Let’s Get Started: Minerals Game Rules

Hello there! Are you ready to dive into the fascinating world of minerals? In this game, we’ll explore the incredible wonders that lie beneath the Earth’s surface. So, let’s get down to business and learn the rules of the game.

The goal of the game:

I want to help you become a mineral expert! Your task is to identify different minerals based on their unique characteristics. I will provide you with clues, and it’s up to you to guess which mineral I’m describing. Are you up for the challenge?

How to play:

Pay close attention to the clues I give you. They will describe various aspects of the mineral, such as its color, hardness, and shine. Use your knowledge and deductive reasoning skills to make an educated guess. Don’t worry if you’re not sure about the answer. The main goal is to learn and have fun!

Scoring:

For each correct answer, you’ll earn points. The more accurate your guess, the higher your score will be. But don’t worry too much about the points. The real reward is the knowledge you gain along the way.

Let the journey begin:

Are you excited? I sure am! In this game, we’ll explore the colorful world of minerals together. Get ready to embark on an adventure filled with curiosity and discovery. Remember, the more you play, the more you’ll learn.

So, without further ado, let’s start our mineral exploration journey!

When it comes to playing the game, you’ll need the following items:

• 53 white wollastonite tiles
• 30 blue kyanite tiles
• 20 pink watermelon tourmaline tiles
• 10 black anthracite tiles
• 5 golden orpiment tiles
• 24 Collection cards
• 5 silicone pawns in different colors
• 5 player boards in different colors
• 5 double-sided Tool tiles
• 1 pouch
• Rulebook

Your Player Board

Let’s Go on an Expedition!

Hey there! Imagine you’re a geologist, and you’re about to embark on an exciting journey. Your mission? To dig up and collect precious Minerals. But here’s the catch: you’ll need to plan your moves carefully and keep a close eye on what your opponents are up to. Let’s dive in!

As you make your way across the game board, you’ll come across different Minerals waiting to be excavated. The rarest and most valuable ones might be tougher to find, but they’ll be worth it. And to make your task a little easier, you can use special Tools. Just remember, using these Tools will come at the cost of some points.

Once you’ve unearthed your Minerals, you have the option to exchange them for a Collection. This Collection will not only bring you honor but also fame. When the game comes to an end, tally up the values of both your Minerals and Collection cards. The player with the most valuable treasures will be crowned the winner!

Getting Started is Simple

1. Let’s start by emptying the pouch and gathering all the Minerals. We should all work together to set up the board. We can make the board in any shape we want. Place the Minerals with their colorful side facing up. Each tile should be next to at least two other Minerals so that the board stays connected. But, don’t forget, we can still leave empty spaces between the Minerals, called Crevices.
2. Now it’s time to choose our colors. Each player should pick a color and take the pawn and player board in that color. We also need to decide who goes first. The person who recently dug something up from the ground can start, or if we can’t decide, we can let the oldest player go first.

Let’s get started with the game! First, we need to prepare the board. Here’s what we do:

1. Each player takes turns removing one Mineral from the board. You can choose any color you like. Keep removing Minerals until there are 5 left in total. You can take them from the edges or from the middle of the board. Use your pawn to remove the Minerals without disturbing the board. Put the removed Minerals back in the pouch.

2. Next, draw 4 cards and place them face-up next to the board. These cards will come in handy during the game. Now, shuffle all the remaining cards together and form a deck with the face-down cards. Place this deck next to the row of face-up cards.

That’s it! The board is ready, and we’re all set to start playing. Exciting, isn’t it? Let’s dive in and see who will be the mineral master!

Alright, let’s get started on this mineral adventure! Here’s what you need to do:

First, place five Tool tiles on the table. Make sure everyone can see them. Each Tool tile represents a different Mineral. Arrange the Tool tiles by their mineral color – white, blue, red, black, and golden. Feel free to place the tiles in any orientation.

Next, give your pawn to the player on your left. Starting with the first player, each person will place their opponent’s pawn on a wollastonite tile, which is the white Mineral.

Now, it’s time to dive into the world of Minerals and begin your adventure!

But before we start, let’s go over the game rules:

– The game goes in clockwise order, starting with the first player. Each player takes turns.

– On your turn, there are two things you can do:

– First, you have to move your pawn. It’s mandatory!

– Second, you have a choice:

– You can use a Tool.

– You can exchange your Minerals for a Collection card.

That’s it for the rules! Now, let’s get ready to explore the fascinating world of Minerals!

When I play the game, I want to move my pawn strategically to collect Minerals. It’s important to plan my moves carefully to make sure I don’t lose the Mineral my pawn was on at the start.

First, I need to excavate the Mineral on which my pawn currently stands. I can do this by pressing down on my pawn and using its suction cup to gently lift it with the attached Mineral.

