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Century: Spice Road

31 questions players ask about Century: Spice Road. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.

Updated 2026-11-05.

  • Game Setup
  • Taking a Turn
  • Play
  • Acquire
  • Claim
  • Caravan and Cube Limits
  • Game End
  • Components and Editions

Game Setup

  • Can Century: Spice Road be played with 6 players?
  • How many gold and silver tokens are placed at setup?

Taking a Turn

  • Must you take an action on your turn if you have no useful cards?
  • Can you rest while you still have cards in hand?
  • Is there a hand limit for Merchant cards?
  • Does a Return effect let you take back any previously played Merchant card?

Play

  • Can you play more than one card from your hand in a single turn?
  • Are played cards open information, or can they be hidden in a discard pile?
  • Can other players see the cubes on my caravan?
  • Do you have to use all the upgrade steps on an Upgrade card?
  • Can the steps of an Upgrade card go to different cubes or the same cube?
  • Can an Upgrade card be used more than once or upgrade extra cubes?
  • Can an Upgrade card lower a cube's colour?
  • Can a Trade card be used more than once in a turn?
  • Do you need all the input cubes on a Trade card to play it?

Acquire

  • How do you pay to acquire a Merchant card that is not the leftmost one?
  • What happens to cubes placed on Merchant cards you pass over?
  • Where do acquired Merchant cards go?
  • Can you acquire a card from the face-down Merchant deck?
  • Is there a rule to refresh the Merchant row if nobody takes the cards?

Claim

  • Can you claim more than one Point card in a turn?
  • Are claimed Point cards face down, and is the count public?
  • Which token do you take when claiming the leftmost or second Point card, and how do piles shift?
  • How many points are gold and silver tokens worth?

Caravan and Cube Limits

  • Is the 10-cube limit enforced during the turn or at the end?
  • What if the supply runs out of a spice colour?

Game End

  • When does the game end, and do the other players get a turn?
  • Who wins a tie?
  • Do cubes left on your caravan score at game end?

Components and Editions

  • Does the German edition include English rules?
  • How many cubes of each colour are in the box?