Palacio de Viana Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game concept
• Components
• Setup
• Starting the Game (1st Round)
• Playing the Game
  • Master Gardener
  • Gardener
  • Apprentice Gardener
• Placing Decorations
  • The Housekeeper
  • Marquise
  • Marquis
  • Girl
  • Poet
• Scoring a Courtyard
  • Coachman
  • Cook
• Restock the Market
• Game Ends
• Special Rules for 2-Player Games

Game concept

The main game board shows a top-down view of the courtyards of the Palace of Viana. Each player, using a colored pawn, must take care of the Palace's decorations. For this, players earn job well-done (JWD) points that are tallied using the score marker around the edge of the board.

Each player has a set of three types of tokens (Flowers, Flowerpots, Fountains) corresponding to the color of their pawn. The player's goal is to earn the most points by ensuring that their decorations are the most highly valued.

During the game, different character cards will be played, each with a different action. Gardeners allow for the placement of Flowers, Flowerpots and Fountains. The Marquise appraises the work done by awarding points. Other characters allow for visits to the Market for more flowers, the opening and closing of doors between courtyards, moving flowers around, or quickly moving from one courtyard to another. However, each character can only help one player each round.

At the end of the game, additional job well-done (JWD) points are scored in The Garden (13) as well as for the number of courtyards that have been decorated. Whoever earns the most JWD points wins the game.

Components

• For each player there are (in five colors, one per player):
  • 1 pawn (used to indicate their position on the board)
  • 1 cylinder (for keeping track of the score)
  • 10 different character cards
  • 1 help card
  • 1 card listing the name of each courtyard
• 5 round water lily tokens (the color of the water lily corresponds with each player's color)
• 6 round Flowerpot tokens (in two designs). Note: There are two designs for decorative reasons only. From a gameplay perspective they are the same.
• 7 round Bougainvillea (B) tokens
• 7 round Cineraria (C) tokens
• 7 round Pansy (P) tokens

Note: The Palace of Viana has an immense variety of flowers and plants. This game only includes the three most representative ones.

Each of the round tokens (Fountains, Flowerpots, and Flowers) has two sides for indicating whether they have been scored (without the white ring) or remain unscored (with a white ring).

• 1 twelve-sided die
• 1 door (wooden brown rectangle)
• 1 Cat figure (with base). Note: Several replacement figures are included with the game.
• 1 Marquise figure (with base). Note: Several replacement figures are included with the game.
• 1 Marquis figure (with base). Note: Several replacement figures are included with the game.
• Game board showing the courtyards of the Palace of Viana. Note: The game board shows an interpretation of the current Palace as it could have existed in the 19th century. For example, the modern Court of the Columns (8) did not exist back then.

The courtyards are numbered from 1 to 13. Courtyards are separated from each other by red-tiled walls and connected to each other by open doorways. Two courtyards are adjacent if there is a doorway that connects them.

There is a scoring track around the board for players to tally their job well-done (JWD) points. The track goes from 1 to 80 points.

There are two entrance ways to the Palace of Viana: the main door in the Plaza of Don Gome grants access to the Main Court (1), and the rear entrance on the Calle de las Rejas of Don Gome grants access to the Court of the Columns (8). Both are indicated with a horse and carriage.

Over the course of the game, each Flower token must be placed on an empty hedge space as indicated by a white spot. Flowerpot tokens must be placed on the white spots on the courtyard floors. Fountain tokens are placed inside the fountains, pools, or wells.

Courtyard diagram labels (example: Court of the Gate (4)): Door to the Gardeners Courts (5); Hedges for Flowers (in this case two Flowers can be placed on each hedge); Space for Fountain; Space for Flowerpot; Door to the Court of the Chapel (3).

• 1 cloth bag
• 90 square Market Tokens (20 Bougainvilleas, 20 Cinerarias, 20 Pansies, 17 Flowerpots, 13 Fountains). The square Market Tokens are in a neutral color and do not correspond to any of the players. Note: The box includes 11 additional replacement tokens: 2 of each type of Flower, 2 Flowerpots, and 3 Fountains. Store these separately from the other game components.
• Market board. It is divided into 6 flower stands. The first stand has a capacity for 4 tokens while the rest can display 5 tokens.
• Rulebook

Setup

The following rules are for games played with 3, 4, or 5 players. 2-player games require minor modifications to these rules. These changes are described at the end of this rulebook.

