ARTUS

OBJECTIVE OF ARTUS: The objective of Artus is to be the player with the most prestige points when the game comes to an end.  

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 4 Players 

MATERIALS: 1 Game Board, 1 Plastic Stand, 88 Cards, 10 Rings, 28 Playing Figures, 12 Point Tiles, 1 Suckling Pig, 1 Rotating Board, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Hand Management Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 9 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF ARTUS 

Throughout Artus, the players will compete to become the head of the legendary round table. Beginning with six cards, the players must make strategic choices to score a variety of seats on the table. Players will attempt to sway neutral parties, pulling them to their side, trying to earn more support. After eleven rounds of gameplay, the winner is finally determined! 

SETUP 

Begin setup by placing the gameboard in the center of the playing area. Place the princes on their assigned seats, ensuring that the matching colors are opposite of each other. Three rings should then be placed onto the prince that has the biggest crown, making him King Arthur. Each of the other princes only get one ring.  

The rotating board should be oriented so that the round portion of it is placed inside the hole in the center of the board. Rotate the table until the plate with the crown is adjacent of the king with three rings, ensuring that you use the suckling pig to do so. Throughout the game, the rotating board is rotated so that it stays with the king.  

All of the point tiles are placed beside the board. Each player will then collect the following game pieces, choosing a color to represent them throughout the course of the game: one set of cards, five knights if there are four players, or six knights if there are two or three players. The players will then sort through their cards, keeping only the knights and the kings. The two piles are shuffled separately and placed to their left and right.  

Finally, the players will draw two cards from each of their piles, creating their hand. The players will then place their knights around the table, with the oldest player beginning. Each player should place one knight per turn until all of the places have been filled. At this point, the game is ready to begin! 

GAMEPLAY 

The game is played over the course of six rounds. During each round, each player will take their turn. On their turn, the player will play one of the cards from their hand, complete the action found on the card, remove the card from the game, and draw a new card. Once the player has refreshed their hand, and drawn a new card, the next player will begin their turn.  

The player may choose to play a knight card, which allows them to move a knight as many seats in the clockwise direction as indicated on the card. . They may play a king card, in which the action depends on which type of king card is played. On four of the cards, the player may move a prince or a king a certain number of spaces, and on the other four cards, the player may add a ring from the supply to a prince.  

When a player moves their knight, they may gain or lose prestige points depending on the knight’s original location before they are moved. Once the player determines their new point value, they will move their tracker on the point track by the appropriate amount. The same scoring is used when moving princes; however, there are no points lost or gained when a king is moved. When adding a ring, the player may lose or gain points, depending on the space that the prince is currently residing in.  

Once all of the players have taken their turn, completing their action, the new round will begin. The game will continue in this manner, with the players alternating turns, until the sixteenth round of gameplay is complete.   

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end after 16 rounds of gameplay. The players will then tally their prestige points. Once they have tallied them, the player with the highest number of prestige points wins the game! If there is a tie, then both players win! 

Ellie Phillips
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