Paso del Brahmán
Paso del Brahmán Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- A: 1 board with 25 spaces
- B: 16 path tiles
- C: 6 character tokens
- D: 2 temples
- E: This rulebook
Setup
- Assemble the board and place it on the table.
- Place the path tiles to one side of the board to form the reserve, grouped by type.
- Give each player the 3 character tokens and a temple of the color they choose.
- The player who has most recently seen a river is declared the starting player and must place their temple on one of the spaces on the edge of the board, and the 3 character tokens on it.
- The other player must place their temple on one of the five edge spaces on the opposite side of the board, together with their 3 character tokens.
- Place the back cover of this rulebook beside the board as a rules summary.
Once setup is finished, the starting player takes their turn, and then the players alternate until one of the end-of-game conditions is met.
Objective and End of the Game
The player who achieves any one of three conditions is declared the winner immediately:
- Illumination: Bring your own Brahmin token to the opponent's temple.
- Poisoning: Eliminate the opponent's Brahmin token.
- Protection: Demonstrate that it is impossible for the rival Brahmin to reach the temple of the player whose turn it is (see Victory by Protection at the end of the rulebook).
Tokens
Tokens have two sides; they are flipped when Special Actions are used: Active and Exhausted.
Player Turn
Each player controls 3 characters: the Brahmin, the Tiger and the Cobra.
On their turn, the player must:
- Choose a character.
- Perform with that character:
- a. Up to 2 basic actions (the same one may be repeated).
- b. 1 special action (as long as the character is not exhausted and is not in the temple).
- If a special action was performed this turn, flip the token used to its exhausted side.
- If any token shows its exhausted side from the previous turn, flip it back to its active side.
A player may not undo the move made by the opponent. That is, they may not end their turn with all the elements on the board in the same position as when they ended their previous turn.
About the Tiles
The path tiles are divided into 4 spaces, each containing water or stone.
The temples are the starting point, and no token may enter them once it has left. The only exception is the Brahmin token, which may enter the opponent's temple and so obtain Victory by Illumination. Each temple is considered a single space, and is adjacent to all the stones surrounding it. No token in its own temple can block the entry of the opponent's Brahmin.
Neither temples nor the tokens in them can be the target of special actions.
Basic Actions
Walk
"The longest walk begins with a step" - Hindu proverb
Move the character token one space to a stone directly around it (horizontally, vertically or diagonally).
If both actions in the turn are used to walk, the character token may pass over another token of its own (but not over an opponent's token) and end its movement on another stone. It may not end its movement on the stone where it was at the start of the turn.
Summon
"The good things we build end up building us" - Jim Rohn
The player chooses one of the available path tiles and places it on an empty space of the board, around (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) the tile on which the character token is located.
If during the game the path tiles in the reserve run out, this action cannot be performed.
Special Actions
Bite - Cobra
"Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional" - Buddha
The Cobra token bites an opponent's token that is on a stone around it, eliminating it from the game.
If the Cobra eliminates the opponent's Brahmin, Victory by Poisoning is achieved.
Levitate - Tiger
"Whoever transforms themselves, transforms the world" - Dalai Lama
Take a path tile that is around the tile where the Tiger is, and move it (without rotating it) to another empty space, also around the path tile where the Tiger is.
All character tokens on the relocated path tile move with it.
Meditate - Brahmin
"To change the world, start by transforming yourself" - Gandhi
Take a path tile adjacent to the path tile where the Brahmin is, rotate it as desired to an orientation different from the initial one, and place it in the same space where it was.
All character tokens on that path tile are rotated with it.
Victory by Protection
Victory by Protection is obtained when it can be demonstrated that the opponent cannot achieve Victory by Illumination in any way.
There are various situations in which this could happen, for example: enclosing the opponent's Brahmin with tiles that prevent its movement and the Tiger's Levitate action.
If the situation of Victory by Protection occurs simultaneously for both players, the winner is the player who is not on their turn.
Turn Summary (back cover)
- Choose a character.
- Walk / Summon (up to 2 basic actions).
- Special action: Cobra, Tiger or Brahmin. If you used a character's special action, flip its token.
- If there is an exhausted character from the previous turn, flip it back.