FAQ
93 answered questions1 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by dlp games or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Placing a new gear wheel at once, or keeping it for later — it waits beside your board and is placed when you pass that round. Ruling · Rule
- Using a monk as a wild follower on the Beneficial Deeds — there a monk only fills a monk space. Ruling · Rule
- Recruiting from an empty follower supply just for the track bonus — the action is closed until followers come back. Ruling · Rule
- Drawing your full knights number while followers still sit on your market — they keep their spaces. Ruling · Rule
- Sending one of your four personal followers to the Town Hall — they never leave you. Ruling · Rule
- Choosing torture to keep coins you have — you pay what you can and torture covers only the rest. Ruling · Rule
- [T&I] Taking another action after fulfilling an order — the order ends your round. Ruling · Rule
Showing 93 of 93
After setup there is one citizen left over. Where does it go?
It belongs to the player with the most trading stations at the end of the game; place it on the map (the space in the top-left corner). On a tie nobody takes it.
Source: BGG thread
Do players start with followers in their bag?
No. The bag starts empty; your four personal followers start on your market, which comes to the same thing.
Source: BGG thread
Are goods and coins public information?
Yes. Everything you own is open on the table.
Source: BGG thread
May I look into my bag, or another player's?
Your own, at any time — shake it afterwards so you can't pick tiles on purpose. Not another player's, and you may not ask them what is inside: a player posted Reiner Stockhausen's reply saying so.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can only one player reach the last space of a follower track?
No, any number can. The fleur-de-lis on each space just points to the next one, which is why the last space has none.
Source: BGG thread
Can a merchant use the roads at the board's edge to cross to the other side?
No. Those roads are only artwork.
Source: BGG thread
My summary card removes different numbers of followers than my rulebook. Which is right?
The cards from the five-player sets assume five players' worth of followers. The Big Box rulebook's numbers (see the setup checklist) match the Big Box contents.
Source: BGG thread
Can two merchants stand in the same town?
Yes. Only one trading station may be built there (except in Orléans).
Source: BGG thread
Do followers left on my market count against my draw?
Yes — they keep their spaces, and you can never draw more than the free market spaces. Followers left on action spaces do not count against your draw.
Source: BGG thread
Can I take back followers I placed on an unfinished action?
Only in phase 3: for each follower you choose not to draw, move one follower from an action space back to your market. Players have quoted the designer confirming you may combine this with drawing. It works even when your bag is empty, and it is how you rescue followers from an action that can no longer be carried out.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
May I place followers on a place I cannot complete this round?
Yes. A place can be filled over several rounds; it simply does nothing until every space is filled.
Source: BGG thread
Is planning simultaneous?
Yes. Anyone who wants to see earlier players' choices may ask for planning to be locked in one by one in turn order.
Source: BGG thread
May I put several monks on one place?
Yes. Monks are wild on your own board's action spaces with no limit; only gear wheels are limited to one per place.
Source: BGG thread
Does the Gunpowder Tower let me draw more followers?
No. Your Knights track still sets how many you draw; the Tower adds two market spaces that you fill in phase 3 from the followers you drew. Its followers and the Town Hall's go to the Beneficial Deeds in separate actions.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I remove a follower I no longer want by putting it back in the supply?
No. To get rid of followers send them to the Beneficial Deeds, or park them on a place you never use.
Source: BGG thread
If the follower supply of a track is empty, can I still take the action for its bonus?
No. With no follower left to take, the action cannot be used. It opens again if followers come back (for example through a plague).
Source: BGG thread
Once my cube is on the last space of a track, can I still recruit that follower?
No. A cube on the last space blocks that action for you.
Source: BGG thread
What happens to followers on an action I can no longer perform?
They stay there. You may bring them back to the market in phase 3 by drawing fewer followers.
Source: BGG thread
Can I use the Town Hall's two followers in two separate actions?
Yes. Send one now and the other on a later action in the same round (the Gunpowder Tower works the same way).
Source: BGG thread
Does Pilgrimage stop me placing followers on the Monastery?
No. You may place them; you just cannot recruit a monk that round.
Source: BGG thread
A route holds several goods. How many can my merchant take?
One per Ship or Wagon action; the others stay for later travellers.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
May I pick any Place tile from the stack?
Yes. Look through stack I with your first trader and through stacks I and II after that. The rulebook's exclusion rule, recommended for experienced players, lets each player ban tiles before the game.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
When do I place a gear wheel I gained?
After you pass in phase 5 of the round you gained it. You cannot keep it for a later round.
Source: BGG thread
Must a gear wheel from the Laboratory also go on a farmer space first?
It follows your position on the craftsmen track: while you have only one step, it goes on a farmer space; from the second step anywhere except monk spaces. A player quoted the designer's reply saying so.
Source: BGG thread
Can I put a gear wheel on a place tile?
