Princes of the Renaissance Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Examples of Components
• Setup
• Important Rules
• Playing the Game
  • End of Decades
• Victory Points
• The Actions
  • 1. Buy a Tile
  • 2. Auction a Tile
  • 3. Start a War
  • 4. Pass
• The Tiles
  • Family Tiles
  • Treachery Cards
  • City Tiles
  • Event Tiles
  • The Pope
• Example of Play
• Credits

Components

This game should contain the following:

• 1 board
• 6 Family tiles
• 24 Troop tiles
• 12 Event tiles
• 30 City tiles
• 23 Treachery cards
• 1 Pope tile
• 5 wooden City markers
• 2 War markers (black and white)
• 1 black wooden marker for the War Fought Track
• Influence counters
• Gold counters
• Victory Point counters
• 2 six-sided dice (2d6)

Examples of Components

• Family tile — shows Influence, Gold, a special ability, and the family's home city.
• City tile — shows Influence and a special ability.
• Troop tile — shows Influence.
• Event tile — shows the tile's final Victory Point value, its decade, and whether it must be bought with Influence. Artist tiles are a type of Event tile: each Artist has their name printed on it (for example, Gozzoli).
• Pope tile — shows Gold, and is paid for with Influence.
• Treachery card — has a distinct back so it can be kept face down.

There are two currencies in the game: Gold and Influence. Most tiles are bought with Gold, but the right to fight for a city, some Event tiles, and the Pope, are paid for with Influence.

Setup

1. Roll a die to determine who will be the first player.

2. Going clockwise starting with the first player, each player selects a Family tile and places it in front of them.

3. Each player starts with 40 Gold and 12 Influence.

4. Set the starting status of each city using the colored wooden City markers. Each city's color is shown on the board.

   Starting City Status

   • Venice: 7
   • Milan, Florence: 6
   • Rome, Naples: 5

5. Place the black marker on the "0" space of the War Fought Track.

6. Sort the Troop tiles into piles by type and place them visibly next to the board.

7. Sort the City tiles into columns by color so that every tile is clearly visible.

8. Separate the Event tiles into three sets identified by their decade (I, II, III). Lay out the first set so that every tile in it is visible.

9. Place the Pope tile next to the Event tiles.

10. Shuffle the Treachery cards and place them face down in a single pile next to the board.

Note that all tiles (except Treachery cards) are always placed face up so that they are clearly visible to the other players.

Important Rules

• Gold and Influence counters may be kept hidden, but players must always make clear how many counters of each type they hold.
• Players may negotiate at any time during the game. The only things that may be exchanged between players are Gold and Influence — a player may never give a tile to another player. What players negotiate over is entirely up to them, and any promises made during negotiation are not binding.
• A player may normally hold at most 2 Treachery cards. This limit can be increased by Family and/or City tiles. A player may buy a card beyond this limit, but must then immediately discard a card to come back within the limit.
• A player may hold City tiles from at most three different cities, and at most six City tiles in total.
• A player may never discard a City tile once it has been acquired.
• City tiles whose special ability can only be used once per decade must be rotated 90° once that ability has been used, to show that it has been "used up."

Playing the Game

The game lasts three decades. Each decade contains a variable number of turns. A decade ends as soon as the last Event tile of the current decade has been auctioned. Because it is the players who decide when Event tiles are put up for auction, there is no fixed number of turns in a decade.

At the start of the first decade, randomly determine again who will be the first player (this is to prevent the same player from automatically choosing first among the Family tiles and then also taking the first action). In later decades, play continues clockwise with the next player after whoever took the last action.

Going clockwise, each player takes one action per turn, chosen from four possible actions. The choice you make on your turn does not depend on what you chose on previous turns — you always have the choice of all available actions, though in later turns certain actions may become unavailable to you.

The four actions are:

• Buy a tile — buy (or discard) a Troop or Treachery tile.
• Auction a tile — auction a City tile, an Event tile, or the Pope.
• Start a war — the black marker on the War Fought Track is moved forward one space (even if the war is vetoed).
• Pass — you keep the right to act again on a later turn.

End of Decades

At the end of each decade, all players collect income in both Gold and Influence.

Gold income is shown by a number inside a gold circle. Influence income is shown by a number inside a grey square.

Every player collects the Gold that has been paid onto their home city for their war services.

The Event tiles for the next decade are laid out so that they are clearly visible.

The Pope tile is returned to sit next to the Event tiles awaiting auction (except after the third decade).

All players turn their rotated City tiles back to their normal position, so that their special ability can be used once again.

The black marker on the War Fought Track is reset to 0.

Once all players have collected their income at the end of the third decade, Victory Points are calculated. Special abilities on City tiles cannot be used during this calculation. The player with the most Victory Points is the winner; if there is a tie, there are multiple winners.

