World Splitters Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Setup Example
• Flow of Play
  • 1. Divide
  • Enclosed Region
  • 2. Bid
  • 3. Challenge
    • The 1st Challenger
  • Favor
    • The 2nd Challenger
  • 4. Resolve
• End Game Scoring
• 2-Player Variant
  • 2. Offers
  • 3. Return/Accept
  • 4. Resolve
• Map Setup
  • Nuta, The Tundra
  • Kanal, The Trench
  • Gimmicks of Martyrs
  • Abandoned Cities of Pompa

Components

• 2 Maps (double-sided)
• 1 Scoreboard
• 5 Screens
• 12 Scenery tiles
• 36 Coins (14x value 3, 22x value 1)
• 38 Fences
• 5 Initiative markers
• 8 Enclosure markers
• 5 Obelisks
• 5 Scoring markers
• 1 Current bid tile
• 20 Favors (5x Favor with a fence-like/mesh icon, 5x Favor with a red fist icon, 10x Favor with a green swirl icon)
• 44 Explorers (10x orange, 10x purple, 8x blue, 8x green, 8x pink)
• 12 Twenty-point tokens
• 2 Map power tiles
• 8 Enclosure bonus tiles

Setup

1. Separate the box bottom and the box lid, and place them at the center of the table next to each other. Choose a map and place it in the box bottom. Place the Scoreboard on the box lid.
2. a) Place 15 Favors on correspondingly marked spaces on the map, using the Green favors corresponding to the chosen map. b) Place fences and Scenery tile(s) on correspondingly marked borders on the map, using the Scenery tile(s) corresponding to the chosen map. c) Place the Map power tile corresponding to the chosen map on the corresponding space of the Scoreboard. Refer to page 8 for details.
3. Place the a) 8 Enclosure markers, and b) 8 Enclosure bonus tiles, on the corresponding spaces of the Scoreboard.
4. Place fences, twenty-point tokens, and coins in three piles next to the board, forming the point supply, fence supply and the bank.
5. Each player takes a screen, 8 explorers in their player color, and 9 dollars from the bank. Note: For a two-player game, use purple and orange explorers and takes 10 explorers instead. See page 7 for other rules modifications for the 2-player variant.
6. The player who has spent most money today is the starting player and takes the Current bid tile. In reverse turn order (starting from the player to the right of the Start Player and going counter-clockwise), players place their Initiative markers on the Initiative track from left to right. This will determine tiebreaks in the game.

Tie and Initiative Track: Whenever there are ties, such as comparing bid amounts or comparing number of explorers in an enclosed region, the player whose Initiative marker is closer to the left of the Initiative track wins the tiebreak.

Setup Example

(Page 2 of the rulebook shows a worked setup example with a diagram of the 3-5 player setup. The diagram is illustrative; the numbered steps above correspond to the numbered markers in the example.)

Flow of Play

(This flow is for 3-5 player. Refer to page 7 for modifications for the 2-player variant.)

World Splitters is played in a series of turns. Starting with the Start Player and going around clockwise, players take turns being the active player. On a turn, the following steps happen:

1. Divide
2. Bid
3. Challenge
4. Resolve

1. Divide

For the rest of the rulebook, the fence icon (a fence with a black bar, shown in the printed rulebook) stands for the fences.

The active player places a fence on a border between two spaces and place the Current bid tile on the fence.

Note: The fence can NEVER be placed on the edge of the map (i.e. the white line). Also, referring to page 4, the fence can NEVER be placed inside an enclosed region, and cannot be placed to create an enclosed region that would contain a hanging fence (i.e. a fence having one or more unconnected end).

If at least one of the spaces next to the fence is empty (i.e. the space does not have an explorer), proceed to 2. Bid. Otherwise (i.e. both spaces next to the fence have explorers), proceed to 4. Resolve.

Enclosed Region

An enclosed region is a group of 8 or fewer connected spaces, enclosed by fences, Scenery tiles, and/or the edge of the map. An enclosed region never has a hanging fence nor hanging Scenery tiles therein (i.e. a fence/tile having one or more unconnected end), so if an action would create such a situation, it is illegal.

Each time an enclosed region is created, immediately check the number of spaces in the enclosed region. If available, the player who placed the fence creating the enclosed region gains the Enclosure bonus tile with a number equal to the number of spaces in the enclosed region. Immediately score the victory points indicated on the gained Enclosure bonus tile, and put it before the screen.

For example, if Estelle placed the fence on (a), she would create an enclosed region of 3. She cannot place a fence on (b) as she would create an enclosed region that has a hanging fence, pointed by the black arrow.

