Little Alchemists
Little Alchemists Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 4 screens, each with ingredient holders
- 1 market board
- 33 ingredient tiles: frog / jewel fern / chicken foot – 6pcs each; scorpion / feather / mandrake – 5pcs each
- 60 result tokens: 20 flying potions, 20 luck potions, 20 fire potions
- 4 triangular trackers
- 1 sheet of key stickers (do not peel these off yet)
- 3 customer tiles and 1 closed market tile
- 48 coins in values 1 and 5
- 4 tiny bottles
- 6 mysterious boxes (do not open any of them yet)
You need the companion app to play. Scan the QR code in the rulebook to download the app, or search for "Little Alchemists" on Google Play or the App Store. The app works on phones and tablets. (Find it at CGE.AS/LA-RULES.) Be sure your app is Little Alchemists Companion. There are other "alchemist" apps out there, including the app for the original Alchemists board game.
6 Mysterious Boxes
What's in the boxes? Secrets! Don't open them yet.
Each of these mysterious boxes contains surprises, which you'll add to the games you play after your first. You'll learn how to open these boxes at the end of your first game.
Each level of Little Alchemists is designed to be played as a complete game. The actions of all players will contribute to unlocking the next level. If any level feels too complex, you can always choose to play an easier one. The goal is to find an appropriate challenge that all of your players enjoy.
Some pages of this rulebook are sealed. You should break these seals only when instructed to.
Building the Boards
Before your first game, use the double-sided tape to construct the two-layer boards. Fold the ingredient holders and slide them into the notches on your screen.
Setup
Ingredient Tiles
For a 3-player game, remove tiles with 4. For a 2-player game, remove tiles with 3+ and 4. Tiles marked with 3+ and 4 symbols should be included in your game. Don't worry about these symbols for now – they have no special effects.
Shuffle the tiles and deal 5 tiles face up to these spaces. Deal 3 tiles at random to each player. Stack the rest of the ingredient tiles face down on top of the customers.
Customer Tiles
Shuffle the customer tiles and stack them on the closed market tile, face up.
Closed Market tile: Place the closed market tile at the bottom of the stack.
Coins and Result Tokens
Keep the coins and result tokens in piles where everyone can reach them easily.
Player Screens
Your screen. During the game, you will place ingredient tiles here when you scan them with the app.
You start with 2 coins. Keep them beside your screen.
You start with 3 ingredients. Keep them hidden behind your screen. You can look at your own, but you can't look at what other players have.
This triangular tracker is also secret. You will use it to record the results of your alchemical experiments.
Keep this tiny bottle by your screen for now. Each player takes the color that matches their screen.
Start the App
Open the Little Alchemists app and start a new game. Write down the code at the top of the screen. This code allows you to continue the game on a new device if this one runs out of power. We also recommend playing with the sound on: this will keep all of your players honest!
How to Play
In Little Alchemists, you'll discover the secrets of alchemy by brewing potions. On your turn, you'll mix two different ingredients to find out what potion they make. After several turns, customers appear in the market. They are willing to buy particular potions from you for coins, so it is useful to know how to make different kinds of potions. After all the customers are gone, the game ends, and the player with the most coins wins!
How to Make a Potion
On your turn, you make 1 potion.
- Put 2 of your ingredient tiles in the holder hidden by your screen. No one else is allowed to see them.
- In the app, tap Make a Potion.
- Scan the tiles with the app. If you have problems with scanning or with the app, check Helpful Hints on page 22.
- The app will show you what potion you made. Show the potion to the other players. (They will know your result, but they won't know what ingredients you used.)
- Using your triangular tracker, find the space that shows each ingredient that you used. If that space is empty, take a result token that matches your potion and push it inside.
Example: Let's say you scan a scorpion and a feather, and the app shows you a flying potion. This means you will get a flying potion every time you scan these two ingredients. Mark this information in your triangular tracker by placing a result token at the point where the scorpion and the feather columns meet.
Note: The app changes the ingredient combinations with each new game. So, two ingredients could make a flying potion in one game, but a fire potion in a different game.
Buying Ingredients
There are five face-up ingredients available in the local market. During your turn, you can purchase these ingredients from the friendly neighborhood herbalist.
You can buy ingredients at any time during your turn, spending one coin per tile. Don't fill any empty market spaces until the end of your turn.
