Alcazar Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Materials
• Goal of the Game
• Game Preparation (refer to the illustration on the supplement)
  • Castles and mansions
  • How the value of a castle or mansion is determined
• Playing the Game
  • Action 1: Buy a building card or a tower card
  • Action 2: Build
• A) Build a Castle
  • A1) Building
  • A2) Place a noble (voluntary action)
• B) Build a Mansion
  • B1) Building
  • B2) Place a noble (voluntary action)
• C) Extend a Castle or a Mansion with a Building Card
  • Special case: building upwards with a building card
• D) Extend a Castle or a Mansion with a Tower Card
  • D1) Taking a noble to the next higher level
  • D2) Preparing for the building of a bridge
  • D3) Place a noble
• E) Build a Bridge
  • Rules for the nobles
  • Rules for bridge construction
• Unions
  • Union of two castles
  • Union of mansion and castle
  • Union of two mansions
• Withdraw Noble (voluntary action)
• Moving Nobles
• Exchanging Nobles
• Removing Nobles
• Emergency Pass Action
• End of the Game
  • Determining victory points
• Appendix
  • Detailed examples on using a tower card towards the preparation for building a bridge
  • Detailed example of using a building card on a bridge

Game Materials

• 1 game board (with 72 plots (spaces) as well as a castle value track from 1 to 50)
• 5 Alcazar rules summaries, 1 supplement and 1 rulebook
• 72 building cards (with the numbers 1 to 72)
• 20 tower cards (make building up possible)
• 10 Grandes (= Noble in 5 colours, 2 per player)
• 30 Barons (= Noble in 5 colours, 6 per player)
• 84 building pieces (built with building and tower cards)
• 20 bridges (increase the value of a castle)
• 8 castle coats of arms (to mark the castle value on the castle value track)
• 8 castle flags (mark each castle on the game board)
• Play money ("Real"): 32x 1's, 20x 5's, 33x 10's, 20x 50's, 20x 100's

Goal of the Game

Players represent one of the noble families, and use their family members to build the castles. For each construction added to a castle you receive money (Real) from the King, which you reinvest in order to be able to buy building permits and bridges and bring your nobles to the highest positions in the castles. Though the players build up to eight castles together, they remain in competition; because at the end of the game the player whose nobles have reached the highest levels of the castles will win the game.

In order to achieve this goal, you receive from the King your first 10 building cards, permitting you to build at particular locations. Additionally you can acquire further building cards. With these building cards, you can build mansions and castles to progress in the game. With the use of tower cards, which you must acquire before you can use them, you can build the mansions and castles up. The value of a mansion or a castle depends on its extension, its height and its bridges. Since the mansions and castles belong to the King, players receive Real from the King whenever they build. However, placing Grandes and Barons in the mansions and castles will cost the player money. The money to be paid increases with the value of the mansion or the castle. Therefore, you should use your nobles promptly, while the castle value is low!

Game Preparation (refer to the illustration on the supplement)

• The game board is put into the middle of the table. Beside the game board are put: all 84 pieces, 20 bridges, 8 castle coats of arms and 8 castle flags.
• The 72 building cards are shuffled face-down and distributed as follows:
  • Each player receives 10 building cards, which are kept secret.
  • Further 6 building cards are placed openly on the game board (see supplement).
  • The remaining building cards are placed facedown together in a pile on the game board (see supplement).
• All 20 tower cards are placed together in a pile on the game board (see supplement).
• Each player selects a colour and receives: 2 Grandes, 6 Barons, 40 Real starting capital and 1 Alcazar rules summary.
• A player takes over the bank and administers the play money.

Castles and mansions

A castle possesses a castle flag and has a castle value (CV) of at least 5 Real. The value of a castle is marked by the castle coat of arms on the castle value track. During the foundation, three pieces must rest directly on the game board (first level), and a further building piece is at the second level.

A mansion consists of a foundation of only one building piece, and possesses neither a castle flag nor castle coat of arms. There can be many mansions played. For the sake of simplicity, the value of a mansion is also called the castle value (CV).

