Biblios Dice Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object
• Setup (See Setup Card)
• Overview of Gameplay
  • Rules for 3-5 Players
• Playing the Game
  • Phase I: Roll Dice
  • Phase II: Advance Mule
  • Phase III: Select Dice / Go To Market
• Dice Selection Rules
  • A) Resource Dice
  • B) Adjustment Die
  • C) Gold Die
• Market Rules
• Auctions
  • Penalty for Overbidding
  • Phase IV: Ending the Round
• Game End
• Scoring
  • VPs for Resources
  • VPs for Gold
  • Losing VPs
  • Determining a Winner
• Rules for 2 Players
  • Setup
  • Playing the Game
    • Phase 0: The Cadfael Phase
    • Going to the Market
  • Game End and Scoring
• Bishop Tokens
• Hidden Objective Variant
• Dr. Finn's Games
• Credits
• Game Summary
  • Phase I: Roll Dice
  • Phase II: Advance Mule
  • Phase III: Dice Selection / Market
  • Phase IV: End Round
  • Scoring

Contents

• 5 Resource Tracks & 1 Bishop Track
• 1 Market Board
• 5 Value Dice
• 7 Resource Dice
• 1 Gold Die
• 1 Mule Die
• 1 Adjustment Die
• 30 Track Markers
• 1 Mule Token
• 40 Bidding Cards
• 63 VP Tokens
• 49 Coins
• 9 Bishop Tokens
• 5 Shields
• 1 Monastery Card
• 1 Setup Card
• 5 Hidden Objective Cards (Used for Variant, see p. 15)

Object

The object is to earn the most Victory Points (VPs) by collecting resources, spending your gold wisely, and influencing the bishop. Players use their Track Markers to show their current level of resources (scrolls, manuscripts, pigments, quills, or ink) on the Resource Tracks and track their influence with the bishop on the Bishop Track. The Value Die at the top of each track shows the resource's current value — the more pips on the die, the more valuable the resource. At game end, players score VPs based on the resources collected, the gold possessed, and the influence level with the Bishop.

Setup (See Setup Card)

1. Place the 5 Resource Tracks in a row in any order and the Bishop Track to the right of the Resource Tracks.
2. Place the Value Dice, according to their colors, at the top of each Resource Track and turn them to show 3 pips.
3. Place VP Tokens onto the designated spaces on the Resource Tracks in this way:
   • On the lower VP symbol, stack a 1VP, a 2VP, and a 3VP in ascending order (i.e., the 3VP is on top).
   • On the upper VP symbol, stack a 1VP, 3VP, and a 5VP in ascending order (i.e., the 5VP is on top).
4. Place the remaining VP Tokens off to the side in a supply.
5. Arrange the Bishop Tokens into 3 groups based on the number on their backs and place with the numbered side face-up.
6. In each group, mix the Bishop Tokens and then place each stack of Tokens on the designated spaces on the Bishop Track with the numbered side face-up.
7. Place the Market Board under the tracks.
8. Place the Mule Token on the first space on the left side of the Market Board.
9. Each player chooses a color and takes 6 Track Markers, a Shield, and 8 Bidding Cards in that color along with a 1VP from the supply (which is placed behind his shield).
10. Each player places a Track Marker on the lowest space of each Resource Track and the Bishop Track.
11. Determine a starting player, who takes the Monastery Card.
12. Arrange the players' Track Markers on the Bishop Track from left to right, starting with the last player and moving counter-clockwise. Thus, the first player's Track Marker is on the far right and the last player's is on the far left of the lowest space. The markers on the other tracks can be in any order.
13. Each player takes a total of 15 Gold (in any denominations) and places the coins behind his shield.
14. The players receive additional items, as shown below, based on their starting position, as determined by moving clockwise from the starting player. If a player is receiving a resource, he moves his Track Marker up 1 space in the corresponding track.
    • 1st player: No additional items
    • 2nd: 1 Gold
    • 3rd: 1 Gold and 1 Ink
    • 4th: 2 Gold and 1 Scroll
    • 5th: 2 Gold, 1 Manuscript and a 1 VP Token
15. If playing with 2 or 3 players, use only 6 Resource Dice; place the seventh die back in the box.

