Gnomes and Associates Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Game Principle
  • Dice
• Definitions
• Figurines
• Setup
  • Designating the First Player
  • Choosing a Guild
  • Starting Hand
  • Starting Wealth
  • Guild Composition
• Game Flow
  • Description of a Turn
  • Activating a Figurine
  • End of Turn
• Turn Summary
• Turn Actions
  • Theft (Larcin)
  • Combat
• Zones, Terrains and Lairs
  • Terrains
• Lairs
  • Attacking a Lair
  • Theft from a Lair
  • Defending a Lair
  • Attacking or Stealing from a Figurine on a Lair
• Artefacts
  • The Amulet
  • The Magic Broom
  • The Tromblon
• Missions and Victory Conditions
  • Victory Conditions by Guild
  • End of the Game and Scoring
  • Two-Player Game with Thieves or Brigands
  • Simplified Mode
  • Playing with 4 Figurines per Guild
• Action Cards
  • Card Anatomy
  • Banner Colours (Duration of the Card's Effect)
  • Examples of Printed Cards

Game Contents

• 1 rulebook
• 4 Guild summary sheets
• 4 Guild sheets
• 4 Guild sheet extensions: 4-figurine mode
• 1 game board, 60x60 cm
  • Side A: "The Fabulous Lands" (2 to 4 players)
  • Side B: "On the Mountain" (5 to 6 players)
• 100 Action cards
• 1 First Player token
• 10 Lair / Destroyed Lair tokens
• 34 Stunned tokens
• 24 Activated tokens
• 30 Objective tokens
• 16 Sacred Wood tokens
• 16 Moonstone tokens
• 8 Magic Broom tokens
• 8 Tromblon tokens
• 8 Amulet tokens
• 2 Safe / Bank tokens
• 4 Trap / Mined Terrain tokens
• 2 Root tokens
• 2 Storm tokens
• 5 Pumpkin tokens
• 3 Tomb tokens
• 114 cardboard Gold tokens
• 90 plastic Gold tokens
• 6 cardboard treasure chests
• 12 grey rings

Figurines (grouped by colour):

• Usurers (yellow): 2 Trolls, 2 Gnomes, with their bases
• Thieves (green): 2 Fairies, 2 Goblins, with their bases
• Brigands (red): 2 Trolls, 2 Goblins, with their bases
• Artisans (blue): 2 Fairies, 2 Gnomes, with their bases

Game Principle

In Gnomes & Associates, different Guilds compete for the riches of the Fabulous Lands. Join one of them to earn glory!

A game is played in successive turns, during which the players try to amass as many treasures as possible. The game ends when one of the Guilds has filled the number of main objectives corresponding to its Guild. It is then time to count the results and designate the winner!

Dice

Gnomes & Associates is played with coloured dice: green, yellow and red. Depending on its colour, each die offers a certain number of successes and failures.

• A success is shown by a check-mark symbol.
• A failure is shown by a jagged-lightning symbol.

It is thus very easy to recognise actions that fail and those crowned with success.

The colour of the dice varies according to the action undertaken, the type of Terrain on which the figurine stands, and the Action cards played by the opponent.

• By default, the die used is the green die. It is the one that gives the greatest number of successes.
• The yellow die corresponds to a higher difficulty and is imposed by certain Terrains (Ruins and Stone Circles).
• The red die corresponds to the maximum difficulty. It comes into play notably when a figurine tries to steal from or fight a Defended Lair.

Dice to roll:

Action	Terrain type	Dice to roll
Theft (Larcin)	Plain, Hill, Ruin	1 green
Theft (Larcin)	Forest	1 green, +1 green (2 green)
Theft (Larcin)	Stone Circle, Lair	1 yellow
Theft (Larcin)	Defended Lair	1 red
Combat	Plain, Forest, Stone Circle	1 green
Combat	Hill	1 green, +1 green (2 green)
Combat	Ruin, Lair	1 yellow
Combat	Defended Lair	1 red

In the printed table, the "+1" entries (Forest for Theft, Hill for Combat) mean one extra green die is added to the roll.

