Artifact Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Base Game and Expansions
• Components
• Base Game: Set Up
• Game Sequence
  • I. Income
  • II. Actions
  • III. End of the Round
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• Overview of the Actions
  • I. Research
  • II. Hire Workers
  • III. Ship Artifacts
  • IV. Produce an Exhibition
  • V. Sell Artifact
  • VI. Buy Artifact
• Expansion I: Research & Special Artifacts
  • Research Tracks
  • Special Artifact Cards
• Expansion II: Cities & Archaeologists
  • Selecting Roles
  • City Roles
  • Archaeologist Roles

Object of the Game

The player who earns the most prestige points through producing exhibitions and managing his budget best, wins the game.

Base Game and Expansions

Artifact is a rich gaming experience that provides players with many options to think about. In order to make it easier to learn the game, the rules have been separated into the Base Game, followed by rules for the two expansions that, when added, make up the Complete Game. The game can be played and enjoyed as the base game or by including any one of the expansions, but the complete game is highly recommended for experienced players.

Components

• 108 artifact cards:
  • 27 in each of the four site colours: 4 of each artifact type plus 7 special artifacts in each site colour
• 25 exhibition tiles:
  • 3 in each artifact type
  • 2 in each site colour
  • 2 mixed exhibitions
• 60 action markers:
  • 10 museums
  • 10 ships
  • 10 African workers
  • 10 Asian workers
  • 10 American workers
  • 10 Middle Eastern workers
• 5 player mats, 1 in each player colour
• 5 action/pass tiles, 1 in each player colour
• 50 worker huts, 10 in each player colour
• 35 wooden markers, 7 in each player colour
• 1 start player marker
• 1 year marker
• 1 rule book

The game board carries the following tracks and spaces: a money track, a year track, an income track, a museum track, a ship track, a black market space, a research track and a worker track for each site, and a space for the artifact card deck of each site, plus city roles and archaeologist roles.

Base Game: Set Up

Game material

1. Place the game board in the centre of the table.
2. Remove the 28 special artifact cards and 6 wooden markers of each player colour from the game. These are only used for the expansions (see page 7).
3. Separate the artifact cards according to site colour. Shuffle each deck separately and place it face-down on the corresponding site on the game board.
4. Place the 3 exhibition tiles of each artifact type on the corresponding museum spaces on the game board.
5. Place the 10 remaining exhibition tiles (tiles in site colours and mixed tiles) on the income track. Leave the first space ("8") empty.
6. Place all action markers on their matching tracks on the board. Note: In a three player game remove the two action markers on the "1" spaces from the board and place these back in the box. These markers are not used in the game. Note: In a four player game, remove the last action marker on space "1" from the board and place this back in the box. This marker is not used in the game.
7. Place the year marker on the first space of the year track (1920).
8. Each player chooses a colour and takes the following in this colour:
   • the player mat;
   • 10 worker huts – place these next to the player mat;
   • the pass/action tile – place this with the "action" side face-up on the player mat;
   • 1 wooden marker – place this next to the money track.
9. The youngest player gets the start player marker.

Important: In a three player game, remove the worker action markers, the artifact cards and the exhibition tiles from one site on the game board and place these back in the game box. This site is not used during the game. Shift all exhibition tiles on the income track to the right leaving no gaps.

Game start up

1. Each player, starting with the player holding the start player marker, places one of his worker huts on a site on the board. After that he takes an action marker from the site where the worker hut was placed. He places this action marker on his player mat.

2. Then, starting again with the player holding the start player marker, each player places a second worker hut and takes an action marker from that site. Note: It is allowed for a player to choose the same site twice.

   Important: The first hut on a site (from any player) does not unearth any artifacts. Each additional hut (from any player) reveals one artifact: draw an artifact card from the deck and place it face-up next to the game board near the site.

3. Then, starting with the starting player, each player takes 4 more action markers from any of the 6 action marker tracks on the board, and places them on the matching spaces on his player mat.

Alternative quick start up

Instead of having players choose for themselves, you can use this quick start up:

Players	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5
Three player game	Africa	America	Middle East
	America	Middle East	Africa
Four player game	Africa	America	Middle East	Asia
	Asia	Africa	America	Middle East

Don't forget to draw one artifact card from each deck and place it face-up near each site!

Game Sequence

The game is played in rounds. A round consists of three phases:

• I. Income: all players earn income.
• II. Actions: players take turns in which they each perform one or two actions or pass.
• III. End of the round.

I. Income

All players collect income.

Each player receives the base income. This is equal to the rightmost free space on the income track. Then each player receives bonus income for exhibitions he has produced. The amount of bonus income a player receives is shown on the exhibition tiles in front of him. Collect the income by moving each player's money marker forward on the money track.

Example: The base income for all players is 7. The player has produced two exhibitions, which gives her 4 extra income each round. Her income this round is 11.

II. Actions

This phase is played in turns. The start player begins, the other players follow in clockwise order.

In his turn each player may either:

a) Perform one or two actions

For each action, the player takes an action marker from his player mat and places it onto the highest-numbered free space on the corresponding track on the game board.

