T

he evening of April 8,
1814 in Genoa is one
of those spring evenings
that already tastes like summer.
Standing on the terrace of his palace, Girolamo
Costaggia admires the panorama of the gulf, the
port, and the ancient lighthouse.

The town has suffered years of bad luck: the occupation

by Napoleons army, the terrible siege by the English, the
hunger that devastated the population but none of this
could corrupt the sublime scene of the town that is properly
called The Superb.
Yes, the port is quite empty. The prosperity of twenty years
ago has gone. But Genoa, or Zena as its citizens call it,
is still there, in the center of the Mediterranean, as always.
A few hours ago, the unhoped for news arrived in town:
Napoleon lost at Lipsia and abdicated. For Genoa - which
lost its centuries-old independence thanks to LEmpereur
- it is a day long awaited.
In a few moments, the heads of the most important families
in town will arrive at Costaggia Palace for dinner. Harmony,
so rare among people that inclined to self-interest, arose
under the possibility of becoming, once again, a Nation:
the future of the Republic must be built today, and there
can be no retreat. Costaggia, Seppa, Mostasci, Queiron,
Repiggin: all the families feel the great responsibility to free
the people of the town.
At the same moment, Lord William Bentinck, an English
General, is sailing through Genoa. The families met him

some days before, in Livorno, when news

of Napoleons defeat was just a whisper. We
dont know how they convinced him, but they
obtained his promisesoon to be keptto restore
the independence of the Republic, and save it from the
covetous desires of the Savoys Kingdom of Sardinia.
But, on an oak desk in a quiet room of the palace in Vienna
lies a paper, delivered from London and addressed to the
English Foreign Minister Lord Castlereagh. The text is
meaningful: It is not in the interest of the United Kingdom
to preserve Ligurian independence. The directive from
London is clear. The decision in Vienna has been made:
the Republic must end.
But in Genoa, on that evening of April 8, no one could know
what was happening in London and Vienna. The guests at
Costaggia Palace meet in the most private parlor. There is a
Republic to build after many bad years, and business must
start again. Everything must return to normality. They talk
about union and cooperation, but each one hides a secret
desire to exceed the others, obtaining the best deals with the
foreign powers, gathering the most wealth and winning the
favor of the people.
The family members, and their business partners, are
already moving through the key places in town, hoping to
gain control and prestige, and become the strongest family
in town.
The most important eight months in the history of Genoa
are beginning.

Note:
All of the areas on the game board represent real buildings
that existed in Genoa in 1814the centers of city life,
where important trade and the affairs of state took place.
The coins used in the game are patterned after real coins
from that period. To be strictly accurate, we should have
used the 2, 4, and 10 Soldi coins that circulated in those
months, but for game play reasons we have divided those
values in half.
All of the illustrations on the cards and the box cover are
taken from real paintings, and are reproduced under the
kind authorization of the museums listed at the end of
this rulebook.
The game board was drawn especially for this game by
Luigi Berio.

ZENA 1814

GAME COMPONENTS
1
20

Game board showing the city of Genoa

Wooden pawns - 4 for each family (1 Lord, 1
Lady, 2 Heirs)
4
Wooden Score Markers - 1 for each family
50 Influence cubes (10 for each family)
56 Coins in three denominations:
16 worth 5 Soldi
18 worth 2 Soldi
22 worth 1 Soldo
110 Cards, including:
9
Event cards
1
First Player card
5
Family cards
27 Goal cards
LADY
60 Action cards
8
Fort cards
1
Die
LORD

HEIRS

BEGINNERS AND ADVANCED PLAYERS

This game can be played in two different ways: Beginner and Advanced. For your first game, we recommend that you use the
Beginner Rules. All rules that apply to both games are printed in black.
Rules that only apply to the Advanced Rules are printed in blue.
OLD TOWN STREETS

CATHEDRAL
PALACE

FORT

INCOME
FORT
CARDS
CONTROL POINT
VALUES
STEPS
OF THE
RESOLUTION
PHASE
EVENT
CARDS

GOAL
CARDS

PORT

BANK

SCORE TRACK

THE GAME BOARD

The game board shows a view of the city as seen from
the sea. The six most important sites in the city are
highlighted so they can be used as game Areas: Old
Town Streets, Cathedral, Palace, Bank, Port and Fort.
Below the City there is the Score Track.
At the beginning of the game, place the board in the
middle of the table, showing the Beginner or Advanced
side, depending on which rules you are using.

