Jewels (2025)
Jewels (2025) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- A • 40 dice
- B • 48 jewel cards
- C • 8 commission cards
- D • 4 round cards
- E • 4 Work Bench boards (Tableros de taller)
- F • Velvet dice tray (Bandeja tiradados de terciopelo)
- G • Initiative Gem (Gema de Iniciativa)
Component descriptions
- Jewel cards: the printed legend marks each piece by icon and metal: Icon: Bracelet (Pulsera), Material: yellow gold; Icon: Ring (Anillo), Material: white gold. The gems are ruby, sapphire, amber and emerald.
- Legend (Leyenda): rows are ring (anillo), bracelet (pulsera), pendant (colgante) and earrings (pendientes); columns are rose gold (oro rosa), yellow gold (oro amarillo) and white gold (oro blanco).
- Work Bench board (Banco de trabajo): the board shows the Hand Motor (Motor de mano), the Melting Crucible tool (herramienta Crisol de fundición), the Setting Burin tool (herramienta Buril de engaste), the Gemologist's Loupe tool (herramienta lupa de gemólogo), the Polishing Cloth tool (herramienta Gamuza de pulido), the dice holding area (zona de reserva de dados) and the finished-work area (zona de trabajos acabados), which is below the board.
Setup
- Give each player a Work Bench board (Banco de trabajo). Place the round marker card under the left end of the board, pointing to the number 0 with the tool that protrudes from the table.
- Shuffle the jewel cards and place them face up in the centre of the table to form the jewel showcase (muestrario de joyas), according to the number of players:
- 2 players – 5 cards
- 3 players – 6 cards
- 4 players – 7 cards
- Place all the dice in a reserve to one side.
- Decide who will start. This is the player who most recently gave a jewel as a gift or, failing that, the youngest. That player receives the Initiative Gem and the dice tray.
- Shuffle the commission cards and place them face up where everyone can see them, as many cards as the number of players plus one (in a game of, for example, 3 players, place 4 commission cards).
The game is now ready to begin.
Gameplay
Jewels is played in rounds. At the end of each round the Initiative Gem is passed to the player on the left. The player who receives the gem turns their round card one position, and so on until all rounds of the game have been played. Each round has two phases: the design phase and the manufacturing phase.
Phase 1: Design
The player holding the Initiative Gem rolls the dice in the tray. Depending on the number of players, the following dice are rolled:
- 2 players: roll 8 dice (2 of each colour)
- 3 players: roll 12 dice (3 of each colour)
- 4 players: roll 16 dice (4 of each colour)
Once rolled, and taking the numeric values into account, one of the 6 possible results must be chosen and all the dice showing that number are kept. These dice are stored in the dice holding area of the Work Bench board (see the Work Bench section below). If more than 6 dice show the chosen number, the player must decide which to select, since a maximum of 6 dice can be selected.
Example: Vero has the Initiative Gem in a 3-player game. She takes the tray and rolls 12 dice, and 7 of them show the result "1". She decides to keep 6 dice with this result and leaves one "1" in the tray, together with the other 5 remaining dice.
Example: In a more advanced game, Vero holds the Initiative Gem again, so she rolls 12 dice with the results shown. She decides to keep the four "1"s.
The tray is then passed, without moving the results, to the player on the left (clockwise). That player does the same: they select a number from the remaining results and keep those dice on their Work Bench board, without exceeding 6 dice. If there are more players, the action is repeated until the tray reaches the player holding the Initiative Gem, and the design phase ends there. Surplus dice are returned to the reserve.
Example: Teresa takes the tray and keeps two "2"s. Carlos, after receiving the tray from Teresa, takes the three "4"s. The remaining dice are returned to the reserve and the jewels are designed. Now it is time to make them.
Work Bench (Banco de trabajo)
Each player has a Work Bench board (Banco de trabajo). It represents the typical work table used by jewellery professionals. On it there are five different objects, linked to five activities needed to create a jewel: the Melting Crucible (Crisol de Fundición), the Polishing Cloth (Gamuza de Pulido), the Setting Burin (Buril de Engaste), the Gemologist's Loupe (Lupa de Gemólogo) and the Hand Motor (Motor de Mano de Sacador de Fuego).
