Bard Saga Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Goal
• Set Up
• Gameplay
  • Seeking Story Phase
  • Singing Victory Phase
• Game End
• Components

Game Goal

Homer was the greatest Bard in history with his two epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey. According to legend, Homer had another secret poem left in the world. Now, you are one of the Bards seeking Homer's lost poem to sing. When all of the poem fragments have been discovered, the victory will be the beginning of your own legendary Bard Saga...

Set Up

Randomly place the eight Legend cards face down as eight different decks on the table. (See Example one)

Shuffle the Story cards and randomly place a Story card face up over each Legend card. Randomly place another three Story cards in a pile face up in the center of the eight decks as the ninth deck. These nine decks are called the Field.

Place the rest of the Story cards face down as a deck next to the Field; this deck is the Market. Set all Scroll cards face down as a deck next to the Market; this deck is called the Inn. (See Example two)

The player who last sang a song aloud is the Starting Player. Take turns clockwise drawing two cards from the Market. Then, all players draw two Scroll cards from the Inn and place the Scroll cards face up in front of themselves.

The Starting Player declares what color white cards will be (Red, Blue, Yellow or Green) this round.

Gameplay

There are multiple rounds in this game. Each round is divided into two phases: SEEKING STORY PHASE and SINGING VICTORY PHASE.

Seeking Story Phase

On their turn, a player must perform one (and only one) of the following three actions:

Play A Story Card

1. A player plays a Story card in front of themselves from their hand, and perform the card's effect.

2. During the next phase, each player may gain Scroll cards and Victory Points Cards based on the color of the Story Cards in front of them. Each Red Story card gives a Red Scroll card, each Blue Story card gives a Blue Scroll card, each Yellow Story card gives a Yellow Scroll card, and each Green Story card gives a Green Scroll card. Each face down Story card gives a random Scroll card (drawn from the Inn).

   Note: Players must perform the Story card effect as soon as the card is played unless the Story card says, "When this card is flipped..."

Play Scroll Cards

A player plays Scroll cards to "Collect Story" or "Search Legend".

Collect Story:

Check the Scroll Card Requirement* of a Story card in the Field. Play the required amount of Scroll cards to the Inn and shuffle the Inn. Then add that Story card to your hand. Gain one Victory Point.

Scroll Card Requirement*: Each Story card has a border color. When a player uses Scroll cards to add a Story card to their hand, they need to use a Scroll card of the same color as that Story card, as well as Scroll cards matching the colors of Story cards touching the Story card he or she wants to take.

Example: If the Story card you want to take from the Field is Green, and that card is adjacent to a Red Story card, a Blue Story card, and a Yellow Story Card, you need to send four Scroll cards (one Green, one Red, one Blue, one Yellow) to the Inn to add that Green Story card to your hand and gain one Victory Point.

Note: If the Story card is white card, that card's color is the color determined by the Starting player of that round.

Search Legend:

There are eight Legend cards in the Field. When a Legend card appears in the Field, check the Scroll cards requirement of the Legend card in the Field. Play the required amount of Scroll cards to the Inn and shuffle the Inn. Then, move that Legend card face up next to the Market. Gain two Victory Points. If there is a Legend card already face up next to the Market, put the new Legend card over the old one.

Note: All Legend cards back sides are white. That means their color is determined by the Starting player at the beginning of the round. When a player uses Scroll cards to send the Legend card next to the Market, they need to use not only a matching Scroll card, but also Scroll cards matching the color of Story cards adjacent to that Legend card.

Example: The Starting player has declared white cards this round are Green. If the Legend card you want to claim is adjacent to a Red Story card, a Blue Story card, and a Green Story card, you need to send four Scroll cards (two Green, one Red, one Blue) to the Inn to move that Legend card face up next to the Market and gain two Victory Points.

Pass

Players can choose to pass this phase without performing any other action for the rest of this round. Players who do not pass can continue to take actions in the SEEKING STORY PHASE. Once every player passes their turn, the game moves to SINGING VICTORY PHASE. If a player chooses to pass this phase with cards still in their hand, they can keep their hand cards during the next phase.

Singing Victory Phase

1. Starting from the first player who passed first in the SEEKING STORY PAHSE (printed as "PAHSE" in the source), each player checks the Story card in front of them. Gain the matching colored Scroll cards from the Inn. Gain one Red Scroll card for each Red Story card, one Blue Scroll card for each Blue Story card, one Yellow Scroll card for each Yellow Story card and one Green Scroll card for each Green Story card. Gain one random Scroll card for each Story card which that is face down. (Shuffle the Inn, then draw from the top of the Inn.)

   Note: There are only ten Scroll cards of each color. Players are not compensated if there are not enough Scrolls left of the color they need.

2. Based on the Legend card face up next to the Market, each player checks the Story cards in front of them. Gain one Victory Point for each Story card has the same color as the Legend card. Gain one Victory Point for each Story card has the same art as the Legend card.

3. The Scroll cards size limit is ten. If a player has more than ten Scroll cards in front of them, they must choose and discard until they have ten Scroll cards.

4. Shuffle all Story cards in front of all players back into the Market, then each player draws three Story cards from the Market. The hand size limit is three, so if a player has more than three cards in their hand after drawing, they must choose and discard until they have three cards.

5. The first player who passed first in the SEEKING STORY PAHSE (printed as "PAHSE" in the source) is now the Starting player for next round. The Starting player determines what color white cards are for this new round.

Game End

When the last Legend card (the eighth one) has moved next to the Market, that round is the last round. After the SINGING VICTORY PHASE, the player who has the most Victory Point wins the game. If there is a tie, whoever has more Scroll cards win the game. If there is still a tie, they share the victory and should sing a song about it.

Components

• 32 Story cards
• 8 Legend cards
• 40 Scroll cards: 10 each for red, green, blue and yellow
• 28 Victory Point cards: 15 for one point, 10 for three points, and 3 for ten points