League of Six: Complete Edition

League of Six: Complete Edition Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Contents

1 double-sided scoreboard
1 region board
6 town tiles
1 wagon fort tile
1 double-sided estate-scoring tile
54 tax tokens
6 wagon tiles
6 horse team tiles
6 warehouse tiles
40 wooden pieces of goods in four different colours (green, blue, red, yellow)
18 wooden markers in six different colours
6 wooden wagons in six different colours
6 scoretiles (40 and 80)
30 cards of estates
38 guard cards
6 town cards
6 automa cards for the two-player game

Game Goal

Players represent ambitious nobles touring around the six towns allied in the Lusatian League, collecting taxes. For the goods they supply to royal and estate warehouses they gain favour and strengthen their position in the court of King Sigismund.

Six rounds in the game represent six years. The player with the highest number of favour points at the end of the game is the winner.

Setup

The following description applies to a three- to five-player game. Special rules for games of two or six players are provided on pages 15 and 16 of the rulebook (see the Six-Player Game and Two-Player Game sections below).

Put the hexagon-shaped region board in the centre of the table, adding the six town tiles in random order to its sides, as shown in the picture. For the first games, use the side of the town tiles with the light central area (the hexagon-shaped slot where tax tiles will be placed, see Round Stages, step 1).
Put the scoreboard within easy reach of all the players. For a three-player game, use the light-background side. For a four- or five-player game, use the dark-background side. The difference is in the table for scoring the estates at the bottom.
- Estate scoring for three players: 6 / 4 / 2 points for the first, second and third place.
- Estate scoring for four or five players: 9 / 6 / 4 / 2 points for the first, second, third and fourth place.
Each player takes a wagon and three wooden markers in the respective colour.
Each player places one of their markers on number 10 on the favour scale on the scoreboard (all players start with 10 favour points). The second marker of each player should be placed in the corral depicted in the middle of the region board.
Shuffle the remaining markers and place them randomly one by one on the guard scale, starting with the position with the highest number, in the direction towards lower numbers.
From the cards of the estates, with the symbols of clergy, nobles and burghers, choose those with the grey background on the face and place them within reach of all, face up. Sort the remaining cards by the number of symbols into four decks of six cards. Shuffle these estate decks separately and put them in the corresponding slots along the edge of the scoreboard.
Each player takes three cards with a single symbol of a guard. Players hold these cards in their hand, keeping the number of guards and number of estate cards secret from the opponents.
Each player is given a cardboard tile with a wagon in their colour and puts it in front of them.
Shuffle the six warehouse tiles number I up, dividing them into two stacks of three, and place these stacks to the corresponding positions on the scoreboard.
Put the remaining guard cards and wooden pieces of goods within easy reach of all players.

Diagram note: the source shows a four-player setup diagram on page 5 (token placement and tile layout). It is a picture only and is not transcribed here.

The Game

The game consists of six rounds. Each round consists of six stages.

Round stages overview:

Round setup – turn the top estate cards face up, draw cities which will be under siege, and place the tax tokens.
Town selection – players compete for towns to collect tax in (in order, as indicated by the arrow).
Reordering – players' markers are reordered based on how many guards they used during the town selection stage.
Tax collection – players choose the form they will collect the taxes in (in order, as indicated by the arrow).
Storing – in order, based on the number of horses they collected, players decide in which order the warehouses are filled, winning favour points, including possible bonuses.
Cleanup – remove the warehouses used in the completed round.

The following description provides instructions for a game of three to five players. Special rules for two or six players are provided in the Two-Player Game and Six-Player Game sections.

1) Round Setup

Turn the top cards in the four estate decks on the scoreboard.

From the six town cards, randomly draw those which will be besieged by the Hussites. It will not be possible to collect tax in these towns in this round. The number of towns under siege is derived from the number of players: in a game of five players, one town; in a game of four players, two towns; in a game of three players, three towns will be drawn as the ones under siege. Place the town cards on the town tiles, back side with the Hussites up.

Into the remaining towns (the ones which are not under siege), place the tax tokens for the corresponding round, i.e. tokens marked (1–2) in the first and second round, tokens marked (3–4) in the third and fourth round. Before the fifth round, take the tax tokens marked (5–6) which have been displayed since the game start, shuffle them, and distribute them into the towns in the fifth and the sixth round respectively.

