How to Play El Grande Big Box

Game Objective

In El Grande: Big Box, players take on the role of nobles ("Grandes") in 15th-century Spain, seeking to expand their influence. The main goal is to strategically position your Caballeros in the various regions of the map to gain majority and, consequently, points. At the end of the game, the player with the most points will be the winner and become "El Grande."

Setup

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Game Flow

A game of El Grande: Big Box is played over 9 rounds, during which players place their Caballeros from their Court onto the regions of the board. Every 3 rounds (after the 3rd, 6th, and 9th rounds), a Scoring Phase occurs. The player with the most Caballeros in each region receives points, marked with the scoring marker on the score track.

Optionally, a faster game can be played with 6 rounds, scoring every 2 rounds. To do this, skip rounds 1, 4, and 7 on the round track.

Each round consists of the following phases, in this order:

1. Reveal Action Cards: Reveal the top action card from each of the five Action card stacks. Players can familiarize themselves with the available actions.
2. Play Power Cards: Starting with the player holding the starting player marker and proceeding clockwise, each player plays one Power Card from their hand, face up. A player cannot play a Power Card with a value already played by another player in the same round. The chosen Power Cards determine the turn order and the supply of Caballeros.
3. Each Player Takes Their Turn: The player who played the highest Power Card goes first. Once they complete their turn, the next player in the Power Card order takes their turn, and so on. Each player takes only one turn per round. During their turn, a player performs the following steps:
   1. Bring Caballeros from the Province to Their Court: The player brings a number of Caballeros equal to the number of Caballero symbols shown on their Power Card from the Province to their Court. If there are not enough Caballeros in the Province, they may take Caballeros from regions on the Board (but not from the Castillo). It is possible to bring fewer Caballeros than the Power Card indicates.
   2. Execute an Action Card: The player chooses one of the revealed Action Cards, takes it, and performs two actions:
      1. Position Caballeros: The number of Caballeros shown on the Action Card indicates how many Caballeros the player can place on the board. Only Caballeros from the Court can be used. If there are not enough Caballeros in the Court, the unplaced ones are wasted. Caballeros can only be placed in regions adjacent to the Royal Region (but NOT in the Royal Region itself) or in the Castillo.
      2. Special Action: The player may execute the special action shown on the card. If they do, they must perform the action completely whenever possible (unless the card indicates partial execution). The player may also choose not to perform the special action. The order in which the special action and Caballero placement are executed can be chosen, but one must be completed before the other.
   After using the Action Card, it is placed face down beneath the corresponding stack.
4. End of Round: After all players have completed their turns, perform the following tasks:
   1. Place any remaining Action Cards face down beneath their respective draw stacks.
   2. The player with the lowest Power Card receives the starting player marker.
   3. All players discard the Power Card they used into their personal discard pile, face up. Power Cards that are discarded can no longer be used.
   4. Move the round marker one space down. If the round marker moves onto a Fleur-de-Lis, a general scoring occurs.
5. Scoring Phase (only in rounds 3, 6, and 9): If the round marker moves onto a Fleur-de-Lis, a general scoring occurs. The following steps are taken:
   1. Choose a Secret Region: Each player secretly chooses a region to which their Caballeros from the Castillo will be moved after the Castillo scoring, using their secret disk. The Royal Region is prohibited.
   2. Score the Castillo: The Castillo is lifted. The player with the most Caballeros there receives 5 points, the second receives 3 points, and the third receives 1 point. In case of a tie, all tied players receive points from the next lower level. In 2-player games, only the first player receives points. In 3-player games, only the first and second players receive points. Points are recorded on the score track.
   3. Move Caballeros from the Castillo: All players reveal their secret disks. Each player moves their Caballeros from the Castillo to the chosen region. If the Royal Region was chosen, the Caballeros return to the player's Court. The Castillo is returned to its position.
   4. Score Individual Regions: Each region is scored in the order shown on the scoring summary. Points are awarded to players with the most Caballeros in each region, according to the region's scoring table. Grandes do not count toward determining majority. In 2-player games, only the first player receives points. In 3-player games, only the first and second players receive points. Tied players receive points from the next lower level.
      • Royal Bonus: If the Royal Region is scored and a player has the most Caballeros there (without a tie!), they receive 2 additional points.
      • Residence Bonus: If a player has the most Caballeros (without a tie!) in their residence (where their Grande is) when it is scored, they receive 2 additional points.
   Once all regions have been scored, move the round marker one space down and begin a new round.

Actions and How to Play

During your turn, after bringing Caballeros to your Court, you choose and execute a revealed Action Card. Each Action Card allows you to Position Caballeros and perform a Special Action.

