The Ancient World

Introduction

In an ancient world forgotten by time, enormous Titans terrorize the land. The five tribes have been fleeing from them for as long as anyone can remember, but things are about to change. Growing city-states pledge to end the reign of terror, determined to take on the titans and make the world a safer place for everyone. Each city-state competes to attract the tribes, eager for the strength of the combined peoples, who are now leaving behind old traditions with the hope that the Titans can be defeated once and for all.

Overview

Players compete to grow the largest and most influential city-state by managing citizens, wealth, military, and defeating Titans. Players take turns sending citizens to take special actions or using military cards to attack titans. Players can purchase empire cards, which give more citizens, money, and abilities. After six rounds, the player with the most influential city-state wins.

Objective

The goal of the game is to collect sets of tribe banners. Each Empire card has one or more tribe banners. Tribe banners can also be gained by defeating Titans. After six rounds, players gain victory points for sets of tribe banners, and the player with the most victory points wins.

• 1 1st Player Token
• 68 Coin Tokens
• 16 Knowledge Tokens
• 2 Action-Cover Tokens
• 1 Board
• 8 Starting Military Cards
• 10 District Cards
• 45 Empire A Cards
• 47 Empire B Cards
• 25 Military Cards
• 20 Titan Cards
• 4 Player Boards
• 20 Citizen Tokens
• 3 Custom Dice
• 8 Starting Empire Cards

Game Setup

2-4 Players | 90 Minutes

1. Separate the cards according to their type (labeled on the back of each card). When you are finished you should have 8 piles of card types: Titan ( 3 stars, 2 stars, 1 star), Military, District, Empire (A and B), and Starting.
2. Place the Coin, Knowledge, and Citizen tokens on the side of the board.
3. Place a coin token to the left of the A on the round track.
4. Shuffle the District cards and place them in a deck face down on the board. Turn the top card in the deck face up.
5. Shuffle the three decks of Titan cards (1, 2, and 3 stars). Place them face down in three piles on the board. Turn the top card of each deck face up.
6. Place the two action cover tokens on top of these two actions so that they are hidden.
7. Shuffle the Military cards and place the deck face down on the helmet symbol. Draw a number of Military cards equal to the number of players and place them face up in a row to the right of the deck.
8. Shuffle the Empire A cards. Place the deck face down on the building symbol on the board. Draw a number of Empire A cards place them face up in a row to the right. The number of cards depends on how many players there are:
   • 2 players: 4 cards
   • 3 players: 5 cards
   • 4 players: 6 cards

   Shuffle the Empire B cards and place them off to the side (you will need them on round 4).

9. Give each player:
   • A player board (which contains the Capital City)
   • “Fishing Dock” and “Wheat Fields” Starting Empire cards
   • 6 Coins
   • Two Starting Military cards (“City Guard” and “Militia”)
   • Citizen tokens in one color with numbers 1, 2 and 3
10. The player who has most recently won a game is first player. He takes the 1st-player token. Player 2 in turn order now collects 1 extra coin and players 3 and 4 in turn order now collect 2 extra coins. If you prefer, use a random method to decide first player.
11. Place unused Starting Military cards, Citizen tokens, Starting Empire cards, and Player Boards in the box.

Player Area Setup

• Military Cards are placed to the left.
• The Capital City gives each player 1 food, 4 capacity, 5 coins per round, and a 2-army limit.
• District, Empire, and Defeated Titans Cards are placed to the right.
• Place stored Empire cards below.

The Ancient World is played over the course of six rounds. Each round has 3 phases, executed as follows:

Phase 1: Prepare

First, advance the coin on the round track. If this were the first round, you would place it on the left-most circle (with a letter “A”). If this were the second round, you would move it to the next circle on the right, and so on.

Some rounds add a new action or new effect to the game (listed in the round track). Follow the directions depending on the round:

• Round 1: Use the Empire A deck.
• Round 2: Reveal the Explore action.
• Round 3: Reveal the Grow action.
• Round 4: Use the Empire B deck.

