City Builder: Ancient World Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Tile Tray and Spacer Assembly
• Objective
• Competitive Play
  • Competitive Setup for 2-4 Players
  • Overview
  • 1. Expansion
    • a) Add a Tile
    • b) Gaining Settlers
    • c) Building Monuments
  • 2. Upkeep
  • End of the Game and Scoring
• Cooperative Play
  • Objective
  • Cooperative Setup
  • Game Play
  • Victory Conditions (Cooperative Play)
  • Defeat Conditions
• Solo Play
  • Changes to Setup
  • Changes to Game Play
• Reminders and Clarifications

Components

• City Tiles x 60
• Starter Tiles x 12 (4 sets of 3)
• Town Squares x 6
• Competitive Monuments x 16
• Cooperative Monuments x 11
• Player Aids x 4
• Active Player Token x 1
• Emperor's Edicts x 5 (double-sided)
• Draw Bag x 1
• Settler Tracks x 4 (double-sided, competitive on one side and cooperative on the other)
• Nobles x 20 (4 blue, 4 green, 4 orange, 4 red, 4 purple)
• Commoners x 56 (12 blue, 12 green, 12 orange, 12 red, 8 purple)

Nobles and Commoners are all collectively called "settlers."

Tile Tray and Spacer Assembly

The tile tray can be removed and used to hold City Tiles during play.

Use the spacers to create separation between the tiles that are in play, and those that are out of play (this will depend on the number of players).

To assemble the spacers, simply slide the gaps labeled "A" into each other, and repeat with the gaps labeled "B." One extra spacer is included in case of loss or damage.

Objective

To win, players must build impressive Monuments and fill their city with incoming settlers. Monuments have unique scoring bonuses that will apply only to the city they are built in. Claiming settlers unlocks the victory points (VPs) they are covering on the settler tracks.

Competitive Play

At the end of the game, players will add up their scores and the player with the most victory points is declared the winner. This player is awarded governorship of the province, with their city being named its new capital.

Competitive Setup for 2-4 Players

1. Shuffle the Town Squares and randomly distribute one to each player. The player with the lowest Town Square number (on its back) becomes the first player and takes the Active Player token. Return unused Town Squares to the box.

   Players should place their Town Square faceup in front of themselves to create their play area, leaving room on all sides to add a total of 18 tiles during the course of the game.

2. Separate the City Tiles (60) from the Starter Tiles (12), using their backs for easy reference. Shuffle the City Tiles and create a single facedown stack of tiles equal to 15x the number of players (e.g., a stack of 45 City Tiles for a 3-player game). Return any unused City Tiles to the game box without looking at them.

   This stack may be split into smaller stacks, but it is important to note which is the last tile, as discarded tiles will be placed under it.

   If players are using the removable tile tray, ensure that the spacers are placed in the proper location, and that discarded tiles are returned to the bottom of the tile stack, not with the tiles that are out of play.

3. Place one settler track between each play area so that there is a track shared between you and the player to your left and another between you and the player to your right.

   (When playing with two players, place two settler tracks between the two play areas.)

   Each track has 3 "columns" that will act independently of each other, so when the rules refer to a column, it means one of these sections. To help you remember, the columns have been artistically divided with walls and perpendicularly placed cutouts.

   Place one purple Noble (large settler) on the "7" in the center column of each track. Then place a purple Commoner (small settler) on each "4" on the outside columns. Return to the box all unused purple settlers.

   Then fill all remaining spaces with settlers drawn at random—outer columns with Commoners and center columns with Nobles. Return any unused settlers to the box.

4. Place all 16 competitive Monuments in the draw bag. The 11 cooperative Monuments remain in the box and out of play (their Landmarks are on the left instead of the right).

   Draw and place 3 Monuments faceup to create the supply in the center of the table, visible to all players. Place the draw bag next to the Monument supply.

5. Starting with the player to the right of the first player and going counterclockwise, each player takes into their hand one of the four sets of Starter Tiles. (The symbol on the back is used both for easier set separation, as well as an indication of which Landmark is prevalent within each set.) Return any unused Starter Tiles to the box.

6. Finally, all players take a Player Aid to assist them during game play.

Overview

Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each turn is divided into two steps:

1. Expansion - Add a single tile from your hand to your city. Optionally gain settlers and/or build Monuments.
2. Upkeep - Optionally discard tile(s). Refill your tile hand to 3. Refill Monuments to 3. Pass the Active Player token.

