Overview

Cloomba is a colorful tile-placement game where players become masters of flowers and butterflies, aiming to create and expand beautiful meadows in nature. Players place double-hex tiles to create flowerbeds and then place butterflies on them. The scoring system rewards creating large connected meadows of the same color, with points calculated by multiplying flowers by butterflies. The game features a surprising amount of strategic depth beneath its simple, intuitive rules.

Components

• Double-hex flower tiles (each showing flowers in various colors)
• Butterfly tokens
• Market board (for tile selection)
• Superflower tiles (special bonus tiles)
• 21 option cards (for experienced players)
• Score pad or track

Setup

1. Create the initial market display of available tiles.
2. Place superflower tiles as indicated.
3. Each player takes their set of butterfly tokens.
4. If using option cards, deal them to players.
5. Determine a starting player.

Turn Structure

On your turn:

1. Select a tile from the market.
2. Place the tile adjacent to existing tiles, following placement rules.
3. Optionally place a butterfly on one of your meadows.
4. Refill the market if needed.

Actions

Select and Place Tiles

• Choose one double-hex tile from the available market display.
• Place it adjacent to at least one existing tile on the board.
• Colors on adjacent hex edges should match to extend meadows, though matching is not mandatory.

Place Butterflies

• After placing a tile, you may place one butterfly on a flower in one of your meadows.
• A butterfly can only be placed on a meadow that does not already contain another butterfly.
• Players must think of clever ways to create separate meadows and then unite them to maximize scoring.

Create and Merge Meadows

• A meadow is a connected group of flowers of the same color.
• Placing tiles strategically can merge previously separate meadows into one large meadow.
• Merging meadows that each contain a butterfly creates a meadow with multiple butterflies, boosting the score multiplier.

Use Superflower Tiles

• Superflower tiles are special tiles that provide bonus scoring opportunities.
• They integrate into the standard tile-placement rules but offer enhanced rewards.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

At the end of the game, each player scores their meadows:

• Meadow score = number of flowers in the meadow x number of butterflies on the meadow.
• Score each meadow separately.
• The player with the highest total score wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Butterfly placement restriction: You cannot place a butterfly on a meadow that already contains one. The strategy is to create separate meadows with individual butterflies, then merge them.
• Option cards (advanced variant): The 21 option cards add extra scoring conditions and special abilities for more experienced players.
• Market management: The available tiles in the market change each turn; timing your tile selection is important.
• Superflower tiles provide unique scoring opportunities beyond standard flowers.
• The game’s simple rules make it accessible, but the scoring multiplication system creates meaningful strategic depth.

Player Reference

Scoring	Flowers x Butterflies per meadow
Meadow	Connected group of same-color flowers
Butterfly	Place on meadow with no existing butterfly
Strategy	Create separate meadows, place butterflies, then merge
Win Condition	Highest total score from all meadows