Ambar (2018) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Objective
• Components
• Setup
• Playing Areas
• Rounds
• Game Turn Overview
• Phase 1 - Journey Line-up
  • Incidents and rewards on your journey
  • Dangers on the road
• Phase 2 - Actions
  • Amber Forests
  • Alchemy
  • Traveller
  • Villages
  • Additional actions
• Phase 3 - Trade
• Phase 4 - Upgrades
• Phase 5 - Demons
  • The Serpent
  • The Red Demon
• Events
  • Event cards
• Ending the Game

Game Objective

The player who has the most gold at the end of the game wins. Manage your amber and sell your gems to generate sales and earn gold.

Components

• 16 starting cards
  • 1 forest x player
  • 1 alchemy x player
  • 1 traveller x player
  • 1 village x player
• 1 Serpent
• 1 Red Demon
• 1 treasure card
• 12 amber tokens
• 15 soldier tokens
• 1 journey deck (66 cards)
  • 4 x alchemy
  • 8 x travellers
  • 12 x villages
  • 12 x trade
  • 5 x chants
  • 8 x oracles
  • 10 x bandits
  • 7 x hold-ups
• 1 event deck (23 cards)
• 65 gems
  • 40 yellow
  • 15 blue
  • 10 red
• 57 gold tokens worth 1, 3 or 10

Setup

Each player receives the following cards to lay out face up in front of them: 1 amber forest, 1 alchemy, 1 traveller and 1 village (starting cards are marked with an icon in the top left corner).

Each player receives: 3 soldiers and 3 gold coins, 1 amber marker to place on the first slot on their forest card, 1 yellow gem to place on the alchemy card and 1 event card.

Preparing the journey deck for rounds 1 and 2:

• Separate out the Serpent (round 1), the Red Demon (round 2) and the Treasure.
• Separate out all cards which show the icon for the second round; these cards only come into play in round 2. Place them under the Red Demon.
• Shuffle the remaining cards to form the deck for round 1.

The player who has most recently seen a real piece of amber starts; otherwise the youngest player is the starting player.

Playing Areas

The game has two main playing areas:

• The journey line-up, which is formed by drawing cards from the journey deck during each player's turn.
• The player action area which consists of 4 set cards placed in front of each player.

During each turn, players draw cards from the journey deck. The deck contains neutral cards (cream background) and cards representing dangers encountered during your journey (black background). Each card equals one day on the road. The more days you play (see phase 1 description) the more actions you can perform (see phase 2 description). You can use your actions to collect amber, turn it into precious gems and take them to towns to try and sell them.

On the left, cards with cream background represent a day's journey. On the right, cards with a black background represent a danger in addition to a day's travel.

Rounds

The game is split into 2 rounds. In the first round there is less danger but there are also less resources. It ends when the last card is drawn from the deck. In the second round, the discarded cards from round one are shuffled back in with the cards for round two. When the last card is drawn from the deck during the second round the game ends and the player with the most gold wins.

There are demons chasing the players throughout the game. In the first round the Serpent chases the player that travels the farthest (5 or more days). And in the second round, the Red Demon goes after the player with the most gold.

Game Turn Overview

Ambar is played over a number of game turns (turns are performed from left to right). Each turn is composed of five phases:

1. Journey line-up
2. Actions
3. Trade (sell)
4. Upgrades (buy)
5. Demons

Quick Game Turn Summary: First, you draw cards from the journey deck, facing dangers as you go. After ending your journey, you can perform actions equal to the number of cards you have just drawn. You can use these actions to create gems and take them to town. There, you can sell them for gold, if there is a trade offer. You can then use your gold to buy upgrades or recruit soldiers. At the end of the turn the demon cards are resolved.

Phase 1 - Journey Line-up

Each card represents 1 day of travelling, each day represents 1 action. During the first phase of your turn you draw cards from the deck and place them face up on the table. They make up the journey line-up, with each card representing one day on the road. Your days spent travelling can be safe (cards with a light background) but some of the nights may be dangerous (cards with a black background).

You can draw as many cards as you wish. Draw the cards one at a time until one of the below applies:

• a) you decide to end your journey.
• b) you have travelled for one week (7 cards).
• c) you have reached the maximum level of danger (3 black cards).

