Omens
Omens Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 35 Arcane cards, values from 1 to 35. Cards with values from 30 to 35 are all called "The Absolute."
- 7 Player Aid cards: 2 with the sun symbol, 2 with the moon symbol, and 3 with the drop symbol.
Goal of the Game
Your team wins a round if you or one of your team members has only 1 card left in hand.
The first team to win 2 rounds wins the game.
Setup
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Take the 6 cards with the values of 30 to 35 out of the deck of Arcane cards (these 6 cards are all called "The Absolute"), shuffle them, and give 1 to each player around the table, face-up. If you're playing with 4 or 5 players, return any undealt "The Absolute" cards to the box. They will not be used during this game.
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Get into teams as follows:
- For a game with 4 or 5 players: The player with the highest-value "The Absolute" card teams up with the player with the lowest-value "The Absolute" card. Then, the other 2 or 3 players form the opposing team.
- For a 6-player game: Form 3 teams of 2 players by pairing up according to your "The Absolute" cards as follows: the 30-value card with the 35-value card; the 31-value card with the 34-value card; and finally, the 32-value card with the 33-value card.
EXAMPLE: Lana received a "The Absolute" card with a value of 35, so she will team up with Elodie, whose "The Absolute" card has a value of 30. The remaining 3 players form the other team. Lana and Elodie take the Player Aid cards with the moon symbol, and the other 3 players take the cards with the drop symbol (placing them laurel-side down).
Important: Teams will not change members during the game.
Note: For a 5-player game, the team of 3 players must use the Player Aid cards with the drop symbol.
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Distribute the Player Aid cards, placing them laurel-side down in front of each player. The sun, moon, and drop symbols are team symbols, so give matching Player Aid cards to the players on the same team. The side of the Player Aid with the laurel leaves around the team symbol is used later to indicate which teams have won a round.
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Everyone places their "The Absolute" card in their hand. Shuffle the remaining Arcane cards and deal the following number of cards, face-down:
- 4 players: Deal 4 Arcane cards to each player (for a total of 5 cards in each player's hand).
- 5 players: Deal 4 Arcane cards to each member of the 3-player team (for a hand total of 5 cards) and deal 3 Arcane cards to each member of the 2-player team (for a hand total of 4 cards).
- 6 players: Deal 3 Arcane cards to each player (for a hand total of 4 cards).
Game Sequence
The game is played over several rounds, and each round consists of however many bouts it takes for a player to get down to 1 card in hand. When a team wins 2 rounds, they win the game.
During a bout, players take turns in a clockwise direction to play an Arcane card of their choice in front of them. If someone plays a card with an immediate effect, it is resolved immediately, before the next player plays their card.
At the start of the game, the player with the highest-value "The Absolute" card goes first. In the bouts that follow, the player who won the previous bout goes first.
Important: When you play a card, you must tell everyone what its effect is.
WHEN EVERYONE HAS PLAYED A CARD IN FRONT OF THEMSELVES, THE BOUT ENDS. If your card was not discarded, take it back into your hand.
How a Bout Is Resolved
The person who played the highest-value Arcane card wins the bout, unless the effect of a card in play indicates otherwise. The winner discards their card. If an effect allows certain cards in play to be discarded, they are.
At the end of a bout, all the effects on the cards played resolve simultaneously. At the same time, you determine the winner of this bout.
IMPORTANT: Cards with an effect are all resolved at the end of the bout, simultaneously. Even if an effect asks you to discard a card, the discarded card's effect is still applied. All cards that are discarded by effects are discarded at the same time as the winning card.
Note: There will always be at least 1 card discarded in each bout (the card that wins the bout), but it's possible for several players' cards to be discarded in the same bout!
If no team has won the round (by having 1 card in hand at the end of a bout), start a new bout. The player who won the previous bout starts the next one.
EXAMPLE: At the end of the bout with the cards above, the following are discarded: "Secret," because it has the highest value and wins the bout, but also because the "Day" card's effect discards the highest-value red card. "Calm," since at least one red card is in play, and because the effect of "Death" discards the lowest-value green card. "Summer," because as its effect indicates, it is the only yellow card in play. The remaining 3 cards go back into the hands of their owners as no effects allow them to be discarded.