End of Turn
At the end of your turn:
- Discard the 2 tiles you scanned: place them face down in the middle of the table, forming a discard pile.
- Draw 2 new tiles from the top of the stack. (Do not draw any of the five face-up tiles.)
- Refill any empty spaces on the market board.
- The game continues clockwise. Pass the device you're using to the player on your left.
Note: You draw 2 ingredients even if you bought some during your turn.
Now that you know how to make potions, you can start playing the game! To prepare for customers arriving in the market, you should try to figure out how to make as many different kinds of potions as possible.
As soon as the stack of ingredient tiles is empty, return to this rulebook to learn about customers.
Mixing 2 of the Same Ingredient: If you mix 2 of the same thing – two feathers, for example – you will not make a potion, but you will be allowed to trade them for a different ingredient. Instead of taking a result token, take one face-up ingredient tile from the market board, without spending a coin. This counts as a Make a Potion action for that turn, so follow the End of Turn steps as usual. It's always better to make a potion with two different ingredients. You should only do this as a last resort, when you have useless ingredients in hand and can't buy more ingredients.
Boring Market: In the rare case that 4 – or even 5! – of the tiles on the board all have the same ingredient, shuffle them all back into the stack and deal out new ones. (If this doesn't fix the problem, you can try again next turn.)
Customers!
When you run out of ingredients in the stack, move the revealed customer to the empty space on the market board.
Shuffle the discarded ingredients pile and place it face down on top of the remaining customers. If there were not enough ingredients remaining in the stack for a player to draw 2 at the end of their turn, they can finish drawing ingredients now.
For the rest of the game, there will always be a customer visiting the market. Customers are almost as excited by your alchemy skills as they are to buy a potion! They will handsomely pay any little alchemists who can create a particular potion before their eyes.
Selling a Potion
Below the picture of each customer, you can see what kind of potion they want to buy, and how much they will pay for it. For example, a customer might pay you 3 coins if you make a fire potion.
After you make a potion on your turn, check to see if it matches the potion the customer wants. If it does:
- Take the indicated amount of coins from the bank.
- Place your tiny bottle on top of the customer.
Each customer wants to buy potions from as many different alchemists as possible. As a result, you are not allowed to sell a potion to the same customer twice. The tiny bottle you placed on the customer indicates that they will not buy a second potion from you. (They are still eager to buy potions from the other alchemists!)
If the potion you make does not match the current customer, well, you don't make a sale this time. But maybe you can learn something that will help you make the right potion next time!
Next Customer
Each time the stack runs out of face-down ingredients, a new customer enters the market. The previous one goes home for the day and is replaced by the newly arriving customer. Before leaving, they will kindly return all of the tiny bottles to their owners.
As before, shuffle the discarded ingredients and place them face down on top of the remaining customers.
Hint: You can always see which customer is coming next and what potion they want to buy.
End of Game
The final tile in the stack is a closed market: when this tile is revealed, the market closes for the day, and the game is over!
Press the End Game button in the app, and count up everyone's coins. The player who has the most wins.
Next Level?
At the end of the game, the app will give you a test. All players work together, pooling their knowledge from the potions they made during the game. If you pass the test, the app will allow you to unlock level 2.
You can break this seal when you reach level 2.
Level 2
Your grandpa is impressed by the potions you have made with his old equipment. He wishes the town had a true alchemy school, so that all of you could learn how to use your talents properly. He decides to start one, and you are his first students. Now you can do more than just make potions – you can start discovering the true secrets of alchemy!
Congratulations on reaching level 2! Open the level 2 box to find your new components.
New Components and Setup
In addition to the level 1 setup, place all new components beside the market board.
- 6 theory tokens
- 5 gems
- 8 broken gems
- 1 theory board
Place gems worth 4 points on top of two gems worth 3 points.
Sharing a Theory
For all subsequent levels of Little Alchemists, players will be competing to share the secret alchemical properties that each ingredient possesses with other students.
On your turn, instead of making a potion, you can use the app to share a theory. You can't do both on the same turn.
When you want to share a theory, the app will display all 6 ingredients. If you know the two different potions that an ingredient can make, and its theory token is still available, select that ingredient. You will then be asked to select which two potions that ingredient can make.
