Gempire: Zarmund's Demands

Gempire: Zarmund's Demands Rulebook

Table of Contents

Overview

King Zarmund needs a new capital city. His sucks. It doesn't even have a dulcimer rock band. You have a golden opportunity to flaunt your unmatched architectural skills by being the first to construct a city worthy of being the center of his empire... or in this case, his "Gempire".

You and the other players will be participating in Zarmund's competition for a new capital city. In this game, you will be constructing buildings in your cities and researching technologies in order to meet victory conditions randomly chosen before the game. These victory conditions are "Zarmund's Demands" for his new capital city. The first player to meet any two of these three "Zarmund's Demands" wins the game, and Zarmund will be arriving in the near future to enjoy his new capital.

Game Setup

Set up the game as follows (with randomized pieces, of course).

Also flip up the card on top of the deck.

Also each player will have the following materials: a culture flag, a palace token, a planning book, and a marker.

Game setup (in further detail):

Pass each player a planning book, marker, palace token, and culture flag. Make sure the colors of the items match.
Place the building board in the center of the playing area. Shuffle the building deck, and place it face-down on the empty end of the board. Flip over the top three cards, and place one card each face-up under A, B, and C on the board. Then flip over the next card, and leave it face-up on top of the deck.
Shuffle the (blue) technology cards. Randomly choose four technologies, and place them face-up next to the science counter sheet as shown. Then place a small colored cube below number '1' on the science track for each player.
Mix up the small, circular palace reward tokens. Draw one randomly and place it in the palace reward holder next to the number '1'. Continue this until all five spaces are filled.
Shuffle the (orange) Zarmund's Demands cards. Randomly choose three, and place them face-up above the building board as shown in the picture. Place the orange 1, 2, and 3 tokens above or on them.
Create small piles of the plastic gray chips for easy access to all players. Also open the gem jars, and set them in a convenient area. You may use the jar lids to hold the chips.

Game Basics

Before we start, let's go over the basics of the game.

Resources - You will be collecting two different resources in this game: production (hammer) and science (flask). Production allows you to construct buildings in your city. Science allows you to discover technologies that give you special abilities.

Buildings - Players can use their production to construct buildings when they appear in the center of the table in spaces A, B, or C. When you construct a new building in your city, it will either increase your city's population (green), gold (yellow), or culture (purple), each of which will help you in different ways. Very rarely buildings will award you science.

Technologies - As you gather more science, you will discover new technologies that offer special perks. The same four technologies will be available to every player throughout the game, but the available technologies will be different from game to game.

Planning Book - This is where the players write down the next action they wish to take. All players will keep their decisions hidden until every player is ready to reveal what they have chosen to do. Players will also keep track of their city's population, gold, and culture stats in these books.

Victory Conditions (Zarmund's Demands) - There will be three of these cards randomly chosen before the beginning of the game. These conditions apply to every player. The first player to meet any two of these three conditions simultaneously wins the game.

Round Structure

Every round follows this general order:

One player rolls the resource dice.
Every player chooses ONE action in their planning book (hide what you are writing).
After every player has chosen, players reveal what they chose and resolve their actions.

Starting a Round

Every round begins with a player rolling the five resource dice. These dice include production (hammer) and science (flask), and the sides on the dice are as follows:

Die 1: production, production, science, science, wild, blank.
Die 2: production, science, science, production, wild, blank.
Dice 3 and 4: production, science, production, science, blank, blank.
Die 5: production, science, blank, blank, blank, blank.

(Face layout read from the rulebook's die diagrams; the blank faces are shown as empty boxes. Verify against the printed diagram if in doubt.)

Notice some of the sides are blank. Choose one player to roll the resource dice for the round. After rolling them, the player should announce the results to the group. For instance:

Three production and two science.
Four production, one science, and a wild.

After seeing the result of the roll, ALL players must decide which action they would like to take. Use your book to keep your choice hidden. After everyone has decided, all players simultaneously reveal what they have chosen. There are three possible actions you can choose: collect resources, bid on buildings, or upgrade city. Each player chooses only ONE of these actions per round.

