Stephens
Stephens Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1x Game board
- 4x Player boards
- 39x Contract cards
- 32x Investment cards
- 23x Red profession cards
- 23x Blue profession cards
- 4x Starting profession cards
- 48x Escudo* coins (32x value 1, 16x value 5)
- 24x Accessory tiles (8x Basketware, 8x Crates, 8x Chandeliers)
- 1x French army marker
- 84x Wooden disks (21 per player)
- 4x Influence markers (1 per player)
- 60x Translucent cubes (20x Green — bottles, 20x Blue — glassware, 20x White — plate glass)
- 60x Wooden cubes (20x Orange — wooden utensils, 20x Pink — fabrics, 20x Black — pottery)
NOTE - Escudo
*Escudo was the currency in Portugal before the Euro.
NOTE - Unlimited items
Coins, accessory tiles, translucent cubes, and wooden cubes are considered to be unlimited. If there is a shortage during the game, you can use any suitable replacement.
Overview
In Stephens, you take on the role of a master glassmaker working at the famous Stephens' factory, striving to become the most prestigious person in town — second only to William Stephens himself, of course. Through clever planning, you will develop your works, invest in new local businesses, and promote the creation of new jobs.
On your turn, you must choose a single action to perform from a variety of options using a distinct action selection mechanism; you either:
- Take a single cube from a factory on the game board into your personal supply and perform the corresponding action.
OR
- Take a single disk from your player board to assign a worker to a new profession and unlock a permanent ability for yourself.
While you and the other master glassmakers strive to prosper and grow your personal investments, the French army advances towards the town. Stephens is played over an undefined number of sequential turns until the arrival of the French army to the town.
General Setup
- Place the game board in the center of the table.
- Shuffle all red profession cards and create a face-up deck, placing it on the leftmost space of the 6 spaces for professions above the game board. Draw 2 profession cards from that deck and place them face-up into the next 2 leftmost designated spaces.
- Shuffle all blue profession cards and create a face-up deck, placing it on the rightmost space of the 6 spaces for professions above the game board. Draw 2 profession cards from that deck and place them face-up into the previous 2 rightmost designated spaces.
- Sort the accessory tiles by type and form a general supply within reach of all players.
- Place all Escudo coins in the general supply, next to the accessory tiles.
- Sort the cubes by type and color and place them in the general supply. Place 4 translucent cubes into each furnace at the Stephens' factory, in the central section of the game board, according to the color depicted on each furnace:
- 6a: 4 Green cubes.
- 6b: 4 Blue cubes.
- 6c: 4 White cubes.
- 6d: 4 White cubes.
- Shuffle all contract cards and create a face-down deck, placing it below the game board under the 5 spaces for contracts (on the left side). Draw 5 contract cards from that deck and place them face-up into the designated spaces.
- Shuffle all investment cards and create a face-down deck, placing it below the game board under the 5 spaces for investments (on the right side). Draw 5 investment cards from that deck and place them face-up into the designated spaces.
- Place the French army marker into the space marked as 55 next to the bicorne hat on the Scoring track [see appendix "Scoring track" — page 23].
- Randomly assign each player an individual board, ensuring that the board with the starting player icon is in play.
Player Setup
Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding 21 wooden disks and 1 influence marker.
- a. Place your influence marker into the space marked with the influence icon on the Influence track on your player board [see appendix "Influence track" — page 23].
- b. Place 1 disk into each of the spaces marked as 5, 10, 15 and 20 of your Influence track.
- c. Place 1 disk into each of the 14 spaces depicting abilities in the center of your player board. Some disks depict the icon of a specific ability. When applicable, place the disk in the corresponding ability space. Otherwise, place a generic disk.
- d. Take 1 accessory tile of your choice from the general supply into your personal supply.
- e. Take 4$ in Escudo coins.
- f. Place 1 disk into the starting space of the Scoring track, marked as 0.
- g. Place 1 disk into the space marked with the gear icon on the Forest track [see appendix "Forest track" — page 23].
- h. Place 1 disk into the space marked with the gear icon on the Dune track [see appendix "Dune track" — page 23].
- i. Starting with the player in possession of the board with the starting player icon and proceeding in a clockwise direction, each player receives 1 random starting profession and immediately attaches it to the Stephens' factory as a new profession [see chapter "Create a new profession" — page 10]. Return any remaining starting professions to the game box according to the number of players.
Player's Turn
Stephens is played over an undefined number of sequential turns, starting with the player in possession of the board with the starting player icon and proceeding in a clockwise direction.
On your turn, you must choose a single action to perform from a variety of options using a distinct action selection mechanism; you either:
- Take a single cube from a factory on the game board into your personal supply and perform the corresponding action.
OR
- Take a single disk from your player board to assign a worker to a new profession and unlock a permanent ability for yourself.
