The Orchestra

How Luthier's Orchestra works: rows and eras, where instrument, performance and repair tokens go, claiming and stealing First Chairs, and the First Chair bonuses.

The Orchestra

The Orchestra in the middle of the main board records every instrument you finish, every medium or high performance and every repair, and decides the First Chairs that score at the end.

• Rows are instrument families: Strings at the front, Winds in the middle, Percussion & Keyboards at the back, and a top row of three rare spaces, one per family.
• Columns are eras: Baroque, Classical and Romantic. Rare spaces have no era.
• Each space has a First Chair position, its printed bonus, and room below the line for any number of other tokens.

Token	Where it goes
Instrument	The space of that instrument (Violins: either Violin space; rare: its family’s rare space)
Performance	Any space in the column of the performance’s era
Repair	Any space in the row of the repair’s family (never a rare space)

Violins

There are two Violin spaces, each straddling two eras (Baroque/Classical and Classical/Romantic). A Violin instrument may go in either, and a performance token of either era may go there. A token in a Violin space counts for one era only for each award, goal or patron power.

First Chair rules

Any token: if the First Chair is empty, take it and its bonus. If an instrument token holds it, put your token below the line and take 2 money or 1 inspiration.

Instrument tokens

An instrument token takes a First Chair held by a performance or repair token — even your own — moving those tokens below the line, and takes the bonus. Once an instrument holds a First Chair it never leaves.

Performance and repair tokens

If a performance or repair token holds the chair:

• your new token goes below the line (2 money or 1 inspiration) unless
• it gives you more performance and repair tokens in that space than anyone else — then you steal the First Chair and take its bonus.

Rare instruments

Every rare instrument finished takes a First Chair: rare spaces have unlimited chairs, all counted at the end. Their bonuses:

Rare space	First Chair bonus
Strings	1 material of your choice, 1 inspiration, 1 money
Winds	1 inspiration, 1 apprentice, 1 money
Percussion & Keyboards	the top card of the instrument deck, 1 inspiration, 1 money

First Chair bonuses

Each standard space prints its own bonus (see the picture above). Examples from the rules: Lute 1 animal and 2 money, Clarinet 1 wood and 2 money, Viola 4 money. When you claim a chair you must take its bonus, not the 2 money / 1 inspiration. A finishing worker of skill 6+ doubles it.

The Orchestra standard spaces

(The two Violin spaces each sit across two eras.)