Web of Gold Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Winning the Game
• Components
  • Three Dimensional Board
  • 24 Item Cards
  • 6 Lanterns
  • 72 Web Cards
  • 6 Plastic Adventurers
  • 6 Plastic Spiders
  • 36 Gold Nuggets
  • 6 Spider Bite Markers
  • 6 On/Off Markers
  • 6 Oil Level Markers
  • 1 Six-Sided Die
• Setting Up the Game
• Playing a Turn
• The Adventurer Round
  • Movement
  • Breaking Webs
  • Searching for Items
  • Digging for Gold
  • Items and Gold
  • Lanterns
  • Other Items
• The Spider Round
  • Movement
  • Spinning Webs
  • Biting
  • Spider Tactics
• Summary of the Turn
• Optional Rule
• Playing Tips

Winning the Game

The winner is the first Adventurer to return to his home base having collected six gold nuggets.

If all Adventurers are knocked out of the game by being bitten four times then the winner is the player whose Spider has the most Spider Bite markers.

Components

Three Dimensional Board

The board represents an old, abandoned gold mine. The mine is divided into passageways by raised areas called rock pillars. These passageways are divided into spaces by white lines. Around the edge of the mine are six spaces containing coloured circles. These are the Adventurer home bases.

24 Item Cards

There are 5 different types of item cards: 6 grappling irons, 6 pickaxes, 4 torches, 4 oil flasks and 4 mushrooms.

6 Lanterns

These are used to keep track of whether the Adventurer's lantern is on or off, how much oil it has remaining and how many Spider Bites the Adventurer has.

Assemble your lantern as shown at the start of the game.

72 Web Cards

Web cards show where Spiders have spun their webs and how many strands are in the web. There are 6 different types: 8 x 1 strand, 8 x 2 strands, 20 x 3 strands, 8 x 4 strands, 8 x 5 strands, and 20 x 6 strands.

6 Plastic Adventurers

These are used to show the Adventurer's positions in the mine.

6 Plastic Spiders

These are used to show the Spider's positions in the mine.

36 Gold Nuggets

These represent the gold the Adventurers are searching for.

6 Spider Bite Markers

These are used to record the number of Spider bites an Adventurer has. The marker is placed on the top of the lantern.

6 On/Off Markers

These are used to indicate when a lantern is being used.

6 Oil Level Markers

These attach to the lanterns and are used to keep track of how much oil is left in the lantern.

1 Six-Sided Die

Players roll this die when searching for gold or other items, when a Spider attacks an Adventurer and when an Adventurer tries to break down a web.

Setting Up the Game

Take out all of the pieces from underneath the board and replace the board in the box. Carefully push out all of the web cards and gold nuggets from the token sheet. Sort out the Web cards by their values and place them in the six spaces provided in the board. Put the gold nuggets and the item cards into the two trays in the corners of the board.

Each player must have a lantern card with an On/Off marker, an Oil Level marker and a Spider Bite marker. These pieces should be assembled as shown. At the start of the game the lantern is unlit and full of oil and the Spider Bite marker is set at "0".

Each player takes a Spider and an Adventurer of the same colour as his lantern. Each player then rolls the die. The player with the highest score places his Adventurer piece on the board in the home space containing the same colour. This is his home base. He then places his Spider on any rock pillar. The player on his left does the same, and so on until all the playing pieces are on the board. Each pillar can hold only one Spider at a time.

Playing a Turn

Each player's turn is divided into two rounds: the Adventurer round and the Spider round. In the Adventurer round, the player decides whether to use his lantern, moves his Adventurer, and searches for items and gold. In the Spider round, the player moves his Spider and either spins webs or tries to bite an Adventurer. When the first player finishes his turn, the next player in clockwise order takes his turn.

The Adventurer Round

Movement

Each round, an Adventurer must move either one or two spaces. He can't sit still; he must move at least one space.

An Adventurer cannot climb onto a rock pillar or move into another player's home base; nor can he move into or through a space containing another Adventurer or through a web in which another Adventurer is trapped.

An Adventurer stops moving if he gets trapped in a web.

