Foundations of Rome

Scope and setup: The core rulebook supports the 2–4 player base game; a fifth player requires the 5th Player module. Each player takes a color-matched tray, buildings, and Lot markers, then places one score cube on the Victory Point track and another on the Population track. Deal six random Deed cards to each player and mark the matching vacant lots. Divide the remaining Deeds into three era decks, reveal six for sale in Era 1, and give starting Silver in increasing order by seat position. The rest forms the bank. (Rulebook PDF pp. 5–6)

Eras and turns: The game has three eras, each made of multiple rounds. In each round, every player takes one turn in clockwise order. On a turn, choose exactly one action: Buy a Deed, Take Income, or Construct a Building. After that action, the turn ends. When the current era deck runs out, keep playing while Deeds remain for sale. Once the market is empty, each player gets one final turn limited to Take Income or Construct; then score the era. (Rulebook PDF pp. 8, 11)

Take Income: Take 5 Silver from the bank, plus the total Silver icons on your constructed Commercial Buildings. Use the icons on your player tray to add the values quickly. This action does not acquire land or place a building. It can restore the cash needed for later purchases, at the cost of using a turn that could have developed the city. (Rulebook PDF p. 8)

Buy a Deed: If you still have a Lot marker in your tray, choose one Deed in the sale area and pay the Silver printed above it to the bank. Add the card to your personal Deed pile and place your marker on its matching city lot. Slide the remaining sale cards to fill the gap and reveal the next Deed from the current era deck. When that deck is empty, stop refilling the market; the remaining sale cards can still be bought. Once they are gone, the era moves to its final-turn step. (Rulebook PDF pp. 9, 11)

Construct a Building: You may build only on lots you own. The adjacent group of lots must match the shape and footprint of the building selected from your tray. Construction costs no Silver. Retrieve the Lot markers covered by the building for future purchases. You may build over your own buildings only when the new building is larger than each individual building it replaces; you cannot cover an opponent's building or replace an equal-sized or larger building. The lots remain yours after an upgrade. (Rulebook PDF p. 10)

Population and residential scoring: Add the Citizen values printed on your Residential Buildings and keep the Population track current whenever a home is built or removed. At each era scoring, the player with the most Citizens and at least one Citizen earns points equal to their Population position plus the era bonus: +4 in Era 1, +7 in Era 2, and +10 in Era 3. A tie for first is friendly: each tied leader receives the bonus. Other players with homes score the Population value of the player immediately ahead of them on the track. A player with no Residential Building earns no points from Population. (Rulebook PDF pp. 11–12)

Commercial and civic scoring: At the end of each era, gain Silver equal to the Silver icons on your Commercial Buildings and add the fixed Victory Points shown for those buildings on your tray. In the final era, convert the Silver those buildings would provide into the same number of bonus Victory Points instead of taking the coins. Civic Buildings score from their own icons, which may count Citizens in nearby homes, Silver in nearby shops, or adjacent buildings of a specified type. Adjacency means sharing an edge, and a civic building counts qualifying buildings owned by any player. (Rulebook PDF pp. 12–13)

Era changes and final scoring: After players collect an era's points and Silver, reveal Deeds from the next era deck, pass the First Player token to the player left of the previous last player, and begin the next era. After Era 3 scoring, add the final-era Commercial bonus points and 1 Victory Point for each of your owned lots that remains empty on the city board. The player with the most Victory Points wins. The article follows the core rules and does not add expansion buildings, objectives, or modules. (Rulebook PDF p. 14)

Keep the records distinct: Personal Deed piles establish lot ownership; the city board shows buildings and vacant lots; the player tray helps count commercial income and fixed building points; the Population track records residential Citizens. For example, a civic building checks the icons on buildings sharing an edge with it, regardless of who owns those lots. Before era scoring, update Population first, then resolve the residential, civic, and commercial scoring information without treating Silver, Population, and Victory Points as interchangeable resources. (Rulebook PDF pp. 10–14)