Medieval Academy (2023)
Medieval Academy Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Setup
- Objective
- Turn Sequence
- Phase 1 – Deal Cards
- Phase 2 – Choose Cards
- Phase 3 – Play 4 Cards
- Phase 4 – Score Points
- Phase 5 – Return Pawns
- Phase 6 – Pass the Excalibur Token
- End of Game
- Advanced Rules / Night Side
- Duel Mode
- Setup
- Turn Sequence
- Kitchen (every round): Day side and Night side
- Education (every round): Day side and Night side
- King
- Joust and Tournament: Day side (every round)
- Black Knight and White Knight: Night side (rounds 2, 4, and 6)
- City (round 6 only): Day side and Night side
- Quest (round 6 only): Day side and Night side
- Solo Mode
- Credits
Components
- 1 double-sided game board, with a Day side and a Night side
- 52 Learning cards with values from 2 to 5. They are divided into 6 categories, each corresponding by symbol and color to one of the 7 roads on the game board. The Joust/Tournament category contains 2 cards of value "5", 4 cards of value "4", and 6 cards of value "3". Every other category contains 1 card of value "5", 2 cards of value "4", 3 cards of value "3", and 2 cards of value "2".
- 1 round marker
- 5 score journals for keeping score, each with two dials for tens and units
- 1 Cup token for the Night side of the game board
- 3 double-sided Challenge cards for solo mode
- 2 Parchment tokens for the Night side of the game board (single and double)
- 5 player reference cards for games with 3–5 participants (referred to below as the "3+" reference card), with a "Day" side and a "Night" side
- 35 training pawns in 5 different shapes and colors (7 pawns of one shape and color per player)
- 1 Excalibur token for the first player
- 2 player reference cards for duel mode (referred to below as the "2+" reference card), with a "Day" side and a "Night" side
Setup
The steps below describe setup for 3 or more players on the Day side of the game board. For duel-mode rules and setup, see the Duel Mode section.
A. Place the game board Day side up in the center of the table.
B. Each player chooses a color and takes the 7 training pawns of that color, as well as a "3+" reference card. Place it "Day" side up. Take the score journal matching your pawns (the dials should be set to 0). Keep the journal face down for the rest of the game.
C. All players place one of their pawns, stacked, on the starting space of each of the 7 roads.
D. Place the round marker on the round-1 space on the flag at the center of the board.
E. Shuffle all the Learning cards and place the deck face down next to the board.
F. Decide who will be the first player and give that player the Excalibur token.
Objective
Players try to excel on each of the seven roads of chivalry at Medieval Academy. First they must choose cards. Then they play those cards to move their pawns forward along the roads on the board and earn points. The game ends after six rounds, and the player with the most points wins!
Turn Sequence
The game is played over 6 rounds, each made up of 6 phases in sequence:
- Deal Cards
- Choose Cards
- Play 4 Cards
- Score Points
- Return Pawns
- Pass the Excalibur Token
Phase 1 – Deal Cards
If you are the first player, deal 5 Learning cards face down to each player. If the deck of cards runs out, shuffle the discard pile, form a new deck, and continue dealing.
Phase 2 – Choose Cards
All players simultaneously look at their cards, choose one, and place it in front of themselves face down. Then all players pass their remaining cards to the player next to them, in the direction indicated by the round marker. In rounds 1, 3, and 5, cards are passed clockwise; in rounds 2, 4, and 6, cards are passed counterclockwise.
Players repeat this phase until each player has chosen 5 Learning cards. Players then take their chosen cards into their hand, without showing them to other players.
Note: players may look at their already-chosen cards at any time, but may not swap them for other cards.
Phase 3 – Play 4 Cards
Starting with the first player and always proceeding clockwise, on your turn choose 1 Learning card from your hand and play it face up in front of you. Move your training pawn along the matching road by a number of spaces equal to the card's value (2, 3, 4, or 5 spaces). Then the player to your left takes a turn. Continue this phase until every player has played 4 cards: the last card in hand is not played. At the end of this phase, place all the cards face up in the discard pile next to the Learning deck, whether or not they were played.
Important: always play cards clockwise during this phase, unlike during the Choose Cards phase.
