villager[tip] [green]This tutorial is best experienced on a full screen desktop browser at 1080p[/green]
Welcome to the tutorial for Seasons!
The greatest sorcerers of the kingdom have gathered at the heart of the Argos forest, where the legendary *Tournament of the 12 Seasons* is taking place.
At the end of the *three year* competition, the new Archmage of the kingdom of Xidit will be chosen from among the competitors, *that has the most Prestige points*.
Take your place, wizard! Equip your ancestral *magical items*, summon your most faithful *familiars* to your side and be ready to face the challenge!1maintitlebar_content61b7ce816bf1100player_hand_item_9 aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3RoZW1lcmVsZWFzZXMvY3VycmVudC9nYW1lcy9zZWFzb25zLzIxMDMxNi0xODU3L2ltZy9nYW1lX2Rpc3BsYXkzLmpwZw==/-61/-218
villagerThis 2-player tutorial game is setup with a predetermined set of 9 *power cards*, shown in your hand here.
If you want to repeat this setup, choose the "Apprentice Wizard" difficulty level when creating a table.
Once you have learnt the game, you can try other difficulty options that lets you draft the initial 9 cards.2player_hand_item_361b7ce816bf1100player_hand_item_1 6 player_hand_item_2 6 player_hand_item_3 6 player_hand_item_4 6 player_hand_item_5 6 player_hand_item_6 6 player_hand_item_7 6 player_hand_item_8 6 player_hand_item_9 6 page-title aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19TOHlORVEuanBn/721/39 library_build_1_item_-1 aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19TOHlORVEuanBn/0/0 library_build_1_item_-3 aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19TOHlORVEuanBn/-260/-97
villagerSeasons (base game) comes with 100 Power Cards... 50 unique cards with 2 copies each.
They allow players to:
- *win prestige points* at the end of the game.
- change the course of the game with their
effects.
Each Power Card is of 2 types:
1) Magical Items (that affects the owners)
2) Familiars (that affects other players)
3player_hand_item_361b7ce816bf1100
villagerMagical Items have a purple border, with a purple VP (Victory Points) score on the top-left.
Your magical items are highlighted above..4player_hand_item_361b7ce816bf1100player_hand_item_1 6 player_hand_item_3 6 player_hand_item_4 6 player_hand_item_5 6 player_hand_item_6 6 player_hand_item_7 6 player_hand_item_8 6 player_hand_item_9 6
villagerAnd you only have 1 Familiar right now, distinguished by the orange border and VP score on the top-left.5player_hand_item_261b7ce816bf1100player_hand_item_2 6
villagerNot to worry.. you are not limited to playing only these 9 cards. You will get to draw more as you play the game.6player_hand_item_361b7ce816bf1100
villagerBGA is prompting you to distribute these 9 cards into 3 decks.
Each deck represents one year of the competition.
For the purpose of this tutorial, click Continue, and we will do the distribution for you.7pagemaintitletext61b7ce816bf1100
villagerWe are now officially in the Tournament of the 12 Seasons.
Currently the board is indicating we are in Year 1.1current_year61b7ce95d4d8700current_year 6
villagerFrom your preset hand of 9 cards, Year 1's three Power Cards are shown here.
*Your immediate goal is to collect enough Energy Tokens that help you summon these Power Cards on your tableau. *
Remember, every card played adds to your Victory Points total. (value listed on top left).
We'll soon see how to get these Energy Tokens..2player_hand61b7ce95d4d8700player_hand 6
villagerThe circular Year wheel is divided into 4 seasons.. starting with Winter (blue), then Spring (green), then Summer (yellow), and then finally Fall (red).
Each Season is made of 3 spaces (representing months).
The Season token (black cube) is currently in Winter, space 1.3season_dices_wrap61b7ce95d4d8700monthplace_2 1 monthplace_3 1 monthplace_4 1 monthplace_5 1 monthplace_6 1 monthplace_7 1 monthplace_8 1 monthplace_9 1 monthplace_10 1 monthplace_11 1 monthplace_12 1 current_month 12
villagerAs we are currently in Winter (month 1), BGA automatically rolls the corresponding Season dice.
