Empires: Age of Discovery Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Gameplay
• Components
• Setup
• Turn Phases
  • Phase 1: Place Workers
  • Phase 2: Event Box Resolution
    • Event Box: Initiative
    • Event Box: Colonist Dock
    • Event Box: Trade Goods
    • Event Box: Merchant Shipping
    • Event Box: Capital Buildings
    • Event Box: Discovery
    • Event Box: Specialists
    • Event Box: Warfare
  • Phase 3: Income
  • Phase 4: Capital Building Benefits
  • Phase 5: Refresh Board
  • New World colony scoring
• End-game scoring
• Strategy Hints for First Time Players
• Appendix I: Alternate Starting Player Order
• Appendix II: Capital Buildings
  • Age I
  • Age II
  • Age III
• Appendix III: Discovery Counters and Cards
• Credits

Gameplay

Empires: Age of Discovery is a game for 2 to 6 players, set during the time of the European exploration of the New World, beginning in the early 16th century. There are three 'Ages' during the game: the first and second Age consisting of three turns and the final Age consisting of 2. Each Age represents about 100 years of European colonial history.

Empires: Age of Discovery is a 'worker placement' game. At the beginning of each turn, players will receive their workers that will be placed on the board and used to take the various actions available in the game. The majority of these workers will be Colonists - hard-working folk who are in great supply and able to participate in all of the game events. Later on, players will be able to hire 'Specialists' who can perform the same tasks as Colonists, but with an added expertise. Captains have an easier time securing ships and discovering new lands. Missionaries convert new believers to Christianity upon landing, securing their needed support and allegiance. Merchants are able to bring supplies of merchandise and necessities to the New World and sell them for a modest profit upon arrival. Lastly, through force Soldiers protect the land claims of their home country and plunder the wealth of the indigenous people of the New World that are unprepared to face a foreign enemy.

At the end of the third Age (after a total of 8 turns), the player who has made the most progress (represented here as 'Victory Points') will be the winner!

Included in Empires: Age of Discovery is the Builder expansion, originally released in 2011. This expansion adds an additional worker type to the game (the Builder) and a number of new Capital Buildings. Also included are rules for using the "National Advantages" that are printed on the player boards. It is recommended that new players leave out the Builder expansion components and rules until they are familiar with the base game. Experienced players may decide to include some or all of the Builder expansion, depending on their desired level of complexity.

Components

Game board: The game board is composed of three major sections. The map depicts the Americas that were explored during the Age of Discovery. There are nine regions on the board, with each region showing its geographical name and a Trade Good that is associated with it. On the right side of the board are the event boxes. These are where workers are placed in order to carry out the actions associated with the eight available events. Lastly, the Turn track shows the current turn and Age. This will affect the types and cost of Capital Buildings that are available for purchase (more on these later) and will also activate the three scoring phases of the game.

Workers: Each player receives 60 plastic figures of one color, known as 'workers'. There are 5 types of workers available in the base game: Colonists (30), Captains (5), Merchants (5), Missionaries (10), and Soldiers (10). Colonists are the basic worker and are used primarily to take actions. The remaining workers are known as Specialists. Each one works in the same way as a Colonist (i.e. able to take actions) but each confers a special benefit that is only available to that type of Specialist. The benefits of these Specialists will be explained later in these rules.

Builder Expansion: A sixth type of Specialist, the Builder (10), is available in the Builder Expansion. When using the Builder, simply add them to each player's pool of available workers during Setup.

Trade Goods (46): There are 11 types of Trade Goods available in the game. There is a varied amount of each type of good, with the quantity of each type printed on the Trade Goods tokens. They are used to create sets in order to generate income each turn. These goods represent the trade that happened between the peoples of the New World and the colonial powers. There are 6 Silver, 6 Sugar, 5 Gold, 5 Tobacco, 4 Coffee, 4 Indigo, 4 Fur, 3 Cattle, 3 Cocoa, 3 Fish, and 3 Rice.

Merchant Ships (10): In Empires: Age of Discovery, players will be collecting sets of Trade Goods in order to generate income. Merchant Ships, representing large hauls of wanted goods, can also be collected. As such, Merchant Ships are "wild card" Trade Goods that can stand in for one of any type of Trade Good needed when building sets. (Historical Note: the Merchant Ship miniatures are 'Carracks', Portuguese sailing ships developed for long voyages across the Atlantic.)

Capital Buildings (57): At the beginning of each turn, 5 Capital Buildings are available. Capital Buildings are purchased during the game and give its owner special advantages or rewards. Most of the rewards come in the form of bonus Colonists, Specialists, Spanish Dollars or Victory Points.

Discovery Counters (16): Discovery counters are used to determine the risks and rewards of discovering a region of the New World for the first time. Each counter indicates the level of resistance against a colonial landing party, the plunder rewarded after a successful landing (represented by Spanish Dollars), and potential 'conquistador plunder' if the landing party consists of one or more Soldiers.

Discovery Deck (16): The cards of the Discovery deck work in the same way as the Discovery counters detailed earlier. However, the Discovery deck is only used once all the regions of the New World have been discovered, opening up new territories across the globe to be found. These are territories that are not represented physically on the game board.

Money (100): The game comes with 50 silver "piece of eight" coins that each have a value of 1 Spanish Dollar. The remaining 50 gold "doubloon" coins each have a value of 5 Spanish Dollars. Players may trade with the supply of money at any time when they need to make change. Whenever players spend money, the money is always returned back to the supply.

All components held by players are public knowledge.

Setup

1. Each player takes a set of plastic figures of one color and sorts them into their types: Colonists (30), Captains (5), Merchants (5), Missionaries (10), Soldiers (10), and Builders (10) (if using the Builder expansion).

2. One Colonist from each player is placed (in random order) on the Player Order track. This will be the initial Player Order. The first player in Player Order takes 1 gold coin (worth $5) and 5 silver coins (each worth $1) for a total of 10 Spanish Dollars. Then, the player next in Player Order takes $11 (1 silver coin more than the first player). The following player takes $12, and so on, until each player has taken one more Spanish Dollar than the player previous to them in Player Order.

