Empires: Builder Expansion
Empires: Builder Expansion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 20 New Capital Buildings and 34 Original Capital Buildings
- 10 Builder specialist figures in 6 colors (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Purple)
- A complete set of purple figures: 30 Colonists, 10 Soldiers, 10 Missionaries, 5 Merchants, 5 Captains
- 6 National Advantage Counters
- This Rule book
The Builder
The Builder has two possible uses:
- If transported to the New World via the Colonist Dock event box, he increases the Victory Point (VP) value of the colony in which he is placed. Each Builder in a colony adds +4 for the player with the most colonists and specialists in that colony, and +2 for the player with the second most. Ties for first and second place are handled normally per the rules. Bonus VP's for Builders are awarded regardless of who owns the Builder.
Example 1: At the end of the second age (turn 6) Virginia contains 4 red Colonists, 1 red Builder, and 2 blue Colonists. The Red player would get 10 VP's for Virginia (6 + 4) and the Blue player would get 4 VP's (2 + 2).
Example 2: At the end of the third age (turn 8) Canada contains 8 orange Colonists, 3 red Colonists, 2 red Builders, and 1 green Builder. The Orange player would get 18 VP's (6 + 4 + 4 + 4), and the Red player would get 8 VP's (2 + 2 + 2 + 2).
- If placed in the Capital Buildings event box, the cost of that Capital Building is reduced by $5.
Capital Buildings
Some new Capital Buildings are titled 'Spoils of War'. These Buildings are acquired normally via the Capital Building event box, but have no cost. If they are acquired by a Builder, the owning player does not get any money. The usual discount of $5 is wasted.
Age I (8 Buildings)
- Spoils of War: $5 (One time).
- Spoils of War: 1 Free Merchant Ship (One time).
- Spoils of War: 2 Free Specialists (One time).
- Magellan: Captains count as '3' in the Discovery Box.
- New World City: +1 Builder each turn.
- New World Mission: +1 Missionary each turn.
- Overpopulation: Immediately place 3 colonists in any Discovered Colony(s). Owner may place them all in one colony, or split them up.
- Smuggler: Swap One Trade Good each turn. Owner may swap a trade good with another player once per turn during the Capital Buildings Benefits Phase.
Age II (8 Buildings)
- Spoils of War: $7 (One time).
- Spoils of War: 2 Free Trade Goods. One time random draw from the supply (Taken Immediately).
- 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 colony where they already have at least one colonist or specialist.
- Mint: + $2 for each Gold or Silver trade good owned by the owner of this Building. The owner must choose either Gold or Silver before being paid during the income phase.
- Trading House: Owner 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 colony where the owner of this Building already has a Missionary.
- Mayflower: Owner's Merchant Ships can transport colonists to the New World. The owner of this Building may use up to 3 of his or her Merchant Ships as if it were the last spot(s) (after X and Y) on the Colony Dock. The player must declare this during the Colonist/ Specialist Placement phase by placing his piece and the Merchant Ship together to the right of the 'Y' space on the Colony Dock. Each Colonist or Specialist 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.
Age III (4 Buildings)
- Age of Discovery: 4 VP per Discovery.
- New World Capital City: 3 VP per Builder in the New World.
- Age of Reason: 4 VP per Colonist on the Specialists Track at the end of Turn 8. Owner gets 4 VP for each of his or her Colonists or Specialists on the Specialists Track at the end of Turn 8.
- Re-Write History: Owner may take 1 Discovery Tile from 2 players. The tiles are chosen randomly (face down). The effect is one time and immediately.
National Advantage
Before the game begins, each player (starting with the youngest and then proceeding clockwise) will choose which Nation/ Color they will play.
- Red: Great Britain
- Yellow: Spain
- Blue: France
- Green: Portugal
- Orange: Holland
- Purple: The Italian City States
Each Player has two 'National Advantage' Tiles that match his or her nation/color. At the beginning of the game, each player will announce which of the two advantages they will utilize and place that tile face up in front of them (like a Capital Building), and put the other tile out of play.
- Red: Great Britain. Take $1 from each player. + 2 Colonists/ turn.
- Yellow: Spain. + 1 Soldier / turn. + $5 per successful Discovery (immediately after a successful Discovery expedition).
- Blue: France. + 1 Missionary/ Turn. + 1 Colonist in each newly discovered Colony (immediately after a successful Discovery expedition).
- Green: Portugal. + 1 Captain/ turn. Reduces Native American rating for each Discovery by 1 (a '5' becomes a '4').
- Orange: Holland. +1 Merchant/ turn. + 1 Captain/ turn.
- Purple: Italian City States. +1 Merchant/ turn. + $1 for every 2 Trade Goods owned.
Buying Victory Points
At the end of each Age, immediately following the awarding of Victory Points for Colony Ownership, players may spend money to buy Victory Points. The value varies depending on which age:
- Age I: 1 VP = $1
- Age II: 1 VP = $3
- Age III: 1 VP = $10
Builder Expansion FAQ
Official "Builder Expansion FAQ 1.0" (3 pages, designer answers), transcribed as printed.
1) Age 1, Smuggler, Swap one Trade Good each turn
- Other player can't refuse the trade, correct?
Correct.
2) Age 2, Papal Edict
a) Is this one-time immediately, or recurring every capital building benefits phase?
Single event...one time use.
b) Can each player place their 2 colonists in 2 different regions (so up to 4 regions affected)?
No. Each player chooses one colony.
3) Age 3, New World Capital City, 3 VP per Builder in the New World
- Only the owning player's builders, correct?
