Damask Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup
• How To Play
  • Objective
  • Overview
  • Compulsory Actions
    • Take Silk Cubes
    • Take a Damask
  • Optional Actions
    • Mount a Single Damask
    • Take Silk Cubes From Another Player's Overstock
  • End of Turn
• Guild Favours
  • Cost: 1 Guild Favour
  • Cost: 2 Guild Favours
  • Cost: 3 Guild Favours
• End of The Game
• Solo Mode

Contents

• 2 Cloth Bags
• 90 Cubes: 15 each of black, red, light blue, dark blue, yellow and pink
• 3 Round Markers
• 4 Player Stands
• 72 Damasks
• 1 Spinning Wheel board and Wheel
• Coins (in 1 and 3 denominations)
• 10 Fashion Tiles: 6 Colours and 4 Patterns
• 1 Damask Board
• 1 Fashion Board
• 20 Guild Favours
• 4 Overstock Tiles
• 4 Player Aid Cards

Setup

Before setup, decide whether to play the short or normal game. We recommend the short game the first time you play.

1. Place all cubes in one bag, and all Damasks in the other.
2. Each player takes a stand, overstock tile, and 3 coins (placed behind the stand). Place the rest of the coins to the side.
3. Place the assembled Spinning Wheel in the middle of the table.
4. Take 26 cubes from the bag and put them in the groove in the Spinning Wheel. The cubes should be a snug fit. Place the bag with the rest of the cubes to the side.
5. Place the disc corresponding to the number of players on the 'A' section of the board, with the red hand side facing down (in a 2 player game place it on either side). Rotate the wheel so the arm is on the ornate spoke pointing to the 'A' section.
6. Place the Fashion board near the Spinning Wheel.
7. Place the Damask board near the Spinning Wheel with the "refresh 3 cards" side face up.
8. Shuffle the pattern Fashion Tiles, then deal 3 (normal game) or 2 (short game) to the Fashion board face up in a column down one side, then do the same with the colour Fashion Tiles down the other side, next to the numbers on the board. Remove the rest of the Fashion Tiles from the game.
9. Shuffle the Guild Favour tokens and place them above the Fashion board.
10. From the Damask bag draw 6 Damasks and place these in two equal columns under the Damask board. Place the bag with the rest of the Damasks to the side.

The most fashionable player is the start player.

11. In reverse player order (anti-clockwise starting with the player who will go last), each player chooses a Damask from the supply and adds it to their area in front of their stand, loom side up, without refreshing the supply.
12. After every player has a Damask in their area, draw replacement Damasks from the bag to refill the supply. The game can now begin.

How To Play

Objective

Make money by mounting matching Damasks. The player with the most money at the end of the game wins.

Overview

On a player's turn they must first do one of the following compulsory actions: Take a Damask or Take silk cubes.

They can then choose to do one of the following optional actions: Take silk cubes from another player or Mount a Damask.

After their actions, play goes to the next player clockwise. After enough cubes have been taken, the round ends, and after 3 rounds (normal game) or 2 rounds (short game) the game ends.

Compulsory Actions

Each player must do one of these at the start of their turn:

Take Silk Cubes

To take silk cubes from the spinning wheel a player chooses one cube to start at, then goes either clockwise or anti-clockwise around the wheel taking every cube as they go. They stop when and only when they have taken 2 cubes of the same colour. The arm and any gaps in the wheel are ignored when taking cubes.

E.g. A player starts at the dark blue cube and goes clockwise: they will take the dark blue, pink, red, yellow and pink cube. They then have to stop as they have two cubes of the same colour (pink).

After taking cubes the wheel is rotated clockwise so the arm moves 1 spoke for every cube taken. If the arm lands on or passes through either of the ornate spokes there will be additional actions at the end of the turn. See End of Turn.

After a player has taken silk cubes they add them to their Overstock or place them on matching Damasks. At any time during their turn a player can move cubes from their Overstock to their Damasks, but can never move them from a Damask once placed. Each Damask has space for 5 cubes of two colours on its loom.

Take a Damask

A player with two or fewer Damasks in their area can take a single Damask from the six in the supply and add it to their area with the loom side face up. This side shows how many cubes of which colours are needed to complete the Damask. The card is immediately replaced with one from the bag. A player with three Damasks in their area (not mounted) may not choose this action.

Optional Actions

Each player may do one of these after their compulsory action. After a player has chosen to do or not do their optional action it is the end of their turn.

Mount a Single Damask

If a player has completed a Damask by placing 5 matching silk cubes on it, then they can mount it. The cubes go back into the bag and the Damask is removed from their area and placed in their Stand next to their most recently mounted Damask if there is one (note: to fit all the Damasks on the stand they will need to overlap). A player can only mount one Damask a turn, unless spending Guild Favours (see Guild Favours for more information).

Players then compare it to the most recent Damask mounted only and receive coins accordingly:

• 1 for mounting a Damask
• 1 for each matching colour (this includes matching pattern colours with background colours and vice-versa).
• 1 for matching the pattern.

The first mounted Damask for each player will always only score 1 coin.

E.g. The current player mounts the pink-black Shield pattern Damask. They gain 3 coins:

• 1 for mounting a Damask.
• 1 for matching black to the previous Damask.
• 1 for matching the shield pattern to the previous Damask.

They don't get anything for matching pink to their first mounted Damask, because they only compare to the most recent one mounted.

When mounting a Damask, the player also gains up to 2 Guild Favours if the Damask is in fashion.

