# Opera Magna ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2026 - **BGG Rating**: 7.5 - **BGG Rank**: #16695 - **Players**: 2-4 (Best with: 3) - **Duration**: 45-60 min - **Weight**: 2.83 / 5 - **Designers**: Stefano Castelli, Tommaso Battista - **Artists**: Lara Ongis - **Publishers**: Ludus Magnus Studio - **Categories**: City Building, Renaissance - **Mechanics**: Action / Event, Market, Multi-Use Cards, Worker Placement ## Verdict Opera Magna is that elegant Eurogame perfect for those who love managing production chains without needing an entire afternoon to play. The dynamic market adds a layer of delightful interaction, where every choice you make can mess with (or help) your buddy. It is an extremely polished design, ideal for those seeking strategic depth in a well-paced session. If you enjoy city-building with a historical touch, you will feel right at home.Dynamic market shifts everythingMechanically elegant rule setPerfectly balanced session lengthSmart, tense indirect interactionMarket can be punishingRequires long-term planningLittle room for mistakesHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description In Opera Magna, you are transported to 15th-century Florence during the height of the Renaissance. As a master builder, your mission is simple: supply the finest materials for the construction of the city's grand cathedral and secure your name in history. This is a refined Eurogame designed by the powerhouse duo Tommaso Battista and Stefano Castelli, delivering a dense strategic experience without getting bogged down in overly complex rules. The real highlight of Opera Magna is its dynamic market. Forget about fixed prices! Every transaction you make shifts the value of resources, meaning that your buying and selling directly impacts the options available to your opponents. It is a game of strategic tension where watching what you leave behind for others is just as vital as planning your own supply chain. You will need to travel across the Mediterranean, acquire raw goods, refine them in your workshop, and finally deliver them to the Basilica construction site. Featuring worker placement mechanics and clever multi-use cards, the game demands that you constantly balance upgrading your workshop with delivering materials. It is a title that shines through mechanical elegance: the playtime is streamlined, yet the depth of the decisions makes every round feel like a fresh challenge. If you enjoy games that blend resource management with tense indirect interaction and a tightly woven historical theme, Opera Magna is a sure bet. Prepare to manage your workshop with surgical precision and prove that you are the greatest architect Italy has ever seen. ## How to Play 1. Goal of the Game In Opera Magna, players take on the role of Workshop Masters managing the procurement and processing of construction materials for the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. Players earn Victory Points by sending Merchants to prosperous markets, purchasing Raw Goods, upgrading their workshops to create Refined Goods, and contributing these to the Worksite projects of the Opera. The game lasts for 9 rounds. At the end of the game, the Workshop Master with the most Victory Points wins. 2. Preparation (Setup) Player Setup: Each player chooses a color and takes their Score Marker, 3 Merchants, 20 Player Tokens, and a Shop Board. Player Hand: Shuffle the Trade Cards (divided by symbols) and deal 2 cards from one deck and 1 from another to each player. Shop Board: Place 4 Player Tokens on the 4 tracks of your Shop Board (column 2) and 4 Certificate Tokens (white) on column 4. Cities: Place the 3 City Boards in the center. Randomly assign City Power Tokens to each city and place Trade Cards under the boards. Place Merchants in the City areas based on turn order. Market: Place the Market Board and stack all Score Markers on space 5 of the Victory Points track. Prepare the Trade Card decks based on the player count and reveal the top 4 cards to form the Starting Market. The Opera: Place the Opera Board. Randomly place 12 Worksite Tokens (levels 1, 2, and 3). Shuffle the Building Cards (small, medium, large) and deal 2 to each player to be their Buildings under Construction. Reveal 2 cards from every deck to form the available pool. 3. Fluxo do Jogo The game lasts 9 rounds. In each round, players take turns in clockwise order. During a turn, a player must perform these 4 Phases in order: Merchant: Move a Merchant to a City Board area (Cost Area or Profit Area) that does not already contain one of your Merchants. Update the Trade Cards in that area by sliding them, discarding the leftmost, and placing a new card from your hand. City Activation: Pay the Cost indicated on the Trade Cards in the Cost Area using your Shop Board tracks. If you have a Merchant in the Cost Area, you may use the City Power. Finally, obtain the Profit (Raw Goods or Refined Goods) indicated in the Profit Area. Refined Goods: Use your Refined Goods to Construct a Building, Advance the Opera, or Convert Refined Goods. Any unused Refined Goods are discarded at the end of this phase. End of Turn: Replenish Buildings (if you have fewer than 2) and Draw a Trade Card from the Market Board by paying its cost. 4. Ações e Como Jogar During the Refined Goods phase, you may perform the following actions multiple times in any order: Construct a Building: Place Refined Goods on your Buildings under Construction. Once all icons are covered, the building is completed. Remove the Player Tokens and slide the card to the left or right side of your Shop Board to unlock Discounts, Conversions, Special Effects, or Carts. Advance the Opera: Send Refined Goods to a Worksite on the Opera Board using an unlocked Cart. You must have the required Certificate level and the Refined Good type. Lower-level Worksites in the same column must already be occupied. Convert Refined Goods: Discard 1 or more Refined Goods to gain an equal number of the corresponding Raw Goods. 5. Fim de Jogo e Pontuação The game ends when the last Trade Card is revealed from the last deck, triggering the final round. Once the last player finishes their turn in the 9th round, the game ends. Victory Points are calculated based on: Game: Points earned during play. Completed Buildings: Values based on building type (Small=2, Medium=3, Large=4). Shop Evolution: Points for the number of positions on your Shop Board containing at least one building. Certificates: Points for each Certificate level (Level 1=1, Level 2=2, Level 3=3). Blue Buildings: Points for each Blue Building. Refined Goods: 1 point for every Refined Good on incomplete buildings. The Opera: Points based on how many other players have fewer Player Tokens on the Opera Board than you. Worksites: Points for each Worksite containing your Player Token, based on the Certificate level. In the event of a tie, the winner is the player who sent the most Player Tokens to the Worksites. If the tie persists, consult the tie-breaking rules in the manual. 6. Dicas para Vencer Manage your Certificates: Leveling up your Certificates is essential, as they are required to contribute to higher-level Worksites and are worth Victory Points at the end of the game. Optimize your Shop: Focus on placing Buildings on the left side of your Shop Board to gain Discounts on Raw Goods, which makes activating Cities significantly cheaper in later turns. ## FAQ ### How long does a game take? The game is well-optimized and typically lasts between 45 to 60 minutes. ### How many players can play? Opera Magna works perfectly for 2 to 4 players. ### Is it very complex? With a BGG weight of 2.83, it is a medium-complexity game, accessible to anyone familiar with Eurogames. ### Does the market really change the game? Absolutely! Resource values fluctuate with every action, making turn order and anticipating opponents' moves crucial. ### Do I need to know the designers' other work? No, although if you've played Barrage or Potion Explosion, you'll recognize the mechanical elegance they bring to this title. ### Is the theme strong? Yes, the setting in Renaissance Florence is very well integrated into the Basilica construction mechanics.