Your objective is to gain actions for the next phase of your turn, one for every day on the road. If you draw 4 cards, these would represent 4 days meaning you would have 4 actions. If you draw 2 cards, you can perform 2 actions. But beware! If you reach the maximum level of danger, you may only perform 1 action during the next phase of your turn, regardless of how may cards you have drawn.

Incidents and rewards on your journey

While travelling, that is to say, drawing cards from the journey deck, the below incidents will be triggered:

• On the fifth day (fifth card) you take the card of the Serpent. Your journeys have caught the attention of this demon which will chase you during your next turn while it remains with you.
• On the sixth day you draw 1 event card. The gods smile upon your bravery.
• On the seventh day you take 1 soldier (if available). Your courage attracts support for your journey.

The incidents and rewards described above only apply if you end your journey before you reach the maximum level of danger. If you do, you will neither receive the rewards, nor will the Serpent chase you as you will be too busy fleeing and trying to find a safer road to travel.

Dangers on the road

The black cards represent dangers you encounter in the unknown territories you are travelling to find amber. Some dangers have advantageous side-effects, others make you lose resources. However, it is very important that you never reach the maximum level of danger because that means you will have to flee immediately, looking for a safer road to travel. It also means that you can only perform one action during the next phase of your turn. Dangers with a sword icon can be fought off using soldiers, but they can only be fought off when they first appear (never afterwards). However, a third black card can never be countered.

Danger cards:

The oracle. This strange person causes you to tremble with fear, but he also reveals the future. You can look at the next card from the top of the deck and then decide to either reveal it or end your journey.

Chants. Sweet voices carried along by the night air distract you on your journey. Draw another card or send a soldier to fight the sirens for you (discarding the soldier token as you do so).

If Chants is the seventh card in your travel line-up and the second black card you have drawn, you have to draw another card from the deck to see if you reach the maximum level of danger. If the card is not a danger, discard it immediately.

Bandits in the forest. Bandits are trying to steal your gems. If a bandit appears on your road you can attack him with a soldier (discarding the soldier token and the bandit card as you do so). If you do not fight him you have to give him a gem of the colour he demands.* If you do not have the gem he wants, you have to give him the next most valuable gem (red > blue > yellow). If you do not have any gems, you have to give him 1 gold coin.**

Raid. Sometimes, groups of bandits get together to raid travellers. You can get rid of them using two soldiers or by giving them 1 gold coin.**

*All of the stolen gems and coins are placed on the bandit card to show that the card stays in the game. At the end of the turn, the gems and the coins are placed on the treasure card.

**If you do not have anything you can use to pay off the bandit or the raiders you cannot continue. Turn over this card. Only the cards you have drawn before that card count towards your actions during the next phase.

Demons. Demons also count towards your black cards, but they are not part of the journey deck. See phase 5 on how to play demons.

Phase 2 - Actions

Collect amber, create precious gems and try to sell them.

The amount of days (cards) you travelled during phase 1 are now converted into actions you can use during phase 2. Use this phase to collect amber, use alchemy and your skills to create precious gems, take them to villages and towns where you will find opportunities to trade and try to sell them.

Your cards:

Amber Forests

Deep inside the forests amber can be found. The more areas you explore, the more amber you can find and the better are your chances to find different colours of amber. Blue and red amber are much rarer and also much more valuable. There are 3 sites marked on your amber forest showing your chances for finding amber. You always start with your marker at the top position. Throughout the game you can use gold during your upgrade phase to progressively explore more sites (you may only explore the sites one after the other, never all at once).

Alchemy

Using your skills and your knowledge of alchemy you work the raw amber to transform it into precious gems that are very much sought after in villages, towns and castles. This card shows how many gems can be created, depending on the number of amber forests you have explored. The more zones you explore, the bigger your chances of finding rare amber (blue or red). Upgrade your alchemy card to also make gems of these colours.