2) Town Selection

In this stage, players, one by one, choose a town to collect tax in. Follow the order based on the marker positions on the guard scale in the centre of the region board (as indicated by the arrow that starts at the wagon symbol).

The player whose marker is at the position with the lowest number of guards starts. The first round start is quite straightforward, as there are no wagons on the region board yet. The starting player chooses a town which is not under siege, and places their wagon at the 0 position on the guard counter at the respective town.

Then, other players take turns to choose a town, following the order defined by the position of their markers on the guard scale. If a player chooses a town nobody has chosen yet in this round, the same step is taken – they put their wagon at the 0 position on the guard counter.

However, if they choose a town which has already been chosen by another player, they need to offer their guards to help the generous opponent travel safe to another town. To do this, you need to place your wagon on the guard counter on any higher number, which states how many guards you offer to the opponent.

Now the opponent chooses from two options. They can either accept the offer, or beat it by offering a higher number of guards, which is indicated by moving their wagon to a higher number on the counter.

This is repeated until one of the players accepts the offer or the highest bid of 12 guards is reached, which is an offer that cannot be turned down. As soon as a player accepts an offer, they are paid the corresponding number of guards by the opponent. If they do not have enough guards, they can ask the king, losing 2 favour points for each of the royal guards, which is reflected on the favour point counter immediately.

As it is not allowed to move one's marker to negative numbers, players cannot raise the bid to exceed the number of guards they can pay or ask the king for. The player who has accepted the offer moves their wagon along the road to get to another town. Towns currently under siege cannot be entered, but players can ride past them while travelling to another town.

For moving the wagon by each position (each town, no matter whether under siege or not), one guard must be paid by putting it back to the reserve (from one guard for moving to a neighbouring town up to three guards for moving to the opposite town). As in the case of paying guards to the opponents, it is also possible to pay two favour points for each missing guard if the player does not have enough guards.

Once a new town is entered, the same scheme is followed – if there is no opponent in the town yet, the player puts their wagon at the 0 position on the guard counter, while any possible conflicts are addressed immediately. The newly arrived player must put their wagon on a higher number than their opponent (it may happen that they are not standing on 0, as there may have been a conflict with another player in the town before). Players take turns in raising their bid until one of them accepts the offer and leaves the town. After the player who has left chooses a new town, the next player takes their turn, according to the order determined by the position of the markers on the guard scale.

Finally, all the players place their wagons, so that there is one wagon on the counter of all the towns which are currently not under siege. A player may come to a town multiple times, for example in the case that they accept an offer from an opponent, move to an adjacent town where their bid is finally beaten by the player who has already had their wagon there, and they return to the town where they started. However, never forget to pay for all the town-to-town moves with the corresponding number of guards!

In the second and the following rounds, the situation is similar but not the same, as players' wagons are now on the road outside the gates of the town where they collected tax in the previous round. Wagons on the road are actually not inside a town and, therefore, they cannot cause any conflicts, as conflicts are only caused by wagons placed on the guard counter.

When a player is choosing a town, they cannot put their wagon directly in the town. Instead, they move the wagon along the road and need to pay the corresponding number of guards, according to the number of moves – they return one guard for each move to the reserve.

If a player wants to stay in the same town in which they collected tax in the previous round, they move their wagon from the road to the guard counter in the town and pay one guard (as if they moved to an adjacent town). The rest of the process of choosing towns is the same as in the first round.

As implied, from the second round on, players pay at least one guard.

Example of town selection in the first round:

The turquoise player starts, choosing the town of Lauban. They put their wagon on 0 on the guard counter. The next player opts for Zittau and puts their violet wagon on 0 on the guard counter in the town. The grey player comes third. They also opt for Zittau, as the violet player did.

The latter, however, does not accept the offer and moves their wagon to 3 on the guard counter. The violet player accepts the offer, taking three guards from the turquoise player and moving on to the town of Kamenz, which is currently unoccupied. They pay one guard for the move.

They offer the violet player two guards, placing their wagon on 2 on the guard counter. The offer is accepted. The violet player takes two guards from the grey and decides to move their wagon to Lauban, paying one guard for the move and offering one guard to the turquoise player.

Now it is the orange player's turn. They can either go to Loebau, which is free, or start a conflict in one of the towns which have been occupied by the opponents.