(Skip this paragraph on the first round) Discard any remaining Empire cards on the board and place them in a discard pile to the side of the board. Draw new cards from the Empire deck and place them face up on the board in the Empire card track (The number of cards depends on how many players there are: 2 players- 4 cards, 3 players- 5 cards, 4 players- 6 cards.) If the Empire deck is ever depleted, shuffle the discard pile to refresh the draw deck.

(Also skip this paragraph on the first round) Do not discard any Military cards that remain on the board. Draw new cards from the Military deck and place them face up in the Military card track until there are a number of cards equal to the number of players.

Phase 2: Player Actions

Starting with the first player (the player with the first-player token) and continuing in clockwise order, each player may take one action per turn until all players have passed. The available actions are:

a. Place Citizen

A player may place one of his Citizen tokens on an Action space on the board. The player places the Citizen as illustrated in the example to the right, just above the parchment in a row so that nothing is covered. When a player places a Citizen token on an Action, he performs the Action immediately. A player may only place a Citizen token on an Action space that has no other Citizen tokens on it, or if his Citizen token’s skill number is higher than the skill number of any Citizen tokens on the Action (including his own previously placed Citizens).

Note: Some actions have special placement rules, which are described in detail in the “Citizen Actions” section on page 10.

A player may also place Citizen tokens on Empire cards he owns that give Actions. Unlike Actions on the board, Empire card Actions may only be used once per round, and only by the player that owns the card unless otherwise stated.

Citizen actions are described in detail in the “Citizen Actions” section on page 10.

b. Attack a Titan

A player may choose to attack a Titan card. He may attack the top card in the one, two, or three-star piles. To attack, the player must pay coins to one or more Military cards he owns. To use the Military card, the card must not yet have been used in the round (indicated by not having any coins on the name section of the card). The cost is equal to one more coin than is already on the card. For example, if there were 3 coins on the card, the cost to use the card would be 4 coins.

The player places the new coins on the name section of the card. The coins are placed on the name section to remind the player the card has been used once and may not be used again in the same round. Paying a Military card gives a player temporary access to the attack symbols and other abilities on the card, including the Legacy Abilities from retired Military cards (Legacy Abilities are explained in detail in the “Recruit” section on page 11).

Access to abilities gained by paying a Military card only lasts for one attack action, not the entire round. Players may pay coins to multiple Military cards in the same attack action.

To defeat the Titan, the player must have an attack value equal to or higher than the Titan defense value listed on the Titan card. Attack value is gained from Military cards used in this attack action as well as from Empire and District cards the player owns. There are two types of attack value: swords and arrows. If the Titan card shows swords, the player may only count sword icons. If the Titan card shows swords and arrows, the player may count swords and arrows.

When the player defeats the Titan, he takes the card and puts it to the right of his player board in the stack of districts and titans. He turns the next card in the Titan deck face up.

As a last step, the player must roll the Damage Die, which represents damage dealt to the player’s city-state by the Titan during the attack. The player must roll the die once for each banner on the Titan card. The effects are described below:

• Titan: 1 Empire card is damaged per Titan symbol. The player chooses 1 Empire card that he owns to flip face down. This card does not grant its abilities until it is repaired. If the player has no Empire card that he can damage, nothing happens.
• Coin: The player loses 1 coin per coin symbol. If the player has no coins to lose, nothing happens.
• Blank: No effect.

A player may attack only one Titan per turn.

A player may attack multiple Titans in the round, as long as he has at least one unused Military card (a Military card with no coins on the name section of the card). Players may not attack without paying at least one Military card.

Titan cards grant abilities, Tribe Banners, and Capacity. When a city-state defeats a Titan, more tribes flock to the capital, and new lands open up for development.

