http://www.ofb.net/~whuang/gp/phoenicia-rulesfaq.txt
As more questions and corrections come up I will add them to
the FAQ linked above. The current set of questions and answers
are below, but be warned they are subject to change:
MONEY AND STORAGE
-----------------
Q: When are storage and treasury limits applied?
A: They are applied at the end of 1c. (Buy any tools and
adjust treasury), and also at 2d. (Apply storage and treasury
limits). 1c is applied to the player taking the current
turn, while 2d applies to all players. Both are mandatory.
Q: Are storage and treasury limits always applied at the end of
1c. (Buy any tools and adjust treasury), or only when a player
has turned in one production card in exchange for disks?
A: They are always applied at the end of 1c, regardless of
whether a player has exchanged a card for disks.
Q: When is it permitted to convert a production card into
disks without spending it?
A: During 1c. (Buy any tools and adjust treasury), you may
convert *one* card voluntarily on your turn. That is the
only case where you can *voluntarily* convert a card to coins.
However, note that if you exceed your storage limit (for cards)
at the end of 1 (Player Turns) or during 2d, there is a *forced*
conversion of your excess cards to coins (which will usually
exceed your treasury limits, and then be further discarded).
Q: Can you convert four disks to a card during 1 (Player Turns)?
A: No.
Q: When is it permitted to convert 4 disks into a production card?
A: Only at the end of 2c. (Deal production cards). The rules say
you must convert if you have more than four disks, but this is
incorrect. It should say that you must convert if you have
*four or more* disks. For example, if you have exactly four
disks, you must convert those four disks to a production card,
even if doing so would make you exceed your storage limit.
Q: If I have 8 or more disks after production, do I only convert
one set of 4 disks to a card, or may I convert two sets of 4
to one card each? Or is such conversion mandatory?
A: You *must* convert sets of 4 disks to cards as much as you
are able to, even if this would put you over your storage
limit. For example, if you have an income of 10 and 6 disks
in your treasury, after step 2c you should have 4 cards.
(When you exceed your storage limit in step 2d, however, you
would receive disks for the card that you discarded, so this
is almost never a disadvantage.)
Q: The money deck in the game has 60 cards, but the instruction
booklet says 40. Which is correct?
A: As designed, the game had 40 cards (8 fours, 24 fives, and
8 sixes), but 20 cards (4 fours, 12 fives, and 4 sixes) were
later added. Playing with the 60 card deck tends to make
the later parts of the game a bit more chaotic, as a large
hand tends to have a wider possible range. Play with
whichever is comfortable for your group.
Q: What happens if the storehouse tokens run out?
A: The number of storehouse tokens is unlimited. Just keep
track of it in some other way.
Q: If using the preset production cards, should they be
shuffled back in?
A: No.
Q: In what order do players receive production cards?
A: If it makes a difference (such as when the deck is likely
to be reshuffled), start at the Overlord and go clockwise.
Q: If a player is over their storage limit during step 2c.
(Deal production cards) and must discard, does the discarding
happen before or after the next player receives their production?
(This could make a difference if there is a reshuffle involved.)
A: All production cards are dealt out (2c) before any storage
limits are checked (2d).
Q: Improved Storage displays only 4 storehouse icons. If a
player already has more than 2 storehouses when a Granary
is purchased, does the Granary provide 2 more storehouses,
or does it only increase the number of storehouses to 4?
A: It provides 2 more storehouses. The icons on the Improved
Storage is only a reminder that the player should have at
least 4 storehouses.
Q: Do players produce on the last turn, for purposes of tie-breaking?
A: No. Production is in step 2c, but victory is checked in 2a.
There is no production on the last turn, because the game is
already over.
Q: The examples under 2c talk about "a production of 6." Does
that mean 6 cards or 6 disks? How can it be 6 disks when
the disks seem to range from 0 to 3?
A: "A production of 6" means that the production disk is on
space 6 of the track, which is labeled with 1 card and 2
disks. This is because the production will be equal to
6 disks, of which 4 will definitely be converted to cards.
Q: Why are there production symbols on the spaces after 32?
