Villa
Villa Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 32 Hedges: Each Hedge is made of four different-colored segments. There are four repetitions of each shape, but the colored segments are positioned differently (no two pieces are the same).
- 1 Starting Hedge: This piece is unique, and it's positioned in the middle of the table at the start of the game.
- 40 Feature tokens: 10 tokens for each of the four colors. They are "neutral" on one side, while on the other side they show special Features: each has a different image and effect (Features are used in the expert rules).
- 1 Bag: Contains the Hedges, but you can also use it to carry around the game wherever you go.
Setup
- Place the Starting Hedge in the middle of the table.
- Put all the other Hedges in the bag and shuffle them.
- Each player takes 10 tokens of their chosen color.
- Flip all tokens so they show the "neutral" side.
- Whoever most recently visited a garden is the first to play and takes the bag.
Basic Rules
The game is played in turns going clockwise by passing the bag around. On your turn, draw the first Hedge from the bag that you touch. Place it next to at least one other Hedge already in play, ensuring that they touch only at their "joints" (see Hedge Placement). Finally, check if you have closed any areas: If you have, the player(s) with the most segments in that area places their token(s) there. If you have closed multiple areas in a single turn, you decide which area to resolve first.
Alternative drawing rule: Instead of drawing Hedges from the bag, randomly arrange them in a circle around the outside of the playing area. On their turns, starting from the first Hedge placed, the players place the next one in the circle, going clockwise.
Hedge Placement
When you place a Hedge, it must touch at least one other Hedge already in play. Hedges may only touch at their joints, following an orthogonal alignment (vertical and horizontal) as if they were placed in a grid. A joint is any part of a Hedge that is located at the ends of a piece or between two segments of different colors. Hedges cannot be overlapped, placed diagonally, or positioned so that their colored segments touch.
Token Placement
When a portion of the playing area (of any size) is completely surrounded by Hedges, it forms a closed area. Each player counts the segments of their color around the outside of that area (in two- or three-player games, ignore segments of colors not in use by the players). The player who has the most segments of their color places one of their tokens inside that area.
If there is a tie for most, each tied player places their token starting from the left of the player whose turn it is and going clockwise, each placing their token on top of the stack. If you closed the area and tie for the most segments, your token is placed last, on top of the others. Once an area is closed, players may no longer place Hedges inside that area.
Examples:
- The Blue player has three segments of their color, while the Green player has only one. Blue has the most and places a token of their color. If Blue wasn't chosen as a color in the game, the area would go to Green.
- The Pink player has just closed an area. Pink and Green share the area with two segments each. Green places their token, followed by Pink. If Green was not in the game, only Pink would place their token in this area.
- The Pink player closes an area, but the Blue player claims it with their five segments (Pink has four, Yellow has three, and Green has one). Only the Blue player places their token.
How Many Points Does an Area Score?
Closed areas are worth points at the end of the game. Picture the playing area like a checkerboard or grid of squares, where Hedges enclose some of them to form closed areas. Each square of that grid is one "space". A closed area awards points equal to the number of spaces inside it, up to a maximum of 4 points.
- 1-space area = 1 point
- 2-space area = 2 points
- 6-space area = 4 points
End of the Game
The game ends at the end of any turn when:
- Any of the players places their last token
or
- A player places the last Hedge from the bag
Each player scores points for every area that they have a token in (even if other players' tokens are also there). Whoever has the most points wins!
Note: If points are tied, the tied player who has placed more tokens wins. If still tied, the victory is shared.
Expert Rules
After a few games with the basic rules, you might wish to try the expert rules, which add variety and strategic depth.
During Setup, the first player flips over three of their tokens at random, revealing three Features. The other players flip over the same Features, so every player has an identical set of three Features and seven neutral tokens.
Only during your turn, if you close an area where you have the most segments (even if tied), you may place one of your Features instead of a neutral token.
At the end of the game, before adding up points from the areas with your tokens, count the points awarded by your Features. Features are also counted just like neutral tokens when you tally up points for your areas.
A detailed description of each Feature is given at the end of this rulebook.
Fine Points
- What happens if another player closes an area in which I have the most segments but I only have Feature tokens left? You cannot place a Feature if it is not your turn. So, you must flip one of your Features over to the neutral side and place it as usual. This token is now neutral.
