Ars Universalis Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Aim of the Game
• Parts of the Game
• Setting Up the Game
• Playing the Game
  • Phase I: Auctions
  • Phase II: Trading of Materials
  • Phase III: Project Completion
  • End of Round
• Solving Puzzles
  • Painting Puzzles
  • Literature Puzzles
  • Music Puzzles
  • Sculpture Puzzles
  • Science Puzzles
• Time Periods
  • Transition Through the Ages
  • Paradigm Shifts
  • Major Developments
• End of the Game
• Two-Player Version
• Single-Player Version
  • Preparation
  • Playing the Game
  • End of the Game
• Optional Rules
  • Inspiration Deck
  • Duel of the Patrons
  • Leonardo's Workshop
  • Shared Greatness
  • The Extended Golden Age
  • Treasures of the Past
• Keys and Tips
• Glossary

Aim of the Game

The aim of the game is to earn Artistic Prestige Points (points which win the game).

Artistic Prestige Points can be earned from:

• Projects and bonus points from the Historical Figure Cards.
• Major Development Cards.
• Paradigm Shift Markers.

You can find a more detailed explanation on how to win the game in the End of the game section.

Parts of the Game

Your copy of Ars Universalis contains the following:

• Rules of the game, with basic rules, optional rules and rules for two-player and single-player versions.
• The game board, on which you will find the Artistic Prestige Points score, a Record of Works Completed by Ages and a Record of Works Completed by Category.
• 63 Historical Figure Cards: 21 figures from each of the periods in play; the Middle Ages, the Early Modern Period and the Late Modern Period.
• 1 Lead Patron Marker. This indicates which patron starts each round.
• 100 Materials Cards. These can be used to complete the works of the different figures. For more information, see the Solving puzzles section.
• 45 Money Tokens, 12 worth 10 coins, 12 worth 5, and 21 single unit coins. From now on, when we refer to Coins, we will always refer to their value.
• 5 Paradigm Shift Markers. 4 for playing in multi-player mode, and 1 for playing the single-player game. See the Paradigm shifts section.
• 6 Major Development Cards. These reward certain achievements with extra points. See the Major Developments section.
• 40 Coloured Cubes, ten of each colour - green, red, blue and yellow. These are used to mark the scores on the game board and the works of the multi-talented figures which have been completed.

Historical Figure Card example (Dürer): Dürer is a multi-talented artist (he has more than one piece of work) from the Renaissance period. He has three important works: one painting, one in science and one in literature. The patron who completes them will earn 8, 4 and 3 Artistic Prestige Points respectively. Completing all his works will earn an extra 3 points. The minimum bid to acquire his services is 11 coins. This artist provides 3 materials.

Setting Up the Game

Place the game board in the middle of the table. The Historical Figure Cards are divided into three decks, one for each period, and are placed face down next to the game board. Take the Middle Ages deck and remove the multi-talented figures. Then deal one Historical Figure Card to each patron. Return the multi-talented figures to the deck and shuffle. Deal two Materials Cards to each player. Each patron takes a set of coloured cubes, a Paradigm Shift Marker and money to the value of 35 coins.

Each patron places one of their coloured cubes in the first Middle Ages space on the Record of Works Completed by Ages, and another one on each of the symbols for the different categories of works.

Choose the player who starts (the Lead Patron) and the game begins. The Lead Patron is the player who has visited a museum most recently. In the case of a tie, choose the starting player at random.

Playing the Game

The games are divided into rounds. Each round consists of three phases:

I. Auction Phase II. Materials Trading Phase III. Project Completion Phase

The Lead Patron goes first in each phase, followed by the other players in a clockwise direction.

Phase I: Auctions

The Auction Phase:

1. The Lead Patron draws as many Historical Figure Cards from the deck as there are players and places them face up on the table so everybody can see them. These are the historical figures who will be up for auction.

2. These historical figures are only auctioned one at a time. The Lead Patron starts the first auction by choosing one of the figures and making a bid. The starting bid must equal or exceed the value indicated underneath the Coin symbol on the card.

