Purim

About this board game

Purim is a cooperative card-management and area-control game for 1–4 players, played in about 60 minutes. Inspired by the Book of Esther, it challenges players to secure peace for the children of Israel while stopping the murderous plan carried on by Haman’s ten sons.

Working together as loyal messengers of the King and Queen, players must spread the King’s proclamation throughout the empire. Gold cubes represent this proclamation, while black cubes represent the false messages used by Haman’s sons to spread hatred and threaten the Jewish people.

Each round, every player receives a set number of Action Cards. Each card contains a Loyal Action, an Evil Action, and an End Effect. Players simultaneously choose one card from their hand, reveal their choices, and resolve the cards in numerical order.

• Loyal Actions generally add gold cubes, move Messengers, or remove Sons of Haman.
• Evil Actions generally add black cubes or advance the Calendar tile.
• When only one card remains in each player’s hand, those final cards are resolved in numerical order using only their End Effects.

The pressure builds as the calendar advances and the available gold and black cubes diminish. The game ends when the Calendar tile reaches the end of the Calendar or players run out of either type of cube.

To win Purim, players must ensure that every Province has at least as many gold cubes as black cubes. If even one Province has more black cubes than gold cubes, the players fail the King and lose. Careful coordination, card selection, and control of the empire’s Provinces are essential to overcoming the threat.