Kingdom of Solomon
Kingdom of Solomon Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
Your game should contain:
- 1 game board
- 1 rules booklet
- 10 yellow Gold cubes
- 12 orange Copper cubes
- 14 gray Stone cubes
- 16 brown Timber cubes
- 18 green Food cubes
- 20 Building Cards
- 32 Fortune Cards
- 12 brown Roads
- 16 Temple Blocks
- 10 Temple Tokens
- 4 sets of playing pieces, each including: 6 Pawns, 5 Buildings, 1 Turn Order Token and 1 Scoring Token
Object of the Game
You have been chosen by King Solomon to assist with his ambitious building projects. You will deploy your Pawns across the kingdom to collect valuable resources and perform various actions. You may also compete for the valuable bonuses granted by the Ark, the Altar, and Tribute from foreign kings, but these powerful advantages may require that you spend many of your Pawns.
Along the way, you can earn victory points by constructing buildings, helping to build the Temple, and selling resources to the Market. You may gain special benefits from Fortune Cards or by becoming the High Priest.
The game ends when King Solomon's building plans are complete. The player with the most victory points at the end will be chosen as Solomon's successor and wins the game!
Setting Up the Game
Set the game board on the table. Place the resource cubes, Roads, Temple Blocks, and Temple Tokens to the side to form a "supply". Shuffle the Building Card and Fortune Card decks separately and place them face down beside the board. Give each player a set of matching playing pieces.
Depending on the number of players, some of the playing pieces may not be used:
- For a four-player game: Each player uses only five Pawns. All three Bonus Spaces are available, and all the resource cubes are used.
- For a three-player game: Each player uses all six Pawns. Only the Ark and the Altar Bonus Spaces are available. Remove two resource cubes of each type from the game.
- For a two-player game: Each player uses all six Pawns. Only the Altar Bonus Space is available. Remove four resource cubes of each type from the game.
Return all unused pieces to the box.
Mix the Turn Order Tokens and place them on the Turn Order Chart of the game board in random order. Turn over the top four Building Cards and place them on the four Building Spaces on the game board. Place the Scoring Tokens on the "10" space of the Scoring Track that runs around the outside of the game board.
You are now ready to begin!
Summary of Play
The game is played over a series of rounds. Each round is divided into four phases, which must be played in order:
- Placement Phase
- Resolution Phase
- Market Phase
- Building Phase
During each phase, the players take turns in the order shown on the Turn Order Chart, except for the Market Phase, which is played in reverse turn order. All players must complete each phase before the next one can begin.
The four phases are repeated, in sequence, from round to round until one of the three game end conditions are met (see Ending the Game).
The Kingdom of Solomon
The game board shows ancient Israel, as it was in the time of King Solomon. Each space offers you resources or other advantages to aid you:
Resource Spaces
Solomon's kingdom is divided into 16 "Resource Spaces". If you place one of your Pawns in a Resource Space, you will receive the resources shown.
Example: Hamath will provide one timber, while Tiphsah provides two food.
Building sites
11 of the Resource Spaces have a white box, called a "Building Site". You can construct buildings on these sites. If you place a Building in a space, only you will be able to place Pawns in that Resource Space (exception: see The High Priest).
Building cards
Each round, there will be four Building Cards on the game board. You may only construct these buildings.
Resource Regions
Resource Spaces can be joined together by Roads, creating a "Resource Region". A Pawn placed in a Resource Region collects resources from all the connected Resource Spaces. You must own a Building in a space before you can build a Road. Only you can use the Roads you have built to gather resources from a Resource Region (exception: see The High Priest).
Example: Amalek and Edom have been joined together by a Road, forming a Resource Region. The controller of that region (the Blue player) may place a Pawn in either of those spaces to receive the resources produced by both of them: one Food and one Copper.
Action Spaces
There are five "Action Spaces" on the game board—Prophet, Minister, Thief, Trader, and Artisan—which allow you to perform the listed action if you place a Pawn there. Building Cards also show Action Spaces, but you can only use the Action Space on a Building Card if you construct that building.
Bonus Spaces
There are also three special "Bonus Spaces" on the gameboard. They are the Ark, the Altar, and Tribute. These spaces function much like the Action Spaces, but are much more powerful. However, you must place all of your remaining Pawns on a Bonus Space to claim it!
