Learn Calimala

The guild and its goal

In Calimala, each player leads a Florentine cloth-trading family. You place workers in the City Grid to take actions, then build influence in cities, churches and statue spaces.

The game supports 2–5 players. The 2-player mode uses neutral Hirelings and a different Council schedule. There is no solo mode.

Your goal is the most Victory Points after the Council and final Scoring cards are resolved. See the scoring areas.

Prepare the city

Set the board to the side for your player count. Randomize the eight Action tiles in the City Grid and the fifteen Scoring tiles in the City Council. Players take their colored boards and supplies; keep the player-count number of Family Members and Contractors.

Set up the Scoring cards for your count, then draft starting Action cards in reverse turn order. The interactive setup checklist includes the 2-player Hirelings and optional Intrigue module.

Place a worker and take actions

On your turn, place one worker on a City Grid space. Choose a space next to at least one action you can complete. The space connects two actions; take them in either order.

A Contractor gives you each adjacent action twice. Family Members beneath your new worker reactivate after you finish, from the top of the stack downward. Read the full turn sequence.

Build cloth and trade routes

Gain Brick, Wood and Marble into your warehouses; weave cloth into Workshops. Build Ships to send cloth to the three ports, or Trade Houses to deliver it to the three trade cities. Contribute resources to churches and sponsor statues when those spaces matter.

You may take fewer deliveries than your full Ship or Transport capacity. See the actions.

Score the Council and finish

Workers build up in stacks. When a stack reaches three, its bottom worker enters the City Council and the next Scoring tile checks an area. Most cubes earn the largest share of points, with tie-breaks based on Council presence.

The game ends when a player places their last worker or the final Council tile is reached. Finish the round and score the selected cards. The optional Intrigue expansion adds faction and family powers; introduce it after the base game.