He must pay an amount of money equal to the number he covered with his action marker by moving his marker the same amount of spaces backwards on the money track.

Then the player performs the action (see "Overview of the Actions").

Note: The player may use any action marker as a "joker" (substitute) for another action marker by paying 6 coins. Place the action marker on its corresponding track and perform any other action. It is allowed to do this for both actions in a single turn.

b) Pass and take an action marker

The player can instead choose to pass. Flip the action/pass tile, so the "pass" side is face-up. Once a player has passed, he may no longer perform actions this round.

Instead of taking an action during his turn (beginning with the turn in which the player passed) the player:

• takes one action marker from the game board and places it on his player mat, or
• exchanges an action marker on his player mat with one on the game board. The exchanged action marker is placed onto the highest-numbered free space of its corresponding track on the game board.

Important: If a player has six action markers on his player mat, he cannot take another one and may only exchange a marker or do nothing.

Note: In the final round players do not take action markers when they have passed, nor do they at the end of the round.

III. End of the Round

When the last player has passed, the round ends. The last player takes the starting player token.

Starting with the start player each player refills his player mat back to six action markers from the game board, if necessary. Exchanging markers is no longer allowed!

All players flip their action/pass tiles, so that the "action" side is face-up. Finally move the year marker to the next space on the year track.

End of the Game

The game ends when at least one of these conditions is met:

• the last exhibition tile is taken from the income row;
• all three exhibition tiles of two different artifact types have been taken from the game board;
• the last artifact card from a site has been drawn;
• it is the end of the round in which the year marker is on the last space of the year track (1928).

When the game end is triggered by one of the first three conditions, the round continues and the game ends when all players have passed.

Scoring

Each player's score is determined as follows:

• prestige points for each produced exhibition (see the top right corner on each exhibition tile);
• 1 prestige point for every 5 coins on the money track.

The player with the most prestige points wins the game. In case of a tie the tied player with the most exhibitions wins the game. If still a tie, the tied player with the most money wins the game.

Overview of the Actions

I. Research

Place a museum marker from your player mat onto the highest-numbered free space on the museum track. Pay an amount of money equal to the number you covered. Then place a worker hut on a new site.

Note: this must be a site where you currently do not have a worker hut. If there is already at least one worker hut (from any player) on that site, draw an artifact card from the deck on that site and place it face-up next to the game board near the site.

Example: Blue does not have a worker hut in the Middle-East. She returns a museum marker, pays the cost of 2 coins, and places a worker hut on this site. Since there are already other huts on this site, a card is drawn and placed face-up next to the game board.

II. Hire Workers

Place a worker marker from your player mat onto the highest-numbered free space on the corresponding track of that site. Pay an amount of money equal to the number you covered. Then place a worker hut on that site. Finally draw an artifact card from the deck on that site and place it face-up next to the game board near the site.

Important: You can only perform this action at a site where you currently already have at least one worker hut. Otherwise, you must first perform the "research" action.

Example: Blue already has one worker hut in the Middle East. She places a Worker action marker from her player mat onto the Middle East worker track. It covers up the "3" and so she must pay 3 coins. Then she can place her second worker hut there and also flips over another artifact card from that site.

III. Ship Artifacts

Place a ship marker from your player mat onto the highest-numbered free space on the ship track. Pay an amount of money equal to the number you covered. Then choose a number of face-up artifact cards from one site equal to the number of worker huts you have at that site. Add the cards to your hand. Take all your worker huts from that site back into your reserve.

Exception: If there are only worker huts in your colour at that site, there is one less card you can take. Nevertheless, you must still take all of your huts back into your reserve.

Example: Blue returns a ship marker, pays the cost of 3 coins, chooses two artifacts from the Middle-East site and adds these to her hand. Then she returns her two workers huts to her reserve. Note: the coin symbols above the ship track are only used for the Black Market!

IV. Produce an Exhibition

Place a museum marker from your player mat onto the highest-numbered free space on the museum track. Pay an amount of money equal to the number you covered. Then choose one exhibition tile from the game board and place it in front of you. Show the required artifact cards from your hand. Keep one card for a future exhibition and return it to your hand. Place the other cards face-down under the exhibition tile. Finally, flip the exhibition tile so that only the bonus income is showing.

Important: When you have taken an exhibition tile from the income track, shift all remaining tiles to the right, if necessary, so that the new base income for all players is visible.

Note: There are four types of exhibition tiles:

• 4 or 5 artifacts from the same site (2x for each site)
• 3, 4, or 5 artifacts of one type (3x for each type)
• 3 artifacts from different sites (any type) (1x)
• 5 different types of artifacts (from any site) (1x)

Example: Blue returns a museum marker, pays the cost of 3 coins, and shows four artifacts from her hand from the Middle East. She takes the exhibition tile from the income track; from now on, the base income for all players is 7. Then Blue chooses one of the artifacts to return to her hand. Finally, she flips the exhibition tile and places it onto the other three artifact cards. The exhibition tile shows 2 coins, which gives her 2 extra income each round.

