In Karnuta, you gradually play cards in front of you, creating your own “potion.” The value of each card depends on its ingredients and, above all, on how well it links with the other cards in your tableau. The key is good timing, smart selection from the offer, and efficient rune management.
On each turn you take 2 actions (the same or different) from four options: draw a card, play a card, gain a rune, or flip a rune. You choose cards from 8 face-up on the table, taking them into your hand first. To play a card, you pay its cost using runes on your player board—sometimes you discard a rune, other times you only flip it.
Runes are double-sided: sun on one side, moon on the other. These symbols correspond to day and night cards, so when drawing and flipping runes you always choose one type—significantly shaping your game plan. The game ends when any player plays their 11th card, followed by scoring. Some cards have a fixed point value, but many score for other ingredients or sets of them, so the winner is the one who builds the most refined combinations.
Box contents: 72 cards, 22 runes, 25 tokens, 4 player boards, 4 markers, a score pad, rules.
