Rajas of the Ganges: Cards & Karma
Rajas of the Ganges: Cards & Karma Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 144 double-sided playing cards (with an action side and a dice side)
- 8 overview cards (in 4 colors)
- 1 starting player elephant, double-sided ("Startefant")
- 12 administrator cards
- 24 scoring track cards (in 4 colors)
- 8 fame tokens (+ 2 spares)
- 8 karma tokens
- 8 coins worth 1 (+ 2 spares)
- 4 coins worth 3
Object of the Game
Your task is to gain fame and wealth for your province through the clever use of your cards in a variety of ways. Receive a fame token for each building in your display; collect and sell goods to get coins; and use ship and palace action cards to gain attractive rewards. Whenever you have 3 fame or 6 coins, you turn over a card on your scoring track and are rewarded with a bonus. The first person to turn over all 6 cards wins the game.
Set-Up
All players receive an identical set of 6 scoring track cards plus 2 overview cards in the color of their choice. Surplus sets are returned to the box; they are not needed for the game. Shuffle your scoring cards and lay them out in a row next to each other in front of you, so that the day side is on top. The bonuses on the night side of these cards should not be visible.
Place the administrator cards, coins, fame and karma tokens next to the playing area.
Shuffle the 144 dice cards to form a stack, and place it on the table with the action side face up (not the dice side). Each player draws 4 cards one by one from this stack, taking them into their hand and arranging them with the dice side facing towards them.
Finally, an action display is set up in the middle of the table, easily accessible to everyone. To do this, depending on the number of players, draw a certain number of cards from the stack and place them with the action side face up:
- In a game with two players: 12 cards in a 3x4 grid
- In a game with three players: 16 cards in a 4x4 grid
- In a game with four players: 20 cards in a 5x4 grid
The oldest player receives the "Startefant" (starting player elephant), which they place in front of themselves with the front (green side) face up. Now it's time to start!
Course of the Game
The game will be played over several rounds. In each round each player will take turns in clockwise order until all players have taken 2 turns each. Then the round ends and the Startefant is passed to the left.
On your turn, take exactly 1 of these 5 actions:
- A) Take a dice card
- B) Take a building card
- C) Take a ship card
- D) Take a goods card
- E) Take a palace action card
Sometimes you will be able to perform additional actions by using administrator cards (see the Administrator section). The details of the actions are given below.
A. Take a Dice Card
In the upper right corner of the playing cards on display in the grid, you can see what color the die on the back of the card is. However, you don't know the number on the die.
Once you have selected any card on the grid, take it into your hand with the dice side facing forward. Now you have one more die available.
Note: There is a hand limit of 8 dice. At no time during the game can you hold more than 8 dice cards in your hand. If you get more than 8 cards through an action, you must first throw the excess cards onto the discard pile before drawing new dice.
Note: All dice cards or action cards that you spend or discard are always thrown into a common discard pile with the dice side facing up. Only when the draw pile is used up is the discard pile shuffled and laid out as a new draw pile (with the action side face up).
B. Take a Building Card
You can take a building card from the center and place it face up in front of you. The cards show 1 or 2 buildings. There are 3 different types of buildings in total.
In order to take the building card, you must pay the corresponding cost of the card in the form of one or more dice of a certain color. The costs are always shown as a colored die at the bottom left of the card. Discard dice cards from your hand (in the color shown) to reach at least the printed value shown. Overpayment is allowed but no change is given! If you do not have the required amount, you cannot purchase the building card.
Place all building cards you acquire during the game in a buildings row in front of you.
For each building shown on the card (1 or 2 buildings), immediately receive 1 fame token. To do this, take a fame token and place it face up in front of you. Any other fame tokens that you acquire later are placed face up next to it.
C. Take a Ship Card
You can take a ship card from the center and place it face up in front of you.
To purchase a ship, you must discard a single card with a die that shows a specific number (1, 2 or 3). The color of the die doesn't play a role here, but the number does. The cost must be paid exactly and may not be the sum of several dice. A ship with a 3 die can only be paid with a 3, never with a 1 and a 2.
