Baruka Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Player Setup
• How To Play
  • First Phase: Prepare Totems
  • Second Phase: (1) Place Totems
  • Second Phase: (2) Divine Oracles Cards
  • Third Phase: Hire a Helper
  • Fourth Phase: Maintenance Phase
• Scoring by Sacrifice
  • Scoring from Basic Totems Sacrifice
  • The Grand Sacrifice
• Scoring and Icons
  • Tallying the Final Score
  • The Divine Oracles Cards
  • The Expansion Tile
  • Scoring Track
• Example of Gameplay
  • Example of First and Second Phases
  • Example of Scoring
• Frequently Asked Questions

Components

• Scoring Board x1
• Altar Tile (big) x3
• Altar Tile (small) x3
• Totems in different colors (double-sided): Red Totem x30, Green Totem x30, Blue Totem x30, Purple Totem x10
• Expansion Tile (double-sided) x15
• Round Token x1
• Reference Screen x4 (in colors)
• Personal Character Board x8
• Cubes in different colors: Red Cube x6, Yellow Cube x6, Green Cube x6, Blue Cube x6
• Helper Card x20
• Divine Oracles Card x60 (Level I x30 / Level II x15 / Level III x15)

Setup

1. Place the Scoring Board in the center of the table. Place the Round Token on Round 1 on the left side of the board. Place the Totems and Expansion Tiles within reach of all players.
2. Take the corresponding number and size of Altar Tiles according to the number of players, and arrange them based on your preferred difficulty level.

Players	Big Altar Tile	Small Altar Tile
2 Players	2	1
3 Players	3	1
4 Players	3	2

3. Separate the Helper cards into three piles based on their type (resource, skill, or point-scoring, indicated by the icon in the top left corner of the card). Shuffle each pile separately, and reveal three cards from each pile.

Player Setup

• Choose a Personal Character Board.
• Take a set of colored cubes (6 cubes) and the Reference Screen in the corresponding color.
• Place 2 colored cubes on the two 0s on the Scoring Board.
• Place 5 red, 5 green, and 5 blue Totems beside you.
• Determine the turn order however you'd like, and place 1 colored cube on the Turn Order Track in the top right corner of the Scoring Board according to the turn order. Place the remaining 3 colored cubes beside you.

How To Play

Deal an equal number of Divine Oracles Cards to each player: Level I x5, Level II x3, Level III x2 (10 cards total).

Players may choose to discard their Divine Oracles Cards for additional points at the end of the game. Discarded cards provide points based on their level: Level I: +1 point, Level II: +2 points, Level III: +3 points.

The game will have various rounds depending on the number of players:

• In a 2-player game, there will be 7 rounds.
• In a 3-player game, there will be 6 rounds.
• In a 4-player game, there will be 5 rounds.

Each round consists of four phases: Prepare Totems > Place Totems > Hire a Helper > Maintenance Phase.

First Phase: Prepare Totems

Players use their Reference Screens to hide their own Character Board and place the Totems they want to use this round on the corresponding spaces on their Character Board. Each player can place at least 2 and up to 4 Totems unless they have Expansion Tiles; please refer to P.8 for details.

The required Totems in the indicated colors must be placed each round.

(Note: There are 2 colored spaces on each Character Board. Players will lose 2 points for each space if they fail to place Totems in corresponding colors on these spaces.)

Second Phase: (1) Place Totems

Players place all of their prepared Totems onto the Public Altar by turn order.

• Totems must be placed with the open-eye side face-up, and can be placed in any order.
• The Totems must be placed at the edge of the Altar and extend towards the center.
• (Note: If a hollow exists in the center of the Altar, players may also start their Totem placement at the edges of the hollow.)
• Each Totem should be perpendicular to another Totem; no diagonal placement is allowed.
• Totems can be placed separately on the Altar as long as they are placed at the edge of the Altar or perpendicular adjacent to another Totem.

Second Phase: (2) Divine Oracles Cards

Explanation of the icons on the Divine Oracles Cards:

At any time during the second phase (including other players' turns), if the shapes of the Totems on the Altar match the icons on your Divine Oracles Card, you can immediately play the card and receive the corresponding reward.

If the Divine Oracles Card has several icons, each icon can be flipped, connected, and placed anywhere on the Altar, but not mirrored or overlapped.

Diagram: Flipped (allowed), Anywhere (allowed), Overlapped (not allowed), Mirrored (not allowed).

