Manual — Prestige: A City Building Game

PRESTIGE
THE CITY-BUILDING GAME

Game Design by: Fritz Paull
Illustrations by: Terri Ogwulumba

AGES 10+ 1-4 PLAYERS 30-45 MIN

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INTRODUCTION

Are you and your tribe ready to build a city that will be remembered
throughout all of time?

In the Lush Valley, nomadic tribes, once at odds with one another,
have put aside their differences in the hope of forming the greatest
city the world has ever seen: a city of true Prestige.

Take the mantle as your tribe's leader, and work with the other tribes
for the greater good of the city.

OVERVIEW

In Prestige, you will work together to build a great city by placing
cards around the Tribal Center card. You will share resources, decks,
and defeat. However, if you succeed, only the most represented tribe
in the city will be remembered throughout history for their great
Prestige!

I The following pages outline the setup and gameplay
I of a standard game of Prestige. For solo play, read the
I standard rules first (they all apply to solo play) then
I turn to page 18 for solo specific rules. Turn to page
I 20 for additional gameplay variants.

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COMPONENTS

1 CITY TRACKER BOARD

21 FAVOR GAINED
EVENT CARDS

21 FAVOR LOST
EVENT CARDS

21 INVADER
EVENT CARDS

12 TITLE CARDS
[SOLO MODE]

GAME ICONS

TRIBES
MERCHANT CRAFTING
FISHING PRIESTLY
WARRIOR PEACEKEEPER
COMMUNAL (NO TRIBAL AFFILIATION)

EVENTS
FAVOR GAINED
INVADER
FAVOR LOST
VICTORY
CONDITION
LOST
CONDITION

RESOURCES
HAPPINESS
POPULACE
COINS
DEFENSE
PRESTIGE

4 GAME ICON
REFERENCE CARDS

QUICKPLAY GUIDE

VICTORY CONDITIONS:
RAN OUT OF FAVOR GAINED
EVENT CARDS

REACHED THE MAXIMUM
PRESTIGE (5)

DEFEAT CONDITIONS:
BEACHED O POPULATION

RAN OUT OF PLAYABLE CITY
CARDS

TRIBAL CENTER WAS
DESTROYED

BAN OUT OF INVADER EVENT
CARDS

BAN OUT OF FAVOR LOST
EVENT CARDS

4 QUICKPLAY
REFERENCE CARDS

4

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TRIBAL CITY DECKS

35 COMMUNAL
TRIBE CARDS

30 CRAFTING
TRIBE CARDS

30 FISHING
TRIBE CARDS

30 MERCHANT
TRIBE CARDS

30 PEACEKEEPER
TRIBE CARDS

30 WARRIOR
TRIBE CARDS

30 PRIESTLY
TRIBE CARDS

30 COINS

FISHING TRIBE
Members of this tribe prefer the
water. They are born on a boat,
as part of a sacred birthing
ceremony, and buried at sea.
Every day in between, they long
to be among the waves.

They provide more Water cards
than any other tribe. This can
give you a strategic defensive
advantage, as you may extend
your city in many directions.

6 TRIBAL
IDENTITY CARDS

TRIBAL
CENTER

1 TRIBAL
CENTER CARD

4 RESOURCE
STONES

40 CITY SHADOWS
AGENDA CARDS

5

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SETUP

1 Place the Tribal Center card in the center of the playing area.
2 Place the City Tracker board within reach of all players with the
Squalor side of the board face down. Place the Resource Tracking
tokens on the start locations [].
3 Place 5 coins on the Coffers area of the City Tracker board.
4 Shuffle all of the Event card decks (Favor Lost, Favor Gained, Invader)
separately. Randomly choose 8 Favor Gained cards, 8 Favor Lost cards,
and 10 Invader cards. Place these cards face down in stacks as shown
below. Return the rest of the Event cards to the box.
5 Randomly choose 8 cards from each of the Tribal City card decks and
10 random Communal City cards. Shuffle together all 58 cards to form
a combined City Card deck.
6 Deal 4 cards to each player from the combined City Card deck.
7 Split the combined deck into 3 approximately even draw piles. Place
one face up and two face down. Leave space for a discard pile.
8 In a 2-player game: deal each player 2 Tribal Identity cards. In a 3-4
player game: deal each player 1 Tribal Identity card. Set any unused
cards aside.
9 Give each player a Game Icon guide card and Quickplay guide card.

