Dungeon Solitaire: Tomb of Four Kings
Dungeon Solitaire: Tomb of Four Kings Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Cards
| Cards | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2-10 of Spades | Monsters |
| 2-10 of Diamonds | Traps / Treasure |
| 2-10 of Clubs | Sealed Doors |
| Jack of Spades | Go Berserk |
| Jack of Diamonds | Disarm Mechanism |
| Jack of Clubs | Pick Lock |
| Jack of Hearts | Dodge Blow |
| Queens | Divine Favors |
| Kings | Tomb Hoards |
| Aces | Torches |
| Joker | Scroll of Light |
| 2-10 of Hearts |
Setup
Use a standard deck of 52 playing cards and one joker. Pull out the 2-10 of hearts and stack them in order, all face up, with the 10 on top. This is your hit point counter. The rest of the deck is shuffled and held face down, ready to play cards off the top.
The Spread
The spread is the standard layout for the game. At the top of the spread is an area where you play torches (A), as they appear. In the middle of the spread is the dungeon area itself. Turns descending into the dungeon are played in a row from left to right. This row is called the delve. The turns ascending from the depths of the dungeon are played underneath the delve from right to left, with one turn for each turn of the delve except the turn-around point. This is called the retreat. Below the dungeon area, from left to right are a discard area, a hit point counter, and a hand where you collect your treasure, tomb hoards, skill cards, and magic scroll.
Encounters & Treasure
The game is divided into turns. Each turn, you play a series of cards in the dungeon area. The turn represents an encounter as you explore the vast and sprawling dungeon. Layer the cards in a column while the turn is active. When the turn is over, stack those cards face down before moving on to the next turn. Each turn starts by playing cards from the deck until an encounter card appears.
The 2-10 of spades, diamonds, and clubs represent both encounter cards or action cards depending on when they appear in the turn. The first one to appear in the turn is the encounter card for that turn. Subsequent ones are action cards. To win an encounter, an action card must be equal to or greater than the encounter card. For encounter cards, the suit determines what type of encounter it is: spades are monsters; diamonds are trapped treasure caches; clubs are sealed doors. For action cards, the face value is all that matters when comparing it to the encounter card.
During the turn, you must play cards from the deck or hand until an encounter is resolved. Immediately play any torches (A) above the dungeon area, and collect any skills (J) into your hand. A divine favor (Q) automatically wins any encounter. If one appears before the encounter card, keep playing cards until an encounter appears, then end the turn. Tomb hoards (K) and the Scroll of Light (Jk) are left in the turn as treasure, and another card is played. A skill (J) of the same suit as the encounter card can be played from the hand to win the encounter.
Encounters can be resolved in a variety of ways. Follow the rules for monsters, traps, and sealed doors to play out each encounter. When the turn is over, if the encounter was won, you can collect treasure cards into your hand. Treasure includes any diamonds that appeared as an encounter or action card (2-10 of diamonds), as well as tomb hoards (K) and the Scroll of Light (Jk). Stack the remaining cards face down to mark the turn. Note that if the turn contains all treasure, one card must be left behind to mark the turn.
The Delve
Start your game by playing a card from the deck in the upper left corner of the dungeon area. This is the first turn of the delve. If it is not an encounter card, play additional cards on the turn until an encounter appears. Play until the encounter is resolved, and conclude the turn. The next turn is played immediately to the right of the first turn. The delve represents going deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Continue to play turns from left to right until you decide to turn around and retreat.
Hit Points
The 2-10 of hearts are stacked in order and placed face up below the dungeon area with the 10 on top. These are your hit point cards. When you are damaged by monsters or traps, a number of hit point cards are turned over equal to the damage. Damage is always calculated by subtracting a failed action card from the monster or trap card. When the 2 of hearts is turned over, you're dead and the game is lost.
The Hand
The hand is where you collect your skills (J), treasure (2-10 of diamonds), tomb hoards (K), and Scroll of Light (Jk). The hand is placed face up on your right below the dungeon area. Skills, treasure, and the Scroll of Light can be played from the hand for various effects. If you survive the dungeon, treasure, tomb hoards, and the scroll can be added up for scoring.
Torches
The aces in the deck represent your supply of torches. Whenever one appears, a torch has burnt out and the card is played face up above the dungeon area to show how many torches you've used up. If the 4th torch is played, you are lost in the dark dungeon forever.
Scroll of Light: The joker is a Scroll of Light. If it appears, the scroll can be collected with treasure at the end of the turn. If your 4th torch appears you may play the scroll immediately in the torch area and place the torch on the bottom of the deck. The scroll may only be used once. If your cards run out and the 4th torch appears again, you must play it and be lost forever.
