Renaissance Wars Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Game Components
• About the Cards
  • Condition Cards
  • Luminary Cards
  • Fanatic Cards
  • Populace Cards
  • Unwanted Cards
  • Name & Rank of Cards Played in Skirmishes & Battles
  • Immediate Cards
  • Personal Action Cards
• Luminary Mats
• Game Preparation
• Game Overview & Basic Mechanics
  • 1) Game Phases
  • 2) Making Melds
  • 3) Skirmishes & Battles
  • Meld Chart
  • 4) Card Values & Dominant Condition Ranking
• Game Play
  • Step One: Encounter Phase
    • 1) The Skirmish
    • 2) Required Actions
    • 3) Optional Actions
    • 4) Populace Cards
    • 5) Draw Cards
    • 6) End of the Encounter Phase
  • Step Two: Battle Phase
    • 1) Rules of Battle
    • 2) Battle Sequence
  • Step Three: Keeping Score & Depositing Florins
• Optional Rule Variation: Buying Influence / Bidding
  • 1) Analysis
  • 2) Making a Bid
  • 3) Winning the Bid
  • 4) Success Scenario: Bid Obligation Is Fulfilled
  • 5) Failure Scenario: Bid Obligation Is Not Met
  • 6) Borrowing to Bid
  • 7) Hedging the Bet
• Glossary
• Commonly Asked Questions

Object of the Game

To acquire more florins than your opponents by winning skirmishes and battles; and to be the first player to reach 1637.

Game Components

• 1 game board
• 128 cards:
  • 62 condition cards
  • 6 luminary cards
  • 8 populace cards
  • 2 fanatic cards
  • 20 unwanted cards
  • 10 immediate event cards
  • 10 immediate intrusion cards
  • 10 personal action cards
• 6 luminary mats
• 6 luminary portraits with separate stands
• 6 card envelopes
• 1 initiative indicator
• 4 condition markers
• 90 florin coins, in five denominations printed as 15 each, 20 each, 25 each, 22 each and 8 each
• 4 meld/card guides
• 4 dice (d4)

Note on the component list: the coin denominations are printed only as images in the source; the text layer gives the counts above but not the face values, so the face values are not transcribed here.

A glossary of terms and definitions associated with Renaissance Wars is located on pages 24-25.

About the Cards

Condition Cards

There are 62 condition cards. Each condition card has a color, an icon, and a florin value. As a group, they comprise the bulk of the play deck. Condition cards are played against opponents in skirmishes and battles and are used to create scoring melds.

The five conditions and their colors are:

• Culture (Purple)
• Religion (Red)
• Economic (Green)
• Politics (Blue)
• Seeds of Enlightenment (Indigo)

Each of the four conditions Culture, Religion, Economic and Politics has 14 cards: two each of the values 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2 and 1. Seeds of Enlightenment has 6 cards: one each of the values 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 and 2. (2 × 14 × 4 + 6 = 62.)

Condition cards with special actions. The Priest and Death cards give players the option to perform the special action listed at the bottom of the card.

Card key (as printed on the card diagram):

• Symbol indicates the type of card (for example, a King).
• Florin value / card rank.
• Color and name indicate the card's SUIT or "CONDITION" (for example, a card whose condition is POLITICS).
• Historical information.
• An asterisk indicates that special actions are listed on the card.

See "Name & Rank of Cards Played in Skirmishes & Battles" below.

Luminary Cards

There are 6 luminary cards. They depict Renaissance figures whose contributions have transcended their time. Ranking highest in the deck, luminary cards, like condition cards, are played against opponents in skirmishes and battles and are used to create scoring melds.

Key (as printed on the card diagram):

• Star symbol indicates that the card is a luminary.
• Florin value (also reflects rank).
• Asterisk indicates there are special actions listed on the card.
• Name identifies the card as a luminary.
• Biographical information.
• Color indicates condition (for example, a card whose color is PURPLE is of the CULTURE condition).
• Special luminary action and details about usage.

Luminary cards are very powerful:

• They may be used to complete any meld in their condition. (For example, Shakespeare may be used as a culture Queen to complete the Ladies Only meld.)
• They may also be used to change the dominant condition during a round.

Four luminary cards are ALWAYS added to the play deck during setup and must include those that match the luminary mats chosen by the players before the game begins. For example, in a two-player game, if Player 1 chooses the Martin Luther mat and Player 2 chooses the William Shakespeare mat, then the luminary cards used in that game are Luther, Shakespeare and two other luminary cards chosen at random.

Unused luminary cards are placed into the unused cards envelope during the game setup, and set aside for the duration of the game.

Fanatic Cards

There are 2 fanatic cards. These cards are part of the play deck, and are used in skirmishes and battles, but are NOT used to create scoring melds.

