Teach the Game

A script to read aloud: how you win Prague Unseen, the boards, a turn, the end, every way to score and what each resource is for.

How you win

“It’s a mythical 19th-century Prague after the great flood. We lead the rebuilding with four kinds of creature-workers — Robots, Vodniks, Horned and Golems — each at home in its own Neighborhood with its own minigame. Over 3 Eras we place Workers, build Buildings and Bridges, and grow our Influence. About two hours; most points wins.”

• You need: Influence in the Neighborhoods that are popular at each Era’s end, progress in the four minigames, and Buildings and Bridges built.
• You get them by: placing Workers to collect Resources and play minigames, then spending Resources on Buildings and Guilds on Bridges — each one built raises your Influence there.

The boards

1. End Game Scoring table — one per Neighborhood, in each corner.
2. Building spaces — three per Neighborhood, with their Building Price tokens.
3. Mug cards — the deck the Mill Wheel draws from.
4. Clock — the Robot minigame’s Crates and Light Bulbs.
5. Mill Wheel — Vodnik rewards by Worker type.
6. Idea track — Robot progress and its Milestones.
7. Influence track — one per Neighborhood, with Upgrade and Witch spaces and the crown.
8. Popularity track — the Faction order that sets what each Neighborhood’s Influence is worth.
9. River — the Boats’ route, Whirls and Milestone stacks.
10. Cauldron and Flame board — the Horned minigame’s Items.
11. Neighborhood Square — where Workers are placed.
12. Marketplace — the Golem’s grid of rewards and Guilds.

1. Worker usage reminder — your Workers’ spaces and the Bench.
2. Bridge tile spaces — your Bridge stacks.
3. Bridge Milestones — every two Bridges built.
4. Conversions — 3 Rumors = 1 Resource, 2 equal Resources = 1 Garnet.
5. Display Case — your Items and their Milestones.
6. Built-bridge slot — Bridges with no free board space.
7. Rumor track — 0 to 6.
8. Repair area — Items that score 1 each.
9. Guilds — marked from the Marketplace, spent on Bridges.
10. Available actions — the five actions.

A turn

Each Era, players take one action per turn, clockwise, until all have Benched (full rules):

1. Place a Worker on a Square without one of yours: move the Witch if she is there, gain 3 Rumors (home Worker) or 1 Resource, then play that Neighborhood’s minigame.
2. Enter a Building: move a placed Worker onto a free Building it can use, here or across a complete Bridge.
3. Build a Building: pay a Price token, add a card from the offer, +1 Influence.
4. Build a Bridge: pay 2 Guilds, place a tile, +1 Influence.
5. Bench: put your last Worker on the Bench, take its bonus and 1 Rumor per Worker on a Square.

Mug cards and a 3- Rumor Worker conversion can be used around your action.

For the rehearsal turn, put a Vodnik in the Vodnik Neighborhood: it gains 3 Rumors. Then show a Robot in the same Neighborhood: it gains 1 Fish. The destination chooses the minigame; the Worker type chooses which part of it resolves. Keep the last Worker on the player board while demonstrating, so everyone can see the Worker reserved for the Bench.

How the game ends

• At the end of each Era, score Influence by Popularity, then re-sort Popularity (least visited goes to the top) and start the next Era (details).
• After the third Era, add the minigames, Building Price tokens and End Game Scoring bonuses (end game scoring).
• Ties: more Buildings built, then more Resources left.

Ways to score

Source	How and when
Influence	End of each Era: first and second on each track, worth more in popular Neighborhoods
Horned minigame	End: VP above the rightmost Item of each Display Case row, 1 per Repair Item
Robot minigame	End: 3 / 8 / 14 / 20 for 1–4 Idea Milestones, plus your Idea track value
Vodnik minigame	End: your Boat’s River value, plus 12 or 10 per finished voyage
Golem minigame	End: each Bridge tile by its board space (1 if beside your board)
Buildings	End: the VP on each Building Price token you took
End Game Scoring bonuses	End: your table space × your achievements in that minigame

What each resource is for

Resource	Why you need it	How you get it	How you use it
Basic Resources	Building costs, Building effects	Off-type Worker placements, minigames, Buildings	Pay Building Price tokens and Building effects
Rumors (max 6)	Flexibility	Home Worker placements, Crates, Bench	3 = any Resource or a Worker of any type; some Upgrades
Garnet	Wild	Milestones, rewards, 2 equal Resources when paying	Any basic Resource or Rumor
Guilds	Bridges	Golem Marketplace	2 per Bridge tile
Workers	Your actions	4 per Era	Place on Squares, then enter Buildings; the last one Benches
Mug cards	One-off boosts	Mill Wheel when its section is empty	Free action on your turn
Upgrade cards	Lasting powers	Influence track rewards	Under your board for the rest of the game

Teaching tips

• Teach the four Worker types and their home Neighborhoods first: home placement = 3 Rumors, elsewhere = 1 Resource, and the Worker type steers every minigame.
• Walk one placement in each Neighborhood with the board in front of everyone before the other actions.
• Stress that the last Worker can’t be placed: it is for the Bench, and the first to Bench starts the next Era.
• Explain Popularity with the Faction tiles in hand: the least visited Neighborhood becomes the most valuable one to lead.