Copenhagen Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object of the Game
• Game Set-up
• The House (Construction Grid)
• Game Play
  • Start of the game
  • A) Take cards
    • Maximum Hand Size
  • B) Construct facade
    • 1. Pick a facade tile
    • 2. Placing a Facade Tile (Construction Rules)
    • Coat of arms actions
    • 3. Score points
• End of Game card
• Ending the Game
• Ability Tiles

Components

• 1 Scoring track
• 1 Harbor
• 4 Scoring markers (1 per player colour: dark-red, dark-blue, dark-yellow, dark-green)
• 70 Facade cards (14x green, blue, yellow, red, & purple)
  • Note: The colors of the cards correspond to the colors of the facade tiles.
• 1 End of Game card
• 4 Houses (1 per player colour: dark-red, dark-blue, dark-yellow, dark-green)
  • Note: The colors of the houses do not correspond to the colors of the facade cards or the facade tiles.
• 62 Facade tiles (double-sided) – 10 each of blue, yellow, red, green, and purple plus 12 white special tiles. Distribution by number of squares:
  • 3x size 2
  • 3x size 3
  • 3x size 4
  • 1x size 5
  • 12x size 1 (Special tiles)
• 20 Ability tiles – 5 types x 4 tiles: Any cards, Additional card, Construction discount, Change of colors, Both Actions. Each has a front (active) side and a reverse (inactive) side.
• 1 Rules booklet

Each facade tile has 3 features: Shape, Color, and Number of squares (size). Each tile is made up of squares that are either a brickwork square or a window square.

Object of the Game

"Nyhavn" (New Harbor) is famous for its houses with colorful gables built along the waterside. The players face the challenge of constructing new facades in a way that fits perfectly in with this picturesque harbor scenery.

The goal of the game is to be the first player to score 12 or more points, or to have the most points when the End of Game card is revealed.

Players will collect cards of different colors from the display, which they can use to purchase facade tiles of the same color in different shapes and sizes.

Players will use these tiles to construct the facade of their house little by little. Each time a floor (row) is completed they will score 1 point, and 2 points for finishing a section of the house (column). However, these points are doubled if the row or column is made entirely of windows.

When players cover one of the coats of arms, or finish a floor with a coat of arms, they will gain a special ability which will help them reach their goal faster.

Game Set-up

1. Place the harbor and the scoring track in the center of the playing area, as shown in the illustration.

2. Stack the facade tiles by color and shape within reach of all players.

   In a game with 2 or 3 players, return the following tiles to the game box:

   • 1 each of size 2 and size 4
   • 1 each of size 2, size 3 and size 4

3. Shuffle the facade cards and stack them face down on the harbor. This is the card supply.

   In a game with 3 players, remove 2 cards of each color (10 total) before shuffling and return those cards to the game box.

   Then, fill the card display by turning over the top 7 cards and placing them (in clockwise order) next to the 7 footbridges. This is the card display.

   Place the End of Game card face up next to the scoring track.

   In a game with 2 players, shuffle the End of Game card in with the top 9 cards from the supply and place them face down on the bottom of the card supply.

4. Each player chooses a player color and takes the house and scoring marker of that color. Players place their house in front of them and their scoring marker on the starting space of their color on the scoring track.

5. Take 1 of each type of ability tile per player, stacking them (separated by type) next to the scoring track. Return any remaining tiles to the game box. Each player takes one of the "Any cards" ability tile and places it next to their house.

Important: The colors of the facade cards do not correspond to the player colors. Each player may choose from all colors when constructing their facade.

The House (Construction Grid)

Each player's house features a construction grid consisting of 45 spaces: 9 rows and 5 columns.

• Coat of arms – there are 4 coats of arms printed on individual spaces of the grid.
• Coat of arms row – there are 3 rows that contain a coat of arms.
• A row is a horizontal floor of the house; a column is a vertical section of the house.

Game Play

Start of the game

Beginning with the first player (we recommend the oldest player goes first), and continuing clockwise, each player draws their starting hand from the card supply. Draw the following number of cards depending on the number of players:

Initial starting hand	1st Player	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4
Two players	2	3
Three players	2	3	3
Four players	2	3	3	4

The active player (starting with the first player) chooses one of two possible actions, then performs their chosen action:

• A) Take cards OR
• B) Construct facade

After taking an action, play passes clockwise to the next player. The game ends immediately as soon as a player scores 12 or more points or the End of Game card is revealed.

A) Take cards

The player takes 2 adjacent cards from the display and adds them to their hand. It's not permitted to only take one card. (Note: The two exterior cards at the ends of the display are not adjacent to each other!)

Then, the player refills the display with cards from the supply.

Example: The player takes the two adjacent purple cards, and adds them to their hand.

Maximum Hand Size

Players have a maximum hand size of 7 cards after they have drawn cards. If drawing cards puts them over the 7 card limit, they must immediately discard down to 7 cards.

B) Construct facade

The player exchanges cards from their hand for a facade tile and attaches it to their house. They then gain points for any rows or columns completed this turn.

1. Pick a facade tile

The active player discards cards from their hand in exchange for a facade tile, following two rules:

1. The number of cards must match the number of squares (windows and brickwork) of the chosen facade tile.
2. All discarded cards must be of the same color as the chosen facade tile.

