Solomon's Temple Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Setup
• Gameplay (General Overview)
• Stages Per Turn
  • I. Draw Phase
  • II. Military Phase (Your opponent's turn)
  • III. Building Phase
  • IV. Discard Phase
  • V. Winning
  • VI. Card Placement
• Card Type Definitions
• From the Creator

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to be the first player to complete construction of the Temple and have it filled with the presence of God. To do this, you must do the following:

• Build the Temple in its entirety, complete with all Structure cards and all Furnishing cards.
• Play the Filling of the Holy of Holies card, representing God dwelling in the Temple.

Setup

Each player receives one (1) deck of game cards, one (1) game board, one (1) die, and five (5) Babylonian army movement tokens.

Gameplay (General Overview)

1. You both start with one Prophet of your choice from your respective draw pile.

2. You then shuffle your decks. (Both decks are identical with the exception of the Star of David on each card back. One deck has white stars, the other black.)

3. Each player draws eight (8) cards.

4. Flip a coin to determine who goes first.

5. You take turns trying to build your Temple. (You may only "build" one part of the Temple per turn, unless a card states otherwise.) Building is done by placing a Structure, Furnishing, or Guarded Gate card on the board.

6. Your turn is broken down into four phases:

   • Draw phase - First turn, draw eight (8) cards. Each additional turn, draw back up to eight (8) cards.
   • Military phase - Your opponent may place and move Armies, play Siege, Secret Passage, and Destruction cards. Then you may play Israelite Army cards.
   • Building phase - A Structure, Furnishing, or Guarded Gate may be played (built).
   • Discard phase - You may discard up to two (2) cards at the end of each turn.

   (SEE STAGES PER TURN on the next page for further explanations of each step.)

7. The first player to completely build the Temple, complete with all Structure cards and all Furnishing cards and have the Temple filled with the presence of God by playing the Filling of the Holy of Holies card wins!

Stages Per Turn

When it is your turn, you may do the following:

I. Draw Phase

• You draw eight (8) cards on the first turn. Each additional turn you will draw up to eight (8) cards. (Example: If you have five (5) cards at the beginning of your turn, you will draw three (3) cards.)
  • NOTE: Do not draw up to eight (8) cards on your first turn. You must play with the starting eight (8) cards only.
• Lay down any Priest (good), Altar, Levite, Pray and Fast, Prophet, and King cards you wish to bring into play. These cards may be played at any time during your turn. When both a Priest (good) and an Altar are in play at the same time, sacrifices may be offered on them. Burnt Offerings played on the Altar will negate Sin cards played against a player. Instant Offerings (Peace, Guilt, and Grain) do certain things in the game according to the text on each card. You may play as many Instant Offering cards as you want to play. Once the offerings are used, you place them in the discard pile.

II. Military Phase (Your opponent's turn)

The Military Phase is broken down into two (2) sub-phases. The first sub-phase is played by the attacking player. The second part of the Military Phase is played by the defending player.

A. Attacking Player's Sub-phase

1. Check with the Prophet - To determine whether or not an attack may be carried out, the player being attacked must roll a single die to see if the Israelites "listen" to the Prophet. If the player rolls the Star of David, the Israelites "listen" to the Prophet and no Military cards (Siege, Destruction, Secret Passage) or Army actions (placing new Armies or moving existing Armies), may take place during this turn. If a Sword is rolled, the Israelites did not "listen" to the Prophet, and the attacking player may proceed with the Military Phase. (If the opponent being attacked does not have a Prophet in play, then the attacker skips step 1 and goes directly to steps 2 & 3).
2. Play a Babylonian Army card that allows you to place an Army for each card played. You may also move existing Armies and play Siege/Secret Passage cards - The attacking player may place Armies and move each of them one (1) space each. This is done by playing an Army card and placing the Army token on the board. Each new Army must start at the center spot at the bottom of the opponent's board just outside the north city gate. The Army card is then discarded. Armies may not occupy the same position on the board. You may play one (1) Siege/Secret Passage card per Army. (i.e. If there are two (2) Armies, two (2) Siege/Secret Passage cards may be played, one (1) on each Army).
3. Play one (1) Destruction card per Army - After step 2, Destruction cards are played. Only one (1) Destruction card per Army may be played per turn. Destruction cards may be played on Guarded Gates and the Temple itself. Guarded Gates, when destroyed, are placed in the discard pile. When the Temple is destroyed, two (2) Furnishing cards are shuffled back into the DRAW pile and the Army that destroyed the Temple is discarded. If there is a Prophet who is currently in play, it is also discarded.

