Æterna Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Credits
• Game Components
• Setup
  • Game Board Setup
  • Players' Setup
• Game Overview
  • A - Draft
  • B - Actions
    • B.1 - Play a Card
    • B.2 - Take a Favor
    • B.3 - Construct a Building
    • B.4 - Influence a Hill
    • B.5 - Pass
    • Free Actions
• C - Scoring
• D - Devastation
• E - Buildings
• F - Domus
• G - Unrest
• H - Feed
• I - End of Era
• End of the Game
• Devastation Tokens
• Reward Tokens
• Board Locations
• Personality Cards
• Monument Cards
• Quick Turn Structure
• Icon Summary

Credits

Game Design: Martin Wallace

Development & Production Coordination: Lorenzo Maria Conti and Roberto Martire

Artwork & Cover Art: Andreas Rocha

Personalities Artwork: Emiliano Mammucari

Layout & Graphic Design: Marco Pantaleoni

Editorial Project & Supervision: Alessandro Lanzuisi

English Edition — Additional Layout: Honda Eiji

English Edition — Editing: Kevin Chapman and Fabrizio Rolla

Production & Supervision: Roberto Di Meglio and Fabio Maiorana

English Edition Produced and Distributed Worldwide by Ares Games Srl, Via dei Metalmeccanici 16, 55041, Capezzano Pianore (LU), Italy. www.aresgames.eu.

A Game Created by Ergo Ludo Editions, and Produced by MS Edizioni.

© 2024 Ergo Ludo Editions. © 2024 MS Edizioni. Æterna™ is a trademark of MS Edizioni. English Edition © 2024 Ares Games Srl. All rights reserved.

Version 1.1 — 2025.09.11

Playtesters: Alessandro Mercati, Carlo Trifogli, Claudio Antonelli, Cristian Paoli, Cristina Scialanca, Dario Aggioli, Davide Pellacani, Domenico Provvedi, Emiliano dell'Omo, Fabio Fioravanti, Fabio Peronace, Federica Ferri, Federico Bancone, Federico Palombo, Flavio Cozzolino, Gabriella Pistolesi, Giuseppe Ottavianelli, Giuseppe Tamba, Leonardo di Renzi, Leonardo Di Stefano, Lorenzo Cocchiara, Lorenzo Monaco, Luca di Russo, Luca Ferrara, Marco Cerri, Marco Maietta, Marco Mariani, Marco Pantaleoni, Marco Scuderi, Marco Vassallo, Martina Sorrenti, Massimo Bocconi, Matteo Gallo, Mauro Bocconi, Omar Lombardi, Roberto Antonelli, Roberto Minella, Roberto Pestrin, Rosa Campora, Silvia Antonelli, Simone Buonvicino, Simone Maurilli, Stefano Benigni, Tiziano Zazza, Valerio Salvi.

A special thanks to Prof. Marco Mengoli, Dr. Francesca Cesari, and Dr. Vincenzo Spina for their great help in the historical recontextualization of the game elements and to Daniele Ursini for his precious effort.

Roberto Martire and Lorenzo Maria Conti want to dedicate this project to their family and to their "ELE" colleagues who have always been close and supportive to us in these long years of work.

A huge thanks to Martin Wallace for keeping the promise, and thanks to Rome, the "Aeternal" City.

Game Components

• 15 Stone tokens
• 36 Wheat tokens (20 worth 1, 16 worth 3)
• 36 Aurei tokens — the money of the game (20 worth 1, 16 worth 3)
• 10 Doom tokens
• 4 Prestige Point counters (1 per color)
• 28 Citizen tokens (7 per color)
• 4 Unrest counters (1 per color)
• 4 Turn Order counters (1 per color)
• 9 Wooden Buildings, 3 per type: Templum, Aquaeductus, Amphitheatrum
• 6 Unrest Damage tokens
• 21 Reward tokens
• 14 Devastation tokens
• 1 Phase counter
• 1 Pass board for 2/3 players
• 2 Card Holders for Era 2 and 3 cards
• 4 Domus boards (1 per player)
• 76 Cards: 36 Monuments (12 per Era), 24 Provinces (8 per Era), 12 Personalities (4 per Era), 4 Player Aids (1 per player)
• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Game Board

Setup

Game Board Setup

Place the Game board in the center of the table.

Take the Personality cards, and separate them by Era, as indicated by the Roman numeral on the back and at the top right corner of the front of the card. From the Era I cards, randomly select 1 card in a 2-player game or 2 cards in a 3- or 4-player game, and place them in the indicated space(s) on the Game board. Put the leftover Era I Personality cards back in the box.

