Lisboa is a game about the reconstruction of Lisboa after the great earthquake of 1755.
On November 1, 1755, Lisbon suffered an earthquake of an estimated
magnitude of 8.5–9.0, followed by a tsunami and three days of fires. The
city was almost totally destroyed. The Marques of Pombal — Sebastião
José de Carvalho e Melo — was the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and
the King put him in charge of the reconstruction of Lisbon. The Marques
of Pombal gathered a team of engineers and architects and you, the
players, are members of the nobility; members who will use your
influence in the reconstruction and business development of the new
city. You will work with the architects to build Lisbon anew, with the
Marquis to develop commerce and with the King to open all the buildings,
but the true reason you do all this is not for greatness or fame or
even fortune, but for the most important thing of all in that time:
wigs.
Lisboa is played on a real map of downtown Lisbon. During
the planning of the downtown project, the type of business permitted in
each street was previously determined. The economic motor is driven by
the wealth of the royal treasure and this treasure is controlled by
player actions during the game, making each game a totally different
experience. The game ends after a fixed number of rounds and whoever
gathers the most wigs by the end of the game wins.
Lisboa is played in rounds. Each round, all players play one
turn. They may place one card on their display or replace one card from
this display. During the game, players schedule hearings to get
character favors, such as commerce, construction, and openings. The
iconic buildings score the stores and stores provide income to the
players. Players need to manage influence, construction licenses, store
permits, church power, workers and money, with the workers’ cost being
dependent on the prestige of the players.