Example: Chris (pink) is second and takes 1 extra Gold. Jill (aqua) is third. She takes an extra 1 Gold and moves her Track Marker up 1 space on the Ink Track.

Overview of Gameplay

The game is played in a series of rounds. In each round, the player with the Monastery Card is the first player and rolls the dice. Players then take turns, starting with the first player and moving clockwise, choosing dice and acquiring resources or gold. Periodically, players "go to the market" and bid for resources in an auction. At round's end, the Monastery Card is passed to the left and that person begins a new round. Play continues in this fashion until a game-ending event (see Game End).

Rules for 3-5 Players

The rulebook first describes the game for 3-5 players. The 2-player game is described later.

Playing the Game

Each round has 4 phases, the third of which contains most of the game's action:

• Phase I: Roll Dice
• Phase II: Advance Mule
• Phase III: Select Dice / Go to Market
• Phase IV: End Round

Phase I: Roll Dice

1. The player with the Monastery Card rolls all the dice, except the Value Dice.
2. Once per round, the first player (and only him) may re-roll any or all of the dice, but must pay 1 VP Token to the supply.
3. Once the first player stops rolling, Phase I ends.

NOTE: The Value Dice at the top of the tracks are never rolled.

Phase II: Advance Mule

1. The first player advances the Mule Token (hereafter, "Mule") along the path on the Market Board the number of spaces showing on the Mule Die.
2. The Mule Die is placed aside until the next round.
3. If the Mule reaches the final space on the path, the Mule stops.

Phase III: Select Dice / Go To Market

The position of the Mule on the Market Board determines whether players "select dice" or "go to market" in Phase III. If the Mule is in any space except the final space, Phase III follows the Dice Selection rules. If the Mule is in the final space, Phase III follows the Market rules.

Dice Selection Rules

Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player chooses one type of dice (Resource, Adjustment or Gold) from the "dice pool" (i.e., all of the rolled dice except for the Mule Die) and performs the action associated with the dice chosen, as described below. The action must be fully resolved before the next player chooses. The chosen dice are removed from the dice pool and placed aside until the next round. Players continue to choose dice until the dice pool is empty.

A) Resource Dice

If a player chooses Resource Dice, he may take only Resource Dice with matching symbols, but must take all the dice showing that symbol. If a player chooses an Ink die, for example, he takes all of the Ink dice.

The player then moves his marker up on the corresponding Resource Track (or Bishop Track, if taking dice with the Bishop symbol). The number he advances is equal to the number of dice taken. If a player takes 2 Scrolls dice, for example, he moves his marker 2 spaces up the Scrolls Track.

When moving up a track, a player's marker is always placed to the right of the other player's markers already there. Markers to the left are considered to be "ahead" of the other markers in that space. When moving into an empty space, therefore, the player should position his marker to the left side of the space.

If a player's marker stops in (or passes by) a space containing a stack of VP Tokens or Bishop Tokens, the player is awarded the topmost token.

• VP Tokens are placed behind the player's shield.
• Bishop Tokens are revealed and resolved immediately (see "Bishop Tokens," p. 14).

Conversion Rule: If a player's marker is at the top space of a Resource Track and the player takes dice of that type, he is allowed to receive a random resource for each die taken. To do so, he continues to re-roll each die until it shows a different resource. He then moves his marker(s) up the track(s) according to the new dice result. A player is not allowed to receive a random resource on the same turn in which he reached the top space of a track. For example, if a player is 1 space from the top of the Ink Track and takes 2 Ink dice, the second has no effect on this turn.

B) Adjustment Die

If a player chooses the Adjustment Die, he adjusts one or more Value Dice, depending upon the symbol showing on the die.

• Increase a Value Die by 1 pip.
• Decrease a Value Die by 1 pip.
• Increase 2 different Value Dice by 1 pip each.
• Decrease 2 different Value Dice by 1 pip each.
• Increase a Value Die by 1 pip and decrease a different Value Die by 1 pip.
• Change any Value Die to show 3 pips (or keep at 3 pips).

A player must make the adjustments after choosing the Adjustment Die, even if it is to his disadvantage. After making an adjustment, if all of the Value Dice show 1 pip or if they all show 6 pips, they are all reset to 3 pips. A die cannot be raised higher than 6 or lower than 1.

