Donning the Purple Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Objective
Set Up
How to Play
End Game Scoring
Copying Actions (C)
The Different Objects on the Game Board
Death
- Death of a Player
- Death of the Emperor
Glory Dice
Cards
2-Player Rules
1-Player Rules
- Remove These Cards Before You Play a Solo Game
Components

Game Objective

The goal of Donning the Purple is to have the most victory points after four rounds. Each round simulates one year in Roman history.

There are several ways to get victory points, but the quickest way to get the most points is to be the Roman emperor and at the same time keep the Roman people happy.

Losing condition: The game is over and nobody wins if one of these two conditions are true:

All regional capitals are controlled by the enemy at the end of the year.
All 28 enemy tokens are on the map at the end of the year.

2-player rules can be found on page 16. Solo rules can be found on page 17.

Set Up

Place the import price marker on the number 2 on the grain price track, the year marker on year 1 and the happiness marker on the number 5 on the happiness track.
Place two red legions in each of the four regional capitals (provinces with a star in its title) on the map. Put the rest in a pile next to the board.
Place the blue cubes (enemies) and the yellow cubes (grain) in their own piles next to the board.
Give each player a random green player mat. The mat symbolises the member of your family that you currently control. If this family member dies, you take control of another member of your family.

The starting role symbols on the mats determine the role of each player at the beginning of the game. The roles have no other effect than deciding which player that starts as the emperor, heir or with a senator in the senate. Example: if a player has the mat with the emperor starting role, it does not mean that he is the emperor for the rest of the game.

This player starts the game with a senator in the senate. He places one of his senators on the number one spot in the senate. Do this in step 9 of the set up.
This player starts the game as the heir to the emperor and places the purple heir marker on the heir circle on his player mat.
This player starts the game as the emperor and connects the purple emperor's mat to his own player mat while he is emperor.

Place 11 stamina tokens, three estates and three monuments on the Player mats. Each player also receives 15 coins. The emperor only receives 10 coins.
Give each player one plot card and one hidden agenda card. These are kept hidden from the other players. Put the remaining hidden agenda cards back in the box. Place the Event, Forum and Plot cards in separate decks face down near the board.
The Emperor draws one additional plot card and places three aqueducts on the emperor's player mat.
Each player puts their pawn and remaining estate in Roma.
Next to the senate, each player puts their six senators in separate piles. The player with the senator symbol on his mat places one of his senators on the number one spot in the senate.

In this example the green player has the senator symbol on his player mat. He starts the game with a senator in the senate.

The player with the rightmost (highest) senator controls the senate.

How to Play

Donning the purple is played in 4 rounds. Each round symbolises one year in the Roman history and is divided up in eight phases which are completed in this order:

Incoming enemies: Enemies appear and move towards the regional capitals.
Harvest grain: Harvest grain from the farms.
Draw cards: Different events occur throughout the empire.
Player actions: Each player takes their actions and draws a plot card at the end of their turn.
Place buildings: The 4 first buildings on the production line are placed on the map.
Distribute food: Each province that is not controlled by the enemy require 1 grain.
Collect taxes: Provinces and estates generate income.
End of year: The emperor receives victory points according to the happiness track.

1 — Incoming Enemies

Place two enemies in one province in each region.

Roll a D6 dice to find out which province number they are to be placed in. They are placed in the same provincial number in each region.
If there are two or more red legions and/or a pawn in the province, don't place any enemies in that province.
If there is a building in the province where the enemies are placed, remove the building from the map and place it back on its respective player's mat.

Move all enemies on the map simultaneously one province closer to their regional capital. Each enemy unit and roman legion has 1 strength.

When enemies move, they must move towards the capital in their region. They always follow the order of the province numbers up or down, depending on the direction of the capital.
If the enemies move into a province containing legions and/or players with a combined strength that is equal or higher than the total number of moving enemies, don't move any enemies into that province.
If the enemies move into a province containing legions and/or pawns with a combined strength that is lower than the total number of moving enemies, remove the legions and place the pawns back in Roma. The player controlling the affected pawn loses 2 stamina.
If the enemies move into a province with a building, remove the building from the map and place it back on its respective player's mat.
If the enemy enters a capital they will not move out of that province until they are killed. If a player kills all the enemies in a capital that player gets 1 VP.
They can not cross regional boundaries or enter Roma.

In the example above the enemy in Dalmatia can't move into Macedonia because its strength is lower than the Romans in Macedonia. The enemies in Moesia moves towards the capital and follows the province numbers as normal. They join the enemy unit in Dalmatia. The next time the enemies move they are allowed to go into Macedonia because they have a higher strength than the legions.

In this example a 3 is rolled. That means the enemies are placed in province 3.

When they move towards the capital they must follow province numbers. In this example the enemies move into Dalmatia and destroy the black estate.

In this example the enemies in Aqvitania and Lvsitania move at the same time towards the regional capital. Their combined strength (2+1) is bigger than the legion strength (2) in the capital. That allows them to move into the capital and remove the legions. If the enemies control all 4 capitals at the end of the year, all players lose.

2 — Harvest Grain

Roll a D4 dice to decide the region number. Place a famine marker in that region.

If there is an aqueduct in that region, don't place a famine marker there.

Each region has a province with a farm that generates 3 or 6 grain. Put that amount of grain on the grain symbols on the Emperor mat.

