Elementum Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
• Scoring
  • General rules
• Card Explanations
• Variants
  • Solo game
  • Overload
  • Tournament
• Rules Summary

Overview

Players pass sets of cards to each other - they keep one and hand the rest to the player beside them (a draft). The chosen card is placed in the player's layout, in the column of its colour, starting from one of the shared element sources. If a card has an immediate effect, it is resolved at once, but most will take effect only in the final scoring of victory points. Thus layouts of cards starting from the element sources are built, which will bring victory points at the end of the game depending on collected sets of symbols, majorities gained, spatial relations, or reinforcing power crystals. Players can also reinforce cards with power crystals or interact with the shared pool of cards.

When all cards in circulation have been placed in layouts, the next round follows. After all cards have been placed (in 2 or 3 rounds) the game ends and Elementum particles (victory points) are counted. Each player in turn analyses each card of their layout, checking how many points it gives, and marks the result on the scoring board. The player with the most Elementum particles wins.

Components

• 8 element source cards (A) - two sets of 4 source cards: fire, air, water, earth
• 55 spell cards (B) - 13 cards of each element, 2 universal cards, 1 Overload card
• 1 draft direction token (C)
• 14 power crystals (D)
• scoring board (E)
• 4 player markers (crystals) (F)
• rulebook

Spell card anatomy: element type; spell name; effect icon; potential victory points (bottom left); basic card effect; reinforcement symbol; card effect after reinforcement; card number; activation symbol for reinforcement with a power crystal (top right).

Setup

1 - Lay out the element sources. Take the 8 element source cards from the deck. In a 1- and 2-player game one set of four element source cards is used, in a 3- and 4-player game two sets. Lay one set of element cards in random order between 2 players. Players 3 and 4 use a separate set laid out in the same order as the first. Each player builds their own layout of spell cards, placing them on their side of the element sources.

Random order of element sources affects possible interactions between cards. Thanks to this each game will be different. (Player 1 and Player 3 sit on one side, Player 2 and Player 4 on the other; each player lays out cards in their own layout, below the element sources.)

2 - Prepare the spell deck. Take the Overload card out of the deck (it is an optional card - marked with a symbol in the upper right corner - used in an alternative variant of the game; see Overload variant).

• 2-player game: remove from the deck 12 cards with the symbol (in the upper right corner) and put them back in the box.
• 3- and 4-player game: do not remove any cards.

Shuffle the deck prepared this way, then put 3 random face-down cards back in the box (they will not take part in this game, which makes the game less predictable).

3 - Lay out the spell pool. Reveal 3 cards from the spell deck. Form a pool of them by placing them next to the element sources, within reach of all players.

4 - Hand out power crystals. Give each player 2 power crystals (purple-pink), and put the rest within reach of all players, forming the crystal supply.

5 - Place the draft direction token (3- and 4-player game only). Place the draft token in the play area (side with the letter L up) - it reminds of the direction of passing cards.

6 - Lay out the scoring board. Place the scoring board next to the play area with the 4 player markers (crystals in 4 colours) - they will be needed at the end of the game, when counting the Elementum particles (victory points) gained.

7 - Prepare the draft deck. Deal out spell cards - depending on the number of players, 2 or 3 rounds of drafting are played:

• 2 players: 3 rounds - in each of the 3 rounds players receive 6 cards
• 3 players: 3 rounds - in the 1st round players receive 6 cards, in the 2nd and 3rd rounds 5 cards
• 4 players: 2 rounds - in each of the 2 rounds players receive 6 cards

The card game Elementum is based on drafting. In each turn we keep one card and play it into our layout, and pass the rest of the cards to the next player.

Gameplay

The game consists of 2 or 3 rounds, and each round of 5 or 6 draft turns. A turn:

1. Choose 1 card and put it face down in front of you.

2. Reveal the chosen card and place it in your layout.

3. Optionally swap the chosen card for a card from the pool.

4. Resolve the immediate effect (if any).

5. Place a power crystal (max. 1 crystal per turn).

6. Pass the hand of cards to the neighbouring player.

7. Take into hand the cards passed to you.

8. From the cards in hand (received from neighbouring players or dealt at the start of the round) each player chooses 1 card and puts it in front of them face down (back up). The remaining cards are for now put aside in a face-down pile next to you (in the last step of the turn they will be passed to the opponent).

9. Players simultaneously reveal their chosen cards and place them in their layouts in the column of the element source matching the symbol on the card (at the very bottom of that column). The exception is universal (four-colour) cards, which can be placed in any column. A spell once added to a player's layout cannot be moved.

