El Grande is a strategy game where players vie for power in medieval Spain by placing their forces in various regions to gain influence. Using cards and cubes, players strategically expand their influence, and the player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
El Grande
2-5 people | 90 minutes | Store 1: J6, Store 2: Not AvailableContents
• Game board• 5 Grandes (the large cubes) in 5 colors
• 155 Caballeros (the small cubes) in 5 colors (31 per color)
• 1 King (large black pawn)
• 1 Round marker (small black cube)
• 65 Power cards in 5 colors (numbered 1-13 in each color)
• 45 Action cards
• 9 Region cards (with rule summary on the backs)
• 5 Secret disks with pointers
• 1 Castle (Castillo)
• 2 Mobile scoreboards with the values "8/4/0" and "4/0/0"
• 1 Sample game sheet
• 1 game rules
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The game is based on Spain in the 15th Century. There are twelve kingdoms, one county, one principality, and the Basque provinces. The country is made up of five ethnic groups: Spaniards, Basques, Galiciens, Catalans, and Mauren. The aristocracy, especially the Grandes, the high aristocracy, controlled events in Spain. However, the average aristocracy, the Caballeros, also enjoyed extensive powers. All regions wanted to develop their own power and influence. To this end, the Castles (Castillos) played an important role.Pronunciation Note: In Spanish, the "II" is pronounced as a "y";
Castillo Castiyo; Caballero = Cabayero).
OBJECT OF THE GAME
In El Grande, each player is the Grande in one region. He is allied with 30 Caballeros. Each Grande attempts, to the benefit of Spain and for his own benefit, to extend his influence across the whole of Spain. To accomplish this, he must control the majority of Caballeros in as many regions as possible. The Grande who succeeds in this is on the path to success and winning the game.THE GAME BOARD
The board shows the 9 regions of Spain, 1 space to hold the Castillo, the success track along the edge of the board, and a round track with 9 game rounds and 3 horizontal scoring tracks. In each region, there is a scoreboard with 3 symbols, which show the values of the region, when it is scored. The player with the most Caballeros in a region scores the highest value, whoever has the second most scores the second value, etc.
GAME LENGTH
The game may be played in 9 or 6 rounds. The game takes around 2 hours for 9 rounds and around 1 hour for 6 rounds. If you want to play the shorter game, you should skip rounds 1, 4, and 7 on the round track.PREPARATION
• Castillo: Place the castle on the appropriate space on the game board.• Region cards: Shuffle the nine region cards. Turn up the top card and place the King in this region. Then, each player takes a card to determine his home region.
• Grande: Each player chooses a color and takes the Grande (the large cube) in his color and places it in his home region.
• Caballeros: Each player takes 10 Caballeros in his color. All remaining Caballeros are kept in a reserve on the table. This reserve is known as the provinces. Each player takes 2 of his initial Caballeros and places them next to his Grande in his home region. Each player also places another Caballero on the first space of the success track. The players put their remaining 7 Caballeros before them on the table. These 7 Caballeros form the player's court, which will grow and shrink throughout the game.
• Secret disk: Each player takes a secret disk. It shows each region on the board with exception of the Castillo.
• Power cards: Each player takes the set of 13 power cards in his color. The value (1-13) of the power card is shown on the top and bottom of the card and the middle pictures a number of Caballeros (0-6).
• Action cards: These are marked on the back with between 1 and 5 Caballeros. All 11 cards with 1 Caballero form the 1 stack, all 11 cards with 2 Caballeros form the 2 stack, and so on. The 5 stack is made up of just 1 card (the King card). Shuffle each stack separately and place it face down beside the board.
• Mobile scoreboards: Place the two mobile scoreboards beside the board.
PLAYING THE GAME
A game round consists of the following actions:• Move the round marker forward on the round track
• Turn cover the top action card in each stack
• Play the power cards
• Each player takes his turn (turn sequence is determined by the value of the power cards played)
Round marker (small black cube)
At the start of the game, the round marker is placed on the 1 space of the round track (in the short game, the round marker begins on space 2). Each round after the first, the counter is moved one space further along the track. General scoring occurs at the end of the 3rd, 6th, and 9th rounds (when the round marker is moved along the scoring track).Turn over the action cards
The top card in each stack is turned face up. The players should read and consider which of the actions they would like to see executed and which they would gladly prevent.Play the power cards
In the first round, the players choose a player to begin. In subsequent rounds, the player who played last in the previous round begins. The remaining players follow clockwise around the table. The power cards are played face up. Once a particular value has been played, later players may not play this card in this round. All power cards played must have different values! Once played, the player leaves the cards face up on the table in a stack, so only the top-most is visible. They are not returned to a player's hand. They determine:• The turn order: the player who played the card with the highest value takes his turn first, then the player that played the second highest card, etc.
• The number of their Caballeros that they can move from the provinces to their courts.
Player turns
The player who played the highest power card takes his turn first. A turn is made up of the following actions in the given order:1. Move Caballeros from the provinces to the court.
The player moves at most the number of Caballeros shown on the power card from the provinces to his court. If there are not enough of this player's Caballeros in the provinces, the player may remove Caballeros from the board to make up the difference.2. Choose an action card
Select an action card from those displayed face up. Each action card allows two actions:• The stated number of Caballeros may be moved from the player's court to the board.
• Execute or prevent the action described by the picture and text.
IMPORTANT: EACH PLAYER MAY DECIDE WHETHER TO PLACE HIS CABALLEROS ON THE BOARD BEFORE OR AFTER EXECUTING OR NOT EXECUTING THE SPECIAL ACTION.
3. Move Caballeros from the court to the game board.
Note: this may be executed as Step 4 instead, if the player so chooses. The maximum number of Caballeros that may be moved from the player's court to the game board is shown along the bottom of the action card. These Caballeros may be placed in any region adjacent to the current location of the King and/or into the Castillo. The player may divide the Caballeros between the adjacent regions and the Castillo in any way he sees fit.Example 1: the King is in Galicia. A player can only move Caballeros to Old Castile, to Basque Country, and/or into the Castillo.
Example 2: the King is in New Castile. A player can only move Caballeros to Old Castile, Seville, Granada, Valencia, Aragon, and/or into the Castillo.
Example 2: the King is in New Castile. A player can only move Caballeros to Old Castile, Seville, Granada, Valencia, Aragon, and/or into the Castillo.
4. Execute the special action
Note: this may be executed as Step 3 instead, if the player so chooses. The player must now decide whether or not to execute the special action depicted in the picture and text of the chosen action card.5. Lay aside the chosen action card.
