Gaudí Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Player Setup
• How to Play
  • Moving Your Chandelier Token
    • 2-Player Games
  • Chandelier Spaces
  • The Central Chandelier Tile
  • Gaining Victory Points (VP)
  • End of the Round
• Actions
  • 1. Taking a Trencadís Tile
    • Receiving and Having
    • Adjacency and Groups
  • 2. Taking a Card
    • Parts of a Card
    • Card Categories
  • Running Out of Supplies
  • 3. Playing a Card
    • Card Requirements
    • Resolving Columns
      • Nature Cards
      • Catalonia Cards
• Endgame Scoring
  • Endgame Scoring Example
• Expert Rules
  • Setup (Expert)
    • Player Setup (Expert)
  • Taking a Card Action (Expert)
  • Running Out of Supplies (Expert)
  • Card Requirements (Expert)
  • Advancing a Chimney Marker (Expert)
  • Endgame Scoring (Expert)
    • Endgame Scoring Example (Expert)
• Solo Mode
  • Flow of the Game (Solo)
    • Gaudí's Turn
    • Virtual Third Player's Turn
    • Actions (Solo)
    • Endgame Scoring (Solo)
• Imagining Antoni Gaudí
• Appendix
  • Expert Chimney Tiles
  • Icons Shown on the Board, Chandelier Tiles, and Cards
  • Religion Cards in Detail

Components

• 1 main board
• 4 player boards
• 1 cloth bag
• 12 Chimney tiles
• 1 First Player token
• 7 central Chandelier tiles
• 4 Chandelier tokens (1 per player)
• 12 Chimney markers (3 per player)
• 16 Victory Point markers (4 per player): Nature VP marker, Catalonia VP marker, Religion VP marker, Grand Total VP marker. Each player receives 1 of each.
• 33 Nature cards, 33 Catalonia cards, 33 Religion cards (99 Pillar cards total)
• 96 Trencadís tiles (6 of each color and shape)

Setup

This game offers 2 ways to play: Casual and Expert. Casual mode is suitable for all players and it's the default mode explained throughout this rulebook. Expert mode is recommended after you've played Gaudí a few times and are ready for a deeper challenge. Its specific setup and general rules can be found under Expert Rules. Make sure to decide which mode you'll be playing before starting setup.

1. Place the main board on the table with its Day side up.
2. Place all the Trencadís tiles in the bag, shuffle them, and randomly place 5 tiles from the bag on each of the 5 Trencadís spaces on the main board, indicated by the swirl edges of the ceiling. Leave the bag near the board.
3. Shuffle the 3 Pillar card decks separately and place them face down below the main board in this order, from left to right: Nature, Catalonia, and Religion.
4. Reveal 3 cards from each deck and place them face up on the 3 Window spaces above that deck. Place each card so that the top banner on it is fully visible.
5. Shuffle the Chandelier tiles face down. Create a stack of 3 of them face down at random. Flip the stack and place it face up in the center of the Chandelier on the main board, making sure not to look at the tiles below the top one. Return the remaining Chandelier tiles to the box without looking at them.

Player Setup

6. Each player takes a player board and all components of their chosen color.
7. Separate the Chimney tiles by Nature, Catalonia, and Religion. Assign 1 Chimney tile of each type to each player. The players place them with the Day side up above their boards in the matching slots.
8. Then, the players place their 3 Chimney tokens below each of the Chimneys.
9. The players place their Nature, Catalonia, and Religion VP markers near the "0" space of the VP track on the main board.
10. Each player keeps their Chandelier token and Grand Total VP marker near their player board for now.
11. Give each player their starting hand of Pillar cards by following these steps: in a 2-player game, take the first card from the Nature and Catalonia decks; in a 3-player game, take the first card from each deck; in a 4-player game, take the first 2 cards from the Nature and Catalonia decks. Now shuffle these cards and randomly deal 1 card to each player. In a 2-player game, also take a Chandelier token from a non-playing color and leave it beside the main board.
12. The player who most recently strolled through the streets of Barcelona takes the First Player token. If you can't decide, choose randomly.

How to Play

The game is played over 3 rounds. In each round, the players take turns starting with the player who has the First Player token and going clockwise. On your turn, you must first move your Chandelier token clockwise around the Chandelier on the main board. You can move it forward as many spaces as you want to, then take the action(s) shown on the space where you stop. Once all players have moved their Chandelier tokens all the way around the Chandelier, the current round ends and the first player starts a new one.

Moving Your Chandelier Token

• If this is your first move for the round (your Chandelier token is still next to your player board), you must start moving from the top space of the Chandelier track (the one marked with the smaller shape of this token). This counts as your first step of movement that turn, and you may choose to stop there if you want (and if the space is empty—see the next rule).
• You must always move clockwise around the Chandelier. You may move as many spaces as you want to, but you cannot choose to stop on a space that already has another player's Chandelier token in it.
• If you end your movement ahead of all the other players, you'll get to take some extra actions this turn!
• If you complete a full loop around the Chandelier and reach the end of the track, you must remove your Chandelier token from the main board and place it next to your player board. Then, you get to activate the Chandelier tile in the center of the Chandelier. If you are the first player to reach the end during a round, you also take the First Player token. This has no effect on the turn order for the current round, but you will be the first player in the next round.
• If it's your turn to play but you have already removed your Chandelier token from the main board, you must do nothing and skip your turn.

2-Player Games

If you are playing a 2-player game, you must also use a Chandelier token of a color not in play. Treat that token as the last player in turn order, regardless of who is the first player. On their turn, move that token to the first space that would make it the most advanced on the Chandelier. They take no actions and do nothing else, so the next player can play immediately.

It is possible for this "third player" to reach the last space first if that's the first space that would make them the most advanced player. If this happens, neither of you will be able to perform both actions on the Chandelier tile, since you will not be the first player to reach it. However, since the "third player" is always last, they don't take the First Player token. The first human player to reach the end of the Chandelier track will be the one who takes it.