When a mansion reaches CV 5, it becomes a castle. Afterwards it receives a castle coat of arms and castle flag. If all castle coats of arms and castle flags are assigned to castles, then a flag is not assigned until there is one available. If several mansions become castles, the player whose turn it is decides which castle receives the flag.

How the value of a castle or mansion is determined

Building pieces resting directly on the game board have the value 1. Pieces which are built on other pieces or bridges have the value 2; the height makes no difference. In the illustration, the mansion has a value of 1 and the castle has a value of 5 (3 x value 1 + 1 x value 2). The value of a castle can always be read off the castle value track by the position of the castle coat of arms. The value of a mansion must be determined by adding the building piece values. As the game progresses, bridges are built (see Build a bridge). A bridge increases the value of a castle/a mansion by 3 times the level in which the bridge is built. If a bridge is built in the second level, it has the value 6 (3 x 2), in the third level the value 9 (3 x 3), etc.

Playing the Game

Each player, during his turn, selects just one of the following two actions and implements it. Afterwards his turn ends and the player to his left plays next.

Action 1: Buy a building card or a tower card

The possession of these cards permits the player to build. A building card costs 5 Real. A tower card costs 10 Real.

• Each building card carries a number, which references a space on the game board. A player who buys a building card pays 5 Real to the bank and takes either one of the face-up cards from the tableau, or the top card of the face-down deck. If a face-up card is taken, it must be replaced immediately by the top card of the face-down deck, so that there are always 6 face-up cards. Players build predominantly directly on the game board with these cards (first level).
• A player who buys a tower card must pay 10 Real to the bank and take the top card from the tower deck, as long as some remain. With such a card, castles and mansions can be built upwards (from the second to the fifth level), regardless of the numbers on the building spaces.

Action 2: Build

A player plays a card and can take one of the following five building actions (A to E):

• A. Build a castle
• B. Build a mansion
• C. Extend a castle or a mansion with a building card
• D. Extend a castle or a mansion with a tower card
• E. Build a bridge

Important: After building, neither a mansion nor a castle is the property of an individual player. Each player can become active within each mansion and each castle.

A) Build a Castle

A1) Building

Conditions for building:

• The distance from any existing castles must be at least 3 empty spaces, and from an existing mansion at least 1 empty space.
• In order to build a castle, a castle flag and its associated castle coat of arms must be available. If that is not the case, the players must wait until two other castles are united and a castle flag and castle coat of arms become available.

Building sequence:

• Play a building card. The building card is put on the discard pile and is out of the game.
• Take four pieces from the supply (see illustrations). Two pieces are stacked on the space indicated by the building card. The two remaining pieces are placed on the spaces left and/or right of the indicated space, such that all three pieces are connected. The player does not require the building cards of these two spaces. Example: the player plays the card "8" and has three alternative ways to put the pieces on the game board (arrangement to the right, to the left, or centrally).
• The player places any available castle flag of his choice on the highest building piece. The castle coat of arms belonging to it is placed on the space of the castle value track corresponding to the value of the castle. During building, that is always space 5.
• Take income: The player receives the current CV paid from the bank. In the case of building a castle that is always 5 Real.

A2) Place a noble (voluntary action)

Placing nobles into castles/mansions is a choice. Note: since the player whose noble takes the highest positions in castles/mansions wins, players should not wait too long to place them, since early placement costs less.

When placing a noble, the following rules are to be considered:

• Nobles can only be placed on pieces built in the same turn.
• After building a castle, one or two nobles can be placed on any of the three spaces built upon.
• With all other building actions, such as building a mansion, extension of a mansion or castle, or bridge construction, only a single noble can be placed.
• Placing a noble costs:
  • For a Baron the CV must be paid.
  • For a Grande double the CV must be paid.
• Only one noble may stand on each building piece (space).
• In a castle or a larger mansion, nobles can be represented by different players.

Example: after building a castle, Red uses a Grande and a Baron. He pays 10 Real (double the CV) for the Grande and 5 Real (equal to the CV) for the Baron. Red could have placed just the Grande or just the Baron. In either case he would have placed the noble on space "8"; this position is higher and hence more valuable at the end of the game!

