Sa-Rê Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Detailed Components
  • The Construction Site (one per player)
  • The Reference Board
  • Building Cards
  • Building Tiles
  • Season Cards
• Setup
• Game Turn
• Phase 1: Choosing and Setting Up Construction Projects
• Buildings
  • Administrative Buildings
  • Production Buildings
  • Main Buildings
• Phase 2: Production Season
  • How to Proceed
  • Gold Bonuses for Workers
  • Resource Shortage
  • Turn Order
  • Revolt
• Phase 3: Construction of Buildings
  • Chartering Caravans
  • Pyramid Building Cards
• Growth of Your City
• New Turn
• End of Game
• Pharaoh's Directives (Scenarios)
• Architect Variant
• Player Aid

Components

• 4 Construction Sites
• 4 Obelisks (to assemble)
• Reference Board
• 16 cubes (8 black, 4 red, 4 yellow)
• 40 Building cards
• 28 Season cards
• 110 Resource tokens (30 Wood, 30 Gold, 30 Stone and 20 Joker)
• A card dispenser (shoe) (to assemble)
• 60 Building tiles (8 main buildings, 24 administrative buildings, 28 production buildings)

Detailed Components

The Construction Site (one per player)

• Starting building: a Master Builder and a warehouse holding 3 resources (wood, gold, stone).
• Revolt gauge of the workers: place the red cube at the start of the game, at the bottom of the gauge.
• Caravan Zone: place the yellow cube at the start of the game, at the bottom of the "Caravan Zone" gauge.
• Buildable zones: 12 free spaces separated by the lines of the rivers and roads.
• The Nile: marks the 6 buildable spaces affected by the Port (see page 7).

The Reference Board

At the start of the game, place on each illustration a number of Building tiles of each type equal to the number of players.

• Production buildings (5 types): see page 7.
• Administrative buildings (6 types): see page 7.
• Main buildings (Ports and Pyramids): the construction cost of a Port is shown on the board. The price of the Pyramids is not shown on the board, because each Pyramid has a different construction cost (refer to the corresponding Building cards).
• Construction cost of buildings: expressed in resources (stone, wood and gold).

Building Cards

Production building cards: this card (identical on both sides) represents the Stonemason, who produces one stone each turn. Cards of this type also exist for the Carpenter (wood) and the Goldsmith (gold).

Note: there are no cards for the Master Builder and Warehouse buildings.

Administrative building cards: when you finish constructing a building, you gain the corresponding card, here a Library. Each turn, your Library may give you a particular effect. After using the effect, turn the card over to its "night" side (back), which only returns to its "day" side at the start of the next turn.

Building Tiles

• Back (construction side, showing the construction cost).
• Front (built side).

Season Cards

• Back: shows the resources produced (here gold and one stone).

Setup

1. Place the Reference Board in the centre of the table and place on each space as many Building tiles as there are players.
2. With fewer than 4 players, leave the surplus Building tiles and the corresponding Building cards in the box.
3. Place the Resource tokens and the black cubes near the Reference Board.
4. Sort the Building cards by type and place them near the Reference Board.
5. Place the Pyramid cards sorted so that number 1 is on top, then 2, and so on.

Each player takes:

• 1 Construction Site, plus 1 Warehouse tile (taken from the box) and 1 Master Builder tile (taken from the box). These two buildings may each be placed on a different space of your Construction Site (which has 12 spaces), or both on the same space. Each player places their two buildings wherever they like.
• 1 Wood, 1 Stone and 1 Gold Resource token, to be placed in your Warehouse.
• 1 Obelisk.
• 1 red cube, placed at the bottom of the revolt gauge.
• 1 yellow cube, placed at the bottom of the "Caravan Zone" gauge.

Game Turn

The oldest player is designated first player. A game turn consists of 3 main phases:

1. Choosing and setting up construction projects.
2. Production season.
3. Building construction.

Phase 1: Choosing and Setting Up Construction Projects

Starting with the first player and then clockwise, each player chooses the construction project or projects they will launch.

To construct a building, you must first launch its project. Launching a project costs no resources. The project is then completed by paying the resources, of the type and quantity shown on the construction side of the building tile. The speed at which you build your city depends on the number of buildings you construct each turn. Master Builders determine how many buildings you can attempt to construct at the same time. Each Master Builder can manage at most 2 projects.

Warning: when a Master Builder manages two projects, this causes grumbling among the workers, who know they will have to work harder (your revolt gauge rises). When a Master Builder manages only one project, this has no consequence.

