Delphi
Delphi Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Material
- 4 sets of City State cards, 25 cards in each
- 9 each of Oracle cards in German, English, and French
- 3 Parade cards
Before the first game, remove the Oracle cards in the languages you won't be using (e.g., if you're reading these rules you're probably playing in English so remove the German and French Oracle cards).
Paper and pencil, which is not included in the game, are required for recording Fame points.
Idea of the Game
In order to demonstrate power and strength, warriors and mighty heroes must be displayed in splendid parades. However, it is also valid to use the favor and gifts of the fickle Gods of Mount Olympus as skillfully and impressively as possible.
Each City State card set has the same number and type of Warrior/Hero cards and God cards. Warrior/Hero cards have values between 2 and 10. Gods have certain abilities that can change the displayed values dramatically. In the game, each player must try to use his 25 cards as skillfully as possible in order to collect the most Fame points.
The game extends over three Parades, each of which has three Marches. Fame scoring occurs after each March. The city with the lowest display loses Fame points. The two cities with the highest displays earn Fame points. Twice only during the entire game, each city may send emissaries to the mighty oracle at Delphi, in order to beg for her aid and, possibly, turn Fate in their favor.
Set-up
Each player gets one set of City State cards.
Each player takes his Pass (Passe) card into his hand and then shuffles the remaining 24 cards in his set. Then, he draws 8 additional cards into his hand, with which he will compete for the first Parade. Each player thus has 9 cards as his starting hand (8 drawn cards + 1 Passe card).
The nine Oracle cards are also shuffled and placed in a face-down stack in the middle of the table.
Now the "Parade 1" card is placed face-up in the middle of the table. It shows how many Fame points can be won for the first three Marches.
Play of the Game
At the start (of each March), all players play a card face-down in front of themselves and then reveal them simultaneously. This is the first display card for each player.
The following basic rules then apply:
- The player who has the current worst display (i.e. the lowest value) is always the current active player (i.e. it is his turn).
- He may play cards (one or more) face-up in front of himself until he no longer has the worst display or he chooses to no longer compete in this March and voluntarily quits.
- If more than one player is tied for the current worst display, all tied players play a card face-down in front of themselves and then reveal them simultaneously.
- Each March is played until only one player is left competing or all players have passed. All cards played in one March are removed from display and discarded before beginning the next March.
Important: The player (or players) who is first to pass gets the negative Fame points indicated on the Parade card (e.g. in the first March = -1). The player (or players) who is eliminated next to last gets the lower of the positive Fame points (in the first March = 2). The player who is the last survivor gets the higher of the positive Fame points (in the first March = 3). In a 4 player game, the player (or players) who is second to pass gets no Fame points, negative or positive.
[Illustration of the "Parade 1" card]
Fame points
1st March 2nd March 3rd March
Eliminated: First / Next to last / Not
Transcriber's note: the source's Fame point table is printed as an illustration, and its numbers are not present in the text of the document. Only the first-March values are stated in the rules text above (First = -1, Next to last = 2, Last survivor = 3). The values for the 2nd and 3rd March and for the Parade 2 and Parade 3 cards are not given in the source text and have not been filled in.
The second Parade begins after three Marches have been completed. The "Parade 2" card is placed face-up in the middle of the table and each player draws another 8 cards from his card stack. Players may keep cards left in their hand and not used in the first Parade. It can be worthwhile therefore, to save cards, especially since the later Marches are worth more fame points. This also happens again for the third Parade.
The Display
Players must always play cards into their display so that they overlap each other from left to right. This way, the current display value and the sequence of cards played can be read more easily.
The value of a display is calculated from the value (number on the card) of the Warrior/Hero cards played and any applicable modifications to these values through the use of God cards.
Warrior/Hero cards: basically, the numbers are simply added together. However, if two cards of the same value are played one after the other, they support each other and are multiplied (e.g. two Riders played in sequence yields 5 x 5 = 25 points).
God cards: For the most part, God cards change the value of either the owner's or his opponents' display. The symbol in the upper left corner of the card provides a reminder to the function of the respective God card.
- Hades: Achilles has met his fate and Hades pulls him down into his domain. All Achilles cards (value 7) played to this point are removed from play (including those of the player who played Hades). Any Achilles cards played later are not affected by the play of this Hades card.
- Moira: Guardian of the Fates, passes judgment over Prometheus. All Prometheus cards (value 9) played to this point are removed from play (including those of the player who played Moira). Any Prometheus cards played later are not affected by the play of this Moira card.