If there is a famine marker in the region, the farm in that region will not generate grain this round.
If there are one or more enemies in the province with the farm, the farm will not generate grain this round.

These provinces generate grain:

3 grain from Roma
3 grain from Gallia (region 1, province 4)
3 grain from Dacia (region 2, province 2)
3 grain from Armenia (region 3, province 6)
6 grain from Egypt (region 4, province 5)

In this example the farm in Armenia won't generate any grain because there is famine in the region. If there was no famine in the region, the farm in Armenia would have generated 3 grain.

3 — Draw Cards

The Emperor draws five cards from the event deck and carries out the actions indicated on the cards in the order in which they are drawn. Each of the cards are read out loud.

When all five event cards are resolved, the Emperor draws a forum card and places it face up next to the game board so everyone can see.

This forum card is now a new action space for players for the rest of the game. Stamina that are placed on forum cards can not be used again.

IMPORTANT: If an event card mention enemy placement and/or movement, use the enemy placement and movement rules in PHASE 1.

4 — Player Actions

Beginning with the Emperor, players take their turn in clockwise order. When all players have completed one turn, go onto the next phase of the game.

The emperor can take a maximum of 3 actions during his turn. The other players can only take a maximum of 2 actions on their own turn. Each action cost one stamina.

To take an action, you move a stamina token from your unused stamina section. Place the token on the action space you want on your player mat or a face up forum card. If you are the emperor you can also choose among the action spaces on the emperor's mat.
There is no limit to how many stamina tokens you can place on an action space on a player mat.
You take all your actions before it is the next player's turn. However some actions may be copied by the other players during your turn (see copying).
WHEN YOUR TURN IS OVER, DRAW A PLOT CARD and move all the stamina tokens you used this turn, except those on the forum cards, to the section for the used stamina on your player mat.
When you have no remaining unused stamina, you die. Which means that your current family member dies. You reset your stamina and take control another family member. (See DEATH)

In the example above the player chooses to build a monument and assassinate the emperor. He does that by placing a stamina token on those action spaces on his player mat. When his turn is over he places the stamina tokens he used this turn, on the used stamina section.

The Actions Players Can Choose to Do During Their Turn

Move pawn. (Can be copied (C))

The player can move his pawn 1-3 spaces (provinces) on the map. The player can cross regions and travel across the dotted waterways. The pawn has a strength of 2.

If the player wants to go into or pass through a province that contains enemies, the player needs to have greater strength than the number of enemies in that province. If his strength is greater, all enemies in that province are removed when the pawn enters the province. The happiness marker is moved one space to the right and the player rolls Glory dice equal to the number of enemies removed. (see Glory dice)

In this example the pawn can move into Dalmatia because the enemy strength is 1 and lower than the pawn's strength of 2. The pawn cannot move into Moesia because the enemies combined strength is 2 (1+1).

A player can use the strength of his plot cards to increase his own strength before the pawn moves. If the player uses the strength of a plot card he cannot use the other effects on the card and must put the used card in the discard pile next to the plot card deck. The increased strength only lasts for the duration of the battle in one province. If the strength allows it a pawn can move through several provinces during a move action. He does not have to stop after a battle.

In this example the pawn has a strength of 2. The player boosts the pawn's strength with the plot card's strength of 3 so his total strength is 5. That is higher than the enemy's strength of 2. Now the pawn can choose to move into any of the two provinces and destroy the enemies or into Moesia and then Dalmatia.

Build estate (Can be copied (C))

The player can build estates to earn money. Each estate on the map produces 5 coins for their owners in the tax phase. If a player chooses to build an estate, the player pays 3 coins and places an estate from his mat on the leftmost available space on the production line. Then in the "Place building" phase, it can be placed on the map. There can only be one building in each province. They can be destroyed by natural disasters or enemies. If they are destroyed, they are returned to the player mat.

Build monument (Can be copied (C))

Build a monument by paying 5 coins and place one of the player's monument tokens on the leftmost available space production line. In the "Place building" phase, it can be placed at the bottom of the player mat. Each monument that are placed back on the mat gives the player a permanent upgrade or VP. The first monuments must be placed on number 1, the second on number 2 and so on.

The first monument gives the player +1 in strength for the rest of the game. The second monument gives the player +1 on every dice roll the player rolls when he assassinates. The third and final monument gives the player 2 victory points at the end of the game.

Bribe Senator (Can be copied (C))

To take control of the senate you must bribe the senators. You bribe a senator in the senate by placing one of your senator tokens in the leftmost available space. The senator you bribe always cost 1 coin more than the senator to the left. Example: If there are three senators in the senate, the next senator costs 4 coins.

Assassination

You can try to assassinate the EMPEROR or the rightmost SENATOR.

Assassinate: EMPEROR Pay 5 coins. Roll a D6. Remove as many unused stamina tokens from the emperor as pips on the dice.

To help your assassination attempt you can play a plot card for its strength before rolling the dice. Add the strength of the plot card to the pips of the dice roll. The targeted emperor in the assassination can defend himself by also playing a plot card for its strength before the dice are rolled. Subtract the strength to the pips of the dice roll.

Both players play their plot card face down before the dice roll and flip the cards up after the dice roll. Then the card strengths are added and/or subtracted to the pips on the dice. There is no limit to how many plot cards each player can play to boost their attack/defence before the dice roll. All Plot cards used in the assassination are discarded after use. The other effects on the plot cards are not used.

