How to Play Bologna

Objective of the Game

In Le Torri di Bologna, players take on the roles of leaders from two powerful factions in northern Italy: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Your goal is to fill the districts of Bologna with towers and fortified palaces, much like in the 12th century. The ultimate authority rests with the podestà, a designated foreigner who acts as a magistrate and judge. Winning his favor is crucial!

You can achieve victory in two ways:

• If a player reaches or passes space 15 on the influence track during the game, they immediately win.
• Otherwise, the game continues until all player-coloured buildings have been placed. At this point, the tallest towers grant their owners influence for the landmarks and schools in their districts. The player who has gained more influence from district majorities and enclosed courtyards wins the game.

Preparation (Setup)

1. Assemble the game board using the 6 double-sided district tiles to form a complete city layout. Ensure the numbers on the scale match. You can randomly choose a side for each district tile or agree on them before the game.
2. Each player takes their 17 player buildings in their chosen color and places them into their personal supply. This includes: 1× size 6, 3× size 5, 4× size 4, 5× size 3, and 4× size 2. It's recommended to sort these buildings by size.
3. Each player takes 6 schools and places them into their personal supply.
4. Place the landmarks near the edge of the game board: 4× Councilman’s houses, 1× Town hall, and 1× Cathedral.
5. Place the podestà pawn on space 0 of the influence track.
6. The yellow player (representing the Guelph faction) is the first player. The red player represents the Ghibelline faction.

Fluxo do Jogo

Players alternate turns. On your turn, you must place one of your player buildings from your personal supply into one of the districts.

When placing the first player building into an empty city district, a player must also place one available landmark in that district during the same turn. They may choose any landmark that is still available near the game board. Each district can contain a maximum of 1 landmark (a school is not a landmark).

The personal supply of unplaced buildings must always remain clearly visible to both players throughout the game.

Ações e Como Jogar

On your turn, you must place one of your player buildings from your personal supply into one of the districts. A player building can be placed in one of three ways:

1. Build a house: Take a player building of any size from your personal supply and place it horizontally (flat) onto an empty grid space in any city district on the game board, in accordance with the placement rules.
2. Build a house with a school: Take a player building of any size from your personal supply and place it horizontally (flat) together with one neutral school from your personal supply onto an empty grid space in any city district on the game board, in accordance with the placement rules. Remember, a school cannot be built together with a tower.
3. Build a tower: Take a player building of any size from your personal supply and place it vertically (upright) into any city district on the game board, in accordance with the placement rules.

Placement Rules

1. A player building must align with the grid of the city districts. A building is not allowed to cover (even partially) more grid spaces than its actual size.
2. A player building cannot extend beyond the marked borders of a district and must be contained entirely within one district.
3. At least one side of the placed player building must touch the outer edge of the district into which it is being placed. Touching the edge with only a corner of a building is not sufficient.
4. When building a house with a school, the school must touch the shorter side of the house being built. A school can only be placed on a triangular space at the edge of the district. It cannot be placed on a standard square grid space of the district. If the newly placed school touches the edge of the district, this is sufficient to satisfy rule 3.

Courtyards

A courtyard is a connected area of empty grid spaces completely enclosed by buildings. The edge of a district does not count as a border of a courtyard; the courtyard must be separated from the edge by buildings. An enclosed courtyard is worth a number of influence points equal to the number of square grid spaces that courtyard encloses within the district. A single district can contain multiple courtyards. A grid space that connects to a courtyard only by a corner may remain empty, meaning two courtyards can share a common corner.

Courtyard Scoring

As soon as a courtyard is formed, you immediately score it and determine which player receives the influence points. The player with the most houses touching the courtyard wins the courtyard. If tied, the player occupying the most grid spaces touching the courtyard wins instead. The winner gains a number of influence points equal to the number of empty grid spaces within the courtyard. They then move the podestà pawn on the influence track by the corresponding number of spaces towards space 15 on their side of the track (in their color). Resolve the courtyard majority using the following criteria in order:

1. Number of houses: The player with the most houses surrounding the courtyard earns the influence points. The size of individual houses does not matter. Count only houses that touch the courtyard with at least part of their side. Houses touching only with a corner do not count. While landmarks, towers, and schools are buildings and help enclose courtyards, they have no effect on courtyard scoring. Only houses (flat player pieces) count.
2. Number of grid spaces: In the case of a tie for the number of houses, the influence points for the courtyard are awarded to the player who occupies the most grid spaces touching the courtyard with at least one side (not a corner). Grid spaces occupied by towers are also counted. Landmarks and schools have no effect on winning a courtyard.
3. Tie: If a tie continues, neither player receives the influence points for the courtyard.

Landmarks

Landmarks represent significant buildings in Bologna. During the game, they act as neutral buildings and can be used strategically, for example, to help enclose courtyards. At the end of the game, landmarks award influence points based on their size and significance:

• Councilman’s house: 4 influence points
• Town hall: 6 influence points
• Cathedral: 10 influence points

A school building remains neutral throughout the entire game and adds 1 bonus point to the landmark scoring. However, it is not a landmark itself.

Fim de Jogo e Pontuação

The game ends in one of two ways:

1. Immediate Victory: If any player reaches or exceeds 15 influence points on the influence track during the game, they immediately win. In this case, landmarks and schools are not scored.
2. End of Building Placement: If no player achieves an immediate victory, the game ends as soon as the last player building is placed. Then, influence points for all placed landmarks and schools are scored.

End Game Scoring (if no immediate victory)

Landmarks and schools are scored separately in each district at the end of the game. Influence points are awarded to the player who wins the tower comparison in that district, following these criteria in order:

1. Tallest tower: The influence points for the landmark and any schools are awarded to the player with the tallest tower in that district.
2. Number of towers: If both players’ tallest towers are the same height, the landmark is awarded to the player who has more towers in that district. When comparing the number of towers, ignore the heights of all other towers.
3. Tie: If the tie continues, no influence points are awarded for this district.

Note: Houses have no effect on landmark scoring.

Final Scoring Procedure

The player who currently has less influence chooses a district to score. They must choose a district in which they have majority (either tallest tower or number of towers). Calculate the number of influence points for landmarks and schools in that district. That player moves the podestà pawn the corresponding number of spaces on the influence track. The player with less influence keeps choosing districts to score until the podestà pawn is on their side of the track. Then, the other player takes over, scoring the remaining districts until the pawn is back on their side. Continue in this way until all districts have been scored. Whenever the podestà is on space 0, any player may choose a district to score.

Determining the Winner

The final position of the podestà pawn determines the winner. If the pawn is on a player’s side of the track, that player wins! That player’s faction becomes the new ruling faction of Bologna. If the podestà pawn ends on space 0, the game ends in a tie.

Dicas para Vencer

Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção.