For the Gods! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• The Map Board
  • Islands
• Setup Phase I
• Setup Phase II
• Aim of the Game
• How to Play
  • 1. Move
  • 2. Build
    • 2.1 Establish
    • 2.2 Elevate
    • 2.3 Dedicate
  • 3. Draw
• Game End
• Scoring
  • Ties
  • Final Scorings
• Lexicon

Components

PLAYER COMPONENTS: Each faction is identified by a colour and a symbol. The four factions are the Orpheans, Hippocreneans, Ichthyans, and Kriosians.

Components per faction:

1. 1 bag
2. 1 ship
3. 1 screen
4. 24 player stones (6 of each rank)
5. 10 temple bases
6. 12 temple cornices (3 of each rank)
7. 8 player aids

GOD COMPONENTS: 8. 24 foundation stones (white, unmarked) 9. 48 god stones (white, 4 of each of 12 gods) 10. 12 god tiles

GLORY TOKENS: 11. 13 gold (various values) 12. 8 silver (worth 6 glory) 13. 13 bronze (worth 3 glory)

MAP COMPONENTS: 14. 1 map board 15. 4 kraken miniatures

The Map Board

Each island is split into regions. Each region has its own harbour. Harbours are connected by sea routes marked by white dashed lines.

Islands

The board has 5 islands, 3 larger islands made up of 3 regions, and 2 smaller islands made up of 2 regions. Some regions contain city spaces marked by a temple icon.

Setup Phase I

1. Place the map board in the centre of the play area.

2. 2-Player Game Only: Use the kraken miniatures to block the harbours on both small islands (4 harbours total). These islands are out of play.

3. 3-Player Game Only: Use the kraken miniatures to block the harbours on the small island with the city space labelled "4" (2 harbours total). This island is out of play.

4. Gather the gold glory tokens required for your player count - return any remaining ones to the box.

   • 2 players: use the 15-value token and any tokens marked "A" to "D" (9 tokens in total)
   • 3 players: add 2 tokens marked "E" (11 tokens in total)
   • 4 players: also add 2 tokens marked "F" (use all 13 tokens in total)

5. Flip the gold glory tokens face down.

6. Take the tokens with a temple icon on their back, representing cities, and randomly place them on regions with a city space icon that matches the player count.

   NOTE: The position of the city in one of the central islands is different depending on the player count (see below).

   • In a 4-player game, place a gold glory token with a temple icon on its back in this region (instead of the "2-3" region).
   • In a 2- & 3-player game, place a gold glory token with a temple icon on its back in this region (instead of the "4" region).

Setup Phase II

10. Shuffle all 12 god tiles and randomly reveal the following number of tiles, placing them face up in a row around the map board, in the order that they are drawn.

    2 players: 4 tiles | 3 players: 5 tiles | 4 players: 6 tiles

    FIRST GAME: We recommend using the following god tiles instead of a random selection. Place them in a row around the map board, in any order.

    • 2 players: Poseidon, Artemis, Zeus, Hermes
    • 3 players: + Demeter (displayed example)
    • 4 players: + Demeter & Athena

11. Return all other god tiles to the box.

12. Find the 4 god stones that match the symbol of each of the revealed god tiles.

13. Starting with the first god tile in the row, find the 4 matching god stones and place 2 god stones on each region with a gold glory token labelled "A". Then do the same for the second god tile in the row, placing 2 god stones on each region with a gold glory token labelled "B". Continue this way for the remaining god tiles. No god stone is placed on the region with the 15-value gold glory token. Place all remaining god stones back in the box.

    2-PLAYER GAME: Use only 3 god stones for each god tile. Place them on the regions with gold glory tokens A, B, C, and D as described above, but place 2 god stones on the region with the higher-value token of each letter, and only 1 god stone on the region with the lower-value token.

14. Give each player all player components of one faction (colour): a bag, a ship, a screen, player stones, temple bases and cornices. Each player has 6 stones of each rank (0–3), indicated by the pips on top.

    • Put all the player stones into your bag and mix them.
    • Keep your bases and cornices in front of you.
    • Every player places their ship on the starting harbour in the middle of the board.

Aim of the Game

Sail the Aegean islands, build mighty stone temples, and dedicate them to the Olympian gods to win their favour. At the end of the game, glory tokens will be awarded to the players who have built the tallest temples in each region. The player with the most glory wins.

