Tybor the Builder Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Course of Play
  • 1. Deal Cards
  • 2. Choose and Use a Card
    • a. Choose a Card Simultaneously
    • b. Use the Chosen Card in Play Order
    • c. Pass the Remaining Cards
  • 3. End of Stage
• Game End
  • Points for Buildings
  • Points for Symbols
  • Points for Public Objectives
  • Points for Secret Objective
• Winner of the Game
• Playing with 5-8 Players

Components

• 40 Buildings (double-sided; 10 each in four colors)
• 59 Characters
• 4 Scenarios (and the same 4 in German)
• 8 Chapters
• 4 Overviews/Secret Objectives
• 1 First Player card

Setup

1. Take a random Overview card and look at the Secret Objective on the back.
2. Select a random Scenario and place the card so that Stage I is at the top.
3. Start with Chapter I if you want to learn the backstory. Otherwise, select a random Chapter.
4. Cover the bottom part of the Scenario card designated for Stage II with the Chapter card. Then read both cards aloud.
5. Shuffle the Character cards and place them face down on the table.
6. Shuffle the double-sided Building cards and place them on the table.
7. Randomly determine a player to get the First Player card.

Course of Play

The game is played over four Stages. Which Stage is being played is shown by the Scenario card. The front side is used in Stages I and II; the back is used in Stages III and IV. Use the Chapter card to cover the bottom part of the Scenario card.

Each Stage goes through the following three steps:

1. Deal Cards
2. Choose and Use Cards
3. End of Stage

1. Deal Cards

First, deal each player a hand of 5 Character cards from the draw pile.

Exception: In the "Escape from the City" Scenario, in odd-numbered Stages, deal each player a hand of 7 Character cards (hand icon).

If the draw pile is empty, shuffle the Character cards in the discard pile to form a new face-down draw pile.

Special case: It is possible, though highly unlikely, that the draw pile does not contain enough cards for all players, even after shuffling the discard pile. In this case, deal each player an equal number of cards (e.g., 4 cards per player).

Then draw, from the bottom of the pile, 2 Buildings per player plus an additional 2 Buildings. Sort them by color and place them with the "Little" side (small building icon) facing up in view of all players. (Draw 6 Buildings with 2 players, 8 Buildings with 3 players, and 10 Buildings with 4 players.)

With 2 or 3 players: If one or more of the four Building colors are missing in the display, look through the pile, starting with the top card, until you find one Building of each missing color. Add these cards to the display (as additional cards) and shuffle the pile again.

Note: The color of a Building is shown by the border of the Building cards, and the color within the text box at the bottom.

2. Choose and Use a Card

You now play a card from your hand. Repeat this second step until all the cards are played (usually five times). This step consists of three intermediate steps:

a. Choose a Card Simultaneously b. Use the Chosen Card in Play Order c. Pass the Remaining Cards

a. Choose a Card Simultaneously

Simultaneously, choose a card from your hand and place it face down below your Overview card. Set the remaining cards aside for now.

b. Use the Chosen Card in Play Order

Then use the chosen card in play order. The current holder of the First Player card goes first. The other players follow in clockwise order.

Exception: In the "Escape from the City" Scenario, in even-numbered Stages, play goes around the table in counter-clockwise order (counter-clockwise arrow icon).

On your turn, reveal the chosen card and use it in one of three ways:

As a Citizen …

Place the card in your tableau, above your Overview card. Overlap multiple cards so that only the left column of each card is visible. It shows up to four color symbols that help you with building, and one of six symbols that will be scored at game end.

As a Worker …

Place the card in your tableau, to the right of your Overview card. Overlap multiple cards so that only the left column of each card is visible. Ignore all the symbols but the Strength symbol (fist icon), which is needed for building.

As a Builder …

Discard the chosen card (on a discard pile), ignoring any values and symbols shown on the card. Then take a Building from the display and place it in your tableau, to the left of your Overview card.

The cost depends on

• the Stage you are currently in (stage marker icon),
• whether you build a Little or Great Building (small building icon / large golden building icon),
• and the Citizens in your tableau (yellow/orange/blue/gray color swatches).

On the Scenario card, the two numbers to the right of the Stage number (e.g., "3/7") indicate how much Strength is needed to build a Little or Great Building. Great Buildings are always worth an extra 3 points as compared to the respective Little Building. If you choose to build a Great Building, turn the Building card to the other side (symbol: large golden building icon).

Example: In Stage I, Little Buildings cost 3 Strength and Great Buildings cost 7 Strength each. These costs are increased by 1 from Stage to Stage.

Your Citizens help you with building Buildings of specific colors. The left side of each Character card shows which colors are discounted by Citizens. The Building cost is reduced by 1 Strength for each corresponding color symbol on the Citizens in your tableau. (The cost can drop to 0 but not below.)

After determining the discounted cost, discard one or more Workers from your tableau whose total Strength equals to or exceeds the cost. (There is no "change". You may not discard Citizens in place of Workers.) If the cost is 0 thanks to your Citizens, you do not have to discard any Workers.

