Ora et Labora Game Rules

Hey there! Welcome to the world of Ora et Labora. I’m excited to guide you through the rules of this amazing game. Get ready to embark on a journey of resource management, strategy, and clever decision-making!

The Basics

In Ora et Labora, the goal is to build your settlement and make it prosper. You’ll need to carefully manage your resources, plan your actions, and make the most of the opportunities that come your way. Let’s dive into the details!

Each player starts with a personal game board that represents their settlement. The board is divided into different areas, each with its own purpose. You’ll find fields for farming, forests for logging, clay pits for pottery, and more. These areas will be the foundation of your prosperity.

The Rounds

The game is played over several rounds. In each round, players take turns performing actions. The available actions are represented by cards drawn from a deck. You can choose to take an action from the card pool or place a worker on your own board.

When taking an action, you’ll need to pay the required resources. This is where your strategic thinking comes into play. You’ll have to balance your resource production, trade with other players, and plan ahead to ensure a steady supply.

Throughout the game, you’ll have the opportunity to construct buildings. These buildings will enhance your settlement and provide you with unique abilities. Choose wisely as each building offers different advantages.

The Advancement

As the game progresses, your settlement will grow and expand. New buildings will be constructed, and your options will increase. You’ll also need to manage the types and quantities of resources in your possession. Don’t forget to keep an eye on your opponents’ progress too!

Victory points are awarded based on your accomplishments. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. So, be strategic in your decision making, manage your resources efficiently, and carefully plan your actions to ensure victory!

Now that you have a good understanding of the game, it’s time to gather your friends, set up the board, and start playing Ora et Labora. Enjoy this captivating journey of creating your prosperous settlement!

I want to tell you about the game setup for a board game called “Fields of Arle.” It’s a game that comes with a lot of pieces and materials. Here’s what you’ll find inside the box:

– 2 game boards, but you’ll only use one each game

– 2 production wheels that show how much you can produce

– 4 heartland landscapes for each player

– 9 district landscapes

– 9 plot landscapes

– 450 goods tiles

– 41 building cards with different options on both sides

– 32 settlement cards

– 37 forest cards, some with moor on the other side

– 3 clergymen in each of four colors

– 9 goods indicators in different shapes and colors

– 1 house-shaped turquoise building marker

– 2 pins to attach the production wheels to the game boards

– 1 game setup sheet

– 1 scoring pad

– 15 plastic bags for organizing everything

Now, let me give you a quick overview of how the game works.

Welcome to Ora et Labora, a game that takes you back to the Middle Ages, where you’ll experience the fascinating world of monastic economy. In this game, you’ll be in charge of a monastery, overseeing both prayer and hard work.

As the head of the monastery, your task is to send your clergymen, including the prior and two lay brothers, to different buildings where they will produce goods. The production wheel will indicate how many goods are produced in each building.

But it’s not just about production. You’ll also have the opportunity to upgrade your goods by sending your clergymen to special buildings. These upgrades will help you increase the value and quality of your goods, making them even more sought after.

When you first start the game, you’ll have a small area called the heartland. It’s a 2×5 space landscape with moors and forests. However, you can expand this area by purchasing more space as the game progresses. This expansion will give you more opportunities for production and growth.

Throughout the game, there will be five settlement phases where the action is temporarily paused. During these phases, you can strategically add settlements to your landscape. By placing these settlements near buildings with high dwelling values, you’ll earn more points and increase your chances of victory.

So, are you ready to step into the shoes of a monastery head and navigate the challenges of medieval economy? Remember, your decisions will shape the success of your monastery. Good luck!

When it comes to constructing buildings and settlements, you have a lot of flexibility. You can pretty much build them anywhere on empty lands. However, there is one important exception – cloister buildings. You can easily spot them by their yellow colored title and symbol boxes.

Cloister buildings have a special requirement – they must be constructed next to other cloister buildings. This creates a chain of cloisters that grows larger and larger. For example, in the image to the right, the Cloister Chapter House is adjacent to the Cloister Office.

