De Poorters van Nieuwstad Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Overview
• Setup
  • Setup for a game of 3 or 4 players
  • Setup for a game of 2 players
• Beginning of the Game
  • Starting buildings
• Course of Play
• Burghers Track
• Characters
  • Woodcutter
  • Master Builder
  • Farmer
  • Bailiff
  • Merchant
  • Rent Master
  • Count
• End of a Round
• Preparing a New Round
• End of the Game
• Example of the Start of a Game
• Overview of the Buildings and Their Functions
• Overview of the Action Cards
  • Wish cards
• Events

Components

• 1 double-sided game board
• 1 overview board
• 32 seals in light red, light white, light blue and light orange (8 per colour)
• 16 seals in dark red, dark white, dark blue and dark orange (4 per colour)
• 1 unpainted wooden magistrate
• 1 brown starting player pawn
• 39 buildings, 1 Market and 6 market stalls
• 30 forest tiles (16x 3 wood, 7x 4 wood and 7x 2 wood plus 1 game animal)
• Money (22x 1 guilder, 8x 3 guilders, 11x 5 guilders)
• Victory point chips (20x 1 point, 15x 3 points, 20x 5 points)
• Products (16x fish (smoked fish), 11x game (game meat), 16x grain (bread), 14x livestock (meat), 49x wood (planks))
• 38 action cards (30 wish cards and 8 event cards)
• 7 character cards
• 2 boat tiles
• 4 overview cards
• The rulebook

The box contains 2 incorrectly printed coins (one side shows a 3 and the other a 5). Return them to the box or discard them.

Overview

The players choose a character in turn, and each player then carries out the corresponding action. The player who chooses the character alone enjoys the associated privilege. Together the players build the growth of Nieuwstad. The forest disappears and in its place all kinds of buildings come up. Players can use these to produce food, process products or earn victory points and guilders. Building a building makes the number of Burghers in the city grow. This number determines the demand for food, which the players must try to meet. The first player to have 30 or more points ends the game. The player with the most points then wins.

Note: because the players regularly need each other, they may "give good advice" to each other when choosing their actions. Naturally, the player whose turn it is has the final say on what actually happens.

Setup

Setup for a game of 3 or 4 players

1. Lay the game board on the table with the large board side up and the two fishing boats.
2. Shuffle the forest tiles and lay them face down on the grid area, so that the playing area is covered. 3 tiles are left over. Return these to the box without looking at them.
3. Place the characters, except the Count and the Rent Master, face up beside the game board. The Count and the Rent Master may come into play later in the game.
4. Place the overview board beside the game board. Place the buildings with their building costs face up on the matching pictures on the overview board, and place the 2 boat tiles beside it.
5. Each player receives 7 light-coloured seals in his colour, 4 dark-coloured seals in the same colour, 2 guilders and an overview card.
6. Place the magistrate on space "5" of the Burghers track. This track keeps count of how many people live in Nieuwstad.
7. The eldest player begins and receives the starting player pawn.
8. Take all the action cards. In a game of 3 players, remove all cards with a "4" in the upper left corner. Shuffle the action cards and place them as a face-down deck beside the game board.
9. Place the Market beside the game board and keep the other 6 market stalls within easy reach.
10. Sort the products, victory point chips and money, and form from them a general supply beside the game board. Return any other components you do not need to the box.

Setup for a game of 2 players

• Lay the game board on the table. Use the small game board with one fishing boat.
• From the stack of forest tiles, remove 6 tiles with 3 wood, 3 tiles with 4 wood and 3 tiles with 2 wood plus 1 game animal. Shuffle the remaining forest tiles and lay them face down on the grid area, so that the playing area is covered. 3 tiles are left over. Return these to the box without looking at them.
• Each player receives 8 light-coloured seals in his colour, 4 dark-coloured seals in the same colour, 2 guilders and an overview card.
• Place the characters, except the Count and the Rent Master, face up beside the game board. The Count and the Rent Master may come into play later in the game.
• Place the overview board beside the game board. Return 4 Houses and 2 Manor houses to the box. Place the other buildings with their building costs face up on the matching pictures on the overview board.
• Sort the products, victory point chips and money, and form from them a general supply beside the game board.
• Place the Market beside the game board and keep the other 6 market stalls within easy reach.
• Place the magistrate on space "5" of the Burghers track. This track keeps count of how many people live in Nieuwstad.
• Take all the action cards. In a game of 2 players, remove all cards with a "3" or "4" in the upper left corner. Shuffle the action cards and place them as a face-down deck beside the game board.
• The eldest player begins and receives the starting player pawn.
• Return any other components you do not need to the box.