1) Placement Phase
The first phase of each round is the Placement Phase. During this phase, the players take turns in the order shown on the Turn Order Chart.
On your turn, you must place one of your Pawns on any unoccupied Resource Space or Action Space, or place all of your remaining Pawns on an unoccupied Bonus Space. You do not receive the benefits of placing your Pawns immediately. The benefits are awarded during the Resolution Phase.
Players continue to take turns placing one Pawn at a time (or group of Pawns if claiming a Bonus Space), until all players have placed all of their Pawns. Then, the Placement Phase ends.
Placement Restrictions
You may never place any Pawns in a space that already has a Pawn in it (including your own Pawns). The only spaces that may hold more than one Pawn at a time are the three Bonus Spaces.
You may never place your Pawns in a Resource Space that holds another player's Building piece, but you may place a Pawn in a Resource Space that holds your own Building (exception: see The High Priest).
You may only place your Pawns on the Action Spaces of Building Cards that you own. You may never place them on another player's Building Card.
Placing Pawns
Resource Spaces: Each Resource Space can hold one Pawn, and awards the resource cube(s) shown.
Resource Regions: Each Resource Space in a Resource Region can hold its own Pawn. Each Pawn placed in a region awards the resource cubes shown in every space of that region.
Important: The only player who can benefit from a Resource Region is the player who built the Roads that join the region together. A Resource Region may include "neutral" spaces that do not have a Building Site. Though any player may place a Pawn on one of these neutral spaces, he does not receive resources from a region he does not own, only from that single Resource Space.
Action Spaces: Each Action Space can hold one Pawn, and allows you to perform the action described.
Claiming Bonus Spaces
You may claim one of the three Bonus Spaces by placing all of your remaining Pawns on the space. You will not be able to place any more Pawns for the rest of this phase.
2) Resolution Phase
Once all Pawns have been placed, the Resolution Phase begins. In turn order, each player resolves all of his Pawns on the board and on his Building Cards. You may resolve your Pawns in any order you choose, collecting resources and taking actions in the order chosen.
As you resolve your Pawns, remove them from the board. When you have removed all of your Pawns, your turn is over and the next player in turn order resolves all of his Pawns. After every player has finished with all of his Pawns, the Resolution Phase ends.
Running Out of Resources
If the supply runs out of resources that you should receive, you do not receive those resources. You may not claim the lost resources later if they become available.
Resource Spaces
Each Resource Space your Pawn occupies gives you the resource cube or cubes shown on the board.
Resource Regions
If your Pawn occupies a Resource Space that is part of a Resource Region (two or more Resource Spaces connected by Roads), you gain the resource cubes shown for every space in that region. Each Pawn placed in a Resource Region awards the full value of the entire region.
A Region Example: Blue has joined Aram and Judah with a Road, so she gains 1 Food and 1 Gold for her Pawn. If she also placed a Pawn in Judah, she would get another 1 Food and 1 Gold. Red also has a region formed with Judah, but he cannot use Blue's roads and he does not receive the 1 Food from Aram.
Action Spaces
If your Pawn occupies one of the five Action Spaces on the game board or an Action Space on any of your Building Cards, you must perform the action described in the space.
Bonus Spaces
Like Action Spaces, if you have a Pawn (or Pawns) in a Bonus Space you must take the action described. Each of the Bonus Spaces has a different effect:
-
The Altar: You gain victory points equal to three times your position on the Turn Order Chart (so, the player in position 1 gets 3 VP, position 2 gets 6 VP, position 3 gets 9 VP, and position 4 gets 12 VP) and you move your Turn Order Token to the top of the Turn Order Chart, shifting the other players' tokens down as needed, without changing their order.
Example: In a three player game, the Turn Order Tokens are currently Green - Blue - Red. Blue has placed her Pawns on the Altar. Since she is currently second in turn order, she receives 6 VP. Then she moves her token to the "1" space of the Turn Order Chart and pushes Green's token down into the "2" space. Red's token does not change position.
-
The Ark: You draw three Fortune Cards. The Ark is an option only in three- or four-player games.
-
Tribute: You take one resource cube of each type from the supply (if available). Tribute is an option only in four-player games.
Optional Rule: If you want a more challenging two- or three-player game, try this optional rule: All three Bonus Spaces can be used, but only one less than the number of players each round. So, in a three player game, the first two players to claim them may use any empty Bonus Space, but the third player cannot.