COINS

BOARD
BEGINNER SIDE

ACTION
CARDS

GOAL OF THE GAME

The players move their pawns around the Areas on the board
and take actions to earn money (Coins), cards, and Prestige
Points. The family that has the most Prestige Points at the end
of the 8th Round wins the game!

SETTING UP THE GAME

1. Each player chooses a color and takes the Family card, the
4 pawns (1 Lord, 1 Lady, 2 Heirs), and the 10 Influence
cubes of that color. Place your Score Marker on the 0
space of the Score Track.
2. Shuffle the Event cards and remove one card: Return it to
the box without looking at it. Place the other eight cards
near the game board, face down.
3.
Remove all the Old Town Streets cards
from the Action card deck and return
them to the box. Leave these cards in the

4. Return all the Fort cards to the box. They are not
used in the Beginner Rules. If using the Advanced
Rules, shuffle the Fort cards and place them face down near
the game board.

5. Return all the Goal cards to the box. They are not used in
the Beginner Rules. If using the Advanced Rules, shuffle the
Goal cards and place them face down near the game board.

6. Give each player two Coins.

7. Randomly determine the first player and give him or her
the First Player card. Skip this step if you are playing with
the Advanced Rules - the first player will be determined
during the Placement Round.

deck if playing the Advanced Rules.

Shuffle the deck and place it near the

game board, face down. Deal each
player six cards. If all the players drawn
by a player have a cost of 5 or more, he
can choose to discard all of them and

draw other 6. Deal each player 10 cards instead if using

the Advanced Rules.

ROUND 0: THE PLACEMENT ROUND

When playing with the Beginner Rules, your pawns are placed
randomly. Each player draws and reveals the top card of the
Action Deck and places one of his or her Heirs on the Area
shown on that card. Then, place your other Heir, followed
by your Lady, and finally your Lord, each in a separate Area,
following the order below:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Cathedral
Palace
Bank
Port

Example: Paul has revealed a Palace card. He places 1 Heir on the

Palace, 1 Heir on the Bank, his Lady on the Port, and his Lord on the
Cathedral.

When playing with the Advanced Rules, you choose where to

place your pawns.
PLAYING HINT: Because this is a very tactical decision that
can affect the play of the game, we strongly recommend that
you play the Beginner Rules at least once before trying the
Advanced Rules. That way, you will be familiar with how the
cards and Areas work.
In the Advanced Rules, you receive 10 cards (instead of 6). You
CANNOT look at your cards until ALL players have drawn their 10
cards! Once all players have their cards, they all simultaneously
look at their cards. As quickly as you can, choose FOUR OF YOUR
CARDS to place face down in front of you, and place one of your
pawns on each of those four cards. Once all players have placed
their pawns, the cards are flipped over. Each pawn is placed on
the Area shown on its card.
THE FOUR CARDS USED TO PLACE YOUR PAWNS ARE THEN SHUFFLED
BACK INTO THE ACTION DECK. YOUR OTHER SIX CARDS FORM YOUR
STARTING HAND.
The FIRST PLAYER to finish placing his or her pawns on their
cards takes the First Player card and gives it to the player of
his or her choice (which could be him- or herself).
ZENA 1814 - PAGE 11

PLAYING THE GAME

The game is played over eight game rounds. Each round

is divided into four phases:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Event
Actions
Resolution
End of Round

Important: Any time these rules state that you must draw or
discard a card, you may choose to draw or discard either an
Action card or a Goal Card. Your hand of cards can include both
kinds of cards.

PHASE 1: EVENT
Turn over the top Event card. The Event card shows how many
coins all players receive as Income. The Event card may also list
a bonus or penalty to the payout on some cards (see Phase 3:
Resolution), and it may require that the players reveal a Fort
card.