Beginning of the Game

Before normal play begins, a unique starting layout is created. Starting with the starting player and then going clockwise, each player chooses one forest tile. It must lie in the outer area (the countryside), or in the city bordering the Market or the open area. He removes the forest tile from the game and receives the products shown on its reverse.

The player who did this last chooses a starting building (red building: House, Grain field or Boat) and places it on a valid spot on the game board. If there is no room for a specific starting building, it cannot be chosen. A Grain field or House must be placed in accordance with the building rules (see p. 5: Master Builder). Place one light-coloured seal of the owner on this building. The other players then do the same, going counter-clockwise, until everyone has placed 1 starting building.

Starting buildings

Note: building this starting building is free, but it gives no victory points and the number of Burghers is not adjusted (see p. 5: Master Builder).

Note: building a Boat is shown by placing a seal on the boat depicted on the game board. Loose Boats cannot be bought. They are only meant for the wish card "Boatbuilding" (see p. 11: Overview of the action cards).

Note: the letters on the seals stand for the founders of the city: A(leida), E(gbert), F(alko) and R(einwi).

Course of Play

The starting player chooses a character, places it in front of himself on the table and carries out the corresponding action, including the described privilege. Then all other players, going clockwise, carry out the same action, but without the privilege. If a player cannot or does not want to carry out the action, he is simply skipped. Next, the player to the left of the starting player chooses another character, after which each player following him, going clockwise, carries out the corresponding action (the player who chose the character begins and may use the described privilege). This continues until every player has chosen a character and all players have carried out the corresponding action. Then a new round is prepared (see p. 8: Preparing a new round).

Exception: in a 2-player game the players choose a character in turn and carry out the corresponding action. Only after both have done this twice do they prepare a new round.

Burghers Track

Around the edge of the game board runs the Burghers track. The magistrate on this track keeps track of the growth of the city. Depending on the number of Burghers, there is more or less demand for food (see p. 7: Merchant). Never fewer than 5 Burghers live in Nieuwstad (the original founders).

Characters

The players choose different characters during the game. After a character is chosen, each player carries out the action printed on it, where the player who chose the character begins and receives an extra privilege. Carrying out the actions of a character forms a phase (Woodcutter phase, Master Builder phase, and so on).

Woodcutter

The player chooses a forest tile on the game board, removes it from the game and takes the raw materials shown on its reverse. The chosen forest tile must lie in the outer area (the countryside), or in the city bordering the Market or the open area. The open area is the area without forest tiles. The player who chooses the Woodcutter receives 1 extra wood as a privilege.

Master Builder

The player may buy 1 building and place it on the game board. Boats, Grain fields and Pastures also count as buildings. The costs (guilders and wood) of a building are shown on the buildings on the overview board. Return the guilders and wood paid to the general supply. The building shows how many Burghers move into or out of the city. Track this with the magistrate on the Burghers track. The number of Burghers in the city is never lower than 5. Any remaining departing Burghers are ignored (they are not settled later). Then place one of your own light-coloured seals on the building to show the owner. If a player no longer has any light-coloured seals, he can no longer build. The only exception to this concerns the blue buildings. The player also receives the victory points shown on the building. He places these face down in front of himself. After payment, turn the building over and place it on a valid spot on the game board in accordance with the building rules (see Building rules below). The player who chooses the Master Builder receives as a privilege a choice of 1 guilder or 1 wood discount on the construction of a building.

The building table on the page shows, for each building, the following: the cost in guilders (top left), the building's identity (centre), the number of Burghers that come in or leave (top right), the cost in wood (bottom left), and the number of victory points received (bottom right).

Building rules: A player may only build a building on empty spaces (created by removing forest tiles). He must place the building on the game board immediately upon purchase and cannot keep it for a later turn.

A building placed in the city must border the Market or another building horizontally or vertically. Furthermore, the edges (roads) of the buildings in the city that border each other must have the same colour. A player who places a building in the outer area does not need to take other buildings or roads into account. Buildings may never overlap. A building can be built in one or two districts. The division between districts is shown by a groove in the sand of the inner area. The outer area does not belong to the districts and does not count as a separate district.

Diagram: a stone edge next to a sand edge is not allowed; stone next to stone is good; sand next to sand is good. Buildings in the outer area may border both stone and sand.

If the Baker, Butcher, Fishmonger, Inn, Timber trade or Sawmill has been built, place the corresponding specialist beside the Market. From this moment that building may be used during the Merchant phase (see p. 7: Merchant). Use the dark seals to show who owns the stall.