Changing Turn Order
The turn order may change during this phase if any player placed Pawns in the Altar Bonus Space. The new turn order takes effect immediately, and is in full effect for the rest of the current round and into the next.
Playing Fortune Cards
Some Action and Bonus Spaces allow you to draw Fortune Cards. These cards are kept secret until played. You can play your Fortune Cards at any time (even when it is not your turn). Follow the instructions on each card when you play it. Add cards to the discard pile after use.
Cards that give you resources can be used to take resources from the supply or to pay costs directly (acting as a sort of secret stash) if the matching resources are not available.
Fortune Cards cannot be stolen by the Thief and are not counted for the Tax Collector.
You may hold any number of Fortune Cards during a round, but you may not hold more than three Fortune Cards at the end of the round. Discard any excess. If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile and make a new deck.
3) Market Phase
Once all Pawns have been resolved, the Market Phase begins. This phase is played in reverse turn order, so the player at the bottom of the Turn Order Chart takes his turn first, and the player at the top goes last.
On your turn, you may buy or sell one resource cube or pass. You may not buy a resource that you sold during this phase, or sell the same resource that you bought. Once you pass, you may not buy or sell any more resources this phase. Players continue taking turns to buy or sell until all players have passed, at which point the Market Phase ends.
Purchases and sales are made by spending victory points. To sell a resource, place it in the desired Market space and add the victory points shown directly under that space to your total. To buy a resource, remove it from the Market and pay the matching price by sliding your Scoring Token backward on the scoring track.
The Market can hold only four resources of each type, and begins the game with zero resources. You may not sell a resource if there is no space for it in the Market, and you cannot purchase any resources that are not there.
Any resource cubes left in the Market remain there for the next round.
4) Building Phase
During this phase, players take turns building in the order shown on the Turn Order Chart. On your turn, you can build Building Cards from the game board, blocks for the Temple, and Roads to form regions. Once all players have had a turn to build, the Building Phase ends.
Building Cards
Building Cards represent the many civic buildings that Solomon has ordered built in his kingdom. Only four Building Cards are available at any time: the four cards on the game board.
To construct a Building Card, you must pay the resource cubes shown on the card. Place the Building Card in front of you. Then, place one of your Building pieces on any empty Building Site box on the game board, unless the Building Card has the "no building" symbol. If you build a Building Card with the symbol you do not place a Building on the board, but you keep the Building Card as normal.
Important: You may only build one Building Card each round.
You immediately receive the victory points listed on any Building Card you build. During future rounds, you may place your Pawns on the Action Spaces of your Building Cards to take the action described.
Do not replace Building Cards when you build them. New Building Cards do not become available until the next round (see Ending the Round).
Example: Red has decided to build the Library. He must pay 1 Gold, 1 Stone, 1 Timber, and 3 Food. He places the Library in front of him and gains 15 VP. Starting next round, he may place one of his Pawns on the Scribe Action Box to draw 3 Fortune Cards, choose 1 to keep, and discard the other 2. Only Red can use the Scribe, the other players cannot use Red's building.
Some Building Cards require additional explanation:
- The Master Artisan (and the Artisan on the board) only works if you have another Pawn in the Resource Space (not the whole Region—only the space with the Pawn). It does not apply to Action Spaces or Bonus Spaces.
- The Master Trader gives you any two resource cubes (neither of which can be Gold) in exchange for any one other resource cube.
- The Trader (on the board) has no such restriction on Gold.
Building the Temple
The players may choose to help Solomon build the Temple in Jerusalem by purchasing Temple Blocks.
The Temple is built in three layers: the Foundation (six blocks), the Structure (eight blocks), and finally the Columns (two blocks). Each layer must be completed before you can build any blocks for the next layer.
To build a Temple Block, you must pay the resources shown. A wild resource icon can be paid with any type of resource. Then, place a Temple Block on the game board. Now you have a choice: you may either gain the victory points listed for the block you have built, or take one Temple Token, which is used to compete for the title of High Priest (use any suitable replacement in the unlikely event that the supply runs out of tokens). You may build as many blocks as you can pay for.
The High Priest
When you purchase a Temple Block, you may gain a Temple Token. If you have the most Temple Tokens, you become the High Priest. Place one of your Building pieces on the High Priest space as a reminder (or use a Pawn if all of your Buildings are on the board).