6

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CITY CARDS

Most of the gameplay in Prestige involves playing City cards. The
graphic below will identify common card elements and explain what
each element means.

Card Name
Tribal Logo
Card Cost:
Coins to be
paid before
placement
BANK
TENEMENTS
Card Type(s)
Card Needs:
Conditions
that must be
met before a
card can be
played
+2
FOR EVERY
COFFERS WHEN T
IS PLACED.
+2
YOU MAY DESTROY AN
ADJACENT CARD WHEN
THIS CARD IS PLAYED, AFTER
THE EFFECTS ARE APPLIED.
Standard Effects:
Effects that always take
place when this card is
placed, regardless of the
placement location
Special Effects:
Effects that vary
for each card they
appear on
Adjacency Effects:
Effects based on
other cards to the
left, to the right,
above, or below
this card when
placed
CITY CARD TYPES

See below for the icons that dictate a City card's type. Cards can have up
to 3 types each. See your Game Icon Guide for a quick reference of all
iconography in the game.

HOME
WORK
SPIRITUAL
MONUMENT
WALL
MARKET
FORTIFICATION
PUBLIC
ROAD
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GAMEPLAY

GAME START
Prestige is a turn-based game:

The first player is the person in the group who has most recently
visited a new city.

You continue to take turns in clockwise order until an end-game
condition occurs.

On every turn, you must take 1 of 4 actions: placing, discarding,
restoring, or unique actions.

Once you play or discard a City card, draw a new card from any of
the City Card decks (always maintain 4 cards in your hand as long as
there are cards in the decks).

Hint: Be aware of the icon shown on the back of the City cards when you draw from a
deck, as they indicate the tribal identity of the card which affects your end-game score.

PLACING ACTION

On your turn, place 1 card from your hand into the city.

You may play cards to the right or left of those already in play,
including the Tribal Center card.

Some cards may have special placement rules (see page 12).

Some cards may have Adjacency Effects, but you may place them in a
way in which no Adjacency Effect is triggered.

Some cards cost coins to play them. In order to play them, you must pay
the cost from the Coffers before playing the card. Cards may also have
needs listed that must be met in order for the card to be played.

For example, the Main Road card has a listed need of 2 Market cards.
The city then must have 2 Market-type card already place before the
Main Road card can be played.

The effects of a card are immediately resolved after it is played. Resolve
the effects of the newly played card only.

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Placing Action example:

The Guardhouse card
is placed next to a
card that has already
been placed ('City
Market').

CITY
MARKET

1 GUARDHOUSE

+1
+1
+2

Since the Guardhouse card
gains 1 happiness from being
placed next to a Market-type
card, which has already been
placed in the city, increase
Happiness by 1. You won't
collect any benefits written on
the City Market card though,
since that is not the card
being played.

DISCARDING ACTION

You may discard as many City cards from your hand as you want in a
single discard action, but they must all be discarded at once.

After discarding, draw an Invader Event card. Resolve it immediately.

After resolving the Invader Event card, draw new City cards until you
have 4 cards in hand again, and then the next player takes their turn.

Hint: Since discarding any number of cards results in 1 Invader Event card, you should
discard as many cards as you are comfortable parting with at once to avoid taking
multiple discard actions throughout the game. However, be careful to not discard too
many cards. Discarded cards do not get shuffled back into the draw piles, and running
out of cards to play is a loss condition.

RESTORING ACTION

Some cards and events will result in destroying already placed cards.
When cards are destroyed, they are flipped face down. This opens up a
new action on your turn:

If a card is destroyed, it can be restored as an action (flipped back
over to be face side up) by discarding 1 card from your hand.

Unlike with the Discarding Action, this particular discard does not
trigger an Invader event.

Only 1 card can be restored per restoring action. The effects of a card
are ignored when restoring it.

More details on destroyed cards are explained on page 15

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UNIQUE ACTIONS

Some cards offer unique actions, like the example
shown below. After the card is played into the city,
you can use one of these unique actions on your turn
as your standard action, even if you did not play the
card. Follow the instructions listed on these cards
to take the unique actions.

MANAGING THE CITY'S RESOURCES

Five resources are tracked in the City and shared between all players.
Resources are tracked on the City Tracker board, as shown below.