Each player immediately receives the indicated income. If the

card affects the amount of coins given by Bank or Port cards,
place the card near that Area - it will affect those cards during
the Resolution Phase. If the Event says to reveal a Fort card, turn
over the top Fort card immediately.

face up near the game board, close to the Area shown on the
card, and place one of your Influence Cubes in the top left
space. You are now the Promoter of that card.
Cards are always placed outside the game board, with all cards
that match the same Area placed together. The first card played
in an Area is always on the left, with cards for that Area played
later forming a row to the right - so the newest card played is
always at the right end of the row.
There is no limit to the number of cards that can be played in
a given Area each round.
After you promote a card, all the other players who have at
least one pawn in that Area, in turn order starting with the
first player, may immediately influence that card. In order to
influence a card, you must pay the number of Coins shown on
the top empty space on the left side of the card and place your
Influence cube on that space.
Each time a player influences a card, the Promoter of that card
immediately receives the bonus shown next to the space that
player places an Influence cube on.
Exception: Dieroll cards work a little differently. See Types
of Cards.
NOTE: In this way, players can influence cards even when it is
not their turn! Fort cards can also be influenced this way when
they appear as the result of an Event card.

ACTION 3: INFLUENCE CARDS

INCOME

REVEAL
A FORT CARD

EFFECT
IN RESOLUTION
PHASE

PHASE 2: ACTIONS
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player
takes a turn. On your turn, you may perform any or all of
following actions in the order listed:
1. Move one pawn to any Area;
2. Promote one card in an Area with one of your pawns;
3. Influence cards in Areas with your pawns; and/or;
4. Pass the turn.

ACTION 1: MOVE A FIGURE

On your turn, you may move one of your pawns to any Area
on the game board. There are no restrictions or costs for moving
a pawn.

ACTION 2: PROMOTE A CARD

Promoting and influencing cards is the key to the game: each
Influence cube you place will allow you to draw cards, collect
Coins, or earn Prestige Points. These benefits are collected
during Phase 3: Resolution, later in the round.
You may play, or promote a card from your hand if you have
at least one pawn in the Area shown on the card. It does not
matter which pawn is located in that Area.
To promote a card, you must first pay the number of Coins
shown in the top left corner of the card. Then, place the card

You may influence as many cards as you wish, as long as there

are empty spaces on the cards and you have enough Coins to
pay the required costs. You can only influence a card that is in
the same Area as one of your pawns.
IMPORTANT: You can never have more than one Influence
cube of your color on a given card. You are also limited to the
number of Influence cubes you can use at one time: if you run
out of cubes, you may remove one from any other card in order
to place it on a new card. If you do, any Influence cubes below
your cube are moved up to fill the empty space. If you remove
the last cube from a card, that card is discarded from play.
Example Turn: The turn order is
John, George, Paul, and Ringo. Its
Pauls turn. He moves one of his
Heirs from the Palace to the Fort.
His Lord is in the Bank Area, so he
can promote this card.
He pays 4 Coins to the supply and
places 1 Influence cube on the top
space. He is now the cards Promoter.
Johns Lady and Georges Lord are also
in the Bank Area, so they can both
influence the card. John has the first
chance, since he plays before George in
the turn order. He spends 2 Coins and
places his cube in the second space. As
the Promoter, Paul immediately gains
1 Prestige Point, moving his marker up
ZENA 1814 - PAGE 12

on the Score Track. George could now spend 1 Coin to fill the last space
on the card, but he decides not to.
Pauls Lady is in the Port Area, where John played a card previously. He
decides to influence that card, then passes the turn.
Pauls turn is now over, and its Ringos turn. He would like to influence
the card Paul just played, but he has no pawns at the Bank. So, he begins
his turn by moving one of his Heirs to that Area, then he influences the
last space on Pauls card by spending 1 Coinand Paul immediately
draws 1 card (which could be an Action card or Goal card).
Fort cards:
The cards belonging to the Fort Area are all
in a separate deck and they can never be
in a players hand. They can appear at the
beginning of a Round as result of an Event
card. They can be influenced like other cards.

PHASE 3: RESOLUTION
After all players have finished their turn in the Action
Phase, the Resolution Phase begins. During this phase,
all cards in play are resolved and income is awarded for control
of Areas.
1. Old Town Streets

2. Cathedral
3. Palace
4. Bank
5. Port

6. Fort
The three steps below must be followed to resolve each Area,
before moving on to the next (i.e., all steps are applied to the
Old Town Streets, then you start again with the first step at the
Cathedral, and so on).

