Monumental FAQ (ENG)

Development Deck and Display

How many cards of each type should be in the development deck, especially if I want to substitute
in some Lost Kingdom cards?
For 2-4 players, the breakdown is:
- Era I: 5 Wonders, 5 Buildings, 5 Knowledge
- Era II: 4 Wonders, 4 Buildings, 4 Knowledge
- Era III: 4 Wonders, 4 Knowledge
For 5 players, the breakdown is:
- Era I: 6 Wonders, 6 Buildings, 7 Knowledge
- Era II: 6 Wonders, 5 Buildings, 5 Knowledge
- Era III: 6 Wonders, 6 Knowledge

When the game ends, do you still discard the last card of the Development display each turn if no
card is taken?
No, you don’t.

Provinces, Military and Conquering

How much does it cost to move a Soldier or Warlord from one Province to another (while
controlling both Provinces)?
It costs one Military per Unit to move, no matter how far they move, as long as they only move
through Provinces you control. However, Explorers are not included in this action and can still only
move one space for each Military spent.

Can a player move more military strength into a tile than is needed to take the tile, in order that
the tile is better defended once taken, or to allow an Outpost to be built instantly?
No, they cannot do that as part of the conquering action. However, after the Province is conquered,
you can Move Military by paying one Military and moving one unit (Soldier or Warlord) from one
Province you control to any other Province adjacent to a Province you control (as far as you want, as
long as the unit only moves through other Provinces you also control).
You always need, in any circumstances, one Military and one Unit to conquer a Province outside of
your territory and cannot move your Soldiers and Warlord outside of your territory in another way.

Can I ever voluntarily abandon a Province I control?

No, you cannot. Once you control a Province, you must always leave at least Soldier, Warlord or
Outpost on it. Wonders and Explorers do not count as Units. Heroes can’t hold a tile on their own, as
they can be sent back to the development display once they have played their part.

When a player conquers a Province with a Wonder on it, does the defending player lose the
Wonder card?
No, they do not. When a Province containing a Wonder is conquered, the Wonder card remains in
the deck of the player who originally built it. The Wonder token stays on the map in the same
Province and still provides its 2 Defense bonus to the player who now controls the Province.

How many units do I move into a Free Town after it is conquered?

To conquer a tile containing a Free Town, you must conquer the tile by moving in enough Units to
match the total defense value of the tile AND pay the cost displayed on the Free Town token. If you
can’t do both of these at once, you cannot conquer the Province.

Do I have to leave a unit on my capital tile to control it?

No, you do not. No other player than you can move through your Capital.

Is conquering different than moving your Units within your Provinces?

Yes it is. While within your borders uninterrupted, your Soldiers, Warlord and some Heroes (those
with a movement icon) can move any number of tiles at the cost of 1 Military for each Unit you
move.
However, to move to a tile outside of your Provinces, you must conquer that tile by bringing as many
Units as the defense value of that tile. These Units must come from one or more adjacent Provinces,
which means you can’t conquer a tile that’s not adjacent to your borders.

Explorers, Production and Market Tokens

Can an Explorer claim a token as part of a free movement effect?

No, it cannot. Activating an Explorer (claiming a token) does not count as a free move. Each Explorer
only gets one move per turn. Only moving them from tile to tile (by paying 1 Military per tile and per
Explorer) counts as a free move.

Can I move an Explorer from one space, collect a token and then move them again at any point of
my turn?
Yes, you can.

Can you move an Explorer from multiple spaces (by paying that much military) each turn?
Yes, you can.

Can an Explorer move onto or through a water tile?

No, it cannot.
Wonders

How to gain and play a Wonder?

A Wonder is gained and played in the following way:
a) Pay for the first construction step (the first cost displayed on the bottom left of the card) to take
the Wonder card and place it near your City with a construction marker (orange cube).
b) During your turn or later in the game, pay for the second building step to complete the Wonder.
c) When the Wonder is completed, gain the completion bonus shown on the card (the effect
illustrated by a lightning bolt), place the card on top of your deck and place the Wonder token on a
Province you control or in your Capital. There can’t be any more than 1 Wonder per tile. If you run
out of Provinces, place the Wonder in your Capital.
d) When the card is dealt out and activated in your City, play the effect on the card (the card effect,
not the immediate effect next to the lighting bolt symbol).

Do incomplete Wonders count towards my final score?

No, they do not. Only completed Wonders whose cards are in your deck (or City, or discard pile) at
the end of the game count towards your final score.

If an effect allows me to build a Wonder stage (e.g. Pharaoh’s Barge), can you use the effect to
acquire a Wonder and build its first stage?
Yes, you can.

Do archived Wonders count towards your score?

No, they do not.

Cultural Policies

What is the bonus effect of a Cultural Policy?

It is the one-off effect you gain when you develop the Cultural Policy, or, subsequently, when
another policy is developed - the effect accompanied by a lightning bolt symbol at the bottom of the
card.

If a Cultural Policy comes into effect during a round, can its effect be used immediately or does the
Policy need to be in place as the round begins in order to be active and capable of triggering?
What if the Policy triggers on gaining resources while these resources were gained on the same
turn but only before the Cultural Policy was played?
The cultural policy can be used immediately, as soon as its activation is resolved. However, if its
effect relies on another effect for it to trigger, its effect resolves ONLY if that effect occurs after
developing the Cultural Policy.

