Children of the Colossi
Children of the Colossi Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Setup
- Goal of the Game
- Summary of Play
- Key Concepts
- Eggs to Newborn
- Units: Envoys & Newborn
- Player Turns
- A Guide to Cities
- Battles
- Battle Cards
- Final Battles
- End of the Game
- The Colossi
- Orlyth, City of Freedom (Green)
- Bedelburg, City of the Strong (Red)
- Strovo, City of Industry (Purple)
- Romather, City of the Mother (Brown)
- Mystor, City of Mysteries (Black)
- Banner Cards
- Quick Reference
Components
- 4 Reference Cards (1 per player)
- 6 Colossi Reference Cards
- 1 Wasteland Board
- 24 Battle Cards (6 per player)
- 1 Bag
- 72 1-value Spark Tokens
- 12 5-value Spark Tokens
- 18 Inactive Vents (Inactive VP Vents)
- 12 Active Vents (Inactive VP Vents)
- 12 Black Explosive Eggs
- 9 1 VP Eggs/Newborn
- 11 2 VP Eggs/Newborn
- 7 3 VP Eggs/Newborn
- 80 Envoys (20 per player)
- 12 Obelisks (3 per player)
- 8 Cubes
- 1 Victory Points (VP) Track
- 1 Strength Track
- 8 Player Markers (2 +10 VP and 2 +10 Strength per player)
Colossi Components
Each Colossus comes with 1 Colossi Board, 1 Colossi Figure, 12 Eggs/Newborn and 6 Banner Cards. Some Colossi also add special tokens:
- Orlyth: 1 Colossi Board, 1 Colossi Figure, 12 Eggs/Newborn, 6 Banner Cards
- Bedelburg: 1 Colossi Board, 1 Colossi Figure, 12 Eggs/Newborn, 6 Banner Cards, 28 Potion Tokens
- Strovo: 1 Colossi Board, 1 Colossi Figure, 12 Eggs/Newborn, 6 Banner Cards, 28 Wisp Tokens
- Romather: 1 Colossi Board, 1 Colossi Figure, 12 Eggs/Newborn, 6 Banner Cards
- Mystor: 1 Colossi Board, 1 Colossi Figure, 12 Eggs/Newborn, 6 Banner Cards, 40 Relic Tokens
Setup
General Set-up
- Place the Wasteland Board in the center of the table. As shown in the images below, place Active or Inactive Vent Tokens onto vents as defined by the amount of players.
- 2-Player Vents, 3-Player Vents and 4-Player Vents are shown as diagrams on the printed page.
- Choose 3 Colossi. Players should together choose the three Colossi that will be present during this play session. Each Colossi expands the game with its own unique City Board, Eggs/Newborns and Banner Cards. Note: Some also add special tokens to the game. If new players are present, consider using Bedelburg, Strovo, and Orlyth for an easier learning experience. See Ages of the Colossi on page 17 for other tailored sets.
- Place the three chosen City Boards along the top edge of the Wasteland Board in any order, along with any special components those Colossi add to the game.
- Place the Banner Cards. For each City Board, take its Banner cards, shuffle them, and place as many as the amount of players face down above that City Board. Return unused Banner cards to the game box.
- Place the Colossi figures. Place the 3 selected Colossi Figures randomly in regions D, E, and G.
- Place the VP (Victory point) and Strength Tracks.
- Fill the Bag with Eggs following the Egg Bag Reference - Setup (in the top right of this page) for your player count. Randomly select Eggs from each Colossi chosen for this game to add, then add specific VP Eggs.
- Draw and place Eggs on Vents. In a 2-player game place one facedown Egg (Egg-side up) in each region on the Vent at 12 o'clock. Alternatively, in a 3-player game place two Eggs in each region with a Colossi, and one in the other five regions; and in a 4-player game place two Eggs in every region.
- Refill the bag with new Eggs using the Early Season instructions on the Egg Bag Reference.
- Create a general supply of Spark Tokens within easy reach of all players.
- Take 1 Obelisk per player and shuffle them in hand, then randomly place one on the lowest starting Obelisk space of the first Colossus City Board. This player will be the first player, give them the Egg Bag. Place the remaining Obelisks in ascending Obelisk starting spaces in clockwise player order around the table. Duplicate this arrangement of Obelisks on the other two City Boards.
Egg Bag Reference
The Egg Bag Reference shows, for each player count, the Eggs to place in the bag at Setup, in the Early Season and in the Late Season. Colossi Eggs (the Colossus egg icon) are shown with a multiplier. The numbers beside the 1 VP, 2 VP and 3 VP Egg icons and the Black Explosive Egg icon are the number of each type.
| Season | 2 Players | 3 Players | 4 Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Colossi Eggs x2, 1 VP Eggs: 2 | Colossi Eggs x3, 1 VP Eggs: 1, 2 VP Eggs: 1 | Colossi Eggs x4, 1 VP Eggs: 2, 2 VP Eggs: 2 |
| Early Season | Colossi Eggs x2, 1 VP Eggs: 1, 2 VP Eggs: 3 | Colossi Eggs x3, 1 VP Eggs: 2, 2 VP Eggs: 4 | Colossi Eggs x3, 1 VP Eggs: 3, 2 VP Eggs: 5 |
| Late Season | 2 VP Eggs: 2, 3 VP Eggs: 4, Black Explosive Eggs: 4 | 2 VP Eggs: 3, 3 VP Eggs: 5, Black Explosive Eggs: 5 | 2 VP Eggs: 4, 3 VP Eggs: 6, Black Explosive Eggs: 6 |
The Colossi Eggs multiplier is printed as x2, x3 or x4 on the reference. Setup step 7 instructs players to randomly select Eggs from each Colossus chosen for the game to add to the bag.
Set-up Diagram
The printed page shows an example 3-player setup diagram of the Wasteland Board with numbered setup positions, and an Obelisk Setup example showing the first, second and third player Obelisks.
Goal of the Game
Your success will be measured in Victory Points (VP). The main way of gaining VP is to compete for habitable Newborn Colossi, taming them and adding them to your tribe. You may also gain VP by building Obelisks, using a specific Battle Card, victory bonuses from VP Vents, and with other Colossi specific rewards.