B) Build a Mansion

B1) Building

A player who builds a mansion plays a building card (which is placed on the discard pile). Afterwards he takes a building piece from the supply and places it on the space of the game board which shows the same number as the building card played.

• Building is only possible if at least one space is vacant between a mansion and any neighbouring buildings (regardless of whether they are a castle or a mansion).
• Take income: The player takes the current CV from the bank. A newly-built mansion (a building piece on the first level) has a value of 1 Real.

Example: a player played building card "6" and built a mansion. He receives 1 Real from the bank. Red placed a Baron in the mansion just built, and paid 1 Real for it.

B2) Place a noble (voluntary action)

The player may additionally place a noble. See A2.

C) Extend a Castle or a Mansion with a Building Card

An existing mansion or castle can be extended by any player. This extension is a worthwhile business, because the player receives the current CV in Real after making the extension.

• Play a building card with the number of a vacant space, adjacent to a castle/a mansion, and then discard it.
• Place a building piece on the space indicated by the building card.
• Move the castle coat of arms on the castle value track 1 space up (CV increases by 1). This is void with the extension of a mansion, since mansions do not have coats of arms.
• Take income: The player receives the current CV paid from the bank. With a mansion, the CV must be calculated each time.
• Place a noble: The player can additionally place a noble. See A2.

Example: Blue plays the "11" card, places a building piece on the "11" space, shifts the castle coat of arms for this castle 1 space from space "5" to space "6" and receives 6 Real from the bank. Afterwards he places a Baron on this space and pays 6 Real to the bank.

Important: With extension, the minimum distance requirements from neighbouring castles/mansions need not be observed. Thus, neighbouring castles and/or mansions can grow together! See Unions.

Special case: building upwards with a building card

• If a building card is played on whose space a building piece or a bridge already stands, then the new building piece is placed on top.
• Building upwards with a building card, there is no upper limit (unlike the level 5 limit with tower cards, see below).
• If his own noble stands on the space, the building piece is pushed under the noble. If an opponent's noble stands on the space, then it is removed and returned to the owner. See Removing Nobles.
• The castle coat of arms is moved according to the increase in value. When building up, the castle value always increases by 2, no matter what height the building piece is used.
• Take income: The player receives the current CV in Real from the bank.
• If his own noble is not already on the space on which the building piece is placed, then the player may place a noble on the building piece just placed (see A2) or else move a noble already present (see Moving Nobles).

Example: Red played the "8" card a few turns ago and built the castle, without possessing card "10". Now Green plays the "10" card, building a piece on the "10" space. He moves the castle coat of arms 2 spaces from "6" to "8", and receives 8 Real from the bank. In the same turn, Green could place a Baron on space "10" for 8 Real, or a Grande for 16 Real.

D) Extend a Castle or a Mansion with a Tower Card

The tower cards do not carry numbers. They can therefore be used at will, starting from the second level (thus never directly on the game board). A tower card may be used to build up to the fifth level at most. The sixth level can only be built with a building card.

Note: A tower card may be used only for the two following tasks:

• to bring a player's own noble to the next higher level, or
• in order to prepare for the building of a bridge.

D1) Taking a noble to the next higher level

• The player plays a tower card (which is placed on the discard pile) and places a building piece under his own noble.
• According to the increase in value, the castle coat of arms is shifted. When building up the castle value increases by 2, independent of the level at which the building piece was used.
• Take income: The player receives the current CV in Real from the bank.

Example: Red plays a tower card. He can build on space "6", "8" or "9" under one of his nobles. He decides to build on space "6", taking it to the second level. The value of the mansion increases from 1 to 3 Real. Red receives 3 Real from the bank. Red chose space "6" because he would like to build a bridge later between "6" and "8".

D2) Preparing for the building of a bridge

In order to be able to build a bridge, two equally-high bridge supports must be present, which have a distance of one space from each other. It is necessary that either one or both bridge supports be in the possession of the current player, i.e. occupied with his own noble. If only one bridge support is in the possession of the player, the other bridge support must be vacant, i.e. no opponent's noble is standing on it. So that the bridge supports reach the same height, one or more tower cards (in several turns) can be played. In the illustration, the red player can only build on space "39" by using a tower card. Two pieces which have a one-space distance represent two bridge supports. For the preparation for a bridge, Red can, with a tower card, place a building piece on space "39".