After the player has completed his turn, he lays aside the card to show that it may not be chosen by a later player. Now, the player with the second highest power card takes his turn.Next Round
After all of the players have finished their turns, discard any remaining face-up action cards. Begin the next round by moving the round marker forward and turning 5 new action cards face up. The King card is turned face up at the start of each round and is never permanently discarded.THE KING AND THE KING'S REGION
The region where the King stands is called the King's region. The King's region has three meanings:a) Placing of Caballeros: It determines which regions may receive Caballeros from the courts - namely the regions adjacent to the King's Region and into the Castillo! Special actions allow Caballeros to be moved to any region.
b) The King's Region is taboo! No changes are allowed here! No Caballeros, no Grande, and no mobile scoreboard may be moved into or taken out of the King's Region. The only exceptions are actions, which move the King!
c) King's Bonus: The player with the most Caballeros in the King's Region receives an additional 2 points whenever that region is scored. If there are several players with the same number of Caballeros tied for the most, then the King's Bonus is not awarded!
THE CASTILLO
The Castillo is a special location with the following special properties:• Caballeros may be placed in the Castillo any time one adds or moves Caballeros, no matter where the King stands. When adding Caballeros to the Castillo, players should clearly call out the number. It is advantageous to keep track of who has Caballeros in the Castillo and how many. Otherwise, the Caballeros the Castillo hides can surprise you at the next scoring.
• During each general scoring (after game rounds 3, 6 and 9), the Castillo is
completely emptied. The Caballeros are moved to other regions of the board (see the following rule) and may change the majority there!
SCORING
General scorings occur three times during the game; they occur after the 3rd, 6th, and 9th rounds. During a general scoring, the round marker is first placed on the space with the picture of the secret disk and then moves on to the other spaces to the right.A general scoring is made up of the following actions:
• Select a region with the secret disk
• Score the Castillo
• Move the Caballeros from the Castillo to the selected regions
• Score the regions in the order shown on the scoring track
• Move the Caballeros from the Castillo to the selected regions
• Score the regions in the order shown on the scoring track
Select a region with the secret disk
Each player chooses the region he wants to move his Caballeros into from the Castillo and secretly records this using the pointer on the disk. Any region can be chosen except the King's region. After choosing, each player should place his disk face down on the table.IMPORTANT: ALL of a player's Caballeros in THE CASTILLO MUST BE MOVED TO A SINGLE REGION - THE ONE SHOWN ON HIS DISK!
Score the Castillo
Once all of the players have placed their secret disks face down on the table, score the Castillo. Lift off the Castillo and count the Caballeros inside. Scores are awarded as in other regions (see the section, Scoring of the Regions).Move the Caballeros from the Castillo to the regions
Turn the secret disks face up and move the Caballeros that were in the Castillo to the chosen regions. Anyone who has chosen the King's region must return his Caballeros to his court! Return the Castillo, empty, to its space.
Score the Regions
So that no region is forgotten or counted twice, move the round marker to the right along the scoring track. The scoreboards in the regions show how many points are awarded to the players that have the most, the second most, and third most Caballeros in that region. The Grandes serve only to identify the home region and are not counted when determining the majority in a region. Move the pieces along the success track to record the points scored.Example: "5/3/1": Whoever has the most Caballeros in this region moves 5 spaces forward, whoever has the second most moves 3, and whoever has the third most moves forward 1 space.
When playing with 2 players, only the first number of the scoreboard is scored. Only the player with the most Caballeros gets points.
When playing with 3 players, the first two numbers are used. Only the players with the most and second most Caballeros in a region get points.
If several players have the same number of Caballeros and tie for a rank, these players get the points of the next rank on the scoreboard.
Example 1: in a region with the values "5/3/1", red, blue, and yellow have 4 Caballeros each, and green has 3 Caballeros.
Scoring: red, blue, and yellow get 3 points for the 2nd rank. Green takes the third rank and scores 1 point.
Example 2: in a region with the values "6/4/2", red has 4 Caballeros, blue 3, and yellow and green have 2 Caballeros each.
Scoring: red gets 6 points and blue 4 points. Yellow and green have the same number of Caballeros, slide back one place in the ranking, and get no points in 4th place.
King's Bonus
Every time the King's region is scored (even special scorings due to action cards), the player with the most Caballeros in that region receives an additional 2 points. The King's Bonus is lost if no player possesses a majority (i.e. if there is a tie for first).Home region bonus
If a player possesses the majority in the region where his Grande stands when that region is scored, he receives an additional 2 points. The bonus is lost if there is a tie for first in this region. Some action cards allow players to move their Grandes and, thus, change their home regions.MOBILE SCOREBOARDS
The two mobile scoreboards come into play via the action cards and are used to alter the value of a region.GAME END
The game ends after the third general scoring. Whoever has progressed the furthest along the success track is the winner and has earned the title of "El Grande".THE ACTION CARDS
Detailed explanations of the card texts
If the meaning of a special action is not clear, consult the detailed explanation of that card.The following applies to all cards:
A) The King's region (the region where the King stands): is always taboo. The only change that may ever occur in the King's region is the movement of the King from the region using an action to move the King. Otherwise, a player may neither add to nor take from this region! If a player uses an action and believes that the action allows changes in the King's region, he is mistaken! Scoring occurs in the King's region, however.B) Secret Disk: if an action card requires the secret disk, the players each simultaneously and secretly select a region using the disks.
C) Castillo: whenever Caballeros are added to the game board or moved, any or all of them may also be put into the Castillo. However, Caballeros may only be removed from the Castillo during the general scoring.
D) Sequence of Actions: each card allows two actions:
a) moving a number of Caballeros onto the game board and
b) the action described by the picture and text (the special action).
The player decides which of the two actions to execute first. An action may not be split. Therefore, all of one action must be completed before the next is begun.
E) Number: the cards indicate the maximum number of Caballeros that the player may move onto the game board. The player may move fewer Caballeros at any time.
F) Move Caballeros onto the game board: Caballeros may only be moved from the court into the regions adjacent to the King's region or into the Castillo. Caballeros moved based on a special action may be added or moved to the Castillo or to any region except the King's region.
G) Skipping the special action: the player may choose not to execute the special action shown on the card. In fact, the player may select a card in order to prevent the special action from being executed.
ACTION CARDS IN THE 1 STACK
The following applies to all 1 cards: the player can move a maximum of one Caballero from his court into a region adjacent to the King's region or into the Castillo. Furthermore, the indicated special action is either executed or prevented. The cards are called intrigue cards because only with these cards may a player move another player's Caballeros on the game board.The following are the special actions:
Intrigue: move all of your own Caballeros from any one region!
Take all of your own Caballeros from a region and distribute them to any other regions and/or into the Castillo. You may return some to the original region. Don't forget that the King's region is always taboo - one may take nothing out and bring nothing in.Intrigue: move 2 more Caballeros from your court to any region(s).
You are allowed to move 2 Caballeros from your court into any regions (except the King's) and/or into the Castillo. With this card you may add three Caballeros to the board, 2 into any region and 1 into a region adjacent to the King's region.Intrigue: move 2 additional Caballeros from your court into any region(s) or move all of your own Caballeros from one region!
