Overview

Akropolis is a tile-laying city-building game set in ancient Greece. Players are architects constructing cities by drafting tiles from a shared construction site. Each tile consists of 3 hexes featuring districts, plazas, or quarries. Points are earned by placing districts that meet specific placement conditions and multiplying their value with matching plazas. Building higher earns more points per district. The player with the most victory points wins.

Components

• 61 City tiles (3 hexes each; backs indicate player counts: 2+, 3+, 4)
• 4 Starting tiles
• 40 Stone cubes
• 1 Chief Architect marker
• 1 Scorepad
• 4 Player aids

Setup

1. Select City tiles matching player count (check tile backs): 2 players use “2+” tiles; 3 players use “2+” and “3+” tiles; 4 players use all tiles.
2. Create 11 equal stacks face down: 2 players = 3 tiles/stack; 3 players = 4 tiles/stack; 4 players = 5 tiles/stack.
3. Take one stack, place tiles face up in a line to form the Construction Site (there must always be 2 more tiles than the number of players).
4. Each player takes a starting tile (which includes a Housing Plaza).
5. The player who most recently climbed a hill takes the Chief Architect marker.
6. Distribute starting Stones clockwise: 1st player = 0 Stones; 2nd = 1; 3rd = 2; 4th = 3.
7. Place remaining Stones as a reserve.

Longer game variant: For 2 players, use all tiles (19 stacks); for 3 players, use all tiles (15 stacks).

Turn Structure

Starting with the Chief Architect, players take turns clockwise. Each turn has two mandatory steps:

1. Take a tile from the Construction Site
2. Add the tile to their City

Play continues until there is only 1 tile left in the Construction Site and all stacks are used.

Actions

Take a Tile

• Choose any tile from the Construction Site.
• Pay 1 Stone per tile that precedes it in the line (the first tile is free, the second costs 1, the third costs 2, etc.).
• Return spent Stones to the reserve.
• The last tile in the Construction Site is never played.
• If you have no Stones, you must take the first tile.

Add Tile to City

Level 1 placement: The tile must border at least one existing tile along an edge.

Higher level placement: The tile must rest on top of 3 hexes (no empty spaces beneath) and must cover hexes from at least 2 different tiles.

Note: A hex covered by another tile no longer counts.

Hex Types

Quarries: Do not score points. When covered by another tile, the player gains 1 Stone from the reserve.

Plazas (5 colors): Multiply the value of matching-color districts. Stars on plazas are cumulative. Plazas on higher levels do NOT earn extra points (unlike districts).

Districts (5 types): Score points based on placement conditions and construction height.

District	Placement Condition
Houses (blue)	Only the largest group of adjacent Houses scores
Markets (red)	Must not be adjacent to any other Market
Barracks (gray)	Must be on the edge of the city
Temples (purple)	Must be completely surrounded by other hexes
Gardens (green)	No placement condition

District Value

A district’s value equals its construction height (level 1 = 1 point, level 2 = 2 points, level 3 = 3 points, etc.).

Supplying the Construction Site

When only 1 tile remains in the Construction Site:

1. Move the remaining tile to the first position.
2. Take one stack and place tiles face up to replenish the line.
3. Pass the Chief Architect marker to the left.
4. If no stacks remain, proceed to end of game.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

For each district type:

1. Sum the values of all districts meeting their placement condition.
2. Sum the stars on all matching Plazas.
3. Multiply these two numbers.

Add 1 VP per Stone remaining in supply.

Winner: Highest total VP. Tiebreaker: most Stones.

Scoring Example

If your largest Housing group has 5 houses on level 1 and 2 on level 2: total value = 5x1 + 2x2 = 9. With 3 Housing Plaza stars: 9 x 3 = 27 points.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Plazas do NOT need to be adjacent to matching districts to provide their multiplier.
• A starting tile includes 1 Housing Plaza.
• Covered hexes no longer count toward the city.
• If you have 0 matching Plazas for a district type, that type scores 0 regardless of districts placed.

Difficulty Variants

Each variant adds a bonus condition that doubles a district’s points if met (original conditions still apply):

District	Bonus Condition for Doubled Points
Houses	Largest group value is 10 or more
Markets	Adjacent to a Market Plaza
Barracks	Has 3 or 4 empty adjacent spaces
Temples	Built on a higher level
Gardens	Adjacent to a lake (empty space completely surrounded)

Player Reference

Turn: Take a tile (pay Stones) → Place tile in city.

Scoring per type: (Sum of qualifying district values) x (Sum of matching Plaza stars) + 1 VP per remaining Stone.

Stone Cost	Position in Line
0	1st tile
1	2nd tile
2	3rd tile
3	4th tile
etc.	etc.