Game Objective: Build the Cathedral and Conquer the Tsar!

In The Red Cathedral, you and your friends take on the role of ambitious architects, tasked with erecting parts of the magnificent St. Basil's Cathedral, at the command of the fearsome Tsar Ivan. The competition is fierce! Each of you will try to use your influence with the clergy and city guilds to outshine your rivals and gain the Tsar's favor.

The objective is simple, yet challenging: be the player with the most prestige points when the cathedral's construction is complete. Prepare to build, adorn, and manage your resources wisely to become the most famous and appreciated architect!

Preparation (Setup): Setting Up the Construction Site

Let's set up the table to start building this architectural marvel! Follow these steps:

1. Place the main board in the center of the table, leaving ample space next to it for the Cathedral construction site.
2. Each player chooses a color and takes their scoring marker, placing it on space 2 of the scoring track (which surrounds the main board), with the "+40" side face down.
3. Take your workshop board. For your first games, we recommend using the basic side. Place it in your play area.
4. Take 4 of your 6 banners and place them in the inventory of your workshop board. The other 2 remain outside the inventory.
5. Take your 4 ornaments (one door, two arches, and one cross) and place them in the corresponding spaces on your workshop board.
6. Shuffle the resource tiles and place one, randomly, on each of the 8 spaces of the main board, face up, showing the resources.
7. Shuffle the influence cards from each of the four groups (Artisans' Guild, Carriers' Guild, Merchants' Guild, and Clergy) separately. Draw one from each and place them in the four corresponding spaces on the main board (position does not matter).
8. Take the five dice. Shake them and, starting at the space at the foot of the resource tile it grants, drop any die. Then, drop a die in each of the following spaces, in the direction of the arrows.
9. Take the cathedral cards. Separate them into three decks: foundations, middle sections, and domes. Shuffle each deck separately.
10. Draw the construction blueprint cards corresponding to the number of players. Shuffle them, choose one randomly, and return the rest to the box. This card indicates the height of each tower.
11. Now, use the construction blueprint to assemble the cathedral:
    • Draw the indicated number of foundation cards and place them on the construction site, with the construction cost face up.
    • On each tower, place the indicated number of middle section cards, on top of the foundations.
    • Finish each tower with a dome card.
12. Collect the workshop tiles. If playing with fewer than 3 players, return the tiles with the "+" symbol to the box. Place the remaining tiles face down and mix them well. Flip them face up, one by one, and place them randomly on each of the cathedral cards. Return the remaining ones to the box.
13. Decide who will be the starting player. They receive 3 rubles. The other players receive, clockwise, 4, 4, and 5 rubles, respectively.
14. Create a general supply with all rubles and building materials (wood, bricks, stone, gold, green gem, purple gem), within reach of everyone.

Rule for the Advanced Workshop Board: If using the advanced side, placing each workshop tile costs a fixed 3 rubles, and ornaments are not initially available. They are "unlocked" when you claim a part of the cathedral and place the corresponding workshop tile, paying the cost.

Game Turn: Building the Cathedral, Step by Step

A game of The Red Cathedral unfolds in turns, clockwise. On your turn, you must perform one of the three basic actions. Additionally, at any time during your turn, you can perform one of the two optional actions:

Optional Actions (at any time during the turn):

• Lose prestige points in exchange for rubles: Move your scoring marker back to the previous prestige point space and receive 2 rubles from the general supply.
• Lose 1 prestige point to roll the dice: Move your scoring marker back to the previous prestige point space, choose one of the eight spaces on the main board, and roll all dice located there. You can only do this once per turn!

Basic Actions (one per turn):

1. Claim a Cathedral Section

To claim a part of the cathedral and secure your space in the construction, follow these steps:

• Take a banner from your workshop board (this may free up a space in your inventory!).
• Claim an available cathedral card by placing your banner on it. An available card is any foundation card, or any other card that is on top of one already claimed or completed by a player, and that does not yet have a banner.
• Collect the workshop tile that is on the claimed cathedral card and place it in an empty space on your workshop board. You have two options:
  1. Place the workshop tile face down. If you do this, you cannot activate it later.
  2. Place the workshop tile face up, paying the cost (in rubles) illustrated on the space. From now on, you can activate this tile.
• If you placed the tile face up, you immediately gain the corresponding bonus.

2. Build Cathedral Sections

With the scaffolding up (your banners!), it's time to get to work! You can send up to 3 materials to the construction site. Materials can be used to Build and/or Adorn the cathedral.

• Take materials from your inventory to send them to one or more cathedral sections you previously claimed.
• It is not mandatory to finish a section with a single delivery; leave the materials on the card to indicate they have been delivered.

Completing a Cathedral Section

A section is completed when it has all the required materials on it. When this happens:

• The materials are removed from the card and returned to the general supply.
• You gain the recognition points and rubles given by the card.
• The card is flipped to show its built side, leaving your banner on it.

