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Gamehelpluthier

2026-08-13T02:31:30Z

ALdigsgames: fixing minor typos or wording for clarity

Luthier is played over 6 rounds with players building and/or repairing instruments, performing, satisfying patron wishes, and claiming public goals.

== START OF GAME SETUP for each Player ==
- Choose a family which provides things like starting resources, lira (money), apprentices, Inspiration (!), and potentially an extra worker and other starting benefits.

- The number on the family also determines the starting player order.

- Choose a Patron from the 2 cards dealt to you.

- Choose an Instrument from the 2 cards dealt to you

- Choose 2 Private Goals from the 4 cards dealt to you

''Suggestion: Choose Private Goals that align with Public goals (above the game board), if possible. See if any public or private goals are for Patrons or Instruments and choose accordingly. Choose a starting instrument that your Patron requires.''

== HOW TO PLAY: ==
Start of Each Round:

- Patron Patience Cubes are advanced and bonuses are collected. If a Patience Cube advances to its last position, the Patron is removed and the player is docked 3 Prestige Points (victory points).

- Up to 2 instruments may be placed on the player's Roughing Bench, as space is available.

Planning Phase:

- Each player starts with a minimum of three workers (round tokens marked 1, 3, 5, unless a family benefit grants more), which are used to "bid" on which actions the player would like to do in that round.

- Workers (and any accompanying apprentices) are placed one at a time, in turn order, in action locations the player would like to do that round.

Resolution Phase:

- Once all players have placed their workers, in turn order, players choose an action location, in which they have a worker, to resolve. Worker tokens are placed in order first by value and any ties are resolved by first placement to last placement order. The player with the highest worker (+apprentice) value takes their actions first at that location, then the next, down to the lowest number.

- When all players with workers on that action location have finished, the next player in game turn order (shown in the Balcony) selects the next action location to resolve. This process is repeated in game turn order until all action locations and marketplace actions have been resolved.

End of Each Round:

- Turn order is updated based on worker order in the balcony and workers returned to players

- Level I cards are discarded, any remaining level II and III cards shift into open slots and remaining open slots are filled from the deck.

''- After round 3, Patron cards in the Salon marked A on the back are removed, and B Patrons are placed on the board.''

- Players who acquired a Specialty Worker this round allocate a worker to activate the card.

- Round marker advances

- Any new worker chips are given to players (worker 2 after round 2, and worker 4 after round 4)

=== ACTION LOCATIONS: ===
Action locations include: Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair, Balcony, Marketplace, Roughing Bench (personal), and Finishing Bench (personal). In all 4 action locations with cards (Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair), there are level I, II, III and Search card options. Level I cards are free, and remaining cards are flushed at the end of each round and replaced first by sliding any remaining level II and III card into level I slots, and the remaining spots are filled by flipping over new cards from the decks. Level II cards cost any combination of 4 lira and/or Inspiration (denoted by an exclamation point !). Level III cards cost 8 lira/inspiration. To Search the deck, pay 10 lira/inspiration AND an apprentice used when the worker was placed must be removed from the game - the player will receive the first card that matches the type chosen. A ''player may opt not to take any of the actions at a location they placed a worker, and take 2 lira instead.''

Note: the 3rd and 6th Reputation Track Bonuses (purple banners running horizontally across the Balcony) grant the player free access to level II and level III cards respectively. ''See How to Finish a Patron and Balcony Action descriptions below for details on how to move the player token across the Reputation Track.''

==== Salon ====
In the Salon, players may choose new Patrons to add to their personal player board OR take 2 Inspiration (represented by an exclamation mark !) and an Apprentice (represented by a hat). Additionally, if a player placed a combined total (worker + apprentices) of 4+, they may reset a Patron's cube and choose any gift that Patron offers. When a new patron is added to the player's board, the player receives the bonus shown on the slot it was placed (4 lira, a resource cube of any type, or an Apprentice).

Anatomy of a Patron card:

- Genre (upper left of card): Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar) - some cards have no symbol, but have all 3 colors in the ring, denoting they are any genre (wildcard).

- Type of patron (upper right of card): Composer (quill), noble (standing lion), Performer (music stand).

- Below the Genre icons, note a stack of 1 or more instrument types (string, woodwind, percussion). When an instrument type is listed by itself, the patron requires you to build that instrument. When there is a musical note (perform) or hammer (repair) on either side of an instrument type, the player must either build an instrument of that type, do a performance of the patron's preferred musical genre, or repair an instrument of that type to fulfill that requirement.

-Below the picture of the patron, the first rectangular gold box shows the number of Prestige Points (aka victory points) the patron provides once the card is completed. The star next to the Prestige Points indicates the player's token will move up 1 space on the Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony), and collect the reward shown.

- The white box below that displays the ongoing or endgame bonuses the player will receive once the Patron has been completed.

- The lowest rectangular box shows the various gifts the Patron will award as their patience block moves across the bottom of the card at the start of each round, or when reset. Note that there are only 2 gifts

- if the last icon in the box is reached, the Patron goes away and the player loses 3 Prestige Points (victory points). 

==== Guild ====
Take an instrument to your hand or 1 metal resource cube. If a total 4 value or higher worker (+ apprentices) is used, the instrument may immediately be placed on the roughing bench and take any 1 resource cube to your personal board supply.

Anatomy of an Instrument card:

- Instrument type icon String (frets), Woodwind (horn), or Percussion (piano keys) is in the top left.

- Instrument name is across the top. Note that there are duplicate instruments in the deck.

- If a diamond gem is present at the right of its name, this instrument is rare and will be placed in the top of the orchestra with its type. These 3 rare instrument orchestra locations allow for unlimited rare instrument first chairs. All rare instruments are first chair and receive the first chair bonus.

- Below the instrument image, the saw icon indicates roughing bench requirements. clear box = animal parts (white blocks), striped blocks = wood, solid brown blocks = metal. \

- The paint brush icon indicates finishing bench requirements.

- Prestige Points upon instrument completion are listed at the bottom, along with the instrument icon as a reminder to put an instrument token in the orchestra and receive any first or second chair bonuses. 

==== Perform ====
Perform or take 3 animal parts cubes (white). If performing, select a card and roll 2 dice - everyone starts with 2 white d6 dice. Each white die has one blank side, two 1 note sides, two 2 note sides, and one 3 note side. If the player has reached the black die location(s) on the Performance Skill Track (purple ribbon track), 1 or more white dice are replaced with black dies with higher pips (up to 4 notes, no blank). If the player has received the purple die (by placing claiming a public goal using the * urn on player board), this die is also rolled. If the player has reached a level to allow for 1 or more rerolls, they may reroll only 1 die per reroll.

Performance value is determined by adding the total worker value (worker + apprentices) + roll total. Inspiration tokens may optionally be used 1:1 to increase this total.

Anatomy of a Performance Card:

- Top right corner icon shows which genre the performance is from. Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar).

- Bottom of card: 3 performance rating level ranges are shown, along with the bonuses for achieving that level. Only the highest level achieved is awarded. Music notes in a circle represent a performance token will be placed in the orchestra for that genre, and any first or second+ chair bonuses will be collected. If the genre matches a Patron requirement that has not been fulfilled, the card is flipped over and placed behind the selected Patron, and the Patron's patience cube is reset. If the performance does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always takes first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair. ''First chairs are counted at end game to score points, and repair/performance tokens in first chair position at the end of the game count towards this total.''

==== Repair ====
Select a repair and pay repair costs or take 2 wood resource cubes. Note that two Inspiration (!) can be used in lieu of any 1 resource when making a repair as many times as is needed - this is also noted on the board under the Repair sign. Once a repair is completed, a repair token is placed in the orchestra and any first/second chair bonuses are collected. If the card completes a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over, placed behind the patron, and the patron's patience cube is reset. If the repaired instrument does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

If a 4 or higher worker (+apprentices) was used, the player's Repair Skill Token moves up 1 space on the Repair Skill Track (purple banner to the left of the Repair cards.

Anatomy of a Repair Card:

- Instrument type is listed in the top left: String (frets), Woodwind (Horn), and Percussion (Piano keys).

- Below the instrument is a list of any resources required to complete a repair and to the right is any Prestige Points (victory points) awarded upon completion.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always takes first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair. ''First chairs are counted at end game to score points, and repair/performance tokens in first chair position at the end of the game count towards this total.''

==== Balcony ====
Options for any worker (+apprentices) value: Place an award token (trophy cup/urn) to claim a Public goal (found above the game board), OR take 6 lira, OR take up to 2 Apprentices from the Marketplace (if currently available). If a total worker (+apprentices) value of 4 or higher was used, also move the player's token across the Reputation Track (purple banners displayed in a row above the orchestra) and gain any bonuses.

The 4 highest players' workers take position under the current turn order track until the setup for the next round, to show the new turn order for next round, then the workers are returned to players for placement in the new round.

==== Roughing Bench (personal player board) ====
Pay the roughing cost on the instrument (shown by the saw icon) to move it from the roughing bench to the finishing bench (right side of player board)
If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 3+ was used, collect 2 Inspiration (!).

If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 5+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing, in addition to the 2 Inspiration gained.

==== Finishing Bench (personal player board) ====
Pay the finishing costs (by the paintbrush) to finish the instrument. Collect the Prestige Points (victory points) and place an instrument token in the instrument's position in the orchestra. Collect any first or second+ chair bonuses shown. If an repair/performance tokens are already present, regardless of how many, take the first chair and the other tokens are demoted to second chair. If an instrument is already present, take second chair - instruments never bump other instruments from first chair. Note that rare instruments with a diamond gem (top right by title), are always first chair, regardless of whether other rare instruments of that type are already present. Rare instruments are placed in the very top section of the orchestra by type.

If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 4+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

If a total value of worker (+apprentices) of 6 was used, double the bonus earned when placing the instrument, in addition to the discount for a 4+ worker.

If the completed instrument fulfills a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over and placed behind the Patron, and the Patron's Patience cube is reset.

==== Marketplace (no workers required) ====
The Marketplace action can be taken once per round by each player on their turn - no workers are required. It cannot be combined with other actions mentioned above. At the beginning of each round, a new card is flipped to reveal the new values for animal parts (WHITE cubes), wood (STRIPED cubes), and metal (SOLID BROWN cubes). The value ranges to expect are written on the marketplace board: 1-3 for animal parts, 2-4 for wood cubes, and 4-6 for metal cubes. Players may buy/sell as many cube resources as they can pay for. Players can also hire additional APPRENTICES for 4 lira each, which can be placed, along with a worker (never alone- they are not extra workers!), to increase the total value of that worker by +1 per apprentice. Additionally, players may spend 15 lira/! to go up 1 spot on a purple Skill Track in Performance or Repair. Note that Inspiration (!) may be used 1:1 as lira in the marketplace. Inspiration cannot be purchased.

== How To's: ==

=== HOW TO FINISH A PATRON: ===
- When all requirements have been completed, the Patron's Prestige Points are awarded.

- The player's marker is advanced on the Reputation Track (purple banner track in the Balcony), and any bonuses are collected

- The completed cards (instruments, performances, and repairs) behind the Patron are discarded

- The Patron's card is flipped over and tucked behind the top of the player board

- Any ongoing benefits on the back of the Patron card is active going forward (ie start of round bonuses, marketplace discounts, skill level/action bumps, etc)

- Any endgame bonuses are active, and calculated at the end of the game

=== HOW TO RESET A PATRON'S PATIENCE CUBE (cube under a Patron): ===
- Complete one of the requirements listed on the Patron's card (bulid an instrument, repair an instrument, or perform)

- Salon: Place a 4 value or higher worker (worker + apprentices) in the Salon to move 1 Patience cube for 1 Patron to the left 1 space (not a full reset), and choose any gift that Patron offers.

=== HOW TO GET LIRA (money) ===
- Any placed worker can collect 2 lira in lieu of the listed actions for that location

- Collect 6 lira by placing any value worker in the Balcony

- Place a new patron card on the player board slot marked with a 4 lira bonus

- Sell resource cubes in the Marketplace for the current buy/sell rate

- Performances give some amount of money at any performance level

- Patrons may have gifts that you receive at the start of the round, or when a 4 or higher worker is placed in the Salon.

- Certain First Chair bonuses include lira; Second chair bonus options are ! or 2 lira.

- Inspiration can be used in the Marketplace 1:1 as lira

- Inspiration can be used in place of any 1 resource in the Repair location

- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (trophy cup/urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

=== HOW TO GET RESOURCES (resource cubes) ===
- The Marketplace is a free action for every player once per round. Items can be purchased using lira or Inspiration (1:1) in the Marketplace

- Perform location optionally provides 3 animal cubes (white) in lieu of performing

- Repair location optionally provides 2 wood (striped) cubes in lieu of completing a repair

- Guild location provides a metal cube in lieu of taking an instrument, and if a 4 value or higher worker (+any apprentices) is used, ANY additional resource can be chosen

- Place a new Patron on your player board in the free resource slot and take ANY free resource

- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

- Certain Patrons have ongoing benefits which may include receiving 1 or more resources at the start of each round.

- Placing the award marker from the right of the resource storage area grants a resource of your choice at the start of each round, in addition to increasing storage capacity from 9 to 12.

- There is a resource savings of -1 resource when the player places a 5 total value worker in the roughing bench, or a 4 total value worker on the finishing bench. Note that these discounts are per worker, not per instrument.

