Game Objective

Alright, future civilization leader! In Deus, your mission is clear: expand your empire across unknown lands, build cities, exploit resources, and, of course, keep the gods happy with offerings and temples. You will develop your empire, whether by conquering barbarian villages, advancing science, or establishing trade routes.

The ultimate goal? Be the player with the most Victory Points (VPs) at the end of the game. Prepare to make strategic decisions and show who rules this civilization!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's set up the table for your epic journey! Follow these steps for the setup of Deus:

1. Assemble the Board: Join the Continent Maps. The quantity varies with the number of players:
   • 2 players: 4 maps
   • 3 players: 6 maps
   • 4 players: 7 maps
   Orient the maps as you wish, but never place two barbarian villages next to each other.
2. VPs in Barbarian Villages: In each barbarian village, place VPs equivalent to the number of adjacent regions. For example, if a village is next to 5 regions, place 5 VPs on it.
3. Create the General Supply: Separate the following items:
   • Wooden Temples: As many pieces as Continent Maps used (4 for 2 players, 6 for 3, 7 for 4).
   • Resources: 5 of each type (wheat, stone, clay, wood) per player. (Ex: 10 of each type for 2 players).
   • The Victory Points (VPs).
   • The gold coins.
   Note: Store unused temples and resources in the box. Exhausted resources cannot be gained. VPs and gold are unlimited.
4. Prepare your Player Board and Buildings: Each player takes a Player Board and 25 Wooden Buildings in their chosen color (5 of each type: civil, scientific, maritime, military, production). Place 2 pieces of each type in the corresponding columns of your Player Board. The rest form your Personal Supply.
5. Receive your Starting Goods: Each player receives:
   • 5 gold coins.
   • 4 resources (1 stone, 1 clay, 1 wheat, 1 wood) from the General Supply.
   • 5 VPs (do not show them!).
6. Distribute the Cards: Shuffle the 96 Building Cards and deal 5 to each player. The remaining cards form the draw pile.
7. First Player: Choose who will be the First Player and give them the First Player Card.

The Game Turn

The game unfolds in rounds, with turns happening clockwise, starting with the First Player. On your turn, you have a crucial choice: either Build a Building or Make an Offering to the Gods.

A. Build a Building

To build, you play a Building card from your hand. There are two types: Standard Building and Temples.

Standard Building (Civil, Scientific, Maritime, Military, and Production)

1. Check Availability: Make sure you have at least one wooden piece of the corresponding type on your Player Board. No piece, no construction!
2. Place the Card: Play the card at the top of the column of the same color on your Player Board, ensuring that all card effects in the column are visible.
3. Pay the Cost: Pay the construction cost indicated in the upper left corner of the card. You can use resources and/or gold coins.
   • Important: Each resource can be replaced by 4 gold coins when paying the construction cost.
4. Place the Wooden Building: Take the corresponding wooden piece from your Player Board and place it on the game board, following these rules:
   • Your first Building must go to a region on the edge of the board. The first Buildings of each player must be separated by at least two empty regions.
   • Subsequent Buildings can be built in a region you already control, or in an empty region adjacent to one you already own.
   • If building in a region you already control, each Building in that region must be of a different type (no two civil Buildings in the same place!).
   • You cannot build in a barbarian village.
   • Maritime Buildings (ships) can only occupy Sea regions. Other types cannot be built in the Sea.
   • If blocked, you can place a Building in an empty region on the edge of the board by paying 3 VPs.
5. Activate Effects: Benefit from the effects of all cards in the column where you just placed the card, activating them from bottom to top.

Temples

1. First Temple: Place the card in the slot on the far right of your Player Board.
2. Subsequent Temples: To build the second Temple, you need to have one card of each color on your Player Board. For the third, two cards of each color, and so on.
3. Pay the Cost: The cost is always one resource of each type, or 4 gold coins per resource. Each Temple built grants VPs at the end of the game (maximum of 12 VPs per Temple).
4. Place the Wooden Temple: Take a wooden Temple from the General Supply and place it in one of your regions (not in an empty region). You cannot have more than one Temple in the same city.
   • Important: If the supply of Temples is empty, you can still play the Temple card, but you do not place the piece on the board.

Attacking a Barbarian Village

An attack on a barbarian village can occur immediately after you place a Building on the board, if the following conditions are met:

• Players must occupy all regions adjacent to the village.
• There must be at least one army in those adjacent regions.

If this happens, the player with the most Armies in the regions near the village gains the VPs from that village. In case of a tie, the player with the most Buildings in those regions wins. If still tied, the VPs are divided, rounded down.

Important: If, at the end of your action, you have no more cards in hand, automatically draw 5 new cards. If the draw pile is empty, shuffle the discards to create a new one.

B. Making an Offering to the Gods

This action allows you to discard cards to invoke one of the 6 gods and replenish your hand.

1. Discard Cards: Discard at least 1 card from your hand, stating the exact quantity. You can keep some cards.
2. Place in Discard: Place the cards face up in the discard pile, with only the top card visible.
3. Activate Divine Power: Benefit from the power of the god associated with the top card of the discard pile. The magnitude of the power is proportional to the number of cards discarded. The gods can also allow you to take wooden pieces from the General Supply and place them on your Player Board.
   • Neptune (blue/maritime): Gain 2 gold coins per card discarded. Also gain a wooden Ship.
   • Ceres (green/production): Gain one resource of your choice per card discarded. Also gain a production Building piece.
   • Minerva (yellow/scientific): Gain a scientific Building. You can draw an additional card in Step 4 for each card discarded.
   • Vesta (brown/civil): Gain 1 VP if you discard one card; 2 VPs (total) if you discard more than one. Also gain a civil Building piece.
   • Mars (red/military): Gain a Building of your choice for each card discarded.
   • Jupiter (purple/temple): Use the power of one of the other five gods (acts as a "Wildcard").
4. Draw New Cards: Draw cards until you have 5 in your hand. If you invoked Minerva, draw an additional card for each card you discarded in step 3.
   • Important: You cannot have more than 10 cards in hand.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when one of these two situations occurs:

• All Temples from the General Supply have been built.
• All Barbarian Villages have been attacked.

When this happens, the current round is completed so that all players have the same number of turns. Then, a final round is played, where each player can perform one last action.

Now it's time to tally the VPs!

1. VPs Gained During the Game: Sum all the VPs you accumulated during the game.
2. VPs from Temples: Add the VPs granted by the Temples you built (maximum of 12 VPs per Temple).
3. Resource and Gold Bonus: For each type of resource (wheat, wood, stone, clay) and for gold coins, the player who has the most (and at least 1) receives 2 VPs. In case of a tie, all tied players receive 2 VPs.

The player with the highest total VPs is the grand winner!

Tips for Winning

1. Balance Constructions and Offerings: Don't stick to just one action! Building Buildings is essential for expanding and activating effects, but making Offerings is crucial for refreshing your hand and accessing powerful divine powers. Knowing when to do each is key.
2. Plan your Card Columns: Card effects are activated from bottom to top in the column. Think about the order in which you play your cards to maximize combos and the benefits you receive. A good sequence can generate many resources, gold, or VPs!
3. Keep an Eye on Barbarian Villages and Temples: These are the triggers for the end of the game. Keep an eye on how many Temples have been built and how many barbarian villages remain. If you are ahead, it might be interesting to accelerate the end of the game. If you are behind, you might need more time to score.