Obtain glass from the Stephens' factory
When you choose to obtain glass from the Stephens' factory, you must take a single glass product, represented by a translucent cube, from a furnace at the Stephens' factory into your personal supply.
In addition, you must perform the action associated with the place you are getting the glass from, allowing you to either:
- Commit to a new contract
OR
- Fund a new investment
OR
- Activate professions
Whenever you obtain glass from a furnace at the Stephens' factory, you need to check if you triggered the requirement for a reset phase by the end of your turn [see chapter "Trigger a reset phase" — page 15].
NOTE - Stephens' factory
When you obtain glass from the Stephens' factory, you may have the following options available:
- Green cubes (bottles).
- Blue cubes (glassware).
- White cubes (plate glass).
Obtain products from a small factory
When you choose to obtain products from a small factory, you must take a single product, represented by a wooden cube, from that factory into your personal supply.
In addition, you must activate all the professions in that row [see chapter "Activate professions" — page 13]. As the game advances, there is an ability that allows you to increase the quantity of products you may obtain when performing this action.
NOTE - Small factories
The small factories start empty, but you will be able to supply them later on. When you obtain products from a small factory, you may have the following options available:
- Brown cubes (wooden utensils).
- Pink cubes (fabrics).
- Black cubes (pottery).
Assign a worker to a new profession
When you choose to assign a worker to a new profession, you must take a single worker, represented by a wooden disk, from your player board and assign it to a profession card to either:
- Create a new profession
OR
- Reinforce an existing profession
In addition, every time you take a disk from your player board, you unlock a permanent ability for yourself.
§ Commit to a new contract
When you choose to obtain plate glass, represented by a white cube, from the lower left furnace at the Stephens' factory that produces it, besides taking the plate glass to your personal supply, you may also commit to a new contract.
To commit to a new contract, you must choose 1 of the 5 face-up contract cards and spend as many influence points as indicated to the right of the contract you want to acquire, reducing them from the Influence track on your player board.
Below your Influence track, you will find 3 available spaces to place contract cards that are yet to be fulfilled. After spending the necessary influence points to commit to the contract, place it into one of the designated spaces, as long as that space does not have another contract. Therefore, you may only have a maximum of 3 contracts to fulfill at any time.
To end your turn, slide the remaining cards towards the direction with the lowest cost, if needed. Then, refill the empty space with a new card from the deck.
Anatomy of a contract card
The contract cards that you acquire represent contracts that the Stephens' factory has for fulfillment, and you propose yourself to be in charge of fulfilling them, using your influence alongside Stephens.
- On the left side, an illustration is depicted representing the type of contract:
- 1a: Crown — supply of products for the Portuguese Crown.
- 1b: Compass rose — supply of products for the Colonies.
- 1c: English flag — supply of products for the United Kingdom.
- On the right side, the required resources to fulfill the contract (possible during the reset phases) are depicted, which may be cubes and/or accessories [see chapter "Fulfill personal contracts" — page 18].
EXAMPLE: Commit to a new contract
Ângela, playing with teal, wants to commit to a new contract. She starts her turn by obtaining plate glass from the lower left furnace at the Stephens' factory (A). Then, in order to acquire the contract with the lowest cost on the display (B), Ângela reduces 1 influence on her player board as indicated on the game board (C). To end her turn, she slides the remaining contracts on the display and refills the empty space with a new card from the deck (D).
§ Fund a new investment
When you choose to obtain plate glass, represented by a white cube, from the lower right furnace at the Stephens' factory that produces it, besides taking the plate glass to your personal supply, you may also fund a new investment.
To fund a new investment, you must choose 1 of the 5 face-up investment cards and spend as many coins as indicated to the left of the investment you want to acquire, paying the coins from your personal supply to the general supply.
On the right side of your player board, you will find 3 available spaces to form 3 rows of investment cards. After spending the necessary coins to fund the investment, place it into one of the designated rows according to the placement rules.
To end your turn, slide the remaining cards towards the direction with the lowest cost, if needed. Then, refill the empty space with a new card from the deck.
Placement rules
Each row of investment cards must only depict cubes of the color marked on your player board for that row. As such, you may have:
- 1 row containing only investments that may provide wooden utensils (orange cubes).
- 1 row containing only investments that may provide fabrics (pink cubes).
- 1 row containing only investments that may provide pottery (black cubes).
When placing a new investment card on the right side of your player board, you must place it in the leftmost available space of the corresponding row.
An investment card that does not depict cubes of any color may be placed into any row at your choice. There is no limit to the number of investments you may fund, as long as they comply with the placement rules.
Anatomy of an investment card
The investment cards that you acquire represent your personal investments from which you intend to collect income.
- On the left side, you may find victory points and/or cubes that you may gain when you activate that investment during the reset phases.
- On the right side, there is an illustration representing the investment, and you may find the symbol for the Forest track or the Dune track, where you must go down whenever you activate the investment, representing your exploitation of the natural resources from the forest and the dunes of the Atlantic Coast [see chapter "Activate personal investments" — page 17].
