Alea Iacta Est
Alea Iacta Est Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
8 punch-boards with:
- 5 buildings (Templum, Senatus, Castrum, Forum Romanum, Latrina)
- 19 Senate cards (with "SPQR" on the back)
- 25 province tiles (with the values I, II, III and IV in six colors, plus one 0-value joker)
- 36 patrician tiles (three women and three men each, in six colors, with the values I, II and III)
- 30 Fortuna tiles (8 each with the values I and III, and 14 with the value II)
- 30 Repete! chips (orange hexagons)
- 1 first-player marker (octagon: "Caesar")
40 dice (8 each of grey, brown, blue, green, and yellow)
If you are reading this rulebook for the first time, you should initially ignore the bold-printed texts in the margin column. These texts serve as a quick-reference summary that lets you quickly find your way back into the game at any time.
Setup
The five buildings are laid out in the middle of the table as shown in the illustration below. Note: with 2 and 3 players, the Templum is not laid out; the game is then played with only four buildings.
The Forum Romanum must be laid out according to the number of players: with two players, only the left (larger) piece and the right end piece are placed together, forming a small Forum with four columns. For each additional player, exactly one middle piece is inserted, so that with 3 players five columns are shown, with 4 players six columns, and with 5 players all seven columns.
The 30 Fortuna tiles are shuffled and stacked face down below the Templum (this is likewise omitted with 2 and 3 players).
The 19 Senate cards are shuffled and placed as a face-down stack below the Senatus. (Note: with 2 and 3 players, Senate card IV ("many Fortuna tiles") must be removed from the game.)
Of the 25 province tiles, as many are laid out face up below the Castrum as there are players (so with two players just two tiles, up to five tiles with 5 players). The remaining province tiles are placed face down next to the Castrum.
Of the 36 patrician tiles, as many are laid out face up below the Forum as there are columns visible, i.e. depending on the number of players between four and seven (with 2 to 5 players). The remaining patrician tiles are placed face down next to the Forum.
The 30 Repete! chips are laid out below the Latrina.
Each player receives the eight dice of one color, which he places in front of himself.
The youngest player begins; he receives the first-player marker.
Game Play
The game runs over five rounds (with 4 and 5 players) or six rounds (with 2 and 3 players). Each round in turn consists of several, usually three to five, turns. Each turn proceeds in the same way: the first player begins and rolls all of his dice. He must then place one or more of these dice in one of the five buildings (see "How are dice placed…"), where they remain for the rest of the round. Afterwards, going clockwise, all other players in turn also roll their dice and place at least one die. The next turn begins: starting again with the first player, everyone rolls their remaining dice and then again places at least one of them in any building, and so on. This rolling and placing continues around the table until one player has placed his last die in a building, after which the current turn is finished out. This ends the round, and the five buildings are then scored (see "What are dice placed for…"). The next round then follows. After five or six rounds, the game ends and the winner is determined (see "End of Game").
How Are Dice Placed in the Buildings?
I. Templum (only in play with 4 and 5 players!)
The gods played an essential role in the lives of the Romans for many centuries. In the temple one can pay homage to them, above all to the goddess of luck, Fortuna. Here players can win Fortuna tiles, which are worth 1 to 3 fame points at the end of the game.
The first player to place in the Templum sets exactly one die (of any value) in the building. He then takes one of the face-down Fortuna tiles, looks at it (hidden from the other players), and places it face down in front of himself. The second player who wishes to place dice in the Templum during this round must now use exactly two of his dice. These two dice together must add up to a higher total than the single die. He then takes two face-down tiles, looks at them, and places them face down in front of himself. It continues in this way: third player, three dice (with a higher total than the previous two), takes three Fortuna tiles; fourth player, four dice, takes four Fortuna tiles, and so on.
Note: A player already represented in the Templum may place dice there again in later turns of the round. In that case, however, he only needs to place as many dice as are needed so that the total number of his dice now in the Templum matches the currently required number. He also then only receives as many further Fortuna tiles as new dice he has placed.
Example: Antonius places a 5 in the Templum and takes one Fortuna tile from the face-down supply. Then Brutus places two dice (3 + 6 = 9, which is higher than 5) and takes two Fortuna tiles. Antonius comes around again and wants to place dice in the Templum once more. Since three dice are now required, Antonius adds two more dice to his first one (the sum of these three dice must be higher than 9). He then takes only two Fortuna tiles from the supply (since he only placed two additional dice).
II. Senatus
The Senate was the heart of Roman politics; here the future fate of the state and its inhabitants was decided. Whoever is active here and receives many of the Senate cards can reap numerous fame points, or other benefits, with them at the end of the game.
