Die Tore der Welt: Das Kartenspiel

Die Tore der Welt: Das Kartenspiel Rulebook

Table of Contents

Contents
What Is It About?
Setup
The Game
End of a Chapter
End of the Game

What Is It About?

The players try to gain the most victory points over 2 chapters. To do so they must collect goods, which can be converted into victory points at certain events. Through clever use of the action cards, the players have it in their own hands how many of the goods they receive.

Setup

The event cards are separated by chapter (I and II), each shuffled well and placed as separate face-down stacks. The tribute cards are placed next to them.

The 4 favor cards are laid face up in the middle of the table so that they form a rectangle in which an event card can be placed. Each corner of a placed event card should point unambiguously at one player.

Each player receives the action cards and the goods cards in a player color. The goods cards are laid out face up, and the matching value card with the value "0" is placed on each of them. The victory point card is placed so that the "10" is visible at the top edge.

(Illustration labels: event cards, favor cards, tribute card, victory point card of player red, goods cards of player red (piety, cloth, building material, medical knowledge), action cards of player red.)

In the course of the game the players receive various goods and victory points. The number of each good is shown on the value cards. The value card is laid out face up in front of the respective player. The corresponding goods card is placed on it; the top edge of the goods card indicates the number. If the number changes, the cover card is moved accordingly. If a player has more than 9 units of a good, the cover card is turned over (the side with the 10 is now on top) and placed accordingly.

For victory points, each player starts with 10 victory points already. When a player reaches 20 points, the cover card is turned so that the 20 is at the top edge. Likewise at 30, 40, etc.

The oldest player becomes the start player.

The Game

In each round the following steps are carried out:

Carry out the event
Place the event card
Receive income or carry out an action
Use blue event cards

(Illustration, event card: income of the players, favor arrow, function, title, player income. Frame color: Brown: carry out immediately, once. Blue: lay out; can be carried out every round.)

1. Draw and Read Out the Event Card

The start player draws the top card of the current chapter and reads out the text of the event.

If it is a brown card, every player (beginning with the start player) must carry out the event immediately. For cards that leave a choice, the players say in turn whether they want to use this event.

2. Place the Event Card

The start player places the event card between the favor cards so that each edge of the card is unambiguously assigned to one favor card.

3. Receive Income or Carry Out an Action

Each player now receives the income determined by the corner of the event card assigned to them:

If the victory point symbol was assigned to the player, the player receives 2 victory points. They do not have to play an action card for this.
If one of the goods was assigned to the player, that player plays one of their action cards. Next to the respective goods it is stated how many units of that good the player receives. However, the player then cannot use the action of the card. They must always decide whether to receive income or use the action.
If the player would rather use the action of the action card, they receive no income but carry out the stated action. Even if the player would receive victory points, they can play an action card and carry out the action; they then do not receive the victory points, however!
The player who placed the card additionally receives the good at which the favor arrow points.

The Actions of the Action Cards

Exchange victory points for goods: The player may give up to 2 victory points and receives any one good for each victory point given.
Exchange goods for victory points: The player may give up to 2 goods and receives one victory point for each good given.
Exchange goods: The player may give up to 2 goods and receives a different good for each good given.
Use the favor: The player receives the good at which the favor arrow points and any one other good.
Take up cards: The player may take all of their played action cards back into their hand and additionally receives one victory point.

Played action cards stay in front of the player until they either use the action card with the action "Take up cards" or until they have played all of their action cards. In both cases the player may take all of their action cards back into their hand.

4. Use Blue Event Cards

After the income has been distributed, the event card just placed is taken away again. If it is a brown event card, it is removed from the game. A blue event card is laid aside face up and can now be used to generate victory points from goods.

However, there are never more than 2 blue event cards in the display. If a third blue event card is laid out, the blue event card that has been there longer is immediately removed from the game.

In turn, beginning with the start player, everyone can now carry out the blue event cards; each player may use each event card only once per turn.

The card "Bischof Henry wird König" (Bishop Henry becomes King) must be carried out; all other blue event cards can be carried out.

Then the left neighbor of the start player becomes the new start player and the next round begins.

Example

Walter (red) is the start player. He draws the event card "Krieg gegen Frankreich" (War against France). Since it is a blue event card, the event is carried out only later. He places the card between the favor cards so that the favor arrow points to "building material".

Now each player receives their income: On the event card, Walter is assigned piety. He plays the action card "Exchange goods for victory points" and receives 2 piety, because on this action card the value 2 is given next to the piety symbol. He moves the value card accordingly. He also receives 1 building material, because he placed the card.

Maria (blue) would receive cloth. She plays the action card "Take up cards" and uses this action. She therefore receives no cloth, but may take all of her action cards back into her hand and receives 1 victory point.

Now the event card is put into the display. Since 2 blue event cards are already there, the card that has been there longest is removed. Beginning with the start player, each player may now use these event cards. Walter uses the card "Merthin baut eine Walkmühle" (Merthin builds a fulling mill): he gives up 2 building materials and receives 3 victory points for them. He adjusts his value cards and his victory point card accordingly. Maria uses the newly laid out card "Krieg gegen Frankreich": she gives up 2 medicine and 1 cloth and receives 4 victory points for them. She adjusts her value cards and her victory point display accordingly. She would still have enough goods to use this event card once more, but may carry out each event card only once per round. Now the start player changes and a new round begins.

End of a Chapter

After 12 rounds a chapter ends. Now tributes must be paid: the most recently placed event card determines whether the blue or the brown side of the tribute card must be fulfilled. Each player must give up the goods listed on it; for each good they cannot give up, they lose 3 victory points!

Note: the small text printed on the tribute card in the rulebook's setup illustration reads "Wer nicht genügend Güter abgeben kann, verliert pro fehlendem Gut 2 Siegpunkte!" (2 victory points per missing good), which differs from the 3 stated in the rules text above. The rules text is transcribed as printed.

In the second chapter, the player sitting to the left of the player with the fewest victory points becomes the first start player.

End of the Game

After the 2nd chapter the game ends. The player with the most victory points wins. In case of a tie, the player who owns more goods is placed higher.