Skills
The jacks represent a variety of skills. Jacks are collected when they appear and may be played immediately or held in the hand to be played later. Go Berserk (J of spades) defeats any monster; Disarm Mechanism (J of diamonds) disables any trap; and Pick Lock (J of clubs) opens any door. Dodge Blow (J of hearts) is played on lost hit points to avoid one instance of damage. Each skill can only be played once.
Divine Favors
The queens are the divine favors of the goddess. They win any encounter on the turn in which they appear. If any appear before the encounter card, the encounter is automatically won when it appears. If two divine favors appear on a single turn, there is no additional benefit aside from being extra blessed in the encounter. Divine favors can only appear once, and are turned face down with the stack when the turn is concluded.
Monsters
As encounters, the 2-10 of spades are guardian monsters. Any action card defeats the monster if it is equal to or greater than the monster card. If an action card is less than the monster, you take damage equal to the monster minus the action card. To win the encounter, you must continue to play cards, taking damage as indicated, until you defeat the monster with an action card, a divine favor, or Go Berserk (J of spades). When you defeat a monster, collect its treasure and end the turn.
Treasure Drop: If you don't think you can beat a monster, you have one chance to escape by dropping a treasure card from your hand onto the turn. Monsters love treasure and are easily distracted, giving you a chance to run away. During a monster encounter, you can drop treasure at any time instead of playing another card, but if you play a card its effects are immediate. A dropped treasure card must be equal to or greater than the monster card (kings are 10, the joker is 6). This resolves the encounter, but you lose the dropped treasure and cannot collect treasure from the turn.
Traps
As encounters, the 2-10 of diamonds are treasure traps. You have only one chance to pass a trap, with a divine favor, Disarm Mechanism (J of diamonds), or a single action card. If the trap is passed, the turn is over and you may collect the treasure. Note, however, that if the turn contains only treasure, you must leave one treasure card behind to mark the turn. If the trap is not passed, you take damage equal to the trap minus your action card. The turn is over, and no treasure is collected. Any treasure showing must be turned face down in the stack with the rest of the turn.
Doors
As encounters, the 2-10 of clubs are sealed doors. You can play only one action card when trying to open such a door. If the door is opened by an action card, a divine favor, or Pick Lock (J of clubs), the turn is over and you can collect any treasure inside. If the action card fails, you can still play Pick Lock immediately to open the door. Otherwise you must discard a number of cards from the deck equal to the door minus your action card.
Discards: The discard pile is made to your left below the dungeon area. Look at each discard and play any torches that appear. Then place the discards face down. Once discarded, these cards may not be examined again. Discards are lost and out of play. The turn is over. No treasure is collected if the door remains sealed. Any treasure that appeared must be turned face down in the stack with the rest of the turn.
The Retreat
Turns are played from left to right as you continue the delve, going deeper into the dungeon, but at some point you have to turn around and retreat if you hope to survive. Once a new delve turn is started it must be completed, but you can decide to turn around after any delve turn is complete. The decision to start the retreat or play another turn on the delve must be made before the first card of the next turn is revealed. The first turn of the retreat is played underneath the penultimate turn of the delve, such that no turn is underneath the turning-point. Retreat turns are played the same way as delve turns, but are played from right to left below the delve turns. If you complete a turn below turn one without dying or getting lost in the dark, you have made it out of the dungeon alive.
Scoring
If you make it out of the dungeon alive, add up all the treasure in your hand. Each king is worth 10. The 2-10 of diamonds are worth face value. The Scroll of Light is worth 6 if it's in your hand. A total of 100 points are possible. Scores are marked with two numbers divided by a slash: # of kings / total points. If you got all four kings and survived, you have won the game, regardless of points. Multiply total points by 100 to calculate the value of your treasure in gold pieces.
If you're a gambler, you can even play for money per point against another player's game. Highest total points wins. Subtract the loser's points from the winner's points to determine debt. However, if the loser has all four kings, the debt is cancelled. You set the stakes, but keep it friendly.
Narrative Play
Dungeon Solitaire can be played as a normal card game, but is perhaps most enjoyable when you imagine the narrative the game creates. Picture yourself standing at the entrance of the legendary Tomb of Four Kings. As you delve its depths, imagine the sprawling dark labyrinth of the dungeon around you, and picture each battle, each poison arrow or dead-fall trap, each gilded or ironwood door. Visualize the events as you play each action. Look in wonder at the tomb hoards of old, and rejoice at the divine favors of the goddess. Feel the satisfaction of gaining skills and putting them to good use. Sense the danger around every corner, the risk of death, and the stark terror should your last torch burn out. Imagine all this and joy will be yours should you just make it out alive, no matter how much treasure you managed to find.
