San Gimignano
San Gimignano Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 16 six-sided segments of the board
- 40 towers, ten each in four colours
- 80 tokens, twenty each in four colours
- 1 rules booklet
Object of the Game
Each player assumes the role of the head of an aristocratic family. By strategically deploying members of the family, the players seek to gain influence in the various guilds, to prevent the other players from acquiring building permission and in this way to construct as many towers as possible.
Elements of the Game
There are four guilds, three of which are depicted on each six-sided board segment.
The tokens represent the members of the four families and are used to gain influence in the guilds.
The towers are original building blocks from Anker Stone Building Sets.
Preparations
- With 2 players, two board segments are laid out on the table and both players receive four segments.
- With 3 players, three board segments are laid out on the table and each player receives three segments.
- With 4 players, four board segments are laid out on the table and each player receives three segments.
The board segments must be laid out in such a way that no identical guilds adjoin each other. (Fig. A)
Each player receives the towers and tokens in her/his colour. The first player is chosen. She/he will be followed by the player on her/his left, and so on in a clockwise direction.
Play
A player's turn consists of 3 stages, in the following sequence:
- Place one token in a guild.
- Add one board segment (as long as the player still has segments; if not, this stage is omitted).
- Build one tower, if possible.
Putting down tokens
- A player may put down only one token per turn.
- Each guild may contain only two tokens at the most, regardless of the family to which they belong. The tokens may belong to the same family.
Putting down board segments
- A player may put down only one board segment per turn, selecting it from the segments she/he received at the beginning of the game.
- Two identical guilds may never adjoin each other. (Fig. B)
- Each new board segment must adjoin at least two segments already on the table. (Fig. C)
Building Towers
- A player may build a tower when she/he has at least one of her/his tokens in four guilds connected in a group, provided the guilds are all different. (Fig. D, E, F)
- The tower may be built on any of the four guilds in the group.
- Tokens placed on the guild on which a tower is built are removed and returned to their owners. The tokens placed on the other three guilds stay where they are. (Fig. G)
- As soon as a tower has been built on a guild, that square is occupied and can no longer be used to make up a group of four guilds.
- A player may build only one tower per turn.
- If a player builds a tower on one guild and the group of guilds still includes four different guilds with tokens belonging to that player, then she/he must build a tower on the guild [on one of the guilds] concerned at her/his next turn. (Fig. H)
Note: think carefully before choosing on which guild to build a tower. You may be able to prevent one of the other players from forming a group of guilds and building a tower.
End of the Game
The game is over when one player has built ten towers or when no player can build any more towers, in which case the player with the largest number of towers wins.
If two or more players have the same number of towers, the player with most tokens in the guilds wins.
Variant of Rules
Game is played in the same way as in basic rules - only the building of towers is different.
- A player may build a tower when she/he has placed at least one of each of her/his tokens in four or more guilds connected in a continuous string, provided four guilds in this group are different (these four guilds do not have to be adjacent directly). (Fig. I)
- The tower may be built on any of the guilds in the group.
- The game continues as in basic rules.
Transcriber note: the printed word "ore" in the first variant bullet is a typographical error for "or" and is transcribed as "or".
Fig. I (variant) and the "Example for a possible turn" diagram are illustrations only and are not reproduced here.
Clarifications of the Author
This section is the English text of the author's "Clarifications of the Author" supplement (Duilio Carpitella), published separately from the rulebook. The supplement's Italian, German, French and Spanish sections are not reproduced.
All 16 tiles must always be played to any number of players.
For competitors who are already familiar with the game
At the beginning of each game, all the tiles of the modular board are arranged on the table (leaving the center clear), in random order and with their faces uncovered; the first player chooses one and places it in the center; in turn, the opponents choose the next ones, placing them next to those already present in the middle of the table according to the rules prescribed for their combinations and making sure that the respective centers of the first four are arranged according to a "rhombus" formation. Continuing in the game turn, starting from the positioning of the fifth tile, the obligatory moves are as follows: A) choose one of the tiles not yet used and integrate the board with it, always observing the juxtaposition rules; B) place a new pawn of your own color on one of the squares still empty or on one of those occupied by only one other pawn (own or others).
For competitors who are not yet familiar with the game
At the beginning of each game, all the tiles of the modular board are arranged on the table (leaving the center clear), stacked in a column and with their faces covered; proceed as already described for experienced players, but with the difference that at each turn the card to be withdrawn is not chosen, but is taken from the top of the column. This streamlines the times, reducing the excessive effort of reflection necessary for inexperienced players. The rest of the game procedure remains unchanged.
- At each turn the compulsory moves are as follows: A) add a new tile in the way indicated up to now (as long as there are still some) to the board being expanded in the center of the table; B) add a new piece of your color as already indicated. If the player whose turn it is has already obtained, with the moves just indicated, the conditions that allow him to erect one of his towers, he will have the right to choose to build it immediately or to postpone its construction during one of his subsequent turns (or even to completely renounce to erect it if he deems it opportune and convenient for any reason), but always after having carried out the two moves described above. This answer also satisfies your third question. However, a competitor may never build more than one tower during one of their turns.
Hint: in the early stages of each game, one must be very careful both with the interactions with the opponents in terms of strategic contention of mutually "attractive" boxes, and with the preparation of one's own possible future territorial field of action for the construction of their own towers. In some cases it is also wise to consider the possibility of temporary tacit alliances with some adversary to the detriment of someone else.
Note: by combining the contents of 2 packs it is possible to play games with double counters and towers each and with 32 tiles in all. Obviously the rules remain completely unchanged. The only precaution to be adopted (but only for the need for space and therefore not mandatory) is the stacking of the tiles in a column, as happens for beginner players.