Ventura Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Component Overview
  • Anatomy of a Territory
  • How to Prepare the Game Board
  • How to Use the Family Board
• Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Anatomy of a Card
• The Ventura Phase
  • Initiative Step
  • Prestige Step
  • Fortune Step
  • Recruit Step
  • Recovery Step
• The Administration Phase
  • Annex Step
  • Upkeep Step
• The Expansion Phase
• The Conscription Phase
• The Mobilization Phase
  • Deploy Step
    • Troops, Companies, and Armies
  • Regroup Step
• The Troop Phase
  • • Player's Hand Size
• Battles
  • First Assault: Ranged
  • Second Assault: Melee
  • Retreat and Additional Assaults
  • How to Prepare for Battle
  • Battle Modifiers
  • Wounds and Healing
  • End of a Battle
  • How to Resolve a Battle
• Winning the Game
  • Conquering a City
  • Gaining Victory Points
• Families
  • Este
  • Gonzaga
  • Medici
  • Visconti
• Optional Rules
  • Equal Domains
  • Mixed Fortunes
  • To Arms!
  • Familial Expertise

Components

Your game of Ventura contains this rulebook and the following:

• 40 Territory Tiles
• 110 Cards, consisting of:
  • 58 Ventura Cards
  • 4 Garrison Cards
  • 47 Conscription Cards
  • 1 First Player Card
• 20 Wound Tokens
• 69 Florin Tokens, consisting of:
  • 19 value 5 tokens
  • 50 value 1 tokens
• 124 plastic markers, consisting of:
  • 80 Domain Markers
  • 20 Army Markers
  • 20 Company Markers
  • 4 Score Markers
• 1 Scoring Board
• 4 Family Boards
• 2 Battle Boards

Component Overview

This section contains descriptions of each component type in detail.

Territory Tiles. In Ventura, the game board is built using hexagonal Territory tiles. The arrangement of the Territories changes every game, so players can study different placement strategies.

Domain Markers. Domain Markers are placed on the game board to indicate which Territories are controlled by each player.

Army Markers. Army Markers represent each player's Armies as they march across the game board. See the "Troops, Companies, and Armies" sidebar on page 8.

Company Markers. Company Markers are placed on the game board to represent each player's Companies. See the "Troops, Companies, and Armies" sidebar on page 8.

Score Markers. The Score Markers are set on the Scoring board to keep track of each player's victory points.

Scoring Board. The Scoring Board is set up near the game board to show the current victory points of each player.

Family Boards. Each player uses his Family Board to assemble his Companies and Armies.

Battle Boards. Players use the Battle Boards to plan out the order of battle in their conflicts with other players.

Garrison Cards. The Garrison Cards represent the military Company in charge of the defense of each player's City. At the beginning of the game, each player takes the Garrison Card for his family. For rule purposes, they are treated as a normal Company. The four Garrison Cards are customized by family: red for Este, blue for Visconti, black for Gonzaga, and yellow for Medici.

Ventura Cards. The cards of the Ventura deck represent the many Captains of Fortune and trained Companies.

Conscription Cards. The cards of the Conscription deck represent other poorly-trained Companies as well as various Events with different effects (military tactics, economic tricks, happenings, etc.).

First Player Card. The first player in each round of the game receives the First Player Card. The first player takes precedence in all stages of the game. The card is reassigned every round.

Wound Tokens. Wound Tokens are placed on Company Cards to denote how much damage a company has taken during combat.

Florin Tokens. At the beginning of each round, players collect Florin tokens based on the number of Territories they control. Florins may be spent to heal wounds, purchase Ventura or Conscription Cards, deploy or maintain Companies, and gain victory points.

Anatomy of a Territory

1. Categories. There are five different categories of lands, each indicated by a different color. Some categories have different types of Territories. The Papal Territories don't belong to any of the five categories.
2. Type. Art that shows the type of Territory represented by the tile (Village, Castle, City, River, Lake, Hill, Mountain, Field, or Wood). Papal Territories show the Papal State's banner.
3. Income. Shows how many Florins this Territory adds to a player's income each turn. A value written inside a colored hexagon (ex. "1+1x") gives the player an extra Florin for each adjacent Territory of the proper color (the Territory must be in the Domain of the same player).
4. Movement Cost. Shows how many movement points a Troop must spend in order to move into that Territory.
5. Ranged. Shows the ranged combat modifier offered to the player who controls that Territory if he has a battle in that Territory. A value written inside a colored hexagon (ex. "1+1x") gives a player one extra bonus for each adjacent Territory of the proper color (the Territory must be in the Domain of the same player).
6. Melee. Shows the melee combat modifier offered to the player who controls that Territory if he has a battle in that Territory.
7. Resistance. Shows the resistance modifier given to the player who controls that Territory if he has a battle in that Territory. A value written inside a colored hexagon (ex. "0+1x") gives a player one extra bonus for each adjacent Territory of the proper color (the Territory must be in the Domain of the same player). This value is a modifier that shows how many wounds a player can prevent to his Companies in battle.
8. Setup. Shows whether the tile must be used in the game or not, depending on the number of players. See the rules in "Setup" below.