3. Each player also takes a player board. When not using the National Advantages printed on the player boards, it does not matter which player board each player takes. They simply act as a "placemat" to place various game tokens and also act as a handy rules reference sheet.

   Builder Expansion: When using the National Advantages on the player boards, refer to Appendix I for the alternate setup rules to determine Player Order and starting money for Turn 1 (found on page 13).

4. Each player takes 5 Colonist workers to start and places them onto his player board. The rest of their workers (remaining Colonists and Specialists) are kept in each player's personal supply to the side of his player board.

5. In each region on the map board, place one random Discovery counter face down. The Caribbean region is available for colonization at the beginning of the game and does not receive a Discovery counter. The unused Discovery counters are placed back into the box.

6. Shuffle the Discovery deck and leave it face down beside the board. It will not come into play until later.

7. Place 1 Trade Good token in each region, face up on top of its matching icon. Take the remaining Trade Good tokens and turn them face down, mixing them thoroughly. Lastly, draw 4 Trade Goods from the face down pile, placing one face up on each of the 'Trade Good' spaces in the Trade Goods event box on the board.

8. Separate the Capital Buildings by their three Ages (I, II, and III), shuffle each pile thoroughly and then make a face down stack of Capital Buildings, one stack per Age. There should now be three face down stacks, each sorted by their Age. Draw the top 5 Capital Buildings from the 'Age I' stack and place them face up in the Capital Buildings event box on the board.

9. Place 1 Merchant Ship in the Merchant Shipping event box. Another Ship is placed on the first space of the Turn track to mark the current turn. In addition, place a Merchant Ship on the Colonist Dock space that is equal to twice the number of players. (For example, in a 4-player game, the Merchant Ship would go on the '8' space of the Colonist Dock.) The spaces under and to the right of the Merchant Ship are not available in this game. (For example, there are only 7 spaces available in a 4-player game.) Note that there are smaller black numbers on the Colonist Dock to indicate which spaces are available for the current number of players.

   2 - Player Variant — During setup, each player places 2 Captains in the Discovery event box.

   Reduced Luck Variant — During setup, draw 10 of the Age III Buildings and discard the rest. Leave these Buildings face-up until Age III. These 10 are the potential Buildings that will come out in Age III. Randomize these 10 Buildings before refreshing the game board for turn 7.

Turn Phases

There are 8 turns in the game: turns 1-3 are in Age I; turns 4-6 are in Age II; and turns 7-8 are in Age III. At the end of each Age there is a scoring round, where players will possibly earn Victory Points for the regions where they have placed their workers. Thus, there are only three scoring rounds in the game; at the end of turns 3, 6 and 8.

There are five phases in each turn:

1. Place Workers
2. Event Box Resolution
3. Income
4. Capital Building Benefits
5. Refresh Board.

The placing of workers represents the allocation of a nation's people and resources, and the formulation of a colonial strategy. Players will take turns placing 1 worker at a time in the event boxes on the board. Once all players have placed all of their available workers on the board, the event boxes will be resolved one at a time, from top to bottom, with each player taking the actions designated by his placed workers. Next, players will collect income from Trade Goods, then benefits/bonuses from Capital Buildings. Finally, the board will be refreshed for the next turn.

Phase 1: Place Workers

On a player's turn, if they have workers remaining to place, 1 worker must be placed onto one of the event boxes on the board. If a player has no workers left to place, he must pass. This phase continues in player order until no more players have any workers left to place.

There are eight event boxes where workers may be placed: Initiative, Colonist Dock, Trade Goods, Merchant Shipping, Capital Buildings, Discovery, Specialists, and Warfare. Any type of worker may be placed in any event box, but depending on the type of worker placed a special advantage may be granted to the owner of that worker when the event boxes are resolved in Phase 2: Event Box Resolution. Only Specialists (not Colonists) grant special advantages. There are reminders of the Specialist advantages printed on the game board and player boards. (These advantages will also be covered later in the rules.)

The Player Order track displays the order in which players place their workers, and the order in which they attempt to discover new land from the Discovery event box. It also determines the winner in the Merchant Shipping event box if there is a tie for number of workers. Players do not place any workers on the Player Order track during the game, as it is set by the Initiative event box resolution during the next phase.

Phase 2: Event Box Resolution

When all players have placed their available workers onto the board, the event boxes are resolved top to bottom, and left to right within each event box. (Thus, this Phase will begin with the Initiative event box and end with the Warfare event box.) Players remove their workers as they resolve them. Players may choose not to take an event box action when removing their worker. Once the actions of all eight event boxes have been completed, players proceed to Phase 3: Income. (Note that both the Merchant Shipping and Discovery event boxes are resolved somewhat differently. The rules for their resolution will be explained later.)

Each event box is described in detail below:

Event Box: Initiative

Each player may place only 1 worker onto the Initiative event box during Phase 1, and must place this worker on the lowest (that is, furthest to the left) available number. Upon resolution, the player receives an amount of Spanish Dollars equal to the number on which his worker was placed. (For example, the first player to place here receives $1, the second player to place here receives $2, and so on.)

In addition, the Initiative box determines the Player Order for the following turn. Adjusting Player Order occurs during Phase 5: Refresh Board.

Only players who placed a worker onto the Initiative event box will receive money for Initiative placement this turn.

Example: Green will receive $1 and go first in the next turn, and Orange will receive $2 and go second.

Event Box: Colonist Dock

Workers are moved one at a time, in numerical (left to right) order, to any "discovered" region in the New World. (Note that "discovered" means that the region no longer contains a Discovery counter.) Normally, once a worker is placed into a region, it can no longer move. Any number of workers of one player in a region is considered a "colony".

The first player to have 3 workers in a region immediately takes that region's Trade Good token, adding it to his collection of Trade Goods on his player board.

