Bronze Age
Bronze Age Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Set Up
Players are encouraged to sit next to each other, as opposed to across from each other.
Give each player 3 Action cards (1 blue, 1 red, 1 yellow), and 3 Starting cards (1 of each: The Sea, The Mountains, and The Plains - all featuring the WILD Icon), forming the players' hands.
The 3 Decks: Shuffle the 36 Territory cards together. Create 3 randomized decks,* 12 cards each, in the middle of the play area (Territory side up), in a row accessible to both players. *Note that there is no specific deck for each Territory type; the starting decks are random and players may end up with multiple instances of a Territory type at the top of each deck at the start of the game.
Each player's Civilization: Shuffle together the 6 Civilization cards. Deal 3 to each player. Each player chooses 1 to be their Specialized Civilization (front side) and another to be their Basic Civilization (back side), and places those 2 cards in their play area, forming their Civilization. The remaining Civilization card is moved to the side of the play area and is not used.
The player with the most dots on their Specialized Civilization card is the Start Player (the other player is the Second Player) and the Start Player is the first Active Player of the game.
Card Types
Action Cards
Each Action card corresponds to the different Territory types: Blue (The Sea), Yellow (The Plains), and Red (The Mountains). Each Action has a Play and Return side. Players play or return these cards to the decks to maximize the cards they can draw and play to their Civilizations.
Civilization Cards
Each Civilization card features a unique Specialized Civilization on its front, and a Basic Civilization on its back (all Basic Civilizations are the same). Each player has a Basic Civilization and a unique Specialized Civilization card. These make up the players' Civilization. Acquired Advancement cards are played to a players' Civilization.
Territory/Advancement Cards
These cards are acquired from the 3 decks and played to the players' Civilizations. Each card is a Territory on the back. On the front, each card features 2 sets of Advancement Icons: One of those being Basic and the other Specialized. *The Starting Cards feature a WILD Icon.
Playing Bronze Age
Bronze Age is played over a series of turns, with one player being the Active player. Each turn, the Active player may play 1 Action card from their hand to 1 of the 3 decks, -or- return 1 Action card from a deck to their hand.
Using an Action card grants the player Territories, drawn cards, and/or the ability to play cards to their Civilization. The effects and limits of these Actions are listed on each Action card's text.
While each Action card is dedicated to a specific Territory type, as indicated on the card's text, Action cards can be played to any of the 3 decks, regardless of their Territory type.
The current top card of a deck is its Territory type (The Mountains, The Sea, or The Plains).
To play an Action to a deck, the selected Action is placed from a player's hand in front of the deck and its text followed in the order presented. To return an Action, the selected Action is moved from the deck to the player's hand and its text followed in the order presented.
Action cards do not "belong" to either player. While each player begins the game with 1 of each Action cards, over the course of the game, players may end up with all, or none, of a certain Action card in their hand.
After the Active player plays or returns 1 Action card, the other player becomes the Active Player and takes a turn.
Gaining Territories
When a player gains a Territory, it taken from the top of a deck and is placed in their play area, Territory side up. A player may not look at the other side of a Territory that they have gained. Territories in a player's play area are that player's Territories. Unless otherwise stated, if a player would gain a Territory, they may take the top card of any deck. Territories are potentially worth points.
Playing Advancements
When a player plays a card for its Advancement Icons, it is placed under 1 of their Civilization cards. An Advancement card cannot be played under a player's Civilization if it does not have the correct Icons. Only one side of an Advancement card's Icons is ever used.
Playing an Advancement card may trigger an Ability (detailed on the Civilization card). These Abilities must be completed to the best of the player's ability.
The Starting Cards feature a WILD Icon. This Icon counts as either of the player's Specialized Civilization's Icons, and can be used to trigger 1 Civilization Ability.
If a player would draw a card, unless otherwise directed, they may draw the top card of any deck. If a player discards a card, that discarded card is moved to the side of the play area. Discarded cards are public knowledge. There is no maximum hand size.
The Collapse and Ending The Game
At the end of the Start Player's turn, if any of the 3 decks are empty, The Collapse occurs. The Collapse ushers in the end game, and only occurs once. Each player selects 1 type of Territory they have, and keep the cards of their selected Territory. Discard the rest.
Each player discards Advancement cards from their hand until they have a maximum of 3. Return the Action cards to the player's hands, with each player receiving one of each type.
Take any cards remaining in the middle and all discarded cards. Shuffle those cards together to form 3 new, even decks. Discard any leftover cards.
After The Collapse, if any of the 3 decks are empty at the end of the second player's turn, the game ends.
Scoring
When the game ends, players score points for the Icons in their Civilizations, detailed on their Civilization cards.
Then, each player chooses 1 type of Territory that they have and score 2 points for each Territory of that type.
The player with the most points wins.
The player with the most Territories wins ties. If a tie still exists, the player with the most cards in their Civilization wins.
Examples
Play Example 1
Anne plays a blue Play Action to a deck with The Sea as the top card. She moves that The Sea card to her Civilization as a Territory, then draws the top card of that deck, and plays 1 Advancement card from her hand to her Civilization.
Play Example 2
Mark plays a yellow Play Action to a deck with The Sea as the top card. He may either draw 2 cards from that deck, or he can play 1 Advancement card from his hand to his Civilization, since the yellow Play Action was played to The Sea and not The Plains.
Return Example
Olivia returns a Return Action from a deck to her hand. She draws 1 card from that deck or plays 1 card from her hand to her Civilization. She then draws or plays 1 additional card since there is 1 Action card remaining at that deck.
Advancement Card Example
Liz has the Advancement card to the left in her hand.
She is able to play that card either as a Society to her Basic Civilization card (granting her 1 point at the end of the game).
Or she can play it to her Specialized Civilization, since she specializes in Warfare. If she plays it to her Specialized Civilization card, she gains an ability (indicated on her Specialized Civilization) and she will gain 3 points at the end of the game.