The Alchemists

Official second expansion: patients, essences, new locoweed books and an Essence Phase.

Setup

The Alchemists needs the base game. For a first play, the publisher recommends using it with the base game alone, then combining it with The Herb Witches later. Shuffle its Fortune Teller cards into the main deck; cards with expansion symbols are only used when the named expansion is included. Choose one of its two locoweed books; it can be combined with any base ingredient set. Each player takes the flask, essence marker and four double-sided essence cards in their color. Put the marker on 0. Put all eight patient markers in a bag, draw three and display their matching patient charts. Return the markers and unused charts to the box. Each player secretly chooses one of those patients by selecting the matching essence card. Multiple players may choose the same patient.

Essence Phase

After everyone finishes brewing and before scoring, reset your essence marker to 0. Move it forward one space for each different non-white ingredient color in your pot. Add one space if the values of your white chips total exactly 7, and one for each immediate neighbor whose pot exploded. In a two-player game, the neighbor condition can add at most one. Follow your chosen essence card to the flask space reached: take any immediate points or rat-tail reward, and note the patient bonus or action. You may deliberately choose a lower space before resolving its reward. Effects marked for the next brewing phase are used next round, not immediately.

In round 9 there is still an Essence Phase, but the essence earns 1 point for each space reached instead of its regular reward. Then continue with normal scoring.

Essence effects and timing

The eight patient charts and twenty essence faces define the exact bonuses. They include drawing and selecting extra chips, extending a chip’s movement, changing a white chip, adding ingredient chips, taking rubies, moving the droplet or flask, and bonus-die rewards. Some trigger immediately after the Essence Phase; others are stored for the next brewing phase. Follow the selected card and chart; do not combine both sides of an essence card. Ingredient book special cases still apply, including set-aside red chips and restrictions on actions that would cause an explosion.

Expansion content and component notes

The expansion contains 20 essence cards (four double-sided cards per player), eight patient charts and markers, five flasks and essence markers, 20 Fortune Teller cards, two double-sided locoweed books, 30 locoweed chips and 40 replacement firecracker chips. The firecrackers replace worn base chips; they are not added to the supply. Patient charts and essence cards have distinct faces, so check their selected effect before play.