The Potion
The Potion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 3 x Ingredients dice
- 42 x Ingredients tokens
- 14 Beetles (blue)
- 14 Mushrooms (red)
- 14 Vials (green)
- 1 x Potion bottle
- 1 x Rulebook
Object of the Game
Be the first player left with only one type of ingredient in their possession.
Set Up
Each player receives 2 tokens of each type of ingredient (2 blue Beetles, 2 red Mushrooms, 2 green Vials). Set aside the remaining unused tokens. Place the empty bottle in the center of the table.
Players place all their ingredients in the palm of one hand.
Note: Ingredients should be kept hidden in the players' palms, so their opponents cannot see what ingredients they have remaining.
How to Play The Potion (4-7 Players)
At the beginning of each round, a player will roll the dice to determine the ingredients players will be bidding on. After considering the roll, players secretly choose one ingredient from their palm and place it in their other hand. Once all players have made their choice, everyone reveals their selected ingredient.
Compare the type and quantity of the ingredients revealed with the result of the dice roll. Players who meet the winning conditions set by the dice may discard their ingredient and place it into the bottle. The players who did not meet the winning condition keep their ingredient.
Dice are passed clockwise to the next player who rolls the dice, and a new round begins.
What are Winning Conditions?
- You have a winning condition when the total quantity of an ingredient revealed by the players matches one of the dice faces. The players who revealed that ingredient could (subject to rule 3 below) discard their ingredient into the bottle.
The other players keep their ingredient.
(Note: The quantities of an ingredient are not combined if it appears on more than one die. See examples on pages 6, 7 and 8).
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If a player has revealed an ingredient that does not appear on the face of any die, and none of the ingredients revealed by the other players meet a winning condition, the player(s) who revealed the ingredient that did not appear on any die may discard their ingredient into the bottle (subject to rule 3 below).
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If the result of the round is that ALL players meet the conditions set by the dice, then NO ONE gets to discard their ingredient and a new round starts.
Examples
The following examples assume a 4 players game.
Example 1
The dice roll as follows: [Die 1: two Beetles; Die 2: one Mushroom; Die 3: blank.] Players: Emma and Zoe revealed Beetles, Phil a Vial, Dan a Mushroom.
Emma and Zoe have chosen the Beetle and met Die 1 condition, and now they may discard their Beetle tokens. Dan has chosen the Mushroom which matches Die 2 condition, and now he may discard his Mushroom token. Phil has chosen the Vial which doesn't match any die, and since there are players who matched the dice with their ingredient, he must keep the Vial token.
Example 2
The dice roll as follows: [Die 1: two Beetles; Die 2: one Mushroom; Die 3: blank.] Players: Emma and Zoe revealed Vials, Phil a Mushroom, Dan a Vial.
Emma, Zoe, and Dan revealed a total of 3 Vials. Their combined ingredient quantity does not match any die. (Remember the rolls cannot be combined – in this case, you cannot combine the 1 Vial roll and the 2 Vial roll into 3 Vials), and they keep their Vial tokens. Phil can discard his token since no other player made a match.
(Note: the pictured dice in this example show Beetles and a Mushroom, while the printed text refers to a "1 Vial roll and 2 Vial roll"; transcribed as printed.)
Example 3
The dice roll as follows: [Die 1: two Vials; Die 2: one Mushroom; Die 3: three Vials.] Players: Emma and Dan revealed Mushrooms, Phil a Vial, Zoe a Beetle.
Emma and Dan have revealed mushrooms. The roll calls for only one mushroom, so they keep their mushroom tokens. Phil has revealed a Vial but the roll calls for two Vials, so he too keeps his token. Zoe who bet on the other players' failure to meet the two other dice conditions, played a Beetle and therefore gets to discard her token.
Game Ends
At the end of a turn, the player with only one type of ingredient left reveals their remaining token(s) and is declared the winner. If multiple players achieve victory at the same time, the game ends in a tie.
3- Players variant
When playing a 3 player game, use only 2 dice. Set aside the die depicting ingredients in 3's.
All other rules remain unchanged.