Take the Monument cards and the Province cards, and separate them by type and by Era. The backs of the Monument and Province cards are the same in each Era. The icons at the top right of the front are different and indicate the type of the card and the Era it belongs to. Shuffle each deck separately, and then deal, face down, 2 Province cards and 3 Monument cards from Era I to each player. Put the leftover cards from Era I back in the box.

Place the Era II and III Monument, Province, and Personality decks in the Card Holders, in the areas indicated by the corresponding symbols.

Take the Reward tokens with the correct number of players on the back: the tokens marked for 2 players in a 2-player game; those marked for 2 and 3 players in a 3-player game; or those marked for 2, 3, and 4 players in a 4-player game. Place any leftover tokens back in the box. On the Game board, choose 3 Hills in a 2-player game, 5 Hills in a 3-player game, or all 7 Hills in a 4-player game. If you don't agree on which Hills to choose, simply activate the first 3/5 Hills, in numerical order, for a 2/3-player game, starting from Hill number 1. Only these chosen Hills will be active during the game. Randomly place 3 Reward tokens on each chosen Hill, face up, making sure that the active symbol shows below each one.

Randomly choose 4 Unrest Damage Tokens and place them face up in the 4 Unrest Damage spaces. Place the other 2 back in the box.

Take the Phase counter and place it in space A, the first space on the Phase track.

In a 2- or 3-player game, take the Pass board, with the correct number of players face up, and place it on the Turn Order track. In a 4-player game, the Turn Order and Pass tracks are already printed on the Game board, so you don't need the Pass board.

Take the Citizen, Stone, Wheat, Aurei, Doom, and Devastation tokens, and create a common supply next to the Game board.

Take the players' Turn Order counters and place them randomly on the Turn Order track, one per space.

Place a Building of the type shown in each space of the Construction Area.

Players' Setup

Each player chooses a color and takes the following in the chosen color:

• The Domus board, placing it in front of themselves;
• The Unrest counter, placing it on space 0 of the Unrest track;
• The Prestige Point counter, placing it on space 0 of the Prestige track;
• 2 Citizens from the common supply, placing them in the center area of their Domus board;
• 1 Player Aid;
• 2 Aurei, 5 Wheat, and 1 Stone from the common supply, placing them in the indicated areas of their Domus.

Game Overview

A game of Æterna takes place over 3 rounds, called Eras. Each Era is divided into the following phases:

• A. Draft
• B. Actions
• C. Scoring
• D. Devastation
• E. Buildings
• F. Domus
• G. Unrest
• H. Feed
• I. End of Era

At the end of each phase, move the Phase counter forward on the Phase track, then start the new phase.

A - Draft

Each player draws 3 Monument cards and 2 Province cards from the current Era (skip this in the first Era of the game, as cards from Era I have already been dealt during Setup). Take these cards from the Card Holders of that Era, then put the remaining cards and the Card Holder in the box.

Then everyone simultaneously chooses 1 out of their 5 drawn cards and places it face down in front of them. When all players have made this choice, each one passes their remaining 4 cards to the player on their left. Then each player chooses 1 out of the 4 cards received, places it face down in front of them, and passes the remaining 3 to the player on their left. In the same way, each player chooses one of the 3 cards received and passes the other 2 to the left. Each player now chooses 1 of their last 2 cards to place face down in front of them and places the other face down in one of the spaces at the right of the Game board which contain the Monument and Province symbols.

After all players have placed a card on the Game board, turn these cards face up. Finally, each player picks up the 4 cards previously chosen in front of them, which will be their hand for this Era.

The spaces for the fifth, unchosen cards: these cards can be played during the Actions phase using the appropriate Reward token (see Reward Tokens, below).

B - Actions

This phase is the core of the game. The game is played following the Turn Order track, starting from the player who has their Turn Order counter in the first space on the left on the Turn Order track and continuing with the second, up to the last player.

During their turn, each player must perform one action, which can be preceded or followed by one or more free actions (see Free Actions, below), then the turn passes to the next player. Players who have chosen the Pass action in a previous turn will skip their turn. This phase ends when all players have passed.

The actions are:

• Play a Card (Monument or Province);
• Take a Favor;
• Construct a Building;
• Influence a Hill;
• Pass

Many actions will require you to either gain or lose Unrest points. Whenever your Unrest counter would have to go below 0 on the Unrest track, leave it at 0 and gain 1 Prestige Point (PP), regardless of how far it would have dropped below 0. You can ONLY gain 1 PP per effect (whether that of a card, action, Reward token, etc.) in this way.

In contrast, if your Unrest counter would have to go above 10 on the Unrest track, leave it at 10 and lose 1 PP for EACH point beyond 10 that it couldn't rise. Your Unrest counter can never drop below 0 or rise above 10.

