Ora et Labora

About this board game

Ora et Labora is a strategy board game for 1–4 players, with sessions lasting about 180 minutes, in which each player leads a medieval monastery.

Acquire land, construct buildings, and develop a working infrastructure of small enterprises that generate resources and profit. Your ultimate goal is to manufacture prestigious items—including books, ceramics, ornaments, and relics—and finish with the most victory points.

The game uses a numbered rondel to track the availability of resources. At the beginning of each round, the rondel turns by one segment, adjusting the counts of all resources at the same time. Like in Le Havre, resource tiles can be upgraded from basic items into more useful forms.

Each player manages a personal game board where new buildings become available over time. Buildings require the materials you gather and must follow terrain restrictions, making the placement of every construction an important decision. Trees and moors initially hinder development, but clearing them provides resources; additional terrain can also be purchased during the game when needed.

Your three workers enter buildings to perform their associated actions, but they must remain in place until all three have been placed. You may use your own buildings freely, while using another player’s building requires paying an entry fee. That payment causes the building’s owner to move one of their workers there to carry out the work for you.

• Build and improve a personal monastery infrastructure.
• Manage resources with a changing numbered rondel.
• Clear and develop terrain with strategic building placement.
• Produce valuable goods to increase your final score.

With its evolving resource supply and tightly connected worker, building, and terrain decisions, Ora et Labora offers a substantial development challenge. It includes two variants: France and Ireland.