Town Builder: Coevorden
Town Builder: Coevorden Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 60 Town Cards (14 Commerce, 12 Social, 12 Housing, 11 Culture, 11 Military)
- 8 Award Cards — Awards are claimed during the game when a player meets their condition.
- 6 Judge Cards — Judges are claimed at the end of the game by players with the most buildings of a specific type.
- 4 Turn Reference / Player Crest Cards — 1 Player Crest marked "First Player."
- 1 Game End Card / Best District Card — Used to track number of rounds.
Anatomy of a Town Card
Town cards can be taken as foundations and become buildings once their building cost is paid. They can also be used as a resource or gold to pay the building cost of another town card.
Each Town card shows a Building Name and a Building Section. In the Building Section: Victory Points and Building Type (used for judges, awards, and abilities) are shown alongside the Gold Cost (must pay first to start as foundation) and the Resource Cost. An Ability Type is shown alongside the Building Ability. At the bottom is the Resource / Gold Section.
If a card refers to the Building Cost, this includes both the Gold Cost and the Resource Cost.
The resources are Stone, Wood, and Straw. Gold is not a resource.
Setup
- Shuffle the Town cards and create a face-down deck. Turn over the top five cards face-up beside the deck to create the initial card row.
- (Optional) Place the Game End Card at the bottom of the deck with the "1st Time Through Deck" sticking out. This will help keep track of how many times the deck has been shuffled throughout the game.
- Shuffle the Judge Cards and draw 3 without looking at them.
- 2 Players: Place 2 Judges face-up above the card row and 1 approximately in the middle of the deck.
- 3-4 Players: Place 1 Judge face-up above the card row, 1 approximately in the middle of the deck, and 1 at the bottom of the deck.
- Shuffle the Award Cards and draw 2 Awards. Place them face-up above the card row.
- Place the unused Judges and Awards in a face-down pile off to the side. They might be used during the game.
- Take a number of Player Crest Cards equal to the number of players including the one marked "First Player." Shuffle them crest side facing down and deal one to each player. Place the unused player crests back in the box.
During the game, you will place buildings in front of you. This area is called your district.
Goal of the Game
Score the most points at the end of the game. Points are awarded for completed buildings, scoring abilities, awards claimed during the game, and judges claimed at the end of the game.
Gameplay
Beginning with the player with the first player crest, players take turns in clockwise order until the game ends.
On Your Turn
Perform the following steps in order.
- Refill the card row back to five cards:
- If a Judge is revealed, place it face-up above the card row and continue revealing cards until there are five cards.
- If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile and create a new deck. (see Deck Runs Out for details)
- If you shuffled the deck, turn the Game End Card to the next number and place it back at the bottom of the deck with the number visible. (see Deck Runs Out for details)
- Take two actions:
- Start a Foundation
- Gain a Resource
- Store a Gold
- You may take the same action twice or two different actions in any order.
- Do not refill the card row after you take a card.
Action: Start a Foundation
A foundation is an unbuilt building. It is worth no points and does not count for claiming awards and judges.
To start a foundation, take a card from the card row and place it sideways in front of you in your district.
Gold cost: If a foundation has a gold cost it must be paid before you can start it. Discard gold stored under your player crest equal to its gold cost.
There is no limit to the number of foundations you can have in your district.
Example: Amy starts the Harbour as a foundation. She cannot start the Gatehouse because she has no stored gold.
Action: Gain a Resource
Take a card from the card row for its resource (located at the bottom of the card) and place it under a foundation in your district.
Dual Resource: Provides one or the other resource but not both. You may decide which one at any point.
A resource cannot be placed under a foundation that does not require it. You cannot store resources behind your family crest.
Example: Brent takes the Bridge as a stone resource and places it under his Quarry. He cannot place it under his Orphanage because the stone is already provided by the dual resource.
Action: Store a Gold
Take a card from the card row that provides gold (located at the bottom of the card) and place it under your player crest in your gold storage.
Gold/Resource: It is considered gold when stored under your player crest and a resource when stored under a foundation.
Only gold may be stored under your player crest. There is no limit to the amount of gold that can be stored.
Example: Claire uses an action to store the Bakery as gold (1). Then for her second action, she pays (discards) a gold (2) to start the Inn as a foundation (3).
Completing a Foundation
As soon as a foundation has its resource cost satisfied it must be built. Discard all resources under it and turn the card upright. If the foundation has a gold cost but no resource cost it is completed immediately after starting the foundation.
Claiming Awards
During your turn you may claim one or more awards if you meet their requirements. To claim an award, take it and place it in your district.
Until the first player's next turn, other players may on their turn share in claiming an award. This ensures each player had an equal number of turns to claim an award. Players sharing in the award take an unused award face-down (worth the same points) in its place.
If you qualify for an award but forget to claim it you must wait until your next turn.
Example: Brent claims an award. Claire and Dave have their next turn to share in claiming it. Since Amy is the first player she does not have another opportunity to claim the award.
Building Abilities
After a foundation is completed and it becomes a building, its ability can be used.
Build Ability: This ability may be used once during the turn it was completed. It may be used anytime during the turn, however, if you choose to end your turn without using it then you chose not to use it.
Scoring Ability: This ability activates during end of game scoring. It has no effect during the game.
Star Ability: Each turn you may choose one star ability to activate. You may use a star ability of a building you just completed. Your player crest also provides a star ability but is not considered a building.
