- 1. Select Leader and Player Color
- Each player takes a leader sheet, chooses a color, and takes all of their colored components. Each player sets their tech dial to zero.
- 2. Construct Focus Bar
- Each player places their focus bar and places the five "I" focus cards under the focus bar in the order specified on the bottom of their leader card. Each player places a caravan on their "Foreign Trade" card.
- 3. Construct Map
After your first game, players will construct their own map. The players will initially construct the CORE, then they will take turns adding tiles to it.
- Deal 1 random tile that has a capital-city icon (star) to each player. Return unused capital-city tiles to the box.
- Take 2 random tiles that have a natural wonder and 2 random tiles that have a city-state and shuffle all 4 together. These are your CORE tiles.
- All CORE tiles will be placed on the same side (either all side A, or all side B).
- Form the core by drawing and placing the core tiles, 1 at a time into the center of the table. Place the tiles in the order below. Place a trade token on each of the CORE tiles to show that they are CORE tiles.
- Shuffle the remaining unplaced tiles and deal two to each player. Return any remaining to the game box.
- Starting with a random player and moving clockwise, each player chooses and places of their 3 tiles. Each tile can be placed on either of its sides, but the following restrictions must be obeyed:
- The tile being placed must touch at least 4 spaces on tiles that are already on the table.
- The tile must touch the core, even if it must be flipped to do so. If it can't touch the core while satisfying the previous restriction, it must touch a tile that is touching the core.
- If a player places a capital-city tile, he or she must place his or her capital city on that tile’s capital city icon.
- If a completely enclosed hole in the map is formed, the players fill the hole with water tokens.
- Repeat step 6 until all tiles have been placed. Then, remove the trade tokens from the core tiles.
- 4. Populate Map
- For each space on the map with an icon, place a matching token on that space. Make sure the barbarian tokens match the letter on the space. City-states should have the same icon and black frame.
- 5. Place City-State Cards
- For each city-state token placed on the board, place both copies of that city-state's diplomacy card next to the board. Return the rest to the box.
- 6. Set Direction Token and Event Dial
- Place the barbarian direction token against any edge of the map in any orientation. Set the barbarian dial to the "helmet with a star in it" and give this to the first player.
- 7. Separate Wonder Cards
- Separate the wonder cards by their type (color).
- 3 Player Game
- Return 1 random ancient era card from each pile to the game box without revealing it.
- 2 Player Game
- Return one random ancient era card and one random medieval era card from each pile to the box without revealing them.
- 8. Create Wonder Decks
For each pile of wonder cards, do the following:
- Randomize the modern era of that type and place them facedown
- Randomize the medieval era cards of that type and place them facedown on top of the modern era cards.
- Randomize the ancient era cards of that type and place them facedown on the medieval era cards.
- Flip the top card of the deck faceup and place the deck next to the board
- 9. Organize Wonder Tokens
- Place the same colored wonder tokens near the corresponding deck.
- 10. Deal Victory Cards
- Place 3 random victory cards faceup next to the map. Return the remaining to the box.
- 11. Create Supply
- Place the trade tokens and remaining resource tokens next to the map to form the supply.
- A player's turn consists of 3 steps
- 1. Choose a card
- The player chooses one of the 5 cards in their focus row and offsets it to show it was chosen.
- 2. Resolve the card
- The player resolves the text on the card.
- 3. Reset the card
- Pick up the chosen card, then move all cards in lower slots one space to the right. Then, place the chosen card in the first slot.
Each hex on a map tile is a space. Spaces each have a terrain represented by different art. There are 5 types of terrain, each of which corresponds to a slot in the focus bar.
Type Slot Grassland 1 Hills 2 Forest 3 Desert 4 Mountain 5 Water has a difficulty of one, but players can't move onto water unless a card specifically allows it
If a space appears to have more than 1 terrain, its terrain is the type that covers the most area on the space.
All of the control tokens and plastic figures of a player's color are friendly to that player. All of the control tokens and plastic figures of other colors are considered rival to that player.
Caravans do not cause a space to be friendly or rival
- Spaces are empty if they don't contain any tokens or plastic figures of any kind.
Resources (marble, mercury, oil, and diamond) can be collected and spent to build world wonders.
A natural wonder token can be used once per turn for the resource depicted on the tile. It is not returned to the supply when used.
Spaces with a natural wonder do not have a terrain type. However, all natural wonder spaces have a difficulty of 5
- A city is mature when each space adjacent to it either contains a friendly control token or is a water space. Cities on the edge of the map are easier to mature as there are less spaces to place control tokens in.
There are 5 types of focus cards. Each is designated by its icon in the upper left corner of the card.
Each focus card can be upgraded with more powerful versions. If a focus card is upgraded, you always replace the same type of card in your focus row. i.e. A level 2, 3, or 4 Science card can replace a lower level Science card in the focus row.
