Blackwood Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Overview of Play
• Card Descriptions
  • Forest cards
  • Potion cards (front side)
  • Potion cards (back side)
  • Spell cards
• Setup
• Course of Play
  • Determining the First Witch
  • Forest Exploration
  • Return to the Village
    • Buying Ingredients
  • End of the Round
• Additional Actions
  • Brew a Potion (Return to the Village)
  • Exchange Potions for a Spell (Forest Exploration and Return to the Village)
  • Sell a Potion (Forest Exploration and Return to the Village)
  • Use a Spell (depends on the spell)
  • Borrow Coins from Fagus Beech (Forest Exploration and Return to the Village)
• End of the Expedition
• Spell Descriptions
• End of the Game

Components

• 3 game board sections (the village, the forest and Fagus Beech's hut)
• 12 wooden puppets (3 in each of 4 colors)
• 4 player aid cards
• 40 potion cards
• 56 forest cards
• 18 spell cards
• 30 coins of value "1"
• 20 coins of value "5"
• 10 Fagus Beech tokens
• First player marker (cauldron)
• Round marker
• Expedition marker
• Rules

Goal of the Game

To be elected to the Witches' Council of Blackwood, you must prove yourself in the witches' main craft: potion brewing! Enchanted wooden puppets and spell scrolls, which the village wizard will share with you in exchange for your potions, will help you in this. But be careful! Those whom you called your friends only yesterday will snatch the most valuable ingredients from under your nose without blinking an eye.

Overview of Play

During the game the witches make 3 expeditions into the forest; each expedition lasts 5 rounds. The number of the current expedition is shown by the expedition marker on the village section of the board.

Each round the witches send puppets deep into the forest in search of the ingredients needed to brew potions. Witches use four basic ingredients in potions: four-leaf clover, mushrooms, frogs and bats. Some potions require two identical ingredients.

Card Descriptions

Forest cards

Forest cards show 1, 2 or 3 ingredients. Each shows: (1) the ingredient(s); (2) the price.

Potion cards (front side)

1. The witch of the Witches' Council of Blackwood
2. The color of the potion
3. The ingredients needed to brew the potion
4. The reward for brewing the potion
5. Reputation points

Potion cards (back side)

Potion cards can be used in two ways; depending on this they are turned over and laid down with one of two sides up (see Additional Actions, p. 8):

1. After selling a potion
2. After exchanging for a spell

Turned-over potion cards can be arranged into a beautiful picture.

Spell cards

Each shows: (1) the price; (2) the effect.

Setup

1. Lay out the three board sections in a row in this order: village, forest, Fagus's hut.
2. Put the expedition counter on the first value on the village section.
3. Separate the spell cards by type and place the stacks above the left part of the village. The number of spell cards in each stack is one less than the number of witches playing (2 players: 1 card each; 3 players: 2 each; 4 players: 3 each).
4. Shuffle the potion cards and place 6 of them face up above the village, to the right of the spell cards.
5. Shuffle the forest cards and place 5 in each row, as shown in the illustration. Lay out 3 rows for 2 players; 4 rows for 3 players; 5 rows for 4 players.
6. Place the round marker on the first section of the forest to the right of the village.
7. Place the remaining cards, coins and tokens next to Fagus Beech's hut.
8. Each witch takes the 3 puppets of her color and 8 coins.
9. The witch who was last in the forest receives the cauldron. She will go first.

Course of Play

Each of the three expeditions into the forest lasts 5 rounds. A round consists of two steps:

• Forest Exploration (green icon)
• Return to the Village (orange icon)

When all witches have completed the "Return to the Village" step, a new round begins.

Determining the First Witch

The round marker points at the column from which the witches will resolve forest cards this round. But first you must determine the witch with whom the next round starts. Look at the column above the round marker and find the puppet that is farthest from the round marker. The owner of this puppet takes the cauldron; she begins the new round first. If there are no puppets in the column, the cauldron stays with its previous owner and the next round begins immediately.

Forest Exploration

To brew potions the witches need special ingredients. They send puppets to fetch them. Starting with the cauldron holder and continuing clockwise, each witch places one of her puppets on a forest card. In each round a witch can send only one puppet into the forest. If a witch has already placed all her puppets, she waits for the start of the next "Return to the Village" step.

A witch may place a puppet on any unoccupied forest card (only one puppet may stand on each card). Pay attention to the position of the round marker!

During her turn a witch may also perform the Additional Actions available during this step (Additional Actions, p. 8).

Return to the Village

When the puppets find the right ingredients, they return to their owners together with everything they found in the forest. Puppets are small magical creatures that sense the magical potential of the ingredients needed to create potions. They are handy to work with, but their services must be paid for!

Buying Ingredients

The witches resolve the forest cards from the column above the round marker one at a time, starting with the puppet that is closest to the round marker. A witch may buy the forest card on which her puppet stands. To do so, she discards into the supply as many coins as are shown on the forest card, and places that card in front of her face up. The other witches must know which cards you have.

If a witch does not want to or cannot buy the forest card, the card goes to the discard pile. During her turn a witch may also perform the Additional Actions available during this step (Additional Actions, p. 8).