- Hera: The shrewish wife of the mighty Zeus involves Herakles in her intrigues. All Herakles cards (value 10) played to this point are removed from play (including those of the player who played Hera). Any Herakles cards played later are not affected by the play of this Hera card.
- Hephaistos: Blesses weapons in his divine forge. If this card lies between two Warrior/Hero cards (or a Pair, see below), their values are multiplied together. If it doesn't lie between two Warrior/Hero cards, this God is useless. Warrior/Hero cards (or a Pair, see below) played after Hephaistos can not be influenced by Apollo or by Ares.
- Zeus: The mightiest God and ruler of Mount Olympus hurls mighty lightning bolts. When a player plays this card, he is allowed to remove any one card from any display (including his own) from play.
- Poseidon: Brother of Zeus and Lord of the Seas, is angry and creates flood tides. The total value of the displays of every single opponent is halved (rounding down). If more than one Poseidon card is played during the same March, player's display values are only halved once (but, of course, the second card played means that all players are now affected by one of the Poseidon cards). The Poseidon card continues to have this effect as long as it is in a display, meaning that it influences cards played later.
- Ares: The cruel God of War and Lord of Combat shows his favor. The value of the Warrior/Hero card (or Pair, see below) lying directly under the Ares card is squared. (For example, 6 squared = 6 x 6 = 36). If the Ares card does not lie directly on a Warrior/Hero card, it has no effect.
The Pass (Passe) card has no effect on the value of the display. It can be played if several players simultaneously have the worst display and none want to play any additional cards. If several Pass cards are played simultaneously, any positive points to be awarded are divided evenly (rounding down) amongst the passing players; if minus points are to be awarded instead (if, for example, several players all passed in the first round of a March), all passing players get the full negative score.
Delphi: The most powerful Oracle of antiquity, in Delphi, with its high priestess, Pythia, can be queried. The Delphi card itself has no direct effect on the display. It must, nonetheless, be played like a Warrior or God card into the display and remain there. By playing this card, the player can call upon the oracle (see "The Oracle").
If 2 or more players play a Delphi card simultaneously (this is only possible when cards are played face-down), visits to the Oracle are resolved in the following sequence: Athens, Thebes, Corinth, Sparta.
If the Delphi card, "The Great Cessation" is activated, all players must immediately discard all but 2 cards from their hand. The Pass card doesn't count as a hand card.
God cards and Warrior Pairs:
The God cards, Hephaistos, Ares, and Apollo also have their effect if they are played after (and in the case of Hephaistos also before) a Warrior Pair (e.g. two consecutive Riders). The Pair is treated as a single card worth the total value of the pair. For example, if Apollo were played immediately after a Pair of Riders, the value would be 5 x 5 = 25 (for the Pair) x 2 (doubled by Apollo) = 50 points.
Important:
Each card can be played only one time. Once it is removed from a display or a player's hand (by a card action or the end of a March), it is out of play for the rest of the game. The sole exception to this rule is the Pass card. It should be taken back into the hand after being played and may be used again in subsequent Marches.
All cards played must be placed into a player's own display even if they will have no effect. Also, cards played during a March that lose their effect still remain in the display until the end of the March. Exception: Cards neutralized by the effects of Hades, Hera, Moira, and Zeus must be removed immediately.
The Oracle
When a player plays a Delphi card, he may call upon the Oracle. Normally, players will do this when they currently have a very unfavorable display because the Oracle can help them. The player draws the top card from the Oracle stack and looks at it:
- If it pleases him, he reads it aloud and all players must follow the instruction of the Oracle. The card is then discarded and removed from play.
- If it doesn't please him, he slides it under the stack again. He must now draw the next card from the stack and accept its pronouncement (i.e. read it aloud and follow its instructions).
Scoring Examples
The Chariot Pair is multiplied: 3 + (6 x 6) + 5 = 44 points
Ares squares the Archer: 5 + (3 x 3) + 5 = 19 points
Poseidon in other player's display halves the total value: (4 + 9 + 5 + 4) / 2 = 11 points
Hephaistos multiplies the Archer and the Rider: 5 + (3 x 5) = 20 points
End of the Game
The game ends when all Marches of all three Parades have been scored.
Each player then adds one point for each card left in his hand to the Fame points he has earned. The City State with the most Fame points may claim supremacy of ancient Greece for itself.
That player may make a sacrifice to the Gods and then shame his rivals with a magnificent celebration.