Indigo is a deep shade of blue obtained from the Indian Indigo plant since ancients times. Its deep hue is a symbol of eternity and immortality. The color has a soothing effect and provides a clear head, which is exactly what players need during the game as they search for the most precious gems.

Components

• 1 Game Board
• 4 Screens
• 7 Treasure Tiles
• 54 Route Tiles
• 24 Tokens
• 24 Gems
• Instructions

Object of the Game

In order to gather the most precious gems, players lay pathways along which they move gems to the exits on the edge of the board. The exits either belong only to one player or are shared with another player.

Whereas in the first case others gain nothing, in the second case a fellow player is rewarded with a gem as well!

Setup

First set up the game board. It consists of hexagons, of which 7 are highlighted in color These are the treasure fields. Place the treasure tiles on them.

The dark blue one goes in the middle and the light blue ones along the edge with the arrow pointing to the middle.

Gems are placed on the treasure tiles at the beginning of the game. One blue sapphire and 5 green emeralds go on the dark blue tile in the middle, while one yellow amber goes on each light Hue treasure tile (on the arrow). Place the other 12 gems beside the board in reserve.

The route tiles each show 3 separate, continuous routes. Shuffle the tiles and place them in several stacks, face down, beside the board.

Now each player takes a screen and the 6 tokens in the same color. The players place their screens up in front of them.

Place the tokens on the board. There are 6 gateways (orange areas) on the edge of the board. Each gateway has 6 exits (arrows). The tokens are placed on the round spaces at the 6 gateways to show who owns each gateway.

Depending on the number of players, the tokens are placed on different positions on the board: refer to the chart.

The players' colors in the chart arc only examples; any leftover tokens are put back in the box.

• 2 Players:

  
  
  

  There arc no shared gateways in the game for two players. You do not need to have any gems beside the board.

• 3 Players:

  
  
  

  With three players, each one owns a gateway and two arc shared with another player.

  Alternative layout for three players: Play the game for two people, but only with your own gateways. In this version each player only has two gateways.

  Cover the gateways in a clockwise direction as follows: red. turquoise, white, red, turquoise, white.

• 4 Players:

  
  
  

  With four players, each player shares one gateway with another player.

Now each player takes a route tile from one of the stacks and holds it so that none of the other players can see it. Let the game begin!

Game Play

The youngest player starts and game play continues in a clockwise direction.

The player whose turn it is places his route tile and then moves gems and collects any gems due him. Finally he takes a new route tile.

1. Placing Route Tiles

The player places his route tile on any unoccupied space. The tile can be placed by itself or next to any occupied spaces (fig. 1).

Permitted

Exception: It is not permitted to block two exits by placing a curve directly against them (fig. 2).

Note Permitted

A. Moving Gems

If there are gems along the routes of the tile that has just been placed, they are now moved:

Treasure Tile

If the route tile is against one side of the treasure tile marked by an arrow, the player moves one gem from there in the direction of the arrow to the end of the adjoining route.

From the bordering treasure tile (fig. 3), he moves the yellow amber that is located there. From the treasure tile in the middle {fig. 4), one of the green emeralds is moved until only the blue sapphire is left This is the last gem to be moved from the treasure tile (like all the others; by placing a route tile).

Route Tiles

If the tile that has just been placed extends a route that already has a gem on it (fig. 5), the player moves it to the new end of this route (fig. 6). The gem must always follow the course set by the route. This means it can never "turn" on a tile or move backwards. If there are several gems beside the new route tile, then they are all moved (fig. 7).

Note: If two gems meet up on the same route, both are taken out of the game (fig. 81! That is why gems never return to a treasure tile.

B. Receiving Gems

Once a gem is moved to the edge of the board, it is awarded to the player who owns that gateway (fig. 9).

The gateway belongs to player White. He receives the yellow amber.

If the gateway belongs to two players, the second player receives a gem of the same color, which is taken from the reserves (fig. 10).

This gateway belongs to the players Red and White. One of the players is given the emerald from the board, while the other receives one from the reserves.

Further Explanation:

If a gateway belongs to two players, they share all six of this gateway's exits. Regardless through which of the 6 exits the gem leaves the board, both players are given a gem. If a gateway belongs to only one player, then only he receives a gem.

The players conceal the gems they have won behind their screens.

2. Taking Route Tiles

At the end of his turn, the player takes a new route tile from one of the stacks. Now it is the next players turn.

End of the Game

The game is over when there are no more gems left on the board. The players now add up the value of their gems:

A sapphire is worth 3 points.

An emerald is worth 2 points.

An amber is worth 1 point.

The player with the most points wins. In the event of a tie. the player with the most gems is the winner.

If still tied, then there are multiple winners.

Tips

• Play as many rounds as you like. Decide first haw many rounds to play and write down the scores for each round.

• For a more tactical game, each player is given two route tiles at the beginning. After playing one tile, the player takes another one as usual. This gives him the choice of two tiles. The other rules apply as before.

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