Competitive Play
When playing for points, there are multiple challenges available. To start, simply play to survive with as much treasure as possible. Soon you will want to see if you can find all four tomb hoards and win the game. It's not easy. Like most solitaire games, there is some luck involved, and you will only win occasionally, even if you play your cards right. When you want an additional challenge, play for total points over a series of three, five, or ten games. This provides incentive to survive, even if you can't collect all the tomb hoards or get your high score in the current game.
Dungeon Solitaire Walkthrough: An Example of a Winning Game
The following walkthrough is an example of a winning game of Dungeon Solitaire, Tomb of Four Kings. It covers most situations and provides a good example of how to play the game. As you follow the walkthrough, refer to the spread diagram in the rules as a guide to where to place the cards when played. All cards are played off the top of the deck, unless indicated that they are played from the hand.
If you want to play along, remove the 2-10 of hearts, stack them in order with the 10 on top, face up, and put them on the table in front of you. Then stack the deck as follows, top to bottom: 5D, 3S, QC, JS, 9C, AD, 3C, 2D, 4D, 8D, 10S, 9S, KS, AH, 5S, JH, 3D, KD, 4S, Jk, 6D, 5C, KC, QS, 7S, 2S, 8S, JD, AC, AS, 8C, QD, 6S, 10D, KH, 6C, 9D, 2C, 7C, 4C, 10C, JC, 7D, QH. (S = spades, H = hearts, D = diamonds, C = clubs.)
The Game
Turn 1: Starting the delve, I turn over the 5D and play it in the upper left corner of the dungeon area. The encounter is a treasure trap (2-10 of diamonds). I must bypass it or take damage. I play the 3S which does not meet or beat the encounter card. Subtracting 3 from 5, I take 2 damage, so I turn over two hit point cards. The 8H is now showing on my hit point counter. You only get one chance to bypass a trap, so the turn is over. Since I didn't win the encounter I don't get to collect the 5D as treasure. Instead, I turn both cards face down in a stack to mark the turn.
Turn 2: Just to the right of Turn 1, I play the QC. The goddess has favored me! I know now that I will win this encounter, but I haven't turned up the encounter card yet, so I play more cards on the turn until an encounter appears. The first card to appear is the JS, the Go Berserk skill card. I collect the skill card and place it face up as the first card in my hand. Next I play the 9C. The encounter is a sealed door (2-10 of clubs). I already have a divine favor in Turn 2, so I open the door with ease, and the turn is over. If there was any treasure I could collect it, but since there isn't, I turn the QC and the 9C face down to mark the turn.
Turn 3: At the start of Turn 3 I play the AD. One of my torches has burnt out! I place the AD face up above the dungeon area and play another card. It's the 3C, another sealed door (2-10 of clubs). I try to open it with another card, an action card, but it's the 2D and I'm unable to force the door. I only have one shot to open a sealed door with an action card. I don't have the Pick Lock card (JC), so I must discard. Subtracting 2 from 3, I must discard one card from the top of the deck. It's the 4D. If it was an Ace, it would still count as my discard, but I would have to play it above the dungeon area as another burnt out torch. Instead, I turn the 4D face down in my discard area. The turn is over. Since I didn't open the door, I don't get to collect the 2D as treasure. I stack the cards face down to mark the turn.
Turn 4: I play the 8D, another treasure trap (2-10 of diamonds). It's a high card but I don't have the Disarm Mechanism skill (JD), so must hope for a good action card. It's the 10S! I bypass the trap and can collect the treasure. The turn is over. I collect the 8D as treasure and put it face up in my hand. Then I turn the 10S face down to mark the turn.
Turn 5: I play the 9S. It's a really tough monster (2-10 of spades)! I don't think many tens have been played, but I don't want to risk taking heavy damage. Since I have Go Berserk (JS) in my hand, I play it on the 9S and defeat the monster in a berserk frenzy. I could be in trouble if another high spade comes up as an encounter, but nevertheless, the turn is over. The monster had no treasure and skill cards can only be played once, so I turn the 9S and the JS face down to mark the turn. Then I move deeper into the dungeon.
Turn 6: I play the KS. I found one of the tomb hoards of the four kings! Hoping for an easy encounter to win, I play the AH. Another torch has burnt out, and I place it face up above the dungeon area. Still hoping for an easy encounter, I play the 5S. It's a monster, but one I think I can beat. I could drop the 8D on the turn and run, escaping the monster with a treasure drop, but I would lose the tomb hoard and the treasure I already have. So I play another card from the deck. It's the JH, the Dodge Blow skill. I collect it and put it face up in my hand. I play another card, the 3D. The monster hits me and I take damage. Subtracting 3 from 5, I turn over two hit point cards. The 6H is now showing on my hit point counter and the fight continues. Next I play the KD, another tomb hoard! This battle is getting intense! Next I play the 4S. The monster hits me again. I could play my Dodge Blow skill card (JH) on the discarded hit points pile to dodge the blow, but for only 1 point it's not worth it, so I take 1 damage. The 5H is now showing on hit points, and the battle continues. I play the joker, the Scroll of Light! It stays in the turn as more treasure. Finally I play the 6D, slaying the monster. It was an epic battle and now there's epic treasure for the taking. I collect the 3D, 6D, Jk, KS, and KD and place them face up in my hand. I turn the remaining cards face down to mark the turn. With the Scroll of Light, I'm not worried about torches any more, but still, it's worth 6 points if I don't have to use it.
