DIG (2017)
DIG (2017) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Component Overview
- 162 Hill cards
- Precious Stones: 40x Iron, 25x Gold, 15x Diamond, 10x Ruby
- Equipment: 3x Shield, 3x Bag, 3x Compass, 3x Pickaxe, 3x Chest, 2x Parchment, 2x Bomb, 2x Potion, 1x Scepter, 1x Anchor
- Enemies: 4x Skeleton, 4x Thief, 4x Ghost, 3x Spider, 3x Snake, 1x Werewolf, 1x Orc
- Special Cards: 5x Rune, 2x Gem Egg
- End Cards: 10x Exit, 3x Gem Room, 9x Collapse
- 13 Companion cards
- 40 Purple Gems
- 16 Wooden Recruits (four colors, one color per player)
- 1 Rulebook
Game Setup
- Randomly choose six Companion cards and set them aside face up. Place all of the Recruits and Gems in a pile near the Companions. These form THE TAVERN.
- Shuffle all of the Hill cards and place the deck in the center of the table. This is known as THE HILL.
- Each player receives one Recruit of their player color.
- The shortest person starts to dig. Play then continues clockwise, each player taking one turn at a time until the game ends.
Game Turn
DIG is played over several rounds until one player acquires 10 Gems. On your turn you must perform one of the following actions:
- Dig in THE HILL. You may use one or several Equipment cards from your hand.
- Go to the Tavern and hire one/multiple Recruit(s) and/or Companion(s).
- Close one of your Galleries.
1. Dig in the Hill
When you «Dig» you draw one card from the Hill.
Precious Stones
You may collect the card if it is one of the following Precious Stones:
- Iron
- Gold
- Diamond
- Ruby
Each Precious Stone has a Crystal value. For example, this Ruby is worth 4 Crystals.
Equipment
You may also collect the following Equipment cards during your adventure. When drawn, you can either choose to use the card right away or keep it for a later use. However you can only keep one card per type.
- Bag: Trade this card for a Recruit.
- Chest: This card is worth 5 Crystals or 1 Precious Stone of your choice.
- Shield: If your Gallery gets attacked by an Enemy card, discard the Shield to cancel the attack.
- Bomb: Place the Bomb on another player's Gallery (of your choice), the Recruit closest to the Bomb will return to the Tavern.
- Compass: Draw 3 cards from the Hill, choose one (mandatory) and use it. Discard the remaining cards.
- Pickaxe: Draw 2 cards from the Hill, use them in the order you draw them and apply their effects if any. The Pickaxe's effect stops if the Gallery collapses.
- Parchment: Draw 3 cards from the Hill, choose and use up to 2 of them in any order.
- Potion: Steal the last card, and any Gems on it, of any opponent's Gallery. You cannot use the Potion if the last card of a Gallery has a Recruit on it.
- Scepter: Repel the Enemy you just drew to any player's Gallery.
- Anchor: Discard the Anchor to avoid a Collapse (discard the Collapse card).
Special Cards
In addition to Precious Stones, the following cards can also be added to a Gallery and can only be collected if placed on a Gallery.
- Gem Egg: When your Gallery closes (unless it results from an attack), trade this card for a Gem.
- Rune: Worth 1 Gem. Keep this card after the Gallery closes and until the game ends. In case of a tie, of those tied the player who has the most Runes will be declared winner.
Enemies
The Hill hides many Enemies, be careful when you dig...
- Spider: Steals the most recently placed Gem in the Gallery. No effect if your Gallery has zero gems.
- Ghost: Removes the last card of your Gallery (and everything on it as well).
- Snake: Add the card to the Gallery. A Gallery with a snake no longer produces Gems.
- Skeleton: Frightens the Recruits in your Gallery (return them to the Tavern) and forces you to close it.
- Thief: Steals the last two cards from your Gallery (and anything on them) and forces you to close it.
- Werewolf: Frightens all Recruits you have (return them to the Tavern) and forces you to close all of your Galleries.
- Orc: Eats the most recently placed Recruit in the Gallery (take it from the game and put it back into the box) and forces you to close it.
2a. Tavern / Hiring a Recruit
A Recruit can be hired at the Tavern for 5 Crystals. You may hire more than one Recruit at the same time (as long as you have enough Crystals). Each Recruit will allow you to create a new Gallery.
When you have hired one or more Recruits:
- You may still choose to keep the card you have drawn...
- ...or place one of your Recruits on it to start a new Gallery.
A Recruit may only be placed on a Precious Stone card to start a Gallery! Whenever you place a Recruit, immediately draw another card and add it to the Gallery!
Each player can hire up to 4 Recruits in total. You can create and manage up to 4 Galleries at the same time. A Gallery may never contain more than 4 Recruits and only one Recruit is allowed per card.
Each Recruit will make a Gem appear on every fifth card from where the Recruit is placed in your Gallery. Place the Gem on every fifth card.