Breaking Webs

If there is a web between an Adventurer and the space he wants to move into then the web must be broken before the Adventurer can move through. An Adventurer can only try to break a web if he intends to move into the space beyond.

To break a web, the Adventurer must announce to the other players which web he is trying to break, then roll the die. Subtract the number rolled from the number of strands in the web. If that leaves zero or fewer strands, the web is destroyed and the Adventurer can move to the next space. If there is still at least one strand left, the Adventurer didn't destroy the web. Replace the web card with a new card showing how many strands are left. Then slot the Adventurer's piece onto the web card to show that he is trapped in the web. A trapped Adventurer can't do anything until his next turn, when he can try again to break the web.

Example: An Adventurer is trying to break through a web which has 3 strands. The player rolls a die and gets a 4. The number of strands in the web (3) minus the die roll (4) gives a result of 0 or less, so the web is destroyed. It would have been destroyed by any roll of 3 or higher. Only a roll of 1 or 2 would have left strands and trapped the Adventurer.

An Adventurer trapped in a web at the beginning of his turn must try to break it again by rolling one die and subtracting the result from the number of strands. If he fails, he is stuck until his next turn.

An Adventurer who is trapped in a web can light his lantern or use a Torch or Grappling Iron.

Moving out of a web into an adjacent space counts as moving one space. An Adventurer could destroy a web, move one space, destroy a second web, and move a second space.

If an Adventurer is trapped in a web and both spaces adjacent to him are occupied by other Adventurers, the Adventurer can still try to break the web. If he does, he must move past one or the other Adventurers to an empty space beyond. This is the only time one Adventurer can move through a space containing another Adventurer.

Searching for Items

Gold is not the only thing that can be found in an old mine. Adventurers can search for other useful items if they want to. Items can be found in spaces containing a number in a green circle. An Adventurer who ends his move in one of these spaces can search for an item by rolling the die. If the number rolled is equal to or greater than the number in the circle, the Adventurer has found an item. Take the top card from the item deck and place it face up beside your lantern. If the number rolled is less than the number in the circle then no item was found. If your lantern is lit or you are using a torch, add 1 to your die roll when searching for items.

Digging for Gold

Gold nuggets can be found in spaces containing a number in a yellow circle. An Adventurer who ends his move in one of these spaces can dig for gold by rolling the die. If the number rolled is equal to or greater than the number in the circle, the Adventurer finds a gold nugget. Take a gold nugget token and place it next to your lantern. If the number rolled is less than the number in the circle, no gold was found. If your lantern is lit or you are using a torch, add 1 to your die roll when digging for gold.

Items and Gold

Each Adventurer can carry up to six items. Your lantern counts as one item, each item card counts as another item, and each gold nugget counts as an item. If an Adventurer finds a seventh item or nugget he must either use one of his items or discard something. An Adventurer probably will have to make more than one trip into the mine to get the six gold nuggets needed to win.

When an Adventurer uses or discards an item card, it is removed from the game. When the deck is used up, no more items can be found.

When an Adventurer moves into his home base, any nuggets he is carrying can be left there. Place them in the slot next to the home base. Only gold nuggets can be stored at an Adventurer's home base.

Lanterns

His lantern is probably an Adventurer's most valuable item.

At the beginning of an Adventurer's round the player must decide if the lantern will be lit or unlit. If the lantern is lit then the On/Off marker must be pushed to the "on" side (if the lantern was on last turn, the marker won't need to be moved). Also, the Oil Level marker must be moved down one line to show that the lantern is using oil. If a player wants the lantern to be off, then the On/Off marker is pushed to its "off" side and the oil level stays the same.

On a turn when the Oil Level marker is moved onto the "0" line, the lantern will still be lit that turn but must be turned off on the next turn. It cannot be turned on again unless the Adventurer finds more oil.

Each Adventurer gains the following advantages when his lantern is lit:

• A +1 bonus to all gold digging die rolls.
• A +1 bonus to all item search die rolls.
• No Spider can spin webs over the Adventurer if he is trapped in a web.
• No Spider can bite the Adventurer if he is trapped in a web (Spiders hate bright light).

