Apothebakery: The Culinary Alchemists Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Phase Overview
• Components
• Setup
  • Elixir Bags
  • Objective Cards
  • Wilderness Board
  • Adventurers
  • Table Setup
• Gameplay
• Phase 1: Foraging
  • Wilderness Board
  • Forries
  • Player turn-order
  • Iridescent Forrie
  • Resource Cards
• Phase 2: Alchemy
  • Alchemy Station Board
  • Processing Elixirs
  • Alchemy Abilities
  • Inventory
  • Other elixir types
• Phase 3: Healing
  • Cure & Reputation Points
  • Impure Elixir (Side-Effects)
  • Death caused by Side-Effects
  • Death caused by passing of time
  • Spells
• Next Round Setup & End Game
  • Time of Day
  • Adventurer Health
  • Ghost Vengeance
  • New Wilderness
  • Alchemy Abilities
  • New Adventurers
  • Next Round
  • Final Round 'Closed'
  • End Game
• Clarifications
  • 'Stasis' Spell
  • 'Cleanse' Spell
  • 'Free Sample' Spell
  • 'Metamorphosis' Spell
  • 'Helping Hand' Spell
  • 'Forrie Tamer' Spell
  • 'Clean Sweep' Spell
  • 'Poltergeist Activity' (Ghost Vengeance Clarification)
• Quick Play Guide
  • Setup
  • Round Phases
  • Alchemy Abilities (summary)
  • Spells (summary)
  • Final Round
  • Scoring and Winning
• Solo Mode
  • Gameplay
  • Solo Setup
  • Solo Phase 1: Foraging
  • Solo Phase 2: Alchemy
  • Solo Phase 3: Healing
  • Corruption's Reputation
  • Solo Final Round & End Game
  • Ghost Vengeance events in Solo Play (Clarification)
  • Solo Difficulty
• Additional Play Modes
  • Two-Player (Difficult Mode)
  • Solo
• Questions & Answers
• Additional Clarifications (Publisher Clarifications Sheet)
  • Setup — Objective Cards
  • Phase 1: Foraging — Iridescent Forrie
  • Phase 2: Alchemy — Processing
  • Phase 3: Healing — Side Effect die

Phase Overview

There are 3 phases per round; Foraging, Alchemy and Healing.

Phase 1: Foraging — Explore the wilderness, gathering resources with your Forries to prepare for the healing process. Determine the player order based on stamina and Forrie strength.

Phase 2: Alchemy — Transform gathered resources into potent elixirs at your Alchemy Station. These elixirs will enchant the requested bake orders. Utilise Mana wisely to activate alchemy abilities, maximising elixir production.

Phase 3: Healing — Administer cures to adventurers using crafted elixirs. Earn reputation by successfully healing adventurers and manage the risks of using impure elixirs. Receive spells as tokens of gratitude, enhancing your abilities for future rounds.

Components

• 1 wilderness board
• 4 player boards
• 65 Forrie Cards
• 60 Resource Cards
• 28 Adventurer Cards
• 30 Diagnosis Cards
• 30 Cure Cards
• 20 Objective cards
• 30 Spell Cards
• 14 solo mode cards
• 1 scoring card
• 100 elixir tokens (20 per colour)
• 18 rainbow tokens
• 18 spectral vial tokens
• 28 failed Elixir tokens
• 4 reference Cards
• 1 side-effect die
• 2 sun tokens (1 spare)
• 4 mana tokens
• 18 heart tokens (3 spare)
• 5 elixir fabric bags
• 16 alchemy ability tokens
• 4 reputation dials (Construct with push-out pieces & clips)
• 4 turn order tokens

Setup

• Players start by choosing their Alchemy Station Player Board (North, East, South or West.)
• Select a Forrie Egg species deck to hatch in your incubator (Plant, Rock, Water, Berry, or Insect.)
• Set the rare Iridescent Forrie card aside and give the Forrie deck a shuffle. Place this deck next to your Alchemy Station.
• Make sure your Reputation Dial is set to zero.
• Place the Alchemy Ability tokens (Potency, Transmute, Rainbow, and Purge) into the available slots on your Alchemy Station.
• Place the Mana token at the top of the Mana gauge (12).
• Shuffle: Wilderness, Diagnosis, Cure, Objective and Spell card decks and place on the table.

Elixir Bags

Ready the fabric bags by pairing them with the matching Elixir tokens of the same colour.

Green bag = Plant Elixirs, Blue bag = Water Elixirs, Purple bag = Berry Elixirs, Black bag = Rock Elixirs, Pink bag = Insect Elixirs

Add the Elixir and Failed Elixir tokens based on the number of players in your game as follows:

• 2 player game: Each Elixir bag: 8 Pure Elixir tokens. 2 Impure (Side Effect) tokens. 1 Failed Elixir token.
• 3 player game: Each Elixir bag: 12 Pure Elixir tokens. 3 Impure (Side Effect) tokens. 1 Failed Elixir token.
• 4 player game: Each Elixir bag: 16 Pure Elixir tokens. 4 Impure (Side Effect) tokens. 2 Failed Elixir token.

Place the Spectral Vial, Rainbow Elixir and Failed Elixir tokens in three piles within reach of all players.

Objective Cards

Each player collects three Secret Objective cards. Players have the opportunity to review these objectives immediately and may opt to exchange any of their chosen cards with new ones, but this swap can occur only once. Unwanted cards should be returned to the bottom of the Objectives deck.