Key (as printed on the card diagram):

• Florin value (also reflects rank).
• Name and color identify the card as a fanatic.
• Details about card function and instructions for use.

Although fanatic cards have no florin value, they can be quite powerful. When played in a skirmish, fanatics give the player the immediate ability, for example, to confiscate opponents' florins, kill melded cards, resuscitate dead cards... and more.

Populace Cards

There are 8 populace cards. Populace cards are played against opponents in skirmishes. When won, they are placed in the special Populace area of the player's luminary mat. (See the diagram on page 8.)

Populace cards have a variety of values: 0, 10, 15 and 20.

Every populace card instructs the player to perform an action, which will result in a gain or loss to himself or an opponent. Populace cards stay active on players' luminary mats until the end of the encounter phase (unless removed from play by a special action).

A player may ONLY have 2 populace cards in play on his luminary mat at any given time. Should he receive a third populace card, one must be discarded to make room for the new arrival.

Key (as printed on the card diagram):

• Florin value (also reflects rank).
• Notes on playing the card in a skirmish.
• Name and color identify the card as a populace card.
• Instructions for how and when the card action is performed.

In a skirmish, populace cards defeat lower-ranked cards. (However, dominant condition cards, regardless of numerical rank, always defeat populace cards. See page 15 for an example.) When a populace card is played against a card of equal value, the lead card wins.

During game setup, 4 populace cards are randomly selected to be added to the play deck. The unselected cards are placed into the unused cards envelope and set aside for the duration of the game. (See page 11.)

Unwanted Cards

There are 20 unwanted cards. These cards are placed on the game board at the beginning of the game to form the unwanted draw deck.

Unwanted cards have a variety of values: 0, -2, -5 and -10.

Unwanted cards only come into play as the result of special actions, such as immediate events and immediate intrusions. Once in a player's hand, an unwanted card is played against opponents in skirmishes and battles.

Key (as printed on the card diagram): name and color identify the card as an unwanted card; florin value (also reflects rank).

Name & Rank of Cards Played in Skirmishes & Battles

Icon	Name	Description	Florin value / card rank
(luminary icon)	Luminary	Very significant person	+30
(fleur icon)	Fleur	Historical event of great significance	+25
(king icon)	King	Powerful masculine figure	+20
(queen icon)	Queen	Significant feminine figure	+15
(castle icon)	Castle	Important feature or aspect of society	+10
(bishop icon)	Bishop	Important roles in society or culture	+5

Immediate Cards

There are 20 immediate cards (10 intrusions and 10 events). These cards are never dealt out to players, but rather, are shuffled into the play deck after the initial deal. Immediate cards are only encountered as part of the draw deck.

When drawn, the action indicated on the card MUST be resolved IMMEDIATELY (unless otherwise noted). See Draw Cards on page 18 for more information.

Key (as printed on the card diagram):

• A reminder that the card applies to the player who draws it.
• A reminder that the card applies to all players.
• Instructions for use.
• Instructions after the card is resolved.
• Name and color identify the card as an immediate intrusion or immediate event.

The difference between the two card types:

• Immediate intrusions apply to all players.
• Immediate events affect the player drawing the card.

After the card is resolved, it is returned to its era envelope*; the player who drew the immediate card then draws another card from the draw deck.

* Immediate intrusion and immediate event cards are randomly seeded into the play deck at the start of each new era. The era demarcation is shown on the Medici income tracker section of the game board.

Only 16 immediate cards are used in one particular game. See Card Envelopes, page 11.

Personal Action Cards

There are 10 personal action cards. Each player receives his own personal action card at the beginning of every round. They are played at SPECIFIC times, as per the instruction on each card, and allow players to perform a variety of special actions during the encounter phase.

Key (as printed on the card diagram):

• Name and color identify the card as a personal action.
• Instructions for use.
• Instructions for WHEN the card can be used by the player.
• Instructions for after the card is resolved.

Before every round, each player randomly picks ONE personal action card, looks at it, and places it (face down) on his luminary mat. (See the diagram on page 8.) Cards that are not selected are put back into the personal actions envelope, for use in the next round.

Once a personal action card is played, it is returned to the personal actions envelope. If it is not played during the encounter phase of the round, it is returned to the personal actions envelope before the battle phase begins. (Use it, or you lose it!)

Technically, personal action cards are not considered part of a player's hand. When a special action requires that card(s) be removed from a player's hand, or switched with other players' cards, the personal action card is not included.

Luminary Mats

All players select a luminary mat at the beginning of the game. Each mat contains:

• Biographical information (specific to the luminary).
• An Order of Game Play guide, which provides a breakdown of each phase of the game, as well as helpful notes and reminders.
• Luminary powers: unique advantages and/or abilities that can be used during the game. When and how these powers are used is specified on each individual mat.
• Designated areas to hold captured cards, active populace cards and a personal action card.

