By Christopher Chung

-Overview-

The harvest is in, and now it’s time to celebrate! Players act as artisans decorating the palace lake with floating lanterns. The player who earns the most honor before the festival begins wins the game.

Components-

56 Lantern Cards
36 Lake Tiles
1 Start Tile
20 Favor Tokens
30 Dedication Tokens
1 Start Player Marker

— Setup —

1. Place the starting Lake Tile in the center of the play area face down. Flip the tile face up and orient it so that one player is facing the red side and each other player is facing a different side.

2. Deal 3 Lake Tiles to each player face down. Lake Tiles are held in hand and kept secret from other players.

3. Create a draw stack of Lake Tiles. The number of tiles in the stack depends on player count:
• 4 Players: 20 tiles
• 3 Players: 18 tiles
• 2 Players: 16 tiles

4. Separate the Lantern Cards by color into 7 stacks. These stacks are collectively called the “supply.” The number of cards in each stack depends on player count:
• 4 Players: 8 cards
• 3 Players: 7 cards
• 2 Players: 5 cards

5. Set aside the 3 generic Dedication Tokens.
6. Separate Dedication Tokens by type into 3 stacks.
Arrange each stack in descending order of value.
• 4 Players: use all tokens
• 3 Players: remove tokens with 4 dots
• 2 Players: remove tokens with 3 or 4 dots

7. Give each player one Lantern Card corresponding to the color on the side of the starting Lake Tile he is facing. Each player’s Lantern Cards are always kept in front of them, visible for everyone to see.

8. Give the player with the red Lantern Card, the color of good fortune, the start player marker.


The player with the start player marker begins the game, and play proceeds clockwise. The active player may perform each of these actions once per turn in this order:

1 Exchange a Lantern Card (optional)
2 Make a Dedication (optional)
3 Place a Lake Tile (mandatory)
Players do not start the game with any Favor Tokens or enough Lantern Cards to perform the first two optional actions. The start player will perform only the third (mandatory) action on his first turn.

1. - Exchange a Lantern Card

First, the active player may spend two Favor Tokens to exchange one of his Lantern Cards for a different Lantern Card from the available supply.

2 - Make a Dedication

Next, the active player may then use a specific set of Lantern Cards to make one dedication.
He returns the Lantern Cards needed for the dedication to the appropriate supply stack(s). He claims the top token from the stack corresponding to the type of dedication and places it in front of him. The number on the Dedication Token represents the amount of Honor a player earns from the dedication.
There are three types of dedications, corresponding to the three stacks of Dedication Tokens:


Four of a Kind
Four cards, all the same color.
Example: Four purple Lantern Cards.

Three Pair
Six cards, two each of any three different colors.
Example: Two white, two blue, two red Lantern Cards.

Seven Unique
Seven cards, one of every color.

Dedication Tokens are not limited. If a stack runs out, players can still earn 4 points of Honor for making a dedication of that type. Place one generic Dedication Token from those initially set aside in the place of the empty stack.


3. - Place a Lake Tile
If a player begins his turn with more than 12 Lantern Cards, he must make a dedication or discard cards until he has 12 or fewer cards before placing a Lake Tile.
Finally, the active player must place one Lake Tile from his hand face up with at least one side adjacent to the side of an existing tile. When a Lake Tile is placed, distribute Lantern Cards and other bonuses in the following order:

A. Matching Bonuses (Active Player)
First, if the color on any side of the newly placed Lake Tile matches the color on an adjacent side of another Lake Tile, the active player receives a bonus Lantern Card of that color.

Next, if any of the matching Lake Tiles (including the newly placed tile) have Platforms on them, the active player receives one Favor Token for each Platform.

It is possible for the newly placed Lake Tile to match multiple adjacent Lake Tiles, providing multiple Lantern Cards and/or Favor Tokens to the active player.

B. Orientation (All Players)
Finally, every player, starting with the active player and continuing clockwise, receives one Lantern Card corresponding to the color on the side of the newly placed Lake Tile he is facing.

After placing a Lake Tile, if any Lake Tiles remain in the draw stack, the active player draws a Lake Tile to replenish his hand to 3.

Example: Jason receives a blue Lantern Card because he is facing a blue side; Sarah, a white; Chris, a green; and Michelle, a purple.

If a stack of a particular lantern color runs out, that lantern color is temporarily unavailable. Players will not receive Lantern Cards of that color until they are returned to the supply. Simply ignore that color when distributing Lantern Cards.

— Turn Example —

1. Chris begins his turn with 8 Lantern Cards and 3 Favor Tokens. He spends 2 Favor Tokens to exchange a purple Lantern Card for a red card.

