Rio Grande Games 5th Avenue User Manual

This side of the board is especially for 4 players.Of course, players m ay choose to play
this side with two or three players, but the competition for building plots in the districts
will be much lower.

All rules are the same, with one exception: during preparation, the 7 business tiles
are placed on the sixth building plot (with broken border) in each district. Of
course, players may later place a second business on this building plot.

The author and publisher thank the many test players for their committed
involvement in testing the game and making rules suggestions, especially:
Christine & Peter Dürdoth, Ilka Dürkop, Uta Gruber-Balehr,Walburga
Freudenstein, Dieter Habelitz, Markus Huber,Miriam & Peter Linner, Steffi Manz,
Bernhard Manz, Karin & Albrecht Manz, Elisabeth Schiffer, Dominik Wagner, Britta
& Volker Waßmuth, and the Rosenheimer game group.

If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, please send them to:

Rio Grande Games
PO Box 45715
Rio Rancho, NM 87174, USA

E-Mail: [e-mail]

You are invited to visit our website:
www.riograndegames.com

© 2003 Wilko Manz

© 2004 Ravensburger Spieleverlag/alea

Rules for the side with 6 building plots

the back side of the game board
is especially designed for use
with 4 players

220150

12

Wilko Manz

It is New York in the 1930’s. The building boom has reached its zenith.

Above all, the skyscrapers on the famous Fifth Avenue

tower over the city. But who will find the best building plots?

Where are the fanciest boutiques and the choicest galleries?

Who has the most sought jeweler in his neighborhood?

In the end, victory points (VP) will decide the winner!

Each player tries to earn the most victory points (VP).To earn victory points is
not as simple as building the most skyscrapers. Rather, players score victory
points by building skyscrapers in prestigious locations: those with many different
businesses nearby.Thus, players will compete to build as many skyscrapers as
possible in the best locations.This is the key to victory!

The players are offered four options for each turn, including, for example, placing
a business or scoring a district.They may also choose to take the very important
bidding cards. Only players who have the right bidding cards will succeed in the
auctions when they come. It is only during the auctions that players have the
possibility to build skyscrapers - and without skyscrapers, there can be no victory.

The game requires careful planning, sharp tactics, timely cooperation with your
opponents, and wise placement of skyscrapers to find success on Fifth Avenue!

In the end, the player with the most victory points will be the winner!

1 game board (showing Midtown Manhattan, with City Hall,

7 districts, Central Park, a business supply

row, and a scoring track)
60 colored bidding cards (5 of 4,4 of 5,and 3 of 6 in each of 5 colors)
50 black bidding cards (20 of 4, 16 of 5, and 14 of 6)
72 skyscrapers (18 of each player color)
36 business tiles (9 each of boutique,jeweler, gallery, and

perfume shop)

4 summary cards (one per player)
2 commissioners (to mark current districts)
6 commissioner markers (to mark visited districts)
2 building stop tiles (to mark the closed districts)

OVERVIEW

the players try to score
the most victory points
by placing businesses
and building skyscrapers

the players have four
options for each turn

the bidding cards are critical
in the auctions and the
building of skyscrapers

the player with the most
victory points is the winner

OVERVIEW

CONTENTS

PREPARATION

open up the game board

place 1 business tile per
district and 20 on the
business supply row

Each player takes:

z 1 bidding card per color

z 4 black bidding cards

(place the remaining cards in 6
separate stacks next to each
other: colored cards face up and
black cards face down)

z one summary card

z 6 skyscrapers

- one as scoring marker

- two on building plots

- three in his supply

(place the remaining
skyscrapers next to the
board as a general supply)

* small tip: if possible, players
should try to place their 2
skyscrapers adjacent to the business
tiles placed earlier

place commissioners and
markers on City Hall

place the building stop markers

2

Place the game board in the middle of the table. It shows 7 districts, each divided
into 5 different colored building plots. On the left is City Hall (the starting space
for the commissioners with 4 white and 4 beige colored spots). On the right is
Central Park (the ending space for the commissioners).The scoring track runs
around the board.

Note: on the back side of the game board, the map shows 6 building plots in each district.
This allows another way for players to play the game (see special rules for this at the end
of these rules).

Shuffle the business tiles face down, draw them one at a time, and randomly
place one face up on one building plot in each district.When placing these
business tiles, make certain at least one is placed on each plot color and none are
placed so that more than two plots of a color are used.
Next, draw another 20 businesses, one at a time, and place them face up in the
order drawn, from left to right on the 20 spaces of the business supply row near
the upper edge of the board.
Place the 9 un-drawn businesses face down back in the box,without looking at
them. They will not be used in this game.

Separate the colored bidding cards by color and shuffle each stack separately
face down. Each player draws one card of each color as his starting hand.The
players keep the cards in their hands secret from each other during the game.
Next, place the remaining colored cards face up in 5 separate stacks next to each
other near the game board. Place the stacks so only the top-most card in each
stack can be seen.To be safe,you can also place the stacks face down, turning the
top-most card face up each time one is taken.

