Erecting Buildings

(applies to bricklayers, stonemasons, and workers)

A player can erect buildings with the bricklayer, stonemason, or worker, but is compensated in different ways: the bricklayer gives the player talers, the stonemason gives victory points, and the worker gives half victory points.

Looking at the building tiles still on the gameboard, the player decides which building(s) he wants to erect.

For each of these buildings, he pays exactly the indicated value of the building in resources to the general stock and then takes the building tile from gameboard, placing it in his play area. The gameboard now shows the completed building.

The following details apply:

• Each tile is marked with the building value a player must pay in resources for the building. The bottom line on the tiles shows a preview of what helpers in the (erected) building offer for the final scoring and how much in fees the players will have to pay when placing a helper.

  
  
  

  This preview shows that each helper placed in the palace costs a 17-taler fee, and that a helper here gives the player victory points for 5 resources of any kind in the final scoring.

  If a player erects a building, he need not place one or two helpers. The preview is intended to help the players decide which building to erect.

• The player compiles the exact building value for each single building using at least 3 different kinds of resources and puts these pieces of resources in the general stock. Overpaying is not allowed and the player may not combine the payments for two buildings. Each must be paid for separately.

• Each resource has a value ("building points") that is also shown on the overview:

  • one sand pile = 1 Building Point
  • one wooden beam = 2 Building Points
  • one clay slab = 4 Building Points
  • one stone block = 5 Building Points

  Example: The stable has a building value of 18. That means a player can erect a stable with, for example, 2 stone blocks, 1 clay slab, and 4 sand piles. This uses 3 kinds of resources and sums to a total of 18 building points.

  Hints:

  1. All building values are even numbers. If, with 3 kinds of resources, a player can achieve only odd values, he cannot erect a building.

  2. If a player erects a house or tower, it's best to place the building tiles so they are easily visible in his play area. This is helpful for the final scoring of the stable and the gates.

• If a player has silver and wants to use it for paying for a building, he must first turn it into the resources he wants:

  the player puts the desired amount of silver in the forge (on the gameboard) and takes any one piece of resource from the carts for each silver bar he placed in the forge. It does not matter if helpers are there or not.

  The silver remains in the forge until the end of the game.

Note: each building a player erects earns 5 victory points for each opponent who played a master builder this round!

Using Helpers

(applies to bricklayers and stonemasons only)

The game figures are the helpers. With the bricklayer or stonemason, a player may place up to 2 helpers in buildings per round under the following considerations:

• The player must have erected at least one building in the current round.

• The player may place his helper on an unoccupied copper-colored space ("helper's place") of any erected building. The forge and the market already exist from the beginning of the game.
  
  For the well, the towers and the houses, no helpers are intended.

• A maximum of one helper may stand on a helper's place.

• For each helper a player places, he must pay the taler "fee" indicated on the helper's place. He pays the amount to the bank from his personal stock.

• If a player places 2 helpers in one round, he must place them on different buildings. In another round, he can place a helper in the same building in which there is already one of his helpers, if there is still a place available. In different rounds, a player can place 3 helpers in all 3 places in the servants' house.

• A player may remove his trader's helper(s) from the carts/rider and immediately use them in buildings.

• Each used helper remains in the building till the end of the game.
  
  That means: the bricklayer's and stonemason's helpers cannot be displaced (in contrast to the trader's helpers).

Helpers in buildings give their owner victory points in the final scoring. How many victory points a helper gives a player depends on the kind of building in which he is. For each building, different factors apply for the scoring of victory points, e. g.:

• the number of occupied or unoccupied helper's places
• the number of erected towers or houses
• the number of remaining building tiles, etc.

List of Buildings for the Final Scoring

The Keep

The owner of the helper in the keep scores 3 victory points for each unoccupied copper-colored helper's place in the castle.

The Tavern

The player who placed a helper for 12 talers scores one victory point each for this and any other helper (his own and other players') who is in the castle at the end of the game.

The player who placed a helper for 6 talers scores one victory point each for every 2 helpers (his own and other players') that are in the castle at the end of the game. If the number of helpers is uneven, the number is rounded down.

Example: After the helpers have been removed from the carts, 11 helpers are in the castle at the end of the game. Player A gets 11 victory points for his helper in the tavern because this helper is standing on the 12 spot. Player B gets only 5 victory points for his helper because his helper is standing on the 6 spot.

The Gates

The players with helpers in the gates score victory points for each erected tower; it is unimportant who erected the towers:

• The owner of the helper in the small gate (building value 12) scores 1 victory point for each tower.

• The owner of the helper in the big gate (building value 18) scores 2 victory points for each tower.

The Stable

The owners of helpers in the stable score victory points for each erected house; it is unimportant who erected the houses:

• The owner of the helper on the 16 spot scores 3 victory points for each erected house.

• The owner of the helper on the 12 spot scores 2 victory points for each erected house.

