Concilium Urbis Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Components
• Game Setup
• Game Round
  • 1. Law Proposal Phase
  • 2. Construction Phase
    • 2.1. Choose city tiles
    • 2.2. Building Rules
  • 3. Production Phase
    • 3.1. Energy Production
    • 3.2. Selling Energy
  • 4. Voting Phase
    • 4.1. Collecting Influence
    • 4.2. Voting
      • 4.2.1. Voting Procedure (Laws)
      • 4.2.1. Bonus Voting
• End of Round
• Game End
• Advice
• Variants of the Concilium Urbis Deck
  • Combination Deck
• Appendix I. Scoring Cards
  • City Distribution Laws
  • Mine Distribution Laws
  • Housing Distribution Laws
  • Tower Distribution Laws
  • Factory and Tree Distribution Laws
  • Monument Distribution Laws
• Appendix II. Scoring Example
• Appendix III. Solo Mode
  • Game Setup
  • Game Round
    • 1. Law Proposal Phase
    • 2. Construction Phase
    • 3. Production Phase
    • 4. Voting Phase
      • 4.1. Collecting Influence
      • 4.2. Voting
    • End of Round
  • Game End
    • Player Scoring
    • Automaton Scoring

Game Overview

During the game, each player builds their own mining city, receiving four building tiles each turn to do so. In addition there are phases for energy production and voting. In the voting phase, the votes enable endgame scoring to be changed, so it is vital to gain influence in the towers or through new pacts with other kingdoms in the Concilium.

Components

• 176 Tiles
  • 56 City tiles for two or more players
  • 28 City additional tiles for 3, 4, 5 and 6 players respectively
  • 6 Concilium tiles
  • 1 Approval zone tile
  • 1 Cancellation zone tile
• 50 Voting counters of value 1
• 8 Voting counters of value 5
• 80 Mineral/Energy counters
• 63 Cards
  • 18 Law cards, level I (6 basic cards with text and 12 normal cards)
  • 18 Law cards, level II (6+12)
  • 18 Law cards, level III (6+12)
  • 2 Bonus cards
  • 1 End-of-deck card
  • 6 Civilisation cards
• 7 Solo game cards
  • 6 Automaton cards
  • 1 Solo game guide card
• 18 Civilisation discs (3 of each colour)
• 6 Player screens (1 of each colour)
• 1 bag
• 1 scoring pad

Game Setup

Prepare the Laws of Concilium Urbis deck.

For the first game we recommend you use the six basic Law cards marked with the level I symbol. Place them face up in the centre of the table. Take the cards with the level I symbol and add the 4VP Bonus cards to form a deck. Shuffle them and remove two cards from the deck at random, returning them to the box without looking at them. Now place the End-of-deck card underneath the deck. The deck will consequently have 13 cards (12 cards plus the End-of-deck card).

Clarification: the End-of-deck card has two sides. Place it on one of them at random.

Return the rest of the Law cards to the box. For the creation of different scoring decks, consult the section, "Variants of the Concilium Urbis Deck" below.

Civilisation cards: Shuffle the six Civilisation cards and place three of them in the centre of the table. Return the rest to the box.

City tiles: Take the City tiles according to the number of players and put them in the bag, returning the rest to the box. The number on the tile indicates the minimum number of players in that game. For example, for a 4-player game, use the tiles with the numbers 2, 3 and 4, returning the tiles with the numbers 5 and 6 to the box.

Zone tiles: Place the Approval zone tile on the left-hand side of the table and the Cancellation zone tile on the right-hand side.

Players: Give each player a Concilium tile which they place face up in their play area. Also give each player the screen and three discs of their colour.

Leave the Energy counters and Voting counters to one side within everyone's reach. Leave the scoring pad to one side of the table.

Game Round

Concilium is played over a total of 7 rounds. Each round contains 4 phases.

1. Law Proposal Phase

(Omit this phase in the first round of the game.)

Reveal two cards from the Laws deck and place them to the right of the deck within everyone's sight. This phase is not carried out in the first round of the game.

2. Construction Phase

(Simultaneous phase.) This phase is carried out simultaneously by all players.

2.1. Choose city tiles

Each player takes four tiles from the bag and consults them in private. Next they divide the tiles into two groups of two tiles, which they pass facedown to the player on their left or right, as indicated by the back of the card on top of the Laws deck.

