Spires Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Card Anatomy
• How to Win
• Setup
• Building Spires
• Turn Sequence
  • Plan
  • Compete
  • Resolving a Competition
  • Winning a Competition
  • Refill Markets
  • Draw
• Game End
• Scoring
• Bonus Symbols
• Card Index
  • Architect Cards
  • 73-74 Cards
  • Scroll Cards
  • Solo Markets
• Undercut Advanced Play
• Solo Mode
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Sequence of Play
  • End Game and Scoring
  • King's Appraisal

Card Anatomy

Card Value — Each suit has 12 values.

Spire Suit — Each Spire Suit has distinct artwork, suit icon, and color.

Player Numbers — Some cards are removed in 2 or 3 player games.

Symbol Corner — Cards with a symbol also have a corner strip pattern for easy identification in hand.

Symbol — The player with the majority of a symbol (or tied for majority) gets a Victory Point bonus at the end of the game.

Market Number — Each player has a player card corresponding to each Market.

Suit Rankings — Indicating each Spire Suit's value range, ranking order, and undercutting suit.

No Hand Icon — Cards with this icon cannot be added to a player's hand.

Scroll Ability — Scroll cards have abilities, indicated by symbols.

How to Win

When all cards from the deck have been drawn and won, the player with the most Victory Points between spires built and icon bonuses, becomes the Royal Builder!

In the case of a tie, the player with the least negative points wins.

Setup

1. A number of Markets, depending on the number of players, are placed in the center of play.
   • 1 player: See Solo Mode.
   • 2 players: Markets I and II.
   • 3-4 players: Markets I, II, and III.
2. Each player chooses a color and takes the player cards in that color corresponding to the Markets being used. Extra cards are placed in the box.
3. Randomly determine a first player, giving them the royal palace first player marker.
4. Remove any cards from the Spires deck necessary depending on the number of players.
   • 2 players: Remove all cards marked with 3 or 4.
   • 3 players: Remove all cards marked with 4.
   • 4 players: Play with all cards.
5. The first player shuffles the Spires deck, making sure to remove any cards due to player count, and deals one card faceup below each of the Markets.
6. The first player deals five cards facedown to each player.
7. Finally, the first player deals one card to each player's tableau to begin their first tower.

Important Note! During setup, if a player is dealt a Scroll card, they should discard that card and be dealt a new card. Repeat this until players' hands and tableaus contain only non-Scroll cards.

Building Spires

During play, players will create columns of like-suited cards, called Spires.

When a player adds a card to a Spire, they must add it to a Spire of the same suit. When a card is won during a competition and the player doesn't yet have a Spire of that suit in their tableau, they form a new Spire with that card. A player will never have more than six Spires (one of each suit).

Spires should be splayed vertically in such a way as to clearly display the card number, suit, and any symbols.

For example, if a player has Spires started in five of the six colors and wants to add a red Spire to their tableau, it would not start a new stack, but be added to the existing red stack. If they wanted to add a yellow Spire to their tableau, they would start a new stack, since there isn't a yellow one already. A player may also display Scroll Cards worth Victory Points in their tableau; these do not have to be stacked, but should be visible.

Turn Sequence

Each turn consists of four consecutive phases:

1. Plan
2. Compete
3. Refill Markets
4. Draw

Plan

Players secretly choose a Market in which to compete.

Each player chooses a player card from their hand corresponding to a Market and places it facedown. Once all players have chosen a card, move to the next phase.

Compete

Players reveal their chosen Markets and compete (or don't) for the card(s) there.

Each player simultaneously reveals their chosen card.

If a player chooses a Market that no other player chooses, they don't have to compete for the card(s) there. They take the face-up card(s) below the Market and add it to the appropriate Spire in their tableau. This ends their turn.

Note: If a player doesn't have to compete in a Market this phase, they will not be drawing a card during the Draw phase.

If multiple players choose the same Market, those players must compete for the card(s) there. If multiple competitions must occur, they are resolved in numerical order from Market I to Market III.

