World Shapers Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• List of Components
• Game Setup
• Gameplay
• Scoring
• Card Explanations
• Solo Variant
• Expansion
• Rules Overview

List of Components

• 8 elemental source tiles: two sets of 4 elemental source tiles (air, earth, fire, water)
• 22 power crystals
• 51 cards: 12 cards for each element, 3 universal cards
• Score pad

Card anatomy

1. Element type
2. Card effect icon
3. Amount of creation points provided
4. Basic card effect
5. Card effect after enhancement
6. Card number
7. Place for a power crystal

Game Setup

1. Prepare elemental sources. If you are playing solo or with two players, collect one set of elemental source tiles – one of each element – and place the four tiles in a random order between the two players (or in front of you for solo play). If you are playing with three or four players, set out another set of elemental source tiles in the same order as the first one. During the game, each player will create their own collection by placing cards on their side of the elemental sources.

2. Prepare the deck. If you are playing with two players, take the 12 cards with double dot symbol from the deck and place them back in the box.

3. Prepare the pool. Shuffle the deck and reveal the top 3 cards. Put them next to the elemental source tiles. These cards make up the starting pool.

4. Distribute the power crystals. Each player receives 2 power crystals at the start of the game. Put the rest nearby, creating the supply.

5. Deal the cards for the first round of the draft. The number of rounds and cards to be dealt depends on the number of players:

• 2 players: 3 rounds - in each of the three rounds the players start with 6 cards.
• 3 players: 3 rounds - in the first round the players start with 6 cards and in the second and third rounds with 5 cards.
• 4 players: 2 rounds - in each of the two rounds the players start with 6 cards.

You are now ready to start the game!

Gameplay

The game consists of 2 or 3 rounds and each round consists of 5 or 6 turns of draft. Each turn follows these steps:

1. Each player picks one card and places it face down in front of them.
2. Each player reveals their chosen card, then they:
   • place it into a column under their matching elemental source tile, or
   • exchange the chosen card for a card from the pool, or
   • discard the chosen card and gain a power crystal (once per round).
3. Each player can enhance one card with a power crystal (once per turn).
4. Each player passes the rest of the cards to the player on their left.

The steps above are expanded as follows.

Step 1. Each player picks one card from the cards in their hand and places it in front of them face down.

Step 2. After everyone has made their choice, players simultaneously reveal the chosen cards, then they choose one of these options:

• place the card into their collection at the bottom of the column of the elemental source matching the symbol on the card. Place the cards in such a way that all cards form easy to identify rows between the columns. The universal cards can be placed in any column and then provide one symbol of the element of the column they were placed in. If the card being added to the collection has an instant effect, apply it (all instant effects are applied simultaneously).

OR

• exchange the chosen card for a card in the pool by paying one power crystal. By doing so they take one card from the pool, add it to the proper column, then place the card picked this turn into the pool.

In the rare case that more than one player wants to exchange for the same card from the pool, priority goes to the player with the least amount of power crystals. If the power crystals are tied, no player may take that card.

OR

• discard the chosen card to gain a power crystal. This may only be done once per round. These cards are placed face down in front of the player as a reminder that the effect has been used for the round. After the round ends, place these cards back in the game box.

Step 3. Each player can enhance the effects of a card that has the activation symbol in the top right corner. To do so, they take one power crystal from their personal supply and place it on the activation symbol. Enhanced cards gain the effect written on the right side of the text box. Some enhancement effects replace the basic card effect, some add an additional effect and, in some rare cases, the enhancement is necessary for the card effect to take place. Players can enhance any card in their collection, not just the one played this turn. Players can only use one power crystal each turn for enhancements.

Step 4. Each player passes the cards they didn't choose to the player on their left. The next turn begins.

Play continues this way until all cards have been drafted. A new round begins after the last card is played and new cards are drawn. The game ends after the second or third round, at which point the game is scored.

Scoring

At the end of the final round, players score their cards by adding the creation points provided by each card in their collection. The player with the highest sum of creation points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most power crystals still left in their personal supply wins. If there is an equal number of power crystals, the game ends in a tie.

