If you are reading these rules for the first time, ignore the text along the right hand side. These rules serve as a summary to help you quickly familiarize yourself with the game.
On the plateau of a distant world, an exciting competition is underway: Which inhabitant of this world can advance its culture forward the fastest, gaining fame and a place in the history books? Players take on the roles of high priests in this world, and will build up their lands little by little, expand their city, build temples, and pray to Ahau, the Sun God, that he may be merciful to them. Who among you can best develop your world’s culture in the short time that is available?
The player on turn takes an action tile, places it below the underneath the designated space with the matching color of his player board and performs the action shown on it.
If a player takes a gray action tile, he may place it below any of the 3 colored spaces on the board.
In each of the 4 action turns, each player, in player order, takes 1 of the available action tiles and performs the associated action on it.
Beginning with the starting player, each player begins his action turn by taking one of the face up action tiles on display. However, he may only choose from the tiles that are the lowest in each of the 3 columns.
Note: If any column has no action tiles remaining in it, this action is no longer available in the current phase.
The player places his selected action tile below his player board underneath the designated space with the matching color. The symbol itself on the action tile does not matter for tile placement.
In other words, the red action tiles are placed below the red space on the player board, the blue tiles are placed below the blue space, and the yellow tiles are placed below the yellow space.
Note: There is no designated space on the player board for the gray action tiles. Therefore, if a player takes one of the gray action tiles, he may place it below any of the 3 colored spaces on the board.
The action tiles are stored below a player’s board with the objective of earning bonus actions.
After placing the action tile below his board, the player performs the action shown on it.
What do the different action tiles mean and how are they played? q6p
The player creates one land 5l6r73
The player takes either any one of the face up land tiles (along with the resource on it) or any of the face up special tiles.
This tile must be placed
- .. on one of the light gray hex fields on the player board
- .. on an empty hex field adjacent to an already placed land or special tile
- .. the sun is not enclosed
“Create one land” means that the player may take either any one of the face up land tiles (along with the resource cube on top of it), or any of the face up special tiles.
He may choose between any of the available face-up land tiles or special tiles. He then places the selected land tile (and the corresponding resource cube) or special tile on his player board in the land area.
What are the rules for placing a land or special tile?
The player constructs one temple or one city building 2c6l1c
The player takes 1 house
from the general supply and constructs either a Temple, which is placed on his player board or City Building, which is placed on his city board.
For each house the player must pay resources from his player board.
"Construct one temple or one city building” means that the player takes 1 house
from the general supply.
This can be constructed as either Temple, which is placed on his player board or City Building, which is placed on his city board.
For each construction, no matter which type, the player must pay a certain amount of resource cubes (as described below). These cubes must be taken from land or special tiles (on the player board) that contain them. The player returns any such cubes used for construction back to the general supply.
Constructing a temple on the player board: 183j1s
To construct a temple the player has to pay arbitrary resources: 1 resource for the 1st temple, 2 resources for the second, 3 resources for the third and so on.
Only one temple may be constructed on a land or special tile.
There can never be both a temple and a resource cube on the same land or special tile.
Temples do not have to be constructed adjacent to each other.
Benefits of a temple: 402r4k
Whenever a player constructs a temple on his player board, he receives mana.
1 Mana for the 1st temple, 2 Mana for the 2nd temple, 3 Mana for the 3rd temple and so on.
When the sun’s “illumination” effect occurs, the temples also earn victory points.
By taking this action, the player can construct exactly one temple on one of his land or special tiles.
To pay the construction cost for a temple, any resource cubes may be used. The number of resource cubes needed depends on the number of temples already present on the player board:
The first temple constructed costs 1 arbitrary resource, the second two, the third three and so on.
If a player does not have enough resources, he cannot construct a temple.
After the player has paid the required resources, he takes a house
from the general supply and places it as a temple on one of his land or special tiles on his player board.
