Res Arcana Duo
Res Arcana Duo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 16 Artifact cards
- 4 Mage cards
- 7 Monument cards
- 2 "Place of Power" tiles (double-sided)
- 2 reference cards
- 1 "Round Summary" card
- 5 "Magic Item" tiles
- 60 essence tokens (12 of each type)
- Elan
- Life
- Calm
- Death
- Gold
- 4 "5x" essence chips
- First Player token
- Start symbol — marks the starting mages and artifacts for your first game
- Expansion symbol — marks this box as expansion content for the Res Arcana base game
Setup
- Put the 5 Magic Items, the container of essences, and the "5x" essence chips in the middle of the table as the general supply.
- Set out the two Places of Power next to them.
First Game: Use the side marked with the amber gem symbol.
For Advanced Play: Use a random side for each Place of Power. - Shuffle the 7 Monuments to form a face-down draw pile and reveal 2 of them.
- Each of you takes 1 token of each essence (including Gold). These are your starting essence pools.
- Determine who goes first. That player takes the First Player token.
- Shuffle the Mage cards and the Artifact cards face down, separately. You each receive 2 Mages and 8 Artifacts. Look at your Mages, but not yet at your Artifacts.
Draw 2 Artifacts, look at them, keep 1 for yourself, and set the other face down for your rival. Do this 4 times. When you are both done, look at the 4 cards you kept and the 4 cards you received. Then shuffle them together into a personal draw pile.
Draw 3 cards as your starting hand. Then you each choose 1 of your Mages and reveal it. The other is returned to the game box.
First Game: Instead, find the 2 Mages and 6 Artifacts marked with the Start symbol and shuffle them. Each of you takes 1 Mage, which is revealed immediately. Then deal each of you 3 Artifacts as your starting hand (which you may look at). Shuffle the remaining 10 Artifacts and deal 5 face-down Artifacts to each of you as your draw pile. - Whoever does not have the First Player token chooses 1 Magic Item first. Then your rival chooses 1 Magic Item, and the game begins.
Game Components
Res Arcana is a game of fantastical alchemy. Use your Mage, the display of Magic Items, essences, Artifacts, Monuments, and Places of Power to reach at least 10 victory points, and more than your rival.
First Game: Play only to 7+, not to 10+ victory points.
A component is an Artifact, Mage, Magic Item, Monument, or Place of Power.
Anatomy of a component
- Mage — the Mage's name is printed at the top of the card. Below it are its Collect ability and its powers.
- Magic Item — labeled "Item," with its powers shown beneath its name.
- Place of Power — its placement cost is in the upper left corner. Below the name are its Collect ability and its powers.
- Monument — labeled "Monument," with its placement cost in the upper left corner and its victory points (VP) shown at the bottom.
- Artifact — its placement cost is in the upper left corner, with its powers below.
Some Artifacts are also Creatures, Dragons, or Demons, marked accordingly beneath their cost.
Demons are not used by any Duo power.
Demons are for use together with the Lux et Tenebrae expansion.
Play
A game usually lasts between 4 and 6 rounds. Each round consists of the following 3 phases:
1. Collect essences:
- do your Collect abilities, and
- may take essences from your components.
2. Action phase. 1 action per turn, beginning with the First Player and then clockwise:
- Place an Artifact.
- Claim a Monument or a Place of Power.
- Discard an Artifact to gain 1 Gold or 2 essences of your choice.
- Use a power on a straightened component.
- Pass: exchange your Magic Item and draw 1 Artifact.
Continue until you have both passed.
Pass procedure:
a. If you are the first to pass, take the First Player token.
b. Swap your Magic Item for a different one from the middle.
c. Draw 1 Artifact.
3. Check victory points (7+ or 10+ VP): If no one has won:
- straighten all turned components, and
- begin a new round.
1. Collect
Each of you does your Collect abilities and may take essences from your components (in any order).
For each Collect ability on your components, you must take the shown essences from the general supply and put them in your pool.
- If a symbol has a number, you may take that many; otherwise, only 1.