Victory Points

Move the City markers to the five spaces on the Victory Point track that sit directly beside the City Status Track. The city marker with the highest current status goes to rank 1 (worth 10 VP), the city with the second-highest status to rank 2 (worth 7 VP), and so on in descending order. In case of a tie, the city that holds the most Artist tiles takes the higher rank. If it is still tied, both cities score the same number of points, but at the lower of the contested ranks — for example, if two cities are tied for second place, they both score as if for third place, and the following city then takes fourth place.

Each player now scores Victory Points (VP) as follows:

• For each City tile they own, VP equal to the rank of that tile's city.
• For each Event tile they own, the VP shown on it.
• 3 VP for holding the Pope tile.
• 6 VP for the player with the most Gold.*
• 3 VP for the player with the second-most Gold.*
• 4 VP for the player with the most Influence.*

* In case of a tie, all tied players receive the full amount.

Victory Point counters are worth VP according to the following scale:

• 1 counter = 1 VP
• 2 counters = 3 VP
• 3 counters = 6 VP
• 4 counters = 10 VP
• 5 counters = 15 VP
• 6 counters = 21 VP, and so on.

The Actions

1. Buy a Tile

You may only buy one tile during your turn.

TROOPS are bought with Gold, paying the price shown on the tile. Instead of buying a Troop tile, a player may use this action to discard a Troop tile instead; the tile returns to the pile of unused Troop tiles. Each player may only own one troop of each type at a time.

TREACHERY cards cost 1 Gold and 1 Influence, as shown on the back of the card. See "Important Rules" above for the limit on how many Treachery cards a player may hold.

2. Auction a Tile

The active player chooses a City tile, an Event tile, or the Pope tile (if it is still available) and puts it up for auction. The auction procedure differs depending on the type of tile being auctioned:

CITY TILES. The active player must bid first, and their opening bid must be at least double the current status of the city the tile belongs to. Bidding is done in Gold. Bidding continues clockwise; a player who passes takes no further part in that auction. See "Important Rules" above for the limits on how many City tiles a player may hold.

EVENT TILES. The active player is not required to bid; their first bid may be a bid of zero. If nobody else bids, the tile is acquired for free. Event tiles are paid for in either Gold or Influence, as shown by the symbol printed on the tile (a circle for Gold, a square for Influence). A player may bid more than they currently hold if discounts from their Family, City, or Treachery tiles mean they can actually pay the bid amount.

See "The Tiles" below for the effects of the individual Event tiles.

THE POPE TILE. Bid for the Pope tile in the same way as for Event tiles.

3. Start a War

This action cannot be chosen if the marker on the War Fought Track has already reached its limit for the decade (there can only be 4 wars per decade with fewer than five players, or 5 wars per decade with five or six players).

The marker on the War Fought Track is advanced one space.

The active player decides which two cities will fight, placing the black war marker on the attacking city and the white war marker on the defending city. Both cities must be one of the five major, colored cities — smaller cities cannot go to war.

A Veto may now be played to stop this war from happening. Even if it is, the marker on the War Fought Track is not moved back — a war stopped by a Veto still counts toward the decade's war limit.

Auction the position of Condottiere (i.e. representative) for the attacking city. Only players who own at least one Troop tile may take part in this bidding. The active player bids first, and bidding then continues clockwise.

A player who passes takes no further part in the current auction. Bidding continues until only one player remains. The winner pays their bid in Influence and takes the black die.

In the same way, auction the position of Condottiere for the defending city — except that the player who just won the attacking city's auction may not take part in this second auction. The winner takes the white die.

If neither city finds a Condottiere, nothing further happens — the war took place (for the purpose of the war limit) but ends without a result.

If only one of the two cities finds a Condottiere, the other city fights with an attack and a defense value of 3, and a neutral player rolls the die on that city's behalf.

Each city now pays its Condottiere in Gold, an amount equal to that city's current status. This Gold is placed on the Condottiere's home city, from where it is collected at the end of the decade.

The battle. Both sides total the attack (respectively, defense) values of their Troop tiles, add any relevant modifiers, and add the result of one die roll (the attacker uses the black die, the defender the white die).

If the attacker's total is higher, the attacker wins and the war is over.

If the result is a tie, or the defender's total is higher, the defender counter-attacks. In this second round, the original defender uses their attack score and the original attacker uses their defense score.

If the counter-attack succeeds, the original defender wins the war. Any other result means the war ends without a winner.

If the winning side's final total is at least double the losing side's, the winning city's status rises 2 spaces on the City Status Track and the losing city's status falls 2 spaces. Otherwise, the winning city rises 1 space and the losing city falls 1 space.

A city's status can never fall below 3 or rise above 10. One city reaching a limit on the track does not stop the other city from continuing to move.

