Warriors & Traders
Warriors & Traders Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Object of the Game
- Number of Players and Length of the Game
- Game Components
- Game Setup
- Course of the Game
- Technologies
- Countries and Provinces
- Actions
- Armies, Princesses and Fortresses
- Barbarians
- War
- Team Game
- Victory Points
- Production Costs for Armies and Fortresses
- Personal Board Reference
- Frequently Asked Questions
Object of the Game
The object of the game is to score as many victory points as possible. Victory points can be gained by technological development of your state, by capturing new provinces, or by destroying enemy armies.
Number of Players and Length of the Game
WARRIORS & TRADERS is designed for 2-6 players. For the best game experience 4 or 6 players are recommended; in any case, there are special victory conditions for every number of players to make the game balanced and interesting.
For a special game experience, players can form two teams of three players, or three teams of two.
The length of the game depends on the number of players and how familiar they are with the game. One game with newcomers can take 2 - 4 hours. Experienced players can finish a game in 1½ - 2 hours.
Game Components
The box contains the following components:
- A double-sided game board (Ill. 1), with Western Europe on one side and Eastern Europe on the reverse.
- Country cards (8 for Western Europe and 8 for Eastern Europe - Ill. 22 & 23) give information about the provinces that make up the country, their type, and their order during the turn.
- Province tokens (Ill. 2) (one for each province on the map) give information about the resources produced by that province, the type of province - Capital, Trade Centre, Normal or Disputed - and the number of victory points it brings its holder.
- Builder, Trader and Warrior tokens (Ill. 3) are given to the player who has the most development tokens in the corresponding branch.
- Resource tokens (Ill. 4) - players receive resources from the provinces under their control. These tokens can be used to build fortresses, to hire and feed troops, and to buy victory points. The resources are Gold, Food, Goods and Weapons.
- Army, Princess and Fortress tokens (Ill. 5) are used to capture new provinces and to defend territories.
- Barbarian armies and fortresses (Ill. 7) are neutral forces that control the provinces at the start of the game.
- Personal game board and development tokens (Ill. 6) - players follow the path of military, production or trade development by placing development tokens on their personal game board.
- "Victory point" tokens (Ill. 8) are used to track each player's score. Players can buy victory points with gold, or receive them for capturing territories, building fortresses or destroying enemy armies.
- Information cards (Ill. 9) give quick access to the basic rules of the game. Their purpose is to shorten the game by replacing "combing through" the rulebook. They are available in English, French, German and Dutch.
Game Setup
Begin by choosing a map. Each side of the game board has a map printed on it, so you must choose between Western Europe and Eastern Europe. After choosing the map, place the corresponding province token in each province.
Then place the barbarian armies and fortresses. Capital provinces contain a barbarian fortress, and all the others contain one barbarian army.
Choosing a Colour
Six colours are available in the game. Each colour defines the units of one player.
A set of a particular colour consists of infantry, archers, cavalry and princesses (four of each) and eight fortresses.
Each player must choose a colour and take the corresponding set. The units from that set are all that the player can use during the game.
Choosing a Country
For beginners it is recommended to choose countries at random. To do this, take the country cards of the corresponding map, shuffle them, and place them face down on the table. Each player randomly picks a card - this is the country he will lead.
Experienced players may choose their country directly, for a more balanced or more challenging game.
After each player has chosen a country, find the capital province of that country (the symbol contains a tower), remove the barbarian fortress and take the province token. Place your own fortress and four princesses in the province. You already have four victory points!
From this moment the map is prepared and the game can begin.
Resources, Victory Points and Development Tokens
Sort the tokens by category and place them on the table next to the game board so that they are accessible to all players.
To begin, you can sort the tokens into resources, victory points and development tokens.
Then divide the resources into food, goods, weapons and gold. Each resource has three different token models, with values of 1, 5 and 20 units.
Initially, each player receives:
- Gold x1
- Food x1
- Weapons x1
Players receive victory points for each of their own fortresses on the map, so each player gets 3 victory points for the fortress in the capital.
Personal Board and Development Tokens
Each player receives a personal board, which is used to track the technological development of each branch - Production, Trade and Military.
The personal game board and each of the three branches are described in detail in the Technologies chapter of this manual.
