Welcome to the Babylonia Game!

I’m going to explain the rules of the game to you, so you’ll know how to play and have a great time.

First things first, let’s talk about the objective of the game. The goal is to build the magnificent city of Babylon by strategically placing tiles on the game board. You’ll earn points for each tile you place, and the player with the most points at the end of the game wins!

Now, let’s dive into the gameplay. The game is played over several rounds, and each round has three phases: the Drafting Phase, the Building Phase, and the Scoring Phase.

In the Drafting Phase, you’ll be dealt a hand of tiles. You’ll carefully consider your options and choose one tile to keep. Then, you’ll pass the remaining tiles to the player next to you. You’ll continue this process until all the tiles have been chosen.

Next up is the Building Phase. During this phase, you’ll take turns placing your tiles on the game board. There are specific rules to follow when placing tiles, so be sure to pay close attention. You can place your tiles next to each other as long as they match in color and connect to the existing city in a valid way. Make wise choices, as the placement of your tiles can greatly impact your score!

Finally, we have the Scoring Phase. After all the tiles have been placed, it’s time to calculate your score. You’ll earn points based on the number and types of tiles you’ve placed, as well as any bonuses you may have achieved. Keep track of your score throughout the game, as it will determine the winner in the end!

Now that you know the rules, it’s time to gather your friends and start playing Babylonia! Enjoy the challenge of building your own ancient city and may the best builder win!

When Nebuchadnezzar II ruled over the Neo-Babylonian empire from 605-562 BC, it was a period of incredible prosperity and abundance. The empire experienced a revival like no other, thanks in large part to the flourishing trade routes that connected major cities and settlements across the region. Additionally, the strategic utilization of the fertile valley nestled between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers played a significant role in the empire’s success.

Elements

What’s Inside the Box

In this game, you’ll find a variety of components to make your experience rich and immersive. Let’s take a closer look at what’s included in the box:

• 19 Cities
• 13 Crop Fields
• 32 Location Tiles
• 9 Ziggurat Cards
• 1 Board
• 6 Merchants
• 6 Civil Servants
• 6 Priests
• 12 Farmers
• 5 Ziggurats
• 4 Scoring Markers
• 120 Clan Tokens
• 4 Stands
• Rulebook

Getting Started

Now that we know what’s in the box, let’s get ready to play! To set up the game, follow these simple steps:

1. Lay out the board in the center of the table.

2. Place the location tiles and ziggurat cards nearby.

3. Each player chooses a clan and takes the corresponding merchants, civil servants, priests, and farmers.

4. Set the scoring markers aside for now.

5. Distribute the clan tokens evenly among the players and place them in their stands.

6. Review the rulebook to familiarize yourself with the gameplay and scoring.

Gameplay

In this game, you’ll take turns strategically placing your workers on the board to build and grow your civilization. The goal is to earn the most points by the end of the game.

On your turn, you can take one of four actions:

– Place a worker on a city or crop field to gain resources.

– Build a ziggurat card to unlock special abilities.

– Activate a ziggurat ability to gain additional benefits.

– Regenerate your workers to prepare for the next round.

Strategize and make smart decisions to maximize your points. Remember, timing is key, and every move counts!

Conclusion

Now that you know what’s inside the box, how to set up the game, and the basics of gameplay, you’re ready to embark on this exciting civilization-building journey. Have fun and may the best clan emerge victorious!

1. First, I’ll place the board right in the middle of the table. This board represents the south-eastern region of ancient Mesopotamia, which was surrounded by two important rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates.
2. If we’re playing with 4 players, we’ll use the entire board.
3. With 3 players, we won’t use the land area north of the Tigris.
4. And with 2 players, we won’t use the land area south of the Euphrates.

Note: No matter how many players there are, both rivers will always be part of the playing area. So we can always place Clan Tokens on them throughout the game.

Next, we’ll put a Ziggurat on each hexagon that is outlined in blue (). Then, we’ll take the Cities and Crop Fields tiles, shuffle them up, and randomly place one face-up on each hexagon outlined in green ().

As a player, you have a few different options for how to set up the game, depending on how many people are playing. If you have 4 players, you’ll use all the Ziggurats and Location Tiles. If there are 3 players, though, you’ll need to remove some components. Check out the image below to see which ones to take out. And if you only have 2 players, you’ll remove those components plus a few extra ones. Take a look at the second image to see what else needs to go.

