Alhambra: The Falconers
Alhambra: The Falconers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Falconers
Game Components
- 15 falcons, 5 tiles each of 3 types: black, brown, and white.
- 6 scoring summaries.
The falcon tiles have a front side showing the falcon, with 3 types of falcons. The back sides show the falcon's type and 2 building colors each.
Set-up
Sort the 15 falcon tiles by type and place them next to the construction yard, with the back side up. Give one scoring summary to each player.
Playing the Game
The active player can choose a new action:
Purchase and place one or more falcons.
If chosen, this action is the only action possible this turn! You can't take this action as a bonus after making an exact payment!
A falcon costs one bank note of any color and denomination. During a turn, a player can purchase as many falcons as he can afford, as long as he can place each one in his Alhambra.
Each falcon must be placed (face up) on the intersection of four building tiles of the player's own Alhambra, provided that at least one building of each of the two building colors shown on the rear side of the falcon tile touches the intersection.
Example: A falcon to be placed at this intersection must show on its rear side 2 of these colors: purple (towers), green (gardens) and white (chambers). The falcon shown in this example can be placed here.
Concerning the building colors, only the buildings of the basic game are considered. Only 1 falcon can be placed on a single intersection. Falcons can be placed on starting fountains, but these do not contribute any color.
Falcons cannot be rebuilt or kept in reserve. If one of the four tiles on which a falcon is placed is rebuilt, that falcon is returned to the common supply. It can be purchased again by any player.
Scoring of Falcons
Each player gains additional victory points for his falcons during each scoring. The more falcons of a single type that a player owns, the more these falcons are worth.
Score the falcons of each type separately. The owner gains victory points for each type:
| Falcons of a type | Victory points |
|---|---|
| 1 falcon | 2 |
| 2 falcons of a type | 6 |
| 3 falcons of a type | 12 |
| 4 falcons of a type | 20 |
| 5 (all) falcons of a type | 30 |
Please note: You may pay for falcons with diamonds [1st Exp.] and master-builder cards [4th Exp.].
The Portals
Game Components
- 18 Portals, 3 tiles each of the building colors.
Set-up
Sort the 18 portal tiles by color and place them next to the construction yard.
Purchase and Construct a Portal
Each time that a player buys a building tile (from the basic game), he can also purchase a portal tile of that same color. (Note: There are only 3 portals of each color.) He must pay for both tiles in the currency required for the building tile. Buying a portal increases the purchase price of a building:
- by 6, if bought prior to the 1st scoring,
- by 4, if bought between the 1st and 2nd scoring, and
- by 2, if bought after the 2nd scoring.
If he pays the exact amount, he takes one more turn immediately.
At the end of his turn, he adds his purchased building and portal tiles to his Alhambra in any order he likes. Each portal must be placed with at least one of its short edges adjacent to a building tile of the same color, although not necessarily the tile purchased this turn.
Portal tiles have no specific orientation and can be turned any which way when added to the Alhambra.
Examples of how to legally place a tower and portal: three diagrams, a), b) and c), are printed on the rules page. They are not reproduced here; the outcomes are given under Scoring Walls.
Additional Rules for Placing a Portal
- No tile can be placed adjacent to a portal's long edge.
- In order to comply with the pedestrian rule, the way may lead across a portal tile.
- Of course, the basic rules still apply: open edges may not touch walls.
- No gaps are allowed.
Portals cannot be rebuilt or kept in reserve. A building tile touching a portal may be rebuilt only if the portal still touches at least one building tile of its color after rebuilding is complete.
Scoring Walls
Portals have one edge showing a wall and count 1 point each when determining a player's longest contiguous wall. Each portal that is part of a player's longest contiguous wall additionally scores 2 bonus points. If a player owns more than one longest wall of identical length, he chooses which wall he will score.
Example: The examples shown above result in a) 4 points as neither portal is part of the longest wall; b) 11 points (wall 7 + portals 4); c) 12 points (8 + 4).
Please note: Portals cannot be purchased in combination with workers' huts [1st Exp.], camps [2nd Exp.] or bazaars [4th Exp.]. The colors of workers' huts and bazaars do not provide legal placement of portal tiles. Camps cannot be attached to portal tiles.