This is essentially a choice of one of the above two actions.Intrigue: move up to 5 Caballeros from any one region! (2 cards)
You can move up to 5 Caballeros (your own and/or foreign) from one region (except the King's) to any other regions (except the King's) and/or into the Castillo.Intrigue: move any 3 foreign Caballeros on the board!
You can move up to 3 foreign Caballeros from any regions (except the King's) to any regions (except the King's) and/or into the Castillo.Intrigue: move any 3 Caballeros on the board!
You can move any 3 Caballeros (your own and/or foreign) from any regions (except the King's) to any regions (except the King's) and/or into the Castillo.Intrigue: move 2 of your and 2 foreign Caballeros on the board! (2 cards)
You can move 2 of your own and 2 foreign Caballeros from any regions (except the King's) to any regions (except the King's) and/or into the Castillo.
Intrigue: move any 4 of your own Caballeros on the board!
You can move up to 4 of your own Caballeros from any regions (except the King's) into any other regions (except the King's) and/or into the Castillo.Intrigue: move any 4 Caballeros on the board!
You can move up to 4 Caballeros (your own and/or foreign) from any regions (except the King's) into any other regions (except the King's) and/or into the Castillo.ACTION CARDS IN THE 2 STACK
The following applies to all 2 cards: the player may move a maximum of 2 Caballeros from his court into regions adjacent to the King's region or into the Castillo. Furthermore, the indicated special action is either executed or prevented.The following are the special actions:
Veto! You can prevent one special action during this round or the next round. Announce your objection as soon as the player starts to execute his special action. (2 cards)
When you select the veto card, place it before you on the table and use it when you want to prevent the execution of a special action. You can prevent only one special action. You cannot prevent a player from moving Caballeros onto the board as specified in the second part of the action card. You may only prevent a special action if you hold the Veto! card and the special action is not yet complete. You may also prevent only part of a special action. When a player has played a Veto! card, others must announce their special actions before executing them. A player with the Veto! card may use his veto to stop an action he has heard before it is executed. The veto prevents the remainder of the special action. After you have played the veto, the card is discarded. If you have not used the veto by the end of the next round, it is discarded in any case.Decay of Authority: your fellow players must send all of the Caballeros in their courts back to the provinces.
Any player with no Caballeros in his court sends none to the provinces.Decay of Authority: each fellow player must send 3 Caballeros from his court back to the provinces.
Any player with fewer than 3 Caballeros in his court sends all Caballeros in his court to the provinces.The King returns! Your fellow players each must send 3 Caballeros back to the provinces. Each can take them from any regions and/or from his court.
Each player, starting with the player to the left of the player who played the special action and continuing clockwise around the table, must send 3 of his own Caballeros back to the provinces. The players may not take Caballeros from the King's region or the Castillo.
You send 1 Caballero from any region from each player back to the provinces.
You decide which Caballeros must return to the provinces, including one of your own. You may not take Caballeros from the King's region or the Castillo.
Your fellow players must remove 2 of their own Caballeros from any region and send them back to the provinces. Decide secretly!
All players must simultaneously select a region with their secret disks. The selected region must contain at least 2 of their Caballeros. If a player only has at most one Caballero in any region then he must select such a region. The players may not take Caballeros from the King's region or the Castillo.Your fellow players must send all of their own Caballeros from one region back to the provinces. Each player decides which region. Decide secretly!
All players must simultaneously select a region with their secret disks. The selected region must contain at least 1 of their Caballeros. If a player has no Caballeros in any region, he is not affected. The players may not take Caballeros from the King's region or the Castillo.
Special Scoring: pick one region to be scored. (3 cards)
You can choose any region (the King's region and the Castillo may also be chosen). The scoring follows the rules under "SCORE THE REGIONS".ACTION CARDS IN THE 3 STACK
The following applies to all 3 cards: the player may move a maximum of 3 Caballeros from his court into regions adjacent to the King's region or into the Castillo. Furthermore, the indicated special action is either executed or prevented.The following are the special actions:
Special Scoring: all 4 regions are scored. (2 cards)
Score all regions with four lilies in the first space on the scoreboard. The 4 regions are Galicia (4/2/0), Catalonia (4/ 2/ 1), and Seville (4/ 3/ 1). If the scoreboard printed on the game board has been covered by a mobile scoreboard, then only consider the values shown on the mobile scoreboard. This is true for all of the other special scorings. Two examples:• A mobile scoreboard showing (8/4/0) lies in Galicia. So Galicia is no longer a 4 region and is not scored.
• A mobile scoreboard showing (4/0/0) lies in Granada. So Granada is now a 4 region and is scored.
The scoring follows the rules given in the section, "SCORE THE REGIONS". Players also score the home bonuses and King's bonus if they apply.
• A mobile scoreboard showing (4/0/0) lies in Granada. So Granada is now a 4 region and is scored.
The scoring follows the rules given in the section, "SCORE THE REGIONS". Players also score the home bonuses and King's bonus if they apply.
Special Scoring: all 5 regions are scored. (2 cards)
This is carried out in the manner described above for the 4 regions. The 5 regions are Basque Country (5/ 3/ 1), Aragon (5/4/ 1), and Valencia (5/ 3/ 2). The Castillo is not scored. If the scoreboard printed on the game board has been covered by a mobile scoreboard, then only consider the values shown on the mobile scoreboard.Special Scoring: all 6 and 7 regions are scored.
This is carried out in the manner described above for the 4 regions. The 6 and 7 regions are Old Castile (6/4/ 2), New Castile (7/4/ 2), and Granada (6/3/ 1). If the scoreboard printed on the game board has been covered by a mobile scoreboard, then only consider the values shown on the mobile scoreboard.Special Scoring: the Castillo is scored. (2 cards)
The Castillo is uncovered and scored. After the scoring, the Castillo is placed over the Caballeros again. The Caballeros remain in the Castillo and are not distributed until the next general scoring.Special scoring: score the first position only in all regions.
All regions are scored, but only the first place position in each region is scored; all others score nothing. If two or more players tie for first, there is no score as the score would normally be the score for second place. Otherwise, scoring is done as described in "SCORE THE REGIONS". The Castillo is not scored.Special Scoring: score the region(s) with the most Caballeros.
If more than one region tie for the most, all such regions are scored. Otherwise, scoring is done as described in "SCORE THE REGIONS". The Castillo is not considered and not scored.Special Scoring: score the region(s) with the least Caballeros. Regions without Caballeros are not counted.
If more than one region tie for the least, all such regions are scored. Otherwise, scoring is done as described in "SCORE THE REGIONS". The Castillo and regions without Caballeros are not considered and not scored.Special Scoring: you may choose any region to score.
