Princes of Florence

Designer: Richard Ulrich & Wolfgang Kramer
Publisher: Rio Grande (2001) English edition.
Categories: Award: International Gamers Award,  Genre: Strategy,  Mechanic: action point management,  Mechanic: auction,  Mechanic: set collecting,  Mechanic: tile placement,  Theme: Renaissance Italy
Players: 3 -5 Ages: 12 +
Time: ~ 75 - 100 mins Availability: Unavailable (For one reason or another we can no longer stock this item.)
Price: $0.00 CND  

A new game for all great strategists! Experience the golden age of the Renaissance! Assume the role of the head of an Italian Aristocratic dynasty and lead your family, like the Medici or Borgia would have. Build magnificent buildings, cultivate beautiful parks, and invite famous artists and scholars to live and work in your court. The players support the builders, artists, and scholars so that their completted works bring them fame and prestige. As the patrons of such great works, players multiply their reputations, but only one will become the most prestigious prince of Florence!

The Game in More Detail
Play proceeds through seven rounds, divided into Phase A and Phase B. At the beginning of the game, players are given a board in which they will develop their Palazzo. Each also receives three great artists, capable of creating great works (in Phase B) where players really earn points on the Scoring Track.

As previously mentioned, the game is essentially divided into two phases, A and B. The first phase is a bidding phase. Starting with the start player, players bid on one of the following objects: architects, entertainers, Victory Point cards, landscapes (forests, parks and lakes). Players bid a minimum of 200 florins on each item, other players can pass or place a higher bid on the item, etc. When all players have acquired an object, play passes to Phase B. In Phase B, players can perform one or two actions (this depends on the types of actions being performed). Players can purchase buildings to expand their Palazzo, freedoms for the members of their court (freedom of religion, freedom of travel or freedom of expression). Bonus Cards that increase the scores of their artist's great work, or hire new great artists to reside at court. However, the heart of Phase B is the great artists' construction of works. Each artist has a listing of their preferences: which landscape, freedom and building he prefers. Bonuses are added for each entertainer the player has hired, one point is awarded for each great artist residing in the player's court, and also for any bonuses awarded by the Bonus Cards. If the player decides to have the artist build a great work, he calculates a "work number" based upon how many of the artist's preferences he has fulfilled in his Palazzo. This work number is calculated for each player who desires to build a great work that round. Depending upon which round it is, players must score a minimum number work number to qualify to build the great work, at all! (this number ascends through the seven rounds). A bonus a three victory points is awarded to the player who scores the highest work number that round. Players may grab victory points or sell them off at 200 florins per victory point, to ensure cash flow.

There are a few other details we're leaving out (such as the fact that having one architect allows you to build buildings for 300 florins instead of the usual 700, two architects allow you to build buildings next to each other, etc.) but what we've outlined above is the main thrust of the game.

The winner is the player who has the most Prestige Points at the end of the seven rounds.


Average Score
8.31
Learn more about Princes of Florence on boardgamegeek.com
Visitors' Reviews & Reports
Add a Review or Report

8.5 "Review part 2" by Steve Spisak

I would like to amend my opinion. The more I play it, the more I like it. One of the things I have come to respect about the game is the VERY limited number of turns in which to do things. If you cannot plan ahead - you are dead. Once I understood this, and learned a few tricks, the game became a LOT more fun.

Now it's a worthy addition to my collection of board games.

9.5 "Fantastic, Deep Strategy Game" by Christine Biancheria

This is one of the all-time great designs. Each player develops his or her own principality, decorating it with fountains and gardens and the like, and building facilities to attract the finest artists. With the right combination, you can attract artists to your principality to create masterworks earning points and money. Very deep, very rich game. It plays well with any number of players, too. The only drawback is that those who object to games with a "multi- player solitaire" effect may not like this one as much. There is player interaction (each round, various goods are auctioned, for instance), but it is primarily a game about who can best manage their principality. Excellent, complex game for those who love planning.

9 "PoF Is great fun" by John Stamson

I have played this game several times and each game is a challenge. Since it involve multiple mechanics I can see how some have mentioned this is a gamers game, but I think once you get the hang of it, it is really quite simple. As far as player interaction goes, it is an auction game, so of course there is player interaction. Also there are so many possible uses of austion items, that there are several "strategies" that are not apparent until you play more.

9.5 "very creative game" by Mark Cote

This is one of my favourite German board games, after Settlers of Catan. The idea is unique and creative, and it's nice to have a game that isn't extremely competitive (there are no direct actions between players, only indirectly through auctioning and such). Not extremely exciting or fast-paced, but a great game nonetheless.

10 "One of my favorites" by Rob LeGood

I saw a review with a score of "5" and I just had to add my comments. This is one of the best games I've played, period. Most everything from this company impresses me, especially the recent release of Puerto Rico.

Princes of Florence is a tough game to master and those that have played it will be at an advantage. The challenge comes in coming up with a winning strategy that is flexable enough to take into consideration what the other players are doing as there are very limited resources.

This is the very definition of a "gamer's game".

I'll never refuse a game and I don't see this ever changing.

5 "Princes is a pearl" by Monjundi

This a good game for those with a little more experience. It's a very cerebral game with limited player interaction. Described by a friend as "Four people playing solitaire together." I'd say that's an exaggeration, but I can see his point. You have to compete for resource since there aren't enought to go around. Getting what you need first becomes very important. Definitely not a boistrous game but it's still a lot of fun.

7 "Princes of Florence" by Steve Spisak

An entertaining game which I've played twice now (Origins2001, and Origins2002). While I merely liked it, a friend of mine had a stronger positive reaction to it. It isn't overly complex and it plays in 2 hours - which is nice. Probably won't appeal to your non-gamer wife (better to try Settlers or Carcasonne) but still a good game.

8 "Princes of Florence." by J. Rochon

Princes of Florence is a challenging and enjoyable game that combines psychology, puzzle solving and resource management. The game plays quickly and can be understood easily enough for pick-up games, while at the same time it is deep enough for repeated play value.