Chandelier Spaces

Each space of the Chandelier track shows an icon that matches one of the actions in the game (see Icons Shown on the Board, Chandelier Tiles, and Cards). Each space also shows a number of pencils and hammers. The number of pencils and hammers indicate how many actions you can take if you land on that space, and what type of actions you may take on that turn:

• Each pencil lets you perform the action shown on that space once.
• Each hammer allows you to perform 1 of these 3 options once: perform the action shown on that space once, or advance 1 of your Chimney markers, or play 1 card from your hand.

Which pencils or hammers you may use depends on whether your Chandelier token is the most advanced:

• If your Chandelier token is the most advanced on the Chandelier (going clockwise), you may use both the pencils and the hammers shown on that space!
• Important: A Chandelier token that has been removed from the main board after reaching the last space is always considered to be the "most advanced", so no other token can be the "most advanced" one.
• If your Chandelier token is not the most advanced, you may use either the pencils or the hammers on that space, but not both; and you can choose which one to use.

Example: Roser (red) advanced her marker up to the most advanced space, so she used 1 pencil and 1 hammer during her turn. Once Roser's turn was over, Irene (blue) advanced up to that space, so she can choose whether she wants to play with 2 pencils or 1 hammer.

The Central Chandelier Tile

The space in the center of the Chandelier is special: it has neither pencils nor hammers. Instead, it has a Chandelier tile, which always shows 2 actions.

• If you are the first player to reach the end of the Chandelier, you may perform both actions, in any order you choose.
• Players arriving at the central Chandelier tile after the first one may only perform 1 of those 2 actions.

After a player reaches the end of the Chandelier (and removes their token), the end of the round is close. The remaining players may continue to take turns for now. Notice that some spaces on the Chandelier have a darker and reddish hue: when a player moves their token onto one of these darker spaces or reaches the end of the Chandelier after any player has reached the end, they must remove their Chandelier token after completing their actions for that turn.

Important: Tokens on the darker spaces are not removed immediately if another player reaches the end of the Chandelier, they are removed only after they move onto one of those spaces once somebody has reached the end of the Chandelier.

Gaining Victory Points (VP)

Every time that you see the star icon during the game with a number next to it, it means that you gain Victory Points (VP) that match the Pillar type shown under the star. Move your Nature, Catalonia, or Religion VP marker up the track a number of spaces equal to the indicated value.

End of the Round

Once all players have removed their Chandelier tokens from the main board, the round ends. Remove the top Chandelier tile from the center of the Chandelier. If this was the last tile, the game ends, and it's time for the endgame scoring (see Endgame Scoring). Otherwise, the player with the First Player token begins the next round.

Gaudí was 72 years old when he was arrested in 1924 for refusing to speak Spanish to a police officer, choosing instead to answer in Catalan. Despite his age and frailty, he remained steadfast in his convictions. A testament to the quiet strength that defined both the man and his work.

Actions

Any time you receive one of the action icons, you may take that action. Most of the time, this will happen when your Chandelier token lands on a space around the Chandelier, but you can also get action icons as rewards from other places, such as cards you play. All actions are always performed the same exact way, no matter where they come from. The actions are all described below as if they are single actions, but remember that you may use them more than once, like you do when you land on a Chandelier space with multiple pencils or hammers. You are never forced to take any actions—you may always turn down any number of them.

There are 4 different actions you can take during your turn, either shown around the Chandelier or activated by the hammers:

1. Taking a Trencadís tile and placing it on your player board.
2. Taking a card from the main board into your hand, up to a maximum of 4 cards in total.
3. Playing a card from your hand onto your player board, if you have the required number of Trencadís tiles.
4. Advancing a Chimney marker if you have the required number of Trencadís tiles, and gaining the rewards.

There is also a "wild" action, which allows you to perform any other action around the Chandelier (see Wild Action).

1. Taking a Trencadís Tile

Gaudí's use of trencadís transformed shattered ceramic and glass into dazzling mosaics that ripple with color and life, wrapping his architecture in a kind of joyful chaos. This technique, seen vividly in Park Güell, turns discarded fragments into poetic patterns, echoing the rhythms of nature and the spirit of Catalonia.

This action allows you to take 1 Trencadís tile from the main board. If the icon shows a specific shape and/or color, you must take a Trencadís tile that matches it. If it shows a black shape, you may choose any color of tile that matches that shape. If it shows a colored circle, you may choose any shape of tile that matches that color. If you take more than 1 tile on the same turn, they can come from the same or different supply spaces.

There are also icons that allow you to take a Trencadís tile of any shape and color.

All Trencadís tiles you obtain must be placed on your player board, each on an empty space matching the shape of that tile. These tiles can be flipped and/or rotated to make them match the spaces. If you realize that you cannot place one of your tiles because there is no matching space available, you must return it to where it was and you may take a different one. If your player board is full, you can't take any more tiles.

If you take the last Trencadís tile from any of the spaces on the main board, you may take 1 additional action (see Running Out of Supplies). At the end of your turn, you will draw 5 new Trencadís tiles from the bag and place them on the main board on that empty space.

You will need to collect Trencadís tiles in order to fulfill the requirements for playing cards (see Playing a Card). Also, if you can create groups of tiles that are the same color on your player board, you will get bonus VP at the end of the game (see Endgame Scoring).

Receiving and Having

Depending on the action you are taking, you may receive, or simply need to have a certain amount of the resources shown.

• A number with a black outline means that you receive that many from the supply. (For example: you receive 1 Trencadís tile from the main board of the shape and color of your choice.)
• A number with a red outline next to an icon means that you must have at least that many in order to perform the action, but you do not spend them (you can keep them). For example, you may need to have 6 Trencadís tiles of the same color of your choice (e.g., they can all be blue tiles if you have them, but not 4 green and 2 gray ones.)

When you are required to have a number of tiles of a color of your choice, they must all be of the same color, regardless of their shape. When you receive or are required to have a certain number of tiles of a specific shape, they do not have to be all of the same color.

Adjacency and Groups

On your player board, 2 Trencadís tiles are considered "adjacent" if 1 of their edges is next to the other, but not if the edge of one tile is only touching the corner of the other. There are small link lines between the spaces that are adjacent to help you visualize this.

Any number of tiles that are all connected to each other to form an uninterrupted series of adjacent tiles is called a "group". Unless a rule says otherwise, groups are also separated by colors, so most of the time you will check for groups of connected tiles of a specific color.