Special Card Effects
The 35 Arcane cards include a number of named cards with a special printed effect. Here are the effects of the game's key named cards:
The Absolute (values 30 to 35)
Exchange a card from your hand with the player of your choice. Exchange the cards simultaneously and secretly: place them face-down on the table, then each player takes the other's card.
Betrayal
Exchange a card from your hand with a card already in play. After you play this card in front of yourself, take a card that another player has already played this bout into your hand. Then play a card from your hand in front of that person. They then resolve the card's effect, if it has one. If the card you took is "Law," its constraint no longer applies for the rest of the bout.
Wrath
Return to their hand a card found in front of another person. They must play another card. If the card returned to the other player's hand is "Law," the constraint set by "Law" no longer applies for the rest of the bout. If the new card played has an effect, it applies immediately.
Sadness
The card of highest value cannot win the bout. Ignore the highest-value card when determining who wins this bout — the second-highest card played wins.
Jealousy
Exchange this card with another card already in play. If the card you take in exchange has an effect, do not apply its effect a second time (the card is considered played already).
Dream
You may play this card in front of another person. If you do, they must play a card in front of you. If you play "Dream" in front of yourself, it has no effect. However, to play it in front of another person, it must be someone who has not yet played a card this bout. That player must immediately place a card from their hand in front of you. If it's a card with an effect, apply that effect immediately.
Law
Everyone must, if possible, play a card lower or higher than this card's value (you choose which). If you don't have a card in your hand that allows you to respect the constraint of "Law" when it is played, you may play the card of your choice as normal.
Fear
This card can never be discarded, except if it wins the bout. Ignore any effect that asks you to discard "Fear," as it is always recovered by its owner at the end of the bout. The only way to discard "Fear" is to win the bout with it.
Luck
If this card is discarded, discard a card from your hand. If you end up with 0 cards in hand at the end of a bout due to Luck's effect, you win the round for your team, even if other players end the same bout with 1 card in hand. Fear cannot be discarded using Luck's effect.
Mirror
The card of lowest value wins the bout. This card changes the bout's win condition from the highest-value card to the lowest-value card. The lowest-value card is discarded as the winner. Ignore the effect of "Sadness" if it is played during the same bout as "Mirror," since the highest-value card cannot win anyway.
Details
You must always apply a card's effect. If you cannot apply an effect, you can still play the card, but its effect does nothing. Immediate effects are resolved immediately when you play the card. An immediate effect must always be fully resolved before the next player puts their card down. The term "in play" refers to all cards placed in front of the players.
IMPORTANT: Omens is a team game, but without any communication! You can't communicate about how to play your cards or give information about the cards in your hand (unless a card effect allows you to do so).
End of a Round / End of the Game
EXAMPLE: Lana and Sabrina both finished this bout with just 1 card in hand. Lana has a "The Absolute" card of value 31, and Sabrina has the "Lie" card, value 9. Lana has the higher value, so she wins the round for her team.
If a player has only 1 card left in their hand at the end of a bout, their team wins the round. If multiple players have only 1 card in their hand at the end of a bout, the player with the highest-value card in their hand wins the round for their team.
If a team has not won 2 rounds yet, start a new round:
- Shuffle all the Arcane cards, including the cards remaining in each player's hand, and all "The Absolute" cards used in the previous round. The teams do not change.
- All the players on the team that won the round turn their Player Aid cards over, so the side showing the laurel is face-up.
- Deal the following number of cards to each player:
- 4 players: 5 cards each.
- 5 players: 5 cards each to the 3-player team, and 4 cards each to the 2-player team.
- 6 players: 4 cards each.
- The player who won the round for their team begins the first bout of this new round.
When a team wins 2 rounds (they won a round when their Player Aid cards were already on the side with the laurel leaves), they win the game!
Note: Since all "The Absolute" cards used in the previous round have been shuffled into the deck, it is now possible for a player to have several in their hand, and for others to have none.
Credits
A Spiral Éditions game. A game by Maxime Rambourg. Illustrated by Ben Renaut. Graphic Design: Ben Renaut.
Published by Spiral Éditions. Distributed by Blackrock Games.
Spiral Editions would like to thank its main playtesters: Cécile, Chloé, Côme, Elodie, Lana, La Ligue des Gentlemen, Max, Pochep, Robin & Takako. Thanks to Maxime for entrusting us with this beautiful project, and thanks to Ben for sublimating it! And many thanks to Dorine for her invaluable help in the day-to-day running of Spiral.