Titan Damage

• When a player rolls the damage dice, he must damage one Empire card for each Titan symbol he rolls.
• If a player damages a card with a food, he does not need to place a citizen in the Starving box immediately. The only time players check for starvation is at the end of the round.
• If the player damages an Empire card that gives him an army, he must discard any Military cards in any armies that exceed his limit (including retired Military cards).

Attacking a Titan Example

Tim wants to attack the “Stone Being” Titan. The Titan has a Defense value of 8, and Tim can use swords and arrows against it. Tim decides to use his “Merkian Troops”, which have 3 arrows and 1 sword, and also have a Legacy Ability of 1 sword. The “Merkian Troops” card currently has 1 coin token on the picture area because Tim used it last round, which means he must pay 2 coins to the card to use it now. He places the 2 new coins on the card so that they are covering the name area (now there are 3 coins in total on the card). This gives Tim a total of 5 temporary attack value which he can use against the Titan. Tim also happens to have 3 sword abilities given to him from various Empire cards (he does not need to pay anything to use these symbols on the Empire cards). This gives Tim a total of 8 attack value, and he defeats the Titan. Tim claims the Titan card and places it next to his player board. Then Tim rolls 2 damage dice (one for each banner on the Titan). He rolls one blank and one coin, and must lose a coin. As a last step, Tim turns the next Titan card in the deck face up.

c. Pass

If a player cannot or does not wish to attack a Titan or place a Citizen token, he must pass. Once a player passes, he cannot take any more actions that round (simply skip players that have passed until all players have passed).

Phase 3: End of Round

When all players have passed, each player collects coins and knowledge for each coin and knowledge symbol he owns with the green arrow attached. Important: If six rounds have passed, the game ends and players do not collect coins and knowledge.

Also, players slide down any coins that are on the name section to the picture section of any Military card they own (thus allowing the cards to be used again on the next round). Players also reclaim used Citizen tokens and place them on their player boards.

The player with the first-player token flips it so that the side with the hand symbol is face down.

Finally, players check to see if they can feed all of their Citizens. If a player does not have a food symbol for each Citizen token he owns, he must place any unfed Citizen tokens on the “Starving” box on his player board. Citizen tokens in the “Starving” box cannot be used in the next round. At the start of the game, each player has one food from his Capital City and one food each from his two starting Empire cards – enough to feed his three starting Citizens.

The next round now begins, starting with phase 1. If six rounds have passed, the game ends.

Game Phases Summary

1. Prepare

• Advance round track.
• Discard remaining Empire cards.
• Refresh Empire card row.
• Refresh Military card row.

2. Player Actions

Take turns taking one action until all players pass.

• Place Citizen
• Attack a Titan
• Pass

3. End of Round

• Collect coins and knowledge.
• Slide down coins on Military cards.
• Reclaim Citizens.
• Check for starvation.
• Flip 1st-player token to “non-hand” side.

Players may use their Citizen tokens on the following actions.

a. Board Actions

Players may send Citizen tokens to actions spaces on the board. A player may only place a Citizen token on an Action that has no other Citizen tokens on it, or if his Citizen token’s skill number is higher than the skill number of any Citizen tokens on the action. Each action described below has an immediate effect, and some have special rules.

Labor

The player collects two coins.

Build

The player may buy one of the Empire cards in the Empire card row, or an Empire card the player has stored.

Special Rule: A player may place Citizen tokens on this action even if his Citizen token has a lower skill number than Citizen tokens already on the board. However, if the player places a Citizen token with a skill number that does not match any previously placed Citizen tokens (belonging to any player), he must pay one coin. If there are no previously placed Citizen tokens, the player is not required to pay one coin.

Additionally, the player must have enough capacity to hold the Empire card. Capacity is granted by District cards and Titan cards and a player’s Capital City (found on his player board). Each Empire card takes up 1 capacity. If the player does not have sufficient capacity, he may not gain a new Empire card.

Players may not own more than one of each Empire card.

The player pays the cost in coins and knowledge to the supply and places the Empire card to the right of his player board. Empire cards give bonuses and abilities, described in the sections “Card Abilities” on page 13.

