GodZ Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • 5 Player Mats
• Game Setup
  • Player Area
  • Central Area
• Tracks and Resources
  • Glory (Star icon, Swamps)
  • Steps (Crossed arrows icon, Seas)
  • Faith (Eye in a triangle icon, Deserts)
  • Building (Crossed axe and mallet icon, Mountains)
  • Food (Ham on the bone icon, Forests)
• How to Play
  • Phase 1A – Perform Actions
    • Activate Believers
    • Activate your Avatar
    • Build a Village
  • Phase 1B – Collect Glory
  • Phase 2 – Miracles
  • Phase 3 – Resources
• Special Terrain Tiles
• Game End
  • Victory Point Tokens Summary
  • A – Region Control
  • B – Special Terrain Tile Control
  • Victory
• Divine Miracles and Avatar Powers
  • Miracles of BOO and Power of Martin
  • Miracles of GLU and Power of A'Tuà
  • Miracles of BAU and Power of Fidus
  • Miracles of TUD and Power of Torg
  • Miracles of FIU and Power of Rocky

Components

• 6 large hex Tiles (composed of 7 hexes)
  • one Home Tile for each of the five Deities (recognizable by the color of the central palace hex), and
  • one Center of the World large tile (recognizable by the central purple vortex).
• 6 Special Terrain tiles
• 1 Chasm tile
• 30 Terrain tiles
  • 7 forests
  • 7 deserts
  • 5 seas
  • 5 swamps
  • 5 mountains
• 1 First Player token
• 5 Avatar wooden tokens (one for each of the five Deities)
• 30 Believer meeples (6 for each of the five Deities)
• 31 Glory tiles (5 in each of the 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-points denominations, plus a single 9-point tile)
• 36 War tiles (12 in each of the 2-, 3-, 4-points denominations)
• 36 Balance tiles (18 1-point and 18 2-points)
• 30 black cylinders
• 15 Village tiles (3 for each of the five Deities)

5 Player Mats

One for each deity. Each deity is tied to a specific color. Each mat depicts:

• A. Name of the Deity and the domains he or she claims control over.
• B. Avatar – Name of the Deity's Avatar and the specific power that Avatar has. See page 11.
• C. Miracles – The Miracles the Deity may perform. See page 10.
• D. The Path of Power – This track is used to record the current power of your actions during the game. The Path of Power is composed of three rows: the row of the believers, the row of building, and the row of the Avatar.
• E. Glory Track – Records your current Glory level, necessary to win the game.
• F. Steps Track – Records your current Steps level, necessary to move your Believers and Avatar.
• G. Faith Track – Records your current Faith level, necessary to activate your Believers and perform miracles.
• H. Building Track – Records your current Building level, necessary to build Villages.
• I. Food Track – Records your current Food level, necessary to activate your Avatar.

Game Setup

Player Area

Each player chooses one of the five Deities and collects all these components.

1. The Player Mat of your color.
2. The 3 Village tiles of your color.
   • Put them above your player mat, on the unbuilt side, and in ascending order of required building points (5, 7, 9).
3. The Home Tile with the corresponding palace.
4. The Avatar of your color.
   • Put it on the palace hex of your Home Tile.
5. The 6 Believer meeples of your color.
   • Put 1 Believer on the last Village tile (the one that requires 9 building points).
   • Put 1 Believer on the last square of the Avatar row of the Path of Power.
   • Put 1 Believer on the Miracle of Life miracle.
   • Put the 3 remaining Believers on the palace hex of your Home Tile.
6. 6 black cylinders.
   • Put 1 cylinder on the "1" spot of each of these tracks: Glory, Steps, Faith, Building and Food.
   • Put the 6th cylinder on the checkered flag in the top-left corner of the Path of Power.
7. If you have chosen FIU also take 2 forest terrain tiles. If no player has chosen FIU, remove 2 forest tiles from the game.
8. If you have chosen BAU also take 2 desert terrain tiles. If no player has chosen BAU, remove 2 desert tiles from the game.
9. If you have chosen TUD also take the Chasm special terrain tile. If no player has chosen TUD, remove the Chasm special terrain tile from the game.
10. The biggest player takes the First Player token. This token is never passed around: it simply records the player that started the game.

