Porto Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components of the Game
• Setup
  • 2 or 3 Player Game
• How to Play
• Draw Cards
  • Examples
• Build Floors - Place Tiles
• Build Floors - Completing a House
• Building Floors - Score VP
• Building Floors - Completing Public Contracts
  • Example
• End of the Game
  • Final Score
  • End Game Example
• Solo Variant
  • How to Win
  • How to Play
  • End of the Game
• Types of Public Contracts - Score During the Game
• Types of Private Contract Cards - Only Score at the End of the Game

Components of the Game

• 1 Game board
• 1 Clérigos tower (assemble the tower as illustrated; the bell tower of Clérigos Church is one of Porto's most famous sights)
• 1 First Player Token
• 75 Floor tiles (15 in each of 5 colors). Each color of Floor tiles has 3 different illustrations. In terms of game rules, the 3 pieces of each color are exactly the same.
• 15 Ground Floor tiles (3 in each of 5 colors). Ground Floor tiles always have an illustration of a door.
• 14 Roof tiles
• 4 Point Trackers
• 14 VP tokens (5 x 1 VP; 4 x 2 VP; 3 x 3 VP; 2 x 4 VP)
• 4 Score Markers (1 in each player color)
• 4 Reference Cards (1 in each player color)
• 50 Construction Cards
• 35 Public Contract Cards
• 39 Private Contract Cards
• This rulebook

Setup

1. Place the game board on the center of the table.
2. Arrange the Floor and Ground Floor tiles by type and color. Place them off the side of the board.
3. Place the Roof tiles on the board as shown in the diagram on page 5. Place three Roof tiles in the last Roof tiles space.
4. Shuffle the Construction cards into a face-down deck. Place these on the game board.
5. Draw 5 Construction cards. Place one on each of the 5 spaces on the board, face-up.
6. Randomly assign one face-up VP token to each Ground Floor space.
7. Shuffle the Public Contract cards into a face-down deck. Place these on the game board.
8. Draw 4 Public Contract cards and place one on each of the 4 designated spaces on the board.
9. Choose a first player. Give that player the first player token. (This token will not change hands during the course of the game.)
10. Give each player the reference card and VP tracker of their chosen player color.
11. Shuffle the Private Contract cards and deal 5 to each player. Each player then secretly chooses 3 cards to keep and discards the remaining 2. Return all discarded or unused Private Contract cards to the box.

First Play? Are you playing with newbies? Ignore step 11 of the setup and ignore everything in the rules that mentions Private Contracts.

2 or 3 Player Game

With 3 players, the leftmost and rightmost houses of the board cannot be built. Treat them as though do not exist; place no VP tokens in these houses.

With 2 players, the 2 leftmost and the 2 rightmost houses on the board are not available to be built. Treat them as though they do not exist; place no VP tokens in these houses.

How to Play

Porto is played over the course of several rounds. In each round, starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player performs 1 action:

• DRAW CARDS

OR

• BUILD FLOORS

The end of the game is triggered when a certain number of houses are complete (see End of the Game).

Draw Cards

A player may draw up to 3 Construction cards from the 5 face-up cards on the board, as long as the total value of the drawn cards does not exceed 3.

Example: a player can draw up to 3 value-1 cards, or a value-1 card and a value-2 card, or only a value-2 card, or a value-3 card.

If you run out of Construction cards, shuffle the discards into a new draw deck. There is no limit to the number of Construction cards a player can have in their hand.

AFTER a player draws Construction cards from the board, refill the board with cards drawn from the deck. After using Construction cards, discard them.

Examples

On his turn, Afonso decides to draw cards. Looking at the cards on the board, he decides to add the blue 3 to his hand. A new card is then drawn from the deck to replace the card that Afonso took. His turn is now over.

Later, Inês also decides also to draw cards. She adds the red 2 and the blue 1 to her hand, and then 2 new cards are put onto the board from the draw deck. Her turn is now over.

