The Curse of the Maldita Diamond
The Curse of the Maldita Diamond Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 65 Gems
- 100 Challenge cards
- 1 Maldita diamond (do not touch!)
- 9 Curse cards
Setup
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Scramble the 65 Gems and randomly place them face up, in the center of the playing area so all are visible.
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Place the Maldita diamond in the center of the gems.
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Take a moment to look through the Challenge card deck and learn the different types of challenges on each card. (See "Challenge Guide" below for more.) Note: Each card has a point value for completing the challenge.
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Shuffle the Challenge deck and deal each player the following number of cards according to the number of players:
- 2–3 players: 5 cards
- 4–6 players: 4 cards
Place your cards face down in a row in front of you, without looking at them.
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Shuffle the Curse cards and deal five (or four in a 4, 5 or 6-player game), face down into a pile, next to the playing area. (See "Curses" below for more.) Return the remaining Curse cards back to the box.
How to Play
The game is played over several rounds and in each round all players play simultaneously. To start the first round, the oldest player calls out, "3, 2, 1, Go for the gems!" after which all players flip over and reveal their leftmost Challenge card.
For each of your Challenge cards you will have to find an unclaimed gem that fulfills the challenge conditions. After you find the appropriate gem or gems, place it/them on your Challenge card and then flip over the next card in the row, continuing like this until all your cards are complete. Important! You may only use one hand to flip over Challenge cards and grab gems.
Note: If the gem that you need is no longer available, you can take a round "wild" gem instead. But be careful! If at the end of the round it turns out the gem is still available, that challenge will be considered incomplete.
Ending a Round and Scoring
The first player to complete all their Challenge cards must immediately grab the Maldita diamond, which instantly triggers the end of the round. (All other players must stop hunting for gems.)
Starting with the player who grabbed the Maldita diamond, and going to the left, each player checks if they collected the correct gems for each Challenge card. If you successfully completed a challenge, set that card off to the side, forming a pile of completed challenges that are worth the points indicated in the corner of the card. Any incorrectly completed Challenge cards are discarded from the game.
Important: Do NOT return any gems to the center until all players have checked their Challenge cards.
All incomplete challenges are placed under the Maldita diamond as bonus for the next round. Whoever grabs the Maldita diamond at the end of the next round will earn those cards, as long as all their challenges were completed correctly. In the event that a player made a mistake, the loot is left in the center of the playing area, increasing from round to round.
Note: If the player that grabbed the Maldita diamond completed all their challenges correctly but there's no loot (for example: at the end of the first round), that player draws 2 cards from the Challenge deck as their loot and adds them to their pile of completed challenges.
The Curse of the Maldita Diamond
Before starting the next round, whoever grabbed the Maldita diamond becomes cursed! Reveal the topmost Curse card from the pile and read the conditions. The player will be cursed for the entire next round, after which they place their Curse card face down alongside their completed challenges.
Starting a New Round
After checking each player's challenges and giving the Curse card to the "cursed" player:
- Place all Gems and the Maldita diamond back in the center.
- Deal new Challenge cards to each player.
- The "cursed" player calls out the new countdown to start the next round.
Game End
When a player takes the final Curse card this indicates the final round of the game has begun. Once the final round ends, all players count the points on their completed Challenge cards and the player with the most points wins! In case of a tie, the tied player with the most Challenge cards wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.
Curses
BLESS YOU ALL… BUT YOU! All players except you play with all of their Challenge cards face up the entire round.
GEM DRAGGING You are only allowed to collect gems using one finger, dragging them to your card from the center of the playing area. Once the gem touches your Challenge card, you can take it and properly place it on the card.
BURNING GEMS You must collect gems and drag them to your Challenge cards using only your pinky fingers. (You may use both hands.)
ANNOUNCING! Before taking a gem, you must announce it, giving the gem's description. For example: "I am about to take the green and purple gem with 5 sides."
WOOHOO! Whenever you complete a challenge, you must clap and shout "Woohoo!" for each challenge you've accomplished. The more challenges you complete, the more claps and shouts you must make.
STICK TO THE ELBOW! Whichever hand you use for flipping over Challenge cards and grabbing gems – you must keep that elbow stuck to the table without lifting it. If any other player notices you lifting your elbow, you must return the gem you took. You are allowed to drag your elbow across the table.
UNEXPECTED TWIST Whenever you complete a challenge, you must get up, walk around your chair and sit down again.
WHAT GEMS WERE THEY? Before starting the round, look at all your Challenge cards, try to memorize them, and then put them face down again. You will not be able to look at them again. When the round ends, flip your cards over and check to see if they were completed correctly or incorrectly as usual.
GREED You receive an extra Challenge card at the start of the next round. Therefore, you will have to complete 1 more Challenge card than the other players: 6 challenges in a 2 to 4-player game and 5 challenges in a 5 or 6-player game.
VILLAGE OF THE CURSED (variant) For an even more hectic (and humorous) game, every player keeps their curse until it's either replaced by a new one or the game ends.
Challenge Guide
Each Challenge card shows a pictogram describing the gem you must find. The challenge types are:
- Take a gem with the indicated color.
- Take a gem with both indicated colors.
- Take a gem with both indicated color and shape.
- Take the most repeated gem. Example: On this card there are more pentagons than hexagons.
- Take a gem of the indicated color that fits in the shape.
- Take two gems that fit the shapes.
- Take a gem of any color with the indicated number of sides.
- Take a gem of any color with the number of sides equal to the indicated addition or subtraction equation.
A Word from Gamewright
From the moment we first played this fast-paced card-collecting game, we knew we'd found a real gem! Spanish designer Sergio Ortiz created a game that combines a challenging visual discrimination and reflex game with party game fun, as the winner of each round must contend with a difficult and often ridiculous curse. The simultaneous nature of the game means it goes super quickly, and you're never stuck waiting for someone else to make a move. Just be careful! Once you start playing, the real curse you'll be under is that you may not be able to stop!
Game by: Sergio Ortiz Illustrations by: Isaac Murgadella
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