Alhambra: The Dice Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Equipment for the Basic Dice Game
Object of the Game
Getting Ready to Play
How to Play
Giving Scores for Building Points
End of the Game
Alcazaba-Variation
Special Rules for 2 Players
- Basic Dice Game
- Alcazaba-Variation
Special Cases

Equipment for the Basic Dice Game

1 game board – the front is used for the basic dice game.
- The board's front has 6 building columns: Pavilions, Seraglios, Arcades, Chambers, Gardens, and Towers. Each column carries a score table, a buildings area for marking building points, bonus fields for bonus and starting player chips, a dice area for placing the marker stones, and a scoring area for marking the scores (0-100).
8 white dice and 1 black die.
26 bonus-chips.
1 starting player chip.
1 octagonal Caliph stone – the symbol of the current starting player.
30 octagonal marker stones – indicate dice scores.
36 building stones – indicate how many buildings each player has.
6 counter stones – for marking the scores.
1 leather dice cup.
1 set of instructions for the basic dice game.
1 leaflet with the rules of the Alcazaba-Variation as well as the 2-player rules for both possible games.

Object of the Game

By throwing high dice scores, each player is trying to gain majorities in the 6 kinds of buildings thus scoring points.

Getting Ready to Play

The game board is placed face-up in the middle of the table.

Each player receives the following: – in a game of

6 and 5 players…………………3 marker stones
4 players ………………………4 marker stones
3 and 2 players…………………5 marker stones

as well as 6 building stones (one for each building column) and 1 counter stone in the colour of his choice.

Each player places the building stones at the ready and his counter stone is placed on the "0" field of the numbered border.

The 8 white dice are placed at the ready with the cup, the black die comes into the game later.

The small starting player chip is placed at the ready.

The six bonus-chips with dark backs are picked out, shuffled and placed face down next to the board ready for the last round.

The remaining chips are shuffled. They are used to form 4 face-down stacks each containing 5 bonus-chips.

The stacks with the bonus-chips give an overview of which round is currently being played since 1 stack is distributed in each round.

Lots are drawn before the game to determine who starts. He is given the Caliph stone.

How to Play

Five rounds are played. In each round, each player has exactly the same number of turns as he does marker stones. Once all players have finished their turns, the best-placed marker stones are awarded building points.

After the first, third and fifth rounds, scoring rounds A, B and C take place and the points are distributed.

Placing the Bonus-Chips

At the start of each round corresponding chips are placed on the bonus fields.

Example: Before each round begins, the bonus fields are filled. Firstly the starting player chip, then 5 bonus-chips.

Using a die, it is first established in which building column the starting player chip is to be placed.

Then the 5 bonus-chips from one stack are placed left to right on the remaining bonus fields.

In the fifth and therefore last round, the starting player chip is not used. Instead, the 6 chips with the dark backs are distributed from left to right.

In the last round, the bonus-chips with the dark backs are used.

Taking Turns

The player holding the Caliph stone starts and the others follow clockwise in turn.

The player who's turn it is has to place one of his marker stones and to do this he can throw the dice up to three times. For the first throw he takes all 8 white dice.

Before each subsequent throw he can put any number of the dice aside and carry on with the rest.

He may also pick up and throw any number of dice already put aside again with the other dice. It doesn't matter here which symbol the dice are showing.

Example: Barbara throws the dice and puts 3 Seraglios aside from the first throw. Her second throw (with 5 dice) produces 2 more Seraglios, which she puts aside with the others. In the 3rd throw (with 3 dice) there are unfortunately no more Seraglios, so the final result is 5 Seraglios in the 3rd throw.

Note: It may be wise not to use all three throws because if results are tied, the player who achieved the result with fewer throws is better.

At the end of his turn the player chooses one kind of building to score its symbols. The number of these symbols is then marked in the dice area of the game board using one of his marker stones:

in the corresponding building column,
in the line (1 to 8), which corresponds to the number of symbols,
on the left field of the line for one throw, on the middle field for two throws, on the right field for three throws.

