Pilgrim
Pilgrim Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Prologue
After many years of devotion, the life of the venerable Cardinal is fading fast and a worthy replacement is needed. As abbots & abbesses of provincial abbeys, players strive to be the chosen successor by being the most pious, to recruit the most acolytes, to build the best pilgrim trails to distant holy sites and to donate most generously to the poor. This needs devotion, dedication and unfortunately, MONEY.
But, in 14th Century England, the wages of sin can be negotiated.
Overview
The game is played over 26 rounds, each round consisting of one action turn for each player.
Each turn the player will move 1 or more acolytes to duty tiles and take 1 of 8 possible actions or a tithe. Actions may be enhanced by the use of Special Activities and Buildings. Players must organise their abbeys and coordinate the efforts of the acolytes to earn victory points which are scored at the end of the game.
Game Components
- 1 Map Board
- 1 Alms Table
- 1 Piety Track
- 4 Player Boards
- 8 Duty Tiles
- 9 Pilgrimage Site Tiles
- 8 Shrine Tiles
- 60 Road, Bridge, Ford & Upgrade tiles
- 24 Building tiles (8 per level)
- 6 Cardinal Favour tiles
- 7 Tithe counters
- 64 Acolytes (16 in 4 colours)
- 8 Player Counters (2 in 4 colours)
- 25 Stone cubes
- 25 Grain Cubes
- 31 1 Groat Coins
- 6 3 Groat Coins
- 1 Ship Round token
- 1 First Player token
- 1 Merchant token
- 30 Solo counters
- 1 Die
- 1 Cloth bag
- Rule Books (English and German)
- Player Aid Sheets (English and German)
Set Up
Map Board
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Place the map board in the centre of the table. The North and South rivers flow out from the city (arrows pointing away from the city). This is cross-referenced by the compass rose in the city space.
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Shuffle the Duty tiles. Randomly place the Duty tiles around the map board at the 8 points of the compass with the pointed base of each tile pointing clockwise.
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Shuffle the Tithe counters. Randomly place one Tithe counter face up on the bottom of each Duty tile, excluding the Taxation Duty.
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Place Pilgrimage Site tiles. Draw a random Pilgrimage site tile. Roll the die and starting with the North West quadrant place the Pilgrimage Site tile on the corresponding number of the perimeter hex. Repeat this 3 more times, once for each of the remaining quadrants in clockwise order. These Pilgrimage Site tiles determine the start and end of the 4 seasons of the game. Return the remaining 5 Pilgrimage Site tiles to the box. They are not used.
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Place the Ship Round marker on the NW Pilgrimage Site tile. Round #1 will commence here.
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Place Blue (level 1) Building Tiles. Draw 4 random level 1 (Blue) building tiles and starting from the NW Pilgrimage tile, count 1 empty hex space clockwise along the perimeter of the map board and then place the buildings face up in the next 4 perimeter hex spaces. If the NE quadrant Pilgrimage Site tile is reached before all the Building tiles are laid, lay the remaining Building tiles on the space(s) beyond.
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Place Red (level 2) Building Tiles. Draw 4 random level 2 (red) building tiles. Ensuring 1 clear hex space is left after the NE Pilgrimage site tile, OR the last blue Level 1 Building tile (whichever is furthest clockwise around the board). Place the buildings face up in the next 4 perimeter hex spaces. If the SE tile is reached, follow the same procedure used in step 6.
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Place Green (level 3) Building Tiles. Repeat the set-up procedure used for red Buildings for green Building tiles after the SE Pilgrimage site tile.
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Place the Merchant meeple next to the Taxation Duty tile.
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6 Cardinal Favour tiles: Place each tile face up in a row next to the board in clear view of all players (not in a stack).
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Count out a number of basic road tiles and shrines dependent upon the number of players to form a common supply:
- Straights: 4 per Player
- Gentle Curve: 4 per Player
- Tight Curve: 2 per Player
- Shrines: 2 per Player
- Bridges, Fords and Upgrades: All
Return any remaining tiles of these types to the box. They are not used. All other road tiles (bridges, fords and upgrades) are formed into stacks of each tile type face up.
NB: With fewer than 4 players, 'Dummy Acolytes' are placed on 4 or 6 Duty tiles & 'Heralds' on Pilgrimage Sites (see page 6).
Give Each Player
- 1 player board.
- 8 meeples of their colour placed in the village area. These are serfs.
- 3 meeples of their colour in the abbey. These are acolytes.
- 1 stone, 1 grain, and 1 coin placed in their respective storage areas; grain barn, stone pit, treasury.
- 5 acolytes placed in the city, the central area of the map board.
First Play Set Up
It is recommended that the board and tile set up above is used for game #1. This gives an equal number of turns per season and the most straightforward access to resource generating Duties and buildings. Randomly add the tithe counters.
Player Handicap
When experienced players play against new-comers, a handicap system MAY be employed. At set up, move 1-3 acolytes from the experienced player's abbey back to their village. It is suggested that the number moved should be 1 acolyte / 2 games played.
Set Up (Cont.)
Example: 2 blue level 1 Buildings in the North-East quadrant overlap the second Pilgrimage site, so a clear hex space is left after the 4th blue Building tile before the red level 2 tiles are laid.
If fewer than 4 players are seeding Duty tiles, place a spare dummy player acolyte on each Pilgrimage Site to act as 'Heralds'. When each season ends, carry out the 'leap-frog' action and return the Herald from that Pilgrimage site to the box.
