Gamehelppaxrenaissance

Pax Renaissance – Quick Rules Summary

In Pax Renaissance, players take on the roles of powerful bankers during the European Renaissance. You control the flow of capital, influence monarchs, and trigger religious or political upheavals to shape the world.

Goal of the Game

The game ends when one of the four Victory Conditions (Victoria) is met or the market deck is exhausted. Four paths to victory must be activated by playing Comet cards:

• Imperial Victory (Holy Roman Empire): Controlling the most Kingdoms.
• Religious Victory (Holy War): Your religion is dominant, and you have the most prestige in that religion.
• Globalization Victory (Discovery): Having the most Discovery prestige (ships).
• Renaissance Victory (Republic): Having the most Republics and the most Law prestige.

Game Flow

Players take turns in clockwise order. A turn consists of 2 actions (can be the same or different).

The 6 Possible Actions

1. Buy Card (Market): Place gold on cards to the left of the desired card in the Market (West or East) to take it into your hand.
2. Play Card (Tableau): Place a card from your hand into your Tableau (West or East side). Pay the Florin cost to the bank.
   • One-shot Consequences: Many cards trigger immediate effects when played (e.g., placing pieces, Inquisitors, or Pirates).
3. Sell Card: Remove a card from your tableau or hand. Gain gold based on the card's position in the market.
4. Trade Fair: Choose a trade route (West or East). Gold is distributed along the route. Bankers controlling the route or holding concessions there earn Florin.
5. Operations (West or East): Activate all symbols on the cards of one side of your tableau (either all West cards or all East cards).
6. Campaign: Activate a campaign via a card in your tableau or a card held by a King. This triggers military conflicts (Siege, Peasant Revolt, or Religious War) to conquer territories or overthrow regimes.

Operations & Symbols

When choosing the Operations action, you execute the symbols on your cards:

• Tax: Take gold from cities or from other players.
• Inquisitor: Move or remove religious pieces; repress cards.
• Pirate / Condottiere: Move or attack with ships or knights.
• Repression: Place tokens on cards to prevent them from being used.
• Commerce: Establish concessions on the map to earn during Trade Fairs.

Key Concepts for Decisions

• Prestige: There are four types (Religious, Discovery, Law, Imperial). Prestige is essential for meeting victory conditions.
• Kingdoms vs. Republics: Kingdoms are ruled by Kings; Republics are modernized states providing more stability and prestige.
• Religious State: Europe can be Catholic, Islamic, or Reformed. This dictates which units (Knights/Inquisitors) are active.
• Bishops & Knights: Bishops block regions religiously, while Knights secure them militarily.

End of Game (Empty Market)

If no victory condition is met before the market runs out, the player with the most total Prestige (sum of all categories) wins.