The Quacks of Quedlinburg: The Alchemists

All players perform it simultaneously after everyone finishes the Preparation Phase, but before scoring, whether or not their cauldron exploded. In the ninth round, perform the final Essence Phase, but score 1 point per space advanced instead of receiving the normal bonuses, rat tails, or points (p. 3).

Start at 0, then advance once for each different non-white ingredient color in your cauldron. Add 1 space if your white chips total exactly 7, plus 1 space for each adjacent player whose cauldron exploded; in a two-player game, this neighbor bonus is limited to 1 space (p. 3).

No. You may deliberately choose a lower space before taking its bonus, which can be useful when a patient bonus or special action is more valuable than reaching farther (p. 3).

Usually not: for Nervousness, the special action is used during the next Preparation Phase, while Carrot Nose, Wing Ears, Witch’s Hump, and Forgetfulness likewise become usable in the following round. Chicken Eyes is an exception because its listed bonus is received immediately after the Essence Phase (pp. 4–5).

Yes, several players may choose the same patient. Draw 3 of the 8 patient markers, place their matching charts face up, and return the other 5 charts and all markers to the box; each player then chooses one of the 3 available patients (p. 2).

No. White chips are excluded when counting different ingredient colors for the essence marker, although they are checked separately for the exact-total-of-7 bonus (p. 3).