Almanac: The Crystal Peaks Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Location token reference
• Setup
  • Trader's Village (Location 1)
  • Example location: Cliffside (Location 3)
• Game Overview
• Game Round
• Arrival Phase
• Action Phase
  • Standard Actions
  • Location Actions with a Cost
  • Strength and Guards
• End Phase
• End of the Game
• Bid and Bidding
• Caravans and Caravan Cards
• Contracts
• Locations
  • Location Supply and Demand
• Encounters
  • Fight encounter
  • Optional fight encounter
  • Special encounter
• Fight

Components

• 120 goods tokens (30 each): Dewleaf, Emberspice, Everice, Skyfish
• 75 gold tokens (4 different values): 30 1-value, 20 5-value, 15 20-value, 10 50-value
• 30 caravan cards
• 24 contract cards
• 24 workers (6 per player color)
• 20 encounter cards
• 12 guard tokens
• 2 ice tokens
• 12 ladders tokens
• 4 producer tokens
• 4 doppelganger potion tokens
• 1 bug tile
• 6 turtle tiles
• 6 silver mist bottle tokens
• 1 light marker token
• 3 monte card tokens
• 30 plague tokens
• 4 favor tokens
• 4 royalty tokens
• 4 medal tokens
• 4 enchanted shield tokens
• 3 theatre tokens
• 4 player screens
• 4 starting caravan cards
• 1 6-sided die
• 1 fight die
• 1 Guide token
• 1 Key to the City token
• 1 Almanac game book

Location token reference

• Location 2 - Floe Lake: 2 Ice Tokens
• Location 3 - Cliffside: 12 Ladder Tokens
• Location 4 - Avon Upon Snow: 4 Producer Tokens
• Location 5 - Ice Point: 4 Doppelganger Potion Tokens
• Location 6 - Balloon Town: 1 Bug Tile
• Location 10 - Tortuga: 6 Turtle Tiles
• Location 11 - Silver Falls: 6 Silver Mist Bottle Tokens
• Location 12 - Aurora: 1 Light Marker
• Location 13 - Grassland Fair: 3 Monte Card Tokens
• Location 14 - Skell: 30 Plague Tokens
• Location 16 - High Frost Palace: 4 Favor Tokens, 4 Royalty Tokens, 1 City Key
• Location 17 - High Frost Fortress: 4 Medal Tokens
• Location 18 - Brother's Colosseum: 4 Enchanted Shield Tokens
• Location 19 - Sister's Port: 3 Theatre Tickets

Setup

1. Place the Almanac in the center of the play area and open to the first location, Trader's Village.
2. Shuffle the caravan deck and place it facedown near the Almanac.
3. Shuffle the contract deck and place it facedown near the Almanac.
4. Place the fight die and 6-sided die near the Almanac.
5. Place the gold tokens in a supply near the Almanac.
6. Separate the goods tokens by type and place them near the Almanac.
7. Place the City Key and the guard tokens near the Almanac.
8. Keep all location tokens nearby in the box so that they are readily available if they are needed. Not every location will be visited on your journey. It is recommended to keep the location tokens specific to each page in the box until needed.
9. Create the encounter deck. Randomly select an encounter card from each letter, A-E. Stack the selected cards in alphabetical order so that the top of the deck starts with encounter A and the bottom of the deck ends with encounter E. Return all remaining encounter cards to the box.
10. Each player selects a color and takes the following:
    • 1 player screen matching the player's chosen color
    • 6 workers matching the player's chosen color
    • 1 starting caravan card
    • 2 contract cards
11. Players place their starting caravan and 3 of their workers on their starting caravan in front of their player screen. Their remaining 3 workers should be kept behind their player screen, creating their personal supply of workers that can be earned during the journey.
12. Give the youngest player the Guide token. The player with the Guide token (the Guide) plays first during each round and turn order proceeds clockwise.
13. Give each player gold based on their turn order. Players keep their gold behind their player screen.

Your journey is ready to begin!

Trader's Village (Location 1)

All the explorers ready to traverse the Crystal Peaks start at the Trader's Village.

Placement Rules: The market stalls of the Trader's Village are formed in several clusters, connected by paths. Your first worker can be placed in any cluster. After that, each of your workers must be placed in a cluster that is connected to one you have already visited by a path. You may only visit each cluster once.

Example location: Cliffside (Location 3)

Placement Rules: The bottom row worker spaces are available for players to place on. However, higher levels require a ladder to get to them. On a player's turn, they may either: place a worker, or place a ladder. Ladders are placed on the light brown shaded spots. Once a ladder is connected to an area, that entire cluster of spaces are available.

When another player uses your ladder, you gain a good of your choice. Each worker must ascend from the bottom row to the top, so it's possible they will use multiple ladders.

Setup: Give each player three ladders in their color. Place the 2 farmer tokens in the designated spaces.

2-Player: During setup, give each player an extra ladder from another, unused color. No goods are awarded for climbing the ladder of that color.

After a player places a worker on a farmer space, they gain 1 farmer token and 2 gold. Whenever a player places a worker, they may discard their farmer token to immediately place a second worker. This worker is one that is not currently in your caravan, and is only used this round.

