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How to Play

Ora et Labora

1-4 players 60-180 min 7.7 Board Game Geek Rating

In this medieval monastery management game, players acquire land and construct resource-generating buildings to create valuable items like books and relics. The innovative rondel mechanism controls resource availability each round. Using three workers, players activate buildings on their personal boards to gather materials and manufacture prestigious goods, earning victory points for efficient infrastructure development.

Published 2011

Ora et Labora

Get Ready

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

1
Select game boards
One board has a side for 1-2p (regular or long games) and for 3-4p short games; the other board has a side for 3p and a side for 4p
2
Choose production wheel side
One side is for regular 2p games; the other side is for all other game types (1p, 3-4p regular and short)
3
Position the wheel
The initial wheel position points to the 'book' icon on the board
4
Sort landscape tiles
Sort by cost the double-sided landscapes (horizontal 'districts', vertical 'plots')
5
Remove building cards
Remove '3+' and '4' cards depending on player count
6
Choose variant
Choose either the France or Ireland cards
7
Identify starting buildings
Cards with the 'book' icon are available at the beginning of the game
8
Place ABCD cards
ABCD cards (including players' settlements) are placed around the board
9
Place goods indicators
Place the 7 wooden goods indicators on slot 'A' behind the production wheel
10
Set aside special goods
Grapes (for the France game) and stone are placed beside the board
11
Place settlement reminder
Blue building marker is a reminder of when the next settlement phase will occur
12
Take heartland
Take a heartland landscape, 2 moor (peat) cards and 3 forest (wood) cards
13
Receive starting goods
Receive 6 basic goods (clay, wood, peat, sheep, wheat, money)
14
Organize settlements
Keep the 4 starting settlements, put the other 4 around the board/wheel
15
Take clergymen
Take 3 clergymen (1 "prior" & 2 "lay brothers")

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Advance production wheel
The production wheel advances counter-clockwise at the start of each round (including the first round of the game)
2
Retrieve clergymen if needed
If you've placed all 3 clergymen on buildings, retrieve them now
3
2 Player rounds
Each round/turn, the player gets 2 actions
4
3-4 Player rounds
Each player takes 1 turn in clockwise order
5
Place Clergyman
Put a clergyman (prior or lay brother) on your own building to do that action
6
Fell Trees or Cut Peat
Remove a forest/moor card and take wood/peat (this doesn't use a clergyman)
7
Build a Building
Pay the cost (wood/clay/straw/stone/money) to take an available building
8
Buy land
Buy a district or plot (once per turn and once per settlement phase)
9
Convert goods
Trade wine/whiskey for coins, or flip wheat to straw
10
Place settlement
Each player may place 1 of their existing (not new) settlements, paying the energy/food cost
11
Move building marker
Place the blue building marker at the next settlement round on the game board
12
Distribute new cards
Distribute the new cards that become available
13
Calculate settlement value
Each settlement is worth its own dwelling value (burgundy coloured house), plus those orthogonally adjacent to it

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
2 Player end trigger
Triggered when there is only 1 building remaining in the supply
2
3-4 Player end trigger
Triggered when the goods indicator moves past the "E" space on the board
3
Score settlements
Settlements aren't used for actions, but are worth roughly 1/3 of end game points

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

ORA ET LABORA - Cómo se juega - TUTORIAL - Juego de Mesa - unna

ORA ET LABORA - Cómo se juega - TUTORIAL - Juego de Mesa - unna

Instructional

Ora & Labora Playthrough

Ora & Labora Playthrough

Review

MORE VIDEOS

FULL rules

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

PDF RULEBOOK

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