Golem

Players start with identical player boards and development tiles. All development tiles for golems, books, and the study track begin with their cost side up. The artifact board's development tiles are two-sided and can be drafted or assigned, with either side facing up as they are inactive until built. Players also receive unique objective cards (drafted or assigned) and starting resources. The first two golems are placed on the main board in player order, with strategic placement being important after understanding the game mechanics.

The primary objective is to accumulate the most victory points (VP) after four rounds. Victory points are earned throughout the game whenever the Star of David symbol is seen. End-game scoring is crucial and is summarized on the player aid. Menorahs act as point multipliers: red menorahs (from golem upgrades) multiply by built golems, blue menorahs (from book upgrades) multiply by book columns, and yellow menorahs (from artifact upgrades) multiply by finished artifacts. Objective cards provide VP for specific achievements, with bonus points awarded for completing different types of objectives. Additionally, one VP is awarded for every five leftover resources.

A game of Golem consists of four rounds, with each round having seven phases. Phase 1 (Refresh) is skipped in the first round. Phase 2 (Golem Movement) involves summing movement points from the round's character card and the player's golem track, then distributing these points among your golems. Golems are placed standing by work actions, but moving them too far incurs knowledge or VP penalties. Phase 3 (Actions) involves taking two marble actions and one rabbi action. Phase 4 (Turn Order) is determined by the placement of rabbis. Phase 5 (Influence Characters) allows players whose marbles match the character card to pay for its benefit or receive gold. Phase 6 (Income and Development) grants income from student progress, artifacts, study track, and golem track, and allows one development. Phase 7 (Golem Control) requires paying knowledge for golems beyond student control or incurring VP penalties.

Victory points are earned in two ways: immediately during the game and at the end of the game. During the game, any action or bonus showing the Star of David symbol grants immediate VP. At the end of the game, menorahs act as multipliers: red menorahs (from golem upgrades) multiply by the number of built golems, blue menorahs (from book upgrades) multiply by the number of completed book columns, and yellow menorahs (from artifact upgrades) multiply by the number of finished artifacts. Objective cards provide VP for specific achievements, and bonus points are awarded for completing different types of objectives. Finally, players receive one VP for every five leftover resources.

The game concludes after the completion of the fourth round. Following the final Golem Control phase of the fourth round, players proceed to final scoring. All victory points accumulated during the game are tallied, and then end-game scoring conditions are applied. This includes calculating points from menorah multipliers based on built golems, completed book columns, and finished artifacts. Objective cards are scored based on their specific conditions, with additional bonus points for diverse objective completion. Any remaining resources are converted into victory points at a rate of one VP per five resources. The player with the highest total victory points is declared the winner.