Arcana Rising
Arcana Rising Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 108 Spell Cards (36 per round)
- 102 Resource Tokens
- 75 Victory Point Tokens
- 10 Moon Tokens
- 6 Player Mats
- 1 Casting Board
- 1 Token Bag
Special editions of the game may include upgraded components different from the retail version of the game. These upgraded components can be purchased for any version at www.greyfoxgames.com.
Game Setup
- Give each player 1 Player Mat.
- Place the Resource Tokens and Victory Point Tokens within easy reach of all players.
- Each player places one Resource Token on each of the five colored supply spaces on their Player Mat.
- Place the Casting Board in the middle of the table.
- Place the 10 Moon Tokens in the bag.
- Drawing from the bag, randomly place the 10 Moon Tokens on the 10 white spaces on the Casting Board.
- Separate the Spell Cards by their backs. Shuffle the Spell Cards for the first round face down. Using this Spell Deck, deal each player 6 cards. Set aside the unused cards.
Gameplay Overview
Arcana Rising is all about choosing the best cards to play at the right time over three rounds of play.
Each round is divided into six turns. During a turn, players simultaneously draft a card and decide to either Prepare a Spell, adding it to their tableau, or Cast a Spell, discarding it to trigger spells in their tableau. After drafting or casting, players pass the remaining cards, face down, to their neighbor, while also receiving cards from their other neighbor. One player should also remove the Moon Tokens from the Casting Board corresponding to that turn of play, returning them to the bag.
In the 1st and 3rd rounds, players pass their cards to the left. In the 2nd round, they pass their cards to the right. The round ends when the last card in each hand has been drafted.
At the end of three rounds, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
On Your Turn
During a turn, players have the option to either prepare a Spell or cast Spells.
Option 1: Prepare a Spell
To prepare a Spell, choose the card you want, pay the cost, and place it in front of you.
Each card's cost is located on the left side of the card. Each card has two ways to pay the cost: a discounted cost on the top and a generic cost on the bottom. The discounted cost is often less, but must be paid using only the specified resource. The generic cost is higher, but can be paid with any combination of Resources. If a card doesn't show a cost, it is free.
Example: "charm the wicked" — this card either costs 1 Gold or any 3 Resources. Bottom ability: if you have 1+ blood arts cards, gain 2 charms.
There are five disciplines in Arcana Rising, each with their own resource: Charms, Herbs, Blood, Potions, and Gold. Resources are represented by Tokens and are stored in their specified spaces on your Player Mat. To gain or spend a certain Resource, add/remove that many Tokens from that space.
Place prepared Spells in front of you based on their discipline.
Example: "natural power" (Herbology) — costs 3 or 3. Ability: gain 2 herbs and 2 vp.
Example: "tome of laurels" (marked 2+) — costs 2 or 4. Ability: gain 2 vp for each card under herbology.
Example: "summon triumvirate of power" (marked 2+) — costs 3/5. Cast one Spell three times, then discard that Spell. Do this just 1 time then discard this card.
There are three kinds of Spell cards:
- Events — One-time use Spells activate immediately upon preparing. Then, discard face down to the left of your Player Mat.
- Spells — Tuck prepared Spells under the bottom of the matching discipline's column on your Player Mat.
- Artifacts — Place prepared Artifact cards face up to the right of your Player Mat.
Option 2: Cast Spells
In the world of Arcana Rising, each discipline of magic is powered by one of five moons. The casting board shows when each moon is 'rising', which means that type of magic is powerful and able to be cast.
Instead of preparing a Spell, you may instead cast Spells. Casting Spells lets you activate Spells you have acquired to gain more resources and Victory Points. When a player casts, they will trigger certain disciplines (columns) of Spells designated by the Moon Tokens in the section corresponding to the current turn.
To cast Spells, choose a card from your hand and discard it face down. (Remember: you will always pass one less card than you were given.) Next, see what two disciplines are eligible to be cast according to the Moon Tokens for the turn. Beginning with the leftmost eligible discipline on your player mat, cast each spell in that column, top to bottom, regardless of what discipline that spell belongs to (spells can move! see the box below). When that discipline is done, move to the next eligible discipline and repeat this process. The number of cards in hand is an indicator of what section is currently active.
Reminder: after each round, remove the moon tokens for that round and return them to the bag.