Central Area

1. Put the Center of the World region tile at the center of the play area.
2. Shuffle the remaining 25 normal terrain tiles and the 6 special terrain tiles together to form a face-down stack within easy reach of every player.
3. Shuffle the 36 War tiles and form a face-down reserve within easy reach of every player.
4. Shuffle the 36 Balance tiles and form a face-down reserve within easy reach of every player.
5. Put the 9-points Glory tile face-up within easy reach. Then, for each player, take a set of Glory tiles of the values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and put them face-up near the 9-points tile. Remove from the game the remaining Glory tiles.
6. Starting from the player with the First Player token and going clockwise around the table each player slides his own Home Tile (with his Avatar and 3 Believers), rotates it the way he wants and places it adjacent to the Center of the World tile so that the two tiles touch each other with at least 2 sides. If a player can't legally place his Home Tile adjacent to the Center of the World tile, he places it adjacent to any other player's Home Tile following the same rules.

Tracks and Resources

During the game you will send your Believers and Avatar to fetch resources. The amount of resources you have at your disposal on your next turn is computed at the end of your last turn and recorded on the corresponding tracks. There's no way to hoard resources throughout several turns: you must plan where to place your Believers, Villages and Avatar in order to access the resources you need in the next turn because those tracks will reset and be reevaluated each turn. There are 5 types of resources in the game, each associated to a specific normal terrain.

Glory (Star icon, Swamps)

Your Glory track (1-7) indicates how much glory you will be able to achieve when collecting glory (phase 1B, see below) and thus which Glory victory point tile you will be able to claim. Remember to apply the penalty corresponding to the column your action cylinder is on. You never "spend" glory: it's an indicator of your current glory level.

Steps (Crossed arrows icon, Seas)

Your Steps track (1-4) indicates how many movement points the Activate Believers and the Activate Avatar actions will provide you. The more Steps you have the more mobile your tokens on the maps are. You never "spend" steps: it's an indicator of your current mobility (but you do generate and spend movement points when performing actions; these points are volatile and don't need to be tracked on the mat).

Faith (Eye in a triangle icon, Deserts)

The Faith track (0-9) indicates your current residual Faith points. You can spend Faith points (down to 0) in order to activate Believers (phase 1A) and perform Miracles (phase 2).

Building (Crossed axe and mallet icon, Mountains)

The Building track (0-9) indicates your current residual Building points. You can spend Building points (down to 0) to build Villages (phase 1A).

Food (Ham on the bone icon, Forests)

The Food track (0-4) indicates your current residual Food points. You can spend Food points (down to 0) to activate your Avatar (phase 1A).

How to Play

Starting from the player with the First Player token each player takes a turn, and then the game proceeds clockwise around the table until some player collects his 6th square point tile (in any combination of Glory and War tiles).

Each turn is composed of three phases.

1. Action Phase. In this phase you must either
   • A. perform an action, or
   • B. collect glory.
2. Miracle Phase. In this phase you may spend Faith to perform Miracles.
3. Resource Phase. In this phase you check produced resources and update your levels on the Player Mat.

Phase 1A – Perform Actions

Important. You cannot choose this option if your action cylinder is on the last column of your Path of Power.

Check where your action cylinder is on the Path of Power; you must move it on any of the 3 squares of the next column (Believers, Building or Avatar) and then may perform the corresponding action.

Activate Believers

You may spend any amount of Faith points, one at a time, to perform actions with your Believers.