When any player reaches 10 VP or more the game moves to a pair of final battles, and then to end-game scoring, after which the player with the most VP wins the game!
Summary of Play
The game consists of alternating phases: individual Player Turns and shared Battles.
Players take their turns in clockwise order. Each player's turn consists of two mandatory steps:
- Taking Actions - In this step the player will allocate one or more of their Envoys to actions on a City Board, resolving those Actions.
- Colossus Migration - In this step, the player moves the Colossus figure (corresponding to the Board the player just used) to an adjacent region that does not contain another Colossus. The player draws one Egg from the bag and places it on the next Active Vent in the region.
When all Active Vents in a region are filled with Eggs, a hatching occurs. The Eggs are flipped to their Newborn side and a Battle begins.
During the Battle Phase players compete to claim Newborns. Players do this by playing Battle Cards and using other battle actions. Each unit in the region at the end of the battle counts as a point of Strength. The player with the most Strength will choose and claim a Newborn/Egg, followed by the player with the next greatest Strength, and so on. The winner also claims a second Egg after all other players or the Vent VP reward/s.
After a Battle Phase, player turns resume with the next player in turn order. Play continues through a series of these alternating phases until the end game is triggered, see Final Battles on page 16.
Key Concepts
The Wasteland & the Colossi
The Board represents the Wasteland and is divided into 8 distinct regions. Regions have infinite capacity for units, but can only ever contain one Colossi figure.
The Chasm that runs through the middle of the wastes blocks adjacency and movement between some regions. You cannot move units or Colossi over or into the Chasm, however you can move a unit out of the Chasm to any adjacent region at the cost of a move on your turn, or for free during battles. The Chasm is not a Wasteland region, and only special actions can move a unit into the Chasm.
The location of a Colossi figure in the Wasteland marks the effective location of its City for the purposes of Gliding or Lifting Envoys between its City and the region.
Thermal Vents
Vents are where the Colossi incubate their precious Eggs, and where the valuable energized stone that we call Spark is forged and can be gathered.
Every region has a total of 5 Vents, and each Vent will be one of these types:
- An Active Spark Vent (blue) where Eggs can be placed and Spark can be gathered. Printed on the Board.
- An Active Vent (blue) where Eggs can be placed but no Spark can be gathered.
- An Inactive Vent (grey) where Eggs will not be placed and no Spark can be gathered.
- An Inactive VP Vent where Eggs will not be placed and no Spark can be gathered. 1 VP per VP Vent is granted to the winner of Battles in a region with a VP Vent or Vents. VP Vents are added to Battle regions after a Battle.
When Eggs are placed on Vents, the Spark rewards are covered. This means that a region without Eggs offers more gathering rewards, but it is also farther from triggering a hatching and battle. Conversely, the more Eggs present in a region, the closer it is to a hatching—but the less effective a Gather action may become.
Eggs to Newborn
Eggs are placed inside the bag according to the Season. When the Early Season bag is empty create a Late Season bag by following the instructions on page 4, Set-up.
There are 3 categories of Eggs:
- Gold VP point Eggs. These have a habitable Newborn on their flip side.
- Colossi specific Eggs (added to the bag based on the Colossi used in the game). These have their Colossi's symbol on them and a star rating that corresponds to the rarity of their Newborn's ability.
- Black explosive Eggs. Only included in the Late Season bag. If when placed they do not trigger a battle, these Eggs cause an Egg to be immediately drawn from the bag and placed on an active Vent in the same region. If a Black Egg causes you to draw another Black Egg, place it and keep drawing until all the Vents are full or you draw a non-Black Egg. If claimed as a battle reward they are placed off the map in your player area. They are worth a VP and possess a one-time Action that can be used on your turn or during a battle. Flip the Egg to use the action, you do not lose the VP.
At the start of a battle, Eggs in the battle region flip to reveal their Newborn (or action in the case of Black Eggs).
There are 2 categories of Newborn, and a third hybrid type:
- Habitable Newborn that are worth VP. If claimed as a reward these are removed from the Wasteland and taken to your player zone. The Envoy used to claim this Newborn is Shielded after the battle.
- Helper Newborn that become powerful units. The Envoy that claims this Newborn is placed on the Newborn and they remain on the Wasteland. Helper Newborns may have their own Battle action, and all have a power bestowed by their Colossi parent.
- Habitable-Helper Newborn that have a global passive power. Some 3-star Newborns from each Colossi are special Newborns that are placed in your player area like a Habitable Newborn, but instead of having a VP reward they grant you a passive effect for the rest of the game.
See pages 16-21 for more details.
Units: Envoys & Newborn
The main resource in the game are Envoys. You use Envoys for everything—taking actions on the City Boards, competing against other tribes to claim Newborns, and even as currency to perform some actions.
Envoys exist in two different states:
- Ready – The unit is standing up, ready and can be used normally. A Ready Envoy can gather one Spark per Gather Spark Action, has one Strength in Battles, and can be Moved.
- Resting – The Envoy is laying on its back. A Resting Envoy cannot Gather Spark and has zero Strength in battles, but can be moved with the Move Action. Envoys can only rest in the Wasteland regions, not in Cities and not in the Chasm.
Envoys turn to their Resting state on two occasions:
- After a battle all the Envoys rest unless they claim a Newborn or are Shielded.
- Sometimes the cost of an action is to rest one or more of your Envoys. To do so, simply choose any Envoy in a Wasteland region and place it on its back.
A player's Envoys and Helper Newborns are collectively called units. Newborns have many of the qualities of an Envoy with some exceptions and additions.
Newborns as Units
- Can be moved with any general Move Actions and Move Newborn Actions, but not with Move Envoy Actions.
- Must stay on the Wasteland, they cannot move into the Chasm or be lifted into the Cities.
- Have a base Strength of 1 in Battles and the ability to gather one Spark during a Gather Spark Action.
- Have a power inherited from their Colossi parent.
- Some have a Battle action printed on them, available to use only if they are in a battle region. See pages 16-21 and the Reference Cards for details.
- The Envoy riding them is permanently Shielded.
Player Turns
Starting with the first player, players take turns, going clockwise.
During your turn, perform these steps in order:
- Optional: Perform a reset on any or all of the Colossi.