3. Moving in a clockwise direction, the other patrons can bid for the chosen figure so long as their bid is always an increase on the previous one. There is no minimum or maximum on these increases. However, the players must bid within their budget.

4. The patrons who do not have enough money or do not want to bid for that figure can pass, but they cannot re-enter the bidding for that person. The auction continues until all the patrons withdraw from the bidding except one.

5. The patron who wins the auction pays the bank the amount of their final bid, takes the Historical Figure Card and places it in front of them face up. Then they take from the deck the amount of Materials Cards indicated under the hammer symbol on the card. They can no longer participate in any auctions in that round. The other patrons do not pay anything on this occasion.

6. If the patron who started the last auction did not win it, they start another. If they did win, then the next patron on the left who is still in play opens the bidding. Only the patrons still in play take part in the auction. These are those who have not acquired any figure in the current round and not retired from the auction phase.

7. The patrons have to withdraw from the auction phase if they do not bid for any character when it is their turn to open bidding. They are also obliged to withdraw if they lack sufficient money to equal the opening bid for any of the figures who are left in the auction.

8. The last patron still in play does not open a new auction. Instead, they simply take the figure who remains (or choose one if there are more than one), paying the amount of money indicated on the card. They can also withdraw if they prefer or if they do not have enough money.

Patrons cannot have more than three figures active at any one time. If anybody has three and would like to acquire more, first they have to discard one of the figures already in their possession.

Phase II: Trading of Materials

Starting with the Lead Patron, each player can make one purchase and/or sale of materials (in the order they choose) during their turn.

A Materials Card costs two coins. You can acquire as many cards as you like, so long as the amount you finish the round with does not surpass the limit for this particular period. The maximum number of Materials Cards you can have in the Middle Ages is six, seven in the Early Modern Period and eight in the Late Modern Period. If at some point you receive materials which would take you over the limit, you can either discard some of the ones you already have before drawing the new ones, or simply take less.

You can also sell the Materials Cards you do not need, selling each one for one Coin. These cards are returned to the deck. You can use the money raised to buy new material in this same phase.

Phase III: Project Completion

At the start of this phase, the Lead Patron draws three Materials Cards and places them on the table. These materials make up the Materials Bank.

Then, starting with the Lead Patron, the players solve the puzzles for the pieces of work which correspond to their figures, using any Materials Cards necessary. During their turn, patrons can exchange one single Materials Card for one in the Materials Bank in the Project Completion Phase.

When you complete a piece of work:

1. Return all the Materials Cards used to the deck. The same card cannot be used to complete more than one piece of work.

2. Add the Artistic Prestige Points to your score and take the amount of coins indicated on the card of the figure whose work of art you have just completed.

3. Move your coloured cube forward in the corresponding Record of Works Completed by Category.

For example, when you complete your first painting, place one of your coloured cubes in space number 1 under the painting symbol. If you later complete another painting in this category, move your coloured cube to space number 2.

4. Check to see if you move forward a space in the Record of Works Completed by Ages. For more information, see the Time Periods section.

5. If the Historical Figure Card whose piece of work you have just completed has no more works pending, its card is withdrawn from the game. If it is a multi-talented figure and you have completed all its works, you also earn the additional Prestige Points and coins that are shown in the star sign on its card.

On completing the two works of Kassia, you earn two Artistic Prestige Points and two coins.

If you have not completed all the figure's works, you keep the card and try to solve them later. Solve whichever works your Materials Cards allow you to. However, solving puzzles is optional. When you cannot or do not want to solve any more, the turn passes to the next patron.

End of Round

The round finishes when the Project Completion Phase is complete. Return the cards from the Materials Bank to the deck. The Lead Patron Marker passes to the next player and a new auction phase begins.

Solving Puzzles

You complete or finish a project (a piece of work) by combining Materials Cards according to the category of the piece of work and under the supervision of the other patrons. A project is finished when its associated puzzle is solved. As the game advances through history, the puzzles become more difficult. You can solve the different puzzles as follows.