Definitions

Gnomes & Associates uses a specific vocabulary, which is necessary for a good understanding of the game. The printed manual abbreviates gold as "PO" (short for gold pieces); it is rendered here as GP.

• Adjacent: All zones whose edges touch are adjacent.
• Adverse: Anything that does not belong to a player. It may be adverse figurines or adverse Action cards.
• Artefact: A magic object giving the figurine that possesses it a specific advantage (see the Artefacts table). Making an Artefact requires possessing the Components that go into its making.
• Components: There are two types of Components: Sacred Wood and Moonstone. Their combination allows the making of Artefacts. Components can be recovered by performing a Transfer action. Sacred Wood is generated by Hills and Forests, whereas Moonstones are found in Ruins and Stone Circles.
• Control: A figurine controls a zone if no adverse figurine is present there with it.
• Defended: When a figurine of a Guild is present on its Lair, the Lair is Defended.
• Gold (GP): GP represent the wealth of the Guild. They can be spent freely, and a player may draw on a figurine as well as on their Lair. After a Theft or a Transfer, GP are placed on the Guild sheet, at the location of the figurine that performed the action. At the end of the turn, if the Guild's Lair is still in play, the GP are transferred to the location of the Lair.
• Terrain: A Terrain is a zone that generates a Component, such as Hills, Ruins, Stone Circles and Forests.
• Turn: The game time during which each player activates all the figurines of their Guild.
• Treasure: The set of GP, Components or Artefacts possessed by a figurine or located in a Lair.

Figurines

Each figurine is defined by two skills (Theft (Larcin) and Combat), a specific power, and a certain number of spaces reserved for Stunned tokens.

The printed manual shows a Gnome card as a diagram with the following labelled parts: the figurine, its Stunned token spaces, its Combat value, its Theft (Larcin) value, and its power.

Example, the Gnome: Combat 2, Theft 2, with two Stunned token spaces. Its power is named Malin (Clever): once per turn, the Gnome can make all the dice of an adversary re-roll.

Setup

Place a Sacred Wood token on each Hill and each Forest, and a Moonstone token on each Ruin and each Stone Circle.

Designating the First Player

For the first game, the youngest player is the first player. If you play several games in a row, the loser of the previous game is the first player.

Players then take their turns clockwise.

Choosing a Guild

Starting with the first player, each player chooses the Guild they will play for the whole game. They then take the figurines of that Guild (see the table below) and the corresponding Guild sheet. The figurines are placed in their respective Lair.

Starting Hand

After shuffling, each player begins the game by drawing 5 cards from their Action card deck.

Starting Wealth

Each figurine starts the game with a Treasure of 2 GP.

Guild Composition

Your Guild	Peoples	Figurines of your Guild
Guild of the Artisans	Gnome + Fairy	1 Gnome and 1 Fairy (blue)
Guild of the Brigands	Goblin + Troll	1 Goblin and 1 Troll (red)
Guild of the Usurers	Gnome + Troll	1 Gnome and 1 Troll (yellow)
Guild of the Thieves	Goblin + Fairy	1 Goblin and 1 Fairy (green)

Game Flow

Description of a Turn

A turn begins with one or more activation phases, followed by an end-of-turn sequence.

For each activation phase, starting with the first player and moving clockwise, players successively activate one of their figurines. When each player has played a figurine, or has passed because they had no figurine left to activate, the next activation phase begins.

When no player has any figurine left to activate, the end-of-turn sequence begins.

A figurine cannot be activated more than once per turn. It is not mandatory to perform all of a figurine's actions, but any actions of a figurine that are not used are lost for this turn. Once a figurine has been activated, its player places an "Activated" token on the space of that figurine on the Guild sheet, to signify that the activation of this figurine is over.

A player cannot voluntarily pass their turn. A player may only pass if they have no figurine left to play.

A figurine can perform additional actions by using Action cards. However, once a player's hand is exhausted, that player must wait until the end of the turn to draw new cards.

Reminder: at the end of its last action, the player places an "Activated" token on the space of the figurine on the Guild sheet, to signify that the activation of this figurine is over.