- Place one Envoy into an action space and take the action.
- Optional: Place additional Envoys and perform their actions.
- Move the Colossus figure.
- Draw and place an Egg.
- Check if a Battle is triggered.
- Pass the Egg Bag to the next player. The bag is a useful reminder of the current active player.
Taking Actions
This section details the rules for taking actions, see pages 10-11 for descriptions of the specific actions themselves. Some Banner Cards can also be played on your turn, see page 23, Banner Cards.
1. Optionally perform a reset on any Colossi. Before you start taking actions, you may take a reset on any or all of the Colossi. If you do so, take all Envoys from the action spaces of that Colossus and place them on the Balcony of the same Colossus. To be able to take actions on a Colossus you will need Envoys on its Balcony, so you may need to reset to be able to use a Colossus.
2. Place one Envoy into an action space. Each turn you will choose which Colossus you want to take your actions on. You can choose the same Colossus multiple turns in a row, or choose different ones. You can't choose a Colossus if you have zero Envoys on its Balcony.
Take one Envoy from the Balcony of the chosen Colossus and place it onto an eligible City Action Space and take the action. Common Actions are described in detail on page 10, Special Actions in their respective Colossus's section starting page 16.
The first Envoy you place on each turn does not require you to pay path costs, a player can place them in any eligible location for free.
Eligible action spaces:
- If you have no Envoys on action spaces yet, you must place your Envoy in an action space connected to the Balcony.
- You cannot place an Envoy in an action space already occupied by one of your own Envoys.
- If you already have Envoys placed on action spaces, you may choose any action space connected to either the Balcony or to other action spaces where you already have an Envoy.
- Your opponents' Envoys do not block your placement. In a 4-player game, for example, all 4 players could potentially have one unit in the same action space.
Keep in mind that Envoy positioning is important for determining tie-breakers (see page 13). If you place your Envoy in an action space where another player's Envoy is already placed, your Envoy will be placed to the right, gaining you the tie breaker over your opponent.
Eligible spaces example: The blue player is about to place their first Envoy (on their second turn of the game). The eligible spaces to place the Envoy are marked with a Green Envoy silhouette. Envoys placed on previous turns expand the locations in which a player can place their first Envoy each turn.
3. Continue to place Envoys (optional). After placing your first Envoy in an action space and performing its action, you may continue your turn by placing an additional Envoy from the Colossi's Balcony in an eligible location connected by a path to the location of the last Envoy you placed. To do this you will need to pay the path cost (typically in Spark, but sometimes by Resting an Envoy in the Wasteland), then place the Envoy and perform the action displayed in the box.
You may then choose to repeat the process and continue your turn by placing an Envoy from the Balcony on a space connected to the last Envoy you placed. Again, you must pay the path cost. You may continue taking actions as long as you have Envoys on the Balcony to place and you are able to pay the path costs. After taking any City space action, you may build your Obelisk in the space, see page 11.
After you stop taking actions, you will move to the Colossus Migration step of your turn.
Continuing to place Envoys example: (1) The white player places their first Envoy on the action space on the left and takes the action. (2) They then continue their turn down the path to the right, discarding the required 2 Spark tokens and placing an Envoy from the Balcony in the space—they take this action. (3) Then they decide to continue down the path to the left, pay the 2 Spark, place an Envoy from the Balcony, and take the action, and decide to end their action phase.
Colossus Migration
4. Move the Colossus. Take the chosen Colossus figure (the one you used your Envoy on) and move it to an adjacent Wasteland region of your choice. You cannot move a Colossus into a region that already contains another Colossus—each region can hold at most one Colossus figure.
5. Place an Egg. Take the bag from the previous player. Draw a random Egg Token from the bag and place it on the next Active Vent of the region. Each series of Vents is marked with an arrow that shows the direction to place Eggs (starting at 12 o'clock and moving clockwise).
If you draw a Black "explosive" Egg, and there are more Active Vents, then you must immediately draw another Egg from the bag and place it in the next Active Vent of the same region. If you draw multiple Black Eggs in a row, continue drawing until either the last Egg drawn is not Black or there are no Active Vents left.
Egg Whispering: To maintain the surprise, the preference is to draw and place an Egg without seeing the Newborn on its back side. However, because as we all know Colossi Eggs can be slightly transparent (and tokens may come out of the bag Newborn side up) a player might find it difficult to not glimpse the specific Newborn inside an Egg before placing it. This won't matter much at all, but if you are a competitive group, you can play with the optional rule that the player drawing an Egg can always look at its Newborn side before placing it.
6. Check if a Battle is Triggered. If the region doesn't have any Active Vents left showing (an Egg is covering each of them), then a Battle is immediately triggered. If Active Vents remain uncovered, then the next player in clockwise order takes their turn.
Common Actions
- Move a unit into an adjacent region (or out of the Chasm into an adjacent region). If you have multiple move actions, you may move the same unit multiple times and/or move any number of different units.
- Move examples: The teal player takes 3 Move actions, moving one unit twice, and the other unit once. Units cannot cross the Chasm or move into it.
- Glide an Envoy (2 Ways to Use):
- Take one Envoy from any Balcony and place it into the Wasteland region where the corresponding Colossus figure is located.
- Take an Envoy and move it from the Balcony of one Colossus to any other Colossus's Balcony, gaining the Balcony Bonus action.
- Glide examples: The teal player takes 2 Glide actions. (1) With the first they glide an Envoy from the Red Bedelburg Colossus down into the region that Colossus is in. (2) With the second they glide an Envoy from the Black Balcony to the Brown. (3) This triggers the Balcony Bonus of the Brown Romather Colossus, granting the player an immediate Move Newborn action. See page 11, Balcony.
- Lift an Envoy (Resting or Ready) from the Wasteland to the Balcony of a Colossus in its region, gaining the Balcony Bonus action. Whenever an Envoy returns to a Colossus it immediately stands up and becomes Ready.
- Move a Colossus to an adjacent region that doesn't contain another Colossus. The Colossus does not lay an Egg as part of this action.
