Council of Legends rules for Playtesting
(v11.10.2024)
Introduction
Human and environmental threats have sent Mother Earth into complete chaos! The ecosystems are poisoned and all hope seems lost. The Council of Legends, an assembly of Earth’s most powerful Cryptids, are uniting once again to try and save her. Build a Wildlife Sanctuary in each Biome, but watch out for the humans that are watching for you!
Save the Earth! Don’t get caught.
Objective
Play as Cryptids to clear the Biomes of Threats and establish six Wildlife Sanctuaries. Build all six Sanctuaries to complete the mission as a team, but the player with the highest Reputation score wins the game!
Components and Requirements
- 1 Board
- 6 Legend Trackers (4x10 mats)
- 90 Biome Deck cards
-54 Energy Deck cards
- 6 Legend avatars
- 6 Lockdown tokens (red locks)
- 6 Sanctuary markers (glass gem pieces)
- 50 Reputation tokens (wooden footprints)
*2-6 Players | Ages 12+ | 60 mins*
Setup
Place the board in the center of the playing area. Have each player choose a Legend Tracker mat randomly and lay it, face up, in front of them.
Each player gets a Legend avatar that matches the Legend on their Tracker. Place the avatar on the Biome indicated next to the Legend's picture on the Tracker (e.g., Mothman starts in the Forest). The Stealth and Speed traits color also matches the color above the Legend’s Starting Biome (e.g., Forest is green).
Next, shuffle the Biome deck and divide this into six piles of 15 cards each. Place each pile face-down in the light-colored space at the bottom of each Biome space. Shuffle the Energy deck cards (these are SquatchBucks cards until a reprint is possible) and place them in their corresponding space in the corner of the board. Place the rest of the tokens to the side for easy access during play.
You are ready to begin your mission!
Introduction
Human and environmental threats have sent Mother Earth into complete chaos! The ecosystems are poisoned and all hope seems lost. The Council of Legends, an assembly of Earth’s most powerful Cryptids, are uniting once again to try and save her. Build a Wildlife Sanctuary in each Biome, but watch out for the humans that are watching for you!
Save the Earth! Don’t get caught.
Objective
Play as Cryptids to clear the Biomes of Threats and establish six Wildlife Sanctuaries. Build all six Sanctuaries to complete the mission as a team, but the player with the highest Reputation score wins the game!
Components and Requirements
- 1 Board
- 6 Legend Trackers (4x10 mats)
- 90 Biome Deck cards
-54 Energy Deck cards
- 6 Legend avatars
- 6 Lockdown tokens (red locks)
- 6 Sanctuary markers (glass gem pieces)
- 50 Reputation tokens (wooden footprints)
*2-6 Players | Ages 12+ | 60 mins*
Setup
Place the board in the center of the playing area. Have each player choose a Legend Tracker mat randomly and lay it, face up, in front of them.
Each player gets a Legend avatar that matches the Legend on their Tracker. Place the avatar on the Biome indicated next to the Legend's picture on the Tracker (e.g., Mothman starts in the Forest). The Stealth and Speed traits color also matches the color above the Legend’s Starting Biome (e.g., Forest is green).
Next, shuffle the Biome deck and divide this into six piles of 15 cards each. Place each pile face-down in the light-colored space at the bottom of each Biome space. Shuffle the Energy deck cards (these are SquatchBucks cards until a reprint is possible) and place them in their corresponding space in the corner of the board. Place the rest of the tokens to the side for easy access during play.
You are ready to begin your mission!
Gameplay
The player who was most recently at a park goes first (any park with nature in it counts).
Each turn will have three phases.
1. Ready
- Draw 4 Energy cards and add them to your hand
- Draw 1 additional card for each Sanctuary card you have claimed (explained later)
- Resolve any effects from cards played on previous turns
2. Relocate
Decide if you would like to move to a new Biome or stay put. Look at your Legend’s Speed trait to find how many spaces you can move. For example, Mothman’s Speed is 2, so this Legend can move up to 2 spaces. Your Legend can move in either direction, around the ring of Biomes. The Biome your Legend lands on is where you will continue with the next phase. If there are any Lockdown tokens in play on any of the Biomes in your path, you pass through these spaces, not counting it against your movement number.
