King Arthur (2014) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • The App
• Object of the Game
• Course of the Game
  • Start of the Game
  • Sequence of a Turn
  • Cards
  • Equipment Tiles
  • Strength and Dice
  • Chivalry
  • End of the Game
  • Saving and Loading a Game
  • Undoing a Turn
  • Game Statistics
  • Grail Quest (Gralssuche)

Components

1. Game board (Spielplan)
2. Dice rock for the game board (Würfelfelsen)
3. 4 knight figures (in the player colours red, yellow, green, blue)
4. 4 player crests (Spielerwappen, in the player colours)
5. 4 action boards (Aktionstafeln, in the player colours)
6. 6 dice
7. 50 strength markers (Stärkemarker, for the player crests)
8. 48 cards (16 each of Provisions, Sword, Shield)
9. 12 equipment tiles (4 each of Armour, Horse, Lance)
10. smartPLAY remote control

Only in the starter set: smartPLAY tripod (Stativ) and technical operating manual.

The game board shows these locations: Waldburg (Forest Castle), Höhle (Cave), Wirtshaus (Inn), Fähre (Ferry), Turm (Tower), Dorf (Village), Hügelgräber (Burial Mounds), Der Stein (The Stone), Wüstenburg (Desert Castle), Abtei (Abbey), Galgen (Gallows), Markt (Market), Feldlager (Encampment), Ruine (Ruin), Rote Burg (Red Castle), Turnierplatz (Tournament Ground), Brücke (Bridge), Heilige Quelle (Holy Spring), Hafen (Harbour), Steinkreis (Stone Circle).

Setup

Before the first round, carefully snap the strength markers off the sprue and push the pre-punched parts out of the punch sheets.

Place the game board on the table so that it is evenly lit and strong shadows are avoided.

Push the dice rock up through the game board from below, and place the tripod with the smartphone box at the top edge of the game board, so that the two pegs of the base fit into the two round holes of the game board. (For setting up the tripod, see also the technical operating manual.)

Each player then takes a player crest of their choice, together with the matching action board, and places it on the table in front of them.

All players place the knight of their colour on the space in front of the dice rock where the sword is located ("The Stone").

Sort the cards by Provisions, Sword and Shield, face up, next to the board.

At the start of the game, each player takes one Provisions card, one Sword card and one Shield card into hand.

Sort the equipment tiles by Armour, Horse and Lance, and lay them out face up in three stacks next to the game board.

Now place the smartPLAY remote control, the dice and the strength markers within reach next to the board. Surplus game material stays in the box.

You can now stop reading and start a game directly. If you select the tutorial texts in the app, all of the rules below will be explained to you during play. You can read on later on these pages if questions come up.

The App

Start the King Arthur smartPLAY app. After a short loading time the main menu appears. The menu items are:

1. Help: instructions for setting up the tripod, for the smartPLAY remote control, and for the game King Arthur.
2. smartPLAY: link to the website www.ravensburger-smartplay.com.
3. Credits: the makers of the game.
4. Player profiles: create player profiles to save game statistics on the smartphone.
5. Grail Quest (Gralssuche): unlocks access to the Holy Grail across several games (more on this on page 7).
6. Tap "Start game" and, on the following screens, choose:
   • whether you want a long or a short game,
   • whether you want normal narrator texts, shortened texts or detailed tutorial texts, and
   • which knights take part.

When you have made all the settings, place the smartphone in the smartphone box, close it, and attach it to the tripod.

The game starts as soon as all participating knights are standing on the space with the sword in the stone. Make sure no other game material lies on the game board.

Object of the Game

You begin the game as young, inexperienced knights and have two tasks:

1. You need a horse, armour and a lance to equip yourself. You receive these in the castles, where you must pay for them with your cards. If you choose the short game, two of these three equipment tiles are enough.
2. In the adventures you experience, you must gain strength and chivalry. Higher strength allows you to roll more dice in combats and trials. If you are very chivalrous, the people you meet are more favourably disposed towards you. You can also pull the sword from the stone more easily.

Winning the game: Whoever is well equipped and feels strong enough goes back to the Stone and makes a dice test. If you reach the required dice value, you can pull the sword from the stone and become the new King of England!

Course of the Game

Start of the Game

After the game starts, Merlin greets you and guides you through the game, giving valuable hints. He points out two places where strength and cards can be found, and then determines the starting player. The starting player takes the first turn; afterwards, players take their turns one after another, clockwise.

The smartphone does not check whether the players take their turns in the correct order. This is left to the players.

Sequence of a Turn

1. Move

The player whose turn it is either stays on their space or moves their knight exactly one space further along the paths. Several figures may stand on the same space. As soon as the software has recognised the movement of the knight, a short confirmation tone sounds.

2. Action

Afterwards, the player chooses whether to explore the space or to do nothing there. To do this, they take their action board in hand, hold it over the game board, and cover with their thumb the action they want to perform:

• the open eye for "Explore"
• the closed eye for "Do nothing"

Choosing "Explore" always starts an adventure.

If the player chooses "Do nothing", an adventure often starts too, but sometimes an owl hoots instead. This means nothing happens here, and the player may move one more space. There, they again choose "Explore" or "Do nothing". They keep doing this until an adventure starts at a location. Then the narrator's instructions must be followed.