[At this point, I thought about retreating. I'd just been through a hard fight, and I had lots of loot. But my early turns were short, so I still had a fair number of cards in the deck and there were still two tomb hoards to be found somewhere in the dungeon. My lust for adventure and gold won out, and I decided to risk one more turn on the delve before turning around.]
Turn 7: I play another delve turn to the right of Turn 6, the first card is the 5C, a stuck door. Next I play the KC, another tomb hoard! I don't have the Pick Locks skill card (JC) in my hand, so I have to play from the deck, hoping for a good action card. It's the QS. The goddess has favored me with fortune again, and a third tomb hoard is mine! I collect the KC, place it face up in my hand, and turn the remaining cards face down to the mark the turn.
[Now I decided I really had to turn around and try to make it out alive. I had three tomb hoards and I still hoped to find the other one on my retreat out of the dungeon. I had the Dodge Blow (JH) skill should I run into trouble, and I had the Scroll of Light (Jk) should my two remaining torches burn out.]
Turn 8: Starting the retreat, I play the first card of Turn 8 beneath the stack of cards marking Turn 6. It's the 7S, a monster. I play another card, hoping for a high action card or a divine favor. But alas, it's the 2S. With the 5H showing on my hit points, I only have four hit point cards left. That blow would kill me and the game would be over. So I play the Dodge Blow card (JH) from my hand, face down, on my discarded hit points, and thus avoid taking any damage from that blow. The fight continues though, and it's still a long journey out of the dungeon. So I drop the 8D from my hand onto the turn. The clatter of gold and the glitter of gems catches the eye of the horrible beast, and in that moment I run! My treasure drop saved me. The turn is over, but I lose the 8D and must turn it face down with the rest of the turn.
Turn 9: The 8S appears. This is bad, another tough monster! Hoping, almost beyond hope, I play a card. It's the JD, the Disarm Mechanism skill card, and I collect it into my hand. Next I play the AC, another burnt out torch, and play that face up above the dungeon area. Then the AS, my last torch goes out right away! Without the Scroll of Light (Jk) I would be lost in the dungeon forever. The game would be over. I would be killed by monsters ... or become one of them. Luckily, I have the scroll, so I play it from my hand face up above the dungeon area and put the AS on the bottom of the deck. I still have to deal with this monster though. It's do or die. I can't part with my precious tomb hoards, so I play another card ... the 8C! The monster is slain! The turn is over and I turn the 8S and the 8C face down to mark the turn.
Turn 10: I'm still alive! And I play the QD. At last I see the face of the goddess again, and her favor blesses me. Still no encounter though, so I play the 6S. This monster cowers in fear at the face of the goddess, fleeing into the darkness from which it came. I turn both cards face down to mark Turn 10.
Turn 11: The first card is the 10D, a wicked treasure trap. I have the Disarm Mechanism skill card (JD) though, so I play that right away from my hand. Since I won the encounter, I collect the 10D as treasure and put it face up in my hand. I turn the JD face down to mark the turn.
Turn 12: I play the KH, the last tomb hoard! I can't yet see the light, but a win suddenly looks possible. Next I play the 6C, a sealed door. I have one chance to beat it with an action card. I play the 9D and open the door. A wealth of treasure lies behind it, and I collect the KH and the 9D and place them face up in my hand. I turn the 6C face down to mark the turn.
Turn 13: I am almost out, but I still have to survive this turn. I play the 2C, what luck! It's a lightly stuck door, and I bash my shoulder against it, playing the 7C and knocking it wide open. Beyond is a short passage, at the end of which I see the light of day. I've found my way out of the dark dungeon. And I've won the game!
Scoring: I count up the treasure in my hand getting a total score of 68 points with 4 kings. I record my score as 4/68.
Final Comments
Very few situations were not covered in this game. The Pick Lock skill card (JC) was never gained or used. It can be played to open any sealed door, before or after an attempt to open it with a single action card. If I had won a turn with all treasure cards, I would have had to leave one behind. If I had run out of cards and had to play the 4th ace, I would be lost forever. If I had died or gotten lost in the dark without any source of light, the game would have ended and the score would be zero, regardless of how much treasure was in the hand.