FAQ
64 answered questions64 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Paverson Games or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Taking a gift when a patron’s patience cube resets after a requirement is met. Ruling · Rule
- Refilling a card display as soon as a card is taken. Ruling · Rule
- Using a 4+ track step for the action that earned it, or skipping the 4+ bonus after taking 2 money. Ruling · Rule
- Applying one bench discount to both instruments of a double action. Ruling · Rule
- Letting a performance or repair token push an instrument off its First Chair. Ruling · Rule
- Discounting every cube of a material with a single inspiration at the Market. Ruling · Rule
- Keeping Balcony apprentices out of the Market until the end of the round. Ruling · Rule
Showing 64 of 64
Must a patron's primary requirement be met before its secondary ones? Official
No. Requirements can be met in any order, and the patience cube goes back to the left-most space each time one is met. Tuck each card you assign behind the patron to keep track.
Source: BGG thread
Do I get a gift when a patron's patience cube resets? Official
No. Meeting a requirement only moves the cube back to the start. The only way to move a cube left and take a gift during the round is the Salon's 4+ skill bonus; the next regular gift comes when the cube advances at the start of the next round.
Source: BGG thread
Can I move a card assigned to one patron to a different patron? Official
No. Cards assigned to a patron stay with that patron.
Source: Paverson Games Rules FAQ on BGG
What happens to the cards assigned to a patron who runs out of patience? Official
They are discarded with the patron.
Source: Paverson Games Rules FAQ on BGG
Is there a limit to how many patrons I can complete? Official
No. If you complete more than five, tuck the extra cards so the top of each one stays visible. In testing most players completed three to five.
Source: BGG thread
Do patrons I haven't completed cost me points at the end of the game? Official
No. The 3-point penalty only applies when a patron's patience runs out at the start of a round.
Source: BGG thread
Does an instrument or repair have to match the patron's musical era? Official
No. The era only matters for performances. Any instrument or repair of the right family (Strings, Winds, Percussion & Keyboards) works, wherever it sits in the Orchestra.
Source: BGG thread
Do Patron B end-game powers count every token in the Orchestra, or only mine? Official
Only your own.
Source: BGG thread
Mozart shows an era symbol where other patrons show a note. Is that right? Official
It is a misprint in the first printing. Mozart's secondary requirement should show the performance note, as on van Swieten's card. Later printings are corrected.
Source: BGG thread
Do Haydn's and Mozart's Market discounts apply to each cube or to each purchase? Official
To each cube. Buying two wood at 4 each with Haydn costs 6.
Source: BGG thread
Does Chopin's roughing discount apply to both instruments when I rough two in one action? Official
No. Discounts are once per action, like the roughing bench's 5+ bonus, so only one of the two instruments is cheaper.
Source: BGG thread
At the end of round 3, are the Patron A cards in the display removed too? Official
No. Only the A cards left in the draw deck are removed. A patrons already in tier II or III slide along as usual, then the gaps are filled from the B deck. The board's round track shows this step between rounds 3 and 4.
Source: BGG thread
Does a card display refill as soon as someone takes a card? Official
No. Cards only slide and refill at the end of the round. That is why priority at a location matters; the alternate action is always there.
Source: BGG thread
Do I take the 4+ skill bonus before or after the location's action? Official
After. So a Perform or Repair step gained this way does not help the action that earned it, but it does help your next worker at the same location.
Source: BGG thread
Do I still get the 4+ bonus if I take the 2-money alternative instead of the action? Official
Yes.
Source: BGG thread
Does a low worker reach the 4+ bonus with apprentices? Official
Yes. Skill counts the chip plus its apprentices. An apprentice removed from the game after a search still counted for that action's bonus.
Source: BGG thread
When I search a deck for 10, do I also get the normal card? Official
No. You take only the first card of the type you named.
Source: BGG thread
What if the deck I search has no card of the type I asked for? Official
Treat it as the deck running out. Shuffle the discards in and keep searching until you find one.
Source: BGG thread
If I search the repair deck, can I pick a repair whose cost I can pay? Official
No. You only see the backs, so you take the first repair of the right family whatever it costs. Keep a mix of materials and some inspiration before searching.
