Officinalis
Officinalis Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The game contains 49 «Plant» cards divided into 7 families representing their natural environments, 2 «Fantastical Plant» cards with special properties, 4 «Picker» cards, and 1 rulebook.
About the Cards
OFFICINALIS contains 7 major Plant families, which correspond to the natural Environments¹ in which they grow. These 7 Environments are: the Forest (F), the Prairie (P), the Mountains (M), the Heath (L), the Town (C), the River (R) and the Garden (J).
There are 7 cards for each Environment:
- 5 beneficial Plants numbered from 1 to 5 depending on their Value (5 being the highest).
- 1 Marvel, which is a very rare beneficial Plant with a Value of 10.
- 1 Toxic² plant, which is a dangerous Plant with a negative Value of -3.
The Familiar family is the exception, as it is composed of normal, common plants and, as such, contains neither a Marvel nor a Toxic plant.
Printed note: the rules use both "Town (C)" and "Familiar (C)" for the same C family. Both names are kept as printed; the "Familiar" name appears in the setup rules for 2 players.
The game also includes 2 cards with special properties:
- The Maisonus Officinalis³ card allows its holder to automatically win any Harvest, but awards no points.
- The Salvia Maria³ card awards a 20-point bonus at the end of the Round to the player who Picked it, and has a Value of 2.
The last 4 cards are the Pickers. They are not playable, and are used to define each player's preferred Environment.
¹ In the game, each Plant can be harvested from just one Environment. Of course, in nature, most of these plants grow in multiple environments. But for the purpose of the game, we have chosen to «categorise» them into the environments where they are most commonly found.
² To simplify, we classify as Toxic any potentially dangerous plant. In reality, most of these plants can have beneficial properties if they are correctly used. In other words, as Paracelsus (considered to be the father of toxicology) stated so well, «All things are poisons, for there is nothing without poisonous qualities. It is a matter of dosage».
³ These plants are pure fantasy. They don't exist.
The Objective of the Game
To collect the largest number of points by picking the best medicinal plants and concocting Herbal Teas.
Preparations
(cf. schema page 3 of the printed rules)
The youngest player is the Dealer and gives 1 Picker card, its face hidden, to each of the players (him- or herself included). Each player secretly looks at his or her card and places it face down on the table. These cards are not played, but award Bonus points depending on the Picker's Preferred Environment (see Calculating points).
For 2 players
If there are 2 players, they each play solo. The Dealer removes the following 3 Environments from the game: Familiar (C), River (R), and Prairie. He or she then shuffles the cards and deals 14 to each player.
For 3 players
If there are 3 players, they each play solo. The Dealer removes the following 2 Environments from the game: River (R) and Prairie (P). He or she then shuffles the cards and deals 12 to each player.
For 4 players
If there are 4 players, they play in teams of 2 and sit face to face, in opposite corners (like for Belote). The Dealer shuffles the cards and deals 12 to each player.
Each player secretly looks at his or her cards.
The remaining cards are placed face up next to the Playing Area and the Dealer picks, from among them, the Environment that will be the Attribute for the duration of the Round. If the remaining cards are Maisonus Officinalis and Salvia Maria, the Dealer chooses the Attribute him- or herself.
Note on layout: in the printed rules, the sentences on the remaining cards and the Attribute choice sit under the "For 4 players" heading. They are transcribed in that position.
Gameplay
The game is played clockwise.
The Dealer places a card from his or her hand in the middle of the Playing Area. The rest of the players do the same, according to the Environment of the first card. Example: if the Dealer plays a Forest card, the other players must also play a Forest card (of lesser or greater value). At the end of the turn, once all players have played, the one who played the card with the highest value collects the Harvest (the Trick).
If a player does not have any cards for the required Environment, he or she must play an Attribute card. An Attribute card is always stronger than any other card of another Environment. If multiple Attribute cards are played, the one with the highest value wins the Harvest.
If a player has no cards corresponding to the required Environment and no Attribute cards, he or she must discard a card. The value of this card is not taken into account.
If the Maisonus Officinalis card is played, it automatically wins the Harvest, regardless of the other cards played (including Attributes).
The Harvest
The Harvest is placed face up in front of the player who wins it (for 4 players, Harvests are kept by a single player from each team). Harvests can be classified however the player wishes: by value, by tea, etc.
The player who won the last Harvest starts the next turn.
End of Round
The Round ends when all Marvels have been collected (even if the players still hold cards).
Calculating Points
Values
Each player (or team) adds up the values of the cards they have Harvested (Toxic plants deduct 3 points each). Cards that were not Harvested in the last Round do not give points.
Bonuses
To these points are added the bonuses from the Picker cards. Each of these cards awards a x2 Bonus to the cards from the corresponding Environment: the Druid card (Diviciacos) for Forest plants, the Herbalist card (Hildegarde de Bingen) for Garden plants, the Apothecary card (Jean Magnol) for Mountain plants, and the Botanist card (Jean-François de La Peyrouse) for Heath plants.
Example: The player who holds the Druid card has collected the following plants: Rosemary, Birch, Lily of the Valley and Sundew. In order, each of these cards earn him or her: 2 points, 8 points (4 x 2), -6 points (-3 x 2) and 10 points, for a total of 14 points.
The Herbal Teas
Some of the Plant cards display one or multiple symbols indicating that these Plants can be used together in a Herbal Tea to combat certain illnesses. The Herbal Teas are combinations made by reuniting at least 2 cards (2 or 3 players) or at least 3 cards (4 players) out of the Plant cards required to make them. Each awards a Bonus of 30 points to the player making them, + 10 points per additional Plant card.
Example: the Anti-Stress⁴ tea contains the following plants: Rosemary, Garden Angelica, Blackcurrant, Poppy and Lavandin. If the player Harvests 3 of these 5 plants, he or she earns 30 points; with 4 out of 5, 40 points; and with all 5 cards, 50 points.
The Combinations
The 1st number (in blue) indicates the number of plants available in the game to create the Tea. The 2nd number (in red) indicates the number of plants required to create the Tea for 4 players. The 3rd number (in green) indicates the number of plants required to create the Tea for 2 or 3 players.
- Anti-Stress (5/3/2): Rosemary, Blackcurrant, Lavandin, Garden Angelica, Poppy, Crabapple⁴.
- Circulation (4/3/2): Red Grapevine⁴, Yarrow, Calendula, Blackcurrant.
- Detox (3/3/2): Common Mallow, Chicory⁴, Marsh Mallow⁴, Juniper, Elderberry, Burdock⁴.
- Showstopper (3/3/2): Dandelion, Rosemary, German Camomile⁴, Milk Thistle⁴, Chicory⁴, Artichoke⁴, Gentian.
- Silhouette (4/3/2): Rosemary, Meadowsweet, Common Mallow, Heather⁴, Bilberry.
- Bless You (4/3/2): Lavandin, Peppermint, Common Mallow, Elderberry, Borage⁴.
- Joints (5/3/2): Blackcurrant, Meadowsweet, Yarrow, Nettle, Field Horsetail.
- Peaceful Night (3/3/2): Hawthorn, Orange⁴, Rose, Woodruff, Passion Flower⁴.
⁴ These plants are not part of the game. Maybe in a future edition?
End of the Game
The game ends after 7 rounds (but you can play more or fewer rounds if you prefer). The player (or team) with the highest score wins.