Flandern 1302 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Equipment and getting ready to play
• How to play
  • 1. The starting player takes a golden card
  • 2. Choosing an action card
  • 3. Revealing cards / establishing the order of play
  • 4. Carrying out the actions
  • 5. The action of the starting player
  • 6. Scoring and change of starting player
• The end of the game and final scoring
• Rules for 2 people
  • Getting ready to play
  • "Guilds under influence"
  • How to play
  • Carrying out actions
  • Scoring
  • The end of the game

Equipment and getting ready to play

• 1 game board: it shows 6 towns which are covered with different districts during the course of the game. In the middle there is a scoring track to record points, two spaces for laying cards and room for the wooden playing pieces.
• 28 "golden" playing cards with special actions for the starting player. The "golden cards" are sorted into pile "A" and pile "B" according to the letters on the back of the cards; they are then shuffled separately and laid face down in the middle of the board, pile "B" underneath and pile "A" on top. The space next to the pile is for discarded cards.
• 4 guilds (blue, yellow, green, red). Each player chooses one of the four guilds and receives the materials belonging to it, recognisable by the guild coat of arms: 16 town districts (with town centre), 11 "silver playing cards", 1 counter.
• Each player sorts their districts according to their shape and lays them face up in front of them. The town centre is laid in the middle of one of the six towns, the cards are picked up, covering them so that the others cannot see. The town centres of Utrecht and Liège are both placed in the middle of the remaining towns. (The town centres are printed with a Guild Master.)
• 3 town centres.
• 13 church districts are laid to one side of the game board. They increase the value of a town and can be used by all the players.
• 10 building-site pieces indicate that districts are "still under construction".
• 15 districts of the grey guild are laid to one side of the game board so that they are easily visible to all players. The grey, neutral guild can be used by all the players.
• 4 cathedral pieces increase the value of the church district.
• 2 printed Guild Masters (on the board).
• 5 counters for recording points.
• 6 wooden cylinders indicate towns for which points have already been awarded.
• 4 Guild Master pieces can make the difference when scores are level.
• 9 covering tiles are laid ready. They come into the game when the rules do not permit any more building on the site.

When playing with three players, the materials for one of the guilds (districts, playing cards and counter) are not needed. All players remove the cards of the town which is not in the game from their hand. The corresponding card is taken out of the golden cards. One town on the game board remains empty.

How to play

The game is played in rounds. Each round consists of six steps which are carried out one after the other. The eldest player is the first starting player and begins: play then passes clockwise to the rest of the players.

1. The starting player takes a golden card
2. Action cards are chosen
3. Cards are revealed / the order of play is established
4. The actions are carried out
5. The starting player carries out their action
6. The points are awarded and there is a change of starting player

The coats of arms in the game: Armourers (neutral, grey), Cloth-cutters, Fullers, Dyers, Church, Weavers.

1. The starting player takes a golden card

The starting player takes the top golden card, looks at it and lays it face down in front of him.

Note: if the golden card picked up by the player is of a town for which points have already been awarded, this card is removed from the game and the player takes another golden card.

2. Choosing an action card

All players now choose for themselves an action card which they want to play in this round. They all have the same set of cards at their disposal. The cards are made up of:

Action cards

• "Town cards" corresponding to the towns in the game;
• a "building-site" card (not assigned to a particular town);
• and a "pick-up" card which enables players to pick up cards they have already played.

Influence cards

• Each player has at his disposal three "influence" cards with which they try to gain an advantage. One or several influence cards can be played in addition to the action card.

Each player chooses an action card and as many influence cards as they want.

Note: the cards chosen are laid on the table and covered with the player's hand. This prevents other players from knowing whether one or more cards have been played.

3. Revealing cards / establishing the order of play

All players reveal their chosen cards at the same time. The player who has chosen the most cards carries out his action first, then the player with the second highest number of cards, etc. If several players have played the same number of cards, the player nearest to the starting player in a clockwise direction plays next. If everyone has played only one card, the starting player begins.

The influence cards which have been played are removed from the game.

Example: The starting player (yellow) has decided to play only one card. Green and blue have played 2 and red has played 3 cards. This results in the following order of play: Red begins; green is before blue (because he is sitting nearer to the starting player); yellow is last.

