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Santorini

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Sourced from: https://jmo.name/games

Player Aid Author: Jarrod Moore

Description

Move a Worker and then build on a Cycladic island, racing to be the first to step onto the third level of a tower.


  • Assemble the board:
    • Place the Cliff Pedestal on the Ocean Board, smaller side down
    • Place the Island Board on top of the Cliff Pedestal
  • Keep the blocks and domes within reach of all players
  • The youngest player is the Start Player
  • Starting with the Start Player, each player places 2 Workers of their chosen color on any unoccupied spaces on the board

Players will take turns starting with the Start Player. On your turn, you will select one of your Workers, then do both of the following with that Worker in order:

  1. Move to a neighboring space
  2. Build on a space neighboring the Worker after it has moved

You must perform both actions. If either is impossible, you lose the game.

Move your selected Worker into one of the up to eight neighboring spaces. The destination must be unoccupied — it cannot contain another Worker or a dome.

With respect to level, the Worker may:

  • Move up at most one level
  • Move down any number of levels
  • Move along the same level

After moving, place a block or dome on any unoccupied space neighboring the Worker that just moved. You can build onto a tower of any height, but the piece you place must match the level being built:

  • Ground → Level 1: smallest block
  • Level 1 → Level 2: medium block
  • Level 2 → Level 3: tallest block
  • Level 3 → Dome: a dome, which completes the tower

A Complete Tower consists of three blocks topped by a dome. You cannot build on a space containing a Worker or a dome.

You will win the game in either of the following ways:

  • One of your Workers moves up onto the third level during your turn — this wins the game instantly
  • Your opponent cannot complete a legal move and build on their turn, and therefore loses

To win by ascent, your Worker must move up onto the third level during your own turn. A Worker that is forced onto the third level by a God Power does not trigger a win, and moving between two third-level spaces does not count either.

God Powers are cards that grant a player a persistent ability for the whole game. Many of them change the way a Worker moves or builds, and some add new win conditions.

After a few games with only the base rules, try the God Powers variant. Start with the Simple Gods for your first few games, then move on to the Advanced Gods once everyone is comfortable.

Assemble the board as normal, then perform the following instead of placing Workers:

  1. The Challenger (the most "god-like" player) chooses God Powers equal to the number of players
    • For a 3-player game, all chosen God Powers must feature the 3-player icon
    • For a 4-player game, all chosen God Powers must feature the 4-player icon
    • All God Powers are playable in 2-player games
  2. The Challenger reads each selected God Power aloud
  3. In clockwise order starting after the Challenger, each player chooses a God Power. The Challenger takes the last remaining one
  4. The Challenger chooses a Start Player. The Start Player places 2 Workers of their chosen color on any unoccupied spaces, then each other player places their Workers in clockwise order

If a chosen God Power has Setup text in its description, execute those instructions during this setup. If the order matters, resolve them in turn order.

Several general rules apply when using God Powers:

  • Normal rules still apply except where the God Power explicitly overrides them
  • You must obey all God Power text that says "cannot" or "must", otherwise you lose the game
  • Domes are not blocks — a God Power that affects blocks does not affect domes
  • "Forced" is not "moved" — a Worker that is forced into another space has not moved, so it cannot trigger a win condition that requires moving up
  • God Powers trigger at the specific time stated in their description (for example "Your Move" only applies during your move phase)
  • Any mention of an "opponent" refers to an opponent of the player possessing the God Power
  • A God Power may grant an Additional Win Condition. You can win either by moving up onto the third level or by fulfilling the God Power's win condition

Recommended for your first few games with God Powers. Each Simple God grants the named ability:

  • 1. ApolloGod of MusicYour Move: your Worker may move into an opponent Worker's space by forcing their Worker to the space yours just vacated
  • 2. ArtemisGoddess of the HuntYour Move: your Worker may move one additional time, but not back to its starting space
  • 3. AthenaGoddess of WisdomOpponent's Turn: if one of your Workers moved up on your last turn, opponent Workers cannot move up this turn
  • 4. AtlasTitan Shouldering the HeavensYour Build: your Worker may build a dome at any level
  • 5. DemeterGoddess of the HarvestYour Build: your Worker may build one additional time, but not on the same space
  • 6. HephaestusGod of BlacksmithsYour Build: your Worker may build one additional block (not dome) on top of the first block it built this turn
  • 7. HermesGod of TravelYour Turn: if your Workers do not move up or down, they may each move any number of times (even zero), then one of them builds
  • 8. MinotaurBull-headed MonsterYour Move: your Worker may move into an opponent Worker's space, if that Worker can be forced one space straight backwards to an unoccupied space at any level
  • 9. PanGod of the WildWin Condition: you also win if your Worker moves down two or more levels
  • 10. PrometheusTitan Benefactor of MankindYour Turn: if your Worker does not move up, it may build both before and after moving