Choosing an Action

After the dice are rolled, ALL players will choose ONE of these three actions:

Action Choice 1 - Collect Resources

When a player rolls the resource dice, the result represents the resources which are available for ALL players to take that round. For instance, if the player rolled three production and two science, EVERY player who chooses to take resources that round would collect three production (represented by the gray plastic chips), and would also move their cube two numbers higher on the science track.

Note that EVERY single player can choose this action, not just the player who rolled the dice. The resources are not divided between players; all players taking resources may collect the full amount rolled. To choose this action, write the amount of production and science you are collecting in the production and science boxes in your planning book. When one or more wilds are rolled, players may choose to collect them as production OR science.

Each player starts the game with the ability to hold a maximum of five production. If you currently have three production, and you try to take four, you are only allowed to add two chips to your stash. You may not change the leftover production to science.

Action Choice 2 - Bid on Buildings

Every round, there will be building cards occupying all of the A, B, and C spaces in the center of the playing area. These cards are awarded every round to the players who bid the most production to build them. If you have production to spend, and you wish to build one or more of the cards available, write your bids in the A, B, and C spaces in your planning book. You may bid on any number of buildings, but you may not bid more total production than you have. ALSO, YOU CANNOT HIDE YOUR PRODUCTION TOKENS.

Every building card has a number in the bottom right corner. This is the minimum amount of production you must bid if you make a bid for that card. This number ranges from 1 to 4, with 1 being the most common and 4 being the rarest.

After the players reveal what action they chose for the round, the players who placed bids on buildings compare their bids. The player who bid the highest on each one claims the building and places it in his or her city (the area in front of them), and they must spend the amount of production they bid to build the building(s). Note that the same player can win all three buildings.

After the players have taken their buildings, re-fill the vacant A, B, and C spaces with cards from the top of the building deck, and once again flip over the card on top of the deck. Buildings that were not awarded remain for the next round.

Losses and Ties

For EACH building on which you place a bid and lose to another player, you lose one production. In the instance of a tie, the player who currently has more science wins the building. The player who wins the tie pays out the production they bid, and the losing player loses one production for that building. If the two players are tied in science, the building is discarded, and both players lose one production.

Action Choice 3 - Upgrade City

This action includes aspects that have not yet been explained. Skip reading this section for now, and come back to it after reading the "Adding Buildings to your City", "Collecting Gems", and "Building Placement" sections.

There are two ways in which you can upgrade your city: constructing a second row and upgrading your palace. When you wish to upgrade your city, write "2nd row" or "palace X" (where X is the level you are upgrading to) in the empty space to the right of where you take resources. You may build a second row and upgrade your palace on the same turn (if you have enough production). You may also upgrade your palace multiple times on the same turn.

2nd Row Upgrade

It costs five production to build a second row. When you do, grab a "2nd row" tile from the box and set it above your first row off to the side. For the rest of the game, you may choose to place any buildings you win in your second row. This row is completely separate from the first row. The exact same placement rules apply, but districts do not need to match the size or color of the first row. The first building you build in your second row may be placed anywhere, however the buildings in the second row must be lined up with buildings in the first row.

Also, the second row cannot extend left or right past the ends of the first row. In some instances, you may have to expand your first row in order to make your second row larger.

(Diagram: a second row whose buildings do not line up with the first row is marked "Incorrect"; a second row whose buildings line up within the first row's ends is marked "Correct".)

Buildings that have directional effects still receive their bonuses from both rows. If a building in the first row is worth 2 gold plus 2 gold per culture building to the right, the value would include any culture buildings to the right in the second row as well. Buildings directly above or below each other are not considered to be to the left or right of each other. They are considered to be adjacent, however.

It is not possible to build a third row.

Palace Upgrade

Every player starts the game with a level 0 palace. It costs five production to upgrade your palace to level 1, six production to upgrade it to level 2, and so on. Keep track of your palace's level with the hexagon number tokens provided. It is possible to skip levels. For example, you can jump from level 0 to level 3 by spending seven production, and then jump from level 3 to level 5 by spending nine production. However, you cannot upgrade to a level equal to or lower than your current level. Therefore, if you choose to upgrade your palace straight from level 0 to level 5, you cannot upgrade it again for the rest of the game.

