Explanation of Occupation Cards

When hiring an occupation card, you will pay the cost written on the card to the bank and place the card on an empty house in the nagaya. If you don't have enough townspeople meeple or the nagaya is full, you cannot hire the card.

You will place the townspeople meeple under the lower left of the card. The location of the townspeople meeple indicates the current degree of growth.

The occupation card can level up to three different degrees. However, some occupation cards start from the second or third level. Once grown, the salary you'll receive at the closing will change.

There is an exception that some cards have an ability that has effect after retiring instead of having salary.

Move your townspeople meeple one square to the right in each time it levels up. When the meeple in the rightmost square has a chance to level up, it must retire. Place your retired occupation cards face up in the player's hand. The retired cards will get the salary shown in the rightmost square at the closing time. You don't need to pay any rice bale for the retired cards.

There are three ways to make the occupation card level up.

First, when other players use your card's ability, the card will grow by one degree. The card would not level up even if you use the ability of your own card.

Second, when your Oyakata meeple goes around the main street. When your Oyakata meeple passes its starting point, all of occupation cards you hire on the board will grow by one degree immediately.

Third, when you pay money to some of the card's abilities, you may make one occupation card level up.

Occupation cards are divided into five types (Fig.1: Master Craftsmen, Artisans, Shop Sellers, Street Merchants, Specials)

Cards are categorized by the color of its frame. (Master Craftsmen = Red, Artisans = Brown, Shop Sellers = Lime Green, Street Merchants = Cream, Specials=Purple)

Types of the cards affect the nagaya bonus at closing. At the end of the game, players receive bonus points depending on the number of types that you have in your hand.

Skills and Special Salary

Skills: Unique skills of each occupation are written as an icon on the makimono. The role will change depending on the color of the makimono.(Fig.2) The player who made a deal with the occupation card, will get its skill.

• Yellow: Able to get something for free. You will get resources from the bank or get firefighter power.

• Blue: Able to get effects by trading. You will trade with the bank.

• Purple: Special effects.

Salary: Salary is something that the owner of the occupation cards will get at closing time. Some cards don't have salaries and don't qualify, though they hold abilities that have effect after retirement. Those cards are shown with a grey frame. They also level up three times until they retire.

Exceptional Occupation Cards

Special skills need to be described

Trade 1 IKI point for 5mon. You can not use this skill when your IKI point is 0.

Paying 2 mon can make one of your occupation cards level up by one degree.

You get 4 IKI points, but other players get 2 mon from the bank at the same time.

You can build a construction card (You dont have to pay 1 lumber piece).

You can change positions of any two cards (regardless of who owns) on the board.

Effects after retirement

When hiring, you can get 1 mon discount.

This card can save one occupation card when it is burnt by fire. You can use this card only once during the game. Rotate the card 90 degrees to show this card has already used.

When moving, your Oyakata meeple can go one more square. It is optional move.

At the set collection bonus of occupation cards, this card can be counted as any other type of occupation.

Explanation of Construction Cards

The icon shown under the name is the building cost. Written under the illustration is the amount of IKI points received at the end of the game.

Example: Merchant House: Get 3 points per one sandal token that you own when the game ends.

The hammer icon, located in card abilities or the construction site, indicates a chance to build. When you build something, you must place the building card on the empty nagaya like an occupation card. You need to pay two mon coins for building in the corner houses.

Place one of your townspeople meeples on the card. If you don't have any townspeople meeples, you cannot build anything. Townspeople meeples on the construction cards will not come back until the end of the game, with the exception of losing the building by fire.

Explanation of Tokens

Money: Based on the tradition of Edo period, this game used mon by sets of one and four as money.

Koban (oval gold coin) Tokens: Used as a building material. Worth three IKI 1 mon points at the end of the game.

Sandal Tokens: Used to move the Oyakata meeple. Oyakata meeple can move depending on the number of sandal tokens.

Fish: Two fish tokens per season. The cost is shown. Spring=Noodle Fish, Summer=Bonito, Autumn=Sea Bass, Winter=Sea Bream.

Rice Bale: Used to pay for hired townspeople on the board during closing time. Lumber: Used as a building material. Worth one IKI point at the end of the game.

Pipe: The pipe icon and cost are shown. If bought, the firefighter power will increase by the number of the pipe icons.

Tobacco Pouches: The cost and IKI point are shown. They will become IKI points at the end of the game. If you have at least one pipe token, the IKI points you receive will be doubled.

Shops Explanation

Attention: In this game, there is no direct trade of resources between players. Receiving, trading, and using resources are all done with the magistrate's office (bugyo-sho), which works as a bank.

Sandal Shop

You may buy two pairs of sandals for two mon.

Rice Shop

You may buy two bales of rice for three mon.

Fire Tower

You will increase your firefighter power by one. Move your firefighter marker to the right by one. If there is a marker of another player, place your maker on the top of them.

Tobacco Shop

You may buy pipes and tobacco pouches. You may only buy one card for each type per turn. Furthermore, you may only buy the top of the tokens. You may buy one pipe token and one tobacco pouch at the same turn.

Pawnshop

You may change your rice bale or sandals to four mons. You may do so only once each.

Fish Market

You may buy fish. You may only buy one fish token at once. The first bonito of the summer and the winter sea bream are expensive but they have lot of IKI points. As Edo's saying goes "The Edokko will go any length for the first bonito of the season", it had been very IKI to eat food in season in Edo.

Construction Site

You may buy one bale of rice or construct by paying one mon. You can not do both.

Exchange Shop

You may exchange your six mon with one koban. You may exchange them up to two kobans. Two kobans are equal to twelve mons.

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