Third Phase: Hire a Helper

(Skip this phase during the last round!!!)

All players may hire 1 Helper in turn order (optional) by paying the number of Totems indicated under that Helper's name. Each Helper provides a different type of ability. Refer to the Ability Reference Card for details.

(Note that after hiring a Helper, do not replenish a new one immediately.)

Fourth Phase: Maintenance Phase

(Skip this phase during the last round!!!)

• Adjust the turn order: Based on the current scoring status, adjust the turn order accordingly by moving the cubes on the top right corner of the Scoring Board. The lowest-scoring players take their turn first. Any tied players maintain their current turn order.
• Replenish Helpers (perform the following steps in order):
  • A. Reveal new Helper Cards to fill the empty spaces left by hired Helpers.
  • B. Each round, place 1 corresponding Totem or tile on each resource Helper not hired by players during this phase. The player who hires them in the future can also take the resource(s) on the card.
• Craft Totems: In turn order, each player can choose one of the following:
  • (a) Take 2 resources (Totems or Expansion Tiles).
  • (b) Take 1 Purple Totem if any remain.

Players with resource Helpers can receive additional resources now.

Scoring by Sacrifice

Scoring from Basic Totems Sacrifice

During the second phase, when a player places a Totem during their turn, they can immediately score extra points by forming the indicated shapes with the Totems of each color.

Red Totem: When placing the Totems continuously in a vertical or horizontal line up to the 3rd, 4th, or 5th Totems, score points for each Totem separately (points can be added). The line scores +1, +2, and +3 for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Totems respectively.

When completing a vertical or horizontal line by placing the 5th Totem, flip these 5 Totems to their closed-eye side and perform the Grand Sacrifice.

Green Totem: When placing the Totems continuously in a diagonal line up to the 3rd, 4th, or 5th Totems, score points for each Totem separately (points can be added). The line scores +2, +3, and +4 for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Totems respectively.

When completing a diagonal line by placing the 5th Totem, flip these 5 Totems to their closed-eye side and perform the Grand Sacrifice.

Blue Totem: Score points by placing them in a 2x2 square or a 2x3 rectangle, and score points accordingly. A 2x2 square scores +2; a 2x3 rectangle scores +4.

When completing a rectangle by placing the 6th Totem, flip these 6 Totems to their closed-eye side and perform the Grand Sacrifice.

Note: Closed-eye Totems cannot be scored again via any Sacrifice (but they can still be used to match the icons on the Divine Oracles Cards).

The Grand Sacrifice

A Grand Sacrifice will be performed when a player successfully flips Totems of any color to their closed-eye side. The player must place 1 of their colored cubes at the bottom of the corresponding color Totem in the Totem Sacrifice Area on the Scoring Board.

If the player performs another Grand Sacrifice for the Totems of the same color, move their colored cube up one space in that area. This will provide you with more points at the end of the game. (See the diagram below.)

Totem Sacrifice Area (points at the end of the game, by space):

• Red Totem: 1 = +4; 2 = +8; 3 = +15; 5 = +30
• Green Totem: 1 = +6; 2 = +12; 4Δ = +30
• Blue Totem: 1 = +5; 2 = +12; 3 = +20; 4Δ = +30

Scoring and Icons

Tallying the Final Score

• Total score on the Scoring Board.
• Score for the discarded Divine Oracles Cards.
• Score for the point-scoring Helpers.
• Score for the Character Board.
• Score for the Grand Sacrifice Totems.

The Divine Oracles Cards

Each Divine Oracles Card shows the following:

• Indicated Icons: the shapes to form on the Altar.
• Type of the Totems: the Totem color(s) that must be used to form the icons.
• Completion Reward: the points or effect gained when the card is played.

Icon key:

• Basic Totem (question-mark icon): refers to the red, green, or blue Totems.
• Purple Totem (icon): treated as a red, green, or blue Totem. Counted as 2 Totems when hiring Helpers.
• Points Reward (icon): points gained.

The Expansion Tile

This tile can be used in two ways and be set up differently during the first phase.

• Use the Expansion Tiles to play extra Totems this round. During the first phase, place the extra Totems you want to play on Expansion Tiles (1 Totem per tile, + side up), and place them on the space for the Expansion Tiles on the Character Board. (Discard the used Expansion Tiles afterward.)
• Use the Expansion Tiles to expand the Altar. During the first phase, place the Expansion Tile directly on the Character Board with the Altar pattern side facing up.

