How to play Fjords Official Rules

By: Dennis B. B. Taylor

Discover the Excitement of Fjords Game!

Welcome to the mesmerizing world of Fjords Game! Are you ready to embark on an unforgettable journey? Let me guide you through the rules, and you’ll be navigating fjords like a pro in no time!

Objective

The goal of Fjords Game is to strategically place your tiles and construct a breathtaking landscape of fjords, mountains, and meadows. You’ll be transported to a stunning Nordic setting, where every move you make counts.

Getting Started

First, you and your opponent will select the color of your Viking settlements. Remember, your choice will influence the outcome of the game, so choose wisely!

Now, the game board awaits you, ready to be filled with adventure. Place your Viking settlements in alternating turns, making sure to follow the road rules as you build your own unique fjord-filled realm.

Building Your Fjords

As you construct your fjords, use tile cards to add mountains and meadows to your landscape. These cards offer a variety of choices, allowing you to shape your fjords according to your strategic vision.

Keep in mind that you’ll receive points for each completed fjord and each Viking settlement adjacent to a fjord. So, finding the perfect balance between fjord construction and Viking settlement placement is the key to victory!

Exploring the Fjords

The journey doesn’t end with construction. Once all the tiles are placed, the exploration phase begins. Venture into the fjords and earn even more points by revealing hidden treasures and discovering new landscapes.

Be on the lookout for the Traveler, as their presence can significantly impact your strategy! Trade with the Traveler to acquire valuable resources or block your opponent’s moves to maintain your dominance.

The Final Score

When the game comes to an end, it’s time to tally up the points. Count the number of completed fjords, Viking settlements, treasures, and travelers to determine your final score. The player with the highest score will be hailed as the ruler of the breathtaking fjords!

So, are you ready to embark on this epic journey through the mysterious fjords? Gather your Viking settlements, prepare your strategy, and let the exhilarating world of Fjords Game transport you to a realm of imagination and adventure!

Okay, let’s talk about how to play this game. First, grab the 4 farms and 20 fields that are in your color. These are the pieces you’ll use during the game.

Next, look for three start tiles among the other tiles. You can identify them because they look darker than the rest. Place these start tiles face up in the middle of the table.

Welcome to the Game!

Let’s jump right into the exciting gameplay of this Fjord region adventure. Prepare yourself for three thrilling rounds filled with exploration and territorial conquest.

Each round is split into two distinct parts. We begin with the discovery phase, where we all come together to uncover the wonders of the fjord region. During this phase, we will strategically place our farms in optimal locations.

Once the discovery phase concludes, it’s time for the land-taking phase. This is where the true battle begins! Starting from our farms, we strategically position our fields, claiming as much land as possible. Remember, each field we place earns us a valuable point. The player with the most points at the end of the three rounds emerges victorious!

Part One: Discovering the Fjord Region

Now, let me explain how each turn unfolds during the discovery phase:

Here’s how you can place a tile: First, draw a landscape tile. Then, add it to the region. If you can’t place the tile, set it aside face up and draw another tile. Keep doing this until you draw a tile that you can play.

Now let’s talk about placing a farm: Whenever you want, you can place one of your 4 farms on the tile that you just placed.

Drawing And Placing Tiles

When it comes to placing landscape tiles, there are some rules to follow:

    To create an interesting landscape in the game, the types of terrain on adjacent tiles need to be compatible. In other words, if you have a sea tile next to a mountain tile, it would look strange and out of place. So, to make the game visually appealing and realistic, the game developers have made sure that the different landscape types flow smoothly from one to another.

Hey there, let’s talk about how to place those tiles in the best way possible! It can be a bit tricky, but don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

First things first, when it comes to placing a new tile, you need to make sure it’s touching at least two other tiles. Not just one, mind you, but two! I know, sounds easy enough, right? But trust me, sometimes people forget this important rule!

Now, why is this rule so important, you might ask? Well, by placing tiles next to each other, you create a continuous path, connecting them all together. It’s like building a road that takes you from one place to another.

Think of it like this: imagine you’re going on an adventure, exploring a mysterious land. You need a path to guide you through, right? That’s exactly what these tiles do. They guide you through the game, helping you navigate and discover new possibilities.

So, next time you’re playing and it’s your turn to place a tile, remember the golden rule: connect it to at least two sides of other tiles. It’s a simple rule, but it can make all the difference in the world!

