Difference between revisions of "Halflings"

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If you have already played Halflings before, you can play the following version:
If you have already played Halflings before, you can play the following version:
At the beginning of the game put down all triangular tiles face up. Determine which player is first. The player whose turn is last, chooses a tile and places it in front of them face down. The remaining players continue to do the same counter-clockwise until everyone has drawn 3 tiles. The remaining triangular tiles are put back in the box. If you like to play using more triangular tiles, you can do so (depending on the number of players).
At the beginning of the game put down all triangular tiles face up. Determine which player is first. The player whose turn is last, chooses a tile and places it in front of them face down. The remaining players continue to do the same counter-clockwise until everyone has drawn 3 tiles. The remaining triangular tiles are put back in the box. If you like to play using more triangular tiles, you can do so (depending on the number of players).
=== Gameplay ===


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{{RulesPlacingTile|1====|2=1. Placing a tile|
{{RulesPlacingTile|1=====|2=1. Placing a tile|
3=Instead of drawing and placing a regular land tile you can choose to place one of your triangular tiles instead. The half-sized tiles are placed according to the rules of the Carcassonne base game, meaning that at least one side of your tile has to continue the landscape of one or more existing tiles. The long side of the triangular tile may never be placed next to a regular land tile continuing its landscape. You may however place a half-sized tile with its long side adjacent to that of another half-sized tile if it continues the landscape.
3=Instead of drawing and placing a regular land tile you can choose to place one of your triangular tiles instead. The half-sized tiles are placed according to the rules of the Carcassonne base game, meaning that at least one side of your tile has to continue the landscape of one or more existing tiles. The long side of the triangular tile may never be placed next to a regular land tile continuing its landscape. You may however place a half-sized tile with its long side adjacent to that of another half-sized tile if it continues the landscape.


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{{RulesPlacingMeeple|1====|2=2. Placing a meeple|
{{RulesPlacingMeeple|1=====|2=2. Placing a meeple|
3=After having placed a half-sized tile, you may now place a meeple on your tile according to the rules of the base game.
3=After having placed a half-sized tile, you may now place a meeple on your tile according to the rules of the base game.


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{{RulesScoring|1====|2=3. Scoring a feature|
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3=If you complete a feature with half-sized tiles, it is scored according to the normal rules. <ref>
3=If you complete a feature with half-sized tiles, it is scored according to the normal rules. <ref>
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Revision as of 21:50, 25 September 2020

Other languages:
Sample of Halfling tiles: the spirals show the Halfling I tiles (left) and the Halfling II tiles (right)

General info and comments

Punchout
Halfings I symbol
Halfings II symbol

Halflings was originally released by Hans im Glück in 2020. This mini expansion was released for the 1st Edition in 2014.

This mini-expansion includes tiles of two mini-expansions published in 2014. While tiles marked with Symbol Halflings1 C2.png match those of the version which was published in SpielBox magazine (www.spielboxshop.de), tiles marked with Symbol Halflings2 C2.png stem from another version which was originally available at www.cundco.de exclusively.

This expansion has been developed for the Carcassonne basic game. All the basic game rules still apply in addition to the expansion rules below. You can combine it with other expansions - but at your own risk – i.e. there will be no official rules for these combinations.

Contents

  • 24 new “half-sized” triangular land tiles
Examples of new half-sized, triangular land tiles with various features
This expansion includes 4 tiles with symbols of the expansions Exp. 9 - Hills & Sheep and the Mini #7 - Crop Circles

Rules

Preparation

For your first game shuffle all triangular tiles face down (except for those with symbols from expansions). Each player draws 3 triangular tiles, takes a look at them and puts their tiles in front of them face down.

If you have already played Halflings before, you can play the following version: At the beginning of the game put down all triangular tiles face up. Determine which player is first. The player whose turn is last, chooses a tile and places it in front of them face down. The remaining players continue to do the same counter-clockwise until everyone has drawn 3 tiles. The remaining triangular tiles are put back in the box. If you like to play using more triangular tiles, you can do so (depending on the number of players).

