Sleeping Gods

2021

Join Captain Sofi Odessa and her crew in Sleeping Gods, a captivating campaign board game. Explore exotic islands, meet vibrant characters, and discover hidden totems to return home.

1200
minutes

1 - 4
player(s)

13+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Sleeping Gods is an enthralling cooperative adventure game that takes you and your team on an epic journey across a vast, mysterious world. As players, you’ll become part of the crew on the ship named Manticore, lost in a strange and mystical world in the year 1929. Your mission is to work together, explore this enigmatic world, and eventually find a way home.

The game is set in an expansive, hand-drawn atlas where each page is a detailed map of a part of the world you can explore. It’s a blend of mythology and early 20th-century exploration, creating an immersive world that’s a joy to discover. The game’s theme and setting are brought to life by the beautiful artwork, rich storyline, and atmospheric soundtrack, all of which combine to create a truly immersive gaming experience.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Sleeping Gods is a cooperative exploration game that includes a variety of components. Each component plays a unique role in gameplay, contributing to the overall experience and challenge of the game. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

1. Game Atlas:

The Game Atlas is a spiral-bound book containing a series of maps. Players navigate these maps during gameplay, making choices and uncovering secrets. The atlas is crucial to the game as it provides the setting for the adventure.

2. Ship Logbook:

The Ship Logbook is a narrative guide for the game, containing adventure details, quest outlines, and story choices. Players reference the logbook to advance the plot and make decisions that affect the game’s outcome.

3. Event Cards:

Event Cards introduce random elements and surprises. Players draw these cards at specific points in the game, adding unpredictability to each playthrough. The events can be beneficial or detrimental, depending on the card drawn.

4. Ability Cards:

Players can acquire Ability Cards to increase their characters’ skills and capabilities. These cards can provide a strategic advantage and help players overcome challenges.

5. Adventure Cards:

Adventure Cards are drawn when players explore new areas or engage with points of interest. They provide additional narrative and gameplay elements, such as quests, encounters, or items.

6. Market Cards:

Market Cards represent various goods and services available for purchase. Players can buy these items to aid in their journey, often providing benefits such as health restoration, enhanced abilities, or special items.

7. Crew Members:

The game includes several Crew Member tokens, representing the characters aboard the ship. Each crew member has unique abilities and can be used in different situations, adding a layer of strategy to the game.

8. Ship Tokens:

Ship Tokens are used to track the ship’s status, including health, morale, and supplies. Maintaining these resources is critical to survival and success in the game.

9. Resource Tokens:

These are physical tokens used to represent various resources that players can collect during the game, such as food, shells, and artifacts. Resource Tokens are used in trades, purchases, and specific game events.

10. Enemy Cards and Tokens:

Enemy Cards and Tokens represent the various foes players can encounter during their journey. They feature different statistics and abilities, requiring players to strategize and cooperate to defeat them.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Sleeping Gods is a cooperative adventure board game where players control the crew of the steamship Manticore. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to set up the game:

Step 1: Player Roles:

Each player chooses a character from the crew of the Manticore. The character cards detail the character’s abilities and starting health points.
Assign the Captain’s Log to one player who will keep track of the crew’s voyage.

Step 2: Board Placement:

Lay out the Atlas in the center of the play area. The Atlas represents the world the players will explore.
Place the Ship Board next to the Atlas. This board is used to track the ship’s status and resources.
Arrange the Ability, Adventure, Market, and Event decks on their indicated spots on the ship board.

Step 3: Initial Resources:

Each player starts with a number of command tokens as indicated on their character card.
Place the ship’s health marker on the highest spot of the health track on the Ship Board.
Set the Ship’s resources (food, ship parts, and crew morale) to their starting levels as indicated in the rulebook.

Step 4: Random Elements:

Shuffle the Adventure deck and draw the top card, placing it on the spot indicated on the Ship Board. This will be the first adventure the crew encounters.
Shuffle the Market deck and draw cards equal to the number of players. These items are available for purchase at the start of the game.
Shuffle the Event deck and place it on its designated spot on the Ship Board. The Event deck includes various challenges the crew may encounter.

After these steps, the game is ready to begin. The player who has the Captain’s Log begins the game by reading the first adventure from the Adventure deck.

Game flow Round and round we go

Sleeping Gods is a cooperative, campaign-style adventure board game where players navigate a steamship through a vast, open-world setting. The game unfolds in a series of rounds, each consisting of several phases.