After a witch has taken a card, the forest row shifts toward the village, filling the empty space. Puppets move together with the cards on which they stand. If, as a result of the row moving, a new puppet ends up in the column with the marker, play continues with it.

The witches continue resolving cards with puppets, starting from the one closest to the round marker, until no puppets remain in this column.

It is possible that during this step a witch does not get any puppet back. In this case she skips the "Return to the Village" step completely and cannot perform Additional Actions.

All puppets remaining on forest cards in other columns continue to stay on their cards until the next round.

End of the Round

When there are no puppets left in the column above the round marker, the round ends. Refill the forest with new forest cards (as during setup) and add new potion cards up to 6. Then move the round marker one space to the right. The witch with the cauldron goes first and begins the new round.

Additional Actions

During her turn a witch may perform any number of additional actions. The icons (green / orange) show the step during which the action can be performed. Additional actions can be performed only during the witch's own turn.

Remember: to take part in the "Return to the Village" step, a witch must get at least one puppet back. For this the puppet must be in the forest, in the column above the round marker.

Brew a Potion (Return to the Village)

When a witch returns a puppet to the village, she may brew one or more potions if she has the necessary ingredients. The witch takes one or more of her forest cards with the necessary ingredients and discards them. Ingredients from one card can be split to use in brewing different potions, but each ingredient can be used only once. All unused ingredients on forest cards are lost. After brewing a potion, the witch takes the card of the brewed potion and receives as many coins as are shown on that card.

Exchange Potions for a Spell (Forest Exploration and Return to the Village)

If a witch needs help or wants to gain superiority over her rivals, she can go to Tapimoke, the local wizard. He is always ready to share spell scrolls in exchange for a couple of potions and a few coins.

To buy a spell, two potions of the colors shown on the card are needed, as well as some coins. The first spell bought by a witch costs 2 coins, the second costs more: the second card costs 3 coins, the third 4, and so on. The number of spell cards in the game is limited, but each witch may have any number of spells, including identical ones.

When a witch uses potions to buy a spell, she turns 2 potion cards of the corresponding colors with the spell side up. This does not reduce her reputation points.

Sell a Potion (Forest Exploration and Return to the Village)

Witches tend to help ordinary people, and are ready to help in return for gifts (they give fruit or offer help with shopping). But a witch may demand payment for a potion. Such witches are respected less. At any moment of her turn a witch may sell a potion. To do so, she turns the potion card to the side with coins and takes 3 coins from the supply. A sold potion reduces the witch's reputation by 2 (this is already accounted for on the card).

Use a Spell (depends on the spell)

On her turn a witch may use one or more spell cards. After use, turn the spell card face down. Spells are restored at the end of each expedition.

Do not forget that some spells can be used only during certain steps: "Forest Exploration" or "Return to the Village".

Borrow Coins from Fagus Beech (Forest Exploration and Return to the Village)

Paying for the puppets' services and buying spells can leave you with nothing. Do not be frightened: the mysterious Fagus Beech is always ready to lend you a few coins. No one knows what he will ask in return... so people do not like to deal with him. But sometimes there is no choice.

If a witch has 2 coins or fewer, at any moment of her turn she may ask Fagus Beech for help. Take 5 coins from the supply and a Fagus Beech token, which at the end of the game will subtract 5 reputation points.

End of the Expedition

At the end of the fifth round the expedition ends. If the witches have unused ingredients left, they begin to spoil, so they must be sold urgently, at half price! Each witch totals the value of the forest cards lying in front of her, halves it (rounding down), receives that compensation in coins, and then discards those cards.

Then all used spell cards are turned face up. If puppets remain in the forest, they stay in their places, continuing the search for ingredients in the next round.

Move the expedition marker down one position and return the round marker to the first section next to the village (as during setup). A new expedition begins; the witch with the cauldron goes first. After three expeditions the game ends and the witches count their earned points.

Spell Descriptions

The icons (green / orange) show during which step the spell can be used.

• (Forest Exploration) Allows you to place a second puppet during the "Forest Exploration" step.
• (Forest Exploration and Return to the Village) Allows you to swap two unoccupied forest cards. Cards with puppets on them cannot be moved.
• (Forest Exploration and Return to the Village) Allows you to take 5 forest cards from the deck and buy one of them (optional) for half price (rounded down). The remaining 4 cards are discarded.
• (Return to the Village) Allows you not to pay for a forest card when returning a puppet from the forest.
• (Return to the Village) Adds any one missing ingredient when brewing a potion.
• (Forest Exploration) Forces a rival to move her puppet to another forest card. The rival cannot refuse, but in exchange receives 2 coins. If she wishes, the witch who used the spell may place her own puppet on the vacated card.

End of the Game

The game ends either at the end of the third expedition, or if there are no potions left in the game that can be brewed. Witches add up their reputation points on their potion cards. Every 3 coins left to a witch give 1 more point. Those who turned to Fagus Beech for help lose 5 reputation points for each Fagus Beech token.

In case of a tie, the witch who brewed fewer potions wins. If the tie remains, the witch with the most coins wins. The witch who earned the most reputation points is admitted to the ranks of the Witches' Council of Blackwood.