FAQ
10 answered questions10 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Ludus Magnus Studio or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Sending a Good to a level 2 or 3 Worksite while a Worksite below it in the column is still empty — the rulebook’s own example gets this wrong. Ruling · Rule
- Moving Certificates back or losing points to pay for a Conversion or a Market card — that is only allowed for a City’s Cost. Ruling · Rule
- Letting Buildings 12–14 help a new Building of any colour — only the colour on the card counts. Ruling · Rule
- Gaining the top Goods only once with Building 23 — the card says twice. Ruling · Rule
Showing 10 of 10
Each City gets one of its two City Power tokens at random. What happens to the other one? Official
It goes back in the box; it is not used this game.
Source: BGG thread
Does the turn order ever change during the game? Official
No. The first player keeps going first all game. Playtesting showed no lasting advantage to seat order, so there is no catch-up rule; only the opening Building draft (first player picks first, last player picks twice in a row) balances the start.
Source: BGG thread
Can I move a Certificate back (or lose Victory Points) to pay for something other than activating a City — for example a Conversion on my Shop Board? Official
No. Certificates and Victory Points can stand in for missing Raw Goods only when you pay the Cost of a City during City Activation. Conversions, Market cards and everything else must be paid with Raw Goods you actually have.
Source: BGG thread
Building 08 says to move a Certificate 4 times. Must it be the same Certificate? Official
No. You have 4 single steps to the right and may split them among your Certificates as you like.
Source: BGG thread
Buildings 09–11 and 36 make a Certificate worth one level more. Does that help a Good whose Certificate is still below level 1? Official
Yes. A Certificate that has not reached level 1 counts as level 1 with these effects. The bonus only applies when you send Refined Goods to the Opera; the Certificate token does not move and the extra level is not scored at the end.
Source: BGG thread
Buildings 12, 13 and 14 put a Refined Good on a new Building. Does that work for a Building of any colour? Official
No. Only when the new Building under construction is of the colour shown on the card. The appendix leaves the colour out; the card icon is correct.
Source: BGG thread
Building 23 shows "2x" but the appendix only says to gain the Goods at the top of the new card. Which is right? Official
The card: you gain the Goods at the top of the newly added Trade Card twice.
Source: BGG thread
I have two Buildings that need Columns, but no City or Market card offers Columns any more. Can I swap or discard a Building? Official
No. There is no way to discard a Building under construction. The Market moves on from A to B to C cards in a predictable way, so watch which Refined Goods are leaving the Cities before you take a Building, prefer Buildings you can feed from more than one source, and in the last rounds send Goods to the Opera instead.
Source: BGG thread
The "Send the Goods" example in the rulebook puts a Good on a level 2 Worksite whose level 1 Worksite below is empty. Is that legal? Official
No, the example is wrong. Every lower Worksite in the same column must already hold at least one Player Token before you can send a Good above it. This is listed for the FAQ/errata.
Source: BGG thread
Do completed red, yellow and green Buildings score anything at the end, like blue ones? Official
Only through the Shop Board: every completed Building scores by size and every filled position counts for Shop Evolution. Only blue Buildings add their own end-of-game points (box 5).
Source: BGG thread