Novgorod Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Preparation
• Introductory Rounds
• Gameplay
  • Phase 1: Lay out a route
  • Phase 2: Handle laid out route
  • Phase 3: Purchase an office / ship level / mission
  • Phase 4: Take seals
• End of the Game and Winner
• Expert Game
  • A) Merchant and Pirate
  • B) Special Missions

Components

120 playing cards, including:

• 6 bonus cards (player aids on the back)
• 8 base office cards
• 32 offices, 4 for each of 8 cities
• 8 artisans
• 4 career cards
• 12 money-tracking cards, 3 per player
• 12 seal-tracking cards, 3 per player
• 24 mission cards, each commodity and luxury good type appears 12 times
• 8 ships, 2 per player
• Only for the expert game (see page 13): 1 merchant, 1 pirate, 4 special missions

Editor's note: the card-layout diagrams for each card type in the source are lettered callout pictures with no running text. They are not reproduced here; the rules text below refers to the same fields by name.

Game Preparation

1. Build the city display by laying out the base offices as shown on the next page. Note: For functional reasons, the position of the cities does not exactly match the geographical location on a map.
2. Mix the artisans and randomly add one to each base office.
3. Take the office cards for each city according to the number of players and place them on the respective base offices in descending order of building cost, so that the cheapest office is on top. With 4 players you use all of the offices. With 2-3 players, remove the middle price office and return it to the box. With 2 players, also remove the most expensive office and return it to the box. Example: Gdansk (Danzig) for 4 players: Use all of the construction cost cards (7-6-6-5). For 3 players, use 7-6-5. For 2 players, use only the 6-5.
4. Shuffle the 24 missions face down and deal 1 mission to each player onto their hand. Place 2 plus the number of players face up next to the deck. With 3 players, for example, 5 mission cards are placed.
5. Each player receives 3 money and 3 seal cards as well as 2 ship cards of one color. Stack the seal cards in front of you into your player area so that the card with 0 seals (no number) is on top. Stack the money cards so that the "25" money card is on top, and partially concealing the "3" ducat card so that 2 ducats are visible (for a total of 27 starting ducats). Next to these, place your ship card with speed 2 on top of the other ship card.
6. In your first game, lay out the "8 Offices" (I) and "5 City Route" (II) bonus cards. In future games, shuffle the 6 bonus cards facedown and reveal two of them. Give each player one unused bonus card facedown as player aid. Note: The "different commodities" bonus card is scored at the end of the game. All other bonus cards score as follows: Everyone that fulfills the requirement for the first time during one round gains the higher number of seals printed on the card. If more than one gained the bonus, the bonus card is removed from the game at the end of the round. If only one gained the bonus, the card remains in play, but the bonus is reduced to the smaller seal amount. Once one or more players gained the smaller bonus in a round, the bonus card is removed from the game at the end of the round (starting player's turn).
7. Give each player one random career card. Place it face up in your player area. Use your player aid to indicate the level of your career. Initially, start with your player aid off the bottom of your career card. Note: In the first game, we recommend that everyone use the front side of the career cards (light colored frame). If you already know the game, everyone may choose whether they want to play with the front or back (silver frame) careers.

All remaining cards (offices, career cards, money, seals, ships, etc.) are not needed and should be put back in the box.

Introductory Rounds

The starting player is the player with the lowest-numbered career card. The player to the right of the starting player chooses an office or a mission card from the display and places it in their player area. Then, going counter-clockwise, everyone chooses an office or a mission card until each player has 2 offices and 1 mission card in front of them (in addition to the mission card in hand).

Notes: You should choose two adjacent offices. You may only have one office in each city, i.e. you must not take an office in a city where you already have an office. Instead of a mission card in the display, you may instead draw the top card from the pile. You don't have to show a secret mission card to other players. Do not refill the mission card display when drawn.

At the end of this phase, everyone has 2 offices and 2 missions. Everyone pays all the costs of their cards. Then, take your office and mission cards into your hand. Refill the mission card display from the deck until there are 4.

Example: Volker bought offices for 4 and 7 ducats, in addition to the two missions at 6 ducats each. He pays 23 ducats and starts the game with 4 ducats in cash. He has no seals.

Gameplay

Now the starting player begins the regular game with their first turn. Play proceeds in a clockwise direction until the end of the game occurs. All players will take an equal number of turns during the game (a round being all players taking one turn).

A turn consists of 4 phases, which are carried out in the given order:

• Phase 1: Lay out a route
• Phase 2: Handle laid out route
• Phase 3: Purchase an office / ship level / mission
• Phase 4: Receive seals based on career progress

Once during each of your turns, you may use a single visible privilege on your career card.

