Leonardo (1988)

Leonardo (1988) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Object of the Game

To become the Lords of the City, either by eliminating all opponents from the game, or by reaching the highest capital within a maximum time agreed among the players before the start.

1 game board representing an imaginary Renaissance city
1 "Machina de la Sorte" (Machine of Fortune)
1 deck of 60 cards: PALAZZI (palaces), UOMINI D'ARME (men-at-arms), EVENTI INTERNAZIONALI (international events) and CARICHE PUBBLICHE (public offices)
6 trays in different colours, each containing 20 Renaissance palazzi, 1 marker and 3 balls
6 pawns in different colours
4 punch-out sheets of 20 antique coins each, divided into 6 different denominations
2 punch-out sheets of 20 works of art each
1 rulebook

Setup

Open the board, which represents Leonardo's city. Take the deck of 60 cards and divide it into 4 decks: one of CARICHE PUBBLICHE (public offices, blue back), one of EVENTI INTERNAZIONALI (international events, red back), one of PALAZZI (palaces, light blue back), and one of UOMINI D'ARME (men-at-arms, green back).

Each player chooses one of the 6 available colours and takes the corresponding tray, from which they detach 20 palazzi, one marker and one ball (the other two balls are spares).

Place your 20 palazzi and your ball in front of you, and place the pawn of your colour on space no. 1, the starting space, which is Piazza Maggiore.

Place the EVENTI INTERNAZIONALI and CARICHE PUBBLICHE decks, shuffled and face down, on two of the four spaces provided at the bottom left of the board. Take the PALAZZI deck, set aside the four bridges (ponti), shuffle the deck and deal one palazzo at random to each player. Take the deck of cards, add the four bridges, and place it face up on one of the spaces provided.

Place the remaining UOMINI D'ARME deck, face up, on the last free space at the bottom left of the board.

Each player places in front of them, face up, the PALAZZI card they received. Players look at the palazzo pictured on the card, find it on the board using the number in the top left corner of the card, and place one of the palazzi of their colour on the palazzo on the board that corresponds to the number shown on the card. This indicates that the palazzo, and therefore the street or alley on which it stands, belongs to that player.

Choose at random the player who will also be the banker. The banker gives every player, including themselves, a starting capital of 250 florins, detaching them from the punch-out sheets. The florins that remain are placed in the box in the compartments provided and form the bank's capital, which must never be mixed with the players' capital.

The banker detaches the works-of-art tiles (ODA, opere d'arte) that have a red back from the punch-out sheets, shuffles them, and places the resulting deck, face down, in the compartment provided in the box.

Finally, the banker prepares the Machina de la Sorte following the diagram alongside (Diagram no. 1).

Diagram no. 1 shows the assembly of the Machina de la Sorte from its three parts, with the printed caution: "The foam-rubber pad must be left under the base."

Players choose to be Guelfi (Guelphs) or Ghibellini (Ghibellines) and write this on any sheet of paper they keep in front of them. It is allowed for everyone to be Guelfi, or everyone to be Ghibellini.

How to Play

The route of the game consists of 32 spaces, divided as follows: 6 squares (piazze), 3 markets (mercati), 12 streets (vie), 7 alleys (vicoli; the alley is in some cases also called "vico"), and 4 bridges (ponti).

The streets and alleys of the same colour make up a district (quartiere). In the game there are 6 different districts, each characterised by a name as shown in the table at the top left of the board.

Squares and markets are characterised by lighter colours and, although they lie within the districts, they are NOT part of them for the purposes of the rules that follow.

In turn, all players spin, rotating as shown in Diagram no. 2 (the upper ring of the machine is turned by hand, with the ball dropped into it), their ball in the Machina de la Sorte. The player who obtains the highest number begins the game; the others proceed from left to right.

The player who begins the game spins their ball in the Machina de la Sorte again, this time to determine the movement of their pawn.

The starting space, Piazza Maggiore, IS included in the number of spaces the pawn moves through.

The game proceeds from left to right, following the numerical order of the spaces on the board.

The player who has finished their turn passes the Machina de la Sorte to their neighbour on the right.

Passing Indemnity

Each time a player stops on or passes through the Piazza Maggiore space, the bank pays them an indemnity of 100 florins.

Acquiring Public Office Cards

Each time a player stops exactly on the Piazza Maggiore space, they draw the first card from the CARICHE PUBBLICHE (public offices) deck and pay the bank the price shown on the card.

These cards are marked with a number, placed in the top left corner of the card, which indicates the corresponding squares or markets on the board.

When a player lands with their marker on the square or market whose number corresponds to a public office owned by an opponent, that opponent has the option to move that marker forward or backward by no more than 5 spaces, when the value of the office is 30 florins. In addition to the advantage just described, the opponent also obtains the right to subtract one Man-at-Arms from the player, when the value of the office is 50 florins.

Buying Palazzi

When a player lands on a street or alley whose palazzo has not yet been purchased, they have the right of option on it: that is, they may buy it from the bank by paying the corresponding price written on the card, and they receive the palazzo card, which they place face up in front of them. They also place one of the palazzi of their colour on the board on the one they have bought.

If the player does not want to buy the palazzo, the bank puts it up for auction among all the other players, starting at 5 florins.

When a player lands on a bridge, they have the option of acquiring it by repeating the operations described for palazzi.

Owner Benefits

It is very important to own as many palazzi as possible, since each one yields an income payable to its owner by every player who stops on its property.

Palazzi situated on squares or markets cannot be purchased.

An example of how the income is calculated is shown in the table on the board at the bottom right, and on the card with the grey back.

The income from palazzi varies according to the number of works of art (ODA) displayed in them.

When no works of art are displayed in a palazzo, its income equals half of its purchase value.

