Città-Stato Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Set-up
• Game Round
  • Player Turn
  • 1. City Actions
    • Merchant Fleet Action (Market)
    • City Action
    • Guilds Action
    • War Action
    • Republic Action
    • Politics Action
  • 2. Use a Card
    • Use Yellow cards (Historical Ports)
    • Use White cards (Commerce)
    • Use Green cards (Guild Contracts)
    • Use Orange cards (Militia)
    • Use Black cards (Republic)
    • Use Purple cards (Sovereign)
  • 3. Burn a Card
    • Burn Yellow cards (Historical Ports)
    • Burn White cards (Commerce)
    • Burn Green cards (Guild Contracts)
    • Burn Orange cards (Militia)
    • Burn Black cards (Republic)
    • Burn Purple Cards (Sovereign)
  • 4. Upgrade a Track
  • 5. Pass
• End of the Round
  • 1. War Resolution
  • 2. Draw new cards
  • 3. Reset Game Board
  • 4. New First Player
  • 5. Draw Cubes
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• Appendix
  • Political Schemes
  • City Powers
• Solo Game
  • Introduction
  • Ghost player
  • Winning the Game
  • Scenario 1 (Easy) — "THE FIRST MARITIME REPUBLIC"
  • Scenario 2 (Medium) — "THE OATH OF THE DOGE"
  • Scenario 3 (Hard) — "IN BALANCE BETWEEN THE POWERS"
  • Scenario 4 (Utopic) — "THE CRUSHING VENETIAN SUPERIORITY"
• F. A. Q.
• 5 - Player Expansion
  • Components
  • Setup
  • City Cards
  • Political Schemes
  • Action cards
• Credits

Contents

• 1 Game Board
• 4 Player Boards
• 48 Action Cards (8 Historical Ports, 8 Commerce, 8 Guilds, 8 Militia, 8 Republic, 8 Sovereign)
• 6 Political Scheme Cards
• 9 Republic Cards
• 6 City Cards
• 24 War Discs (6 per player)
• 60 Banner Tiles (15 Yellow, 15 Green, 15 Orange, 15 Purple)
• 28 Crown Tiles
• 28 (discs) Player Markers (7 per player)
• 4 (cubes) Player Markers (1 per player)
• 1 Upgrade Marker
• 1 Round Marker
• 1 First Player Tile
• 88 Resource Cubes (12 Yellow, 12 Green, 12 Orange, 12 Purple, 20 White, 20 Black)
• 4 Bags
• 1 Rulebook

Set-up

1. Place the Game Board in the middle of the table with the Round Marker on the first space of the Round Track.
2. Each player takes a Player Board and a bag, then chooses a color and takes the corresponding discs.
3. Each player randomly takes a City card and places it near their Player Board.
4. Randomly draw 4 Political Scheme cards and place them face-up on the Game Board. Note: If any player receives the Pisa City card during step 3, shuffle all the Political Schemes with a blue wax seal. Give the player one of these cards randomly, then shuffle all the Political Schemes. Then continue with step 4 as normal. The same applies for Genova, using the Political Schemes with red wax seals.
5. Place the Upgrade marker on the Upgrade track on the Game Board on the appropriate space according to the number of players: space 3 with 2 players, space 4 with 3 players, or space 6 with 4 players. Use space 7 only in a 5-player game when playing with the Expansion.
6. Place the Banner tiles, Crown tiles, and Black and white resource cubes in a supply next to the Game Board.
7. Separate the 3 Republic cards that show two Crowns from the others. Shuffle them and place them face-down next to the Game Board. Then create a Republic card deck with the remaining cards; use all 6 available cards without Crowns in a 2-player game, or 1 Plutocracy, 1 Oligarchy, and 1 Doge's Magistrature card in a 3-player game, or 1 Plutocracy, 2 Oligarchy, and 1 Doge's Magistrature card in a 4-player game. Then shuffle the deck and give every player a random Republic Card. Put all the remaining cards back in the box; they will not be used in this game.
8. Sort the Action cards by color, shuffle each deck separately, and then place the six decks face-up onto the Game Board under the track of the corresponding color. Finally, draw the first card of each deck and place it below the corresponding deck. The top card of each deck is referred to as the Future card, and the card below each deck is referred to as the Present card.
9. The first player is chosen randomly and receives the First Player tile.
10. Each player takes 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 orange, and 1 purple cube and places them in their bag. Then, each player takes the first 6 cubes shown on their City card (from left to right) and places them next to their player board to form their supply. In player order, each player then places the remaining two cubes shown on their City card in the Market on the first available space for the corresponding color, from top to bottom. All remaining colored cubes go in the box.
11. Every player places a disc in the first position of all 4 tracks on their Player Board and their cube on the middle space of the track that marks the Form of the Republic (the space with 2).
12. Every player places one of their discs on the Scoring Track at 0 Victory Points and keeps the remaining disc near their Player Board, as it will be used during the Secondary Scoring at the end of the game.

Game Round

The game lasts 7 rounds, and each round is divided into two parts: Player Turn & End of Round.

The game is set between 1042 and 1192, the years during which the Maritime Republics had a period of Independence (except for Noli, which obtained the Republic's title in 1192, the year in which the game ends). Each of the 7 game rounds, therefore, lasts approximately 21 years.

Player Turn

Starting with the First Player and going clockwise, every player takes an action until all players have passed.