EXAMPLE: Fund a new investment
Maria, playing with yellow, wants to fund a new investment. She starts her turn by obtaining plate glass from the lower right furnace at the Stephens' factory (A). Then, in order to acquire the investment in the middle on the display (B), Maria pays 3 coins to the general supply as indicated on the game board (C). To end her turn, she slides the necessary investments on the display and refills the empty space with a new card from the deck (D).
§ Create a new profession
When you choose to create a new profession, you must select 1 of the 6 face-up profession cards and attach it to any factory of your choice, as long as it complies with the placement rules.
Then, you must take a single worker, represented by a wooden disk, from your player board, and assign it to the upper worker space of that profession card.
When that space has an icon with a small red cross, it represents the cost you must pay to place your worker into that space.
To end your turn refill the empty space with a new card from the corresponding deck. In case a profession deck runs out, shuffle the corresponding discard pile and create a new draw deck.
Placement rules
You must attach a new profession to a factory according to its worker illustration position:
- All professions in the red deck have the worker illustration on the left, meaning that you must attach these professions to factories only on the left side of the game board. You may overlap the illustrations to save space on the table.
- All professions in the blue deck have the worker illustration on the right, meaning that you must attach these professions to factories only on the right side of the game board. You may overlap the illustrations to save space on the table.
- There are 2 left starting professions and 2 right starting professions, and you must attach them properly, depending on the illustration's position on the card.
Both on the left and right sides of the game board, there are 3 places to choose from when attaching new professions: the upper and lower small factories on the upper section of the game board and the upper furnaces at the Stephens' factory.
Every time you create a new profession, you must consider the current number of professions in the factory immediately below the factory where you intend to attach the new profession. Any factory may only have less professions than the factory immediately below itself, not the same number or higher.
In other words, on each side of the board, the upper small factories cannot have the same or more professions than the lower small factories. Similarly, the lower small factories cannot have the same or more professions than the upper furnaces at Stephens' factory. The upper furnaces may have any number of professions attached to them, with no restriction.
Additionally, every time you take a disk from your player board, you unlock a permanent ability for yourself.
Anatomy of a profession card
The profession cards, where you assign workers, will provide you with benefits every time someone activates a row of professions where you have workers [see chapter "Activate professions" — page 13].
- On the right/left side, there is an illustration that represents the profession.
- On the left/right side, you may find either one or two worker spaces.
- When a space depicts an icon with a small red cross, it represents the cost you must pay to place your worker into that space.
- On the bottom, there is the benefit you may choose to receive when the profession is activated. You do not receive this benefit immediately upon assigning your worker.
- Sometimes, the benefit is represented in the form of a trade, where you exchange one thing for another.
EXAMPLE: Create a new profession
André, playing with gray, wants to create a new profession. He starts his turn by selecting the 2nd leftmost profession on the display and attaching it to the upper left furnace at the Stephens' factory (A). Then, in order to assign a worker to that profession, André pays 3 coins to the general supply as indicated on the upper space of the chosen profession (B). Next, he takes a worker from his player board and assigns it to the profession (C), unlocking a permanent ability on his player board. To end his turn, André refills the empty space (C) on the display with a new card from the leftmost profession deck (D).
Master and Apprentice
When creating a new profession, you must assign a worker to that profession by placing a disk of your choice from your player board into the upper designated space of that profession card.
The upper worker assigned to a profession card is always designated as the master, and it is placed at the moment you create a new profession.
When a profession card shows a second worker space, a worker in this space is always referred to as the apprentice, and it is placed when you reinforce an existing profession.
When a profession is activated, an apprentice has the same effect of a master.
During final scoring, a profession with an apprentice provides 1 victory point to the master on the same card (the player who created the profession). No points are awarded to the player who reinforced the profession and assigned the apprentice.
In the rare case that you have no more disks on your player board, you cannot perform this action. From that moment on, you may only take cubes from either the Stephens' factory or the small factories.
§ Reinforce an existing profession
When you choose to reinforce an existing profession, you must select a profession already in play to assign a second worker into the lower designated space of that card, as long as it complies with the placement rules.
Placement rules
- You may only assign a second worker to profession cards that depict two spaces to place workers, as long as the lower space is still without a worker.
- In addition, if the worker in the upper space of the profession card is of your color, you may never assign a second worker to that profession card.
EXAMPLE: Reinforce an existing profession
Pedro, playing with red, wants to reinforce an existing profession. He starts his turn by taking a worker from his player board and assigning it to the chosen profession (A), also unlocking a permanent ability on his player board. Pedro ends his turn without any payment, considering the space designated for the apprentice does not depict a cost.
§ Activate professions
When you choose to obtain any cube other than a white cube (plate glass), either from the upper furnaces at the Stephens' factory or from the small factories on the upper section of the game board, you also allow the activation of all professions attached to the row immediately to the side of your chosen cube.