Exceptions:

• Green buildings may only be built in the outer area. For these buildings the edges (roads) do not need to touch each other.
• Blue buildings are community buildings, which must be built and paid for together. The players may negotiate about everything: how the payment is shared, how the victory points are shared, location, and so on. The building then belongs to the city, so nobody places a seal on it. Building a community building costs one player his building option: he may not build another building afterwards. The player(s) who helped with the construction may still build (provided they still get a turn in this Master Builder phase).
• Red buildings are starting buildings which can also be bought later in the game during the Master Builder phase.
• The City Gate must be built in the city bordering the outer area (on the long side this is marked with a green edge).

Farmer

The player may produce food. He places 1 grain on each of his empty Grain fields and 1 livestock on each of his empty Pastures. Grain and livestock that he placed on his Grain fields and Pastures in an earlier turn he removes from the game board and puts into his stock. In addition, he receives 1 fish (directly into his stock) for each of his Boats.

The player who chooses the Farmer may, as a privilege, choose 1 extra fish, grain or livestock from the supply, provided that he also produces it. If he chooses an extra fish, it goes into his stock. If he chooses an extra livestock or grain, he receives it in his stock only if he also received grain or livestock into his stock. If he has only placed grain or livestock on the fields, the extra token is also placed on the fields.

Bailiff

The player decides whether he buys 0, 1 or 2 action cards. For 1 card he pays 1 guilder; for 2 cards, 3 guilders. He draws the purchased cards one by one from the face-down deck. The other players then do the same, going clockwise. Now follows the second part of this phase: the player may play 0, 1 or 2 wish cards from his hand and carry out the described action(s). Then the other players follow, going clockwise. The player who chooses the Bailiff receives 1 guilder from the bank as a privilege.

Note: there are 2 kinds of action cards: wish cards and events. A player may play a wish card at a moment of his choice (provided he follows the rules). If a player receives an event when buying an action card, he must show it to the other players immediately. The event is carried out together. Then the player draws a new action card as a replacement. Repeat this process until he draws a wish card.

Merchant

The player may use as many buildings and specialists of himself and of other players as he wishes. If he wants to use a building of another player, he first pays 1 guilder to the owner for each building he uses. He may also use the Market for free. Then the other players do the same, going clockwise. The player who chooses the Merchant receives 1 guilder from the bank as a privilege. How the Market and the specialists work is described below.

Market: An unlimited quantity of grain, livestock and/or game may be sold at the Market. The player receives 1 guilder per product sold.

Sawmill: Per player, 2 wood may be converted into planks (flip the token). A plank counts as 2 wood when buying a building or when using the Woodcutters' Festival (see p. 11: Overview of the action cards).

Timber trade: At the Timber trade, wood may be sold without limit (for 1 guilder each), or bought (1 wood costs 1 guilder). Planks cannot be sold or bought.

Butcher: At the Butcher, livestock may be converted without limit into meat, and game into game meat (flip the token). Meat or game meat may also be sold. The numbers on the "Butcher" specialist show how many Burghers must live in the city for the corresponding sales spot to become available. With 20 Burghers there is demand for 2 (game) meat, with 30 Burghers demand for 3 (game) meat, with 40 Burghers 5, and with 50 Burghers 6. Depending on the number of Burghers, 0 to 6 times (game) meat may be sold. If the player decides to sell (game) meat, he places it on the corresponding space and takes the income for it. One game meat yields 1 victory point and 1 guilder. One meat yields 2 victory points and 2 guilders.

Baker: At the Baker, grain may be converted without limit into bread (flip the token). Bread may also be sold. The numbers on the "Baker" specialist show how many Burghers must live in the city for the corresponding sales spot to become available. With 10 Burghers there is demand for 1 bread, with 20 Burghers demand for 3 loaves, with 30 four, with 40 five, and with 50 six. Depending on the number of Burghers, 0 to 6 loaves may be sold. If the player decides to sell bread, he places it on the corresponding space and takes the income for it. One bread yields 2 victory points and 1 guilder.

Fishmonger: At the Fishmonger, fish may be converted without limit into smoked fish (flip the token). Smoked fish may also be sold. The numbers on the "Fishmonger" specialist show how many Burghers must live in the city for the corresponding sales spot to become available. With 10 Burghers there is demand for 2 smoked fish, with 20 Burghers demand for 3 smoked fish, with 30 four, with 40 five, and with 50 six. Depending on the number of Burghers, 0 to 6 fish may be sold. If the player decides to sell smoked fish, he places it on the corresponding space and takes the income for it. One smoked fish yields 1 victory point and 1 guilder.