First Game Playthrough: We suggest easing into the world of Apothebakery by excluding Objective cards from your initial game. Save these cards for your second playthrough to introduce an extra layer of strategy. However, if you're feeling adventurous, you can dive right in with the Objective cards – the choice is yours!

Wilderness Board

The Wilderness Board has two sides, use the side that correlates with the amount of players in your game. (1-2 player side and 3-4 player side)

• Arrange the Wilderness Board by positioning Wilderness cards in a conveyor-like formation, sliding from right to left. This formation shapes the wilderness, indicating the forageable resources available for this round.
• Position the Sun token on the first time of day, marked as 'Open.'

Adventurers

Draw the specified number of Adventurer cards into the centre of the table:

• 2 player game: 3 Adventurers

• 3 player game: 4 Adventurers

• 4 player game: 5 Adventurers

• Draw Diagnosis cards (1 for each Adventurer) and place this on top of the Adventurer card. (overlapping the 'Rewards' section.)

• Then, place heart tokens on the Adventurer card, matching the starting health value indicated on the Diagnosis card.

• Draw Cure cards (1 for each customer) and place these on top of the Diagnosis cards. (overlapping the 'Cure Prescription' section.)

Table Setup

1. Wilderness Board
2. Elixir Bags
3. Spell Deck
4. Objective Deck
5. Adventurer Deck
6. Diagnosis Deck
7. Cure Deck
8. Adventurer Cards
9. Diagnosis Cards
10. Cure Cards
11. Rainbow Elixir Pile
12. Spectral Vial Pile
13. Failed Elixir Pile
14. Side-Effect Die
15. Alchemy Board
16. Forrie Egg Deck
17. Forrie Discard Pile
18. Reputation Dial
19. Completed Bakes
20. Objective Cards
21. Turn Order Tokens

Gameplay

There are six rounds in total, relating to the passing of time throughout the day. The game is played in three phases per round; Foraging, Alchemy and Healing.

The adventurers on the table indicate the required elixirs and cake necessary for their recovery. Players should make a decision regarding which adventurer they intend to heal during this round and focus on foraging resources that correspond to the elixirs required for their cure.

Phase 1: Foraging

The Foraging round allows players to gather required resources to brew into elixirs to heal the adventurers in play. The foraging round also decides the player turn order. Once the play order is determined, follow this order for each of the remaining phases in this round (Alchemy and Healing phases).

Wilderness Board

Beneath the Wilderness cards placed on the Wilderness Board, you'll notice corresponding numbers that indicate the stamina expenditure needed to gather this resource. As you move across the wilderness from left to right, the stamina cost increases. For 8 stamina cost; players can draw 2 resource cards from the face down Wilderness deck.

Wilderness cards feature symbols corresponding to the available resources in this area (Water, Plant, Insect, Berry, Rock).

If the symbol matches your Forrie species, foraging this card costs 1 less stamina than its usual cost. (If the first Wilderness card ((far left)) matches your Forrie species, you can forage this card for 0 stamina cost.)

Forries

Players begin the round by drawing three Forrie Egg cards into their hand, flipping them so only they can view their available foragers for the round.

In the top left corner of each Forrie card, you'll find the available stamina that specific Forrie can use while foraging. Total up the stamina values at your disposal, and strategically choose which Forrie cards you would like to play this round to gather the resources. You have the option to play all three of your cards or a minimum of one.

Any unselected Forrie cards are returned to the top of your Forrie deck, ensuring they're drawn first in the next round. When your Forrie cards are almost depleted, use the last remaining card(s) and then reshuffle your deck.

The value inside the heart indicates your Forrie's strength, used to break ties when determining player turn order. (See Player Turn Order section.)

Example: Player two, with a stamina of 6, wants to heal an adventurer needing Berry and Insect elixirs. They spend 2 stamina foraging a Berry and another 4 for an Insect resource, using their total stamina of 6. Players can spend stamina as needed, not necessarily the entire amount drawn, but will lose any stamina unspent.

Player turn-order

All players simultaneously reveal the combined stamina value of their selected Forries for this round. The player with the lowest total stamina value takes the first turn, as their Forries have less ground to cover in the wilderness. The subsequent player order is determined based on increasing stamina values.

Example: Player one totals 5 Stamina, whilst Player two totals 4 Stamina. Player two goes first, the turn order is established in ascending order.

In the event of players revealing the same total stamina value, precedence goes to the player who has deployed fewer Forrie cards. If a tie persists, sum up the collective strength values of your Forries, which are indicated by the heart symbol on the Forrie card. The player with the strongest (highest value) Forrie group has the advantage. In the unlikely event of another tie, roll the Side Effect die; the player who rolls the higher number will take the lead. (Skull = automatic fail).

Collect the corresponding Turn Order token (1, 2, 3 or 4) and place this on your Alchemy Station.

In player order, each player spends their total stamina to collect as many resource cards from the Wilderness Board as their stamina allows. After collecting, discard used Forries face-up into an exhausted pile next to your Forrie Egg deck. Any unused Forrie cards are returned face-down to your Forrie Egg deck.

