, you will be interested in the Clue Card of the Story Card whose option you are currently considering. But you may also reveal a Clue Card from a Story Card that was revealed earlier.
It is not allowed to reveal a Clue Card of a Story Card that has not yet been revealed.
No Direct Influence
Note that each of your decisions has no influence on the other cards. Even if you make your time travels in chronological order, the changes all take effect simultaneously only at the end of the case.
End of the Game
Your final turn begins when you discard the last Time Card. You will make one last decision on this new Story Card and reveal the corresponding Fate Card.
Once you have made the last decision, you may take the Solution Cards that were set aside at the start of the game and read the End of the Story card. Did you gather enough points to correctly re-stitch the threads of fate?
Tips for the Best Possible Experience
Do not rush; let yourselves be drawn into the unusual story. Do not jump to conclusions; instead, develop different theories about what may have happened. Look for evidence in the revealed cards.
Be flexible and be prepared to abandon your individual theories. Newly revealed cards sometimes immediately refute wrong theories.
Even the revealed Fate Cards can be useful. Knowing whether you gained positive, negative or zero points for a decision is also an important hint about possible events.
Take time to develop different theories and discuss them together before deciding on one of the options. Only then will you be able to successfully re-stitch the threads of fate.
Example Cards (Manual Card M1 and Solution Card S1/S2 of this mission)
Manual Card M1
- Stop! The tragic loss of a loved one leaves only pain and devastation. You are Weavers of Fate. You can stop time and jump to several specific moments in the life of a deceased person to re-stitch the threads of that fate and thus undo that death. You can only change short moments, but with faith, your selective influence will be enough. In this case, the deceased's new course of action will lead them down a better path.
- The next mission you must carry out together will take you to Japan in modern days.
- Follow the Manual Cards step by step. Thus you will learn when and how to put each card into play. Keep reading the next card.
Solution Cards S1 and S2
End of the Story: The changes you made in the past happen simultaneously after the last jump. You hope you were able to undo the death you were trying to prevent. After using all the Time Cards, add up the points of the Fate Cards you revealed. Check the back of these cards to see whether your tampering with the threads of fate was for better or for worse. Keep reading the next card.
Final result by points:
- Less than 0 points: Oh no, you made things worse and made the death event even more certain.
- 0 to 2 points: You were on the right track but, unfortunately, were unable to prevent the death.
- 3 to 4 points: You came close, but fate was relentless.
- 5 to 6 points: Congratulations! You actually managed to prevent this death!
- 7 to 8 points: You deciphered the story and prevented the death with ease.
- 9 or more points: Incredible! You not only mastered the threads of fate to prevent the person's death, but also changed their life for the better.