Project L

At the end of an action in which the recessed area of a puzzle is completely filled with pieces, that puzzle is considered completed. Multiple puzzles may be completed with a single action. When you complete a puzzle, follow these steps in order:

1. Return all of the pieces from the puzzle to your personal supply
2. Take a new piece (as depicted on the puzzle) from the reserve and place it in your personal supply
   • If there are no pieces available in the supply of the depicted type, take a piece of your choice from the next available level instead
3. Place the puzzle face down on your Victory Point pile to the left of your Player mat

If you still have actions remaining after completing a puzzle, you continue with your turn as normal.

Level Up rewards (Ghost Piece expansion)

Some of the new Black puzzles have a Level Up reward depicting a single arrow (↑) or double arrow (⇈). This reward allows you to upgrade any pieces in your supply, including those you just took back from the completed puzzle.

• With the single arrow, you may upgrade one piece one level higher
• With the double arrow, you may either upgrade the same piece twice, or upgrade two different pieces one level each

This section only applies when playing with the Finesse expansion.

Finesses are objectives shown on the Finesse tiles in the row below the Black puzzle row. Achieving a Finesse rewards you with Credits, which can then be spent on the Insert action to take extra actions later in the game.

Available Finesses

During a round, only the leftmost Finesse tile can be achieved, and only if it is face up. Because the first two Finesse tiles are placed face down during setup, no player can achieve a Finesse in the first two rounds of the game.

• All players can attempt to achieve the current Finesse on their turn
• To achieve a Finesse, you must complete the objective shown on the tile

At the end of each round, remove the leftmost Finesse tile from the game. This will flip the tile that was previously second in line face up, making it available to be achieved from the next round onwards.

Achieving a Finesse

When you achieve a Finesse, the timing of the Credit reward depends on the colour of the tile:

• Pink tiles: each time you achieve the Finesse, immediately take the number of Credits depicted on the bottom of the tile and place them to the left of your Player mat. They cannot be used until the next round
• Blue tiles: at the end of your turn, check the Finesse tile and take Credits based on how many times you achieved the Finesse during that turn

See the Finesse Tile Reference section for the specific rules of each tile.

Active and inactive Credits

Credits you have just gained sit on the left side of your Player mat and are inactive — they cannot be spent yet.

• At the end of your turn, move all Credits from the left side of your Player mat to the right side (near your supply of pieces). These Credits are now active and can be spent on the Insert action on a future turn
• If you are about to take a Credit and the bank is empty, the player (or players) who have the most Credits must return 1 Credit back to the bank. Then you take the Credit you would have gained

Game end change

When using the Finesse expansion, the game may now end in one of two ways (whichever happens first):

• As per the base game rules: the Black puzzle deck runs out. Finish the current round and then play one additional round, followed by Finishing Touches
• When the last Finesse tile is removed (at the end of the 10th round). If this happens, there is no additional round — just proceed directly to Finishing Touches

Each player counts up their points as follows:

• The total of the points on all the puzzles in their Victory Point pile
• Deduct points for each incomplete puzzle above your Player mat, equal to its point value
• Deduct 1 point for every piece you placed during Finishing Touches

The player with the most points wins the game.

• In case of a tie, the tied player who has completed the most puzzles wins
• If there is still a tie, the tied player with the most pieces left over in their supply wins
• If there is still a tie, all tied players share the victory

In the Solo Variant, you play against an artificial mastermind opponent represented by a 3×3 grid of puzzles.

Setup

Replace the setup from the base game with the following steps:

• Select 15 random White puzzles and 10 random Black puzzles. Shuffle each set of puzzles separately, then place the Black puzzles face down in the centre of the play area and place the White puzzles on top. This forms the puzzle deck
• Reveal 9 puzzles from the top of the puzzle deck and arrange them into a 3×3 grid
• Place all of the coloured pieces in a reserve
• Take four level-1 pieces from the reserve and place one above the 1st and 3rd columns and two above the 2nd column of the puzzle grid. These act as Locks above the columns
• Take one Player mat for yourself and place it in front of you. Designate an area for your opponent — no Player mat is needed for your opponent
• Take one level-1 and one level-2 piece and place them in your personal supply
• Place a number of level-1 pieces into your opponent's supply based on your chosen difficulty level:
  • Normal — 6 pieces
  • Hard — 3 pieces
  • Unbeatable — 0 pieces

Gameplay

You take the first turn, followed by your opponent. This continues until the end of the game is triggered.

Your turn — play your turn in the same way as you would in the base game, with the following exceptions:

• Each time you take a puzzle from any of the columns of the puzzle grid, take one piece from above the corresponding column and place it into your opponent's supply. Skip this step if there are no pieces above the column
  • You may still take puzzles from the draw decks instead of taking one from the puzzle grid. If you do, the pieces above the puzzle grid do not move
• You cannot use the Recycle action

Your opponent's turn — your opponent always attempts to take one puzzle and place it directly into their Victory Point pile, as if they had completed it.