Players may activate their own professions in any order they choose. Therefore, every time a player activates professions, all players may collect the benefits from the professions where they have a master or an apprentice in the preferred order, as long as they are in the row that was activated.
Every profession is activated individually and each activation is optional, so you may choose to collect the benefits from all, some, or none of the activated professions where you have a master or an apprentice.
The master and the apprentice on the same card are from different players and are independent of each other, so the players may choose to collect the same or a different benefit when a profession card allows it.
EXAMPLE: Activate professions
André wants to obtain bottles from the upper left furnace at the Stephens' factory, so he takes 1 green cube to his personal supply (A). In addition, he activates all professions attached to the left of that furnace (B). First, André chooses to gain 1 influence (C) and then spends 1 influence to move up 1 space on the Dune track (D). Secondly, Pedro also spends 1 influence to move up 1 space on the Dune track (E). Next, Ângela gains 1 coin and 1 influence (F). Finally, Maria chooses to gain 1 coin (G).
Unlock permanent abilities
When you choose to assign a worker to a profession, you take a disk from your player board and assign it to a profession card either to create a new profession or to reinforce an existing one. Every time you take a disk from your player board, you unlock a permanent ability for yourself.
1. Influence points
You start the game with 2 influence points and you may go up to a maximum of 25 influence points. However, you must unlock the spaces 5/10/15/20 on your Influence track to be able to pass through those spaces with your influence marker.
2. Victory points
Your abilities as a master glassmaker are registered in the book depicted on your player board. On the left page, the abilities are related to victory points (VP).
The lower ability 2a must be unlocked before the other 4 abilities linked to it. However, the 4 upper abilities may be unlocked in any order you choose.
- 2a: You gain 1 VP during each reset phase.
- 2b: You gain 1 VP for each 2 cubes not spent in your personal supply during final scoring.
- 2c: You gain 1 VP for each 2 coins not spent in your personal supply during final scoring.
- 2d: You gain 1 VP for each 1 influence point remaining on your track during final scoring.
- 2e: You gain 5 VP for each set of 3 different accessories either spent (on your fulfilled contracts) or still in your personal supply during final scoring.
3. Professions
There are 2 sections on the right page of the book on your player board. The left side of this page shows a sector with 2 abilities related to professions and may be unlocked in any order you choose.
- 3a: At the start of your turn, you may discard either the 2 rightmost face-up red professions or the 2 leftmost face-up blue professions and refill the empty spaces with new cards from the corresponding deck. Afterwards, you may either create a new profession by selecting one from the display and attaching it to any factory, or perform a different action. You may never discard the topmost card from the deck.
- 3b: At the beginning of the game, when creating a new profession you may only attach it to a factory when you are not causing that factory to have the same number of professions or higher than the factory immediately below itself. After unlocking this ability you may also attach a new profession to a factory even when its number of professions is going to be the same than the factory below but not higher.
4. Contracts and Investments
At the center of the right page of your book, there are 2 sectors composed of 2 abilities each, all related to contracts and investments. The 2 sectors may be unlocked in any order you choose but within each sector the space closest to the icon must be unlocked before the other.
Upper sector:
- 4a: You may use 2 cubes of the same color as a replacement for any other cube of a different color when fulfilling a contract.
- 4b: When you choose to obtain a white cube (plate glass) from the Stephens' factory, you may acquire 2 cards instead of 1 when committing to a new contract or funding a new investment. As usual, you only refill the empty spaces on the display with new cards by the end of your turn.
Lower sector:
- 4c: You may discard the contract or investment card with the lowest cost before acquiring the new one. Then, slide the remaining cards towards the direction with the lowest cost and refill the empty space with a new card from the corresponding deck.
- 4d: When acquiring a new contract or investment, you will receive a discount of 1 influence/coin. Even if you acquire 2 cards by combining this ability with 4b, you only receive the discount of 1 influence/coin on one of the cards. You must pay the full price for the second card. Moreover, you may never reduce a cost to 0; always paying a minimum of 1 influence/coin.
5. Small factories
On the right side of the right page of your book, there is a sector with 3 abilities related to the quantity of products you may obtain from small factories. These must be unlocked from 5a to 5c.
At the beginning of the game, you may only obtain 1 cube from a small factory when performing that action. After unlocking these abilities:
- 5a: You may obtain 2 cubes from the same factory.
- 5b: You may obtain 3 cubes from the same factory.
- 5c: You may obtain 4 cubes from the same factory.
- 5*: When getting 3 or 4 cubes from the same small factory, using those abilities, you may activate the effect of an empty furnace at the Stephens' factory instead of activating the row of professions attached to the small factory from which you are getting the cubes. This way, you may either activate one row of professions at the Stephens' factory, commit to a new contract, or fund a new investment, depending on the empty furnace you choose to activate.