Cards won in skirmishes and battles are placed face down in the captured cards area of the mat. Populace cards are placed on the designated populace area; placed cards will extend off the edge of the mat. The personal action card is placed on its designated area after it is selected.

A player may ONLY have 2 populace cards in play on his luminary mat at any given time. Should he win a third populace card, one must be discarded to make room for the new arrival.

Game Preparation

1. Card envelopes

   • a. Immediate intrusions: shuffle the immediate intrusion cards. Without looking, randomly select 8 of them and place 2 cards each into the 4 era envelopes. Put the remaining cards in the unused cards envelope.
   • b. Immediate events: shuffle the immediate event cards. Without looking, randomly select 8 of them and place 2 cards each into the 4 era envelopes. Put the remaining cards in the unused cards envelope.
   • c. Personal action: shuffle the personal action cards and place all 10 of them into the personal actions envelope.

   Each era envelope contains 2 immediate intrusion cards and 2 immediate event cards.

2. Select luminary mats and prepare luminary cards

   • a. Each player selects a luminary mat and places it on the table in front of him.
   • b. Every game is played using 4 luminary cards. Cards are prepared as follows:
     • 2-player game: extract the 2 luminary cards that correspond to the selected luminary mats. Without looking, take out 2 additional luminary cards.
     • 3-player game: extract the 3 luminary cards that correspond to the selected luminary mats. Without looking, take out 1 additional luminary card.
     • 4-player game: extract the 4 luminary cards that correspond to the selected luminary mats.

   Place the selected luminary cards aside. They will eventually be shuffled into the play deck. Put the unselected luminary cards into the unused cards envelope.

   Luminaries may be chosen consciously or at random.

3. Prepare populace cards: randomly select 4 populace cards and set them aside. Put the unselected cards in the unused cards envelope.

Play area at the start of a 3-player game (as printed): the diagram shows the meld/card guides, the bank, the personal action card, the personal treasuries, the initiative indicator, the dominant condition marker, the draw deck and the unwanted draw deck placed around the table in each player's zone (pink areas indicate players' zones). Unused cards are out of play until the next game.

Game Overview & Basic Mechanics

1) Game Phases

Each round of Renaissance Wars has two phases: beginning with the encounter phase and ending with the battle phase. An entire Renaissance Wars game consists of multiple rounds.

2) Making Melds

In the encounter phase, players attempt to collect specific card combinations, or meld. Different melds have different florin values, with the more difficult combinations worth more, and the less difficult worth less. (See the chart on page 13.)

Example: "Ladies Only" meld. Each queen has a different condition. Value = 70 florins. Immediately after the meld is laid on the table, coins are collected from the bank.

a. When a player accumulates the specific cards in his hand to complete one of the melds, he lays the melded cards, face up, onto the table. (Only skirmish winners are allowed to lay down meld. See Encounter Phase / Optional Actions, page 17.)

b. The player immediately collects florins from the bank and puts the coins in his personal treasury.

Note: meld values reflect the difficulty of making the meld, not necessarily the face value of the cards.

3) Skirmishes & Battles

A player may also accumulate florins by winning cards from his opponents in a skirmish or battle.

a. The basic mechanism for both a skirmish and a battle is the same: in a clockwise direction, each player lays a card down on the table, face up. The highest ranked card* wins.

b. The winner gathers the cards just played (his own and his opponents') and places them in his captured card pile**.

c. After all cards have been played, each player adds up the amounts shown on all of his captured cards. The totals are then converted to florins.

*For exceptions to this rule and more detailed information see Encounter Phase, pages 14-18.

**Similar to taking a trick in other card games.

Example (2 players): Player 1 plays a card of higher value than Player 2's card and wins. Player 1 places BOTH CARDS into his captured card pile. After all cards are tallied at the end of the round, Player 1 will get 45 florins for these 2 cards.

Meld Chart

Meld	Card combination	Florin value
Royal Court	from dominant condition (card count is shown as icons, not in the text layer)	250
Worldly Wisdom	4 luminaries from DIFFERENT conditions	200
Historic High	4 fleurs from DIFFERENT conditions	100
Cavalcade of Kings	4 kings from DIFFERENT conditions	80
Ladies Only	4 queens from DIFFERENT conditions	70
Bulwarks of Power	4 castles from DIFFERENT conditions	60
Prominent Players	4 bishops from DIFFERENT conditions	50
Full Barn	4 animals from DIFFERENT conditions

Note on the meld chart: the card-count and card-icon symbols on this chart are printed as graphics and are not in the text layer of the source. Where the text layer omits a symbol, the row is transcribed with the printed words only and the symbol is marked. The Marriage examples on page 17 and the Q&A on page 26 refer to king and queen cards in the Marriage melds.

