The Channeling Rules
A Game for Two Players
Components Link to heading
- 30 Magic Circle Cards
- 24 Glyph Cards (3 sets: Light, Dark, and Green of 8 cards)
- 4 Druid Tokens (2 of Light and Dark)
- 100 Energy Cubes (50 of Light and Dark)
Object Link to heading
Have more Splendor than the opponent when the game ends.
Setup Link to heading
Players choose randomly who will play as Light, and who as Dark. Give each player:
- One set of 8 different Glyph Cards of their color, that will form their hand
- Two Druid Tokens of their color
- One set of 50 Energy Cubes of their color
Shuffle the deck of Magic Circle Cards.
Shuffle the remaining green set of Glyph Cards. Place a Glyph Card in the four spaces below and to the right of the deck of Magic Circle Cards.
Draw 16 Magic Circle Cards, and place them below and to the right of the Glyph Cards, forming an inner 4x4 grid.
Place the four Druid Tokens on the four center cards of this grid, with tokens of each color diagonally across from each other.
Turn Structure Link to heading
Play begins with Light.
Overview Link to heading
There are 7 steps to a turn, performed in order:
- Play a Glyph Card
- Move a Druid Token
- Choose a Leyline Path
- Place Energy Cubes on Magic Circle Cards along the chosen Leyline Path
- Remove Energy Cubes on Magic Circle Cards along the chosen Leyline Path
- Acquire Magic Circle Cards for Splendor
- Check for Endgame
Once a player completes the 7th step in their turn, play passes to the other player.
1 - Play a Glyph Card Link to heading
The player selects a Glyph Card from their hand and lays it in front of them on the table. If this is their eighth and final Glyph Card, the player takes all of their Glyph Cards back into their hand for the next turn.
2 - Move a Druid Token Link to heading
The player moves one Druid Token from one Magic Circle Card to a different Magic Circle Card in the row or column of cards indicated by the Glyph Card they just played, that does not contain a Druid Token, of either color.
3 - Choose A Leyline Path Link to heading
The player chooses a leyline path between the 2 Druid Tokens. Starting with the Druid Token the player just moved and ending with the player’s second Druid Token that did not move that turn.
4 - Place Energy Cubes on Magic Circle Cards along the chosen Leyline Path Link to heading
The player places Energy Cubes on cards along the chosen Leyline Path for this turn.
- 3 Cubes are placed on the Magic Circle Card that has the Druid Token that moved this turn.
- 2 Cubes are placed on the Magic Circle Card with the Druid Token that was stationary this turn.
- 1 Cube is placed on each additional Magic Circle Card along the chosen Leyline Path.
5 - Remove Energy Cubes on Magic Circle Cards along the chosen Leyline Path Link to heading
The player removes Energy Cubes from a Magic Circle Card if there are Energy Cubes of both colors on it. Remove one Light and one Dark Energy Cube from the card, repeating the process until there are only Energy Cubes of a single color remaining on the card.
6 - Acquire Magic Circle Cards for Splendor Link to heading
Any Magic Circle Cards that have a number of Energy Cubes of that player’s color equal to or greater than its Vigor value are removed from the grid and placed in front of that player.
The cards are then replaced in the order the acquiring player chooses, with cards from the Magic Circle Card Deck.
The player then places a number of Energy Cubes equal to the Magic Carcle Card’s Splendor value back into their supply, keeping the rest as Overchanneling Cubes.
7 - Check for Endgame Link to heading
Play continues until one player acquires at least seven Magic Circle Cards. This triggers the end of the game; the other player gets one additional turn, and then the game ends. Whoever has the most Splendor from acquiring Magic Circle Cards after taking into account Overchanneling Cubes wins the game.
In case of a tie…
- Whoever acquired the fewest Magic Circle Cards wins the game.
- If there is still a tie, whoever went second wins.
Game Terms Link to heading
Glyph Cards Link to heading
The green cards players use to mark the outside of the 4 x 4 grid of Magic Circle Cards, and the cards of each player’s color that they use to move their Druid Tokens across the grid.
Leyline Path Link to heading
One of the shortest paths of Magic Circle Cards, starting with the Druid Token the player has just moved and ending with the stationary Druid Token, that…
- only moves horizontally and vertically, NOT diagonally.
- connects the player’s two Druid Tokens.
- is not longer than necessary.
When channeling Energy Cubes along a Leyline Path, the Magic Circle Cards with Druid Tokens will receive additional Energy Cubes, which may lead to Overchanneling.
Magic Circle Cards Link to heading
Each Magic Circle Card has two values on the card. The number of outer circles is the card’s Vigor value and the number of inner petals is the card’s Splendor value. Each Magic Circle Card has a Vigor of four through seven, and Splendor of four through seven.
Energy Cubes Link to heading
Placed each turn after moving your Druid Token, and removed if both colors exist on a Magic Circle Card. Used to acquire Magic Circle Cards when there is a number of cubeson the Magic Circle Card equal to or greater than its Vigor value, with excess cubes being kept for Overchanneling.
Splendor Link to heading
The number of victory points you get at the end of the game. Represented by petals on Magic Circle Cards.
Vigor Link to heading
How many Energy Cubes must be on a card at the end of the turn in order to acquire it. Represented by the outer circles on Magic Circle Cards.
Overchanneling Link to heading
When a Magic Circle Card is acquired using more Energy Cubes than its Vigor value, the player keeps the excess cubes near the cards as Overchanneling Cubes. Each Overchanneling Cube reduces the players Splendor by one at the end of the game.
Credits Link to heading
Design: Sam Fragello
Layout: Scott Bennett
Art: Kathryn Rose, Page Ornamentation in public domain by Marie L. Danforth
Editing: Ragnarr Marksen and Scott Bennett