Stonespine Architects Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Game Setup
• Chamber Card
• Blueprint Card
• Game Terms
• How to Play
  • I. Construction Phase
    • Placing Chamber Cards
  • II. Improvement Phase
    • Step 1: Count Gold
    • Step 2: Visit the Market
    • Placing Market Tokens
  • III. Cleanup
• Final Scoring
  • Final Priority
  • Goal Card
  • Challenge Cards
  • Chamber Reputation
  • Blueprint
  • Dungeon Paths
• Solo Play
  • Jael Card
  • Solo - Setup Changes
  • Solo - Gameplay Changes
  • Solo - Final Scoring
• Icons
• Credits

Overview

In Stonespine Architects, players compete to earn the most reputation by building the most dangerous dungeon over four years.

Each year, players draft cards and construct part of their dungeon, one chamber at a time.

At each year's end, players use their gold to buy additional elements for their dungeon and collect challenge cards. After four years, Hortgully will evaluate each player's creation.

Follow your blueprint, take advantage of challenges, and catch the attention of Hortgully to earn the most reputation and win the game!

Components

• 100 Chamber Cards
• 8 Blueprint Cards
• 18 Market Cards
• 1 Tracking Board
• 30 Challenge Cards
• 8 Goal Cards
• 56 Market Tokens (25 Circle, 16 Oval, 15 Square)
• 5 Dungeon Frames (assembled from 2 pieces)
• 10 Doorway Markers (2 per player)
• 10 Tracking Markers (2 per player)
• 1 Scorepad
• 10 Reference Cards (2 per player)
• 9 Jael Cards (solo play)

Game Setup

1. Place the tracking board in the center of the table with the (2-5) player side of the board face up.

2. Have each player choose a color and collect the two matching tracking markers. Return all unused tracking markers to the game box.

3. Randomly place one of each player's tracking markers on the priority track from left to right. The player in the leftmost space has the highest priority.

4. Place each player's other marker on the gold track according to their priority:

   Priority Track	1	2-3	4-5
   Gold	0	1	2

5. Shuffle the goal cards. Reveal one and place it on the tracking board. Return all unused goal cards to the game box.

6. Shuffle the challenge cards. Reveal cards based on the number of players:

   Players	1-2	3	4	5
   Cards	3	4	5	6

7. Shuffle the market cards. Reveal cards based on the number of players:

   Players	1-3	4	5
   Cards	2	3	4

8. Sort the market tokens face down into piles by shape (circle, oval, and square) and shuffle each pile separately. Place the three piles next to the tracking board.

9. Reveal market tokens for each space on the market cards and place them face up on the matching spaces.

10. Assemble the dungeon frames and place one in front of each player with either side face up. Return all unused dungeon frame pieces to the game box.

11. Shuffle the blueprint cards and deal one face up to each player. Return all unused blueprint cards to the game box.

12. Give each player the two doorway markers matching their player color. Place one doorway marker on each player's dungeon entrance, as specified at the top of their blueprint card. The second marker will be used during final scoring.

13. Give each player two reference cards (one of each).

14. Shuffle the chamber cards. Deal each player a hand of five cards.

The game is ready to begin!

Chamber Card

A chamber card shows:

• Chamber Type (e.g. Cave) — top-left corner icon
• Element (e.g. Blade Trap) — an icon depicted in the room art
• Door — printed on one or more edges of the chamber
• Path — connects doors between adjacent chambers
• Chamber Name — printed in a banner below the room art
• Gold Value — the amount of gold this chamber is worth
• Solo Play Icon (see Solo Play, below)

Blueprint Card

A blueprint card shows:

• Entrance — where a player's dungeon begins
• Chamber Type Demand (e.g. Stone) — a chamber type that must appear in the matching grid space
• Element Demand (e.g. Treasure Chest) — an element that must appear in the matching grid space
• Exit — where a player's dungeon ends
• Blueprint Scoring — the reputation gained based on how many demands are met

Game Terms

Chamber: The top portion of a chamber card, depicting one room of a dungeon with space for up to four elements.

Cluster: A group of orthogonally adjacent chambers of the same type (cave or stone).

• Clusters can have any number of chambers (including a single chamber).
• A group of adjacent chambers of the same type cannot be divided into multiple clusters.
• A cluster does not consider paths or secret passages, only the chamber type.

Element: An icon depicted on a chamber card or market token (except secret passage tokens). There are four types of elements: monsters, traps, reputation stars, and treasure chests.

Path: A path exists between two or more adjacent chambers that each have doors printed on their shared edges or have a secret passage token placed across their shared edges. When placing a chamber card, a path is not required to be connected to the dungeon entrance or exit.

Single Path: A path that does not consider branches or offshoots.

How to Play

Stonespine Architects is played over four rounds — called years. During a year, each player will place a single row of four chamber cards. At the end of the game, each player will have created a dungeon of 16 chambers in a 4x4 grid.