B. Defending Player's Sub-phase

• Play Israelite Army cards - After your opponent has finished the Attacking Player's Sub-phase, you may play as many Israelite Army cards as you wish.

III. Building Phase

1. "Building" is done by placing a Structure, Furnishing, or Guarded Gate card on the playing board. If you wish to build, you must announce your intent to do so. If you do not have a Structure, Furnishing, or Guarded Gate card to build, you proceed to the Discard Phase (Part IV).
2. The appropriate Structure card must be in place before Furnishings can be added. Each Furnishing card lists the Structure card that must be in play. (Example: To play the Furnishing card Table of Showbread, the Structure card, Main Hall, must be in play first since Table of Showbread is located in the Main Hall (Figure 1-3 below.)
3. When you announce your intent to build, your opponent has the opportunity to play one (1) Sin card against you. (Instant Sin cards do not count towards the one (1) Sin card limit). If a Sin card is not played, you may build one (1) piece of the Temple. If a Sin card is played against you, you may offer up a Burnt Offering to negate it. To offer up a Burnt Offering, you must have a Priest (good) and an Altar in play, as well as a Burnt Offering card to be played. You must show your Burnt Offering card to your opponent in order to use it. The Burnt Offering is then discarded and the Sin is negated (canceled) and discarded. The Scapegoat card may also be used to negate Sin. (See Scapegoat in the CARD TYPE DEFINITIONS Section.) You may now proceed to step #4. If you do not have a sacrifice or if you are missing either the Priest (good) or Altar, go to the Discard Phase.

Additional Points:

• A. Your opponent cannot play a Sin card against you if you do not attempt to build.
• B. If a Sin card is played against you, the effects end at the start of your next turn. In other words, a Burnt Offering will counter a Sin card on the current turn. However, the Sin card is removed at the start of your next turn even if you did not play a Burnt Offering card.

4. Place one (1) Structure, Furnishing, or Guarded Gate card on the board (unless a card states otherwise).

IV. Discard Phase

• You may discard up to two (2) cards. You may do this only if it is your turn. Be careful not to discard any Structure or Furnishing cards!
• Special Exception: In rare circumstances you may find that you have eight (8) Furnishing cards in your hand and no Structure in play where you could play a Furnishing during this or subsequent turns. Since it is almost impossible to win the game if you discard a Furnishing and since you can't draw a new card on your next turn, you are stuck. In this situation you are allowed to shuffle all the cards in your hand back into your draw pile. At the start of your next turn, draw eight (8) new cards.

V. Winning

You win if you build the Temple in its entirety, complete with all Structure and Furnishing cards, and play the Filling of the Holy of Holies card.

VI. Card Placement

The following diagrams show the proper way to place cards onto the board surface. Figure 1 shows the playing board with no cards on it. The building card must be placed first before Furnishings can be played. In this example the Main Hall must be played first as shown in Figure 2. After the building card is placed, the Furnishings found in that part of the Temple can be added as shown in Figure 3.

[Figures 1-3 (board with no cards; Main Hall placed; Furnishings added) and Figures 4-5 (an open, destroyed gate; a Guarded Gate placed on top of it) are diagrams in the printed rulebook and are not reproduced here.]

• Guarded Gates, when played, are placed on top of open (destroyed) gates on the playing board. Figure 4 is an example of an open (destroyed) gate. Figure 5 shows a Guarded Gate placed on top of the open (destroyed) gate.

Card Type Definitions

Altar - The Altar can be played anytime during your turn. Together with the Priest (good), a player may negate a Sin card by offering up a Burnt offering upon the Altar. Grain, Peace, & Guilt Offering cards are also played on the Altar with a Priest (good).