The player's first action of the Round costs a single cube from your supply, the second action costs 2 cubes of the same color, the third action costs 3 cubes of the same color, and so on.

Every game round each player must place the first cube they spend to take an action in the Market on the first available space on the board, starting from the top. This is true ONLY for the cube used in each player's first action. Every other cube for all following player actions in the Round goes back in its owner's bag.

When a player pays cubes to use a City Action, the cubes must be of the same color as the chosen City Action.

Except for the White and Black, every City action has a corresponding track of the same color, on the Player Board, which shows how powerful the action is.

For example: As the first action, the Yellow player uses 1 orange cube. They place this cube in the first empty spot of the Market (red arrow). The next player performs their first action and chooses to spend an orange cube too. The first empty spot is now the one beneath the first orange cube, so they place it there (purple arrow).

Black and white cubes. White cubes can also be used as yellow or green cubes, and black cubes can also be used as orange or purple cubes at any time. The opposite is not true. No cubes can be used to replace black or white cubes.

During a turn, a player performs one of the following actions:

1. City Action
2. Use a Card
3. Burn a Card
4. Upgrade a track
5. Pass

These are the City Actions:

1. City Actions

City actions are divided into six colors and are shown on the top of the Game Board as six standards.

Merchant Fleet Action (Market)

With this action, the player gains the number of coins shown on the player's yellow track. These coins allow the player to buy any number of cubes from the Market for the cost shown on each cube's row. All cubes purchased are added to the player's supply, not to their bag. Any coins left unspent are lost.

Example I: The Red player's marker is on the third space of the yellow track, so they have 3 coins to spend. The Red player buys the green cube from the Market row costing 2 coins. As there are no cubes available in the row costing 1 coin, the remaining 1 coin the Red player has is lost.

Example II: The Red player has 3 coins. They buy 1 orange, 1 purple, and 1 green cube, placing the cubes in their player supply.

City Action

Every City Card has a special Action, described in further detail in the Appendix. When the player takes the City Action, the special City Card Action is activated. Then the player adds a Banner tile of their choice to their supply.

Example: The Blue player, who has the Venezia City card, takes the City action. They take a Yellow Present card and immediately use it.

Guilds Action

The player randomly draws the number of cubes shown on the number next to the marker on the green track of their Player Board from their bag. These cubes are added to the player's supply. Note: Unless this is your first action this round (the cube is placed in the Market), the cubes you spend to perform this action are placed in your bag BEFORE drawing new cubes.

Example: The Red player's marker is on the second space of their green track, so they should draw 4 cubes. As they only have 3 cubes left in their bag, they will draw only 3 cubes.

War Action

The player immediately receives or loses Victory Points (VP) equal to the value shown next to the marker on the player's orange track (lose VP for the first space; negative VP are allowed), then secretly choose a War disc and places it face-down on the Warfare track on the Game Board. Place the disc on the first space available from the top to the bottom.

The number on your chosen War disc determines your power level, as well as the number of cubes you must spend, during the next War Resolution phase. As long as the player has War discs in their supply, they can perform this Action. However, there can only be one War disc per player.

Example: The Red player's marker is on the first space of the War track, so they lose 1 VP and place one of their War discs on the Warfare track, face-down.

Republic Action

The player can make 1 trade of their Banner tiles for Crown tiles. Perform ONE of the following trades:

• 3 purple Banners for 3 Crown tiles.

OR

• 4 different-colored Banners for 3 Crown tiles.

Example: The Red player trades 3 purple Banner tiles from their supply, and gains 3 Crown tiles. The Green player trades 1 purple + 1 yellow + 1 orange + green Banner tiles for 3 Crown tiles.

Politics Action

The player's value on the Politics Track allows them to use a Political Scheme card of the same level or lower. All the Political Scheme card effects are explained in the Appendix. Note: when a Political Scheme effect allows the player to draw a card, the player must choose to "Use it" or "Burn it" (see Use a Card and Burn a Card actions).

The player flips the Scheme card after using it to show that it is no longer available for the current Round. At the End of the Round, it will be flipped back up.

As shown on the board, if the player uses a level 2, 3 or 4 Scheme card, the cube markers on the Form of Republic tracks for all players must be adjusted either left or right by the number of spaces shown on the played Scheme card (same direction for all players). The current player chooses the direction, with one symbol indicating one space and another indicating two spaces.

Example: The Red player chooses the card on the left, which allows them to choose a color and to make every player score VPs for every cube of that color currently in their supply. They noticed that the other players don't have any black cubes, while they have 2, so they score 2 VPs, and the other players do not score any VPs. They then choose to move the markers on the Form of Republic track of all players by 1 space to the left.

2. Use a Card

When a player pays cubes to use a Card, the cubes must be of the same color as the chosen card. Please note that "Use a Card" refers to Present cards (the cards below the decks on the Game Board). Future cards (the cards on top of the decks) can only be used in specific cases, such as after winning a War.

The player chooses a card from the display and takes it, immediately gaining the benefits written on the card. The player keeps the card in their supply (place them next to the player board) for the Second scoring at the end of the game. You can use only one card per color during second scoring. Do not refill the empty Present card space after taking a card. Present card spaces are refilled during End of Round only.

There are six colors of cards. Each card is described below.

