Tekeli-li
Tekeli-li Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 12 Fire (red) cards: 1 each of values 1–6, 3 each of values 7–8.
- 12 Earth (black) cards: 1 each of values 1–6, 3 each of values 7–8.
- 12 Water (blue) cards: 1 each of values 1–6, 3 each of values 7–8.
- 12 Air (white) cards: 1 each of values 1–6, 3 each of values 7–8.
- About 30 unnamable markers.
The fourth faction is not named in the extracted text of the contents list. It is identified as Air (white) from the World Description section and from the white 3 event card in the rules below.
Technical Terms
- Faction: a card group sorted by colour or element. There are four factions: Fire (red), Earth (black), Water (blue) and Air (white).
- Dealer: the player who deals the cards.
- Hand: the cards dealt to a player, which must be held secretly.
- Trick: the cards each player plays in one round.
- Unnamable marker: the penalty token gained for negative score. Every –100 points gives one unnamable marker.
Object of the Game
Escape from unknown horror. Remain far away from the Great Old Ones' insanity. At the end, the players who have the most unnamable markers are frighteningly havocked.
Preparation
Decide a dealer randomly by rock-paper-scissors or some other applicable way. The dealer deals cards of equal number to each player, as follows:
- 3 players: remove the value-1, value-7 and value-8 card from each faction. Deal the remaining 36 cards. Each player gets 12 cards.
- 4 players: deal all 48 cards. Each player gets 12 cards.
- 5 players: remove the black, white and red value-1 cards. Deal the remaining 45 cards. Each player gets 9 cards.
- 6 players: deal all 48 cards. Each player gets 8 cards.
With the players conferring, decide how many turns to play. The first time you play, play 3 turns (this takes only about half an hour).
Turn Sequence
A game is played over a number of turns. Each turn consists of tricks until all hands are played.
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The player to the dealer's left becomes the leader. The leader leads a card from their hand freely and plays it openly in the centre of the game table.
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From the leader's left, one by one, each other player must play a card of the same faction as the leading card if possible. If you have only one card of the lead faction, you must play that card. If you have more than one, you may play any one of them freely. If you have none, you play a card from your hand freely.
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After each player has played a card, open the round in the centre of the table and check the value of each card in the trick. Cards of a different faction from the lead are valued 0. Cards of the same faction as the lead keep the value shown in their upper corner. However, two cards of the same faction and number cancel each other, and both are valued 0. If all three cards of the same faction and number are played in one trick, the last two cards cancel each other, but the first card is not cancelled.
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After the card values are checked, the player who played the greatest-valued card takes the trick. If all cards are valued 0, the leader takes the trick. Turn the trick to its tail side and keep it in front of the trick-taker until the end of the turn, for scoring.
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The trick is over. The player to the left of the last trick-taker becomes the new leader and leads the next trick.
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Repeat steps 2–5 until the players have played all their hands.
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The turn is over. Players must calculate their scores. Open their own tricks and sum the numbers on the cards' lower sides. Every –100 points gives one unnamable marker. For example, if your score is –350, you get 3 unnamable markers.
Note: by the effect of a pair of Necronomicon cards, your score might become a positive number. A positive number is ignored and counts as 0 points.
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Start the next turn. The dealer for the next turn is the player who took Azathoth (black 6). The dealer collects all cards in front of each player and shuffles them well. Then the dealer deals cards of equal number to each player as in Preparation.
A game is over when the determined number of turns has been played. Players must sum their unnamable markers. All players who have the most unnamable markers (only one top player, or several in a tie) are possessed by the Great Old Ones and perish as scapegoats. The other players survive and become winners.
Examples of Play
Each example below shows the cards played in one trick. The card values in parentheses are reconstructed from the example diagrams, which did not extract cleanly.
Example 1. Player A leads blue 3. The other players follow the faction. Because blue 6 is the greatest value, Player C takes the trick. (A: blue 3; B: blue 4; C: blue 6; D: blue 5.)
Example 2. Player A leads blue 3. B and D follow the faction. C does not follow the faction, so C's card is valued 0. Player D takes the trick. (A: blue 3; B: blue 4; C: non-blue 6, valued 0; D: blue 5.)
