
2023 · Medieval
Scholars of the South Tigris
Recruit linguists and expand influence at the House of Wisdom during the Abbasid Golden Age. Acquire foreign scrolls, assign translators to decode them, and convert translations into knowledge and victory points across scientific fields. Influence three guilds and manage translators’ careers, gaining bonus points for retired scholars. The game ends when the final caliph card appears, and the player with the most victory points wins.
- Players
- 1–4 best 3
- Playing time
- 60–90 min
- Age
- 12+
- Complexity
- 4.1 / 5
About the game
- Publisher
Expansions
See them in LudoyaPhotos from Ludoya tables
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Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 127
- Plays logged
- 95
- Players
- 2h 24m
- Average play
- 67
- In collections
- 16
- On wishlists
- 2
- Pre-ordered
8.3/10
from 24 Ludoya reviews
Алексей Любавин10.0 Last played: 2024-01
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
How many workers can I place on a die — can I put more than two or stack them?
You may place up to two Workers on each Die when resolving an Action; Workers alter the Die by either increasing it to 6 if the Worker and Die share a colour, or by changing the Die’s colour if they differ (up to two Workers per Die only) (pages 8–9).
Can I use two different coloured Workers on a single die to create a secondary colour?
No — you cannot use two coloured Workers on a single Die to produce a secondary colour; each Die’s colour/value is determined by the single applicable Worker rules (page 9).
Do I always have to pay 4 Silver to Deliver a Scroll, even if it's in the bottom row or gives other rewards?
Yes — the Deliver sequence requires paying 4 Silver to the Main Supply as step 3 of delivering a Scroll, and you then receive the listed Influence, Gold/White die and Research movement benefits (page 12).
When I Rest, when do I reveal the bottom Scroll and what does that reveal do?
Revealing the bottom Scroll is the first step of Rest: draw and reveal the bottom card of the Scroll draw pile, move the Neutral Marker clockwise a number of spaces equal to that Scroll’s VP (skipping White Spots), then follow the placement/discard rules for the revealed card and the Scroll adjacent to the Neutral Marker (page 16).
How do Research harvests work — which space do I harvest and what happens if I move beyond level 7?
When Resting you harvest only the single highest coloured (even-numbered) space your Research Marker has reached (if your marker is on an odd space you harvest the space below it), and any movement beyond level 7 does not move the marker but immediately grants the top-of-track reward (Influence or Gold) shown on that track (pages 13 and 17).
When Translating a Scroll do I need a specific die value or just the colour, and do I have to pay Silver to use other players' or neutral Translators?
Translating requires only an action that matches the Guild’s colour (value doesn’t matter); you place 1 Gold on each Translator used and must pay 1 Silver to the owner of each opposing Translator (you pay no Silver for your own Translators), while using a Neutral Translator requires paying 1 Silver to the Main Supply (page 14).
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