Phase 1: Lay out a route

Lay out a route, starting from your ship, of the offices that you will visit. This also establishes the order in which you will carry out actions. The maximum number of offices you can lay out depends on the speed level of your ship. At the beginning of the game, you may only use 2 offices.

Note: The privilege "Speed +1" allows you to lay out and use one more office than your ship speed normally would allow.

You may only lay neighboring offices together so that a continuous route is created. For example, you can't place the London office next to the Danzig office in your route planning because London only has sea routes to Bergen and Antwerpen. All cities except Visby and Lübeck have only 2 neighboring cities; Visby and Lübeck are also interconnected.

Example: Heike owns a ship with speed level 2 and uses the "Speed +1" privilege. She lays out Lübeck, Visby, and Novgorod.

If you want to use a city for which you do not yet have an office, you may take the base office from the center of the table and place it in your route. If you do use a base office card, you must pay a harbor fee in phase 2 of the round!

Note: If you want to use both the office and the artisan in a city, you must lay out another office card from your hand with the back side up as a placeholder for the artisan right to the original office in your route. This facedown office counts against the range (speed) of your ship, so you can visit one less city this round.

Special rules apply when you have stored commodities in your ship (see phase 2d below).

Bonus card "5 City Route": In case the "5 City Route" bonus card is in play: If you are the first player to lay out a route of offices in 5 different cities, you receive the respective bonus. You can get this bonus at most once per game.

Phase 2: Handle laid out route

You can only use each office on your route for one of the following actions. The order in which you perform actions is completely up to you, based on your route.

a) Produce luxury goods

You receive seals and ducats for luxury goods. To produce luxury goods, you take the artisan from the city display for the city you are visiting and place it on the office in your route. You will use the commodities shown on the office cards from your route. Turn over the office card with the commodities you used. You may only use commodities that were already visited on your route (between the ship and the artisan).

Attention: You must place an artisan on an office card in your route – never directly on the table!

If you have placed the office and the artisan of the same city in your route, you may use the commodity of that city to produce the luxury goods. In that case, you receive the number of seals displayed next to the commodities you used.

Example 1: You use 1 fur to make clothing. You receive one seal. Example 2: You gain 4 seals for the combination of salt, fish, and grain commodities used to produce a provision.

In addition, you will receive as many ducats as you have received seals.

The artisan remains on the office until the end of the phase. Afterwards, it will be placed back next to the respective base office at the center of the table.

Example: The artisan in Novgorod produces provisions from salt. Heike uses the salt from Lübeck (flips that card to its reverse side) and makes provisions, for which she immediately receives 1 seal. She also receives 1 ducat. In Novgorod, she can no longer use the fur because it is covered by the artisan. The glass from Visby can still be used.

Bonus card "Luxury Merchant": In case the "Luxury Merchant" bonus card is in play: If you produce a luxury good from at least 2 commodities, you gain the current bonus. You can get this bonus at most once per game.

b) Complete a mission

You may complete mission cards from your hand. Complete either the top line, the bottom line, or both lines at once (in that case, first the upper and then the lower line).

To complete a mission with commodities, flip over the office cards with the commodities required for the mission to show they have been used this turn. You do not have to collect the commodities for a mission part in the order specified, but you must use them up all in one turn.

To complete a mission with luxury goods, you must have an artisan that will create the luxury goods required. You will not receive any seals or ducats from the artisan (you instead receive the benefit shown on the mission card).

If you complete both lines in the same turn, you receive 5 seals. Place the mission card under your ship cards.

If you (only) complete the top line, you receive 2 seals. You may then either place the mission under your ship or to the left of your ship in order to complete the lower line of the mission card on a later turn. If you later complete the lower line, you receive another 2 seals and then place the mission card under your ship cards. You may have several missions partially completed to the left of your ship.

If you can only fulfill the lower line of the mission with your route, you will receive 2 seals, but you must place the mission card under your ship. You cannot do the first line later.

Example 1: Heike loads amber in Danzig and salt in Lübeck. She fulfills the lower line of the mission for 2 seals and places it under her ship.

Example 2: Volker took amber with him from Danzig and uses it in Lübeck to make jewelry. He gains 2 seals. Then he places the mission "Jewelry + Clothing", which is only half completed, to the left of his ship. He can make clothes at some point later in order to receive another 2 seals.

Bonus card "3 Missions": In case the "3 Missions" bonus card is in play: If you are the first to complete 3 missions, you gain the current bonus. Completing only one part of the mission suffices, but only if the mission card is placed under your ship. Missions placed to the left of your ship are not completed.

c) Level up on the career card

You use the specified commodities or produce the required number of luxury goods or pay the amount of money shown to reach the next level of your career card. Levels must be earned in order (from bottom to top).