If an ability allows you to gain cards from the discard pile, it is recommended you take the first one you see instead of searching for a specific card.
The discard pile can be examined by any player at anytime during the game.
If an ability requires you to look at more cards than are in the deck, do not shuffle the discard pile. Instead, look at as many from the top as possible.
Deck Runs Out
If the deck runs out at any point during your turn, shuffle the discard pile and create a new deck. Remember how many times the deck runs out or adjust the Game End Card if you're using it.
The End of the Game
The game end is triggered after the deck runs out a number of times depending on the number of players.
| Players | Deck runs out |
|---|---|
| 1-2 Player | One Time |
| 3 Player | Two Times |
| 4 Player | Three Times |
When the game end is triggered, shuffle the discard pile and create a new deck.
Continue taking turns until it is the first player's turn. Then each player takes one additional turn. This ensures all players get an equal number of turns and there are no surprises of when the game is ending.
If the deck runs out again after the end game is triggered, shuffle the discard pile and create a new deck.
Example 1: The deck runs out on Brent's turn. Claire and Dave take their turns. Then each player takes one additional turn.
Example 2: The deck runs out on Dave's turn. Then each player takes one additional turn.
Scoring
Discard any incomplete foundations and the resources under them.
- Scoring abilities: If any player has a scoring ability that affects judge scoring, activate them in turn order.
- Judge scoring: The player with the most buildings (not points) of the judge's preferred type claims the judge. In the case of a tie, all tied players score the judge. Tied players take unused awards or judges (worth the same amount of points) instead.
- Count points: Add the points from buildings, awards, and judges in your district and announce your total.
The player with the most points is the winner. If there is a tie, the tied player with the most buildings wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players win together.
The winner is bestowed the Best District card.
Take a photo of your district and tag us on social media with your score. If you won, make sure to have the Best District card in your photo!
Can you tell us a story about your district? We'd love to hear from you!
@firstfishgames #TownBuilder #BestDistrict
Solo Variant
Setup
Set up the game the same way as a 2-player game with two exceptions.
- Before setup shuffle the town cards and return to the game box 5 cards without looking at them.
- The judge inserted in the deck is placed exactly 26 cards from the bottom (25 cards are below it).
Gameplay Differences
At the end of your turn, choose and discard two of the remaining cards in the card row. In the rare case where there are fewer than two cards, discard as many as you can.
Awards may only be claimed while the judge in the deck has not been revealed. When it is revealed, the current turn is your last opportunity to claim awards.
When the deck runs out for the first time, shuffle the discard pile and create a new deck. This is your last turn.
To claim a judge, you must have three or more buildings matching their preferred type.
Ranking
Compare your score to see what title you are bestowed.
| Score | Title |
|---|---|
| < 30 | Peasant |
| 30-33 | Commoner |
| 34-37 | Merchant |
| 38+ | Noble |
Award Appendix
Diversity Award: The order in which you build them doesn't matter. Building cost refers to the combined gold and resource costs on a Foundation or Completed Building.
Sturdy Award: Building cost refers to the combined gold and resource costs on a Foundation or Completed Building.
Card Appendix
Only some of the card abilities are explained here.
Armoury: This judge is scored at the end of the game with the rest.
Art Gallery: On the turn you build the Art Gallery, it counts as having completed a commerce building this turn.
Bank: This applies while the Bank is in the card row. The Bank is considered to have an ability.
Barracks: This ability can only be used on your foundations. If there are any resources attached to the foundation, discard them.
Bell Tower: Counts itself when scoring.
Bridge: The chosen card cannot be discarded either.
Farm: Counts itself when scoring. The scoring ability refers to the printed point value.
Festival: The gold you receive is not represented by cards. It can be used to pay for anything that costs gold.
Fishery: Gold is not a resource. If a judge is revealed, add it face-up to the row of judges and continue until you have revealed 3 town cards. If the deck runs out do not reshuffle, instead you reveal fewer cards.
Flower Stand: The card row is allowed to have more than 5 cards in it. If a judge is revealed add it face-up to the row and continue until you added a town card to the card row.
Gardens: There are five building types. The Gardens counts as a social building type.
Gatehouse: Only buildings may be copied, a foundation is not a building. If you copy an ability that requires you to discard the building, you must discard the Gatehouse.
Inn: On the turn you complete the Inn, it counts as having completed a foundation.
Library: This ability cannot be used to claim awards during the game.
Orchard: If it has a gold cost it must be paid. If a judge is revealed add it face-up to the row of judges and continue until you have revealed 3 town cards. If the deck runs out do not reshuffle, instead you reveal fewer cards.
Orphanage: This ability cannot be used to claim awards during the game. If changed it is no longer a housing building type.
Statue: This does not count as an action.
Storehouse: Cannot be used to pay for a foundation's gold cost.
Watchtower: Only buildings may be copied, a foundation is not a building.
Credits
Game Design: Eric Raué
Illustrations: Fellipe Martins, Gordon Oscar
First Fish Games: Stephanie Kwok, Gordon Oscar, Liam Smith
Special Thanks: John Raué, Elma Raué, Amber-Rose Hemm, Azlen Elza, Ben Chhoa, Caley Charchuck, Craig Bednar, Jon Benjamin, Marcel Perro, Game Artisans of Canada, Full Indie, and all the awesome Kickstarter backers.
© 2018 First Fish Games