GEMBATAN 

OBJECTIVE OF GEMBATAN: The objective of Gembatan is to be the player with the most points by making chains of gems on the board.  

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 4 Players 

MATERIALS: 60 Game Tiles, 60 Gems, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Tile Placement Card Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 8 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF GEMBATAN 

With each player being armed with amulet tiles and dual-direction gems, their goal is to align various colors to accrue more points. Players are only allowed to place tiles when they have gems to place inside of them. The game requires strategic moves and cunning players to win! 

SETUP 

The players will collect a paper and pencil to keep score throughout the game. The gems are then placed face down in the gem tray, where each player will draw four gems and four tiles without looking. The pieces will be placed face up in front of the players, in which all players can see what the other players have.  

One tile is then drawn and placed in the center of the playing area, starting the board. One player is chosen to begin, and the game is ready! 

GAMEPLAY 

During their turn, the player will add at least one tile to the board. For each tile played, the player must also play a gem that connects the tiles, ensuring that it has matching colors on both sides. The gems can be placed in a socker that is newly made or a socket that another player left empty.  

The tiles must connect to a previously placed tile in order to be played. The tiles are not allowed to cut a socket in half, so they must be oriented very specifically. If a player places a tile and it creates two sockets, they are only required to fill one of those spaces. After a player has placed all of the tiles that they wish, the next player will begin. 

Gameplay will be rotated clockwise around the group. Once a player has finished, they are allowed to score their placements. The players earn one point per gem that they placed, but they may earn additional points for specific patterns of gems that they have created.  

If the player is unable to play any tiles, they must turn in at least one gem, discarding them. They are then able to draw up to four new gems or tiles, depending on how many they discarded.  

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end when there are no more gems inside the tray. At this point, one player may have no more gems in their hand, or a round goes by in which no player is able to make a play. The players will then tally their points, first deducting one point for every gem that they have.  

The player who accumulates the most points, wins the game! 

Ellie Phillips
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