Palatinus Game Rules
Contents
Welcome to Palatinus: The Game of Strategy and Wit!
Are you ready to embark on an exciting adventure where your decisions shape the outcome? If you’re looking for a game that challenges your mind and tests your strategic thinking, then you’ve come to the right place!
The Importance of Understanding the Rules
Before diving into the world of Palatinus, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the game rules. By doing so, you’ll unlock the full potential of this immersive experience and be better equipped to navigate its complexities.
Choosing the Right Strategy
Palatinus is a game where every move counts. To achieve victory, you must carefully consider your choices and anticipate the consequences of your actions. It’s a delicate balancing act that requires both adaptability and foresight.
Interpreting the Game Mechanics
Understanding the game mechanics is key to mastering Palatinus. By familiarizing yourself with the rules and systems that govern the game, you’ll be able to make informed decisions and adapt your strategies accordingly.
The Art of Strategy
Palatinus is a game that rewards strategic thinking. As you progress through the challenges it presents, you’ll discover new ways to outsmart your opponents and secure your path to victory. It’s a thrilling journey that will test your intellect.
The Balance of Risk and Reward
Every decision in Palatinus comes with its own set of risks and rewards. It’s up to you to weigh these factors and make the choices that best align with your overall strategy. Remember, sometimes taking a calculated risk can lead to great rewards!
Conclusion
Mastering Palatinus requires not only a deep understanding of its rules but also the ability to think strategically and take calculated risks. By embracing these concepts, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a formidable player in the world of Palatinus.

In 780 B.C., on the Italian peninsula, a crucial meeting and battle ground formed. Many different groups flocked to this area for trade opportunities, but they also fought each other for control of the land.
The Seven Hills witnessed a mix of Etruscans, Sabines, and other peoples. These brave warriors, driven by the ambitions of merchants and farmers, challenged and influenced one another.
From this diverse clash of cultures, a city emerged. This city would eventually become an empire, ruling over half the world. Its name would go down in history.
But who among these peoples would have the greatest impact on the city that was forming around the Palatinus?
What Makes Up This Story?

- I’m providing you with 7 Territory tiles, which represent different areas.
- You’ll also find 7 Laurel tokens, which have their own significance in the game.
- There are 12 Scoring discs for keeping score.
- Make use of the 5 Player screens to hide your actions.
- We have Scoring Counters to help you keep track of your progress.
- You’ll find 60 Inhabitants to populate the areas.
- Lastly, there is a Linen bag to store various components, and the Instructions to guide you.
Let’s Get Started!
I want you to imagine yourself as a leader of a group of people who have settled around the seven hills where Rome was established. Your task is to expand your influence over the fields, people, and springs in order to thrive.
Setting Things Up
First, either I can choose a starting player for you or you can pick one at random. Then, take the territory tiles and shuffle them face down. Select one tile and place it face up in the center of the playing area. Next, put the “Palatinus” token, with a value of 6, on the hill space.
When we start the game, I draw another tile and put it next to the first one in any direction I want. Then, the next player does the same, placing their tile next to the “Palatinus” hill and another tile. We keep doing this until all seven hills are filled with tiles. The seven hills together make up the game board, which represents the territory where Rome was founded.
After that, we mix up the remaining laurel tokens and place one face up on each of the other six hills. We should keep the discs close by for easy access.
Each player takes a screen that matches their color and a scoring counter. The scoring counter is only used at the end of the game. We also take the corresponding “inhabitants” as shown on a chart and hide them behind our screens:
- If you’re playing with 5 players: each player receives 3 merchants (one of them has a wolf on one side), 3 farmers (two of them have a wolf on one side), and 1 soldier.
- If you’re playing with 4 players: each player receives 4 merchants (two of them have a wolf), 3 farmers (two of them have a wolf), and 1 soldier.
- If you’re playing with 3 players: each player receives all the pieces of their color.
- If you’re playing with 2 players: each player receives all the pieces of their color, plus 2 merchants (one of them has a wolf) and 2 farmers (one of them has a wolf) from an unused color.
- If there are 5 of us: everyone gets 3 merchants. But here’s the twist – one of them has a wolf on one side! We also have 3 farmers, and two of them come with a wolf on one side. Finally, we have a soldier to join our ranks.
- If there are 4 of us: each player will receive 4 merchants, two of which have a wolf. We also have 3 farmers, and two of them come with a wolf on one side. To complete our army, we’ll have a soldier.
- If there are 3 of us: each player will have all the pieces of their own color. No wolves in sight, though!
- If there are 2 of us: each player will have all the pieces of their own color. Additionally, we’ll include 2 merchants – one of them with a wolf – and 2 farmers – one of them with a wolf – from a color that’s not being used. It’s always good to have some extra help!
- Determine the effect of the soldiers.
- Figure out who controls the hill.
- If the number of merchants is the same as the number of farmers, well, that soldier retreats. Just send it back to the box.
- If the number of adjacent merchants and farmers is different, the soldier captures the bigger group! And hey, they earn some fame.
- Merchants give influence points for each neighboring inhabitant: 1 point for each other merchant, 2 points for each farmer, and 3 points for each soldier. Merchants even give influence for inhabitants of the same color;
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Palatinus: A Game of Strategy and Adventure
Welcome to Palatinus, a thrilling game that combines strategy and adventure! Join me as I guide you through the rules and gameplay of this exciting board game.
Setup
To begin, you’ll need to set up the game board. It varies depending on the number of players:
Please note that any unused materials should be placed back in the box as they are not used in this game.
Starting game board. |
Gameplay
Now, let’s dive into the exciting gameplay of Palatinus!
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Palatinus: An Exciting Game of Strategy and Adventure!
Welcome to Palatinus, a game that brings together strategy and adventure! Come with me as I walk you through the rules and gameplay of this thrilling board game.
Setting Up the Game
First things first, we need to get the game board ready. The setup will depend on how many people are playing:
Remember to put any unused materials back in the box – they won’t be necessary for this game.
This is how the game board looks when we start. |
Lets Get Playing!
Alright, get ready for some thrilling gameplay in Palatinus!

