Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers

A tile-laying game for 2-5 players by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede

Thousands upon thousands of years before the first bricks were laid to build the mighty city of Carcassonne, the area was settled by a primitive people. These people hunted wild animals, gathered berries, and caught fish to ensure their survival. Prehistoric cave paintings and archaeological treasures give us an understanding of the lives of these prosperous hunters and gatherers.

Goal of the Game

The players take turns placing tiles. A landscape of meadows, forests, and rivers will be created, on which the players will place their tribe members and huts in order to score points. After the final scoring, the player with the most points wins the game.

Contents

• 79 Land tiles (including 1 start tile picturing a volcano)
• 12 Bonus tiles
• 1 scoreboard
• 5 50/100-point tiles
• 30 tribe members in 5 colors
• 10 huts in 5 colors
• 10 green wooden discs
• These rules

Preparation

The start tile, picturing a volcano, is placed face up in the middle of the table. Shuffle the 78 remaining Land tiles and place them in several facedown piles so that they are within easy reach of all players. Shuffle the 12 Bonus tiles and place them in a separate facedown pile to the side. Place the scoreboard and the 50/100-point tiles near the edge of the table. Each player receives six tribe members and two fishing huts in the color of their choice, placing one of their tribe members on space 0 of the scoreboard. The player who has most recently eaten berries is the start player.

Turn Overview

The game is played in clockwise order from the start player. A player takes the following actions in the specified order:

1. The player must draw a Land tile (not a Bonus tile) and place it according to the rules below.
2. The player may place a tribe member or fishing hut on the newly placed tile according to the rules below.
3. If one or more forests and/or rivers are completed by the placement of that tile, they must be scored immediately.

1. Placing a Land Tile

A player must first draw a Land tile from one of the facedown piles. She may show it to all players (who may advise her of good placement opportunities), and then place it according to the following rules:

• The newly placed tile (red-bordered in the examples below) must be placed adjacent to at least one existing tile. Diagonal adjacency is not sufficient.
• Meadows, rivers, and forests must continue from this newly placed tile to existing adjacent tiles.

In some very rare cases, it may be impossible to place the tile. In those cases, simply return the tile to the box and draw a new one.

2. Placing a Tribe Member or Fishing Hut

Once a player has placed a tile, she may place 1 tribe member OR 1 fishing hut.

The following rules apply:

• Only one tribe member OR one fishing hut may be placed.
• The tribe member/fishing hut must come from her personal supply.
• The tribe member/fishing hut must be placed on the newly placed tile.
• The tribe member/fishing hut must occupy a single feature of the newly placed tile.

A tribe member may be placed as a…

• No other tribe member (of another player or your own) may be present in the feature on which you place your tribe member. Likewise, no other fishing hut may be present in the river system on which you place your hut.

This is best illustrated by the following examples:

However, it is possible that several tribe members can occupy the same feature (forest, river, meadow). How this may occur is explained later.

A player is only able to place a tribe member or hut that she has in her personal supply. If she has none in her personal supply, she may not place further tribe members until they are returned to her (explained on page 5). Note that fishing huts remain on the tiles on which they are placed until the end of the game.

The player’s turn is now finished, and the next player in clockwise order begins her turn.

Exception: If one or more forests and/or rivers are completed by the newly placed tile, they must be scored before the next player may begin her turn. The completion of a meadow does not cause it to be scored.

Rules for Fishing Huts

Fishing huts must always be placed on a river or lake. A fishing hut occupies an entire river system. A river system consists of all contiguous rivers and lakes. River systems terminate only at river mouths and the edge of the board.

When placing a fishing hut: As with tribe members, no other hut may be present in the river system on which you place your fishing hut. Once placed, a fishing hut may never be moved or removed. Fishing huts are scored only at the end of the game.

Note: Fishing huts and fishermen do not prevent the placement of the other.

Rules for Hunters in Meadows

Completed meadows are not scored during the game. Players only score points for their hunters in meadows at the end of the game (see “Final Scoring”)

Once a tribe member is placed on a meadow, thus becoming a hunter, it remains there until the end of the game. Hunters should always be laid flat on the meadows to remind players that they do not return like the gatherers and fishermen.

3. Scoring a Completed River or Forest

A Completed River

A river is completed when its two ends terminate in lakes and/or river mouths (both pictured to the left), or when it forms a complete loop. The examples below depict rivers that are very short, but they may also be much longer.

A player who alone occupies a completed river scores 1 point for each river tile, as well as 1 point for each fish in any lake terminating that river.

Important: The player who completes a river is usually the one who has a fisherman occupying it. This, however, is not always the case. It is possible for one player to complete a river that is occupied by another player’s fisherman who scores the points, as in the example to the right, above this paragraph.

A Completed Forest and the Bonus Tiles

A forest is complete when it is completely surrounded by meadows (has no open sides), and there are no gaps within. The examples to the right depict fairly small forests. They can also be much larger.

A player who alone occupies a completed forest scores 2 points for each forest tile.

Search for gold: After scoring is completed, look for gold nuggets in all forests completed this turn. If any gold nuggets exist in any forest completed this turn, the player who placed the tile to complete the forest(s) immediately receives and places a single bonus tile. The player places this Bonus tile according to the normal tile placement rules meaning that she may also place a tribe member or fishing hut as the rules permit. If this results in the completion of further rivers or forests, these are scored as usual. However, a player may not gain a second Bonus tile by completing another forest with gold nuggets (no chain reaction). If the Bonus tiles pile is exhausted, no further bonus turns will occur.