In addition, each player receives 3 development tokens, which he places on his personal board to start the technological development of his country.
For placing the tokens you can consult Ill. 10. The tokens may be placed in any way that best matches the chosen strategy.
Individual or Team Play
Warriors & Traders can be played in one of two ways:
- Individually, where each player tries to fulfil the victory conditions on his own.
- In a team, where players form teams and one team wins.
The team mode is recommended for experienced players. For additional details on how the rules change in team play, see the Team Game chapter.
Course of the Game
To mark the start of the first turn, place a development token on the number "1" (Ill. 11). After that, at the start of each turn, move the token to the next number.
The game ends at the end of the tenth turn or at the moment when some player or team fulfils the victory conditions. For additional details see the "Victory Points" chapter or the victory points information card.
Warriors & Traders is a turn-based game. Each turn is divided into phases (Ill. 12). The phases are played in order. As soon as a phase is declared finished, it cannot be replayed and the actions of that phase cannot be redone.
I. Upkeep Phase
Feeding the Armies
The first step in this phase is feeding the troops. To survive, each army must receive sustenance as follows:
- Infantry - Food x1
- Archers - Food x2
- Cavalry - Food x3
Feeding an army means returning the required number of food tokens to the bank. The order in which this phase takes place depends on the turn order in the game, from the first to the last player.
Princesses and fortresses do not require food. An army that does not receive all the food it requires dies instantly and is removed from the map.
Collecting Resources
The second step of the Upkeep phase is collecting resources; it can take place at the same time as feeding the troops.
Players must count the resource symbols in each province they control. Then players should check the multipliers for each resource on their personal board. Count the amount of resources due to each player and take them from the bank.
In Ill. 13 the player has one food symbol, three goods symbols and one weapons symbol in his provinces. In addition, he has third-level technology in Production and first-level in the Military branch. The multipliers are 1x for food, 2x for goods and 0x for weapons. In the end the player will receive one unit of food, six units of goods and zero units of weapons.
Gold cannot be obtained directly. Players who have developed the Production technology to the level of the "Production Tax" receive one unit of gold for each capital they control. Players who have developed the Trade technology branch to the level of the "Trade Tax" receive one unit of gold for each trade centre that belongs to them.
II. Trade Phase
Only resources can be used for exchange. The actions assigned to the Trade phase can be carried out only by players who have a trade centre at their disposal!
Exchange with the Bank
Players can exchange with the bank. The exchange rate depends on the level of technological advancement in the Trade branch.
An exchange rate of X to 1 means that the player gives the bank X units of a resource of one type and receives in exchange one unit of a resource of another type. There is no limit on the number of exchanges one player can make.
Trade Routes
Players can exchange resources among themselves.
Two players cannot exchange resources unless a trade route has been established between them, opened by one of the two.
The number of trade routes a player can open is limited by his level of technological development in Trade. Players who do not own a trade centre cannot open trade routes.
Once opened, a trade route cannot be closed. Players between whom a trade route is open can exchange resources at any rate and in any combination.
There is no order for making exchanges. The Trade phase ends as soon as all players announce the end of all their exchanges.
III. Development Phase
The first step in this phase is carrying out actions. Players take one action each, in turn.
First Action
In turn, from the smallest to the largest number on the country cards, players take one action:
- Technological development
- Recruit one army
- Build one fortress
- Upgrade one army
- Declare war on another player
The costs associated with recruiting, building and upgrading must be paid at the moment the action is taken. The game does not advance until the unit that was paid for appears on the map. For additional details see the chapter Armies, Princesses and Fortresses, and also Production Costs for Armies and Fortresses.
Technological development is carried out by placing a development token on the personal game board. For details see the Technologies chapter.
Second Action
After all players have taken their first action, the second action can begin. The order of the second action is from the largest number to the smallest; thus the player who played the first action first will play the second action last.
Additional Action
On each of the three development paths there is a possibility of having an additional action. The additional action takes place after the second action is complete. The order of additional actions is always from the smaller number to the larger. If one player has the right to several additional actions, they all take place at the same time.
Developing One Technology at the Expense of Another
After all players have taken all their actions, in ascending order each player may move one token from the highest position of one technology to the highest position of another technology (Ill. 14).