During the game, you may build a second Master Builder building, which allows you to launch 1 project for each of your Master Builders (two in total) without any grumbling from the workers. Beyond 2 projects, each additional project raises your revolt gauge by 1.

Setting up projects: choose the number of Building tiles from those available on the Reference Board and place them, construction side up (the Construction side), on your Construction Site.

Each building has a purchase price expressed in resources and offers a particular advantage specific to it.

The choice of location is important when the building is a production building (see page 7). Once built, it will produce one resource each turn and will reduce the cost of all the constructions adjacent to it orthogonally (not diagonally).

This reduction depends on the nature of the production building that is built: the Goldsmith reduces the cost of all adjacent buildings by 1 Gold, the Stonemason reduces the cost by 1 Stone, and so on.

Although the Port is a main building, it is also a resource-generating building. It produces one resource of your choice (Joker) each turn, and therefore gives a reduction of one resource of your choice on all spaces located on the bank of the Nile. The Port must be built on one of the six spaces located on the bank of the Nile.

A buildable zone adjacent to several production buildings benefits from the cumulative reductions.

You may change the nature of a project from one turn to the next, move a project, or even demolish an already built building. To do so, simply put the corresponding tile back on the Reference Board and choose another project.

When a type of building is no longer available on the Reference Board, it is no longer possible to set up a project for it. It is forbidden to build 2 identical administrative buildings, 2 Ports or 2 Pyramids during the game. It is also forbidden to set up 2 identical production buildings during the same game turn. (You may own several identical production buildings, provided you do not launch their projects during the same game turn.)

A player who starts their turn with a Master Builder and 2 projects cannot launch a new project. In addition, they start with a penalty and place their red cube on the 2nd space of their revolt gauge (counting from the bottom).

Important: two production buildings may be built on the same space.

Diagram: a production building and the -1 reduction it gives to the adjacent buildable spaces.

Buildings

Administrative Buildings

The special power of an administrative building is used only once per building and per Production Season (see page 8).

The Temple: the player must declare the use of their temple before the first player draws a card. The owner of the temple draws the first two cards of the deck. They secretly keep one and place the other face down on the top or the bottom of the deck. As with the palace, if the kept card is a Resource, they gain that Resource once their obelisk is lying down; the other cards have no effect.

The owner of the temple may also, at any time, consult the oracles, that is, consult the Season card set aside at the start of phase 2.

The Library: allows you to replace the effect of a simple Troubles card with a Joker resource. Your revolt gauge does not rise.

The Barracks: allows you to reduce your revolt gauge by one space and to choose an opponent, whose gauge rises by one space. The effect of the Barracks cannot be used on an opponent if it would push them into Revolt (see page 9).

The Market: at any time during the production season, and even at the very end of the production season (but before the construction phase), the player may choose an opponent (even one with a lying-down obelisk) and exchange all or part of the resources of their own warehouse with the resources of the opponent's warehouse, at a rate of one resource for one. Warning: only the resources present in your warehouse may be exchanged, not the resources that have just been gained during the production season.

The Palace: the player may use their Palace as soon as a card is revealed. They take possession of it immediately (requisition). If it is a Resource card, they gain the corresponding resource once their obelisk is lying down (outside of Revolt). The active player does not place the corresponding token in the turn's Production reserve, because only the owner of the palace benefits from that resource. If it is a Hoshekh, Troubles or Horus card, these simply do not apply. The Palace will simply have allowed all players to avoid the consequences.

The Gardens: allow you to reduce the effect of a double Troubles card. Your revolt gauge rises by only one space instead of two.

Note: using the effect of the Gardens and then of the Library in succession therefore transforms the effect of a double Troubles card into a Joker resource.

Production Buildings

The Warehouse: allows the storage of up to 3 resources maximum, from the moment it is constructed.

The Master Builder: each Master Builder allows you to manage 1 or 2 projects.

The Workers (the Goldsmith, the Stonemason and the Carpenter): each produces, every turn, one specific resource and grants a reduction of that same type of resource to all orthogonally adjacent projects, as well as on the space where your building is (proximity bonus).

REMINDER: 2 production buildings may be built on the same space. Their respective projects all benefit from any reductions provided by the adjacent buildings.

Main Buildings

The Pyramid: breaks ties between players at the end of the game.

The Port: produces a Joker resource each turn and grants the reduction of one resource of your choice on all buildable spaces on the bank of the Nile.

Phase 2: Production Season

This phase lets you produce most of the resources you will need to construct your buildings. During this phase, certain cards will raise your revolt gauge.