These are represented by the [blue]Blue dice[/blue] here.
In a 2-player game, 3 dice are rolled. With more players, BGA rolls dice equal to the number of players PLUS 1.4season_dices_wrap61b7ce95d4d8700current_month 6 seasons_dices 6
villagerIf you hover over the die, you will see a tooltip explaining the die face, along with a reference for all 6 faces of the Blue Winter die.
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_cUaSAG.jpg[/img]
*The Dice symbols, that grant Energy tokens, for Air, Water, Fire, and Earth* can be seen in the rules screenshot on the right.5maintitlebar_content61b7ce95d4d8700seasons_dices 6 season_dices_wrap aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb195TE1PZmouanBn/420/98 myhand aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb195TE1PZmouanBn/420/334 player_name_84394636 aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb195TE1PZmouanBn/-847/39
villagerIt's your turn as you are the starting player, indicated by this cube here.
You get the first choice on the 3 dice rolled.
Then, your opponent chooses from the remaining 2 dice.6firstplayer61b7ce95d4d8700firstplayer 11
villagerFor the purpose of the tutorial, select this particular dice.
It rewards you with:
- 2 Water energy tokens
- advances 1 on the Summoning Gauge7season_dices_wrap61b7ce95d4d8710seasons_dices_item_4 16
villagerThe selected dice are now resolved..
*You get 2 water energy tokens in your supply.*
[red]Notice you can only have a maximum of 7 energy tokens.[/red] If at any time you exceed 7 tokens, you need to choose and discard the excess.1player_board_8439463661b7ce99f1f8a00energy_reserve_84394636 6 energies_84394636_item_1 8 energies_84394636_item_2 8
villagerYour Summoning Gauge has also been increased by 1 (as the selected die face has a star symbol on it).
*The current level of the Summoning Gauge decides how many Power Cards you can play on your tableau.*
Ideally, you want to play out all your 9 cards that your chose at the beginning of the tournament. But there's nothing stopping you from playing even more than that! More cards.. more benefits.. more VPs!
So try getting that Summoning Gauge upto 9 atleast.2tinvocationlevel_8439463661b7ce99f1fc900playerdie_84394636 6 tinvocationlevel_84394636 8
villagerYour opponent chose a similar die.. that gives the same benefits.3playerdie_3563361b7ce99f241b00playerdie_35633 11
villagerThe remaining die is used to advance the Seasons token in the circular board.
Notice the 3 pips (or dots) at the bottom of the unselected die.. at the end of this turn, the Season token will move by 3 spaces.4seasons_dices_item_261b7ce99f241b00current_month 12 seasons_dices_item_2 6
villager... and as expected, the Season token moved 3 spaces forward, and has entered a new Season quadrant, Spring.
BGA now rolls 3 [green]Spring dice[/green] automatically for us.1current_month61b7ce9ca79aa00current_month 6 seasons_dices 6
villagerI should highlight the excellent BGA game log summary on the right side of the screen. Please reference it regularly to understand the flow of the game.2log_561b7ce9ca79aa00
villagerIt's a new turn now. Time for you and your opponent to choose a die.
Every turn, the starting player changes. Your opponent is now the starting player, and gets to select first.
Once each player has chosen their Season die, each player takes their turn in order, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise.
*A player can take as many actions as desired during his or her turn.*
3firstplayer61b7ce9ca79aa00firstplayer 6
villagerDuring a players turn, they can
- perform the action(s) of their Season die
- summon/activate one OR MORE of their Power Cards
- use one OR MORE Bonuses from their tableau
Super simple right :)
The fun in the game is strategically chaining your Season die, Power cards summons and activations. The more you play, the more tactics you will discover!4pagemaintitletext61b7ce9ca79aa00
villagerYour opponent chose a die that awards:
- 2 Earth energy tokens
- 1 advancement on the Summoning Gauge1playerdie_3563361b7ce9fb564000playerdie_35633 6 energies_35633_item_3 6 energies_35633_item_4 6 tinvocationlevel_35633 6
villagerSimilarly, your selected die gave the same benefits.1playerdie_8439463661b7cea15994400playerdie_84394636 6 energies_84394636_item_3 6 energies_84394636_item_4 6 tinvocationlevel_84394636 6
villagerThe remaining Spring die has 2 pips at the bottom, so it will move the Season tracker by 2 spaces.2seasons_dices_item_561b7cea15994400current_month 12 seasons_dices_item_5 6
villagerNew turn.. and as we are still in Spring, 3 more Spring dice are rolled by BGA.