Only one marker stone may occupy any one field in the dice area. If a stone lands on an occupied field it must be moved back and placed on the next free field.

The result "5 Seraglios in the 3rd throw" is marked. If there is already a stone on that field (regardless of whether it is the player's own or an opponent's) the stone must be placed on the next lowest free field.

Note: It is perfectly possible for a player to place several marker stones in one building column.

Then it is the next player's turn. Once all of the players have placed all of their marker stones the round has come to an end and the results are then awarded points.

Results of a Round

In turn, starting with the left-hand building column (pavilions) it is checked who has achieved the highest result in each category. The player whose marker stone is placed on a higher field is better.

The player with the best result in a category may choose one of the two following rewards:

2 building points of the corresponding category.
1 building point and the bonus-chip from this column.

Example: Blue has the best result and chooses 2 building points as a reward. His building stone is placed on the second field. Orange receives the other reward – 1 building point and the bonus-chip.

Building points are marked down immediately, only afterwards does the player with the second best result in this category receive the other reward.

Note: It is possible that the best and second-best result can be achieved by the same player. In this case the one player receives both rewards.

Building points are indicated on the round fields of the respective building column. For the first point a building stone is placed on the lowest field and for every subsequent point the stone is pushed up one field.

Note: If there is only one marker stone in the building column, the second reward is disregarded. If there are no marker stones at all, no rewards in this column are allocated in the round played.

If during the game a stone lands on a field that is already occupied, it is simply placed on top.

Note: In this way towers may also be formed from building stones. If at a later point a stone is pulled out of a tower and moved on, care must be taken that the order of the remaining stones is not changed.

When a player receives a chip it is placed face-up in front of the player.

The following overview shows how these chips are used.

Overview of Bonus Chips and Starting Player Chip

Number chips (1, 2, 3): In every scoring round, these chips score the number of points printed on them. They are kept until the end of the game. [total available: 16x]
Exchange chip: When a player receives a building point he may exchange this for another kind of point. (Not valid for the building point just received with this chip.) The chip is handed back after this. [2x]
Push-back chip: When placing a marker stone in the dice area this chip can be used to push back an opponent's stone on the same field onto the next lowest free field. (If this is also occupied, all stones affected are pushed back one space, thus preserving the order.) After this, the chip is handed back. [2x]
Annul chip: This allows a player to annul a throw, i.e. he can declare it invalid. Then the player may decide whether the annulled throw is repeated or his marker stone placed on the board. After this, the chip is handed back. [3x]
Black die chip: After the first throw of a player's turn, the player can use the black die to indicate any symbol he chooses. This symbol is added to the result of the throw. Only one of these chips may be used per turn. After this, the chip is handed back. The black die itself is never thrown. [3x]
Caliph chip: Whoever receives this chip, immediately determines who the next player to start will be (this player then receives the Caliph stone). If this chip is not handed out during a round, the previous starting player remains in place for the next round. [1x]

After the rewards have been distributed, all players take their marker stones back. Non-distributed bonus-chips are taken out of the game. The starting player chip is placed at the ready again. If the first, third or fifth round has just come to an end, the building point scores are tallied. Otherwise a new round starts.

Giving Scores for Building Points

Scores are awarded for each category of building. Whoever has the most building points in a category is awarded the number of points indicated on the score table for first place.

In scoring round B (at the end of the 3rd round), the first two places are awarded points and in scoring round C (at the end of the 5th round) it is even so for the first three places.

In all three scoring rounds the scores for bonus-chips are added to the total.

Example: It is the 2nd scoring round. Blue has the most building points (5) in the "Pavilion" column and is awarded 8 points. Orange and green both have 3 building points in this column. Since orange is at the bottom, he is awarded a point for second place.

If the stones of several players should be on the same field, the stone lowest in the pile is better and is given the points appropriately.

Note: There is always a definite order which means that points never have to be shared.

If scoring round A or B has just occurred, the next round now begins.

End of the Game

The game is over after the third scoring round. The player with the highest number of points wins the game.

