Inkwell
Inkwell Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Inkwell is a token drafting game in which each player takes supplies from a central mat to complete parts of their illustrated page, completing your illustrations and using certain colors earn you points. Each player can score their page and move onto a new one at their discretion. Using supplies will advance the abbot, forcing players to move onto new pages if they take too long. After scoring three pages, a player's work is done, thereby speeding up the abbot and ending the game sooner.
Components
- 18x large page cards
- 5x large workspace cards
- 32x small technique cards
- 150x common cubes (30 per ink color)
- 20x metal gold cubes
- an abbot token
- a game mat
- a cloth bag
- a large solo play card
- a solo play die
Solo Play Rules
Against the Foolish Friar Brother Dicelius
To play solo, you will simulate an opposing player using the six-sided solo die, as well as the reverse of this card. Your goal is to reach 100 points. True masters of the craft aim for 110 or more!
Set-Up Notes
Set up for two players. Place the die on the indicated inkwell star when setting up. Instead of normal Page and Workspace set-up, you will choose a set of three Pages with the same back to play this game. You may select your Workspace (and its scoring ability) after choosing your Pages and filling the board.
Gameplay
You go first. After each of your turns, roll the die. Move it that many spaces counter-clockwise around the spiral of inkwells, skipping any empty inkwells. Whichever inkwell it lands on, return all cubes there to the bag / supply, and place any cards on this workspace. When the die reaches the last diamond inkwell, its next move continues to the starting inkwell.
Set-Up
- Place the game mat in the center of the play area. If playing solo, use the solo play card alongside these instructions.
- Place all common cubes (black, red, yellow, green, blue) in the bag.
- Set all the gold cubes in a pile beside the mat as a supply.
- Shuffle the Technique cards and place them face-down beside the mat.
- Deal each player a random Page I (marked in the top left corner). Shuffle and draw Page II's and III's equal to the number of players, setting them aside in piles that can be viewed at any time. Return the remaining pages to the box.
- Deal each player a Workspace card and they choose a side. Note that the 'B' side is more challenging to play. Place two common cubes of each player's Workspace color beside the scoring area.
- Place the Abbot token on the first space of the Abbot track (marked 'A').
- Fill the game mat. Start with the large inkwell shapes. Place a gold cube in each star, three random common cubes (from the bag) in each circle, and two common cubes (from the bag) in each diamond. Only fill the inkwells marked with faces if there are at least that many players (3 - 5). Then place a Technique card face-up in each space connected to a diamond space that contains cubes.
- Select a first player. Give the second player a random cube from the bag; the third player, two cubes, and so on. Each player places their cubes on matching spaces on their Page now.
Personal set-up for the fourth player (including three random cubes from the bag).
Summary
Inkwell is played over a series of turns in which you will take supplies from the mat to work on your Page to score points. You will also decide, or be forced, to 'turn' your Page, score your completed work and gain a new Page. You will also gain Techniques—abilities that give you bonus cubes and other advantages.
On Your Turn
On your turn, you either take supplies or you turn your page.
Take means to select an inkwell (star, circle, or diamond) on the mat and take all the supplies from there. If you take from a diamond, you also gain the connected Technique card.
You must place the cubes you take on matching spaces on your page this turn. If you gain a Technique, place it on your Workspace. If you cannot place all taken supplies on your turn, choose differently.
Turning means scoring your page (sometimes before it is complete) and getting a new one, which ends your turn.
Example
Julia doesn't want to turn and score an incomplete page, so she decides to take. She has two Technique cards, and has no space for more, so she cannot take from a diamond. She could always take a gold from a star, but she will make more progress on her 8-point illustration if she takes the two green cubes and one red cube from the circle inkwell.
Example Technique cards shown on the page:
- When you take from the last filled inkwell of one shape, gain 5 points.
- If you take any number of black cubes, you may take one more black cube from the bag.
- If you take a gold cube, you may take one blue cube from the bag.
- You may freely rearrange and discard your already placed cubes.
Placing & Points
Cubes must be placed on matching spaces on your Page. Spaces with a '?' take any color cube, and gold cubes can be placed on any space. Placed cubes cannot be moved.
You will score by filling every space touching an illustration. When you turn, you gain the points in the yellow circles touching your completed illustrations. Partial completion provides zero points.
Each page also has a multiplier space. If the space is filled, all your cubes of that color (including itself and cubes on incomplete illustrations) will score additional points. If unfilled, the multiplier counts for nothing.
Your Workspace card also automatically earns points when you turn, either by counting cubes of a certain color (A side) or via a unique power (B side).
Gold cubes count as every color. They can be placed anywhere, and they count for every scoring multiplier.
Page Anatomy
- This space requires a black or gold cube to score 1 point for every cube of that type, including the one placed.
- This space requires a gold cube.
- This space can hold any cube of your choice, but does not help complete any illustrations. It can score for multipliers.
- This illustration is worth eleven points... if you fill all thirteen spaces!
Cubes and spaces are marked for visual clarity. These markings have no gameplay effect.
Turning
Turn means to score your Page, gaining points for finished illustrations, for the page multiplier, and for the scoring power on your Workspace card.
After you score, flip the Page face-down. Return all your cubes to the bag / gold supply. Then, look at the available Page II's and choose one. After Page II, you will select a Page III. If you turned the page without being forced to, take a gold cube from the supply and place it on your new Page immediately.
Finally, move your Technique cards below your Workspace. They are still in play, but your Workspace is cleared for two new Techniques with each new page.
Refilling
If all the spaces of one inkwell shape type (star, circle, or diamond) are ever empty, the next player refills the board, following these steps in order:
- Advance the Abbot token a space (hopping over any arrows).
- Place a random common cube from the bag on every inkwell that still has any cubes/cards.
- Refill completely empty inkwells and Technique spaces according to step 8 of the set-up rules.
Techniques
Techniques are optional abilities that change gameplay in powerful ways. They are immediately usable when taken unless they say 'at the start of a future turn'. Some are of limited use and should be turned face-down when they are used. Most have ongoing effects.
The Abbot
If the Abbot passes over an arrow, any player who has not turned the shown Page (I, II, or III) is forced to turn their page as their next turn. This means refilling the mat and advancing the Abbot can rush the game for the other players. Players who are forced to turn don't take a bonus gold cube.
End Game
When a player turns their Page III, the end game has begun. After a player finishes, when they would take a turn, they instead score three points and advance the Abbot one space (if possible). This continues until all players' Pages have turned, either by choice or after the Abbot crosses the third arrow.
The player with the highest score wins, with ties broken in favor of the tied player who turned their Page III first. If a score exceeds 50 points, use another cube of that player color to mark the '50' or '100' spaces.