Forum Romanum
Forum Romanum Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 board
- 12 councilor pieces (figure pieces)
- 49 supporter pieces (octagonal pieces)
- 23 coins (discs)
- 1 rulebook
Object of the Game
At the end of the game, the player who has accumulated the most victory points is the winner.
The Board
The 7x7 grid of spaces at the center of the board is the Forum Romanum. The Forum Romanum is divided into 7 sections (buildings), each marked with a section number from I to VII.
Around the Forum Romanum there are 23 settlement spaces. 16 of these correspond respectively to the rows, columns, and diagonals of the Forum Romanum; the remaining 7 correspond to the 7 sections.
The outermost ring of the board is the victory point track. Place a councilor piece here to record victory points. The upper-left corner space is the "zero" space. Each time you score points, move your councilor piece clockwise a number of spaces equal to the points scored. If you lose points, move it counterclockwise. If your victory points drop below zero, lay the councilor piece on its side (or use some other method) to make this clear.
If a player earns more victory points than a single circuit of the track can show, indicate this in some other clear way as well.
Setup
Unfold the board. Each player chooses one color and takes that color's supporter pieces, placing them in front of themselves.
- 3-player game: 10 supporter pieces each (white, black, gray)
- 4-player game: 8 supporter pieces each (white, black, gray, blue)
- 5-player game: 6 supporter pieces each (white, black, gray, blue, red)
- 6-player game: 5 supporter pieces each (white, black, gray, blue, red, yellow)
In a 2-player game, each player controls two colors. For each of your two colors, take 8 supporter pieces (16 total) and 2 councilor pieces (4 total).
Each player also takes 2 councilor pieces of their color. Place one of them (in a 2-player game, one for each of your two colors) on the upper-left corner space of the victory point track (the "zero" space). Place the other councilor piece in front of yourself to show your color. Place all the coins together beside the board.
Any councilor pieces or supporter pieces not distributed are not used in this game; return them to the box.
Decide by an appropriate method who takes the first turn, and begin the game.
Sequence of Play
Turns proceed clockwise. On their turn, a player must do one of the following. Passing is not allowed.
- If you still have supporter pieces in hand, take one and place it on an empty space within the Forum Romanum (the 7x7 area at the center of the board).
- If you have no supporter pieces left in hand, choose one of your supporter pieces already on the Forum Romanum, pick it up, and move it to a different empty space on the Forum Romanum.
After doing this, check whether a settlement occurs. The conditions for a settlement are explained in the next section. If no settlement occurs, the turn simply ends. If a settlement does occur, perform it and then end the turn. The turn then passes to the player on the left.
Settlement
For each row, column, corner-to-corner diagonal, and section (building) on the Forum Romanum, check whether all of its spaces are filled with supporter pieces.
If a row, column, diagonal, or section is completely filled, check who has placed the most supporter pieces in it. If multiple players are tied for the most, no settlement occurs — this is called a "deadlock." If a single player holds sole majority, a settlement occurs for that row, column, diagonal, or section.
When a settlement occurs, carry out the following steps:
- The player with the most supporter pieces in that row, column, diagonal, or section scores victory points equal to the number of spaces that make it up. A row or column settlement is therefore always worth 7 points. A section settlement is worth 6 points (sections I, III, V, VII), 8 points (sections II, VI), or 9 points (section IV).
- The player (or players) with the fewest supporter pieces in that row, column, diagonal, or section lose victory points. A player with zero pieces there naturally counts as having the fewest. If a single player has the sole fewest, that player loses 4 points. If multiple players are tied for fewest, each of them loses 2 points.
- Finally, take a coin from beside the board and place it on the settlement space that corresponds to that row, column, diagonal, or section. This shows that the settlement for that row, column, diagonal, or section has been completed. No further settlement can occur there for the rest of the game.
If settlements occur simultaneously in more than one row, column, diagonal, or section, process them in any order — the order chosen has no effect on the outcome. Once every settlement is resolved, pass the turn to the next player.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately once all 23 rows, columns, diagonals, and sections are either settled or deadlocked. For any row, column, diagonal, or section that is still deadlocked when the game ends, carry out a final settlement for it as follows. After doing this, the player with the most victory points is the winner.
- Every player tied for the most supporter pieces in that row, column, diagonal, or section scores 4 victory points.
- The player (or players) with the fewest supporter pieces there lose points: 4 points if a single player has the sole fewest, or 2 points each if multiple players are tied for fewest.
Two-Player Game
In a 2-player game, on their turn a player places or moves one supporter piece of each of their two colors — that is, two pieces in total. Settlements are carried out exactly as normal, just as if it were a 4-player game. When the game ends, each player adds together the victory points scored by both of their colors, and compares this combined total against their opponent's.
Credits
Designed by Wolfgang Kramer. This 2019 edition produced and sold by New Games Order, LLC; graphic design by TANSAN & Co. Originally published in 1988 by Franckh-Kosmos in the Spiele-Galerie line.