Later in the game, Afonso decides to draw more cards. Unfortunately, he can only draw 1 card, since all cards on the board have values of 2. He decides to draw a green 2. After this, a new card is drawn from the deck to replace the card that Afonso took. His turn is now over.

Build Floors - Place Tiles

To build floors a player MUST play exactly 2 Construction cards from their hand. The player chooses which card to use for each purpose.

One of the cards will determine the number of floors the player is going to build; the other will determine the color of those floors.

After determining the number and color of floors, the player then places that specific number of floors of the appropriate color and places them on the board.

If you cannot or do not want to, you CANNOT do the BUILD FLOORS action. You must DRAW CARDS instead.

The rules for placing tiles are:

• Tiles must be placed on an empty space of a house.
• Ground Floor tiles must be placed on the first (lowest) space of an empty house.
• Floor tiles are placed on the next empty spaces of the house.
• Roof tiles are placed on the tops of houses, on the triangular spaces.
• Houses are built from the ground floor all the way up to the roof.
• When placing a Ground Floor tile, the player collects the VP token on that space and places it on an empty roof of their choice (it even can be in the same building). The player scores those VP on the score track (see chapter "BUILD FLOOR - score VP" below).
• If there are no empty roofs, discard the VP token.
• To build in an empty house, a player must first build a Ground Floor tile, as determined by their choice of cards. Afterward, any Floor tiles built on that house MUST share the SAME color as the Ground Floor tile.
• If there are no Ground Floor tiles of a certain color, you may not start a new house of that color.
• When starting a new house, its tiles must be different from the color of tiles in any immediately adjacent houses.
• All tiles placed on a player's turn must be placed in the SAME house. Tiles played on a turn may not be split between houses.
• Players can place tiles in a house with previously built Ground Floors, if those tiles match the color of the tiles already placed on that house.
• A player cannot play a combination of cards that would allow them to build more floors than can be built in the house they are attempting to build.

Example: a player cannot play a combination of cards that would allow him to build 2 floors in a house that has only space for 1 floor.

Build Floors - Completing a House

A house is complete when a player builds the last floor of that house. Note that Roof tiles NEVER count as floors.

When a player builds the last floor of a house, he or she immediately places a Roof tile on that house and collects the VP token on that house (if there is one), gaining the VP indicated by the token. Use the leftmost Roof tile available on the top of the board.

(see chapter "BUILDING FLOORS - score VP")

The Roof tile is automatically built as soon as the top floor of the house is placed.

Building Floors - Score VP

When building, there are 5 ways to earn VP. VP scored are immediately on the scoring track. Whenever you gain VP, advance your score marker.

A. Score 1 VP for each floor in the house, including floors built this turn. Note that Roof tiles NEVER count as floors.

B. Score 1 VP for each Floor and Ground Floor adjacent to any Floor or Ground Floor built on your turn. Do not count adjacent roof tiles.

The floors that were just built on a player's turn are marked with a dotted red line.

C. If you built a Ground Floor tile, collect the VP token from that space and place it on an empty roof of your choice (it can be in the same building). Score those VP on the score track. If there are no empty roofs, score the VP but discard the token to the game box.

D. If you place a Roof tile and there is a VP token at the top of that house, discard the token to the game box and score the points shown on that token.

E. Completing Public Contracts (see next chapter).

HISTORICAL NOTE: Because houses in Porto's historical center often shared walls, their construction costs could be reduced. That's why in this game, players gain extra points when they build adjacent to previously-built floors.

Building Floors - Completing Public Contracts

After building floors, a player MAY fulfill Public Contracts.

To fulfill Public Contracts, the player announces which Public Contracts (from the 4 face-up on the board) they wish to fulfill, keeping in mind that contract requirements must be met after floors have been built.

Example: if Afonso built 3 blue floors and at the same time completed a blue house, he could fulfill a Public Contract whose requirement was to build 3 blue floors and another Public Contract whose requirement was the completion of a blue house.

IMPORTANT: To fulfill a Public Contract, its requirements MUST be met EXACTLY.

Example: if a player builds 3 blue floors he cannot fulfill a Public Contract whose requirement was to build 2 blue floors.

