De Vulgari Eloquentia Rulebook

Table of Contents

The Object of the Game
What You Can Do to Get VP
What You Do Every Game Turn
What You Can Do Every Player Turn
Setup
FAQ (Official 2.0)

The Object of the Game

In this game, players are all ambitious scholars in Renaissance Italy. The most renowned scholar, as measured in VP, will be the winner. (General rule: The player with the highest knowledge wins all ties in this game.)

The board shows Italy on the left, the turn track in the middle, and various tracks all around. You have a player pawn that moves around the map, and discs as markers for your position on all the other tracks. The game also has a range of tiles that vary the opportunities available to you, and cubes that represent support from important people. (Full setup instructions are given at the end of this rule set.)

What You Can Do to Get VP

Manuscripts

Manuscripts give you VP equal to their printed value. To get a manuscript, you need to be in the area where that language is spoken, i.e. the area must match the colour of the manuscript tile. You also need to have reached a level on the knowledge track that matches or exceeds the manuscript value, and pay Action Points equal to the track level where the manuscript is displayed. (Manuscript value and track level are the same at setup, but may change later in the game, as manuscripts shift up when you run out of manuscript tiles of any level.) Everyone starts with level 1 knowledge, but you can increase your knowledge in various ways.

Status

Everyone starts the game as a merchant. You can increase your status during the game as well as after the game.

During the game…

A merchant can go to a convent and voluntarily become a friar by giving up half his money, rounded up. Choose a friar from the available tiles. Each friar gives special benefits.
A friar can go to a cathedral and voluntarily become a cardinal by paying 40 Ducati plus either a Politician (red) or Noble (black) cube. Discard the friar tile out of the game and choose a cardinal from the available tiles. Each cardinal gives you special benefits.
Note that once you join the church, you get NO more money from the board areas or tiles. You do get Charity and can do Small Business for 10 Ducati every turn.
Friar and Cardinal special benefits (underlined = VP awarded or subtracted at game end; book = immediate knowledge gain; virtual cube of a specific colour can be used once per action as if it were real):
- Friar Ralph never has to pay the 10 Ducati for moving more than one area.
- Friar Gigi gets double charity — 10 Ducati instead of 5.
- Cardinal Muret costs 70 Ducati and gives you one extra Action Point per turn.
- Cardinal Zazza gives you back the 40 Ducati he cost you, and you can look at one extra tile when you draw Papal Library tiles — but you still only take one tile.
- Cardinal Shlasinger lets you reduce an opponent's knowledge by 6 once per game.

After the game…

You can use votes of support (cubes) from politicians (red, 3 votes), nobles (black, 2 votes) and abbesses (yellow, 1 vote) to improve your status.

A merchant can pay 7 votes to become a banker, giving him 6 VP.
A friar can pay 10 votes to become a monk, giving him 11 VP.
A cardinal can pay 11 votes to become a camerlengo, giving him 14 VP.
A cardinal can pay 17 votes to become the pope, giving him 22 VP. You cannot be both a camerlengo and pope. Only one player can become pope, with the opportunity to do so given in knowledge order. The person who becomes pope gets no VP from his character tile.

Leading Tracks

You can get VP for your position on two game tracks. (General rule: Whenever two markers are on the same space in this game, the bottom one is considered most advanced.)

Riddle from Verona. The person leading at game end gets 4, 5 or 6 VP, depending on his position on the track. Nobody else gets anything from this track.
Canticle of the Sun. The person leading at game end gets 9 VP and the second person 4 VP. Nobody else gets anything from this track.

Additional VP

Additional VP are awarded as follows:

5 VP if you have all five manuscript colours. You can count value-4 manuscripts (which have two colours) as either colour, but not both.
2–4 VP for a Papal Library tile.
7 VP for the richest player if he's a merchant/banker. Otherwise 3 VP.
3 VP for the player with the highest total of unused votes.
1 VP per amanuensis (green cube) that was converted to VP during the game.
Add or subtract VP for specific character tiles. Exception: If elected pope, a cardinal tile does not add or subtract any more VP.