(In the illustration, each player passes their two groups of two tiles facedown to the player on their left, following the instructions on the back of the card on top of the Laws deck.)

In the last round, the End-of-deck card indicates to which side each player passes their groups of tiles to.

Each player looks at the groups of tiles that they have received and chooses which group of tiles to keep, returning the other group to the player who gave them it. After this each player will have 4 tiles: two which they have chosen and two which have been returned to them. They will then look at the 4 tiles and place them in their city one by one in the order of their choosing.

Caution: You must choose the group of tiles before looking at the group returned to you by the other player.

2.2. Building Rules

Each tile may only be placed adjacent to another tile that you already have on the table.

Adjacent: Two tiles are considered to be adjacent when they both share a side. Therefore two tiles which only share a corner are not considered adjacent.

Towers: The Tower tiles are the only tiles that you can stack, and only on another Tower. Place them on top of another Tower tile if you wish to stack them.

Mines: Add the number of Mineral counters indicated on the mine tile when you build it in your city, placing the counters so that the mineral icon is visible.

3. Production Phase

(Simultaneous phase.) This phase is carried out simultaneously by all players.

3.1. Energy Production

Carry out this step once for each factory that you have and that still has available storage capacity. Each factory that you have in your city can extract 1 unit of mineral to process it. To do this, take one Mineral counter from any Mine that has not been exhausted and place it on the Factory, leaving its energy icon visible. Each Factory has a maximum energy storage capacity which you cannot exceed. If the Factory is complete, you cannot use it to process minerals.

The Energy counters on the Factories are available for consumption.

In the extreme case that there are not enough Mineral/Energy counters, you can use other objects to represent them.

3.2. Selling Energy

After production, each player may remove 6 Energy counters from their Factories and place one of their Civilisation discs on one of the three Civilisation cards that does not already have one of their discs on. Return these counters once again to the reserve.

Each of these cards grant additional points at the end of the game for those players who have placed a disc there. Each player may only have one disc on each Civilisation card.

4. Voting Phase

(Simultaneous phase.) After the Energy phase, proceed to the Voting phase, which is also carried out by players simultaneously.

4.1. Collecting Influence

Take the number of voting counters indicated in your city. Each Concilium tile grants 2 votes and each Tower tile (stacked or not) grants an additional vote. Keep your votes behind your screen so the other players do not know how many you have.

4.2. Voting

(Omit this step in the first round.)

First vote on the first card (the one to the right of the Laws deck) and then vote on the second card. Voting is resolved differently, depending on whether it is for a Law or Bonus.

After voting, each player returns their used votes to the reserve and keeps their remaining votes for the following rounds, regardless of whether they have won the vote or not.

In Concilium Urbis the number of votes is infinite. In the extreme case of not having enough counters, use other objects to represent votes of the value 5 or 10.

In the first round of the game, there are no Laws revealed on the table so there is no voting in this round.

4.2.1. Voting Procedure (Laws)

Each player puts the number of votes that they wish to spend on the vote hidden in their fist behind their screen. After a brief countdown, all the players simultaneously put their closed fists over the Approval zone tile or Cancellation zone tile and reveal their votes. Count the total number of Approvals and the total number of Cancels.

If there are more votes in the Cancellation zone: The law is cancelled. Return this Law card to the box.

If there are more votes in the Approval zone: The law is approved. Take this card and place it on top of the corresponding basic card of the same type, leaving the basic card text visible but changing the scoring of this card at the end of the game.

In the case of a draw between each zone or no player voting, the law is cancelled. Return this Law card to the box.

After voting, each player keeps their remaining votes for the next vote.

Note: Take a moment to discuss and observe the other players' cities before voting. This will allow you to reach small agreements and maximise bluffing during voting.

4.2.1. Bonus Voting

Each player puts the number of votes that they wish to spend on the vote hidden in their fist behind their screen. After a brief countdown, all the players simultaneously reveal their fists with the votes. The player with the most votes takes the Bonus card and this will be counted towards their scoring at the end of the game. In the case of a draw or no player voting, the card is discarded and returned to the box.

End of Round

After the voting phase continue to the second round. Once again follow the steps indicated in each phase starting with phase 1.

Game End

After the seven rounds of the game continue to the scoring phase. Take the scoring pad to record the points.