The Servants' House

The players with helpers in the servants' house score one victory point per un-built building tile: the number of victory points is equal to the number of building tiles that are on the gameboard at the end of the game.

The Market

The players with helpers in the market may convert their talers into victory points at the end of the game. They place converted talers back in the box.

• If a player has only one helper in the market, he scores one victory point per 2 converted talers.

  Since the player can convert only an even number of talers, if he has an odd number, he keeps one taler until the winner has been determined.

• If a player has helpers on both spaces in the market, he scores one victory point for each converted taler.

The Palace

The owner of a helper in the palace may convert up to 5 resource pieces of any kind from his personal stock into victory points at the end of the game:

• Calculate this value according to the entries on the overview.

  Therefore, a clay slab, for example, scores 4 victory points.

• If a player has both helpers in the palace, he can convert up to 10 resource pieces from his personal stock into victory points.

• If a player wants to convert silver, he must first put it in the forge (and leave it there). He takes any one piece of resource from the carts for each bar he puts in the forge.

The Forge

A player with a helper on the 10 spot of the forge scores one victory point for each silver bar that is in the forge at the end of the game.

A player with a helper on the 6 spot, scores one victory point for each 2 bars. Round an odd number of bars down to the next even number.

Example: 9 silver bars are in the forge. One player managed to occupy both spaces with his helpers. He scores 9 victory points for his first helper and 4 victory points for the second for a total of 13 victory points.

The Castle in Winter

The onset of winter has come much too early. Frost and icy cold from the north blow through the whole country. Severe snowfalls hinder the building of the half-completed castle whose silhouettes stand out more clearly week by week against the grey of the sky.

The rules of the basic game apply, except for the following differences and additions:

Place the game board on the table with the winter side face up. Shuffle the winter cards and place them next to the gameboard as a face-down stack.

Place the building tiles on the snow-covered buildings.

First, each player plays one or 2 character cards as usual face down in his play area. In each round marked with a winter card, one winter card is brought into the game: the starting player draws the top card from the stack and reads the card aloud. Then he puts it face up next to the castle, easily visible to all players.

For many winter cards, the conditions described have to be carried out immediately before the played character cards are revealed. After that, the player places the winter card back in the box.

Important: As in the basic game, players may, if it is advantageous, convert their silver bars into resources of their choice.

Example fireplace: the player puts 2 silver bars in the forge in order to pay the required 2 wooden beams.

The functions of the Winter Cards

Village Tavern:

With a stonemason or bricklayer, a player can place a helper here as an "innkeeper" for 3 talers. From now on, when a player plays the trader, he has to pay 1 taler to the owner of the innkeeper.

If there is no innkeeper yet, the taler is put on the card and is taken by the player who next places his helper on the card. If a player cannot pay the taler for his trader, he must take one of his trader's helpers off the gameboard and back to his personal stock.

The innkeeper doesn't have to stay in the village tavern. If a player plays the trader, bricklayer, or stonemason, he can remove his innkeeper and use him as a helper in a new place. This winter card stays in the game, and new talers are put on the card again until a player places a helper as an innkeeper.

The card does not count for the final scoring.

Granary

With the stonemason or bricklayer, a player can place helpers in the granary. Here, the rule "Using Helpers" (page 6) applies, if not stated otherwise.

In this case, placing a helper costs 5 talers.

If only one helper is standing in the granary at the final scoring, he scores 10 points for his owner; with 2 helpers, each of them scores only 7 points for his owner, and with 3 helpers, each of them scores only 3 points for his owner. Is does not matter whether these helpers belong to one or more players.

The granary doesn't count for the keep or the tavern in the final scoring.

Plague

Each player immediately loses any one card from his discard pile or pays one taler to the bank for each of the cards in his discard pile.

Each player chooses whether he would rather pay or give up a card.

Cracked Wall

Each player may immediately give up a maximum of 3 stone blocks (to the general stock) to score 3 victory points for each of these blocks.

After that, the card is removed from the game.

Damsel Of The Castle

From now on until the end of the game, players may court the damsel of the castle. When any player declares his desire to court the damsel, the players, beginning with the starting player, place any one piece of resource or one taler on the card at the beginning of each round.

If a player does not want to participate in the courting any more, he is out for the game and cannot rejoin later.

When only one player remains(he has placed a taler or resource piece and the others have dropped out), he takes the card with the damsel of the castle and immediately scores 8 victory points.

All others, including those who did not court, share the resources and/or talers that are on the card.

Beginning with the starting player, each player in turn takes one piece from the card until it is empty. After that, the card is removed from the game.

If the card is still lying face up at the end of the game and nobody was able win over the damsel of the castle, nobody gets the card, and nothing is distributed.

Snowdrift

Each player immediately gives up one worker or pays 3 talers to the bank.

If a player gives up a worker, he takes the card from his hand or from his discard pile and puts it back in the box. As soon as everybody has paid his tribute for the snowdrift, this card is removed from the game.

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