Reset Phase
Trigger a reset phase
Whenever you obtain glass from a furnace at the Stephens' factory, you always need to check if you have triggered the requirement for a reset phase.
A reset phase is triggered when 2 out of the 4 furnaces at the Stephens' factory are empty by the end of your turn. If this condition is met, all players proceed to the reset phase and then return to regular turns, starting with the next player in clockwise order.
A reset phase must follow a specific order, with each step occurring after another. In some cases, all players may perform simultaneously, but whenever this may cause any conflict, the resolution must follow the turn order, starting with the player who triggered the reset phase.
EXAMPLE: Trigger a reset phase
On his turn, Pedro funded a new investment and triggered a reset phase by emptying the 2nd furnace at the Stephens' factory while obtaining the last white cube from the lower right furnace.
Advance the French army
The first step during a reset phase is the advancement of the French army towards the town, marked by the French army marker on the Scoring track that advances 5 spaces towards the space 0.
The French army marker follows a reverse path on the Scoring track, going from the space marked as 55 next to the bicorne hat towards the space 0. The end of the game is triggered when the French army marker reaches or crosses the position of any player's scoring marker on the Scoring track.
EXAMPLE: Advance the French army
Continuing the previous example, let's follow the steps of the reset phase. First, the French army marker moves 5 spaces on the Scoring track (from 50 to 45).
Replenish the furnaces
After the advancement of the French army marker, replenish only the 2 empty furnaces at the Stephens' factory, each with the quantity of cubes indicated in the space of the Scoring track where the French army marker just stopped. When the space of the track provides multiple values, the indication is for games with 4/3/2 players.
EXAMPLE: Replenish the furnaces
After the advancement of the French army, the 2 empty furnaces at the Stephens' factories are refilled with 3 cubes each from the general supply, as indicated in the space where the French army marker stopped, to a 4-player game.
Gain 1 victory point from an ability
As mentioned before, every time you take a disk from your player board, you unlock a permanent ability for yourself. There is one particular ability on your player board that provides you with 1 immediate victory point on the Scoring track during each reset phase, as long as you have unlocked it.
EXAMPLE: Gain 1 VP from an ability
Each player who has unlocked the ability that provides 1 victory point during each reset phase moves forward 1 space on the Scoring track.
Empty the small factories
During a reset phase, all cubes still in the small factories are removed from the game board and returned to the general supply.
EXAMPLE: Empty the small factories
The small factories are emptied, so the 2 remaining orange cubes at the lower right small factory are returned to the general supply.
Activate personal investments
Once you fund an investment, it does not give you any immediate benefit, but it may provide you with income (victory points and/or products) when activated during the reset phases. However, some of your investments may only provide you with income by exploiting your natural resources from the Forest track or the Dune track.
As mentioned before, whenever you fund investments, you must place them into the rows of investments according to the color of cubes depicted, keeping all the investments sharing the same color of cubes in the same row.
Consequently, each column of investments may be composed of a maximum of 3 cards, all with different colors of cubes. An investment card showing no cubes may be in any row.
During a reset phase, each investment column is activated individually. It is optional to activate all, some, or none of your investment columns, but you must activate the entire column at once if you choose to do so. However, activating a column does not necessarily require it to contain 3 cards; it may contain only 1 or 2 and be activated.
- You must spend immediately the indicated resources from the Forest track and the Dune track, if any, going down on the corresponding track. In case you are unable to spend the indicated resource from a track, you may not activate that column to gain any benefits depicted.
- You gain all victory points depicted, if any, and add them to the Scoring track.
- You gain all cubes (orange, pink and/or black) depicted, if any, and reserve them on top of the corresponding investment cards for usage in the reset phase. You may never add cubes that you gain during the reset phase to your personal supply.
This means that every time you choose to activate a specific column of investment cards:
- You either gain and spend everything that is depicted in all the cards in a column.
- Or you do not gain and spend anything that is depicted in all the cards in a column.
EXAMPLE: Activate personal investments
Pedro has 1 column with 3 investments and decides to activate it (A). First, he moves down 1 space on the Forest track (B) and 1 space on the Dune track (C). Secondly, he moves forward 3 spaces on the Scoring track (D). Finally, he gains 1 orange cube (E) and 2 black cubes (F) and reserves them on top of the corresponding investments. All other players also choose which columns of investments they want to activate.
Supply small factories
After activating your personal investments, you must use all the cubes you just gained from your personal investments to supply the small factories located in the upper section of the game board.
While supplying the small factories, you may distribute any quantity and combination of cubes among the different factories, as long as you comply with valid combinations for each factory. As a reward, you gain the depicted benefit for each valid combination you provide. A cube provided in a set does not give you the same bonus as when it is supplied to the factory individually.
If you wish to, you may supply the same factory multiple times in the same reset phase with the same combination of cubes.
