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Ur... Nineveh... Babylon - the Bible describes these cities as the origin of mankind. Science agrees: in fertile Mesopotamia, between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, lay the cradle of civilisation.
Around 3,000 B.C. the first large settlements developed along the river's embankments. Soon, however, farmers began to irrigate large parts of their lands, away from the rivers. An achievement with consequences. Transport problems arose. Without further ado, potters' wheels were turned on their sides and mounted onto rude carts. Much more food could henceforth be carried. This achievement had other repercussions. Traders now wanted to record their growing numbers of barters. This was done by scratching marks into their urns, thereby inventing writing - even before the Egyptians. Furthermore, there now sprang up a multitude of priests and administrators.
One thousand years later, the ancient and wealthy kingdom of Ur had been destroyed. Power was now in the hands of the Babylonian king, Hammurabi. New kingdoms arose. From the north permeated the Hittites. Between the two rivers, power was seized by the people of Assur, the Assyrians. The realm of their king Sargon was only surpassed, many years later, by the empire of Alexander the Great.
Over the centuries, one dynasty succeeded another. Only one thing remained constant: the advance of civilisation that went alongside the struggles for power. It was always exciting - even if not everyone could succeed. The game of Euphrates & Tigris lets you take part in the fascinating development of civilisation.
By Reiner Knizia - for 2 to 4 players
translation: Apostol Claudiu Tiberiu
contact: checkmate150880@yahoo.com

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Play Material
Game board (double sided: classical/alternative)
153 civilisation marks (30 settlements, 57 temples, 36 farms, 30 market)
8 catastrophe tiles
6 Monuments
4 civilization buildings for the extra rules
16 leaders in 4 dynasties (round wooden disks)
1 unification tile
140 victory points (20 small and 15 large wooden cubes in 4 colours (5 victory points count as 1 big wooden cube)
4 screens (for 4 dynasties)
1 short rules booklet
1 bag for civilisation tiles
1 rules booklet

Structure of Play
Before playing the first game the parts from which the monuments are formed must be assembled in such a way that it results 2 different colours (see the image of the monument above).
Choose any board side you prefer. If this will be your very first game you should choose the blue classical size of the board.
On those 10 fields on the board that shows a winged creature place a temple tile and also on every temple a treasure (natural colour wooden cubes). The other civilisation tiles are placed in the bag. The catastrophe tiles and the unification tile are sorted out and placed beside the board with the monuments and the victory points (wooden cubes).
Each player selects one dynasty and takes the respective leaders and the screen with the appropriate symbol. Beside, every player takes 2 catastrophe tiles and 6 random civilisation tiles from the bag which he covers behind their screens.

Warning !!!
There is no such thing as player's colour. Each player plays with all colours and is recognized only after the symbol he is playing.

1 Verbindungs- König Händler Bauer Priester
in 4 Farben – zählen als „1“ bzw. „5“ Siegpunkte)
14 Schätze (naturfarben)

classical
alternative
settlement
temple
market
farm
Palace Library Granary Market
screen
14 treasures (wooden cubes natural colour)
King Trader Farmer Priest

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Spare leaders, screens, treasures and catastrophe tiles are laid back in the box. Also, those 4
buildings used for the expansion of the game can be laid back in the box in case players
decide not to play the game with the expansion rules.
Goal of the Game
kingdom
kingdom region
bag
The aim of each player is to develop the four civilisations: settlements, temples, farms and
markets. To do this players will position their leaders, create and extend kingdoms, build
monuments and resolve conflicts, thereby winning victory points in each of the four
civilisations. The winner is the player who develops civilisations in a balanced way without
revealing a weakness.

