Cavum
Cavum Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Contents
- The Game Board
- Goal
- Preparation
- Playing the Game
- (2) Build
- (3A) City Scoring
- (3B) Explosion (dynamite tiles)
- (4) Selling Precious Stones
- New Phase
- Game End
- Examples
- Playing the Game — Short Rules (four sections)
Contents
- 1 game board
- 4 scoring markers (in 4 colours)
- 44 stations (mine stations; little wooden cubes in 4 colours, 11 pieces per player)
- 62 tunnel tiles (17 six-exits, 19 four-exits, 14 three-exits, 12 two-exits)
- 12 dynamite tiles (tunnel tiles with a red circle); 3 six-exits, 3 four-exits, 3 three-exits, 3 two-exits
- 18 veins of precious stones
- 8 option tiles (2 per player)
- 4 prospect tiles (1 per player)
- 4 sequence cards (with the numbers 1-4)
- 54 precious stones (in 6 colours; 9 per colour)
- 15 order cards (6 with 2 precious stones, 6 with 3 precious stones, 3 with 4 precious stones)
- 12 2-chips
- 4 action boards with action summary (1 per player)
The tunnel tiles
The tunnel tiles come in four kinds: two-exit, three-exit, four-exit and six-exit. Other components illustrated in the overview are: vein of precious stones (with precious stones), buy option, prospect tile, dynamite (tiles with red circle), 2-chips, stations, precious stones, order cards, sequence cards and scoring markers.
The Game Board
The game board shows a mountain with 91 mountain spaces. Around the mountain are cities that together make up 31 city spaces. Around the cities is the scoring track, and around this track there are 6 tracks for precious stones. On each of these tracks there are 9 spaces for precious stones. On one side of the board is the buy pool and on the other side are four spaces for the sequence cards.
Goal
In the mountain there are veins of precious stones. The players build tunnels in the mountain, establish stations (mine stations) in the mountain and in the cities, discover veins of precious stones, prospect for precious stones and sell them. The players score points for stations in each city and for precious stones sold. The winner is the leading player on the scoring track at the end of the game.
Preparation
- The game board shows five spaces with tunnels. Place the corresponding tunnel tiles on these spaces: 1 six-exit tile and 4 four-exit tiles. On the six-exit tile place 1 vein and on the vein put all 9 yellow precious stones in a pile.
- The precious stones (excluding the yellow ones) are laid on the spaces for precious stones with the same colour. Each colour forms a row from 1 to 9 (scale of precious stones).
- Each player gets:
- 1 scoring marker, which he puts on (or beside) the space with the number 20 of the scoring track.
- 1 action board, which he places on the table before himself.
- On the buy pool of the game board the following are placed: 5 veins, 4 six-exit, 3 four-exit, 2 three-exit tiles, and 2 stations for each player. (for the present use no two-exit tiles and no dynamite tiles)
- The 4 sequence cards (with the numbers 1-4) are placed on the spaces (1-4) of the board.
- The order cards are shuffled and placed in a deck face down next to the board.
- Five order cards are drawn and placed face up next to the game board.
- The 2-chips are placed next to these cards.
- The remaining game material is arranged as a supply beside the game board (stations, tunnel tiles, veins, option tiles, dynamite tiles).
Playing the Game
The game has 3 phases. Each phase exists of 4 sections:
- Bid for sequence cards, take tiles, and take order cards
- Build tunnels and stations, discover veins and prospect for precious stones
- City scoring and explosion
- Sell precious stones
(1A) Bid for Sequence Cards
The youngest player starts bidding with the value "0" (or higher). His left neighbour must now increase the bid or pass. The first bidding ends with the highest bid (when all others have passed). Note: The highest bid might be the "0". The player with the highest bid moves his scoring marker back the same number of spaces as the number he bid; he then takes one of the sequence cards. After that the left neighbour starts the second bidding. The other sequence cards are acquired as described above. When this is finished, the sequence of turns for the first phase has been decided. If there are fewer than 4 players in the game, the remaining sequence cards stay on the game board.
(1B) Take Tiles
Each player takes 12 tiles from the supply and lays them face up on his action board:
4 tunnel tiles (1 six, 1 four, 1 three, 1 two exits), 1 vein, 2 buy options, 1 prospect card, 3 stations and 1 dynamite tile. The sequence card shows which dynamite tile a player receives.
