Realm of Sand Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components
Component Details
Game Preparation
Goal of the Game
Game Play
End of the Game
Final Scoring
Strategy Tips
Solo Challenge Variant
- 1. Place Rune Pieces
- 2. Summon Elemental Spirits
Credits

Components

54 Building Cards (18 each of Level 1, Level 2, Level 3)
6 Player Boards (Double sided, one side is the basic board and the other side is the advanced board. See Component Details for advanced board details.)
28 Rune Tiles
31 Elemental Spirits (Disks) (7 each of Emerald Wood, Crimson Sand, and Obsidian; 5 each of Sapphire, and Golden Moon)
84 Rune Pieces (Squares) (28 each of Emerald Wood, Crimson Sand, Obsidian)
3 Spirit Rune Sticker Sheets (9 each of Emerald Wood, Crimson Sand, Obsidian, Sapphire, Golden Moon)
4 Level Up Markers
6 Crystal Markers (Advanced Mode) (Double sided, color crystal side / clear crystal side)
1 Queen Marker
1 Start Player Marker

Note: Before the first game, carefully place the sticker of the corresponding color on the Elemental Spirit markers. Place 1 sticker per marker.

Component Details

Building Cards

Star Points — At the end of the game, the player with the highest Star Points wins.
Hourglass — When a player reaches 10 Hourglasses, the endgame condition is triggered.
Elemental Spirits Bonus — Upon receiving this card, gain corresponding types of Elemental Spirits.
Level Up Symbol — Upon receiving this card, move the Level Up Marker on the Level Tracker on your Player Board to the right the number of spaces indicated. Now you can use the "Shaded Area."

Circle of Runes

The first tile after the Queen Marker in clockwise direction is the "Starting Point." The first tile counter clockwise from the Queen Marker is the "End" of the circle.

Player Board

Main actions — 1) Place Rune Pieces (Squares). 2) Summon Elemental Spirits (Disks).
Rune Manipulation Area — The 18 light boxes are the Manipulation Area. The dark boxes are non-usable area.
Pocket Watch (Advanced Mode) — Indicates if the special power is activated.
Special power — The special power is activated.
Level Tracker — For each space advanced on the Level Tracker, player may add 1 dark box to their Manipulation Area.
Crystal — When completing Building Cards, if a Rune Piece or Spirit on a Crystal is used, the special power is activated.

Game Preparation

Sort the 54 Building Cards into Decks by level. Shuffle each deck and place in order on the table.
From each deck of Building Cards, flip 4 cards face up and place in a row to the left of the decks. These form the "Building Cards Supply."
Place the 28 Rune Tiles randomly around the building cards in a circle to form the Circle of Runes. Then, place the Queen Marker randomly in between 2 tiles.
Sort and place the 84 Rune Pieces by type on the side to form the Supply. Note: For easier understanding, Rune Pieces will be called "Squares."
Take a number of Elemental Spirits according to the chart below. Sort each type of Spirit into piles and place on the side to from the Supply. Note: For easy understanding, Elemental Spirits will be called "Disks."

# of Players	1	2	3	4
# of Each Disk	2	4	5	Use All Disks

Each player then does the following:

A. Each player randomly draws a Player Board. It is recommended to use the "Basic Board" during your first game. If you are an experienced player, flip to the "Advanced Board" (Advanced Mode).
B. Each player takes 3 Rune Tiles from the Starting Point in order of the "Circle of Runes." Place the Tiles in front of them as their "Activated Area." Note: There are always 3 Rune Tiles in a player's Activated Area. If anytime during the game you have less than 3 tiles, immediately replenish your tiles according to game rule, select 1 of the first 2 tiles from the starting point.
C. The youngest player will start the game. Place Start Player Marker in front of them.
D. (Advanced Mode) If a player is using the Advanced Board, take a Crystal Marker that matches the ribbon color on your board. Place the Marker on the Pocket Watch with the clear crystal side up.
E. Each player takes a Level Up Marker and places it on the Level Tracker on the "0" space.

Goal of the Game

The Queen will move clockwise around the Circle of Runes. Players will take the awakened Rune Tiles and place Rune Pieces on their boards. Once the Runes match the shape and color on the Building Card, the card is completed.
The completed Building Cards will dissipate the Runes, but players will gain Elemental Spirits and accumulate Star Points in return. Use the Elemental Spirits wisely, as they will help you complete higher level Building Cards.
When a player accumulates 10 or more Hourglasses, the game ends at the end of the round. The player with the most Star Points wins.

Game Play

The game begins with the start player, and play proceeds in clockwise order.

During a turn, a player must do one of the following main actions:

1. Place Rune Pieces (Squares)

There are three steps in this action:

Select 1 Rune Tile from your Activated Area.
Place the tile, and then replace it with the corresponding color and number of Squares from the supply area.

Note: There are a limited number of Squares in the supply area. If a color runs out, do not place that color.

Place the tile on the Rune Manipulation Area, following the rules below:

Each tile consists of 3 squares, and each square must be on a box. If the box already has another Square or Disk, the existing Square or Disk must be removed.
You can turn or flip the tile to any direction.
Unless your "Level Tracker" has moved up, you may not place a square of the tile on the "dark area" (see Complete Building Cards: Level Up).

Return the used Rune Tile to the end of the "Circle of Runes," then select 1 of the first 2 tiles from the starting point and place it in your activated area.

The rule of replenish tiles: There are always 3 Rune Tiles in a player's Activated Area. If anytime during the game you have less than 3 tiles, immediately replenish your tiles, select 1 of the first 2 tiles from the starting point. After replenishing your tiles, move the Queen Marker along to the Starting Point tile.