When casting Spells in the final turn of the round, instead of two active disciplines, players who choose to cast will cast the lowest spell from each discipline, including the starter spell if no spell has been drafted yet for that discipline. Remember to start with the leftmost discipline and proceed to the right.
Note: Some events might move cards from one discipline to a different one. This changes the Spell type. (e.g. moving a Charms card to Potions makes it a Potions card.)
When a Spell is cast, that player executes that Spell's bottom ability. Activating a Spell when casting is always optional (so players can choose to not activate a card).
Note: Some spell cards instruct you to add a resource token to them and then have a variable effect based on the number of tokens present. These tokens are for tracking purposes only and do not count as resources of any type.
Example turn casting — Blood Arts and Alchemy are cast in order:
"charming aura" — costs 2 or 3. Ability: gain 2 charms.
"blood of greed" — costs 1 or 2. Ability: add a token to this card then gain 1 blood per token on this card.
"blood of knowledge" — costs 1 or 4. Ability: gain 1 blood and 1 vp.
"potion of flowing" — costs 1 or 3. Ability: gain 3 potions. Discard this card if there is a token on it, otherwise add a token.
"fluid alchemical conversion" (ALCHEMICAL THEORY OF DESIRE) — costs 2 or 4. Ability: spend 3 potions: gain 3 gold. / spend 2 charms: gain 2 gold.
End of Round
- If this is the third round, the game is over. Go to End of Game.
- Otherwise, refill the Casting Board.
- To form the next round's Spell Deck, shuffle the Spell cards for that round. Deal 6 face down to each player.
End of Game
The game ends when the final card has been resolved in the third round. Players gain Victory Points from their Artifact cards and convert their resources to Victory Points. Remember: Each Blood resource is worth -1 VP at the end of the game. Whoever has the most Victory Points is the winner.
Discipline Breakdown
Alchemy
Alchemy Spells specialize in making Gold, which is the most valuable resource.
1 Gold = 1 VP (at the end)
All alchemy Spells ask players to trade resources for Gold. If cast, players must pay the full amount (no partial trades). Regardless of how many resources a player has, they may only make a trade once for each time the spell is cast. Only non-Gold resources can be traded.
Example: "ALCHEMICAL THEORY OF PAIN" — costs 1 or 3. Ability: spend 3 blood: gain 2 gold.
Charms
Charm Spells like to team up with magic from other disciplines to create powerful effects.
3 Charms = 1 VP (at the end)
Many Charm Spells will provide a strong effect if that player has enough Spell cards in a specific discipline. Players can prepare the Spell even if they don't yet meet the casting requirements, it just won't do anything. Starter Spells don't count (only cards).
Example: "charm the transmuters" — costs 1 or 3. Ability: if you have 1+ alchemy cards, gain 2 charms.
Potions
Potions Spells create big effects, but often these cards have limited number of uses before they are expended.
3 Potions = 1 VP (at the end)
Potion Spells with the iconography to the right are discarded after two uses. The first time a player casts the Spell, place a Resource Token on top of the card. The second time, remove the the Spell from the tableau and add it to their discard pile.
Example: "potion of flowing" — costs 1 or 3, ability: gain 3 potions, discard this card if there is a token on it, otherwise add a token.
Example: "elixer of knowledge" — costs 2 or 6. Ability: gain 4 vp, discard this card if there is a token on it, otherwise add a token.
Herbology
Herbology Spells specialize in growth. Their effects often get bigger or trigger on other moons.
3 Herbs = 1 VP (at the end)
Herbology Spells with the moon symbol are 'evergreen' and always activate when their owner Casts Spells, even if Herbology is not a rising discipline this turn. If the Herbology moon is currently one or both of that turn's rising moons, then evergreen cards act like normal Spells.
Example: "simple growth" — costs 1. Ability: gain 1 herb.
Some Herbology Spells get better the more they are cast. For the Spell to the right, each time a player casts it, they place one Resource token on the card and afterwards that player gains 1 Herb per token on the card. The first time the Spell is cast, it creates 1 Herb; the next time, 2 Herbs, then 3 Herbs, and so forth. Some Blood Arts cards have a similar effect.
Example: "EXPONENTIAL growth" — costs 1. Ability: add a token to this card then gain 1 herb per token on this card.
Blood Arts
Blood Arts magic is potent, but too much can be deadly. Any Blood remaining at the end of the game is worth negative points.
