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by Chris Lawson version 2.3

• Kingdoms
• Actions
• Leader and Tile Placements
• Catastrophes
• Conflicts
• Monuments
• Treasure Distribution
• End of a Turn
• Game End
• Mayfair's Tigris & Euphrates

There seems to be a lot of confusion over the terms Region and Kingdom. The best advice I can give is to say forget about what a region is, they have no effect on play. As the rules say, "Kingdoms are what this game is about".

For the record, a region is any group of tiles connected orthogonally to each other, which may or may not include one or more leaders. A region may include leaders, in which case it is a kingdom as well. A kingdom is a subset of a region, therefore a kingdom is always a region, while a region is not always a kingdom.

Actions

Q)

Can the identical action be carried out twice in a row? For example, if an "internal" conflict fails during the first action, can the same leader be positioned in the same space for the second action?

A)

Yes, this is allowed.

Q)

What happens to the discard tiles?

A)

All discards should be placed out of the way as they never return to the game. You are not allowed to inspect the contents of the discard pile or count them.

As there seems to be some confusion over leader and / or tile placement, here are some example which I hope will help explain.

Tiles		= Settlement		= Temple		= Farm		= Market		= empty
Leaders		= King		= Priest		= Farmer		= Trader

Example 1

A leader making a legal move to "extend" an existing kingdom

This shows four separate groups of tiles, only one of which is a kingdom.

A player is allowed to place a leader in the middle of the four tiles as such:-

This now means that instead of four separate groups of tiles, we now end up with a single group which still counts as a single kingdom. Please note that the type (or colour) of tiles and leaders used in the above are just examples, they could be anything (with the exception that the tile adjacent to the leaders have to be temples).

The reason for this example is some people seem to think that you cannot use a leader to "link" other tiles into a kingdom. While it is true that you cannot link two or more KINGDOMS in this way, it is permitted as long as there is no more than one kingdom before the merger.

Example 2

Using the same layout as above, a player may place a tile instead of a leader in the same location (and assuming the King belonged to that player, they would receive a VP in the colour of the tile placed).

If the player placed a Market, then the end result would be

The owner of the King would pick up a green VP. The reason for this example is to point out that this would still generate a VP (i.e. the unification tile is not used in this case). The four separate groups of tiles have been combined into one group, or kingdom, as before. If two of the groups in question are kingdoms, then the move is still allowed but the VP would not be distributed for the tile placed (which brings us to the next example).

Example 3

This time a leader is added to the layout.

This means that we have two separate kingdoms in the four groups of tiles (one containing just a King and a Temple, while the other contains a Priest, Temple and Market). You therefore are not allowed to place a leader as in Example 1 because you are not allowed to use a leader to join two kingdoms together. You are allowed to place a tile as in example 2, the only difference is that this time it will not generate a VP (because the tile will get covered by the unification tile). The point I want to make is that in this example, even though there are no conflicts involved (because the two kingdoms joined do not contain similar leader types), the VP is still not distributed.

Q)

When moving a leader that currently forms the sole link between two parts of a kingdom, can it be moved to a space that also connects those two parts? Example, the King (black leader) moves to a new space:-

It should be made clear that the difficulty only arises where each part of the kingdom would be a valid kingdom in its own right. If one or more halves doesn't contain a leader, there wouldn't seem to be any problem with the movement at all. In the example, it can be seen that once the leader is removed the group of tiles splits into two separate kingdoms.

A)

No, this move is not allowed. When a leader is repositioned in this way, it is first removed from the board and then placed again. The overriding rule is that a leader may not join two kingdoms together.

The limitation of leader placement are only

1. It must be placed on an empty space
2. It must be adjacent to a least one Temple.
3. It may not be placed on a river space.
4. It may not join two or more kingdoms together.

When placing a tile, it can be placed adjacent to a region or in isolation adjacent to nothing. It may be used to join two regions together but NOT more than two kingdoms. If it is used to join two kingdoms then the appropriate victory point is NOT awarded, even if there are no conflicts.

Distribution of Victory Points

A VP is not issued if

1. the tile is not placed in, or adjacent to, a kingdom.
2. there is no King or leader of the respective colour to receive the VP.
3. the tile is placed so it joins two kingdoms.

Q)

The rules state than only blue tiles can be placed on river spaces, can you place a catastrophe tile directly onto a river space.

A)

Yes you can. Catastrohe tiles are not one of the four colours so the restriction of "No other colour tiles may be placed on river spaces" doesn't apply. And of course, you are allowed to place them on an empty space if you so wish.

Q)

Do catastrophe tiles remain on the board?

A)

Once played the catastrophe tile does remain on the board and is not moved for the rest of the game. It creates a "blighted" space that cannot be used, i.e. it prevents any further tiles or leaders to be placed on it.