- Culture
These cards allow you to place control tokens on the map. The focus row slot determines the type of terrain that control tokens can be placed on.
Unused control tokens can be placed on spaces adjacent to a friendly city. If the space contains a resource or natural wonder, the player takes that token.
The player must obey these rules:
- The player can't place the token on a water space or on any space where the terrain corresponds to a higher focus row slot. All natural wonders are treated as a difficulty of 5.
- The space can't contain a barbarian token.
- The token must be place on its unreinforced side.
- Science
The science focus card advances your tech dial. The focus row slot determines how much the dial advances.
If you advance to, or pass, a tech level on the dial, the player gains a new focus card of that tech level and replaces an existing focus card of the same type (Science must replace Science, for example).
- Economy
Economy cards allow you to use your caravans and interact with city-states and rival cities. The focus row slot determines the terrain types that the caravan can move onto.
A caravan on a player's economy card can only move onto the map out of a players capital city or a mature city as though it was already in that city's space.
The player must obey the following rules:
- The player cannot place or move a caravan onto water or any space whose terrain corresponds to a higher focus row slot.
- The space can't contain a barbarian token.
- The player can't move more than 1 caravan to the same city or city-state during the same turn
When moving onto a city or city-state, resolve the following in order:
- The player returns the caravan to their economy card.
- The player gains 2 trade tokens from the supply.
- City-State: The trade tokens are placed on the card in their focus row that shares the city-state's type
- Rival City: The trade tokens are placed on focus cards in the player's focus row of their choosing.
- The player may take one diplomacy card.
- City-State: If a copy of the city-state's diplomacy card is available, the player takes a copy of it. The player cannot take a second copy of that city-state's diplomacy card!
- Rival City: The player chooses one of that rival player's available diplomacy cards. If the player already has one of that rival player's diplomacy cards, they must return it before taking another card from the player
Other caravan rules:
- Caravans can move through city-states and rival cities, but they cannot stop and remain in those spaces
- When a caravan moves to the space of a conquered city-state, it resolves the effect of a rival city
- After a caravan returns to the economy card, it can't move again on that same turn.
- Industry
The industry card allows a player to either build a new city or build a world wonder. When building a city, the focus row slot determines the types of terrain the player can build on. If building a wonder, the number of the focus row slot contributes toward the cost of the wonder
- Building Cities
Place an unused city on an empty space within the number of spaces indicated on the focus card, counting from any friendly space.
The player must obey the following rules:
- The player cannot build on a space that contains any component other than a caravan or a friendly control token. If built on a caravan, the components share the space. If built on a control token, the token is removed from the map.
- The player can't build adjacent to a city or city-state
- The player cannot build on, or count through, a water space, or any space whose terrain corresponds to a higher focus row slot.
- The player can't count through a rival space or a barbarian token
- Build World Wonders
A world wonder's (production) cost is in the lower left of the card. Resources that a player can spend toward the purchase of the wonder are in the lower right.
To build a wonder, the player pays the production cost, which is the sum of:
- The number of the industry card's focus row slot.
- 2 production for each eligible resource that player spends.
- 1 production for each trade token the player spends from the industry card.
If the production cost is met, the player takes the wonder card and the corresponding wonder tile and places it under a friendly city that does not already have a wonder token under it. Then, reveal the next wonder card.
A player cannot build a wonder if all of their cities already have a wonder token
- Military
Military cards allow a player to either reinforce defenses or perform attacks. The focus row slot affects how many control tokens can be reinforce, or it affects the strength of each attack.
- Reinforcing Control Tokens
Choose a number of control tokens up to the number of the military card's slot and flip the tokens to their reinforced side
- Performing Attacks
Attacks are used to defeat barbarians, conquer city-states, and capture rival territory. To perform an attack, the player chooses a place to attack from and a target within the number of spaces indicated on the military card.
The player must obey the following rules:
- The defender must be a barbarian token, city-state, rival city, or rival control token.
- The player can't count through a water space, a rival space, or a barbarian token. The player can count through all other terrain regardless of the military card's slot.
- The player can't attack from a space that he or she attacked and took control of this turn.
Attack order:
- Choose Target: The attacker chooses a space to attack from and a target to attack
- Attacker Rolls: The attacker rolls a die and adds bonuses from the following sources:
- The number of their military focus card's slot.
- Bonuses on their cards and leader sheet.
- Defender Rolls: The defender rolls a die and adds the corresponding to the defender's type:
- City-State: Bonus = 8
- Barbarian: Bonus = Defending space's terrain difficulty
- Rival Space: Bonus = The sum of the following:
- Defending space's terrain difficulty (double this if the defender is a city).
- +1 for each adjacent, friendly, reinforced control token.
- +1 if the defender is a reinforced control token.
