Tang Garden Game Rules

Hey there! Let’s dive into the wonderful world of Tang Garden. I’m excited to explain the rules and help you make the most of your gaming experience. So, buckle up and get ready for a journey through ancient China!

We start with the game setup. You’ll find a game board with beautiful scenery and four pagodas at each corner. The pagodas represent the four seasons, and your task is to create a garden that epitomizes their beauty throughout the year.

To create this magnificent garden, we’ll place tiles on the board. These tiles depict different elements like trees, plants, decorations, and even pavilions. Don’t worry; I’ll guide you through it all step by step.

Each player will have their own player board where they will keep track of their resources and other important information. You’ll also have action cards in hand, which you can use strategically to make your moves.

In Tang Garden, we have two main phases: the Construction Phase and the Scoring Phase. Let me explain both to you in detail.

During the Construction Phase, we will take turns placing tiles on the board. You can choose from tiles in your hand or draw new ones from the bag. As you place tiles, you’ll need to consider connecting them to existing elements of the garden. This way, you’ll build the most harmonious and breathtaking garden ever seen.

Alongside the tiles, you can also add decorations, plants, pavilions, and other elements to make your garden even more enchanting. Just imagine the possibilities!

Now, let’s move on to the Scoring Phase. In this phase, you’ll earn points based on the features of your garden. The more elements you connect and harmonize, the more points you’ll get. Pay close attention to the pagodas, as they bear the essence of the seasons. Building near them will elevate the beauty of your garden.

But wait, there’s more! Tang Garden is not just about building a stunning garden; it’s also about creating an enjoyable experience for visitors. You’ll meet guests during the game who will appreciate the beauty you’ve created. Accommodating them in your garden will bring extra points and elevate your garden to new heights.

I know it may sound overwhelming at first, but don’t worry. Once you start playing, you’ll quickly get the hang of it. Tang Garden offers a balance of strategy, creativity, and a touch of luck. It’s a game that will keep you engaged and fascinated until the very end.

So, gather your friends, set up the game board, and let the ancient beauty of Tang Garden unfold before your eyes. Remember, it’s not just about creating a garden but about creating a masterpiece that will be remembered for generations to come. Enjoy your journey through this captivating world!

Hey there! Let’s talk about the Tang dynasty, considered the first golden era of the classic Chinese garden. Back in the day, Emperor Xuanzong decided to create an amazing imperial garden called the Garden of the Majestic Clear Lake near Xi’an. And guess what? He even lived there with his famous concubine, Yang Guifei!

Now, fast forward to present times. In this game, you get to play as an engineer who has been called upon to build a garden. But it’s not just any garden – you have to find the perfect balance between water, rocks, and greenery. Think of yourself as a master designer!

Your job is to decorate the garden with beautiful pavilions, bridges, and different types of plants. Oh, and don’t forget the animals! You can add birds and goldfish to bring more life to the garden.

But here’s the cool part – as you construct the garden, characters will come by to check out your work. They’ll inspect how you’ve arranged the natural elements and admire the stunning landscape surrounding the garden. It’s like your very own art exhibition!

Components

• 1 Game Rulebook
• 54 Decoration Cards
• 4 Player Boards
• 8 Large Landscape Tiles
• 1 Garden Board
• 1 Double-sided
• Starting Tile
• 60 Garden Tiles
• 60 Coins
• 16 Lantern Tokens
• 4 Solo Lantern Tokens
• 12 Character Cards
• 12 Small Landscape Tiles
• 12 Cubes
• 12 Character Miniatures
• 16 Landscape Tokens
• 36 Decorations
• 4 Characters Tokens
• 1 Engineer Token

Setup

First, I’ll put the garden board in the middle of the table.

Next, I’ll take the starting tile and place it on the garden board, making sure that either side is facing up. I can position it however I want.

Then, I’ll separate the four types of garden tiles based on their backs and mix up each pile. I’ll put them face down in four piles at the corners of the garden board. I’ll flip over the top tile of each pile so that it’s face up.