What You Do Every Game Turn

The game is played in 13–16 turns. Each game turn has four phases: Events, Charity, Turn Order and Actions.

1. Events

Move the turn marker (purple pawn) down the turn track.
On turns 1–10, a new event becomes available in a specific area for each turn, as determined during setup. Place the new event tile face up in the space pointing to the relevant area. (Note there is no event associated with the space in Cagliari. This space is there by mistake.)
Each turn also gives players the opportunity to gain support from important people. You pick up cubes to represent their support. Cubes for the first seven turns are placed during setup. From turn 2 onwards, take any remaining cubes from the previous turn and put them on the next available space. If there are more cubes than the space allows for the number of players (see the setup table), they go in order of value — first red, then black, yellow and green last. (General rule: These priorities also apply if players use cubes and place them back on the track on a future turn.)
Restock the manuscript track. If any track cannot be restocked, shift all manuscripts to the track level above and put the value-8 manuscript on the bottom row.
On turn 12 onwards, flip a Papal Event tile to see if the game ends. When the second red tile is revealed, the pope dies and it is the last turn of the game. All player pawns go to Rome. Play then proceeds normally for one last turn.

After the game, do the election phase where players can improve their status as described in the VP section above. Then do final scoring. (You can use a piece of paper, or place player pawns on the knowledge track, to keep score.)

2. Charity

(Only on turns 1–10, if there is a friar or cardinal in play.)

The richest merchant has to pay each friar 5 Ducati and each cardinal 10 Ducati.

If two merchants are equally rich, each friar or cardinal can pick who has to pay them. If there is no merchant richer than the friar or cardinal, or if the person who has to pay runs out of money, the bank gives the friar or cardinal the remaining charity.

All wealth levels are taken at the actual time of each payment, so they can change during the turn.

3. Player Order

Rearrange the player order for the turn by knowledge level — lowest knowledge going first.

However, player order can be amended due to positions on the Rest track. The player furthest on the Rest track jumps the queue and goes first. Remove the marker that gave him this privilege from the Rest track. Other markers remain on the Rest track.

4. Actions

In player order, each player takes the five purple action markers and places them on the board, taking the relevant action as he does so. When he is finished, play passes to the next player.

What You Can Do Every Player Turn

In each player turn, you take 5 actions, placing purple disks to mark your actions.

Move — 1–5 AP

You can move your pawn by paying 1 Action Point (AP) per area moved. In addition to AP, you have to pay 10 Ducati in total whenever you move more than one area in a turn.

You can only take other actions or use map features before or after your complete movement for that player turn. You cannot stop and start, or benefit from a region in any way, if you're only passing through it.

Sea movement. You can move from a harbour (with anchor symbol) into the sea and stop there exactly as if it were another land area, or you can immediately cross the sea to another harbour by paying an extra AP. I.e. moving from a starting point on land to the sea and on to a harbour costs 3 AP, not 2. As a memory aid, use anchor symbols as stops.

You can combine sea and land movement by spending the necessary AP. You cannot move from a harbour on one sea to a harbour on the other sea. Note: Calaria and the nearby abbey are separated by sea.

Take Event Benefit — no cost

You must be in the relevant area before or after movement. Taking an event benefit is voluntary. (Friars and cardinals cannot take money — they get only knowledge. Merchants get both money and knowledge.) Flip the tile afterwards. No other player can get that benefit.

The event in turn 10, "Stupor Mundi," is different. After this tile has appeared, any player in Brindisi gets the opportunity to call an auction at the end of the game turn. Follow turn order if there is more than one player.

Any players who want to take part in the auction must move their pawns to Brindisi, at no cost. Starting with the auctioneer, participating players bid with their cubes (vote values) in turn order until only one bidder remains. The auctioneer gets +2 added to his bid, i.e. he only has to offer cubes with a combined vote value of 2 less than his bid.

The winning bidder pays the cubes and takes the 10 knowledge benefit, flipping the tile. Others keep their cubes. If nobody responds to the auction invitation, the auctioneer gets the "Stupor Mundi" benefit at no cost.