4) Card Values & Dominant Condition Ranking

a. Every card in the play deck has a numbered value. Naturally, higher numbered cards defeat those with lower numbers.

b. However, during every moment of game play, one of the five conditions* is determined to be more valuable than the others. This is referred to as the dominant condition.**

c. A dominant condition card ALWAYS wins against one that is from another condition, regardless of its rank.

d. If two or more dominant condition cards are played against one another, the card with the highest number value wins.

*SUITS in traditional card games. **TRUMP in traditional card games.

Example: when Culture is the dominant condition, card values are as follows:

• a) 5 of Culture is MOST VALUABLE. It is the highest ranked dominant condition card.
• b) 1 of Culture is 2nd MOST VALUABLE.
• c) King of Economic is LEAST VALUABLE. Even though its numerical value (20) is higher than the other 2 cards, it is worth less, since Economic is not the dominant condition.

Game Play

Before each round, each player must take note of the current dominant condition, to determine the value of the cards in his hand.

Step One: Encounter Phase

The player to the left of the dealer has initiative, and puts the initiative indicator into his zone.

1) The Skirmish

a. The player with initiative selects a card from his hand and plays it face up in the center of the table. This card is referred to as the lead card.

b. Going clockwise, each opponent plays a card.

• Rule #1: To WIN a skirmish, the opponent's card must be in the same condition as the lead card*. This is called "following suit". The card must also have a HIGHER rank.
• Rule #2: In a skirmish, cards played after the lead card are not required to follow suit.
• Rule #3: Dominant condition cards beat all other cards.
• Rule #4: If more than one dominant condition card is played, the highest ranked wins.
• Rule #5: Populace cards do not need to follow suit to WIN the skirmish. (They have no condition.) They only need to be the highest numerically ranked card.
• Rule #6: If the lead card has no condition*, the first card played that does have a condition becomes the default lead card.
• Rule #7: If any of the cards played in a skirmish are equal in value, the card played FIRST ranks highest.

*Unless it is a populace or dominant condition card. See details above and on page 15. Also, some condition cards have special actions that are contrary to this rule.

Note: A populace (or any other) card that is equal in value to the lead card LOSES a skirmish, since a card must rank HIGHER than the lead card to win.

Note: If played against a dominant condition card, a populace card will lose, regardless of the numerical ranking.

Example #1 (religion is the dominant condition): Even though Player 2's card (20) is numerically higher than both the other two (10 and 15), it does not win the skirmish because it doesn't follow suit. Player 3 wins the skirmish. His card does follow suit (culture) and is ranked higher (15) than the 10.

Example #2 (religion is the dominant condition): Player 3's card (25) is numerically higher than his opponents' cards (5 and 10). However, Players 1 and 2 played religion (dominant condition) cards, which both automatically beat an economic card. Player 2 wins the skirmish because his card is ranked higher (10) than the 5.

Example #3 (religion is the dominant condition): Player 3's card (15) follows suit, and is numerically higher than the lead card (5). However, Player 1's populace card is not required to follow suit and it ranks higher (20) than the other two cards.

Example #4: The text layer of the source contains no written explanation for this example; the diagram is not reproduced here.

Example #5 (religion is the dominant condition): Player 2's populace card ranks higher (20) than the other two cards (15 and 5), but Player 3 wins with his dominant condition card.

Example #6 (4-player game, religion is the dominant condition): The lead card is an economic card. Player 1's card and Player 2's card are played; Players 3 and 4 must now beat the 2 of economic to win the skirmish. Player 4's card (5) follows suit, and is numerically higher than Player 2's card (the new lead card). If Player 4 had played this 10 of culture, Player 2 would have won the skirmish, since a culture card does not follow suit with the lead (economic) card.

• If all of the cards played in a skirmish are without a condition, the highest ranking card wins.
• If all of the cards played in a skirmish are without a condition, AND of the same numerical value, the lead card wins.
• If none of the cards played in a skirmish follow suit, the lead card wins. (Unless it is a populace or fanatic card.)

Example #7 (religion is the dominant condition): Player 2's card (15) follows suit, and is numerically higher than the lead card (10). Player 4's card has the exact same condition and numerical value as Player 2's card. Player 2 wins the skirmish because his card was played first.

2) Required Actions

Once a player wins a skirmish he MUST:

a. Gather all of the cards played in the skirmish, including his own. These are the player's captured cards, which are placed in the special Captured Cards area of the player's luminary mat. (See the diagram on page 8.)

• If a populace card is won in the skirmish, it is placed in the special Populace area of the player's luminary mat. (See the diagram on page 8.)

b. Place the initiative indicator in his zone.

Skirmish winners always gain the initiative. The initiative indicator is very helpful in keeping track of the sequence of encounter phase game play.

*Unwanted, populace and fanatic cards have no condition.

