Pergamon
Game idea
In 1878, the Royal Museum of Berlin commissioned excavations in Pergamon – a site in present-day Turkey.
The city experienced its heyday around 200 AC (we are using the Latin abbreviation AC = ante Christum
Natum, instead of the more conventional BC) when it was the most important port in the Ancient Roman
province of Asia. As archeologists your goal is to get as much research funding as possible in order to finance
excavations in Pergamon. You unearth pieces of antique vases, jugs, bracelets and golden masks. Depending
on the depth of your excavations, you can find remains from the first five centuries AC. By piecing together
matching finds, you build collections that can be exhibited at the Pergamon Museum. The player who exhibits
the most valuable collections and gains the most recognition by the museum’s visitors (in the form of admission
tickets) wins the game.
Components
Preparations
1. Place the game board in the center of the
table. In the top margin you can see the 13
research funds spaces. On the left there is the
excavation site with 5 galleries (levels). In
each gallery there can be a maximum of 4 finds
laid out next to each other. In the center of the
board there is the calendar which shows the
12 game turns. On the right you can find the
Pergamon museum with the exhibition plan
(spaces 1-24).
2. Shuffle the 24 research
funds cards and place them as
a drawing pile face-down next to
the game board.
3. Shuffle the 60 finds and place
them in face-down piles of 5 tiles
each onto the 12 spaces of the
calendar.
4. Place the coins as a stock
next to the game board. Stack
the victory points (admission
tickets) on the empty spaces
beneath the calendar.
5. Each player chooses a color
and takes their player figure as
well as 3 circular and 3 angular
markers for the collections.
Furthermore, each player gets
a reminder card which shows
important steps during the
exhibition that are easy to forget.
The oldest player becomes the
first player.
6. The tomb raider
is only needed in
a 2-player game
(see page 7).
Turn order
The game lasts 12 turns. Each turn consists of the following phases:
1. Laying out finds
2. Distributing research funds
3. Excavating, exhibiting, storing finds
4. Evaluations (only in turns 5, 7, 9, and 12)
There is a small amendment to the rules for a 2-player game, which will be explained on page 7.
1. Laying out finds
During this phase, the first player places new
finds on the excavation site.
Take the first stack of 5 finds from the calendar
and turn the tiles face-up. Sort these finds by
their age, from the youngest to the oldest: the
large figure (1-5) in the lower right corner of the
finds shows the century AC.
If there are several finds from the same century,
sort them by the two-digit figure on the left.
Lay out the 5 tiles, one below the other, face-up
on the galleries of the excavation site. Place the
youngest find on gallery I, the second youngest
on gallery II, and so on.
If, during the game, a gallery already holds 4
finds, place no additional tile on it. In that event,
only draw as many tiles from the current stack
as there is room on the galleries. Return the
remaining finds to the box (without looking at
them), they are no longer needed.
2. Distributing research funds
During this phase, you receive new research
funds.
Draw 2 research funds cards from the drawing
pile and place them face-down next to the game
board.
The back of each card shows whether it
distributes 1-4 coins (money bag) or 5-8 coins
(chest), and the sum of both cards will come into
play. This way, you can estimate if there will be
rather more or less research funds available for
the current turn.
Starting with the first player and then in
clockwise turn order place your player figures on
a research space of your choice. On each space
there may only be one player figure sitting at the
same time. Where you place your player figure
indicates how much research funding you want
and also which galleries you can excavate in
phase 3.
Now, turn the two cards face-up and lay out the
corresponding number of coins next to the game
board.
The player who is positioned furthest to the right
on the research funds spaces takes as many coins
as are indicated on their space. In order from
right to left, the remaining players take as many
coins as are indicated on the spaces they occupy,
as long as the laid out coins suffice.
The last player may always pocket all remaining
research funds. Sometimes these may turn out to
be less than hoped for, and sometimes the player
gets even more. If you risk too much, you might
get nothing at all.
3. Excavating, exhibiting, storing finds
During this phase, you excavate finds one after
the other and have to either present them at the
museum or store them.