- What happens if, in a two- or three-player game, an area is closed and there aren't any colored segments belonging to any player? No one places any tokens. This area does not belong to any color, and remains empty.
- What if there are segments within a closed area? You count them as if they're part of the perimeter (in the example, there are 5 Blue segments along the area's perimeter).
Team-Based Variant
To play this variant, all previous rules apply with the following exceptions. Form two teams and alternate seating around the table. This way, play will always alternate between one team and the other.
Each time you close an area and there is a tie for most segments, place tokens in this order: first the opposing team places their tokens in the order they prefer, then the other player on your team, and lastly yourself.
Example. Pink places a Hedge and closes an area where all players tie for the most segments: themselves (Pink), their teammate Green, and their opponents Yellow and Blue. Blue chooses to place first. Yellow follows, then Green, and lastly Pink. Since it is Pink's turn, they may choose to place a Feature.
Each time you place a Feature of your color, your teammate must immediately flip the same Feature to the neutral side. (Thus each team can only place one of each Feature type.)
At game end, each player tallies the points for their tokens, making sure they do not count their teammate's tokens. The team's score is the lower of their two scores. The team that has the highest team score wins.
Note: If there is a tie, the team that has placed more tokens wins. If the tie persists, the team with the single player who placed more tokens wins. If there is still a tie, the teams have tied.
Example. At game end, the Pink player has scored 30 points. Green, their teammate, 27. Blue and Yellow, of the other team, have 28 and 26 points, respectively. The Pink and Green team has a final score of 27 and wins over Blue and Yellow, who have 26.
Expert Variant for Two Players
Apply the rules above, including those for the team-based variant, with the following difference: each player uses the tokens of two colors. When you close an area where you have the most segments, place a token of the appropriate color. In the event of a tie between your colors, choose the order of the two tokens. Also, choose if you want to place a Feature for the color you place on top. If you place a Feature, flip the same Feature of your other color (it becomes a neutral token).
At game end, tally up points for your two colors individually: the final score for each player is the lower of their two scores. The player with the highest final score is the winner.
Note: If tied, the player who has placed more tokens wins. If there is still a tie, victory is shared.
Glossary
- Area: A portion of the playing area totally surrounded by Hedges. An area "belongs" to the color(s) that has the most matching segments along its perimeter (or are tied for most).
- Adjacent areas: Areas that share a segment, of any color, along their perimeters. Areas that share merely an angle (on the diagonal) are not adjacent. An area is never adjacent to itself, even if it contains multiple tokens of the same color.
- Connected areas: These are a series of adjacent areas belonging to the same color, without any interruption between them.
- Dimension of an area: The number of spaces inside that area. An area cannot have a dimension less than 1.
Special Features
Each Feature always refers to the area in which it is placed. For example, "In each adjacent area" means "in each area adjacent to the one where this Feature is placed".
End-Game Effects
- Bridge: Scores 2 points for each area with the same dimension as this one (including itself).
- Gazebo: Scores 3 points for each adjacent area that has no tokens of the Gazebo token's color.
- Column: Scores 2 points for each segment of your color in this area.
- Statue: Scores 6 points if every segment in this area is also part of an adjacent closed area. Two or more segments may share the same adjacent area.
- Flowerbed: Scores 3 points for each adjacent area with a Feature.
- Trees: Count all of the connected areas which this area is part of: scores 2 points for each.
In-Game Effects
- Bird Bath: Immediately after placing this, you may switch it with another token on top of the pile in an adjacent area. If, by applying this effect, an area ends up with two or more tokens of the same color, count each token separately during the end-game scoring.
- Sundial: After placing this, immediately take one extra turn. If you play this in the same turn that the end of the game is triggered, you don't take the extra turn.
- Fountain: When an adjacent area is closed, count it as if it had an additional segment of your color. This is not retroactive. This effect counts only for areas that are closed after the Fountain is placed.
- Well: Place this in an area where there is only one segment of your color, even if you don't have the most segments there. If you must place this Feature in an area that has more than one segment of your color, or that doesn't have any, you must place it flipped, as a neutral token.