Chaos & Alchemy
Chaos & Alchemy Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the game
Be the first player to turn lead into gold by building a laboratory worth 10 or more points.
Setup
Each player takes three black Experiment dice, a Success/Failure card, and a green die to serve as a Free Success marker. Players roll their Experiment dice and add up the total; the player with the highest total will go first, with play then proceeding clockwise.
Shuffle the deck (excluding any extra Success/Failure cards). Each player draws two cards to form an opening hand. Since going first is an advantage, the second and third players each draw one additional card, and the fourth and fifth players each draw two additional cards.
Set the purple die near the deck with the number 4 facing up; this is the Fortune Die.
Turn structure
On your turn you must conduct one Experiment, and you have one Free Success to use either before you Experiment or as part of the results of your Experiment (your choice). Start your turn with your green Free Success die on your Success card.
Experiment
To conduct an Experiment, roll your Experiment dice. Any die that matches or exceeds the Fortune Die gives you a Success – put it on your Success card. Any die that is lower than the purple Fortune Die is a Failure – put it on your Failure card. Any die that lands on a 6 always counts as a Success; any die that lands on a 1 is always a Failure.
Success: Each Success (including your Free Success) lets you choose to either draw a card from the deck (gaining new knowledge) or play a card from your hand (turning your knowledge into action).
As you use each Success to draw or play a card, remove a die from your Success card to keep track. If you have multiple Successes, you can resolve them one at a time. So, you might draw a card (removing a die), then play a card (removing a die), then draw another card (removing a third die).
Remember that the Free Success die counts as a Success each turn, and may be used before the Experiment if you wish.
Failure: Each Failure requires you to discard a card from your hand (put the discard pile face-up next to the deck). If you have no cards in hand, then the Failure has no ill effect. As you resolve each Failure, remove a die from your Failure card.
If you have a mixture of Success and Failure, you may choose to resolve them in any order. Once you have finished resolving all Successes and Failures, play proceeds to the player on your left.
Chaos: If any of your dice in an Experiment land on the same number (rolling "doubles"), you have rolled Chaos (feel free to shout "Chaos" when this happens!). When you roll Chaos, fortunes change – you will be rerolling the Fortune Die.
You may either measure the results of your Experiment against the current Fortune Die (putting your dice on the Success and Failure card immediately) or wait to measure your Successes and Failures against the result of the re-rolled Fortune Die. The rest of your turn proceeds as normal, with the resolution of Successes and Failures.
Total Chaos: If your Experiment dice all land on the same number, you have rolled Total Chaos (again, feel free to shout!) Before rerolling the Fortune Die, you must immediately discard your hand and draw new a hand of the same number of cards plus one extra card.
Extra dice: Some cards allow you to roll extra dice; there is no maximum to your number of Experiment dice.
Double Chaos: If you are rolling four or more dice and you roll two separate sets of doubles, this is Double Chaos. You will reroll the Fortune Die twice and may count your Successes and Failures immediately, or after rerolling the Fortune Die for the first time, or after rerolling the Fortune Die for the second time.
Laboratory: The area of the table in front of you is your laboratory. It begins empty, and you will collect Innovation and Misfortune cards here throughout the game.
Card types
Action: After following the cards instructions, discard it.
Innovation: Play the card to your laboratory. It remains there unless something removes it.
Misfortune: Play the card to another player's laboratory (or your own, if you wish). It remains unless something removes it.
Reaction: This card is not played via Successes as other cards are; instead, play this card for free in reaction to the specified event on the card.
Rival: Cards with the (Rival) subtype usually have a negative impact on other players.
Scoring
The number on the top right corner of an Innovation or Misfortune card is its point value. The total point value of the cards in your laboratory (Innovations and Misfortunes) is your score. Cards in hand are worth no points until they are played.
Some cards have extra curlicues on the point indicator; these cards have an ongoing effect while in the laboratory. Cards without curlicues can be arranged in a stack with just the name and point indicator showing, making it easier to track your score and your ongoing effects.
Out of Cards?
If the deck is emptied, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
Game end
If a player ends his or her turn with 10 or more points in the laboratory, that player has turned lead into gold and wins the game!
Questions?
For Frequently Asked Questions and card-specific clarifications, visit www.ChaosAndAlchemy.com or scan the QR code below.
Card anatomy
A card shows: Card Name, Card Type, Point Indicator (top right), Illustrator, Rules Text, Flavor text, and Collector Number. Card types shown: Innovation, Misfortune, Reaction (Rival), Action.
Play Area
Deck; Discard pile; Fortune Die (purple); Experiment dice (black); Free Success die (green); Success/Failure card (Successes and Failures halves). Laboratory: Innovations with ongoing effects, regular innovations, and Misfortunes.
Appendix: Optional Rules
Advanced Game: Transmutation for the King: Instead of simply ending the game when a player reaches 10 points, if you begin your turn with at least 10 points in your laboratory, the King comes to witness the wonder of transmutation: turning lead into gold. You must:
- Begin the turn with at least 10 points in your laboratory,
- Conduct an Experiment with no Failures, and
- End the turn with at least 10 points in your laboratory
If these conditions are met, the transmutation experiment is successful and the King declares the alchemist to be the winner! If the conditions are not met, play continues until an alchemist successfully demonstrates transmutation for the King.
Longer Game: For a longer game, increase the point total needed for victory from 10 to 15.
Additional Players: More than five can play Chaos & Alchemy; however, the game will take longer with more players, and you will need extra dice (or share dice).
Individual Decks: In this variant, each player builds a deck of at least 40 cards with no more than two copies of any card in the deck. Players draw from their own decks rather than a shared common deck, and they maintain separate discard piles. This may require multiple Chaos & Alchemy sets.