1 Blood = -1 VP (at the end)
Sometimes Blood asks players to convert resources into Blood to gain a benefit. Similarly to Gold, the cost must be paid in full and the player can't use blood to pay the costs. The specific card to the right lets players cast a Spell of their choice. This can be any Spell in their tableau (even if it's already been cast this turn).
Example: "blood of greed" — costs 1 or 3. Ability: add a token to this card then gain 1 blood per token on this card.
Example: "summoning of the dark gods" — costs 6 or 3. Ability: if you have 6+ blood, gain 3 vp.
The card to the left gives the player a benefit, but only if they currently have a certain amount of Blood in their supply (in this case, 6 or more). Herbology has similar Spells (that care about Herbs).
Example: "ritual of power" — costs 4/4/1. Ability: spend 4 resources: gain 4 blood and activate another card.
Setup for Solo Play
- Remove the following cards: Tome of Roses, Tome of Laurels, Tome of Bones, Tome of Glass, Tome of Gold, Tome of the Archmage, Conjure Thoughts, Conjure Memories. These cards are marked with a 2+.
- Begin each round in the following manner: Shuffle the deck of cards for the round you are in. Deal out 21 cards in a pyramid shape as depicted below.
- Rows with an odd number of cards should be dealt face down.
- Rows with an even number of cards should be dealt face up.
- Fill the Casting Board per the multiplayer rules. You are now ready to begin the round.
Solo Gameplay
Each round follows a similar structure to the multiplayer game.
Each turn, you will choose an available card to either prepare a spell, adding it to your tableau, or discard it to cast a spell according to the Moon Tokens on the Casting Board.
Unlike in the multiplayer game, there is no drafting.
Choose a card from the lowest row in the pyramid and decide whether to add it to your tableau or to discard it to cast.
After resolving this action, take the remaining cards in the row and set them aside. These are now removed from the game. If the next lowest row is face down, reveal the cards in that row.
Repeat these actions, adding cards to your tableau or discarding them to cast until all cards have been removed from the pyramid.
Return to setup and repeat these steps for rounds 2 and 3.
At the end of 3 rounds, tally your final score and rate your play according to the following chart:
Score
| Score | Rating |
|---|---|
| 1 - 29 | You are clearly still an apprentice, but you show much potential. Keep studying the arcane arts. |
| 30 - 39 | You are a proficient mage. Your knowledge is impressive. |
| 40 - 49 | You are a master magic user. Your skills are known far and wide. |
| 50 - 59 | You are approaching transcendence. Soon you will be one with the magical energy of the universe. |
| 60 + | You have transcended beyond the bonds of mortality. Arcane mastery has made you a god. |
Glossary
Reminders
Artifacts are only scored at the end of the game.
Evergreen Spells activate as the result of event that tell a player to "cast."
Keywords
- Spend: Discard the specified number and type of resources.
- Gain: Add the specified number of resources to that Discipline's space on your Player Mat.
- Convert: Discard the specific number and type of resources and then add the specified number of resources to that Discipline's Room on your Player Mat.
- Activate: Perform the action on another Spell Card.
- Evergreen: Evergreen spells are cast on any turn where you cast any spells from any discipline.
Iconography
Charm, Herb, Blood, Potion, Gold, Artifact, Event, Any Resource, Any Spell, Victory Points, Resource Token, Evergreen.
Credits
- Designer: Tim Armstrong
- Head Developer: Joshua Lobkowicz
- Art: Yaroslav Radetskyi
- Graphics: Tyler Myatt, Christian Strain
- Layout: Sarah Lafser
- Editing: Travis D. Hill, Donny Behne
- Playtesters: Tommy O' Brien, Matt Roberts, Joshua Rankin, Chuck Miccer, Chris Burke, Casey Boyett, Skwirral Osborne, Jon Beckett Schreiber, Jillian S., Harry Gee, Amy Hacker-Ott, Michelle, Jeff Santos, Bo Wen Liu, Jerry Lillie, Joel Kerbleski, Bidiak, Lindsey Van Gieson, Jam Jam, Anthony Dang, Benjamin Eisen, Sean Fisher, Matthew S. Beasley, Benjamin Van Gieson, Sean Fisher, Matthew Beasley, Stephen Duff, James Dunn, & Shane Myerscough