Once you’ve got everything set up, you’ll want to display the Ziggurat Cards numbered 1-7 on the side of the board. Cards 8 and 9 are only used in the Game Variant, so you can set those aside for now.

Now it’s time to assign colors. Each player chooses a color and takes the Stand, Clan Tokens, and Scoring Marker of that color. Mix your Clan Tokens face down on the table to form your personal reserve. Draw 5 tokens and place them on your Stand. Finally, put your Scoring Marker on the “0” space of the Scoring Track.

Alright, now that everything’s set up, it’s time to start playing!

Note: In this game, any unused stands, markers, and tokens are taken out of play.

My Goal in the Game

In Babylonia, my aim is to help my clan flourish during this era of peaceful and prosperous rule. To achieve this, I need to strategically place my nobles on the map, forming profitable relationships with the cities. I should also be wise in positioning my tokens next to the Ziggurats, as this will grant me the special powers of the rulers. Additionally, effectively utilizing my farmers in fertile areas will increase the value of my crop fields.

The player who can skillfully perform these actions and accumulate the most points will emerge as the ultimate victor.

How to Play

The starting player is chosen randomly, and they begin the game. Each player takes their entire turn before passing it clockwise to the next player. On my turn, I must:

1. Play Clan Tokens from my Stand.

I want to share some information with you about playing the board game ‘Babylonia.’ Here are a couple of important things you need to know:

1. To start, there are two goals you should keep in mind. First, try to surround cities and ziggurats to gain points. Second, make sure to fill your Stand with 5 tokens.

2. There are two options for playing clan tokens from your Stand. You can either play any 2 Clan Tokens, which can include Nobles and/or Farmers. Or, you can play 3 or more Farmers without any Nobles.

3. You can place a Clan Token in any empty hexagon on the board. A hexagon is considered empty if it doesn’t already have any Clan Tokens, Location Tiles, or Ziggurats.

4. When playing Clan Tokens, there are a few special rules to keep in mind. In the first round, the first player can only play 1 Clan Token, while the second player can play 2 Clan Tokens.

That’s it! These are the basics of playing Babylonia. Have fun and good luck strategizing your moves. Enjoy the game!

Rivers: When it comes to rivers, the Clan Tokens need to be put face down. If you go with option A and play two Clan Tokens, you can place either one or both of them in any hexagon in the river. However, if you choose option B and play three or more Farmers, you cannot put any of them in the river.

So, let’s say I decide to play any 2 Clan Tokens, and I choose to put one of them (a Farmer) face down in the river.

Ziggurats: Here’s the important part about Ziggurats – every time you place a Clan Token next to one (even if the hexagon is in the river or even if you already have tokens next to that Ziggurat), you earn one point for each Ziggurat that has at least one of your tokens next to it.

When I play Babylonia, I can strategically place my Civil Servant token next to the Ziggurat to earn some points. For example, if I have three Ziggurats with my tokens next to them, I will receive three points.

Crop Fields: To earn points in Babylonia, I can place a Farmer Token in a Crop Field. However, there is a requirement. I need to have another one of my Clan Tokens, like a Noble or a Farmer, already placed next to that Crop Field.

When I successfully place my Farmer Token in a Crop Field, the field is scored, and then it is removed from the game. My token takes the place of the Crop Field. If the Crop Field has a number on it, I receive that many points. But if the Crop Field shows a City symbol, I earn points equal to the number of cities in front of all the players.

I place a Farmer in a Crop Field that has a value of ‘6’, and I score 6 points. Then, I place another Farmer in a Crop Field with the City symbol, and I receive 5 points because there are a total of 5 cities in front of us players.

2. Score the surrounded cities and ziggurats

After I finish playing my Clan Tokens, I must score the Cities and Ziggurats that have been surrounded on my turn. If there are multiple Cities and/or Ziggurats that have been surrounded, I can choose the order in which to score them.

Scoring surrounded Cities

When a city has Clan Tokens on all the land hexagons around it, it scores points. If the city is next to a river, you don’t have to have Clan Tokens on the river hexagons to score, but if you do, they count too.

