Palenque Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Setting up the Game
• Playing the Game
• Actions
• Scoring
• End of the Game
• 2-Player Rules

Game Contents

• 1 Game Board. A map of the Yucatan Peninsula divided into 14 Kingdoms. Each Kingdom is further divided into spaces. Each space can produce the two resources pictured on the board.
• 70 Border Markers. Wood markers that identify the changing border of each Kingdom.
• 12 Temples. 2 of each color.
• 144 Control Markers. 24 white, 24 purple, 24 green, 24 yellow, 24 blue and 24 red.
• 60 Resource Cards. 3 each of Jaguar and Shells, 4 each of Jade and Cacao, 5 each of Obsidian and Squash, 6 each of Turtle and Maize, 7 each of Turkey and Quetzal, 4 Score cards and 6 Reference cards.
• 6 Scoring Markers.

Setting up the Game

Step One. Place the board in the middle of the table and place one border marker on each of the dark gray walls so that the board is divided into 14 Kingdoms.

Step Two. Players choose their color, take the control markers and temples of their color, and place their color scoring marker on the "0" space of the scoring track on the board.

In a 3-player game, use 24 markers of each of three different colors. In a 4-player game, use 19 of four different colors. In a 5-player game, use 15 of five different colors. In a 6-player game, use 13 markers of each color.

If you have two players, there are special 2-player rules on the last page (see 2-Player Rules below).

Step Three. Decide who will deal and be the first player.

Step Four. The dealer should remove the four Score cards from the deck, shuffle the deck and deal two cards, face down, to each player. The dealer then prepares the deck as follows:

• A. Count one card for each player off the top of the deck and set these cards aside unseen.
• B. Count one card for each player and place these cards face down on the Draw space of the board.
• C. Divide the remaining cards into four approximately equal piles and shuffle 1 Score card into each pile.
• D. Place the four piles on top of the cards on the Draw space.
• E. Place the cards originally set aside on the top of the deck.

Step Five. Each player takes starting control markers and sets them apart from their pool of markers. In a 3-player game take 4 markers, in a 4-player game take 3 markers, and in a 5- or 6-player game, take 2 markers.

Step Six. Beginning with the dealer and continuing clockwise, each player takes one of the markers set aside and places it on any unoccupied space. Continue placing markers until all of the starting control markers are on the board.

Playing the Game

Beginning with the dealer, and continuing in clockwise order around the board, each player takes their turn as follows:

Step One. Draw 1 card from the top of the deck (you may not draw from the discard pile). If it is a Score card, it must be revealed immediately and you will skip steps 2 and 3 below. If it is not a Score card, the card is added to your hand.

Step Two. Play 1 card from your hand, face up, on the table in front of you.

Step Three. You have 3 "Action Points" (aps) to use according to the ap chart in the Actions section. Skip to step 5.

Step Four. If you drew a Score card, it is played instead of playing a card from your hand. You may use this card as any type of Resource card. You may choose to take 1 ap and use that ap before scoring takes place or you may take 4 aps and use them after scoring takes place. See the Scoring section for more information.

Step Five. Discard the card you played. If the card was a Score card, place the card on the chart on the board.

Actions

1 ap — Place 1st marker adjacent to your existing marker. You may place one of your control markers orthogonally adjacent to one of your markers already on the board on a space that matches the resource of the card you played. Kingdom borders do not block adjacency.

Example: Ali (red) plays a Quetzal resource card from her hand and uses 1 of her 3 aps to place her marker on a space that has a Quetzal icon and is next to one of her existing markers. NOTE: Ali could not place a marker on the space under the card because a diagonal space is not adjacent.

2 ap — Place 2nd marker adjacent to your 1st marker. This marker must be placed orthogonally adjacent to the marker you placed earlier this turn on a space that matches the resource of the card you played.

Example: Ali (red) uses her remaining 2 aps to place a 2nd marker this turn. It is placed on a space that also has a Quetzal icon and is adjacent to the marker she just placed--not a different marker already on the board. Ali could not place a marker on the space under the card because that space is on a diagonal from the marker she just placed.

2 ap — Place 1st marker on any space. You may place a control marker on any unoccupied space of the board on a space that matches the resource of the card you played.

Example: Keith (green) has decided to expand into new territory. After spending 2 aps and playing a Turtle resource card, he places a marker on any empty space with a Turtle icon on the board.

1 ap — Move 1 space to an adjacent kingdom. Rearrange the border markers (and add more border markers if necessary) so that a space is moved from one kingdom to another. A new kingdom may be created, but no kingdom on the board may consist of fewer than 2 spaces. You may move any space, regardless of the resource of the card you played.