What is a kingdom? What is an area?
During the game leaders and tiles are placed on the fields
of the board game. Leaders and civilisation tiles with a
common edge are described as joined, and form a region.
A region which contains at least one leader is called a
kingdom.
A kingdom can contain several leaders, irrespective of
whether they belong to the same or different players.
Kingdoms grow when leaders and tiles are added.
Kingdoms can be joined and separated. As long as a
kingdom contains only leaders of different colours,
everything runs peaceful. Conflicts arise when there are
at least two like-coloured leaders within one kingdom.
The Course of the Game
The player who last was in a vacation begins the game. The game runs in clockwise
direction. The player taking his turn is called the active player. He may carry out up to two
actions, in any order. It is up to him whether he chooses the same action twice or 2 different ones.
Selecting an action
1. Position, withdraw or move a leader (see page 4)
2. Position a civilisation tile and receive a victory point (see page 4)

3. Position a catastrophe tile (see page 4)

4. Exchange up to 6 tiles (see page 5)
At the end of the two actions that every player has taken will be examined the possibility to
be offered bonus victory points because of the monuments or end game. Then another round
begins with the next player in clockwise direction.

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The Actions in detail
1. Position, withdraw or move a leader.
Each player possesses a dynasty of 4 leaders: king (black), priest (red), farmer (blue) and trader (green).
A player may only position his own leaders. A leader is always placed onto an empty space on the board.
A leader can come from outside the board, or be repositioned from another space on the board. Furthermore, a leader can be withdrawn from the board.
A leader may only be placed in the immediate neighbourhood of a temple (they have a common edge). A leader may not be placed on a river space. A leader may not be placed in such a way as to join two kingdoms together. Connecting civilisations tiles or regions without leaders with kingdoms is possible by a leader.

Attention !!!
In certain situations tiles, and particular temples, may be removed from the board or turned face-down. When the last temple in the immediate neighbourhood of a leader is removed or turned face-down, then the leader is returned to the player of that dynasty. No victory points are awarded for the positioning of leaders. However, without leaders on the board, victory points cannot be earned.

2. Position a civilisation tile and receive a victory point.
At the beginning of his turn, a player has 6 tiles behind his screen. They are used to extend civilisation. A tile is taken from behind his screen, and placed onto an empty space of the board. Blue farm tiles may only be placed on river spaces. No other colour tiles may be placed on river spaces. Positioned tiles may not be taken back.

Receiving a victory point
A player receives a victory point if he accomplishes the following rules:
a) a civilisation tile was placed in a kingdom
b) if in a kingdom there is a leader in the colour of the placed tile, that player to whom the leader belongs receives the victory point in the colour of the tile.
c) if there is no leader in the colour of the tile but there is a king leader within the kingdom, then the victory point is offered to the player who holds the king leader.

There are no victory points
If the tile is not placed in a kingdom. (no leader available)
If the tile is placed in such a way that it connects 2 kingdoms.

Victory points are awarded immediately after a tile is placed, taking from the supply 1 small wooden cube. Small cubes count as one victory point, large cubes as five. From time to time players must exchange small wooden cubes with big wooden cubes so that there are enough wooden cubes in the supply. Once a tile is placed it cannot be moved anymore.

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3. Placing a catastrophe tile
At the beginning of the game, each player receives two catastrophe tiles. A catastrophe tile is played onto an empty space, or on top of an existing tile. In this case the tile is removed from the game. A catastrophe tile may not be played onto a tile supporting a treasure or a monument. A catastrophe tile may not be played onto a leader. A catastrophe tile disrupts the connection between leaders or tiles. (In this way a catastrophe tile may cause a kingdom to be divided into two or more parts. A catastrophe tile may destroy the last temple in the immediate neighbourhood of a leader. That leader is then returned to the player.) The catastrophe tiles blocks the field where they are placed until the end of the game. They can not be moved or covered anymore.

4. Swap up to 6 tiles
The active player may put aside, face-down, any number of tiles from behind his screen, and refresh that number from the bag. The tiles put aside are out of the game. The new tiles enter the game immediately. (If a player decides to do this in his first move he may use the new tiles in his second move.)

Events Discuss
After each move is examined the possibility for an event to appear. These events must be discussed immediately and only after that action is completed.
1. Internal temple conflict (see page 5)
2. External supporter conflict (see page 6)
3. Building monuments (see page 8)
4. Treasure assigning (see page 9)

1. Internal temple conflict
This situation appears if a leader is positioned in a kingdom that already contains another leader of the same colour.

for the player with the bull
for the player with the lion (lion=black leader)

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example continued:
The winner receives one red victory
point. The loser's leader is returned to
him. The extra 5 temples used by both
sides are out of the game.