Wouldn't the game have ended before they are reached?
A: It is possible for production to go beyond 32 before anyone has
reached 32 VPs. The scoring track keeps track of VPs (with the
tall pieces) and production (with the flat pieces). The game
only ends if someone reaches 32 VP. Reaching 32 production
doesn't do anything special.
AUCTIONS
--------
Q: Are unauctioned cards ever discarded?
A: No; they stay available for auctions in future turns.
CARD ABILITIES
--------------
Q: If a set of development cards runs out in 2b (Add development
cards), is the next set immediately used, or are they delayed
until next turn?
A: The next set is immediately used.
Q: Can multiple cards of the same type be purchased by the same
player?
A: Yes.
Q: When are the Advanced side of the tiles used?
A: When a player gets a second Tracker, they upgrade their
Improved Hunting to Advanced Hunting. When a player gets
a second Smelter, they upgrade their Improved Mining to
Advanced Mining.
Q: What does the icon of an amphora (jar) with a plus sign on it
mean (it's on the Smelter card)?
A: It is a reminder to check if your production has increased due
to the effect of workers on Mining becoming more prodcutive;
and if so, to update your production token on the track accordingly.
Q: Oh. Then why isn't that icon on the Tracker card?
A: It should be; it got left off as a misprint.
Q: Does purchase of a second Prospector provide Improved Mining?
A: No. However, it does provide a second -1 discount towards
Smelters, which are the development cards that provide
Improved/Advanced Mining.
Q: Does purchase of a Smelter provide Improved Mining immediately,
even without a Prospector ?
A: Yes.
Q: I have Mining and obtain Improved Mining (by buying a Smelter).
What happens after adjusting production, storehouses, and VPs for the
Smelter and taking the Improved Mining tile?
A: Any workers in Mining are transferred to Improved Mining (at no
cost), which may result in increased production, and then the Mining
tile is discarded. If any tools were present on the Mining tile
(this is a rare occurrence), these would also be transferred to
Improved Mining.
Q: Do you need a Dyer to buy a Dye House?
A: No; the only limitation on purchasing cards is winning the auction.
(This question gets asked about the Dyer a lot because it appears
that the Dyer has no other function.)
Q: Is there any Improved Farming or Clothmaking?
A: No. Purchasing extra Dye Houses does not confer any extra
abilities beyond the increased production, storehouse, and VPs.
Q: Is there any Advanced Storage?
A: No. Purchasing a second Granary does not provide anything beyond
the two extra storehouses and the VPs.
Q: Are discounts used up after being applied?
A: No; they can be used again on multiple purchases. This makes
them very powerful. The note in the rules about removing
reminder cubes is to address running out of game components;
there is no in-game limit on the cubes.
Q: Does the Shipyard discount apply to just one of Ships, Trade Fleets,
or Ports? Or does it apply to all of them?
A: It applies to all of them.
Q: When purchasing VPs (from the City Center bonus tile), is the
limit on VP purchase a per-turn limit or a limit over the
entire game?
A: It is a limit on the entire game. The tile is not "cleared"
between turns.
WORKERS
-------
Q: Is it allowed to shift a worker to a less costly activity, or
"unemploy" a worker back to the Training Ground?
A: No.
Q: Is it allowed to shift more than one worker a turn to a more
costly activity?
A: Yes, it certainly is. You may shift any number of workers.
The workers do not all have to come from the same activity, and
their destinations do not need to be the same activity either.
Q: Can I choose freely which workers from an activity move?
A: No. When placing workers, you must place them on the lowest-numbered
available space; and when promoting workers, you must remove them
from the highest-numbered available space.
VICTORY
-------
Q: When calculating the sum of production cards and disks for the
purpose of tie-breaking a victory, should the cards be
counted by their numerical values, or is it just the number
of cards?
A: Use the numerical values on the cards.
Last edited on 2007-08-27 19:16:06 CST (Total Number of Edits: 9)
Posted Thu Jul 26,2007 11:52 pm
to you for taking the time to make this FAQ available to us.
to the publisher for making a final draft of the rules which requires this FAQ.