Penalty for Incomplete Sections

Beware! If, upon completing a section, there are other incomplete sections below it in the same tower, the players who claimed them and have not yet completed them will be punished by the Tsar. They immediately lose as many recognition points as the number of sections completed above their cards (not counting their own completed sections).

Adorning the Cathedral

Dazzle everyone with beautiful ornaments! Each completed cathedral section has space for a single ornament. Foundations allow doors, middle sections allow arches, and domes allow crosses. Any player can add ornaments to any completed section, regardless of who built it.

To adorn, you spend the type of material needed for the ornament (Door = wood; Arch = stone; Cross = gold) and 1, 2, or no inlaid gems. If an ornament has inlaid gems, you immediately receive:

• 1 prestige point for each inlaid gem, OR
• 3 prestige points if you have two inlaid gems of different colors.

If an ornament is added without gems, there are no immediate prestige points, but all ornaments give points at the end of the game. Remember: all materials (including gems) for an ornament must be delivered at once, and count towards the limit of 3 materials per "Build cathedral sections" action.

3. Acquire Resources

A trip to the market is essential! Follow these steps to acquire resources:

1. Announce which die on the main board you will use.
2. Move that die in the direction of the arrows, exactly the number of spaces equal to its value.
   • Optional: If the activated die is white or your color, you can pay rubles to advance more spaces (1 ruble per additional space).
   • Important: A die cannot end its movement in a space already occupied by three dice. If the space is full, you must choose another die to move or pay rubles to modify the movement (if it is the white die or your color).
3. Leave the die in the space where it ended its movement.
4. Perform the actions related to the space where the die stopped. You can perform one, two, or all of the following actions, only once each, in any order you wish:
   1. Get resources from the market: Receive the reward indicated on the resource tile of the space, multiplied, at most, by the number of dice in that space (you can receive fewer resources if you wish). Resources are limited to the general supply.
   2. Influence the guilds: The quadrant where the die ended its movement determines which of the four entities (Artisans' Guild, Carriers' Guild, Merchants' Guild, and Clergy) can be influenced. You can perform one of the two actions illustrated on the entity's card. Actions with the lightning bolt symbol can only be performed once per turn; actions with the infinity symbol can be performed as many times as you wish.
   3. Activate a workshop tile: If you have a workshop tile in a space corresponding to the color of the die you moved, you can immediately gain the bonus illustrated on that tile. If the workshop tile shows a die, you gain the reward indicated on the resource tile next to the space where the corresponding die is currently located (only once, regardless of the number of dice).
5. Roll all dice in the arrival space and place them back in the same space.

Remember: Your inventory has 6 free spaces initially. If you obtain materials and do not have space, you cannot discard the ones you already have to make room for new ones. You can only keep the materials for which you have enough space.

End of Game and Scoring: Who Conquered the Tsar?

End of the Game

The game ends when a player completes the construction of their sixth and final cathedral card. That player gains 3 additional prestige points for ending the game. Then, the other players are entitled to one last turn each, before proceeding to the final scoring.

Final Scoring

At this point, all players move their scoring markers back to the nearest prestige point space. If they are already on a prestige point space, they do not need to move. If a player exceeds 40 prestige points, they flip their marker to the side that shows "+40" and continue counting from there.

Additional Scoring

In addition to the prestige points obtained during the game, players add:

• 1 prestige point for every 5 materials and rubles they return to the general supply.
• A number of prestige points based on their contribution to each of the towers.

Tower Scoring

The total value of prestige points given by a tower is 2 for each completed section, plus 1 for each installed ornament. Unfinished sections do not count.

For each tower, players count the number of banners and ornaments of their color existing on the completed cathedral cards. The distribution of points is as follows:

• The player with the highest sum receives the total value of prestige points given by that tower.
• The player with the second highest count receives half of the total value of prestige points of the tower (rounded down).
• The next player receives 1 prestige point.

In case of a tie: If there is a tie in any of the positions, the prestige points of the tied players' positions are added together and divided among them (rounded down). If a player has no banners or ornaments in a tower, they receive no points for it.

Winner

The player with the most prestige points is the winner!

In case of a tie:

1. The one with the most completed sections wins.
2. If the tie persists, the one with the most installed ornaments will be the winner.
3. If the tie persists, victory is shared.

Tips for Winning: Strategies for the Ambitious Architect

1. Manage Your Dice Wisely: The "Acquire Resources" action is the heart of the game. Think not only about the resources you need, but also about how the die movement can benefit you with location actions and workshop tile activation. Don't hesitate to spend a ruble to move a die of your color or the white one a little further, if it gives you a valuable resource or a crucial workshop activation.
2. Balance Claiming and Building: It's tempting to claim many sections, but remember the penalty for incomplete sections! Prioritize finishing what you've claimed. At the same time, don't neglect to claim new sections to ensure your presence in the towers and unlock ornaments. A good balance between expanding and finalizing is key.
3. Don't Underestimate Ornaments: While not all give immediate prestige points, all ornaments contribute to the final tower scoring. They can be the differentiator for you to have the greatest presence in a tower and take the majority of the points. Plan which ornaments you want to build and collect the necessary materials.