Q)

Is there an easy way to distinguish between the two different methods of Conflict?

A)

The terms Internal and External are now used. The two very different methods of conflict are one of the more difficult concepts to get across when explaining the rules, I hope the following will help when it comes to defining conflicts:-

• Leader Placement can ONLY cause "internal" conflicts
  • "Internal" conflicts will generate one (and only one) red victory point.
• Tile Placement can ONLY cause "external" conflicts
  • "External" conflicts will generate one or more victory point in the colour being contested (and several colours could be contested over the same conflict).

Q)

When a Monument is created and the four tiles are turned face down, is a VP awarded for the last tile placed? This would mean that typically a player would receive two VPs of that colour, one for placing the last tile and another of the same colour when the Monument generates VPs at the end of the turn.

A)

This is correct. As long as the player owns the appropriate leader and the tile placed does not fall in one of the categories listed above, then he would receive two VPs in the colour of the tiles that had been turned face down. Check the turn sequence below to see when VPs are awarded.

Q)

Is a player forced to pick up a Treasure?

A)

Yes. If a Kingdom contains more than one Treasure, then the player who is the possessor of the Trader must take the appropriate Treasure VPs. This will cause the game to end if there are only two or less Treasures remaining on the board.

Q)

There are a number of activities which occur "at the end of a turn". What order do they happen, at what point are VPs awarded for monuments, when do you pick up treasure VPs and when are Game End conditions checked?

A)

VPs are awarded during an Action for Place a Tile or due to Conflicts. Treasure VPs are collected after each Action. Monument VPs are awarded during the End of Turn activities, then the Game End conditions are checked. The full sequence is:-

• First Action (distribute appropriate VPs)
  • Collect any treasure VPs
• Second Action (distribute appropriate VPs)
  • Collect any treasure VPs
• End of Turn Activities
  • Collect VPs generated by monuments
  • All players refresh their hands back up to six tiles
  • Check to see if the game has finished
    • Are there only one or two treasures left on the board?
    • Was a player unable to refresh their hand to six tiles any time during the turn?

Q)

Are you allowed to count or check how many tiles are left in the bag?

A)

No. While it is possible to get an idea of how many tiles are left, you should not count to see how many remain.

Q)

Must you refresh your hand back up to six tiles?

A)

Yes. At the end of any turn, each player (starting with the active player and moving clockwise) must draw tiles to bring their hand back up to six tiles.

Q)

Does the game end if after the tile draw there are no tiles left in the bag?

A)

No. The game does not finish because the bag is empty but when a player is unable to refresh his hand back up to six tiles.

Q)

Does the game end immediately if a player is unable to refresh his hand back up to six tiles? For example, a player uses his first action to draw up to six tiles and there are not enough tiles available.

A)

No. The game will not finish during the middle of an action or turn. Once the player has finished his complete turn and any appropriate VPs have be distributed, the game will then end. See End of a Turn for further detail.

Q)

If a Monument is created during the same turn as the 8th Treasure is collected, does the game end immediately. Does the Monument get to generate any VPs this turn?

A)

The game will not finish during the middle of an action or turn. Once the player has finished his complete turn and any appropriate VPs have be distributed, the game will then end. See End of a Turn for further detail.

The following questions apply to the Mayfair edition of Tigris & Euphrates.

Q)

What's the difference between Tigris & Euphrates by Mayfair and Euphrat & Tigris by Hans im Glück?

A)

Apart from the language, there are no differences in game terms.

Q)

The board shows a small tributary (located on the right centre of the board directly below one of the spaces marked with a winged beast). Is this space a river space?

A)

This space is NOT a river space.
The graphic artist commissioned by Mayfair got carried away with the twiddly bits and added this detail in without realising the implications. The location is a plain space so a blue tile may not be placed in this position; treat it as a small tributary and not a full river space. Adding further confusion, the picture on the back of the box (shown on the left) does show a blue tile placed on this location; this is a mistake. In addition there are a couple of 'unlikely' tiles located in the picture. The green tile directly above would have been a red tile at the start of the game (it is possible that during the course of the game the red tile is removed due to an external conflict, so while this is not a real mistake, it is just unlikely).

Q)

On the inside of the player screens, under External Conflicts, it states "An external conflict occurs when 2+ kingdoms are united...". I thought that you couldn't join more than 2 kingdoms together?

A)

Correct, you may not place a tile to cause three or more kingdoms to join. The '+' is a printing mistake.

Q)

What are the Civilization tiles used for?

A)

They are used alongside the player screens to indicated who is playing which dynasty (i.e. a visual reminder). They can also be used to select the start player.