In the Senate, each player may use a maximum of six dice, provided they always form a directly consecutive sequence of numbers (a "run"). Placing a single die is also permitted here as a run (although it usually earns nothing).
If a player already has a run laid out in the Senate, he may extend it appropriately (upward and/or downward) in a later turn of the round. However, he may not start a further run; that is, each player may have at most one run in the Senate at a time.
Note! Identical runs may never be laid out in the Senate at the same time; that is, all rows must be different from one another at all times (this can be true either in the number of dice or in the die values).
Example: Claudius places a 3, 4, and 5 here. No other player may now also lay down a 3-4-5, but could, for example, lay down a 4-5-6 or a 3-4-5-6. In a later turn of this round, Claudius could then extend his run, for example with a 2, but of course only if no other 2-3-4-5 is laid out in the Senate at that time.
III. Castrum
Rome without its military? Unthinkable! From the Castrum (roughly meaning "barracks") the conquests of foreign provinces were prepared and carried out. These new provinces are, at the end of the game, worth up to 4 fame points, but they also provide a home for the patricians, who only score in provinces of matching color.
In the Castrum, a player may use any number of dice per turn, provided they all show the same value (a "set"). Placing a single die is also permitted here as a set (although it usually earns nothing).
In later turns, the player may also place further new sets (these must, however, always show numbers different from his other sets!), or add further dice to one of his sets already laid out.
Note! Any number of sets — from one or more players — may be present in the Castrum at once, but they must always all be different from one another.
Example: Darius rolls 1-2-3-4-4-4-4-5 and decides to place three of his four 4s in the Castrum. Then Antonius rolls 1-1-2-2-3-4-4-5 and places his two 4s in the Castrum (the value matches Darius's dice, but not the count).
Later, Darius rolls 4-4-5-5. He could now add one or both 4s to his set of 4s, or place the two 5s as a new set (provided there is not currently a set of two 5s already laid out). Darius may not do both at the same time, and he may also not start a new set of 4s! He decides to place the two 5s.
Antonius also rolls, among others, another 4; he may not place it, however, because that would match Darius's set of 4s in count. Two or more 4s, in order to exceed Darius's set of 4s, he would be allowed to place, however…
IV. Forum Romanum
(with four to seven columns, depending on the number of players)
In the Forum, above all the Romans of higher standing, the patricians, met to converse about the gods and the world. In the game, players can "recruit" patricians here, to send them as governors — ideally as married couples — to their recently conquered provinces, whereby the patricians bring in 1 to 3 fame points.
In the Forum, a player may place either one die of any value per turn, or exactly two dice that together add up to 5 (i.e. 1-4 or 2-3). In later turns of the round, a player may place further dice here in the manner just described.
A die to be placed is always placed as far to the left as possible on one of the square column pedestals. It is placed such that all dice with a lower value are to its left (where present) and all dice with an equal or higher value are to its right. These must accordingly be shifted further to the right onto the next pedestals.
If, in this way, dice are "pushed" out of the Forum on the right during the course of a round, they are placed on the Latrina.
Example: Brutus (brown) rolls, among others, a 2 and a 3 and places them in the Forum:
[The Forum before placing / The Forum after placing (Brutus thereby pushes the green die showing a 3 onto the Latrina)]
V. Latrina
The (public) toilet was, for many Romans, a place of gathering and exchange. Plans for the future were often forged here too, represented in the game by the Repete! chips, with whose help one can occasionally try to redirect one's fate…
Whoever, after rolling, cannot place a single die according to the rules in one of the other four buildings (a very rare case!) must place exactly one of these dice on the Latrina. In addition, all dice that are pushed out of the Forum land here, as do all dice that, upon scoring (see below), earn nothing.
Further general rule notes and clarifications:
- A player may, in principle, always place dice in only one building per turn, and always only in one of the described ways. So, for example, he may not place two different sets in the Castrum in the same turn, or place a single die of any value in the Forum and simultaneously two dice that together add up to 5.
- After rolling, a player must always place at least one of his dice appropriately (for example, also a single die in the Senate or the Castrum). However, he is not obligated to place all suitable dice. So, for example, one may place just a single 1 in the Forum even though one also had a 4, or in the Senate place only the 5 and 6, even though one rolled 3-4-5-6.
- In the Forum, one may only place dice that land on columns. So, for example, one cannot place a 1 on the leftmost column while simultaneously placing a 4 on the Latrina (in order to bring the end of the round about more quickly).
What Are Dice Placed For in the Buildings?
After a player has placed his last die on a building (usually after three to five turns), the current turn is played to its conclusion (i.e. until the player to the right of the first player). The round then ends. All players who still have dice in front of them place these on the Latrina. The buildings are then scored in the following order:
I. Templum (only with 4 or 5 players): the player who has the most dice lying on the Temple may keep two of the Fortuna tiles he collected during this round and place them face up in front of himself. All other players represented here may each keep only one of the Fortuna tiles they just collected, and place it face up in front of themselves.
