If you are reading these rules for the first time, ignore the text along the right hand side. These rules serve as a summary to help you quickly familiarize yourself with the game.
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In Limes each player lays out a landscape of 16 cards and places his workers in the different territories. Depending on the landscape type of the
territory, each worker pursues a specific profession and gives you victory points in the end. The player with the most victory points wins.
GAME MATERIALS
24
7
workers in red and in black
SET-UP OF THE GAME
Set-up of the game
Each player takes the landscape cards and the playing figures of one color. The older player is declared the initiating player. He shuffles his cards and
puts them out ready as a face-down draw pile. The other player sorts his cards according to the numbering on the front side (1-24), in order to make it
easy to pick out the default cards later on. He lays them out ready as a face-up pile. Each player puts his playing figures next to his card pile as a supply.
OBJECT OF THE GAME
The game proceeds until a 4x4 square display is built up (=16 rounds).
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In each round one of the 24 cards is drawn randomly. All players play this round with the same card.
Drawing a card
The initiating player takes the top card from his draw pile, reveals it and reads the number on the front out loud. The card with this number is the
default card for this round. Now the other player picks out the card with this number from his pile.
(Note: This happens automatically at Yucata.)
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The drawn card is placed horizontally or vertically (not diagonally) next to one of the existing cards.
The cards may be rotated.
The size of the display is limited to 4x4 cards.
Laying out a card
Each player forms his own display. In the first round, you put the card you have drawn face up in front of
you, as the starting card of your display. You have to place every additional card in such a way that it is
vertically or horizontally adjacent to at least one complete side of cards you have already laid out. The
placed card may be oriented in any direction.
The placed card may be oriented in any direction.
Size of the display
For laying out the cards, it has to be considered that the display of each player may have a maximum length
of 4 cards and a maximum width of 4 cards. This way, in the course of the game, a 4 x 4 (=16) square display is
built up.
Zones: There are 4 types of landscape: field, water, forest, rock with a tower. Some landscapes additionally show fishermen's huts marked by blue roofs.
Territories: Adjacent fields, forests ond water zones form a territory. The rock zones with tower are always a territory of its own (even if adjacent to another rock zone).
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Optional after laying out the card: Either placing 1 worker or move 1 worker.
Placing: On one of the zones of the card you have just played
Moving: On one of the zones of an adjacent territory
There may be several workers in the same territory.
Placing or moving a worker
After laying out the card, you may either place 1 worker or move 1 worker.
Placing
You place 1 worker from your supply on one of the zones of the card you have just played.
Depending on the landscape type on which a worker is placed, he pursues a particular profession:
Moving
You move 1 worker that is already standing in your display to any horizontally or vertically adjacent territory,
and put him on any zone there. If the worker is moved to a zone of a different type of landscape, he also
changes his profession.
There may be several workers in the same territory.
You do not have to place or move a worker if you don't want to.
When each player has laid out one of his cards and, if desired, moved a worker, the round ends. The initiating player begins the new round by drawing
a new card.
End of the game
The game ends when each player has 16 cards in his display. The 8 remaining cards of each player are not needed; they don't play a role in the scoring
to follow.
Scoring:
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Farmer:1 victory point for each zone of his field territory
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Fisherman:1 victory point for each misherman's hut that is directly adjacent to the shore of his water territory.
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Woodcutter:1 victory point for each territory that is vertically or horizontally adjacent to his forest territory. Each tower zone is always considered a territory of its own.
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Watchman: 1 victory point for each forest zone that the watchman can see in a horizontal or vertical
direction from his tower zone. Other tower zones in his line of view block his view, so forest zones beyond
this obstruction don't count.
Only 1 worker can be scored per territory.
The player with the most victory points wins.
In case of tie: The player with the worker who has scored the most victory points wins. If it is still a tie, the player with second best (third best and so on) worker wins.
Scoring
Depending on their profession, the placed workers give you the following victory points:
Example: This farmer scores 5 points.
Farmer
Every farmer scores 1 victory point for each zone of his field territory.
Example: This fisherman scores 6 points.
Fisherman
Every fisherman scores 1 victory point for each fisherman's hut that is adjacent to the shore of his water territory.
Example: This woodcutter scores 5 points.
Woodcutter
Every woodcutter scores 1 victory point for each territory that is vertically or horizontally adjacent to his forest territory.
Please note: Each tower zone is always considered a territory of its own.
Example: This watchman scores 5 points.
Watchman
Every watchman scores 1 victory point for each forest zone, that the watchman can
see in a horizontal or vertical direction from his tower zone. Other tower zones in his line of
view block his view, so forest zones beyond this obstruction don't count.
Please note: Only 1 worker can be scored per territory. If there are several workers in one territory, only one of them gives you victory points.
The players add up the victory points for their workers. The player with the most victory points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the best worker
wins, i.e., the worker who has scored the most victory points. If the number of victory points is the same here as well, players compare the number
of victory points for the second best worker, and so on.
If there is a tie for all workers, the players share the win.
Solitaire game
You can also play Limes alone. The rules are the same. The object of the game is to earn as many victory points as possible:
| less than 28 |
points: capable of improvement |
| 28 - 34 |
points: OK |
| 35 - 41 |
points: good |
| 42 - 48 |
points: very good |
| 49 or more |
points: excellent |
Laying out on the diagonal
In this variant, you may also place the card (that you are about to play) on the diagonal so that it is only diagonally adjacent
to already laid-out cards.
The fisherman as ferryman
This variant adds to the movement rule for the workers. If a water territory with a fisherman borders the territory of the
worker that is going to be moved, the worker may be moved to any territory beyond this that is horizontally or vertically
adjacent to this water territory.
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Rotating/laying out a tile
First, you can adjust the rotation using the arrows next to the tile. Click in the red-framed field where you want to place the tile. If you want, you can then change the rotation again using the arrows on the tile.
Confirm the rotation with the button in the middle of the tile.
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Placing a worker
Once you have confirmed the rotation of the tile and you still have workers available, each of the four zones on the tile you have
just placed will show a worker. Click on one of the workers to place it accordingly.
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Moving a worker
Click on the worker you want to move. All fields that the worker can move to will be framed. If you want to move another worker instead, click on that worker and the corresponding fields of the possible
destination fields will be framed.
There can also be several workers in one area. If the area still has free fields, you can place the worker there. If there are no more free fields (e.g., because the area consists of only one zone), the worker will be
reduced in size. If you want to place the worker there, click in the target field but not on the worker. If you click on the reduced worker, the fields that this worker can move to will be highlighted.
If several workers are standing in the same zone, the number is indicated by a number in a circle in the left bottom of the worker.
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Score on a worker
The current score of a worker ist represented by a white number in the middle of the worker.
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Total points - Points in parentheses
As you perform your actions (placing tiles, rotating tiles, placing or moving workers), the total score is also updated. You can see the total score you will have at the end of your turn in brackets next to the previous total score.
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Replay of a game
Before clicking on 'Replay', activate the tab for the corresponding player. You can then view the replay of the moves for this player.