Ambrosia Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Concept
• Contents
• Game Preparation
• How to Play
  • A Turn
  • 1. Movement - How to Make Your Move
  • 2. Check - Time to Score?
  • Example of a Move by the Blue Player
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• The Final Score
• Royal Jelly
• Explanation of the Special Counters
• Additional Option: Special Events
• Additional Option: The Reverse Side
• A Few Words About Tactics

Game Concept

You fly with your bee colonies over a meadow in circles and try to gather as much honey as possible with your bees and thereby scoring points. As your game progresses, your bees acquire special skills to help you achieve that goal. The one who has collected the most honey at the end of the game, wins.

Contents

(The actual colouring and form may deviate from this representation. Representation not proportional.)

• 8 meadow parts as game board (4 for 2 players, another 2 for 3 players, another 2 for 4 players) with two sides each
• 1 beehives scoreboard for the scorings
• 17 event cards
• 1 honeycomb scoreboard (for the points) with 4 scoring counters (the drops)
• 1 summary board of the special counters
• 1 summary board of the royal jelly functions
• 30 pieces of royal jelly
• 4 counters for 50/100 points
• 1 counter for the direction
• Per player 6 normal bees (with standard image) and 9 special bees (with symbols)

Game Preparation

Put the game board (the meadow) together according to the number of players (1). For 2 players, you only use the 4 parts without player symbols on them and lay them out as a circle. For 3 players, take the two parts with the 3-player markings, creating an oval with two long sides. With 4 players you use all parts, the game board is a big square with rounded corners. You can put together the necessary parts of the board in any order, so that each time you have a slightly different game. Use either only the front of the board parts (without special zones) or only the green back (with special zones, but not for the first game).

Before playing for the first time: Attach the enclosed stickers to the 60 wooden game counters. There are 15 stickers for each of the 4 colours. The stickers should only be stuck on one side of the wooden counters.

Put the beehive board (2) (side depending on the number of players) in the middle of the game board. Place the direction counter (3) at the side of the board (showing the clockwise direction). Put out the honeycomb board (4) (side depending on the number of players) and place the scoring counters (5) on the zero of the honeycomb board. Put the royal jelly function summary board (6) directly at the honeycomb board and place the royal jelly supply (7) below it. Keep the special counter summary board and the 50/100 points markers (8) within reach.

Everyone takes the 15 bee counters in their colour. Arrange the 6 normal counters into a stack. Then choose 1 special counter and place it on top of the stack. This is your starting stack.

Explanatory Note: When we talk about a stack in these instructions, it can also mean a single counter even though admittedly it's then just a very small stack.

Explanatory Note: Optionally, you can play the game with event cards. In addition, the game plan on the back offers an alternative plan with special zones. For the first game, however, we recommend that you omit the event cards and play on the front of the board (the side without special zones).

The player who most recently ate honey starts the game. This player places his starting stack first on any square on the meadow, then the other players in turn arrange their stacks around the meadow. You may place your stack on any square on the meadow, but there must be at least three spaces between your stack and all other stacks.

The starting player now begins the game.

How to Play

A Turn

Each player takes his turn one after another. A turn consists of exactly two parts:

• One move (!) according to the rules described below ("How to make your move").
• A check if you could move again in the next turn or if you triggered a scoring.

Then it's your left neighbour's turn.

1. Movement - How to Make Your Move

When it's your turn, take any number of counters from one of your stacks on the board and move them. The following rules apply, unless a special counter, an event or a special zone allows anything else:

• You move in a clockwise direction.
• You can move as many counters as you want from one of your own stacks (one, a few, all), if the stack has at least two counters.
• You always move exactly as many spaces as counters that you want to move (a large swarm moves faster). So, for example, if you want to move 3 counters, they will move exactly 3 spaces.
• A single counter may not move on. This refers to counters that are alone on a space (under certain circumstances they can stand on other players' counters).
• You move only with your own counters. Other players' counters are never moved with your counters when they are hidden below your counters.
• The spaces between the starting and finishing spaces are not relevant.
• You may move onto:
  • Empty spaces.
  • Spaces with one or more of your counters already on them.
  • Spaces containing a single counter of another player (and nothing else).
• Counters that are hidden under other players' counters, may be moved.

Once you can't move anymore according to the standard rules (or after the additional rules of the special counters), then it's time for you to count up your points (also see "2. Check - Time to score?").

2. Check - Time to Score?

If you have got yourself to a position right after your turn in which you cannot move a playing counter (how this can happen you can read in the movement rules), then you have triggered a scoring and immediately count up how much honey your bees have collected. The honey score is moved onto the honeycomb board. This score applies only to you, the other players continue to play normally. You can only get honey during a scoring, not in a normal move.

Occasionally, you might still have options to move at the end of your turn (so no scoring is triggered), but then when it's your turn again, the situation on the board has changed so much that you cannot move anymore. Then you've just been unlucky and unfortunately cannot do anything else this turn and then you too have to count up your honey (the second part of the turn).

Details on the scoring: see "Scoring" below.

