Magnificent riches lie hidden beneath your feet. Minerals, trapped inside plain rock, will shine brightly and reveal their stunning colors - but only if you manage to excavate them!

That is your task. Travel deep into the ground to find milky-white wollastonite, anthracite darker than a moonless night, and kyanite as blue as the ocean.

Use your tools wisely to reach for watermelon tourmaline and tread lightly to find golden orpiment. The vast world of minerals is closer than ever!

Game Contents

• 53 wollastonite tiles (white)
• 30 kyanite tiles (blue)
• 20 watermelon tourmaline tiles (pink)
• 10 anthracite tiles (black)
• 5 orpiment tiles (golden)
• 24 Collection cards
• 5 silicone pawns in different colors
• 5 player boards in different colors
• 5 double-sided Tool tiles
• 1 pouch
• Rulebook

Player Board

Object of the Game

You are geologists setting off on an expedition. Your goal is to excavate and collect precious Minerals. Plan your moves carefully and watch your opponents' movements closely.

During the game you will move across the board and excavate Minerals. The most expensive and rare ones are obviously the hardest to collect. To make your job easier, you can use Tools, but remember that doing so will cost you points.

You can exchange your Minerals for a Collection, which will bring you honor and fame. When the game ends, add the values of both your Minerals and Collection cards. The player with the most valuable treasures wins!

Setup

1. Take all the Minerals out of the pouch. Make sure all of the players participate in setting up the board. The board can have any shape you like. Place the Minerals colorful side up, while making sure each tile is adjacent to at least two other Minerals.

   This way you will create one undivided board. With this rule in mind, you can still create Crevices - empty spaces of any size between Minerals.

2. Pick a color and take the pawn and the player board in that color. Choose the first player; it should be the player who most recently excavated something from the ground (or alternatively, the oldest player).

3. Starting with the first player and continuing in clockwise order, each player removes one Mineral of their choosing from the board (you can pick whichever color you like) until a total of 5 Minerals are removed.

   You can remove Minerals from the board's edges or from the middle (and create a Crevice). To remove the Minerals, you can use your pawn - these pawns are specially designed to pick up Mineral tiles without disturbing the board. Return all of the removed Mineral tiles to the pouch.

4. Draw 4 ♦ cards and place them face-up next to the board. Shuffle all the remaining ♦ cards with all the ♦♦ cards, form a face-down deck and place it next to the row of face-up cards.

5. Place 5 Tool tiles on the table where everyone can see them. Each Tool tile features a different Mineral. Order the Tool tiles according to their mineral color as follows: white, blue, red, black, golden. Tiles can be placed any side up.

6. Give your pawn to the player on your left. Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each player places their opponent's pawn on any wollastonite tile (white Mineral).

Now you are ready to begin your adventure in the world of Minerals!

Game Rules

Starting with the first player, players take turns in clockwise order. Each turn, a player:

• has to move their pawn,
• can use a Tool AND/OR exchange their Minerals for a Collection card.

Moving your pawn (mandatory)

Moving your pawn across the board allows you to excavate Minerals. Remember to plan your moves carefully or you can lose the Mineral your pawn was standing on at the beginning of the movement.

Before you move your pawn, excavate the Mineral on which it currently stands. Press downwards on your pawn, and using its suction cup, gently lift it with the attached Mineral.

Detach the Mineral from the suction cup and move the pawn from the original hex to another Mineral tile on the board according to the rules specified below.

Movement Rules:

1. Move your pawn in a straight line a number of hexes equal to the value of the Mineral the pawn is currently standing on (as specified on your Player Card).

   Each type of Mineral has its own value which determines the number of hexes you have to move your pawn.

   
   
   

   For example, if your pawn is standing on kyanite (blue Mineral), you have to move 2 hexes in a straight line.

2. You can move your pawn in any direction. Each Mineral is a hex, so you can move in 6 different directions: horizontally, vertically and diagonally.

   
   
   

3. You can move through a Crevice no bigger than one Mineral (i.e. one hex tile) and through Minerals occupied by your opponents' pawns. In both instances, the gap and the occupied tile count towards the number of hexes you have to move your pawn.