Scoring a surrounded city happens in two steps:

1. Nobles:

That’s it! Now you know how scoring works in Babylonia. Good luck playing!

If you’re playing the game, you’ll notice that the City can have 1, 2, or 3 symbols (). It’s important to pay attention to these symbols because they can impact your score.

Understanding the City

In the game, each player places their Clan Tokens next to the City. You earn 2 points for each Clan Token with the same symbol that is next to the City or connected to it through your own tokens. Keep in mind that Clan Tokens placed in the rivers count for connection purposes, but they don’t give you any points since they are face down.

Now, let’s talk about winning the City. The player with the most Clan Tokens next to the City, including those in the river, will win the City Tile. Remember, if there’s a tie, the City Tile is discarded. After winning a City Tile, each player receives points equal to the number of cities they have in front of them at that moment. But, if the tile is discarded due to a tie, no one gets any points.

Note: After you remove a City Tile, you can place any Clan Token in the empty hexagon.

How to score surrounded Ziggurats

A Ziggurat is scored when all the land hexagons next to it have Clan Tokens on them.

Just like cities, if a Ziggurat is next to a river, the river hexagons don’t need to have Clan Tokens to score, but if they do, those Tokens count too.

The player with the most Clan Tokens next to the Ziggurat, including those on the river, get to choose a Ziggurat Card and put it in front of them.

If there’s a tie, no player gets a Ziggurat Card, but the Ziggurats stay on the board for the rest of the game.

Wow! Look at all those land hexagons surrounding the Ziggurat. They’re all occupied, which means it’s time to score. I see that Adam has 3 tokens next to the Ziggurat, Nora has 2 tokens, and Valentina has 1 token. With these numbers in mind, Adam can pick one of the available Ziggurat Cards. And don’t worry, the Ziggurat will stay right where it is.

3. Fill up your stand

Now that we’ve finished scoring the surrounded Cities and Ziggurats, it’s time to replenish our Stand. We need to draw Clan Tokens from our personal reserve until our Stand is full again, with 5 tokens. If we’ve run out of tokens in our reserve, no worries! We can keep playing with the tokens we have on our Stand.

Ziggurat Cards

Once you’ve triumphantly conquered a Ziggurat, it’s time to select a Ziggurat Card to enhance your power. Take a moment to peruse the available cards and pick one that catches your eye. Place it with the front facing up right in front of you, ready to deploy its mighty effects. Don’t fret about having just one card – you can gather multiple cards and blend their powers together to create an unstoppable force. Some cards bring about permanent effects, forever altering the course of your journey. Others have a one-time impact, delivering a single burst of power to aid you in times of need. The choice is yours, my friend, and the possibilities are endless!

Get ready to earn yourself 10 points right off the bat. After that, flip the card over: it’s out of play for good.

Hey there! Did you know that you have the power to play an extra turn during the game? It’s true! At the end of one of your turns, right after refilling your Stand, you can play an additional turn. But here’s the catch: once you play that extra turn, you have to flip the card facedown, and you won’t be able to use it anymore.

Hey there! I’ve got some exciting news for you. Starting now, you can have a total of 7 Clan Tokens on your Stand. Yes, you heard it right, 7! That’s two more than before.

Hey there! I’ve got some great news for you. Starting now, you can play not just any 2 Clan Tokens, oh no! You can play a whopping 3 different Nobles face up. How’s that for a twist?

Starting now, you have the added ability to play a Noble card face up whenever you have 3 or more Farmers in your play area.

Hey there! I wanted to share some exciting news with you. Starting now, you have the power to put the Nobles in the Crop Fields, even if you don’t have one of your Clan Tokens near those Crop Fields. How cool is that?

Starting now, when you calculate the scores for the Cities, you’ll get an extra point for every two Cities you have in front of you.

Hey there! Starting now, the empty land hexagons in the center, between the two rivers, are there for you and your Clan Tokens to connect with.

Hey there! Starting now, all the free river hexagons are here to connect your Clan Tokens.

Game Over

The game comes to an end right away when, at the end of your turn:

• You don’t have any Clan Tokens left on your Stand. OR
• There’s only one City left on the board, or no Cities at all.

You win the game if you have the most points. If there’s a tie, the player with the most Cities in front of them is the winner. And if the tie still holds, the tied players share the victory.