With a tower card, a building piece can be placed neither on space "1" nor on space "3" (in the illustration); neither of the two is a bridge support in the possession of a player.

Castle value 50: The maximum value which a castle can have is 50 Real. The castle coat of arms remains on the 50 space. Castles with a CV of 50 Real can be extended further, but without changing the CV. Whoever implements such an extension to such a castle will receive 50 Real.

D3) Place a noble

To finish his action the player can additionally place a noble on the just-placed building piece. See A2. Instead of placing a noble, the player can move a noble from the same castle onto the freshly-built building piece (see Moving Nobles), or exchange two nobles (see Exchanging Nobles).

Important: A tower card can only be used for raising one vacant bridge support if the associated bridge support on the other side is both higher and in the possession of the current player. It is not a requirement that the bridge is built later!

Consider also the detailed examples in the appendix.

E) Build a Bridge

The building of a bridge (always over 3 spaces) increases the castle value substantially. A bridge can also be used to traverse areas on which there are no spaces. Thus, for example, castles which are not adjacent can also be united.

A player who builds a bridge implements the following actions:

• The player pays the construction costs of 15 Real to the bank.
• He takes a bridge from the supply and uses it immediately, see following rules.
• If the building of the bridge leads to a union, see Unions.
• The player determines the new CV: The level on which the bridge is built must be multiplied by three. A bridge on the second level increases the castle value by 6 Real, on the third level by 9 Real, etc.
• Take income: The player receives the current CV from the bank.
• For a bridge construction no building/tower card is needed.

Example: it is Red's turn. He buys one bridge for 15 Real and builds it from space "1" to space "3". His two nobles, which stood on space "1" at level 2 and space "2" at level 1, are moved up onto the bridge just placed (level 3).

A bridge cannot be built between space 1 and space 3 when the two bridge supports belong to different players. A bridge cannot be built when the two bridge supports are not at a higher level than the middle space.

Rules for the nobles

• A player's own nobles on the bridge support are placed on the bridge (on the same space).
• Likewise, if his noble stands on the middle space under the bridge, then it is also placed on the bridge.
• If an opposing noble stands on the middle space under the bridge, then it is removed and returned to its owner. See Removing Nobles.
• Again, with the building of a bridge, a player's noble can be assigned on one of the three bridge spaces (see A2), moved (see Moving Nobles) or exchanged (see Exchanging Nobles).

Rules for bridge construction

• A player's own noble must be present on at least one of the two bridge supports. The other support may not be occupied by an opposing noble.
• A bridge may only be built on two equally high bridge supports, one space distance apart (hence only from level 2 upwards).
• The two bridge supports must be higher by at least one level than the space in the centre.
• The building of a bridge over an already existing bridge in the exact same position is not permissible ("bridge over bridge").
• However, bridges may cross and overlap. Hence, one can use a bridge as a bridge support for another bridge at the same time.
• A bridge may also be built over an area which is not a space on the game board; for example, from space "7" to space "17". If there is, for example, a bridge from space "17" to space "67", then this bridge can form one of the supports for another bridge to space "6". Such a bridge construction usually forms a union.

Unions

If a player plays a building card with a number that closes one "building gap", or builds a bridge which connects two buildings, then it forms a union. First, the rules are observed for building and/or bridging. Then, for the union, new rules are added. Unions are possible between two castles, between mansion and castle, or between two mansions.

By building using card "7" or by the building of a bridge from space "6" to space "8", a union is formed. In this case, castle and mansion combine, i.e. the castle takes over the mansion. The smaller building is always taken over by the larger building.

