Behold: Rome Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Holding the Game
• Gameplay
  • Rounds
  • Turns
  • Round End
  • Fluid Round Variant
• Scoring
• Concept & Term Glossary
• Difficulty Settings
• Variants

Components

16 civ cards, 1 nation card, 1 round card, 1 age card, 6 game save cards, rival civs card, 2 rulebooks, and a tuck box or hook box.

Civ cards have 4 orientations (called levels), labeled 1-4. The card level oriented upright is active.

Each civ card level shows: a card level number, prosperity icons, a banner, a region wealth value, a region silhouette, a card type, keying icons, a scoring rule, a requirement, available materials, a card action, unrest icons, and a card name.

Nation card

• Development cost. The cost to upgrade the nation card to the next higher nation status (once per round!)
• Nation status and condition. Statuses are monarchy, republic, empire and theocracy. Conditions are ancient (red) and advanced (blue).
• Starting level. A star indicates the level the card starts the game on. The nation card and civ cards both have this.

Round and Age cards

• Flip or rotate the round card to track the current round.
• Flip or rotate the age card to track the current age (which third of the game you're in).

Game Save Cards

Use these cards to save your game between sessions: one tracks the regions behind this card, one tracks the hand in front of this card, and a set tracks the stored resources behind this card.

Rival Civ Card

In the standard version, rival civs are on the inside of the hook box. Each rival civ card shows a rival civ name, a rival civ icon, its card type (rival civ), the rival civ's base VPs, and one or more scoring rules — conditional rules that give the rival civ additional VPs based on active cards in your deck at game end.

Setup

1. Orient the 16 civ cards and your nation card to their starting levels, indicated by the star on the right edge of the name banner.
2. Shuffle the 16 civ cards.
3. Put your nation card in back.
4. Orient the round card to round 1 and put it behind the nation card.
5. Orient the age card to age 1 and put it behind the nation card.
6. Draw 5 cards for your starting hand.
7. Choose a rival civ to play against.

Holding the Game

During the game, hold the deck in your left hand. The deck is the main stack of cards. Your hand of cards is held mainly by your right hand, but can be supported by fingers/thumb of your left hand, or even partially supported by the deck itself.

Controlled regions always stay in the very back, never moving forward in the deck. When you are instructed to store a card, rotate it to the right 90 degrees and put it to the back of the deck (but in front of any controlled regions). Unlike controlled regions, stored cards can move forward in the deck.

Discarded cards go behind any stored cards, to the back of the deck (but again, still in front of any controlled regions). Thus as you discard cards, stored cards will end up moving forward.

If a stored card ever becomes the top card of the deck, rotate it upright. The stored card is no longer considered stored and is interacted with as if it is the top card of the deck. When drawing cards, you can always choose to stop drawing cards to avoid drawing a card that would cause a stored card to become un-stored.

Note that you can always see the top card of the deck, but it is not considered in your hand. You are not allowed to look ahead in the deck, unless you have forgotten some critical information, such as your nation's status. (As an easier variant, you may allow yourself to look ahead in the deck).

Gameplay

Behold: Rome is played in turns and rounds. Each turn, you take actions by playing cards. You will do things like store and spend resources, upgrade cards (called developing) and conquer regions. After working through the deck 12 times, the game ends and you compare your score to your rival civ's score to see who wins.

Rounds

A round consists of multiple turns. Keep taking turns until you reach your nation card, which triggers round end.

Turns

A turn consists of 2 phases: the action phase and the end of turn phase.

Action Phase

In the action phase, you play cards to take their actions. Actions are the text written in the middle of the card.

To play a card:

1. Decide which card to play.
2. Pay any costs for its action. A cost is when the card text tells you to discard cards, degrade cards or pay resources. You can pay these costs in any order.
3. Discard the played card (unless you plan to store it as part of its action! See step 4 next).
4. Resolve the benefits of the played card's action. You must be able to resolve at least some of each distinct type of benefit of the action (you can't play a card just to pay its action's costs). But, you can choose to only partially resolve each type of benefit. For example: if an action says to draw 3 cards and store 4 materials, you must draw at least 1 card and store at least 1 material, but you may leave it at that if you so choose.

If the played card's action allows you to store resources, you may store the played card itself if it has the appropriate resources available. You may not develop or degrade the played card. You may not store cards you discarded, developed, or degraded for this action.

Interrupting Actions

Some card effects instruct you to do something that would interrupt another card's action. In these cases, you may choose to play the interrupting card while in the middle of resolving the effect of the card originally played. Resolve the interrupting card's effect completely before returning to complete the original played card's action.

