Designed by Klaus Teuber
Published by Franckh-Kosmos 1997
Translated by Richard Ingram
Distributed from The Rules Bank by Mike Siggins
To play the game, each player will need a basic card game set and a copy of the expansion. In this game, you don t select cards from shared piles but instead have four piles of your own from which you make up your hand during the game. Each player compiles his own deck of cards from those available before the game starts. He can adopt his own strategy and can incorporate appropriate cards in his deck. Each player also influences the composition of the event card deck, selecting 4 cards for the pile. The rules used with the basic set are maintained. Additions will be explained in the following pages.
Stick the two long strips on to the two sides of the pole, and insert the pole into the base.
4 flags can also be found on the sticker sheet, along with a blank on which your own design can be drawn. Select one and stick it to the plastic flag piece, folding it so that it can be stuck to both sides.
The other stickers on the sheet are to help you design your own cards using the blank stock.
Place the flag onto the pole from the top. Use the flag and flagpole to display your current victory point total.
Each player lays out his 9 start cards (from one basic set) as usual.
The event deck is created by both players.
Roads, villages, cities, land tile cards and event cards should be placed in piles between the two players.
Each player stands his flagpole on one of his villages. The flag should be at level 2.
Both players should take the action and development cards out of separate card game and expansion sets.
Each player selects 33 cards and so creates his deck.
Choice of cards is the player's alone. He is limited only by cards
available - he may not take an extra card from his opponent s sets.
Each player selects 3 of his 33 cards to form his hand.
Each player shuffles his remaining 30 cards and deals them face down to
form 4 piles, 2 of 8 cards, and 2 of 7.
These piles are placed to the left or right of the player's display.
Each player contributes a civil war and a plague card, (i.e. 2 cards each), and then 1 new year card is added.
Each player then chooses a further four event cards in secret.
The resultant deck of 13 cards should be shuffled and placed face down between the players displays.
At the end of the game, each player should take back the cards he contributed to the deck. It is advisable to make a note of cards contributed.
With the exception of scout cards, action cards can first be played once both players have at least 3 victory points.
Buildings are safe from spies - only action and unit (knights and fleets) cards can be stolen from an opponent.
Note down stolen cards so they can be returned to their rightful owner at game end.
You are allowed to remove buildings or units from your principality to make room for more important cards. Such removal costs nothing. You have a choice as to whether to take the card back into your hand or discard it. You cannot however place a removed card at the bottom of one of your four piles.
If you remove a card from your principality which has previously allowed you to lay an additional card, (e.g. a library allows you to build a university), removal of the base card (i.e. the library), does not mean you have to remove the card that entitled you to play (i.e. the university).
Whoever exchanges a card at the end of his turn, must place his rejected card under the same pile from which he draws his replacement.
Each knight is unique! Any knight appearing in your opponents layout cannot appear in yours at the same time. You can of course remove his card by playing a black knight card, and so facilitate the playing of your own copy of that particular knight.
As in the basic game, as soon as a player achieves 12 victory points the game ends
This version involves a longer preparation phase. Each player chooses one of the six listed characters and must incorporate the 10 prescribed cards into his deck. The additional 2 cards must form part of his layout from the start.
The same game rules are followed, but players choose a character. There are two options:
1. Both players throw a die and take an appropriate character (even if both players take on the same character).
2. Both players write their wishes on paper in secret and then reveal them simultaneously.
Players add the prescribed cards to their start layouts and then assemble 31 card decks, 10 of which are also prescribed. Choice of cards is as described in the basic version. You may of course like to use the idea of your character to help your selections.
