RÖK Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
• How to Play
• End of a Round
• End of the Game

Components

• 49 runes: 1 Rune of Destiny (marked with a dot) and 48 runes in three colours, marked with runic symbols (8 pairs of each colour) (fig. 1).
• 1 bag.
• Game rules.

Goal of the Game

The player who has collected the greatest number of runes by the end of the game wins.

Setup

The Rune of Destiny is placed in the middle of the table. The other 48 runes stay in the bag.

Each player reaches into the bag without looking, takes one rune, and places it in front of them with the marked side up. This is their Balance Rune. If two players end up with identical runes, both return their runes to the bag and draw new ones, until each player has a unique Balance Rune (fig. 2).

How to Play

The players agree on who will start the game. The game consists of several rounds. Each subsequent round is begun by the player sitting to the left of the first player of the previous round.

At the start of each round, the players, beginning with the first player and proceeding clockwise, reach into the bag without looking and take a certain number of runes, depending on the number of players:

• 2 players: 5 runes each;
• 3 players: 4 runes each;
• 4 players: 3 runes each;
• 5 players: 2 runes each.

Players must not look at the runes they have taken; they keep them hidden in their hands.

On the signal of the first player, all players throw their runes onto the middle of the table (towards the Rune of Destiny). As soon as the runes have been thrown, the players try to find and collect as many pairs of identical runes as possible (fig. 3). While doing so, the following conditions apply:

• runes may be collected using only one hand (for reliability, the second hand may hold the wrist of the first);
• runes must be collected one at a time: a lifted rune must be placed in front of you, adding it to your hoard (fig. 4), and only then may you start searching for the next one. A rune lifted by mistake must not be put back;
• runes that fell with the marked side down must not be touched;
• it is not allowed to collect the Balance Runes or the hoards of other players.

If one of the thrown runes matches the Balance Rune of a player:

• if the player whose Balance Rune matches the thrown rune lifts it, the whole pair belongs to that player, and they add it to their hoard (fig. 5);
• if another player lifts it, they add it to their hoard (fig. 6). Before the end of the round, this rune will help the player collect other runes, as described in the next section.

End of a Round

When all visible pairs of runes have been collected, the following steps are carried out in order:

1. The players check whether the runes they have collected form pairs, whether in their own or in other players' hoards, and whether they match their own or other players' Balance Runes. Runes that were collected incorrectly must be returned to the bag. For each incorrectly collected pair, the player must pay a penalty: one pair from their hoard. If the number of runes is odd, the one remaining rune counts as a full pair.
2. If the runes of one pair were collected by two players, both runes are returned to the bag.
3. A player who has taken a rune matching an opponent's Balance Rune receives that opponent's rune, and also all pairs of that opponent's runes whose colour matches the colour of the Balance Rune (fig. 7).
4. If several players are in this situation, the order in which the actions described in the previous step are carried out is important. This order is determined by a contest: each player places their rune that matches an opponent's Balance Rune at the same distance from the Rune of Destiny, and pushes it towards the Rune of Destiny. The player whose rune stops closest to the Rune of Destiny without touching it wins the contest (fig. 8).
5. Players who have no Balance Rune must receive a new one. Respecting the player order of this round, the players in turn take a rune lying with the marked side up that is closest to the Rune of Destiny (fig. 9). If there are not enough such runes, the players who did not receive a new Balance Rune will take part in the next round without one.
6. All runes that fell with the marked side down are placed back in the bag (fig. 10).
7. The first player of the round passes the bag to the player sitting to their left, who becomes the first player of the next round, and the next round may begin.

Note: towards the end of the game, some players may not have enough runes left. In that case, only the players who took at least one rune throw their runes, but all players take part in collecting them.

End of the Game

The game ends when, at the start of a round, the number of runes remaining in the bag does not exceed the number of players.

The player whose hoard contains the greatest number of runes wins.

If there is a tie, the rivals face a final test: the Rune of Destiny stays in the middle of the table, and each tied player places one of their runes at the same distance from it and pushes it towards the Rune of Destiny. The player whose rune stops closest to the Rune of Destiny, without touching it, is declared the Great Master of Runes.