B.1 - Play a Card

You can play a card from your hand by paying the cost in Resources indicated in its top left corner (see The Cards, below), moving the Resources from your Domus board to the common supply. After doing so, place the card face up in your play area. For quick reference, if the card is a Province, or a Monument with an instant effect (see The Cards, below), place it to the right of your Domus board; if it is a Monument with a permanent effect, place it above your Domus board; if it is a Monument that requires activation, place it to the left of your Domus board. Each card has a colored arch with a symbol at the bottom that identifies its category.

Monument Cards: Political, Civil, Religious, Military. Province Cards: Commercial, Diplomatic. Personality Cards: Personality.

The colors are a reminder:

• After playing each card, you gain 1 Aureus for every other card of the same category (color) that you have previously played, i.e., 1 Aureus if it is the second, 2 if it is the third, 3 if it is the fourth, etc.
• At the end of the game, you will gain a Prestige Point (PP) bonus from all the cards you have played, for each group of 6 or 7 cards played in different colors (see End of the Game, below).

After playing a card, you immediately receive the rewards (excluding PP) shown near the bottom of the card. Also, if the card has an instant effect (see above), apply its effect immediately.

Monument Cards represent the monuments built by your Gens and have a cost in Stones and/or Aurei.

Province Cards represent provinces conquered thanks to the support of your Gens and have a cost in Citizens, soldiers sent into battle.

The Resources (Stone, Wheat, Aurei, and Citizens) and other tokens in the common supply are virtually unlimited. In case they run out, use anything else as suitable replacement. The only exception is the Citizens, they are only 7 for each player. If you gain a Citizen and there are no more in the supply, you get nothing.

The Cards

Monument Cards, Province Cards, and Personality Cards each show: a Name; a Cost (in the top left corner) and the Era and Type (top right corner); an Effect, which may carry an Effect Timing icon (Permanent, Requires Activation, or Instant — see Icon Summary); and Rewards Gained (received immediately on play), plus Prestige Points awarded at the end of the game. Personality cards also show their Color and the Effect and Requirements needed to claim their reward.

Example card — Ecclesia Sancti Petri (Monument): "The cost of playing a [Religious card] is reduced by 1 [Stone]."

Example card — Romulus (Personality): "Lose 2 [Unrest] and gain 1 [PP] for each [Hill] where you are [Prefect]."

B.2 - Take a Favor

In each Era, there will be 1 Personality available in a 2-player game, or 2 Personalities available in a 3- or 4-player game.

To take a favor, you must pay the number of Aurei shown in the top left corner of the Personality card AND have fulfilled the card requirement at least once.

These cards are available to all players, but can only be taken by the first player to claim them. When a player takes a card, they place it to the right of their Domus board and immediately gain all of the rewards indicated by the card for EACH time they fulfill the requirements.

Personality cards have a unique color that is needed to complete a set of 6 or 7 different colors at the end of the game (see End of the Game, below).

Example: The orange player has 2 Unrest points. They pay 6 Aurei and take Spartacus ("Lose 3 [Unrest] and gain 1 [PP] for each set of: [card] on the Game board + [Monument] this Era + [Province] this Era."). Having 2 Citizens on the Game board and 2 Monuments and 2 Provinces played in this Era, they resolve the effect twice. The first time, they lose 2 Unrest points and gain 2 PP, 1 directly from the effect and 1 because they would have dropped below 0 on the Unrest track. The second time, they gain 2 PP again, 1 from the effect and the other 1 because they would have lost 3 Unrest points (dropping below 0, they cannot gain more than 1 PP for the same effect).

B.3 - Construct a Building

To construct a building, place a Citizen taken from your Domus board in one of the 3 spaces of the Construction Area on the Game board that is free of Citizens and has a Building.

Pay 1 Stone and gain 3 PP instantly. Place the Building on a Hill of your choice. Each Hill can have up to 3 Buildings, but only one per type. These Buildings will remain on the Hill for the rest of the game and will give additional rewards to the Prefect of the Hill (see B.4 - Influence a Hill, below, and E - Buildings, below) later in the Era.

B.4 - Influence a Hill

To influence a Hill, place 1 Citizen from your Domus board on an active Hill of your choice.

The cost for this action is:

• 2 Wheat if the Citizen being placed is the first (of any color) on that Hill;
• 1 Wheat if the Citizen being placed is the second on that Hill (regardless of the color of the first);
• Free if the Citizen being placed is the third or more on that Hill (regardless of the color of the others).