For experienced players. Each Advanced God grants the named ability:

  • 11. AphroditeGoddess of LoveAny Move: if an opponent Worker starts its turn neighboring one of your Workers, that Worker's final move must end in a space neighboring one of your Workers
  • 12. AresGod of WarEnd of Your Turn: you may remove an unoccupied block (not dome) neighboring your unmoved Worker, along with any Tokens on it
  • 13. BiaGoddess of ViolenceSetup: place your Workers first. Your Move: if your Worker moves into a space and the next space in the same direction holds an opponent Worker, that opponent Worker is removed from the game
  • 14. ChaosPrimordial NothingnessSetup: shuffle all unused Simple God Powers into a face-down deck, then flip the top card face-up beside the deck. Any Time: you have the power of the face-up God. You must discard your current God Power and draw a new one after any turn in which at least one dome is built. Reshuffle the discards when the deck runs out
  • 15. CharonFerryman to the UnderworldYour Move: before your Worker moves, you may force a neighboring opponent Worker to the space directly on the other side of your Worker, if that space is unoccupied
  • 16. ChronusGod of TimeWin Condition: you also win when there are at least five Complete Towers on the board
  • 17. CirceDivine EnchantressStart of Your Turn: if an opponent's Workers do not neighbor each other, you alone have use of their power until your next turn
  • 18. DionysusGod of WineYour Build: each time a Worker you control creates a Complete Tower, you may take an additional turn using an opponent Worker instead of your own. No player can win during these bonus turns
  • 19. ErosGod of DesireSetup: place your Workers anywhere along opposite edges of the board. Win Condition: you also win if one of your Workers moves to a space neighboring your other Worker and both are on the first level (or on the same level in a 3-player game)
  • 20. HeraGoddess of MarriageOpponent's Turn: an opponent cannot win by moving into a perimeter space
  • 21. HestiaGoddess of Hearth and HomeYour Build: your Worker may build one additional time, but this additional build cannot be on a perimeter space
  • 22. HypnusGod of SleepStart of Opponent's Turn: if one of your opponent's Workers is higher than all of their others, that Worker cannot move
  • 23. LimusGoddess of FamineOpponent's Turn: opponent Workers cannot build on spaces neighboring your Workers, unless building a dome to create a Complete Tower
  • 24. MedusaPetrifying GorgonEnd of Your Turn: if possible, each of your Workers builds in a lower neighboring space that is occupied by an opponent Worker, removing that Worker from the game
  • 25. MorpheusGod of DreamsStart of Your Turn: place a block or dome on your God Power card. Your Build: your Worker cannot build as normal. Instead, your Worker may build any number of times (even zero) using blocks and domes collected on your God Power card. At any time, any player may exchange a block or dome on the card for a dome or a block of a different shape
  • 26. PersephoneGoddess of Spring GrowthOpponent's Turn: if possible, at least one of the opponent's Workers must move up this turn
  • 27. PoseidonGod of the SeaEnd of Your Turn: if your unmoved Worker is on the ground level, it may build up to three times
  • 28. SeleneGoddess of the MoonSetup: place a male and a female Worker of your color. Your Build: instead of the normal build, your female Worker may build a dome at any level regardless of which Worker moved
  • 29. TritonGod of the WavesYour Move: each time your Worker moves into a perimeter space, it may immediately move again
  • 30. ZeusGod of the SkyYour Build: your Worker may build a block under itself

Santorini plays best with 2 players but scales up with small adjustments.

  • 3 or 4 players must use God Powers
    • In a 3-player game, every chosen God Power must feature the 3-player icon
    • In a 4-player game, every chosen God Power must feature the 4-player icon
  • 3-player: if you lose, immediately remove your Workers, Tokens, and God Power from the game. The last player standing wins
  • 4-player (teams): play in teams of 2, sharing control of 2 Workers. Teammates sit across from each other, so team turns alternate. Each player has their own God Power and cannot use their teammate's
    • One teammate places the Workers during setup; the other takes the team's first turn
    • If any player wins, their team wins. If any player loses, their team loses

Thumbnail courtesy of BoardGameGeek and the respective publisher.