Seeding the Board
The game is played over 26 rounds, each round consisting of one action turn for each player. As the final step of the set up, the Start Player takes their 5 acolytes from the city and must now decide how best to distribute them before the game begins.
Moving from the city and following the current arrows on the rivers either North or South, a single acolyte is placed on each Duty tile visited in a clockwise direction. On reaching the East or West tile, the player must decide whether to continue clockwise to the next Duty, or follow the river current arrow on the map board back to the city to place an acolyte there instead, before continuing North or South once more.
Once all 5 acolytes have been placed, the remaining players in clockwise order place their acolytes following the same procedure. Different coloured acolytes may share the same Duty tile.
When all players' acolytes have been seeded, the game begins.
Example 1: Yellow takes their 5 acolytes from the city and decides to seed the Duty tiles by following the river North. The first acolyte is placed on the Produce Duty (1), followed by Allocation (2) and then Clerical (3). From the Clerical (Eastern) Duty tile, Yellow has the choice to follow the river back into the City or to continue clockwise. They decide to continue clockwise and place the last 2 acolytes on the Build Roads (4) and Taxation (5) Duty tiles.
Example 2: After Yellow it is Red's turn. They also decide to follow the river North from the city. They place acolytes on the same three Duty tiles as Yellow (1-2-3) but instead of continuing clockwise, Red follows the river West back to the city (4) where they place an acolyte. Following the river North from the city (5), Red places the last acolyte on the Produce Duty leaving a total of 2 there.
TIP: This will increase Red's chances of obtaining a 'majority' (see page 7) for the Produce Duty in round 1, gaining either 2 stone or 2 grain.
1-3 Players: Seeding
- 1 player: see Solo rules (starting on page 18).
- 2 players: Using a spare colour seed 3 acolytes clockwise from the North and 3 from the South Duty tiles.
- 3 players: Using a spare colour seed 2 acolytes clockwise from the North Duty tile and 2 clockwise from the South Duty tile.
End of Season Movement: Dummy acolytes are moved at the end of each season. The rearmost dummy acolyte in each group leap-frogs clockwise over all the other acolytes of their colour, to the next Duty tile unoccupied by that colour (see Round End, page 16). As a reminder to do this, place a spare dummy player acolyte on each Pilgrimage Site to act as 'Heralds'. When each season ends, carry out the 'leap-frog' action and return the Herald from that Pilgrimage site to the box.
Taking a Turn
The active player must choose a single Duty tile, or the city, where they have 1 or more acolytes. These acolytes are taken to hand and, moving clockwise from that area, an acolyte is placed onto each successive area, from Duty tile to Duty tile or following the arrow direction on the rivers FROM the city (North or South) or TO the city (East or West), until all acolytes have been deployed. The active player then either, takes a Tithe, or, selects a Duty to action. Bonus actions may also be taken from buildings which have become 'live' (see Buildings, page 14-15). The Start Player takes their turn and each other player follows clockwise around the table. The round ends when each player has taken their turn.
Tithe
The active player selects a Duty tile where they have 1 or more acolytes (except the Taxation Duty) and takes a resource matching the Tithe counter on that Duty. Cornucopia allows any resource to be selected. Acolytes are NOT moved from this Duty tile to the city at turn end.
Duty
The active player selects ANY Duty tile to action where they have at least 1 or more acolytes. The selected Duty does not need to be a tile that the player moved onto or over this turn.
The Duty will have a base value of 1 or 2 depending upon the relative number of different coloured acolytes on that Duty tile.
The base Duty value will contribute towards a number of possible actions dependent upon the specific Duty action selected. The Duty value may be increased for certain Duties if acolytes are sited on Special Activities on the Player Board (see Special Activities, page 10) and/or by constructing or hiring certain buildings (see Buildings, page 14-15). It is permitted to perform fewer actions than the total Duty value, but a minimum of 1 action must be carried out.
Once a Duty is completed, move ALL acolytes of that player's colour from that Duty tile to the city.
Minority
If the number of the active player's acolytes on the selected Duty tile is fewer than any other single colour, pay 1 coin to the supply and take the Duty action with a base value of 1.
Example: Yellow and Red have the minority here.
Parity
If the number of the active player's acolytes is equal highest compared to any other single colour on that Duty tile, take that Duty action with a base value of 1.
Example: Blue and Red have Parity here.
Majority
If the number of the active player's acolytes is the highest of any other single colour on that Duty tile, take that Duty action with a base value of 2.
Example: Yellow has Majority here.
Acolyte Shortage
If, at the start of a player's turn, they have no acolytes in the city or on Duties and therefore cannot execute the move element of their turn, they must 'Oblate'. Either, move 1 acolyte from the abbey to the city, or, if the abbey is empty, move 1 serf from the village to the abbey, paying no grain to do so. This ends their turn.
Duty Tiles
Allocation
Relocate 1 or 2 acolytes within the confines of the abbey or a Special Activity. A maximum of 1 acolyte may reside on a Special Activity. Move an acolyte either:
I. to the abbey from a Special Activity, II. from the abbey to a Special Activity, III. move an acolyte between 2 Special Activities.
(Enhanced by Building.)
Build Roads
Complete any of the following a number of times up to the Duty Value:
I. Build a single road, bridge, ford or shrine. II. Upgrade a road or bridge. III. Demolish a road or bridge.
See Roads & Shrines (page 11) and Demolishing Roads (page 13) for costs and details.
