Balada

Balada Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

Landscape cards (12)
Event cards "A" (12) and "B" (17)
Map, double sided (100 sheets). Additional map sheets may be downloaded from the publisher's website.
Pencil (6)

About the Game

In Balada, you will become bards who record the brave deeds of resilient heroes and get victory points. The player with the most captivating story will be the winner!

Do you want to start off easy and learn the rules of the game step by step? Try the simple option first (see Easy Version).

Game Setup

Each player receives a map (day side up) and a pencil. Shuffle the "A" and "B" event cards and the landscape cards separately and place the three decks in the middle of the table.

Write the name of the hero whose journey you will follow on your sheet of paper (e.g. Charles). Designate one player who will be in charge of turning the cards.

Playing the Game

The game consists of 2 rounds and starts on the day side of the map. The round consists of 12 turns and a subsequent scoring. In each turn, you first flip the cards, and then draw 1 symbol of 1 of the turned event cards in 1 space. Once you have filled all 12 spaces, your hero's path will be scored. Then turn the sheet and continue to round 2 on the night side. To get the final result, sum up your points from both sides of the map. The player with the most points wins.

Game Round

At the beginning of each turn, the designated player flips 1 landscape card, 1 event card "A" and 1 event card "B". Now you have to draw one of the symbols on the flipped event cards in an empty space on your map, so that the landscape of the selected space (Forest, Desert or Mountains) corresponds to the flipped landscape card. You do not have to share your choice with other players.

Example: The player must draw a Sword or an Obstacle "2" in the Mountains. There are already Obstacles on the path, so they decide to draw a Sword.

Once you have all drawn a symbol on your maps, turn another three cards and repeat the process. Drawn symbols cannot be changed later.

There are more events "B" than there are turns in one round. Therefore, you will not see some cards.

Once you have filled the 12 spaces on the map, continue to the round scoring.

Change of Landscape

Once during a round, you may use the ability to change the landscape. Select 2 empty spaces on the map and swap their landscapes. Cross out the ability symbol and redraw the landscape symbols in the spaces.

Round Scoring

Once you have filled all the spaces on the map, use the Portal (see below) and send the hero off on the journey. Proceed from the 1st space on the left. According to the rules set out in the following section, evaluate and score all the events drawn on the map step by step from left to right. Record the collected points in the table.

After scoring the round on the day map, turn the sheet and start the second round.

Events

In the course of the adventure, the hero encounters enemies, magical Portals and dangerous Towers. They can also try to free a Princess or maybe get a Treasure Chest.

Obstacle

Obstacle events say how many injuries the hero suffers when overcoming them. While scoring the round, record the number of injuries sustained in the injury space. Unhealed injuries are transferred to the second round. The Obstacle can also be overcome with a Sword, see below.

When a hero suffers 6 or more injuries, they are knocked down. They continue on the path with all injuries crossed out. Crossed out injuries can no longer be healed, so you cannot receive points for them. The hero is now unharmed again and continues on the way.

Fountain

When a hero visits the Fountain, all injuries get healed (5 at most). Scars are a proof of heroism - write down as many victory points as the number of the injuries the hero has just healed. Cross out the healed injuries.

Example: In the Mountains, the hero suffers 3 injuries, in the Desert they suffer another 2. Fortunately, healing follows, after which the hero is completely healed, and the player scores 5 points.

Sword

On the space with a weapon, the hero gets 1 Sword. Make a note of this in the section of your equipment. The Sword is consumed when used. Unused Swords are transferred to the 2nd round.

The Sword can be used up when you:

Open a Chest. You get 3 points.
Destroy the Obstacle and get its point value without the hero suffering any injury.
Defeat the Boss (2 Swords defeat the Boss).

Example: The hero suffered 4 injuries and gained a Sword. They should now suffer another 3 injuries, which would mean that they have been knocked down. The player therefore decides to use up the Sword: destroy the Obstacle "3" and score 3 points without the hero suffering an injury.

Boss

You must use up 2 Swords to defeat the Boss. You get 1 point for each space on the path from the end of the map, including the space with the Boss. If you do not want to or cannot beat the Boss, ignore the event without winning the points.

Example: The hero uses up 2 Swords and defeats the Boss. The Boss is on the 7th space from the end, so the player scores 7 points.

Portal

Before starting the scoring of the round, you may move any event out of the way to the space of the Portal. (The event will no longer be in its original place.)

Example: Before the scoring, the player moves the Key to the space of the Portal to get 2 points for the Tower.

Tower

The space with the Tower affects both adjacent spaces with Obstacles. The difficulty of the influenced Obstacle increases by 1 (e.g. from 2 to 3). If you have collected a Key beforehand, you get 2 points for the Tower.

You receive 2 points when visiting the Tower with the Key. (The Key is not used up.)

When scoring the Princess, the Tower is considered a Danger. (It does not interrupt the row, see below.)

Example: There is a Tower in the Mountains, which increases the difficulty of the adjacent Obstacles. Instead of 2 injuries, the hero suffers 3 injuries in the Forest. There is no Obstacle in the Desert, so the Tower has no effect there.

Fish

For the total number of Fish drawn on your map, regardless of their space, you receive the following number of points:

1 Fish = 1 point | 2 Fish = 4 points | 3 Fish = 9 points

Key

A visit to this space will equip the hero with a Key. It unlocks the Chest and the Towers. The Key is not used up and can only be used on the current map.

Chest

If the hero has already picked up the Key, they can open the Chest with it and get as many points as there are spaces between the Chest and the Key. (Do not count the spaces with the Chest and the Key themselves, so the maximum is 10.) The Chest can also be opened with a Sword. The Sword is used up and you get 3 points.

Princess

You get as many points for the Princess as the sum of the Danger values in the continuous row before the Princess. Obstacles, the Boss and the Tower are considered Dangers. An undefeated Boss or an Obstacle where the hero has been knocked down does not count and interrupts the row.

The value of a Danger is: for an Obstacle, its value; for a defeated Boss, its value (distance from the end of the path). The Tower does not interrupt the row.

Example: There is a Tower in front of the Princess that counts as a Danger, even if it has no value itself. The Obstacle "2" adds 3 points thanks to the Tower and the Boss (if defeated) earns 9 points in this space. Subsequently, the row is interrupted by healing. Therefore, the player scores 12 points for the Princess.

Second Round

After completing the 1st round (day side of the map) and recording the points, turn your map to the night side. You transfer all unused Swords and unhealed injuries to the 2nd round. (Mark them on the 2nd side as well.) You do not keep the Key. Shuffle the decks of cards and start the 2nd round.

Game End

Record the earned points in the table during the Round scoring. You earn points for healing, unlocking the Chest, defeating the Boss, fishing, freeing the Princess and visiting the Tower. The player with the highest sum of points from both rounds wins. In case of a draw, the winner is the one who has used the Change of landscape less. If it is still a draw, all players in draw win.

Do you play alone? Play more times and try to improve. Do not be afraid to boast about your result.

Easy Version

Do you play with children and want to start with a simpler version of the game? You can play with only the event deck "A" on one side of the map. Before playing explain only cards in deck "A" (marked in this rulebook). Therefore, you turn only 1 event card with each landscape card in every turn, and you must draw it. When you score the round, the player with the most points wins.