How to Play

Grand Austria Hotel

2-4 players 60-120 min 8.0 Board Game Geek Rating

Players transform Viennese cafés into prestigious hotels by serving guests and hiring staff. Using a dice-rolling action selection system, competitors gather resources, prepare rooms, and fulfill customer orders. Victory requires strategic decision-making across seven rounds, balancing guest satisfaction with efficient bonus actions while earning the emperor's favor.

Published 2015

Get Ready

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

Place the game board

Put the Game Board and Action Board in the center of the table

Set the round marker

Place the Round Marker on the 1st space of the Round Track

Prepare the supply

Place the Dustbin, all Resources, Room Tiles, and VP Markers accessible to all players

Shuffle the cards

Shuffle the Staff and Guest Cards into 2 separate facedown stacks

Select objective cards

Randomly choose an Objective Card from A, B, and C, and place them faceup on the designated spaces of the Game Board

Select emperor tile

Randomly choose an Emperor Tile from A, B, and C, and place them faceup on the designated spaces of the Game Board

Prepare dice pool

Place dice according to player count: 2 players get 10 dice, 3 players get 12 dice, 4 players get 14 dice

Choose player color

Each player chooses a colour and takes their components

Select hotel board

Decide collectively whether to use the day or night side of the Hotel Board

Take starting components

Each player takes 1 Overview Card, 1 Hotel Board, and 6 Staff Cards to keep in hand

Place starting resources

Place 1 Strudel, 1 Cake, 1 Wine, and 1 Coffee in the Kitchen on your Hotel Board

Position player markers

Place 6 Markers: 1 on the '0' space of the VP Track, 1 on the '0' space of the Emperor Track, and 1 on the '10' space of the Money Track on your Hotel Board

Draft staff cards

Each player simultaneously drafts 1 Staff Card from their hand, then passes the rest to the left; continue until all players have drafted 6 Staff Cards

Assign turn order

Place Turn Order Tiles for the number of players and randomly assign a start player; they receive the '1' Tile, next player clockwise gains the '2' Tile, and so on

Select starting guests

In reverse turn order, each player moves any 1 Guest Card from the display to their tables for free; reset the display each time by sliding Cards to the right and drawing another

Prepare starting rooms

Each player prepares 3 vacant Rooms on their Hotel Board and pays any associated costs; your 1st Room must be placed in the bottom-left on your Player Board

Roll starting dice

Roll all Dice and place them on their corresponding Action spaces on the Action Board

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Understand round structure

The game is played over 7 Rounds with each player taking 2 Turns per round in order determined by Turn Order Tiles

Option to pass

You may postpone remaining Turns until a 2nd Round of Actions; play continues from the player with the next lowest number on their Turn Order Tile until all non-passing players have taken both Turns

Take a guest (optional)

If you have an empty Table at the bottom of your Hotel Board, take 1 Guest Card from the display by paying the cost displayed below the Card

Use 1 action space (mandatory)

Select 1 Action Space containing at least 1 Die; the Strength of the Action is determined by the number of dice on that space

Boost action strength

You may pay 1 Krone to increase the Action Strength by 1

Remove die and execute

Remove 1 Die from the Action space, use it to cover the lowest visible number on your Turn Order Tile, then perform that Action

Action 1 - Take dishes

For each Action Strength point, take 1 Strudel or 1 Cake, but not more Cake than Strudel

Action 2 - Take drinks

For each Action Strength point, take 1 Wine or 1 Coffee, but not more Coffee than Wine

Action 3 - Prepare rooms

For each Action Strength point, place any 1 Room Tile from supply vacant-side up on a matching coloured space, orthogonally adjacent to an already placed Room

Action 4 - Gain favour and money

For each Action Strength point, either move 1 space forward on the Emperor Track or take 1 Krone

Action 5 - Play a staff card

You may pay exactly 1 Staff Card from your hand; for each Action Strength point, the cost printed on the Card is reduced by 1 Krone

Action 6 - Imitate a main action

Pay 1 Krone and perform any 1 of the other 5 Main Actions with the Action Strength of this space

Additional action - Move resources

You may pay 1 Krone to move up to 3 Resources from your Kitchen to 1 or more of your Guest Cards, placing them on matching icons

Additional action - Score objectives

If you meet requirements of an Objective Card, place 1 of your Markers on its highest available VP spot and score that many VP; each player may only place 1 Marker on each Objective Card

Additional action - Exhaust staff

Once per round, you may exhaust a Staff Card with the refresh icon

Additional action - Move guests to rooms

A guest with a fully completed order may be moved to a matching coloured vacant Room on your Hotel Board

Score room groups

Rooms are grouped in Groups of 1-4 same-coloured Rooms on your Hotel Board; as soon as you occupy all Rooms in a Group, gain the bonus according to the number of and colour of the Rooms in the Group, as indicated on the top of your Hotel Board

Emperor scoring (rounds 3, 5, and 7)

Each player scores VP equal to the number below their Marker on the Emperor Track, then retreats their Marker the number of spaces indicated above the Round Marker

End of round procedure

The Round ends once all players have taken 2 Turns, or no more Dice are left

Winning

How to claim victory.

Trigger game end

The game ends after Emperor Scoring at the end of the 7th Round

Score staff cards

Score Staff Cards with a final scoring icon according to their effects

Score occupied rooms

Score the Occupied Rooms on your Hotel Board according to their row: 1st Row scores 1 VP each, 2nd Row scores 2 VP each, 3rd Row scores 3 VP each, 4th Row scores 4 VP each

Score leftover resources

Score 1 VP for every Resource and Krone you have leftover

Deduct for remaining guests

Lose 5 VP for each Guest still sitting at a table in your café

Determine the winner

The player with the most VP is the winner

Break ties

Ties are broken by most remaining Resources and Krone