Rio Grande Games Doge 75 - Manual (Page 6)

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The board and the figures
The board has a map showing the 6 central
districts of Venice: Cannaregio, Castello,
Dorsoduro, San Marco, San Polo and Santa
Croce. Red-brown lines and the Grand Canal
mark the borders between these districts. Each
district has building spaces for 5 palaces.
The Quarantia is located in the Doge's palace in
the upper part of the board. During the middle
ages, the Quarantia was a meeting place for
politicians and advisors in Venice. The 6 districts
and the Quarantia are the 7 playing areas. Each
has a symbol for easy identification.
The symbols on the tops of the 9 advisors match
the symbols for the 6 districts (1 each) and the
Quarantia (3). The matching area is the home
area for the advisor.
For example, the Castello district is the home
area for the advisor with the shell symbol.
Playing the game
The game is played over several game years. In
each game year, each district elects an advisor
and the Quarantia elects 3. Each game year has
two phases.
In the first phase, the players place their ballot
markers face down on the areas of their choice.
In the second phase, each area holds elections.
The players turn over their ballot markers. The two
players with the most votes in a district may build
houses there. When a player has built the
required number of houses in a district, he may
convert the houses to a palace.
The game ends after the year in which a player
has:
- at least 1 palace in each district or
- a total of 7 palaces in 5 districts or
- a total of 8 palaces in 4 districts.
The player who accomplishes this is the new
Doge and the winner of the game.
The game year
first phase: placing ballot markers
During this phase, players place ballot markers in
the areas where they want votes. Each player
places ballot markers:
- 4 times in a 3 player game and
- 3 times in a 4 player game.
After the 3 or 4 rounds of placing ballot markers,
the first phase is complete.
choosing cards & ballot markers
Players choose the areas, one at a time, where
they want votes and then the number of votes
they want in those areas. They choose the areas
by selecting from their player cards and then 1-4
ballot markers to place in each area. Each
player gets votes in an area based on the
numbers shown on their ballot markers in the
area.
First, each player selects the area where they
want votes by choosing one of his player cards
(each has one of the areas on it) and placing it
face down in his supply area.
Next, he places 1-4 ballot markers from his supply
face down on the card he just played. He may
not take ballot markers that he has already
placed on the board this game year.
placing ballot markers
When all players have chosen their cards and
placed their ballot markers on their cards, they
turn the cards over simultaneously,
moving the ballot markers off the cards
without revealing the ballot markers.
Note: the ballot markers remain face
down until phase two!