IV. Manoeuvre and Battle Phase
The phase is played from the smaller number to the larger. In this phase players can move their armies and fight battles, both between themselves and with the barbarians.
Moving Armies
The first step is moving the available armies. All troops move simultaneously, observing the level of technological development in military art and the rules described in the chapter Armies, Princesses and Fortresses.
Resolving Battles
After all armies have been moved, the battles are resolved. For additional details see the chapter Armies, Princesses and Fortresses.
Moving Princesses
Princesses can be moved after all battles have been resolved. They can move only to an adjacent province, regardless of the player's military technological development. Princesses can move to free provinces or provinces occupied by the player. The phase ends when the last player finishes moving his princesses.
End-of-Turn Actions (Down-keep)
Players who have access to the "Trader" ability can double the amount of their gold. At the end of the turn, because of limited storage space, players cannot keep more than twenty units of each resource. Everything above twenty units is returned to the bank.
Technologies
Personal Board and Development Tokens
In Warriors & Traders, players can develop their country by raising their technological level. A personal board (Ill. 15) is used to track technological development.
All players start at the first level of each technology. To improve any technology, a player must place development tokens using Actions; they can be used to develop any technology.
To reach a certain level, a token must be placed on each cell located under the corresponding level.
In the previous example the player has the fifth level in Trade, but does not have the fourth level in Production. The abilities of each technology area accumulate. For example, a player at the fourth level of military development can hire archers, but does not lose the ability to hire infantry.
Production Technology
Production (Ill. 16) affects the amount of food and goods that a player can receive from the provinces he controls.
The multipliers for food and goods are marked on each level. The higher the technological level of production, the more resources the player will receive during the Upkeep phase.
(The rulebook text says "trade" here, but the sentence refers to the Production branch.)
Production has four special abilities (Ill. 17):
Fortifications: the ability becomes available at the fourth level and allows the player to build fortresses. During the Development phase a player with access to this ability can choose the action "build a fortress", pay the cost and place a fortress in one of the provinces he controls.
Rearmament: the ability becomes available at the fifth level and allows the player to upgrade his troops regardless of his level of military development. During the Development phase the player can choose the action "Rearmament", pay the due cost and replace one army of infantry with an army of archers or cavalry, or an army of archers with an army of cavalry. The cost is seven units of goods for each level of difference between the original army and the desired one.
Production Tax is a passive ability gained at the sixth level, allowing the player to receive one unit of gold for each capital under his control.
University is a passive ability gained at the seventh level, allowing the player to take an additional action during the Development phase. This additional action does not exclude other additional actions obtained from other abilities.
Trade
Trade (Ill. 18) affects the exchange rate with the bank and eases exchanges between players.
The development of Trade offers a more favourable exchange rate with the bank. The rate is written on each level on the personal board.
For two players to be able to exchange resources between themselves, one of them must open a trade route. At the fourth and sixth levels a player can open a second and a third trade route. An opened trade route cannot be closed or changed.
Players are advised to write down their trade routes to avoid confusion.
Trade has four special abilities (Ill. 19):
Trader: the ability becomes available at the fourth level and allows the player to double his amount of gold at the end of each turn.
Trade Tax is a passive ability gained at the fifth level. It allows the player to receive, at the end of the Upkeep phase, one unit of gold for each trade centre.
At the sixth level the player gains the ability Trade Expert, which allows him to buy one additional action in each Development phase, once per turn. The cost of one additional action is five units of gold.
Monopoly is a passive ability gained at the seventh level. When any player gains this ability, only players with the same ability can exchange with the bank or with other players.
Military Technology
Military technology (Ill. 20) affects the type of armies that can be hired, the amount of weapons received and effectiveness in battle.
At each level the weapons multiplier and the number of action points of armies are indicated.
At the first level players can hire infantry. At the third and sixth levels players can hire archers and cavalry respectively. A hired army must be placed immediately in territory controlled by the player.
The associated costs are described in the chapter Production Costs for Fortresses and Troops.
Military technology (Ill. 21) has three special abilities:
Commander is a passive ability gained at the fourth level, allowing the player to retreat his troops after a battle. For additional details see the chapter "Armies, Princesses and Fortresses".
