Patrician: Towers of Influence

About this board game

Patrician: Towers of Influence is a game for 2–5 players that plays in about 50 minutes. Set in 13th-century Italy, it challenges players to build magnificent towers for wealthy Patrician families and profit from their pursuit of influence.

Each turn, play a Building card to add a floor to a tower in the matching city. Some cards also provide special actions that can help you advance your plans or hinder your opponents. After building, take the face-up card from the pile beside the city where you constructed the tower, keeping the flow of new opportunities moving around the table.

As the game develops, players compete to shape the skylines of several cities. When a tower is completed, the builder is there to take the credit. Final scoring rewards control of the tallest towers in each city, while Patrician portrait card sets provide another route to victory.

• Build towers by playing cards that match their cities.
• Use special actions to support your strategy or disrupt other builders.
• Score for influence over the tallest towers and for portrait card sets.

This edition presents Michael Schacht’s classic design with an updated presentation, new rules for two players, and two optional expansion modules. With two players, the Architetto acts as a wily bot opponent, thwarting your plans as you compete for influence.

For additional decisions and changes to final scoring, you can include the optional Trade Routes and Delegates modules. Effortless to play but full of opportunities to read the table, Patrician: Towers of Influence turns architectural ambition into a contest for prestige and victory points.