Game Objective

In Nova Luna, players take tiles from the Moon Wheel and place them in their own personal display. The goal is to complete specific tasks by arranging tiles of matching colors. The game is a race to place all your tokens on these completed tasks. The first player to place all their tokens wins, or in the event the tiles run out, the player with the fewest remaining tokens takes the victory.

Preparation (Setup)

1. Place the Moon Wheel in the center of the table.
2. Place the Meeple on the space above the golden field of the outer selection track (above the new moon).
3. Shuffle all tiles face down. Randomly draw and place 1 tile face up on each of the 11 remaining spaces of the selection track.
4. Form draw piles with the remaining tiles and place them face down around the Moon Wheel.
5. Each player selects a color and takes 21 tokens of that color. Note: For your first game, it is recommended to use 18 tokens for 3 players and 16 tokens for 4 players.
6. Preliminary Game Order: Each player places 1 token in the middle of the table. The person who slept the latest draws these tokens blindly one by one. The first token drawn is placed at the bottom, the next on top, and so on. This pile is placed on the new moon of the moon track.

Game Flow

The game does not follow a clockwise order. Instead, the moon track determines the turn sequence:

• It is always the turn of the player whose token is furthest back on the moon track.
• If multiple tokens share the rearmost position, the player whose token is at the top of the stack takes their turn.

Actions and How to Play

Taking a Tile

On your turn, you must take a tile. You have access to the next three tiles in clockwise order from the Meeple's position. Empty spaces are ignored and not counted. After taking a tile, place the Meeple on the space from which the tile was taken.

Important: You cannot skip your turn, and any tile taken must be placed immediately.

Filling the Selection Track

• If only one or two tiles remain on the selection track at the start of your turn, you may fill the empty spaces with randomly drawn tiles from the draw piles. Fill the space closest to the Meeple first, moving clockwise.
• If no tiles remain on the selection track, you must fill all empty spaces following the same clockwise order from the Meeple.

Placing Tiles and the Moon Track

Place your first tile in front of you. Every subsequent tile must be placed horizontally or vertically adjacent to a tile already in your display. Tiles are always placed task side face up. You may rotate them as you wish.

Each tile has a number (1–7) at the top left. When you take a tile, you must move your token forward on the moon track by that number of spaces in a clockwise order. If the space is occupied, place your token on top of the existing ones.

Completing Tasks

Tiles have between 0 and 3 tasks. A task is fulfilled if the colors of the adjacent tiles match the colors and frequency required by the task.

• Neighborhood Rules: Only horizontal and vertical adjacency counts; diagonal adjacency is not allowed.
• Color Doubling: A neighboring color counts double if that tile has a neighboring tile of the same color. All connected tiles of the same color are counted together if at least one is adjacent to the task's tile.
• Restriction: The color of the tile on which the task is written never counts toward its own completion.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends in one of two ways:

1. Immediate Win: The first player to place all their tokens on their tiles wins immediately.
2. Tile Depletion: If a player cannot take any more tiles because all tiles have been laid out, the player with the fewest remaining tokens wins.

Tie-breaker: In case of a tie, the player with the fewest remaining tokens who would have taken the next turn wins.

Tips for Winning

• Efficiency: Use tiles with smaller numbers to allow for more actions, as they move your token less on the moon track.
• Synergy: Aim to place tiles in a way that they support each other's tasks, as this allows you to complete multiple tasks with fewer tiles.