Game rules

Abyss rules: how to play and how to score

Reviewed on 8 October 2026 against the publisher’s rulebook. How we check

Abyss plays 2 to 4 players: everyone recruits Lords with their Allies to become King of the Abyss. Here are the essential rules, setup and final scoring, based on the official rulebook.

Players: 2 to 4
Play time: About 45 minutes
Winner: Most Influence Points; on a tie, the most Pearls

Abyss quick rules

The goal: You want to become King of the Abyss by having the most Influence Points at the end. You collect Allies, divided into five Races, and spend them to recruit Lords, who earn points and grant powers. With three Keys, you take control of a Location. Pearls are the currency.
A turn: At the start of your turn, you may plot at Court: for one Pearl, add a Lord from the deck to an empty space, as many times as you like. Then take one single action out of three: explore the depths, request support from the Council, or recruit a Lord. Finally, if you have gathered three Keys, you immediately take a Location.
Explore the depths: Flip the Exploration cards one by one onto the five spaces of the track. Each Ally you flip is first offered to your opponents, clockwise: the first one who wants it pays you 1 Pearl, then 2, then 3 for the next ones, and each opponent buys only one during your turn. If nobody wants it, take it for free (your exploration ends) or flip the next card. On the last space, you must take it and gain an extra Pearl.
The Monsters: When you flip a Monster, you either fight it or carry on. Fighting gives you the reward on the space where the Threat token sits; the token goes back to the start and your exploration ends. Carrying on moves the token forward one space. Monster tokens are worth 2 to 4 points and stay face down until the end.
The Council: The Council is five piles of face-down Allies, one per Race. To request its support, take a whole pile into your hand without looking at it first. Allies left on the track after an exploration go back there, each onto the pile of its Race.
Recruit a Lord: The number of bubbles at the bottom of the card is the exact number of different Races you must give; a big colored bubble requires that Race. The number is the minimum total value of the Allies, which you can make up with Pearls, one per point. The weakest of the Allies you spent stays in front of you, face up: it is affiliated and will count at the end. If only two Lords are left in the Court, you gain two Pearls and the Court is refilled.
Lords and Locations: A power with an arrow applies once, when you recruit the Lord; with no arrow, it lasts as long as the Lord is free. As soon as you have three Keys, you must take a Location, either a visible one or one you draw (one to four). The Lords whose Keys you used go under the Location: they lose their power and Key, but keep their points.
The end and the scoring: The end comes when a player recruits their seventh Lord, or when the Court can no longer be refilled: every other player takes one last turn. For each Race still in your hand, affiliate your weakest Ally. Score Locations, all Lords, Monster tokens and the best affiliated Ally of each Race. Pearls are worth nothing, but they break ties.
Beginner traps: Forgetting that each opponent buys only one Ally during your turn; affiliating your strongest Ally instead of the weakest; forgetting that when you take a Location, the Lords whose Keys you use lose their power.

How to score Abyss

Locations: Points from your Locations, following the formula on each tile.
Lords: Points from all your Lords, free or under a Location.
Affiliated Allies: The strongest affiliated Ally of each Race, just one per Race.
Monster tokens: The total value of your Monster tokens, 2 to 4 points each.
Nebulis (Kraken): −1 point per Nebulis.
Kraken figure (Kraken): The player holding the figure, the one with the most Nebulis, loses 5 more points.
Loot on Sanctuaries (Kraken): Points from the Loot kept on your Sanctuaries.
Scourge of the Abyss (Leviathan): 5 points for the player holding the figure, the one who killed the most Leviathans.
Wounds (Leviathan): −1 point per Wound token.
Pearls (tie-breaker): No points: on a tie, the most Pearls wins, then the highest-value Lord.

Worked example

Emma: 12 points from Locations, 38 from Lords, 14 from affiliated Allies (one per Race: 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2) and two Monster tokens worth 2 and 4: 12 + 38 + 14 + 6 = 70 points.

Common mistakes

Scoring Pearls: they’re worth nothing, they only break ties.
Forgetting the Lords placed under a Location: they lost their power, but keep their points.
Counting several affiliated Allies of the same Race: only the strongest of each Race counts.
Forgetting to affiliate, at the end, the weakest Ally of each Race still in your hand.
If Pearls are tied too, the highest-value Lord breaks the tie.

How to set up Abyss

Setup is the same for 2 to 4 players. Draw lots for the first player, then play clockwise.

The board and the cards

Place the board in the center of the table.It has three areas: the Exploration Track, the Council and the Court.
Shuffle the 71 Exploration cards and place the deck face down at the start of the Exploration Track.The Allies and the 6 Monsters are shuffled together.
Shuffle the Lord cards and place their deck face down on its space.
Reveal the first 6 Lords on the 6 spaces of the Court.

Locations, Monsters and Keys

Shuffle the Location tiles and place the stack face down next to the board.
Reveal the first Location tile next to the stack.It’s the only Location available at the start of the game.
Shuffle the Monster tokens and place them face down next to the board.Their value, 2, 3 or 4 points, stays secret.
Set up the Threat Track, with the Threat token on the first space.
Make a pile with the 10 Key tokens.

The Pearls

Give each player a cup with 1 Pearl in it.
Put all the other Pearls in a separate cup: this is the Treasury.The Treasury works as the bank.

Frequently asked questions

How many Allies can you buy during another player’s turn in Abyss?

Just one. The first Ally sold costs 1 Pearl, the second 2 and the third 3, paid to the exploring player.

When does a game of Abyss end?

When a player recruits their seventh Lord, or when the Court can no longer be refilled. That player finishes their turn, then every other player takes one last turn.

Do Pearls score points in Abyss?

No. Pearls are worth nothing at the end; on a tie, the most Pearls wins, then the highest-value Lord.

Ludingo’s Abyss sheet was last reviewed on 8 October 2026, based on: rulebook 1 (PDF), fidelio.ca, rulebook 2 (PDF), BoardGameGeek.