Use Yellow cards (Historical Ports)

Flanders, Barcelona, Marseilles, Syracuse, Tripoli, Tunis: Gain the Banner tile of the color shown on the card. If a player uses a card with a name that matches your City card, they gain an additional Banner tile of any color.

Alexandria, Constantinople: Gain the Banner tile of the color shown on the card, and perform a 2 coin value Merchant Fleet action.

Example: The Red player uses 1 yellow cube to take the yellow card on the left from the board display. They place the cube in the Market (as it is the first action). With this card, they gain a green Banner tile and 2 coins to use immediately in a Merchant Fleet action, where they buy 1 purple and 1 orange cube.

Use White cards (Commerce)

Ivory, Silk, and Spices Monopoly: Perform a Merchant Fleet action with the coins shown on the card.

Freedom of Thought: Burn this card under any color on your player board, and receive the Burn a Card bonus corresponding to the chosen color.

Naval Engineering, Rich Landing: Add the Banner tiles shown to your supply.

Example: The Yellow player performs their second action and uses 2 white cubes to take the white card available in the board display. With this card, they gain one yellow and one orange Banner tile.

Use Green cards (Guild Contracts)

Administrator, Admiral, Harbormaster, Master Artisan: Draw the cubes of the color shown from your bag and score VPs for all the cubes of that color in your supply.

High Magistrate, Grand Merchant, Shipwright: Draw cubes of the two colors shown on the card from your bag.

Authority: Draw all cubes from your bag and place them in your supply.

Example. The Red player performs their third action and uses 3 green cubes to take the Green card available in the board display. With this card, they draw all cubes from their bag and place the cubes in their supply.

Use Orange cards (Militia)

Holy Land's Port, Crusade's Port: Permanently remove any number of cubes of the shown color from your supply and gain the depicted number of VPs for every cube removed. Place these cubes back in the box as they will no longer be used in the current game.

Warfare Intent: Recover one of your War discs previously removed from the game (see War) and gain VPs equal to its power.

Hunt Saracen Pirates: Remove one of your War discs and gain VPs equal to its power.

Example. The Yellow player performs their second action and uses 2 orange cubes to take the orange card available in the board display. They remove 2 yellow cubes from their supply and gain 4 VP.

Use Black cards (Republic)

Rising Corporation, Mercenary Help, Cartography, Secret Route: Move your marker 1 space on the Form of Republic track and then receive VPs for every card you have Burned under the shown color; see Burn Card. Note: the symbol with the triangles and the pawn means that only the acting player moves the Form of the Republic marker. The same symbol without the pawn means that all players do it (the active player decides the direction for all players). This movement is mandatory.

Dynastic Order, Financial Power: Move your marker 1 or 2 spaces on the Form of Republic track, in the direction shown on the card, then gain 3 VPs.

Republican Thought: Gain a Crown Tile, then gain 1 VP for every purple Banner Tile you own.

Subversive Push: Move your marker up to 7 spaces on the Form of Republic track.

Example. The Red player performs the third action and uses 3 black cubes to take the black card available in the board display. They move their marker 1 space to the left on the Form of the Republic track and take 6 VP, as they have three burned white cards.

Use Purple cards (Sovereign)

Elder Council, Duchy, Corporations, Landowner Consuls: Gain 2 VPs for every Banner Tile you own of the color shown.

Royal Court, Power of the Lords, Protectorate: Gain 1 VP for every Banner Tile you own of the 2 colors shown.

Hegemonic Republic: Gain 1 VP for every 2 cubes in your supply.

Example. The Yellow player performs the first action and spends 1 purple cube to take the purple card available in the board display. They spend 1 yellow and 2 purple Banner tiles to gain 3 VP.

3. Burn a Card

Pay cubes, choose a card from the display, and draw it without gaining its benefits.

When a player pays cubes to Burn a Card, the cubes must be of the same color as the chosen card. Remember that "Burn a Card" is usually for Present cards. Future cards can only be burned in specific cases, such as after winning a War.

Place this card face-down halfway under the corresponding color of the Player Board. Immediately gain the bonus according to the number of cards Burned in that color's space. Only 3 cards can be burned under every color.

Note: When burning a card, the player only gets 1 benefit. None of the benefits on previously burned cards apply.

The benefits gained for Burning cards are described below.

Burn Yellow cards (Historical Ports)

Burning yellow cards allows you to trade cubes with the Market and to gain Banner tiles.

1 card Burned: Gain any 1 cube from the Market to your supply, then place 1 of the cubes from your supply in the Market. 2 cards Burned: Gain 1 Banner Tile of any color. 3 cards Burned: Gain any number of cubes from the Market, then place the same number of cubes from the player's supply to the Market following the normal placement rules.

Burn White cards (Commerce)

Burning white cards immediately gives the player VPs for every Banner tile the player discards.

1 card Burned: Gain 1 VP for every discarded orange Banner. 2 cards Burned: Gain 2 VPs for every discarded yellow Banner. 3 cards Burned: Gain 3 VPs for every discarded green Banner.

Burn Green cards (Guild Contracts)

Burning green cards allows the player to draw cubes from their bag.

1 card Burned: Choose a color and draw all cubes of that color from the bag. Then perform a single 1 coin value Merchant Fleet action. 2 cards Burned: Choose a color and draw all cubes of that color from the bag. Then take a white cube from the game supply and place it in your supply. 3 cards Burned: Choose a color and draw all cubes of that color from the bag. Then perform a single 3 coin value Merchant Fleet action.