Yes, if the tile has more than one action space and the usual gear rules allow it.
Source: BGG thread
Can a gear wheel go on the Monastery?
Yes — on its non-monk space, once your gear wheels may replace any follower (second craftsmen step).
Source: BGG thread
Can a gear wheel go on a space a follower already stands on?
No, the space must be empty — a player posted the designer's reply saying several tiles on one space are not intended. You place it after you pass, so it works from the next round.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Are monks wild on the Beneficial Deeds?
No. Each space takes exactly the follower shown — a monk only on a monk space.
Source: BGG thread
Must deed spaces be filled left to right?
No. Use any free space showing the right follower.
Source: BGG thread
When I fill the last space of a deed, do I get the space's reward too?
Yes — both the space's reward and the citizen.
Source: BGG thread
Do followers come back when a deed is completed?
No. They stay on the board until the end of the game.
Source: BGG thread
Does sending a follower to the Beneficial Deeds move my track marker back?
No. Track markers never move back.
Source: BGG thread
Can both Town Hall followers go to the same deed?
Yes, each to its own empty space: you get each space's reward, and the citizen if they complete the deed.
Source: BGG thread
Can I send one of my four personal followers to the Town Hall?
Never. They cannot be lost in any way.
Source: BGG thread
At Harvest, may I pay coins and keep my food?
Yes. The choice is yours.
Source: BGG thread
How are goods taxes rounded?
Down. At “1 coin per 3 goods”, 1–2 goods cost nothing, 3–5 cost 1 coin.
Source: BGG thread
I own no goods. Am I tortured by a goods tax?
No. With no goods you owe nothing.
Source: BGG thread
If I have coins, can I choose torture instead of paying?
No. Torture only covers the part you cannot pay.
Source: BGG thread
Can I give up a place tile with followers or a gear wheel on it to torture? Official
Yes. The gear wheel is lost and the followers on the tile go back to your bag.
Source: BGG thread
Can torture by development point take me back past a coin space?
No. If the only step back would cross a coin space, choose another item.
Source: BGG thread
Must the trading station given up to torture come from the map?
No. A station still in your supply is allowed.
Source: BGG thread
Where do lost or spent followers and goods go?
Back to their supplies, so they can be gained again — except what you give up to torture, which leaves the game.
Source: BGG thread
Can followers on the Gunpowder Tower go straight to the Beneficial Deeds?
Yes. In phase 3 it works as two extra market spaces; later its followers can go to the deeds as if from the Town Hall.
Source: BGG thread
Do trading stations on the Road count for the Office and Trading Day?
Yes. They are your trading stations in every respect.
Source: BGG thread
Does the Merchant House score if I tie for most of a good?
Players report the designer's reply: “most” means more than every other player, and ties score nothing.
Source: BGG thread
With the School or Herb Garden, can scholars or boatmen go to the Beneficial Deeds as other followers?
No. These tiles change only your own action spaces; deeds still need the exact follower.
Source: BGG thread
Is the Sacristy mandatory against an event?
No. Use it only when you want to escape that event.
Source: BGG thread
What does development status do?
Each star reached raises the multiplier for your trading stations and citizens at the end.
Source: BGG thread
Do followers left in my bag score?
No. Only coins, goods and (stations + citizens) × development, plus expansion scoring.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Can I fulfil an order and then take another action that round?
No. Fulfilling an order follows one of your actions and ends your round: you pass at once.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Must I have just moved to fulfil an order?
No. Your merchant only has to be in the town after any of your actions, with the goods in hand.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Can I use the Trade and the Intrigue boards together?
No. Each replaces the base Beneficial Deeds board; play with one deeds board only.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] If I cannot pay for an optional event such as Training or Bon Voyage, am I tortured?
No. Torture applies only to what you are forced to pay; optional offers simply lapse.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] How much does the Tax Collector take from a player with only 1 coin?
Two coins at most from each player: nothing from a player with none, 1 from a player with 1.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] With the Trade board, should its goods be set aside before the map is seeded?
Yes. A player posted the designer's reply: first fill the deeds board, then seed the map, then remove goods for the player count.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Can the Brasserie cancel the Vacation event?
No. The Brasserie works in phase 6, and a Vacation round has no phase 6 event.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Is the Brasserie refilled?
No. It is filled once when you take it.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] When do the Brasserie's goods arrive, and do leftovers count?
When someone buys the tile: 2 cheese and 2 wine from the supply, or fewer if it runs short. Goods still on it are yours — they score and count for the Merchant House.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[T&I] Does the Wedding draw happen blind?
Yes. Draw the 2 followers from your bag without looking, as in phase 3.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Can the base game's event tiles be mixed with the new ones?
No. The new events are sorted into groups that control when they appear; use them on their own.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Are the Silentium rounds full rounds?
