A game by Dirk Henn

for 1-5 players

Game Concept
The players assume the roles of architects whose task it is to build the Alhambra. They will construct six different types
of buildings: pavilions, seraglios, gardens, arcades, chambers, and towers by crossing out buildings on their player sheet.
The players who have constructed the most buildings of each type are rewarded with victory points (VPs) at the end of
the game. Additionally, players gain VPs for constructing all buildings in a row or column of their grid. Watching your
competitors carefully and constructing the proper buildings will score the most points and win you the game.

Components
• 1 Game pad with player sheets • 1 Score pad – 25 double-sided pages
– 100 double-sided pages

• 12 Dice – 6 each of blue and yellow • 1 rules booklet

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Setup – for 3 - 5 players
1.) Each player takes 1 sheet from the game
pad, 1 blue and 1 yellow die, and a pen (not
included).

2.) Randomly choose a first player. That

player takes one sheet from the score pad and
writes down the names of the players in the
first column of the player chart.

3.) Starting with the first player and

continuing clockwise, each player rolls both
their dice, placing them on the dice spaces
and crossing out the resulting intersection on
their player sheet.
Note: Marking off a square will be referred to as
“constructing” from here on.

As each player does so, the first player

should indicate the type of building
constructed by marking on the score sheet Di rk
(filling boxes from left to right). This will
make it easy for all players to see how many
buildings have been built of each type, and
by which players.

Repeat this process until each player has

constructed three buildings on their player
sheet; if a player would have to mark a
building that has been crossed out already,
they roll again until they get a building that
has not yet been constructed.

Finally, each player rolls their dice again

and places them on the corresponding dice
spaces next to their grid: the yellow die to the
left and the blue die on the top. Changes in setup for a
1 or 2 player game; see page 10.

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 a
rici
Pat VP chart
Fra
n k

Dice spaces

Constructed buildings

Round track

i
An
Supply of coins

Special actions Grid of buildings

VPs for rows & columns

VPs for coins

First player: Barbara

4.) The first player takes one blue and one yellow die in addition to the ones they just placed, rolls
them, and places them next to their grid on the appropriate spaces as well. If a space is occupied
by a die already, the second die is placed on top of the first.

5.) Players start the game with 3 coins, which come pre-marked on the player
sheet.
When a player uses a coin for a special action, they simply cross out a circled coin.
Any remaining dice are not used for this game and should be returned to the game box along with the player and
score pads.
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Playing the game
Alhambra Roll & Write is played over a fixed Number of players 5 4 3, 2, 1
number of rounds, the exact number depending on
Number of rounds 12 15 18
the player count.
During each game round, the first player begins, with the other players
following in clockwise order. Each time the first player performs their turn,
they cross off the current round of the round track on the points sheet.
On their turn, the active player must choose between two actions:

Construct one building or Gain coins

In addition to the chosen action the player may spend coins to perform a special action.
The active player’s turn ends after completing their action, and the next player takes their
turn. The game ends after the final round has been played, and play then proceed to final
scoring.

A player’s turn in detail

The player must choose to perform one of two possible actions:
Construct building
The player chooses one square that is the
intersection of one blue and one yellow die — if
all 4 dice are on different spaces, they will have 4
intersections to choose from.

A player is not allowed to choose an intersection

where the building has already been constructed.
If all possible intersections have been
constructed already, the player must choose the
action Gain coins .

The building on the chosen space is crossed out

(constructed), and the first player marks the next
empty box (from left to right) in the column for
that building on the active player’s row.

Example: Frank can choose between three buildings

to mark this turn. One intersection already shows a
marked buidling.

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If a player constructs the last building of a type,
which can be seen when the last building of that
type is marked on the score sheet, they score the +
VPs indicated for 1st place (if avaliable) for that
building type at the end of the round. If more than
one player constructs all of the buildings of one = 26
type in a round, add together the numbers for all
tied places and divide equally among the players,
26:2 =13
rounding down. Any player finishing a building VPs
type in a later round would score for second place,
then third place in the same manner. Scored VPs
are indicated next to the corresponding building on Example: Patricia and Frank managed to cross off
the VP chart on their player sheet. each box in the seraglios column in the same round.
Note: Players should cross off this scoring on the score sheet to They now split the points for first and second place
and each gain 13 victory points.
ensure it is not scored again at the end of the game.

Finally, the player removes the two dice from

their player sheet that were used to construct the
building.
The two remaining dice are passed to the next
player clockwise, making sure to not change their
number.

The passed dice should be placed on the next Example: Patricia gives her unused pair of dice to her
left hand neighbor, Frank. Frank places the dice onto
player’s sheet in the appropriate spaces. In case a his dice spaces without changing the numbers shown.
space is occupied already, put the second die on
top of the first.

The active player now rolls the dice they kept in

front of them and places them on their respective
dice spaces.

Play then passes to the next player (the only player

with 4 dice on their player sheet).
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 Gain coins
The player looks at the intersection of all 4 dice
and gains one coin for each building already
constructed on these intersection points.
Note: If a constructed building falls on 2 or 4 intersections,
the player will receive 2 or 4 coins.

The corresponding number of coins should be

circled on the player sheet.

Once all coins have been circled, the player may Example: Patricia gains 3
coins since she has three
earn no more coins. marked buildings on
intersection points.

Example: All dice combinations

have the same two intersection
points. Since the buildings on
these points are marked, Patricia
gains 4 coins.

Then, the player rolls all four of their dice.

They must select one yellow and one blue
die and place them on the corresponding dice
spaces of their player sheet, and then pass the
other dice pair to their left neighbor without
changing the results. That player puts them on
the corresponding spaces of their player sheet as
usual.