2. External supporter conflict (is started by the action place a tile)
This situation develops when a player positioned a civilisation tile in such a way that it
connects 2 kingdoms and in the new kingdom 2 leaders of the same colour meet each other.
It is forbidden to connect more than 2 kingdoms at the same time by laying a civilisation tile. For
positioning a tile that joins 2 kingdoms the player doesn't receive a victory point.

Defender
Aggressor
Defender (winner)
Aggressor (loser)

The player of the newly positioned leader becomes the attacker and the possessor of the
existing leader of the same colour in that kingdom is the defender. No leader can move in order
to avoid the conflict. Both leaders draw their strength from temples. So, the attacker and the
defender both count the number of temples in the immediate neighbourhood of their respective
leaders on the board. A temple may count towards both leaders. First the attacker, and after him
the defender, may add any number of extra temples from behind their screens, and place them
beside the board. Each player may only add extra temples once. (the stake can not be increased
anymore). Whoever has the higher total of temples wins the conflict. In the case of a tie, the
defender wins.
example:
The attacker has 2 temples in the
immediate neighbourhood of his leader,
the defender one. The attacker adds 2
extra temples, the defender 3. Hence
both players have a total of 4 temples.
It is a tie, therefore the defender wins.
As a consequence of the internal conflict
the loser must take back his leader
involved in the conflict. The winner receives
one red victory point since it concerned
a temple conflict. All extra temples added
from behind the screens are discarded
face-down and are out of the game.

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The tile that joined the 2 kingdoms is covered immediately by the unification tile until the event created is discussed. If the new kingdom contains no two leaders of a like colour, then the unification tile is removed, and the action is concluded without any conflict arising. Only a new, larger kingdom is created.
However, if the new kingdom contains leaders of the same colour, then conflicts arise between the involved leaders. If there are conflicts in more than one colour, the active player decides which conflict to resolve first. No leader may leave the kingdom in order to avoid the conflict.

Finishing the external conflict
If the active player chooses a conflict with one of his leaders involved, he becomes the attacker. Otherwise, the next player (in clockwise order) with a leader involved becomes the attacker. The other player involved in the conflict is the defender. Both attacker and defender draw strength from their "supporters". To this end, the attacker and the defender count the number of the tiles in the leader colour (not only the neighbouring tiles) from their original kingdoms. Now, exactly like in the internal conflict, first the attacker, and after him the defender, may add any number of extra supporters from behind their screens, and place them beside the board. Each player may only add extra supporters once. (stake can not be further increased). Whoever has the higher total of supporters wins the conflict. In the case of a tie, the defender wins.

Example:
There are two conflicts: between the traders and between the kings. The player who joined the kingdoms decides that the traders will go first. Assuming that the Lion is the attacker, he counts one supporter (i.e. market) in his kingdom and adds 4 extra markets.
The defender has 2 supporters in his kingdom and adds one extra market, even though this is not enough to influence the outcome. He is using this opportunity to discard an unwanted market tile. The attacker has a total of 5 supporters, the defender 3. The attacker wins.

Consequences of the external conflict
The loser must withdraw his leader and remove all supporters from the original kingdom. The winner receives one victory point for the removed leader and each of the removed supporters in that colour. Extra supporters added from behind the screen do not count towards victory points.
The defeated leader is returned to the player. Supporters of the defeated leader, and extra supporters added by both players, are discarded face-down and are out of the game.
If two priests cause a conflict, then there is an exception: temples (i.e. supporters) which contain a treasure, or have another leader in their immediate neighbourhood are not removed. Victory points are only awarded for the removed temples and the defeated priest.
When a tile is removed from the board, it may cause the kingdom to be divided into two or more parts. As a consequence, leaders originally exposed to conflict may end up in different kingdoms again.

