Gzhel Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup
• Game Objective
• Game Flow
  • Player Actions
  • Free Actions Using Stamp Tokens
  • Scoring Points
  • End of Round
  • End of Game and Victory
• Flower and Pattern Names
• Goal Cards
• Single-Player Variant
• History of Gzhel Painting

Contents

• 100 double-sided tokens
• 8 double-sided pads
• Game board
• 4 "50/100 VP" tokens
• 36 double-sided goal cards
• Active player piece
• 4 Victory Point tracking pieces

Setup

1. Place the game board at the center of the table.

2. Take the goal cards. One side of each card is marked with the flower goal facing up. Each card also has two symbols at the bottom. Choose one of the six symbols. Then take 12 goal cards with your chosen symbol. This allows for a balanced set of goals. Return the remaining 24 cards to the box.

   For example, if you chose the spiral, then these three cards would be part of your set since all of the cards have a spiral at the bottom.

3. Shuffle the 12 goal cards. The cards are double-sided: one of the sides contains a pattern goal, the other a flower goal.

   Place 3 random cards onto the rightmost slot on the game board with pattern goals facing up. This slot must only contain pattern goals.

4. Place the remaining deck of cards onto the diamond slot with the flower goal facing up. Place the top card from this deck onto the circle slot. These slots must only contain flower goals.

5. Each player takes 2 random pads and places them in front of each other so that one of them has the animal figurines inside a diamond shape facing up (this is the diamond pad) and the other has the animal figurines inside a circle facing up (this is the circle pad).

6. Each player takes a set of 25 tokens — five tokens of each of the five types of flowers. All tokens that are part of one set have a stamp of the same shape on the back: circle, triangle, oval or square. Each player also takes a VP tracking piece of that shape.

7. Each player shuffles their set of tokens with the stamps facing down and randomly places them one by one onto each space of both pads, excluding the spaces with the pattern depicted on the goal card. The player is left with one token that they must place in front of themself and flipped to the side with the stamp — this way it becomes a stamp token, which you will learn more about later.

8. Each player places their VP tracking piece onto the zero space on the game board.

For example, the right goal card depicts a flower pattern so the players leave spaces with that pattern empty on their pads.

Game Objective

In Gzhel the player that receives the most victory points after 8 rounds wins. Players receive points by accomplishing goals. There are two types of goals in the game:

• Pattern goal — shows the pattern needed to score VP (on the goal card, the spaces with this pattern are not used during setup), the set symbols used for setup, and the victory points.
• Flower goal — shows a pattern on the other side of the card, the goal, the victory points, and the card number.

There are three goals in each round:

• Flower goal on the diamond pad (1).
• Flower goal on the circle pad (2).

To receive points for these two goals, place flower tokens in specific ways indicated on the pads. Goals are explained in detail on p.12, organized by card number.

Pattern goal (3). To complete this goal and gain VP (4), place flower tokens of the same type onto the spaces with the indicated pattern on both pads.

At the end of each round the goals move along the game board: the card in the middle slot (circle) moves to the diamond-and-circle slot, flips and becomes a pattern goal, while the card on the diamond slot moves to the circle slot. This way two goals are refreshed and one flower goal can be completed again on another pad. The players can use this information to place their tokens in preparation for the next round.

Game Flow

The game lasts 8 rounds each of which consist of three consecutive steps: player actions, scoring points, end of round.

Player Actions

1. The active player chooses one of five types of figurine: hedgehog, horse, swan, fox, fish.

2. Then all players simultaneously remove all flower tokens from around the chosen figurine on both of their pads. There can be 1 to 4 tokens around a figurine (see "Example of removing tokens"). If there is a stamp token on a space you want to remove a token from (see p. 6), you leave it where it is and flip it to the flower side. Each player keeps all their removed tokens in their play area with the flower side up.

3. All players simultaneously place the flower tokens they removed back onto empty spaces on their pads in any way they wish. Try to place your tokens in a way that would help you complete the goals of the current round or prepare for the next one. All flower tokens that are not placed onto the pads become stamp tokens. The player is free to choose the number of tokens to leave out of the pads and flip onto the stamp side.

4. As soon as all players are done placing their tokens you can begin scoring points.

Example of removing tokens: Emma is the active player and she chooses the fish figurine. The circle pad has 4 tokens around the fish, 3 of which are flower tokens and 1 is a stamp token. The diamond pad has 3 flower tokens around the fish. Thus, Emma removes all 6 flower tokens from the pads and leaves the stamp token in place and flips it onto the flower side.

Free Actions Using Stamp Tokens

As long as a token is lying with the flower side up, it is considered a flower token. When a token is flipped to the stamp side, it becomes a stamp token.

Each player may use their stamp token lying next to the tablets as a free action. Place a stamp token, without flipping it over, on any empty (i.e., not occupied by another token) space of any pad, and perform one of the free actions:

• before removing tokens, choose a different figurine for yourself only. We recommend ignoring this rule during your first game and avoid overriding the active player's choice.
• after removing tokens move any 1 flower token onto an empty space of either of your pads.
• after removing tokens swap any 2 flower tokens on any spaces even if they are on different pads.