Example: Patricia rolls all 4 dice and chooses one pair

of dice to keep. The other pair is given to her left hand
Play then passes to the next player. neighbor.

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Spending coins for special actions
Players may spend their coins to perform special actions.
When spending a coin, the player crosses out a
circled coin of the coin supply on their player
sheet.
If a player has no coins or not enough coins
required for a special action, they cannot perform
that special action.

Special actions -1
1. Change die result
By spending one coin at the start of a turn the
player may increase or decrease the result of one
die by exactly one pip. The player may spend
more coins to change the result of one die by
-2
more pips and/or change the results of more
than one die, but it is not allowed to change a
result from 6 to 1 or vice versa.
After changing the result, the player decides which
of the two possible actions to perform
( Construct building or Gain coins ).

Example: Frank spends 3 coins to change the pips on

the yellow die twice and the blue die once.
2. Construct two buildings
By spending three coins the player may,
after constructing the first building on their grid
at Construct building , construct a second building
with their two unused dice. The first player marks
off both buildings on the score pad.
Then, the player rolls all four of their dice. They
must select one yellow and one blue die and place
them on the corresponding dice spaces of their
player sheet and then pass the other dice pair to
their left neighbor without changing the results.
Example: Ani spends 3 coins in order to mark two
That player puts them on the corresponding towers on her turn.
spaces of their player sheet as usual.
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Game end and final scoring
After the final game round (determined by player count), the game ends and
final scoring takes place. Players record all VPs earned during the final
scoring on the VP chart of their player sheet.

Final scoring
1. Type of buildings
First, VPs are awarded for each type of building.
The players who have constructed the most,
second most, and third most buildings of each :2 =6 VPs
type score VPs for the first, second, and third
position, as shown on the VP summary of the :2 =6 VPs

score pad.
In case of a tie the points are shared among the
tied players, rounded down.
Note: A player must have constructed at least one building
of a type to be eligible to score points. Example: Patricia is in first place and gains 18 VPs.
Barbara and Dirk are tied and split the points for
second and third place (rounded down). They each
gain 6 VPs. Frank gets no points.

However, if VPs for a certain type of building

were awarded already during the game, only the
VPs for any remaining positions are awarded
during the final scoring.

A player who has scored VPs for constructing all

of one type during the game does not score that
building type again.

Example: Ani does not score VPs for first place since she
already received them during the game. Barbara scores
13 VPs for second and Dirk 6 VPs for third place.

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2. Rows & columns
The players score VPs if they have marked at least 4 buildings in a row or column (they do
not have to be contiguous). Each player counts the number of marked buildings in each row
and each column of their player sheet and scores as follows:
Number of marked buildings 4 5 6 Each player adds the VPs for their rows and
in a row / column columns and records the total in their VP
VPs gained 2 5 10 chart.

Example: Dirk has managed to mark

enough buildings in one row and two
columns resulting in 17 VPs for him.

3. Coins
Finally, each 2 coins a player still owns (circled,
but not crossed out) are worth 1 VP. Players record
these in their VP chart as well.

Example: Dirk gains 1 VPs for his three leftover coins.

The players total their VPs, and the player with the most VPs
is the winner of the game.
In case of a tie the tied players share the victory.

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Special rules for 1 or 2 players
One or two virtual players are introduced for the 2 player or solo game respectively (there
should always be at least three players in the game). The virtual player(s) does not score any
VPs, but each round a building is marked for them on a column of the game pad, affecting
the positions and VPs scored during final scoring by the real player(s).

Changes in Set-up – 1 or 2 players

1.) Take one pair of dice for all virtual players.

2.) The first player writes down the virtual Example:

players in one row each, the same as a real
players, and rolls the dice three times for each 1st Roll: 2nd Roll: 3rd Roll:
virtual player in order to mark their first three
buildings in the columns of the game pad.
Since the virtual players do not mark buildings on a
building grid, identical dice results will mark the next
box in the appropriate column on the score pad.

Example setup for a 2 player game:

Virtual
Dirk
Ani

First player: Barbara

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Changes in game play – 2 players
The players pass the pair of dice only between
themselves; the virtual player never gets any dice
from another player.
The virtual player takes their turn after both
players have finished their turns.
The start player rolls the pair of dice for the
virtual player and marks off the resulting building
on the score pad.
If a virtual player marks all boxes of one building
type, they do not gain any points, but the points
for that place can no longer be gained by another
player.
If a box is to be marked off in a column that is Example: The dice have to be rolled again, since the
already completed, the start player rolls again virtual player Dirk has already constructed all his
pavilions.
until they obtain another building type.

The virtual player does not score any VPs during final scoring, but will affect the relative
positioning of the real players.
Example:

Barbara Ani

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Changes in game play – 1 player
The game is played the same as in a game with
2 players, except that the player must roll for both
virtual players.
The player does not pass the unused pair of dice,
but rather rerolls the used pair of dice and adds
the dice to their sheet for their next turn.
The aim of the solo game is to score as many
points as possible.
The higher the score the better the player’s
performance. Example: Barbara rolls her used pair of dice again
and places them onto her dice spaces.

Solo variant
For an even greater challenge, the player may
Example for the solo game
decide to play against 3 or 4 virtual players. with 3 virtual players.

The number of rounds is adjusted accordingly.

Also, instead of competing for a high score, the player may play against the virtual players.
In that case, the virtual players score all points for 2 virtual players 21 extra points each
building majorities like a normal player, as well as
3 virtual players 18 extra points each
the following bonus points to replace points for
coins and rows/columns: 4 virtual players 15 extra points each

Virtual Virtual Virtual

Barbara
Dirk Dirki Dirkelson

© Copyright 2020 | Queen Games, 53842 Troisdorf, Germany. All rights reserved.

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