Each time you build a Building with this symbol (crossed-out card icon), after paying the cost, take 2 Character cards from the draw pile, place one as a Worker into your tableau, and discard the other.

c. Pass the Remaining Cards

Pass your remaining cards including the First Player card clockwise (exception: see 2b above). Repeat steps a-c until all cards have been played. Consequently, pass the First Player card one more time after playing the last card.

3. End of Stage

Check whether the current Scenario or Chapter card shows requirements for the end of a Stage (symbol: ship's wheel icon). If both do, the Scenario card is resolved first. Carry out the effects in play order. The following effects are possible:

• If you have the most ship's wheel icons in your tableau (on Captains and the Buildings "Boardwalk" and "Port Tavern"), you may discard a Captain or ship's-wheel Building. If you do, take 3 Character cards from the draw pile, place two as Workers in your tableau, and discard the third. In case of a tie, all tied players may use this effect.
• If you have at least as many different (≠) Citizens in your tableau as printed, take 2 Character cards from the draw pile, place one as a Worker in your tableau, and discard the other.
• If you have at least as many Buildings in your tableau as printed, take 2 Character cards from the draw pile, place one as a Citizen in your tableau, and discard the other.
• All players must discard a Citizen or Worker of their choice. If you have neither, nothing happens.

Finally, remove any unbuilt Buildings in the display from the game and turn the Scenario card to the next Stage. The game ends after four Stages.

Game End

Score your tableaus after Stage IV is complete. Note that you do not have to discard any cards during scoring. A card may score points in multiple categories.

Points for Buildings

Each Building in your tableau is worth the printed number of points, as shown next to the shield icon.

Example: This Building is worth 6 points.

Some Buildings can provide additional points:

• If no other player has more Buildings of the given color than you, you get exactly 3 points (even in case of a tie) — marked "MAX" on the Building.
• Every Set of Buildings of all four colors in your tableau (including the Building showing this symbol), you get an additional 3 points. (Color symbols on Citizens do not count.)
• Every second Building of the given color in your tableau is worth an additional 2 points. (Color symbols on Citizens do not count.)

Points for Symbols

Eight Buildings as well as every Citizen show one of six symbols at the top left. Score these symbols as follows (which is also shown on the cards):

• Every third wheat-sheaf icon in your tableau (on Farmers and the Buildings "Farm House" and "Granary") is worth 5 points.
• Every fourth money-bag icon in your tableau (on Merchants and the Buildings "Market" and "Marketsquare") is worth a number of points equal to the number of Citizens you have (including Merchants).
• If you have the most crossed hammer-and-pickaxe icons in your tableau, you get exactly 6 points. If you have the second most, you get 2 points. In case of a tie, all tied players get the full points. If there is a tie for first, second place is not awarded.
• Count the total number of ship's-wheel icons in your tableau (on Captains and the "Boardwalk" and "Port Tavern" Buildings). Then check the table for how many points you get. If you have more than 5 ship's-wheel icons, you get 3 points for each.
• Only the first Priest (cross icon) in your tableau is worth 5 points. Additional Priests are not worth any points.
• Every fourth sword icon in your tableau (on Soldiers and the "Border" and "Fence" Buildings) is worth 8 points.

Points for Public Objectives

The "Size Matters" Scenario as well as all Chapters except Chapter VII ("Building the Harbor") provide additional points at the end of the game if you meet their requirements.

• If you have at least as many Buildings as Citizens in your tableau, you get exactly 5 points. (The eight Buildings showing a symbol do not count as Citizens.)
• If you have at least 4 of the same color symbol on the Citizens in your tableau, you get exactly 5 points.
• If you have at least 3 of the shown symbols in your tableau (on Citizens and Buildings), you get exactly 5 points.
• If the total Strength (fist icon) on Workers left in your tableau is at least 10, you get exactly 10 points. (Strength on Citizens does not count.)
• If you have at least 2 sword icons in your tableau (on Soldiers and the "Border" and "Fence" Buildings), you get exactly 5 points.
• If you have at least 5 Citizens in your tableau (of any kind), you get exactly 5 points.
• Every fourth Great Building in your tableau is worth an additional 2 points. (Little Buildings do not count for this.)

Points for Secret Objective

Finally, reveal your Secret Objective. Every set of three Buildings of the given colors in your tableau is worth 5 points.

Winner of the Game

The player with the most Points wins. In case of a tie, the player with more Strength (fist icon) left breaks the tie. If still tied, there are multiple winners.

Playing with 5-8 Players

With two copies of "Tybor the Builder", you can play with up to 8 players. Shuffle the Building and Character cards of both copies together. Remember to place the appropriate number of Buildings in the display at the start of each Stage (12/14/16/18 with 5/6/7/8 players). There is a small change in the 5-player game: After all cards have been played, pass the First Player card by two positions (instead of one, as is usual in step 2c). Nothing changes for the other player counts.