- If a "+" appears between essences, you receive all of them.
- If a "/" appears between essences, you must choose one side.
- If the Collect ability shows the "any essence" symbol, you may take that many essences of your choice (even a mix), except essences forbidden by a red symbol — such as no Gold or Death.
During this phase you may also take essences from your components.
You may take essences from any number of your components, but if you decide to take essences from a given component, you must take all of them from that component.
Special Cases
The included essence tokens are not a hard limit. If needed, simply put a token on a "5x" essence chip. From then on it counts as 5 essences of that type. You may make change at any time.
You may also take all the essences from a Place of Power (though doing so loses you the victory points they were providing).
You usually receive your essences simultaneously, but you may ask that this happen in turn order instead, starting with the First Player.
2. Actions
Starting with the player who has the First Player token and then alternating, each of you does 1 action until you have both passed. Whoever passes may not do any further action in this step for the rest of the round.
Actions
- Place an Artifact from your hand and pay its cost.
- Claim a Monument or a Place of Power. Pay its cost, take it from the middle of the table, and place it in front of you.
Since all Monuments cost 4 Gold, you may claim either of the two Monuments on display or the top (face-down) card of the deck. Afterward, refill the display back up to 2 Monuments (if possible).
Once a Monument or a Place of Power has been claimed by either of you, your rival can no longer take it. - Discard an Artifact from your hand to gain 1 Gold or any 2 other essences (the same or different).
Tuck the discarded Artifact sideways and face up under your draw pile (to distinguish it from turned Artifacts). Your discard pile may be inspected by your rival at any time.
Tip: Don't try to place all of your Artifacts. Instead, discard some of them to gain essences you can use to place others. - Use a power on one of your straightened components (see Powers, below). Unlike Collect abilities, powers on turned components cannot be used.
- Pass and end your actions for this round (see Passing, below).
Cost
A component's placement cost is shown in its upper left corner. To pay it, return the essences to the general supply.
If a symbol in the cost has a number, you must pay that many; otherwise, only 1.
If the cost shows the "any essence" symbol, you may pay that many essences of your choice (even a mix). If a number is given (e.g. 2), you must pay exactly that many essences (which may be different types).
All placed or claimed components enter play straightened.
Special Cases
The Artisan's Robe has a discount ability that reduces the cost to place Artifacts. This discount can be combined with the Crucible's 2nd power.
Costs reduced below 0 count as 0.
Powers
Many components have 1 or 2 powers. Powers have a cost and an effect, separated by an arrow.
Example power: Turn this component + pay 1 Life ➤ Take 1 Elan + 1 Death.
To use a power, you must first pay its cost (returning essences to the general supply) and then resolve its effect (receiving essences from the general supply).
A cost often consists of several parts joined by a "+". You must always pay the entire cost to use the effect.
A power may require, as its cost (or part of its cost), that you turn a component. As long as a component is turned, unlike Collect abilities, none of its powers can be used until it is straightened again.
A power on a component that does not need to be turned may be used more than once per round, but each use is a separate action.
Some effects state that the essences you gain are placed on the component instead of in your pool. You can only take them in a later round, or they become victory points on Places of Power.
Special Cases
Some effects grant a certain number of "any essence" essences. You may then take that many essences of your choice (even a mix), except for essences forbidden by the effect — such as no Gold or Life.
A power may be used (and paid for) even if it has no effect.
Some effects let you draw an Artifact. If you have no Artifacts left in your draw pile when you must draw one, shuffle your discard pile into a new draw pile.
Some effects (e.g. the Brass Bust) let you draw 3 cards from a pile. If the pile has fewer than 3 cards, draw them all (reshuffling your pile first if needed) and then return or discard that many, depending on the effect.
Some effects let you retrieve a card: take a card from your discard pile into your hand. If you have no cards in your discard pile, nothing happens instead.
Effects that let you draw or retrieve cards cannot be applied to your rival's draw pile or discard pile.
If you discard an Artifact to pay a cost (Elvish Heartwood) or as part of a cost (Fortune Teller), you do not gain 1 Gold or 2 other essences (since this does not carry out the discard-an-Artifact action).