• Put Believers in Play. If you have Believers in your reserve, you may put 1 on your Palace hex at the cost of 1 Faith point.
  • Note: At the start of the game you have no Believer in your reserve: they go there as a consequence of combat; the 3 Believers you initially have put on your player mat and the unbuilt village are not considered in your reserve but may enter play later.
• Move Believers. By spending 1 point of Faith you gain an amount of movement points equal to your Steps level. You can then spend those movement points, one at a time, to move any Believer into 1 adjacent hex.
  • For example, if your current Steps level is 3, by spending 1 Faith point you may move 1 Believer 3 hexes, or 3 Believers 1 hex each, or 1 Believer 1 hex and another Believer 2 hexes.
• War X vs. 1 (only if your action cylinder is on a suitable square on the Path of Power). Choose a hex where there are at least X of your Believers and spend 1 Faith point to remove an opponent's Believer in that hex (you can't do this if the target Believer is on a Village). You draw 1 War token; the opponent puts the removed Believer in his reserve.
• Siege X vs. 1 (only if your action cylinder is on a suitable square on the Path of Power). Choose a hex where there are at least X of your Believers and spend 1 Faith point to remove an opponent's Village in that hex (you can't do this if there is a Believer on that Village). You draw 1 War token; the opponent puts the removed Village in his reserve on the unbuilt side.
• Note: When you draw War tokens look at them but then put them in your play area face-down: your opponents may never know their value until the end of the game.

Activate your Avatar

You may spend any amount of Food points, one at a time, to perform actions with your Avatar.

• Move your Avatar. By spending 1 point of Food you gain an amount of movement points equal to your Steps level. You can then spend those movement points, one at a time, to move your Avatar into 1 adjacent hex. If your Avatar is laid down, you must first spend 1 movement point to stand it up, and only then you can spend additional points to move it.
  • When your Avatar enters a hex containing an opponent's Avatar, the opponent's is pushed back 1 hex in the direction opposite to the one yours entered that hex. The opponent's avatar cannot be pushed out of the map or in a hex occupied by a third Avatar; if this is the case that move may not be taken.
  • When an Avatar is pushed, lay its token down and return all Believers in the landing hex to the reserve of their respective owners (Believers inside a Village are safe, though). Each player who got 1 or more Believers returned to his reserve this way draws 1 Balance tile for each lost Believer as a compensation (even you, if you pushed an opponent's Avatar in a hex where you had 1 or more Believers).
• Stomp a Believer. By spending 1 point of Food you can remove an opponent's Believer in the same hex of your Avatar (you can't do this if that Believer is on a Village). If you do, that Believer returns into its owner's reserve and that opponent draws 1 Balance tile as a compensation.
• Siege (only if your action cylinder is on the suitable square on the Path of Power). Spend 1 point of Food to remove an opponent's Village in the same hex of your Avatar (you can't do this if there is a Believer on that Village). You draw 1 War token, the opponent receives a Balance token and puts the removed Village in his reserve on the unbuilt side.
• Appoint a Prophet (only if your action cylinder is on the suitable square on the Path of Power). Spend 1 point of Food to put the Believer on this square on the same hex of your Avatar.
• Note: When you draw Balance tokens look at them but then put them in your play area face-down: your opponents may never know their value until the end of the game.

Build a Village

Choose a hex that:

1. It's a normal productive terrain (forest, desert, mountain, sea or swamp),
2. Has no Village on it,
3. Has at least one of your Believers on it (but see below).

Spend the Building points required by your cheapest unbuilt Village and build it in the chosen hex. According to the column your action cylinder is in, you may also receive 1-4 bonus Building points.

• When you build a Village, position the tile so that it covers the terrain's resource icon. A Village nullifies a terrain's production, but not its type. For example: a forest terrain with a village no longer produces food, but it still counts as a forest.
• When you build a Village, you may immediately move any of your Believers on that hex inside the Village.
• When you build your 9-points Village, you may disregard the 3rd requirement (having a Believer on the chosen hex); also, that Village comes into play with the Believer you placed on it at the start of the game.

Important. The combination of a Believer inside a Village is invulnerable, and it cannot be disrupted by any means (not even miracles). A Believer inside a Village cannot be killed by war, stomped upon by an Avatar, or die because of an Avatar falling in his hex. Similarly, a Village that contains at least one Believer cannot be destroyed by siege.

Phase 1B – Collect Glory

Important. You cannot choose this option if your action cylinder is on the checkered flag on the top-left corner of your Path of Power.