How to Play

Choose the starting player at random, or let the player who most recently visited Greece start. Players then take turns in clockwise order. On your turn, complete the following phases in this order: 1. Move, 2. Build, 3. Draw.

1. Move

You may move your ship along any number of sea routes from one harbour to another. To do so, for each sea route you wish to move along, you must choose any one stone in your hand (player stone of any rank, god stone, or foundation stone) and return it to your bag. Any number of ships can be at the same harbour. You may also choose not to move.

2. Build

In the region of your ship's current harbour, you may use the stones in your hand to establish a new temple or elevate an existing one. Each player may have only one temple per region. You may also dedicate a temple to a god as part of the Build phase.

Each temple is made up of a temple base and one or more player stones belonging to one player, all of which must be of the same rank, indicated by the number of pips on the stone - 0, 1, 2, or 3.

Temple examples:

• A temple dedicated to Apollo with more then one foundation stone gained through two different god powers (e.g. Hera and Zeus)
• A smallest temple possible (temple base + min. one player stone) of lowest rank - 0

TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE:

• temple cornice — of the same rank as the temple's player stones, added for clarity during dedication
• god stone — added while dedicating the temple to Hephaestus to activate his power
• player stones — (at least one) of the same rank - may be added in multiple turns also after dedication
• foundation stone — gained through a god's power (Hephaestus)
• temple base

2.1 Establish

If you do not have a temple in the region, you may establish one by placing one or more stones of the same rank from your hand.

1. First place a temple base from your supply,
2. then stack the stones on it.

If you have no bases left, you cannot build additional temples.

3. If the region contains one or more god stones, you gain one when you establish your temple. Immediately put it in your bag.

Your temple must include at least one player stone; you cannot establish a temple with only a base.

2.2 Elevate

If the region already contains one of your temples, you may elevate it by adding player stones of the same rank. If the temple is already dedicated to a god, place the new stones beneath the god stone, which should always be placed on top, covered by a cornice of the same rank.

2.3 Dedicate

If you have a god stone in your hand, you may add it to a temple in the region of your ship's current harbour. You may do this immediately after establishing or elevating a temple on the same turn. You may dedicate only temples that belong to you.

You may also dedicate an existing temple without elevating it. Place a god stone from your hand on top of the temple, then add a temple cornice from your supply that matches the rank of the temple's player stones.

Temple cornices: Placing a temple cornice on top is purely for clarity – it shows the rank of the player stones which are covered by a god stone. A cornice does not indicate that a temple is complete. The temple may still be elevated on later turns, as normal.

When you dedicate a temple, immediately activate that god's power, as described on the corresponding god tile and in the Lexicon p. 7. You may choose not to use the god power. However, you won't be able to use that god's power on a later turn.

Some powers might have no effect when activated. You may still dedicate the temple in these cases. Once a temple is dedicated to a god, it cannot be dedicated to a different god unless another effect removes the original god stone.

Poseidon: When you intend to dedicate a temple to Poseidon, activate his power first, then complete your Build phase.

3. Draw

Finally, return any remaining stones from your hand into your bag and mix them thoroughly. Then draw 5 stones at random and place them behind your screen. These stones are your hand for your next turn. Play proceeds with the player on your left. You may now plan your next turn and assemble the intended temple stack behind your screen, including any cornices or foundation stones.

Game End

The game end is triggered the first time a player cannot draw all the stones required from their bag. If this happens, the player must immediately announce it.

Then, all other players take one final turn in clockwise order. The player who triggered the game end does not take another turn.

Activating Apollo's or Hermes' power may trigger the end of the game earlier (see Lexicon p. 7-8).

Scoring

After the game end is triggered, and all other players have taken their final turn, evaluate each region in turn.

• The player with the tallest temple wins the gold glory token.

The tallest temple is the temple with the most stones in its stack. Count all stones: player stones, foundation stones, and the god stone.

• The player with the second-tallest temple receives the silver or bronze glory token, if any are present in the region.
• If only one player built a temple in the region, that player receives all glory tokens in the region.

If the temple was dedicated to Aphrodite and is the tallest, the player also wins an additional silver glory token from the supply. (see Lexicon p. 7).

2-player game: There are no silver or bronze glory tokens. The player with the second-tallest temple receives nothing.

Ties

If temples contain the same number of stones, the tie is broken in favour of the temple with player stones of a higher rank.

