How to Play Trajan

Let me explain the rules of the game Trajan to you. Trajan is a strategy board game that requires careful planning and decision-making. In Trajan, players take on the role of Roman leaders and compete to earn the most victory points.

The game is played on a game board divided into different actions and regions. Each player has their own player board with a Trajan tile, which represents their influence and power. Throughout the game, players take turns choosing and resolving an action from the game board.

One of the key mechanics in Trajan is the use of Trajan tiles. Each player starts the game with a set of Trajan tiles, and they must strategically use them to take actions and score points. The Trajan tiles can be placed in the player’s personal bowl, or used to take actions on the game board.

Each action on the game board corresponds to a different action in the game. For example, the Senate action allows players to gain influence and special abilities, while the Forum action lets players trade resources and gain victory points.

To take an action, a player must place a Trajan tile from their bowl into the corresponding action space on the game board. The player can then take the action associated with that space. However, the Trajan tile placed on the game board must come from a specific section of the player’s bowl, determined by the action space they chose.

In addition to taking actions, players can also earn victory points in other ways. For example, players can score points by fulfilling demands on special bonus tiles, or by building Trajan tiles into their personal display.

The game continues until all players have placed all of their Trajan tiles onto the game board. At the end of the game, players count up their victory points to determine the winner. The player with the most victory points is declared the winner of Trajan.

So, now that you have a good understanding of the rules, it’s time to gather your friends and start playing Trajan. Have fun and may the best Roman leader win!

Hey there! Let’s travel back in time to the year 110 AD, when the Roman Empire was thriving under the rule of Emperor Trajan. The empire’s borders were secure, allowing its people to turn their attention inward to the grand city of Rome.

If you’re ready, it’s time to seize the opportunity and unleash your power! By using clever strategies, you can outsmart your rivals and emerge as the ultimate conqueror.

What You’ll Need

• There’s a game board with different parts of the Roman Empire, starting from Rome’s senate and going all the way to far-off provinces like Britannia and Germania. The board has 6 areas, and each area has a specific action.
• There are 60 small player tokens in different colors – red, green, dark blue, and brown. These tokens represent the players’ legionnaires or workers.
• There are 4 military leader tokens and 8 discs, also in different colors. These military leaders occupy provinces with their legionnaires.
• Each player has a player mat in their color. The mat has an action circle with 6 trays, and it provides space for the players to collect different tiles.
• Each player also has an Arch of Trajan, which is a special marker that goes on their player mat. It marks the spot for a new Trajan tile.

I have created an assortment of game components for you. There are four sets of octagonal action markers. Each set contains 12 markers in various colors: yellow, orange, light green, white, pink, and blue. These markers are placed on the troughs of your action circle.

You will also find a single time marker, which is used to keep track of the playing time.

There are 60 commodity cards, with 12 different commodities and 5 cards for each commodity.

In addition, there are nine different types of tiles included in the set.

You will also receive a linen bag, which is used for drawing bonus tiles.

Lastly, there are two rulebooks included – one in German and one in English.

These components are all important for playing the game and will enhance your overall experience. Enjoy!

Let’s Get Started!

First things first, we need to set up the game board. Place the game board in the middle of the playing area. Each player should choose a color and receive their player mat, military leader token, 15 small player tokens, and 2 victory point discs. Don’t forget, each player also gets an Arch of Trajan and 12 action markers in different colors.

Now, let’s organize the extra action and forum tiles. Sort them by their back sides, shuffle them separately, and place them face down in piles next to the game board.

Next up, we have the demand tiles. Shuffle them up and select three at random to remove from the game. The remaining demand tiles should be placed face down next to the game board.

So, here’s what you do. First, grab the following tiles and put them face-up on the game board: 10 forum tiles in the provinces (that’s one in each province, just to be clear). Then, depending on how many players you’ve got, add another 6 (for two players), 9 (for three players), or 12 (for four players) on the special forum spaces. Don’t forget to place 3 extra action tiles on the yellow spaces of the forum. Got it?

Okay, here’s what you need to do to get started with the game:

Step 1: Fill all 20 spots in the construction district with 1 construction tile each.

Step 2: Put the time marker on the start space of the time cycle that matches the number of players.

Step 3: Everyone needs to place their military leader token and 1 small player token on the military camp, and another small player token on the worker camp. Keep your remaining 13 small player tokens on the designated area of your player mat. Don’t forget to put your Arch of Trajan on the “I” spot on your player mat.

Step 4: Before drawing Trajan tiles, make sure to allocate your action markers to the trays on your player mat. Fill each tray with 2 markers of any color.

Step 5: Now, it’s time to sort the Trajan tiles. Group them by category (icons), then shuffle each pile. Lastly, distribute the stacks to the 6 spaces on the game board.