• Each player takes their pawn, two rules summary cards, scoring cylinder, and their decoration tokens: 21 Flowers (7 of each kind), 6 Flowerpots, and 5 Fountains.

• Each player also takes their corresponding character cards:

  • 5-player game: The Poet character card is also used. Thus, each player will have a hand of 10 cards.
  • 3 or 4-player game: The Poet character card is optional. Games that include the Poet are somewhat simpler. If the players decide not to use the Poet, each player has a hand of 9 cards.

• Market: The 90 Market Tokens are placed in the cloth bag and mixed. Next, randomly draw tokens one at a time and place them on the Market as follows: 3 Tokens are placed on the first, second and third Market stands, 4 Tokens are placed on the 4th, 5th, and 6th stands. Each stand cannot have more than one fountain token so you must return excess Fountain tokens to the bag and draw a replacement. The order of the Tokens on the stands does not matter. Leave the cloth bag and the 12-sided die next to the Market.

• Common Reserve: Each player places all of his round Tokens next to the Market. This is the Common Reserve with all of the round Tokens that will be used by the players. The Tokens must be visible to all players.

• Personal Reservae: Each player takes 2 each of Bougainvillea, Cineraria, and Pansy Tokens placing them in front of them. Next, they choose one Flower from their Personal Reserve and return it to the Common Reserve. Thus, each player begins with a Personal Reserve of 5 Flowers.

Note: The tokens in both the Common Reserve as well as the Personal Reserve should always be placed with the Unscored side (with white ring) facing upwards.

• Each player places their pawn in the Plaza of Don Gome (the main entrance to the Palace of Viana). The scoring cylinders are placed next to the space marked "1" on the Scoring track.

• Door: Place the door such that it closes the doorway between The Garden (13) and the Court of the Madam (9).

• Finally, place the figures of the Marquise, the Cat, and the Marquis on the board. There are two startup variations you can choose from. Each variant has a different effect on how the game develops.

  • Startup 1: Roll the 12-sided die and place the Marquise in the courtyard of the corresponding number. Place the Marquis in a randomly selected courtyard adjacent to the one occupied by the Marquise. Place the Cat in a randomly chosen unoccupied courtyard that is one or two courtyards away from the Marquise.

  • Startup 2: Place the Marquise in The Garden (13). Place the Cat on a tiled roof anywhere on the board (not in a courtyard). Place the Marquis in the Main Court (1).

Note: We recommend that first-time players use Startup 1, placing the Marquise in the Main Court (1) instead of rolling the die.

Setup for a 4 player game (diagram labels): Market; Starting Market Tokens; Common Reserve (Fountains, Flowerpots, Bougainvilleas, Cinerarias, Pansies); 1st Market Stand; Scoring Cylinders; Deck of Character Cards; Yellow Player's Personal Reserve (starts with 5 Flowers); Player pawns in the Plaza de Don Gome; Marquise, Marquis, and Cat; Door; Help card.

Starting the Game (1st Round)

Players sit around the table choosing their places randomly. The starting player is chosen based on who has spent the longest time in the Palace of Viana (you can also choose randomly). Each player secretly chooses a Character card from their hand and places it face down on the table. The character cards are then revealed simultaneously.

Note: It is possible that in the 1st round, two or more of the same Character card may be in play. This is the only time that the Main Rule of the game can be broken as explained later.

Starting with the 1st player, and then proceeding in clockwise order, each player performs the action of their chosen Character card (see details later).

After the 1st Round, play continues normally with the 1st player playing their next round...

Playing the Game

Players take turns, in clockwise order, until one of the two end conditions is met. A player's turn consists of choosing a Character Card from their hand, playing it face up on top of their Character Cards played earlier and then performing the action indicated on the Character Card.

Each player plays their Character Cards face up on the table in front of them thus forming a personal discard pile. In each discard pile only the Character Card played most recently is visible. Players are not allowed to look through any discard pile, either their own or another players'. The number of Character Cards left in each player's hand is public information.

