Artifact Core Rules (2001)

“Original Victorian Themed version of the WarpQuest Gaming System. Each player controls a party of adventuring archaeologists and treasure hunters trying to be the first to get some, relic, artifact, or treasure and bring it back.”

The game is played on a single winding path of connected squares, generally 30 spaces long. The action is driven by cards drawn from the scenario specific deck. The mapboard path and card deck are subdivided to represent different stages of the adventure. Typically one deck is used for the first fifteen spaces on the path -- the second deck is used for the last fifteen spaces on the path.

The scenarios available for Artifact include: Depths of the Earth (first travel through the Earth’s crust, then adventure in the Lost World of dinosaurs), Mummys Tomb (first travel down the Nile, then explore the tomb searching for the treasure of the pharaoh), Lost Continent of Atlantis (travel deep below the sea by submarine, then explore the lost continent in diving suits searching for the Pearl Trident), and The Shadow of a Dark God (a Cthulhu style scenario where the players first investigate a friend’s death, then search a cult temple).