Assassinate: SENATOR Pay 5 coins. Roll a D6. If the dice show 2 or more pips, you can remove the rightmost senator and put it back in the senator pile. If the dice show 1 pip you fail and nothing happens.

The attacking player can play plot cards to boost the pips shown on the dice, before the dice is rolled. The player that controls the targeted senator can also play plot cards before the dice is rolled to subtract pips on the dice.

PLOT CARDS You can play any plot cards that you have in your hand at any time. (See PLOT CARDS)

Example: The attacking player rolled a 5 and added 2 strength with the plot card. That gives him a total attacking number of 7. The defending emperor played two plot cards that gave him a total defense number of 5. That means the emperor must move 2 stamina tokens from the unused stamina section to the used section. If he can't, the emperor dies.

The Unique Actions of the Emperor

It is only the player that is the emperor that can do actions on the emperor's player mat.

Choose an heir* Pay 15 coins and place the heir token on your player mat. (see DEATH OF THE EMPEROR)

*This action is only available if no player has the heir token on their personal player mat.

Move Legion(s)

Move one or more legions from a province. They can move 2 spaces. They can not leave or pick up legions along the way. They can cross regions and travel across the waterways.

If the emperor wants to move legions into or pass through a province that contains enemies, the number of legions needs to be greater than the number of enemies in that province. If the number of legions are greater, all enemies in that province are removed when the legions enter. The happiness marker is moved one space to the right and the player throws Glory dice equal to the number of enemies removed.

In this example the legions in Dacia can move into Dalmatia because the enemy strength is 1 and lower than the legions combined strength of 2.

The legions can not move into Moesia because the enemies combined strength is equal to the Romans strength of 2 (1+1).

Train new legions

Place any number of new legions on the map. They can only be placed in the regional capitals that don't have any enemies in them. The legions costs 2 coins per unit.

Build an aqueduct

Pay 5 coins and place an aqueduct on the production line. Then in the "Place building" phase, it can be placed on a province. When the aqueduct is placed in a province, the happiness marker is moved 3 spaces to the right and you can remove up to 2 famine markers in the region it was placed. If the aqueduct is removed from the map, move the happiness marker 3 spaces to the left. Remember that there can only be one building in each province. Aqueducts can be destroyed by natural disasters or enemies. If they are destroyed, they are returned to the emperor's player mat.

5 — Place Buildings

The player with the rightmost senator may swap the position of two buildings on the production line. If there is no senator in the senate, don't swap any buildings.
Each player then places their buildings that are in the first four positions of the Production line into a province of their choice that does not already contain a building or enemy. Any monuments in the first four positions are placed on the designated places on the player mats (see build monument).
After the first four buildings are placed, the remaining buildings are moved left to the beginning of the production line and are ready to be placed next year.

6 — Distribute Food

Each of the 25 provinces on the map, except the provinces in which there are enemies, requires one grain from the emperor to be fed.
To help feed all the provinces the emperor can import grain. The grain import price decides how much one grain costs. Imported grain is placed on the emperor's mat.
If all provinces, except the provinces with enemies, are fed; the happiness marker is moved one space to the right.
For each province without enemies that doesn't get grain, the happiness marker is moved one space to the left. If the marker ends on the skull, see HAPPINESS TRACK on page 12.
Any grain left after this phase, is returned to the grain pile next to the board.

7 — Collect Tax

Each of the 25 provinces on the map without enemies generates 1 coin for the player that is the emperor. All players get 5 coins from each estate they own.

If there is famine in a region, none of the provinces or estates in that region will generate any income this year.

Example: The emperor receives 4 coins for the provinces in region 3 (1 coin for province 1,2,4 and 6). Green gets 5 coins for his estate in province 2. White gets 5 coins for his estate in province 4. Province 3 and 5 generates no income since there are enemies there.

8 — End of Year

If all regional capitals are controlled by the enemies or all 28 enemy tokens are on the map, the game is over and everybody loses.
Players discard plot cards until they have maximum 3 plot cards in their hand.
The emperor receives victory points according to the happiness track.
Remove one famine marker from each region.
Move the year marker to the next year and start on phase 1 again. At the end of year 4 the game is over and the end game scoring can begin.

In this example the emperor receives 2 victory points at the end of the year.

End Game Scoring

Victory points are received in this order.

The player with the rightmost senator in the senate receives 2 victory points.
Those who have built their three monuments receives 2 victory points.
Any extra victory points from the Forum cards and plot cards are distributed.
Each player receive 1 victory point for every 20 coins they have.
Each player shows their hidden agenda cards and gain positive or negative victory points according to their conditions.
If the players have any negative victory points, subtract them from the total score.

The player with the most victory points is the winner.

In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker is this:

Being emperor.
Rightmost senator.
Total sum of money.

You now know enough to play the game. (But it is recommended to take a quick look at the rest before you play.)

Copying Actions (C)

If you, during your turn, take an action on the player mat that is marked with a C, the other players can copy this action by paying one stamina and the coin cost. The other players does their copied action on your turn.
If more than one player wants to copy an action the player to the left of the active player goes first and then it continues in clockwise order.
Copied actions are not included in the action per turn limit.

Example: if player A bought an estate and before he takes his next action, player B and C can choose to take that same action. If player B wishes to copy, he must pay 3 coins for the estate and move an unused stamina token to the used stamina section. This is done while it still is player A's turn.

Example 2: If player A bribed a senator for 3 coins and player B copied that action. Player B pays 4 coins for his senator.