For example, if a card's effect says, "Ignore the discard cost(s) of the played card. Draw 1 card," you could play this card immediately after deciding to play a different card. Resolve the interrupting card's effect fully (including drawing a card and discarding the interrupting card as if it was played), and then continue resolving the effect of the original card played.

After fully resolving the played card's action (and the actions of any interrupting cards), you may continue to take actions by playing cards OR choose to end the turn. If you cannot take any more actions, you must end the turn.

End of Turn Phase

To end the turn, simply discard any 1 card from your hand or discard the top card of the deck. If you have no cards in your hand, you must discard the top card of your deck. Then, draw cards to fill your hand up to 5. Any cards remaining from your previous hand carry over.

Round End

When you draw a card and reveal your nation card, stop immediately (any surplus draw is lost). You may choose to move on to the next round at any time (you are forced to move on if you have no remaining cards you can play). To move on, discard a card from your hand. Then, discard the nation card, discard the round card (flipping/rotating it to the next round first), and discard the age card (flipping/rotating it to the next age if needed). Then, continue on with your turn.

Before moving on to the next round, you may continue to play cards as long as they do not force you to draw cards. You may also develop your nation once. To develop your nation, pay the cost stated on the current nation card level. Then, flip or rotate your nation card to increase its level by 1.

At the end of round 12, score all your cards and tally up your rival civ's score. If you score higher than your rival civ, you win!

Note that when you reveal your nation card at the end of round 12, you may still develop your nation (once) and play cards from your hand as able before ending the game.

Fluid Round Variant

As an optional variant, you can play with fluid rounds. In this variant, unless you want to stop at the nation card, just keep moving past it; discard it and the round card and age card (updating as needed), and continue drawing cards if you had any remaining draw. If you did choose to stop at the nation card, immediately discard it and the round card and age card after developing the nation card.

Note that the fluid round variant makes the game a little easier, so you may want to increase your difficulty setting.

Scoring

(Note: visit pnpbuddy.com/behold to use the free scoring assistant!)

As you score, be sure to take note of your controlled regions. This will be important for some scoring effects.

To calculate your score, first sum VPs from:

• Controlled region wealth. This total counts as VPs during scoring.
• Civ card scoring rules. Nearly every civ card has a scoring rule (written in the yellow bar). Many of these provide conditional points based on other cards in your civ or your nation status. If the icon of a card type is shown, it means the number of cards of that card type active in your civ (for example, the number of region cards, or the number of production cards). Some cards have levels that are different card types, so the number of a given card type active in your civ may vary at the end of the game. Note that all keying icons in your civ count for scoring abilities, not just those on controlled regions.
• Any VPs from the scoring rule on your nation card.

Next, calculate your uncovered unrest. Total up the unrest icons on active cards in your civ (including your nation card). Then, subtract your total number of prosperity icons from your total unrest. If you have any remaining unrest, it is considered uncovered unrest. Subtract 2 VP from your score for every uncovered unrest.

Finally, score your rival civ. Each rival civ has a number of base points on the top right, where keying icons normally would be. They also have one or more conditional scoring rules based on the presence of certain elements in your civ. Sum their base points and any points from their scoring rules to find their total score. If you score more points than them, you win. If not, you lose.

Concept & Term Glossary

Abandon - Discard a controlled region.

Active - Refers to the card level a card is currently oriented to. This could even refer to a specific card level by name, such as Constantine. Because a single card may have levels of different types, there may be a variable number of cards of a given type at any given time in your civ.

Available Resources - Many card levels have population or materials icons in the top-left corner (in the black rectangle). When in your hand, these are considered available resources. When taking actions that allow you to store resources, you may choose any combination of cards from your hand that have the resources available--even the played card. You may not store cards you discarded, upgraded or degraded for the action.

IMPORTANT: Available resources are not able to be spent to pay for actions that call for resources as payment. Only stored resources may be spent to pay for actions. Available resources are simply a way to refer to resources in your hand that are able to be stored if you take an action that allows this.

Banner - To play or conquer cards with a banner, your nation must be the correct status (such as Monarchy) or condition (such as advanced). You do not need to be the correct nation status/condition to discard, develop, degrade or store the card; just to play or conquer it.

Card types - These are like the different suits of civ cards. There are 5 card types. A single card may have different card types on its different levels. A card's type is the type of the active level. The different card types are marked by their color and corresponding icon in the top center. The card types are production, action, region, institution, and tributary.

Controlled Region - A region currently slotted in the very back and sticking out above the deck. Controlled regions always stay in the very back. Discarded cards go behind the deck but in front of controlled regions. You can have a maximum of 4 controlled regions at once.