Example: A player has a group of 2 yellow Trencadís tiles, as they are connected to one another. Gray and green tiles adjacent to the yellow tile are not adjacent to each other, so they are not part of that group.

2. Taking a Card

Parts of a Card

1. Requirement to play the card (for example, you may need to have at least 2 blue Trencadís tiles on your player board).
2. Rewards granted by this card.
3. Category: Religion cards and Chimney effects refer to these categories for scoring or granting rewards. The Life of Gaudí category is a "wild" category and these cards can be assigned to any other category.
4. Pillar type of card (Nature, Catalonia, or Religion), indicated by the color and the back of the card.
5. Image of either one of Gaudí's works or of an important event of his life.
6. Religion cards include a number in order to make them easier to identify in the summary at the end of this rulebook.

Card Categories

Façade, Iron / Glass, Garden, Interior, Door, Tower, Sculpture, Ceiling / Rooftop, Furniture, Life of Gaudí.

These icons allow you to take a card from one of the Windows of the main board that matches the Pillar type and add it to your hand: Nature, Catalonia, Religion, or Any type.

If you take more than 1 card using the "any type" icon, they may be of the same or different Pillar types. You have access to all cards on the main board, not only the top card of each type. Do not draw new cards to replace the ones you take until all 3 cards on a Window have been taken.

If you take the last card from any of the Windows, you may take the additional action indicated on the wooden space right above it (see Running Out of Supplies). At the end of your turn, you will draw 3 new cards from the corresponding deck and refill the Window.

You can never have more than 4 cards in your hand. You may discard cards from your hand to make space if you want to pick up a new one and you already have 4 cards in your hand.

Running Out of Supplies

Notice the icons next to the Trencadís spaces and above the card Windows. These are bonus actions that you can trigger at any point during your turn if you take the last Trencadís tile or card from that space or Window. You may perform more than 1 of these extra actions if you empty more than 1 space or Window during your turn, but only once for each action per turn.

If you empty a space or Window, at the end of your turn, before play passes to the next player, you must refill any empty Trencadís spaces with 5 tiles drawn randomly from the bag and any empty Window with 3 cards from the matching deck. If the bag is empty, refill as many tiles as possible, filling each space clockwise, starting with the one on the left. If any of the decks run out of cards, refill them as much as possible and continue playing.

3. Playing a Card

This icon means you can play a card if you meet the requirement (see below). Place the card in the matching column below your player board in such a way that the top banner of every card is always visible, but making sure that the color icon on the card below is covered. There's no limit to the number of cards that you can have in each column.

This action appears on the Chandelier, but it's also one of the options you may choose when using a hammer.

Card Requirements

Each card has a requirement that shows a color and a number. When you play that card, you must place it at the bottom of the matching column, then add up all the numbers in that column. The total is the minimum number of Trencadís tiles you must have (not pay) on your player board that match the color on the card (the shape does not matter). They do not have to be adjacent. If the card shows a black icon, you may choose any color, but all tiles must be of the same color.

If you realize you cannot place the card legally based on these requirements, you must return it to your hand.

Resolving Columns

When a rule tells you to "resolve a column", you receive all the rewards printed on the banners of every card you have in that column as well as any reward shown on your player board above the column.

Religion cards differ from the others, in that they don't grant direct rewards. Instead, each Religion card will award you a certain number of Religion VP multiplied by the number of times you have accomplished a certain goal, usually at the end of the game. Some of these goals refer to the number of cards of a specific category you have played. For example, you might get 3 VP for each Door card. Your Life of Gaudí cards are considered wild, and can be scored at any time as if they had any other category you need, so they can be counted when scoring one of these cards.

There is also an icon that allows you to resolve and score 1 of the Religion cards you have, not the whole column.

Nature Cards

After you play a card in your Nature column, and only in that column, you immediately resolve the column, gaining all the rewards on all the banners of the cards in that column in the order of your choice, including the Nature VP shown on your player board above that column. Playing cards in either of the other 2 columns has no such instantaneous effect.

Example: Xavier wants to play a Nature card that requires having a total of 4 green Trencadís tiles on his player board. If he does, he will resolve his Nature column by moving his Nature VP marker 7 steps forward and taking 1 blue Trencadís tile of any shape from the main board.

Catalonia Cards

They may be resolved at the end of the round, as many times as the central Chandelier tile indicates, if you reach that space and choose that reward.

Example: At the end of the round, Xavier will resolve his Catalonia column twice. In this case, he will receive 18 Catalonia VP and take 2 Nature cards.

Religion Cards

These cards are resolved at the end of the game (though some game effects may allow you to score individual Religion cards during the game). Each card will score for different concepts, as indicated.

Example: At the end of the game, Roser will score 3 Religion VP for each card of the Ceiling / Rooftop type that she has on her player board, 1 Religion VP for the total number of advances in her Chimneys, and 1 Religion VP for each Trencadís tile of a specific shape on her player board.

4. Advancing a Chimney Marker

Antoni Gaudí's iconic chimneys, especially those atop Palau Güell, are celebrated for their surreal, sculptural forms that blur the line between function and fantasy. These whimsical structures, often covered in colorful mosaics or twisting stone, showcase Gaudí's unique blend of nature-inspired design and architectural innovation.

This action does not appear on the Chandelier, but it's one of the options you may choose when using a hammer and in other parts of the game as a reward.

Move 1 of your Chimney tokens to the next position on its Chimney, advancing it from bottom to top. Depending on the number and shape shown on the space you want to move to, you must have (not pay) at least that number of Trencadís tiles on your player board that match the shape shown (the color does not matter, and they do not have to be adjacent).

Depending on the Chimney you advanced, you will either gain an immediate reward or an effect to apply at the end of the game.

If one of your Chimney tokens reaches the top of its Chimney, you can't move that token anymore for the rest of the game.

Example: Neus (yellow) wants to advance her Chimney token to the last step of her Catalonia Chimney. In order to do that, she needs to have at least 5 Trencadís tiles of the trapezoid shape (regardless of their color) on her player board. If she does, she just moves her Chimney token up 1 step, and immediately resolves her Catalonia column (the reward for the top space), gaining all the Catalonia VP on the cards there and on her player board above that column (7 in total), and also taking 1 Trencadís tile of the shape and color of her choice. Once that's done, she won't be able to advance this token anymore.