Next to each object there is an icon showing the game action of that object and the position where a die can be stored (except on the Hand Motor). As explained in the manufacturing phase, only one die per round may be stored in this way, and it must be the last die.
To use the action associated with an activity, the player must have a die placed in that activity's position on the Work Bench board, and when the action is used, that die is returned to the dice reserve.
Players may use as many actions as they need, as long as each one is activated by a die on their Work Bench board. No more than one die may be placed on each work position.
Note: whenever someone places a die on their Work Bench board, their participation in the round ends, and they cannot use the actions of their board even if they have them.
The melting and polishing activities are used in the design phase, and the setting and gemologist's activities in the manufacturing phase. The abilities are as follows:
Melting Crucible (Crisol de Fundición): Melting is the process by which precious metal is turned into a rough jewel using crucibles, furnaces and moulds. It allows the player whose turn it is to select 4 dice from the reserve, in the colours they choose, to roll them outside the tray and add them to those available in the tray during the manufacturing phase. These dice are only for the use of the player whose turn it is, and any dice not selected must be returned to the reserve. The rule still applies that a maximum of 6 dice may be obtained in total.
Example: In the design phase, Vero has kept one die in the Melting Crucible, and after rolling, the following results are obtained. She decides to use her Crucible die to roll 3 red dice and 1 green die outside the tray, obtaining the results shown. Vero takes the "5"s remaining in the tray and the "5" she has just rolled, and stores them on her Work Bench board. The 3 dice outside the tray and the die that was in the Crucible are returned to the reserve, and she passes the tray to Teresa.
Polishing Cloth (Gamuza de Pulido): During polishing the surfaces of the jewel are worked to reach the desired degree of shine. Machines are used with cloths and special wax for polishing jewels. It allows the player whose turn it is, after selecting a number and their dice, to take all the dice of the number above or below that number during the manufacturing phase. The number below 1 is 6, and the number above 6 is 1. The rule still applies that a maximum of 6 dice may be obtained in total.
Example: In the design phase, Vero has kept one die on the Polishing Cloth, and after rolling, the following results are obtained. She decides to use her Polishing Cloth die to keep all the "1"s and also all the "2"s. After this, she returns the Polishing Cloth die to the dice reserve and passes the tray to Teresa.
Gemologist's Loupe (Lupa de Gemólogo): The gemologist is the specialist who supplies and assesses gems or precious stones to the desired quality, using, among other tools, a high-magnification loupe. It allows the player whose turn it is to use that die on a jewel card with a gem of the same or a different colour, as if it were a wild gem, during the design phase.
Example: In the manufacturing phase, Carlos has a yellow die kept in the Gemologist's Loupe. He still has two blue dice left to use on his board and sees that in the showcase there is a bracelet that is missing, to complete the card, 2 blue gems and one green gem. With his two blue dice and the gemologist's die (which Carlos chooses to be a green die), he can take that card and place it under his Work Bench board. Then Carlos returns the 3 dice to the reserve.
Setting Burin (Buril de Engaste): Setting is the process by which precious stones are fixed into a jewel. Among the tools used, one of the most typical is the setting burin. It allows the player whose turn it is to use that die on a gem of their own colour. When it is used, it also allows a die already placed on a jewel card to be moved to another jewel card of those in the showcase.
Example: In the manufacturing phase, Teresa has a red die kept in the Setting Burin and a yellow and a green die on her Work Bench board. She uses the green die and the red die of the setting burin to take the showcase card with the silver bracelet, placing it under her Work Bench board, and returns those dice to the reserve. Also, seeing that only one gem is left to work on in the rose gold earrings, she decides to move one gem from that card and place it on another card of the same colour.
Phase 2: Manufacturing
Starting with the player who has the Initiative Gem, and depending on the colour and quantity of the dice obtained (the numeric value of the dice is not taken into account in the manufacturing phase), a jewel card from the showcase in the centre of the table is chosen to work on, and all the dice wanted (one or several) are placed on it. Dice may not be split between several cards.
- The colour of the die must match the colour of the gem on the jewel card.