- Move Colossi and Lift examples: (1) The teal player uses a Move Colossi action to move the Red Bedelburg Colossi into the adjacent region. (2) They use a Lift action to lift the Resting Envoy from that region onto the Balcony of the Colossus, Readying the Envoy. (3) The Balcony Bonus is triggered by the arrival of the Envoy, granting the player an immediate Move Envoy action. See page 11, Balcony.
General Action Notation
- "Do A to gain B" – perform A in order to gain B.
- "If A then gain B" – if A is done, gain B.
- "Do A or B" – choose one of the two actions.
- Basic Action – use on your turn.
- Battle Action – only use in battle.
- Ambush Effect – activates during the Ambush phase of battle.
- Passive Effect – always active.
A Guide to Cities
Colossi City Boards have:
- Balcony. The entrance to their City. Envoys located here simply await your directions. Each Balcony has a Balcony Bonus. Whenever an Envoy arrives on this Balcony from the Wasteland or the Balcony of another Colossus, you may take the bonus action immediately.
- Newborn Power. A reminder of the ability that all Newborns belonging to this Colossus have.
- City Action Spaces. The shops, houses, and points of interest in a City. You will visit these spaces with your Envoys to take actions. The higher a level, the better the actions. The position of your Envoys in a City will also create influence over the Colossus and break ties in battles. See Battles on page 12.
- Paths. The routes your Envoys must follow as they enter and ascend into a City to take actions. Some paths may have a cost on them, this must be paid to continue your turn down that path to the next City location. The first Envoy you place each turn does not require you to pay the path costs.
- Obelisk Starting Spaces. The starting position of each player's Obelisk. This space is used as a tiebreaker in case multiple players have not yet climbed into the City and you need to establish who has the highest influence on the Colossus.
- Obelisk Building Spaces. Slots where an Obelisk in your honor can be built when you visit this location. To build an Obelisk, pay the cost below or above it and move your Obelisk permanently to this location. There can only be one Obelisk in each location.
- The highest space on any Colossus always provides the same actions:
- Look at the Colossus's stack of Banner Cards, choose one, and place it face up in your play area. You may only ever have one Banner Card from each Colossus at a time, so if you reach the top of the same Colossus twice, you do not get to take a card, but you may exchange the card you have for a different card.
Colossi Special Actions
Each Colossus adds to the game its own special and unique actions, sometimes variations on the common actions, and sometimes new actions. For details on these see the section devoted to each Colossi starting on page 16.
Obelisks
When you build your Obelisk you may either:
- Refresh one Banner Card, OR
- Take the action where your Obelisk is located a second time (can only be done once per turn).
Your Obelisk is now fixed in place. For the rest of the game whenever you place an Envoy at the location of your Obelisk you may pay the cost again to use one of its two abilities. Your Obelisk also counts as an Envoy for the purposes of Colossus influence and tie-breakers.
The top level Obelisk on each Colossus is an exception in that building it grants an end-game VP but it has no abilities other than gaining influence on the Colossus.
Battles
When a battle triggers, all players will compete against each other to try and tame Newborns. Some Newborns give you VP, while others give you a permanent unit on the map with a unique power, and some rare Newborn will give you a passive effect for the rest of the game.
When a battle triggers, follow these steps:
- Hatch all Eggs.
- Simultaneously play one Battle Card face down.
- In battle order (reverse turn order), players resolve their Battle Card and take Battle actions.
- Resolve Ambush Battle Cards.
- Count Battle Strength.
- Claim Newborn/Egg rewards.
- Rest Envoys.
1. Hatch all Eggs
Take all the Eggs in the battle region and flip them to the other side. Newborns are born!
2. Simultaneously play one Battle Card
Every player simultaneously chooses one Battle Card from their hand and places it face down in front of them. All players must play a card, even if they have no units in the battle region.
3. Resolve Battle Cards (non-Ambush cards)
Starting with the player to the right of the player that triggered the battle and proceeding to the next player in a counter-clockwise direction, players take one single battle turn each. Reveal your Battle Card and perform any number of Battle Actions from this card, your Newborns, or Banner Cards in any order. However, if you played an Ambush Battle Card, keep it face down, announcing that you are performing an Ambush - you will reveal the card in the Ambush Phase. If you played an Ambush card, you must take any other Battle Actions from your Newborns or Banner Cards you wish to perform during this phase.
Battle actions are used to influence the outcome of a battle. You can find them in multiple places:
- Battle Cards – The Battle actions on the Battle Card.
- Newborns – Some Newborns have a special Battle action. You can use this action only if the Newborn is present in the battle region. Since you may perform Battle actions in any order, you could use a different action to move a Newborn into the region, then perform its Battle action.
- Banner cards – Some Banner cards grant you a special Battle action. If you use it, flip the card face down. You can't use it again until it is refreshed.
- Emerging from the Chasm – Moving units from the Chasm to the Battle region is a free Battle action.
4. Ambush phase
Reveal all facedown Ambush Battle Cards simultaneously and resolve their effects. (Black Newborn Ambush effects also resolve at this time, see Mystor on page 22.)
5. Count Battle Strength
- Each unit (Envoy or Newborn) in the region counts as 1 Strength.
- Some Newborns improve your Strength.
- Some Battle Actions improve your Strength.
In more complex Battles, with Newborn and Banner card effects, you should use the Strength track to help keep track of player Battle Strength.
The player with the most strength is the winner. Second place goes to the second-strongest player, and so on. If there are any ties, the player with the highest influence on the Colossus in the battle region takes the placing.
6. Claim Newborns
Starting with the player with the highest strength, players take turns claiming one Newborn each by placing an Envoy from the Battle region on the Newborn token. After every player has claimed a Newborn, the winner may claim a second Newborn.
7. Rest Envoys
Lay down all Envoys present in the battle region that didn't claim a Newborn: they are now resting. See Resting Units on page 7.
Envoys on the backs of Newborns are Shielded and do not need to rest after a battle.
After a Battle
- If you claimed a Habitable (VP) Newborn, simply place it in your player zone, and the Envoy that claimed it stays Ready in the battle region. Track the VP you gained on the VP track so its easily visible to all players.
- If you claimed a Helper Newborn, the Envoy that claimed it remains on the token. See page 7, Newborns as Units for basic rules, and pages 18-22 for descriptions of specific Newborn.