Positioning Caballeros

• You can only use Caballeros from your Court.
• You can only place Caballeros in regions adjacent to the Royal Region or in the Castillo.
• You can never place Caballeros in the Royal Region.

Special Action

• You may choose to perform or skip the special action.
• If you perform it, you must complete the action fully whenever possible, unless the card states otherwise (e.g., "You may place 4 Caballeros").
• You may choose the order in which you perform the special action and position the Caballeros, but you must complete one before the other.

The Castillo

• The Castillo is not a region. Rules mentioning "region" or "regions" exclude it.
• You can place Caballeros in the Castillo, regardless of the Royal Region.
• You cannot move Caballeros from the Castillo. You can move Caballeros from regions to the Castillo.
• When placing Caballeros in the Castillo, you must announce the exact number to opponents. No one may look inside or remove Caballeros from the Castillo.
• The Castillo is lifted and scored during normal scorings (after rounds 3, 6, and 9) and during the special Castillo scoring.
• After a special Castillo scoring, the Caballeros remain in the Castillo. After a normal scoring, all Caballeros are moved to specific regions.

The King, the Royal Region, and Adjacent Regions

• The region occupied by the King is the Royal Region.
• The Royal Region is forbidden: no Caballero, Grande, or Scoring Token may be placed or removed from there.
• Caballeros can only be placed in regions adjacent to the Royal Region (or in the Castillo).
• During scoring, the player with the most Caballeros in the Royal Region (without a tie) receives 2 additional points (Royal Bonus).

Types of Action Cards

Each stack of Action Cards allows placing a different number of Caballeros from your Court into regions adjacent to the Royal Region or the Castillo, in addition to a special action:

Action Cards - Stack 1

Allow placing up to 1 Caballero. Special actions usually involve moving Caballeros:

• Intrigue (Move Caballeros): Allow moving 3 or 4 Caballeros (yours or opponents', with specific variations). You cannot take Caballeros from the Castillo or Court. You may move fewer Caballeros than indicated. You are not restricted to regions adjacent to the Royal Region, but you cannot move to or from the Royal Region.
• Intrigue (Additional Placement): Allows placing 2 additional Caballeros from your Court in any regions (including adjacent to the Royal Region or in the Castillo).
• Intrigue (Action Choice): Allows choosing between moving all your Caballeros out of one region OR placing 2 additional Caballeros.

Action Cards - Stack 2

Allow placing up to 2 Caballeros. Special actions usually involve removing Caballeros or special scorings:

• Veto (2x): Allows blocking a special action in this or the next round. Place the card face up in front of you. Use it once to fully or partially block another player's special action. After use, place it face down beneath stack 2. If unused by the end of the subsequent round, discard it without effect.
• Unauthorized (2x): Each opponent must return all or 3 Caballeros from their Courts to the Province.
• Return Caballeros to the Province (2x): You may return 1 Caballero from each opponent from the board regions to the Province. Or, each opponent chooses a region (with 1 or 2 Caballeros) and returns all or 2 Caballeros from that region to the Province.
• Furious King! (1x): Clockwise, each opponent must return 3 of their Caballeros to the Province, from their Courts and/or board regions.
• Special Scoring (3x): Choose a region to score immediately. Can be before or after placing Caballeros. You may score the Royal Region, but not the Castillo. Includes Royal and Residence Bonuses.

Action Cards - Stack 3

Allow placing up to 3 Caballeros. Special actions focus on special scorings:

• Special Scoring (various): Allow immediately scoring all regions worth 4, 5, 6, or 7 points, or the Castillo, or regions with the most/fewest Caballeros, or a specific chosen region. Movable Scoring Tokens may alter which regions are scored. The Castillo is not a region unless the card specifically scores it. If multiple regions are scored, the active player chooses the order.

Action Cards - Stack 4

Allow placing up to 4 Caballeros. Special actions are varied:

• Movable Scoring Token (3x): Place or move one of the two Movable Scoring Tokens to cover the scoring table of a region. The token replaces the printed points. Can be placed on the Castillo. No region may have more than one token. Cannot be placed on or removed from the Royal Region.
• Power of the Cards (2x): Return one of your used Power Cards (from this round or discard) to your hand.
• The Court (1x): Bring 2 Caballeros from the Province to your Court.
• Grande (2x): Move your Grande. Cannot move to or from the Royal Region, nor place in the Castillo.
• Special Scoring (1x): Each player chooses a region with their secret disk. Regions chosen by only one player are scored immediately.
• Expulsion (1x): Choose a region. Each opponent chooses a region with their secret disk. All opponents move their