Landover Rules
(Settlers® Alternative)

Objective

The first player to achieve 15 victory points (VP) is deemed the winner. See the Victory Point Chart below to see all the ways players can earn victory points.

Number of Players

Landover can be played with 2 - 4 players.

Victory Points

Structure
Cost
Description
4 VP Metropolis
The first player to reach level 4 for any given culture is awarded a metro. When a player receives a metro, the player chooses one of their cities to place the metro on.
2 VP City
May be built as an upgrade from the player’s existing villages
1 VP Village
May be built on any land hex corner not adjacent to any other villages or cities and connected to the player’s own roads or bridges
0 VP City Wall
May be built on existing city. Max 3 city walls per person. Increases safe hand size by 2 cards.
Max 1 city wall per city.
0 VP Road
May be built on any unoccupied land hex edge connected to the player’s own roads, villages, or cities
0 VP Bridge
May be built on any unoccupied water hex edge connected to the player’s own bridges, villages, or cities
Achievement
Description
2 VP Longest Route
As long as player has the longest route among all, players has +2 VP
1 VP Island Explored
Building your first village on another island earns you an extra VP.
1 VP Merchant Token
Worth 1 VP for the user who controls it. A user must play a merchant token dev card to gain control of the merchant token at which point they gain 1 VP
1 VP VP Dev Cards
Each VP dev card gives player 1 VP
1 VP Barbarian Defender
For each successfully defended Barbarian attack the player with most military power gets 1 VP

Road Placements

If a hex tile’s edge is adjacent to both land and water, then the player may choose to build a bridge OR a road there. However, you can’t connect a road to a bridge or vice versa.

Bridge Placements

If a hex tile’s edge is adjacent to two land tiles, then only a road can occupy that edge. If a hex tile’s edge is adjacent to two water tiles, then only a bridge can occupy that edge.

Resources and Commodities

Resources
Wool
Wood
Ore
Wheat
Clay
Commodities
Cloth
Paper
Coin

Production Chart

Hex Tile Terrain Terrain
Village Production Village
City Production City
Sheep
x1 Wool
x1 Wool x1 Cloth
Forest
x1 Wood
x1 Wood x1 Paper
Mountain
x1 Ore
x1 Ore x1 Coin
Field
x1 Wheat
x2 Wheat
Hills
x1 Clay
x2 Clay
Gold
x2 Random
x3 Random

Playing the Game

Starting the Game

Numbers are “randomly” placed on each resource tile for the map chosen. Player order is randomly determined at the start of the game. Each player takes a turn placing 1 village at any starting hex corner and one road connected to that village. Player’s then go in reverse order taking turns placing one city at any starting hex corner and one road connected to that city.

All villages and cities must always be at least 2 corners away from all other villages and cities. Each time a player places a city, they receive one resource for each of the tile types their city is touching.

Turn Sequence

Dice are automatically rolled, unless player has an alchemist
card (3 6-sided dice, one white and one red, and one event dice)
  • If a barbarian is rolled on the event dice, move the barbarian on the barbarian tracker. If this triggers a barbarian attack, carry out the attack per the “Barbarians” section below.

  • For all other rolls, players receive resources and commodities based on the numbers rolled. See production chart below.

  • If a 7 is rolled, clear all catapult raids from the board. If any players have more cards in their hand then their safe hand size, half their hand is randomly discarded.

Build, improve culture, buy military
power, or trade in any order

Landover Features & Details

Barbarians

Barbarian strength = Number of cities and metros on the board

The barbarians will advance one square on the tracker each time a barbarian is rolled on the event dice (50% chance). When the Barbarian reaches the end of the tracker, all players are attacked. (Players may choose to delay the start of the barbarians N barbarian rolls in the game creation options.)

If the barbarian strength is greater than the players strength, then the barbarian’s win the attack and the player(s) with a city and the least military power has one random city reduced to a village. Unwalled cities are prioritized over walled cities.

If the player strength is greater than or equal to the barbarian strength, then the barbarians lose the attack and the player with the greatest military power gains a military victory point. If two or more players tie for greatest military power then those players receive a random dev card. As a result of the successful defense, all players lose one military power (can't go below 0.)

