PL AY T E S T

In early 2009, the band The Decemberists had an idea for a

photoshoot where they would be a secret society playing a
weird and wonderful game in different locations. Carson Ellis
and photographer Autumn de Wilde created a game board
as a prop and called it The Illimat.

Illimat is a card game that can be played by 2-4 players. The basic
goal is to harvest (collect) the most cards, but you also get points for
harvesting the most Summer cards, Fools, or for clearing all the cards in
a field and earning an Okus token or Luminary. Be carefulif you end up
harvesting the most Winter cards, youll lose points! A hand continues
until every card has been played, and you can either play a single hand
or keep playing until someone earns 17 or more points.

PL AY T E S T
FLASH FORWARD TO 2015:
The band, having played many board games on the road
during their down time between soundcheck and show,
decided to try and make this strange game-board-withouta-board-game into a real living, breathing game. Chris Funk
from the band approached us at Twogether Studios to see
what we could do. Keith Baker (creator of Gloom and Eberron)
worked to make Illimat feel like an old forgotten card game
that would be compelling to modern players: a game that
feels of its time, yet weirdly out of time altogether.

Illimat uses a cloth board divided into four fields. Each turn, youll play
a card from your hand and pick one of the four fields. Generally youll
either collect any cards in the field that match the value of the card
youve played (Harvesting) or discard your card into the field (Sowing).
You can also combine your card with other cards in the field (Stockpiling);
this creates a stack of cards that can be harvested with a single action
in future turns. However, theres a catch. The Illimat is a box that sits
in the center of the table, and it dictates the season of each field and
the season restricts the actions that can be performed in that field! You
change the season by playing a court card, which turns the Illimat to
match the season of the card you just played. Confused? Read on!

A cloth board, divided into four fields.

The box itself.

This is called the Illimat.

PL AY T E S T
Four okus tokens and four scoring tokens.

A deck of 52 cards, divided into four suits:

Spring ( ), Summer ( ), Autumn ( ), and Winter ( ).
Each suit includes 13 cards. In addition to the simple cards
numbered from 210, there are four court cards with values
as follows: Knight (11), Queen (12), King (13), and Fool
(1 or 14, decided by the active player). Playing a court
card turns the Illimat and changes the season. If you are
playing with four players, you will add a fifth suit, Stars ( ).

Eight Luminaries.
These are special cards that have no suit or number.
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HOW DO YOU BEGIN?

Lay out the board and place the Illimat in the center. Turn it so the arrow next
to Summer is facing towards the dealer. Each player places an okus token atop
the Illimat. At this point, the dealer deals three cards into each field (one at a
time, proceeding to the left), then deals four cards to each player (one at a time,
proceeding to the left). The player immediately to the left of the dealer only
receives three cards in this initial deal, and it is this player who goes first. Set the
remaining cards aside to form the draw pile. Finally, deal one Luminary face down
into each corner of the boardfour Luminaries in total.

Before you start, all players decide: Are you playing a single hand or playing until
someone reaches twelve points or seventeen points? Once this are settled, youre
ready to begin.
PLAYING THE GAME
On your turn, you must choose a field and play one card from your hand. Perform
one of the following actions. Always remember that you only play a single card
from your hand and only affect the cards in one field.
Sow. Discard your card into the field, where it may be harvested or stockpiled
in future turns.
Harvest. Collect any cards that match the value of your card, either
individually or in combination. If you play a five, you could harvest another
five, a two and a three, a Fool (1) and a four, or all of these! After you harvest,
set the card you used and all cards you collected aside in your harvest pile. If
you clear the field by harvesting the last card, special things happen.