Gameplay

1. Placing a tile

Instead of drawing and placing a regular land tile you can choose to place one of your triangular tiles instead. The half-sized tiles are placed according to the rules of the Carcassonne base game, meaning that at least one side of your tile has to continue the landscape of one or more existing tiles. The long side of the triangular tile may never be placed next to a regular land tile continuing its landscape. You may however place a half-sized tile with its long side adjacent to that of another half-sized tile if it continues the landscape.

Example 1: Two examples of how to place a half-sized tile.
Example 2: A half-sized tile cannot be placed this way.

Game end [1]

The game ends immediately at the end of the turn in which the last normal (not half-sized) land tile is placed. If any player still has any unplayed half-sized tiles in front of them, they may no longer play them.

2. Placing a meeple

After having placed a half-sized tile, you may now place a meeple on your tile according to the rules of the base game.

You may place a meeple even if there is already a meeple on an adjacent half-sized tile. [2] [3]

Example: Two meeples can stand on two adjacent triangular tiles.

3. Scoring a feature

If you complete a feature with half-sized tiles, it is scored according to the normal rules. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Monastery

A triangular tile in the surroundings of a monastery is counted just like a regular land tile (it scores 1 point and can complete the monastery). The triangular tile does not have to be adjacent to the tile with the monastery itself in order to complete the monastery.

If two triangular tiles have been placed instead of a regular land tile, you still only score 1 point for this occupied space. [8]

Example: In all of the three examples the monastery is complete and earns you 9 points.

Tiles with expansion symbols

The following three tiles show symbols of the 9th expansion Hills & Sheep which rules do apply here. The rules of tiles 1 and 2 can be applied without further game material. In order to use the sheep on tile 3, you need material included in the 9th expansion.

Halflings C2 Tile Features Hills And Sheep.png

1 Vineyard | If a monastery is being completed and scored, its owner earns 3 extra points for each vineyard depicted on the tiles in the vicinity of the monastery (the square space with the monastery and the 8 spaces surrounding it). [9]

2 Hill | If you place the triangular tile depicting the hill, you draw a regular land tile according to the rules of the 9th expansion and place it under the hill tile. The free triangular space can later be filled by placing another half-sized tile. The hill counts for the whole space and therefore also for a potential second triangular tile. If you have a meeple on a feature with a hill, ties for scoring that feature are broken in your favor.

3 Sheep | You earn 3 points for the sheep on this tile if you guide your flock to the stable. [10] A wolf cannot scare these sheep away. [11]

The tile depicting the crop circle is played differently from the normal crop circle tiles (see Crop Circles).

Halflings C2 Tile Features Crop Circles.png

4 Crop Circle | You play a normal turn with the crop circle tile. [12] Afterwards you determine a kind of meeple (knight, highwayman or farmer) and choose one of the following actions which all players (including yourself) must complete, starting with the player to your left:

Each player either... [13]

A) ... may take a meeple from their supply and place it next to another one of their meeples of this kind on the same land tile. [14]

OR

B) ... must remove one of their meeples of the determined kind from a land tile and put it back into their supply.

If a player does not have any meeples of the determined kind, they cannot complete neither action A nor B.

Rules changes

The Halflings rules have become a source of great controversy due to the many gaps and conclusions left to the reader.

The rules focus on explaining the especial case for monasteries only: The rules from 2014 did not even mention how roads and cities were to be scored and the rules from 2020 just indicate that completed roads and cities with triangular tiles are scored according to the normal rules.

In 2014, the lack of information about road and city scoring led to the interpretation that they should be scored according to the principle provided for monasteries that two triangular tiles in one square space were to be counted as one tile. This assumption would have some consequences when considering interactions with other expansions since triangular tiles would not be considered individual tiles in some cases.

  • Scoring features with the rules from 2014:
    • Roads and cities are scored according to the number of square tiles (2 triangular tiles are considered 1 square tile)
    • Monasteries are scored according the square spaces with tiles (2 triangular tiles are considered 1 tile) - Monasteries can score up to 9 points

The clarifications from 10/2015 shed some light on the scoring of cities and roads (each triangular tile will be considered individually from this moment on), but it changes the way monasteries should be scored, since each tile would be counted individually for monasteries too. So monasteries could score up to 18 points as you could cram that many Halflings tiles in the space occupied by a monastery and the 8 adjacent spaces. These clarifications covered some interactions with other expansions, not all of them, but provided some hints to address some other by analogy (with some house rules, if needed). They would represent a lot of consequences when considering interactions with other expansions since triangular tiles would be considered as individual tiles now. (Double-sized tile were considered individual tiles too, so this also added additional distortions to the way some expansions interacted).

