Iki

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• Setup
  • • Place the board on the correct side based on player count.
      • If playing with 2 players, use the 2-player side.
    • Place the calendar token on 1st space of the calendar.
    • Place a number of 30/60 iki tokens equal to the number of players at the end of the iki track.
    • Shuffle the 4 fire tiles and place them in their space in a face down stack.
    • Sort the fish, pipe, and tobacco pouches by their season.
      • Place all the spring tokens face up in their corresponding spaces.
      • Place the summer, autumn, and winter tiles face down on their spaces on the calendar.
    • Pick 6 building cards (from the 10) at random and place them near the game area.
    • Place the mons, sandals, rice, wood, kobans, and other tokens near the play area.
    • Sort the character cards by their season to form 4 decks and place those face down next to the board.
    • If playing with 2 players
      • Shuffle the 12 blocking tiles to create a face down stack and place it next to the board.
      • Randomly distribute the sun token to a player and the moon token to the other player.
    • Choose a start player.
      • If playing with 2 players, the player with the sun token goes 1st.
    • Player setup:
      • Each player takes:
        • 1 player board (place on the correct side for player count)
        • 1 Ikizama meeple (placed on it's spot on your player board)
        • 1 Oyakata meeple
        • 4 Kobun meeples (placed on their spots on your player board)
        • 2 markers (scoring and firefighting)
        • 1 sandal token (placed on it's spot on your player board)
        • 1 rice token
        • 8 mons
      • Place your firefighting marker on space 0 of the firefighting track.
        • The 1st player's marker should be on top and then each other players marker under it in clockwise play order.
      • Place your scoring marker on space 0 of the iki track.
    • Place the 4 starting character cards (yellow back) face up near the board.
      • In counter-clockwise order, starting with the last player, each player selects a card and places it in the outer space of the Nagaya of their choice.
        • The player places a kobun on the 1st experience slot at the botton of the card.
      • If playing with less then 4 players, return the unchosen cards to the box.
• Gameplay

  • The game is played over 13 rounds, with the 1st 12 corresponding to months of the year and the last round being "New Year's Day", which will be played differently. Each month comprises 3 phases and a card setup phase.

    2 player differences:

    • There are 3 stalls in each Nagaya instead of 4.
      • The center stall can be activated from either of the adjacent shops.
    • The strength of the fires are reduced by 1 compared to a 3-4 player game.
  • Card Setup
    • • If playing with 2 players, reveal a blocking tile and place it on the corresponding space of the Izikama track. Izikama cannot be placed on that space this month.
      • Reveal the 1st 4 character cards from the deck of the current season and place them next to the main board.
        • These are placed in addition to leftover character cards from previous months for the current season.
  • Phase A

    • Decide how far your Oyakata will move on the main board.

      • In the order determined by the firefighting track (reminder: if there's a stack of discs, the order is top to bottom), players place their Ikizama on an open space on the Ikizama track.
        • The number (or range) determines how far your Oyakata will move, exactly.
      • Once everyone has placed their Izikama, move on to Phase B
  • Phase B

    • Starting with the leftmost (side note: The first printing rules stated "leftmost", but this was a typo) space (1-4 movement) of the Izikama track, players take turns taking income/hiring and then moving their Oyakata and doing business.