V. Sell Artifact

Shift artifact cards on the black market spaces on the game board to the left so that there is at least one space free. If there were already three cards on the black market, the card shifted off the board is removed from the game. Place it back in the game box.

Then place a card from your hand on the rightmost space of the black market. Finally place a ship marker from your player mat onto the highest-numbered free space on the ship track. Collect an amount of money equal to the number shown above the ship marker you've placed.

Important: You cannot use a "joker" action marker to sell an artifact on the black market!

Example: The player places an artifact on the rightmost place of the black market. Then he returns a ship marker to the ship track. He receives 5 coins and adjusts his marker on the money track.

VI. Buy Artifact

Take an artifact card from any black market space on the game board. Then place a ship marker from your player mat onto the highest-numbered free space on the ship track. Pay an amount of money equal to the number shown above the ship marker you've placed.

Important: You can't use a "joker" action marker to buy an artifact on the black market!

Example: The player takes an artifact from the black market. Then he returns a ship marker to the ship track and pays 4 coins, adjusting his marker on the money track.

Expansion I: Research & Special Artifacts

This expansion adds the research tracks and 7 special artifacts to each site. The research tracks may score you bonus prestige. The special artifacts provide special bonuses (or penalties) to the players who acquire them.

Additional components: 4 research markers (wooden marker) for each player in his playing colour and 28 special artifact cards (7 cards in each site colour).

Research Tracks

During the set up, each player places a research marker in his colour on the lowest space on the research track on each site.

Each time a player uses the "research" action at a site, he moves his research marker one space up on the corresponding research track.

At the end of the game, the lowest of a player's three research markers scores 2, 4, 6 or 8 bonus points. Note: in a 4 or 5-player game, when 4 research markers are used, the lowest marker does not count. Add the prestige points next to that player's score.

Example: At the end of a 4-player game, Blue, Red and Green score 4 bonus points each, and Yellow scores 2 points.

Special Artifact Cards

Shuffle the seven special artifact cards into each deck during the set up. Players reveal and take the special artifacts the same way they do normal artifacts (unless stated otherwise below).

Special artifacts may provide bonuses or penalties:

• Stand-alone exhibition (3x): This artifact is so valuable, a stand-alone exhibition is produced for it. Play this card using the museum action and place it in front of you. No other cards must be played to produce this exhibition. Each stand-alone exhibition provides 1 additional income per round and 1 prestige point at the end of the game.
• Gold discovered (1x): At any time during your turn (but not after you have passed), you may discard this card (by placing it in the game box) and take any artifact currently on the black market without paying for it or using an action marker. This does not count as one of your two actions each turn.
• Fragments (1x): Artifact fragments can be used as any type of artifact of a particular site when producing an exhibition. Important: You must place this card under the tile when it is used in an exhibition! You may not return it to your hand to be used again!
• Cursed artifact (1x): Cursed artifacts cannot be used for an exhibition. When this card is turned face-up at a site it is the first card to be taken when shipping artifacts from that site. Immediately after shipping a cursed artifact, that player removes the card from the game and places it back in the game box. Cursed artifacts may never be used for exhibitions.
• Manuscript (1x): Each manuscript awards a bonus research point. At the end of the game, before determining the bonus points, you may move one of your research markers one additional space for each manuscript card you have in your hand.

Expansion II: Cities & Archaeologists

This expansion adds two kinds of "roles" to the game: city and archaeologist roles. These roles provide special privileges.

Additional components: 2 role markers (wooden markers) for each player in his playing colour.

Selecting Roles

After performing the action "Produce an exhibition", the player must place one of his two role markers on one of the roles on the game board or move one of the markers to a new role.

Important: A player can only have one of his role markers on a city, and one on an archaeologist. It is possible for more than one player to select the same role.

The player may use the special privilege belonging to this role starting with his next action. He may use it as long as his marker is on this role. Each privilege is connected to a specific action.

City Roles

• Paris – Produce exhibition: Keep two artifact cards (instead of one) and return them to your hand.
• London – Ship artifacts: Draw one card from the deck of the site you are shipping from and add it to your hand without showing it to the other players.
• Berlin – Sell artifact: Receive 3 extra coins when selling to the black market.
• New York – Produce exhibition: Use one artifact card as a "joker" (a different colour or shape).

Archaeologist Roles

• Johan Gunnar Andersson: Perform a 7th action at no cost (don't pay money or return a marker) after you have used all 6 of your action markers this round. Important: You cannot use this action to buy or sell on the black market.
• Howard Carter – Research: Move two spaces on the research track (instead of one). Note: this does not apply to Manuscript cards!
• Neil Merton Judd – Research: Draw one card from the deck of the site you are researching and add it to your hand without showing it to the other players.
• Sylvanus G. Morley – Hire workers: Place two worker huts (instead of one). You require only one worker marker, but must pay the cost twice. Draw two artifact cards from the deck at that site and place these face-up next to the game board near the site.