After that, I’ll shuffle the 54 decoration cards and put them face down on the table near the garden board.

I’ll also place the 36 decorations near the garden board.

Now it’s time to get each player ready. I’ll give each player three cubes and a player board in the color they choose. I’ll put the cubes on the starting space of each track. I’ll also give each player one of each of the four types of lantern tokens, which represent special abilities. These tokens will go in the designated areas on each player’s board.

Hey there! So, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Find the six starting character cards with a colored square icon in the top right corner. They’re pretty easy to spot! Give each player one card, making sure they put it in front of them and place the matching character miniature on it. This lets everyone know which character they are playing as.

Step 2: Time to activate those skills! Each player should move their cube one space on their player board in the category shown in the upper right corner of their character card. This means their special ability is now in play! Cool, huh?

Step 3: Gather up all the character cards that are left. Shuffle them up really well, and then put them face down to create the character deck. We’ll come back to this in a bit.

Now, onto some more steps:

7.1: Flip over the top two cards from the character deck. This will give us our first characters for the game.

7.2: Any miniatures that didn’t get chosen as starting characters should be put next to the garden board.

And that’s it! You’re ready to go. Time to dive into the game and have some fun!

Alright, so let’s get started with the game setup! We’ll need to shuffle the small and large landscape tiles separately. Once they’re shuffled, we’ll place them face-up in two groups next to the garden board. Now, grab the four top small landscape tiles and insert them into the four starting spaces on the board. These spaces are marked with an 8.1 in the image above.

Next, let’s make sure we have a good view of the available tiles. Take the top landscape tile from each stack and place them next to the pile. This way, we’ll always have two small landscape tiles and two large landscape tiles visible.

Alright, now let’s move on to placing the landscape tokens on the board. We have a total of 16 tokens, both large and small. We’ll arrange them in a diamond shape on the board, just like in the diagram on the left below.

Now that we have everything set up, let’s determine who goes first. The player who last visited China will take the engineer token and be the first player. If none of us have been to China, we’ll just randomly select the first player.

Now, Let the Game Begin!

As I begin my turn, I follow a clockwise order, starting with the first player. I have several choices to make, with both mandatory and optional actions available to me.

Let’s start with the mandatory main action. I can either choose to build the garden or place a decoration. These are the essential actions that I must take on my turn.

Now, I also have the option to perform three additional actions if I choose to. I can influence a character, use a lantern, or refresh a lantern. These actions are not mandatory, but they can provide me with extra benefits and advantages in the game.

Let’s focus on the first main action, building the garden. I, as the active player, get to select one face-up garden tile from any of the four stacks located in the corners of the garden board. Once I’ve chosen a tile, I can place it on one of the available spaces on the garden board.

These actions and choices are essential to the game and can determine my success. By carefully considering my options, I can strategically build the garden and make the most of my turn.

I need to make sure that the tile I place in the garden is next to another tile that’s already there.

Once I’ve put the garden tile down, I can look at it and see what rewards I get based on these rules:

• If any of the edges of the tile match the terrain type of the tiles next to them, I can move my cube forward on the corresponding element track on my player’s board.
• A greenery, water, or rock area is considered enclosed when it’s completed and no more tiles can be added to it.

These rewards add up. So I can move my cube forward on one or more tracks and get one or more coins with just one tile placement.

So, I’m building this amazing garden, right? And I found this incredible tile with different types of terrain on the edges. It’s like a puzzle! I rotate the tile until all the terrain types match with the adjacent tiles, just like in the picture below.

Guess what? When I do that, I get a water level advancement on my board. It’s like leveling up! And not only that, I also earn a coin for matching a footpath edge. Cool, right?