The Different Objects on the Game Board

Happiness Track

The happiness track displays the mood of the Roman people. Happiness is adjusted from various events throughout the game.
If the happiness marker is placed on the skull, the emperor dies immediately and resets his stamina. When the new emperor takes over, the happiness marker is moved back to number 5 on the track.
At the end of each year, the emperor gets victory points according to the happiness.

Production Line

Estates, aqueducts and monuments are placed on the production line before they are placed on the map and player mats. Each year, in the "place building" phase, the four leftmost buildings on the production line are being placed on the map or player mats.

Grain Import Price

The grain import price decides how much one grain costs. All imported grain is placed on the emperor's mat. The import price can not be less than 1 or more than 5.

The Senate

The senate consists of ten senator spaces. Each free senator space can be bought. The first one costs 1 coin. Then the next costs 2 coins. The cost always increases with +1 coin per senator that is in the senate. It is always the player that has the rightmost senator that controls the senate. Rightmost means the senator that covers the highest number.

In this example it is the green player that has the rightmost senator and therefore controls the senate.

If you control the senate, it gives you these privileges.

You gain two victory points at the end of the game.
If there is no heir when the emperor dies, you become the new emperor. If you become an emperor in this way, you must remove your top senator and put it back in your senator pile.
You may swap the position of two items on the production line before the four leftmost buildings on the line are built.

Regions and Provinces

There are four regions on the map + Roma. A region consists of six provinces.
All regions have a province with a farm that produces grain. The province name is marked with a grain symbol and the number of grains they produce each year.
Roma is considered as its own region and province. Roma generates 1 coin in tax income and 3 grain each year.
There are a total of 25 provinces on the map. Including Roma.
A province is controlled by the Romans as long as there are no enemies in it.

Regional Capitals

In each region there is a regional capital marked with a star in the province name.
When enemies move, they always move towards the capital in their region. If they enter the capital they will not move out of that province until they are killed.
If all four regional capitals are controlled by the enemy at the end of a year, the game is lost.
If a player kills all the enemies in a capital he receives 1 Victory point.

Famine

Famines may occur in the regions of the roman empire. Each region has a designated spot where famine markers can be placed. A region can have multiple famine tokens at the same time. At the end of each year, one famine marker is removed from each region.

Travelling by Sea

Players and legions can use the sea routes. They are marked with dots. The sea route makes the two connected provinces adjacent to each other. The enemy can only use the sea routes to and from Brittania.

In the example above the white player can move from Roma to Hispania in three moves.

Removing Components

A component is never taken out of play. Throughout the game whenever it says remove or destroy something, put that component back to its original place after setup. The components can be used again. The exception is when it says remove stamina. That means to put it in the used section.

Death

Death of a Player

If there are no stamina left in the unused stamina section, you die. You die after the action of your final stamina is completed and after all possible copying is done.
When you die you put a negative victory point on your player mat. Then you reset your stamina by gathering all stamina on the player mat (and the emperor's mat if you are emperor) and place them back in the unused stamina section. Any stamina on forum cards are not moved back on the player mats.
If you have more actions left when you die, you continue your turn as normal after you reset your stamina until you've done 2 (+1 as emperor) actions combined. You can not have negative stamina. (Example: if you have one stamina left, and lose two stamina, you do not start with a fewer stamina when you reset because of the left over negative stamina.)
If the player with the heir token on his player board dies, the heir token remains on the player board until that player becomes the emperor or the token is removed by an event or plot card.

Death of the Emperor

When the emperor dies in any way, this is the line of succession over who becomes the new emperor. The new emperor takes control over the emperor's player mat.

a. The player with the heir token.
- Be sure to put the heir token back on the Emperor's mat once he becomes emperor.
- If the player that was the emperor also had the heir token he simply continues on as the emperor after he has reset his stamina, received a negative victory point and placed back the heir token on the mat. He can still only do three actions in total this turn.
b. The player with the Rightmost senator in the senate.
- If a player becomes the emperor in this way, he must place his rightmost senator back in his senator pile.
c. The winner of an auction.
- An auction is held where the winner becomes the emperor. The previous emperor starts to bid and each player continues to bid clockwise. The player with the highest bid wins and has to pay.
If the emperor dies during one of the event cards, the new emperor continues to go through the event deck until five event cards in total have been drawn this phase.
If player A assassinates the emperor (player B) and A becomes the new emperor, player A continues as the new emperor and gets one extra action this turn.

Glory Dice

(In the final game these dice will be custom printed)

Are usually rolled after a battle and provides the player with benefits determined by referencing the pips for each die rolled with the chart below:

1 = draw a Plot card
2-5 = gain that many coins
6 = move one stamina token from the used stamina section to the unused section. If you roll a 6 and have no used stamina tokens, you re-roll the die.

Cards

Hidden Agenda

At the start of the game, each player draws a hidden agenda card. The card has 1-2 goals and the player gets victory points for each goal that is met at the end of the game. The cards can also give negative victory points to the player if a certain criteria is met.

Event Cards

Five event cards are drawn from the event deck each year. The event cards tell what happens in the empire this year. If the emperor dies during one of the five events the new emperor performs the orders of the remaining event cards that are drawn.

Example: If player A is emperor and dies during event card 2 of 5, the new emperor must handle event card 3,4 and 5.