3. Reclaim
This step is all about digging into your current Biome’s deck and clearing cards, looking for the Sanctuary cards. You will use your Energy cards to draw cards from the Biome. In the middle of the Biome space is a number in a diamond - this is the cost of drawing one card in this Biome. You may use Energy cards like currency, combining them to reach the total you need. You won't, however, get any change back - if you spend a 3 Energy card on a 1 Energy Biome (e.g., Forest, Grasslands), you simply lose the other 2 Energy. All spent Energy cards are sent face-up to the Recycling Bin in the corner opposite the Energy draw pile. When the Energy draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile to become the new draw pile and return it to the other corner space.
Spend the Energy and draw only one card. You must pay for, and resolve, one card at a time. You may continue drawing and resolving cards as long as you have enough Energy to do so and haven't triggered a Turn-Ending Condition (see below).
You may also take any of the following actions on your turn:
- Use a Maneuver card to remove an Eco-Threat from your current Biome (explained later)
- Pay 1 Energy to draw the top card in the Conservation Area - can repeat if you can afford it
- Pay 2 Energy to use your Legend's skill - can repeat if you can afford it
- Use Ally's skill - only once per turn, only on your turn
- The Greenhorn Rule (Optional action - use only if you find yourself struggling with removing lockdowns): Pay 2 of your Reputation tokens back to the supply to move a Human Threat card and its Lockdown token to an Empty Biome (no face-up Biome cards present)
In addition to your Legend’s Skill, your Allies have skills you can utilize. Some Ally abilities are passive (e.g., +1 Stealth) and are automatically in effect when played on your Tracker. Others require you to specifically choose to use them (e.g., Send this Ally to the Landfill…).
After you have taken all desired actions or a Turn-Ending Condition was triggered, discard your hand down to three cards and then play passes to the left. You are not required to move or clear Biomes on your turn, but you must end your turn with no more than 3 cards in your hand.
Turn-Ending Conditions
- You cannot afford anything else with the Energy left in your hand
-You are unable to clear the current Threat
- You Build a Sanctuary or you draw a Sanctuary but can't afford to Build it this turn
- You trigger a Lockdown
- You choose to pass your turn
Biome Card Types
The next section describes how to resolve each type of card from the Biome decks.
The player who was most recently at a park goes first (any park with nature in it counts).
Each turn will have three phases.
1. Ready
- Draw 4 Energy cards and add them to your hand
- Draw 1 additional card for each Sanctuary card you have claimed (explained later)
- Resolve any effects from cards played on previous turns
2. Relocate
Decide if you would like to move to a new Biome or stay put. Look at your Legend’s Speed trait to find how many spaces you can move. For example, Mothman’s Speed is 2, so this Legend can move up to 2 spaces. Your Legend can move in either direction, around the ring of Biomes. The Biome your Legend lands on is where you will continue with the next phase. If there are any Lockdown tokens in play on any of the Biomes in your path, you pass through these spaces, not counting it against your movement number.
3. Reclaim
This step is all about digging into your current Biome’s deck and clearing cards, looking for the Sanctuary cards. You will use your Energy cards to draw cards from the Biome. In the middle of the Biome space is a number in a diamond - this is the cost of drawing one card in this Biome. You may use Energy cards like currency, combining them to reach the total you need. You won't, however, get any change back - if you spend a 3 Energy card on a 1 Energy Biome (e.g., Forest, Grasslands), you simply lose the other 2 Energy. All spent Energy cards are sent face-up to the Recycling Bin in the corner opposite the Energy draw pile. When the Energy draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile to become the new draw pile and return it to the other corner space.
Spend the Energy and draw only one card. You must pay for, and resolve, one card at a time. You may continue drawing and resolving cards as long as you have enough Energy to do so and haven't triggered a Turn-Ending Condition (see below).
