Welcome to the Medieval Age: Game Rules

Introduction

Hey there! I’m here to walk you through the exciting world of Medieval Age and explain all the rules of the game. So, buckle up and get ready for an epic adventure!

Objective of the Game

Alright, let’s get straight to the point. In Medieval Age, your goal is to build the most prosperous city in the kingdom. You’ll need to strategically place buildings, gather resources, and manage your population to thrive and become the ruler of this medieval land.

Setting Up the Game

Before we delve into the gameplay, it’s important to set up the game correctly. Here’s what you need to do:

1. First, place the game board on a flat surface within reach of all players.
2. Next, distribute the player boards to each player. These boards will serve as your personal play area.
3. Give each player their starting resources, which include a number of buildings, resources, and workers.
4. Now, it’s time to choose a start player. This can be done in any way you like, whether it’s the youngest player or the one with the longest beard!

Gameplay

Alright, let’s dive into the gameplay. Each round consists of three phases:

Phase 1: Roll the Dice

In this phase, the start player rolls the dice. The dice will determine which resources will be produced this round. So, cross your fingers and hope for a lucky roll!

Phase 2: Choose Actions

Now, it’s time to choose your actions for the round. Each player takes turns selecting one action at a time. There are various actions you can choose from, including building structures, collecting resources, or activating unique abilities.

One important thing to keep in mind is that the actions you choose will be affected by the dice results. So, you’ll need to adapt your strategy accordingly. Flexibility is the key to success!

Phase 3: Execute Actions

In this final phase, all players simultaneously execute the actions they have chosen. This is where you take your plans from paper to reality and see your city grow before your eyes.

Remember, every decision counts, so be wise and think ahead. The player who manages their resources and population most effectively will surely come out on top!

Game End

The game ends once a certain number of rounds have been completed. At that point, all players will tally up their victory points. Victory points can be earned through various means, such as building structures, accumulating resources, and achieving special objectives.

The player with the most victory points will be crowned as the ruler of the medieval kingdom and declared the winner of the game!

Conclusion

Well, there you have it! I hope you now have a good understanding of the game rules for Medieval Age. Are you ready to dive into this captivating world of strategy and conquest? Gather your friends, set up the game, and let the medieval adventure begin!

Wow, can you believe it? The Roman Empire has crumbled, and with it, centuries of profound change. In the aftermath, noble lords began vying for power, striving to claim new lands and cultivate growth in the fields of science and art. And shining brightly amidst this flourishing era is the captivating Iberian peninsula, a true beacon of prosperity in Europe.

But that’s not all. This remarkable time period also witnessed the construction of some of the world’s most breathtaking cathedrals by the Spanish people. With the advent of scientific advancements, monasteries and hospitals joined hands to provide care for the sick and support for the poor. As a lord of this era, I must tell you, there has never been a more opportune moment to expand your prestigious domain and bolster your reputation.

Step into the world of Era: Medieval Age, where you and other intrepid lords compete to build your own dominions. As the game unfolds, you’ll have the opportunity to create magnificent medieval cities, each one unique and intricately designed, adorned with finely crafted buildings and structures.

Hey there! When it comes to building new structures, you can also grab an extra die to add to your pool. It’s a neat way to spice things up! Now, you might be wondering where to put those buildings. Well, you’ve got two options – you can keep them cozy and safe behind the city walls, or you can venture out into the countryside where there’s plenty of space to expand. It’s a tough decision, but that’s part of the fun! And let me tell you, no two games will ever be the same. It’s a constant adventure!

What Comes Inside the Box?

When you open the box of this amazing game, you’ll find a variety of components that make the experience truly exceptional. Let’s take a look at what’s inside:

Components

• 71 Buildings
• 32 walls & 27 scorched areas
• 36 Dice
• 25 Pegs
• 5 Tracking tokens
• 4 Player boards
• 1 Pad of score sheets
• 4 Screens
• Instructions

How to Set Up the Game

Now that we know what components are included, let’s talk about how to set up the game.

1. First things first, let’s get organized. Sort the buildings by their type, the walls by their length, and the dice by their color. If you’re playing with a partner, put one of each type of building and one die of each color back in the game box. Now, grab a few tracking tokens and place them next to the supply, making sure to keep the blank side facing up. Here’s a tip: if you have four players, use all five tracking tokens. If there are only two or three players, you’ll only need three tokens. Any extras can go back in the box.
2. Now it’s time to deck yourself out. Each player should grab a player board, a screen, and a set of six pegs. Arrange the pegs on your board like this:

When you play this game, you and I both start with 3 yellow dice, which represent peasants, and 1 gray die that represents a noble.