  • Scoring features with the clarifications from 10/2015:
    • Roads and cities are scored according to the number of individual tiles (square, triangular or double sized)
    • Monasteries are scored according the number of individual tiles (square, triangular or double sized) - Monasteries can score up to 18 points

Later in 2020, the re-release of Halflings for Carcassonne II included similar rules to those from 2014. There was a brief indication on how roads and cities should be scored and the rules for the monasteries were a step back from the clarifications from 10/2015, returning to the original ones from 2014. We can assume that the clarifications from 10/2015 still apply except for the scoring of monasteries (and therefore German castles by extension).

  • Scoring features with the rules from 2020 + clarifications from 10/2015:
    • Roads and cities are scored according to the number of individual tiles (square, triangular or double sized)
    • Monasteries are scored according the square spaces with tiles (square, triangular or double sized) - Monasteries can score up to 9 points

The following table summarizes to evolution of the rules and its consequences.

Rules Updates
Feature Tile occupying a space Carcassonne I rules from 2014 Clarifications from 10/2015 Carcassonne II rules from 2020
Road / City   Scored per tile Scored per tile Scored per tile
1 square tile 1 tile 1 tile 1 tile
1 triangular tile 1 tile (1) 1 tile 1 tile
2 triangular tiles 2 tiles → counted as 1 tile (1) 2 tiles 2 tiles
1 part of double-sized tile N/A (2) 1 tile 1 tile (3)
Monastery   Scored per occupied space Scored per tile Scored per occupied space
1 square tile 1 tile → 1 occupied space 1 tile 1 tile → 1 occupied space
1 triangular tile 1 tile → 1 occupied space 1 tile (4) 1 tile → 1 occupied space
2 triangular tiles 2 tiles → 1 occupied space 2 tiles (4) 2 tiles → 1 occupied space
1 part of double-sized tile N/A (2) 1 tile (4) 1 tile → 1 or 2 occupied spaces (5)
  • Note:
    • (1) There was no explicit rules and the rules. It was assumed that triangular tiles on the same space were considered counted as 1 tile as an adaptation of the scoring rules for monasteries. This may be the result of a misinterpretation.
    • (2) Double-sized tiles were released a year later so no provision for double-sized tiles is made in the rules from 2014.
    • (3) Not covered in the rules, but aligned with the interpretation of the rules from 2020 and the clarifications from 10/2015.
    • (4) Triangular tiles and double-sized tiles were counted as individual tiles for monasteries.
    • (5) Not covered in the rules, but change consistent with monastery scoring by occupied space from 2020. It would override the clarifications provided in 10/2015.

Other expansions

>> General considerations

  • When a Halfling tile is beside a triangular gap, the Halfling tile counts as a single tile. When 2 Halfling tiles are side-by-side to create one square, they count as a single tile each. This is relevant when considering city scoring, road scoring, Fairy protection, Dragon movement, the Plague token placement, the Flier movement, etc. (10/2014; updated 10/2015; updated 04/2020)
  • Monastery completeness takes into consideration the adjacent spaces: all adjacent of them have to be occupied no matter if by a square a tile or by one or two Halfling tiles. So there may not be a unoccupied adjacent square space.
  • Monastery scoring, on the other hand, will not take into consideration individual tiles but occupied spaces (the one of the monastery and all the adjacent spaces). This is a change from the clarifications from 10/2015 and a return to the spirit of the original rules of 2014. This change will also affect the scoring of all those features with mechanics similar to monasteries by extension: all monastic buildings (abbeys, shrines, Japanese buildings, German monasteries, Dutch & Belgian monasteries, Darmstadt churches), gardens and German castles.
  • This geometry change in tiles implies a shift and whenever we consider adjacent tiles around a feature, we should consider all the tiles crammed into the adjacent spaces around that feature. This would include, for example, big top scoring, acrobat placement, watchtower scoring, bathhouse completion, the meeple trapping by the Vodyanoy tile, the Baga Yaga's Hut scoring (although it already considered empty spaces), the Darmstadt church bonus, in addition to castle fiefs.
  • At present HiG will not provide clarifications about the interactions with for Halflings. Combining Halflings with other expansions will then happen "at the players' own risk." In such cases, house rules will have to be agreed and applied.


