Translator’s Note: I’m not a native German speaker, just a lover of games.  There were a couple of errors in the German rules related to the illustrations, which I’ve corrected here.  If you spot an error, please let me know: dja@bom.gov.au
MAGNA GRECIA - The Cradle of Civilization
By Michael Schacht and Leo Colovini
For 2-4 players, 12 and up, 75 minutes
2500 years ago, Greek traders and adventures settled the southern part of Italy.  This region was called Magna Grecia, and in it bloomed a culture and economy that had never been seen before.  Before the arrival of the Greeks, only a few small races inhabited the country.  Fruitful soil, navigable rivers, large forests, bronze and silver mines, all offered enormous possibilities for expansion.  Larger cities developed such as Tarantum, Syrakusai, Katane, Locri and Naxos, and also numerous villages of which no trace can be found today.  A thorough road system promoted trade and the cities soon developed rich markets.  More and more, rivalries between the cities arose.  In particular, there were disputes about who ruled the Oracle, which represented an important source of fame and wealth.
1. CONTENTS
4 scoring markers in 4 colours
80 road tiles in 4 colors (front is straight, reverse side is curved)
80 city tiles in 4 colours
80 markets in 4 colours
9 oracles
12 action cards
1 game board

2. IDEA OF THE GAME
The goal of the game is to score as many points as possible.  Each player must settle and develop Magna Grecia.  Markets are built at favorable places, villages are developed into cities, and connected together via a road system.  Control of the Oracles occurs when the interior is opened up.  Building a large city of your own is very expensive, and instead it is sometimes worthwhile to develop markets in neutral villages as well as the cities of your opponents.  At the end of the game, markets and Oracles score points for the players.

3. PREPARE TO PLAY
The game board is laid out on a table.  Each player chooses a colour and takes the markets, street tiles, and city tiles of that colour.  These are set aside and form the supply.  From the supply the player takes all the markets, as well as 4 road tiles and 4 city tiles.

If there are 2 or 3 players, place 2 Oracles back in the game box.  The remaining Oracles are placed by the players on villages without a green border.

Prepare the deck of action cards (read closely):
•	Sort the action cards by border colour (you will have four piles of three cards)
•	Shuffle each of the four piles and place face them down.
•	Draw the top card from each pile, shuffle the four cards, and place face down.
•	Repeat twice more for the remaining two cards in each deck (you will have three decks of four cards).
•	Stack the three decks together, and place it face up besides the game board.

Place the scoring markers on the 15 space (4 players), 12 space (3 players) or 10 space (2 players).

During the game, the players hold on to their own pieces.

4. PLAYING THE GAME
The game lasts 12 rounds.  In each round, an action card is used which specifies the 3 basic actions that can be taken as well as the sequence of play for that action round.  In figure A. the sequence would be yellow, orange, brown, red.  With 3 or 2 players, the unused colours are skipped.

THE COURSE OF A ROUND
1) The first player (in figure A, yellow) takes the action card and lays it out face up before him.
2) The player takes 2 of the 3 basic actions.
3) The player may build or sell a market.
4) The player then gives the action card to the next player in the order listed (in the above example, orange).  The second player goes through the same steps 2 and 3 above, and then gives the card to the third player, etc.
5) Once each player has played, place the used action card in the game box and begin a new round.

THE THREE BASIC ACTIONS
The 3 basic actions are specified on the action cards.  Important: the player may only take 2 of the 3 basic actions.

a) Build Roads: the player may place up to the number of road tiles as listed on the action card (in figure A, 3 road tiles).
b) Found Cities and Expand: the player may place up to the number of city tiles as listed on the action card (in figure A, 2 tiles).
c) Fill From Supply:  the player may draw up to a number of tiles listed on the action card from their supply (in figure A, 5 tiles).  Tiles can be taken in any combination of road or city tiles.  Once all one type of tile has been drawn, the player will have to make do with what is remaining.

Important: If a player uses the "Fill From Supply" action, then this must be the last action taken in their turn.  E.g. Build roads then fill from supply, or build cities then fill from supply.

