Labyrinx
Labyrinx Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 This rulebook
- 100 path cards
- 12 character cards
- 6 reference cards
- 12 player pawns
- 1 Empty Hall starting location
- 1 6-sided die
- 25 treasure tokens
Character Cards
This card has 3 challenge icons in the top right side that show the challenges in which the character is more attuned to fight. For every icon of the corresponding challenge the player needs one less card to overcome the challenge.
The Empty Hall
The Empty Hall serves as the entrance and exit to Labyrinx. It's where all character tokens are placed before the game starts. The exit space counts as a single big space. It also has a space for the draw deck, the treasure reserve and the discard pile, but characters may not move into these three spaces.
Setup/Preparation
- Choose a starting player by whatever method you prefer.
- Each player chooses a character from the ones in the box. You may assign them randomly if the group prefers.
- The starting player places the Empty Hall in a position he likes on the table.
- Shuffle the path cards and each player draws up to their hand limit (typically 4 cards). The other cards are placed in a face-down pile in the corresponding space of the Empty Hall.
- Place all treasure tokens in the corresponding space of the Empty Hall.
- All players place their character's token in the exit space of the Empty Hall.
Goal/Winning the Game
The goal of the game is to be the first player to collect five treasures. If the game ends before that, the player with the most treasures is the winner.
Turn/Flow of Play
A game of Labyrinx is played in a sequence of turns until any of the end game triggers occurs. Every turn is divided into three phases. The first phase is the Labyrinth expands phase. The second phase is the action phase, and the third phase is the end phase.
The Labyrinth Expands Itself
Place the top card of the draw deck, without looking at it first, in an empty space adjacent to any location in the labyrinth.
Actions
In the action phase the active player must decide either to use a full turn action or to take up to three regular actions. These are:
A) Peek - The player may peek at a face-down card on the table adjacent and connected to his location and return it face down to the same position. Other players may not see it, but he can tell anything he wants about it. Peek may be used if two cards are connected through a door.
B) Move - A character may move from his current location to an adjacent connected location. If the new location is a face-down card, flip it face up and rotate it to place it in any way that leaves the two locations connected. If the new location has a challenge icon, it must be attempted. If there are doors between the two locations, it costs an extra action to move through the door. If you don't have an action to pay for this cost, you will lose the movement and stay in the current location. You cannot move into an empty space with this action.
C) Play a card - A player can add one of the cards in his hand to the labyrinth. It must be placed adjacent to a card already on the table, the Empty Hall, or the side of the table (if there is a card on the opposite side of the table in the corresponding position).
D) Draw a card - You may get a card from the top of the draw deck and add it to your hand. If this causes you to have more cards in hand than your limit, you'll have to pick and discard a card. If the draw pile ever becomes depleted, shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.
E) Push - If there is another character present in the same location, you may push him to another connected location. If there is not a card at the targeted location, draw a card and play it face up in the targeted location. If there is a challenge in the targeted location, the pushed character must immediately attempt it.
F) Character special power - Some characters have a special power that can be used by spending an action. The character's card will explain its effects.
The full turn actions are:
G) Despair - Discard your hand. Take any card without a challenge from the discard pile, and discard and replace the card where you are. If you can't find cards without challenges in the discard pile, draw new cards until you get one without challenges and discard the others.
H) Rest - You can buy up to four cards and then discard as many as required by the character's hand limit.
End Phase
In this phase all the corridors where there are no characters on them are flipped back face down. Corridors with defeated challenges are not flipped back. The active player is now the one on the left.
Challenges
Challenges are the perils that inhabit the labyrinth. Every time you move into a face-down card and reveal a challenge icon, you must face it. There are three types of challenges: Monsters, Traps and Chests. To attempt a challenge you do the following:
a) Roll a die for the difficulty of the challenge.
b) Check how many icons of that challenge type are on the character card. If there are enough to match or overcome the difficulty, the challenge is defeated. If not, you must discard that number of cards to match the difficulty, if you have them.
c) Either way, if the challenge difficulty is matched, the character is victorious and may claim one treasure from the reserve. If not, the consequences depend on the type of the challenge:
Monster - Lose one treasure if the character has any. Then the player on your left may move your character a number of spaces equal to the difficulty of the challenge. For this, he may move the character to open sides of the labyrinth, playing cards from the top of the draw deck. All other rules for placement of cards and movement must be followed. If another challenge is encountered, interrupt the movement to attempt the new challenge.
Trap - Lose one treasure if the character has any. Then the player on your left may move your character a number of spaces in a straight line in any direction of his choosing, ignoring the movement restrictions. Do not flip up cards you move through in this fashion, only the last position. If another challenge is encountered, attempt the new challenge.
Chest - Get a treasure from the reserve and leave it over this card. Any character entering this space may attempt to get this treasure as long as it's there, even in the same turn, as long as he can leave and reenter the space. This card will not be flipped face down during the end phase.
End of Game
There are three triggers that cause the end of the game:
- 5 Treasures: If a player gets a 5th piece of treasure, the game ends and he is the winner.
- All cards are in game: If the draw pile is depleted and there aren't any cards in the discard pile to be shuffled back, the game ends. The player with the most treasures is the winner.
- Table full: The game is limited to the available space on the table you are playing. If there is no more room, the game ends and the player with the most treasures is the winner.
Breaking Ties
If any of these conditions trigger and two or more players have the same number of treasures, the tie is broken with a race back to the Empty Hall. All the doors in the labyrinth are opened, and the challenge icons on cards that get flipped up are ignored from now on. The tied players play their turns as normal, ignoring the Labyrinth expands phase of the turns. The first one to move to the exit space on the Empty Hall is the winner.