Princes of the Renaissance

About this board game

Princes of the Renaissance is a strategic game of influence, warfare, and treachery for 3–6 players, with games lasting about 180 minutes. Set in Renaissance Italy, it casts each player as a minor Condottiere prince competing for power among the great city-states.

Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Naples are not controlled by individual players. Instead, players acquire interests in these cities as the game develops. Each city has six tiles, many representing famous figures such as Lucrezia Borgia and Lorenzo Medici. Their special properties can shape your fortunes: Cesare Borgia encourages treachery, while a Venetian merchant increases income. These tiles can also provide victory points based on each city’s status at the end of the game.

• Bid for military command using influence points when cities go to war.
• Turn influence into gold by fighting for a city, regardless of the battle’s outcome.
• Buy City and Treachery tiles to expand your advantages and disrupt opponents.
• Shape battles through strategy and deception, since the strongest army does not always determine the result.

War outcomes depend on luck and the size of each player’s army, but the position of Condottiere can be just as important. A player may deliberately lead a city with a weak army, or use Treachery tiles to bribe troops and alter the contest. These tiles can also steal influence or remove players from an auction.

At some point, a player becomes the Pope and can form a Holy League by joining one side in a battle. Negotiation is optional, yet the game leaves room for players to bargain, bribe, and plot as they pursue control of the Renaissance. In Princes of the Renaissance, influence, gold, warfare, and calculated betrayal all compete for your attention.