The category their work belongs to is shown in the bottom left hand corner of the Historical Figure Card.

Painting Puzzles

These are solved by forming a determined sequence of colours which is done by matching the coloured ends of two materials cards. If two halves of the same colour are matched, you get a primary colour. If two different primary colours are matched, you get a secondary colour, according to the following diagram (primary colours: red, blue, yellow; secondary colours: red + blue = purple, red + yellow = orange, blue + yellow = green).

The Materials Cards should be matched so that the paint symbol is properly formed, and the numbers printed on the cards should always be facing the same direction.

A sequence of colours is formed matching several Materials Cards.

A combination for Rembrandt would be the following: four cards in a row, giving the colours green (blue + yellow), red (red + red) and yellow (yellow + yellow).

You can get the colours separately if you cannot match all the cards.

In the top row you get green and red, and yellow in the bottom row.

Literature Puzzles

These are solved by combining the letters that appear on the Materials Cards. Place the cards in a row. The row of cards should follow the sequence of letters required for the piece of work. One same card can provide several letters.

For the sequence of letters "RISF", two cards have been used. There are two possible solutions: 1) Take the 'R' and the 'I' from the first card and the 'S' and the 'F' from the second; or 2) take the 'R' from the first card and the 'I', the 'S' and the 'F' from the second. In both cases, the sequence is achieved.

The solution proposed in the chart above is not allowed because the row of cards does not respect the order of the sequence of letters.

Let us look at another example: a suitable combination for Händel would be the following.

Note that not all the letters appear with the same frequency in the cards. As the game advances through the ages, the puzzles require letters which are less common, therefore making the puzzles harder to solve.

Music Puzzles

These are solved by forming a sequence of musical notes which are printed on the Materials Cards. Basic Rules:

• You must follow the sequence of notes in the musical composition.
• The sequence of notes in the musical composition must be formed exactly as it appears on the Historical Figure Card, with no notes in between. Those which appear outside the composition, on the left or the right, can be ignored.
• You can slide the cards up or down, so long as the musical score stays aligned.

Two valid combinations to solve the puzzle are shown. Note that one Materials Card has been slid up.

In the illustration, the note that is outside the composition on the left can be ignored. However, the solution proposed below is incorrect. The note on the right does not belong and falls inside the composition. You can only ignore the notes that appear outside.

Sculpture Puzzles

These are solved by connecting a sequence of geometric shapes (elements used in sculpture) which appear on the Materials Cards.

The Materials Cards contain one element of sculpture (a cone, a cylinder, a sphere or a cube), which appears twice on the card. You need to follow the sequence of elements required for the project. You can, however, have other elements in the middle or turn the cards 180º.

The connections are made matching the small triangular connectors which indicate the elements on the Materials Cards. To match two cards, and therefore the elements, you have to ensure the connectors match. To solve a puzzle, you generally need to connect several cards.

A suitable combination for Michelangelo would be the following. To connect the central part, which gives you the element in the form of a cube, you can rotate the card 180º. In this way, the connectors of the three cards match, giving you the sequence Sphere-Cube-Sphere.

Another example, costlier in materials, would be: the puzzle of Michelangelo does not include a cylinder. However, it can appear in the middle so long as the correct sequence of elements matched by their connectors can be taken from the card sequence.

Science Puzzles

These are solved by getting a number using basic arithmetic (either by addition, subtraction, multiplication or division) on the numbers printed on the Materials Cards. The number on a single card cannot be used more than once. The result of the sum should be exactly the same as the target number of the puzzle.

A suitable combination for Newton would be the following. A more expensive combination, because it uses an additional Materials Card, would be: (second example).

Keep in mind that not all the numbers appear with the same frequency in the Material Cards. Those between 1 and 5 are more common than those from 6 to 10.

Time Periods

The game runs through three periods: The Middle Ages, Early Modern Period and Late Modern Period. All the historical figures belong to one of them. Although some of the figures in this game lived between two periods, for the purposes of this game, they are only associated with one. Look at the symbol on the back of the Historical Figure Cards or in the biographical text box on the front.

