Sitting Bull Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Lakota Card Anatomy
• Game Setup
  • Preparing the Lakota deck
  • Setting up the game
  • Setting up the player's area
• Gameplay
  • 1. Play a card
  • 2. Place a Lakota pawn
  • 3. Interact with Sitting Bull
  • 4. Perform the region action
  • 5. Check the Milestones
  • 6. Draw a new card
  • 7. Replenish the region with a new card
• Final Scoring
  • 1. Sacred stones
  • 2. Paths
  • 3. Powwow
  • 4. Offerings
  • 5. Milestones
  • 6. Wisdom cards
• Appendix: Powwow Tiles
• Appendix: Sitting Bull Actions
• Appendix: Region Actions
• Appendix: Feats
• Appendix: Presents
• Appendix: Lakota Cards
• The Paths
  • Path of the Origin
  • Path of the Awakening
  • Path of the Memory
  • Path of Silence

Components

• 1 game board
• 59 Lakota cards
• 4 scoring cards
• 5 wisdom cards
• 24 present tiles
• 48 sacred stones (of 4 types)
• 6 powwow tiles
• 6 milestone tiles
• 6 offerings tiles
• 3 feat discs
• 12 milestone discs (of 4 colors)
• 52 Lakota pawns (of 4 colors)
• 1 Sitting Bull pawn
• 1 scoring notebook
• 1 Lakota pencil

Lakota Card Anatomy

Region icons — Regions where you can place the Lakota pawns when you play a card.

Sitting Bull action — Action you can perform when you play a Lakota pawn in the region where Sitting Bull is.

Path icon — Play the path cards in the matching column in your player zone.

Number of players — Use these cards when playing with the indicated number of players.

Neutral Lakota — In a 2-player game, add a neutral-colored Lakota pawn to the region when this card appears.

Game Setup

Before starting the game, prepare the Lakota card deck, the main playing area and each player's personal area.

Preparing the Lakota deck

Prepare the deck according to the number of players:

• 2 players: discard the cards marked with (3-4) from the game.
• 3 players: discard the cards marked with (4) from the game.
• 4 players: play with all the cards.

Setting up the game

1. Place the board in the center of the table.
2. Shuffle the Lakota deck of cards (which you prepared earlier) and place it near the board.
3. Draw 5 cards from the deck and place one face-up in each of the 5 regions.
4. Randomly draw 3 milestone tiles and place them next to the board.
5. Randomly draw a powwow tile and place it in its space on the board. For your first game, do not place any powwow tile on the board. Use the printed one.
6. Place the presents face down in the Camps region.
7. Place the blue sacred stones in the River region.
8. Place the 3 feat discs in their starting positions on the tracks of the Prairie, Mountain, and Forest regions.
9. Randomly place offerings of value 10, 15, 20 and 25 in each of the 5 regions.
10. Place the Sitting Bull pawn in the same region as the value 10 offerings tile.
11. Prepare a pool with the red, black and Harmony sacred stones near the board.

Place the milestone tiles face up according to the number of players.

In a 2-player game, place a Lakota pawn of a third color in each region containing a card with the neutral-Lakota symbol.

Setting up the player's area

Each player chooses a color and takes the following materials:

• A. 3 feat discs.
• B. Their Lakota pawns, according to the number of players:
  • 2 players: 13 pawns.
  • 3 players: 12 pawns.
  • 4 players: 10 pawns.

In addition, each player takes:

• C. 4 cards from the Lakota deck.
• D. 1 scoring card.
• E. 1 random wisdom card. Keep your wisdom card secret.
• F. The oldest player receives the first player marker and starts the game.

Initial card exchange (voluntary): before starting, players can exchange all 4 of their starting cards for 4 other cards from the deck. The discarded cards are shuffled back into the deck.

Gameplay

The game is played in turns, starting with the starting player and continuing clockwise until everyone has no more Lakota pawns to place on the board. When the last player finishes their turn, the final score is calculated.

On their turn, the active player will follow these 7 steps in order:

1. Play a card

Choose one of the cards from your hand and place it in your play area. The cards are sorted in separate columns according to the type of path.

Note: if an Amulet card is played, you must decide at that moment which path it belongs to (Origin, Awakening or Memory) and place it in the corresponding column. The chosen path must already contain at least one card.

Example: play a path of the Awakening card from your hand and place it in your play area.

2. Place a Lakota pawn

Place a Lakota from your pool in the powwow or in a region of the board, depending on the card played.

Example: place a Lakota pawn in the Mountain region.

3. Interact with Sitting Bull

Check if Sitting Bull is in the same region where you placed your pawn. If so, you must perform the action on the card.

Example: take a black stone from the pool because Sitting Bull is in the region.

4. Perform the region action

Perform the powwow or the region action where you placed your Lakota pawn.

Example: in the Mountain region, you must move the feat disc one space (up or down).

5. Check the Milestones

Check if you've achieved any milestone. If so, place one of your milestone disc in the highest available PP space.

Note: you can't place more than one disc on a single tile, nor more than one disc per turn.

Example: since you have 4 Lakota in the same region, you can place a milestone disc on the tile.

6. Draw a new card

Pick up the card from the region where you placed your Lakota pawn, or, if you placed it at the powwow, draw the deck's top card.

Example: pick up the card from the region where you placed your Lakota pawn.

7. Replenish the region with a new card

If you took a card from a region, draw the top card from the deck and place it in the free space of that region.

