Alchemists (Board Game)

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 timeto find out. Mix them into potions and drink them to determine theireffects — or play it safe and test the concoction on a helpful assistant!Gain riches selling potions to wandering adventurers and invest these riches inpowerful artifacts. As your knowledge grows, so will your reputation, as youpublish your theories for all to see. Knowledge, wealth, and fame can all befound in the murky depths of the alchemist's cau­ldron.

In Alchemists, two to four budding alchemists compete to discover the secretsof their mystical art. Points can be earned in various ways, but most points areearned by publishing theories – correct theories, that is — and thereinlies the problem.

The game is played in six rounds. At the beginning of the round, playerschoose their play order. Those who choose to play later get more rewards.
Players declare all their actions by placing cubes on the various action spaces,then each action space is evaluated in order. Players gain knowledge by mixingingredients and testing the results using a smartphone app (iOS, Android, andalso Windows) that randomizes the rules of alchemy for each new game. And if thealchemists are longing for something even more special, they can always buymagical artifacts to get an extra push. There are 9 of them (different for eachgame) and they are not only very powerful, but also very expensive. But moneymeans nothing, when there's academic pride at stake! And the possession ofthese artifacts will definitely earn you some reputation too. Players can alsoearn money by selling potions of questionable quality to adventurers, but moneyis just a means to an end. The alchemists don't want riches, after all. Theywant respect, and respect usually comes from publishing theories.

During play, players' reputations will go up and down. After six rounds and afinal exhibition, reputation will be converted into points. Points will also bescored for artifacts and grants. Then the secrets of alchemy are revealed andplayers score points or lose points based on whether their theories werecorrect. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins.

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