Activating a Figurine

When a figurine is activated, it has by default two actions to choose from among the following:

• Combat: The figurine fights an adverse figurine or a Lair located on its zone (see below).
• Movement: The figurine moves to a zone adjacent to the one where it stands.
• Crafting: The figurine creates an Artefact (requires two Components).
• Theft (Larcin): The figurine tries to steal the Treasure of an adverse figurine or of a Lair located on its zone (see below).
• Transfer: A Transfer can be made in one of two ways:
  • The figurine takes all or part of the Components, Gold and Artefacts present on its zone; or
  • The figurine drops all or part of its Treasure on the zone it occupies, or gives it to a friendly figurine present in the same zone.
  • If the figurine is located in its Guild's Lair, its Treasure is transferred directly to the Guild's safe.

End of Turn

The end-of-turn sequence is carried out in the following order:

• Discard: All cards played during this turn that are still in play are discarded (except Permanent cards).
• Transfer of gold to the Lair: The Gold of the figurines is necessarily moved to the Lair location on the Guild sheet.
• Replenishing the hand:
  • A. Each player draws five cards from their Action card deck and adds them to the cards remaining in their hand.
  • B. Each player chooses five cards to keep in their hand and discards the others.
  • If a player has no Action cards left, they shuffle their Action discard pile to form a new draw pile.
• Reinforcements: Starting with the first player, each player may place one figurine eliminated during the previous turn on the Lair of their Guild. The next player then does the same, and so on until every player has placed all of their missing figurines.
  • Note: when a Guild no longer has a Lair, its reinforcements are placed either on a Plain or on a zone controlled by a figurine of the corresponding Guild.

The first player passes the turn to their left-hand neighbour, who becomes the first player. A new turn then begins, and the game continues in this way for the rest of the game.

Turn Summary

Activation phase.

General actions summary: 2 actions per figurine and per turn.

• Movement
• Transfer
• Combat
• Crafting
• Theft

End of turn:

• Discard of cards in play
• Transfer of gold to the Lair
• Replenishing the hand
• Reinforcements
• Designation of the first player

Turn Actions

Theft (Larcin)

The printed manual points to "tableau p3" (the table on page 3) for Theft; page 3 is the contents page, so the dice table of the printed page 5 is the table meant. The dice table is transcribed in the Dice section above.

A Theft is initiated directly by a figurine, or through an Action card (Petit Malin, Improvisation, Burglary, etc.). A figurine that initiates a Theft is called the Thief.

A Theft is resolved in the following steps:

1. Step 1: The Thief designates an adverse figurine in the zone where it is located.
2. Step 2: The Thief rolls as many dice as its Theft skill (Larcin), to which are added any bonuses granted by Action cards (extra dice, etc.) or by the Terrain. By default, the die used is the green die. The colour of the dice may vary according to the type of Terrain, or because an adverse player plays a Reaction card.
3. Step 3: For each success obtained, the Thief may steal one Gold, or one Artefact or Component, from its target.

Note: if the target has no Treasure, the Theft has no effect.

Combat

A Combat is initiated directly by a figurine, or through an Action card (Aggressiveness, Improvisation, Siege, etc.). A figurine that initiates a Combat is called the Attacker.

A Combat is resolved in the following steps:

1. Step 1: The Attacker designates an adverse figurine in the zone where it is located.
2. Step 2: The Attacker rolls as many dice as its Combat skill, to which are added any bonuses granted by Action cards (extra dice, etc.) or by the Terrain. By default, the die used is the green die. The colour of the dice may vary according to the type of Terrain, or because an adverse player plays a Reaction card.
3. Step 3: For each success obtained, the target receives a Stunned token, which it places on the corresponding space of its Guild sheet.

When all the Stunned spaces of a figurine are covered by a Stunned token, the figurine is eliminated and removed from the game. It loses its Treasure, which is placed on the zone it occupied. Remove the Stunned tokens corresponding to this figurine.

Zones, Terrains and Lairs

The game board is divided into zones representing different spaces. A figurine always moves to a zone adjacent to its starting zone. A figurine can only interact with game elements present in the same zone as itself.

