Quo Vadis?

Rules

QUO VADIS?
“You are right, my son, both in your thought and your
action. You understand the nature of the people who have A “fascis” (plural =
“fasces”) is a bundle
of rods wrapped
chosen you to govern and the grandeur of the office you

around an axe blade

have received from them. This was the way in which we
(see the illustration to
and our forefathers made Rome great, by putting the
the right). It is a tradi-
honour and the service of our country before those of our
own parents and children.” tional ceremonial staff.
— Fabius Maximus (See Plutarch, “The Makers of Rome”) Romans associated
the fasces with their
INTRODUCTION elected officials.
Each official was
accompanied by a set
number of men bearing
“I do not know what this young man wants, but every-
fasces. The higher your
thing he wants, he wants very badly.”
office, the more fasces
—Julius Caesar, Speaking of Young Marcus Brutus

accompanied you
Return to Rome in all its glory. Walk in the footsteps around town.
of Rome’s elite. In Quo Vadis? you play one of
Rome’s mighty patrician families in a power struggle
that will decide the destiny of Rome. To win, your
candidate must navigate the treacherous political
Your Senators must
advance through one
waters of the city and master the Senate.
member, three member,
The Quo Vadis? game board is a political map of Rome show-
ing the many committees a politician must maneuver through to and five member
reach the top of the Senate. Each Senator starts at the bottom of committees.
the political ladder, and tries to move up the board through the
committees to reach the Senate’s “Inner Sanctum.” Success is
Remember that there
rewarded with honors, which are represented by laurels. To win,
are but five Senators
your Senator must reach the Inner Sanctum and have the most
laurels. who can reach the
Inner Sanctum in any
given political season
There is just one small obstacle: anyone who wants to progress
(game), so beware!
out of a committee must have the consent of the majority of its
Your opponents may fill
members. To advance, you must make deals and promises, not all
of which are binding. Otherwise, you will have to obtain Caesar’s all five slots. You would
favor to advance, which is not always easy. After all, he is capri- then lose—even if you
cious… and only one candidate at a time can be “Caesar’s Man.” have the most laurels!

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 Quo Vadis? Rules

GAME EQUIPMENT
Quo Vadis? contains the following components:
• 1 Game Board.
• 40 Senators: 8 plastic figures in each of the 5 colors,
shaped like clusters of ancanthus leaves.†
• 62 Laurel Tokens: Black and marked with Roman numerals,

Laurel Tokens
they include:
— 18 tokens bearing the Roman numeral “I”
— 8 tokens bearing the Roman numeral “II”
— 15 tokens bearing the Roman numeral “III”
— 9 tokens bearing the Roman numeral “IV”
— 6 tokens bearing the Roman numeral “V”
— 6 combining Roman numeral “II” with Caesar’s profile
II Laurel Token Bear-
ing Caesar’s Profile
• 1 Caesar Token: A purple token bearing Caesar’s profile.
• 3 blank Laurel Tokens: So that you can replace lost items.
• 7 Special Tokens: Only for use with the Optional Rules.
• Rules Book: The tome you are now reading.

GAME PREPARATION
Each player places one set of plastic Senators in front of him.
They serve as each family’s eight allied politicians.
Caesar Token Remove the tokens from the card board counter sheet prior to
the first game. Be sure to keep the purple “Caesar Token” sepa-
rate. Set the blank tokens and special tokens aside. They are not

† Greek in origin,
used in the basic Quo Vadis? game.
acanthus leaves Place all of the “I” Laurel Tokens face up beside the board.
adorned the capitals Shuffle the remaining Laurel Tokens and place them in a pile face
atop the ornate
“Corinthian” style
down next to the board.
columns favored by
Take ten random tokens from the face down pile and place them
many of the architects face up on the ten laurel wreaths on the board. Place the Caesar
of the imperial period Token face up on top of the Laurel Token directly below the Inner
of Roman history. Sanctum, the red and white five-member commitee area at the top
center of the board. (See the Game Board illustration on page 3.)

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 Quo Vadis? Rules

“He was powerful, and yet preserved liberty; he alone stayed a

private citizen when the people were ready to be slaves; he was
ruler of the Senate, but of a Senate which kept the sovereignty.”
—Cato, Speaking of Pompey the Great (See Lucan)

THE GAME BOARD

The illustrated game board contains fourteen red and gold com-
mittee areas, which are connected by red paths. (See
below.) There are one-, three-, and five-member com-
mittees, as represented by the number of gold circular
spaces in each committee area.

