A Year in Wendake
The seven years of Wendake: the 3 × 3 action grid, the four individual turns, changing turn order, swapping tiles and the five Restore steps.
Overview
The game lasts seven years (rounds). Each year has two parts, always in this order:
- Individual player turns — four turns each, in turn order.
- Restore — new turn order, adjust Action tiles, restore Masks, restore Progress tiles, new year.
The action grid
Your Action board holds a 3 × 3 grid of Action tiles. You start with the Sacred Fire tile in the middle and your eight other starting tiles around it in random places, Action side up. Each tile has two sides:
- the Action side shows one to three actions, used top to bottom;
- the Ritual side always shows the
Ritual action. You may look at the Action side
of your Ritual tiles at any time.
The nine starting tiles are: 
Sacred Fire, 
Move 3, 
Canoe, 
Trade, 
Harvest, 
Hunting + 1 Move, 
Tan
Pelts + 1 Move, 
Fishing + Military, and 
Mask Ceremony. All the actions
are explained on The Actions.
Individual player turns
Starting with the first player and following the Turn Order markers, players take turns until everyone has placed all four Action markers. On your turn you place one marker and choose one of two options. Over the year you must choose Take 1 action three times and Change turn order once, in any order you like.
Take 1 action
Put your Action marker on a tile of your grid, then you may use any or all of its actions — always from top to bottom, and each one is optional.
- Your first tile of the year can be any tile. Your second and third must be in the same row, column or diagonal as the tiles you already chose: at the end of the year your three markers must form one straight line.
- You may pick the three tiles in any order — not necessarily top to bottom or left to right.
Change turn order
Instead of an action, put your Action marker on the leftmost empty space of the Turn Order area on the Ceremonial Mask board. The new order takes effect at the start of the Restore.
[Allies] With New Allies you may choose any Turn Order space that has a Turn card below it, and you take the card’s Alliance action and effect (New Allies).
Swap tiles
Once per game, at any time, you may swap two free tiles of your grid (tiles without an Action
marker) and return your 
Swap token to the box. An unused Swap token is worth 1 point at
the end. (The Seneca start with two.)
Restore
After the last player has placed and resolved their fourth marker, prepare the next year in five steps.
New turn order
Hand out the Turn Order markers according to the Action markers in the Turn Order area, and give those markers back. The new order applies at once — including to the next step.
Adjust action tiles
- Everyone removes their Action markers and flips only the tiles they used to the other side — a Ritual tile used this year flips back to its Action side. The tile marked by the Sacred Fire marker is not flipped (see Sacred Fire); the Sacred Fire tile itself is.
- Everyone slides their tiles down one row: the top row is now empty and the old bottom row sits below the grid. Those three tiles turn back to their Action side.
- In the new turn order, each player may set aside one of their three tiles below the grid and take one of the six Advanced Action tiles beside the board (or a tile they set aside in an earlier year). After each taken Advanced tile, draw a new one of the same level so there are six again.
- Then each player shuffles their three tiles below the grid (the new one included) and lays them at random in the top row, Action side up. Players may shuffle for each other.
Only at the end of Year 3: after everyone has chosen, remove the Level 1 Advanced tiles on offer and turn over six Level 2 tiles.
[Promo] The 2017 4-point tile and the 2018 Level 1 and Level 2 tiles join these piles (Promo Tiles).
Restore masks
Move all Mask disks from the Ceremonial Mask area back to the Restore area. Everyone takes the Mask cards they played this year back into their hand.
Restore Progress tiles
Turn every used Progress tile back to its usable side. [Allies] Used Turn cards are restored too.
New year begins
Move the Year marker one space right. If it was on 7, the game ends: go to the end of the game.
[Allies] Discard the Turn card left on the board and reveal new ones; after Year 3 the Level 2 Turn deck replaces Level 1 (New Allies).
Ritual tiles
Every tile you use flips to its Ritual side, so last year’s busy row comes back as Rituals unless you use those tiles again (which flips them back) or they slide off the bottom. Planning which line to take therefore also plans next year’s grid.