Babylonian Armies - When you are allowed to place an Army, you must place the Army (using an Army token) at the north gate of the city (center of the board closest to the player). All Armies must start there. You may then move the Army one (1) space in the direction of your choice. On following turns each Army may move one (1) space per turn (unless a card states otherwise). Each token represents one thousand (1,000) Babylonian soldiers.

Bad Offerings - Bad Offerings may be played at any time. When played, it is laid on top of your opponent's Altar. (If an Altar is not in play, Bad Offerings may not be played.) The next offering your opponent makes, (Burnt, Peace, Guilt, or Grain) is negated because the offering is "bad". If your opponent never makes another offering, Bad offerings will remain on the Altar. The only way to remove it is by making a sacrifice (Burnt, Peace, Guilt, or Grain).

Blemished Animal - These may be played any time. When your opponent makes an animal sacrifice, (Burnt, Peace, or Guilt) Blemished Animal will negate it, making it a bad offering. Blemished Animal is played after the offering is made.

Broken Altar - This may be played at any time. When played, discard your opponent's Altar and discard Broken Altar.

Cooperation - This card allows you to play two (2) Furnishing cards at the same time. When you are allowed to play a Furnishing card, play Cooperation and then lay down the two (2) Furnishing cards from your hand. If you only have one (1) Furnishing card in your hand, you will only be able to play one (1) Furnishing card. Discard Cooperation when played.

Destruction - These are played on a Babylonian Army. The Army must be next to what it wants to destroy to use the Destruction card. There can be no spaces between them. Destruction cards may be played on:

1. Guarded Gates. The "destroyed" gate is placed in the discard pile.
2. The Temple. You choose two (2) Furnishing cards in the Temple and shuffle them back into your opponent's draw pile. If a Prophet is in play, the Prophet is placed in the discard pile. After the Destruction card is played, the Army on which it was played is discarded.

Evil Priest - This may be played at any time. When your opponent has a Priest (good) in play, Evil Priest will replace it, sending the Priest (good) to the discard pile. While Evil Priest is in play, your opponent may not make any offerings. Evil Priest is discarded when your opponent places a new Priest (good) in play.

Filling of the Holy of Holies - This is a unique card. It can only be played at the end of the game. Once you have finished building the Temple, complete with Furnishings, the Filling of the Holy of Holies card is played. The game is immediately over.

Furnishings - The cards that represent the Furnishings go into the Temple itself. Ark of the Covenant is an example of a Furnishing. Furnishings may only be placed in Structures of the Temple already completed. (For example, Ark of the Covenant is placed in the Holy of Holies. If Holy of Holies is not in play, Ark of the Covenant cannot be played.)

Guarded Gate - This is placed on an open gate to keep the Babylonian Armies out. Guarded Gates must be built just like a piece of the Temple. Once placed in play, a Guarded Gate cannot be moved. While in play Babylonian Armies must move around them (unless a card states otherwise).

Instants - Instant cards may be played at any time, whether or not it is the player's turn. Follow the instructions on each Instant card. These do not count towards your building limit or Sin card limit. In the event two (2) Instant cards are played side-by-side, the Instant card played first takes precedence. An Instant card cannot undo a card that has already been played unless it says so specifically. (Example: you have just played a Burnt Offering to negate a Sin. Your opponent plays Blemished Animal which reads "…interrupt and negate one (1) animal offering that your opponent has just offered…" In this case, the Blemished Animal has negated your Burnt Offering.)

Israelite Army (One-thousand [1,000] troops) - This card is played at the end of the Military Phase. Any Army that is inside the walls of the city may be re-located to any space on the board by the player who played Israelite Army. There is no limit to the number of Armies moved. (If five (5) Armies are inside the gates, they may all be moved). No Armies may be placed on the same spot. If you are able to play two (2) Israelite Army cards (two-thousand [2,000] troops) at the same time, all of the Babylonian Armies (both inside and outside the walls) are discarded. No Babylonian Armies have to be inside the wall when two (2) Israelite Army cards are played.

