England at the beginning of the 12th century -- Prior Phillip of Kingsbridge has a glorious vision: to build the largest, most beautiful cathedral in England. To accomplish the task, Phillip recruits the most renowned builders in the country. However, the fate of the Cathedral is constantly threatened by all manner of catastrophes and oppositions.

The Pillars of the Earth is based on the bestselling novel by Ken Follett and a game in the Kosmos line of literature-based games.

At the beginning of the 13th century, construction of the greatest and most beautiful cathedral in England begins. Players are builders who try to contribute the most to this cathedral's construction and, in so doing, score the most victory points. Gameplay roughly consists of using workers to produce raw materials, and then using craftsmen to convert the materials into victory points. Workers may also be used to produce gold, the currency of the game. Players are also given three master builders each turn, each of which can do a variety of tasks, including recruiting more workers, buying or selling goods, or just obtaining victory points. Getting early choices with a master builder costs gold, as does purchasing better craftsmen. Players must strike a balance between earning gold to fund their purchases and earning victory points.

Awards:

2007 Deutscher Spiele Preis winner
2007 Juego del Año (Game of the Year, Spain)
2007 Japan Boardgame Prize Best Advanced Game
2008 GAMES 100 Game of the Year

Contents: 1 game board, 1 cathedral (6-piece), 12 master builder figures, 75 cards, 35 worker figures, 82 building material cubes, 9 indicator pieces, 1 die, 1 bag, game rules.

2 - 4 players
Ages 10 & up
Playing time: 60 minutes
Publisher Publisher: Mayfair Games
Author: Stefan Stadler, Michael Rieneck.