Players may voluntarily end their Production Season before their gauge reaches the fatal revolt threshold (see the Revolt section, page 9).

How to Proceed

Step 1: shuffle the 6 "double resource" Season cards and place them face down near the play area.

The active player reveals the first card of the pile thus formed (the remaining 5 cards will not be used during this season).

• If the "Double Resource" card shows at least 1 Gold resource, the player who lies down their Obelisk last wins the card (and so the associated resources).
• If the "Double Resource" card shows no Gold resource, the player who lies down their Obelisk first wins the card.

Note: during the next phase 2 of your game, the new active player will draw a new double resource card. Once all the double resource cards have been drawn, shuffle them again and restart step 1.

Step 2: shuffle the remaining Season cards (single resource cards, Horus cards, Hoshekh cards and Troubles cards) and place them face down in the shoe (card dispenser).

Remove the first card from the shoe without revealing it (so you can never "calculate" exactly the type and resource of the remaining cards!). The card thus set aside will not be used during this production season.

Note: players who do not end their production season will continue to gather resources, at the risk of triggering a revolt (see page 9) if they are too greedy.

Step 3: the active player MUST now ask each player, one by one and in turn order, whether they activate the power of one or more of their administrative buildings already built (see the construction phase), and then whether they decide to continue or stop their production season.

Important: the active player decides first!

If a player decides to activate one or more buildings, they apply the effect of the chosen building, then turn the corresponding card over onto its "night" side. They can no longer use it during this production season.

It is entirely possible to activate other buildings immediately, even those not yet placed on their night side.

• The player decides to stop their production season. They lie down their Obelisk and, according to the double resource card revealed in step 1, they benefit or not from that card (and its resources).

• The player decides to continue their production season. They wait for all the other players to have also made their decision, so that the active player can reveal the next Season card.

Step 4: the active player then draws the Season card on top of the shoe and reveals it.

• If it is a "Resource Production" Season card, the first player takes the corresponding Resource token (here wood) from the reserve and places it beside the card drawn, in view of all. This resource and the following ones will constitute the "Production of the turn" reserve. The Resource card itself will be the start of the "Discard of cards".

• If it is a Season card with effects (Hoshekh, Horus or Troubles), ALL players still participating in this production season (Obelisk standing) MUST apply its effects (see page 9).

The active player thus carries out steps 3 and 4 in succession until ALL players have decided to stop their production season and lain down their Obelisk.

The "Production of the turn" reserve will therefore be built up, gradually, from several resource tokens and several Season cards in the "Discard of cards".

When a player decides to stop their production season, they take from the general reserve the resource tokens matching the resource tokens present in the "Production of the turn" reserve.

Depending on the double resource card revealed in step 1, they may also take the resources of that card in addition.

They keep these Resource tokens beside their Construction Site for phase 3 (construction of buildings).

In all cases, they must lay down their Obelisk.

They will therefore no longer take part in this production season: their production of resources ends, but they will no longer suffer the effects of the cards. Their revolt gauge therefore no longer risks anything this turn!

Important: the tokens present in the "Production of the turn" reserve must remain there until the end of phase 2. They are the "showcase" of this season's gains.

When a player is the only one who has not laid down their obelisk, they may continue to benefit from future productions. However, their production season stops immediately as soon as a Troubles card is drawn, after applying its effect.

Reminder: if the double resource card in play shows Gold, the last player to lay down their Obelisk gains the corresponding resources.

The Hoshekh card (9th plague of Egypt, Eclipse): the season enters a phase of Darkness. The first player shuffles the discard pile of cards and places it face down on the table. From then on, each time a card is drawn from the shoe, the first card of the initial discard pile is revealed and removed from the game (create a second discard pile, face up). If it is a Resource card, the first player places back into the reserve a corresponding resource token (from the "Production of the turn"). Any other type of card has no effect. Therefore, with each draw, players risk losing part of their production if they have not laid down their obelisk.

If the initial discard pile runs out because of Hoshekh, the darkness ends. The season may then continue normally.

Reminder: players who laid down their obelisk before or during the darkness have immediately received the corresponding resources, and are no longer affected by the possible loss of resources (they also gain nothing more).

Drawing a Troubles card: all players still in play MUST raise their revolt gauge. +1 if the Troubles card has 1 symbol / +2 if the Troubles card has 2 symbols.

Note: activating your Gardens or Library card may immediately reduce the effect of a Troubles card (the building card is then placed on its night side).