When at least one player has 3 or more workers in a region, that region is eligible for Victory Point scoring during the New World colony scoring phase at the end of each Age. Note that if during a scoring phase a region no longer has at least 3 workers from any one player (even if it did previously), that region will not be scored at this time. As long as a region contains 3 workers from any one player, any player in that region may be able to score victory points, even those players who have less than 3 workers. (Scoring will be further explained later in these rules.)

The 'X' and 'Y' spaces on the Colonist Dock are reserved for players who own the appropriate Capital Building and receive its benefit ('Indentured Servitude' and 'Colonization Laws').

Once any Specialist (except a Soldier or Builder) is moved to a region, it no longer confers any special benefits. As such, if a player ever needs to take a Specialist from their personal supply and there are none left, they may trade out one Specialist for one Colonist in any region, as many times as needed.

Builder Expansion: Builders may not be traded out.

Builder Expansion Note: As the "Reformation" Capital Building interacts with Missionary workers in the regions, it is strongly recommended to only trade out Missionaries if none are left in a player's supply.

Merchant: When a Merchant is moved from the Colonist Dock, it generates a one-time $5 income for the owning player immediately upon its arrival in a region. The player does not take the income when placing the Merchant on the Colonist Dock.

Missionary: When moved from the Colonist Dock, the Missionary will count as 2 Colonists for the owning player immediately upon its arrival in a region. Thus, when the player places a Missionary into a region from the Colonist Dock, they immediately place a Colonist from their personal supply into the same region.

Soldier: When a Soldier is sent to a region, it may be used to eliminate an opponent's workers during the resolution of the Warfare event box. (Warfare will be explained in further detail later in this rulebook.)

Builder: When a Builder is sent to a region from the Colonist Dock, he increases the Victory Point value of the region in which he is placed. Each Builder in a region adds +4 VP for the player with the most workers (including Builders) in that region and +2 VP for the player with the second most. Bonus VPs for Builders are awarded regardless of who owns the Builders in each region.

Event Box: Trade Goods

Resolving workers from left to right, each player chooses 1 Trade Good token from those remaining of the 4 that were placed on the Trade Goods event box prior to the start of the current turn. Trade Goods that are taken are placed on the player board in the Trade Goods section. They stay with the player for the rest of the game and are never discarded.

Trade Goods earn income for their owners. Players create matching "sets" of Trade Goods they currently hold. The income value for each set is: 'Any 3 Trade Goods = $1'; 'Set of 3 matching Goods = $3'; 'Set of 4 matching Goods = $6'. This income will be earned each turn during Phase 3: Income.

Event Box: Merchant Shipping

When resolving this event box, the player with the highest value of workers in this box takes the Merchant Ship from the Merchant Shipping event box and places it with his Trade Goods. In the event of a tie, the player earliest in player order wins. Like Trade Goods, Merchant Ships stay with the player for the rest of the game and are never discarded.

Merchant Ships act as "wild cards" when making sets of Trade Goods for the purposes of generating income. Specific rules regarding the use of Merchant Ships are explained later under Phase 3: Income.

Captains and Merchants in this box each have a value of "2"; all other workers have a value of "1".

Event Box: Capital Buildings

Resolving workers from left to right, each player may choose any Capital Building (from those remaining) of the five that were available in the Capital Buildings event box at the start of the current turn, paying the correct price in Spanish Dollars depending on the Age ($10 in Age I, $14 in Age II and $20 in Age III). Players may choose not to purchase a Capital Building, and there is no penalty or cost associated with not doing so.

The three types of Capital Buildings are:

Immediate: This type of Building immediately provides its benefit the moment it is purchased.

One-time: This type of Building provides a one-time benefit. It can be used immediately when purchased, or during a subsequent Phase 4: Capital Building Benefits phase.

Ongoing: This type of Building provides its benefit each turn during Phase 4: Capital Building Benefits (unless otherwise noted).

Regardless of whether or not the Capital Building has an ongoing effect, players should never discard their Capital Buildings, as 1 Capital Building (Age III: "Prosperity") grants bonus VP for the number of Capital Buildings a player owns. Players should turn their Capital Buildings face-down as soon as they are no longer able to use its effect.

Builder Expansion: A Builder Specialist in this event box confers a $5 discount when used to purchase a Capital Building.

See Appendix II for a complete description of the benefits and rules for each Capital Building.

Event Box: Discovery

When resolving this event box, players (in player order) may send some or all of their workers in the Discovery event box on an expedition of discovery. It is not required for a player to send any workers on an expedition if he wishes to keep these workers available for a future turn. If a player chooses to send any of his workers, he announces which of his workers in the Discovery event box will go on the expedition, chooses a particular region that has not yet been discovered (i.e., the Discovery counter is still present in the region), and then turns over the Discovery counter in that region for all to see.

Captains in this box each have a value of "2"; all other workers have a value of "1".

If the value of the player's workers sent on the expedition is equal to or greater than the Resistance number on the Discovery counter, the expedition is successful. In this case, the discovering player places a free Colonist (not a Specialist) from his personal supply into the newly discovered region, and takes an amount of Spanish Dollars equal to the Plunder value shown on the right-most Spanish Dollar icon.

The discovering player receives the Discovery counter's listed "Conquistador Plunder" value in Spanish Dollars for each Soldier sent on the expedition. This is in addition to the Plunder earned for a successful expedition.

The Discovery counter is placed face-up in front of the player so that its Victory Points may be added to his score at the end of the game.

Important: the player's workers that were part of the expedition are not added to the newly discovered region. They are returned to the player's personal supply of workers. Only the free Colonist is added.

If the expedition value is less than the Resistance number on the Discovery counter, then it fails. The Discovery counter is returned to the region face down.

Important: as with a successful expedition, the participating workers are returned to the player's personal supply. They are not returned to the Discovery event box.

Discovery Counter Variants:

"No Survivors": If you want to avoid other players knowing a Discovery counter's strength after a failed expedition, remove the revealed Discovery counter from the game and replace it with one of the unused face-down Discovery counters from the game box. Of course, if there are no longer any unused Discovery counters, players can no longer swap out revealed ones for unused ones.

