Complete Rules
How to Play
Overview
In Consul of Rome, you are an ambitious Roman statesman contending for power during a time of crisis. You will marshal Legions, court Senators, and sway the balance of power using daring Gambits or calculated Bribery. Every card you lay is public influence on the table; every card you hold back is a potential surprise.
The victor is the player who finishes with the greatest political and military support — measured in votes.
The Deck
Consul of Rome uses a core deck of 80 cards:
- ⚖11 Senator cards — Powerful patricians worth 10 votes each. Each Senator is affiliated with a legion — required when opening with multiple Senators.
- �13 Legio Romanus cards — Wild substitutes. A Romanus card stands in for its exact rank in any other legion.
- �52 Legionary cards — Four distinct legions — Sabina (Pegasus), Gemina (Lion), Fulminata (Thunderbolt), Alaudae (Elephant). Each has 13 cards.
- �4 Auxilia cards — Wild gap-fillers. At most one Auxilia may substitute in any single meld.
Legion Ranks & Votes
Within each of the four core legions, cards rank from 1 to 13:
| Rank Name | Rank Number | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Cohorts I–X | 1–10 | 1 each |
| Aquilifer | 11 | 2 |
| Primus Pilus | 12 | 3 |
| Tribune | 13 | 5 |
Legio Romanus cards substitute for the rank they represent and carry the same vote value as that rank — both as part of a meld and as a hand penalty. Only Auxilia cards carry no votes of their own.
Setup
- 2–4 players.
- Shuffle the full deck; deal 10 cards to each player.
- Place two cards face-up as the start of two separate discard piles. The rest is the draw deck.
- Decide on a game mode before play begins.
Turn Structure
On your turn, take three steps in order:
- Draw. Take one card from the top of the deck, or the top card of either discard pile. If the deck ever runs dry, you must draw from a discard pile instead.
- Meld / Build. Play valid melds to your tableau, and/or add cards onto your existing melds. You may play as many melds as you like. You cannot play any meld until you have opened with a Senator. If you draw the exact card an Auxilia is standing in for within one of your melds, you may swap it in — the Auxilia returns to your hand to use elsewhere.
- Discard. End your turn by discarding exactly one card to either discard pile. The game ends immediately the moment your hand is empty — whether you emptied it by discarding your last card, or by playing your final cards as a complete Legion Run or Officer Set.
Meld Types
Senator Opening
Your first senator play opens your campaign. It must consist of one or more Senators from the same legion. Until you have opened, no other melds may be played.
After opening — including later in the same turn — any further Senator play must be two or more Senators from the same legion. A senator play (opening or otherwise) can never mix Senators from different legions.
Example: you open with a single Legio Romanus Senator. Later you may play two or more Sabina Senators together, or two or more further Romanus Senators — but never a lone Senator once you've already opened, and never a play mixing legions.
Legion Run
Three or more cards of consecutive ranks within one legion.
- A Legio Romanus card may substitute for its exact rank in the run's legion.
- At most one Auxilia card may fill a single gap in the run.
- Example: Sabina Cohort III + Romanus IV + Sabina Cohort V = valid run.
Officer Set
Three or more cards of the same officer rank (11 = Aquilifer, 12 = Primus Pilus, 13 = Tribune), each from a different legion.
- A Legio Romanus card may substitute at the matching rank.
- At most one Auxilia card may substitute.
- Example: Sabina Tribune + Gemina Tribune + Alaudae Tribune = valid Officer Set.
Scoring
When any player empties their hand, the round ends immediately. All players score:
Score = Tableau Votes − Hand Votes
Some setups add a going-out bonus: a house rule, switchable before the game begins, that awards the player who empties their hand first an extra +10 votes.
The player with the highest score becomes Consul of Rome.
House Rules
Going-Out Bonus
The first player to empty their hand earns a bonus of +10 votes added to their final score.
Assassination
During your play phase, you may eliminate a Senatorfrom any opponent's tableau by sacrificing cards from your own hand whose total votes equal or exceed that Senator's votes.
- Select the cards you wish to sacrifice from your hand.
- Click Assassinate Senator to enter targeting mode.
- Click the Senator you wish to eliminate in an opponent's tableau.
- Senators are worth 10 votes each — you must sacrifice at least 10 votes of cards.
- The sacrificed cards go to a discard pile; you still discard normally to end your turn.
Example: sacrifice a Tribune (5v) + Primus Pilus (3v) + three Cohorts (3 × 1v) = 11 votes to remove an opponent's Senator (10v).
Game Modes
The best way to learn is to play.
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