EXAMPLE: Supply small factories
Ângela has 2 orange cubes and 2 black cubes and decides to supply 2 orange cubes to the lower left small factory (A) and 2 black cubes to the upper right small factory (B), obtaining a total of 4 influence and 2 coins. All other players also choose which small factories to supply.
Fulfill personal contracts
The contracts you commit to during the game may only be fulfilled during reset phases. It is optional to fulfill all, some, or none of the contracts during the reset phases. However, as long as you are able to provide all the required resources to fulfill a contract, you may do it. Also, you may never partially fulfill a contract over time.
To fulfill a personal contract, you must spend all the required resources indicated to the right of the contract card you want to fulfill, paying the resources from your personal supply to the general supply. Once you fulfill a contract, it does not give you any immediate benefit, but it will provide you with victory points during final scoring.
Some contracts require a specific accessory tile to be returned to the general supply. Whenever a contract requires an accessory but does not specify which one, you choose which accessory to provide and place it on top of the fulfilled contract only for the purpose of scoring accessories.
On the left of your player board, you find 3 available spaces to form 3 rows of contract cards. After spending all the resources to fulfill the contract, place it into one of the designated rows according to the placement rules.
Placement rules
Each row of contract cards must only depict illustrations of the type marked on your player board for that row. As such, you may have:
- 1 row containing only contracts that supply products for the Portuguese Crown.
- 1 row containing only contracts that supply products for the Colonies.
- 1 row containing only contracts that supply products for the United Kingdom.
When placing a new contract card on the left side of your player board, you must place it in the rightmost available space of the corresponding row.
There is no limit to the number of contracts you may fulfill, as long as they comply with the placement rules.
EXAMPLE: Fulfill personal contracts
Maria has 2 personal contracts to fulfill and for which she has all the required resources. First, she returns 1 pink cube to the general supply to fulfill the contract for the Portuguese Crown and moves that contract to the designated space on the left of her player board (A). Next, she returns 1 white cube and 1 black cube to the general supply to fulfill the contract for the United Kingdom, also moving it to its designated space (B). All other players also choose which personal contracts to fulfill.
End of the Game
While you and the other master glassmakers strive to prosper and grow your personal investments, the French army advances towards the town. Stephens is played over an undefined number of sequential turns until the arrival of the French army to the town.
The end of the game is triggered when the French army marker reaches or crosses the position of any player's scoring marker on the Scoring track. When this occurs, the remaining players before who holds the board with the starting player icon perform their turn, so each player has taken an equal number of turns. Then, all players take one additional turn each.
It is possible that one or multiple reset phases occur during these last turns. In this case, players must proceed as usual for a reset phase. After the last player performs their last turn, a final reset phase takes place, regardless of how many empty factories there are. Then, proceed to the final scoring.
Final Scoring
To calculate their final score, each player sums up their victory points (VP) as follows:
- VP marked on the Scoring track during the game.
- VP determined by the position of your disk on the Forest track:
- 0/7/15 VP depending on the sector your disk ends.
- VP determined by the position of your disk on the Dune track:
- 0/7/15 VP depending on the sector your disk ends.
- VP for your master workers assigned to profession cards, depending on the factory:
- 4a: Stephens' factory: 1 VP per master.
- 4b: Lower small factories: 3 VP per master.
- 4c: Upper small factories: 5 VP per master.
- VP for apprentice workers assigned to profession cards with your master:
- An apprentice always provides 1 VP to the master, who is the player that created the profession and receives that 1 VP.
- VP calculated for the fulfilled contracts:
- For each column, multiply the total number of cards in that column by the total number of cubes depicted in the fulfilled contracts in that column.
- VP determined by unlocked abilities on your player board, when applicable:
- 7a: 1 VP for each 2 cubes not spent in your personal supply.
- 7b: 1 VP for each 2 coins not spent in your personal supply.
- 7c: 1 VP for each 1 influence point marked on the Influence track on your player board.
- 7d: 5 VP for each set of 3 different accessories either spent (on your fulfilled contracts) or still in your personal supply.
The player with the most victory points is the winner. In case of a tie, the winner is the tied player with the most remaining influence points. If there is still a tie, the tied player with the most remaining coins wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory!
EXAMPLE: Final scoring
Maria calculates her final score:
- 38 VPs from the Scoring track.
- 7 VPs from the Forest track.
- 0 VPs from the Dune track.
- 24 VPs from her master workers:
- 4a: 2 VPs = 1 VP x 2 master workers at the Stephens' factory.
- 4b: 12 VPs = 3 VPs x 4 master workers at the lower small factories.
- 4c: 10 VPs = 5 VPs x 2 master workers at the upper small factories.
- 4 VPs from apprentices with her master workers.
- 12 VPs = 1 column = 3 cards x 4 cubes from her fulfilled contracts.
- 26 VPs from her unlocked abilities.
- 7a: 7 VPs = 14 cubes / 2.
