How to Play Dorfromantik: The Duel

Game Objective

In Dorfromantik: The Duel, players compete to build the best landscapes in their individual play areas. The goal is to complete the inhabitants' Tasks, create the longest continuous Tracks and Rivers, and not forget the Flags. The player who best achieves these objectives, scoring the most points, will win the game.

Preparation (Setup)

1. First, players must decide who will play with which color (red or blue).
2. One of the players (the "face-down player") must shuffle their colored Landscape Tiles and Task Tiles separately, forming two different face-down piles in front of them.
3. This same player must return 3 Landscape Tiles to the box without looking.
4. Then, this player must shuffle their 24 Task Markers (excluding the Double Task Markers) and place them face-down, organized by Task type. Finally, they must add the 3 Double Task Markers.
5. The other player (the "face-up player") must organize all their Landscape and Task Tiles face-up in front of them, allowing both players to see them clearly. It may be helpful to organize the tiles by Task type and by predominant Landscape.
6. This second player must place the 27 Task Markers, face-up and organized by Task type, next to the Task Tiles.
7. Both players must ensure they have enough space to play their tiles.
8. Set the score pad aside. It will only be needed at the end of the game.
9. Leave the components of the additional Modules in the box during your first game.

Game Flow

The game proceeds in alternating turns between players. Each turn:

1. The face-down player must reveal a new tile (either Landscape or Task).
2. The other player must find their corresponding tile among their face-up tiles.
3. Both players must place the tiles in their respective play areas, following the placement rules.

The decision to reveal a Landscape Tile or a Task Tile follows these rules:

• In the first 3 turns of the game: Reveal 1 Task Tile. Whenever a Task Tile is revealed, immediately reveal 1 corresponding Task marker. The other player chooses the same Task marker from theirs. Each must place their Task marker on their Task Tile and place it in their play area.
• In subsequent turns: Check how many Task markers are in each play area:
  • A) If one or both players have fewer than 3 Task markers, reveal 1 new Task Tile and place it with a corresponding Task marker in your play area, following the placement rules.
  • B) If there are 3 (or more) Task markers in both play areas, reveal 1 new Landscape Tile and place it in your play area following the placement rules.

Don't forget: before revealing the next tile, check if there are fewer than 3 Task markers in at least one play area.

If the pile of Task tiles runs out, players can no longer place Task tiles. The game continues, placing only Landscape tiles until the end of the game.

Actions and How to Play

Tile Placement

The basic rule for placing tiles is:

• All of each player's tiles must always be placed to maintain a single connected group of tiles. This means you must place each new tile with at least 1 of its 6 edges touching the edge of another tile in your play area.

There are only 2 more placement rules:

• Tracks and Rivers must always be connected with edges of their own type. It is not possible to connect an edge with a River to an edge without a River (you can start multiple disconnected Tracks or Rivers).
• The edges of tiles with Forest, Grain, Village, and the neutral grass can be connected as desired. It is not necessary to match these edge types.

You can place Task tiles in a territory that already has 1 or more Task tiles, with or without a Task marker.

You cannot place a Task tile in such a way that the territory (or Track, River, and Connection Task) is formed by more tiles at the time of placement than the value of the Task marker. You also cannot use a Task tile to close a territory, Track, or River if this creates a territory smaller than the value of the Task marker (closing means leaving no open edges to expand a territory with more tiles).

In a later turn, you can add tiles to a territory, Track, or River, even if this exceeds the number of tiles required by any already placed Task marker. In this case, the Task marker is canceled and must be returned to the box without scoring. Tasks will also be canceled if, in a later turn, you close a territory, Track, or River in such a way that it has fewer tiles than required by the Task marker.

When placing a tile, you can complete more than 1 Task marker at the same time.

Completing Tasks

Each Task marker displays a number: 3, 4, 5, or 6. This number indicates how many tiles (Landscape tiles, Task tiles, or Special tiles, if Module 2 is used) the corresponding territory or Track/River must have for the Task marker to be considered complete (a territory is formed by tiles of one Landscape type connected by matching edges).

• Double Tasks are considered complete when any 1 of the two indicated territories has exactly 6 tiles. A Double Task can only be canceled if neither of the two indicated territories can be completed.
• Connection Tasks: A Connection Task marker is considered complete when there is a number of tiles connected to it equal to the number indicated on the Connection Task marker. The Connection Task tile itself does not count. A Connection Task can never be canceled.

It is possible to complete Task markers immediately when playing them in your play area. When completing a Task marker, place it face-up next to your play area. At the end of the game, Task markers are a source of points.

Flags

Each player has 6 Landscape tiles with flags (3 different colors, 2 of each color: green for Forest, yellow for Grain, red for Village). When placing a tile with a Flag, follow the same placement rules. At the end of the game, you only receive points for Flags in territories that have been closed (territories that do not have an open edge).

Module 1: The Task Cards

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Module 2: Points of Interest

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends as soon as you need to reveal a Landscape tile and there are no more available. If there are still Task tiles that have not been revealed or placed, they will not be used in this game.

If a Task is completed or canceled with the last Landscape tile, you must check the play areas. The game continues if there are fewer than 3 Task markers in any of the play areas. You must continue revealing and placing new Task tiles until both play areas have a minimum of 3 Task markers.

After meeting the above condition, players must calculate their points using the score pad:

1. Tasks: For each type of completed Task, sum the values of the markers and write the total in the corresponding fields (Forest Tasks, Grain Tasks, Village Tasks, Track Tasks, River Tasks, Connection Tasks, Double Tasks). Sum all these values and fill in the “Subtotal” field.
2. Flags: Check each Flag in your play area. For each Flag in a closed territory, you will receive 1 point for each tile that makes up that territory. Write the points received in the corresponding fields (Green Flags A, Yellow Flags B, Red Flags C).
3. Longest River and Longest Track: Count the number of tiles in your longest Track and your longest River. All tiles with uninterrupted connected Tracks or Rivers count as part of the same Track or River. Write the number of tiles forming the longest Track D and the longest River E in the corresponding fields. Also write the sum of the Flag, Longest Track, and Longest River points in the other “Subtotal F” field.
4. Modules: If playing with Modules 1 and/or 2, sum the points received from each and write them in the corresponding fields.
5. Subtotal: Refer to the manual for details on this section.
6. Name: Refer to the manual for details on this section.
7. Result: Refer to the manual for details on this section.

At the end of the game, players count their points individually, and the one with the highest score is the winner.

Tips for Winning

• Pay attention to the Task markers you and your opponent have. The rule for revealing Task Tiles or Landscape Tiles depends on the number of Task markers in play, which can influence your building strategy.
• Plan the closing of territories with Flags. Points for Flags are only awarded if they are in completely closed territories, and scoring is based on the size of the territory.
• Manage your Tasks carefully. Avoid placing tiles in a way that cancels already placed Task markers, especially Double Tasks and Connection Tasks, which have specific cancellation rules.