Pyramix
Pyramix Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 56 cubes
- 1 base tray
Object
Remove one cube per turn, attempting to secure the most points in each of the four colors. If you have the most ankhs in a color at the end of the game, you collect any remaining matching color points left in the base tray. The player with the most points wins.
Set Up
Randomly stack all the cubes into the base tray to form a pyramid shape. Note that the cubes are divided evenly into four main colors and that within each color there are three icons, as follows:
- Ankh (8) — 1 pt
- Crane (4) — 2 pts
- Eye (1) — 3 pts
- Cobra (4) — 0 pts
Also note that there are four cobra cubes, which are not worth any points but affect both the movement of adjacent cubes, as well as the scoring potential for adjacent cubes at the end of the game.
How to Play
Whoever has the most triangular nose goes first and play continues to the left. Each turn you must remove a single cube from the pyramid and add it to your collection.
You may remove a cube if it either has two or three faces visible. For example, the top highlighted cube has three faces visible, so it could be removed as your turn.
Alternately, you may remove the bottom highlighted cube, since it has two faces visible. In this case, the cubes above will cascade down into its place.
Note: Once you remove a cube, you may not put it back. Plan your moves wisely!
However, there are two conditions under which you may NOT remove a cube:
- If it permanently exposes the base tray. For example, removing the highlighted cube would leave an unfilled gap in the base tray, so it is not allowed on your turn.
- If it touches a cobra cube on any flat side.
Note: You may always (and sometimes may be forced to) remove a cobra (even if it's adjacent to another cobra), but it is worth 0 points.
Game End and Scoring
Continue removing one cube per turn until all that remains of the pyramid is a single layer of cubes on the base tray. This ends the game.
To figure out scoring, first remove any cobras left in the base tray along with any adjacent cubes and put them out of play.
Example: Remove the cobras along with all of the highlighted cubes that face them on one side.
Next, sort your cubes by color and compare with the other players the number of ankh cubes you collected in each color. (Compare one color at a time.)
After comparing numbers, whoever has the most ankhs of a single color collects all of the remaining cubes of the same color left in the base. Repeat the process for the remaining colors.
Important: If there is a tie for most ankhs in a color, no player receives the corresponding cubes.
Then, add up the values of all your cubes, scoring 1 point for each ankh, 2 points for cranes and 3 points for eyes. The player with the highest total is the winner.
- Ankh = 1 point
- Crane = 2 points
- Eye = 3 points
Scoring Example
At the end of this three-player game:
- Player one has the most green ankhs and so gets the rest of the green cubes in the base.
- Player two has the most purple ankhs and gets the purple cubes in the base.
- Players one and two are tied for most orange ankhs, so neither gets the remaining orange cubes.
- Player three has the most blue ankhs and gets the remaining blue cubes.
After tallying up all of the cubes, player one has 18 points, player two has 24 points and player three has 20 points. Player two wins!
A Word from Gamewright
There are many things we love about Pyramix but the one we find most surprising is that it was created by Tim Roediger, who also created our popular (and highly whimsical) card game, Dweebies. It's great to see his range of game design talent! This game presents an interesting strategic tension between present and future actions. Do you pull out a high-scoring cube early or go for ankhs with the hopes that it will yield big rewards at the end of the game? Try different strategies and see if you can triangulate your way to a win!
Game by Tim Roediger Design by Lisa Goldstein