In the Footsteps of Marie Curie Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Game Overview
  • The timeline of the main board
  • The personal board
• How to Play
  • 1 — Workshop
  • 2 — Research
    • Collect Resources
    • Write a Thesis
  • 3 — Experimentation
    • Purchase an Activity Card
    • Anatomy of an Activity card
    • Transform Resources
      • The Marie Curie tile
    • Validate one or more Experiment tiles
    • Validate your Objective tile
  • 4 — Rest
    • The Workshop tile
• End of Game
• Credits
• Appendices
  • Reminders
  • Activity Cards
    • Advertising (7 copies)
    • Instruments (9 copies)
    • Research (9 copies)
    • Workshop (11 copies)
    • University (11 copies)
  • Starting Objectives
  • Experiment Tiles
    • Beaker Tiles
    • Round-Bottom Flask Tiles
  • Thesis Tiles
    • 4 Thesis I
    • 4 Thesis II
    • 4 Thesis III
    • 4 Thesis IV
• Timeline Effects

Components

• 1 cube tower
• 1 main board
• 4 personal boards
• 3 Workshop tiles
• 1 Timeline marker
• 47 Activity cards
• 5 Objective tiles
• 24 Experiment tiles (12 of each type)
• 16 Thesis tiles
• 29 Victory Point tokens
• 24 Pitchblende cubes
• 18 Uranium cubes
• 12 Radium cubes
• 1 Marie Curie tile
• 1 Workshop marker
• 1 First Player token
• 1 fabric bag
• 1 rulebook
• 1 appendix booklet

Setup

1. Place the main board in the center of the table and then place the Timeline marker on the leftmost space of the timeline dated 1867.
2. Place the cube tower to the left of the main board, ensuring that the cube drop is not facing the board.
3. Sort the cubes by color and place them to the right of the main board so as not to confuse the cubes from the supply with those that will fall from the tower.
4. Shuffle the Activity cards and form a face-down deck which you place to the left of the main board. Reveal the first 4 cards on the designated spaces on the board, to the right of the deck.
5. Sort the 24 Experiment tiles by type and form 2 separate piles which you place face up on the designated spaces on the board.
6. Sort the 16 Thesis tiles by type (I, II, III, IV) and form 4 separate face-down piles which you place on the designated spaces on the main board.
7. Choose the Workshop tile corresponding to the number of players and place it in the center of the board, on the indicated side. Place the Workshop marker on the starting space at the bottom left of the tile indicated by the start symbol.
8. Place the Marie Curie tile next to the main board.
9. Form a supply with the Victory Point (VP) tokens.
10. Each player receives a personal board and a randomly distributed Objective tile, which they place face-up on the designated space on their board.
11. The last person to have conducted a scientific experiment is designated as the first player. If no one has ever conducted a scientific experiment, determine it randomly; this person receives the First Player token which they place in front of them.
12. Place the back of the appendix booklet available to players, to have access at any time to the description of the effects of the timeline.

Game Overview

Players take turns, starting with the first player and then proceeding clockwise until the Timeline marker reaches the last space of the timeline. At that point, players complete the current round up to the last player and the game ends. The player with the most Victory Points (VP) wins the game.

The timeline of the main board

The main board represents the timeline tracing the major milestones in Marie Curie's life, from her birth in 1867 to her death in 1934. It contains several pieces of information: 1 the date of the event and 2 the effect of the space.

Certain game effects will advance the Timeline marker along the timeline. As soon as you need to apply an effect or bonus indicated by the timeline icon, move the Timeline marker forward one space. All players then immediately apply the effect of the space, if they can and want to, starting with the player whose turn it is, and then in turn clockwise.

The timeline effects are explained on the back of the appendix booklet (see Timeline Effects below).

The personal board

Your personal board is your laboratory! Here you will find spaces for:

1. your Victory Point (VP) tokens
2. your Thesis tiles
3. your Activity card collections (below the board)
4. your Experiment tiles
5. your Objective tile
6. your resource cubes (Pitchblende, Uranium, and Radium) in your Erlenmeyer flask
7. You will also find a reminder of the resource transformations you can perform during your turn.