In some adventures no reaction is required; when the end of the turn is announced ("Next player"), the next player takes their turn.

3. Reaction

In most adventures, however, the player is expected to react. They also enter this reaction with their action board.

To do this, one of the four symbols on the back of the board is covered with the thumb:

• Friendship: You decide to treat the person you meet in a friendly way.
• Fight: You want to fight the person or the dragon. Usually Merlin tells you which number you must roll at least to win the fight. The number of strength markers on your crest determines how many dice you may roll. At the start of the game you have no strength markers and may roll only two dice. For every three strength markers you receive one more die.
• Ignore (Hide): You would rather have nothing to do with the person or the adventure on this space.
• Give: This reaction is only possible if the person has demanded cards (Provisions, Sword or Shield) from you. To do this, you first return the demanded cards to their respective stacks and then choose the reaction "Give". You may only choose this reaction if you can actually hand over the corresponding cards.

For a fight or trial, throw the dice into the dice rock. The software evaluates the throw and announces the result. Afterwards, take the dice out of the dice rock again.

You can strengthen the first three reactions by placing a matching card (see below) from your hand on the game board before entering the action board's choice. The software confirms the card with a short confirmation tone. Then choose the matching reaction on the action board. After the reaction is selected, you must hand in the card and place it on the corresponding stack.

You can strengthen the reactions as follows:

• Friendship with the card Provisions
• Fight with the card Sword
• Ignore with the card Shield

(Note: once a card has been placed, it cannot be taken back. It can only be replaced by another card.)

It may happen that you have to choose a reaction several times in your turn until the adventure is over. If an owl hoots afterwards, you may carry out a complete turn again.

If the end of the turn is announced ("Next player"), the next player is up.

Cards

The cards Provisions, Sword and Shield act as a kind of currency in the game. During adventures, you may be told that you receive cards or must hand them over.

When you receive cards, take them into your hand from the corresponding stacks. There is no hand limit.

If the card stack in question is empty, you may take any other card instead. If all stacks are empty, you receive no card.

When you have to hand over cards, return them to the corresponding stacks. If you have no cards, you do not have to hand over any.

Equipment Tiles

When Merlin announces that you receive the horse, the armour or the lance, take the corresponding tile from the supply and place it in front of you. Once you have received an equipment tile, you can no longer lose it. As soon as you receive it, it strengthens your abilities:

• Armour: After an unsuccessful dice throw, you may throw all dice once more in a second attempt. You must always throw all dice again.
• Horse: If you choose "Do nothing", you can cross the location quite unseen, and the owl's hoot sounds.
• Lance: On a dice throw, the lance side on the dice now also counts. It is worth three points (otherwise zero points).

The software knows which tiles you own and applies their abilities automatically.

Strength and Dice

You start the game with a strength of zero. In the adventures you can gain strength. When Merlin announces this, take the corresponding number of strength markers and place them on your crest.

Your strength cannot rise above 12.

In some adventures you can also lose strength. In that case, remove the corresponding number of strength markers from your crest again.

The strength markers determine how many dice you may throw. With a strength of zero you may throw two dice. For every three strength markers you receive one more die.

Chivalry

You start the game with a chivalry of zero. Depending on how you behave in the adventures, your chivalry rises or falls. This is indicated by an ascending or descending harp tune. The value of chivalry is stored only in the software and is not announced.

End of the Game

When a player during the course of the game moves to the Stone and owns all the required equipment tiles, they may try to pull the sword out. To do this, Merlin tells you the required dice value. The value depends above all on the chosen game length and on the player's chivalry.

If the player passes the dice test, they may pull the sword out of the stone. They become the new King of England and win the game!

If the player does not reach the dice value, they are transported by Merlin's magic to a distant space, and the turn of this player ends.

Merlin also sends you away again if a player comes to the Stone without the necessary equipment, or has too few dice to reach the required value.

Saving and Loading a Game

If you press the "End game" button on the smartPLAY remote control during the game, the game is aborted and the current game state is saved. You can later continue the game from this point.

Undoing a Turn

If you have made an input error, or wish to undo a turn for another reason, press the "Undo turn" button on the smartPLAY remote control. This only works after the end of a turn. A complete turn is always undone. This may include several inputs (e.g. reactions).

Game Statistics

When a game ends, the achievements of the knights are announced. In addition, a detailed game statistic is shown on the smartphone display.

If you created and selected player profiles at the start of the game, the achievements are saved under the respective player name. Achievements from aborted games are not saved.

The data are stored only locally on your smartphone. The app does not send any data to Ravensburger or other recipients.

Grail Quest (Gralssuche)

Over several games you can find the legendary Holy Grail. To do this, you must first discover parts of the old treasure map.

During a game you can find one or more of these parts when you defeat the dragons. The treasure map is then unlocked and displayed piece by piece under the menu item "Grail Quest".

Once you have discovered the complete treasure map, you can set out to search for the Holy Grail. Here too, you come closer to the goal game by game.

When the Holy Grail is found, prosperity and peace come over the land. In further games you can now find treasures and thus accumulate riches. With the Holy Grail, a new adventure at the Holy Spring is also unlocked.

Good luck!