The other tiles collected during this round are now placed face up by the players back next to the Temple. These face-up tiles only come back into play once there are no more face-down tiles next to the Temple, at which point they are reshuffled and laid out again as a face-down pile.
Afterwards, the players place their dice from the Temple back into their own supply.
Note: if, in total, only a single die was placed in the Temple during a round, that player also receives a second tile from the face-down pile.
II. Senatus: the player who has the longest run here first places these dice back into his supply. He then takes the top three Senate cards from the face-down stack, looks at them (hidden from his fellow players), and finally keeps one of them by placing it face down in front of himself. He then passes the remaining two Senate cards to the player with the now-longest run (if any). That player proceeds in the same way (dice back into supply, look at the Senate cards, and keep one face down), but then does not pass the last Senate card on to a possible third-place player; instead, he slides it face down back under the stack. So, in the Senate, only the two best-placed players receive a card. With the following exception: in a two-player game, only the first-place player receives one of the three cards; in a five-player game, the third-place player also takes his dice back and receives the last Senate card.
All players who still have dice lying in the Senate now place them on the Latrina.
Tie: if there are several runs with the same number of dice, the highest number decides the order (examples: 5-4-3-2 is better than 4-3-2-1; 6-5-4 is better than 5-4-3).
Notes:
- The individual Senate cards are explained in detail on the separate rule sheet.
- If only one player has placed dice in the Senate, he likewise only keeps one of the three cards and slides the other two back under the stack.
III. Castrum: the player who has the set with the most dice here first places these dice back into his supply. He then chooses any one of the province tiles laid out face up below the Castrum and places it face up in front of himself. Afterwards, the owner of the set with now the most dice takes his turn (this can well be the same player again) and proceeds in the same way (dice back into supply, then choose and take a province tile). This continues until either all province tiles have been chosen or all sets have been dealt with. Should there still be face-up province tiles laid out below the Castrum, these are placed face up next to it, removing them from the game.
All players who still have dice lying in the Castrum now place them on the Latrina.
Tie: if there are several sets with the same number of dice, the highest number decides the order (examples: 5-5-5 is better than 3-3-3; 6-6 is better than 5-5).
IV. Forum Romanum: the player whose die lies on the leftmost column pedestal first places this die back into his supply. He then chooses any one of the patrician tiles laid out face up below the Forum and places it face up in front of himself. Afterwards, the owner of the second die from the left takes his turn (this can well be the same player again) and proceeds in the same way (die back into supply, choose and take a patrician tile). This continues until all dice in the Forum have been dealt with. Should there still be face-up patrician tiles laid out below the Forum, these are placed face up next to it, removing them from the game.
V. Latrina: each player now places all of his dice from here back into his own supply and receives, for each one, a Repete! chip, which he likewise places in front of himself.
The Repete! chips (Latin "repete!" = "repeat!") can be used in the following rounds in this way: after rolling, a player may give up one of his Repete! chips (placing it back next to the Latrina) and, in exchange, re-roll any number of the dice he has just rolled. A player may use any number of these chips per turn, deciding anew each time which dice he wants to re-roll with them. At the end of the game, for every two Repete! chips a player still has left, he receives one fame point.
The Next Rounds
After all five buildings have been scored and all dice again lie in front of their owners, new province tiles (two to five) and patrician tiles (four to seven) are laid out face up, as described under Setup. The left-hand neighbor of the previous first player becomes the new first player and receives the corresponding marker. The next round can begin…
End of Game
The game ends after the scoring of the fifth round (with 4 and 5 players) or the sixth round (with 2 and 3 players). The players now assign their patrician tiles to their province tiles, reveal their Senate cards, add up their Fortuna tiles, count their Repete! chips, and thereby determine their total number of fame points (see below).
The player with the most points is the winner. In case of a tie, the winner among these is whoever's "unplaced" patricians are worth more. If this value is also tied, there are multiple winners.
Provinces and patricians: each province can hold at most two patricians — always only one woman and one man (each with any value between 1 and 3). Both must also match the color of the province. Each patrician tile "placed" in this way, and each province tile populated by at least one matching patrician, scores as many fame points as is printed on it. Patricians who could not be placed score 0 points. Unoccupied provinces score one point less than printed.
Senate cards: how many fame points these cards bring their owners is explained on the accompanying sheet.
Fortuna tiles: these tiles are worth as many fame points as printed on them.
"Repete!" markers: every two of a player's own chips are worth one fame point.