Note: the artwork, color, and symbol on a card will help you identify the road along which you move your pawn.
Example: playing this card, move your pawn forward 3 spaces along the Kitchen road.
Important: a Joust/Tournament card can be played on either of the two roads: if you play such a card, you may move your pawn along either the Joust road or the Tournament road.
Example: when playing this card, the purple player may move forward the pawn that they earlier advanced 2 spaces along the Joust road forward another 3 spaces, OR move another one of their pawns forward 3 spaces along the Tournament road.
If your pawn stops on a space already occupied by other pawns, place it on top of the pawn already on that space, unless it is the last space at the end of the road (see below).
Example: playing this card, the blue player moves their pawn forward 4 spaces along the Quest road. The pink player's pawn is already on that space, so the blue player places their pawn on top of the pink player's pawn. Now, for scoring purposes, the blue player is ahead of the pink player on this road.
During Phase 4 (Score Points), a pawn lying on top of a stack is always considered to be ahead of the pawn directly beneath it.
Important: if a player's pawn has reached the space at the end of a road, other pawns cannot pass it. If your pawn stops on that space, place it underneath the pawns already there.
Phase 4 – Score Points
Score points for the roads in the order listed below and record them in your score journal. Exactly how points are scored depends on the round of the game:
- Kitchen — every round.
- Joust/Tournament — every round.
- Education — every round.
- King — rounds 3 and 6.
- City — round 6 only.
- Quest — round 6 only.
The player whose pawn has advanced furthest along a road is considered first on that road. When scoring, the first player on a road is considered to be in 1st place, the next one in 2nd place, and so on.
The player whose pawn is closest to the start of the road is considered last. If several pawns occupy the same space, the one on top is considered ahead.
If a pawn is still on the starting space of any road, you do not score points for that road, and you may even lose points on the Education road and the City road.
When scoring, add or subtract points in your own score journal, without revealing it to the other players.
Kitchen (every round)
This road does not earn you points directly, but it lets you move one of your training pawns forward on any other road. Move pawns in the following order:
- First, the player in 3rd place on the Kitchen road may move one of their pawns forward 1 space on any other road. (3-player game: the player in 3rd place does not move a pawn.)
- Then the player in 2nd place on the Kitchen road may move one of their pawns forward 2 spaces on any other road.
- Finally, the player in 1st place may move one of their pawns forward 3 spaces on any other road.
Example of the scoring phase on the Kitchen road in a 4-player game:
- The pink player is in 3rd place. They move their pawn forward 1 space on the Tournament road, thereby taking 2nd place on the Tournament road.
- The blue player is in 2nd place. They move their pawn forward 2 spaces on the Education road.
- The purple player is in 1st place. They move their pawn forward 3 spaces on the Education road, thereby taking 2nd place on that road, passing the blue player.
- The green player is in 4th place and does not move any of their pawns.
Joust and Tournament (every round)
- The player in 1st place on the Joust road gets 3 points.
- The player in 2nd place on the Joust road gets 2 points.
- The player in 3rd place on the Joust road gets 1 point.
3-player game: 3rd place earns no points.
Points on the Tournament road are scored in the same way.
Education (every round)
- The player in last place on the Education road loses 3 points.
- The player in next-to-last place on the Education road loses 1 point.
If several players' pawns occupy the starting space, they all take last place and all lose 3 points. In that case, there is no next-to-last player.
King (rounds 3 and 6)
- Players whose pawn has passed the 6th space (or is on the 6th space) on the King road get 6 points.
- Players whose pawn is on the 12th space on the King road get 12 points. (They do not also get the 6 points.)
City (round 6 only)
- The player in last place on the City road loses 10 points.
- The player in next-to-last place on the City road loses 5 points.
If several players' pawns occupy the starting space, they all take last place and all lose 10 points. In that case, there is no next-to-last player.
Quest (round 6 only)
- The player in 1st place on the Quest road gets 17 points.
- The player in 2nd place on the Quest road gets 10 points.
- The player in 3rd place on the Quest road gets 4 points.
3-player game: 3rd place earns no points.
