Vorex Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Setup Turn
• Goal of the Game
• Reading the Forest Tiles
• Course of the Game
  • Draw Resources
  • Expand the Forest
  • Bloom
  • Ruins
• End of the Game
• Solo Rules
• Objectives
  • Double-sided tile
  • Green objectives
  • Brown objectives

Components

• 22 Forest tiles divided into 4 levels (the level of each tile is shown on its back)
• 4 player boards in the players' colours
• 15 Ruin tiles
• 4 starting tiles (3 identical and 1 for the first player)
• 1 score pad
• 11 Objective tiles (1 double-sided, 5 brown and 5 green)
• 24 white resources (Light)
• 19 yellow resources (Mushrooms)
• 19 red resources (Insects)
• 19 blue resources (Water)
• 52 carnivorous Flower tokens (13 orange, 13 pink, 13 purple, 13 green)

Setup

1. Form a supply with the resources and the Ruin tiles.

2. Set aside the level 0 Forest tiles.

3. Select all the level 1, 2 and 3 Forest tiles according to the number of players (shown in the middle of the face side of the Forest tiles). With three players, take the "2 players and more" and "3 players and more" tiles; with 4 players, take all the tiles.

4. Form a face-down draw pile with the selected tiles, from bottom to top: level 3, then level 2, then level 1. Reveal the first two tiles of the pile thus formed and place them next to the pile.

5. On one side of the table, place the double-sided Objective tile along with one green Objective tile and one brown Objective tile selected at random.

   FAMILY MODE: For simpler games, you can also play without green objectives.

6. Each player receives:

   • The 13 Flower tokens of their colour.
   • A player board.
   • 1 resource of each of the colours red (Insects), yellow (Mushrooms) and blue (Water), which they place in the left part of their player board. These resources become production reminder tokens that simplify the "Draw resources" action (see page 5 - Draw resources).
   • 4 white (Light) resources, which they place in the right part of their board.
   • A level 0 Forest tile drawn at random, which they place face down in front of them.
   • A starting tile.

7. Put the remaining components back in the box.

8. The player whose starting tile has beetles is the first player.

Setup Turn

Starting with the first player, each player places their level 0 tile and their starting tile. They may place them in whichever order they wish, and must follow the tile placement rules (see page 6 - Expand the Forest). They then place a Flower token on their starting tile.

The first player places their tiles, then their Flower, and ends their turn. The second player does the same, and so on.

Ruins can be formed during this phase (see page 6 - Ruins).

Goal of the Game

The player who scores the most victory points wins the game. Players score points according to the three Objective tiles selected for the game. Certain Stumps also grant victory points.

Reading the Forest Tiles

Each Forest tile is made up of 4 hexagons. A Forest tile may include one or more "arid zones" (which remain unoccupied for the whole game), or a Stump (on which a player can place a Flower token).

All Stumps show an "occupation cost", that is, the resources to spend in order to place a Flower token on that Stump.

There are 3 kinds of Stumps:

• PRODUCTION STUMPS (Mushrooms, Water, Insects and Light), which let you receive resources and benefit from reductions to the costs you pay to expand. Note: only the starting tile offers a Light production Stump.
• ACTION STUMPS, which let you benefit from a bonus action. These Stumps show the action that is triggered (Bloom, Draw resources, Expand the Forest) when the player places a Flower token on that Stump.
• POINT STUMPS, which grant victory points at the end of the game. For example, a Stump showing 2 will grant 2 points to the player who controls it (Flower placed on it) at the end of the game.

Course of the Game

Players play clockwise, starting with the first player. On their turn, a player must perform two actions (identical or different: it is entirely possible to do the same action twice). The possible actions are: Draw resources, Expand the Forest and Bloom.

Draw Resources

Take from the supply the resources produced by all your Flowers that occupy production Stumps and place them in the dedicated area of your personal board.

Note: the resources to collect are those shown in the Production Reminder part of your player board.

Expand the Forest

1. Choose one of the two available Forest tiles and add it to the game board. The tile placed must have at least one side adjacent to a tile already placed.

2. If the player creates a hole the size of one hexagon by placing the tile, place a Ruin tile in it. Warning: it is forbidden to close a hole larger than one hexagon.

   Note: the number of Ruins is not limited by the components. In the rare case where there is no Ruin tile left in the supply, treat the empty space as a ruin.

3. If there are beetles on the tile, take the resources they indicate.

   Note: there can be between zero and three beetles per tile.

   For example, if this beetle is present on the tile placed, take one Mushroom (yellow) resource.

4. Finally, turn over the first tile of the draw pile: there must always be two tiles available.

Bloom

With this action, the player places a Flower token of their colour on the unoccupied Stump of their choice. To do so they must pay its cost and then, if applicable, benefit from the effect.

Important: a Flower can never be placed on an "arid zone" hexagon.

1. PAY THE COST

The occupation cost of a Stump is shown on that Stump. However, this cost can be reduced: when the active player has Flowers on one or more production Stumps that are connected (by a continuous chain of the player's Flowers) to the Stump they wish to Bloom on, the resources produced by those production Stumps reduce the occupation cost of the Stump by the same amount.

Important: Light resources act as wild cards and can be used in place of resources of other colours.