When you play this game, you get rewarded for making connections and enclosing terrains. Let’s say you connect a wall edge to a terrain – that earns you one greenery level advancement. And if you manage to completely enclose a terrain, you also get another greenery level advancement. But here’s the catch – the wall edge can be connected to any type of terrain, but it doesn’t give you any bonus points. So, when you’re strategizing your moves, keep these factors in mind!

Hey there! Let me break down how this game works. When you play, you have a few different ways to earn points.

First, you can earn two coins by connecting two footpath edges. That’s a quick way to boost your wealth.

On top of that, you also get to advance on your player board. You can choose which track you want to move forward on, giving you the freedom to strategize and plan your moves.

But it doesn’t stop there. When you lay down a tile with an enclosed area in the center and footpath edges surrounding it, you’ll earn an advancement in greenery. Talk about growing your empire!

So, as you can see, there are multiple paths to victory in this game. Whether you go for coins, player board advancements, or greenery, it’s up to you to decide the best strategy. Good luck!

So, here’s how it works: when I match footpaths in this game, I earn two coins. And that’s not all! I also get to make progress on my water track on my player board. How do I do that, you ask? Well, it’s simple. If I cover a space with a landscape token on it, I get to keep that token. But, there’s a catch. I have to insert a landscape tile into the garden board that corresponds to the type of token I earned.

Now, let me explain how I choose which landscape tile to insert. I have two options right in front of me. I can choose one of the face-up landscape tiles that match the size I need. It can be either small or large. Once I’ve made my choice, I can insert the landscape tile into any slot on the garden board that matches its size.

After I’ve placed my landscape tile, it’s time to reveal a new one if necessary. We always want to have two landscape tiles of each size visible for everyone to choose from.

So, How Do I Insert a Landscape Tile, Anyway?

Guess what? The garden board has not just one, but four sides with five slots each. That means there are a total of 20 slots where you can insert landscape tiles. How cool is that?

Now, let me break it down for you. The slots on the inner row are for putting in those small landscape tiles. On the other hand, the slots on the outer row are for the big ones. So, you have options depending on what type of tiles you want to use.

When I play, I get to add a garden tile to a space and cover a small landscape token.

Once I’ve moved up one level on my player board, I can take the landscape token and pick a small landscape tile. I have to put it in one of the slots on the garden board.

Just so you know: When I finish building the garden, if there are fewer than two face-up garden tiles on the board, I have to flip the top tile of each stack so that there are four tiles facing up.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Special Garden Tiles!

Guess what? There’s a whole bunch of special garden tiles that are different from the regular ones. They’re like hidden gems waiting to be discovered! And get this, they come with awesome rewards.

What makes them even more special is that their edges don’t have to match with the edges of the tiles next to them. It’s like they play by their own rules, creating a beautiful and unique garden every time you place them.

But wait, there’s more! These special tiles have another trick up their sleeve. Every edge of a special garden tile can be surrounded by terrain. And when you do that, something magical happens – you earn extra points to make your journey even more rewarding!

So, as you explore the world of gardening, keep an eye out for these special tiles. They will bring excitement, surprises, and endless possibilities to your garden. Go ahead and embrace the magic!

Hey there! Allow me to introduce you to the incredible Hehua Ting, a captivating lotus temple with a beautiful blue wall. When you visit this temple, you’ll not only experience its stunning aesthetics but also reap some valuable rewards.

First things first, when you step foot in the Hehua Ting, you’ll immediately gain one coin as a bonus. Not too shabby, right? But that’s not all! For every water edge that lies adjacent to the temple, you’ll receive an additional coin. So, the more water edges, the merrier! It’s a fantastic opportunity to stock up on those precious coins.

Now, let’s take a moment to appreciate the significance of the Hehua Ting. It’s not just a sight to behold; it’s a place that offers both serenity and bounty. With its vibrant blue wall and lotus motif, the temple creates a calming atmosphere, allowing you to immerse yourself in its beauty. And on top of that, the temple rewards you for exploring its surroundings, making it a truly enriching experience.