Play continues in this manner until everyone has played all their tiles, including the ones they have in hand, at which point the game ends and final scores are calculated.

1. Expansion

The expansion step is composed of a single mandatory action and two optional actions:

a) Add a single tile from your hand to your city. (Mandatory) b) You may gain one or more settlers. (Optional) c) You may build one or more Monuments. (Optional)

Important: When a district is completed, settlers or a Monument are not automatically moved into it. Players always have the choice of how and when a completed district is used. On your turn you may choose to add either settlers or Monuments to completed districts, including districts completed on earlier turns. This allows you to add newly available settlers or a Monument to an older district, as long as their requirements are met.

a) Add a Tile

You must place tiles faceup (in any orientation), and it must be placed in such a way that it touches a side of the Town Square or another tile that's already part of your city. Placing a tile so that it only touches another tile's corner is not allowed.

Once a tile is placed in your city and you end your turn, you may no longer move or rotate that tile in any way.

Streets define district borders, and whether a district is complete or not. Landmarks satisfy Monuments and settler requirements, but cannot house settlers. Vacant Houses (white roofed buildings) are the only areas where settlers may be housed, and only 1 Commoner or 1 Noble may be placed in each vacant House. Lakes are not Landmarks.

As you add tiles to expand your city, you will be creating and completing districts. There are two types of districts in a city:

• Completed districts—which are completely surrounded by streets.
• Unfinished districts—which have one or more sides open.

A district's outline is traced by the streets that surround it; districts can have unique shapes, since their outlines do not have to match each other in size and shape.

Important: Settlers and Monuments can only be added to completed districts which meet their individual requirements.

b) Gaining Settlers

During the game you will be taking settlers from their tracks and placing them in your completed districts, each in a separate vacant House. However, you only have access to the settlers at your end of each column on your two shared settler tracks.

As soon as a settler is taken, the settler behind it immediately becomes available (eligible to move into any completed district in your city, provided its requirements are met, and there is a vacant House). Vacant Houses inside a district with a Monument cannot house settlers. Once a settler is taken from a track, it must be housed immediately. Players cannot create personal supplies.

Two important exceptions:

1. The last remaining settler in each column cannot be taken by either player. (It acts as the divider for scoring purposes at the end of the game.)
2. A district cannot contain more than ONE settler of each COLOUR, regardless of their type (Commoner/Noble).

Each settler has primary and secondary Landmark requirements that must be met before they can be added to your city. The primary Landmark(s) matches the colour of the settler. The secondary is any other Landmark of a different colour than the primary.

A Landmark can be used as the primary requirement for a settler, and as the secondary Landmark for one or more other settlers. But remember, a district may contain only one of each colour settler regardless if they are Nobles or Commoners.

Statues represent a "wild" Landmark, which can replace any other Landmark. However, once a Statue in a completed district has been assigned a colour in order to meet a requirement, that Statue can no longer change colours. Districts may have multiple statues, each assigned the same or different colours as needed. For Monument objectives/scoring, Statues are considered to be both a Statue and the Landmark whose colour they were assigned.

• Commoners need their primary Landmark and 1 other Landmark of a different colour.
• Nobles need 2 of their primary Landmarks and 1 other Landmark of a different colour.
• Purple settlers are more difficult: a purple Commoner needs 3 different coloured Landmarks, while a purple Noble needs all 4 different coloured Landmarks.

Example of settlers placement: Districts "a," "b" and "d" are completed and contain the Landmarks and vacant Houses needed to satisfy the requirements of some settlers:

• District "a" has 5 vacant Houses and 3 different Landmarks. It can accommodate the following Commoners: green, blue, red and purple. (The last vacant House will remain empty as this district does not meet the orange settler requirements, and a district may have only 1 of each colour settler.)
• District "b" has all 4 Landmarks but only 3 vacant Houses, so it can only accommodate 3 of the following: 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue, 1 orange or 1 purple Commoner (or 1 purple Noble instead of 1 purple Commoner).
• District "c" has 2 different Landmarks, but with no vacant Houses it cannot accommodate settlers, and it is too small to build a Monument.
• District "d" has 3 different Landmarks and 4 vacant Houses. It can accommodate a red, orange, green and purple Commoner, filling all of the vacant Houses.
• District "X" has a vacant House and the Landmarks to accommodate a Commoner, but it is unfinished, so it cannot be used.

c) Building Monuments

Monuments are unique end-game scoring bonuses, and players have access to all 3 visible Monuments in the supply. Clever placement of these Monuments can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Monuments can be built only in a completed district that is their exact size and shape (all Monuments are the same size and shape). The district must contain the Landmarks required on the Monument, and it cannot contain any settlers.

