Costs after founding
The two founding villages and their roads are free. These costs apply to ordinary construction after the opening.
| Piece | Cost | Renown at site |
|---|---|---|
| Road | 1 timber + 1 clay | 0 |
| Village | 1 timber + 1 clay + 1 grain + 1 flax | 1 |
| Town | 2 grain + 3 stone | 2 total |
| Beacon | 2 grain + 3 stone + 1 flax | 3 total |
A town or beacon replaces a village. Its renown is the total for that site: village → town adds 1, and village → beacon adds 2. Do not add the village’s point a second time.
Roads and village spacing
Roads run between junctions. New villages must join your roads and leave at least one empty junction between homes. Rival homes interrupt your roads, so a line passing through an opponent’s settlement does not provide an uninterrupted connection.
If a site cannot be selected, check connectivity, spacing and your current turn phase before assuming the problem is a resource shortage. The placement list exposes legal sites without requiring an exact click on the 3D board.
Check the turn prompt first. Before rolling, the tray can show disabled pieces even when you own villages and goods. Resolve the dice roll to reach Build or trade; the buttons then show whether you lack goods or a legal connected site.
Town or beacon?
Upgrade an existing village to a town for 2 renown at that site and doubled harvesting. A beacon also doubles harvesting, but it requires a coastal village and one additional flax; the site is worth 3 renown.
Owning a beacon also improves your harbor exchange from 3:1 to 2:1. That makes a beacon valuable both as a scoring upgrade and as a way to convert surplus goods. A coastal opening can preserve that option, although the resource access at the site still matters.
Keep goods for your next move
Before trading, compare your holdings with the full cost of the piece you intend to build. Grain and stone are essential to either upgrade, while flax is needed for both villages and beacons.
The optional charter consumes 2 timber, 2 grain and 2 flax. Those are also construction resources, so check the charter and renown guide before making the delivery.