They Who Were 8
They Who Were 8 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Needed to play:
- The 8 God Cards: Anatoc, Aristiphane, Cassana, Cymele, Endymina, Nanos, Piton and Rymon.
- The 10 Action Cards.
- 15 tokens in one color representing Glory.
- 15 tokens in a different color representing Infamy.
Card Layout
- Action Card: the card title (for example "The Valour of"), an action icon showing the tokens to add, remove or move, and the narrative text beneath it.
- God Card: the God's name, and the Power of the God printed at the bottom of the card.
Teams
The player sitting opposite you is your partner in this game. You must gather Glory Tokens while giving Infamy Tokens to the opposing team. At the end of the game, all tokens, as well as the Powers of your Gods will be worth either positive or negative victory points.
Setup
- To begin, shuffle the God Cards and deal two cards to each player. Players place these cards in front of them as the Gods they control in the game.
- Next, shuffle the Action Cards and deal two to each player. These cards are a player's hand. Players may choose to reveal the contents of their hand to their opponents or their partner if they wish during the game. The remaining two Action Cards are placed face down in the center of the table, forming the Draw Deck.
- Lastly, place both piles of Tokens (Glory and Infamy) in the center of the table.
- The eldest, and therefore mythically most venerable, player begins the game as the Start Player.
Play
Taking turns clockwise starting with the Start Player, each player will play one Action Card from their hand (showing the card to all players and then placing it face down on top of the Draw Deck). Each Action Card will either add, remove or move Glory or Infamy Tokens on other players' God Cards. Action Cards may not be used for the player's own God Cards.
After playing a card, add, remove or move tokens from the center piles, placing them on the chosen God Card.
Action Card Effects
| Icon | Effect |
|---|---|
| One Glory Token | Add one Glory Token to any one other player's God Card |
| One Infamy Token | Add one Infamy Token to any one other player's God Card |
| Two Glory Tokens | Add two Glory Tokens to any one other player's God Card |
| Two Infamy Tokens | Add two Infamy Tokens to any one other player's God Card |
| One Glory and one Infamy Token | Add one Glory and one Infamy Token to any one other player's God Card |
| Glory Token with X | Remove one Glory Token from any one other player's God Card and return it to the token pile |
| Infamy Token with X | Remove one Infamy Token from any one other player's God Card and return it to the token pile |
| Glory Token with arrow | Move one Glory Token from any one other player's God Card to a different player's God Card |
| Infamy Token with arrow | Move one Infamy Token from any one other player's God Card to a different player's God Card |
The Action Cards in the game are:
- The Journey of (remove one Glory Token)
- The Seduction of (move one Infamy Token)
- The Jealousy of (add two Infamy Tokens)
- The Diplomacy of (move one Glory Token)
- The Valour of (add two Glory Tokens)
- The Disguise of (swap one Glory and one Infamy Token)
- The Treachery of (add one Glory and one Infamy Token)
- The Knowledge of (add one Glory Token)
- The Birth of (remove one Infamy Token)
- The Conflict of (add one Infamy Token)
End of Round
Once all four players have each played one Action Card, the current round ends and all players will then pass their remaining card to the player to their left. The Draw Deck is then shuffled by the next Start Player (the player to the left of the previous Start Player) and one Action Card is dealt to each player. The remaining two cards will again form the Draw Deck and a new round will begin.
If a player is unable to play either card in their hand, they may discard one card and draw a replacement from the Draw Deck.
Powers of the Gods
At any time a player may use the Power of one of their Gods. These powers are listed at the bottom of the God Cards and each Power may only be used once in the game. A player should rotate a God Card 90 degrees after using the Power to signify this.
Powers may supersede any of the game rules listed above. When using the Nanos card, the Nanos player will be skipped during the end of round passing of cards.
God Card Powers
- Anatoc the Unseeing: shuffle all Action Cards and redeal hands to players before a player you choose plays a card.
- Cassana Who Was Loved: when any player has more than four Glory Tokens on one God, add one Glory Token to any one God of your choice.
- Evertwisted Aristiphane: swap the Glory and Infamy Tokens of any two Gods.
- He Who Is Nanos: you may keep the current card in your hand instead of passing it at the end of a round.
- Rymon the Uncaring: redirect a card played upon you to another player of your choice.
- Cymele She Creates: look at the top four cards of the Draw Deck and choose one for yourself before the next draw.
- Piton the Wandering: you may use the power of any other God on the table who does not yet have their card rotated.
- Bold Endymina: before you play your next turn, you may draw two new cards from the Draw Deck, then discard two.
Game End
After all the tokens of any one kind, either Glory or Infamy, have been placed on players' God Cards, the game ends.
Scoring for each team:
- For each Glory Token you and your partner have, you score +2 victory points.
- For each Infamy Token you and your partner have, you score -1 victory point.
- For each Power of the Gods you and your partner have used, you score -2 victory points.
The team with the most victory points is the winner. In the case of a tie, the team with the greatest number of Glory Tokens is the winner.