Burn Orange cards (Militia)

Burning Orange cards rewards the player with VPs.

1 card Burned: Gain 1 VP. 2 cards Burned: Gain 5 VPs. 3 cards Burned: Gain 9 VPs.

Burn Black cards (Republic)

Burning black cards allows the player to trade their Republic card with another from the 3 available ones on the table (see Set-up section). The player takes one of the 3 available cards. Hidden from the other players, the player opts to keep either their old Republic card or the new selected Republic card. The unwanted card is placed face down with other cards near the Game Board (shuffle them).

1 card Burned: Trade 1 Republic card. 2 cards Burned: Trade 1 Republic card. Then gain 2 Crown tiles. 3 cards Burned: Trade 1 Republic card. Then gain 4 Crown tiles.

Burn Purple Cards (Sovereign)

Burning purple cards allows player to move their marker on the Form of the Republic Track 1 space. Note: this movement is mandatory.

1 card Burned: Move your marker on the Republic Track 1 space. Then, gain 1 Crown tile. 2 cards Burned: Move your marker on the Republic Track 1 space. Then, take 1 black cube from the game supply and place it in your supply. 3 cards Burned: Move your marker on the Republic Track 1 space. Then, gain 2 Crown tiles.

4. Upgrade a Track

When a player pays cubes to upgrade a track, the cubes must be of the same color as the chosen track. After paying cubes, the player moves the disc on that color track 1 step to the right, and gains any rewards (black/white cubes and/or Banner tiles) shown on the new space. Lower the Upgrade marker on the main board by 1 point.

Example. Upgrading the yellow track from the second to the third space, the Red player gains 1 white cube from the game reserve to their supply. The City action is now improved: they will be able to use 3 coins in the Market, instead of 2.

If the Upgrade track has 0 value, the player may not take this action during the current round. Note that the game Upgrade track is reset every round to its starting value. The starting value depends on the number of players and is 3/4/6 for 2/3/4 players. Value 7 is used only in a 5-player game when playing with the Expansion.

5. Pass

Instead of taking another action, the player may Pass, ending the player's turn without paying any cubes.

After passing, the player may no longer take actions, acquire cards or upgrade tracks until the following Round begins.

The first player to pass will become the following Round's First Player unless they are the current Round's First Player: If this happens, the next player to pass will become the following Round's First Player.

• A player can never be the First Player for 2 consecutive Rounds.
• In a 2-Player game, the players will alternate being the First Player for each Round.

End of the Round

When all players have passed, the round is over and these steps must be done:

1. War Resolution
2. Draw new cards
3. Reset Game Board
4. New First Player
5. Draw Cubes

1. War Resolution

All players that do not have a War disc on the Warfare track can move their cube on the Form of Republic track 1 space (left, right, or no movement). Note that this specific marker movement, unlike the others in the game, is not mandatory.

All War discs in the Warfare track are revealed, and every player must pay cubes (of any color, even of different colors) equal to the power on their War disc, placing them back in their own bag.

Note: If a player does not have enough cubes to pay for their War disc, they must still pay as many cubes as possible and then remove their War disc from the track and the game without gaining any benefit.

The player with the most power on the track wins this war. In case of a tie, the player that placed their disc earlier is the winner.

After a winner has been declared, follow these steps:

1. The winner takes a Present card or a Future card from the top of a deck and either uses it or burns it.
2. The defeated player with the highest power may use or burn a card, but only from the remaining Present cards, if they have not all been used in the Round. The defeated player with the next-highest power can do the same, and so on.
3. All War discs still present on the track are then removed from the game.

Example: The Yellow player has the most power, so they are the winner of this war. They used a disc with 4 power, so they must pay 4 cubes of any color and place them back in their bag.

Example: The Yellow player, having won the war, can choose any card, Present or Future ones. They choose the white card on top of the deck. The Blue player and Green player are in a tie with the same power score, but the Blue player placed their disc on the Warfare track before the Green player, so they can now choose among the Present cards. The Blue player takes the green card. The Green player is the last player who participated in the War, and they can only take the orange or the black card, which are the only Present cards left. The Green player chooses the orange card.

Historical note. At first, when they still hadn't become powerful enough to battle each other, the Maritime Republics would often become allies to free their Sea Routes of Saracen Pirates: for example, Genova was allied to Pisa, Venezia to Ancona, Amalfi to Pisa. In 1087 the so-called Mahdia Crusade was created from an alliance of Genova, Gaeta, Pisa, and Amalfi. This didn't last long: after a few decades, the competition for the trade routes with the Orient and within the Mediterranean Sea led to violent wars between the Republics: Amalfi was raided by Pisa, which was destroyed by Genova, which was defeated by Venezia.

2. Draw new cards

Any Present cards still available are discarded: Place them in the discard pile.

Then, move the current Future cards (cards on top of each deck) below the corresponding deck to become the Present cards for the next round. The top cards of the decks become the new Future cards.

If a deck is depleted, take the discarded cards of that color from the discard pile, shuffle them and make a new deck. If there are no cards of that color in the discard pile, cards of that color are no longer available for the game.

3. Reset Game Board

Move the Round Marker 1 space, flip all Political Scheme cards face-up, and then move the Upgrade marker to its starting position on the track (3/4/6 for 2/3/4 players).