Check your level on the Glory track and subtract from it the penalty corresponding to the column you action cylinder currently is in. If there is an available Glory tile of that value or lower, you may take it. If your total is 7 you can take the single 9-point Glory tile (if it's still available).

Then, put your action cylinder back on the checkered flag.

Phase 2 – Miracles

You may spend remaining Faith point to perform the miracles written at the bottom of your mat. Each miracle costs 1 to 5 Faith points, according to its power level. Each miracle may be performed at most once per turn.

Phase 3 – Resources

In this phase you'll check the levels of your resources for your next turn.

Put all your level indicators (the 5 black cylinders that are not the action cylinder) on the spot "1" of their respective tracks. Then:

• Each normal terrain hex that contains no Village and contains at least 1 of your Believers or your Avatar raises by 1 the level of the corresponding resource track on your mat.
• Each Special Terrain hex (and the purple vortex on the Center of the World tile) has 2 or more resource icons. Assign each of your Believers and the Avatar on that hex to a single free resource icon (no 2 pieces may occupy the same icon). Each resource icon raises by 1 the level of the corresponding track on your mat.
• For each of your Villages, choose a normal productive terrain hex (non-special, non-Village) adjacent to that Village and raise by 1 the level of the corresponding track on your mat.

Note: While you are performing phase 3 the next player may usually start his turn.

Special Terrain Tiles

All special terrain tiles represent small settlements or little buildings capable of providing resources.

Unlike the normal terrain tiles, that provide a specific resource to any player that has a Believer or Avatar on them, Special tiles only provide a resource to the Believer or Avatar that claimed the corresponding icon. In phase C, your Believer and Avatar may be moved on any free icon of your choice: that token will produce that resource for you and deny access to that resource to other players that have tokens on that hex. A Believer or Avatar that moves on a Special tile that has no free icons will not produce anything (but it will still count for domination at the end of the game, see below).

Example in figure at page 8. The player sets all levels to 1. The Avatar in A produces 1 building point, and so does the Believer on the special terrain in F (3 building points total). The Believer in B produces nothing, but the Village produces a resource of player's choice among the adjacent hexes: the player chooses the nearby sea terrain that, along with the Believer in C, raise to 3 the Steps level. Believer in D produces nothing. The two Believers in E only produce 1 faith point, because only one of them may occupy the resource icon.

Game End

The game ends at the end of turn a player has 6 or more combined Glory and War tokens. Each player then adds together the points provided by his Glory, War and Balance tokens, plus the points provided by the Villages he built, plus extra points given by controlling Regions (A) and Special Terrain tiles (B).

Victory Point Tokens Summary

You'll earn Glory, War and Balance tiles for different reasons throughout the game.

• Glory tiles are awarded when you chose to collect glory in Phase A (instead of performing an action). They are square, so they count towards the limit of 6 square tiles that trigger the game end. Their value is public information.
• War tiles are awarded when your Believers move war or siege a Village or when your Avatar sieges a Village. They are square, so they count towards the limit of 6 square tiles that trigger the game end. Their value is hidden information.
• Balance tiles are usually given as a compensation when an Avatar kills Believers, or as bonus points from miracles. They are round, so they don't count toward the limit of 6 square tiles that trigger the game end. Their value is hidden information.

A – Region Control

A region is a continuous set of normal terrain hexes of the same type. A region's victory point value is equal to twice the number of hexes it is composed of (E.g.: a region of 6 contiguous desert hexes is worth 12 points.).

The victory point value of a region at the end of the game is awarded to the player that controls it. A player controls a region if it has a higher domination value on that region than any other player on that region. Your domination value on a region is 1 for each Believer you have in that region, plus 2 for each Village you have in that region, plus 3 if your Avatar is in that region.

If two or more players have an equal domination value on a region, all tied players receive only half of that region's victory point value (i.e.: 1 for each hex the region is composed of).

B – Special Terrain Tile Control

You score each special tile as if it was a single 1-hex region whose value in victory points is the one depicted in the blue star at the top of the illustration (half that amount, rounded down, in case of a tie among players).