The costs of some powers (e.g. Dragon's Lair, Grove of the Druids, Mystic Spring, Sleeping Dragon) require turning another component, such as a Creature, a Dragon, or your Mage, either instead of or in addition to turning the component itself. This does not trigger any powers of the Creature, Dragon, or Mage being turned.
Some effects (e.g. Black Cat, Mystic Monastery, Revivify, Solomon's Key) let you straighten either one of your turned components or your Mage, making that component's power usable again.
Component Special Cases
Example power: Turn this component ➤ your rival gains 1 Death.
Cultist: Its power gives your rival a Death essence (from the supply). If your rival has already passed, they still receive it.
Crown of Command: Both of its powers give you 1 Monument (from the supply). You may take either a face-up Monument or the top face-down card of the Monument deck.
Fortune Teller: The card you discard or retrieve does not have to be the card you drew.
Golden Key: The "player" can be either you or your rival.
Example power: Turn the Mystic Spring + pay 1 Calm ➤ Take 4 Gold, or take any essence.
Mystic Spring: The option in its first power to gain a Pearl can only be used with the Perlae Imperii expansion (which includes Pearls).
Silver Key: In games with 3+ players, you choose which player is "the one rival" the effect applies to.
Example power: use a power on a Magic Item ➤ from the display.
Solomon's Key: Its first power affects Magic Items in the display, but cannot be applied to Death/Life or Calm/Elan (since they have no powers, only Collect abilities).
Example power: Turn this component ➤ place the paid essence on it.
Squared Circle: Its power places an essence from the owner's pool onto one of their components (usually a Place of Power, to collect victory points). The component the essence is placed on may already be turned.
Passing
If you do not wish to, or cannot, do an action, you must pass.
If you are the first to pass this round, take the First Player token — it is worth 1 victory point when victory is checked — and turn it to its "Passed" side.
Swap your Magic Item for a different one from the middle, and turn your new one to its "Passed" side.
Then draw 1 Artifact (if possible). If you have no Artifacts left in your draw pile, shuffle your discard pile into a new draw pile.
Once you have passed, you may not take any more actions this round, and Life Loss effects no longer affect you, but you can still gain essences from your rival's powers.
3. Victory
After you have both passed, check whether either of you has reached 10 or more victory points from your placed Artifacts, Monuments, Places of Power, and the First Player token.
If at least one of you has 10 or more victory points, the game ends. Whoever has the most victory points wins!
If you are tied with each other and both above 10, whoever has more essences in their personal pool wins, with Gold counting as 2 essences. If you are still tied, you share the win.
If neither of you has 10 or more victory points, straighten all components, and flip the First Player token and the Magic Items back over if they are on their "Passed" side. Then begin a new round.
First Game: Play only to 7+ VP, not to 10+.
Special Cases
Count the victory advantages of Places of Power and the victory points on other components even if they are turned.
The Places of Power "Dwarven Forge" and "Elvish Heartwood" each grant an additional 1 victory point for essences placed on them, on top of their own victory points.
The First Player token gives whoever holds it 1 victory point when victory points are counted.
Whoever has claimed the Circle of Stones, or has placed the Magnum Opus, may use its power to check victory points immediately (in the middle of a round) — securing the win if they have 10 or more victory points before their rival can catch up by the end of the round.
Glossary
Placement Cost: The cost in essences to place an Artifact or claim a Monument or Place of Power.
Special Artifacts: Creatures, Dragons, and Demons. Mages, Magic Items, Monuments, and Places of Power are not Artifacts.
Turn: To turn a component sideways, usually as part of the cost of a power.
Essence: Calm, Death, Elan, Gold, or Life.
Power: The cost and an effect on a component. To use a power, the component must be straightened (not yet turned). Doing so costs an action, and the cost must be paid before the effect occurs. A power may be used even if it has no effect (e.g., to avoid having to pass). The cost must still be paid in full to do so.
Component: An Artifact, Mage, Magic Item, Monument, or Place of Power.