"Scouting": At any time during your turn, you may pay to look at any face-down Discovery counter or card. The cost is $1 in Age I, $2 in Age II, and $3 in Age III. After looking at a face-down counter, return it to the same position, face-down. After the tiles are all discovered and you are looking at a card, you may return it either to the top or the bottom of the deck, face-down.

"Advanced Reconnaissance": Before the game begins, turn all Discovery counters on the board face up. This will eliminate the possibility of failed expeditions and increase the need for strategic planning.

Important: Players may only launch one expedition of discovery per turn, but are not required to send all of their workers on an expedition. The workers that remain behind stay in the Discovery event box and can be used for future expeditions. This is unlike all other event boxes, which are cleared off at the end of each turn.

Once all regions in the New World have been discovered, the Discovery deck is used. From that point onward, whenever a player launches an expedition of discovery, he draws the top card from the Discovery deck. A successful Discovery deck expedition rewards the player in exactly the same manner as a Discovery counter with the following exception: the Discovery deck contains specific geographic locations (e.g. The Mississippi) and regions not on the game board (e.g. China). Therefore, no Colonists are placed on the board as a result of a successful Discovery deck expedition. The successfully discovered card is placed in front of the player in the same manner as the Discovery counters. When a Discovery deck expedition is unsuccessful, the card is shuffled back into the deck. The location remains undiscovered and therefore is still available to a player who sends an adequate expeditionary force.

Players must discover all regions in the New World before attempting expeditions with the Discovery deck.

Event Box: Specialists

Resolving workers from left to right, players receive the Specialist shown in the box occupied by their worker. A player who has chosen the Training box may pay $5 to gain any 1 Specialist. Only 1 worker can occupy a Specialist box at a time and only 1 Specialist can be gained for each occupied box for a maximum of 5 Specialists available per turn (or 6 when using the Builder). Specialists taken in this phase are placed in a player's Available Workers area of his player board for use on the next turn.

Builder Expansion: The Builder spot is only available when using the Builder Specialist from the Builder Expansion.

Event Box: Warfare

When a player places a worker in the Warfare event Box, he is preparing for war. Warfare is resolved left to right, starting with the player who has placed his worker on the lowest number. When resolving the Warfare box, the player must decide whether it will merely be a single Battle or a full-scale War. A player may declare multiple Battles and/or full-scale Wars by occupying multiple spaces in the Warfare event box (1 Battle/War per worker). Only 4 workers can be placed in the Warfare event box per turn.

There is no special benefit for a player who places a Soldier or any other Specialist in the Warfare box.

If a single Battle is declared, the declaring player (the attacker) chooses one region and one player (the defender) to fight against in that region. Either the attacker or defender must have at least 1 Soldier in the selected region for the battle to occur. A single battle has no cost in Spanish Dollars ($0).

If a player declares a full-scale War, the declaring player (the attacker) chooses one player (the defender). There are battles in all regions where both the attacker and defender have a colony present and at least 1 Soldier is in either colony. The attacking player must pay $10.

In each battle, each Soldier eliminates one of its opponent's workers in the region where the battle is taking place. The owner of the Soldier chooses which of the opponent's workers is eliminated. All casualties occur simultaneously, with the units being removed after all casualties are determined. (Workers can be laid on their side to indicate elimination before they are removed.)

Note: Non-participating players who have workers in a region that is currently engaged in a Battle or War are not affected by the current battle. A non-participating player may not "lend" Soldiers or be attacked by any player who is currently participating in the battle.

Battle Example: During his turn, Sean (red) placed a worker in the Warfare box. Sean has 2 Soldiers and 3 Colonists in New France. He declares a Battle against Angelo (green) in New France where Angelo has 1 Soldier and 4 Colonists. Sean has 2 Soldiers and may therefore eliminate 2 of Angelo's workers. He chooses to eliminate Angelo's Soldier and a Colonist. Angelo has only 1 Soldier and chooses to eliminate 1 of Sean's Soldiers.

War Example: During his turn Sean placed a worker in the Warfare box. When the Warfare box is resolved, Sean declares War on Angelo and pays $10. Sean has Soldiers and Colonists in New Granada, New Spain and New England and only Colonists in Florida and New France. Angelo has Colonists in New Granada, New France, and New Spain and he also has Soldiers in Florida. Battles occur only where Soldiers are present: New Granada, New Spain, and Florida. No Battle occurs in New France because neither player has a Soldier there.

Phase 3: Income

In this phase, players collect income (Spanish Dollars) from their Trade Good "sets". Trade Goods represent the economics and trade of each Colonial Empire. The number on each token shows how many of each Trade Good there is in the game (i.e., it is not a "value" of the Trade Good). This information is provided so that players can plan appropriately.

Trade Goods are acquired by players in one of three ways:

• By being the first to have 3 workers in a region, that player gains the Trade Good token from the region.
• By placing a worker in the Trade Goods box and selecting a Trade Good from those available in the current turn.
• Certain Capital Buildings ("West Indies Co.", "Spoils of War: Trade Goods") allow players to gain Trade Goods.

Once acquired, Trade Goods remain with that player throughout the game and generate income for the owning player during this phase. The amount of income (in Spanish Dollars) is determined by how many and what kind of "sets" are created. Players create "sets" by arranging their Trade Good tokens on their player board into groups of three or four. Each counter may only be used in one set.

Each turn, the Trade Goods and Merchant Ships may be rearranged to form new sets.

Any 3 Trade Goods = $1 (1 Spanish Dollar) Example: Indigo, Silver, Tobacco

Three of the Same Kind = $3 Example: Indigo, Indigo, Merchant Ship

Four of the Same Kind = $6 Example: Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar

Merchant Ships act as "wild cards" in making sets. In other words, a Merchant Ship can be treated as any type of Trade Good for the purpose of completing a set. Only 1 Merchant Ship may be used per set.

Remember: Sets are not cashed in, but rather generate income during this phase. Players keep their Trade Good tokens and Merchant Ships until the end of the game.

