China Game Rules

Welcome to the China Game! I’m here to guide you through the rules and help you enjoy this exciting experience.

First and foremost, let’s talk about the objective of the game. The main goal is to navigate through various challenges, solving puzzles, and ultimately find the treasure hidden within the Great Wall of China. Are you ready for the adventure?

Now, let’s talk about the rules. As you explore the game, you’ll come across different clues and obstacles. Pay close attention to every detail and use your logic to unravel the mysteries. The journey will take you through historical landmarks and breathtaking scenery, so make sure to take your time and soak in the beauty of China.

In addition to the puzzles and clues, you’ll also encounter characters along the way. Some will be helpful allies, while others may try to hinder your progress. Use your judgment and interact wisely with the characters you meet. Remember, every decision you make could have consequences, so choose carefully.

As you progress through the game, you’ll earn points based on your problem-solving skills and the speed at which you complete each challenge. The more points you accumulate, the closer you’ll get to finding the treasure. But be careful, as the game will become more difficult as you advance.

To improve your chances of success, here are some tips to keep in mind. Firstly, trust your instincts and think outside the box. Sometimes, the solution to a puzzle may not be as obvious as it seems. Secondly, collaborate with your fellow players. Two heads are often better than one, and working together can lead to new insights and ideas. Lastly, don’t give up! Even if you face setbacks or obstacles, perseverance is key to reaching your goal.

In conclusion, the China Game is an incredible adventure that will test your problem-solving abilities and immerse you in the rich culture of China. By following the rules and staying determined, you’ll have a thrilling experience like no other. So, are you ready to embark on this journey? Let’s discover the hidden treasures and unravel the mysteries of the Great Wall together!

200 B.C. – China is going through a turbulent period of political unrest, and a shift in power is on the horizon.

The Emperor’s authority has been weakened by ambitious regional rulers who are vying for control. The ongoing conflicts all center around one goal: becoming the next Emperor.

To achieve this, players strategically place cards to establish governing houses and send emissaries to gain favor in the regional courts. They earn points for cleverly positioning their houses and forming successful alliances with their emissaries.

The battles for power are intense and fierce, as everyone has their sights set on the ultimate prize: the throne of the Emperor.

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What You’ll Find Inside the Box:

• A game board
• 57 region cards
• 100 houses and 45 emissaries
• 5 point cards
• 5 fortifications
• 9 scoring markers
• 1 Emperor marker

About the Game Board

The game board is the centerpiece of this exciting adventure! It’s where all the action takes place. When you unfold the board, a world of possibilities unfolds with it. Picture this – a sprawling map filled with cities, fields, mountains, and rivers, just waiting to be conquered. The game board is like your own personal kingdom, and it’s up to you to rule it.

The board is beautifully illustrated and carefully designed to give you a real sense of the world you’re about to explore. You’ll find regions marked on the board, each with its own unique characteristics and resources. These regions are the key to your success, so pay close attention to them. They hold the key to victory!

But be careful – the board is also a battlefield. As you move your pieces across the board, you’ll encounter other players, and conflict is inevitable. It’s a game of strategy and cunning, where every move counts. So, study the board, plan your moves, and take control of the world that awaits you.

Are you ready to embark on this epic adventure? The game board is ready and waiting for you. Unfold it, explore it, and let the conquest begin!

Hey there! Let me tell you a fascinating story about an ancient map of China from around 200 B.C. It’s a map with nine regions, and something really interesting is going on with the colors.

First, imagine the map in your mind. It’s divided into nine parts, or regions. Now, here’s the cool part: out of these nine regions, eight of them have pairs of regions with the same background colors. For example, regions like Zhao and Lu have matching colors.

But wait, there’s more! One of the regions stands out from the rest. In the ninth region, called Chu, you’ll find a color that is unique among all the other regions – purple! That’s right, purple shows up only once on this map, and it’s in Chu.

Isn’t that fascinating? It makes you wonder why the map’s creator chose to use those colors and why purple is only found in Chu. Such mysteries can really make you curious, don’t you think?

In the game, we place houses and fortifications on the house spaces as we play. These spaces are connected by roads which play a crucial role in determining our final score.

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During the game, I get to place emissaries on the dragon spaces in each region. It’s a crucial move that can greatly impact my strategy. Each region has a number from 1 to 15, and these numbers represent the potential alliances that can form between my emissaries in different regions.

