Aldabas: Doors of Cartagena Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Objective
• Gameplay
  • The Actions
    • Take Two Coins
    • Buy One Door
    • Place One Door
  • End of Your Turn
• Game End
• Door Placement
• Your Vault & Your Purse
• Scoring
• Aldabas Solidad: Solo Mode
  • Solo Setup
  • Solo Gameplay
    • 1. Claim a Door
    • 2. Build a Door
    • 3. Advance the Dock
  • Solo Scoring
• The Doors
  • Soldiers
  • Fishers
  • Nobles
  • Clergy
  • Builders

Components

• 81 Door cards (each shows: Profession and Influence value, Aldaba, Door Power, Door color (red, blue, or yellow), Ongoing Ability, a Final Scoring reminder, and a No Solidad icon on some cards)
• 56 Coins
• 1 Dock board
• 4 Vault tiles

Setup

(Setup for Solo Mode is on page 5; see Aldabas Solidad: Solo Mode below.)

1. Place twelve Coins per player in a general supply; return unused Coins to the box.
2. Shuffle the Doors deck and deal five Doors to each player's hand. Keep your hand secret from other players.
3. Give each player a Vault board to place in front of themselves. Your Vault creates the bottom left corner of a 4×3 grid of Doors (your block) that you will build during the game; leave enough space for it on the table.
4. (Each player does this) Choose one Door from your hand to place secretly under your Vault board. You may keep or discard (into a shared discard pile) any number of the remaining cards in your hand. For each card you discard during Setup, take one Coin from the supply into your purse (your purse is an imaginary area where you keep Coins that aren't in your Vault).
5. Place the Doors deck face down in the middle of the play area, with the assembled Dock beside it. Deal five doors from the deck face up into the five Dock slots.

Objective

In Aldabas, each player builds a grid of Door cards called their block. The Doors each have useful Powers that will activate when the card is placed, and also when a later Door is placed beside them. Each Door also has a Profession (such as Nobles, Clergy, or Builders), and an Influence value. At the end of the game, the players with the most Influence in each Profession will score that Profession's unique scoring condition. Make sure to build your block and manipulate your Influence so that your most-influenced Professions will score well!

Gameplay

Pick a starting player, then begin. Each player takes a turn, then play passes to the next player clockwise. Play continues in this fashion until the game ends.

On your turn, you must take two actions. The two actions can be the same or different. Resolve the first action fully before proceeding to the second.

The Actions

Take Two Coins

Take two Coins from the supply and add them to your purse.

Buy One Door

Claim one Door from the Dock into your hand by paying the cost in Coins shown above the Dock slot the Door occupies. Coins are paid into the general supply, and they can come from your purse and/or Vault in any combination you wish. A Door in a slot displaying no Coins is free.

After you claim a Door, slide all remaining Doors in the Dock left to fill any gaps, then deal a new Door from the deck face up into the rightmost slot.

Example: To buy the red Soldier Door, you'd need to pay two Coins to the supply.

• Certain Doors in your block will decrease the cost of buying Doors. If you have multiple such Doors, their effects are added together for an even bigger discount. No Door's cost may be reduced below zero.

Place One Door

Select a Door from your hand and place it in an empty space in your block, obeying placement rules (see Door Placement, below). Activate the Power (if any) on the new Door, and the Powers of any Doors (if any) immediately below or beside the new Door. You may activate these Powers in any order you wish, and you may skip any Powers you don't wish to activate. See The Doors for details.

Due to the Door Placement rules, a placement could activate up to three Powers (including its own).

Some Doors feature Ongoing Abilities. Ongoing abilities are not activatable Powers; they are in effect from the moment a Door is placed (see The Doors, below).

Example: If you placed the yellow Fisherman Door from your hand in the indicated space, you could activate its power, plus the powers of the two blue Doors.

End of Your Turn

If you have more than seven Doors in your hand, discard Doors of your choice until you have only seven. Play passes to the next player clockwise.

Game End

The game end is triggered when any of these three conditions occurs:

• The general supply runs out of Coins.
• A player fills the final space in their 4×3 block.
• The Dock can not be refilled because the Door deck has been exhausted.

The player who triggered the end game finishes their turn as normal, then all other players take one final turn. Use extra Coins from the box (if needed) if any players gain Coins after the general supply has run out. Once these final turns are done, proceed to Scoring.

Door Placement

Your block is an imaginary 4×3 grid of spaces, four wide by three tall. Your Vault fills the bottom left space of your block, and you will be adding Doors to the other eleven spaces. When you place a Door:

• It can not be beside, above, or below a Door of the same color (diagonal is fine). Your Vault does not count as any color.
• Any block spaces directly to the left or directly below the new Door can not be empty.