Getting ready to play

Let’s figure out who will go first. We can use any method we want. The person who starts puts one of their discs on the start space of the senate track. After that, the other players will stack their discs on top of the ones already there, creating a little pile.

Remember that the order of the discs in the stack matters because if there’s a tie, the disc higher up in the stack wins.

Next, we need to stack our other discs on the start space of the victory points track. It doesn’t matter what order they’re in, so you can stack them however you like.

Now, each of us will draw a bonus tile from the bag and put it in front of us with the yellow side facing up. Then, we’ll draw two more bonus tiles and place them on the game board, to the right of the senate track, also with the yellow side facing up. Make sure to keep the bag with the rest of the bonus tiles nearby so we can easily reach them.

First, let’s get ready to play the game. Shuffle the commodity cards and put them face down next to the game board. Take the top card and place it face up on one side, creating a discard pile. Then, reveal the next card and place it face up on the other side, creating a second discard pile.

Now it’s time to start playing. The first player goes first, and then we take turns in the order we’re sitting. Each player gets to draw 3 commodity cards and keep them in their hand. You can take cards from either discard pile or a combination of both. If a discard pile is empty, just grab the top card from the face down pile and fill it back up.

Finally, let’s finish setting up the game. We all need to choose 3 Trajan tiles, one at a time, in the order we’re sitting. These tiles go in the slots marked II, IV, and VI on our player mats. We can put them in any order we want, but we can’t have more than 1 tile of each category at this point.

Did you know that Trajan tiles can be categorized into 6 distinct groups? It’s fascinating to dive into the world of these ancient artifacts.

Let’s Play the Game!

So, here’s the deal: we’re all trying to score victory points by being strategic when we take our turns. Sounds easy enough, right?

The trick is to be clever about where we place our markers on the action circle. See, there are six different actions we can take, and it’s all about timing. We need to know when to strike and when to sit back and wait for the perfect moment.

Now, there are a couple things we need to keep in mind. First, we can’t let other players have an easy time. It’s a competitive game, after all. We have to make sure they don’t get all the good stuff while we’re left with scraps. Secondly, we can plan ahead a few turns to set ourselves up for success.

Even if we don’t win the first game, that’s okay. We’ll learn from our mistakes and get better each time we play. There’s always room for improvement, and we’ll discover new strategies along the way.

Here’s How the Turns Work

The game has four quarters in a year, and each quarter has four game rounds. Each round lasts as long as one cycle of the time marker on the time track. The number of player turns may vary from round to round.

During a player’s turn, they follow these steps in order:

1. Rearrange action markers and move the time marker (you have to do this).

2. Accomplish a Trajan tile if you can.

3. Perform one action if you want to.

After a player finishes their turn, the next player takes their turn in a clockwise direction.

Remember, the number of action markers you have on your tray affects how long each game round lasts.

Hint: The number of action markers you choose at the beginning determines how long the game round will be.

When playing the game, I get to pick one of the trays on my player mat and take out all the action markers from that tray, making sure there’s at least one marker.

Then, I start allocating the action markers one by one to the other trays, going clockwise. Each tray gets one marker until I’ve used up all the markers from the tray I originally chose.

I can choose any color marker to put in any tray. The tray where I place the last action marker becomes the target tray.

Remember: If I have more than 6 action markers in the original tray, I may need to put two markers in some of the other trays.

I have to move the Time Marker (no exceptions)

Once I announce the number of action markers I’ve selected, my right neighbor will move the time marker that number of spaces in a clockwise direction on the time track.

Finishing a Round

Once the time marker reaches or goes past its starting space, the current round ends after I finish my turn. After 4 rounds, a quarter of a year is complete, and after 4 quarters, the game ends.

When a round, quarter, or the game ends, certain tasks need to be completed before the next player takes their turn.

Complete a Trajan Tile (if Possible)

When a Trajan tile is next to the target tray and there are action markers in the tray that match the colors on the tile, I can take the tile from my player mat, earn points, and perform a special action. It doesn’t matter how many action markers are already in the tray or how long they’ve been there.

Once I’ve done my special action, I remove that Trajan tile from the game. However, if the tile has the icons of bread, helmet, or flame, I keep it on my player mat, and it remains effective until the end of the game.

Note: The number of markers in the target tray doesn’t matter as long as there are matching colors. It’s okay if the tray has other markers too.

Example: I added the last blue marker to the tray. The tray already has the 2 markers needed for the Trajan tile. I gained 5 victory points and now I can place one of my small tokens at the worker camp. The Trajan marker is no longer in play.

Do One thing (if you want to)

Whether or not I completed a Trajan tile, I can now do the action associated with the target tray. Each tray in the action circle has its own unique action. Here are the actions available to me:

Example: I put the military action on this tray.