The palace cost track reads: level 1 = 5 production, level 2 = 6 production, level 3 = 7 production, level 4 = 8 production, level 5 = 9 production.

At the beginning of the game, five random palace reward tokens will be drawn to designate the prizes for upgrading your palace to each level. These tokens are shown on the left. Place them in the holder as shown. When you upgrade your palace to any level, collect the reward for that level as well as the rewards for every level beneath it. Therefore, upgrading your palace to level 5 will earn you the rewards on all five tokens.

The palace reward tokens are:

1 palace diamond (4 tokens in the pool)
2 palace diamonds (3 tokens in the pool)
3 palace diamonds (1 token in the pool)
1 science per science symbol in your city (2 tokens in the pool)
2 science per science symbol in your city (2 tokens in the pool)
7 science (2 tokens in the pool)
Nothing (4 tokens in the pool)

(The per-token counts above are as printed on the rulebook page; the page's text says "these 16 tokens are shown on the left", but the printed counts total 18. Transcribed as printed.)

When counting science per science symbols, look on the bottom left of the building cards in your city. Buildings may have one or two of the symbols.

When you receive one or more palace diamonds, you must use them immediately. You may place your first palace diamond of the game on any building. All future diamonds must be placed on buildings adjacent to one with a diamond (or on buildings which already have a diamond). You cannot place multiple diamonds from a single palace upgrade on the same building. However, you may stack diamonds from separate palace upgrades.

(Example callout on the page: upgrading to level 4 would give you four palace diamonds and two science per science symbol.)

(Diagram: buildings with one diamond symbol are marked "Only these buildings are doubled!"; the building with two diamond symbols (a Shrine) is marked "This building is tripled!".)

While you can place palace diamonds on any building, only buildings with the diamond symbol in the bottom left corner will receive a bonus from them. If a building has one diamond symbol, you can place up to one palace diamond on it to double its value for the rest of the game (extra diamonds will have no effect). If a building has two diamond symbols, you may place up to two palace diamonds on it to triple its value for the rest of the game. You may also choose to discard diamonds.

Palace diamonds do NOT count as gems when regarding Zarmund's Demands or technologies.

Palace diamonds do NOT double science value or the amount of buildings a card is worth. They only multiply attribute value.

Adding Buildings to Your City

When you win a bid on one or more buildings, you will need to place them in your city. These buildings will enhance your city in one of three ways: population (green), gold (yellow), or culture (purple). These are referred to as your "city attributes" and will be represented by these symbols, respectively: (population), (gold), and (culture). Starting with a total of zero in all three city attributes, every player will keep a running total of their city's attributes in the boxes on the top of their planning book. Every time you place one or more buildings in your city (or after an action which affects an existing building's value), you will update these totals.

For example, let's say Nick wins the following buildings, and places them in his city: a Stonemason-style population building worth 7 population, and a Mill worth 4 gold.

He will update his city's attributes by writing a "7" in the population space and a "4" in the gold space.

Now let's say in a couple rounds, Nick wins his next building, a gold building worth 11 gold.

He will erase the "4" in the gold space and write "15" there instead.

Some buildings have values that depend on other factors. For example, this building (Race Track, whose bottom-right number is 2) states that it is worth "4 culture plus 1 culture per gold building to the right".

If Nick were to acquire this building (a Race Track, worth "4 culture plus 1 culture per gold building to the right") and place it to the left of the gold buildings in his city (a Mill and a Jewelry Shop), it will have a total value of "6", and he will write "6" in his culture space. However, the value of this building can change as Nick places more gold buildings to the right of it. (They do not need to be immediately to the right.) As he does so, he will continue to update his culture total as the game progresses.

(Diagram: the Brothel is worth "4 culture buildings"; the Trading Post is worth "7 gold and 3 gold buildings".)

Some cards may not have an attribute value but are worth more than one building of the specified type (all cards are worth at least 1 building). This brothel is worth 4 culture buildings. It is NOT worth 4 culture.