DID YOU KNOW? An Erlenmeyer flask is a conical-shaped glass flask widely used in laboratories, created by German chemist Emil Erlenmeyer, who gave it his name. Its shape allows the flask to be stoppered with a cork to mix, preserve, or limit the evaporation of a solution. It also reduces splashing in case of a chemical reaction.

How to Play

On your turn, perform steps 1 to 4 in order, then it is the next player's turn in a clockwise direction.

1. Workshop
2. Research
3. Experimentation
4. Rest

1 — Workshop

Take from the supply the cubes shown below the Workshop marker on the Workshop tile. Throw them into the cube tower and see which cubes come out at the bottom.

Clarifications:

• The cube tower is designed in such a way that some cubes you toss in will stay stuck in the tower and may fall in subsequent players' turns (or not!). This also means that you might be lucky and have stuck cubes fall during your turn.
• If there are no more cubes or not enough cubes in the supply, only toss in the available cubes.
• If a cube is stuck in the bottom of the tower, it is not considered to have fallen; it must fall onto the table to be used.

Example: On her turn, Josephine starts by taking the cubes indicated below the Workshop marker (1 Pitchblende, 2 Uranium and 1 Radium) 1 and drops them into the cube tower 2. She then looks at the cubes that came out: 2 Pitchblende and 2 Radium 3.

DID YOU KNOW? Marie Curie had to process 400 tons of pitchblende to isolate one gram of radium. Pierre and Marie Curie often faced shortages of raw materials, with pitchblende mainly coming from the silver mines of Bohemia. The operation of the cube tower aims to materialize these recurring shortages.

2 — Research

During this phase, you have the choice between 2 actions: Collect Resources OR Write a Thesis.

Collect Resources

Take the resource cubes of your choice from all those available at the bottom of the tower (those fallen after your throw and possibly those remaining from previous players' turns) and place them in the Erlenmeyer flask on your personal board. Be careful! The maximum number of cubes you can take is limited to 3 at the beginning of the game. This limit may increase up to 6 cubes during the game depending on your successful experiments.

The cubes you do not take remain available for the following rounds and may be taken by other players.

Example: Among the cubes fallen after her throw, Josephine can take up to 3 cubes 1: she decides to take 1 Pitchblende and 2 Radium that she places in her Erlenmeyer flask 2, leaving 1 Pitchblende available for the next players 3.

Write a Thesis

Instead of taking cubes, draw a Thesis from one of the piles (I, II, III, or IV). Be careful! You must always draw Theses in order: first a Thesis I, then a Thesis II, then a Thesis III, and finally a Thesis IV. You can only write one thesis of each type during the game. Reveal the bonus indicated on the back to the other players, apply it immediately, and then place the Thesis face down on your personal board.

The Thesis bonuses are explained in the Thesis Tiles appendix below.

Example: On her turn, Josephine decides not to take any cubes. Since she already has a Thesis I 1, she draws a Thesis II 2 and gains the bonus indicated on the back – which is 1 Uranium. Then, she places the Thesis face down on her personal board 3.

3 — Experimentation

During this phase, you can perform the following actions, in any order you choose. These actions are optional:

• Purchase an Activity card, once per turn only.
• Perform resource transformations — those indicated on your personal board or on the Marie Curie tile if you hold it — as many times as you wish.
• Validate one or more Experiment tiles.
• Validate your Objective if you have met the condition.

Purchase an Activity Card

Once per turn only, you can purchase one of the 4 Activity cards available on the central board. To do this, you must pay the cost indicated in the top left corner of the card. Then place this card under your personal board in the column corresponding to the card's category.

This card earns you the immediate bonus indicated on it, which depends on the number of cards you have of that category (counting the one you just placed). You cannot have more cards of the same category than the maximum indicated on the card.

Immediately replace the purchased Activity card with the next card from the deck.