Continuing the example, if Estelle placed it on (A). She would gain the Enclosure bonus tile of 3 spaces from the Scoreboard and she immediately score 5 points, the reward on the bonus tile.

2. Bid

Each player other than the active player makes a hidden bid by holding a number of coins in their hands, and then revealing their bid at the same time.

Note: Players may bid 0 dollar.

3. Challenge

The 1st Challenger

The player who bids the highest amount is the First Challenger. The active player can either (A) accept the bid from the First Challenger, or (B) return the bid from the First Challenger.

• (A) If the active player accepts the bid, the First Challenger pays their bid to the active player. The First Challenger then places their explorer on one of the empty spaces next to the fence (if both spaces are empty, the First Challenger chooses).
• (B) If the active player returns the bid, the First Challenger takes back their bid, and the active player pays that amount of coins to the First Challenger. The active player then places their explorer on one of the empty spaces next to the fence (if both spaces are empty, the active player chooses).

If one of the spaces next to the fence is still empty at this point, proceed to The 2nd Challenger. Otherwise (i.e. both spaces next to the fence now have explorers), proceed to 4. Resolve.

Note: Some spaces have a Favor. When an explorer is placed in a space with a Favor, the player who placed the explorer gains the Favor and its corresponding benefit immediately.

Need More Explorers...: Whenever a player needs to place an explorer but has none left, choose and move one of their explorers that is on the map to the new space.

Favor

When an explorer is placed in a space with a Favor, the player who placed the explorer gains the Favor and its corresponding benefit immediately, and puts it before the screen.

• Red Favor: The player immediately moves their Initiative marker one slot to the left on the Initiative track, and moves the Initiative marker that was there one slot to the right (i.e. the two Initiative markers switch slots). Note: In a 5-player game, move the Initiative marker two slots to the left instead. For example, Rue gained the red favor token. She moved her Initiative Marker one slot higher to the second place as Wigstan's marker moved to the third place.
• Yellow Favor: The player immediately places a fence on any border between two spaces. This is not a full turn and no bidding happens. Note: Player can gain Enclosure Bonus tiles in this way by creating an enclosed region. Refer to Enclosed Regions on page 4 for details.
• Green Favor: The benefit depends on the map, and is shown on the Map power tile. Refer to page 8 for details.

For example, Estelle placed the fence and other players had revealed their bid. Wigstan and Rue bade the highest amount yet Wigstan was higher on the Initiative track. Therefore, Wigstan became the First Challenger.

• (A) If Estelle decided to accept the bid, she received 4 dollars from the Wigstan while Wigstan can place one of his explorers on the (1) space or the (2) space.
• (B) If Estelle decided to return the bid, Wigstan took back the money while Estelle paid 4 dollars to Wigstan. Then, Estelle placed one of her explorers on the (1) space or the (2) space.

The 2nd Challenger

Go through the same process as that for The 1st Challenger, with the following difference: Instead of the First Challenger, the active player returns or accepts the bid of the player who bid the second highest amount (i.e. the Second Challenger).

4. Resolve

If one or more enclosed region is created, score for each enclosed region. For each newly created enclosed region:

• (A) The player with the most explorer(s) in the enclosed region scores 3 victory points for each space in the enclosed region.
• (B) The player with the second most explorer(s) in the enclosed region gains 2 victory points for each explorer (theirs and other players') in the enclosed region.

Then, each player takes back their explorers from the enclosed region, and mark the enclosed region with an Enclosure marker.

If there are 8 or more enclosed regions (i.e. all Enclosure markers are placed on the map), the game ends and proceed to end game scoring. Otherwise, the next player in the clockwise direction takes the Current bid tile and becomes the active player. A new turn then begins.

For example, Wigstan created an enclosed region in his turn. In 4. Resolve, 3 orange, 1 blue, and 1 purple were in the region. He had the most explorers and won 3x6=18 points for the 6 spaces in the region.

(b) Though Rue and Estelle were tied in the number of explorers, Rue's Initiative marker was in the higher position. Thus she won 2x5=10 points since there were 5 explorers in the region.

Players then took back all their explorers in the region and placed an Enclosure marker in the region.

End Game Scoring

1. Colors are shown on Favors and on Enclosure Bonus Tiles. For each complete set of colors (i.e. a set of red, yellow, and green) that a player has on their Favor Tokens and/or Enclosure Bonus Tiles, they gain 12 victory points.
2. The player with the fewest money gives 5 victory points to the player with the most money.
3. There may be one, or in rare cases two or more, regions that are not enclosed at the end of the game. For each unenclosed region at the end of the game, the player with the most explorer(s) in the region scores 2 victory points for each space in the region, and the player with the second most explorer(s) in the region scores 1 victory point for every explorer (theirs or other players') in the region.