If there are no other Citizens of your color there already, place the Citizen in the first available space from the left; otherwise, stack it on top of the Citizen(s) of your color already present. If there are no free spaces and no Citizens of your own color already on the Hill, then you will not be able to influence that Hill during this Era.

After placing the Citizen, if the number of your Citizens on that Hill exceeds that of the player whose stack is immediately to the left of yours, exchange the positions of the 2 stacks, then repeat this maneuver until either your stack of Citizens reaches the leftmost position on the Hill or the stack immediately to its left contains the same number of Citizens or higher. The leftmost pile, the one in the first position, is that of the Gens that governs the Hill and holds the office of Prefect.

Then, if there are Reward tokens on the Hill that are active, you may choose one, take the rewards (most often Resources) shown on the token from the common supply, and then deplete it by sliding it down to show the depleted side. You are never obliged to take the rewards indicated on one of the tokens, but if you decide to take them you must take all of them on that token. If you decide not to take the rewards, DO NOT deplete a token.

Note: In a 2- or 3-player game, only 2 Citizen spaces on each Hill will be active. The third space will only be available in a 4-player game, as indicated by the symbol in the space.

Example: The blue player places their second Citizen on a Hill. They already have a Citizen of their color there, so they place it on top of the previous Citizen. Now blue has 2 Citizens, red has 1, and orange has 2. Blue takes the place of red and slides the red Citizen to the last place. Orange stays in place because they have the same number of Citizens, but they were there before blue.

B.5 - Pass

If you decide to pass, move your Turn Order counter into the free space on the Pass track with the highest PP value and immediately gain that number of PP. You will no longer be able to perform actions for the duration of this Era. You can perform free actions before you perform a Pass action, but not after. Once all players have passed, Actions phase is over.

Tip: During phase I – End of Era, all cards that are still in your hand from the current Era will be removed from the game, so, if you have any cards left, you can use them as described in Free Actions (below) before passing.

Example: The orange player passes after the blue player. They place their Turn Order counter in the free position with the highest points on the track and gain 3 PP.

Free Actions

Before or after performing an action, you can also perform one or more free actions. The free actions are:

1. Discard a Card. You can discard a card from your hand, removing it from the game, to immediately do one of the following: Gain 1 Citizen and 2 Aurei; Gain 2 Wheat; Gain 1 Stone; or Lose 2 Unrest points.
2. Activate a Monument. You can activate a Monument card in your play area with the "requires activation" symbol that has not already been activated in this Era, including a card played in the same turn. Rotate the card after activation to indicate that you cannot activate it again during the same Era. With some exceptions, cards can only be activated once per Era and will become available again during phase I - End of Era (see below).

C - Scoring

In this phase, players get points from each active Hill, based on the positions occupied by their Citizens, starting with the Hill with the lowest number and proceeding in numerical order. For each Hill, the player in the first position is the Prefect and gains the highest PP value visible on the Hill (ignore values covered by Devastation tokens), and the player in the second position gains the second highest visible value. In a 4-player game, the player in the third position gains the third highest visible value.

Example: The orange player gains 4 PP, and the blue player gains 3 PP. The red player doesn't gain anything due to the Devastation token placed on the highest value.

D - Devastation

Hills with more Citizens are frowned upon by the population, as overpopulation creates unrest and devastation. The minimum number of Hills to be devastated is equal to the number of players minus 1: 1 in a 2-player game, 2 in a 3-player game, and 3 in a 4-player game. The number of devastated Hills may exceed the minimum, in case of a tie between the Hills with the most Citizens. First, identify the Hill(s) with the highest number of Citizens, regardless of their color. If the number of these Hills does not meet or exceed the minimum number of Hills to be devastated, identify those with the next highest number, and repeat the process until the minimum number is reached (see examples below).

Once you have identified these Hills:

• Place a Devastation token on each devastated Hill, covering the highest PP value still visible. This token remains on the Hill for the rest of the game, permanently reducing the value of the Hill. In Era III, you can ignore this step.
• The player that holds the office of Prefect in each of the Hills devastated in this phase must advance their Unrest counter on the track by 2 spaces for each such Hill.

Example: In a 4-player game, during the Devastation phase of Era I, you have to identify at least 3 Hills for devastation. Hill 4 (Caelius) has 4 Citizens, Hill 1 (Capitolinus) has 3, and Hill 2 (Palatinus) has 2. The top 3 Hills by number of Citizens are 4, 1, and 2, which will therefore be the ones that are devastated, and the others, having fewer Citizens than any of these, are ignored. The red player gains 4 Unrest points (2 for each of the devastated Hills where they are Prefect) and the orange player gains points as well.