Controlling the purple vortex, a Palace hex, or the Chasm bears no point at the end of the game.

Victory

The player with the highest combined score (Glory, War and Balance tokens + points from Villages and terrain control) is the winner. In case of a tie, the reversed player order is the tie breaker: the last player wins any tie, followed by the second-to-last, third-to-last and so on. The player with the First Player token loses all ties.

Divine Miracles and Avatar Powers

All Deities in GodZ are able to cast powerful Miracles to astonish the masses of Believers. Three miracles are "common": so simple that even the most ignorant Deity managed to learn them.

• Heavenly Telekinesis – Costs 1 Faith point – Move a Believer (of any player) from a hex to an adjacent hex.
• Divine Creation – Costs 2 Faith points – Draw a Terrain tile from the pile and place it on the map adjacent to at least 2 other hexes.
• Miracle of Life – Costs 5 Faith points – Take the Believer you placed on this space at the start of the game and put it on any hex in play. This miracle may be performed only once per game.

Miracles of BOO and Power of Martin

• Raise Dead – Costs 3 Faith points – Take one Believer from your reserve and put it on any swamp hex in game.
• Pestilence – Costs 4 Faith points – Each opponent removes any 1 of his Believers from a swamp space. Believers inside Villages cannot be removed using this Miracle.
• Martin – Draw 1 Balance tile when your Avatar removes an opponent's Believer from a swamp terrain hex.

Miracles of GLU and Power of A'Tuà

• Control of the Seas – Costs 3 Faith points – Move a Believer (of any player) that is on a sea hex and move it on any one hex adjacent to the sea region the original hex belongs to.
• Flood – Costs 4 Faith points – Remove a Believer on a hex that is adjacent to at least 2 sea hexes.
• A'Tuà – When your Avatar is on a sea terrain tile it also produces 1 point of Food (beyond the normal Steps).

Miracles of BAU and Power of Fidus

• Sandstorm – Costs 3 Faith points – Take one of the two desert hexes you got at the start of the game and put it over any other normal terrain hex that is adjacent to at least 1 desert (Believers, Avatars and Villages present on that hex remain on that hex). Then, draw 1 Balance tile. You may perform this Miracle at most twice per game.
• Desert Demons – Costs 4 Faith points – Remove a Believer on a hex adjacent to at a desert hex that you have a Believer on.
• Fidus – When your Avatar is on a desert terrain tile it can produce 1 point of Food (instead of the normal Faith).

Miracles of TUD and Power of Torg

• Rockslide Sleds – Costs 3 Faith points – Take one Believer (of any player) on a mountain hex and move it to a hex 2 hexes away in a straight line.
• Earthquake – Costs 4 Faith points – Take the Chasm tile and put it on any normal terrain hex with no Villages. If there were Believers on that hex they return to their owner's reserve and that player draws a Balance tile for each Believer removed this way. The Chasm hex is impassable: no player can move their Believers or Avatar onto it, as if that hex is not part of the map. If there was an Avatar on the target hex, it stays there and can move out of the Chasm normally but it cannot reenter the Chasm later. You can perform this Miracle at most once per game.
• Torg – When your Avatar pushes away an opponent's, you may choose to push it 2 hexes instead of 1. Anything on the skipped hex is unaffected, but the Avatar falls normally in the landing hex and kills any Believer there as normal.

Miracles of FIU and Power of Rocky

• Wild Growth – Costs 3 Faith points – Take one of the two forest hexes you got at the start of the game and put it over any other normal terrain hex that is adjacent to at least 1 forest (Believers, Avatars and Villages present on that hex remain on that hex). Then, draw 1 Balance tile. You may perform this Miracle at most twice per game.
• Summon Trunklings – Costs 4 Faith points – Remove a Believer on a forest hex, provided that you have at least one Believer on any hex of the forest region that hex belongs to.
• Rocky – When your Avatar is on a forest terrain tile it also produces 1 point of Building (beyond the normal Food).