When completing a Public Contract, the player scores the VP depicted on that card and then places it into a face-down pile next to him or herself. Fulfilled Public Contracts may later be used as tiebreakers.

AFTER Public Contracts have been fulfilled, replace them on the board with new ones drawn from the deck.

(More information on Public Contracts in the "Types of Public Contracts" chapter below.)

Example

Joana decides to build floors. She decides that her red 3 will allow her to build 3 floors. Playing a blue 1 means that those floors will be blue.

When building the 3 blue floors, Joana scores 5 VP (1 VP for each tile on the house, including the just-built floors) and an extra 3 VP (1 VP for each floor adjacent to the tiles that were just built), for a total of 8 VP.

Because Joana completed a house, she builds the roof tile... and collects the 2 VP that was there.

Joana fulfills also 2 of the 4 Public Contracts available: she fulfills the first Public Contract and scores 2 VP because she built 3 blue floors. She also fulfills the second Contract and scores another 2 VP because she played a blue and a red card.

In total on her turn, Joana scored 14 VP. She advances her scoring marker 14 spaces on the scoring track.

End of the Game

The penultimate round takes place:

• with 2 players: when the 6th roof tile is placed.
• with 3 players: when the 8th roof tile is placed.
• with 4 players: when the 10th roof tile is placed.

Players will then finish the current round - all players that have not yet taken a turn in this round will complete their turns, followed by one final round and the end of the game.

Final Score

Each player reveals the 3 Private Contracts they have in hand and scores any VP gained by those contracts. (More information on Private Contracts in the "Types of Private Contract cards" chapter below.)

If you exceed 50VP, take the +50 score marker and place your score marker back at the beginning of the score track. Turn the marker around, if you exceed 100 points.

The player with the most VP wins the game. In the event of a tie, the winner is:

• the tied player who fulfilled the most Public Contracts.

If there is still a tie, the winner is:

• the tied player furthest (in player order) from the first player.

End Game Example

At the end of a 3-player game, this is what the board looks like:

Afonso reveals his 3 Private Contract cards.

Afonso scores 5 VP because all of the houses on one side have been completed, thus fulfilling his first Private Contract.

Evaluating his second Private Contract, Afonso scores another 5 VP because there are 2 pairs of yellow and green houses completed on the board: Pair C and D and pair E and F.

Afonso didn't manage to score a third pair, because each house can only count once per contract card. Although H is next to C, C was already used to form a pair. If house G had been completed, Afonso would have been able to score 3 yellow and green pairs.

Finally, Afonso evaluates his third Private Contract. He scores 4 VP with this contract since there is one trio on the board of completed green, yellow and blue houses (E, F, and I). If house J had been completed, Afonso would have scored 2 trios using houses C, D and J.

Afonso scores a total of 14 VP from his Private Contract cards. He adds those points to the ones he accumulated during the game to determine his final score.

Solo Variant

Set the board up as you would for a 2-player game.

Draw 28 Construction Cards from the deck and form a separate deck to be placed next to the game board. From this moment on, this deck will be called the Timer. You are the first player.

Note: If you want to increase the level of difficulty, form the deck with 26 cards instead of 28. If you want an even bigger challenge, form the deck with 24 cards.

How to Win

To win, your scoring marker must reach 60 or more VP before the last card is drawn from the Timer deck (this will give you 14 turns).

How to Play

1. Take your turn as normal. After your turn, perform the following steps:

2. Draw the top card of the Timer deck. Look at its number and discard from the board the Construction card and the Public Contract that are currently in that position.

3. Then, draw another card from the top of the Timer deck. Add the number of this card to the number of the previously drawn card, and discard from the board the Construction card and Public Contract that are currently on that position.

   When the total value of both cards is 5, Public Contracts are not discarded (there are always only 4 face-up Public Contracts). In the rare case that the value of both cards is 6, do not discard any Construction or Public Contract cards from the board.

   When drawing from the Timer deck, if the deck is empty, the game will immediately end after step 4.