Source: BGG thread
May I leave a worker unresolved if I don't want its action? Official
No. Every worker is resolved; if you can't or don't want the action, take 2 money. Only Balcony workers stay on the board until the end of the round.
Source: BGG thread
In the Resolution phase, what can I do on my turn? Official
Either activate one location where you have a worker, or go to the Market (once per round).
Source: BGG thread
Do apprentices sent to the Balcony stay there until the end of the round? Official
No. They go back to the Market at the end of that worker's action as usual; only the worker chip stays to set turn order. The line in the rulebook's turn-order example that says otherwise can be ignored.
Source: BGG thread
Does one inspiration discount every cube I buy of that material? Official
No. Each inspiration takes 1 off one cube. Three wood at 3 each with 2 inspiration costs 7.
Source: BGG thread
Is the 15-money track training paid on top of my other Market purchases? Official
Yes. It is a separate purchase, not a reward for spending 15 on materials or apprentices.
Source: BGG thread
When exactly does a used apprentice return to the Market? Official
When that worker's action is finished. You can't regain the same apprentice during the action it is helping, but a later worker — yours at the same location, or a Market visit — can take it.
Source: BGG thread
Can I take back an apprentice that returned to the Market earlier in the round? Official
Yes. It is available on a later turn of the same round; it just can't do anything more until the next Planning phase.
Source: BGG thread
Does a bench skill discount apply to both instruments in a double action? Official
No. The bonus applies once per action, so only one of the two instruments gets it.
Source: Paverson Games Rules FAQ on BGG
When I finish two instruments in one action, can rewards from the first pay for the second? Official
Yes. Each instrument is finished on its own: anything you gain from the first one — First Chair bonus, a completed patron — can be used on the second.
Source: BGG thread
Can an instrument token lose its First Chair? Official
No. The first instrument token in a space always takes and keeps the First Chair.
Source: BGG thread
How many tokens can share one Orchestra space? Official
Any number. Only one holds the First Chair. A new performance or repair token goes below the line for 2 money or 1 inspiration, unless it gives its owner more performance and repair tokens there than anyone else — then it steals the chair.
Source: BGG thread
Can a second instrument token go in a space whose First Chair already holds an instrument? Official
Yes. It goes below the line for 2 money or 1 inspiration. Only the token on the First Chair counts as a chair at the end, but the others still count for goals and patron powers. In the rare-instrument spaces every instrument is a First Chair.
Source: BGG thread
Can a repair or performance token go in a rare-instrument space? Official
No. Repairs go in the row of their instrument family and performances in the column of their era; rare spaces belong to neither.
Source: BGG thread
What is the First Chair bonus for a rare Percussion & Keyboards instrument? Official
The top card of the instrument deck, plus 1 inspiration and 1 money. The rulebook mentions it in a small note on its Orchestra page.
Source: BGG thread
May I take 2 money or 1 inspiration instead of a First Chair bonus? Official
No. When you claim the chair you take its printed reward.
Source: Paverson Games Rules FAQ on BGG
Do rare instruments count for awards about instrument tokens in an era section? Official
No. Eras only apply to the standard spaces; rare instruments have no era.
Source: BGG thread
Can the Performance track's reroll be used on the purple die? Official
Yes. You may reroll any die you rolled.
Source: BGG thread
How does the award space near the top of the Reputation track work? Official
Reaching it lets you score a public award at once, as if you took the Balcony action. Usual rules apply: a level you qualify for, not taken by anyone, on an award you haven't scored, using one of your award markers (and unlocking its benefit). Every further Reputation step gives 2 prestige and another such chance. A 4+ worker at the Balcony can therefore score two awards in one action.
Source: BGG thread
Must I score an award when the Reputation track offers one? Official
No, it is optional, and there is no other reward if you decline.
Source: BGG thread
Can I score several public awards with the same completed patrons? Official
Yes. The awards are judged independently. With a Baroque performer, a Baroque composer and a Romantic noble completed, you could take the top level of "different types", the middle level of "Baroque patrons" and the lowest level of "Romantic patrons".
Source: BGG thread
When does a specialty worker count as unlocked for award A5? Official
As soon as you take the card.