Correct.
4) Age 3, Prosperity (base game), 2VP per Capital Building
- Do Plagues and/or Spoils of War count as buildings?
Yes.
- National Advantage tiles do not count, correct?
Correct.
5) Spain, $5 per successful Discovery
- Only the Spain player's Discoveries, correct?
Correct.
6) France, +1 Colonist in each newly discovered colony
- Is this only when France discovers, or when anyone discovers a new region France gets a colonist there?
Only French Discoveries.
7) The Plague buildings cost money to buy/build, correct?
Correct.
8) Builder scoring and ties.
a) If 2 people tie for first place and get 2VP each, each Builder still adds +4, correct? (They are both considered to "have the most"?)
Correct.
b) Continuing the example, any player (or tied players) who score 0VPs for second place would still get the +2VP per Builder bonus?
Correct.
9) Other than building tiles, how do you acquire a builder? In his own "ghost" box to the side of the specialist track? In only the $5 box? If the latter, do you still pay $5 for him? And could the $5 box still be used to buy different specialists?
This was unintentionally left out of the manual, and I only caught the omission after the manual had gone to press. The rule should be: A Builder may be built normally in the Specialist Track by placing a colonist in the '$5' box. There is no cost for doing this. A player may still choose to build any other Specialist rather than The Builder, but would then have to pay the $5. There is still only 1 colonist per box.
10) Does England's take $1 from each player happen every turn during capital building benefits?
Yes.
11) Are there limits to the number of Captains, Priests, Merchants, and colonists one can deploy? It was only a problem with soldiers in the base game (with a little loose language), but there are more opportunities for depletion with the expansion.
There is no limit to the number of Captains, Priests, Merchants, and Colonists that may be deployed by any player in the game. The number of pieces may limit actual execution of this, however. Players should swap out specialists with colonists where possible. If a player runs out of colonists, they may use colonists from a color that is not being used by another player.
12) What are the precise rules for colonists swaps when you run out of specialists? Can they be pulled from the discovery pool? Can one do coin stacking beneath colonists/specialists to make more available and simplify board placement analysis?
In the orig game the rules said you simply "swap-out" specialists you have in the new world 1-1 (merchants, missionaries, captains) replacing them with colonists from your "pool"... The coin methodology is a good idea.
13) I would like to see an explanation when to pick Portugal's second ability (fewer natives instead of an extra captain). Not really a clarification of any rule, but it would be nice to know the intention behind it.
Change the power to: One free discovery at the beginning of the game.
14) Papal Edict: How is the placement of the free colonists done? Does the owner of Papal Edict place 2 and then the other player places 2? Does it alternate 1 colonist at a time between the players starting with the owner of Papal Edict? Does the person with the Papal Edict start placement first? Can the person with the Papal Edict choose not to go first (and see where the opponent places before placing?)
The owner of the Building may choose to place first or make the other player place first. The first player places both colonists before the other player places.
15) Prosperity + National Advantage Tiles: National Advantage Tiles do not count as Capital Building, right?
Correct per 4 above.
16) Re-Write History: Does this capital building also allow taking discovery cards from other players? Is there any income generated from taking the discoveries from other players?
No. Tiles only may be taken. No income.
17) Spoils of war: do they count as capital buildings?
Yes as "Inca empire" does.
18) Do I score the Wealth VP before or after buying Victory points at the end of age 3? (on the last page of the rules, at the bottom).
Count victory points for area control, 2) spend money on victory points 3-5) count points for discoveries, money collected for trade goods and tiles. These last three are in some order, but spending money on victory points absolutely comes second, after area control.
This is an exception: The player with the Wealth Building may count his/ her victory points for 'Wealth', and then buy victory points with his/ her money afterward.
19) In the rulebook it says, that if a colony has builders in it, the player with the most colonists gets +4 victory points per builder, but the player with the second most colonists gets +2 VPs per builder. Ties for first and seconds place are handled normally per the rules. What does this mean? Does it meant, that if I tie for most colonists with another player, we both get only 2 points (as we normally would)? Or we each get +2 VPs per builder?
Tied for first means that both players get +4 per builder and second place players each get +2 per Builder.
20) Re-Write History: "Take 1 Discovery Tile from 2 different players". Are the Discovery Cards considered "tiles" for the purposes of this capital building? We played that they are not.
Correct. They are not tiles and may not be taken.
21) Wealth: "1 VP per $5". Is this in addition to the expansion ability for anyone to buy victory points at the end of Age III for $10 apiece? If not, then what would be the point of spending $15 to $20 to get this? The point differential between buying this and not buying this, even under the best of circumstances, would never be more than 5 or 6 points (considering the lost points in just purchasing the building).
This is an exception: The player with the Wealth Building may count his/ her victory points for 'Wealth', and then buy victory points with his/ her money afterward.
22) Curious if the National Advantage tiles are to be considered Capital Buildings for all purposes, in particular scoring Prosperity.
No. National Advantage tiles DO NOT count as capital buildings.
23) Reformation: "Missionaries neutralize other missionaries in the new world". How do you understand this tile? If my opponent has it, I understand that when I arrive with a missionary in a colony where my opponent already has a missionary, I can't add the extra colonist right? Before this expansion, we used to replace the just arrived missionary by two colonists in order not to be short on missionaries... Now, it's necessary to keep the missionaries in the colonies from the beginning of the game in case we get the reformation tile later right?
Correct.
24) Papal edict: "Owner and another player each place two free colonists."
One time use.