- 7b: 5 VPs = 11 coins / 2.
- 7c: 9 VPs = 9 influence points.
- 7d: 5 VPs = 1 set of 3 different accessories x 5.
Therefore, Maria ends the game with a total of 111 VPs.
Solo Mode
In the solo mode, you face off against an Automa opponent. The goal is to determine which one of you will ascend to the role of the next master glassmaker, reporting directly to Stephens.
Components
- 10x Automa cards
- 1x Worker supply card
- 6x Scenario cards
- 5x Opponent cards
- 2x Player aid cards
General setup
Set up the game as usual, but with one modification:
- In each furnace at the Stephens' factory, place 3 translucent cubes instead of 4.
Automa's setup
Follow these steps to set up the Automa:
- Shuffle the 10 Automa cards and create a face-down deck in the designated Automa play area on the table. Leave room for one revealed card to be placed on its side during the Automa's turns.
- Place the worker supply card in the Automa's play area.
- Select one of the unused player colors to represent the Automa:
- 3a: Take 10 wooden disks of the chosen color and place them on the supply card, with 1 disk per space.
- 3b: Place the remaining disks of the Automa's color in the general supply. These will only be used in rare instances.
- Take 7 orange cubes, 7 pink cubes, and 7 black cubes from the general supply. Place them in a supply near the Automa's play area for use during the reset phase. You may use a bag or other suitable container to keep the supply hidden and to be able to mix the cubes thoroughly.
- Randomly assign 1 starting profession to the Automa, attaching it to the Stephens' factory, on the opposite side of the game board from your starting profession. Take the 1st worker, represented by a wooden disk, from the Automa's worker supply card and assign it to that profession card.
Player's turn
Before your first turn, choose a difficulty level for the specific game, keeping in mind that the mode will influence the game's length. This choice will determine when to initiate the final reset phase, which is based on the French army marker's position on the Scoring track:
- Easy: Trigger the final reset phase when the French army marker reaches space 20.
- Normal: Trigger the final reset phase when the French army marker reaches space 25.
- Hard: Trigger the final reset phase when the French army marker reaches space 30.
You are always the first player and will alternate turns with the Automa, performing your turns as usual. However, there is one additional rule to follow:
- The total number of your workers (both masters and apprentices) cannot exceed the Automa's number of workers by more than 3. In other words, you must never have more than 3 additional workers assigned to professions compared to the Automa.
Automa's turn
When the Automa takes a turn, start by revealing the next card in their deck, then follow the instructions on the card. If the Automa exhausts their face-down deck, take all their cards from the revealed pile, shuffle them, and create a new face-down deck. Then, proceed as usual.
The instructions on an Automa card refer to one of the following actions:
- Remove 1 cube from the indicated furnace at the Stephens' factory. If there are no more cubes there, follow the arrow's direction until you are able to remove a cube from a furnace. When the Automa removes a cube from the upper furnaces, activate your own professions attached to the same row.
- After removing a white cube from one of the lower furnaces at the Stephens' factory, remove the indicated contracts or investments from the display based on their costs.
- Take the indicated profession from the display and attach it to the topmost profession row where the Automa may comply with the placement rules. Then, take the next worker from the Automa's worker supply card and assign it to the upper space of that profession card.
- Remove a certain number of cubes from the indicated small factory, based on the highest number visible on the Automa's worker supply card. If there are no cubes there, follow the arrow's direction until you are able to remove at least one cube from a small factory. If all small factories are out of cubes, follow the arrow's direction to remove a single cube from the furnaces at the Stephens' factory. You always choose which cubes to remove.
Note: The Automa never activates their own workers, only yours.
Reset phase
During the reset phase, follow the usual steps, with one modification:
- In the final step, supply small factories, the Automa performs their own supply step before you supply the small factories with cubes gained from activating your personal investments. The Automa's supply step is described below.
Automa's supply step
Refer to the lower section of the topmost visible Automa card, which is the last card they played, and follow its instructions:
- Randomly take a number of cubes from the Automa's supply as indicated on the card, one at a time. Place each cube in a different small factory, starting at the specified small factory and following the direction of the arrow.
- In the unlikely event that the Automa exhausts all the cubes from their supply, they do not add any more cubes for the rest of the game.
- If the card displays a disk placement symbol, take the next worker from the Automa's worker supply card. Assign this worker to any available apprentice space on a profession card with your master.
End of the game
You and the Automa take turns over an undefined number of rounds until the French army marker reaches a certain space on the Scoring track. This is based on the game mode you chose at the beginning of the game, which triggers the final reset phase.
If the Automa triggers the final reset phase, you still perform one final turn after resolving the reset phase. If you trigger the final reset phase, both the Automa and you perform one final turn after resolving the reset phase. Regardless, you always perform the last turn of the game.
