FAQ
70 answered questions60 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Cranio Creations or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Placing in a tower just for the floor bonus or to block — you may only place where you can take and pay for the card. Ruling · Rule
- Skipping the 3 coins when a card effect takes a card from a tower that already holds a Family Member. Ruling · Rule
- Chaining Production — goods made by one Building (or the bonus tile) cannot pay for another Building in the same action. Ruling · Rule
- Taking a 7th card of a type and discarding an old one — six is a hard limit. Ruling · Rule
- Letting the Personal Bonus Tile or Council Privileges escape a "1 fewer" Excommunication — it hits every source. Ruling · Rule
- Adding up the Territory or Character table — 6 Territories score 20, not 1 + 4 + 10 + 20. Ruling · Rule
- Playing a Leader in the middle of a Production — finish the action first, then play it. Ruling · Rule
- [HoR] Giving players their 3 servants with Houses of Renaissance — only coins and the auction line. Ruling · Rule
Showing 70 of 70
Can I place a Family Member in a tower just to collect the floor bonus, or to block another player, without taking the card? Official
No. You may only place in a tower if you can take the card there and pay for it. The floor bonus is never collected on its own, and placing only to block an opponent is not allowed.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
A card's immediate effect lets me take another card without placing a Family Member. Do I still pay that card's cost and the 3 coins for an occupied tower? Official
Yes to both. It works exactly like a placement, only without a pawn: pay the card's cost, and pay 3 coins if at least one Family Member is already in that tower.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Cards were already taken from a tower by card effects, but no Family Member stands there. Is the tower occupied? Official
No. You pay the 3 coins only when at least one Family Member has been placed in that tower.
Source: BGG thread
Can a card effect take a card from a tower where my own coloured Family Member already stands? Official
Yes. The one-colour-per-tower rule is about placing pawns, and a card effect places none. You still pay 3 coins because the tower is occupied.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can the uncoloured Family Members of two different players share a tower? Official
Yes. Ignore uncoloured Family Members for the colour limit.
Source: BGG thread
My uncoloured Family Member is already in a tower. Can I add a coloured one there afterwards? Official
Yes, in either order, as long as you pay 3 coins for the occupied tower.
Source: BGG thread
I already have 6 cards of one type. Can I take a 7th and discard an older one? Official
No. Six of a type is a hard limit and you cannot take the card at all.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can a card's own immediate effect help me pay for it or meet its Military requirement?
No. You must meet the cost and the Territory requirement before the card is placed; its immediate effect is resolved only afterwards. The floor bonus is different: you receive it when you place, so it can help pay.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
A card has two immediate effects. Which one do I resolve first? Official
Any order you like — for example, take a Council Privilege first to get the coins for the card the other effect lets you take.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do Character bonuses such as the Warlord's +2 for Territories apply when another card (Abbess, Captain) lets me take a card? Official
Yes. Bonuses to the action value apply to every action that takes that type of card, with or without a Family Member, and you also get the floor bonus of the third and fourth floors.
Source: BGG thread
Pico della Mirandola gives a 3-coin discount. Does it work every time I take a card, even several times in one turn? Official
Yes. It is a permanent ability, so it applies to every card you take that costs coins.
Source: BGG thread
Does Filippo Brunelleschi also save the 3 coins when a card effect takes a card from an occupied tower? Official
Yes. The designer explained the ability as never paying the 3 coins for an occupied tower, including when a card effect takes the card. You still pay the card's own cost.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How many cards of each period go in a deck, and are any left over? Official
Each colour has 8 cards per period. Four are laid out in each of the two rounds of a period, so every card is used in every game.
Source: BGG thread
Why are the towers filled from the bottom floor up? Official
The four floors are not equal, so the direction is fixed to stop whoever lays out the cards from choosing where a card goes after seeing it.
Source: BGG thread
Can a Family Member's value go below 0? Official
Yes, after penalties. It can only be used once servants or card bonuses bring it back to a positive value.
Source: BGG thread
Can I spend more servants than I need, for example to get rid of them before an end-game penalty? Official
No. Spend only the servants the action needs.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I raise my uncoloured Family Member to 1 with a servant and place it in the Council Palace? Official
Yes. Several uncoloured Family Members may also share the Harvest or Production area.
Source: BGG thread
What if I cannot place my last Family Member anywhere?
The Council Palace takes any number of Family Members of value 1 or more, so it is usually still open. If you truly cannot place, you pass.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Are permanent abilities compulsory — for example Ludovico il Moro when I roll a 6? Official
Yes. A permanent ability always applies, so with Ludovico il Moro a rolled 6 becomes a 5.