Once I detach the Mineral from the suction cup, I can move my pawn from its original hex to another Mineral tile on the board. But I have to follow the rules for movement, as specified below.

Movement Rules:

1. When I play the game, I can move my pawn in a straight line. The number of hexes I can move is determined by the value of the Mineral that my pawn is on. On my Player Card, I can see the value of each type of Mineral. This value tells me how many hexes I can move my pawn.

So here’s the deal: if you’re standing on a kyanite (that’s a blue Mineral, by the way), you gotta move your pawn 2 hexes straight ahead. The thing is, you can move your pawn in any direction you fancy. See, each Mineral is a hex, which means you can go in 6 different directions: horizontally, vertically, and even diagonally.

Did you know that you can squeeze through a tiny gap and even pass through tiles occupied by your opponent’s pawns? It’s true! When you move your pawn, these obstacles count as part of the distance you can travel. So, here’s the lowdown:

No-No Movements:

• Don’t move your pawn too few or too many hexes than what the starting tile allows.
• Keep it straight! Don’t deviate from a straight line while moving.
• Avoid going through a crevice larger than one mineral.
• Don’t stop your pawn on a crevice, on a mineral with an opponent’s pawn, or outside the board.

Example: I am an explorer. My name is Matt, and I can navigate in just three directions, which are indicated by a golden symbol.

When trying to decide where to go on the game board, it’s important to be aware of the restrictions. There are certain directions that will lead to an incorrect move, and it’s crucial to avoid those.

If I were to move in the directions marked by the arrows, I would end up in the wrong place. Two of the directions would take me outside of the board, and the other one is blocked by a larger-than-one Mineral tile.

As David, I can only move my pawn onto the anthracite or the kyanite. Moving in any other direction would be a mistake.

If you make a right move, you get to collect the Mineral that you dug up.

When I’m playing a game, there’s one thing I hope for: making the right moves. But what happens if I can’t? If I find myself stuck and unable to make a correct move, my turn comes to an end. It’s a bit frustrating, but hey, that’s part of the game.

Now, here’s what to do when you can’t make a move. First, take the Mineral you excavated and put it back in your pouch. You won’t be able to use it this turn, but don’t worry, you’ll have another chance later. Next, place your pawn on any empty white Mineral tile on the board. It’s like hitting the reset button and starting fresh.

Remember, sometimes things don’t go according to plan. But in those moments, it’s important to stay calm and make the best of the situation. Who knows, your next move might be the one that turns the tables in your favor! So keep your chin up and keep playing. Good luck!

Hey there! Let me tell you about the cool pawns used in this game. These pawns have a special ability to pick up Mineral tiles without messing up the game board.

Minerals is a really unique game that combines entertainment and art. You know, art needs to be handled with care. So, when you’re moving your pawns, make sure you do it gently to avoid messing up your beautiful arrangement of Minerals.

Removing pieces from the game board

Here’s an interesting rule: if, after you move, a part of the board becomes isolated (with at least one Mineral in that section) and there are no pawns on it, that section gets cut off from the rest of the board.

You get to pick one Mineral with the lowest value from the isolated section and move it to your Mineral pool. Any remaining Minerals from the separated section should go back into the pouch.

When I make a move, I can actually cut off more than one piece at a time. It’s pretty cool! If that happens, I have to pick the lowest valued Mineral from each piece I separate.

Let me give you an example. Imagine my pawn is on a spot with some anthracite, and I decide to move it. As I make my move, I end up cutting the board into two separate pieces. That’s pretty awesome, right?

Now, here comes the best part. I get to claim a Mineral from each of those pieces I just cut off. It’s like finding hidden treasure!

Let’s say I choose to take a watermelon tourmaline from the first piece, and a wollastonite from the second piece. Those are my rewards for making such a clever move! Oh, and don’t worry about the other Minerals on the cut-off pieces – they go right back to the pouch.

If I can’t move correctly, I won’t be allowed to take a Mineral from the cut-off fragment of the board. In that case, I have to return all the Minerals from the cut-off fragment back to the pouch.

If my pawn is standing on the fragment that’s separated from the rest of the board, that fragment is still considered part of the board. So, I can either move my pawn to that fragment or through it, just like I would move through a Crevice.

The player who moves their pawn last out of the fragment will cut it off.

Keep in mind: A fragment of the board can be cut off if I move my pawn or use a Tool like the Magnifying Glass.

Cutting off fragments from the board is a clever strategy to outsmart my opponents. I can take one Mineral from each cut-off fragment, and if I’m quick, I can cut off multiple fragments in one turn!

But remember, every time you cut off a piece of the board, it gets smaller, which means the endgame is getting closer.