4. Carrying out the actions

One after the other, the players now carry out the actions on the cards they have played; play passes around in the order which has just been established. Players are not allowed to opt out of carrying out the action.

If it is not possible to carry out an action on a card, the card still counts as played. There is no substitute for the action which could not be carried out.

Each player lays their chosen action card face up in front of him.

There are the following actions:

Action with a "town card": Build a district / complete a building site

The player can take one of his own districts, a grey district or a church district from the stock and build in the town shown on the card he has played. Alternatively, he can remove a building-site in the town in question if the building-site has been set up in his own district, or in a grey or church district. The building-site piece is returned to the stock. This means that the corresponding district has now been completed.

Example: The player of the yellow guild can build his own yellow district, a grey guild district or a church district in Leuven.

Note: if a district is no longer in stock, it can no longer be laid. Once districts have been built, they can no longer be pulled down.

Building rules for districts

1. A district can only be laid on a building space of the same shape.
2. Each district must be laid so that one of its long sides borders a district or building site which has already been built.
3. Districts with the same coat of arms are not allowed to border each other.

Church districts with special shapes

Four church districts have a special shape ("A", "B", "C" and "D"). They can be laid like the other church districts. The illustration shows what kind of building space each special district belongs to. When these church districts are laid, they change the size of a town. "A", "B" and "C" create 1 or 2 new building spaces (more districts are now allowed to be built on these spaces). "D", on the other hand, removes a building space.

Action with the "building-site" card: Setting up a building site

The player can place one of his own districts, a grey district or a church district in a town of his choice. The building rules apply for this action as well. A building-site piece from the stock is placed on the district which has been laid. If there are no pieces available, the district cannot be built.

A building site can be set up in any town; this secures the building space for the player. Any player may complete building sites of the grey guild and of the Church.

Action with the "pick-up" card: Picking up action cards which have already been played

The player picks up all the action cards which he has played so far including the "pick-up" card.

Note: The "pick-up" action card can also be played if a player has not played any cards. He then carries out no action in that round.

5. The action of the starting player

The starting player now reveals his golden card. If it is an influence card, the player picks it up and can use it during further play just like any other influence card. If it is not an influence card, the player lays it face up next to the pile of golden cards. The player must now carry out the action on this card.

There are the following golden action cards:

• "Town cards": only districts of the grey guild or of the Church can be laid or a building-site of these districts completed.
• "Building-site": only building-sites with districts of the grey guild or of the Church can be set up.
• "Pick-up": has the same effect as the corresponding action card.
• "Build a cathedral": the player builds a cathedral on any Church district (with or without a building-site) which has been laid and which does not yet have a cathedral on it.
• "Guild Master": the player places a Guild-Master piece on any one of his own districts or on one of the grey guild, no matter whether there is a building site there or not. Several Guild Masters may occupy one district.

6. Scoring and change of starting player

It may happen that a building space can no longer be built on because there is no longer a matching district. In this case, a cover tile is placed on this building space. This town now has one or two building spaces fewer.

No points are awarded for districts with cover tiles.

When are points awarded for a town?

If all the building spaces in a town have been built on, the points for this town are calculated and awarded in step 6.

How many points are awarded for a town?

First, the value of the town is calculated; districts with building sites are not counted; no points are awarded for these districts.

• Each guild district counts for 1 point.
• Each Church district counts for 2 points.
• Each Church district with a cathedral counts for 3 points.

Who is awarded the points for the town?

The completed districts of each guild represented in the town are counted. The guild with the most districts in this town is ranked first, the guild with the second highest number of districts is ranked second etc.

• 1st place is awarded the value of the town
• 2nd place is awarded half the value of the town, rounded up
• 3rd place is awarded 4 points
• 4th place is awarded 2 points
• 5th place is awarded 0 points

Note: The grey, neutral guild is awarded points when the score is calculated if it is represented in the town. These points are recorded on the scoring track as well.

A draw

If several guilds have the same number of districts, the one with the highest number of Guild Masters (printed or Guild Master pieces) in its completed districts in the town is ranked highest. If some guilds are still drawn, all the guilds concerned only get the points for the lower of the ranks they occupy.

The points gained are recorded on the scoring track with the coat of arms of the corresponding guild.

