The Plague - Turn sequence DiagramsThis topic invited me to revisit the rules of The Plague and its clarifications. I put together the following images in order to see how the actions described in the rules match the turn sequence. I came across some surprises in the process...
These diagrams are an updated version of the ones I posted here previously, which are now obsolete after some comments from Christwart Conrad, the author of this official expansion:
https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=4780.msg70156#msg70156Note: The images can be clicked to display them full size.
Here you can find how actions are performed during the turn sequence. Actions like adding a plague source tile (adding an outbreak) or eradicating an outbreak are located at specific points of the turn sequence. However, spreading the plague or fleeing the plague happen at the active player's discretion.
Please also find some comments below connected to clarifications provided by the expansion's author to formerly open issues:
I) Spreading the plagueYou cannot spread the plague until you know you are not placing a plague source tile in phase
1. Placing a tile. At this point, if spreading the plague is allowed, you will be able to decide when. Depending on the context, you may decide to do it:
- Right after placing a tile in phase
1. Placing a tile: In this case, it may be interesting to move a flea away from the area you may be extending with your tile.
- At the beginning of phase
2. Placing a meeple: In this case, it may be interesting to place a flea to vacate a feature the player may control and possibly score this turn. You may also find interesting to remove one of your meeples or special figures to place it during this turn: a possible better location, the figure may be trapped on an incomplete feature…
- At the end of phase
2. Placing a meeple: In this case, it may be interesting to remove a meeple or special figure from a feature about to be scored.
- At the end of phase
3. Scoring a feature: In this case, it may be interesting to remove a meeple or special figure for future purposes, for example, a wagon that just moved, a trapped meeple…
II) Spreading the plague in a double turnSpreading the plague depends on the tiles placed. Several scenarios may show up during a double turn:
- 1st tile: plague source (you cannot spread the plague on the first part of your turn)
- 2nd tile: plague source (you cannot spread the plague on the second part of your turn)
- 2nd tile: non-plague tile + you spread the plague (mandatory)
- 1st tile: non-plague tile + you decide to spread the plague
- 2nd tile: any (you do nothing, you already spread the plague on the first part of your turn)
- 1st tile: non-plague tile + you decide to not spread the plague yet (you wait until the second part of your turn)
- 2nd tile: plague source (you cannot spread the plague on the second part of your turn)
- 2nd tile: non-plague tile + you spread the plague (mandatory)
III) Fleeing the plagueAs confirmed by Christwart Conrad (8/2021):
- The plague affects special figures placed on a tile (builder, pig and shepherd along with sheep tokens).
- A player may choose one meeple or special figure placed on a tile to flee the plague. The sheep tokens move along with their shepherd.
Additionally, you can find next three flowcharts that put together the logic of three more complex actions of the expansion, that you can find scattered throughout the rules:
(A) Adding an outbreak, covering all the actions related to placing a plague source tile and possibly merging active areas. It also covers the exception (special case) when adding an outbreak turns the previous one inactive if it had all the available fleas.
Notes:*
1. Place a new outbreak: This step is very straight forward.
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2A. Eradicate previous outbreak (exception): If the new outbreak is isolated from the new one and it grouped all the 18 fleas, the rules instruct you to turn this previous outbreak inactive along with its fleas as a special case.
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2B. Manage merged regions: As an alternative to the previous case, you may find out that the new outbreak tile may merge two or more plague regions in different states, so you will have to deal with them:
- Active regions with a previous active outbreak: You will need to keep active only the newest outbreak and turn any disconnected fleas to latent state.
- Inactive regions with latent fleas : You vill need to turn these fleas to active state.
(B) Spreading the plague, covering all the action associated with choosing and placing a flea, removing any cut-off regions caused when moving a flea token on the board and merging active areas.
Notes:*
1. Place new flea token: If there is room for a flea token to be placed, you'll have to choose the source of the flea token to place:
- 1. Pick a flea token from the supply, if any
- 2. Otherwise, you move a latent flea taken placed on the board
- 3. Finally, if only active flea tokens are available, move one of them
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2. Manage cut-off active flea regions: If a latent or an active flea token was moved, any disconnected active flea region with no active outbreak will have to be turned inactive.
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3. Manage merged regions: Same case as with the addition of a new outbreak above, you may find out that the newly placed flea token may merge two or more plague regions in different states, so you will have to deal with them:
- Active regions with a previous active outbreak: You will need to keep active only the newest outbreak and turn any disconnected fleas to latent state.
- Inactive regions with latent fleas : You vill need to turn these fleas to active state.
(C) Eradicating an outbreak, covering the case dealing with the removal of the oldest active outbreaks when there are several active outbreaks and all the 18 flea tokens are active on the board.
Notes:*
1. Eradicate oldest outbreaks: Nothing will happen if all the active fleas are connected to one active outbreak. This action is only possible if there are several active outbreaks with active flea tokens. You just turn over the oldest active outbreak and all its connected fleas, if any, until you generate some latent fleas. You may need to repeat action if the oldest outbreak didn't produce any effect.
Let me know if this exercise helped you or need some additional clarifications.
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February 07, 2017, 01:08:12 PM