Chimney Tiles

Here are examples of the rewards you can earn by moving your Chimney token up on your Chimney tiles (see also Expert Chimney Tiles for the appendix summary):

• Immediately resolve your Nature column.
• After you finish this turn, play another turn immediately, moving your Chandelier token again, unless you have already reached the end of the Chandelier track.
• Immediately take 1 Trencadís tile of any shape and color from the main board.
• Immediately resolve your Catalonia column.
• At the end of the game, after scoring your Religion column, you may reduce 1 of your VP markers by exactly 3 points to increase 1 of your other markers by that same number of points.
• Immediately gain 5 Catalonia VP.
• Immediately resolve 1 of the cards in your Religion column.
• You may immediately play 1 card from your hand, ignoring the requirements.
• You may immediately take any card from the main board.

Wild Action

This icon means you may choose and perform any other action around the Chandelier (not the ones on the tiles in the center). This action has a pencil and a hammer next to it, so if you use both icons to perform the action shown on this space, you may choose to perform up to 2 different actions on the Chandelier.

Endgame Scoring

Gaudí's faith was the cornerstone of his life and work, growing ever deeper as he aged, until his architecture became an offering to God. The Sagrada Família, his magnum opus, rises like a stone prayer, with each spire, symbol, and shadow infused with a profound sense of devotion and divine purpose.

At the end of the round in which a player removes the last Chandelier tile, the game is over and you move on to final scoring. Perform the final scoring as follows:

1. Each player first resolves their Religion column. Before you do, assign all of your Life of Gaudí cards to 1 category of your choice 1 last time, as some cards may score based on these categories. Advance your Religion VP marker accordingly.
2. If you reached the second step of your Catalonia Chimney, you may apply that effect now.
3. Add the VP score of your 2 least advanced VP markers, and place your Grand Total VP marker on the total value.
4. Then, advance your Grand Total VP marker as many spaces as the number of Trencadís tiles you have in your second- and third-largest single-color groups (the groups can be different colors) on your player board. Ties for second and third positions: If 2 (or more) VP markers or groups of Trencadís tiles are tied, choose 1 of them to be the "biggest" and the other to be the "smallest" (and so on if there's more than 2 tied), in order to score for your second and third counters or groups.

Whoever has the highest final Grand Total score is the winner! In case of a tie, the tied player with the most advanced VP marker that is not their Grand Total is the winner. If the tie persists, the tied players share the victory.

Endgame Scoring Example

1. Roser (red) starts by scoring her Religion column. The first card scores 3 Religion VP times the number of Ceiling / Rooftop cards she has, and she has 3 of those plus 1 Life of Gaudí card, which she assigned as a Ceiling / Rooftop card, for a total of 12 VP. She also gets 6 VP (2 times 3 advancements made on the Religion Chimney) and 8 VP (2 times 4 Catalonia cards played), for a total of 26 Religion VP, which are added to her Religion score, which was previously 4.
2. Then, since she has reached the second space on her Catalonia Chimney, she moves her Catalonia marker 3 spaces back and her Religion marker 3 spaces forward.
3. Next, she adds the values of her 2 least-advanced markers, which are Nature and Religion, for a total of 64 VP, which is tracked with her Grand Total VP marker.
4. Finally, she scores her Trencadís groups. The green and yellow groups are tied for first and second place, so 1 of them will be her second for 6 VP and the gray one is the third for 4 more VP, so her final score is 74 VP.

Expert Rules

Once you have played a few games using the standard rules, you may be interested in upping the challenge a little bit. In that case, follow the basic rules while applying the following changes to the indicated sections:

Setup (Expert)

Set up the game as indicated under Setup, with these changes in the following steps:

1. Place the main board on the table with its Night side up.
2. Place all the Trencadís tiles in the bag, shuffle them, and randomly place 4 tiles from the bag on each of the 5 Trencadís spaces on the main board, marked by the swirl edges of the ceiling. Leave the bag near the board. Note that every time that you need to fill one of these supply spaces, you will draw 4 Trencadís tiles instead of 5.

Player Setup (Expert)

7. Separate the Chimney tiles by Nature, Catalonia, and Religion. Shuffle each set blindly and randomly assign 1 Chimney tile of each type to each player. The players place them with the Night side up above their player boards in the matching slots.
8. Instead of dealing the Pillar cards randomly, starting with the player to the right of the starting player and proceeding counterclockwise, each player takes the set of cards and chooses 1 of those cards to keep, then passes the remaining cards to the next player.

Taking a Card Action (Expert)

You cannot discard cards from your hand to make room for the new ones you want to pick up with this action anymore.

Running Out of Supplies (Expert)

At the end of your turn, refill any empty Trencadís spaces with 4 tiles randomly drawn from the bag, instead of 5.

Card Requirements (Expert)

In order to play a card, you must have at least the required number of Trencadís tiles that are part of a single group of connected tiles of the color shown on the card.

Advancing a Chimney Marker (Expert)

You must have at least the required number of Trencadís tiles of the shape shown that are part of a single group of connected tiles. Note that this group can include different colors and shapes, as long as it contains the shapes you need.

Example: All the triangles, except the blue one, are part of the same group when checking for specific shapes, even though they have different colors. The blue triangle would also be part of the group if a square is placed that connects it to the group.

Chimneys have "passive" effects which apply to you for the rest of the game once activated, every time the indicated condition is met (see Expert Chimney Tiles). Besides the immediate rewards, which are only gained once, you will always have access to all these passive effects and any endgame effects your Chimney tokens have moved onto or through.

Some passive Chimney effects grant you a reward when you play a card of a specific category. The Life of Gaudí cards can be used as if they belonged to any other category at the moment of playing them in relation to these Chimney effects. If you have access to more than 1 Chimney reward triggered when you play a card of a specific category, you can only choose 1 of them. You will assign these cards to a category again when scoring the Religion cards at the end of the game, which can be different from the one you chose when playing it.