- Card and leader sheet bonuses
- Spend Trade Tokens: The attacker, and then the defender, have one chance to spend trade tokens from their military focus cards. +1 to combat value for each trade token spent.
- Compare Combat Values: Player with the highest combat value wins (defender wins ties).
Other attacking rules:
- If a player unsuccessfully attacks a target, they cannot attack it again during the same turn
- If a player conquers a city or city-state and has no remaining cities to place, they place a reinforced control token instead.
- If a player must place a control token on a city-state or wonder token, they have still conquered that city-state or gained control of the wonder
- Successful Attack Results
- City-State
The attacker places the city-state token on the card in their focus row that shares the same type. Then the attacker places one of their unused cities on the space that held the city-state token.
City-state tokens can be used as 1 trade token per turn for that focus card without removing it from their focus card
All of the city-states diplomacy cards are returned to the supply and placed face down.
If the city-state space was previously conquered by another player, the attacker has a choice. They can replace the rival city with one of their own cities just as if they had conquered the city-state or they can "liberate" the city-state. If the attacker chooses to liberate the city-state, the player returns the city-state token to the map, flips that city-state's diplomacy cards faceup, and takes one.
- Barbarian
- The attacker removes the barbarian token from the map and takes one trade token from the supply and places it on any card in their focus row.
- Control Token
- The attacker replaces the token with 1 of their unused control tokens on its unreinforced side. If the token is on a natural wonder space, the attacker takes the natural wonder token.
- Non-Capital City
The attacker replaces the city with one of their unused cities. If the space was a city-state, the attacker can choose to liberate it.
If there is a wonder token under the defeated city, The attacker takes the matching wonder card. If the defending city was a capital city, the attacker must move the token to one of their cities. If all of the attacker's cities currently have a wonder, the attacker cannot take the card or token.
- Capital City
- The attacker takes up to 2 trade tokens from the defending player's focus cards and places them on their own focus cards, wherever they would like.
- City-State
Each victory card is divided into 2 agendas. The player must complete 1 of the 2 agendas from each victory card.
When a player completes an agenda, they place a control token under the card. Even if the player later ceases to satisfy the agenda, the token remains and does not need to accomplish an agenda on that card again.
At the start of the 1st player's turn, if a player has completed 1 agenda on each victory card, that player wins. If there is a tie, the player with the most wonders wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most friendly spaces wins.
- The event dial is not part of anyone's turn. It is activated before the 1st player's turn (except the first turn of the game). When it is the 1st player's turn, the dial is first rotated clockwise 1 space and resolved.
- Barbarian Movement (helmet with an arrow)
Each barbarian on the map moves 1 space. To determine the direction, the 1st player rolls a die and moves all the barbarians as indicated on the barbarian direction token.
If a barbarian moves onto a space with a player component, resolve the following effects:
- Caravan: The component is destroyed and returned to the player's focus card
- Unreinforced Control Token or Non-Capital City: The component is destroyed and returned to the player.
- Reinforced Control Token: The token is flipped to its unreinforced side
- Capital City: The player chooses, then discards, a total of 2 trade tokens from cards in their focus row.
If a barbarian moves onto water, they continue in the same direction until they reach a non-water space. If a barbarian would move off the edge of the map, it moves in the opposite direction instead.
Other movement rules:
- If a barbarian reverses direction due to the edge of the map or a reinforced control token and it reverses onto a water space, it continues moving until it reaches a land space
- While a barbarian is in a city-state's space, caravans cannot move into that space and the city-state cannot be attacked.
- After barbarians move, if there are multiple barbarians on a space, roll a die and move 1 of the barbarians in the rolled direction
- Barbarian Spawning (helmet with a star)
All barbarians that were previously defeated are returned to their corresponding (letters match) spaces on the map.
The barbarian will only respawn if the matching space is empty or only occupied by a caravan (the caravan would be destroyed).
- Trade (trade token)
All mature cities produce 1 trade token. These can be distributed on a player's focus row as they desire
- Control Tokens
- When placing control tokens, they can be split among multiple cities
- If a player must place a control token, but has no more, they can move a control token from another space on the map.
- If a control token is removed from a natural wonder, the natural wonder token is placed back on its space on the map.
- Focus Cards, Focus Row, and Tech Dial
- When a player replaces a card in their focus row, all trade tokens on that card are moved onto the replacement.
- If a player reaches more than one tech level space on a turn, they gain both spaces effects.
- If a player's tech dial would go past space 24, the next space is space 15.
- A player can resolve a focus card for no effect.
- Each focus row card is limited to a max of 3 trade tokens. City-states do not count against this limit.
- Other
- All components except trade tokens are limited.
- When a player takes a diplomacy card from another player, its color must match that player's color, and it must currently be in their deck.
- When a player's component is destroyed, it is returned to that player and can be used again.