Market competitions can be tense affairs. All players at the same Market choose a single Spire card from their hand and place it facedown. Once all players involved have chosen, cards are flipped faceup and the result of the competition is determined.

For example, if a player chose a Market no one else chose, they do not compete for the card and get it immediately. If two other players both chose the same Market, there will be a competition for the card there.

Resolving a Competition

Competitions are resolved in the following order:

1. The highest card that shares the same suit as the card beneath the Market wins.
2. If no cards of the same suit are played by those involved, then highest card number wins.
3. If the only card(s) below the Market does not have a suit (Special Cards or Scroll Cards), highest card number wins.

Winning a Competition

The winning player gains the card(s) below the Market AND all cards played by players during the competition. These cards are placed into their appropriate spires in the player's tableau (see Building Spires).

For example, the winning player receives the Scroll Card they competed for, as well as the green Spire they played and the yellow Spire their opponent played. These cards are then placed in that player's tableau.

Refill Markets

The Markets refill for the next turn.

After all competitions have been resolved, reveal cards from the Spires deck, placing them into any empty Markets (in order from I to III). Any cards that were not claimed remain in play in the same Market.

If the deck runs out during this step, refill as many Markets as you can from I to III (see Game End).

Draw

Players who competed add new cards to their hand.

All players retrieve their player card picked during the Plan phase. Then, starting with the player to the left of the first player and continuing clockwise, any players that have less than 5 Spires cards in their hand, will draw to 5 cards.

The order of players is important, as the deck may run out during this step, leaving some players with fewer cards than others for the final turn or two.

If, during this phase, a player draws a Scroll card, it does not go into their hand. Instead, the Scroll card is added to a Market of the player's choosing. In this way, there is no limit to the number of cards in a Market. Then, that player draws a new card per normal.

Game End

The game end is triggered when the Spires deck runs out and all cards have been won from all Markets.

When the Spires deck runs out of cards:

• This might cause some Markets to be empty. If so, those Markets are removed from play and cannot be chosen during the Plan phase.
• This might cause some players to not be able to draw during the Draw phase. Continue play as normal, but skip the Refill Markets and Draw phases.

When all cards have been won from all Markets, all players must then add 3 cards from their hand to their own tableaus. Any remaining cards in hand must be discarded to the central discard pile. In the event that a player has less than 3 cards in hand, all cards must be added to their tableau.

Scoring

Each player scores in the following fashion:

• 5 points per Spire card in each of your Towers with 3 or less total cards.
• -1 point per Spire card in each of your Towers with 4 or more total cards.
• Points per Scroll cards you have collected.
• Bonus Points for Symbols (see Bonus Symbols).

Bonus Symbols

Certain cards in the game are marked with symbols of Crowns, Swords, and Quills. Each player adds up the number of symbols that they have collected in their Towers in each respective category. The player with the most symbols of each type is awarded a point bonus. In the case of a tie, all tied players receive this full bonus.

• Quills: 10 points (8 symbols total).
• Crowns: 15 points (8 symbols total).
• Swords: 20 points (12 symbols total).

Once all points are totaled, the player with the most points is gifted the title of Royal Builder and wins the game! In the case of a tie, the player with the least negative points wins.

For example, a player scores 45 points for Spires with three or less cards, -4 points for a blue Spire with four cards, 10 points for a Scroll Card, and 20 points for being tied for most Crowns.

Card Index

Architect Cards

If an Architect card matching the suit of the card in the Market is played, it always counts as the highest card of its suit.

If an Architect card not matching the suit of the card in the Market is played, it always counts as the lowest card of its suit. If multiple off-suit Architects are played, use the suit rankings on the bottom of the player cards to determine the winner between them.

Architect cards in a player's tableau count as cards of their suit per normal (plus they have a Crown).

73-74 Cards

The 73 and 74 cards have special rules. When either of these cards is placed into a tableau, they must be placed in the tower in that tableau with the most cards. If there is a tie for the most cards, the player may choose which tower the card joins.

Scroll Cards

Scroll cards are never allowed to be in a player's hand. If drawn, they are attached to a Market (see Draw).