The time periods have an impact on the game in two ways:

• You cannot complete a piece of work if you have not previously completed one from an earlier era. In other words, you have to finish a piece of work from the Middle Ages if you want to complete one from the Early Modern Period, or from the Early Modern Period if you want to complete one from the Late Modern Period.
• When a player completes a project, they advance one space in the Record of Works Completed by Ages. Only completing projects belonging to the period in play (the current age) allow you to move your marker forward.

In the image, the red and green patrons have completed just one piece of work from the Middle Ages. The yellow patron has completed two.

Transition Through the Ages

The first patron to complete three works in the current period brings about a change to the next period. This means the following:

• That patron earns 5 Artistic Prestige Points. Any other patron who manages to finish their third piece of work in that same round can also add 5 Artistic Prestige Points.
• From the start of the next round, the next period comes into play: The Middle Ages pass to the Early Modern Period, and the Early Modern Period to the Late Modern Period. The players place their coloured markers in the first space of the new period, on the Record of Works Completed by Ages, and all patrons take 5 coins.
• The historical figure deck is automatically changed. The deck which was being used is removed from the game, with the new deck in its place.
• The historical figures of the periods now passed can still remain in a patron's possession and in play. Their works can still be completed. However, as they are now anachronistic, they will only earn the patron half the Artistic Prestige Points and money indicated, rounding down.

Completing the works of Kassia in the Early Modern Period or Late Modern Period would earn you 3 Artistic Prestige Points and 3 coins rather than 7 points and 7 coins if they had been completed in the Middle Ages.

Paradigm Shifts

During the course of a game, the patrons can make up to two paradigm shifts. This can be done during any phase of the rounds, but no more than one per round.

Paradigm shifts offer the players two benefits. Either:

1. Discard all your Materials Cards and draw replacement ones from the deck.

2. Take five Coins from the bank.

At the start of the game, all the patrons have a Paradigm Shift Marker which they place on the table in front of them with the number 3 facing up. At any time in the game, a player who makes a paradigm shift turns their marker over so that the number 1 is now visible. After the second paradigm shift, they hand in their marker.

At the end of the game, the players add as many Artistic Prestige Points as is indicated on their Paradigm Shift Marker, if they still have it.

Major Developments

During the course of a game, you can get one of a number of the five available distinctions for major developments. Major developments in Science, Sculpture, Music, Painting and Literature, are awarded seven Artistic Prestige Points, which are added to the points total of the patron who has achieved them.

The patron who has completed the most works in a particular category, with a minimum of three, takes the corresponding Major Development Card. The seven Artistic Prestige Points that are awarded by this card are automatically registered on their score. If, however, later in the game another patron surpasses the number of works in that category by the patron who holds the card, they get to take the card and the points are awarded to them. The patron who loses the card must deduct the points from their score.

The distinction for Major Achievement in Arts and Science awards ten Artistic Prestige Points to the first patron who completes at least one work from each category: Science, Sculpture, Literature, Painting and Music. The patron takes and keeps the card until the end of the game (no other patron can steal it).

End of the Game

A game of Ars Universalis does not have any fixed duration or minimum number of rounds. The game ends when one of the following occurs:

• At least one of the patrons reaches or exceeds 75 Artistic Prestige Points.
• None of the patrons has acquired a Historical Figure Card in the auction phase.

At the end of each round, the players check to see if one of these situations has occurred. If not, the game continues, starting with a new round.

If it has, the points are added up, player by player. The Paradigm Shift Marker scores are added to the points total, in the case of those patrons who still have it.

The patron with most Artistic Prestige Points wins the game. If there is a tie, the patron who has most money wins.

Two-Player Version

In the two-player version, three of the basic rules change. This involves the wealth the patrons start with, how they acquire Historical Figure Cards and how the game finishes.