Each year is divided into three phases: Construction, Improvement, and Cleanup.

I. Construction Phase

The Construction Phase is divided into four turns. Each turn:

1. Players simultaneously select one chamber card from their hand and place it face up in their dungeon. (See Placing Chamber Cards below for more details.)

   If playing with two players, each player also discards one chamber card from their hand.

2. Players pass their hand of remaining chamber cards to the player on their left or right, as indicated below for the current year.

   Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4
   Clockwise	Counterclockwise	Clockwise	Counterclockwise

   If playing with two players, each player also draws one chamber card from the deck and adds it to their hand.

3. Repeat steps 1-2 until players have each placed four cards in their dungeon, completing a single row.

4. Finally, each player discards the remaining card from their hand.

Variant: In step 1, players may choose to place their chamber cards face down instead of face up. Once all players have placed their chamber cards, simultaneously reveal them.

Placing Chamber Cards

• During a single year, chamber cards must be placed in a single row, but can be placed in any order within that row.
  • In year 1, place chamber cards in one of the spaces directly below the player's dungeon frame.
  • In years 2-4, place chamber cards so that they cover the bottom portion of the card in the row directly above it.
• Once a chamber card is placed, it cannot be moved.
• Doors on chamber cards are not required to match with doors of adjacent chambers or the dungeon frame.

II. Improvement Phase

The Improvement Phase is divided into two steps: Count Gold and Visit the Market.

Step 1: Count Gold

Players simultaneously total their gold for the current year.

• Add the gold values on all chamber cards placed in the current row of the player's dungeon.
• Add one gold for each treasure chest icon in any chamber of the player's dungeon.

In year 1, remember that some players may have already received gold during setup.

Example: The player receives 13 gold: ten (3 + 2 + 2 + 3) for their chamber cards and three for their treasure chest icons.

Move each player's tracking marker on the gold track to the space equal to their total. If a player has more than 30 gold, place their marker on the 30 space.

Then, move each player's tracking marker on the priority track to the space directly below the track, maintaining their order.

Breaking Ties

If two or more players are tied for the most gold or are tied for a scoring condition on a goal card, resolve ties in favor of the player who has the highest priority (their tracking marker is further to the left).

Step 2: Visit the Market

Players take turns either buying market tokens or passing to collect a challenge card, always starting with the player who has the most gold.

A. Buy Tokens: Choose one set of market tokens on a single market card (either the top or bottom set). Reduce the player's gold equal to the cost of the set by adjusting their tracking marker on the gold track. Immediately place the purchased token(s) on any combination of chambers in the player's dungeon. Then reevaluate who has the most gold, and that player takes the next turn visiting the market.

Example: The blue player buys the slime and ooze tokens, reduces their gold by 5 on the gold track, and adds the tokens to their dungeon. The red player then takes a turn, as they now have the most gold.

B. Pass: If a player chooses not to buy tokens or cannot afford tokens, they must pass. When passing, they perform the following steps:

1. Move their tracking marker on the gold track to the 0 space. Unspent gold is not carried over to the next year.
2. Select one of the revealed challenge cards and place it near their dungeon.
3. Move their tracking marker from below the priority track to the leftmost unoccupied space on the priority track. This establishes priority for the next year (or for final scoring).

Repeat the Visit the Market step, always starting with the player who has the most gold, until all players have passed. In this way, it's possible for a player to take multiple turns before another player has the opportunity to buy tokens or pass.

In year 4, players do not select challenge cards after passing.

Placing Market Tokens

Elements

• Each chamber can hold up to four elements. Elements include monsters, traps, reputation stars, and treasure chests and are found on market tokens and chamber cards. More than one of the same element may be present in a chamber.
• Market tokens that depict elements are placed in the four central areas of a chamber. Market tokens may not be placed in a chamber already containing four elements and may not cover other elements.

Secret Passage Tokens

• Secret passage tokens do not depict an element and are not placed in the four central areas of a chamber. Instead, they are placed on any edge of a chamber (even without an adjacent chamber).
• Secret passage tokens create a path between two chambers. A chamber with a secret passage on its bottom edge can create a path to a chamber placed directly below it in the following year.

III. Cleanup

In year 4, skip the Cleanup Phase and proceed to final scoring (see Final Scoring, below).

The Cleanup Phase prepares for the next year. Perform the following steps:

1. Discard any remaining market tokens on market cards.
2. Discard all revealed market cards and replace them with cards from the market deck.
3. Reveal market tokens for each space on the market cards and place them face up on the matching spaces.
4. Discard the unclaimed challenge card. In years 1 and 2, reveal new challenge cards equal to the number of players plus one. In year 3, do not reveal new challenge cards, as players do not select challenge cards in year 4.
5. Deal each player a hand of five chamber cards from the chamber deck.

