Trajan

Overview

Trajan is set in ancient Rome during Emperor Trajan’s reign (98-117 AD). Players use a mancala-style mechanism on their personal player mats to select actions across six different areas: Seaport, Forum, Military, Trajan tiles, Senate, and Construction. The game spans four quarters (each with four rounds), and players must balance competing demands – from fulfilling the people’s needs to expanding the military and scoring bonus objectives. The player with the most victory points after 16 rounds wins.

Components

• 1 Game board (Roman Empire map with senate track, provinces, seaport, construction district)
• 4 Player mats with action circles (6 trays each)
• 4 Arches of Trajan
• 48 Octagonal action markers (12 per player: 2 each of 6 colors)
• 60 Small player tokens (15 per color)
• 4 Military leaders, 8 Discs
• 60 Commodity cards (12 types, 5 each)
• Demand tiles, Forum tiles, Bonus tiles, Construction tiles, Trajan tiles, Senate tiles, Ship tiles
• Time marker
• Linen bag for drawing tiles
• Rulebook

Setup

1. Each player receives a mat, leader, 15 tokens, 2 discs, Arch of Trajan, and 12 action markers (placed 2 per tray in the action circle).
2. Place demand tiles face-down, randomly removing 3. Distribute forum tiles to provinces and board spaces.
3. Fill construction district with tiles. Place time marker based on player count.
4. Stack senate discs in player order. Deal 3 commodity cards and 1 bonus tile per player.
5. Each player selects 3 Trajan tiles (different categories) for slots II, IV, VI on their mat.

Turn Structure

Each turn consists of 3 steps:

Step 1: Rearrange Action Markers (Mandatory)

Choose one tray on your mat and pick up all markers from it. Distribute them one-per-tray clockwise around the circle. The last tray where a marker lands is your target tray.

Step 2: Accomplish Trajan Tile (Optional)

If a Trajan tile sits next to the target tray and the required colored markers are in that tray, accomplish it: gain VP and perform the tile’s special action. Certain tile types (bread, helmet, flame) remain permanently; others are removed after use.

Step 3: Perform One Action (Optional)

Execute the action associated with your target tray’s position.

Time Marker Advancement (Mandatory)

The player to your right advances the time marker by the number of markers you picked up. When the marker completes a circuit, a quarter ends.

Actions

1. Seaport

Choose one:

• Draw 2 commodity cards, discard 1 to the discard pile.
• Take the top card from the discard pile.
• Play 1-2 commodity cards to your personal display.
• Ship commodities matching ship tiles for VP.

2. Forum

Take any 1 tile from the forum and place it on your mat.

3. Military

Choose one:

• Move 1 token from supply to military camp (becomes a legionnaire).
• Move your military leader to an adjacent province and seize any tile there.
• Deploy a legionnaire from camp to your leader’s province for VP.

4. Trajan

Take the top Trajan tile from one of 6 stacks and place it on the slot occupied by your Arch of Trajan. Move the Arch clockwise to the next free slot.

5. Senate

Advance your disc 1 space on the senate track, gaining VP shown for the new space. Cannot advance to the 8-VP space more than once per quarter.

6. Construction

Choose one:

• Move 1 token from supply to worker camp.
• Deploy a worker to a construction site, collecting tiles and VP (plus bonus action if first of that tile type).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Quarter-End Scoring (4 times per game)

Demands: Reveal 3 demand tiles. Players must match them using forum tiles or Trajan tiles. Penalties: 1 unmet = -4 VP, 2 unmet = -9 VP, 3 unmet = -15 VP.

Senate Vote: Count votes from senate position + senate tiles. Consul (most votes) and Vice Consul (2nd) each select a bonus tile.

End-of-Game Scoring

• Each commodity card in hand: 1 VP
• Each worker in camp: 1 VP
• Each legionnaire in camp: 1 VP
• Each Trajan tile remaining: 1 VP
• Set of 3 identical construction icons: 10 VP
• Set of 4 identical construction icons: 20 VP

Winner: Most VP. Ties broken by highest senate track position.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Mancala Mechanism: The number of markers picked up determines both the target tray and the time cost. Picking up many markers advances the time marker quickly, potentially ending the quarter sooner.
• Time Pressure: The time marker creates urgency – if you pick up many markers, you consume more of the quarter’s limited time.
• Demand Penalties: Failing to meet demands is heavily penalized. Accumulating forum tiles to match demands is essential.
• Legionnaire Limit: Only 1 legionnaire per player per province.
• Zero VP Floor: Players never gain fewer than 0 VP for a province.
• Arch Movement: When all 6 mat slots are filled, the Arch moves to the center.
• Trajan Tile Accomplishment: Only possible when the exact colored markers are present in the target tray and a tile is adjacent to that tray.
• Senate Restriction: Cannot advance to the 8-VP space during a quarter if already there.

Player Reference

Action #	Area	Options
1	Seaport	Draw cards, play cards, ship goods
2	Forum	Take 1 forum tile
3	Military	Recruit, move leader, deploy troops
4	Trajan	Take Trajan tile for mat
5	Senate	Advance disc for VP
6	Construction	Recruit workers, deploy to sites

Mancala: Pick up tray -> distribute clockwise -> target tray = last marker placed

Game Length: 4 quarters x 4 rounds = 16 turns per player

Demand Penalties: 1 unmet = -4

2 unmet = -9

3 unmet = -15