4 KEYS
4 KEYS Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview and Goal
Build a dungeon of 4 cards by 4 cards by collecting Door and Key cards.
Room cards are worth Gold Pieces (GP), while Door cards are worth nothing at all.
At the end of the game, the person with the most Gold Pieces wins.
Components
- 4 Adventurer tiles
- 4 Acolyte tiles
- 16 Gold Piece tokens
- 108 Dungeon cards, including:
- 4 Starting Door/Room cards
- 28 Door/Room double-sided cards, level 1
- 28 Door/Room double-sided cards, level 2
- 24 Key double-sided cards, level 1
- 24 Key double-sided cards, level 2
- 1 Neoprene mat
Card notes:
- Door card: front side shows a closed room. Its back side (Room) shows that the door has been opened.
- Room card: back side of a Door card, showing that the door has been opened.
- Key cards have a reminder in the bottom right corner showing what is on the back.
Setup
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Place the Neoprene mat in whichever orientation suits best, so that everyone can reach it. In the Exploration Line (LE), place the 4 draw piles side by side from left to right, in this order:
- Level 1 Door cards (showing 1 torch) (a),
- Level 1 Key cards (showing 1 key) (b),
- Level 2 Door cards (showing 2 torches) (c),
- Level 2 Key cards (showing 2 keys) (d). Make sure the Door cards are oriented Door side visible. The orientation of the Key cards does not matter.
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Each player chooses one Adventurer tile. Place them at random on each space of the Turn Order Line (LODT).
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Shuffle and deal one Starting Door card (dark side, no torch) to each player, and place it in front of you, Door side visible.
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Place 4 Gold Pieces in the recesses provided on each Adventurer tile on the LODT.
The player whose Adventurer tile is furthest to the left in the Turn Order Line, that is, the tile sitting under the level 1 Door pile, begins the game.
Note for 2 players: Take your Adventurer tile and your Acolyte tile and place them in the LODT, alternating colours, after drawing lots to decide who starts.
Note for 3 players: Each player plays only with their Adventurer tile, and the LODT has only 3 spaces. There will always be an empty space in the Choice Line at the end of each turn.
Turn Structure
Players take turns in turn order, following the LODT, starting with the tile furthest to the left (under the level 1 Door pile):
- Slide your Adventurer tile into the Choice Line (LC) and take the card on the pile above the chosen space.
- Place that card in your dungeon.
- Open doors, if applicable.
- Then the player with the tile furthest to the left in the LODT plays, and so on until the LODT is empty.
Once everyone has played, return the Adventurer tiles from the LC to the LODT, sliding them without changing their order.
A new turn begins with the player whose tile is furthest to the left in the LODT.
Example: Pierre plays first. He takes his Adventurer tile and places it under the level 2 Door pile (A). He collects the first card and adds it to his dungeon (B). Paul plays second. He takes his Adventurer tile and places it under the level 1 Key pile. He collects the first card and adds it to his dungeon.
Collecting a Card
When it is your turn, move your tile into the LC in front of the pile of YOUR choice, take the first card from that pile, and add it to your dungeon.
Renewing the Cards
At the start of your turn, if no card visible in the Exploration Line suits you, you may remove 1 Gold Piece from your Adventurer tile to remove the first card of each pile and put it back in the box. You may do this as many times as you can pay for. Then choose a space in the Choice Line and take a card.
Pushing an Adventurer
If you want to collect a card from a pile whose space in the LC is already occupied, you may push the tile that is there:
- Remove one Gold Piece from your Adventurer tile (A).
- Move the tile on the desired space to a free space in the LC of your choice (B).
- Place your tile on the space now freed up (C).
Clarifications:
- If your Adventurer tile has no more Gold Pieces, you can no longer push tiles.
- Pushing or moving an opponent's tile does not allow that opponent to take a card from the pile where it landed.
- With 2 players: you may push an Acolyte tile (opponent's or your own) or an opponent's Adventurer tile with your Adventurer. Your Acolyte has no Gold Pieces on it, so it cannot push tiles.
Example: in the three illustrations, the player pushes tiles in the Choice Line as shown by arrows A, B and C.
Placement Rules
A Key or Door card must be placed orthogonally, next to another card of your dungeon. Placing a card diagonally is therefore forbidden.
The dungeon may have at most 4 rows and 4 columns.
Key cards may be placed face up (recto) or face down (verso). In the bottom right corner of each Key card, a reminder shows what is on the verso. Choose which side is visible when you place the card, and it stays that way until the end of the game.
Door/Room cards are always placed Door side visible.
Opening a Door
Each Door card shows an opening requirement based on the Key symbols. At any time during the game, if all the keys needed are present in the same row and/or column as the door, the door opens automatically.