>> The Princess & the Dragon - Fairy protection

  • There is no official clarification regarding how the fairy behaves when placed on a Halfling tile beyond the general considerations above. As a result, we could consider the fairy only protects the triangular tile it is on, since it is a single tile.


>> The Princess & the Dragon - Dragon movement

  • There is no official clarification regarding how the dragon moves on Halfling tiles beyond the general considerations above.
  • Notes:
    • Rule clarification: When moving the dragon, triangle tiles are considered individual tiles.
    • Open question: Can it be assumed that the dragon can move past a triangular gap? Clarifications for other expansions such as The Plague (see below), may lead to a positive conclusion but there is no official confirmation.
Example: The dragon moves counting triangular tiles independently (as in steps 2, 3 and 5) and skips any triangular gap in its way (as in step 5.) Skipping triangular gaps is not officially confirmed in an explicit way.


>> The Tower - Tower range

  • There is no official clarification regarding how tower range is calculated involving Halflings beyond the general considerations above.
  • Notes:
    • Rule clarification: When computing the tiles affected by the tower range, triangle tiles are counted as individual tiles.
    • Open question: Can it be assumed that triangular gaps, if any present, are ignored in the tower range calculation? Clarifications for other expansions such as German monasteries and Japanese Buildings and Dutch and Belgian monasteries (see below), may lead to a positive conclusion but there is no official confirmation.
Example: The picture shows the tiles affected by the tower using different shades of green to identify tiles within range 1 and range 2. The range stretch takes into account triangular tiles independently and skips any triangular gap in the way. Skipping triangular gaps is not officially confirmed in an explicit way.


>> Abbey & Mayor - Part 1: Abbey placement and scoring

  • An abbey can be placed if a Halfling tile is on one of the edges, even if there is a Halfling gap on one of the edges. See the clarification images below. (3/2015)
Example 1: The abbey can be placed here, neighboring a side of the halfling
Example 2: The abbey can also be placed here, even if it is neighboring the gap left by the halfling
Note on Example 2: the abbey placement is allowed as the halfling occupies the "place" of a normal landscape tile and the existing gap, marked as a striped area, is not taken into account
  • There is no official explicit confirmation on how abbeys are scored when interacting with Halflings beyond ruling for monasteries.
  • Notes:
    • House rule: The scoring of an abbey follows the official rules defined for monasteries.


>> Abbey & Mayor - Part 2: Barn placement

  • A barn can be placed as long as 4 tiles touch at the intersection, even if there is one or more Halfling tiles. (10/2015)
Examples with square and triangle tiles:
  • A: The barn can be placed in these cases
  • B: The barn cannot be placed in this case
  • Additionally the barn placement rules have been updated as follows: The base ground for the barn has to be stable so it cannot wiggle. This means that under the barn:
    • all tiles have to touch each other in the middle;
    • no quarter is empty in the middle; and
    • all tiles have farm in the middle for the placement of the barn.
See the following examples involving Halfling tiles and double-size tiles (see Castles in Germany and The Markets of Leipzig.) (04/2016)
Examples with triangle and double-sized (its long side) tiles:
  • A: The barn can be placed in these cases
  • B: The barn cannot be placed in these cases
Examples with triangle and double-sized (its short side) tiles:
  • A: The barn can be placed in these cases
  • B: The barn cannot be placed in these cases
  • Note: The rules update from 10/2015 overrides, in certain cases, the original four-tile intersection requirement for the placement of the barn defined originally for square tiles. This happens in favor of providing stability to the barn when tiles with other geometries are considered, as can be seen in the examples involving double-size tiles and/or triangle tiles.