Example: Josephine decides to purchase a University card and spends 1 Uranium which she returns to the supply 1. She places the card in the corresponding column under her personal board 2. Since this is her second card of this category, she applies the bonus from the second column and therefore takes 1 Radium from the supply 3 and places it in her Erlenmeyer flask. She will not be able to have more than 5 University cards during the game 4.

Anatomy of an Activity card

There are 5 categories of Activity cards: Advertising, Instruments, Research, Workshop, and University. The card bonuses are explained in the Activity Cards appendix below.

Each card shows:

• the card cost (top left)
• the card category
• the bonus based on the number of cards of this type in your possession
• the maximum number of cards of this type you can have in your possession

Transform Resources

You can perform the resource transformations indicated on your personal board as many times as you wish. To do this, exchange cubes from your Erlenmeyer flask with cubes from the supply and VP tokens. The costs for these transformations are as follows:

1. 2 Pitchblende for 1 Uranium
2. 2 Uranium for 1 Radium
3. 2 Radium + 1 Uranium for 1 VP

Be careful! Reverse transformations are not allowed.

Example: Josephine decides to transform 2 Pitchblende into 1 Uranium 1, then she transforms the 2 Uranium 2 now in her possession into 1 Radium 3.

IMPORTANT: If you have the Marie Curie tile, you can make a more interesting transformation: 2 Radium for 1 VP (see box below).

The Marie Curie tile

Several effects or bonuses in the game indicated by the Marie Curie icon allow you to take the Marie Curie tile in front of you, whether it is in the center of the table (at the beginning of the game) or with another player (during the game). As long as you have it in front of you, it allows you to transform 2 Radium into 1 VP, as many times as you wish during your turn. At the end of the game, the player who holds the Marie Curie tile will score 1 VP (as indicated on the tile).

Example: Josephine now transforms her 2 Radium into 1 VP thanks to the Marie Curie tile she holds. Her cubes are returned to the supply.

Validate one or more Experiment tiles

There are two types of Experiment tiles: Beaker tiles and round-bottom flask tiles. Each has an Experiment side and a Validated side.

Several effects in the game indicated by the Experiment icon will allow you to collect Experiment tiles (maximum 3 of each type). In this case, take the first tile from the pile of your choice and place it Experiment side up on your personal board on the first available slot (starting from the top) corresponding to the type of tile you just took. You will not be able to change its location during the game.

During your turn, you can validate one or more of your Experiment tiles by performing the required transformation. You can validate them in the order of your choice. You can use the gains from one experiment to validate another. When you have validated an Experiment tile, flip it (Validated side up) to indicate that it has been successfully completed.

DID YOU KNOW? A beaker is the most used container in a laboratory because of its glass form with a spout for preparing and mixing solutions. Its name comes from the German word Becher, meaning cup. A round-bottom flask is another container with a narrowed neck, but its spherical shape does not allow it to easily rest on a table. It is mainly used when a mixture needs to be heated evenly.

Each validated Experiment tile allows you to improve your laboratory:

• When a Beaker Experiment tile is validated, it increases the number of cubes you can take during the research phase by 1, as indicated on the back of the tile. The more experiments of this type you complete, the more you will increase the number of cubes you can take on your turn, up to a limit of 6.

Example: Josephine performs the transformation indicated on her Experiment tile by spending 3 Pitchblende and thus retrieves 1 Uranium from the supply which she places in her Erlenmeyer 1. She flips the tile Validated side up 2. From her next turn on, she will be able to take one more cube if she chooses to collect resources during the research phase: 3 + 1 = 4 cubes.

IMPORTANT: The number of cubes you can keep in your Erlenmeyer flask at the end of your turn is limited to 3 cubes at the beginning of the game.

• When a round-bottom flask Experiment tile is validated, it increases by 1 the number of cubes you can keep in your Erlenmeyer at the end of your turn as indicated on the back of the tile. The more experiments of this type you complete, the more you will increase your storage capacity at the end of your turn, up to a limit of 6.