Drawing a Horus card: the first player must draw the 2 cards on top of the shoe. Their possible effects MUST apply to all players still in play. No building other than the Palace may be activated when Horus is revealed (see the building details, page 7). If the cards drawn are Resource cards, the active player places the corresponding tokens in the "Production of the turn" reserve.

Gold Bonuses for Workers

During the production season, and at the moment the first player asks the players whether they want to end their season, each player may discard one (and only one) Gold token from one of their warehouses in order to lower their revolt gauge by one space. This action may be taken before each card draw by the first player, as long as you have Gold.

Resource Shortage

In rare cases, the general reserve may run out of one or more types of resource. In that case, the players who should produce these resources lose the benefit entirely!

Turn Order

If one or more players must perform the same action during the same turn (activating a building's effect, producing resources, deciding to lay down their obelisk), this is handled in turn order, starting with the first player.

Revolt

If a player's cube reaches the red space of their revolt gauge, this player enters the Revolt phase! Their turn stops immediately, and they do NOT collect any Resource token from the "Production of the turn" reserve! Their production buildings do not produce this turn, and they are FORBIDDEN from constructing during phase 3! In return, they take 1 resource of each type (1 Wood, 1 Gold and 1 Stone) from the general reserve and place them in their warehouses. They may also charter Caravans (see page 10).

Better to avoid entering Revolt!

Phase 3: Construction of Buildings

During this phase, players may construct one or more buildings simultaneously, that is, move their Project tiles to their Construction side, by spending the resources shown on each tile.

To construct a building, you must pay the construction cost shown on the Project side of your building. During your production season you may use the resources collected in phase 2, but also, if needed, the resources stored in your warehouses or on your caravans (see "Chartering Caravans" below).

Important: a building must be constructed in full during the same turn (except for Pyramids, see the "Pyramid building cards" section, page 11). No resource may be stored on a Project tile from one turn to the next.

During this construction phase, you are free to reorganise your warehouses and your caravans as you see fit.

It is important to optimise the use and arrangement of your resources, because surplus Resource tokens that cannot be stored (in warehouses and caravans) must be discarded at the end of this phase (returned to the general reserve).

When you finish constructing a building, return the Resource tokens used to the general reserve, place the project tile on its construction side, and take the corresponding Building card to place it beside your Construction Site on its project side (except for the Warehouse and the Master Builder, which have no associated Building card, and except for the Pyramid, which arrives with its Building card as soon as it is started as a project).

Each building thus constructed may be activated (special effect or resource production) during the next production season (phase 2). See the description and effects of the buildings on page 7.

Reminder: production buildings (Carpenter, Goldsmith, Stonemason and Port) produce only once per production season, and cannot store a Resource token. Likewise, the special effect of each building may be used only once per turn (the Building card is then placed on its night side).

Pyramids are the only buildings requiring several steps to be constructed. When you start the project of a Pyramid, in addition to the corresponding tile, you take its Building card, which you place beside your Construction Site on its project side. There are 4 types of Pyramid, each requiring 2 or 3 construction steps. Only one step may be taken per turn, and a step is only completed if you spend the required number of resources.

When a step is completed, place a Joker token taken from the reserve on your Pyramid card. The possible reductions from production buildings apply at each step of its construction.

At the end of the turn, turn face up (day side) the "Administrative Building" cards whose power has been used. Also place one resource on each production building card whose resource was used during the construction phase.

Reminder: the Port produces one Joker resource (resource of your choice) each turn.

Important: a Joker resource is never stored in a warehouse: you must choose its nature (wood, gold or stone) before storing it.

Chartering Caravans

Once all the resources needed for your constructions have been assigned, your surplus may be converted into caravans rather than being lost.

By spending 2 resources of your choice, you charter a caravan: you then gain the right to move your cube up one space on the "Caravan Zone" of your Construction Site.

Each caravan chartered allows you to receive, in exchange (by lowering the position of the cube on the caravan track), one resource of your choice during a later Construction Phase. Several caravans may be used during the same construction phase.

You may not, during a Construction Phase, charter a caravan and use its resource in the same turn.

You may take these resources from your remaining resources, mix them with resources from your warehouses or from your production buildings.

You may have no more than 3 caravans at most.

Pyramid Building Cards

Pyramids are the only buildings requiring several steps to be constructed. When you start the project of a Pyramid, take the corresponding tile AND its Building card.

There are 4 different Pyramids. Only one step may be taken per turn, and it is only validated if the player spends the required number of resources.