Union of two castles

• The player builds a bridge, or he plays the appropriate building card and places the building piece on the intervening space.
• He determines which castle increases its value by the building of the bridge and/or the building piece, and moves the castle coat of arms accordingly.
• The more valuable castle remains. If both castles have the same value, the player decides which castle remains and which is taken over.
• The castle coat of arms of the more valuable castle is advanced by the value of the taken over castle.
• The castle coat of arms and flag of the taken over castle are removed, placed back into the supply and are available for use.
• Take income: The player who formed the union receives the current CV of the new, increased castle from the bank.
• All nobles (own and opposing) of the taken over castle remain, and now belong to the extended castle.

Example: the bridge is worth level 3 x 3 = 9. Red has formed a union with the building of a bridge. After that union, Red receives the new castle value from the bank. In this case, that is 20 Real. Subsequently, Red can pay to place a noble, or move a noble or exchange nobles free of charge.

Important: If either of the two castles to be united is at the maximum castle value of 50, then the union cannot take place. A connecting bridge between the two may not be built. If a connecting building card is played, then the building piece may not be placed (it is removed from the game). Nevertheless, the player is rewarded for the building card: he receives 50 Real.

Note: After the union, the player can additionally place a noble on the just-built bridge and/or on the connecting building piece (see A2). This is likely to be expensive, however!

Union of mansion and castle

• The player builds a bridge or he plays the building card and places the building piece on the separating space.
• The connecting part (building piece, bridge) always belongs to the castle. The value of the mansion (must be determined) is added to the value of the castle (coat of arms moved accordingly).
• Unions with mansions always take place, even if the castle has already reached the CV 50 space. However, the coat of arms remains at value 50.
• Take income: The player who formed the union receives the current CV of the new, increased castle from the bank.
• Nobles which remain in the mansion now belong to the castle (and are clearly more valuable than before!).

Union of two mansions

• The player builds a bridge or he plays the building card and places the building piece on the separating space.
• Take income: The player who formed the union receives the current CV from the bank (must be determined by adding the building piece values together) for the new, extended mansion.
• If nobles are in the mansion, then they remain.
• Starting from a value of 5, a mansion becomes a castle. The castle receives a flag, and the coat of arms is placed at the current castle value on the track. If a flag and coat of arms are not available, then the extended mansion remains an "extra large" mansion until another castle union makes a coat of arms and a flag available.
• With the union of two mansions by means of a bridge construction, a castle is formed, provided the coat of arms and flag are available, of course.

Example (Move Noble): Red built the straight bridge. The CV now amounts to 17 Real, which Red receives from the bank. He may now place another Baron on space "3". That would cost 17 Real. Red decides to move his Grande from space "4" to space "3", since that is free. His Grande ascends one level up to 3, which will score 6 points during the end-game scoring. Red could also make an exchange. In this case, his Grande and Baron exchange places.

Withdraw Noble (voluntary action)

Each player can use an extra action to withdraw one noble during his turn. This must be the first action in his turn. This can be useful if a player urgently requires money, or if he sees better extension prospects for his noble in another castle and/or another mansion. A player who withdraws one of his nobles puts the noble back into his supply. The player receives compensation from the bank: for a Baron the CV in Real and for a Grande twice the CV.

Moving Nobles

Instead of using a new noble, a player can move one free of charge within the castle/within the mansion in which the noble is present. The noble is moved to the newly built building piece and/or bridge. Moving to other castles/mansions is not permitted.

Exchanging Nobles

Instead of using a new noble, a player can exchange the places of two of his own nobles in the same castle/mansion free of charge. Exchange is useful to move a Grande to a higher level.

Removing Nobles

Opposing nobles are removed only in the following two cases, after building:

• an opposing noble stands on the space (see Special case: building upwards with a building card).
• when building a bridge, if an opposing noble stands under the middle space of the bridge.

If an (opposing) noble is removed, he returns to his owner's supply. The owner of the noble is compensated by the bank. He receives the amount which would have been received had he withdrawn his noble voluntarily before the increase of the CV; i.e. first the noble is removed and the player compensated, then the building piece and/or the bridge is built, and only then the CV increased. For compensation values, see "Withdraw Noble" above.

Example (Remove Noble): Yellow builds a bridge from space "7" to space "9". The white Baron underneath the bridge is removed and returned to the player. The castle value amounted to 8 Real before the bridge construction. White receives 8 Real as compensation from the bank.