Important: Do not refresh the Empire card row until the next round.

Draft

The player gains 1 Attack value per Citizen token on this action. This Attack value is granted for the entire round and may be used in multiple Titan attack actions.

Expand

The player gains the top card of the District deck, which grants additional capacity and may grant other abilities. The player must pay 1 knowledge or 3 coins to the supply. The player immediately turns the next District card face up.

Learn

The player gains 1 knowledge from the supply. He must pay 3 coins to the supply.

Rebuild

The player may repair up to 2 damaged Empire cards. He flips these cards face up. The player also takes the 1st-player token and flips it so the “hand” side is face up. This card may not be claimed again in the same round. The player also collects 1 coin.

Special Rule: Players ignore previously placed Citizen tokens when placing on this action.

Recruit

The player may buy one of the Military cards in the Military card row on the board. At the start of the game, all players have an Army limit of 2 (given by each player’s Capital City), which means that no player may have more than 2 active Military cards. Players can increase the Army limit with District and Empire cards.

Special Rule: A player may place Citizen tokens on this action even if his Citizen token has a lower skill number than Citizen tokens already on the board. However, if the player places a Citizen token with a skill number that does not match any previously placed Citizen tokens (belonging to any player), he must pay one coin. If there are no previously placed Citizen tokens, the player is not required to pay one coin.

Most Military cards are free, but some have a cost, located just under the name. After the player chooses a card and pays the cost, he must place it in one of his armies. If there are no open armies, the player must retire an active Military card that he already owns.

Important: A player may only retire a Military card that has not yet been used to attack in the round (meaning the card has no coins on the name area). The player removes all coins on the card, returning them to the supply, and flips it over so that the Legacy Abilities are showing. Legacy Abilities represent skills that the old soldiers learned and teach the new soldiers. If there are previous Legacy abilities, these should also be showing. The player now places the new Military card face up on top of the old cards, so that all the Legacy Abilities are showing from previous active Military cards in the army.

Legacy Abilities of a Military card can also be seen on the front of the card, in the top right corner, but do not take effect until the Military card has been retired.

Important: Do not refresh the Military card row until the next round.

Explore

The player may either draw 5 Empire cards from the Empire deck and store 1 OR he may store 1 of the Empire cards in the Empire card row on the board. When a player stores an Empire card, he places it on its side below his player board. Stored cards do not grant any benefits to the player, but he may buy them later using the Build action.

Stored cards are kept face-down. There is no limit to the amount of stored cards a player may own.

Cards drawn from the Empire deck that are not stored are placed into the discard pile.

Grow

The player gains an additional Citizen token by paying 3 coins. The player takes a Citizen token in his color in the lowest skill number possible. For example, if the player had Citizen tokens with a skill of 1, 2, and 3, he would gain the Citizen token with a skill of 4. New Citizen tokens are placed in the “Starving” box and may not be used until the next round.

b. Empire Card Actions

A player may place one of his Citizen tokens on an action on one of his Empire cards. He may only place a Citizen token on the action if the card does not already have a Citizen token on it.

Players may not place Citizen tokens on Empire cards owned by other players.

Some Empire card actions are described in the “Card Clarifications” section on page 14.

After six rounds, the game is over. Players now count up victory points.

1. First, each player loses 2 victory points per starving citizen.
2. Damaged Empire cards are now all repaired in preparation for scoring in the next two sections.
3. Each player scores victory points for each of the tribes he has banners in, up to a maximum of 6 banners per tribe:

Players may score at most 6 banners in each tribe.

Finally, each player gains bonus victory points from all special Empire cards they have, as described by the scoring text on each card.

Example: Chris owns the Empire card “Citadel”, which gives extra victory points for red banners. Including the “Citadel”, he owns 5 red Tribe Banners, which means that this card ability grants him 3 extra victory points.

The player with the most victory points has the most powerful city-state and is the winner!