(Enhanced by Special Activity.)
Clerical
Carry out 1 of the following:
I. Devotion, for piety equal to the Duty Value, or II. Silversmith, for coins equal to the Duty Value.
The active player must choose piety or coins. A combination of the 2 is not permitted.
(Enhanced by Building. Enhanced by Special Activity.)
Construct
Construct 1 building and/or build, upgrade or demolish 1 road or bridge. A building and a road can both be built with a Duty value of 2. See Roads & Shrines (page 11) and Buildings (page 14-15) for costs.
NB: Only 1 Building may be built with a Construct Duty. An additional road can be built if the player has occupied the Road Engineer Special Activity on their player board, but only if they have used 1 Duty value to build a road on this turn.
A 'live' building is selected from the perimeter track of the map board, paid for with stone and the tile is added to an empty slot on the player's board. See Buildings (page 14-15) for details of specific building bonus actions.
(Enhanced by Special Activity.)
Give Alms
Alms: Pay coins and/or grain equal to the Duty value to move up an equal number of rows on the Alms Table. Or;
Donate Building (Flip) 1 building on a Construction Site for end game points. Move 1 row up on the Alms table. The donated building's ability may not be used again.
If a building donation is carried out with majority, the second action is forfeited so an additional 'Give Alms' with grain or a coin is NOT permitted.
See Alms Table (page 14) for bonus details and end game points.
(Enhanced by Building. Enhanced by Special Activity.)
Ordination
Select any combination of the following 2 options up to the Duty value:
I. Ordain. Pay 1 grain and take 1 serf from the village area of the player board. Add it to the abbey. This meeple is now considered an acolyte. II. Mission. Pay 1 grain and move 1 acolyte from the abbey to the city. This could include an acolyte who has been ordained from the village in the same turn.
(Enhanced by Building.)
Produce
Collect 1 of the following resources types:
Grain: Gain a number of grain up to the Duty value. Or, Stone: Gain a number of stone up to the Duty value.
Place the selected resource in the corresponding storage space on the player board. A combined production of stone and grain is not permitted with 1 Produce Duty.
(Enhanced by Building. Enhanced by Special Activity.)
Taxation
Complete the Taxation Duty in the following steps:
I. take 1 resource of choice (stone, grain or coin) and, II. if a player holds majority on OTHER Duty tiles, take a total number of resources equal to the Duty value corresponding to the Tithe counters from any of those 'majority' Duty tiles.
NB: If a player has no other majorities, only 1 resource of choice will be obtained from Step 1. It is only possible to obtain a maximum of 3 resources from the Taxation Duty (Step 1 = 1 resource, Step 2 = 2 resources).
Player's acolytes are only returned from the Taxation Duty tile to city, not the chosen 'majority' Duty tile(s).
Acolytes on Special Activities DO NOT allow further resources to be taken from Taxation. Production & Clerical Buildings DO NOT allow further resources to be taken from Taxation. (See example page 10.)
Allocation: Example
Red achieves a majority Allocation Duty and may move 2 acolytes. Red would like to concentrate on Giving Alms for the next season and so moves their acolyte from the Stone Mason to the Alms House and then relocates an acolyte from the abbey to the fields.
Now when Red takes the Produce Duty for grain they will gain +1 and when taking the Give Alms Duty they can donate +1 grain or coin to add 1 to the Duty Value to move up the Alms Table by an additional row.
Taxation: Example
Yellow takes the Taxation Duty with a majority (2 Yellow v 1 Red v 1 Blue) and so gains a Duty Value of 2. For Step 1 Yellow can take any resource so they choose a grain. Next they see they have 2 other majorities, on Produce and Construct which have a stone and coin Tithe counter respectively.
With a Duty Value of 2, Yellow's choices for step 2 are either, 2 stone, or 2 coins, or a stone and a coin, as well as the grain they selected in step 1. 3 resources in total (the maximum possible). Only the 2 Yellow acolytes on the Taxation Duty tile are returned to the city at the end of the turn.
Special Activities
After an acolyte is moved to a Special Activity, the Duty Value of an associated Duty tile is raised for as long as the acolyte remains there.
Fields
When the Produce Duty is taken and the 'Fields' option is selected, produce +1 Grain.
Road Engineer
When either the Build Roads Duty is taken, or a road tile is laid when the Construct Duty is selected, the Duty Value is raised by +1.
Stone Mason
When the Produce Duty is taken and the 'Stone' option is selected, produce +1 Stone.
Alms House
When the Give Alms Duty is taken, the Duty Value is raised by +1 (NB: +1 Grain or +1 Coin must also be paid if used).
Engraver
When the Clerical Duty is taken and the 'Silversmith' option is selected, gain +1 coin.
Vestry
When the Clerical Duty is taken and the 'Devotion' option is selected, gain +1 piety.
Roads & Shrines
Roads Overview
Roads are single or connected map hexes where, straight, curved, bridge, or ford tiles have been constructed via the Build Roads or Construct, Duty tiles. Roads may create PILGRIM TRAILS to PILGRIMAGE SITES and shrines may be added to enhance the points value of these Trails. Roads that connect to Market Ports become TRADE ROUTES and generate a regular income. There are two types of road tile:
Standard Roads: These cost 1 stone per tile to build and are placed directly onto the map board.