Terrains

Terrains are specific zones. They group together Forests, Ruins, Hills and Stone Circles. Terrains produce Components. Any figurine located on a Terrain is affected by the following effects:

• Stone Circle: On a Stone Circle, the yellow die is used for Theft actions.
• Hill: On a Hill, a figurine gains one die in Combat.
• Forest: In a Forest, a figurine gains one die in Theft.
• Ruin: In Ruins, the yellow die is used for Combat actions.

Example 1. A Troll (red) fights a Goblin (blue). Because it is on a Hill, the Troll benefits from a bonus die to its Combat skill. It therefore rolls 4 dice in total (3 + 1). If the Troll also played an Aggressivity Action card, it would add one more die, for a test of 5 dice.

Example 2. A Goblin (blue) attempts a Theft against a Troll (red). Because it is in a Forest, the Goblin benefits from a bonus die to its Theft skill. It therefore rolls 3 dice (2 + 1). If the Goblin also played a Petit Malin Action card, it would add one more green die, for a total of 4 dice.

Example 3. A Troll (red) fights a Goblin (blue) in Ruins. Because the Goblin is in Ruins, it benefits from a defence. The Troll's player must therefore make the test with yellow dice. It rolls 3 dice in total. If the Troll also played an Aggressivity Action card, it would add one more die, for a test of 4 dice. If the Goblin played a "Protection" card, the dice would pass to red.

Example 4. A Goblin (blue) attempts a Theft against a Troll (red) in a Stone Circle. Because the Troll is in a Stone Circle, it benefits from a defence. The Goblin's player must therefore make the test with yellow dice. It rolls 2 dice in total. If the Goblin also played a Petit Malin Action card, it would add one more yellow die, for a test of 3 dice. If the Troll played a "Protection" card, the dice would pass to red.

Lairs

Attacking a Lair

A Lair can be fought following the rules of Combat. However, the Attacker must use yellow dice.

A Lair must receive 3 Stunned tokens before it is destroyed. When a Lair is destroyed, turn the Lair token over and place all the Gold tokens contained in the Guild's treasure on it. A figurine can then take them using the Transfer action. Remove the Stunned tokens corresponding to this Lair.

Note: once destroyed, the Lair token cannot be turned back over. This state is definitive. As soon as a Lair is destroyed, the Gold the Guild earns afterwards is placed on the spaces reserved for figurines on the Guild sheets.

Theft from a Lair

A Theft action can be carried out against a Lair following the rules of Theft. However, the Thief must use yellow dice.

Defending a Lair

If at least one figurine of the corresponding Guild is present on its Lair, the Lair is Defended. In this case, the combatants and the thieves must use red dice.

Attacking or Stealing from a Figurine on a Lair

A player may choose to attack the figurines present on a Lair, rather than the Lair itself. In this case, the targeted figurine benefits from a favourable Terrain. The tests are therefore made with yellow dice.

Important: a Lair only protects the figurines of the corresponding Guild. Other figurines do not benefit from its protection.

Example 5. A Gnome of the Guild of the Usurers attempts a Theft against the Lair of the Artisans. The Lair is not Defended, so the Thief makes its Theft test with yellow dice.

Example 6. A Gnome of the Guild of the Usurers attempts a Theft against the Lair of the Artisans. The Lair is Defended by a Fairy, so the Thief makes its test with red dice. If it wished to attack the Fairy instead, it would have to use yellow dice, whether it is fighting or attempting a Theft.

Artefacts

To create an Artefact, a figurine must possess the two Components needed and use the Crafting action.

An Artefact cannot be created if its Components are spread among the figurines of the Guild. For example, a Fairy of the Guild of the Thieves cannot create a Magic Broom if she possesses one Sacred Wood Component while the second is in the possession of a Goblin of that same Guild.