Example: a Totem placed on an Expansion Tile (+ side up) and set on the Character Board; an Expansion Tile placed with the Altar pattern side facing up on the Character Board.

Scoring Track

• Scoring Track: the main track on the Scoring Board that records points.
• Round Indicator: the Round Token moves along this track to show the current round.
• Turn Order Track: the spaces in the top right corner of the Scoring Board where the colored cubes are placed to show turn order.
• The Grand Sacrifice Area: the Totem Sacrifice Area where Grand Sacrifice cubes are placed.
• After reaching a score of 100 or more, you can use the hundred-digit area (0, 100, 200) for tracking scores.

Example of Gameplay

Example of First and Second Phases

Player A prepared these Totems and Expansion Tiles (pictures on the left) and wants to complete these Divine Oracles Cards (pictures on the right).

During the second phase, Player A chooses to place the Totems and Expansion Tiles as shown in the diagram on his turn to complete these two Divine Oracles Cards. He also scores points for the Basic Totem Sacrifice.

Diagram labels: "Fill the hollow spaces"; "Discard" (the unused Expansion Tile).

Player B accidentally completes his Divine Oracles Card due to the placement of Player A's Totem. Player B immediately plays that card and receives the indicated rewards.

Example of Scoring

Player A has successfully completed the icons on his Divine Oracles Card and immediately receives the rewards.

• Basic Sacrifice for Green Totems: immediately +3 points.
• Grand Sacrifice for Blue Totems: immediately +4 points, and flip these Totems to their closed-eye side (close their eyes). Move up the colored cube by 1 space.

Total:

• Scores from the Divine Oracles Cards: +4, +12
• Scores from Basic Sacrifice and Grand Sacrifice: +3, +4
• Total score for this round: 23 points.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are the starting Altar Tiles randomly placed except for their quantity?

A: Yes, but each Altar Tile must be adjacent to at least one other tile as much as possible. If players want to challenge themselves with more unique Altar arrangements, they may also use two small Altar Tiles instead of one large Altar Tile during setup.

Q: Can you retrieve the discarded Divine Oracles Cards (discarded before the game starts) during the game?

A: No, once discarded, they must be placed face down and discarded next to the player.

(Note: Do not mix up the discarded Divine Oracles Cards with completed ones during the game.)

Q: During the first phase, when preparing the Totems, can I place more than four Expansion Tiles?

A: No, regardless of how you use the Expansion Tiles, you may only use up to four tiles each round.

Q: When preparing the Totems during the first phase, what if I don't have any required Totems in the indicated color to place on the Character Board?

A: For each empty space of the indicated color, immediately lose two points, and no Totems in other colors can be placed on these spaces (but Purple Totems can be treated as any color).

Q: When another player places Totems on his turn during the second phase, can I choose not to play my completed Divine Oracles Cards?

A: Yes, you can choose not to play them, but other players may use their Helper's ability to change the arrangement of Totems on the Altar, including those who have not yet realized that they have completed their Divine Oracles Cards.

Q: If you trigger Basic Sacrifices for Totems in two different colors when placing a Purple Totem, can you score from Basic Sacrifice for both colors?

A: Yes, but if you trigger Grand Sacrifices for Totems in two different colors, you must choose one to perform (as shown in the example below).

• Basic Sacrifice for Red Totems: +2 points. Basic Sacrifice for Green Totems: +3 points. +5 points in total.
• Basic Sacrifice for Red Totems: +2 points. Grand Sacrifice for Green Totems: +4 points, and flip both the Purple Totem and Green Totems to the closed-eye side.
• Since the placement of the Purple Totem triggers the Great Sacrifices for two colors, only one color can be chosen to score for the Great Sacrifice.

Q: How are resources replenished to resource Helpers during the fourth phase (the Maintenance Phase)?

A: The character "BUBU" will take the Totem with the highest remaining quantity and place it on top of him when he is being replenished. The player who hires BUBU in the future can take back the card along with the Totems on it, and replace them with the Totems in their desired colors.

(Caption: You can replace the Totems with desired colors after hiring BUBU.)

Q: Can you combine the abilities of Helpers?

A: Yes. For example, if you have a Helper who allows Totems to be placed diagonally and a Helper who can move a Totem one space, you can move a Totem diagonally by one space.

(Note: Expansion Tiles can also be placed diagonally.)