A wooden cylinder is placed in the centre of the town for which points have been awarded. No more actions take place in this town. Any building-site pieces are returned to the stock. Once all the points have been awarded, the round is over and play passes clockwise to the next player, who then becomes the new starting player for the next round.

Note: town cards of towns for which points have been awarded can be removed from the game.

Example of awarding points for a town

Blue is the starting player. He plays the Liège town card and places the last missing district in position. The Golden Card which he uses in his turn allows him to play a Guild Master: the player places the Guild Master on a district of the grey guild.

The value of the town is calculated: 11 completed guild districts = 11 points, plus 1 Church district without a cathedral = 2 points, plus 1 Church district with a cathedral = 3 points; there are therefore a total of 16 points to be awarded. (The "yellow" district with a building site does not count. The town centre is also a district!)

In this town, there are 8 Guild Masters, 6 of them printed and 2 Guild Master pieces as well.

The guilds' ranking is established: Blue has 3 districts; this is the most so blue is ranked first. Each of the other guilds has 2 completed districts. The number of Guild Masters they have is now compared. Yellow has 3 Guild Masters and is therefore ranked second behind blue. The remaining guilds (red, green and the neutral grey ones) are tied (each has 2 districts and 1 Guild Master) and together occupy ranks 3 to 5.

The allocation of points for the guilds: Blue is awarded 16 points for 1st place. Yellow is awarded 8 points for 2nd place. Red, green and grey are awarded 0 points for the lowest shared ranking of 5th.

The end of the game and final scoring

The game ends after the sixth step if there is at most only one free building space on the whole board or if the pile of golden cards has been used up. Any remaining free building spaces are covered.

Now the score is calculated for all the remaining towns for which points have not yet been awarded.

The player who has the most influence cards in his hand at the end of the game is awarded 3 extra points. If several players are tied with the equal highest number of influence cards, each player is awarded three points.

The player with the most points has won.

Rules for 2 people

Changes are made to the basic rules as follows:

Getting ready to play

The players receive the materials of the guild of their choice, but without the three influence cards.

The general materials (all the districts of the grey guild and of the Church) are laid ready but without the four cathedral pieces, the four Guild Master pieces or the golden cards.

The materials which are not required are removed from the game. There are still the materials from two guilds left over. These guilds are called "guilds under influence".

Example: red and blue are the "guilds under influence".

"Guilds under influence"

Each player chooses one of the two "guilds under influence"; the points gained by these guilds will be awarded to the players at the end of the game.

The two town centres of these two guilds are also placed in position on the game board. The remaining districts (15 pieces each) are laid ready clearly visible near the edge of the board.

The 6 town cards and the building-site card of both teams (14 cards altogether) are well shuffled and laid ready in one face-down pile in the middle of the game board.

How to play

The players take turns to carry out each of their two actions.

Carrying out actions

The player whose turn it is always has two actions which he can carry out in any order.

• An action using the player's own guild: A card is laid and a corresponding action is carried out according to the basic rules.
• An action with the "guilds under influence": The top card is taken from the pile in the middle of the board and a corresponding action carried out. The card is laid face up next to the pile. If the action allowed by this card is not possible, the action is forfeited. In this case, the player does not carry out any action with the "guilds under influence" during this turn. The only exception: the player picks up the card of a town for which points have already been awarded. In this case the card is removed from the game and the player can take a new card. If the pile is used up, the discarded cards are shuffled and a new pile is laid face down. Once the cards have been shuffled, cards can be picked up as before.

Scoring

It may happen that a building space can no longer be built on because there is no matching district. In this case, a corresponding cover tile is placed in this position. This town now has one or two building spaces fewer.

If the player whose turn it is lays a piece on the last building space of a town, the points are awarded for this town at the end of the player's turn.

Note: if a player lays a piece on the last building spaces of two towns during his turn then - of course - points are awarded for both towns at the end of the player's go.

The points are distributed and counted separately for all five guilds according to the basic rules and the score recorded on the scoring track.

The end of the game

The game ends when there is either no longer a free building space or when all the building spaces which are still available can only be taken up by districts of the "guilds under influence".

The scores for all the towns for which points have not yet been given are then calculated and awarded.

Each player adds together the points of his guild and of the guild under his influence. The player with the most points overall has won.