3) Optional Actions

Once a player wins a skirmish he has the opportunity to do the following, if he has the means to do so:

A. Lay down a meld

See the meld chart on page 13 and on each meld/card guide.

1. If the player can lay down a meld, he puts the cards, face up, onto the table in his zone.
2. If the player has previously laid down a meld, he may ADD TO IT to create an entirely new meld.
3. After the meld is laid down, the player collects florins from the bank, equal to the florin value of the meld, and puts the coins in his personal treasury.
4. Melded cards remain on the table until the end of the encounter phase, unless one or more of them is:
   • used in a skirmish, or
   • removed by some special event or action (e.g., an immediate intrusion).

Example (adding to an existing meld): A Common Marriage (culture) meld is on the table, laid down by the player after a previous skirmish win. The player has already received 20 florins for the Common Marriage. He puts the 3 Queens he has in his hand next to the queen of culture on the table to create a Ladies Only meld. The player collects 70 florins from the bank (the value of a Ladies Only meld).

• Rule #8: The only time a player can lay down a meld is after he wins a skirmish.
• Rule #9: Melded cards that are face up on the table are considered part of a player's hand.
• Rule #10: Melded cards on the table may be picked up and played during a skirmish. This is referred to as "breaking meld."
• Rule #11: Broken meld cannot be remade*.

* For instance, if the player (from the example above) picks up and plays the queen of politics in a skirmish, he may NOT subsequently add another Queen to the broken meld to form another Ladies Only meld. He may, however, add a king of religion to the queen of religion to form a Marriage meld. Cards may be added to a broken meld, as long as it is a completely different meld.

Player may ONLY lay down ONE new meld OR add to ONE existing meld after winning a skirmish.

B. Play a personal action card. Some personal action cards may only be played after winning a skirmish. Others are played at different times, as instructed by the text on each card. Personal action cards must be returned to the personal actions envelope (on the game board) after they are played.

C. Perform a luminary power. Player may perform ONE of the luminary powers listed on his luminary mat, if applicable. Note: some luminary powers are performed at different times in the game (i.e., NOT only after winning a skirmish).

D. Sacrifice a luminary card

1. If the player holds a luminary card in his hand, he may choose to sacrifice it, in order to change the dominant condition, as specifically instructed on the card. Each luminary card has its own requirements for changing the dominant condition. For example, the Brunelleschi card allows the player to change the condition ONLY to culture.
2. Once the condition marker on the game board is changed, the sacrificed luminary is put into the discard pile. The player then draws an unwanted card, adding it to his hand, to replace the luminary card.

Glossary note: "sacrifice/kill" means a permissible card is discarded and replaced with an unwanted card.

4) Populace Cards

During any given round, at certain times there won't be any populace cards to address after a skirmish has been won. However, as the game proceeds, populace cards are taken in skirmishes, and each player who has one on his luminary mat is required to perform the specific action(s) listed on his card(s).

• After the skirmish winner has performed all of his Optional Actions, all active populace cards* are addressed.
• Some populace cards instruct the player possessing the card to perform an action after every skirmish, regardless of who won the skirmish.
• Other populace cards instruct the player possessing the card to perform an action only after he has won the skirmish.

Populace cards remain active and stay on the luminary mats until the end of the encounter phase, or are removed from play by another type of action.

*A populace card is considered active after it has been won in a skirmish and placed on a player's luminary mat. Populace cards held in players' hands are not considered active.

5) Draw Cards

Before the next skirmish begins, every player must draw a new card from the draw deck. The player with initiative (skirmish winner) draws first. Card drawing proceeds clockwise.

a. Immediate cards (see page 7). For every given round, there are 2 immediate events and 2 immediate intrusions; they will all eventually be drawn.

• After everyone has drawn, players announce whether or not they have an immediate card.
• Immediate cards are resolved in the order in which they were drawn.
• After the immediate card is resolved, it is put back into its era envelope. The player who drew the just-resolved immediate card takes another card from the draw deck to replenish his hand.
• If a player draws ANOTHER immediate card after the first one is resolved, the second must be resolved right then and there, before any other immediate cards are played.

b. After all players have drawn and all immediate cards have been resolved, the next skirmish may begin. The player with initiative plays the first card.

6) End of the Encounter Phase

a. The encounter phase ends when the draw deck is exhausted.

b. Each player then picks up his melded cards* and adds them to his hand.

c. All players MUST DISCARD any unplayed populace cards from their hands and replace them with unwanted cards.

d. Discard all populace cards on luminary mats.

e. Return all unused personal action cards to the personal actions envelope.

*Including any cards that have been turned face down by an immediate action, immediate event, personal action or luminary action.

Step Two: Battle Phase

Battles are similar to skirmishes; cards are played against each other and the winner puts the cards in his captured card pile. Winners have the initiative and get to play the first card, in this case the lead card of each battle. Unlike in the encounter phase, players do not meld cards in the battle phase.