Battle Manoeuvres is a passive ability gained at the sixth level; it allows the corresponding player to begin a new Manoeuvre and Battle phase immediately after the end of the initial phase. In this second phase the troops use the action points remaining after the initial phase. Princesses move after the end of the second Manoeuvre and Battle phase.
Marshal is a passive ability available at the seventh level; it allows the player to take an additional action during the Development phase. The additional action can only be "Declare war" on another player.
Countries and Provinces
On the map you will see countries divided into provinces. Provinces are connected by land borders or sea routes.
A province belongs to a player if there is at least one army, one princess or a fortress of that player in the province.
A barbarian province is a province inhabited by one or more barbarian armies and/or a barbarian fortress.
A free province is a province in which there are no armies, princesses or fortresses, whether barbarian or belonging to players.
Each province has a token. Each time a player takes control of a province, he must take the corresponding token; each time a province is freed or lost in war, the corresponding token must be given to the winner or placed on the map.
Each province is assigned a certain number of Victory Points. For additional details see the chapter Victory Points.
Types of Provinces
There are several types of provinces:
- Capital - gives 3 victory points to the player who controls it.
- Trade Centre - gives 2 victory points to the player who controls it; makes trade possible.
- Normal province - 1 victory point.
- Disputed territory - 1 victory point.
Unification of the Country and Its Bonus
When a player controls all the provinces belonging to his original country (with or without disputed provinces), he can carry out a Unification. Unification can be carried out only during the Manoeuvre phase of each turn.
Immediately after the Unification, the player is given a number of additional actions depending on the number of provinces of his country (see the accompanying table).
A unified state must contain at least the Capital, the Trade Centre and all Normal provinces, and at most the Capital, the Trade Centre, and all Normal and Disputed provinces.
The number of additional actions granted by a Unification:
| Number of provinces of the unified country | Number of additional actions |
|---|---|
| 3 | 2 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 7 |
| 7 | 9 |
The actions granted to the player in this case must be carried out immediately. For additional details see the chapter Actions. If one or more of these actions involve recruiting troops, the armies will be available starting from the next turn.
Countries and Their Provinces
Below are the countries with their provinces and the turn order (Western Europe - Ill. 22; Eastern Europe - Ill. 23). On each country card the provinces are listed in this order of type: Capital (crown icon), Trade Centre (gauntlet icon), Normal provinces (shield icons), Disputed provinces (wing icons). The number on the card is the country's place in the turn order.
Western Europe (Ill. 22)
| # | Country | Capital | Trade Centre | Normal provinces | Disputed provinces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burgundy | Vlaanderen | Brabant | Friesland, Bourgogne | Calais, Artois |
| 2 | France | Ile-de-France | Anjou | Normandie, Bourbon, Provence | Geneve, Artois |
| 3 | England | London | East Anglia | Yorkshire, Wales, Wessex | Calais, Ulster |
| 4 | Germany | Brandenburg | Bayern | Wurttemberg, Palatinate, Pomerania |
Eastern Europe (Ill. 23)
| # | Country | Capital | Trade Centre | Normal provinces | Disputed provinces |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary | Budapest | Partium | Sopron, Pecs | Transylvania, Carpathia |
| 2 | Romania | Valahia | Moldova | Basarabia, Banat, Oltenia | Transylvania, Dobrudja |
| 3 | Serbia | Beograd | Kosovo | Vojvodina, Zeta | Ragusa, Makedonija |
| 4 | Poland | Warszawa | Gdansk | Mazowsze, Lubelskie, Krakow |
Actions
Players take Actions only during the Development phase of each turn, with the exception of Unification. One action can be one of the following:
Technological Development
Technological development means placing a new development token on the personal game board in the next cell of a chosen technology. If a new level is reached in this way, the abilities become available immediately.
Illustration 24 shows both the correct and the incorrect way of placing a development token on the personal board.
Recruiting an Army
Another way to use an Action is to hire an army. Depending on technological development in the military branch, the player can hire an army of Infantry, Archers or Cavalry. The corresponding cost must be paid immediately and the army placed in a province you control. The army can be used in the Manoeuvre phase.
