Story of Songbirds

With the rising sun, the songbirds sing. They call to their
mates and declare their territory. In this bountiful forest,
only the loudest songbirds singing their beautiful songs will
claim the ripest berries.
Overview
You are a forest spirit, helping your favorite songbird color
prosper in secret. Each turn you'll play one songbird with
a specific volume (number) from your hand into the forest
(play area). The loudest color of songbird in each row and
column of the forest earns delicious berries (victory points).
Your favorite songbird will also win you points equal to its
volume. The forest spirit with the most points wins the game!
Components and Concepts
28 Songbird Cards
The Songbird cards are songbirds that
you play into the forest. There are four
songbird colors: Red , Blue ,
Green , and White . Each color
has cards numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
back
and 7. This value represents the
front
volume of the card.
10 Berry Tokens
Berry tokens represent
victory points equal to the
value written on the token.
You should have tokens with
x2 x2
the following values: 15, 12,
12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 7, 6, and 5.

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 2 Score Cards
Place Berry tokens on
top of these cards to
keep track of how many
berries each color of
songbird collects.
2 Special Cards
These cards are not considered
Songbird cards and are only used
in a 4-player game. Crow and
Hawk are each two separate
sides on one card. Hummingbird
and Mockingbird are each two
Crow and Hawk Hummingbird and
Mockingbird separate sides on one card. See
"Four Player Rules" on page 7.
5 Special Berry Tokens
These Special Berry tokens also represent
victory points equal to the value written on
the token. These tokens are double-sided
(negative values on one side and positive
values on the other) and are only used in a
4-player game. You should have tokens with
x2 the following values: 2/-2, 3/-3, 4/-4, 4/-4,
and 5/-5. See "Four Player Rules" on page 7.

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 Basic Setup
For a 2- or 3-player game:
Shuffle all 10 Berry
tokens face-down. Place
5 in a column, then
place the remaining 5 in
a row using the top left
corner of the play area
as a guide. Flip all the
Berry tokens face-up.
The 25 spaces (5 x 5
grid) where the Berry
tokens intersect create
the forest.
Place the 2 Score cards
above the forest.
Leave the 2 Special
cards in the box. Shuffle
the Songbird cards.
Draw 1 card and place it face-up in the center space.
In a 2-player game, deal 13 cards to each player. In a
3-player game, deal 9 cards to each player. This is each
player's hand. (Note: In a 2-player game, place the 1
remaining card aside, face-down. Do not look at the card.
It will not be used.)
The last player to win a game (of anything!) will be the
starting player. Begin the game!
See "Four Player Rules" on page 7 for
4-player setup and rules. See "Solo
Variant" on page 10 for solo setup
and rules.

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 Game Play
Beginning with the starting player and proceeding
clockwise, each player takes
a turn placing 1 card from
their hand to an open space
in the forest. You must place
the card so that it touches the
top, bottom or side of a card
already in the forest.
Players continue to take turns,
only pausing to award Berry
tokens (see "Scoring" below),
until all 25 spaces in the forest
have been filled. All players Example: You can place a
should have 1 card left in card in one of the seven
their hand. The songbird left spaces highlighted in yellow.
in your hand is your favored
songbird and is used to calculate your score. See "End
Game" on page 7.
Scoring
During game play, when all 5 spaces of a row or column
contain a card, the loudest songbird color in that row or
column is immediately awarded the associated Berry token.
The Berry token above a column is awarded to the loudest
songbird color in that column. The Berry token to the left of
a row is awarded to the loudest songbird color in that row.
To determine which songbird color is loudest, add up the
volume (number value) of all cards in each color in a given
column or row. Then, compare the total volume to the
other songbird colors in that same column or row. The
songbird color with the highest total volume is the loudest,
and is awarded the Berry token.
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 Example: Above, the White 5 and White 1 give White a total
volume of 6. The Red 2 and Red 3 give Red a total volume of 5.
There is only one Blue 2. Therefore, White is the loudest color.
If there is a tie, all tied songbird colors cancel each other out.
The token is awarded to the next loudest songbird color.

Example: Above, Green, Red, and Blue are all tied and their
volume cancels out. White is awarded the Berry token.
If volumes all match and/or cancel each other out, the Berry
token is not awarded to any color and is instead discarded.

Example: Above, White and Green are tied and cancel each
other out. Blue and Red are tied and cancel each other out. No
songbird color is awarded the 7 Berry token and it is discarded.
Place awarded Berry tokens on the illustration of the songbird
located on the Score cards. In this way, you'll be able to easily
count up the accumulated value of all Berry tokens.
End Game
The game ends when all 25 spaces in the forest are filled.
After awarding the final Berry tokens, each player reveals
their favored songbird. You score victory points equal to the
volume of your favored songbird and the total value of all
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Berry tokens of your favored songbird color's illustration on
the Score card.
It is possible for another player to have the same favored
songbird color as you. If you favor the same songbird color,
the same calculation applies.
Example: The Red songbird color wins 27 points. You reveal
a Red 3 as your favored songbird. Your score is 30 (27 + 3).
Another player reveals a Red 2. Their score is 29 (27 + 2).
The player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, the
player with the loudest favored songbird wins. If you are still
tied, then the tied players share the victory. Play again!
Four Player Rules
In a 4-player game you must play with 1 of the Special
cards. You may freely choose any of the sides of the Special
cards. After selecting a Special card and the side, follow the
setup instructions below.
All other rules are unchanged in a 4-player game.
Four Player Setup
Follow the basic setup instructions. In step , instead of
drawing and placing a card, place the Special card you
selected in the center of the forest, then place the Special
Berry tokens that match the numbers on the Special card.
In step , deal each player 7 cards.
Scoring
Special cards give positive or negative points in the form of
Special Berry tokens to songbird colors according to their
volume and position in the center column and center row.
During game play, when the spaces noted to award
a Special Berry token are filled, the Special Berry
token is awarded before play continues. Place
the Special Berry token on the illustration of
the songbird color on the Score card.
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Scoring the Crow
During Scoring, the loudest songbird color in the 2 spaces
above, below, to the left, and to the right of the Crow is
awarded a Special Berry token. The Special Berry token
awarded is relative to the position of the songbirds around
the Crow.