Alcazaba-Variation

In this variation of the game it is assumed that the players are familiar with the rules of the basic dice game and the game "Alhambra".

Alcazaba-Variation – Equipment

1 game board – for the Alcazaba-variation the back of the board is used.
- The board's back has a building area (above) with 6 building columns (Pavilions, Arcades, Seraglios, Chambers, Gardens, Towers), bonus fields for the starting player chip, a dice area (below), and a numbered border (0-100).
8 white dice.
1 starting player chip.
1 octagonal Caliph stone – the symbol of the current starting player.
30 octagonal marker stones – indicate dice scores.
6 counter stones – for marking scores.
Extra tower tile – the number of towers increases to 12 with this tile! The new tower tile can of course also be used in the "Alhambra" game (either in addition or in exchange for another tower tile). This is why there is a price on the new tower tile.
1 leather dice cup.

Additional material (taken from the basic game "Alhambra"):

all 54 building tiles,
1 cloth bag,
1 fountain start tile per player,
1 reserve board per player.

Alcazaba-Variation – Object of the Game

In the Alcazaba-variation each player builds his Alhambra, just like in the basic game. However, the building tiles are not bought with money – they are won with the dice.

Whoever has managed at the right time (whenever a scoring round is about to happen) to have included the highest number of building tiles of a certain kind in his Alhambra, is awarded different numbers of points depending on the kind of tile. Each player also receives points for the longest piece of his outside wall. In every scoring round there are more points to distribute.

Whoever has managed to win the highest number of points at the end of the game has won.

Alcazaba-Variation – Getting Ready to Play

The game board is placed in the middle of the table with the back of the board facing upwards.

Depending on the number of players, each player receives the following:

6 and 5 players…………………3 marker stones
4 players ………………………4 marker stones
3 and 2 players ………………5 marker stones,

He also receives the counter stone in the colour of his choice, as well as a fountain start tile and a reserve board. The counter stone is placed on the "0" field of the numbered border.

The 8 white dice are placed at the ready along with the cup. The small starting player chip is placed at the ready.

Lots are drawn before the game to determine who starts. He is given the Caliph stone. The building tiles from the basic game are separated according to category and shuffled. One of each of the six kinds of tiles is chosen and a face-down stack is made with these six tiles. Five stacks are formed in this way. The remaining building stones and the new tower tile are mixed and placed in the bag.

Alcazaba-Variation – How to Play

After the first, third and fifth rounds, the three scoring rounds take place in accordance with the table on the reserve board and points are awarded.

Placing Building Stones and Starting Player Chip

Firstly the building tiles from one stack are placed face-up for all to see in the appropriate columns on the game board.

In addition, in each round five building tiles are chosen from the bag and also placed in the appropriate columns for all to see.

The starting player chip is placed in the Arcades column as determined by the dice. 11 building tiles (5 from the stack and 6 from the bag) are distributed amongst the appropriate columns.

Note: This means it is very likely that a varying mixture of buildings is distributed in each round.

The dice are then thrown to determine on which bonus field the starting player chip is to be placed. In the fifth (last) round, no starting player chip is used.

Note: The other 5 bonus fields remain empty.

Taking Turns

The starting player throws the dice up to 3 times and places one of his marker stones in accordance with the rules of the basic dice game.

Then the other players take their turns in a clockwise direction. Once all players have placed their marker stones, the result of the round is established.

Rebuilding

If a player decides not to place his marker stone in the dice area after his first or second throw, he may carry out precisely one rebuild in line with the well-known Alhambra rules for rebuilding. In this case, the marker stone is not placed on the dice board but on the reserve board.

Note: If a player decides to take a third throw, this turn can no longer be used to redesign.

Results of a Round

In turn, starting with pavilions it is checked who has achieved the best results in each category.

The player with the best result may choose as a Reward any building tile from the appropriate column and then has to immediately build this into his Alhambra or place it in his reserve. (The Alhambra building rules are valid here.)

Note: The player is not permitted to wait until he receives another building.