=== HOW TO GET INSPIRATION (! tokens) ===
- Salon: Select 2 inspiration (!) and an apprentice in lieu of taking a Patron

- Roughing Bench: Use a 3 value worker or higher to collect 2 Inspiration (!)

- Patrons: Certain Patrons may offer Inspiration (!) as a gift or ongoing bonus

- Finishing Bench/Orchestra: Certain First Chair bonuses offer Inspiration (!) and the Second Chair bonus is either one Inspiration or 2 lira

=== HOW TO GET PRESTIGE POINTS (victory points) ===
- Complete an instrument, or a Patron

- Patrons may have ongoing or endgame Prestige Points benefits

- Perform - usually the 2nd or 3rd level rewards offer some amount of Prestige Points

- Repair an instrument - most offer some amount of points

- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (trophy cup/urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

- Claim a Public goal (top of the board to left/right of the balcony dome)

- Claim Private goals at endgame

- Reputation Track (purple banners shown horizontally across the Balcony): the 3rd banner from the right grants 2 additional Prestige Points per instrument completed from now on (not retroactive).

== END GAME ==
At the end of the 6th round, the final score is calculated as follows:

1. Current score on the Prestige Points track

2. First chairs (instruments/repairs/performance tokens in first chair position):
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!
!
!
!First
!Chairs
!
!
!
|-
!Player
Count
!2
!3
!4
!5
!6
!7
!8
!9+
|-
|1-3
|1
|2
|4
|6
|9
|13
|18
|24
|-
|4
|2
|4
|6
|9
|13
|18
| colspan="2" |24
|}
3. All endgame powers from completed Patrons are added.

4. Each instrument on the Finishing Bench is scored at 1/2 the Prestige Points (rounded down)

5. The Prestige Points from the highest goal accomplished on each Personal Goal cards are added.

6. Each Specialty Worker Card is worth 1 Prestige Point

7. The sum of all remaining money, resource cubes, Inspiration (!), and apprentices is divided by 10 and awarded 1 Prestige Point for every 10.

Tie breaker: the player with the most remaining money wins. If they're still tied, they share the victory.

Gamehelpluthier

2026-08-13T02:09:54Z

ALdigsgames: switched all bullet points to -'s for better readability on BGA

Luthier is played over 6 rounds with players building and/or repairing instruments, performing, satisfying patron wishes, and claiming public goals.

== START OF GAME SETUP for each Player ==
- Choose a family which provides things like starting resources, lira (money), apprentices, Inspiration (!), and potentially an extra worker and other starting benefits.

- The number on the family also determines the starting player order.

- Choose a Patron from the 2 cards dealt to you.

- Choose an Instrument from the 2 cards dealt to you

- Choose 2 Private Goals from the 4 cards dealt to you

''Suggestion: Choose Private Goals that align with Public goals (above the game board), if possible. See if any public or private goals are for Patrons or Instruments and choose accordingly. Choose a starting instrument that your Patron requires.''

== HOW TO PLAY: ==
Start of Each Round:

- Patron Patience Cubes are advanced and bonuses are collected. If a Patience Cube advances to its last position, the Patron is removed and the player is docked 3 Prestige Points (victory points).

- Up to 2 instruments may be placed on the player's Roughing Bench, as space is available.

Planning Phase:

- Each player starts with a minimum of three workers (round tokens marked 1, 3, 5, unless a family benefit grants more), which are used to "bid" on which actions the player would like to do in that round.

- Workers (and any accompanying apprentices) are placed one at a time, in turn order, in action locations the player would like to do that round.

Resolution Phase:

- Once all players have placed their workers, in turn order, players choose an action location, in which they have a worker, to resolve. Worker tokens are placed in order first by value and any ties are resolved by first placement to last placement order. The player with the highest worker (+apprentice) value takes their actions first at that location, then the next, down to the lowest number.

- When all players with workers on that action location have finished, the next player in game turn order (shown in the Balcony) selects the next action location to resolve. This process is repeated in game turn order until all action locations and marketplace actions have been resolved.

End of Each Round:

- Turn order is updated based on worker order in the balcony and workers returned to players

- Level I cards are discarded, any remaining level II and III cards shift into open slots and remaining open slots are filled from the deck.

''- After round 3, Patron cards in the Salon marked A on the back are removed, and B Patrons are placed on the board.''

- Players who acquired a Specialty Worker this round allocate a worker to activate the card.

- Round marker advances

- Any new worker chips are given to players (worker 2 after round 2, and worker 4 after round 4)

=== ACTION LOCATIONS: ===
Action locations include: Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair, Balcony, Marketplace, Roughing Bench (personal), and Finishing Bench (personal). In all 4 action locations with cards (Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair), there are level I, II, III and Search card options. Level I cards are free, and are flushed at the end of each round and replaced first by sliding any remaining level II and III card into level I slots, and the remaining spots are filled by flipping over new cards from the decks. Level II cards cost any combination of 4 lira and/or Inspiration (denoted by an exclamation point !). Level III cards cost 8 lira/inspiration. To Search the deck, pay 10 lira/inspiration AND an apprentice used when the worker was placed must be removed from the game - the player will receive the first card that matches the type chosen. A ''player may opt not to take any of the actions at a location they placed a worker, and take 2 lira instead.''

Note: the 3rd and 6th Reputation Track Bonuses (purple banners running horizontally across the Balcony) grant the player free access to level II and level III cards respectively. ''See Finishing a Patron and Balcony Action descriptions for details on how to move the player token across the Reputation Track.''

==== Salon ====
In the Salon, players may choose new Patrons to add to their personal player board OR take 2 Inspiration (represented by an exclamation mark !) and an Apprentice (represented by a hat). Additionally, if a player placed a combined total (worker + apprentices) of 4+, they may reset a Patron's cube and choose any gift that Patron offers. When a new patron is added to the player's board, the player receives the bonus shown on the slot it was placed (4 lira, a resource cube of any type, or an Apprentice).

Anatomy of a Patron card:

- Genre (upper left of card): Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar) - some cards have no symbol, but have all 3 colors in the ring, denoting they are any genre (wildcard).

- Type of patron (upper right of card): Composer (quill), noble (standing lion), Performer (music stand).

- Below the Genre icons, note a stack of 1 or more instrument types (string, woodwind, percussion). When an instrument type is listed by itself, the patron requires you to build that instrument. When there is a musical note (perform) or hammer (repair) on either side of an instrument type, the player must either build an instrument of that type, do a performance of the patron's preferred musical genre, or repair an instrument of that type to fulfill that requirement.

-Below the picture of the patron, the first rectangular gold box shows the number of Prestige Points (aka victory points) the patron provides once the card is completed. The star next to the Prestige Points indicates the player's token will move up 1 space on the Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony), and collect the reward shown.

- The white box below that displays the ongoing or endgame bonuses the player will receive once the Patron has been completed.

- The lowest rectangular box shows the various gifts the Patron will award as their patience block moves across the bottom of the card at the start of each round, or when reset. Note that there are only 2 gifts

- if the last icon in the box is reached, the Patron goes away and the player loses 3 Prestige Points (victory points). 

==== Guild ====
Take an instrument to your hand or 1 metal resource cube. If a total 4 value or higher worker (+ apprentices) is used, the instrument may immediately be placed on the roughing bench and take any 1 resource cube to your personal board supply.

Anatomy of an Instrument card:

- Instrument type icon String (frets), Woodwind (horn), or Percussion (piano keys) is in the top left.

- Instrument name is across the top. Note that there are duplicate instruments in the deck.

- If a diamond gem is present at the right of its name, this instrument is rare and will be placed in the top of the orchestra with its type. These 3 rare instrument orchestra locations allow for unlimited rare instrument first chairs. All rare instruments are first chair and receive the first chair bonus.

- Below the instrument image, the saw icon indicates roughing bench requirements. clear box = animal parts (white blocks), striped blocks = wood, solid brown blocks = metal. \

- The paint brush icon indicates finishing bench requirements.

- Prestige Points upon instrument completion are listed at the bottom, along with the instrument icon as a reminder to put an instrument token in the orchestra and receive any first or second chair bonuses. 

==== Perform ====
Perform or take 3 animal parts cubes (white). If performing, select a card and roll 2 dice - everyone starts with 2 white d6 dice. Each white die has one blank side, two 1 note sides, two 2 note sides, and one 3 note side. If the player has reached the black die location(s) on the Performance Skill Track (purple ribbon track), 1 or more white dice are replaced with black dies with higher pips (up to 4 notes, no blank). If the player has received the purple die (by placing claiming a public goal using the * urn on player board), this die is also rolled. If the player has reached a level to allow for 1 or more rerolls, they may reroll only 1 die per reroll.

Performance value is determined by adding the total worker value (worker + apprentices) + roll total. Inspiration tokens may optionally be used 1:1 to increase this total.

Anatomy of a Performance Card:

- Top right corner icon shows which genre the performance is from. Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar).

- Bottom of card: 3 performance rating level ranges are shown, along with the bonuses for achieving that level. Only the highest level achieved is awarded. Music notes in a circle represent a performance token will be placed in the orchestra for that genre, and any first or second+ chair bonuses will be collected. If the genre matches a Patron requirement that has not been fulfilled, the card is flipped over and placed behind the selected Patron, and the Patron's patience cube is reset. If the performance does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

==== Repair ====
Players select a repair and pay repair costs. Note that two Inspiration (!) can be used in lieu of any 1 resource when making a repair as many times as is needed - this is also noted on the board under the Repair sign. Once a repair is completed, a repair token is placed in the orchestra and any first/second chair bonuses are collected. If the card completes a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over, placed behind the patron, and the patron's patience cube is reset. If the repaired instrument does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

Anatomy of a Repair Card:

- Instrument type is listed in the top left: String (frets), Woodwind (Horn), and Percussion (Piano keys).

- Below the instrument is a list of any resources required to complete a repair and to the right is any Prestige Points (victory points) awarded upon completion.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

==== Balcony ====
Options for any worker (+apprentices) value: Place an award token (trophy cup/urn) to claim a Public goal (found above the game board), OR take 6 lira, OR take up to 2 Apprentices from the Marketplace (if currently available). If a total worker (+apprentices) value of 4 or higher was used, also move the player's token across the Reputation Track (purple banners displayed horizontally above the orchestra) and gain any bonuses.

The 4 highest players' workers take position under the current turn order track until the setup for the next round, to show the new turn order for next round, then the workers are returned to players for placement in the new round.

==== Roughing Bench (personal player board) ====
Pay the roughing cost on the instrument (shown by the saw icon) to move it from the roughing bench to the finishing bench (right side of player board)
If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 3+ was used, collect 2 Inspiration (!).

If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 5+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

==== Finishing Bench (personal player board) ====
Pay the finishing costs (by the paintbrush) to finish the instrument. Collect the Prestige Points (victory points) and place an instrument token in the instrument's position in the orchestra. Collect any first or second+ chair bonuses shown. If an repair/performance tokens are already present, regardless of how many, take the first chair and the other tokens are demoted to second chair. If an instrument is already present, take second chair - instruments never bump other instruments from first chair. Note that rare instruments with a diamond gem (top right by title), are always first chair, regardless of whether other rare instruments of that type are already present. Rare instruments are placed in the very top section of the orchestra by type.

If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 4+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

If a total value of worker (+apprentices) of 6 was used, double the bonus earned when placing the instrument.

If the completed instrument fulfills a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over and placed behind the Patron, and the Patron's Patience cube is reset.

==== Marketplace (no workers required) ====
The Marketplace action can be taken once per round by each player on their turn - no workers are required. It cannot be combined with other actions mentioned above. At the beginning of each round, a new card is flipped to reveal the new values for animal parts (WHITE cubes), wood (STRIPED cubes), and metal (SOLID BROWN cubes). The value ranges to expect are written on the marketplace board: 1-3 for animal parts, 2-4 for wood cubes, and 4-6 for metal cubes. Players may buy/sell as many cube resources as they can pay for. Players can also hire additional APPRENTICES for 4 lira each, which can be placed, along with a worker (never alone- they are not extra workers!), to increase the total value of that worker by +1 per apprentice. Additionally, players may spend 15 lira/! to go up 1 spot on a purple Skill Track in Performance or Repair. Note that Inspiration (!) may be used 1:1 as lira in the marketplace. Inspiration cannot be purchased.

== How To's: ==

=== HOW TO FINISH A PATRON: ===
- When all requirements have been completed, the Patron's Prestige Points are awarded.

- The player's marker is advanced on the Reputation Track (purple banner track in the Balcony), and any bonuses are collected

- The completed cards (instruments, performances, and repairs) behind the Patron are discarded

- The Patron's card is flipped over and tucked behind the top of the player board

- Any ongoing benefits on the back of the Patron card is active going forward (ie start of round bonuses, marketplace discounts, skill level/action bumps, etc)

- Any endgame bonuses are active, and calculated at the end of the game

=== HOW TO RESET A PATRON'S PATIENCE CUBE (cube under a Patron): ===
- Complete one of the requirements listed on the Patron's card (bulid an instrument, repair an instrument, or perform)

- Place a 4 value or higher worker (worker + apprentices) in the Salon to move1 Patience cube for 1 Patron to the left 1 space, and choose any gift that Patron offers.