Place all ship cards you acquire during the game in a ship row in front of you.
Note: The ships have a flag with numbers between 1 and 28 on them. There is exactly one of each. Ships must always be placed next to each other in ascending order. If you acquire a ship with a lower number than the last ship in your row, you must discard all previously bought ships into the discard pile.
Example: Sara has placed ships 3 and 17 in her row of ships in front of her. Next she acquires ship number 12. She places it at the end of her row of ships. Since it now interrupts the ascending sequence, she must immediately throw the ships numbered 3 and 17 onto the discard pile. The ship with the number 12 now forms the beginning of her new series of ships.
The ship cards carry a reward for the player. You will receive the reward, shown on the bottom right of each ship card, as soon as you purchase the card.
The different ship rewards:
- 2 karma: You immediately take 2 karma tokens and place them in front of you.
- 2 dice: You immediately take any 2 cards from the grid into your hand as dice cards (note: pay attention to the hand card limit).
- 3 coins: You immediately take coins worth 3 and place them face up in front of you.
- 2 coins and 1 fame: You immediately take coins worth 2 and 1 fame token and place them in front of you.
- 1 to 2 goods cards: You immediately take 1 or 2 goods cards from the grid and place them face up in front of you in your goods row. If there are no goods cards in the grid, you will unfortunately come away empty-handed if you choose this ship.
- 1 die and 1 good: You immediately take any card from the grid into your hand as a dice card (note: pay attention to the hand card limit). In addition, you now own 1 good of the indicated type as long as the ship is in your ship row.
- 1 fame + 1 good: You receive 1 fame token, which you place face up in front of you. In addition, you now own 1 good of the indicated type as long as the ship is in your ship row.
- 1 karma + 1 good: You receive 1 karma token, which you place face up in front of you. In addition, you now own 1 good of the indicated type as long as the ship is in your ship row.
- 1 goods card + 1 die: You immediately take 1 goods card from the grid and place it face up in your goods row. In addition, you immediately take any card from the grid into your hand as a dice card (note: pay attention to the hand card limit). If there are no goods cards on the grid, you only receive one dice card.
- 1 palace action: You immediately take 1 palace action card from the grid and use its function (more on this later). Unfortunately, if there are no palace action cards in the grid, you will come away empty-handed if you choose this ship.
If a goods card also shows a coin, you receive it immediately. The goods themselves always have a coin value. This is the value you will receive when you sell the goods (see the Three of a Kind section). Note: Some goods are also shown on building and ship cards.
D. Take a Goods Card
You can take a goods card from the middle and place it face up in front of you. The goods cards are free, you don't have to give up any dice cards for them.
Place all goods cards you acquire during the game in a goods row in front of you.
The goods cards show either 1 or 2 different goods. There are a total of 3 different types of goods: silk, tea, spices – you can recognize these by their respective symbols.
E. Take a Palace Action Card
You can take a palace action card from the center and use it immediately.
To purchase a palace action, you must discard a single card with a die that shows a specific number between 2 and 6. The color of the die doesn't play a role here, but the number does. The cost must be paid exactly and may not be the sum of several dice. A palace action with a 5 die can only be paid with a 5, never with a 1 and a 4 or a 2 and a 3.
After you have paid, take the corresponding palace action card from the grid and carry out the action; and then discard the palace action card onto the discard pile.
The different palace actions:
- 2: You immediately receive any 2 cards from the grid and put them into your hand as dice cards (note: pay attention to the hand card limit).
- 3: You immediately receive 2 karma tokens, which you place in front of you. You also choose 1 card from the grid and put it into your hand as a dice card (note: pay attention to the hand card limit).
- 4: You immediately receive 1 coin for each good in your own display. Any good symbol counts and it doesn't matter where the good is shown (on goods, ship or building cards). You don't have to hand over the cards, they remain in your own display until they are sold.
- 5: You immediately receive 1 karma token, which you place in front of you. You also receive the ship reward of the last ship played in your row or that of an opponent.
