Introduction: It is Prague, 1584. In the dark attic of the Synagogue, Rabbi Loew walks nervously. Piles of books on a desk, gold melting in the cauldron, and a mass of clay shaped into human form. “Now the last step,” exclaims the Rabbi, “because only with a true word will you come to life!” As the word “Truth” is engraved on the clay giant’s forehead and the word “God” is put into its mouth, a great silence descends upon the room. The eyes open, illuminated by a sinister light, and stare at the Rabbi’s gaze, waiting for its first order. The legend of the Golem is one of the most fascinating stories in the world and has its roots in the Jewish tradition. In Golem, this story inspires a strategic and complex game in which players take on the role of scholars focused on recreating the famous clay automas. Use your knowledge (represented by the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet “Aleph”) to study traditional books, collect gold and melt it down to create powerful artifacts, bring tireless Golems to life and send them to the city to do important jobs. You will need to maintain control of your Golems by using your students and spending the knowledge you have gained. You can also choose to kill your Golems to avoid paying for their maintenance. |
Features: Golem is an engine-building game by Simone Luciani, Virginio Gigli and Flaminia Brasini, the same team that brought you Grand Austria Hotel and Lorenzo il Magnifico. The game is based on the 16th-century legend of the Golem of Prague, an anthropomorphic creature that Rabbi Loew animated from a clay statue to protect his people. In the game, players take on the role of rabbis who create and grow these powerful creatures that will be moved around the neighborhoods of Prague under the control of students. Be careful, because if a golem becomes too powerful, it will destroy everything it encounters on its way. Players can also kill their Golems in order to get bonuses. Players also create powerful artifacts and acquire knowledge by collecting ancient books. The game is divided into four rounds, and each round is composed of 7 phases: 1) Refresh 2) Golem Movement 3) Actions (2 marble actions and 1 rabbi action) 4) Turn Order 5) Influence Character 6) Income and Development 7) Golem Control At the beginning of each round, the players will shuffle the colored marbles into the 3D synagogue that will split them into five lines corresponding to the five main actions available in the game: Work: By paying Knowledge, you can activate the Golem placed in the city of Prague and get bonuses. Golem: Obtain clay to create new golems and upgrade the developments on your personal board. Artifact: Obtain coins and buy gold to build artifacts that offer permanent bonuses in the game and upgrade developments on your personal board. Spells: Obtain Knowledge and perform spells (with a scoring for book collection) and upgrade developments on your personal board. Mirror: Perform one action of your choice by paying 1 coin. The number of marbles available in the corresponding action line determines how much the player gets from the action. When you choose an action, you collect one marble of your choice in the corresponding line and depending on the color of the marble you chose, you also move your student forward on one of the districts of Prague. It's important to advance your students on those tracks to be able to keep your golems under control. At the end of the round, knowledge can also be used to control a golem that surpassed its students, but if one of these creatures is uncontrolled, it may become dangerous and destroy the neighborhood, after which you will have to destroy and bury it! The marble color also matters, because at the end of the round, if you get the correct combination of two colors, you receive the favor of one of the powerful Prague characters, which will differ each round. At the end of the fifth round, players score points for active or buried golems, artifacts, books, development on their personal board, and collected goal cards. Golem Includes: 1 Main board 1 Synagogue board 1 Synagogue structure 15 colored marbles 12 Action tiles 12 Character cards 27 Objective cards 38 Book cards 30 Neighborhood tiles 4 Pass tiles 37 Clay tokens 37 Knowledge tokens 37 Coin tokens 40 Gold pieces 4 Artifact tiles 3 Menorah tokens 18 Starting tiles For each player: 1 Rabbi 3 Students 6 Golems 4 Player markers 1 Player board 6 Artifact Development tiles 6 Golem Development tiles 6 Study Development tiles 1 Summary Card For the Automa: 20 Automa Cards 1 Main Strategy tile 3 Strategy tiles 1 Resource track 1 Resource marker 2 Special Development tiles |
Specifications: Publisher: Cranio Creations Release Date: 2021 Genre: Board Game Ages: 13+ Play Time: 120 minutes Players: 1-4 |