Ritual Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup (3-6 Shamans)
  • 1. Prepare the Ritual
  • 2. Deal to Each Shaman
• How to Play (3-6 Shamans)
  • General Presentation
  • The Actions
  • The Phases of Play
    • Inspiration Phase
    • Ritual Phase
• Preparing the Next Round
• End of Game
• 2-Shaman Variant
  • Setup
  • The Actions
  • Inspiration Phase
  • Ritual Phase
• Inspiration Cards
• Time Limit
• Player Aid
  • Did You Help Each Other?
  • Did You Use the Mystic Plans?
  • Did You Play Fast Enough?
  • Tips and Tricks

Contents

• 25 Inspiration Cards – your individual objectives, which let you awaken
• 10 Ritual Boards – showing the six steps of a Ritual
• 60 Ritual Cards – 6 per Ritual
• 1 Book of Rituals – describing 10 Rituals of increasing difficulty
• 6 Mystic Plan Cards – for exchanging stones with the Reserve
• 1 Mystic Plan Board – for placing the stones from the Reserve
• 40 Elemental Stones – 8 of each colour
• 1 Totem – to show which shaman is active
• 3 Order Runes – describing the order in which the Ritual Cards must be resolved
• 3 Inspiration Runes – showing how many shamans are awakened
• 6 Player Aids – to remind you of the possible actions

The Elemental Stones represent the different sources of energy of the Rituals: Shadow, Water, Fire, Light, Plants.

Setup (3-6 Shamans)

1. Prepare the Ritual

• Open the Book of Rituals and choose one. Place the corresponding Ritual Board, face up, in the centre of the table. If your group includes inexperienced shamans, we recommend starting with the Initiation Ritual (see page 3 of the Book of Rituals).
• Take the 6 corresponding Ritual Cards (those whose back matches the chosen Ritual Board), shuffle them, and place them next to the board in a face-down pile.
• Take the first Ritual Card from the pile and place it face down under the Ritual Board. The rest of the Ritual Cards will be used during the following rounds (see "Preparing the Next Round" below).
• Place Order Rune n°1 on this card. The other runes will be used during the following rounds. Place them next to the pile of Ritual Cards.
• Place the three Inspiration Runes nearby, closed-eye side up.
• Place the Mystic Plan Board on top of the Ritual Board. Place the Reserve of Elemental Stones on it.
• Shuffle the Inspiration Cards and form a face-down pile.
• Randomly determine (or choose) which shaman will start playing, and give them the Totem.
• Decide the difficulty of the game and start the timer (see "Time Limit" below).

Note: during a game of Ritual, interactions are frequent. Be sure to sit close enough to one another so that everyone can easily reach everyone else's Elemental Stones.

2. Deal to Each Shaman

Give each shaman:

• 4 Elemental Stones (drawn at random) – visible to all shamans at all times
• 1 Inspiration Card (face down) – only the shaman who holds it may look at it
• 1 Mystic Plan Card
• 1 Player Aid

Games of Ritual are paced by the passing of the totem, which shows which shaman is allowed to play. A shaman cannot perform an action (take a stone, resolve a card...) until they have the totem in front of them. As the active player, be sure to pass the totem to your left once your action is finished.

How to Play (3-6 Shamans)

General Presentation

A game of Ritual takes place over three rounds, each divided into two phases:

• An Inspiration Phase, during which you must resolve the Inspiration Cards of 3 shamans (their personal objectives).
• A Ritual Phase, during which the whole group tries to complete one or more Ritual Cards (the shared objectives), corresponding to the selected Ritual Board. The number of cards to resolve depends on the current round:

Round	Number of Cards
First	1
Second	2
Third	The 3 remaining

During the game, you must help each other gather Elemental Stones of different colours. All of this in silence, and within the allotted time (see "Time Limit" below).

Note: the only way to communicate with each other is to pass along clues through your actions. You are not allowed to talk to each other, or to make signs or gestures at each other.

The Actions

The number of available actions is limited. On your turn, you may:

• Take 1 stone from the shaman to your left (if they have 3 stones or more).
• Give 1 stone to the shaman of your choice (if you have 3 stones or more).
• Place 1 stone on your Mystic Plan.
• Retrieve 1 stone from your Mystic Plan.
• Exchange 1 stone from the Mystic Plan of ANOTHER shaman with 1 stone from the Reserve.
• Resolve your Inspiration Card or Ritual Card.

Note: as long as a stone is on your Mystic Plan, you can give it to whoever you want and no one can take it from you. There can only be one stone at a time on a Mystic Plan.

During your first games, you may also:

• Pass your turn.

The Phases of Play

Inspiration Phase

The shamans must help each other gather the Elemental Stones shown on their Inspiration Cards (see "Inspiration Cards" below).

Note: if a shaman has more Elemental Stones in front of them than needed to resolve their Inspiration Card, it is still resolved.

Once an Inspiration Card has been resolved, the shaman no longer needs to keep the Elemental Stones it required.

Stones placed on Mystic Plans count toward your total number of stones and toward completing Inspiration and Ritual Cards.

On their turn, once a shaman has the requested Elemental Stones in front of them, they must:

• Resolve their Inspiration Card by turning it face up.
• Turn an Inspiration Rune to the open-eye side. The shaman is now "awakened."
• Take a Ritual Card in play (if any remain) and look at it secretly. If several Ritual Cards are available, the shaman takes the one whose Order Rune has the lowest number.

Example: we are in round 2, and 2 Ritual Cards have been made available to the shamans. Armand is the first to awaken, so he takes the Ritual Card with Rune n°1. On his turn, Joëlle awakens. She takes the Ritual Card with Rune n°2 and looks at it without revealing it.

Once three shamans have resolved their Inspiration Card, play moves on to the Ritual Phase.

