Many paths to victory
Princes of Florence is one of the top-rated Euros. It
ranks 6th out of 2767 games on boardgamegeek.com and 3rd out
of 5065 on Aaron Fuegi's list (scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/Top100/list.txt). We
had 82 players in 2005, and the Builder strategy came to the
fore like never before at WBC.
InPrinces of Florence, you play a Renaissance aristocrat,
seeking not cash (so bourgeois) but prestige. In each of the
seven rounds you may purchase one item at auction and take two
actions, and you must make the most of these 21 opportunities
to win. At the start of the game, many strategic options
are available, but the decisions you make as you go along limit
your choices and force you to choose a course of action. Resources
are scarce, and if your opponents purchase items you need, you
must abandon Plan A in favor of Plan B, C or D. The hallmarks
of a successful player are solid strategy and tactical flexibility.
There are many ways for an aristocrat to gain prestige. The most
common is to attract scholars and artists of various professions
to work in your principality. You may use their works to
boost your prestige or sell them to raise funds for additional
purchases. You may also gain prestige through the construction
of beautiful buildings or landscapes, or through the purchase
of Prestige Cards, but the most direct route to victory is by
putting on works. This presents challenges, because at most
26 works can be put on during the game (an average of five per
player,) and the Personality Cards and Jesters needed to put
these works on are hotly contested during the auctions.
Tournament Format
This year's event features three preliminary heats. You
may play in as many as you wish. We will play 5-player games
where possible, though we will probably have to play some 4-player
games in the heats. In making the heat pairings we will
try not to have you play more than one 4-player game. The
semifinals and Final will feature 5-player games as long as at
least 25 players appear. If 20-24 players show up for the
semi-finals, we will play five 4-player games. If 16-19
appear, the Final will also be a 4-player game. If fewer
than 16 appear we'll skip the semis and go straight to the Final
round.
Tiebreakers for advancement will be as specified by the standard
WBC guidelines for MESE events:
1. Win in first heat entered
2. Most wins
3. Win in second heat entered
4. Win in third heat entered
5. Brought a copy of the game, if needed for the upcoming
round
6. Total points in all games entered, where for each game
your points equal the ratio of your score to the score of your
highest-scoring opponent plus 100 points for a win, 20 points
for 2nd place, or 5 points for 3rd place in a 5-player game
7. Average finish in all heats entered
8. Low numbered draw from Profession deck
The order of finish in a game is determined first by prestige
points and then by florins. If there is a tie on prestige
points and florins, then the tied player with the lowest numbered
Profession card on display at the end of the game will be awarded
the higher position.
A list of qualifiers plus alternates will be posted at the
kiosk after the conclusion of the last heat. Depending on
the results of the heat, you could advance without a win-alternatively,
you could fail to advance even though you have a win. If
attendance is similar to that of recent years, however, all winners
are likely to advance.
Rule Changes
We will make the following rule changes. All other rules
will be as printed in the Rio Grande English edition.
1. In all games, money will be public. Florin pieces
must be kept in full view. Players are entitled to know
how much money other players have at any time.
2. Starting players will be chosen randomly for the heats,
but we will bid for seating position in the semifinals and Final. Many
players believe some positions have a significant advantage,
so we will offset the inequity by letting players bid florins
to obtain preferred positions. The bid cost offsets the
benefit of the position. The GM will supply a chart for
each game listing the five positions, with boxes for 0, 100,
200, 300, florins beside each position. The initial bidder
will be chosen randomly. Going around the table in order,
each player whose marker is not on the chart must place it in
any empty box, as long as the bid is higher than any previous
bid for that position. If your bid for a position is topped,
you take the marker back and use it to bid again later. If
your marker is already on the chart when it is your turn to bid,
you must pass. Bidding ends when all markers are on the
chart, and players rearrange their seats in accordance with the
final bids. You must pay the amount of your final bid to
the bank out of your starting cash before the game begins. You
may bid 0 florins, but you may have to accept a less popular
position as a result.
Rule Clarifications
1. During the Auction phase, all initial bids must be
exactly 200 florins, and all raises must be exactly 100 florins. No
jump bids are allowed.
2. You may bid more florins during the Auction phase than
you have if you have enough points on the Prestige Point track
to make up the difference. You spend Prestige Points at
the rate of one per 100 florins only if you win the bid.
3. You may use a Recruiting card to recruit either immediately
after purchase in the Auction phase or during your turn in the
Action phase. You may not recruit at any other time.
4. Profession cards are numbered
in the top corners for reference. These numbers do not contribute
to the Work Value. They have no effect on the game except
as a tiebreaker (see above.)
5. You may not build the same building type twice (e.g.,
you may not build two Towers in your principality.)
6. As a matter of "game etiquette" you may continue
the game while another player selects a Prestige, Profession,
or Bonus card, except in the 7th round where knowledge of your
actions could significantly assist the player's choice. You
may also wait until the card is selected before you continue.
7. It is easy to forget to pay for an item or to score Prestige
Points for purchases, so players at each table should carefully
monitor each other to assure that all payments are made and all
Prestige Points are credited. If possible, a non-playing
banker/scorekeeper will be used for the Final.
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