3) Reordering

Now the markers on the guard scale in the centre get reordered. Players put their markers according to the number of guards in the town where their wagon is currently placed. If there are any ties, they are broken by the numbers the towns are marked with – the player in the town with the lower number places their marker prior to the opponent. The player in the town marked with the higher number then puts their marker in front of the marker belonging to the player in the town with the lower number.

Example: The turquoise player has paid three, the grey two, and the orange and violet player no guards. The violet player is now at the gates of town number 2, the orange player is at the gates of town number 4. The turquoise player moves their marker on the guard scale to the end of the scale with more guards. The grey player puts their marker next to it, followed by the orange and, finally, the violet player.

4) Tax Collection

In the stage of tax collection, players take turns in the reversed order, as indicated by the arrow with a tax token symbol. The player whose marker is placed on the highest number of guards on the scale starts.

Every town tile has a hexagon in its centre, with goods, horses and guards which can be gained along its sides. The hexagon tax token placed in the town has several arrows. The player who is collecting tax in the respective town in the current round can rotate the token in any way they need to choose what tax they will collect.

Guards: the shield symbols indicate how many guards the player has recruited. Once they adjust the token, the player takes the corresponding number of guard cards from the reserve. Any time in the game, it is possible to exchange three one-guard cards for a three-guard card or the other way round.
Horses: the number of horse symbols is then reflected by putting the player's horse marker on the corresponding number from the corral to the horse counter. The higher the number of horses, the faster the player gets to the warehouses, with the advantage of higher priority in stocking their goods – the player with the highest number of horses will be the first to start stocking their goods.
Goods: the other symbols represent tax in the form of resources (green fabric, blue tools, red wine and yellow food) to be collected. For each piece of goods, the player takes a wooden piece in the corresponding colour. These pieces are then placed on their wagon tile so that everybody can see them.

Players take turns in order based on the position of their markers. The later in the round the player collects tax, the more information they have about what form and how much tax the opponents have collected. This can help them make a more informed decision for tax collection.

Besides the tax they have collected using the arrows on the tax token, the player also gets a new companion (e.g. an Advocatus or a Stableman) whose special powers they can use. These powers are shown in the centre of the token and are described in detail in the Companions section of the rulebook. The new companion is represented by the tax token, which is then taken by the player and placed in front of them.

There are three types of special powers:

Immediate effects are marked with an exclamation mark. These effects are applied immediately when the tax is being collected in the town. The player keeps the token and puts it in front of them.
Game stage privileges. On the face, these tokens are marked with the number of the stage they can be used in. Tokens 1, 2, 3 cannot be used earlier than in the following round (they cannot be used retrospectively). Tokens 4, 5, 6 can be used from the fourth stage of the game to the end of the game.
Tokens with final scoring bonuses are marked with a laurel wreath. These effects are applied after the sixth round finishes (see End of the Game).

Tokens marked with a stage number can be used in every round of the corresponding stage. Tokens 1, 2, or 3 (game setup, town selection, reordering) cannot be used earlier than in the following round. Some powers are applied at the beginning or the end of the stage. If multiple players can choose, they decide as follows: in the fifth stage (storing), they use their companions' powers in the order valid for the fifth stage (by number of horses they gained, the player with the highest number of horses starts). In other stages, they refer to the order stated on the guard scale (the player who paid the lowest number of guards last time starts). Other powers can be used anytime within the stage.

Example: The grey player has rotated the tax token as shown in the picture, gaining two guards, one blue, one green and two red pieces of goods. One of the arrows is pointing at two horse symbols, so the player puts their marker from the corral at position 2 on the horse counter. On top of that, they get a new companion – the Farmer. They keep the tax token, now being able to use the companion's help (see Companions, Tokens 1–2).

5) Storing

Before the actual storing starts, it is necessary to determine the order in which players will take turns in stocking their goods. The player who reached the highest number of horse symbols during tax collection gets the horse team tile with the highest number of horses (five-horse team in the game of five, four-horse team in the game of four, etc.), and places this tile in front of their wagon on the wagon tile. The player with the second highest number of horses is given the second strongest horse team, etc. Ties are broken by the numbers marking the towns where tax was collected – the higher the number, the better.

There are two active warehouse tiles on the scoreboard. The player with the strongest horse team selects one row either in the royal warehouse (at the top, with the symbol of favour points) or in the estate warehouse (at the bottom, with the symbol of a card).