Iridescent Forrie

In the rare event that you're unable to forage any resources during your turn, shuffle your Iridescent Forrie card into your Forrie Egg deck — this card is a one-time use, unless the same situation occurs again in a future turn. This special Forrie card gives you the magical ability to automatically assume the first player position in the player order, regardless of your played total stamina value.

Alternatively, the Iridescent Forrie allows you to draw two face-down Wilderness cards from the deck (ignoring the 8 stamina cost), instead of assuming the first player position.

Resource Cards

A foraged resource card holds two vital pieces of information. The first is the Potency value found in the top left corner, signifying the number of elixirs you can process from this resource at your Alchemy Station. Secondly, the Resource type found in the top right corner signifies the particular type of elixir you can create.

You have the option to withhold processing an elixir and retain the resource card in your hand (there is no hand limit). You can either process this card on another round, or feed the resource to your Forries.

Feeding a resource card to your Forries rewards a stamina boost that correlates with the potency of the resource. This boost allows you to modify your total stamina value (after the initial player turn order is decided) whilst collecting resource cards. Only one card can be fed per turn.

Example: Player two's initially revealed Forries had a total stamina value of 3. However, by feeding these Forries an unused resource card from a prior round, one with a potency of 2, they were able to increase their total available stamina by 2. This modification allows Player 2 to forage resource cards up to the value of 5 stamina, rather than their initial value of 3, without changing the already determined player turn-order.

Phase 2: Alchemy

During the Alchemy phase, players process the resource cards they've collected into Elixir bottles necessary for enchanting requested bake orders and healing the Adventurers currently in play.

Throughout this round, players can leverage the abilities of their Alchemy Stations to aid them in the processing of these elixirs.

Note: While you have the option to play this round in the established turn-order, we recommend simultaneous alchemy for faster gameplay. If multiple players have to pull from the same bag, turn order takes precedence.

Alchemy Station Board

Each player has an Alchemy Station board featuring their:

1. Elixir Inventory
2. Alchemy Abilities
3. Mana Gauge
4. Spell Oven
5. Turn-Order Token

Each player begins with a starting Mana supply of 12, allowing for strategic decisions on how to effectively allocate and manage this valuable resource.

Processing Elixirs

Elixirs are crafted using the resource cards you've gathered. The Potency value, located in the top left corner, indicates how many elixirs you can extract. The resource type symbol in the top right corner specifies the type and colour of elixir you can produce.

When processing the elixir, use the appropriate fabric bag and collect the necessary quantity. Discard the resource card face-up on the Wilderness Board once processed.

There are three types of extractions you may pull:

• Pure elixir: A pure and powerful healing elixir. (Keep this elixir token and add it to your inventory slot.)
• Impure elixir: This elixir may have unexpected side-effects. (See section in Healing phase for more information.) (Keep this elixir token and add it to your inventory slot.)
• Failed elixir: Return this token to the bag, but collect a failed elixir token from the pile on the table. This failed elixir cannot be used and takes up inventory space until Purged.

Example: Player One processes a Berry resource with a potency of 3, they draw 3 Berry elixirs from the Berry bag. However, they only have 2 open inventory slots. After pulling the tokens, they reveal 2 Pure elixirs and 1 Impure elixir. They choose to keep the 2 Pure elixirs, placing them into their inventory, and discard the Impure elixir.

Alchemy Abilities

Players can utilise their Alchemy Station by spending 1 Mana for the first ability. Players can also overcharge their station and choose (only) one additional ability for 2 extra Mana cost.

Transmute: Convert one specific resource card to any elixir of your choice.

Example: Player One converts a Water resource card with a potency of 2 into Rock-based elixirs. This means the player can process 2 elixirs of the Rock type.

+1 Potency: Whilst processing an elixir, increase the potency of the resource card by 1.

Example: Player One transforms a Water resource card with a potency of 2 into three water elixirs.

Rainbow: Combine any two pure elixirs from your inventory to create a Rainbow 'wild' elixir. Rainbow elixirs are a substitute for any required elixir. Impure Elixirs, Failed Elixir or Spectral Vials cannot be converted into a Rainbow elixir.

Purge: This ability purges your inventory of Failed Elixir bottles and Spectral Vials. You can also discard any unwanted elixirs to free up valuable inventory space.

Transmute & Potency Alchemy abilities must be activated before pulling from an elixir bag.

The Rainbow ability is only activated before pulling if you're relying on elixirs from an immediate pull. If you're processing two pre-existing elixirs from your inventory, you may activate this ability at any point during your Alchemy turn.

Purge only affects inventory and doesn't involve pulling tokens, so you can activate it at any point during your Alchemy turn.

Once you use an ability, flip the token to reveal the 'burned' side, this ability cannot be used again until it's refreshed before the next round.

Inventory

Your alchemy station can hold a maximum of 6 elixir bottles.

Place brewed elixirs into your inventory in any order you choose; you may rearrange your inventory at any time.

If you are running out of inventory space but process a resource that extracts more elixirs than you can hold, draw all elixirs first, then decide which to keep and which to discard.

Use the 'Purge' ability to remove failed attempts, spectral vials and any unwanted elixirs.

Example: Player One uses their Alchemy Station to process two resource cards. First, they activate their Transmute ability for 1 Mana, converting a Berry resource (with a potency of 2) into 2 Water elixirs. They pull two tokens from the Water elixir bag and place both Pure elixirs into their inventory. Next, Player One decides to overcharge their Alchemy Station, spending 2 additional Mana to activate the Rainbow ability. They combine two pre-existing Pure elixirs already in their inventory into one Rainbow elixir. Player One ends their Alchemy turn.