Clarification: You can have more cubes during your turn or that of other players. The limit will only be checked at the end of your turn.

Example: Josephine performs the transformation indicated on her Experiment tile by spending 2 Uranium and thus retrieves 2 Radium 1. She flips the tile Validated side up. She can now keep 1 more cube in her Erlenmeyer at the end of her turn: 3 + 1 = 4 cubes 2.

For each pair of face-to-face validated Beaker and round-bottom flask tiles, earn 1 VP as indicated. Note that Beaker tiles are more complicated to validate than round-bottom flask tiles.

Example: Since Josephine has validated 1 Beaker tile and 1 round-bottom flask tile face-to-face, she earns 1 VP.

Validate your Objective tile

At any point during your turn, you can validate the Objective tile you received at the beginning of the game if you have met the condition. In this case, flip the tile and earn the indicated VPs (except for the Nobel Prize objective, see the Starting Objectives appendix below).

Example: Josephine has met the condition of her Objective tile by having an Activity card from each category. She flips the tile face down and earns 2 VPs.

4 — Rest

At the end of your turn, perform the following actions:

• Check the number of cubes in your Erlenmeyer flask. If their number exceeds your storage capacity, return the excess cubes of your choice to the supply.
• Move the Workshop marker to the next space on the Workshop tile.

The Workshop tile

The Workshop marker starts the game on the space at the bottom left of the Workshop tile indicated by the start symbol.

At the end of your turn, move the Workshop marker to the next space following the arrows.

If the marker reaches the flip space, immediately flip the Workshop tile to its opposite side and place the marker on the starting space at the bottom left indicated by the start symbol.

Example: At the end of her turn, Josephine has to move the Workshop marker to the next space; she therefore flips the tile to the other side and places the Workshop marker back on the starting space indicated by the start symbol. It is then the next player's turn.

End of Game

The end of the game is triggered when the Timeline marker reaches the last space of the timeline: complete the current round up to the last player in the turn order (that is, just before the player holding the First Player token), so that each player has the same number of turns.

Players count their VP tokens, not forgetting the Marie Curie tile which awards 1 VP to the player who holds it at the end of the game. The player with the most victory points wins the game.

In the event of a tie, the player who has the most Radium among the tied players wins.

If the tie persists, the player who has the most Uranium among the tied players wins.

If the tie still persists, the player who has the most Pitchblende among the tied players wins. If the tie still persists, the players share the victory.

Example: Josephine counts her VP tokens and gets 8 VPs. As she holds the Marie Curie tile at the end of the game, she scores an additional 1 VP, for a total of 9 VPs. She has more points than all her opponents and therefore wins the game.

Credits

• Author: Florian Fay
• Illustrations: Vaiana Hinault and David Sitbon
• Graphics: David Sitbon and Ulric Maes
• Development: Sorry We Are French
• Rules: Marine Nouvel and Emmanuel Beltrando
• English Version: Emmanuel Beltrando
• Production: Emmanuel Beltrando
• Special thanks to Alexandre Figuière and Matthieu Verdier

Appendices

You don't need to read these now. Refer to these appendices during your game if you're unsure of the effect of a card or a tile.

Reminders

• You can have more cubes than your storage capacity during your turn or that of other players. The limit is only checked at the end of your turn.
• Card bonuses are obtained immediately and depend on the number of cards you have of the same category (including the one you just placed).
• You must always draw theses in order: first a Thesis I, then a Thesis II, then a Thesis III, and finally a Thesis IV. You can only have one Thesis of each type during the game.
• Cubes spent to perform transformations or to validate Experiment tiles always return to the supply.
• Transformations indicated on the personal board and the Marie Curie tile cannot be performed in reverse.

Activity Cards

Advertising (7 copies)

Cost: 1 Radium

• If you have 1 card of this type, move the Timeline marker forward one space.
• If you have 2 cards of this type, gain 1 VP and move the Timeline marker forward one space.
• If you have 3 cards of this type, take the Marie Curie tile in front of you and gain 1 VP.

