1
Place the city grid board
Set the main city grid board in the center of the play area
2
Select grid size
Use small grid size for 2-3 human players, large grid size for 4 human players (the Consul does not count as a player for this purpose)
3
Adjust for 2 and 4 players
Ignore the bottom row and rightmost column, optionally covering them with a strip of paper
4
Place points tracker
Set the points tracker board next to the city grid board
5
Distribute player trays
Each player takes one player tray indicating their color
6
Set initial VP markers
Place each player's color marker at 5 VP on the points tracker
7
Set initial population markers
Place each player's marker above the Population track (indicating 0 population)
8
Assign Consul color
Choose an unused color for the Consul and place its markers at 5 VP and 0 population
9
Determine first player
Give one player the first player marker (owner decides who)
10
Give Consul card to first player
That player receives the Consul card with PLANNING side up and controls the Consul's turn after taking their own turn
11
Distribute starting coins
Give 5 coins to first player, 6 to second player, 7 to third player, 8 to fourth player (Consul does not use coins)
12
Place Deeds for Sale board
Position the Deeds for Sale board above the main board
13
Prepare Deed cards
Shuffle the Deed cards, removing cards based on player count:
14
Deal starting Deed cards
Deal 6 Deed cards to each human player
15
Place lot markers
Each player puts a lot marker on the main board for each lot they own (keeping two markers in reserve)
16
Store Deed cards
Players keep their Deed cards face down in front of them for verification
17
Choose difficulty level
Select Standard (Consul starts with 0 Deeds), Hard (Consul starts with 2 random Deeds with size 2 buildings if adjacent), or Challenge (Consul starts with 4 random Deeds with largest possible buildings if adjacent)
18
Create Era piles
Split remaining Deed cards into 3 equal piles and place one in each Era space
19
Deal initial market
Deal 6 face up cards from Era 1 to the Deeds for Sale board
20
Prepare Consul building tokens
Shuffle each group of Consul building tokens (sizes 1, 2, 3, and 4) and place face down in 4 separate piles
21
Optional deed drafting
Deal 6 deed cards facedown to each player, choose 1 to keep and pass rest left, reveal kept card and place marker on grid, repeat six times