(1C) Take Order Cards
An order card shows which precious stones a player has to prospect for in order to fulfil the order.
After all players have acquired a sequence card, players proceed in order of play (the player with the lowest card starts). Each player takes one face up order card or passes. After each player has taken a turn, more rounds follow if there are any order cards left. This continues until all order cards have been taken or until all players have passed. A player who takes an order card places this card face up in front of him. When the order card is fulfilled, the player receives victory points as shown on the card. If a player fails to fulfil an order card by the end of the game, he must move his scoring marker back the number of points indicated on the bottom of the card.
Order cards that have not been chosen stay face up on the table: a "2-chip" is placed on each card. In the next phase 5 new order cards will be added. Whoever takes an order card with a 2-chip in the next phase may move his scoring marker two spaces ahead. The "2-chip" is then returned to the supply. When an order card has not been taken in the second phase a second 2-chip will be added to the card.
(2) Build
Each player has 12 tiles for use during each phase. Each tile represents 1 action, which means that each player has 12 actions per phase.
Players proceed in order according to the sequence cards. The active player must execute 1 to 4 actions (a minimum of 1, maximum of 4 actions in a turn.) It is the player's choice which actions he executes and in which sequence. But the act of prospecting is always the last one of his 12 actions. When a player cannot build a station or cannot discover a vein, he must place this station or vein into the buying pool. Doing so, however, counts as one action.
The first turn is always performed by the player with the lowest sequence card. After him follows the player with the second lowest sequence card. When each player has taken one turn, the first round is finished and the next round starts again with the player with the lowest sequence card and so on. Because the players can execute a different number of actions in a turn, it is normal that some players will finish all 12 actions before other players do; they will have to wait until the other players finish theirs.
(2A) Lay Tunnel Tiles
Tunnel tiles can only be placed on mountain spaces.
A tunnel tile must be laid either:
- a) next to a tile already in play on the game board, or
- b) on top of a tunnel- or dynamite tile which is already on the game board
a1) Place next to tunnel or dynamite tiles
The new tunnel tile must be placed in such fashion that at least one tunnel is continued. It doesn't matter how many tunnels are continued or if there is any connection to a city.
Illustration: Laying is not allowed, because no tunnel is continued. Laying is allowed, because one tunnel is continued.
a2) Place next to vein
A tunnel tile may be placed next to a vein only if at least one tunnel of a tunnel tile already leads to this vein on the board. As soon as a tunnel leads to a vein, a new tunnel tile may be placed on any side of that vein. This is because a vein has six exits, one on each side.
Illustration: The tunnel tile may not be placed next to this vein because there is not yet a connection to the vein. A tunnel tile may be placed here, if one tunnel is continued. Now the vein is connected and players can place tunnel tiles next to the vein. Because one tunnel has already been connected to the vein, a tunnel tile may now be placed directly next to this same vein on any side. This tunnel has now been continued.
a3) Place next to a city space
Each city space contains exits to mountain spaces.
A tunnel tile can be placed next to a city space only if a tunnel on a tunnel tile leads to this city space on the board.
If a player has built a station on a city space, only he may place a tunnel tile next to this space.
City spaces are not connected to each other.
Illustration key: mountains — exits to mountain spaces — city spaces. Only blue can place a tunnel tile and continue the tunnel. Blue has correctly placed the tunnel tile. Blue has not correctly placed the tunnel tile.
b) Place tunnel tiles on top of each other
Tunnel tiles may be placed on top of each other, but only if the upper tile contains more tunnel exits than the lower tile.
For example, on a 2-tunnel exit a 3, 4, or 6-exit tunnel may be placed; on a 3-tunnel exit a 4 or 6; and on a 4-tunnel exit a 6-exit may be laid. On a 6-tunnel exit no further 6-tunnels may be placed.
When placing tiles on other tiles, one must keep in mind that at least one tunnel must connect to another tile adjacent to it.
Lay Dynamite-Tiles (Tunnel tiles with a red circle)
For the tunnel tiles with a red circle all the same rules apply as with regular tunnel tiles. For example, a normal tile with more exits may be laid on a dynamite tile and a dynamite tile with more exits may be placed on a normal tile. But note: At the end of a phase all visible dynamite tiles explode! That means that all visible dynamite tiles and all tiles under exploding dynamite tiles and all tiles adjacent to exploding dynamite tiles (without stations or veins) are removed from the board and placed in the buy pool on the corresponding spaces (see Explosion).