Example 3. Player A leads blue 3. The other players follow the faction. Because B and D cancel each other (both valued 0), blue 6 is the greatest value. Player C takes the trick. (A: blue 3; B: blue 8; C: blue 6; D: blue 8.)
Example 4. Player A leads blue 8. The other players follow the faction. Because A and D cancel each other (both valued 0), blue 7 is the greatest value. Player C takes the trick. (A: blue 8; B: blue 6; C: blue 7; D: blue 8.)
Example 5. Player A leads blue 8. The other players follow the faction. Because C and D cancel each other (both valued 0) but A is not cancelled, A's blue 8 is the greatest value and Player A takes the trick. (A: blue 8; B: blue 7; C: blue 8; D: blue 8.)
Example 6. Player A leads blue 8. The other players follow the faction. Because A and D cancel each other and B and C cancel each other (all valued 0), Player A takes the trick as the leader. (A: blue 8; B: blue 7; C: blue 7; D: blue 8.)
Example 7. Player A leads blue 7. Player D follows the faction. A and D cancel each other (both valued 0). B and C do not follow the faction and are valued 0 both. Player A takes the trick as the leader.
Example 8. Player A leads blue 8. B and D follow the faction. C does not follow the faction and plays a card [card image not reproduced; it is a 3-value event card]. This trick continues for one more round (if it is not the last trick of the turn). The leading faction stays blue.
In the variant game, Player A would take a trick and become a new leader for a new trick (may change the leading faction).
Special Cards
Scoring the Cards
| Card name | Point value | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Azathoth (black 6) | –240 | 1 |
| Cthulhu (blue 6), Cthugua (red 6) | –120 each | 1 each |
| Nyarlathotep (black 4), Fire Vampire (red 4) | –60 each | 1 each |
| Deep One (all blue except 3 and 6) | –10 each | 10 |
| Necronomicon (black 3 and blue 3) | 0 each, but a pair (2 cards) is a set worth +200 | 2 |
All other cards are worth 0 points.
Event Cards
In a trick, a red or white 3 begins a corresponding event.
| Card name | Effect |
|---|---|
| Phone (red 3) | At the end of the turn, the taken player scores round up absolute value. For example, if your score is –340, you get 4 unnamable markers. This trick continues for one more round (if it is not the last trick of the turn). The leading faction stays the same. For example, with four players, the trick continues for two rounds (with 8 cards). |
| Long Trip (white 3) | [Effect text not recoverable from the source extraction. The base effect of this card is not present in the available text. Section 9 below refers to it.] |
Variant for 5–6 Players
For 3 or 4 players, follow the basic rules. For 5 or 6 players, you can use this variant. You must discuss it and decide whether to use it.
Changing Long Trip (white 3) effect: the trick that was opened ends after only one round (it does not continue for two rounds), but the next leader is the same leader. Thus, the same leader leads two rounds or tricks (in this case, the same thing). The leader may change the leading faction. In this variant, two tricks concerning Long Trip must be taken separately.
Lead example: Player A leads red 2. B and D follow the faction. C does not follow the faction and plays a card [card image not reproduced] that is valued 0. Because red 7 is the greatest value, Player B takes the trick. But by the effect of the card played by C, Player A leads again for the next trick.
World Description: Deities and Factions
The flavour text of each entity is omitted. Only the faction and relationship lines are transcribed.
- Hastur: Faction Air (conflicting Water faction, especially Cthulhu). Relatives: Ithaqua, Lloigor, Zhar, Mi-go, Byakhee.
- Azathoth: Faction Earth. Relatives: Nyarlathotep.
- Nyarlathotep: Faction Earth (conflicting Fire faction, especially Cthugua). Unlike the other exiled Great Old Ones, only Nyarlathotep is freely active, and he causes madness and confusion secretly.
- Cthugua: Faction Fire (conflicting Earth faction, especially Nyarlathotep). Relatives: Fire Vampire, Flame Creatures of Cthugha.
- Cthulhu: Faction Water (conflicting Air faction, especially Hastur). Relatives: Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, Deep Ones.