Building a Fortress
If you want to use an action to build a Fortress, you must have reached the fourth level in Production technology. The corresponding costs must be paid immediately. Remember that one action allows you to build only one Fortress, and that a province cannot contain more than two Fortresses.
Upgrading an Army
You are allowed to upgrade armies after gaining the Reinforce ability (Production level five). The cost of one upgrade is 7 Goods per level; this means that Infantry turned into Archers, or Archers turned into Cavalry, cost 7 goods, while Infantry upgraded to Cavalry cost 14 goods. How the new troops move and fight is still determined by the level of technological development.
Declaring War
An Action can also be used to declare war on another player. From that moment, until the terms of peace are determined, the players are at war and can attack each other. For additional details on conducting war see the chapter War.
Armies, Princesses and Fortresses
Armies are used to control provinces and to capture new provinces.
Armies enter the game during the Development phase of some turn, as the result of the action "Recruit an army" and payment of the corresponding cost. Armies can move and attack during the Manoeuvre phase of some turn. For additional details see the chapters Actions and Production Costs for Armies and Fortresses.
Armies, Princesses and Fortresses have an attack strength (power) and life (toughness) (Ill. 26). Attack strength shows the amount of damage dealt to enemy troops, and life shows the endurance against incoming damage.
Action Points
Depending on the level of military technology, troops have a certain number of Action Points. During the Manoeuvre phase each action point can be used for movement (to an adjacent province) and/or attack. Only one action point can be used for a battle (except for armies belonging to a player with the Battle Manoeuvres ability - in that case 2 action points can be used for battle).
Defence
Every time a province is attacked, all units (except those that have retreated) can defend, regardless of the number of Action Points or responses to previous attacks.
Moving Troops
A player's troops can move without restriction through territories belonging to him, as well as through free provinces.
Troops can enter provinces occupied by barbarians if they have at least one Action Point left for battle. As soon as a troop has entered a barbarian province it is forced to fight and cannot move further.
In peacetime an army cannot enter another player's province. If two players are at war, each player's troops can enter enemy provinces. These movements are governed by the same rules as entering a barbarian province.
All troop movements are limited by their number of Action Points, which depends on the player's level of military technology.
Armies under the control of a player with the Battle Manoeuvres ability (Double Strike) can move and fight again if they survive the first battle and have unused Action Points left.
Resolving Battles
When a player's troops enter a barbarian province or a territory belonging to another player during war, a battle takes place.
Simultaneously, the attacker and the defender decide how exactly the total attack strength of their units will be used against the enemy troops. Attack strength can be distributed in any way among the enemy units (see Ill. 27).
Once each side has determined the distribution of its attack strength, the battles are resolved. Units without the ability to retreat die if their life is reduced to 0 or less. Units with the ability to retreat:
- Die if their life was reduced to -1 or less.
- Retreat if they have exactly 0 life left.
Details on how troops retreat can be found in the chapter Retreat Rules and Barbarian Retreat Rules.
If after a battle units of both the attacking and the defending player remain in the province, the attacker must move his troops to an adjacent province (free or his own). If none exists, the units are removed from the game and returned to the player's set. All units moved this way lose all their Action Points for this turn.
In the example (Ill. 28), the blue player (seventh level of military technology) attacked with two Archers the province of the red player (fourth level of military technology), who was defending with one army of Infantry and one army of Cavalry.
After the battle, the blue player has one Archer left in the province, and the red player has one Infantry. In this case the blue player must move his Archer, and it loses all Action Points remaining this turn.
Troops that survive a battle remain "wounded" until the end of the turn, and all additional wounds received during the same turn add up.
At the end of each turn the "wounds" of all units are removed.
Barbarians, like neutral armies, have a predetermined way of attacking and retreating; for details see the chapter Barbarians.
Every time a player destroys enemy or barbarian units, he is awarded Victory Points. See the chapter Victory Points for details.
Unit values (from Ill. 25/26, the printed unit tokens): Infantry power 1 / toughness 1; Archers 2 / 2; Cavalry 3 / 3; Fortress 5 / 5.
Retreat Rules
Troops gain the ability to retreat as soon as the player controlling them reaches the fourth level of military technology and thus gains the Commander ability.
