Orléans (2014)

How to Play Orléans

Setup the Game

• Give each player 1 bag and 5 coins.
• Their player color pieces (7 markers, 1 Player Board, 1 Merchant Token, 10 Trading Stations & 1 set of Followers: Farmer, Boatman, Craftsman and Tradesman)
• Set up the Game Board and Beneficial Deeds Board.
• Place the Technology Tiles (Wagon Wheel shaped) on the appropriate space on the board.
• Remove the “Pilgrimage” Tile (Lighter Blue) from the Hourglass Deck, shuffle the remaining and Stack. The Pilgrimage tile goes on top and will always be the first event of the game.
• Place 1 player of each color marker on each of the Character & Development Tracks.
• Sort the Character Tiles and place them on the appropriate spaces on the board.

Note: For a 3 player game remove 2 Farmers, Boatmen, Craftsmen, and Traders. Remove 3 Knights, Scholars and Monks. In a 2 Player game remove 4 Farmers, Boatmen, Craftsmen and Traders. Remove 6 Knights, Scholars, and Monks.

Place the 13 Citizen Tiles on the marked spaces of the game board and Beneficial Deeds Board.

Each player places their merchant token in Orléans.

Shuffle the Goods Tiles and place them face up on the roads and waterway spaces.

Note: For a 4 player game, all spaces will be filled. For 3 Players, placement in “4” areas are excluded. For 2 Players, placement in “3” & “4” areas are excluded. In a 3 Player game, before placing, remove 6 random goods. In a 2 Player game, remove 12 goods.

Place all remaining Good Tiles in their appropriate spot on the left side of the game board.

Sort the Place Tiles by Roman Numeral and place them in separate stacks on the table. No need to shuffle.

Finally, choose the Youngest Player (or random player) as the Start Player and that one receives the Start Player tile.

Goal of Orléans

Orléans is played over a number of rounds set by the number of Hour Glass tiles (18). During each round you will draw Followers out of your bag equal to your progress on the Knight track. Everyone simultaneously draws their Followers and places them in their marketplace.

Note: You cannot draw more tiles from you bag than you have room in your market. All players then move as many of their Followers from the market to places on the board. Filling the requirements for a place will activate that action. By filling the places, players will be able to “buy” more Followers, advance on various tracks or move about the country side collecting goods and setting up new Trading Stations.

To score points, players must collect goods and coins, see the end for values of each good. Players will also count the number of Trading Stations and Citizen Tiles they have collected. This total will be multiplied by the highest Development Status you have reached on the Development Track. Note the bottom of the game board, the stars indicate your Development Status.

Phases

The game is divided up into 18 different rounds, each having 7 phases.

Phase 1:

Flip over the next Hourglass tiles. This will be the event for this round that is carried out in Phase 6, except for the 1st event: Pilgrimage.

Phase 2:

Then, players check to see who is the highest and who is the lowest on the Farmer Track. The highest player receives one coin from the supply. If there is a tie, no player receives a coin. The lowest player pays one coin to the supply. If there is a tie, no player pays a coin. In a 2 player game, the lowest player NEVER pays a coin.

Phase 3:

Players simultaneously remove Followers from their bag equal to their Knight track and place them in their market.

Phase 4:

Players simultaneously move Followers from their market to Places on the board, by filling the requirements of a Place they will be able to activate that Place. If Followers are moved to a Place but the Place is not filled, the Followers will be left there for the following rounds.

Phase 5:

Beginning with the Start Player, each player carries out one action OR pass. A player is able to carry out an action by removing Followers under an activated Place (activated places must have the required Followers or Technology markers). The Followers are placed back in the player’s bag and the action is carried out. Leave Technology markers in place. More on each action below. If a player passes they cannot do any more actions that round. Once all players have passed move on to Phase 6.

Phase 6:

Resolve the Event shown on this round’s Hourglass Tile. Refer Rule book for explanation of Event tiles.

Phase 7:

Pass the Start Player Tile to the next player in clockwise order and the round is over. Go back to Phase 1.

How to Win Orléans

The game ends after Phase 7 of the 18th round. The player with the most Trading Stations receives the last Citizen Tile. If there is a tie, no player receives the Citizen Tile.

Add up Victory Points:

• 1 VP for each Coin and Grain
• 2 VP for each Cheese
• 3 VP for each Wine
• 4 VP for each Wool
• 5 VP for each Brocades

Add up each Trading Stations and Citizen Tiles and multiply by the highest Development rating (stars) on the Development Track.

The player with the most Victory Points wins, if there is a tie the player highest on the Development Track wins. If still a tie, there is a shared victory.

Orléans Review

Orléans hits that sweet spot of interesting decisions to fast and engaging gameplay. It’s a great “school night” game that’s relatively quick to learn (if not set up) and has a great luck vs. strategy balance. If playing 2-players, the Trade & Intrigue expansion is a necessity, as we felt the base game was unbalanced without it.

twomomsgame.com

I’ve enjoyed both of my games, and I say that as a person who tends not to like deckbuilders. The game plays fast, the decisions are interesting, and there is definitely a significant strategic aspect. It’s an advanced middleweight which gives you things to think about without being close to being overwhelming.

Even though there are some benefits to be the first to accomplish certain things, this is primarily multi-player solitaire. This doesn’t bother me as long as the planning is enjoyable, but if you’re looking for something with lots of player interaction, this is not your game.

Larry, opinionatedgamers.com

…I think Orléans is great design because it’s strategic and tactile, and it has those surprising ups and downs. Those who enjoy heavy games may find it a light, fun diversion, and it’ll make a lovely, complex game for those who prefer a lighter experience. For a one or two hour playtime it delivers the kind of experience you get with much longer games, and the simultaneous play means you can actually jest, jeer and jape at your fellow players while you did it.

shutupandsitdown.com

The content of this article is originally from Board Game Geek and dbldkr.com. For more information and a better understanding of the game, you can watch the videos below.