Plot Cards

When a player's turn is over, he always draws a plot card. They are free to use at any time and can be used in several ways. You can choose to do the card's effect on the white background or use the strength number in the bottom right corner. You can not use the card's effect and strength at the same time.

When you have played a plot card it is placed in the discard pile for plot cards. When there are no plot cards left, shuffle the discard pile and draw from that deck.

You can play a plot card for its strength to boost your personal strength against enemies, both in attack and defense. The increased strength only lasts for the duration of the battle in one province.

When you assassinate, you can play a plot card for its strength and add the card's strength to the number pips you roll on the die. The card must be played prior to the die being rolled.

In combat and during an assassination you can combine the strength of multiple plot cards.

Plot cards can be played at any time but if, for example, the emperor says he is going to build an estate, you can not play a card that steals his money before he can build the estate. To steal his money you had to play that card before the emperor said he was going to build the estate.

If you have the "move the heir token" card and the emperor dies, you can play the plot card to steal the heir token before the new emperor is decided.

Forum Cards

One forum card is drawn from the event deck each year. The card is placed face up at the bottom of the game board.

Players may choose to do an action from the forum card, as one of their actions per turn. The stamina tokens used for the forum cards can not be used again.

Small circles can only contain one stamina. Once a stamina is placed in a small circle, no other stamina can be placed on that option. Big circles have no limit to the number of stamina it can contain.

2-Player Rules

When playing with two players you use all the rules described above. You just need to make these adjustments.

Setup

Don't use the player mat with senator starting role.
Each player uses only ten stamina tokens.
Phase 4: Each player has three actions on their turn (four, if you are the emperor).
Phase 5: Only the first three spaces on the production line are placed each year.

1-Player Rules

In solo mode you play as the Roman Emperor. These are troubled times and your goal during the four coming years is to hold the emperor title within your family and to not be overrun by the enemy. You are also slowly losing control over the senate while you are attending all of the problems occurring in the empire. This means that you will also need to have more Victory points than the senate at the end of the game.

When playing in solo mode you use all the rules described in the 3 player mode above. You just need to make these adjustments.

Setup

Only use the player mat with the starting emperor role and the emperor mat.
Use the white player components. Start with 20 coins and 2 plot cards.
Remove the cards listed under "Remove These Cards Before You Play a Solo Game" below.

Phase 1: Before the enemies appear, add 2 black senators to the senate. If all 6 black senators are placed, use black stamina tokens. They count as black senators.

Phase 4: You can do a maximum of 5 actions each turn.

Phase 7 (After you have collected taxes): Place x VP tokens in a pile next to the senate, where x is the number of black senators in the senate. This pile of VP tokens belong to the Senate.

Phase 8: Draw the top plot card and place it in the discard pile. You lose stamina equal to the strength on the plot card. Before the plot card is drawn you can use one of your own plot cards to defend yourself like in a normal assassination attempt in 2-3 player mode. If you have built the second monument you can subtract 1 strength from the plot card that is drawn.

Extra lose conditions:

If you die and have no heir.
If you have less Victory points than the senate at the end of the game.

Win condition (all must be met): If you have more Victory points than the senate at the end of the game.

Other:

No senator can become emperor if there is no heir. It is only the heir token that can inherit the throne.
If the black player has the rightmost senator at the end of the game the senate gains 2 VP.
Only use the 2,3,4,5 spaces on the grain import track. Place a famine marker on the number 1 spot to remember this.

Remove These Cards Before You Play a Solo Game

Event Cards:

The senate leader is killed x2
Dilemma x1
Your rivals are doing well x3

Components

Each player has:

1 Player pawn
13 Legions
4 Estates
6 Senators
3 Monuments
11 Stamina

Units:

28 Enemies

Markers:

4 Legions
1 Import price
1 Happiness
5 Grain
7 Famine
3 Aqueducts
1 Heir token

Coins:

15, 15, 11, 4 (four coin denominations, one set per player)

Victory Points:

1, 5, -1, 17, 12, 16 (victory point tokens of various values)

Dice:

1 Glory Dice
4 Normal D6
1 Normal D4

Cards:

21 Plot Cards
32 Event Cards
6 Hidden Agenda Cards
9 Forum Cards

Donning the Purple Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Objective
Set Up
How to Play
End Game Scoring
Copying Actions (C)
The Different Objects on the Game Board
Death
- Death of a Player
- Death of the Emperor
Glory Dice
Cards
2-Player Rules
1-Player Rules
- Remove These Cards Before You Play a Solo Game
Components

Game Objective

The goal of Donning the Purple is to have the most victory points after four rounds. Each round simulates one year in Roman history.

There are several ways to get victory points, but the quickest way to get the most points is to be the Roman emperor and at the same time keep the Roman people happy.

Losing condition: The game is over and nobody wins if one of these two conditions are true:

All regional capitals are controlled by the enemy at the end of the year.
All 28 enemy tokens are on the map at the end of the year.

2-player rules can be found on page 16. Solo rules can be found on page 17.

Set Up

Place the import price marker on the number 2 on the grain price track, the year marker on year 1 and the happiness marker on the number 5 on the happiness track.
Place two red legions in each of the four regional capitals (provinces with a star in its title) on the map. Put the rest in a pile next to the board.
Place the blue cubes (enemies) and the yellow cubes (grain) in their own piles next to the board.
Give each player a random green player mat. The mat symbolises the member of your family that you currently control. If this family member dies, you take control of another member of your family.

