The Merchants of Amsterdam De Veilingmeesters van Amsterdam Die Kaufleute von Amsterdam by Reiner Knizia Translated by Stuart Dagger et al., April 2000 Producer: Jumbo Number of Players: 3 to 5 Components: Rules, 1 game board, an auction clock, 120 counters (24 per player colour), 84 cards, 3 disks, 1 time marker (big pawn), 5 credit counters and playing money (20 x 10 000, 20 x 20 000, 15 x 50 000, 30 x 100 000 and 12 x 500 000 florins). Introduction: Take yourself back to Amsterdam in the 17th Century when the city was becoming more powerful and more prosperous than ever before. Ships from Amsterdam travelled the oceans of the world and brought merchandise back to the home port. There they would earn big profits. The population grew by leaps and bounds within a very short time and the city had to be considerably expanded. The Arts blossomed and painters such as Rembrandt produced great masterpieces. Against this background, each player plays the role of a rich and powerful merchant family. Each family tries to achieve profits on the Commodity Exchange by cornering commodities and to expand its power in Amsterdam and in the colonies by building storehouses and trading posts. Particular advantages are enjoyed by Amsterdam's mayor and it is an office that changes hands frequently. Whoever holds it should make the most of the opportunities that present themselves. Object of the Game: At the end of the game the richest player wins. 1/12 Preparation: Place the game board in the middle of the table and put the time marker (big pawn) on the first space of the time track (1579). Each player is given 400 000 florins from the bank. One player is chosen to be the banker and takes charge of the money and the credit markers. The cards are shuffled and placed face down next to the game board. The player who has visited Amsterdam most often starts (or the players can draw lots for the privilege). The starting player is assigned position 1, his left-hand neighbour position 2 and so on around the table. Each player chooses a colour and takes the corresponding 24 tiles. If there are fewer than five players, the remaining tiles are put back in the box. Each player then places three of his tiles on the board in the positions marked by his number (a trading post, an Amsterdam storehouse and a Commodity Exchange position). The Game Board: In the middle of the game board, separated by the canals are the four districts of old Amsterdam: Nieuwe Zijde, Oude Zijde, Grachten and Lastage. Around Amsterdam is a world map showing four continents: the East Indies, the Far East, Africa and the Americas. In each continent are trading posts. At the bottom of the game board is the Commodity Exchange with four market tracks: sugar, precious stones, spices and silk. The other three sides of the game board form a time track running from 1579 to 1666. 2/12 The Merchants of Amsterdam Game Turns: The player whose turn it is holds the office of mayor of Amsterdam and places the three large disks and the auction clock in front of him. He draws cards from the deck one at a time. If it's an hourglass card, it is resolved immediately (see below). Otherwise, the player puts the card on one of the (empty) disks. As soon as all three disks have a card, they are resolved, in the left-to-right sequence given below. Each card is discarded once played. Once the player's turn is complete, play passes to his left. The Discard Disk The Mayor Disk The Auction Disk The card on this disk is The card on this disk is The card on this disk is discarded unused. played by the mayor. auctioned off using the auction clock. See the Auction section below. The Cards: The cards can be divided in four groups: Hourglass Cards When the mayor draws an hourglass card, the pawn is moved one space forward on the time track and the action indicated (if any) executed. See the Time Track section for a list of the icons and their meanings. Merchandise Cards The player receives three new pieces of merchandise. He is not allowed to choose three of the same type, but all other combinations are permitted. If the merchandise is of a type the player doesn't already have, he places one of his tiles on the first space of the appropriate track of the Commodity Exchange, otherwise he moves his existing tile forward. If the player's tile is already on the last space of the track, it cannot be moved further. Special Rule for 3 Players: There are six merchandise cards which are specially labelled. If only three people are playing, these cards are placed face up on the discard pile when drawn and a replacement card is drawn immediately. If there are four or five players, these cards are treated as any other merchandise card. 3/12 Trading Post Cards The player may found a trading post of the appropriate type by placing a tile on a corresponding vacant site. The card shows where the post may be founded —some cards show a single continent (left), others show a single type of merchandise (right). In the former case, the trading post must be on the continent indicated. In the latter case, the player may choose a vacant site on any continent but he must pick one of the indicated merchandise type. If all possible sites are occupied, the player is out of luck and can't found a new trading post. In both cases the player's tile on the Commodity Exchange merchandise track corresponding to the new post is moved one space forward. Amsterdam Cards The player may build a storehouse on a vacant site in Amsterdam. When one or more districts are highlighted, the storehouse must be built in one of those districts. If all the allowed sites are already occupied, the player is out of luck and can't build the new storehouse. In addition, one of the player's tiles on the Commodity Exchange is moved forward one space, chosen from the merchandise tracks indicated on the card. Auction: The mayor begins by setting the clock. He rotates the pointer in the direction of the arrow to the 'Start' position. Then he places the clock so that all the players can reach it easily. The mayor also takes part in the auction. 4/12 The Merchants of Amsterdam He decides how much time to give the players before the auction begins and then he pushes the button in the middle of the clock. The pointer will then run slowly backwards so that the price to be paid (in thousands of florins) gets ever lower. The first person to press the button acquires the card. The longer one waits, the cheaper the card becomes. If the pointer is stopped between two prices, the buyer pays the higher price. (This is the traditional Dutch auction system) As soon as the pointer passes 50 it stops. The auction is then over, the card may no longer be bought and it is discarded. If a player presses the button before the pointer reaches 200, the clock is reset. All players then take part in a new auction, but this time the price will be twice the amount indicated. Should the pointer reach 100 on this second run, the card goes to the player who stopped the clock on the first run, at a price of 200 000 florins. If the player who stops the clock cannot pay the price indicated, the auction is held again without him. The Time Track: When the mayor turns over an hourglass card, he moves the time marker forward one space. On some spaces nothing happens, but on most there is an instruction to be followed. If there is a symbol under the year number, the following list explains what to do. The instructions are to be carried out immediately. When the instructions affect everybody, the player to the left of the mayor acts first. The others then follow in clockwise order, ending with the mayor. · 400 ƒ: This is the start space. Each player receives 400 000 florins starting capital from the bank, as already mentioned in the Preparation section. · Ship: Each player may move one of his tiles on the Commodity Exchange one space forward (or start a new tile on the first space of one of the tracks). · Globe: Each player may found a new trading post. To do this, he places one of his tiles on a vacant site of his choice. Once the post has been founded, move the corresponding tile on the Commodity Exchange one space forward. · Amsterdam's Coat of Arms: Each player may build a new storehouse on a vacant site in Amsterdam. · Credit: Each player may borrow 120 000 florins from the bank. When doing so, the player also receives a credit marker which is paid back to the bank at the end of the game at a cost of 200 000 florins. · Negated Coat of Arms: Each player must remove one of his storehouses from Amsterdam. · Negated Globe: Each player must remove one of his trading posts from the map. The Commodity Exchange tracks are not affected. 5/12 The Merchants of Amsterdam · Negated Ship: Each player must move one of his Commodity Exchange tiles back one space (or remove his tile from the first space of one of the tracks).