Pillars of the Earth, The

Die Säulen der Erde / The Pillars of the Earth is based on the bestselling novel by Ken Follett and the 2006 game in the Kosmos line of literature-based games.

At the beginning of the 13th century, construction of the greatest and most beautiful cathedral in England begins. Players are builders who try to contribute the most to this cathedral's construction and, in so doing, score the most victory points. Gameplay roughly consists of using workers to produce raw materials, and then using craftsmen to convert the materials into victory points. Workers may also be used to produce gold, the currency of the game. Players are also given three master builders each turn, each of which can do a variety of tasks, including recruiting more workers, buying or selling goods, or just obtaining victory points. Getting early choices with a master builder costs gold, as does purchasing better craftsmen. Players must strike a balance between earning gold to fund their purchases and earning victory points.

Expanded by:

• The Pillars of the Earth Expansion Set (which include the Expansion Cards)
• The Pillars of the Earth: Expansion Cards (which are included in the Expansion Set)

Awards

• 2008 GAMES 100 Game of the Year Winner.
• 2007 Årets Familiespill- (Family Game of the Year), Norway Winner.
• 2007 Spiel des Jahres Recommendation.
• 2007 Deutscher Spiele Preis Winner.
• 2007 Juego del Año (Game of the Year, Spain) Winner.
• 2007 Japan Boardgame Prize Winner, Best Advanced Game.
• 2007 Nederlandse Spellenprijs Nominee.

Online Play

• BrettspielWelt (real-time)

Microbadges

Box Size (Devir version): 29.7 x 29.7 x 7.2 cms.

Components:

• 1 eight-page color illustrated rule booklet
• 1 game board
• 1 black master builder draw bag
• 1 specially marked 6-sided die (numbered 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5)
• 1 black cost marker
• 1 small black worker token
• 4 small gray worker tokens
• 4 large worker tokens (1 in each of the 4 colors)
• 6 wooden cathedral pieces (nave, transept, apse, 2 steeples, roof)
• 8 wooden scoring marker discs (2 in each of the 4 colors)
• 12 master builder tokens (3 in each of the 4 colors)
• 28 small worker tokens (7 in each of the 4 colors)
• 75 small playing cards
  • 4 game summaries; 9 resources; 10 events; 16 privileges; 36 craftsmen
• 82 resource cubes
  • 13 blue (metal); 23 beige (sand); 23 gray (stone); 23 brown (wood)