RESOURCES TO TRACK:

Coffers: how much funds the city has available.

Prestige: how well-known the city has become in the
world

Populate: how many people live in the city

Happiness: how pleased the citizens are with city
leadership

Defense: how resilient the city is to invasion and attack

The Coffers increase or decrease by adding or removing coins to the
Coffers area. The remaining resources use the slide trackers with the
Resource Tracking tokens. There are some important aspects of the City
Tracker Board, detailed on the following page.

When there are multiple effects caused by resources at the start of your
turn, resolve them in descending order on the City Tracker board. (i.e. If
your trackers are on spot 2 for Happiness and populace, you would lose a
populace first, resulting in no increase in defense from the populace track.)

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Some resources affect
other resources. Resolve
these effects before
taking your turn.
Unit Card
Slots - Place
active Unit
cards in
these 5 slots
If this icon is reached,
determine the winner.
Coins in the
Coffers go here.
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
COFFERS
PLACE HERE
3
5
6
7
9
10
11
12
3
5
6
7
9
10
11
If this icon is
reached, all
players lose.
All resources
start on these
icons.
If your turn starts with a
resource on a spot with
this icon, discard an active
Unit card of your choice
before starting your turn.
If your turn starts with a
resource on a spot with an
Event icon, draw that type
of Event card and resolve it
before you take your turn.
EVENTS
If you begin your turn with a Resource Tracking token covering an event
icon, draw an Event card from the corresponding deck and resolve it
before taking your action. There are 3 types of events:
Favor Gained: Your citizens are so excited by your city that
they wish to do their part in making it a great place to live!
Favor Lost: Your citizens have become disenchanted with
life under your rule and begin to blame you for their many
problems.
Invader: Outside forces have seen how much you squander
and seek to press the advantage on your vulnerable city.
Note: If you are required to draw an Event card but have an empty corresponding
deck (no card to draw), an end-game condition is triggered. See page 16 for details
on what to do after an end-game condition is triggered.
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SPECIAL CARDS

These are types of City cards that have special rules about how they are
played. You can reference your Game Icon Guide for these rules during
the game.

UNIT CARDS

Unit cards are played in the Unit card
slots of the City Tracker board.

Played Unit cards are active until they get
discarded.

Active Unit cards may give free resources or
bolster the effects of other cards.

Only 5 Unit cards can be active at once.
If you wish to play a Unit card, and 5 are
already active, discard an active Unit card of your choice.

FERRYMEN

10 FOR EVERY 4 CARD
PLAYED WHILE THIS UNIT IS
ACTIVE.

HIGH PRIEST

L

LEADER UNIT CARDS

Leaders are a type of Unit card that
typically offers higher benefits.

Each Tribal deck includes at least 1 Leader
card.

At the end of the game, when all City cards
from each tribe are being tallied, Leader
cards count as 2 cards for their tribe. (See
page 16 for end-game scoring.)

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BELOW CARDS

A Below card must be played in a row below
another card that has already been placed in
the city.

Below cards may be placed below other Below
cards to make additional lines of the city.

Other cards may be placed next to these
Below cards once they are placed.

ABOVE CARDS

An Above card must be played above a card
that has already been placed in the city.

Above cards may be placed above other
Above cards to make additional lines of the
city.

Other cards may be placed next to these
Above cards once they are placed.

WATER CARDS

Water cards may be placed to the left or right
of other played cards, like a standard City
card.

They may also be played orthogonally
adjacent (up, down, left, or right) to an already
played Water card to make additional lines of
the city.

Other cards may be placed next to these
Water cards once they are placed.

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WALL CARDS

Wall cards are placed like normal City cards ---
that is, Wall cards are placed to the left or right of
in-play City cards. Players may find many different
benefits from playing multiple Wall cards in the
city, but their primary benefits are typically seen
when they are paired together. This comes from
the Between Two Walls effects that are unique to
some Wall cards.

This is explained in the example below.

A Between Two Walls icon indicates the effect of having certain building
types between the Wall card it appears on, and the closest Wall card
already placed in the same line of the city (orthogonal directions).

