Thurn and Taxis

2006

Experience the thrill of constructing postal routes across Bavarian cities in Thurn & Taxis! Score points through strategic planning and careful management of your post office supplies.

60
minutes

2 - 4
player(s)

10+

Medium

About the game

Welcome to the enchanting world of Thurn and Taxis, a strategic board game designed by Karen & Andreas Seyfarth and published by Hans im Glück. This game transports you back to the early 17th century, during the genesis of the German postal system. Here you will experience the thrill of managing an evolving postal network, while navigating the delicate intricacies of this historical period.

The game’s theme is deeply rooted in the history of the Thurn and Taxis family, who were instrumental in the establishment of the modern postal system in Europe. You, as a player, will take on the role of a postal service manager, expanding your network across the region and competing with other players for dominance.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Thurn and Taxis is a strategic board game that requires players to build postal networks across towns. The game components bring the game to life and play a crucial role in the game’s dynamics. Here is a detailed description of each component:

1. Game Board: This is the primary playing surface, showing a map of Germany and adjacent countries, divided into different regions. Players use the game board to establish postal routes between cities.

2. Summary Cards: There are four summary cards in the game. Each player gets one at the start to provide an overview of available actions and scoring. These cards act as a quick reference tool for players.

3. Carriage Cards: These are a set of cards ranging from level 3 to level 7. Players earn carriage cards by building routes of the corresponding length. Higher-level carriages yield more points.

4. Bonus Tiles: These tiles offer extra points to players who fulfill certain conditions first, such as being the first to establish a route in all regions or the first to acquire a certain level of carriage.

5. Houses: Each player has a set of 20 houses in their colour. These are placed on cities on the game board to denote a player’s postal route. Once placed, a house remains on the board for the rest of the game.

6. Player Markers: Each player has a marker in their colour, which is placed on the scoring track around the game board to keep track of their points.

7. City Cards: These cards represent different cities on the game board. Players collect city cards to establish postal routes between cities. Each city card displays the name of the city and the region it belongs to.

8. Officials: There are four officials – the Postmaster, the Administrator, the Clerk, and the Cartwright. Each official grants a special action to the player who chooses it. Players can only choose one official per turn, and the chosen official’s action is immediately carried out.

9. Postal Route Markers: These are used to mark the beginning and end of a postal route. They are essential for scoring and gaining new carriages.

Understanding how these components interact is key to mastering ‘Thurn and Taxis’. The complexity of the game lies in strategically collecting and playing city cards to build postal routes, choosing the right official at the right time, and efficiently managing your houses to expand your postal network.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Thurn and Taxis is a popular board game designed by Karen and Andreas Seyfarth. The game is set in the early days of the German postal system and is named after the family who established the Thurn and Taxis post in southern Germany. In this guide, we’ll take you through the steps needed to set up the game.

Before starting, make sure you have the following game components: a game board, 66 city cards, 20 carriage cards, 30 post office counters in four player colors, 1 start player marker, and 4 score markers.

Step 1: Place the game board in the center of the table

The game board features a simplified map of Germany and its surrounding countries, with major cities connected by postal routes. This should be placed where all players can easily reach it.

Step 2: Sort the carriage cards

Separate the carriage cards by their values (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and stack them in ascending order on the ‘Carriage’ space in the top left corner of the game board.

Step 3: Shuffle the city cards

The city cards represent the cities on the game board. Shuffle these and place the deck face down near the board. Then, draw the top six cards and place them face up in a row next to the deck.

Step 4: Prepare the post offices

Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding post office counters. Each player places one of these counters on the ‘0’ space of the scoring track on the edge of the game board.

Step 5: Determine the start player

Randomly determine the first player and give them the start player marker. The first player will begin the game.

Step 6: Draw initial city cards

Each player draws a hand of three city cards from the top of the deck. These cards will form the start of each player’s postal route.

With this setup, you’re now ready to begin playing Thurn and Taxis. Remember, the goal of the game is to build the most efficient postal system by creating routes between cities and upgrading your carriages. Good luck!

