Abbates

Abbates Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

1 "Abbey" board (central playing board)
1 "Chapter Room" board (with the bean track)
4 Player boards "Abbot portraits", 1 per player
52 Player cards "Abbot cards" (13 per player)
14 Pawns "Abbots": 3 per player, plus 2 Abbot-General pawns
8 Cards "Ora et Labora": 2 per player, double-sided
90 Cards "Cloister garden" (30 stained-glass windows, 30 books, 30 artefacts)
24 Cards "Cloister arcade": 24 cards, 5 per aisle and 4 corner points
16 Bonus cards "Benedict cards"
16 Command cards "Procurator-General" (mission cards, also called assignment cards in the setup and rules)
1 Points card
1 Solo variant "Henricus card" (only for the solo variant)

Setup

The setup numbers below follow the numbered callouts of the printed setup diagram (page 4 of the rulebook).

Prepare boards and cards. Place the boards "Abbey" and "Chapter Room" on the table, clearly visible to all players. Place the points card next to the Chapter Room.
Distribute Cloister garden cards. Shuffle the 90 Cloister garden cards and draw the top card one by one:
- On the points card, put the first card on Primus (first), the second on Secundus (second) and the third on Tertius (third).
- If you draw a card that is already on the points card, place it open on the discard pile of the Chapter board.
- Lastly, draw a card and place it also on the points card on aequalis (equals).
Count the black beans on the four played Cloister garden cards on the points card and move the Abbot-General pawn on the bean track according to this number.
Form the Cloister garden. Use the remaining Cloister garden cards to form the Abbey Cloister garden. Start at corner "1", fill in towards corner "2", row by row, from top to bottom. Place one open card on each orange square.
Chapter board fill. From left to right, place three Cloister garden cards open on the fill squares of the Chapter board. Place the remaining cards as the blind draw pile on the space provided.
Prepare Cloister arcade cards. Shuffle the 4 sets of Cloister arcade cards (identified by the number in a circle). Place an open card on each green box of the corresponding Cloister arcade (same number in a circle). Place the four Cloister arcade cards in front of the corners (recognisable by a shield symbol with a number) on the correct corners of the Abbey board.
- Recommendation: omit the cards with the palm branches in your first game. These add extra difficulty (see the Appendix) and make for a spicier game.

The printed diagram shows the starting line-up for 2 players.

Round Start and Sequence of Play

Goal of the Game

During four rounds, with four phases each, collect the Cloister garden cards from the Abbey board and place them on your Abbot portrait according to the instructions on your mission card.

The Abbot-General pawn determines where and how you may take and place these cards. Each phase you play an Abbot card, which not only allows you to choose from the available cards, but also, if you win the phase, to perform the special Cloister arcade action.

You score points with Cloister garden cards, certain Cloister arcade cards, your mission card and the bonus cards that you can earn during the game. Note the bean track in the Chapter Room! This is where both the Abbot-General and your own Abbot pawn move: if you stray too far from the Abbot-General, you get a hefty load of minus points!

Follow these steps at the beginning of each round (except in the first round, as everything is already correctly placed during setup).

Placing the Abbot-General

Place the Abbot-General pawn on the Abbey board above the first Cloister arcade card of the next Cloister arcade to be played:

Round 2: above the first card with figure 2
Round 3: above the first card with figure 3
Round 4: above the first card with figure 4

Placing the Abbot Pawns

Place the small Abbot pawn on the first box on the left at the top of the Ora et Labora card.
Move the Abbot pawn on your Abbot portrait to the first square corresponding to the position of the Abbot-General on the Abbey board.

Phases of a Round

Each round consists of 4 phases:

In the first 3 phases you play for a Cloister garden card each time.
In the 4th phase you play for the Cloister arcade card at the corner point (so not for a Cloister garden card).

Each phase consists of 3 actions, which are explained in detail below.

Action 1: Play an Abbot Card and Check Conditions

Start with the starting player and take turns playing an Abbot card open from your hand, next to your Abbot portrait. The next player (clockwise) does the same, until everyone has played a card.

When playing your card, you are not allowed to play a card with the same value as a card already played this phase by another player. (Example from the rulebook: if player Red has already played a "12", player Purple may not play a "12"; a "2" that no other player has played this phase is allowed.)