Keys do not need to be adjacent to the door they open; they only need to be in the same row and/or the same column as it.
Then turn the Door card over to its Room side to show that it is open.
A single key may open several doors.
Example: Paul takes a Key card and decides to turn it over (A). He places this card in his dungeon (B). By placing it, he unlocks 2 Door cards (C):
- Card C1 opens, because Paul has a Heart key and a Lightning key in the row and column of this door.
- Card C2 opens, because he has a Cross key in the row of this door and a Hexagon key in its column.
On the next turn, Paul takes a Door card and places it in his dungeon (D). The door sitting in the same row and column as the required keys is automatically opened (E), even if the keys have already been used before.
End of the Game
The turns continue until each player has 15 cards in their dungeon. The player then takes their Adventurer tile and places it in their dungeon, on the last empty space.
Note for 2 players: add your Adventurer tile and return your Acolyte tile to the box.
Count your total GP shown on each visible Room card in your dungeon. Visible Door cards are worth nothing. Adventurer tiles are worth as many GP as the number of Gold Pieces still on them. The player with the most GP wins the game.
Example: Paul scores 31 points:
- A: 5 GP.
- B: only 1 GP, because it is not in the centre of his dungeon.
- C: 5 GP, because the card above it is worth 5 GP.
- D: 0 GP, because it is not open.
- E: 3 GP, because it is in the centre of his dungeon.
- F: 1 GP, because it is not on the left side of the dungeon, on the indicated spaces.
- G: 3 GP, because his Adventurer tile scores 3 GP.
- H: 4 GP, because he has 4 Lightning keys.
- I: 3 GP, because his Adventurer tile is next to it.
- J: his Adventurer tile is worth 3 GP.
- K: 3 GP, because the card on its left is worth 3 GP.
Annex: Room Card Effects
Source: the official French card-effects annex (GRRRE Games, GG018-006 ANNEXES FR01), translated into English. Unless stated otherwise, there are 4 copies of each card.
Starting Card
THE THOUSAND-PATH ROOM (STARTING CARD) This card is worth 1 OR 3 GP if it is on one of the 2 spaces indicated in your dungeon. "Off we go to explore the bôÔÔô dungeon, no time to waste, you're here for the treasure!"
Level 1
AJAR DOOR (PORTE ENTROUVERTE) It opens as soon as you collect it, so place it Room side visible in your dungeon. It is worth 0, 3 or 5 GP. Number of copies: 4, 3 and 1 respectively. "Oh well! It's already open, clearly, smells like a trap... You'd really need the luck of a troll for this to pay off!"
THE BOX ROOM This room is worth 2 GP. "It's a dungeon box room, so it looks a bit grander than your little cupboard, that's for sure! Don't mind the big toad, he's already eaten, but look at these little purses!"
THE THRONE ROOM This room is worth as many GP as your Adventurer tile, at the end of the game. "No doubt about it, a throne really dresses up a room. Did you see the beautiful couroOoOoonne?"
THE TRAP ROOM This room is worth 1 OR 3 GP if it is in one of the 4 corners of the dungeon. "You have to like it when it stings, but it has its charm."
THE CONTROL ROOM This room is worth 1 OR 3 GP if it is on one of the 4 central spaces of your dungeon. "It's cutting-edge technology. The former owner was an avant-gardist and destroyed adventurers from a distance... Personally, I think it loses some of its charm..."
THE LARDER This room is worth 3 GP if it is next to your Adventurer tile, otherwise it is worth 0 GP. "Oh! Well I never! Orc sausage, troll terrine and witch mousse. The adventurers are going to feast!"
Level 2
THE PRIVATE APARTMENTS This room is worth 5 GP. "No doubt about it, it's posh. Yes! It's posh. The family heirlooms... it brings a tear to the eye..."
THE MAGIC COMPASS When it opens, you may point the arrow in any direction. It may point to an empty space or a space already occupied by a card. The Compass card is worth as many GP as the adjacent card pointed to by the arrow. If, at the end of the game, it points outside the dungeon or to a Key card, it is worth 0 GP. Number of copies: 8. "If we tell you it's magic!"
THE TREASURE CHEST ROOM This room is worth 1 GP for each key, whatever its shape, located in its row and its column. "You have to be realistic: the more keys you have, the richer you are."
THE MONSTER ROOM This room is worth 1 GP for each Level 1 Room card. It is recognisable by the presence of the monster symbol in the top left. "It's empty... They live freely in the dungeon now... Mind you, the ghosts used to pass through the golden bars..."
THE FOUNTAIN OF WEALTH This room is worth 1 GP for each key of the shape indicated that is present on the Key cards in your dungeon, wherever they are placed. Number of copies: 2 of each type. "A real gem, this room!"