Example of a Move by the Blue Player

(In this example, you have more than 7 counters, so we can illustrate all possibilities at once. The moving player's stack is on the left of the illustrated board section; spaces A to G are marked.)

• A: With 1 counter orange can move onto this space, because it is free.
• B: With 2 counters, orange can move onto this space because it is occupied by his own counters.
• C: Orange may not move to this space because it is occupied by more than one opponent's counters (unless orange has the special counter which may cover 2 opponent's counters).
• D: With 4 counters, orange can move to this space and cover the individual opposing counter (if it is not the special counter that prohibits this).
• E: Orange can move to this space with 5 counters, because there is an own counter on the top.
• F: Orange can move to this space with 6 counters, because it is free.
• G: Orange may not move to this space, because the single opposing counter already covers another, so it is not alone.

In a nutshell: You fulfill exactly 1 movement and afterwards check whether you trigger a scoring. A normal scoring is triggered at the end of your turn when you have created a position where you can no longer move. Then you score directly and it's the next player's turn. But now and then this can happen at the beginning of your next turn, then you can't make any movement and just score.

End of the Game

The end of the game is reached when any player has reached the required number of scorings first. This is the case if all the beehives on the scoring board contain a counter of that player and if he scores again. The game ends immediately then.

• There are 7 scorings for 2 players.
• There are 6 scorings for 3 players.
• There are 5 scorings for 4 players.

The other players get the points that correspond to the current position of their counters.

If you want to, you can exchange your remaining royal jelly into points (see page 7).

The player with the most points wins the game.

Scoring

• In a scoring you get points for your bees. The spaces on the board give you 1, 2 or 3 points, depending on the flower on the space (the score can be found in the honey drop). On the back of the board there are also flowers that score 0 or 5 points. This is the honey your bees collect.
• For each field on which one of your counters is on top, you may award yourself the points. You count all the honey together and move your scoring counters on the honeycomb board accordingly. Spaces containing several of your counters count only once. Spaces where your counters are not on top (i.e. covered by opponents' counters) will not earn you any points.
• If you are the last to move on the honeycomb board onto or over any of the royal jelly symbols that match your number of players, you may take a royal jelly.
• After scoring, all counters, which are not covered, are put together again into a stack. You do this by starting from any counter and stacking your pieces on the board clockwise (that is, under the first counter), so that the finished stack arrives at the last counter of the stack. In the next round you start with the newly formed stack from this position.

IMPORTANT: The new stack must not be created on opponent's counters that you have covered. If this were the case, you would need to stack up the counters starting with another counter instead, making sure that you do not cover any opponent's counters when the stack is complete. In very rare situations, when each one of your counters covers another, an exception may be allowed (because otherwise impossible).

• One of your bees has gained special skills through their experiences and is evolving into a specialist (special counter). To do this, remove one normal counter from the stack after stacking. This counter will now be placed on the beehive scoreboard, starting with the hive that belongs to your number of players (look at the symbol). If it's your first scoring, place the counter on the first hive, the second on the second hive, etc. This will create stacks of your and your opponent's counters (each player can only have one counter per stack). The last player whose counter is on top of one of these stacks, if all the counters for one scoring have been placed there, immediately receives a royal jelly.

  If it is not possible to remove a normal counter from the new stack, because all normal counters are covered by opponent's counters, then you may make an exception and take one of these covered counters from the board and remove it.

IMPORTANT: When all the hives on the beehive scoreboard contain one player's counters and there is another scoring of that player, the game ends immediately (the finish field is reached). Do not remove a normal counter and do not stack, instead carry on as described in "The final score".

• After removing the normal counters you may then choose a special counter and place it on top of your new stack. The bee now has new, amazing skills to help you collect honey.

The Final Score

• When a player has reached the required number of scorings (finish field on the beehive scoreboard is reached), the game is over - immediately. This player counts up the scores, but does not stack up his counters, but leaves them in their current positions.
• Everyone who didn't trigger the scoring round will still receive points. Count the points on the board for each player just like a scoring round and mark them on the honeycomb board. All special counters are still valid here.
• Now you can also exchange unused royal jelly into points. Every royal jelly counts as one point.
• The player who scores the most points, (i.e. has collected the most honey) wins the game. If there is a tie, then the player wins who had the fewest scoring rounds. If there is still a tie, the player who looks most like a bee wins.
• The player with the fewest points gets awarded a royal jelly, which he should keep safe (remember) for the next game. Then this player starts with the small advantage of already having a royal jelly at the start of the game.

Royal Jelly

In the course of the game, you may receive royal jelly if you are the last to score or, pass a royal jelly symbol on the score board after everyone else. If it is your turn, you can use one royal jelly to do one of the following actions (which can also be seen on the summary board for royal jelly):

• Take an additional turn: You may immediately take another turn according to the normal rules. You may also score between turns.
• Freeing one's own counter: you may liberate a counter that is trapped under one or more other counters. You take the counter and place it on top of the next of your stacks, which is clockwise from its current position.
• Gain an additional point: You get an extra point and move the score point drop on the honeycomb board on one space.

After this you should return the used royal jelly to the supply. You may only use one royal jelly per turn, so only make one additional move or free a counter. This does not apply to additional points.