Doing Things at the Seaport

When it comes to playing the game, you have four options to choose from:

• You can draw 2 commodity cards from the pile and add them to your hand. Then, you must pick 1 card from your hand to discard, placing it face up on one of the two discard piles.
• You can take the top commodity card from one of the discard piles and add it to your hand.
• You can play 1 or 2 cards from your hand, placing them face up in front of you. These cards create your personal display and may earn you extra victory points at the end of the game. After playing, you refill your hand by drawing the same number of cards from the draw pile.

I can ship commodities on one of the three ships by playing matching cards from my hand. Each ship has a requirement, and if I meet it, I gain victory points. The illustration on the right shows how many points each ship is worth. After I play the cards, I add them to my personal display. If the ship’s colored side is facing up, I flip it to the gray side; if it’s already gray, I leave it as is.

So here’s what you do: just pick any tile you like from the forum and put it on your player mat, making sure it’s facing up and in the right spot.

When it comes to the forum, you have room for 3 extra action tiles (yellow) and either 6, 9, or 12 forum tiles depending on how many players are in the game.

Hint: Don’t worry if you run out of space, you can stack the tiles from your display.

Get Ready for Battle

When playing this game, you have three options to choose from:

1. You can take one of your small player tokens from your personal supply on your player mat and move it to the military camp on the game board. By doing so, this token becomes a legionnaire for the rest of the game.
2. If you prefer, you can move your leader to a neighboring province. If you come across a tile in that province, you can simply claim it and put it on your player mat. The military camp is adjacent to three provinces, just like the province of Britannia.

So, here’s what you need to know: I can move one of my soldiers from the military camp to the province where my leader is currently stationed. If there aren’t any of my soldiers in that province yet, I automatically score some victory points based on the number shown for that province. But wait, things get a little trickier if there are other players’ soldiers there too. In that case, I lose three points for each of their soldiers in the province. Ouch!

Oh, and remember: I can only have one soldier in each province. Gotta keep it fair!

Hey there! Just wanted to give you a heads up about something important. Legionnaires in this game don’t travel from one province to another. Instead, they head directly to the province where their leader is located. And here’s some good news – whenever you conquer a province, you always earn at least 0 victory points.

Trajan Action

So here’s what you do: You grab one of those face-up tiles from the stacks, the Trajan tiles, and you stick it on the spot of your player mat where your Arch of Trajan is chilling. Then, you slide that Arch over to the next open slot, going clockwise.

But wait! If all the slots on your mat are already taken up by those Trajan tiles, meaning there’s no more room for your Arch to hang out, it goes to the center of the action circle. And when you manage to complete one of those Trajan tiles, you can move your Arch to the open slot right next to the tray.

Here’s the thing, though. When all the slots on your mat are filled with Trajan tiles, you can’t do the Trajan action anymore. It’s off limits until you free up a spot.

Example: When I play Trajan, I get to put my new Trajan tile where my Arch of Trajan is (“I”). Then, I move my Arch to the next open slot in a clockwise direction (“III”).

What Happens in the Senate?

When you play the game, you can move your disc on the senate track by one space. And every time you do, you earn victory points based on that space.

If there’s already a marker on that space, you can place your disc on top of it.

But here’s the catch: once you reach the space with 8 victory points, you can’t do this action for the rest of the quarter year.

Example: I move my disc on the senate track from 4 to 5 and earn 5 victory points.

Building Stuff

So, here’s the deal: you have two options to choose from:

1. You can take one of your little player tokens from your personal supply on your player mat and move it to the worker camp on the game board. Once you do that, that token becomes a worker for the rest of the game.
2. Instead, you can move one of your workers from the worker camp to a construction site. If it’s your first construction site, you’re free to choose any open space in the district. Whenever you add more workers, they have to be placed next to one of your existing workers, either horizontally or vertically. If there’s a construction tile on the space you choose, you put it on your player mat and you earn the victory points shown on the tile. If it’s your first tile of that type, you get to do an extra action right away, on top of your regular turn. But remember, you only get that extra action for the first tile of each type. And here’s the thing: you can send your worker to a construction site where other players are already working. You won’t get a construction tile, but it can be helpful if you want to fill in gaps and get to more valuable construction sites. #image.jpg

Game Over (Round Complete, Year, Game)

Round Completed

Phew, that was intense! I can’t believe we made it to the end of the round. It feels like just yesterday we started this game. Time really does fly when you’re having fun, doesn’t it?

You know, reaching the end of a game round is always a mix of relief and excitement. It’s relief because we can finally take a breather and reflect on everything we’ve accomplished. And it’s excitement because it means we’re one step closer to finishing the whole game.

I have to say, this round was a wild ride. We encountered so many challenges along the way, but we tackled them head-on and came out victorious. I’m proud of us!

It’s important to celebrate these small victories, you know? Sometimes we get so caught up in the bigger picture that we forget to appreciate the little milestones we achieve. But each completed round brings us closer to the ultimate goal.

