How to Play Alhambra: Big Box (Second Edition)

Objective of the Game

The best master builders from Europe and Arabia want to demonstrate their skills by constructing towers, laying out gardens, erecting pavilions and arcades, and building seraglios and ornate chambers. Players compete against their opponents to build the ALHAMBRA. The goal is to employ the best teams of builders and ensure you have enough of the right currency to construct these buildings. Players who have the most building tiles of each kind in their Alhambra at the right time – in the scoring rounds – are awarded points, with the exact amount depending on the type of building. Players also receive points for the longest continuous wall built around their Alhambra. The number of points awarded increases each scoring round. The winner is the player who has been awarded the most points by the end of the game.

Preparation (Setup)

1. Place the game board, consisting of the building market and card display, in the middle of the table and the scoring board at the end of the table.
2. Each player is given a starting tile, which they place on the table in front of them, and 1 counter in their player color, which is placed on the 0/100 space of the scoring board.
3. The 54 building tiles are shuffled face down and then stacked in the tile dispenser tower.
4. Four building tiles are taken from the tower and placed in order on the four numbered squares of the building market, beginning with square 1.
5. Each player is given a tile reserve board with a points table which should be placed in plain sight in front of them. The points table shows how many of each type of building there are and how many points each will score.
6. Set aside the two scoring cards and shuffle the deck of currency cards.
7. Each player is dealt their starting money. One card at a time, deal currency cards face-up to a player until the total is 20 or more (the color of the currency is not important at this point). Continue doing this until all players have received their starting money. Players may now pick up their cards. From now on, the player’s hand of currency cards should be kept secret.
8. The player with the fewest cards starts; if two or more players are equal, the player with the lowest amount of money starts. If the players are still equal the younger player starts.
9. Finally, the four spaces of the card display are filled by drawing one money card and placing it face-up on each space.
10. The rest of the money cards are divided into five roughly equal piles. Shuffle the first scoring card into the second pile and the second scoring card into the fourth. Then put the piles on top of one another with the fifth pile on the bottom, then the fourth, the third, the second and finally the first at the very top. The pile is placed on the leftmost space of the card display section on the game board.

Module Setup: Vizier's Favour

• Before the game begins, each player receives the vizier token in their color which they place with the awake side up in front of them. The viziers which are not needed are removed from the game.

Module Setup: Currency Exchange Cards

• When the money cards are divided into five piles at the start of a game, two currency exchange cards are shuffled into the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th piles.

Module Setup: Bonus Cards

• The bonus cards are shuffled and dealt face down to all the players as follows: with 2 or 3 players, each player receives 3 bonus cards; with 4 or 5 players, each player receives 2 bonus cards; with 6 players, each player receives 1 bonus card. Bonus cards which have not been dealt are set aside face down.

Module Setup: Squares

• Sort the squares according to color. Shuffle each of the six piles, and place them face down next to the building market. Turn over the top tile of each stack.

Module Setup: City Gates

• Take one wooden city gate and one card for each player. When the money cards in the base game are divided into five piles at the start of a game, the city-gate cards are inserted face down – spread out as evenly as possible – in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th pile. The wooden gates are placed near the building market.

Module Setup: Diamonds

• The diamond cards are shuffled together with the other money cards. The players then receive their starting money and the game continues according to the rules of the base game.

Module Setup: Characters

• When the money cards of the base game are divided into the five piles at the start of a game, shuffle two character cards into the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pile. The remaining character cards are set aside face down.

Module Setup: Camps

• The camps are shuffled together with all of the building tiles during setup.

Module Setup: City Walls

• When the money cards are divided into five piles at the start of a game, two city-wall cards are shuffled randomly into the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th piles. The wooden city-wall segments are placed ready next to the building market.

Module Setup: Thieves

• The thieves are shuffled and dealt face-down to all players: With 2 and 3 players each player receives 4 thieves, with 4 players 3 thieves, and with 5 and 6 players 2 thieves. Thieves which have not been dealt out are removed, face-down, from the game.

Module Setup: Change

• Place all of the coins in the bag and place it near the players.

Module Setup: Street Trader

• Before the building tiles are placed in the building market, each player is given a trader tile and a citizen of each color. The player secretly chooses three of these citizens and places them on his trader tile. All other citizens go to form the general supply next to the building market. Each player places their trader tiles with the three selected figures on any side of his starting tile.

Module Setup: Treasure Chamber

• Place the treasure chamber in the playing area. All 42 treasure chests are placed in the bag, and 4 chests are drawn and placed in each room of the treasure chamber.

Module Setup: Master Builders

• The master-builder cards are shuffled, and 2 cards are secretly given to each player. Then, each player is given their starting money. When the money cards from the base game are divided up into five piles, 3 master-builder cards are shuffled into the 3rd pile and 3 into the 5th pile. If there are 6 players, only 1 master-builder card is put into the 5th pile. If there are fewer than 5 players, some master-builder cards are left over and are removed from the game.

Module Setup: Invaders

• The invasion cards are shuffled and set aside face-down. The scout cards are also shuffled and the top two cards are then turned face-up.

Module Setup: Bazaars

• The bazaars are shuffled in with the building tiles and placed in the tile dispenser tower.

Fluxo do Jogo

Play proceeds in a clockwise direction, beginning with the starting player. The player whose turn it is must perform one of three actions. After a player's turn, if empty squares exist on the building market, they are refilled with new tiles. The money card display is also refilled by drawing one card from the pile for each empty space. If the pile is empty, the discard pile is shuffled and used as the new draw pile. There are 3 scoring rounds during the game. The first two take place when the scoring cards are drawn from the pile of money cards. When a scoring card is drawn, it is put in front of the next player in turn order and the next card or cards are used to fill up the display. Before the next player begins their turn, the scores are calculated. When scoring is over, the player begins their turn. The third and final scoring round takes place at the end of the game.