Step 1: Resolve Card Effects

ACTION 4: PASS THE TURN

If you did not move any of your pawns (Action 1) and you did
not promote or influence any cards this turn (Actions 2 and
3), you may either take one Coin or draw one card from the
supply (i.e., you may take a Coin or card if you completely skip
every other kind of action on your turn).
Once you have completed all of the actions you want to take,
your turn ends and play passes to the player on your left.
SUMMARY OF THE ACTION PHASE
When it is your turn, you may:
1. Move one pawn to any Area, if you wish;
THEN

2. Promote one Card in any Area where you

have at least one pawn (paying the cost and
placing a cube on the top space of the card),
if you wish;
AND THEN

3. Place cubes on cards previously played by

other players (or by the Event deck, at the
Fort) in Areas where you have at least one
pawn, if you wish.
If you do not move a pawn or place any
cubes, you receive one Coin or one Card,
your choice.
When it is not your turn, you may:
Place a cube on a card just promoted by
another player in an Area where you have
at least one pawn (this is done in turn order,
starting with the holder of the First Player
card and going clockwise).
There can only be one cube per color on
each card.

All of the cards in play for the area are checked and their effects are
applied. The oldest cards are always resolved first (so, going from
left to right). The effects of each card are the same for all players
who have an Influence cube on that card (including the cards
Promoter). If more than one player has a cube on the same card,
they are resolved in order, from the top to the bottom (i.e., the
Promoter first). Note: Its important to follow this rule, because
when players get to draw cards, they can choose to draw from the
Action deck or the Goal deck, as long as there are cards to draw.

See Types of Cards for more information on resolving

card effects.
Important: Some event cards affect the number of Coins
given out by Port or Bank cards. This effect is applied to all the
cards in that Area: Temporary, Permanent, Dieroll, and any
Sollevaioin pilot cards that have been moved to that Area.

Step 2: Remove Excess Cards

After all the cards in an Area have been resolved, some cards in
that Area may be removed from play:
1.
Remove all Temporary cards (see Types of Cards);
THEN

2.

Reduce the number of cards in that Area to a maximum

of three cards by removing the oldest Permanent or
Dieroll cards there (i.e., from the left first).
All Influence cubes on the removed cards are returned to their
owners.

Step 3: Determine Area Control

Finally, the players compare the value of their pawns in the Area
to see which player has control of that Area. Each pawn is
worth a number of Control Points, as listed below:
The Lord is worth 5 Control Points;
The Lady is worth 3 Control Points
(but see below);
Each Heir is worth 2 Control Points.
Note: Due to disagreeable but historically true reasons, women
could not directly influence events in most areas of society. So,
if a Lady is alone in an Area (i.e., without a matching Lord or
Heir), she cannot control the area. The only exception is the Old
Town Streets: a Lady may control this Area even if she does not
have another pawn with her.
ZENA 1814 - PAGE 13

The player with the most Control Points at the location

controls that location and receives the income listed
below. If there is a tie, no one has control of that location.

The Old Town Streets: 2 Cards and 1 Coin

The Cathedral: 1 Card and 2 Coins

The Palace: You may spend 1 Coin to score 2 Prestige
Points
The Bank: 3 Coins
The Port: 1 Prestige Point and 1 Coin
The Fort: 1 Prestige Point and 1 Card.

Example: Its time to resolve the Bank. There is only this one card in this
Area, with Pauls, Johns, and Ringos Influence cubes on it:
Each of them earns 2 Coins. This card is a Permanent card, so it stays
where it is. There are four pawns in the
Bank Area: Pauls Heir, Johns Lady,
Georges Lord, and Ringos Heir. Since
George has the most Control Points, he
gets the income and receives 3 Coins.
Moving on to the Port Area: There
are no cards here, so we go straight to
determining who has Control. There
are two pawns here: Pauls Lady and
Johns Heir. Paul has the most Control
Points, but he cant control an Area
with just a Lady - so no one controls
the Area or gets the income.

Temporary Cards
These cards are resolved only once, paying out the rewards
shown during the Resolution Phase of the same game round in
which they were played. They are then removed from the game.

Permanent Cards:
These cards pay out the reward shown every round until they
are removed because the Area has more than three cards in the
Resolution Phase, all Influence cubes on the card have been
removed, or the card is destroyed by a failed Fort card.