In the example, the free Stump would cost the orange player only one blue Resource (Water). Indeed, the price of the Stump is reduced by one red Resource (Insects) and one blue Resource (Water) thanks to the production of the Stumps previously bloomed by the player and connected to the Stump they wish to Bloom.

After deducting the resources possibly conveyed by the player from their other bloomed Stumps, they only have to pay, that is, return the corresponding resources to the general supply.

2. PLACE A FLOWER TOKEN

Then place a Flower token on the Stump in question.

If it is a production Stump, take the equivalent resource token and move it one notch to the right, onto the left part of the personal board.

A) Production Reminder area. This area reminds you at a glance of the resources your Flowers bring you, in order to simplify the "Take resources" action.

Important: these tokens can never be spent.

B) Area of the board dedicated to the resources you own, those that you use to pay during a "Bloom" action.

3. CARRY OUT THE ACTION STUMP'S EFFECT, IF APPLICABLE

If the player Blooms an action Stump, they may immediately perform the action shown, following the usual rules. This action does not count toward the limit of two actions per turn per player.

Note: this bonus action is optional, and it is possible to Bloom an action Stump even if you cannot perform the action.

Ruins

When the last Stump present around a ruin is bloomed (regardless of the number of Stumps), the player who has the most Flowers around that Ruin must immediately and for free place a Flower token of their colour on the Ruin.

Note: "arid zone" hexagons can never bloom and are therefore not taken into account.

Blooming a Ruin does not count toward the limit of two actions per player per turn and can be done during another player's turn. In case of a tie, no player blooms the Ruin.

Note: if placing the Flower token on the Ruin is triggered by placing a token on an action Stump, place the Flower token on the Ruin before applying the effect of the action Stump.

End of the Game

When a player places their last Flower token, they trigger the end of the game. They finish their turn normally. Play continues until it returns to the first player.

Players then count their victory points, taking into account the Objective tiles in play, without forgetting to count the points granted by point Stumps. The player with the most victory points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most resources remaining wins.

Solo Rules

In a solo game, you face an invasive Weed, which grows without needing resources. To win, you must manage to place all your Flower tokens before the Weed.

Apply the following adjustments to the normal rules:

To play in easy mode, take 6 white resources instead of 4. Do a standard setup for 2 players. Choose a plant colour for yourself and one for the Weed. However, it is not necessary to give it resources, a starting tile or a personal board. During the setup turn, place only your starting tile and two level zero Forest tiles. The Weed places nothing.

The game is played by alternating your turn (2 actions of your choice) and the Weed's turn (2 Bloom actions). You begin, and your turn is played normally.

During the Weed's turn, perform two Bloom actions for it, taking into account the following rules:

• Place a Weed Flower token on the free Stump of your choice. The Weed does not pay the cost of placing the Flower token.
• If it is a "Bloom" action Stump, you must place an additional Flower token for the Weed.
• If it is an "Expand the Forest" action Stump, place one of the two available Forest tiles wherever you wish. Do not take the Resources carried by the beetles.
• On all other Stumps, nothing happens.

The game ends immediately if:

• There are no Stumps available to place a Weed Flower when you must do so: you have lost the game.
• The Weed places its last Flower token: you have lost the game.
• You have placed all your Flower tokens: you have won!

If you won, congratulations! Then calculate your score as usual and discover the name given to your Vorex subspecies. Each line of your score sheet gives you a word depending on the number of points it contains. Combine the 4 words obtained in the order below and you get the name of your subspecies.

Score sheet line	Result and word
Total (=)	Less than 30: Small / 30 to 34: Large / 35 to 37: Formidable / More than 37: Monstrous
Brown objective (1)	0 to 5: Dandelion / 5 to 9: Thistle / 10 and more: Bramble
Green objective (2)	0 to 5: Common / 5 to 9: Creeping / 10 and more: Invasive
Point Stumps (star)	0: Of the meadows / 2: Of the thickets / 4: Of the witches / 6: Of the devil

Were you playing in easy mode? Add "of grandma's" ("de chez mémé") to the end of your name.

Objectives

Legend of the diagrams: Player's Flower; Opponent's Flower; Ruin; Colonizable zone; Arid zone; Limit (dashed line). Objectives recommended for a first game are outlined (the double-sided tile, the first green objective and the first brown objective listed below).

Important: a group of Flowers can consist of a single Flower. If two of your groups merge, they form only one group.

Double-sided tile

• 1 point per Flower token placed (mandatory).

Green objectives

• 1 point per Flower token on the edge of the forest. Note: the edge of the forest is the set of hexagons that are not entirely surrounded at the end of the game. (Recommended for a first game.)
• 2 points per Forest tile on which you have colonized all the Stumps.
• 1 point per Flower token adjacent to at least 2 arid zones.
• 1 point per Ruin adjacent to at least 1 of your Flower tokens. Note: each ruin grants you a maximum of 1 point.
• 1 point per Forest tile on which you have at least 1 Flower token.

Brown objectives

• 1 point per group of Flower(s), + 2 points for the player(s) with the greatest number of groups. (Recommended for a first game.)
• 2 points per Flower of your plant adjacent to at least 2 opposing Flowers.
• 2 points per group of Flower(s) containing at least one production Stump (Light, Insects, Mushrooms or Water).
• 1 point per Flower that touches at most 2 Flowers of your plant.
• 3 points per group of 3 or more Flowers.