Begin a new year, starting with the Construction Phase.

Final Scoring

At the end of year 4, each player places their remaining doorway marker at their dungeon exit, as specified at the bottom of their blueprint card. Then, using the scorepad, evaluate each player's dungeon by totaling their reputation in the six categories below.

Final Priority

Final priority represents how much gold each player had when they passed in the improvement phase of year 4. The player in first position on the priority track gains 9 reputation, the player in second position gains 6 reputation, and the player in third position gains 3 reputation.

Goal Card

Compare the players' dungeons to determine first, second, and third place for the scoring condition on the goal card. The player in first place gains 15 reputation, the player in second place gains 9 reputation, and the player in third place gains 5 reputation.

If the goal card compares "the most" of something, a player may not gain reputation unless they have at least one of the specified element. If the goal card compares "the fewest" of something, a player may gain reputation if they have none of the specified element. If players are tied, resolve the tie in favor of the player who has the highest priority.

Challenge Cards

Each player evaluates their three challenge cards and gains reputation based on the scoring condition of each card.

Chamber Reputation

Each player totals the values on the reputation stars in their dungeon and gains (or loses) that amount of reputation.

Blueprint

Each player evaluates their dungeon and gains reputation based on how many of the eight demands they meet on their blueprint card. To meet a demand, players must have the specific chamber type or element in the chamber matching the spaces on their blueprint. The reputation gained is indicated on the bottom of their blueprint card.

Example: Chloe meets five of the eight demands on her blueprint card. She meets three of the four cave chamber type demands, as well as the trap demand in the second row (any type of trap would meet this demand), and the treasure chest demand in the bottom row. For meeting five demands, she receives 7 reputation.

When playing with two players, no reputation is awarded for third position when scoring final priority or the goal card.

Dungeon Paths

Each player examines the paths in their dungeon and gains reputation for paths that connect to either their dungeon entrance or exit. To connect to an entrance or exit, there must be a door on the chamber card (or secret passage token) adjacent to the doorway marker.

• Gain 1 reputation for each chamber with a path connected to the entrance.
• Gain 1 reputation for each chamber with a path connected to the exit.

Therefore, gain 2 reputation for each chamber connected to both the entrance and exit of a player's dungeon, as they are counted twice.

All dungeon path scoring includes offshoots and branches.

Example: Chloe scores 8 reputation for chambers connected to the entrance (highlighted in green), and 6 reputation for chambers connected to the exit (highlighted in red), for a total of 14 reputation.

The player with the most reputation has achieved the title of Master Architect! In the case of a tie, the tied player with the highest priority wins the game.

Solo Play

Queen Amalia has sent her most trusted advisor, Jael (JAY-el), to test Hortgully's students, as she is looking for talent to help design reinforcements for the defense of Sabek, the capital city. In solo play, you compete against Jael to prove your talent to the queen's advisor!

Jael Card

A Jael card shows:

• Jael Icon(s)
• Legendary Icon
• Gold Value
• Token Collection Icons
• Base Reputation Icon
• Reputation Condition

Jael collects chamber cards and market tokens during the game. He does not gain a blueprint card or challenge cards, nor does he build a dungeon.

The solo game plays in the same way as a 2-player game with the following changes:

Solo - Setup Changes

1. Use the 1-player side of the tracking board instead of the 2-5 player side.
2. There is no priority track in solo mode. Return the second tracking marker to the game box.
3. There are nine Jael cards used for solo play. Find the three legendary Jael cards (marked with the legendary icon in the upper right corner) and return them to the game box.
4. Shuffle the remaining six basic Jael cards and place them face down on the table to form the Jael deck.

Legendary Mode: For an additional challenge, replace the three basic-icon cards in the Jael deck with the three legendary Jael cards.

Solo - Gameplay Changes

I. Construction

1. Reveal the top card of the Jael deck and place it on the designated space of the tracking board or on top of any previously revealed Jael cards.
2. Place a chamber card from your hand into your dungeon.
3. Choose one card in your hand to keep for the next turn.
4. Of the remaining chamber cards in your hand, if any have a Jael icon (in the lower right hand corner) matching the icon on the currently revealed Jael card, place them in a score pile. Jael will score these cards at the end of the game. Discard any remaining cards.
5. Draw one chamber card for each open position in the current row of your dungeon.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 above until you have placed four cards in your dungeon.

Example: On the first turn of the year, Calvin begins with a hand of five cards. He adds one card face up to his dungeon, keeps one in his hand for the next turn, and examines the other three. The current Jael card shows a certain icon. Two of the examined cards show this icon, so Calvin adds them to Jael's score pile. The remaining card shows a different icon and is discarded. Calvin's hand contains the single card kept earlier in the turn. Calvin then draws three cards from the chamber deck, as there are three open positions in the current row. As a result, Calvin has four cards in his hand for the second turn.

