In the remote depths of the jungle lie the Cerulean Pools. For most of the year, the pools are tranquil and unassuming. But on the warmest nights of the year, the otherwise quiet waters are filled with shimmering lights as the dormant noctiluca awaken.

As the most skilled divers in the land, you and your friends seek to retrieve these glowing embers from the pools, for the marvelous restorative properties of noctiluca are renowned throughout the land.

Living in balance with each other in carefully- tended jars, noctiluca can cure numerous aliments with merely their glowing presence. You must prove your skill by retrieving noctiluca from the pool to fulfill the jar arrangements you need.

In Noctiluca, 1-4 players dive through the clear depths to catch the rare and beautiful noctiluca. Players collect these precious creatures in jars, attempting to accommodate the needs of grateful healers. Each filled jar awards points, and at the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.

Components

• 12 Pawns
• 1 Double-Sided Game Board
• 104 Noctiluca Dice
• 1 Black Die
• 30 Jar Cards
• 30 Point Tokens
• 4 Favorite Cards
• 1 First Player Marker

Setup

This section explains setup for the multiplayer game.

1. Place the game board in the middle of the table, with the numbered board side facedown (the numbered side is used for the solo game).

2. Return the black die to the game box. Seed the noctiluca in the pool by mixing the noctiluca dice and randomly placing them on spaces on the board. Place four dice on each of the inner spaces and five dice on each of the outer spaces.

   Note: The game relies on the random distribution of colors and die faces across the board. After placing the dice, do not move or adjust them.

3. Distribute the 12 pawns evenly among the players. For example, in a four-player game each player takes three pawns.

4. Separate the point tokens by color. For each color, stack the tokens in numerical S order with the colored side faceup, placing the "8" token on the bottom of the stack and the "2" token on the top. Place the stacks near the board.

5. 

   Shuffle the favorite cards and deal one to each player with the noctiluca art facedown. Return any undealt favorite cards to the box without looking at them.

   Each player secretly looks at their card without showing it to any other player.

   Each favorite card depicts one color of noctiluca. At the end of the game, you will score points for collecting that color of noctiluca.

6. 

   Shuffle the jar cards and deal three cards facedown to each player. Then, each player chooses two of the three cards to keep. Place the two chosen cards facedown in front of you, and set the other card aside.

   After everyone has chosen two cards, flip your cards faceup and shuffle the set- aside cards into the remaining cards.

   7. Deal the jar cards as evenly as possible into four faceup piles. Only the top card of each pile should be visible.

   
   
   
7. 

   The youngest player is the first player and takes the first player marker with the "1" side up.

Game Play

In Noctiluca, players take turns diving to collect noctiluca dice from the board and keep them safely in jars. The game is played over two rounds, after which players add up their points and compare scores to determine a winner. Players take turns in the direction indicated by the first player marker.

Collecting Noctiluca

During your turn, place one of your pawns on any unoccupied shore on the edges of the pool. The center space is not a shore.

After placing your pawn, choose one of the two straight paths adjacent to that shore, then announce a number between one and six.

Collect all dice showing the announced number in the spaces along the chosen path, regardless of color.

Example of Collecting

Bridget needs two more blue dice to fill a jar. On her turn, she places a pawn on an empty shore. She chooses a straight path from that shore and announces "1", collecting two blue dice and one green die which she places into her jars.

Keeping Noctiluca

After collecting noctiluca dice, place the dice into your jars on spaces with matching colors. After dice have been placed into a jar, they cannot be moved to a different jar. For dice on jar cards, keep in mind that only the color of the dice matters, not the number.

If there are not enough spaces in your jars for all of the dice you collected this turn, you must pass the remaining dice to the next player in the turn order.

When you are passed dice, you can place one of them into one of your jars as if you had collected it. Any remaining dice are passed to the next player in the turn order, who can also place one die. Continue until all dice that can be placed in a jar have been placed. Any dice that cannot be placed are returned to the box lid.

Completing Jars

After you store and pass noctiluca dice, you deliver your full jars (jars with no empty spaces), take point tokens, and draw new jars.

When you deliver a jar, return all dice from that jar to the box lid. Take the topmost point token from the stack matching the color of the jar and place it in front of you with the color side faceup. Flip the jar card facedown and keep it in front of you.

Then, take the topmost jar from one of the jar piles . If a pile runs out during the game, it does not replenish. If you have multiple full jars, deliver them one at a time in the order of your choice.

Exchanging Jars During Other Players' Turns

If another player passes noctiluca dice to you and you fill a jar on that player's turn, deliver that jar and take a new one as if it were your turn. If multiple players would deliver jars during the same turn, they do so in turn order, starting with the current player.

End of the Round

After all pawns have been placed, the round ends. After the first round ends, prepare for the second round by removing all pawns from the board and distributing them evenly among the players, as during setup.

Then, remove all noctiluca dice from the board and follow Step 2 of setup to refill the board with the dice in the box lid. In the rare case that there are not enough dice to entirely refill the board, refill as much as possible, randomly distributing the dice as evenly as possible.

Flip the first player marker to the "2" side and pass it to the player who placed the last pawn in the first round. That player is the first player for the second round, with play proceeding counter-clockwise.

End of the Game

After the second round , the game ends , and players resolve final scoring . The back of each favorite card has a reference for final scoring.

Majorities

For each of the three colors of point tokens, see which player has the most tokens of that color (the number of tokens, not the total value ). The player who has the majority flips the remaining tokens of that color over to the side show one point and takes those tokens.

If there is a tie for majority, split the remaining tokens evenly among the tied players, placing them facedown and discarding any remainder tokens.

Example of Majority

Bridget and Char both have three red tokens and Adam has one. Bridget and Char each take one red token facedown, and the remaining red token is discarded.

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  Point Tokens: Add up the points on point tokens (faceup and facedown) and score that many points.

  
  
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  Jar Bonuses : Score points for delivered jars that show points in the top-right corner of the card.

  
  
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  Favorite: Reveal your favorite and score one point for each matching noctiluca space on your delivered jars.

  
  
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  Leftovers: Score one point for every two noctiluca dice on jars you were unable to deliver.

  
  

Players compare scores, and the player with the most points wins!

If there is a tie, the tied player who delivered the most jars wins. If there is still a tie, those tied players share the victory.

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