Objective of the Game

Welcome to the picturesque lands of East Frisia! In "Fields of Arle," you're not just playing a game; you're stepping into the boots of a flax farmer in the thriving village of Arle. Your ultimate goal? To become the most prosperous farmer by accumulating the most **Victory Points (VP)** over nine half-years. Will you focus on cultivating the finest flax, breeding animals, or reclaiming land from the moor? Perhaps you'll build prestigious structures like the village church, develop a robust vehicle fleet, or establish workshops and inns. Every decision shapes your farm and your path to prosperity. At the end of the game, a single scoring will reveal which player has made the most of their four and a half years in Arle!

Preparation (Setup)

Getting your farm ready for action is a breeze! Here's a step-by-step guide to setting up "Fields of Arle":

1. Attach Stickers: Before your first play, attach the stickers to the 12 **Goods Indicators** and 8 **Workers**. You can also make your white **Cattle tokens** "black pied" with the spot stickers.
2. Place the Supply Board: Position the **Supply Board** between players. Place the depicted tiles on their appropriate spaces as indicated on the board. This includes **Fields**, **Plows and Peat Boats**, **Vehicles**, **Clothing**, **Stalls and Depots**, **Stables and Double Stalls**, and **Forests and Parks**. (Don't worry if your table is small; you can just stack tiles nearby.)
3. Place the Game Board: Place the large **Game Board** next to the **Supply Board**.
4. Half Year Counter: Put the orange **Half Year Counter** on space 1 of the **Half Year Track**.
5. Choose Colors & Tools: Each player chooses a color and takes their round **Tool Indicators**. Place one of each on the leftmost space of the 10 **Tool Tracks** on the **Game Board** (e.g., Fish Traps, Fleshing Beams).
6. Starting Player: Randomly determine the **Starting Player**, who receives the **Starting Player Marker**.
7. Workers on Months: Place 1 **Worker** of each color on each of the spaces "July" to "October" on the **Game Board**, with the **Starting Player's** tokens on top.
8. Distribute Buildings: Place the **Building** tiles on the matching colored spaces on the **Game Board**. If there are more buildings than spaces for a color, randomly select which ones to place and which to remove from the game. For your first game, use the 4 light green **Building** tiles.
9. Home Boards: Each player takes a **Home Board** and places it on their side of the table below the **Supply Board**. Place the depicted components on your **Home Board** as indicated, including certain tiles, 1 **Horse**, 4 **Peat Tokens**, and 6 **Goods Indicators**.
10. Travel Destinations and Barn: Each player also receives a "Travel Destinations and Barn" **Storage Board** and a set of **Travel Destinations** in their player color. Place these **Travel Destinations** on the appropriate spaces of your **Storage Board** (your **Barn** starts empty below them).
11. Overview Sheets: Each player receives an **Overview Sheet** detailing the game's actions.
12. Initial Resources: Each player takes 4 **Wood**, 4 **Clay**, and 3 **Peat**, placing them next to their **Home Board** in their personal supply.
13. Remaining Components: Sort the remaining **Building Materials** (**Wood/Timber** and **Clay/Brick** tiles), as well as the wooden **Animal** and **Peat** tokens, and place them within easy reach.
14. Scoring Pad: The **Scoring Pad** won't be needed until the end of the game.

The Turn of Play

A game of "Fields of Arle" unfolds over nine half-years, alternating between summer and winter. Each half-year consists of three exciting phases:

Phase 1: Preparations

At the beginning of each new half-year (except the very first, as workers are already placed), you'll reset your **Workers**. Place 4 **Workers** on the four **Month Spaces** ("July" to "October" for Summer, "January" to "April" for Winter), with the **Starting Player's** workers on top. The **Starting Player Marker** can change hands via a "Special Action" during the **Work Phase**.

Phase 2: Work Phase

This is where the magic happens! Players take turns placing their **Workers** on empty **Action Spaces** of the current half-year.

• Worker Placement: You'll take your **Workers** from left to right off the **Month Spaces**. In each month, the **Starting Player** goes first.
• Seasonal Actions: Be mindful of the seasons! **Summer Action Spaces** are only available in odd-numbered half-years, and **Winter Action Spaces** in even-numbered ones. There are 15 different **Action Spaces** to choose from each half-year.
• Immediate Actions: As soon as you place a **Worker** on an **Action Space**, you immediately carry out the corresponding action.
• Blocked Spaces: Each **Action Space** can only be occupied by a single **Worker** until the end of the current **Work Phase**.
• Passing: You're not forced to place a **Worker**! You can remove a **Worker** from its **Month Space** and do nothing on your turn if you wish.
• The Laborer: This special **Action Space** allows you to use an already occupied **Action Space** again, as long as it belongs to the current half-year.
• Costs: Spaces with a white/blue Frisian pattern on the **Game Board** indicate costs. You must pay the depicted goods to:
  • Get the **Building** below that space.
  • Move one of your **Tool Indicators** one space to the right.
  • Use the action on that **Action Space**.
  Important: You can always pay **Timber** instead of **Wood** and **Brick** instead of **Clay**.
• Special Action: Once per half-year, one of your 8 **Workers** can use an **Action Space** from the *opposite* season (e.g., a Summer action in Winter). If you do this, your opponent receives the **Starting Player Marker** for the next half-year. If no one uses this, the marker changes hands automatically.
• Anytime Actions: You can perform these actions at any point during the **Work Phase**, even after placing all your **Workers**:
  • Load Vehicles: Load your **Vehicles** with **Building Materials** (to upgrade to **Timber/Bricks**), **Fabrics** (to upgrade to **Clothing**), or **Travel Destination Tiles** (to receive **Food**).
  • Rearrange Animals: Move your **Animals** around your **Home Board** according to the **Animal Husbandry** rules.
  • Peat Boat Exchange: If you own a **Peat Boat**, you can exchange **Peat** for goods on the **Goods Track** at a 1:1 ratio, any number of times.