II. Improvement

Total your gold as in the multiplayer game, placing your tracking marker on the gold track.

Compare Gold

Compare your current gold value to the gold value on the revealed Jael card.

If you have more gold: Visit the market to buy tokens or pass.

• If you buy tokens, adjust your marker on the gold track and place the tokens in your dungeon. Then return to the Compare Gold step above.
• If you pass, see "If You Pass" below.

If you have equal or less gold:

1. Collect any tokens on the market cards corresponding to the icons on the current Jael card and place them in Jael's scoring area.
2. Discard the revealed challenge card with the lowest value.
3. Visit the market to buy tokens or pass.
   • If you buy tokens, adjust your marker on the gold track and place the tokens in your dungeon. You may continue to buy tokens until you cannot or choose to pass.
   • If you pass, see "If You Pass" below.

If You Pass

Years 1-3:

• Move your tracking marker to the 0 space on the gold track.
• Select a revealed challenge card.
• Jael collects all remaining market tokens on the market cards.
• Continue to the Cleanup Phase.

Year 4:

• Do not move your marker to the 0 space on the gold track.
• Flip your marker over to indicate that you have passed.
• Do not select a challenge card.
• Jael collects all remaining market tokens on the market cards.
• Continue to final scoring.

Jael's gold value does not change as he collects market tokens. His gold value is only used to determine when he collects tokens and how much reputation he gains during final scoring. Jael may gain treasure chest market tokens as well as chamber cards with treasure chest icons throughout the game. These are not considered when determining his gold value.

III. Cleanup

The Cleanup Phase is completed in the same way as in the multiplayer game.

Solo - Final Scoring

Scoring in solo play is the same as in a multiplayer game, with the exception of final priority, which is replaced by final gold. Use the solo side of the scorepad to tally your score and determine the winner of the game.

Calculate Jael's reputation as follows:

• Final Gold: Compare the position of your marker on the gold track to the gold value on the Jael card for year 4. If Jael has equal to or more gold than you, he gains 9 reputation and you gain 6 reputation. If you have more gold than Jael, he gains 6 reputation and you gain 9 reputation.
• Goal Card: Compare your dungeon to Jael's collected chamber cards and market tokens to determine first and second place for the scoring condition on the goal card. Between you and Jael, first place gains 15 reputation and second place gains 9 reputation. In the case of a tie, Jael places first.
• Jael Cards: For each card, Jael gains the base reputation and reputation according to the reputation condition.
• Chamber Reputation: Total the values of the reputation stars on Jael's chamber cards and market tokens. Jael gains (or loses) that amount of reputation.

If you have more reputation than Jael, you've impressed the queen's advisor and are declared the new Master Architect of Sabek!

Example: Jael scores 132 reputation.

1. 9 reputation for having more gold than the player (10 vs 3).
2. 0 for the goal card (Jael has 0 goblins).
3. 53 for base reputation (14 + 13 + 10 + 16).
4. 65 for reputation conditions on the Jael cards (18 for gnolls, 4 for kobolds, 15 for treasure chests, and 28 for sets of slimes and oozes).
5. 5 reputation for reputation icons (6 - 1).

Icons

Monster (Generic): Includes Gnoll, Goblin, Kobold, Ooze, and Slime.

• Gnoll
• Goblin
• Kobold
• Ooze
• Slime

Trap (Generic): Includes Bear, Blade, Fire, Pit, and Spike.

• Bear
• Blade
• Fire
• Pit
• Spike

Treasure Chest

Reputation Star (Positive)

Reputation Star (Negative)

Secret Passage

Cave (Chamber Type)

Stone (Chamber Type)

Credits

Game Designer: Jordy Adan

Developers: Breeze Grigas, John Brieger, Luis Francisco & Keith Matejka

Illustrators: Lucas Ribeiro, Damien Mammoliti & Diego Sá

Graphic Designers: Luis Francisco, Stephen Kerr & Shy Lev-Ari

Narrative: James Ryan

Editors: Jon Healey & David Niecikowski

Special Thanks: To all the people who helped playtest and provide feedback throughout development: Phil Amylon, Kevin Barron, Paul Berkbigler, Scott Bogen, Ryan Boulder, Sarah Capybara, William Clos, Steven Dast, Kirk Dennison, Chris Domes, Michael Dunsmore, Steve Ehrensperger, Michael Epstein, John Galloway, Emily Hancock, Brian Hausrath, Jordan Johnson, Chris Kau, Nick Kitts, Renato Martins, Claire Matejka, Roger Meloche, Mike Mihealsick, Zach Molchany, Luke Muench, Josh Norris, Dan Radley, Joy Rodowicz, Jessica Shrestha, Carl Sommer, Jess Souder, John Velgus, and many more.