4. New First Player

The player who passed first (excluding the previous round's first player) becomes the first player for the next round. Give that player the First Player tile. In a 2-player game, pass the First Player tile to the other player.

Note: No player may be the first player twice in a row.

5. Draw Cubes

Every player draws cubes from their bag equal to the number next to their disc on the green track and adds them to their supply. The player or players with the least number of VPs draws 2 additional cubes.

End of the Game

After 7 Rounds and the last "End of the Round" phase, the game ends.

Scoring

Each player's Final Score is determined by their First Scoring or their Second Scoring.

The First Scoring is the total amount of Victory Points that the player gained during the game, shown on the VP track.

The Second scoring is determined at this time. Use the additional marker set aside during setup to mark the Second scoring for each player. In turn order, each player can Use or Burn one card per color from their supply in the following order:

• 1 Yellow card per player,
• 1 White card per player,
• 1 Green card per player,
• 1 Orange card per player,
• 1 Black card per player,
• 1 Purple card per player.

Each player then checks if there are any crowns above their cube's current position on the Form of Republic track. If so, the player takes that number of crowns from the general supply.

To determine a player's final score, a player reveals their Republic card. If the position of their cube on the Form of Republic track does not fall within the Form of Republic shown on their Republic card, that player receives the lowest score between their First and Second scoring.

If the player's marker is within the revealed form of Republic, the player must pay from their reserve the number of Crowns shown between their First and Second Score on the VP track. If they do, their Final Score is the highest. Otherwise, it's the lowest.

The player with the highest Final Score is the winner. In case of a tie, add the First and Second Scores to determine the winner. If still in a tie, then the player with the most cubes in their supply is declared the winner.

A Final Scoring Example for a 3-player game. Check the player markers from left to right. The Blue player scored 19 for their First score and 2 for their Second score. Unfortunately, the Blue player has not reached the form of government on their Republic card and therefore gets the lower score between the two: only 2 points!!! The Yellow player scored 17 for their First score and 10 for their Second score. The player has to pay 2 Crowns in order to achieve the higher score, but unfortunately they only have one, so they get 10 points only. The Red player scored 14 for their First score and 3 for their Second score. To achieve the higher score, they have to pay 3 Crowns, which they do. So the Red player scores 14 points. The Red player wins the game (14 points), followed by the Yellow (10 points) and finally by the Blue (2 points).

Appendix

Political Schemes

Turning Point: Draw all the cubes from your bag, choose 4 to place in your supply, then place any remaining ones in the bag. If there were 4 or fewer cubes drawn, keep them all.

Ideology: Move every player's Form of Republic Marker 2 spaces to the left or the right (the same direction for all players, including you). The effects of this scheme are added to any effects produced by the purple action itself.

Republican Fate: Draw all the black cubes from your bag and place them in your supply, then all players score 1 VP for every black cube in their supply.

Credit Policy: Draw all the white cubes from your bag and place them in your supply, then all players score 1 VP for every white cube in their supply.

Diplomacy: Every player scores 1 VP for every space they have moved on the purple Politics track; players who currently do not have a War disc on the Warfare track double these VPs.

Decree: Discard a Banner tile you own to make a free Upgrade of the corresponding color's track. Note: Do not move the Upgrade marker on the board for this Political Scheme; you may do this Upgrade also if the Upgrade marker is on value 0.

City Powers

AMALFI (Amalfian Laws): Move every player's Form of Republic marker 1 space to the right or the left (the same direction for all the players, including you); then you may draw 2 cubes for every Political Scheme already used in the current Round.

Amalfi was the first Maritime Republic to become powerful enough to compete with the Arabs for trade in the Mediterranean Sea. The Amalfian Laws were written there. They were the most ancient constitution of maritime laws in Italy, and they were used for centuries, establishing rights and duties for sailors and providing laws for maritime trades.

ANCONA (Alliance Network): Remove one of your War discs from the game. Every other player must remove a disc with the same power if they still have it in their supply. Discs on the Warfare track are not affected. Draw cubes from the bag equal to the number on the War disc just removed.

Ancona gained its independence from the Papal State and managed to secure excellent trade routes, thanks to its alliance with the Byzantines. Ancona is special because it never attacked the other Maritime Republics. It was forced several times to defend itself, but was aided by a strong network of important alliances which helped Ancona survive against the powerful Venice and the Papal State.

GENOVA (Guelf Doctrine): At the beginning of the game, Genova's owner takes a random Political Scheme with a red wax seal, revealing it to the other players. When taking the white action, Genova's owner may use that Political Scheme.

Genova gained a lot of power with the First Crusade to the Holy Land. In contrast to its oldest rival, Pisa, the Republic of Genova always endorsed the Guelf Cause, supporting the Pope against the Emperor.

PISA (Ghibelline Cause): At the beginning of the game, Pisa's owner takes a random Political Scheme from the ones with the Blue wax seal, revealing it to the other players. When taking the white action, Pisa's owner may use that Political Scheme.

Pisa's naval power allowed it to challenge the Saracen dominion of the Mediterranean Sea, defeating it in 1016, thanks to the temporary alliance with Genova. Pisa endorsed the Ghibelline Cause, supporting the Emperor against the Pope.

RAGUSA DI DALMAZIA (Balkans Route): Draw up to 8 cubes from the bag and place 5 of them in your supply. Place the remaining cubes back in the bag. If there were 5 or fewer drawn, keep them all.