Bridges give an income of 5 florins to the players who own them, simply because opponents pass over them, without the need to stop on them with an exact count.

Buying Works of Art (ODA)

At the start of their turn, each player has the right to draw up to 4 works-of-art tiles, drawing them face down from the deck and paying the bank a fixed price of 50 florins for each.

The value of the work of art, shown on the tile, will be used when counting each player's assets at the end of the game.

Acquired works of art are placed on the palazzi cards on which they are to be displayed, which lie face up in front of the player, increasing their income according to the cases shown in the table on the board at the bottom right.

Up to a maximum of 4 works of art may be displayed on each palazzo. Once displayed on a palazzo, works of art may no longer be moved.

Conquering a District

When a player owns all the palazzi of a district, they claim it, and all the incomes of that district's palazzi are doubled. Bridges do not belong to any district.

As illustrated at the beginning of these rules, squares and markets do not count for the purposes of conquering a district.

Acquiring Man-at-Arms Cards

When a player, by operating the Machina de la Sorte, obtains the two lowest numbers, that is 1 or 2, before moving, they take a Man-at-Arms card. Each player may own up to a maximum of 2 men-at-arms.

Space Occupied by Another Player

When a player lands on a space occupied by one or more opposing pawns, the following rules apply, depending on the case:

a) if none of the players on the same space has a Man-at-Arms: nothing happens and the game proceeds normally;

b) if only one of the players on the same space has at least one Man-at-Arms: the opposing player or players pay them a tribute of 10 florins for each palazzo they own;

c) if two players on the same space each have at least one Man-at-Arms: the players fight each other by operating the Machina de la Sorte. The player who obtains the higher total removes one Man-at-Arms from the opponent and returns it to the bottom of the corresponding deck. The combat is repeated until one of the players is left without Men-at-Arms, and pays the opponent the tribute indicated in point b).

This armed combat is carried out at the end of all the other operations that make up each player's turn.

Immunity Spaces

On spaces no. 9 and 17, where the Cenacolo di Santa Maria and the Chiesa di Santa Croce stand, players obtain the right of sanctuary, and combat between Men-at-Arms is forbidden.

Market Spaces

A player who lands on spaces no. 3, 11 and 24, which correspond respectively to the Mercato Nuovo (New Market), the Mercato Grande (Great Market) and the Mercato Vecchio (Old Market), opens the market, requiring their opponents to bet a sum on one of the products shown in the table to the right of the board, each marked with two numbers. The products are: the gem (gemma), the ivory (avorio), the gold (oro) and the spices (spezie).

Each player takes the marker depicted as a sixteenth-century head in the colour of their pawn, decides which product to bet on from the four listed, takes the florins they wish to bet and places them on or beside the chosen space, placing their marker on top of them.

The player who opened the market operates the Machina de la Sorte, and the number thus obtained makes the player or players who bet on the product marked with that number win three times their stake. When the numbers 4, 7, 9 or 11 come up, which correspond to the Balzello Perditutto (the "Lose-All" levy), all the bets are taken by the player who opened the market. This player also keeps the losing bets and pays the winning ones.

International Event Cards

When a player lands on spaces no. 7, 22 and 28, which correspond respectively to the Piazza dell'Imperatore (Emperor's Square), the Piazza del Papa (Pope's Square) and the Piazza Novità (Novelty Square), they draw the first card from the EVENTI INTERNAZIONALI (international events) deck, whose effects concern all players.

These behave according to the following cases:

if the card reads "NULLA DI FATTO" (nothing happens), the game proceeds normally;
if the card reads "CARTA GUELFA" (Guelph card), the players who declared themselves Guelfi before the start of the game collect 100 florins from the bank;
if the card reads "CARTA GHIBELLINA" (Ghibelline card), the players who declared themselves Ghibellini before the start of the game collect 100 florins from the bank.

Lack of Works of Art (ODA)

There is a limited number of works of art (ODA); it is therefore advisable to acquire them before they run out, since no trades are possible between players, or between the bank and the players.

Bankruptcy

When a player is no longer able to meet a payment using the florins at their disposal, and by selling palazzi, with or without works of art, back to the bank at half the value shown on the tile, they declare bankruptcy, return the florins and works of art to the bank, and withdraw from the game.

The bank pays the creditor player in full, in florins.

Winner

The winner is the player who succeeds in eliminating all opponents, or who reaches the highest capital in goods and liquid assets within a maximum time agreed among the players before the start.

Variant: Joining in Corporations

At any point in the game, a player may associate with one or more opposing players; in this case the following provisions apply:

the members of the same corporation are either all Guelfi or all Ghibellini; the decision is taken by mutual agreement;
all possessions, that is florins, palazzi, ODA and cards, are put in common. Each associate keeps the ball of their own colour;
each corporation travels around the city with only one marker, chosen by mutual agreement among the associates;
the turn belongs to the marker that remains on the board;
the associates do NOT receive the 100-florin passing indemnity, from the moment the corporation is formed;
when it is time to move, each player belonging to the corporation spins the ball of their colour in the Machina de la Sorte, and the associates choose, by mutual agreement, the outcome they consider best.

It is important to remember that it may be advantageous not to let a player go bankrupt but, by paying their debts, to associate them in the corporation, making use of the spin of their ball.

The participants must decide, BEFORE the start of the game, whether to play with the corporations variant. All players must agree to play with this variant of the rules, which significantly changes the spirit of the game.

Players, in fact, begin the game alone, but may end it joined with other players.

It is not necessary for all players to associate: some may always finish the game alone.

Association in a corporation is not possible if the game is played with fewer than four players.

Winner

If you use this variant, the winner will be the player or family that has eliminated all opponents from the game.