Game flow Round and round we go

‘Thurn and Taxis’ is a strategy board game where players aim to build the most efficient mail delivery routes across the map of Germany. The game is played in rounds and each round consists of four distinct phases. Each player, on their turn, will go through each of these phases. The game ends when a player has used all of their houses or all of the bonus tiles have been claimed.

Phase 1: Draw a Card

In the first phase, the active player must draw a city card from the card display or from the top of the draw pile. The city cards represent the cities on the game board where players can build their postal routes.

Phase 2: Play a Card

After drawing a card, the player must play a city card from their hand to their route. The route must begin and end with cities that are adjacent. If a player cannot or chooses not to play a card, they must discard their entire route.

Phase 3: Close and Score a Route

If a player’s route has at least three city cards, the player can choose to close and score the route. The player places their houses on the cities in the route, removes the city cards from their route, and draws a bonus tile if they have met the requirements. A player may only close and score their route once per turn.

Phase 4: Use a Carriage

Finally, a player may choose to use a carriage. The player selects a carriage card that matches the length of their route. The player then discards their route and draws a new hand of cards. The player can only use a carriage once per turn.

Draw a Card: The player must draw a city card from the card display or the draw pile.
Play a Card: The player must play a city card from their hand to their route.
Close and Score a Route: If their route has at least three city cards, the player can choose to close and score the route.
Use a Carriage: The player may choose to use a carriage, discarding their route and drawing a new hand of cards.

Play then passes to the next player in clockwise order, who repeats these four phases. This continues until the game ends, which occurs when a player has used all of their houses or all of the bonus tiles have been claimed. The player with the most points at the end of the game is declared the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the board game ‘Thurn and Taxis’, a player’s turn comprises various actions and strategic choices. Each turn plays a critical role in shaping the flow of the game and ultimately, the player’s victory. Here is a detailed breakdown of these actions:

1. Drawing a card:

At the start of each turn, the player must draw a card. This can either be one of the six face-up cards from the display or a blind card from the draw pile. It is important to choose wisely as the selected card will contribute to the player’s route-building strategy.

2. Playing a card:

After drawing a card, the player must play a city card from their hand onto their route. The played city must either be the first city in a new route or it must connect to the last city of the existing route. A player’s choice of city can significantly affect their route planning and strategy.

3. Closing and scoring a route:

Once the player has at least three cards in their route, they may choose to close the route. The player then places houses in each of the cities on the route, provided they still have houses left in their supply. The number of cities in the route determines the points scored. Choosing when to close a route is a crucial strategic decision, as longer routes score more points but are also riskier to build.

4. Using a carriage:

After closing a route, the player may upgrade their carriage if they have a route of the appropriate length. Higher level carriages provide more points at the end of the game. Therefore, upgrading carriages is a key aspect of the player’s long-term strategy.

5. Refreshing the card display:

At the end of their turn, the player refreshes the card display by refilling it back up to six cards. This concludes the player’s turn, and the next player then takes their turn.

These actions and strategic choices in ‘Thurn and Taxis’ intertwine to create an engaging game of strategy and planning. The choices a player makes during their turn can greatly impact their success in the game, making each turn a critical component of the overall gameplay.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Thurn and Taxis is a strategic board game where players aim to build the most efficient postal system across the regions of Germany. The game ends when one of three conditions is met. These are outlined below.

The end of a round where a player has placed all 20 of their houses. This signifies the player has successfully established postal routes in each of the 20 cities across the game board. The round continues until all players have had an equal number of turns, allowing for the possibility of multiple players placing all their houses before the final scoring.
A player manages to establish a route in each of the seven regions on the board. Once a player has successfully built a postal route in each of the seven distinct regions, the game ends at the conclusion of that round, with all players having an equal number of turns.
All of the carriage cards of value 7 are claimed. Carriage cards are earned by establishing routes of a certain length, with the highest value being 7. If all of these high-value cards are claimed, the game ends at the conclusion of the current round.

Before final scoring, players must ensure that they have completed all actions for their turn. This includes drawing a card, playing a card, declaring a new route or extending an existing one, and optionally claiming a carriage card if they have a route of the needed length. Players may also choose to place houses on the cities in their route.