Armies retreat if their life was reduced to exactly zero.
A player's retreating armies move to a province adjacent to the one in which the battle took place. The province must be free or belong to the retreating player. If there are no options for retreat, the armies die.
A retreated army is laid on its side to indicate this. Any additional hits received during the same turn cause the army to die.
After a battle, all armies belonging to a player and forced to retreat do so together.
Retreated troops lose all Action Points until the end of the turn.
At the end of each turn, after the end of the Manoeuvre phase, retreated troops remaining in the game return to the normal state.
Princesses
A player's Princesses are placed in his capital at the start of the game.
A Princess can move only once per turn to an adjacent province and cannot retreat.
A Princess dies when "wounded" in battle and is removed from the game. A player who kills an opponent's Princess receives one Victory Point.
Princesses are protected by Fortresses located in the same province. Only if during a battle all fortresses of the province are destroyed can the enemy use the remaining attack points against the Princesses.
Fortresses
Fortresses can be built during the Development phase by players who have the Masonry (Fortifications) ability (Production level four). For additional details see the chapter Actions.
For each Fortress placed on the map, its owner is awarded Victory Points. For additional details see the chapter Victory Points.
No more than two Fortresses can be in one province at the same time.
Fortresses cannot move and give shelter to Princesses in the case of an attack.
When a fortress is destroyed, its token is returned to its owner's set, and the player who destroyed it receives 3 Victory Points.
Barbarians
Barbarians are neutral units that populate the map at the start of the game. They have no action points and cannot move, but always have the ability to retreat.
Barbarian troops have variable attack strength and life, which grow as the game progresses. Attack strength and life are equal to:
- 1 for turns 1, 2 and 3
- 2 during turns 4, 5, 6 and 7
- 3 for turns 8, 9 and 10
Barbarian Retreat Rules
Barbarian troops always retreat according to the following rules, in order:
- To a free province
- To a barbarian capital
- To a barbarian trade centre
- To another barbarian province
If two or more provinces of the same type are available at the same time (for example, two free provinces), the attacking player chooses where the barbarian troops will retreat.
If there is no retreat option for a barbarian army, it is destroyed without granting Victory Points to the attacking player (the barbarian army was not destroyed by the attacker, but for lack of ability to retreat was removed from the game).
Counting Losses
Barbarians have a special way of fighting. Barbarian units fight as follows:
- They try to destroy the largest enemy army; they continue to do so until it is no longer possible.
- Of the remaining forces, they attack the largest army they are able to force to retreat.
- The remaining forces are used against the largest army remaining in the battle.
For example (Ill. 29), a province with a barbarian fortress and army is attacked on turn five by a player with the Warlord ability. He attacks with three units of Infantry and one army of Cavalry. The barbarian forces have a total attack strength of 7. They use 4 attack strength against the cavalry (and destroy it), 2 against one unit of Infantry (destroying it) and 1 against another army of Infantry (forcing it to retreat).
War
Two players are at war as soon as one of them uses an action to declare war on the other. During war the players can attack each other.
A war ends as soon as one of the following conditions is fulfilled:
- The warring players agree on a truce.
- At the end of a turn during which no battle took place between the players.
- At the end of the third turn after the declaration of war, including the turn in which the war was declared.
In the unlikely case that two players, A and B, are already at war and one of them (A) declares war on the other (B), the "new" war replaces the "old" war and lasts another three turns.
Team Game
Team play is recommended for experienced players, as it requires more complex strategy than individual play.
A team game can be played with 4 players (2 against 2) or 6 players (3 against 3 or 2 against 2 against 2).
Alliances can be determined before the players choose their countries, but before the start of the first turn.
There are a few small changes to the rules in team games:
- Players can move through allied provinces without restriction.
- War takes place between alliances; therefore it is enough for one player of an alliance to declare war on a player of another alliance, and all players of the first team enter war with all players of the second team.
- Victory is no longer individual; the alliance wins as a whole team. For additional details see the chapter Victory Points.
Victory Points
Collecting Victory Points (VP) is the main object of the game and the path to victory.
Victory Points can be obtained in several ways (Ill. 30). Depending on the type of game, reaching a certain number of VP means final victory!
