Metropoli Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• The Board
• Rules in Brief
• Rules in Detail
  • Building Exploitation Concessions
  • Game Actions
  • The Value of Building Exploitation Concessions
  • Bridges
  • Other Spaces
  • Building Rights
  • Skyscrapers
  • The Master Plan of Metropoli
  • Trust
  • Triple Dice
  • Trading and Negotiations
  • Bankruptcy
  • End of the Game

Components

• 1 game board
• 3 dice
• 80 stackable plastic "blocks", to be stacked on top of one another to build the buildings of the city of Metropoli
• 4 "roofs", placed on top of four buildings to identify 4 "Skyscrapers"
• 60 cards, divided into:
  • 24 "Building Exploitation Concession" cards
  • 4 "Bridge Exploitation Concession" cards
  • 30 "Metropoli" cards (with the back showing the city's coat of arms, eight of them in a darker shade)
  • 2 "Concession Value" cards
• A supply of fantasy banknotes in denominations from $10,000 to one million dollars, divided as follows:
  • 30 banknotes of $10,000
  • 20 banknotes of $50,000
  • 40 banknotes of $100,000
  • 40 banknotes of $200,000
  • 60 banknotes of $500,000
  • 10 banknotes of "$ One Million"
• A plastic banknote holder, which can be detached from the sprue and placed on the table to make money exchanges easier
• 6 chrome-plated metal tokens in different colours
• A rulebook

Setup

• Each player rolls the dice, and whoever rolls the highest total becomes the first player (the "first of the turn").
• Each player takes a metal token in their favourite colour and places it next to the Stock Exchange. Surplus tokens are left in the box.
• Before the game starts, two Building Exploitation Concession cards drawn at random from the deck are dealt to each player. The remaining Building Exploitation Concession cards, together with the four Bridge Exploitation Concession cards, are kept face up and within reach. From now on, when it is not necessary to distinguish Building Exploitation Concessions from Bridge Exploitation Concessions, these cards are simply called "Concessions".
• Each player must take $5,000,000 (five million) in banknotes, choosing the denominations they prefer. The rest of the money stays at the disposal of the Bank of Metropoli. Each player may freely manage the exchange of money with the Bank, but you may decide that this task is carried out by one of the players, who, however, will receive no benefit for this "service". The box contains a banknote holder that can be detached from the sprue and kept conveniently on the table.
• Keep the blocks, the roofs and the Concession Value cards within reach. The latter are used to calculate the amounts to be paid during the game to the owners of Building Exploitation Concessions.
• Take the Metropoli cards with the darker back and place one at random next to each Neighbourhood of the city, outside the game board, with its value clearly visible, as shown in the illustration. Each of these cards represents a city structure and also determines the base value of the Neighbourhood next to which it is placed.
• The first player takes the dice and starts the game.

[Note: the setup illustration labels the Stock Exchange, Court and Motorway corners and the Municipality corner; the rules text refers to the Municipality as "Il Comune", and the illustration calls it "Il Municipio". Both are the same space.]

The Board

The board depicts the city of Metropoli and features an outer track, made up of 40 spaces in total, and an inner area on which the buildings will be erected.

• At the centre of each side of the outer track there is a "Bridge" space. The four Bridges give access to two avenues (Broadway and Main Street) that cross the city along its full length, dividing it into four Districts. Each Bridge has its own Bridge Exploitation Concession card.
• Each District consists of nine Buildable Areas, on which the buildings of the city will rise.
• The city is separated from the outer track by a river, which has a purely aesthetic purpose and no practical function in the game.
• Many spaces of the outer track show two-digit number combinations, which indicate the motorway exits (described later).
• Twenty-four spaces of the outer track are "Streets", identified by a name on a green sign. These Streets belong to eight different Neighbourhoods, each identified by a different colour. Each Neighbourhood consists of three Streets, and each of these spaces has a corresponding Building Exploitation Concession card.
• Eight spaces are identified by the city's coat of arms, which matches the symbol on the back of the Metropoli cards.
• The four corner spaces of the board represent: La Borsa (the Stock Exchange), Il Tribunale (the Court), L'Autostrada (the Motorway) and Il Comune (the Municipality).