=== HOW TO GET LIRA (money) ===
- Any placed worker can collect 2 lira in lieu of the listed actions for that location

- Collect 6 lira by placing any value worker in the Balcony

- Place a new patron card on the player board slot marked with a 4 lira bonus

- Sell resource cubes in the Marketplace for the current buy/sell rate

- Performances give some amount of money at any performance level

- Patrons may have gifts that you receive at the start of the round, or when a 4 or higher worker is placed in the Salon.

- Certain First Chair bonuses include lira; Second chair bonus options are ! or 2 lira.

- Inspiration can be used in the Marketplace 1:1 as lira

- Inspiration can be used in place of any 1 resource in the Repair location

- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (trophy cup/urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

=== HOW TO GET RESOURCES (resource cubes) ===
- The Marketplace is a free action for every player once per round. Items can be purchased using lira or Inspiration (1:1) in the Marketplace

- Perform location optionally provides 3 animal cubes (white) in lieu of performing

- Repair location optionally provides 2 wood (striped) cubes in lieu of completing a repair

- Guild location provides a metal cube in lieu of taking an instrument, and if a 4 value or higher worker (+any apprentices) is used, ANY additional resource can be chosen

- Place a new Patron on your player board in the free resource slot and take ANY free resource

- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

- Certain Patrons have ongoing benefits which may include receiving 1 or more resources at the start of each round.

- Placing the award marker from the right of the resource storage area grants a resource of your choice at the start of each round, in addition to increasing storage capacity from 9 to 12.

- There is a resource savings of -1 resource when the player places a 5 total value worker in the roughing bench, or a 4 total value worker on the finishing bench. Note that these discounts are per worker, not per instrument.

=== HOW TO GET INSPIRATION (! tokens) ===
- Salon: Select 2 inspiration (!) and an apprentice in lieu of taking a Patron

- Roughing Bench: Use a 3 value worker or higher to collect 2 Inspiration (!)

- Patrons: Certain Patrons may offer Inspiration (!) as a gift or ongoing bonus

- Finishing Bench/Orchestra: Certain First Chair bonuses offer Inspiration (!) and the Second Chair bonus is either one Inspiration or 2 lira

=== HOW TO GET PRESTIGE POINTS (victory points) ===
- Complete an instrument, or a Patron

- Patrons may have ongoing or endgame Prestige Points benefits

- Perform - usually the 2nd or 3rd level rewards offer some amount of Prestige Points

- Repair an instrument - most offer some amount of points

- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (trophy cup/urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

- Claim a Public goal (top of the board to left/right of the balcony dome)

- Claim Private goals at endgame

- Reputation Track (purple banners shown horizontally across the Balcony): the 3rd banner from the right grants 2 additional Prestige Points per instrument completed from now on (not retroactive).

== END GAME ==
At the end of the 6th round, the final score is calculated as follows:

1. Current score on the Prestige Points track

2. First chairs (instruments/repairs/performance tokens in first chair position):
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!
!
!
!First
!Chairs
!
!
!
|-
!Player
Count
!2
!3
!4
!5
!6
!7
!8
!9+
|-
|1-3
|1
|2
|4
|6
|9
|13
|18
|24
|-
|4
|2
|4
|6
|9
|13
|18
| colspan="2" |24
|}
3. All endgame powers from completed Patrons are added.

4. Each instrument on the Finishing Bench is scored at 1/2 the Prestige Points (rounded down)

5. The Prestige Points from the highest goal accomplished on each Personal Goal cards are added.

6. Each Specialty Worker Card is worth 1 Prestige Point

7. The sum of all remaining money, resource cubes, Inspiration (!), and apprentices is divided by 10 and awarded 1 Prestige Point for every 10.

Tie breaker: the player with the most remaining money wins. If they're still tied, they share the victory.

Gamehelpluthier

2026-08-13T01:16:23Z

ALdigsgames: fixed a couple of typos and formatting issues. Switched the bullet points to hypens in the Salon to see what it looks like in BGA, because the bullet points don't display there, causing everything to run together.

Luthier is played over 6 rounds with players building and/or repairing instruments, performing, satisfying patron wishes, and claiming public goals.

== START OF GAME SETUP for each Player: ==
* Choose a family which provides things like starting resources, lira (money), apprentices, Inspiration (!), and potentially an extra worker and other starting benefits.
** The number on the family also determines the starting player order.
* Choose a Patron from the 2 cards dealt to you
* Choose an Instrument from the 2 cards dealt to you
* Choose 2 Private Goals from the 4 cards dealt to you

''Suggestion: Choose Private Goals that align with Public goals (above the game board), if possible. See if any public or private goals are for Patrons or Instruments and choose accordingly. Choose a starting instrument that your Patron requires.''

== HOW TO PLAY: ==
Start of Each Round:

* Patron Patience Cubes are advanced and bonuses are collected. If a Patience Cube advances to its last position, the Patron is removed and the player is docked 3 Prestige Points (victory points).

* Up to 2 instruments may be placed on the player's Roughing Bench, as space is available.

Planning Phase:

* Each player starts with a minimum of three workers (round tokens marked 1, 3, 5, unless a family benefit grants more), which are used to "bid" on which actions the player would like to do in that round.
* Workers (and any accompanying apprentices) are placed one at a time, in turn order, in action locations the player would like to do that round.

Resolution Phase:

* Once all players have placed their workers, in turn order, players choose an action location, in which they have a worker, to resolve. Worker tokens are placed in order first by value and any ties are resolved by first placement to last placement order. The player with the highest worker (+apprentice) value takes their actions first at that location, then the next, down to the lowest number.
* When all players with workers on that action location have finished, the next player in game turn order (shown in the Balcony) selects the next action location to resolve. This process is repeated in game turn order until all action locations and marketplace actions have been resolved.

End of Each Round:

* Turn order is updated based on worker order in the balcony and workers returned to players

* Level I cards are discarded, any remaining level II and III cards shift into open slots and remaining open slots are filled from the deck.
** ''After round 3, Patron cards in the Salon marked A on the back are removed, and B Patrons are placed on the board.''

* Players who acquired a Specialty Worker this round allocate a worker to activate the card.

* Round marker advances

* Any new worker chips are given to players (worker 2 after round 2, and worker 4 after round 4)

=== ACTION LOCATIONS: ===
Action locations include: Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair, Balcony, Marketplace, Roughing Bench (personal), and Finishing Bench (personal). In all 4 action locations with cards (Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair), there are level I, II, III and Search card options. Level I cards are free, and are flushed at the end of each round and replaced first by sliding any remaining level II and III card into level I slots, and the remaining spots are filled by flipping over new cards from the decks. Level II cards cost any combination of 4 lira and/or Inspiration (denoted by an exclamation point !). Level III cards cost 8 lira/inspiration. To Search the deck, pay 10 lira/inspiration AND an apprentice used when the worker was placed must be removed from the game - the player will receive the first card that matches the type chosen. A ''player may opt not to take any of the actions at a location they placed a worker, and take 2 lira instead.''

Note: the 3rd and 6th Reputation Track Bonuses (purple banners running horizontally across the Balcony) grant the player free access to level II and level III cards respectively. ''See Finishing a Patron and Balcony Action descriptions for details on how to move the player token across the Reputation Track.''

==== Salon ====
In the Salon, players may choose new Patrons to add to their personal player board OR take 2 Inspiration (represented by an exclamation mark !) and an Apprentice (represented by a hat). Additionally, if a player placed a combined total (worker + apprentices) of 4+, they may reset a Patron's cube and choose any gift that Patron offers. When a new patron is added to the player's board, the player receives the bonus shown on the slot it was placed (4 lira, a resource cube of any type, or an Apprentice).

Anatomy of a Patron card:

- Genre (upper left of card): Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar) - some cards have no symbol, but have all 3 colors in the ring, denoting they are any genre (wildcard).

- Type of patron (upper right of card): Composer (quill), noble (standing lion), Performer (music stand).

- Below the Genre icons, note a stack of 1 or more instrument types (string, woodwind, percussion). When an instrument type is listed by itself, the patron requires you to build that instrument. When there is a musical note (perform) or hammer (repair) on either side of an instrument type, the player must either build an instrument of that type, do a performance of the patron's preferred musical genre, or repair an instrument of that type to fulfill that requirement.

-Below the picture of the patron, the first rectangular gold box shows the number of Prestige Points (aka victory points) the patron provides once the card is completed. The star next to the Prestige Points indicates the player's token will move up 1 space on the Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony), and collect the reward shown.

- The white box below that displays the ongoing or endgame bonuses the player will receive once the Patron has been completed.

- The lowest rectangular box shows the various gifts the Patron will award as their patience block moves across the bottom of the card at the start of each round, or when reset. Note that there are only 2 gifts

- if the last icon in the box is reached, the Patron goes away and the player loses 3 Prestige Points (victory points). 

==== Guild ====
Take an instrument to your hand or 1 metal resource cube. If a total 4 value or higher worker (+ apprentices) is used, the instrument may immediately be placed on the roughing bench and take any 1 resource cube to your personal board supply.

Anatomy of an Instrument card:

* Instrument type icon String (frets), Woodwind (horn), or Percussion (piano keys) is in the top left.

* Instrument name is across the top. Note that there are duplicate instruments in the deck.

* If a diamond gem is present at the right of its name, this instrument is rare and will be placed in the top of the orchestra with its type. These 3 rare instrument orchestra locations allow for unlimited rare instrument first chairs. All rare instruments are first chair and receive the first chair bonus.

* Below the instrument image, the saw icon indicates roughing bench requirements. clear box = animal parts (white blocks), striped blocks = wood, solid brown blocks = metal. \

* The paint brush icon indicates finishing bench requirements.

* Prestige Points upon instrument completion are listed at the bottom, along with the instrument icon as a reminder to put an instrument token in the orchestra and receive any first or second chair bonuses. 

==== Perform ====
Perform or take 3 animal parts cubes (white). If performing, select a card and roll 2 dice - everyone starts with 2 white d6 dice. Each white die has one blank side, two 1 note sides, two 2 note sides, and one 3 note side. If the player has reached the black die location(s) on the Performance Skill Track (purple ribbon track), 1 or more white dice are replaced with black dies with higher pips (up to 4 notes, no blank). If the player has received the purple die (by placing claiming a public goal using the * urn on player board), this die is also rolled. If the player has reached a level to allow for 1 or more rerolls, they may reroll only 1 die per reroll.

Performance value is determined by adding the total worker value (worker + apprentices) + roll total. Inspiration tokens may optionally be used 1:1 to increase this total.

Anatomy of a Performance Card:

* Top right corner icon shows which genre the performance is from. Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar).

* Bottom of card: 3 performance rating level ranges are shown, along with the bonuses for achieving that level. Only the highest level achieved is awarded. Music notes in a circle represent a performance token will be placed in the orchestra for that genre, and any first or second+ chair bonuses will be collected. If the genre matches a Patron requirement that has not been fulfilled, the card is flipped over and placed behind the selected Patron, and the Patron's patience cube is reset. If the performance does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

==== Repair ====
Players select a repair and pay repair costs. Note that two Inspiration (!) can be used in lieu of any 1 resource when making a repair as many times as is needed - this is also noted on the board under the Repair sign. Once a repair is completed, a repair token is placed in the orchestra and any first/second chair bonuses are collected. If the card completes a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over, placed behind the patron, and the patron's patience cube is reset. If the repaired instrument does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

Anatomy of a Repair Card:

* Instrument type is listed in the top left: String (frets), Woodwind (Horn), and Percussion (Piano keys).

* Below the instrument is a list of any resources required to complete a repair and to the right is any Prestige Points (victory points) awarded upon completion.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

==== Balcony ====
Options for any worker (+apprentices) value: Place an award token (trophy cup/urn) to claim a Public goal (found above the game board), OR take 6 lira, OR take up to 2 Apprentices from the Marketplace (if currently available). If a total worker (+apprentices) value of 4 or higher was used, also move the player's token across the Reputation Track (purple banners displayed horizontally above the orchestra) and gain any bonuses.

The 4 highest players' workers take position under the current turn order track until the setup for the next round, to show the new turn order for next round, then the workers are returned to players for placement in the new round.

==== Roughing Bench (personal player board) ====
Pay the roughing cost on the instrument (shown by the saw icon) to move it from the roughing bench to the finishing bench (right side of player board)
If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 3+ was used, collect 2 Inspiration (!).

If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 5+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

==== Finishing Bench (personal player board) ====
Pay the finishing costs (by the paintbrush) to finish the instrument. Collect the Prestige Points (victory points) and place an instrument token in the instrument's position in the orchestra. Collect any first or second+ chair bonuses shown. If an repair/performance tokens are already present, regardless of how many, take the first chair and the other tokens are demoted to second chair. If an instrument is already present, take second chair - instruments never bump other instruments from first chair. Note that rare instruments with a diamond gem (top right by title), are always first chair, regardless of whether other rare instruments of that type are already present. Rare instruments are placed in the very top section of the orchestra by type.

If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 4+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

If a total value of worker (+apprentices) of 6 was used, double the bonus earned when placing the instrument.

If the completed instrument fulfills a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over and placed behind the Patron, and the Patron's Patience cube is reset.