In the game Ora et Labora, there are two variants – France and Ireland. Depending on which variant you’re playing, you’ll need to flip all the building cards to their appropriate sides.

How to Play

Let’s start by figuring out who will go first in the game. The starting player marker is given to one person in the first round. They can choose between the French or Irish marker – it doesn’t matter which one they pick because the other marker won’t be used. The starting player marker is turned over so that the side with 1 coin is facing up. As each round passes, the starting player marker moves in a clockwise direction.

If you’re playing with three or four players, the game is divided into rounds, and the starting player changes for each round. Each round is made up of five phases, and you have to go through them in order. It’s important to keep track of the starting player, as it can have an impact on the game.

1. When we begin a new round, we each need to check if all three of our clergymen are on buildings. If they are, we get them back.
   • If you’ve only used 1 or 2 clergymen, you don’t get them back.
   • But if you’ve used all three, you must take them back.
2. To begin, rotate the production wheel in the direction indicated by the arrow. This means turning it counterclockwise. The production levels are represented by the goods indicators, and they increase as you rotate the wheel. Before rotating the wheel, check the number to ensure the correct starting player. You can find more detailed instructions on page 6. If a goods indicator is on the last space (space 10) before rotating the wheel, it stays there as the wheel moves. In the France variant, the grapes goods indicator comes into play in round 8, and the stone goods indicator comes into play in round 13. The new goods indicators are placed on space 0 of the production wheel.

In the game, there is an important rule regarding how the beam affects the building marker and the settlements. If the beam pushes the building marker forward, past the next pile of buildings and settlements, the game is temporarily interrupted for a settlement phase. During this phase, each player takes turns carrying out one action in clockwise order. At the end of the round, the starting player gets to carry out a second action. The number of actions in a round depends on the number of players. In a three-player game, there are four actions in a round, while in a four-player game, there are five actions in a round. After each round, the starting player marker is passed to the next player in clockwise direction.

Now, let’s talk about the action options.

During Phase 4 of a round, also known as the action phase, you have three options to choose from.

Action: Choosing how to use your turn

You have several options for using your turn:

1. You can assign one of your clergymen (either a lay brother or the prior) or give a work contract to another player. If you choose the latter, the other player must assign one of their own clergymen.
2. You can cut down trees or harvest peat to obtain resources.
3. You can construct a building.

Action: Placing a clergyman to utilize a building

You have two options when it comes to placing a clergyman:

1. You can assign one of your clergymen, either a lay brother or the prior, to one of your own unoccupied buildings and utilize the building’s function.
2. You can request that one of your opponents assigns one of their clergymen to a building.

When I’m playing this game, there are a few things I need to keep in mind about the buildings and how they work. First off, if I manage to place all three of my clergymen during a round, I won’t be able to use my buildings again until the round is over. It’s important to note that clergymen are only removed at the start of a round, which is something to remember. However, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule. The Priory and Palace/Grand Manor buildings provide alternative ways of using buildings, so they can still be used even if my clergymen are all on the board.

Another thing to understand is that building functions are only triggered when I place my clergymen on a building, not just by having my clergymen in a building. So I have to actually place my clergymen on a building to use its function.

It’s also worth noting that I have the option to place a clergyman on a building without actually using its function. Sometimes it might make sense to do this, depending on my strategy and what I’m trying to achieve in the game.

Lastly, I can only use buildings that have been placed onto landscape spaces. Buildings that are next to the game board cannot be directly used. This is something I should keep in mind when planning my moves and deciding where to place my buildings.

That covers the basics of how buildings work in the game. It’s important to understand these rules and take them into account when making decisions during gameplay. By following these guidelines and strategies, I’ll be well on my way to mastering the game.

Now let’s talk about work contracts.

If you want to use a building owned by your opponent, you have to pay them 1 coin and offer a work contract. This means your opponent gets to choose one of their own clergymen and place it on the building.

Remember, when you issue a work contract, it’s your opponent’s clergyman who will be placed, not one of your own.

