Tahuantinsuyu: The Rise of the Inca Empire Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Contents
• Setup
• Rounds
  • Inca Phase
  • Sun Phase
  • People Phase
  • Building a Road (Road-Building Action)
  • Building a City
  • Building a Temple
  • Building a Garrison
  • Building a Terrace
  • Building an Additional Road (Building Action)
  • Conquering a Region
  • Sapa Inca Phase
• Scoring
  • Immediate Scoring
  • Scoring in the Sapa Inca Phase
• Miscellaneous
• How Do I Win?
• Sun Cards

Objective

The goal of the game is to have the most Victory Points (VP) when Pizarro arrives in the Inca capital of Cuzco.

Contents

• 1 game board
• 45 Regional Information (RI) chips (white tiles)
• 32 Sun cards
• 4 Building Cost / Turn Sequence cards
• 70 labor units (glass stones)
• 4 wax crayons
• 80 tiles:
  • 20 terraces (green squares)
  • 20 garrisons (yellow squares)
  • 20 cities (red squares)
  • 20 temples (wooden blocks)
• 4 player pieces (1 glass stone per player)
• 1 round marker (purple glass stone)
• 4 invasion tiles (red tiles)
• 1 three-player map overlay
• 1 sheet of stickers for the RI chips

Setup

Before the first game, stick the RI chip stickers onto the white tiles.

Place the game board in the middle of the table. If playing with three players, lay the three-player map overlay onto the board so that it covers Cuzco and the surrounding regions.

Shuffle the Building Cost / Turn Sequence cards and give one to each player. Players should sit in a convenient position relative to their Suyu (A – Antisuyu, Q – Qollasuyu, K – Kuntisuyu, and C – Chinchasuyu).

Each player chooses a color and the matching wax crayon. With it, the player draws a line along the thick dash-dot line from Cuzco to the edge of their own quadrant. Player pieces are placed on the start space of the scoring track.

The labor units are placed in a supply near the board.

Shuffle the Sun cards and deal each player three of them face down. Place the remaining cards face down on the board.

Place the RI chips face down in the regions, one marker per region, but not in the gray starting regions. In the regions neighboring the gray starting regions, the RI chips are now revealed.

Place the round marker on the Inca space in the Pre-Empire column of the turn-sequence track (the yellow table in the upper right of the board).

Shuffle the invasion tiles and place them face down on the four orange spaces of the last column of the turn-sequence track.

Rounds

Historically, Inca life had three facets: government (symbolized by the Inca Phase), religion (symbolized by the Sun Phase), and the people (symbolized by the People Phase). The Sapa Inca is the divine ruler and stands for the Scoring Phase.

Each round consists of the following phases: Inca Phase, Sun Phase, People Phase, Sapa Inca Phase. The turn-sequence track determines which phases are played in a given round.

Inca Phase

The Inca Phase symbolizes the activity and productivity of the empire. The labor unit tiles symbolize the labor that each individual makes available to the empire. This labor tax, or "Mit'a," was a fixed number of days per year. The shrinking amount of resources at the start of each round illustrates the fact that, in the early days of the empire, resources were made available for expansion. As the empire grew, more resources were needed to sustain it, so fewer resources remained available for expansion.

Each player receives a certain amount of labor units. The exact number is given on the top row of the turn-sequence track (Resources).

Each player receives labor units for the regions they control — add together the corresponding values (Labor) shown on their Regional Information markers. In addition, every terrace also gives one labor unit to the player who built it.

After every player has received their labor units, the players in the lead must support the weaker players. In the early empire (Early Empire), the player with the most points (on the scoring track) must give one labor unit to the player with the fewest points. In the middle or late empire (Middle/Late Empire), the player with the most points must give two labor units to the player with the fewest points. The player in second place gives one labor unit to the player in third place (this last rule naturally does not apply with three players).

Sun Phase

The Sun Phase illustrates the influence of religion on daily life. The land of the Inca was a land of extremes — a few miles from coastal deserts lay incredibly high mountain ranges. The climate touched every part of life, especially agriculture and fishing. The Sun cards represent these influences.

The players now exchange their Building Cost / Turn Sequence cards. The player with the fewest points (on the scoring track) receives the card numbered 1, the second-to-last player receives the card numbered 2, and so on. In case of a tie, the player whose piece sits closer to the inside of the scoring space (i.e., whoever reached that space first) is considered ahead.

In turn, each player plays one of their Sun cards by placing it face down between two neighboring players, provided there is not already a Sun card there.

Afterward, each player draws a Sun card and once again has three Sun cards in hand.

Once every player has placed their Sun card, the cards are turned face up. The event on a card affects only the players adjacent to it. Sun cards remain active until the next Sapa Inca Phase.

During play, several different Sun cards are often active at the same time; their effects normally stack, unless an exception is specifically noted on the Sun cards themselves.