There are three different Artefacts:

• The Amulet
• The Magic Broom
• The Tromblon

Components	Artefact	Power
2 Moonstones	Amulet	Once per turn, ignore the first Stunned token that you would receive. Protects all the figurines of the Guild present on the zone of the bearer.
2 Sacred Wood	Magic Broom	The figurine moves one additional zone.
1 Sacred Wood and 1 Moonstone	Tromblon	The figurine can attack another figurine present on a zone adjacent to its own zone.

The Amulet

Its making requires 2 Moonstone Components, which are then discarded.

Once per turn, the Amulet cancels the first Stunned token that a figurine would receive, whether during a Combat or generated by a card. The Amulet is not discarded and continues to act for the rest of the game. Moreover, the Amulet protects all the figurines of the Guild present in the zone of its bearer, not only the bearer.

Example. A Troll of the Guild of the Brigands (blue) fights a Gnome of the Guild of the Usurers (red) during its activation. The Troll gets one success. The Gnome should receive 1 Stunned token, but it possesses an Amulet, so the Gnome receives nothing. Annoyed, the Troll plays another Combat action and obtains 2 successes. The Amulet cancels the first of them, so the Gnome receives 1 Stunned token.

The Magic Broom

Its making requires 2 Sacred Wood Components, which are then discarded.

The Magic Broom increases all of the figurine's movements by one zone. For example, a Goblin moves 2 zones with a Magic Broom, or 3 zones if it uses a "Sprint" card. These actions are cumulative: the Goblin could cover up to 5 zones by using a normal movement and then a Sprint.

The Tromblon

Its making requires 1 Sacred Wood Component and 1 Moonstone Component, which are then discarded.

Thanks to the Tromblon, a figurine can fight figurines present in the zones adjacent to the one where it stands. In this case, the Tromblon works using the Terrain bonuses on which the Combatant stands, and the penalties of the Terrain on which the Target stands.

Example 7. A Gnome of the Guild of the Artisans, standing on a Hill (blue), fights with a Tromblon a Goblin of the Guild of the Brigands, standing in Ruins (red). The Gnome benefits from the height of the Hill and gains one extra die in Combat. The Goblin, hidden in the Ruins, benefits from the protection granted by the Terrain, so the test is made with yellow dice. The Gnome therefore uses 3 yellow dice for its test, or 4 if it uses an Aggressivity card.

Example 8. A Gnome of the Guild of the Artisans, standing in Ruins (blue), fights with a Tromblon a Troll of the Guild of the Brigands, standing in a Forest (red). The Ruins penalty does not apply here, because that zone belongs to the Attacker. The Gnome would therefore attack with 2 green dice.

Note: the printed text of Example 8 names the target as a "Goblin", while its caption and illustration show a Troll on the Forest. The text is transcribed as printed.

Missions and Victory Conditions

Each Guild has a specific main mission. Each time it is accomplished, the player places an Objective token on the corresponding space of their Guild sheet. In addition, completing a main mission immediately earns a certain number of GP (see the Guild sheets).

Each Guild also has a secondary mission, which immediately earns a certain number of GP each time it is accomplished (see the Guild sheets).

Victory Conditions by Guild

Guild of the Artisans

• Manufacture: When an Artefact is created, the Artisan player places an Objective token on their Guild sheet. To win, the player must possess 5 tokens in a 4-player game, or 4 tokens in a 2- or 3-player game. If the Artefact is lost or exchanged, the Objective remains valid.

Guild of the Brigands

• Sow Terror (Semer la Terreur): When a Lair is destroyed, the Brigand player places an Objective token on their Guild sheet. To win, the player must possess 3 tokens in a 4-player game, or 2 tokens in a 2- or 3-player game.

Guild of the Usurers

• Debts (Dettes): At the start of each turn, the Usurer player designates an adverse Guild. They place an Objective token on their Guild sheet for each figurine of the designated Guild that they stun. To win, the player must possess 5 tokens in a 4-player game, or 4 tokens in a 2- or 3-player game.

Guild of the Thieves

• Neither Seen Nor Known (Ni vus ni connu): When the Thieves successfully carry out a Theft against an adverse Lair, their player places an Objective token on their Guild sheet. Consecutive thefts do not count: the Thieves must attack a new Lair to obtain a new Objective token. To win, the Thieves must possess 5 tokens in a 4-player game, or 4 tokens in a 2- or 3-player game.