Dubrovnic, whose historical name was Ragusa, is located in Croatia. It had a long alliance with the city of Ancona and trade routes to Constantinople and also to the Balkans, which helped it gain riches for centuries.

VENEZIA ("Promissione Ducale"): Take any Present card. You may Use it or Burn it.

Venezia, also known as La Serenissima, was the thriving Maritime Republic, whose independence lasted longer than any other Maritime Republic's. The Doge, the famous figure who monitored the oligarchy, had to swear fealty to the constitution with the Promissione Ducale, an essential gesture for the Republic of Venice.

Solo Game

Introduction

The Solo game includes 4 separate scenarios of varying difficulty, and each scenario consists of 3 games. To win a scenario, you must match or exceed a final score and meet certain objectives for each of the 3 games. Each scenario is played as a 2-player game with the other player being a Ghost player who performs certain actions based on the scenario. The setup for each scenario is different and unless stated otherwise all normal rules apply.

Ghost player

After you take your turn, the Ghost player performs actions based on the cubes that you draw from the Ghost player's bag. The number of cubes you draw for the Ghost player, and therefore the number of actions performed by the Ghost player each turn, depends on the scenario. Based on the cube drawn, the Ghost player discards a Present card and performs a specific action.

Each round, play alternates between you (you are always first player) and the Ghost player. If the Ghost player finishes the number of actions dictated by the scenario, you can continue to perform actions if possible until you pass. If you pass and the Ghost player still has actions remaining, the Ghost player continues to perform the required number of actions for the scenario.

Winning the Game

To win the game, you must meet or exceed the required final score (following the normal End of Game scoring rules) and meet certain objectives. If you do so, you gain Crown tiles equal to the number of Crowns that appear between your scoring marker and the Ghost player's marker on the track. You can then play the next game in the scenario. For example, Michele gets 25 points; the game requires 20 points: Michele starts the next scenario game with 2 bonus crowns (i.e., between 25 and 20 points).

Scenario 1 (Easy) — "THE FIRST MARITIME REPUBLIC"

Follow the normal 2-player setup with these changes:

1. Use these 4 Political Schemes: Turning Point (LV1), Decree (LV2), Republican Fate (LV3), Ideology (LV4), and place them on the board.
2. Place the Upgrade marker on space 1 (first game), 2 (second game), or 3 (third game). Therefore, the number of Upgrades available depends on which game you're playing within the scenario.
3. Place on the board's side the Republic card Plutocracy (with crowns) and Doge's Magistrature (with crowns). This replaces the 3 Republic cards that are typically on offer during the normal setup.
4. The player uses the Amalfi City card and the Oligarchy republic card (with crowns).

Ghost Setup

1. Put 1 cube of each color in the Ghost bag: 1 Yellow, 1 White, 1 Green, 1 Orange, 1 Black, 1 Purple.
2. Add the following cubes to the Market in the topmost free matching positions: 2 Green, 1 White, 2 Yellow, 2 Orange, 1 Black, 2 Purple.
3. Ghost player draws 2 cubes for each round (and does two actions).
4. Choose a Ghost color. Place a token of this color on the board's scoring track corresponding to the required score to win the game.
5. Take all War disks of the same color, with the numbers 0 to 5, and place them near the board.

Ghost Actions

• Discard the Present Yellow card. Remove all cubes on the bottom row from the Market (1 coin row).
• Discard the Present White card. The player must move the marker 2 spaces to the left on the Form of the Republic track.
• Discard the Present Green card. The player must move one of his markers on their player board back one space, if possible.
• Discard the Present Orange card. Without looking at the value, place a random Ghost War disc on the Warfare track face down.
• Discard the Present Black card. The player must move the marker 2 spaces to the right on the Form of the Republic track.
• Discard the Present Purple card. Flip the first Political Scheme card (level 1).

Requirements

First game - Required score: 18 Victory Points. Objective: Own 1+ black and white cube in your supply. Second game - Required score: 19 Victory Points. Objective: Purple (Political) track at level 4; own 1+ black and white cube in your supply. Third Game - Required score: 20 Victory Points. Objective: Own 5+ crowns in your supply; Purple (Political) track at level 4; own 1+ black and white cube in your supply.

Scenario 2 (Medium) — "THE OATH OF THE DOGE"

Follow the normal Setup with these changes:

1. Use these 4 Political Schemes: Ideology (LV1), Credit Policy (LV2), Decree (LV3), Republican Fate (LV4), and place them on the board.
2. Place the Upgrade marker on space 1 (first game), 2 (second game), or 3 (third game).
3. Place the Doge's Magistrature (with crowns) republic card next to the game board. This replaces the 3 Republic cards that are typically on offer during the normal setup.
4. The player uses the Venezia City card and the Oligarchy republic card (without crowns).

Ghost Setup

1. Put 1 cube of each color in the Ghost bag: 1 Yellow, 1 White, 1 Green, 1 Orange, 1 Black, 1 Purple.
2. Add the following cubes to the Market in the first topmost matching positions: 2 Green, 2 Yellow, 2 Orange, 2 Purple.
3. Ghost player draws 3 cubes for each round (and does three actions).
4. Choose a Ghost color. Place a token of this color on the board's scoring track corresponding to the required score to win the game.
5. Take all War disks of the same color, with the numbers 0 to 5, and place them near the board.