How to Prepare the Game Board

1. The First Player places the two Papal Territories, side by side at the center of the playing area.
2. Starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise, players take turns placing one of their Territories, until every player has placed all of his Territories except his City. Every Territory must be touching at least two other Territories already in play.
3. After everyone has placed four Territories, players each place their City and their Domain Markers, thus creating the starting Domains. Cities may not be placed adjacent to each other.

How to Use the Family Board

The Family Board is divided into five numbered Troop areas plus a Florin Reserve.

• Area 1 — Garrison (Company). Represented on the board by the "1" Company figure.
• Area 2 — Company. Represented on the board by the "2" Company figure.
• Area 3 — Army. Represented on the board by the "3" Army figure.
• Area 4 — Company. Represented on the board by the "4" Company figure.
• Area 5 — Empty. A family cannot have more than five Troops.
• Florin Reserve. The family treasure.

Turn Overview. Each box contains icons corresponding to available actions in the phase.

Scoring Overview. This section shows how many points are earned depending on Florin expenditure and the number of Papal Territories under control during the Prestige step.

Setup

1. Determine First Player. The player with the most money in his pocket (or randomly chosen) is the First Player and takes the First Player Card.
2. Choose Family. Starting from the First Player and then in clockwise order, each player chooses a family and takes the Family Board and all the tokens, markers, and figures of the color for that family. The players return the unused boards, tokens, markers, and figures to the box.
3. Take City. Each player takes the City Territory of his color. Unused City Territories are returned to the box.
4. Gather Territories. The players gather the Territories to be used in the game. The Papal Territories are always used and should be set aside at this time, as they will not be part of the Territory stockpile. Territories with a Setup Value greater than the number of players in the game are not used. In a two-player game, the players remove the 18 Territories with Setup Value (3) and (4); in a three-player game, they remove the nine Territories with Setup Value (4); and in a four-player game, all Territories are used.
5. Create Territory Stockpile. Unused Territories are returned to the box, and the remaining ones are mixed together to create a facedown stockpile.
6. Draw Territories. Each player draws four Territories from the top of the stockpile. The stockpile is then placed within easy reach of all the players. Players can look at their own Territories, but they can't reveal them to other players.
7. Set Up Conscription Deck. One player shuffles the Conscription deck (green cards) and places it beside the Territory stockpile.
8. Set Up Ventura Deck. One player shuffles the Ventura deck (blue cards) and places it beside the Conscription deck. That player reveals three cards from the top of the Ventura deck and places them faceup near it.
9. Set Up Tokens. Players create stockpiles for Florins and for Wound Tokens.
10. Set Up Papal Territories. The First Player places the two Papal Territories at the center of the play area, revealed and adjacent to each other (see the "How to Prepare the Game Board" section above).
11. Create Game Board. Starting with the First Player and proceeding in clockwise order, each player, in turn, places one of his Territories. The Territory must be placed adjacent to at least two other Territories in play, but not necessarily ones that he played. Each player places three more Territories in this manner (for a total of four each). Then, according to the same rules, each player places his City Territory. A City Territory cannot be placed adjacent to another City (see "How to Prepare the Game Board" above).
12. Choose Domains. Each player then places his Domain Tokens. The Domain Tokens must be placed on the City Territory and on three other Territories (not necessarily the Territories which that player placed), each adjacent to at least one of the others, creating the player's starting Domain. The number of Domain Tokens a player places on a Territory is equal to its Income Value. For example, if a Territory has an Income Value of 1, one Domain Token is placed on it. If it has an Income Value of 2, two Domain Tokens are placed on it.

Playing the Game

Ventura is played over a consecutive number of game rounds, with each round consisting of six different phases. Some phases are composed of numbered steps.

Each phase or step, unless otherwise specified, is played in turn order, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise. After each player has had the opportunity to act in the phase, play continues to the next phase, restarting from the First Player.