Note: There can never be both a temple and a resource cube on the same land or special tile. If there is already a resource cube residing on a tile on which a temple is to be built, the player must put the resource cube back into the general supply first. Therefore, it is wise to spend this resource cube before deciding to construct a temple on that tile, or to construct the temple on another tile (if possible).
Only one temple may be constructed on a land or special tile. A temple may be constructed on any tile, and do not have to be constructed adjacent to each other.
What does a player gain when constructing a temple? l2wa
Whenever a player constructs a temple on his player board, he receives mana. The player takes the mana from the general supply and places it in the mana storage area on his player board.The amount of mana stones the player receives depends on the number of temples already present on the player board:
The first temple earns 1 mana, the second 2 mana, the third 3 mana and so on.
When the sun’s “illumination” effect occurs, the temples also earn victory points.
Constructing a city building on the city board: q4e6s
After paying the required resources, the player takes a house
from the general supply and places it on his city board, covering the pictured resources just paid, indicating that this building has been constructed.
White resources may be paid with a resource of any color.
Resources not available may be substituted with 2 arbitrary resource.
From now on, the player gains all the benefits and/or functions of the city building.
Victory points earned by the city buildings are awarded during the final scoring.
By taking this action, the player can construct exactly one city building on his city board.
Each constructed city building provides various benefits (in the form of incresaed movement of the sun marker or earned mana stones), special functions, and victory points at the end of the game. Not every city building provides all types of benefits and/or functions, however.
To construct a city building, the player must pay the resources shown in the lower corner of the building. White resources represent neutral resources, and can be paid for with a cube of any color.
Resources not available may be substituted with 2 arbitrary resources.
If a player does not have the specified resources available, he cannot construct a city building.
After the required resources are paid, the player takes a house
from the general supply and places it on his city board, covering the pictured resources just paid, indicating that this building has been constructed. From now on, the player gains all the benefits and/or functions of the city building.
The player immediately moves the sun marker on his sun track forward by the number of spaces shown on the city building space (if applicable).
He also takes the number of mana stones shown on the space(if applicable) once from the general supply and places them on the mana storage area of of his player board.
Victory points earned by the city buildings are awarded to the player at the end of the game, during the final scoring.
Some city buildings have a one-time function (indicated by
), while other city buildings may have a permanent function or no function at all.
All of the benefits and functions of the city buildings are described in the appendix.
The player moves the sun 344e49
"Moving the sun" means that the player moves his sun disc across his player board in order to earn various “illumination” rewards for his land tiles and his temples.
What are the rules for moving the sun? 3o493n
The sun is moved clockwise around the player board.
The sun may move on the edge on the orange hex fields.
The sun is moved clockwise around the player board.
The sun must always move over empty hex fields (fields without tiles) that are adjacent to fields that contain either land or special tiles. That is, the sun must always touch a land or special tile on at least one side as it moves.
The sun may move along the edges of the land area (through the orange hex fields) if any land or special tiles lie at the outer edge of the light gray hex fields, i.e. the sun can use that area for its orbit.
Reminder: No land or special tiles may be placed in the orange hex fields around the edge of the land area.
The sun track 1h6e6e
The sun marker’s position on the sun track of the player board indicates the maximum number of spaces that the sun can be moved.
The sun must always be moved at least one space.
The sun marker’s position on the sun track of the player board indicates the maximum number of spaces that the sun can be moved.
At the beginning of the game, each player’s sun has a maximum movement of 2 spaces, but this amount may be increased through the benefits of certain city buildings.
Note: The sun must always be moved at least one space when taking the “moving the sun” action.
What does a player gain when moving the sun? 3b5x1q
The sun earns rewards for all adjacent land tiles and temples.
Each empty land tile adjacent to the sun gets one resource cube of the corresponding color (exception: Warehous).
For each temple adjacent to the sun, the player receives victory points for the tile with the temple itself and 1 victory point for each land or special tile that surrounds the temple (1-6 victory points).