>> Abbey & Mayor - Part 3: Barn scoring

  • There is no official rules on how barns interact with the landscape discontinuities that can be generated by Halflings.
  • Notes:
    • Open question: Can triangular gaps be considered as holes in the farm landscape? If so, certain tile configuration could lead to the creation of separate farms that converge at an intersection, some of them eligible for barn placement. There is no official rule or clarification stating how triangle gaps affect farms.
    • Open question: When placed on a farm convergence intersection, does the barn connect these separate farms to form one single farm? There is no official rule or clarification on this point, but the official rules for barn placement were designed to ensure it was always placed on one single farm.
    • House rule 1: Triangular gaps could be considered as limits of the landscape (the same as square holes), so several farms can converge at a tile intersection and be disconnected.
    • House rule 2: The barn, when placed (legally) at a point where several farms meet, they should be considered as merged into one single farm. This seems reasonable as the placement of additional Halfling tiles filling the gaps would not alter the previous situation but resolve to materialize the assumed landscape continuity. Additionally, all the barn scoring rules would apply as usual.


>> Count, King and Robber - Shrine scoring

  • There is no official explicit confirmation on how shrines are scored when interacting with Halflings beyond ruling for monasteries.
  • Notes:
    • House rule: The scoring of a shrine follows the official rules defined for monasteries.


>> Bridges, Castles and Bazaars - Bridge placement

  • There is no official clarification regarding how bridges can interact with Halflings.
  • Notes:
    • Open question: Can a bridge be placed on a square space only occupied by one to two Halflings?
    • House rule: A house rule could allow the placement of the bridge only if it stands on a stable base ground following the lead of the clarifications for the Abbey & Mayor's barn (see above). This would mean that bridges could be deployed on a place occupied by a square tile or two Halflings, but not if occupied by one single Halfling.


>> The Flier (Flying Machines) - Flier distance and placement

  • There is no official clarification regarding how the Flier distance and landing cases are handled when Halflings are involved beyond the general considerations above.
  • Notes:
    • Rule clarification: When computing the Flier distance, triangle tiles are counted as individual tiles.
    • Open question: Can it be assumed that triangular gaps, if any present, are ignored and only the Halfling tiles are taken into account for computing the Flier distance? Clarifications for other expansions such as German/Dutch and Belgian Monasteries (see below), may lead to a positive conclusion but there is no official confirmation. See the examples below following this assumption.
Example 1: This image shows how square tiles and holes are considered when calculating the Flier distance for a horizontal trajectory. This example follows the official rules.
Example 2: This image shows how triangle tiles (ignoring triangular gaps) are considered when calculating the Flier distance for a horizontal trajectory. Skipping triangular gaps is not officially confirmed in an explicit way.
Example 3: This image shows how triangle tiles are considered when calculating the Flier distance for a diagonal trajectory.
Example 4: This image shows how triangle tiles (ignoring triangular gaps) are considered when calculating the Flier distance for a diagonal trajectory. The same flier distance would result no matter the orientation of the triangular tile with distance 1. Skipping triangular gaps is not officially confirmed in an explicit way.
  • Open question: How to proceed if the Flier, following a diagonal trajectory, has to land on a square space occupied by two triangle tiles whose long side is aligned with such trajectory? No official clarification exists. A house rule may dictate that the player may choose a feature of either tile.
Example 5: This image shows how triangle tiles are considered when calculating the Flier distance for a diagonal trajectory. This particular case, due to the orientation of the Halflings, has two possible tiles with distance 1. A house rule could determine that if a Flier had to land with such a distance, he/she could choose either of them as the landing tile.
  • House rule: A house rule could define that the Flier distance is calculated taking into account square tiles, square gaps and triangular tiles. If the landing place contains two triangular tiles with the same distance, the player will choose either of them at his/her convenience.