This trading post is worth 7 gold and 3 gold buildings. If Nick were to acquire this building and place it here, it would not only add 7 gold to his total, but it would also increase the value of his Race Track by 3. His attributes would now be: population 7, gold 21, culture 9.

IMPORTANT: Zarmund's Demands will always refer to "cards" instead of "buildings". The brothel and trading post may be worth more than one building, but like every other building card, they are only worth one card. Technologies may refer to "buildings" or "cards". Pay close attention to the diction of the effect.

Hybrids

Some buildings are classified as "hybrids", meaning they contain two different attributes, and can be used for either one. Hybrids may not be worth the same amount, depending on which attribute you choose to use them for.

This Vineyard will offer a value of 9 if you choose to use it for gold or 7 if you choose to use it for culture. To choose which type you wish to use it for, place it in your city in a way such that the chosen type's color is turned toward the playing area. Once you choose a type for a hybrid and place it in your city, you cannot change it.

(Diagram: a Vineyard placed "this way" is worth 9 gold; placed "this way" it is worth 7 culture.)

Collecting Gems

Each time you reach or surpass a multiple of 10 in a city attribute (population, gold, or culture), you will collect a gem of the corresponding color. Collect your first gem when you reach at least 10, your second when you reach at least 20, and so on. Population, gold, and culture gems each benefit you in different ways, and once you earn them, you keep them for the rest of the game.

Population Gems

You can hold one more production token! Every player starts the game with the ability to hold a maximum of five production. Each population gem raises this maximum by one. For instance, a player with three population gems can hold up to eight production. Note that population allows you to upgrade your palace higher!

Gold Gems

You can change and create resources! Every gold gem allows a player to switch one production to one science, or vice versa when they take resources. For example, you have 1 gold gem, and the following resources are rolled (diagram of the rolled faces in the rulebook).

If you were to collect resources, you could use your gold gem to instead take 3 production and 2 science (switching 1 science to a production), or you could take 1 production and 4 science (switching 1 production to a science). You may also choose not to use it. Note that you are only allowed to switch one resource with every gold gem, not an entire die result.

(Diagram: "Change 1 science to 1 production!" gives 3 production and 2 science; "Change 1 production to 1 science!" gives 1 production and 4 science; "Choose not to use it!" gives 3 production and 2 science as rolled.)

Only the players with gold gems may take the alternate resources of their choice. Players without them must take the resources rolled on the dice.

If there is a round in which your gold gems outnumber the resources rolled, the extra gems will produce extra resources for you. For example, if you have five gold gems, and the following resources are rolled (diagram in the rulebook: only two resources are rolled).

You have three gold gems that cannot be used to switch any resources (since there were only two resources rolled). If you choose to collect resources, the three extra gold gems will create (for you only) three resources of your choice (production or science). Again, as before, specify the amount of the resources you are taking in your planning book. If you choose not to use two of your gold gems to change the rolled production to science, you still only receive three extra resources of your choice.

(Diagram: five gold gems with a resource row of which three extra resources are "Create 3 resources of your choice!")

Culture Gems

Gain a boost toward a victory condition! Each time you earn a culture gem, you are granted accelerated progress toward one Zarmund's Demand of your choice. You must immediately place your culture gem on number 1, 2, or 3 on your numbered culture flag.

Zarmund's Demands (Culture Gem Bonuses)

There are three Zarmund's Demands in each game. Each Demand is shown as an orange card, and each has a culture gem bonus printed at its bottom. The numbered diamonds above the cards in the setup example (1, 2, and 3) are the culture flag positions the Demands are assigned to. In the rulebook's example, the three Demands are:

Culture flag position 1: "Build a magnificent throne for King Zarmund."
Culture flag position 2: "Have more science than every other player (min 20)." Culture bonus shown on the card: +5 to science total.
Culture flag position 3: "Have at least 5 districts with different amounts of cards." Culture bonus shown on the card: -1 district required.

This will grant you a bonus toward the corresponding Demand.

The culture bonuses for each of Zarmund's Demands are represented at the bottom of each card, and you may also read more about them in the "Compendium of Zarmund's Demands" section later in this book.

For Demand 2, every culture gem you place in section 2 of your culture flag adds an artificial 5 science to your science total.