King David – Once drawn, this card may be played any time during your turn. When King David is in play, the Guarded Gates may be played as Instant cards. No Sin cards can stop the action of King David from happening. There are no limits to the number of Guarded Gates you may play during your turn after you have King David in play. Moreover, once you have King David in play, building a Guarded Gate does NOT count toward your one (1) card building limit.

King Solomon – Like King David, when this card is drawn, it may be played any time during your turn. When King Solomon is in play, the Structures may be played as Instant cards. No Sin cards can stop King Solomon's actions from happening. There are no limits to the number of Structures you may play during your turn after you have King Solomon in play. When you have King Solomon in play, building a Structure does NOT count toward your one (1) card building limit.

Lay Siege - If you have two-thousand (2,000) Babylonian soldiers or more in play, (two [2] or more Army tokens) you may play Lay Siege. You may NOT play any cards on any Armies for two (2) turns. However, new Armies may be placed, and all Armies may move one (1) space each turn. The turn in which the Lay Siege card is played is counted as one (1) turn. (NOTE: If a Prophet is in play, the opposing player may role the die to see if the people "listened" to the Prophet. If they "listen", the turn does NOT count towards the two (2) turns of the Lay Siege card.) On the third turn, you may pick one (1) Guarded Gate and discard it. You may then move one (1) Army one (1) space. (Your opponent may not play another Guarded Gate until you have moved the Army.) The Lay Siege action(s) does not count towards one Army's Military Phase. (For example, Lay Siege is on turn three; so you take one Army and destroy a Guarded Gate. You then move that Army token inside the wall of the city. Now it is that Army's turn to go through the Military Phase where it is allowed to move one more space. The Army has destroyed a Guarded Gate and moved two spaces in one turn.)

You may decide to discard Lay Siege any time during the Military Phase on subsequent turns. It then has no effect. If your opponent plays two (2) Israelite Armies and discards all Babylonian Armies before the Lay Siege requirements are met, the Lay Siege card is discarded.

Levite - The Levite cards may be played anytime during your turn. Sin cards do not affect the Levite card. When you play Levites, search through your draw pile for one Structure card and place it in your hand. Shuffle the draw pile and discard the Levites card. Levites may NOT be played if all Structure pieces are in play.

Military - Lay Siege, Destruction, Babylonian Army and Secret Passage are Military cards. Military cards are played only during the Military phase. All Military cards have a red background.

Offering:

• Burnt offerings - These are sacrifices for the Altar. Sacrifices are offered up to negate the effect of Sin cards. Playing one (1) Burnt Offering card on the Altar with a Priest (good) in play will negate the effect of one (1) Sin card.
• Grain Offering - When played on the Altar with a Priest (good) in play, no Sin card may be played that turn. You may automatically play any one (1) Structure, Furnishing, or Guarded Gate. At the end of your turn, Grain Offering is discarded. If an Instant evil card is played after the Grain Offering has been played, the Instant evil card has no effect.
• Peace Offering - When this is played on the Altar with a Priest (good) in play, you may search through your draw pile and exchange one (1) good card from your hand with one (1) good card in the draw pile. (A good card is defined as any card that does not initiate a negative action toward your opponent. All good cards have a wood background.) The draw pile is then re-shuffled, and you discard Peace Offering.
• Guilt Offering - When this is played on the Altar with a Priest (good) in play, you may shuffle your entire hand back into the draw pile and draw eight (8) new cards. Eight (8) new cards are drawn regardless of the number of cards that were in your hand. Discard Guilt Offering.

Pray and Fast - You may play no good cards (including instant cards) for two (2) turns. The first turn is the turn in which Pray and Fast is played as long as no good cards have been played that turn. On the third turn, you may look through your discard pile and take out one (1) good card. (Remember a good card is defined as any card that does not initiate a negative action toward your opponent. All good cards have a wood background.) At the end of your third turn, you discard Pray and Fast.

Priest (good) - The Priest (good) card may be placed in play once drawn. Together with an Altar you may negate one (1) Sin card played against you by offering up a Burnt offering upon the Altar.