The phases and steps are:

• A. Ventura Phase
  • Initiative Step
  • Prestige Step
  • Fortune Step
  • Recruit Step
  • Recovery Step
• B. Administration Phase
  • Annex Step
  • Upkeep Step
• C. Expansion Phase
• D. Conscription Phase
• E. Mobilization Phase
  • Deploy Step
  • Regroup Step
• F. Troop Phase

Anatomy of a Card

All cards have characteristic graphics, original artwork, and a progressive identification number. On each card, depending on the type, is given a set of information for play:

1. Name. Each card has a name. A player can have any number of cards with the same name under his control.
2. Banner. The shape of the banner (with different numbers of tips) defines the card type. Companies have a one-tip banner, Captains of Fortune have a two-tip banner, and Events have a four-tip banner.
3. Type. Shows the type of the card. Ventura Cards can only be Companies or Captains of Fortune. Conscription Cards can only be Companies or Events. Garrison Cards can only be Companies.
4. Deployment Cost. Shows how many Florins a player has to pay to play that card. The Garrison Cards don't have a Deployment Cost because they start already in play at the beginning of the game.
5. Maintenance Cost. Shows how many Florins a player has to pay to keep the Company or the Captain of Fortune in play.
6. Movement. Shows how many movement points the Company can use. The Movement Value of a Captain of Fortune is a modifier that improves the movement of the Army commanded by him. The Garrison Cards don't have a Movement Value because they cannot move outside the City.
7. Ranged. Shows the ability of the Company in long-range combat. The Ranged Value of a Captain of Fortune is a modifier added to the Ranged Value of the Army commanded by him.
8. Melee. Shows the ability of the Company in melee combat. The Melee Value of a Captain of Fortune is a modifier added to the Melee Value of the Army commanded by him.
9. Resistance. Shows how many wounds the Company can take before being eliminated. Each wound subtracts 1 point from the Resistance Value. If the Resistance Value reaches 0, the Company is eliminated. The Resistance Value of a Captain of Fortune is a modifier that shows how many wounds he can prevent to the Companies commanded in battle.
10. Special. Shows the special effects of the card, if any. The text written in italics is flavor text providing historical information and doesn't have any game effect.

The Ventura Phase

During the Ventura Phase, players perform the following steps:

Initiative Step

The player whose scoring marker is in last place on the scoring board receives the First Player Card. If there is a tie between two or more players, the First Player Card is passed to the tied player with the least Florins. If there is a tie for least Florins, as well, the tie among those players is broken randomly. The player who receives (or keeps) the First Player Card scores 1 victory point.

The First Player for the first round of the game is the one decided during Setup and doesn't score a victory point for being First Player that round.

Prestige Step

Each player in turn can spend Florins to obtain victory points. The active player receives 1 victory point for spending 1 Florin, 2 points for spending 2 Florins, 4 points for spending 3 Florins, 5 points for spending 4 Florins, and 7 points for spending 5 Florins. No more than 5 Florins may be spent for victory points by any one player per round. When a player pays Florins, he discards the correct value of Florins from his reserve to the general stockpile. (See "Winning the Game" below.)

In addition, each player scores 2 victory points for each Papal Territory in his Domain.

Fortune Step

Each player in turn chooses whether he wants to draw a Territory from the top of the stockpile or take one of the three revealed Ventura Cards.

Drawing a Territory or a revealed Ventura Card is free. When a player takes a revealed Ventura Card, he then reveals the top card of the Ventura deck and adds it to the two remaining revealed Ventura Cards (so that, once again, there are three).

A player who draws a Territory from the stockpile adds it to his Territory reserve without revealing it to the other players. Players may have any number of Territories in their reserve and may look at Territories in their own reserve at any time.

Recruit Step

Each player in turn may draw cards from the top of the Ventura deck. Each player must pay 2 Florins for each card he wants to draw in this way (a reminder of this cost is shown on the back of the Ventura Cards). Cards are drawn and paid for one at a time, so the active player may examine the card he has just drawn before deciding whether to purchase another one.

Each time a player pays Florins, he discards the correct value of Florins from his reserve, returning them to the general stockpile.

Recovery Step

Each player in turn may remove for free one Wound Token from each Company Card whose Troop Marker is on an Inhabited Territory (gray) of his Domain.

For example, if a player has Crossbowmen, with one Wound Token, on a Village Territory (gray), Swordsmen with two Wound Tokens on a Castle Territory (gray), and Light Cavalry with one Wound Token on a Lake Territory (blue), then during the Recovery Step, the Crossbowmen and Swordsmen would each have one Wound Token removed because they are on Inhabited Territories, but the Light Cavalry would not have any Wound Tokens removed.

