Age of Dirt: A Game of Uncivilization Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Objective
• Before Your First Game
• Preparation of the Valley
• Preparation of the Caves
• How to Play
  • A) Send out Clan Members
  • B) Call back Clan Members...
  • The Reserve Board
  • C) Spend Resources
• Events
• End of the Game
• Details on Invention Cards
• Details on Clan Cards
• Featured Card Reference
• Credits

Contents

• 5 Caves (1 per color)
• 4 Area Boxes (forest, plains, mountains, love tent)
• 1 "The Passage" (cardboard construction in which cavemen get lost)
• 37 Wooden Pieces: 7 in each of the 5 player colors
• 1 Reserve Board
• 1x Drumstick
• 5 Drum
• 5x Spear
• 1 Sabre-tooth Tiger (orange)
• 1 Bear (brown)
• 1 Ughlympic torch
• 10 Clan cards
• 31 Invention cards
• 9 Event cards
• 80 Resource Tokens: 16 of each: berries, wood, stone, herbs, fur

Example cards shown on the components page:

• Goggle Clan (Clan card): Immediately take/draw 2 Invention cards and add them to your hand.
• Give-Take (Invention card): You may spend 2 resources for any 1 resource.
• Ughlympic Games (Event card): Throw all available CLAN MEMBERS of all players into THE PASSAGE. The player with the most afterwards wins the torch (= permanent Spear).

Objective

Build inventions, expand your cave, increase your Clan size - all to gain Rock Stars (RS). Whoever gets to 10 RS first, wins!

Before Your First Game

Punch out the cardboard pieces and put together "The Passage", 4 Area Boxes and the Drumstick.

Preparation of the Valley

Prepare the common area as follows:

• Place "The Passage" in good reach of all players. Clan Members will need to go through "The Passage" before they bring back resources.
• Put the 4 Area Boxes (forest, plains, mountains, and the love tent) in the middle of the table. These are where you send your Clan Members to gather resources or reproduce.
• Sort the resources and build a general supply next to their respective Area Boxes: berries and wood near the forest stone and herbs near the mountains fur near the plains. The love tent does not yield resources; it's where new Clan Members are made!
• Place the Reserve Board near the love tent (with 3 members per Clan). It's where Clan Members dwell before they are born, and where they go after they get eaten!
• Put the Tiger inside the plains. It's where the dangerous predator lives! Beware! It eats Clan Members!
• Put the Bear onto its spot on the Reserve Board. It's as hungry as the Tiger but may only show up later!
• Shuffle the Invention cards and form a facedown pile. Draw 2 Invention cards and put them next to it, faceup. This is the To-Do Wall. The To-Do Wall always shows 2 inventions that any clan can build to earn RSs and useful bonuses.

Preparation of the Caves

The Caves are the players' personal boards.

Each player starts with...

• a Small Cave (the player board side with 4 resource bins up)
• 4 Clan Members (wooden pieces) of the same color. Put your Clan Members onto your cave. Put the remaining 3 Clan Members on their spots on the Reserve Board.
• 1 Drum and 1 Spear. Both have a "broken" side and a "working" side. Each player decides now if they want to start the game with either: a) "working drum" and "broken spear" or b) "working spear" and "broken drum" You'll need the drum to call back missing Clan Members! You'll need the spear to repel predators like the Tiger or the Bear!
• 2 Clan cards. Choose one of them to keep in hand and discard the other one back into the box. For your first game, just draw one and keep it. The Clan card is your first Invention card that only you can build.

Example Clan card: Goggle Clan — Immediately take/draw 2 Invention cards and add them to your hand.

The player with the longest hair starts the game.

How to Play

The game is played in consecutive turns. On your turn, you choose one of the following actions:

• A) Send out Clan Members
• B) Call back Clan Members...
  • ...claim a reward
  • ...collect resources
• C) Spend Resources

A) Send out Clan Members

This option lets you send out your Clan Members into various areas, hoping that they will bring home certain resources.

Insert one or two of your available Clan Members (currently in your cave) into any of the Area Boxes (forest, mountains, plains or love tent). You may send each of them into different areas!

B) Call back Clan Members...

This option lets you gather resources. You did choose from which area Clan Members should bring resources, but you can not be sure... Remember, in the Age of Dirt, your folks are a bit dim...

Lift any of the Area Boxes. Keep the box in front of you! This helps to keep track of whose turn it is and which resources everybody will get.

...and claim a reward:

When you are calling back Clan Members, you will get a personal reward. It depends on the Area Box you have lifted:

• The forest: While calling back clan members from the forest, you find a perfectly shaped stick: Flip your Spear or Drum to its "working" side.
• The mountains: Help to motivate your cavemen with the heavy stuff: You can collect 1 Stone for every 1 of your Clan Members that fall out of "The Passage."
• The plains: Tumbleweed passes by. No reward, sorry! The plains are suspiciously quiet...
• The love tent: You instruct the clan in the higher arts of love: Add 1 additional Clan Member (from your cave) before throwing them into "The Passage."

Throw ALL in!

Throw all player pieces (and Predators) from that area into "The Passage."