1) Rules of Battle

a. When a dominant condition card is played first:

1. A HIGHER-ranked card from the dominant condition MUST be played, if possible.
2. If a player does not have a card from the dominant condition, any card may be played.

b. When a card from a condition other than the dominant condition is played first:

1. The lead card condition MUST be followed when possible.
2. If a player cannot follow suit, he MUST:
   • Play a card from the dominant condition, AND
   • Try to WIN the skirmish with the dominant condition card he chooses to play.
3. If a player cannot follow suit, AND he has no cards from the dominant condition, he may play any card.

c. If a fanatic or unwanted card is played first: the next card played that does have a condition sets the condition that the other players must follow. (See sidebar.)

Important: calling a penalty. If a player does not play a higher ranked card from the dominant condition, but plays one later, OR, if a player claims not to have a card from the dominant condition, but plays one later, any opponent may call for a penalty and the offending player automatically loses the battle. All florins in his possession are returned to the bank and he moves back 100 on the Medici income tracker, if applicable. (See Keeping Score & Depositing Florins, page 22 as printed in the source.)

• If all of the cards played in a battle are without a condition, the highest ranking card wins.
• If all of the cards played in a battle are without a condition, AND of the same numerical value, the lead card wins.

2) Battle Sequence

The player who won the final skirmish has the initiative and plays the first card of the battle phase.

a. The lead card is played. b. Going clockwise, opponents play their cards, following the Rules of Battle, described above. c. The card with the highest rank/value, which has also followed the lead card condition, wins the battle. The winner gathers the battle cards and puts them into his captured card pile. d. The winner now has initiative and plays the first card of the next battle. e. Play continues until no cards remain in players' hands. The battle phase is over.

Step Three: Keeping Score & Depositing Florins

1) Tally Cards & Coins

When the battle phase ends, each player must do the following:

a. Add up the numerical values of his captured cards. b. Add up the florin values of the coins in his personal treasury. c. Combine the captured card total and the personal treasury total. This combination is the player's TOTAL FLORIN AMOUNT for that round. d. ALL coins located in ALL of the players' personal treasuries are returned to the bank.

Example (as printed on the page): captured card total = 71; personal treasury total = 50; TOTAL FLORIN AMOUNT = 121.

2) Florins & Income Tracker

a. If a player's total florin amount is LESS than 100, he receives that amount in florin coins from the bank, which he uses to replenish his personal treasury.

b. If a player's total florin amount is MORE than 100, his luminary portrait is moved up on the Medici income tracker in increments of 100. He then receives the "change" he is owed from the bank.

Example (as printed): the luminary portrait is placed on the 100 mark line; 121 minus 100 = 21; the player receives 21 florins in change.

This step is referred to as depositing florins. Once florins are deposited, they are safe from confiscation and theft.

When players have collected their coins and/or moved their luminary portraits, the round has ended.

Step Four: The Next Round

1) Prepare Decks

a. Remove unwanted cards from the discard pile. Shuffle them into the unwanted draw deck and place face down on the game board.

b. The remaining cards (condition, populace, luminary and fanatic) form the play deck.

2) Deal Cards from Play Deck

The player to the left of the previous dealer now takes over the duty (i.e., deal moves clockwise).

3) Prepare Draw Deck

Remove the cards from the current era envelope (see Changing Eras and Envelopes, below) and shuffle them into the play deck. Place face down on the game board ("draw").

4) Personal Action Cards

Each player draws a new personal action card, as described on page 11.

5) Change Condition Marker

The dominant condition marker from the previous round is placed at the bottom of the stack. The marker now on top shows the new dominant condition.

6) Begin New Round

The player to the left of the dealer has initiative, and puts the initiative indicator into his zone. He may now play the first card of the encounter phase.

Changing Eras & Envelopes

Round by round, players deposit florins and move up the Medici income tracker. When one or more players reach or pass an era demarcation diamond, the game enters a new era.

1. When a new era is reached, the cards in the next era envelope must be used when preparing the draw deck for the next round. (See Prepare Draw Deck, above.)
2. The previous era envelope is placed in the "Era Envelopes – Not Current" location of the game board.

Era thresholds (as printed on the Medici income tracker sidebar):

• Immediate cards in the era 4 envelope are used when at least one player has deposited 1200 or more florins.
• Immediate cards in the era 3 envelope are used when at least one player has deposited between 800 and 1199 florins.
• Immediate cards in the era 2 envelope are used when at least one player has deposited between 400 and 799 florins.
• Immediate cards in the era 1 envelope are used when at least one player has deposited less than 400 florins.

End of the Game

The game ends when one or more luminary portraits reaches 1637* on the game board. The player with the most florins wins!