Dieroll Cards
These special Bank and Port cards represent risky business
ventures, either a Bank Investment or a dangerous Trade Route.
These cards do not always pay out rewards during the Resolution
Phase. Instead, you must roll the die to see what happens.
All Fort cards are also Dieroll cards (see below).

Unlike other cards, when a player influences a Dieroll card, the

Promoter does not receive an immediate reward. Instead, each
influencing player increases the odds of success by adding +1 to
the result of the die roll. Since each card can be influenced only
twice, the highest bonus is +2.
Dieroll cards are resolved during Phase 3: Resolution (like
other cards) by following these steps:
First, each player who has an Influence cube on the card may
spend Coins to improve the chances of success. Each Coin spent
adds +1 to the result of the die roll. The Promoter is the first
player who must decide whether or not to spend any Coins,
followed by the other players in the order of their cubes on the
card, from top to bottom.

Then, the Promoter rolls the die:

If the result is 1, 2, or 3, the venture fails! The card is
removed from the game, and the cubes on it return to their
owners, who dont earn anything!

PHASE 4: END OF ROUND

Once all Areas have been resolved, the round ends. At this point:
1. All players that have more than six cards in hand
must discard down to six. Discarded cards are
placed face down at the bottom of the deck they
were drawn from.
Note: Your hand includes all Action cards and Goal cards
you have put together! At the end of each round, you must
discard down to six in total. Be careful choosing which ones
you want to keep!
2.

The first player passes the First Player card to the player
on his or her right. That player will act first in the next
round.

TYPES OF CARDS
There are three types of Action cards: Temporary, Permanent,
and Dieroll cards. The type of card affects how you must handle
it during Phase 3: Resolution.

A Fort card that fails also destroys the oldest card in the Area
marked on the Fort card - see below.

If the result is 4 or 5, nothing happens. The card remains in

play, and will be resolved again during the next Resolution
Phase.
If the result is 6 or more, the venture is a success! All players
with an Influence cube on the card receive the reward listed.
Then, the card is removed from play and the cubes are
returned to the players.

Example: Its time to resolve a Bank Investment Dieroll card. Paul is the
cards Promoter, and John also has an Influence cube here. Paul decides
to spend 2 Coins, and John spends 1. Paul rolls the die and gets a 3,
which would normally mean that the venture has failed. But, he adds
+1 for Johns Influence cube and another +3 for the Coins they spent.
The final result is 7, which means the venture was a success!

Fort Cards
In addition to acting as a Dieroll card, there are three special
rules that apply to all Fort cards:
If a Fort card results in a failure when resolved, it is returned
to the bottom of the Fort deck. If it results in a success, it
is instead set aside in a Battles Won pile.
If a Fort card has no Influence cubes on it during the
Resolution Phase, it automatically results in a failure, with
all the normal consequences.
ZENA 1814 - PAGE 14

When a Fort card results in a failure, it also destroys the

oldest card in the Area shown on the Fort card - it is discarded
from play and the cubes on it are returned to their owners.

IF THIS CARD IS A SUCCESS, EACH

PLAYER WITH AN INFLUENCE CUBE ON
IT GETS 2 PRESTIGE POINTS.
IF THIS CARD IS A FAILURE, THE
OLDEST CARD AT THE PALACE AND AT
THE CATHEDRAL ARE DESTROYED.

CARD ALMANAC
TEMPORARY
CARD

ALL THE PLAYERS

PERMANENT
CARD

EFFECT APPLIES
TO THE CARDS
PROMOTER

PLAY
ANOTHER
ROUND

CONTROL
POINT

GAIN
COINS

GAIN VICTORY
POINTS

DRAW
CARD

DIEROLL
CARD

END OF THE GAME

The game ends after the end of the 8th Round. You can keep
track of the rounds by the cards in the Event deck: the last card
will be revealed at the beginning of the last round.
At this point, there is a final chance to score points, as follows:
Each player earns 1 Prestige Point for every 5 Coins they
have left.
Each player earns the Prestige Points for any completed Goal
cards they hold. (Dont forget to discard down to six cards
during the last round!)

The player with the most Prestige Points wins the game! If there
is a tie, the tied player with the most money wins.