Check conditions. Check your Ora et Labora card to see whether the played Abbot card fulfils the condition shown under your Abbot pawn. The four conditions printed on the card are: value 1 to 7, value 8 to 14, odd card and even card. (On the printed card the odd and even conditions are drawn as pairs of example cards: 3 and 5 for odd, 2 and 4 for even.) Transcription note: the rulebook text shows the conditions of the "Lauds" face only. The other Ora et Labora faces (B, C, D) carry their own condition sets on the card and are not described in the rulebook text, so they are not transcribed here; check the printed card.

If your played card corresponds to the condition, you may move your little Abbot pawn to the next square.
If your played card does not match the condition, you must remove your little Abbot pawn.

You are not obliged to play a card that meets the condition on your Ora et Labora card. However, if you play a card that does meet the condition in each phase of this round, you will earn a Benedict bonus card at the end of this round! (See "Cloister arcade card taking and bonus points" below.)

Action 1 (continued): Highest Abbot Card and Abbot-General Move

Does your Abbot card have the highest value this phase?

Place this card on the Chapter board.
Move the Abbot-General forward on the bean track in the Chapter board according to the number of white beans on the card.

Choosing your Abbot card is a tactical element in the game. Think carefully about your strategy:

Do you play the lowest card? Then you become the starting player in the next phase, which can give you an advantage.
Do you play a high card? Then you increase your chance of getting to perform the Cloister arcade action and be the first to choose a Cloister garden card.
Or do you choose cleverly based on the beans? Sometimes it is useful to play a card whose bean count lets the Abbot-General take exactly the right number of steps on the bean track on the Chapter board.

Action 2: Take Arcade Action and Choose Card (Phases 1 to 3)

As the winner of the phase, you may now perform the Cloister arcade action from the row or column where the Abbot-General is located. For a detailed explanation of the different Cloister arcade cards, see the Appendix.

Performing a Cloister arcade action is optional unless specifically listed as a mandatory action.
Performing a Cloister arcade action is only allowed for the winner of the phase.
The other players may not perform the Cloister arcade action.

Choose a Cloister garden card as winner of the phase. As winner of the phase you take a Cloister garden card of your choice from the row or column where the Abbot-General is located. Place the chosen card face-up on your Abbot portrait, at a place of your choice but in the row or column that corresponds to the row or column where the Abbot-General is located. This must be in the row or column corresponding to the position of the Abbot-General on the Abbey board. For this, use your little Abbot pawn on your Abbot portrait as an aid.

Move your Abbot pawn on the Bean Track. Move your own Abbot pawn on the Chapter board by the number of black beans on the just-placed Cloister garden card.

You may overbuild on a card you have already placed in this row or column in an earlier phase. If the number of black beans between the new and overbuilt card differs, you move your Abbot pawn on the bean track by the same number of steps forward (more black beans) or backward (fewer black beans) as this difference.

Action 2 (continued): Choose a Cloister Garden Card (Other Players)

The other players now choose, in descending order according to the value of the played Abbot cards, a Cloister garden card from the remaining cards in the row or column where the Abbot-General is located.

The player with the lowest played Abbot card must take the top Cloister garden card from the draw pile.
In a 3-player game, only the player with the 2nd highest Abbot card will choose from the Cloister garden cards. The player with the lowest Abbot card takes the top card from the draw pile.
So in a 2-player game, only the winner may choose from the Cloister garden cards; the other player always takes the top card from the draw pile.

Abbot pawn move on the bean track. All other players move their Abbot pawn the number of black beans on the received Cloister garden card on the bean track in the Chapter Room.

Cloister arcade actions can affect and change the above rules. Check each Cloister arcade action of the round carefully in the Appendix.

Tip: checking positions. You can check the positions of the Abbot-General pawn and your Abbot pawn at any time during the game:

The Abbot-General pawn is on the bean track equal to the sum of the white beans on the Abbot cards in the Chapter Room and the black beans of the 4 Cloister garden cards on the points card.
Your Abbot pawn is at the position equal to the sum of all the black beans on the Cloister garden cards on your Abbot portrait.

Printed example: the Abbot-General is at position 25 on the bean track and your Abbot pawn is at position 14.

