Dice Forge

Place the temple box, which includes the sanctuary (upper part with reserves) and gardens (side and lower parts with five reserves), and the island board. For a two-player game, remove two faces from each of the ten sanctuary reserves. Place the chosen set of heroic feat cards (identified by a blue dot on the back for the introductory set) on their corresponding island areas, matching the color cost. The number of cards in each stack should equal the number of players. Place the round indicator on space 1. Each player receives a hero inventory board, five tokens to place on the zero space of their inventory tracks, a hero pawn to place on the portal, and one light and one dark die with pre-set faces. The first player is chosen, and players receive gold in reverse turn order, starting with 3 gold for the first player, 2 for the second, and so on.

The ultimate goal of Dice Forge is to accumulate the most Glory Points by the end of the game. These points are tallied from your hero inventory board and the heroic feat cards you have acquired. The player with the highest total Glory Points after the final round is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, all players with the highest score share the victory.

A game round consists of each player taking a turn as the active player, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise. Each turn is divided into four distinct phases: 1. Divine Blessing: All players simultaneously roll both their dice, then place them back on their inventory board and gain the resources indicated by the rolled faces. In a two-player game, this phase is repeated twice. 2. Request Reinforcements: The active player may activate any reinforcement effects from their acquired heroic feat cards, gaining the specified bonuses in any desired order. 3. Perform an Action: The active player chooses one of two main actions: either make an offering to the gods (take new dice faces from the sanctuary by paying the required gold and forging them onto their dice) or undertake a heroic feat (pay the required resources to acquire a heroic feat card from an island, moving their pawn to that island; if another player's pawn is there, it is returned to the portal, and that player receives a divine blessing). 4. Extra Action: By spending two solar fragments, the active player can perform one additional action, choosing again between making an offering to the gods or undertaking a heroic feat.

Scoring occurs at the end of the game. Players sum up the Glory Points indicated on their hero inventory board and the Glory Points provided by their acquired heroic feat cards. The player with the highest combined total of Glory Points wins the game. If multiple players have the same highest score, they are all considered winners.

The game concludes after a set number of rounds: 9 rounds for a 4-player game, or 10 rounds for a 3-player game. Once the final round is completed, players proceed to the scoring phase to determine the winner based on their accumulated Glory Points. In the event of a tie, all players with the highest score are declared joint winners.