Continuing into Era II of the same game: Hill 2 (Palatinus) has the highest number of Citizens (3) while Hills 1 (Capitolinus), 4 (Caelius), and 7 (Viminalis) are tied for the second position (2 each). Since at least 3 Hills must be devastated, but there is only 1 in the first position and there is a tie between 3 Hills for the second position, 4 Hills are devastated: numbers 1, 2, 4, and 7. Because at least 3 Hills have already been selected, the others with fewer Citizens are ignored. Devastation tokens placed in the previous Era remain in place, while those from this Era will cover the highest value still visible. Due to being Prefects in the devastated Hills, the red player gains 4 Unrest points, and the blue and orange players gain 2 each.

The game continues into Era III. In the Devastation phase, there is a tie for the Hill with the most Citizens. Hills 1 (Capitolinus), 2 (Palatinus), 3 (Quirinalis), 4 (Caelius), and 7 (Viminalis) have 3 Citizens each. In this extreme case, all 5 Hills will be devastated, and, having reached the minimum number of 3, the others will be ignored. It's Era III, so there is no need to place Devastation tokens (being the last Era of the game, there will be no further Scoring phases). The red player gains 4 Unrest points (2 per devastated Hill where they are Prefect), along with the blue player. The orange player is the Prefect in only 1 devastated Hill and gains "only" 2 Unrest points.

E - Buildings

In this phase, players who are Prefects benefit from the Buildings bonus. For each Building on a Hill, its Prefect:

• Templum: Gains 2 PP;
• Aquaeductus: Gains 2 Wheat;
• Amphitheatrum: Loses 2 Unrest points.

F - Domus

In this phase, each player retrieves all the Citizens placed on the Game board and returns them to their Domus board.

G - Unrest

In this phase, each player must check the position of their Unrest counter on the track. If your counter has reached or passed the position of at least one Unrest Damage token, for each of these tokens you will have to choose one of the following:

1. Pay the indicated Resources; or
2. Gain 1 Doom token.

Doom tokens will give you negative points at the end of the game (see End of the Game, below).

H - Feed

In this phase, each player must pay 1 Wheat for each Citizen on their Domus board. If you don't have enough Wheat, pay all the Wheat you have and then move your Unrest counter up 2 steps for each Citizen you can't feed.

Tip: Citizens used as payment for a Province card have been placed in the common supply and therefore will not have to be fed. So, if you don't have enough Wheat to feed your Citizens, you can play a Province card, turning them into "soldiers."

I - End of Era

If you have just finished Era III, skip directly to the End of the Game (below). If, instead, you have just completed Era I or II, follow these steps:

• Place in the box all the cards of the current Era that have not been played (Monuments and Provinces in players' hands and on the Game board, plus Personalities still on the Game board); Draw 1 (in a 2-player game) or 2 (in a 3- or 4-player game) new Personality cards from the new Era, and place those cards face up in the Personality spaces of the Game board;
• Move all Reward tokens on the Game board that have been depleted to the active position. Fill empty building spaces in the Construction Area with Buildings of the same color taken from the common supply. Each player places each of their activated Monument cards in the upright position;
• Starting with the first player who passed (the one with their Turn Order counter on the leftmost position on the Pass track), each player chooses their position in the Turn Order for the next Era.

At the end of Era I or II, move the Phase counter to space A of the Phase track.

Example: In a 3-player game, during the Actions phase, the orange player passes after the red player, then places their Turn Order counter in the second PP space and gains 2 PP.

During the End of Era phase, the red player, who passed first, chooses the last Turn Order position for the next Era, followed by the orange player, who chooses the first position, and, lastly, the green player takes the remaining second position. The new Turn Order is orange, green, red.

End of the Game

At the end of Era III, it is time to determine the final PP totals, to determine which Gens has the most Prestige:

Remaining Resources: Each player gains 1 PP for each 1 Stone, 2 Wheat, or 8 Aurei left on their Domus board, rounding down.

Cards: Each player gains or loses PP as indicated on the Monument and Province cards they have played.

Diversity: Each player takes all the Monument, Province, and Personality Cards they have played and separates them into sets containing a single card of each color. For each set containing 6 different colors, you gain 3 PP; for each set containing 7 different colors, you gain 9 PP.

Example: A 7-color complete set awards you 9 PP at the end of the game. (Example card — Augustus (Personality): "Gain 1 [Wheat] and 2 [PP] for each [Hill] where you have at least 1 [Citizen] (max 3).")

Doom track: Each player moves their Unrest counter onto the Doom track, to the right of the Unrest track, into the space corresponding to their current position. Then, for each Doom token they have gained during the game, each player moves their Unrest counter 1 space up. Finally, each player must lose the number of PP indicated in the space their Unrest counter occupies on the Doom track.