Take Area Benefit — no cost

Many areas on the map give special money and/or knowledge benefits for players in them. Taking the area benefit happens automatically on arrival and costs no actions. Simply take the knowledge and/or money benefit of the area. (Friars and cardinals cannot take money — they get only knowledge. Merchants get both money and knowledge.) Place your marker in the area to show you have had that area benefit. Each player gets each area benefit once only.

The area benefit for Bologna is different. To get this benefit, you first have to reach the end of the Messenger track (see the Messenger action below).

Salterio — 1 AP, once per player turn

You can be anywhere. Pay 1 AP and take 3 knowledge, or 4 if you currently have the lowest knowledge.

Small Business — 1 AP, once per player turn

You can be anywhere. Pay 1 AP and take 10 Ducati.

Orient — 1–5 AP

You can be anywhere. All merchants who reach the end of this track can take 10 Ducati extra every time they take a new area benefit that includes money. This represents trade with the orient.

Riddle from Verona — 1–5 AP

You must be in the blue region. Pay 1 AP per space moved. The furthest person on this track at game end gets VP equal to the level he has reached on the track, i.e. 4, 5 or 6 VP.

Messenger — 1–5 AP

You can be anywhere. Pay 1 AP per space moved. In addition, to enter the last space:

Turn 1–7: Pay two yellow cubes and 20 Ducati.
Turn 8 onwards: Pay a yellow cube and 10 Ducati.

If you have completed the track and move to Bologna, you'll get the area benefit of 15 knowledge until turn 7, or 10 knowledge if you arrive on turn 8 or after.

Rest Track — 1–5 AP

You can be anywhere. Move one space per AP spent.

Library — 1–5 AP

You can be anywhere. Pay 1 AP to move on this track. Once, on turn 11 or later, you can look at a number of Papal Library tiles equal to the number you have reached on the track. Keep one tile to give you the stated number of VP at game end. Replace the others face down on the stack in any order you choose.

Canticle of the Sun — 1–5 AP

You have to be in the Franciscan area that is active this turn, as indicated by the square Canticle markers. From turn 14 onward, all Franciscan areas are active. Pay 1 AP and one yellow cube to progress one space on the track. The furthest person on this track at game end gets 9 VP, and the second-placed player gets 4 VP.

Take Abbess — 1 or 4 AP

You can be anywhere, but an Abbess (yellow cube) must be available this turn. Pay 1 AP and 15 Ducati for one cube, or pay 4 AP and 30 Ducati for two. If you are in an Abbey space, you don't need to pay the money.

Take Politician — 1 or 4 AP

You can be anywhere, but a Politician (red cube) must be available this turn. Pay 1 AP and 30 Ducati for one cube, or pay 4 AP and 60 Ducati for two.

Take Noble — 1 or 4 AP

You can be anywhere, but a Noble (black cube) must be available this turn. Pay 1 AP for one cube, or pay 4 AP for two. You can swap any noble cube for 20 Ducati, but only if you do so immediately as you take it.

Take Amanuensis — 1 or 4 AP

You can be anywhere, but an Amanuensis (green cube) must be available this turn. Pay 1 AP for one cube, or pay 4 AP for two. Unlike other cubes, the green ones go in front of your player screen. When you're at an abbey, you can choose to convert all open Amanuenses (i.e. those in front of your screen) to knowledge (3 knowledge each), putting them back on the turn track, OR to move all of them behind your player screen for 1 VP each at game end.

Take Manuscript — AP = track level, once per turn

You have to be in an area matching the colour of the manuscript, and have a high enough knowledge level. You can only take ONE manuscript per turn.

Use Special Map Features — before or after movement only

Convent. A merchant can become a friar. Lose half your Ducati and choose a friar tile.
Cathedral. A friar can become a cardinal. Pay 40 Ducati plus one red or black cube. Discard your friar tile and pick a cardinal tile.
Abbey. A player can convert Amanuenses cubes to 1 VP or 3 knowledge each. You cannot split the group — all have to be treated the same way. A player can get Abbess cubes by paying only AP, no money needed.