Ritual Phase

The shamans must now resolve the Ritual Cards in the order of the Order Runes, still within the allotted time.

When a shaman resolves their Ritual Card, they place it on the corresponding space of the Ritual Board. This card will not be played again during this game.

Example: on his turn, Éric gave Lelia his blue stone, then passed her the Totem. Lelia now has all the blue stones in the group (three stones), as well as a Ritual Card with Rune n°1. Lelia can therefore complete her Ritual Card. She places it on the corresponding space of the Ritual Board. We are in round 2, so there is still one Ritual Card left to complete, Jean's.

Preparing the Next Round

If you have completed all the steps of the Ritual for the current round within the allotted time, you win the round and may move on to the next one:

• Shuffle all the Inspiration Cards. Each shaman draws a new one.
• Turn the Inspiration Runes back to the closed-eye side.
• The Ritual Card(s) placed on the Ritual Board stay in place. Depending on whether you are in round 2 or 3, take 2 or 3 Ritual Cards from the draw pile and place them face down next to the Ritual Board. Place the corresponding Order Runes on these cards.
• The Elemental Stones stay where they are. They must not be moved or shuffled.
• The shaman holding the Totem starts the next round.

If time runs out before you have completed all the steps of the Ritual, do not worry – this happens, especially during your first games. Feel free to consult the PLAYER AID on page 11 and start the round again.

End of Game

If you have won the third round within the time limit, you have succeeded in completing the Ritual together. This is a victory! Now try a more complex Ritual, or increase the difficulty level by reducing the amount of time (see "Time Limit" below).

2-Shaman Variant

In the 2-shaman variant, each of you controls 2 sets of Elemental Stones. Each set is associated with its own Mystic Plan.

Setup

• Place in front of each shaman two sets of four Elemental Stones drawn at random from the Reserve.
• Each draw 2 Inspiration Cards.
• Prepare 2 Inspiration Runes, closed-eye side.
• Place a Mystic Plan next to each set of stones.
• Prepare the Ritual Board and the other game elements as for the 3-6 shaman version.

The Actions

On your turn, you may:

• Give 1 stone from one of your sets to one of your partner's sets (provided you still have at least 2 stones left in your set).
• Place 1 stone from one of your sets on the corresponding Mystic Plan (if it is empty).
• Retrieve the stone from one of your Mystic Plans and place it in the corresponding set.
• Resolve your two Inspiration Cards AT THE SAME TIME, or your Ritual Card.
• Exchange 1 stone from one of your partner's Mystic Plans with 1 stone from the Reserve.

Note: as you can see, unlike the standard game, you cannot take stones from your partner's sets, nor exchange stones between your own sets.

Inspiration Phase

To awaken, both conditions of your two Inspiration Cards must be resolved at the same time. You may assign each of your Inspiration Cards to whichever set you wish.

Both shamans must be awakened before you can begin the Ritual Phase.

Ritual Phase

Once a step of the Ritual is completed, each set counts as one shaman.

Example: Élise must resolve the Ritual Card above, which requires that each shaman has exactly one red stone in front of them. Since this is a two-shaman game, each set of stones (4 in total) must contain exactly one red stone.

The sixth Ritual Card is revealed to both shamans as soon as step 5 of the Ritual is completed (it must always be resolved).

The round is won if both shamans are awakened and all the steps of the Ritual are resolved before the time runs out.

Inspiration Cards

The Inspiration Cards represent your individual objectives. You must keep your card face down in front of you, but you may look at it at any time. There are 3 types of card (see below), and each card shows a unique combination of colours. It is important that the shamans remember the 3 types of card so that they can help each other:

• Gather 5 stones of the colour shown.
• Gather 3 stones of the 2 colours shown (6 stones in total).
• Gather 2 stones of the 3 colours shown (6 stones in total).

Time Limit

You have a limited amount of time to finish each of the three rounds. The length of each round depends on the number of shamans present, and the difficulty level chosen.

Number of Shamans	Apprentice	Companion	Master	Guru
2	5 min.	4 min. 30	4 min.	3 min. 30
3	7 min.	6 min.	5 min.	4 min.
4	7 min. 30	6 min. 30	5 min. 30	5 min.
5	8 min.	7 min.	6 min.	5 min. 30
6	8 min. 30	7 min. 30	6 min. 30	6 min.

A simple timer is enough, but if you want a more immersive experience, we recommend the soundtrack available on the site ritualthegame.com.

Player Aid

Did you manage the Ritual on your first try? Sometimes it does not work out right away. If you feel like you are not making progress, here are a few tips.

Did You Help Each Other?

The most important aspect of Ritual is helping each other. If everyone only focuses on resolving their own Inspiration Card, you will not succeed!

Did You Use the Mystic Plans?

Keep in mind that you can place an Elemental Stone on your Mystic Plan so that the other shamans can exchange it for another stone from the Reserve. Most often, this lets you show the other shamans which stones do not interest you.

Do not forget to watch the other shamans' Mystic Plans and exchange their stones if it seems useful to you.

Did You Play Fast Enough?

Ritual is a game of speed. Try to anticipate, and plan your actions before your turn arrives.

Tips and Tricks

If you want to make things easier for yourselves, follow these tips:

• Ritual relies on teamwork. There are not enough stones for all the shamans to awaken at the same time.
• Do not focus solely on your own objective. Helping the group is often more effective than trying to complete your Inspiration Card at all costs.
• It is difficult to keep track of everything happening around you. Focus on one or two shamans at a time.
• Watch closely which stones the others take, give, and place on the Mystic Plans. This will let you guess which Inspiration Card they hold.
• Try to get rid of useless stones quickly to avoid confusion.
• If a shaman has only 2 stones, their actions are limited. Try to avoid this situation as much as possible.