In summary:

• The player whose gatherer occupies a completed forest scores the points.
• The player who places the tile to complete the forest gains the Bonus tile.
• Per the example on the previous page: If Red had completed the forest, she would get both the points and Bonus tile. If Blue had completed the forest, Red would get the points, and Blue would get the Bonus tile.
• The Bonus tile may be placed anywhere, according to normal placement rules.
• Regardless of how many nuggets are found in a forest, or of how many forests were completed, only one Bonus tile may be awarded per turn.
• If a forest contains no gold nuggets, or the supply of Bonus tiles is exhausted, no Bonus tile is awarded.

Several Bonus tiles are described on the last page.

50/100-Point Tiles

These tiles allow players to continue keeping track of their scores once they have collected more than 50/100-points. When a player first passes space 50 of the scoreboard, she takes one of these tiles and places the 50 side faceup in front of her. When she passes space 50 for the second time, she flips this tile so that the 100 side is faceup. In 2-player games, it is likely that players will go around the scoreboard more than twice during the game. If this should occur, players should use an additional 50/100-point tile to continue tracking these larger scores.

What Happens When Multiple Tribe Members Occupy One Completed River or Forest?

Through clever tile and tribe member placement, multiple tribe members can occupy a single feature. When such a river or forest is completed, the player who has the most tribe members in a given feature scores the points alone. If several players tie for the most tribe members in a given feature, all tied players score full points.

Note: The presence of multiple tribe members in the same feature, as described above, does not contradict the rule from page 3 that indicates: “No other tribe member may be present in the feature on which you place your tribe member”. That rule only applies to the placement of new tribe members! The examples above show how it is possible for previously placed tribe members to occupy the same feature through clever tile placement.

Returning Tribe Members to Their Owners

After a river or forest is completed and scored – and only then – the tribe members in those completed features are returned to their owners. These tribe members may be used by the players in future turns.

Due to the sequence of a game turn, it is possible to place a tribe member and have it returned to you in the same turn. One must…

1. Place a new tile so that it completes an unoccupied forest or river.
2. Place a tribe member from their supply on to the newly completed feature.
3. Score the newly completed feature.
4. The tribe member is then immediately returned to the player.

If this should result in the completion of a forest containing gold nuggets, that same tribe member can even be placed on the Bonus tile.

See the two examples below for further detail.

Game End

The game ends immediately after the turn in which the last Land tile has been placed (there might still be bonus tiles remaining). Players retrieve all gatherers and fishermen from incomplete forests and rivers – no points are scored for these incomplete features.

Fishing huts and hunters remain on the board and will be evaluated during final scoring.

Final Scoring

Scoring the Fishing Huts

The player whose hut alone occupies a river system scores 1 point for each fish in that river system. If multiple fishing huts occupy a single river system, the player with the most fishing huts in that river system scores the points. In case of a tie, all tied players score the points. Whether or not a river system is “complete” is irrelevant.

Scoring the Hunters

The player whose hunter alone occupies a meadow scores 2 points for each deer, mammoth, and aurochs in that meadow. The points awarded for deer may be negated by the presence of saber-toothed tigers.

Saber-toothed tigers compete for your food supply. They hunt only deer (they dare not hunt mammoth or aurochs). For each saber-toothed tiger in a meadow, you must eliminate a deer, if possible. If players wish, they may use the provided green discs to cover pairs of these animals (1 sabre-toothed tiger + 1 deer). Once this is complete, the remaining animals are counted to determine the value of the meadow.

If multiple hunters occupy the same meadow, the player with the most hunters in that meadow scores the points. In case of a tie, all tied players score the points.

Whether or not a field is “complete” is irrelevant.

Meadow 1: 1 deer. Green scores 2 points.

Meadow 2: 1 deer, 1 mammoth, 1 tiger. Yellow and Red each score 2 points for the mammoth. The deer was eliminated by the tiger.

Meadow 3: 2 deer, 2 mammoths, 1 aurochs, 1 tiger. Red has the most hunters. She alone scores 8 points (2 mammoths = 4 points, 1 aurochs = 2 points, 2 deer – 1 tiger = 2 points).
(For the sake of clarity, the deer and tiger on meadow 3 are covered with green discs)

Meadow 4: 1 deer, 2 tigers. Blue scores no points, but does not lose any points either.

The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, a staring contest determines the winner.

Bonus tiles are placed according to normal tile placement rules.

Ancient Shrine

A hunter placed on this tile is granted great fortune by the ancient shrine. If a player’s hunter occupies this tile at game end, that player alone scores points for that meadow. All other hunters in the same meadow score no points, even if they are greater in number.

Fire

The fire scares away all tigers in the entire meadow, even if it is not currently occupied by a hunter. At game end, all deer in this meadow will be scored.

Mushrooms

Each patch of mushrooms is worth an additional 2 points when determining the value of a completed forest.

Aurochs

Each aurochs is worth an additional 2 points when determining the value of a meadow. Like the mammoth, an aurochs is not eliminated by a tiger.

Scoring Summary

Carcassonne South Seas

Clear blue waters flow effortlessly around seemingly countless islands all connected by a sophisticated network of bridges.

It is here that the busy people who inhabit this heavenly paradise frolic around to gather the gifts granted to them by nature. Fish from the sea, bananas from the islands’ trees – the bridges are crowded with shell collectors showing off their latest find. From time to time, even merchant ships will dock at the island in search of cargo; the islander that supplies the merchants with the wares they seek is well rewarded for their trouble.

A clever tile-laying game in an island paradise for 2 to 5 players aged 8 and up

Credits

© 2014 Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH
English version by:
© 2014 F2Z Entertainment Inc.
31 rue de la Coopérative
Rigaud QC J0P 1P0
Canada

Questions, comments, requests?
www.zmangames.com
[email protected]
Made in Germany

Designer: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Illustrator: Johann Rüttinger, Chris Quilliams
Rules layout: Christof Tisch and Olivier Lamontagne
Very special thanks to Adam Marostica for showing us the cave paintings.