Endgame Scoring (Expert)

In Expert mode, the final scoring goes as follows:

1. All players must score their Religion column first. Before you do so, assign all of your Life of Gaudí cards to 1 category of your choice, as some cards may score based on these categories. If you have reached or passed any endgame effects with your Chimney tokens, you may apply each of them once. Depending on the effect, some of them are applied before you begin the final scoring, and others are applied during the final scoring.
2. Add the VP score of your second-least advanced VP marker plus twice the value of your least-advanced VP marker, and place your Grand Total VP marker on the resulting value.
3. Advance your Grand Total VP marker 1 space for each Trencadís tile in your second-largest group of tiles of the same color, plus 2 spaces for each Trencadís tile in your third-largest group of tiles of the same color (these groups can be different colors).

Whoever has the highest Grand Total score is the winner! In case of a tie, the tied player with the most advanced VP marker that is not their Grand Total is the winner. If the tie persists, the tied players share the victory.

Endgame Scoring Example (Expert)

1. Roser (red) starts by resolving her Religion column. The first card scores 3 Religion VP times the number of Ceiling / Rooftop cards she has, and she has 3 of those plus 1 Life of Gaudí card, which she assigned as a Ceiling / Rooftop card, for a total of 12 VP. She also gets 8 VP (2 times 4 advancements on her Religion Chimney) and 8 VP (2 times 4 Catalonia cards played), for a total of 28 Religion VP, which are added to her Religion score (which was 6).
2. She adds the values of her second-least advanced VP marker, which is Nature, plus twice her least-advanced marker, which is Religion, for a total of 103 VP, which is tracked with her Grand Total VP marker.
3. Then, she scores her Trencadís groups. The green and yellow groups are tied for first and second place, so one of them will be the second for 6 VP and the gray one is third for 8 more VP, so her final score is 117 VP.

Solo Mode

Gaudí's work ethic was intense, almost monastic—he didn't just design his buildings; he lived them. At the Sagrada Família, he moved into a small on-site workshop during the final years of his life, forsaking comfort to remain wholly immersed in the project. He personally oversaw the smallest details, from sculptural forms to how natural light filtered through windows at different times of day. On other sites, like Park Güell, he could often be seen working alongside artisans, guiding their hands, shaping materials, and even climbing on scaffoldings to make adjustments himself. For Gaudí, architecture wasn't a profession, it was a calling. One that demanded his full presence in body, mind, and spirit.

Imagine trying to work opposed to that! In the solo mode of this game, you will play against Gaudí himself. In order to do that, you will need to be familiar with the Expert mode.

Prepare the game as in an Expert 2-player game (you can't play a solo Casual game), including the use of a third Chandelier token, with the following changes:

• Gaudí doesn't need a player board nor Chimneys or Chimney markers.
• Gaudí only uses the Grand Total VP marker.
• You are the first player, but you are also first when choosing which starting card to take from those revealed for that purpose during setup. Place the card you don't choose on the table, in a zone reserved for Gaudí.

Before starting the game, choose a difficulty level: easy, normal, hard, or insane.

Flow of the Game (Solo)

You play the game exactly as in a multiplayer game. Only during the first round of the game, you play your turn first, then Gaudí plays after you, and then the virtual third player carries out their turn before it comes back to you. Once the first round is over, proceed as usual, starting with either you or Gaudí, whoever took the first player token on the previous round.

Gaudí's Turn

On his turn, Gaudí will move his Chandelier token to the first space where he can fully perform the action depicted on that space. This means that, if his token is the most advanced one, he must be able to perform the action shown a number of times equal to the pencils plus hammers there, and if his token is not the most advanced, he may perform the action a number of times equal to either the pencils or the hammers, whichever is greater. If he can't fully perform the action, he will keep checking the spaces on the Chandelier in clockwise order until he finds a space where he can.

In addition to the previous rule, if at the start of his turn Gaudí's token is the last one on the Chandelier and there are 3 or more empty spaces between his token and the next one in clockwise order, Gaudí will skip those spaces and move his token to the first space that makes him the most advanced player and also allows him to fully perform the action.

Example: Gaudí is playing as yellow. In order to perform the "take green Trencadís tiles" action as the most advanced player, there would need to be at least 3 green tiles on the main board to take, and if he was not the most advanced player, there would need to be at least 2 green tiles, as that action has 2 pencils. Otherwise, he would skip this space and check the next one, since he would not be able to fully perform that action.

Virtual Third Player's Turn

Just like in a 2-player game, the "virtual" third player will always take their turns third, regardless of who is the starting player. On their turn, move their Chandelier token to the first space that would make their token the most advanced one going clockwise, but unlike a normal 2-player game, they will try to perform that action as many times as possible, up to the number of pencils and hammers on that space combined. Same as in a 2-player game, this third player can't take the First Player token, even if it is the first to reach the last space of the Chandelier, only you or Gaudí can take it.

Both Gaudí and the virtual third player ignore the actions for the supplies and cards they deplete. They never activate the icons on the cards they take either.

Actions (Solo)

All Trencadís tiles and cards taken by both Gaudí and the virtual third player are stored in Gaudí's zone on the table. These cards are placed in 3 columns, 1 for each type of card, in the same order from left to right as a player. Trencadís tiles are arranged horizontally based on their color and vertically based on their shape, so that you can easily see how many of each color and shape Gaudí has.

• Taking a Trencadís Tile Action: When taking a Trencadís tile of a specific shape, take one of the colors Gaudí has the fewest of with that shape, among the available options. When taking a Trencadís tile of a specific color, take one in the shape Gaudí has the fewest of with that color, among the available options. In both cases, if there's more than 1 tile that fulfills that criterion, take it from the first space one of those tiles is in, starting with the leftmost space and proceeding in clockwise order. If more than 1 tile on the same space fulfills that criterion, choose which one Gaudí and the virtual third player take.
• Taking a Card Action: When taking a card, always take the bottommost card of the type Gaudí and the virtual third player are taking. When taking a card of "any type", take the type Gaudí has the fewest of. In case of a tie, take it from the leftmost column among the tied options.
• Playing a Card / Wild Action: Both Gaudí and the virtual third player consider the "play a card" icon and the "wild action" icon to be a "take a card of any type" action.
• The Central Chandelier Tile: When Gaudí or the virtual third player activate the space in the center of the Chandelier, they gain 1 single "take a card of any type" action, regardless of the icons on the tile or whether they are the first player to reach it or not.