Scoring Law cards: Read the scoring cards in Appendix I to find out more details on this scoring.

Scoring Civilisation cards: Civilisation cards grant 1 or 2 points for each tile in your city (stacked or not) of the type indicated on the card.

Scoring Bonus cards: Each of these cards grant 4 points.

Scoring resources: At the end of the game, each 4 Minerals and/or each 2 Energy counters grant 1 point. Always round down.

In the case of a draw at the end of the game, the player with the most points from Civilisation cards wins. If there is still a draw, the player with the most points from surplus Mineral/Energy wins. If there is still a draw, both those players share the victory.

At the end of the rules in Appendix II you can find a full example of scoring.

Advice

Read this advice at the beginning of each game.

1. Within the Laws deck, for each Law, there is a card which increases the score ratio for the card and another that decreases the score ratio. Despite two cards being removed from the deck at the beginning of the game, it is important you manage this information to make your votes count. The Bonus cards are already determined but they can make you use a lot of votes.
   • The cards with the increase symbol increase the score for the tiles indicated on the card.
   • The cards with the decrease symbol decrease the score for the tiles indicated on the card.
   • The cards with the third symbol increase or decrease the score for the tiles indicated on the card depending on the player's configuration (Appendix I).
2. Look at other players' cities before voting. Although certain Law cards benefit your scoring, it is likely that the same ones will make other players win even more points. If several players are going to benefit from a Law more than you, try not to let it pass.
3. Sometimes you will not have enough voting capacity to pass a Law by yourself. Look at the other players' cities and try to create alliances before voting.
4. Before starting the game, look at the Law cards and try to visualise the whole construction of your city.

Variants of the Concilium Urbis Deck

The Concilium Urbis deck has three levels of play (I, II and III). Try these three versions first before starting to mix the cards between levels.

To do this, take the basic Law cards of your chosen version (I, II or III) and place them in the centre of the table. Form the deck as indicated in the game setup with the symbols I, II or III respectively in each version. Add the two Bonus cards, shuffle the deck and return, without revealing them, two cards at random to the box. Add the End-of-deck card to the bottom of the deck in the usual way. The resulting deck should have 13 cards (12 cards plus the End-of-deck card).

Combination Deck

To prepare a deck that mixes different levels, you must always take a basic Law card of each type and place it in the centre of the table. Then take two Law cards of the same level as the chosen basic Law card for each type of card and continue making the deck as indicated in the game setup. The resulting deck should have 13 cards (12 cards plus the End-of-deck card).

Appendix I. Scoring Cards

Below the scoring cards are described. (Each entry below corresponds to an illustrated basic Law card, listed in the order printed in the rulebook.)

City Distribution Laws

These cards penalise you if the distribution of your city does not comply with Infiniton's standards.

Subtract X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each tile outside of the distribution on the illustration and for each empty space within the distribution.

• 5x5 grid. Subtract X points (according to what the law card indicates) for each tile outside of the grid or for each empty space.
• Two cores of 3x4 (in any orientation) joined by one tile. Subtract X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each tile outside of the distribution or for each empty space.
• Lattice with two main diagonals of 7 tiles. Subtract X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each tile outside of the distribution or for each empty space. Recommendation: When building a city with this distribution, bear in mind that it is composed of two diagonals of 7 tiles. It will be easier for you to play this distribution if you try to locate where your centre will be as the game develops.

Mine Distribution Laws

There is a lot of mineral on Celestia Quasaris. Distribute your mines well to benefit in the scoring.

• Add X points (according to the table on the law card) for each group of adjacent Mines according to its size. You cannot subdivide groups of adjacent Mines. Two groups that are adjacent by their corners are considered independent.
• Add X points (according to the table on the law card) for the number of groups of two or more adjacent Mines. You cannot subdivide groups of adjacent Mines. Two groups that are adjacent by their corners are considered independent.
• Add X points (according to the table on the Law card) for each one of your groups of one or more adjacent Mines in the same diagonal according to its size. Two adjacent diagonals are considered independent. Each Mine can only score for one diagonal.

Housing Distribution Laws

As a mining civilisation, Infiniton rewards building Housing next to Mines and Factories.