(2B) Build Stations
You can build stations in the mountain or in a city.
Build stations in the mountain
A station in the mountain is established when a station is placed on top of a tunnel tile. It is not permitted to establish a station on a dynamite tile. Stations are used in order to protect tunnels from the other players and in order to prospect later for precious stones. A station interrupts a tunnel(way) for the other players! A station can only be established on level 1 and only on a tunnel tile which has just been positioned on the game board.
Level 1: The tunnel tiles which lay directly on the game board are level 1.
A station is established on the most recently played tunnel tile.
A station cannot be established:
- on tunnel tiles which were laid on the board in earlier turns
- on tunnel tiles on level 2 and higher.
Build stations in a city
A station may be built on a city space only when there is a continuous pathway to one's own station in the mountain (i.e., no interrupted tunnels)
Note:
- Only one station may be built per city space.
- There must be an uninterrupted pathway to one's own station in the mountain.
Note: An opponent's station always interrupts connections between other players' stations.
Example: Green first lays a tunnel tile (1). Now he possesses a connection from his station in the mountain to a city space. Now he can build a station on this city space (2). If the connection stays intact, Green will receive points when the cities are scored.
A player with stations in cities gets points at the "city scoring".
For each city station there are awarded as many points as there are free spaces in the city. City spaces with stations having no connection to a station in the mountain are handled as empty spaces! (This can happen by an explosion.)
(2C) Discover Veins
A player can discover a vein at any time. He takes his vein and lays it on any free tunnel tile - this can also be a dynamite tile! A vein belongs to no player!
Veins may not be laid:
- Beside a city space
- Beside another vein on the board.
The player who places a vein on a tunnel tile puts 4 precious stones on the vein (for a game with 2 players use 3 stones)—all in one colour! If there are fewer precious stones remaining in that colour, the player may take fewer than 4 (or 3) stones. When a player chooses the colour, he should think of the precious stones on his order cards. The precious stones are taken from the spaces with the lowest worth on the scale.
Example: If the spaces 1-4 are empty, the precious stone must be taken from the spaces 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Example for discovering of a vein: In this example, 2 veins are discovered. A third vein (at the moment) is not possible, because of the following rules. No vein may go beside a city space. No vein may be placed beside another vein.
Note:
A vein never interrupts a connection. A vein always has six exits. In this example, the yellow player has a connection from his station in the mountain through the green vein to his station in the city.
The green player has a way from one station to another station in his own colour through the blue vein.
A vein can be passed through in any direction if there is a way to the vein and a way from the vein. It does not matter how the tunnels under a vein are configured!
If there are precious stones on a vein, the exits under the vein have no significance!
However, when the last precious stone on a vein is prospected, the vein is removed and placed in the buy pool. Now the tunnel tile under the vein is visible and is valid!
Use Option
Each player has two option tiles available per phase. If he uses an option, he places the option tile back in the supply and takes any tile from the buy pool. This could be a tunnel tile, a vein, a dynamite tile, or a station. The acquired tile must be used immediately. The entire process (placing an option in the buy pool, taking any tile, and using it) counts as one single action.
You may also place an option in the buy pool and and take nothing in return. In this case you receive 3 points and move your marker 3 spaces forward. This also counts as one action.
(2D) Prospect for Precious Stones
In a phase a player can prospect only once. This action must be the last and the 12th action. The player who prospects for precious stones returns his prospect tile to the supply and waits until the other players have also prospected and finished their last turns.
A player can prospect only if he has an uninterrupted connection from one of his stations to another one of his stations. Along this pathway may be other stations owned by this same player and many veins.
Each player lays his prospected precious stones face down in front of him. He may look at his precious stones anytime but he should protect the stones from being viewed by other players.
Rules for prospecting:
- The beginning and end of the prospect is always at one's own—but different—stations.
- Players may pass through each space (e.g., a tunnel tile, vein, one's own station) only once.
- Along the pathway may be many of one's own stations and multiple veins, but the pathway may never be interrupted. For example: Station – vein – vein – station – station – vein – station
- Only 1 precious stone per vein may be prospected. With a "perfect route" you may claim as many stones as there are veins in play—no more.
- Only the pathways on the tiles are valid, not those indicated on the game board.
Remove empty vein
If the last precious stone of a vein has been prospected, the vein is immediately removed and placed in the buy pool. The pathways showing on the tunnel tile beneath it are now valid!