The player who is positioned furthest to the
right on the research funds spaces begins. Then
the other players follow in order of their player
figures from right to left. They first finish all
actions they wish to carry out, then it is the next
player’s turn.
a) Excavating finds:
As a first action you may excavate all finds in
one gallery. Which gallery you may choose for
your excavation is indicated on the space your
player figure occupies.
You have to pay money for your excavation.
Excavating in gallery I costs 1 coin, in gallery
II the cost rises to 2 coins, and so on. The costs
are independent of the number of finds you
excavate.
Lay out the newly excavated finds face-up in
front of yourself. If you already own finds from
previous turns, simply add the new ones to
those.
b) Exhibiting finds:
Now you may exhibit one or more collections
at the museum. To assemble a collection, you
have to piece together several matching finds
to form complete objects from their halves
(masks, bracelets, jugs, or vases). The older these
objects are, the more valuable your collection. A
find from the 5th century AC is worth 5 points,
one from the 4th century AC 4 points, and
so on. As long as you have not exhibited your
finds at the museum you may rearrange them
at will. Once your collection is exhibited at the
museum, however, it can no longer be adjusted
or extended.
When exhibiting your collection you may
increase its value by “polishing” it. For each
1 coin you pay to the stock the value of your
collection rises by 1 point. You may increase
the value of your collection by a maximum of 3
points. However, during the final turn you may
polish a new collection as much as you like.
In order to exhibit a collection at the museum,
place an angular marker (I, II or III) in front
of the finds you pieced together and place
the corresponding circular marker at the
Pergamon museum on the exhibition space that
corresponds to the value of your collection.
If your collection is worth more than 24 points,
place the circular marker on the “24” space.
Immediately receive
1 victory point for each
newly exhibited collection.
On each space of the exhibition plan there may
only be 1 marker sitting at the same time. When
a new collection is exhibited at the museum, the
interest in all existing exhibitions of the same or
a lower value decreases. Move each marker that
has the same or lower value than the new
collection one space down.
If a player has to move one of their markers
from space 1 out of the museum, that marker
is returned to the player. Break up the
respective collection and return the finds to
the box.
If you already have three collections at the
museum (all of your 3 angular markers are placed
at collections and the 3 circular markers are
placed on the exhibition plan) and you wish to
exhibit a further collection at the museum, you
may break up any of your exhibited collections
(take the circular marker from the museum
and return the respective finds to the box). You
may use the now free markers to exhibit a new
collection.
c) Storing finds:
At the end of your turn you have to store those
of your finds which you do not want to or are
not able to exhibit yet. You may store up to 3
finds for free. For each additional 3 finds in your
possession you have to pay 1 coin in storage fees.
If you have no money left or do not wish to pay
the storage fees, you may also discard any of your
finds and return them to the box. You do not
have to pay storage fees for those finds.
4. Evaluation
As indicated on the calendar, an evaluation
at which you receive victory points for your
exhibited collections takes place after turns 5, 7,
9, and 12 each.
You receive as many victory points as is indicated
by the spaces your circular markers are placed
at on the exhibition plan. For each collection
you thus receive 1 to a maximum of 6 victory
points. You receive victory points in the form
of admission tickets which you may keep secret
from the other players.
As indicated on the calendar, at each evaluation
an additional prize is awarded for a particularly
valuable exhibit. At the first evaluation (turn
5) the player owning the oldest vase receives
2 victory points. To count, vases have to be
currently exhibited at the museum, of course!
At the second, third, and fourth evaluation the
player owning the oldest exhibited jug (turn
7), mask (turn 9), or bracelet (turn
12) respectively receives 2 victory points. To
determine the age of a find, the entire date is
taken into account (the century figure on the left
and the two-digit figure on the right).
After each evaluation the museum’s visitors lose
interest in the old exhibitions, so all markers on
the exhibition plan are moved down by several
spaces. In turn 5 it is 3 spaces, in turn 7 it is 4
spaces, and in turn 9 it is 5 spaces. As a reminder,
arrows on the calendar indicate the number of
spaces. (Remember to break up collections that
move out of the museum.)
A new turn
This ends the current turn. Return the two
research funds cards to the box and take your
player figures from the research funds spaces.