Other elixir types

Spectral Vial: Perished adventurers may haunt your Alchemy Station, leaving behind a Spectral Vial that occupies inventory space, cannot be used for healing, and deducts 1 reputation point if remaining at game's end.

Rainbow Elixir: A versatile elixir that can substitute for any elixir type when healing adventurers.

Failed Elixir: An unusable elixir that occupies inventory space and deducts 1 reputation point if remaining at game's end.

Phase 3: Healing

In the Healing phase, players have the opportunity to enchant cake orders to heal the adventurers, but only if they have successfully brewed the necessary elixirs.

This phase follows the player turn-order established during the Foraging Phase (Phase 1).

Each player can only heal one adventurer per round.

Cure & Reputation Points

If you have the necessary elixirs, administer the cure to your selected adventurer and increase your reputation dial by the number of reputation points found in the top right corner of the Cure card.

Return the used Elixir tokens to their respective fabric bags.

Additionally, calculate the extra reputation points to add to your reputation dial, based on the current health level of the adventurer:

• 1 heart remaining = +3 reputation
• 2 hearts remaining = +2 reputation
• 3 hearts remaining = +1 reputation

Once an adventurer is healed, collect both the Diagnosis (cake) card and the Cure card, and position them next to your Alchemy Station board.

Also collect the specified quantity of Spell cards as determined on the healed Adventurer card. (See Spells section.)

Once the customer is rejuvenated, they depart from your Apothebakery (discard the Adventurer card).

Impure Elixir (Side-Effects)

If you use an impure elixir to heal an adventurer, you must roll the Side-Effects die to address any unforeseen consequences. These side effects vary and can include negative reputation consequences like the loss of reputation points, positive effects resulting in a reputation point bonus, no effect (Blank), or even an unfortunate death (Skull).

Note: You must roll the Side-Effects die for each Impure Elixir used in a cure.

Example: Player One attempts to heal an adventurer using one Impure Elixir. After administering the cure, Player One immediately rolls the Side Effect die. The die reveals a -1, meaning Player One must reduce their Reputation Dial by 1 point.

Death caused by Side-Effects

In the unfortunate occurrence of a side-effect related death by rolling a Skull, the player collects the Diagnosis (cake) card and the reputation points indicated on the cure card, but not the reputation points associated with the adventurer's health at the time of healing.

Flip the customer card over to reveal the Ghost Vengeance, only the player accountable for the death should resolve the Ghost Vengeance event.

Ghost Vengeance (card text): Roll the side effects die and lose reputation. All positive values become negative. If you roll a skull; collect an additional Spectral Vial.

Ghost Vengeance (card text): Collect 1 Spectral Vial.

Death caused by passing of time

Another situation where Ghost Vengeance may occur is at the end of a round, when the Sun token advances and time passes. (See "Next Round Setup & End Game")

Any adventurer who has not been healed during the round loses 1 heart (health). If an adventurer's health reaches zero due to this loss, they perish. Immediately flip the Adventurer card to reveal the Ghost Vengeance event. All players must then resolve the Ghost Vengeance effect as described on the card.

Spells

As a token of appreciation, the healed Adventurer presents you with a spell sphere. Adventurers offer different spell sphere options, ranging from 1 to 3 choices.

To determine how many spells you have to choose from, refer to the number indicated at the bottom of the healed adventurer card. Pick up the corresponding quantity of spell cards from the face-down deck.

Read the available spells and select one to keep. Place the chosen spell face down in the spell oven slot on your Alchemy Station, ready to cast at any required point in the game. (once cast, discard.)

Any unchosen spells must be returned into the spell deck, at any position.

Players can cast a Spell card at any time—including interrupting another player's turn (provided the spell's effect logically applies to that moment).

Note: You are allowed to keep only one spell in your spell oven. In the event that you gain another, you must choose whether to replace (and discard) the unused spell.

Example: Player Two is about to heal an adventurer with only 1 heart remaining, which would earn them +3 reputation points. However, Player One interrupts by casting the spell "Free Sample", allowing them to add or subtract one heart from any adventurer. Player One chooses to add one heart to the adventurer about to be healed, increasing their health from 1 to 2 hearts. As a result, Player Two now receives +2 reputation points instead of +3 when healing this adventurer.

Next Round Setup & End Game

Time of Day

Advance the Sun token to the next time of day on the Wilderness Board.

Adventurer Health

Any adventurers who have not received healing will lose one heart token each.

Ghost Vengeance

If this leads to the death of an adventurer, flip over the adventurer card to reveal the Ghost Vengeance event.

All players must resolve, and then discard. (See Death section on the previous page.)

New Wilderness

Refresh the Wilderness cards on the Wilderness Board to fill any empty slots. Any Wilderness cards remaining from the previous round should slide down the board from right to left, akin to a conveyor belt.

If the leftmost Wilderness card remains (located in the Stamina 1 slot), discard this card.

Alchemy Abilities

Recharge your Alchemy Abilities by flipping previously used tokens back to their original side.

New Adventurers

Replace healed adventurers with new adventurers. (Refer to the 'Adventurer' section in the Setup for more details.)

Next Round

Repeat the three phases (Foraging, Alchemy & Healing) until the time of day reaches 'Closed'.