- If you claimed a Helper-Habitable Newborn, place it in your player zone, and the Envoy that claimed it stays Ready in the battle region. See Newborn powers starting on page 18.
- In the rare case that there are leftover Newborns, remove all unclaimed Newborns from the game.
- If there was an inactive VP Vent or more in the region, the winner of the battle gains that many VP, mark it on the VP track.
After a Battle, always place a new VP Vent over the last Active Vent in the region. This permanently blocks the vent, increasing the speed at which Battles may occur in this region.
Breaking Ties
Ties in Battles are decided by the position of each player's Envoys on the Colossus in the Battle region.
- The player with an Envoy or Obelisk at the highest City level wins the tie. If both players are on the same level, then the Envoy or Obelisk that is the furthest to the right wins the tie.
- If a player has no Envoys or Obelisk on a City space, then the Obelisk's starting position marks their level for the purpose of ties breaks.
Battle Cards
Each player starts with their six Battle Cards in hand and will play one each Battle. After they have been played, Battle Cards form a face up discard pile in each player's area (that is at all times visible to other players). There are two types of Battle Cards, those with Battle actions (see below), and those with Ambush effects (see next page).
Battle Cards with Battle Actions
- Refresh & Run. Return to your hand this card and all Battle Cards played on previous turns. Gain moves equal to the number of cards you returned to your hand (including this one).
- Maneuver. Make 3 Moves and 2 Lifts. These can be performed in any order. For example, you can make a Move, a Lift, then another 2 Moves. You may activate the Balcony Bonus of any Colossus you Lift an Envoy to.
- Ancient Tech. There are two options on this card, choose one:
- Gain 5 Spark.
- Spend a Spark to move a unit into or out of the battle region. This action is repeatable infinite times.
Ambush Cards
When you play an Ambush Card, you do not flip it on your Battle turn. Instead Ambush cards are all revealed simultaneously during the Ambush Phase after Battle actions have been taken by all players.
- Command the Sky. After the battle (and Newborns have been claimed) place all your Envoys in the battle region on the Balcony of the Colossus in that region. You don't gain the Balcony Bonus. If you have the most Envoys on that Balcony gain a VP (tie-breaker applies).
- Last Word. If you are the only player to reveal this card, gain 3 Moves. If another player also reveals this card, return this card to your hand and gain no actions.
- Sneak Egg. If you are the only player to reveal this card, and do not win the battle, you may claim the last Newborn, normally claimed by the winner of the battle. If there is a VP Vent in the region, you gain 1 VP instead of the winner.
Battle Example
3-player Battle Example: A Battle is triggered when the yellow player migrates the Green Orlyth Colossus into region E and all the Active Vents in the region are filled. Immediately the Eggs are flipped! All players play a Battle Card face down in front of them. Then the player to the right of the instigating yellow player (the white player) takes their Battle turn.
Battle Turns: The white player flips their Battle Card. They choose to take the top of the two options, gaining 5 Spark as their first Battle action. As a second Battle action they decide to move a single Envoy from the Chasm into the battle region (moving from the Chasm to an adjacent region is always a free action in battles).
The teal player declares they have played an Ambush card, and so do not flip their Battle Card. They do choose to take another battle action, activating a Banner card. They Great Glide two Envoys from Colossi balconies into the battle region. The Banner card is flipped face down.
The yellow player flips their Battle Card. Unsure what the teal player has planned with their ambush, they none-the-less want to make the most of the battle. They use one move to reposition a Resting Envoy, then Lift both Resting Envoys onto Orlyth. Orlyth's Balcony bonus is a Lift, so they use one of those to lift another Envoy back on Strovo, and gain a Spark for its Balcony Bonus. Yellow knows that battles aren't only about winning but furthering your advantage elsewhere.
Counting Strength: Teal and Yellow both have 6 Strength, but teal has the best position on the Green Colossi, and so wins the tie. White is happy to gain something!
Now the yellow player has a tough choice. Wary of teal's ambush but unwilling to surrender the 2 VP Egg so easily, yellow advances into the battle region. They use 1 Move of their remaining Moves to move an Envoy, and the other to move the Newborn unit. Now in the battle region the Newborns Battle action can be used, so they move another unit into the region. Yellow stands at 6 Strength, teal at 4, and white at 1.
Ambush Phase: All players that declared an Ambush reveal their Battle Cards at the same time, in this example only the teal player. Teal reveals the "Last Word" Ambush card, granting teal 3 extra moves! Teal does have the tie-breaker on Orlyth, but wonders if it's better to retreat, taking second prize and keeping more Envoys Ready for another battle. But with Orlyth in the game, getting Resting Envoys back isn't as tricky as usual, so they decide to go all in, moving two units into the battle region!
Claiming Newborn: In order of Strength, players place Envoys from the Battle region on Newborn tokens to claim them. (1) Teal claims the 2 VP Newborn, (2) yellow claims Habitable-Helper Newborn, (3) white claims the 1-star Red Newborn, and (4) teal claims the Purple 1-star Newborn.
Resting Envoys: All Envoys in the battle region that did not claim a Newborn are Rested (laid on their backs). The Red Newborn each have the power to Shield one Envoy and so yellow does not need to Rest one of their Envoys.
After the Battle: Teal takes the 2 VP Newborn to their player zone. Yellow takes the 3-star passive Newborn to their player zone. Their Envoys remain in the region. The 1-star helper Newborns claimed by teal and white stay in the region with the Envoy that claimed them on the token. (1) An inactive VP Vent is added to the region on the last Active Vent after each battle.
Final Battles
When any player or players reach or surpass 10 VP the game immediately shifts into the Final Battles stage. Note, End-game VP are not scored until the very end of the game.
After the battle in which a player surpassed 10 VP is completed, there are two more battles. These will be fought in the two regions that contain the other two Colossi where a Battle was not fought. These take place in alphabetical order based on the letter designation of the two regions.
Both these battles work like regular battles, with players playing a Battle Card face-down and taking battle turns in a counter-clockwise direction. The player to the left of the player that started the previous battle is considered to have started the first of these two extra battles, and will take their battle turn last. In the very last battle, the player to the left of that player is considered to have started the battle.
