Inkwell Support

Welcome illuminators!

This is the FAQ for Inkwell. If you have a question about play, see below for more information if we have answered it before. Otherwise try to reach out to us via our contact page, social media, or post on BoardGameGeek. We can then update that information below.

FAQ

  • Can a gold cube score for different colors?

    Yes. For example, if your Workspace A multiplier is red, and your page multiplier is green, a gold cube is worth a point for counting each of them. This disregards the color it was placed on top of.

  • Can I place a gold cube on a multiplier?

    Yes, however there is a small nuance here. If placed on a space that has a required color, then the gold cube fulfills that space as the required color (and can count as other colors for other multipliers). But for '?' multipliers, the multiplier is now only counting gold cubes, which may not be a great trade-off!

  • Do I count the cube I placed on a multiplier towards that multiplier?

    Page multipliers require a cube to work, but that cube counts towards it! And, as a reminder, gold cubes are every color when scoring, so they count towards those too, even multiple (if you are using the A side of your workspace).

  • What if a Technique is only used once or twice? How do I keep track?

    Complete immediate effects when you take the card, then either turn the card face-down or upside down to show additional use.

  • When playing solo, does the game end when you turn your third page?

    It does not; you will score 3 points for each remaining move of the Abbot, as if your automated opponent utilized all their time.

  • What happens if a component runs out during refill?

    Refill the inkwells as best as possible starting with the stars, then the circles, then the diamonds, moving out from center.
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Techniques

  • If you take any quantity of the listed cubes on your turn for any reason, take one additional cube of that color from the bag. You cannot trigger this multiple times in a single turn. This may be triggered off-turn by cubes gained from other Techniques.

  • For each gold cube received in any context from now on, take an additional cube of the listed color from the bag. This may be triggered even by the gold cube gained from turning your page voluntarily.

  • On a future turn (not the current one), you may choose to start your turn by taking from a circle inkwell before taking your turn as normal (taking or turning). Turn it face-down when used; it still takes up a Technique space.

  • When you take this Technique, take a gold cube. At the start of a future turn, you may choose to take another gold cube. Both are taken from star inkwells on the mat. If there are no gold cubes on the mat, you cannot use this. Turn it face-down when used; it still takes up a Technique space.

  • When you take this Technique, take any two non-gold cubes from the mat, even from different inkwells. At the start of a future turn, you may choose to take two more. Turn it face-down when used; it still takes up a Technique space.

  • Other than the turn this was taken, you can choose to not take the Technique when taking from a diamond inkwell. Those inkwells are still considered full (because there is still a card on them).

  • Other than the turn this was taken, you can choose to not take every cube when you take from any inkwell. Those inkwells are still considered full (because there is still at least one cube on them).

  • Starting immediately, you can move around cubes, and even discard them, to adjust your placing choices. This includes moving cubes onto the 'storage' Technique card.

  • Starting immediately, you can instead place cubes on this card, including gold cubes. They still score for any multiplies or Workspace abilities, but they are not discarded when you turn the page. You can take and move these cubes onto your page at any time. However, you cannot move placed cubes on your page onto the storage card (unless you have the 'move' Technique card).

  • Once per turn, when taking cubes for any reason, you may discard two of those cubes to take one of your color choice from the bag. This cannot be used multiple times in a single turn (unless you have multiple copies).

  • During scoring when you turn the page, you may pretend two spaces that are empty are not empty for the purpose of scoring illustrations. This cannot be used to score additional points for multipliers based on cubes or cube colors.

  • When any player moves the abbot at the start of your turn, including yourself, take a cube of your choice from the bag. This may trigger other abilities that occur when 'taking' cubes.
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B-Side Workspace Scoring

  • "Up to three times per page, you may discard a Technique on this card at any time for 3 points."

    On your turn (or not!), take a Technique card (even a used one, if limited use) from the Workspace and 'sell' it for three points. The effect on it is immediately no longer available. Keep these stacked nearby to track if you have done the maximum of three for the current page (maximum of nine across three pages). This cannot be used to 'sell' Technique cards kept from previous rounds. This does free up the space again to take a new Technique card.

  • "When scoring, score 4 more points each time you score a unique illustration value for the first time."

    Illustration values range from 1 to 10. If you score a value (such as 2, for example) for the first time (when turning the page), gain 4 additional points. If you score additional illustrations worth 2 points, then you gain no additional points. This means you will want to draft future pages with new values on them, if possible. Refer to your old scored pages for previous values you may have scored.

  • "When scoring, gain 2 points each for the least common cube color you have."

    Gold cubes do not count towards this, but cubes on storage Technique cards and multipliers do. If colors tie in quantity (which is likely), only score for one color.

  • "When you take from an inkwell of a different shape than the previous player (if they took), gain 1 point ."

    Inkwells come in three shapes. If you take a different shape than the previous player (or the monk, if playing solo), gain 1 point immediately. If the previous player turned their page or has finished playing, this ability does not trigger.

  • "When you take from the last filled inkwell of one shape, gain 5 points."

    Inkwells come in three shapes. If you take from the last full inkwell of a shape (essentially triggering the abbot to progress), gain 5 points.
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