ARKADIA

Welcome to Arkadia, a thrilling game that lets you become a master builder. Take on the role of a skilled artisan as you work to construct magnificent structures throughout the city of Arkadia. But be warned, this task won’t be easy – you’ll need to manage your workers and resources wisely to succeed.

The city of Arkadia is divided into four powerful families, each with its own unique seal. Every building you construct will bear the mark of one of these families, showcasing your allegiance and adding value to your creations. And that’s not all – as you build homes, you’ll also contribute to the growth of the grand castle. Once you reach the second story, the final round of the game will commence.

SETUP

Are you ready to get started? Let’s dive into the setup. But remember, be careful while handling the game elements as they can tear easily.

To begin, place a square seal tile on each of the castle pieces. Next, position the game board in the center of the playing area. Make sure that the castle’s building area is aligned in a grid formation, ensuring that none of the tent camps are hidden from view.

When you start playing the game, you’ll receive a player screen, four architect banners, and three workers in the color you prefer. The architect banners will hang from the top of your screen, and your workers will be hidden behind it. The remaining workers will be placed next to the game board, creating a general pool.

Now, let’s talk about the castle pieces. They will be placed on the pool areas at the edges of the board. Specifically, three red, olive, silver, and black pieces will go in the areas for the first and second floor. As for the squares designated for the third floor, you’ll place four castle pieces on them. The neutral floor squares for the third floor will remain empty for now, but they will come into play later in the game.

So here’s how it works: we organize the buildings and put them in neat piles next to the board. Then, each of us gets dealt four building cards from the deck. Keep in mind that three of these cards will be facing up and placed next to the board, while the rest are face down. And just like that, we’re ready to start the game!

Ready, Set, Play!

The youngest player gets to go first, and we take turns clockwise around the group. Now, each turn has two parts – the “must” and the “can”.

First up is the “must” section. You have to do this part. You can either play a building card or introduce new workers. If you decide to play a building card, you’ll need to put it next to an existing building or next to a worker. Make sure to place the seal that’s on the card at the building’s location, and then throw away the building card.

If you decide to bring in workers, just put them next to a building on the board. When that building is finished, you’ll get a reward. It’s a colored seal that matches the building.

During the “Can” part of the game, you can use your architect banner. If you use it, you’ll get two workers of your own. You can also trade in your seals for gold, depending on the castle.

The Game Ends

When you place the last castle piece on the second floor of your castle, everyone else gets one more turn. After that, it’s time to count up all your seals. Whoever has the most gold is the winner!