City-States of Mesopotamia

Produce Resources

Each round produces one resource, a natural disaster or war. What is produced each round is based on the dice sum or dice combination rolled.

Production Plots

Produce resources common in Mesopotamia such as wheat, wool, and mud brick. Mud brick was a common building material in Mesopotamia. Wheat and wool were regularly used to trade for resources not commonly available in Mesopotamia, such as stone, lumber and metal.

Production Plots Dice Sum Odds

Farmland 8, 9, 10 27.2%

Pasture 6, 7 28.0%

Riverbank 3, 4, 5 22.3%

Regular farmland, pasture, and riverbank plots each produce one unit of a resource.

• Farmland produces wheat

• Pasture produces wool and lamb meat

• Riverbank produces brick

Place multipliers on the land plots for the material most important for your city-state to produce. You may switch location of the multiplier to a different land plot between each round.

• If the plot of land with the tripler on it is produced that round, it produces three units of the resource instead of the usual one unit.

• If the plot of land with the doubler on it is produced that round, it produces two units of the resource instead of the usual one unit.

Bonus round – During the 6th of each set of 10 rounds, production for the round doubles.

Natural Disasters

Stockpile goods until you are ready to trade or build, but beware of natural disasters.

Natural Disasters Doubles Odds

Floods 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6 11.1%

Drought 1-1, 2-2 5.6%

Mesopotamia was surrounded by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The floods of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were destructive and unpredictable. Although floods were destructive and unpredictable, the floods also made the soil more fertile and improved crop production.

• Floods wash away stockpiles of grain, wool, and brick, causing you to lose all of these resources (and unprotected stone, lumber, and metal).

  • In the game, resources such as stone, lumber, and metal are protected once you have built a wall.

• Since floods made the soil more fertile, production doubles in the round immediately after a flood.

When the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers did not flood, droughts brought devastation and starvation to the civilizations of Mesopotamia.

• In case of a drought, you must cover up a farmland plot or pasture plot until the next flood.

  • After three rounds, you may buy back your covered plot in exchange for 3 wheat and 2 pasture.

Warfare

Warfare was common in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamian city-states commonly went to war over farmland, land for animals, and access to water.

Warfare Dice Sum Odds

War 11 5.6%

In Mesopotamia, defeated city-states paid tribute (goods, services, or people) to the victorious city-state.

• If your civilization has 2 or more defensive walls and 1 or more army...

  • Gain a tribute (one unit) of the produced resource each round for 5 rounds

• If your civilization does not have 2 or more defensive walls and 1 or more army...

  • Pay a tribute (one unit) of the produced resource each round for 5 rounds

Trade Resources

You must trade (wheat and wool) for resources not common in Mesopotamia (stone, lumber and metals) in order to build your settlement. You cannot trade brick. You may cannot trade for wheat, wool or brick. Use traded resources (such as stone, lumber and metal) to help build temples, palaces and equip your army for battle.

Trading for… Requirements

Stone 3 wheat/ or 3 wool/ or 2 wheat + 2 wool

Lumber 3 wheat/ or 3 wool/ or 2 wheat + 2 wool

Metal 3 wheat/ or 3 wool/ or 2 wheat + 2 wool

Trade now or stockpile and wait?

You must sit out the round to trade for materials not common in Mesopotamia. Determining when to trade and when to stockpile is one of the most important decisions in the game.

Trade now - You may sail up the river at any point during the game to trade, but you do not produce any goods for that round. Trade too often and you do not produce enough goods to build your city-state.

Stockpile and wait - You may choose to wait until a free trade-free build (every tenth round). Beware! A flood may wash away any goods stockpiled (wheat, wool, mud brick) causing you to lose all of your resources. (Materials such as stone, lumber and metal are protected from a flood (in the game) once you have a wall built)

Open trade - Every 10th round you may trade or build without having to sit out a round.

Build Your City-State

You must sit out the round to build defensive walls, armies, palaces, temples and housing for your city-state. You may only build one item each round.

Mesopotamia was a collection of city-states. A city-state is an independent city – and sometimes the surrounding area – which has the characteristics of a country, including its own government.

These cities were mostly built along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Outside the city-state was farmland for growing crops (such as wheat) and pastures for animals (such as goats and sheep) to graze.

In the game, a city-state includes at least one of each of the following…

Defensive Walls

City-states built walls around the city for protection against an attack. Some city-state had multiple layers of walls for protection.

Building… Requirements

Defensive Walls 2 wheat + 1 pasture + 5 brick + 1 stone

Army

A strong army was necessary for the survival of a city-state. Since valuable farmland was extremely limited outside the Fertile Crescent warfare was common.

Raising an… Requirements

Army 3 wheat + 2 pasture + 3 metal + 3 brick

Temples

Religion was important for those living in Mesopotamia. Temples, called ziggurats, were built in the center of most cities to honor the patron god or goddess of the city.

Building a… Requirements

Temple 2 wheat + 2 pasture + 3 stones + 2 lumber

Palaces

Palaces were important structures in the Mesopotamian cities. Palaces were often both the center of government and a house for the king and queen.

Building a… Requirements

Palace 2 wheat + 2 pasture + 3 lumber + 2 stone

Housing

Housing was cheaply made in Mesopotamia, using mainly sun-dried bricks, made of clay or mud, but sometimes reeds from the river were used for housing.

Building… Requirements

Housing 3 brick

Open trade - Every 10th round you may trade or build without having to sit out a round.

Winning the Game

The goal of the game is to develop a strong city-state in Mesopotamia. Therefore, the player with the most powerful city-state in Mesopotamia wins the game. There are four methods used to determine the most powerful city-states.

City-States of Mesopotamia variations

• Build a complete City-State to win (use the chart below)

• Build both a complete City-State and a City-State upgrade to win (use the charts below)

• Player with the most points at the end of 60 rounds (use the charts below)

• Players compete to build an empire, while weaker city-states are eliminated (addendum required to play 'empires')

In the game, a city-state would include the following…