When playing this game, I must make sure that I only create one landmass. I cannot place a tile that would result in separate landmasses, even temporarily. It’s important to have a unified game board. I can create multiple farmland and mountain areas, but the landmass must be connected.

If there are multiple places where I can legally place my tile, I have the freedom to choose among them. But if there’s only one possible spot for the tile, I have to place it there.

It’s worth noting that I can also create empty spaces in the landscape by placing tiles that don’t connect to anything. However, this will happen rarely.

If there is no place on the game board where I can legally place the drawn tile, I have to set it aside and draw a new tile. I keep drawing tiles until I find one that can be placed.

When I, the player drawing tiles, don’t know where to place a tile but my opponent does, they have the option to let me know about a possible place to play it. They don’t have to, but if they do, I have to play the tile in that spot.

Choices to Explore

On my turn, I can freely choose to play one of the tiles that were set aside and deemed unplayable when I drew them. If any of those tiles are now playable, I can choose to play one of them instead of drawing a new tile. But it’s important to note that I’m not obligated to play one of these tiles.

Even when there are playable open choice tiles available, I still have the option to draw a new tile. I can also choose to use an open choice tile after I’ve drawn one or more tiles that couldn’t be played, setting them aside as open choices.

When it’s my turn to play, I can only add one tile to the region. It doesn’t matter if I choose a tile from the ones I’ve drawn or from the open selection. After I place the tile, I might decide to put one of my farms on it.

If I want to have a better chance of going first in the next round, I should try to choose the tiles from the open selection. Being the starting player can give me an advantage in taking over the land.

Putting Down Farms

I have four farms that I can use. After I place a tile, I always have to decide if I want to put one of my farms on it or not. I can never put my farm on a tile that has already been placed.

The only time I can put my farm is on a farmland segment. There’s one tile that only has mountains, and I can’t put a farm on that tile or on the three starting tiles.

When playing the game, remember that you don’t have to use all four of your farms at once, although it’s usually not a good strategy to hold onto them.

A Different Turn

Once the last facedown tile has been drawn and put in the region or set aside as an open choice tile, the first part of the game ends. All open choice tiles are removed from the game, even the ones that could have been played at this point. Keep them separate until the next round begins.

Now it’s time for land taking, which means placing your fields. Just like before, players take turns putting down their fields. But who gets to go first? There are two possibilities:

So, here’s the deal. We’re playing this game, right? And there’s this thing called the fjord region. If Player A puts down the last tile there, then Player B gets to be the first one to play on the next turn. On the other hand, if Player A draws the last tile but can’t actually place it in the region, they have to set it aside with the other face-down tiles. And in that case, Player A goes first for the next turn.

Now, when it comes to playing the fields, there are some rules to follow. See, each player has to start by placing their first field next to one of their farms. Simple enough, right? But here’s where it gets interesting. After that, they can place their fields next to either their own farms or their own fields. It’s all about making strategic moves and expanding your territory.

How to Place Fields

When playing this game, you can only put a field on an empty farmland area, not on mountains or seas.

You can only put a field next to a farmland area that already has one of your fields or farms. Tiles with farmland areas that are separated from your fields or farms by mountains or seas don’t count!

My goal is to place my fields strategically, so that I create an area of farmland that my opponent can’t reach. Once I’ve achieved this, I should focus on placing more fields on the remaining contested farmland areas.

After all the contested farmland areas have fields on them, I can place my fields on the farmland areas that I have secured, where my opponent can’t put any fields.

So, after we finish taking turns and placing our lands, the land taking comes to an end. It’s possible that some parts of the land don’t have any fields. This might happen if the fields are separated from the farms by mountains or seas.

Now It’s Time to Score and Begin a New Round

The winner of the round is the player who managed to place more fields than the other player. We don’t count the farms for this. Each player keeps track of the number of fields they’ve placed by writing down their points on paper.

Now, we start a new round just like the first one. We use the same three starting tiles, but all the other tiles are shuffled and placed face down. The player who lost the previous round gets to start this time.

Finally, We Reach the End of the Game

We play a total of three rounds, and each time we get new fjord regions to explore.

After the third round, we add up the points from all three rounds. The player with the highest number of points is the winner!

If there’s a tie, the player who won two rounds is declared the winner.

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