Arquimedes
Arquimedes Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 55 cards (6× 1–6, 3× 7–10 and 12, 2× 11, 1× 13 and Joker)
- 25 scoring tokens (5× each of 1–5)
- 5 arithmetic symbols (+, −, ×, ÷, =)
- 14 short biographies of the brilliant mathematicians
Course of Play
Five rounds are played one after another. The goal is to discard as many cards as possible, because the cards left in hand at the end of a round give minus points.
Before each round begins, lay out as many scoring tokens face up as there are players, starting with the 1 and then ascending. With four players, the scoring tokens 1 to 4 are laid out in every round.
Then shuffle the cards and deal each player a hand of five cards. Place the remaining cards face down in the middle as a draw pile, and turn the top card of the draw pile face up beside it. This is the start of the play pile.
The youngest player at the table starts the first round. Each following round is started by the player who collected the most minus points in the previous round. Then play proceeds clockwise.
The player whose turn it is may either play an equation or draw a card.
Play an equation: One or at most two cards are played one after another from hand, face up, onto the top card of the play pile, so that a correct equation is formed. The equation is spoken aloud at the same time.
Example: The player places a 2 on the face-up 3, then a 5, and says "Three plus two is five." The equation is correct, so the next player is now to form an equation beginning with the number 5.
The following kinds of equations are allowed:
- Plus – example: 5+3=8
- Minus – example: 8−2=6
- Times – example: 6×2=12
- Divided – example: 12÷3=4
- Equals – example: 4=4 (For this kind of equation, only one card may be played.)
The result card must always come last. Equations such as 8=3+5 are not allowed.
The Knizia card may be used as a joker for any value between 1 and 13. If it is still in hand at the end, however, it counts as 13.
If the played cards do not form a correct equation, the cards must be taken back into hand and instead a card must be drawn from the draw pile.
Tip for children: Instead of placing the cards directly on the play pile, they can first be laid side by side and combined with the arithmetic symbols. After the equation has been checked successfully, the cards are then placed on the play pile. If times and divided are still too difficult, the game can be played with only plus and minus.
Draw a card: If no correct equation can be formed with the cards in hand, a card must be drawn from the draw pile instead. This ends the turn. If the draw pile has run out, the player must pass instead, which also ends their turn.
Goal of the Game
A round ends when a player, after playing a correct equation, has no cards left in hand. All other players then reveal their remaining hand cards and add up the values of their cards.
If two or more players arrive at the same total, each of them must draw a card from the draw pile and add it to their hand. This is repeated until all players have different totals.
Example: At the end of a round, three of the four players still have cards in hand. Player A holds the values 2, 5 and 1 (=8). Player B holds the value 8. Player C holds the values 3 and 10 (=13). Players A and B each now draw a card from the draw pile. The totals are then: Player A has 2+5+1+7=15, Player B has 8+5=13, Player C has 3+10=13. Players B and C must therefore draw from the draw pile once more, and the totals are then: Player A has 2+5+1+7=15, Player B has 8+5+10=23, Player C has 3+10+3=16.
If the draw pile runs out while players are drawing, shuffle the play pile and place it face down in the middle as the new draw pile.
A round also ends if the draw pile runs out during a round and all players pass one after another. If a player passes but the following player can then form a correct equation, play continues, and the players who had already passed take their turns again. The round only ends once all players pass in succession.
Scoring Tokens
At the end of each round, the player with the highest total of card values receives the scoring token with the highest minus value. The other players receive the remaining tokens according to the order of their card totals.
A player who wins a round (by having no cards left in hand) receives no minus points and may return the scoring token 1 to the box.
If, however, the draw pile runs out during a round and all players pass one after another, the player with the lowest card total receives the scoring token 1.
Winning the Game
The player with the lowest total of scoring tokens after five rounds wins the game.
If several players have the same total, each of them must draw a card from the draw pile. The player with the lowest number wins. If several players draw the same number, the process is repeated among those players.