So, my friend, if you’re seeking a tranquil refuge where you can enjoy the splendor of nature while reaping some valuable rewards, the Hehua Ting lotus temple is the place to be. Visit this sanctuary, collect your coins, and let the serenity wash over you. It’s an opportunity you won’t want to miss!

The Hua Ting, also known as the Flowers Temple, is a special place for nature lovers like me. What makes it so important is its ability to bring beauty and abundance into our lives. When you visit the Hua Ting, you can gain not just one coin, but an additional coin for every greenery edge that surrounds it.

Imagine being surrounded by vibrant flowers and lush greenery. It’s a sight that can truly elevate your mood and regenerate your spirit. The Hua Ting offers this level of natural beauty and more.

When someone visits the Hua Ting, they are greeted with a sense of tranquility and wonder. The flowers and greenery create a peaceful atmosphere that allows you to truly connect with nature. If you’re like me and long for the calming effects of nature, then you’ll love the Hua Ting.

The Hua Ting is a double-edged sword of beauty and abundance. Not only does it offer a visually stunning experience, but it also provides a practical benefit. The coins you gain from visiting the Hua Ting can be used to further enhance your surroundings and create even more natural beauty.

By following the path to the Hua Ting, you’ll discover a world of natural wonder. Each step brings you closer to the beauty and abundance that awaits. I encourage you to take this journey and experience the magic of the Hua Ting for yourself.

Welcome to the Simian ting, a mystical rock temple hidden within these brown walls. Here, you have the opportunity to earn some coins and immerse yourself in the wonders of this magical place. Let me explain how it all works.

When you place a tile adjacent to the rock edge, something special happens. You receive not just one, but two coins – one for the initial placement and another for each surrounding rock edge. It’s like a little treasure waiting for you!

Now, here’s where it gets even more exciting. If, on a future turn, you decide to place a garden tile next to the special garden tile with the matching terrain type, you earn a shiny coin. It’s like discovering a hidden gem!

So, remember, in this enchanting temple, the rock edges hold the key to your fortune. Placing tiles near them will reward you with coins, and if you match the terrain, even more riches will come your way. Prepare to embark on a mesmerizing adventure!

Hey there! Let me tell you about a super cool game I’m playing called Viola’s Garden. It’s all about building an awesome garden with different tiles. Now, I’ll walk you through a couple of turns to give you an idea of how it works.

So, in this game, each tile has different features. The thing to remember is that you can earn rewards by connecting certain edges of the tiles. Let’s start with Viola’s turn.

Viola decides to place a tile called Simian Ting with a brown border. She puts it next to a tile with a rocky terrain edge. And you know what? She gets 2 coins for that! She gets one coin for the Simian Ting and another coin for the rock edge. That’s pretty awesome, right?

Now, one of the edges of Viola’s tile is connected to a footpath, but sadly, that doesn’t give her any rewards. However, she does get something special. Viola gets one rock level advancement because she enclosed a rock area. That’s a nice little bonus!

Alright, now it’s Michele’s turn. He decides to place a garden tile with a rock edge next to Viola’s Simian Ting garden tile. Let’s see what he gets.

Michele is on a roll! He earns one coin for placing his tile next to Viola’s Simian Ting tile. But it doesn’t stop there. He also gets one coin for matching the footpath edge. And to top it off, Michele gets to advance one step on the rock track because the rock terrain is completely enclosed. How awesome is that?

Now, Let’s Decorate!

I’m going to explain how the game works. So, when it’s my turn, I draw two cards. Then, I draw an extra card for each face-down tile on top of the garden tile piles. After I look at all the cards, I get to choose one to put in my garden. I put it face up in front of me, along with any cards I’ve already played, organizing them by type.

Now comes the fun part! I get to take the decoration that matches the card I chose and place it in my garden. Each decoration card has a special bonus that I get to use just once. It’s like a little reward for making my garden look nice.