For Demand 3, every three culture gems you place in section 3 of your culture flag subtracts 1 from the amount of districts needed to satisfy the Demand. If only two culture gems have been placed in section 3, they have no effect.

Note that culture gems' effects apply only to the Demand for which they are being used. For example, placing culture gems on the Demand "Have more science than any other player" does not also assist you in the Demand "The sum of your science and highest attribute must be 130+". Before each game, read about each Demand in further detail in the Compendium of Zarmund's Demands at the end of this book.

Building Placement

When placing buildings in your city, you may not simply place them wherever you want. Buildings will be placed horizontally in rows, and every new building will be placed immediately to the left or right of the buildings already in your city. Each player will start the game with only one row in which to place their buildings. Each row in your city has room for three districts. A district is an adjacent group of buildings of the same color in the same row, as shown in the rulebook's diagram (culture district, gold district, and population district). You may have two districts of the same color in the same row, although this is not recommended because it severely limits your future options.

(Diagram: a row of building cards grouped into a culture district, a gold district, and a population district.)

Example

At the beginning of the game, Nick starts with an empty city. He gets a green building and places it in his city. He has started his population district. When Nick gets his next building, regardless of the color, he can either place it immediately to the left or right of the first building.

Nick wins a purple building next and decides to place it to the left of his green building. Now he has started a culture district. From now on, Nick should place purple buildings to the left and green buildings to the right. Otherwise he will block off one of his districts.

(Diagram: place purple cards to the left of the population district; place green cards to the right.)

Nick builds two more purple buildings, and his city now looks like this: a Brothel, a Shrine, a Temple, and then the green Guardhouse.

He may choose to extend his culture and population districts however long he wishes. However, when he builds his first yellow building, he must choose whether to place it to the left of his culture district or to the right of his population district (unless he has already built a second row).

(Diagram: if he chooses to place the yellow building to the left of his culture district, he will no longer be able to place any more purple buildings in this row. Likewise, if he places it to the right of his population district, he will no longer be able to place any more green buildings in this row.)

To create more possibilities for building placement, you may use your production to create a second row in your city. You can read about this in more detail in the "Upgrade City" action section.

(Now read the "Upgrade City" action section.)

Science and Technologies

There are four randomly drawn technologies available every game. These are available for all players. Each of them offers a special ability that, once discovered, can be used for the rest of the game. Any number of players can discover and have access to their abilities simultaneously.

As you gather more science, you will continue to move your cube further on the science track. You will use this to keep track of your total science gathered throughout the game. In other words, you will NOT move your cube down when you use some of your science to discover a technology.

The series of numbers on the bottom of each technology card represents the amount of science required to discover it. If you have at least this much science saved up, you may choose to discover one or more technologies in the "Resolve Actions" part of the round by placing a small cube on the lowest available cost. Science that you use to discover one technology CANNOT be used for another. If more than one player decides to discover the same technology on the same turn, all of them can discover it for the lowest cost available.

(Example technology card shown: Artistry, "Place palace diamonds on every card in your second row". Its cost row is printed along the bottom of the card.)

Zarmund's Demands (Rules)

Three of Zarmund's Demands are randomly drawn for each game. Use the orange number tokens to clearly mark which one will be used for 1, 2, and 3 on your culture flag for that game.

The first player to satisfy two of these simultaneously wins the game. Note that multiple players may meet the same Demand simultaneously. In other words, players do not "take" a Demand from the playing area when they satisfy it. It remains for the other players to meet as well. In some cases, it is possible to satisfy a Demand at one point in the game, but lose it later on. Remember, the winning player must meet at least two Demands simultaneously at the end of the "Resolve Actions" part of the round. If you declare victory, other players may make additional moves to stop you before considering it the end of the round.

When a Demand has three numbers displayed in an X/Y/Z format, use the appropriate number for a 3/4/5 player game. Demands will always refer to CARDS, not BUILDINGS. Regardless of how many buildings a card is worth (for example, the Prison), it is still only worth 1 card.