The Administration Phase

During the Administration Phase, players perform the following steps:

Annex Step

Each player in turn checks in which Territories his Troop Markers are located:

• If there isn't a Domain Marker in an occupied Territory, the active player places Domain Markers on that Territory equal to the income granted by the Territory. The Territory now becomes part of that player's Domain.
• If there are any number of an opponent's Domain Markers on the occupied Territory, the active player discards them all and scores 1 victory point for each Domain Marker discarded in this way. Then, the active player must place Domain Markers on that Territory equal to the income granted by the Territory. The Territory now becomes a part of his Domain.

Upkeep Step

Each player, in turn, calculates the total income provided by the Territories of his Domain by adding their Income Values together (or simply by counting the number of his Domain Markers on the game board). However, each player must then subtract the Maintenance Costs of the cards he wants to keep in play from that amount (otherwise, they are discarded).

If a player doesn't have enough income to pay the Maintenance Costs, he can pay by using Florins from his reserve or can discard the Companies or the Captains of Fortune that he can't (or won't) pay for. If all the Companies of an Army are discarded, the Captain of Fortune who is leading them is also discarded from play. Players should remember to remove from the game board the appropriate Troop Markers if all the cards in that Troop area were discarded.

A player can decide not to pay the Maintenance Cost of his Garrison if he wishes. In that case, the player removes it from the game instead of discarding it.

Each player adds Florins to his reserve equal to the amount of his total income not used to pay the Maintenance Costs for his Troops.

The Expansion Phase

Each player in turn can add one Territory from his reserve to the game board. A new Territory can be played only if it is near at least two other Territories of the game board and at least one of those is part of the Domain of that player. The new Territory is considered to already be a part of that player's Domain, so he places Domain Markers on it equal to the Territory's Income Value. Players should remember to change the number of Domain Markers on Territories whose incomes are modified by the new Territory.

For example, if a player places a Wood Territory (green) next to a Village Territory (already in his Domain) with an Income Value of "1+1x" in a green hexagon, then the income of that village will increase by 1 and that player adds a Domain Marker to the Village to indicate that.

The Conscription Phase

Each player in turn may draw Conscription Cards from the top of the Conscription deck, but must pay 1 Florin for each card he wants to draw in this way (a reminder of this cost is shown on the back of the Conscription Cards). Cards are drawn and paid for one at a time, so the active player may examine the card he has just drawn before deciding whether to purchase another one.

The Mobilization Phase

During the Mobilization Phase, players perform the following steps:

Deploy Step

Each player in turn may play new Companies and Captains of Fortune from his hand. To play a card, a player must pay Florins equal to the Deploy Cost, shown in the upper-left part of the card.

Each Captain of Fortune must be deployed in the player's City Territory. A Company can be deployed in the City or into an Army led by a Captain of Fortune, unless otherwise specified (if a Territory restriction is specified, the player can deploy the Company only on a Territory of that type).

For example, a player who wants to deploy the Farmers (who have "Mobilization: Field or Hill." in their special text) must deploy them into an Army located on a Field or Hill Territory. He may not deploy them by themselves in a Field or Hill Territory, and he may not deploy them in his City at all. On the other hand, he could deploy Mounted Skirmishers (who do not have a deployment restriction) into one of his existing Armies on any type of Territory or as their own Troop in his City.

A player may deploy more than one Troop into the same Territory and may have more than one of his Troops in the same Territory.

The deployed Companies and Captains of Fortune are placed in the Troop areas numbered from 1 to 5 of the Family Board.

Each Troop area can be occupied by a single Company Card or by a Captain of Fortune Card with 1–5 Company Cards (an Army). Cards composing an Army must be placed in a pile inside a single Troop area. The order of these cards is not important, and each player may look at them at any time (except during a battle).

If all of a player's Troop areas are occupied but that player wishes to start a new Troop, he must discard all the cards from one of his Troop areas so that it becomes unoccupied in order to do so.

Company Card. A Company Card can be deployed into an empty Troop area or into one which contains a Captain of Fortune and at least one other Company Card; a player can't play it into a Troop area which contains only another Company Card. When a player deploys a Company Card into an empty Troop area, he puts into play a Company Marker with the number of the used Troop area (see the "Troops, Companies, and Armies" sidebar below).

Captain of Fortune Card. A Captain of Fortune Card may be deployed only into a Troop area which contains a Company; a player can't deploy it into an empty Troop area, because a Captain of Fortune can never be alone in a Troop. When a player deploys a Captain of Fortune Card into a Troop area with a Company, he exchanges the Company Marker on the game board for the Army Marker with the same number.

