2015 · Renaissance
El Grande Big Box
Play as powerful nobles vying for dominance across medieval Spain through area majority and placement tactics. Each round, select a power card to set turn order and recruit caballeros into a personal court, then play action cards to move those meeples onto the map or into a secretive tower. Movement is constrained by the king’s position, and regions (plus the tower) are scored every third round, with bonus points for sole majority in regions containing a player’s grande or the king. This edition consolidates multiple previously released expansions and additional content, integrating extra modules and options into the core nine-round, majority-driven gameplay.
- Players
- 2–5 best 5
- Playing time
- 90 min
- Age
- 12+
- Complexity
- 2.8 / 5
About the game
- Publisher
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 143
- Plays logged
- 233
- Players
- 1h 41m
- Average play
- 59
- In collections
- 9
- On wishlists
8.2/10
from 31 Ludoya reviews
Garfield8.0 #23 I love area control games. It's really a simple game. Very easy too learn and teach. A really good area control game with simple but good mechanisms. [c] Theme: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Very little --> Gameplay: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Place cubes for area control, special action cards --> Interaction: ★★★★★ <!-- size 7]Fighting for areas --> Artwork: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> Luck: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Very little --> Strategy: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Only one strategy? --> Components: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Good --> Play duration: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Very good --> Easy to teach: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Quite easy (15min) --> Rules quality: ★★★★★ <!-- size 7]Perfect, not a single open question --> Setup time: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Very good --> No downtime: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Plays fast --> Replay value: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Random action cards --> [/c]
- Base - Big Box -
Awesome classic, elegant, brilliant. Still a great game, the first majority games, with area control, draft... It's a true masterpiece.
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Can I ever place or move Caballeros into the King's region?
No — the King's region is taboo: nothing may be placed in, removed from, or moved into/out of the King's region at any time (no exceptions). (p.5)
When is the Castillo emptied and where do the Caballeros in it go?
During a general scoring you first choose a secret region, then the Castillo is scored, and then each player's Caballeros are moved from the Castillo to the region they chose (if a player chose the King's region those Caballeros return to that player's Court). (pp.6–7)
If an Action card says 'place X Caballeros', do I have to place exactly that many?
No — Action cards specify a maximum: you may place up to that many Caballeros from your Court and may place fewer; if you lack enough Caballeros in your Court the remaining placements are forfeited. (pp.3,9–12)
How are ties handled in region and Castillo scoring — do tied players both get first-place points?
Tied players receive points for the next lowest position (e.g., a tie for first scores second-place points); special player-count exceptions apply (in 2-player only first scores, in 3-player first and second score). The King's-region bonus is not awarded on a tie. (pp.6–7; King bonus p.5)
Can I move Caballeros out of the Castillo with move actions?
No — you may not move Caballeros out of the Castillo during normal move actions (you may move Caballeros into the Castillo, but they cannot be removed except when the Castillo is lifted for scoring or by the Castillo-specific special action). (pp.4,11)
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play El Grande Big Box with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.