Final scoring
To calculate your final score, sum up your victory points (VP). Validate your final score according to the difficulty level you selected at the beginning of the game.
| RANK | EASY | NORMAL | HARD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | ≤ 140 VP | ≤ 120 VP | ≤ 100 VP |
| Artisan | 141 - 179 VP | 121 - 159 VP | 101 - 139 VP |
| Glassblower | ≥ 180 VP | ≥ 160 VP | ≥ 140 VP |
Opponent variant
For an additional challenge, you may choose one of the various opponent cards to compete against or select one randomly. Before your first turn, choose a difficulty level.
- Easy (100 VP)
- Normal (130 VP)
- Hard (160 VP)
These opponents may introduce unique setup rules or impose limitations during gameplay, which always take precedence over the regular rules.
- During setup, place your disks 2 spaces lower on both the Forest and Dune tracks.
- During setup, do not place the Contract and the Investment in the spaces costing 5. These spaces are unavailable throughout the game.
- You may only acquire a duplicate accessory after completing the previous set of 3 different ones.
- The indicated benefit is unavailable to you throughout the game. Do not use the worker covering that space on your player board.
- During setup, place all 4 disks on your Influence track stacked in the space marked as 10.
- Trigger the final reset phase when the French army marker reaches space 25.
Appendix
Scoring track
The Scoring track is depicted in the center of the lower section of the game board and serves 2 purposes:
- The French army marker follows a path on the track from space 55 to space 0, marking the advancement of the French army towards the town.
- The scoring markers follow a path on the track from space 0 to space 55, marking the current victory points of all players throughout the game.
The end of the game is triggered when the French army marker reaches or crosses the position of any player's scoring marker on the track, or vice versa, hence the use of a multi-purpose track.
Influence track
The Influence track is depicted on your player board and marks your current influence points during the game, representing your influence as a master glassmaker alongside William Stephens.
Influence points may be spent when committing to new contracts and may also be used in trades when you are activating professions to collect benefits.
Forest track
The Forest track is depicted in the center of the upper section of the game board, to the left of the Dune track, and represents your exploitation of natural resources from the forest. For example, the wood was used to heat the furnaces.
This track is divided into 3 different sectors, and you may spend resources from it when activating your investments during the reset phase. During final scoring, the sector where your disk is positioned may provide you with 0/7/15 victory points.
Dune track
Similarly to the Forest track on its left, the Dune track represents your exploitation of natural resources from the dune. For example, the sand was used to produce glass.
This track is divided into 3 different sectors, and you may spend resources from it when activating your investments during the reset phase. During final scoring, the sector where your disk is positioned may provide you with 0/7/15 victory points.
Iconography
Whenever an icon depicts a number, it indicates the quantity you gain or pay (in the case there is a red cross). When the icon does not depict any number, you gain or pay 1.
- Reset phase — depicted in the starting spaces on both the Forest and Dune tracks, and in the starting profession cards.
- Victory points provided during final scoring — victory points advanced immediately on the Scoring track.
- Advance 1 space on your Influence track — receive 1 coin from the general supply.
- Advance 1 space on the Dune track — receive any 1 translucent/wooden cube from the general supply.
- Advance 1 space on the Forest track — receive any 1 accessory from the general supply.
- Pay the indicated cost to the general supply, to gain the indicated benefit. Example: pay any 1 translucent/wooden cube to the general supply and advance 3 spaces on your Influence track.
Permanent abilities
Description of all permanent abilities [see chapter "Unlock Permanent Abilities" — page 13]. Victory points provided by the abilities during final scoring [see chapter "Final Scoring" — page 20].
Small factories
Bonuses provided while replenishing the small factories during the reset phases.
- Deliver 1 black cube to advance 1 space on your Influence track.
- Deliver 1 black cube to receive 1 coin from the general supply.
- Deliver 1 black, 1 pink, and 1 orange cube to acquire 1 Contract/Investment, paying its cost.
- Deliver 1 black, 1 pink, and 1 orange cube to assign a master/apprentice to a profession, complying with the placement rules.
- Deliver 1 orange cube to advance 2 spaces on your Influence track.
- Deliver 1 pink cube to receive 2 coins from the general supply.
- Deliver 1 black, and 1 pink cube to receive any 1 accessory from the general supply.
- Deliver 1 black, and 1 orange cube to receive any 1 accessory from the general supply.
Credits
Game Design: Rôla & Costa Solo Game Design: Pedro André Correia Cover Art: Lukas Siegmon Illustration & Layout: Citie Lo Graphic Design: Citie Lo, João Tereso, Aiden Morgan Development: David M. Santos-Mendes, Pedro Dominguez Rules Edition and Translation: Rita Jesus, Hugo Marinho Rules Revision: Rôla & Costa
Acknowledgements: to all our friends and families, and a special thanks to Andreas "Ode." Odendahl and Clay Ross.
2024 Pile Up Games © All Rights Reserved — www.pileupgames.com