Card Explanations

When placing cards into a column, each card exists as part of a row of cards between the columns. A card has vicinity with the cards in its row on its immediate left and right. When checking for vicinity, the cards on the far left column and the cards on the far right column are considered to be adjacent with each other. Cards that check for vicinity provide points only if there is a card of an appropriate element adjacent to it.

Cards that require the player to have the most of an element (or complete or incomplete card rows) only ever give points to the player that owns the card. If the owner is tied for the most, no points are awarded.

The rulebook explains the following cards, identified by their card number:

• Card 11: During scoring the player that played this card chooses any card in any collection with a during scoring effect and copies its effect.
• Card 23: During scoring this card creates two virtual sources for cards that check for vicinity. Any two cards that require vicinity (or any one card requiring two sources) are considered to have their requirements met, even if they aren't adjacent to the appropriate element. This card may target cards in any column or row. Remember, this effect only applies if the card was enhanced with a power crystal.
• Card 46: The player takes any card from their collection and places it in the pool (cards under that card in the column are moved up). Afterwards, the chosen card from the pool is placed at the bottom of an appropriate column.
• Card 49: Each player plays two cards instead of one this turn. Instead of passing the cards, the players pick up their stacks and choose another card from it. The players may not enhance their cards twice this turn.

The rulebook also shows example cards with the following printed effects: a card reading "Each pair of air and water symbols provides 2 creation points"; a card reading "Vicinity with fire symbol provides 3 creation points"; a card reading "Vicinity with earth and water symbols provides 5 creation points" with the enhancement "8 creation points"; and a card whose effect text is cut off in the printed illustration and is not transcribed here.

Solo Variant

In this variant you try to collect as many creation points as possible playing against an Imitation. Your ranking depends on the amount of points you've scored.

Prepare the game like you would for 2 players, with the following changes:

• take out the 4 cards with the single dot symbol in the top right corner. Altogether you'll have removed 16 cards from the deck and put them in a box.
• take 2 power crystals just for yourself.
• you and the Imitation receive 6 cards in the first round, and 5 in the second and third round.

Your gameplay is exactly the same as in the normal game. The Imitation follows these rules:

• cards for the Imitation's collection are chosen randomly.
• the Imitation does not exchange cards with the pool.
• the Imitation does not enhance cards with power crystals.
• if the Imitation would place a universal card, it is placed in the first column from the left that has the least symbols of the corresponding element.

After the last card has been played, add the remaining cards from the pool to the Imitation's collection. After that, count your points.

Depending on the amount of creation points you have gathered, you gain the rank of:

Creation points	Rank
34 or less	Astral
35-45	Ethereal
46-55	Celestial
56-65	Deity
66-75	Eternal
76 or more	Omnipotent

Expansion

Not included in the base game box.

There is an expansion for World Shapers that adds more interaction between the players. It adds three universal cards that let you interact with other players' collections and a unique card: Overload. To play with the expansion, remove 3 random cards from the deck at the start of the game and put them in the box face down. Then, shuffle the cards from the expansion with the rest of the deck. The gameplay is the same except for these rules:

• at the start of the game, place 4 cards in the starting pool instead of 3.
• if the player has the Overload card at the start of the round, they must reveal it and place it in front of them next to their collection.
• Overload can never be in a collection or in the pool. If the Overload card would be put in the starting pool, replace it with the top card of the deck and shuffle Overload back into the deck.
• a player can move the Overload card next to another player's collection by paying one power crystal.
• Overload is worth -5 points at the end of the game.

Rules Overview

Turn order:

1. Each player picks one card and places it face down in front of them.
2. Each player reveals the chosen card and does one of the following:
   • places it in their collection.
   • exchanges it for a card from the pool.
   • discards it to gain a power crystal (once per round).
3. Each player can enhance one card with a power crystal (once per turn).
4. Each player passes the rest of the cards to the left.

Card icon key:

• Card that counts toward your final score
• Card with an instant effect
• Card with a during scoring effect
• Card that has a special effect

Game setup by number of players:

Players	First round	Second round	Third round	Cards removed
1 player	6 cards	5 cards	5 cards	16 cards
2 players	6 cards	6 cards	6 cards	12 cards
3 players	6 cards	5 cards	5 cards	none
4 players	6 cards	6 cards	– (2 rounds)	none