Drawing and Playing Cards

If an effect causes me to draw one or several cards (such as using the ​Scientific Progress card) for
me to use them, what happens to the cards I drew?
During your turn, all drawn cards (whether they get used or not) go directly into your discard pile.
If I have to draw a card during my turn but my deck is empty, do I shuffle my discard pile and form
a new deck?
Yes you do.

If I draw and use a card that generates resources, do I get them in addition to any text effects?
Yes, you do.

Can you reinforce a Knowledge card?

Yes, you can. The Building or Wonder card attached to it would be discarded at the end of your turn.

If you archive a Knowledge card, do you have to discard the card that is attached to it?
No, you do not.

Is drawing then using a card due to an effect considered an activation ?

No, it is not; activating a card isn’t the same as drawing and using it. Activating cards is mainly done
by cross-tapping your city, and they get activated either as part of your normal row and column
activation each turn or as the result of a card effect that specifically states that you should “activate
another card”.

If the Red Fort is drawn and used with another effect (such as scientific progress), do you gain its 3
Military yield?
No, you do not. Because the effect needs to be active before the cards are drawn. In this case, the
cards are drawn and then the effect is triggered. If after this you found a way to draw cards again
you would gain the Military.

If I draw a Mine later in the same turn where I gained 2 Production that I have already spent, do I
gain the Gold from the Mine?
Yes, you do.

Automa

If an automatic action says “repeat if possible” and it is not (because there are no more cards of
the specified type), does the Automa gain 2 Gold?
If the Automa was able to carry out the first part of the action before any “repeat if possible” effects,
then it does not gain 2 Gold. It just simply does not repeat the action.

If the Automa moves its Explorers through multiples Provinces with Market or Production tokens
in a single turn, does it claim all of them?
Yes, it does.

What happens when the Automa needs to move Explorers but there are no more production or
market tokens left on the map?
In this case, the Automa cannot take action and takes 2 Gold instead. If there are no Market tokens
but there are still Production tokens on the map, the Automa will prioritize moving each Explorer to
its nearest Production token. If there are ever any choices, you should make moves that maximize
the total number of tokens that can be claimed by the Automa on their turn.
When determining which Province the Automa conquers, do you refer only to the terrain cost of
the Province?
No, you do not. You add up the total Defense value of the Province (Terrain + Barbarian or Terrain +
Units,Wonders and Outposts). Only if there is a tie for this total value, then you use the terrain value
as the tiebreaker. Once the math is done and the Province attacked, remove the defending Units or
tokens from the Province and place the Automa’s Warlord and one of its available Soldiers in the
Province.

How does the Automa consider special terrain tiles?

The Automa ignores their effects.

Monsters

Where do I place the Barbarian/Monster token when a Monster appears?

You place it above the third card from the end of the development display, in all player counts. For
two players, it simply moves down one of the rows.

How to play the Kraken bonus when killed?

Bring the Units necessary for the conquest of the Province eg. defence value of the tile 2 and a
Barbarian 2 = 4 Units. Pay the required resources eg. 4 Military

Heroes

Can King Arthur be deployed on a Building that has already been activated?
No, he cannot. The text should be read “deploy on a non-activated Building in your City”.

How do I use a Hero who is placed on a card?

The effects of those Heroes refers to the card they are deployed on eg. Da Vinci copies the effect of
the Knowledge card he is deployed on.

Civilisations

Atlanteans:

What happens if I reinforce a Knowledge card in the Nexus?

You straighten it and it will not move to the back of the Nexus at the end of the turn.

How does the ​Trading Post​ (Renaissance Building) work with the Nexus?
It does not do anything. Knowledge cards are never added to the Atlanteans’ City deck, so this card
effect just does nothing.

Are cards in the Nexus considered part of my city?

No, they are not.

Aztecs:
Can I sacrifice an Outpost in place of a Soldier with the Aztecs?
No.

Can I abandon a Province as a result of a “Sacrifice” action?

No.

Scenarios

How do I play Cities of Gold?

As the defense value of the Province is 0, pay 2 Gold and bring one Soldier or the Warlord on the tile.

Specific Card Notes

Forum (Starting Card):

When you activate the Forum, either archive one card or pay two different basic resources to gain
one culture.

The Wheel (Classical Era Knowledge):

The Wheel copies all effects of the attached Building or Wonder card, including any resources that
would be generated by the card. It does not copy the “When Built” bonuses of Wonders.

Colossus of Rhodes (Classical Era Wonder):

The effect should be read as “copy the effect of any Knowledge card”.

Stonehenge (Era 1 Wonder ): how does it work when the Knowledge card “The Wheel” is attached
to Stonehenge?
Stonehenge’s effect occurs twice, separately and not cumulatively.

Himeji Castle (Medieval Era Wonder):

When you activate Himeji Castle, simply gain the effect of your Warlord as if you had just conquered
a Province.

Research and Development (Chinese Cultural Policy):

The one-off effect or bonus allows you to gain a basic Building or gain a Building card from the
Development Display discard pile. You cannot gain Wonders or Knowledge cards in this way.

Architecture (Greek Cultural Policy):

This Cultural Policy’s effect means that you can select any single type of resource and pay the entire
cost of a Wonder section using that resource, e.g. pay either 4 Science or 4 Military instead of
Production (but not a combination of both resource types).

Open Research (Japanese Cultural Policy)

If this policy is active, whether you gain a Knowledge card through buying it or drawing it, that
Knowledge card’s effect is immediately used. The card is discarded afterwards. It may happen that
the Knowledge card has an effect you can’t resolve (eg. The Wheel). In this case, the Knowledge card
is just discarded.