Troops, Companies, and Armies

The Company and the Captain of Fortune cards represent the military forces in a family's service. In Ventura, any military force is called a Troop. A Troop can be of two different types:

• Company. A Troop consisting of a single Company. On the Family Board, it is represented by a Company Card (Ventura or Conscription) that occupies a Troop numbered area (from 1 to 5). On the game board, it is represented by a Company Marker (armored soldier) with the same number as the Troop area occupied by the card.
• Army. A Troop consisting of a Captain of Fortune and at least one Company (but no more than five) is an Army. On the Family Board, it is represented by a pile of 2–6 cards (1 Captain of Fortune and 1–5 Company cards) that occupies a Troop numbered area (from 1 to 5). On the game board, it is represented by an Army Marker (horse) with the same number as the Troop area occupied by the cards in the Army.

Each family can have up to five Troops in play at the same time. The number 1 Troop, which contains the Garrison, must always remain in the family's City.

A Captain of Fortune Card cannot be alone in a Troop; it must always be together with at least one Company Card. Each Army can have only one Captain of Fortune.

Regroup Step

Each player in turn may manage his Troops on the game board. If two or more of the active player's Troops occupy the same Territory, he may perform any or all of the following actions:

• have a Company join an Army
• have one or more Companies leave an Army
• exchange one or more Companies between two or more Armies
• exchange Captains of Fortune between two or more Armies

However, the regrouping must respect all the rules concerning the composition of a Troop.

Note: Regrouping can change the composition of Troops. Remember to change the markers on the game board to fit the situation on the Family Board.

If a Captain of Fortune is alone in a Troop area, its player must discard it immediately into the Ventura Card discard pile.

The Troop Phase

Each player in turn may move his Troop Markers on the game board. A Company has movement points equal to its Movement Value. The number of movement points of an Army is equal to the lowest Movement Value among the Companies that compose the Army, plus the modifiers granted by the Captain of Fortune and/or by any Companies of Horse-carts.

For example, a Company of Mounted Crossbowmen moving by itself has 3 movement points. If the Mounted Crossbowmen were part of an Army led by Acuto (+2 movement points), the Army would have 5 movement points. However, if Crossbowmen (2 movement points) were also part of the Army, they would slow the Army down to 4 movement points. If the Army also contained two Companies of Horse-carts (3 movement points with the special power of increasing the Army's Movement Value by 1), then the Army would have 6 movement points (slowest Company + Captain bonus + Horse-cart bonuses).

Entering a Territory costs a number of movement points equal to the Movement Cost of the Territory. A player is not required to use all the movement points of a Troop.

If a Troop enters a Territory occupied by an opponent's Troop Marker, a battle begins (see "Battles" below).

If an Army ends its movement on a Territory with an opponent's Domain Markers but without any of the opponent's Troops on it, the active player discards the Domain Markers immediately and gains victory points equal to the number of Domain Markers discarded in this way. The discarded Domain Markers are returned to their player.

Each Troop moves (and battles) one at a time in sequence. After a Troop ends its movement and battles, the active player can move another Troop, until he has moved all of his Troops that he wants to move.

Player's Hand Size

Each player has a hand limit of five cards, regardless of card type. If a player, for any reason, draws a card in excess of that number, he must discard a card to return to having only five cards in hand. The cards discarded in this way are placed in the discard pile of the correct type.

Battles

A battle occurs when the active player moves a Troop into a Territory containing one or more of an opponent's Troops. If the defending player has more than one Troop in the Territory attacked, he must choose which one will battle first. The others will fight the attacking Troop, one at a time, if the attacking Troop wins the previous battles.

Each player involved in the battle takes a Battle Board and places it on top of his Family Board so that the Troop areas remain in the same places. Each player then takes all his Company Cards involved and places his Captain of Fortune (if any) in the appropriate space in the upper-left part of his Battle Board (see the "How to Prepare for Battle" section below).

Each player secretly decides the order of his Company Cards and places them on his Battle Board. Starting with the first space (I), each Company must be placed in a different space, in numerical order. A player cannot leave a space empty if he is able to fill it and cannot place more than one Company in a single space.

Once both players have placed their Company Cards, they turn their cards faceup to reveal them.

The battle is divided into sets of two assaults. The Companies in the first and second spaces fight in each assault. During an assault, each player's Companies suffer wounds at the same time. The first assault is ranged combat, and so the Companies use their Ranged Values; the following assaults are melee combat, and so the Companies use their Melee Values.