A tie between the two tallest temples (same height of 3 stones but two different ranks: 1 and 0). The player with the temple with the higher stone rank (1) receives the gold glory token. The other two players receive nothing.

If two or more players are perfectly tied for tallest temple - meaning their temples have the same number of stones and the same rank - discard all glory tokens from that region. No player receives them.

A perfect tie (temples of the same height of 4 stones, rank 2); no player receives any glory tokens

If a single player has the tallest temple, and two or more players are perfectly tied for second-tallest temple, award the gold glory token as normal, but do not award the silver or bronze glory token.

Only the total number of stones in a temple and the rank of its player stones are considered. The temple with more stones always wins. The rank of the player stones is used only to break ties.

Final Scorings

Add up the glory from all the glory tokens you gained. Each gold glory token is worth the glory value shown on it. Each silver glory token is worth 6 glory, and each bronze glory token is worth 3 glory.

The player with the most glory wins. If there is a tie, the tied player who took their final turn earlier is the winner.

Lexicon

APHRODITE After you dedicate a temple to Aphrodite, gain a silver glory token at the end of the game if your Aphrodite temple is the tallest temple in the region. If your Aphrodite temple is not the single tallest temple in the region at the end of the game, you gain nothing more. That silver glory token is not awarded to another player. Glory tokens on the region still follow normal scoring rules at the end of the game. If the Aphrodite stone is taken by the power of Ares, the temple is no longer dedicated to Aphrodite, and it cannot earn that silver glory token, even if it remains the tallest.

ARTEMIS When you dedicate a temple to Artemis, gain a bronze glory token from the supply if at least one other ship is in the same harbour. If there is more than one other ship in that harbour, you still gain only one bronze glory token.

ATHENA When you dedicate a temple to Athena, you may swap the location of the Athena temple with one of your other temples on the same island. You must exchange the entire temple stack containing the Athena god stone with another complete temple stack on that island. You cannot swap the Athena temple into a region in which you do not already have a temple.

DEMETER When you dedicate a temple to Demeter, you may use any stones left in your hand (except god stones) to elevate one of your other temples anywhere on the board. You may only elevate the other temple using stones remaining in your hand, following all the usual Elevate rules. You cannot establish a temple, and you cannot dedicate a temple.

APOLLO When you dedicate a temple to Apollo, at the end of your turn draw 7 stones instead of 5. If you cannot draw the full 7 stones, you trigger the game end.

ARES When you dedicate a temple to Ares, remove the god stone from the top of another player's temple in the same region and immediately place it in your bag. The owner of that temple may re-dedicate it on a later turn. Removing a god stone from another player's temple never causes that player to remove or lose their player stones and foundation stones that they played, or glory tokens that they gained, when they established, elevated, or dedicated that temple.

HEPHAESTUS When you dedicate a temple to Hephaestus, take a foundation stone from the supply and add it to the base of that temple.

HERA When you dedicate a temple to Hera, take a foundation stone from the supply and put it in your bag. If you draw this foundation stone on a later turn, you may add it to the base of any temple you establish or elevate that turn.

POSEIDON Before you dedicate a temple to Poseidon, you may move your ship to any harbour for free, then dedicate your temple in that region to Poseidon. If you have the Poseidon stone in your hand, you may choose to use the power of Poseidon this turn, move to any harbour for free (instead of your Move action), and then perform your Build action. You must dedicate that temple to Poseidon this turn. If you do not or cannot dedicate your temple to Poseidon, you cannot use the power.

HERMES When you dedicate a temple to Hermes, do not return any leftover stones to your bag. Instead, immediately draw 2 additional stones from your bag and complete another Move and Build phase following the normal rules. Then complete the Draw phase as normal. If you cannot draw the full 2 additional stones, you trigger the game end, but you may finish this turn.

ZEUS When you dedicate a temple to Zeus, add a foundation stone to each of your other temples on the same island.

HESTIA When you dedicate a temple to Hestia, you may build the temple using player stones of 2 different ranks. If you dedicate a temple to Hestia when establishing a new temple, you may combine player stones of 2 different ranks. You may place player stones in any order. If you dedicate a temple to Hestia when elevating an existing temple, you may use player stones of the rank already in the temple and of one other rank. You must place the new stones on top of the existing stones (but under the god stone). If you elevate the temple again on a later turn, you may use player stones of either rank already in the temple, but not add stones of a third, different rank. The entire temple becomes the rank of the top-most player stone. Replace the cornice accordingly.