Baron Voodoo Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Equipment
• Setting Up
• How to Play
• Loa's Power
• The Dice
  • Capturing a Die
  • Dice Column
  • Earning Victory Points
  • White Dice and Baron Samedi Token
• End of the Game
• Credits
• Game Variants
  • Team Mode
  • Fixe Board
• Game Help
  • Game Turn Summary
  • Dice Face Effects
  • Loa Powers Reference

Equipment

• A. This rule book
• B. 1 central game board
• C. 48 soul dice
• D. 4 Loa / Team game boards
  • The Team side is used for playing the team mode
• E. 4 Scoring tokens
• F. 4 Protection tokens
• G. 20 Offering tokens
• H. 1 Baron Samedi token
• I. 4 20Pts tokens

Setting Up

1. Place the center game board at the center of the table.
2. Each player picks a Loa and takes the associated material:
   • The Loa game board
   • A Score token to be placed on the "0" mark on the Loa game board
   • The Protection token placed "inactive" side up
   • 3 Offering tokens
3. Roll the 48 Dice and place them freely while matching the dice color with the color of the space where you're placing it. We recommend you place dice quickly without paying attention of the faces of them. For advanced strategy, each player can place a die, one after another until the board is filled.
4. Place all the remaining tokens (Offering, 20 Pts, Baron Samedi) together in the reserve.
5. The oldest player is the first to play.

How to Play

During the game, you need to capture as many dice as possible to create combos and earn Victory Points. Play one player after another, clockwise.

A. At the beginning of your turn, you can use your Loa's power or spend 1 Offering (place it in the reserve) to use another Loa's power.

B. You have to capture a Die on the central game board.

C. Once you have captured one Die, you can do all or any of these 5 optional actions (in this order):

1. Take 1 Offering from the reserve if the captured Die is the same colour of your Loa.
2. Spend 1 Offering to change the captured Die's face.
3. Apply the Die's face up's effet (see the Game Help section for the dice effects' list).
4. Spend 2 Offering to play another turn (only possible once per turn).
5. Earn Victory Points by placing dice in the Sirit World.

D. At the end of your turn, if you did not act during step A, you can apply your Loa's power or spend 1 Offering to apply another Loa's effect.

Loa's Power

Each Loa owns a specific power that allows you to move one or several dice on the game board. Used wisely, Loas' powers can give you the upper hand during the game, or make things harder for your foes.

Mamy Wata — Gather all the dice from a line and move them towards one of the Game Board's edges.

Papa Legba — Déplacez un dé seul sur un emplacement vide de la même ligne du plateau central. (This entry is printed in French, not English, in the official rulebook. The Game Help summary on page 8 gives the English equivalent: "Move 1 die on an empty space on the same line.")

Gran Bwa — Move all dice from a column except the one directly on the Board, and place them freely on other dice on the Board.

Erzulie Freda — Switch two isolated dice on the Board.

The Dice

Capturing a Die

During the game, you need to capture the dice on the Board. To be captured, a die needs to be adjacent to one of your Loa's color.

I. To capture a Die, you need to choose a die of your color, accessible on the board game.

• The chosen die must be adjacent to at least one die or a column of dice and followed with an empty space or a incomplete column so the die can "jump."

Example: My colour is yellow, I can only play the Die 1.

• The Die 2 is isolated and cannot «jump» over another Die.
• The Die 3 is not accessible (under other dice).
• The Die 4 cannot «jump» over the red Die because no empty space is available (the red Die is over the edge of the board).
• The Die 4 cannot «jump» over the purple Die either because the next space is a complete column (3 dice).
• The other dice are not yellow and Mamy Wata only plays yellow dice.

II. Move the choosen die into the line by «jumping» over an adjacent die or column of dice.

Example: I have two choices. I can "jump" over and capture the blue Die by placing my Die 1 on the empty space. I can "jump" over and capture the purple Die by placing my Die 1 on the other yellow one. There is no wrong moves, the choice is yours depending on your strategy (capturing a die you need for a combo, or capturing a die to bother an opponent, …)

III. The die you jumped over is captured and goes in your capture zone.

Example: I decide to capture the purple die and so, place it in my capture zone.

Dice Column

• During the game, you'll pile dice one on another, forming columns.
• A column cannot be formed with more than 3 dice. A fourth one cannot be added.
• An isolated die, or the die atop of a column is considered "accessible," the dice below cannot be picked in the step "1" of a capture.

Earning Victory Points

The optional step 5 allows you to place the dice you want from your capture zone to the Spirit World. By regrouping dice into specific combos, you can earn Victory Points.

Two types of combo are available:

• Grouping dice of different colour but same icon.
• Grouping dice of same colour but different icon.
• Victory Points number depends on the number of dice in your combo: 2 Dice = 1, 3 Dice = 3, 4 Dice = 5.

White Dice and Baron Samedi Token

1. White dice can be used as a colour joker, replacing any colour you need in a Combo.
2. The player with the most White dice in the spirit world gets the Baron Samedi token and can use his power.

The Baron Samedi token can be placed on your Loa's board to cover you own Loa. If you have the Baron Samedi token, you can use Any Loa's power without paying the cost (Offering) at the A or D steps during your turn.

