Overview

Eila and Something Shiny is a solo, story-driven adventure game played over 6 chapters (0-5). Each chapter presents a 7-day journey where the player makes choices through Event Cards, manages tangible and intangible resources, and works toward a chapter-specific goal. The game features a narrative-rich experience with branching paths, items, habits, and support cards that carry between chapters. The game emphasizes discovery – players should not read ahead or unwrap components before instructed.

Components

• 1 Game Board
• 1 Card Stand
• 1 Eila Token
• 2 Combat Dice
• 11 Map Tiles, 17 Comics
• 6 Goal Cards (one per chapter, double-sided: normal/expert)
• 12 Event Card Decks (6 Red, 6 Blue) + 6 Basic Event Card Decks
• 32 Item Cards, 14 Support Cards, 7 Habit Cards
• Resources: 18 Food, 18 Coin, 18 Knowledge (tangible); 18 Energy, 16 Fear, 8 Magical Stone tokens (intangible)
• 12 Heart tokens, 12 Cover tokens
• 1 Eila’s Notepad (for tracking items/supports/habits between chapters)

Setup

1. Place the board and Goal Card in the center. Fill heart spaces on the Goal Card. Use normal side for first playthrough.
2. Take out all Event Cards (Basic, Red, Blue) for the current chapter. Arrange in ascending numerical order.
3. Separate cards by color into stacks.
4. Place Basic Event Cards in the Card Stand (upcoming deck). Place Red Event Cards face-down on corresponding space. Place Blue Event Cards face-down on corresponding space.
5. Place Habit Cards and Item Cards face-down on their spaces.
6. Sort resources into a supply.
7. Read the chapter prologue and set up starting resources (if any) on storage spaces.

Turn Structure

Each chapter consists of 7 days. Each day has:

Day Phase

Repeat Steps 1-3 until the Card Stand is empty:

Step 1 - Reveal: Take the front card from the Card Stand and place it face-up in the Present.

Step 2 - Execute an Option: Choose Option A, B, C, or D on the Event Card. Execute the effect (left to right, top to bottom). Effects may include gaining/discarding resources, acquiring items, placing cards in the Future or Past.

Step 3 - Resolve: Place the card according to its direction indicator (Future, Past, or return to original deck).

Night Phase

1. Place required resources from storage onto the Goal Card’s chapter goal section (per chapter rules).
2. Place 1 Energy from storage onto the next day tracker number. If no Energy available, lose 1 Heart instead.
3. Shuffle all Future cards and place them in the Card Stand face-down. A new day begins.

Actions

Resource Management

• Tangible resources: Food, Coin, Knowledge. Maximum 8 tangible resources in storage.
• Intangible resources: Energy, Fear, Magical Stone. Maximum 8 intangible resources.
• Fear must be acquired when indicated. When acquiring Fear beyond capacity, each extra Fear discards 1 Heart.
• Resources can be converted following arrows shown on the board (one direction only, not while resolving an effect).

Event Card Options

• Some options require specific Items or Support Cards to choose.
• Options with “-“ effects require having enough resources to discard (except Fear).
• Commas in effects mean acquire/discard everything in order. Slashes mean choose one.
• Cards directed to the “Future” will appear in a future day. Cards to the “Past” are set aside.

Items, Habits, and Supports

• Items: Acquired during play. Provide ongoing benefits or enable specific event options. Tracked on Eila’s Notepad between chapters.
• Habits: Cards with ongoing effects that carry between chapters.
• Support Cards: Available from Chapter 2 onward. Provide additional benefits.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Winning a Chapter

Achieve the chapter goal (written on the Goal Card) within 7 days. For Chapter 0, the goal is to submit 2 specific resources within 7 days.

Losing a Chapter

• Fail to achieve the goal after 7 days.
• Run out of Hearts.

Game Progression

Completing a chapter unlocks the next one. Items, Habits, and Supports carry forward via Eila’s Notepad. The full game spans Chapters 0 through 5.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Do not read rules for future chapters or unwrap components early.
• New rules are introduced with each chapter.
• If storage is full when acquiring resources, you may discard existing resources to make room (both must be same type: tangible or intangible).
• Fear can only be discarded through specific event card effects, not voluntarily.
• Special conversions must be completed fully (cannot convert mid-effect).
• Resources on Item or Support Cards with extra storage spaces can be moved at any time.
• Some event cards have combat, resolved using the 2 Combat Dice.
• The game is designed for one continuous playthrough using the Notepad to track progress.

Player Reference

Chapters: 0-5 (learn rules in Chapter 0, full game from Chapter 1)

Day Phase: Reveal card > Choose option > Resolve card (repeat until Card Stand empty)

Night Phase: Submit to goal > Track day (1 Energy or lose 1 Heart) > Shuffle Future to Card Stand

Storage limits: 8 tangible + 8 intangible resources

Resource types: Food/Coin/Knowledge (tangible), Energy/Fear/Magical Stone (intangible)

Win condition: Complete chapter goal within 7 days

Lose condition: Fail goal after 7 days OR run out of Hearts