If an Adventurer ever decides to discard his lantern it is removed from the game. Another lantern can never be found.

Other Items

Each item card describes how that item can be used but some additional information is given below.

• Grappling Iron: This card can be kept as long as desired. The +1 bonus applies to all attempts to break down webs. An Adventurer does not gain a +2 bonus by having two grappling irons; he can only use one at a time.
• Mushrooms: Eating mushrooms before being bitten will not make an Adventurer immune to his first bite.
• Oil Flask: A lantern can be refuelled at any time during an Adventurer's turn, whether it is on or off.
• Pickaxe: This item can be kept as long as desired. An Adventurer does not gain a +2 bonus for having two pickaxes; he can only use one at a time.
• Torch: This item gives all of the lantern's bonuses, plus it can destroy webs. An Adventurer must decide whether he is lighting the torch before he moves.

The Spider Round

Movement

A Spider moves by jumping from one rock pillar to another. A Spider can jump only once each turn and the jump must be to an adjacent pillar (the pillars are connected by a white line). Spiders do not have to move. No more than one Spider can be on a rock pillar at once. After moving, a Spider can either spin webs or try to bite an Adventurer, but not both.

Spinning Webs

A Spider can spin up to three strands of webbing each turn. This web must be spun between two spaces that are both adjacent to the Spider's pillar. All three strands must be in the same web.

To spin a web, take a web card showing the correct number of strands and slide it into the grooves between the pillars. If the Spider is adding to an existing web then replace the old web card with a new one showing the new number of strands. No web can contain more than six strands; ignore any excess strands.

If an Adventurer is trapped in a web, a Spider can increase the number of strands in the web, but only if the Adventurer's lantern is off. To do this, take the Adventurer off the web, replace the web card with a new one, and slot the Adventurer back onto the new web. However, the Spider may fancy a bite instead…

Biting

A Spider on a pillar next to a trapped Adventurer can try to bite the Adventurer if the Adventurer's lantern is off.

To bite, the Spider player rolls the die. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the number of strands in the web, the Adventurer is bitten and his Spider Bite marker must be moved up one space. If the number rolled is more than the number of strands, the bite failed. An Adventurer caught in a web with six strands will always be bitten if a Spider tries to bite him.

If a Spider delivers a fourth bite to an Adventurer, the Adventurer is overcome and removed from the game. All his items and gold nuggets are put to one side. The Spider, however, keeps the Adventurer's Spider Bite marker. If all Adventurers are bitten out of the game, the player with the most Spider Bite markers is the winner. A player who loses his Adventurer can keep playing with his Spider.

Spider Tactics

Spiders can co-operate with each other to attack Adventurers. For example, if an Adventurer is caught in a two-strand web with an unlit lantern, one Spider could spin more webs to make it into a five-strand web, giving another Spider a better chance of biting the Adventurer.

Summary of the Turn

The Adventurer Round

1. Decide whether to use your lantern or a torch.
2. Move (breaking webs where necessary).
3. Search for items or dig for gold if possible.

The Spider Round

1. Move to an adjacent pillar if desired.
2. Spin up to three strands of web or try to bite a trapped Adventurer.

Optional Rule

After playing the WEB OF GOLD game several times, try this optional rule for variety.

If an Adventurer ends his move in a space next to another Adventurer and neither of them is trapped in a web, the two players can trade item cards. The trade must be made before the player searches for an item in his space or digs for gold. Trading is allowed even if there is a web between the two spaces.

Playing Tips

• Use your lantern sparingly.
• If you find a torch, save it until you can use it to destroy two big webs.
• Besides attacking other Adventurers, your Spider can sit on a pillar next to your own Adventurer and keep other Spiders from getting onto that pillar.
• Remember that your Adventurer must move every turn. Think ahead and leave yourself more than one option for the next turn.
• A two-player game is best if each player controls two Adventurers and two Spiders. Both players should agree beforehand how many gold nuggets they must collect with both Adventurers to win; a total of 10 to 12 nuggets works well.