This player starts the game with a senator in the senate. He places one of his senators on the number one spot in the senate. Do this in step 9 of the set up.
This player starts the game as the heir to the emperor and places the purple heir marker on the heir circle on his player mat.
This player starts the game as the emperor and connects the purple emperor's mat to his own player mat while he is emperor.

Place 11 stamina tokens, three estates and three monuments on the Player mats. Each player also receives 15 coins. The emperor only receives 10 coins.
Give each player one plot card and one hidden agenda card. These are kept hidden from the other players. Put the remaining hidden agenda cards back in the box. Place the Event, Forum and Plot cards in separate decks face down near the board.
The Emperor draws one additional plot card and places three aqueducts on the emperor's player mat.
Each player puts their pawn and remaining estate in Roma.
Next to the senate, each player puts their six senators in separate piles. The player with the senator symbol on his mat places one of his senators on the number one spot in the senate.

In this example the green player has the senator symbol on his player mat. He starts the game with a senator in the senate.

The player with the rightmost (highest) senator controls the senate.

How to Play

Donning the purple is played in 4 rounds. Each round symbolises one year in the Roman history and is divided up in eight phases which are completed in this order:

Incoming enemies: Enemies appear and move towards the regional capitals.
Harvest grain: Harvest grain from the farms.
Draw cards: Different events occur throughout the empire.
Player actions: Each player takes their actions and draws a plot card at the end of their turn.
Place buildings: The 4 first buildings on the production line are placed on the map.
Distribute food: Each province that is not controlled by the enemy require 1 grain.
Collect taxes: Provinces and estates generate income.
End of year: The emperor receives victory points according to the happiness track.

1 — Incoming Enemies

Place two enemies in one province in each region.

Roll a D6 dice to find out which province number they are to be placed in. They are placed in the same provincial number in each region.
If there are two or more red legions and/or a pawn in the province, don't place any enemies in that province.
If there is a building in the province where the enemies are placed, remove the building from the map and place it back on its respective player's mat.

Move all enemies on the map simultaneously one province closer to their regional capital. Each enemy unit and roman legion has 1 strength.

When enemies move, they must move towards the capital in their region. They always follow the order of the province numbers up or down, depending on the direction of the capital.
If the enemies move into a province containing legions and/or players with a combined strength that is equal or higher than the total number of moving enemies, don't move any enemies into that province.
If the enemies move into a province containing legions and/or pawns with a combined strength that is lower than the total number of moving enemies, remove the legions and place the pawns back in Roma. The player controlling the affected pawn loses 2 stamina.
If the enemies move into a province with a building, remove the building from the map and place it back on its respective player's mat.
If the enemy enters a capital they will not move out of that province until they are killed. If a player kills all the enemies in a capital that player gets 1 VP.
They can not cross regional boundaries or enter Roma.

In this example a 3 is rolled. That means the enemies are placed in province 3.

When they move towards the capital they must follow province numbers. In this example the enemies move into Dalmatia and destroy the black estate.

2 — Harvest Grain

Roll a D4 dice to decide the region number. Place a famine marker in that region.

If there is an aqueduct in that region, don't place a famine marker there.

Each region has a province with a farm that generates 3 or 6 grain. Put that amount of grain on the grain symbols on the Emperor mat.

If there is a famine marker in the region, the farm in that region will not generate grain this round.
If there are one or more enemies in the province with the farm, the farm will not generate grain this round.

These provinces generate grain:

3 grain from Roma
3 grain from Gallia (region 1, province 4)
3 grain from Dacia (region 2, province 2)
3 grain from Armenia (region 3, province 6)
6 grain from Egypt (region 4, province 5)

In this example the farm in Armenia won't generate any grain because there is famine in the region. If there was no famine in the region, the farm in Armenia would have generated 3 grain.

3 — Draw Cards

The Emperor draws five cards from the event deck and carries out the actions indicated on the cards in the order in which they are drawn. Each of the cards are read out loud.

When all five event cards are resolved, the Emperor draws a forum card and places it face up next to the game board so everyone can see.

This forum card is now a new action space for players for the rest of the game. Stamina that are placed on forum cards can not be used again.

IMPORTANT: If an event card mention enemy placement and/or movement, use the enemy placement and movement rules in PHASE 1.

4 — Player Actions

Beginning with the Emperor, players take their turn in clockwise order. When all players have completed one turn, go onto the next phase of the game.

The emperor can take a maximum of 3 actions during his turn. The other players can only take a maximum of 2 actions on their own turn. Each action cost one stamina.

To take an action, you move a stamina token from your unused stamina section. Place the token on the action space you want on your player mat or a face up forum card. If you are the emperor you can also choose among the action spaces on the emperor's mat.
There is no limit to how many stamina tokens you can place on an action space on a player mat.
You take all your actions before it is the next player's turn. However some actions may be copied by the other players during your turn (see copying).
WHEN YOUR TURN IS OVER, DRAW A PLOT CARD and move all the stamina tokens you used this turn, except those on the forum cards, to the section for the used stamina on your player mat.
When you have no remaining unused stamina, you die. Which means that your current family member dies. You reset your stamina and take control another family member. (See DEATH)

The Actions Players Can Choose to Do During Their Turn

Move pawn. (Can be copied (C))

The player can move his pawn 1-3 spaces (provinces) on the map. The player can cross regions and travel across the dotted waterways. The pawn has a strength of 2.

