The Quacks of Quedlinburg: The Duel Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game components and setup
  • Denomination of ingredients
• Gameplay
  • 1. Coin toss
  • 2. Potion-brewing
  • Moving the market stall
• Upgrades
• Moving the patient
  • 3. After-effects
  • 4. Market surveillance
  • 5. Buying new ingredients
  • 6. Ending rounds
• End of game
• Round cards

Game components and setup

1. Place the marketplace board on the table between you as shown.

2. For the 1st game, select the 15 ingredient books that are marked with an I and place them next to the board.

   In later games, you can also use other ingredient books. The ingredient books with the same Roman numeral complement each other. For this reason, we recommend that you always use a complete set (I-IV).

   Place the ingredient books for pumpkin (orange), alchemist's lead (black) and popping snowberry (white) next to these.

3. Place all 170 ingredient chips next to the ingredient books.

   When doing so, place all black, white and orange chips next to the respective ingredient book.

   Sort the remaining chips by value (1, 2, 4) and form a pile of each.

4. For the 1st game, select the numbers 1-6 from the 22 round cards (the cards with the scales). Add the card for the last round (7) and use these cards to create a face-up stack with the 7 at the bottom and the 1 at the top. This stack should also be placed next to the marketplace board.

   In later games, you simply take 6 random round cards. However, the last card for round 7 is always the same. Put the remaining cards back in the box.

5. Place the 5 offer tokens next to the stack of round cards.

6. For the 1st game, place the silver and gold coins on the fountain on the board.

   Place the copper-coloured coin back in the box.

   In later games, you can choose whichever 2 coins you would like to play with.

7. Place the 2 market stalls on the matching coloured starting spaces on the board.

8. Place the 11 patients on the park in the centre of the marketplace board.

   You don't need the mayor for the 1st game. You can place her back in the box.

9. Place the 25 gold pieces and the 5 "5" gold pieces in the centre to serve as the common pool.

10. Take the bottle in your colour (the colour of the corner of the marketplace board that points to you) and place it in front of you. Take 1 bag each and fill it with the following ingredients:

    • 1× peacock eye (blue) "1" chip
    • 1× delectable pumpkin (orange) "1" chip
    • 4× popping snowberry (white) "1" chips
    • 2× popping snowberry (white) "2" chips
    • 1× popping snowberry (white) "3" chip
    • 2× alchemist's lead (black) "2" chips
    • 3× alchemist's lead (black) "1" chips

The bottle is labelled with a neck of bottle, an explosion space, an area for the white chips, and a base of bottle.

Denomination of ingredients

Ingredient	1	2	3	4	5
Popping snowberry (white)	11×	4×	2×
Alchemist's lead (black)	6×	7×	7×	7×	8×
Delectable pumpkin (orange)	10×	6×		6×
Peacock eye (blue)	9×	4×		5×
Dragon's blood (red)	7×	4×		4×
Witchweed (green)	7×	4×		5×
Spider silk (pink)	7×	4×		4×
Amber (yellow)	7×	4×		5×
Stinkhorn (purple)	7×	4×		5×

In these instructions, we will repeatedly make reference to "coloured chips". By "coloured chips", we mean all chips apart from the white chips.

Gameplay

The player who has most recently heard a loud bang begins the game. The other person takes 1 gold piece at the start of the game.

You play the game over several rounds. In each round, you go through the following 6 phases, in the following order:

1. Coin toss

You begin the game, you take both coins and toss them once. Then you choose 1 of the two coins. The other player takes the other coin. You each get the bonus shown on your respective coins.

In all subsequent rounds, the person who is currently behind gets to toss the coins and choose one.

Who is behind? The player with the lower number of patients in the Guild Hall is behind at that point of the game. (You will find out how to get patients into the Guild Hall a little later.)

If both players have treated the same number of patients, you are behind if the active patient on the marketplace board is in your opponent's half. If there is no active patient on the path, the player who picked the last round card is behind.

There are a total of 6 different bonuses: (If you are reading this rule for the first time, you can skip the description for now.)

• Place this coin on the 1st explosion space in your bottle. If you have to place a white chip on this space, your bottle will not explode. The coin remains in the explosion space for the duration of the round.
• Immediately take 3 gold pieces.
• This coin must initially be placed directly below the neck of your bottle. At any time during or at the end of your 1st turn, you have a one-time opportunity to remove all white chips from your bottle and place them back into the bag. You must then put the coin back on the fountain.
• Immediately move your market stall forward by 1 space (see also "Moving the market stall", page 5).
• This coin must initially be placed directly below the neck of your bottle. At the end of your 1st turn, you have the one-time opportunity to remove 1 coloured chip (not white) from your bottle and place it back in the bag. You must then put the coin back on the fountain.
• This coin must initially be placed directly below the neck of your bottle. At the end of your 1st turn, you have the one-time opportunity to upgrade 1 black chip in the neck of your bottle or move the patient 2 spaces towards your market stall. (You may also perform this action if your bottle has exploded.) You must then put the coin back on the fountain. (We will explain how to perform upgrades and move the patient a little later.)