End of the Game and Scoring

The game ends at the end of the turn in which a player has completed the number of main missions shown on their Guild sheet. Several players may therefore complete all of their objectives.

Players then count their GP. In addition:

• The player who reached their first Objective gains a bonus of 5 GP.
• Each Artefact possessed by a Guild counts for 3 GP.

The richest Guild wins the game.

Two-Player Game with Thieves or Brigands

For a two-player game, we recommend using only one of these two Guilds.

To fulfil the victory conditions of the Thieves or Brigands Guilds in a two-player game, a third (neutral) Lair is added to the board. It can be the target of an adverse Combat or Theft. The third Lair is always considered undefended. If it has no GP, it nonetheless fulfils the victory conditions of the Thieves or Brigands (3 GP for a Burglary (Cambriolage), 5 GP for Sow Terror).

Note: the printed text reads "Semer le Terreur" in this passage; it refers to the Brigands' mission, Sow Terror (Semer la Terreur). The printed die icon next to "undefended" is not reproduced here.

Simplified Mode

If you wish to play with young players, we recommend setting aside the Action cards specific to the Guilds.

For an even simpler mode, set aside the specific features of the Terrains, and keep only their ability to generate Components. In this mode, only Combat and Theft tests against a Lair are made with yellow dice, whether the Lair is defended or not.

Playing with 4 Figurines per Guild

You can play in core-gamer mode by increasing the number of members of your Guild. Simply use the 4-figurine extension of your Guild sheet, and take the 4 figurines of your Guild. To distinguish your different figurines, add a grey ring to one figurine of each type in your Guild.

For example, if you play the Guild of the Usurers, put a grey ring on one of your Trolls and another on one of your Gnomes.

Figurines with a ring correspond to the 4-figurine extension of the Guild sheet, and those without a ring correspond to the Guild sheet itself.

The game otherwise proceeds in the classic way, except that players draw 6 Action cards per turn instead of 5.

Action Cards

Cards are always played during the activation of one of the player's figurines, with the exception of Reaction cards (with a blue banner), which are played following an action of another player, as described on the card.

There is no limit to the number of cards a player may play during the activation of a given figurine, or in reaction to another player's action, other than the number of cards they have in hand.

Card effects are cumulative. If a card influences the resolution or the result of an action requiring dice to be rolled, it must be played before the dice are rolled, unless the card states otherwise. If the action fails despite everything, the card has no effect and must be discarded.

If a card contradicts the rules, the effect of the card is the one that applies.

Card Anatomy

The printed diagram labels the parts of an Action card:

• Name of the card
• Banner: the duration of the card's effect (see the colour list below)
• Effects of the card
• Faction: the faction that may use the card deck

Banner Colours (Duration of the Card's Effect)

• White banner: Duration = 1 action. The effect lasts for the duration of one action. If the card text refers to one of your figurines, it must be the active figurine at the moment the card is played.
• Violet banner: Duration = Permanent. The effect lasts until the end of the game, or until its action is resolved.
• Red banner: Duration = 1 turn. The effect lasts until the end of the Turn.
• Blue banner: Duration = Reaction. The card can be played in reaction to an adverse player's action. It can therefore be played during the activation of an adverse figurine.

Examples of Printed Cards

• Aggressiveness (white banner): "The active miniature performs a Combat action with one additional die."
• Trap (violet banner): "Place a Trap token in the square of your choice (except Lairs). Every opponent miniature entering or leaving the trapped square receives a Stunned token. After that, remove the Trap token."
• Ambush (red banner): "When you Stun an opponent miniature, you transfer its Treasure at no action cost."
• Shield (blue banner): "Can be played after the resolution of a Combat. Remove 2 successes from the Combat roll."
• Improvisation (diagram example): "The active miniature performs an additional action of its choice."

Note: the card texts above are read from the sample cards shown in the printed manual, which shows only these cards; the full text of the other cards is printed on the cards themselves.