The Building Sites
"The Building Sites" allows players to purchase building tiles for half price. This completes the walls on a tile, but the building itself won't score unless it's completed.
Game Components
- 8 circular building site tiles, 2 for each currency.
- 1 linen bag.
The building site tiles have a front side and a back side.
Set-up
Place the 8 building site tiles into the bag. Keep the bag in easy reach of all players.
Playing the Game
A building site allows a player to buy a building tile for half-price, with the option to complete the building later.
Establishing a Building Site
The player pays at least half (rounded down) of a building tile's cost and takes the tile. Such a purchase is never regarded as paying the exact amount.
He then draws 2 building site tiles from the bag, keeping their back sides hidden from other players. He chooses one of these tiles and places it on top of the building tile just purchased, with the construction side face up. He returns the other tile to the bag.
Note: If only 1 tile remains in the bag, he must take this tile.
The player can add this building tile to his Alhambra or place it in his reserve. If added to the Alhambra, the walls on the tile count during scoring, but not the unfinished building itself.
Completing an Unfinished Building
When a player wants to complete the building, as the action on his turn, he must pay the full amount for the building in the currency shown on the back side of the building site tile. After completing the building, he removes the building site tile from the game.
Remember: The player can't just pay the difference, but must pay the full amount! If he pays the exact amount, he takes one more turn immediately.
At the End of the Game
Before distributing the remaining building tiles, each player must reveal each building site tile in his Alhambra and discard all bank notes of the currency shown on this tile.
(Ignore all building site tiles in a player's reserve.)
Notes
- The Vizier [1st Exp.] cannot be used to set up a building site.
- Camps [2nd Exp.] and bazaars [4th Exp.] cannot be set up as a building site.
- City gates [2nd Exp.] and walls [3rd Exp.] can be built on building sites.
- You can pay with diamonds [2nd Exp.] when setting up or completing a building site.
- For "The Street Trader" [3rd Exp.] and "The Treasure Chamber" [4th Exp.], residents and treasure chests can be placed on completed buildings only, not on building sites.
- For "The Arts of the Moors" [5th Exp.], only completed buildings are scored, not building sites.
- A portal [this 6th Exp.] cannot be purchased in combination with a building site.
The Exchange Certificates
"The Exchange Certificates" help players save money when they overpay for a purchase. They don't receive change in return, but they do acquire a voucher for a future purchase.
Game Components
- 6 exchange certificate boards.
- 12 currency tokens, 3 each of the 4 different currencies.
Set-up
Give each player one exchange certificate board; the players keep this in front of them.
Place a certain number of currency tokens in the center of the playing area, depending on the number of players:
- 2 players: 1 currency token of each color.
- 3 players: 2 currency tokens of each color.
- 4 players: 2 currency tokens of each color.
- 5 players: 3 currency tokens of each color.
- 6 players: 3 currency tokens of each color.
Return any remaining currency tokens to the game box; they are not used for this game.
Playing the Game
Storing Money
If a player overpays when buying a building tile, he can take any one of the currency tokens from the center of the playing area. He then places this marker on his exchange certificate to mark the difference between what he owed and what he paid. Only one currency token can be on an exchange certificate at a time.
Example: Ani pays 9 florins (yellow) for Arcades 4, overpaying by 5 florins. She chooses a blue currency token and marks on her exchange certificate that she has a credit for 5 denars (blue).
The player can use this credit when buying a building tile. He must spend the complete amount, as if paying with a bank note in that amount.
Example: On her next turn, Ani would like to buy a Tower 12, but has only a blue bank note worth 8. She can use the credit on her exchange certificate, overpaying for the tower by 1.
After using this credit, the player returns the currency token to the center of the playing area.
The player can use the exchange certificate again at any time, even immediately if he overpays when using the credit stored there.
Continuing the example above: Ani may store the overpaid 1 denar on her exchange certificate immediately (with any currency token available).
Players cannot store more than 6 money. If a player overpays by 7 or more, he cannot store this amount as the overpaid amount must be marked exactly on the exchange certificate.