Module Flow: Vizier's Favour

Each time a player has completely finished their turn, any of the players may interrupt the normal order of play and make a Special Move by buying a building tile from the building market and building it, provided their vizier is awake and they pay the exact amount. The player then turns their vizier over (asleep). The building market is then refilled so that there are 4 buildings. The normal order of play then resumes with the player who would have been next. If several players want to use their vizier at the same time, the player who would be next in the order of play comes first.

Module Flow: Invaders

Directly after a scoring round, the top invasion card is turned face-up, showing what direction the Alhambra is being attacked from. Each player’s Alhambra is compared with the direction of the attack, with each player’s buildings being considered to be pointing north. Points are deducted for unprotected sides of buildings.

Ações e Como Jogar

On a player's turn, they must perform one of the three following actions:

1. Take money

A player can take any one of the money cards from the display, or several money cards if they do not add up to more than 5 (the currency does not matter).

2. Buy a building tile

A player can buy a building tile from the building market. They must play currency cards of the correct type, indicated by the currency above the tile, that total at least the price of the tile. No change is given. The money used to pay for the tile is placed on a discard pile next to the game board. If a player can pay the exact amount, it is still their turn, and they may decide which of the three actions they would like to perform next. While it is the player’s turn, no new tiles are placed on the building market. Building tiles which have been purchased are placed next to the player’s Alhambra. (They are built in the Alhambra only at the end of the turn).

3. Redesign the Alhambra

There are three ways in which a player can redesign their Alhambra:

• They may take a building tile from their reserve board and add it to their Alhambra.
• They may remove a building tile from their Alhambra and put it on their reserve board.
• They may exchange a building tile on their reserve board for one in their Alhambra. In that case, the new building tile must go in exactly the same place in the Alhambra as the one that was removed.

When redesigning the Alhambra, players have to follow all building rules. It is not allowed to remove the starting tile or exchange it for another tile.

Position a building tile

All purchased building tiles may only be placed at the end of a player’s turn, either in their Alhambra, or on the player’s reserve board. There is no limit to the number of buildings that may be on the reserve board. If a player has bought multiple buildings in a turn, they may choose in which order to place them in their Alhambra or onto the reserve board.

Rules for building the Alhambra

The following rules apply when building the Alhambra:

• All building tiles must be the same orientation as your own starting tile (i.e. all roofs must point upwards).
• Adjoining sides must be the same i.e. they must either both have a wall or both not have a wall.
• Each building tile must be accessible “on foot” from the starting tile without crossing a wall and without going off the tiles.
• Each new tile must be joined to your Alhambra by at least one side (i.e. it cannot be joined just at a corner).
• It is not allowed to leave any “spaces” (i.e. an empty area surrounded on all sides by building tiles).

When all bought building tiles are either built in the Alhambra or placed on the reserve board, the turn ends.

Module Action: Bring the vizier back into play (Vizier's Favour)

The vizier is turned over so that it is awake. It can now be used at any time for the special action.

Module Action: Take a Currency Exchange Card (Currency Exchange Cards)

When the top card taken from the money pile is a currency exchange card, you place it face up into the card display. The active player may now take a currency exchange card instead of money. There is no limit to the number of currency exchange cards you can hold in your hand.

Module Use: Currency Exchange Cards

If a currency exchange card shows the currency required for a building tile, it can be played, and the player can buy one building tile using any combination of the two currencies on the card. An exchange card can only be used once and is then placed on the discard pile.

Module Use: Bonus Cards

A player who adds a building tile to their Alhambra during the game and also has the matching bonus card can play this bonus card by laying it face up in front of them at any time. Once a bonus card has been played, it counts as an extra building of that particular kind during the scoring rounds. If a player removes a building tile from their Alhambra after having already played the matching bonus card, the player must pick up the bonus card again.

Module Action: Build a Square (Squares)

You can take any one of the face-up squares from the six piles. Then the next square in the pile is turned face up. If all the tiles have been taken from a pile, this kind of square is no longer available. A square does not cost any money. At the end of a turn, the square (together with other building tiles if the player has just bought them) is added to the player’s own Alhambra or placed on their reserve board according to the building rules. Each player is allowed a maximum of three squares, including those on their reserve board. The rules for redesigning the Alhambra also apply to the squares.

Module Use: City Gates

If the top card taken from the money pile is a city-gate card, it is placed face-up next to the wooden gates or put on the discard pile if another city-gate card is in play. A player can pick up the city-gate card instead of a money card. Placing a city gate does not take a separate action. When a player who has a City Gate card is placing a building tile in a position where a path back to the fountain cannot be traced (and thus normally would be illegal), a wooden gate is placed over the newly-created double wall. A path can be drawn through the city gate, allowing the tile to be placed legally. Discard the city gate card from the game. A player can hold and use several city-gate cards in one turn. The city-gate card can also be used during an action where the player redesigns their own Alhambra. Once a city gate has been played, neither the city gate nor the two building tiles lying under it can be redesigned.

Module Use: Diamonds

Players obtain diamonds in the same way as other money cards. Diamonds are a new (fifth) currency. They can be used to buy any tiles from the building market. Diamonds may replace any other currency; however, they may not be combined with any other currency.

Module Use: Characters

If the top card taken from the money pile is a character card, the game is immediately interrupted and the card is auctioned off. The player who is due to play next assumes the role of auctioneer and makes the first bid or passes. Every player must now in turn either increase the bid or pass. Players can only make bids which they can pay in one currency. Anyone who passes may not make any further bid for this card. The player who makes the highest bid discards his