Minerals Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Objective
Components
Player Board
Setup
Course of the Game
End of the Game and Scoring
Variant for the Youngest (6+)
Variant for Younger Players (7+)
Tool Tiles
Rules Summary
Credits

Game Objective

You are geologists setting off for an expedition. Your goal is to excavate and collect precious Minerals. Plan your moves carefully and watch closely your opponents' movements.

During the game, you will move across the board and excavate Minerals. The most expensive and rare ones are obviously the hardest to obtain. To make your job easier you can use Tools, but remember that it will cost you some points. You can change your Minerals into a Collection which will bring you honor and fame. When the game ends, sum up the value of your Minerals and Collections. The player with the most valuable treasures wins!

Components

118 Mineral tiles, including:
- 53 wollastonite tiles (white)
- 30 kyanite tiles (blue)
- 20 watermelon tourmaline tiles (pink)
- 10 anthracite tiles (black)
- 5 orpiment tiles (gold)
24 Collection cards
5 silicone pawns in the player colors
5 player boards in the player colors
5 double-sided Tool tiles
1 pouch
Rulebook

Player Board

The player board shows:

the space where you place the Minerals spent to use Tools ("Place here the Minerals required to use Tools");
the negative points for Minerals spent to use Tools;
the points on Collection cards;
the number of spaces you must move your pawn (the MOVE column);
the Mineral value in points at the end of the game (the POINTS column);
your player color.

Mineral	Spaces you must move	Value at the end of the game
wollastonite (white)	1	1 point
kyanite (blue)	2	2 points
watermelon tourmaline (pink)	3	3 points
anthracite (black)	4	4 points
orpiment (gold)	5	5 points

A Crevice is an empty space between the Minerals of the board.

Setup

ATTENTION! If you are playing Minerals for the first time, carefully punch the cardboard components out of the frames. Put all the Mineral tiles into the pouch.

Take all the Minerals out of the pouch and together build a board of any shape. Place the Minerals with the colored side up, in such a way that each one touches other Minerals with at least two of its sides. In this way you create a board that is not divided into smaller fragments. While following this rule, you may still create Crevices (that is, empty spaces of any size between the Minerals).
Choose a player color and take the player board and the pawn in that color. Determine the first player. This is the person who has found something valuable most recently (or the oldest player).
Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each of you removes one Mineral of your choice from the board (choosing any colors), until a total of 5 Minerals has been removed. You may remove Minerals both from the edge of the board and from its middle, creating Crevices in this way. Use your pawns to remove the Minerals — they are designed so that a Mineral can easily be taken out of the board without destroying its layout. Put the removed Minerals back into the pouch.
From the Collection cards marked with the symbol (in the upper right corner of the card), draw 4 at random and place them face up next to the board. Shuffle all the remaining cards, form a face-down deck from them and place it next to the face-up cards.
In a place visible to every player, lay out the 5 Tool tiles (each one assigned to a different Mineral color), keeping the following order: white, blue, pink, black, gold. The tiles may be laid out with either side up.
Pass your pawn to the player sitting on your left. Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each player places the opponent's pawn on any wollastonite (white Mineral).

You are ready to begin the adventure in the world of Minerals.

Our games are packed with special care. If you notice that a component is missing from your copy, please contact us by e-mail at: [email protected].

Course of the Game

The first player begins the game, then the turn passes to the player sitting on their left. On their turn, each player:

must move their pawn, and
may use one Tool and/or exchange the Minerals they own for one Collection card.

Moving Your Pawn (mandatory)

The move lets you travel across the board and, above all, excavate Minerals. It is important to plan it well and not to lose the Mineral your pawn was standing on.

First excavate the Mineral you begin your move from — that is, press the suction cup onto the Mineral your pawn stands on. Gently lift the pawn from the board and detach the Mineral. Then move the pawn from the place you excavated the Mineral from onto another Mineral on the board, following the rules described below.

Rules of a correct move

A. Move your pawn in a straight line by exactly as many spaces as the value of the Mineral your pawn currently stands on (the illustration on the player boards is a reminder of this).

wollastonite — move 1 space
kyanite — move 2 spaces
watermelon tourmaline — move 3 spaces
anthracite — move 4 spaces
orpiment — move 5 spaces

Every Mineral has its value, which determines how many spaces you must move. For example, if your pawn is on kyanite (blue Mineral), you must move exactly two spaces in a straight line.

