How to Play

Yellow & Yangtze

2-4 players 90-90 min 7.8 Board Game Geek Rating

Players lead ancient Chinese dynasties during the Warring States period through strategic tile placement. Using five leader types (Governor, Soldier, Farmer, Trader, Artisan), you collect victory points across matching categories while building civilizations. Success requires surviving conflicts between connecting civilizations and peasant revolts. Your final score equals your weakest category's points.

Published 2018

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Place governor tiles

Put 1 black governor tile on each marked board space, place all remaining tiles into the bag

Choose dynasties

Each player selects a dynasty (lion, bull, archer, or pot), places their screen in front of them, and takes a matching wooden set of 5 leaders placed in front of the screen

Return unused components

Put any spare screens and leaders back in the box

Prepare pagodas

Place colored pagodas beside the board – 2 of each color except yellow (only 1 yellow)

Identify leader types

Leaders are Governor (black), Soldier (red), Farmer (blue), Trader (green), and Artisan (yellow)

Optional 2-player variant

For a shorter game, remove 24 random tiles from bag and place face-down in box

Draw starting tiles

Each player draws 6 tiles from the bag and places them behind their screen

Set up merchant tiles

Draw 6 tiles and place them face-up in the green merchant area at the bottom of the board

Understand adjacency

Tiles and leaders with a common edge are adjacent; tiles/leaders are linked if connected through a chain of adjacent tiles/leaders

Understand states

A state is made of linked tiles with at least 1 leader

Understand conflicts

Conflicts arise when there are 2 like-colored leaders in a state

Keep score hidden

VP cubes stay hidden behind screen; small cube = 1 VP, large cube = 5 VP

Negotiation rules

Bargaining is allowed but exchange of game resources is not; all agreements are non-binding

Determine start player

Pick a start player and proceed clockwise

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Take two actions

Perform 2 actions in any order (may repeat the same action twice)

Position a leader

Place, move, or withdraw a leader from the board

Place a tile

Take 1 tile from behind your screen and place it on an empty board space

Discard 2 Farmers

Remove any 1 tile of your choice from the board; discarded tiles go face-down to box

Discard 2 Traders

Establish a pagoda on a triangle of like-colored tiles (if pagoda was removed or never placed)

Replace tiles

Discard up to 6 tiles from behind your screen face-down to the box, then draw replacements from the bag

Resolve Revolt conflicts

Occurs when a leader is placed in a state with a like-colored leader

Resolve War conflicts

Occurs when a tile unites 2 states containing leaders of the same color

Collect pagoda VP

At end of turn, gain +1 colored VP cube for each pagoda in the same state as your like-colored leader (black leader only scores with black pagoda)

Refill tiles

Draw tiles from the bag back up to 6 and place behind your screen; any other player with fewer than 6 tiles also draws to 6; replace any missing face-up merchant tiles on the board