Instruments (9 copies)

Cost: 2 Pitchblende

• If you have 1 card of this type, take 1 Uranium from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask.
• If you have 2 cards of this type, take 1 Radium from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask.
• If you have 3 cards of this type, take 1 Uranium from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask. Then, move the Timeline marker forward one space.
• If you have 4 cards of this type, take the Marie Curie tile in front of you then take 1 Radium from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask.

Research (9 copies)

Cost: 1 Pitchblende

• If you have 1 card of this type, draw 1 Thesis.
• If you have 2 cards of this type, nothing happens.
• If you have 3 cards of this type, draw 1 Thesis.
• If you have 4 cards of this type, gain 1 VP.

Workshop (11 copies)

Cost: 1 Pitchblende and 1 Uranium

• If you have 1 card of this type, draw a Beaker or round-bottom flask Experiment tile.
• If you have 2 cards of this type, draw a Beaker or round-bottom flask Experiment tile.
• If you have 3 cards of this type, take 1 Pitchblende from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask.
• If you have 4 cards of this type, gain 1 VP.
• If you have 5 cards of this type, take the Marie Curie tile in front of you and gain 1 VP.

University (11 copies)

Cost: 1 Uranium

• If you have 1 card of this type, take 1 Pitchblende from the supply and put it in your Erlenmeyer flask. Then, move the Timeline marker forward one space.
• If you have 2 cards of this type, take 1 Radium from the supply and put it in your Erlenmeyer flask.
• If you have 3 cards of this type, take the Marie Curie tile in front of you.
• If you have 4 cards of this type, draw 1 Thesis.
• If you have 5 cards of this type, gain 2 VPs.

Starting Objectives

• Earn 1 VP if you have written 4 Theses.
• Earn 2 VPs if you have at least one Activity card of each type (Advertising, Instruments, Research, Workshop, and University).
• Earn 1 VP if you have the maximum number of Activity cards in one category (3 for Advertising cards, 4 for Instruments and Research cards, 5 for Workshop and University cards).
• Earn 1 VP if you have 5 Experiment tiles on your personal board. These tiles do not need to be validated nor be of the same type.
• Earn an additional 1 VP if you can spend the required resources when the Timeline marker reaches the Nobel Prize spaces (1903 and 1911). After the second Nobel Prize, flip this tile face down.

Experiment Tiles

Beaker Tiles

• Spend 3 Uranium to take 1 Radium from the supply.
• Spend 1 Radium to take 1 Uranium from the supply.
• Spend 1 Pitchblende and 3 Radium to gain 1 VP and draw a Thesis.
• Spend 1 Pitchblende and 3 Uranium to gain 1 VP.
• Spend 1 Uranium and 1 Radium to take an Activity card of your choice for free from the 4 available on the main board.
• Spend 2 Radium and 1 Pitchblende to gain 1 VP.
• Spend 2 Uranium to take 2 Pitchblende from the supply.
• Spend 4 Uranium to take an Activity card of your choice for free from the 4 available on the main board. Also, take the Marie Curie tile in front of you.
• Spend 3 Pitchblende to move the Timeline marker forward one space.
• Spend 1 Radium to take 1 Pitchblende from the supply. Also, take the Marie Curie tile in front of you.
• Spend 3 Pitchblende to take 1 Uranium from the supply.
• Spend 1 Radium then place the 4 available Activity cards from the main board back under the draw pile and replace them with the next 4 cards from the draw pile.