C) Gold Die

If a player chooses the Gold Die, he simply takes the corresponding number of gold from the supply and places them behind his shield.

Exception: If the Gold Die shows the "gold for all" symbol and there is no auction, all players receive gold. The amount is equal to 1 less than the number of players (e.g., 3 gold in a 4-player game). The Gold Die is then placed aside until the next round.

Important: If the Gold Die shows the "gold for all" symbol and players "go to market," players do not collect gold and the die is re-rolled until it shows a number.

Example: It's a 3-player game. Filipe has the Monastery Card, so he rolls the dice in Phase I. In Phase II, he moves the Mule 1 space because the Mule die shows 1. Since the Mule is not in the final space, the players select dice in Phase III. The dice in the dice pool show: 3 Ink, 2 Manuscripts, 1 Pigment, 3 Gold, +1 Adjustment of 1 die. He takes the 3 Ink dice from the dice pool and moves his marker up 3 spaces on the Ink Track. By doing so, he passes a space with VP Tokens, so he takes the top token (a 3VP Token). It is now Becca's turn, who is to the left of Filipe. She chooses the Gold die and takes 3 Gold from the supply and puts it behind her shield. Seth chooses next, takes the 2 Manuscripts and moves his marker up 2 spaces on the Manuscript Track. Filipe gets another turn and he chooses the Adjustment Die and he turns the Value Die at the top of the Ink Track from 3 to 4, increasing the value of Ink. Finally, Becca is left with the Pigment Die and so she moves her marker 1 space on the Pigment Track. The dice pool is now exhausted.

When the dice pool is empty, the first player of the current round passes the Monastery Card to the next player clockwise and the round moves to Phase IV.

Point of Emphasis: Players might have more than 1 turn to choose dice in a given round, since the dice pool may not be exhausted after all players take a turn.

Market Rules

If the mule was moved to the final space during Phase II, the players "go to the market" in Phase III and do not select dice. The general rules of going to the market are:

1. The first player places the Mule Die aside, then creates 2 groups of dice with the remaining dice; 1 group of dice must contain 6 dice (or 5 dice, if playing with 2 or 3 players) and the other must contain 3 dice. He may not alter the dice results (exception: If gold die shows "gold for all" symbol, it is re-rolled.)
2. Players now auction (see below) to determine which 2 players will get a group of dice.
3. After the auction, all players return the Bidding Cards to their hands.
4. The Mule is returned to the first space on the Market Board.
5. The current first player does not pass the Monastery Card and the round moves on to Phase IV.

Auctions

1. All players simultaneously and secretly choose 1 of their Bidding Cards and place it face-down on the table. A Bidding Card represents how much gold a player is willing to spend to win the auction. After all players choose a Bidding Card, the card is turned face-up. If a player places a "pass card", that player has passed, and may not add more cards to his bid during this auction. (A "pass card" is the Bidding Card with no number.)
2. All players that did not pass choose another Bidding Card from their hand and, as before, place it face-down. Again, all face-down Bidding Cards are turned face-up when players are ready.
3. Players continue by simultaneously placing and revealing Bidding Cards until all players have passed.
4. Players then compare the total on their played Bidding Cards to determine the top 2 bidders. In case of a tie, the player who is further up the Bishop Track wins the tie. As a reminder, if there is a tie on the track, the player with the marker more to the left is ahead and wins the tie.
5. The player with the highest total bid wins the auction and pays the bid amount in gold to the supply. He then chooses 1 of the 2 groups of dice and performs all the corresponding actions (e.g., moving up resource tracks, adjusting Value Dice, or collecting gold) associated with the chosen dice.
6. The player with the second highest bid pays half of his total bid (rounded up), takes the remaining group of dice, and performs the corresponding actions. A player must bid at least 1 gold to be able to win a group of dice. If only 1 player bid during an auction, the other group of dice is discarded without effect.
7. All other players pay nothing and take no dice this round.

Penalty for Overbidding

If a player owes more gold than he can afford to pay because he overbid (whether purposely or accidentally), the player is penalized. The player must reveal his gold and VP Tokens and then return all of his gold to the supply. The current auction results are then determined as if this player had not bid. Furthermore, the player must place his pass card face-up next to the Market Board and he is not allowed to bid during the next auction. After that next auction, he returns his pass card to his hand and may bid in future auctions.

