The Architect
The Architect Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
Complete the plan for a luxurious mansion, maximise the layout, and comply with 3 design principles.
Components
The game comprises of 18 cards and set of rules.
Each card has:
- walls,
- columns,
- doors or double doors,
- large openings, and
- small openings.
External walls are the edges of a card that are not next to another card. On an external wall: small openings are windows, large openings are... a problem.
Setup
Set the pair of double door cards aside to play at any time. Shuffle all the cards. Place the draw deck face down. Draw and place a card face up in the middle of the table. You will need a large table, trust me.
Game Play
One by one, draw and place a card to form a floor plan until there are none left. Place cards next to, on or under existing cards, overlapping all, some, or none of existing card(s), in any orientation. The columns must align to form a grid.
Complete
The final plan must have a corridor that connects both double door cards with a corridor. The corridor must be an uninterrupted space (using large and small openings) with no doors dividing it, made of any number of cards, and of any shape.
The printed example plan is coloured and numbered to clarify the rules: its corridor is highlighted in yellow, its rooms are marked with small green dots, and its errors are marked with large red dots numbered 1 to 3.
Maximise
Maximise the layout to earn the most points. Score 1 point for every room directly connected to the corridor by a single door.
Comply
Lose 1 point for each of the following errors:
- a large opening on an external wall,
- a door that opens into a wall, and
- an isolated room unreachable from the corridor.
Score
Add the points from the rooms and subtract the penalties. 10 is a great score. 20 is impossibly hard.
The completed example scored 15 rooms (small green dot), but had 5 errors (large red dots), for a total of 10 points.
Variations
Not enough choices? Play cards from a hand of 3 cards. Draw back up to 3 after playing each card.
Too many choices? Only place cards next to existing cards, without any overlapping on or under.