   Example: After performing your turn, you draw a red 2 from the Timer. You discard the second Construction card from the board and the second Public Contract card. Afterward, you draw a blue 3 from the Timer and discard the fifth (2+3) Construction card from the board but do not discard a Public Contract card.

4. Using the 2 cards drawn from the Timer, you MUST then build tiles according to the game rules.

   Note that you will not score any points for tiles built this way (you only score Points for tiles built on your turn). However, you may use this as an opportunity to open possibilities for your next turns!

   Tiles constructed this way must follow all rules of placement, BUT they do not score points, and they don't score VP from tokens taken when building a Ground Floor tile (you decide which empty roof will receive the VP token), they don't score the VP tokens when placing a Roof tile (the token is discarded), and they do not fulfill Public Contracts. After building, discard the 2 cards into the discard pile.

   Example: With the red 2 and the blue 3, you decide to build 3 red floors. Because you built a Ground Floor tile, you place the VP token into an empty roof of your choice.

   In the rare case that you cannot build with those cards, and only if there are no legal options to do so, you don't build any tiles.

5. Draw cards from the Construction deck to refill the board. Draw cards from the Public Contract deck to refill the Public Contract cards.

   Remember: cards are only refilled after tiles are constructed!

6. If the game has not finished, continue from step 1.

End of the Game

Unlike in a 2-player game, the end of the game does not happen when 6 houses have been completed. Instead, in this solo variant the game ends when the last card is drawn from the Timer (i.e., after steps 1 - 4). If you have reached 60 VP or more, you have won. Otherwise, you have lost.

If you have won, add to your score any points gained by fulfilling Private Contract cards. Take note of your score and try to beat it next time! If you have lost the game, DO NOT take into account any points gained from Private Contracts. We're sure you'll do better next time!

Level Score

• Apprentice: 60VP to 69VP
• Builder: 70VP to 79VP
• Master Builder: 80VP +

Types of Public Contracts - Score During the Game

• Gain 3 VP if you have built 1 floor of the depicted color.
• Gain 2 VP if you have built 2 floors of the depicted color.
• Gain 2 VP if you have built 3 floors of the depicted color.
• Gain 2 VP if you have completed a house (thus placing a roof tile) of the depicted color.
• Gain 2 VP if you have played 2 cards of the depicted color.
• Gain 2 VP if you have played 2 cards of the depicted colors (one of each).

Types of Private Contract Cards - Only Score at the End of the Game

• Gain 1 VP, 2 VP, or 5 VP if there are 1, 2, or 3 completed houses of the depicted color on the board. Houses can have different heights.
• Gain 2 VP, 5 VP, or 10 VP if there are 1, 2, or 3 pairs of completed houses in the depicted colors. The height and order of the houses doesn't matter, but the 2 houses must be adjacent. Each house on the board counts only once for this card.
• Gain 4 VP or 9 VP if there are 1 or 2 trios of completed houses in the depicted colors. The height and order of the houses doesn't matter, but the 3 houses must be adjacent. Each house on the board counts only once for scoring this card.
• Gain 5 VP if there are at least 2 completed houses on the board of the depicted color. There must be one house of the depicted color on each side of the board, and each must have the same number of floors.

NOTE 1: Although a completed house can only be counted once for each contract card, it can be used to score multiple contract cards.

• Gain 2 VP, 5 VP, or 9 VP if there are 1, 2, or 3 completed houses of the depicted color on the extremities of the board. Each side of the board has 2 extremities, which totals 4 extremities that can be considered for this effect.
• Gain 7 VP if at least one side of the board has one completed house of each of the 5 colors. The arrow in the illustration is merely indicative, so it doesn't matter which side of the board contains the completed houses. The houses' order, adjacency, and height do not matter for this scoring.
• Gain 5 VP if at least one side of the board has had all of its houses completed. The arrow in the illustration is merely indicative, so it doesn't matter which side of the board these houses are on.

Note 2: For the purposes of Private Contracts, it does not matter who built the house during the game. Even if you did not contribute anything to building a house, you can still score it with your Private Contracts.