Each placed Cloister garden card earns you 1, 2 or 3 points at the end of the game, in addition to a number of black beans by which you move your Abbot pawn on the bean track, depending on the value indicated on the points card. If you also place these cards according to the conditions on your Procurator-General assignment card, you can gain 5 extra bonus points and even a halving of minus points at the end of the game (see "End of a Round / Game" below).

Action 2 (phase 4): Cloister Arcade Card Taking and Bonus Points

As winner of phase 4 you now take the Cloister arcade card (corner point) and place it next to your Abbot portrait. During this phase you play not for a Cloister garden card, but only for the Cloister arcade card at the corner point.

Bonus points for Rounds 1, 2 and 3. The Cloister arcade card indicates how many bonus points you will receive at the end of the game. This card earns 1, 2 or 3 bonus points respectively for Rounds 1, 2 and 3.

Bonus points for Round 4. The number of bonus points you can earn in Round 4 is equal to the number of Abbot cards you have on the Chapter board. Take that number of Benedict bonus cards, which are worth 1 bonus point each.

Printed example: Player Yellow wins Phase 4 of the last round. There are 5 Abbot cards from Yellow in the Chapter Room, giving Yellow 5 bonus points (5 Benedict cards).

Benedict bonus card. If in all phases you played an Abbot card that met the condition on your Ora et Labora card, your Abbot pawn is on the rightmost square. This means you have earned the Benedict bonus card. Take this card into your hand and use it in a subsequent round as a normal Abbot card.

The Benedict bonus card has a value of 14 and guarantees you profit in the phase in which you play it. You put the card on the Chapter board just like a normal Abbot card when you win a phase. You lose the bonus point that you could have earned with it at the end of the game. Only the Benedict bonus cards that you still have in your hand at the end of the game yield bonus points.

Action 3: Replenish, Abbot-General Move and New Starting Player

Phases 1 to 3:

Place any remaining Cloister garden cards from the row or column open on the discard pile.
Fill the empty spaces in the row or column with cards from the open replenishment spaces. Take the cards from left to right from the top-up boxes and place them open on the empty spaces, starting from the Abbot-General. If, due to a Cloister arcade action, there are not enough cards in the replenishment boxes, further fill the empty spaces with the top cards of the draw pile.
Fill in the empty refill boxes from left to right with the top cards of the draw pile each time.
Move the Abbot-General clockwise to the next row or column. As a reminder, do the same with the pawn on your Abbot portrait.
The player who played the lowest Abbot card becomes the new starting player for the next phase.
Place your played Abbot card on your own discard pile (except the winner of the phase, who has placed his Abbot card on the Chapter board).

Phase 4:

The player who played the lowest Abbot card in phase 4 becomes the new starting player at the first phase of the next round.
Place your played Abbot card on your own discard pile (except the winner of the phase, who has already placed his Abbot card on the Chapter board).

End of a Round / Game

Look for the symbol at the bottom right of the Cloister arcade card of the winner of Phase 4. Depending on the symbol, all players take back either the lowest card or the highest card from the discard pile into their hands.

Symbol 1: take the lowest card from your discard pile back into your hands.
Symbol 2: take the highest card from your discard pile back into your hands.

Remove your complete discard pile from the game. These cards cannot come back into play.

Start again at "Round start and sequence of play", except after round 4. After round 4, the game is over and the point counting can begin!

Point Counting

Look for empty squares on your Abbot portrait (places without Cloister garden cards). For each empty square, move your Abbot pawn one step forward on the bean track.
Add up the points of all Cloister garden cards on your Abbot portrait. Use the points card as a reference.
Check that you have correctly filled in the purple squares on your assignment card. If so, you will earn 5 bonus points.
Determine the distance between your Abbot pawn and the Abbot-General pawn on the bean track. Subtract this number from your total score.
Have you correctly filled in all areas of your assignment card? Then you may halve the minus points (round down).

Points per Cloister garden card: throughout the game, Cloister garden cards of the same kind (books, stained glass, artefacts), identified by the symbol at the bottom right of the card, are worth 3, 2 or 1 point(s). The printed worked example gives artefacts 3 points each, stained-glass windows 2 points each and books 1 point each.

