Relikt
Relikt Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
120 playing cards:
- 60 Adventure cards (numbered 1-12 in five colors)
- 5 Camp cards (in five colors)
- 35 Action cards (five sets of 7 cards)
- 20 Treasure cards (8 blue and 12 red)
Setup
Camp cards. Before the game, each player receives a Camp card and places it on the table in front of them. Camp cards lie face up during the game so that everyone can see which color you are playing. If there are fewer than five players, the surplus Camp cards are returned to the box.
Adventure cards. If Camp cards were returned to the box, also remove all Adventure cards of those colors; they do not take part in the game. Shuffle the remaining Adventure cards and deal each player four cards. Place the rest in the middle of the table face down to form the Adventure deck.
Treasure cards. Shuffle the Treasure cards, then without looking remove any three cards and place the rest face down in the middle of the table to form the Treasure deck. Take the top four cards and place them face up in the middle of the table in front of the Treasure deck.
Each face-up Treasure card forms the start of a row of Adventure cards, where players will place their Adventure cards during the game. The number of jewels on a Treasure card determines how many Adventure cards may be placed in the Adventure row next to that Treasure card, and at the same time the number of victory points of that Treasure card at the end of the game. Treasure cards with blue jewels count as positive points, while Treasure cards with cursed red jewels count as negative points.
Note: If a player wins two Treasure cards with the same number of red jewels on each card, that pair of Treasure cards counts as positive points.
Action cards. Each player receives a set of seven cards with the same Roman numeral on the back. With these cards players can influence the rows of Adventure cards. Each player shuffles their cards and places them face down in front of them. Each player takes the top three cards of their deck before the game starts, forming their "hand".
Play
The player who wears the most valuable jewelry begins the game.
Playing Adventure Cards
On their turn, a player plays an Adventure card, placing it face up in an Adventure row beginning next to one of the Treasure cards. Then they refill their hand with Adventure cards so that they again have four. After that, the next player clockwise takes their turn.
Note: a played Adventure card always stands for the player who owns the Camp card of the corresponding color. During the game each player will try to win as many Treasure cards as possible for themselves and let other players take the cursed treasures. For this reason it makes sense to choose Adventure cards carefully and take into account which ones have already been played onto the Treasure cards.
Playing Action Cards
On their turn, a player may play only one such card. The Action card must be played before playing the Adventure card. The player places the Action card face up in the middle of the table in a discard pile, so that the most recently played Action card is visible to all players. After that, the player who played the card draws a new card from their Action deck after the end of their turn, until that deck runs out.
Taking Treasures
When an Adventure row is full, that is, as many Adventure cards lie next to the Treasure card as the number of jewels (blue or red) shown on that Treasure card, the Adventure row is scored: the numbers on all Adventure cards of the same color are added up. The player with the highest total in their color takes the treasure. Regardless of who played which Adventure cards, the player with the highest total takes the Treasure card from the scored Adventure row and places it face down in front of them. After someone takes the treasure, the Adventure cards in the scored row are removed to a separate discard pile. A new Treasure card is revealed and placed face up in the vacated spot. This Treasure card starts a new Adventure row.
Example of scoring a treasure in a three-player game (the original refers to a picture in the German rules): The Adventure row next to a Treasure card with three blue jewels is full, and the treasure can now be scored. In this row lie Yellow 11, Red 2 and Red 10 (10 + 2 = 12, which is more than 11), so the red player takes the treasure. They take the card and place it face down in front of them.
Handling Exceptions
When several players have the same total in scoring, no player receives the Treasure card. The Adventure cards in that row go to the discard pile, but the Treasure card stays in place and is not replaced by a new Treasure card. When the Adventure deck runs out, shuffle the Adventure discard pile and place it face down as a new Adventure deck.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately when the Treasure cards have run out. Each player adds up the positive points won during the game, that is, the numbers of blue jewels on their Treasure cards, then subtracts any negative points from this total, that is, the numbers of red jewels, to calculate their final score.
Note: If a player has two Treasure cards with red jewels of the same point value, that pair gives positive points instead of negative:
(-4) and (-4) = 4; (-5) and (-5) = 5; (-6) and (-6) = 6
Example: Mario has taken the following treasures: blue 3 and blue 5, as well as two red 4s and a red 5. In total he has 3 + 5 + 4 - 5 = 7 points.
The player with the most points wins.
Action Cards
Rum flask: The player exchanges their Camp card with another player's Camp card. (Treasures collected earlier stay with their previous owners.)
Compass: The player plays two Adventure cards in their turn. Then they draw two Adventure cards from the Adventure deck and add them to their hand.
Blindfold: The player plays their next Adventure card face down in an Adventure row. This hidden card is revealed when the Adventure row is scored.
Binoculars: The player chooses an opponent, who shows them their Adventure cards. Instead of playing one of their own Adventure cards, the player takes any Adventure card from the opponent and plays it in an Adventure row. The opponent refills their hand from the Adventure deck.
Lasso: Instead of drawing from the Adventure deck after the end of their turn, the player draws a face-up Adventure card from one of the Adventure rows.
Pistol: The player replaces a face-up Adventure card in an Adventure row with an Adventure card from their hand. The face-up Adventure card must match the newly played Adventure card either in color or in number. The replaced card is placed on the discard pile.
Camera: The player copies the last played Action card. They perform that action as if they had played the corresponding card. Copying a Camera is not allowed.