Ghost Actions

• Discard the Present Yellow card. Remove all cubes on the bottom row from the Market (1 coin row).
• Discard the Present White card. Remove the first Political Scheme card (level 1).
• Discard the Present Green card. The player must move one of his markers on their player board back one space, if possible.
• Discard the Present Orange card. Without looking at the value, place a random Ghost War disc on the Warfare track face down.
• Discard the Present Black card. The player must move the marker 1 space to the left on the Form of the Republic track.
• Discard the Present Purple card. Flip the second Political Scheme card (level 2).

Requirements

First game - Required score: 21 Victory Points. Objective: Change your Republic card to Doge's Magistrature. Second game - Required score: 23 Victory Points. Objective: own 3+ purple banners in your supply; change your Republic card to Doge's Magistrature. Third Game - Required score: 25 Victory Points. Objective: Own one card of each color in your supply; own 3+ purple banners; change your Republic card to Doge's Magistrature.

Scenario 3 (Hard) — "IN BALANCE BETWEEN THE POWERS"

Follow the normal Setup with these changes:

1. Use these 4 Political Schemes: Credit Policy (LV1), Diplomacy (LV2), Turning Point (LV3), Republican Fate (LV4) and place them on the board.
2. Place the Upgrade marker on space 1 (first game), 2 (second game), or 3 (third game).
3. Place the Plutocracy (with crowns) Republic card next to the game board. This replaces the 3 Republic cards that are typically on offer during the normal setup.
4. The player uses the Ancona City card and the Oligarchy Republic card (without crowns).

Ghost Setup

1. Put 1 cube of each color in the Ghost bag: 1 Yellow, 1 White, 1 Green, 1 Orange, 1 Black, 1 Purple.
2. Add the following cubes to the Market in the topmost free matching positions: 1 Green, 2 Yellow, 2 Orange, 1 Purple.
3. Ghost player draws 4 cubes for each round (and does four actions).
4. Choose a Ghost color. Place a token of this color on the board's scoring track corresponding to the required score to win the game.
5. Take all War disks of the same color, with the numbers 0 to 5, and place them near the board.

Ghost Actions

• Discard the Present Yellow card. Remove all cubes on the second row from the Market (2 coins row).
• Discard the Present White card. The player must choose a cube on their supply and place it in their bag.
• Discard the Present Green card. The player must move one of his markers on their player board back one space, if possible.
• Discard the Present Orange card. Place the highest-value Ghost War disk on the Warfare track.
• Discard the Present Black card. The player must move the marker 1 space to the right on the Form of the Republic track.
• Discard the Present Purple card. Flip the first and third Political Scheme cards (levels 1 and 3).

Requirements

First game - Required score: 24 Victory Points. Objective: Your marker must be on Level 1 on the orange (War) track. Second game - Required score: 27 Victory Points. Objective: Your marker must be on Level 1 on the orange (War) track; own 1 or more Banner tiles of each color in your supply. Third Game - Required score: 30 Victory Points. Objective: Your marker must be on Level 1 on the orange (War) track; own 1 or more Banner tiles of each color in your supply; all your War disk has been used and removed from the game.

Scenario 4 (Utopic) — "THE CRUSHING VENETIAN SUPERIORITY"

Follow the normal Setup with these changes:

1. Use these 4 Political Schemes: Diplomacy (LV1), Decree (LV2), Republican Fate (LV3), Credit Policy (LV4), and place them on the board.
2. Place the Upgrade marker on space 1 (first game), 2 (second game), or 3 (third game).
3. Place the Plutocracy (with crowns) and Oligarchy (without crowns) Republic cards next to the game board. This replaces the 3 Republic cards that are typically on offer during the normal setup.
4. The player uses the Ragusa City card and the Plutocracy republic card (without crowns).

Ghost Setup

1. Put 1 cube of each color in the Ghost bag: 1 Yellow, 1 White, 1 Green, 1 Orange, 1 Black, 1 Purple.
2. Add the following cubes to the Market in the topmost free matching positions: 1 Green, 1 Yellow, 1 Orange, 1 Purple.
3. Ghost player draws 5 cubes for each round (and does five actions).
4. Choose a Ghost color. Place a token of this color on the board's scoring track corresponding to the required score to win the game.
5. Take all War disks of the same color, with the numbers 0 to 5, and place them near the board.

Ghost Actions

• Discard the Present Yellow card. Remove all cubes on the bottom row from the Market (1 coin row).
• Discard the Present White card. Remove all cubes on the second row from the Market (2 coins row).
• Discard the Present Green card. The player must move one of his markers on their player board back 2 spaces, or two markers back one space each.
• Discard the Present Orange card. Place the lowest-value Ghost War disk on the Warfare track.
• Discard the Present Black card. The player must move the marker 2 spaces to the right on the Form of the Republic track.
• Discard the Present Purple card. Flip the first and fourth Political Scheme cards (levels 1 and 4).

Requirements

First game - Required score: 27 Victory Points. Objective: Own 7+ banners in your supply. Second game - Required score: 31 Victory Points. Objective: Own 7+ crowns and 7+ banners in your supply. Third Game - Required score: 35 Victory Points. Objective: Own 7+ crowns and 7+ banners in your supply; burn 1+ cards under each color.

F. A. Q.

Q: When I gain cubes, do they go in my supply or the bag? A: Gained cubes always go in your supply.