As long as you are the High Priest, you have a special advantage: each round you may place one of your Pawns in a Resource Space that holds one of your opponent's Building pieces. You receive resources for that space as normal, and if it is part of a Resource Region, you gain resources for the entire region! This ability does not allow you to place a Pawn in a space that already has a Pawn, and it does not allow you to collect from multiple regions that happen to overlap in a neutral space.
You remain the High Priest until another player has more Temple Tokens than you. If another player only ties you for the most Temple Tokens, you remain the High Priest.
Example: Blue is the High Priest. She uses her advantage to place a Pawn in Hamath, with Red's Building piece. She gets to collect resources from Red's entire Resource Region, gaining a total of 3 timber and 1 stone. Even though Blue also controls a Resource Region that includes Phoencia (with her Building in Zobah), she does not get to collect those resources using the Pawn she placed in Hamath.
Red won't be able to place his pawn there this round, but he could place a Pawn in Yamhad or Phoencia and gain the full value of the region. Note that Blue could not place her Pawn in Phoencia or Yamhad and claim resources from Red's region, since the High Priest only gains the ability to place a Pawn in the same space as an opponent's Building piece.
Building Roads
Roads are used to join Resource Spaces together to form Resource Regions, so players can gather resources more efficiently.
To build a Road, you must play 2 Timber and 1 Food. You must place the Road between two Resource Spaces on the game board. At least one of those two Resource Spaces must already hold one of your Building pieces. The other Resource Space must either be a neutral space (with no Building Site) or it must hold another one of your Building pieces. You may never use a Road to connect to a Resource Space that has an empty Building Site, or which is occupied by one of your opponent's Building pieces. More than one player can use Roads to connect to the same neutral space (since there is no Building Site there), but you may only use your own Roads to connect spaces into a region. Even if multiple Resource Regions "overlap" in a neutral space, they are completely separate.
Pawns placed in any Resource Space of a Resource Region collect resources from all of the Resource Spaces in that region, even if another Pawn (or another player!) has already collected resources from one or more of those Resource Spaces. Your opponents may never use your roads for any purpose (except for the High Priest). You may build as many roads as you can pay for, but the supply is limited. Once the supply runs out of roads, no one may build any more roads for the rest of the game.
Example: Green has a Building in Gilead, so he can create a Resource Region there. Aram and Tob have Buildings that belong to other players, so he cannot connect to them. He also cannot connect to Ammon because there is an empty Building Site there. Judah is a neutral space (it has no Building Site), so he can use a road to connect it to Gilead, even though Red already has roads that connect to Judah.
In a future round, Green can place a Pawn in Judah to collect resources from Gilead and Judah. If he places a second Pawn in Gilead, he can collect from both Resource Spaces twice! But, even though Judah is connected to Amalek by Red's road, Green cannot collect Food from Amalek because he can never use Red's roads.
Ending the Round
Once every player has had a chance to build, the round ends. Before the next round can begin, you must refill any empty Building Card spaces on the game board. Any Building Cards left over from the previous round, as well as any resource cubes in the Market, stay in place for the next round. The positions of the Turn Order Tokens on the Turn Order Chart remain the same.
The new round begins with a new Placement Phase. Continue playing through rounds until one of the end game conditions is met.
Ending the Game
The game ends at the end of any round when one of these three conditions is met:
- If all 11 Building Sites are occupied by Building pieces;
- If any player has placed all 5 of his Building pieces on Building Sites (a Building used to mark the High Priest space does not count); or
- If all 16 Temple Blocks have been added to the Temple.
Important: During this final round of play, you may build a Building Card even if all 11 Building Sites are full (do not place your Building piece on the board).
When the final round ends, the High Priest gains 20 victory points. All players may now play any Fortune Cards they are holding that award victory points, and each player receives one victory point for each resource cube held.
Once these final victory points have been recorded, the player with the highest total score is chosen as Solomon's successor and wins the game! If there is a tie for the most points, the tied player who placed the most Building pieces on the board wins the game.
Playtesters
Karen duBarry, Isabel duBarry, Xenia Gamers, Ryan Vogel, Drew Fox, Andrew Hunt, Brady Benjamin, Michael Matera, Matthew Fay, Randy Moore, Jeremy Mischke, Yottaquest Gamers, Andy Van Zandt, Randy Scheunemann, & Eric Jome
Copyright 2011 Minion Games - All Rights Reserved