You may also take any of the following actions on your turn:
- Use a Maneuver card to remove an Eco-Threat from your current Biome (explained later)
- Pay 1 Energy to draw the top card in the Conservation Area - can repeat if you can afford it
- Pay 2 Energy to use your Legend's skill - can repeat if you can afford it
- Use Ally's skill - only once per turn, only on your turn
- The Greenhorn Rule (Optional action - use only if you find yourself struggling with removing lockdowns): Pay 2 of your Reputation tokens back to the supply to move a Human Threat card and its Lockdown token to an Empty Biome (no face-up Biome cards present)
In addition to your Legend’s Skill, your Allies have skills you can utilize. Some Ally abilities are passive (e.g., +1 Stealth) and are automatically in effect when played on your Tracker. Others require you to specifically choose to use them (e.g., Send this Ally to the Landfill…).
After you have taken all desired actions or a Turn-Ending Condition was triggered, discard your hand down to three cards and then play passes to the left. You are not required to move or clear Biomes on your turn, but you must end your turn with no more than 3 cards in your hand.
Turn-Ending Conditions
- You cannot afford anything else with the Energy left in your hand
-You are unable to clear the current Threat
- You Build a Sanctuary or you draw a Sanctuary but can't afford to Build it this turn
- You trigger a Lockdown
- You choose to pass your turn
Biome Card Types
The next section describes how to resolve each type of card from the Biome decks.
Ally
(brown)
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Place this face-up on the Ally space of your Legend Tracker. Allies can help improve Legend traits, boost rewards, and even remove Threats. The white number inside the Sasquatch symbol is the Ally's Influence - this is used in scoring later. If you already have an Ally, pick which one to keep and send the other to the Conservation Area, face up.
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Maneuver
(green)
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Immediately add this card to one of the three Maneuver spaces on your Legend Tracker, face-up. You will use Maneuvers to remove Threats from play. You can hold a maximum of 3 Maneuvers – if these spaces are full when you draw another Maneuver, decide which three to keep on your Tracker and send the fourth one to the Conservation Area, face up.
Each Maneuver will depict which type of Threat it can remove: Earth = Environmental Threat Hiker = Human Threat |
Environmental Eco-Threat
(orange)
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Leave the card face-up on the top of the Biome deck. If you have a Maneuver card on your Tracker that can clear Environmental Threats, you can play it now and then continue your turn. To remove Threats, send both the Maneuver and the Threat to the Landfill in the center of the board, face up. Collect any Reputation listed on the bottom of the Eco-Threat. (Ignore the diamond Energy Reward on the bottom left in this version of the game - in this version, the only Reward you collect is Reputation.)
If you don’t have a Maneuver that can clear this type of Threat, leave the Threat face-up on the Biome deck until someone can clear it on their turn. You can't draw a new card here until the Threat is removed. You must be in the same Biome as the Threat to remove it with a Maneuver, and only on your turn. |
Human Eco-Threat
(red)
|
These act much like the Environmental Threats, but are more dangerous to Legends. The number within the magnifying glass symbol (Perception Level) defines how easily the Humans can spot your Legend. If your Legend’s Stealth is equal to or higher than their Perception, the Humans cannot see you and you can stay in that Biome and continue your turn. Legends that remain unseen can move into and out of this Biome safely. If you have a Maneuver card on your Tracker that can clear Human Threats, do the same as you would for Environmental Threats. (Ignore the diamond Energy Reward in this version, as mentioned before.)
