Overview
Khôra: Rise of an Empire is a civilization-building game set in Ancient Greece. Each player leads a blossoming city-state (one of 7 unique cities), choosing 2 of 7 possible Actions each round — Philosophy, Legislation, Culture, Trade, Military, Politics, or Development — guided by dice rolls and strategic priorities. The game plays over 9 rounds. The player with the most Victory Points at the end wins.
Components
- 1 central board (with Citizen, Glory, Troop, and Tax Tracks; Achievement zone; Exploration zone; Score Track)
- 7 City tiles (unique asymmetric powers)
- 7 City boards
- Per player: 2 dice (+ 1 unlockable 3rd die), 7 Action tiles (numbered 0–6), wooden markers (Economy, Culture, Military, Development, Citizen, Tax, Glory, Troop, Victory Point), Achievement tokens, Victory Point tile
- 36 Knowledge tokens (Minor without laurels, Major with laurels; in 3 colors: red amphora, blue helmet, green lyre)
- Additional Minor Knowledge tokens for reserve
- Politics cards deck
- 16 Event cards (including Growing Populations and Conquest of the Persians)
- Drachma tokens (value 1 and value 5)
- Philosophy tokens
- Start Player marker
Setup
- Place the central board in the middle of the table.
- Place 36 Knowledge tokens on matching spaces on the board. Set remaining Minor Knowledge tokens near the board as reserve.
- Each player chooses a color and takes: City board, randomly chosen City tile, wooden markers, Achievement tokens, Victory Point tile, 2 dice, and 7 Action tiles.
- Place Economy, Culture, and Military markers at level 1 on your City board.
- Place Development marker next to the bottom Development on your City tile.
- Place 3rd die in the empty space below your Progress Track (unlocked later).
- Place Citizen marker on level 3 of the central board’s Citizen Track; Tax, Glory, and Troop markers on level 0.
- Place Victory Point marker on 0 of the Score Track.
- Build the Event deck: set aside Growing Populations and Conquest of the Persians; shuffle remaining 14 Event cards; take 7 random, place face down on Conquest of the Persians; place Growing Populations on top.
- Shuffle all Politics cards, deal 5 to each player. Draft cards: simultaneously choose 1 card, pass remaining to the left, repeat until all drafted. Place remaining cards as face-down deck.
- Each player receives 4 Drachmas. Create a Drachma reserve and Philosophy token reserve.
- Apply first Development effect for each City (some grant immediate benefits).
- Randomly choose the Start Player.
Turn Structure
Each of the 9 rounds has 7 phases in order:
Phase A: Event Announcement
Start Player reveals the top Event card and reads it aloud. The event is not resolved now (resolved in Phase F). Exception: Growing Populations takes effect during Phase C instead.
Phase B: Tax
Each player gains Drachmas equal to their Tax Track level.
Phase C: Dice
All players simultaneously:
- Roll all dice (2 at start; 3 after unlocking the 3rd die at Culture level 4). Roll once per round.
- Determine Start Player: Lowest total dice sum becomes Start Player (ties: closest clockwise to previous Start Player).
- Choose Actions: Secretly assign one of your 7 Action tiles to each die. Each tile used once; each die gets one tile.
- Reveal Actions: All players reveal simultaneously.
- Adjust Citizens: For each die, if the die value is less than the Action tile number, lose Citizens equal to the difference. If you cannot pay the Citizens, set that tile aside (Action is lost). You may spend Philosophy tokens (each gives +3 Citizens) at this step.
Phase D: Actions
Resolve Action tiles in numerical order (0 through 6). All players with the same active tile act simultaneously, except Military (4), which goes in clockwise turn order from Start Player. Action effects are optional.
Phase E: Progress
Starting with Start Player clockwise, each player may improve one Track on their City board by paying the Drachma cost for the next level, then moving the marker up and gaining the benefit. Philosophy tokens allow extra Progress (one additional level per token spent, paying the cost).
Phase F: Event Resolution
Apply the Event card’s effect. If targeting most/least of a stat, only that player applies it (ties: all tied players).
Phase G: Achievement
Check if any players meet Achievement requirements. Each Achievement can only be completed once. If one player earns it alone, they choose +1 Tax or +1 Glory. If multiple players earn it simultaneously, each gains +1 Glory.