Vacant Houses inside a district with a Monument cannot house settlers. Districts populated with settlers cannot be used for a Monument. So a district can contain either a Monument or settlers, but never both.

Just like when gaining settlers, each Statue may be used to replace either required Landmark.

Cooperative Monuments (identified with the "handshake" icon) cannot be used in the competitive game and vice versa.

Each Monument card shows its name, its scoring bonus, and its required Landmarks. A Monument can only be built in a district of the exact shape as the Monument, containing the required Landmarks; any other district shape, or missing Landmarks, makes the placement invalid.

2. Upkeep

Before drawing new tiles, you may discard 1 or both of your remaining tiles, placing them facedown at the bottom of the City Tile stack. You then replenish your hand by drawing tiles from the top of the stack until you have 3 tiles in hand. Once the City Tile stack runs out, you can no longer discard tiles or replenish your hand at the end of your turn.

Next, if there are less than 3 Monuments visible in the supply, refill it to 3 by randomly drawing from the draw bag. If the bag runs out of Monuments, replenish as many as possible.

End of the Game and Scoring

Play continues until all the tiles have been used, including those in your hand. You will then add up victory points from:

• Each cleared settler space on your side of the settler tracks.
• The scoring bonus(es) from each Monument in your city.

The player with the most victory points is declared the winner! If tied, the player with the fewest settlers wins. If still tied, the player with the fewest Monuments wins.

Calculating VP example: add up the victory points of each column, from left to right. For instance, a left track totaling (4+3+2+1) + (2) = 12, and a right track totaling (3+2+1) + (4+2) + (4+3+2+1) = 22, gives 12 + 22 = 34 VP from settlers. Then add any points from Monuments—for example 12 VP—for 46 victory points total.

Cooperative Play

Cooperative components, such as settler tracks, Edicts and Monuments, can easily be identified by the "handshake" icon at the bottom-right corner.

Objective

The emperor wants to increase the wealth and prestige of each of his provinces. As a group of magistrates you must work together to ensure your province doesn't displease him, which would result in you losing your position—and possibly your head. Follow the emperor's Edict and plan carefully to build and fulfill his preferred Monuments, or risk being thrown into the Colosseum as fodder for the spectacle of Gorus Maximus!

Cooperative Setup

1. Shuffle the 11 cooperative Monuments (returning all competitive Monuments to the box). Decide on a difficulty level and reveal the associated number of Monuments.

   Total Number of Monuments in the Supply:

   Number of Players	Beginner	Intermediate	Advanced
   2	5	5	6
   3	6	6	7
   4	7	7	8

   To further reduce the difficulty, remove the Edict. To incrementally increase the difficulty, randomly add 1 or more Commoners to each settler track during setup.

2. Shuffle the City Tiles and create a single facedown stack of tiles equal to 15x the number of players (e.g., a stack of 45 for a 3-player game). Then draw and place 3 tiles faceup next to the stack to create the tile supply.

   If players are using the removable tile tray, ensure that the spacers are placed in the proper location to separate tiles that are in the tile stack, and those out of play.

3. Randomly give each player a Town Square. The player with the lowest Town Square number (on its back) becomes the first player and takes the Active Player token.

4. Place one cooperative settler track between each player. (When playing with two players, use 2 settler tracks.) The cooperative track is on the back of the competitive track. Do not start with any settlers on these tracks, unless you are increasing the difficulty setting.

5. Place all Commoners (including purple Commoners) into the bag. Create a separate supply of Nobles on the table.

6. Shuffle the 5 Emperor's Edicts, then place one with either side faceup next to the tile supply. Edicts are double-sided, so when you draw one you may place either side faceup. Once you've selected a side, it becomes the Edict for the game.

7. Each player chooses one of the four sets of starter tiles to take into their hand. Return all unused game pieces to the box.

8. Finally, all players take a Player Aid to assist them during game play.

Game Play

Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each turn is divided into three steps, which must be taken in order: 1. Immigration, 2. Expansion, 3. Upkeep.

1. Immigration - Draw a single Commoner from the bag and add it to either one of the two tracks adjacent to your play area. The first settler placed goes to the top of the track (in front of the city gates) and each subsequent settler goes to the back of the line.