*Historical footnote: 1637 is the date of the publication of Descartes' Discourse on the Method, and marks the transition from the Renaissance into the Age of Enlightenment.

Source inconsistency (not corrected): the End of the Game section, the Object of the Game, and the Step Three / Commonly Asked Questions text give 1637 as the end-game target. The Glossary (pages 24-25) gives 1647 as the florin target ("The first player to acquire 1647 florins wins!") and the era 4 range as 1200-1647. The rulebook is transcribed as printed; the difference has not been resolved by this transcription.

Optional Rule Variation: Buying Influence / Bidding

Buying influence gives players a chance to change the dominant condition at the beginning of a round.

1) Analysis

Each player analyzes his hand to determine possible meld opportunities. He also takes into account whether or not changing the dominant condition will enhance his chances of winning individual skirmishes.

Example (as printed): religion is the current dominant condition. Player 1 determines that:

• Changing the dominant condition to culture would be beneficial, since he holds a lot of highly-ranked culture cards.
• He would already have a Royal Marriage meld.
• There is a chance to make a Royal Court meld.

(The example shows Player 1's cards in hand.)

2) Making a Bid

In making a bid, a player is betting that he can collect the specific cards for meld combinations AND be able to play the cards on the table. This is important, because a player can only lay down a meld after winning a skirmish. Holding dominant condition cards increases a player's chance of winning multiple skirmishes.

• All players have the opportunity to bid; they also have the option to pass.
• Each bidding player announces his florin/bid amount to his opponents. (60 florins is the minimum.) A player can only bid ONE time, and once his bid is declared, it cannot be changed.
• Bidding players are not required to disclose the condition that they want to make dominant.

3) Winning the Bid

The player with the highest bid ("Buyer") has won the opportunity to change the dominant condition.

• The high bidder announces the new dominant condition and places the corresponding condition marker on top of the pile, face up.
• The high bidder places his bid amount, in florin coins, under his luminary portrait on the Medici income tracker.
• The high bidder has initiative and plays the first skirmish card of the new round.

4) Success Scenario: Bid Obligation Is Fulfilled

a. As the game proceeds, the Buyer SUCCEEDS in making (and laying down) melds that are equal to or higher than the amount of his high bid. b. The Buyer retrieves his bid florins from under his luminary portrait. c. Play continues until the end of the round.

5) Failure Scenario: Bid Obligation Is Not Met

a. The encounter phase ends and the Buyer FAILS to lay down enough meld to equal his bid. b. The bid florins located under the Buyer's luminary portrait are put into the bank. (The Buyer loses the florins he put up for the bid.) c. Any florins the Buyer may have received from making melds during the encounter phase must be returned to the bank. d. Game proceeds to the battle phase.

6) Borrowing to Bid

a. If the Buyer lacks sufficient funds to cover his bid, he may borrow florins (all or a portion) from the bank. b. If the Buyer fulfills his bid obligation, he repays the bank interest-free at the end of the round. c. If the Buyer fails to fulfill his bid obligation, he must repay the bank the borrowed sum, plus 100% interest. (For example: if a player borrows 50 florins from the bank and doesn't make enough meld to equal his high bid, he owes the bank 100 florins.) Payment is made at the end of the round. d. If the Buyer lacks the funds to repay the debt, the amount owed is placed, in florin coins from the bank, under his luminary portrait as a reminder. A 10-florin late payment charge is added for every round the debt remains outstanding.

A player may make a "bank withdrawal" if liquid cash is needed for a bid. If this is the case, the player moves his luminary portrait down 100 on the income tracker and receives 100 florins from the bank.

7) Hedging the Bet

Once the Buyer changes the dominant condition, his opponents may bet against him if they believe he will not be able to fulfill his bid obligation. Players who do so are called "hedge-betters".

a. A hedge-better places his bet using florin coins from his personal treasury. He puts the florins underneath his luminary portrait, located on the game board. b. Bet amounts cannot exceed the Buyer's amount. c. If the Buyer succeeds in fulfilling his bid obligation, the hedge-better loses the bet, and the bank confiscates the coins that were placed under the luminary portrait. d. If the Buyer is unsuccessful, the hedge-better retrieves his coins and then receives the amount he put up from the bank (i.e., the bank pays 1:1 on hedge bets). For example: if the hedge-better puts 50 florins under his luminary portrait, he retrieves that 50 and also collects 50 from the bank.

Glossary

The following terms and definitions are associated with card games and/or are particular to the game of Renaissance Wars.