The scoring track is designed to resemble the iconic Great Wall of China. If my score ever goes over 50, I have to start back at 0 and keep scoring from there.

In addition, I get a point card that I place in front of me. If my score reaches 100, I’ll earn a second point card.

Getting Ready

• The game board has two different layouts on each side. Depending on how many players there are, we choose the appropriate side. If there are four players, we can choose either side of the board.
• Every player gets houses and emissaries in one color. Then, each player puts one of their emissaries on the space labeled 0 on the scoring track. This will be their scoring stone. If you’re playing against experienced players, you also get a fortification, otherwise, you don’t use it.
• If there are four players, we take one region card in each color and put it back in the box, removing it from the game. If there are three players, we take two region cards in each color and put them back in the box.

In a game of “Region Cards,” here is how the gameplay unfolds:

To begin, the remaining region cards are mixed up. Then, each player is given a set of three cards. The rest of the cards are kept face-down as a draw pile near the game board. Additionally, the top four cards from the draw pile are revealed and displayed face-up next to it.

Now, let’s get into the specifics of the gameplay:

The player chosen as the start player takes the first turn. From there, the turns proceed in a clockwise order.

During a player’s turn, they have a couple of options:

1. They can choose to play one, two, or three cards from their hand. By doing so, they can place their playing pieces in regions that match the color of the cards. Afterward, the player can replenish their hand to have three cards again, and then it becomes the next player’s turn.

OR

2. Instead of placing cards on the board, the player can choose to swap out one card from their hand for a new one.

This back-and-forth gameplay continues until the draw pile has been emptied twice. At this point, it’s time for the final scoring. During this phase, the houses, emissaries, and roads on the board are evaluated and assigned points.

That’s all you need to know to get started with “Region Cards”! Have fun exploring different strategies and aiming for victory!

The color of a region where I can put my game pieces is determined by the color of the region card(s) I play. Sometimes, I have the option to choose between two regions of the same color.

When I place my game pieces, I must follow these rules:

• When it’s my turn, I can only put my pieces in one area.
• If there’s no pieces in a region yet, I can put only one of my pieces there.
• If there’s already at least one piece of any color in a region, I can put up to two of my pieces there.
• I can only put one of my pieces on each region card.
• If I have two region cards of the same color, I can use them as a ‘joker’ to put one of my pieces in any region of a different color.
• The ‘3-2-1 Rule’ helps me remember: I can use up to three cards to put up to two of my pieces in one region.
• When I play a card, it goes on the discard pile next to the game board.
• If I don’t have any pieces of a certain type left, I can’t put any more of that type into a region.

When it comes to placing different types of pieces in the game, there are some special rules to keep in mind:

• I can only place a house on a house space.
• #image.jpgA house space cannot have more than one house. If all house spaces in a region are already filled, I cannot place any more houses there.
• #image.jpgAn emissary must always be placed on a dragon space. A dragon space can have multiple emissaries.

Here’s the fundamental rule to remember: The number of houses a region has determines the maximum number of emissaries that can be on that region’s dragon space.

For example, let’s say Zhao has 3 red houses and 2 yellow houses. The maximum number of emissaries that can be on Zhao’s dragon space is 3.

Hey there! Do you know something interesting about the game? Well, here’s a cool fact for you: You can actually put emissaries into a region even if you haven’t placed any houses there. However, if a region doesn’t have any houses at all, then you can’t place any emissaries in it – because there is no majority in that region yet!

Now, here’s another thing you need to know. When all the spaces for houses in a region are filled up, the player’s turn is briefly interrupted. Wanna take a guess why? It’s because the scores for the houses in that region are being calculated. Exciting stuff, right?

Example 1: So here’s what happened. I, Alex, had 1 purple card and 2 red cards in my hand. I decided to play in the red region called Wei and used 1 of my red cards. Since no one had placed any pieces in Wei yet, I could only place 1 piece. And that was it for my turn. I couldn’t play in any other region.

Now, Barbara, she played 1 red card and 2 green cards. Just like me, she chose Wei. But because I already placed a piece there, she was allowed to place 2 pieces. Barbara used her red card to put down her first piece, and then she used the pair of green cards as a kind of wild card or ‘joker’ to place her second piece.

