Overview
Glory to Rome is a strategic card game where players are Roman patricians rebuilding the city after the great fire of 64 AD. Each card can serve multiple purposes: as a Role (action type), Client (permanent worker), Material (building resource), Structure (completed building with a power), or Money (victory points). Players lead and follow roles to hire clients, gather materials, lay foundations, and complete structures. The game ends when all Site cards of one type are taken, the draw pile is exhausted, or a player completes a special building (Catacomb). The player with the most victory points wins.
Components
- 159 Order cards (44 different types)
- 36 Site cards (6 types)
- 6 Jack cards (wild cards)
- 1 Leader card with white card stand
- 6 Merchant Bonus cards
- 5 Player Camp cards
- 1 oversized “Rome Demands…” card
Setup
- Place a Camp card face up in front of each player.
- Shuffle Order cards; deal 5 to each player face down.
- Place Jack cards in a central pile.
- Create Site card stacks equal to the number of players per type; remaining Sites are “Out of Town” (placed upside-down).
- Deal one Order card face up per player into the Pool to determine starting player (alphabetically first card name).
- Place remaining Order cards as the draw pile.
- Give the Leader card to the starting player.
Turn Structure
- Leader’s Choice: The Leader either Leads a role (plays an Order card on their Camp) or Thinks (draws cards; turn ends immediately).
- Other Players: Clockwise, each player either Follows (plays a matching Role card) or Thinks (draws cards).
- Resolve Actions: Leader performs 1 action for leading + 1 per matching Client. Then each following player performs 1 action for following + 1 per matching Client. Players who Thought still get actions from their Clients.
- Cleanup: Move all played Role cards to the Pool. Pass the Leader card to the left.
Actions
There are 6 Roles, each corresponding to a material color:
| Role |
Color |
Action |
| Patron |
Purple/Marble |
Take a card from the Pool into your Clientele |
| Laborer |
Yellow/Rubble |
Take a card from the Pool into your Stockpile |
| Architect |
Grey/Concrete |
Lay a Foundation or add Material from Stockpile to a Structure |
| Craftsman |
Green/Wood |
Lay a Foundation or add Material from Hand to a Structure |
| Legionary |
Red/Brick |
Demand materials from other players’ hands (matching your card + neighbors in Pool) |
| Merchant |
Blue/Stone |
Move a card from your Stockpile to your Vault |
Thinking (Instead of Leading/Following)
Choose ONE:
- Take 1 Jack (if available)
- Draw Order cards from the pile to fill your hand to refill size (default 5)
- If already at/above refill size, draw 1 additional card
Jacks
- Wild cards: can lead or follow any Role
- Return to the Jack pile at end of turn
- Cannot be used as Materials or Clients
Petitioning
Play 2 Order cards of the same color to act as a Jack (lead or follow any role of that color).
Building Structures
- Lay Foundation: Play a card from hand as a new Foundation (requires taking a matching Site card). The Site determines the material type and how many materials are needed.
- Add Material: Place a matching-color material from Stockpile (Architect) or Hand (Craftsman) onto the Foundation.
- Complete: When a Structure has materials equal to its Site value, it is complete. Gain its special power and Influence equal to its Site value.
Material Values (and Structure costs)
| Material |
Color |
Site Value |
Merchant Bonus |
| Rubble |
Yellow |
1 |
+3 VP |
| Wood |
Green |
1 |
+3 VP |
| Brick |
Red |
2 |
+3 VP |
| Concrete |
Grey |
2 |
+3 VP |
| Stone |
Blue |
3 |
+3 VP |
| Marble |
Purple |
3 |
+3 VP |
Influence
- Starts at 2 for each player
- Limits both Clientele size and Vault size
- Increases when completing Structures (by Site value)
- Counts as Victory Points
Scoring / Victory Conditions
Game ends when:
- All In-Town Sites of any one type are taken, OR
- The draw pile is exhausted (after a full turn cycle), OR
- A player completes the Catacomb structure (game ends immediately)
Victory Points:
- Influence (from completed Structures)
- Cards in Vault (each worth its material value: Rubble/Wood=1, Brick/Concrete=2, Stone/Marble=3)
- Merchant Bonus cards (+3 VP each, awarded to player with most of that material type in Vault)
- Building bonus VP (some Structures grant additional VP)
Highest total VP wins. Ties broken by most materials in Vault.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
- Clientele limit: Cannot exceed your Influence value (default 2). Excess clients must be discarded.
- Vault limit: Also limited by Influence.
- Stockpile: No limit.
- Legionary demands: The Leader/follower reveals a card from hand; all other players must give up matching materials from their hands. Demanded cards go to the Legionary’s Stockpile. Cards also matching the Pool go to the Legionary.
- Out of Town Sites: When In-Town Sites of a type are gone, players may still build using Out of Town Sites (which have higher material requirements).
- Building powers: Each of the 44 Structure types has a unique special ability that activates when completed. These can dramatically alter the game.
- Rome Demands: When a player leads Legionary, the “Rome Demands” card shows what is being demanded.
- Training game variant: Play without building powers for the first game to learn core mechanics.
Player Reference
| Camp Area |
Limit |
Contents |
| Clientele |
Influence |
Hired Clients (permanent workers) |
| Stockpile |
Unlimited |
Gathered Materials |
| Vault |
Influence |
Sold materials (hidden VP) |
Turn order: Leader Leads/Thinks > Others Follow/Think > Resolve Actions (Leader first) > Cleanup
Hand refill size: 5 (default)
Roles: Patron (hire), Laborer (gather), Architect (build from stockpile), Craftsman (build from hand), Legionary (demand), Merchant (sell)