B. The pawn may move in any direction. Every Mineral has 6 sides, and 6 lines along which the pawn may move can be drawn from it.

C. You may pass over Crevices the size of one Mineral and over Minerals occupied by other players' pawns. They count towards the number of spaces moved.

D. Your pawn must end its move on a Mineral not occupied by another player.

Note: If you are able to make a correct move, you must make it. Only one pawn may be on a Mineral.

A move is incorrect when:

you move the pawn by fewer or more spaces than you should,
the move is not made in a straight line,
the size of a single Crevice being crossed is larger than 1 Mineral,
the pawn would have to end its move on a Crevice, or on an occupied Mineral, or beyond the edge of the board.

Example 1: Marcel (gold) can make a correct move in one of the three directions marked with the symbol. A move in the other directions is not possible because of the edge of the board and a Crevice larger than 1 Mineral. Dominik (pink) can move onto anthracite or kyanite; a move in the other directions is not correct.

If you made a correct move, move the excavated Mineral into your pool.

If you cannot make a correct move, your turn ends — discard the excavated Mineral into the pouch and place your pawn on any unoccupied wollastonite (white Mineral) on the board.

The pawns in this game are not ordinary pawns. Thanks to their flexible suction cup you can easily take a Mineral out of the board without destroying its layout.

Minerals is an exceptional game, in which contact with art takes on a new dimension. And art must be handled with care. Remember to move the pawns gently during play, so as not to destroy the composition made of the Minerals.

Cutting Off Board Fragments

If a separate fragment of the board (of a size of at least one Mineral) was created after your move, and no player's pawn is on it, it is immediately cut off.

Take one Mineral of the lowest value from that fragment and move it to your pool, and discard the rest (if there are any) into the pouch.

It may happen that you cut off more than one fragment of the board. In that case you move one Mineral of the lowest value from each cut off fragment to your pool (even if the fragment consists of only one Mineral).

Example 2: Dominik (pink) moves his pawn onto anthracite and takes into his pool the wollastonite he began his move from. Because two fragments were cut off, Dominik takes one Mineral from each of them: watermelon tourmaline from fragment A and wollastonite from fragment B. He discards the remaining cut off Minerals into the pouch.

You do not take a Mineral from a cut off fragment of the board if you did not make a correct move with your pawn. In that case all the Minerals from the cut off fragment must be discarded into the pouch.

If a pawn of any player is on the separated fragment of the board, that fragment is treated as a part of the board on which play continues (players may move between the parts of the board over Crevices). Such a fragment will be cut off by the player whose pawn leaves that part of the board last.

Note: A fragment of the board may be cut off as the result of a pawn's move or of using one of the Tools (e.g. the Magnifying Glass) — see the further part of the rulebook.

Cutting off fragments of the board is a clever way to gain an advantage over your opponents. You always receive one Mineral from each cut off fragment, and on your turn you may cut off even several such fragments. Remember, however, that each time you cut off a fragment of the board, it becomes smaller, inevitably bringing the end of the game closer.

Building Collections (optional)

If you have a specific set of Minerals in your pool, then after finishing your move you may exchange them for one of the face-up Collection cards. You may do this only once on your turn. Discard the Minerals shown on the chosen card from your pool into the pouch, then place that card face up in front of you. Then reveal a new Collection card from the top of the deck.

There are always 4 face-up Collection cards available in the game (unless the deck runs out of cards).

At the end of the game each Collection card is worth a specific number of points.

A Collection card shows: the card's level symbol, the Collection (the set of required Minerals), and the points at the end of the game.

Cards with orpiment (the gold Mineral) are exceptional, because you can obtain them even if you do not have that Mineral in your pool. It is enough to discard the other indicated Minerals to exchange them for that Collection card. In that case take the Collection card and place it in front of you turned 180 degrees. In this way you mark that at the end of the game this card will be worth a smaller number of points. If you discard all the required Minerals, including the orpiment, do not turn the obtained card — it will be worth the full number of points.

Using Tools (optional)

The Tools are available to all players throughout the game (which means that they are not used up after use). A detailed description of how they work can be found at the end of the rulebook.