Royal warehouse (upper): the player gets the bonus of as many favour points as stated at the beginning of the row.
Estate warehouse (lower): the number before the row states the maximum number of estate symbols they can get. From the estate cards on the scoreboard, they choose one with up to as many symbols as the bonus states. They can take a card with a lower number of symbols. If none of the cards available meets the criteria (the number of symbols is too high), they cannot take any card. Do not turn the top card in the pack from which the estate card has been taken face up.

Example: The turquoise player has gained the strongest, four-horse team, thus being determined to be the first to choose the warehouse shelf to fill. They have two pieces of yellow and one piece of green goods. They opt for the row with the 5-point bonus in the royal warehouse. They fill one position with a yellow piece, immediately gaining 2 favour points on the game score scale. The player on their left (orange) now must add their red and blue piece of goods, gaining 3 points. The violet player has nothing to stock. The grey player adds a red piece, gaining 1 point. As the entire row has been filled up, the turquoise player gains the bonus of 5 favour points.

With the three-horse team, the next to choose a warehouse and a row is the grey player. They opt for the row with the 4-point bonus in the estate warehouse. They fill it with all their goods (a red, green and blue piece), immediately gaining 5 favour points. Now it is the turquoise player's turn (to the left of the grey player), who has to add their yellow piece. The grey player has chosen a row which has been fully filled, so they take a card with four estate symbols from the available estate cards. The next players to choose a row in a warehouse are the violet and, finally, the orange.

Filling a row:

If the player has the goods shown in the selected row on their wagon, they must put the corresponding wooden piece at the relevant position in the row and immediately gain the favour points stated near the symbol, moving their marker up the score counter by the corresponding number of points.
The player must fill all the positions of the selected row they have resources for. If they do not fill the row up, the player to their left continues filling in this row. This player also must fill all the positions they can, gaining favour points. If the row has not been filled up when they finish, the player to their left continues.
If all the slots in the row have been filled, the player who selected the row gets the bonus stated beside the row. They get this bonus even if they have not contributed any goods in the row (only selected the row which has been filled up).

Then, the player with the second strongest horse team selects a row, etc. Same rules as above are applied. This continues until there are no goods to stock. If all the players have taken their turn in selecting a row for filling and there are still some goods on players' wagons, the next round is started by the player with the strongest horse team. If slots of a colour have been filled up and there are still goods of the same sort on players' wagons, all these goods are returned to the reserve without any compensation. Players cannot keep goods for the next round.

You can lower the strength of horses by applying the following rule: The player who is choosing a row in a warehouse cannot choose a row without adding at least one piece of goods.

6) Cleanup

Take town cards off the tiles of towns besieged by the Hussites and add them back to the other town cards. Move wagons from guard counters to the road outside the respective towns.

Remove the estate cards which were not gained by any player (face up) from the scoreboard. These cards will not be used anymore; put them back into the box. Each player removes the horse team from their wagon tile and returns it to the reserve. Remove the goods from the warehouses and put them back to the reserve. Remove both top warehouse tiles. This reveals the warehouse tiles for the next round. After the third round, there are no tiles left. Shuffle all the warehouse tiles, make two stacks and place them in the warehouse area on the scoreboard, the side with number II in the bottom right corner up. When you run out of the tiles for the second time, the sixth round and the game are over.

Then, players add the score of other scoring tokens, except those related to scoring of the estates.

If a player uses a companion (Hetman, Captain of the Guard) to exchange guards for points, they need to discard the corresponding number of guards and cannot use them in possible tie-breaking (see below). If two players exchange guards for points, they can do it simultaneously and independently.

Then, the score for the estates is added, as well as the remaining tokens linked to the estates.

Scoring the Estates Cards

After the last round, the players reveal the estate cards they have acquired in the game.

Use the estate-scoring table to score the corresponding number of points. For example, in a four-player game, the player with the highest number of Clergy symbols gains 9 points, the second gets 6, the third 4 and the fourth 2 points.

Estate-scoring table for four or five players: 9 / 6 / 4 / 2 points.
Estate-scoring table for three players: 6 / 4 / 2 points.

If the player has no symbols of Clergy, they do not get any points, no matter how many symbols the other players have. Then, follow the same procedure for the symbols of Nobles and Burghers.