Once youve completed your action, draw until you have four cards in hand (if
possible). Play passes in rotation to the left.
ENDING THE GAME
After the draw pile is exhausted, play continues until all cards have been played.
At this point, any cards remaining on the board are set aside and discarded.
Compare your harvested cards to those of other players, scoring as follows:

PL AY T E S T
Stockpile. Combine your card with one or more cards already in the field, creating
a stack that can be harvested by any player on a future turn. The stack can
either be multiple instances of one value (a stack of three fives) or it can be
cards combined together to create a new value (a three and a four combined to
create a seven). Once stockpiled, elements of the pile cannot be separated. To
Stockpile, you must have a card in your hand that matches the value of the
stack you are creating. Stockpiling is described in more detail later in these rules.
You may only play one card during a turn, unless a Luminary changes this rule.

Cornucopia. The player who harvests the most cards earns 4 Points

Sunkissed. The player who harvests the most Summer cards earns 2 points
Frostbit. The player who harvests the most Winter cards LOSES 2 points

Each Fool, Luminary, or okus collected is worth 1 point.

When determining who gets these points, ties break in favor of the player who
has collected the most Luminaries in the current hand. If this fails to resolve the
tie, no one receives points for that category. For Sunkissed or the Cornucopia, the
player with the most Luminaries receives the points; with Frostbit, the player with
fewer Luminaries suffers the penalty.
As noted above, decide at the onset whether to play for a single hand or whether
to continue until a player reaches a particular score; we recommend 12 or 17
points for extended play. Ties for victory are broken in favor of the player who
acquired the most Luminaries in the final hand. If this fails to resolve it, the tied
players may agree to either accept a shared victory or play an additional hand.

THE ILLIMAT AND THE SEASONS

The Illimat sits in the center of the board and defines the seasons of each field.
Each season imposes limitations on what actions may be performed in that field.
Cards cannot be Harvested in Winter.
Cards cannot be Stockpiled in Spring.
There are no restrictions in Summer.
Cards cannot be Sown in Autumn. Stockpiling is still allowed.
Whenever a player reveals a Court Card (Fool, Knight, Queen, King), wait until
the current action is resolved and then rotate the Illimat so the season of the field
matches the season of the revealed card. This only occurs when a player plays a
card. It doesnt happen if a card is dealt from the deck into the field.

into the field. Deal cards into the field and resolve any Luminary effects before the
active player draws their card.
LUMINARIES
Luminaries are powerful figures that exert influence over a field. At the start of the
game, four Luminaries are dealt face-down onto the board, one into each corner
of the board. When a field is initially cleared, the Luminary is flipped over and
revealed, and three new cards are dealt into the field. When the field is cleared a
second time, the active player claims the luminary and gains one point.

PL AY T E S T
CLEARING A FIELD
When you remove the last card from a field, a number of things may occur.
If there are okus tokens on the Illimat, claim one of them. Deal 3 new cards
into the field.
If there is a face-down Luminary in the field, reveal it and deal 3 new cards
into the field.
If there is a face-up Luminary in the field, claim the Luminary and resolve its effects.
If there are no okus tokens remaining and no face-down Luminary to be
revealed, no new cards are dealt into the field, and it lies fallow until new
cards are sown into it.
If both an okus is claimed and a Luminary is revealed, you still only deal 3 cards

A Luminary cannot be Stockpiled or Harvested; it remains in place until the field

is cleared. All Luminaries have special effects; these may be triggered immediately,
or they may be ongoing rules that affect their field. Many Luminaries have an
additional effect that is triggered when the Luminary is claimed by a player.

As Luminaries add complexity to the game, you may want to avoid using Luminaries
the first time you play.
PLAYING WITH FOUR PLAYERS: THE SUIT OF STARS
When you play with four players, you add an additional 13 cards to the deck:
These are the suit of Stars. This extends the game. In addition, when you play
a court card from the suit of Stars you may turn the Illimat however you wish,
changing the current field to any season of your choice.