Build estate (Can be copied (C))

Build monument (Can be copied (C))

Bribe Senator (Can be copied (C))

Assassination

You can try to assassinate the EMPEROR or the rightmost SENATOR.

Assassinate: EMPEROR Pay 5 coins. Roll a D6. Remove as many unused stamina tokens from the emperor as pips on the dice.

PLOT CARDS You can play any plot cards that you have in your hand at any time. (See PLOT CARDS)

The Unique Actions of the Emperor

It is only the player that is the emperor that can do actions on the emperor's player mat.

Choose an heir* Pay 15 coins and place the heir token on your player mat. (see DEATH OF THE EMPEROR)

*This action is only available if no player has the heir token on their personal player mat.

Move Legion(s)

Move one or more legions from a province. They can move 2 spaces. They can not leave or pick up legions along the way. They can cross regions and travel across the waterways.

In this example the legions in Dacia can move into Dalmatia because the enemy strength is 1 and lower than the legions combined strength of 2.

The legions can not move into Moesia because the enemies combined strength is equal to the Romans strength of 2 (1+1).

Train new legions

Place any number of new legions on the map. They can only be placed in the regional capitals that don't have any enemies in them. The legions costs 2 coins per unit.

Build an aqueduct

5 — Place Buildings

The player with the rightmost senator may swap the position of two buildings on the production line. If there is no senator in the senate, don't swap any buildings.
Each player then places their buildings that are in the first four positions of the Production line into a province of their choice that does not already contain a building or enemy. Any monuments in the first four positions are placed on the designated places on the player mats (see build monument).
After the first four buildings are placed, the remaining buildings are moved left to the beginning of the production line and are ready to be placed next year.

6 — Distribute Food

Each of the 25 provinces on the map, except the provinces in which there are enemies, requires one grain from the emperor to be fed.
To help feed all the provinces the emperor can import grain. The grain import price decides how much one grain costs. Imported grain is placed on the emperor's mat.
If all provinces, except the provinces with enemies, are fed; the happiness marker is moved one space to the right.
For each province without enemies that doesn't get grain, the happiness marker is moved one space to the left. If the marker ends on the skull, see HAPPINESS TRACK on page 12.
Any grain left after this phase, is returned to the grain pile next to the board.

7 — Collect Tax

Each of the 25 provinces on the map without enemies generates 1 coin for the player that is the emperor. All players get 5 coins from each estate they own.

If there is famine in a region, none of the provinces or estates in that region will generate any income this year.

8 — End of Year

If all regional capitals are controlled by the enemies or all 28 enemy tokens are on the map, the game is over and everybody loses.
Players discard plot cards until they have maximum 3 plot cards in their hand.
The emperor receives victory points according to the happiness track.
Remove one famine marker from each region.
Move the year marker to the next year and start on phase 1 again. At the end of year 4 the game is over and the end game scoring can begin.

In this example the emperor receives 2 victory points at the end of the year.

End Game Scoring

Victory points are received in this order.

The player with the rightmost senator in the senate receives 2 victory points.
Those who have built their three monuments receives 2 victory points.
Any extra victory points from the Forum cards and plot cards are distributed.
Each player receive 1 victory point for every 20 coins they have.
Each player shows their hidden agenda cards and gain positive or negative victory points according to their conditions.
If the players have any negative victory points, subtract them from the total score.

The player with the most victory points is the winner.

In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker is this:

Being emperor.
Rightmost senator.
Total sum of money.

You now know enough to play the game. (But it is recommended to take a quick look at the rest before you play.)

Copying Actions (C)

If you, during your turn, take an action on the player mat that is marked with a C, the other players can copy this action by paying one stamina and the coin cost. The other players does their copied action on your turn.
If more than one player wants to copy an action the player to the left of the active player goes first and then it continues in clockwise order.
Copied actions are not included in the action per turn limit.

Example 2: If player A bribed a senator for 3 coins and player B copied that action. Player B pays 4 coins for his senator.

The Different Objects on the Game Board

Happiness Track

The happiness track displays the mood of the Roman people. Happiness is adjusted from various events throughout the game.
If the happiness marker is placed on the skull, the emperor dies immediately and resets his stamina. When the new emperor takes over, the happiness marker is moved back to number 5 on the track.
At the end of each year, the emperor gets victory points according to the happiness.

Production Line

Grain Import Price

The grain import price decides how much one grain costs. All imported grain is placed on the emperor's mat. The import price can not be less than 1 or more than 5.

The Senate

In this example it is the green player that has the rightmost senator and therefore controls the senate.

If you control the senate, it gives you these privileges.

You gain two victory points at the end of the game.
If there is no heir when the emperor dies, you become the new emperor. If you become an emperor in this way, you must remove your top senator and put it back in your senator pile.
You may swap the position of two items on the production line before the four leftmost buildings on the line are built.

Regions and Provinces

There are four regions on the map + Roma. A region consists of six provinces.
All regions have a province with a farm that produces grain. The province name is marked with a grain symbol and the number of grains they produce each year.
Roma is considered as its own region and province. Roma generates 1 coin in tax income and 3 grain each year.
There are a total of 25 provinces on the map. Including Roma.
A province is controlled by the Romans as long as there are no enemies in it.

Regional Capitals

In each region there is a regional capital marked with a star in the province name.
When enemies move, they always move towards the capital in their region. If they enter the capital they will not move out of that province until they are killed.
If all four regional capitals are controlled by the enemy at the end of a year, the game is lost.
If a player kills all the enemies in a capital he receives 1 Victory point.