Setup

Lay out the board and put the money nearby.
Randomly place the five canticle turn markers in the small squares, face up.
Shuffle the Papal Event tiles face down and place them from turn 12 to 16.
Shuffle the Papal Library tiles and place them face down next to their track.
Shuffle the manuscript tiles of each level together. Place them in stacks face down next to the board. From each stack, take one tile fewer than the number of players and place the tiles face up on the relevant track, i.e. level 1 manuscripts on track number 1, etc. Place the single level 8 manuscript nearby — not on a track. (Optional setup suggested on BGG: For two-player games, remove one full colour set each from value 1, 2 and 3 manuscripts.)
Place cubes in the cloth bag as indicated on this table. Then draw them randomly and place the indicated number on each space of the turn track. (This is the maximum number of cubes allowed per turn — even when replacing used or unbought cubes later.)

# of players Red Black Yellow Green # of cubes per turn
2 3 5 14 6 4
3 6 5 16 8 5
4 8 7 17 10 6
5 11 7 20 11 7
Draw an event tile at random and place it on turn 1, face up. Then place the event tiles in number order from that point on, starting at event 1 again when you reach 9. E.g. if you draw event 8 for turn one, place event 9 on turn two, event 1 on turn three, event 2 on turn four, etc. Event tile 10 "Stupor Mundi" does not follow this pattern, but always goes on turn 10.
Each player takes a player screen, the pawn and disks of his colour, plus 10 Ducati. Everything goes behind the player screen except Ducati, which are always visible. Amanuenses (green cubes) also go in front of player screens when you get them, until they are converted to VP or discarded for knowledge points.
Take a marker from each player and randomly place it on the turn order track.
Place a marker of each player on the first space of the knowledge track in reverse player order, i.e. with the last player at the bottom.
In reverse player order, each player places their pawn on one of the starting spaces. Only one player may be in each space at the start. (Later in the game, players can happily coexist in the same area.) Starting areas are (from the south): Catania, Taranto, Ancona, Vicenza and Torino.

# of players	Red	Black	Yellow	Green	# of cubes per turn
2	3	5	14	6	4
3	6	5	16	8	5
4	8	7	17	10	6
5	11	7	20	11	7

FAQ (Official 2.0)

Reviewed by designer Mario Papini.

Movements and Map Interactions

Q: Is interaction with the map mandatory or optional? A: Optional.

Q: If a player wants to stay put in a City without moving and interact with it, should he spend Movement Actions? A: No.

Q: Is interaction with a City possible before or after movement? Or before and after movement? What about during movement? A: Interaction with the map is possible before and after movement, but not during it. As an example, one can take an event tile and the Ducati/Knowledge in the starting city, and another event tile and Ducati/Knowledge in the destination city. Similarly, one can begin a turn in a Convent, become a Friar, then reach a Cathedral, take the event tile and the Ducati/Knowledge in that area, and become a Cardinal.

Q: Can one take a Manuscript both in the starting and the arrival city? A: No, because one can get at most one Manuscript per turn.

Q: When in a City with both Ducati/Knowledge and an Event tile, should one take the Event or the resources first? A: As the player chooses.

Q: Can one take an Event from a city without "spending" it, that is without placing one's own coloured disc on it (this could make sense, for example, in Bologna, in case the Messenger track is not complete)? A: Yes.

Q: Can one go into a map area in which another player is already present? A: Yes (except during the initial placement, when each player must start from a different region).

Q: In order to move both by sea and land during the same turn, 3 actions are used to embark/disembark, and possibly more actions for land movement. Is the money cost 10 Ducati total for the complete movement, or 10 Ducati for each of the land/sea movements? A: 10 Ducati total.

Q: Can a player move to a Harbor city and embark during the same turn? A: Yes. During a single turn a player can move to a Harbor city, embark, disembark and possibly keep moving on land (total cost: 5 actions + 10 Ducati).

