How to Play Project L

Objective of the Game

Welcome to the world of **Project L**! Get ready to build an awesome engine, upgrade your **pieces**, and perfect your strategy to become the ultimate puzzle master. In this game, your goal is simple yet engaging: strategically complete **puzzles** using your ever-growing collection of **pieces** to earn as many **points** as you can. The player with the most **points** at the end of the game wins! It's all about efficiency, smart planning, and making those satisfying "click" moments as your **pieces** perfectly fill a **puzzle**.

Preparation (Setup)

Getting started with **Project L** is a breeze. Here’s a step-by-step guide to set up your game:

1. First, gather all the **white puzzles** and shuffle them to create a face-down **white puzzle deck**.
2. Next, prepare the **black puzzle deck**. The number of **black puzzles** depends on your player count:
   • 2 players: 12 **black puzzles**
   • 3 players: 14 **black puzzles**
   • 4 players: 16 **black puzzles**
   • 5 players: 20 **black puzzles**
   Shuffle these and create a face-down **black puzzle deck**.
3. Place both **puzzle decks** in the middle of the table. Then, draw four **puzzles** from each deck and place them face-up in a row next to their respective decks. This creates your public offer of **puzzles**.
4. Create a general **reserve of pieces** within easy reach of all players. This is where all the available **pieces** will reside.
5. Each player starts with a small but mighty arsenal: a **level-1 piece** and a **level-2 piece**. Add these to your personal supply.
6. Finally, everyone randomly picks a **player mat**. One of these mats will have a **first player marker** on it, determining who kicks off the game!

The Game Turn

Once setup is complete, players take turns in a clockwise order, starting with the **first player**. On your turn, you get to perform **three actions**. The best part? You can repeat actions, so feel free to specialize or diversify as needed! Here are the actions you can choose from:

• Take a puzzle from one of the rows: Grab any face-up **puzzle** from either the white or black row and place it in front of you. Immediately replace the taken **puzzle** with a new one from its corresponding **puzzle deck**. Remember, you can only have a maximum of 4 unfinished **puzzles** in front of you at any time.
• Take a level-1 piece from the reserve: Expand your toolkit! Take any **level-1 piece** from the general **reserve** and add it to your personal supply.
• Upgrade a piece in your supply: This is how you get those bigger, more powerful **pieces**! Return one of your **pieces** to the general **reserve** and take a new **piece** that is 1 **level** higher.
  • If there are no **pieces** in the **reserve** that are 1 **level** higher (regardless of shape), you can skip to the next available **level**.
  • Alternatively, instead of upgrading to a higher **level piece**, you can exchange your **piece** for one of the same **level** (but a different shape) or a lower **level piece**.
• Place a piece on one of your puzzles: The core of the game! Take a **piece** from your supply and place it onto one of your unfinished **puzzles**. You can flip or rotate the **piece** to make it fit perfectly within the recessed area, ensuring it doesn't overlap with other **pieces**. Once a **piece** is placed, it's locked in – you cannot move or take it back until that **puzzle** is fully completed.
• Master Action (once per turn): This powerful action lets you place up to one **piece** on *each* **puzzle** in front of you. All **pieces** you wish to place must be in your supply at the start of this action. You can only use this action once per turn.

Completing Puzzles

A **puzzle** is completed the moment its recessed area is entirely filled with your **pieces**. When this happens, after you finish the action that led to its completion:

1. Take all the **pieces** from the **puzzle** back into your supply. They're ready to be used again!
2. Place the completed **puzzle** on your **victory point pile**, making sure the **points** it's worth are visible.
3. Collect the reward shown on the **puzzle** – typically a new **piece** from the **reserve** to add to your supply.

End of Game and Scoring

The game keeps going until a specific event triggers the endgame.

Endgame Trigger

The endgame begins once the **black puzzle deck** runs out. Even if the deck is empty, there will still be four **black puzzles** available in the row.

Final Rounds

Once the endgame is triggered, finish the current round so that every player has had an equal number of turns. After that, play one final, complete round.

Finishing Touches

After the final round concludes, all players get one last chance to work on any **puzzles** they didn't complete during the game. This is called **Finishing Touches**:

• You can place any number of **pieces** from your supply onto your unfinished **puzzles**.
• However, for each **piece** you place this way, you must deduct 1 **point** from your final score.
• If you manage to complete any **puzzles** during **Finishing Touches**, add them to your **victory point pile**, but you do *not* collect any additional rewards (like new **pieces**) for these.

Final Scoring

Time to crown the champion!

1. Count the total **points** on all the **puzzles** in your **victory point pile**.
2. Deduct **points** for any **Finishing Touches** you made (1 **point** per **piece** placed).
3. The player with the most **points** wins the game!

Tie-Breakers

If there's a tie for the highest score:

1. The player who has completed more **puzzles** wins.
2. If there's still a tie, the player with more **pieces** in their supply wins.
3. If the tie persists, all tied players share the victory. You're all awesome!

Tips for Winning

Ready to dominate the puzzle board? Here are a few pointers to get you started:

1. Engine Building is Key: Don't just focus on completing **puzzles** immediately. Prioritize actions that let you gain new **level-1 pieces** or **upgrade** your existing **pieces**. A robust supply of diverse **pieces** will allow you to complete more complex and higher-scoring **puzzles** efficiently later in the game. Think of your **pieces** as your engine – the more powerful it is, the faster you'll churn out completed **puzzles**!
2. Balance Puzzle Acquisition and Completion: While it's tempting to grab all the high-point **puzzles**, remember you can only have 4 unfinished **puzzles** at a time. Strategically pick **puzzles** that you can realistically complete with your current **piece** supply, or those that offer valuable **piece** rewards that will help you complete other **puzzles**. Don't overextend yourself with too many difficult **puzzles** early on.
3. Master Action for Efficiency: The **Master Action** is incredibly powerful for clearing multiple **puzzles** simultaneously or making significant progress on several at once. Try to set up your board so you have several **puzzles** that only need one more **piece** (or a few small **pieces**) to be completed, then unleash the **Master Action** to make a big splash! Using this action effectively can save you precious turns.