Biblios

The Game

Biblios was first published in 2007. It was an indie game from Dr Steve Finn, originally named Scripts and Scribes. There was a version called Scriptorium. Eventually it was picked up by a larger publisher, IELLO. It was published by other companies in different languages too. The game is doing well. Up till now it is still regularly reprinted. I heard of it when it was first released, but only recently I tried it out, 16 years after the first edition. 

Biblios is a card game. It has dice, but they are not rolled. They are used as a tracking tool to indicate the point values of the five colours in the game. During game setup, the dice are all set to 3. During play, the values may change, depending on player actions. Cards in the game include those in the five colours, money cards, and bishop cards. You want to collect cards in the five colours. They have different value distributions. Money is used to bid for cards. Bishops are used to alter the point values on the dice. 

At the end of the game, for each of the five colours, you compare total card values held by players. If you have the highest, you win that colour and score points based on the die in that colour. This is the only way points are scored. After checking all five colours, the highest scorer wins the game. 

The game is divided into two halves. The first half is about card distribution. Within a round, the active player draws cards one by one from the deck, and decides how to distribute them. You must claim one card (face-down). You must set aside one card (face-down) for the second half. You must also set aside enough cards (face-up) so that your opponents will claim one each, in player order. Cards are drawn one by one. If a card you draw looks good and you take it, the next one you draw may be even better, but you can no longer take it. You will have to set it for the second half, or make it available to your opponents. You have to decide what to do with the card the moment you see it. Players take turns being the active player, until the deck runs out. By then every player will have the same number of cards, and there will be a pile of cards set aside for the second half. 

You shuffle the deck for the second half before proceeding further. The second half of the game is about bidding. Every round a card is revealed, and everyone bids for it. Normally you bid money. However if a money card shows up, you bid with cards. You decide how many cards you are willing to discard to win that money card. 

Throughout the game, whenever you claim or win a bishop card, you must use it immediately to manipulate the dice. The card is then removed from the game. You will want to increase the value of a colour you are confident to win, or you decrease the value of a colour which you expect an opponent will win. 

The second half ends when its draw deck runs out. You then reveal all your cards to see who scores which colour. Highest scorer wins the game. This is a pretty straight-forward game. 

The Play

Biblios is an area majority game without the map. The five colours are your five areas. You collect cards in specific colours to compete. You have to choose where to invest effort and where to concede. You know the card value distribution, so you know how much strength you need to achieve to secure a colour. You are constantly watching which colours your opponents are competing in. This is a game about resource management. You can't compete in all colours. You probably want to focus on just two. But which two? There is some luck in the draw, but broadly speaking everyone has about the same amount of resources. You manage your luck and your resources. 

The Thoughts

I feel I missed Biblios at its best era. My first thought after playing it was this was a game from a bygone era. It has its charms, but it doesn't feel like a contemporary game. I get a feeling I would have enjoyed it more had I played it 16 years ago. This is a little weird, because it's still a clever little gem. You need to read your opponents. Luck of the draw creates interesting decisions. There are fun tactics. There is good player interaction. The word it reminds me of is "classic". It's an evergreen game. It keeps getting reprinted. So it's definitely doing something right. This is exactly the kind of game I want to learn to design - evergreen card games.