Printed worked example: Yellow scores 15 points for the artefacts (5 x 3 points), 4 points for the stained-glass windows (2 x 2 points) and 1 point for the book (1 x 1 point). Yellow does not score the 5 bonus points, because the purple areas of the assignment card are not filled with one type of Cloister garden card (there is even one card missing). Yellow gets 5 minus points for the distance between the Abbot pawn and the Abbot-General pawn. Only if the entire mission card had been played correctly would this have resulted in half the minus points (rounded down). Yellow achieves a score of 15 points.

Repeat for all players. If the final score is equal among several players, the player with the most Cloister garden cards as indicated by "aequalis" (equal) on the points card wins. If it is still equal after that, the players share the victory.

Appendix: Cloister Arcade Cards

Each Cloister arcade card's action is shown by an icon on the printed card. The appendix lists each round's cards in the printed order. Only the winner of the phase may perform the Cloister arcade action.

Round 1

You may take a card from the discard pile instead of a card from the Abbot-General's row or column.
You may look at the top six cards of the draw pile and place them back on the draw pile in an order of your choice.
You may choose a card from the replenishment row instead of a card from the Abbot-General's row or column.

Round 2

You may swap a card from your Abbot portrait with a card from the replenishment row.
You may swap cards from the Abbot-General's row or column with cards from the replenishment row (before taking the Cloister garden card).
You may choose a card from the replenishment row instead of a card from the Abbot-General's row or column.

Round 3

You may swap places of a card from your Abbot portrait with another card on your Abbot portrait.
You may determine that both you and the other players must take Cloister garden cards from the same other row or column.
You may remove a played Abbot card from the Chapter Room (place the Abbot-General's removed number of white beans back on the bean track).

Round 4

You may choose a card from the replenishment row instead of a card from the Abbot-General's row or column.
You may choose a card from the replenishment row instead of a card from the Abbot-General's row or column.
You may choose a card from the replenishment row instead of a card from the Abbot-General's row or column.

All Rounds (more difficult)

Two harder variants of the arcade action apply in all rounds:

Only the winner of the phase may take a card from the Cloister garden. All other players draw the top card from the draw pile.
Only the winner of the phase may take a card from the Cloister garden. All other players do not receive a card this phase.

Beginner's Variants

Want to learn to play the game in a simpler way? Here are some beginner variants that will help you master the game mechanics.

Beginner variant 1: No Cloister arcade actions. The effects of the Cloister arcade cards from the Appendix are ignored. You don't have to consider the special actions that these cards would otherwise perform. Advantage: fewer rules to remember, making the game smoother for beginners.

Beginner variant 2: No Ora et Labora cards. You play without the Ora et Labora cards, so you don't have to play a specific Abbot card during the phases. The course of the game remains otherwise the same, but you don't have to apply any extra tactics as there are no bonus cards to obtain. Advantage: less focus on long-term planning, easier for new players.

Beginner's Variant 3: No Procurator-General command card. You play without the Procurator-General command card, so you don't have to build a specific pattern on your Abbot portrait. The points from the Cloister garden cards are the only way to score. Disadvantage: you get the full number of minus points at the final score (no assignment = no halving). Advantage: you don't have to concern yourself with pattern-building, which makes the game easier.

Beginner's Variant 4: No point card. Instead of point cards, you try to collect the same types of Cloister garden cards in rows and columns.

Point score:

3 same types in a row or column = 10 points
2 same types in a row or column = 6 points
3 different types in a row or column = 3 points

Draw secretly for each player a starting card from the Cloister garden cards. The player who has the most cards of this kind at the end halves his minus points. Advantage: a simpler way to score points without having to take into account the standard point score.

Which variant suits you?

Do you want a game without extra actions? Choose variant 1.
Do you want no long-term planning with Abbot cards? Choose variant 2.
Do you not want to have to pattern? Choose variant 3.
Do you want a different way of scoring points? Choose variant 4.

Or combine several variants for an even simpler game for beginners.

Solo Variant

The solo variant of the game introduces Henricus Smeulders as your opponent, with three levels of difficulty.

Setup for Solo Play

Prepare the game as for multiplayer, but for one player.