2. Summon Elemental Spirits (Disks)

Place the Disks in front of you onto the Rune Manipulation Area or move Disks that are already on the Rune Manipulation Area. You can place and/or move up to 3 Disks. (ex: You can place 2 Disks and move 1 Disk that is already on the Rune Manipulation Area.)

Place and/or move Disks, following the rules below:

Each Disk must be placed on a box. If there is already a Square or Disk on the box, the existing Square or Disk must be removed.
Unless your "Level Tracker" has moved up, you may not place a Disk on the "dark area" (see Complete Building Cards: Level Up).

In the game, Rune Pieces (Squares) and Elemental Spirits (Disks) of the same element have the same effect on the building cards. The description of the rune is as follows:

Emerald Wood
Crimson Sand
Obsidian
Sapphire
Golden Moon

In addition, the player may choose to do any of the additional actions listed below, an unlimited number of times, before or after the main action:

Complete Building Cards

To complete a Building Card, the Squares and/or Disks in a Player's Manipulation Area must match the (mirrored) shape on the Building Card. Players can pay these Squares and/or Disks to obtain the Building Card.

Note: Squares paid will go back to the Supply. The Disks paid will go back to you, for later use.

Player can choose to complete any face up Building Cards in the center of the table.

Important: When a Building Card is taken from the center, do not reveal a new one. The cards are replenished after a player's turn. There should be 4 face up cards from each level.

If there are no more cards in a deck, then that level will not be replenished.

Player immediately gains the bonuses on the completed Building Cards:

Elemental Spirits Bonus — Upon receiving this card, take the corresponding types of Disks from the Supply. Note: There is a limit to the number of Disks. If the supply runs out of a type of Disk, you may not take that type of Disk.
Level Up Symbol — Upon receiving this card, move the Level Up Marker on the "Level Tracker" on your Player Board up the number of spaces indicated. For every space on your Level Tracker, you may use 1 box in the "Dark Area."
Hourglass — When any player has accumulated 10 or more Hourglasses, the game ends at the end of the round.
Star Points — At the end of the game, the player with the most Star Points wins.

The completed building card: Put the completed Building Cards in a row in front of you so that all the Hourglasses and Star Points can be seen by all the players.

Use Special Power (Advanced Mode)

If the Crystal was already charged, the player may use the Crystal Marker to perform the Special Power on the Player Board.

Flip the Crystal Marker to the clear crystal side to activate the Special Power once.

Charging the Crystal: When finishing a Building Card, if any of the Squares and/or Disks used in the exchange were covering a box with Crystal, the player immediately flips the Crystal Marker to the colored side (see Components).

Note: The Crystal which was charged CANNOT be used during the same round.

Note: If the Crystal was already charged, then it will not be charged again.

Special Power Effects

Red Crystal — Draw the top 3 cards from any level of Building Card Deck, and select 1 to keep face down. Return the remaining 2 cards to the bottom of the deck in any order. From now on when completing Building Cards, you may choose to complete the cards you kept. Note: There is no limit to how many cards you can keep with this power.
Purple Crystal — 1. During game setup, take 1 extra yellow or blue Disk from the Supply (one time used). 2. When "Summoning Elemental Spirits," you may place and/or move all of your Disks.
Yellow Crystal — Trade 1 of your Disks with 1 Disk of any type from the Supply.
Green Crystal — Move 1 Square on your "Rune Manipulation Area" to an empty box.
Orange Crystal — Move the Level Marker up 1 space on your "Level Tracker."
Blue Crystal — Exchange 1 or 2 Rune Tiles from your "Activated Area" with any 1 or 2 Rune Tiles in the "Circle of Runes."

End of the Game

When a player has accumulated 10 or more Hourglasses, all players continue playing until the end of that round, at which time the game ends (make sure each player has equal turns).

Final Scoring

Each player calculates the Star Points on their Building Cards. The player with the most Star Points wins.

In case of a tie, the player with more Squares and Disks on their Player Board wins. If there is still a tie, the player who went later wins.

Strategy Tips

During the early stages of the game, player can complete Level 1 Building Cards to gain some Disks to build foundations for Level 2 and 3 Building Cards.
When placing Rune Tiles, plan ahead on how to use each of the Squares.
It is encouraged that players complete at least 1 Level 3 Building Card. It will give you a better chance at winning the game.
If you are playing the Advanced Mode, pay attention to where the Crystals are located on your board. Using your powers often will help you succeed.

Solo Challenge Variant

The rest of the game follows basic rules. In Solo Challenge, you will play 14 rounds, using the variant rules below:

1. Place Rune Pieces

Instead of placing Rune Tile to the end of the Circle of Runes, place them on the side to act as a round marker.

Remove one tile per turn: After placing the Squares, remove the used tile to the side as a round marker.

2. Summon Elemental Spirits

After placing and/or moving Disk, select a Rune Tile from the Activated Area and place it to the side to act as a round marker.

Replenish your Activated Area according to the basic rules.

After 14 rounds, the game ends. Calculate your Star Points to see how you performed:

Score	25 or Less	26-30	31-35	36-39	40 or More
Level	Apprentice	Master	Grand Master	Premier	King of Ragusa

Credits

Designer: Ji Hua Wei Illustrations: Maisherly Chan Project Manager: Eros Lin English Revisions: Winnie Chang, Travis Hill Graphic Design: EmperorS4 Producer: EmperorS4