Czech Games Edition CGE00027 Alchemists Board Game

Product Information

All reputation points become victory points. So if you ended the game with 16 points of reputation, you begin final scoring with 16 victory points. A little mandrake root, a small raven's feather. Toss them in the cauldron and see what they produce. You need to publish before your colleagues do, expose the flaws in their theories, and get the powerful artifacts before they are all sold out. You see, you are not the only alchemist in town. Master or Apprentice

Victory points are scored at the end of the game. Reputation bonuses and penalties do not apply to them. Most victory points are positive, although you can lose points when the true identities of the ingredients are revealed. Alchemists is published by veteran game publisher CGE and they are no strangers to putting out games with high quality components ( T’zoklin, Dungeon Lords). Inside this rather heavy box is a mountain of cardboard. From the expansive game board (with some really stellar artwork) to the 4 different player screens (some assembly required), everything that comes in the box is both high quality and thematic. Favor cards give you a single-use advantage during some part of the round. They will tell you when they can be used. Some favor cards say "play immediately". These must be played as soon as you draw them. After you play a favor card, it goes to the discard pile. Getting Nothing Final Score: 4 Stars – An innovative and engaging euro game that uses technology in a way that improves the game so much that I wouldn’t want to play it without.Alchemists is a game of risk assessment, strategy, and deduction. Do you experiment to get more knowledge or do you publish now to receive more points? Pay to endorse the newest theory of toads or save your money for an artifact? And should you really be selling that portion to the large axe-wielding barbarian when you aren't really sure of its effects? The choices you make will prove if you are the world's greatest alchemist. Two players cannot choose the same space, and no one can choose the green space at the very bottom. That's a special space for alchemists who drank a potion on the previous round. In a 2-player game, you cannot choose the space labeled Mandrake root and scorpion tail; spongy mushroom and warty toad. These are the foundations of the alchemist’s livelihood, science, and art. But what arcane secrets do these strange ingredients hide? Now it is time to find out. In the first round, you are allowed only 3 action cubes. In later rounds, you may use your full set of cubes. (The number of cubes depends on the number of players).

Randomly choose three patient markers from a bag and place their matching charts, picture side up, for all players to see. Return the other charts and all eight markers to the box. Alchemists is a worker placement & deduction game, published by Czech Games Edition, with a super fun theme wrapped around it. But beware, it's not for the easily puzzled. Let me tell you a little more… Set-Up and Gameplay

Setup

In the first round, nothing changes. But then each round, and growing each time, you should be able to control your destiny a little more. At the end of the preparation phase, you will move your essence marker along a certain number of spaces. One space for each different colour chip you pulled that round. Another space if your neighbour’s cauldron exploded. And another space if the white chips in your cauldron totals exactly seven! The amount needed to explode. So, now you get a benefit from exploding but only if you explode perfectly! You start your day with a leisurely walk through the forest, looking for interesting things to grind up in your laboratory. Or perhaps you spend some time doing favors for people around town ... in exchange for favors later, of course. Remove the old adventurer tile if it's still hanging around. Put the next one on the adventurer space. If this reveals a conference, it will occur at the end of the next round. Set the conference tile on the conference space, after the Drink Potion action space. Conference or no, turn the top adventurer tile face up. You will always know which adventurer is coming to town one round ahead. Conference Count the number of different colour chips in your cauldron, ignoring white chips. Move the essence marker to that number.

Sometimes you don't even have time to make breakfast. Instead, you buy fresh rolls from the baker and eat them on your way through town. To choose this space, you must pay 1 gold piece. If you don't have the gold, you can't choose this space. In Alchemists, two to four budding alchemists compete to discover the secrets of their mystical art. Points can be earned in various ways, but most points are earned by publishing theories – correct theories, that is — and therein lies the problem. Players' reputations go up and down as their theories are published or disproven. At the end of the game, reputation is converted to points. Points are also scored for artifacts and grants. The player with the most points wins. When it is your turn to exhibit a potion, remove your cube from the action space and place it on one of the six potions depicted on the exhibition board. This is the potion you are promising to exhibit. (You can't choose a potion you have already successfully exhibited. The neutral potion is not depicted because no one is impressed by toad soup). The winner of the game is the player with the most victory points. Break ties using leftover gold pieces, as explained earlier. If players are still tied, they remain tied. Well done!Two to four players take the role of alchemists competing to discover the secrets of their mystical art. Points can be earned in various ways, but most points are earned by publishing theories - correct theories. Therein lies the problem. Debunk a Theory: If you think one player is wrong in their published theory, you can disprove them. Disproving them earns you reputation and possibly penalizes them. Give each player the alchemist flask board extension, essence marker and essence cards of their colour. Alchemists is a worker placement & deduction game, published by Czech Games Edition, with a super fun theme wrapped around it. But beware, it’s not for the easily puzzled. Let me tell you a little more… Set-Up and Gameplay