Rules in Brief

• The player whose turn it is rolls the three dice and moves their token along the outer track a number of spaces equal to the sum of the three dice.
• The space where the token lands determines the player's action: it may be an auction for the acquisition of a Concession, the payment of a rent to an opponent, the reading of a "Metropoli" card, and so on. When passing the Stock Exchange, $250,000 is withdrawn from the Bank ($500,000 if you finish your move exactly on this space).
• Before ending the turn, you may build in accordance with the city's Master Plan (see page 12 of the original rulebook, described in "The Master Plan of Metropoli" below).
• The turn then ends and the dice pass to the next player.
• Once the eighty blocks of construction have run out, the game ends when all players have reached or passed the Motorway space.
• When everyone has left the game, the player with the greatest wealth is determined. That player wins.

Rules in Detail

Building Exploitation Concessions

Before going into the detailed rules, it is important to become familiar with the Building Exploitation Concessions. Each Concession refers to a specific space of the outer track and gives the right to receive a rent that varies according to the height of the buildings erected on the three Buildable Areas located in front of that space.

As a consequence, each Buildable Area can be exploited by the owners of two different Concessions. For example, the Concession shown in the illustration on page 7 is located "between Monroe and Grant", and everything built on it will produce a rent for the owners of both Concessions.

Game Actions

Most game actions depend on the space where the token ends its movement. The space is a Street or a Bridge, and its Concession is still free.

• In this case, the Concession is put up for auction. All players may take part, but the player whose turn it is (that is, the one who ended their movement on the space) has a special right of pre-emption, which they may exercise at the end of the auction. The auction is based on raises that must be multiples of $50,000 (for example, after a first bid of 50,000 a player may raise to 100,000, 150,000, 200,000 and so on, but not to 60,000, 80,000, 110,000, etc.). A player may not raise unless they have enough cash to buy the Concession. At the end of the auction, the winner still has the possibility of increasing their bid to determine the final Market Value of the Concession. At that point, the player whose turn it is may exercise their right of pre-emption, which consists of the possibility of acquiring the Concession by offering $50,000 more than the Market Value. If the player whose turn it is does not exercise this right, the Concession is awarded to the auction winner at the Market Value. In both cases, the player who acquires the Concession pays the Bank the amount due and places the card face up in front of them.
• The space corresponds to a Building Exploitation Concession owned by another player. In this case, the player whose turn it is must pay the owner of the Concession an amount equal to the Value of the Concession. This value is calculated by considering the height of the tallest building within the District of which that Street is a part, and then the total height of the buildings erected on the three Buildable Areas exploitable by the owner of the Concession. By cross-referencing these two figures on one of the two Concession Value cards, the amount due is obtained. The maximum value of a Concession is in any case the one shown in column 10, even if the total height were greater. If no buildings have been erected, the value of the Concession is 0. The value of a Concession on which a Skyscraper has been built is always equivalent to the one shown in column 10 of the Concession Value card (as better illustrated in the example on page 8). The amount, increased by the value of the Neighbourhood indicated on the card placed beside the board, is paid by the player whose turn it is to the owner of the Concession.
• The space corresponds to a Building Exploitation Concession that belongs to the player whose turn it is. The player may build one block for free within one of the three Buildable Areas exploitable through that Concession, but in compliance with the Master Plan (page 12).

The Value of Building Exploitation Concessions

To calculate the value of a Concession, cross the height of the tallest building in the District with the total height of the buildings erected on the Buildable Areas exploitable by the owner of that Concession. In the example illustrated, the tallest building (which is also a Skyscraper, because it has the "roof") is 4 floors high. Here are three examples of calculating the value of a Concession, relating to three Streets belonging to the same Neighbourhood.

1. A total of 5 blocks have been built on the three Buildable Areas exploitable through this Concession. Cross-referencing this figure on the card with the height of the tallest building (4 floors), we obtain the value of the Concession: $400,000. To this value is added that of the Neighbourhood (in this case $100,000, as shown on the card placed beside the spaces).
2. A Skyscraper is present on the Buildable Areas exploitable through this Concession. In this case the rent is calculated by cross-referencing the height of the tallest building with column 10, regardless of the total number of blocks. The result is: $800,000 (plus the value of the Neighbourhood).
3. A total of 4 blocks have been built on the Buildable Areas exploitable through this Concession. The value of this Concession is therefore $320,000 (plus the value of the Neighbourhood).

Simplified calculation (the rulebook's "Note"): if you feel confident with numbers, you can learn to calculate the value of the rents yourself, without consulting the table on the "Concession Value" card. The height of the tallest building within the District determines the reference figure. For each "floor" of height the value grows by $200,000, so if the tallest building is one floor high the value will be $200,000, if it is two $400,000, and so on up to $1,000,000 (the maximum height of a building is 5 blocks). Each block built on the three Buildable Areas relating to the Building Exploitation Concession is worth 10% of this value. Suppose therefore that the tallest building is three "floors" ($600,000) and that the total height of the buildings built on the three areas of my Building Exploitation Concession is seven floors: the rent that the other players will pay me when they end on the corresponding space will be $420,000 ($60,000 x 7) plus the value of the Neighbourhood.