CLARIFICATION ON ACTIONS
Harvesting
Harvesting is the most important action in the game. It is how you collect the
cards that provide you with points at the end of the game.

field and a two from another to make a six. You can only use each card in
the field once so if you play a six of Summer and a field contains a four of
Summer, a four of Winter, and a two of Autumn, you can combine one of the
fours with the two to create a six but you cant harvest both of them.
While you can harvest multiple cardscombining a four and a two to match
your sixyou can only play a single card from your hand on your turn. You
cannot, for example, play a four and a six from your hand in order to harvest
a ten on the board though you could play a ten from your hand to harvest a
four and a six.
You can harvest as many cards as you can match in your chosen field. In the
example shown above, you could harvest all five of the cards shown with your
single six. Once you have identified all the cards you can harvest, gather them up
and set them to the side with the card that you played. This is your harvest pile,
and these are the cards that will determine your score at the end of the game.

PL AY T E S T
When you Harvest, you play a single card from your hand; in this example, it is
the Six of Summer. Look at the cards in the field you have chosen.
You may take any card that directly matches the value of your card. If youve
played the Six of Summer, you may collect the Six of Autumn, or any other Six
in the field.
In addition, you may collect any other cards in the field that can be combined
to match the value of the card you have played. If youve played a six, you
could collect a four and a two (4+2=6) or a Five and a Fool (5+1=6).
You can only use the cards in one fieldso you cant take a four from one

Sowing
When you sow, you place a card from your hand into a field. On subsequent
turns, any player may harvest it or use it in stockpiling. Generally, you only sow
when theres nothing else you can do; you must play one card each turn, and if
you cant harvest or stockpile, you have to sow. However, there are a few cases
in which sowing can be useful. if you have two cards with the same value in
your hand, if you sow one you can harvest it with the other on the following turn
(provided no one else harvests it first!).

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Stockpiling
Stockpiling is more complex than sowing or harvesting. Generally, you stockpile to
set up a future play that will allow you to harvest more cards than you otherwise
could. For example, say you have two fours in your hand and theres another four
on the board, as shown in panel 1 below.
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of Summer, but this would leave you with the four of Spring still in your hand and
nothing to do with it. Stockpiling is a risk, because another player might have the
four of Autumn and harvest the pile before it gets back to your turn. But its a risk
you take in the hopes of a greater reward.
Stacking cards with the same value is one thing you can do with stockpiling, but
theres another option: combining a card from your hand with a card in a field
to create a stack whose total value matches another card in your hand. So if you
have a seven and a four in your hand and theres a three on the field, as shown in
panel one...

PL AY T E S T
1

You play one of the fours from your hand and stack it on top of the four already

on the field. You set it at a right angle on top of the four in the field, as shown
in panel 2; this lets everyone know that this is a stack of two fours. These cards
cannot be separated, and the value of the stack cannot be changed. Only two
things can be done with it. Someone could add ANOTHER four with a stockpiling
action or they could harvest the entire stack with a four, as shown in panel 3.

Stockpiling in this way allows you to harvest more cards than you could get in a
single turn. In panel one, you could simply harvest the four of Winter with the four
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you could stockpile the four and the three to create a stack with a combined
value of seven, as shown in panel 2. In this case, you dont cock the cards as you
did when creating a stack with multiple cards of the same value. On a subsequent
turn, someone could harvest this pile with a sevenas shown in panel 3.
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However, there is another option. Someone could stockpile ANOTHER card onto
the pile to increase its value. In panel three, youve drawn a Queen and you have
a five in your hand. So rather than harvesting the stack with the seven, you could
add the five to the stack to increase its value to twelve and then take the entire
pile with the queen.

five with the two, creating a stack with a value of seven and as part of the same
action you can add the seven thats in the field to that stack. By cocking the card
as shown in panel 2, you indicate that this is a stack of multiple iterations of
seven; if you didnt cock the card, it would mean that all the cards were combined,
so the stack would have a value of fourteen.

On top of this, whether you are creating a stack with a new value (as in our
second example, where 3+4=7) or creating a stack of two cards of the same value
(adding a 4 to a 4 to create a stack of two 4s), you can also add other cards in the
field to the stack, adding any card or cards that match the value of your stack. This
follows the same rules as harvesting. So consider the following example.