==== Marketplace (no workers required) ====
The Marketplace action can be taken once per round by each player on their turn - no workers are required. It cannot be combined with other actions mentioned above. At the beginning of each round, a new card is flipped to reveal the new values for animal parts (WHITE cubes), wood (STRIPED cubes), and metal (SOLID BROWN cubes). The value ranges to expect are written on the marketplace board: 1-3 for animal parts, 2-4 for wood cubes, and 4-6 for metal cubes. Players may buy/sell as many cube resources as they can pay for. Players can also hire additional APPRENTICES for 4 lira each, which can be placed, along with a worker (never alone- they are not extra workers!), to increase the total value of that worker by +1 per apprentice. Additionally, players may spend 15 lira/! to go up 1 spot on a purple Skill Track in Performance or Repair. Note that Inspiration (!) may be used 1:1 as lira in the marketplace. Inspiration cannot be purchased.

== How To's: ==

=== HOW TO FINISH A PATRON: ===

* When all requirements have been completed, the Patron's Prestige Points are awarded.
* The player's marker is advanced on the Reputation Track (purple banner track in the Balcony), and any bonuses are collected
* The completed cards (instruments, performances, and repairs) behind the Patron are discarded
* The Patron's card is flipped over and tucked behind the top of the player board

* Any ongoing benefits on the back of the Patron card is active going forward (ie start of round bonuses, marketplace discounts, skill level/action bumps, etc)
* Any endgame bonuses are active, and calculated at the end of the game

=== HOW TO RESET A PATRON'S PATIENCE CUBE (cube under a Patron): ===

* Complete one of the requirements listed on the Patron's card (bulid an instrument, repair an instrument, or perform)
* Place a 4 value or higher worker (worker + apprentices) in the Salon to move1 Patience cube for 1 Patron to the left 1 space, and choose any gift that Patron offers.

=== HOW TO GET LIRA (money) ===

* Any placed worker can collect 2 lira in lieu of the listed actions for that location
* Collect 6 lira by placing any value worker in the Balcony
* Place a new patron card on the player board slot marked with a 4 lira bonus
* Sell resource cubes in the Marketplace for the current buy/sell rate
* Performances give some amount of money at any performance level
* Patrons may have gifts that you receive at the start of the round, or when a 4 or higher worker is placed in the Salon.
* Certain First Chair bonuses include lira; Second chair bonus options are ! or 2 lira.
* Inspiration can be used in the Marketplace 1:1 as lira
* Inspiration can be used in place of any 1 resource in the Repair location
* Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (trophy cup/urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

=== HOW TO GET RESOURCES (resource cubes) ===

* The Marketplace is a free action for every player once per round. Items can be purchased using lira or Inspiration (1:1) in the Marketplace
* Perform location optionally provides 3 animal cubes (white) in lieu of performing
* Repair location optionally provides 2 wood (striped) cubes in lieu of completing a repair
* Guild location provides a metal cube in lieu of taking an instrument, and if a 4 value or higher worker (+any apprentices) is used, ANY additional resource can be chosen
* Place a new Patron on your player board in the free resource slot and take ANY free resource
* Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
* Certain Patrons have ongoing benefits which may include receiving 1 or more resources at the start of each round.
* Placing the award marker from the right of the resource storage area grants a resource of your choice at the start of each round, in addition to increasing storage capacity from 9 to 12.
* There is a resource savings of -1 resource when the player places a 5 total value worker in the roughing bench, or a 4 total value worker on the finishing bench. Note that these discounts are per worker, not per instrument.

=== HOW TO GET INSPIRATION (! tokens) ===

* Salon: Select 2 inspiration (!) and an apprentice in lieu of taking a Patron
* Roughing Bench: Use a 3 value worker or higher to collect 2 Inspiration (!)
* Patrons: Certain Patrons may offer Inspiration (!) as a gift or ongoing bonus
* Finishing Bench/Orchestra: Certain First Chair bonuses offer Inspiration (!) and the Second Chair bonus is either one Inspiration or 2 lira

=== HOW TO GET PRESTIGE POINTS (victory points) ===

* Complete an instrument, or a Patron
* Patrons may have ongoing or endgame Prestige Points benefits
* Perform - usually the 2nd or 3rd level rewards offer some amount of Prestige Points
* Repair an instrument - most offer some amount of points
* Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (trophy cup/urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
* Claim a Public goal (top of the board to left/right of the balcony dome)
* Claim Private goals at endgame
* Reputation Track (purple banners shown horizontally across the Balcony): the 3rd banner from the right grants 2 additional Prestige Points per instrument completed from now on (not retroactive).

== END GAME ==
At the end of the 6th round, the final score is calculated as follows:

1. Current score on the Prestige Points track

2. First chairs (instruments/repairs/performance tokens in first chair position):
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!
!
!
!First
!Chairs
!
!
!
|-
!Player
Count
!2
!3
!4
!5
!6
!7
!8
!9+
|-
|1-3
|1
|2
|4
|6
|9
|13
|18
|24
|-
|4
|2
|4
|6
|9
|13
|18
| colspan="2" |24
|}
3. All endgame powers from completed Patrons are added.

4. Each instrument on the Finishing Bench is scored at 1/2 the Prestige Points (rounded down)

5. The Prestige Points from the highest goal accomplished on each Personal Goal cards are added.

6. Each Specialty Worker Card is worth 1 Prestige Point

7. The sum of all remaining money, resource cubes, Inspiration (!), and apprentices is divided by 10 and awarded 1 Prestige Point for every 10.

Tie breaker: the player with the most remaining money wins. If they're still tied, they share the victory.

Gamehelpluthier

2026-08-11T06:52:32Z

ALdigsgames: formatting changes for clarity/consistency, minor typo fixes, added a table to end game scoring for clarification.

Luthier is played over 6 rounds with players building and/or repairing instruments, performing, satisfying patron wishes, and claiming public goals.

== START OF GAME SETUP for each Player: ==
* Choose a family which provides things like starting resources, lira (money), apprentices, Inspiration (!), and potentially an extra worker and other starting benefits.
** The number on the family also determines the starting player order.
* Choose a Patron from the 2 cards dealt to you
* Choose an Instrument from the 2 cards dealt to you
* Choose 2 Private Goals from the 4 cards dealt to you

''Suggestion: Choose Private Goals that align with Public goals (above the game board), if possible. See if any public or private goals are for Patrons or Instruments and choose accordingly. Choose a starting instrument that your Patron requires.''

== HOW TO PLAY: ==
Start of Each Round:

* Patron Patience Cubes are advanced and bonuses are collected. If a Patience Cube advances to its last position, the Patron is removed and the player is docked 3 Prestige Points (victory points).

* Up to 2 instruments may be placed on the player's Roughing Bench, as space is available.

Planning Phase:

* Each player starts with a minimum of three workers (round tokens marked 1, 3, 5, unless a family benefit grants more), which are used to "bid" on which actions the player would like to do in that round.
* Workers (and any accompanying apprentices) are placed one at a time, in turn order, in action locations the player would like to do that round.

Resolution Phase:

* Once all players have placed their workers, in turn order, players choose an action location, in which they have a worker, to resolve. Worker tokens are placed in order first by value and any ties are resolved by first placement to last placement order. The player with the highest worker (+apprentice) value takes their actions first at that location, then the next, down to the lowest number.
* When all players with workers on that action location have finished, the next player in game turn order (shown in the Balcony) selects the next action location to resolve. This process is repeated in game turn order until all action locations and marketplace actions have been resolved.

End of Each Round:

* Turn order is updated based on worker order in the balcony and workers returned to players

* Level I cards are discarded, any remaining level II and III cards shift into open slots and remaining open slots are filled from the deck.
** ''After round 3, Patron cards in the Salon marked A on the back are removed, and B Patrons are placed on the board.''

* Players who acquired a Specialty Worker this round allocate a worker to activate the card.

* Round marker advances

* Any new worker chips are given to players (worker 2 after round 2, and worker 4 after round 4)

=== ACTION LOCATIONS: ===
Action locations include: Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair, Balcony, Marketplace, Roughing Bench (personal), and Finishing Bench (personal). In all 4 action locations with cards (Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair), there are level I, II, III and Search card options. Level I cards are free, and are flushed at the end of each round and replaced first by sliding any remaining level II and III card into level I slots, and the remaining spots are filled by flipping over new cards from the decks. Level II cards cost any combination of 4 lira and/or Inspiration (denoted by an exclamation point !). Level III cards cost 8 lira/inspiration. To Search the deck, pay 10 lira/inspiration AND an apprentice used when the worker was placed must be removed from the game - the player will receive the first card that matches the type chosen.

Note: the 3rd and 6th Reputation Track Bonuses (purple banners running horizontally across the Balcony) grant the player free access to level II and level III cards respectively. ''See Finishing a Patron and Balcony Action descriptions for details on how to move the player token across the Reputation Track.''

==== Salon ====
In the Salon, players may choose new Patrons to add to their personal player board OR take 2 Inspiration (represented by an exclamation mark !) and an Apprentice (represented by a hat). Additionally, if a player placed a combined total (worker + apprentices) of 4+, they may reset a Patron's cube and choose any gift that Patron offers. When a new patron is added to the player's board, the player receives the bonus shown on the slot it was placed (4 lira, a resource cube of any type, or an Apprentice).

Anatomy of a Patron card:

* Genre (upper left of card): Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar) - some cards have no symbol, but have all 3 colors in the ring, denoting they are any genre (wildcard).

* Type of patron (upper right of card): Composer (quill), noble (standing lion), Performer (music stand).

* Below the Genre icons, note a stack of 1 or more instrument types (string, woodwind, percussion). When an instrument type is listed by itself, the patron requires you to build that instrument. When there is a musical note (perform) or hammer (repair) on either side of an instrument type, the player must either build an instrument of that type, do a performance of the patron's preferred musical genre, or repair an instrument of that type to fulfill that requirement.

* Below the picture of the patron, the first rectangular gold box shows the number of Prestige Points (aka victory points) the patron provides once the card is completed. The star next to the Prestige Points indicates the player's token will move up 1 space on the Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony), and collect the reward shown.

* The white box below that displays the ongoing or endgame bonuses the player will receive once the Patron has been completed.

* The lowest rectangular box shows the various gifts the Patron will award as their patience block moves across the bottom of the card at the start of each round, or when reset. Note that there are only 2 gifts
** if the last icon in the box is reached, the Patron goes away and the player loses 3 Prestige Points (victory points). 

==== Guild ====
Take an instrument to your hand or 1 metal resource cube. If a total 4 value or higher worker (+ apprentices) is used, the instrument may immediately be placed on the roughing bench and take any 1 resource cube to your personal board supply.

Anatomy of an Instrument card:

* Instrument type icon String (frets), Woodwind (horn), or Percussion (piano keys) is in the top left.

* Instrument name is across the top. Note that there are duplicate instruments in the deck.

* If a diamond gem is present at the right of its name, this instrument is rare and will be placed in the top of the orchestra with its type. These 3 rare instrument orchestra locations allow for unlimited rare instrument first chairs. All rare instruments are first chair and receive the first chair bonus.

* Below the instrument image, the saw icon indicates roughing bench requirements. clear box = animal parts (white blocks), striped blocks = wood, solid brown blocks = metal. \

* The paint brush icon indicates finishing bench requirements.

* Prestige Points upon instrument completion are listed at the bottom, along with the instrument icon as a reminder to put an instrument token in the orchestra and receive any first or second chair bonuses. 

==== Perform ====
Perform or take 3 animal parts cubes (white). If performing, select a card and roll 2 dice - everyone starts with 2 white d6 dice. Each white die has one blank side, two 1 note sides, two 2 note sides, and one 3 note side. If the player has reached the black die location(s) on the Performance Skill Track (purple ribbon track), 1 or more white dice are replaced with black dies with higher pips (up to 4 notes, no blank). If the player has received the purple die (by placing claiming a public goal using the * urn on player board), this die is also rolled. If the player has reached a level to allow for 1 or more rerolls, they may reroll only 1 die per reroll.

Performance value is determined by adding the total worker value (worker + apprentices) + roll total. Inspiration tokens may optionally be used 1:1 to increase this total.

Anatomy of a Performance Card:

* Top right corner icon shows which genre the performance is from. Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar).

* Bottom of card: 3 performance rating level ranges are shown, along with the bonuses for achieving that level. Only the highest level achieved is awarded. Music notes in a circle represent a performance token will be placed in the orchestra for that genre, and any first or second+ chair bonuses will be collected. If the genre matches a Patron requirement that has not been fulfilled, the card is flipped over and placed behind the selected Patron, and the Patron's patience cube is reset. If the performance does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

==== Repair ====
Players select a repair and pay repair costs. Note that two Inspiration (!) can be used in lieu of any 1 resource when making a repair as many times as is needed - this is also noted on the board under the Repair sign. Once a repair is completed, a repair token is placed in the orchestra and any first/second chair bonuses are collected. If the card completes a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over, placed behind the patron, and the patron's patience cube is reset. If the repaired instrument does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

Anatomy of a Repair Card:

* Instrument type is listed in the top left: String (frets), Woodwind (Horn), and Percussion (Piano keys).

* Below the instrument is a list of any resources required to complete a repair and to the right is any Prestige Points (victory points) awarded upon completion.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

==== Balcony ====
Options for any worker (+apprentices) value: Place an award token (trophy cup/urn) to claim a Public goal (found above the game board), OR take 6 lira, OR take up to 2 Apprentices from the Marketplace (if currently available). If a total worker (+apprentices) value of 4 or higher was used, also move the player's token across the Reputation Track (purple banners displayed horizontally above the orchestra) and gain any bonuses.

The 4 highest players' workers take position under the current turn order track until the setup for the next round, to show the new turn order for next round, then the workers are returned to players for placement in the new round.

