Playing the trick

The first player begins by playing a Spirit card from their hand, face up, in front of them. The other players then play a Spirit card one after the other, in clockwise order. They must follow the colour of the first card played if possible (Must Follow); if they have no card of that colour, they can play any card.

Winning the trick

The player who played the Spirit card of the requested colour — the colour of the first card played — with the highest value wins the trick. However, if one or more Spirit cards of the trump colour have been played, the player who played the trump card with the highest value wins the trick instead.

Example — the blue 5 wins the first trick and becomes the Decision card, so blue is the trump for the second trick. Players must follow purple in the second trick, but the last player has no purple in hand: they play the blue 2, win the trick thanks to the trump, and their card becomes the new Decision card.

The Decision card

The winning card of the trick becomes the Decision card for the current round. It tells you which Spirit tile to place, and it also sets the trump colour for the next round — which means the trump can change every round. For the first round of each mission, the Trump card provided in the box sets the trump colour.

Example — six rounds have already been played and the red 4 is the Decision card: red is the trump colour for the final round.

Storing the trick

At the end of the phase, gather all the cards from the trick into a pile, place the Decision card on top, and put this pile on the corresponding space on the game board. This lets you keep track of the number of rounds played, and reminds you of the trump colour for the next round.

Selecting the Spirit tile

The players take the Spirit tile that corresponds to the Decision card. Each Spirit card shows the unique Spirit tile it is linked to at its centre.

Placing the Spirit tile

Place the Spirit tile on the game board following these rules: you cannot exceed the limits of the 12 × 12 grid; you cannot place it on an already placed Mission tile or Spirit tile; you cannot move Spirit tiles that are already placed, unless you use a Power tile that allows it; you can place it on the side of your choice, front or back; you may place it only on empty spaces, unless otherwise indicated (Whirlpool and Mist tokens, see the Travel Journal).

You may place Spirit tiles on spaces containing a Rock icon. These icons will be used later in your adventure, in the Water and Corrupted Forest environments.

Example — the green 6 Spirit tile sticks out of the grid: invalid placement. The purple 6 and orange 3 Spirit tiles cover tiles that are already there: invalid as well.

Mission tile constraints

Some Mission tiles have coloured edges — that is already the case in Mission 1. When an edge is coloured, the Spirit tile you place against it must match that colour. You can physically place a tile of another colour there, but the mission will then fail, since the constraint has not been respected.

Limited communication

Communication is limited during missions: players are not allowed to talk to each other about any rule point marked with the corresponding symbol. When placing a tile, you may only discuss where the Spirit tile goes; you cannot share any information about your hand or your intentions.

2-player game: the Automa

With 2 players, an Automa acts as a third player. It also receives 10 cards: 6 face down as its deck and 4 face up on the 2-player board. The player (excluding the Automa) who wins the trick takes the Kakapo meeple and becomes the Leader: the Leader decides the Automa's choices. The Automa never receives the Kakapo meeple, even if it wins the trick and becomes the first player.

If the Automa is not the first player: if one of its face-up cards matches the colour of the first card played, it must play that card; if several of its face-up cards match, the Leader chooses which one; if none match, the Leader either chooses a card from the face-up cards or takes the first card from the Automa's deck. If the Automa is the first player, the Leader chooses one of its face-up cards or takes the first card from its deck. Whenever a face-up card has been played, draw a card to refill the river back to 4 cards.

Whirlpool tokens

A Whirlpool token can be covered with a Spirit tile. When that happens, immediately discard the token, then every player also discards one card from their hand face down, without showing it to the others.

Mist tokens

A Mist token can be covered with a Spirit tile. When that happens, immediately discard the token: the next trick must then begin with the colour of that Mist token, if possible. If several Mist tokens are discarded at once, start the next trick with one of their colours, your choice.

Rewards

The Totem reward unlocks a Power space on the game board. The Castle reward gives you a Power token: once you gain one, you keep it until the end of the adventure and can use it in every mission. The White Envelope reward has you open the white envelope matching the letter shown — each one contains a Power tile. Before starting a mission, you may place Power tiles on unlocked Power spaces on the board for extra help. The Purified Holo Liana reward reduces the difficulty of Mission 22.

The Moon Path

Whether you succeed or fail a mission, take a sheet from the scorepad and check a box on the Moon Path, starting from the left. When you check a box showing a moon phase, open the matching black envelope and place the Moon tile you obtain on the corresponding space on the board. Moon tiles bring disadvantages that stack and last until the end of the game.

The envelopes

The box contains 10 envelopes holding additional elements (Power tiles, Spirit cards, Moon tiles…). Only open them when instructed to do so. At the end of each game, store all the items back in their respective envelopes. The red envelope is opened at the end of the game, and only if you have completed Mission 22.

Switching to Night mode

To switch to Night mode, turn each Mission tile over to its Night side, making sure its black triangle ends up in the same place on the board as when it was on its classic side. Only flip Mission tiles to Night mode when the game instructs you to do so.

In Night mode, if a Whirlpool or Mist token is adjacent to a Mission tile that must be surrounded, that space must be covered in order to complete the encirclement of the Mission tile with Spirit tiles.