Any player with their Unrest counter in the last space of the Doom track must remove their PP counter from the Prestige track and will not participate in the final scoring. You have ruled without wisdom, and your Gens will be condemned to DAMNATIO MEMORIAE!

Now, the Gens still in the game with the most PPs will be declared the winner! In the event of a tie, the Gens will share the prestige and gratitude of the Æternal city!

End of the Game - Unrest Track Example: At the end of the game, move the Unrest counters to the spaces exactly to the right of them on the Doom track. The green player does not have any Doom tokens, so their counter remains where it is. The blue player has 2 Doom tokens and advances 2 spaces on the track. The orange player has 1 and advances 1 space. Each player then loses the number of PP shown on the space their counter occupies: 0 for green, and 6 for blue and orange. If orange had had 5 Doom tokens instead of 1, they would have reached the last space on the track and would have had to remove their PP counter from the Prestige track, exiting the game and no longer competing for victory.

Devastation Tokens

During phase G - Unrest, each player must note all Unrest Damage tokens on the Unrest track that occupy spaces their Unrest counter occupies or has passed. For each of these tokens, the player must either pay the indicated Resources or gain 1 Doom token.

The Resources to be paid are one of the following, per token:

• 1 Stone and 6 Aurei
• 1 Citizen, 1 Stone, and 1 Wheat
• 1 Wheat, 1 Stone, and 2 Aurei
• 1 Citizen and 3 Wheat
• 3 Wheat and 2 Aurei
• 1 Citizen, 2 Wheat, and 4 Aurei

Reward Tokens

Every time a player performs the Influence a Hill action during phase B - Actions, if there are still active Reward tokens on the Hill, after placing their Citizen on the Hill, they may deplete an active token to gain the indicated rewards.

The rewards are:

• Gain 3/4/5 Aurei
• Gain 1 Stone
• Gain 1 Citizen and 1 Aureus
• Gain 1 Wheat and 2 Aurei
• Gain 2 Wheat
• Lose 2 Unrest points
• Immediately play 1 of the Monument or Province cards on the Game board, paying the cost. Treat the card as if it had just been played from your hand.

Board Locations

1. Capitolinus — Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini (VI Century BC): Erected by Tarquinius Priscus, it was the center of the Roman state cult.
2. Palatinus — Aedes Serapidis (III Century AD): Dedicated to the goddess Isis, built by the emperor Caracalla, it was the largest and most sumptuous temple on the Hill.
3. Quirinalis — Domus Flavia (I Century AD): The public part of Domitianus' palace, it served as a representation for Imperial audiences.
4. Caelius — Nymphaeum Egeriae (I Century AD): According to legend, the nymph wife of King Numa Pompilius, upon the death of the king, broke down in tears, giving life to a water source located in a natural cave.
5. Aventinus — Emporium (II Century BC): The ancient river port of Rome, located on the Tiber, was built following the impetuous economic and demographic development of the period.
6. Esquilinus — Esquiline Necropolis (VII - I Century BC): The main and largest Roman cemetery, it was typically used by aristocratic warriors.
7. Viminalis — Thermae Diocletianae (III - IV Century AD): It was built in a sumptuous manner to serve the most populous Hills of the Era, Quirinalis, Viminalis, and Esquilinus.

Personality Cards

• Romulus (VIII Century BC): He was the legendary founder of Rome and its first king.
• Spartacus (II - I Century BC): He was the gladiator and leader who led the revolt of the slaves (Third Servile War) that lasted almost 3 years and ended in victory for Rome.
• Servius Tullius (VI Century BC): He was the sixth king of Rome, author of the first general census and of a great reform of the army.
• Sulla (II - I Century BC): Due to Roman political instability, Sulla went from being a leader in the war against Mithridates to becoming dictator of Rome by conquering it militarily. Banishing his opponents, he shifted political influence back into the hands of the Senate, then retired to private life.
• Mucius Scaevola (VI - V Century BC): According to legend, he tried to kill the Etruscan king Porsenna, who was besieging Rome. The king captured him, and Mucius burned his hand on the fire to show the king the bravery of the Romans.
• Traianus (I - II Century AD): The Emperor who reigned during the period of Rome's greatest expansion, he was an excellent leader and builder of monumental public works.
• Tarquinius Superbus (VI - V Century BC): He was the seventh King of Rome, who ascended the throne after assassinating Servius Tullius. After his son Sextus Tarquinius raped the noble woman Lucretia and she committed suicide in public, the king and his family were exiled from Rome.
• Augustus (I Century BC - I Century AD): Julius Caesar's successor, he centralized all power to himself and gave rise to a period called the Pax Romana, a period in which laws were unified throughout the Empire and disputes were quelled.
• Julius Caesar (I Century BC): The most famous of the Roman leaders and dictators, he was a great military strategist with great expansionist aims. He was killed in the Senate during a conspiracy against him.
• Galla Placidia (IV - V Century AD): She was a noblewoman, Roman Empress, and political protagonist of the Western Roman Empire. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, in Ravenna, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Tiberius et Caius Graccus (II Century BC): They were Senators who carried out agrarian reforms aimed at limiting the amount of land owned per citizen and having the state redistribute excess land among the citizens.
• Hadrianus (I - II Century AD): Emperor successor to Traianus, he strengthened the borders of the Empire and built numerous public works and monuments.