• Add X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each Mine or Factory tile adjacent to each Housing tile. Each Mine or Factory tile can score for one or more Housing tiles.
• Add X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each Mine or Factory tile at the corner of each Housing tile. Each Mine or Factory tile can score for one or more Housing tiles.
• Add X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each Mine or Factory tile on one of the diagonals (of the player's choice) of each Housing tile. Each Mine or Factory tile can score for one or more Housing tiles.

Tower Distribution Laws

The Towers are complex buildings that deserve the admiration of the rest of the kingdoms of Infiniton. Constructing them enables you to gain more influence over the decisions of the Concilium.

Remember that it is your choice whether to stack the towers or not. Stacking will be key to not exceed the distribution of the city but you will score less for them. Score each of your completed Towers as appropriate. Each space in your city occupied by a Tower tile (with or without further tiles stacked on top) is considered to be a completed Tower.

• Add X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each Monument or Tree adjacent to each Tower. Each Monument or Tree can score for one or more Towers.
• Add X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each tile of the type which is most repeated around each Tower (including diagonally).
• Add X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each tile of a different type around each Tower (including those found on the corners). The Concilium tile counts as a different type.

Factory and Tree Distribution Laws

A good balance makes your city more habitable. Follow the Infiniton guidelines for your distribution of Trees and Factories.

Factories: Only the Factories that comply with the distribution indicated on the Law cards score what is indicated on the star of each tile. However, all of the Factories in your city count towards the production of pollution.

Trees: Only the Trees that comply with the distribution indicated on the Law cards will be taken into account when calculating the pollution of your city.

Pollution: Pollution is always calculated in the same way. Add up the purification values of the Trees that comply with the distribution and subtract the total pollution values of all of your Factories (even if they do not comply with the distribution). This number is multiplied by a variable factor indicated on each Law card. The result can give a negative value which results in a loss of points.

• Factories: Score the number of Factories that are equal to or less than the number of Trees in your city. Trees: All of the Trees count towards the calculation of pollution. Pollution: Calculate the scoring for pollution.
• Factories: Score the Factories that make a checkerboard distribution with the Trees. The checkerboard must be composed of adjacent tiles and only your largest checkerboard counts. Trees: Only the Trees placed in the checkerboard with the Factories count towards the calculation of pollution. The checkerboard must be composed of adjacent tiles. Pollution: Calculate the scoring for pollution. Clarification: A checkerboard is the alternating distribution on both axes of Tree and Factory tiles like a chessboard.
• Factories: Score the Factories that make up your largest group of adjacent Factories. Trees: Only the Trees that make up your largest group of adjacent Trees count towards the calculation of pollution. Pollution: Calculate the scoring for pollution.

Monument Distribution Laws

The Supreme Leader of Infiniton must be commemorated. Build statues in his honour.

• Add X points (according to what is indicated by the table on the Law card) for the number of groups of one or more adjacent Monuments. You cannot subdivide groups of Monuments. Two Monuments adjacent at the corners are considered independent groups.
• Add X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each tile of any type between two Monuments, always choosing the minimum distance between them. A tile can score two times if it is found between two pairs of Monuments.
• Add X points (according to what the Law card indicates) for each Monument adjacent to a Tree. A Tree may be used to score more than one Monument.

Appendix II. Scoring Example

(Example, shown on a city illustration, of one player's final score:)

• Distribution score (3 x -3 = -9)
• Housing score (12+2+1 = 15)
• Mines score (11x1 = 11)
• Towers score (6x3 = 18)
• Factories score (6+4+4 = 14)
• Pollution score 2x (11-8) = 6
• Monuments score = 9
• Civilisation score (4x2 = 8)
• Bonuses score = 4
• Resources score (4/4 + 2/2 = 2)

Appendix III. Solo Mode

Game Setup

1. Choose the scoring configuration for the game by choosing six basic Law cards, one of each type.

2. Place the 6 basic Law cards you have chosen face up in the centre of the table. Take the corresponding Law cards of the same level and two Bonus cards to prepare the Laws deck in the usual way. However, instead of removing two cards at random, remove the two cards that relate to Trees and Factories. After shuffling the resulting deck, you should have 12 cards (10 Law cards and two Bonus cards). You do not use the End-of-deck card in a solo game.

   As with a multi-player game, we recommend first trying the Law cards of level I, II or III before starting to configure Combination decks.