Capturing new provinces - each Capital under your control gives 3 VP, each Trade Centre gives 2 VP, any other province gives 1 VP. As long as the province token is with you, the Victory Points are yours.
Building Fortresses and keeping them in the game - each of your Fortresses on the map is worth 3 VP; therefore, when you build one, you receive a "Victory Point for Fortress" token. These points are lost when the Fortress is destroyed.
Destroying enemy units - each killed Princess is worth one Victory Point, each army of Infantry - 1 VP, Archers - 2 VP, Cavalry - 3 VP. These victory points cannot be lost once received.
Destroying Barbarians - each killed barbarian army grants one Victory Point.
Destroying Fortresses - each fortress you destroy brings you 3 VP, whoever it belonged to - the barbarians or another player. These VP should not be confused with the special Victory Points received for building Fortresses.
Buying Victory Points - during the Trade phase of each turn, you can spend gold to buy Victory Points. Each VP costs 10 gold.
Builder, Trader and Warrior tokens - each of them is worth 3 Victory Points and is awarded to the most technologically advanced player on each of the 3 possible paths: Production, Trade and Military. In case of a tie, the token is not awarded. It can happen that one player holds all three tokens at once!
Victory Conditions
Victory belongs to the player(s) or alliance(s) with the most Victory Points at the end of:
- the turn during which a player/alliance reached the required number of victory points.
- the tenth turn.
The number of VP needed for victory before the end of the tenth turn is given in the following tables.
Individual game:
| Number of players | Victory points |
|---|---|
| 6 | 27 |
| 5 | 30 |
| 4 | 33 |
| 3 | 37 |
| 2 | 42 |
Team game:
| Teams | Victory points |
|---|---|
| 3 vs 3 | 75 |
| 2 vs 2 | 65 |
| 2 vs 2 vs 2 | 55 |
Production Costs for Armies and Fortresses
(From the cost illustration, Ill. 25; goods tokens are shown as stone blocks worth 5 and log stacks worth 1, with the same cost confirmed in the Polish edition.)
- Infantry: 1 Weapons
- Archers: 2 Weapons and 1 Gold
- Cavalry: 3 Weapons and 2 Gold
- Fortress: 12 Goods, 2 Food and 1 Gold
Personal Board Reference
The personal board (Ill. 15) lists, for each level, the following (read from the board illustration). Development tokens needed to reach each level: level II: 1, III: 1, IV: 3, V: 1, VI: 2, VII: 3 (cumulative).
| Level | Production (food / goods multipliers) | Trade (exchange rate) | Military (weapons multiplier, Action Points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1x food, 0x goods | 7 to 1 | 0x weapons, AP 2; Infantry |
| II | 1x food, 1x goods | 6 to 1; 1 trade route | 1x weapons, AP 2 |
| III | 1x food, 2x goods | 5 to 1 | 1x weapons, AP 2; Archer |
| IV | 2x food, 2x goods; Masonry | 3 to 1; Merchant; 2 trade routes | 1x weapons, AP 3; Commander |
| V | 2x food, 3x goods; Reinforce | 2 to 1; Trade Tax | 2x weapons, AP 4 |
| VI | 2x food, 4x goods; Production Tax | 2 to 1; Master Trader; 3 trade routes |
Level I notes on the board: get 1 food for each food symbol in a province you control; trade with the bank at a rate of 7 to 1 (you can only trade if you control a trade centre); your armies have 2 action points; you may build Infantry.
Frequently Asked Questions
General
Q: What happens if a player leaves the game? A: In a team game the game ends. If the teams decide to name a winner, all victory points are counted and the team with the most VP wins. In an individual game there are two options:
- stop the game and count victory points to determine the winner;
- continue the game, provided that the departed player gives no advantage to any opponent. The decision belongs to the players remaining in the game. If it is decided to continue, all of the departed player's resources and VP are returned to the bank, his province tokens are placed back on the map, and his armies and fortresses are considered barbarian and behave accordingly.
Q: We have little time. How can we finish the game earlier in a way that is fair to everyone? A: Set a time limit; whoever has the most VP at that moment wins.
