High Season: Grand Hotel Roll & Write Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Credits
• Object of the Game
• Setup
• Your Hotel
• Course of Play
• Your Turn
• The Actions
  • 1 — Preparing Rooms
  • 2 — Occupying a Room
    • Group Bonus
    • Row and Column Bonuses
  • 3 — Preparing Rooms OR Occupying a Room
  • 4 — Emperor OR Krones
    • The Emperor Tracks
    • The Money Track
    • Loans
  • 5 — Hiring Staff
  • 6 — Imitating an Action
• End of Round
  • The Emperor Checks In
• Game End and Scoring
• Overview of Effects
  • Immediate Effects
  • Scoring Effects
  • Permanent Effects

Components

• 1 action board
• 4 hotel boards (two-sided)
• 4 staff boards (two-sided)
• 14 dice
• 1 start marker
• 4 pens

Credits

• Designers: Ryan Hendrickson, Simone Luciani, Virginio Gigli
• Editing: Ralph Bienert, Grzegorz Kobiela
• Illustrations: Klemens Franz
• Layout: atelier198

Object of the Game

Over the course of seven rounds, you must face the daily challenges of the hotel business: prepare rooms, accommodate guests, hire staff, manage finances, and secure the Emperor's favor. To achieve these tasks, you need to choose the appropriate dice for your actions and unlock valuable bonuses on your hotel board. After scoring at the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.

Setup

1. Place the action board and dice in the center of the play area:

   • with 2 players, place 10 dice;
   • with 3 players, place 12 dice;
   • with 4 players, place all 14 dice.

2. All players: Take a random hotel board and staff board and place them in front of you, with a random side facing up; the staff board fits neatly below the hotel board. Also take a pen.

   Variant: Freely choose which side of your hotel board and staff board to play with.

3. Return any remaining hotel boards, staff boards, pens, and dice to the game box—you will not need them.

4. Determine who gets the start marker. In clockwise order, the other players get 1, 2, and 3 additional krones, respectively, i.e., circle that many money symbols on the money track of your hotel boards.

Your Hotel

Most of the game revolves around your hotel and staff board. The following provides an overview of their features. Everything is explained in detail in the sections below.

• Scoring Pad — Use this during scoring at the end of the game.
• Group Bonuses — Bonus for occupying all rooms in a group.
• Row Bonus — Bonus points for the first player to occupy all rooms in a row.
• Column Bonus — Bonus points for the first player to occupy all rooms in a column.
• Hotel Number — There are eight different hotel board layouts.
• Staircase — It displays the costs and points for each floor.
• Room Bonus — Bonus for occupying a room.
• Group of Rooms — Contiguous rooms of the same color form a group.
• Clock — Round counter, also indicating which Emperor track is active.
• Emperor Tracks — There are three tracks that are active in rounds 1-3, 4-5, and 6-7, respectively.
• Cost to Prepare a Room — You may need to pay this when taking actions Prepare Rooms and Prepare OR Occupy.
• Cost to Occupy a Room — You may need to pay this when taking actions Occupy a Room and Prepare OR Occupy.
• Points for Occupied Rooms — You score these for every occupied room on that floor.
• Loans — A little cash if you run out of money.
• Money Track — Use this to indicate how much money you have: Circle money symbols when gaining krones and cross them off when spending krones.

The hotel board's staff strip shows, for each staff member:

• Clipboard — Cross it off when hiring a person.
• Cost — You may need to pay this when taking the Hiring Staff action.
• Staff Number — Useful to reference certain staff.
• Permanent Effect — Staff on the left provides a permanent effect that you can use for the rest of the game when applicable.
• One-Time Effect — Staff in the middle provides a one-time effect that you can use immediately after you hire that person.
• Scoring Effect — Staff on the right allows you to score additional points.

Course of Play

The game is played over 7 rounds; in each round, each player takes 2 turns.

At the start of each round, all players cross off the current round number on the clock. Then the start player (indicated by the start marker) rolls all the dice, sorts them by the rolled numbers, and places them on the corresponding spaces on the action board.

Next, beginning with the start player and going clockwise around the table twice, each player takes a total of two turns—one turn per cycle. On your turn, you take a die from the action board and carry out the associated action.

After all players have taken two turns, the round ends and the start marker is passed to the next player clockwise. After 7 rounds, the game ends and you score your hotel boards.

Your Turn

On your turn, choose a space on the action board containing at least one die, and take a die from it. Then carry out the associated action according to its strength, i.e., the number of dice on the chosen space including the taken die. If there is a cost associated with the chosen action, you must be able to pay it; otherwise, you may not choose that action.

