# Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem is a board game for 2–4 players. It plays in 45–75 minutes and is meant for ages 10 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 3. It is rated 6.3 out of 10 by 72 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $46.99 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–4 (best with 3)
- **Playing time:** 45–75 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 10+
- **Complexity:** 2.5 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2018
- **Categories:** Ancient
- **Mechanics:** End Game Bonuses, Area Movement, Variable Set-up, Contracts, Turn Order: Progressive, Tile Placement, Open Drafting
- **Ludoya rating:** 6.3 out of 10, from 72 reviews
- **Owned by:** 139 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 411
- **Unique players:** 380

**Designers:** Stefan Feld

**Artists:** Lalanda Hruschka, Eric Elwell

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Miniature Market | 46.99 $ | https://www.miniaturemarket.com/rvn26926.html |
| Rampi Games | 48.5 € | https://www.rampigames.com/juego-de-mesa/carpe-diem/ |
| Spelexperten | 299 kr | https://www.spelexperten.com/sallskapsspel/strategispel/carpe-diem.html |
| Zatu Games | 26.69 £ | https://zatu.com/products/carpe-diem |
| Alphaspel | 449 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/153044-carpe-diem-3rd-edition |
| Magia de Tinta | 39.95 € | https://www.magiadetinta.com/es/juegos/4956-carpe-diem-nueva-edicion-4005556269266.html |
| Games Empire | 69.99 $ | https://gamesempire.com.au/products/carpediem |
| Homoludicus Granollers | 45.95 € | https://homoludicus-granollers.org/carpe-diem- |
| Midgard Games | 499 kr | https://midgardgames.no/products/carpe-diem-en |

## Expansions

- [Carpe Diem: 1st Expansion](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carpe-diem-1st-expansion)

## Similar games

- [Grand Austria Hotel](https://www.ludoya.com/games/grand-austria-hotel)
- [Imperial Settlers](https://www.ludoya.com/games/imperial-settlers)
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- [Altiplano](https://www.ludoya.com/games/altiplano)
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- [Rise & Fall](https://www.ludoya.com/games/rise-and-fall-2)
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- [Évora](https://www.ludoya.com/games/evora)
- [Koi](https://www.ludoya.com/games/koi-3)
- [Starship Captains](https://www.ludoya.com/games/starship-captains)
- [Nova Roma](https://www.ludoya.com/games/nova-roma)
- [Stone Age](https://www.ludoya.com/games/stone-age)

## Rules questions

### Do I have to move my meeple every turn, or can I stay put?

You must move your meeple every turn — you cannot stay where you are (exception noted on page 7). The only way to remain (or move to any space) is to pay 1 bread at the start of your turn via the Baker ability (page 4; Baker, page 7).

### What happens if I move to a space that has no building tiles next to it?

If you move onto a semi‑circular space without any adjacent building tiles, you immediately move again (following the movement rules) until you land on a space with at least one tile next to it (page 4).

### How must I place building tiles — can I rotate them or place them diagonally?

The first tile must go on the shovel space and all later tiles must be placed orthogonally adjacent (not diagonally) to an existing tile; you may rotate tiles freely but every touching side must match (pond to pond, grass to grass, etc.), and the frame counts as 'grass' (page 5).

### In a 2‑ or 3‑player game, when are tiles removed from the board and not used?

In the 2‑player game the last two tiles on a space are removed as soon as the second tile is picked; in the 3‑player game the final remaining tile on a space is removed as soon as the penultimate tile is taken — return removed tiles to the box (page 5).

### Can I use bread to avoid or satisfy scoring requirements?

Yes — bread has two uses: spend 1 bread at the start of your turn to move (or stay) anywhere via the Baker, and spend 3 bread during scoring to fulfill one scoring card’s requirement (it works for both green 'own' and red 'pay' cards) so you receive that card’s rewards without meeting the printed requirement (page 7; scoring cards, page 9).

### What if I can’t fully meet a scoring card’s requirements — do I get partial points?

If you cannot fully meet a scoring card’s requirements you get no points from that card and instead lose 4 victory points (so you can lose up to 8 VPs in a scoring period if both cards fail); you choose the order in which to resolve your two cards (page 10).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carpe-diem)
- [Carpe Diem in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/carpe-diem)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/245934)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._