Editor's note: the level requirements on the career card are shown as icon diagrams in the source. The four requirement types printed beside the diagram are: 3 different commodities; 15 ducats; 2 different luxury goods; 2 different commodities + 2 different luxury goods.

When you level up, move your player aid up so that the new level reached is the lowest non-covered one. You may complete several levels in one turn if you have the appropriate commodities and luxury goods or money available. If you use the commodities or luxury goods for your career, you do not receive any rewards for missions or from artisans. You can only use each commodity or luxury good once.

Note: When you level up, you always immediately cover a privilege that is no longer available to you. However, at the end of each round you will receive additional seals for the lowest level visible. In addition, you must complete the levels with the "X" in the left column in order to be considered for victory at the end of the game!

Bonus card "Career Level": In case the "Career Level" bonus card is in play: If you are the first to reach the career level that brings 3 seals per round, you gain the current bonus.

d) Store one commodity in the ship

You may store any one commodity that is still available (office card not flipped) from your route to have it available for the next round. A stored commodity brings you no income. Slide the card so far under your ship card that only the commodity is visible, but not the income symbol.

Important: You cannot store luxury goods or commodities from a base office. You may only store one commodity in the ship. If you have already stored one commodity and want to store another one, you must discard the stored commodity from the ship without receiving anything.

In the next turn, the stored commodity is available for the production of luxury goods or for completing missions in addition to the commodities from the office cards on your route.

Next turn, if your route uses the city with the office of your stored commodity, take the base office from the city display to replace the stored commodity (office card from the ship) and place the regular office in your route. Once you handled your route, put the base office back to the city display. You will not have to pay a harbor fee for this base office.

Example: Volker started in Visby for his 4-office route and uses the glass obtained there in Bergen for jewelry. He uses the stored fur from the last turn in London to make clothes. He has fulfilled the mission for the "jewelry + clothing" luxury goods in the same turn and receives 5 seals. He has not yet taken any action in Antwerpen. He could use it to store a load of cloth (or use it for income). Once he arrives in Antwerpen at the end of his route, he cannot use the cloth to make clothing in London (which he has already passed).

e) Generate income

You now collect income for any office that has its income still visible (neither covered nor flipped over to the backside nor stored in the ship). Take the money printed on the card in the green space and flip the card over. You may no longer use the commodity shown.

Note: With the "additional income" privilege, you will receive 2 additional ducats, no matter how many offices you use for income, including none.

End of Phase

At the end of this phase return all artisans and base offices to the city display, to their respective cities. For each base office in your route that you return, you must pay the harbor fee shown in the red space. Take all other offices (except for a stored commodity) back to your hand.

Note: Put the artisans back one by one. This way, you will always keep track of the office that you used it with (and the office it will return to). Artisans always return to the same city that you originally took it from.

Phase 3: Purchase an office / ship level / mission

In this phase you can either buy 1 new office, or 1 ship level, or 1 mission card. You may only buy something if you have enough money. There is no credit. You may also decide not to buy anything at all.

a) Purchase an office

Take the top office from a city in which you do not yet have an office and pay the printed price. Take the office to your hand.

Bonus card "8 Cities": In case the "8 Cities" bonus card is in play: If you now own 8 offices (one in each city), take the current bonus.

b) Improve your ship one level

Pay the price shown below on your ship card and increase the speed of your ship by 1. For your first improvement, flip your "Speed 2" card over and pay 5 ducats. The next time you level up, pay 10 ducats and exchange the "Speed 3" for the "Speed 4" card below it. Finally, when you level up the last time, pay 15 ducats and flip your ship card to the "Speed 5" side.

c) Acquire a new mission card

Pay 6 ducats and take any of the open mission cards or draw the top card from the mission deck. Add the mission card to your hand. You do not have to show other players a mission card that you drew from the mission deck. Afterwards, refill the mission card display back up to 4 cards if necessary.

Important: You may never have more than 3 missions in progress. This includes the open mission cards to the left of your ship and all missions in your hand.

Note: If you use the "Mission -3 ducats" privilege, you may buy a mission card for 3 ducats less than the regular price in addition to, or instead of, a regular purchase of one office / ship level / mission.

Phase 4: Take seals

Finally, you take as many seals as the progress on your career card indicates (if you have leveled up often enough yet).

Example: Volker has reached the level that earns him 2 seals at the end of each turn. He takes 2 seals now.

Note: If you have not yet used any privilege this turn and you have the privilege "+1 seal" available on your career card, you will now receive an additional seal.

Play now passes clockwise to the next player.

End of the Game and Winner

If, at the end of a round, a player has 30 seals or more or has reached the highest level of their career card, players will have one additional, final round. At the end of that final round, players will determine their scores.