Game Overview

Players will explore 6 locations in total, each of which is 1 game round. Players start at Trader's Village and then decide which path they will take to either High Frost or Two Twin City. Each location provides players with a unique challenge to overcome in pursuit of their goals. Many locations even have pieces specific to that page, some of which provide special abilities or are kept by the players until the End of the Game. The player who best overcomes these challenges by acquiring wealth, building their caravan, completing contracts, and performing adventurous deeds will become the most famed merchant in the realm and the winner of the game!

Game Round

The game consists of 6 rounds, each of which is made up of the following 3 phases:

• Arrival Phase
• Action Phase
• End Phase

Arrival Phase

Players enter a new location each time they turn to a new page in the Almanac. Follow these instructions each time the players enter a new location:

1. In turn order, each player resolves all Arrival Phase abilities they have in their play area.
2. Deal out a number of cards from the caravan deck equal to the number of players and place them faceup near the Almanac.
3. Read the location-specific lore as well as the setup and placement rules aloud to all players. Retrieve any additional components from the box and set them up as instructed.

Action Phase

Each location is resolved in a similar manner. Starting clockwise from the Guide, each player places 1 worker from their caravan on an available action space and resolves that space. The visual presentation of an action space can vary from location to location, but as a rule an action space is defined by a solid border and contains a single action icon. Players continue placing workers from their caravan in this way until all workers have been placed. If a player cannot place a worker on their turn, skip them and proceed to the next player. Players may not place workers from behind their player screens. After all players can place no further workers, proceed to the End Phase.

There are 2 types of actions: standard actions and location actions. Standard actions can be found on most or all pages in the Almanac and are not unique to any specific location. Location actions are unique to a specific location and have special rules defined in the setup and placement section provided on each page.

Standard Actions

• Complete a Contract: After a player places a worker on a space with the Complete a Contract icon, they must complete 1 of their incomplete contracts by discarding the required goods to the general supply and flipping the contract faceup in their play area.
• Extend Your Caravan: After a player places a worker on a space with the Extend Your Caravan icon, they must pay the cost of an available caravan card by discarding the indicated gold and goods to the general supply. They then place the card in their play area as part of their caravan.
• Gain a Contract: A player with fewer than 2 incomplete contracts may place a worker on a space with the Gain a Contract icon. After placing their worker, they draw 3 contract cards, keep 1 placing it facedown in their play area, and place the other 2 on the bottom of the deck. NOTE: Incomplete contracts subtract fame equal to their fame value at the End of the Game.
• Gain Goods: After a player places a worker on a space with a goods icon, they gain the indicated goods and place them into empty crates in their caravan. If a player acquires more goods than the number of empty crates in their caravan, they may arrange those goods as they see fit and discard the surplus.
• Sell Goods: After a player places a worker on a space with a Sell Goods icon, they must sell at least 1 good at the listed price per good sold. The player gains the indicated gold for each good sold in this way. They then discard the goods they sold, returning them to the general supply.
• Visit the Shop: After a player places a worker on a space with the Visit the Shop icon, they must perform 1 of the following options:
  1. Gain 1 good.
  2. Discard goods of a single type for 3 gold each.
  3. Gain 1 guard token.

Location Actions with a Cost

Some location action spaces have a cost icon in the corner. This is a reminder that players must pay the cost, usually gold, as defined by the location action rules to place a worker on that space.

Strength and Guards

Each player's caravan has its own strength. Strength is the total of all shield values represented in a player's play area. The strength of a player's caravan determines how effective that caravan will be at dealing with encounter cards that require players to fight. Each guard token a player has adds 2 strength to their caravan during the game and is worth 1 fame at the End of the Game. Once gained, guard tokens remain in a player's play area until the End of the Game.

End Phase

If this was the final location (no upcoming locations), proceed to the End of the Game. Otherwise, resolve the End Phase in this order:

1. Retrieve Workers: All players simultaneously retrieve all of their workers from action spaces and place them back on their caravan.
2. Bid For Guide: To bid, all players secretly place any amount of their gold into their hand. When all players are ready, everyone reveals their bids. The player who reveals the most gold is the winner. The winner then discards gold equal to the least amount bid by all players and gains the Guide token. In the event of a tie, if one of the tied players is currently in possession of the Guide token that player wins the tie and keeps the Guide token. Otherwise, the tied player seated closest to the left of the Guide is the winner. If the lowest bid is 0, the winner must discard 1 gold if able.
3. Choose a Location: The Guide selects 1 of the 2 upcoming locations that the players will travel to next.
4. Encounter: The Guide reveals the top card of the encounter deck, reads its story text aloud, and resolves it as instructed. Each player only resolves an encounter once unless specifically instructed otherwise by the text of the encounter.
5. Clean Up: Discard the encounter card and retrieve any workers or tokens used in its resolution unless otherwise instructed. Discard any unpurchased caravan cards, turn to the page of the chosen location, and proceed to the Arrival Phase.

End of the Game

In turn order, players have an opportunity to complete any incomplete contracts in their possession. To do so, a player must discard the required goods and 5 gold for each contract they complete in this way.

