Archaeology
Archaeology Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 1 game board
- 1 card box
- 1 high score log book
- 1 rules of play booklet
- 40 money tokens including: 16 $1 tokens, 16 $10 tokens, 8 $5 tokens
- 74 treasure cards including: 12 parchment scraps, 12 coins, 10 pot shards, 10 rings, 10 talismans, 8 broken tablets, 5 statues, 3 pharaoh's masks, 2 broken cups, 2 broken masks
- 9 thief cards
- 1 master thief card
- 6 key cards
- 1 wood chest card
- 1 stone chest card
- 1 gold chest card
Setting Up the Game
- Place the board in the middle of the table and put the money tokens in reach of all players.
- Remove all the cards from their box. If you are playing with only 2 players, return the master thief card and 1 other thief card to the box. These cards will not be used.
- Separate all the treasure cards from the deck and shuffle them well. Place 6 treasure cards face up in the marketplace section of the board. Place 3 treasures face down on the wood chest space. Place 5 treasures face down on the stone chest space. Place 7 treasures face down on the gold chest space.
- Put all the cards back together in one deck. Shuffle it well and place it face down on the dig space.
The game set up: 6 treasure cards are placed face up in the marketplace. The rest of the deck is placed face down on the dig space. Treasure cards are placed face down on the treasure chest spaces. Money tokens are $1, $5 and $10.
Overview of Play
On each turn players will dig for treasure by taking a card from the dig space. When found, treasure cards are placed in the player's collection, face up on the table in front of them. Players can trade treasures in their collection with treasures in the marketplace, in an attempt to increase the value of their collection. Players can also find treasure chests at the dig which contain multiple treasures. Keys must be found by a player in order to open a chest and receive its treasure cards.
Players will occasionally have the option to hire a thief and steal cards from other players. Treasures can be sold to the museum for money. Collecting a set of like treasures will produce a greater profit when sold. The player with the most money at the end of the game wins.
A treasure card: the number at the top is the trading value. At the bottom, "Sell to Museum" shows the amount required for a full set (x1 to x5) and the selling values for that number of cards. Example: Talisman, trading value 3, full set x5, selling values 3 / 7 / 12 / 18 / 26.
Flow of Play
- Players do not begin with any cards or money.
- The youngest player goes first.
- Play moves clockwise around the table.
At the start of the player's turn he may either trade at the marketplace or open a treasure chest.
Trading at the Marketplace
The player may swap any number of his treasure cards for any number of treasure cards in the marketplace of equal or lesser trading value. A treasure's trading value is displayed at the top of its card.
Example: A player decides to trade 2 parchment scraps (with a trading value of 1 each) and 1 coin (with a trading value of 2) for 1 talisman and 1 pot shard (with a total trading value of 4). The player places the coin and parchment scrap cards face up in the market place, and takes the talisman and pot shard cards, placing them face up in his collection.
- The marketplace does not give any change if a player trades in more valuable cards than they receive. The difference is simply lost.
- Keys cannot be traded to the marketplace.
- Treasures may not be bought from the marketplace with money tokens.
- There is no limit to the number of cards that can be in the marketplace at one time. If the marketplace space on the board gets full, it may help to stack like cards together.
Opening a Treasure Chest
Instead of trading, the player may choose to open a treasure chest. This is only possible if the chest that the player wishes to open has already been uncovered by a player at the dig and placed on the board.
The right number of keys are also required to open a treasure chest. To open the wood chest, the player must discard 1 key card. He can then take the 3 treasure cards from the wood chest space on the board and place them face up in his collection. 2 key cards must be discarded to take the 5 treasures on the stone chest space and 3 keys to take the 7 treasures in the gold chest.
Selling Treasures to the Museum
At any time during his turn, the player may sell treasures to the museum.
A player may sell any number of their treasure cards to the museum in exchange for money. Sold treasures are discarded and their combined selling value is then collected in money tokens. Selling values are displayed at the bottom of treasure cards.
Example: A player decides to sell 3 talismans (which together have a selling value of 12) and 4 broken tablets (which together have a selling value of 10). The player discards these treasure cards and takes $22 worth of money tokens.
The more treasures of one type sold, the more the set is worth. The most profitable sale is when a full set of treasure is sold, as indicated by the highest value listed in the treasure's selling prices. There is no benefit for selling more than a full set of treasure.
Example: A player sells 6 talismans. A full set of talismans according to its card is 5, worth $26. The sixth talisman then is only sold for $3, as it is the first of a new set. The player receives $29 in total.
- A player may sell treasures to the museum multiple times in one turn, even after digging.
- Keys cannot be sold to the museum.
Strategy: Deciding when to sell a set of treasures is an important decision in the game. Sell too early and the set's total value may be low. Wait too long to sell and your treasures may be stolen by thieves!
Digging for Treasure
At the end of the player's turn he must dig for treasure by turning over the top card on the dig space.
If the card is a treasure or a key: The player takes the card and adds it to his collection, placing it face up on the table in front of him. It may be helpful to stack like cards together.
If the card is a treasure chest: The player places the card face up on the board on the appropriate 'not found' space. This chest is now available for any player to open during the game. If the player who finds the chest wishes to open it, he must wait until his next turn.
If the card is a thief: The player may discard $1 and then steal a treasure card or key card of their choice from any player's collection. The stolen card is then placed face up in the player's collection. The thief is then discarded.
Example: The player draws a thief. He notices that an opponent has a ring card, which would complete his set of rings, so he decides to hire the thief. He discards a $1 money token and takes the ring card from his opponent. It is placed face up in his collection. The thief is then discarded.
- If the player does not have $1 or decides not to hire the thief, it is discarded.
- A player may sell treasure to the museum after the thief has been drawn in order to pay for it.
- If there are no cards in any players' collections, the thief can't be used and is discarded.
- Money tokens cannot be stolen by thieves.
If the card is a master thief: The player may discard $5 and then steal 3 treasure or key cards of their choice from any players' collections. The 3 cards need not be stolen from the one player. The stolen cards are then placed face up in the player's collection. The master thief is discarded.
Example: The player draws a master thief and wishes to hire him. He discards $5 worth of money tokens and then takes 2 coins from the player on his left and a key from the player on his right. These cards are placed face up in his collection. The master thief is then discarded.
- If the player does not have $5 or decides not to hire the master thief, it is discarded.
- A player may sell treasure to the museum after the master thief has been drawn in order to pay for it.
- If there are no cards in any players' collections, the master thief can't be used and is discarded.
- If there are less than 3 cards total in the other players' collections, the master thief can be used to take these cards.
- Money tokens can't be stolen by the master thief.
After digging, the player may sell treasure to the museum. Then his turn is over and play moves to the next person.
Finishing the Game
The game is over when there are no cards left on the dig space for the player to draw. Players then sell all their remaining treasures to the museum and count their money. The player with the most money wins the game.
You can record winning scores in the high score logbook. Have fun trying to beat the top score and become the richest archaeologist!