How to Play Collect

Game Objective

In Trickerion: Legends of Illusion – Big Box, players take on the role of illusionists competing to become the greatest magician of all time. The main objective is to be the first player to claim a Full Crown, which means winning the game.

To do this, players must collect and arrange Animal cards in a row in front of them, using the Abilities of the Animals to form Alliances of 4 identical cards. Each time a player forms an Alliance, they gain a Half Crown. The game ends when a player achieves two Half Crowns or the Full Crown.

Preparation (Setup)

To set up the game, follow the steps below:

1. Shuffle all 64 cards and divide them approximately into 2 face-down piles, forming 2 decks.
2. Place both decks in the center of the table, within reach of all players.
3. Place the Crown tokens (3 Half Crowns and 1 Full Crown) next to the decks.
4. Randomly choose a starting player. Turns proceed clockwise.

Game Flow

The game progresses in turns clockwise, with each player performing the following actions on their turn:

1. Draw an Animal Card: The player chooses 1 of the 2 decks and reveals the top card to everyone. Then, they must choose one of the following options:
   • Keep the revealed card.
   • Or, place the card back face-down on top of either deck, then reveal the top card of the other deck and keep it.
2. Play an Animal Card: The player plays the revealed card and places it on the left or right end of their row. On a player's first turn, they simply place the card in front of them.
3. Use Animal Ability (Optional): If the played card has an Ability, the player may choose to activate it immediately.
4. End of Turn: Check if an Alliance has been formed. If not, the next player continues clockwise.

A round ends immediately if, at the end of the active player's turn, they have formed an Alliance. As a reward, they claim a Half Crown token or the Full Crown token. Then, a new round begins, all cards are re-shuffled, and the next player in turn order is the first to play.

Actions and How to Play

During their turn, a player performs the following actions:

Draw an Animal Card

The player chooses one of the two decks and reveals the top card to everyone. Then, they have two options:

• Keep the revealed card: The card is added to the player's hand.
• Swap the card: The player places the revealed card back face-down on top of either deck. Then, they reveal the top card of the other deck and keep it.

Play an Animal Card

The drawn card is played and placed on the left or right end of the player's row. On a player's first turn, the card is simply placed in front of them to start the row.

Use Animal Ability (Optional)

If the played card possesses an Ability, the player may choose to activate it immediately. The Animal Abilities are:

• Crocodile: Choose a card from any player's row. Place it at the bottom of any deck. Close any gap, if necessary.
• Crab: Choose any player's row (including your own). Move any card left or right any number of spaces.
• Monkey: Swap this card with any card in any player's row.
• Hermit Crab: Take another turn if this row contains at least 1 Crab (or 1 Chameleon).
• Lion: Win the round if this row contains 7 different cards (including this Lion).
• Octopus: Win the round if there are 3 different pairs of cards in this row. Pairs do not all need to be connected. It is possible to have 2 Octopuses as part of the 3 pairs.
• Parrot: Declare an Animal, then reveal 1 card from the top of any deck. If it is the declared Animal, play the card (you may choose to activate its Ability). If not, place the card back into any deck. A Chameleon counts as any Animal. If a player reveals a Chameleon this way, it is considered the declared Animal and must be added to their row.
• Chameleon: This card counts as any Animal in the row. If the row has 2 Chameleons, you must immediately place both at the bottom of any deck.

Forming an Alliance

A round ends immediately if, at the end of the active player's turn, they have formed an Alliance. This can occur in two ways:

• The player created an Alliance of 4 identical adjacent Animal cards. For example: 4 adjacent Crabs, or 3 Crabs and an adjacent Chameleon (the Chameleon counts as a wild card when in a player's row).
• The player created an Alliance based on an Animal Ability. For example: a player has 3 pairs in their row. With the continuous Octopus Ability, they win the round.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a player claims the Full Crown.

The victory condition is as follows:

• Any player who forms an Alliance immediately ends the round and claims a Half Crown (if any are remaining). Then, a new round begins. All cards are re-shuffled, and the next player in turn order is the first to play.
• If there are no more Half Crowns remaining, the round winner takes the Full Crown instead.
• The first player to claim 2 Half Crowns or the Full Crown wins the game.

In 2v2 Mode, the first player to get 2 Half Crowns or the Full Crown wins the game for their team. Teammates must sit opposite each other at the table.

Tips for Winning

• Anticipating where you place your card can aid in game strategy.
• Carefully consider using Animal Abilities, as they can change the course of the round or even the game. For example, the Crocodile's Ability can disrupt an opponent's row, while the Hermit Crab's can grant a valuable extra turn.