   
   
   

4. our pawn has to end its move on a Mineral without an opponent's pawn. Remember: if there is a valid move available, you must perform that move.

   There can only be one pawn on a single Mineral tile at a time.

Incorrect Movements:

• moving your pawn fewer or more hexes then you are supposed to (as dictated by the tile you started on),

• not moving in a straight line,

• moving through a Crevice bigger than one Mineral,

• ending your move on a Crevice, on a Mineral occupied by an opponent's pawn, or outside the board.

If you made a correct move, you can take the excavated Mineral.

If you could not make a correct move, your turn ends. Return the Mineral you excavated to the pouch and place your pawn on any unoccupied wollastonite tile (white Mineral) on the board.

Minerals is a unique game, in which entertainment mixes with art. And as we all know, art requires care. Remember to move your pawns gently. Otherwise, you can disturb your beautiful Mineral arrangement.

Cutting off fragments from the board

If after your move, an isolated fragment of the board is created (with a Crevice of at least one Mineral) in which there are no pawns, that fragment gets cut off.

Take one Mineral of the lowest value from the isolated fragment and move it to your Mineral pool. If there are any Minerals left on the separated fragment, return them to the pouch.

It is possible to cut off more than one fragment as a result of one move. In that case, take the lowest valued Mineral from each separated fragment.

If you were unable to move correctly, you would not be allowed to take a Mineral from the cut off fragment of the board. In such a case, return all of the Minerals from the cut off fragment to the pouch.

If a player's pawn is standing on the fragment separated from the rest of the board, that fragment is still considered part of the board. That means you can move your pawn to that fragment or through it in the same way you would move through a Crevice.

This fragment will be cut off by the player whose pawn will be the last to move out of it.

Collections (optional)

If you manage to obtain a certain set of Minerals, after finishing your move, you can exchange those Minerals for one of the face-up Collection cards. During your turn, you can take this action only once.

The types of Minerals needed for the exchange are specified on each Collection card. Return the required Minerals to the pouch, take the relevant Collection card and place it face-up in front of you (so that you can read the points).

Draw a new card from the top of the Collection cards deck and put it face-up, replacing the card you just took.

There should always be 4 face-up Collection cards on the table (unless the deck runs out of cards).

At the end of the game each Collection card you have acquired will score a certain amount of points.

Collection cards featuring orpiment (golden Mineral) with the ♦♦ symbol are unique because you can acquire them even if you do not have the orpiment. You can do so by simply discarding all of the other Minerals specified on it.

However, obtaining the card this way will score you fewer points at the end of the game. Take the card and place it in front of you, face up, but turned upside down (so that you can read the lower points value).

Placing it this way will remind you to score the lower value on the card. If you do have the orpiment and discard all of the required Minerals, place the card as normal - it will score its full value.

Tools (optional)

Tools do not get discarded after use. This means players can use them any time throughout the game. You will find a detailed description of how each of the Tools works at the end of this rulebook.

Once per turn you may use one Tool - but only if you have the required Mineral in your pool. Place the Mineral specified on the Tool tile on the designated space on your player board.

Now you can use the chosen Tool. Each time you use a Tool, place the Minerals on your player board on top of the previous ones, creating a stack.

These Minerals are no longer part of your pool and you cannot exchange them for a Collection card or spend them to use another Tool. They will however be used for scoring at the end of the game.

Unless the Tool tile states otherwise you can use a Tool at any time during your turn.

Tool Tiles

There are always 5 Tools in the game, and each requires the use of a specific Mineral. For example, you need a watermelon tourmaline to use the Compass.

At the end of the game, you will have to lose 1 point for each Mineral used for a Tool.

End of the Game

The game ends when none of the players can perform a correct move and there is no unoccupied wollastonite (white Mineral) left. Return the remaining Minerals s to the pouch and count your points as follows:

1. Score points for your Collection cards.
2. Subtract 1 point for each Mineral you used for Tools and then move those Minerals back to your pool.
3. Score points for each Mineral you own.

The player with the most points is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with more Minerals on their Collection cards wins. It there is still a tie, players share the victory.

Continue Reading