You may score any region, including the King's region and the Castillo. If you choose to score the Castillo, place the Caballeros back into the Castillo after the Castillo is scored. The scoring follows the rules described under "SCORE THE REGIONS".ACTION CARDS IN THE 4 STACK
The following applies to all 4 cards: a player may move a maximum of 4 Caballeros from his court into regions adjacent to the King's region or into the Castillo. Furthermore, the indicated special action is either executed or prevented.The following are the special actions:
Mobile scoreboard: place or move a mobile scoreboard. (3 cards)
You may move mobile scoreboard either onto the board for the first time or into a different region if it is already on the board. A mobile scoreboard may also be placed at the Castillo. A mobile scoreboard may not be moved into or out of the King's region. The two mobile scoreboards may not be placed on top of one another. When placed, they must be placed right-side-up: "8/4/0" or "4/0/0" and not otherwise.
Royal Adviser: move the King into a neighboring region.
You may move the King no further than one region away from his present position.Movement: you choose a region. Your fellow players must move all of their Caballeros out of this region to different regions. Decide secretly!
After you have chosen the region, all of the affected players choose another region on their secret disks. All players then reveal their disks and move their Caballeros to the chosen regions. Players choosing the King's region or the region they were being moved from, return their Caballeros to their courts.Grande: you may move your Grande into a different region. (2 cards)
You may choose any region except the Castillo and the King's region. You may choose a region which already contains several Grandes. You may not move your Grande from the King's region. The new region becomes your home region.Power Cards: take 1 of your cards from the discard stack back into your hand. (2 cards)
You may take back any one of your played cards, including the card played this turn. You need not reveal the card chosen. Of course, if you take the top-most card in your used stack, the other players will see that you took that card.The Court: move 2 of your Caballeros from the provinces to your court.
Special Scoring: each player secretly chooses a region to score. If a region is chosen by multiple players, it is not scored.
All players choose a region on their secret disks and reveal them simultaneously. Score all uniquely chosen regions according to the rules under "SCORE THE REGIONS". If a region is chosen by multiple players, it is not scored.ACTION CARDS IN THE 5 STACK
The 5 stack has only one card, the King card.The following applies to the 5 card: a player may move a maximum of 5 Caballeros from his court into regions adjacent to the King's region or into the Castillo. Furthermore, the indicated special action is either executed or prevented.
The following is the special action:
Kings card: put the King into any region.
All regions (except the Castillo) may be chosen.
El Grande: Expansions
These rules are for the supplemental material included with the El Grande game. The material offers you three new ways to play the game.In Intrigue & the King, each player has 18 or 31 cards that replace the action and power cards from the basic game. Before the game begins, each player chooses 13 cards to be his action/power card deck for the game. The players use these cards instead of the action and power cards in determining turn order and special actions.
Grand Inquisitor & the Colonies adds four new regions, the Grand Inquisitor, and new action cards to support these additions. The new action cards are in two new stacks, giving players seven options on each turn instead of the five from the basic game.
By combining the two, you can play The King & the Colonies. In this game, you use the action/power cards from Intrigue & the King, and the new regions, the Grand Inquisitor, and the new action cards supporting them from Grand Inquisitor & the Colonies.
Grandissimo adds a ship, jail, Portugal, the Grand Inquisitor, the Queen, the Jester, and new action cards in two new stacks to support these additions.
Intrigue & the King
Intrigue and the King is an expansion to El Grande. You will use some parts from the basic game as well as the parts for this expansion. With the exception of the rules described below, Intrigue & the King plays exactly as does El Grande.Game contents:
1 King card
1 overview card for the placement of Caballero cards
2 blank cards
Preparation:
After the selection of the players' and the King's starting regions is complete, using the rules from the basic game, each player uses their secret disk to choose a region. These are revealed simultaneously and each player places one of his Caballeros in the region he specified. If the King's region is specified, the Caballero remains in the player's court.The King's card and the intrigue card are placed next to the board. Use the Caballero summary card to determine which of the five Caballero cards will be used. This is determined by the number of players. Place the indicated Caballero cards next to the board.
Next each player chooses 13 action cards from his 31 to be used in the game. After making their selections, the players put their unused cards face down in the box. They will not be used in this game. You may want to limit the possible cards to just the 18 that are evenly divisible by 10 for the first few games.
Playing the game:
As in the original game, Intrigue & the King is played over nine rounds with general scoring after the 3rd, 6th, and 9th rounds. Each round consists of the following:• Move the round marker forward on the round track.
• Players play action cards. In the first round, the players choose a starting player. In subsequent rounds, the starting player is the player who played the lowest valued card in the previous round. Cards are played face-up in clockwise order and no player may play a card that duplicates a card played this round.
• The player with the highest valued action card takes the King's card and the highest valued (most Caballeros) Caballero card. The player with the second highest valued action card takes the second highest valued Caballero card and so on. The player with the lowest valued action card also takes the Intrigue card.
• Each player takes his turn starting with the player with the King's card (and the highest Caballero card) and continuing with the player with the second highest Caballero card and so on. On a player's turn, he first moves the number of Caballeros shown on the action card he played from the provinces to his court. Then, he may perform the special action or move Caballeros from his court to the board in either order. The maximum number of Caballeros that may be moved is the number shown on the Caballero card he has taken. The rules for moving these Caballeros is the same as in the original game. The special action may be bypassed unless it is indicated as required. The used card remains face up in the player's court.
The King's card and the Intrigue card:
All other players must perform the special actions on their action cards, unless the card is written, "You may...". In this case, the player may choose to perform the special action or to bypass it.
All players, including the King and Intrigue players, may move as many Caballeros from the provinces to their courts as indicated on their action cards.
At the end of the round, all action cards are discarded from the game. The King, the Intrigue and the Caballero cards are returned to their positions next to the board.
Special rules for 2 or 3 players:
The player with the King's card may, on his turn, choose to perform the special action on his action card instead of the King's action. Similarly, the player with the Intrigue card may, on his turn, choose to perform the special action on his action card instead of the Intrigue action. If the player chooses the special action and it is required, he must perform it.New special actions:
Many of the special actions on the action cards for Intrigue & the King are the same as the actions on cards from the basic game. Explanations for those actions are found in the basic rules. Explanations for new special actions follow:15 - You move 5 Caballeros instead of the number on your Caballero card. You can move them to the Castillo or regions adjacent to the King's region.
20 - The number moved is the number on your Caballero card. They need not be moved to regions adjacent to the King's region.
25 - You cannot, of course, move them to the King's region.
35 - During the next general scoring, the Grandes move to regions based on the regions specified on the players' secret disks.
40 - This may be played prior to your turn.
63 - The bridge is removed when another player plays a bridge, regardless of where he plays it.
70 - As always, you cannot send Caballeros from the King's region.
75 - The scoring opportunity need not be a general scoring. The Caballero is yours.
80 - The Grande and Caballeros cannot come from the King's region or the Castillo, and cannot go to the King's region.
90 - Mobile scoreboards may not be placed on top of one another.
