GamehelpArchivarium

OVERVIEW

Archivarium is a fast-paced, tense dice duel for two players. You are a keeper of the crumbling Infinite Library, where knowledge manifests as physical Scrolls (dice). Your duty is to gather identical Scrolls into stable Archives and protect them with The Seal. Lone Scrolls become volatile Keys, capable of unlocking and absorbing a rival's Archives. The ritual of this struggle is itself called Archivarium. The core of the game is a simple, compelling loop: Roll dice, gather matching sets, and decide — push your luck for safety or stop and strike. Manage your risks, outmaneuver your rival, and seize their knowledge to survive. Easy to learn, yet rich with strategic decisions, Archivarium captures the thrill of a perfect gamble and the agony of a single, devastating roll. A full match lasts 5–20 minutes and is played over two balanced rounds. Will you become the last keeper of the library, or dissolve into the whisper of forgotten pages?

OBJECTIVE

Leave your opponent with no dice at the start of their turn.

SETUP Each player takes 6 dice and places them in their area.

GAMEPLAY

Players take turns. A turn consists of one or more rolls.

1. ROLL Take all dice currently in your area and roll them.
2. MANDATORY GROUPING You must immediately set aside all possible groups (pairs, triples, four-of-a-kind, etc.) of dice showing the same number. These groups are now safe for the remainder of your turn.
   1. CORE RULE: Groups can only be formed from dice rolled together in the same roll.
3. DECIDE: REROLL OR STOP? • If you have any ungrouped dice, you may take only those dice and go back to step 1 (ROLL). • If you choose to stop, or if a roll yields no new groups, your turn ends. Any remaining ungrouped dice become KEYS.
4. KEY PHASE (Only if you ended your turn with Keys.) For each Key (look at its number):
   1. If your opponent has a group with that same number, you take that entire group and add it to your area. The Key joins the captured group.
   2. If your opponent has no such group, you give that Key to them.
      1. Keys are resolved simultaneously.
      2. Even if you captured all opponent’s groups, any Keys that found no target are still given to the opponent.
   3. PROTECTION – THE SEAL If you finish your turn without any Keys (all your dice are grouped), your groups gain THE SEAL. They are protected from the opponent’s Keys during the opponent’s next turn only.
   4. HARMONY OF THE SPHERES – Special Rule If a roll of exactly six dice yields six different results (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) you immediately gain The Seal and your turn ends. No Keys are created.

LOSING A ROUND

A player loses the round at the start of their own turn if they have no dice in their area and therefore cannot make a roll.

MATCH FORMAT

A full match consists of two rounds:

• Round 1: Player A starts.
• Round 2: Player B starts. The player who wins both rounds wins the match.
• If each wins one round, the match is a draw.

GLOSSARY

• Active Player / Archivist – The player whose turn it is.
• Archive – A group of two or more dice (Scrolls) showing the same number, created and set aside during a roll. Archives are a player's protected assets until the end of their own turn.
• Area – The space in front of a player where their Archives and Keys are placed.
• Capture / Absorption – The act of taking an opponent's entire Archive using a matching Key. The captured Archive and the Key are moved to the capturing player's area.
• Die (pl. Dice) / Scroll – A standard six-sided cube (d6). Each face represents a number (1-6) and, thematically, a fragment of knowledge.
• Harmony of the Spheres – A special event. If a player rolls exactly six dice and the results show each number from 1 to 6, they immediately gain The Seal and their turn ends.
• Key – A single, ungrouped die remaining at the end of a player's turn. Keys are used to capture opponent's Archives with the same number or are given to the opponent if they have no matching Archive.
• Match – A complete game of Archivarium, consisting of two Rounds. Opponent / Rival Archivist – The player not currently taking their turn.
• Protection / The Seal – A protective status granted to a player who ends their turn with no Keys (all dice are grouped). Sealed Archives cannot be captured by the opponent's Keys during the opponent's next turn.
• Roll Series – The sequence of one or more rolls a player makes during their turn.
• Round – A session of play that ends when one player loses (has no dice at the start of their turn).