- 6: You immediately receive the top card of the draw pile and carry out the action shown there without any additional costs. Building, ship or goods cards go into your own display, palace actions go into the discard pile as usual after execution.
Three of a Kind
As the game progresses, you form different rows below your scoring track cards in front of you. These can be rows of buildings, goods and ships. You can also have administrator cards and karma tokens in front of you.
Whenever you have a total of three of a type, this triggers an effect:
- You place your third building of the same type in your building row: First, you receive the fame token(s) for this card. You then throw all cards that show this building type into the discard pile. For this, receive an administrator card which you place in front of you.
- You place a building card in your building row and thus have all three different types of buildings in front of you: You first receive the fame token(s) for this card. You then discard the cards showing the three different buildings. For this, receive an administrator card which you place in front of you.
- You place your third good of a type in front of you. This can be done via a goods card, but also via a ship or building card. You add up the coin values that are listed for the goods of this type (and only these values!) and receive the corresponding number of coins, which you place face up in front of you. You then throw all cards (regardless of whether they are goods, building or ship cards) that show this good into the discard pile.
- You place your third, different good in front of you. This can be done via a goods card, but also via a ship or building card. You add up the coin values for the three different goods (and only these values!) and receive the corresponding number of coins, which you place face up in front of you. You then throw all cards (regardless of whether they are goods, building or ship cards) that show these three types of goods onto the discard pile.
- You place your third ship in ascending order in your row of ships. You first receive the reward that the ship shows. You then discard all three ship cards. For this, receive an administrator card which you place in front of you.
- You get your third karma token. Put all three unused karma tokens back into the supply. For this, receive an administrator card which you place in front of you.
- You get your third administrator card. Now you have to put all three unused administrator cards back into the supply. For this you will receive two fame tokens. You place these face up in front of you.
Note: Cards that show two buildings or two goods can also trigger two effects, for example three of the same buildings twice or three of the same goods twice. If such a case occurs, both effects are counted. All cards involved in the effects are then placed on the discard pile. If a good or building can trigger two different effects but is needed for both effects, then you must choose one effect. For example, if you could sell three identical goods as well as three different goods with a silk you have just acquired, you must decide what you want to sell. That would probably be the sale which gives you more coins.
Examples
Julian already has two cards in his building row, each showing a red and a yellow building. On his turn he acquires another building card with a red and yellow building. This triggers two effects at the same time: three red buildings and three yellow buildings. Julian throws the cards onto the discard pile and receives two administrator cards in return.
Anna already has two cards in her building row that show a red building. There are also two marketplaces in her goods row that offer tea: one worth 2, one worth 1. During her turn, Anna acquires a building card that shows a red building and tea worth 3 as a good. This triggers two effects at the same time: three red buildings and three teas. Anna now discards the three building cards and the two goods cards and receives an administrator card and 6 coins for selling the tea.
Simon already has four cards in his building row: two cards each show a yellow building, two cards each show a red building. During his turn he acquires a building card with a yellow and a white building. This card could trigger the effect for three of the same buildings as well as the effect for three different buildings. However, since one of the three yellow buildings now on display would be needed for both effects, Simon can only use one effect and only receives one administrator card. He chooses three different buildings as an effect and discards the card he just acquired with the yellow and white buildings as well as one card with the red building. He can keep the two cards with the yellow buildings and one card with the red building in his display.
Karma
You can use karma tokens that you received as a reward/bonus and to manipulate the dice values of your cards. Each karma token increases or decreases the value of a die by 1.
If you have a 3-card dice card, you can use karma to pay for a 2-card ship card or 4-card palace action card, for example. Of course, you can also use karma when buying a building to increase your dice card by 1. And several karma tokens may also be applied to one die value. A value can never rise above 6 or fall below 1. You must put used karma tokens back into the supply after use.
Note: If you receive your third karma, all three tokens go into the supply unused. As compensation you will then receive an administrator card.