Final Round 'Closed'

In the final round, follow the same phases as before with one exception. During the Healing phase, players have the chance to continue healing (one player at a time, following the player turn order) until all adventurers are healed or players are unable to heal further.

• Players can make use of their Alchemy Station during their healing turn, until they have exhausted any spare resource cards. (Only activate a maximum of 2 Alchemy Abilities for this final round. The Alchemy Abilities do not refresh between turns during this Final Round.)
• If there are any adventurers who cannot receive healing, flip the customer card, and all players must resolve the Ghost Vengeance event.

End Game

All players must now calculate their points!

Scoring Card Bonus

• Resolve the Scoring Card by having all players display their collected Cure cards. Compare and unveil who brewed the most of each type of elixir, whilst referencing their Cure Cards and any leftover Elixirs in their Inventory. Award bonus points accordingly. (If tied for the most of a certain elixir type, both players are awarded the points.)
• Rainbow Elixir: Only count Rainbow Elixirs specifically indicated on your collected Cure Cards and those remaining in your Inventory.
• Failed Elixir: Deduct 1 reputation point per bottle.
• Spectral Vial: Deduct 1 reputation point per bottle.

Objective Cards

One player at a time, reveal your Secret Objective Cards and allocate bonus points based on any successfully completed.

Update your reputation dial and reveal the victorious culinary alchemist!

Tiebreaker: If there is a tie for the highest Reputation score at the end of the game, the player with the most remaining Mana is the winner. If there's still a tie, the victory is shared—there's room for more than one Master Alchemist!

Clarifications

'Stasis' Spell

The 'Stasis' spell allows the player to remove an adventurer (along with their Diagnosis & Cure cards) from the active game area and place them next to their Alchemy Station. While in stasis, the adventurer doesn't lose health between rounds and can't be healed by opponents, allowing you to reserve them until you're ready. The rule limiting healing to one adventurer per turn still applies when healing the adventurer in stasis. The adventurer's empty space in the play area remains unfilled until the next round. If the adventurer is still in stasis at game-end and hasn't been healed, flip their card and resolve the Ghost Vengeance effect.

'Cleanse' Spell

The 'Cleanse' spell functions similarly as the Purge ability. When you cast Cleanse, choose an opponent and discard only their Failed Elixirs and Spectral Vials from their inventory. In doing so, you gain 4 reputation points.

'Free Sample' Spell

The 'Free Sample' spell allows the player to add or subtract 1 heart to any adventurer in play. You can use it to interrupt an opponent healing an adventurer with 1 heart left, increasing their hearts to 2. This would reduce the opponent's reputation bonus from +3 to +2, since the adventurer no longer meets the 1-heart bonus condition. If casting this spell causes an adventurer's health to reach zero, triggering a Ghost Vengeance event, the player who cast the spell must resolve the Ghost Vengeance effect.

'Metamorphosis' Spell

The 'Metamorphosis' spell allows you to temporarily change your Forries' species for your next Foraging turn. For example, if you're playing with the Rock species deck, you can cast 'Metamorphosis' and declare your Forries as Water species for the upcoming Foraging phase, granting you the stamina discount on Water resources from the Wilderness board. This effect lasts for one Foraging turn only—your Forries return to their original species afterward.

'Helping Hand' Spell

The 'Helping Hand' spell allows you to give one unwanted Elixir (Pure, Impure, Failed or Rainbow) from your inventory to another player, provided they have available inventory space. If they do not have space, discard the Elixir instead. You cannot use this spell to discard Spectral Vials. After resolving this spell, attempt to draw two new Elixirs from a chosen Elixir bag.

'Forrie Tamer' Spell

The 'Forrie Tamer' spell allows you to exchange your complete Forrie deck with another player. If you swap Forrie decks with another player who has an Iridescent Forrie shuffled into their deck, the Iridescent Forrie stays with the swapped deck. However, the player who originally had an Iridescent Forrie immediately adds the new Iridescent Forrie onto the top of their new deck.

'Clean Sweep' Spell

The 'Clean Sweep' spell allows the player to clear all Wilderness cards currently on the board and immediately refill the board with new Wilderness cards drawn from the deck.

'Poltergeist Activity' (Ghost Vengeance Clarification)

When resolving Poltergeist Activity, you must pass the specified Elixir (left-most or right-most in your inventory) to another player. If the receiving player's inventory is already full, they must discard their corresponding Elixir (left-most or right-most) and replace it with the passed Elixir. Only Pure, Impure, and Rainbow Elixirs may be passed; Spectral Vials and Failed Elixirs cannot be passed.

Quick Play Guide

Become the Greatest Culinary Alchemist!

The goal of the game is to earn the highest reputation by successfully healing adventurers and completing secret objectives. In a world filled with perilous dungeons and treacherous monsters, who will rise to become the greatest culinary alchemist and bring salvation to ailing adventurers?

Setup

• See Setup section.

Round Phases

1. Foraging Phase: Gather Resources

• Draw three Forrie Egg cards to build your team.
• Calculate your available total stamina spend and select the Forries you will play in this round.
• Simultaneously reveal selected total stamina values with all players.
• Player turn order is determined by the lowest stamina, in ascending order.
• Resolve ties with fewer played Forrie cards, Forrie strength, or roll the Side Effect die.
• Collect resource cards based on your available stamina total.