Please read about each Demand in the Compendium of Zarmund's Demands BEFORE EVERY GAME. This should clear up any confusion before it ruins your game! The number in the top left of the card identifies each Demand in the Compendium of Zarmund's Demands. Three of Zarmund's Demands have an asterisk (*) with this number. If all three of these are drawn, redraw the last one.

(Diagram: the ID number is shown in the top left of each Demand card, for example a Demand reading "Have a total of 13/12/11 gold and culture gems".)

Starting a New Round / Other Important Rules

Once all the players have resolved their actions, the resource dice are passed to the player to the left who rolls them, and the next round begins.

Every player starts the game with five total resources. You may choose to start with five production, five science, or any combination that adds up to five. Each player will write their choice in their planning book and reveal when every player is ready. This is done after the playing area has been completely set up and before the first roll is made. After the first roll is made, the players will choose their first action of the game.

All players have the ability to save one building as a blueprint. This means that immediately after winning a building, they can keep it inactive until they wish to place it in their city sometime in the future. Turn this card 90 degrees and place it away from your city so it doesn't get confused with other cards. Once you place it in your city (which you do in the "Resolve Actions" step of the turn), you may save a different building as a blueprint. You may place the blueprinted card into your city and replace it with another card you won on the same turn. You may NOT do this more than once in the same turn.

If multiple players win on the same turn, the amount of gems collected breaks the tie. If they are still tied, use palace level, then science.

If someone asks you for your attribute values, save both of yourselves the time and tell them. You cannot stop them from adding up the values themselves, so don't force them to.

The duration of this game highly depends on the speed and experience of the players. A game with inexperienced players may very well take two hours. Experienced players usually finish in around an hour (depending on the randomization of the game, of course).

Please feel free to use a calculator. Miscalculations may happen when playing this game. If a player finds one, use your best judgement in resolving the issue. Remember, in the end, it's just a game.

A Compendium of Zarmund's Demands

If all three Demands with an asterisk (*) (1, 5, and 10) are chosen for the same game, redraw the last Demand.

Zarmund's Demands will refer specifically to building CARDS instead of buildings. Cards that count as multiple buildings only count as one building CARD toward these Demands.

1*. If you have MORE science than every other player at the end of the round (with a minimum of 20), you are temporarily meeting this winning condition. Ties do not count. Culture bonus: One culture gem artificially adds five to your total science. Note that the gem DOES NOT GIVE YOU SCIENCE. It only artificially adds to your science total for this Demand.

2. For a 3/4/5 player game, have at least 10/9/8 building CARDS in your second row at the end of the round. Culture bonus: One culture gem artificially adds one building card to your second row. In a five player game, a player with three culture gems on this Demand only needs five building cards in the second row.

3. For a 3/4/5 player game, have a total sum of 11/10/9 gems at the end of the round when adding your gold and culture gems. Culture bonus: One culture gem adds one to the total sum of your gold and culture gems. In a five player game, a player with no gold gems and four culture gems on this Demand only needs one more gold or culture gem. Remember, culture gems used for this Demand count toward this total.

4. The total of each individual attribute must be greater in the second row than in the first row. Note this is NOT simply a total of all 3 attributes. Culture bonus: One culture gem grants you five artificial attribute points to distribute however you want. Note that this does not actually raise your attributes. For example, if a player has 20 population, 20 gold, and 20 culture in the first row, and 21 population, 19 gold, and 18 culture in the second row, one culture gem would give them enough points to artificially add 2 points to gold and 3 points to culture, making all three attribute totals greater in the second row (each at 21).

5*. The total of your two most valuable cards must be greatest amongst all the players. Only attribute value is valid; science value does not count. Ties do not count. The sum of your two most valuable cards must be at least 31. This minimum total can be met with help of culture gems. Culture bonus: One culture gem adds an artificial three points to the base value of the card that would give the highest total. The base value is the value of a card before being multiplied by palace diamonds. For example, a player has two cards. One is worth 15 and the other is worth 6, but has been doubled to 12. One culture gem would raise the base value of the card worth 6 by 3 artificial points, since this would result in a value of 18 for that card, and would create a total of 33 between the two cards. This is higher than adding three artificial points to the card worth 15, which would result in a sum of 30 (18+12). Note that this card does not actually increase your attributes.