Q: In case of sea movement, if a player decides to embark (thus moving from a Harbor to a Sea using one action and no Ducati), shall he automatically disembark during his next turn into another Harbor of the same Sea? Or does he need another action to disembark? A: Whoever begins a turn at Sea can either remain at Sea, using no movement action but possibly performing other actions, OR disembark to an adjacent Harbor of the same Sea, spending 1 action and 0 Ducati if he stops at that Harbor, or more actions and 10 Ducati if he continues on land.

Tables

Q: How many actions are required to complete the Orient track? How many for the Messenger track? A: 6 actions for the Orient track, 8 for the Messenger track (but going to Bologna is needed to get the bonus).

Q: If a player has completed the Orient track, does he get 10 Ducati from cities with an economic value not yet spent, even if he does not spend those? That is, if he decides to stop in a city without "spending" it, does he also get 10 Ducati? A: No. He gets the +10 Ducati only when he activates a city with economic value, provided he is still a Merchant.

Q: A player can only own a single Papal Library tile, but after he got one (possibly choosing among several), can he repeat the action, thus picking more tiles in order to choose again and possibly keep a different one, discarding the one he took earlier? A: No. Papal Library tiles can be picked up only once per game.

Q: The cost to complete the studies in Bologna University (Messenger) depends on the turn of completion. Does the gain on the Knowledge track depend on the turn in which one gets to Bologna, or on the turn in which the track was completed? A: On the turn in which one gets to Bologna.

Friars and Cardinals

Q: Michael, Stefano and Balestrieri have "virtual" cubes. How many times can these cubes be used? A: Once per action. As an example, the virtual Abbess can be used for the Canticle, the Messenger and the Stupor Mundi in the same turn.

Q: Does Cardinal Zazza look at one additional Papal Library tile to choose from more tiles, or can he keep two? A: He picks one more to choose from, but he is still allowed to keep only one.

Miscellanea

Q: Do the 3 VP for remaining cubes behind the screen depend on the number of cubes or their voting value? A: Their voting value.

Q: When does the level 8 Manuscript enter the game? A: It enters the game during the Event phase in case any row of manuscripts is empty (usually the level 1 one). It costs 4 actions. It might cost 3 actions in case a second row becomes empty, or 2 actions in case two more rows get empty…

Q: Why is there an event tile space in Cagliari, since there are no events for that City? A: This is a printing error; the event tile space for Cagliari should not be there.

Q: How does Charity work exactly? Is the wealthiest Merchant player determined at the beginning and pays all Friars and Cardinals, or, after paying one, might he no longer be the wealthiest, so another one should pay the remaining ones? A: The second option is correct: the wealthiest Merchant pays whichever religious player he chooses; then the Merchant player with the most money at this time pays another religious player of his choice, and so on. In case two or more Merchant players have the same amount of money, the first religious player in turn order among those who still require payment decides from which Merchant he will get Charity.

Example: in a 5-player game M1 (merchant) has 20 Ducati, M2 (merchant) has 15 Ducati, F (Friar) has 15 Ducati, C1 (Cardinal) has 10 Ducati, C2 (Cardinal) has 30 Ducati. C2, being wealthier than any Merchant, will get Charity from the bank. M1 must then pay first, choosing among F and C1. If he decides to pay F, he remains with 15 Ducati, and C1 will choose to get his 10 Ducati from either M1 or M2. If M1 chooses to pay C1 instead, he remains with 10 Ducati, and F shall get Charity from M2. In the first case, if C2 had 15 Ducati or less, the first one in turn order among C1 and C2 would have chosen first who to get Charity from.

Q: How does Stupor Mundi work? Is it resolved at the end of the activating player's turn, or at the end of all players' turns? In what order do players decide whether to participate in the auction or not (the choice can often depend on the number of participants)? A: At the end of all players' turns, the player who first got to Brindisi can summon the other players, who must either accept or deny the summon to Brindisi in turn order, at no cost in actions or Ducati.

Collected by Giammario "Rayden" Giannotti. Revised by Mario Papini. Translation by Marco "Thasaidon" Sozzi.