Once you have one or more Galleries, on your turn, you have to say out loud where you want to dig, before drawing a card:
- If you choose to dig in your Gallery, add the card to it.
- If you own several Galleries, place one card face down in front of each of your Galleries, then turn them face up and apply their effect if any to the Gallery they have been added to.
- If you choose to dig beside one of your Gallery/Galleries, draw the card and place it to the side... ...then, depending on the card you have drawn, choose either to collect the card into your hand or place a Recruit on it to start a new Gallery.
2b. Tavern / Hiring a Companion
Digging can be rather dangerous, thankfully you will be able to find Companions at the Tavern. To be hired, a Companion will ask for a certain amount of Precious Stones. Each of them has a special ability to help you on your quest.
Once hired, a Companion will stick with you until the game ends. You can hire as many Companions as you like (as long as you can pay them)!
- German Shepherd: Protects you from Spiders (discard the Enemy card). Receive 1 Gem for each Spider drawn.
- Scout: When you use a Compass, its effect applies to each of your Galleries (instead of just one Gallery).
- Elf: Protects you from Snakes (discard the Enemy card). Receive 1 Gem for each Snake drawn.
- Hunter: Protects you from Thieves (discard the Enemy card). Receive 1 Gem for each Thief drawn.
- Knight: Protects you from Skeletons (discard the Enemy card). Receive 1 Gem for each Skeleton drawn.
- Pirate: Each Chest you have is worth 10 Crystals or 2 Precious Stones of your choice.
- Wizard: Protects you from Thieves and Skeletons. If you draw one of these Enemies, discard it and draw another card instead.
- Paladin: Protects you from Orcs (discard the Enemy card). Receive 2 Gems for each Orc drawn.
- Shadowman: Protects you from Ghosts (discard the Enemy card). Receive 1 Gem for each Ghost drawn.
- Queen: Hire a Recruit for 3 Crystals instead of 5.
- Superbacker: When you use a Pickaxe, its effect applies to each of your Galleries (instead of just one Gallery).
- Ninja Cat: Protects you from Werewolves (discard the Enemy card). Receive 2 Gems for each Werewolf drawn.
3. Closing a Gallery
On your turn you may choose to close one of your Galleries. When a Gallery closes collect all of the cards, Gems and Recruits in it, unless a card's effect says otherwise.
While most cards allow you to close your Gallery or continue digging, some may force you to close it. The following cards should be added to the Gallery before it closes as it may trigger a new Gem to be placed (i.e. if it is the 5th/10th/15th).
- Exit: Gather everything you have collected in your Gallery and retrieve your Recruit(s).
- Gem Room: Ends your Gallery and adds 1 gem. Gather everything you have collected in your Gallery and retrieve your Recruit(s).
- Collapse: Destroys your Gallery. You lose everything in it: Recruits are returned to the Tavern, Gems are lost and all cards from the Gallery are discarded.
Winning the Game
When a player has gathered at least 10 Gems (remember that Runes count as Gems), play continues until everyone else has played one last time. Then, the player who has collected the most Gems wins the game and is declared King of the Hill.
Tie
If there is a tie, the tied player who has collected the most Runes is declared winner!
Tips
- [+] If you draw a card and can't play it (i.e. you draw a Spider beside a Gallery), discard it and pass your turn.
- [+] The Tavern cannot give any Crystals back. It is up to you to overpay with more Crystals than required to hire a Recruit or wait until you have the exact amount.
- [+] Cards stolen by Enemies are simply discarded.
- [+] Once the Hill is empty, shuffle all discarded cards to form a new one!
- [+] If your Gallery collapses or if your Recruit is attacked, return it to the Tavern. If you close a Gallery you retrieve your Recruit back.
- [+] Your Recruit creates one Gem for each set of five cards (5/10/15...). If you have several Recruits inside a Gallery, their abilities add up! i.e. If one Recruit is on the 1st card, then one Gem will appear on the 5th, 10th... card, and if another Recruit is on the 3rd card, then a Gem will also appear on the 8th, 13th... card!
- [+] The Exit and the Gem Room will count towards your Recruit's set of 5 cards, so whenever you place one of them as a 5th/10th/15th... card, add a Gem (or 2 if you have drawn the Gem Room) before closing the Gallery and collecting everything!
- [+] Once you have applied a card's special effect, don't add it to your Gallery, instead discard it!
- [+] Only the Orc will make you lose a Recruit for the rest of the game. Even if you meet it more than three times during the game, it cannot eat more than three of your Recruits!
- [+] You cannot keep more than one equipment card of a kind but you can immediately use the second one you just drew.
- [+] If you chose to dig, you can use as many Equipment cards you want during your turn. According to each Equipment card, their effect apply inside or beside a Gallery, thus you apply their respective effect accordingly.
- [+] If you have several Galleries, you have to choose to which Gallery you want to apply the effect of an Equipment card (unless you have a Companion that says otherwise).