Saint Petersburg is played over several rounds, each of which consists of four phases which correspond to the four-color decks. During each phase new cards of that color (green, blue, orange, all three) become available for purchase and will score only at the end of phases of that color. Some cards generate rubles (green and orange cards), some generate victory points (blue and some orange cards). The fourth phase reveals upgrade cards which may be used to replace cards for better payouts later. The game end is triggered when one of the draw piles is exhausted, which usually takes between five and six rounds. Play continues until the end of that round (after the upgrade phase).

Then, end of game bonus points are awarded for leftover rubles and the number of different orange cards played. The most points win. It is a challenging game of resource management that should take about 90 minutes to play.

Games will be 4-player as much as possible, with some 3-player tables as needed. After the Heats, all Heat winners will advance to the Quarterfinal. The highest ranked players will advance directly to the Semifinal, with the remaining players playing in the Quarterfinal to advance. The Semifinal will feature 16 players leading to a 4-player Final. The ranking of players will utilize the Heats: Most Wins – Points Standard Tie-breakers, with additional GM specific tie-breakers which are listed below.

In the Quarterfinal, Semifinal, and Final, players will bid for seat position after seeing the initial turn order for workers, buildings, upgrades, and nobles. Bids will be in full victory point increments and will be deducted from end game score.

Game tiebreakers for a win:

1. Money left over (after paying 10 rubles/extra point)
2. Least unique orange cards
3. Most blue cards.
4. Whomever started the game with purchasing workers, then buildings, then upgrades

New for 2024: We will be playing the original version of the game with the five rebalanced cards from the New Society expansion in all games. The 2014 second edition has some different cards, for consistency, card costs and benefits from the original release with the rebalanced cards will be used. A chart and proxy cards will be provided for all tables, both original version and 2014 second edition. So please bring whatever copy you have, even if you do not own the New Society expansion! We will make it work.

A discussion and summary of the five rebalanced cards can be found here: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/350100/essential-changes-five-cards-improve-game-balance.

What the five changes are:

• Academy: costs 25 instead of 23, and gives 9 VP instead of 7VP
• Czar/Carpenter: costs 3 instead of 8, and gives 2 rubles income instead of 3
• Observatory: costs 8 instead of 6
• Mistress of Ceremonies: gives 3 rubles and 4 VPs instead of 6 rubles and 3 VPs
• Marinskij-Theater: upgrade cost of 20 instead of 10, and gives VPs instead of rubles for aristocrats

HEATS: MOST WINS - POINTS (HMW-P):

1. Most Wins (e.g., total in all heats entered)
2. Total Points – Players earn the following pints in each heat they entered:
   • 1st Place - 1,000 points
   • 2nd Place - 100 points
   • 3rd Place - 10 points
   • 4th Place - 1 points
   • All other places - 0 points
   • e.g. player has a 1st, 2nd, and 4th in three heats: total points would be 1,101
3. GM Specific Tie-breaker
   1. Closest Second from First as a percentage
   2. Closest Third from First as a percentage
   3. Closest Fourth from First as a percentage
   4. largest win over Second as a percentage
4. High dice roll.

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