Next up is Chris. He had 3 yellow cards. Now, both of the yellow regions, Qi and Ch’in, already had some pieces in them. Chris can only place a maximum of 2 pieces in one turn. So he had a choice to make. He could use 2 yellow cards to place 2 pieces in either Qi or Ch’in, or he could use them as a ‘joker’ to place 1 piece in a region of a different color. Tough decision!

Example 2: Okay, let’s move on to the second example. Imagine I’m Alex again, and this time I want to put some emissaries in the purple region called Chu. But here’s the catch – Barbara already has the most houses there. She has 4 houses, which means there can’t be more than 4 emissaries in Chu’s dragon space. Right now, there are only 2 emissaries there. Good news for me – I can add two more. But to do that, I need to play 1 purple card and 2 orange cards as a ‘joker’.

Example 3: Last but not least, let’s talk about the yellow region called Qi. So Barbara and Doris both have 2 houses in Qi right now, making them tied for the most. And since no one has placed any emissaries there yet, we can all put up to 2 emissaries in this region. Now, it’s important to note that the cards I need to place 2 emissaries in this example can also be used to place 2 houses or 1 house and 1 emissary. Lots of options!

House Scoring

Hey there! Let’s talk about how scoring works in the game of houses. It might sound a little tricky at first, but don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it.

Each region in the game has different houses belonging to different players. Now, when it comes to scoring, here’s how it works:

• The player who has the most houses in a region gets one point for each of their houses, no matter what color they are.
• The player who has the second most houses in a region gets one point for each house that belongs to the player with the most houses.
• The player who has the third most houses in a region gets one point for each house belonging to the player with the second most houses.
• The player who has the fourth most houses in a region gets one point for each house belonging to the player with the third most houses.
• The player who has the fifth most houses in a region gets one point for each house belonging to the player with the fourth most houses.
• If a player doesn’t have any houses in a region, they don’t score any points for that region.

See? It’s a bit like a race to have the most houses, but even if you don’t come in first, you can still earn points based on the houses of the players ahead of you. And if you don’t have any houses in a region, well, you won’t be getting any points there. It’s all about strategic placement and making the most of your houses.

So next time you play, keep these scoring rules in mind and see if you can come out on top! Good luck!

If there’s a tie in the game, everyone who tied gets the same amount of points. The rest of the players get points based on their position, without skipping any for the tie.

To show their points, the players move their scoring stones along the scoring track. They move the same number of spaces as the points they just received.

Once all the houses in a region have been scored, a scoring marker is put on that region.

Remember: Even if the houses in a region have already been scored, you can still put your emissaries there, as long as you follow the placement rules.

Here’s an example: In Wei, there are three players: Alex (green) with 4 houses, Barbara (red) with 2 houses, and Doris (blue) with 1 house. Alex has the most houses and gets 7 points (4+2+1).

Barbara has the second-most houses, so she gets one point for each house that Alex, the first-place player, owns (=4). Doris has the third-most houses and earns one point for each house that Barbara, the second-place player, owns (=2).

Here’s another example: In Qi, there are three players: Barbara (red) and Chris (purple) both have 2 houses, and Doris (blue) has 1 house. Barbara and Chris tie for first place in the region, so they each receive 5 points (2+2+1). In this situation, Doris has the second-most houses and earns one point for each house that a first-place player owns (=2).

Get More Cards

When you finish your turn, you can only refill your hand with up to 3 cards.

When playing this game, I get to choose whether I want face-up cards or cards from the draw pile. I can pick them in any order and combination that I want.

But there’s a limit to how many face-up cards I can have. They only get replenished up to 4 once I’ve filled my hand back up. Replenishing these cards means that my turn is over, and it’s time for the next player to take their turn.

Around the Fourth Lap

So, here’s what happens when the draw pile runs out of cards in our game. Brace yourself!

1. The first time the draw pile is exhausted, don’t you worry! We’ve got a solution. I shuffle the discard pile and turn it into a fresh draw pile. Voila!
2. But hold on, if there are any cards left face-up on the table when this happens, they don’t get swept up in the shuffle. Nope, they stay right where they are. No harm done.
3. Now, if it’s my turn and I haven’t drawn up to 3 cards yet, this is my chance. I draw as many cards as I need, could be one, could be two, or could be three. After that, I make sure those face-up cards are replenished back up to 4. Nice and tidy!
4. Okay, we’re moving along. But if the draw pile decides to leave us high and dry again, well, that’s the end of the game. Sorry, folks!

