How to Play

Village

2-4 players 60-90 min 7.5 Board Game Geek Rating

Players control families in a medieval village, guiding members through various life paths like becoming friars or pursuing political careers. Each turn involves selecting colored cubes from different zones (market, church, crafts, etc.) and executing corresponding actions. Black cubes represent time passing and eventual death. Success requires balancing immediate gains with long-term strategy while managing time efficiently. Victory comes from earning the most honor points.

Published 2011

Village

Get Ready

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

1
Distribute player components
Each player takes a player board, 11 family members (all #1 people start on farmyard), 8 markers (1 on book track, 1 to right of bridge), and 1 coin
2
Choose start player
Select who will go first and place the ring on the Council Chamber
3
Prepare customer tiles
Shuffle customer tiles and lay out based on player count
4
Add monks to bag
Place 4 monks in the black bag
5
Adjust for player count
For 2/3 players, cover up unused spaces on Chronicle/Graveyard as shown on setup card
6
Seed the board
Using the current player set-up card, place cubes in green bag based on the indicated number, then place cubes on spaces as shown; leave remaining cubes in the green bag

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Take a cube
Obtain a single cube from an action space on the board
2
Perform the action
May take the corresponding action for that space after taking the cube
3
Handle black cubes
If a black cube is taken, spend 2 time and discard the cube; do not keep it
4
Use coins as wilds
Coins can substitute for any cube, ensure church success during Mass, or buy VP in council
5
Grain Harvest
Must have a family member on Farmyard; take 2 bags of grain (max 5 bags)
6
New Family Member
Take 1 new family member of lowest number from reserve and place on farmyard, or move any 1 living family member back to farmyard from the board (not black bag)
7
Crafts
Choose 1 of 5 buildings (Wainwright, Stables, Office, Smithy, Mill)
8
Market
Occurs immediately when cube is taken; player who took cube is start seller
9
Travel
Place traveler at entrance from farmyard, paying all costs including wagon
10
Council Chamber
Move member from farmyard to stage 1, paying 1 time and 2 green cubes/1 scroll; take Ring if present
11
Church
Place member from farmyard in black bag, paying 1 brown cube or 3 time
12
Well (substitute action)
Turn in 3 matching cubes (not black) to perform any action even if it has no cube
13
Trigger death
When time marker moves over bridge at end of turn, kill one lowest-numbered visible family member
14
Record in Chronicle
Place deceased person in Chronicle book based on location (see colored shields)
15
Use unmarked graves
If Chronicle location is full, place in unmarked graves by church
16
End round
Round ends after turn when last action cube is taken from board
17
Pay for guaranteed spots
Before drawing, players may pay 1 coin per member to remove from bag for guaranteed church placement
18
Draw from bag
Draw 4 people from black bag; place family members on 1st space of church, return monks to bag
19
Advance in church
In clockwise order, players may pay grain to move members up church hierarchy
20
Award majority bonus
Player with most members in church earns 2 VP; ties broken by window position, then all tied earn 2 VP
21
Pass the ring
Player with ring becomes new start player, returns ring to council
22
Reseed board
Place cubes according to set-up card for next round

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Trigger game end
Game ends when either the Chronicle book or unmarked graves fill completely
2
Final turns
Player who caused end game gets no additional turn; all others get one more turn
3
Handle empty board
If cubes run out during final turns, remaining players take any action without paying 3 cubes
4
Conduct final Mass
Perform one last Mass in the church
5
Score Travel
Earn VP based on markers placed in cities as shown on board
6
Score Council Chamber
Earn VP for each family member based on stage reached
7
Score Church
Earn VP for each family member based on window position
8
Score Chronicle Book
Earn VP based on number of family members present
9
Score Customer Tiles
Count VP shown on earned tiles
10
Score Coins
Earn 1 VP per remaining coin
11
Determine winner
Most VP wins; if tied, most customers wins; if still tied, most living family members remaining wins

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Village - How to Play

Village - How to Play

Instructional

Village: Inn & Port - Playthrough With Friends!

Village: Inn & Port - Playthrough With Friends!

Instructional

MORE VIDEOS

FULL rules

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

Play Board Games Online

Explore breakout hits and fan favourites with no downloads, setup or paywalls. Just click and play.

Play Now

more GAMES LIKE THIS