Inn: At the Inn, meat pasties, game pasties and fish pasties may be sold. For this a bread is needed in combination with meat, game meat or smoked fish. The numbers on the "Inn" specialist show how many Burghers must live in the city for the corresponding sales spot to become available. With 30 Burghers there is demand for 1 pasty, with 40 Burghers demand for 2 pasties, with 50 Burghers 3, and with 60 Burghers 4. If a player decides to sell a pasty, he places bread in combination with meat, game meat or smoked fish on one space of the Inn. A meat pasty yields 5 victory points and 6 guilders, a game pasty 3 victory points and 4 guilders, and a fish pasty also 3 victory points and 4 guilders.

At the end of the Merchant phase, remove all tokens from the Market and the market stalls.

Rent Master

The Rent Master comes directly into play once the Office has been built. When the Rent Master is chosen, all players receive 1 victory point per own House and 2 victory points per own Manor house. The player who chooses the Rent Master receives 1 extra victory point as a privilege.

Count

The Count comes directly into play once the Town Hall has been built. The player who chooses the Count may choose a character that has already been chosen once more. Everyone may then carry out the function of that character. The privilege of the original character does not apply when it has been activated by the Count.

Note: should a type of token run out during play, temporarily use other material as a replacement. Products, points and money never run out during the game.

End of a Round

A round ends after every player has chosen a character and carried out its action (in a 2-player game, two characters). If someone has 30 or more points, the game ends. If this is not the case, play continues and a new round is prepared.

Note: a player may not conceal that he has 30 or more points.

Preparing a New Round

Return all character cards to their place. Each player receives income for his Houses. A House yields 1 guilder and a Manor house 2 guilders. Pass the starting player pawn to the player to the left of the current starting player. The new starting player begins a new round by choosing a character.

End of the Game

The game ends if a player has 30 or more points at a change of starting player, including any special points of buildings (such as the City Gate) and cards (such as the District Party). All players then count their points. The player with the most points wins.

Example of the Start of a Game

The starting layout after the opening round.

Cor (white): 3 wood, 2 guilders and 1 house. Emily (red): 3 wood, 2 guilders and 1 boat. Bram (orange): 2 wood, 1 game animal, 2 guilders and 1 house. Wouter (blue): 4 wood, 2 guilders and 1 grain field.

Tip from Tycho: variant for 2 players: blue buildings may also be built alone.

Example turn:

1. Cor is starting player and chooses the Master Builder.
2. He builds a House.
3. He pays 2 guilders and only 2 wood, because he chooses the 1 wood discount as the privilege of the Master Builder.
4. The House brings 5 extra Burghers into the city.
5. It gives Cor 2 points.
6. Emily also builds a House (+5 Burghers).
7. Bram takes a Grain field (-1 Burgher).
8. Wouter builds a Boat (-1 Burgher).

Now it is Emily's turn and she chooses the Woodcutter. She takes a forest tile from the outer area of the game board. She turns over a tile with 3 wood and receives 1 extra wood as a privilege of the Woodcutter. Bram finds 4 wood, Wouter finds 3 wood, and Cor finds 3 wood.

Bram takes the Bailiff and receives 1 guilder thanks to the privilege. He uses this to buy an action card. Wouter also buys a card. When he takes his card it turns out to be an event card, the Small Birth Wave. The card is carried out and set aside. Wouter receives a new action card. Cor and Emily pass. Then everyone, going clockwise and starting with Bram, may play a maximum of 2 action cards. They both pass.

Tip from Tycho: variant: play with the rule that everything may be built together (sharing the costs, but also sharing the points). Part of the negotiations is then, of course, who becomes the owner of the building and gets all the additional benefits (and any disadvantages).

Wouter is the last to take a turn in the round. He chooses the Farmer. He places a grain token on his Grain field and, because he also has a Boat, he receives a fish, which he places in front of himself directly. The privilege of the Farmer gives him a choice of an extra token of what he has already received, so a grain or a fish but no meat. He chooses an extra fish.

Emily receives a fish. Bram receives grain on his Grain field. Cor receives nothing.

Now the change of starting player takes place. All character cards are returned. The starting player pawn goes from Cor to Emily. All players receive guilders for their (Manor) Houses that they have. Emily receives 1 guilder, Bram 1 guilder, Wouter nothing, and Cor receives 2 guilders.

Overview of the Buildings and Their Functions

Count	Building	Function
1	Market	Starting building. Sell 1 grain, livestock or game for 1 guilder per product.
8	House	The owner receives 1 guilder income at the change of starting player.
2	Fishing boat	The owner catches fish in the Farmer phase.
5	Grain field	The owner grows grain in the Farmer phase.
5	Pasture	The owner breeds livestock in the Farmer phase.
5	Manor house	The owner receives 2 guilders income at the change of starting player.
1	Timber trade	Players may buy and sell wood in the Merchant phase for 1 guilder per piece.
1

Note: the table as printed lists 41 buildings besides the Market, while the component list says 39 buildings. Both figures are transcribed as printed.