Q: Are cubes spent during a War removed from the game? A: No, spent cubes go back in the player's bag.

Q: Can I use the Burn action during the game to Burn a card from my supply? A: No, during the game, you may only Burn Present or Future cards. You may only Burn cards from your supply during the Second Scoring.

Q: Do I have to place 1 cube in the Market every time I take an action? A: No, you must only place a cube into the Market before your first action of the Round. During a game, every player will have to place a cube in the Market 7 times.

Q: Can I win a War using the 0 value token? A: Yes.

Q: Can I buy the yellow cube I used to perform the Merchant Fleet action from the market? A: Yes.

Q: Can I choose not to receive VP when a card or other prescribes it? A: Yes.

Q: Everyone must move their Form of the Republic marker when required? A: When activated, this movement is mandatory. The only exception is during the War when is activated for the players which didn't join it: in this case, the movement is free and not mandatory. Some shifts of the republican marker are for everyone (for example, when a politics Action is activated), while others are for the active player (for example, by burning the first purple card).

Q: Can I keep a card to use it or burn it later? A: No, players cannot keep cards. As soon as they are purchased, they are Used or Burned immediately.

5 - Player Expansion

The following expansion is available to backers of the crowdfunding campaign of Città-Stato. If you would like to have it, please contact your local store.

Components

• 2 City Cards
• 4 Political Schemes cards
• 12 Action cards (2 per color)
• 22 Cubes (3 green, 3 orange, 3 yellow, 3 purple, 5 black and 5 white)
• 1 Bag
• 6 War discs
• 1 Player Board
• 7 Player Markers

Setup

Before step 1 of the base game's Setup, add the City Cards, Political Schemes, Cubes, Banner tiles, Action cards, and upgrade tile to the corresponding deck/supply, and shuffle each deck. Then follow the rules for Setup as described in the base game.

For a 5-Players game, follow the normal Setup rules for a 4-player game, but place the Upgrade marker on the number 7. To make the Republic deck, use 2 Plutocracy, 1 Oligarchy, 2 Doge's Magistrature cards (without Crowns).

Then the game proceeds as normal.

City Cards

GAETA (Norman Shift): Exchange one of the Banner tiles in your supply with one from the game supply of any color.

Gaeta rose to economic and artistic power during the tenth century AD, becoming known as the "Venice of the Tyrrhenian Sea". It had to withstand the rising Norman influence and eventually lost its independence, first becoming part of the Princedom of Capua and later being conquered by the Normans.

NOLI (Independence Goal): Choose any card from your supply and Burn it under any position, regardless of its color, and gain the corresponding benefits.

Noli prospered thanks to the Crusades: Because of its location, it searched for Independence for a long time, finally achieving it in 1192, but becoming soon after a protectorate of the nearby Genova. Despite this, several historical documents say that Noli was not subjugated by Genova but kept as an ally of sorts.

Political Schemes

Political Plot: Choose a color, then every player gains 1 VP for every cube of that color in their supply. Black and White cubes may not be used as other colors for this purpose. Example: The color orange was chosen, and there are 2 orange cubes and 1 black cube in the Yellow player's supply. He will score 2 VPs, because he may not count the black cube as orange for this Political Scheme.

Papal Concordat: Remove from the game any number of Crown tiles you own for 3 VPs each. You may remove any number of Crown tiles you own, even none.

Populace's Goodwill: Discard a Banner tile you own to draw a Future card (card at the top of its deck) of the same color. You can either Use or Burn the card.

Betrayal: You may take an opponent's Crown tile and add it to your supply. If no opponent owns a Crown tile, you do not gain any Crown tiles using this Political Scheme.

Action cards

Yellow cards (Historical Ports) Holy Land: Gain 2 different colored Banner Tiles. Jaffa: Gain the Banner tile of the color shown on the card and do a Merchant Fleet action with 2 coins.

White cards (Commerce) Slave Trade: Do a Merchant Fleet action with 6 coins. Freedom of Thought: Burn this card under any color.

Green cards (Guild Contracts) Senator, Guild Master: Draw the cubes of the color shown from your bag and score VPs for all the cubes of that color in your supply.

Orange cards (Militia) Mercenary Tradition: Gain 7 VPs. Corsair Raid: Do a Merchant Fleet Action with 2 coins, then gain VPs equal to the level of your marker on the orange (War) track on your player board.

Black cards (Republic) Republican Chart: Gain 2 Crown tiles from the supply. Republican Thought (additional copy): Gain a Crown Tile, then gain 1 VP for every purple Banner Tile you own.

Purple cards (Sovereign) Doge's Council: Gain 1 VP for every card you have Burned. City Assembly: Gain 1 VP for every card you own in your supply which you haven't Burned.

Credits

Designer: Simone Cerruti Sola Project Manager: Michele Quondam Graphic Design: Inmedia Srl Illustrations: Yaroslav Radetskyi

Thanks to all crowdfunding campaign participants who made this game a reality! Special thanks to Vittorio Giusti, Federico Sonzogni, Fabrizio Pedata, Alessandro Delle Cese, Eric Amick, Patrick Einheber, Luk Van Baelen, Juan Suárez, Luca Cogliardro, Eric Sincoff, and Aurelien Cambon for their help.

From the designer Simone Cerruti Sola: "Thanks to Arianka and Garet, who made a dream possible."

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