Upgrade Roads: (with shell icon): cost 2 stones per tile to build. These replace existing tiles and allow for multiple roads through the same tile.
Road Placement Rules
- Straight and curved road tiles are built on land.
- Bridge and ford tiles are built on rivers.
- All road tiles must be able to trace a route out of the city and can never connect back to the city.
- The first road tile of a route from the city must have an acolyte on it to signify ownership.
- This acolyte must be taken from the city or a Duty tile. If an acolyte is not available, the road cannot be built. Connected road tiles laid after this do not need additional acolytes to be placed on them.
- A road consisting of just road tiles is considered 'OPEN' and will not score.
- Once connected to a shrine, Pilgrimage site or Market Port, the road traced back to the city is 'CLOSED' (see example below).
- A player may only have 1 open road at a time.
- Players may not add tiles to, nor use, other player's roads.
- Tile numbers are finite. If a particular type or configuration of tile runs out, then it cannot be built.
- NB: Upgrade tiles are unique, there is only one of each tile type.
Example: White builds a standard road tile from the city and places an acolyte to signify ownership. This road is 'open' because it does not end at a Shrine, Pilgrimage Site or Market Port.
Shrines
- Shrines may increase Victory Points scored by a Pilgrim Trail (see pages 16-17).
- Shrines are only built with a Build Roads Duty (never the Construct Duty).
- A minimum number of road tiles must be laid in a continuous path before a shrine can be built. This number must be one more than the total number of shrines that player has built so far on that Trail. The 1st shrine must be a minimum of 1 road tile away from the city. A second shrine on the same road must be 2 roads away from the 1st shrine, etc.
- If a new road is built from the city, the shrine and road count start again.
- A shrine's build cost is always 1 stone, plus piety equal to the number of all shrines that player has built on that trail (1st = 1 Piety, 2nd = 2 Piety).
- An acolyte is taken from the city or a Duty tile and is added to the shrine tile. If an acolyte is not available, the shrine cannot be built.
- Shrines cannot be built next to the city, next to another shrine, next to a Market Port, next to a Pilgrimage site, or on a river.
- A shrine must be connected to a previously built road.
- Pilgrim Trails may never visit the same shrine more than once.
- Trails may never connect to another player's shrine.
- Shrines can never be demolished, upgraded or built over.
- A shrine tile is considered a junction & can be entered and exited (once each) through any of its six edges by the owning player.
Example: Blue builds a shrine. The road is now 'closed' and considered a Pilgrim Trail so it will score 2 end game points. If Blue wishes to extend the trail beyond this Shrine (to earn more points), the road leading to the next shrine must be at least 2 road tiles long. A 3rd shrine on this path would need at least 3 road tiles between the 2nd & 3rd shrine, etc.
Pilgrim Trails
Pilgrim Trails are roads that run from the city to one or more shrines and/or end at a Pilgrimage site. A Pilgrim Trail may connect multiple shrines with roads in-between but may not branch. A Pilgrim Trail may be extended beyond a shrine, but if it connects to a Pilgrimage site it must end there. Closed Pilgrim Trails score end game Victory Points (page 16).
To connect a road to a Pilgrimage site, a donation of coins and piety as shown on the Pilgrimage Site tile must be made. An acolyte must then be added to the Pilgrimage site tile (taken from the city or a Duty tile). If an acolyte is not available, the final road tile cannot be laid.
The indicated Victory Points bonus for the Pilgrimage site will be scored at game end.
A single player may only visit each Pilgrimage site once but multiple players may visit the same Pilgrimage site via their own Pilgrim Trails. Each player must leave one of their own acolytes on the tile as they do so.
Pilgrim Trails that end in a Pilgrimage Site become 'consecrated' and may qualify for a Cardinal's Favour (see later). The Pilgrimage Site at the end of a trail does not count as one of the tiles in the Trail for end game scoring and to assess which Cardinal Favour tile is taken.
Example: Yellow builds the final tile in a trail and links to the Pilgrimage site and pays the stone cost. Yellow MUST now pay 3 piety and 3 coins and place an acolyte. This is now a 'consecrated' trail and may take the 4VP Cardinal's Favour tile (if available).
Cardinal's Favour
The first player to create a consecrated trail with a unique length of between 3-8 tiles (roads + shrines) takes the favour with the corresponding number of tiles (shown to the left of the favour tile) and will score the indicated Victory Points at game end.
The number of tiles in the trail must exactly equal the trail length indicated on the favour. A lesser Cardinal Favour tile for a shorter trail length may not be substituted when a longer trail is completed.
The favour tile is placed on an empty spot on the bottom of a player's board and like a building tile, cannot be removed or built over for the remainder of the game. If a subsequent consecrated trail of the same length is created or a player has no vacant spots, no favour tile is taken. Pilgrim Trails more than 8 tiles in length do not qualify for a favour.
Upgrading Roads
If a route is blocked by another road tile, the blocking tile may be upgraded by using either a Build Roads, or Construct Duty action (costing 2 stones) to allow a new path through.
Only an upgrade tile (with shell icon) may replace a standard tile. Some upgrade tiles may be further upgraded to allow a third road to pass through a hex. Tiles which have been upgraded are returned to supply and may be built again.
An Upgrade must maintain the existing road(s) of the previous tile but will add 1 new entry and 1 new exit (maximum).