==== Roughing Bench (personal player board) ====
Pay the roughing cost on the instrument (shown by the saw icon) to move it from the roughing bench to the finishing bench (right side of player board)
If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 3+ was used, collect 2 Inspiration (!).

If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 5+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

==== Finishing Bench (personal player board) ====
Pay the finishing costs (by the paintbrush) to finish the instrument. Collect the Prestige Points (victory points) and place an instrument token in the instrument's position in the orchestra. Collect any first or second+ chair bonuses shown. If an repair/performance tokens are already present, regardless of how many, take the first chair and the other tokens are demoted to second chair. If an instrument is already present, take second chair - instruments never bump other instruments from first chair. Note that rare instruments with a diamond gem (top right by title), are always first chair, regardless of whether other rare instruments of that type are already present. Rare instruments are placed in the very top section of the orchestra by type.

If a total value worker (+apprentices) of 4+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

If a total value of worker (+apprentices) of 6 was used, double the bonus earned when placing the instrument.

If the completed instrument fulfills a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over and placed behind the Patron, and the Patron's Patience cube is reset.

==== Marketplace (no workers required) ====
The Marketplace action can be taken once per round by each player on their turn - no workers are required. It cannot be combined with other actions mentioned above. At the beginning of each round, a new card is flipped to reveal the new values for animal parts (WHITE cubes), wood (STRIPED cubes), and metal (SOLID BROWN cubes). The value ranges to expect are written on the marketplace board: 1-3 for animal parts, 2-4 for wood cubes, and 4-6 for metal cubes. Players may buy/sell as many cube resources as they can pay for. Players can also hire additional APPRENTICES for 4 lira each, which can be placed, along with a worker (never alone- they are not extra workers!), to increase the total value of that worker by +1 per apprentice. Additionally, players may spend 15 lira/! to go up 1 spot on a purple Skill Track in Performance or Repair. Note that Inspiration (!) may be used 1:1 as lira in the marketplace. Inspiration cannot be purchased.

== How To's: ==

=== HOW TO FINISH A PATRON: ===

* When all requirements have been completed, the Patron's Prestige Points are awarded.
* The player's marker is advanced on the Reputation Track (purple banner track in the Balcony), and any bonuses are collected
* The completed cards (instruments, performances, and repairs) behind the Patron are discarded
* The Patron's card is flipped over and tucked behind the top of the player board

* Any ongoing benefits on the back of the Patron card is active going forward (ie start of round bonuses, marketplace discounts, skill level/action bumps, etc)
* Any endgame bonuses are active, and calculated at the end of the game

=== HOW TO RESET A PATRON'S PATIENCE CUBE (cube under a Patron): ===

* Complete one of the requirements listed on the Patron's card (bulid an instrument, repair an instrument, or perform)
* Place a 4 value or higher worker (worker + apprentices) in the Salon to reset 1 Patience cube for 1 Patron and choose any gift that Patron offers.

=== HOW TO GET LIRA (money) ===

* Any placed worker can collect 2 lira in lieu of the listed actions for that location
* Collect 6 lira by placing any value worker in the Balcony
* Place a new patron card on the player board slot marked with a 4 lira bonus
* Sell resource cubes in the Marketplace for the current buy/sell rate
* Performances give some amount of money at any performance level
* Patrons may have gifts that you receive at the start of the round, or when a 4 or higher worker is placed in the Salon.
* Certain First Chair bonuses include lira; Second chair bonus options are ! or 2 lira.
* Inspiration can be used in the Marketplace 1:1 as lira
* Inspiration can be used in place of any 1 resource in the Repair location
* Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (trophy cup/urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

=== HOW TO GET RESOURCES (resource cubes) ===

* The Marketplace is a free action for every player once per round. Items can be purchased using lira or Inspiration (1:1) in the Marketplace
* Perform location optionally provides 3 animal cubes (white) in lieu of performing
* Repair location optionally provides 2 wood (striped) cubes in lieu of completing a repair
* Guild location provides a metal cube in lieu of taking an instrument, OR if a 4 value or higher worker (+any apprentices) is used, ANY resource can be chosen
* Place a new Patron on your player board in the free resource slot and take ANY free resource
* Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
* Certain Patrons have ongoing benefits which may include receiving 1 or more resources at the start of each round.
* Placing the award marker from the right of the resource storage area grants a resource of your choice at the start of each round, in addition to increasing storage capacity from 9 to 12.
* There is a cost savings of -1 resource when the player places a 5 total value worker in the roughing bench, or a 4 total value worker on the finishing bench. Note that these discounts are per worker, not per instrument.

=== HOW TO GET INSPIRATION (! tokens) ===

* Salon: Select 2 inspiration (!) and an apprentice in lieu of taking a Patron
* Roughing Bench: Use a 3 value worker or higher to collect 2 Inspiration (!)
* Patrons: Certain Patrons may offer Inspiration (!) as a gift or ongoing bonus
* Finishing Bench/Orchestra: Certain First Chair bonuses offer Inspiration (!) and the Second Chair bonus is either one Inspiration or 2 lira

=== HOW TO GET PRESTIGE POINTS (victory points) ===

* Complete an instrument, or a Patron
* Patrons may have ongoing or endgame Prestige Points benefits
* Perform - usually the 2nd or 3rd level rewards offer some amount of Prestige Points
* Repair an instrument - most offer some amount of points
* Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (trophy cup/urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
* Claim a Public goal (top of the board to left/right of the balcony dome)
* Claim Private goals at endgame
* Reputation Track (purple banners shown horizontally across the Balcony): the 3rd banner from the right grants 2 additional Prestige Points per instrument completed from now on (not retroactive).

== END GAME ==
At the end of the 6th round, the final score is calculated as follows:

1. Current score on the Prestige Points track

2. First chairs (instruments/repairs/performance tokens in first chair position):
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!
!
!
!First
!Chairs
!
!
!
|-
!Player
Count
!2
!3
!4
!5
!6
!7
!8
!9+
|-
|1-3
|1
|2
|4
|6
|9
|13
|18
|24
|-
|4
|2
|4
|6
|9
|13
|18
| colspan="2" |24
|}
3. All endgame powers from completed Patrons are added.

4. Each instrument on the Finishing Bench is scored at 1/2 the Prestige Points (rounded down)

5. The Prestige Points from the highest goal accomplished on each Personal Goal cards are added.

6. Each Specialty Worker Card is worth 1 Prestige Point

7. The sum of all remaining money, resource cubes, Inspiration (!), and apprentices is divided by 10 and awarded 1 Prestige Point for every 10.

Tie breaker: the player with the most remaining money wins. If they're still tied, they share the victory.

Gamehelpluthier

2026-08-11T02:09:13Z

ALdigsgames: fixed a few typos and formatting issues/inconsistencies

Luthier is played over 6 rounds with players building and/or repairing instruments, performing, satisfying patron wishes, and claiming public goals.

-- START OF GAME SETUP for each Player:

* Choose a family which provides things like starting resources, lira (money), apprentices, Inspiration (!), and potentially an extra worker and other starting benefits. The number on the family also determines the starting player order.
* Choose a Patron
* Choose an Instrument
* Choose 2 Private Goals

-- HOW TO PLAY:

Each player starts with a minimum of three workers (tokens marked 1, 3, 5, unless a family benefit grants more), which are used to bid on which actions the player would like to do in that round. Bids are resolved at the end of the bidding phase by putting the tokens in order from highest to lowest. Each player will receive their 2 worker after round 2, and their 4 worker after round 4, if they haven't already been in play (ie by a family benefit).

Once all players have placed all workers (plus any apprentices accompanying those workers), in turn order, each player chooses which action to resolve. All workers are flipped over to reveal their numbers, and arranged from highest to lowest -ties are broken in order of the workers placed first in that spot. Each player who placed a worker in that location then takes their turn in worker order. Once all players with workers on that action location have finished, the next player in game turn order (shown in the Balcony) selects the next action location to resolve. This process is repeated in game turn order until all action locations and marketplace actions have been resolved.

-- ACTION LOCATIONS:

In all 4 action locations with cards (Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair), there are level I, II, III and Search card options. Level I cards are free, and are flushed at the end of each round and replaced first by sliding any remaining level II and III card into level I slots, and the remaining spots are filled by flipping over new cards from the decks. Level II cards cost any combination of 4 lira and/or Inspiration (denoted by an exclamation point !). Level III cards cost 8 lira/inspiration. To Search the deck, pay 10 lira/inspiration AND an apprentice used when the worker was placed must be removed from the game - the player will receive the first card that matches the type chosen.

Note: the 3rd and 6th Reputation Track Bonuses (purple banners running horizontally across the Balcony) grant the player free access to level II and level III cards respectively. ''See Finishing a Patron and Balcony Action descriptions for details on how to move the player token across the Reputation Track.''

* Salon
In the Salon, players may choose new Patrons to add to their personal player board OR take 2 Inspiration (represented by an exclamation mark !) and an Apprentice (represented by a hat). Additionally, if a player placed a combined total (worker + apprentices) of 4+, they may reset a Patron's cube and choose any gift that Patron offers. When a new patron is added to the player's board, the player receives the bonus shown on the slot it was placed (4 lira, a resource cube of any type, or an Apprentice).

Anatomy of a Patron card:

-Genre (upper left of card): Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar) - some cards have no symbol, but have all 3 colors in the ring, denoting they are any genre (wildcard).

-Type of patron (upper right of card): Composer (quill), noble (standing lion), Performer (music stand).

-Below the Genre icons, note a stack of 1 or more instrument types (string, woodwind, percussion). When an instrument type is listed by itself, the patron requires you to build that instrument. When there is a musical note (perform) or hammer (repair) on either side of an instrument type, the player must either build an instrument of that type, do a performance of the patron's preferred musical genre, or repair an instrument of that type to fulfill that requirement.

-Below the picture of the patron, the first rectangular gold box shows the number of Prestige Points (aka victory points) the patron provides once the card is completed. The star next to the Prestige Points indicates the player's token will move up 1 space on the Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony), and collect the reward shown.

-The white box below that displays the ongoing or endgame bonuses the player will receive once the Patron has been completed.

-The lowest rectangular box shows the various gifts the Patron will award as their patience block moves across the bottom of the card at the start of each round, or when reset. Note that there are only 2 gifts - if the last icon in the box is reached, the Patron goes away and the player loses 3 Prestige Points (victory points).

* Guild
Take an instrument to your hand or 1 metal resource cube. If a total 4 value or higher worker (+ apprentices) is used, the instrument may immediately be placed on the roughing bench and take any 1 resource cube to your personal board supply.

Anatomy of an Instrument card:

-Instrument type icon String (frets), Woodwind (horn), or Percussion (piano keys) is in the top left.

-Instrument name is across the top. Note that there are duplicate instruments in the deck.

-If a diamond gem is present at the right of its name, this instrument is rare and will be placed in the top of the orchestra with its type. These 3 rare instrument orchestra locations allow for unlimited rare instrument first chairs. All rare instruments are first chair and receive the first chair bonus.

-Below the instrument image, the saw icon indicates roughing bench requirements. clear box = animal parts (white blocks), striped blocks = wood, solid brown blocks = metal.
\

-The paint brush icon indicates finishing bench requirements.

-Prestige Points upon instrument completion are listed at the bottom, along with the instrument icon as a reminder to put an instrument token in the orchestra and receive any first or second chair bonuses.

* Perform
Perform or take 3 animal parts cubes (white). If performing, select a card and roll 2 dice - everyone starts with 2 white d6 dice. Each white die has one blank side, two 1 note sides, two 2 note sides, and one 3 note side. If the player has reached the black die location(s) on the Performance Skill Track (purple ribbon track), 1 or more white dice are replaced with black dies with higher pips (up to 4 notes, no blank). If the player has received the purple die (by placing claiming a public goal using the * urn on player board), this die is also rolled. If the player has reached a level to allow for 1 or more rerolls, they may reroll only 1 die per reroll.

Performance value is determined by adding the total worker value (worker + apprentices) + roll total. Inspiration tokens may optionally be used 1:1 to increase this total.

Anatomy of a Performance Card:

- Top right corner icon shows which genre the performance is from. Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar).

-Bottom of card: 3 performance rating level ranges are shown, along with the bonuses for achieving that level. Only the highest level achieved is awarded. Music notes in a circle represent a performance token will be placed in the orchestra for that genre, and any first or second+ chair bonuses will be collected. If the genre matches a Patron requirement that has not been fulfilled, the card is flipped over and placed behind the selected Patron, and the Patron's patience cube is reset. If the performance does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

* Repair
Players select a repair and pay repair costs. Note that two Inspiration (!) can be used in lieu of any 1 resource when making a repair as many times as is needed - this is also noted on the board under the Repair sign. Once a repair is completed, a repair token is placed in the orchestra and any first/second chair bonuses are collected. If the card completes a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over, placed behind the patron, and the patron's patience cube is reset. If the repaired instrument does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

Anatomy of a Repair Card:

-Instrument type is listed in the top left: String (frets), Woodwind (Horn), and Percussion (Piano keys).

-Below the instrument is a list of any resources required to complete a repair and to the right is any Prestige Points (victory points) awarded upon completion.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

* Balcony
Options for any worker+apprentice(s) value: Place an award token (urn) to claim a Public goal (found above the game board), OR take 6 lira, OR take up to 2 Apprentices from the Marketplace (if currently available). If a total worker+apprentice(s) value of 4 or higher was used, also move the player's token across the Reputation Track (purple banners displayed horizontally above the orchestra) and gain any bonuses.