You can perform an unlimited number of free actions as long as you have enough stamp tokens. You may place a stamp token on a space without performing a free action. Note that you can only move flower tokens, not stamp tokens, on the pads as part of a free action.

For example, Andrew has two stamp tokens and wants to perform free actions. Andrew places one stamp token (1) on a free space to swap two flower tokens on different pads (2). Then he places another stamp token (3) on another free space to move the flower token to the diamond pad (4).

Scoring Points

Starting with the active player and proceeding clockwise, each player takes turns calculating their victory points for each of the three goal cards on the game board. Experienced players can count points simultaneously.

Note: the stamp tokens on the pads are also counted during scoring. Count them as flower tokens of the kind of flower pictured in the background.

• Diamond goal (diamond pad): The player checks that the conditions of the goal card are met on the diamond pad and scores the corresponding number of points.
• Circle goal (circle pad): The player checks that the conditions of the goal card are met on the circle pad and scores the corresponding number of points.
• Pattern goal: The player chooses 1 of any type of flower for themself and counts the number of them on all 8 spaces with the pattern indicated on the card. If there are 3, 4 or 5 flowers of the same type, the player gets 2, 4 or 7 points respectively, as indicated on the game board next to the goal.

All goal cards are explained in detail on p. 12.

Then the player adds up the points scored for all three goals and moves their piece to the corresponding number on the game board. If the piece passes the starting mark, the player takes the "50/100" token with the shape of their piece and puts it in front of them with the 50 side up. If the piece makes a second lap along the track, the player flips the token to the 100 side up.

When all players have counted their victory points, the round ends.

End of Round

1. The active player flips the goal card on the circle slot and moves it to the diamond-and-circle slot — now this is a pattern goal card for the next round.
2. Then they move the top card from the deck from the diamond slot to the circle slot. Finally, they pass the active player piece to the player on their left. After that a new round begins.

End of Game and Victory

When there is 1 card left in the diamond slot, the last round begins. When the last round is completed, the game ends. At the end of the game, each player gets an additional 2 points for each stamp token on both of their pads (stamps located next to pads do not award points). The player with the most victory points on the game board wins. In case of a tie, the challenger with fewer stamp tokens on both pads wins. If it is still a tie, the candidates share victory.

Example of a turn and scoring victory points during the first round: The active player chooses the hedgehog figurine. Mary does not agree with their choice and uses a stamp token: she places it on a free space with a grid pattern next to the horse and chooses a figurine for herself: "Fox". She then removes all the flower tokens around the fox on both pads — a total of 7 tokens.

After that Mary places 6 flower tokens on the free spaces to complete the goals of the current round, and leaves the seventh token on the table and flips it to the stamp side. Mary does this to still be able to perform a free action in the next round. When all players have finished placing their tokens, Mary counts her points on the goal cards.

1. The first goal card gives points for two different kinds of flowers — one around the hedgehog and one around the fox — on the diamond pad. Mary has 3 orchids around the hedgehog and 2 tulips around the fox, for a total of 5 points.
2. The second goal card gives points for an empty space on the circle pad, all of the adjacent points of which are occupied. Mary has 5 such spaces, for a total of 5 points.
3. The third goal card gives points for one type of flower token on the spaces with grid patterns on both pads. Mary has 3 poppies on such spaces, for a total of 2 points. In total Mary got 5+5+2=12 points in the first round.

Example of a turn and scoring victory points during the last round: The active player in the eighth round chooses the fish figurine. Andrew agrees with the choice and removes 3 flower tokens around the fish on both pads, and flips the stamp token to the side with the flower. In addition, Andrew has 4 stamp tokens from the previous round.

Then Andrew places a stamp token with a poppy (1), to move an orchid to another space (2), and a stamp token with a bellflower (3) to swap a tulip and a rose (4). The remaining tokens — three roses and two stamp tokens — Andrew arranges on empty spaces. There is no point in saving the stamp tokens, as they will bring additional points at the end of the game if they are on the pads.

When all players are ready for scoring and it is Andrew's turn, he checks to see if he completed the goals:

1. The first goal card gives points for each rose on the diamond pad that has 3 or 4 different flower tokens around it. Andrew has one such rose with three different flowers around it, totaling 3 points.
2. The second goal card gives points for tulips on different kinds of spaces on the circle pad. Andrew has two tulips on different spaces, for a total of 2 points.
3. The third goal card gives points for flower tokens of the same kind on spaces with floral patterns on both pads. Andrew has 3 tulips on such spaces, for a total of 2 points. In the eighth round Andrew earns 3+2+2=7 points.
4. At the end of the game he additionally receives 2 points for each of the 5 stamp tokens on his pads, for a total of 10 more points.

Flower and Pattern Names

For the players' convenience, the following names of flowers and patterns are used in the rulebook. You can use them in your game.

Flowers: Orchid, Poppy, Rose, Bellflower, Tulip.

Patterns: Leaf, Lace, Floral, Grid.