As I sit here, contemplating the end of this round, I can’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. We’ve overcome obstacles, solved puzzles, and worked together to reach this point. It’s truly amazing what we can achieve when we put our minds to it.

So, take a moment to pat yourself on the back, my friend. We did it! And remember, this is just one round. There’s still more to come, more challenges to face, and more victories to celebrate. Are you ready for the next round? I know I am!

But for now, let’s take a break, recharge our energies and get ready for the next adventure. We’ve earned it. See you soon, in the next round!

When I’m playing this game, the round ends after my turn if the time marker reaches or passes its starting space on the time track. It’s always exciting to see what demand tile will be revealed next – we place it where everyone can see it, right next to the game board.

After that, it’s the next player’s turn to start the next round. The time marker doesn’t reset at the end of a round, it just keeps moving along from where it is.

If there are three demand tiles next to the game board right now, which happens after four cycles on the time track, this quarter is over. Instead of revealing another demand tile, it’s time to score for this quarter.

End of a quarter year

1. Meeting The People’s Demands

First, I need to meet the demands of the people. They have three demands that must be addressed.

To meet these demands, I have to spend one matching forum tile for each revealed demand tile. I can also meet a demand by using a Trajan tile that shows the required demand icon.

I can only use each of my Trajan tiles once during a quarterly scoring.

The forum tiles I use to meet the people’s demands will be removed from the game later. However, I get to keep the Trajan tiles I used for this purpose on my mat.

If you can’t fulfill one or more requirements, you’ll lose victory points:

• If you can’t meet one demand, you lose 4 VP’s.
• If you can’t meet two demands, you lose 9 VP’s.
• If you can’t meet three demands, you lose 15 VP’s.

2. Senate Power Balance

Now it’s time to see how much influence you have in the senate, based on your votes.

Here’s how you calculate your total votes:

• Add up the number of votes based on where you are on the senate track.
• Count the number of votes from all the senate tiles on your mat.

If you have the most votes, you become the consul. You get to choose one of the two bonus tiles on the right side of the senate track. Take the tile you choose and place it in front of you with the yellow side facing up.

Once the votes are tallied, it’s time to determine the vice consul. This is the player who received the second highest number of votes. They will be given a bonus tile, which they will place in front of themselves with the gray side facing up.

In the case of a tie, the player with the higher position on the senate track will be favored. If both players have the same position, the tie will be broken by comparing their discs’ positions in the stack. The player with the higher disc will win.

After the vice consul is determined, all the vote markers (discs) on the senate track are removed. They are then stacked on the senate start space. The disc of the player with the fewest votes is placed at the bottom of the stack, with the consul’s disc placed on top.

Step 3: Replace Tiles and Fill Game Board Spaces

Hey there! Let’s talk about refreshing the game board. It’s time for a clean slate, and I’m here to tell you how it’s done.

Step one: eliminate some tiles from the game. Say goodbye to all those forum tiles that were used for meeting the people’s demands. And don’t forget about the senate tiles – every single one of them, regardless of whether they were used or not. Finally, clear out all the tiles from the forum, including any extra action tiles.

Now, onto step two: bring in some new tiles or reveal the ones already waiting. You’ll need to draw two fresh bonus tiles and place them face-up on the yellow side in their designated spots in the senate. Next, find all the provinces that don’t have a forum tile with both a military leader and a legionnaire, and add a new forum tile right there. Lastly, it’s time to refill all the forum spaces with new forum tiles. And don’t forget to refill the three yellow spaces with three sparkling new extra action tiles.

There you go! The game board has been revitalized. Now it’s time to dive back in and continue the fun!

Draw all the tiles randomly and put them face up. Flip the ship tiles to show their colored side. Then, take off the quarter year indicator from the top of the quarter year tiles. The game moves forward to the next quarter year, and the next player clockwise takes their turn.

When the last quarter year tile is removed, the game ends, and we do a final scoring.

At the end of the game, after scoring the final quarter year, we do a final scoring to earn even more victory points. Here’s how you can gain them:

– For each commodity card in your hand, you get 1VP.

– For each worker in the worker camp, you get 1VP.

– For each legionnaire in the military camp, you get 1VP.

– For each Trajan tile on the action circle, you get 1VP.

When you play the game Trajan, you can earn victory points (VPs) in different ways. One way is by collecting sets of construction tiles with the same icon. Each set of 3 construction tiles with the same icon will earn you 10 VPs. You can see an example below:

• Each set of 3 construction tiles with an identical icon earns you 10 VPs.
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• Each set of 4 construction tiles with an identical icon earns you 20 VPs.
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Once all players have calculated their VPs, the player with the most VPs wins the game. In case of a tie, the player who holds the higher position in the senate breaks the tie and becomes the winner.