Source: BGG thread
Do two permanent bonuses to the same action add up, such as the Farmer's +2 and the Peasant's +3 to Harvest? Official
Yes, they stack.
Source: BGG thread
Can servants and card bonuses always raise an action value? Official
Yes, unless the effect says otherwise — the Aragonesi Family tile and the Leaders that only allow servants are the exceptions.
Source: BGG thread
When I Produce, must I use every exchange on my Buildings? Official
No. Exchanges are optional, and you may place in the Production area just to collect the Personal Bonus Tile. Penalties printed on cards, though, are never optional.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can the output of one Building pay for another Building's exchange in the same Production? Official
No. Only resources you held before the action started can be spent. The designers tried chaining and dropped it because players lost track of which Buildings had already run; you may play it as a house rule if everyone agrees.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I run the same exchange on a Building more than once in one Production — for example the Chapel's coin for Faith? Official
No. Each Building runs once per activation, and with two arrows you pick one of them.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do the Farmer, Artisan and similar Characters add to Harvests and Productions granted by cards (the Cardinal, for example) and by Leaders? Official
Yes. They apply to the normal action and to every Harvest or Production you get from a card.
Source: BGG thread
Ludovico Ariosto lets me use occupied action spaces. Does it relax any other placement rule? Official
No. It only lets you share an action space. You still pay 3 coins in an occupied tower, and you still cannot have two coloured Family Members in the same tower or area.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Ties at the end are won by the player ahead in turn order. Which turn order? Official
The order set at the end of round 6 — the order the Council Palace would give for a seventh round.
Source: BGG thread
Do the "1 fewer" Excommunication tiles also reduce the Personal Bonus Tile, Council Privileges and Building exchanges? Official
Yes. The reduction applies to every source of that resource.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
With the wood-or-stone Excommunication, a source gives me both wood and stone. Do I lose one of each? Official
No. You lose 1 wood or 1 stone, your choice — not both.
Source: BGG thread
A card's immediate effect gives a stone plus a Council Privilege that I take as wood and stone. Does the wood-or-stone Excommunication bite once or twice? Official
Once. The card's immediate effect counts as a single gain.
Source: BGG thread
I have Santa Rita and an Excommunication that gives 1 fewer servant. Which applies first? Official
Santa Rita first, then take 1 off the final amount: a card worth 5 servants gives you 9.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
In what order do players decide whether to support the Church? Official
In the current turn order — the Vatican Report comes before the End of the Round changes it.
Source: BGG thread
I was excommunicated in the first period. Can I still support the Church in later periods?
Yes. Each Vatican Report is checked on its own.
Source: BGG thread
Is the Territory and Character scoring cumulative — do 6 Territories score 1+4+10+20?
No. You score only the value for the number of cards you have: 6 Territories give 20.
Source: BGG thread
Can the Military track go past 25? Official
No. Extra Military Points are lost, and players who all reach 25 are tied. Consider spending surplus Military Points on Ventures.
Source: BGG thread
In a 2-player game, does the player second on the Military track still score 2? Official
Yes, unless both are tied for first — then both score 5.
Source: BGG thread
Building costs sometimes look like a choice. Do I pay all the resources shown on a yellow card? Official
Yes, all of them. Only Ventures can show two alternative costs.
Source: BGG thread
The General gives 1 Victory Point for every 2 Military Points. Do I round up or down? Official
Down.
Source: BGG thread
Can my Victory Points go below 0?
Yes — move your marker back past 0 and keep count.
Source: BGG thread
When can I play a Leader — can I play one in the middle of resolving an action? Official
Before or after an action, never during one. If a Production gives you what a Leader needs, finish the whole Production first, then play the Leader if you still meet its requirements.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do the end-game points printed on my Ventures count toward a Leader's Victory Point requirement?
No. Requirements count only what you have during the game; Venture points arrive at the final scoring.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
A Leader requires a MAXIMUM of something. Does having 0 meet it? Official
Yes, 0 is within the limit.
Source: BGG thread
Can I discard a Leader I already played for a Council Privilege? And are discarded Leaders gone? Official
Only Leaders in your hand can be discarded, and a discarded Leader leaves the game.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How do I tell a once-per-round ability from a permanent one? Official
The "1x" symbol on the card marks a once-per-round ability; flip the card face down when you use it. Without it the ability is permanent.