More than 1 player may place an acolyte on the same upgrade tile if it is the first tile out from the city.
Example: Red & Blue have previously built trails out from the city. Yellow upgrades the 1st road tile (cost - 2 stone + 1 Duty Value) allowing a 2nd road through & places an acolyte. Yellow then builds a bridge to cross the river (cost - 1 stone).
Demolishing Roads
If a player wishes to adjust the course of their road, they may demolish one or more of their road tile(s). A player may only demolish their own roads at the end of a path which MUST be open. An Upgrade tile can only be demolished if the necessary tile is available to replace it. Shrines cannot be demolished.
To demolish one or more roads, a player must take the Build Roads or Construct Duty action. Each road tile removed costs 1 Duty Value.
If the active player's acolyte was sited on a demolished road, that acolyte is returned to the city.
Trade Routes
A Trade Route is a series of roads that start from the city and connect to a Market Port (circular space on the board perimeter). The route ends once it reaches the Port and cannot be extended. Acolytes (taken from the city or a Duty tile) MUST be placed on the first road tile of the Trade Route and also on the Market Port.
A single player may only connect to a specific Market Port once. Different players may connect to the same Market Port.
A Trade Route may not include a Shrine.
At the start of each subsequent round, for each trade route they own, a player may take 1 resource matching the Tithe counter on the Duty tile where the Merchant is currently visiting.
No resource is collected if the Merchant is visiting the Taxation Duty tile.
Example: Red builds 3 road tiles to link the city to a Market Port. Acolytes are placed on the first road tile and the Market Port to show ownership. Although Red has claimed this Trade Route, Blue has also connected to this Market Port via another route.
Map Board Size
With fewer than 4 players, only a number of quadrants equal to the player count will be accessible for the construction of roads and shrines. A quadrant is the area of land hexes between two rivers flowing to and from the city. The ship marker will still move around the perimeter of the unused quadrants and live buildings here may still be constructed and hired.
At the start of the game all areas are available, but the number of accessible quadrants will reduce by one every time a road is built in a new (previously empty) quadrant. Rivers are not deemed to be part of a quadrant, just a boundary line. As soon as the number of districts containing roads equals the number of players, the remaining empty areas are considered 'out of bounds' and may not be entered.
Merchant
At the end of each round (except the last) the Merchant moves clockwise to the next Duty tile (see Round End - page 16).
The Tithe counter on that duty tile then dictates, the trade resource for the following round:
- The specific resource required to be paid for hiring all live buildings.
- The resource income gained for those who control a Trade Route.
- If the Merchant is on the Taxation Duty tile, no buildings may be hired and Trade Routes generate no income that round.
The Cornucopia Tithe counter allows the active player to select a stone, grain or coin as the trade resource. Players may select different resources on their turn.
Example: At the end of a round; the round marker moves to the next perimeter space (not stopping on a Market Port). The Merchant moves to the next Duty tile clockwise. Here the Merchant moves from the Produce Duty tile where the trade resource was Stone, to Allocation where the trade resource for the round is now a coin.
The Alms Table
The 'Give Alms' Duty moves a player's marker on the Alms Table. If the marker reaches or passes the 2nd, 4th or 6th row, a specific Ordination bonus may be taken (BUT NO GRAIN NEEDS TO BE SPENT):
- 2nd Row: Move a serf from the village to the abbey.
- 4th Row: Move an acolyte from the abbey to the city.
- 6th Row: Move a serf directly to the city.
The first player to reach row 6, moves their marker up to the abbey icon to indicate that they are the highest on the table. If other players subsequently reach the 6th row in the same season they do not progress any further. Any additional giving of alms or donations after reaching row 6 gains no further bonus.
When the Ship Round marker reaches a Pilgrimage site, the season ends immediately. The player highest on the Alms Table, moves an acolyte from the abbey to the top of the Alms Table to score end game Victory Points (see End Game Scoring, page 16). If the player has no available acolytes in the abbey, these points are forfeited. With a tie for first place, the player with the highest piety wins. If still a tie, current turn order between the tied players decides (1st > 2nd > 3rd > 4th).
All players' alms markers are then returned to zero and play continues unless this is the end of the 4th Season (when the game ends immediately).
Example: White was first to reach row 6 of the Alms Table and so moved up to indicate that they will gain the Victory Points for this season. On the way, White gained all three ordination bonuses. Red gained the bonus to move a serf to the abbey when they reached the second row. Blue and Yellow gained no bonuses.
Buildings
A building is 'live' once the Ship round marker has reached or passed that building tile on the map board. Live buildings may then be obtained through a Construct Duty and cost a number of stone to construct equal to their level (1 stone per level).
Example: The round marker moves to the Quarry at the start of round 4 and is then 'live'. It may now be constructed or hired. The Well was not constructed previously and so is still available. The Chapel will not become live until round 5.
Once a player constructs a Building, its tile is placed on an empty space on the Player Board. Buildings do not need an acolyte on them to operate and may be used as soon as the building allows. The vacated hex on the map board is now clear and available for road or shrine construction.
Building tiles cannot be discarded or built over but can be donated for end game points (see Give Alms - page 9). Donated buildings are flipped revealing their Victory Point value. They stay on the player board for the rest of the game and are no longer 'live'. As a result, the building's bonus action can no longer be used by the owner or hired by other players.
