Learn the game
Start with the idea. The rules come after, and they are shorter than you expect.
The whole game in one idea.
Every turn asks you one honest question: what will you do with what you have right now?
You can put it away for the future, give it to someone who needs it, spend it on something that protects you later, or hold onto it and wait.
All four are legitimate. The year will test each of them.
Journey, then Path, then Duty, then pass.
JOURNEY - roll one die. If your Virtue or something you own permits it you may reroll once, but never more than once and never a reroll of a reroll. Move that many spaces clockwise.
PATH - the space you land on is a Proving, an Ordeal or a Decree. Draw that card and read all of it before you act.
DUTY - choose exactly one of Save, Give, Invest or Wait.
END TURN - play passes to the noble on your left.
Personal tests, shared hardships and royal decrees.
PROVING - a personal test. Only you are affected unless the card says otherwise. You will normally choose between two courses of action, and you must be able to pay for the one you pick in full.
ORDEAL - a hardship for the whole kingdom. Your Virtue applies first, then you must pay whatever remains in full. The Active Noble resolves first, then play continues clockwise.
DECREE - royal guidance or favour, applied to every noble in the same order. Some Decrees last a single rotation.
Three things you hold, and only two of them score.
CROWNS are your working money and everybody can see them. They pay for hardship, for Proving choices and for Market goods - and they are worth nothing at the end of the year.
VAULT TOKENS are savings. Each one is 500 Crowns you set aside, each is a point, and each may only be turned back into Crowns when an effect REQUIRES a payment - one token per required payment.
HOUSE GEMS are gifts you have made to charity. They are hidden in your covered chest all year, and each one is a point.
Setbacks are real, but nobody is destroyed.
Expensive choices leave you with fewer Crowns, and fewer Crowns means fewer chances to Save, Give or Invest later. That is the real cost of a careless year.
If an Ordeal demands more than you can pay after your Virtue applies, the Ordeal is failed and you surrender your next turn - no Journey, no Path, no Duty.
There is no debt, no borrowing, no negative Crowns, no bankruptcy, no losing your House and no player elimination in this game. You are always still in it.
Generosity and preparation, weighed together.
The year ends after the final turn of the final season, once every noble has taken an equal number of turns.
At the Evergreen Gala every chest is opened. Your score is House Gems Given + Vault Tokens Held. Nothing else counts - not Crowns, not Market goods, not Virtues.
If two nobles tie, the one who gave more House Gems wins. If they are still tied, the victory is shared.
Everything below follows the current Play Instructions and the Adult Instructions & Clarifications.
Every rule on this page, laid out for printing or reading away from the table.
Prince of Evergreen - Endurance
Never pay for the amount of Ordeals. However, other effects still apply.
Princess of Evergreen - Foresight
View the top two Proving OR Ordeal cards, choose one to resolve, and discard the other.
Duke of Oakgrove - Generosity
Pay 100 Crowns less for each House Gemstone deposited to charity.
Duchess of Birchgrove - Favor
During any Decree event, gain +200 Crowns in addition to other Crowns.
Count of Cedargrove - Wisdom
Reduce the loss from any Ordeal by 200 Crowns. May be used together with the Estate Butler.
Countess of Palmgrove - Faithfulness
After an Ordeal, gain 100 Crowns and a 100-Crown discount toward your next Market item.
Viscount of Elmgrove - Integrity
May split an Ordeal with another noble: absorb half of their loss and deposit 1 House Gemstone.
Viscountess of Willowgrove - Opportunity
May reroll the die. If used, may move up to the number of spaces on the second roll. Only one reroll per turn.
Baron of Maplegrove - Prosperity
Each round of income grants +200 Crowns in addition to other effects.
Baroness of Applegrove - Ingenuity
Pay 100 Crowns less for every Market purchase, and 100 Crowns less for any Proving-card costs.