Phase 5 – Return Pawns
After Phase 4 (Score Points) in round 3, move all players' pawns on the Kitchen, Joust, Tournament, Education, and King roads back to their starting spaces and stack them (in any order). This phase is shown on the player reference cards with this symbol.
Leave the pawns on the Quest and City roads on their current spaces.
Phase 6 – Pass the Excalibur Token
At the end of each round, the first player passes the Excalibur token to the next player clockwise. That player becomes the first player in the new round.
Move the round marker to the next space in sequence on the flag.
End of Game
The game ends after Phase 4 (Score Points) in round 6. All players reveal their score journals with the points they earned. The player with the most points wins the game!
In case of a tie, the better cook wins the game — that is, the player whose pawn is on the furthest space along the Kitchen road.
Advanced Rules / Night Side
After you have played Medieval Academy on the Day side, you can also play it on the Night side (the reverse of the game board) for a different experience. With 3 or more players, play by the normal rules with the changes described below. (For duel-mode rules, see the Duel Mode section.)
Setup
Setup is the same as for the Day side, except for the following changes:
A. Place the game board Night side up in the center of the table.
B. Take the "3+" reference cards and place them "Night" side up.
C. Place the Cup token between the Black Cup road and the White Cup road.
D. All players place one of their pawns on the starting space of each of the 7 roads. In this mode, the Joust and Tournament roads are considered the Black Knight road and the White Knight road.
E. Place the single Parchment token on the 6th space, and the double Parchment token on the 12th space, of the King road.
Turn Sequence
Play by the same rules as in Day mode, with the following changes.
Phase 1 – Deal Cards. No changes.
Phase 2 – Choose Cards. No changes.
Phase 3 – Play 4 Cards: Black Knight and White Knight
When you play a Joust/Tournament card, you may play it for the White Knight or the Black Knight. Move your training pawn on the chosen road as usual.
Then move the Cup token left or right, depending on which road you chose (for example, along the White Cup road for the White Knight road). Move the Cup token a number of spaces equal to the value of the card played (the starting center space does not count as a space).
If the Cup token has reached the last space of one of the two Cup roads, playing a Joust/Tournament card for that road no longer advances it further. If a Joust/Tournament card is played for the other knight, you may move the Cup token back the other way.
The same player may "switch sides" during the game, playing Joust/Tournament cards for one knight and then the other. For example: first for the Black Knight, then for the White Knight, and back again.
Example: the green player earlier moved their training pawn along the White Knight road, and the Cup token along the White Cup road. Playing a new card, the pink player may move their pawn along the Black Knight road OR the White Knight road. They decide to move their pawn forward 3 spaces along the Black Knight road. So they must move the Cup token left 3 spaces: this puts the token on the second space of the Black Cup road.
Important: if you use the Kitchen road to move pawns along the Black Knight or White Knight road, you must move the Cup token afterward, exactly as when playing a card.
Phase 4 – Score Points
First-player bonus: right before scoring, the first player may choose any one of their own training pawns that has other pawns on top of it, and place it on top of that stack.
King (rounds shown on the corresponding board spaces)
A player whose training pawn is the first to reach or pass the 6th or 12th space of the King road takes a Parchment token and places it next to their score journal.
Joust and Tournament (rounds 2, 4, and 6)
When the scoring phase arrives, the winner of the joust is determined. The winning knight is whichever knight the Cup token favors at the start of this phase.
On the winning knight's road:
- The player in 1st place gets 8 points.
- The player in 2nd place gets 5 points.
- The player in 3rd place gets 2 points.
3-player game: 3rd place earns no points.
On the losing knight's road:
- The player in 1st place gets 5 points.
- The player in 2nd place gets 3 points.
- The player in 3rd place gets 1 point.
3-player game: 3rd place earns no points.
King (scoring)
The scoring phase for the King road only happens if at least 1 Parchment token has been claimed by a player.
- If only 1 token has been claimed, each player scores points according to the space where their training pawn stands.
- If both tokens have been claimed and were earned in the same round, each player scores double the points for the space where their pawn stands.
Phase 5 – Return Pawns
Black Knight and White Knight road: after Phase 4 (Score Points) in rounds 2 and 4, move all training pawns back to the starting space. Also return the Cup token to the center, between the White Cup road and the Black Cup road.