Once the game ends, players tally their scores. Points are awarded based on the value of claimed carriage cards, bonuses for having houses in all cities of a region, and bonuses for having a house in each of the seven regions. The player with the highest total score is declared the winner.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In ‘Thurn and Taxis’, players earn points by building postal routes across the map, establishing post offices in cities, and fulfilling different achievement goals. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the scoring system:

Building Postal Routes:

Routes of length 3 or 4 earn the player 1 point.
Routes of length 5 or 6 earn the player 2 points.
Routes of length 7 earn the player 4 points.
The longest route of length 7 or more earns the player an additional bonus of 3 points.

Establishing Post Offices:

Each time a player establishes a post office in a city, they earn points equal to the number of post offices in that color region they’ve completed. For example, if a player establishes a post office in a city and it’s the third post office in that color region they’ve completed, they earn 3 points.

Achievement Goals:

Players earn extra points by fulfilling specific achievement goals, such as being the first to establish a post office in all cities of a region (worth 3 points), or being the first to establish a post office in at least one city in each region (worth 1 point).

Tie-Breaking Rules:

If two or more players have the same score at the end of the game, the tie is broken in the following order:

The player who has used the least carriages wins.
If there’s still a tie, the player who has the most post offices wins.
If there’s still a tie, the player who took their turn earlier in the game wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

‘Thurn and Taxis’ is a classic board game where players build postal networks across Germany. There are a few special rules, exceptions, and rule clarifications that players should keep in mind:

Placement of Offices: It’s important to remember that players can only place an office in a city if a card of that city is played. However, there’s an exception to this rule. The Administrator card allows players to place offices in any city within the region.

Use of Carriage Cards: A player can only claim a carriage card if the number of houses in their current route matches or exceeds the number on the carriage card. But, the Postmaster rule exception allows players to claim a carriage card even if their completed route is one house short.

Route Completion: The routes must be completed in the same turn they are started. In other words, a player cannot continue a route across multiple turns. The Cartwright rule exception allows players to continue a route across turns.

Carriage Level: If a player reaches the highest carriage level (7), they should continue to play as normal. They cannot claim another level 7 carriage, but can still claim points for completed routes.
End of Game: When the carriage cards are exhausted or a player reaches the highest carriage level, the game ends. However, all players should have an equal number of turns. The player who started the game decides whether to end the game immediately or after one final round.
Scoring: At the end of the game, players score points for the carriage cards they have claimed and for any bonus tiles they have earned. In case of a tie, the player with the highest level carriage card wins.

These special rules, exceptions and clarifications can greatly impact the strategy and outcome of the game.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

The board game ‘Thurn and Taxis’ is a strategic game of building a post office network in the southern part of the Holy Roman Empire. The following are some tips, strategies, and common mistakes to avoid.

Advanced Strategies:

Plan Ahead: Try to plan your routes several moves in advance. This will help you to build the most efficient network and score the most points.
Optimize Your Carriage Upgrades: Upgrade your carriage as soon as you can. The higher your carriage level, the more points you can score.
Target Bonus Tiles: Aim to collect bonus tiles whenever possible. They can add a significant boost to your final score.
Control the Game Pace: Try to control the pace of the game by keeping an eye on the other players’ moves. If you see someone about to finish, try to speed up your own game to prevent them from getting too many points.

Beginner Tips:

Start Small: As a beginner, start by building smaller routes. This will help you to understand the game mechanics and build your strategy.
Use Official Assistants Wisely: Use your official assistants effectively. They can help you to build routes, collect bonus tiles, or upgrade your carriage.
Learn From Others: Watch the strategies of more experienced players. You can learn a lot from observing their moves and tactics.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring Bonus Tiles: One common mistake is to ignore the bonus tiles. These can give you a significant point boost, so always keep an eye on them.
Upgrading Carriage Too Late: Another mistake is waiting too long to upgrade your carriage. The sooner you upgrade, the more points you can score.
Not Planning Routes: Not planning your routes in advance can lead to inefficient moves and a lower score.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Know the Deck: Familiarize yourself with the city cards in the deck. Knowing what’s in the deck can help you plan your routes more effectively.
Use Your Officials: Use your officials strategically. They can give you a significant advantage if used correctly.
Be Flexible: Be ready to adapt your strategy if necessary. The game can change quickly, so be prepared to change your plan if needed.