How to Play

Crystal Palace

2-5 players 60-150 min 7.5 Board Game Geek Rating

Players represent nations competing at London's 1851 World Fair, showcasing inventions and recruiting influential figures. This dice-placement game lets players customize their dice values each round—higher numbers provide advantages but cost more. Compete across eight London locations to gather resources, patents, and brilliant minds, creating quirky inventions while meeting historical personalities to generate the most impressive exhibition.

Published 2019

Crystal Palace

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Prepare the board
Set up the board based on the player count
2
Distribute starting resources
Give each player $40, 1 gear, 1 energy token, and a player board on a random side
3
Assign player components
Each player receives in their color: 4 dice, 5 assistants with one placed on the player board objective track, and trackers on appropriate board locations

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Choose dice values secretly
Each player selects their dice values in secret and reveals simultaneously
2
Use all dice
All of a player's owned dice must be used
3
Pay for dice
Add up the pip value of all dice and pay that amount in money to the bank
4
Gain newspaper bonus
The player(s) with the lowest die value adds one newspaper to their track
5
Determine play order
Player with the highest total value goes first; ties broken by comparing highest individual die values
6
Place dice on free spaces
Place dice onto available dice placement spaces on the board
7
Meet minimum requirements
The die placed must be equal to or higher than the location's required value
8
Pay placement costs
If the space costs money, pay the bank immediately
9
Perform assistant actions
Some spaces allow assistant actions:
10
Take gears
When placing a die, you may drop one assistant down one spot on the market (from third space or higher) to take one available gear
11
Resolve locations in order
Take actions with dice starting at location 1 and proceeding to location 8
12
Resolve by die value
At each location, dice activate from highest to lowest value
13
Break ties by position
Ties go to the die placed further left on a board
14
Receive location bonuses
Some locations increase newspaper track, buzz track, or grant money immediately
15
Patent Office
Take a patent card for free from the board to flip later in Phase 5
16
British Museum
Take a research token and place it on your player board on an empty spot or replacing an existing tile
17
Bank of England
Take a share and instantly gain victory points and/or income; keep the share for other game effects
18
Westminster
Move up the track one space and gain the indicated reward; this track affects salary paid in Phase 4
19
Reform Club
Pay the cost to take a character card, gaining immediate rewards and victory points based on the year
20
London Times
Increase your tracker on the Buzz Track depending on round requirements
21
Port of London
Select one unique action: 2 assistant actions (first may be free black market), 2 gears, a new die, a new die for 1 money, or gain points
22
Waterloo Station
Gain the indicated reward; the last space gives either 2 buzz or a phase 6 banner, not both
23
Pay salary
Pay salary for character cards owned based on location on the Westminster track
24
Activate abilities
Use available character abilities at this time
25
Convert patents to prototypes
Pay the cost in the upper left of up to two patent cards to flip them
26
Score points
Gain points equal to the year plus 4 additional points for any character links owned
27
Activate bottom ability
Use the prototype's bottom ability on any player; they must take all effects
28
Collect income track money
Take money (or lose points) based on your location on the income track
29
Reduce income track
Move everyone's income tracker down by 3 spaces
30
Collect research and black market income
Generate income from research tiles and black market (green banners)
31
Collect Buzz Track rewards
Gain points and income from the Buzz Track
32
Move assistants down
Move every assistant down one space on the black market track
33
Reset boards
Prepare boards for the next round
34
Skip in final round
Do not perform this phase in Round 5
35
Use newspapers
Spend newspapers on the track to generate new dice, income, gears, or dollars
36
Take loans
Take a random loan tile, place it on your player board, and receive 10 dollars
37
Repay loans
Pay 10 dollars to flip a loan over on your player board; loans are never removed
38
Exchange resources
Trade money for gears or energy tokens and vice versa per the player board rates

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Game duration
The game takes place over 5 rounds across 3 years (first 2 years have two rounds each)
2
Game end
The game ends in Phase 6 of Round 5
3
Convert remaining money
At game end, every 10 dollars can cover spaces on the player board
4
Character recruitment
Gain points instantly when recruiting characters based on the current year
5
Patent flipping
Gain points when flipping patents to prototypes during Phase 5
6
Buzz Track scoring
Gain points every round based on small disk placements
7
Miscellaneous sources
Gain instant points from shares, some card abilities, and other effects
8
Player mat objectives
Score points for completed objectives on your player mat
9
Covered negative points
Score for negative points covered by research tiles on your player mat
10
Loan penalties
Lose points for loans on your player mat (both flipped and unflipped)
11
Buzz Track placement
Score based on final position on the Buzz Track
12
Black Market placement
Score based on final position on the Black Market Track

watch & Learn

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

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