C. New Era

Table of Contents

A new era starts if, at the beginning of the “new era” phase, there are no companies of the previous era left to acquire, or if all the companies that are left are of one type (e.g., all spice companies). Note that companies that can no longer start because there is no valid starting area left for them are discarded automatically, which may cause a new era to start earlier.

When an era starts (this always happens in the first game year), two things happen: players place new cities, and new companies become available.

Players place cities in order of play, using the city building card for that era (marked a, b, or c, respectively). The card indicates three provinces. A player must build a city in any of the provinces indicated. All new cities start as size 1 cities (green).

A city may be built in any empty land area that borders on the coast. Areas under cultivation (that is, containing goods) may not be used. In addition, each province may only contain one city. If this means a player cannot build a city on one of the three indicated provinces, he must discard his city card and pass.

He also has to pass if there are no more size 1 city stones. After each player has built cities, discard all remaining unacquired companies from the previous era and place the next set of company deeds on the map.