The player who represented the winning city takes and keeps a Victory Point counter. Note that a war never causes the loss of any Troop tiles.

4. Pass

A player may always choose to pass instead of taking an action. They keep the right to take an action on a later turn.

The Tiles

Family Tiles

Each family has its own special ability:

• BAGLIONI — you get a 1 Influence discount every time you win an auction to become Condottiere.
• BENTIVOGLI — you may hold one extra Treachery card (3 instead of 2).
• MALATESTA — you may hold one extra Treachery card (3 instead of 2).
• MONTEFELTRO — you get a discount of 1 Gold or 1 Influence every time you win an auction for an Artist tile.
• GONZAGA — you get a discount of 1 Gold or 1 Influence every time you win an auction for an Artist tile.
• D'ESTE — you add 1 to the attack and defense values of an Artillery Troop tile (you must own one to gain this benefit).

Treachery Cards

• Bribe Troops (×7). This card can only be played during a war, after Condottieri have been assigned to both cities. You may play it if you are one of the two combatants, or if you hold the Pope tile and are in a Holy League with one of the combatants. The order in which players decide whether to play this card is: attacker, then defender, then the Pope. It cannot be played once the dice have been rolled. You may play it against any troop that has been played. For the rest of that war, the bribed troop's attack and defense values no longer count (which may also cancel bonuses that depend on that troop).
• Bribe Cardinal (×2). This card is worth 3 Influence if used to help pay for the Pope tile.
• Freeze Bid (×8). You may play this card when it is your turn to bid (even if you choose to pass). You may play it against any other player. That player may not raise their bid the next time it would be their turn, which will most likely force them out of the auction. You may not play this card against a player who has already dropped out of the auction.
• Steal Influence (×2). Steal 2 Influence from a player of your choice. You may only play this card when you are the active player, and never during an auction that is already in progress.
• Raid Gold Shipment (×2). Steal 3 Gold from a player of your choice. You may only play this card when you are the active player, and never during an auction that is already in progress.
• Veto (×1). Play this card once a player has decided which two cities will go to war, but before bidding for the position of Condottiere has begun. No war takes place. The marker on the War Fought Track is still advanced one space.
• Start War (×1). At the end of your turn, you may play this card to trigger an additional war. This does not move the marker on the War Fought Track — it is an extra war beyond the decade's normal limit. It is resolved exactly like any other war.

City Tiles

• Banking. Once per decade, you may exchange up to 3 Gold for 3 Influence, or vice versa. You may do this at any time, but never after the last Event tile of the decade has been auctioned — unless you are using it to help pay for that very auction. (You cannot use this tile at the end of the game to convert Gold into Influence, or vice versa, purely to affect your Victory Point total.)
• Lucrezia Borgia. Once per decade you may steal 2 Influence from a player of your choice, exactly like the Steal Influence Treachery card.
• Ludovico Sforza. Once per decade, the holder of this tile may demand that both dice be re-rolled during a war. This second roll is final — you cannot go back to the original result.
• Lorenzo Medici. The holder of this tile may use a Veto against a war once per decade, exactly as with the Veto Treachery card.
• Cesare Borgia / Ferrante of Aragon. For each of these tiles you own, you may hold one extra Treachery card. Note that two Family tiles grant this same benefit.
• Alfonso of Aragon. You may use this tile once per decade. Using it simply lets you draw a Treachery card; this does not count as your action for the turn. You may use this City tile on the same turn you win it at auction, or later, whenever you are the active player.
• Roderigo Borgia, Giovanni Medici, Della Rovere, Orsini Family, Colonna Family. Each of these tiles lets you pay 1 Influence less than the amount you bid for the Pope tile.
• Caterina Sforza. You add 2 to your defense every time you fight in a war, as long as you own at least one Troop tile.
• Genoese Crossbow. You add 1 to the defense value of a Crossbow Troop tile, if you own one.
• Swiss Mercenaries. You add 1 to the attack and defense value of a Pike Troop tile, if you own one. You also pay 1 Influence less whenever you win an auction to become Condottiere.
• Armourer. You add 1 to the attack value of a Cavalry Troop tile, if you own one. You also pay 1 Influence less whenever you win an auction to become Condottiere.
• Spanish Infantry. You add 1 to the attack and defense of a Light Infantry Troop tile, if you own one.

Event Tiles

You may hold more than one Event tile on the same city.

• 2/3/4 VP (Artist tiles). If you win one of these tiles, you keep it until the end of the game and score the Victory Points printed on it.
• "+1 STA" (Artist tiles). If you win this tile, you must immediately place it next to one of the major cities (in the space provided) and raise that city's status by one level. More than one of these tiles can be placed on the same city.
• Merchant. If you win this tile, you keep it until the end of the game. Each City tile you own that is marked "Merchant" earns you 1 extra Gold at the end of every decade, and is worth 1 extra VP at the end of the game. (This Event tile is distinct from a Merchant City tile itself.) It is possible for a player to hold both Merchant City tiles at once, doubling the benefit.
• French Invade. If you win this tile, you must use it immediately — either playing it against one of your own cities or discarding it unused. If you play it against a city, that city's status immediately falls by 2 levels. Either way, the tile is then removed from the game.
• Artist tiles. These are Event tiles bearing the name and portrait of a real Renaissance artist, such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, or Bellini.

