Edel, Stein & Reich
Edel, Stein & Reich Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
The players try to earn as much money as possible over the course of 3 rounds. To do this, they have various actions available to them: they can either increase their gemstone supply, or they can opt for event cards that will bring them advantages later in the game. Or they can simply grab the money that is currently on offer.
But only a player who is the only one to choose a given action in a turn can then carry it out without any trouble. That's why you should always keep an eye on your opponents' intentions...
Whoever has the most money at the end wins.
Note: throughout this rulebook, the German rules text is set as a long-form main text with a parallel short-form summary running down the side margin of each page ("the text in the side margin serves as a quick-reference summary, to help you get back into the game quickly — even after a longer break from playing"). This transcription follows the main text; the equivalent short-form points are folded in wherever they add useful structure.
Game Material
- 30 gemstone cards (gold-colored back)
- 39 event cards (silver-gray back)
- 20 action cards (blue back)
- 1 scoring card
- 88 gemstones (22 each in 4 colors)
- 1 punch-board of money (25 × 1 million, 20 × 5 million, 15 × 20 million)
Setup
Each player receives:
- 3 action cards: Money / Event / Gemstones. Leave any surplus action cards in the box. Note: if 5 people are playing, each player receives one more, a fourth action card: "Free Choice."
- 12 gemstones: 3 of each color. Note: players lay out their gemstones in front of them for the entire game, sorted visibly by the order shown on the scoring card, so everyone can see them. For clarity, leave a small gap after every 5 gemstones of one kind (see illustration).
Set out the rest of the game material in the middle of the table:
- The money, sorted by value (as "the bank");
- all the event cards as a face-down deck;
- all the gemstone cards as a face-down deck; with three players, also lay out the top 6 of these 30 cards face up next to the deck; with four players, lay out the top 2 (only the topmost of these is visible);
- the scoring card;
- the remaining gemstones, sorted by color.
Game Flow
The game runs over 3 rounds ("Durchgänge"). Each round in turn consists of several turns ("Runden"):
- with 3 players, 8 turns are played;
- with 4 players, 7 turns are played;
- with 5 players, 6 turns are played per round.
After each round comes a scoring. After the 3rd scoring, the game ends; the player with the most money is the winner.
Every turn proceeds the same way:
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First, every player takes one gemstone card from the face-down deck and lays it face up in front of them.
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Then the top card of the event-card deck is turned face up and placed next to it.
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Now all players simultaneously place one of their action cards, face down, on the table in front of them. This is how each player decides which action they intend to carry out afterward.
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Once every player has done this, the played action cards are revealed and carried out — in the order given by the small numbers (1-4) printed on the bottom edge of the action cards. So the "Money" action is carried out first (of course, only if it was played at all):
- If only 1 player chose this action, they then carry it out with no further restriction (see "The Actions").
- If 2 players chose this action, they must first "negotiate" ("Handeln") to determine who carries it out and who does not (see "Trading").
- If 3 or more players chose this action, it is not carried out; it simply lapses with no substitute.
The "Event" and "Gemstones" actions are then considered and carried out the same way. If 5 people are playing, the "Free Choice" action is then also carried out. Somewhat different rules apply to it than to the other three actions (see "Free Choice").
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Once all actions have been carried out according to the rules just described, the players take their played action cards back into their hand, and the gemstone cards that were laid out are placed on an open discard pile next to the draw pile. If there are still gemstone cards left in the draw pile, a new turn begins. But if the draw pile is used up, it's time for a scoring (see "Scoring").
The Actions
1. Money
The player takes as much money from the bank as their gemstone card shows (between 4 and 7 million) and places it openly and visibly in front of them. Note: for the sake of a clear overview, players should change their money for larger denominations with the bank as often as possible.
2. Event
The player may choose to either take the face-up event card or draw the top card of the face-down deck, and put it into play. If they choose the face-down card, the face-up card is immediately — with no effect whatsoever — placed face up at the bottom of the deck. Note: the individual event cards are explained in detail on the last page of this rulebook.
3. Gemstones
The player takes the gemstones from the supply in the middle of the table that are shown on their gemstone card (2-4 gemstones) and sorts them into their display. Note: should there not be enough gemstones left in the middle of the table, the player only receives as many as are still available.
4. Free Choice (5 players only)
Unlike the three actions above, it plays no role here whether it was chosen by one player or several, because everyone who chose it can then also carry it out:
- If only 1 player chose this action, they place any one of their gemstones of choice back into the supply and take any two of choice for themselves in exchange.