Example: You take a die showing a 4, of which there are three, carrying out the action with a strength of 3. Afterward, there are only two dice showing 4 left on the action board.

Note: Unlike its predecessor, Grand Austria Hotel, both turns of a round are played in clockwise order. Also, you may not pass your turn or boost the action by paying a krone.

Special case: If you cannot carry out any of the available actions, take a die and ignore the associated action. Instead, you get 1 krone.

The Actions

The action board has six spaces, one for each die value 1 through 6. Each die value triggers a different action:

• 1 — Preparing Rooms
• 2 — Occupying a Room
• 3 — Preparing Rooms OR Occupying a Room
• 4 — Emperor OR Krones
• 5 — Hiring Staff
• 6 — Imitating an Action

1 — Preparing Rooms

Prepare one or more rooms in your hotel, up to the strength of this action. For each room you prepare, proceed as follows:

Circle the doorknob of a room that is orthogonally adjacent to a room with a circled doorknob. Rooms that are immediately to the left and right of the staircase on the same floor are considered orthogonally adjacent. You start the game with three circled doorknobs on the first floor.

Pay the cost for preparing a room, as indicated by the staircase on that floor (0, 1, 2, or 3 krones, respectively).

Important! You do not get a bonus for preparing a room. You get the bonus depicted on the door, if there is one, only when you occupy that room (see Occupying a Room, below).

2 — Occupying a Room

Occupy exactly one room in your hotel by crossing off a circled doorknob that has not been crossed off yet.

Pay the cost for occupying a room, as indicated by the staircase on that floor (1, 2, 3, or 4 krones, respectively), reduced by the strength of this action, to a minimum of 0 krones.

Immediately after, you get the one-time room bonus if there is one depicted on the door; the rooms on the first floor do not provide a room bonus.

Example: There are 3 dice on the space for die value 2. You take one of them to occupy a prepared room on the fourth floor. Thanks to the 3 dice on the space, the normal cost of 4 krones is reduced to 1 krone. You cross off 1 krone and the doorknob of the room, and you get the depicted bonus, which allows you to occupy another room at a reduced cost.

Group Bonus

The 28 rooms in your hotel are divided into 9 groups of two to four contiguous rooms of the same color. As soon as all rooms in a group are occupied, you get a bonus according to the color and size of the group, as indicated on the left of your hotel board:

• Blue: During scoring, you get the indicated number of points.
• Red: Immediately circle the indicated number of krones.
• Yellow: Immediately cross off the indicated number of spaces on the active Emperor track (see The Emperor Tracks, below).

Each group provides its bonus only once, when the last room in that group gets occupied. If you get both a group and room bonus (from the last room you occupied), carry them out one after the other, in an order of your choice.

Example: You occupy the last room in a blue group of 2 rooms. During scoring, you get 3 points for that group.

Row and Column Bonuses

If you are the first player to occupy all rooms in a row or column, circle the corresponding points, which you will get during scoring. All other players must cross off those points—they cannot gain them any longer.

Please note that each floor features two separate rows of rooms: one to the left and one to the right of the staircase.

3 — Preparing Rooms OR Occupying a Room

Choose exactly one of the "Preparing Rooms" (die value 1) and "Occupying a Room" (die value 2) actions and carry out the chosen action according to the strength of the die-value-3 space. You may not carry out both actions. The number of dice on the die-value-1 and die-value-2 action spaces does not matter; nor does it matter whether there are any dice on those spaces at all.

4 — Emperor OR Krones

Equal to the strength of this action, either cross off that many spaces on the active Emperor track or circle that many money symbols on your money track. You must choose one or the other—you may not mix and match.

The Emperor Tracks

Cross off spaces from left to right on the active track, i.e., the top track in rounds 1-3, the middle track in rounds 4-5, and the bottom track in rounds 6-7. If you cross off a space with a printed bonus, carry out its effect immediately after you finish crossing off spaces. If you get multiple bonuses, carry them out one after the other, in the order you got them.

Track Bonus: If you are the first player to cross off the last space of a track, circle the points at the end of that track, which you will get during scoring. All other players must cross off those points—they cannot gain them any longer.

If you reach the end of the top or middle track, continue with the middle or bottom track, respectively, when crossing off additional spaces, even if that track is not active yet. If you reach the end of the bottom track, for each additional space that you were supposed to cross off, instead circle a point symbol in the area to the right of the tracks. (This way you can score up to 10 additional points.)

The Money Track

For each krone that you get, circle a money symbol on your money track; for each krone that you spend, cross off a circled money symbol that has not been crossed off yet.