- If a jewel card is completed, that is, as many dice are placed as there are gems shown in the design of the jewel card, the card is taken to that player's finished-work area (below their Work Bench board). When a jewel from the showcase is completed, the dice used on those cards return to the dice reserve.
- Once a player has placed their dice on one of the jewel cards, whether or not the card was taken to the finished-work area, the turn passes to the player on their left, who does the same with their kept dice. Therefore, the player who places the last gem of the jewel being worked on is the one who takes the card to the finished-work area.
- If a player has more than one die kept, they are obliged to work on a jewel card. Turns are played in this way, and jewel cards are completed or not, until all players have used their kept dice.
- If a die cannot be used because, by colour, it cannot be placed on any jewel card, it is discarded and the turn passes. However, whenever someone has a die of a colour that can be placed on a jewel, they are obliged to place it before beginning to discard.
Very important: the last die a player has may, instead of being placed on a jewel card, be placed in one of the 4 available slots on the Work Bench board (explained above).
Jewel cards may remain in the showcase in the centre of the table with some dice placed on them. This means the jewels are still in the manufacturing process and stay there for the next turn.
Example: Vero places her die on the white gold necklace card and takes it under her Work Bench board.
Example: Teresa places her two dice on the white gold earrings, takes the card to the finished-work area and is left with no dice.
Example: Vero still has gems to complete, so she places her red die on the yellow gold earrings, since nobody has any chance of completing that card. Carlos places his green die in the Gemologist's Loupe (see below). Vero, the only player with dice left, places her blue die on the yellow gold earrings. Vero's last die, instead of being placed on a jewel card, is stored in the Melting Crucible (see the rule for the last die above).
Once all players have run out of dice, the showcase of jewels is restocked with the cards needed so that there are the same number as at the start of the game.
Now the player holding the Initiative Gem passes it, together with the tray, to the player on the left. Finally, the player who has just received the Initiative Gem turns their round card to the next ascending number, so that the number of times they have received the Initiative Gem can be seen. A new round then begins.
Example: Carlos completes a jewel card, the rose gold ring, with the gems shown.
Example: The showcase is restocked with three cards and Teresa takes the Initiative Gem, the 12 dice from the reserve (3 of each colour) and the tray, and begins the second round by turning her round card to number 2 (as this is the second time she has received the Initiative Gem). She sees that her opponents have 2 reserved dice on their Work Bench boards.
Final de la partida (End of the Game)
The game ends when the number of rounds indicated for the number of players has been played. All players must obviously have their round card on the same value, as they must have received the Initiative Gem the same number of times.
- 2 players – 10 rounds – each player receives the Initiative Gem 5 times.
- 3 players – 9 rounds – each player receives the Initiative Gem 3 times.
- 4 players – 8 rounds – each player receives the Initiative Gem 2 times.
The Hand Motor (Motor de Mano) is used in the Sacado de Fuego (fire-extraction) phase, one of the most important steps in making a jewel: a rough piece arriving from casting becomes a jewel. In this phase the "sprues" are removed from the pieces, the metal surfaces are filed and sanded, and the piece is shaped as needed. For this, the main tool used is the Hand Motor. In Jewels, the hand-motor piece is used as a round indicator, as explained above, together with the round marker card (which shows a rough piece and 6 zones identified from 0 to 5). In this way, each player indicates the number of times they have received the Initiative Gem, by rotating this card and marking the corresponding number with the motor on their board. The sum of this value across all players is the number of rounds played.
Once the final round has been played, the Work Bench boards are turned over, and with the help of a die the sum of the prestige points is marked on them, as follows: each player uses the scoring spaces on the reverse of their board to find their final prestige value. The points are counted as set out in the Scoring section below.
Commission cards (Cartas de encargo)
Commission cards offer another way to gain prestige points. The first person to complete a card places it close to their Work Bench board. These cards are not restocked. There are two types of commissions: by type and by gem.
- By type (Por tipo): these are obtained through a type of jewel, that is, rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces, regardless of the colour of the metal they are made from. They award 5 prestige points to the player at the end of the game.
Example: this commission awards 5 points to the first person to get 3 bracelet cards.
- By gem (Por gema): these are obtained according to the colour of the gems that you collect with the jewels you make. They award 5 prestige points at the end of the game.