2. Next, Chris makes a Four of a Kind dedication by returning 4 red Lantern Cards to the supply

3. Finally, Chris places a Lake Tile adjacent to an existing tile. He receives 1 blue Lantern Card because the tile he placed matches the adjacent tile, blue to blue. He receives 1 Favor Token because the matched tile has a Platform on it. He receives 1 orange Lantern Card because the side of the tile he is facing has orange lanterns.

The other players each receive a Lantern Card, corresponding to the side they are facing: red, blue, or white.

 

— End of the Game —

Players take their turns, placing a Lake Tile and drawing a Lake Tile (if possible), until all the Lake Tiles are drawn and placed. After the last Lake Tile has been placed, players then each take one final turn in which they may perform the optional actions (Exchange a Lantern Card and Make a Dedication) as normal.
After that, the festival begins! Players add up the Honor they earned from their dedications. The player with the most Honor wins the game.

In the case of a tie, the tied player with the most Favor Tokens remaining wins. In a further tie, the tied player with the most Lantern Cards remaining wins. In a further tie, the tied players enjoy their shared victory

— Appendix —

Example 1
In this two-player game, Jason places a Lake Tile with a Platform adjacent to an existing tile so that it matches green to green. He receives 1 green Lantern Card for the match. He also receives 1 Favor Token because 1 matching tile contains a Platform. (The active player receives 1 Favor Token for each matching tile with a Platform, whether he played the Platform tile or made a match adjacent to an existing Platform tile.) Finally, he receives 1 white Lantern Card because the side of the tile he is facing has white lanterns.

Sarah, the player sitting across the table from him, receives an orange Lantern Card because she is facing the orange side.

Example 2
In this three-player game, there are currently no more black Lantern Cards in the supply. Chris places a Lake Tile on the opposite side of the board from his side of the play area. He receives 2 red Lantern Cards, one because the tile he placed matches an adjacent tile red to red, and one because the side of the tile he is facing has red lanterns. (Chris does not receive a Favor Token. Even though he placed adjacent to a Platform tile, the tile he placed does not match the Platform tile. The boat on the starting Lake Tile is not considered a Platform.) Michelle, the player on his left, does not receive a Lantern Card: she is facing the black side of the tile, but there are no black Lantern Cards in the supply. Sarah, on his right, receives a blue Lantern Card.

Example 3
In this four-player game, there is currently one black Lantern Card in the supply. Michelle places a Lake Tile with a Platform adjacent to an existing tile so that it matches two other Platform tiles, purple to purple and red to red. She receives 1 purple Lantern Card for the purple match and 1 red Lantern Card for the red match. Because 3 of the matching tiles contain Platforms—the tile she placed and the tiles it matches—she receives 3 Favor Tokens, one for each matching Platform tile. Finally, she receives 1 black Lantern Card because the side of the tile she is facing has black lanterns.
Jason, the player on her left, does not receive a Lantern Card: he is facing the black side of the tile, but Michelle received the last black Lantern Card currently available in the supply. The other players each receive a Lantern Card, corresponding to the side of the tile they are facing: purple or red.

— Credits —

Game Design

Christopher Chung
Lead Development
Randy Hoyt

Artwork
Beth Sobel
Creative Direction

Tyler Segel Graphic Design
Jason D. Kingsley
Christina Major
Theme Consultation Sarah Stevens
Rulebook Editing
Dustin Schwartz

Special Thanks
Playtesting: Jim Barat, James Butler, Jeremy and Eloise Friesen, Abby Funk, Brynna Funk, Jason and Jenn Funk, Scott Gottreu, Ron Hayes, Drew Hicks, Leslie Hoyt, Michael Iachini, Jason D. Kingsley, Andy and Hayley Lee, Katie Lee, Kensie Lee, John Lowell, Joe Morrissey, Debi Mull, Richard Pallo, Roger Schiavoni, Stephen Schroeder, Jessica Schwartz, Brian Villanueva, Matt Wolfe, and Charles Wright

Foxtrot Games would like to thank Stephen P. Anderson, Michelle Aquilino, Justin Bowers, Gary Boyd, Chris Griego, Kevin Buensuceso, Bill and Danna Segel, Tommy Wright, Break From Reality Games, and all 1200+ backers.

Christopher Chung would like to thank Stephen Sauer, Joshua Cappel, Daryl Andrews, Sen-Foong Lim, Jay Cormier, Daniel Rocchi, Yves Tourigny, and the Game Artisans of Canada; Henry Faber, Alexander Martin, Damian Sommer, Jonathan Levstein, Jay Treat, Dominique & Olivia DeMille, Josh Derksen, Colin Young, Corey Young, and his friends and family for their playtesting and continual support.

Randy Hoyt would also like to thank his wife, Leslie Hoyt, for her limitless support, feedback, patience, advice, time, and encouragement.