The player on the left has a forest card with one amber marker and a starting alchemy card. Having a forest with amber, he can use this card to produce one yellow gem with one action. The player in the middle has 3 explored forests. This means he can create 3 yellow gems with one action or 1 blue gem. On the right, the player also has an upgraded alchemy card. He can now choose between creating 3 yellow gems or 1 blue or 1 red gem.

Traveller

The traveller card shows the number of gems you can carry to a village or town safely. More courageous travelers carry more precious gems or just more gems in total. The card shows how many gems of a certain colour can be carried with one action (with every action you can only move gems of the same colour). Using the traveller, you can move the gems directly from your alchemy card to your village card.

In the example there are 3 yellow gems, 2 blue gems and 1 red gem on the alchemy card. We have one traveller who can either carry up to 5 yellow or 3 blue or 1 red gem. Here, the player uses 1 action to carry 2 blue gems to the town (which allows gems of that colour).

Villages

Village cards are where the travelers are headed to show off their wares and try to sell the gems. The smallest villages have less demand so you can only take a few gems there to sell. Bigger and richer towns (cities and castles) have more demand and allow you to bring in more precious gems. The number at the bottom shows the maximum number of gems allowed in the village at any one time, counting all gems of all colours allowed in that village. You cannot take more gems to a village than there is demand for. Neither can you take more valuable gems than those demanded (villages with a capacity of 3 and 6 do not allow red gems). You can only sell your gems if there is a TRADE card in your journey line-up.

Additional actions

You may perform actions in addition to those acquired during phase 1 of your turn by discarding event cards. Events can be very useful throughout the game, but you can also discard your event cards to gain additional actions. You gain 1 action per event card discarded in this manner.*

*Discarding event cards only lets you gain additional actions. They do not count towards your journey line-up or to gain rewards for your journey.

Phase 3 - Trade

Sell your gems made of amber.

After your action phase you can now go on to sell the gems in your town, whenever there is a trade card in your journey line-up. Trade cards come into play during phase 1 and give you an opportunity to sell your wares in towns. To make a sale, move all the gems in your town on to a trade card. You can then collect their worth in gold depending on what the trader is offering. At the bottom of the card you can see how much gold the trader is willing to pay for each of the different colours of gems. Once the trader has bought your gems you cannot trade again with this card.

Selling your gems in phase 3 does not cost you any actions. However, it sometimes happens that you have 2 trade cards in your journey line-up, and you already have gems in your village at the start of round 2. If this is the case you can spend 1 action in phase 2 to move the gems from your village to a trade card. In this way you can trade twice during your turn: once in phase 2 and again during the normal trading phase in phase 3.

ALL players can trade during this phase, in turn order and only as long as there are trade cards available. At the end of this phase, the sold gems are returned to the hoard.

Phase 4 - Upgrades

During the fourth phase of your turn you may spend gold to upgrade your resources using one of the below options:

• Increase your capacity to collect amber on your forest card. To do so, pay the price on the card to take up the next amber token.
• Increase your capacity to create gems by taking a new alchemy card.
• Increase your carrying capacity to carry more or more valuable gems using a traveller card.
• Increase the amount of gems you can sell by taking a new village card.
• Hire 1 more soldier by paying 1 gold coin.

You can only buy 1 upgrade per turn. You can only upgrade a card, if a better card is available in the journey line-up. To upgrade a card, discard your current card of this type, pay the price for the new card and put it in the space left by the card you discarded. If there were any gems on the old card, place them on the new card instead.

ALL players can upgrade during this phase in turn order. However, buying an upgrade outside of your turn carries an additional cost of 1 gold coin. During this phase all other players may only buy cards available face up on the table. They cannot upgrade forests or hire soldiers.

Phase 5 - Demons

Demon cards are black (dangerous) but they are not shuffled into the journey deck. There are two types of demons: The Serpent and the Red Demon. The Serpent enters the game in round 1 and the Red Demon enters the game in round 2. These cards are placed face up next to the journey deck. They come into play when attracted and are then given to the player who caught their attention. When a player is chased by a demon, it is placed at the start of their journey line-up. This way, they start their turn with a higher danger level than normal.

Note: Demon cards also count towards your journey line-up. However, you must take at least one card from the deck before ending your journey.