Tiebreakers

• If players are tied, the player with the most coins wins.
• If players are still tied, the player with the most combined Empire, District, and Titan cards wins.
• If players are still tied, the player with the most Knowledge tokens wins.

Card Abilities

Empire / Titan / District Cards

• Card Action: The player may place a Citizen token and gain what follows the equals sign.
• Army Limit: The player may have one army for each of these symbols he owns.
• Attack (arrow): The player has +1 attack value that may be used in any number of Attack actions.
• Attack (sword): The player has +1 attack value that may be used in any number of Attack actions.
• Citizen: The player gains a Citizen token when he gains this card (only once).
• Income: The player gains 1 coin each round, collected during the “End of Round” phase.
• Food: Required for each Citizen token the player owns. Each Citizen requires 1 food.
• Gain Knowledge: The player gains 1 knowledge each round, collected during the “End of Round” phase.
• Repair: Repair one damaged Empire card (usually as an Empire card action).
• Explore Bonus: When you Explore, draw additional Empire cards equal to the number in the eye.

Military Cards

• Loot: When this army is used, the player gains 1 coin (after the Titan is defeated and the dice are rolled).
• Spy: When this army is used, the player gains 1 knowledge.
• Attack (arrow): The player gains +1 attack value when the army is used.
• Attack (sword): The player gains +1 attack value when the army is used.
• Repair: The player repairs one damaged Empire card right before he rolls the damage die.

Card Clarifications

• Aqueduct: When you gain a new citizen, also gain one coin per food you own.
• Archivists of Bol: You gain one coin at the end of each round. Also, when you use the explore action, you draw 2 additional cards from which to choose.
• Bridge: When you place a citizen here, you may use another player’s Empire card action, regardless of whether he has already placed a citizen there or not.
• Crane: When you perform the build action, you may discard this card to buy an Empire card at no coin or knowledge cost.
• Crypta Ship: When you place a citizen here, you take the explore action and also gain 2 coins.
• Desert Caravan: When you place a citizen on this card, you gain one coin per food you own.
• Distant Outpost: When the player to your right uses the learn action, you may discard a coin from one military card you own (either on the name or picture). A military card could potentially be used twice in one round due to this effect.
• Forest Hideout: When you place a citizen here, you draw the top 4 cards of one Titan deck and rearrange them. You then may immediately attack the top card.
• Moon Festival: At the end of the game, you gain one extra victory point per set of five different tribe banners.
• Scribe Guild: When the player to your left uses the learn action, you may gain 1 knowledge by paying 1 coin to the supply.
• Trade City: When you place a citizen here, you may use another player’s Empire card action, whether he has already placed a citizen there or not.
• Town Hall: When you place a citizen here, you gain 1 knowledge and also claim the first-player token (if the hand side is face down).
• Zori Dramatists: If you are the first to pass, you may store an Empire card, either face-up in the card row on the board or drawn randomly from the top of the pile.

Expand Variant

If players feel they would like more choice when using the Expand action, use this rule:

Expand+: When a player uses the Expand action, he may draw the top three cards of the District deck (including the top, face-up card) and choose between the three. After the player chooses, he places the unwanted District cards face down at the bottom of the District card deck.

Credits

• Game Design: Ryan Laukat
• Illustration: Ryan Laukat
• Development: Malorie Laukat
• Playtesters: Malorie Laukat, Andrew Brooks, Brandon Laukat, Jonathan Gano, Bryan Doughty, Alex Davis, Jakob Nelson, Tevis Laukat, Ben & Amy Garbe, Brian Bezeredi, Peter Schott, Drew Sonnenberg, Jill Sonnenberg, Aaron Kristopeit, Kenny Rodrigue, Emily Lai, Erik Isch, Jennifer Isch, Jessica Wright and SB.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the development of this game.
Thank you to all the Kickstarter backers that made this game possible!
Thank you to Gabriel Gendron and Dustin Schwartz.

Copyright 2014 Red Raven Games