Mare Nostrum Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective of the Game
• Game Components
• Preparing for the Game
  • Starting Setup
  • Setup for Experienced Players
• Phases of a Turn
• Trade Phase
  • a) Collecting Coins and Goods
  • b) Trading
  • Early End of Trading
• Build Phase
  • Building

Objective of the Game

Whoever first manages to build the Pyramids, or is the first to collect four Hero and Wonder cards, wins the game.

Game Components

The game board is a map of the Mediterranean, divided into land and sea provinces. Symbols on the province map show which resources can be collected there and where cities may be built. Islands shown on the map are themselves provinces.

• Titles — 3
• Wonders of the World — 7
• Civilization Heroes — 5
• Common Heroes — 6
• Cards — 144, consisting of:
  • Resources:
    • Coins — 35
    • Incense, Papyrus, Gold, Gems — 5 each
    • Oil, Wine, Cattle, Fruit, Iron — 7 each
    • Grain, Fish, Slaves — 11 each
• Tokens:
  • Control Markers in five colors, 60 total
  • Buildings — 58, consisting of:
    • Caravans — 28
    • Markets — 12
    • Cities — 12
    • Temples — 6
• Plastic unit pieces:
  • Fortresses in five colors — 40
  • Triremes in five colors (ships) — 25
  • Legions in five colors (soldiers) — 40
• Player Sheet — one for each power: Carthage, Rome, Babylon, Egypt, Greece
• Dice — 4
• Rulebook — 1

Before playing, familiarize yourself with the rules.

Preparing for the Game

Choose a color and take all of the pieces of that color (control markers, fortresses, triremes, and legions). Sort the goods cards and coin cards by type. Lay them face up next to the game board — this is the "bank." Take the building tokens. Their quantity depends on the number of players (see below). Sort the tokens by type; it is best to keep them next to the game board. To avoid confusion, put any leftover building tokens back in the box.

• If you are playing with three players, the game uses: 18 caravans, 8 cities, 8 markets, 4 temples. It is best in this case to take the powers: Greece, Carthage, and Babylon.
• If you are playing with four players, the game uses: 23 caravans, 10 cities, 10 markets, 5 temples. It is best in this case to take the powers: Greece, Carthage, Rome, and Egypt.
• If you are playing with five players, the game uses: 28 caravans, 12 cities, 12 markets, 6 temples.

Civilizations "left without players" become neutral. Place one control marker, one legion, and one fortress in the capitals of the neutral powers. In addition, place one legion and one control marker in each province adjoining the capital. None of you controls these pieces. During the game they stay in place and "defend themselves," and any player may roll the die for them.

Starting Setup

Have each of you choose one of the five civilizations. Either agree among yourselves who will play which side, or draw a Hero card at random, or roll the die and choose powers in turn.

Then take the Player Sheet for your country. If this is your first time playing "Civilization," use the starting setup. Arrange your control markers, building tokens, and unit pieces on your Player Sheet according to the "Starting Setup."

Do not forget to take the card for your Civilization's Hero — from here on, the Civilization Hero. Place it face up next to you.

If your power is entitled to a title card under the Starting Setup, lay it face up in front of you. For example, Rome is entitled to the "Great General" title at the start of the game.

Setup for Experienced Players

If you are already experienced with the game, you may set up your powers as you like. Each of you begins the game with 36 build points. Spend these points as you wish — on control markers, buildings, military units, or the purchase of your own Civilization's Hero. Common Heroes and Wonders of the World may not be bought before the game begins. Note that the starting setup is likewise calculated on 36 build points.

It is not required that you buy your Civilization's Hero at the start of the game. Furthermore, no one else will be able to acquire it.

Regardless of the setup method used, each civilization's capital province is always the same one. The capital provinces of the powers are indicated on the Player Sheets. On the back of your Player Sheet there is a "Cost" table showing how many cards are required for each purchase.

With free setup, building tokens may be placed in your power's capital province. If you want to place them in other provinces, remember to pay for a control marker first. With free setup, before the game begins you may place your control marker only in a province bordering your capital.

Your military units — legions, fortresses, and triremes — may be placed only in your capital province before the game begins. You may place triremes only if your capital province is on the coast. Babylon has no fleet at the very start of the game, since it is the only country whose capital province has no access to the sea.

Distribute the titles at the start of the game according to the normal rules (see below). This should be done after all players have placed on the map everything they want and are able to acquire.

The exception is Greece. Before the first turn begins, the Greeks may build structures and create units not only in adjoining provinces, but also in provinces that do not border Greece: Asia, Thrace, on Rhodes, and on Crete.

Phases of a Turn

Each turn consists of three phases: Trade, Building, and War. First everyone trades in turn, then builds, and then moves troops and makes war. The holders of the titles determine the turn order for players during their phase.

Trade: The "Great Navigator" decides how many goods and coins will be put up for trade during this phase and begins the trading.

Building: The "Great Lawgiver" assigns the turn order for players during this phase.

War: The "Great General" determines the turn order for players during this phase.

The starting setup indicates which of these titles each civilization receives (see the Player Sheets). But titles can change hands if the situation on the game board has changed. So at the start of each phase, check whether a player still qualifies for their title. If not, the title itself and its card pass to another player.

• The title of "Great Navigator" goes to whoever controls the most caravans and markets.
• The title of "Great Lawgiver" goes to whoever controls the most cities and temples.
• The title of "Great General" goes to whoever has the most unit pieces on the board: legions, triremes, and fortresses.

A title can be taken away only by surpassing its current holder. For instance, if your power ends up with exactly as many troops as Rome, the "Great General" title stays with Rome.

If two or more powers are tied for a title, the current holder of the title decides who succeeds them.

Trade Phase

The Trade Phase consists of two parts. First you receive income, then you trade.

a) Collecting Coins and Goods

For each city and caravan in your province, you receive income — the "Great Navigator" deals you cards:

1 coin card — hereafter a coin — for each city in a province you control, or two coins if there is a temple in the province;

1 goods card — hereafter a good — for each goods symbol with a caravan on it in a province you control, or two goods if there is a market in that province.

Example: A player has one caravan in Carthage, standing on the fruit symbol. The player receives one fruit card from Carthage each turn. If they place another caravan on the incense symbol, they will receive two goods each turn — one fruit and one incense.

Occupation: A player does not receive income from buildings in their own provinces that are occupied by another player's units. That income instead goes to the player occupying the buildings. Note that for markets and temples to double the income from caravans and cities in the province, they too must be occupied.

Assimilation: Provinces in the process of being assimilated bring income to their former owner for as long as that owner's control marker still stands there.

b) Trading

1. The "Great Navigator" decides how many resource cards each player must put up for trade — each of you is obliged to offer exactly that many resources for trading. You may not refuse to trade: if you have goods and coins, you must take part. The "Great Navigator" cannot demand more cards for trade than they themselves currently hold in hand. If they name "0," there will be no trading this turn.
2. Select the resources you wish to offer and lay them face down in front of you. If you do not have enough cards to trade, you do not take part this time. If a dispute arises, you must show the others how many cards you hold in hand.
3. Once all players have laid out their cards for trade, turn them face up simultaneously. Each player places their own cards in front of themselves. Now trading begins.

The "Great Navigator" chooses any one of the cards offered for trade by any other player and places it face down in front of themselves. No one else may take this card from them during this phase.

Then the player from whom the card was taken takes any one card from any other player, and so on, until all cards have been taken. You may take cards from someone who just took one of yours. However, two players may not exchange cards with each other more than twice in a row. Not in a row — that is allowed.

Example: The "Great Navigator" Sergey takes one goods card offered for trade from Anna. Then Anna takes the card offered by Sergey. After this, Sergey can no longer take a second card specifically from Anna, but he may take a third.

The exchange continues until everyone's cards offered for trade are used up, or until such cards remain with only one player. Then two outcomes are possible:

1. The cards are all taken, and everyone has an equal number. Each player takes the cards they "won" in trade, and the next phase begins.
2. The last card was taken from you, and you now have one fewer card than everyone else. In this case, the "Great Navigator" compensates for the "loss" out of their own resources — they give the disadvantaged player any one of their own cards. Which one is their choice; it can be one of the cards they just received. The next phase then begins.

