Maharaja: The Game of Palace Building in India

About this board game

Maharaja: The Game of Palace Building in India is a board game for 2–5 players, with a playing time of about 90 minutes. Combining area control with simultaneous action selection, it challenges players to build palaces and houses for the Maharaja while managing their income and influence across India.

During the game, players take different roles and travel from city to city. Each player chooses actions at the same time, then reveals and resolves those choices in turn. The available actions include generating money, building houses or palaces, influencing the Maharaja’s movements, and selecting new architects.

• Generate money to help fund costly construction.
• Build houses and palaces in cities across India.
• Manipulate the Maharaja’s movements to affect which city is scored.
• Choose architects, each with a unique power and a position in the turn order.

Architect selection adds an important choice: the more powerful architects come further down the turn order. Players must therefore weigh special abilities against when their actions will be revealed and resolved.

At the end of each round, the Maharaja scores the city where he is currently located, based on the number of buildings there. Players receive money accordingly, after which the Maharaja moves to a new city. Building a palace is expensive, so earning enough money in the cities is essential.

The first player to build seven palaces wins. Alongside the basic game, Maharaja includes two advanced versions in its rules booklet for players seeking greater depth in their gameplay.