Game Objective

In the 19th century, you take on the role of a researcher who has discovered the notes of Hermes Trismegistus. Your goal is to follow the formula to create the Philosopher's Stone, performing experiments, obtaining and transmuting metals with the help of mysterious artifacts. The game ends after three rounds (representing your years of doctoral studies), and the winner will be the one who accumulates the most Victory Points (VP), based on their published research, knowledge of the primordial elements, and progress in creating the Philosopher's Stone.

Setup

1. Connect the Main board pieces and place it in the center of the table.
2. Place the dice next to the Main board according to the number of players:
   • 1-2 players: 5 black, 5 red, 5 white.
   • 3 players: 5 black, 5 red, 6 white.
   • 4 players: 5 black, 5 red, 5 white.
3. Separate the Experiment cards into 3 decks by back and the Artifact tiles into 3 piles by the number on the front. Place them next to the board. Level "I" Artifact tiles should be mixed in a linen bag.
4. Divide the Theory tiles by type, shuffle each pile separately, and place them face down.
5. Create a general supply with Metal markers, Element markers, Essence tokens, Aqua Regia tokens, and Extra Potency tokens.
6. Shuffle the Mastery Reward tiles and place the indicated amount (according to the manual's table) in the reward sectors to the left and right of the Main board.
7. Place a number of Patron tiles (random side up) equal to the number of players in the center of the play area.

Individual Setup

• Each player receives a Player board and a Publication sideboard.
• Set the VP selectors to 0.
• Choose a color and take the corresponding pieces.
• Place a Player marker on the Turn Order track (the first player in space 1, the others in clockwise sequence) and the second marker in the upper left corner of the Player board.
• Place the Mastery markers in the "0" space of each Mastery track.
• Draw 4 Theory tiles (one of each type), keeping them secret.
• Place the Book markers in the corresponding sections of the Player board.
• Take 1 of each Essence token and one Battery tile (ready side up).
• Take the Player aids.
• Place 1 Metal marker in each of the four starting sections of the Player board.
• Following the turn order, players receive: 2 level "I" Experiment cards and 2 level "I" Artifact tiles.
• In reverse turn order, each player chooses a Patron tile for their Player board.
• Each player discards 1 Experiment card and 1 Artifact tile. The remaining Artifact tile must be placed below any Transmutation section of the Player board (ready side).
• Cover the element icon corresponding to the artifact's type on the Publication sideboard with an Element marker and assign your first Theory tile.
• Fill the Experiments offer (6 cards) and the Artifacts offer (6 tiles) on the Main board.

Game Flow

The game is played over 3 rounds. Each round is divided into two phases:

1. Preparation phase

Follow these steps (skip steps 1 to 5 in the first round):

1. Move the Turn Order markers to the current order track.
2. Flip all exhausted Battery and Artifact tiles to the ready side.
3. Discard the excess offer and the remaining cards/tiles from the main display.
4. Shuffle the Experiment cards for the current round, fill the main offer, and place the rest in a deck.
5. Place the round's Artifact tiles in the linen bag and fill the main offer (ready side).
6. Roll all dice and assign them to the Main board sections that correspond to the face icon. If any section has 6 or more dice, roll them again until this is no longer the case.

2. Action phase

Players act in turn order. On your turn, you perform one Main action and may perform each Free action once.
Special start-of-turn conditions:

• If you have 3 exhausted dice on your Player board, you must pass. Move your marker to the top of the next round's order track. You can still perform Free actions, but you will have no more turns in this round.
• If you do not have a die on the Potency track, start by recruiting a die from the Main board. Place it on the Potency track in a space corresponding to the number of dice that were in that pool (including the one you took). Gain the unrefined metal corresponding to the die face.

Actions and How to Play

Main Actions

To perform a Main action, you must spend Potency by moving your die to a lower value on the Potency track. If the die moves past space "1", it goes to the exhausted dice space.

• Gain Metal: Spend any amount of Potency to gain 1 unrefined metal of the corresponding symbol for each point spent.
• Gain Essence: Spend Potency to gain 1 Essence token of the corresponding symbol (not all dice provide essences).
• Take an Experiment: Spend 1 Potency to take a card from the main offer (must match the active die color) or from the excess offer (any card). Hand limit of 2 cards.
• Take an Artifact: Spend 3 Potency to take an artifact from the section of your die's color. Resolve the effect immediately, place it below a Transmutation section (maximum of 2 per section), and cover an element icon on the Publication sideboard. Total limit of 6 artifacts.
• Perform Transmutations: Spend Potency to move metals along the transmutation paths of your die's color. Each movement costs 1 Potency and 1 Essence/Mercury. When spending essence, advance your marker on the corresponding Mastery track. You may activate a ready artifact from that section after the transmutations, flipping it to the exhausted side.

Free Actions

These can be performed only once per turn:

• Use Aqua Regia: Spend a token to treat your active die as if it had another color or face for the turn, or to reduce the Mastery track requirement of an experiment.
• Use Extra Potency: Spend 1 token to add +1 Potency to your Main action (does not work for taking experiment cards).
• Use a Battery: Use a Battery tile (ready side) to perform indicated transmutations or upgrade an artifact. Flip the battery to the exhausted side.
• Spend Gold for Knowledge: Spend Gold to move the leftmost book marker of any element to the Study. The cost starts at 1 Gold and increases as metal markers are left in the empty space.
• Perform an Experiment: Play a card from your hand if you meet the Mastery track requirement and pay the cost in metals. Gain the rewards, VP, cover an icon on the Publication sideboard, and if it is the first experiment of that element, move a book to the Study.

Key Concepts

• Metals: Divided into unrefined common (square), refined common (pentagon), and uncommon (circle - Silver and Gold). Refined metals can replace unrefined metals of the same type. Gold replaces any metal.
• Mastery Tracks: Represent knowledge of the four elements. Reaching specific spaces (4th, 6th, and 8th) grants immediate rewards. Spaces 9 to 11 give VP at the end.
• Books: Acquired via the first experiment of each element or by spending Gold. Filling rows or columns in the Study grants immediate bonuses.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends after the action phase of the 3rd round. The final score is calculated as follows:

1. Publications: Reveal the Theory tiles in the sideboard sections where all icons were covered. Gain VP according to the tile value multiplied by the publication value.
2. Mastery tracks: Gain the highest VP reached across the four tracks (spaces 9/10/11 are worth 2/4/7 VP).
3. Book markers: The number of books in the Study grants: 1 book (1 VP), 2 (2 VP), 3 (4 VP), 4 (8 VP), 5 (16 VP), 6 (25 VP), 7 (36 VP).
4. Remaining Components: 1 VP for each Gold and Extra Potency token. 1 VP for every group of 3 metals (except Gold), essences, and Aqua Regia combined.

The player with the most VP wins. Tie-breakers: 1st number of books in the Study, 2nd number of experiments performed.

Tips for Winning

• Optimize the Study: Try to fill rows or columns of books quickly to unlock discount bonuses for metals and Mastery track requirements, making it easier to execute expensive experiments.
• Potency Management: Use Extra Potency tokens and Aqua Regia strategically to perform actions that your current die would not allow, especially to ensure the capture of powerful Artifact tiles.
• Artifact Synergy: Position your artifacts below the transmutation sections where you plan to make the most moves, allowing the artifact activation to occur at the moment of greatest impact in your turn.