Example: this commission awards 5 points to the first person to get 7 sapphires.
Scoring (Prestige points)
- Each gem on each completed jewel card gives one prestige point.
- Each collection of the same metal (yellow gold, white gold and rose gold), without repeating a piece (ring, earrings, necklace and bracelet), and which has at least one gem of the same colour in common (amber, ruby, sapphire or emerald), scores points following this table:
- Collection of two cards: 2 points
- Collection of three cards: 4 points
- Collection of four cards: 8 points
- Each completed commission card scores 5 prestige points.
The player who finally has the most prestige points is the winner. In case of a tie, the winner is the one who completed more commission cards. If the tie persists, the winner is the one with the longer collection. If the tie still persists, the victory is shared.
Example: These are the finished jewels and the commission that Carlos has completed during the game. He scores 33 points because he has a total of thirty-three gems.
In the yellow gold collection (A), he scores 2, because he has two different jewels (a bracelet and a ring) with at least one gem of the same colour in common (amber).
In the white gold collection (B), he scores 4 points because he has three different jewels (a ring, earrings and a necklace) with emeralds in common.
In the rose gold collection (C), he scores 4 points for having a collection of three different jewels (ring, earrings and necklace) with the green gem in common, and scores 2 more points for having a second collection of two jewels (earrings and bracelet) that share yellow and blue gems. Carlos was also the first to get seven emeralds, thereby obtaining the commission card, which adds 5 more points.
Carlos has a total of 33 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 5 = 50 prestige points.
Introductory mode (Modo de iniciación)
A shorter and simpler version of Jewels can be played for players who are new to the game. It is played exactly the same way, but with the following number of rounds:
- 2 players – 6 rounds – each player receives the Initiative Gem 3 times.
- 3 players – 6 rounds – each player receives the Initiative Gem 2 times.
- 4 players – 4 rounds – each player receives the Initiative Gem 1 time.
The commission cards are left in the game box.
Annex: Jewel manufacturing process (Anexo: Proceso de fabricación de una joya)
The annex is an illustrated explanation of how a jewel is made, printed on the last page of the rulebook. It is reproduced here in its printed order.
The steps shown are: Precious metal, Render and original design, Wax injection, Casting, Fire-extraction, Polishing, Setting, Finishes, and Hallmark and sale guarantee.
- Precious metal: The precious metals used in jewellery today are gold, silver and platinum. Depending on the amount of metal a jewel contains, its Fineness (Ley) is defined. In the case of gold there are three grades: 18 K, 14 K and 9 K (K = carats). A jewel of 18 K has 750 mm/m of gold, that is, 750 parts per 1000 of gold, the rest being other non-precious metals (which is what gives it a yellow, white or rose tone). (Translator's note: the printed Spanish reads "750 mm/m"; the sentence clearly means 750 parts per 1000, as the next clause states.)
- Render and original design: A jewellery designer uses computer design programs to produce a "render" of a jewel, which is sent for printing on 3D printers to obtain the "original" of a jewel. This original is placed in the hands of the master jeweller to perfect all the surfaces, as it will be the product that serves as the reference for the mass production of that model.
- Wax injection: Using the original of the piece and suitable rubber, the injection mould is prepared. With this mould and an injection machine, wax models are made as many times as needed according to the jeweller company's orders.
- Casting: The caster receives the wax pieces and prepares the "sprue", that is, a central part where all the waxes are joined like the branches of a tree. These sprues are introduced into microfusion furnaces fed with the precious metal with which the jewels are to be made, together with plaster (escayola), which serves as the mould when the wax melts at high temperatures. As a result of the casting, the jewels are manufactured in the chosen metal.
- Fire-extraction (Sacado de fuego): Now the surfaces of the metal begin to be worked. The fire-extractor is in charge of working, as well as the surfaces of the jewel, filing and sanding it, to put the jewel in the cut needed in the case of rings, soldering closures in the case of pendants or bracelets, etc. Master jewellers consider this one of the most beautiful stages of the process, once the fire-extraction phase is finished and the beauty of the jewel being made can be identified.
- Polishing: During polishing the surfaces of the piece being made are worked, using cloths and polishing paste to achieve the shine associated with a jewel.