      1. Income/hiring: each player has the choice of either taking income or hiring a character.
         • The player on the 1-4 space does not receive income or hire people, but instead takes 1 mon.
         • If you take income, take 4 mons.
         • If you take hiring, choose an available character and pay the cost in the top-left part of the card.
           • If you do not have a free Kobun, you must take income instead.
           • Place the character in an open space on the main board and place 1 of your Kobuns at the bottom of its experience track.
           • Remember to the pay the extra cost of the space (1 or 2 mons), if any.
           • If there are mons on the character card, you may use those to pay for the card itself.
      2. Moving your Oyakata and doing business:
         • Moving:
           • Move your Oyakata the exact number of spaces indicated by your Izikama meeple.
           • You may increase your movement by spending sandals such that each sandal token spent allows you to move 1 more space.
             • You may not decrease your movement with sandals.
           • You can end your movement on a space with any number of Oyakatas.
           • If your Oyakata passes the space, increase the experience of all of your characters by moving all your Kobuns up 1 space.
             • If your Kobun reaches the top (circle) spot, retire that character.
             • This is done before doing business.
         • Doing business: you may do business with the shop you stopped at and/or with 1 of the 2 characters (if any) in the stalls.
           • You can do business with the shop/character in any order.
           • If you do business with another player's character, the character increases their experience (move the Kobun up) after doing business. If the Kobun has reached the top slot, retire that character.
           • If you do business with 1 of your characters, that character does not gain experience.
      3. Return your Izikama meeple to your player board.
  • Phase C
    • 1. If there is an event, resolve it.
      2. Place 1 mon on each remaining character card next to the board (except for payday months).
      3. If playing with 2 players
         • Remove the blocking tile from the Izikama track.
         • Either the sun or moon player, as indicated on the calendar, places a character from the card row on an available space of the board.
           • If there is no space available, remove the character from the game instead.
           • Return any mons on that character to the bank.
           • This character does not belong to a player so no Kobun is placed on it.
           • A neutral character is automatically killed by fires that reach their space.
           • Players may do business with neutral characters, but the character is discarded after this.
           • Neutral characters count towards the Nagaya harmony bonus (below).
      4. If this is a "payday" (end of month 3, 6, 9, 12), do the following:
         1. Remove all the remaining fish, pipe, and tobacco pouch tokens from the board and replace them with the ones for the next season (unless at the end of month 12, see below).
         2. Remove all unhired characters from the current season and return them to the box.
         3. If it is the end of month 12:
            • Return all winter cards to the box.
            • All the winter fish, pipe, and tobacco pouch cards remain on the board.
            • Each player takes back their Oyakata and places it next to their player board.
         4. Players collect salary from each of their character cards on the main board or that are retired.
            • The income is what is depicted in the slot above your Kobun, or the top slot if retired.
         5. Nagaya harmony bonus:
            • For each grouping (4 Nagayas + the 4 inner corners) that has at least 2 characters of the same type (color), each player with Kobuns in that color group scores: Number of Their Kobuns x The Number of That Card Type.
              • If playing with 2 players, there is no 5th Nagaya (the 4 corners).
              • e.g. if Player 1 had 2 Kobuns on brown characters in a Nagaya with a total of 3 brown characters, they would score 6 points.
              • Note that characters in the corner spaces (making up the 5th Nagaya) may score twice.
         6. Food payment: each player must spend 1 rice for each of their characters on the main board.
            • You do not have to pay rice for retired characters.
            • You do not have to pay rice for buildings.
            • Characters must be fed, if possible. If a player does not have enough rice, they remove a number of characters from the main board equal to the number of unfed characters.
              • The player may choose which characters are removed.
              • Removed characters are returned to the box.
              • The player returns the Kobun on this character to their player board.
              • If a character with a firefighting power hiring bonus leaves the game, its player's remains where it is.
      5. Fire: in months 5, 8, and 11, a fire breaks out.
         • The strength of the fire is indicated on the calendar.
         • The player with the highest firefighting skill randomly selects a fire tile to determine the Nagaya that is affected.
         • Fires always start on the edge of the board and progress towards the middle.
         • If a fire breaks out a in an empty stall, it spreads to the next stall, reducing its strength by 1.
         • If there is a character in the stall:
           • If the owner of the character card has enough firefighting power (>= to fire strength), the fire is stopped.
           • Otherwise, the character is killed and put back in the game box, and the Kobun is returned to the player's board. The fire continues to the next stall, reducing its strength by 1.
         • If the fire would move from the last stall in the Nagaya, it stops spreading automatically and the phase is over.
         • After the fire is resolved, shuffle all the fire tiles.
      6. Move the calendar marker to the next month.
  • 13th Round (New Year's Day)
    • 1. All players take back their Oyakata.
      2. Players take turns in descending firefighting order (highest skill 1st) by directly placing their Oyakata on any space and doing business as usual there.
      3. When the last player has taken their turn, the game ends. Proceed to end game and scoring.
• End Game and Scoring
  • • First, players take back their character cards from the main board and place them in their matching columns.
    • Use the score pad to tally scores for the following:
      • Iki on the iki track
      • Score based on the number of different character types you have.
        • 1 type: 1 iki
        • 2 types: 4 iki
        • 3 types: 9 iki
        • 4 types: 16 iki
        • 5 types: 25 iki
        • Buildings are not a character type.
        • The Puppeteer may be a type of your choice.
      • Score based on the number of different fish you have (from the different seasons).
        • 1 fish: 3 iki
        • 2 fish: 6 iki
        • 3 fish: 10 iki
        • 4 fish: 15 iki
        • If you bought the most expensive fish of a given season, add their value to your total.
        • Score your tobacco pouches as indicated on the tokens. If you own at least 1 pipe, iki from your tobacco is doubled.
      • Score your buildings.
      • Leftover resources:
        • Koban: 3 iki
        • Wood: 1 iki
        • 4 mons: 1 iki

    The player with the most iki wins. If there is a tie, the player with the highest firefighting skill wins (placement in the stack if tied).

• Various Rules
  • Retirement

    • When a Kobun reaches the top slot of a character card, retirement occurs and the following happens.

      1. Remove the character from the board.
         • Place it in the corresponding (color) column of your player board.
      2. Return the Kobun back to your player board's supply.
  • Buildings
    • • Buildings are placed in a Nagaya slot when they are built.
        • If you choose a corner spot, you must pay the 2 additional mons as usual.
      • You must place a Kobun on the building. This Kobun will stay here until the end of the game or if the building is destroyed.
      • Buildings cannot be activated by Oyakata.
      • Buildings are worth iki at the end of the game.
      • Some buildings (farmhouse, fire watchtower, imperial villa) grant their owner an ongoing ability.
      • Kobun on buildings do not have to be fed during payday.
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