Verteidiger
Verteidiger (Gewinner)
Aggressor
Defender

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Example, continued:
The loser takes back his leader and removes both of his supporters from the board. The victor receives 3 green victory points. The 5 extra tiles used, along with the 2 defeated supporters, are discarded from the game. At the end of the conflict the kingdom is divided into two parts. The second conflict between the kings is, in this case, avoided. The unification tile is withdrawn from the board, and the action is concluded. At the end of the active player's turn, all other players who have discarded tiles from behind their screens also refresh their tiles from the bag up to 6.

3. Building Monuments (can be initiated by the action place a tile)

This situation appears when the active player places a tile in such a way that it forms a square of 4 like-coloured tiles on the board. In this moment and only after this move the active player has the possibility to build a monument. If he chooses not to build a monument he misses his opportunity and he can not build the monument later neither other player. If the active player decides to build the monument then he must turn face down those 4 like-coloured tiles. On those tiles the player places a monument available in the supply. However a colour of the monument must correspond to the turned face down tiles. If no monument of the respective colour is available in the supply then no monuments can be built here. Likewise in this situation the tiles are not turned and the event is avoided. If by placing a civilisation tile a conflict is initiated then the conflict must be resolved first before turning the tiles face down and building the monument. If the square exists after the conflict then the active player can build the monument. The four face-down tiles still count as part of regions and kingdoms, joining leaders and tiles. However, they no longer count for any other functions, e.g. as supporters in conflicts. Monuments, once built, cannot be destroyed. When four temples are turned face-down to build a monument, then the following applies: If a treasure lies on one of the temples, it remains on that face-down tile. If a leader loses the last temple in the immediate neighbourhood, then that leader is returned to the player.

Aggressor (winner)
Defender (loser)
Then they are no longer in conflict. However, if there are still leaders of like colours in the kingdom, the conflicts continue, and the active player determines which conflict is resolved next. (The active player influences events by wisely choosing the order in which conflicts are resolved.) After all conflicts are resolved, the unification tile is removed, and placed back beside the board.

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There is no trader in the kingdom, the treasures remain there for a long time until a trader enters the kingdom. Once a trader enters the kingdom the player that owns the trader can take treasures from the table.
Angreifer (Sieger)
Example (see pictures on pages 8 and 9)
By turning the tiles face down, the bull leader (farmer) loses his last neighbouring temple. The leader is taken back by his player.
Monuments regularly generate victory points
At the end of his turn the active player determines if one or more of his leaders are in the same kingdom as monuments of a like colour. For every leader the active player receives one victory point in the respective colour.
example continued
At the end of his turn the Bull player is awarded a green victory point. At the end of the Archer player's turn, he is awarded a red victory point.
4. Treasure distribution (can be initiated by the action place a leader or place a tile)
This situation develops if by placing a leader or a civilisation tile the kingdom is enlarged in such a way that it contains more than 1 treasure. This will be a frequent case after joining 2 kingdoms.
The possessor of the trader in that kingdom receives all treasures but one at the end of the active player's move. The trader doesn't have to be the active player for this purpose. The trader has a free choice of which treasures to take. However, he must follow the next rules:
- with the classical board (the one with 10 treasures) those treasures that are placed in the 4 corners of the board must be a player's preferred choice if possible.
- with the alternative board (the one with 14 treasures) those treasures that are placed outside the region between the 2 rivers must be a player's preferred choice if possible.

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example: The lion as the active player places a blue tile and thus extending the kingdom that contains 2 treasures. First the bull player receives a blue victory point from the blue tile since he has the farmer leader in the kingdom. Then the lion takes the upper treasure because the trader in the kingdom belongs to him. He must choose the upper treasure as it is one of the four corner treasures.
Attention!!!
Each treasure is considered to be a wild victory point. His owner can allocate each treasure individually to a colour of his choice.

Game end and winner
The game ends in the following situations:
- at the end of a player's turn there are only 1 or 2 treasures left on the board
- one player is unable to refresh his tiles to 6. It doesn't matter if this happens by the action refresh up to 6 tiles or the refreshing of tiles at the end of a player's turn. However the current turn continues till the end and just after the game ends.