EXAMPLE: an earth-type card is placed directly under the earth element card at the start of the game, or under earth-type cards already placed in earlier turns.

If beginners take part in the game, we suggest that after placing the cards (for clarity of play) the effects of the played spells be presented in turn.

3. Players may swap the card they have just chosen for a card from the pool at the cost of 1 power crystal. To do so, the crystal is returned to the supply and the spell chosen this turn is added to the pool. Then another card is taken from the pool and placed at the bottom of the appropriate column in your layout.

In rare cases more than one player will want to take the same card from the pool. Priority then goes to the player who has more symbols of the "contested" element in their layout. If players have the same number of them, the advantage in the number of unused power crystals is taken into account. If they also tie here - neither of them can make a swap for the "contested" card from the pool.

4. When the added spell is an immediate card (lightning symbol), its effect must be resolved at once. All immediate effects are resolved at the same moment.

5. A player may reinforce spell cards that have an activation symbol in the upper right corner (to mark this, they put a power crystal on the symbol). A powered spell gains the reinforced effect shown in the card text on the right of the basic description (after the reinforcement symbol). Usually the reinforcement replaces the basic effect or gives an additional effect (in both cases increasing the number of points), and in rare cases it is a necessary condition for activating the card's effect. You can reinforce any card, not only the one placed this turn. Only 1 power crystal per turn can be used to reinforce a card.

6. Cards not chosen by players are passed left to the neighbouring opponent (or right, if the draft direction was changed). Only in a 3- and 4-player game there is 1 card that changes the direction of passing spells (playing it is the only way to change the direction of the draft). The change is marked by flipping the draft token to the side P.

7. Players take into hand the cards passed by the opponent. The next draft turn begins.

In this way 5 or 6 turns are played, until all cards intended for the given round have been placed in the players' layouts. The last card received from the draft must also be placed and this cannot be declined, even if playing it is unfavourable for the player (this rule can be used e.g. to pass negative points to an opponent).

Then new spells are dealt and the next round is played. After the last round (when all cards prepared for the game have run out) the game ends and scoring begins.

Scoring

Players in turn analyse the spells in their layouts. Every placed card must be resolved (column by column from the left), counting how many Elementum particles it gives, and the result is marked with a marker on the scoring board (each player chooses a crystal colour for themselves). Cards that give victory points have a crystal symbol with a value (or a multiplier symbol) in the lower left corner. When counting points, cards without such a mark are skipped. The player with the most Elementum particles wins the game.

Advanced players can add up their results simultaneously, but we suggest counting points in turn for clarity of the result.

Illustration: a DOUBLE SYMBOL counts as 2 water-type symbols; with reinforcement it counts as 4.

EXAMPLE: In this situation the player would score 10 points: 2 points for water symbols, 2 points for a set of water and fire symbols, and 6 points for adjacency to an earth-type card (effect reinforced with a power crystal).

General rules

• Card effects take precedence over the basic rules of the game.
• A played universal card has only 1 element symbol - according to the column in which it was placed.
• The basic condition of a card's effect must be met for the reinforcement to work.
• A fulfilled card effect may be repeated several times (e.g. every set of 2 symbols).
• Even if a spell's effect does not work out in the player's layout and does not directly give points, each card provides a symbol of its type and may matter for gaining a majority related to rows of cards, or e.g. be helpful in surrounding a card of the Surroundings (Otoczenie) type.

Card Explanations

Adjacency (Sąsiedztwo) cards. Because of the random order of element sources, not every adjacency condition can be fulfilled (nor can Surroundings cards placed at the edges of the layout be fully surrounded). The elements are looped within one set of four element cards. Sources located at the edges (far left and far right) are also neighbours of each other, so cards at the edges also neighbour cards at the opposite edge of the layout. Adjacency gives points only if next to it - on the right, on the left, or at the opposite edge of the layout in the same row - there is a spell card of the indicated element (the right order of sources is half the success).

Advantage (Przewaga) cards. To gain points, at the end of the game you must have in your layout more symbols (or e.g. rows of cards) than in the layouts of all other players. A tie does not give an advantage. Only the owner of the Advantage spell can receive points.

Card 13 - Elementum from another card. During scoring the player indicates one card in their layout (also a reinforced one) and receives half the points it gave them.

Card 24 - Fulfilling adjacency requirements. During scoring it allows the creation of two temporary element sources for the operation of Adjacency cards. This makes it possible to fulfil two adjacency conditions that could not be met because of an unfavourable order of element sources in the given game. In such situations the indicated adjacency condition is considered fulfilled after all - as if an additional, virtual element source had appeared for the time of scoring that card. Activating the spell requires reinforcing it with a power crystal.

