Published card games
The Builders: Middle Ages
Become the kingdom's master builder by completing the buildings that bring the most victory points.
- players
- 2–4
- minutes
- 30
You’ll need the game box. Marquoir sums up the rules and keeps score.
Setup
- The game has 42 Worker cards, 42 Building cards including 8 Machines, and 40 coins: 25 silver worth 1 and 15 gold worth 5.
- Shuffle the Buildings, construction side up, and lay out five in a row next to the deck.
- Set aside the Apprentice workers: each player gets one at random, and the others go back into the Worker deck. Shuffle that deck and lay out five Workers below the row of Buildings.
- The coins form the bank; each player gets 10 coins.
- A first player is chosen at random and takes the First Player card.
- 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up.
How to play
- On your turn, you have 3 free actions, and you may buy more for 5 coins each.
- Open a construction site, for 1 action: take one of the five Buildings on display, replaced at once. You may run several sites at the same time.
- Recruit a worker, for 1 action: take one of the five Workers on display, replaced at once.
- Send a worker to work: place them next to one of your sites and pay the bank the wage shown on their card. They stay put until the building is completed.
- Sending workers to different sites costs 1 action per worker; on the same site in the same turn, the second costs 2 actions, the third 3, and so on.
- Take coins: 1 action gives 1 coin, 2 actions 3 coins, 3 actions 6 coins.
- A building is completed, at no action cost, as soon as its workers together produce at least what it requires in stone, wood, knowledge and tiles. Collect the coins it shows, turn it over to its victory point side, and its workers rejoin your team.
- A Machine is built like a building and scores its points; once completed, it joins your team as a worker you never have to pay.
Scoring
- At the end of the game, everyone adds up the victory points of their completed buildings and machines.
- Each full ten coins left in your purse adds 1 point; anything beyond a round ten doesn't count.
- In Marquoir, enter the building points and the number of coins left: the counter turns them into points.
End of the game
- The end draws near as soon as a player finishes their turn with 17 or more victory points from buildings and machines; coins don't count towards this.
- Finish the round so that everyone has played the same number of turns, then score.
- The most points wins. On a tie, the most victory points from buildings decides, then the most coins.
Frequently asked questions
How many points are coins worth at the end?
1 victory point per full ten: 19 coins score 1 point, 20 coins score 2.
How much does an extra action cost?
5 coins. You may buy several in the same turn, on top of the three free actions.
Why does the second worker cost more?
Sending several workers to the same site in one turn is taxed: 1 action for the first, 2 for the second, 3 for the third. Spreading them over different sites costs only one action per worker.
Do coins count towards the 17 points?
No. Only completed buildings and machines count to trigger the end; coins are only added in the final scoring.
The box
- Released
- 2013
- Age
- Ages 10+
- Designer
- Frédéric Henry
- Artwork
- Sabrina Miramon
- Publisher
- Bombyx
- Mechanics
- Action PointsMoney Management
- Contents
- 42 Worker cards
- 42 Building cards, including 8 Machines
- 40 coins: 25 silver worth 1 and 15 gold worth 5