Example for prospecting: Green starts at 1 and ends at 2 with prospecting. He prospects first a red, then a green, again a green, then a red, then a blue and at the end a green stone. His turn ends in his station in the city. Blue prospects 1 blue and 1 green stone. Yellow cannot prospect a stone.
(3A) City Scoring
After prospecting, each city is scored. Each player who owns a station in a city with a connection to at least one of his own stations in the mountain receives as many points as the city has empty spaces. City stations which have no connections to a station in the mountain (in one's own color) are handled as empty spaces.
See the example above. In the city below the mountain, Yellow, Blue, and Green each possess one station. Two spaces are empty. Yellow receives no points, because his city station has no connection. Blue and Green each receive three points: two points for each empty space, plus one more point each for the space with the Yellow station, because (having no connection) it counts as one empty city space.
On this way all five cities are scored.
(3B) Explosion (dynamite tiles)
After the city scoring, all visible dynamite tiles explode and are removed from the game board. The following tiles are also removed:
- all tiles under the dynamite tile,
- all tiles adjacent to the dynamite tile (i.e., remove the top tile from each adjacent space) – but only if there is no station and no precious stone on the adjacent space.
Example: Here all tiles with "A" are removed.
All removed tiles are placed in the buy pool.
When removing adjacent tiles, if another dynamite tile becomes visible, this tile produces the same reaction as a dynamite tile on top. This could lead to a chain reaction!
If two or more dynamite tiles lay beside each other, start the explosion with one dynamite tile and then continue one explosion after the other until all tiles are removed.
(4) Selling Precious Stones
The "sale" starts when all players have prospected. First, the colour sale starts, and after that the sale with the order cards follows.
A player who still retains some precious stones after both sales keeps them and sells them in the next phase or at the end at the final sale.
Colour sale
First, the stones of one colour are sold, then the stones of the next colour, and so on. The player with the lowest sequence card declares his first bid or he passes. Then the player with second lowest sequence card is the next to bid or pass and so on. The player who will sell must show one precious stone of the corresponding colour. The highest price for which a player can bid / sell, is the highest visible number on the price scale of the corresponding colour. In the example provided, the highest price of the yellow stones is "8". Therefore the players start bidding at the highest visible number shown.
When a player has declared a bid, the next player can only declare a lower bid or pass.
Only one player can sell per colour. This is the player with the lowest bid. He can sell one or more stones in this colour.
Example 1: See the next picture. The first player passes; player 2 shows 1 yellow stone and bids "8". All other players pass. Player 2 shows two more yellow stones and sells all three stones for "8" each. He lays his 3 stones on the spaces 8, 7 and 6 and receives 24 points (3 x 8). He moves his marker 24 spaces forward.
Example 2: The first player bids "8", player 2 bids "6", player 3 passes, player 4 says "5". Player 1 and player 2 pass. Player 4 has 3 yellow stones. He sells only one because he needs the two others for the "sale with order cards".
Note: For each colour of stone, only one player is allowed to sell! When nobody bids in a colour, nobody can sell in this colour.
Sale with order cards
After the colour sale the sale with order cards starts.
The player with the lowest sequence card is first to sell all the order cards which he can fulfil. (Selling is optional; the player is not required to sell if he does not wish to.)
After that the player with the second lowest sequence card goes.
A player who sells lays his required precious stones on the highest empty spaces of the price scales and moves his marker as many spaces forward as the card value indicates (in the picture, "22") and takes the card out of the game.
Order cards which are not fulfilled stay in front of the players.
New Phase
The sequence cards are placed on the game board. Five new order cards are drawn and placed face up beside the pile or beside remaining order cards from the last phase.
The next phase starts with the bidding for the sequence cards. The player who had the lowest sequence card in the previous phase begins the bidding.
After the bidding, players again take the 12 tiles and then the order cards.
All three phases follow the same procedures.
Game End
After the 3rd phase there are three actions left to perform before the game ends:
- City scoring occurs once more. (The cities are scored a total of four times).
- Order cards not fulfilled: for each order card not fulfilled, the player must move his scoring marker back as many points as shown on the bottom of the card.
- Final sale: The final sale now begins for all players who still have precious stones.
The rules of the final sale are as follows:
- Each player shows all his precious stones.
- The player who is last on the scoring track may sell 1 precious stone. He chooses any stone, lays it on the highest empty space of its price scale and moves his marker accordingly.