Prophet – (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) - There are three (3) Prophet cards in each deck. The Prophet may be played any time during your turn. You start out with one (1) Prophet already in play at the beginning of the game. It does not matter which Prophet you begin with, or if he is the same as your opponent's. At the beginning of the Military Phase you must roll the six-sided die. If the roll is the Star of David, the people "listen" to the Prophet and your opponent's Army(s) may do nothing. If the roll is a Sword then the people do not "listen" to the Prophet and your opponent's Army may go through its Military phase. Once the Army plays a Destruction card on the Temple itself, the Prophet is immediately discarded.

Scapegoat - The Scapegoat card is an interesting "wild" card of sorts. When you draw the Scapegoat, it is placed in play sideways on the appropriate space on the board. Once a Burnt Offering of an animal is successfully made, Scapegoat is rotated ninety (90) degrees, activating it. When a Sin card is played against you, you may choose to discard the Scapegoat to negate the Sin. A Priest (good) must be in play to use the Scapegoat.

Secret Passage - This card allows you to move one (1) Babylonian Army through a Guarded Gate. The Secret Passage movement does not count towards the Army's one (1) Military Phase move.

Sin - These are cards that you play against your opponent. (Selfish Heart, Idol Worship, Covetous Thoughts, Doubt, False Worship, Blaspheme, Loss of Faith, Arrogance, and Loss of Heart. All Sin cards have a black background.) When your opponent wishes to build a part of his Temple, one (1) Sin card may be played. If he is unable to offer up a sacrifice, the Sin prevents him from playing a Structure, Furnishing or Guarded Gate card that turn. (See special rules above if King David or King Solomon are in play). If your opponent can not make a Burnt offering, the effect of a Sin card ends at the start of your opponent's next turn. If your opponent can offer up a Burnt Offering, the Sin is negated and he may build that turn. Loss of Heart is unique in it's wording. It does not allow any building that turn. Loss of Heart may NOT be undone with a Burnt offering.

Structure - There are five (5) cards that make up the buildings of the Temple. They are: the Porch, Pillar (Boaz), Pillar (Jachin), Main Hall, and Holy of Holies. The appropriate Structure must be in play before any Furnishings found in that part of the Temple can be played. (For example, you cannot play the Furnishing card, Ark of the Covenant, before the Structure card, Holy of Holies, is in play.)

Unclean - This may be played at any time. Unclean disables the Priest (good), making him unable to offer up ANY sacrifice for the current

[The printed rulebook ends the Unclean entry at this point, mid-sentence. The sentence is incomplete in the source and is transcribed as printed; no words have been added.]

From the Creator

While games are designed to be fun, it is a real bonus when the game is also accurate. I have done my best to keep the game as accurate as possible to all Biblical accounts.

1. The Israelites frequently sinned. They had to turn to the priests to offer up a sacrifice on their behalf to make things right with God.
2. The Scapegoat was used by the priests on the Day of Atonement. Two goats were brought to the Temple. One goat was offered up as a sacrifice by the high priest to seek forgiveness for the nation. After the sacrifice, the priest would lay his hands on the head of the second goat, the Scapegoat, symbolically placing upon it the sins of the nation. The Scapegoat was then led out and released into the wilderness to die. This symbolized the removal of sin from the nation of Israel.
3. King David built up Jerusalem. (To this day it is called the City of David.) But David was prohibited by God from building the temple.
4. King Solomon, David's son, was permitted to build the Temple and did so. The Temple in the game is modeled after King Solomon's temple (1st Temple era).
5. All Furnishings in the game were actually found in the Temple.
6. The Babylonians were the first to break into and destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. They came from the north, laid siege to the city, eventually broke in and destroyed the temple, taking parts of it back with them to Babylon.
7. Prophets warned the inhabitants of Jerusalem about the coming Babylonian invasions. Isaiah (8th Century B.C.E.), Jeremiah (7th Century B.C.E.), and Ezekiel (6th Century B.C.E.) were among those prophets. All spoke out against the coming destruction by the Babylonians, urging the people to trust God for their deliverance. When the people listened, God did not permit the enemy to enter and destroy Jerusalem. When they did not listen, the city fell to destruction.
8. When the city was destroyed, the prophet(s) was usually taken away with the invading army (exiled).