First Assault: Ranged

Players total the Ranged Values of the Companies in the first and second spaces (plus any Territory or Captain of Fortune modifiers). The Company in the first space suffers wounds equal to the opponent's Ranged Value total. Each wound causes the Company's Resistance Value to be reduced by 1. If the Resistance Value of the Company in the first space becomes 0, the Company is discarded and all the wounds in excess are taken by the Company in the second space. If the wounds taken by the Company in the second space lower its Resistance Value to 0, that Company is discarded. Wounds in excess of that amount, if any, are ignored. The first assault is now complete. If both players have any Companies left, the second assault begins. Players move up their Company Cards to fill the empty spaces.

Second Assault: Melee

In this second assault, the Melee Values of the Companies in the first and second spaces (plus modifiers) are totaled. The Company in the first space suffers wounds equal to the opponent's Melee Value total. Each wound causes the Company's Resistance Value to be reduced by 1. If the Resistance Value of the Company in the first space becomes 0, the Company is discarded and all the wounds in excess are taken by the Company in the second space. If the wounds taken by the Company in the second space lower its Resistance Value to 0, the Company is discarded. Any wounds in excess are ignored.

This ends the second assault. If both players have any Companies left, and neither side retreats, the battle continues with two more melee assaults (instead of a ranged and a melee assault). Players again move up Company Cards to fill the empty spaces.

Retreat and Additional Assaults

After a set of two assaults has been completed, a player may retreat. First, the attacker has the opportunity to retreat into an adjacent Territory of his Domain without any opponent's Troops on it. If he chooses not to retreat, then the defender has the opportunity to do so. If either one decides to retreat, the battle ends.

If neither the attacker nor the defender chooses to retreat, the battle continues with two more melee assaults. After those assaults, the involved Troops can retreat or can continue with another two melee assaults, and so on until one Troop retreats or eliminates the other (or both are eliminated).

How to Prepare for Battle

Players that control Troops engaged in a battle take Battle Boards and place them on top of their Family Boards. Then, they take the involved cards in hand and place them facedown in the spaces on the Battle Board, starting from the first space (I) and continuing in ascending order. When both players have finished placing their cards, they reveal them all.

Assault Spaces — Spaces I and II. In each assault, only the Companies in the first two spaces fight.

Captain of Fortune (if present). Place the Captain of the Army in this space.

Space I — Company. Place the first Company that will fight in the first assault.

Space II — Company. Place the second Company that will fight in the first assault.

Space III — Company. Place the third Company that will fight in future assaults, if and when the preceding Companies have been eliminated.

Space IV — Company. Place the fourth Company that will fight in future assaults, if and when the preceding Companies have been eliminated.

Space V — Company. Place the fifth Company that will fight in future assaults, if and when the preceding Companies have been eliminated.

Close Ranks. Between two assaults, if there are empty spaces created by defeated Companies, the player must close ranks by moving surviving Companies closer to the first space.

Family Board. The player's Family Board is covered by the Battle Board.

Note: When the battle is over, the surviving Captains and Companies (if there are any) are returned to their original Troop areas, and the Battle Boards are set aside until the next battle.

Battle Modifiers

• A Territory's modifiers can be used only by the player who has his Domain Markers on it.
• Each Army can use the modifiers of the Captain of Fortune who leads the Army.
• The ranged modifiers are applied only during ranged assaults.
• The melee modifiers are applied only during melee assaults.
• The modifiers are cumulative, but they apply only to the total value of the Troop, not to the value of each Company.

Wounds and Healing

Wound Tokens are taken at the end of each assault and remain on the Company Cards until the end of the game, until the Company is eliminated or discarded, or until the Company is healed. Companies can be healed through the following means:

• The active player, in any phase, can pay 1 Florin for each Wound Token he wants to discard from a Company. However, players can't pay to heal wounds during a battle.
• At the end of a battle, either player can play the Barber-Surgeon Event Card on an Army, if he has the card.
• At the end of the Recovery Step, each player in turn can remove a Wound Token for free from each of his Company Cards that is on an Inhabited Territory (gray) of his Domain (see "Recovery Step" above).

Wounds can be prevented by the resistance modifiers of Territories and/or of Captains of Fortune, in that order. Wounds taken in excess of the modifiers are assigned to the Companies normally. Unlike the other modifiers, each resistance modifier can only be used once per battle.

End of a Battle

A battle ends when:

• One Troop eliminates the other. If the eliminated Troop is an Army, the winning player scores 5 points. If more of the opponent's Troops are on the Territory, another battle begins immediately.
• Both Troops are eliminated. No one wins or gains points.
• A Troop retreats, causing the other Troop to win the battle. If the retreating Troop is an Army, the winning player scores 5 points. If more of the opponent's Troops are on the Territory, another battle begins immediately.