Bridges

The space corresponds to a Bridge whose Concession is owned by another player. In this case, the player whose turn it is must pay a toll of $100,000 for each Bridge owned by their opponent (so the toll can range from $100,000 to $400,000). After paying the toll, the player whose turn it is may decide to use the Bridge to cross the city, moving their token immediately to the opposite space, following Broadway or Main Street (depending on the Bridge they started from), but without being able to change direction halfway. The player is not obliged to cross the city, but the toll must be paid in any case. If the player decides to cross the city, they do not have to pay any toll to the owner of the Bridge Concession on the arrival space.

The space corresponds to a Bridge owned by the player whose turn it is. The player may decide to cross the city, as described in the previous paragraph, without having to pay anything.

Other Spaces

• Metropoli spaces. The player draws the first card of the Metropoli deck, reads its content aloud and carries out the action it indicates, then places the card at the bottom of the deck. The Metropoli cards are those with the city symbol on a grey background. The deck must be kept face down near the game board.
• The Court (Il Tribunale). The player whose turn it is pays the Bank a fine equal to the total just rolled on the dice multiplied by $10,000.
• The Motorway (L'Autostrada). The player rolls two dice in sequence and moves their token to the space that contains the corresponding motorway exit. The space reached determines the game action. The two dice results must be read separately and not added together: for example, if a player first rolls a 5 and then a 6, they must move to the space showing exit 56, and not 11 or 65. The movement does not pass the Stock Exchange.
• The Municipality (Il Comune). The player has two options:
  1. Move their token (without passing the Stock Exchange) to any space whose Concession is still free, and then follow the normal auction procedure.
  2. Take one block and place it for free wherever they wish, in compliance with the Master Plan.
• The Stock Exchange (La Borsa). When passing the Stock Exchange, $250,000 is collected from the Bank, which becomes $500,000 if the token's movement ends exactly on this space. The rule does not apply in the first turn of the game.

Building Rights

At the end of their turn, after carrying out the game action corresponding to the space reached, the player has the right to place up to a maximum of two blocks of construction, paying the Bank $100,000 per block, regardless of the height of the building. The player is free to choose the Buildable Area where to place the block, regardless of the space on which their token stands, but in compliance with the Master Plan. Remember that each Buildable Area can be exploited through two different Concessions. Choose carefully where to place the blocks, because once built, the buildings do not belong to individual players but become part of the city of Metropoli and may also be exploited by the others. Once placed on the game board, no block may later be sold or moved.

Skyscrapers

The Master Plan provides that four Skyscrapers will be built during the game. They are distinguished from the other buildings by having a special roof (the four roofs in the game differ from one another in shape, but not in substance). The value of the Concessions on which the Skyscrapers stand depends only on the height of the Skyscraper and not on the total height of the buildings. A two-"floor" Skyscraper is worth $400,000, a three-floor one $600,000, a four-floor one $800,000 and a five-floor one $1,000,000.

The Master Plan of Metropoli

The Master Plan (Piano Regolatore) of Metropoli, as printed on page 12 of the rulebook, sets out these rules:

1. Blocks may be placed only on Buildable Areas.
2. Blocks may be stacked on top of one another during the game, forming increasingly tall buildings.
3. The cost of building one block is always $100,000.
4. The first player who builds a two-"floor" building must place a "roof" on that building. That building becomes the first Skyscraper of the city of Metropoli. From that moment on, no building within that District may exceed the height of this Skyscraper (but this limitation does not apply to the other three Districts).
5. The first player who builds a three-"floor" building must place a "roof" on that building, making it the second Skyscraper of the city. From that moment on, no building within that District may exceed the height of this Skyscraper (but this limitation does not apply to the other 2 Districts).
6. The first player who builds a four-"floor" building must place a "roof" on that building, making it the third Skyscraper of the city. From that moment on, no building within that District may exceed the height of this Skyscraper (but this limitation does not apply to the last District remaining).
7. The first player who builds a five-"floor" building must place a "roof" on that building, making it the fourth and last Skyscraper of the city. No building may exceed the height of this Skyscraper, which will thus be the tallest in the city.
8. Each District may contain only one Skyscraper.
9. When the fourth and last Skyscraper is built, the city's completion phase begins: from this moment on, every player is obliged to build at least one block on each turn. Only a player who has less than $100,000 in cash (the sum needed to build one block) is exempt from complying with this rule. If a player passes the dice to the next player without having built, the player who receives the dice may point out the error so that the player builds. In this case, however, the $100,000 needed to purchase the block goes to the player who pointed out the error, and not to the Bank.
10. During their turn, a player may never build more than two blocks in total, and in any case never on the same Buildable Area. Beyond this limitation, the player is free to build a block wherever they want, including outside their own Concessions.