Ties are broken with the higher number of guards remaining in the player's hand at the end of the game. If the tie lasts, all the players involved get the lower number of points (if there are two players sharing the first position, they both get the points awarded for the second position; if there are three players sharing the second position, they all get the points awarded for the fourth position, etc.).

If you exceed the 40-point threshold with the number of points, take the 40 scoretile and move your marker to the beginning of the scale of favour. After completing the next round, turn the token to number 80.

End of the Game

The game ends after six rounds.

At the beginning of the sixth round, the last estate cards on the scoreboard are turned face up. At its end, the last warehouse tiles with number II up will be removed.

When the sixth round ends, tax tokens marked with a laurel wreath (see the Companions section, tokens 5–6) are added to the score, as follows. The first token to be evaluated is King's Gamekeeper, a companion. The remaining scoring tokens and the estates are then scored as described in the Cleanup section above.

The Winner

The tax collector with the highest number of favour points (the highest status in the court of King Sigismund) is the winner. Ties are broken by the higher number of guards remaining in the player's hand after the last round. If the tie lasts, all the players with the highest score are the winners.

Game Variants

Town Tiles

In the first few games, we recommend using the town tile sides with the light centre area for the hexagon tax tokens. Later, you can try using the dark centre side in all tiles. Both sides include a well-balanced ratio of individual resources. In later games, however, you can combine light and dark sides of the town tiles. That sets games with a different ratio of resources. It is not recommended for the first games.

Easy Game

In this version, put aside the tokens with numbers on the back side. Take only the 18 tokens without numbers on the back side. Shuffle them and put them face down. Leave the remaining tokens in the box.

The game rules are the same as in the basic version, with the following exceptions:

Round setup: add a hexagon tax token from the tax token stack to each town which is not under siege, and place it in the middle of the town (if the stack is out of tax tokens, shuffle used tokens and make a new stack).
Tax collection: in the tax collection stage, the player also gets the goods, guards or horses depicted in the middle of the hexagon tile. There can also be two symbols representing the estates (Clergy, Nobles, Burghers). In that case, the player takes the corresponding card of estates with two symbols of the given estate (cards with grey background on the face). The page 14 example shows this with icons only: two Clergy symbols give the Clergy card with two symbols, two shield symbols give two guard cards, and a red goods symbol gives a red piece.
Cleanup: remove the tax tokens from the town tiles.

Six-Player Game

In the game of six, regular rules are applied, with a few exceptions.

Game setup: prepare the game according to the usual rules. Place the scoring condition tile on the scoreboard for six players.

Round setup: in each round, all six towns are available. That means that none is besieged by the Hussites. Instead, one town is drawn at the beginning of the first stage, and, to the right of it (clockwise), between the drawn town and the one to its right, the wagon fort tile is placed.

Example: The town of Kamenz is drawn, so the wagon fort is placed on the line connecting this city with Bautzen. In the second stage, the orange player starts and moves to Bautzen – they pay three guards (two for two sections of the road and one for crossing the fort). Then the grey player plays – for one guard they also move to Bautzen and offer three guards to the orange player. They accept the offer and pay two guards to move to Kamenz (one is paid for the section of the road, one for the wagon fort).

Town selection: in the second stage, one extra guard must be paid if the wagon fort is crossed within a move in any direction.

Storing: the wagon fort has a horse symbol on both sides. This means that the players who collected tax in the towns neighbouring the wagon fort are awarded one extra horse for reordering on the horse counter.

Two-Player Game

For a two-player game, add one or two automa opponents. Basic game rules are applied. Changed rules for automa are provided below.

Game with One Automa Opponent

Game setup: each player chooses a colour and places their markers on the boards, as instructed in the basic game rules. For automa opponents, prepare only the wooden wagons and the wagon tile in one of the colours not taken by another player. Automa opponents can never get guards, horses, estates, and they always play second, so counters for neither number of horses nor order of players are needed. Shuffle the six automa cards and put the deck within easy reach, face down. This deck will be used throughout the game.

Place the two-player-game estates scoring tile on the scoreboard.

Round setup: draw three town cards to determine which towns will be under siege and cover the tiles of these towns (as in a three-player game).

Town selection: the automa opponent always plays second. When its turn comes in the first round, turn one of the remaining town cards (the towns which are not under siege) and place its wagon in the respective town. If the town is already taken by another player, this leads to a conflict which must be addressed immediately.