• At the start of the game each patron receives 25 Coins in money, instead of 35.
• The Auction Phase disappears. In its place, there is a Recruitment Phase. In this version, as in the Auction Phase in the basic rules, players can only acquire one Historical Figure Card per round. The Lead Patron draws a Historical Figure Card and reveals their identity (figure 1). Both players can hire him, paying the salary indicated on the card (next to the Coin symbol). Priority is given to the player who starts. Two situations can arise:
  1. If the Lead Patron decides to hire that person, the second player draws and reveals a second card (figure 2), which the second player can buy by paying the indicated salary.
  2. If neither player hires figure 1, a second card is revealed (figure 2), who both players can acquire. The Lead Patron once again has priority.
• The patron who does not acquire any Historical Figure Cards during two consecutive rounds, automatically loses the game. The game ends when at least one of the patrons reaches or surpasses 75 Artistic Prestige Points.

Single-Player Version

The single-player version changes the basic rules of the game substantially.

Preparation

1. Shuffle the three historical figure decks separately.

2. Make a row of five Historical Figure Cards from the Middle Ages. Under each one, place two cards from the Early Modern Period and one from the Late Modern Period in rows, so that you have a table of 5x4 cards, face down. Shuffle and place face down in one deck (The Deck of Inspiration) the remaining Historical Figure Cards.

3. Shuffle the Materials Deck and draw six cards.

4. Reveal the Historical Figure Cards on the first row of the table.

5. Take the Paradigm Shift Marker which does not have any numbers on it, and place it in front of you. Refer to the section "Parts of the game".

6. Neither the role of Lead Patron nor the money are used in this version.

Playing the Game

1. You can only complete projects by the figures who are available. In other words, those whose cards have been revealed. You cannot complete the same piece of work twice, nor can you complete a piece of work of a certain type if you have not previously solved the puzzle of one of the works belonging to that category in the previous period.

2. Once the piece of work has been completed:

   • Reveal the Historical Figure Card which lies underneath.
   • Remove the materials used from the game.
   • Draw as many materials as the Historical Figure Card whose work you have just resolved indicates. At no time can you have more than eight materials in your hand. You must discard the number of cards you have over this limit by choosing which ones you no longer need.

3. Paradigm shifts: you can hand in the marker at any time. Discard all your Materials Cards and draw replacement cards from the deck.

End of the Game

You win if you are able to complete a piece of work by a figure from the Late Modern Period.

Optional Rules

Use these rules to enrich your playing experience.

Inspiration Deck

The Inspiration Deck, made up of Inspiration Cards, allows you to draw an additional Materials Card when you complete a piece of work. Follow these rules:

1. Draw an Inspiration Card at the start of the game and always after completing a piece of work. When you draw a card, discard the previous one.

2. You earn an extra Materials Card if the piece of work you complete belongs to the same category or its author to the same period as the card which has served as inspiration. Check this before discarding the card to draw a new one.

Imagine that you draw Michelangelo from the Inspiration Deck. Since he is a painter and sculptor of the Early Modern Period, if you then complete a piece of work from the Early Modern Period or a painting or sculpture belonging either to the same period or another, you earn an extra Materials Card. You can then discard Michelangelo and draw a new Inspiration Card.

3. If at any time, the Inspiration Deck runs out, shuffle the discarded cards together and make a new deck.

Duel of the Patrons

The patron who first completes two works in the same category earns a Major Development Card, rather than three as occurs in the basic rules.

Leonardo's Workshop

The Materials Bank is removed. In its place, in the first round at the start of the Project Completion Phase, the Lead Patron draws cards from the Materials Bank and places them in a table of 2 x (the number of players). In each round of the game, the patrons can buy one of these materials during the Project Completion Phase. The cost of each material is worth one Coin if it belongs to the first column, two if it appears in the second column, etc. One Coin each is paid to the players who are sitting to the left of the patron in play.

If you take a card that belongs to the first column, pay one Coin to the player sitting on your left. If it belongs to the second column, pay one Coin to the player sitting on your left and one to the following player on the left. Any coins that are left over from paying for cards from the final column are given to the bank.

When you take a materials card, the materials located to the right of that same row move one place to the left. The Lead Patron covers the resulting gap with a new card from the deck.