If you have a specific Mineral in your pool, then during your turn you may use any one Tool once. Slide the Mineral indicated on the chosen Tool into the notch on your player board. You may now use the Tool. When you want to use any Tool again, place the Mineral required to use it on the Mineral already lying in the notch, forming a stack. Remember that these Minerals no longer belong to your pool and that you cannot spend them on building Collections or on using further Tools. Do not worry though, because at the end of the game they will all return to your pool and will be scored.

Unless the Tool tile says otherwise, you may use it at any moment of your turn.

Each Tool tile shows: the Mineral required to use the Tool, the name of the Tool and the description of its effect (side A and side B).

There are always 5 Tools available in the game, and each one requires the use of a specific Mineral. For example, watermelon tourmaline is needed to use the Compass.

At the end of the game you subtract 1 point from your score for each Mineral used in this way.

Example 3: It is Kasia's (blue) turn. To obtain a Collection card worth 21 points she is only missing anthracite, and her pawn happens to be standing on it. Unfortunately Kasia cannot make a correct move that would let her excavate this Mineral. Luckily, she has as many as three watermelon tourmalines in her pool, so she can use one of them to use the Map and turn her pawn during the move.

Thanks to using the Map (A), Kasia ends her move on wollastonite and can take the anthracite (B) into her pool. With her move Kasia also cut off a fragment of the board (C) on which there are no players' pawns, so she receives the Mineral of the lowest value from that fragment (kyanite) and discards the rest into the pouch. Now she exchanges Minerals (1x wollastonite, 2x kyanite, 2x watermelon tourmaline, 1x anthracite) for a Collection card (D), and reveals a new card from the deck in its place. Kasia's turn is over. Thanks to her resourcefulness and careful planning, Kasia has considerably increased her score.

End of the Game and Scoring

When any of the players cannot make a correct move and there is no unoccupied wollastonite (white Mineral) left on the board, the game ends and the points are counted. Discard the remaining Minerals forming the board into the pouch (also those on which players' pawns are standing), and then count the points scored.

Sum up your scores in the following way:

Add the points shown on the Collection cards you obtained.
Subtract 1 point for each Mineral spent on using Tools (that is, those lying on your player boards), then move these Minerals to your pool.
Add the points for all the Minerals in your pool.

The player with the most points becomes the winner. In case of a tie, the tied player whose Collection cards hold more Minerals wins. If there is still a tie, the players share the victory.

Example 4: Karol obtained 3 Collection cards with a total value of 41 points. On his player board he has 3 Minerals (2x wollastonite, 1x kyanite), with which he paid for using Tools, so he must subtract 3 points from his score. Then Karol moves the Minerals from his player board to his pool. He now has 5 of them in total, including: 3 x wollastonite (3 x 1 point), 1 x kyanite (1 x 2 points) and 1 x orpiment (1 x 5 points), which gives 10 points in total. Karol's final score is 48 points (41 - 3 + 10 = 48).

Variant for the Youngest (6+)

You can play Minerals with children from the age of 6. This variant is a great introduction to the world of Minerals for the youngest players. Before the game begins, put all the Tool tiles and Collection cards back into the box, and then build the board together. Stimulate the child's imagination and enjoy the sight of the amazing composition you created together. With your help the youngest players will learn the basic rules of moving and excavating Minerals. At the end of the game check who collected the most Minerals (without adding up their point value).

Variant for Younger Players (7+)

Seven-year-olds are quite bright. Learning how the Tools work may still be difficult for them, but they will easily notice that collecting Collection cards is the best way to win. So before the game begins, put only the Tool tiles back into the box. At the end of the game count the points in the usual way, adding the points from the Collection cards to the points of the Minerals in your pool (skipping the scoring for Tools).

Tool Tiles

Each Tool tile is double-sided: side A and side B. Each tile is assigned to one Mineral color, which is the Mineral you must pay to use either of its Tools. The first line for each Tool below is the text printed on the tile; the paragraph that follows is the rulebook's explanation.

Hammer (Młotek) — side A, wollastonite (white)

Draw a Mineral at random from the pouch and add it to the board so that it touches at least two other Minerals with its sides.

It allows you to add a Mineral to a fragment of the board that you or one of your opponents is about to cut off. You may place the Mineral anywhere on the board, provided that it touches at least two other Minerals with its sides.

Shovel (Łopata) — side B, wollastonite (white)

When you cut off a fragment of the board: take any Mineral from the cut off fragment instead of the Mineral of the lowest value.