Conquer - Some cards generate some amount of conquer. This allows you to take a conquer action up to that value. Conquer actions let you take control of 1 region from your hand. You must generate an amount of conquer equal to or greater than the region's wealth. Slot the region in the very back, leaving it sticking out above any already-controlled regions. If you already have 4 controlled regions and you conquer a new one, choose 1 existing region to abandon.

Degrade - For every point of degrade generated, you must take a card down a level (only cards currently in your hand). Unless otherwise stated, if there is multiple degrade, you can spread it across multiple cards or degrade the same card multiple times. Degrading a card does not force you to discard it.

Discard - Put the card to the back of the deck, but in front of any controlled regions.

Develop - For every point of develop, increase the level of a card in your hand. You must heed any banners and requirements on levels you develop into. Developing a card does not cause you to discard it.

If you develop a card to a tributary level, you must first abandon 1 region. You cannot develop a card to a tributary if you have no regions to abandon.

Some cards may allow you to develop a currently controlled region. This allows you to take the region up a level. If you increase the region to a level that is not a region card type, immediately discard the card. You must still abide any requirements to develop into the new card level.

Remember that you have the option to develop your nation card once during round end. You cannot use normal develop actions to develop your nation. Instead, simply pay the cost listed on your current nation status to develop to the next higher nation status.

Keying icons - Most card levels have one or more keying icons in the top-right section (such as an amphora, or a scarab beetle). These have no effect in and of themselves, but other cards often refer to them for various conditional effects.

Level - Every card has 4 levels. The level currently oriented upright is the active level.

Materials - A type of resource, typically spent for actions that develop cards.

Nation condition - There are two nation conditions: ancient (red) and advanced (blue). Reference the current banner color on your nation card to know if you are currently ancient or advanced.

Nation status - There are 4 nation statuses (monarchy, republic, empire, theocracy). Your nation card's level tells you your nation status.

Pay / Spend - If an effect tells you to pay one or more resources, discard cards from your stored area with resources equal to or exceeding those specified by the effect.

Played Card - The card you are currently playing and resolving the action of. Discard the played card after paying all costs for its action but before resolving its benefits. Exception: you may store the played card itself if appropriate.

Population - Type of resource, typically spent for conquer actions.

Prosperity - During scoring, every prosperity icon on active cards (or gained from special effects on cards, such as Hadrian's Wall) cancels out 1 unrest icon.

Resources - Population and materials. Resources are on the top-left corner of many card levels. If on cards in your hand, these resources are considered available. If on cards slotted in the stored area, they are considered stored resources.

Requirements - Some card levels (including potentially nation card levels) have requirements. These appear as red bars near the bottom-left of the card level. If the requirement lists a specific card level name, that card level must be active before you can develop into the card level with this requirement. (For example, you need the Constantine card level to be active before you can develop your nation card to Theocracy). In these cases, the requirement icon shows the card type of the required card. Other requirements will simply state a cost (such as abandoning a region or paying 1 material). These costs must be paid to develop to this card level and are in addition to any other normal costs. In these cases, the requirement icon shows a price tag as a reminder that this is an additional cost.

Store / Stored - To store one or more resources means taking the card(s) from your hand, rotating them 90 degrees to the right, and putting the card to the back of the deck (but in front of controlled regions). The resources on this card are now considered stored. You may store a maximum of 4 cards.

Slot - Slots simply refer to the space you have for controlled regions and stored resource cards. You have 4 slots for each. Thus you can store a maximum of 4 cards and can have a maximum of 4 controlled regions at once. There is no maximum of actual resources you can have stored at once; only the number of cards stored (many cards have multiple resources on them).

Unrest - During scoring, every uncovered unrest is -2 VP from your score. Every prosperity cancels 1 unrest. Any unrest not canceled is considered uncovered.

Wealth - The number on the top-left corner of region cards. Your controlled region wealth is the sum of the wealth values of all your controlled regions. During scoring, your controlled region wealth at game end is added to your score.

Difficulty Settings

You can adjust both game difficulty and rival civ (a.k.a., bot) difficulty to find the right level of challenge.

Game Difficulty Settings

• Casual: Start with Cisalpine Gaul and Africa controlled at setup.
• Easy: Start with Cisalpine Gaul controlled at setup.
• Normal: No changes.
• Hard: Play only 11 rounds.
• Impossible: Play only 10 rounds.

Rival Civ Difficulty Settings

• Casual: -40 to bot score.
• Easy: -20 to bot score.
• Normal: No changes.
• Hard: +20 to bot score.
• Impossible: +40 to bot score.

Variants

Score Chaser Mode - Don't play against a bot civ. Just try to score the most points possible and beat your own high score. See what your potential is finishing the game at all the nation statuses.

Foresight Mode - You can freely look ahead in the deck at any time.