At the end of a battle, if all the Companies of an Army are eliminated, the Captain of Fortune who is leading the Army is also eliminated; however, he is removed from the game instead of being discarded. See the "How to Resolve a Battle" example below for a detailed example.

If at the end of a battle, an Army is on a Territory of an opponent's Domain without any of that opponent's Troop Markers on it, the Domain Markers are discarded (returned to their player) and the winning player scores points equal to the number of Domain markers removed in this way.

How to Resolve a Battle

A battle between Visconti (blue player) and Gonzaga (black player) is starting. Both have picked up their Troop cards (in this case both players have an Army), placed Battle Boards onto their Family Boards, placed all the involved cards facedown, and then turned the cards faceup simultaneously.

Visconti (blue) attacks with Acuto in command of 5 Companies (the maximum allowed), in this order: Crossbowmen, Mounted Crossbowmen, Light Cavalry, Spearmen, and Horse-carts. Gonzaga defends with Fortebraccio at the head of 4 Companies: Artillerymen, Mounted Crossbowmen, Swordsmen, and Heavy Cavalry.

1. First Assault: Ranged. Visconti (blue) has Ranged 6 (3+3) while Gonzaga (black) has 10 (1+6+3).
2. Wounds. Wounds are assigned by both players. Visconti (blue): The Crossbowmen are eliminated (Resistance 3), the Mounted Crossbowmen are eliminated (Resistance 4), and the 3 extra wounds are lost. Gonzaga (black): Fortebraccio, thanks to his ability, absorbs 2 wounds, so the Artillerymen are eliminated (Resistance 2) and the Mounted Crossbowmen are wounded (2 wounds on Resistance 4).

Ranks are closed, and the Companies advance towards the first space and get ready for a new assault.

3. Second Assault: Melee. Visconti (blue) has Melee 6 (2+2+2) thanks to Light Cavalry, Spearmen, and Acuto's bonus. Gonzaga (black) has Melee 4 (3+1) from Mounted Crossbowmen and Swordsmen.
4. Wounds. Wounds are assigned by both players. Visconti (blue): The Light Cavalry are eliminated (Resistance 4). Gonzaga (black): The Mounted Crossbowmen (2 Resistance left) and Swordsmen (Resistance 4) are eliminated.

Now the two players, starting with the attacker (in this case Visconti), can decide to retreat before proceeding to a new round of two assaults, which from now on are all melee.

In our example, each side chooses not to retreat, and the battle goes on. Visconti (blue) has Melee 7, thanks to the Spearmen with their special ability, Horse-carts, and Acuto's bonus, while Gonzaga (black) has Melee 4 from his Heavy Cavalry. Wounds are assigned by both players.

Visconti (blue): The Spearmen are eliminated (Resistance 4) and the Horse-carts are wounded (Resistance 3), with 2 Resistance remaining. Gonzaga (black): The Heavy Cavalry are eliminated (Resistance 6). Wounds in excess are lost.

Visconti (blue) wins the battle and earns 5 points for defeating an opposing army. Gonzaga (black) must remove Fortebraccio from the game, as all the Companies in his Army have been eliminated.

Winning the Game

To win the game, players must conquer an opponent's City, or reach 30 victory points or more. If one of the players accomplishes either of these objectives, the game ends immediately.

Conquering a City

If a player loses the Domain Marker on his City Territory, that player is eliminated, and all his Domain Markers are discarded. The opponent who eliminates him gains points for all the Domain Markers discarded in this way.

If a player places his Domain Marker on an opponent's City the game ends and that player wins. (See "Annex Step" above.)

Gaining Victory Points

Purchasing. If a player spends Florins during the Prestige Step, he gains victory points based on how many Florins he spends, in accordance with the following list:

• 1 Florin = 1 point
• 2 Florins = 2 points
• 3 Florins = 4 points
• 4 Florins = 5 points
• 5 Florins = 7 points

A player CANNOT spend more than 5 Florins in a turn in this way (see "Prestige Step" above).

Winning Battles. 5 victory points for each battle won against an opposing Army, scored at the end of the battle (see "End of a Battle" above).

Conquering Territories. 1 victory point for each opposing player's Domain Marker discarded from a Territory (see "Annex Step" above and "End of a Battle" above).

Controlling a Papal Territory. 2 victory points for each Papal Territory in a player's Domain (see "Prestige Step" above).

Being First Player. 1 victory point for being the First Player (except for round 1). See "Initiative Step" above.

Whenever a player gains victory points, he advances his scoring marker that many spaces on the scoring board.

Note: If any player reaches (or passes) 30 victory points, in any game phase, the game ends immediately and that player wins.