Actions
| # |
Action |
Effect |
| 0 |
Philosophy |
Gain Philosophy tokens (no limit to holdings) |
| 1 |
Legislation |
Gain Citizens equal to your Economy Track level |
| 2 |
Culture |
Gain Victory Points equal to your Culture Track level. Then draw 2 Politics cards, keep 1, put other on bottom of deck |
| 3 |
Trade |
Gain Drachmas equal to your Economy Track level. May buy 1 Minor Knowledge token for 5 Drachmas |
| 4 |
Military |
Gain Troops equal to your Military Track level. Then may take 1 Explore action (spend Troops >= Knowledge token’s cost to claim it) |
| 5 |
Politics |
Play 1 Politics card from hand (pay Drachma cost and meet Knowledge token requirements) |
| 6 |
Development |
Unlock next Development on City tile (meet Knowledge token requirements, pay Drachma cost). Limited to 3 times per game |
Explore (via Military Action)
- Choose an available Knowledge token on the central board.
- Your Troops must be >= the value shown next to the token.
- Lose Troops on the Track equal to that value.
- Take the token and gain any benefits shown below the space.
- Exception: Exploring Persepolis lets you take all 3 Major Knowledge tokens at once.
Politics Cards
Three types:
- Yellow (Immediate): Apply effect immediately upon playing.
- Purple (Continuous): Effect remains active for rest of game.
- Red (End-game): Scores Victory Points during Final Scoring.
Requirements: Must possess the required Knowledge tokens (kept, not spent) and pay the Drachma cost.
Development
Three types:
- Immediate: Apply when unlocked.
- Ongoing: Triggered repeatedly for rest of game.
- End-game: Scores during Final Scoring.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
End-game trigger: After Round 9.
Final Scoring — add to current Score Track position:
- End-game effects on unlocked Developments
- End-game effects on played Politics cards
- Glory level x number of Major Knowledge tokens possessed
Winner: Most Victory Points. Tiebreaker: most Drachmas. Still tied: shared victory.
Achievements (5 total)
| Achievement | Requirement |
|————-|————-|
| 1 | 10 Victory Points |
| 2 | Level 12 on Citizen Track |
| 3 | Level 6 on Troop Track |
| 4 | Level 4 on Economy Track |
| 5 | 3 Politics cards in play |
Special Rules & Edge Cases
- Track maximums: Citizen Track max 15 (can temporarily exceed during Military action, must reduce to 15 at end of Action Phase). Troop Track max 15 (same temporary exception). Tax Track max 10. Glory Track max 10.
- Philosophy tokens have 3 uses:
- During Dice Phase (step 4): Spend any number; each gives +3 Citizens.
- During Progress Phase: Spend any number; each allows one extra Track level (still pay Drachma cost). Can Progress multiple levels on same or different Tracks.
- During Politics/Development Action: Spend in pairs; each pair lets you temporarily ignore one required Knowledge token.
- Knowledge tokens: Minor and Major are interchangeable for meeting requirements. Tokens are kept when used as requirements (not spent).
- 3rd die: Unlocked when Culture Track reaches level 4.
- Drachma exchange: 5 value-1 coins = 1 value-5 coin at any time.
- Score Track: If passing space 89, place Victory Point tile as reminder; continue counting above 90.
- Reserves are unlimited: If tokens run out, use substitutes.
- Can’t lose what you don’t have: If required to lose Citizens/Troops/Drachmas you don’t have, lose as many as you can (or none).
Player Reference
Round Phases: A. Event Announcement → B. Tax → C. Dice → D. Actions → E. Progress → F. Event Resolution → G. Achievement
Action Resolution Order: 0 Philosophy → 1 Legislation → 2 Culture → 3 Trade → 4 Military (turn order) → 5 Politics → 6 Development
Track Maximums:
| Track | Max |
|——-|—–|
| Economy/Culture/Military (City board) | 7 |
| Citizen | 15 |
| Troop | 15 |
| Tax | 10 |
| Glory | 10 |
Starting Values: Citizens 3, Tax/Glory/Troop 0, Economy/Culture/Military 1, Drachmas 4, Politics cards 5 (drafted)