Example: Above, if the Crow was in the center space, Green

would receive the "-2" Special Berry token for being loudest
color above the Crow (Green 6, Red 2). Green would receive the
-4 Special Berry token for being loudest to the right (Green total
5). No color would receive the -5 Special Berry token because
Red and Green are tied below the Crow (Red 7, Green 7). Blue
would receive the -3 Special Berry token for being the loudest to
the left (Blue total 5).

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Scoring the Hawk
During Scoring, the loudest songbird color above and to the
right receives a "-4" Special Berry token, and the loudest
songbird color below and to the left receives a "-4" Special
Berry token.
Example: Using the image on page 8, if the Hawk was in the
center space, Green would receive a "-4" Special Berry token for
being loudest above and to the right of the Hawk (Green total
11, Red 2). Red and Green are tied, so Blue would receive a "-4"
Special Berry token for being loudest below and to the left of
the Hawk (Red 7, Green 7, Blue total 5).
Scoring the Hummingbird
During Scoring, the Hummingbird scores similar to the
Crow, but awards Special Berry tokens to the quietest
songbird color in the 2 spaces above, below, to the left, and
to the right of it.
Example: Using the image on page 8, if the Hummingbird was
in the center space, Red would receive the "2" Special Berry
token for being quietest above the Hummingbird (Green 6, Red
2). Green would receive the "4" Special Berry token for being
quietest to the right (Green total 5). No color would receive the
"5" Special Berry token because Red and Green are tied below
the Hummingbird (Red 7, Green 7). Blue would receive the "3"
Special Berry token for being quietest to the left (Blue total 5).
Scoring the Mockingbird
During Scoring, the Mockingbird scores similar to the Hawk,
but awards a Special Berry token to the quietest songbird
color above and to the right of it, and a Special Berry token
to the quietest songbird color below and to the left of it.
Example: Using the image on page 8, if the Mockingbird was in
the center space, Red would receive the "4" Special Berry token
for being quietest above and to the right of the Mockingbird
(Green total volume 11, Red 2). Blue would receive the "4"
Special Berry token for being quietest below and to the left of
the Mockingbird (Red 7, Green 7, blue total volume 5).
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 Solo Variant
Setup
Follow the basic setup instructions. In step , instead of
placing 1 card to the center
of the forest, deal 9 cards in
2 diagonal lines as shown
on page 11.
In step , instead of
dealing out all cards, only
deal 1 to yourself. Leave the
rest in a stack; this is the
draw deck.
Game Play
The game is played over
a series of turns. In each
turn, first draw 1 card from
the draw deck. Then, do 1
of the following actions:
1. Play 1 card from your
hand into the forest using
standard placement rules. During setup, deal 9 cards
2. Once during the game, face-up to the spaces
play 1 card from your hand highlighted in yellow.
face-up in front of you as
your favored songbird.
During game play, award Berry tokens as normal.
End Game and Final Scoring
The game ends when all 25 spaces in the forest are filled.
To determine your final score, first calculate your victory
points with your favored songbird card and color. Then
subtract the total victory points of the other 3 songbird
10
colors. Use the table to the right to evaluate your final
score. Final Score Title
Example: Your favored songbird is
a Red 5. Red gets 44 points, Blue <1 Rookie
gets 17, Green gets 23, and White 1-19 Amateur
gets 7. 20-39 Student
Your score is 5 + 44 - 17 - 23 - 7
= 2.
40-54 Professional
If you finish the game without 55+ Superstar!
choosing a favored songbird, your score is 0.
Co-Op Variant
The Co-Op variant is played with any player count above 1
and is similar to the Solo variant.
Setup
Deal each player 1 card. Randomly determine a starting player.
Game Play
Game play begins with the starting player and proceeds
clockwise. Each player performs the same type of turn as in
the Solo Variant.
Only 1 player may choose the favored songbird for the game.
Discussion Between Players
You may not show or tell another player what is in your hand.
You may tell another player the space in the forest you
would like to keep empty.
You may discuss which player will pick the favored songbird
and which color to choose.
Only you may choose which card to play from your hand,
but after choosing the card, you may discuss the best space
to play the card.
After choosing which card to play from your hand, you may
not change it and must play that card.

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End Game and Final Scoring
This is the same as in the Solo variant. Check the table!
Credits
Design: Yuo | llustrations: Kotori Neiko
Additional Illustrations: Claire Donaldson
Copy Editing: Isaias Vallejo, Sarah Bolland, Jerry Chiang
Special Thanks: Smoox Chen, Chih Fan Chen,
Taiwan Boardgame Design, and Homosapiens Lab.

© 2016 こっち屋, licensed by Daily Magic Games.