Quest for the Antidote – At a Glance!

Quest for the Antidote is an exciting new board game that is fun for all ages. Balancing both strategy and luck, Quest for the Antidote is easy to learn but impossible to master!

With over 150 unique cards and a breathtaking board beautifully crafted by fantasy artist Scott Sherman, and a suspenseful and dramatic storyline created by the game’s designer, Tom Deschenes, Quest for the Antidote is a thrilling new game that will entertain all audiences.

Quest for the Antidote supports 1 – 6 players and takes roughly 45 minutes to play. It is recommended for players ages 10 and up.

Quest for the Antidote – The Back Story!

Each copy of Quest for the Antidote comes with a comic strip that details the back story of the game and its characters. From the twisted Poison King of Greek history, King Mithradates, who experimented with poisons on his subjects, to The Dragophant, a three-headed, fire-breathing monster of evil proportions who rules the wilds, the world in Quest for the Antidote is populated with dozens of dangerous beasts. The comic strip also contains Quest for the Antidote’s easy-to-read instructions.

Quest for the Antidote – Set Up!

Shuffle all fifty monster cards and put them face down in the monster deck spaces. There should be five in each of the ten deck spaces.

Next, shuffle all ten of the reward cards and randomly pull four. One will be placed in each of the reward spaces in the corner of the board, and the remainder will not be in play for this game.

Each player is given three random meddling cards that they keep secret in their hands and can play at any time.

A colored pawn and its corresponding cube are given to each player. The pawn goes into the center of the board and will represent movement, and the cube will go on the number 50 on the breath tracker to keep track of a player’s health.

A player loses a breath any time he rolls the six-sided movement die, and a player loses a breath each time he rolls the ten-sided battle die. Players keep track of their health on the breath tracker, and if a player ever uses all of his breath, he “expires” and is out of the game.

Quest for the Antidote – Ingredients!

At the start of the game, each player will get ten ingredient cards. They will shuffle their ingredient deck, randomly draw four items, and place those four cards face up. Players will likely have different ingredients, but some players may have similar ingredients, too. These ingredients must be collected and brought back to the apothecary’s hut in the center of the board to be cured.

Quest for the Antidote – Moving!

To move across the board, players must roll the six-sided movement die. (Remember, this will cost you a breath each turn!) This will determine how many spaces a player can move during this turn. While this may seem like a simple “roll and move” mechanic, players will quickly realize how much strategy is involved.

There are twenty-eight paths from which a player must choose, and players can move in any direction at any time. Plus, once meddling, rewards, drops, and monsters come into play, everyone at the table will quickly realize that Quest for the Antidote requires a balance of strategy and luck!

Quest for the Antidote – Monster Battles!

On their way to collect their antidote ingredients, players will have to battle and defeat a series of monsters that inhabit the wild. When a player reaches a monster deck, he must flip the top card and face whatever monster lies in wait.

Each monster has a level between two and ten, and to defeat a monster, a player must use the ten-sided battle die to roll that monster’s level or higher. Hence, rolling a six or higher would defeat a level six monster.

Remember, each time a player rolls the battle die, he will lose a breath, so players must be careful not to waste too much energy fighting any one monster and may want to consider retreating when necessary.

Quest for the Antidote – Drops!

Deciding whether to fight or retreat when encountering a high-level monster is a difficult decision for players to make. They will likely exert a lot of energy trying to beat one of these mega-baddies, but when a level eight, nine, or ten monster is defeated, it drops a valuable item that can help a player tremendously. Check out some of the drops!

Quest for the Antidote – Meddling Cards!

As if all the monsters weren’t dangerous enough, players also have to dodge meddling cards, which are played by other players against you to hinder your progress.

Each player gets a handful of random meddling cards at the start of the game, and they may play their meddling cards at any time to mess with their fellow players. (Insert wicked laugh here!)

If they get desperate for breath, though, players may trash their meddling cards to gain five breaths on the breath tracker.

Quest for the Antidote – Reward Cards

Luckily for our players, there are some powerful allies and magical items that are located in the far corners of the board, deep in the wilds of this mythical land. Getting to these allies and gaining these items can be dangerous since it will cost players many breaths, but the risk may be worth the reward.

There are ten reward cards, and four are randomly drawn and placed face up in the corresponding reward spaces on the board.

Quest for the Antidote – Collecting Ingredients!

To collect an ingredient, a player must venture to the corresponding spot on the outskirts of the board, which is marked by a green space with a yellow star. Once a player lands on this spot, he may change his ingredient card from “Needed” to “Collected.”