In the following rounds, the automa stays on the board, as well as the other players. In such cases, turn the top card in the automa's deck. The arrows indicate the direction the wagon takes. The wagon is moved to the nearest town (which is not under siege) in the direction stated.

The first arrow indicates that the priority is to stay in the town where the wagon finished the previous round. If the town is under siege, the wagon is moved to the nearest town (which is not under siege) in the direction indicated by the second arrow.

Every time the sixth card of the automa deck is turned, shuffle the deck and prepare it for further use.

Conflicts with the Automa Opponent

If an automa wagon arrives in a town already taken by another player's wagon, its wagon is placed at the nearest higher position on the guard counter.

The other player decides either to raise the bid by placing their wagon on any higher position on the counter, or to leave the town. If they decide to leave, they get as many guards from the reserve as the number of the position where the automa opponent's wagon is placed.

Whenever an automa opponent's wagon is lower than a human player on the guard counter, turn the top card in this automa opponent's deck to find out how they react. Between the first and the third round of the game, use the upper part of the card. Between the fourth and sixth round, use the lower part of the card.

Based on the current number of guards indicated on the counter with the automa opponent's wagon, determine the automa's response. The symbol of a guard with a sword means that they raise their bid (their wagon is placed at the nearest position on the counter higher than the human player's). The wagon symbol means that they have decided to leave the town. The other player pays the number of guards (puts them back to the reserve) defined by the position of their own wagon.

The upper part of the automa card (rounds 1–3) reads, by the position of the automa wagon on the counter:

Automa wagon position	Response
0	Leave (wagon)
1–2	Raise the bid (sword)
3	Leave (wagon)
4 or more	Leave (wagon)

The lower part of the automa card (rounds 4–6) reads:

Automa wagon position	Response
0–2	Leave (wagon)
3–4	Leave (wagon)
5	Raise the bid (sword)
7 or more	Raise the bid (sword)

Note: the two tables above were read from the automa card graphic on page 16 (the upper part labelled 1–3, the lower part labelled 4–6). The card art is icon-only, so the tables transcribe the symbols shown there. The example below refers to a second card face on the same page, which shows different values and is not transcribed as a table.

Example: In the second round, the orange player placed their wagon in a town already taken by the automa opponent, whose wagon is now on number 2 on the counter. They turn the top card in the automa opponent's deck. As there is a symbol of a guard with a sword for 2 to 3 guards, they move the opponent's wagon to position 5 on the counter. Now the orange player needs to decide again whether to stay and raise the bid, or leave the town.

Tax Collection and Storing for the Automa

An automa opponent always takes all the goods available in the respective town, no matter the arrows on the tax token. Place the corresponding pieces of goods on their wagon tile.

An automa player always plays second, filling the given rows in the warehouses as instructed in the basic game rules. They do not choose any row; they only fill in the row which has been chosen. Place the pieces of goods from left to right (from better prices to worse).

It is not recommended to add more than two automa opponents.

Automa Opponents' Scoring

As instructed above, automa opponents are not awarded any favour points. Humans only compete against humans. However, if you want to make scoring more exciting, you can also keep score for your automa opponents on the scoreboard.

Automa opponents' markers start the game on 10 favour points.
For each guard paid by human players for conflicts with an automa opponent, the respective automa opponent scores one favour point.
For each shield symbol in the town where they finish, the automa opponent scores one favour point, regardless of the arrows on the tax token.
In the Easy Game, the opponent also collects the goods displayed on the corresponding tax token.
For storing goods, the automa opponent scores the corresponding number of favour points.

Scoring the estates cards: the player with the highest number of estate symbols gets seven favour points, the second gets two. If a player has no symbol of the given estate, they do not get any favour points. If the number of these symbols is equal, the higher number of remaining guards breaks the tie.

Game with More Automa Opponents

For a greater challenge, you can add more automa opponents. For game setup, follow the rules for the corresponding number of players (if two human players are adding two automa opponents, use the setup for four players). Follow the same rules as in a game with a single automa opponent, with each added automa opponent playing as the last player at the end of each game stage (town selection, storing). Use one automa card deck for all automa opponents.

There can never be a conflict of two automa players. If there already is another automa in a town where an automa opponent finishes their move, treat the town as if it was under siege.