• If either colour on the Damask matches the fashion colour tile for the current Season the player takes a Guild Favour.
• If the pattern on the Damask matches the fashion pattern tile for the current Season the player takes a Guild Favour.

E.g. If the earlier pink-black shield Damask was mounted during Season 1, the owner would take 2 Guild Favours. During Season 2 they would take 1 Guild Favour, and none during Season 3. Guild Favours are stored in secret behind the player stand (see Guild Favours for more information).

Take Silk Cubes From Another Player's Overstock

A player may take cubes from another player's Overstock. They take all cubes of one colour from that player's Overstock board. They do not take any cubes on Damasks. Those cubes go into the current player's Overstock, and may be moved from there to matching Damasks.

When doing this action a player cannot choose to only take some cubes of a colour and leave some behind, or different coloured cubes.

The player who had their silk cubes taken receives 1 Guild Favour from the supply. Guild Favours are stored in secret behind the player stand (see Guild Favours for more information).

End of Turn

If during the turn the wheel was moved and the arm either landed on or moved past one of the ornate spokes, refill the wheel with cubes drawn at random from the bag. If the section that spoke is pointing to contains a Round Marker Disc, the players also do all the actions shown on the top face of the disc:

• Flip the disc.
• Move the disc (from A to B or B to A).
• All players pay tax (1 coin for every different colour of cube in their overstock). Then turn the current season's Fashion Tiles face down. It is now the next season. If the season was the last, the game now ends.

If the wheel didn't pass or land on an ornate spoke nothing happens.

It is now the next player's turn.

Guild Favours

Guild favours are rewards from the Weavers' Guild for either being fashionable, or helping out another player. Each has a cube on the back, either in a colour or linked to a pattern. Favours are secret and kept behind the player stand.

Each player can hold at most 5 Favours. If they ever need to take a 6th or more, they must either discard some from their hand so they stay at 5, or swap 3 for a coin (see below).

A player can use any number of guild favours at any point during their turn by discarding them face up.

Cost: 1 Guild Favour

• When mounting a Damask, use a Favour as though it were the cube on the back (either a coloured cube, or a wild cube for a specific pattern). You do not take the cube, simply mount the Damask as though you had that cube.
  • E.g. A favour with a red cube can be used in place of a red cube. A favour with a shield pattern can be used in place of any colour cube in a shield patterned Damask.
• Discard a column of 3 Damasks in the general supply, and immediately draw replacements from the bag.
• After you have done a second action, mount completed Damasks (1 per favour). These can be in addition to one mounted as your second action, or after taking cubes from another player.

Cost: 2 Guild Favours

• During the Tax phase, each player who needs to pay tax can discard 2 Guild Favours instead of paying 1 coin. This can be done up to two times per Tax phase.
  • E.g. A player needs to pay 2 coins in tax, 1 for the red cubes, and 1 for the light blue cube. Instead they can discard 2 Favours and pay 1 coin, or 4 Favours and pay no coins.

Cost: 3 Guild Favours

• Gain 1 coin. Can be done at any time, including after the game has ended.

End of The Game

Each season ends immediately after the 'Pay Tax' phase. After 3 seasons in the normal game and 2 seasons in the short game, the game ends immediately.

Players also score additional bonuses at this stage:

• 3 Coins (2 Coins in the short game) if they have mounted all 6 colours (either background, pattern or any combination of those).
• 3 Coins (2 Coins in the short game) if they have mounted all 4 patterns.
• 1 coin for every partially completed Damask (one colour fully complete, either background or pattern) and 1 coin per completed but unmounted Damask. Favours cannot be used as silk cubes for these bonuses.
• 3 Guild Favours can be swapped for a coin during this stage.

All players then add up their money, and the player with the most money wins!

In case of a tie, most Guild Favours wins. If it is still a tie it is the player who mounted the most Damasks who wins. If it is still a tie the game is tied.

Solo Mode

In the solo mode the player works with the Weavers' Guild to earn as many coins as possible, whilst also ensuring the Guild achieves success.

Set up the game as though for two players. The second player is the 'Weaver's Guild'. The following setup steps are changed:

7. Place the Damask board near the Spinning Wheel with the "refresh 2 cards" side face up.
8. From the Damask bag draw 4 Damasks and place these in two equal columns under the Damask board. Place the bag with the rest of the Damasks to the side.
9. Draw another Damask from the bag, and either put it in the Weavers' Guild area, or in your own area. If you put it in your own area, repeat this step until the Weavers' Guild has a Damask in its area (remember, you can only have up to 3 Damasks in your area). The game now starts.

Play as normal, but after each turn it is the Weavers' Guild's turn:

• If the Guild doesn't have an unmounted Damask, you choose one from the 4 in the supply and give it to the Guild (loom side up).
• If they do have an unmounted Damask, the Guild take cubes from the wheel. Moving clockwise from the arm, they pick up the first colour they come to which their Damask still needs. Then continuing clockwise, they pick up cubes until they have two cubes of the same colour.
  • All cubes which fit their Damask go on their Damask, all other cubes go back in the bag.
  • If there are no cubes which match their Damask, the Guild takes the cube nearest to the arm clockwise, and then takes cubes going around the wheel clockwise until they have two of the same colour. All these cubes go into the bag.
  • After the guild takes silk cubes, move the spinning wheel as in the main game.
• If their Damask is now complete the cubes go back in the bag and the Damask is mounted. You gain 4 coins and a Guild Favour every time the Guild mounts a Damask.

At the end of the game score as normal. A score of over 35 coins makes you the best of all the master weavers!