93 - Choose a mobile scoreboard from next to the board if one is available. If not, choose one from the board, but not the King's region. If another Quarantine is played, move the mobile scoreboard from the old quarantined region to the new. The mobile scoreboard in the quarantined region may not be moved by the action that allows mobile scoreboards to be moved. After the next general scoring, remove the mobile scoreboard from the quarantined region and place it next to the board. Being taboo means, like the King's region, no changes can occur in the region.
100 - This does not include the Castillo.
110 - After scoring, the Caballeros are returned to the Castillo.
120 - This does not include the Castillo.
135 - You must have exactly 2 Caballeros in the region. You may be tied for first. 145 - You cannot choose the King's region or the Castillo for this special scoring. 150 - You can choose the Castillo or the King's region, as well.
170 - Players may discuss their choices prior to setting their secret disks, but any deals made are not binding.
Grand Inquisitor & the Colonies
Grand Inquisitor & the Colonies is an expansion to El Grande. You will use some parts from the basic game as well as the parts for this expansion. With the exceptionof the rules described below, Grand Inquisitor & the Colonies plays exactly as does El Grande.
Game contents:
four new regions:
France
America
Mediterranean
Gold (5)
Wares (11)
Limit tables
Grand Inquisitor card (stack 6)
Preparation:
Before the first game, carefully remove the pieces from the cardboard frames. Setup El Grande as described in the rules for El Grande, making the following changes:o Place France on the map in the proper geographical position (upper right corner) and the three other new regions near the map as you choose.
o After the players' home and the King's regions have been drawn, draw two more region cards and place two of the black Grand Inquisitor Caballeros in each of these regions.
o Draw another region card and place one of the Limit tables in that region; use the 6 space table with 2 or 3 players and the 10 space table with 4 or 5 players.
o The Grand Inquisitor card is the sixth "stack" of action cards. It is treated similarly to the King's card.
o Shuffle the remaining 11 new cards; they are the seventh action card stack.
o Turn one card face up from each stack.
o Each player takes 12 Caballeros of his color, places one on the scoring track, 2 in his home region, and the rest in his court.
o Using the secret disk, the players each secretly choose a region, reveal them simultaneously, and place 2 of their Caballeros in the region chosen. If the King's region is chosen, the 2 Caballeros remain in the court for that player.
o Place 1 Gold disc in America and 2 Wares discs in the Mediterranean.
o Place the Grand Inquisitor and the remaining Wares and Gold discs near the board with the two mobile scoreboards from the basic game. These will be used during the game.
The new regions:
The four new regions are treated just as the original regions, except they cannot be the target of a secret disk and the King can only go to France.France:
o There is room for only 3 Caballeros in France; there are three spaces for them.o When France is scored, the player with the Ambassador gets 2 additional points and the player with the Envoy gets 1 additional point. For example, if one player has both the Ambassador and the Envoy, he scores 6 points: 3 for the majority, 2 for the Ambassador, and 1 for the Envoy.
o Caballeros can be moved to France when the King is in Aragon or Catalonia, directly from a player's court or the ship, and by action cards that allow players to reposition Caballeros.
Ship:
o The ship is generally used to move Caballeros to and from the Mediterranean and America since Caballeros cannot normally move directly to and from these regions. Caballeros may, however, be repositioned to and from these regions directly using the special actions on some cards.o Caballeros can be moved from a player's court to the ship when the King is in a coastal region (France, Catalonia, Valencia, Granada, Seville, Galicia, and Basque Country).
o If a player has Caballeros on the ship at the beginning of his turn, he can move them to America, France, the Mediterranean, or any coastal region of Spain, except, of course, the King's region. He may also move Caballeros that were in the Mediterranean or America at the beginning of his turn to the ship. This is in addition to his normal actions.
o When the ship is scored, only the player with the Captain gets points. If the Captain's space is empty when a player moves Caballeros to the ship, the player may put one on the space. The space may be empty while Caballeros are on the ship and the Captain may leave the ship using the same rules as for Caballeros.
America and the Mediterranean:
o The King never goes to these regions. Caballeros get there only via ship or by being repositioned using the special actions on some cards.o The cards of the 7th stack show Gold and Wares. For every picture on such a
card, a corresponding disc is placed in America or the Mediterranean. Gold is placed in America and Wares in the Mediterranean.
card, a corresponding disc is placed in America or the Mediterranean. Gold is placed in America and Wares in the Mediterranean.
o When America is scored, the player with the Viceroy gets 5 points, but the Viceroy is not counted when determining the Caballero majority. The Viceroy may not have or claim Gold or Wares, but may "resign" to claim Gold as a free action. If the Viceroy's space is empty when a player moves Caballeros to America, the player may put one on the space. The space may be empty while Caballeros are in America. Also, the Viceroy may leave America using the same rules as for Caballeros.
Gold and Wares:
o The cards of the 7th stack show how many Gold and Wares discs are placed in America or the Mediterranean. The discs are placed when the special action on the card is performed, which may occur in a later round than when the card is chosen. If the special action is not performed, the discs are not placed.o A player claims Gold and Wares by putting one of his Caballeros (in that region) on the disc. Once a Caballero has claimed a disc, the disc cannot be taken by another player.
o The discs score points for a player only when they reach Spain. The player scores the points immediately: 6 for Gold, 4 for Wares.
o A player who puts Gold or Wares into play by performing the special action on a card from the 7th stack, can lay claim to the discs if he has or can move Caballeros to the region where they are. If he cannot or chooses not to do so, the discs remain available for the next player with Caballeros there to claim them.
o Moving a Caballero on top of a Gold or Wares disc to claim it does not count as repositioning.
Bringing Gold and Wares to Spain:
o Normally it takes 4 turns to bring a disc to Spain:> move Caballero onto the ship (only when King is in a coastal region)
> move Caballero to the region onto a disc (this is a free action)
> move Caballero onto the ship with the disc (this is a free action)
> move Caballero with disc to a coastal region in Spain (this is a free action)
> move Caballero to the region onto a disc (this is a free action)
> move Caballero onto the ship with the disc (this is a free action)
> move Caballero with disc to a coastal region in Spain (this is a free action)
o When a disc is delivered to Spain, place the disc with the others near the board and score the points (6 for Gold and 4 for Wares) immediately.
o It is possible, however, to use repositioning available on some action cards to bypass using the ship for some or all movement between Spain and the colonies. Thus, it is possible to move discs in 2 or 3 turns instead of 4.
Special rules for a Caballero with a Gold or Wares disc:
o It counts as normal when determining the majority in a region.o It cannot be the Captain on the ship.
o It cannot be the Viceroy in America.
o It cannot be moved to the King's region.
o It cannot be moved by another player to the Castillo or to the provinces. If a player chooses to move his own Caballero to the Castillo or the provinces, he places the disc near the board with the others.