There are no player turns between these battles, they are fought one after the other. Before each battle, draw and place an Egg from the bag in the battle region (Black Eggs still explode and add additional Eggs if Vents are free). When both battles are completed the game ends.
3-Player Final Battles example: (1) A battle has been fought in Region F and a player reached 11 VP, this triggers the Final Battles. After players have claimed their rewards and the battle has ended, a new battle begins immediately. (2) The Colossi Orlyth is in region C (the first region in alphabetical order) so the first of the two final battles will be fought. An Egg will be placed on the last Active Vent, a battle will be fought and rewards claimed. (3) The last Colossi Bedelburg is in Region G, so the last battle will be fought here.
You can imagine through this simplified example how the Final Battles mean that the entire Wastelands stay in play after a player reaches 10 VP. Over committing troops to a battle will leave you in a weaker position for the next.
End of the Game
After the last of the final battles completes, players add their End-Game VP to their VP tally. The sources of these are:
- The top-most Obelisk of each City grants 1 End-Game VP.
- The Brown Newborns each grant 1-half an End Game VP.
- The 3-star Brown Newborn that makes all your 1-star Newborn worth 1-half VP.
The player with the most VP wins the game! Ties are broken in favor of the player with the most Spark. If that does not break the tie, then the player that has the most Newborn (of all categories) wins the game. If that still results in a tie the game is declared a draw.
The following sections detail the modular elements of the game, specific Colossi, their rules, and their components.
The Colossi
When playing your first game of Children of the Colossi we recommend you play with three specific Colossi, those in the Age of Potential below. In future games, you can play with any three Colossi, or in one of the other curated Ages.
Find your own preferred combinations of Colossi! The game was designed with the idea that some players would prefer the way the game plays with different Colossi, so find the ones that suit your tastes, and have fun!
- Orlyth is the City of Freedom, they welcome Envoys and encourage movement between the Cities. They have limited ability to command units on the Wasteland.
- Bedelburg is the City of the Strong, they are dedicated to their people and supporting Envoys. They have limited ability to gather Spark or command Colossi or Newborn.
- Strovo is the City of Industry, they thrive when gaining resources, both Spark and Envoys (through their Wisp technology). They are weaker with the common things than other Cities, and don't encourage visitors.
- Romather is the City of the Mother, the oldest Colossi. Their culture is about the raising of Newborns and furthering the line of Colossi. The Wasteland is no place for people.
- Mystor is the City of Mystery, they excel at stealth, surprise, and finding lost and mysterious relics. They like to stay hidden and don't like their people moving in large numbers.
Ages of the Colossi (Alternative Setups)
- The Age of Potential. Three Colossi that each offer a unique strategy, complimented each others' strengths and offset each others' weakneses. A mix of more aggressive and slower types of actions. (This is the recommended set for a first game.)
- The Age of Prosperity. With the extra Spark brought to the game by Strovo, and the increased ability to Lift Envoys for their Balcony Bonuses with Orlyth, Romather's core strategies of Hatching and Taming Eggs is at its most empowered.
- The Age of Travelers. The Colossi with the most dynamic movement actions in the game, this set gives players the most options for racing around the Wasteland and back and forth between the Cities.
- The Age of Conflict. The two most battle focused Colossi in the game, Mystor and Strovo, are fueled by the Spark engine of Strovo. With Strovo also empowering the Ancient Tech Battle Card, a game with this set-up tends towards the fiery.
- The Age of Dust. A game with these Colossi will be focused on the Wasteland and units. It will be harder to get come and go from the Cities, but getting around the map and setting up for battles with Mystor's Hide and Romather's Bond, and Bedelburg's Potions means using your Envoys efficiently is more important than ever.
Orlyth, City of Freedom (Green)
Special Actions
- Great Glide. Glide an Envoy from a third level City space or lower (including the Balcony) of a Colossus into any Wasteland region. Great Glides can also be used to glide an Envoy to the Balcony of another Colossus, but only gain the Balcony Bonus if they arrive from another Balcony.
- Great Glide examples: (1) The teal player uses a Great Glide to glide an Envoy from a 1st level space on Mystor's City to a region of the Wasteland. (this could have been any region). (2) Teal Great Glides an Envoy to the Balcony of another Colossus, but doesn't gain the Balcony Bonus because it didn't arrive on the Balcony from the Wasteland or another Balcony.
- Long Lift. Lift an Envoy, lifting them from any region on the Wasteland to the Balcony of any Colossi. There are no limitations placed by Colossi or Envoy positions.
- Long Lift example: The teal player Lifts a Resting Envoy from a region to Red Bedelburg's Balcony. They gain the Balcony Bonus.
Green Newborn Ability
All Green Newborn inherit from Orlyth the ability to move to any region with a single Move action. This can only be used on your Player Turn, not during Battles.
Newborn Actions
- Glide 1. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may take one Envoy from any Balcony and place it into the Wasteland region where the corresponding Colossus Figure is located, or place it on the Balcony of another Colossi, gaining the Balcony Bonus.
- Rest a unit to Gain +2 Strength. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may Rest an Envoy anywhere in the Wasteland to gain +2 Strength.
- Lift 2. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may Lift two Envoys from the Wasteland to the Balcony of a Colossus in its region. As each Envoy arrives on a Balcony you gain the Balcony Bonus.
- Gain a Spark when you Rest a unit. This Newborn has a passive effect and is placed in your player zone. For the rest of the game, whenever you Rest a unit, gain 1 Spark.
- All Newborns can cross the Chasm. This Newborn has a passive effect and is placed in your player zone. For the rest of the game, whenever you Move a Newborn of any color, you may treat regions on either side of the Chasm as adjacent.
Balcony Bonus
Lift. Whenever an Envoy arrives on Orlyth's Balcony from the Wasteland or the Balcony of another Colossus, you may Lift an Envoy (using the regular rules for a Lift, see page 10).
Bedelburg, City of the Strong (Red)
Special Actions
- Move Up to All Envoys. Move All Envoys in a single region into another single adjacent region. If you have multiple of these actions, you may move the same unit multiple times and/or move any number of different Envoys.