>> The Plague - Plague spreading

  • A single triangle hole does not prevent the Plague from spreading in that direction. (10/2015)
Example: This picture shows in green a contiguous outbreak area. Triangular gaps do not break its continuity, as per the rules clarification


>> German monasteries and Japanese buildings / German/Dutch and Belgian monasteries - Abbot scoring

  • A triangle tile takes the place of a regular landscape tile. Thus, a single triangle hole in the map does not stop the row or column for scoring for German and Dutch/Belgian Monasteries's abbot. Only a hole of a complete regular landscape tile interrupts the row or column. (3/2015)
  • The following image shows how triangle tiles are considered individually when scoring an abbot placed on a German Monastery. It can be seen that triangular gaps are ignored.
Example: RED will get 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 9 points from scoring his/her abbot:
  • 1 point from the monastery tile
  • 2 points from the vertical column above the monastery tile (1 point coming from a triangular tile)
  • 2 points from the vertical column below the monastery tile (1 point coming from a triangular tile)
  • 3 points from the horizontal row to the left of the monastery tile (2 points coming from triangular tiles)
  • 1 point from the horizontal row to the right of the monastery tile formed by a single triangular tile


>> Castles in Germany - Completion of German Castles

  • There is no official clarification regarding how German Castles interact with Halflings beyond the general considerations above.
  • Note:
    • House rule: A German Castle could be considered completed if totally surrounded by square tiles and spaces occupied by one or two Halflings, following the official ruling for monasteries.
    • House rule: The scoring of a German Castle could be 2 points for the German Castle tile plus 1 point per surrounding occupied space (no matter if by square or triangular tiles), taking into account the official rules for monasteries.
Example: This German Castle will get 12 points:
  • 2 point from the German Castle tile
  • 1 points from each occupied adjacent space
The German Castle completion and scoring rule is not officially confirmed in an explicit way.

>> Little Buldings - Area affected by Little Building

  • There is no official clarification regarding how Little Buildings interact with Halflings beyond the general considerations above.
  • Note:
    • House rule: A Little Building only affects the Halfling tile it is placed on, not affecting the other Halfling, if any, sharing the same square space. This consideration comes from the fact that a Halfling counts as a single tile and Little Building affects a whole tile.

Community rules

>> Introduction

This section provides a set basic unofficial community rules to navigate through the pitfalls found when playing Halflings. They are not official but will help solve some of the issues derived from the lack of rules for the expansion itself and the interactions with other expansions.

The Carcassonne base rules define the behavior and interactions based on a square grid occupied by tiles and holes. The problems with Halflings arise from the lack of a full set of rules that cover all the cases when a square space is occupied by a triangular tile (that leaves a triangular gap) or two triangular tiles.

Triangular tiles are considered as individual tiles, and this affects several aspects of the basic game mechanics. However, triangular gaps become a serious generator of continuous conflict. The incomplete clarifications to the Halflings rules leave behind a field full of pitfalls and a few hints that players try to squeeze and analyze looking for answers that will never be officially confirmed by HiG.

With this context, after detailing in the previous section the rules, clarifications, open questions and some house rules for the interactions between Halflings and other expansions, we'll try to put together some basic remarks that could serve as a short guideline that distill the aforementioned material.


>> Rationale

Two principles serve as a cornerstone:

  • Triangular tiles are counted as individual tiles
  • Triangular gaps show two different behaviors depending on the context:
    • A triangular gap can behave as a hole, for example, in a feature
    • A triangular gap can be ignored, for example, when moving a figure

The table below sums up the different contexts where issues arise and provide an appropriate ruling. But first let's list the game contexts taken into consideration:

  • Landscape Continuity: how triangular tiles and gaps affect various features, such as a farm or a city
  • Feature Placement: how triangular tiles and gaps affect the placement of a feature, such as an abbey
  • Feature Completeness: how triangular tiles and gaps affect a feature to be considered as completed, such as a city or a monastery
  • Featuring Scoring: how triangular tiles and gaps affect the scoring of a feature, such as a monastery (which ignore them)
  • Figure Placing/Movement: how figure mechanics are affected by triangular tiles and gaps; for example, the dragon
  • Action Range / Trajectory calculation: how action ranges for a tower or the trajectory of a flier are affected by triangular tiles and gaps


>> How to deal with triangular tiles and gaps

Important Reminder: Triangular tiles are considered as individual tiles. Bear this in mind when placing followers or other figures, and when scoring features.