But here’s the catch: if I don’t choose a card, I have to discard it face up near the deck of decoration cards. I can only choose a card if there’s an empty spot in the garden for that type of decoration, and if there are still decorations of that type available to pick.

1 Decoration Name

2 Placement Indicator: This shows you where to place the corresponding decoration on the garden board. For example, fish decorations go on tiles with water.

3 One-time Bonus

4 End Game Scoring Icons

Remember: If there are no available spaces to place decorations from the decoration cards you draw, you must discard all the cards and end your turn. However, you can still perform optional actions.

Influence a Character

When it comes to bonuses, one of the things I find fascinating is the starting bonus. It’s like an extra gift that I receive at the beginning of my adventure. This can be a boost to my health, strength, or even a special ability that sets me apart from others.

I also pay close attention to my character’s skill. This is something that I develop and improve throughout the game. It could be my ability to cast powerful spells or my proficiency with a specific weapon. Whatever it is, I know that honing this skill will help me overcome challenges and defeat enemies.

Another interesting aspect to consider is my sight preference. This refers to my character’s preference for either day or night. Some characters are more effective during the day, while others shine in the darkness of night. I find this choice intriguing because it adds another layer of strategy to my gameplay.

Overall, these three factors – starting bonus, character skill, and sight preference – contribute to my overall gaming experience. By paying attention to these details and making strategic choices, I can enhance my gameplay and fully immerse myself in the world of the game.

When I finish my main action in the game, I can decide to influence a character. At the beginning of the game, each player has their own character with special abilities that they can use during their turn.

If I want to influence a new character, I need to make sure that all three of my cubes are at least at the required level or higher. I can check this by looking at the small icon on my player board. Additionally, there must be at least one empty spot on the board where I can place the character.

To influence a character, I have a few steps to follow:

• I can choose and take one of the two character cards that are revealed. If I prefer, I can also draw a face-down character card from the deck. Once I’ve done that, I can take the corresponding character miniature.

I start the game by choosing one of my characters and putting its miniature on the garden board. There are different spots where I can place it – on a garden tile, a bridge decoration, or a pavilion decoration. After placing it, I turn the character miniature to face north, south, east, or west. At the end of the game, I earn coins based on where my characters are positioned on the board and which direction they are facing. The character’s sight preference is also taken into account when calculating the coins I earn.

If you spot a character with this icon, they will earn coins when they look at certain tiles on the garden board.

When you see characters with this icon, you’ll earn coins by spotting specific icons on the landscape tiles.

What’s more, each character will earn you another coin for every decoration that you can see from their position.

In every game, you’ll have one character miniature on top of a corresponding card. That character’s skill is your active ability.

Here’s the important part: Once you place a character on the garden board, you can no longer use their skill.

If you pick one of the character cards that are face up, a new card will be revealed from the deck and placed face up on the table. This way, there are always two character cards to choose from.

Hey there! Just a heads up: if you can’t find a spot on the garden board to place your character or you simply don’t want to influence a character, no problem! Instead, you can take a character token.

Character tokens are handy because you can use them on future turns to perform the “Influence Character” action. Pretty neat, right? Just remember, you can only influence one character per turn.

Now, here’s the catch: if you reach the next threshold to influence a new character, you’ll have to give up any character tokens you’re holding. Tough break, I know.

Coins Bonus on the Player Board

Now, let’s talk about a cool feature on your player board. When you level up a single cube to the required level for a coin reward, you’ll score some bonus coins! These rewards are designated by the icons on your player board, so keep an eye out for them.

When you have each of the three cubes on your element track, something magical happens. Each cube triggers a bonus that will help you on your journey. But it gets even better. If you can make it to the end of the track with all three cubes, you’ll earn a whopping 21 coins!

Light Up with a Lantern

Hey there! Did you know that you can illuminate your path with a lantern? I’m excited to share with you the awesome abilities that a lantern can offer. So, let’s dive in!