2. Potion-brewing

This phase consists of several turns, which each player taking their turn one after the other. In this phase, you brew your potion and try to lure patients to your stall.

The player who tossed the coins is the first player to take their turn in this phase.

On your 1st turn, you draw ingredient chips one by one from your bag and place them in your bottle.

An important note for experienced quacks: your turn does not end after you draw 1 chip. You usually draw several chips one after the other in one turn before your opponent takes their turn.

If you draw 1 coloured chip, place it on a free space in the neck of the bottle. Then immediately carry out the action specified on the chip. The actions are explained in the ingredient books and in the almanac.

If you draw 1 white chip, you must always immediately place it in the white area at the base of the bottle. The number on the chip determines the exact space (counted from left to right): Place the "1" chip on the 1st space from the left, the "2" chip on the 2nd and the "3" chip on the 3rd space. Each additional white chip must then be placed as many spaces behind the last space occupied as indicated by the number on the chip. This creates gaps that are intentional and should not be filled. You can find a sample turn in the almanac.

If you have to place a white chip on this space, you can immediately choose to either move your market stall forward by 1 space straight away (see also "Moving the market stall" at the end of this page) or upgrade a black chip in your bottle (see "Upgrades", page 6).

If you have to place a white chip on one of the explosion spaces, your bottle will explode. You can find out what happens then in the right-hand column under "Your bottle explodes".

You then draw the next chip. Repeat this until one of the following 3 conditions occurs:

• There are 3 coloured chips in the neck of your bottle.
• You voluntarily complete your potion.
• Your bottle explodes.

There are 3 coloured chips in the neck of your bottle

You do not draw any more chips during this turn. Add up the values of the 3 chips in the neck of your bottle plus the value of the last white chip in the base of the bottle (even if this is from a previous turn) and move the patient the corresponding number of spaces (see "Moving the patient," page 6). Then move the 3 chips from the neck of the bottle to the base of the bottle so that the neck of the bottle is free for your next move. Your turn then ends and your opponent's begins. When it's your turn again, you can continue brewing your potion. The coloured chips collect in the belly of the bottle. The white chips remain on their spaces.

Example: You can move the patient 7 steps (2+1+1+3).

You voluntarily complete your potion

You can decide that your potion is complete at any time before you draw a new chip. Just like in the previous case, you move the patient (by the total value of your chips in the neck of your bottle plus the value of the last white chip) and it is then your opponent's turn until they also end this phase (this can take several consecutive turns).

However, once you have completed your potion, you no longer have a turn in this phase. All chips must remain in the bottle for now.

Your bottle explodes

If you place a white chip on an explosion space, your bottle will explode. Move all the chips from the neck of the bottle to the base of the bottle. Your turn ends immediately, you can no longer move the patient and your potion-brewing has come to an end. You no longer have a turn in this phase. All chips must remain in the bottle for now.

Additionally, you still have to choose to either:

• Return half of your collected gold pieces (rounded down) to the common pool.

OR

• Move the patient away from your market stall by as many spaces as the number of gold pieces you would have to give up. (If this causes the patient to reach the other person's market stall, this should be treated as if the opponent had moved the patient there themselves.)

Moving the market stall

At the start of the game, your market stall is placed on the designated space on the path. As the game progresses, you will have opportunities to move your market stall.

When you are permitted to move your market stall forward, you move it the specified number of spaces towards the park in the centre of the market square. This allows patients to reach your market stall faster.

If you have to move your market stall back, you move it the specified number of spaces away from the park. This results in patients having to walk further to reach your market stall.

Upgrades

Over the course of the game, you have a number of opportunities to upgrade your chip. This involves putting a chip back into the pool and taking the next highest chip of the same colour from the pool. You then place the new chip in the same location that was occupied by the original chip.

If the symbol is black, you can only upgrade black chips.

The almanac explains what happens when you are unable to perform an upgrade.

Moving the patient

The aim is for both players to try and move the patient along the path towards their respective market stall. There is only ever 1 patient on the path at any one time. This "active" patient, i.e. a patient who has not yet decided, keeps moving back and forth until they reach one of your two market stalls to be treated there.

When you have treated a patient, you place them on the roof ledge of the Guild Hall. Only then can 1 new patient from the park enter the path.

But everything must be done in the correct sequence:

Once you are allowed to move a patient, you move the figure the permitted number of steps towards your market stall.

Note: You are only allowed to move the patient at the end of your turn if you have placed at least 1 new chip in your bottle this turn.

If there is no patient on the path, take a new patient from the park. The 1st step for a new patient is always the 1st space in your half of the path.

If you succeed in getting a patient to your market stall, you have won that patient. You then immediately move your market stall (with the patient on it) back 2 spaces (see also "Moving the market stall", page 5). If you have steps left over, take a new patient from the park and proceed to move it the remaining spaces.