At the end of the game, players earn Victory Points equal to the amount of Spanish Dollars that they earn from their sets of Trade Goods and Merchant Ships.

Note: This is the amount of Spanish Dollars earned from Trade Goods and Merchant Ships on turn 8 only, not throughout the game. Important: Capital Buildings that provide money do not convert their income into Victory Points at the end of the game.

Phase 4: Capital Building Benefits

Capital Buildings represent the effects that colonization had on the capital cities of each colonial empire. Capital Buildings are purchased by players with Spanish Dollars and confer a benefit as stated on the Capital Building. Some benefits are one-time and/or immediate, while others (such as Buildings that generate income and workers) occur every turn during the Capital Building Benefits phase. Each purchased Capital Building is placed near the owning player's player board. (See Appendix II for a complete description and rules for each Capital Building.) The game begins with 5 Age I Capital Buildings available for purchase. More will become available during Phase 5: Refresh Board.

Important: While players can resolve most of the Capital Buildings concurrently, there are some that may be affected by the timing of when certain Capital Buildings are resolved. When an issue of timing is called into question, resolve the Capital Buildings in player order.

Capital Buildings normally affect only the player who owns it, unless opponents are specifically mentioned.

The cost of Capital Buildings increases with each new Age: Each Capital Building costs $10 to purchase in Age I, $14 in Age II, and $20 in Age III.

Phase 5: Refresh Board

In this phase, players will reset the game board for the next turn.

The board is refreshed as follows:

Trade Goods: Remove from the game any Trade Goods still in the Trade Goods event box. Then add 4 random Trade Goods from the supply to the Trade Goods event box, placing them face up.

Merchant Ship: If the Merchant Ship was claimed this turn, add a Merchant Ship to the Merchant Shipping event box. A new Merchant Ship is not added to the Merchant Shipping box if one is already there.

Capital Buildings: Add Capital Buildings to the Capital Buildings event box (from the current Age stack of Capital Buildings) until the total number of Buildings is at 5. (Do not remove any that were still here from the previous turn). If the current turn is 3 (end of Age I) or 6 (end of Age II), instead remove all remaining Capital Buildings from the game board, then remove all unclaimed Capital Buildings for the current Age from the game. Next, add Capital Buildings from the upcoming Age stack until there is a total of 5 Capital Buildings face-up on the board.

Example 1: It is currently turn 3 (Age I). Since the next turn is in Age II, remove all remaining Age I Capital Buildings from the game board and supply. Then add 5 Age II Capital Buildings to the game board.

Example 2: It is currently turn 5 (Age II). Since the next turn is also in Age II, simply leave any remaining Capital Buildings on the game board. Then add Age II Capital Buildings from the supply until there are a total of 5 on the board.

Receive new Colonists: Each player takes 5 Colonists from his supply and places them in the Available Workers section of his player board.

Reminder: If the current turn is a scoring turn (turns 3, 6, and 8), players will score the New World regions during this phase.

New World colony scoring

(performed at the end of turns 3, 6 and 8 only):

In each region where at least one player has at least 3 workers:

• The player with the most workers in the region receives 6 VP.
• The player with the second most receives 2 VP.
• If 2 players tied for first place, each player receives 2 VP.
• All other ties and places received 0 VP.
  • If there is a three-way tie for first, all players receive 0 VP.
  • If there is a 2-way tie (or more) for second place, those players receive 0 VP.
• If only one player is in a region and has three or more workers, that player scores 6 VP (for first place), and no one gets 2 VP for second.

Builder Expansion: When using the Builder Specialist, each Builder in a New World region increases the Victory Points awarded to the first and second place players: +4 VP for first place, and +2 VP for second place. If 2 or more players are tied for first place, each tied player receives +4 VP for each Builder present (even if they earn 0 points for New World colony scoring). If 2 or more players are tied for second place (or there was a tie for first place), each player in second place receives +2 VP for each Builder present (even if they earn 0 points for New World colony scoring). Important: It does not matter who owns the Builder(s). Players receiving bonus VP for Builder scoring will receive points for all Builders present in that region.

Example 1: Both Adam and Matt have colonies present in New France. Adam has 4 Colonists and 1 Builder (for a total of 5 workers); Matt has 2 Colonists and 2 Builders (for a total of 4 workers). Adam has first place in this region, scoring 6 VP for first place and a bonus of 12 VP for the presence of 3 Builders in the region (for a total of 18 VP). Matt earns 2 VP for second place in the region and a bonus of 6 VP for the presence of 3 Builders in the region (for a total of 8 VP).

Example 2: Adam, Matt, George, and Ernie have colonies in Virginia. George is in first place with 5 Colonists; Matt is tied for first with 3 Colonists and 2 Builders; Ernie is in second place with 2 Colonists; and Adam is in third place with only 1 Builder. Both George and Matt receive 14 VP each (2 VP for first place tie + 12 VP for the Builder bonus). Ernie receives 6 VP (0 for second place; 6 VP for the Builder bonus). Even though Adam had no Colonists and only 1 Builder, his Builder still contributes to bonus Builder VP scoring. If Matt had instead tied for second place with Ernie, George would have received 6 VP for first place plus a bonus of 12 VP for the 3 Builders in the region (for a total of 18 VP). Matt and Ernie (now tied for second place) would have received 0 points for their second place tie and 6 points each for the Builder VP bonus.

Builder Expansion: When using the optional rule to buy Victory Points, players may (in Player Order) spend Spanish Dollars to buy Victory Points immediately following New World colony scoring. Players may buy as many Victory Points as they can afford. The cost is:

• Age I: $1 / 1 VP
• Age II: $3 / 1 VP
• Age III: $10 / 1 VP

Adjust Player Order: Rearrange the workers on the Player Order track to reflect the order of workers on the Initiative event box. Those players who did not place a worker on the Initiative event box retain their order relative to each other, but will follow the players who had placed onto the Initiative event box.

Example: Green and Orange placed a worker on Initiative this turn. Green will receive $1 and go first in the next turn, and Orange will receive $2 and go second. Red and Blue retained their order relative to each other, but now follow Green and Orange.

