Forbidden City

About this board game

Forbidden City is a 2018 tile-placement game for 2–4 players, with play lasting about 30 minutes. Set in the imperial palace of a young Chinese Emperor, it challenges advisors to expand their influence and become the most powerful figure in the court.

On each turn, play the tile from your face-down pile and place it face up on the table. A tile may be placed only against a tile of the same color, unless a wall separates them. As the palace grows, players work to completely surround rooms with walls, with or without archways.

When a room closes, calculate its total value. Every tile in the room is worth 1 point, while each imperial dragon contributes 3 bonus points. Any other rooms directly accessible through an archway are also included in the score, creating opportunities for carefully connected palace spaces.

• Build the palace: Place room tiles according to their colors and walls.
• Close rooms: Surround spaces to trigger scoring.
• Seek dragons: Add 3 bonus points for every dragon in a scored room.
• Compete for influence: The advisor with the most advisors in a room claims the largest share of its value.

The player with the most advisors in a closed room receives its total value in Chinese coins. The player with the second-most receives half the score, rounded down when necessary; tied players sharing the most advisors each receive half the total value.

At the end of Forbidden City, the advisor with the highest amount of Chinese coins wins. Every placement can help shape the palace, close a valuable room, and shift the balance of influence.