Step-by-step instructions on how to play Sagrada Board Game. This amazing abstract strategy game is one puzzle wrapped in another one after another. It has many satisfying layers and brings together many aspects of puzzles that will make this feel familiar but also completely new. There is also nothing like a giant sack of dice, and this game sure has that. This is our definitive guide to how to play Sagrada.
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HOW TO PLAY SAGRADA – WHAT IS IT?
You are an artist competing with fellow artists to create the most beautiful stained glass window in the Sagrada Familia. Your glass pieces are represented by dice, which have a color and a shade – indicated by the values on the dice (the lower the value the lighter the shade).
Each round, players will take turns drafting from a pool of dice, placing these dice on their window. Players must place them within the color and shade restrictions on their Window card, and never have adjacent dice of the same color or value.
After 10 rounds, players score points based on public and private objectives — the highest-scoring artisan is the winner! Learning how to play Sagrada is easy, just follow the steps!
HOW TO PLAY SAGRADA – STEP BY STEP
Time Needed: Approximately 30 – 45 minutes.
This is a step by step guide for how to play Sagrada the popular abstract strategy puzzle board game. Additional notions and special rules can be found below the list. These will be referenced for your convenience.
1. SETUP | Hand Out Private Objectives
To kick off how to play Sagrada set up, shuffle the grey secret objective cards with the silver dice symbol on them and deal each player one. You can look at your own card but shouldn’t see any others.
2. SETUP | Hand Out Window Panel Cards
Shuffle the deck of square, 2-sided, windowpane cards and deal out two to each player. You then choose one of the two cards and one of the two sides to be your active board. Dots on the bottom will correlate to how difficult the pattern is and will pay off in favor tokens.
3. SETUP | Take Favor Tokens
Each player collects the translucent circular favor tokens equal to the number of dots in the bottom right corner of their chose pattern.
4. SETUP | Complete Window Board
Each player takes one of the window frame player boards and slides in their chose window pane card. The only difference is the color. Also take the score marker that matches the color of your board.
5. SETUP | Put Out Score Tracker
In the center of the board put out the long 1 – 10 score tracker and put all player game pieces next to the board closest to the “1” space.
6. SETUP | Put Out Tool Cards
Shuffle the cards that look like archaic drawings and deal out three in the center of the board. These are the tool cards.
7. SETUP | Put Out Public Objectives Cards
The cards with the colored dice on the back of them are public objective cards. Shuffle the deck and deal out three in the center.
8. SETUP | Put 90 Dice In Bag
Put all the included dice in the giant included sack. Shake it up and make sure they are shuffled nicely. Hand this to the start player who you can decide randomly. This is the last step for setup in how to play Sagrada.
9. GAMEPLAY | Phase 1 | Dice Draft Pool
Take dice randomly out of the bag equal to the number of players doubled, plus one (so 2 players would be 5, 3 players would be 7, etc). Roll those dice and they become your draft pool for the round.
10. GAMEPLAY | Phase 2 | Wheel Draft
Starting with the active first player and moving around the table clockwise, each player takes one die of their choice. Once the last player goes, they get to go again and starting a second round that goes backwards (wheel draft). At the end, everyone should have two dice with one left over.
11. GAMEPLAY | Phase 2 | Wheel Draft | Action Option 1 | Put In Grid
On each of your two dice pulls within a round, the main thing you can do is add them to your grid. On your first play you have to place around the outside and then all future dice have to touch at least one other side of a die. The placement rules are (1) If the space has a color or a number, the dice showing has to match it and (2) A die can not have the same color and/or number than any die it is directly next to.
12. GAMEPLAY | Phase 2 | Wheel Draft | Action Option 2 | Use Tool
The other option you have on your dice pulls is to use one of the three communal tools. They all have their own unique abilities that can be helpful in different situations. To use this, you need to add one of your available favor tokens on top of it.