Overview of the Action Cards

The action cards consist of 30 wish cards and 8 event cards.

Wish cards

Boatbuilding: Build an extra Boat for free. Take an extra Boat and place it on the lake on the game board with one of your seals. If you no longer have any of your own seals, you cannot play this card. For building this Boat you receive no victory points, and the Burghers track is not adjusted.

Fire: Choose a House (not a Manor house). It burns down (return it to the supply and return the seal to its owner). Reduce the number of Burghers by 2. If the Watchtower has been built, this card cannot be played. You may also choose one of your own Houses with this card. In this way you can get a seal back if you have already used all 7 of them.

Citizens' Watch: Play this card in reaction to Crime. Protect one district of your choice once against the card "Crime". This card may be played after a player has chosen the district to play the card "Crime" in.

Neighbourhood Party: Play this card at the end of the game. For every 3 guilders you receive 1 point. This card is also counted in the count at the end of a round. At that moment every 3 guilders count as 1 point.

Crime: Choose 1 city district. From each player in that district, steal 1 guilder or 1 wood. A maximum of one resource may be stolen from each player. No district may be chosen in which the Prison stands (partly).

Woodcutters' Festival: Play this card at the end of the game. For every 3 wood in your possession you receive 1 point. This card is also counted in the count at the end of a round. At that moment every 3 wood counts as 1 point. A plank counts as 2 wood.

House Building: Play this card in the Master Builder phase. You receive 2 guilders and 2 wood discount on the construction of a House or Manor house. You may only play this card in the Master Builder phase, not in the Bailiff phase.

Income Tax: Play this card in the income phase at the change of starting player. The players receive no income from Houses and Manor houses this round. You may only play this card at the moment players receive their income at the end of a round. No player receives income when this card is played.

Knowledge is Power: Place this card face up in front of you. Each time you choose a character, you may double the privilege. You may only play this card once. If you receive the second card "Knowledge is Power" while you already possess the first, you cannot play it.

Midsummer Night Festival: Choose a district. Each player may once pay 1 game animal, fish, grain or livestock to take part in the festival. Participants receive 2 points. Players in the district who do not take part lose 1 point. The paid products return to the general supply. This card may also be played in a district in which you have not built yourself.

Rotten Fish: All fish in the supplies of all players is spoiled. All fish tokens from each player's own supply return to the general supply.

Note: this applies only to fresh fish. Smoked fish remains.

Painting: Play this card at the end of the game. It is worth 3 points, and is also counted in the count at the end of a round.

Locust Plague: All grain on the Grain fields has been eaten by locusts. The grain tokens of all Grain fields are returned to the general supply.

Gatherer: Receive 2 wood directly.

Statue: Play this card at the end of the game. It is worth 4 points, and is also counted in the count at the end of a round.

District Party: Play this card at the end of the game. You receive 1 point per building with your seal in a district of your choice. If the district you chose is full, this card is worth 3 extra points. Blue buildings have no seal and do not count as a building with your seal. If you possess 2 District Parties, you may choose the same district twice.

Wolf Terror: All livestock on the Pastures has been eaten by wolves. The livestock tokens of all Pastures are returned to the general supply.

Events

Note: these must always be carried out immediately, after which a replacement card is drawn.

Small Birth Wave: The city grows by 1 Burgher per House or Manor house. For each House and Manor house in the city, 1 Burgher comes onto the Burghers track. Move the magistrate as many steps forward as there are Houses and Manor houses.

Great Birth Wave: The city grows by 2 Burghers per House or Manor house. For each House and Manor house in the city, 2 Burghers come onto the Burghers track. Move the magistrate twice as many steps forward as there are Houses and Manor houses.

Crusade: 10 Burghers leave the city. Move the magistrate 10 steps back on the Burghers track.

Vikings: All Boats are destroyed. Seals return to their owner. For each building in the city that borders the water, the number of Burghers drops by 3. Players may together pay 1 guilder per Boat and building affected to prevent the event. A player may decide to pay the costs alone. If the Watchtower has been built, this event has no effect.

Black Death: Per building in the city, the owner loses 1 point. Half of the Burghers die. The players may together pay 5 guilders and a combination of 3 fish, grain, livestock or game to prevent the epidemic. A player may decide to pay only the costs to prevent the event. A combination of 3 fish, grain, livestock or game may consist of any combination of different or the same products. If the Hospice has already been built, this card has no effect.

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