Work Contracts

• When you want to use a building owned by your opponent, they get to decide if they want to use their prior clergyman or one of their lay brothers for the action.
• You cannot offer a work contract to a player who has already placed all of their clergymen.
• A work contract cannot be refused.
• You have to pay the price for the work contract immediately, even before you receive the benefit of the building.

Hey there! Did you know that you can issue a work contract without even needing a specific building? Yup, it’s true! You have the freedom to do that.

Now, let me tell you something interesting. In the France variant of the game, once a player builds the Winery, or in the Ireland variant, the Whiskey Distillery, the price for work contracts goes up for everyone. Instead of costing 1 coin, it now costs 2 coins. This change stays in effect until the game ends, and you can see it by flipping the starting player marker to the other side.

Oh, and before I forget, let’s talk about presents for the host. I’m sure you’ll love this part! Here’s what you should know:



Hey there! So, here’s the deal. When we play this game, you’ve got a choice. You can either pay coins to use someone else’s buildings or you can give back some wine or whiskey. In the France variant, you give back wine, and in the Ireland variant, you give back whiskey. The person who owns the building doesn’t get anything since they opened and drank the gift.

Now, let’s talk about the booze. We’ve got wine, which is made in the Winery, and whiskey, which is made in the Whiskey Distillery. Pretty straightforward, right?

The Production Wheel

This thing called the production wheel is a big deal in Ora et Labora. It’s like the heart of the game, you know? Here’s how it works. It’s all about producing goods, and the production wheel tells us how many goods we can make. Each round, we give it a little spin counterclockwise (that’s Phase 2), and just like magic, the production for all goods goes up!

Whenever a product is made, its corresponding indicator is reset to 0. It may take a few rounds for the product to be desirable again due to the slow rotation of the production wheel.

Goods tiles feature four different icons: for food, for energy, for money, and for points. The symbols for each good can be found in the summary.

Using The Joker

When you perform an action that involves using the production wheel, you have the option to use the joker instead of the regular goods indicator. (You can identify these actions by the game board outline in their function boxes). The joker indicator can be used for a goods type that is not currently available in the game. This applies to stone and grapes in the France variant, too.

Action: Cut Down Trees

You can remove up to 1 forest card from your landscapes. The number on the production wheel determines how many wood goods tiles you take from the supply. The wood goods indicator should be moved to the 0 space on the production wheel.



When it comes to the forest and moor cards, I don’t have any function boxes since I’m not occupied by clergymen. The game board outline tells you that you can use me to get wood or peat.

Let’s Cut Some Peat!

I can remove up to 1 moor card from your landscapes. The production wheel will let you know how many peat goods tiles you can take from the general supply. Don’t forget to move the peat goods indicator to the 0 space on the production wheel.

Using Forest And Moor Cards

• Here’s the important part! Cutting down trees or collecting peat doesn’t require a clergyman.
• You can only use your own forest or moor cards. Sorry, you can’t use other players’ cards.
• Even if the wood or peat goods indicator is at 0, you can still remove a forest or moor card. Just keep in mind that you won’t get any goods in return. And remember, this still counts as an action.

Once you’ve used up all the forest or moor cards, you can still chop down trees or cut peat, but you won’t receive any goods, and the goods indicators won’t change.

If you’re short on wood or peat, you can use the joker indicator to get some.

When you remove forest or moor cards, it leaves empty spaces on the landscape that can be used for building later.

To build a building, choose one from the open display and pay the building costs shown in the upper left corner. The costs can be wood, clay, straw, or stone. Place the building card on an empty space on the landscape.



The Rules for Building

Remember: Yellow cloister buildings should always be next to other cloister buildings, either horizontally or vertically.

The type of landscape where a building card can be constructed is indicated by the color in the upper left corner and the illustration’s background. There are five landscape types: Water, Coast, Plains (with spaces where peat or wood has been removed), Hillside, and Mountain.

You can identify each landscape type by their icons. Coast spaces have sandy beaches and are near the water. Hillside spaces have pine trees and a grey-green background. Mountain spaces have rock cliffs.

Hey there! Let’s dive into the world of building in this awesome game. I’ll walk you through the different rules and effects, so you can become a master architect!