The app will then tell you whether your theory was correct or incorrect.
If you are correct, place that ingredient's theory token in the theory board to show which potions it makes. Then, take the top gem from the stack.
If you are incorrect, tell the other players that you were wrong – don't tell them what you were wrong about! Take a broken gem. These broken gems are worth −1 point at the end of the game. Finally, place the top 2 tiles from the stack onto the face-down discard pile. These were acquired by some older alchemists while you were busy in the lab.
Example: Beth thinks frogs can make either fire or flying potions. She selects a frog in the app and then selects this combination. The app says she is right, so she marks it in the theory board and takes the top gem from the stack. (She used the space below the two potions, but she could have used the space above instead.)
Ending Your Turn
If you chose to share a theory, you won't draw any ingredients at the end of your turn. You may, however, still buy ingredients from the market.
Gems
Each gem is worth the number of points shown on it. The big difference between gems and coins is that gems cannot be used to buy ingredients.
End of Game – Solving the Puzzle
When correct theories have been shared for all but one of the ingredients, the game is over. (The theory for the last ingredient is obvious, since the theory board has only one space left.)
Ending the game this way will allow you to gain keys. Count all large tiles (customers and the closed market tile) that are still in the stack. This is how many keys you've gained. (Don't count customers that visited the market.)
Peel off this many keys and stick them on the locks of the level 3 box. Once all locks are covered, you've unlocked level 3! Scan the box with the app and open it. Then, you may also remove the seal from this page. If you have extra keys, use them on the next box in numerical order.
The game can also end by revealing the closed market tile (like a level 1 game), but in that case, you get no keys.
Scoring
At the end of the game, add up all points from gems and coins. The player with the most points wins!
Level 2 Turn Summary
Choose to make a potion or share a theory. (Not both.)
Make a potion.
- If there is a customer, you may sell your potion.
- Discard the 2 tiles you scanned. Draw 2 new ingredients from the top of the stack.
Share a theory.
- If your theory is correct, take the top gem.
- If your theory is incorrect, gain a broken gem and discard the top 2 ingredients tiles without looking at them.
- When you share a theory, you do not draw and keep ingredients from the stack.
Level 3
New Potions!
Thanks to the success of your school's potion sales, your grandpa managed to buy some new equipment for you. With the help of flaming burners and twisty copper tubes, you are now able to brew two new types of potions: Love Potion and Ghostly Potion.
The alchemical properties of each ingredient have transformed! From now on, each ingredient has the potential to make not 2, but 3 different types of potions.
New Components and Setup
- 24 result tokens: 12 love potions and 12 ghostly potions. Place the result tokens for the new potions next to the other result tokens.
- 2 stickers. Create the level 3 theory board by attaching the stickers to the back of the level 2 board. (Do not put the stickers over the front. You might want to go back to level 2 someday.)
- 2 new customers. Mix the new customers in with the original customers. Note that they are willing to pay more coins for the new potions!
Guessing a Correct Theory
From level 3 onwards, other players have a chance to join in when one player shares a correct theory.
- After the app confirms that your theory is correct, show the screen to the other players.
- In turn order, all other players get one chance to guess, out loud, which ingredient can make the potions shown.
- After everyone has made their guess, press the Reveal Ingredient button on the app.
- Each player who guessed correctly gains 1 coin.
- You gain the topmost gem and place the ingredient's theory token on the theory board.
End of Game
You end the game, gain keys, and unlock later levels using the same rules you learned in level 2.
Level 4
Pets!
Drawn by the smell of magic potions, curious animal friends arrive to watch you work. They'll settle down with the alchemist who makes the potion they like the best.
New Components
Level 4 adds animals, which alchemists can keep as pets: 4 pets. These tiles start near the main game board, but each player will get a pet on their first turn.
Getting a Pet
After you make your first potion, find the animal that matches the potion you made. Take that animal as your new pet … unless they have already been taken.
If the pet that matches your potion is unavailable, you can take any one of the remaining pets. This way, everyone will have a pet after the first round. Return any leftover pets to the box.
You can attach your pet to your screen, like this, to keep an eye on it all the time.
Coins from Pets
Each pet likes a different kind of potion.
On any turn after your first, when you make a potion that matches the potion your pet likes, gain 1 coin.
