Game Objective

Welcome to Coimbra, the city that pulsates in the Age of Discoveries! As the head of one of the city's venerable houses, your objective is simple yet challenging: to earn the most **Victory Points** at the end of 4 rounds. To do this, you'll need cunning, strategy, and a good eye for synergies. Whether it's increasing your income, recruiting **guards**, promoting academic advancement, strengthening ties with monasteries, or investing in daring expeditions, every path can lead to glory. The player with the most **Victory Points** will be the grand winner!

Setup

Let's set up the table to begin our journey in Coimbra!

1. Place the main **board** in the center of the table.
2. Separate the **monasteries** by back (I, II, III), shuffle each pile, and place them face down next to the **board**.
   • Draw 8 **monasteries** from pile I and place them face up on the blue (I) spaces of the **pilgrimage map**.
   • Draw 4 **monasteries** from pile II and place them face up on the brown (II) spaces of the **pilgrimage map**.
   • Draw 2 **monasteries** from pile III and place them face up on the red (III) spaces of the **pilgrimage map**.
   • Return the remaining **monasteries** to the box.
3. Shuffle the 4 **influence scoring tiles** and place them randomly, face up, on the scoring spaces above the 4 **influence tracks**. Check that the front of the tile matches the number of players (2/3 or 4).
4. Take the 5 **die tokens**:
   • In a 4-player game: Return all 5 **die tokens** to the box. They are not used.
   • In a 3-player game: Place one **die token** in the **upper city**, one in the **central city**, and one in the **lower city**. Return the remaining **die tokens** to the box.
   • In a 2-player game: Place two **die tokens** in the **upper city**, two in the **central city**, and one in the **lower city**.
5. Shuffle the **expedition cards**, draw 6 randomly, and place them face up on the **expedition card** spaces at the bottom of the **board**. Return the rest to the box.
6. Take the 13 **dice**:
   • In a 4-player game: Place all 13 **dice** in the **dice area** next to the **board**.
   • In a 3-player game: Remove 1 purple **die** and 1 green **die**. Place the remaining 11 **dice** in the **dice area**.
   • In a 2-player game: Remove 1 gray **die**, 1 orange **die**, 2 purple **dice**, and 2 green **dice**. Place the remaining 7 **dice** in the **dice area**.
7. Each player chooses a color and receives:
   • Their **personal board**, placed in front of them.
   • The 3 **die holders**, placed in the lower spaces of their **personal board**.
   • The 2 **markers**, placed on space 7 of the **coin track** and space 7 of the **guard track** on their **personal board**.
   • The **pilgrim**, initially next to their **personal board**.
   • The 25 **discs**:
     • Four **discs** on space 0 of the 4 **influence tracks** on the **board**.
     • One **disc** on space 0 of the **scoring track** on the **board**.
     • The remaining 20 **discs** as a supply next to their **personal board**.
8. Randomly determine the **player order**. The first player places their **lion** on flag 1, the second on flag 2, and so on.
9. Separate the **character cards** by back (I, II, III). Shuffle each pile separately. Place pile II face down on top of pile III (also face down) to form the **character deck**, which goes above the **board**. Leave space for the discard pile. Keep pile I separate.
10. Arrange the 4 **benefit tiles** in a row next to the top left corner of the **board** (next to the castle). Place the **extra die tile** on top of the **benefit tile** with 2 crowns.
11. Arrange the 12 **character area cards**:
    • Draw 4 **cards** from the **character deck** and place them randomly, face up, in the row to the left of the **upper city**.
    • Draw 4 more **cards** from the **character deck** and place them randomly, face up, in the row to the left of the **central city**.
    • Draw another 4 **cards** from the **character deck** and place them randomly, face up, in the row to the left of the **lower city**.
12. Take the 4 **crown tokens** and distribute them among the **character cards** in the **character area**. Start from the fourth column, from top to bottom, then third, second, and first. Place the **crown tokens** on the first four **cards** of each category you find. If there is no **card** of a category, the corresponding **crown token** is not used.
13. Finally, take pile I of **starting character cards**:
    • In a 4-player game: Form 4 groups with 2 random **cards** in each, face up, next to the **board**.
    • In a 3-player game: Form 3 groups with 2 random **cards** in each, face up, next to the **board**. Return the remaining 2 **cards** to the box.
    • In a 2-player game: Form 2 groups with 2 random **cards** in each, face up, next to the **board**. Return the remaining 4 **cards** to the box.

Now, players, in reverse player order (starting with the player with the **lion** on the highest order flag), choose one of two actions:

• a) Take the two **character cards** from one of the starting groups and place them face up in front of them.
• b) Place their **pilgrim** on an available starting space in the center of the **pilgrimage map**.

After everyone has taken one action, everyone must take the other action in normal player order. At the end, each player will have 2 **starting character cards** and their **pilgrim** on a starting space.

For each of your 2 **starting character cards**, do the following:

1. On the **influence track** corresponding to the **card's** category, advance your **disc** the number of spaces indicated by the **card's** influence value.
2. If the **card** has an **immediate bonus** (teal banner), receive it immediately and place the **card** in the **immediate bonus zone** of your **personal board**. If it has a **Phase C bonus** (banner with a teal base), place it in the **Phase C bonus zone** of your **personal board**; this bonus can be activated in **Phase C** of each round.