Early End of Trading

If you are the only one left with open goods or coin cards, take them back. If only two players have open cards left, and you have already traded twice and cannot continue the exchange, trading ends, and each of you takes back your own cards.

Build Phase

The "Great Lawgiver" determines the order of building and raising units. They name who acts first in building structures and creating troops, and they may name themselves. Once the first player has finished acting, the "Great Lawgiver" names the next, and so on.

First lay out the cards to pay for your build and announce what you intend to do. If your resources allow it, you may recruit Heroes, raise buildings, create units, and place control markers. See the "Cost" table on the back of your Player Sheet for the cost of structures and troops.

A set of cards for one building, unit, ship, Hero, or Wonder of the World must consist either of coins only, or of different goods only — such a set may not contain duplicate cards.

You can build a city by spending either three coins or three different goods, say grain, gems, and iron. To build the Pyramids and win the game, you must pay either twelve coins or twelve different goods — such a set would include every type of good in the game.

Unused resource cards are "burned" at the end of this phase; they must be returned to the deck. However, each turn you are entitled to keep two coins. Cards that were used or discarded must be returned to the bank.

Building

1. You may raise structures and create units only in provinces with your control marker in them. You cannot raise structures or create units in a neutral or another player's province, even if your own units are stationed there. Note! If the bank has run out of the needed token or piece, you cannot build that building or create that unit until the token or piece returns to the bank. A token or piece can return from the board to the bank after a province is pillaged or a unit is destroyed.

2. You may place your control markers only in provinces adjoining your own, provided that at the start of the turn there are no other players' control markers in those provinces. Any two provinces sharing a common border are considered adjoining. Two provinces connected by a chain of triremes across the sea are also considered adjoining. A control marker cannot be placed in the sea, but it can be placed on an island. If during this turn you placed a control marker in province "A" and now want to place one in province "B," look carefully at the borders of these provinces. If province "B" is adjoining any of your provinces other than "A," you may place the control marker; if not, you may not.

3. If during this turn you placed your control marker in a province, you cannot yet build there or create troops there. You may place a unit or raise a building in that province only on the following turn.

4. The game board has city symbols and resource symbols. Only city and temple tokens may be placed on city symbols. Only caravan and market tokens may be placed on resource symbols. Only one matching token may be placed on any given symbol. Only one temple token, one market token, and one fortress may be located in any given province.

5. Triremes are built in provinces on the coast or in island provinces. Until a trireme puts to sea, it sits in dock. During the War Phase, new triremes put to sea — move their pieces into the sea adjacent to the province.

6. If your province is at war, or occupied by an opponent, you may not raise a structure or create a legion or trireme there. The exception is your capital province. In your own capital province you may always build, and create legions and triremes (except for Babylon, which has no access to the sea yet and cannot build triremes until it does).

7. If you have bought a Hero or a Wonder of the World, you may use them right away. Such cards give you certain advantages, described in the rules and briefly on each card. Wonders of the World and Heroes cannot be captured or stolen. Any player may buy Common Heroes or any Wonder of the World. A Civilization Hero can only belong to their own civilization — for instance, Julius Caesar is available only to Rome.

Some Heroes increase your chances of winning titles. Archimedes, for example, adds two points when it is determined who becomes the "Great General." Do not forget this when distributing titles at the start of a turn!

Example: At the start of this phase, a player has: three coin cards, two grain, one incense, one cattle, one gold, and one slaves. Neither a set of nine nor a set of six can be made, since there are two identical cards — grain. However, the player can make three sets of three cards each. The first: three coins. The second: one grain and two other goods. The third: grain and two more goods. These can be spent on two legions and one trireme.

Note! If the bank has run out of tokens or pieces, you must wait for them to become available. You cannot destroy your own unit, trireme, fortress, city, temple, or caravan. Buildings cannot be moved, either.

Cost (number of cards in a set):

• 3 cards: control marker, city, caravan, legion, fortress, trireme
• 6 cards: temple, market
• 9 cards: Wonder of the World or Hero
• 12 cards: Pyramids

Note! The set of resources used to buy a unit, structure, or card must consist either of coins only, or of cards of different goods — the set must not contain duplicate cards.