Example: Keith (green) spends 1 ap to move the space that produces Squash and Maize into a new Kingdom. He moves one border marker and adds one from the pool to complete the move.

2 ap — Exchange positions of two markers. You may exchange any two markers on the board regardless of the resource of the card you played.

Example: Ali (red) spends 2 aps to exchange the positions of the markers of Rob (blue) and Julie (white).

3 ap — Place a temple on the board. Each player starts the game with two temples. Placing a temple counts as placing your 1st marker. The placement requirements for each temple are:

• A. A temple must be placed on an unoccupied space.
• B. A temple may not be placed orthogonally adjacent to a border marker or the edge of the board.
• C. The placement must be on a space that matches the resource of the card you played.
• D. Once on the board, the temple may not have its position be exchanged.
• E. A border marker may not be moved so that it is orthogonally adjacent to a temple.
• F. A marker on a space orthogonally adjacent to a temple may not be exchanged; however, any player may fill an empty space next to a temple.
• G. A temple counts as two control markers for scoring purposes.

Example: Marion (purple) spends 3 aps and plays a Quetzal card. She wants to place a temple on the space next to the red marker, but there are border markers next to that space. The temple cannot be placed there. Instead, Marion chooses to place the temple on the space with Cocoa and Quetzal icons instead.

1 ap — Reserve 1 control marker for a later turn (once per turn).

• A. Once during your turn, you may reserve one of your control markers for a later turn. Set this marker on your Reference card.
• B. On a subsequent turn, you may use one of these saved markers as an additional ap by returning the control marker to your pool.
• C. You may only use one saved marker per turn.
• D. If you have a control marker set aside, you may return it to your pool, then immediately use that ap to place that control marker on the board.
• E. You may place a control marker that has been set aside directly on the board as if it were in your pool.

Example: Julie uses 1 ap to set aside one of her markers to use as an ap in a later turn.

Scoring

If you draw a Score card, you must immediately play it. You may then either use 1 ap before scoring takes place OR you may use 4 aps after scoring takes place.

1. Each Kingdom will score individually.
2. The player with the most markers in a Kingdom will receive 1 point for each marker of any color in the Kingdom. The player with the 2nd most markers will receive 1/2 the 1st player's score (drop fractions). If there is a tie for 1st, the players divide the combined total for 1st and 2nd place. If there is a tie for 2nd, the players divide the total for 2nd place. If there is only one player represented in a Kingdom, that player receives points for both 1st and 2nd place.

Example: Ali (red) has 4 markers in Kingdom A, Kurt (yellow) has 3 markers, and Rob (blue) has 2 markers. Ali scores 9 points (4+3+2). Kurt scores 4 points (1/2 of Ali's 9 dropping the fraction). Rob does not score points for this Kingdom. In Kingdom B, Rob has 3 markers, Kurt has 2, and Ali has 2. Rob scores 7 points (3+2+2). Kurt and Ali each score 1 point (1/2 of Rob's score is 3; Kurt and Ali each score 1/2 of 3 dropping the fraction).

End of the Game

1. The game ends at the end of a player's turn if:
   • A. They have placed their last control marker on the board. NOTE: a marker that has been set aside has not been placed on the board.
   • B. They have drawn the last card from the Draw pile.
2. If a player plays a Score card, and as a result, places their last marker on the board, the game will end at the end of the Scoring round.
3. If the game ends at any other time, there is one final scoring.

2-Player Rules

Use all of the rules above with the following changes:

1. Setup the game as a 4-player game; each player sets up two colors.
2. Before beginning play, decide which of the two colors will be your primary player color. Only those colors will have temples to use and markers on the scoring track. Your secondary color will only have control markers in play.
3. On your turn, you draw a card, play a card, have aps to use for your primary player color, and discard your card.
4. After you have completed your turn, you may place one marker of your secondary color on any available space on the board.
5. Play then passes to your opponent.
6. When a Scoring card is drawn, each Kingdom will be scored. However, only the scores for the primary player colors will be indicated on the scoring track. Secondary colors will still occupy scoring positions in a Kingdom.

For example: Ali's primary color is red and secondary color is blue; Rob's primary color is yellow and secondary color is green. In Kingdom A, the markers are 4 blue and 2 yellow; therefore, blue is worth 6 points and yellow is worth 3 points. Only the Rob's yellow scoring marker is moved as there is no marker for a secondary color. In Kingdom B, the markers are 4 red, 3 blue, and 2 yellow. Red is worth 9 points and blue is worth 4 (1/2 of 9 dropping the fraction); yellow does not score as the 3rd place player. Ali's red scoring marker is the only one that is moved.

7. The game ends as usual; however, if a player draws a Scoring card on their primary color and that player's secondary color play ends the game, there is not an additional scoring round.