When the sun ends its movement, it “illuminates” all land and special tiles that are adjacent to its resting space. The “illuminated” land tiles and temples then earn rewards for the player.
Note: The sun may not end its movement on the same field twice in a row gaining the same reward.
For each empty land tile that is "illuminated" by the sun, the player receives one resource cube of the corresponding color. The cube is taken from the general supply and placed on the tile.
The player does not receive a resource cube if the “illuminated” land tile already contains one (with the exception of the Warehouse), or if a temple has been constructed on the land tile.
For each temple that is “illuminated” by the sun, the player receives victory points. 1 victory point is earned for the land or special tile on which the temple is constructed, and in addition, 1 victory point is earned for each land or special tile that surrounds the temple.
It does not matter if the “illuminated” temple is built on a land or a special tile, or whether the surrounding land or special tiles are empty or contain any raw materials cubes; victory points are earned in any case.
Therefore, an "illuminated" temple may earn between 1–6 victory points. The player takes the appropriate amount of victory point tokens from the general supply and stores them in his bag.
No rewards (neither resource cubes nor victory points) are earned when the sun “illuminates” a special tile. Special tiles only earn victory points during the final scoring at the end of the game.
Full orbit of the sun 6x5l2e
If the sun has circled all of the land and special tiles on the player board once, and is moved on or through the gold-outlined fields
, the player takes 5 victory points.
The victory points for a full orbit of the sun may only be earned once per turn.
The player receives 5 victory points once the sun has moved one complete orbit around the land and special tiles on the land area. This most likely will not happen in a single turn.
In other words, if the sun has circled all of the land and special tiles on the player board once, and is moved on or through the gold-outlined fields
, this is considered a “full orbit”, and the player takes 5 victory point tokens and puts them in his bag.
The victory points for a full orbit of the sun may only be earned once per turn. Even if the player is able to move the sun on or through the gold-outlined fields
twice in a turn (a rare occurrence), he still earns only 5 victory points.
The player only earns another 5 victory points the next time his sun makes a full orbit (on a future turn).
Shortcuts 2q4e5u
Through clever placement of land and special tiles, the player can create “shortcuts” for the sun to use when performing the “moving the sun” action. By using these shortcuts, the player can move the sun more quickly to the desired hex fields.
Dead ends j2d1l
A hex field is considered a dead end, if the field has only one open side. Any 1-field-wide path of empty hex fields that leads to dead end is part of the dead end.
The sun must never be moved into a dead end.
If the player has constructed a dead end around the sun, he must move the sun out of the dead end.
It is possible to create a “dead end” in the land area. A hex field is considered a dead end if 5 of the 6 sides of that field are adjacent to land or special tiles. Thus, the field has only one open side.
Any 1-field-wide path of empty hex fields that leads to a field with only one open side, is also considered a dead end. Therefore a “dead end” can span across several fields.
The sun must never be moved into a dead end! That is, if the player has created a dead end, the sun must by it! It make take more than one turn to avoid a dead end.
Special case: A situation can occur where the player, over the course of the game, constructs land and special tiles in a way that creates a dead end around the sun. In this case, the next time the player performs a “move the sun” action, he must move the sun out of the dead end. He can split this “move the sun” action over multiple turns, if necessary. In this situation, the sun’s movement may not lead back into the dead end on a later turn.
Additional Rules for Phase 1: action turns 5n5u18
Do a player has to perform his action? 2hs3m
The player may decide not to take an action on his turn (by ing) if he doesn’t wish to, or if no meaningful action is possible. He may still take an action tile, however, and place it below his player board.
Bonus Actions 5i512l
When taking a “bonus action” the player chooses any one of the three main actions (create one land, construct one temple or one city building, or move the sun) and perform it immediately. The player does not take an action tile when performing a bonus action.
There are two ways to get a bonus action:
- By placing four action tiles of one color below his player board.