Shuffle the black bidding cards face down. Each player draws 4 black cards,
adding them to his hand. Place the remaining black cards in a face down stack
next to the 5 colored stacks.

Each player takes one summary card, placing it face up in his play area (the area
before him). On this side is a review of a player’s turn options, the victory points
players earn during scoring and building stops, and a skyscraper supply.
On the back side is an example of the movement of the commissioners.

Each player chooses a color and takes, in that color:

z 1 skyscraper,placing it on the 0/80 space of the scoring track.
z 2 skyscrapers,placing them on the game board using these rules: the

youngest (or starting player,chosen in any way the players want) first places
one of his skyscrapers on any empty building plot*. Next, his right neighbor
places one of his skyscrapers on any empty building plot, and so on, until all
players each have placed one skyscraper (in counter-clockwise order). Now,
each player places his second skyscraper on the game board on any empty
building plot, but this time in clockwise order, beginning with the player who
placed his first skyscraper last.

Example: 1st placing round:Anna - Kevin - Ken - Alfonzo

2nd placing round:Alfonzo - Ken - Kevin - Anna

z 3 skyscrapers,placing them on the supply space on his summary card.The

skyscrapers in a player’s supply are always visible to all players, so all know
how many each player has in his supply.

Separate the remaining skyscrapers by color and place them next to the game
board as a general supply.

With fewer than 4 players, place the unchosen skyscrapers back in the box.

Place the 2 commissioners and the 6 commissioner markers on the
appropriate colored spots on City Hall.
Place the 2 building stop tiles next to the game board.

PREPARATION

When playing with 2 players, use a ll the normal rules, but with the following
changes: there is a third, imaginary player, that we have named Alea (= “a lucky
energetic adversary").

The preparation for 2 players is identical to that for 3 and 4 players. For Alea,
there is no preparation, except that all the skyscrapers in one of the two
unchosen colors are placed next to the board in the general skyscraper supply.
These are Alea’s skyscrapers.

Playing the game is nearly identical; only the auctions are played differently: a n d
only here,Alea competes against the other players in each auction for building in
the districts in the following way:

1.) First,the player who triggered the auctions begins the auction or passes as
in the 3 or 4 player game.

2.) Next, the second player makes his first bid or passes as in the 3 or 4 player
game.

3.) Always, as the third bidder,comes Alea: for Alea’s bid, the players draw black
cards, one after the other, placing each face up on the table until they draw
and place a card with the same number as one already drawn and placed.
This is Alea’s complete bid for the auction and will total between 8 and 21
(see figure to the right).He will bid no higher!

4.1)If Alea’s bid is less than or equal to the highest bid so far, he is out of the
auction and the auction continues with the two real players as in the 3 or 4
player game.

4.2)If Alea’s bid is now higher than the previous high bid, the auction continues
with the two real players as in the 3 or 4 player game.If the others both
pass with Alea’s bid the highest,Alea wins the auction. If one (or both) real
players overbid Alea’s bid, then Alea is out of the bidding for this auction.

In any case,Alea’s bid cards are put on the bottom of the black stack after the
auction.

If Alea wins in Central Park, he does not build. If Alea wins in a district, he builds
in the district using his skyscrapers from the general supply with these rules:

z Alea always builds 1 skyscraper on a building plot, rega rdless of the number

of skyscrapers shown on his bid cards.

z Alea always builds on an empty building plot, even if he has already built

skyscrapers in this district with a previous auction. As an exception to the
real players, Alea may build in different building plots in a district.

z Alea always chooses the most valuable building plot (the one that would

score the most points) to build his skyscraper. If there is more than one
building plot that would tie for highest score, he builds 1 skyscraper in each
such building plot!

Example: Alea [red] would build as shown above.

z If Alea wins an auction for a district with no empty building plots, he

declares a building stop in this district.The 2 real players score points as in
the 3 or 4 player game.

When a player wins an auction, he pays and builds as in the 3 or 4 player game.
When a player declares a building stop in a district, he scores Alea’s skyscrapers as
well as those of the 2 real players.

The game ends as in the 3 or 4 player game when the business supply row is
empty or the second building stop is completed.

Special rules for playing with 2 players

11

Special rules for 2 players

in a game with 2 players, there
is a third, imaginary player:
Alea

all is the same except for the
auctions, where Alea competes
as a third bidder; he draws
black cards until he draws a
duplicate number - these cards
are his total bid

Alea’s possible combinations:

if Alea wins a district auction,
he builds

z always only 1 skyscraper

in a building plot

z always in an

empty building plot

z always in the most

valuable empty
building plots

Note: Alea never scores victory
points, neither when scoring
districts, a building stop, nor at
game end.

fig.13