Mobile scoreboards:
The mobile scoreboards can be moved to any of the new regions.Grand Inquisitor:
When a player chooses the Grand Inquisitor card, he may:o Move the Grand Inquisitor to his court.
o Move up to 3 of his Caballeros from his court to region adjacent to the King's region.
o Reposition 2 of the Grand Inquisitor's Caballeros - not to/from the King's region.
The Grand Inquisitor stays in your court until it is moved by another player using a specific special action. When the Grand Inquisitor is in your court during your turn:
The Grand Inquisitor stays in your court until it is moved by another player using a specific special action. When the Grand Inquisitor is in your court during your turn:
o You may move one additional Caballero from the provinces to your court or from your court to a region adjacent to the King's region.
o The Caballeros of the Grand Inquisitor are treated in every way as though they were the color of your Caballeros, except that they cannot be moved to the provinces.
o You have additional duties relating to the Limit tables, described below.
Caballeros of the Grand Inquisitor:
If the Grand Inquisitor is not in any player's court, his Caballeros belong to no player. If a region is scored in such a situation, the Grand Inquisitor's Caballeros count as though they belong to an invisible player. For example, Valencia is scored in a 5 player game with 3 red Caballeros, 2 black Caballeros, and 1 green Caballero. The red player receives 5 points and the green player receives 2 points. The 3 points for second place are lost as they were "won" by the Caballeros of the Grand Inquisitor.
Limit table:
o It limits (to the 6 or 10 spaces on the table) the number of Caballeros that are counted when scoring the region.o If there is a free space, a player moving a Caballero to that region places it on an empty space. Otherwise, the player places it off the Limit table in that region.
o Three cards of the 7th stack allow players to move the Limit table. It can be moved to any region except France or the King's region. Also, of course, it may not be moved from the King's region. When it is moved to a region with more Caballeros than empty spaces on the Limit table, the moving player decides which Caballeros get on the spaces. It must be filled completely, if possible.
o If through moving or repositioning, spaces on the Limit table become available and there are Caballeros in that region not on the Limit table, all are moved there if there is room. If not, the player who has the Grand Inquisitor decides which Caballeros are moved onto the Limit table. If no player has the Grand Inquisitor, the player who made the move that created the spaces decides.
o When moving Caballeros from the Castillo to a region with the Limit table, all are put on the table if there is room. If not, the player with the Grand Inquisitor decides which Caballeros go onto the table. If no player has the Grand Inquisitor and there is not room for all Caballeros, the Caballeros are placed in the region off the Limit table.
Repositioning:
Repositioning is much more important. You are allowed to:o move Caballeros directly to or from the Mediterranean or America without using the ship. This works even with Caballeros that have claimed discs.
o move Caballeros off the Limit table and others onto it - even within the same region. If you move a Caballero from and then another onto the Limit table, you use two repositioning moves.
o move the Viceroy, the Captain, the Ambassador, and the Envoy. As above, it uses two repositioning moves to move a Caballero off and another on.
o move Caballeros of the Grand Inquisitor. They may not be moved to the provinces.
Scoring Regions:
o When scoring regions, the new regions are scored as well. They are scored after Valencia in the order: France, Ship, America, and the Mediterranean For example, when scoring all "4" regions, America and the Mediterranean would be scored in that order.
o When a player performs the special action: "Only the first places are counted", the additional points for the Viceroy and Captain are not counted, but those for the Ambassador and the Envoy are, if the player who owns them has the majority in France.
New special actions:
Although many of the new special actions on the action cards for are well described on the cards, some require further explanation. Explanations for those new special actions follow:o Conspiracy - During the next general scoring, the Grandes move to regions based on the regions specified on the players' secret disks.
o Remove Action Card - The face up action card removed must be one of those still being offered as actions for this turn. You may not remove an action card that has been played with instructions to place it face up. If the player chooses the King's card or the Grand Inquisitor's card, they remain unavailable only for the remainder of this turn. They will return as always to be available next turn.
The King & the Colonies
To play The King & the Colonies, start with the basic El Grande game. Remove the action and power cards and replace them with the action/power cards from Intrigue & the King. Then add all of the components, including the stack 6 & 7 action cards, from Grand Inquisitor & the Colonies. The preparation and rules are the same as those for Grand Inquisitor & the Colonies, except for the following:Preparation:
o Place the power and action cards from the basic El Grande game into the box; the Intrigue & the King action cards replace both in this version of the game. All other components from the basic game will be used in playing The King & the Colonies.o Place the King's card and the intrigue card next to the board. Use the Caballero summary card to determine which of the five Caballero cards will be used. This is determined by the number of players. Place the indicated Caballero cards next to the board.
o Next, each player chooses 13 action cards from his 31 to be used in the game. After making their selections, the players put their unused cards face down in the box. They will not be used in this game.
Playing the game:
o In each round, the Grand Inquisitor card and a card from the "7th stack" are available; turn over the top card from the "7th stack".o When it is a player's turn, he may choose from the action on his card (or the King's action if he is first, or the Intrigue action if he is last), the Grand Inquisitor card, or the card from the "7th stack". Of course, the Grand Inquisitor card and the "7th stack" card may each only be chosen by one player each round.
o If a player chooses the Grand Inquisitor or the "7th stack" card, that card determines how many Caballeros the player is allowed to move to the regions. adjacent to the King. Otherwise, he uses the number shown on the action card he played.
o The card "Turn over action card" in the "7th stack" acts like a veto card, if it is used it to stop the special action of a player.
o The Intrigue special action allows the repositioning from and to new regions.
Grandissimo
Grandissimo is an expansion to El Grande. You will use some parts from the basic game as well as the parts for this expansion. With the exception of the rules described below, Grandissimo plays exactly as does El Grande.Game contents:
ships
Preparation:
Before the first game, carefully remove the pieces from the cardboard frames. You may want to play the first few games without the ships, the prison, and the Grand Inquisitor. If so, you do not need the prison, the Grand Inquisitor cards, the ships, the Grand Inquisitor, and the black caballeros. As you become familiar with this expansion, you may find some aspects not to your liking. If so, please remove the cards or pieces that you do not like and play with the rest. You should try to keep at least 11 cards in 6th stack, but other than that, feel free to eliminate any part of the expansion that does not suit you. The important thing is for you to enjoy the game.We feel that the components here will add to your enjoyment. If some do not, eliminate them.
El Grande sample game
1. Put the Castillo together and install the pointers in the secret disks.
What is what?
Grande
Caballeros
Power card
Action card2. Lay the game board on a table.
3. In a sample game, place the black round marker on space 2 of the round track and 1 Caballero of each color on the start of the success track.
4. Each player selects a color (in a sample game, use the seating sequence red, green, blue, yellow apllies) and places... before itself.
7 Caballeros...
13 Power cards...
1 Secret diskWe call all this player's "court".
5. Place the king, the Castillo, the Grandes and 2 Caballeros of each color on the game board as shown on the above figure. Place all remaining Caballeros beside the board.