Advance Turn Marker: Move the Merchant Ship on the Turn track to the next turn spot. If the Merchant Ship is already on turn 8, proceed to end-game scoring.

End-game scoring

The game ends at the end of turn 8. Players score their Victory Points for New World colony scoring as normal during Phase 5, although the rest of Phase 5 can be skipped on turn 8. Additional end-game Victory Points are awarded for:

• Discoveries: Players total the numbers shown in the VP symbol on their collected Discovery counters and Discovery cards. These Victory Points are scored at the end of the game only.
• Capital Buildings: Some Capital Buildings are worth Victory Points for their owner. These are either a number in red or bonus VP that are awarded for meeting the requirements of the Capital Building. (For example, the Age III Capital Building, "Navy" provides its owner with 4 VP per Merchant Ship owned.)
• Economy: Players receive Victory Points equal to the amount of Spanish Dollars that their Trade Goods and Merchant Ships generated during Phase 3 of turn 8. Buildings that provide money do not contribute to these VP (because money from Buildings is awarded during Phase 4).

Ties: If 2 or more players end the game with the same number of Victory Points, ties are broken in the following manner:

1. First tiebreaker: The player who gained the most Victory Points from New World colonies on turn 8.
2. Second tiebreaker (if needed): the player with the most Spanish Dollars.
3. Third tiebreaker (if needed): the player with the most Trade Goods and Merchant Ships.

Strategy Hints for First Time Players

There are many paths to victory in Empires: Age of Discovery. Players should not ignore the Victory Points generated by controlling first or second place in New World colonies. The colonies are the only elements that score Victory Points more than once in the game. At the same time it is very difficult to focus solely on a New World colony strategy. Other players will recognize this strategy and it will become very difficult to control enough regions to win the game when other players make a concerted effort to confront you in the New World. Spreading your workers into too many regions can also be dangerous. A sudden explosion of colonization by several opponents at once will put you in an impossible position as you try to defend too many places.

Successful players will often use a twofold strategy to achieve victory. For example, they may focus on controlling one or two regions, take second in one or two more and then work very hard on developing their economies (using the money generated to acquire Capital Buildings as needed). Another approach may be to augment a New World strategy by acquiring Captains and exploring frequently, using exploration to gain a foothold in the New World. There are many combinations to try. Some will work better than others. As players begin to recognize successful strategies, expect to meet resistance and be prepared to adapt to your opponents.

A note on war as a strategy: in Empires: Age of Discovery, warfare is not a dominant strategy by itself. It is merely a tool to tip the balance in a few key colonies at key moments.

Appendix I: Alternate Starting Player Order

For experienced players.

When using these alternate starting player order rules, each player gets $15 Spanish Dollars to start the game. Lay out the 6 player boards for all players to see. Starting with a randomly determined player, each player bids (in Spanish Dollars) in turn, clockwise around the table. The minimum bid is $1, and each bid must be higher than the previous bid or the player may 'pass'. If a player passes, they are out of the auction for that round. The high bid wins the auction and pays his final bid out of his $15 starting money. The winner of the auction may take any player board and associated National Advantage. The winner of the first auction also places his Colonist on the '1' space in the Player Order box at the start of the game.

This process is repeated until each player has a player board and the following space in the Player Order box. The last player takes the remaining player board and pays half of the previous winning bid, rounded up (e.g. in a 4-player game, the fourth player to take a player board pays half of the winning bid of the third player).

Players may also wish to forgo the auction for the Alternate Starting Player Order rules and randomly assign player boards with National Advantages to each player. When not using the auction, players begin the game with $10 and in random Player Order as normal.

National Advantage powers (Note: the nationality/color associations are just suggestions, and do not need to be followed):

England (red) - England Empties her Jails: Once per game, just before the Colonist Dock event box is resolved, the English player may add 2 free Colonists to the Colonist Dock and re-order the workers here in any order they want. If all spaces are already filled on the Colonist Dock, the English player may still place their workers and re-order all workers here. There may be workers that are placed beside the printed spaces; this is legal only when using England's National Advantage power.

Spain (yellow) - Spanish Conquistadors: Once per game, just before turn 1 begins (right after Setup), the Spanish player may make a free Discovery, taking the Discovery counter as normal and ignoring the Resistance number. They add 1 Soldier to the region (instead of a Colonist) and take only the Plunder amount as printed on the card (and not the extra Conquistador Plunder). If the Spanish player chooses not to use their National Advantage power at the beginning of the game, they cannot use it later.

France (blue) - French Trade with the Native Americans: Twice per game (only once per turn), just before the Trade Goods event box is resolved, the French player may take 1 Trade Good from the Trade Goods track. If the Trade Goods track is completely occupied when France uses its power, this means that the last player on the track will receive nothing.

Portugal (green) - Portuguese Explorers: Once per Age (three times total per game) the Portuguese player, when resolving the Discovery event box, may use the Discovery deck instead of discovering a region in the New World (on the board). When doing so, the Resistance number of the Discovery card will always be equal to '3' (they ignore the printed Resistance number). All other rules regarding discovering with the Discovery deck are handled normally.

Holland (orange) - Dutch Merchants: Once per game, just before the Merchant Shipping event box is resolved, the Dutch player may take the Merchant Ship from the Merchant Shipping box. The player who would have otherwise won the Merchant Ship will receive nothing.

Italian City-States (purple) - Italian Renaissance Men: Twice per game (only once per turn), just before the Specialists event box is resolved, the Italian player may replace any worker on the Specialists track with a worker from their supply. The replaced worker is returned to its owner's supply. If the Italian player replaces the worker on the 'Training' space, they will pay $5 for any Specialist, as normal.

Note: Players who are able to use their National Advantage power more than once per game may wish to track the number of times they have used their power by marking their player board with Colonists, pennies, musket balls, etc.