The following table summarizes the community rules for conflicting scenarios.

Triangular Tiles and Triangular Gap Behavior
Gap Behavior Landscape Continuity Feature Placement Feature Completeness Feature Scoring Placing / Moving a Figure Action range / Trajectory Calculation
A hole Farm (1) Farm Bridge
City, Road City, Road City, Road
Ignored Abbey (2) Monastery, Shrine, Abbey, Garden, German monastery / Dutch & Belgian monastery / Japanese building (monk), Darmstadt church, German castle Monastery, Shrine, Abbey, Garden, German monastery / Dutch & Belgian monastery / Japanese building (monk), Darmstadt church, German castle (3) Dragon Tower, Flier (4)
German monastery / Dutch & Belgian monastery / Japanese building (abbot)
Flea Token
  • Notes:
    • (1) - Farm continuity: The placement of a barn can alter farm continuity if it merges separate farms touching at intersection it is placed on.
    • (2) - Abbey placement: An eligible place for an abbey requires its four sides not to be square holes.
    • (3) - Monastery (and analogous features) scoring: these features ignore triangular gaps and score according to occupied spaces (the one for the feature and the adjacent ones). Spaces can be occupied by square tiles, one triangular tile, two triangular tile to by part of a double-sized tile, by extension.
    • (4) - Flier landing: if the Flier has to land on a square space with two triangular tiles side by side when following a diagonal trajectory (i.e., both share the same distance), the player has to choose one of them at his/her convenience as landing tile.


>> How to deal with the barn

Additionally, these are the community rules for the barn:

  • Placement Rules: It is placed on the intersection of four square corners where all quarters are partially or fully occupied and meet in the middle. That is, the barn is always placed on a stable base ground. At an intersection can meet from 3 (involving a double-sized tile) up to 8 tiles (all of them Halflings), and all of them should have only farmland to allow the barn to be placed.
  • Landscape Continuity: The barn will merge any farms touching at the intersection where it is placed. Thus, farm scoring will happen as usual. Any additional triangular tile placed in any gaps left under the barn will materialize the assumed farm continuity.


>> How to deal with bridges

A bridge could be placed over two Halflings occupying one square space if both ends are in a field. The bridge will also have to comply with the other usual placement rules.

The following considerations are also important, since a bridge is placed across two tiles:

  • Meeple placement: Any meeple placed on the bridge has to be clearly on one of its halves, that is, assigned to one of the Halflings underneath. This is necessary, for example, if playing with the dragon or the Plague in order to know when a meeple on a bridge may be affected.
  • Scoring: The bridge will count as 1 road segment per Halfling underneath, that is, two tiles in this case. [15]


>> How to deal with Little Buildings

Little Buildings placed on a Halfling tile will affect only that triangular tile. If another Halfling tile shares the same square space, it will not be affected. [16]

Tile distribution

Total Tiles: 24 halves

Halflings I

Total Tiles: 12 halves

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Halflings II

Total Tiles: 12 halves

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Footnotes

For Icons explanation and licensing please visit Icons page.