You may use it at the moment of cutting off a fragment of the board, but to do so you must first pay for it with a wollastonite from your pool. When you cut off more than one fragment of the board, you may take any Mineral from only one cut off fragment. From the remaining fragments you may take only one Mineral of the lowest value each.

Chest (Skrzynia) — side A, kyanite (blue)

Draw a Mineral at random from the pouch and add it to your pool.

You cannot use it if there are no Minerals in the pouch.

Satchel (Sakwa) — side B, kyanite (blue)

Exchange Minerals from your pool with another player. The exchanged Minerals must add up to the same value (max. 5 points).

The number of exchanged Minerals may vary. An example of an allowed exchange with a value of 4 points: you may take 1 anthracite (black Mineral) from the pool of a chosen player, giving him in exchange 2 wollastonites (white Mineral) and 1 kyanite (blue Mineral) from your pool.

Map (Mapa) — side A, watermelon tourmaline (pink)

During your move, turn, changing the direction of movement once.

You may use it at the moment of making a move, but to do so you must first pay for it with a watermelon tourmaline from your pool. You may change the direction of movement both over a Crevice and over a Mineral occupied by another player's pawn. You may even go back over the same Minerals.

Compass (Kompas) — side B, watermelon tourmaline (pink)

During your move: move in a straight line to the nearest Crevice or Mineral occupied by another player.

When you use the Compass, you ignore the rule of moving by the required number of spaces; however, the minimum distance you must move is 1. You may not move your pawn over Crevices and Minerals occupied by other players — you must stop on an unoccupied space right in front of them. Using the Compass you can reach as far as the edge of the board.

Magnifying Glass (Lupa) — side A, anthracite (black)

When you excavate a Mineral: additionally take a Mineral of a different color adjacent to it.

You may use it at the moment of excavating a Mineral, but to do so you must first pay for it with an anthracite from your pool. The additional Mineral excavated thanks to the Magnifying Glass is lost if you did not make a correct move.

Whirl (Wir) — side B, anthracite (black)

Swap the places of your pawn and another player's pawn together with the Minerals under them.

You may use it before or after finishing your move, but not during it. When you use the Whirl, you move to another place both the pawn and the Mineral it stands on.

Rope (Lina) — side A, orpiment (gold)

Make an additional move.

It allows you to make an additional move, so in one turn you will be able to excavate as many as two Minerals. The Rope does not, however, allow you to use another Tool (you have already used the Rope this turn) or to exchange Minerals for more than one Collection card.

Lamp (Lampa) — side B, orpiment (gold)

Copy the effect of another Tool.

You cannot copy the effect of the Lamp.

Rules Summary

Excavate a Mineral and move your pawn in a straight line by as many spaces as the value of the Mineral you begin your move from. You must end your move on another, unoccupied Mineral. E.g. when you begin your move from kyanite (blue Mineral), move your pawn by 2 spaces.
After finishing your move, take the excavated Mineral into your pool. At the end of the game each Mineral in your pool is worth a specific number of points (e.g. kyanite is worth 2 points). When you cut off an unoccupied fragment of the board, take the Mineral of the lowest value into your pool.
After finishing your move you may exchange Minerals from your pool for one Collection card. Collection cards are worth more points than the Minerals in your pool.
On your turn you may use one of the Tools, placing the appropriate Mineral from your pool onto your player board. E.g. the Map lets you change the direction of your move.
If you cannot make a move, discard the excavated Mineral and place your pawn on any unoccupied wollastonite (white Mineral). Your turn ends.
The game ends when any player cannot make a move and there is no unoccupied wollastonite left on the board. Count your points: points from the Collection cards, minus 1 point for each Mineral used (then move them to your pool), plus points for the Minerals in your pool.

Credits

Author of the illustrations, graphic concept and game mechanisms: Magdalena Śliwińska

Game development: Marcin Ropka, Viola Kijowska

Production and project coordination: Viola Kijowska

DTP: Przemysław Fornal, To_Design

Proofreading and editing: Katarzyna Deja, Viola Kijowska

Publisher and distributor in Poland: Wydawnictwo IUVI, Sp. z o.o., Sp. J., ul. Półłanki 12C, 30-740 Kraków, www.iuvigames.pl