Council of Legends rules for Playtesting
(v09.20.2023)
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. Six ancient artifacts, lost to time, are the only way. Find and use the artifacts to heal the planet and take back your home, but watch out for the humans that are watching for you.
Save the Earth! Don’t get caught.
Objective
Play as Cryptids and use their skills and Allies to clear the Biomes of Eco-Threats and find the 6 Artifact cards. Activate all 6 Artifacts 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)
- 54 Squatch Bucks cards
- 90 Biome Deck cards
- 6 Legend avatars
- 6 Lockdown tokens (red locks)
- 6 Artifact Activation markers (glass gem pieces)
- 50 Reputation tokens (wooden footprints)
- 1 wooden six-sided die
*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 at random and lay it, face up, in front of them. Give each player 2 Reputation tokens, which are placed in the Reputation space on their Legend Tracker.
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 trait color also matches the color above their Starting Biome (e.g., Forest is green).
Shuffle the Squatch Bucks deck and place it, face down, on the corner board space that matches its design. 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. Place the rest of the tokens to the side for easy access during play.
You are ready to play!
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. Six ancient artifacts, lost to time, are the only way. Find and use the artifacts to heal the planet and take back your home, but watch out for the humans that are watching for you.
Save the Earth! Don’t get caught.
Objective
Play as Cryptids and use their skills and Allies to clear the Biomes of Eco-Threats and find the 6 Artifact cards. Activate all 6 Artifacts 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)
- 54 Squatch Bucks cards
- 90 Biome Deck cards
- 6 Legend avatars
- 6 Lockdown tokens (red locks)
- 6 Artifact Activation markers (glass gem pieces)
- 50 Reputation tokens (wooden footprints)
- 1 wooden six-sided die
*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 at random and lay it, face up, in front of them. Give each player 2 Reputation tokens, which are placed in the Reputation space on their Legend Tracker.
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 trait color also matches the color above their Starting Biome (e.g., Forest is green).
Shuffle the Squatch Bucks deck and place it, face down, on the corner board space that matches its design. 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. Place the rest of the tokens to the side for easy access during play.
You are ready to play!
Legend Tracker
Squatch Bucks Deck
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Biome Deck
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Gameplay
The player who was most recently at a park goes first (any park with nature in it counts).
Each player’s turn will follow in the order of these steps:
1. Roll the die and draw that number of Squatch Bucks cards. Squatch Bucks are the currency you will use to pay for drawing cards from the Biomes. These are the only cards that will form your hand. The face of the card shows the value of each card (1, 2, or 3).
2. Decide if you would like to move to a new Biome or stay put. You may only move yourself once per turn, and only during this step. 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 per turn. 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 step.
3. Use Squatch Bucks to draw Biome cards and resolve them. Each Biome space has a number within a diamond – this is the total value of Squatch Bucks needed to draw one card from that deck. You cannot draw cards from a Biome unless your Legend marker is on that space. Use Squatch Bucks like money, combining them to reach the values you need. You can add cards together, but you cannot make change. For example, you can play three Ones to pay for a Desert card, but if you play a Three for a Forest card, you simply lose the other 2 that would be left over. Put the used Squatch Bucks cards in the "Recycling Bin" (the blue space on the board). Whenever you run out of Squatch Bucks to draw, shuffle and reuse these "Recycled" cards.
When the cost has been paid, draw one card from that Biome deck and reveal it. You must resolve one card before drawing another one. You may continue drawing and resolving cards one at a time from the Biome as long as you have the Squatch Bucks to pay for it.
At any time during your turn, you may also:
Use a Legend Skill. Each Legend has a Skill in the bottom left of your Tracker that you can use on your turn if you pay 2 Reputation tokens (send them back to the pile when used). You may use this skill more than once if you have enough Reputation tokens to pay for it.
Use an Ally Skill. This is described later.
Use the Conservation Area. You may pay 1 Squatch Buck to draw the top card in the Conservation Area and add it to your Tracker. You may do this as many times as you like in one turn, as long as you can afford it and have space for it on your Tracker.
Your turn ends when one of the following occurs:
* You run out of Squatch Bucks to play
* You are unable to clear an Eco-Threat from your current Biome and have already Moved
* You trigger a Lockdown
*You find an Artifact
* You choose to pass your turn
Play passes to the left. You are not required to move or clear Biomes on your turn.
Biome Card Types
The next section describes how to resolve each type of card from the Biome decks as they're drawn.
The player who was most recently at a park goes first (any park with nature in it counts).
Each player’s turn will follow in the order of these steps:
1. Roll the die and draw that number of Squatch Bucks cards. Squatch Bucks are the currency you will use to pay for drawing cards from the Biomes. These are the only cards that will form your hand. The face of the card shows the value of each card (1, 2, or 3).
2. Decide if you would like to move to a new Biome or stay put. You may only move yourself once per turn, and only during this step. 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 per turn. 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 step.
