Saint Petersburg

Overview

Saint Petersburg is a card-driven Euro-style board game set in the founding era of the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Published in 2004 by Hans im Gluck, the game won the Deutscher Spiele Preis that year. Players acquire workers, buildings, and aristocrats, placing them in their play areas to generate income and victory points. The game revolves around managing limited funds to purchase the right cards at optimal times across four phases per round. The player with the most victory points at game end wins.

Components

• Worker cards (green) – generate rubles
• Building cards (blue) – generate victory points and/or rubles
• Aristocrat cards (red) – generate victory points, rubles, and end-game bonuses
• Trading cards (orange) – upgrade existing cards
• Starting player stones
• Ruble tokens
• Victory point tokens or scoring track
• Card display area (upper and lower rows)

Setup

Each player receives 25 rubles. Shuffle the four card decks separately (workers, buildings, aristocrats, trading cards). Deal worker cards equal to twice the player count face-up in the upper display row. Randomly distribute starting player stones (1-2 per player based on player count). The game begins with the worker phase.

Turn Structure

Each round consists of four sequential phases: Workers, Buildings, Aristocrats, then Trading Cards. Each phase follows the same pattern:

1. Action turns: Starting with the phase’s start player, players take turns clockwise. Each turn, a player performs one action (buy, add to hand, play from hand, or pass).
2. Phase scoring: After all players pass consecutively, score cards of the current type.
3. Replenish: Shift remaining cards from the upper row to the lower row. Refill the upper row to 8 cards from the appropriate deck.

Actions

On each turn within a phase, a player chooses exactly one action:

Buy

• Pay the card’s cost in rubles and place it immediately in your play area.
• The card begins scoring in the appropriate phase.

Add to Hand

• Take a card from the display and add it to your hand (hidden).
• Maximum hand size: 3 cards (4 with the Warehouse building).
• Cards in hand at game end score -5 points each.

Play from Hand

• Play a card from your hand by paying its cost.
• Useful for saving cards for a later, more strategic moment.

Pass

• Decline to act this turn. Once all players pass consecutively, the phase ends.

Important: A player who passes may still take actions later in the same phase if others continue playing.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Phase Scoring

• Worker phase: Workers generate rubles.
• Building phase: Buildings generate victory points and/or rubles.
• Aristocrat phase: Aristocrats generate victory points and/or rubles.
• Trading card phase: No scoring (trading cards replace existing cards).

Cost Reductions

Cards cost 1 ruble less if:

• You already own a duplicate of the card.
• The card is in the lower row.
• You have a Gold Smelter (reduces red card costs).
• You have a Carpenter Workshop (reduces blue card costs).
• Minimum cost is always 1 ruble.

End-Game Scoring

• Aristocrat diversity bonus: Points awarded based on the number of different aristocrats (scales exponentially).
• Money conversion: 1 VP per 10 remaining rubles.
• Hand penalty: -5 VP per card remaining in hand.

Game End Trigger

The game ends when the last card from any group reaches the display board. Complete the current round (all four phases), then tally final scores.

The player with the most victory points wins. Ties broken by remaining rubles.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Trading Cards: A trading card replaces an existing card of the matching type in your play area. Pay the cost difference (minimum 1 ruble). The replaced card is discarded.
• Lower Row Discount: Cards in the lower row cost 1 ruble less than face value.
• Hand Limit: Maximum 3 cards in hand (4 with Warehouse). Exceeding the limit is not allowed.
• Notable Buildings:
  • Observatory: Worth 1 VP per round OR use its special ability once per round.
  • Pub: Convert rubles directly to VP (2 rubles per VP).
  • Mariinskij Theater: Earns 1 ruble per aristocrat during building scoring.
  • Warehouse: Increases hand limit to 4.
• Starting Player Rotation: The starting player for each phase rotates, ensuring different players get first choice in different card types.

Player Reference

Card Type	Phase	Generates
Worker (Green)	Worker phase	Rubles
Building (Blue)	Building phase	VP and/or Rubles
Aristocrat (Red)	Aristocrat phase	VP and/or Rubles
Trading (Orange)	None	Upgrades existing cards

Actions	Effect
Buy	Pay cost, place card immediately
Add to Hand	Take card to hand (max 3)
Play from Hand	Pay cost for hand card
Pass	Skip turn (may act later)

End Game: When any deck’s last card reaches the display. Finish current round.