Military Power

Players strength = Sum of all the player’s military power

All players begin the game with 0 military power. At any time on their turn player’s can choose to upgrade their military by spending 1 wool and 1 wheat. Players may upgrade their military power to a max value of 3. For players whose political culture is level 3 or higher and have a barracks, their max military power is unlimited. Military power serves two main functions: Defending barbarian attacks and carrying out raids on other players.

Defending Barbarian Attacks:
If the barbarian attack is successfully defended, the player with the greatest military power gains a military victory point. If two or more players tie for greatest military power then these players receive a random dev card. If the barbarian attack is successful, the player(s) with a city and the least military power has a random city razed to a village. Each time a barbarian attack is successfully defended, all players military power is reduced by 1.

Raids

Players with a military power of 1 or more may carry out one raid each turn. Carrying out a raid reduces your military power by 1. The raiding player chooses a tile adjacent to any opponent’s villages or cities and places their catapult on that tile. If their own catapult was already on another tile, it is moved to the raiding location of the new tile. Players cannot raid a tile that already has a catapult on it.

If there are multiple players on the chosen tile, one random resource is stolen from each player. Only one raid per turn is allowed. Any tiles with catapults on them are “dead” and do not produce resources or commodities. A player can remove a catapult by spending 1 military power. All catapults are removed from the board when a 7 is rolled.

Merchant Token

The merchant token is worth 1 VP for the user who controls it. There is only one merchant token in the game and it starts off not in play. A user must play a merchant token dev card to gain control of the merchant token at which point they gain 1 VP (and if there was a player previously in control of the merchant token, that player loses 1 VP).

The player placing the token chooses a resource tile adjacent to any one of their cities or villages to place it on. While in possession of the token, the player may trade resources 2:1 for the resource it is placed on. For example, if John owns the merchant token and has it placed on a wheat tile, he may trade wheat 2:1 for any other resource or commodity.

Culture

There are three types of culture in Landover: Science (green/paper), Commerce (yellow/cloth), and Politics (blue/coin). By developing culture, players increase their chance of drawing dev cards. At the start of each turn, if the event dice rolls a green, yellow, or blue key, all players whose culture level for that category is higher than or equal to the number shown on the red dice is given a dev card. Any players already holding 5 dev cards do not receive a dev card. Victory point dev cards do not count towards the max 5.

To improve your culture, you must upgrade it using the associated commodity defined above. The cost to upgrade is always one additional commodity than whatever the current level is. So upgrading science from 0 to 1 costs 1 paper. Upgrading politics from 3 to 4 costs 4 coins. The max culture level for all culture types is 6. For each type of culture, reaching level 3 unlocks a special ability for the rest of the game:

Science Level 3 = Aqueduct:
If a player does not receive any resources for a given roll, they are given one random resource.

Commerce Level 3 = Bank:
Allows players to trade commodities 2:1 with the bank for any resource or commodity.

Politics Level 3 = Barracks:
Allows players to upgrade their military power beyond level 3.

Metros

There are 3 total metros (worth +2 VPs each) available in the game, one for each type of culture. The first player to reach level 4 for any given culture is awarded a metro. When a player receives a metro, the player chooses one of their cities to place the metro on. Any city with a metro upgrade cannot be destroyed by a barbarian attack. If a player achieves level 4 after another player has already achieved level 4, they do not receive the metro.

However, if another player achieves level 6 before the other player who already has the metro of that type, then the metro is stolen away from the other player resulting in a transfer of those 2 VPs. The first player to reach level 6 for any given culture type retains the metro for the rest of the game and cannot lose it. The only reason for any other player to continue developing that culture type further would simply be to get the level 3 ability or increase their chances of getting a development card.

Longest Route

Longest Route is awarded to the player with the longest continuous route from end to end of roads and bridges with a count of 5 or more. The route can contain your own villages or cities but not an opponent’s. To take longest route away from another player, you must build a route that is at least one longer than theirs (by building more roads or bridges or interrupting their route with a village). If a route forks, the longest fork is counted. No road or bridge may be counted twice (no circular routes).

Port Authority

Port Authority is awarded to the player with the most harbors (ports) as long as they have a minimum of 3. To take Port Authority away from another player, you must settle on one more harbor than the player who currently has the most. Harbors do not need to be unique (3 wood harbors is ok). The player who is the Port Authority gains an additional +2 Victory Points.

Lucky 7 Raid

The Gods of Landover have always rooted for the underdogs. Any time a player in solo last place rolls a 7, they are granted a free raid. They may place their catapult anywhere on the board and steal 1 random resource from each player with an attached settlement. Don’t despair when losing, the gods may smile in your favor!