6. For a 3/4/5 player game, you must have a minimum of 15/14/13 gems. Also, you must not have one attribute that is greater than the other two combined. 30 population, 60 gold and 70 culture would satisfy this Demand. Equal totals are also valid. For example, 80 population, 25 gold, and 55 culture would satisfy this Demand. 80 population, 0 gold, and 80 culture would also satisfy this Demand. Culture bonus: One culture gem subtracts one from the minimum amount of gems required to meet this victory condition. In a five player game, three culture gems would decrease the minimum gem requirement to 10. Remember, culture gems used on this Demand count as gems toward this minimum.

7. For a 3/4/5 player game, have a total of at least 22/21/20 when adding your gems, technologies, and current palace level. Palace diamonds do not count as gems. Culture bonus: One culture gem adds an additional one point to this total. Remember, culture gems used on this Demand also count as gems toward this total.

8. Build at least six districts, each individually having a total attribute value of at least 20. Science value does not count. Culture bonus: Three culture gems decrease the required amount of districts by one.

9. Collect gems in the order shown on the card. Every time you collect a correctly colored gem, place it on your palace token. If you earn a gem that is the incorrect color, store it off your palace token. Population and gold gems (whether on or off your palace token) still have their original benefit. Purple gems that you choose to place on the palace token cannot be used on the culture flag. If you collect multiple gems on the same turn, you may put any number of them on the palace token, as long as they are the correct color. Culture bonus: One culture gem eliminates the next last gem in the sequence from requirement.

10*. At the end of the "Resolve Actions" part of the round, have the district with the most cards (out of all players). Ties do not count. This district must have at least five cards. Culture bonus: One culture gem adds one artificial point to the number of cards in your largest district.

11. For a 3/4/5 player game, have at least 9/8/7 cards in your city that have an attribute value of at least 10. Science value is not valid. Culture bonus: 2 culture gems reduces the number of required cards by 1.

12. At the end of the "Resolve Actions" part of the round, have at least five districts which all contain different amounts of cards. Culture bonus: Three culture gems reduces the number of required districts by one.

13. For a 3/4/5 player game, the districts in your city which are adjacent to at least 3 culture cards must earn you at least 9/8/7 total gems. Their total value must be at least 90/80/70. Culture bonus: There is no culture bonus for this Demand.

14. At the end of the "Resolve Actions" part of the round, you must own the most gems in the same color you have the least amount of cards in your city. Note that this says CARDS, not BUILDINGS. Ties are not valid; there must be fewer cards of this color than both other colors, and there must be more gems of this color than both other colors. Culture bonus: Determine the color in which you have the most amount of gems. Two culture gems reduces the number of cards you have of that color by one.

15. At the end of the "Resolve Actions" part of the turn, when adding the value of your highest attribute to your current science total, the sum must be at least 130. Culture bonus: One culture gem adds seven points to this sum. This does not actually increase your science or highest attribute.

Included Materials

114 building cards
20 technology cards
15 Zarmund's Demands cards
2 folding game boards
5 folding planning books
4 small plastic jars
25 green gems
25 yellow gems
25 purple gems
50+ small clear diamonds
44 miscellaneous punchouts
5 culture flag boards
35 plastic production tokens
5 dry erase markers
25 small wooden cubes
1 double-layer token board
5 dice
1 box
1 tray insert
1 rulebook

Glossary of Technologies

Architecture - Every future palace level upgrade costs two less production. If you have Mechanics, you can discover this technology and use its effect on the same turn.

Artistry - Place palace diamonds on every building that is already in your second row. ALSO, place palace diamonds on every card you place in your second row in the future.

Calendar - Keep any culture gems obtained in the future off of your culture flag. Place them on your culture flag during the "Resolve Actions" part of any turn. You may place as many as you want in the same turn. You may place them to hold off opponents from winning the game.

Construction - When any district reaches 4, 8, 12, etc... buildings, gain a gem of that color. Note that this technology says "buildings", not "cards". If you discover Construction after districts have reached this size, immediately gain the appropriate number of gems.