Endgame Scoring (Solo)

After you perform your endgame scoring as usual, calculate Gaudí's as follows:

• If you chose the easy / normal / hard difficulty at the beginning of the game, remove the first 3/2/1 cards from each of his columns, respectively.
• Add up the VP values on all of his cards together, including Religion VP, considering the multiplier to be 1 for all of them. Then, multiply that total by 3, unless you chose the insane difficulty, in which case multiply it by 4. Give him that many Grand Total VP.
• Increase that value by the number of Trencadís tiles of the color he has the second-most of, and by 2 times the number of tiles of the color he has the third-most of.

If you have more Grand Total VP than Gaudí, you win the game!

Imagining Antoni Gaudí

Antoni Gaudí was a Catalan architect. Born in Baix Camp in 1852, he died in Barcelona in 1926, having created an architectural style entirely without precedents and to this day without successors. Millions of people visit his buildings every year, especially the unfinished Sagrada Família, which is still being built even now, but also La Pedrera, Palau Güell, and Park Güell, and the distinctive Casa Batlló and Casa Vicenç.

Traditionally considered a Modernist, his work shares some elements with his contemporaries in that movement, but the truth is that his work is difficult to classify. To better understand him, you need to know that Gaudí had three great loves in his life: Nature, God, and Catalonia. They may seem like three different constructs from our distant perspective over a century later, but he saw no need to separate these three loves into three words, three ideas, or three concepts. Gaudí could overlay each one, blending them together.

At first glance, we can see that Gaudí imitated natural forms as any sculptor would do. The skulls that make up the railings on the balconies of the Palau Güell, the animals on the exterior walls of the Sagrada Família, and the wrought iron plant forms that we find in practically every building are obvious examples. A more in-depth look would reveal the sinuous forms of the façades and walls, the columns planted in the ground as if they had roots, pillars ending in the shape of branches, and the organic appearance of the furniture that he designed for various projects: evidence of an inspiration that goes beyond the reproduction of plants and animals. For Gaudí, nature was a source of knowledge about the world and the space we occupy. Of course, it also helped him to build better buildings, inspiring more robust and spacious constructions that were aligned with a particular idea of human nature.

Gaudí's architecture aimed to combat the social and spiritual disintegration suffered by people at the turn of the 20th Century, the same people that industrial societies had crowded into cities and rectilinear flats, into an alienating and desperate existence unrelated to the real world.

At the base of this observation of nature there is not only the sickly, sensitive child who couldn't go to school and was left to wander around the family house at Riudoms (where oral folklore maintains he was born, contrary to the documented evidence of the city of Reus, a few kilometers away). This typical image of a child who was captivated by the shape of a snail, or fascinated by the structural strength of an ant, does not do justice to the genius of Gaudí, which owed its cultivation equally to an obsessive study of the history of architecture, mathematics, and geometric constructions.

He was a genius who solved the centuries-old problem of architecture: how to construct a large open space. Gothic architecture had tried to solve the problem with the profusion of external supports to the nave, like the flying buttresses (observe an aerial photo of Notre Dame to see its scope). Gaudí managed to solve the problem and reduce much of this outer skeleton by using a deeper understanding of the forces at play in nature. He did not work on intuition alone, however, and merged these ideas with technical skill. Ironically, he achieved the balance just at that moment in history when the solution ceased to be relevant: technologically improved building materials meant that skyscrapers and train stations could be erected for the masses without the calculations that a mere stone building would need. Gaudí's brilliant architectural gesture is both sacred and useless.

Behind the branching columns of the Colònia Güell Crypt or the Sagrada Família, there is a profound understanding of weight distribution. The masterpieces in the corridors of the Col·legi de les Teresianes are due to the triumphal appearance of the Gaudí arches, both catenary and parabolic. At the source of impossible domes like that of Palau Güell is what the geometrists call ellipsoids or paraboloids of revolution; words that conjure up structures that mystify the mind. Gaudí's architecture blends spirit with technical skill. Or in other words: behind the appearance of imitating natural forms, we find an ambition to engage both transcendence and robustness.

Unlike other scholars of nature, however, Gaudí does not attempt to dominate the world, but to adapt to it. There is a subtle difference, but one good example is the paths of Park Güell. Designed for contemplative wandering, they adapt to the shape of the mountain instead of modifying natural forms to fit an idealistic fantasy. In this bowing before the wildness of the earth, there is an almost mystical attitude, conceiving a relationship with matter that has a reverence which is, paradoxically, immaterial. Accordingly, Gaudí's evolution can be seen from the beginnings at Casa Calvet to the last years of absolute dedication to the Sagrada Família; a process of freeing himself from mundane social demands. It is mystical in the sense that there is an approach toward a more spiritual aesthetic, which leads us to his love for God.

His initial inspiration in nature, both aesthetically and mathematically, evolves in parallel with the increasingly radical aspect of his Christian devotion. A devotion that partly underscores the need for atonement and partly highlights a less tortured spiritual sensibility. The Sagrada Família is a temple of atonement; conceived so that the economic and social exertion to build it would atone for the sins of the modern world. These are the sins of arrogance that turn away from the spirit: the sins of materialism; political and social discord; the sins of alienation and hopelessness of the working class.

At the same time there is joy and hopeful meaning in the work, as Gaudí conceives his own creative effort as an offering to God. As he who shapes the clay, for him, and for the craftsmen who build it, the very act of designing and building the temple is a prayer. It can be seen through the many symbolic elements in his work. Each one has a meaning that strives both to speak to God and seeks to hear God's response. Gaudí's religion is based on asceticism, like a hermit who dedicates every gesture to refining his relationship with God in order to become a vehicle and instrument of His work. Just as prayer transforms the faithful, the decades of building the temple gradually purify Gaudí's devoutness.

