Gameplay

Worker placement, reactivation, impossible actions and the two-player changes.

A turn

The active player places exactly one worker and takes the two actions adjacent to that space in either order. Workers underneath then reactivate, any scoring triggered by the placement is resolved, and the Active Player marker passes clockwise. Placing a worker on a stack of three first removes the bottom worker to the Palazzo Vecchio tower; it does not reactivate, and it moves to the next Scoring tile in the scoring step.

If the worker is a Contractor, take each adjacent action twice. Once placed, Contractors belong to no player and do not reactivate; a Contractor removed for Council scoring goes to the supply of the player who removed it. After the new worker’s actions, every Family Member underneath reactivates, whoever owns it, from top to bottom; each owner takes that worker’s two actions. A placed worker must be able to complete at least one adjacent action.

Impossible actions

An action is impossible only when you cannot carry out any part of it. Draw an Action card for an impossible action. The active player draws at most one Action card over their whole turn, even if several activations are impossible; another player draws one card for each impossible action during their reactivation. Choosing to skip an action does not earn a card.

You may play Action cards during an action activation, before or after its grid actions. If a played card enables an action, that action is no longer impossible. In a two-player game, Hirelings add their special rules to these activations; see the two-player mode.

Two-player game

Use the two-player side of the board. Each player has 10 Family Members, 3 Contractors and 5 Hirelings in a neutral colour; place matching neutral cubes between the players. A Hireling may not be placed on a stack that already has one. Placing one does not reactivate the workers below it, and it never reactivates when a worker is placed above it.

When an action after a worker placement on a stack containing a Hireling makes you place one or more cubes in a main-board area, add one neutral cube to that same area if space remains. This also applies to cubes placed by Action cards. Hirelings count as the neutral player for majorities and Council tie-breaks. A player wins a final tie-break against the neutral player.

In this mode, a stack sends its bottom worker to the Council when a third worker is placed. Reactivate all workers first, then remove the bottom worker. Resolve the special Scoring-card choices after the 5th and 10th Scoring tiles; see Scoring cards.

Action cards and turn order

The Active Player marker moves clockwise after the current placement’s actions, reactivations and scoring finish. An action card can be played during your own action activation or when another player’s placement reactivates your Family Member. Follow the card’s action, then return to the interrupted action sequence. Resolve a Scoring tile before passing the marker.