In the game of Keep, there are a few key steps to setting up the game. Let me walk you through them:

1. First, each player needs to grab a Keep and put it right in the center of their domain.
2. Next, it’s time to gather your structures. You’ll need 3 longhouses, 1 farm, and 3 walls (each 4-units long).
3. Depending on the number of players, you’ll also need some scorched areas. If there are 4 players, no scorched areas are needed. If there are 3 players, each player gets one. And if there are only 2 players, each player gets two.
4. Now comes the fun part – designing your starting domain! This is done secretly and simultaneously behind your player screen. You can place your farm, walls, longhouses, and any scorched areas however you like. Once everyone is ready, reveal your domains.

When we begin playing ERA: Medieval Age, each of us will roll our gray die. The person with the most swords on their die will become the starting player and get to place the black starting player peg in the (Roll) spot on their player board.

The goal of the game is to collect resources by rolling dice and use these resources to construct the most secure, thriving, and magnificent medieval city possible. The player who earns the highest number of points will be declared the winner.

Now, let’s take a broader look at what the game entails.

Player Board

The player board is divided into four sections:

• Starting Player Section: This is where I keep track of the steps with the black peg, indicating who starts the round.
• Resource Track: In this section, I collect and spend my resources (trade goods, stone, wood, and food) to feed my dice and build structures.
• Culture and Disaster Track: Here, I gain culture and disaster points as the game progresses.
• Structure Placement Area: This is where I place all the structures I build.

Steps

The game is played over a series of rounds, each consisting of six steps. Every step is completed by each player before moving on to the next step, as announced by the starting player.

Step 1: Roll – All players roll dice simultaneously.

For the remaining steps, gameplay proceeds clockwise from the starting player.

Gameplay

The First Step: I Roll the Dice

When we play the game, rolling the dice is the first thing I do. The dice give me resources and culture, and they let me build things and do special actions. There are different things that can happen when I roll the dice, and I’ll explain them all later.

First, I take all of my dice and roll them at the same time behind my player screen. This is my first roll.

After I roll the dice, I have to look at them and see if any of them show a skull. If there are any skulls, I have to set those dice aside behind my screen. I can’t roll them again. Then, if I want, I can roll the rest of my dice a second time. If there are any dice showing a skull after this second roll, I have to set those aside too.

So, in the end, I might have some dice that show skulls. I set them aside along with any skulls from the first roll. It’s important to remember that I can’t roll those dice again. They are out of the game for now.

OK, so here’s how it goes. First, I roll the dice and see what I get. If I roll a skull, I have to keep it. But if I don’t roll any skulls, I can choose to roll again, up to three times in total.

After all the players have had their three rolls, we lift our screens and show everyone our final results. It’s all about luck and strategy – you never know what you’re gonna get.

Important: If you roll a white dice and it shows a feather, you can roll it again. This time, you can roll it openly in the order of players. If you want, you can even use another one of your dice, including one with a skull.

Step 2: Get Your Resources

Now, let’s move on to the next step: collecting the resources you need to build your civilization in Era: Medieval Age! It’s time to gather up trade goods , stone , wood , food , and culture .

Getting these resources is easy! Just look at the symbols on your dice and move the corresponding pegs on your player board. This will help you keep track of the resources you have collected so far.

Remember: you can only gain culture points by rolling white and blue dice. Keep an eye out for those symbols! Also, don’t worry about the skulls on the dice. They don’t count towards your disaster track.

After that, I’ll give you a bonus of 1 food for each farm you have (you start with one farm). Then, for each lumber mill in your domain, I’ll add 2 wood.

If you don’t have enough space on your resource track for all the new resources, they will be lost.

Note: If your culture track peg runs out of space, don’t worry! Just record “+25” on the score sheet under your name, reset the peg to zero, and continue tracking your culture points from there.

Step 3: Feed

Now it’s time to take care of our people and make sure they have enough to eat. We have to feed our population in this step. Each of our dice represents a group of people, and for each of these dice, we need to subtract 1 unit of food from our food track. If we don’t have enough food for all our population, it means they are suffering from famine and it’s not a good situation. When this happens, we have to move the peg on our disaster track one step forward for each die that doesn’t receive food. Feeding our people is crucial to their well-being and our success in the game.

For example: I have 4 dice, but I only have 3 pieces of food on my food track. So, I move my food peg back to zero (0) and I advance the peg on my disaster track once.

4. Oh no, Disaster Strikes!

If any of my dice show one or more skulls, that means a disaster occurs. I can check the table in the Appendix to see what happens. But before anyone else deals with their disaster, I will resolve mine because I’m the starting player. After that, we’ll go clockwise and deal with any other disasters.

Remember: I need to add up all my skulls. Thankfully, I can only cause one disaster in this step.

5. Time to Build

During the Build step, it’s my turn to improve my domain by building walls and buildings. I can use the resources on my player board to do this. Once I’m done, it will be the next player’s turn, and we’ll keep going clockwise.

Hey there! Let me break it down for you. With each hammer you roll, you can either build a wall or a building. You’re allowed to build one wall of any length, or one building. Pretty cool, right?

Now, before you get to work, make sure you have the necessary materials. Check your resource track and subtract the required materials. If you’ve got what you need, you’re good to go!

