Tigris & Euphrates FAQ
98 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup and Components
- Can Tigris & Euphrates be played with two players, and does it need special rules?
- Can players count the tiles left in the bag?
- How is the starting player chosen, and what are the dynasty tiles for?
- What must stay in front of the screen and what stays hidden?
- Are victory points hidden during play?
- Does the small creek off the river on the board count as a river space?
- What do the special border spaces on the board mean?
- How many tiles of each colour are there?
- Can you run out of victory point tokens, and can you swap five 1s for a 5?
Leaders and Kingdoms
- What is the difference between a region and a kingdom?
- Do diagonal tiles count as adjacent?
- Where may a leader be placed?
- Can a leader be placed so that it joins two kingdoms?
- What if a leader ends up as the only link between two kingdoms because of a tile or a war?
- Can I move the leader that links two kingdoms to another spot that links them again?
- Can a leader join a kingdom with a lone region or tile?
- Can a tile that joins two kingdoms be placed next to a leader?
- Can one tile join more than two kingdoms?
- Does a leader count as part of its kingdom for linking tiles?
- Does placing a leader score points?
- When is a leader removed because it has no adjacent temple?
- Can a leader be placed on a space where a temple used to be?
Turn Structure and Actions
- Can I take fewer than two actions in a turn?
- Can I do the same action twice in a turn?
- Does moving a leader cost one action or two?
- Can I swap two of my leaders, or swap one on the board with one in hand, in one action?
- Can I take my own leader off the board without placing it again?
- When do players refill their hands to six tiles?
- How does the replace-tiles action work?
- What are the rules for catastrophe tiles?
- In what order do things happen when I place a tile?
- Is monument scoring done per action or at the end of the turn?
Placing Tiles and Scoring
- Who gets the point when I place a tile in a kingdom?
- Does a placed tile score one point or the number of tiles of that colour in the kingdom?
- What colour of point does the king score when he substitutes for a missing leader?
- If I own both the matching leader and the king, do I score twice?
- Can I place a tile away from any kingdom, and does it score?
- Does a tile that joins a kingdom to a leaderless region score?
- If my leader is removed, do I lose points already scored?
- Where can farms and other tiles be placed?
Revolts and Wars
- What is the difference between a revolt and a war?
- What counts toward strength in a revolt?
- What counts toward strength in a war?
- Who commits tiles first in a conflict, and can I commit more than needed?
- Can I commit tiles of another colour to a conflict?
- What happens to committed tiles?
- What does the winner of a revolt gain?
- What does the winner of a war gain?
- Which temples survive when a priest loses a war?
- Who is the attacker in a war?
- Who decides the order when a tile creates several wars?
- Can a conflict be repeated in the same turn after losing?
- Who is the attacker and who is the defender in a revolt?
- Does a leader placed to join a region with a kingdom cause a revolt?
- Do the same-coloured leaders in different kingdoms conflict if no tile joins them?
Unification Tiles
- Does the tile that unites two kingdoms score a point?
- When do I place the unification tile?
- When is the unification tile removed, and what happens to the covered tile?
- Can I use the unification tile twice in a turn?
- Can I unite two kingdoms where I have no leader to force a war between opponents?
- Can I still build a monument after a uniting tile or war?
- Are treasures collected before or after a war?
Monuments
- How do I build a monument?
- What colours can the monument have?
- If I decline to build a monument, can it be built later on the same square?
- Can I delay the monument decision to collect treasure or resolve something first?
- Does the tile that completes a monument still score?
- How do monuments score?
- Can one monument score for two leaders?
- Does the king score for monuments of other colours?
- Must a leader touch the monument to score?
- Do monument tiles still count for strength or connections?
- Can building a monument remove a leader, including an opponent's?
- What happens to a treasure on a tile used for a monument?
- Where can I build a monument on blue farms?
Treasures
- When does the trader collect treasure, and how many?
- What if the kingdom has several treasures but no trader?
- Can treasure be collected on an opponent's turn?
- Which treasure must be taken first?
- Are treasures distributed after each action or at the end of the turn?
- What if the trader is removed in a war that would have united treasures?
- Do I need green markets to collect a treasure?
Game End and Winning
- When does the game end?
- Does the game end immediately or after the current turn when the last treasures are taken?
- What if the bag runs out during a replace-tiles action or the refill?
- How is the final score calculated?
- How should treasures be allocated at the end?
- How are ties broken?
- Do monuments score on the final turn?
- Can I avoid taking treasure to avoid ending the game?
Advanced Game Rules
- What is the English variant for conflicts?
- How many tiles are needed to place a civilization building?
- When can a civilization building be moved to another line?
- When does a civilization building give two points?
- What happens to a civilization building when its line is destroyed?
- Is the building placed before or after a monument?
- What changes with the advanced board?
- How does the wonder work?