If your Stealth is less than the Threat’s Perception, the Humans spotted your Legend and this Biome is going to be locked down and they will attempt to capture you. Lockdowns cannot be prevented by other cards or abilities - once started, they need to be resolved. Place a Lockdown token on this Biome space and leave the Threat card face-up on the top of the deck, and then do the following: If you have an Ally, you may send them to the Landfill to be caught in your place. After you discard your Ally, move your Legend avatar to the next Unlocked Biome (no Lockdown token present). If there's a face-up Human Threat at this new Biome, do the check again and if it fails, you are captured. If there is no Human Threat at the new Biome, you are safe and your turn immediately ends. You are not required to sacrifice your Ally to save you from capture. If you're okay with the cost of Breaking out and don't wish to lose your current Ally, you simply allow yourself to be captured and keep your Ally. If you don't have an Ally and are captured, move your Legend to the Containment section on the board and send all Maneuvers on your Tracker to the Landfill. If any other Legends were present in this Biome, they must also sacrifice their Ally or be captured, regardless of their Stealth trait. On your next turn, you can attempt a Breakout: You will draw cards as normal, and if you can spend 9 total Energy, you Breakout and move your Legend to any Unlocked Biome. Your turn will then end and you can resume play as normal on your following turn. If you cannot afford to Breakout, one of two things can happen: 1) Other players can contribute Energy from their hands to help you reach 9 - anyone who does this gains 1 Reputation token. 2) If no one helps you and you can't afford it, you remain in Containment until you can afford it or someone helps you on a future turn. Other Notes on Lockdowns: - No player may enter a Locked Biome until the Lockdown token is removed or relocated. - Lockdowns only trigger for the current player (since they're the last ones to make movement); if other Legends are in the same Biome, their Stealth is not considered in the check, but they can all suffer the consequences of your failed check! - When a Biome is in Lockdown, it no longer counts as a space to move to, so a Legend will skip over Locked Biomes to the next Unlocked Biome. |
Local/Global Event
(black/Earth)
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Read this card aloud, do what it says, and then send the card to the Landfill when it’s resolved. Some are stored next to your Tracker until their effect ends or you choose to use their effect.
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Wildlife Sanctuary
art to be redone
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You have discovered a prime location for a Wildlife Sanctuary. Now you just have to Build it!
You must spend 9 Energy to build a Sanctuary in the Biome indicated on its card. If you can't afford it, leave this card face-up on the current Biome's deck, to be resolved later. Anyone will be able to move in and Build it in this case. If you can pay 9 Energy, take this card and place it next to your Tracker. Place a glass gem token in the colored circle above the Biome mentioned on the card. You do not have to be in that indicated Biome to do this - only in the Biome in which the card was drawn. When you Build a Sanctuary, your turn immediately ends. Once Built, the glass gems cannot be removed - they are not affected by Threats or Lockdowns. You also cannot lose a Sanctuary card once Built. |
Losing and Winning
If all 6 Biomes fall under Lockdown or all players are captured, unable to move, or unable to clear any more Threats (i.e., no one has the necessary Maneuvers, Allies, or Skills), the game ends and the entire team loses. The Council of Legends has been caught!
Despite the loss, the player with the most Reputation tokens on their Tracker wins the title of "Most-Missed Monster" as their consolation prize.
If all 6 Wildlife Sanctuaries have been Built (even if some Biomes are still in Lockdown), you have pulled Mother Earth out of chaos and completed your mission! Add together the number of Reputation tokens you have, the number of Sanctuary cards you collected, and the Ally Influence value from your Ally card. The player with the highest total is the winner and they earn the title of "Coolest Cryptid!"
If there is a tie, the tying player with the most Sanctuary cards wins.
If there’s still a tie, the tying player with the most Ally Influence wins.
If still tying, they share the win.
If all 6 Biomes fall under Lockdown or all players are captured, unable to move, or unable to clear any more Threats (i.e., no one has the necessary Maneuvers, Allies, or Skills), the game ends and the entire team loses. The Council of Legends has been caught!
Despite the loss, the player with the most Reputation tokens on their Tracker wins the title of "Most-Missed Monster" as their consolation prize.
If all 6 Wildlife Sanctuaries have been Built (even if some Biomes are still in Lockdown), you have pulled Mother Earth out of chaos and completed your mission! Add together the number of Reputation tokens you have, the number of Sanctuary cards you collected, and the Ally Influence value from your Ally card. The player with the highest total is the winner and they earn the title of "Coolest Cryptid!"
If there is a tie, the tying player with the most Sanctuary cards wins.
If there’s still a tie, the tying player with the most Ally Influence wins.
If still tying, they share the win.
Lockdown in each Biome: team loses
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Sanctuary built in each Biome: team wins
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©2022, Kevin A. Elliott