  1. Official clarification from the publisher This section was included in the rules from 2014 but omitted in the rules from 2020.
  2. Notorious rule difference among editions or publishers This sentence is a translation of the German rules. The English translation by HiG had a different meaning, probably by mistake: "You may also place a Meeple on an adjacent triangular tile if there already is one."
  3. Interpretation from the Community This comment indicates that triangular tiles are independent, even if they occupy the same square space.
  4. Notorious rule difference among editions or publishers This sentence is based on the German wording. The English version has a different meaning, possibly by mistake: "If you complete a feature by placing a half-sized tile, it is being scored according to the rules of the base game."
  5. Interpretation from the Community As per the base game rules, completed cities cannot contain gaps. In this case, this means they cannot contain square or triangular gaps. Roads will follow the same rule: A road with a triangular gap will be considered incomplete too.
    Example 1: This city containing triangular tiles is completed and can be scored. It includes no triangular (or square) gaps.
    Example 2: This "city" containing a triangular gap is considered incomplete, since a city is not completed if it contains a gap. Actually, the picture shows 3 separate incomplete cities.
  6. Interpretation from the Community The scoring of a completed city or road will follow the normal rules and any triangular tiles will be counted as a regular tile.
    Example 1: Red plays the Halfling tile completing his city. He scores 10 points, (2 points for each Halfling tile, 2 points for each of the other tiles, and 2 points for the coat of arms).
    Example 2: Blue plays the Halfling tile completing his road. He scores 5 points (1 point for each Halfling tile and 1 point for each of the other tiles).
  7. Interpretation from the Community Field scoring is affected by the triangular gaps in the landscape. They are not covered explicitly by the rules or later clarifications. If we apply the principle that other features but monasteries are scored as per the usual rules, triangular gaps should interrupt the field continuity and define boundaries.
    Example: As per the interpretation of the rules, the triangular gap in the picture interrupts the field. Therefore...
    • Red and Blue share the field on the left and will score 3 points each for it.
    • Red is alone in the field on the right and will score 3 points for it.
  8. Interpretation from the Community Therefore, monasteries are scored taking into account the spaces occupied by the monastery tile and by tiles (1 or 2) in the adjacent spaces. The number of tiles occupying these spaces is irrelevant. This means that:
    • A completed monastery will always score 9 points during the game
    • An incomplete monastery at the end of the game will score 1 point for the occupied space with the monastery tile and 1 point for each occupied adjacent space.
    Final scoring example: Blue scores 6 points for their monastery:
    • 1 point for the space occupied by the monastery, even if it occupied by two triangular tiles
    • 1 point for each adjacent space occupied by square tiles.
    Red scores 5 points for their monastery:
    • 1 point for the space occupied by the monastery
    • 1 point for the occupied adjacent spaces no matter if they have 1 or 2 triangular tiles or square tiles
  9. Interpretation from the Community The wording has been updated to cover the cases derived from the introduction of Halflings. The original wording only mentioned the 8 adjacent tiles, assuming the rules for square tiles only: "If a monastery is being completed and scored, its owner earns 3 extra points for each vineyard depicted on the 8 tiles surrounding the monastery." With Halflings there may be up to 16 adjacent tiles. Additionally, since there is a half-sized tile with a monastery and another with a vineyard that can be placed together in the same space, this means that there may be vineyards not only on the tiles on adjacent spaces but also on the same space as the monastery. The rules should account for all these case.
    Example 1: Blue scores this monastery on a triangular tile sharing its square space with another triangular tile with a vineyard. Blue receives 12 points (9 for the monastery and 3 for the vineyard).
    Example 2: Blue scores this monastery on a triangular tile with a vineyard on an tile on an adjacent space. Blue receives 12 points (9 for the monastery and 3 for the vineyard).
  10. Official clarification from the publisher The sheep on the tile counts as a "permanent" sheep token every time that a shepherd on the associated field scores its sheep. (11/2014)
  11. Notorious rule difference among editions or publishers We are replacing this sentence with a translation of German version. The English wording is somewhat misleading : "A wolf cannot scatter your flock."
  12. Interpretation from the Community We use a translation of the German rules for clarity. The English wording is this: "Place the triangular crop circle tile according to the rules."
  13. Notorious rule difference among editions or publishers We used a translation of the German rules. The English rules contain a mistranslation stating that:
    "Each player must either...
    A) ... take a meeple from their supply and place it next to another one of their meeples of this kind on the same land tile.
    OR
    B) ... remove one of their meeples of the determined kind from a land tile and put it back into their supply."
  14. Interpretation from the Community The meeple must be placed next to one of your meeple, that is, on the same feature on the same tile.
  15. Interpretation from the Community This is required for the sake of consistency. If the road connected to the bridge loops back and passes under the same bridge, the road underneath would count as two tiles and the one passing over the bridge should have the same number of tiles too. In a nutshell, the number of tiles represented by a bridge has to be aligned with the number of tiles it occupies as each tile is counted once when scoring a road.
  16. Interpretation from the Community According to the interpretation of the rules from 2014, a Little Building on a Halfling tile would have affected both triangular tiles sharing the same square space, since they are counted as one single tile for scoring.