Trust

If a player owns an entire Neighbourhood, that is, all the Building Exploitation Concessions of the same colour, it is said that the player owns a "trust". The value of a Concession that is part of a trust (including the value of the Neighbourhood) is doubled.

Anyone who ends on one of these spaces must pay the owner double the value of the Concession.

Triple Dice

When a player rolls a triple (1-1-1, 2-2-2, 3-3-3, etc.), they may advance their token as many spaces as they wish, but without making more than one complete lap.

Trading and Negotiations

During the game, players are free to make all the exchanges and negotiations they wish. They may sell their Concessions to others, or ask someone to contribute to the cost of building a block. The Municipality of Metropoli, however, requires compliance with some rules:

1. Loans or deferred payments are not allowed. If you owe money to someone, you must settle the debt immediately. Your creditor may not give you discounts or allow you to pay at another time.
2. The Bank does not lend money and does not buy anything from players.
3. The Municipality of Metropoli grants no discounts and no deferred payments. All sums due must be paid to the Bank, immediately.
4. Only the player whose turn it is may open negotiations with the others.
5. If you are at risk of bankruptcy, you must follow the procedure laid down by the rules, and you may not sell your properties in any other way.

Bankruptcy

A player who is unable to meet a payment risks bankruptcy and, as a consequence, elimination from the game. To avoid bankruptcy, the player must put their Concessions up for auction in order to raise the cash needed to meet the debt (no other form of sale is permitted to them). The Concessions must be auctioned one at a time and in any case are sold to the highest bidder (who may therefore also be the creditor). As soon as the player has the money needed to pay their debt, the auction of Concessions may end. If the player is unable to raise the money needed to settle the debt, even after auctioning all their Concessions, they hand all their cash to the creditor and leave the game.

End of the Game

The game ends at the moment when only one player remains in the game, or at the moment when the last block is put into play.

In this case, a final phase follows, during which the players continue to play normally (obviously without building anything else) until they reach or pass the Motorway space, leaving the game. A player who has left continues to collect any payments from those still in the game, but no longer risks anything.

The game ends at the moment the last remaining player also leaves.

At that point, the wealth of each player is calculated, and the richest is declared the winner.

To calculate each player's wealth, the Building Exploitation Concessions are considered. Each Concession is worth an amount equal to the value of the District to which it belongs, regardless of the number of blocks built on the Buildable Areas and with no additional benefit deriving from a trust. [Editorial note: the text reads "District" here, as printed.] The Bridge Exploitation Concessions are valued at $500,000 each.

Each player returns their Concessions to the Bank and receives their monetary equivalent in exchange.

When all players have received the monetary equivalent, the richest is declared the winner.

Strategy Tips

The following is the rulebook's strategy section, reproduced as printed.

• Remember that everything can be negotiated, even the construction of a block, and remember that each block produces a rent for two different Building Exploitation Concessions. It is up to you to decide whether to ask a monetary contribution from one of the players who will benefit from your construction.
• Since each Buildable Area can be exploited through two different Concessions, it can be very useful to come into possession of both. In this way, every block you place on that area will produce a rent only for you.
• The four Districts do not have a predefined value. If you own no Concession in a certain District, it may be strategically worthwhile for you to help build the first Skyscraper in that District quickly. Each new Skyscraper, in fact, defines the maximum value of a District and, at the same time, allows the maximum height of the buildings in the other Districts to increase, thus increasing their potential value. Remember, however, that a Skyscraper allows the owners of the Building Exploitation Concessions of the area where it stands to always obtain the maximum rent.
• If you have won an auction, think carefully about what Market Value the player with the right of pre-emption will be willing to pay. In Metropoli nothing has a predetermined value; it is the "market" that defines prices.
• In the final phase of the game, if Concessions remain, their market value may fluctuate greatly. Remember that, at the end of the game, each Building Exploitation Concession will be worth the value of the District.
• Pay very careful attention to determining the market value of Concessions correctly. At the beginning you may believe you have a great availability of money, but towards the end of the game you will realise that the risk of going bankrupt can be very real.