• Bank: the coin reserve that supplies players with florins.
• Battle: during the battle phase, each player lays a card down on the table, face up (and in a clockwise direction, beginning with the player having the initiative). The highest ranked card wins. The winner gathers the cards just played (his own and his opponents') and places them in his captured card pile.
• Battle phase: the second phase of a round.
• Captured cards: cards won in skirmishes and battles that are placed in the captured cards area of the player's luminary mat.
• Condition: conditions loosely correspond to "suits" in a standard deck of playing cards, although there are five in Renaissance Wars: economic, religion, politics, culture and seeds of enlightenment. Each reflects one of the predominant societal influences of the time. Each condition has a specific color associated with it.
• Condition marker: used to indicate the current dominant condition. At the end of each round, the top condition marker is placed on the bottom of the stack and the next marker is turned over to determine the dominant condition for the next round.
• Dominant condition: the condition that has been designated as being more powerful than the others. Dominant condition corresponds to "Trump" in traditional card games.
• Draw deck: after the play deck is constructed at the beginning of the game and players are dealt their hands, the dealer removes the cards from the current era envelope and shuffles them into the play deck to create the draw deck.
• Encounter phase: the first phase of a round, where players skirmish, attempt to make melds, draw new cards, address populace cards that have been placed on luminary mats and resolve immediate events and intrusions. The encounter phase ends when the draw deck is exhausted.

Commonly Asked Questions

Q: Are conditions similar to suits in a deck of playing cards? A: Yes. In Renaissance Wars, the suits are named and categorized by the conditions and influences that were at play during the period: culture, politics, economics and religion all provided grist for the mill that ultimately produced the Age of Enlightenment.

Q: Do populace cards have a condition? If I lead with a populace card in a skirmish, does my opponent have to play another populace card to win? A: Populace cards do not have a condition. They are assessed on their numerical value only. A card only needs to have a higher numerical value to win against the played populace card.

Q: Why do populace cards have different numerical values? A: For strategic reasons. There are some populace cards that you would prefer to keep, versus some that you would prefer others have!

Q: Why doesn't my populace card valued at 20 win against dominant condition cards valued less? A: During the Renaissance, there were times when one condition cast a longer shadow over the lives of everyone. In Renaissance Wars, each era has a dominant condition where those cards trump all others, although there are times when that can abruptly change!

Q: What about my personal action card? Is it part of my hand? A: Technically, personal action cards are not considered part of a player's hand. They cannot be won or lost in skirmishes and battles. Also, they cannot be used to resolve immediate events or immediate intrusions, although certain cards may be used to affect that resolution, e.g., Amazing Grace.

Q: Why can't I keep my personal action card if it wasn't used? A: The game's designers discourage hoarding! Personal action cards are "use it or lose it". But don't worry, every player gets a new one at the beginning of every round.

Q: When can I use my luminary powers? A: Most powers can be used only after you win a skirmish, but there are many exceptions! Be sure to familiarize yourself with your powers, as outlined on your luminary mat, before the game begins.

Q: Why is there no seeds of enlightenment condition marker? A: The seeds of the Enlightenment were planted during the Renaissance, but it was more of an undercurrent of the time. In fact, one could argue that it was the other four conditions represented in the game coming together, in conflict or union, that made the Age of Enlightenment possible.

Q: Why are there fewer cards in the seeds of enlightenment condition? A: See answer above.

Q: Do unwanted cards have a condition? If I play one first does my opponent have to play one to win? A: No. Like populace cards, unwanted cards are assessed on their numerical value only.

Q: What happens if more than one player draws an immediate card? A: They are resolved in the order in which they were drawn. Immediate cards are NEVER added to a player's hand.

Q: What if the text on a card conflicts with what is written in the rules? A: The action text on a card takes precedence over the rules, in the event that the two conflict.

Q: Can I add another card to a Marriage meld if I played one of the cards in a skirmish? A: No. Once a Marriage card is removed, another one cannot be added. However, you may add cards to a Marriage to make a COMPLETELY NEW meld. (See example on page 17.)

Q: Does the biographical/historical information on the cards effect game play? A: No, it is flavor text for your enjoyment.

Q: Where is Leonardo da Vinci? A: Leonardo da Vinci and Johannes Gutenberg were part of a special limited edition luminary package.

Q: What is buying influence? Why isn't it part of the main game? A: Buying influence adds an extra level of complexity to the game by allowing players to bid to change the dominant condition at the beginning of every round. The Buyer's opponents may hedge the bet, should he fail to earn enough to match the bid. Buying influence is an advanced option, and is in no way required to enjoy the game.

Q: Why are players required to follow condition (suit) in the battle phase but not the encounter phase? A: The battle phase generally requires more tactical hand management. It is possible, with thoughtful hand management, to win the round in the battle phase, even when you haven't accumulated many florins during the encounter phase.

Q: What happens if I play a populace card in the battle phase? A: It is immediately replaced with an unwanted card.

Source note: the rulebook is transcribed from the U.S. Games Systems ©2015 English edition as printed. The publisher's separate errata and clarifications PDF (listed on BoardGameGeek) was not available to this transcription and is not included.