Pyramid 1 has 3 construction steps; Pyramid 4 has 2 construction steps (the number of steps of each Pyramid is shown on its card: the front shows the built side, the back shows the project side).

Place a "Joker" token on the card when you complete a construction step.

Reminder: the possible reductions from production buildings apply at each step of a Pyramid's construction.

Growth of Your City

Your city will undergo two major stages of growth at the following events:

• When you construct your first main building (Port or Pyramid).
• When a second administrative building has been constructed.

When you pass a growth stage, whatever it is, place a black cube on the first free space at the bottom of your revolt gauge.

This black cube is never moved or removed. It reduces the size of your gauge. The more your city grows, the higher the risks of revolt.

New Turn

When all players have completed their construction(s), the first player passes the shoe to their left-hand neighbour, who becomes the new first player.

Each player straightens their Obelisk, returns their revolt cursor to the bottom of their gauge, and turns back over their Building cards whose effect was used during the turn (night side -> day side).

Do not forget to place a resource on your production cards if you used them (Stone, Wood, Gold, Joker).

Then begin a new season:

• Play phase 1: Choosing and setting up construction projects.
• The first player gathers all the Season cards (not forgetting the one set aside at the start of the previous turn), shuffles them face down, discards one, then places the pile in the shoe face up, and starts the new Production Season after revealing a new double resource card for the turn.

Translator's note: this step is transcribed as printed ("face visible", face up). Step 2 of the Production Season places the Season cards face down in the shoe, so the printed wording at this point is inconsistent with that step; the source does not settle it.

End of Game

The game ends if, at the end of the Construction Phase, a player meets the end-of-game criteria. The winner is then determined.

The winner is the player who first meets the end-of-game conditions chosen at the start of the game.

In case of a tie, the winner is the player who has built the most administrative buildings.

If there is still a tie, the winner is the player with the Pyramid that required the most materials to build. Pyramids have a decreasing construction cost according to their number (from 1, for the one requiring the most materials, to 4, for the one requiring the fewest).

For the Architect mode, it is possible to win without having built a Pyramid, since a Pyramid is not part of the prerequisites for victory. In case of a tie (in administrative buildings), if no Pyramid has been completed, the winner is the player who has built the most steps. Ties are then always broken by the size of the Pyramid.

Pharaoh's Directives (Scenarios)

At the start of the game, choose one of the three scenarios. Each defines the end-of-game condition.

Scribe Mode: the game ends when a player has built on all 12 of their spaces, and their Pyramid is at least in project with a first step built.

Priest Mode: the game ends when a player has built their two main buildings and at least 3 administrative buildings.

Pharaoh Mode: the game ends when a player has built their Port, their Pyramid and their 6 administrative buildings.

Architect Variant

Setup: your Warehouse and your Master Builder must be placed together on the space at the top left of your Construction Site.

Placement: you may only place a project on a space orthogonally (not diagonally) adjacent to a building already built.

Reminder: you may demolish buildings during your construction phase, or move or replace projects, while respecting the placement rule.

Player Aid

Administrative buildings:

• Barracks: allows you to reduce your revolt gauge by one space and to choose an opponent who must raise their gauge by the same amount.
• Temple: allows you to draw two cards, keep one of the two, and place the other on the top or the bottom of the shoe.
• Market: allows you to exchange Resources from your warehouse with those of an opponent's warehouse.
• Library: converts a simple Troubles card into a Joker: place a Joker token on the Troubles card to use it as a Resource of your choice during the construction phase.
• Gardens: convert a double Troubles card into a simple Troubles card. Your revolt gauge rises by only one space instead of two.
• Palace: allows you to requisition a card that has just been drawn by the active player.

Season cards:

• Single resource: a Resource token (here wood) is added to the "Production of the turn" reserve.
• Hoshekh, the 9th Plague of Egypt, the Darkness: each draw results in the loss of one card from the discard pile.
• Horus: drawing this card forces you to draw the next two cards, unless a player uses the power of their Palace.
• Double resource: the corresponding resources are gained by the first player to lay down their Obelisk if the card shows no Gold; otherwise, it is the first player to lay down their Obelisk who gains them.

Translator's note: as printed, the Player Aid's Gold clause reads "first player" for both cases, which conflicts with the rule on page 8 of the printed rulebook: when the card shows at least one Gold, the player who lays down their Obelisk last wins the card. The page 8 rule is the one in force in the main text above; the Player Aid is transcribed as printed.

• Troubles: raise your revolt gauge by one or two spaces, depending on the card drawn (simple or double Troubles).