The 4 highest players' workers take position under the current turn order track until the setup for the next round, to show the new turn order for next round, then the workers are returned to players for placement in the new round.

* Roughing Bench (personal player board)
Pay the roughing cost on the instrument (shown by the saw icon) to move it from the roughing bench to the finishing bench (right side of player board)
If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 3+ was used, collect 2 Inspiration (!).
If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 5+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

* Finishing Bench (personal player board)
Pay the finishing costs (by the paintbrush) to finish the instrument. Collect the Prestige Points (victory points) and place an instrument token in the instrument's position in the orchestra. Collect any first or second+ chair bonuses shown. If an repair/performance tokens are already present, regardless of how many, take the first chair and the other tokens are demoted to second chair. If an instrument is already present, take second chair - instruments never bump other instruments from first chair. Note that rare instruments with a diamond gem (top right by title), are always first chair, regardless of whether other rare instruments of that type are already present. Rare instruments are placed in the very top section of the orchestra by type.

If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 4+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing
If a total value of worker+apprentice(s) of 6 was used, double the bonus earned when placing the instrument.

If the completed instrument fulfills a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over and placed behind the Patron, and the Patron's Patience cube is reset.

* Marketplace (no workers required - can be done 1x/player per round on their turn)

The Marketplace action can be taken once per round by each player on their turn - no workers are required. It cannot be combined with other actions mentioned above. At the beginning of each round, a new card is flipped to reveal the new values for animal parts (WHITE cubes), wood (STRIPED cubes), and metal (SOLID BROWN cubes). The value ranges to expect are written on the marketplace board: 1-3 for animal parts, 2-4 for wood cubes, and 4-6 for metal cubes. Players may buy/sell as many cube resources as they can pay for. Players can also hire additional APPRENTICES for 4 lira each, which can be placed, along with a worker (never alone- they are not extra workers!), to increase the total value of that worker by +1 per apprentice. Additionally, players may spend 15 lira/! to go up 1 spot on a purple Skill Track in Performance or Repair. Note that Inspiration (!) may be used 1:1 as lira in the marketplace. Inspiration cannot be purchased.

-- FINISHING A PATRON:
- When all requirements have been completed, the Patron's Prestige Points are awarded. The completed cards behind the Patron are discarded, and the Patron's card is flipped over and tucked behind the top of the player board
- Any ongoing benefits are granted (ie start of round bonuses, marketplace discounts, etc)
- Any endgame bonuses are active, and calculated at the end of the game

-- HOW TO RESET A PATRON'S PATIENCE CUBE:
- complete one of the requirements listed on the Patron's card (bulid an instrument, repair and instrument, or perform)
- Place a 4 value or higher worker (worker + apprentices) in the Salon to reset 1 Patience cube for 1 Patron and choose any gift that Patron offers.

-- HOW TO GET LIRA (money)
- Any placed worker can collect 2 lira in lieu of the listed actions for that location
- Collect 6 lira by placing any value worker in the Balcony
- Place a new patron card on the player board slot for 4 lira
- Sell resource cubes in the Marketplace for the current buy/sell rate
- Performances give some amount of money at any performance level
- Patrons may have gifts that you receive at the start of the round, or when a 4 or higher worker is placed in the Salon.
- Certain First Chair bonuses include lira; Second chair bonus options are ! or 2 lira.
- Inspiration can be used in the Marketplace 1:1 as lira
- Inspiration can be used in place of any 1 resource in the Repair location
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

-- HOW TO GET RESOURCES (cubes)
- The Marketplace is a free action for every player once per round. Items can be purchased using lira or Inspiration (1:1) in the Marketplace
- Perform location optionally provides 3 animal cubes (white) in lieu of performing
- Repair location optionally provides 2 wood (striped) cubes in lieu of completing a repair
- Guild location provides a metal cube in lieu of taking an instrument, OR if a 4 value or higher worker (+any apprentices) is used, ANY resource can be chosen
- Place a new Patron on your player board in the free resource slot and take ANY free resource
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
- Certain Patrons have ongoing benefits which may include receiving 1 or more resources at the start of each round.
- Placing the award marker from the right of the resource storage area grants a resource of your choice at the start of each round, in addition to increasing storage capacity from 9 to 12.
- There is a cost savings of -1 resource when the player places a 5 total value worker in the roughing bench, or a 4 total value worker on the finishing bench. Note that these discounts are per worker, not per instrument.

-- HOW TO GET INSPIRATION (!)
- Salon: Select 2 inspiration (!) and an apprentice in liey of taking a Patron
- Roughing Bench: Use a 3 value worker or higher to collect 2 Inspiration (!)
- Certain Patrons may offer Inspiration (!) as a gift or ongoing bonus
- Certain First Chair bonuses offer Inspiration (!) and the Second Chair bonus is either one Inspiration or 2 lira

-- HOW TO GET PRESTIGE POINTS (victory points)
- Complete an instrument, or a Patron
- Patrons may also have ongoing or endgame Prestige Points benefits
- Perform - usually the 2nd or 3rd level rewards offer some amount of Prestige Points
- Repair an instrument - most offer some amount of points
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
- Claim a Public goal (top of the board to left/right of the balcony dome)
- Claim Private goals at endgame
- Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony) - 3rd banner from the right grants 2 additional Prestige Points per instrument completed from now on (not retroactive).

-- END GAME

At the end of the 6th round, the final score is calculated as follows:

1. Current score on the Prestige Points track

2. First chairs (instruments/repairs/performance tokens in first chair position): in a 1-3 player game 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9 first chairs are given 1/2/4/6/9/13/18/24 Prestige Points (victory points). Or in a 4 player game 2/3/4/5/6/7/8+ first chairs are given 2/4/6/9/13/18/24 Prestige Points.

3. All endgame powers from completed Patrons are added.

4. Each instrument on the Finishing Bench is scored at 1/2 the Prestige Points (rounded down)

5. The Prestige Points from the highest goal accomplished on each Personal Goal cards are added.

6. Each Specialty Worker Card is worth 1 Prestige Point

7. The sum of all remaining money, resource cubes, Inspiration (!), and apprentices is divided by 10 and awarded 1 Prestige Point for every 10.

Tie breaker: the player with the most remaining money wins. If they're still tied, they share the victory.

Gamehelpluthier

2026-08-11T01:50:02Z

ALdigsgames: Fixed spacing issues, captialized some of the section titles for clarity and consistency. Added Start of Game setup section at top.

Luthier is played over 6 rounds with players building and/or repairing instruments, performing, satisfying patron wishes, and claiming public goals.

-- START OF GAME SETUP for each Player:

* Choose a family which provides things like starting resources, lira (money), apprentices, Inspiration (!), and potentially an extra worker and other starting benefits. The number on the family also determines the starting player order.
* Choose a Patron
* Choose an Instrument
* Choose 2 Private Goals

-- HOW TO PLAY:

Each player starts with a minimum of three workers (tokens marked 1, 3, 5, unless a family benefit grants more), which are used to bid on which actions the player would like to do in that round. Bids are resolved at the end of the bidding phase by putting the tokens in order from highest to lowest. Each player will receive their 2 worker after round 2, and their 4 worker after round 4, if they haven't already been in play (ie by a family benefit).

Once all players have placed all workers (plus any apprentices accompanying those workers), in turn order, each player chooses which action to resolve. All workers are flipped over to reveal their numbers, and arranged from highest to lowest -ties are broken in order of the workers placed first in that spot. Each player who placed a worker in that location then takes their turn in worker order. Once all players with workers on that action location have finished, the next player in game turn order (shown in the Balcony) selects the next action location to resolve. This process is repeated in game turn order until all action locations and marketplace actions have been resolved.

-- ACTION LOCATIONS:

In all 4 action locations with cards (Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair), there are level I, II, III and IV card options. Level I cards are free, and are flushed at the end of each round and replaced first by sliding remaining cards level III and higher, and the remaining spots are filled by flipping over new cards from the decks. Level II cards cost any combination of 4 lira and/or Inspiration (denoted by an exclamation point !). Level III cards cost 8 lira/inspiration. To Search the deck, pay 10 lira/inspiration AND an apprentice used when the worker was placed must be removed from the game - the player will receive the first card that matches the type chosen.

* Salon
In the Salon, players may choose new Patrons to add to their personal player board OR take 2 Inspiration (represented by an !) and an Apprentice (represented by a hat). Additionally, if a player placed a combined total (worker + apprentices), they may reset a Patron's cube and choose any gift that Patron offers. When a new patron is added to the player's board, the player receives the bonus shown on the slot it was placed (4 lira, a resource cube of any type, or an Apprentice).

Anatomy of a Patron card: Genre (upper left of card): Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar) - some cards have no symbol, but have all 3 colors in the ring, denoting they are any genre (wildcard). Type of patron (upper right of card): Composer (quill), noble (standing lion), Performer (music stand). Below the Genre icons, note a stack of 1 or more instrument types (string, woodwind, percussion). When an instrument type is listed by itself, the patron requires you to build that instrument. When there is a musical note (perform) or hammer (repair) on either side of an instrument type, the player must either build an instrument of that type, do a performance of the patron's preferred musical genre, or repair an instrument of that type to fulfill that requirement. Below the picture of the patron, the first rectangular gold box shows the number of Prestige Points (aka victory points) the patron provides once the card is completed. The star next to the Prestige Points indicates the player's token will move up 1 space on the Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony), and collect the reward shown. The white box below that displays the ongoing or endgame bonuses the player will receive once the Patron has been completed. The lowest rectangular box shows the various gifts the Patron will award as their patience block moves across the bottom of the card at the start of each round, or when reset. Note that there are only 2 gifts - if the last icon in the box is reached, the Patron goes away and the player loses 3 Prestige Points (victory points).

* Guild
Take an instrument to your hand or 1 metal resource cube. If a total 4 value or higher worker (+ apprentices) is used, the instrument may immediately be placed on the roughing bench and take any 1 resource cube to your personal board supply.

Anatomy of an Instrument card:
Instrument type icon String (frets), Woodwind (horn), or Percussion (piano keys) is in the top left.
Instrument name is across the top. Note that there are duplicate instruments in the deck.
If a diamond gem is present at the right, this instrument is rare and will be placed in the top of the orchestra with its type. These 3 rare instrument orchestra locations allow for unlimited rare instrument first chairs. All rare instruments are first chair and receive the first chair bonus.
Below the instrument image, the saw icon indicates roughing bench requirements. clear box = animal parts (white blocks), striped blocks = wood, solid brown blocks = metal.
The paint brush icon indicates finishing bench requirements.
Prestige Points upon instrument completion are listed at the bottom, along with the instrument icon as a reminder to put an instrument token in the orchestra and receive any first or second chair bonuses.

* Perform
Perform or take 3 animal parts cubes (white). If performing, select a card and roll 2 dice - everyone starts with 2 white d6 dice. Each white die has one blank side, two 1 note sides, two 2 note sides, and one 3 note side. If the player has reached the black die location(s) on the Performance Skill Track (purple ribbon track), 1 or more white dice are replaced with black dies with higher pips (up to 4 notes, no blank). If the player has received the purple die (by placing claiming a public goal using the * urn on player board), this die is also rolled. If the player has reached a level to allow for 1 or more rerolls, they may reroll only 1 die per reroll.

Performance value is determined by adding the total worker value (worker + apprentices) + roll total. Inspiration tokens may optionally be used 1:1 to increase this total.

Anatomy of a Performance Card:
Top right corner icon shows which genre the performance is from. Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar).
Bottom of card: 3 performance rating level rangess are shown, along with the bonuses for achieving that level. Only the highest level achieved is awarded. Music notes in a circle represent a performance token will be placed in the orchestra for that genre, and any first or second+ chair bonuses will be collected. If the genre matches a Patron requirement that has not been fulfilled, the card is flipped over and placed behind the selected Patron, and the Patron's patience cube is reset. If the performance does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

* Repair
Players select a repair and pay repair costs. Note that two Inspiration (!) can be used in lieu of any 1 resource when making a repair as many times as is needed - this is also noted on the board under the Repair sign. Once a repair is completed, a repair token is placed in the orchestra and any first/second chair bonuses are collected. If the card completes a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over, placed behind the patron, and the patron's patience cube is reset. If the repaired instrument does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

Anatomy of a Repair Card:
Instrument type is listed in the top left: String (frets), Woodwind (Horn), and Percussion (Piano keys).
Below the instrument is a list of any resources required to complete a repair and to the right is any Prestige Points (victory points) awarded upon completion.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

* Balcony
Options for any worker+apprentice(s) value: Place an award token (urn) to claim a Public goal (found above the game board), OR take 6 lira, OR take up to 2 Apprentices from the Marketplace (if currently available). If a total worker+apprentice(s) value of 4 or higher was used, also move the player's token across the Reputation Track (purple banners displayed horizontally above the orchestra) and gain any bonuses.

The 4 highest players' workers take position under the current turn order track until the setup for the next round, to show the new turn order for next round, then the workers are returned to players for placement in the new round.