Collections (optional)

If you manage to collect a specific set of Minerals, you can exchange them for one of the face-up Collection cards after you finish your turn. You can only do this once during your turn.

The types of Minerals you need for the exchange are listed on each Collection card. Return the required Minerals to the pouch, take the corresponding Collection card, and place it face-up in front of you so you can see the points.

Draw a new card from the top of the Collection deck and place it face-up to replace the card you just took.

There should always be four face-up Collection cards on the table, unless the deck runs out of cards.

When the game is over, each Collection card you’ve collected will earn you a specific number of points.

When it comes to collecting cards featuring orpiment (a golden mineral) with the �� symbol, there’s something unique about them: you can get these cards even if you don’t already have orpiment. That’s right, you can acquire them simply by getting rid of the other specified minerals.

But here’s the catch: if you obtain the card this way, you’ll end up with fewer points at the end of the game. So what do you do? Well, you take the card and place it in front of you, but make sure it’s turned upside down. This way, you can still read the lower points value on the card.

By placing it like this, you’ll always remember to score the lower value on the card. Now, if you actually have orpiment and you get rid of all the required minerals, then you can place the card in a normal position – it will be worth its full value.

Tools (optional)

Did you know that tools in a game aren’t thrown away after use? That means you can use them whenever you want during the game. At the end of this rulebook, you’ll find a detailed explanation of how each tool works.

Here’s how it works: On your turn, you can use one tool by spending a mineral from your pool. Just place the specified mineral on the tool tile on your player board.

Now, you can use the tool you chose. Every time you use a tool, stack the minerals on your player board on top of the previous ones.

Keep in mind that these minerals are no longer part of your pool, so you can’t trade them for a collection card or use them with another tool. However, they will be used for scoring at the end of the game.

Unless stated otherwise on the tool tile, you can use a tool at any time during your turn.

Tool Tiles

There are always 5 Tools in the game, and each requires a specific Mineral. For example, you need a watermelon tourmaline to use the Compass.

When the game ends, you have to subtract 1 point for each Mineral used to make a Tool.

Here’s an example: It’s Kate’s (blue) turn. She only needs one more Mineral to get a Collection card worth 21 points.

She needs anthracite, and her pawn is next to one. Unfortunately, there’s no valid move that would allow Kate to collect the Mineral. Luckily, she has three watermelon tourmalines. She can use one of them with a Map to change direction during her move.

Thanks to the Map, Kate finishes her move on wollastonite and can claim the anthracite she excavated. As a result of Kate’s move, there is now a separate part of the board.

Imagine a game where I, Kate, am trying to collect different minerals. Each turn, I can choose to explore a fragment of the mine grid. But here’s the catch – I can only explore a fragment where no other player’s pawn is present.

Let’s say I find a fragment with a mineral called kyanite, and no other minerals. Woohoo! I can take the kyanite and add it to my collection. But what about the other minerals in the fragment? Well, they all go back into the pouch. Tough luck for me, but hey, at least I got something!

Now, let’s move on to the next part of the game. I have some minerals in my collection – 1 wollastonite, 2 kyanites, 2 watermelon tourmalines, and 1 anthracite. I can exchange these minerals for a Collection card, let’s call it card D. I take the card and, to keep things fair, I draw a new card from the deck to replace it.

So, there you have it – my turn is over. Thanks to some clever moves, I managed to score a significant number of points. It just goes to show that playing strategically can really pay off in this game!

Game Over

When none of us can make a move and there are no more white minerals left, the game is over. We have to put the remaining minerals back in the pouch and calculate our points like this:

1. We get points for the collection cards we have.
2. We lose 1 point for each mineral we used for tools, but we can put those minerals back in our pool.
3. We get points for each mineral we have.

The player with the most points is the winner. If there’s a tie, the player with more minerals on their collection cards wins. If there’s still a tie, we all share the victory!

Mode for 6-Year-Olds

This mode is perfect for younger players like us who are 6 years old. We don’t need to use any tool tiles or collection cards. We just need to set up the board and let our creativity run wild. We can have fun playing with colors and shapes!

Hey there! Let me break it down for you. I’ll teach you the basic rules of the game, like how to move and collect minerals. Pretty simple, right?

When the game is over, it’s time to count each player’s minerals. Don’t worry about the value of each mineral. Just focus on who has the most. That player wins!

For Kids 7 and Older

Wow, 7-year-olds can be really smart! Even though using tool tiles might be a bit tricky for them, they’ll totally get that collecting cards is the way to win.

In this mode, forget about the tool tiles. Just teach them how to move, dig for minerals, and trade them for collection cards.

When the game ends, add up each player’s collection cards and minerals. Since there are no tools in this mode, you don’t have to subtract any points. The player with the most points wins!