Currency - Add 1 bonus point to all your future bids against all players who have LESS gold gems than you.

Drain System - All cards you already have in your city, either already placed or placed in the future, with an attribute value under 5 are increased to a minimum value of 5. Buildings that can change value will remain at a value of 5 until their total value increases above 5. Cards which only count as a specific number of buildings will also increase to a value of 5 in their respective attribute (they do not increase to count as 5 buildings). If you also have Iron, both attributes have a minimum value of 5. Science value is not valid.

Economics - Gain 5 gold for every building you have built or will build in the future with the word "shop" anywhere in its name.

Education - The minimum production bid of all buildings is reduced by one. You must still bid at least one production to win a building.

Iron - Count the effects of both attributes on all hybrid cards. They will still only count as a building of the specified type. If you place palace diamonds on these cards, both values are multiplied. The total value of the card is the sum of both attribute values.

Literacy - When you earn a population gem for any reason after discovering Literacy, take a gold or culture gem as well.

Masonry - Build a second row in your city for free. If you already have one, you should've thought about getting Masonry sooner.

Mathematics - Treat cards with one diamond symbol as if you can place up to two diamonds on them to triple their value. Treat cards with two diamonds as if you can place up to three diamonds on them to quadruple their value. You still may not place more than one diamond on the same card in one place upgrade.

Matrimony - Gain 3 population for every population building in your city, as well as any you place in your city in the future. Note that this says BUILDINGS, not CARDS. This bonus comes from the technology; it does not actually increase the value of the cards.

Mechanics - You may collect resources and do any number of city upgrades in the same turn, in either order. You must perform the first action in its entirety before performing the second.

Militia - You may have one extra district per row of your city.

Nutrition - If you spend all of your production as a result of your action, gain 1 production and 1 science.

Philosophy - For every attribute you reach at least 50, collect three culture gems and place them on Demand(s) with no culture gems on them. You may split them or place all three on the same Demand. If you have Calendar, you may keep them off your culture card, and you can place them on any Demand later in the game. If you reach at least 50 in two attributes simultaneously, place them in sets of three. If there are no Demands left without any culture gems, you may not receive any more culture gems from Philosophy.

Religion - You may hold up to three cards as blueprints simultaneously. You may only exchange each card once per turn.

Sanitization - If you take resources as an action, and you did not gain at least two production, gain more until you have reached two. You may use gold gems to change production to science in order to allow this to take effect.

Surveying - Double the amount of buildings every card is worth in the second row.

University - When you reach 20, 40, 60... in an attribute, immediately take one more of that type. If any attributes have already reached 20, 40, 60..., take the appropriate amount of gems.

Card Clarifications

(The card-clarification diagrams show the card faces; the notes below are the rulebook's text for each card.)

Sewage System, Well, a yellow card (name not legible in the page scan), Market, Bath House, Museum (the first row of cards on the page): These cards all count as a building toward their own effect. For cards that award science, like the Well for example, take one science for every population building already in your city, as well as every one placed in your city in the future. Note that these say BUILDINGS, not CARDS.
Prison and Trading Post: These cards give you a certain attribute value and are also worth a certain amount of buildings of the same type.
Dairy Farm and Embassy: The Dairy Farm is worth 4 population plus 2 population per population gem you have. The Embassy is the same for culture.
Inn and Road System: If used for population, the Inn is 2 population per ANY building in the second row. The Road System is 3 culture plus 1 culture per ANY building in the second row.
Bunkhouse and Fountain: The Bunkhouse is worth 5 if placed in the first row and 10 if placed in the second row. The Fountain is worth 0 gold or culture if placed in the first row, but it is worth 8 gold or culture if placed in the second row.
Farm: This card is worth 1 population per ANY gem you have or 1 gold per ANY gem you have.
Apothecary: Receive 4 science for every gold gem you already have when the Apothecary is built, as well as for every gold gem earned in the future.
Astronomer's Tower: The Astronomer's Tower is worth 0 culture if your palace is under level 3. It is worth 10 culture if your palace is at least level 3.
Atrium: Any card immediately to the left, right, or directly above/below is considered adjacent. Note that this says BUILDINGS, not CARDS.