Phase 3: Inventorying

The **Work Phase** ends when all 8 **Workers** have been used and both players declare the end of the phase. This happens in November (after a Summer/Fall half-year) and May (after a Winter/Spring half-year). You'll then take stock of your belongings:

1. Empty Vehicles:
   • Place **Timber**, **Bricks**, and **Clothing** from your **Vehicles** into your personal supply.
   • Place **Travel Destination Tiles** from your **Vehicles** face down on your **Travel Experience Track** (on your **Home Board**). The first tile goes at the bottom, and subsequent tiles are placed above, indicating your **Travel Experience VP**.
2. Milking (November only): Receive **Food** based on the number of **Sheep** and **Cattle** on your **Home Board** (up to 6 **Food** total).
3. Harvest (November only): Receive 1 **Grain** per **Grain Field** and 1 **Flax** per **Flax Field** on your **Home Board**. Also, receive 1 **Wood** per **Forest** (not **Parks**).
4. Baby Animals (May only): **Animals** breed!
   • In each **Stall** with exactly 2 **Animals** of the same type, receive a third **Animal**.
   • In each **Stable** with 2, 3, or 5 **Animals** of the same type, receive another **Animal**.
   • In **Stables** with exactly 4 **Animals** of the same type, receive 2 **Animals**.
   • **Double Stalls** count as two separate **Stalls**.
5. Shearing (May only): Receive **Wool** based on the number of **Sheep** on your **Home Board** (up to 3 **Wool** total). Newborn **Sheep** count!
6. Sustenance:
   • November: Pay 3 **Food** and 2 **Peat** (as fuel for winter). If you're short on **Food**, pay 1 **Grain** instead. If out of **Grain**, pay 1 **Animal** per missing **Food**. If short on **Peat**, pay 1 **Wood** (or **Timber**) instead. Missing items cost 2 **VP** each.
   • May: Pay 3 **Food**. If short, pay 1 **Grain** instead. If out of **Grain**, pay 1 **Animal** per missing **Food**. Missing **Food** costs 2 **VP**.

After **Inventorying**, move the orange **Half Year Counter** forward and begin the next half-year.

End of Game and Scoring

The game concludes after a total of nine half-years, specifically after the November **Inventorying** of the last Summer half-year. Your **Animals** won't breed anymore. Before final scoring, if you own a **Peat Boat**, you can use it to exchange any remaining **Peat** for other goods that might provide **Victory Points** on the **Goods Track**. Use the **Scoring Pad** to tally your **Victory Points** in the following categories:

1. Clothing Tiles and Building Materials:
   • **Bricks**, **Linen**, **Woolen**, and **Leather** are each worth 1 **VP**.
   • **Summer Wear**, **Winter Wear**, and **Leather Wear** are each worth 2 **VP**.
   • Each **Timber** is worth ½ **VP** (do not round).
2. Equipment in the Barn: Add up the **VP** from your **Plows**, **Peat Boats**, and **Vehicles**. Subtract 3 **VP** unless you have at least one **Large Vehicle** in your **Barn**.
3. Travel Experience: The first empty space (from the bottom) on your **Travel Experience Track** indicates your **VP** for traveling (up to 10 **VP**).
4. Tools: Add up the **VP** from your **Tools** on the 10 **Tool Tracks** on the **Game Board**.
5. Goods Track:
   • Each **Goods Indicator** on space 15 is worth 3 **VP**.
   • On spaces 11-14, 2 **VP**.
   • On spaces 7-10, 1 **VP**.
   You can distribute your **Food** between your two **Food Goods Indicators** to optimize **VP**. If you have a **Depot**, double the total **VP** in this category (only once).
6. VP on Home Board: Add up **VP** from your **Buildings**, **Stalls**, **Stables**, **Forests**, and **Parks**. Subtract 4 **VP** for each hydrated **Moor Section**, 1 **VP** for each dehydrated **Moor Section**, and 1 **VP** for each **Tidal Flat Space** (of the top row) left on your **Home Board**.
7. Animals on Home Board: This is a unique scoring category!
   • Each **Animal** of the type you have the *least* of is worth 2 **VP**.
   • Each **Animal** of the type you have the *second least* of is worth 1 **VP**.
   • **Animals** of the third type are not worth any **VP**.
   (Animals used to acquire **Plows** and **Vehicles** do not count here.)
8. Supply Bottlenecks: This category tracks **VP** losses from missing **Food** and **Fuel** during **Inventorying**. No additional **VP** are lost here during final scoring.

The player with the most **Victory Points** wins! In case of a tie, the player who would be the **Starting Player** in a hypothetical 10th half-year breaks the tie.

Tips for Winning

To truly thrive in Arle, consider these strategies:

1. Balance Your Animal Husbandry: The scoring for **Animals** heavily rewards diversity. Aim to have a relatively even number of **Sheep**, **Cattle**, and **Horses** to maximize their **VP**. Don't just focus on one type!
2. Strategic Land Reclamation: Both **Dike Building** and **Cutting Peat** grant you valuable **Land Spaces** for expansion. Prioritize these actions early to open up more opportunities for **Fields**, **Stalls**, and **Buildings**. Remember, unfinished **Dikes** and hydrated **Moor Sections** cost **VP** at the end of the game!
3. Tool Upgrades are Key: Many actions, especially those involving resource collection and conversion, scale with the number of **Tools** you possess. Investing in **Tool Indicators** via the **Master** action can significantly boost your efficiency throughout the game.