Just a heads up, you can only build walls and buildings that are still available in the supply. If they’re all taken, you’ll have to come up with another plan.

So, grab your hammers and get building! Have fun!

If you take the last building of a certain type from the supply, you’ll see a blank tracking token flip over to the X side. Keep in mind that this X means the game is almost over and will end at the end of the current round when all tracking tokens show an X.

Here’s an important note: You’re allowed to build multiple copies of the same building, and the benefits stack up. For example, if you have 2 monasteries, you’ll get to set 2 dice. And if you have 2 universities, you’ll earn bonus points for each of them.

When it comes to walls and buildings placed diagonally to each other, they’re not considered adjacent. This also means that walls placed diagonally to each other don’t enclose an area.

As for buildings placed diagonally to each other, they don’t count as clustered when it comes to determining which buildings will be affected by disease.

Note: I want to talk to you about buildings, but not just any buildings. I want to talk about buildings that are truly special – the ones that are surrounded by walls and keeps. It’s important to understand that when I say “walled buildings,” I mean buildings that are built in an area that is completely surrounded by walls and keeps. These buildings don’t have a wall around the outside of your land; if you want a wall there, you’ll have to build it yourself. It might sound a bit confusing at first, but don’t worry! I’m here to help you understand.

For example: I rolled 2 hammers and that means I can build up to 2 buildings (or walls). Here’s what I’m going to do: I’ll spend 1 trade good, 1 stone, and 1 wood on a church. I’ll place it in my land. Then, I’ll spend 3 wood on a lumber mill and also place it in my land. Since there are no more lumber mills left, I’ll flip a blank tracking token over to show an X.

6. Extort

When it’s time to extort, we all show off our strength and demand resources from our weaker opponents. The starting player goes first, and then we take turns clockwise.

Hey there! So, here’s an interesting move that you can pull off in the game. If you’re feeling cunning, you can extort one resource of your choice from each player who has fewer swords or is showing them. Pretty devious, right? Now, here’s how it works. You’ll go around the table in player order, demanding your tribute. For each player that you affect, you can ask for one food, wood, stone, or trade good. Of course, you can only take the resource if the player actually has it on their resource track. So, it’s a sneaky way to get what you need while playing strategically and keeping an eye on your opponents.

When you don’t have any resources to give or don’t want to pay the bribe, you have to move your disaster peg forward twice for each resource you didn’t give.

When I play the game, I don’t have to pay a bribe to another player if I roll a number of shields that match or exceed the number of swords they rolled. It feels good to be protected in this way.

Moving forward on the Disaster Track

If I run out of space on my disaster track and reach “-25” on my score sheet, I start over at zero. I continue keeping track of my disaster points from there, and there’s no limit to how many I can earn.

End of the Round

Don’t forget: Take a moment to double-check that you have the correct dice before continuing!

If you’ve made any buildings that give you a die (like forts, longhouses, townhouses, and churches), go ahead and grab all the dice from them. But if you had to get rid of any of those buildings (maybe because of a disaster), put the dice back in the game box.

If all of the tracking tokens now show an X, then we’re done. We should follow the rules for the game end. But, if not all the tracking tokens show an X, then the player who currently has the starting player peg passes it to the player on their left. The new starting player places it in the (Roll) spot on their player board to keep track of the new round.

We’ll keep playing rounds like this until the game ends.

The End of the Game

Once we’re finished, we can compare our final scores. The player with the highest score will be the winner!

In the event of a tie, if two or more players have the same number of points, the player with the most trade goods remaining will be declared the winner. If there is still a tie, the player with the most stones left will win. If the tie persists, the number of wood is checked, followed by the amount of food. In the rare case that all tied players have the exact same amount of every resource, they will share victory.

To keep track of scores, players can use a score sheet. On the score sheet, players earn points for each building in their domain. If a building is constructed within a walled area, it will be worth double the points of a regular building.

I’m excited to share some bonus points you can earn in the game! Keep in mind that these points can give you an advantage, so pay attention. Here’s what you need to know:

– First, you can score points for markets, guildhalls, universities, and cathedrals in your domain. Each of these buildings will earn you bonus points.

– Next, let’s talk about culture. You can earn 1 point for each culture on your culture track. That means the more cultures you have, the more points you get. And here’s a tip: if you have the most culture (at least 1), you’ll earn even more bonus points.

So, as you play the game, remember to focus on these objectives to maximize your score. Good luck! And if you enjoy this aspect of the game, you’ll love chasing after these bonus points.

Walled area: In the game, the player with the most walls gets bonus points. If you have more than one walled area, you add up their sizes. The size includes the spaces inside the walls and any buildings that are enclosed completely by walls. But, keep in mind that scorched areas don’t count for this scoring. Disasters: As you play, keep an eye on your disaster track. Each skull on the track will subtract one point from your score. So, try to avoid disasters as much as possible!