| Watchtower | if your opponent plays a spy, throw the die. If you roll a 1 or 2, the spy has no effect. Your opponent must then discard his spy. |
|---|---|
| Great Wall | if your opponent plays a spy, throw the die. If you roll a 3, 4, 5 or 6, the spy has no effect and must be discarded. |
| Castle | whenever you place a new knight or canon in your principality, it will cost one resource less than stated. With two castles, such cards cost two resources less, making some of them free. |
| Customs Post | each time a bumper harvest card appears, you will receive, as an addition, two gold resources - assuming you have the spare capacity. |
| Battle Fleet | if placed in your principality, you can destroy one of your opponent s fleets (of any type). You choose which fleet is destroyed. The destroyed fleet goes on your opponent s discard pile. A bumper harvest event card will also provide you with one gold. A battle fleet receives no extra trade points if a harbour is built. |
| Cannon | can be built if you have a university. If the university is destroyed, you do not have to remove a cannon. A cannon is dealt with like a knight, with a few exceptions: a cannon can be attacked by a black knight and be protected by a herbalist. a castle reduces the cost of a cannon by one resource a smithy provides a cannon with an extra strength point. Exceptions: a Lady Imelda of the Castle has no effect on a cannon, the Tournament site does not provide the cannon with any tournament points. |
| Walther the Singer | this troubadour is a knight of a special type against which a black knight cannot be played. Walther has no strength points, but gains one if a smithy is in the principality. 8, 9, & 10. - 3 named knights to add to those in the basic set. |
| Tournament Site | each knight receives an additional tournament point. A cannon receives nothing. |
| Fire Station | protects all buildings against a fire raiser. The station itself cannot be set on fire either. |
| People's Hall | a town hall is a pre-requisite. - allows you to search through one of your 4 piles for free, but you must select a card from that pile. If you can draw 2 cards, they can come from the same pile or two different piles. |
| Palace | allows you to take a card back from your discard pile instead of gaining a resource when a bumper harvest card appears. You can search through the discard pile, but if taking a card leads you to have too many cards in your hand, you must place one card beneath one of your four piles! You can take an action card, a destroyed fleet or knight seduced by Lady Imelda of the Castle. |
| Great Trade Fleet | both resources to left and right can be traded at a 2 to 1 exchange rate. - combined with a harbour, the great trade fleet is worth 3 trade points. |
| Banking House | if you own the windmill, you can take two resources when the windmill appears on the die. You can choose both resources. |
| Cathedral | a monastery is a pre-requisite. - protects all fleets and knights against civil war. |
| University | a library or monastery is a pre-requisite. - enables you to build a building crane and a cannon, and to play certain action cards. - if removed, cranes and cannons do not have to go as well. |
| Great Harbour | doubles trade points of markets, trade accounts and professional traders. |
| Envoy's Residence | a town hall is a pre-requisite. - placed in opponent s principality, forcing him to show all cards in his hand each turn, and reducing his space for development. - opponent can destroy the residence with a fire raiser card, if he has no fire station present. |
| Building Crane | a university is a pre-requisite - reduces costs of buildings by one resource, but does not reduce cost of cities. - loss of university does not necessitate loss of crane. |
| Attack | if you have the knight tile, take three of your opponent s buildings. Your opponent must take one of these back into his hand. If he owns less than three buildings, he loses all those available. |
| Border Conflict | knight tile is a pre-requisite. - exchange one land card with your opponent. - Important: you can only take from your opponent a land card of which he has two examples. - if the taken tile was under the influence of a doubling card, the doubling card may well cease to be of benefit because it is land-type specific. |
| Printing | a university is a pre-requisite. - you receive any two resources. |
| Three Field Economics | a university is a pre-requisite. - turn one of your wheat fields to 3. - it is possible to spend wheat, then make the wheat back up to 3 by playing the card. |
| Spice Caravan | if you have the windmill tile, you can steal two resources from your opponent. |
| Land Reform | you can change over the positions of two of your land cards - numbers stay the same. |
| Lady Imelda of the Castle | what knight can resist her beauty? None! Your opponent must remove a knight of his choice and put it on his discard pile. - the cannon is of course immune to her charms. |
| Inventor | a university is a pre-requisite. - turn one of your ore cards up to three, even if you have just spent ore. |
| Inquisition | a church or a monastery is a pre-requisite. - your opponent must shuffle cards in hand and his four draw piles together. He then forms 4 roughly equal piles again, and draws cards from the tops of them to re-form his hand. 31, 32, 33. - Blank cards for the competition. |
NB Send ideas for new cards using the blank cards and stickers to the Franckh-Kosmos company. A special set will be produced at the Essen fair containing competition winners ideas.
The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Richard Ingram