A specific live building can be used once by ANY player on their turn as a 'bonus action'. Any number of different live buildings may be used on a player's turn. To use a live building that a player does not own, a trade resource fee MUST be paid to the owning player. The fee must match the Tithe counter on the Duty tile where the Merchant is currently visiting. It is recommended that players 'advertise' and remind others of the buildings they have if they wish to gain the hiring fee. If a live building is still on the map board, it may be hired, but the fee is paid to supply.
If the Merchant is currently visiting the Taxation Duty tile, buildings may not be hired this round but can be used by the building's owner and the owner of the Wagon Yard building (Level 3 Buildings - page 15).
Buildings Type
Level 1 - Blue
(Bonus Action; Individual buildings may be used once / player / turn. Cost: 1 Stone, Alms Donation Value 2VP.)
- Confession Box: Assumes +2 Piety when assessing the start player.
- Chapel: Generates +1 piety when Clerical Duty and Devotion is selected.
- Chapter House: May add a 2nd acolyte to a single Special Activity (via Allocation) for an additional +1 bonus. Maximum 2/Activity.
- Guild: May move the Merchant clockwise +1 Duty tile.
- Infirmary: Gives a +1 to Allocation and Ordination Duties (Grain required for Ordination).
- Mint: Generates +1 coin when Clerical Duty and Silversmith is selected.
- Quarry: Generates +1 stone when Produce (stone) Duty is selected.
- Well: Generates +1 grain when Produce (grain) Duty is selected.
- Indulgences: Buy or sell one or more piety for 1 coin each.
- Library: At the end of a player's turn move 1 acolyte from the city directly to a Duty action or back to the abbey.
- Reliquary: -1 piety point discount when building a Shrine or on Pilgrimage Site costs.
- Stone Yard: Buy or sell one or more stones for 1 coin each.
Level 2 - Red
(Bonus Action; Individual buildings may be used once / player / turn. Cost: 2 Stone, Alms Donation Value 4VP.)
- Brewery: A single grain may be sold for 2 coins.
- Cloisters: When moving acolytes to Duty actions, a player may skip one Duty tile or the city.
- Dormitory: At the start of a player's turn an acolyte may be returned from any Duty action to the City.
- Grain Store: Buy or sell one or more grain for 1 coin each.
Level 3 - Green
(Bonus Action; Individual buildings may be used once / player / turn. Cost: 3 Stone, Alms Donation Value 6VP.)
- Bank: Coins can be used instead of any single resource (including Piety) for one transaction.
- Customs House: When taking the Taxation Duty a majority is claimed on any Duty the active player's acolytes occupy, including the Taxation Duty.
- Inquisition: At the start of their turn, a player may move one of their acolytes from the city to any Duty.
- Kogge: Acolytes may now move against the flow of the map board rivers to enter or leave the City.
- Mill: Alms and Ordination Duties do not expend grain if the player holds up to 2 grain. A 3rd Grain must be held and spent if a 3rd action is taken.
- Pulpit: Ordain one serf from the village and move them to the abbey with no grain cost. The Infirmary bonus may not be applied.
- Scriptorium: On the player's turn, add +1 to the acolyte total on all Duty tiles that player occupies.
- Wagon Yard: Hire any live building for no fee. This may be used by the owning player when the Merchant is visiting the Taxation Duty.
Round End
When a player finishes their turn, play passes clockwise. When all players have taken a turn, complete these steps in order:
- Excess: All players must ensure that their stone and grain stores do not hold more than 6 resources each. All excess resources are returned to supply.
- Ship: Move the ship round marker clockwise one hex space around the perimeter of the map. NB: The ship does not stop on the circular Market Port spaces.
- Season End: If the ship round marker reaches a Pilgrimage site, assess the leader on the Alms table (see Alms Table - page 14). NB: If this is the NW Pilgrimage site (where the game started), after the Alms Table is resolved the game ends immediately.
- Merchant: Move the Merchant clockwise one Duty tile. Trade Routes may generate income.
- Start Player: If in play, the Confession Box may be used or hired in player turn order now (NB: The +2 bonus is temporary but can increase a player's piety to more than 12). The player with highest piety selects who becomes the next start player. The start player takes the first player marker.
Tie breaker: If more than 1 player shares the highest Piety, the start player marker moves clockwise away from the current holder to the first tied player who then decides who will be start player for the next round.
Game End
The game ends after 26 rounds when the ship marker returns back to the NW Pilgrimage site. The final Alms Table assessment is made but the players take no further turns.
The scores are totalled to establish the successor to the poor deceased cardinal (see End Game Scoring).
End Game Scoring
Acolytes in the Abbey, the City or on Duty tiles: 1VP each.
NB: Acolytes on Special Activities, the Alms table, on Roads, Market Ports, Shrines and Pilgrimage sites do not score.
Pilgrim Trails: Calculate the value of each closed trail starting from the city (see example page 17). Count the number of road tiles up to and including the next shrine multiplied by the number of shrines reached so far on that trail. Repeat for each subsequent trail ending in a shrine and up to the final Pilgrimage Site.
Pilgrimage Sites: 4-7VP each.
Piety: Final position of the Piety Track -5 to +9VP (the Confession Box +2 bonus does not apply).
Alms: Points are awarded dependent upon the number of a player's acolytes at the top of the Alms table:
| Acolytes at top of Alms table | VP |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5VP |
| 2 | 11VP |
| 3 | 18VP |
| 4 | 26VP |
Buildings: 2-4-6VP for each donated (flipped) building on the player board. Unflipped building tiles do not score.