Shared Greatness

The players who, in the same round, are first to finish at least one piece of work from each category, are awarded the Major Artistic and Scientific Achievement Award. All of them add ten points to their Artistic Prestige Points score.

The Extended Golden Age

To make the transition from the Early Modern Period to the Late Modern Period, you will have to complete four works from the Early Modern Period, rather than three.

Treasures of the Past

In the transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period, the Lead Patron turns the deck of Middle Age historical figures over and it becomes the Classics Deck. Players may draw cards from this deck during the rest of the game. In the Auction Phase, you can choose to bid for a historical figure from the period in play, or you can acquire the first card in the Classics Deck for the price indicated on the card. The works corresponding to these cards earn you half the coins and Artistic Prestige Points indicated when they are completed. However, at the end of the game, when adding up the scores, the player with most works from the Middle Ages can add ten Artistic Prestige Points. In the case of a draw, each tied player adds ten points.

Keys and Tips

Your progress in a game of Ars Universalis depends mainly on efficient use of money and materials. Therefore, you should choose the figures according to what you already possess and not the other way round.

The Materials Cards can be obtained by purchasing them in the materials trading round, and when you acquire a Historical Figure Card in the Auction Phase. The materials that a figure provides vary between two and four. Therefore, in general it is better to bid for those people who offer more materials.

You should try to minimize the cost of materials when you solve puzzles. To complete a work from the Middle Ages, you should not use up more than three or four materials; the Early Modern Period more than five or six; and the Late Modern Period more than seven.

Use your money to purchase materials and bid for historical figures. Do not waste it. In the auctions, try not to exceed by more than four or five coins the starting price for the historical figure, unless it is vital to your strategy.

Avoid acquiring different multi-talented figures belonging to the same period. It is very likely that some of their works will become anachronistic and you will lose money on them.

Use the paradigm shift if you cannot make any moves, but remember that refreshing the materials will be much more useful to you in the later rounds.

Note the progress of your opponents in the race for Major Developments. Whenever possible, try to block their access to figures who can boost their score.

The historical figures who become anachronistic could still be decisive in the later rounds of the game to get a Major Development Card. Don't forget about them!

Take into account that the main works of the Middle Ages award you between two and five Artistic Prestige Points; the Early Modern Period between six and ten; and the Late Modern Period more than ten. In addition, remember that the majority of the secondary works of the multi-talented characters earn you less points than those which correspond by period. However, they are also less difficult!

Glossary

Works Category: the works belong to one of the following categories: Painting, Sculpture, Science, Literature or Music. The type of work is indicated by its corresponding symbol, in the lower left margin of the Historical Figure Cards.

Materials Bank: additional reserve of three Materials Cards. In the Project Completion Phase, the players in turn can choose one material in their hand to exchange for one from the bank.

Paradigm Shift: this allows you to change all the Materials Cards for others from the deck or earn five coins. The players who still have the Paradigm Shift Marker at the end of the game can add to their Artistic Prestige Points score the figure indicated on the marker; either 1 or 3.

Period: the era or historical age the characters of Ars Universalis belonged to. The periods of the game are: The Middle Ages, the Early Modern Period and the Late Modern Period.

Material: each material or element needed to complete a project (puzzle) or set of them. These are printed on the Materials Cards.

Patron: name which the players use to identify themselves in a game of Ars Universalis.

Lead Patron: the player who opens the first bidding at the start of the round. This changes every round in a clockwise direction.

Coin: unit of value and means of payment in the trading of materials and auctions for historical figures.

Historical figures: painters, sculptors, writers, philosophers, scientists, musicians; all of prestige and universal fame whom the patrons sponsor. They all belong to a particular period. Once their projects (puzzles) are completed, Artistic Prestige Points are awarded which are necessary to win the game.

Multi-talented historical figure: a person who has more than one project assigned to them on their card.

Anachronistic Project: a project which does not get finished in its corresponding period. Only half the coins and Artistic Prestige Points are awarded in this case. The variation Treasures of the Past modifies this rule.