* Roughing Bench (personal player board)
Pay the roughing cost on the instrument (shown by the saw icon) to move it from the roughing bench to the finishing bench (right side of player board)
If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 3+ was used, collect 2 Inspiration (!).
If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 5+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

* Finishing Bench (personal player board)
Pay the finishing costs (by the paintbrush) to finish the instrument. Collect the Prestige Points (victory points) and place an instrument token in the instrument's position in the orchestra. Collect any first or second+ chair bonuses shown. If an repair/performance tokens are already present, regardless of how many, take the first chair and the other tokens are demoted to second chair. If an instrument is already present, take second chair - instruments never bump other instruments from first chair. Note that rare instruments with a diamond gem (top right by title), are always first chair, regardless of whether other rare instruments of that type are already present. Rare instruments are placed in the very top section of the orchestra by type.

If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 4+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing
If a total value of worker+apprentice(s) of 6 was used, double the bonus earned when placing the instrument.

If the completed instrument fulfills a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over and placed behind the Patron, and the Patron's Patience cube is reset.

* Marketplace (no workers required - can be done 1x/player per round on their turn)

The Marketplace action can be taken once per round by each player on their turn - no workers are required. It cannot be combined with other actions mentioned above. At the beginning of each round, a new card is flipped to reveal the new values for animal parts (WHITE cubes), wood (STRIPED cubes), and metal (SOLID BROWN cubes). The value ranges to expect are written on the marketplace board: 1-3 for animal parts, 2-4 for wood cubes, and 4-6 for metal cubes. Players may buy/sell as many cube resources as they can pay for. Players can also hire additional APPRENTICES for 4 lira each, which can be placed, along with a worker (never alone- they are not extra workers!), to increase the total value of that worker by +1 per apprentice. Additionally, players may spend 15 lira/! to go up 1 spot on a purple Skill Track in Performance or Repair. Note that Inspiration (!) may be used 1:1 as lira in the marketplace. Inspiration cannot be purchased.

-- FINISHING A PATRON:
- When all requirements have been completed, the Patron's Prestige Points are awarded. The completed cards behind the Patron are discarded, and the Patron's card is flipped over and tucked behind the top of the player board
- Any ongoing benefits are granted (ie start of round bonuses, marketplace discounts, etc)
- Any endgame bonuses are active, and calculated at the end of the game

-- HOW TO RESET A PATRON'S PATIENCE CUBE:
- complete one of the requirements listed on the Patron's card (bulid an instrument, repair and instrument, or perform)
- Place a 4 value or higher worker (worker + apprentices) in the Salon to reset 1 Patience cube for 1 Patron and choose any gift that Patron offers.

-- HOW TO GET LIRA (money)
- Any placed worker can collect 2 lira in lieu of the listed actions for that location
- Collect 6 lira by placing any value worker in the Balcony
- Place a new patron card on the player board slot for 4 lira
- Sell resource cubes in the Marketplace for the current buy/sell rate
- Performances give some amount of money at any performance level
- Patrons may have gifts that you receive at the start of the round, or when a 4 or higher worker is placed in the Salon.
- Certain First Chair bonuses include lira; Second chair bonus options are ! or 2 lira.
- Inspiration can be used in the Marketplace 1:1 as lira
- Inspiration can be used in place of any 1 resource in the Repair location
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

-- HOW TO GET RESOURCES (cubes)
- The Marketplace is a free action for every player once per round. Items can be purchased using lira or Inspiration (1:1) in the Marketplace
- Perform location optionally provides 3 animal cubes (white) in lieu of performing
- Repair location optionally provides 2 wood (striped) cubes in lieu of completing a repair
- Guild location provides a metal cube in lieu of taking an instrument, OR if a 4 value or higher worker (+any apprentices) is used, ANY resource can be chosen
- Place a new Patron on your player board in the free resource slot and take ANY free resource
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
- Certain Patrons have ongoing benefits which may include receiving 1 or more resources at the start of each round.
- Placing the award marker from the right of the resource storage area grants a resource of your choice at the start of each round, in addition to increasing storage capacity from 9 to 12.
- There is a cost savings of -1 resource when the player places a 5 total value worker in the roughing bench, or a 4 total value worker on the finishing bench. Note that these discounts are per worker, not per instrument.

-- HOW TO GET INSPIRATION (!)
- Salon: Select 2 inspiration (!) and an apprentice in liey of taking a Patron
- Roughing Bench: Use a 3 value worker or higher to collect 2 Inspiration (!)
- Certain Patrons may offer Inspiration (!) as a gift or ongoing bonus
- Certain First Chair bonuses offer Inspiration (!) and the Second Chair bonus is either one Inspiration or 2 lira

-- HOW TO GET PRESTIGE POINTS (victory points)
- Complete an instrument, or a Patron
- Patrons may also have ongoing or endgame Prestige Points benefits
- Perform - usually the 2nd or 3rd level rewards offer some amount of Prestige Points
- Repair an instrument - most offer some amount of points
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
- Claim a Public goal (top of the board to left/right of the balcony dome)
- Claim Private goals at endgame
- Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony) - 3rd banner from the right grants 2 additional Prestige Points per instrument completed from now on (not retroactive).

-- END GAME

At the end of the 6th round, the final score is calculated as follows:

1. Current score on the Prestige Points track

2. First chairs (instruments/repairs/performance tokens in first chair position): in a 1-3 player game 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9 first chairs are given 1/2/4/6/9/13/18/24 Prestige Points (victory points). Or in a 4 player game 2/3/4/5/6/7/8+ first chairs are given 2/4/6/9/13/18/24 Prestige Points.

3. All endgame powers from completed Patrons are added.

4. Each instrument on the Finishing Bench is scored at 1/2 the Prestige Points (rounded down)

5. The Prestige Points from the highest goal accomplished on each Personal Goal cards are added.

6. Each Specialty Worker Card is worth 1 Prestige Point

7. The sum of all remaining money, resource cubes, Inspiration (!), and apprentices is divided by 10 and awarded 1 Prestige Point for every 10.

Tie breaker: the player with the most remaining money wins. If they're still tied, they share the victory.

Gamehelpluthier

2026-08-11T01:39:12Z

ALdigsgames: Luthier is played over 6 rounds with players building and/or repairing instruments, performing, satisfying patron wishes, and claiming public goals.

Luthier is played over 6 rounds with players building and/or repairing instruments, performing, satisfying patron wishes, and claiming public goals. Each player starts with a minimum of three workers (tokens marked 1, 3, 5, unless a family benefit grants more), which are used to bid on which actions the player would like to do in that round. Bids are resolved at the end of the bidding phase by putting the tokens in order from highest to lowest. Each player will receive their 2 worker after round 2, and their 4 worker after round 4, if they haven't already been in play (ie by a family benefit).

Once all players have placed all workers (plus any apprentices accompanying those workers), in turn order, each player chooses which action to resolve. All workers are flipped over to reveal their numbers, and arranged from highest to lowest -ties are broken in order of the workers placed first in that spot. Each player who placed a worker in that location then takes their turn in worker order. Once all players with workers on that action location have finished, the next player in game turn order (shown in the Balcony) selects the next action location to resolve. This process is repeated in game turn order until all action locations and marketplace actions have been resolved.

-- Action Locations:
In all 4 action locations with cards (Salon, Guild, Perform, Repair), there are level I, II, III and IV card options. Level I cards are free, and are flushed at the end of each round and replaced first by sliding remaining cards level III and higher, and the remaining spots are filled by flipping over new cards from the decks. Level II cards cost any combination of 4 lira and/or Inspiration (denoted by an exclamation point !). Level III cards cost 8 lira/inspiration. To Search the deck, pay 10 lira/inspiration AND an apprentice used when the worker was placed must be removed from the game - the player will receive the first card that matches the type chosen.

* Salon
In the Salon, players may choose new Patrons to add to their personal player board OR take 2 Inspiration (represented by an !) and an Apprentice (represented by a hat). Additionally, if a player placed a combined total (worker + apprentices), they may reset a Patron's cube and choose any gift that Patron offers. When a new patron is added to the player's board, the player receives the bonus shown on the slot it was placed (4 lira, a resource cube of any type, or an Apprentice).

Anatomy of a Patron card: Genre (upper left of card): Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar) - some cards have no symbol, but have all 3 colors in the ring, denoting they are any genre (wildcard). Type of patron (upper right of card): Composer (quill), noble (standing lion), Performer (music stand). Below the Genre icons, note a stack of 1 or more instrument types (string, woodwind, percussion). When an instrument type is listed by itself, the patron requires you to build that instrument. When there is a musical note (perform) or hammer (repair) on either side of an instrument type, the player must either build an instrument of that type, do a performance of the patron's preferred musical genre, or repair an instrument of that type to fulfill that requirement. Below the picture of the patron, the first rectangular gold box shows the number of Prestige Points (aka victory points) the patron provides once the card is completed. The star next to the Prestige Points indicates the player's token will move up 1 space on the Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony), and collect the reward shown. The white box below that displays the ongoing or endgame bonuses the player will receive once the Patron has been completed. The lowest rectangular box shows the various gifts the Patron will award as their patience block moves across the bottom of the card at the start of each round, or when reset. Note that there are only 2 gifts - if the last icon in the box is reached, the Patron goes away and the player loses 3 Prestige Points (victory points).

* Guild
Take an instrument to your hand or 1 metal resource cube. If a total 4 value or higher worker (+ apprentices) is used, the instrument may immediately be placed on the roughing bench and take any 1 resource cube to your personal board supply.

Anatomy of an Instrument card:
Instrument type icon String (frets), Woodwind (horn), or Percussion (piano keys) is in the top left.
Instrument name is across the top. Note that there are duplicate instruments in the deck.
If a diamond gem is present at the right, this instrument is rare and will be placed in the top of the orchestra with its type. These 3 rare instrument orchestra locations allow for unlimited rare instrument first chairs. All rare instruments are first chair and receive the first chair bonus.
Below the instrument image, the saw icon indicates roughing bench requirements. clear box = animal parts (white blocks), striped blocks = wood, solid brown blocks = metal.
The paint brush icon indicates finishing bench requirements.
Prestige Points upon instrument completion are listed at the bottom, along with the instrument icon as a reminder to put an instrument token in the orchestra and receive any first or second chair bonuses.

* Perform
Perform or take 3 animal parts cubes (white). If performing, select a card and roll 2 dice - everyone starts with 2 white d6 dice. Each white die has one blank side, two 1 note sides, two 2 note sides, and one 3 note side. If the player has reached the black die location(s) on the Performance Skill Track (purple ribbon track), 1 or more white dice are replaced with black dies with higher pips (up to 4 notes, no blank). If the player has received the purple die (by placing claiming a public goal using the * urn on player board), this die is also rolled. If the player has reached a level to allow for 1 or more rerolls, they may reroll only 1 die per reroll.

Performance value is determined by adding the total worker value (worker + apprentices) + roll total. Inspiration tokens may optionally be used 1:1 to increase this total.

Anatomy of a Performance Card:
Top right corner icon shows which genre the performance is from. Romantic (red heart), Baroque (brown fleur de lis), or Classical (blue pillar).
Bottom of card: 3 performance rating level rangess are shown, along with the bonuses for achieving that level. Only the highest level achieved is awarded. Music notes in a circle represent a performance token will be placed in the orchestra for that genre, and any first or second+ chair bonuses will be collected. If the genre matches a Patron requirement that has not been fulfilled, the card is flipped over and placed behind the selected Patron, and the Patron's patience cube is reset. If the performance does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

* Repair
Players select a repair and pay repair costs. Note that two Inspiration (!) can be used in lieu of any 1 resource when making a repair as many times as is needed - this is also noted on the board under the Repair sign. Once a repair is completed, a repair token is placed in the orchestra and any first/second chair bonuses are collected. If the card completes a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over, placed behind the patron, and the patron's patience cube is reset. If the repaired instrument does not fulfill a Patron requirement, it is discarded.

Anatomy of a Repair Card:
Instrument type is listed in the top left: String (frets), Woodwind (Horn), and Percussion (Piano keys).
Below the instrument is a list of any resources required to complete a repair and to the right is any Prestige Points (victory points) awarded upon completion.

NOTE: After placing the new performance or repair token, if first chair has been taken by another player's performance/repair token (doesn't apply if an instrument is already in first chair), and the total of the player's token exceeds that of the current first chair, the current player takes the first chair spot/bonuses. The first Instrument placed always take first chair/bonuses, regardless of number of performance/repair tokens. Additional instruments take second+ chair.

* Balcony
Options for any worker+apprentice(s) value: Place an award token (urn) to claim a Public goal (found above the game board), OR take 6 lira, OR take up to 2 Apprentices from the Marketplace (if currently available). If a total worker+apprentice(s) value of 4 or higher was used, also move the player's token across the Reputation Track (purple banners displayed horizontally above the orchestra) and gain any bonuses.

The 4 highest players' workers take position under the current turn order track until the setup for the next round, to show the new turn order for next round, then the workers are returned to players for placement in the new round.

* Roughing Bench (personal player board)
Pay the roughing cost on the instrument (shown by the saw icon) to move it from the roughing bench to the finishing bench (right side of player board)
If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 3+ was used, collect 2 Inspiration (!).
If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 5+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing

* Finishing Bench (personal player board)
Pay the finishing costs (by the paintbrush) to finish the instrument. Collect the Prestige Points (victory points) and place an instrument token in the instrument's position in the orchestra. Collect any first or second+ chair bonuses shown. If an repair/performance tokens are already present, regardless of how many, take the first chair and the other tokens are demoted to second chair. If an instrument is already present, take second chair - instruments never bump other instruments from first chair. Note that rare instruments with a diamond gem (top right by title), are always first chair, regardless of whether other rare instruments of that type are already present. Rare instruments are placed in the very top section of the orchestra by type.

