Thanks to Erinn O'Neill for contributions to the junior game and Jackson Pope for contributions to the rules in general. Additional playtesting thanks to all the members of the Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club. Credits Game Design Yehuda Berlinger Art Darrell Mordecai Game Development Nadine Wildmann Stephen Zorn Playtesters Jeffrey Cohen, Brian O'Neill, Josh Rosenthal, Michael Schmidt Proofreaders Simon King, Noelle Le Bienvenu, Rick Partin, Ian Wakeham, Karen Wolterman Copyright Candle Quest, rules, and all artwork are copyright Gilead Games and Victory Point Games 2013. All rights reserved. Warning Small parts are not suitable for children under 3 as the parts may be inhaled or swallowed.
Candle Quest is a light family strategy game for 2-5 players ages 5 and up that takes 30-45 minutes to play. You and your fellow players each need 8 different colored candles to light your Menorah. Some you can buy. For others, you can t afford to pay full price; you may have to sell or bargain for them. Be on the lookout for the highly valued magical Dancing Candles, but watch out in case one of your candles burns out! Will you be the first to collect your candles and light your Menorah? Watch the How to Play Candle Quest video at www.gileadgames.com/candlequest. Object Of The Game Be the first player to collect all 8 Lit Candles, each in a different color. Table of Contents Object Of The Game... 1 Do you know What Hanukkah is?...1 Contents... 2 Setup... 3 Play... 4 Additional Rules... 8 Game End... 8 Game Variants... 8 FAQ... 9 For additional games, see Game Variants on page 8. Do you know What Hanukkah is? Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday which lasts for eight days. Over two thousand years ago, the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem had an oil-lit eternal light which was supposed to burn all the time. After defeating the enemy soldiers that had ransacked the Temple, Jewish fighters, called Maccabees, found only enough oil to burn for one day. Jewish tradition says that, through a miracle, that tiny bit of oil lasted for the eight days needed to prepare new oil. How about a Menorah? A Menorah used during Hanukkah holds eight candles and a helper candle (shamash) that is used to light the other candles. Each night of Hanukkah one new candle is lit, until there are eight candles burning on the last night of the holiday. 1
Contents 60 cards representing candles: Face Value Sell Value 24 low cost Lit Candles with face values of 2 to 6, in lime, mint, red, and blue 24 expensive Lit Candles with face values of 5 to 8, in cyan, gold, green, and purple Lit Candles Lit Candles have two values: The higher number is the candle s face value. The lower number is the candle s sell value. 6 Dancing pink wild candles, 3 each with face values of 9 and 10 6 Unlit dark sad candles, 3 each with face values of 4 and 6 5 player screens 54 coins* 42 1-Shekel coins Dancing Candles Dancing Candles may be used in place of any Lit Candle of any color. You may have any number of Dancing Candles. Dancing Candles are bought, sold, auctioned, and looted the same way as any other Lit Candles. 12 5-Shekel coins * Some slight ash residue and discoloration can occur during the laser cutting process. If any pieces are missing or damaged, please contact us at info@victorypointgames.com Unlit Candles Unlit Candles when flipped from the draw pile threaten your Lit Candles and have to be dealt with by either discarding Lit Candles or Shekels. Unlit Candles have only a face value because they cannot be sold to the bank. Shekels Shekels are used to get new candles through auctions, buying, or looting. They are also utilized to guard your Lit Candles from Unlit Candles. 2
Setup Shuffle the candles into a draw stack and place the draw stack face down in the middle of the table. Place the Shekels in the middle of the table to form a bank. Give each player a player screen and 12 Shekels. Each player draws a candle from the draw stack. The player who draws the candle with the highest face value is the starting player (in case of a tie, the tied players draw again until there is no tie). Reshuffle the drawn candles back into the draw stack. Suggested Candle Arrangement: Player Screen Setup Players hide their Shekels and the candles they collect behind their player screen. Leave enough space in front of each player s screen for a discard pile. Each player s discard pile will contain the candles that they have sold or discarded. Candles in a discard pile are always face up. Bank Players can make change with the bank at any time. Arrange candles behind screen as shown to help tell which candles have been collected and which candles still need to be acquired. 3
Play On your turn, do one of the following: Buy, sell, OR auction a new candle Loot a discarded candle After taking your turn, play passes clockwise to the next player on the left. Buy, Sell, or Auction a New Candle Turn over the top candle of the draw stack and place it face up on the table. Note: If the candle is an Unlit Candle, you must guard your Menorah! See Guarding Your Menorah on page 6. Buy Pay to the bank the candle s face value in Shekels. Place the candle behind your screen. Buy a Candle Example For a candle with a face value of 5, pay the bank 5 Shekels and take the candle. Pay TIP: Buying costs you more than auctioning, but you are guaranteed to get the candle. Sell Sell the candle to the bank. Receive from the bank the sell value of the candle in Shekels. Place the candle face up on top of your discard pile. Sell a Candle Example For a candle with a sell value of 3, take 3 Shekels from the bank, and place the candle face up on the discard pile in front of your screen. TIP: Selling ensures that other players don t get their hands on the candle cheaply, but may earn you fewer Shekels than auctioning. Get 4
