How to Play

The Estates

2-5 players 40-60 min 7.4 Board Game Geek Rating

Players are real estate investors bidding on building pieces to construct rows in a new development. Buildings in completed rows earn positive points, while those in incomplete rows lose points. Victory goes to the investor with the highest total building value after strategic bidding and placement.

Published 2018

Get Ready

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

Place the board

Put the game board and 6 Company Certificates on the table

Prepare floor cubes

Put all 36 colored Floor cubes into the bag, draw 24 and place number-side up in 3 rows of 8 cubes, return the rest to the box

Prepare rooftops

Shuffle the 12 Rooftops number-side down and place by the board

Place special items

Put the 3 Building Permits, Cancel Cube, and Mayor by the board

Distribute starting money

Each player receives $12m in Checks, keeping the number of checks owned secret in a stack on the table

Select start player

Pick a player to go first

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Stow illegal earnings (optional)

Before selecting an item, you may stow away $1m by placing it under the board edge; these earnings cannot be used or inspected for the rest of the game

Select an item for auction

Choose any wooden piece not on the board or already discarded

Conduct the auction

Each player bids only once, starting with the player to your left and proceeding clockwise; subsequent bids must be higher and cannot exceed money in hand

Resolve the auction

After all players bid or pass, either give the item to the highest bidder who pays you, or keep the item and pay the highest bid to that bidder

Place floor cubes

Place immediately number-side up into any available row

Place rooftops

Place immediately number-side up on top of any floor cube to finish that building's construction

Place building permits

Place immediately on an empty lot to mark the new end of development lots (+/- 1-3 lots based on stripes), or remove from game; multiple permits stack in the same lot

Place the mayor

Place immediately on the street at the end of any building row to make buildings in that row score 2x, or remove from game

Use cancel cube

Use immediately to discard a previously placed Building Permit, or remove from game; cannot remove a permit if built row length would exceed allowable lots

Winning

How to claim victory.

Trigger game end

The game ends as soon as 2 rows are completed (filling designated row length with all buildings having rooftops) or if it is impossible to complete any more buildings

Score completed rows

All buildings in completed rows score positive VP

Score incomplete rows

All buildings in incomplete rows score negative VP

Calculate building scores

The player with the Company Certificate matching the top floor cube of each building scores VP equal to the sum of all floor cubes plus the rooftop value

Apply mayor bonus

If the Mayor is in a building row, double that building's VP (positive or negative)

Score illegal earnings

Add +1 VP for each Check from Illegal Earnings

Determine winner

The player with the most VP wins

Break ties

The tied player with the most money (in hand plus Illegal Earnings) wins

Play multiple rounds (optional)

If agreed by all players, sum total scores and retain all Checks to start the next round