Kings & Creatures
Kings & Creatures Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Before it begins
There are 110 cards: castles (6), treasure (23), heroes (21), legends (19), kings (16), mythical creatures (25). Which cards you use depends on the player count:
- Castles: Each player gets a castle as a starting card which he places in front of him. Use the lowest card numbers needed for your player count. The other castles are not used. With four players, use castles 1, 2, 3 and 4.
- Legends: Use 3 legends per player. Take them without looking at them, so nobody knows which legends are in the game. The other legends are not used. With four players, play with 4 x 3 = 12 legends.
- For the other types of cards, use every card that has no printed player information (bottom right).
- Cards showing 3+ are used with 3 or more players. Cards showing 4+ are used with 4 or more players, etc. (Example: a card showing 4+ is used with four, five or six players, along with cards showing 3+ and those without player info.)
Shuffle all the cards you're using together - apart from the castles - and deal them into 5 face-down decks. In each deck there should be ...
- 2 players: 7 cards
- 3 players: 10 cards
- 4 players: 14 cards
- 5 players: 17 cards
- 6 players: 20 cards
3 of the used cards will be left over. Return them, along with the unused cards, to the box. Have a pen and the scoring pad to hand.
Prepare the round
Choose a deck and place it between you. This is this round's deck. Draw cards from this deck and lay them face up between you:
- 2 players: 5 cards
- 3 players: 6 cards
- 4 players: 7 cards
- 5 players: 8 cards
- 6 players: 9 cards
Leave the rest of the deck near this display.
Let the games begin!
Turns don't go around the table. It's always the turn of whoever is showing the lowest card number. This doesn't include any players who've left the round already.
On your turn, take a face-up card of your choice from the display and place it in front of you so that ...
- it covers the number (in the top right) of your last chosen card.
- it's slightly higher than your castle.
Cards from the current round should be aligned. Then, draw and lay out another card from the round's deck if any remain.
Example: Castle card 1 is in front of Steven. As it's the lowest card at the start of the game, he starts. He chooses card 62 from the display and covers - offset upwards - the number (1) on his castle.
Now, the 2 on Christian's castle is the lowest visible number, so it's his turn. He chooses card 8 - a treasure. Then Tina covers the 3 on her castle with the hero 76.
Now Christian's 8 is the lowest number. He chooses card 16 and as he still has the lowest visible number, it's his turn again. Both cards that Christian has taken so far this round are aligned, but slightly higher than his castle.
Leaving the round
You leave the round when
- you've placed three cards in front of you this round or
- you take a card whose number is lower than that of the card it covers.
When you leave,
- move your raised cards down to your castle's level.
- take no more cards this round.
When all players have left, the round ends.
Example: Christian takes his 3rd card of the round. It's easy to see that these cards are from this round as they are higher up. By taking a 3rd card, Christian immediately leaves the round. He moves the 3 cards down to his castle's level and waits for the round to end. That he has the lowest visible card no longer matters this round.
Of the remaining players, Steven now has the lowest number (62), so it's his turn. He decides to take card 19. Even though it's only his second card this round, he nevertheless leaves the round as this card 19 is lower than the 62 it covers. He moves his (two) cards of the round down to his castle's level and can't take any more cards.
End of the round - earn heroes' glory
Heroes: At the end of each round you earn glory from your hero cards. Compare how many heroes there are on all your cards with those of your left and right neighbors!
If you have more heroes than either neighbor, earn
- 1 glory point after the 1st round,
- 2 glory points after the 2nd round,
- 3 glory points after the 3rd round,
- 4 glory points after the 4th round,
- 5 glory points after the final 5th round.
If your total exceeds both neighbors' heroes combined, you earn double the points (e.g., in the 3rd round you'd earn 6 points instead of 3).
Record the points on the scoring pad. In games of two players, you only have one neighbour, so can't earn double points.
Example: At the end of the 3rd round, Steven has 6 heroes and Christian 3. With 7 heroes, Tina has more than either of them, but not more than their heroes combined (9). She gets 3 glory points. Steven gets 3 points as he has more heroes than his neighbor Christian. Christian goes empty handed, as both his neighbors have more heroes than he does. If Tina had 10 heroes, she'd get 6 points. (Scores shown: Tina 3, Christian 0, Steven 3.)
Prepare the next round
Remove from the game any cards in the display and any cards left in the round's deck. Choose a new round deck. Lay out face-up cards as before (according to the number of players - see Prepare the round).
Whoever finished the last round with the lowest card number starts this one. As before, it's always the turn of whoever has the lowest visible card number, provided he or she hasn't left the round.
Example: Steven starts the round as his last card from the previous round (15) is lower than Tina's (24) and Christian's (33). Steven picks the 23 and it's his turn again.
Tip: It's usually good to end the round on a low card. Ending on a high card means you go late in the next. If there's then no higher card in the display, you're forced to take a lower one and so leave the round.
The game ends - now for the glory
After 5 rounds you'll have gone through all the decks. Then the game ends. Earn glory from your hero cards for the last time. Then earn additional points for the other cards you've collected.
- Treasure: Earn the glory points shown on each of your treasures. (Example: Tina's 3 + 4 + 6 treasures give her 13 glory points.)
- Mythical creatures: Each of your mythical creatures gives you points equal to how many types of mythical creatures you have collected. There are 6 types: centaur, minotaur, griffon, chimera, dragon and unicorn. (Example: As Steven has collected 4 types of creatures, each of his 6 creatures gives him 4 points - for a total of 6 x 4 = 24 points.)
- Kings: Each king is, according to his color, the lord of one type of card. If you have more cards of your king's color than does your left neighbor, earn glory points equal to the number of crowns on the left of the card. If you have more cards of your king's color than does your right neighbor, earn glory points equal to the number of crowns on the right of the card. In 2-player games, you earn the points for both directions.
- Example: The red king is the lord of heroes. He brings his owner glory if he or she has more hero cards than his or her neighbors. (Count the cards, not the heroes!) Steven has the red king. He earns 3 points as he has more red cards than does his right neighbour Tina. That Tina's cards show more heroes doesn't matter. On his left, Steven earns no points, as his neighbor there, Christian, also has 4 red cards.
- Legends: Each complete legend gives its owner the glory points shown on its scroll. A legend is complete if its owner has collected at least the cards (type and number) on it. Cards can be used to complete multiple legends. (Example: These two legends give Tina 8 points, as she has collected the needed cards. She may count the same cards towards both legends.)
Whoever has the most glory wins the game.