If a player selects the first two basic actions, they can take then in any order and can even split them up.  E.g. They may place a road, then found a city, and then place a further road.

It is entirely possible that an action cannot be fully implemented.  E.g. Only 2 road tiles can be placed, even if 3 road tiles are listed on the action card.

Increased Basic Action: if a player only takes one instead of two basic actions, they may raise the value of the basic action taken to the next highest level.  E.g. In figure A. you may place 4 road tiles instead of 3, 3 city tiles instead of 2, or take 7 road/city tiles from the supply instead of 5.

MARKET BUILDING OR SELLING
At the end of their turn a player may build a market in a village or in a city, or they may sell a market.  See The Markets.

THE VILLAGES
On the game board there are many villages - the hexes with the houses.  Villages on the edge of the board have a green border - these are the initial settlements of Magna Grecia.  Villages are always neutral - they never belong to any player.

THE CITIES
Each city tile can be used to either found a city, or extend an existing city on the board.  The action card indicates the maximum number of tiles that a player may place on the board.  Players can place less than the number of city tiles indicated on the action card.

Founding Cities: In order to found a city, a tile must be either placed on
•	a green border village tile or
•	placed on a village that is connected by one of that player's roads.  
In figure B, red founds a city on the village with the green border.  Brown founds a city on the village without a green border.  This is permitted because the village is connected to a brown road.

Extending Cities: In order to extend a city (already founded), a player places a city tile on a space bordering an existing city.  You may not extend the cities of opposing players.  

City Extension Rules:  Tiles may not be placed:
•	in spaces directly adjacent to opposing cities
•	in spaces directly adjacent to villages (*)
•	in spaces directly adjacent to or on an Oracle.
•	in already occupied spaces.

Cities may be placed on villages with markets.  Once a city has been placed, it may not be moved.

In Figure C brown can only extend a city into the upper right space, because all the other spaces are directly adjacent to villages, opposing cities or an Oracle.

The building rules (*) above must be fulfilled at the end of a turn by a player.

In Figure D orange extends its city by placing a city tile adjacent to a village.  This is actually forbidden.  However, since it can still put a second city tile on the village by the end of phase 2, then the building rules are fulfilled ("no city tile directly adjacent to a village").  In Figure E brown places 2 road tiles, and founds then extends a city.  At the end of phase 2, the building rules are fulfilled.

Limits: A player may only found one city during their turn.  However, a player may extend several cities, including a city that has been founded this turn, in the same turn.

City Building Costs: Founding or extending a city is expensive, as each tile placed costs 1 point.  For each point spent, move the player's marker back 1 space on the score track.  If a player runs out of points, then they are unable to build.

Markets and Founding Cities: If a player founds a city, he automatically places a market for free in this city.  He does not pay any points for this market.   

THE ROADS
At the beginning of the game it is only possible to found cities on villages at the edge of the board.  With the building of roads, it becomes possible to settle the interior of the board.  Only with roads does it become possible to reach the villages in the centre of the board to be able to create cities there.
Roads connect places.  A road consists of at least one road tile.  The action cards specify the maximum number of roads a player may place on the board during that round (supposing the player chose this action).  

Road Building Rules: Road tiles may only be placed:
•	from a friendly city
•	from the city of another player
•	from an Oracle providing you already have a road leading to that Oracle
•	from a village providing you already have a road leading to that village
•	to extend your own existing roads
Once built, road tiles may not be moved.

Limits: A player may build one or more roads during their turn.  You may not extend an opponent's roads. 

Road Building Costs: Building roads cost no points.

Examples of placing road tiles (Figure F): 
Yellow and orange can place road segments from their own cities, leading to villages.  From the village, they may place a further road, because the village has been connected to via their own roads.  
Red can build a road from the yellow city.  However, red may not build a road from the Oracle, or from one of the two villages because they are not connected to a red road.  
Brown can begin roads at their own city or from the yellow city.  Additionally, brown can build from the Oracle because the Oracle is already connected to a brown road.  It may not place a road on the left because it is connected to nothing.  It may not connect to the red road leading from the yellow city.