Automa opponents can also be used in games with more than two human players. For example, three players can add an automa opponent to play a four-player game. In such a case, follow the instructions for the given number of players for setup, applying the general rules for games with automa opponents. For scoring the estates, use the scoring for the number of human players.

Companions

Each companion is the tax token acquired during tax collection, and the companions are grouped below by the number printed on the token (1–2, 3–4 or 5–6), as in the source. Where a companion's power is tied to a stage, the stage is given in its description.

Companions 1–2

Guild Master: if you manage to reach the bonus while storing goods in the estate warehouse, the Guild Master brings you one favour point.
Advocatus: the Advocatus increases your influence on the estates. Immediately take two estate cards (of your choice) with two estate symbols on the grey background.
Wagon Driver: in the second stage of the round, you discount one guard from the number of guards you must pay (while at least one guard must always be paid), as the Wagon Driver knows safe shortcuts between more distant towns.
King's Jester: if you have the tile with the lowest number of horses at the beginning of the fifth stage, you gain one favour point immediately. The slower ride towards the warehouses gives you time to have fun and enjoy the jester's resourceful pranks.
Farmer: in the fifth stage, once the order of players has been determined, you can give the Farmer one of your guards to work on his farm. In return, the Farmer gives you one piece of goods of your choice from the reserve.
Merchant: in the fifth stage, once the order of players has been determined, the Merchant can help you exchange one piece of your goods for a different kind of goods of your choice from the reserve.
Centurion: the Centurion makes your guards stronger. While placing or moving your wagon to an unoccupied town in the second stage, you can put it on number 1 on the guard counter, without paying a guard.
Stableman: the Stableman grooms your horses. While counting the horse symbols, add half a horse symbol to the sum (including the round in which you gained the token). When placing markers on the horse counter, put yours on the line between the two numbers.
Recruiting Officer: in the sixth stage, the Recruiting Officer brings you one extra guard.

Companions 3–4

Innkeeper: in the first stage, the Innkeeper secures wine or food for you (one red or yellow piece of goods).
Chamberlain: when it is your turn in selecting a row in a warehouse to be filled in the fifth stage, you can hand one piece of your goods over to the Chamberlain, choosing to be skipped in return for four favour points. If you do so, the next player makes their choice of a row. The Chamberlain can be used even when the goods of the colour you want to use can no longer be stored in a warehouse, even after all other goods have been stored or none can be stored.
Town Councillor (two tokens): the Town Councillor increases your influence on the estates. Immediately take one estate card (of your choice) with two estate symbols on the grey background.
Draper: for each green piece of goods (fabric) you store in the fifth stage, you gain one extra favour point.
Artisan: in the first stage, the Artisan makes fabric or tools for you (take one piece of green or blue goods).
Viticulturist: the Viticulturist helps you choose finer wine and store it better. For each piece of red goods (wine) you store in the fifth stage, you gain one extra favour point.
Head Stableman: the Head Stableman knows how to groom your horses best. While counting the horse symbols, add one and a half horse symbols to the sum (including the round in which you gained the token). When placing markers on the horse counter, put yours on the line between the two numbers.
Head Recruiting Officer: in the sixth stage, the Head Recruiting Officer recruits two extra guards for you.
Head Tax Collector: while collecting tax, you can add one imaginary arrow to your tax token. This arrow points in any currently unindicated direction you need. This means you gain the tax at one of the sides no other arrow on the tax token is pointing at. This effect also applies to the current tax token.

Companions 5–6

Astrologist: the Astrologist has managed to persuade the King that constellations are working in favour of one of your companions. For each token with four arrows you have acquired, you get two favour points at the end of the game.
Bishop: for each cross symbol (representing the Clergy) on your estate cards you have acquired, you get one favour point at the end of the scoring at the end of the game.
Lady-in-Waiting: at the end of the game, you get three extra favour points, as you have managed to get in good graces of the Lady-in-Waiting.
Hetman: at the end of the game, you can hand over up to eight guards to the Hetman to get one favour point for each. You have to make this decision before scoring the estates takes place. The guards you have spent this way do not count in while breaking ties.
Chancellor: at the end of the game, you get three extra favour points for each estate you dominate in (the estates no other player has a higher number of symbols of).
Captain of the Guard: at the end of the game, you can hand over up to three guards to the Captain of the Guard to get two favour points for each. You have to make this decision before scoring the estates takes place. The guards you have spent this way do not count in while breaking ties.
The Queen: you are in the Queen's good graces. You get five extra favour points at the end of the game.
King's Herald: after scoring the estates at the end of the game, you get one extra favour point for each crown (the Nobles) symbol on the estate cards you have acquired in the game.
King's Gamekeeper: at the end of the game, before other cards and the estates are scored, you get two favour points for each player who has gained fewer favour points than you so far.