You get to choose first.
*Select this die. It lets you DRAW a new Power Card from the deck.*1season_dices_wrap61b7cea28025a10current_month 1 seasons_dices_item_1 16 seasons_dices 6
villagerYour opponent chose a die face with a new symbol, a square border.
This allows a player to *transmute Energy tokens into Crystals*.
1playerdie_3563361b7cea9e083200playerdie_35633 6
villagerEvery Season has a different conversion rate of Energy tokens to Crystals. (see the 3 inner rings)
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_KD0WUG.jpg[/img]
*Crystals are another consumable resource in this game. Some Power Cards need them to trigger their effect. *
[green]Note that left over Crystals are counted as Prestige points at the end of the game.
*The Player with the most Prestige wins the tournament, and thus the game. *[/green]2pagemaintitletext61b7cea9e083200
villagerLet's resolve your selected die.
Click the "Draw a power card" button.3endTurn61b7cea9e083210drawPowerCard 16 playerdie_84394636 6
villagerWe drew the "Amulet of Water" from the Power Card deck.
*Let's KEEP this card.*1player_hand_item_6061b7ceaa8607610dualChoice1 16 player_hand_item_60 6
villagerYour opponent is now resolving their selected die.
They get the Energy tokens symbolized on the die, ie 1 Earth and 1 Water.1playerdie_3563361b7ceabf400200playerdie_35633 6 energies_35633_item_5 6 energies_35633_item_6 6
villagerAnd now they converted 2 Earth energy tokens into 2 Crystals. (current Crystal count or Prestige points is shown next to the yellow star)
This conversion / transmutation is determined by the current season that the turn is in (right now Spring).
In Spring, the outer ring shows that Water and Earth Energy tokens transmute into 1 Crystal for each token.
In the example below, during ANY Winter, 2 Earth and 1 Fire transmute into 8 Crystals.
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___ultraboardgames.com_seasons_gfx_game32.jpg[/img]
1tinvocationlevel_3563361b7ceb11211800monthplace_5 11 playerdie_35633 6 energies_35633_item_1 11
villagerThough the remaining die wasn't selected, it has an interesting benefit to note for future turns.
If you hover over it, you will see that the player selecting it gains 6 Crystals.
Again note,
*Crystals are another consumable resource in this game. Some Power Cards need them to trigger their effect. *
The more you have.. the more you can consume for effects.. and the more you have left over for the final Prestige Points scoring at the end of the tournament.2seasons_dices_item_561b7ceb11211800seasons_dices_item_5 6
villagerThe remaining die from Spring has moved the Season token by 3 more spaces, into Summer.
Summer is represented by Yellow dice, and BGA rolls 3 of them for us.
Your opponent is again the starting player for this new turn, and hence they get to choose first.1seasons_dices61b7ceb67c88d00current_month 6 seasons_dices 6 firstplayer 12
villagerIt's your turn.. *select this die*.
This has a new Energy token symbol on it, Fire!
When this die resolves, you will get:
- 2 Fire Energy tokens
- 1 more advancement on the Summoning Gauge
1season_dices_wrap61b7ceb93168c10seasons_dices_item_5 16
villagerWe have the needed Energy tokens to summon the magical item power card, Yjang's Forgotten Vase.
