Unearthing Ancient Wonders: A Definitive Guide to Thebes!

Welcome, fellow archaeologists! Are you ready to embark on an epic journey across Europe and the Mediterranean, digging for priceless artifacts and boosting your reputation? In Thebes, you'll travel to exotic locations, acquire specialized knowledge, and lead thrilling expeditions to uncover the secrets of ancient civilizations. But beware, time is a precious commodity, and only the most efficient and strategic archaeologist will rise to fame!

Objective of the Game

In Thebes, players take on the roles of archaeologists competing to gain the most victory points. You'll achieve this by acquiring essential knowledge, conducting successful excavations to find valuable artifacts, and showcasing your discoveries in grand exhibitions and prestigious congresses. The archaeologist who best manages their time and resources to accumulate the highest number of victory points by the end of the game will be crowned the winner!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get your archaeological expedition off the ground! Here's how to set up your game of Thebes:

1. Board Placement: Place the game board in the center of your play area.
2. Card Setup:
   • Remove the 10 exhibition cards from the deck.
   • Shuffle the remaining researcher cards.
   • Draw 4 cards from this shuffled deck and place them face up in the designated researcher card spaces on the board.
   • Divide the remaining cards into three equal face-down stacks.
   • Shuffle the 5 small exhibition cards into the second stack and the 5 large exhibition cards into the third stack. (Note: With 2 players, shuffle all exhibition cards into the second stack).
   • Place the first stack on top of the second stack to form the main card supply.
   • Place the third stack aside; it will be used later when the main card supply is exhausted.
3. Excavation Tokens:
   • Each of the 5 excavation areas has 15 items to find: 13 artifacts, 1 specialized knowledge item for another area, and 1 general knowledge item. The rest are worthless debris.
   • Set one value 1 artifact token from each area aside.
   • Place all remaining tokens into their matching colored cloth bags. Each bag starts with 14 of the 15 items to find and 16 worthless debris tokens.
   • Place the set-aside value 1 artifact tokens on their appropriate excavation areas on the board.
4. Summary Cards: Place the five summary cards next to the board.
5. Year Marker: Place the year marker on space “1901” for 2 or 3 players, and on space “1902” for 4 players.
6. Player Components: Each player chooses a color and takes:
   • 1 archeologist figurine
   • 1 time marker
   • 1 time wheel (assemble it before your first game!)
   • 1 set of excavation permissions (5 permissions in total)
   Place your excavation permissions and time wheel in your personal play area.
7. Archeologist & Time Marker Placement:
   • Place all archeologists on Warschau.
   • Place all time markers in a stack on the start space (with 2 or 4 players). With 3 players, place the time markers on space 16.

The Turn of Play

Thebes is played over 2 to 3 years, depending on the number of players. Time is your most crucial resource, so spend it wisely!

Player Order

First, choose a starting player and place their time marker on top of the stack on the time track. From then on, the player whose time marker is furthest back (lowest number) on the time track takes their turn. If multiple time markers are on the same space, the player whose marker is on top of the stack takes their turn. This means you might get to take several turns in a row!

On Your Turn

On your turn, you'll perform two main steps:

1. Move Your Archeologist: Move your archeologist along the broken lines on the game board from place to place. Moving to a neighboring place costs 1 week. Multiple archeologists can occupy the same space.
2. Execute an Action: After moving, you must execute one of the following actions. The movement and action costs are paid by moving your time marker along the time track.

Actions in Detail:

• Take a Researcher Card:
  • Choose one of the face-up researcher cards on the board.
  • Move your archeologist to the city indicated on the card. If you're already there, no movement cost!
  • Place the card face up in your play area. These cards offer various advantages, like knowledge points or special abilities.
  • After taking the card, draw the top-most card from the card supply to replace the empty space on the board.
  • Exhibition Cards: If you draw an exhibition card, place it in space (a) of the exhibition card display. Any existing exhibition cards shift from (a) to (b) to (c), with the card at (c) being discarded. Then, draw another card to fill the researcher card space.
  • Exhausted Card Supply: When the card supply runs out for the first time, shuffle the discards with the third stack (set aside during setup) to form a new supply. If it runs out again, shuffle only the discards for a new supply.
• Exchange the 4 Cards Displayed:
  • If you don't like the current researcher cards, move your archeologist to Warschau (or stay there).
  • Take the 4 displayed cards and place them on the discard stack.
  • Draw the top 4 cards from the card supply to replace them. Handle any drawn exhibition cards as described above.
  • This action costs 1 week, plus any movement cost.
  • Consecutive Exchanges: If you exchange cards immediately after a previous exchange (no other player's turn in between), the second exchange costs 2 weeks, the third 3 weeks, and so on.
• Execute an Excavation:
  • To excavate, you need:
    • A valid excavation permission for the area (front side up).
    • At least 1 point of specialized knowledge for that area (from researcher cards or found items).
  • Move your archeologist to the excavation area, paying movement costs.
  • Determine Knowledge Points: Count your special knowledge (technical books, rumors, assistants matching the area's color) and general knowledge (open books, which work for any area). Each symbol (open book, colored technical book, note) gives 1 point. Note: You cannot use more general knowledge than special knowledge for an excavation.
  • Using the Time Wheel: Turn the front of your time wheel to display your total knowledge (special + general). If total knowledge exceeds 12, use 12.
  • Choose Weeks to Dig: Decide how many weeks you want to spend digging (1-12). The time wheel will show you how many excavation tokens you'll draw based on your knowledge and chosen time. You must choose a number of weeks that allows you to draw more than 0 tokens.
  • Move your time marker along the time track for the chosen number of weeks.
  • Draw Tokens: Draw the indicated number of excavation tokens from the corresponding colored cloth bag. You cannot look into the bags!
  • Sort Discoveries: Return any debris tokens to the bag. Place useful items (artifacts, knowledge items) face up in your play area.
  • End Excavation: Flip your used excavation permission to its "X" side. You can only dig in that area again next year (after your time marker passes week 52).
  • First Excavation Bonus: The first player to excavate in an area takes the value 1 artifact token that was placed on the board during setup.
• Execute an Exhibition:
  • If there are exhibition cards on the board, choose one that interests you.
  • Move your archeologist to the city shown on the card (no movement if already there).
  • Check the card's requirements: it shows how many artifacts from each area you need. The value of the artifacts doesn't matter, only the number.
  • If you have the necessary artifacts, show them to other players. Take the exhibition card and place it face up in your play area. You keep your artifacts!
  • Move your time marker to pay for movement (if any) and the weeks required for the exhibition (shown on the card).

A Year is Ended

When your time marker crosses space 52, a new year begins for you! Immediately turn all your used excavation permissions back to their valid side, allowing you to dig there again. When the last player's time marker crosses space 52, the year marker moves to the next year.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when all players' time markers have reached space 1 after the year 1903. At this point, no more actions can be taken, and it's time for the grand tally!

Final Scoring

Each player sums their victory points from the following categories:

• Artifacts: Score the points shown on each artifact you've collected.
• Exhibitions: Score the points shown on each exhibition card you've executed.
• Congress Cards: The total points depend on the number of congress cards you have. The more you have, the more they're worth (up to a maximum of 28 points).
• Most Special Knowledge: For each excavation area, the player with the most special knowledge (technical books, rumors, found items – not assistants or general knowledge cards) scores 5 points. If there's a tie, each tied player scores 3 points.

The player with the most victory points wins the game!

Tips for Winning

To become a renowned archaeologist, keep these strategies in mind:

1. Time is of the Essence: Every action costs time. Carefully consider the number of weeks you spend on movement and actions. Sometimes, a shorter, less fruitful excavation is better than a long, risky one if it allows you to take more turns.
2. Knowledge is Power: Prioritize acquiring knowledge cards, especially specialized knowledge for the areas you plan to excavate. More knowledge means you can draw more excavation tokens for the same amount of time spent, increasing your chances of finding valuable artifacts.
3. Exhibition Efficiency: Keep an eye on the available exhibition cards. If you can fulfill the requirements for an exhibition with artifacts you already have or plan to dig for, it's a great way to score additional victory points without spending extra time on new excavations.