2. Alchemy Phase: Process Elixirs

• Use your Alchemy Station to process resource cards into elixirs of the same type. The Potency on the resource card determines the quantity of elixirs you can extract from the fabric bags.
• Spend 1 mana for first alchemy ability used, or overcharge and use a second ability at the cost of 2 extra mana (3 mana in total).
• Flip used ability tokens, these cannot be reused until refreshed at the end of the round.

3. Healing Phase: Save the Adventurers!

• Choose which Adventurer to heal and dispense the required Elixirs.
• Once healed, collect the Diagnosis (Cake) and Cure cards.
• Earn reputation points based on Cure Card and Adventurer health at time of healing.
• Roll the Side-Effects die when using Impure Elixirs.
• Resolve the Ghost Vengeance if an adventurer dies due to side effects.

4. End of Round: Prepare for Next Round

• Advance the Sun token on the Wilderness Board.
• Recharge your Alchemy Abilities by flipping previously used tokens back to their original side.
• Unhealed adventurers lose one heart token.
• Resolve Ghost Vengeance event (if required).
• Refresh the Wilderness Board with new Wilderness cards.
• Replace healed adventurers with new Adventurers.
• Repeat turn phases (Foraging, Alchemy and Healing) until 'Closed' time of day.

Alchemy Abilities (summary)

• Transmute: Convert a specific resource card to any elixir type of your choice.
• +1 Potency: Whilst processing an elixir, increase the potency of the resource card you're working with by 1.
• Rainbow: Combine any two pure elixirs from your inventory to create a Rainbow 'wild' elixir. This versatile rainbow elixir can serve as a substitute for any required elixir.
• Purge: This ability purges your inventory of failed elixir bottles and spectral vials. You can also discard any unwanted elixirs to free up inventory space.

There are three types of elixir extractions:

• Pure Elixir: A reliable healing elixir. Keep it in your inventory.
• Impure Elixir: May have side-effects. Keep it in your inventory.
• Failed Elixir: Return it to the bag, collect a failed elixir token from the table pile, it takes up inventory space until purged.

Spells (summary)

After healing an adventurer, they gift you a spell sphere as thanks. The number of spells you receive matches the number specified on the adventurer card. Pick that many spell cards from the deck, choose one to keep, and place it face down in your spell oven slot. You can cast this spell when needed, discarding it after use. Any spells not chosen must go back into the deck. Remember, you're limited to one spell in your spell oven; if you gain another, you can choose to replace the existing spell.

Final Round

In the final round, players continue to heal and use the Alchemy Station in player turn order until no more healing is possible or all adventurers are healed or die. (Only activate a maximum of 2 Alchemy Abilities for this final round.)

Scoring and Winning

• Earn bonus points for brewing the most of each elixir type (from collected Cure Cards and Inventory Elixirs), based on the Scoring Card.
• Update your reputation dial for successful Objectives.

Scoring card: Resolve completed objective cards. Resolve 'master alchemist' achievements. (Listed on the card & flip this card.) Each "Player with the most" of a given elixir type scores +2; the player with the most Brewed Elixirs scores +4. Failed Elixir and Spectral Vial each score -1.

The player with the highest reputation at the end of the final round IS the winner!

Solo Mode

Gameplay

The sinister touch of death has tainted an Apothebaker, twisting them into an agent of evil, unleashing corruption and turmoil across the realm!

As an Apothebaker, it falls upon you to counter this malevolent influence and stop the spread of corruption before it consumes all!

The solo mode simulates a 2 player game, with the aid of the 'Corruption' deck, which controls the corruption's turn actions.

When the corruption scores, its points are negative. To cleanse the land of corruption, your final score must counterbalance or exceed this negativity.

During each round, the corruption takes two actions: one during Phase 1: Foraging, affecting player order and determining which resources spoil and are discarded, and another in Phase 3: Healing, where it may consume an adventurer, leading to their demise!

Solo Setup

Prepare for the game with the following steps:

1. Arrange the table for a 2-player game, with the exception of having only one alchemy station and one deck of Forries for yourself.
2. Each Elixir bag should contain: 8 Pure Elixir tokens, 2 Impure (Side Effect) Elixir tokens, and 1 Failed Elixir token.
3. Ensure that 3 Adventurers are in play.
4. Shuffle the Corruption deck and place it beside a score dial, used to track the corruption's score.
5. Remove the 'Cleanse' and 'Helping Hand' spells from the Spell Deck.
6. Collect three Secret Objective cards as usual.

Solo Phase 1: Foraging

During the Foraging phase, proceed as usual: Choose the Forries you wish to deploy, calculating the total stamina you aim to use for gathering resources from the Wilderness.

After determining your stamina allocation, reveal the first card from the Corruption deck. This unveils the Corruption's stamina expenditure, which dictates the player turn order, with priority given to the lower stamina spend.

(The Corruption card shows a Phase 1 action — "Corrupts Wilderness" — and a Phase 3 action — "Roll die to determine if an adventurer perishes!")

If you draw with Corruption's stamina spend, determine Corruption's strength, comprising the value indicated by the heart on the card plus the number of collected souls by Corruption (Spectral Vial Tokens). Compare Corruption's strength to your chosen Forrie's total strength value, the higher value breaks the tie.