Since it is a stack of multiple iterations of a value, like our first example, the only
things that can be done are to add additional sevens to the stockpile or to harvest
the entire pile with another seven, as is about to happen in panel 3. You cannot
remove individual cards from a stockpile, and once youve got a cocked card you
cannot change the overall value of the stack: this is a stack of sevens, and there is
no way to make it a stack of nines.

PL AY T E S T
1

When stockpiling, there is one vital rule: YOU MUST HAVE A CARD MATCHING
THE VALUE OF THE STOCKPILE IN YOUR HAND IN ORDER TO CREATE IT.
Whether youre combining cards or just matching cards of equal value you, you
cant create a stockpile of sevens unless you have another seven in your hand.
Essentially, you cannot create a stockpile unless you are capable of harvesting it
on your next turn. Any other player has the right to ask you to prove your claim
in this case, to show that you DO have a seven to justify your stockpile.

In panel 1, there is a two and a seven out in the field. You have a seven and a five
in your hand. You COULD just harvest the seven with your seven but youd still
have your five, and thered still be a 2 on the field. Instead, you stockpile your
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HARMONIC CONVERGENCE
If there are four face-up Luminaries on the board at the same time, all players
move one seat to the left, leaving their hand behind. This exchanges both hands
and the score earned in previous games.
OPTIONAL RULES
Let all players agree at the onset as to whether any of these rules will be used as
part of a game.
Penalties. Should a player be caught in the act of making an illegal play
(intentionally or not), an observer may randomly seize and discard one card
from that players score pile. Common illegal plays are playing in violation of
the seasonso harvesting from Winter or sowing into Autumn.
No Luminaries. As Luminaries add complexity to a game, players may
choose not to use them at all.

A Luminary is revealed the first time its field is cleared,

and claimed the second time the field is cleared. You
must deal three cards into the field when a Luminary is
revealed. If there arent enough cards left to do this, the
Luminary is immediately discarded and has no effect.

PL AY T E S T
THE MAIDEN
While the Maiden is on the board, Winter has no effect:
Cards may be harvested from the Winter field. This effect
occurs even if the Maiden isnt in the Winter Field.
THE CHANGELING
Once during your turn, you may exchange a card from

your hand with a card in the same field as the Changeling.

You may do this at any point in your turn, either before
or after your play. You cant exchange cards that are part
of a Stockpile. This act of exchange does not change
the season. When you claim the Changeling, you may
immediately exchange two cards from your hand for any
other two cards on the board.

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THE FOREST QUEEN

It is always summer in the field of the Forest Queen.
When the Forest Queen is revealed, turn the illimat so
it is Summer in her field. As long as the Forest Queen is
on the board, the seasons do not change for any reason.
When you claim the Forest Queen, you may immediately
turn the illimat to any new position.

THE RIVER
When the River is revealed, deal six cards into the Rivers
field instead of the usual three cards. If, at the end of the
hand, you have claimed the River and you are Frostbit,
you gain two points instead of losing two points.

THE RAKE
Once during your turn, you must sow one card into the
field containing the Rake. You may do this at any point
in your turn, either before or after your play. This ignores

THE CHILDREN
When the Children is revealed, deal three cards (if
available) beneath the Children. These cards are kept
hidden and arent revealed to any player. When you claim

restrictions of season, and sowing a face card in this way

will change the season as usual. When you claim the
Rake, each player must give you one Summer card from
their harvest pile, if they have one.

the Children, these cards are added to your Harvest pile.

You may examine them, but do not have to reveal their
values to the other players.

PL AY T E S T
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2016 Carson Ellis and Twogether Studios LLC

Please note, only the 6 luminary cards that are in the playtest set are explained in this version of the rules.
The Illimat retail game will come with 8 luminary cards.

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