Concordia
MODERN EURO-STYLE STRATEGY BOARD GAME (2013) designed by MAC GERDTS + published by PD-VERLAG (Germany, self-published) + RIO GRANDE GAMES (English). 2-5 players are ROMAN MERCHANT DYNASTIES trading + colonizing across the ROMAN EMPIRE (Mediterranean basin). Uses DECK-BUILDING (Personality card hand) + POINT-TO-POINT MOVEMENT + resource production. HELD TOP-10 ON BOARDGAMEGEEK FROM 2015 ONWARDS. Won INTERNATIONAL GAMERS AWARD 2014 + KENNERSPIEL DES JAHRES 2014 NOMINEE. Multiple expansion maps (Britannia + Germania, Salsa, Egypt, Aegyptus, Balearica, Cyprus, Sicilia, Venus, Solitaria). Considered THE PERFECT MEDIUM-WEIGHT EURO — under 2 hours, elegant, deep, low luck.
What is Concordia?
CONCORDIA is a 2013 EURO-STYLE STRATEGY BOARD GAME designed by MAC GERDTS + originally published by PD-VERLAG (Gerdts's own imprint, Germany) + distributed in English by RIO GRANDE GAMES + PD. It is widely considered one of the FINEST MEDIUM-WEIGHT EUROS EVER DESIGNED — HELD TOP-10 ON BOARDGAMEGEEK from 2015 onwards (peaked #4-6). THEME: 2-5 players are ROMAN MERCHANT DYNASTIES expanding across the ROMAN EMPIRE (base map = Imperium, Mediterranean basin from Britannia to Nicomedia). Each dynasty builds HOUSES in cities to produce goods, moves COLONISTS (Land + Sea) between cities, plays PERSONALITY CARDS from hand to take actions, + acquires new personality cards for endgame VP + deck-building depth. GAMEPLAY: Each turn a player plays ONE PERSONALITY CARD from hand (starting hand = 7 unique cards: Architect, Diplomat, Mercator, Prefect, Senator, Tribune, Colonist). Card played = action: (a) ARCHITECT — move all colonists + build houses in cities; (b) DIPLOMAT — copy another player's most recent card; (c) MERCATOR — take money + trade 2 goods; (d) PREFECT — collect production from a province (all your houses there produce, other players' houses produce lesser bonus, OR trigger bonus for provinces not chosen); (e) SENATOR — buy 2 new personality cards from central offering; (f) TRIBUNE — retrieve all played cards back to hand (essential; refresh cycle); (g) COLONIST — buy new Land or Sea colonist. Each turn = 1 card played + effect. TRIBUNE (retrieve) is the key deck-cycling action — retrieving refreshes your hand but costs 1 card per retrieved bundle if played early. NEW CARDS FROM SENATOR give ongoing endgame VP based on GOD categories: JUPITER (VP per non-brick house), MARS (VP per colonist), MINERVA (VP per house in specific-good province), SATURNUS (VP per province with houses), CONCORDIA (VP per Concordia card set), MERCURIUS (VP per pair of good types), VESTA (VP for money). GAME END: when SENATOR pile depleted OR any player builds all 15 houses. FINAL SCORE = sum of god VP + Concordia card bonuses. LOW LUCK — no dice; hidden hand of cards + timing of Tribune = only variables; considered one of the MOST DETERMINISTIC EUROS. STRATEGIC DEPTH: (a) map spatial planning + house placement for future produce; (b) card timing + which personality cards to buy; (c) which gods to target for endgame VP; (d) opponent card denial. AWARDS: (a) INTERNATIONAL GAMERS AWARD 2014 WINNER; (b) KENNERSPIEL DES JAHRES 2014 NOMINEE (lost to Istanbul); (c) BGG Top-10 game 2015-2026 (currently #7-9); (d) DICE TOWER Best New Strategy Game 2014 Nominee; (e) DEUTSCHER SPIELE PREIS 2014 3rd place. EXPANSIONS (maps): (a) BRITANNIA + GERMANIA (2013) — northern-Europe alternate map; (b) SALSA (2014) — expansion cards + Byzantium map; (c) EGYPT + CRETE (2015); (d) AEGYPTUS + CRETA (2015); (e) BALEARICA + ITALIA (2016); (f) GALLIA + CORSICA (2017); (g) CYPRUS + SICILIA (2019); (h) FORUM (2020) — additional cards; (i) VENUS (2018) — new god; (j) SOLITARIA (2019) — solo mode. CONCORDIA MINIMA (2022) = travel-sized version. Considered PD-Verlag's flagship title + Mac Gerdts's masterpiece (his other games: Antike, Imperial, Navegador).