Upkeep Phase
Q: If I have one food token, can I feed one Cavalry and at the same time downgrade it to the level of Infantry? A: No, an army must be fed according to the rules, otherwise it dies.
Q: If I have enough food to feed all armies, can I decide not to feed some of them? A: Yes, but armies left without food will die of hunger.
Q: Can I first collect resources and then feed my armies? A: No, the order of the phases of the turn must be strictly observed.
Development Phase
Q: Can I build more than one army with one action if I have the resources to build several? A: No, one recruit action lets you produce exactly one army.
Q: I just developed my production technology to the fourth level; this lets me collect more food. Can I collect the difference? A: No, collecting resources happens during the Upkeep phase, and the technological growth occurred in the Development phase, and no retroactive collection is possible. You will benefit from the additional resources in the following turns.
Q: I developed my production to the fourth level with my first action. Can I use my second action to build a Fortress? A: Yes, the benefit of technological development takes effect immediately.
Q: Can I upgrade another player's army in an individual game? A: No.
Q: I took my first action, and after that someone declared war on me. Can I change my action? A: No, all you can do is react with your second or even additional actions.
Trade
Q: I am at the first level of Trade technology. Can anyone open a trade route with me? A: Yes. The only one who must satisfy the rules for opening trade routes is the one who opens them; you only need to have a Trade Centre under your control.
Q: I forgot to exchange some resources in the Trade phase, which has already ended. Can I make another exchange? A: No.
Q: I am at the first level of Trade technology; my exchange rate is 7 to 1. Can I give 3 units of weapons and 4 of goods for 1 unit of gold? A: No, all you can do is exchange 7 units of one type for one unit of another type.
Q: I have the Trader ability. At the end of the turn I have 15 gold and no other resources, so I double my gold to 30. What happens next? A: You must return everything above 20. Having fewer than 20 units of some resource does not let you carry into the next turn more than 20 units of another resource.
Armies and Battle
Q: I have two armies and want to attack a barbarian province. Both armies have Action Points (AP) to get there, but only one has enough AP for battle. Can I enter with both armies and fight with only one? A: No, every army entering a barbarian province must have AP for battle.
Q: I have the Battle Manoeuvres ability, and my Cavalry has already won a battle against a barbarian with attack strength 2. My cavalry still has 1 action point and 1 life, and I want to attack again. How much attack strength does my cavalry have? A: Still 3, as the first time. Attack strength does not change when a unit loses life in battle.
Q: My archer retreated from a province that is now being attacked. How much attack strength does my archer have? A: Zero, retreated units cannot fight.
Q: I used all my combat units in an attack and survived, but now I am being attacked myself. How much attack strength do my units have left? A: In each battle your units have the same attack strength and keep it until they retreat or die. Dead units have no attack strength until the end of the turn.
Allied Game
Q: My troops and an ally's troops are in the same province at the same time. Who controls the province? Who gets the resources? A: The one who has the province token.
Q: In an allied game I want to take control of an ally's province. How can I do this if I cannot attack him? A: Your ally removes all his units from there and gives up the province token. If your units are already there, all you need is to take the province token and the province itself. If you have no military units there, the province becomes free and someone who takes his turn before you can freely enter and occupy it. To be safe, it is better to have your units already in the province when the ally begins to evacuate.
Q: Can I upgrade an ally's army? A: Yes.
Q: And an opponent's army? A: No.
Victory Points
Q: During a battle I forced an opponent / barbarians to retreat, but did not wound them enough to kill them. Nevertheless, these units were removed from the game. Do I get victory points for removing them? A: No! Victory points can be obtained only for troops destroyed as a result of combat wounds inflicted by your troops.
Q: I am at the third level of Production technology and have placed a development token toward the fourth level. My opponent is at the same level, but he has two tokens on the way to the fourth level. Who gets the Builder token? A: Your opponent; he is more advanced in Production technology.
Q: There are 4 of us playing, each for himself. I was the first to reach the victory condition (33 VP) during the Trade phase, by buying victory points. Before the end of the turn two of my fortresses were destroyed, and I fell below the level needed for victory. Did I win? A: No. Victory "takes place" at the end of the turn.
Q: Can I buy Victory Points outside the Trade phase? A: No.