• Your opponent cannot take puzzles from a locked column (a column with at least one piece still above it)
• If all columns are locked, remove one piece from above each column and return them to the reserve
• If multiple puzzles are available, your opponent takes the one worth the most points. In case of a tie, they take the puzzle in the lowest numbered position on the grid

After your opponent takes a puzzle:

• Move all pieces from the opponent's supply to above the column where the puzzle was taken from
• Move 1 piece from above each other column to above the column where the puzzle was taken from
• Replace the puzzle your opponent took with a new one from the puzzle deck

Game end

The end of the game is triggered when the puzzle deck becomes empty. You then finish the current round and then play one more round. Unlike the multiplayer game, there is no limit on how many Black puzzles you can take during the final 'end of game' rounds. After that, take any Finishing Touches you wish to, then proceed to Final Scoring.

Final scoring

Total the points in both your and your opponent's Victory Point piles. Deduct points from your score for any unfinished puzzles or Finishing Touches as normal.

If you have beaten your opponent's score, you win! In case of a tie, your opponent wins.

Finesse expansion additions

If you are using the Finesse expansion, the artificial mastermind now takes 2 puzzles per turn, so do not forget to use Finesses to your advantage.

• Use 20 White puzzles and 15 Black puzzles for the puzzle deck instead of the standard Solo Variant counts. Set up the Finesse row as per the Finesse expansion rules and place the Finesse tiles anywhere near the puzzle grid
• Your opponent does not collect Credits or achieve Finesses — they play as normal, but always take two puzzles per turn:
  • The first puzzle is chosen the same way as in the standard Solo Variant (most valuable puzzle)
  • The second puzzle is chosen from the same column as the first, but this time the opponent takes the puzzle worth the least points
    • If two puzzles are tied for the least points in that column, the opponent takes the one closest to the top of the column
    • If there are no puzzles remaining in that column, skip this step
  • Only replace the puzzles after both have been taken — first replace the topmost one, then the other
• The end of the game can be triggered using both the standard Solo Variant rules and the Finesse expansion rules

This variant requires the Ghost Piece expansion.

When playing with 5 or 6 players, use the Line Clear Variant. Each player controls a marker (White or Black) and plays simultaneously on only one row of puzzles at a time.

Setup

Follow the base game setup, but use 20 Black puzzles in the Black puzzle deck for a 5-player game, or 24 Black puzzles for a 6-player game. Place only 3 puzzles into each of the puzzle rows. After that:

• Create a second row of 3 White puzzles and a second row of 3 Black puzzles to the right of the puzzle decks
• Place one of the White markers between the rows of puzzles on the left. Give the other one to the first player
• Place one of the Black markers between the rows of puzzles on the right. Give the other one to the 3rd player in a 5-player game, or to the 4th player in a 6-player game

Gameplay

A player with a marker in front of them takes a standard 3-action turn with the following changes to the rules:

• Both players with markers play simultaneously
• Players may only take puzzles from the rows on the side of the play area with the marker matching the one that is in front of them
• Only the player who has the White marker can take puzzles from either of the puzzle decks, or use the Recycle action (and only on the rows to their left)
• After both players have finished their turn, they each pass their markers clockwise to the next player

Game end

The end of the game is triggered once the Black puzzle deck runs out. The game continues until the first player has been passed both of the markers again (in any order). Once the first player gets the second marker, the game ends. Resolve Finishing Touches and Final Scoring as normal.

Finesse expansion additions

When playing the Finesse expansion with the Line Clear Variant, the start of the new round (when you move onto the next Finesse) happens when the first player gets the White marker again.

All Finesse tiles in Set B work in the same way: they are blue tiles that reward you at the end of your turn based on which pieces you own.

At the end of your turn, gain 1 Credit for every depicted piece in your personal supply or on puzzles above your Player mat.

Example: if you have two of the depicted pieces in your supply and one on a puzzle, you will gain 3 Credits at the end of your turn.

Set C tiles cover a range of different triggers. Each tile has its own specific rule — these are the tiles where the game becomes most variable from one play to the next.

Unfinished puzzles (blue, end of turn)

At the end of your turn, gain 1 Credit for every unfinished puzzle you have above your Player mat.

Completing a puzzle (pink, immediate)

Whenever you complete a puzzle, gain 1 Credit.

Taking a puzzle (pink, immediate)

Whenever you use the Take action to gain a puzzle, gain 1 Credit.

Using Master (pink, immediate)

Whenever you use the Master action, gain 1 Credit for each piece you place.

Example: if you use Master to place three pieces on three puzzles, gain 3 Credits.

Piece-placement triggers (pink, immediate)

Whenever you place any of the depicted pieces onto any puzzle above your Player mat, gain 1 Credit.

Example: if you use the Place action to put a matching piece on a puzzle, gain 1 Credit.

Piece variety (blue, end of turn)

At the end of your turn, gain 1 Credit for every type of the depicted pieces that you have one or more of, either in your supply or on unfinished puzzles.

Example: if you have two different types of depicted pieces in your supply or on puzzles (e.g. three of one and two of another), gain 2 Credits at the end of your turn.

Using Upgrade (pink, immediate)

Whenever you use the Upgrade action, gain 1 Credit. If you are playing with the Ghost Piece expansion, you also gain 1 Credit for each instant Level Up reward you receive — 1 Credit for a single arrow (↑) and 2 Credits for a double arrow (⇈).