Area outside the imaginary 4×3 grid doesn't count as empty spaces. Your Vault counts as a filled space. Therefore, your first placement must be in a space immediately above or to the right of your Vault.

Illustration notes: At game start your block is the Vault plus the eleven imaginary spaces that form the 4×3 grid. On your first turn, you may only play to the two spots marked with a circle (immediately above and immediately right of the Vault). Any color Door could go in either of those spots.

Later on, if your block looked like the example in the diagram, only the marked spots (A, B and C) are possible since they are the only ones without empty spaces to the left and below. However, card color will matter:

• A Red door could not go in spot A.
• A Red or Yellow Door could not go in spot B.
• A Blue door could not go in spot C.

Your Vault & Your Purse

Your Vault tile is a private storage area for Coins and Door cards; keep these stored items under the Vault tile. Your purse is an imaginary area beside your Vault where you hold Coins that aren't in your Vault.

• You may not move an item into your Vault unless a game effect permits you to; otherwise Coins stay in your purse and Doors stay in your hand.
• On your own turn you may freely move Coins out of your Vault to your purse... but be aware that Coins in your Vault score points at the end of the game (see Scoring for details).
• Coins and cards in your Vault are secret from other players, and are safe from being stolen unless otherwise specified. You may peek under your own Vault at any time.

Scoring

Keep track of player scores with a pencil and paper. There are several types of scoring. Tally them in order:

1. Score 2 points for each Coin in your Vault, then move them to your purse. (Example: the three Coins in your Vault earn you 6 points.)

2. Count Influence in each Profession, resolving the Professions one at a time. Remove any Door cards from your Vault, and put them face up near your block (but note that these cards are not part of your block). For each Profession, count up your total Influence. Influence comes from:

   • Influence value of all cards of that Profession in your block
   • Influence value of all cards of that Profession that were in your Vault
   • Coins placed as Influence on cards of that Profession in your block

   The player with the most Influence in a Profession earns points from its primary scoring condition. The player with the second-most influence in a suit earns points from its secondary scoring condition. Every card has a little reminder in the top left about its scoring conditions, details are in the Doors section on the back page.

   • If any players tie for most, they all score the primary condition and nobody scores for second-most.
   • If there is no tie for most and any players tie for second-most, they all score the secondary condition.
   • You must have at least one Influence in a Profession to be eligible to score it.

   Example: Let's resolve Soldiers. Each player counts up their Soldier Influence. You have a total of 9 Soldier Influence: 5 from Influence on the Soldiers in your block, 2 from Coins on those Soldiers, and 2 from a Soldier that was in your Vault. Let's say that this was the most Soldier Influence among all the players. The primary condition for Soldiers will score you 3 points for every Noble card in your block. You have two Nobles in your block, so you score 6 points! Now that Soldier Influence is scored, repeat the process with the other four Professions.

3. The player(s) with the most total Influence (from the same sources as Profession-based Influence) scores 3 points. (Example: Your total Influence score is 23. If that is more than any other player, you'll earn 3 points.)

The player with the most points wins! In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most Coins in their purse wins. If that's still a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Aldabas Solidad: Solo Mode

As the new leader of the city, it is your job to oversee the development of Cartagena by bringing together the most influential citizens into your neighborhood. You will be playing against an imaginary opponent called the Rival. Familiarity with the multiplayer rules is required to play Solidad.

Solo Setup

Set up as if for a two-player game (where the Rival is the second player), with the following changes:

1. Place only fifteen Coins in the general supply.
2. Adjust the Doors deck by removing all cards with the No Solidad icon in the bottom left corner. 48 cards remain in the deck, leaving only two copies of each card.
3. Set up the Dock with only four cards instead of five; the leftmost slot is to be ignored for the duration of the game. Place one of the cards you removed from the game face down in the leftmost slot, as a reminder.
4. Set up the Rival Goals by drawing cards from the deck, one at a time, until three different Aldabas (ignoring door color) have been revealed. Return any other drawn cards to the deck and shuffle it. Place the three cards face up above the dock; these are the Rival Goals for this game.
5. Set up the Rival's Vault by drawing a card from the deck and placing it face down underneath without looking at it.
6. Draw two cards and place them face up beside the Rival's Vault to form the Rival's Hand. Keep the Rival's Hand in a horizontal row; the position of cards in the row will matter during the game.
7. Set up your own Vault and starting hand as in the normal game. The Rival is the first player.

Solo Gameplay

Take your own turns as normal. The Rival's turn follows these three steps in order.

1. Claim a Door

The Rival will claim the most valuable Door in the Dock, according to its own appraisal process. Check each Door in the Dock to determine its value. A Door's value is:

• Its Influence value...
• Minus the Coin cost of the slot it is in...
• Plus 2 if the Aldaba on the card (ignoring Door color) matches one of the Aldabas on a Rival Goal card.