The game begins with the Setup Phase. In this phase:

Players choose a Captain’s Log and read the introduction.
The Atlas is laid out, with the starting map tile in the center.
Players select characters and receive the corresponding ability cards.
The Event deck, Adventure deck, and Market deck are shuffled and placed on the designated spaces on the board.
The ship’s resource tokens are placed on their respective spaces on the ship board.

Following the setup, the game proceeds in rounds. Each round consists of three phases: the Action Phase, the Draw Phase, and the Event Phase.

The Action Phase is the main phase of the game, during which players will:

Perform actions such as navigating the ship, exploring the map, interacting with events, or using abilities.
Use command tokens to perform additional actions.
Use ability cards from their hand, if applicable.
Engage in combat with enemies, if necessary.

Next is the Draw Phase. In this phase:

Players draw up to their hand limit if they have fewer cards than their hand limit.
Ability cards are drawn from the Ability Deck.
Players may choose to discard any number of cards from their hand and draw that many new cards.

The round concludes with the Event Phase, where players:

Draw the top card from the Event Deck and resolve its effects.
Resolve any ongoing events or quests, if applicable.
End the round and begin a new one, returning to the Action Phase.

The game continues in this manner until the players successfully complete the campaign, or the ship’s resources are depleted, leading to their defeat.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the board game ‘Sleeping Gods’, each player’s turn consists of a variety of possible actions that can greatly alter the course of the game. Understanding these actions and their consequences can be key to strategic planning and victory.

Command Actions: Command actions are the primary type of actions that a player can perform. A player can take two command actions on their turn. These include:

Move the Ship: This action allows the player to move their ship to a different location on the map. The location they choose may contain resources or hazards that can impact their journey.
Explore a Location: If the ship is already at a location, a player can choose to explore it. Exploration may lead to encounters that can provide rewards or challenges.
Rest: This action allows the player to recover from damage or fatigue. Resting is vital for maintaining the health and stamina of the crew.
Heal: Players can take the heal action to recover health points. This action is crucial to ensure survival in the game.
Trade: Players can trade with other players or with non-player characters (NPCs). Trade can be beneficial for acquiring valuable items or resources.

Adventure Actions: Adventure actions are more specific and context-dependent actions that a player can take. These actions are usually presented in the form of choices during an encounter and may have a range of outcomes. Some possible adventure actions include:

Combat: Players may choose to engage in combat with enemies. The outcome of combat can depend on the players’ abilities and luck.
Skill Checks: Players may be required to perform skill checks, like climbing or swimming. Success in these checks can lead to rewards, while failure can lead to penalties.
Decision Making: Sometimes, players will be presented with narrative choices that can affect the story’s progression and the crew’s fate.

In ‘Sleeping Gods’, strategy comes into play in how players choose to allocate their actions. Balancing the need for resources, health, and progress in the game’s narrative can lead to success or failure. It’s up to each player to decide the best course of action based on their current situation and long-term goals.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of Sleeping Gods ends when one of three conditions is met:

Completion of the Atlas: The game ends when players have successfully navigated through all the pages of the Atlas. This typically involves resolving a variety of quests and events.
Death of the Crew: If all the crew members’ health drops to zero, the game ends immediately. This is considered a loss for the players.
Fulfillment of the Awakening: Sometimes, certain storylines or quests will prompt an ‘Awakening’. If this happens and the players successfully complete the necessary tasks, the game ends.

Once the game ends, it’s time for the final scoring. The scoring process is as follows:

Firstly, players add up the total number of Experience Points they have gathered throughout the game. Experience Points can be acquired by completing quests, defeating enemies, and making successful skill checks. The total amount of Experience Points contributes to the final score.
Secondly, players tally up the number of Story Points they have earned. Story Points are awarded for progressing through the narrative and making significant decisions in the game. Like Experience Points, Story Points also contribute to the final score.
Finally, any bonus points earned through special abilities or items are added to the score. Such bonuses might be earned through specific crew member abilities, unique item effects, or other special conditions.

In the event of a cooperative game, all players add up their points together to determine the collective score. If the game is competitive, the player with the highest total score is declared the winner.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In the board game ‘Sleeping Gods’, scoring is a crucial part of the game’s strategy and is primarily based on the successful completion of quests, collection of treasures, and the discovery of new locations. Below is a detailed explanation of the scoring system.

1. Quest Completion:

Players earn points by successfully completing quests. The number of points awarded varies depending on the difficulty and duration of each quest.