If the starting player chip is in the building column in question, the player may also take this chip instead of a building tile. He then immediately determines the starting player for the next round.

After doing this, the player takes back his scored marker stone.

If there is still something else in this column (building tiles or starting player chip), the player chooses a tile which can now produce the best result here. This may well be the same player again.

Example: Blue has the best result in gardens and chooses one of the garden tiles as a reward. This he builds immediately into his Alhambra. As a reward, yellow receives the remaining building tile and builds it immediately into his Alhambra. This time red goes away empty-handed.

This is continued as long as there is still something in the building column.

After the rewards are distributed, all remaining marker stones are taken back.

However, if there are more building tiles than marker stones in any one column, the non-distributed buildings are removed from the game and are placed face-up to one side.

Note: If the starting player chip is not allocated, the previous starting player remains in place for the next round. The dice are thrown at the beginning of the next round to determine the place for the chip.

If the first, third or fifth round has just come to an end, there is a scoring round. Otherwise a new round starts.

Alcazaba-Variation – Scoring

Points are awarded in exactly the same way as in the original Alhambra (with the points being shared if the building numbers and wall points are tied!)

An overview of the points (score table) can be found on each reserve board.

Alcazaba-Variation – End of the Game

The game ends after the third scoring round. The player with the highest number of points wins the game.

Special Rules for 2 Players

In a game with two players – as is also the case in the Alhambra basic game – there is a third imaginary player, let's call him Dirk, as in the original Alhambra game.

Basic Dice Game

Dirk receives 5 marker stones, 6 building tiles and a counter stone in one colour.

Placing of Dirk's marker stones prior to every round. At the beginning of each round, Dirk's marker stones are placed in the dice area. The dice are thrown to determine the column for Dirk's first marker stone and the others follow as per the table:

1st stone…right-hand 2-field in the column determined by the dice
2nd stone…right-hand 3-field of the column to the right of this
3rd stone…right-hand 4-field of the column to the right of this
4th stone…right-hand 5-field of the column to the right of this
5th stone…right-hand 6-field of the column to the right of this.

If in doing the above a marker stone is at some time placed on the towers, the next is placed in the pavilions.

Note: Since Dirk – just as the other players too – only has 5 marker stones, one column remains in which he does not place a marker stone.

Results of a round. When establishing the results of a round, Dirk is also awarded building points. If he has the best result, he always takes 2 building points as a reward.

If Dirk receives the starting player chip, he determines the starting player to be the one who didn't start in the last round.

If Dirk receives a bonus chip, he only keeps the number chips, all others are taken out of the game.

Scoring. When scoring, Dirk gets points for building points and bonus-chips just like the other players.

Alcazaba-Variation

Dirk receives 5 marker stones and one counter stone of one colour.

Placing of Dirk's marker stones before each round. After at the start of a round all the building tiles from one stack have been distributed, five further building tiles are pulled at random from the bag and placed in the appropriate columns (as described above).

Dirk's marker stones are also placed in the appropriate columns in precisely this order. In the column of the building tile, which was chosen first a marker stone is placed on the right-hand 2-field. In the second it is placed on the right-hand 3-field, in the third, on the right-hand 4-field, in the fourth, on the right-hand 5-field, in the fifth, on the right-hand 6-field.

Note: It is possible that several of Dirk's marker stones are placed in the same column.

Results of a round. If Dirk receives a building tile, he chooses the tile closest to the bottom. This tile is to be placed to one side in a clearly visible spot.

Even in the Alcazaba-variation both players may give Dirk building tiles.

Scoring. Dirk only receives points for building majorities.

Special Cases

A result with 9 identical symbols scores the same as 8 identical symbols in the first throw (only possible to achieve using a bonus chip).
If a marker stone is placed behind the last field in the dice area of the game board (because it has been pushed back or because the 1st field was already occupied) this stone is out of the game for the rest of the round. No reward can be received for this stone either, even if it is in second-best position.
If a player achieves more than 12 building points, his building stone remains on the last field on the scale. Any building points over and above this are lost.