Families

In Ventura there are four different families vying for dominance: Este (red), Gonzaga (black), Medici (yellow), and Visconti (blue). Each player tries to lead his family to victory.

Este

The origins of the Este family are traced to the Obertenghi families, of Longbard descent. The progenitor of the house was Alberto Azzo II (996–1097), Lord of Calaone Castle, in the City of Este, important for economic and political reasons.

In 1184, nearly a century after Alberto's death, Obizzo I gained political power. The Este family became the rival of the Torelli family, of the Ghibellini faction. Later, they gained full control of the City of Ferrara, first with Azzo VII, shortly after 1240, and then with his nephew Obizzo II (1247–93), who was proclaimed perpetual lord of Ferrara.

After various events, in 1332, the Pope granted to the Este the office of vicar, or local religious authority. However, the house didn't have any important personages until Niccolò III (born in 1383 and ruling for about 50 years, from 1393 to 1441), who was unscrupulous and was surrounded by an aura of inhuman cruelty.

Gonzaga

The Gonzaga were great landowners. They gained power in Mantua on August 16th, 1328, when, tired of the abuse of power by Passerino Bonacolsi, they accomplished a coup d'état.

They were supported in their coup by the Scaligeri of Verona, who were covetous of Mantua. However, Luigi Gonzaga cleverly avoided allowing Verona to expand its power into Mantua.

The Gonzaga family was extraordinarily intriguing. Its members were famous for their civil and intellectual splendor, but also for their selfishness, hedonism, and dissolute life. The Gonzaga were skilled in politics, the arts, making marriage alliances, architectural development, and urban planning. They were very careful about maintaining the balance of power between their neighbors: Venice, Milan, Ferrara, and the Papal territories.

Medici

In the thirteenth century, the Medici from Mugello were salesmen and bankers. They were able to create a lasting political presence in Florence thanks to their many supporters. Over the years, the Medici used their cunning and charisma to gain and consolidate power.

Cosimo the Old was a famous Medici politician. His victories against Rinaldo of Albizi and Palla Strozzi (1434) were the beginning of his family's leadership in Florence.

With Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, the house reached the height of its wealth, cultural activity, and popularity, even though civil liberties were at their lowest. In time, the Medici became even stronger, abolishing the republic and creating a dukedom ruled by Cosimo I de Medici.

Visconti

Arising in 1200, the Visconti, a powerful family of Milanese aristocrats, strengthened their power under Archbishop Ottone (who died in 1295) in Milan after a great struggle with the Della Torre family.

In 1311, the Emperor Enrico VII granted the imperial office of vicar to Matteo Visconti, affirming the family's preeminence. Meanwhile, several family members extended Visconti dominion over many other cities with hegemonic plans known as the Visconti strategy.

In the second part of the 1300s, the family's power grew, starting with the leadership of Archbishop Giovanni (1290–1354) in 1339 and continuing with Bernabò, Matteo II, and Galeazzo II, founder of Pavia University in 1361. Then, Emperor Venceslao bestowed a dukedom upon Gian Galeazzo, the "Conte di Virtù" (1395). The dynasty ended with the death of Filippo Maria in 1447.

Optional Rules

Equal Domains

During Setup, instead of drawing four Territories at random from the pile, each player takes the same Territories: one Castle, one Wood, one Field, and one Hill. Next, the players shuffle the other Territories and create the Territory draw pile.

Mixed Fortunes

During the Fortune Step, if the three Ventura Cards revealed are of the same type (three Companies or three Captains of Fortune), the players discard them all and reveal three new cards from the top of the Ventura deck.

To Arms!

During the Recruit Step, when a player draws a Ventura Card from the deck, he may draw three cards, choose one of those, and discard the others.

Familial Expertise

During Setup, each player randomly receives a family. One player shuffles the Garrison Cards for the families and deals one out, faceup, to each player. Each player can use the special ability of his family:

• Este (red). During the Prestige Step, the Este player receives 1 extra victory point when he pays Florins during the Prestige Step (If the player does not pay any Florins, he does not receive an extra victory point).
• Gonzaga (black). During the Fortune Step, the Gonzaga player may draw three Territories, choose one of those, and put the others on the bottom of the pile in any order.
• Medici (yellow). During the Upkeep Step, the Medici player adds 1 extra Florin to the total income granted by his Domain. During the Prestige Step, the Medici player gains 1 less victory point when he pays Florins for victory points.
• Visconti (blue). During the Conscription Phase, when the Visconti player draws a Conscription Card, he draws three cards, chooses one of those cards, and discards the others (limit once per phase).