Cardinal Favours: 4-10VP per tile.
Resources: 1VP / any 3 resources (grain, stone and coins in any combination), rounded down.
Pilgrim Trail Scoring Example
Scoring Red's Pilgrim Trail. From the city (Start):
- 1 x Road & 1 x Shrine = 1VP each, 2VP.
- 2 x Roads & 1 x Shrine = 2VP each, 6VP.
- 3 x Roads & 1 x Shrine = 3VP each, 12VP.
- 1 x Road to Pilgrimage Site = 4VP each, 4VP.
Total for Pilgrim Trail: 24VP.
NOTE: Because the route is 11 tiles long, it does not qualify for a Cardinal's Favour.
Red will also score 6VP for visiting the Pilgrimage site.
The five red acolytes on the road tiles, shrine tiles and the Pilgrimage site do not score individual end game points (Step 1, End Game Scoring).
Tie Breaker
If there is a tie, the winner is:
- the tied player with the highest Piety. Then,
- the tied player with the highest position on the final Alms table. Then,
- the tied player with the turn order position closest to 1st.
"There came at nightfall to that hostelry some nine and twenty in a company of sundry persons who had chanced to fall in fellowship, and pilgrims were they all that toward Canterbury town would ride." — Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales (1392)
Solo Rules
Solo Play vs the Ab-Bott
Introduction
Ever since you were both ordained on the same day, there has always been an unspoken rivalry between you and the Ab-Bott. Both utterly focused on your vocation, it was clear that one of you would eventually become the Cardinal. Now the time has come to find out who it will be. In the solo game you will challenge the Ab-Bott to see which of you will succeed. You will also have to work against a dummy set of acolytes for majorities on the Duty tiles. To play the solo game you will need to add the 30 Solo counters divided into the 4 seasons; Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Check the flip side of each counter to see the season it is allocated to.
Set Up
Follow the standard set up for the 2 player game with the following additions.
- Limit the playing area: The quadrant with the highest VP value Pilgrimage Site and its clockwise neighbour form the solo playing area. If the highest value is tied, start with the first Pilgrimage site closest clockwise to the North. The other two quadrants are off limits during the entire game.
- Seed the dummy player: Seed the Duty tiles using acolytes from an unused colour with the number placed corresponding to the desired level of difficulty (L1 = Easiest to L3 = Most Challenging):
- L1: 6 Dummy acolytes. Place 3 clockwise from the Northern Duty tile, 3 from the Southern Duty tile.
- L2: 7 Dummy acolytes. Place 4 clockwise from the Northern Duty tile, 3 from the Southern Duty tile.
- L3: 8 Dummy acolytes. Place 1 on each Duty tile.
- Seed the Ab-Bott's acolytes: Starting from the North Duty tile and continuing clockwise, placing the 5th acolyte on the South Duty tile.
- Seed the active player's acolytes: Follow the standard rules.
- Solo Game Counters: Place the Spring Season solo game counters in a bag and give them a good shake. Later in the game when the turn marker reaches the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Pilgrimage tiles, add the Summer, Autumn and Winter counters respectively.
- Start Player: The Ab-Bott is the start player for turn 1.
The Game
In round 1, the Ab-Bott takes their turn first following the procedure below (The Ab-Bott's Turn). The live player takes their turn following the standard rules of the game.
The subsequent playing order follows the standard rules of the game by referring to Piety.
The live player may hire buildings held by the Ab-Bott. Pay the resource fee to the Ab-Bott's board.
The Ab-Bott's Turn
The Ab-Bott does not produce resources and does not spend resources or piety to complete actions.
The Ab-Bott will only use the following buildings if they own them: Chapel, Confession Box, Infirmary, Mint, Pulpit. They will never use the player's buildings.
On the Ab-Bott's turn complete the following actions in the following order.
Move the Ab-Bott's Acolytes
- Select Acolytes: Pick the zone (city or Duty tile) with the most Ab-Bott acolytes. If two or more zones are tied in sharing the most, prioritise the tied zones as follows: a. The City. b. The Duty tile closest clockwise to (and including) the current Merchant position.
- Move Acolytes: If moving from the city, move to the North or South Duty tile closest clockwise to the Merchant.
- Ab-Bott's Actions: Draw a solo action counter from the bag. Take the corresponding duty as if with a majority, regardless of how many acolytes the Ab-Bott has on the actual Duty tile. Follow instructions for the Ab-Bott's actions from the following list (NOT the standard rules).
Once the action is completed, remove all acolytes from the Duty with the most acolytes (NOT THE DUTY JUST ACTIONED) and return them to the city. If two or more zones share the most, prioritise using the Select Acolytes option above.
The Ab-Bott's Duties
ALLOCATION: In Seasons 1 & 2: (ensuring that there is always at least 1 acolyte left in the abbey), move up to 2 acolytes from the Abbey to special abilities using the following priorities: 1. Vestry, 2. Give Alms, 3. Road Engineer, 4. Fields, 5. Stone Mason, 6. Engraver.
If the Infirmary building is live the Ab-Bott may allocate 3 acolytes (only if a min of 1 acolyte remains in abbey). The player may take a resource fee from supply (matching tithe on Merchant duty) if they own the Infirmary. The Chapter House building is not used by the Ab-Bott.