- Move All Envoys example: (1) The teal player uses a Move All Envoys to move an Envoy into region H. (2) They use another Move All Envoys to move the four Envoys now in region H into region G. (3) Finally they use a Move All Envoys to move two Envoys unit into region F. They cannot move a Newborn with this action. (4) The position of their units after using the 3 Move All Envoys.
- Potion. Discarding a Potion allows you to Ready an Envoy anywhere on the Wasteland, returning them from a Resting position to their upright position. A Potion can be used as a regular action on your turn, or as a Battle action.
Red Newborn Ability
All Red Newborn inherit from Bedelburg the ability to Shield one Envoy in a battle. A Shield prevents an Envoy from Resting during the Rest Envoys step of a battle.
This Shield is in addition to the Shielding of the Envoy on the Newborn. During a battle place an Envoy beside each Red Newborn you have in the battle region to remind you that they are Shielded come Resting time. Placing a unit on its side is another method for reminding yourself of a Shielded Envoy.
Newborn Actions
- Move 1. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may Move a unit, they may be anywhere in the Wasteland. This action cannot be used to Move the Newborn itself if it is outside a Battle region.
- Shield 1. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, it Shields an Envoy. This is in addition to both the Envoy on its back and the Envoy it Shields because of its Red Newborn Ability. Thus, a Newborn with this action can Shield two unmounted Envoys during a battle.
- Strength +1. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, it gains +1 Strength.
- Move All Units. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, it gains a Move Up to All Units action. This action works the same way as the Move Up to All Envoys (see above), however it also lets you move Newborns as part of that move.
- Newborns Guide Envoys. This Newborn has a passive effect and is placed in your player zone. For the rest of the game, whenever you Move a Newborn of any color, you may bring an Envoy in the same region along with it. The Envoy must follow the exact movement of the Newborn. This effect will also be triggered by Mystor's Tunnel special action, see page 22.
Balcony Bonus
Move Envoy. Whenever an Envoy arrives on Bedelburg's Balcony from the Wasteland or the Balcony of another Colossus, you may Move an Envoy.
Strovo, City of Industry (Purple)
Special Actions
- City Wisp. On your turn, you may place a City Wisp on an City Action Space in place of an Envoy to take an action. You still must pay the path costs and follow the regular rules for placing Envoys. You may continue to place further City Wisps or Envoys interchangeably. A City Wisp cannot be used as your first Envoy placement of a turn. Discard all Wisps at the end of your turn.
- City Wisp example: (1) The yellow player places their first Envoy of their turn. (2) They then pay the path cost of 2 Spark and use a City Wisp to take the 2 Glide actions and glide two Envoys from the same Balcony. (3) They pay the 2 Spark and place another City Wisp, taking the Move All Envoys action. They pay their Obelisk cost, and refresh a Banner card. They end their turn, removing all City Wisps from the city and discarding them.
- Wasteland Wisp. On your turn you may place a Wasteland Wisp in a Wasteland region. Gather Spark from that one region, with the Wisp counting as a unit for the purpose of gathering Spark. You may place as many Wisps as you like. Wisps count as units during any Gather Spark action. Discard all Wisps at the end of your turn.
- Wasteland Wisp example: (1) The yellow player places a Wisp in region A, gathering 2 Spark. (2) They place a Wisp in region B, gathering 2 Spark. (3) They could place a Wisp in region C, but it would only gather them 1 Spark. If they now perform a separate Gather Spark action, the Wisps will gather Spark in the same way a unit does.
Purple Newborn Ability
All Purple Newborn inherit from Strovo the ability to Move 1 for the cost of a Spark. This can be activated at any time on your turn or during battles.
Newborn Actions
- Pay 2 Spark to Gain +2 Strength. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may pay 2 Spark to gain +2 Strength.
- Pay 2 Spark to Move 2 Units. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may pay 2 Spark to move 2 units, they may be anywhere in the Wasteland.
- Gather Spark from a Region 2 times. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may Gather Spark twice from a single region.
- Resting Envoys can Gather Spark. This Newborn has a passive effect and is placed in your player zone. For the rest of the game, whenever you Gather Spark, Resting units will gather Spark as if they are Ready.
- If You Win a Battle, Pay 8 Spark to Gain a VP. This Newborn has a passive effect and is placed in your player zone. For the rest of the game, whenever you win a Battle, you may pay 8 Spark to gain an extra VP.
Balcony Bonus
Gain a Spark. Whenever an Envoy arrives on Strovo's Balcony from the Wasteland or the Balcony of another Colossus, you gain a Spark.
Romather, City of the Mother (Brown)
Special Actions
- Bond with an Egg. By placing an Envoy in the Egg's region on top of the Egg. Only one Envoy can Bond with one Egg at a time. You may Move a bonded Envoy at any time on your turn, however you will lose the potential effect of the Bond. At the start of a Battle when the Eggs hatch, keep Bonded Envoys on the Newborns when the Eggs flip. During your Battle turn detach the Envoy from the Newborn and gain +1 Strength when you do.
- Bond with Egg example: (1) The teal player Bonds with an Egg, placing an Envoy on the Egg. (2) During the next battle in the region, during their battle turn they detach the Envoy from the Egg and gain +1 Strength.
- Hatch and Tame a Newborn. For a cost in Spark, a Bonded Egg (one with an Envoy on it) is flipped to its Newborn side and claimed by the player. This action can only be used on Helper Newborn (non-VP), and is limited to Newborn with the star rating printed beneath the Hatch and Tame icon. The claimed Newborn is replaced with an Egg from the bag.
- Hatch and Tame example: The yellow player places their Envoy in the City Action Space with a Bond Action and the Hatch and Tame Action. (1) They Bond an Envoy with a 3-star Egg. (2) They pay 9 Spark to Hatch and Tame it, flipping it, and placing their Envoy on the Newborn token. (3) They fill the vacated Vent with an Egg drawn randomly from the bag.
Brown Newborn Effect
All Brown Newborn inherit from Romather the passive effect of being worth 1-half of a VP at the end of the game.
Newborn Actions
- Bond 1. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may place an Envoy in any region on an Egg in the same region to Bond with it. See above, Bond with an Egg.
- Gain +2 Strength for each Brown Egg in the Battle. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, gain +2 Strength for each Brown Romather Egg/Newborn that is a potential reward from the battle. Do not count already claimed Newborns that aren't on Vents.