At this point the players remove their screens. Players compare the number of victory points in their respective weakest spheres. Treasures are freely allocated to any sphere. The player whose weakest sphere compares best with the others is the winner. In the case of a tie, the involved players compare their second weakest spheres, and so on.

example:
1. The Potter dynasty wins! The Potter player has succeeded in allocating his three treasures in such a way to achieve 11 victory points as his weakest result.
11 11 14 11
2. The Lion player is second. He has had to allocate his three treasures to farms in order to achieve 10 victory points there, the same score as he has in temples.
12 10 10 13
3. The Bull player also achieved 10 victory points in settlements, as well as in temples. But his third weakest sphere counts 11 victory points in farms, whereas the Lion player achieved 12 in settlements. Hence the Bull player comes third.
10 10 11 18
4. The Archer player has neglected temples. His 6 victory points plus 3 treasures are insufficient. Even his 22 victory points in settlements do not prevent him from coming last.
22 9 17 11

End of player's turn
If the active player makes his 2 moves he will end his turn. In kingdoms with monuments the player still receives victory points if he has there leaders in the appropriate colour (see also monuments).
Finally the player refreshes his tiles to 6. In case of a conflict the other players that were involved refresh their tiles to 6 also. As a consequence the next player in clockwise direction becomes the active player.

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unter drei Stück fallen sollte. Eine Katastro-
Extension of play - The Civilisation Buildings

This play variant should be used only by experienced players. It makes the gameplay even more exciting and dynamic by awarding more victory points, but it also requires more analysis and planning.

Building Civilisation Buildings

A civilization building may be built when the active player places a civilization tile in such a way that a row or a column (horizontal or vertical) of at least three connected tiles of the same color is formed on the game board.

At this time the active player can build a civilisation building of the same color as the tiles. He simply places the appropriate building onto any one of the connected civilisation tiles of the appropriate row or column. This tile still counts during an external conflict; however after a lost conflict it is not removed from the board.

Once a civilisation building has been built, an active player can later move it to another just-completed row or column of tiles of the same color, but only if the new "chain" of tiles is longer than the old one. If the new chain is shorter, or if the two chains are of equal length, the civilisation building may not be moved.

If a newly placed civilisation tile results in a conflict and at the same time allows a civilisation building to be built, the conflict must be resolved first. If the row of at least three connected tiles still exists after the conflict has been resolved, the active player can now build the civilisation building.

Example:
The Bull Player places a farm tile. He can now place the granary onto any tile in the newly developed row, since he now has a longer chain of tiles than the Lion Player. He may remove the granary from its previous location. Once a civilisation building has been built, it remains there even if in the course of play the chain of civilization tiles should fall below three pieces. A catastrophe tile cannot be played directly on a civilisation tile that has a building on it. The only way to remove the building from its location is to build a longer chain of civilisation tiles.

Example:
In his first action, the Archer Player plays a catastrophe tile next to the market hall, destroying the chain of market tiles. The market hall, however, remains in its position. In his second action, the Archer Player places a market tile in such a way that he has a set of three connected tiles. Now he can remove the market hall from its old position and place it onto the newly developed chain of market tiles. If he had not placed a tile, but had previously already had the row of three market tiles, he would not be allowed to take the market hall.

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Civilisation Buildings Earn Victory Points
For each civilisation tile that a player places that would normally earn him one victory point,
he instead gets two victory points if there is a civilisation building of same color as the just-
placed civilisation tile in the kingdom. As usual, he must also have a leader in appropriate
color and/or a King in order to be able to receive these victory points.

Impressum:
Author: Reiner Knizia
Illustration: illuvision.com
Tom and Ricarda Thiel
Phrases and layout:
Box design: Christine Conrad
© 2007 bei Pegasus Spiele, Straßheimer Str. 2, 61169 Friedberg.
Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
Visit us on the internet: www.pegasus.de/euphrat-tigris
Pegasus Spiele thanks to Birgitt Anton, Roland Berberich, Alexander Dotor, Heiko Hezel, Oliver Hinz,
Birger Krämer, Oliver Kuhn, Nicole Lehmann, Marcus Ludwig, Heiko Weber, Nicole Weidner and the test
players of the edition 1997 for suggestions and references.

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