However, if the colour of the Commoner being added matches that of the Commoner at the back of the line, both settlers are returned to the bag, and replaced with a Noble of that colour. (If the supply runs out of Nobles, leave them as Commoners. A Commoner can be placed behind a Noble of the same colour with no effect.)

BUT BEWARE—if any line becomes too long and a settler is placed on the last space of a settler track (the one with the skull), all players will immediately lose the game!

Note: if the draw bag ever runs out of Commoners, take all Nobles from the supply and add them to the bag. You will now be drawing and placing these onto the tracks.

2. Expansion - Play a tile from your hand, following the rules from the competitive game (Add a Tile). Optionally gain settler(s), by drawing from the front of the line (the city gates) on either track. When that settler is taken, the next one in line becomes available. After settlers are claimed, remaining settlers move "up" the line in numerical order, filling the vacated spaces.

Optionally build Monument(s), following the requirement rules from the competitive game (Building Monuments). Once their objective is met they can be flipped over to show they are fulfilled.

Simply building a Monument will not win the game. Each Monument's objective must be completed by the city it is built in for it to count as a "fulfilled" Monument!

3. Upkeep - Draw one tile from the tile supply, replace it with the top tile from the tile stack, and then pass the Active Player token. Players do not replace any Monuments taken, and they may not discard or exchange any tiles at any time.

Play continues in this manner until you have met the victory or defeat conditions below. In some instances this can occur before all tiles have been played. In that case players may want to increase or decrease the difficulty setting for their next game.

Victory Conditions (Cooperative Play)

Players will immediately win when both of the conditions below are met:

• The emperor's Edict was consistently followed/accomplished by all players and their cities.
• The number of fulfilled Monuments for your difficulty level (number in red) have been built.

Beware: Monuments that are built but not fulfilled do not count. And a Monument's objective can only be fulfilled by the city it is in - cities cannot fulfill each other's Monuments.

Defeat Conditions

Players will immediately lose if any one of the conditions below are met:

• You have used all your tiles but failed to build the number of Monuments required by the difficulty chosen.
• The required number of Monuments were built, but their objectives were not fulfilled by the city they were built in.
• A settler was placed on the last space (skull icon) of any settler track.
• Any player or city failed to follow the emperor's Edict.

Solo Play

Changes to Setup

Follow the cooperative setup instructions but with these four changes:

• Do not use any of the starter tiles.
• Do not create a tile supply.
• Create the city stack using all 60 city tiles.
• Use one settler track.

Total Number of Monuments to Fulfill:

Number of Players	Beginner	Intermediate	Advanced
1	2/4	3/4	4/5

To further reduce the difficulty, remove the Edict. To incrementally increase the difficulty, randomly add 1 or more Commoners to each settler track during setup.

Changes to Game Play

Solo play follows the cooperative game rules, but alters the Immigration and Expansion steps, while removing the Upkeep step.

1. Immigration - Draw 2 Commoners from the bag and choose which one to add to the settler track. The other may be returned to the bag or placed in the game box, where it remains out of play.
2. Expansion - Draw 3 tiles from the city stack, choose 1 to add to your city, and discard the other 2 out of play.

Play continues in this manner until you have met the cooperative victory or defeat conditions above.

Reminders and Clarifications

• You can only have 1 of each coloured settler in a district.
• For Monument resolution, the Town Square is considered two separate tiles.
• "Adjacent," as used on some Monuments, refers to districts that have at least one side directly across a shared street.
• "Populated district": there is at least 1 settler within that district. Monuments do not populate a district.
• "Uniquely shaped": trace a continuous line on the streets around a district. Any other district that is the exact size and shape is not considered unique. Shapes that are mirrored or rotated outlines of other districts are also not considered unique.
• "L-shaped district": the district has only one 90-degree angle separating two straight sections, regardless of their lengths.
• "Longest street": a tile must contribute a street at least half of its length to be counted. Tiles contributing only corners do not count.
• "Empty house": a vacant House without a settler is "empty." Vacant Houses covered by Monuments are not considered empty.
• "Town Square's fountain": the art at the center of each Town Square, circled in gold and blue, is the Town Square fountain.

Competitive:

• No player or game effect may ever cause the last settler on a column to be removed! It must stay for scoring purposes.
• Ties do not count for Monument objectives requiring the "most."

Cooperative:

• Draw a settler before placing your tile.
• Two Commoners of the same colour back-to-back on the same track are exchanged for a Noble of the same colour.
• When there are no more Commoners in the bag, place all remaining Nobles in the bag and draw from these.