• Main Rule: You can never play a Character Card already in play. That is, you can't play a Character Card if that Character is already face up on the table.

• Honking Rule: If a player realizes that someone else has broken the Main Rule (played a Character Card that is already in play), that player must loudly say HONK!. The honking player is immediately awarded one job well-done point (+1 JWD). The player who broke the Main Rule must then return the Character Card to their hand and play a different one. If the current player notices and corrects a mistake before being HONKED!, nothing happens (no points are awarded).

Note: According to the Main Rule, a Character can only help one player each round. Knowing which Character to play, and when, is a key strategy in this game. The Honking Rule (Honk!) exists to help players pay attention to the Character Cards being played. It is always possible to play a Character Card from your hand (for example The Cook) without breaking the Main Rule.

The Palace of Viana has several inhabitants who can help you in different ways. Each Character Card has icons to help you remember what their actions and effects are.

Master Gardener

A veteran gardener, slow yet confident in the arts of floriculture.

With the help of this gardener, you must move your pawn to an adjacent courtyard. You may then place up to 3 decorations (flowers, flowerpots, fountains) in any combination. These are taken from your Personal Reserve.

Gardener

A knowledgeable expert of the plants and flowers of the Palace of Viana.

With her help you must move your pawn to an adjacent courtyard or a courtyard two spaces away from your current courtyard. You may then place up to 2 decorations (Flowers, Flowerpots, Fountains) in any combination. These are (sentence cut off at the page edge in the source PDF; presumably taken from your Personal Reserve)

Apprentice Gardener

A young gardener who is quick and nimble as he works from courtyard to courtyard.

With his help you must move your pawn to an adjacent courtyard, a courtyard two (2) spaces away, or a courtyard three (3) spaces away from your current courtyard. You may then place one decoration (Flower, Flowerpot, Fountain) from your Personal Reserve. You may not place a decoration in the courtyard you started from.

Placing Decorations

Placing Flowers: Flowers must be placed on hedges on the white spots indicated on the board. When placing a flower make sure it's unscored face (with a white ring) faces up.

Hedges: All the flowers placed on a hedge must be of the same type (Bougainvillea, Cineraria or Pansy). Different players can place flowers on the same hedge as long as they are of the same type of flower.

Placing Flowerpots: Flowerpots must be placed on the ground on the white spots indicated on the board. When placing a Flowerpot make sure it's unscored face (with a white ring) faces up.

Placing Fountains: Fountains are placed inside the fountains, pools, or wells. When placing a Fountain make sure it's unscored face (with a white ring) faces up.

Note: You can place two (2) Fountain tokens in the fountain located in the Court of the Pool (7).

The Housekeeper

With all of the Palace's keys in her power, she controls the comings and goings between courtyards by opening and closing the doors.

Move the door (wooden brown rectangle) from its current location to a new one such that it covers the doorway between two courtyards. You cannot place the door over a doorway leading outside of the Palace. Neither Characters nor pawns can go through a closed doorway except for the Cat (who can move along the rooftops). For your care of the palace you are immediately awarded one job well-done point (+1 JWD).

Marquise

As the owner of the Palace of Viana, she wanders the courtyards offering her thanks to those who help the palace become more beautiful. She also gives approves the decorations in the courtyards.

Move the figure of the Marquise 1 or 2 courtyards away from her current position. All of the unscored Flowers, Flowerpots and Fountains in the destination courtyard are scored. The Marquise is allergic to the Cat and can never end her movement in a courtyard occupied by the Cat. If the Marquise moves through a courtyard occupied by the Cat, the player moving the Marquise loses two job well-done points (-2 JWD). It is possible to have a negative score.

The Cat: Each time the Marquise moves, and after she has finished moving, it is necessary to move the Cat to the Marquise's previous location. The sneaky cat always chases after the Marquise, thus preventing her from retracing her steps. The Cat can move over the rooftops and is unaffected by closed doorways.

Marquis

As an admirer of the palace's flowers he spends his time wandering the courtyards enjoying their beauty while seeking tranquility.

Move the figure of the Marquis 1, 2 or 3 courtyards away from his current location. He cannot end his movement in the same courtyard in which he began. The Marquis enjoys the walk so much that you immediately gain one job well-done point (+1 JWD).