When it’s my turn to play, I have to remember that the game is played in a specific order – clockwise. So, I need to place one of my inhabitants on an empty space on the board.
If I have an inhabitant with a wolf, I have to play it with the wolf side facing up. And if I want to, I can take a sneak peek at my concealed inhabitants whenever I want.
Now, here’s an important rule: during the last three turns (or last four turns if there are 2 or 3 players), I can’t place any more soldiers. This means I can’t have any soldiers left behind my screen when I only have three inhabitants left to play (or four with 2 or 3 players).
Let me give you an example. If I’m playing a 5-player game, I’ll have 7 turns in total. And during those turns, I have to play my soldier on either turn 1, 2, 3, or 4.
The End of the Game
Once all the inhabitants have been placed, the game is over. This is when we turn all face-down inhabitants face up. And that’s how we know the game is done!
Hey, let’s get started on this cool game! Place your screen face down on the table so you can see the influence track on the back. We’re going to score each hill one at a time, in alphabetical order from A to G. Here’s what we’re going to do for each hill:
A. Effect of the Soldiers
Okay, so here’s what we’re going to do. Look at each soldier in the six fields surrounding the hill. It doesn’t matter what color they are. Now, take a look at all the merchants and farmers adjacent to the soldier, even if they’re on a different hill tile:
If there’s more than one soldier on the same tile, we’ll resolve them all at the same time. But don’t worry, soldiers that are next to each other don’t affect each other.
When multiple soldiers capture the same inhabitant, one soldier’s player claims the inhabitant while the other takes a 1-point disc.
B. Taking Control of the Hill
Now it’s time to determine who controls the hill. First, we start with the field that has an arrow and calculate the total influence for each inhabitant. Each player adds up their influence points using the influence track on their player screen.
When it comes to controlling the hill in the game, there are a few rules you need to understand. Each farmer has the power to award influence points based on the fields and springs they are adjacent to. They give 2 points for each unoccupied field and 2 points for each spring, regardless of whether or not it is occupied. Additionally, if a farmer has a spring on their own field space, they also receive influence points for it. On the other hand, soldiers do not award any influence points.
It’s important to remember that the inhabitants who bring influence are only those surrounding the hill. However, they consider all other nearby inhabitants, even if they are on a different hill tile. The player who has the most influence points controls the hill and gets the laurel token as a reward.
In the event of a tie, the laurel token is discarded, and each tied player receives a 2-point disc instead. If no player has influence over the hill, the laurel token is discarded altogether.
Now let’s talk about victory.
So, here’s how it works. When the game is over and all seven hills have been scored, it’s time to count up our victory points. Now, victory points are important because they determine who the winner is. And who doesn’t want to be a winner, right?
So, to figure out our victory points, we’re going to look at two things: the number of captured inhabitants and the values of our tokens and discs. Those are the key factors that will give us our final score.
Now, let me break it down for you. First, we count up the number of captured inhabitants. That means we see how many people we’ve managed to snatch up throughout the game. The more inhabitants we’ve captured, the more victory points we’ll get. It’s like a little population bonus.
But that’s not all. We also need to take a look at our tokens and discs. Each of these has a value, and when we add up all those values, we get another chunk of victory points. So, it’s important to have a good mix of tokens and discs on our side.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Once we’ve added up all our victory points, we compare them with the other players. The player with the highest number of points is the winner. But what if there’s a tie? Well, in that case, we look at who has the most tokens, discs, and captured inhabitants. That will determine the ultimate winner among the tied players.
So, that’s the deal. Victory points are what we’re after, and they come from capturing inhabitants and the values of our tokens and discs. It’s all about strategy and making the right moves. May the best player win!

Strategy Tip
Here’s the deal – you need more than one of your folks on a hill to actually take control of it. Trust me, don’t go spreading your people thin all across the board. Remember, we’re building the mighty Roman Empire, and we need your savvy!