It is permitted to place road tiles at cities owned by opposing players.  At the beginning of the game, this tactic can allow for fast access to the centre of the game board.

Cutting Off Roads: Building roads can result in other roads being cut off.  This is legal as long as the road building conditions are met (see Figure G).

THE MARKETS
Building rules: on a player's turn they may build up to two markets.  
a) they may build one, automatically, when a city is founded, and
b) they may build one, at the end of their turn in either an opposing city or a village.

If a player builds a market, they take one from their supply and places it on the village or city on the board.  A market is placed upright (see Figure H).

Limits: A player may only have one market in any village or a city.

Market Building Costs:  Markets placed in cities that are founded are free (a).  Markets that are placed at the end of a turn cost points (b):
•	1 point per city tile in a city, plus 1 point for every market already in that city
•	1 point for a village site, plus 1 point for every market already in that village

For each point spent, the player's marker is moved down 1 space.  A player may build a market only if they have sufficient points available.

Example (Figure H): 
Orange builds a market in the yellow city and pays 4 points (3 city tiles and 1 market).
Red builds a market in the orange city and pays 2 points (1 city tile and 1 market).
Brown builds a market in the village and pays 1 point (the village tile costs 1 point and there are no other markets).
Yellow builds a market in the brown city and pays 5 points (2 city tiles and 3 markets).

Active Markets:  A market can only earn a player points if it is active.  A market is active if:
•	it resides in it's own city, or
•	it resides in an opposing city, or village, but has a direct road connection to a city of it's colour.
The colour of a road does not matter when connecting a market to a city, only that a market has a direct connection to a city of it's colour.  
An inactive market is worth no points.

Scoring Markets:  The value of a market (in a city or a village) is equal to the number of direct connections to other places from that city or village.  Places are other villages, cities and additionally, Oracles.

Important:  "Direct Connections" is a connection between two places with no intermediate place between them.  The color of the roads or cities does not matter.  Only places are counted, not the roads.  If two roads link to the same place, it is still counted as only one direct connection.

Example (Figure I): 
Red:  The red market in the red city is active.  It is worth 1 point (connected to 1 place).
The red market in the orange city is active, because the red city has a direct connection to the orange city.  The market is worth 3 points (connected to 3 places).
The red market in the brown city is not active, as the brown city is not directly connected to a red city.  The market is worth no points.
Brown:  The brown markets are both active, the one in the brown city is worth 4 points while the one in the village is worth 3 points.
Yellow:  The yellow market in the brown city is active and is worth 4 points, likewise the market in the yellow city is also worth 4 points (although there are five roads leading out, it only links to 4 places).  The yellow market in the village is not active as it does not directly connect to a yellow city - it is worth no points.
Orange:  All the orange markets are active.  The market in the brown city is worth 4 points, the market in the village is worth 2 points, the one in the yellow city is worth 4 points while the one in the orange city is worth 3 points.

Selling Markets: The value of an active market is normally scored at the end of the game.  However, at the end of a player's turn, in addition to being able to purchase a market, the player may elect to sell a market to pick up some points.  You are only permitted to either buy or sell a market at the end of your turn - you may not do both.  You may not sell any more than one market on your turn.

Example: Brown founds a new city and builds a market there for no cost.  At the end of their turn, brown can either build a further market, or sell a market.

If a market is sold, it is turned onto it's side.  This indicates that the market is sold.  In addition, it means that this player cannot build another market in this city.  At the end of the game, naturally, sold markets do not score again.

Important:  When building markets, "sold" markets do not count in the building cost.

In Figure J Orange and Yellow have sold markets.  Brown can build a market in this city for 3 points (2 city tiles, and 1 unsold market).

A player will sell a market if they urgently require more points, in order to be able to build further.   Usually, it is a mistake to sell a market during the game as the value of a market can still rise.  However, you will probably find the points you have are not sufficient to last you the game.  A sold market cannot be activated again.