Appendix II: Capital Buildings

Builder Expansion: Some Capital Buildings in the Builder Expansion are titled "Spoils of War". When acquired from the Capital Buildings box, these buildings have $0 cost. If a Builder specialist is used to acquire the Building, no discount is provided because the Building is already free.

Important: When the text of a Capital Building conflicts with the text of the rules, the text of the Capital Building takes precedence.

The three types of Capital Buildings are:

Immediate: This type of Building immediately provides its benefit the moment it is purchased.

One-time: This type of Building provides a one-time benefit. It can be used immediately when purchased, or during a subsequent Phase 4: Capital Building Benefits phase.

Ongoing: This type of Building provides its benefit each turn during Phase 4: Capital Building Benefits (unless otherwise noted).

Age I

(20 Buildings total – 12 in base game, 8 in Builder Expansion)

Building	Effect
Settlers (x2)	+1 Colonist each turn
Monastery	+1 Missionary each turn
Trade Routes	+1 Merchant each turn
Training Grounds	+1 Soldier each turn
Indentured Servitude	1 Free Colonist on the X space of the Colonist Dock each turn
Conquistadors	1 Free Soldier in the Discovery event box each turn
Navigator	1 Free Captain in the Discovery box each turn
Conquest of the Inca Empire	Immediately take $20 (one time only)
Trading Post	+$5 each turn
New World Cartography	1 Free Discovery (and 4 VP at game end). A new land is discovered. Choose a region that has not yet been discovered. Place a free Colonist there. Take the Discovery counter and the Spanish Dollars shown as usual (no Soldier bonus). This Building may be resolved immediately, or during a subsequent Capital Building Benefits phase.
Spoils of War (Free)	$5 (one time only).
Spoils of War (Free)	1 Free Merchant Ship (one time only)
Spoils of War (Free)	2 free Specialists (any choice). These Specialists are added to the owner's player board for use during the next turn (one time only)
Magellan	Captains count as '3' in the Discovery event box.
New World City	+1 Builder each turn
New World Mission	+1 Missionary each turn
Overpopulation	Immediately place 3 Colonists in any discovered regions. Colonists may be placed into one region, several regions, or all different regions.
Smuggler	Swap 1 Trade Good each turn. Owner may swap a Trade Good with another player once per turn during the Capital Building Benefit phase. The other player cannot refuse.
Plague	All discoveries made by the owner of this Building have their Resistance number reduced by 1.

Age II

(22 Buildings total – 14 in base game, 8 in Builder Expansion)

Building	Effect
Indian Allies	Immediately place 2 free Soldiers in one of your colonies
Privateers	During each Capital Building Benefits phase, take $1 from each player for every Merchant Ship that you own. For example, if you have 3 Merchant Ships, take $3 from each player. If a player has less money than they owe, he only gives as much as he has.
Ship Yards	+1 Captain each turn
Cathedral	Missionaries add 2 Colonists when arriving in the New World (instead of 1). Colonists are added when resolving the Colonist Dock event box.
Taxation	+$10 each turn (and 2 VP at game end)
University	Move worker to front of an Event Box Track — one time use (and 5 VP at game end). This Capital Building allows the owning player to move 1 worker from any position in the Colonist Dock, Trade Goods, Warfare, Initiative, Player Order, or Capital Building event box, to the front, shifting all other workers to the right. It may be executed at any time, but one time only.
West Indies Co.	1 free Trade Good each turn (random). This Capital Building allows the owning player to take one random Trade Good from the supply at the end of each turn. Because this Trade Good is gained during the Capital Building Benefits phase, it does not contribute to income until the next turn's Income phase.
Colonization Laws	1 Free Colonist on the Y space of the Colonist Dock each turn
Rum Distillery	+$3 for each Sugar Trade Good owned by the owner of this Building. This money is in addition to any income earned from Trade Good sets. Because this money is gained during the Capital Building Benefits phase, it does not count when scoring VP for income at game end.
Marketplace	+1 Merchant each turn
Military Academy	+1 Soldier each turn
Fortress	+1 Soldier each turn
Stables	May move 1 Soldier from any colony to an adjacent colony (once each turn, just before resolving Discovery). Only owned Soldiers may be moved. Note: The Caribbean is adjacent to New Granada, New Spain, and Florida. This building is activated just before Discovery. As such, it does not matter whether any player is taking the Discovery action or not.
Spoils of War (Free)	$7 (one time only)
Spoils of War (Free)	Immediately take 2 free Trade Goods. These Trade Goods are drawn randomly from the Trade Goods supply (one time only).
Stone Masonry	+1 Builder each turn
Papal Edict	Owner and another player each place 2 free Colonists. The owner chooses another player. Both players get 2 free Colonists and place them in any 1 region where they already have at least 1 worker. Owner chooses which player places first. The first player places both Colonists in any 1 region before the second player places both Colonists in any 1 region (different or same region as the first player).
Mint	+$2 for each Gold or Silver Trade Good owned by the owner of this Building. Each turn the owner must choose either gold or silver (not both) before being paid during the Income phase.
Trading House	May sell Trade Goods to the bank for $5 each. Sale occurs during the Capital Building Benefits phase (just after the Income phase). Trade Goods sold are placed back into the supply.
Reformation	Owner's Missionaries neutralize enemy Missionaries in the New World. Other players' Missionaries have no effect (no bonus) when they arrive in any region where the owner of this Building already has a Missionary.
Mayflower	Owner's Merchant Ships can transport workers to the New World. The owner of this Building may use up to 3 of his Merchant Ships as if it were the last spot(s) (after X and Y) on the Colonist Dock. The player must declare this during the Worker Placement phase by placing his worker and the Merchant Ship together to the right of the 'Y' space on the Colonist Dock. Each worker placed must have a Merchant Ship to carry it to the New World. Each Merchant Ship used this way may not also be used that turn as a "wild card" for creating Trade Good sets in the Income phase.
Plague	Every colony with 3 or more workers is reduced by 1 worker. The player who controls the colony chooses which worker is removed and places this worker back into their supply. Any worker (including Soldiers and Builders) can be removed by the use of this Building.

