The Mist | Rules | Pandaqi Games

Setup

Print a paper and grab some pens. Pick any start player.

Each player invents their own unique symbol and draws it on any unused starting square. (The highlighted squares with a square center + red pin.)

Objective

The game ends as soon as all players are out. Each player checks the entire path that they walked. Sum the values of all squares: highest score wins!

Gameplay

3.1

Simple Rules

Take clockwise turns. On your turn, always do the same thing: take one step.

On your current location, pick one of its icons to be the correct one. (Clearly cross out all the others.)
Move one step in that direction. (Draw your player icon inside the circle of the new square.)
If you can’t move—there is no square or it’s already used—you’re out of the game. (Take no more turns. You still score at the end, of course!)

Forgot where your pawn is now? Find the square that has your player icon but also still has all its icons!

Example of a turn following the simple rules.

That’s it!

The paper itself explains how each Square works and/or how it scores. You can also read the next section on the Squares.

3.2

Advanced Rules

When playing with advanced sets, you probably want to use the advanced rules. They provide more choice and freedom of movement, to balance the tougher special squares.

There is only one change: when moving, you skip over squares already taken.

You land on the first available free square in the chosen direction. Only if that doesn’t exist, you’re out of the game.

Example of a turn following the advanced rules.

Squares

When squares talk about some type being “visible”, it means exactly what you think. It doesn’t matter whether the square is visited or not, as long as the icon is showing (not crossed out), it’s on the board.

When squares talk about “destroying”, it means crossing out all its icons. (So it represents nothing.) If a player is currently there, they don’t die. Just leave them be—you can’t die in this game.

When you use only the “base” set, the game activates “simple mode”. The Boots square is always included and the simple rules are displayed, as that provides the most movement in-game for the least complexity.

Below is an overview of all squares in the game.

The base set contains …

Food

Worth +1 points.

Water

Worth +3 points.

Diamond

Worth as many points as the total number of diamonds that you have.

Mist

Worth as many points as the number of unvisited spaces.

Journal

If you own the most Journals, you score +12 points.

Bugs

Worth +3 points if you own the least, otherwise -3 .

Rabbit

Worth +5 points if this is the most occuring type (out of everything), otherwise -2.

Boots

Worth -4 points. Each Boots allows moving +1 square. (Skip all in-between; only draw yourself at the final destination.)

Signpost

Worth -3 points. But when you move (this turn), you may start from any square on your trail.

Portal

When moving (this turn), move to another free square with a portal.

Octopus

Worth -2 points. This turn, you may move in any direction.

Tree

Worth as much as the number of Trees on adjacent squares.

Trail

Worth as many points as the longest connected chain of Trails on the board, if you own a piece of that.

River

Worth as many points as the longest connected chain of Rivers to which this square belongs.

Click a symbol to see its name / meaning.

The advanced set contains …

Curse

Worth -1 points.

Coconut

Worth +3 points.

Heart

Worth +5 points. If this is your 3rd heart, however, you're out of the game.

Jaguar

Worth +6 points, but only if this is the least occurring type out of everything on the board.

Trap

Worth -2 points, unless you own the most traps (out of all players).

Soldier

Worth +4 points. If there's an adjacent Soldier, however, you can't pick this option.

Flag

Worth +8 points if more than half the rows contain a Flag, otherwise -8.

Home

Worth +8 points if less than half the columns contain a Home, otherwise -8.

Lookout

Worth -10 points. If owned, you may wrap around the board. (Exiting at one edge makes you reappear at the opposite edge.)

Warning

Cross out 3 icons on your trail, then move to any free square.

Rocks

Nobody but you may enter an adjacent space.

Rainbow

Worth +12 points, but you can't visit squares anymore that show an icon you already own.

Plant

Worth +1 points. When picked, turn 1 adjacent square into a plant (if possible).

Virus

Worth -2 points. If a visited neighbor shows a Virus, you must pick this option.

Sheep

Worth +1 points. If at least 2 neighbors show a Sheep, you must pick this option.

Click a symbol to see its name / meaning.

The expert set contains …

Bag

Worth as many points as the number of items you collected.

Boar

Worth -2 points, but immediately take another turn.

Campfire

Worth -2 points. When picked, decide the type of all adjacent squares with a hazards.

Oasis

Worth -15 points. If owned, you must pick two options from each square.

Tunnel

When moving (this turn), go to a free Tunnel square in the same row or column.

Egg

Worth +10 points, but you're not allowed to visit spaces with a hazards anymore.

Siren

Move another player one step (as if taking their turn).

Shaman

Scores +3 if the number of Shamans picked so far is odd, otherwise -3. (Write on the cell to remember.)

Shipwreck

Worth as many points as the number of Ships in its row and column.

Merchant

Worth +6 points if you collected the most items (of all players), otherwise -6.

Payout

Worth +4 points if you collected the least hazards (of all players), otherwise -4.

Gunshot

Worth -3 points. When picked, completely cross out 2 visited squares in the same row or column.

Herd

Worth as many points as the size of its group ( = all herd connected to it).

Birdsong

Worth +1 points. When picked, also turn one other square into Birdsong (if possible).

Spell

When picked, decide the icon of any unvisited square with a items.

Empty

When picked, draw any icon (from the available options) inside it!

Click a symbol to see its name / meaning.