If you hover over the card, you will see that we need:
1 Water + 1 Fire + 1 Earth Energy tokens.
Note that you can summon as many cards as you want during your turn, as long as you can pay for the card cost, and you haven't played more cards than your Summoning Gauge.1player_hand_item_161b7cec02184300player_hand_item_1 6
villagerThis is also a good time to understand how to read your Power Cards in your hand. (zoomed image should load on the right.. if not, please wait a bit)
1) Name of card
2) Summoning cost in Energy and/or Crystals
3) Effect of card
4) Prestige points (VPs) at end of game
5) Card number
[red]* 6) Type of effect, indicating WHEN the effect is applied * [/red]
There are 3 Effect timing icons..2maintitlebar_content61b7cec02184300player_hand 6 season_dices_wrap aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19hOTFoeUEuanBn/420/98 player_hand_item_5 aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19hOTFoeUEuanBn/0/0 player_name_84394636 aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19hOTFoeUEuanBn/-506/-26
villagerIt's important to note the icons related to card effects.
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___www.ultraboardgames.com_seasons_gfx_game36.jpg[/img]
*The "when entering play" effects:* the card's effect trigger only when the card has just been summoned.
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___www.ultraboardgames.com_seasons_gfx_game37_.jpg[/img]
*Permanent effects:* the effects of this card last for the remainder of the game, unless it is removed from play
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___www.ultraboardgames.com_seasons_gfx_game37.jpg[/img]
*Activation effects:* the effects of the power card only trigger when the card is activated by the player who owns it. It can activate at most once per round, as soon as it is summoned.
3maintitlebar_content61b7cec02184300player_hand 6
villagerLet's play Yjang's Forgotten Vase using our collected Energy tokens, and take the benefit of the *permanent card effect* that will automatically trigger in future turns, ie:
"whenever you summon any Power Card, we gain ONE Energy Token"
4player_hand61b7cec02184310cardenergies_player_hand_item_1 16
villager!!! At the end of the game, (at the end of 3 Years / 12 Seasons), [red]each UNPLAYED Power Card will reduce your Prestige point score by 5 points.[/red]
So start planning ahead, collect the needed Energy tokens, and summon the needed cards for extra benefits. Try not to leave unplayed cards in your hand.1myhand61b7cec1b743c00player_hand 6
villagerNew Season.. new dice.. and a *new Energy token type on offer, Air!*
[green]At this point, you know all the core basics on how to play Seasons![/green]
Let me end the tutorial by highlighting 4 Bonus Actions you could choose to take during your turn. Hover over them to read their benefit.1season_dices_wrap61b7cec32f09000bonus1 11 bonus2 11 bonus3 11 bonus4 11
villager!!! But don't overuse these.. [red]*every time you choose a bonus action, Prestige points are lost at the end of the game*[/red]
Negative bonus points are tracked here.
1 bonus used = -5 points
2 bonuses used = -12 points
3 bonuses used = -20 points
*A player can only use a maximum of three bonuses during a game. They can use the same bonus three times or use different bonuses each time. They can use all three during the same round or during different rounds.*2player_board_3563361b7cec32f09000bonusused_84394636 11 bonusused_35633 11
villagerNow go forth, budding Sorcerer! Discover the magical powers in the wonderful world of Seasons, and strategically summon those powers to win the Tournament and become the Archmage!
To summarize the basics,
1) Select desired Season die
2) Collect Energy tokens
3) Play Power Cards using required Energy Tokens to get the advantage
4) Transmute excess Energy Tokens into Crystals, by paying attention to the current season's conversion rate.
5) Try playing all your Power Cards in hand, else suffer penalties
6) Use Bonuses carefully to tip the scales for your victory!
At the end of the tournament, the winner is the player with the most Prestige points (sum of Power Card VPs + left over Crystals - Bonus use penalties)
As you advance in your skills, try out the other game modes on BGA, where you get to draft ALL your 9 Power Cards, and assign them to the 3 Ages.3maintitlebar_content61b7cec32f09000
villager[green]*Congratulations on reaching the end of the tutorial for Seasons! Hope you enjoyed it. :) * [/green]
See you at the next open table! :)
P.S. You will get to rate this tutorial in the next popup. If you feel it can be made better, can you please share your feedback with Villager? Feel free to directly message me with your comments.4maintitlebar_content61b7cec32f09000
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