Age III

(15 Buildings total – 11 in base game, 4 in Builder Expansion)

Building	Effect
Militia	+1 Soldier in every battle in which the owner is defending. When defending in a battle, the owning player gains a temporary Soldier for that battle. After the battle is resolved, that temporary Soldier is removed from the board, whether that Soldier was a casualty or not.
Mercantilism	1 VP per Trade Good owned by the owner of this Building at game end. Merchant Ships do not count as Trade Goods for this Building.
Population	1 VP per 2 workers in the New World owned by the owner of this Building at game end
Navy	4 VP per Merchant Ship owned by the owner of this Building at game end
Power	2 VP per Soldier in the New World owned by the owner of this Building at game end
Prosperity	2 VP per Capital Building (including this one) owned by the owner of this Building at game end. "Spoils of War" and "Plague" count as Capital Buildings for the purpose of Prosperity scoring.
Glory	2 VP per colonized region at game end. The owner of this Building must have at least 1 worker in the colonized region. A region must have at least 3 workers from any one player to be considered "colonized"
Wealth	1 VP per $5 owned by the owner of this Building at game end. When using the 'Buying Victory Points' rule, the owning player may first use the scoring effect of "Wealth" before buying VP.
Migration	May move up to 2 of the owner's Colonists from one single region to any other single region. This may be done each turn during the Capital Building Benefits phase. The regions do not have to be adjacent.
Factory	+$30 each turn (and 5 VP at game end)
Age of Discovery	4 VP per Discovery counter and Discovery card at game end.
New World Capital City	3 VP per Builder in the New World at game end. The Builders must be in the owing player's color.
Age of Reason	4 VP per worker in the Specialists event box at the end of turn 8.
Re-Write History	Owner may take 1 Discovery counter each from 2 players. The counters are chosen randomly (face down). This effect is one time and immediate. The player using the "Re-Write History" Capital Building does not take the income for the Discovery counters that are taken. Only Discovery counters can be taken; Discovery cards are safe from the effects of "Re-Write History".
Plague	Player chooses one region and removes up to 3 Colonists of any one player. Specialists cannot be removed.

Appendix III: Discovery Counters and Cards

Discovery Counters (values are $ / $ per Soldier / Natives (Resistance) / VPs):

$	$/Soldier	Natives	VPs
1	2	1	4
1	2	1	4
1	3	2	4
1	2	2	4
1	3	2	4
2	4	3	5
2	2	3	5
2	2	3	5
1	3	3	5
1	2	3	5
2	5	3	5
3	4	4	6
4	5	4	6
3	4	4	6
4	5	5	7
2	4	5	7

Discovery Cards (used after the New World is completely discovered):

Location	$	$/Soldier	Natives	VPs
The Mississippi	2	1	3	4
The Great Lakes	1	2	3	4
The Pampas	2	1	3	4
California	2	1	4	4
Philippines	2	1	4	5
South Seas	2	1	4	5
Ethiopia	3	2	4	5
The Amazon	2	1	4	4
The Northwest Territory	2	2	4	4
Australia	2	1	4	5
Chipongu (Japan)	4	3	5	5
Siam	4	2	5	5
Spice Islands	5	3	5	6
India	6	3	6	6
Circumnavigate the Globe	8	3	6	6
China	7	3	6	6

Credits

Game Concept and Design: Glenn Drover

Cover and Illustration: Cyril van der Haegen

Artist for original Age of Empires III: Paul E. Niemeyer

Rule Layout and Typesetting: Lawrence Whalen Jr.

Empires: Age of Discovery Committee:

Chairman: Rick Soued, CEO, Eagle-Gryphon Games

Editor-at-Large: Glenn Drover

Rulebook: Matthew L. Smith and Adam Allett

Scorepad Design: George Orthwein

Many thanks to the Empires: Age of Discovery committee, a group of volunteers from the Boardgamegeek.com community who not only shared ideas and suggestions to help create the best possible re-release of Glenn Drover's excellent Age of Empires III game, but also contributed greatly to the re-writing of the rulebook, the design of the score pad, the inclusion of several popular variants, and tireless playtesting and proofreading — which is so necessary when undertaking a project like this.

These committee members are: Adam Allett, Scott Berkheimer, Jason Farris, Andrew Hazlewood, Ernie Juan, George Orthwein, Matthew L. Smith, Todd Sweet, Pete Vasiliauskas

Rick Soued, CEO of Eagle-Gryphon Games and Glenn Drover, the designer of the game, oversaw the work of this committee and they would like to give particular credit to Adam Allett and Matthew L. Smith for carrying a great deal of the load, especially on the most arduous (and largely thankless) task of all — the drafting and proofreading of the rules! Special kudos are deserved by Scott Berkheimer, George Orthwein and Pete Vasilauskas for their work chairing the sub-committees on Rules Changes, Player Boards, and New Board Design. A special thanks to George Orthwein for designing and finalizing the new Score Pad as well!

Original Playtesters: Bruce Shelley, Jack Provenzale, Sean Brown, Angelo Atencio, Mark Evans, Charlie Johns, Todd G. Audress, Nick Szegedi, The Elgin Eagles (Michael Pennisi, Chris Aniballi, Jason Leonberger, Todd Sweet, Dave Burba, and Ray Petersen), The Southern Oregon Gamers (Matt Ackerman, Robert Connolly, Jeff DeBoer), Chris Davis, Mark Spires, Tom Dunlap, David Matchen, Chris Giovinazzo, Raife Giovinazzo, Jim Leesch, Dyson Yobb, Dion Garner, Scott Kelton, Jake Alley, Stan Sword, Roberto Di Megglio, John Todd Jensen, Scott Tepper, Jay Tummelson, Rick Thornquist, Paul E. Niemeyer, Ted Kuhn, Mike Liccardi, Tim Phillips, Ray Zanca and Marcus Hearne.

Special Thanks to Don Beyer of SDR for creating the original prototypes for Empires: Age of Discovery that allowed us to playtest this game and improve it. Thanks Don!