Ali Baba
Ali Baba Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board (double-sided)
- 4 player screens
- 4 scoring markers
- 60 treasure tiles (10 kinds of treasure, with 6 different background colours)
- 1 first player token
Object of the Game
Collect treasures in the cave of the forty robbers. The more treasures of the same kind you have at the end of the game, the more points you earn. Use the magic effects of the treasures to outwit your opponents and, becoming the richest player, win the game.
Setup
Place the board with the 25-square side up in the middle of the table. Shuffle all the treasure tiles and lay them out on the board in four layers. Return the unused tiles face down (without looking at them) to the box.
Placing tiles on the board:
- Place 25 tiles face down, one on each square.
- Make a layer of 16 tiles face down on the first layer; each tile must rest on four others.
- Make another layer of 9 tiles face down on the second layer; each tile must rest on four others.
- Make the last layer of 4 tiles face up on the third layer; each tile must rest on four others.
Each player takes a screen and places the scoring marker of the matching colour on the score track at zero. The youngest player starts the game.
Gameplay
Players take turns clockwise, starting with the first player. Each turn consists of three actions:
- Take a face-up treasure tile. At the start of your turn you must take a face-up tile from the board and place it behind your player screen.
- Flip all uncovered face-down tiles. If one or more tiles are not covered by other tiles after you took your tile, you must turn them face up.
- Use the magic effect. The background colour of each tile is linked to a magic effect. The magic effect must be carried out immediately and cannot be saved for a future turn.
End of the Game
After the last face-down tile has been turned face up, the game continues until everyone has had an equal number of turns (that is, up to the player sitting to the right of the first player). Then each player takes a final turn and the game ends.
Note: if no tiles remain on the board, the game ends immediately.
Scoring
To determine their score, each player sorts the tiles behind their screen into groups of the same kind of treasure. Victory points are awarded for each group according to its size:
| Treasures | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victory points | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 21 |
All players count the points for each of their groups and add them to their score. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the winner is the player with fewer collected tiles.
Example: a player has the following treasures at the end of the game:
- 4 carpets = 10 points
- 1 statue = 1 point
- 1 ruby = 1 point
- 3 crowns = 6 points
- 2 chests = 3 points
- 2 swords = 3 points
In total the player earns 24 points.
Magic Effects
Pink
Score 5 points.
Example: You take a pink "diamond" and immediately earn 5 points.
Blue
Score 2 points for each tile you turned face up this turn. Or score 2 points if you cleared a square on the board.
Example: After you took the blue "magic carpet", two tiles will be turned face up, so you immediately earn 4 points.
Brown
Score 2 points for each treasure of this kind that you have behind your screen (including this treasure too).
Example: You take a brown "sword". In previous turns you collected two more swords. This turn you earn 6 points.
Green
Take an orthogonally adjacent face-up tile and place it behind your screen. Do not use its magic effect.
Example: After taking the green "magic carpet" you may also take the "ring". Place both tiles behind your player screen.
Yellow
Each opponent must show one of the treasure tiles they have collected. Choose one of them and place it behind your screen. Do not use its magic effect. All tiles not chosen are returned to the players.
Example: You take a yellow "chest". All other players must show you a tile from behind their screens. You choose a "sword" and place both tiles behind your screen.
Grey
Choose a treasure (ring, statue, crown, etc.) or a magic effect (yellow, blue, green, etc.). Until your next turn, all other players cannot take a tile of that kind or magic effect from the board.
Note: In rare cases, because of the restriction of this magic effect, no tile can be taken from the board. In such a situation the restriction is ignored and the player may take any tile.
Example: You take a white "statue" and choose the brown magic effect. Until your next turn, brown tiles may not be taken.
Variant: Aladdin's Lamp
Use the 25-square side of the board. Set all "Aladdin's lamp" tiles aside and shuffle all remaining tiles face down.
Draw six tiles at random and place them face up next to the board. These tiles are not placed on the board and serve as special treasures to be earned during the game.
Now shuffle the "Aladdin's lamps" face down with the remaining tiles and place all tiles on the game board according to the normal instructions.
When you take an "Aladdin's lamp" treasure, you must choose:
- use the normal magic effect (according to its background colour) and place the tile behind your screen.
- use the "Aladdin's lamp" magic effect: swap this tile with a tile next to the game board. Use the magic effect of that tile and place it behind your screen.
Variant: Equal Treasures
Use the 25-square side. Before placing the tiles on the board, remove all tiles of one kind of treasure from the game. This variant adds more tactics to the game, since you will know exactly which 6 treasures have been removed from the game.
Variant: Smaller Cave (for Two Players)
Use the 16-square side of the board. Before placing the tiles on the board, remove all tiles of three kinds of treasure from the game. This variant uses a slightly different board layout. It is a fairly quick variant for two players.
Placing tiles on the board:
- Place 16 tiles face down on the board; one on each square.
- Make a layer of 12 tiles face down on the first layer; each tile must rest on two others.
- Make another layer of 6 tiles face down on the second layer; each tile must rest on four others.
- Make the last layer of 2 tiles face up on the third layer; each tile must rest on four others.