Monument Cards

• Portum Centumcellae (II Century AD): This port was built by Emperor Traianus to facilitate commercial and military expeditions.
• Columna Traiani (II Century AD): This honorary column was erected by the Emperor Traianus in memory of the triumph against the Dacians.
• Aedes Matris Magnae (III - II Century BC): This temple was dedicated to the Magna Mater, a foreign deity welcomed in Rome during the Punic Wars.
• Castra Peregrina (I - II Century AD): These barracks were intended for soldiers assigned to espionage or reconnaissance functions.
• Ecclesia Sancti Petri (IV Century AD): The basilica was erected by Emperor Constantine on the tomb of the apostle Peter.
• Aedes Concordiae (IV Century BC): The temple was erected by Lucius Furius Camillus to celebrate the reconciliation between patricians and plebeians.
• Castra Nova Equitum Singularium (II - III Century AD): These barracks were for the soldiers in charge of the Emperor's security.
• Palatium Domitiani (I Century AD): The Imperial palace on Palatine Hill was erected by Emperor Domitianus and richly decorated.
• Aedes Herculis Victoris (II Century BC): This circular temple dedicated to Hercules Victor is located in the center of the Forum Boarium.
• Pantheon (II Century AD): This temple, sacred to all gods, was rebuilt by Emperor Hadrianus on the previous temple built by Agrippa.
• Castra Praetoria (I Century AD): These military quarters were built by Emperor Tiberius for the Praetorian guardhouse.
• Theatrum Pompeium (I Century BC): The first permanent masonry theatre in Rome was built by the Consul Gnaeus Pompeius.
• Aqua Alexandrina (III Century AD): The eleventh aqueduct of Rome, 22 km long, was erected by Emperor Alexander Severus.
• Porta Triumphalis (V - III Century BC): This gate, located near the Forum Boarium, was connected to the celebration of triumphs.
• Thermae Agrippae (I Century BC): The first public bath building in ancient Rome, it was built by Marcus Agrippa.
• Stadium Domitiani (I Century AD): This stadium, built by Emperor Domitianus, was dedicated to athletic and sports competitions.
• Columna Bellica (III Century BC): This wooden column had a spear thrown against it to formalize a declaration of war.
• Regina Viarum (IV Century BC): This was the traditional name of the Appian Way, built by the Censor Appius Claudius Caecus.
• Curia Hostilia (I Century BC): The oldest meeting place of the Roman Senate, it was built, according to legend, by the third king of Rome, Tullus Hostilius.
• Sepulcretum (VII Century BC): This vast necropolis for lower class burials was later redeveloped into the Horti Maecenatiani.
• Comitium (VIII Century BC): A small circular area located in the Roman Forum, this was where the first city meetings took place.
• Tabularium (I Century BC): This monumental building was placed as a scenic backdrop of the Forum and was intended to be the State Archives.
• Aedes Vestae (VIII Century BC): This temple guarded the sacred fire of Rome, kept alive by the Vestal Virgins.
• Casa Romuli (VIII Century BC): This mythological hut was built by Romulus on the Palatine Hill, and was the residence of the first King of Rome.
• Saepta Iulia (I Century BC): This vast, porticoed space, located in Campo Marzio, was originally designed as an electoral enclosure.
• Lupercal (VIII Century BC): This mythical cave at the foot of the Palatine Hill was the place where Romulus and Remus were found suckled by the She-Wolf.
• Regia (VIII Century BC): This ancient residence of the King was later used as the residence of the Rex Sacrorum and the Pontifex Maximus.
• Moenia Servii Tulli (VI - IV Century BC): The first city wall of Rome was built by the legendary sixth King, Servius Tullius.
• Pons Sublicius (VII Century BC): The first bridge over the Tiber in ancient Rome was built entirely of wood by King Ancus Martius.
• Amphitheatrum Flavium (I Century AD): Today known as the Colosseum, it hosted gladiator fights and hunts for wild animals.
• Aedes Iani (VII Century BC): This temple was dedicated to Janus, and its doors were opened in times of war and closed in times of peace.
• Cloaca Maxima (VI Century BC): This huge sewer was built by King Tarquinius Priscus to reclaim the territory of Rome.
• Serapeum (III Century AD): This sumptuous complex was built on the Quirinal Hill by Emperor Caracalla in honor of the god Serapis.
• Aedes Iuppiter Feretrius (VIII Century BC): The first temple of ancient Rome, it was commissioned by the legendary founder Romulus.
• Forum Boarium (VIII Century BC): This area adjacent to the Tiber River was intended for the purchase and sale of livestock.
• Arcus Titi (I Century AD): This honorary arch was erected by Emperor Domitianus in memory of his brother Titus, conqueror of Jerusalem.