Card 38 - Copy of a card during scoring. During the final counting of points the player chooses 1 "During scoring" card (chalice symbol in the lower left corner). Then the text of the chosen spell is copied, as if it were on this card.

Card 49 - Swap a card with the pool. The player puts any card from their layout into the pool (if a gap appears in the column, cards are moved up to fill the gap). Then a spell from the pool goes to the bottom of the column of the appropriate element.

Card 53 - Play 2 cards. This card speeds up one turn of passing cards. Players play 2 cards instead of 1. The person activating this effect announces that in this turn each player chooses 2 cards from their current hand. They themselves, besides this card, choose and place one more spell.

Variants

Solo game

In this variant you try to gain as many Elementum particles as possible. Depending on how many points you gather, the council of wizards will consider you a novice, an adept, or maybe even a master!

Set up the game as for 2 players (see Setup), with the following changes:

• 2 - Prepare the spell deck: remove an additional 4 cards with the symbol in the upper right corner. In total remove 17 cards from the deck and put them in the box.
• 4 - Take power crystals: take 2 power crystals, for yourself only.
• 7 - Prepare the draft deck: deal spell cards - in the 1st round the player and the imitation each receive 6 cards, and in the 2nd and 3rd rounds 5 cards each. In this mode 3 rounds are played. The opponent in the solo variant is called the imitation.

Gameplay for the player is the same as in the multiplayer variant (see Gameplay). Gameplay for the imitation differs in that: 1 - Cards for the imitation's layout are chosen randomly, and only the element symbols on them are taken into account (for resolving majorities). Card effects are not taken into account - the imitation scores no points. 3 - The imitation does not swap cards with the pool. 5 - The imitation does not reinforce cards with power crystals.

When a universal card must be placed in the imitation's layout, it is placed in the first column from the left in which there are the fewest element symbols.

After all cards from the prepared deck have been placed, the game ends. Place the remaining cards from the pool in the appropriate columns of the imitation's layout (this makes gaining majorities harder). Then count the points scored in your own layout.

Depending on the Elementum particles gathered you receive a rank:

Elementum particles	Rank
34 or fewer	Novice
35-45	Apprentice
46-55	Journeyman
56-65	Adept
66-75	Master
76 or more	Archmage

Overload

This variant introduces an additional Overload card, which changes the dynamics of the game. We suggest adding it to the game optionally, only after mastering the basic rules.

Gameplay is as in the basic variant, with the following differences:

• during setup: after putting 3 cards back in the box, lay out 4 cards in the pool (instead of 3), and then shuffle the additional Overload card into the deck
• at the start of a round the player holding the Overload card must reveal it immediately and place it in front of them
• Overload can never be in a player's layout or in the pool; it is placed next to the layout
• at the cost of 1 power crystal the Overload card can be moved next to the layout of a chosen opponent
• at the end of the game the Overload card takes 5 victory points from its holder

Tournament

If players want a longer game of Elementum, the Tournament variant can be used: play several games in a row, adding up the results. The winner is the player who first gains the required number of Elementum particles. We propose the following scheme, which allows a winner to be determined after several games.

• 2-player game: 190 points
• 3-player game: 160 points
• 4-player game: 130 points

Rules Summary

Symbol key:

• Each symbol gives points
• Each set of 2 symbols gives points
• Any adjacency (right/left) from one chosen side gives points
• Full adjacency (right/left) on both sides (any order) gives points
• Advantage (majority) in symbols of a given type gives points
• Surroundings - depending on the cards lying around (top/bottom/right/left; element sources also count) - gives points
• Double symbol counts as 2 symbols of the given type
• Card with an immediate effect: one-time action
• Card with a during-scoring effect: acts at the final counting
• Card with a special effect: special effect (e.g. ongoing)
• Elementum particles symbol (victory points)
• Power crystal symbol

Turn sequence: 1 Choose 1 card and put it face down in front of you; 2 Reveal the chosen card and place it in your layout; 3 Optionally swap the chosen card for a card from the pool; 4 Resolve the immediate effect (if any); 5 Place a power crystal (max. 1 crystal per turn); 6 Pass the hand of cards to the neighbouring player; 7 Take into hand the passed cards.

Card preparation table:

	1 player	2 players	3 players	4 players
Round 1	6 cards	6 cards	6 cards	6 cards
Round 2	5 cards	6 cards	5 cards	6 cards
Round 3	5 cards	6 cards	5 cards	-
Cards not in play	17	13

Before the game discard: 3 cards from the deck. Starting pool: 3 cards.