Emergency Pass Action

A player must take an action (buy a card or build). If a player has no cards, and if he has insufficient money to buy a card, then he must withdraw one of his nobles and use the income to purchase a card. If a player has no more cards, and there are no cards available for purchase, then the player must pass and takes no further part in the game. He participates only during the final scoring! To avoid this situation, a player should watch the building card and tower card decks to ensure he will be able to buy cards before the card stock is depleted. A player who would normally have to pass may build a bridge, if this is possible and the player wishes to do so.

End of the Game

The game ends after the last building piece or the last bridge was built. The player whose turn it is completes his turn. Immediately afterwards, scoring takes place: each player receives points for his nobles on the game board.

The level at which a noble stands is important:

• A Grande earns points at double the level it stands.
• A Baron earns points equivalent to the level it stands.

Example: A Grande on the fifth level brings in 10 victory points, a Baron on the fourth level brings 4 victory points.

Subsequently, each player counts his remaining money. A player receives 1 victory point for every 50 Real. The player with the most points wins the game.

Determining victory points

Each player in turn takes one of his Grandes from the board and places it according to its point value on the castle value track. Afterwards he takes, one at a time, all his nobles from the board and moves his Grande accordingly on the value track. To finish, each player counts his money; for every 50 Real he receives one point. The Grande on the castle value track is moved accordingly. The winner is the player whose Grande stands furthest in front on the track. Ties are broken in favour of the player who possesses the most money (after paying for victory points, of course).

Appendix

Detailed examples on using a tower card towards the preparation for building a bridge

Question 1: Can Blue build on space "4" by means of a tower card? Yes, since this is preparation for a bridge. Blue should then place a noble on the new building piece for his free action, so that Red does not move onto it (see question 2). Blue could then build a bridge in a subsequent turn.

Question 2: Can Red build on space "4" by means of a tower card? Yes, since this is preparation for a bridge. Red could then, by means of tower cards, build up two further levels in two subsequent turns and after that build a bridge between space "2" and space "4".

Question 3: Can another player other than Blue or Red build on space "4" by means of a tower card? No, there can be no bridge built in subsequent turns by other players.

(Questions 1 to 3: Blue can play a tower card and build on space "4" in order to build a bridge between spaces "4" and "6" in a later turn. In addition, Red can play a tower card and build on space "4"; if he then plays two further tower cards in subsequent turns and raises "4" two extra levels, a bridge from space "2" to space "4" can be built.)

Question 4: Can White build on space "40" by means of a tower card? No, White can only build for a bridge support on space "40" if the bridge support he owns ("42") is higher.

Question 5: Can White build under its Baron on space "42" by means of a tower card? Yes, under his own noble, White can build up to the fifth floor by means of tower cards. In addition, White (in this example) could build a bridge between "40" and "42" in the subsequent turn.

Question 6: Can Yellow build on space "39" by means of a tower card? No. Since a bridge cannot be built directly over another bridge, this build action is not preparation for a bridge.

Question 7: Can Yellow build on space "40" by means of a tower card? Yes, because the vacant bridge support is lower than Yellow's own bridge support on space "38". In order to build a bridge between space "38" and space "40", Yellow needs two further turns for preparation. Yellow would have to raise the level of space "40" once more, and the same for space "38". Only after this could Yellow build a bridge.

(Questions 4 to 8: Yellow cannot play a tower card to build on space "39", as building a bridge directly over another bridge is illegal. However, Yellow can do this on space "40" by means of a tower card. A build can be made there because the bridge support is lower than his own bridge support on space "38". However, Yellow needs two further tower cards for a bridge. White cannot build a bridge support on space "40", because the vacant bridge support is higher than his own column. White could, however, raise the bridge support under his Baron with a tower card, and subsequently build a bridge between spaces "40" and "42".)

Detailed example of using a building card on a bridge

Question 8: White plays building card "38" in the accompanying illustration. Where is the building piece used? Pieces are always placed at the highest possible position; i.e. the building piece is placed on the bridge and the yellow Baron is removed.