It is not possible to place (or remove) decorations from a courtyard where the Marquis is located. Movement through the courtyard is not impeded. Furthermore, if the Marquise arrives at a courtyard occupied by the Marquis, the courtyard is not scored.

Girl

She's slightly mischievous and tirelessly plays in the courtyards, helping place Flowers or moving them around when no one is looking.

Skipping along with the Girl, you can move your pawn 1, 2 or 3 courtyards. As you do so, your pawn may pick up a single unscored Flower (either yours or another players'). As you continue moving you must then place it (unscored) in any other courtyard you move through including the courtyard you end your movement in. The Girl can help you move only one Flower per turn. She cannot pick up and move Flowers that have been scored, Flowerpots or Fountains.

The Girl is the only Character that allows you to move your pawn and end your movement in the same courtyard you started in.

During the last round of play you cannot use the Girl to prevent a player with decorations in 13 courtyards from ending the game with Decorations in fewer courtyards.

Poet

He seeks inspiration and enjoys good company as well as reciting poetry while wandering the courtyards of the Palace of Viana.

Move your pawn 1 or 2 courtyards. In the courtyard in which you end your movement (which cannot be the same as the one you began in), you earn job well-done points (+JWD) equal to the number of other pawns and Characters present in the courtyard. Neither your own pawn nor the Cat are counted. Thus, if your pawn is the only occupant of the courtyard (with or without the Cat), you don't get any points.

Note: The Poet is an optional character. It is only required in 5-player games. If you decide to include the Poet in games with 2, 3 or 4 players, the games are less tense but allow for greater opportunities for scoring.

Scoring a Courtyard

Whenever the Marquise ends her movement, the courtyard she is in is scored. The exception to this is when the Marquise's husband, the Marquis is also present. They both strike up a conversation and forget to score the courtyard. The Marquise awards job well-done points to all the players who have unscored decorations (Flowers, Flowerpots, Fountains) in the courtyard.

Scoring (only for unscored tokens):

• Each Fountain provides +5 JWD points to the player who placed it.
• Each Flowerpot provides +3 JWD points to the player who placed it.
• Each Flower provides +2 JWD points to the player who placed it.

Turning over Fountains and Flowerpots: After scoring, turn over all the Fountains and Flowerpots in the courtyard so that their scored (with white ring) side faces upwards. You don't need to do anything to tokens that have been scored previously.

Turning over Flowers: Each player must choose one of their recently scored flowers and turn it over so that the scored (with white ring) side faces upwards. The remaining Flowers remain unturned and could be scored again if the Marquise were to return. All unscored Flowers provide points, but only one Flower of each color (that is, of each player) is turned over to its scored side. A Flower that has provided a player with points is considered unscored if its unscored side is facing upwards.

(Transcriber note: the printed rulebook says the scored side is "with white ring" here, contradicting the Components section, which says the scored side has no white ring and the unscored side has the white ring. Transcribed as printed.)

Coachman

He takes you, via horse and carriage, from the coach house to the Market so you can get new seeds and pots.

Pick up your pawn and place it in an available spot on one of the six Market stands. Remove all of the Market tokens in that stand and swap them for equivalent tokens (in your color) from the General Reserve. If there are any tokens for which you cannot do this (e.g. you've run out of tokens of that kind in the General Reserve), leave those Market tokens on the Market. The Market Tokens you were able to swap are removed for the remainder of the game.

Note: Two illustrations are used for the Flowerpot tokens. For purposes of the above rules, they should be considered the same as those in the Market regardless of the type of illustration.

The decoration tokens (Flowers, Flowerpot, Fountain) you obtain from the General Reserve are placed in your Personal Reserve (unscored side facing up). The number and type of tokens in your Personal Reserve should be visible to all players at all times.

Note: The Marquis' have taken care of your Market expenses. Money is not necessary.

Your pawn remains in the Market until your next turn (if someone plays the Cook before your next turn you can obtain additional Decorations for your Personal Reserve!). At the beginning of your next turn you must move your pawn back to the palace. You can choose to arrive at the palace at either the main door (Plaza of Don Gome) or the rear entrance on the Calle de las Rejas of Don Gome. Once you have returned to the palace you can play a Character Card. Don't forget to return to the palace at the beginning of your next turn after heading to the Market with the Coachman!