Source: BGG thread
Can the Farmer or Peasant raise Francesco Sforza's Harvest, and the Artisan or Scholar raise Leonardo da Vinci's Production? Official
No — only servants, as the English card text says. The first Italian printing allowed it; the designers changed the rule after testing.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
An effect lets me ignore one requirement of a Leader. What counts as one requirement? Official
One symbol on the card: "10 wood" is one requirement, so a Leader with a single requirement becomes free.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[HoR] In what order do we pick Personal Bonus Tiles, Family tiles and Leaders? Official
Personal Bonus Tiles first, then the Family tile auction, then the Leader draft. The towers are filled only at the start of round 1.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[HoR] The setup says players do not receive wood and stone. Do we still get the 3 servants? Official
No. With the expansion your only starting resources are the coins for your turn position and what your auction line gives.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] Do colour-specific effects work on cards in the Special Tower? Official
No. Cards in the Special Tower have no colour while they sit there, so effects for a colour (the Warlord's bonus, Captain, the colour Excommunications) do not apply. Effects for any card (Abbess, Pico della Mirandola) do. Once the card is in front of you it has its colour again, so "each time you take a Character" effects trigger.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[HoR] Can the Gonzaga family take a card from the Special Tower, and does that card's immediate effect apply? Official
Not from the Special Tower — the tile excludes it. A card taken with the ability does resolve its immediate effect. You pay no 3 coins for an occupied tower and get no floor bonus.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[HoR] Does Da Montefeltro collect the wood and stone I spend on Buildings from the Special Tower? Official
Yes.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] Does Cesare Borgia skip the Military requirement for a Territory taken from the Special Tower? Official
Yes.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] A Special Token or card lets me activate one Territory or Building. Do I also get my Personal Bonus Tile? Official
No. A full Harvest or Production activates all eligible cards plus the Personal Bonus Tile; an effect that activates a single card gives only that card. Using a token is not your turn's action.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[HoR] What does a Special Token showing a coloured card and a 0 do? Official
Take a card of that colour as an action of value 0 (servants and bonuses can raise it), without placing a Family Member. Pay the card's cost and 3 coins if the tower is occupied; the one-colour-per-tower limit does not apply.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[HoR] When I pay Special Tokens as a cost, do I also get their bonuses? Official
No. A token paid as a cost is discarded without its effect.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] Can I cash a Special Token or play a Leader in the middle of resolving a card? Official
No. Tokens and Leaders are used before or after an action, never inside one.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] With Della Rovere, can I collect the same Special Faith tile again after a Vatican Report? Official
No. You keep the tile when you reach it, so each one is gained once.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] How does the Colonna family's brown Family Member work? Official
It is a fifth Family Member worth 3 that you place like any other, giving you up to five actions in a round.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] What is the activation value of a card with "?" instead of a number? Official
The value of the action you use — the die value with which you Harvest or Produce.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[HoR] Building the Mills activates two Territories. May it be the same card twice? Official
No, two different cards. The City Hall, on the other hand, may reactivate a card that already ran this turn.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] Can I use Bramante's action space more than once per round? Official
No, once per round.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] Marsilio Ficino draws 2 Special Tokens and keeps 1. With the Excommunication that gives 1 token fewer, what do I get? Official
Nothing: drawing 2 and keeping 1 counts as gaining 1, and the Excommunication takes it away.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] How does Pillaging score at the end? Official
Count your pairs of wood and stone for its points; the same resources still count toward the normal 1 point per 5 resources.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] Army Deployment makes me first on the Military track. What if someone is already there? Official
Move your marker to the step of the leading marker: you are tied for first.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] Is the cost printed on Building Catapults (#137) correct?
It is a misprint: the card should cost 2 coins, not 1.
Source: BGG thread
[HoR] Do flipped Special Tokens — placed on a card or a Leader — still count toward Leader requirements?
No. Once placed or cashed, a token is no longer in your supply.
Source: BGG thread
[Pazzi] I have Santa Rita and take Invasion. Do I get double? Official
Yes: the opponents give you the normal amount and Santa Rita adds the same again from the bank.
Source: BGG thread
[Pazzi] The Breeder and the Scientist use another player's cards. Do my own bonuses apply? Official
Yes. You use that player's cards as if they were yours, so all your bonuses apply.
Source: BGG thread
[Pazzi] Does Carlo VIII make every servant worth 2, or only one per round?
Every servant, all game: it is a permanent ability.
Source: BGG thread
[Pazzi] Della Scala lets me exchange 1 Faith Point for a coin, a servant and a Military Point. Only when I take a Council Privilege?
No, at any time — it is a separate ability from the Council Privilege one.
Source: BGG thread