- If 2 or more players chose this action, they each take any one gemstone of choice from the supply. The order in which they do so is the same order used for trading (see below): that is, the player with the fewest red gemstones takes a gemstone first, and so on.
Trading
If exactly two players chose the same action (Money, Event, or Gemstones), they must negotiate who carries out the action afterward and who does not. To do so, the two players take turns making increasingly higher offers in the form of gemstones, until one player accepts the other player's offer and thereby gives up on carrying out the action.
The player with fewer red gemstones than their opponent makes the first offer. If both have the same number of red gemstones, whoever has fewer yellow gemstones starts. If those are also equal, green gemstones are compared next, and so on. Should all gemstones be equal between both players, the younger player starts.
The second player now has two options:
- They accept the offer, i.e. they take the gemstones offered by their opponent and sort them into their own display. Their opponent then carries out the action.
- They raise the offer, which now calls on their opponent to either accept the offer or raise it in turn, and so on.
This negotiating goes back and forth until one of the two players accepts the other's offer.
Note: if the player who starts the negotiation cannot or does not want to offer even a single gemstone, their opponent may offer them any one gemstone of their own. The first player must accept this, and the negotiation ends there. If the second player also offers nothing, the action is not carried out.
There are two ways to raise an offer:
- Quantity: either you offer more gemstones than your opponent. In this case, the colors of the gemstones play no role.
- Value: or you offer just as many (never fewer) gemstones as your opponent, but higher-value ones. The ranking of the gemstones can be taken from the scoring card: red gemstones have the highest value, blue gemstones the lowest. An offer counts as higher-valued the more red gemstones it contains; if that number is equal, the higher number of yellow gemstones decides, and so on.
When raising further, a player is not bound by their previous offer, i.e. they may withdraw it completely and make an entirely new offer, as long as it is higher than their opponent's. Note: only gemstones may be offered. Money, event cards, or even "side deals" may not be part of a trade.
Example of a trade: Miriam and Peter have both played the "Money" action card. Both have the same number of red and yellow gemstones, but since Miriam has fewer green gemstones than Peter, she makes the first offer. She offers 1 red gemstone. Peter offers 2 blue ones. Miriam counters with 1 yellow and 1 green. Peter trades 1 blue for 1 red. Miriam now offers 3 green. Peter adds 1 more blue to his offer. Miriam accepts and takes the 1 red and 2 blue gemstones from Peter. This ends the negotiation, and Peter carries out the action, i.e. he takes as much money from the bank as shown on his gemstone card.
Scoring
After 6-8 turns (depending on the number of players), a round ends and a scoring takes place. The scoring card is now worked through from top to bottom. A majority in a gemstone color pays out:
- red gemstones = 14 million
- yellow gemstones = 12 million
- green gemstones = 10 million
- blue gemstones = 8 million
The player with the most red gemstones receives 14 million from the bank and places it openly with their remaining money. They then return half of their red gemstones (rounding any odd amount up) to the general supply. The other three gemstone colors are settled the same way, one at a time, in the order above.
Caution: these amounts may be increased further by corresponding event cards in players' possession (see the worked example below).
- Next, it is checked who holds the most certificates (event cards that count toward scoring; see the table below). This player receives 10 million. Unlike with gemstones, the player with the second-most certificates also receives something here, namely 4 million.
Should several players tie for the majority in a gemstone color, they split the proceeds evenly (rounding down if necessary). They then all give up 2 gemstones of the corresponding color.
Should several players tie for the most certificates, each of them receives the full 10 million. In that case, whichever player(s) hold the second-most certificates get nothing. If there is only one player with the most certificates (who receives 10 million), but several players tied for second-most, all of those players receive 4 million.
All event cards (including all certificates) must now be given up, i.e. placed face up at the bottom of the event-card deck, regardless of whether they were used in the scoring or not.