End of the Game

The game ends in two situations:

1. A player gets to a specific score, depending on the number of players, as shown on the score track: 12 Points at 4 players, 15 Points at 3 players, 18 Points at 2 players.
2. A player cannot play anymore because he cannot perfom any capture move.

Note: A player have to check that none of his dice can capture an adjacent one, and also remember he can use his Loa's power or another Loa's power (if he can spend 1 Offering) to unlock the situation and play.

• End the game's turn so that all players have played the same number of turns. Reminder: The oldest player starts the game.
• Each player has to move its dice from the Capture zone to the Spirit World. If you move several combos at this step, you can only earn Victory Points from one of them.
• Compare each player's number of dice in each color. Each time a player has the more dice of a specific colour, he earns 3 more Victory Points (if players are tie, they get 1 point each).
• If your score exceeds 20 pts, get a 20 pts token and use the score track to count the exceeding points (if your score is 24 points, your score track should show 4 points).

The player with the highest score is the winner and he becomes for one year, the new Loa of the Dead! In case of tie, the player who ended the game, or the one closest to him (clockwise) wins the game.

Credits

Author's thanks: My 3 Voodoo dolls, el Compañero Fred, my 4 Protector's Loas (Papa Nico, Mama Cé, Tatie Christine & Tonton Jo(d)assin), Cousin Ben, and all the souls who tested Dice Mage, then Baron Voodoo from Cannes to Paris, even in Cantal (to name only one: Gougou). And I was about to forget the one which started all of this: My fire alarm!

Author: Yann Dentil Illustrator: Christine Alcouffe Project Manager: Cédric Szydlowski Development: Nicolas Badoux Graphic Development: Vincent Joassin

©2019 Tsume Art. All Rights Reserved. All other logos, products and company names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners.

Game Variants

Team Mode

If you're 4 to play and already know the game, I advise you play team mode.

In this mode, you will use the Team face of the board. Two configurations are available: Papa Legba + Mami Wata / Erzulie Freda + Gran Bwa, or Papa Legba + Gran Bwa / Erzulie Freda + Mami Wata.

• Form 2 teams of 2 players and choose a Team board for each team.
• Players of a team needs to sit next to each other for they share the same board.
• The game is similar to the regular one, except you no longer play clockwise but alternating a player of each team (so that a team plays any other turn).
• The score to match to end the game is 18 points.
• Team members share their Offering tokens (3 per team at the game start), capture zone, spirit world and Victory Points.
• The Protection token is personal. It protects the spirit world, but only your dice on the game board (your team mate's dice on the central game board are not protected).
• The Baron Samedi token is not used in this variant, but you win 3 Victory Points if you have the most white dice when the game ends.

Fixe Board

For a different gaming experience, instead of rolling the dice before the game begins, you can place the dice matching one of those setup:

Balanced mode: All Loas' dice are identical. If you lose, you cannot blame the dice roll.

Chaos mode: Captured dice will move easier from board to board… You might lose some friends with this mode!

Game Help

Dice effects are optional. In case you do not apply the effect of the die during the turn you capture it, the effect is lost.

Game Turn Summary

A. Beginning of a turn (Optional) — Use your Loa's power, or spend 1 Offering to use another Loa's power.

B. Main Action — Capture 1 die (to be placed in your Capture zone).

C. Optional actions

1. Get 1 Offering if the captured Die is your Loa's colour.
2. Spend 1 Offering to change the captured Die's face.
3. Apply the effect of the captured Die.
4. Spend 2 Offering to play again (once per turn only).
5. Earn Victory Points by placing captured dice into the spirit world.

D. End of your turn (you can use a Loa's power if you did not do it in step A).

Dice Face Effects

• Offering icon — Take 1 Offering in the reserve. Offering tokens can be used during your turn's optional actions to change a die's face, use a Loa's power, or play an extra turn.
• 1 icon — Earn 1 Victory Point. If you reach the score limit with this effect, finish your turn. Then apply game end, as indicated in the End of the Game section.
• Die-swap icon — Change the face of one any die in your Capture zone (including this one). The new face's effect is not applied but can help you to create combo.
• Shield/horns icon — Place your Protection token's active face up. Your dice on the central game board cannot be captured, and your captured dice cannot be stolen by any opponent, until your next turn. On your next turn, switch back your Protection token with the inactive face up, you're no longer protected.
• Stealing hand icon — Steal a die from one of your opponent's spirit world. The stolen die's effect is not applied. You cannot steal a die from a player with an active Protection.
• Cross/exchange icon — Switch a die from an opponent with one from another opponent. Both die must be in the opponents' capture zone. You can choose any player (including yourself).

Loa Powers Reference

• Mamy Wata's power (yellow) — Gather and move all dice from a line towards one of the central game board's edges.
• Gran Bwa's power (turquoise) — Move all the dice from a column except the one directly on the board onto other dice on the board.
• Papa Legba's power (red) — Move 1 die on an empty space on the same line.
• Erzulie Freda's power (purple) — Switch two isolated dice's positions on the central game board.

I grant those 4 Loa's powers to the player who owns the most White dice in the spirit world.