How to Play Feudum

Get Ready

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

Place the board

Put the game board in the center of the table with its 6 regions (sea, island, forest, desert, barren lands, mountains) and 6 guilds visible

Choose player colors

Each player selects one color and takes their components: 3 pawns, 4 player discs/stewards, 11 action cards, 7 influence markers, 7 food, 7 shillings, 1 money bag, and 1 summary card

Place scoring marker

Each player places one plain player disc on the scoring track

Position ships

Place the 9 ships (3 each of ship, submarine, airship) near the Alchemists' Guild

Arrange influence markers and monsters

Place influence markers and the 2 monsters (behemoth, sea serpent) near the Knights' Guild

Set up royal seals

Place royal seals/rosary beads near the Nobles' Guild

Prepare currency and targets

Place shillings and archery targets near the board

Shuffle Royal Writ cards

Shuffle the Royal Writ cards and place face down as a draw pile

Organize region tiles

Arrange the 24 region tiles into 6 descending stacks by epoch number

Prepare location discs

Place all two-sided location discs including 12 feudums in the common supply

Distribute starting locations

Shuffle remaining location discs, place those with circles on pink-circled starting spaces, then fill remaining spaces randomly and flip all face up

Stock the Merchants' Guild

Place goods on the Merchants' Guild with the last space of saltpeter and sulfur rows empty

Stock the Alchemists' Guild

Place goods on the Alchemists' Guild with 2 spaces empty in food and sulfur rows, then randomly draw and place 2 ships

Fill the goods bag

Place remaining goods in the bag

Populate the Knights' Guild

Place 2 influence markers per player color on the Knights' Guild (use dummy player rows if fewer than 4 players to ensure 4 colors)

Prepare the Nobles' Guild

Shuffle all 17 royal seals (red side up), draw 4 and place on the Nobles' Guild scrolls

Prepare the Monks' Guild

Draw 4 more seals, flip to rosary bead side, and place on the Monks' Guild rosary

Prepare the Farmers' Guild

Draw 1 more seal, flip to rosary bead side, place on the Farmers' Guild chicken, then draw 10 random goods and place on the barn

Set the epoch marker

Place the epoch marker on the 1st epoch space (first sunray)

Distribute region goods

Draw 6 random goods from the bag and place 1 beside each region marked with N

Determine first player

Randomly select the starting player who receives the first player marker and progress die

Select starting goods

In player order, each player draws 3 different goods from the bag, choosing whether to place sulfur on their wine barrel (for feeding) or personal supply (for sequential actions)

Place first pawn

In player order, each player selects one character icon on a pawn, places it face up on one of the 6 pink-circled starting locations, then immediately places an influence marker on the 5 VP hex of the matching guild

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Select action cards

Secretly choose 4 of your 11 action cards to form your hand for the round, setting aside the rest

Declare readiness

Say "Long live the King" when finished selecting to lock in your choices

Play cards sequentially

Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player plays 1 card face up and executes its action

Execute normal action

Perform the action shown on the top portion of any action card

Execute special ability

If you have the required goods or matching pawn in play, optionally perform the bottom portion ability instead of the normal action

Use extra action

Spend 1 saltpeter during card selection to hold a 5th action card this round

Use sequential action

Spend 1 sulfur (not from wine barrel) during card selection to play 2 action cards consecutively in one turn

Migrate action

Pay 1 food to place a pawn from your supply onto a location where you have a pawn or influence marker, or onto a starting location if you have neither; remove a pawn without paying food

Move action

Move your pawns a total number of spaces equal to your pawns on the board, distributing movement freely among them

Influence action

Place 1 influence marker on each location where you have a pawn

Improve action

Spend resources to upgrade a location you rule: outpost to farm (wood), farm to town (iron), town to feudum (royal seal)

Cultivate landscape

Spend wood instead of improving to place a landscape tile beside a location with your serf, earning 2 VP

Explore action

If you rule an outpost, draw 2 Royal Writ cards (+1 per additional ruled outpost/feudum), keep 1

Harvest action

If you rule a farm, draw 5 random goods from the bag to place beside 1 farm, earning 1 VP

Tax action

If you rule a town, collect 2 shillings (+1 per additional town/feudum)

Conquer action

Attack an opponent's pawn or feudum at your pawn's location

Starve the people

With a noble beside an opponent's vassal or serf, remove it instead of conquering; place disc on military service track; return all alms to common supply

Defend action

If attacked and you selected this card, flip it out of turn to add +1 defense and earn 1 VP; earn 1 VP even if not attacked

Royal immunity

Spend 1 food to nullify "starve the people" and place a royal seal under your vassal/serf for permanent protection

Repeat action

Replay any previously played action card marked with "x2" symbol this round

Déjà vu ability

Spend 1 saltpeter to replay any card without "x2" symbol except conquer and defend

Guild action

Interact with one of the 6 guilds by trading, pushing (guild master), or pulling (journeyman)

Trade at any guild

Exchange resources at established rates regardless of guild membership

Pay guild hierarchy

When trading, pay 1 shilling each to guild master, journeyman, and treasury/purse (apprentice portion always goes to charity)

Push as guild master

Transfer resources from your guild to the guild on the right, earning 4/5/6 VP based on completion

Pull as journeyman

Transfer resources from the guild on the left to your guild, earning 3 VP and drawing 2 Royal Writ cards (keep 1)

Feast ability

Spend sulfur from wine barrel to perform push/pull function of any pawn or feudum owner beside your pawn

Place steward

When executing push or pull, optionally place a steward on your guild for +1 VP (+1 more if second steward is on another guild)

Tame monsters

After buying a row with 3+ influence markers, return 3 markers to control a monster and place it at a location with your pawn or marker

Pilgrim's way progress

After playing move action twice consecutively via repeat, place a disc on the pilgrim's way or advance existing disc

Guild membership

Gain membership by having pawns or feudums of matching type in play

Guild rank positions

Most stars becomes guild master (5 VP/epoch); second becomes journeyman (3 VP/epoch); third becomes apprentice (1 VP/epoch in 4+ player games)

Winning

How to claim victory.

Play through five epochs

Continue playing rounds until the 5th epoch is triggered when a region tile stack is depleted

Complete the round

Finish all remaining actions after entering the 5th epoch

Score epoch points

At each epoch start, score for guild status (1/3/5 VP), landscape tiles (2 VP empty, 4 VP with resources), and active regions (1/3/5/7/9/11 VP per region with ruler or cultivating serf)

Deduct disloyalty penalties

If you rule a feudum but haven't covered the required military service catapult spaces, lose 3/4/5 VP in epochs 2/4/5 (penalties accumulate for uncovered prior spaces)

Score pilgrim's way

Earn VP based on furthest progress in each section (3/5, 7/9, 11/13, or 17 VP); ties award higher value to both

Score great realm

Earn 1 VP per ruled outpost/farm/town, 3 VP per ruled feudum, and 3 VP bonus for ruling 3 identical location types (feudums are wild)

Convert wealth

Earn 1 VP per 3 shillings

Score Royal Writs

Earn VP from decree cards with royal seals placed on them at game end

Determine the winner

Player with most victory points becomes "the most respected member of the realm"

Break ties

Player with more sulfur on their wine barrel wins; if still tied, players share victory