Example of a complete scoring:
Scoring Burgi Proceeds Chris Proceeds Miriam Proceeds Peter Proceeds Payments Red = 14M 2 red + "1 million per red gemstone" card 3 + 2 2 red 3 2 red + a "sole red majority" card (does not trigger — the majority is a 4-way tie) 3 2 red 3 Everyone gives up 2 red gemstones each; Burgi and Miriam also give up their event cards Yellow = 12M — — 7 yellow (sole majority) 12 — — 4 yellow + "1 million per yellow gemstone" card 4 Chris gives up 4 yellow, and Peter gives up his event card Green = 10M 7 green 5 3 green — 7 green 5 2 green — Burgi and Miriam each give up 2 green Blue = 8M 1 blue — 1 blue — 1 blue — 2 blue (sole majority) + "sole blue majority +5 million" card 8 + 5 Peter gives up 1 blue and his event card Certificates 2 certificates 10 1 certificate 4 1 certificate 4 — — Burgi, Chris and Miriam each give up their certificates Total proceeds Burgi 20 Chris 19 Miriam 12 Peter 20
The Next Round
...can begin. All 30 gemstone cards are shuffled and set out again as a new face-down deck. Once again, depending on the number of players, the top 6, 2, or 0 cards are laid out face up next to the deck. The event cards are only shuffled once the first face-up event card comes up on top of the deck.
Caution: should 5 or fewer gemstones of one color remain in the middle of the table at the start of a new round, every player must add one of their own gemstones of that color. Anyone who does not own a matching gemstone doesn't have to add anything.
Then another 6-8 turns are played, followed by the 2nd scoring. After that, the 3rd round including its final scoring is played the same way.
End of Game
The game ends after the 3rd scoring. Whoever has the most money is the winner. In case of a tie, whichever of those players has the most gemstones wins; if that is also tied, whoever has the most red (then yellow, then green, then blue) gemstones remaining wins.
The Event Cards
There are 2 kinds of event cards: cards headed "Sofort" (Instant) and cards headed "Wertung" (Scoring).
- If a player receives a card headed "Sofort," they either carry it out immediately, or they forgo using it entirely. Either way, it is then placed face up at the bottom of the draw pile.
- If a player receives a card headed "Wertung," they lay it face up in front of them until the next scoring, at which point it comes into play. Such cards may not be held past a scoring.
Caution: an event card can never be "passed on" — it must always be used by the player who received it. For example, the card "Change your red and blue gemstones to 4 each" cannot be used for or against a fellow player.
The following cards appear in the deck (39 cards total):
Wertung cards
- [Yellow gemstone cluster] +7 — For the sole yellow majority, you additionally receive 7 million. (One such card exists for each gemstone color.) Example: the player has the sole yellow majority. They receive 12 + 7 million.
- [Gray/white gemstone cluster] +4 — For every sole majority, you additionally receive 4 million. (2 copies.) Example: the player wins 14 million for the red majority and an additional 4 million for the blue co-majority; they receive an additional 4 million for having a sole majority.
- [Red gemstone] = 1 — For each of your own red gemstones, you additionally receive 1 million. (One such card exists for each gemstone color.) This payout is independent of any majority.
- [Blank certificate card] — A certificate, used in the majority-of-certificates scoring described above. (15 copies.) Example: players A and D each have 2 certificates, players B and C each have 1 certificate. A and D each receive 10 million; B and C receive nothing.
Sofort cards
- [Red and blue gemstones] "1+1" — Change your red and blue gemstones to 4 of each. Example: the player has 6 blue and 1 red gemstone: they give back 2 blue and take 3 red, so they now have 4 red and 4 blue gemstones.
- [Gemstone cluster] = 1/2 — Name a gemstone color that is immediately scored at half proceeds. (2 copies.) ...but with the full consequence, i.e. the player who collects the proceeds then gives up half of their scored gemstones afterward. If several players score, they all give up 2 gemstones each. Example: the player names green to be scored. Two players share the majority here; both receive 2 million each (10 : 2 : 2) — and then each give up 2 green gemstones.
- [Exchange arrows] — Trade one of your gemstones for one of a fellow player's. (4 copies.) Example: the player gives one of their blue gemstones to a fellow player and takes one red gemstone from them in exchange. The fellow player cannot resist this.
- [Crossed-out gemstone] — Remove any one gemstone from every fellow player. (2 copies.) Example: the player takes 1 green gemstone each from two of their fellow players and 1 red gemstone from the third fellow player, and returns them to the middle of the table. The fellow players cannot resist this.
- [Gemstone trio] — Take 3 gemstones of the same color from the supply. (2 copies.) There may also be fewer gemstones if not enough are available in the middle of the table.
- [Multicolored gemstones] — Every player gives up half of their gemstones in every color. (2 copies.) This card also applies to the player who played it. Round down on odd amounts. Examples: with 7, give up 3 gemstones; with 5, give up 2; with 3, give up 1; with 1, give up 0.