THOLOS
Greece was covered in darkness. Kings and queens set out to consult the oracle Pythia, in the round Tholos building, at the center of the temple of Apollo. It was believed that Pythia was inspired to give prophecies when filled by the spirit of the god Apollo. When questioned she never gave a direct answer but spoke with hidden meanings and ambiguities which needed to be interpreted. She was the most prestigious Greek oracle, trusted by many, and without doubt the most powerful woman of the Ancients. She sent the nobles out on a quest through dangerous lands to find the light and save Greece.
A powerful dragon tried to confuse everyone, steal their hearts and an enormous glittering diamond, to destroy all light in the world. Who has the heart to search for the diamond and light needed to slay the dragon before it destroys everyone?
Powerful oracles enhance your memory, but you still need all your whits to find the hidden tiles. Beware! You may want to help each other against a Medusa or the dragon or serpent which may win the game.
Game Overview
SET TO PLAY
Shuffle the face down tiles and place them on open squares on the board or in a 8 x 8 tile playing area.
Players take turns turning over and collecting matched tiles. Turn a tile over, then turn over a second tile to help complete the match. One of two actions will take place:
Action A Match and Collect Tiles
Action B Turn Tiles Back Over
PLAY
END OF PLAY
When there are no tiles left on the board, the winner has the highest total of numbers on tiles in their collection, minus 10 for Medusa plus 10 for gray symbol tiles without a number and 20 for black tiles such as the dragon and light.
Everyone loses when the dragon and heart or diamond have been turned over but are not matched by light.
Players share the use of 4 spirits and these 60 tiles: in green, brown, dark green, & dark brown, as well as Light, Dragon, Diamond and Heart.
Tholos
Game Designer
David Stennett
Dave lives in Munich, Germany where he founded Playford Games to publish the Moral Conflict series of 5-dimensional strategy games. These days Dave devotes his time to the continuous development of the Ancient World Streaming System.