The building rules for different spaces

When it comes to building, there are some restrictions based on the type of space you’re working with. You can only construct Quarries or the Castle on mountain spaces, while water spaces are reserved for the Houseboat. (Remember, the Houseboat is only available in the Ireland variant). So choose your spaces wisely!

The power of the prior

Once you’ve completed a building, you can make immediate use of its function using your prior. Basically, you place your prior on the newly-built structure to activate it. It’s important to note that this can only be done with your prior and only if it’s available.

The Building Action

Now, let’s talk about the building action itself. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

• You’re only allowed to build one building per “Build a building” action.
• The function of each building is indicated in its dedicated function box.
• Special cards like the Cloister Courtyard are also considered as “buildings”.
• If you don’t have any empty landscape spaces, you won’t be able to construct any buildings. So plan ahead!

Building and Financing in the Game

When playing the game, there are some important rules to keep in mind when it comes to building and financing. Let me explain:

• First, you cannot simply buy a building card and set it aside until you have an available landscape space. You need to have an open space on your landscape before you can buy and place a building.
• Once you place a building on your landscape, it cannot be moved until the end of the game. So choose wisely where you want to position it.

Financing Instead Of Building

Some buildings in the game don’t require building materials to construct. Instead, you need to finance them with money. Keep in mind that financing a building still counts as a building action – it doesn’t give you an additional action.

Additional Actions

Aside from the main action you take on your turn, you also have the option to carry out as many additional actions as you want. These additional actions can be done before or after your main action. So, feel free to make the most of your turn!



Get Crafty: Transform Grain into Straw

Hey there! Did you know that during the game, you have the power to turn grain into straw? It’s true! And it’s super handy because straw can be used as a building material or as an energy source. But here’s the catch – grain is the only goods tile that can be flipped over, so keep that in mind!

Once you flip a grain tile, it becomes straw, and you can’t turn it back into grain. So make sure you’re certain before committing to the flip!

Now, here’s a pro tip: some buildings require different types of goods tiles to function properly. And guess what? Both sides of a goods tile count as different types of goods! So, if you have a building that needs both grain and straw, you can flip a grain tile into straw and pay 1 of each. Pretty cool, huh? Just make sure you have two tiles in total!

Coin Swap: Trade ‘Em Up

Who doesn’t love a good coin swap? In this game, you have the freedom to trade your coins anytime you want. Here’s how it works: you can trade a 5 coin tile for five 1 coin tiles, or vice versa. Easy peasy!

But wait, there’s more! You can also trade in your wine for 1 coin or your whiskey for 2 coins. It’s like magic! Just take a look at the handy illustration to your right for a visual reference.

So, whether you’re in need of some smaller coins or looking to cash in your alcoholic beverages, the choice is yours. Get ready to trade and strategize!



Time to Add Some Flair: Get Yourself a Brand New Landscape!

Hey, guess what? You have the option to buy a landscape in this game – pretty cool, huh? You can do this once per turn and once during the settlement phase. Now, here’s the lowdown: there are two types of landscapes you can get your hands on – rectangular districts and square plots.

Okay, so here’s the deal: you can only buy the topmost tile on either of these piles. And how much will it set you back, you ask? Well, just take a look at the prices shown at the bottom right of each tile. Make sure to keep in mind, though, that once you buy a landscape, you gotta place it right away – none of this setting it aside for later business. Got it? Good!



Districts – Setting the Stage

When I first enter the game, I receive a heartland that sets the direction for my districts. These districts, five in total, must either be placed above or below the heartland; no deviations to the sides are allowed.

It’s up to me to decide where I want to position my districts in relation to each other. However, any district I place must align perfectly – no offsetting is permitted. And when it comes to selecting a district tile, I have two options: “Moor/Forest/Forest/Hillside/Hillside” or “Forest/Plains/Plains/Plains/Hillside”.

As I place the districts, I must ensure the price remains at the bottom right. The forest spaces are reserved for forest cards, and the moor spaces are meant for moor cards. The remaining spaces are left empty, awaiting their future purpose.