Images of the monuments are artistic renditions based on real-life photos of still-existing monuments or historical renderings of lost monuments. Specific reference images used by the artists are either public domain, free, unattributable, or creative commons. Special thanks to romanoimpero.com, an extensive wiki about Roman history and monuments.

Quick Turn Structure

A - Draft Draw 3 Monument Cards + 2 Province Cards and start the draft. Place the fifth, undrafted card on the Game board.

B - Actions Following the Turn Order track, players take turns doing one of the following:

• B1 - Play a Card. Play a Monument or Province card.
• B2 - Take a Favor. Take a Personality card ONLY IF you meet its requirements at least once.
• B3 - Construct a Building. Place 1 Citizen in a free space in the Construction Area, pay 1 Stone, gain 3 PP, then place the corresponding Building on a Hill.
• B4 - Influence a Hill. Place 1 Citizen on an active Hill. Pay 2/1/0 Wheat if there were 0/1/2 Citizens there already.
• B5 - Pass. Place your Turn Order counter in the free space on the Pass track with the highest PP value, gain the PP, and end your Actions phase.

Free Actions: During your turn you can freely activate a Monument with the activation symbol, or discard a card from your hand to gain 1 Citizen and 2 Aurei, gain 2 Wheat, gain 1 Stone, OR lose 2 Unrest.

C - Score Gain the PP from Hills.

D - Devastation Cover the highest PP value of Hills with the highest number of Citizens with a Devastation token. Prefects of these Hills gain 2 Unrest for each.

E - Buildings Prefects on Hills with Buildings gain PP or Wheat, or lose Unrest.

F - Domus Each player retrieves all their Citizens from the Game board.

G - Unrest Pay the cost of each Unrest Damage token reached with your Unrest counter, or take 1 Doom token per unpaid Unrest Damage token.

H - Feed For each of your Citizens, pay 1 Wheat or gain 2 Unrest.

I - End of Era I and II Put in the box all current Era unplayed cards, take new Era cards, reset all Reward tokens, reactivate Monuments, refill the Construction Area, and choose the new Turn Order.

End of the Game At the end of Era III, gain PP for remaining Resources, played cards, and Diversity, and lose PP from the Doom track (or get out of the game). Players with the highest score win, even if tied.

Icon Summary

• Actions: the icon marking an action.
• Monument Card: the icon marking a Monument card.
• End of the Game: the icon marking an end-of-game effect.
• Province Card: the icon marking a Province card.
• Permanent Effect: this effect is active for the duration of the game.
• Personality Card: the icon marking a Personality card.
• Effect requires Activation: you have to activate this effect as a free action to resolve it.
• Domus board: the player board.
• Instant Effect: resolve this effect immediately when you play the card.
• One of the 3 Buildings: Templum, Aquaeductus, or Amphitheatrum.
• Prestige Points: instant/at the end of the game.
• Aurei (value 1 and 3): these are mainly gained by playing Province cards and cards of the same color and from Reward tokens, and spent playing Monument cards and taking favors.
• Reward Token: the icon marking a Reward token.
• Citizen: these are mainly gained by playing Monument cards and from Reward tokens, spent to play Province cards, and used to place on Hills and the Construction Area.
• Stone: this is mainly gained by playing Province cards and from Reward tokens, and spent to play Monument cards and construct Buildings.
• Prefect: the player owning the Citizen in the leftmost position on a Hill is its Prefect.
• Wheat (value 1 and 3): this is mainly gained by playing Monument and Province cards and from Reward tokens, and spent to place Citizens on Hills and to feed them.
• Hill: the icon marking a Hill.
• Unrest: this is mainly gained by playing Province cards, being the Prefect of devastated Hills, and not feeding Citizens, and lost by playing Monument cards, taking free actions, and to Reward tokens.
• Doom: these are gained for each unpaid Unrest Damage token, and each one you have moves you up the Doom track at the end of the game.