The player who is positioned furthest to the left
on the research funds spaces becomes the new
first player. You lay out the new finds in phase 1
and are the first to choose a new research funds
space in phase 2. The remaining players choose
their spaces afterwards in clockwise turn order.
End of game and final evaluation
The game ends after turn 12. After you have received the victory points for your collections and the
oldest bracelet has been awarded, there is a special bonus at the end.
The player who owns the oldest object exhibited at the museum receives 3 victory points.
The second and third oldest objects currently exhibited at the museum are awarded 2 and 1 victory
points respectively.
The player with the most victory points managed to draw the most attention to their collections and
wins the game. In the case of a tie, the player whose current exhibit includes the oldest find wins.
The tomb raider (2-player game)
In a 2-player game, the tomb raider comes into play. The tomb raider blocks one of the research funds
spaces each round and, in addition, loots finds and research funds.
In the following, all amendments to the rules will be shown that are necessary to play with the tomb
raider.
Phase 2: Distributing research funds
After you have laid out the two research funds
cards, place the tomb raider on a research funds
space.
- If you drew 2 cards with money bags on them,
place the tomb raider on the space showing
2 money bags (the 5th space from the right).
- If you drew 1 card showing a money bag
and 1 card showing a chest, place the tomb
raider on the space showing 1 money bag
and 1 chest.
- If you drew 2 cards with chests on them,
place the tomb raider on the space showing
2 chests.
After the players have also placed their figures on
free research funds spaces, the tomb raider and
the players collect research funds according to
their positions (from right to left).
Phase 3: Excavating, exhibiting, storing finds
The players and the tomb raider carry out their
actions according to their positions on the
research funds spaces (from right to left). When
it is the tomb raider’s turn, he excavates in the
most expensive gallery he can afford and in
which he may carry out an excavation according
to his research funds space. Return the coins to
the stock and the looted finds to the box. If there
are no finds in that gallery, he will turn to the
next highest gallery that has finds on it. If the
tomb raider does not have to use all of his coins,
he keeps the remaining coins and may spend
them during his next turn.
Example: The tomb raider is sitting on research funds
space 7 and receives 3 coins. According to his space,
the deepest gallery he may excavate is gallery III, so
he loots the finds in that gallery after having paid 3
coins. The looted finds are removed from the game and
returned to the box.
A new turn
Of the two players, the one who was the last
to carry out an action in the previous turn is
going to be the first player of the new turn.
Still the tomb raider is always placed first on
the respective research funds space, and only
afterwards the first player places their figure.
Variations for more tactical depth
If you would like the game to be a little more tactical, try one or both of the following variations.
Variant 1: Player order (for 3 and 4 players)
The current turn has ended. Return the two research funds cards to the box. Move
your player figures from the research funds spaces onto the four order spaces on the
right side of the game board. Place the leftmost figure on space 1, the one next to it
on space 2, and so on.
The player who last excavated finds and whose figure is now sitting on space 1 is the
new first player. You lay out the new finds in phase 1 and are the first to choose a new
research funds space in phase 2. The remaining players choose their spaces afterwards
in clockwise turn order.
Variant 2: Sorting finds
When during phase 1 the first player lays out the 5 tiles, one below the other, face-up on the galleries
of the excavation site, those are still sorted by century (1-5).
But if there are several finds from the same century, the starting player may choose among those
the order in which he wants to distribute them to the galleries (regardless of the two-digit figure on
each tile).
Tips from the designers
Applying for research funds
A player who only applies for a small amount of research funds (1 or 2 coins) can be relatively sure to
receive that money, have an early turn and, thus, a large range of finds to choose from. Players who
apply for large amounts of money (5 or 6 coins) take their turns later. There is also a danger of the laid
out research funds not sufficing and the last players receiving either no money at all or less than they
applied for.
If there are very few or only relatively low-value finds (from the 1st or 2nd century) on the excavation
site, it may be worth it to save the received research funds for later turns.
Employing research funds
The players should try to gain as much research money as possible and put it to clever use. You need
money to finance excavations, to store finds and to polish collections. Too much polishing, however,
may leave you with too little money to finance profitable excavations.