Personal Pool: Essences you own in your pool, not on components. May be spent to pay costs.
Rival: The player you are playing against (not you).
Straighten: To turn a turned component back upright, so it can be used again.
Discount: Reduces the amount of essences needed to place an Artifact. Discounts cannot reduce a cost below 0.
Ability: A Collect effect, a discount, or a victory-point formula on a component that automatically applies (whenever it can), whether or not the component is turned.
Example Round
Anne and Bob are playing their first game of Res Arcana Duo. They use the starting Mages and the Artifacts marked with the Start symbol. Bob is the First Player and has the Smith Mage and the Artifacts Crucible, Cursed Peacock Idol, and Squared Circle. Anne has the Enchantress as her Mage and the Artifacts White Swan, Gnosis, and Solomon's Key.
Places of Power: Circle of the Druids, Dwarven Forge.
Revealed Monuments: Dark Temple, Mystic Monastery.
Set up the game (see Setup) and play along!
Bob looks at his cards. He sees the "Mystic Monastery" in the display and decides on a Monument strategy. Anne looks at her cards and sees that her Artifact "White Swan" both generates plenty of essences and is also a Creature. She decides to try to claim the Place of Power "Circle of the Druids."
Since Bob is the First Player, Anne chooses her Magic Item first. She takes Research. Bob takes Calm/Elan.
Collect: Anne takes 1 Calm (Enchantress). Bob chooses 1 Elan (from his Magic Item).
Actions
1. Bob places the Crucible, paying 1 Gold and 1 Elan.
1. Anne turns Research, pays 1 Death, and draws the Magnum Opus from her draw pile.
2. Bob turns the Crucible, paying 1 Elan, 1 Calm, 1 Death, and 1 Life for 3 Gold.
2. Anne places the White Swan, paying 2 Calm and 1 Life.
3. Bob discards a card and takes 2 Elan for it.
3. Anne discards a card and takes 2 Calm for it.
4. Bob turns the Smith, pays 1 Elan, and takes 1 Gold for it.
4. Anne discards a card and takes 1 Calm and 1 Life for it.
5. Bob pays 4 Gold for the displayed Monument Mystic Monastery, and reveals a new card from the deck: Well of Memory.
5. Anne discards her last card and takes 1 Calm and 1 Life for it.
6. Bob turns the Monastery and straightens the Smith.
6. Anne pays Calm + Life to place 1 Calm and 2 Life on the White Swan.
7. Bob discards his last card and takes 1 Gold for it.
7. Anne pays Calm + Life to place another 1 Calm and 2 more Life on the White Swan.
8. Bob turns the Smith for its second power. He pays 1 Gold and places 4 essences of his choice on it (no Gold). Bob chooses 4 Elan.
8. Anne pays Calm + Gold to place another 1 Calm and 2 Life on the White Swan.
9. Bob has 1 Elan in his pool, no cards in hand, and all his components are turned. He must pass. Since he is the first to pass, he keeps the First Player token, swaps his Magic Item for Life/Death, and draws a card from the draw pile: the Brass Bust.
9. Anne turns the Enchantress, paying 1 Elan, to place 2 Death on it.
Anne could now continue taking actions, but with her 10th action she passes. She exchanges Research for Calm/Elan, which Bob had just returned. She draws a card from her draw pile: the Fairy Dragon.
Victory: Bob has 2 VP from the Monastery and 1 VP for the First Player token. Anne has 0 VP. No one has 7+ VP (only relevant in the First Game), so they straighten their Mages and all components and begin Round 2.
Here's how it continues. In the next round, Anne pays with the 9 essences on the White Swan for the Circle of the Druids. Both powers of the Circle of the Druids can be used for a total of 2 VP. She can pass first to take the First Player token back.
In Round 3, Anne plays the Fairy Dragon for the victory point and uses the power of the Circle of the Druids for 3 more VP. She is at 7 VP, if she passes first and keeps the First Player token.
Meanwhile, Bob could buy a Monument, but only Monuments worth 1 VP currently lie on top of the deck. He could invest in the Brass Bust to manipulate the Monument deck and possibly draw a higher-value Monument with some luck.