We call this the "provinces".
6. Place the two mobile score boards next to the game board.
7. Place the action cards in 5 stacks sorted by the number of Caballeros on the back side and next to the board. The "5" stack contains only the king card.
8. The rules, region cards and the brown pieces are not needed for the sample game.
9. The winner is the player who has advanced the furthest on the success track at the end of the game. Turn this page over and begin playing!
Setup El Grande as described in the rules for El Grande, making the following changes:
• Grandissimo adds two stacks of action cards to the basic game. The 7th stack is much like the 5th stack in that it contains just one card that is reused each round. The 6th stack may contain as many as 19 cards or as few as 11. Play with those you prefer or vary the mix to add more spice to the game.
• Remove the card for the 7th stack (the Queen and court jester card) from the cards provided with this expansion. Shuffle the remaining cards and place them next to the King's card; these are the 6th stack of action cards. Place the card for the 7th stack (the queen and court jester card) face-up next to the 6th stack.
• Place the Portugal scoreboard on the game board in the place provided in Portugal on the map.
• Place the prison, Queen, court jester, Grand Inquisitor, and 2 ship tokens next to the board. Place the ship in any empty ocean area on the board.
• Draw a region card and place the two black Caballeros in the region indicated.
Playing the game
The game sequence in Grandissimo is the same as in the base game, except that there are two extra action stacks for players to choose from. As in the basic game, at the end of each round the unused action cards are discarded and new ones are drawn from each stack. The King and the Queen/jester cards return each round.The ship and jail symbols
Ship and jail symbols are printed on some cards in the 6th stack. When a player selects such a card, he may execute the action described for that symbol in addition to the other two actions allowed for the card.Ship: When a player selects a card with the ship symbol, he may take one of the ship tokens and place it in his court. He may not take a second if he already has one. If both ship tokens are in other players' courts, the player decides which one to take. When a player has a ship token in his court on his turn, he may place Caballeros on the ship on the board instead of the normal regions they would be placed in. The position of the King is not relevant to the placing of Caballeros on the ship. When a player has Caballeros on the ship at the beginning of his turn, he may move them to any coastal region, including Portugal, as long is the King is not in that region. Players do not score for Caballeros on the ship.
Grand Inquisitor:
When a player chooses the Grand Inquisitor card, he may:o Move the Grand Inquisitor to his court.
o Move up to 3 of his Caballeros from his court to region adjacent to the King's region.
o Reposition 2 of the Grand Inquisitor's Caballeros - not to/from the King's region.
The Grand Inquisitor stays in your court until it is moved by another player using a specific special action. When the Grand Inquisitor is in your court during your turn:
o You may move one additional Caballero from the provinces to your court or from your court to a region adjacent to the King's region.
o The Caballeros of the Grand Inquisitor are treated in every way as though they were the color of your Caballeros, except that they cannot be moved to the provinces.
Caballeros of the Grand Inquisitor:
If the Grand Inquisitor is not in any player's court, his Caballeros belong to no player. If a region is scored in such a situation, the Grand Inquisitor's Caballeros count as though they belong to an invisible player. For example, Valencia is scored in a 5 player game with 3 red Caballeros, 2 black Caballeros, and 1 green Caballero. The red player receives 5 points and the green player receives 2 points. The 3 points for second place are lost as they were "won" by the Caballeros of the Grand Inquisitor.Jail: When a player selects a card with the jail symbol, he may move any 1 Caballero from any region (except the King's) to the prison. When a player selects the King's card, he may choose to pardon all those in jail and place them all in the same region (not the King's, of course) Of course, the player may choose to leave them all in jail. He may not pardon some and not others.
Portugal
Portugal adds a new region to the game. During the game, players may place or move Caballeros on Portugal, using the normal rules for placing and moving Caballeros. When Portugal is scored, the player with the most Caballeros there receives 5 points. There are no second or third place points. Of course, this could change with the placement of a mobile scoreboard, which may be placed on top of the Portugal score board. The Portugal score board may never be moved to another region. The King and the Grandes may visit Portugal. Portugal cannot be selected on the secret disk.Queen/Jester
The card for the 7th stack: When a player takes the 7th stack card, he takes the queen or the court jester into his court. If only one is available at the side of the board, he must take that one. If both are visiting other player's courts, he may choose which toThis sample game will help you learn the game quickly. Play the first round. If you still have questions, continue playing. You should understand the game when you complete this sample game.
The round begins
Look at the following action cards from the stacks and read them loud:
Special Scoring: All 4 regions are scored.
Red begins by laying his Power card 5 face up before himself on the table (he was chosen by the players to start). In clockwise order, Green plays his Power card 11, Blue his 2 and Yellow his 6.
Power in the corner Number Caballeros
When all have played their power cards, each takes his turn in the order of their power cards as described below:
When all have played their power cards, each takes his turn in the order of their power cards as described below:
The player with the highest power card, begins, followed by the next highest, etc.. The power cards have 2 meanings: the number in the corners defines the turn order and the number of Caballeros in the center is the number the player may move to his yard from the provinces.
Green begins his turn.
1. Green moves 1 Caballero from the provinces to his court.
2. Green selects 1 action card, in this sample game, the King's card.
Also, the action cards have 2 meanings: The number of Caballeros shown in the corner is the number the player may move from his court to the board (in this case 5) and the action described on the card (in this case, move the king) can be executed or not executed.
Green moves 1 of his Caballeros from his court to each of Galicia, Aragon and Old Castile and throws 2 Caballeros in the Castillo. He then moves the king to Valencia.
Remember that this is only the sample game. In a normal game, the player decides where to move Caballeros and how to execute the actions.
3. Return the action card to its place up-side-down and turn the power card over in the court to indicate both have been used,
Yellow has the second highest power card.
1. Yellow moves 3 Caballeros from the provinces to his court.
2. Yellow selects the action card Special scoring: All 4 regions are scored.
Before the scoring, yellow moves 2 of his Caballeros from his court to Catalonia and 1 to Granada. Then he chooses to score the 4 regions, i.e. Galicia, Catalonia and Seville.
2. Yellow selects the action card Special scoring: All 4 regions are scored.
Before the scoring, yellow moves 2 of his Caballeros from his court to Catalonia and 1 to Granada. Then he chooses to score the 4 regions, i.e. Galicia, Catalonia and Seville.
Whenever a region is scored: Whoever has the most Caballeros in the region receives the highest point number (lilies in the first field of the score board). The second and third point numbers go to the players with the second and third most Caballeros. All points are recorded by advancing the appropriate Caballeros on the success track.
Galicia: Green has the most Caballeros and moves 4 spaces forward on the success track.
Catalonia: Yellow moves 4 spaces forward.
Seville: Blue moves 6 spaces forward.