Administrator
You can use administrator cards in three different ways. With an administrator you can only perform one of the following three actions at a time. It's your choice:
- Additional action: When your turn would actually be over, you can decide to put an administrator back into the supply to take your turn again. You carry out another turn according to the regular rules, and then it will be the next person's turn.
- Dice joker: You play the administrator card alone or combined with one of your dice cards and indicate which number (from 1 to 6) and color the joker is. Then you put the administrator back into the supply.
- Example: Kara has a blue 5 as a dice card in her hand. She uses her administrator as a joker for a blue 6 and can thus take the building card that requires a cost of 11 in blue.
- Two additional dice: You take two dice cards, however, you don't take them out of the grid; instead, you draw the top two cards from the draw pile (note: pay attention to the hand card limit). Then you put the administrator back into the supply. This doesn't count as a turn; you do this in addition to your normal action.
You can collect administrator cards and use them at any time during your turn. It is also allowed to use multiple administrators in one turn.
Note: As soon as you receive the third administrator, you must discard all three administrator cards and receive two fame tokens as compensation. The administrators go into the supply unused!
End of a Stage
Once you have all made a move, it is the starting player's turn again. Before the turn, turn the Startefant over to the Fartephant side. This immediately rewards this player with a karma token. Only then does the second round begin.
End of a Round
After two stages, i.e. after everyone has had their turn twice, the round ends. For the new round, the grid is refilled to 12/16/20 cards (depending on the number of people). This means that unused cards from the preliminary round remain on the table. The Startefant moves clockwise to the next person and the new round begins.
Fame Tokens and Coins
Whenever you have 3 fame tokens in front of you, you must immediately(!) put them back into the supply and turn over the leftmost, not yet turned over card on your own scoring track from the day side to the night side.
Whenever you have 6 coins in front of you, you must immediately(!) put them back into the supply and turn over the card furthest to the right (that has not yet been turned over) on your own scoring track from the day side to the night side.
Various bonuses await you on the night side, which you receive at the moment of turning.
Tip: After a few games you can also use the night side as the front side and determine the order of the bonuses individually. You then simply turn a card to the day side. This makes the game more strategic as you can plan your bonuses.
The different bonuses:
- 2 karma: Immediately take 2 karma tokens and place them in front of you.
- 2 coins or 1 palace action: Immediately take 2 coins and place them face up in front of you. Alternatively, you can take a palace action that is still in the grid and carry it out for free.
- 1 fame or 1 ship: Immediately take a fame token or choose a ship card that is still on the grid and place it in your ship row. Of course, you will receive the ship's reward shown.
- 1 administrator: Immediately receive an administrator card and place it in front of you.
- 2 dice: Immediately take any 2 cards from the grid into your hand as dice cards (note: pay attention to the hand card limit).
- Another turn: At the end of your turn, take another turn.
Action Display (Grid) Exhausted
If the rare case occurs that the action display in the middle of the table is completely used up, the top four cards of the draw pile are drawn and laid out as a new (small) action display from which you can then help yourself. If necessary, this can be done several times until the round ends normally and the grid is refilled to 12/16/20 cards.
End of Game
As soon as a player manages to turn over their 6th scoring track card, the end of the game is triggered. The current round (not necessarily the entire round!) is played to the end so that each person has had an equal number of turns. The player who has turned over all cards on their scoring track wins.
If at the end of the round several people have managed to turn over their 6 scoring track cards and there is a tie, the remaining fame tokens and coins are counted. Each additional fame token then has a value of 2, each coin has a value of 1. Whoever has highest value of those tied wins. If there is still a tie, then whoever has more karma at the end wins.
Credits
© 2024 HUCH! | www.hutter-trade.com
Authors: Inka and Markus Brand
Illustration: Dennis Lohausen
Design: HUCH!, atelier198
Product manager: Silvia Herzog
Editing: Frank DiLorenzo
English translation: Simon Weinberg
Hutter Trade GmbH + Co KG, Bgm.-Landmann-Platz 1-5, 89312 Günzburg, GERMANY
Distributor USA: R&R Games, Inc, PO Box 130195, Tampa, FL 33681, USA