Should Bob invest in the Brass Bust to manipulate the Monument deck? Should he instead pass early in Round 3 to force a fourth round?
Play this example game to the end and find out! A normal game to 10+ VP without a pre-assigned hand plays quite differently. Once you're set, try the full game. Have fun!
What's Next?
If you enjoy Duo, try the Res Arcana base game. There, up to 2 more players can join. It offers 10 Mages, 40 Artifacts, 10 Monuments, 5 double-sided Places of Power, and just a handful of new rules (Life Loss and React powers) to learn.
Expansion
You can add all of Duo's components, except for the duplicate Magic Items and the First Player token.
Duo is a standalone game, but it can also be used as an expansion for the Res Arcana base game. To do so, simply remove the duplicate Magic Items, the First Player token, and the reference card from Duo. Shuffle the rest in with the matching components of the base game.
New Symbols. Turning/straightening a Mage (Mystic Spring, Mystic Monastery, Sleeping Dragon, Solomon's Key) and Magic Items (Solomon's Key).
Setup. When using Duo as an expansion, the number of Places of Power and Monuments depends on the number of players (see below). All Magic Items are always available.
| Players | Monuments | Places of Power |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 3 | 10 | 5 |
| 4 | 12 | 6 |
Shuffle all Monuments face down and count out the number shown above. They form the Monument draw pile. Return all remaining Monument cards unseen to the game box. Then draw 2 Monuments from the draw pile and place them face up next to it.
Shuffle all Places of Power face down under the table and lay out the number shown above. Use a random side for each Place of Power. Return all remaining Places of Power to the game box.
Play. Note that Duo has no Life Loss or React powers.
Quick Reference
Setup
- Lay out the Places of Power.
First Game: Use the sides marked with the amber gem symbol. - Reveal 2 Monuments; set the rest aside as a draw pile.
- Each player receives 1 essence of each type (including Gold).
- Determine a First Player, who receives the First Player token.
- Each player receives 2 Mages and 8 Artifacts. Look at your Mages, but not your Artifacts. Draw 2 Artifacts, keep 1, set 1 aside for your rival. Repeat 4 times. Look at and shuffle your Artifacts. Draw 3 as your starting hand. Each player chooses 1 Mage and reveals it. The other is removed from the game.
First Game: Each player receives 1 starting Mage and 3 of the 6 starting Artifacts (marked with the Start symbol) as their starting hand. Then each player receives 5 face-down Artifacts as their draw pile. - In reverse order (starting with the 2nd player), each player takes 1 Magic Item.
You are ready to begin.
Round Summary
1 Collect essences:
- Resolve your Collect abilities.
- Take essences from components (if you wish).
2 Do actions, 1 per turn: (starting with the First Player, alternating)
- Place an Artifact
- Claim a Monument or Place of Power
- Discard an Artifact from your hand to gain 1 Gold or 2 other essences
- Use a power
- Pass (see below)
Continue until everyone has passed.
Passing:
a. If you are the first to pass, take the First Player token.
b. Swap your Magic Item for a different one.
c. Draw 1 Artifact.
3 Check victory: Does anyone have 10+ VP?
- If not, straighten all components and begin a new round.
Winning: most VP
- In case of a tie, whoever has more essences in their pool wins;
- Gold counts as 2 essences.
Credits
Author: Tom Lehmann
Illustrations: Julien Delval
Graphic Design: Cyrille Daujean
Production Management: Ted A. Marrioti
Playtesters: William Attia, Veronica Boyce, Alexis Folsom, Trisha and Wei-Hwa Huang, Michelle Holland, Cindy Ivers, Ted A. Marrioti, Theresa and Thomas Pantle, Ben Prystawski, Jennifer Rawlings, Conny Richter, Steve Thomas, Dave Thorby and Ashe Vazquez.
Special thanks to Alex Chen and Thomas Pantle.
Sand Castle Games, 304 S. Jones Blvd #3342, Las Vegas NV 89107, USA