Myrmes Game Basics

Introduction

Welcome to the world of Myrmes, a strategic board game where you take on the role of an ant colony. In this game, you’ll be tasked with managing your ant colony and competing for dominance against other players. It’s a game that requires careful planning, resource management, and tactical decision-making. Are you ready to enter the fascinating world of ants? Let’s dive in!

Game Objective

Your main goal in Myrmes is to score the highest number of victory points by the end of the game. Victory points can be obtained through various means, such as collecting food, expanding your ant colony, completing objectives, and dominating territories. The player with the most victory points at the end wins!

Game Setup

Before starting the game, each player is given a personal board representing their ant colony. The main game board is placed in the center of the playing area. The game components, including ant tokens, resource cubes, objective cards, and event cards, are sorted and placed within reach. The first player is determined, and each player receives a starting number of resources and ants.

Game Rounds

Myrmes is played over several rounds, with each round representing a season in the life of an ant colony: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

During each round, players take turns performing actions. On their turn, a player can perform one of the following actions:

1. Place an ant on the main game board: This allows you to control different areas and perform various actions.
2. Reassign ants: This allows you to relocate ants from one area to another, optimizing your colony’s efficiency.
3. Retrieve ants: This allows you to recall ants from the main game board and gather resources or complete objectives.
4. Complete an objective: This allows you to score victory points by fulfilling specific objectives.

Each action requires careful consideration and planning. You must balance your ant placements, resource gathering, and objective completion to maximize your chances of winning.

Resource Management

In Myrmes, resources play a crucial role in the growth and survival of your ant colony. You’ll need resources to expand your colony, feed your ants, and complete objectives. Resources are represented by colored cubes on the main game board.

To gather resources, you’ll need to place your ants strategically on resource spaces. Each resource space produces a specific type of resource, such as food, larvae, or building materials. Managing your resources efficiently is key to success in Myrmes.

Event Cards

Throughout the game, event cards will be drawn, introducing various events and challenges that can impact the gameplay. These events can have positive or negative effects on your colony or the overall game state. You’ll need to adapt your strategy and make the best of these events to stay ahead.

Game End

The game ends after the winter season. Players count their victory points, considering various factors such as collected resources, completed objectives, and controlled territories. The player with the highest number of victory points emerges as the winner and is deemed the most successful ant colony!

Now that you understand the basics of Myrmes, you’re ready to embark on this thrilling ant adventure. Gather your resources, strategize your moves, and outwit your opponents to claim victory in the world of Myrmes!

In the game of Myrmes, I get to play for 3 years, broken down into 4 different seasons. During the first 3 seasons, I play a regular turn, but in winter, things get special – I have to use up my stored food reserves.

Each player, including me, has their own board that represents their ant colony. This board has several sections:

First, there’s the Event track, which tells me what’s happening in the current season.

Then, there’s the Larvae room (and birth track), where I keep my larvae.

Next, there’s the Nursery (and birth track), where my nurses stay.

After that, there’s the Soldier room (and birth track), where my soldiers are kept.

Then, there’s the Worker room (and birth track), where my workers stay.

The Atelier is next, and that’s the place where my nurses who aren’t busy with births can go and work.

Lastly, there’s the Storeroom, where I store all the resource cubes.

Hey there! Let’s talk about ant colonies, shall we? They’re pretty fascinating little critters. So, here’s the deal – an ant colony is divided into four levels. When you first start playing the game, you only have access to level O, which is the highest level. But don’t worry, there’s plenty going on up there.

Okay, let’s take a look at the ant colony. On the left side, you’ve got a bunch of rooms where the worker ants can go to get to work. It’s like their little offices or something. They’re busy bees…well, ants, actually.

Now, on the right side of the colony, you’ve got some options for the workers who want to go outside. They’ve got places to explore and things to do out there. It’s like a whole world outside the colony walls.

So, there you have it! That’s the lowdown on ant colonies and how this game works. It’s pretty cool stuff, right? I don’t know about you, but I find ants absolutely fascinating. They’re like tiny little superheroes, working together to build these amazing colonies. Nature is truly incredible!

In the game, we start with our team of bugs: 3 nurses, 2 workers, 1 larva, and a tunnel exit that leads to our garden area.

The game board is divided into different sections:

We have the Score track, which keeps track of our points as we play. We can earn points by placing pheromones, catching prey, cleaning up enemy pheromones, and completing objectives.

Then we have the Year and Season tracks. The Year track shows us what we need to prepare for when winter comes. And the Season track has 3 spaces for the season dice. At the start of each year, we roll the dice to see what events will happen during the year.

