Game Objective

In Troyes, you represent a wealthy family in the Champagne region of France. Your goal is to use your influence to recruit and supervise individuals from three domains: military (red), religious (white), and civil (yellow). Each domain provides specific benefits: the military helps fight invasions, the clergy focuses on the cathedral and education, and the peasants fill your coffers.

The player who garners the most fame, measured in victory points (VPs), wins the game!

Setup

Follow these steps to prepare the game:

• General Supply: Place neutral citizens, dice, deniers, and victory points (VPs) beside the board.
• Player Starting Materials: Each player chooses a color and receives:
  • 1 District marker (placed on one of the 5 gray disc pictures on the city square closest to their position).
  • 5 deniers.
  • 1 Influence marker (placed on space 4 of the influence track).
  • A set of citizens (4 for 4 players, 5 for 3 players, 6 for 2 players). Note: the maximum limit is 12 citizens.
  • 1 randomly selected Character card (kept secret; 2 cards if playing with 2 players).
  • 20 cubes.
• Activity Cards: Sort by color and round number (1 to 3). Place them face-down on the corresponding spaces on the board. Unused cards are returned to the box.
• Event Cards: Form 3 decks (red, white, and yellow). The number of cards in the red deck determines the game length: 6 cards for 4 players, 5 for 3 players, and 4 for 2 players.
• Start Player: The player who last read a history book receives the start player card.
• Initial Placement: Players take turns placing their citizens on the 3 principal buildings (Palace, Bishopric, and City Hall).
  • The 1st round goes clockwise starting with the start player.
  • The 2nd round goes counterclockwise starting with the last player.
  • This alternating pattern continues until all citizens are placed.
  • Neutral citizens fill any remaining empty spaces (with a specific placement rule for 2-player games).

Game Flow

The game lasts for a set number of rounds (6 rounds for 4 players, 5 for 3 players, 4 for 2 players). The first 3 rounds consist of 6 phases, while subsequent rounds consist of 5 phases:

1. Phase 0: Reveal Activity Cards (First 3 rounds only): Reveal one Activity card of each color corresponding to the current round number.
2. Phase 1: Income and Salaries: Each player receives a fixed income of 10 deniers. Then, pay salaries: 1 denier per citizen in the Bishopric and 2 deniers per citizen in the Palace. Citizens in the City Hall are free.
3. Phase 2: Assembling the Workforce: Players roll dice based on their citizens: one yellow die per citizen in the City Hall, one white die per citizen in the Bishopric, and one red die per citizen in the Palace. Place these in your district. The start player then rolls for neutral citizens and places those dice in the gray neutral district.
4. Phase 3: Events: Two new Event cards enter the event queue: the top red Event card and a second card (white or yellow) indicated by the symbol on the red card.
   • Military events generate black dice (enemies). The start player takes these black dice.
   • Other events have effects described in the annex.
   • If a player cannot fully execute an event, they do as much as possible and lose 2 VPs.
   • Combatting Black Dice: The start player must combat the highest value black die using dice from their district (total value must be equal or higher). Used dice and the black die are discarded. The turn then passes to the left. If a player cannot win, they discard the black die without losing their own dice but lose 2 VPs.
5. Phase 4: Actions: Players take turns (clockwise) performing one action or passing.
6. Phase 5: End of Round: The round ends when all players have passed or no dice remain in any district. Players recover deniers from their districts, citizens lying on buildings return to personal supplies, and unused dice return to the general supply. The start player card passes to the left.

Actions and How to Play

Actions require a group of 1 to 3 dice of the same color. Using dice from another player's district requires payment to that player: 2 deniers per die (if using 1 die), 4 deniers (if using 2), or 6 deniers (if using 3). Paying the bank is required for the gray neutral district.

Available Actions:

• Activate an Activity Card: Use 1-3 dice (yellow for civil, white for religious, red for military). You must have a tradesman on the card. If not, you must hire one by paying the cost and placing a citizen on a free space.
  • Immediate Effect: The effect is applied immediately. The number of uses is the total value of the dice divided by the card's cost (rounded down).
  • Delayed Effect: Indicated by an hourglass icon. Place cubes on the card (number determined by activation cost). These cubes can be used later during an action (one per action).
• Construct the Cathedral: Use 1-3 white dice. Each die allows placing 1 cube on the corresponding numbered construction site. You must build from level 1 upwards.
  • Spaces 1-3: 1 VP and 1 Influence point per cube.
  • Spaces 4-6: 1 VP and 2 Influence points per cube.
• Combat the Events: Use 1-3 dice of the required color to place cubes on the card's banners (value divided by cost, rounded down). Each cube grants 1 Influence point. Once all banners are covered, the event is countered: the player with the most cubes earns the highest VP reward, and the second-most earns the smaller reward. The winner takes the card.
• Place a Citizen on a Principal Building: Use exactly one die. Place a citizen in the building corresponding to the die color (Red: Palace, White: Bishopric, Yellow: City Hall). The die value determines the position. This may eject other citizens.
• Use Agriculture: Use 1-3 yellow dice to gain deniers equal to the total value divided by 2 (rounded to the nearest whole number). No tradesman is required.
• Pass: Receive 2 deniers in your district. You cannot take more actions, but receive 1 additional denier each time your turn comes around.

Influence

Before an action or combatting black dice, you may spend Influence points:

• 1 point: Reroll 1 of your own dice.
• 2 points: Add a citizen from the general supply to your personal supply.
• 4 points: Turn over 1 to 3 of your dice to their opposite face (sum of opposite sides is always 7).

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends at the end of the round in which the final red event card enters the game.

Final Scoring:

• VPs gained during the game.
• 1 VP per un-countered event card where the player has a presence.
• VPs indicated on the spaces occupied by citizens on Activity cards.
• Loss of 2 VPs for each of the 3 cathedral levels where the player has no cubes.
• Character Card Evaluation: Reveal Character cards. Each character evaluates all families based on their specific mission criteria and awards VPs accordingly.

Tips for Winning

• Combatting Black Dice: Remember that the value of red dice is doubled when fighting black dice, making them the most efficient for this task.
• Influence Management: Use Influence points to turn over dice to a 6 if you need a high value for a specific action or to counter a high-value black die.
• Strategic Bluffing: Since Character cards reward all players based on their missions, try to bluff your strategy to misdirect others so they cannot easily satisfy your character's mission.