The above example is a Between Two Walls icon and should be read as
'Gain 1 Happiness for each Home type already played between this card
and the closest Wall card already played.' The example below shows a
play involving a Wall card with this icon, which would gain the city 2
Happiness.

x1 x1

They can be great for defending the city when used strategically, too. They
may help prevent or quell the negative effects of Invader Event cards and
Favor Lost Event cards.

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DESTROYED CARDS

Some events and cards will result in destroying already-played cards in the
city.

To show that a card is destroyed, flip it face down and leave it in its place.
Unit cards cannot be destroyed; they can only be discarded.

If there is a destroyed card in the city:

You may place any new card so that it covers the destroyed card, but
then that destroyed card can no longer be restored (see Restoring
action, page 9).

New cards may not be placed directly next to a destroyed card.

Destroyed cards are not counted during end-game scoring (see next
page for more details).

You may use the Restoring action to flip a destroyed card back to its
face-up position, and it will no longer be considered destroyed.

Please Note: Destroyed cards and discarded cards are not the same.
If a card is discarded, it is added to the discard pile. Destroyed cards
remain in the city.

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END GAME

Be warned, oh prestigious leaders; if you fail, you all share
in shameful defeat, but if you succeed, and your glorious city
makes a lasting mark on human history, only one of you will be
remembered as its true founder. Only one will receive the glory!

VICTORY CONDITIONS
There are 2 ways for the city to prevail:

Reach the highest space on the Prestige Track
The city advances to become the most prestigious of the ancient world, and will be
remembered for all of time.

Go through all Favor Gained Event cards
Your people will forever remember the wise leadership offered to them from their
tribal leaders and generations to come will live happy, prosperous lives.

If the city prevails, determine who will be remembered as True Founder:

Everyone counts the number of cards that have been played with
their tribe's symbol on them (regardless of who played them).
Communal cards and cards from unclaimed tribes are ignored.
Remember that Leader cards count as 2 cards!

The tribe with the most cards played wins! That player earns the title
of True Founder.

In the case of a tie, the cost of each card played from the tying players'
decks is added up, and the tribe with the highest monetary cost of their
cards played is the winner.

If there is still a tie, both tribes win and are remembered for their great
prestige for all of time!

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DEFEAT
CONDITIONS

All players lose and the city falls if any of
the following occur:

The Populace Track declines to 0.
The city has been abandoned and will be forgotten in time.

There are no cards left in the combined decks and the active player
has no cards left in their hand at the start of their turn (completely
empty hand and deck).
The people have no ambition for building out the city and will soon
abandon it.

The Tribal Center card is destroyed.
The heart of the city falls, and so shall its identity.

You run out of Invader Event cards and need to draw another.
The city's enemies are too great in number. They unite and conquer the city.

You run out of Lost Favor Event cards and need to draw another.
The people have truly lost faith in leadership and usurp all of those in
charge.

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SOLO PLAY

In solo mode, you are the sole leader of the city and represent
all of the people that dwell within it. However, as you put on
this mantle of power, it is not only the city's reputation that is
on the line, but also your own. How will you be remembered in
the history books? For your wisdom and discernment? For your
failures and lack of foresight? Will you even be remembered at
all? Now is the time to prove your worth as a leader.

For the solo game, set up the game following the 3-4 player setup on
page 6.

At the start of the game, shuffle the Title Card deck and draw 3 cards
from it. They all have 2 orientations, representing different characteristics
of leaders. The characteristics in the straight-up position are how you
are currently viewed. The ones in the side-view orientation are your
aspirations. Choose aspirations that resonate with you and keep their
corresponding halves of the card upright, as shown on the next page.

These cards offer conditions (goals) that must be fulfilled in order to
change your title from how the people currently see you, to how you want
to be remembered.

Satisfying a goal rewards you with the effect found below your new title.
Establish your new title by turning the card to be able to read the effect,
indicating that the goal was met.

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How you are currently seen in
the eyes of your people

Your goal
to change
your title

Meet your
goal.

Turn the
card.

Only the side you choose to place
upright matters. Ignore the other
half of the card.

Your new
glorious title

The effect of the
establishment of
your new title

You must turn at least 2 of your title cards before reaching one of the
game's victory conditions in order to be remembered well in history (and
win the game).

Each Title Card also has a difficulty rating on the upper left corner of
the card. Filled-in circles indicate that it is harder to fulfill the goal, but
higher-difficulty cards offer greater rewards.