3. Use Squatch Bucks to draw Biome cards and resolve them. Each Biome space has a number within a diamond – this is the total value of Squatch Bucks needed to draw one card from that deck. You cannot draw cards from a Biome unless your Legend marker is on that space. Use Squatch Bucks like money, combining them to reach the values you need. You can add cards together, but you cannot make change. For example, you can play three Ones to pay for a Desert card, but if you play a Three for a Forest card, you simply lose the other 2 that would be left over. Put the used Squatch Bucks cards in the "Recycling Bin" (the blue space on the board). Whenever you run out of Squatch Bucks to draw, shuffle and reuse these "Recycled" cards.
When the cost has been paid, draw one card from that Biome deck and reveal it. You must resolve one card before drawing another one. You may continue drawing and resolving cards one at a time from the Biome as long as you have the Squatch Bucks to pay for it.
At any time during your turn, you may also:
Use a Legend Skill. Each Legend has a Skill in the bottom left of your Tracker that you can use on your turn if you pay 2 Reputation tokens (send them back to the pile when used). You may use this skill more than once if you have enough Reputation tokens to pay for it.
Use an Ally Skill. This is described later.
Use the Conservation Area. You may pay 1 Squatch Buck to draw the top card in the Conservation Area and add it to your Tracker. You may do this as many times as you like in one turn, as long as you can afford it and have space for it on your Tracker.
Your turn ends when one of the following occurs:
* You run out of Squatch Bucks to play
* You are unable to clear an Eco-Threat from your current Biome and have already Moved
* You trigger a Lockdown
*You find an Artifact
* You choose to pass your turn
Play passes to the left. You are not required to move or clear Biomes on your turn.
Biome Card Types
The next section describes how to resolve each type of card from the Biome decks as they're drawn.
Ally
(brown)
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Place this face-up on the Ally space of your Legend Tracker. You may use your Ally’s Skill for free at any point on your turn, once per turn. Allies can help improve Legend traits, boost rewards, and even remove Eco-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 one 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 Eco-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 Eco-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 Eco-Threats, you can play it and then continue your turn. To remove Eco-Threats, send both the Maneuver and the Eco-Threat cards to the Landfill in the center of the board, face up. Collect any Rewards listed on the bottom of the Eco-Threat (number in diamond is the number of Squatch Bucks cards to draw, foot is Reputation tokens). If you don’t have a Maneuver, leave the Eco-Threat face-up on the Biome deck until someone can clear it. You can't draw a new card here until the threat is removed. You must be in the same Biome to remove an Eco-Threat with a Maneuver.
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Human Eco-Threat
(red)
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These act much like the Environmental Eco-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.
If your Stealth is less than the Eco-Threat’s Perception, place a Lockdown token on this Biome space and move all Legend avatars that are in this Biome – regardless of Stealth – to the closest Unlocked Biome (no Lockdown token present). If either direction is open, you choose which direction the Legends flee. Your turn immediately ends. Notes on Lockdowns When a Lockdown is triggered, it cannot be prevented, even if an Ally’s skill lets you remove Eco-Threats. No player may enter a Locked Biome until the Lockdown token is removed or relocated (with Skills, Allies, and special cards). If the next closest unlocked Biome also has a Human Eco-Threat, the same Perception vs. Stealth rules apply – if any present Legends’ Stealth is less than the Perception, this triggers another Lockdown. 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.
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Artifact
(black/Biome color)
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You have located one of the ancient Artifacts! Place a glass gem token in the colored circle above the Biome mentioned on the card. You do not have to be in that Biome to do this. Take this card and keep it next to your Tracker for scoring later. When you find and activate an Artifact, your turn immediately ends.
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Full Legend Tracker
Comparing Perception to Legend's Stealth
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Maneuvers and Allies sent to Conservation Area
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Cards in Conservation Area
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Activated Artifact
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Losing and Winning
If all 6 Biomes fall under Lockdown or all players are unable to move or clear any more Eco-Threats (no one has the necessary Maneuvers, Allies, or Skills), the game ends and the entire team loses. The Council of Legends has been caught!
If all 6 Artifacts have been found (even if some Biomes are still in Lockdown), you have healed Mother Earth and completed your mission! Add together the number of Reputation tokens you have, the number of Artifact cards you obtained, and the Ally Influence value from your Ally's card. The player with the highest total is the winner!
If there is a tie, the tying player with the most Squatch Bucks in hand wins. If there is a tie on this, as well, everyone shares the victory.
If all 6 Biomes fall under Lockdown or all players are unable to move or clear any more Eco-Threats (no one has the necessary Maneuvers, Allies, or Skills), the game ends and the entire team loses. The Council of Legends has been caught!
If all 6 Artifacts have been found (even if some Biomes are still in Lockdown), you have healed Mother Earth and completed your mission! Add together the number of Reputation tokens you have, the number of Artifact cards you obtained, and the Ally Influence value from your Ally's card. The player with the highest total is the winner!
If there is a tie, the tying player with the most Squatch Bucks in hand wins. If there is a tie on this, as well, everyone shares the victory.
Lockdown in each Biome: team loses
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Artifacts activated in each Biome: team wins
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©2022, Kevin A. Elliott