As with his study of nature, there is also an evolution in his work that begins with the most visible and ends in a series of implicit and evocative meanings. Explicit religious references in the Palau Güell can be seen in the altar of the Virgin which presides over the central room of the church, to the Greek cross that crowns the lightning rods of the building. There is also the fact that the tower of Jesus (the highest of the Sagrada Família) stands 172 m; slightly lower than the height of Barcelona's Montjuïc mountain at 177 m, which has an almost kabbalistic subtlety. Gaudí does not want the work of man to supersede that of God in nature. The best way to see this is to imagine that Gaudí thinks of God as a painter. The façade of Casa Batlló, with its slightly wavy shape full of small pieces of glass and ceramics, changes color according to the weather, the time of day, and the season of the year. Inside the Sagrada Família, the natural light of the Mediterranean makes use of the stained-glass windows and other materials to fill the nave of the temple with a mixture of colors that are akin to God's moods seen in nature.

The third love of Gaudí's life is Catalonia. Here we can also find both the explicit and the implicit. Gaudí belonged to a generation of Catalans from the second half of the 19th Century who wanted Catalonia to be a political community with the freedom and security to continue existing; that is, one that was not dominated by the Castilian Spanish or the institutions of the Spanish State. Explicit examples are the stained-glass windows with the four stripes of the Catalan flag in the Palau Güell and the wrought iron bat of the Catalan crown on the weathervane of the Palau itself. Another sign is the dragon on the roof of Casa Batlló, killed by the chimney-spear of Sant Jordi, patron saint of Catalonia. Yet another is the water that flows from the Fountain of Hercules in the Palau de Pedralbes, passing through the four bars of the coat of arms of Catalonia. The list is endless.

His work is the expression of a life of political radicalism. Near the end of his life, just a few years before his death, Gaudí was involved in an event that demonstrated his commitment. A year earlier, Primo de Rivera's coup d'état had taken place; a dictator who fiercely opposed Catalans was in power and Gaudí was arrested for speaking Catalan to the Spanish police. It was September 11, 1924, and the dictatorship had banned any commemorations. For Catalans, September 11 is a national commemoration of the fall of Barcelona in 1714 to the Spanish and French troops in a war that would mark the end of the political freedom of their country. It is a day to remember those who resisted to the end and not to forget the work needed to recover those freedoms and constitutions.

Despite the ban on commemorations, Gaudí went to the parish of St Just, where a mass was being celebrated for the fallen of the resistance. This took a lot of courage and conviction to do so at that time, and even more so given that the police blocked the entrance. Gaudí tried to enter the church, and when questioned by the police officer who stopped him, refused to speak in Spanish, the language imposed by the dictatorship. He was arrested and taken to the police station. Friends had to pay his bail, because the architect, who in 1924 was already a well-known figure, continued to refuse to change languages in front of the police commissioner.

In Gaudí's architecture, there are at least two less explicit elements that also connect him with this love of his homeland. The first is the smallest detail, the trencadís. This is a mosaic made of irregular pieces of ceramics, glass, and other materials fixed with lime mortar. Gaudí took rejected pieces from ceramic factories or pieces of dishes, cups, and glasses, and would cover surfaces with them. He began by using it for curved surfaces, where large flat pieces could not be used, but, little by little, the trencadís style became an aesthetic mark of his work. Collaborating with the architect Josep Maria Jujol, he created the wavy, winding bench that marks the perimeter of the main square in Park Güell, creating a glorious work of abstract art. But this breakthrough is actually the reformulation of an old technique that was born out of necessity: covering the whitewashed walls of humble housing with the discarded pieces of good quality material. The remains of the work are a symbol of the remains of the homeland: he took the most humble and despised objects of his immediate surroundings and transformed them into something beautiful and useful. This gesture of taking something broken and raising it to the sublime is precisely what 19th Century Nationalists aimed to do with a decayed Catalonia, subdued and broken: transform it into something fruitful, beautiful, and useful. And also, free.

The last implicit element is so large and visible that it is hardly noticeable, and it links Gaudí's three loves together. The work of the architect from the Baix Camp is original in conception because it does not participate in any contemporary tradition, nor did it aim to form part of any architectural and aesthetic Spanish trend of the time. It is a deliberate separation that aims to create a distinctly Catalan way of existing in the world, and to do so, it searches beyond what is visible in the present. This explains the constant exploration in Gaudí's work: from experimenting with an Orientalist and Islamic phase to using influences from classical Greece and later delving into the Gothic tradition. Alongside this are elements of religious and national folklore, technical building solutions blended with traditional wisdom, expertise gained from scientific knowledge used with artistic insight. All this allows him to simultaneously begin—and also continue—a tradition. A tradition located at the center of a triangle that has three vertices in God, Nature, and Catalonia. When you approach Antoni Gaudí, do so thinking that in each element there are infinite meanings (even those that we ourselves project), but these three are always present.

Appendix

Expert Chimney Tiles

Summary of the passive and immediate effects available on each step of the Expert-mode Chimney tiles, grouped by Chimney:

Nature Chimney, tile 01: Step 2 — for each Trencadís tile you add to your player board, gain 2 Nature VP. Step 3 — every time you take at least 1 Trencadís tile from the main board due to an action on the Chandelier, you may take 1 more of the same type. Step 4 — every time you play a Ceiling / Rooftop or Sculpture card, consider the total number of required Trencadís tiles to be 2 lower. Step 5 — immediately gain 5 Nature VP.

Nature Chimney, tile 02: Step 2 — you may immediately move 1 step up on any of your other Chimneys, ignoring the requirements. Step 3 — every time you empty a supply of Trencadís tiles on the main board, you may take 1 additional Trencadís tile from the main board (once per turn). Step 4 — immediately resolve your Nature column twice. Step 5 — you may immediately reduce 1 of your VP markers by exactly 7 points to increase 1 of your other markers by that same number of points.

Nature Chimney, tile 03: Step 2 — every time you play a Sculpture or Garden card, you may take 1 Trencadís tile from the main board. Step 3 — immediately resolve your Nature column. Step 4 — every time you play a card in your Nature column, consider the total number of required Trencadís tiles to be 2 lower. Step 5 — after you finish this turn, play another turn immediately, moving your Chandelier token again, unless you have already reached the end of the Chandelier track.