Historical Background

Lusatia

Lusatia is a region situated at the border of present-day Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. In ancient times, it was inhabited by Germanic tribes, and later by Slavs. A partial Slavic settlement (Lusatian Serbs) has survived to this day. It was divided into Upper Lusatia – closer to the Czech border – and Lower Lusatia.

Between 1368 and 1635, both Lusatias were part of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, after which they fell as a fief to the prince-elector of Saxony.

The League of Six

A league of six towns in Upper Lusatia – Goerlitz, Bautzen, Loebau, Kamenz, Lauban, Zittau. It was established on August 21, 1346, a few days before the Battle of Crécy, as a municipal defense alliance, primarily for protection against marauding knights.

The activity of bandits in this area was very strong in the 14th century, as the Leipzig-Krakow trade route passed through here. The League of Six managed to pacify the robber nobility relatively quickly, even obtaining permission to demolish their castles.

During the Hussite Wars, when this game takes place, the entire region remained Catholic and sided against the Hussites. Until 1429, these towns participated in the organization of anti-Hussite campaigns into Bohemia. In 1429 and the following years, they suffered raids by Hussite troops, who besieged individual towns several times, and in some cases conquered them.

The influence of the League of Six waned considerably after the league and other cities in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were stripped of a number of privileges and punished financially for their insufficient support of Ferdinand I during the Estates Revolt in 1547.

The League of Six lost its practical significance in the 19th century, partly due to the division of Upper Lusatia between Saxony and Prussia.

On June 21, 1991, the league was symbolically revived on the occasion of the 770th anniversary of the founding of the city of Lubaw, with the independent Polish town of Zgorzelec added to the six traditional towns.

Throughout its existence, the League of Six was one of the main powers in the Lusatia region.

The Towns

Bautzen – The Historic Heart of Upper Lusatia, nestled on the Spree River. The first written records of the town date back to 1002. During the era of the League of Six, especially in the early years, Bautzen was one of its most prominent members. To this day, it has preserved its old town, which captivates visitors with its abundance of towers.

Kamenz – Located in Upper Lusatia, Kamenz is the westernmost town in Upper Lusatia. Its origins stem from a late 12th-century castle built to protect a trade route. The great fire of 1707 significantly shaped the present-day appearance of the town.

Zittau – Zittau is situated in the southeastern part of Upper Lusatia. Its name is derived from the Slavic word for rye. The first written record of Zittau dates back to 1238. The town remained part of the Kingdom of Bohemia until 1635. During the Thirty Years' War, it became a significant refuge for Czech Protestants who fled persecution following the Battle of White Mountain. Zittau's appearance was significantly altered by a fire set by Austrian troops during the Seven Years' War, which destroyed most of its buildings.

Goerlitz – Goerlitz is the easternmost city in Germany, nestled in Upper Lusatia along the Neisse River. Its origins trace back to a crucial intersection of trade routes, with the first mention of the town dating back to 1071. After World War II, Goerlitz was divided into a western German section and an eastern section that fell under Polish rule. Remarkably, Goerlitz emerged from the war largely unscathed, boasting a well-preserved historic center adorned with numerous monuments from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque eras.

Loebau – Loebau is situated in the heart of Upper Lusatia. Its origins can be traced back to the colonization efforts of King Ottokar I. of Bohemia, with the first written record of the town dating back to 1221. Throughout its history, it has endured various hardships, including the Hussite Wars, the Thirty Years' War, and several devastating fires.

Lauban – Situated in Upper Lusatia, Lauban is the easternmost town of the League of Six. Its origins date back to around 1220, with its city rights gained before the mid-13th century. During the Hussite Wars, Lauban fell under siege twice. In subsequent years, the town endured a series of fires and suffered significant damage during the Napoleonic Wars. After World War II, Lauban was incorporated into Poland.