Teach the Game
A script to teach Lorenzo il Magnifico at the table — how you win, the board, a round, the end, every way to score and what each resource is for.
How you win
“Florence, the Renaissance. Each of us heads a noble family. For six rounds we send our four Family Members around the city — to the towers for new lands, buildings, people and ventures, to the fields and workshops to make them pay, to the market and the council. The dice decide what each Family Member is worth this round. Keep the Church happy or pay for it. About an hour and a half. Most Victory Points wins.”
You need Development cards and the goods to run them. You get cards by placing Family Members in the four towers, and goods by Harvesting your Territories and Producing with your Buildings. The loop: take cards → activate them → turn goods into points, while keeping enough Faith for the three Vatican Reports.
The board
- Four towers — one per card colour, four floors needing 1, 3, 5 and 7; the top two give a bonus. A second Family Member in a tower costs 3 coins.
- Excommunication tiles — the penalty for failing each period’s Faith check, visible all game.
- Council Palace — a Council Privilege and a coin; first in plays first next round.
- Faith track — the higher you are when you support the Church, the more it pays.
- Production and Harvest — run your Buildings or Territories; the big space costs −3.
- Market — coins, servants, Military Points or two privileges.
- Dice — black, white, orange: the value of your coloured Family Members.
- Military track — unlocks Territories and scores 5 or 2 at the end.
Your Personal Board holds Territories (lower row), Buildings (upper row), Characters and Ventures beside it, and your goods.
A round
- Setup — deal 4 cards on each tower, bottom up; the first player rolls the 3 dice (round setup).
- Actions — in turn order, place one Family Member at a time: coloured ones are worth their
die, the uncoloured one 0; each
adds 1
(Family Members and dice). - Vatican Report — rounds 2, 4 and 6 only: have 3 / 4 / 5
and support the Church
for points, or be excommunicated (Vatican Report). - End of the round — clear the towers, set turn order from the Council Palace, take Family Members back (end of the round).
Full game: each player also holds 4 Leaders to play when they meet the requirements (Leaders).
How the game ends
After round 6 — three periods of two rounds. Add the final scoring to the points on the track. Most points wins; a tie goes to the player ahead in the new turn order.
Ways to score
| Source | When | Points |
|---|---|---|
 Territories | End | 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 cards → 1 / 4 / 10 / 20 |
 Characters | End | 1–6 cards → 1 / 3 / 6 / 10 / 15 / 21 |
 Ventures | End | The points printed on each |
 Military track | End | Most 5, second 2 |
   Leftover goods | End | 1 per 5 |
| Supporting the Church | Rounds 2, 4, 6 | 0–30 by your Faith step |
 Buildings | When taken, at Production | Printed points and exchanges |
| Characters, Territories | During play | Some give points at once or at Harvest |
| Excommunication III | End | Can cancel a card type or cost points |
What each resource is for
| Resource | Why you need it | How you get it | How you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coins | Characters cost only coins; 3 for an occupied tower | Market, Council Palace, purple-tower bonus, Harvest | Pay for cards and fees |
| Wood, stone | Buildings and Ventures cost them | Green and blue tower bonuses, Harvest, privileges | Pay costs, feed Buildings |
| Servants | Raise a Family Member’s value | Market, Harvest, privileges | 1 servant = +1 value |
| Military Points | Unlock Territory spaces 3–6 (3/7/12/18) | Market, yellow-tower bonus, cards | Have them for Territories; spend some on Ventures |
| Faith Points | Avoid excommunication; earn the Church’s points | Cards, privileges | Spend all to support the Church |
 Council Privilege | A flexible bonus | Council Palace, Market, cards | Wood + stone, 2 servants, 2 coins, 2 Military, 1 Faith |
| Family Members | Your actions | 4 each round | Placed one per turn |
| Development cards | Engine and end points | Towers | Up to 6 of each type |
Teaching tips
-
Play the basic game first: basic bonus tiles, no Leaders.
-
Show the three Excommunication tiles at the start and ask what each would cost you.
-
Stress the two rules people miss: 3 coins for an occupied tower, and no chaining in Production (Activating Buildings).
-
Point out the Military requirement before anyone takes a third Territory.
-
[HoR] Add Houses of Renaissance only once everyone knows the base icons (Houses of Renaissance).
-
Reserve Production exchange payments before activating: coins just earned from the Carpenter’s Shop cannot pay the Treasury in that same action. Practice example.