• When you throw wooden pieces into the top of "The Passage," not all of them might come out on the bottom! Your Clan Members must have lost their way, or wandered off chasing butterflies...
• Wait a moment, because now every player has the opportunity to use their Drum:

The Drum:

If you have a working drum, you can use it to get more Clan Members out of "The Passage." You can even do this when it is not your turn (politely announce it to the other players before using it).

• Flip your Drum onto its "broken" side.

• Take the Drumstick and bang it against the flaps of "The Passage" up to 3 times. (Beware! The tiger might also fall down, if it's still in there!)

• A Predator fell out of "The Passage"! When a Predator (Tiger or Bear) falls out of "The Passage," it eats one of each player's Clan Members that also fell out, no matter how many fell out. Put eaten Clan Members on their area of the Reserve Board. If both Predators fall out at the same time, they each will eat one Clan Member of every player that also fell out.

The Spear:

There is a moment in every clan chief's life where they have to stand up for their people! The time is now!

If you have a working spear, you can use it to repel the Predator:

• Flip your Spear onto its "broken" side.
• Now YOUR Clan Members are safe and won't be eaten!
• If both Predators fall out of "The Passage" at the same time, you repel both with your spear.

Afterwards, return the Tiger to the plains and the Bear on the Reserve Board.

Warning: The landscape in the Age of Dirt is very unstable. Should anything fall out of "The Passage" outside a Call Back Clan Members action or certain Events, set them aside, and throw them in along with other pieces with the next Call Back Clan Members action or certain Events.

The Age of Dirt is a simple but mysterious age. Therefore you can never look inside the Passage.

...Collect Resources

Clan Members (from ALL players) that fall out of "The Passage" return from the area that has just been emptied. They are bringing you resources from that area only - even if you had originally sent them somewhere else.

• The forest: Each returning Clan Member carries 1 Wood or 1 Berries.
• The mountains: Each returning Clan Member carries 1 Herbs, or 2 returning Clan Members carry 1 Stone (Stones are heavy!)
• The plains: Each returning Clan Member carries 1 Fur.

Put each collected resource on a free resource bin. (You start with 4 bins. Additional bins can be obtained by building your Large Cave or certain inventions.)

You may always discard resources from your resource bins to make room for new stuff, or you can choose not to take any of the new resources. You may never have more resources than available resource bins!

The love tent: When your Clan Members return from the love tent, they don't bring resources, they have MATED:

Mommy, where do new Clan Members come from?

Depending on how many of each player's Clan Members fall out of "The Passage," they multiply:

Mate with your own clan:

For each 2 of your own Clan Members, you must take 1 new Clan Member from the Reserve Board. All 3 Clan Members return to your cave.

Mate with other clans:

If there are multiple single Clan Members left and both chiefs agree to intercultural partnership, they mate with each other:

Each involved player takes 1 new Clan Member from the Reserve Board! (AKA shared custody.)

Both players return their 2 Clan Members to their caves.

None left to mate with?

If single Clan Members remain without a mate, they seek solace in their work: Immediately insert them into any of the Area Boxes. (This can be the love tent again!)

Note: If 2 Clan Members of the same clan fall out, they MUST mate. You can't choose to mate with another clan or let both go to work.

The Reserve Board

This is where your future Clan Members reside. It is also where your lost Clan Members go, waiting to be reborn into your Clan.

The Reserve Board has only a limited amount of space. If your Reserve Board is full and you would lose a 5th Clan Member (due to a Predator, or an invention), place the Clan Member onto the Reserve Board, but it will return to your cave at the end of the turn.

The Reserve Board can also give you a Rock-Star bonus!

A large clan is a happy clan!

When you have no Clan Members on the Reserve Board, you gain 1 RS. As soon as you have to put one back, that RS is lost – until you manage to bring all Clan Members into your Clan again!

C) Spend Resources

You can spend resources to do various things. Spent resources go back into their common supplies.

A) Build an Invention:

You can build things using Invention cards from either your hand, or from the To-Do Wall. Spend the resources depicted on the upper left corner of the Invention card.

Put the card faceup next to your cave and proudly announce what you have built. Any card text, bonus or RS come into effect now.

After you have built something, new knowledge is obtained:

Did you build something from your hand?

Add a new Invention card to your hand. You can either draw a card from the draw pile or take a card from the To-Do Wall (in that case, replenish the To-Do Wall immediately).

Did you build something from the To-Do Wall?

Draw 1 Invention card from the draw pile and put it on the To-Do Wall.

Attention! Whenever you draw cards from the draw pile, events might get triggered! (see: 'Events' below!)

B) Expand your Cave:

Spend 1 Stone to build your Large Cave. Flip over your Small Cave. Your Large Cave has 2 additional resource bins.

After you expand your cave, more room for new knowledge is obtained: Add 1 new Invention card to your hand. You can either draw a card from the draw pile or take a card from the To-Do Wall (in that case, replenish the To-Do Wall immediately). Events will still trigger normally if drawn.

C) Build Tools:

Spend 1 Wood to build 1 tool: Flip your Spear or Drum from the "broken" side to the "working" side!