The player with the most victory points is the winner. Ties are resolved by the Initiative Track.

For example, Rue had 1 Green favor, 2 Red favors, 1 Green enclosure bonus tile and 1 Yellow enclosure bonus tile. They formed only a complete set of "red, yellow, and green", thus giving only 12 points.

For example, at the end of the game this 9-space region was not enclosed due to its hanging fences. Rue had the most explorers in the region thus she gained 9x2=18 points. Wigstan had the second most explorers so she gained 7x1=7 points as there were 7 explorers in the region.

2-Player Variant

In a game with 2 players, players use 10 orange and 10 purple explorers and apply these changes to the flow. Rules for 1. Divide, Enclosed regions and Favors are the same, and not further described. On a turn, the following steps happen:

1. Divide
2. Offers
3. Return/Accept
4. Resolve

2. Offers

If both spaces next to the fence are empty, the active player places two offers, one which they reveal to the non-active player, and another which they keep hidden in their hand.

If only one space next to the fence is empty, the active player places one offer, which they keep hidden in their hand.

Note: The active player may place zero dollar offers.

3. Return/Accept

Without knowing the amount of the hidden offer, the non-active player decides for each offer whether they want to accept the offer, or return the offer. After that, the active player reveals the hidden offer. Starting from the higher offer, for each offer:

• (A) If the non-active player accepts the offer, the active player pays their offer to the active player. The active player then places their explorer on one of the empty spaces next to the fence (if both spaces are empty, the player chooses).
• (b) If the non-active player returns the offer, the active takes back their offer, and the non-active player pays that amount of coins to the active player. The non-active player then places their explorer on one of the empty spaces next to the fence (if both spaces are empty, the player chooses).

If the two offers are the same, the player higher on the Initiative Track places their explorer first.

Transcription note: the printed text of option (A) above reads "the active player pays their offer to the active player". The examples on the same page show that in the accept case the active player pays the offer to the non-active player (Estelle, as active player, pays 2 dollars to Wigstan), so the payee is the non-active player. Transcribed as printed.

For example, Estelle was the active player and made two offers: a 3-dollar hidden offer and a 2-dollar revealed offer during the 2. Offers. Without knowing the amount, Wigstan decided to return the hidden offer and accept the revealed offer.

Then, Estelle revealed the hidden offer. Starting from the higher offer, which is the 3-dollar offer that Wigstan returned, he paid 3 dollars to Estelle and placed an explorer on one of the empty spaces. Then for the bid Wigstan accepted, Estelle paid 2 dollars to him and placed down her explorer on the remaining empty space.

Note: If the non-active player does not have enough coins to pay, they must accept the offer. In this case, they must change their decision to return a hidden offer, and accept the offer instead.

For example, Estelle was the active player and made 5-dollar hidden offer since there was only one empty space. Wigstan decided to return the offer and paid that amount to Estelle. Only then did he found out he hadn't had enough coins. Therefore he must change his decision and accept the offer of 5 dollars from Estelle.

4. Resolve

If one or more enclosed region is created, score for each enclosed region, the same as in 4. Resolve of a 3-5 player game; except that when the 4th Enclosed Region Marker is placed on the map, each player gets 3 dollars from the bank.

Map Setup

During the setup, prepare the listed components for the game. Place the fences and Scenery tiles on the marked black line. Return other unused Scenery tiles, Green favors, and Map power tile back to the box.

Each of the four maps is set up with fences and Scenery tiles at the positions marked (a) and (b) on the printed map diagram. The map diagrams show these positions graphically and are not reproduced in text here.

Nuta, The Tundra

Map power tile (Green favor benefit): Immediately place another explorer in a space that has no Favor, no explorer, and is not in an enclosed region.

Kanal, The Trench

Map power tile (Green favor benefit): Immediately remove an opponent player's explorer in an orthogonally or diagonally adjacent space.

Gimmicks of Martyrs

Map power tile (Green favor benefit): Immediately turn a fence 90 degrees, pivoting on one of its ends. The fence chosen cannot be enclosing an enclosed region.

Note: Player can gain Enclosure Bonus tiles in this way by creating enclosed region. See page 4. Enclosed Regions for details.

Abandoned Cities of Pompa

Map power tile (Green favor benefit): Immediately place an Obelisk in a space that has no Favor, no explorer, and is not in an enclosed region. A explorer cannot be placed in a space with a Obelisk. When the Obelisk becomes part of an enclosed region, the player with the most explorer(s) in the enclosed region scores 5 victory points in addition to regular scoring.