Explanation of the Special Counters

The special bee counters have extra abilities. The individual options of the special counters are described in detail here and condensed on the overview.

In general, if a rule contradicts with the functions of a special counter, then the special counter takes precedence.

The functionality of a special counter is always optional. It does not have to be used, you can always decide for yourself. The exception to this rule is if you cannot take a normal turn without using a special skill, in this case you have to use the special skill: Forced move.

Special counter's special powers come into play whenever this counter is on top of a stack or is alone on a space. It then applies to all counters that are underneath it or that are moved with it.

At the beginning of the game, each of you has one special counter of your own choice. Later on in the game you get a special counter after every scoring round.

For example, the move backwards counter ("Rebel", see below) is on top of a stack of 4 with your own counters. You can then move any number of counters (here, 1, 2, 3 or 4 counters) backwards, as many spaces as the number of counters you want to move. However, the function is always optional, so you can also choose to take a normal turn.

• Guardian: If this counter is on top of a stack, this stack cannot be covered by an opponent's counters.
• Collector: If this counter is on top of a stack, you may score one more point for this space.
• Heavyweight Bee: If this counter is on top of a stack, you may score double for this space.
• Turbo Bee: If you move counters from this stack, you may additionally move them one space further than the normal rules allow (if the targeted space allows this).
• Rebel: If you move any counters from this stack, you may optionally move them backwards the same number of spaces as they would have been moved forwards (if the targeted space allows this).
• Berserker: The stack with this counter on top of it may also cover an opponent's double stack, but only if it is alone and does not already cover an opponent's counter. The double stack may only contain one player's counters.
• Drone: If this counter is on top in its own double stack, and that stack is the only one you can still move, then you may trigger a scoring.
• Saboteur: If an opponent scores and this counter is one square behind one of the opponent's counters, then this counter scores

Additional Option: Special Events

Optionally you can add the event cards. Shuffle it and place it next to the game board. Turn over the first event card and read it out loud. The additional rule on this card now applies until the next card is turned over.

Whenever a particular scoring round has been made by all players, i.e. the last counter is placed on the scoringboard for that scoring, you uncover a new event card and read it out loud for everyone. If an additional event rule on the card contradicts the normal rules or special counters (or the special spaces on the back of the game board), then the additional event rule always takes precedence.

• Surprising turn: All actions (including reverse moves) run in the opposite direction. This also applies to stacking after scoring. To visualize this, turn the direction counter to the backside.
• Advanced Movement: This equals the special counter "Collector", but now it applies to all (normal) counters.
• Mutual agreement: You play as if you had changed to an opponent's colour. Of course, now the goal is to get the other player to win fewer points. If the game suddenly ends during this event, then naturally you revert back to your normal colour for the end of the game.
• Leaping Behaviour: At any time during your turn, you can use a royal jelly to move any stack to any (allowed) space (but like always, you may use only one royal jelly per turn).
• Royal Favour: Everyone immediately receives 1 royal jelly.
• Unintended Consequences: If you make a move that takes you 3 or more spaces, then all the others immediately get an extra point on the honeycomb board. This does not apply to movement through earthworm holes, but does apply to reverse moves.
• Valuable Prisoners: This applies to every covered opponent's counter. So if you covered 2 counters anywhere on the board, this counts for 2 points.
• Here you can use a at any time during your turn to (but as usual only one royal jelly per turn).

Additional Option: The Reverse Side

On the back of the standard board you will find an alternative board, which in addition to other scoring points (0 and 5 points) also includes special spaces where special things happen directly or on scoring.

Except for the spaces where the special counters do not apply, all properties are also optional here (also the earthworm holes). This also applies to forced moves, the special spaces you do not have to use, even if no other move options exist.

• Earthworm holes: The two earthworm holes of the same colour always belong together. If you move onto one of these spaces (your move ends here), you may move on to the other earthworm hole of that colour with any number of counters, if a move to that space is allowed by the normal rules. If you are standing on an earthworm hole at the beginning of your turn, you cannot just move through the hole as a turn.
• Thicket: In these spaces, the properties of all special counters do not apply (also, for example, no doublers).
• Gust of wind: Here you are allowed to continue immediately from this space, with any number of counters, but according to the normal rules of the turn.
• Honeywell: If you move to this space, you will immediately get an extra point on the honeycomb scoreboard. Doublers do not apply to this.
• Beekeeper: If you move onto this space, you can immediately remove one point on the honeycomb scoreboard for one of the other players. The player can't have less than zero points. If a player moves again over a royal jelly symbol, there will be no additional royal jelly for that.
• Swaying Leaves: From this space, you can move backwards (just like the special counter "Rebel") according to the normal rules.
• Arena: If you score, you will receive an additional point if you are here.

A Few Words About Tactics

(The printed English rulebook gives this paragraph in German; translated here.) The aim of the game is to score points. To manage that, you have to get to scorings, because points are almost only awarded there. So you should not wait too long before you provoke a scoring. However, you should also take care to stand on valuable spaces. From these two requirements you have to find a sensible middle way: score quickly, but on good spaces.