Inkwell

About this board game

Inkwell is a strategic and tactical board game for 1–5 players, with games lasting about 40 minutes. Set at the abbey of Iona, it casts each player as a master illuminator creating an illustrious manuscript filled with remarkable calligraphy and gold leaf.

On your turn, choose whether to take supplies from a shared mat or turn the page of your personal codex. Supplies include colored ink cubes, gold leaf, and technique cards with special powers and effects. Everything you collect must fit on your manuscript card, making each choice a balance between immediate needs, available space, and future plans.

• Gather colored ink cubes, gold leaf, and technique cards.
• Complete work on your manuscript and score when you turn the page.
• Collect ability cards to build an engine of learned skills.
• Choose your next page and receive rewards of gold leaf.

When you empty the last inkwell of a certain type, the abbot moves the game closer to its end. If the abbot becomes upset, he may also force you to move forward before your work is finished, so timing matters as much as resource management.

Turning the page scores all your completed work and lets you gather your ability cards on the side, where they can benefit you for the rest of the game. Inkwell offers few rules but plenty of choices, celebrating beautiful historical manuscripts through gameplay that can be enjoyed by groups or in solo play.