Trading

In Landover you can always trade any 3 of the same resources or commodities 3:1 with the bank. To improve your trade ratio, you can build a village on a harbor (also called ports). This will allow you to trade 2 resources of the harbor type for any 1 resource or commodity. You can also place a merchant token which also allows a 2:1 trade which can be obtained via commerce dev cards. Trading with other players is not allowed in Landover.

Development (Dev) Cards

The table below shows all the various dev cards in the game.

Commerce

Name
Qty
Description
Commercial Harbor
x2
Trade 1 resource for 1 commodity.
Master Merchant
x2
Pick any player with more victory points, see their hand and pick two cards.
Merchant
x6
Move the merchant token to your own settlement or city. The player that possesses the merchant may trade that resource 2:1 with the bank. Worth 1 VP.
Merchant Fleet
x2
Pick one resource or commodity of your choice to trade with the bank at a 2:1 rate for this turn only.
Resource Monopoly
x4
Pick a resource. Each player must give you (up to) two of those resources if they have it.
Commodity Monopoly
x2
Pick a commodity. Each player must give you one of that commodity if they have it.
Famine
x2
All players with more VPs than you must discard 2 random resources.

Science

Name
Qty
Description
Alchemist
x2
Each turn you possess this card, you have the option of choosing the exact numbers on both 6-sided dice or doing a normal random roll. (single use)
Crane
x2
After playing this card, your next culture improvement this turn costs one fewer commodity.
Inventor
x2
Swap two number tiles on the board. Swappable numbers are: 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 11.
Irrigation
x2
Receive two wheat for each village or city on a wheat tile.
Medicine
x2
Build a city for 2 ore and 1 wheat.
Mining
x2
Receive two ore for each village or city on an ore tile.
Printer
x1
1 Victory Point. Played immediately and does not count towards your max 5 dev cards.
Road Building
x2
Place two roads or two bridges, or one of each, at no cost to you.
Military
x2
Upgrade your military power by one level.

Politics

Name
Qty
Description
Siege
x2
Carry out a raid but steal one random resource from every player who has a village or city on the raided tile. Does not cost a military point
Bishop
x2
Remove a catapult from the board.
Constitution
x1
1 Victory Point. Played immediately and does not count towards your max 5 dev cards.
Deserter
x2
Steal one level of military power from a player of your choice.
Vandal
x2
Remove another player’s road or bridge of your opponents from the game. Must be at the end of an open route.
Diplomat
x2
Move one of your own roads or bridges to a new location as long as the route is open.
Raze
x2
You lose 1 military power and reduce another player’s city to a village. Must have military power greater than or equal to 1 to play this card.
Spy
x3
Pick a player, see their dev cards and choose one to steal.
Wedding
x2
Steal two random cards (resources or commodities) from every player that has more victory points than you.
Anarchy
x2
Randomize all the number tiles on the board until a 7 is rolled. (shuffle once, then restore number on 7)

Definitions

  • Hex Corners – Each hexagonal tile (hex tile) in the game has 6 corners. A hex corner is any one of the 6 corners on a hex tile.
  • Starting Hex Corners – Any hex corner where a village or city can legally be placed at the start of the game. The hex corner must be adjacent to a land hex tile and must NOT be adjacent to any mystery hex tiles.
  • Mystery Tiles – A mystery tile is a tile whose resource type and number is unknown to all players at the start of a game. Certain maps contain tiles which are unrevealed to start the game and only become revealed once a road (or bridge) touches that tile
  • Barbarian Tracker – Every 7 barbarian rolls on the event dice triggers a barbarian attack. The barbarian tracker is the UI element that shows exactly when the attack will occur.
  • Safe Hand Size – The maximum number of cards a player can safely hold in their hand. At the start of the game all players safe hand size is 9. For each city wall they build, it increases their safe hand size by 2. Since a max of 3 city walls can be built per player, the maximum safe hand size is 15. Whenever a 7 is rolled, if players are holding more cards than their safe hand size, half of their cards are randomly discarded.
  • Catapult – Each player possesses one catapult that matches their player color. The catapults are used to designate raids on the board and prevent tiles from producing resources. A player can remove a catapult by spending 1 military power. All catapults are removed from the board when a 7 is rolled.