Important: Players who have an "X" visible on the lowest levels of their career card at the end of the final round are not considered in scoring – they have automatically lost!

Bonus card "Variety of Goods": In case the "Variety of Goods" bonus card is in play: Determine the number of different commodities and luxury goods in your completed missions – regardless of whether you completed both lines during the game. Refer to the bonus card to see how many additional seals you receive for the number you determined.

The player with the highest number of seals wins.

In the event of a tie, the tied player with more ducats wins. If this is also the same, the tied player with the highest career level wins, then the tied player with the most offices. If there is still a tie, the tied player to the right of the starting player and then in counterclockwise order is the winner.

Expert Game

Once you played Novgorad a few times, we recommend you try the expert game. You either can add each part separately or both parts together.

A) Merchant and Pirate

Game Preparation

After you have placed the cities and offices during game preparation (step 3), you place the merchant and the pirate. Determine as a group which side you want to use.

The merchant starts in Novgorod, and the pirate in Antwerpen. (You can also decide randomly where the two cards are placed.)

Game Play

Additional rules apply to the cities where the cards are located, depending on the visible side of the card:

Merchant – Front Side

If you earn income in the city with the merchant from commodities or by producing a luxury good for seals and ducats, you will receive an additional 3 ducats.

At the end of phase 2 of your turn, move the merchant clockwise as many cities as the speed of your ship. (Treat the city display as one large circle for movement.)

Note: If you use an office or artisan to complete a mission or career improvement, the merchant has no effect.

Merchant – Back Side

If you produce a luxury good for seals in the city with the merchant, you will receive 1 additional seal. It doesn't matter how many commodities you use. You will receive the ducats as usual.

At the end of phase 2, move the merchant clockwise by as many cities as the speed of your ship.

Note: The merchant will be ignored if you use the luxury goods to fulfill a mission or career improvement.

Pirate – Front Side

If your route includes the city with the pirate, the speed of your ship is decreased by 1. You may not use the city if your route would be longer than the (reduced) speed of your ship.

At any time during your turn, even before you lay out a route, you may move the pirate to any city. You might have to pay costs to do so: If you have the most seals (alone or with other players), you must pay 6 ducats for moving the pirate. If you have the second-most seals, you pay 3 ducats. If you have less seals, you pay nothing.

Pirate – Back Side

The city with the pirate cannot be used. It is completely ignored. If the pirate is in Antwerpen, London and Lübeck are considered neighboring.

With the "?" privilege, you may move the pirate to any city at the beginning or end of your turn.

B) Special Missions

Game Preparation

Arrange the 4 special mission cards so that the A half of the card is visible on all cards in the same direction, and shuffle the cards without changing their orientation.

Now lay out the cards as follows (see example on the right):

1. Lay the top two cards so that they overlap – so that the A half of the card is seen at the top.
2. Rotate the third card by 180 degrees so that the B card half is at the top and place it overlapping the bottom of the second A card.
3. Place the last card with the C card half overlapping the third card.
4. Place a randomly drawn, facedown regular mission card over the bottom half of the fourth special mission card.

The special missions cannot be bought, but are always available to everyone. However, only the visible card part may be fulfilled.

Game Play

In phase 2 of your turn you complete missions as usual. You may additionally fulfill the special missions. To do this, choose one of the open card halves and pay the cost shown in the upper left corner.

If you do not complete the topmost mission, you will have to pay an additional one ducat per skipped mission card.

Note: The "Mission -3 ducat" privilege reduces the cost by 3 ducats, but never to less than zero.

Then, use the specified commodities and/or luxury goods shown. For the luxury goods with two boxes shown, you have to produce a luxury good requiring at least two commodities.

Take the number of seals shown on the special mission and place a regular mission card from the pile under your ship, so that you always know how many missions (special and regular missions) you have completed in total.

Then place the completed special mission card in the lowest position in the row, reorienting the card so that the card half with the next letter becomes visible (in alphabetical order). The D card switches back to A when placed.

Example: You pay 6 (1+1+4) ducats to complete the third mission and use amber and glass to produce jewelry. Take 5 seals and place the special mission rotated with the card half C visible below the mission for jewelry and cloth. (To complete the topmost mission "Fur + Fish", you would only have to pay 1 ducat and received 2 seals. For the bottommost mission "Jewelry + Cloth", you would have to pay 1+1+1+3 = 6 ducats to gain 4 seals.)

If you want to complete multiple special missions in one turn, you first have to pay all costs (reduced at most one time by 3 ducats using the privilege). Only after your action ended, you move all completed special mission cards, starting with the uppermost card.

Note: If you play with the "Variety of Goods" bonus card, all goods on the mission cards drawn face-down do count towards your total in the final scoring. You may look at your completed missions at any time.