In case of another tie, roll the side-effect die for yourself and Corruption; a higher number grants the first position in the player turn order. Then, proceed to collect your chosen resources from the Wilderness Board.

The revealed Corruption card will determine the resources on the Wilderness Board that are spoiled and need to be discarded. Discard these cards in the established player turn order.

Example: (see the card above), if the Corruption card specifies spaces 2 & 3 as corrupted and Corruption wins the player turn order, discard the corresponding resource cards from spaces 2 & 3 before proceeding with your foraging activities. Place these discarded resources in the designated discard space on the Wilderness Board.

Solo Phase 2: Alchemy

Play the Alchemy phase as normal. Corruption has no action (See Alchemy section).

Solo Phase 3: Healing

The player turn order determines who goes first in healing an adventurers in play. (Corruption will kill instead of heal.)

When it's your turn to heal, select a chosen adventurer and proceed as usual by using the required elixirs to bake the adventurer's corresponding cake order.

The goal of Corruption is to collect the souls of adventurers in play. Roll the Side-Effect die to determine which of the three adventurers will perish (do this in the established player turn order - can you save the adventurer before corruption strikes?). Disregard the + and - symbols on the die, focusing only on the number values.

The values 1 to 3 correspond to the adventurers from left to right on the table (use the player turn order tokens to keep track of this). Example: if you roll a -2 for Corruption, the adventurer in the second position on the table will perish.

If the Corruption rolls a blank on the die, no adventurers are killed.

If Corruption rolls a skull, it acquires a Spectral Vial token, which is placed beside Corruption's score dial. No adventurers perish with this result.

Example: You win the turn-order by playing a lower total Stamina than Corruption. During your Healing phase, you successfully heal the adventurer in position two. On Corruption's turn, a die roll of -2 would normally kill the adventurer in that position—but since you already healed and removed them, Corruption has no adventurer to harm!

Corruption's Reputation

When Corruption successfully kills an adventurer, position the corresponding Cure Card and Diagnosis (cake) card beside Corruption's reputation dial. This determines bonus points during the final scoring round.

Corruption accumulates reputation points as negative values on its reputation dial. As Corruption gathers more points, they always remain in the negative range.

These negative reputation points are obtained similarly to the standard game: by calculating the reputation points stated on the associated Cure card and the reputation points linked to the remaining health of the adventurer:

• 1 heart remaining = -3 reputation
• 2 hearts remaining = -2 reputation
• 3 hearts remaining = -1 reputation

Example: Corruption accumulates reputation points as negative values on its Reputation Dial. Suppose Corruption successfully kills an adventurer, earning 3 reputation points from the adventurer's remaining health and 4 points from the associated Cure card. Corruption's total of 7 points is subtracted from its current score. If Corruption was previously at -12, it would now move to -19 on the Reputation Dial.

Corruption acquires 1 Spectral Vial token for each death, including natural Ghost Vengeance events; (when an adventurer perishes from health loss at the end of the round.)

In the case of a natural Ghost Vengeance event, Corruption gains a Spectral Vial token but does not collect the Diagnosis (cake) card, Cure card, or reputation points associated with the Cure card or remaining health of the perished Adventurer.

Ghost Vengeance events are only resolved if an adventurer dies naturally from health loss per round. Ghost Vengeances are not resolved if the adventurer was killed by Corruption.

Solo Final Round & End Game

In the final round, proceed as usual: Continue healing as many adventurers as possible in the established player turn order. You may utilise your Alchemy Station during your turn.

Roll the die on Corruption's turn to determine if any of the remaining adventurers perish. Refer to the position of the adventurers in play, numbered from 1 to 3 whilst rolling the die.

Once you are unable to heal any more adventurers, the remaining adventurers perish. Award Corruption with Spectral Vial tokens but not reputation points. Resolve any Ghost Vengeance events.

The game now comes to an end.

Use the Scoring Card to add any score bonuses, such as determining the player with the most types of Elixirs on their collected Cure cards or in their Inventory, and include any achieved Secret Objective cards.

Calculate the total number of Spectral Vials collected by Corruption and assign points to Corruption's score dial based on the table below:

Spectral Vial Quantity	1-3	4-6	7-9	10-12	13+
Bonus points (Normal Mode)	2	3	4	6	8
Bonus points (Difficult Mode)	4	6	8	12	16

Have you succeeded in defeating Corruption and cleansing the land of evil?

Ghost Vengeance events in Solo Play (Clarification)

If a Ghost Vengeance event describing poltergeist activity is revealed, swap the specified elixir or card to Corruption's hand, selecting blindly from Corruption's cards, or exchange an elixir for one of Corruption's spectral vials.

Fennic Doiet (Ghost Vengeance Clarification): You must discard one elixir of your choice and one of Corruption's Spectral Vials.

Solo Difficulty

Looking for ways to increase the challenge?

Rule Adjustment: Modify the following rule:

Quote: "In the case of a natural Ghost Vengeance event (an Adventurer losing health between rounds), Corruption gains a Spectral Vial token but does not collect the Diagnosis (cake) Card, Cure Card, or reputation points associated with the Cure card or Adventurer's remaining health."

Instead, change the rule so that Corruption does gain the Diagnosis (cake) Card, Cure Card, and reputation points equal to the values on the Cure Card and the Adventurer's remaining health (-3 points) when an adventurer dies naturally from health loss between rounds. This accelerates Corruption's reputation gain, increasing the challenge.