King road: if the double Parchment token was claimed this round, return both Parchment tokens to their spaces, and return all players' training pawns to the starting space.
Phase 6 – Pass the Excalibur Token
No changes.
Duel Mode
Setup
Take the 2+ reference cards. Otherwise, setup proceeds the same way as for 3–5 players.
Turn Sequence
Play by the same rules as for 3–5 players, with a few changes.
Phase 1 – Deal Cards: No changes.
Phase 2 – Choose Cards: Disregard the direction shown on the flag for passing cards.
Phase 3 – Play 4 Cards: The two players take turns playing one card each, starting with the first player (who changes each new round).
Phase 4 – Score Points: Changes to scoring are shown on the player reference cards:
Kitchen (every round): Day side and Night side
The player in 1st place on the Kitchen road may move one of their training pawns forward 1 space on any other road, plus 1 additional space for every visible Kitchen symbol between their pawn and the other player's pawn.
Example: the pink player is in 1st place on the Kitchen road and sees only 1 Kitchen symbol between themselves and the blue player. The pink player may move one of their pawns forward 2 spaces on another road, and decides to move their pawn forward on the King road, to pass the blue player.
Education (every round): Day side and Night side
The player in last place on the Education road loses 3 points at the end of every round.
King
Day side (rounds 3 and 6): No changes compared to the rules for 3–5 players. See scoring for the Day side above, and for the Night side in the Advanced Rules section.
Night side (rounds shown on the corresponding board spaces): No changes compared to the rules for 3–5 players. See scoring for the Day side above, and for the Night side in the Advanced Rules section.
Joust and Tournament: Day side (every round)
- The player in 1st place on the Joust road gets 3 points.
- The player in 2nd place gets 1 point, provided their pawn is not on the starting space.
Score points on the Tournament road in the same way.
If a player takes 1st place on both roads, they get an additional 2 points.
Black Knight and White Knight: Night side (rounds 2, 4, and 6)
No changes compared to the rules for 3–5 players. See the King section in the Advanced Rules section for details.
City (round 6 only): Day side and Night side
The player in 1st place on the City road gets 3 points for every 3 spaces between their pawn and the other player's pawn. So a lead of 3, 4, or 5 spaces gives 3 points. A lead of 6, 7, or 8 spaces gives 6 points. (A lead of 1 or 2 spaces does not count.)
Example: the pink player leads the blue player by 7 spaces. The pink player gets 6 points.
Quest (round 6 only): Day side and Night side
The player in 1st place on the Quest road gets 7 points at the end of the game, plus another 2 points for every visible Quest symbol between their pawn and the other player's pawn.
Example: there are 2 visible Quest symbols between the blue and pink players. The blue player gets a total of 11 points.
Solo Mode
Our Medieval Academy offers individual courses for students who wish to master all the finer points of chivalry on their own. In this solo mode, you play against 2 automated opponents — Sir Agravain and Lady Brisen. Can you score more points than them and win?
Additional Components
3 double-sided Challenge cards. The number in the top-left corner of the card indicates its difficulty level (1 is easiest). Each Challenge card indicates an increased value (+1, +2) for one or more types of Learning cards (Joust, Quest, King, etc.). This bonus value applies only to your opponents, during Phase 3 (Play 4 Cards).
Setup
You can play solo on either the Day side or the Night side. Choose a pawn color for yourself and for each of your opponents. Then carry out the usual setup, as for a 3–5 player game.
You will hold the Excalibur token for the entire game.
Choose a Challenge card and place it in front of you. We recommend starting at difficulty level 1, then moving up to higher levels.
Turn Sequence
You will always go first for the entire game. The turn order is: you, then Agravain, then Brisen.
Phase 1 – Deal Cards
Form a row of 5 stacks of 3 cards each and place them face down. Then turn over the top card of each stack and place it face up.
Phase 2 – Choose Cards
In turn order, you and your opponents each choose 1 card and place it in front of yourselves face up, then turn face up the next card in the stack beneath it. Place chosen cards face up into 3 piles: one for yourself, one for Agravain, and one for Brisen.
