Papillon

For 3-4 players, place the double-sided game board in the center. Randomly attach one flower to each of the eight garden plots, then place the corresponding bonus flower token next to each flower. Each player receives a gardener pawn and 12 butterflies of their chosen color. Shuffle the eight gnome tokens face down and place them on the round track. The first player receives 9 caterpillar tokens, and all other players receive 10. Place remaining caterpillar tokens in a general reserve. For 2 players, use only four garden plots and one flower of each color. Players receive no caterpillar tokens during setup.

The objective of Papillon is to collect the most nectar points by the end of eight rounds. Nectar points are primarily gained through placing butterflies on flowers and closing flower and field zones, as well as from leftover caterpillar tokens.

Each round consists of four phases: 1. Preparation: Ten garden tiles are drawn from the bag to fill the board, and one caterpillar token is placed on any garden tile with a caterpillar symbol. The gnome token for the current round is placed face-up next to the shed. Players then bid for turn order by placing their gardener on a numbered space (1-5) or a zero space, paying caterpillar tokens equal to the space number. Players on zero spaces receive bonus caterpillar tokens. Gardeners are then moved to the turn order track. 2. Drafting: Starting with the first player, each player chooses a row or column with at least one garden tile and takes all tiles from it. If only one tile remains in a chosen row/column, the player draws an additional tile from the bag. If a chosen tile has a caterpillar token, the player also takes that token. 3. Gardening: Simultaneously, all players place their collected garden tiles into their personal garden area. Tiles must be placed adjacent to previously placed tiles, matching flower types with flower types and fields with fields. Once placed, tiles cannot be moved. 4. Pollination: Starting with the last player in turn order, players place butterflies on flowers. When a player closes a flower zone (no more adjacent spaces for tiles), they take a butterfly of their color and place it on the closed zone. This butterfly will be placed on a flower in the pollination phase. If a closed flower zone consists of only two tiles, the player places the butterfly on a flower of the same color with available space. If the zone has three or more tiles, the player places the butterfly on a flower of the same color and takes the bonus flower token if available. If a player takes a bonus token, they immediately place another butterfly from their reserve on any flower of the same color.

At the end of the game, points are tallied as follows: 1. Flowers: For each flower, the player with the most butterflies of their color receives the highest point value on the garden plot. The second-most receives the middle value, and the third-most receives the lowest. Ties result in tied players receiving the same points, with subsequent players receiving the next available point value. Players must have at least one butterfly on a flower to score. 2. Caterpillar Tokens: Each remaining caterpillar token is worth 1 point. 3. Field Zones: Players receive 2 victory points for each tile in their two largest closed field zones, regardless of color. 4. Largest Flower Zone: The player with the largest closed flower zone receives 2 victory points per tile in that zone.

The game concludes after eight rounds. The game board is flipped to the scoring side, and each player places their gardener next to space 1 of the score track. Players then calculate their total nectar points based on the scoring criteria. The player with the highest total score is declared the winner. In case of a tie, the tied player with the most gnome tokens wins. If a tie still persists, the tied players share the victory.