Catherine: The Cities of the Tsarina

Catherine: The Cities of the Tsarina takes 2-4 players to the Tsarist Empire of 1762 to win the Tsarina's favor with the help of an innovative card mechanism. As is so often the case, different strategies can lead to different goals: Do you devote yourself to the development of the fine arts or trade, or do you perhaps prefer to secure arms and thus perpetuate the empire? With each card you hold, you must decide whether to gain the resources and use the action on that card or whether to throw it away to activate another action.

To start the game, choose three of the six project cards in your hand and place them in your action row. At the top of each project card is a list of three cities or an assortment of cannons, books, and goods; at the bottom of each project card is an action and (in most cases) a bonus.

The game lasts three decades, with each decade lasting four rounds. Players play simultaneously during each round. At the start of a round, draw two cards, then play one card in your action row and another card in your activation row - located below your action row - under any project card in your action row that has not been activated. If the activation card matches the color of the action card above it, you carry out that action, whether it's placing a residence on the map, gaining cards, exchanging cards for points or a favor, gaining favor by having cannons or books, etc. If you carried out the action and the card has a bonus, you then get that bonus once. If the activation card doesn't match in color or you choose not to do the action, you draw a project card as compensation.