In the C garden area, our hardworking ants leave their individual boards and venture out through a tunnel. They scurry across the terrain, strategically placing pheromones to gain access to resource cubes. In addition, they clean up empty pheromones to make space, hunt prey by getting rid of soldiers, and even have the ability to place special tiles if their ant colony is developed enough.

In the D atelier, our dedicated nurses have an important role to play. They dig new tunnels, work on improving the ant colony, create new nurses, and help us complete objectives.

Speaking of objectives, there are 6 of them in the game. You can complete these objectives by discarding certain elements. There are 2 level 1 objectives, 2 level 2 objectives, and 2 level 3 objectives.

Hey, we need to talk about setting up the game and understanding some key concepts for different player counts. I’ll break it down for you, so it’s easier to grasp. Let’s get started!

First off, we have different starting positions depending on the number of players. If there are 2 or 4 players, you’ll want to refer to the starting positions labeled as “F”. If there are 4 players, go for the starting positions labeled as “G”. And if there are 3 players, look for the starting positions labeled as “H”. These positions will give you a good starting point for your adventure.

Next, we have what’s called the “prey token space”. This is marked as the letter “I” on the board. It’s an important spot because it affects the game objectives. Keep an eye on this space and consider its significance.

Now, let’s discuss the objectives. Depending on the number of players, there will be adjustments. This is marked as the letter “J” on the board. The objectives may vary, so make sure to take note of this and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Understanding these concepts and setups will give you a solid foundation for a fun and exciting game. Have a blast!

Important: Whenever it’s your turn, you have the option to sacrifice some larvae in exchange for food cubes. For every set of three discarded larvae, you’ll get a food cube that you can either store or use for the winter (explained later).

A regular season, whether it’s spring, summer, or fall, consists of six phases:

1. Event: At the start of each season, a die will determine the event for that season. During this phase, you can spend larvae to modify the event. Events give you special bonuses for the season.
2. Births: Let’s talk about how ants reproduce. Just like humans, ants have births too! In this game, each player will have nurses who can give birth to new ants. There are different types of ants that can be born: larvae, workers, and soldiers. Larvae are used to modify events and create new nurses and food. Workers will work during a specific phase, and soldiers can be used to hunt prey, invade enemy pheromones, and guard food during winter. Some nurses can be set aside for a special phase called Atelier.
3. Workers: Now let’s focus on the workers. As the name suggests, workers are the ones who do the hard labor in the ant colony. In this game, each player will have their own workers. Players can choose to either keep their workers in the ant colony or send them out into the garden. When a worker is in the ant colony, it will bring back resources and can be used again in the next turn. However, if a worker goes out into the garden, it can only perform one action and will be discarded after that. In the garden, a worker has 3 movement points and can use them to do different tasks. One task is to find prey, which can then be hunted by soldiers.

When it comes to playing the ant game, I’m always looking for the best strategies to help me succeed. There are a few key things I need to keep in mind if I want to do well. First, I need to place pheromones that will be filled with resource cubes. These cubes can later be collected for points. I also have to remember to clean up any empty pheromones to make more space for new ones.

Another important thing to do is to place special tiles on the board. One example is the Aphid farm, which allows me to gain one cube of food every turn. This can be really helpful for scoring points and building up my ant colony.

Once all the pheromones are placed, it’s time to move on to the harvest phase. During this phase, each player takes one cube of their choice from each pheromone they own and adds it to their stock. This is a crucial step for accumulating resources and scoring points.

Next, we move to the Atelier phase. This is where the nurses come into play. They allow players to do a variety of things, such as digging new tunnels to create better exit options for the workers. They also help improve the ant colony by spending resources to access lower levels. Creating new nurses and completing objectives set by the council of the Queens are also important tasks during this phase, as they can earn us victory points.

By following these strategies and making the most of the different phases, I can increase my chances of success in the ant game. It’s all about careful planning, resource management, and strategic decision-making. With these tactics in mind, I’m ready to embark on my next ant adventure!

At the end of each turn, I need to update my stock and move the first player token. It’s a simple but important step in the game.

When winter comes, things get a little tougher. I have to make sure I have enough food, or else I’ll lose points. Luckily, I have soldiers to protect my food and help me save it. They’re a valuable asset in this harsh season.

After 3 years, the game comes to an end. The player with the most points is declared the winner. It’s a nice way to reward all my hard work and strategic thinking. I’m excited to see who comes out on top!