Players now determine their final score by totaling their fame values. A player's fame is calculated in the following ways:

• 1 fame for each gold
• Fame value of each caravan card
• Bonus fame: location tokens, guards, encounter cards
• Fame value of completed contracts
• Goods in crates provide no fame
• Subtract fame value of incomplete contracts

The player with the most fame wins. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most gold wins. If a tie still remains, the tied player with the most goods in their crates wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Bid and Bidding

In addition to bidding for Guide during each End Phase, some locations or card effects will ask players to bid. In these instances follow the exact same rules for bidding as described in step 2 of the End Phase. The winner gains the rewards indicated by the effect that prompted players to bid instead of the Guide token.

Caravans and Caravan Cards

Each player controls their own caravan, which consists of their starting caravan and any caravan cards added to it during the game. Players store and transport the goods they acquire in crates. Crates can hold 1 good at a time. Players purchase caravan cards for many purposes: to gain additional crates, increase the strength of their caravan, gain additional workers, and earn fame at the end of the game.

A caravan card shows its cost (gold and goods), the crates it provides, the strength it provides, the workers it provides, and its fame value.

Contracts

Players start the game with 2 contract cards and can acquire additional contract cards by taking the Gain a Contract action at locations during the journey. Players can complete contracts by taking a Complete a Contract action and discarding the required goods shown on the contract to the general supply. Completed contracts provide players with a special ability for the remainder of the game and are worth fame at the End of the Game.

A contract card shows its name, the required goods, the completed contract ability, and its fame value. Example: The Bookkeepers Union, Request for Transport; Completed Contract: Draw 1 additional contract each time you take a Gain a Contract action.

NOTE: Players must subtract the fame value of their incomplete contracts at the End of the Game.

Locations

Players visit 6 different locations during their journey, with each location defined by a different page in the Almanac. Each location (page) has a unique rule or set of rules for how players can place their workers and may include components unique to that page. A complete token reference can be found in the Components section above.

A location page shows: the location page number, name, location-specific lore, placement rules, location setup rules, location action rules, 2-player rules, location token space(s), the upcoming locations with a preview of each, and the encounter deck card letter.

Example: 2 - Floe Lake. Placement Rules: You must place your worker on an island with an ice block extending to it. After you place, move that block clockwise to the next open space, skipping over a space that already has an ice block and also skipping any islands that have no more available spaces. Setup: Place both ice tiles on the dark blue ice spots, with the tiles extending from the shore to the island. Location action: After all workers have been placed, if you have a worker on this space, you will collect 4 goods of your choice if an ice tile connects this island to shore, OR collect a good of your choice if the ice tile does not connect this island to shore.

Location Supply and Demand

Every location has a supply and demand bar that indicates the relative value and availability of each good at that location. The goods with greater value are on the left and the goods with greater availability are on the right.

Encounters

During each End Phase in the game except the last, players will resolve an encounter card. Encounter cards are 1 of 3 types: fight encounters, optional fight encounters, or special encounters. Each player only resolves an encounter once unless specifically instructed otherwise.

Fight encounter

Fight encounters require each player to attempt to fight the encounter. Each fight has a specific strength. If a player meets or exceeds the strength of the encounter, that player gains the win result. If a player does not have enough strength, they incur the lose result. Unless otherwise noted, a fight encounter ends as soon as a player wins a fight or all players have lost a fight.

A fight encounter card shows story text, a Guide banner ("Starting with the Guide, fight..."), the strength, the win result, and the lose result. Example: strength 3, "Defeat the acid butterfly." Win: Gain 2 (icon); "Lose and run away." Lose: discard 1 good.

Optional fight encounter

Optional fight encounters give players the option to either fight an encounter or perform the special encounter text. The fight side of an optional fight encounter lists the strength, win result, and lose result. The special encounter side varies from card to card, but will typically provide an alternative to fighting. Unless otherwise noted, an optional fight encounter ends as soon as a player wins a fight or all players have resolved the encounter.

Example: "Starting with the Guide..." Fight the raiders (strength 3; Win: Gain 2 (icon); Lose: discard 1 good) OR Flee (Place a worker on this card, pay 2 gold. Pay 1 additional gold for each other worker on this card).

Special encounter

Special encounter cards do not require players to fight. Each special encounter card describes how it is resolved and any special rules or conditions that apply to the encounter. Pay close attention to the Guide banner on special encounter cards when resolving them, as they vary greatly and often have unique effects. Unless otherwise noted, each player only resolves a special encounter once.

Example: "The Guide chooses..." Shout for help! (1-4: We're saved! No effect. 5-6: Bandits! Each player discards 6 gold.) OR Send for help. (Each player discards 2 gold.)

Fight

Some encounters require a player or players to fight. When a player fights against an encounter, they roll the fight die and add the result to the strength of their caravan. Compare the player's total strength with that of the encounter. If the player's total strength is greater than or equal to that of the encounter, the player wins and follows the instructions on the card for winning. If the player's total strength is less than that of the encounter, the player loses and follows the instructions on the card for losing. If the player rolled an X on the fight die, they automatically lose the fight regardless of their caravan's strength and follow the instructions on the card for losing.