Equipment

For each player:

6 Jasmine tiles 6 Lily tiles 6 White Jade tiles

6 Rose tiles 6 Chrysanthemum tiles 6 Rhododendron tiles

3 Knotweed tiles 3 Boat tiles 3 Wheel tiles

3 Rock tiles 3 White Dragon tiles 3 White Lotus tiles

One game board:

Sitting

When only two people are playing, they sit across from one another at the ports. The ports are the triangles on the edge of the board. The ports are relative to position. The red triangles closest to you is the “Home Port”, the one on the opposite side of you is the “Foreign Port, and the two on the sides are the “East” and “West Ports”. The tips of these ports (where the black lines intersect) are called the “Home Tip”, "Foreign Tip", etc… Four-person games are played the same way, with each port being someone's home port. It is possible to play with more people with teams, but not recommended because too many tiles would be on the board.

NOTE: Spaces are meant to be intersections. Dragon and Lotus rules always apply. For reference to the tiles and their opposites, look further down the rules. Tiles can move over your own tiles, but not over the opponent’s tiles with the exception of the boat.

Taking your turn

To move you can:

Place a tile on the board

Place a tile on the board Use a tile’s ability, move a tile

Use a tile’s ability, move a tile Pass your turn

Forfeit the game

Tiles can move less than the specified number of spaces. You cannot add a tile on the board if it’s starting position is occupied by another tile, even if they are opposite tiles. You must wait a turn after adding a tile to move it or use it. All tiles can end their turn on the intersection of colors; even if one of them is it’s opposite color space (More on that later). All tiles can land in yellow, because it is a neutral area.

Removing tiles and the Pot

To remove, or capture, a tile, your tile must land on it’s opposite. If a tile cannot capture a tile it lands on, it cannot move there. Any tile can capture an elemental tile and vice-versa, but both of those tiles must be removed. When a piece is captured or removed, it is put in the designated area known as the Pot. If a flower is pushed or turned into it’s opposite color by a boat or wheel, it is returned back to the owner to use again. In order to capture a tile, the capturer must already be on the board as stated above.

Dragon and Lotus rules: Any tile can capture the special tiles and vice-versa, but only the captured tile is taken out, even with elemental tiles. When a player has captured fewer tiles than the opponent (or the least of all four players in a four-player game), their White Lotus tile is considered “blooming” and is in harmony with all flower tiles within 3 spaces. This way a player can use their opponents aggressive strategy to win by points.

Harmonies

To make a harmony, the two tiles must be next to each other on the board. A player receives one point for a harmony. Points are awarded for every harmony every 3 turns that the harmony is intact. If the harmony is broken by moving a tile, then remade by moving the tile back, it counts as a new harmony. The order of the harmony ring starting from the top tile and going clockwise is: rose(top), chrysanthemum, and rhododendron, jasmine, lily, jade. Only a neutral or harmonious tile can connect harmonies; all other tiles block harmonies (i.e. opposite tiles, elemental tiles, special tiles unless the lotus is blooming).

Placing and moving pieces

Flower tiles:

Flower tiles may only move within their own color, the yellow areas, or on an intersection with their color on one side. If a flower tile is pushed or rotated completely into it's opposite color, the tile is returned to the player for future use. Notice that a tile's opposite is always the opposite color flower. I.e. jasmine and rose, lily and chrysanthemum, jade and rhododendron.

White flowers:

Jasmine: starts in the Home Port and moves up to three spaces in a straight line

Lily: starts in the East or West Ports and moves in an “L” shape, up to 2 spaces in one direction and up to 2 at a right angle.

White Jade: starts in the center of the board and moves up to five spaces in a straight line

Red flowers:

Rose: starts on the Foreign Tip and moves up to three spaces in a straight line

Chrysanthemum: starts in the at the East or West Tip and moves in an “L” shape, up to 2 spaces in one direction and up to 2 at a right angle.

Rhododendron: starts at the center of the board and moves up to 5 spaces in a straight line

Non-flower (Elemental) Tiles:

Knotweed: can be placed anywhere but cannot be moved; it "kills" all tiles surrounding it within one space, including diagonally

Boat: starts anywhere and moves up to five spaces in a straight line; pushes up to three tiles in a line up to five spaces, as long as there is a space behind them; can travel over enemy pieces; cannot push the knotweed or rock tile;

Wheel: starts in the yellow spaces and moves unlimited spaces in a straight line; rotates all pieces in the box around it as many times as wanted

Rock: can be placed anywhere; cannot move or be moved.

Special Tiles:

White Dragon: starts on your opposite side of the board and moves up to 6 spaces at a time

White Lotus: starts on your side of the board and moves up to 2 spaces at a time, is considered neutral unless it is “blooming” (see the Dragon and Lotus rules)

Ending the game

To end the game, gain a pre-set number of points through harmonies (usually 30), or take out all of the enemy's flower and special tiles. Any player can forfeit the game.

white lotus gambit: Frank's ideas