THE ORACLES
In order to control an Oracle, a player must build roads that connect their own city to the Oracles.  Word that an Oracle has been connected to a city sweeps across the board, and the Oracle is turned to point towards that city.  If several cities connect to a single Oracle, the Oracle turns to point towards the most important city.  The most important city is the city to which it has the most places directly connected to it by roads.  If there is a tie, the Oracle remains pointing at the same city.

In the illustrations, yellow founds a city and connects it to the Oracle (figure K).  The Oracle is turned to point towards the city (figure L).  

Afterwards red founds a city and connects to the Oracle as well as a village (figure M).  The Oracle turns towards the road leading to the red city, as the red city is connected to 2 places, while the yellow city is still connected to 1 place.

Orange founds a city and connects it to the Oracle and 2 places (figure N).  The Oracle is now turned towards the road leading to the orange city, which has 3 places connected to it.

A further example (Figure O): red and yellow struggle for control of the Oracle.  Red is prevailing at this time due to the 5 connections from the red city, while yellow only has 4 connections.  If yellow wants to take control of the Oracle, they must connect to at least 2 further places.

At the end of the game each Oracle scores 4 points for the player who owns the city that controls it.  One city can control several Oracles and each Oracle will score the owner of that city 4 points.  

Important: A village can never control an Oracle.

END OF THE GAME
The game ends after the 12th round, after all the action cards have been used.  Before scoring, remove the inactive markets, as well as the sold markets, and place them in the game box.  Then score all the remaining (active and unsold) markets.  One by one, go through each city and village, determine the market value, and record the points on the scoring track.  Remove markets from cities and villages after they have been scored.

In Figure P there are 2 sold markets and 2 inactive markets (the red market in the brown city, and the yellow market in the top left village).  All four of these markets are taken from the board and put in the game box (Figure Q).  Now the remaining markets are scored.  Orange scores 9 points, red and yellow score 4 points each, and brown scores 3 points.

The Oracles are scored last.  Each Oracle scores 4 points for its controller. 

The player with the most points wins.  If there is a tie, the player with the most city and road tiles remaining in their supply wins the game.

EXPLANATIONS AND TIPS

How do I make profit with markets?  
The value of a market in a city is dependant on the number of places that city directly connects to.  The size of the city does have any impact upon the value of a market, only on the cost of the market.  The profit from a market is the difference between the building cost and the final market value.  
In a city brown builds a market.  The cost is 4 points, as the city consists of 3 tiles and there is an existing market already there.  The city is connected to 6 places, therefore the market is worth 6 points.  The profit on this market is 2 points.

What does having a large city do for me?
That depends on the strategy of the individual player.  If your strategy is with markets, then you have no interest in increasing cities because firstly it is expensive, and secondly it is useful to your competitors if they already have markets there.  However, if your strategy is to control Oracles, then you will not be competitive without a large city.  Small cities have fewer connection points into that city, compared to a large.  A sizeable city in the centre of the board can win over several Oracles and bring in many points.

May I, and is it useful to, create a city on a village containing markets? 
It is permitted to create a city on a village containing markets.  However, it is not necessarily meaningful because points are given to the owner of the opposing markets.  Building a market in a village in the hope that a player will found a city there can be a good strategy.  It costs only a few points but the returns can be great.  It is not so good to found a city in a village with your own market, as you would have earned that market for free with the founding of the city.

Is it worthwhile itself to build a market in a village with markets?  
The more markets that area already in a village, the more expensive it will be to build a new market there.  Also, in order to earn the points for a market, one must directly connect the village containing the market to a city of it's own colour.  Also, you must question whether the effort is too large compared to potential profit.

Can a player possess several markets in a city?  
No.  Also, a player who sold a market in a village or city may not build another one there.

What happens with the union of two cities?  
Two cities can grow together only if they belong to the same player.  If that happens, the player must remove one of their markets.  If one of the markets is already sold, this one can be removed and the "unsold" market kept.  The same applies to the markets of the other players.

Can a village control an Oracle?  
No, the Gods are fussy.  It must already be a city.