Auction Example: It is a 3-player game. Seth is the dice roller and divides the dice into a group of 5 and a group of 3. All players choose a Bidding Card from their hand and place it face-down. They all reveal that card simultaneously. Seth reveals a 5, Filipe a 2, and Becca a 1. They all place and reveal a second card. Seth reveals a 2, for a total bid of 7. Filipe reveals a 5 and he also has a bid of 7. Becca reveals her pass card, so her final bid is 1. Seth and Filipe place 1 more card and reveal them. Both reveal their pass cards, so the bidding is over. Seth and Filipe are tied at 7, but Filipe is further up the Bishop Track, so he wins the auction. He returns 7 gold to the supply and chooses the group with 5 dice. After performing those associated actions, Seth pays 4 gold (1/2 of 7, rounded up), takes the group of 3 dice, and performs their actions. Becca pays nothing and receives nothing. All players return Bidding Cards to their hands. Seth moves the Mule back to the starting space. Seth keeps the Monastery card. Phase III is now over.

Phase IV: Ending the Round

1. Players check to see if a game-ending condition is met (see "Game End").
2. If the game is not over, the first player starts a new round at Phase I.

Point of Emphasis: If players selected dice in Phase III, there will be a new first player in the next round; if they went to the market, the first player does not change.

Game End

The game ends at the end of a round in which either of these conditions is met:

• One marker reaches the top space of the Bishop Track.
• Any four markers reach the top space in any (same or different) Resource Track(s).

Scoring

If a game ending condition is met, players collect VPs for their resources and gold. After collecting gold, they might also lose VPs for not advancing far enough up one or more tracks.

VPs for Resources

Players earn VPs based on the position of their markers on the Resource Tracks.

• For each Resource Track, the player whose marker advanced furthest up the track scores 2 VPs for every pip on its Value Die.
• Second place scores 1 VP for every pip on its Value Die.
• Third place scores ½ VP for every pip on its Value Die (rounded up).

Ties on a track are broken, as before, in favor of those whose marker arrived first in a space (that is, the marker further to the left). A player whose marker has not reached the 4th space on a Resource Track is not eligible to win first, second, or third place.

Example: Filipe (yellow) is ahead in the Ink Track, Becca (pink) is second, and Seth (aqua) is third. The Value Die shows 5. Filipe scores 10 VPs, Becca scores 5 VPs, and Seth scores 3 VPs.

VPs for Gold

Players convert their gold to VPs at a ratio determined by their marker's position on the Bishop Track, assuming they have moved up at least 3 spaces from the bottom.

The ratios range from 5:1 to 2:1. Players receive a better ratio by progressing up the Bishop Track. By reaching or passing a space containing a ratio, they can convert their gold at game end on the basis of the best ratio reached.

Example: Seth has reached the 4:1 space on the Bishop Track and he has 10 gold. So he converts 8 gold to 2 VPs.

Losing VPs

If a player has not reached the 4th space on a track, he must return the amount of VPs to the supply as indicated by the icon on the space.

Example: Becca is on the second space of the Ink Track, so she must return 2 VPs to the supply.

Determining a Winner

The player with the most VPs is the winner. In case of a tie, the tied player with the most remaining gold wins the tie. If still tied, the tied player furthest up on the Bishop Track wins the tie.

Rules for 2 Players

For a 2-player game, use markers of a third color to represent a third player (called "Cadfael"). The game uses the same rules, but with the following additions:

Setup

• After choosing colors for players, choose a third color for Cadfael.
• Cadfael is given the 6 Markers and 8 Bidding Cards in his color, but no gold, VPs, or shield.
• Place his markers on the Resource Tracks along with the other players' markers.
• On the Bishop Track, place his marker furthest to the left.
• Remove his pass card from the game, shuffle his remaining Bidding Cards and place them face-down in a draw pile.

Playing the Game

Phase 0: The Cadfael Phase

At the start of a round, before rolling the dice in Phase I, the first player rolls 3 Resource Dice for Cadfael and moves his markers up the corresponding track(s).

If 1 of his markers reaches a space with VP or Bishop Tokens, Cadfael is awarded the topmost token.

After rolling the 3 dice and advancing his markers, the first player begins Phase I.