If a total value worker+apprentice(s) of 4+ was used, pay 1 less resource of your choice when roughing
If a total value of worker+apprentice(s) of 6 was used, double the bonus earned when placing the instrument.

If the completed instrument fulfills a Patron requirement, the card is flipped over and placed behind the Patron, and the Patron's Patience cube is reset.

* Marketplace (no workers required - can be done 1x/player per round on their turn)

The Marketplace action can be taken once per round by each player on their turn - no workers are required. It cannot be combined with other actions mentioned above. At the beginning of each round, a new card is flipped to reveal the new values for animal parts (WHITE cubes), wood (STRIPED cubes), and metal (SOLID BROWN cubes). The value ranges to expect are written on the marketplace board: 1-3 for animal parts, 2-4 for wood cubes, and 4-6 for metal cubes. Players may buy/sell as many cube resources as they can pay for. Players can also hire additional APPRENTICES for 4 lira each, which can be placed, along with a worker (never alone- they are not extra workers!), to increase the total value of that worker by +1 per apprentice. Additionally, players may spend 15 lira/! to go up 1 spot on a purple Skill Track in Performance or Repair. Note that Inspiration (!) may be used 1:1 as lira in the marketplace. Inspiration cannot be purchased.

-- Finishing a Patron
- When all requirements have been completed, the Patron's Prestige Points are awarded. The completed cards behind the Patron are discarded, and the Patron's card is flipped over and tucked behind the top of the player board
- Any ongoing benefits are granted (ie start of round bonuses, marketplace discounts, etc)
- Any endgame bonuses are active, and calculated at the end of the game

-- How to reset a Patron's Patience cube
- complete one of the requirements listed on the Patron's card (bulid an instrument, repair and instrument, or perform)
- Place a 4 value or higher worker (worker + apprentices) in the Salon to reset 1 Patience cube for 1 Patron and choose any gift that Patron offers.

-- How to get lira (money)
- Any worker placed can be exchanged for 2 lira in lieu of the listed actions for that location
- Collect 6 lira by placing any value worker in the Balcony
- Place a new patron card on the player board slot for 4 lira
- Sell resource cubes in the Marketplace for the current buy/sell rate
- Performances give some amount of money at any performance level
- Patrons may have gifts that you receive at the start of the round, or when a 4 or higher worker is placed in the Salon.
- Certain First Chair bonuses include lira; Second chair bonus options are ! or 2 lira.
- Inspiration can be used in the Marketplace 1:1 as lira
- Inspiration can be used in place of any 1 resource in the Repair location
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.

-- How to get (cube) Resources
- The Marketplace is a free action for every player once per round. Items can be purchased using lira or Inspiration (1:1) in the Marketplace
- Perform location optionally provides 3 animal cubes (white) in lieu of performing
- Repair location optionally provides 2 wood (striped) cubes in lieu of completing a repair
- Guild location provides a metal cube in lieu of taking an instrument, OR if a 4 value or higher worker (+any apprentices) is used, ANY resource can be chosen
- Place a new Patron on your player board in the free resource slot and take ANY free resource
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
- Certain Patrons have ongoing benefits which may include receiving 1 or more resources at the start of each round.
- Placing the award marker from the right of the resource storage area grants a resource of your choice at the start of each round, in addition to increasing storage capacity from 9 to 12.
- There is a cost savings of -1 resource when the player places a 5 total value worker in the roughing bench, or a 4 total value worker on the finishing bench. Note that these discounts are per worker, not per instrument.

-- How to get Inspiration (!)
- Salon: Select 2 inspiration (!) and an apprentice in liey of taking a Patron
- Roughing Bench: Use a 3 value worker or higher to collect 2 Inspiration (!)
- Certain Patrons may offer Inspiration (!) as a gift or ongoing bonus
- Certain First Chair bonuses offer Inspiration (!) and the Second Chair bonus is either one Inspiration or 2 lira

-- How to get Prestige Points (victory points)
- Complete an instrument, or a Patron
- Patrons may also have ongoing or endgame Prestige Points benefits
- Perform - usually the 2nd or 3rd level rewards offer some amount of Prestige Points
- Repair an instrument - most offer some amount of points
- Purple performance die (acquired by claiming a public goal using the award marker (urn) from the * position on your player board), rolled along with performance dice, offers resources, lira, or Prestige Points.
- Claim a Public goal (top of the board to left/right of the balcony dome)
- Claim Private goals at endgame
- Reputation Track (purple banners moving horizontally across the Balcony) - 3rd banner from the right grants 2 additional Prestige Points per instrument completed from now on (not retroactive).

-- END GAME

At the end of the 6th round, the final score is calculated as follows:

1. Current score on the Prestige Points track

2. First chairs (instruments/repairs/performance tokens in first chair position): in a 1-3 player game 2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9 first chairs are given 1/2/4/6/9/13/18/24 Prestige Points (victory points). Or in a 4 player game 2/3/4/5/6/7/8+ first chairs are given 2/4/6/9/13/18/24 Prestige Points.

3. All endgame powers from completed Patrons are added.

4. Each instrument on the Finishing Bench is scored at 1/2 the Prestige Points (rounded down)

5. The Prestige Points from the highest goal accomplished on each Personal Goal cards are added.

6. Each Specialty Worker Card is worth 1 Prestige Point

7. The sum of all remaining money, resource cubes, Inspiration (!), and apprentices is divided by 10 and awarded 1 Prestige Point for every 10.

Tie breaker: the player with the most remaining money wins. If they're still tied, they share the victory.

Gamehelptirnanog

2026-07-10T07:19:24Z

ALdigsgames:

Overview

The game is played over 5 rounds, with 3 phases per round: Journey, Saga, and Cleanup. Each round players take turns placing storytellers, drafting cards from the Otherworld, and playing cards into their tableau.

Journey phase:

Each player has 3 storytellers (pawns). Starting with the first player, and moving left (clockwise), players take turns placing a storyteller on a group of encounter card(s) in the Otherworld (rectangle of available cards) they'd like to draft, until all storytellers have been placed.

Otherworld grid size is determined by player count:

1 player = 3x3

2 player = 3x3

3 player = 3x4

4 player = 3x5

5 player = 3x6

-Saga Phase:

Starting with the player on the right of the 1st player marker moving counterclockwise, on their turn, each player performs 2 actions:

1. Select one of their storytellers, draft 1 encounter card adjacent to their storyteller, and then add that card to their hand.

2. Play a card from their hand onto their 3x5 tableau, minding placement rules dictated by the geas card (rules/scoring card) to the left of the row. Maximum of 5 cards per row, unless a card/game effect allows violation of that rule. Cards must be placed in the first available spot in the row from left to right. If there are any gaps between cards, from a previous game effect, the next card played to the row must fill that gap. If a legal play is not possible, a card must be discarded.

If there are no cards left next to a storyteller, the storyteller becomes "lost" and is passed until all players have finished drafting and placing their cards. The player(s) with lost storyteller(s) then embark, moving counterclockwise from the 1st player, on an Echtra Quest, by selecting any 1 remaining card, adding it to their hand, and playing a card.

-Clean Up Phase:

At the end of each round, each player discards a card from their hand. The cards in the Otherworld are also discarded and refilled.

-Card Anatomy and Icons:

The number in the top left is the value of the card. A small plus sign in a white circle under that number is called an Ailm, which is used in certain game effects. Following the masthead across to the right, the color symbol indicates the card's color. Below the color symbol are subplots expansion icons. If the card has an effect, the description will be at the bottom of the card, along with when/frequency the effect takes place. Color and value changes from a game effect are indicated with a token placed on the card. When a card is moved, any tokens previously placed travel with it.

-Scoring:

At the end of the 5th round, geas cards are scored, followed by Regions scoring. For the purposes of scoring, blank spaces in row(s) simply do not count. A blank space in the middle of a row disrupts connections and runs for all Geas cards, including the Regions of Tír na nÓg Geas card. Each of the largest connected (orthogonally adjacent) color cards using the Regions of Tir na nOg Geas card. For each color, the player with the largest 1st connected field of cards receives 8 points, the player with the 2nd largest gets 3 points. Ties are split by tied level and rounded down. For example:if 2 players tie for first place, 8 points divided by 2 players would be 4 points each for first place, and 3 points divided by 2 players is 1 point each - no second place is awarded.

--SOLO Mode:

Balor, the automa, is controlled by his card. On each of his turns, a card is drawn, checked for the presence of an Ailm (plus sign under the card value), and if present, his control card flips over. One one side the highest values are used, on the opposite side of his control card, the lower values are used. The control card is shown next to the Otherworld grid of cards. Balor does not create a grid, but rather cards are placed side by side.

--SOLO Mode Scoring:

Your score for Geas cards are calculated normally. Balor scores the points located in the lower right of each of the three Geas cards.

Balor's cards are revealed at the end. Choose and discard a number of cards from Balor’s scoring pile based on the difficulty setting you want to play.

When comparing color regions, Balor’s connected region size is the number of all cards of that color remaining in his scoring pile after discarding.

Points are awarded like normal for a two-player game: 8 points to the player with the largest region of that color, 3 points to the player with the second largest region, and 0 points to players with regions of 0 or 1 cards. Ties split the first and second total 11 points evenly rounded down, so 5 points each.

Gamehelptirnanog

2026-07-09T22:52:49Z

ALdigsgames: Journey to the Otherworld by placing Storytellers next to Encounter cards, then select from the cards next to your Storytellers and add them to your Saga, which is the grid of cards in front of you. At the end of 5 rounds, score each row according to the rules on its corresponding Geas card, and earn points for having the most connected Encounter cards of each color. The highest score wins.

Overview
The game is played over 5 rounds, with 3 phases per round: Journey, Saga, and Cleanup. Each round players take turns placing storytellers, drafting cards from the Otherworld, and playing cards into their tableau.

Journey phase:
Each player has 3 storytellers (pawns). Starting with the first player, and moving left (clockwise), players take turns placing a storyteller on a group of encounter card(s) in the Otherworld (rectangle of available cards) they'd like to draft, until all storytellers have been placed.

Otherworld grid size is determined by player count:
1 player = 3x3
2 player = 3x3
3 player = 3x4
4 player = 3x5
5 player = 3x6

-Saga Phase:
Starting with the player on the right of the 1st player marker moving counterclockwise, on their turn, each player performs 2 actions:
1. Select one of their storytellers, draft 1 encounter card adjacent to their storyteller, and then add that card to their hand.

2. Play a card from their hand onto their 3x5 tableau, minding placement rules dictated by the geas card (rules/scoring card) to the left of the row. Maximum of 5 cards per row, unless a card/game effect allows violation of that rule. Cards must be placed in the first available spot in the row from left to right. If there are any gaps between cards, from a previous game effect, the next card played to the row must fill that gap. If a legal play is not possible, a card must be discarded.

If there are no cards left next to a storyteller, the storyteller becomes "lost" and is passed until all players have finished drafting and placing their cards. The player(s) with lost storyteller(s) then embark, moving counterclockwise from the 1st player, on an Echtra Quest, by selecting any 1 remaining card, adding it to their hand, and playing a card.

-Clean Up Phase:
At the end of each round, each player discards a card from their hand. The cards in the Otherworld are also discarded and refilled.

-Card Anatomy and Icons:
The number in the top left is the value of the card. A small plus sign in a white circle under that number is called an Ailm, which is used in certain game effects. Following the masthead across to the right, the color symbol indicates the card's color. Below the color symbol are subplots expansion icons. If the card has an effect, the description will be at the bottom of the card, along with when/frequency the effect takes place. Color and value changes from a game effect are indicated with a token placed on the card. When a card is moved, any tokens previously placed travel with it.

-Scoring:
At the end of the 5th round, geas cards are scored, followed by Regions scoring. For the purposes of scoring, blank spaces in row(s) simply do not count. A blank space in the middle of a row disrupts connections and runs for all Geas cards, including the Regions of Tír na nÓg Geas card. Each of the largest connected (orthogonally adjacent) color cards using the Regions of Tir na nOg Geas card. For each color, the player with the largest 1st connected field of cards receives 8 points, the player with the 2nd largest gets 3 points. Ties are split by tied level and rounded down. For example:if 2 players tie for first place, 8 points divided by 2 players would be 4 points each for first place, and 3 points divided by 2 players is 1 point each - no second place is awarded.

--SOLO Mode:
Balor, the automa, is controlled by his card. On each of his turns, a card is drawn, checked for the presence of an Ailm (plus sign under the card value), and if present, his control card flips over. One one side the highest values are used, on the opposite side of his control card, the lower values are used. The control card is shown next to the Otherworld grid of cards. Balor does not create a grid, but rather cards are placed side by side.

--SOLO Mode Scoring:
SCORING: Your score for Geas cards are calculated normally. Balor scores the points located in the lower right of each of the three Geas cards.
Balor's cards are revealed at the end. Choose and discard a number of cards from Balor’s scoring pile based on the difficulty setting you want to play.
When comparing color regions, Balor’s connected region size is the number of all cards of that color remaining in his scoring pile after discarding.
Points are awarded like normal for a two-player game: 8 points to the player with the largest region of that color, 3 points to the player with the second largest region, and 0 points to players with regions of 0 or 1 cards. Ties split the first and second total 11 points evenly rounded down, so 5 points each.