Yes — normal rounds with no event.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Malfunction: am I tortured if I own no gear wheel?
No. Malfunction makes you discard, not pay; torture only replaces a payment you can't make.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] Training: may I advance on the Development or Knights track?
Knights yes, Development no — the tile shows the follower tracks only.
Source: BGG thread
[T&I] The Tax Collector deed: 2 or 3 coins?
The rules text says 2, the board 3; players use the board's 3.
Source: BGG thread
[Plague] When must an indulgence card be revealed?
At the moment you fulfil it, on your turn (or in phase 6 if the event lets you fulfil it). You cannot save it for later.
Source: BGG thread
[Plague] For a donation indulgence, may I pay goods I already own?
Yes. Paying them when you reveal the card is what fulfils it.
Source: BGG thread
[Plague] Can Fast Travel mix roads and waterways?
Yes. Move 1 or 2 towns over any connections, without taking goods.
Source: BGG thread
[Plague] Can the order cards of Trade & Intrigue be added to The Plague?
Players see no conflict: orders do not interact with the Plague's events or deeds.
Source: BGG thread
[Plague] Can the Medicinal Spring take another player's follower?
No. Nothing in the game lets you use another player's pieces.
Source: BGG thread
[Plague] The Big Box example leaves four corpses on the market. At most 5, or fewer?
At most 5. The Big Box picture is missing one corpse; a forum reply to the player who spotted it confirmed the text is right.
Source: BGG thread
[Plague] With the Cemetery, does a drawn corpse let me draw one more?
Yes: the Cemetery is an extra market space for one corpse, so the corpse goes there and you keep drawing your full number of followers.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] Must my merchant be in the town to build a fortified tower?
Yes, as for any trading station.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] Do players still start with 5 coins and goods on the map?
Yes. Every scenario starts from the base setup and lists only its changes.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] With the Guild House, can I send one 10-coin piece?
No. Up to 4 coins in value per action.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] Can monks fill other followers' spaces on the City board or Assembly Hall?
Players apply the deeds rule: only the exact follower shown.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] With the Support event, where do the drawn follower and the new one go?
Both into your bag; the draw only decides which track you advance.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] Does Rome Calling cost one citizen per missing monk?
No. If anyone cannot or will not give a monk, the team removes one uncollected citizen.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] Can another player hand the Councilman followers for the Assembly Hall?
Yes, through the Hostel: the Councilman can then send them on from his Town Hall.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] Can my four starting followers be lost, or used on objectives?
No. They can never leave you in any scenario, and objectives and the Assembly Hall take exactly the followers shown — no monks.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] Co-op: do we use the Beneficial Deeds board, and is there a score?
No Beneficial Deeds board (it says so at the end of the setup), and no score: at the end you either achieved everything or lost.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Invasion] Does a citizen need an action to reach the City board?
No, place it there at once.
Source: BGG thread
[Invasion] Does a fortified tower trigger the Vineyard?
Yes: a fortified tower is a trading station in a special town, so a waterway town with one counts.
Source: BGG thread
[Prosperity] Can goods under a structure still be taken?
No. The trading station placed on them locks them for the rest of the game.
Source: BGG thread
[Prosperity] Can a monk stand on the Carpenter?
Yes, monks are wild on your boards. A player posted Reiner Stockhausen's reply allowing monks, and scholars with the School. You may build without moving the Carpenter, but you still use a follower from the Carpenter board.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Prosperity] Firestorm burns a place tile with followers on it. What happens to them?
They go back to your bag; a player quoted a dlp games answer. The Sacristy, activated with a monk, protects you from Firestorm like any other event.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[Prosperity] Pilgrim's Day: where do the monk and follower go?
Back to the supply, as the 2019 rulebook text says.
Source: BGG thread
[Duel] Are citizens placed on the tracks in The Duel?
A player posted the designer's reply: place citizens as usual on the deeds, the development track and the knights and boatmen tracks.
Source: BGG thread
[Duel] What happens if I cannot pay Cheese Day?
You lose: The Duel has no torture.
Source: BGG thread
[Duel] Technology tax: 1 or 2 coins per gear wheel?
The rules say 1 per gear wheel; the board's picture shows 2 and no official answer has come. Players use 1 — agree before play.
Source: BGG thread
[Solo] Is there a census in the solo scenarios?
No. Every solo scenario skips phase 2.
Source: BGG thread
[Solo] Do I start with coins in Capital Vierzon?
No. You start with none.
Source: BGG thread
[Solo] In Travelling Salesman, does the starting knight move my knights cube?
No. The knight and scholar are simply placed on your market; the cubes start on the first spaces.
Source: BGG thread
[Solo] Can I recruit farmers in The Dignitary, which has no goods?
Yes; you just receive no goods.
Source: BGG thread