D) Use Herbs:

Spend 1 Herbs to inexplicably get creative! Add 1 new Invention card to your hand. You can either draw a card from the draw pile or take a card from the To-Do Wall (in that case, replenish the To-Do Wall immediately). Events will trigger normally if drawn.

You can spend as much as you want in one turn, as long as you have the resources for it!

Example 1: You expand your cave (B). That allows you to draw/take a card. You draw a Rolling Stone. You can keep it in your hand, or build it immediately, if you have any leftover stone. You spend the wood resource to bring the Drum to its working side (C).

Example 2: You build a Farm Cave (A), and decide to take 1 Herbs as its effect. You draw a new Invention card. As this card isn't useful, you decide to Use Herbs (D) by spending the 1 Herbs to draw/take an additional Invention card.

Events

This age can get quite dirty, so you will come across a few events when drawing cards! Whenever you draw an Event card, the normal turn is interrupted, and you have to follow the instructions on the card immediately.

Afterwards, you draw a new card and the game progresses as normal. (Unless it's another Event card!)

Any Event that requires throwing pieces into "The Passage" allows the use of the Drum as described above. And should a Predator or two fall out, the Spear can be used, too.

Note on turn order: If the player order becomes important (Events; whether, or if you should use the Drum; deciding what resources to pick up, etc....), let the active player decide first, followed by all other players in a clockwise direction.

End of the Game

As soon as you have 10 Rock-Stars (Victory Points), you win and the game ends immediately.

You have united the clans! All the other chiefs are allowed to cheer for the new chief of chiefs!

Details on Invention Cards

If you build an Invention card with the permanent-effect symbol, you gain a permanent effect. All other effects happen only once, in the very moment you build the invention. If you can't use the one-time bonus right away, that's bad timing. You can't save it for later.

Example permanent effect: Once you've built the GIVE-TAKE, you can always use any 2 resources from your cave for any other resource whenever you build, expand your Cave, use Herbs or even for the Carnivoral.

Example one-time bonus: When you build the CRAFT CAVE, you immediately flip your Drum on its working side. If your Drum is already on its working side, you timed this Invention badly and don't get the bonus.

Details on Clan Cards

They work exactly like the Invention cards.

Example permanent effect: After having built the VILLENDORF Clan, you immediately take or draw one additional Invention card. (That means, this time you draw a total of 2 Invention cards.) AND from now on, you have an additional bin for resources.

Example one-time bonus: General Boulders: You can send out up to 3 available Clan Members and distribute them as you wish. If you have less than three available Clan Members, you can send out as many as you have.

An Event card is triggered immediately when a player draws it. That player continues their turn by drawing another card AFTER the event was resolved.

Clarifications on some Event cards:

• Roooar: After the Bear Cube falls out and has (maybe) eaten some Clan Members, return it to the Reserve Board.
• Cocktail Party / Prehistoric Mixer: If you don't have any available Clan Members, you don't participate.
• Mammoth Mia: If you don't have any resource or available Clan Member to lose and if your Spear is already broken, you don't lose anything.
• Ughlympic Games: The winner takes the cardboard torch.

Featured Card Reference

Text transcribed from the example cards illustrated throughout the rulebook:

• Give-Take (Invention): You may spend 2 resources for any 1 resource.
• Fire Place (Invention): You may avoid events. When an Event is drawn you can choose not to participate or be affected by the event.
• Craft Cave (Invention): Immediately flip your Drum on its working side.
• PatriAAARGH (Invention): Lose 1 Clan Member. If you have no available Clan Member, you cannot build PatriAAARGH!
• Rolling Stone (Invention): Immediately send 1 available Clan Member into any area.
• Pointy Branch (Invention): Immediately flip your Spear on its working side.
• Farm Cave (Clan card): Immediately take 1 Berries or 1 Herbs.
• Villendorf (Clan card): Draw/Take 1 Invention card and add it to your hand.
• General Boulders (Clan card): Immediately send out 3 Clan Members.
• Roooar (Event): Put the Bear Cub into any area. When it falls out of THE PASSAGE, everyone loses 1 Clan Member which also fell out. Use the Spear to protect your Clan.
• Cocktail Party (Event): One member from every Clan slips away into the love tent.
• Prehistoric Mixer (Event): One member from every Clan slips away into the love tent.
• Mammoth Mia (Event): All the players without a Fireplace lose 1 Clan Member, 1 Resource, or break their Spear.
• Ughlympic Games (Event): Throw all available CLAN MEMBERS of all players into THE PASSAGE. The player with the most afterwards wins the torch (= permanent Spear).

Credits

Designer: Johannes Krenner Illustrator: Klemens Franz Graphic Design: atelier198

License: whitecastle.at (White Castle Games Agency)

©2019 WizKids/NECA LLC. WizKids, and related marks and logos are trademarks of WizKids. All rights reserved.

Thanks to Ronald Hofstätter & Philipp Hugelmann for inspiring this game with their dice tower. Thanks to all the testers, particularly the ones from the White Castle jour-fixe, the Game-for-Life and the Don't-Panic-Convention. Klemens wants to thank Victor Berghold.