Going to the Market

Cadfael participates in the Auctions in the following way:

• After players have revealed their first Bidding Card, reveal the top card from Cadfael's deck. When players have revealed their second Bidding Card, if any, the next card from Cadfael's deck is flipped as well.
• Cadfael always plays exactly 2 Bidding Cards in every auction, which will constitute his bid.
• To win first or second place in an auction, a player must beat Cadfael's bid. As usual, ties are broken by the position on the Bishop Track.
• If Cadfael wins an auction, he doesn't pay any gold and he picks the dice group with more dice. He does not receive any of the resources or gold on the dice. Instead, he simply denies 1 of the players the opportunity to win that group of dice.
• If Cadfael's bid is the second highest, the winning player still chooses which group of dice to take. Cadfael takes the other group of dice, thus denying those dice to the remaining player.
• After an auction, place Cadfael's 2 Bidding Cards to the side and leave them face-up until there are 6 face-up cards (which happens after every 3 auctions).
• After every 3 auctions, shuffle his Bidding cards and start a new draw pile.

Game End and Scoring

The game's ending conditions remain the same. When scoring, however, consider Cadfael's markers as if they were those of a real player. He receives VPs on the basis of his markers' respective positions on the Resource Tracks. He receives no VPs for gold, as he has none.

Bishop Tokens

• Take 1 Gold & move up 1 space in any Resource Track
• Take 1 Gold and 2 VPs
• Take 3 Gold
• Take 1 Gold & move up 1 space in 2 different Resource Tracks
• Take 2 Gold and 3 VPs
• Take 5 Gold
• Move up 1 space in 3 different Resource Tracks
• Take 3 Gold and move up 1 space in 2 different Resource Tracks
• Take 5 VPs

Note: A player may not move up in the Bishop Track by use of Bishop Tokens.

Hidden Objective Variant

Add variety to the game by using the Hidden Objective Variant. At the start of the game, shuffle the 5 Hidden Objective Cards and deal 1 card to each player, putting unused cards back in the box without looking at them. Each player looks at his own card, but does not reveal it to others. Each card corresponds to 1 of the 5 Resource Tracks. At game end, if a player finishes in first place on the track corresponding to his hidden objective card, he scores a bonus 3 VPs.

Dr. Finn's Games

Dr. Finn's Games is an independent game publishing company that publishes the games of Steve Finn. Please consider trying another one of these games designed by Steve Finn, all of which have received strong reviews from the board game playing community.

Dr. Finn's Games has a monthly drawing for a free game. Visit www.doctorfinns.com for more information.

Credits

Thanks to all the Kickstarter backers for making this game possible. Much thanks also to the playtesters: Becca, Seth, Michael, Yami, Mike, Chris, Mark, Charles, Andre, Petey, Brown, Billy, Anthony. Thanks again to Filipe for his work on the rulebook and the promotional video. And finally to Richard and Ed for their preview videos. If I have inadvertently forgotten someone, I apologize.

Biblios and the Biblios logo are trademarks of IELLO USA LLC, 5550 Mirage Painted Rd, Suite 320, Las Vegas, NV 89149. I thank Iello for giving me permission to use "Biblios" in the title of the game.

© 2014 Dr. Finn's Games; Illustration © 2014 Lawrence van der Merwe

Game Summary

Phase I: Roll Dice

• Roll all dice but the Value Dice.
• Dice roller may reroll once by paying 1 VP.

Phase II: Advance Mule

• Advance Mule the number shown on the Mule Die.

Phase III: Dice Selection / Market

Dice Selection:

• Each player, moving clockwise, takes turns choosing 1 type of dice and performing the associated action(s).

Market:

• First player splits the dice into 2 groups: a group with 3 dice and a group with the remaining dice.
• Players auction to choose a group of dice.
• Reset Mule to the first space on the Market Board.
• First player does not change.

Phase IV: End Round

• Check for game end conditions: 1 marker reaches the top of the Bishop Track or 4 markers reach the top space in any Resource Track(s).

Scoring

• Score Each Resource Track:
  • First place: Value Die x2 VPs
  • Second place: Value Die x1 VPs
  • Third place: Value Die x ½ VPs (round up)
• Convert Gold to VPs: according to the ratio on the Bishop Track (5:1 to 2:1).
• Pay VP Penalty: according to the Resource Tracks.