13. GAMEPLAY | Phase 3 | Adjust Round Track
After all players have taken their turns, add the leftover dice (usually 1 but could be 2 if someone opted not to take one) on top of the score track spot for that round. This is to keep track and signaling next round.
14. GAMEPLAY | Pass And Repeat
The game is played over ten rounds and each draft that has each player taking two turns is a round. Once a round has finished, the active first player passes the dice sack one player clockwise and repeat the same steps except now with that player starting the draft.
15. GAME END | After 10 Rounds
After all players have completed their turn for the tenth and final round, you flip over the round track to reveal the score tracker. Players will now use their colored score tokens and this track to add up their score.
16. SCORING | Leftover Favor Tokens
Receive 1 point for any remaining favor token you did not use.
17. SCORING | Completed Objectives
Of the 3 flipped over communal objectives, see if you have completed any of their specific conditions. If you have, collect the points shown on the bottom of that objective. You can score an objective more than once if you satisfy it multiple times. Same thing goes for your private objective. Collect points based on what it says and what you did, but your objective is only for you and no one else.
18. SCORING | Empty Spaces In Grid
Lose 1 point for any open spaces remaining in your grid. Since the grid is 20 spaces (5×4) this could technically be 0 – 20 points, though it is pretty unlikely that you put absolutely nothing in your grid throughout the game.
19. WINNING | High Score Wins
After you have added all the scoring possibilities together, the high score wins. In the case of a tie, a higher point total on your private objective wins. See, learning how to play Sagrada may have some steps to it, but it is very easy.
HOW TO PLAY SAGRADA – KEY INFORMATION
1 PLAYER RULES VARIANT
When learning how to play Sagrada by yourself, you’re trying to beat a Target Score. The Target Score is the sum of the values from all the dice on the Round Track at the end of the game.
Setup
Each game is set up as normal with a few small changes:
- Favor Tokens are not used.
- 2 Public Objectives and 2 Private Objective are placed face up.
- Place Tool Cards based on the level of difficulty you wish to play, between 1 Tool (Most Challenging) and 5 Tools (Easiest).
Gameplay
Each game is played as normal in 10 rounds, with a few small changes:
- Each round, pull 4 dice from the Dice Bag and roll them.
- Take 2 turns, choosing to draft and place a die (as normal) and/or use a Tool Card, or pass.
Tool Cards
Tool Cards may be used only once by spending dice from the Draft Pool. To use a Tool Card place a die from the Draft Pool that matches the color shown on the top-left of the Tool Card.
Note: Each Tool Card may only be used once. Both the die spent and the Tool Card are now removed from play.
End of the Round
All remaining dice are placed on the Round Track as normal, taking care to not change the value of any dice. If no dice remain, use a Score Marker as a placeholder.
End Game Scoring
The game ends after the end of 10th round. Before flipping the Round Track, add up the Target Score.
- The Target Score is the sum of the values from all the dice on the Round Track. Dice used to pay for Tool Cards are not counted.
- Tally your Victory Point total as normal (selecting only one of the two Private Objectives), however, you lose 3 Victory Points for each open space.
- If your Victory Point total is greater than the Target Score, you win!
GAME CONTENTS
- 4x Window Frame Player Boards
- 12x Window Pattern Cards
- 90x Dice (18 each of 5 colors)
- 1x Round/Score Track
- 12x Tool Cards
- 1x Dice Bag
- 10x Public Objectives
- 5x Private Objectives
- 4x Color Score Markers
- 24x Favor Tokens
OR WATCH THIS VIDEO: How To Play Sagrada by Watch It Played [TRT 08:38]
HOW TO PLAY SAGRADA – IN CLOSING
We hope you can now say you know how to play Sagrada. This ingenious game has set the board game community ablaze with its seamless combination of so many different satisfying puzzle mechanics all in one place. The game is kind of like Azul meets Sudoku and is one of the best titles in its particular class. We wholeheartedly recommend this one.
