The White Castle Matcha reference sheet

Overview

Expansion for The White Castle; adds a Tea Garden, Geishas, Chasen resource, and green dice [p.1 — Components]
2–4 players; 3 rounds of 4 turns each [p.3 — Playing the Game]
New goal: move Geishas through the Tea Garden into the Tea House or Pond Overlook for end-game points [p.7 — Geishas]
Adds two new board locations: Tea Fields and Outskirts of Himeji [p.4 — New Game Spaces]
All expansion components marked ♦ for easy removal [p.2 — Game Setup]

Shuffle expansion cards into their respective decks; mix 4 Training Yard tiles with base game tiles [p.2 — Game Setup]
Use expansion Domain boards instead of base game boards [p.2 — Game Setup]
Attach expansion board to lower edge of main board [p.2 — Expansion Setup]
Place green Bridge with dice count = players + 1; place 3 random Water Lily tiles in pond [p.2 — Expansion Setup]
Place Flower Arrangement and Calligraphy decks face-up in their spaces (remove ♦ cards in 2-player games) [p.2 — Expansion Setup]
Place 3 Ceremony tiles (yellow side up) in Tea House; 1 tile (blue side up) at Pond Overlook [p.2 — Expansion Setup]
Place 1 random Ceremony tile (blue side up) below each pair of Starting cards [p.3 — Expansion Setup]
Each player places Geishas on their Domain board and sets Chasen marker to 0 [p.3 — Expansion Setup]
In reverse turn order, each player takes Starting cards + associated Ceremony tile, placed on their Domain board [p.3 — Expansion Setup]

Round ends when only 4 dice total remain across all Bridges (including green) after any player's turn [p.3 — Playing the Game]
On your turn, place 1 die from a Bridge into a location and perform that location's action [p.4 — New Game Spaces]
Green dice may go to: Tea Fields, Outskirts of Himeji, Well, Outside the Walls, or green line on Domain [p.4 — The Green Bridge]
Green dice cannot go to the Castle (no green tiles) [p.4 — The Green Bridge]
Placing a green die on your Domain: gain line resources; pay 1 Daimyo Seal to also use your Ceremony tile action [p.6 — The Personal Domains]

Location	Dice	Effect
Tea Fields	Any color, stack up to 2	Perform Geisha action [p.5]
Outskirts of Himeji	Any color, stack up to 2	Perform both curtain actions on 1 aligned card, any order [p.5]
Green Domain line	Green only	Gain line resources; +1 Daimyo Seal to activate Ceremony tile [p.6]

Geisha action (choose 1 or both) [p.7 — Geishas]

Pay 2 coins → move leftmost Geisha from Domain to Tea Garden entrance
Pay 2 Chasen → advance 1 step OR pay 5 Chasen → advance 2 steps on Path of Tea (1 Geisha, all at once)

Path of Tea destinations [p.7 — Geishas]

Pond Overlook (left): gain 3 Water Lily rewards OR pay 3 coins for Ceremony tile action; max 1 Geisha per clan
Tea House (right): choose 1 of 3 rooms, perform that room's Ceremony tile action; max 2 Geishas per clan per room
Outskirts steps: take top Flower Arrangement or Calligraphy card, perform yellow curtain action, place in Lantern Area

Resources [p.11 — End of the Game]

Every 5 coins and/or Daimyo Seals = 1 Clan Point (rounded down)
3–6 units of any resource (Food, Iron, Mother-of-Pearl, Chasen) = 1 Clan Point; 7 units = 2 Clan Points

Passage of Time [p.11]

Clan Members [p.11]

Geishas [p.11]

Entrance = 1 pt; 1st step = 2 pts; 2nd step = 3 pts; Pond Overlook = 2 pts
Tea House room: 2 pts × number of Gardeners/Warriors/Courtiers (incl. Gate) you have on the board, per Geisha in the matching room

Game ends after 3 rounds; score after establishing new turn order [p.10 — End of the Game]
Most Clan Points wins; tiebreaker = higher position in turn order [p.11 — End of the Game]
If any player exceeds 120 pts, replace the +40/+80 tile with the +120/+160 tile [p.11 — End of the Game]

Chasen: Tea whisk resource; used to advance Geishas on the Path of Tea (max 7 on track) [p.6 — Geishas and The Chasen]
Geisha: New clan member type; moves through Tea Garden toward Tea House or Pond Overlook [p.6 — Geishas and The Chasen]
Tea Garden: Area containing the Path of Tea, Tea House, and Pond Overlook [p.7 — Geishas]
Path of Tea: Two-step route from Tea Garden entrance leading left to Pond Overlook or right to Tea House [p.7 — Geishas]
Pond Overlook: End-left space on Path of Tea; max 1 Geisha per clan; grants Water Lily rewards or Ceremony tile action [p.7 — Pond Overlook]
Tea House: End-right destination with 3 rooms; max 2 Geishas per clan per room; each room scores differently [p.8 — Tea House]
Ceremony tile: Tile chosen at setup placed on Domain board; activated by paying 1 Daimyo Seal when placing a green die on Domain, or triggered at certain Path of Tea locations [p.6 — The Personal Domains]
Water Lily tile: Pond reward tile; 3 are drawn at setup and awarded at Pond Overlook or end of round [p.2 — Expansion Setup]
Outskirts of Himeji: New board location; placing a die here lets you perform both curtain actions on 1 aligned Flower Arrangement or Calligraphy card [p.5 — The Outskirts of Himeji]
Tea Fields: New board location; placing a die here triggers a Geisha action [p.5 — The Tea Fields]

Q: Can green dice go to the Castle? — A: No; there are no green-colored Castle tiles, so placement rules prevent it [p.4 — The Green Bridge]
Q: Can the "any resource" icon grant Chasen? — A: No; that icon only covers Food, Iron, and Mother-of-Pearl. Chasen has its own icon [p.6 — Daimyo Seals]
Q: Can the Domain board icon activate the green die line? — A: No; that icon only refers to white, coral, and black dice [p.6 — The Personal Domains]
Q: Can a Geisha switch direction (Pond Overlook vs Tea House) after choosing? — A: No; once a direction is chosen it cannot be changed [p.7 — Geishas]
Q: Can Geishas at the Pond Overlook or on the Path of Tea count toward Tea House room scoring? — A: No; only Geishas inside a Tea House room count for that room's scoring [p.11 — Score Clan Members]
Q: What happens if the last Flower Arrangement or Calligraphy card is taken? — A: Still perform the yellow curtain action but do not take the card and ignore remaining steps [p.7 — Outskirts of Himeji]