3. Place the Law cards from the Laws deck face down on the table following the distribution shown in the illustration. The numbers above indicate the round in which the cards will be revealed. Return the two leftover cards to the box without looking at them.

4. Put the tiles for 1 or 2 players (marked with a 2 on the back) in the bag.

5. Place the 6 Automaton cards in ascending order on one side of the table with the side with the blue borders showing. Take a tile of each type from the 3-player tile set (Tower, Tree, Factory, Housing, Monument and Mine) and place them on each of the Automaton cards at random. Note that you cannot put a Mine tile on the fifth or sixth Automaton card.

   This setup is for the "easy" solo game. See further on to learn how to increase the level of difficulty. If you have already played Concilium Urbis, we recommend starting with the initiated level or higher.

6. Shuffle the six Civilisation cards and place three of them in the centre of the table. Return the rest to the box.

7. Take the three discs of your colour and a Concilium tile. Place the Concilium tile face up in the middle of your play area.

8. Leave the Energy counters and Voting counters to one side of the table within reach.

Game Round

1. Law Proposal Phase

Reveal the Law card(s) that correspond to the round in progress.

2. Construction Phase

Player turn: Take four tiles from the bag, choose two and put them in your play area. Place the remaining two tiles on the Automaton cards that already have tiles of the same type.

Automaton turn: Take four tiles from the bag and place the two tiles which grant the most points on top of the corresponding Automaton cards. Take the remaining two tiles and put them in your play area.

In the case where the Automaton has to choose between two tiles of the same type, always choose the one with the highest value for its ability: for mines, the one with the most mineral; for Factories, the one with the largest storage capacity; for Trees, the one with the highest purification value.

In the case where the Automaton has to choose between two tiles with the same value of points (in games with an initiated level or above), choose the one that corresponds to the card located more to the right.

After completing these steps, build the four tiles from your play area in your city in the usual way.

3. Production Phase

The production phase is carried out in the usual way. The Automaton does not produce Energy or take Mineral counters.

As in a multi-player game, you can remove 6 Energy to place a disc of your colour on one of the Civilisation cards.

4. Voting Phase

4.1. Collecting Influence

Take Voting counters in the usual way.

4.2. Voting

The number of votes needed to pass or cancel a Law is the number of the round +1. In rounds 2, 4 and 6, there will be two Law cards. Resolve the votes for these Laws one by one, starting with the top card.

If the Law being voted for has the cancel icon, you need the number of votes that corresponds to the round in progress to cancel the Law. In the case where you do not have enough votes or choose not to use your votes, the Law passes.

If the Law being voted for has the approve icon, you need the number of votes that corresponds to the round in progress to pass the Law. In the case where you do not have enough votes or choose not to use your votes, the Law is cancelled.

For Bonus cards, you must use the number of votes that corresponds to the round in progress to obtain the card for your final score. In the case where you do not have enough votes or choose not to use your votes, the opportunity to obtain the Bonus card is lost and it is returned to the box.

End of Round

Once you have carried out the previous steps, start a new round returning to step 1: Law proposal phase.

Game End

After seven rounds, calculate your score and the Automaton's score.

Player Scoring

Carry out player scoring in the usual way and record it on the scoring pad.

Automaton Scoring

For each type of tile, calculate the Automaton's score by multiplying the number of tiles of this type by the score indicated on the Automaton's own card where you found the tiles. The Automaton does not obtain points for Civilisation cards, its city distribution, pollution, Bonus cards or spare Mineral or Energy counters.

In the case of a draw, the Automaton wins.

Automaton Difficulty Levels

You can increase the difficulty of a solo game by turning over certain automaton cards at the beginning of the game so that the score for each tile increases.

• Easy level: Do not turn over any Automaton cards. The values will be 0-1-2-3-4-5.
• Initiated level: Turn over 2 Automaton cards of your choice.
• Advanced level: Turn over 3 Automaton cards of your choice.
• Experienced level: Turn over 4 Automaton cards of your choice.
• Expert level: Turn over 5 Automaton cards of your choice.
• God level: Turn over all the Automaton cards. The values will be 1-2-3-4-5-6.

Within each level you can also adjust the difficulty. The difficulty level will be lower if you turn over the automaton central cards and the difficulty will be higher if you turn over the cards further to the right.

If you have played Concilium Urbis, we recommend starting with the initiated level or higher.