Source: BGG thread
Do rare instruments count for First Chair awards and goals (A12, G16–G18)? Official
Yes. A rare instrument's First Chair counts for its family.
Source: BGG thread
Can three instruments score both goal G4 and goal G15? Official
Yes. One Strings, one Winds and one Percussion & Keyboards instrument, each in a different era section, satisfy both.
Source: BGG thread
When a specialty worker lets me finish an instrument after roughing, does its skill count? Official
No. You are not taking the finishing action, so no finishing-bench bonuses or discounts apply and you pay the full finishing cost.
Source: BGG thread
If a specialty worker replaces the location action (Clairvoyant, Forecaster), do I keep the 4+ bonus? Official
Yes. Whatever you do at the location, a skill of 4 or more earns the bonus. With the Clairvoyant you still roll for the performance you pick.
Source: BGG thread
Steinweg's starting performance is at skill 5 — do I roll dice, and do I move up the Performance track? Official
You roll the two white dice and add 5, and may spend inspiration as usual. You don't move up the track: it isn't the Perform action.
Source: BGG thread
Does Guarneri's starting repair cost materials? Official
Yes, pay the repair as normal.
Source: BGG thread
Can Guarneri's and Steinweg's starting actions claim a First Chair and satisfy a patron? Official
Yes to both. As usual, the performance needs the middle level or better to place a token and count for a patron.
Source: BGG thread
Does Amati's starting Market visit use up my market cart for round 1? Official
No. Don't move the cart; you can still go to the Market in round 1.
Source: BGG thread
Who starts: the lowest or the highest family number? Official
The lowest number. Broadwood always goes first if chosen and Guadagnini always last.
Source: BGG thread
May we look through the royal patron and specialty worker decks before we can claim one? Official
No. You look only when you claim a card (the top royal patron's back does show its era). Playing with them open is a house rule.
Source: BGG thread
Are repair and performance tokens limited to eight each? Official
No. Use a substitute if you run out.
Source: BGG thread
Are materials and inspiration limited? Official
No. Use a multiplier card to stand for larger amounts.
Source: BGG thread
At the end, do leftover materials count by cube or by market value? Official
By cube: every money, inspiration, material and apprentice is one unit, and 10 units make 1 prestige. Selling surplus materials in round 6 is usually better. Only leftover money breaks ties.
Source: BGG thread
Do we do the End of Round steps after round 6? Official
No — go straight to end-game scoring. In solo, the AI Upkeep still happens at the end of every Resolution phase, round 6 included.
Source: BGG thread
Can two players use The Rehearsal? Official
Not as written. It needs four seats, so two players must run two families each, and the game can't then continue as a two-player game: set up again afterwards.
Source: BGG thread
Who wins a tie against the AI? Official
The AI. You need more points to win.
Source: BGG thread
Is the AI's starting instrument assigned to its patron straight away? Official
Yes. That is why you search for one that matches.
Source: BGG thread
What does the AI do with a level-1 Repair card when every repair is worth 3 or more? Official
Nothing. Repairs it can't complete are ignored as if absent; if none is left, its action is skipped.
Source: BGG thread
How does the AI choose a repair when some in the display are above its level? Official
It ignores those first, then applies its priority list to the rest. In the booklet's example the level-1 AI can only take the 2-point Strings repair, whatever its solo guild card prefers.
Source: BGG thread
For the AI's "fewest tokens" placement, which tokens count? Official
All tokens in the space other than the one being placed.
Source: BGG thread
Which worker decides whether the AI Workbench card upgrades? Official
Any of them. Every worker on the card counts; one of high enough skill upgrades it.
Source: BGG thread
What if the AI runs out of repair or performance tokens? Official
It carries on, using substitutes, as a player would.
Source: BGG thread
[Promo] Can a patron with the wild "?" era count for more than one public award? Official
[Promo] Yes. It counts as any one era separately for each award and goal. See the KS Promo Pack page.
Source: Paverson Games Rules FAQ on BGG
[Promo] My search for a Percussion & Keyboards instrument turned up the Triangle. Is that it? Official
[Promo] Yes, and the Triangle can't satisfy a patron. It was a fun extra added during the campaign; leave it out of the deck if you prefer.
Source: BGG thread