Nature Chimney, tile 04: Step 2 — immediately take up to 3 Trencadís tiles of any shapes and colors from the board. Step 3 — every time you play a Garden or Ceiling / Rooftop card, gain 3 Nature VP. Step 4 — you can move your Chandelier token onto the same space another player is occupying; if there's no other players' token ahead of you, you may activate all the pencils and hammers (this doesn't apply to the space in the center of the Chandelier). Step 5 — immediately gain 2 Nature VP for each blue Trencadís tile on your player board.

Catalonia Chimney, tile 01: Step 2 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, you may play 1 card. Step 3 — every time you play a Furniture or Door card, gain 3 Catalonia VP. Step 4 — every time you play a card in your Catalonia column, consider the total number of required Trencadís tiles to be 2 lower. Step 5 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, resolve your Catalonia column.

Catalonia Chimney, tile 02: Step 2 — immediately gain 5 Catalonia VP. Step 3 — every time you play an Interior or Door card, consider the total number of required Trencadís tiles to be 2 lower. Step 4 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, you may take 2 Trencadís tiles of different shapes from the main board. Step 5 — immediately gain the rewards on the current Chandelier tile.

Catalonia Chimney, tile 03: Step 2 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, gain 2 Catalonia VP. Step 3 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, you may take 1 card. Step 4 — immediately resolve your Catalonia column twice. Step 5 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, you may reduce 1 of your VP markers by exactly 3 points to increase 1 of your other markers by that same number of points.

Catalonia Chimney, tile 04: Step 2 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, you may play a Furniture or Interior card, considering the total number of required Trencadís tiles to be 2 lower. Step 3 — immediately resolve your Catalonia column. Step 4 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, you may take 2 Trencadís tiles of different colors from the main board. Step 5 — every time you activate the tile in the center of the Chandelier, you gain 2 Catalonia VP for each green Trencadís tile on your player board.

Religion Chimney, tile 01: Step 2 — every time you play an Iron / Glass or Tower card, gain 2 Religion VP. Step 3 — at the end of the game, you may play 1 card from your hand ignoring all requirements (can trigger other game effects as usual). Step 4 — at the end of the game, after scoring your Religion column, you may reduce 1 of your VP markers by exactly 3 points to increase 1 of your other markers by that same number of points. Step 5 — at the end of the game, treat the Religion VP value of your Religion cards to be 1 higher before multiplying by the number of times you have accomplished the conditions.

Religion Chimney, tile 02: Step 2 — you may immediately take 1 card for each gray Trencadís tile on your player board. Step 3 — every time you play a Tower or Façade card, consider the total number of required Trencadís tiles to be 2 lower. Step 4 — every time you play a card on your Religion column, consider the total number of required Trencadís tiles to be 2 lower. Step 5 — immediately score 4 Nature, Catalonia, and Religion VP (4 of each).

Religion Chimney, tile 03: Step 2 — immediately gain 5 Religion VP. Step 3 — immediately resolve 1 of the cards on your Religion column. Step 4 — every time you take a card, you may play 1 card. Step 5 — immediately resolve 1 of the cards on your Religion column, gaining the VP as either Nature or Catalonia VP instead of Religion VP.

Religion Chimney, tile 04: Step 2 — at the end of the game, gain 2 Religion VP for each card in your hand. Step 3 — every time you play a Façade or Iron / Glass card, you may take 1 card. Step 4 — you may now have up to 6 cards in your hand; if you take at least 1 card from the main board due to an action on the Chandelier, you may take 1 more card of the same Pillar type. Step 5 — you may immediately play a card from your hand, gaining 2 VP of the matching Pillar type (Nature, Catalonia, or Religion) for each yellow Trencadís tile on your player board.

Icons Shown on the Board, Chandelier Tiles, and Cards

• A number next to a reward means: take the indicated reward that many times.
• A number in a red outline next to a Trencadís icon means: have the indicated Trencadís tiles on your player board that many times.
• A black shape means: take a Trencadís tile of any color from the main board matching the shape shown.
• A colored circle means: take a Trencadís tile of any shape from the main board matching the color shown.
• A rainbow shape means: take any Trencadís tile from the main board.
• A pillar-colored card icon means: play a card of the Pillar type shown.
• A pillar-colored card icon on the Windows means: take a card of the Pillar type shown from the main board.
• A gray card icon means: take any card from the main board.
• A "/" icon means: ignore the requirements.
• A column icon means: resolve the column shown.
• A single-card-with-star icon means: resolve 1 of the cards in your Religion column.
• A star with a Pillar color means: gain VP of the Pillar type shown.
• A Chimney icon means: advance a Chimney marker, following its requirements.
• A circular arrow icon means: choose any other action on the Chandelier (other than the Chandelier tile) to perform.
• A double-arrow icon means: play another turn.
• An "xx" icon means: at the end of the game, you may reduce 1 of your VP markers exactly the indicated number of points to increase 1 of your other markers by that same number of points.
• A tile-with-arrow icon (shown next to the Trencadís and card supplies) means: this action triggers when you take the last Trencadís tile from one of the supplies, or the last card from a Window.

Religion Cards in Detail

Summary of the 33 Religion cards' scoring conditions:

• 01–04: 1 Religion VP for each Trencadís tile on your player board of the color shown.
• 05–08: 1 Religion VP for each Trencadís tile on your player board of the indicated shape.
• 09: 1 Religion VP for each Chimney advancement you have made.
• 10: 5 Religion VP for each Chimney token you have in the topmost position.
• 11: 4 Religion VP for each advancement you have made on the Chimney you have advanced the least.
• 12–14: 2 Religion VP for each Chimney advancement you have made on the specific Chimney shown.
• 15: 2 Religion VP for each set of 1 Trencadís tile of every color on your player board.
• 16: 2 Religion VP for each set of 1 Trencadís tile of every shape on your player board.
• 17: 1 Religion VP for each different category among the cards you have played.
• 18: 4 Religion VP for each card you have played in the column in which you have the fewest.
• 19–21: 2 Religion VP for each card you have played of the Pillar type shown.
• 22–30: 3 Religion VP for each card on your player board of the indicated category.