Seville is the home region of blue. If a player in its home region (where his Garnde is) has the exclusive majority of Caballeros, he receives a Grande bonus of 2 points. (The Grande is never counted as a Caballero, it only serves to indicate the home region of a player).
3. Return the action card the power card as was done above.
Red has the next highest power card.
1. Red moves 4 Caballeros to his court.
2. Red selects the action card Mobile score board.
Red places the Mobile score board (8/4/0) on top of the score board of Aragon. He then moves 3 Caballeros to Aragon and 1 into the Castillo from his court.
2. Red selects the action card Mobile score board.
Red places the Mobile score board (8/4/0) on top of the score board of Aragon. He then moves 3 Caballeros to Aragon and 1 into the Castillo from his court.Each player can decide whether to first execute the special action or to first move his Caballeros.
3. Return the action card the power card as before.
Blue has the lowest power card.
1. Blue moves 5 Caballeros to his court.
2. Blue selects the action card Decay of Authority. All players except Blue must return 3 Caballeros from their courts to the provinces. Blue then moves 2 of his Caballeros to New Castile from his court.
3. Return the action card the power card as before.
All players have taken their turns and the round is over. Turn the unplayed action card up-side- down. Move the black round marker from space 2 to space 3.
The next round begins.
Look at the following action cards from the stacks:
Intrigue: Move any 3 foreign Caballeros on the board!
Province: You send 1 Caballero from any region from each player back to the provinces.
Special Scoring: You may choose any region to score.
Royal Adviser: Move the king into a neighboring region.
King's card
Now the player who played last in the previous round is the first to play a power card, in this case, it is blue.
In a round, two players may not play power cards with the same numbers.
Blue has the highest power card and begins.
1. Blue moves no Caballeros from the provinces.
2. Blue selects the action card Special scoring.
He scores New Castile and receives 7 points on the success track. Afterwards blue moves 2 Caballeros to Granada and 1 into the Castillo.
3. Return the action card the power card as before.
3. Return the action card the power card as before.
Yellow has the next highest power card.
1. Yellow moves no Caballeros from the provinces.
2. Yellow selects the King's card, moves 2 Caballeros to Granada and 2 into the Castillo. Then, he moves the king into Old Castile.
• It is always protected. Nothing may be moved into or out of the region; it is not effected by action cards except those that move the king.
• These Caballeros may only
be moved to regions that are neighbours to the king's region or into the Castillo.
be moved to regions that are neighbours to the king's region or into the Castillo.3. Return the action card the power card as before.
Red has the next highest power card.
1. Red moves 2 Caballeros to his court.
2. Red selects the action card Royal Advisor. Red moves 4 Caballeros to New Castile. Then Red moves the king to Aragon.
3. Return the action card the power card as before.
Green has the lowest power card and goes last.
1. Green moves 5 Caballeros to his court.
2. Green selects the action card Province.
Green takes 1 Blue Caballero from Seville, 1 Red from New Castile, 1 Yellow from Granada and puts them back in the provinces. He then moves 1 Caballero to Valencia and 1 to Basque Country from his court.
3. Return the action card the power card as before.
3. Return the action card the power card as before.
The round is now over.
The round marker is on 3 and, therefore, the regions are scored before moving to the next round (in a normal game scoring occurs after rounds 3, 6 and 9). Place the round marker on the secret disk space. Each player takes his secret disk and secretly selects a region. In our sample game, you select:Red: Valencia; Green: Basque Country; Blue: Seville; Yellow: Galicia; (The King's region should not be selected). Everyone puts his secret disk covered on the table.
All Caballeros, which a player has in the Castillo, will later be moved to the region, which is selected on his secret disk.
Move the round marker to the space with the Castillo. Pick up the Castillo and count the Caballeros that were in it. Green and Yellow each have 2; Red and Blue each have 1 Caballero in the Castillo.
The scoring of the Castillo: Green and Yellow each move 3 spaces forward on the success track, Red and Blue do not move.
If several players have the same number of Caballeros and tie for a position, these players get the points for the next lower rank.
Move the round marker to the Caballero space and the players reveal their secret disks. Red moves his Caballero from Castillo to Valencia, Blue moves his ti Seville, Green moves his two to Basque Country and Yellow moves two to Galicia. Next on the Scoring track are listed all the regions. Move the round marker to the Galicia space and score that region. Score the regions one at a time, in order, moving the round marker after each one. In this way no region can be forgotten. Score now and move your Caballeros accordingly on the success track:
Because of the mobile score board and the king's and home (grande) bonuses, red receives 12 points.
This ends the sample game. Begin your first game and make your own decisions.
Place the round marker on the 1 of the round track. Shuffle the region cards and deal one to each player. This card determines the player's home region. Deal another card to determine the king's region; place the king in this region.
As in the sample game, each player places his Grande and 2 Caballeros in his home region. As before, the players organize their courts before them. Each should have 13 power cards, 7 Caballeros, and a secret disk. Shuffle the actions cards separately by Caballero count and turn over the top card in each stack. The players choose a starting player who starts the game by playing a power card and the others follow in clockwise order.
The player with the highest power card selects an action card and the game continues... enjoy many games with take. When a player has the queen or the court jester in his court on his turn, he may execute the special action those characters allow, even on the turn he takes the character. A player may have both the queen and the court jester in his court.
Court Jester: When a player has the court jester in his court on his turn, he may give another player one of his Caballeros from the provinces. The other player must then. place it somewhere on the board (his choice) at the beginning of his next turn.
Queen: When a player has the queen in his court on his turn, he may either move another Caballero to a region adjacent to the King from his court or move another Caballero from the provinces to his court.
Notes for the new special cards for the 6th stack:
Double turn: When the player takes the second card, he may decide which special actions to do now and which to save for later.
Free choice: The action of moving 2 Caballeros is taken after the Caballeros in the Castillo have been moved to the regions indicated on the players' secret disks and
before scoring the regions.
Alliance: The player may only select from regions available. Some region cards may have been removed by other players' special actions.
Revolution: The new King's region takes on the characteristic of the old King's region until the old King returns after the next general scoring. This includes the King's bonus. Thus, a player may get both the King's and the Grande's bonus from the same region with the same figure: the Grande/King. After the next general scoring, the King returns to Portugal. The Grande/ex-King remains where he was. The Grande/King may be moved with the King's card.
Grand Inquisitor: The move of the extra Caballero by the black Caballeros is voluntary on the part of the player who "owns" the Caballero being taken. The Grand Inquisitor leaves your court just prior to the next general scoring. The black Caballeros belong to no one and are never considered in scoring a region.
As in the basic El Grande rules, the King's region is protected from all changes. Any action that specifies "any region" is assumed to exclude the King's region whether mentioned as an exception or not.
Please note that these new cards were not tested in all conceivable combinations and situations. If you discover any problems, feel free to develop house rules to govern
them.
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