Thebes

To prepare the game, first sort the excavation counters, artifacts, and rubble into their corresponding colored pouches. The game board is then unfolded, displaying excavation sites on one side and European cities for acquiring knowledge on the other. Each player chooses a color and receives one explorer figure, one time stone, one chronicle in their color, and a set of excavation permits. The 10 exhibition cards are separated from the main deck, shuffled, and the top four are placed on the discard space on the board. The remaining cards are divided into three roughly equal decks. The five large exhibition cards are shuffled into the third deck, and the small exhibition cards into the second. The first deck is stacked on top of the second, and this combined stack is placed next to the board, while the third deck is set aside to be introduced later. Overview cards, showing the distribution of pieces in excavation sacks, are laid next to the board. Time stones are placed on the starting square (square 1) for 2 or 4 players, or on square 16 for 3 players. The black time stone is set to 1901 for 2 or 3 players, or 1902 for 4 players. One artifact with value 1 is removed from each sack and placed on its corresponding excavation area on the board. Finally, each player places their explorer figure on Warsaw, the starting point.

The objective of Thebes is to become the most successful archaeologist by collecting the most victory points. Players achieve this by strategically traveling across Europe to acquire knowledge and equipment, then embarking on archaeological expeditions to excavate sites for valuable artifacts. These artifacts, along with successful exhibitions and specialized knowledge, contribute to their overall fame and prestige, represented by victory points.

Thebes does not follow a strict clockwise turn order. Instead, the player whose time stone is furthest back on the time panel takes the next turn. If multiple players have their time stones on the same square, the player whose stone is on top takes their turn. During a turn, players can choose to acquire one of the four available explorer cards, travel to a city, or conduct an excavation. Acquiring an explorer card requires moving the explorer figure to the city where the card is available, and the time spent on travel (one week per step) plus the time indicated on the card (top right corner) is recorded on the time panel. Excavations require a valid permit and sufficient specialized knowledge for the area. The duration of an excavation is decided by the player using their chronicle, which also determines the number of counters drawn from the excavation pouch. After an action, the card pile is refilled, and the next player whose time stone is furthest back takes their turn.

Victory points are accumulated throughout the game and counted at the end. Artifacts collected from excavations contribute points based on their value and type. Successful exhibitions, which require specific sets of artifacts, also award victory points. Specialized knowledge cards provide points for specific excavation areas, with bonus points for the player with the most knowledge in a given area (5 points, or 3 points each in case of a tie). Congress cards, acquired during the game, also contribute victory points at the end, with the number of points increasing with the quantity of congress cards collected. Assistance, tips from locals, and general knowledge cards do not directly count as victory points but aid in acquiring artifacts and knowledge.

The game concludes when the black time stone reaches the year 1903 and all players have completed their current round. Alternatively, the game also ends if all players have landed on square 52 of the time panel. Once the game ends, all players count their accumulated victory points from artifacts, exhibitions, specialized knowledge, and congress cards. The player with the highest total victory points is declared the most successful archaeologist and wins the game.