Das Vermächtnis des Maharaja
Das Vermächtnis des Maharaja Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
36 antiques cards (6 types, each in 6 colors), 9 trade cards, 15 collection cards, 14 gold coins (each worth 3 rupees), 12 silver coins (each worth 1 rupee)
Set-up
- Shuffle the antiques cards and put them out as a face down draw pile. Draw four cards from the pile and lay them face up in one row; they form the "current offer".
- In the 4-player game, you need only those trade cards that show 4 people on the back. In the 2- or 3-player game, you play with the trade cards without people on the back.
- Lay out the trade cards face up in a row, from left to right with descending number values (4 player example: 4, 3, 3, 2, 2). Trade cards that are not needed are removed from the game.
- Lay out the collection cards with the beige side facing up, as shown, as a "general supply".
- Put the coins nearby as the "bank".
- Place one gold coin from the bank on the large round space of each trade card.
- Determine a starting player (any way you like). He gets 1 gold coin and 1 silver coin from the bank. All the other players get 1 gold coin and 2 silver coins. The money always has to be visible to everybody.
- The starting player begins; he is the first to take his turn.
Gameplay
Players play in turn, in clockwise order. The game consists of several "sales days". A sales day proceeds as follows:
You execute your turn in the following sequence:
- Carry out an action.
- Take a collection card.
- Pay taxes.
After that, it's the next player's turn.
A turn in detail
1) Carry out an action: You have to choose one of the two following actions (a or b).
a) Take a gold coin: Take one gold coin from a trade card. Important: You have to pick the coin that is lying furthest left. (In the illustration, this would be the coin marked red.)
b) Buy an antique: Take one antiques card of your choice from the current offer and pay the purchase price of 2 to 4 rupees to the bank. The price depends on the furthest left trade card that has a coin on top: You have to pay the price that is indicated at the bottom of this card. Place the antique you have bought face up in front of you. Important: You should overlap the antiques, sorted by items; it is sufficient if the upper quarter of the card is visible.
Note: That means that you may not buy more than one antique or take more than one gold coin on one turn. You may buy items only from the current offer. Note also that the number on the antique does not refer to the price; it only stands for the point value of the card at the end of the game.
Example: There are 2 antiques of the current offer left, since two of them have already been bought. In addition, 1 gold has already been taken from the trade cards. The trade card on the furthest left that still has a coin shows a "3" at the bottom; consequently, the price for one of the antiques is 3 rupees.
2) Take a collection card: If you currently meet the conditions of one or more collection cards from the general supply, you may take one of them, if you want. You may take another one only when you have another turn later – if it is still available. Place the collection card you have taken in front of you, with the beige side facing up.
Even if you have only taken a gold coin, you may take a collection card (provided you meet the conditions, of course). More on this later.
3) Pay taxes: If you now have more than 8 rupees, you have to pay any money in excess of that to the bank.
This ends your turn, and now the next player has his turn.
End of a sales day
The sales day ends when a player has bought the last antique from the current offer or has taken the last gold coin from the trade cards. Attention: This player may still complete his turn.
Next sales day
Now prepare the next sales day:
- Remove any remaining antiques of the current offer from the game, face down.
- Draw four new cards from the draw pile and lay them out face up in one row; they form the current offer. If this is not possible because the pile has been depleted, the game ends.
- Place one gold coin from the bank on every empty large round space of each trade card.
The player who would have been next to have his turn on the previous sales day begins the new sales day.
End of the Game
If players can no longer lay out four antiques because the pile has been depleted, the scoring takes place immediately.
Scoring
- First, each player who has only one antiques card in a color has to give this card up. You keep your collection cards, even if you have to give up any antiques needed for them.
- Then everybody adds up the point values of his antiques cards and collection cards.
- In addition, every 3 rupees score 1 point.
The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the tied player with the most antiques wins. If tied players have the same number of antiques, then more than one player wins.
Example: Of his antiques cards, Carl had only one in yellow, that he already has given up. Now he adds up the point values of his cards: 1+1+2+3=7 for his antiques and 4+4=8 for his collection cards. In addition, he earns 1 point for his 4 rupees. So he has 16 points in total.
The Collection Cards
There are 7 kinds: 2 cards each showing jugs, scimitars, musical instruments, pieces of jewelry, statues, or vases, and 3 cards showing various items. All collection cards of one kind show the same certificate in the center.
Each kind is also divided into "small collection" and "large collection" cards, recognizable by the small or large certificate, respectively, in the center of the card. In order to be allowed to take a collection card from the general supply, you need to have at least the (two to five) antiques depicted.
The color of the antiques card doesn't play a role in this context! If the collection card shows a small card with a slash through it as well, you have to give up one antique of the type(s) depicted.
Attention: That means you may not choose a different antique to give up – so, according to the example picture, only a scimitar, a jug or a musical instrument.
Remove a given up antique from the game, face down.
Exception: There is one important restriction when taking collection cards: If you already have the large collection card of that kind, you may not take the small one of the same kind.
Example: Tim already has the large collection card showing 3 vases; therefore, he may not take the small one with 2 vases. However, that restriction does not apply if you take the small collection card first.
Example: Carl already has the small collection card with 3 different antiques; so he may take either the small card with 4 different antiques or the large one with 5 different ones.
Note: You may take collection cards only from the general supply – cards from other players are taboo. Even though the collection cards are laid out in an overlapping fashion, those partly covered by others are available, too, of course. You keep your collection cards even if you have to give up any antiques needed for them – but this happens only if a collection card shows a card with a slash through it.
Other important details
- You don't have to take a collection card, even if you are able to meet the conditions. You may take it on a later turn, if it is still available. If you forget to take it, you may try again only on a later turn (provided this is still possible).
- If you have 3 scimitars, for example, you can nevertheless take the collection card with 2 scimitars at first.
- Make sure that you place only gold coins on the trade cards. You can change money at the bank, of course.
Variant for Two Players
If you often play the game with two players, you should try the gray sides of the collection cards. If you take a collection card, you trigger an immediate effect (shown at the bottom right of the card) that you must execute as the last step of your turn:
- (coin symbol) You receive 3 rupees from the bank (pay taxes if necessary).
- (person symbol) You have another complete turn. A second additional turn goes to waste!
- (compass symbol) The antiques of the current offer are removed from the game, face down.
Reminder: You don't have to take a collection card even if you are able to meet the conditions. This makes for interesting tactical possibilities.