Waddle
Waddle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Turn Track
- 1 Turn Track Marker
- 5 Marbles
- 1 Scoreboard
- 1 Dry Erase Marker
- 1 Active Hex Marker
- 20 Map Tiles
- 90 Single Penguin Tokens (18 per player)
- 10 Double Penguin Tokens (2 per player)
- 5 Player Aids
Note: Nests and orcas are used in expansions. They have no effect in the base game.
Setup
- Find any tiles marked on the back with a higher player count than you have and return them to the box.
- Randomly arrange all other tiles faceup in a roughly hexagonal area with no gaps. Place the active hex marker on the water hex with a fish icon.
- Each player picks a color and takes their marble, 20 penguin tokens, and player aid.
- Assemble the turn track and slot the marker under the left track. Randomly arrange the player marbles on the left track.
Goal
Cleverly place your penguins to make the biggest waddles and compete for the best fishing pools. Score the most victory points to win!
- A waddle is a group of adjacent penguins of the same color. At the end of the game, you score each waddle of your color based on the number of penguins it has.
- A fishing pool is any area of 1 or more adjacent water hexes on the map. At the end of the game, players score the fish in each pool based on who has the most penguins surrounding it.
Game Rounds
Each round, players take turns placing penguins on ice hexes next to the hex with the active hex marker. When no more penguins can be placed around the active hex, the round ends, and the marker moves to the next water hex in numbered order.
Turn Order
The turn track marker indicates which of the 2 turn tracks is active for the current round. When a player's marble reaches the bottom of the active track, it is their turn to play.
Player Turns
On your turn, you must do 1 of the following:
- A. Place a penguin token next to the active hex
- B. Scout ahead for the next round
A. Place
If you choose to place a penguin, take one of your unused single or double penguin tokens and place it on any empty ice hex next to the active hex.
Next, move your marble from the bottom of the active turn track to the top of the same track (at the end of the current turn order).
B. Scout Ahead
Instead of placing, you may move your marble from the active turn track to the top of the opposite track. You can't place any more penguins this round.
Last Player Placing
If yours is the only marble remaining on the active turn track, and there are still empty ice hexes around the active hex, you may not scout ahead. Instead, you must continue placing until all ice hexes around the active hex are filled.
Round End
Once all ice hexes around the active hex have penguins in them, follow these steps to end the round:
- New Active Hex: Move the active hex marker to the lowest-numbered water hex with at least 1 empty ice hex next to it. (If there is no such hex, the game ends.)
- New Turn Order: If at least 1 player scouted ahead this round, move all marbles on the active track to the top of the opposite track, keeping them in order. Move the turn marker below the track with the marbles to show it is now the active track.
- New Round: The player at the bottom of the active track takes the first turn of the round.
Game End & Scoring
The game ends when every ice hex on the map has a penguin. Each player adds up their final victory points (VP), and whoever has the most wins. In a tie, victory is shared. (For scoring changes with 2 players, see 2 Player Scoring.)
- Waddles: Score each of your waddles using the scoring table on your player aid. Waddles of 8 or more penguins score the max value of 36 VP.
- Fishing Pools: Score each fishing pool one at a time. To score a pool, rank players based on the number of penguins they have directly adjacent to the pool, from most to fewest. Then, going in rank order, each player scores 1 fish in the pool, until there are none left to score. You must have at least 1 penguin next to the pool to score a fish.
Friendly Ties: When players tie for a fish, each of them scores the fish's full VP. The next-ranked player scores the next-best fish, if there is one.
Example: Yellow scores 28 VP for a 7-penguin waddle.
Example: For a fishing pool, Purple scores 5 VP for most penguins around the pool. Yellow scores 1 VP and Red scores 0 VP.
Clarifications & Tips
- Penguins can only be placed on ice hexes, never on water or off the map.
- If no one scouts ahead during a round, do not move the turn track marker (player order does not change).
- Double penguin tokens count as 2 penguins for all scoring.
- Each player can only place 2 doubles per game, but singles are unlimited. If a player runs out, they may use a substitute.
- All penguins in a contiguous group must be scored as a single waddle (even if it exceeds the maximum VP value).
- In 3+ player games, if there are any fish left in a pool after each player has scored 1, the remaining fish are not scored.
- Don't be afraid to scout! Snagging a spot at the next hex can be key to securing a pool or connecting a big waddle.
- For a greater challenge, use a more creative map layout. Try adding peninsulas, gaps, or separate islands!
2 Player Scoring
With 2 players, waddles score maximum VP at 10 penguins instead of 8 (see player aids). Additionally, the player with the most penguins around a fishing pool scores all fish inside it, while their opponent scores none. (In a tie, both players score all fish in the pool.)
Credits
- Design: Corné van Moorsel
- Illustration: Anca Gavril, Daniel Profiri
- Graphic Design: Anca Gavril & Co.
- Development: Velgus
- Consulting: John Brieger, Michael Dunsmore
- Rules Editing: Eric Slauson, Jeff Fraser
- 3D Artist: Filip Gavril