Example: replenish the region with a new card.

Final Scoring

Once all players have placed all of their Lakota pawns on the board, calculate the final score to determine who wins the game. Use the score sheet to record the points earned in each of the following sections:

1. Sacred stones

Add up the points for all the sacred stones you have (tokens and presents).

• Red/black/blue sacred stones: 2 prestige points each.
• Presents that award sacred stones: 3 prestige points each.
• Harmony sacred stones: 4 prestige points each.
• Additional bonus: X prestige points, X being the total number of sacred stones accumulated, including the Harmony stones themselves.

2. Paths

Use the scoring card to calculate how many prestige points you get from the 4 paths (Path cards, Path presents, and Feat disc level), according to the number of items you have of each path.

If you played with the 2-player powwow tile, add one path icon for each of your Lakota placed in the corresponding space.

3. Powwow

Score points according to the number of Lakota pawns located in the powwow area.

4. Offerings

In each of the 5 regions, the player with the most Lakota pawns scores the points indicated on the region's offerings. If two or more players tie, no one scores the points.

2 players: Lakota pawns of the third color act as if they were from a third player for the purposes of majorities and ties.

5. Milestones

Score the points earned with the claimed milestone, according to the position of your disc.

6. Wisdom cards

Score the points on your wisdom card if you have achieved the goal.

The player with the highest total score is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the player with the most items of the Path of Silence. If the tie persists, share the victory.

Appendix: Powwow Tiles

Swap — Swap two Lakota from two regions (not from the powwow).

Lakota card — Exchange a card from your hand for another one from the board.

Feats — Move two different feat discs one space (up or down).

Travel — Move any Lakota from a region to another (not to the powwow).

Presents — Take two presents and keep one. Return the other one to the pool, face down.

Leadership — Place the Lakota pawn in one of the free reserved spaces.

Council of Elders — Move any Lakota from a region to the powwow.

This powwow tile is only used in 2-player games. At the end of the game, score the points of the tile and add an extra item to the chosen path.

Appendix: Sitting Bull Actions

• Path of the Origin — Take a red sacred stone.
• Path of the Awakening — Take a black sacred stone.
• Path of the Memory — Take a Harmony sacred stone.
• Path of Silence — Move Sitting Bull to the same region where you placed your Lakota.

Appendix: Region Actions

• Prairie — Move the feat disc one space (up or down) on the Path of the Awakening.
• Mountain — Move the feat disc one space (up or down) on the Path of the Origin.
• Forest — Move the feat disc one space (up or down) on the Path of the Memory.
• River — Take a blue sacred stone.
• Camp — Take one present. Perform the action of the present immediately, or discard it. If it's a stone or card, keep it in your play area until the scoring.

Appendix: Feats

• Big land — Presence of Lakota in all 5 regions.
• Big tribe — Presence of 4 or more Lakota in any one region.
• Magic — Have a sacred stone of every type: red, black, blue and Harmony.
• Hunting game — Have 4 items of the Path of the Origin in your play area.
• Domain — Have in your play area one item of each path: Origin, Awakening, Memory and Silence.
• Power — Have at least 6 sacred stones of any color (red, black, blue or Harmony).

Appendix: Presents

• Sacred stones — Every present awards a sacred stone of the indicated type at the end of the game.
• Paths — Every present awards an item of the indicated path at the end of the game.
• Feats — Instant effect: move the two indicated feat discs one space (up or down).
• Powwow — Instant effect: move one Lakota from a region to the powwow.
• Swap — Instant effect: swap two Lakota between two different regions.
• Call — Instant effect: move one Lakota from a region to any other.

Appendix: Lakota Cards

• Path — The path card is played in your play area and you must perform the Sitting Bull action if you place a Lakota in the region where he is located.
• Amulet — When playing the Amulet card, choose a path (Origin, Awakening or Memory) in which you already have at least one card and add the Amulet to it.
• Powwow — Discard the powwow card when you play it. Place a Lakota pawn on the board's Powwow tile and perform its action.

The Paths

In Lakota culture, a path represents the personal and collective journey that unites body, mind, and spirit within the great circle of life. Walking a path means moving forward with awareness, respect, and responsibility, knowing that each step leaves a mark not only on the earth, but also on the community and the spiritual world.

Path of the Origin

The Path of the Origin takes us back to the first moment, when all things were created and set in their place. For the Lakota, remembering the origin is remembering the sacred relationship between humans and Mother Earth. There is no separation between the birth of the world and the responsibility to care for it. Walking this path implies recognizing that each being has a purpose and a place within the circle of life.

Path of the Awakening

Following the path of the Awakening involves learning to listen to the signals of the natural and the invisible worlds, cultivating respect and gratitude, and living in accordance with the values of truth, humility, and courage. It is a lifelong path that is deepened through ceremonies, dreams, and personal experiences.

Path of the Memory

The Path of the Ancestors' Memory is a sacred link to those who have walked before. For the Lakota people, ancestors are not just a part of the past: they continue to be present as spiritual guides, protectors, and bearers of wisdom. Their stories, songs, and teachings are passed down from generation to generation to keep the memory of the people alive.

Path of Silence

The Path of Silence teaches that the deepest knowledge does not always come through words. In the Lakota tradition, silence is a sacred space where the spirit can speak clearly. Silence is not absence, but openness: it is allowing the heart to hear what the mind cannot understand.