Add the most valuable Door to the rightmost end of the Rival's Hand. If Doors are tied for highest value, the Rival takes the one in the more expensive slot. Then refill the Dock as usual.

Example: According to the Rival's appraisal process, the cards in the Dock have values 3-0+0 = 3, 2-1+0 = 1, 1-2+2 = 1, and 1-3+2 = 0. The Rival would therefore claim the Blue Noble from the zero-Coin slot.

2. Build a Door

The Rival will only Build a Door if there are three or more Doors in its hand. If there are, take the leftmost card from the Rival's Hand, and place it in the next empty space.

• The Rival builds its block from left to right, starting from the bottom row and working its way up (the Vault's row first: spaces 1, 2, 3; then 4, 5, 6, 7; then 8, 9, 10, 11).
• The Rival ignores Door color restrictions.

Activate Powers on the newly-built Door and the surrounding cards as usual on behalf of the Rival, in any order you choose.

Minor changes to how the Rival uses the Powers are listed below (by Door; Doors not listed use their normal Powers):

• Soldier (Influence 1): Place one Coin from the supply on the newly-built Door.
• Soldier (Influence 2): Place one Coin from the supply in the Rival's Vault.
• Clergy: Perform the full Claim a Door step for the Rival.
• Builder: No effect.
• Noble (Influence 2, Ongoing Ability): Add an additional Coin from the supply to the Rival's Soldier actions.
• Noble (Influence 3): No effect.
• Fisher (Influence 3): No effect.
• Fisher (Influence 1): Draw two Doors. Add the more-valuable one (using the Rival's appraisal process) to the right of the Rival's Hand, and discard the other. If they are equally valuable, treat the first one drawn as more valuable.

3. Advance the Dock

Discard the Door from the cost-zero slot of the Dock, then refill the Dock as usual. The Rival's turn is over.

The game end is triggered as normal. Complete the triggering player's turn and proceed to Scoring.

Solo Scoring

All scoring is the same as normal, with the following exceptions.

• Score only for yourself; the Rival's score doesn't matter.
• Only score a Profession if you win first place; second place is not awarded.

Check your score against the chart below to see how you fared!

Score	Result
0-29	The citizens demand your exile from the city, and look to new leadership.
30-39	Cartagena survives your mediocre leadership, and you are left to retire in peace.
40-49	Cartagena grows, and you are fondly remembered by the citizens.
50+	Cartagena flourishes, and your name will be honored as beloved patron of the city.

Adjusting difficulty: To make the Rival more challenging, add more cards to the Rival's Hand during Setup. To make the game easier, add more Coins to the general supply.

The Doors

Each Profession lists its Doors (Influence value, Aldaba), their Powers and Ongoing Abilities, and the Profession's Final Scoring.

Soldiers

• Influence 1 (teal panther Aldaba): Move one Coin from your purse or Vault onto a Door in your block, where it acts as +1 Influence. Coins on Doors are no longer considered Coins, and may not be spent for other uses.
• Influence 2 (lion Aldaba): Move one Coin from your purse into your Vault.
• Final Scoring: 1st: 3 points per Noble in your block. 2nd: 1 point per Noble in your block.

Fishers

• Influence 1 (red fish Aldaba): Draw two Doors from the deck. Discard one and add the other to your hand.
• Influence 2 (blue ring Aldaba): Steal two Coins from one rival's purse, or one Coin each from two rivals' purses.
• Influence 3 (seahorse Aldaba): Gain three Coins from the supply to your purse.
• Final Scoring: 1st: 1 point per Influence in your hand. 2nd: 1 point per 2 Influence in your hand.

Nobles

• Influence 2 (lizard Aldaba), Ongoing Ability: When you use a Soldier's Power to move a Coin, move 1 additional Coin. Multiple abilities add up. For example if you have two of these, your Soldiers can move three Coins.
• Influence 3 (lizard Aldaba), Ongoing Ability: Gain 3 points during final scoring.
• Final Scoring: 1st: 1 point per Coin in your purse. 2nd: 1 point per 2 Coins in your purse.

Clergy

• Influence 1 (hand Aldaba): Move a Door card of your choice from your hand to your Vault.
• Final Scoring: 1st: 1 point per 3 Influence* in your block. 2nd: 1 point per 5 Influence* in your block. *includes Coins acting as Influence.

Builders

• Influence 2 (Aldaba with Ongoing Ability): When you Buy a Door card from the Dock, it is one Coin cheaper. Multiple abilities add up. For example if you have two of these, a Door in the 2-Coin slot is free.
• Influence 2 (other Aldaba): Buy one Door card from the Dock.
• Final Scoring: 1st: 1 point per non-Builder in your block. 2nd: 1 point per 2 non-Builders in your block.