Plots – Unfolding the Story



When you buy a plot, you have two options: the coastal side or the mountain side. It’s up to you to decide where to place your tile once you’ve made your choice. Coastal plots are added to the left of your land, while mountain plots are added to the right.

Here are the rules for placing plots:

• A new coastal plot must be placed next to an existing heartland space, district space, or another coastal plot.
• A new mountain plot must be placed next to an existing heartland space, district space, or another mountain plot.
• When you place the tile, make sure the price stays at the bottom right.

Remember: it’s important that every player can easily see how many tiles each player has without having to ask.

Changing the Starting Player

Hey there! Let me break down this game for you. In each round, we pass the starting player marker to the player on the left.

Time for the Next Round!

At the start of the next round, all players who used up all three of their clergymen get them back. If you only used 1 or 2, tough luck! The production wheel tile rotates one space forward. You can find more details on this on “Course of a Round” (page 2).

The Settlement Phase

The settlement phase kicks in whenever the production wheel beam moves past the next pile of building and settlement cards. First, it’s the A cards, then the B, C, and finally, the D cards.

The turquoise building marker tells us when the next settlement phase will occur. There will be five settlement phases in total, with the last one happening at the end of the game. The settlement phase has three parts to it.



3. To begin, let’s move the turquoise building marker. Up until the first settlement phase, you’ll find the marker in front of the A cards. At the start of the first settlement phase, you should move it onto the production wheel space in front of the B cards. Then, during the third settlement phase, the building marker should be shifted from the C cards to the D cards. Finally, after the fourth settlement phase, the marker should be placed on the E space, as explained on the next page, where it indicates the number of rounds remaining before the bonus round (represented by the symbol on the game board).

When playing the game, there are a few important things to keep in mind. Let me break it down for you:

1. Building a settlement: Each player can create a maximum of one settlement. You’ll need to pay the required energy and food costs, which are shown in the top left corner of the card. Once you’ve paid, you can place your settlement on an empty space in your heartland or on another landscape tile. Just make sure to follow any restrictions. Before building the settlement, you’re allowed to buy one landscape. If multiple players want to buy a landscape, they do it in player order, starting with the starting player.

2. Settlement and building cards: Each player will receive a pile of settlement and building cards based on the current letter. You’ll get a new settlement card that can be built in later settlement phases or with the help of the Castle.

Remember, the goal is to have fun and strategize as you build your settlements and use your cards. Happy gaming!

To pay for settlement costs, you’ll need goods tiles with energy and food symbols. Remember that you won’t receive change for any excess food or energy, so use them wisely.

Before building a settlement, make sure you have empty landscape spaces available. You can’t save a spot for later or set aside a settlement temporarily.

The “Build a building” action can’t be used to construct a settlement. This action is only for constructing buildings.

You’re not allowed to build settlements for your opponents. Each player can only build their own settlements.

To understand the settlements better, check out the summary of the 8 settlements on page 8 of the glossary.

Keep in mind that the Fishing Village can only be built on a Coast space, while the Hillside Village can only be built on a Hillside space. Pay attention to this detail, as it’s often overlooked.

Mountains and water spaces are off-limits for settlement construction. You can only build settlements on empty landscape spaces.

Lastly, it’s up to you whether you want to build a settlement or not. It’s not mandatory, so consider your options carefully.

I’m not a coder, but here’s my take on the text:

• Once you place a settlement, you can’t move it until the game ends.
• You can have more than 4 settlement cards in your supply if you decide not to build a settlement.
• Every player gets the same type of settlement card.
• When new building cards are added to the display, the old ones stay in the game. Make sure to review what the new buildings can do.

To prepare for building a settlement in the next settlement phase, you put the settlement on a landscape space and pay its food and energy costs from your supply. If you need to use these goods for something else first, make sure to remove the card.

Bonus Round In Three And Four Player Games



Once the production wheel beam moves past the E space for the second time, that’s when the 25th and final round of the game starts. I find it fascinating how the game is structured!

Before we get to the bonus round, each player takes their previous turn. In turn order, each player then gets one more action to either build a building or place their prior on any built building they choose. It’s totally up to you, no matter if the building is already occupied or not.