People Phase

The People Phase symbolizes the labor your people perform to advance the empire. The Mit'a collected during the Inca Phase is now spent on building roads, cities, terraces, garrisons, and temples, or on conquering new regions.

The turn order remains the same as in the preceding Sun Phase.

Each player has 2 actions in their People Phase: the road-building action and the building action. Although the order of these two actions is not fixed, all roads must be built within a single one of them.

In the road-building action of the People Phase, a player may build up to two roads for free.

In the building action of the People Phase, a player may carry out exactly one of the following seven actions: build a city, build a temple, build a garrison, build a terrace, build an additional road, conquer a region, or pass.

Building a Road (Road-Building Action)

Between two points (Huaca, city, garrison) that are connected by a dashed line, you may draw a colored line with your wax crayon along that dashed line. A road must always connect directly to your own road network, which in turn must connect to Cuzco. Important: at least one of the two points being connected must lie in territory you have already conquered. If a road leads into a region with a face-down RI chip, that chip is now turned face up and placed on the region. Only one road may be built per dashed line. The road-building action requires no labor units.

Building a City

The Inca almost always built their cities on sites where earlier cities had already stood, which is why many of their cities bear names derived from pre-Inca times.

A city may be built on any City Site that lies in a conquered region and is connected to your own road network. This costs 6 labor units; a red city tile is then placed on that city. The player immediately receives 4 VP for building a city. Later, during the Sapa Inca Phase, every player whose road network connects to that city receives 3 VP (regardless of who built it).

Building a Temple

The Inca allowed conquered populations to continue worshipping their own gods, but demanded that the sun god be recognized as chief among all gods. Temples to the sun god were erected in conquered cities. Important temples from past empires still stand in the most significant cities.

A player may build a temple in a built city if that city is connected to their own road network. This costs 5 labor units; a temple (wooden block) is then placed on the red city tile. The player immediately receives 4 VP for building a temple. Later, during the Sapa Inca Phase, every player whose road network connects to that temple receives 1 VP (regardless of who built it). If a player builds a temple in a Significant Site, they receive additional points. For building such a temple, the player immediately receives as many VP as are noted on the board next to that significant city.

Building a Garrison

Garrisons were small outposts along the road network, stocked with supplies of food and water. This stockpile was intended for military purposes or for the population in times of hardship, such as crop failure or natural disasters like El Niño.

A garrison may be built on any Garrison Site that lies in a conquered region and is connected to your own road network. This costs 4 labor units; a yellow garrison tile is then placed on that site. The player immediately receives 3 VP for building a garrison. Later, during the Sapa Inca Phase, every player whose road network connects to that garrison receives 2 VP (regardless of who built it).

Building a Terrace

Terraces are perhaps the most visible sign of Inca rule. While they did not invent terracing, the Inca perfected its construction in the Andes. Terraces increased usable farmland by up to 100%. They contributed to the so-called vertical economy of the Inca, and many are still in use today.

To build a terrace, you must control a region. For 2 labor units you receive a green terrace tile; place it next to one of your RI chips on the table. You may build only one terrace per region you control. From then on, the terrace produces one labor unit every Sapa Inca Phase. The player immediately receives 1 VP for building a terrace.

Building an Additional Road (Building Action)

For one labor unit, you may build one more road.

Conquering a Region

The Inca expanded their empire to its maximum extent within 100 years. Many peoples were conquered through war or coercion, often with as many as 20,000 Inca warriors present.

To conquer a region, your road network must border that region or lead into it. Pay as many labor units as shown under Resistance on the RI chip, take the RI chip, and place it in front of you on the table. Once a region has been conquered, the RI chips in the neighboring regions are revealed. For conquering a region, a player receives as many VP as shown in the first (left) position under VP on the RI chip. No VP is received for the region during the Sapa Inca Phase, which is why zero VP is noted there.

Sapa Inca Phase

The Sapa Inca is the supreme ruler of all the Inca. In this phase, Victory Points are awarded in his honor.

In the order shown on the scoring track, players score their points (see Scoring). All Sun cards from the previous round are placed on the discard pile. If a player still holds more labor units at this point than they would be entitled to next round, the excess labor units are returned to the supply.

Scoring

Whenever a player scores points, they move their player piece clockwise the corresponding number of spaces. If another player's piece already occupies that scoring space, place your piece next to it on the outside (i.e., further from the imagined center of the board); even when two player pieces occupy one space, it is always clear who is ahead (whoever is innermost).

Immediate Scoring

Whenever one of the following improvements is built, Victory Points are awarded immediately. Only the builder of the improvement receives these VP, and only at the moment of building. The VP for immediate scoring are found on the Building Cost / Turn Sequence card next to the corresponding buildings, where the left-hand value is for immediate scoring, while the right-hand value gives the Victory Points awarded during the Sapa Inca Phase (comparable to the RI chips).