Additional Tweaks:

• Add one extra Failed Elixir token to each Elixir bag in Setup, increasing the chance of failed attempts.
• Reduce your starting Mana from 12 to 8.

Additional Play Modes

Two-Player (Difficult Mode)

Looking to add more tension to your two-player game? Introduce the Corruption deck to simulate a third player. Use the Solo Rules to control Corruption's actions. Be sure to use the 1–2 Player side of the Wilderness Board.

Solo

For the latest Solo modes and challenges, visit www.luxlupo.games

Questions & Answers

Question: In the initial Forrie selection phase, are any unchosen Forrie cards placed at the top of the Forrie deck, ensuring their selection in the following round?

Answer: That's right. Any Forrie cards not chosen are returned to the top of the Forrie deck, ensuring their priority for selection in the next round.

Question: Does feeding a Forrie a resource card occur before or after determining turn order based on stamina?

Answer: Feeding a Forrie a resource card occurs after determining player turn order based on Stamina. This allows players to announce their resource consumption at the beginning of their foraging turn, providing the opportunity for unexpected Stamina boosts. However, players can only consume one resource card per round.

Question: Regarding the Potency ability, can you choose to activate the ability chit after drawing your first elixir from the bag?

Answer: No, when processing a resource card, the decision to use the ability or abilities must be made before drawing from the bag.

Question: In the Alchemy Phase, the rulebook suggests simultaneous play. If players must draw tokens from the same bag, is this done following turn order?

Answer: That's correct. If players need to pull tokens from the same bag during the Alchemy phase, they do so in turn order.

Question: If I can't collect any resources during the Foraging phase, do I shuffle in the Iridescent Forrie? And what if I can't forage again next round?

Answer: Yes—if you're unable to collect any resources, you don't gain anything that round and immediately shuffle the Iridescent Forrie into your deck. If it happens again next round (which is rare), you simply keep drawing each turn until you pull the Iridescent Forrie to help you recover.

Question: Regarding the Side Effect Die, do the numbers indicate a gain or loss of reputation?

Answer: Yes, the numbers rolled on the Side Effect Die determine whether you gain or lose reputation points for that heal. You might receive a bonus, a penalty, or face a death if a skull is rolled.

Question: In the final round, do players take turns healing one adventurer at a time, or can the first player keep healing and using their Alchemy Station before others act? And in Solo Mode, does the Corrupt Baker roll multiple times if healing continues?

Answer: In the final round, players heal one adventurer at a time in turn order. This cycle continues until no players can heal or all adventurers are healed—no player heals multiple times in a row. In Solo Mode, you take one healing action, then Corruption rolls. If you continue healing, Corruption rolls again after each action. Once you can no longer heal, Corruption makes one final roll.

Question: Can you remove all Failed Elixirs, Spectral Vials, and unwanted elixirs with a single use of the Purge ability?

Answer: Yes, when you activate the Purge ability, you may remove all Failed Elixirs, Spectral Vials, and any unwanted elixirs from your inventory.

Question: About resource cards, can they be retained from round to round? And is there a limit to how many you can hold in hand?

Answer: Resource cards can indeed be kept from one round to the next, and there's no limit to the number you can hold in hand.

Question: What happens when your inventory is full and you have to collect a Spectral Vial or Failed Elixir?

Answer: You must discard one elixir of your choice (excluding any pre-existing Spectral Vials or Failed Elixirs).

Question: What counts as a Forrie "being played" during the Foraging phase? If I foraged a resource that cost 0 stamina, can I return all my Forries to the top of my deck this round?

Answer: During the foraging round, you must play 1 to 3 Forrie cards. For example, if you played one Forrie card with a stamina of 2, but only collected the first resource card (matching your Forrie type) for a stamina cost of 0, the Forrie is still classed as being deployed to the wilderness, so it will still need to be discarded to your discarded Forrie deck.

Question: During the Alchemy Phase, do I have to choose all my Alchemy Abilities before pulling elixirs from the bag?

Answer: No, you don't have to select all your Alchemy Abilities at once before starting. However, some abilities must be declared before pulling elixirs: Potency and Transmute must be announced before pulling elixir tokens from the bag, as they directly modify the draw. Rainbow only needs to be announced beforehand if you're relying on elixirs from the upcoming pull. If you're using elixirs already in your inventory, you can activate this ability at any point during your Alchemy turn. Purge affects only your inventory and can be used any time during the Alchemy Phase.

Additional Clarifications (Publisher Clarifications Sheet)

These points come from the publisher's separate "Apothebakery Clarifications" document and are not in the printed rulebook.

Setup — Objective Cards

If a player is dealt duplicate Objective Cards, they should redraw until they have three different objectives.

'End with Unused Mana' Objective Card: We recommend using this objective only when one micro expansion is in play — either 'Mana Springs' or 'Arcane Adventurers', but not both.

Phase 1: Foraging — Iridescent Forrie

This card is a one-time use, unless the same situation occurs again in a future turn and you cannot forage a resource.

Phase 2: Alchemy — Processing

When processing a resource card with potency greater than 1, pull each Elixir token from the bag one at a time.

Phase 3: Healing — Side Effect die

Side Effect die rolls are resolved individually, with all reputation effects applied immediately. If an adventurer dies during the process, any remaining Side Effect rolls are skipped.