Short quests: Generally worth 1-3 points.
Medium quests: Typically yield 3-5 points.
Long quests: Often reward 5-8 points.

2. Treasure Collection:

Collecting treasures is another way to earn points. Different treasures have different point values.

Common treasures: Usually worth 1 point.
Uncommon treasures: Often yield 2 points.
Rare treasures: Typically reward 3 points.
Epic treasures: Guarantee a 5-point reward.

3. Discovery of New Locations:

Players are also awarded points for discovering new locations, with each new location typically worth 1 point.

Tie-Breaking Rules:

In the event of a tie, the following rules are applied in sequence until the tie is broken:

Player with the most completed quests wins.
If still tied, the player with the most treasures wins.
If still tied, the player who has discovered the most locations wins.
If still tied, the game results in a draw.

Note that these rules might slightly vary depending on the game version or house rules.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Sleeping Gods is a cooperative, adventure board game that also has a few special rules and rare exceptions that are often overlooked or misunderstood. Here are some of these rules:

1. Death of a Crew Member:

When a crew member’s health is reduced to zero, they do not immediately die. Instead, they are considered incapacitated. They can be healed back to positive health. However, if all crew members are incapacitated at the same time, the game ends in a loss.

2. The Command Skill:

The command skill is a special skill that can be used to add bonuses to other crew member’s skill checks. However, the command skill cannot be used to boost another command skill check.

3. Retiring to the Ship:

During the game, players can choose to retire to the ship, which allows them to regain health and abilities. However, retiring to the ship also moves the time track forward, which can trigger events.

4. The Save System:

The game has a unique save system that allows players to pause their game and resume it at a later time. However, the save system requires careful record keeping, as players must note their current location, status, and inventory.

5. Port Locations:

Players can visit port locations to buy and sell goods. However, the price and availability of goods can change over time or based on player actions.

6. Event Cards:

Event cards introduce unexpected challenges or opportunities. Some events can be beneficial, while others can be harmful. The outcome of events can sometimes be influenced by player decisions or skill checks.

Rule Clarifications:

The game does not have a set turn order. Players can take their turns in any order they choose, and the same player can take multiple turns in a row.
If players need to draw a card from a deck and the deck is empty, they should shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.
Players cannot trade items or abilities, unless a game effect specifically allows it.
When drawing map cards, players should draw from the bottom of the deck to avoid seeing the map before they should.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

In the adventurous board game ‘Sleeping Gods’, players voyage through a vast, open-world setting where they encounter a myriad of quests, challenges, and foes. The game’s richness and complexity may seem daunting at first, but with the right strategy and understanding of the game mechanics, you can maximize your enjoyment and chances of success.

Advanced Strategies:

Resource Allocation: An essential strategy in ‘Sleeping Gods’ is efficient resource allocation. Keep a balanced approach in managing your resources. It’s always wise to hold onto your resources until you absolutely need them.
Strategic Exploration: Exploring the map wisely is another crucial strategy. Remember, not every location needs to be explored. Make sure to prioritize exploration that aligns with your objectives and quests.
Utilizing Crew Members: Each crew member has unique abilities. Use them strategically in battles and to overcome challenges. It’s all about finding the right crew member for the right job.

Beginner Tips:

Understand the Rules: Before you start playing, make sure you thoroughly understand the game mechanics. This will save you time and confusion during gameplay.
Teamwork is Key: Cooperation among players is vital in ‘Sleeping Gods’. Collaborative decision-making can help you overcome the toughest challenges.
Embrace the Adventure: The game is not just about winning, but also the journey and the narrative. Embrace the adventure and the tale it tells.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring the Storybook: The storybook in ‘Sleeping Gods’ is not just for narrative purposes. It often contains vital information and hints about quests and challenges. Ignoring the storybook can cost you dearly.
Not Healing Your Crew: Neglecting your crew’s health can lead to a swift defeat. Always keep an eye on your crew’s health and heal them when necessary.
Overextending Your Exploration: While exploring is crucial, overextending can deplete your resources and put your crew at risk. Always be mindful of your limits.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Plan Ahead: Just like any great adventure, ‘Sleeping Gods’ rewards careful planning. Always think a few steps ahead and anticipate potential challenges.
Manage Your Inventory: An organized inventory can save you in crucial situations. Regularly review your inventory, discard unnecessary items, and prioritize essential ones.
Adapt and Improvise: Despite all the planning, the game’s unpredictability will sometimes throw you off-course. In such situations, being flexible and willing to adapt is key.