La Ruta del Tesoro Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Brief Description of the Game
• Game Rules
• Preparation
• Money
• Starting the Game
• Stopping on a Property
• Stopping on Chance or the Treasure Chest
• The Crown
• A Player Goes to the Galleys
• A Player Leaves the Galleys
• Houses
• Castles
• Selling Properties
• Mortgages
• Bankruptcy
• Miscellaneous Notes
• Quick Way to Play
• Chance Cards (Suerte)
• Treasure Chest Cards (Cofre del Tesoro)

Brief Description of the Game

The setting of the game is the end of the 14th and the 15th centuries, a time of great splendour in trade, and above all in the Mediterranean, which at that moment was the obligatory passage of all the trade routes.

The different players may represent different kingdoms, which at that time sailed the waters of the Mediterranean with their ships. The essence of the game consists in buying and selling the FORTIFIED PLACES (PLAZAS FUERTES) and ISLANDS in a profitable way, until one of the players has the most possessions and becomes the most powerful. Starting from the START (SALIDA), the pawns advance around the board following the luck of the dice.

When a player arrives at a space that does not belong to anyone, he may buy it from the CROWN (CORONA). It is necessary to try to acquire properties in order to receive the tolls from the opponents who land on them. These tolls increase according to the construction of HOUSES and CASTLES that each fortified place has. In case of lack of money, the properties may be mortgaged to the Crown.

The spaces of CHANCE and TREASURE CHEST (SUERTE and COFRE DEL TESORO) give the right to draw a card whose instructions must be followed. On them are determined various circumstances of navigation and of trade in that era, and the player must submit to what is determined on them.

Game Rules

Product references printed on the box: Ref. 14-3501, for 2 to 4 players; Ref. 14-3502, for 2 to 6 players.

La Ruta del Tesoro consists of a board divided into areas, representing the fortified places and the islands, the trading exchanges (lonjas), public-service companies, rewards and penalties, over which the players' tokens must move.

There are two dice, one pawn for each player, 32 green houses, 12 brown castles, and 2 sets of cards for the Chance and Treasure Chest boxes. There are also Property Title cards, which correspond to each fortified place and island, and Crown coins of different values.

Preparation

It is necessary to place the board on a fairly large table, laying the Chance and Treasure Chest cards on the spaces indicated on the board. Each player receives a token to represent him on his journey around the board. Each player also receives 135,000 reales. The rest of the money goes to the Crown, which also holds the Property Title cards. One of the players may take the Crown.

Money

Each player receives 135,000 reales, divided as follows:

• 4 IOUs (Pagarés) of 25,000 reales each.
• 2 coins of 10,000 reales.
• 2 coins of 5,000 reales.
• 4 coins of 1,000 reales.
• 10 coins of 100 reales.

The Crown keeps the rest of the money.

Starting the Game

The player who gets the highest number of points by rolling the dice begins the game. He places his token on the starting space, rolls the dice and advances his token in the direction of the arrow, as many spaces as the dice indicate.

One or several tokens may remain on the same space at the same time. Following the space reached by his token, a player may buy a plot of land or another property, and is obliged to pay a toll, pay taxes, or draw a Chance or Treasure Chest card, as well as go to jail.

If a player rolls a double with the dice, he must repeat his move, rolling the dice again. If he rolls doubles three times in a row, he goes directly to jail.

Each time a player stops on or passes the Start space, the Crown pays him the sum of 20,000 reales.

Stopping on a Property

When a player stops on a property that belongs to no one, he has the option of buying this property from the Crown, at the price indicated on the space, receiving the Property Title of that island or fortified place. If the player is not interested in buying, the Crown must immediately put the property up for auction, and must sell it to the best bidder. The price may be any amount.

When a player stops on a property belonging to another player, he must pay a toll to the owner, according to the prices indicated on the Property Title.

If a player owns all the plots of a Colour Group of any kind, the toll is doubled.

If the space contains one or several houses, the toll will be higher than that of an empty plot with no construction. If the plot is mortgaged, no toll must be paid.

Note. If the owner forgets to claim his toll before the next player rolls the dice, there is no right to collect it. If within a group there is a mortgaged property, the group is considered incomplete. It is not possible to build on the plots of which the complete colour group is not owned; construction is allowed only on the plots of which the complete colour group is owned.

When all the Property Titles have been sold and awarded, the players may exchange or sell all the plots among themselves, in order to complete Groups of the same colour. It is interesting to achieve this, since the excitement of the game increases from the moment when building can begin.

Stopping on Chance or the Treasure Chest

The player takes the top card of the indicated pile and, after following the instructions on it, places the card face down under the pile.

The card "Get Out of Jail" (Salga de la Cárcel) must be kept until it is needed. After it is used, it must be returned to the pile. This card may be sold by one player to another at an agreed price.

If a player arrives at the alcabala department (departamento de alcabalas), he pays the amount indicated to the Crown.

The Crown

The Crown keeps not only the coins but also the Property Titles of the houses and castles. It sells properties and hands over their Property Titles; it also auctions houses, castles and plots, and lends money on mortgages, at half of the sale price indicated on the Property Title cards.

A Player Goes to the Galleys

The rules print both "Cárcel" (jail) and "Galeras" (galleys); both names are kept as printed.

1. If he stops on the space marked "Go to Galleys" (Vaya a Galeras).
2. If he draws a "Go to Galleys" card (Vaya a Galeras).
3. If he rolls a double three times in a row.

Note. When a player is sent to the Galleys, he cannot receive the 20,000 reales for passing the Start space on this occasion, even if he must pass the Start space to reach it. A player who lands on the Galleys space suffers no other penalty and continues his game normally on the following turn.

A Player Leaves the Galleys

1. If he rolls a double during one of the next three turns. In this case he moves his token the number of spaces indicated by the dice.
2. By buying a "Get Out of Galleys" card (Salga de Galeras) from another player at an agreed price, provided he does not already hold this card.
3. By paying a fine of 10,000 reales.

Note. When a player is sent to the Galleys, he must necessarily wait for his next turn of play before using any means of leaving it.

A player must not remain in the Galleys after his third turn of play.

While he is in the Galleys, a player may collect tolls, build on his plots, buy, sell or mortgage his properties.

Houses

Houses may only be bought from the Crown. Each player may build only on the plots of a colour group of which he owns the complete group. The price to pay for each house is indicated on the Property Title card of that plot.

Building must always be uniform: that is, a player may not build more than one house on each plot of the same group until he has one house on each plot of that colour group. He may then begin a new series of houses, and so on successively.

If a player, short of money, sells his buildings back to the Crown, he must likewise dismantle the colour group uniformly and in decreasing order.

Castles

A player must have four houses on a plot of a complete colour group before he can buy a castle. He may then buy a castle from the Crown and build it on any plot of a complete group, returning to the Crown the four houses bought previously, without their cost being refunded, and paying in addition the price of the Castle indicated on the Property Titles.

Selling Properties

Unbuilt fortified places and islands, the trading exchanges (lonjas) and the public-service concessions may be sold or exchanged between players by private agreement, at a price agreed between them.

No plot may be sold or exchanged if there is a construction on a plot of the same colour.

Houses and castles may be sold only to the Crown, but this may be done at any moment and at half the purchase price.

Mortgages

When a player needs money, he may mortgage his properties to the Crown, which will lend him the sum indicated on the back of each Property Title. Beforehand, he must sell to the Crown all the buildings located on the whole group of properties of which he wishes to mortgage one or more. He receives the money of the mortgage from the Crown and turns the mortgaged Property Title card face down. He may not collect a toll on a mortgaged property, nor build on top of it, until the mortgage has been lifted. For all the other properties of the same group, he may not collect double rents.

To lift the mortgage, the owner must hand to the Crown the sum that was lent to him, increased by an interest of 10%. If a mortgaged property is sold, the new owner may lift the mortgage, but he must likewise pay 10% interest.

Bankruptcy

If a player is unable to pay the debts he has, he must declare himself bankrupt, giving all the money he has to his creditors, and withdraw from the game.

If a player is not able to pay his taxes and his fines even after selling his properties and mortgaging his plots, the Crown will confiscate his properties and hold an auction, except for the buildings. The player must then withdraw his token from the game.

The last player who remains in the game is the winner.

Miscellaneous Notes

The owners of islands and fortified places must not omit to claim the tolls owed to them.

The Crown lends money only against mortgages.

Players may not lend each other money or properties.

Quick Way to Play

Before starting the game, the players must set the time at which the game must end. At that moment, the richest player is the winner.

At the start, the player who holds the Crown shuffles the Property Title cards and deals two cards to each of the players. The players immediately pay for the properties thus assigned to them.

At the end of the game, each player evaluates his property:

1. Liquid money in hand.
2. The price of the properties, islands, trading exchanges, etc., that belong to him.
3. Half of the price printed on the board, for every mortgaged property that belongs to him.
4. The price of the houses.
5. Castles are worth five houses each.

The winner is the one with the greatest fortune.

Chance Cards (Suerte)

Text transcribed from the card scans supplied with this game (the chance cards are not printed in the rulebook itself). The scans show 16 Chance cards.

1. Collect 5,000 reales from the insurance company.
2. You find a treasure of 40,000 reales.
3. The sale of your merchandise yields 15,000 reales.
4. You run aground on a reef; therefore you lose two turns.
5. Go to the Galleys. Go directly, without passing the Start space and without collecting the 20,000 reales.
6. The tax collector charges you 1,000 reales per house and 2,500 reales per castle.
7. Church taxes: 10,000 reales.
8. Fine for drunkenness: 2,000 reales.
9. Free from the Galleys. This card may be sold or kept until it is used.
10. You find an abandoned ship that yields 15,000 reales.
11. You are left adrift and move back four spaces.
12. A storm has sunk two of your ships. Pay the Reales Atarazanas 20,000 reales.
13. A fire forces the following repairs: 4,000 reales per house, 11,000 reales per castle.
14. Advance to the Start space.
15. A favourable wind makes you advance five spaces.
16. In a fight with pirates, the repairs cost you 20,000 reales.

Treasure Chest Cards (Cofre del Tesoro)

As above, transcribed from the card scans. The scans show 16 Treasure Chest cards.

1. Receive your annual income of 10,000 reales.
2. On your anniversary, receive 1,000 reales from each player.
3. Collect an inheritance of 10,000 reales.
4. Pay 1,000 reales for each port or fortified place.
5. Receive a loan of 20,000 reales from the Crown.
6. Free from the Galleys, paying a ransom of 20,000 reales.
7. Pay an insurance premium of 5,000 reales.
8. The sale of your merchandise yields 5,000 reales.
9. With this card you are exempt from paying the alcabalas once.
10. The tax collector charges you 5,000 reales.
11. Place yourself on the Start space.
12. Receive interest of 7% on your loan: 2,500 reales.
13. A fire destroys two houses in the most distant Plaza in Spain.
14. Go to Mahón.
15. Go to the Galleys directly, without passing the Start space and without collecting the 20,000 reales.
16. For transit rights, pay each of the other players 1,000 reales.

Property Title cards. The scan of the Property Title sheets is partial (it shows only some of the titles, such as the trading exchanges of Alicante, Barcelona, Mallorca and Valencia, the Reales Atarazanas, the Lloyds insurance company and Tunis). The remaining titles are not in the source supplied and are not transcribed here.