The mission card you choose determines the difficulty level of the game (recognisable by the palm branches on the mission cards).
Take an extra set of Abbot cards for Henricus and divide them into: cards 1 to 7 and cards 8 to 13.
According to the difficulty table below, add some Benedict cards to both piles.
Shuffle both stacks separately and lay them out face up.

Difficulty	Assignment card	Cards 1 to 7	Cards 8 to 13
Novice (easy)	(palm-branch icon)	1 Benedict card	(none printed)
Prior (challenging)	(palm-branch icon)	2 Benedict cards	1 Benedict card
Abbot (expert)	(palm-branch icon)	1 Benedict cards	3 Benedict cards

Table transcription note: the printed table's assignment-card column is an icon column (palm-branch icons, one per difficulty level); it is shown here as a placeholder. The Abbot row's cards 1 to 7 entry is printed as "1 Benedict cards".

Starting Henricus

Place the Solo card next to the stacks of Abbot cards of Henricus.
Place an Abbot pawn (colour from Henricus' set of Abbot cards) on the top square of the Solo card.
Place another Abbot pawn on Henricus' starting space near the bean track.

Printed example: here you choose the Prior solo variant and add 2 Benedict cards to the pile 1 to 7 and 1 Benedict card to the pile 8 to 13.

Game Sequence for Henricus

Henricus starts each phase as the first. His played card is determined by the number of purple squares in the row or column where his Abbot pawn is:

2 or more purple squares: draw a card from pile 8 to 13.
1 purple square: draw a card from pile 1 to 7.
Phase 4 (corner point): draw a card from pile 8 to 14.

Printed example: the Abbot-General is above the 2nd column (Abbey, also easy to see on your Abbot portrait). On your mission card there are 3 purple squares here, so according to the Solo card Henricus plays a card from pile 8 to 14 here.

Win the Phase and Take Cards

In the solo variant the course of play works largely the same as in a multi-person game, with some important adjustments for Henricus Smeulders.

Have you won the phase?

Put your played Abbot card in the Chapter Room and move the Abbot-General the number of white beans on the bean track.
Take a Cloister garden card from the row or column where the Abbot-General stands (or from the replenishment row if the Cloister arcade card allows).
Henricus takes the top blind card from the draw pile, unless the Cloister arcade card explicitly says that the other player gets nothing.

Has Henricus won the phase?

Put Henricus' played card in the Chapter Room and move the Abbot-General the number of white beans.
Henricus takes the Cloister garden card with the highest number of black beans from the row or column where the Abbot-General is located. This can be influenced by the position of his Abbot pawn on the Solo card!

The Solo card prints the following card-taking options for Henricus, each marked by an arrow:

Take the Cloister garden card with the highest number of black beans from the row or column where the Abbot-General is located, or the draw pile.
Take the Cloister garden card with the highest number of black beans from the row or column where the Abbot-General is located. Then exchange a previously obtained card with the least number of black beans from the pile of cards at Henricus with a Cloister garden card with the most number of black beans from the replenishment row. If there are several cards with the least number of black beans, take the card with the least number of points according to the points card.
Take the Cloister garden card with the highest number of black beans from the row or column to the left, right or wherever the Abbot-General is located. The row or column is chosen based on where the most cards with the highest number of black beans lie.

After phase 4, at the end of the round, Henricus takes back his highest card played (place it back in the appropriate pile and shuffle it), regardless of the symbol on the Cloister arcade card.

Henricus' Cloister Garden Cards and Score

Henricus does not have his own game board, so put his Cloister garden cards in a pile near the Solo card. His Abbot pawn moves the number of black beans on the card just obtained on the bean track.

End of Game (Solo)

You calculate your score as in the regular game. Henricus's score is:

the sum of all the black beans on the Cloister garden cards he collected;
plus the points from the Cloister arcade cards he won;
plus the Benedict cards that are still in his stacks 1 to 7 and 8 to 14;
minus half the distance between his Abbot pawn and the Abbot-General (rounded down).

Printed worked example: Henricus scores 21 points with the Cloister garden cards (sum of black beans), plus 2 points with the Benedict cards (2 x 1 point), plus 5 points with the Cloister arcade cards (2 + 3 points), minus 2 points for the Abbot-General (distance 5, halved and rounded down) = 26 points.