Famine

Travelling by Sea

In the example above the white player can move from Roma to Hispania in three moves.

Removing Components

Death

Death of a Player

If there are no stamina left in the unused stamina section, you die. You die after the action of your final stamina is completed and after all possible copying is done.
When you die you put a negative victory point on your player mat. Then you reset your stamina by gathering all stamina on the player mat (and the emperor's mat if you are emperor) and place them back in the unused stamina section. Any stamina on forum cards are not moved back on the player mats.
If you have more actions left when you die, you continue your turn as normal after you reset your stamina until you've done 2 (+1 as emperor) actions combined. You can not have negative stamina. (Example: if you have one stamina left, and lose two stamina, you do not start with a fewer stamina when you reset because of the left over negative stamina.)
If the player with the heir token on his player board dies, the heir token remains on the player board until that player becomes the emperor or the token is removed by an event or plot card.

Death of the Emperor

When the emperor dies in any way, this is the line of succession over who becomes the new emperor. The new emperor takes control over the emperor's player mat.

a. The player with the heir token.
- Be sure to put the heir token back on the Emperor's mat once he becomes emperor.
- If the player that was the emperor also had the heir token he simply continues on as the emperor after he has reset his stamina, received a negative victory point and placed back the heir token on the mat. He can still only do three actions in total this turn.
b. The player with the Rightmost senator in the senate.
- If a player becomes the emperor in this way, he must place his rightmost senator back in his senator pile.
c. The winner of an auction.
- An auction is held where the winner becomes the emperor. The previous emperor starts to bid and each player continues to bid clockwise. The player with the highest bid wins and has to pay.
If the emperor dies during one of the event cards, the new emperor continues to go through the event deck until five event cards in total have been drawn this phase.
If player A assassinates the emperor (player B) and A becomes the new emperor, player A continues as the new emperor and gets one extra action this turn.

Glory Dice

(In the final game these dice will be custom printed)

Are usually rolled after a battle and provides the player with benefits determined by referencing the pips for each die rolled with the chart below:

1 = draw a Plot card
2-5 = gain that many coins
6 = move one stamina token from the used stamina section to the unused section. If you roll a 6 and have no used stamina tokens, you re-roll the die.

Cards

Hidden Agenda

Event Cards

Example: If player A is emperor and dies during event card 2 of 5, the new emperor must handle event card 3,4 and 5.

Plot Cards

When you have played a plot card it is placed in the discard pile for plot cards. When there are no plot cards left, shuffle the discard pile and draw from that deck.

When you assassinate, you can play a plot card for its strength and add the card's strength to the number pips you roll on the die. The card must be played prior to the die being rolled.

In combat and during an assassination you can combine the strength of multiple plot cards.

If you have the "move the heir token" card and the emperor dies, you can play the plot card to steal the heir token before the new emperor is decided.

Forum Cards

One forum card is drawn from the event deck each year. The card is placed face up at the bottom of the game board.

Players may choose to do an action from the forum card, as one of their actions per turn. The stamina tokens used for the forum cards can not be used again.

2-Player Rules

When playing with two players you use all the rules described above. You just need to make these adjustments.

Setup

Don't use the player mat with senator starting role.
Each player uses only ten stamina tokens.
Phase 4: Each player has three actions on their turn (four, if you are the emperor).
Phase 5: Only the first three spaces on the production line are placed each year.

1-Player Rules

When playing in solo mode you use all the rules described in the 3 player mode above. You just need to make these adjustments.

Setup

Only use the player mat with the starting emperor role and the emperor mat.
Use the white player components. Start with 20 coins and 2 plot cards.
Remove the cards listed under "Remove These Cards Before You Play a Solo Game" below.

Phase 1: Before the enemies appear, add 2 black senators to the senate. If all 6 black senators are placed, use black stamina tokens. They count as black senators.

Phase 4: You can do a maximum of 5 actions each turn.

Phase 7 (After you have collected taxes): Place x VP tokens in a pile next to the senate, where x is the number of black senators in the senate. This pile of VP tokens belong to the Senate.

Extra lose conditions:

If you die and have no heir.
If you have less Victory points than the senate at the end of the game.

Win condition (all must be met): If you have more Victory points than the senate at the end of the game.

Other:

No senator can become emperor if there is no heir. It is only the heir token that can inherit the throne.
If the black player has the rightmost senator at the end of the game the senate gains 2 VP.
Only use the 2,3,4,5 spaces on the grain import track. Place a famine marker on the number 1 spot to remember this.

Remove These Cards Before You Play a Solo Game

Event Cards:

The senate leader is killed x2
Dilemma x1
Your rivals are doing well x3

Components

Each player has:

1 Player pawn
13 Legions
4 Estates
6 Senators
3 Monuments
11 Stamina

Units:

28 Enemies

Markers:

4 Legions
1 Import price
1 Happiness
5 Grain
7 Famine
3 Aqueducts
1 Heir token

Coins:

15, 15, 11, 4 (four coin denominations, one set per player)

Victory Points:

1, 5, -1, 17, 12, 16 (victory point tokens of various values)

Dice:

1 Glory Dice
4 Normal D6
1 Normal D4

Cards:

21 Plot Cards
32 Event Cards
6 Hidden Agenda Cards
9 Forum Cards