B. Time to Make a Switch

Now, let’s talk about what you do when the going gets tough and you can’t or simply don’t want to place any pieces. No problem, there’s always an option!

1. You get to discard one card from your hand. Don’t worry, it’s not goodbye forever. You’ll get a new card in return. Take your pick from the four face-up cards or grab the top card from the draw pile. Exciting, right?

When you’re playing this game, there are a few rules you need to keep in mind. First, if you choose a card that’s face-up, you have to replace it with a card from the draw pile. Then, your turn is over and it’s the next player’s turn.

The game doesn’t end until the draw pile has been used up twice. Even when that happens, you still have to finish the current round. The round finishes when it’s the turn of the player to the right of the starting player.

There’s another way the game can end – when no more pieces can be played. In that case, the game is over.

Now, let’s talk about scoring. At the end of the game, you’ll get points for any houses, emissaries, and roads that haven’t been scored yet.

First, let’s look at house scoring. Houses in regions that haven’t been scored yet will be scored. It’s done in the same way as before.

Next, we have alliance scoring. There are different ways to score points with alliances, but we’ll save that for another time.

Hey there! So here’s the deal: instead of scoring the emissaries themselves, we actually score the alliances between emissaries in two neighboring regions. We’ve got a total of 15 possible alliances, numbered from 1 to 15, and they get scored in numerical order.

Now, to keep things fair and avoid any scoring mishaps, we need to place the Emperor marker on each alliance one by one. Once it’s on an alliance, we’ll score it according to the rules I’m about to tell you. Then, we move the Emperor marker to the next number and repeat the process.

So, an alliance only gives you points if you have the most emissaries in both regions that are involved in the alliance. And if there’s a tie, don’t worry! All the players involved in the tie will be considered to have the most emissaries.

Here’s where it gets interesting: if you have the most emissaries in one region, you might be able to score multiple alliances. All you need to do is have enough emissaries in the neighboring regions as well.

In the game, there are two important regions that I want to talk about. When it comes to these regions, the player with the most emissaries in both regions receives 1 point for each emissary. It doesn’t matter what color the emissaries are. If there are multiple players who have the most emissaries, they all get the full number of points. However, if you’re not one of those players, you don’t get any points. So make sure to focus on these regions and try to have the most emissaries in order to score points!

Example 6: Let’s talk about the Emperor marker and alliances. When the Emperor marker is placed on the number 3, the alliance between Wei and Ch’in is scored. In Wei, there are 2 emissaries – 1 blue and 1 red. In Ch’in, there are 4 emissaries – 2 blue, 1 red, and 1 green. Now, here’s the exciting part: Doris (the blue player) has a majority in both Wei and Ch’in, which means she gets 6 points! Well done, Doris! The rest of us, unfortunately, receive nothing.

Then, the Emperor marker moves to the number 4, and we score the alliance between Ch’in and Shu. In Shu, there are 3 emissaries – 2 purple and 1 blue. But here’s the catch: neither Doris (blue) nor Chris (purple) have majorities in both Ch’in and Shu. So, no alliance is made and no players get any points this time.

3. Road Scoring

Now let’s talk about road scoring. To score any points, players need to have at least 4 houses in a row along a street. Remember, branches don’t count!

A line of houses can stretch across multiple areas. Each house adds 1 point to a player’s score. But remember, each house can only be counted once.

For instance, let’s look at Doris (represented by the blue color) in the example picture. She has 5 houses forming a continuous line that runs through Ch’in and Shu. However, the house in the bottom left corner of Ch’in is considered a side addition and doesn’t count. So Doris gets 5 points for her line of houses.

Now, let’s talk about the ultimate goal of the game – becoming the Emperor. The player who accumulates the most points by the end wins.

In the event of a tie, the winner is determined by the player with the most remaining pieces, including houses, emissaries, and fortifications in their stash.

Lastly, if you’re playing the game with fortifications, it adds an extra layer of strategy and excitement. Give it a try!

When you’re playing the game, it’s important to remember that fortifications are always placed on empty houses. To put a fortification on a house, you can either play a card in the same color as the region or use a pair of cards as a ‘joker’.

Remember: Fortifications are neutral, so you need to play a house on the fortification during the same turn. If you can’t do this, another player can take advantage and put their house on the fortification instead.

• When it’s time to score the houses, you’ll earn double points for any region where you have a house with a fortification.
• *During road scoring, you’ll also get double points for a row of houses that includes a house with a fortification.