Overview
Keltis (Way of Stones) is a card-driven path game where players use numbered cards to advance their figures along five stone paths. On each path, cards must be played in consistently ascending OR descending order. The farther your figures travel, the more points they score, but stopping too early results in negative points. Collecting Celtic wishing stones along the way provides bonus points. The game ends when five figures (any players’) reach the goal area.
Components
- 1 board with 5 stone paths and a score track
- 110 cards (two cards of each value 0-10 in each of 5 colors)
- 20 figures (per player: 1 large figure + 4 small figures)
- 4 large clover leaves (player markers)
- 4 score markers
- 25 path tiles: 9 wishing stones, 9 clover leaves, 7 number tiles (2x “1”, 3x “2”, 2x “3”)
Setup
- Each player takes their color’s pieces: 4 small figures, 1 large figure, 1 score marker, 1 large clover leaf.
- Place all figures on the large starting stone at the beginning of the paths.
- Place score markers beside space 1 of the score track.
- Each player places their clover leaf in front of them for color identification.
- Shuffle the 25 path tiles and place one face-down on each dark stone and each end stone. Flip all face-up.
- Shuffle the cards. Deal 8 cards to each player. Place remaining cards as a face-down draw pile.
- 2-player variant: Remove 30 random cards from the deck before dealing.
Turn Structure
On your turn, you MUST:
- Play one card
- Draw one card
Actions
Play One Card (choose one):
a) Discard unused: Place face-up alongside the board in the matching color’s discard pile (5 separate piles).
b) Lay out in front of you: Place face-up to advance a figure on the corresponding path.
- First card of a color: Move one of your figures to the first stone of that path (row value: -4).
- Subsequent cards of the same color: Lay slightly below the last card (values remain visible). Advance your figure one stone on the path.
Card ordering rules:
- Start low: Each subsequent card of this color must be EQUAL or HIGHER.
- Start high: Each subsequent card of this color must be EQUAL or LOWER.
- Direction is committed once you play a second different value in a color.
Late game: If your figure has reached the end stone (value 10) and you play another card of that color, you may instead advance any OTHER figure by one stone.
Path Tiles
When a figure lands on a stone with a tile:
- Number tile: Advance your score marker that many points on the score track. Tile stays.
- Clover leaf tile: Advance any one of your figures by one stone (can be the one you just moved). Tile stays. If this triggers another tile, resolve it too (chain reaction possible).
- Wishing stone tile: Take the tile and keep it face-up in front of you.
Draw One Card
Take either:
- The top card from the face-down draw pile, OR
- The top card from any face-up discard pile.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
End of Game Triggers
- The 5th figure total (across all players) reaches the goal area (final 3 rows: values 6, 7, 10).
- If the 5th figure lands on a tile entering the goal area, that tile’s action is NOT carried out.
- OR the last card is drawn from the draw pile.
Final Scoring
- Each figure scores points based on its row position. The large figure scores DOUBLE points.
- Figures in the first 3 rows score NEGATIVE points (-4, -3, -2). From the 4th row onward, points are positive.
- Figures still on the starting space score nothing.
- Score wishing stones based on the table:
| Wishing Stones |
Points |
| 0 |
-4 |
| 1 |
-3 |
| 2 |
0 |
| 3 |
2 |
| 4 |
3 |
| 5+ |
10 |
The player with the most total points wins. Ties result in shared victory.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
- You cannot change the ascending/descending direction of a color once committed.
- Playing the same value consecutively is always allowed (does not commit direction).
- The large figure scoring double applies to both positive AND negative row values.
- Path tile chain reactions: A clover leaf tile can trigger another tile effect.
- The 5th figure entering the goal area does NOT activate its landing tile.
Player Reference
| Row Position |
Points |
| Starting stone |
0 |
| Row 1 |
-4 |
| Row 2 |
-3 |
| Row 3 |
-2 |
| Row 4 |
1 |
| Row 5 |
2 |
| Row 6 |
3 |
| Row 7 (goal) |
6 |
| Row 8 (goal) |
7 |
| Row 9 / End (goal) |
10 |
| Key Numbers |
Value |
| Hand size |
8 cards |
| Card values |
0-10 (5 colors, 2 each = 110) |
| Figures per player |
5 (4 small + 1 large) |
| Large figure multiplier |
2x |
| Game end trigger |
5 figures in goal area |