(It can occur that you have more than 1 patient on your market stall at the end of your turn).

Finally, you move the patient on your market stall to your treatment ledge in the quacks' Guild Hall. You place your 1st patient on the space closest to the park, and all subsequent patients are respectively placed 1 space further away in the direction of the arrow.

The bonus specified in this space is then awarded:

• Your opponent (the black figure) can immediately upgrade 1 black chip in their bottle (see also "Upgrades" at the beginning of this page).
• You (the white figure) must immediately take 1 white "1" chip from the pool and place it in your bag.
• Your opponent (the black figure) can immediately take 1 "1" or "2" chip from the pool and place it in their own bag.

Once you have both completed your potion (voluntarily or involuntarily), this phase ends and you move on to the next phase:

3. After-effects

This symbol can be seen beside some ingredients in the ingredient books. These ingredients do not trigger any action when you place them in the neck of the bottle. Now carry out the effects of these ingredients. The effects are explained in the respective ingredient book and in the almanac.

4. Market surveillance

When you have finally completed your potion, you take the 5 offer tokens and decide how much the top round card is worth. Place the corresponding offer tokens in the free scale.

Your opponent can now choose one of the two scales and takes either the bonus indicated in one scale or the effects of the offer tokens in the other scale. You get the contents of the other scale. Then you both redeem the bonuses you just received.

The effects of the round cards are described on the last page of these rules.

• You are allowed to upgrade 1 black chip in your bottle (page 6). You can also upgrade the same chip multiple times (with multiple tokens).
• You can take 1 gold piece from the common pool.

Note for your 1st game: In the 1st game, it can be difficult to estimate the equivalent value of the round cards. For this reason, we have included a suggestion for an equivalent value at the bottom right of the round cards. We recommend using this for your 1st game. So if you are unsure, simply place the offer tokens shown in the scales.

Estimating the value will get easier once you have played a few times and have become more familiar with the game. You will soon learn that the equivalent value of the cards depends heavily on the ingredient books used and the round that is currently being played.

5. Buying new ingredients

Now you can both buy new ingredients.

The player who was first to complete their potion in this round is permitted to buy ingredients first.

You may purchase multiple ingredients in each round, but no more than one of each colour. The prices of the ingredients are indicated in the ingredient books. (The black and white chips have no price because you can never buy these chips.) You use your collected gold pieces to pay. (You get gold pieces when you put black chips in the neck of your bottle.)

There is only a limited availability of ingredients.

First place your newly purchased ingredients in the base of the bottle.

Attention: You are only permitted to take a maximum of 1 gold piece to the next round. If you have more gold pieces left, you must return them to the pool.

6. Ending rounds

Put all your chips back in the bag, i.e. all chips from the bottle, all newly purchased chips and any chips that were placed aside during the round. Market stalls and patients remain where they are and do not return to the starting position.

You then start a new round. The player that is behind goes first this time and tosses the coins, etc.

End of game

The game ends as soon as someone has treated their 6th patient or after the 7th round, whichever comes first. The player with the highest number of patients on their treatment ledge wins. If you both have the same number of patients, the person whose side of the board the active patient is on wins.

If there is no active patient at this point, you must compare your skills in a final test of strength:

First, throw your chips into your respective bags. While market visitors look on in excitement, you each pull 1 chip from your bag at the same time and place it face up in front of you. The first player to draw a total value of 10 from their bag leaves the marketplace as the king of the quacks.

Round cards

Each round card shows a bonus offered on the scales during Market surveillance. The possible round card effects are:

• You immediately receive the reward shown. You then discard this card.
• Keep this card for now. It can be used once during the game. You then discard this card.
• Take the chip shown out of the pool. If the chip shown is no longer available in the pool, you can take the purchase price specified in the ingredient book in gold pieces.
• Take 2 "1" chips in different colours (not black) from the pool.
• Remove 1 white "1" chip from your bag for the rest of the game.
• Take 1 "4" chip (not black) from the pool. Your opponent takes a "1" chip of the same colour.
• During your turn, you have one chance to remove 3 coloured chips (not white) from the base of the bottle and place them back in the bag.
• Move your market stall forward 2 spaces.
• When you buy 1 new chip, you can take 1 more identical chip from the pool.
• As long as your bottle hasn't exploded yet, you may remove 2 white chips from the base of the bottle and place them back in the bag once during your turn.
• Take 1 blue "2" chip and 1 coloured "1" chip (not black).
• Your opponent must take 1 white "1" chip and place it in their bag.
• Once during your turn, you may remove 1 white chip from the base of the bottle and place it back in the bag. You may also use this card if your bottle explodes. This reverses the explosion.
• Unlike the other round cards, this card is valid for the entire 7th round. This means you can perform the specified action at any time during your turn, or even multiple times: you can pay 3 gold pieces to move the patient 1 space. If your bottle explodes, in addition to the usual consequences, the patient moves 7 spaces towards your opponent.