Alhambra FAQ
110 questions players ask · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · Full rulebook
Getting Ready to Play
- Where do the two scoring cards go in the money deck at setup?
- How much starting money does each player get during setup?
- Can you count or feel how many building tiles are left in the tile bag?
- What is the second counter in your colour on the starting fountain for?
- What is the black counter in the Alhambra box for?
How to Play
- How many actions can you take in one turn?
- How many building tiles can one redesign action move?
- Can you redesign the Alhambra more than once in a turn, using extra actions from exact payments?
- If you buy a tile for exact money, can you redesign before placing the tile you bought?
- Can you use a tile you just bought in a redesign later in the same turn?
- Can you move a building tile to another spot in your Alhambra in one redesign action?
- Must the Alhambra follow the building rules between the steps of a redesign?
- Can the starting fountain tile be removed or swapped during a redesign?
- Are building tiles on a reserve board face up?
- Must the money cards in your hand stay hidden from other players?
- Can you overpay for a building and get no change back?
- Can you take several money cards in one turn, and is there a limit?
End of Your Turn – Position a building tile
- When do you place the building tiles you bought, and can you split them between your Alhambra and the reserve board?
- Can you play a tile from your reserve board before placing a tile you just bought?
- How many building tiles can you keep on your reserve board?
- Can you buy two tiles and place the first so it leaves a hole that the second tile fills in the same turn?
- Can you leave an empty space enclosed by tiles if it is bigger than one square, or if walls surround it?
- Can a line of empty spaces run through the Alhambra, and can a wall touch a side without a wall?
- Can a tile with three inward walls be placed into a pocket if another tile must be placed first?
- Must every building tile still reach the starting fountain on foot after a redesign removes one?
- Can a building tile be placed rotated in your Alhambra?
- What happens when the money card draw pile runs out during the game?
- When are the empty building-market and money-card spaces refilled?
- In what order are the empty building-market spaces refilled?
Scoring
- How are points split when players tie for a place in a scoring round?
- In the first scoring round, do tied players split the first-place points?
- If you are the only player with buildings of a kind, do you also get second- and third-place points?
- Does a player with no buildings of a kind score any points for that kind?
- Do building tiles on your reserve board count for scoring?
- What are the +100 tiles in the box for?
- How do you score points past 120 on the scoring track?
Wall points
End of the Game
- When does the game end once the building market can no longer be refilled?
- If neither player wants to buy tiles, does the game end?
- Who receives the leftover building tiles on the market at the end of the game, and does it matter how much they cost?
- Do end-of-game tiles get placed as they are awarded, or after every tile is handed out, and in what order?
- Can you place a tile from your reserve board after the game ends or during the end-game distribution?
- If the game ends on your turn, must you place the tiles you bought before the final distribution?
- What happens if the game ends before the second scoring card is drawn?
- Is there a tiebreaker if two players finish with the same score?
Rules for Playing with Two Players
- In a two-player game, how many money cards do you remove, and do you remove a whole currency?
- How many building tiles does Dirk receive in a two-player game, and when?
- In a two-player game, does Dirk build an Alhambra, and does he score points?
- In a two-player game, does Dirk take second and third places and cause ties in scoring?
- Can Dirk win a two-player game?
- Can you give a tile from your reserve board to Dirk later in your turn?
- In a two-player game, can tiles handed out at the end of the game be given to Dirk?
Alhambra: The Vizier's FavorExpansion
- Does bringing a used Vizier back into play cost your whole turn in The Vizier's Favor?
- Can you chain Currency Exchange cards, so one card converts money into the colour another card accepts?
- Can you take a Currency Exchange card together with money in one take-money action?
- Can a Currency Exchange card be used to pay for a building bought with the Vizier's Favor?
- How many Worker Huts can a player take in a game?
- When can the Vizier's Favor be used relative to scoring and the market refill?
- Can you activate a Character card on a Vizier turn?
- If several players want to use the Vizier at once, who goes first, and can you take back your declaration?
- How are the Workers' Huts set up in The Vizier's Favor?
- Do Workers' Huts count other huts of the same colour as buildings for their adjacency bonus?
- Can a bonus card played on a matching building raise a Workers' Hut's value?
Alhambra: The Treasure ChamberExpansion
- Can treasure chests be placed on magical buildings or workers' huts in The Treasure Chamber?
- What happens to the last treasure chests when fewer than four remain in the bag?
- How many treasure chests can a building tile hold?
- What happens to a treasure chest when its building is moved to the reserve board during a redesign?
- In a two-player game, can you give treasure chests to Dirk when you could place them on your own buildings?
- Can bazaar tiles chain together or form a loop with the building market in The Treasure Chamber?
- Do Invader penalties still apply twice when a wall faces the wrong way across a gap?
- How do you redesign with a Master Builder card, and does it use up your action for the turn?
Alhambra: The City GatesExpansion
- Can a Camp be placed against a building side that has no city wall?
- In a two-player game, how does Dirk handle the camp tiles in The City Gates?
- Can you use a gate card you took earlier this turn to place the building tile you bought?
- Is a diamond character card removed from the game after it is used in The City Gates?
- What does 'one diamond character per round' mean in The City Gates?
- How many times can Abdul Knihstig be used in one turn?
- Can a camp tile be placed so that a spot is left where no tile could ever legally go?
- How does Machma Klain's trade work, and which money card is discarded?
Alhambra: The Thief's TurnExpansion
- Must a City Wall card's walls be built straight after you take the card in The Thief's Turn?
- When several players want to play Thief cards between turns in The Thief's Turn, who goes first?
- How many wall cards go into the money deck in The Thief's Turn setup?
- Can a wooden wall be built over walls already printed on a tile?
- When are money cards and building tiles replaced when a Thief or Vizier is used?
- When a Thief is declared, do you reveal which money card it takes?
Alhambra: Power of the SultanExpansion
- How much does a Sultan card cost to buy in Power of the Sultan, and does buying one use your whole turn?
- If a building tile is taken while filling the Sultan yard, do you keep drawing until the yard is full?
- In a two-player game, can Power of the Sultan take a building tile that belongs to Dirk?
- Can the Caravanserai marker move more than one step, or move backward, in a turn?
- Can you buy a Power of the Sultan card and use it on the same turn to take a building?
- In The Art of the Moors, can one tile satisfy more than one wheel?
Alhambra: The FalconersExpansion
- Can a Falcon be placed on a Portal in The Falconers?
- Can change coins be used to pay for Falcons?
- Are Falcon tiles kept in stacks, so only the top tile of each pile can be bought?
- Can you take both change coins and an exchange certificate from one overpayment?
- Does the base rule against enclosed empty spaces still apply in The Falconers?
- When buying a building with a building site in The Falconers, how is the minimum payment rounded?
Alhambra: Designers' Expansions BoxExpansion
- How many points does the 2x2 grid mission score: 2 from the rulebook or 3 printed on the tile?
- Can you bid on a Major Construction Project after taking money or buying a tile in the same turn?
- Does winning a Major Construction Project bid use up one of your actions?
- If the game ends while a Major Construction Project bid is open, does the high bidder get the tile?
- Can one face-up Traveling Craftsman be used for several buildings in the same turn?
- In the Palace Designers module, where does the designer go when you build a new building?
- In Gates Without End, can you buy one building for 14 using mixed currencies?
- What do Plaza tiles do in Gates Without End?
- Must you sell from your Personal Market when another player buys from it?
- Can the Designers' Expansions modules be mixed together in one game?
- Can Magical Buildings be placed in any orientation, unlike normal tiles?