Teach the Game
A quick teach for the two-player jewel race.
How you win
You and your rival are jewelers competing for royal favor. Build a row of gem bonuses to make later cards cheaper, then claim one of three victories: at least 20 prestige, 10 crowns, or 10 prestige in a single card color. The first player to meet any condition wins at the end of their turn.
The board
The 5×5 token board is the shared market. Jewel cards sit in three face-up rows under the Victory tile; the three decks are stacked above them. Royals wait below the board. Your purchased cards form color columns in front of you, while reserved cards stay secret.
A turn
- Optionally return any number of Privileges to take one non-gold token for each.
- Optionally refill empty board spaces from the bag; your opponent gets a Privilege.
- Take one mandatory action: take up to three tokens in a straight adjacent line, take a gold and reserve a card, or buy a card.
- Resolve a purchased card’s ability, claim a Royal when your crown total reaches three or six, discard down to ten tokens, then check for victory.
You may use the two optional actions in that order, or skip either. If no mandatory action is possible, refill the board first.
How the game ends
After your turn, check whether you have 20 prestige total, 10 crowns, or 10 prestige in one bonus-color column. Any one ends the game immediately in your favor. Prestige on a colorless card counts toward the total but not toward a color column.
Ways to score
| Source | Points or progress |
|---|---|
| Jewel cards | Their printed prestige adds to your total and to their bonus-color column. |
| Crowns | Reach 3 and 6 crowns to take one Royal each; crowns are also a victory track. |
| Royal cards | Their printed prestige adds to your total; resolve the ability when taken. |
What each resource is for
| Resource | Use |
|---|---|
| Colored gems | Pay card costs; acquired cards give permanent discounts in their color. |
| Pearls | Pay pearl costs; there are no pearl discounts. |
| Gold | Wild payment for any gem or pearl; gain it only by reserving a card. |
| Privileges | Return one to take one non-gold token from the board. |
| Jewel cards | Reduce future costs and provide prestige, crowns, and sometimes an immediate ability. |
| Royal cards | Take at 3 and 6 crowns; their ability resolves immediately. |
Teaching tips
- Show the three victory routes before explaining the card abilities.
- Point out that bonuses are automatic discounts and pearls have no discount track.
- A token line cannot pass over a gap or gold token; diagonal lines count.
- Keep a spare reserve slot if you may need to block a dangerous face-up card.