* Only the paths lead-

The red and white five-member committee area at the top center
of the board depicts the Senate’s Inner Sanctum. Remember that a ing from three- and
player must get at least one Senator into the Inner Sanctum to win five-member committee
areas are marked with
laurel wreaths.
the game.
Ten of the fifteen red paths are marked with laurel wreaths.*
They will contain laurel
tokens throughout the
course of the game.

GAME PLAY
Orienting the Game Board
The game title, ship illustration,
and the Inner Sanctum are at
the top of the game board.
All of your Senators start off
the board. They enter the game
board through one of the four
committee areas at the bottom
of the board. (Note the four
stairways at the bottom of the
illustration to the right.) As
they progress toward the Inner
Sanctum, they move from the
bottom toward the top of the
game board.
The Caesar token starts at
the space so marked (at center).

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Turn Summary
You may do one of
three things during
your turn:
• You can move one
of your Senators
into the game.
• You can advance
one of your Sena-
tors from one com-
mittee to another.
• You can move
Caesar.
vIfyou can’t move a
Senator, move
Caesar.
“It is difficult, my fellow-
citizens, to argue with the
belly, since it has no
ears.”
—Cato the Elder
(See Plutarch)
Caesar Token
Quo Vadis? Rules
“…when you come together in the assembly, you allow
yourselves to be led by men whose advice you would never
think of following in your private affairs.”
—Cato the Elder (See Plutarch)
The players should decide who goes first. If they cannot decide,
the youngest player goes first. A player cannot go first in consecu-
tive games, so the next youngest player might then go
first in the next game.
Players take turns, going clockwise around the table. You
may do one of three things during your turn:
• You can move one of your Senators into the game.
• You can advance one of your Senators from one committee to
another.
• You can move Caesar.v
BRINGING A NEW SENATOR INTO THE GAME
You bring new Senators into the game by placing them on any
open space in one of the four committee areas at the bottom of the
board. A stairway leads into each of these committee areas.
MOVING YOUR SENATORS
You cannot move a Senator from one committee area up a path
to the next committee area unless:
• You have the support of the majority of the committee in the
area where the Senator starts; or
• The Caesar Token is on the path your Senator wants to take.
Voting
For each Senator you have in a committee, you get one vote. If
you are in a one-member committee, getting a majority vote is
automatic. For three- and five-member committees, you may have
to get votes from other players in order to leave. Two votes are
required to leave a three-member committee, and three votes are
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 Quo Vadis? Rules

required to leave a five-member committee. Note that this is

determined by the number of spaces in the committee area, not
the number of Senators actually on the committee.
“It is bad to have too
many Caesars.”
Example: You have two Senators in a five-member com-
mittee area. Another player has one Senator in the same
—Areius, parodying the
area. The remaining two spaces in the committee area Illiad (See Plutarch)
are vacant. You want to move a Senator up to the next
committee area. In order to move the Senator you need
three votes, for it is a five-member committee area.
While you have the most Senators present, you must still
get the support of the other player. Otherwise, your Sen-
ator may not move.

“Quo Vadis?” is Latin

Making Deals
and roughly translates
as “where thou goest?”
Sometimes you can obtain a majority by having enough of your
or “where goest thou?
own Senators in the committee. Other times you will have to
(i.e., “which way are
make deals with other players in order to get the required votes.
Players can trade laurels, promises of votes, promises of moving you going?”). It is a
question you might use
to ask someone how
or not moving Senators or Caesar, or any other promises referring
they might act or
to the current turn or future turns. Promises that can be redeemed
believe or, perhaps
within the same round must be kept. All other promises may be
broken or kept at the player’s discretion. more importantly, vote.
Note that the round starts with the current turn and ends just
before the current player starts his next turn.
Example: You have two Senators in a five-member com-
mittee area. One other player has one Senator in the
same area. You need three votes to move, so you make a
deal with the other player. You offer to give him 2 laurels
right away and to support him with the vote of one of

“The wise, if they are

your senators later, when the other player calls upon

wise, will save the

you. The promise to hand over the 2 laurels must be kept
wise.”
during your current turn. The promise to give a support-
ing vote at a later time may be broken. —Philostratus
No player is ever forced to negotiate a deal with other players,
much less accept any offer.

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 Quo Vadis? Rules

Movement Restrictions
The basic rules of movement are simple:
• You can only move your own Senators.
• You may never move a Senator backwards.
• Senators can never bypass a committee.
• A Senator cannot move into a committee that is already full.
In some cases, you cannot move any of your Senators. This hap-
pens when all of the committees above your Senators are full. In
fact, you may not even be able to move a Senator onto the game
board.
A Senator may take any path leading up from a committee,
regardless of which space the senator occupies in the committee.