- The player who is now the last one on the track repeats the same procedure. This could be the same player — and so on. If there is more than one player in the last position, the player with the lowest sequence card out of these players sells first.
- When the player in the last position has no more precious stones to sell, the player next to the last now sells his stones, and so on. The final sale ends when all precious stones are sold.
The game ends after the final sale. The winner is the player whose marker is in the first position. If there is a tie, the player with the lowest sequence card wins.
Examples
The moves of two players in the first phase, through city scoring and the explosion.
The beginning
Blue Player performs 4 Actions total (here, Actions 1 and 2):
-
- Action: He lays a tunnel tile on the board
-
- Action: He lays a vein on the tunnel tile
Blue Player: Actions 3 and 4
-
- Action: He lays a tunnel tile next to the vein
-
- Action: He builds a station on the tunnel tile
Red Player performs only 2 Actions
-
- Action: He lays a tunnel tile next to the vein
-
- Action: He builds a station on the tunnel tile
Blue Player performs only one Action
-
- He builds a station on a city space
Continuation
Red Player performs 3 Actions
-
- Action: He builds a station on a city field
-
- Action: He lays a dynamite tile next to a tunnel tile.
-
- Action: He lays a tunnel tile next to a tunnel tile.
Blue Player performs 4 Actions
-
- Action: He lays a tunnel tile next to a tunnel tile.
-
- Action: He lays a tunnel tile next to a tunnel tile.
-
- Action: He uses an option tile, takes a tunnel tile from the supply, and lays it next to a vein
-
- Action: He builds a station on the tunnel tile.
Center: Belongs to the beginning.
Red Player performs 1 Action
- He discovers a vein.
Blue Player performs 3 Actions
-
- Action: He uses an option, takes a vein, and lays it on a tunnel tile (he discovers a vein).
-
- Action: He lays a dynamite tile next to a vein.
-
- Action: He prospects and receives 3 gems: 1 yellow, 1 blue and 1 green.
Red Player performs 4 Actions
-
- Action: He lays a tunnel tile next to a vein.
-
- Action: He uses an option, takes a tunnel tile, and lays it next to a vein.
-
- Action: He builds a station on the most recently laid tunnel tile
-
- Action: He lays a tunnel tile next to a tunnel tile.
Red Player performs 2 Actions (Red continues because Blue has done all 12 actions.)
-
- Action: He uses an option, takes a vein, and lays it on a tunnel tile.
-
- Action: He prospects and receives 4 gems: 1 yellow, 1 blue, 1 red, 1 green.
City Scoring and Explosion
City Scoring: Blue and Red Players receive 3 points each.
Explosion (e): After the city scoring, all dynamite tiles, all tiles under a dynamite tile and all tunnel tiles (without a station) adjacent to the dynamite tile are removed. In our example these are 4 tiles (2 dynamite and 2 tunnel tiles).
Playing the Game — Short Rules (four sections)
- Bid for sequence cards — Take 12 tiles: 4 tunnels, 1 dynamite, 1 vein, 3 stations, 2 options, 1 prospect. Take order cards.
- Build (according to sequence cards): Altogether 12 actions; per movement 1 - 4 actions. An action is:
- Place 1 tunnel- or dynamite-tile (adjacent or on another tunnel-tile) – continue at least 1 tunnel.
- Establish 1 station on the most recently laid tunnel-tile (level 1) or on a city space (connected with a station in the mountain).
- Discover 1 vein (on tunnel-tile), not beside a city-space or another vein. On the vein, place 4 (or 3) precious stones.
- Use an Option: Take a tile from the buy pool and immediately execute this action or move 3 spaces on the scoring track.
- Prospect: On all veins which are on a pathway from one's own station to another station of one's own – between them might be many other stations of one's own and many veins; prospect 1 precious stone per vein. You may pass through a space (tunnel, vein, station) only once! Stations owned by other players are obstacles.
- City scoring: Each "connected" station gets as many points as there are free spaces in the city. Explosion: Remove visible dynamite-tiles and tiles under them and all adjacent tiles -> put these tiles in the buy pool.
- Sell precious stones: Colour-sale: Bid for each colour separately. Only one player may sell stones in each colour. Order cards: Sell fulfilled order cards. Lay precious stones on the price scale. Move on the scoring track.
Phase: The above four sections are one phase.
End of game: After 3 phases perform: city scoring, order cards not fulfilled and final sale.