ADVANCED RULES
FOR 2 OR 3 PLAYERS
When playing the Advanced Rules with two or three players,
each player can place up to two Influence cubes on each card,
on different spaces. The costs of playing each Influence cube
must be paid as normal, and each cube awards the bonuses on
the card.
These cubes can be placed at the same time or over different
rounds, as the players wish. It is also possible to place both
cubes when it is not your turn, if a card appears in an Area
where you have a pawn.
If two or more players have pawns on the Fort when a Fort card
is revealed, they choose whether to place Influence cubes in
turn order: The first player may play one or two cubes, followed
by the player on his or her left, and so on (if there are empty
spaces left).
All other rules apply as normal.

Example: In a three-player game,

Paul plays this card. He must place
1 Influence cube on the top space.
He could then play another cube in
the second space. If he does, he must
pay 4 + 2 = 6 Coins. He gains 1
Prestige Point (for the cube on the
second space) and will receive 4
Coins during Phase 3: Resolution.

PASS A CARD
IN THE
DIRECTION
SHOWN

SPECIAL CARD CLARIFICATIONS

Manezzi (Manipulation):
When this card is resolved in phase 3:
Resolution, the Promoter removes the cube
from the card and places it under any pawn he
or she owns. That figure is worth +1 Control
Point.

Sollevaioin pilot (Rigged Clever Ruse)

The first time this card is resolved in phase 3:
Resolution, the Promoter moves it to any other
Area that is not the Fort. Note that this card is
permanent, so it will count against the three
card limit in its new Area. If this card is moved
to the Bank or Port, it is affected by events that modify the value
of Bank and Port cards, and counts towards the Relaioin co-a
compagna card bonus.
Relaioin co-a compagna (Relationship
with the Corporate Partnership)
This card awards from 0 to 2 Prestige Points
when it resolves in phase 3: Resolution: Each
player who has an Influence cube on this card
earns one Prestige Point if they have at least
one Influence cube on a Port card and/or one
Prestige Point if they have at least one Influence cube on a Bank
card. This can include Permanent, Dieroll, and Temporary
cards, as well as any Sollevaioin pilot cards that have been
moved to the Bank or Port Areas.
Festa a-o Paxo (Party at the Palace)
First, the Promoter scores one Prestige Point.
Then, in turn order, each player draws one card.
You may draw an Action or Goal card, your
choice. After the cards are drawn, each player
must choose one card from their hand to pass to
the player on their right. You can pass an Action
or Goal card, your choice.
ZENA 1814 - PAGE 15

Dagghe Abbretio (Grab Everything)

At the end of the game, you score 1 Prestige
Point if you hold one of these cards. You score
4 Prestige Points if you hold two of these cards.
If you have three of these cards, you score nine
Prestige Points, with four cards 16 points, and
if you have all five cards, 25 points.
Contentase (Humble Desires)
If you hold this card at the end of the game,
you score five Prestige Points if you do not
control any Areas.

If you hold this card at the end of the game, you score five
Prestige Points if you control the Area indicated. You score 10
Prestige Points if you hold both copies of this card.
Note: The normal rules for control apply: If there is a tie for
Control Points, you dont control the Area. A Lady by herself
cannot control the Cathedral, Palace, Bank, Port, or Fort,
even if she has the most Control Points.

Invexendase (Working Without a Plan)

If you hold this card at the end of the game,
you score three Prestige Points if you control at
least one Area (anywhere on the board).

Sensa Poia (Without Fear)

If you hold this card at the end of the game,
you score one Prestige Point for each Fort
card in the Battles Won pile. It does not
matter whether you participated in those
battles or not.

If you hold this card at the end of the game, you score one
Prestige Point for each Permanent card in the Area indicated,
including any Sollevaioin pilot cards that have been moved
there. You do not need to have Influence cubes on those cards.

Informations on Zena1814
and on the history of Genoa

Zena1814 by Alberto Barbieri & Luigi Cornaglia

Board illustration by Luigi Berio
Published in 2015 by:
Associazione di Promozione Sociale
Che lInse, progetto Demoel.
Via B.Bosco 57/2, 16126 Genova
www.chelinse.org

Graphic artwork by:

Paolo Vallerga - Scribabs
www.scribabs.it
Rules developement and
project management consulting
by Post Scriptum S.a.s.
www.postscriptum-games.it

English rules by Mario Sacchi & William Niebling