Scoring in the Sapa Inca Phase

In the Sapa Inca Phase, players score VP for the upkeep and advancement of the empire. Terraces belong to particular regions and, for scoring purposes, to particular players, so only the builder receives VP for them. For cities, temples, and garrisons, however, every player whose road network connects to them receives the corresponding VP.

Improvement	Sapa Inca Phase VP
City	3 VP for every player whose road network leads to this city
Temple	1 VP for every player whose road network leads to this temple
Garrison	2 VP for every player whose road network leads to this garrison
Terrace	1 VP for the player who built this terrace

Miscellaneous

It is important to remember that buildings earn VP for their builder. Aside from terraces and roads, the improvement buildings do not belong to any single player. Once built, they become the property of the empire.

Garrisons and cities may only be built in already-conquered regions, or must at least border one. Sites lying entirely within unconquered regions may not be built on until after the region is conquered.

Roads can always be assigned to a particular region, even when they run along a border. A Sun card that affects unconquered regions only affects roads that actually pass through them, not those that merely run along their borders.

When the Sun card draw pile is used up, shuffle the discard pile and place it face down as the new draw pile on the board.

How Do I Win?

The game ends after the Sapa Inca Phase that follows Pizarro's arrival in Cuzco. After the People Phase ends in the Late Empire, the invasion tile lying next to it is revealed. If the tile with the black dot is revealed, a Sapa Inca Phase takes place immediately afterward. Whoever is ahead on the scoring track after that wins the game. There is no tie: the player piece closer to the center of the board is considered ahead.

Sun Cards

The 32 Sun cards and their quantities in the deck, as listed in the rules: Annual Pilgrimage (1), Harsh Weather (1), Resistance (2), Building Project (1), Key Outpost (1), Rural Unrest (2), El Nino Flooding (2), Local Pilgrimage (1), Solar Eclipse (1), Epidemic (2), Military Superiority (1), Stores Stop Famine (1), Expert Surveyors (2), Popular Support (2), Urban Renewal (1), Extra Roadcrew (2), Rapid Expansion (2), Wilderness Road, Great Pilgrimage (1), Religious Fervor (1), Workers Press On (2).

Military Superiority — Every region you conquer during the People Phase costs one fewer labor unit. A region with a Resistance of one may be conquered for no labor units at all.

Popular Support — Every RI chip with a Resistance value of 1 that you control immediately gives you one additional labor unit.

Stores Stop Famine — Every garrison you build during the People Phase immediately scores 1 additional VP.

Urban Renewal — Every city you build during the People Phase immediately scores 2 additional VP.

Solar Eclipse — If you build a temple during the People Phase, you may not build a road; conversely, you may not build a temple if you build a road during the People Phase.

Resistance — Every region you conquer during the People Phase costs one additional labor unit.

Rural Unrest — During the Sun Phase, destroy all roads that run partly or entirely through an unconquered region.

Harsh Weather — Building a garrison during the People Phase costs you one additional labor unit.

El Nino Flooding — During the road-building action of the People Phase, build one fewer road. You must still build at least one road.

Epidemic — Every city you build during the People Phase costs two additional labor units.

Wilderness Road — During the People Phase, you may connect any two cities with a single road, as long as it does not cross an existing road or a planned road route.

Workers Press On — If you build a road during the building action of the People Phase, you may build a second one for free.

Extra Roadcrew — During the road-building action of the People Phase, you may build one additional road.

Key Outpost — During the building action of the People Phase, you may upgrade a garrison built in a previous round into a city. This costs four labor units. Sun cards affecting cities may change this cost. You receive exactly as many VP as you would for building a city.

Religious Fervor — During the People Phase, you may build a temple on a garrison instead of on a city.

Building Project — If you build a garrison during the People Phase, you may build a second one as well. You must pay the labor units for both garrisons.

Expert Surveyors — If you build a terrace during the People Phase, you may build a second one as well. You must pay the labor units for both terraces.

Rapid Expansion — In addition to your normal building, you may conquer a region during the People Phase. The conquest cost for this region increases by two labor units.

Great Pilgrimage — If your road network connects to a temple in Pucara de Anadgla or Ranchillos, you may go on a pilgrimage instead of taking the road-building action or the building action. This is worth 8 VP immediately. You may only go on one pilgrimage per People Phase.

Annual Pilgrimage — If your road network connects to a temple in Chiquitoy Viejo or Pachacamac, you may go on a pilgrimage instead of taking the road-building action or the building action. This is worth 6 VP immediately. You may only go on one pilgrimage per People Phase.

Local Pilgrimage — If your road network connects to a temple in Machu Picchu or Huanuco Pampa, you may go on a pilgrimage instead of taking the road-building action or the building action. This is worth 5 VP immediately. You may only go on one pilgrimage per People Phase.