- Move 2 Newborn. If this Newborn is in a Battle region, you may Move 2 Newborn or 1 Newborn twice.
- Habitable Newborns remain on the Wasteland. This Newborn has a passive effect and is placed in your player zone. For the rest of the game, whenever you gain a Habitable Newborn (VP), you may leave the Envoy that claims it and the Newborn on the Wasteland. These Newborn Shield the Envoy on their back, and have 1 Strength, but possess no special abilities or actions. They are affected by any effect or action that targets "All Newborn".
- All 1-star Newborn are worth 1-half VP at the End of the Game. This Newborn has a passive effect and is placed in your player zone. At the end of the game all 1-star Newborn you control are worth 1-half of a VP. Note: Brown 1-star newborn will be worth a total of 1VP each.
Balcony Bonus
Move Newborn. Whenever an Envoy arrives on Romather's Balcony from the Wasteland or the Balcony of another Colossus, you may Move a Newborn.
Mystor, City of Mysteries (Black)
Special Actions
- Tunnel a Unit. Taking it from any Wasteland region and placing it in any other region. Tunneling is considered a type of Move action and will trigger abilities that affect or modify Moves.
- Tunnel example: The teal player Tunnels an Envoy to another region.
- Gain a Relic. During Setup Relics are placed in a facedown supply within reach of all players. Gain a number of random Relics, and peek at their Action side. At any time on your turn, you may return a Relic to the supply to take the Action. Relics cannot be used in Battles.
- Hide. Take a unit from any region on the Wasteland and place it in the Chasm. Players can each only have one Newborn hidden in the Chasm at any time. If the unit is an Envoy it must be Ready. Once in the Chasm you may move a unit into an adjacent region by spending a Move on your turn, or for free into a Battle region during your Battle turn. Units in the Chasm cannot be Rested, cannot Gather Spark or be Lifted.
- Hide a Unit Example: (1) The yellow player Hides two Envoys and a Newborn in the Chasm. (2) On a later turn they Move the Newborn into an adjacent region using a Move Newborn action. (3) When a Battle is triggered in region E and the player takes their Battle turn, they move the two Envoys hiding in the Chasm into the Battle region as a free action.
Balcony Bonus
Hide. Whenever an Envoy arrives on Mystor's Balcony from the Wasteland or the Balcony of another Colossus, you may Hide a unit, see above for details.
Black Newborn Ability
All Black Newborn inherit from Mystor a Battle Action. If this Newborn is in a battle region, gain a random Relic token.
Newborn Actions
- Discard Relics for their Actions. This Newborn has a passive effect and is placed in your player zone. For the rest of the game, during each Battle you may discard up to 3 Relics to take their actions.
- Ambush. If this Newborn is in a Battle region during a Battle, you may place a Relic face down on this Newborn as a Battle Action. During the Ambush Phase reveal all Relics on Black Newborns. If they are Ambush Relics then the Ambush power activates, if not, then nothing happens. Discard all Relics that were on Black Newborns.
Ambush Effects (Relics)
- Strength +2. Gain +2 Strength.
- Shield All Envoys Then Halve Their Strength. None of your Envoys Rest after this battle, but their base Strength is each reduced to 1-half Strength.
- Halve the Base Strength of Opponent Newborns. Each Newborn in the battle region that is not controlled by you has a base Strength of 1-half. Modifiers that stack on top of this base Strength are not halved.
- If You Win the Battle Select Your Second Reward Immediately After Your First. This is in place of the usual rule that the winner claims a second newborn. You only gain a maximum of two Eggs, not three.
Banner Cards
A Banner Card is gained each time you reach the top space of a City. You can have a maximum of three Banner Cards at any one time, one Banner card from each Colossus, however you can exchange your current Banner card for a different card from the same Colossi should you reach the top of that Colossi more than once.
You can use a Banner Card at any time on your turn, or on your Battle turn if it is a Battle action. When you perform the action, flip the Banner Card face-down to exhaust it. You cannot use a Banner card that is face-down. To be able to use the Banner Card and its action again you will need to Refresh it. Banner Cards can be Refreshed in a number of ways, predominantly by reaching the top space of any City. This action Refreshes All your exhausted Banner cards, flipping them face up to be used again.
Clarifications
Most Banner cards have common actions on them. Below are clarifications on the more complex cards, referenced by the number in the top right corner of each card.
- 3. This special Banner card is played at the end of your turn, before you Migrate the Colossus. After you place the Egg, immediately draw another Egg and place it on the next Active Vent. If you migrated the Colussus into a region with only one Active Vent remaining and play this card, you can draw two Eggs, choose one to be placed on the Vent, and the other is returned to the bag.
- 6. Gain Spark equal to your Strength at the moment you play this card (on your battle turn). For instance, you could then move units out of the region.
- 11. You may play this card before you Gather Spark. When you gather, count how many regions you gather 3 or more Spark from. Gain a City Wisp for every one of those regions.
- 12. You may take any action where you have built an Obelisk. You must pay the cost of the Obelisk to take each action. You cannot take the same action more than once, and you cannot take the action on the top space of a Colossus.
- 13. Tally the Resting Envoys you have on the Wasteland and gain that much Strength in the battle.
- 16. Tally the Resting Envoys you have on the Wasteland, gain 2 Spark for each of them.
- 19. As always, Bonds can be with an Egg in any region where you have an Envoy. In a battle, Bonds can also be with a freshly hatched newborn, however you must detach the Envoy from the Newborn immediately and gain +1 Strength. If Eggs/Newborns are already Bonded, you cannot Bond with them.
- 20. This battle, when you detach an Envoy from a Bonded Egg/Newborn gain +2 Strength instead of the usual +1.
- 22. Move any combination of Colossi to a total of 5 Moves. The Colossi do not lay Eggs. Colossi movement follows the same rules are usual, you cannot move a Colossi into a region with another Colossi.
Quick Reference
The printed Quick Reference page is a recap of the icons and actions described in the sections above (Common Actions, City-Specific Icons, Eggs, Units, Spark Related, Battle and the General Action Notation). It has no additional rules text and is not transcribed separately.