TIP: Auctioning may get you a candle cheaper than buying it, but another player may get it instead of you. You may get more money than by selling it, but if no one outbids you, you will have to pay for it yourself, even if you do not want it. Auction You can choose to auction the candle if you have at least 1 Shekel. Announce the amount that you are willing to pay for the candle; the amount can be as little as 1 Shekel or as much as all of your Shekels (but no more). Each other player, starting with the player on your left and proceeding clockwise, has one chance to bid or pass on the candle. Each bid must be higher than the previous bid. Players cannot bid more Shekels than they have. The last player to bid or pass is the player on your right. After the player on your right has either bid or passed, the auction is over; you do not get to bid again. If you are the high bidder, pay your bid to the bank and take the candle. If another player is the high bidder, the high bidder pays you the amount that they bid in Shekels and takes the candle. Auction a Candle Example For a candle with a face value of 8, you say that you are willing to pay 4. The player on your left passes. The player across from you bids 6, and the player on your right bids 7. You do not get another bid. You accept 7 Shekels from the player on your right, who takes the candle and places it behind their screen. Player 2 Passes Player 3 Bids: Player 1 (You) Bids: Get Player 4 Bids: Pay 5
Loot a Discarded Candle To loot a discarded candle, take a candle off of the top of any discard pile, including your own. Discard the total of the candle s face value plus sell value using Shekels, the face value of previously collected candles, or a combination of both, as follows: Pay to the bank the candle s face value plus sell value in Shekels. Discard one or more previously collected candles (Lit or Unlit) whose combined face values equal or exceed the candle s face value plus sell value (you do not receive change!). Previously collected Unlit Candles discarded this way are removed from the game. Any other candles discarded this way are placed face up on top of your discard pile in the order of your choice. TIP: Looting is expensive because you pay both the candle s face value and sell value. It is worthwhile when you need a specific candle or to avoid the risk of drawing an Unlit Candle. You can combine Shekels and candles when discarding. Guarding Your Menorah If you turn over an Unlit Candle, you need to guard your Menorah by discarding the Unlit Candle s face value in either Shekels, the face value of previously collected candles, or a combination of both, as follows: Pay to the bank the candle s face value in Shekels. Discard one or more previously collected candles (Lit or Unlit) whose combined face values equal or exceed the Unlit Candle s face value (you do not receive change!). Unlit Candles discarded this way are removed from the game. Any other candles discarded this way are placed face up on top of your discard pile in the order of your choice. You can combine Shekels and candles when discarding. After guarding your Menorah, take the Unlit Candle and place it behind your player screen. You then get a bonus turn. If you don t have enough Shekels and/or candles with high enough values to guard your Menorah, discard either your highest valued candle (if there is a tie, choose one of them) or all of your Shekels (minimum 1). In this case, you don t keep the Unlit Candle; it is removed from the game. If you have no Shekels and no candles, the Unlit Candle is removed from the game with no effect. You still get your bonus turn. 6
Examples: Loot * * Unlit Candle removed from game once used Using Shekels Pay appropriate amount of Shekels to the bank. Using Candles Discard Lit Candles to your discard pile, adding up their face values (you do not receive change!); Unlit Candles can be removed from game to add their value. Using Shekels and Candles Pay/discard/remove any combination of Shekels and previously collected candles. * Guard * Unlit Candle removed from game once used 7
Additional Rules Dancing Candles Dancing Candles may be used in place of any Lit Candle of any color. You may have any number of Dancing Candles. Dancing Candles are bought, sold, auctioned, and looted the same way as are any other Lit Candles. Bonus Turn If you draw another Unlit Candle on your bonus turn, the Unlit Candle is placed to the side and you draw again until you draw a Lit Candle. After your bonus turn, any Unlit Candles set aside this way are shuffled back into the draw stack. Draw Stack If the draw stack runs out during the game, take all candles, except the top candles, from all discard piles and shuffle them to make a new draw stack. The top candles remain where they were. Duplicate Candles Duplicate Lit Candles with the same color do not help you win the game, but you may discard the unneeded ones to loot a discarded candle or to guard your Menorah. Game End The game ends immediately when one player has collected candles in all eight different colors. That player wins the game! Game Variants Advanced Game (for ages 8 and up) The goal of the advanced game is to have the most valuable collection when somebody completes their Menorah. The advanced game is played the same as the basic game, but the scoring is different. Each player calculates their score by adding the face values of all the candles they have collected, excluding duplicates or Unlit Candles, and then adds the number of Shekels they have. You can only add Shekels up to half your total candle value, rounding down. The player who has completed their Menorah receives a three-point bonus. The player with the highest score wins. 8
Junior Game (for ages 5-6) This simplified game is played the same as the basic game, but without auctions. You cannot loot discarded candles. Remove the three Unlit Candles with a face value of 6 from the game. On your turn, flip over the top candle of the draw stack and either buy or sell the candle. You pay for Unlit Candles as in the basic game, with an additional option: Instead of taking your turn, you can discard a previously collected Unlit Candle to force any one other player to give you a candle of their choice; your Unlit Candle discarded in this way is removed from the game. FAQ Can I discard two Unlit Candles in one turn? You may discard more than one previously collected Lit or Unlit Candle to loot a discarded candle or to guard your Menorah. As always, Unlit Candles are removed from the game when discarded, instead of being placed on top of your discard pile. Can I discard candles to buy a candle from the bank or in an auction? No, you may only discard candles to guard your Menorah or to loot a discarded candle. 9
If you Enjoy Candle Quest you should take a look at WHY!? Why did, what appeared to be a perfectly normal and, up until recently, seemingly sane chicken, run headlong into traffic, causing a massive 42-car pileup? I ask you again, WHY?! What could have possibly been so important? Why did it do it? WHY?! is a 1 to 5 player game where each player is a chicken crossing a very busy road, trying not to get hit by cars. A quick, easy-to-learn game, designed for children but challenging for players of all ages! Victory Point Games VictoryPointGames.com