Euphrates and Tigris

Back to Game Rules Index


Preparation

  1. Set up the board as described in the rulebook.
  2. Each player selects a dynasty and places his 4 leader disks and 2 catastrophe tiles in front of his screen.
  3. Each player draws 6 tiles from the bag and places them behind his screen.
  4. Players follow the Turn Sequence, clockwise around the table, until the Game End conditions are met.

 

Definitions

  1. Leaders (by color): King (black), Priest (red), Farmer (blue), Trader (green)
  2. Civilization Tiles (by color): Settlement (black), Temple (red), Farm (blue), Market (green)
  3. Region: A group of two or more tiles and/or leaders joined by common edges (not corners)
  4. Kingdom: Any region that contains at least one leader

 

Turn Sequence

  1. The active (current) player may conduct up to two actions (including doing nothing) in his turn:
    1. Position a leader
      1. A leader may be placed on any empty space (except a river).
      2. A leader may be removed from the board.
      3. A leader already on the board may be moved from one space to another (when re-placing the leader on the board, it is subject to the usual rules for placing leaders).
      4. A leader must be placed next to a temple.
      5. A leader may not join two or more kingdoms together.
      6. If a leader is placed in a kingdom that already contains another leader of the same color, the leaders’ owners must resolve an Inner Conflict (see reverse).
      7. When a leader no longer has at least one temple adjacent to it, the leader is returned to its owner.
    2. Play a civilization tile
      1. Blue tiles may only be placed on river spaces.
      2. Black, red, and green tiles may not be placed on river spaces.
      3. If a civilization tile combines two kingdoms, no VPs are awarded.  Place the unification tile on civilization tile and check for External Conflict (see reverse); remove the unification tile if there is no External Conflict.
      4. A civilization tile may not join more than two kingdoms.
      5. If a civilization tile is added to an existing kingdom, check if a VP (victory point) should be awarded:
        1. If the kingdom includes a leader with the same color as the tile, award 1 VP (in the tile’s color) to the owner of the leader.
        2. If the kingdom lacks a leader with the same color as the tile but it does have a King (black leader), award 1 VP (in the tile’s color) to the owner of the King.
      6. No VPs are awarded when a civilization tile is not placed in a kingdom.
      7. A player may build a Monument (see reverse) if his tile completes a square of four identical tiles.
    3. Play a catastrophe tile
      1. A catastrophe tile may be placed on an empty space or on top of an existing civilization tile (which “destroys” the civilization tile and removes it from the game).  The catastrophe tile remains in place for the rest of the game.
      2. A catastrophe tile may not be placed on a monument tile, on a tile that supports a treasure, or on a leader.
      3. If a catastrophe tile destroys the last temple next to a leader, the leader is returned to its owner.
      4. A catastrophe tile disrupts kingdoms and prevents other tiles and leaders from being played on that space.
    4. Swap up to 6 tiles
      1. A player may discard any tiles from behind his screen and refresh that number of tiles from the bag.
      2. If a player swaps tiles during his first action, he may use the new tiles in his second action.
  2. End of Action
    1. If there are two or more treasures in a kingdom, the owner of the Trader (green leader) may claim all the treasures in that kingdom except one.
    2. If one of the four treasures located nearest the corners of the board is among the treasures that may be claimed by the Trader, that treasure must be taken first.
  3. End of Turn
    1. Monuments generate VPs for like-colored leaders in the same kingdom (see reverse).
    2. All players refresh their hands back to 6 tiles.
    3. Check to see if the game is finished (see Game End).

Internal Conflict

  1. Occurs when the active player (the “attacker”) places a leader in a kingdom that already contains a leader of that color.
  2. Conflict Resolution
    1. The players involved in the conflict count the temple tiles adjacent to their conflicting leaders.
    2. The attacker may increase his “temple count” by adding temple tiles from behind his screen and placing them next to the board.  The defender may then increase his temple count in like manner.  Each player may only add tiles once per conflict.  (See the English Variant for an alternate rule).
    3. The player with the greater temple count wins the conflict; in case of a tie, the defender wins.
    4. Consequences
      1. The losing player withdraws his leader from the board.
      2. All temple tiles played from behind the screens are discarded.
      3. The winner is awarded 1 red VP.

 

External Conflict

  1. Occurs when a tile is placed that joins two kingdoms, and the new (joined) kingdom contains leaders of the same color(s).
  2. Conflict Resolution
    1. If there are conflicts between two or more colors, the active player decides which conflict is resolved first.
    2. If one of the active player’s leaders is involved in a conflict, then the active player is the attacker; otherwise, the first player around the table (in clockwise order) who has a leader involved in that conflict becomes the attacker.
    3. Each player totals his conflicting leader’s  “supporters” (tiles in the leader’s color) in the leader’s original kingdom.
    4. The attacker and defender may add supporters from behind their screens (see Internal Conflicts) to their totals.
    5. Whichever player has more supporters (in total) is the winner; in case of a tie, the defender wins.
    6. Consequences
      1. The losing player withdraws his leader from the board and all supporters are discarded (see Exception below).
      2. All tiles played from behind the screens are discarded.
      3. The victor gains 1 VP for the removed leader and 1 VP for each discarded supporter (see Exception below).
      4. Exception: If the conflict was between Priests (red leaders), then temples which contain a treasure or which are next to a leader are not removed and do not count contribute VPs to the winner.
  3. If a joined kingdom is divided by a conflict and the resulting kingdoms contain no leaders in conflict with each other, the unification tile is removed; otherwise, the active player chooses the next conflict to be resolved.

 

Monuments

  1. If the active player places a tile that completes a square of four like-colored tiles, he may turn them face down and place a monument on the square; either of the monument’s two colors must correspond to the color of the face-down tiles.
  2. Any conflicts that are initiated when a square of four like-colored tiles is completed must be resolved before a monument can be built; if the four-tile square remains after the conflict(s), the monument may be built.
  3. If the active player chooses not to build a monument, no monument may ever be built on that four-tile square.
  4. The face-down tiles still function as part of a kingdom, but no longer provide support to their leaders.
  5. Monuments (and the face-down tiles under them) may never be destroyed.
  6. When a monument is built
    1. A treasure on top of one of the monument’s four tiles remains on top of that tile.
    2. If a leader is no longer adjacent to any temple tiles, the leader is returned to its player.
  7. At the end of his turn, the active player receives 1 VP for each leader whose color matches either color of any monument in the leader’s kingdom.  Kings do not receive VPs “by default” (as can occur when a civilization tile is played).

 

Game End

  1. The game ends when either of these conditions occurs:
    1. There are only 1 or 2 treasures left on the board.
    2. A player is unable to refresh his tiles from the bag (not necessarily when the bag is empty).
  2. Determining the winner:
    1. Each player sums his VPs in each of the four colors (treasures act as “wild cards” for any color(s)).
    2. The player’s lowest VP total among the four colors represents his game score.
    3. The player with the highest game score is the winner.


English Variant (for Conflicts)

An attacker may only add extra temples (or supporters) if his total would then exceed the current strength of the defender. If he has no chance of winning the conflict, he may not add extra tiles. The defender may only add enough extra temples or supporters to win by establishing a tie. No more, no less!  (This rule prevents players discarding tiles that have no bearing on a conflict.)