Game Turn

A game of Coimbra lasts 4 rounds, and each round is divided into phases:

Phase A: Dice Roll

The first player (the one with the **lion** on flag 1) takes all the **dice** from the **dice area**, rolls them, and creates a new **dice area** for the round.

Phase B: Dice Preparation and Placement

In player order, each player takes turns choosing a **die** from the **dice area**, fitting it into one of their **die holders**, and placing it in one of the 4 **city locations**:

• In the Castle: The **dice** must form a row of *increasing* values (from 1 to 6) from left to right. Your **die** must go to the right of any **die** with a value less than or equal to yours, and to the left of any **die** with a greater value. The further left your **die** is, the higher your chances of getting the desired **benefit tile** in **Phase C**.
• In the Upper, Central, or Lower City: The **dice** must form a row of *decreasing* values (from 6 to 1) from left to right. Your **die** must go to the right of any **die** with a value greater than or equal to yours, and to the left of any **die** with a smaller value. The further left your **die** is, the more expensive the **character card** you can take in **Phase C**, but you will have more options.

Important: In games with fewer than 4 players, **die tokens** count as neutral **dice**.

Players continue placing **dice**, one by one, until everyone has placed 3 **dice** (and therefore no **die holders** are left). The colors of the 3 **dice** you choose will determine your "influence gains" in **Phase E**.

There is no limit to the number of **dice** in a location, and a player can place several of their **dice** in the same location.

Phase C: Dice Retrieval

This phase does not follow the normal player order, but rather the order of the **dice** in the **city locations**, evaluated from top to bottom:

1. First, the **Castle**.
2. Then, the **Upper City**.
3. Next, the **Central City**.
4. Finally, the **Lower City**.

When a location is evaluated, each **die** on it, from left to right, is activated once. The player whose **die** is furthest to the left plays first, performs an action, and retrieves their **die**. The process repeats until there are no more **dice** in that location. Then, it moves to the next location.

Actions in Phase C:

• In the Castle: Take one of the available benefit tiles.

  Choose an available **benefit tile** on the left side of the **castle** and place it in front of you. Execute the **immediate bonus(es)** of the **tile**. Each **benefit tile** obtained this round also increases your total number of **crowns**, which is crucial for **Phase D**.

  Note: **Benefit tiles** are free.

• In the Upper, Central, and Lower City: Buy a character card.

  Choose one of the available **character cards** in the row next to the location. The **card's** cost is determined by the icon in the upper left corner (guards or coins) and the value of your activated **die**. Pay the cost by moving the corresponding **marker** on your **personal board** backward.

  After paying, take the **card** and immediately gain its influence value on the **influence track** of the **card's** category (advance your **disc**).

  Proceed according to the **card's** bonus:

  • If it has an **end-game bonus** (scroll icon), place it in the **end-game bonus zone** of your **personal board**.
  • If it has a **Phase E bonus** (banner with a teal base), place it in the **Phase E bonus zone** of your **personal board**.
  • If it has an **immediate bonus** (teal banner), receive it once and place it in the **immediate bonus zone** of your **personal board**.

  Then, check if the acquired **card** activated the **Phase C bonus** of any of your **starting character cards**. If so, receive that bonus once. If there is a **crown token** on the acquired **card**, remove it and place it in front of you.

After performing your action, retrieve the activated **die** (keeping it in the **holder**) and place it in one of the empty lower spaces of your **personal board**.

Alternative Action: If you cannot or do not want to perform a location's action, you can instead gain up to 2 **coins** AND up to 2 **guards** (advancing the **markers** on the corresponding tracks of your **personal board**).

Important (games with fewer than 4 players): If a **die token** is activated (being the leftmost **die**), remove and discard the **character card** with the highest influence value from the row next to the city. If there's a tie, remove the leftmost one. Flip the activated **die token** face down and leave it where it is. Continue activating the next leftmost **die**.

After all **dice** in a location have been activated, remove any remaining **character cards** next to that location and place them in the discard pile. Flip any **die tokens** that were flipped face down back up.

Phase D: New Player Order

The new player order is determined by the sum of the **crowns** each player possesses. This includes:

• **Crowns** on the **crown tokens** received in the current round.
• **Crowns** on the **benefit tiles** received in the current round.
• **Crowns** next to the **player order flag** where your **lion** is.

The player with the most **crowns** moves their **lion** to flag 1, the second to flag 2, and so on. In case of a tie, the order between tied players is reversed.

Phase E: Influence Gains

In the new player order, each player receives influence gains. Look at the colors of the 3 **dice** in the lower spaces of your **personal board**. In any order you wish, activate each **die** once to receive the reward from the **influence track** of the same color as the **die**:

• **Gray die:** Reward = **guards** (advance your **marker** on the **guard track**).
• **Orange die:** Reward = **coins** (advance your **marker** on the **coin track**).
• **Purple die:** Reward = your **pilgrim** moves on the **board**.
• **Green die:** Reward = **victory points** (advance your **disc** on the **scoring track**).
• **White die:** Receive the reward from an **influence track** of your choice.

Important: Pay attention to the **bonuses** that the **character cards** in your **Phase E bonus zone** may provide.

After receiving the rewards, remove the **dice** from the **holders**, place them in the **dice area** (for