The cat likes 2 different potions, so you gain a coin when you make either of them.
The Rules So Far
From here on out, the game is going to start getting pretty complex! Here's a summary of all the rules you've learned so far.
On your turn, you will either Make a Potion or Share a Theory:
Make a Potion
- Take two ingredients from your hand, and press the Make a Potion button in the app to scan them.
- Use a result token to record what potion you made in your triangular tracker.
- If this is the first potion you've made this game, take the available pet that matches the potion. If that pet is no longer available, you may take any available pet instead. For the rest of the game, whenever you make a potion that matches your pet, gain a coin.
- If there is a customer in the market that matches the potion you made, you will sell it to them. Receive the indicated number of coins, and place your tiny bottle on top of that customer. You will not be able to sell them a second potion.
- Discard the ingredients you used, and draw two more ingredients from the stack.
Share a Theory
- If you know all the different potions that an ingredient can make, use the Share a Theory button in the app.
- Select an ingredient, then select which potions that ingredient can make. If you are correct:
- Show the screen to the other players. In clockwise order, each player will verbally guess what ingredient can make the potions that the app displays. Each player that guesses correctly gains one coin. Place the ingredient's theory token on the correct space of the theory board and take the top gem from the stack, which is worth points at the end of the game.
- If you are incorrect: Take a broken gem. It is worth negative points at the end of the game.
- Do not draw any ingredients from the stack on a turn in which you shared a theory.
Additionally, you may always buy face-up ingredients from the herbalist at any time during your turn. Each ingredient costs 1 coin. Refill any empty ingredient spaces on the market board at the end of your turn.
The first time the stack of ingredients is empty, add the top customer tile to the market. Shuffle all discarded ingredients, and place them on top of the remaining customers. Each time the stack of ingredients is empty, you will replace the current customer with a new one, and return all tiny bottles to the corresponding players.
The game can end in two ways:
- A player takes the last gem in the stack when they share a theory. Players will gain keys for each remaining customer and closed market tile in the ingredient stack, which they will apply to the next locked box in numerical order.
- The closed market tile is revealed. Players will not earn any keys if the game ends this way.
Players score 1 point per coin and score the points listed on their regular and broken gems. The player with the most points wins.
Level 5
Mysterious Mushrooms
One day, while roaming the hills looking for scorpions, you discover an entrance to a hidden cave. Inside, you find glowing purple mushrooms. These are certain to be magical. You can't wait to discover their hidden properties!
Mushrooms are a new ingredient which can be mixed with any other ingredient to make a potion! Gameplay is the same as level 4, but now you have an additional ingredient to figure out.
New Components
- 4 extensions, 1 for each player's triangular tracker
- 1 level 5 theory board
- 1 mushroom theory token
- 4 new ingredient tiles
- 1 new 5-point gem
Setup
Three ingredient tiles are marked with a star symbol. Replace them with the new mushroom tiles. (The starred tiles will no longer be used in levels 5, 6, and 7.)
Use the new theory board. Leave the previous one in the box. The new theory board is big enough to be in two pieces! Connect these together before you start playing.
When setting up the gems, the 5-point gem goes on top of the gem stack.
Before your first game, use the double-sided tape to construct the two-layer extensions. Once the mushroom extension is assembled, attach it to the back of each triangular tracker.
How to Use the New Theory Board
The new theory board tells you a lot more than the old one did – in addition to showing what each ingredient can make, it also shows what two ingredients will make when they cross.
Example: Let's say that you know that the mushroom can make love, fire, and flying potions. And you also know that mixing the mushroom with a chicken foot makes a fire potion. There are only 2 ways to cross something with a mushroom to get fire, so you have only 2 possibilities for the chicken foot.
If you learn how to make a new potion just from the information on the theory board, don't put any result tokens in your triangular tracker. Wait until you actually make that potion. (Later you'll see why.)
Level 6
Business is booming! Happy customers are telling everyone about your quality potions. Hearing this news, a new merchant has come to your market – and they have shiny new artifacts for sale.
New Components
- 6 purple banner artifacts
- 6 gold banner artifacts
Artifacts
In addition to the 5 face-up ingredient tiles, the market will now offer 3 artifacts for players to purchase. There are two different kinds of artifacts: those with a purple banner, and those with a gold banner. Purple banner artifacts all give their owner a cool special ability, along with a small number of points. Gold banner artifacts have no special ability, but they can give you lots of points if you meet their requirements! Each artifact shows its cost, its banner effect, and its points.
Setup
The market starts with 3 random purple banner artifacts. To set this up:
- Shuffle the artifact tiles face down, forming a stack.
- Draw tiles until 3 purple banner artifacts are face up.
- Flip any gold banner artifacts face down again and shuffle them in with the remaining artifacts.
- Stack the remaining artifacts beside the 3 purple banner artifacts. This forms a stack to draw from during the game.
Buying Artifacts
After making a potion or sharing a theory, you may buy one artifact from the market. To buy one, spend coins equal to its cost. Keep any artifacts that you purchase in front of your screen.
At the end of your turn, reveal a new artifact from the stack to replace the one you bought.
Half-Points
In level 6 and 7, a coin is worth only ½ a point. (So a 5 coin is worth 2½ points.) This means that it will often be better to use your coins buying artifacts and ingredients, rather than saving them to score!
Points for Knowledge
All gold banner artifacts provide points only when the game ends. Most of them award points for each result token of a certain kind that you've added to your triangular tracker.
In the artifact's example, the artifact would give you 6 points (3 × 2 = 6).
Indirect Information
On page 17, you were told not to mark any potions you have only deduced from the theory board. The reason for this is that gold banner artifacts can only reward you for potions you have actually made. So keep in mind that you can only take result tokens when you actually make a potion and you don't have that combination marked already.
Level 7
Your alchemy studies are really paying off! Soon enough, you will became true Alchemists. You are now worthy to work with the most dangerous ingredient of all – blue flowers! Careful: they bite.
New Components
- 1 Tea Set artifact
- 4 extensions, 1 for each player's triangular tracker (you are still using the mushroom extensions, too)
- 1 level 7 theory board
- 4 new ingredient tiles
- 23 result tokens: 10 potions of wishes and 13 powerless potions
- 1 flower theory token
- 1 new 5-point gem
Setup
Four ingredient tiles are marked with a moon symbol. Replace them with the new blue flower tiles. (The tiles with the moon will no longer be used in level 7 game.)
Use the extensions to add blue flowers to each player's triangular tracker. Assemble them the same way you assembled the ones for mushrooms.
Use the level 7 theory board. Leave all other theory boards in the box.
Shuffle the Tea Set artifact in with the other artifacts.
Add the 5-point gem to the top of gem stack. The result will be a stack of gems 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, in that order.
Potion of Wishes
With so many ingredients to try, you may finally discover the potion of wishes, the most magical potion of all. This potion has the effect of any other potion you wish (including powerless potion). Upon making the potion:
- If you wish for it to be a potion your pet likes, you gain 1 coin.
- If you wish for it to be a potion the current customer likes, you sell it for full price.
If you choose a potion your customer likes, you don't get the bonus for your pet, unless your pet also likes that same potion.
After making your wish, make sure you use the potion of wishes result token to mark your triangular tracker – not the potion you made a wish for!
Potions of wishes will regain their power when the game ends. At the end of the game, when scoring gold banner artifacts, all potions of wishes in your triangular tracker are considered to be the type of your choice!
Example: Let's say you found 2 different ways to make a potion of wishes. So you have 2 potions of wishes in your triangular tracker. And let's say you have an artifact that gives you points for different ways to make flying potion. You can count both potions of wishes as flying potions, even if you originally sold them to customers as fire or luck potions.
Powerless Potion
At the highest level of alchemy, you should be able to deal with a little bit of disappointment. Some of your experiments will make a powerless potion. A powerless potion has no power. Actually, it's not a potion at all: it's more like a feather-and-mushroom-flavored soup.
When you make a powerless potion, record it in your triangular tracker. Your pet doesn't like it. No customer will buy it. However, a clever alchemist can still use this information to deduce interesting theories.
New potion and pets: If a potion of wishes or a powerless potion is the first potion you make in the game, you can pick any of the available pets.
What Does the Powerless Potion Mean?
The two ingredients that made the powerless potion share no possible potion types. Looking at the new theory board, you'll see that powerless potions can only be made by a small number of specific combinations.
