Res Arcana: A Magical Quest

Welcome to Res Arcana, where I become a powerful mage on a thrilling quest to prove my superiority. I’ll summon incredible artifacts and summon mighty creatures, while conquering power places and prestigious Monuments. My goal? To achieve victory before you and my other competitors. Let’s dive into this mystical world!

Setting the Stage

As I prepare to embark on this enchanting adventure, all the magic item tiles and Power Place tiles are laid out, beckoning us to explore their wonders.

To begin, I receive 2 Mage cards and 8 Artifact cards. Exciting! I take a moment to inspect my cards, feeling the power within them. Then, I shuffle my 8 Artifacts and draw 3 cards to create my starting hand. The remaining 5 cards are placed face down, forming my deck, ready to be unleashed.

When you play the game, the first thing you do is choose a Mage. This means picking one Mage out of the two available options and placing it face up in front of you, while putting the other one back in the box. After that, it’s time to choose a magic item from the ones in the center of the table. Make sure to take one essence of each type, except Gold.

If you’re playing a discovery game, I highly recommend following these steps:

• Start with the initiation sets numbered from 1 to 4. These sets include one Mage and three artifact cards. Randomly distribute five artifact cards to each player.
• Use the Sun side of the five Power Place tiles, which are used for advanced games. You can also place the Power Place tiles on a random side for added challenge.

If you want to make the game more challenging for experienced players, especially when introducing new ones to the game, don’t hesitate to use both sets. This will level the playing field and create a more balanced experience for everyone.

THE PLAY

Playing Res Arcana involves going through a series of rounds, each consisting of three steps: collecting essences, taking actions, and checking for victory.

1/ Collecting essences

At the start of each round, every player activates their game elements (represented by symbols of hands enclosed in circles) such as magic items, artifacts, creatures, or power places, to gather essences.

You have the option to collect some or all of the essences from your game elements and add them to your reserve before your turn begins.

2/ Taking actions

Starting with the first player and moving clockwise, each player can choose one of the following actions:

• Play an artifact from their hand by paying its cost (displayed in the top-left corner)
• Obtain a Monument or Place of Power by paying its cost

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Hey there! Let’s talk about some cool things you can do in this game. Here are a few actions you can take:

1. You can discard a card from your hand and get 1 Gold or choose 2 essences. Just so you know, Gold isn’t considered an essence.

2. You can use the power of any game element that’s not already in use. Go ahead and make the most of it!

3. There’s also an option to pass. If you decide to pass, you can exchange your magic item and then draw a new card. It’s like taking a fresh start!

When you pass, something exciting happens. If you’re the first player to pass, you get the First Player tile, which earns you 1 Victory Point. Even if you’re not the first, you still get to exchange your magic item for a new one and draw a card from your deck. If your deck is empty, don’t worry! You can shuffle your discard pile to create a new deck, as long as there are cards in your discard pile.

As long as not all the players have passed, you can keep performing actions. So, keep the fun going!

Now, let’s talk about the different game elements and their powers. They add more excitement to the game!

I hope this helps you understand the game better and makes your experience even more enjoyable. Have a blast playing!

When I play games, there are certain elements that have special abilities. Each element has one or more powers, which are made up of a cost and an effect.

Now, some powers require you to kneel the element. Once you kneel it, you can’t activate any of its powers, even the ones that don’t need to be knelt.

Other powers have an essence cost. To get the effect, you have to pay the full essence cost.

There are also powers that let you place essences on the element. It’s important to know that these essences aren’t part of your reserve. You can only collect them at the start of your next turn.

Lastly, there are powers that let you stand a knelt element. This allows you to use its powers again later in the round.

• Some effects can make your enemies lose Life essences, but remember that players who have already finished their turn are immune to these effects. In addition, for each Life essence that cannot be lost, one opponent must instead lose two essences of their choice, including gold if necessary.
• Some powers require you to get rid of cards. When a power says “Destroy,” it refers to cards that are already in play. These cards are also known as game elements. On the other hand, when a power says “Discard,” it means you have to get rid of cards from your hand. In both cases, the card is placed in your discard pile.

EMERGING VICTORIOUS

3/ Check for victory (10+ points)

Once all the players have passed, it’s time to assess the situation and determine if anyone has emerged as the victor. This is done by counting the victory points on each player’s game elements (look for the red circle with a white number). If any player has reached or surpassed 10 victory points, the game comes to an end, and the player with the highest number of VPs is deemed the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most essences in their reserve (gold counts double) takes the crown.

However, if no player manages to reach or exceed 10 VPs, the game carries on into a new round. All players reset their game elements, flipping their magic item face up (as well as the First Player tile, if they possess it), and a fresh round commences at phase 1.

Card Drafting: The Art of Balancing

So, you’ve mastered the game and want to take it to the next level? I’ve got a suggestion for you – card drafting! It’s a fancy term, but don’t worry, I’ll break it down for you.

Card drafting is a way to even the playing field and spice things up. Here’s how it works: once you have some experience under your belt, it’s time to tweak the starting decks. First, deal two Mage cards to each player. Then, hand out four Artifact cards to everyone.

Now comes the interesting part. Each player looks at their four cards and chooses their favorite. The catch? They have to pass the remaining cards to the player sitting on their left. This process goes on until everyone has picked four cards. Exciting, right?

But wait, there’s more! Now we do it all over again. Each player receives four more cards and chooses one, passing the rest to the left. By the end of this round, players will have a total of eight cards. But don’t get overwhelmed – you’re nearly there!

Next step: choosing your mighty Mage. Once the Mage selection is complete, shuffle the Artifact cards and draw three as your starting hand. And just like that, you’re ready to embark on your next adventure!

Card drafting adds a delightful twist to your gameplay. It gives everyone a fair chance to build their decks strategically and keeps the excitement flowing. So, why not give it a shot and see how your choices affect your victories? Happy drafting!