• Scroll cards with a number and shield icon award Victory Points at the end of the game.
• Scroll cards featuring a card and arrow allow the player to discard 1-2 cards (depending on the Scroll) from their tableau.

Solo Markets

These Market cards are only used in Solo Mode and have special abilities that can be used once per game.

• Look at the top 2 cards of the deck. Place one on the bottom and keep the other on top.
• Do not compete this turn. Instead, take a card from a Market and discard the rest.
• Return all of the cards in the Markets. Reshuffle the deck and refill the Markets.

Undercut Advanced Play

Wherein players take trick-taking to the next level.

Playing with undercutting uses the suit rankings on the bottom of the player cards.

When resolving a competition, the highest card of the current suit is beaten by a card from the suit one step weaker. The suit directly to the left of the current suit trumps it and wins. The lowest Faction (purple) cannot be undercut. Also, only the shared suit can be undercut.

If no card is played that shares a suit with the card in the Market, the highest value card wins, per the normal rules.

For example, if the shared suit is black and one player plays a black card, another a red card, and another a blue card, the blue card does not trump the red and win. In this case, the red card undercuts black and is the winner.

Solo Mode

The King is displeased with the lackluster results that competition among builders has afforded. Just like before, he has tasked you, and only you, with beautifying the city with exotic buildings of all types. But of course, if your gorgeous spires rise too high (4 or more cards of a type), the king will be very displeased.

The solo mode for Spires uses the same scoring system and competition rules as in the multiplayer game. However, in this version you will be playing strategically against an AI player. The game ends when the card deck is empty and no more cards remain in the Markets. Try to score the most points!

Setup

Use Markets I, II, and III ability side up. Setup the card deck by removing any cards with 4 in the lower right corner (same as 3-player setup). Shuffle and deal out one card below each Solo Market. Then, draw five cards for your starting hand and draw & place one card face-up in front of you as your first tower. Keep a scoring reminder card nearby.

Place all remaining cards, including the individual player market cards, back into the box.

Gameplay

Unlike multiplayer, each turn of solo Spires will always result in a Competition. You will not need a set of player market cards, as you will simply choose a Market to Compete in and play a numbered card in your hand. And after a Competition is resolved, all remaining market cards are discarded.

Sequence of Play

Choose a numbered card from your hand and place it beneath a Market. This is the card that you are attempting to add (or not add) to your tableau.

Draw and reveal the top card of the deck. Resolve a Competition between the card you played and the card drawn from the top of the deck.

If you win the Competition, take the card(s) beneath the Market, your card, and the card drawn from the deck; and place them into your tableau immediately.

If you lose the Competition, discard all cards played to the Competition.

Once the Competition is resolved, discard all remaining cards below the Markets. Deal a new card to each Market, and then draw a new card.

End Game and Scoring

It is likely that on the final turn, there will be no more cards to draw to resolve a Clash. For this turn there will be no Clash. Choose one card from the Market of your choice and add it to a Column.

Tally your score in the exact same way as the basic rules. When scoring symbols, compare the amount of symbols in your buildings compared to the amount in the discard pile. If you have a number equal to or greater than the amount in the discard pile, score the bonus for that symbol.

King's Appraisal

Then compare your score to the chart below to see how well you have amused your ruler.

• Less than 50 — The King is very displeased. You are beheaded. You are dead now.
• 51-65 — The King is displeased. After a few days in the stocks, you are allowed to return to your work again, with a slightly increased taxation rate.
• 66-80 — The King is displeased. However, an emissary delivers a cordial greeting card to you from his highness during the holidays.
• 81-100 — The King is displeased. But, you are unexpectedly invited to his next gala. You receive several envious glances from a few prominent lords and ladies.
• 101-150 — The King is displeased. However, during his appraisal, for one brief moment, a smile lifts the corners of his lips. The entire court notices this and erupts with applause.
• More than 151 — You are immediately thrown into jail for cheating. No one is more perfect than your lordship. It would be best for you to remember that.