COLLECTING LAURELS
When you move a Senator from a three- or five-member com-
mittee, you may collect any laurel token along the path the Sena-
tor takes. Place the token face down in front of you. Then replace

The Prize, 5 Laurels board. Place the new token face-up on the laurel space on the
it with one of the tokens from the face-down pile next to the

given path.
You can also win laurels by helping another player move a Sen-
“My aim is to outdo ator. Whenever a Senator has needed and gained consent from
others in justice and other players, these players are rewarded with a “I” laurel token
equity, as I have previ-
ously striven to outdo
for each vote they gave in support. These tokens are given in
them in achievement.”
addition to any payments agreed between the players, but only
— Gaius Julius Caesar,
while supplies last. If the moving Senator garnered more votes
speaking to the than necessary, only the needed majority is awarded tokens. The
Roman Senate player who moved the Senator gets to decide who will get the “I”
(See “The Civil War”)
tokens.

MOVING CAESAR
You can move Caesar to any laurel on the board. Place the
Caesar token on top of the laurel token occupying the space.
Normally, moving Caesar counts as your move. However, if,
you collect one of the “II” tokens with Caesar’s portrait when one

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 Quo Vadis? Rules

“…I earnestly ask you to

of your Senators moves from one committee to the next, then you
may move Caesar at the end of your turn. join with me now in tak-
ing over the government
of Rome; if timidity
Caesar has two effects on play:
• First, Caesar’s presence above a committee means that a Sena- makes you shrink from
tor may advance without the support of the other Senators on the task, I shall not trou-
ble you—I shall govern
by myself.”
the committee.
• Second, Caesar covers the laurel token, so a player advancing — Gaius Julius Caesar,
a Senator along the path does not collect the laurel token as he speaking to the
passes by. Roman Senate
(See “The Civil War”)

ENDING AND WINNING THE GAME

The game ends immediately when five Senators fill the Inner
Sanctum.
At this point, all the players who have at least one Senator in
the Inner Sanctum compare the number of laurels that they have
collected. The player who has collected the most laurels is “If you wish to rule
everyone, does it follow
that everyone should
declared the winner.
In the event of a tie, the first player to have reached the Inner accept slavery?”
Sanctum wins. The spaces in the Inner Sanctum are filled from — Caratacus the Briton
left to right, making it simple to keep track of who arrived in the (See Tacitus)
Senate first.

OPTIONAL RULES
• Limit the number of “I” laurels: Use all 18 “I” laurel tokens
only when playing with five players. With three players use
only 10, and with four players use only 14.
• Reveal laurels: Once three players have moved a Senator into
the Inner Sanctum, any player can demand that all players turn
their laurel tokens face up to reveal their point totals. All lau-
rels are kept face up after this point in the game.
• Restriction: Promises that can be redeemed within one round
must be kept. Other promises may be broken or kept at the
player’s discretion.

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 Quo Vadis? Rules

Special Counters and • Seniority: Keep track of the order in which Senators entered
Optional Rules each committee. The first Senator in the committee goes in the
See our insert in this
rulebook or consult the
far left position, and later ones to his right. In committees that
Mayfair Games website at
have two rows, the earlier Senators should be in the top row.
"www.coolgames.com”
When a Senator moves from a committee, slide any later Sen-
for rules pertaining to the ator(s) up/over. If you have a Senator in the top left space in a
Special Counters shown committee, you hold seniority in that committee. At the end of
below that we at Mayfair
have created for your
the game, add the number of committees where you have
enjoyment.
seniority to your laurel total for determining the winner.

GLORIA VICTIS: GLORY TO THE CONQUERED

Game Design: Reiner Knizia.
Artwork: Stephen Graham Walsh.
Bureaucracy English Rules Development: Pete Fenlon and Craig “Ichabod”
O’Brien.
Graphic Design: Jessica Ney-Grimm, Jason O. Hawkins, and Pete
Fenlon.
S•P•Q•R Project Management: Jason O. Hawkins.
Senate & People of Rome English Playtesting & Special Counters: S. Coleman Charlton, Don
Dennis, John Curtis, William Niebling, Will Niebling, Robert Carty,
with help from Tom Huggins.
Special thanks for original playtesting and valuable design contri-
butions to: Barbara and Dieter Hornung, Ludwig Berger, Hildegard
Rathgeber, Werner Rapp, Hannes Wildner, Andreas Seyfarth, and
Caesar’s Favor
Karl-Heinz Schmiel.
Copyright© 1999 Mayfair Games, Inc. and Reiner Knizia. Quo
Vadis? is a trademark property of Reiner Knizia. All rights reserved.
Produced in the studios of Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc. (ICE).

Caesar’s Disfavor

Caesar’s Dilemma