In Seasons 3 & 4: Move acolytes from Special Activities to the abbey in reverse priority order.
BUILD ROADS: The Ab-Bott builds 2 roads/shrine as its standard turn. No stone or piety is required. If the Ab-Bott has an acolyte on the Road Engineer Special Activity 3 tiles are placed.
In order to start a new trail from the city, roll a d6 to select a starting point. If that gate is already in use, continue clockwise until an empty gate is reached.
If all city gates are occupied and all trails end in Pilgrimage sites, the Ab-Bott takes no action.
If the Ab-Bott has a trail that is open, continue to add road/shrine tiles to the existing trail. Road tiles must take a direct route to the nearest Pilgrimage Site. If there is a choice of spaces to achieve this select the left-most space.
The 2nd and 5th road tile from the city are replaced by a shrine if adjacency rules allow. Remember to place the Ab-Bott's acolytes on these shrines.
If the Ab-Bott's route is blocked by the player's trail, an upgrade tile is used to cross the tile but uses the whole standard turn doing so.
If the Pilgrimage site would be reached with road left to build, if possible, configure the route to accommodate the additional road section. Otherwise a new trail is started.
CLERICAL: Move 2 spaces up the Piety table. Move up +1 if the Ab-Bott has an acolyte on the Vestry. Move up +1 if the Ab-Bott has constructed the Chapel.
CONSTRUCT: The Ab-Bott builds the most recent building tile to become live (no stone required), placing the tile on the left-most empty space on the Ab-Bott's player board. If there are no live buildings available the Ab-Bott takes no action.
1 road section is laid following the Build Roads procedure. 2 sections if the Road Engineer Special Ability has been allocated (no stone required in either case).
GIVE ALMS: Seasons 1-2: The Ab-Bott moves 2 rows up the alms track (3 with the Give Alms Special Activity). The Ab-Bott takes the 2nd, 4th and 6th row bonuses when reached. The Ab-Bott will not accept a row bonus if it will leave the abbey without an acolyte.
Seasons 3-4: The Ab-Bott donates a building prioritising the right-most tile on the player board. The Ab-Bott moves 1 row up the alms track.
ORDINATION: The Ab-Bott will take 2 Ordination actions* following these priorities, 1 at a time:
- If the Abbey has more than 1 acolyte - move 1 acolyte from abbey to city.
- If the Abbey has 0 or 1 acolyte - move 1 serf from the village to abbey.
*3 if the Ab-Bott has built the Infirmary.
REST: The Ab-Bott is in need of an afternoon snooze and takes no action this turn.
End of Turn
When Player 1 and the Ab-Bott have taken a turn each, do the following in order:
- Check Player 1's grain & stone <= 6 (no coin limit).
- Move ship round marker +1 space clockwise.
- Ship reaches a Pilgrimage site? Go to Season's End (below).
- Move the Merchant clockwise +1 Duty tile.
- Trade Routes may generate income.
- If Player 1 has the highest piety choose whether to be the next start player. If Ab-Bott is the highest, the Ab-Bott starts.
Season's End
Perform alms table resolution. Leap-Frog Dummy player acolytes following the standard rules.
Add the new solo counters to the bag with the next Season Counter, Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter.
If the turn counter has returned to the North-West Pilgrimage site (the start tile) the game has ended. Perform standard end game scoring.
If the game hasn't ended, go to Point 4 of the End of Turn list.
Solo Campaign
For more of a challenge, play three consecutive games against the Ab-Bott with a new board set up each time.
- Game 1: A solo game with 6 dummy acolytes. Note the final score points difference (Player - Ab-Bott).
- Game 2: A solo game with 7 dummy acolytes. Note the final score points difference (Player - Ab-Bott).
- Game 3: A solo game with 8 dummy acolytes. Note the final score points difference (Player - Ab-Bott).
Add the scores difference for all three games and refer to the table below.
| Score | Result |
|---|---|
| <0 | Defeated: The holy life is not for you. |
| 1-10 | Shameful: Reflect on the error of your ways. Go on a long pilgrimage. |
| 11-20 | Admonished: You show willing but your behaviour is not of the expected standard. |
| 21-30 | Aspiring: A valiant effort but not focused enough to become the new Cardinal. |
| 31-40 | Triumphant: A glowing example of piety. Blessings upon you Cardinal. |
| >40 | GOD-LIKE: A transcendent performance. |
Credits
- Game Design: Nick Case
- Art: Harald Lieske
- Graphic Design Advice: Simon Cox
- Rulebook Design: Game Rock, s. r. o., www.gamerock.eu
- Rules Advice & Proof Reading: Neil Horabin
- Statistical Testing: Christopher Mullender
- Principal Play Testers: Dave Mullender, Christopher Mullender, Simon Cox, Myk Smith, Paul Bruce
- Play Testers: Chris Allen, Andrew Bennet, Gavin Birnbaum, Tony Boydell, Andrew Bond, Nick Brooks, Tim Clare, Rachel Coe, Robert Dane, Gary Dicken, Jerry Elsmore, James Faulkner, Mary Foster, Rob Harris, David Harvey, Neil Horabin, Steve Kendall, Chris Littler, Darren McDonald, Samantha Mullender, Simon Neale, Andreas (Ode) Odendahl, Phil Pettifer, Julie Shacklock, John Shepherd, Paul Suyat
- Special Thanks: Epsom and Isleworth Games Clubs