The game ends with the traditional end-game conditions (see pages 16 &
17).

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VARIANTS

CITY OF LOVE (NON-COMPETITIVE)
City of Love is the non-competitive version of Prestige.

This is a great play style for your first time playing. This is also an
optimal variant for any groups that want to play cooperatively and win as
a team.

Setup and gameplay rules remain the same as a standard playthrough
of the game. The only changes from the standard gameplay relate to the
end-game conditions:

In the City of Love Variant, the only victory condition is to reach the
top level of Prestige. Running out of Favor Gained event cards will
not result in an end-game condition.

When a Victory condition is met, players do not tally up the cards
from their tribe. If the city wins, all players win!

CITY OF SQUALOR (CUTTHROAT)
City of Squalor is the gameplay variant for more seasoned Prestige
players. It is designed to test your skills by increasing the tension
between protecting the city as a whole, and ensuring your tribe emerges
victorious.

Ready to take the plunge against the unforgiving currents of history?

The City of Squalor has the same gameplay rules and end-game
conditions as a standard playthrough of Prestige, but setup has 3 changes:

Use no communal cards when creating the City Cards deck.
Start with 2 coins on the Communal Coffers space.
Use the 'Squalor' side of the City Tracker board.

The City of Squalor variant can also be played in combination with the
Solo Mode.

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CITY SHADOWS

The City-Shadows gameplay is a mini-expansion that adds an
element of mystery to the Prestige gameplay; namely, in the form of
Agenda cards which contain secret goals.

Thanks to our amazing backers who helped us smash our stretch
goals in our crowdfunding campaign, the City Shadows Mini-
expansion is now included in every copy of Prestige!

The mini-expansion comes with 40 Agenda cards, each offering a
unique and thematic goal.

Set up and gameplay for the City Shadows Mini Expansion is the
same as the base game of Prestige, with the following exceptions:

During setup, shuffle the Agenda card deck, and deal 2 cards
to each player.

You may draw a new Agenda card during gameplay if you
draw an event card on your turn

Each player may score 1 Agenda card per game if the
condition listed on the card is met:

(1) If the listed goal is met during gameplay, the player
may reveal the card. This will lock in these
points but you won't be able to score any
other Agenda card or undo this one.

(2) Some Agenda cards say 'at the end of the game' on
them. Th ese shall be revealed when a victory
condition has been met, before scores are tallied.

Th e VP listed at the bottom of each scored Agenda cards shall be
added to the corresponding player's influence at the end of the game.

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AGENDA CARDS IN SOLO MODE

Agenda cards are compatible with every mode of play for Prestige,
including solo mode.
In solo mode, in order to play with the City Shadows Mini Expansion,
deal the Title cards before touching the Agenda Cards.
After the 3 Title cards have been dealt, you may choose to discard 1 Title
card and draw 2 Agenda cards to replace it.
You may do this for as many of the Title Cards as desired.
If you draw Agenda cards during game-play (when you draw an event
card), you may replace any unfulfilled Agenda card with the newly
drawn one. Replaced cards are discarded.
In order for the Title card that was discarded to be considered achieved,
you must fulfill the minimum requirements of both Agenda cards that
were drawn to replace it.

Remember: Playing with the City Shadows Mini Expansion is always
optional. While it adds an extra layer of intrigue to the game, the base
game of Prestige is perfectly playable and enjoyable without it. It is up
to each table of gamers to decide whether or not they wish to use the
Agenda cards.

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APPRECIATIONS

This game is dedicated to Mr. John Ravalli.

Thank you for inspiring a love for the ancient world in the hearts of so
many students who walked through your door.

Special thanks to our amazingly talented guest writers who helped bring
the world of Prestige to life!

Chris Doka (IG: @magicandmeeples)

P.J. Oubre (IG: @the_cajungamer)

Mr. Danface, DOALG's Podcaster General

Peter, DOALG's Resident Collector

Jared, Ghostlore of Hawaii Podcaster

And shout out to our rulebook editors: Chris Doka, Koltin Thompson,
and Trenton Baldrey, as well as the dozens of rulebook reviewers from
the BGDL monthly reviews!

CHECK OUT OUR CURATED PLAYLIST IN THE QR CODE
ABOVE TO ADD AN EXTRA LEVEL OF EPICNESS TO
YOUR GAME NIGHT!

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