If the player meets these two requirements, they take the chosen facade tile. A player can only ever take one facade tile on their turn. (Example: 3 red cards for one red tile of size 3.)

Exception (adjacency discount): If a player places a facade tile such that at least one of the squares is touching a previously placed piece of the same color, they may discard one fewer card than normal. A tile is considered placed adjacent to another tile if at least one square of that tile is adjacent to one square of the existing tile.

Example: A green tile placed adjacent to another green tile of this house lets the player discard only 2 instead of 3 cards. If it is not placed adjacent to another green tile, the player must discard 3 cards.

2. Placing a Facade Tile (Construction Rules)

The player must place the facade tile immediately, obeying the following construction rules:

1. Before placing the tile, it may be rotated in any way; however, it must fit on the construction grid.
2. A tile must be placed on the bottom row, or such that at least one square is directly above a previously placed tile. Only one square is needed to be above the tile.

Placement examples:

• A – Placed in the bottom row. (Valid)
• B – Placed above another tile. (Valid)
• C – Placed in the bottom row and above another tile. (Valid)
• D – Placed neither above another tile nor in the bottom row. (Invalid)
• E – Placed adjacent to another tile, but not above. (Invalid)

Coat of arms actions

After placing the tile, the player performs one of the three special actions for each coat of arms covered or row marked with a coat of arms completed:

• A) Covers coat of arms – The player covers a coat of arms and gets to choose one of the coat of arms actions.
• B) Covers coat of arms row – The player completely covers a coat of arms row and gets to choose one of the coat of arms actions.

The three coat of arms actions are:

1. Special tiles – The player takes one special tile, placing it immediately according to the construction rules. These tiles are like all other tiles, except they can only be acquired as a special action. If the placed tile covers a coat of arms, or completes a coat of arms row, they may take additional special actions as normal.

   OR

2. Take an ability tile – The player takes one ability tile from the supply and places it in front of them, active side up. No player may have the same ability tile twice. Players may use their active special ability tiles at any time on their turn in order to take the depicted action. Once used, that ability tile is flipped to its inactive side. The tiles are explained in detail below.

   OR

3. Activate ability tiles – The player flips all their used (inactive) ability tiles back to their front (active) side. They may use these tiles again on future turns.

3. Score points

If a player completes one or more rows or columns of their house during their turn, they score points for each as follows:

Row:

• 1 point if the row contains windows and brickwork, or just brickwork.
• 2 points if the row is made up of windows only.

Column:

• 2 points if the column contains windows and brickwork, or just brickwork.
• 4 points if the column is made up of windows only.

The player advances their scoring marker on the scoring track accordingly.

End of Game card

When the card supply is exhausted for the first time, shuffle the discard pile and use it as new card supply. Then, shuffle the End of Game card in with the top 9 cards from the supply and place them face down on the bottom of the card supply.

Skip this step in a game with 2 players. The game ends after the card supply is used once only.

Ending the Game

The game ends immediately as soon as a player scores 12 or more points or the End of Game card is revealed:

• If a player scores 12 or more points, that player is the winner of the game!
• However, if the End of Game card is revealed, the player with the most points at this time is the winner of the game. In case of a tie for the most points, the tied player whose house has the fewest empty spaces is the winner. If the tie persists, the tied players share the victory.

Ability Tiles

The ability tiles provide special actions that can be used in combination with the actions A) Take cards and B) Construct facade. Players may use as many of their active ability tiles during their turn as they would like. Used ability tiles are flipped from their active side to their inactive side. By performing a coat of arms action, a player may flip all their inactive tiles back to their active sides.

The special actions of ability tiles:

• Any cards – When performing the action A) Take cards, the player may take two cards from any two footbridges. (Example: The player takes two cards that are not adjacent.)

• Additional card – When performing the action A) Take cards, the player may take an additional third card from any footbridge. (Example: The player takes a third card that was not adjacent to the other two.)

• Construction discount – When performing the action B) Construct facade, the player may discard one fewer card in exchange for a facade tile.

  • Note: When a player builds a facade tile of size 2 adjacent to a tile of the same color and uses this ability tile, he does not have to discard any cards to take the tile. (Example: The player may discard two cards fewer for a size three tile – one fewer because the tile is placed adjacent to an existing tile of the same color, and another fewer because of using the ability tile "Construction discount.")

• Change of colors – When performing the action B) Construct facade, the player may treat their cards of one color as if they were one other color.

  • 1st case example: The player may change all their blue cards to cards of any one other color (green, red, yellow or purple).
  • 2nd case example: The player may change their 4 green cards and 1 purple card to either 5 green or 5 purple cards.

• Both Actions – Instead of having to choose between the two actions ("A) Take cards" or "B) Construct facade") the player may use this tile to perform both actions during their turn once only. First, they perform the action A) Take cards, followed by the action B) Construct facade. The player refills the card display only at the end of their turn (after the action "B) Construct facade").

  • Note: If the player has more than 7 cards in their hand after the action "A) Take cards", they must discard any surplus cards first before proceeding with the action "B) Construct facade".

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