How to Play Petrichor Collector's Pack

1. Game Objective

In Petrichor, players take on the role of clouds manipulating the weather over fields. The main goal is to accumulate the most points by the end of the game. You score by ensuring your water droplets are the majority in the crop fields during the harvest phase, as well as by winning votes on the weather effects that will occur each round. The game lasts four rounds (short game) or six rounds (long game).

2. Setup

1. Fields: Select and arrange the crop tiles in a field layout, according to the number of players. Place a dormant pollen token on each non-special tile and position the bee in the indicated location.
2. Player Components: Each player receives 20 water droplets, 12 voting markers, 2 scoring markers, 1 reference card, and 2 honey tokens.
3. Board: Position the main board and the weather board (with the weather marker in the center). Choose the game duration (4 or 6 rounds) and flip the board to the corresponding side.
4. Cards: Shuffle the action cards (Frost, Sun, Wind, Rain, Grazing) and deal the starting hand according to the number of players.
5. Weather and Dice: Roll the three harvest dice and place them in the harvest area. If using extreme weather events, reveal the top card.
6. Starting Clouds: Starting with the last player and proceeding counter-clockwise, each player places one cloud with one water droplet on an empty field.
7. Powers and Forecast: Distribute the player power cards and the forecast cards according to the setup rules.

3. Game Flow

Each round consists of five consecutive phases:

1. Action Phase: Players play cards to perform actions and vote. The phase ends when a player passes.
2. Climate Phase: The climate is adjusted based on the amount of methane in the clouds.
3. Weather Phase: The two weather effects with the most votes are resolved.
4. Harvest Phase: Crops that have met the requirements are harvested and points are distributed.
5. Cleanup Phase: The round marker advances, the harvest dice are re-rolled, and new cards are dealt.

4. Actions and How to Play

On your turn, you must choose between playing cards or passing.

• Playing Cards: You play a card to perform a card action and place a vote. If no one has passed yet, you may perform a second action by playing two identical cards or one card and spending 2 methane.
• Card Actions:
  • Frost: Creates a light cloud with one of your droplets.
  • Sun: Adds two of your droplets to a cloud where you are already present.
  • Wind: Moves a cloud where you are present to an adjacent space.
  • Rain: Makes it rain one droplet from up to two clouds where you are present.
  • Grazing: Interacts with cows, methane, or fertilizers.
• Voting: When voting, you can: (a) Vote for the weather effect of the card played; (b) Vote for the next weather effect in clockwise order; or (c) Decrease a harvest die to gain points.
• Bee Actions: You can discard a card to move the bee and perform a pollen collection, droplet placement, or honey collection action.

5. End of Game and Scoring

The game ends after the final round (4th or 6th). Final scoring includes:

• Points accumulated on the voting victory track.
• A 12-point bonus for the player (or players) with the most wheat tokens.
• Points based on the ranking of accumulated honey.

The winner is the player with the highest total score. In the event of a tie, the player further ahead on the voting victory track wins.

6. Tips for Winning

• Methane Management: Methane is valuable for performing extra actions (such as replacing cards or boosting rain). Try to control clouds with methane to have resources available at the right time.
• Harvest Synchronization: Monitor the harvest dice. If you notice the harvest is near, focus on securing the majority of droplets in the most valuable fields instead of just accumulating votes.
• Take Advantage of Powers: The player power cards offer asymmetric advantages. Try to adapt your strategy to make the most of the specific ability you chose at the beginning of the game.