The Charlatans of Belcastel

Each player starts with a bag of basic ingredients and an empty cauldron in front of them. Set up the central board showing the rounds, the score track, and the ingredients available for purchase. Mix the ingredients well in each bag to ensure varied draws.

The game takes place over 9 successive rounds. In each round:

1. Draw ingredients from your bag and place them one by one into your cauldron.
2. Continue drawing as long as you wish... but beware: if the total value of certain explosive ingredients exceeds a critical threshold, your potion explodes and you lose opportunities for gains.
3. Once you decide to stop (or your cauldron explodes), you earn victory points and money based on the quality of your potion.
4. Use the money to buy new, more powerful ingredients to add to your bag, improving your future draws and your ability to concoct great potions.

Carefully plan your draws: sometimes it's better to forego a risky ingredient to secure regular gains. The more precious ingredients fill your bag, the more your potions can yield in the future.

After the 9th round, the game ends. Each player counts their accumulated victory points. The player with the highest total wins the title of best charlatan of Belcastel. In case of a tie, the player who had the fullest cauldron in the last round is declared the winner. If the tie persists, the players share the victory.