The Serpent

The serpent chases the player who has travelled the farthest. When a player draws 5 or more cards during the first phase of their turn, they are given the Serpent to keep until the start of their next turn. During their next turn, they must put the Serpent as the first card of their journey line-up before drawing any other card. This way, they start this phase with a higher danger level than normal, having already one black card out of the 3 allowed. At the end of this turn the Serpent returns to its hiding place next to the journey deck until another player catches its attention by placing 5 or more cards. If a player has been given the Serpent during their turn and another player attracts the Serpent's attention before it releases its effect on the player in whose possession it currently is, it passes on to the other player instead.

The Red Demon

The Red Demon always chases after the richest player. At the start of round 2, the Red Demon is given to the player with the most gold at the table. If there is a draw, the Red Demon is given to the first player in turn order. The player currently chased by the Red Demon must play it during their turn, putting it down as the first card of their journey line-up. This way, they start this phase with a higher danger level than normal, having already one black card in their line-up. If this player is also chased by the serpent, they would have two black cards to start with. Other than the Serpent, the Red Demon stays with its victim until another player has accumulated more gold and it is lured away. At the end of each turn players check to see which player has the most gold and will be chased by the Red Demon next.

Once all 5 phases have been completed, the leftover cards are put on the discard pile. When the main deck is used up, the discard pile (including the cards discarded by players who upgraded their cards) is shuffled in with the cards laid aside for round two.

If less than 7 cards remain in the round 1 journey deck, the current player may decide whether they want to play with the remaining cards even though there are less than 7 or if they want to start round 2.

Events

You gain event cards by taking risks in phase 1 of your turn. These cards may be used in one of two ways: Using them face down to discard them and gain additional actions (you can perform 1 additional action for every card discarded this way during your action phase), or using them face up, playing the event described on it. These cards can only be viewed by the player who holds them. There is no limit on how many event cards you can have on your hand. Some cards may only be played during your turn while others may also be played during another player's turn. Once used, these cards are discarded. When the event deck is depleted, shuffle the discard pile to form a new event deck.

Event cards include the below information:

• Time: The time when this card can be played. Either during your own turn or during another player's turn.
• Area: Which card is affected by the event (forest, alchemy, traveller, villages or, at times, trade).
• Effect: Generally, amber, gems, gold or soldiers are won or lost through the effects of an event card.
• Cost: Indicated in the top left corner of the card. Some cards may require you to use a certain number of soldiers to enable its effects.

Event cards

• Forest clearings: This card can be played on another player at any time. The player targeted by this card loses an amber marker from their forest (always the last one to be put there). If the player has only the starting marker, they must spend one action during their next turn to recover it.
• Amber: This card is played during your own turn. Add another amber marker to your forest. You do not have to pay its cost nor wait for the upgrade phase.
• Failed Alchemy: This card can be played on another player at any time. The target player loses 2 gems of any colour from their alchemy card, starting with the most valuable.
• Cheating Alchemy: This card can be played on another player at any time. It allows you to exchange 2 gems from your own card with 2 more valuable gems from the target player's alchemy card.
• Lakeside Discovery: This card may be played on any player currently performing the traveller action. They lose 4 yellow gems on their journey. (Note: transcribed as printed in the English section. The French section of the same manual reads: "Lakeside discovery: add 4 yellow gems to your alchemy card.")
• Distractions: This card may be played on any player currently performing the traveller action. They lose 4 yellow gems on their journey. (The French section reads: this player loses up to 4 gems during the journey.)
• Fog: This card may be played on any player currently performing the traveller action. They lose up to 2 yellow or blue gems during their journey.
• Company: This card is played during your own turn. Transfer up to 3 gems of any colour (you may combine different colours) to your village for free.
• Fox: This card is played during your own turn. Steal 2 yellow or blue (or one of each) gems from another player's village. You need to use a soldier to get them.

Ending the Game

The game ends when all cards from round 2 have been used up. Now, each player counts their gold and the player with the most gold wins.

In case of a draw: If two or more players have the same amount of gold, the player with the most soldiers wins. If there is still a draw, the player with the most event cards wins. If this doesn't resolve the draw... It's time for a rematch!