Round-Bottom Flask Tiles

• Spend 1 Uranium to take 3 Pitchblende from the supply.
• Spend 1 Pitchblende to take the Marie Curie tile in front of you.
• Spend 1 Pitchblende and 1 Uranium to draw a thesis.
• Spend 3 Pitchblende and 1 Uranium to take 2 Radium from the supply.
• Spend 3 Pitchblende to take an Activity card of your choice for free from the 4 available on the main board.
• Spend 2 Uranium to take 2 Radium from the supply.
• Spend 1 Uranium and 3 Radium to gain 2 VPs.
• Spend 2 Pitchblende to take 2 Uranium from the supply.
• Spend 1 Uranium to take an Activity card of your choice for free from the 4 available on the main board.
• Spend 1 Pitchblende, 1 Uranium, and 1 Radium to gain 1 VP.
• Spend 3 Pitchblende and 1 Uranium to gain 1 VP.
• Spend 2 Radium to gain 1 VP then move the Timeline marker forward one space.

Thesis Tiles

4 Thesis I

• (2 copies) Draw an Experiment tile, either Beaker or round-bottom flask.
• (2 copies) Take 1 Pitchblende from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask.

4 Thesis II

• (1 copy) Take 2 Pitchblende from the supply and place them in your Erlenmeyer flask.
• (1 copy) Take 1 Uranium from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask.
• (2 copies) Draw an Experiment tile, either Beaker or round-bottom flask.

4 Thesis III

• (1 copy) Take 1 Pitchblende and 1 Uranium from the supply and place them in your Erlenmeyer flask.
• (1 copy) Take 1 Pitchblende and 1 Uranium from the supply and place them in your Erlenmeyer flask. Then, move the Timeline marker forward one space.
• (1 copy) Take 1 Radium from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask.
• (1 copy) Take 1 Radium from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask. Then, move the Timeline marker forward one space.

4 Thesis IV

• (1 copy) Take 1 Radium and 1 Uranium from the supply and place them in your Erlenmeyer flask. Then, move the Timeline marker forward one space.
• (1 copy) Take 1 Radium from the supply and place it in your Erlenmeyer flask. Then, take the Marie Curie tile in front of you.
• (1 copy) Earn 1 VP.
• (1 copy) Earn 1 VP, then move the Timeline marker forward one space.

Timeline Effects

These are the effects of each dated space on the timeline, printed on the back of the appendix booklet.

• 1883 — Every player draws one Beaker or round-bottom flask Experiment tile and places it on their personal board.
• 1891 — Each player takes 1 Pitchblende from the supply and places it in their Erlenmeyer flask.
• 1893 — Players who wish may spend 1 Pitchblende to draw a Beaker or round-bottom flask Experiment tile (once per player). The spent cube is returned to the supply.
• 1895 — Players who wish may spend 1 Radium to gain 1 VP (once per player). The spent cube is returned to the supply.
• 1897 — Players with only one Thesis take 1 Uranium from the supply and place it in their Erlenmeyer flask. Players with two or more Theses take 1 Radium.
• 1898 — Place the 4 available Activity cards from the main board underneath the draw pile and replace them with the next 4 cards from the top of the draw pile.
• 1902 — Each player takes 1 Radium from the supply and places it in their Erlenmeyer flask.
• 1903 — Players who wish may spend 1 Uranium and 1 Radium to gain 1 VP (once per player). The spent cubes are returned to the supply.
• 1904 — Return all cubes still at the bottom of the tower to the supply.
• 1906 — Players who wish may spend 1 Pitchblende to take a Beaker or round-bottom flask Experiment tile from the draw pile (once per player). The spent cube is returned to the supply.
• 1910 — Players who wish may spend 1 Uranium to take 1 Radium from the supply (once per player). The spent cube is returned to the supply.
• 1911 — Players who wish may spend 2 Radium to gain 1 VP (once per player). The spent cubes are returned to the supply.
• 1914 — Place the 4 available Activity cards from the main board underneath the draw pile and replace them with the next 4 cards from the top of the draw pile.
• 1921 — Players with exactly one Thesis take 1 Uranium from the supply and place it in their Erlenmeyer flask. Players with exactly two Theses take 1 Radium. Players with three or more Theses gain 1 VP.
• 1934 — The end of the game is triggered. Players complete the current round up to the last player in the turn order, so that each player has played the same number of turns.