The automated opponents always take the card with the highest value in the row. If several cards share the same value, they take the leftmost of those cards.
Example: the row contains a Kitchen card of value 5 and a King card of value 5. Agravain takes the Kitchen card because it is the leftmost. Agravain adds it to the cards he has already taken.
Continue until you and your opponents each have 5 cards. Then take all of Agravain's cards and shuffle them to form a deck. Place the deck face down. Do the same with Brisen's cards.
Phase 3 – Play 4 Cards
In turn order, you and your opponents take turns playing your cards, until each has played 4 cards.
On their turn, the automated opponents play the top card of their deck and move their pawn forward on the matching road by the number of spaces shown on the card's value. In addition, opponents add the value shown on the Challenge card if the road matches the Challenge card.
Example: Agravain, playing yellow, plays a King card of value 4. Since the Challenge card indicates +2 for the King road, move Agravain's pawn forward a total of 6 spaces (4+2) along the King road.
When playing a Joust/Tournament card, move the opponent's pawn along the Joust road if doing so lets them pass another player (you or the other automated opponent) on that road. Otherwise, move their pawn along the Tournament road.
Example: since all pawns are on the starting space in the same position, Agravain moves up 3 spaces along the Joust road, since this lets him pass Brisen, who is playing blue. If Agravain could not pass anyone on the Joust road, he would move along the Tournament road instead, even if he could not pass anyone there either.
Similarly, if you are playing on the Night side, the opponent always chooses the Black Knight road if doing so lets them pass another player. Otherwise, move them forward along the White Knight road, regardless of whether or not they pass another pawn. In addition, move the Cup token in the corresponding direction (see the Advanced Rules section).
Phase 4 – Score Points
Kitchen: if an opponent can use the Kitchen road, they move their pawn on whichever road lets them pass another player (you or the other automated opponent). Check the roads in the following order: Joust → Tournament → Education → King → City → Quest. If none of these roads lets the opponent improve their position, they move along the Kitchen road itself (unlike the normal rules).
Score points on the other roads normally, as in a 3–5 player game.
Phase 5 – Return Pawns
Follow the rules for a normal 3–5 player game.
Phase 6 – Do Not Pass the Excalibur Token
The turn order never changes.
Credits
Designer: Nicolas Poncin. Solo mode designer: Alexis Allard. Artist: Antoine Lanau. Art director: Lola Esteve. Graphic design: Antoine Lanau and Anna Heidsieck. Rules editors: Dominique Baudin and "Blue Cocker". Proofreader: Sandra Grès. English translators: Natasha Charlon and Benoit Turpin.
Acknowledgements
Blue Cocker Games extends its heartfelt thanks to the following people: Benoît, Lola, Alexis, Anna, Dominique, Xavier, Sandra, Adeline, Natasha, and Bruno, as well as André Francès, Bruno Desch, Mathieu Halfen, Jean-Emmanuel Guilbert, Michel Schounacker, Alain Blaizot, Nathalie Geoffrin and Renaud Chaillat, Frédéric Maupomé, Yannick Mescam, and especially Jacques Gardeil and Pierre Périsset. Without them, this game probably would not have been published.
The game's designer thanks Émile, Jacques Gardeil, Pierre Périsset, and everyone who spent their time helping to test the game.
BLUE COCKER GAMES — Tel: +33 5 34 28 05 01 — 49 avenue du Lauragais, 31400 Toulouse, France — www.bluecocker.com
© Blue Cocker Games 2023. All rights reserved under exclusive licence to Blue Cocker.
Russian edition: OOO "Mir Hobby" (Hobby World). General management: Mikhail Akulov. Production management: Ivan Popov. Director of the publishing department: Alexander Kiselev. Editor-in-chief: Valentin Matyusha. Managing editor: Pavel Kovrizhkin. Additional proofreading: Anastasia Egorova. Translator: Mikhail Suntsov. Chief layout designer: Ivan Sukhovey. Layout designer: Ekaterina Lyskova. Proofreader: Olga Portugalova. Licensing manager: Ivan Gudzovsky.
© 2023 OOO "Mir Hobby". All rights reserved. Rules version 1.0. hobbyworld.ru