FAQ
24 answered questions19 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Board&Dice or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Adding up the Effort of every card on your side of an Action — only the card you just played gives Action Points. Ruling · Rule
- Doing both Create options — with 3 or more Effort it is Florence or one Artwork per Centerpiece region, not both. Ruling · Rule
- Taking a Centerpiece on a tie — you need strictly more Artworks than the Workshop holding it. Ruling · Rule
- Rearranging Resources on the da Vinci Workshop board — they stay where you put them, and Invention markers block spaces too. Ruling · Rule
- Refilling the Upgrade display only in the Cleanup phase — refill it right after every upgrade. Ruling · Rule
- Moving Busts and Statues on the same turn — the active Character uses only its own type (all count for majorities). Ruling · Rule
- Paying for a card bonus later, after seeing the rival's Publicity — pay as you play the card, never on a face-down Gossip card. Ruling · Rule
Showing 24 of 24
When I play a card onto an Action space, do I get Action Points for all my cards there or only for the card I just played?
Only for the card you just played: its Effort sets your Action Points. The other cards on your side of the space count only for Publicity.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
With 3 or more Effort on a Create action, can I place Artworks in Florence and also in my Centerpiece regions?
No — choose one. Either place the number of Artworks in Florence that the Effort allows, or place one Artwork in each region where you hold a Centerpiece; with the second option any extra Effort is lost.
Source: BGG thread
May I resolve a Main Action as if my card had less Effort — for example Create in Florence with 3 or more Effort? Official
Yes. You may choose a smaller reward of the Action than your Effort allows.
Source: BGG thread
Da Vinci cards show two different icons for placing a Painting in Florence. Do they differ? Official
No. Both place an Artwork from your own supply in Florence: one icon is da Vinci's own, the other is the general icon for creating Artwork.
Source: BGG thread
Can I move, swap or replace Resources once they are on the da Vinci Workshop board? Official
No. Once placed, a Resource stays in its space until a Blueprint pattern spends it. Place carefully — a bad placement can block you.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
What happens to a Resource the da Vinci Workshop gains but has no use for? Official
If it cannot go anywhere useful, it is lost with no compensation.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do Invention markers block spaces on the da Vinci Workshop board? Official
Yes. A space holding an Invention marker cannot take a Resource.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
When can da Vinci fulfil a Blueprint while placing Resources? Official
At any moment while placing them — you don't have to place them all first.
Source: BGG thread
When Michelangelo activates a Sistine Chapel tile, must he resolve its effect? Official
No. You may pay to remove a tile and skip its effect — paying never forces an effect on you. You may also pay nothing and just flip the tile, without its effect.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Why would Michelangelo ever flip a tile, and can a flipped tile still be removed?
The Workshop Action is compulsory, so flipping for free is the fallback when you can't or won't pay. Some cards and tiles let you remove a tile that was already flipped, which still frees its space for the end-game row bonus.
Source: BGG thread
What does Michelangelo do on a turn with no Resources?
He still takes the Workshop Action: flip a Sistine Chapel tile without resolving it. Even with Resources you may choose to flip for free, pay 1 to resolve and flip, or pay 2 to resolve and remove.
Source: BGG thread
Does Michelangelo keep unspent Resources from turn to turn? Official
Yes. They stay in that Character's section of the Sideboard.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Who gets the Centerpiece when both Workshops have the same number of Artworks in a Gallery region? Official
The first Workshop to take the region keeps it: to take a Centerpiece you need strictly more Artworks. A da Vinci Invention lets him win ties, and in solo play the Machina wins every tie.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
How is a tie on the Study track broken? Official
The Workshop that reached the space first — its marker is underneath — wins.
Source: BGG thread
With a double-sided Michelangelo card scoring Effort or Publicity, must both cards use the same side? Official
No. Choose the better option for each scoring card separately.
Source: BGG thread
A Michelangelo card lets me pay a Resource for extra Publicity. When do I pay — when I play it, or in the Exhibition phase after seeing my rival's Publicity? Official
When you play it, and only then. A card played face down in a Gossip turn cannot use the option.
Source: BGG thread
When is the Upgrade display refilled?
Right after every card upgrade, and again in the Cleanup phase.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do Benefactor cards that change scoring stay in play for the rest of the game? Official
No. They are played at the start of the Exhibition phase, affect only that round's scoring and are discarded in the Cleanup phase.
Source: BGG thread
Besides the Study track, how else can I upgrade my Workshop? Official
Benefactor cards and some Upgraded cards give extra Workshop upgrades.
Source: BGG thread
Playing a Workshop alone, when the last card of my hand goes to Study, can its card upgrade target one of the 3 cards I set aside? Official
Yes. Your hand is now empty, so the set-aside cards are yours to use — and to upgrade.
Source: BGG thread
Playing Michelangelo alone, can I move both Busts and Statues on the same turn? Official
No. On each turn you may only use the Artwork type of the Character the Tools tile points to — Statues for Michelangelo, Busts for his Assistant. For majorities, though, all your Artworks count.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
The Machina has Centerpieces in every Popular Gallery. What does its Influence action do? Official
It moves Collectors toward the colour of its Centerpiece regions as usual, and for each Collector moved it moves 1 Artwork to each Popular Gallery region that just gained a Collector. With two blue Popular Galleries, 2 Action Points can send 2 Artworks to each blue region.
Source: BGG thread
If the Machina has no Artworks in its supply or in Florence, which Artworks does it move? Official
None. It never moves Artworks out of Gallery regions, so the action simply ends.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Who wins ties against the Machina? Official
The Machina wins every tie, whatever the Study track says — you must beat it outright.
Source: BGG thread