You start the game with up to 10 krones (i.e., circled money symbols). There is no limit to how many krones you may have. If the 32 money symbols do not suffice, improvise, e.g., by erasing krones that you have already spent.

Loans

Below the staircase, you can find three spaces from which you can get additional krones if you run out of money: At any time, but at most three times per game, you can cross off a space that has not been crossed off yet to get 2 krones. During scoring, you lose the indicated number of points.

5 — Hiring Staff

Hire exactly one person from your staff board by crossing off their clipboard.

Pay the indicated cost, reduced by the strength of this action, to a minimum of 0 krones.

The two staff on the left provide a permanent effect: You can use the depicted effect (e.g., gaining 2 krones) each time you take the indicated die (e.g., die value 1), before or after carrying out the associated die action. Alternatively, a permanent effect may read: From now on, you do not need to pay when preparing rooms of the indicated color (e.g., yellow).

When you hire the two staff in the middle, use their effect immediately and only once.

The two staff on the right provide bonus points during scoring.

6 — Imitating an Action

Pay 1 krone and choose one of the other five actions (die values 1 to 5). Carry out the chosen action according to the strength of the die-value-6 space. The number of dice on the space of the chosen action does not matter; nor does it matter whether there are any dice on that space at all.

Example: There are three dice on the die-value-6 space and no dice on the die-value-1 space. You take a die showing 6, paying 1 krone and choosing action 1 (Preparing Rooms); you then prepare up to three rooms.

End of Round

After all players have taken two turns, the round ends. In rounds 1-6, pass the start marker to the next player clockwise and play another round. After round 7, the game ends and you score your hotel boards.

The Emperor Checks In

At the end of the third, fifth, and seventh round, check your progress on the top, middle, and bottom Emperor track, respectively. All players who did not cross off at least one space in the light section (on the right) must circle the negative points at the start of the respective track. (The Emperor is dissatisfied with them.) All other players may cross off these negative points. (They have earned the Emperor's favor.)

Game End and Scoring

The game ends after 7 rounds. Then score your hotel boards using the scoring pad printed on the left side of the board.

1. Score hired staff with the scoring-effect symbol.
2. Score points for fully occupied groups of blue rooms according to the table on your hotel board.
3. On each floor, score points for occupied rooms as indicated on the staircase: 1/2/3/4 points for each occupied room on the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th floor, respectively.
4. Total the points from Emperor tracks: 2/3/4 points if you were the first to complete a track; up to 10 additional points after completing the bottom track; subtract points if you had to circle negative points on a track.
5. Score the money track: You get 1 point for every 3 krones that you have left, rounded down.
6. Total the points from (circled) row and column bonuses that you got during the game.
7. Total the negative points from loans that you have crossed off: -2 points for the first, -3 points for the second (i.e., -5 total), and -4 points for the third (i.e., -9 total).

The player with the highest total wins. In case of a tie, there are multiple winners.

Overview of Effects

Immediate Effects

Prepare a room (like the Preparing Rooms action) of the indicated color—or any color if none is given.

• Pay the normal cost (see stairway).
• The cost is reduced by the indicated amount.
• The action is free of any cost.

Occupy a prepared room (like the Occupying a Room action) of the indicated color—or any color if none is given.

• The cost is reduced by the indicated amount.
• The action is free of any cost.

Hire a person (like the Hiring Staff action).

• The cost is reduced by the indicated amount.
• The action is free of any cost.

Circle the indicated number of krones (like the Emperor OR Krones action).

Cross off the indicated number of spaces on the active Emperor track (like the Emperor OR Krones action).

Scoring Effects

• 2 points for each occupied room of the indicated color (on all floors).
• 2 points for each occupied room (of any color) on the 3rd and 4th floor.
• 4 points for each fully occupied row on the left and 3 points for each fully occupied row on the right of the stairway.
• 5 points for each fully occupied column.
• 2 points for each hired staff member.
• 3 points for each set of rooms of all three colors (need not be adjacent; a room cannot belong to more than one set).
• 2 points for each fully occupied group of rooms.

Permanent Effects

• You can use the depicted effect (e.g., gaining 2 krones) each time you take the indicated die (e.g., die value 1), before or after carrying out the associated die action.
• The strength of the action increases by the indicated number of dice. (For example, the strength of the Emperor OR Krones action increases by two, i.e., you get an additional discount of 2 krones.)
• When you take a die showing 6, you do not need to pay 1 krone; instead, you get 1 krone.
• From now on, you do not need to pay when preparing rooms of the indicated color (e.g., yellow).