Game Objective

In Acuarella, you take on the role of an artist invited to paint stray cats. The goal is to earn as many points as possible by positioning Cat Pieces (polyominoes) on your board. By combining colors, you generate Pigments, which grant points. Additionally, you must try to fill your entire board to avoid penalties and, at the end, assemble extra cats to score additional points.

Setup

1. Each player receives a Personal Board, a wooden Kitten, and a Support Card.
2. Shuffle the Opportunity Cards and place them in a face-down pile.
3. Place the Cat Photos and Trophies within everyone's reach.
4. Position the Playmat on the table and place the Pigments on it.
5. Place the Cat Pieces in the cloth bag and mix them.
6. Draw 8 random Cat Pieces from the bag and form a row next to the number track on the Playmat (one piece for each number).
7. Position the Catotem in the middle of the row. This divides the pieces into two groups:
   • Available Cat Pieces: the pieces the Catotem is facing.
   • Replacement Cat Pieces: the pieces behind the Catotem.

Note for 2 players: remove 1 Opportunity Card of each type before shuffling.

Game Flow

The game is played in turns clockwise. The first player is the one who most recently petted a cat.

• First Turn: The first player draws a random Cat Piece from the bag and positions it on their board.
• Following Turns: On your turn, the player must choose 1 Available Cat Piece from the row and position it on their board.
• Requirement: No player may "pass"; you are required to play as long as there are pieces that can be positioned on your board.

Actions and How to Play

Positioning Pieces

• First Piece: Must touch one of the board's edges.
• Other Pieces: May be positioned anywhere, as long as they are within the marked grid.
• Movement Rule: Once positioned, pieces cannot be moved.

Combining Cats and Generating Pigments

To generate Pigments, pieces must touch in one of two ways:

• (A) Along 2 or more adjacent sides.
• (B) Along a single side for at least 2 consecutive grid squares.

When the union is valid, a Pigment of the generated color (according to the Color Palette on the Support Card) is placed in the middle of the union. It is possible to earn more than one Pigment in the same turn if the positioned piece creates multiple valid combinations.

Replacing Pieces

When choosing an Available Cat Piece, you replace it with the piece of the same number located on the Replacement side (behind the Catotem). The empty space in the replacement area is filled with a random piece from the bag.

Opportunity Cards and Bones

• Bones: If you cover the Bones printed on the board with pieces of the same color, you draw 1 Opportunity Card for each bone covered.
• Using Cards: You may play only one card per turn. Cards with "IMMEDIATE EFFECT" can be used as soon as they are drawn; others can be used starting from the next turn.
• Cat Photos: For every 4 Pigments collected (of any color, including wildcards), you earn 1 Cat Photo. You may place the Cat Photo in any empty space on your board to avoid penalties or help earn Trophies.

Types of Opportunity Cards

• Psychic Cat: Try to guess the color of a piece from the bag; if correct, choose any piece from the bag for the turn.
• Purring Cat: Allows you to take up to 2 Wildcard Tokens (gray) for unions that did not generate pigments.
• Jealous Cat: Steal a Pigment that you do not possess from the player with the most pigments.
• Stubborn Cat: Allows you to choose a piece from the Replacement side.
• Cat Parade: Changes the direction of the Catotem, swapping the Available and Replacement pieces.
• Guardian Cat: Replaces the 4 Available pieces with 4 new ones from the bag.
• Stray Cat (Immediate Effect): Reserves a piece from the row for mandatory use on the next turn.
• Hairball (Immediate Effect): Exchange this card for one from the discard pile.

End of Game and Scoring

End Game Trigger

The game ends when a player cannot position any of the Available Cat Pieces due to lack of space or a full board. The other players have a maximum of 2 final turns to play.

Point Counting

1. Pigments:
   • Warm Pigments: 3 points.
   • Cool Pigments: 2 points.
   • Gray Pigments (Wildcards): 1 point.
2. Trophies: Awarded to the first three players who fill their board completely:
   • 1st place: 3 points.
   • 2nd place: 2 points.
   • 3rd place: 1 point.
3. Penalties: Subtract 1 point for each empty space on the board.
4. Assembling Cats: After the scoring above, use the Assembly Guide to assemble cats with the pieces obtained. Each assembled cat grants 1 extra point.

Victory: The player with the highest total score wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most Cat Photos wins. If the tie persists, the player who best imitates a cat's meow wins.

Tips for Winning

• Avoid incompatible colors: Keep an eye on the Color Palette to avoid joining colors that do NOT generate Pigments (such as green-red or blue-orange).
• Use Cat Photos strategically: Place your Cat Photos in empty spaces to avoid the -1 point penalty and make it easier to win a Trophy.
• Plan Bone coverage: Prioritize covering the Bones with the corresponding color to obtain Opportunity Cards, which can change the course of the match.