Cook

The aroma of the flowers mixes with that of the salmorejo soup and another Cordoban specialty, the flamenquin, a deep fried roll of ham, cheese, and pork. It's time to eat!

Pick up all your Character Cards currently on the table and return them to your hand. You should have no Character Cards on the table in front of you after playing the Cook (thus, the Cook can be played by multiple players during the same round). When playing the Cook new merchandise arrives at the Market.

Restock the Market

Roll the 12-sided die. The number rolled indicates the number of Market Tokens you must take from the cloth bag and place, one by one, on the market stands. The first token drawn must be placed on an empty space in the 1st stand (the one with 4 spaces). Successive tokens must be placed on the following stands, in order. If a stand is already full, move on to the next one. If, after placing a Market Token on the last stand, there are still unplaced Market Tokens, continue with the 1st stand and so on until there are no more unplaced Market Tokens.

Note: It doesn't matter which side faces up for the Flowerpot tokens.

A single Market stand cannot have more than one Fountain. If you must place a Fountain on a stand that already has one, skip the stand and move on to the next stand. If there aren't any stands on which the Fountain could be placed, the token is removed from play for the rest of the game (Do not draw a replacement from the bag).

If the Market is full, no more Tokens are drawn from the bag. If you need to draw a token, but the bag is empty, the game ends (see Game Ends). A player may, at any moment, check the bag to see how many Market Tokens are left. If, after Restocking the Market, a player has a pawn on any of the stands (thanks to having played the Coachman earlier), the player can obtain new Decorations for their Personal Reserve (see Coachman). Be careful about giving too many gifts to other players!

Game Ends

The final round of the game starts when either of the following conditions is met:

• There aren't enough Market Tokens left to Restock the Market (when playing the Cook). Or...
• A player announces, during their turn, that they have at least one Decoration (scored or unscored) in each of the 13 courtyards of the Palace of Viana.

Each player will now be able to play one more turn. The player who triggers the final round will thus be the last one to play a Character Card during his final turn.

The Girl during the last round: During the last round of play you cannot use the Girl to prevent a player with Decorations in 13 courtyards from ending the game with Decorations in fewer courtyards.

Final Scoring: Once everyone has played their last turn, the following additional scoring is done:

• Scoring the Garden: The Garden (13) is scored but only considering unscored Flowers (Flowerpots, Fountains, and Flowers that have been scored are not considered).

• Final Scoring of the Courtyards: Each player scores additional job well-done points (JWD) based on how many different courtyards they have placed Decorations in (it doesn't matter if the Decorations have been scored or not). Use the following table:

Courtyards	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
+ JWD	+4	+5	+6	+8	+11	+15	+20

After the additional scoring is complete, the game ends.

Winner: The winner of the game is the player who has the most job well-done (JWD) points. In case of ties, there are multiple winners.

Special Rules for 2-Player Games

During setup each player takes their starting pieces including their deck of Character Cards. Take 2 of the remaining Character Decks, remove one Cook card and then shuffle them. This 3rd deck of Character Cards will be used as a Restriction (R) Deck.

Remove the following Market Tokens:

• 7 Bougainvillea Tokens (13 left in the bag)
• 7 Cineraria Tokens (13 left in the bag)
• 7 Pansy Tokens (13 left in the bag)
• 6 Flowerpot Tokens (11 left in the bag)
• 4 Fountain Tokens (9 left in the bag)

Place the shuffled Restriction Deck next to the board. Both players play the 1st Round normally. After this, before playing, the 1st player must draw a Character Card from the Restriction Deck and place it face up on the table (on top of any Character Cards previously drawn from the Restriction Deck). This Character Card acts as a restriction on the players preventing them from using the same Character during the round (as indicated by the Main Rule). If the card drawn from the Restriction Deck matches a Character Card already in play by one of the players, keep on drawing from the Restriction Deck until there is no match. Cards drawn from the Restriction Deck do not perform any actions. When the Cook card is drawn, shuffle the remaining cards together with the discard pile and draw a new character.

Other than the above, the game remains unchanged.