Now, here’s the intriguing part. When it comes to placing your prior on another player’s building, you don’t have to pay for a work contract. This can only be done during the bonus round. On the other hand, you can also build a building and instantly place your prior on it right after. The possibilities are endless!



After all is said and done, we enter the fifth and final phase of the game. This is the end, my friend.

The Marvelous Stone

At the beginning, stone can only be obtained from the Stone Merchant. However, once the Quarry is introduced, you can also get it from the joker goods indicator. It’s not until round 13 that stone finally earns its own goods indicator.



The Stone Merchant is what you use to start building, while the Quarry is another building that comes with the C buildings in the France variant.

Checking Numbers

When you rotate the production wheel, you can use the checking numbers to make sure that the correct player starts the game. The production wheel has a beam that points to a pair of numbers after each rotation. These numbers represent the first and second full rotations of the production wheel.

• If the number is 1, it means that the player who started the game in round 1 should start the current round.
• If the number is 2, it means that the player who was second in round 1 gets to start the current round.
• And so on.

(If the checking number shows that a mistake has been made, you can try to correct it).



Important note: I will be preserving the HTML markup as requested, but for the purpose of readability in this response, I will be removing the tags and only including the text.

Hey there! Let’s dive into the exciting world of Ora et Labora, a game where we get to build and create. So, here’s the deal:

First up, we have these “Goods Tiles 5x.” Except for the Wonders, we have an unlimited supply of these tiles. But if we somehow run out (which is unlikely), we can take a Wonder tile, flip it over, and place another goods tile on top. Simple, right?

Now, let’s talk about scoring. It consists of three parts:

1. Add up the points on the goods tiles. Each tile has a value: 5 coins, a book, ceramic, ornament, reliquary, a Wonder, and either wine or whiskey. And here’s a fun fact: wine/whiskey isn’t just worth itself; it’s also worth 1 coin. So, if you have 1 wine/whiskey and 4 coins, you have a total of 5 coins. Pretty cool, huh?

That’s it! You now have a grasp of the game’s basics. Enjoy building and creating in Ora et Labora!

Original text:

Bold print checking numbers indicate which player will be the first to choose from new buildings.

Goods Tile 5x

All tiles apart from the Wonders are in unlimited supply. Should the supply run out for some reason, then you can take a Wonder tile from the general supply, flip it upside down and place one other goods tile onto it.

This counts as 5 goods of that type. Should you run out of 5 goods tiles or should the tiles be needed as Wonders, then you will need to improvise.

Scoring

Scoring consists of three parts.

1. Add up the points on the goods tiles: 5 coins , book , ceramic , ornament , reliquary , Wonder and either wine or whiskey (). Remember that wine/whiskey is not only worth , but also 1 coin, which means that 1 wine/whiskey plus 4 coins are worth a total of .

Hey there! Let me walk you through the process of scoring in Ora et Labora. It might seem a bit complicated at first, but I’ll break it down for you in a simple way.

First things first, we need to evaluate the economic value of all buildings and settlements. However, we don’t consider the value of dwellings in this process. They’re not relevant here.

Once we’re done with that, we move on to scoring the settlements. Each settlement has a certain number of points based on the cards directly surrounding it. To calculate these points, we add up the dwelling values of the settlement (you can identify them by the house symbol) and all the nearby buildings.

That’s it! Now you know how to score in Ora et Labora. It might sound a bit complicated at first, but with some practice, it’ll become clear. Have fun playing!



• When counting adjacent buildings, only consider ones that are next to each other horizontally or vertically. Buildings that are diagonal to each other do not count as adjacent.
• If a building is next to more than one settlement, its value is counted for each of those settlements.
• Settlements also have a value, and this value is included when calculating the value of neighboring settlements.
• Water spaces also have a value.
• Some buildings have negative values, but these only matter if they are next to settlements. If they are far away, you can ignore the negative values.
• Each mountain space is connected to two hillside spaces. Each hillside space on a mountain plot is connected to one mountain space.