Example: at the end of the game, Antonius receives the following fame points for what he has in front of him:
- Four provinces: 3 + 4 + 0 + 0 = 7 points
- Ten patricians: 3+1+3+3+2+1+2+0+0+0 = 15 points
- Four Senate cards: 3 + 0 + 5 + 5 = 13 points
- Three Fortuna tiles: 3 + 2 + 1 = 6 points
- Five Repete! chips: 5 : 2 = 2 points
Total: 43 points
The authors and publisher thank all playtesters and contributors for their great commitment.
If you have criticism, questions, or suggestions about this game, write to us or call: alea • Postfach 1150 • 83233 Bernau • Telephone: 08051 - 970720 • E-Mail: [email protected]
© 2009 Ravensburger Spieleverlag
The Senate Cards
Only when fame points are determined at the end of the game does each player reveal all of his Senate cards. For 18 of the 19 cards, players receive additional fame points; the "Offspring" card works in a different way.
Card I ("many provinces" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for the card itself and for every two of his own provinces (occupied or unoccupied; this also includes border provinces and free provinces). In the example, one would receive 4 fame points (FP) for this card (1 for the card itself + 3 for the 6 provinces).
Card II ("many patricians" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for every two of his own (placed!) patrician tiles. In the example, one would receive 4 FP for this card (8 : 2; the purple woman does not count!).
Card III ("many Senate cards" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for this card itself and for each of his Senate cards (again including the "many Senate cards" card itself). In the example, one would receive 5 FP for this card (3 for the two border provinces and the one free province + 2 for the "many Senate cards" card (not shown in the example!)).
Card IV ("many Fortuna tiles" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for the card itself, and two additional fame points for every three of his Fortuna tiles (regardless of their value). Note: this card must be removed from the game in a two- or three-player game. In the example, one would receive 3 FP for this card (1 for the card itself + 2 for 5 tiles divided by 3).
Card V ("many married couples" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for the card itself and for each of his own married couples (= two patrician tiles in one province; this also includes border provinces and free provinces). In the example, one would receive 3 FP for this card (1 for the card + 2 for the two married couples).
Card VI ("many different patricians" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for each different color among his (placed!) patrician tiles. In the example, one would receive 4 FP for this card (the purple woman does not count!).
Card VII ("many different provinces" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for each different color among his provinces (occupied or unoccupied; including border provinces and free provinces). Border provinces count here (whether occupied or not) for both of their depicted colors. Free provinces take on the color of the patricians occupying them. An unoccupied free province counts as an additional color (grey). In the example, one would receive 5 FP for this card (the free province here counts as red).
Card VIII ("many occupied province tiles" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for each of his province tiles occupied by at least one patrician tile (the "border provinces" and "free provinces" Senate cards do not count here!). In the earlier example, one would receive 3 FP for this card.
Card IX ("many women" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for each of his (placed!) female patricians. In the earlier example, one would receive 5 FP for this card (the purple woman does not count!).
Card X ("many men" — 1 card) The owner of this card receives, at the end of the game, an additional fame point for each of his (placed!) male patricians. In the earlier example, one would receive 3 FP for this card.
Card XI ("Offspring" — 1 card) The owner of this card may, at the end of the game, place one further tile of the same color (male or female) with each of his married couples (including those in border provinces or free provinces), which is then likewise worth its fame points. Single individuals cannot have offspring, and no more than one offspring per married couple is permitted. In the earlier example, because of this card one could place one further red or green patrician tile with the first border province, and one further green tile with the first green province.
Cards XII ("border provinces" — 6 cards) Each border province shows a different combination of two province colors. In a border province, its owner may, at the end of the game, place a married couple that exactly matches one of its colors. Only if this is the case is the border province worth three fame points. If only a single patrician tile (matching one of the border province's shown colors) is present at the end, or nothing at all, the border province is worth 0 points. Patrician tiles that do not match either of the border province's two colors may not be placed here.
Examples of correct and incorrect placement, with their totals:
- Correct! Total: 7 points (3 for the province and 4 for the two patrician tiles)
- Correct! Total: 2 points (0 for the province, 2 for the patrician)
- Partially forbidden! Total: 3 points (the lower-value patrician tile must be removed again)
- Forbidden! Total: 0 points (the patrician tile must be removed again)
Cards XIII ("free provinces" — 2 cards) Each free province can hold up to two patrician tiles, provided both patrician tiles are of the same color (and, of course, of different sexes). The free province itself is worth one fame point (provided at least one tile is placed on it).
Examples of correct and incorrect placement, with their totals:
- Correct! Total: 5 points (1 for the province and 4 for the two patrician tiles)
- Correct! Total: 4 points (1 for the province and 3 for the one patrician tile)
- Partially forbidden! Total: 4 points (1 for the province and 3 for the blue patrician tile; the green patrician tile must be removed again)