Objective:  Collect the most victory points (VPs) by strategically adding ingredients to your potion over nine brew days.

Number of Players: 2-4 players

Playing Time: Around 45 minutes

Components:

• Game board depicting the town square and scoring track

• Ingredient chips (various shapes and colors, representing different ingredients and their point values)

• Bag (opaque cloth pouch) for each player to hold their ingredient chips

• Player boards with cauldron spaces and a droplet tracker

• Fortune Teller deck (provides special actions and point opportunities)

• Rubies (red gemstones) for buying victory points and other actions

• Player tokens (pawns) to mark your position on the scoring track

• Rat tokens (used for special actions)
  

Setup:

1. Place the Game Board:  Unfold the game board and place it in the center of the playing area.

2. Prepare the Ingredient Bags: Separate the ingredient chips by type and shuffle them face down. Each player takes all the chips of a specific starting ingredient type (usually pepper or onion) and places them in their bag.

3. Other Components: Place the Fortune Teller deck face down next to the board. Shuffle the ruby tokens and place them within reach of all players. Each player places their cauldron board and droplet tracker in front of them, along with their starting player token on the scoring track.  Some versions might also include starting rat tokens.
   

Gameplay:

The game is played over nine rounds, representing the nine days of the bazaar. Each round consists of these phases:

• Preparation Phase (Simultaneous):

  • Players draw ingredient chips one by one from their bag, placing them face down in a row in front of their cauldron (representing the potion being brewed).  Higher value chips must be placed further away from the cauldron, requiring more draws before they explode the potion.

  • Players can stop drawing at any point if they fear their potion will explode.

  • Certain ingredient chips might have immediate effects that activate when drawn (e.g., gaining rubies, moving your droplet on the player board).

• Fortune Telling Phase: After the preparation phase, players reveal the top card of the Fortune Teller deck one at a time, resolving any special actions or point opportunities it provides.

• Evaluation Phase: Starting with the first player, each player reveals their ingredient chips one by one, resolving any explosion effects or gaining points based on the revealed ingredients.

  • Exploding the Potion: If a player reveals a red peppercorn (chili) chip or draws more than the allowed number of chips for a specific value, their potion explodes. They discard all their revealed ingredient chips and score zero points for that round.

  • Scoring Points: Certain ingredient chips provide victory points when revealed. Some chips score points based on their quantity or position in the potion row.
    

Additional Actions:

• Rubies: Players can use rubies throughout the game to purchase various actions, such as moving their droplet on the player board for extra ingredient draws or point opportunities, buying additional ingredient chips to add to their bag, or even rerolling a Fortune Teller card.

• Rat Tokens:  These tokens (depending on the version) might allow players to peek at the top chip in their bag or mitigate some explosion effects.
  

End of Round:

• After all players have revealed their ingredients and scored points, the rubies are returned to the supply, and discarded ingredient chips are shuffled back into their respective players' bags.

• The Fortune Teller deck is discarded, and a new deck is shuffled for the next round.
  

End of Game:

• After the ninth round, the game ends. Players reveal any hidden victory points from their cauldrons and add them to their score on the scoring track.

• The player with the most victory points wins the game and is declared the quack with the most potent potion!
  

Additional Notes:

• The Quacks of Quedlinburg offers a perfect blend of push-your-luck mechanics with bag-building and resource management.

• The game scales well for different player counts, offering a fun and engaging experience for both casual and strategic players.  There are also various expansions available that introduce new ingredients, player powers, and additional game modes.

• Be sure to check the specific rulebook for your version of the game, as there might be slight variations in setup or specific card effects.