When it’s your turn, you have the power to use a lantern ability. It’s super simple – just flip one of your lantern tokens on your player board face down, and voila! The chosen lantern ability will be activated. How cool is that?

Now, let’s talk about the four different abilities that a lantern can offer. First up, we have the “Guiding Light” ability. With this power, you can choose from two of the guiding light cards and keep one for yourself – it’s like having your own map to success!

The next ability is called “Glowing Path”. This is handy when you need some extra oomph. When you activate this ability, you can move an additional space in any direction. Consider it your secret shortcut to victory!

Now, let’s shine a light on the “Luminous Shield” ability. By using this power, you can protect yourself from any negative effects on the active crossroad card. No more surprises to worry about – you’re safeguarded!

Finally, we have the “Radiant Scepter” ability. Activate it, and you can swap the location of any two meeple on the board. Talk about a game-changing move!

So, remember, my friend, with a lantern, you hold the power to light up your path and take control of your destiny. Just flip that lantern token and unleash your chosen ability. Get ready to shine bright!

When I take a Build the Garden action, I get to place two garden tiles. It’s pretty cool because I score points for both of them. But here’s the catch – both garden tiles have to be face up at the start of my turn. So, I have to be strategic and plan ahead to make sure I maximize my score.

When I place a decoration, I get to choose two decorations from the cards I draw. Then, I get a special bonus from both of those cards.

To play the game, you can move one of your characters to an open spot on the garden board. You can also change the direction your character is facing without moving it. Just keep in mind that you can only move or adjust one character at a time.

Have fun strategizing and finding the best positions for your characters!

When I’m playing the game and I want to influence a new character, I have a few options. I can choose a specific character from the character deck instead of taking one of the face-up ones. After I make my selection, I shuffle the deck.

Or, if I’m placing a landscape tile, I can choose any of the non-visible tiles. Once again, after I make my selection, I shuffle the stack.

Just a reminder: I can only use one lantern per turn.

Refresh a Lantern (Optional)

During my turn, I can choose to refresh a lantern token by spending three landscape tokens of the same size. I simply flip the used lantern token to its unused side. Once I’ve used the lantern token, I return the landscape tokens back to the game box. But wait, in a 2 player game, I need to spend four landscape tokens instead.

End of the Game

When there are only three or fewer landscape tokens left in the garden board, or when one of the four piles of garden tiles runs out, the game is almost over.

We keep playing until the player sitting to the right of the one with the Engineer token finishes their turn. This way, all players get the same number of turns. After that, we calculate the scores to find out who the winner is.

Scoring

Hey there! Let’s count the coins you’ve collected in the game. After that, we’ll add:

• The coins you earned from the decoration cards in front of each player. Here’s how it works:
• For every single pair of lotus and peonies cards, you gain six coins.
• If you have a single pair of birds and fish cards, that’s another six coins for you.
• The player who has the most pavilion cards gets 12 coins. The player with the second most pavilion cards gets six coins. If there’s a tie for the most pavilion cards, divide 18 coins among the tied players equally, without any leftovers. No coins are awarded for the second most pavilion cards.

Now, here’s how we figure out if a decoration is in a character’s line of sight. We’ll start at the character’s position and follow the tiles in the direction the character is facing, all the way to the end of the garden board. Keep in mind that a decoration on the same tile as the character is also considered to be in their line of sight.

When you play the game, you earn coins based on the character’s sight preference. Each character has a sight preference listed on their character card. This preference can be either the line of sight symbol (an eye inside a diamond) or the active Landscape symbol (an eye inside a circle).

The active Landscape consists of five landscape tiles, three small ones and two large ones. These tiles are placed on the side of the garden board, in the direction that the character is looking.

The player who has the most coins at the end of the game is the winner.

If there is a tie between players, the winner is determined by the player who has the most landscape tokens among the tied players.

If the tie still persists, the winner is the player who has the most cubes in the furthest position on their player board. If the tie continues to persist after that, all the tied players share the victory.