Example: You already know that the toad can make fire, flying, or ghostly potions. You just mixed the toad and the scorpion and made a powerless potion. Using the theory board, you can automatically deduce that the scorpion belongs to the circled empty space!
Rewards for Champions
There are no more levels left for you to unlock. If you like, from now on, you can stick keys you win on the locks below. After filling each line, you're awarded with the trophy shown on the end!
Alchemists, please don't remove these seals right now! You will be told when to remove them.
Helpful Hints
The app is having trouble scanning my ingredient tiles. Usually, this is because you are holding the device too close or too far away. Try to hold it steady. Adjust the distance slightly until both ingredients are clearly visible on the screen. If the camera seems to show a lot of glare, try shifting your stand out of the light. Or, if the tiles seem too dark, try shifting your stand into more light. If you're still having trouble, change the scanning settings on your app to Select by Hand.
My app can't see the ingredients. The top half of the screen is black. Your app needs permission to use the camera. You might have to give it permission by changing the settings on your device. If you have given permission, exit the mixing screen and then try again. When the app has access to the camera, you will see the scanned tiles in the top half of the screen.
Is it possible to start my turn with more than 3 ingredients? Yes. If you buy ingredients from the market, you will start all remaining turns with more than 3. This means that your hand size has been increased!
Can I sell the customer a potion I've already made? You have to sell the customer a fresh potion that you made this turn. You do not give them the result token, just your tiny bottle.
What if I don't know how to make what the customer wants? You can still try to mix them a potion. If you mix the right potion by luck, it still counts!
When is it a good idea to buy ingredients? Sometimes you may need to get more information about one specific ingredient. Or you may already know the results of all combinations of ingredients in your hand. Other times, you might buy ingredients you already know so you can make a specific potion for a customer.
Can I buy more than one ingredient from the market on my turn? Yes, as long as you can afford it. Just don't forget that coins are worth points at the end of the game.
When I make a potion, do I have to say what ingredients I used? No. In fact, you should not tell anyone. Discard the tiles face down to keep them secret.
Credits
A game by Matúš Kotry
Development Team: Matúš Kotry, Iva Nedvídková, Anežka "Angie" Seberová, Jan Zvoníček, Jakub Uhlíř, Vít Vodička
Graphic Design: Michaela Zaoralová, Štěpán Drašťák
Art: Štěpán Drašťák, František Sedláček, Dávid Jablonovský, David Cochard
App development: Matúš Kotry, Radim "Finder" Pech, Tibor Vizi
Trailer and 3D assets: Radim "Finder" Pech, Roman Bednář
Production: Vít Vodička
Rulebook Writer: Jason Holt
Editor: Gus Cook
Project Management: Jan Zvoníček
Project Supervision: Petr Murmak
Big thank you to: Our core testers: Nedvídek family: Adam, Martin, and Jakub; Dominik, Lukáš, and Tomáš Vaněk with their friends; Juventa Milovice Elementary School; Ruda Malý; District 5; Zadražil family: Sonička, Zuzana, Tomáš; Murmak family: Lenka, Terka, Lukáš, Monika; Vodička family: Mára, Kačka, Viki; Oratory: Salesiánské Středisko mládeže Kobylisy; Petr Strozzi Primary Afterschool Club; ScioŠkola Praha; Zdeněk Záhora; Vojtík Záhora; Pettka and Mikeš; Anežka and Pavel Češka; Gamer Pie festival; Laura and Lenka Pospíšil; Kočička's children and Ludík's girls; Kryši, Jaši, and Karolínka; Horálek family: Zdeňka, Vendy, and Lucka; Hasák family: Luisa and Alfred; Šabata family: Glum, Zuzka, Matěj, Kuba, and Ema; Kroupa family: Zuzka and Elvírka; Stefánek Fišer with family and friends.
Special thanks to: My daughter Anna, for being an inspiration to make this game and also its #1 tester! To all Artists and Graphic designers working on this game for hard work and great collaboration. Especially Štěpán Drašťák who did the impossible for us to finish this game in time! To my fiancée Janka and all other partners of people working on this game, for their patience and support. And to everyone at CGE who helped make this game a reality, including the CGE children, who were the best playtesters ever!
© Czech Games Edition, August 2024. www.CzechGames.com
How to play video: cge.as/la-htp