The Pope

• Extra Gold Income. The Pope receives 3 extra Gold at every income phase.
• Holy League. Once per decade, the Pope may add their Troop tiles to one side of a war. They are not paid for doing so, and do not receive a Victory Point counter even if their side wins. They may only add the raw strength of their own Troop tiles — not any bonuses from City tiles or their Family tile.
• 3 VP Bonus. Whoever holds the Pope tile at the end of the game (after the third decade) gains 3 extra Victory Points.

Example of Play

In this example there are four players: Geoff (Baglioni), Hammy (d'Este), Stella (Malatesta), and Timo (Gonzaga).

Auctions. Geoff decides to auction the Doge tile. Venice currently has a status of 6, which means Geoff's opening bid must be at least 12. He opens at 13. Hammy already owns tiles from Milan, Naples, and Rome, so he cannot take on a fourth city and is forced to pass. Stella raises the bid to 14, Timo passes, Geoff bids 15, Stella passes — Geoff wins the Doge tile for 15 Gold.

Hammy auctions the Gozzoli Event tile. He is not required to bid, so he opens with a bid of zero. Timo bids 4, and everyone else passes. Hammy must now decide whether to raise his bid or pass; he passes, letting Timo buy the tile for 4 Influence. Because Timo's family is Gonzaga, he pays 1 Influence less for an Artist tile — note that Timo could have made this bid of 4 even with only 3 Influence in hand, since his discount covers the difference.

Starting a War. Stella starts a war and decides that Venice will attack Rome. Nobody plays a Veto, so the war goes ahead. Timo owns no Troop tiles and so cannot take part in any of the bidding. Stella opens the bidding for the right to represent Venice. Geoff wins the bidding with 6 Influence and takes the black die — though he only pays 4 Influence, since his Baglioni family tile gives him a 1 Influence discount, and he also owns the Swiss Mercenaries tile for a further 1 Influence discount. Stella and Hammy now bid against each other to represent Rome. Hammy wins the bidding and pays 4 Influence to become Rome's Condottiere, taking the white die. Venice has a status of 7, so Geoff places 7 Gold on his home city of Perugia. Rome has a status of 5, so Hammy places 5 Gold on his home city of Ferrara. Geoff owns a Cavalry tile and a Pike tile, as well as the Swiss Mercenaries City tile. Hammy owns an Artillery tile and a Fortification tile.

Geoff now has the opportunity to play one or more Bribe Troops cards; he chooses not to. Hammy has the same opportunity. He decides to play a Bribe Troops card against Geoff's Cavalry. Geoff's attack is now 1 (it would have been 0, but he still gets his +1 bonus for Swiss Mercenaries — note that if Hammy had instead bribed the Pike troop, Geoff would have lost that bonus instead). Hammy's defense is 5 (Artillery +1, Fortification +3, d'Este +1 to Artillery). Each player rolls a die: Geoff rolls a 5, for a total of 6; Hammy rolls a 1, also for a total of 6. The attacker has not won, so the defender must counter-attack. Hammy's attack is 4 (Artillery +3, d'Este +1). Geoff's defense is 3 (Pike +2, Swiss Mercenaries +1 to Pike). Geoff rolls a 2, for a total of 5. Hammy rolls a 6, for a total of 10. Hammy's total is at least double Geoff's, so Rome's status rises 2 levels and Venice's status falls 2 levels. Hammy takes a Victory Point counter, and the war is over. Note that if another player had held the Pope, they could have joined either side (and could then have played Bribe Troops cards too), but they would not have earned any Gold or a Victory Point counter for doing so.

Income. Stella owns the following tiles: her Malatesta Family tile, Roderigo Borgia, the Doge, a Venetian Merchant City tile, a Merchant Event tile, and a Cavalry Troop tile. She collects 18 Gold from her tiles (12 from her Family tile, 2 from the Doge, 3 from the Venetian Merchant, and a bonus of 1 for the Merchant Event tile). She also collects 7 Gold from her home city for having fought a war during the decade. She collects 12 Influence (8 from her Family tile, 2 from the Doge, and 2 from the Cavalry).

Credits

A game by Martin Wallace. Design by Peter Dennis. Graphics by Ian Legge.

If you have any questions, you can contact Warfrog through their website, or by writing to Martin Wallace.

These rules are © Martin Wallace 2002.