Goal Cards

Note: the goal cards' set symbols and the pattern/flower symbols printed on the cards are pictograms; where the rulebook refers to them by picture (for example, the four symbols on cards 6-10), they are described here by their shape.

Cards 1-5. Receive 2 points for each pair of indicated flower tokens on adjacent spaces. Each flower token counts only once.

Cards 6-10. Receive 3 points for each indicated flower token that is adjacent to strictly 3 other different flower tokens, or receive 5 points if there are strictly 4 other different flower tokens adjacent to it. Other types of flowers are indicated by the symbols: a cross-star, a water drop, a sun and a crescent moon.

Cards 11-15. Receive 1, 2, 4 or 7 points for 1, 2, 3 or 4 indicated flower tokens respectively, which are on spaces with different patterns.

Cards 16-20. Receive 2 points for each indicated flower token that is adjacent to 2 identical flower tokens of a different type, and they are positioned diagonally to the flower token. Pairs may be counted more than once, but the indicated flower token is counted only once (see example on page 13).

For example, as per the goal card 20 the player receives 2 points for a bellflower with a pair of tulips (1) and another 2 points for a second bellflower (2) — even though there are two pairs (tulips and roses) located diagonally, the bellflower only counts once with one pair of the player's choice.

Cards 21-25. Choose one type of flower around one of the indicated figurines and receive 1 point for each flower token of that type. Then choose another type of flower around the second figurine and receive points the same way (see example on page 9).

Card 26. Receive 2 points for each flower token of the same type of your choice that is in one continuous chain with other flowers of the same type. There can be 1 to 5 flower tokens in such a group.

Card 27. Receive 2 points for each pair of any identical flower tokens adjacent to each other (multiple pairs with different flower types can be counted), with each token counted only once.

Card 28. Receive 2 points for each pair of flower tokens of the same type that are in the same position relative to the top and bottom half of the pad.

Card 29. Receive 2 points for each pair of flower tokens of the same type that are in the same position relative to the left and right half of the pad.

Cards 28-29: It is not necessary to follow the example on the goal card, the key is to achieve the same position (see example below). For example, this player has 3 pairs of these tokens, totaling 6 points on the goal card 28.

Card 30. Receive 1 point for each empty space the spaces adjacent to which are occupied by any tokens (see example below). For example, this player has 4 such empty spaces and therefore 4 points.

Cards 31-34. Receive 1, 2, 4 or 7 points for 1, 2, 3 or 4 spaces with the indicated pattern respectively, which are occupied by flower tokens of different types.

Cards 35-36. Receive 3 points for each column (goal card 35) or row (goal card 36) on a pad that contains exactly 4 different kinds of flower tokens.

Single-Player Variant

Set up the game as usual. You should have the standard set for one player — 2 pads and 25 flower tokens. Next, play the game using the usual rules, choosing one of the five types of figurines for yourself in each round. At the end of the game, count your victory points according to the usual rules and compare your result with the table. It will show your mastery level.

Number of points	Achievement
0–80	Pupil
81–110	Apprentice
111–130	Craftsman
131–150	Artisan
151 or more	Master

History of Gzhel Painting

This overview was compiled by experts of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Applied and Folk Arts.

Gzhel ceramics is an integral part of the cultural and historical heritage of Russia. When we hear the word "Gzhel", most of us imagine blue flowers on a white background. And indeed, cobalt painting on porcelain has become a "classic" for the current generation. However, the art of Gzhel ceramics is much more diverse and multicolored.

Gzhel is a village near Moscow, which was first mentioned in the XIV century. Later the name spread throughout the surrounding area, rich in clay deposits, which determined the main occupation of the inhabitants of nearby villages — pottery.

By the second half of the XVIII century Gzhel is already known for its bright maiolica wares and becomes the largest ceramic hub of Russia. Multicolored maiolica was eventually replaced by semifaience with a stricter, monochrome, blue cobalt painting. In the XIX century porcelain production took center stage. There were about 50 private factories and painting establishments in the Gzhel district, supplying the whole European part of Russia with porcelain.

By the beginning of the XX century, the number of ceramic productions in Gzhel had noticeably decreased: many small artisanal establishments went bankrupt, while medium-sized factories became part of larger and more successful businesses. Compelled by market competition to fight for customers, factories cheapened their products, focusing on the bulk and speed of production, increasingly simplifying the form and decor.

The revival of the Gzhel craft in the mid-20th century is associated with the names of art historian A. B. Saltykov and artist N. I. Bessarabova. Based on the traditional patterns of XVIII century maiolica and XIX century white-blue semifaience, they created a new style of Gzhel porcelain with blue underglaze painting. Thus began a new era in the history of Gzhel.

The second half of the XX century was the time when Gzhel art flourished. The individual uniqueness of the artists styles becomes the focus of the art. Creativity of artists is based on deep immersion in the theme of folk art, knowledge and use of the finest techniques and methods of work of old Gzhel masters.

The XXI century is another stage of development of Gzhel. Masters always keep up with the times, responsive to fashionable trends in art and everyday life.