Overview

In Bruxelles 1893, players are famous architects establishing the reputation of Art Nouveau in the Belgian capital. Over 5 rounds, players place assistants to perform actions on two boards: the Art Nouveau board (with auctions for bonus cards) and the Brussels board (free actions but risk losing assistants to the Courthouse). Players construct buildings, create and sell works of art, recruit Public Figures, and gain influence at City Hall and the Royal Palace. The architect with the most victory points wins.

Components

• 1 Brussels gameboard
• 5 Action strips + 1 Bonus strip (forming the Art Nouveau board)
• 5 personal Architect boards (1 per player color)
• 26 Public Figure cards
• 25 Bonus cards
• 12 Stock Exchange cards
• 76 one-BF coins and 12 five-BF coins
• 1 Bracket tile, 1 Workshop cursor
• 6 Compass tiles and 2 compass needles
• 1 Manneken Pis pawn (first player)
• 30 Building tiles (6 per color), 20 discs (4 per color), 35 Assistant pawns (7 per color)
• 30 Noble Materials cubes (10 wood, 10 iron, 10 stone) + 15 white Joker cubes
• 30 Works of Art tiles (5 colors + black)
• 5 Exhibition turn-counting tiles

Setup

1. Randomly assemble 5 Action strips above the Bonus strip (use non-star side for first games).
2. Each player takes their Architect board, 6 Building tiles, 4 discs, and 7 Assistants.
3. Place 5 Assistants near your board; place 2 on the Courthouse space.
4. Place discs on: City Hall track (first shield), Royal Palace track (first coat of arms), personal Architect track (first space), Scoring track (space 0).
5. Each player receives a 5-BF Georges Brugmann Public Figure card.
6. Stack Exhibition tiles by year (1893-1910). Setup Stock Exchange deck. Place Workshop cursor at center.
7. Shuffle Public Figure cards; place 4 face-up in Royal Theater.
8. Each player draws 1 color Work of Art tile.
9. First player gets Manneken Pis pawn and 5 BF. Other players get 6, 7, 8, 9 BF (clockwise from first player).

Turn Structure

The game is played over 5 rounds, each with 4 phases:

A. Stock Exchange Phase

Reveal top Stock Exchange card. It shows 2 shield positions based on player count. First player chooses one shield and places the Bracket tile to define the available area (largest quadrant) on the Art Nouveau board for this round.

B. Action Phase

Starting with the first player, each player performs one action per turn. Actions can be on the Art Nouveau board or the Brussels board. Continue clockwise until all players have passed.

C. Resolution of the Turn Phase

1. Auctions: For each column in the available area, the player with the highest total bid wins the Bonus card. Tied bidders: closest to first player wins. Losers get their money back.
2. Courthouse: The player with the most Assistants on the Brussels board loses 1 Assistant to the Courthouse.
3. Compass: The first player resolves the compass, potentially adjusting City Hall or Royal Palace positions.

D. End of Turn Phase

Return all Assistants from the Art Nouveau board to players. Refresh the Bonus strip and Public Figure display. Flip the next Exhibition tile. Pass Manneken Pis clockwise.

Actions

Art Nouveau Board Actions (require 1 Assistant + BF bid)

Place an Assistant on an action space in the available area and bid at least 1 BF.

• Workshop: Draw Work of Art tiles (1 + number of Exhibition tiles you own). Keep 1, return rest.
• Sale: Sell a Work of Art. Move Workshop cursor (spaces = total works owned), then sell 1 work whose color is not displayed in the shop. Earn BF and VP based on cursor position. Place sold work in shop window.
• Royal Theater: Take a Public Figure card (rightmost is free; others cost 1-3 BF). Public Figures provide various abilities.
• Construction: Build 1 of your 6 Building tiles on your Architect board by paying required Noble Materials. Earn VP and advance your Architect track.
• Enlist Noble Materials: Take a combination of Noble Materials cubes (type may depend on the space).

Brussels Board Actions (free, no bid required)

Place an Assistant on an available Brussels action space.

• City Hall: Advance your disc on the City Hall track. Higher positions earn more VP at game end.
• Royal Palace: Advance your disc on the Royal Palace track. Higher positions earn more VP at game end.
• Stock Exchange: Draw and keep Stock Exchange cards for various benefits.
• Free Action: Gain materials, money, or other benefits.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

VP is accumulated throughout the game and during final scoring:

• Building construction (VP from Architect board)
• Selling Works of Art
• Bonus cards won in auctions
• Public Figure abilities
• City Hall track position
• Royal Palace track position
• Architect track position on personal board
• Canal-related scoring
• Remaining resources may score through specific card effects

Highest VP total wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• A player may place an Assistant on the Art Nouveau board just to participate in the auction, without performing the action.
• Each Action space on the Art Nouveau board can only hold 1 Assistant per round.
• The Brussels board’s free actions have no bid, but the player with the most Assistants on the Brussels board at round end loses 1 to the Courthouse.
• Assistants sent to the Courthouse can be recovered through certain actions.
• The Workshop cursor position affects the value of sold art — moving it strategically is important.
• When Work of Art stacks are empty, remake them from shop tiles (leave top 2 in place).
• In a 2-player game, specific setup adjustments apply.
• First game: use the non-star side of the Action strips for a simpler experience.

Player Reference

Round Phases: Stock Exchange → Actions → Resolution → End of Turn

Board	Action Type	Cost
Art Nouveau	Workshop, Sale, Theater, Construction, Materials	1 Assistant + BF bid
Brussels	City Hall, Royal Palace, Stock Exchange, Free	1 Assistant (free)

Auction Resolution: Highest total bid per column wins the Bonus card.

Courthouse: Most Assistants on Brussels board loses 1 to Courthouse.