- By constructing the “Palace” city building.
Taking a “bonus action” means that the player may choose any one of the three main actions (create one land, construct one temple or one city building, or move the sun), and perform it immediately. He may choose an action even when no face up action tiles of that type are available below the draw pile of action tiles. The player does not take an action tile when performing a bonus action.
The player must immediately perform the bonus action. He cannot save it for a later time. He may on performing the bonus action, however, if he wishes to for any reason.
A player can earn bonus actions in two ways:
By placing four action tiles of one color below his player board. 346h1g
Once a player has placed the 4th action tile of one color (gray tiles are “wild”) below his player board, he receives a bonus action. This bonus action is performed immediately after the player has performed his regular action for the turn. After performing the bonus action, the player places the four action tiles used to gain the bonus action in a discard pile.
By constructing the “Palace” city building 5h3q5w
Once a player has constructed the “Palace” city building, he first increases his sun movement by 1 space and takes 1 mana stone from the general supply, as shown on the city building. Then, the function of the “Palace” allows the player to perform a bonus action immediately, one time only (as indicated by
).
End of Phase 1: The 4 action turns 6r2lg
In a 4-player game each player takes a total of 4 action tiles.
The remaining 2 action tiles are added to the discard pile and Phase 2 begins.
Phase 1 of the game ends once each player has taken a total of 4 action turns. In a 4-player game, this means that 16 action tiles will have been taken from the display of tiles below the draw piles.
The 2 remaining action tiles are then added to the discard pile. Any action tiles still below a player’s board will remain there. At this point, Phase 2 of the round begins.
See rules changes in a 2- or 3-player game
What do the icons on the character tiles mean? 544423
A white resource cube in the activation cost section of a character tile represents a neutral raw material, and can be paid for with a cube of any color. If a player does not own a resource cube in a specified color, he may pay for that cube by substituting it with two cubes of any other color(s).
The phase begins with the player having the most mana stones (in a tie, the player who sits closer to the starting player, in clockwise order, begins). On their turn, each player
may:
- Purchase and place 1 character tile
- Activate any number of owned characters.
A player may only purchase 1 character tile, but may activate multiple tiles per turn. The order in which these actions are performed are chosen by the player.
Play proceeds in clockwise order.
How does a player purchase a character tile? 4sy
The player returns the purchase cost in mana to the general supply and places the character tile “Night” side facing up near his player board.
The purchase cost for each character tile is shown at the top of the tile. This varies from 2–4 mana stones. The player returns the appropriate number of mana stones to the general supply.
The player takes the character tile and places it (“Night” side facing up!) near his player board.
The player may purchase any character tiles still in the display.
Note: The player only receives the characters’ benefits once they have been activated!
How is a character tile activated? 7270n
The player pays the activation cost of a character tile laying in front of him on the "Night" side and turns that tile to the "Day" side.
He immediately moves the sun marker on the sun track and takes the mana.
He will earn victory points at the end of the game for special items, see appendix.
This phase ends after all players have decided not to continue with Phase 2.
To activate a character, the player must have already purchased it and placed it in his play area.
The activation cost of a character tile is shown along the bottom of the “Night” side of the tile. Each of the character tiles has an activation cost of 3 resource cubes. The player must pay the appropriate resource cubes to the general supply.
Finally, the player turns the tile from the “Night” side to the “Day” side. This indicates that the character tile is now active.
The player immediately moves the sun marker on his sun track forward by the number of spaces shown on the character tile. He also takes the mana shown on the tile once from the general supply, and places them on the mana storage area of of his player board. The activated characters also earn victory points for the player at the end of the game for certain items, see appendix.
Players take turns puchasing and/or activating character tiles, until all players either cannot or do not wish to continue. In this way, it is possible for a player to purchase and/or activate more than 1 character tile in Phase 2.
After all players have decided not to continue with Phase 2, Phase 3 of the round begins.