Quick facts
Category
Board Games
Type
Team sport
Players
2–5
Duration
~90 min
Where played
indoor
Field / court
Central Roman Empire map (Imperium base) + shared card offering
Country of origin
🇩🇪 Germany
Estimated origin
Designed 2010-2013 Mac Gerdts; published Oct 2013 PD-Verlag; English edition Rio Grande Games 2013
Olympic
No
Popularity
major
How it works
Objective
Score most VP from GOD CARDS collected during play — each god scores based on different criteria (houses, colonists, provinces, cards, etc.).
Rules
Basic rules
Play 1 personality card per turn
Hand starts with 7 cards; each played card triggers its action.
7 starting personality types
Architect, Diplomat, Mercator, Prefect, Senator, Tribune, Colonist — each unique action.
TRIBUNE retrieves played cards to hand
Essential for deck cycling; free if retrieving many, costly if retrieving few.
SENATOR buys new god cards
New cards give endgame VP + unique actions.
PREFECT triggers province production
All your houses in province produce; other players' houses produce lesser bonus; unchosen provinces trigger money bonus.
Move colonists via Architect
Colonists walk between adjacent cities to build houses.
Game end: Senator empty OR any player builds all 15 houses
Immediate final scoring.
Final scoring: God VP + Concordia bonus
Highest total wins.
Scoring
Endgame VP from gods on all personality cards + Concordia (Peace) god multiplier bonus for card diversity.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| JUPITER (per non-brick house) | 1 VP per non-brick house per Jupiter card |
| MARS (per colonist Land + Sea) | 2 VP per colonist per Mars card |
| MINERVA (per house in specific-good province) | 1 VP per house in matching province per Minerva card |
| SATURNUS (per province with at least one house) | 1 VP per province per Saturnus card |
| MERCURIUS (per pair of good types produced) | 2 VP per matched pair |
| VESTA (per 10 sesterces remaining) | 1 VP per 10 sesterces |
| CONCORDIA (Peace bonus) | 1 VP per unique god type collected |
Win condition · Highest total VP; tiebreak = most sesterces + goods.
Playing area
Called
Central Roman Empire map (Imperium base) + shared card offering
Dimensions
70cm × 45cm central map of Mediterranean/Roman Empire (Britannia to Nicomedia) + card offering area
Map divided into ~30 cities in 12 provinces; land + sea routes between cities; each city produces 1 good type (brick, food, tool, wine, cloth); central offering shows 5 face-up personality cards for Senator purchases.
Equipment
Base game (PD-Verlag / Rio Grande edition)
$60 USD; premium production quality
Central board (double-sided Imperium/Italia)
Roman Empire + Italian peninsula alternate map
Personality cards × 60+ (7 starting per player + shared offering)
Card names in Latin: Architect, Diplomat, etc.
Colonist meeples (Land + Sea) per player
Land = walk on paths; Sea = walk on sea routes
House tiles × 15 per player
Placed in cities
Good tokens: brick, food, tool, wine, cloth
Wooden cubes
Sesterces (money)
Cardboard chits
Concordia (Peace God) card token
Endgame VP multiplier
Expansions: Britannia+Germania / Salsa / Egypt / Aegyptus / Balearica / Cyprus / Sicilia / Venus / Solitaria / Forum
Modular maps + card packs
Strategies
Target 2-3 gods early
Concordia bonus scales with diversity (1 VP per unique god), but going deep on 2-3 gods scales harder.
MERCATOR early for money
Money enables Senator card purchases; Mercator adds Money + 2 goods.
PREFECT for province you own
When you have many houses in a province, Prefect it — you gain full production, opponents lose out.
TRIBUNE timing
Retrieving too early = fewer cards refresh; too late = starved of options. Balance based on hand state.
Sea vs Land colonists
Sea colonists faster on coastal maps + provinces; Land better for continental strategies.
Endgame Concordia bonus
Ending with 6-7 different god types = big Concordia bonus multiplier.
Block key cities early
Once you build 3rd house in city, it's yours; blocking key production spots limits opponents.
Terminology
- Personality card
- One of 7 starting types + additional bought via Senator — plays trigger action + endgame VP.
- God (Jupiter, Mars, etc.)
- Endgame scoring category on each personality card.
- Tribune
- Personality card retrieving all played cards back to hand.
- Senator
- Personality card buying new personality cards from central offering.
- Prefect
- Personality card triggering province production.
- Colonist (Land / Sea)
- Movement piece that walks between cities via routes.
- House
- Building placed in city; produces goods when province is Prefected.
- Concordia (Peace)
- Special god scoring 1 VP per unique god type on your cards.
Major competitions
International Gamers Award 2014 Winner
annual · worldwide · since 2014
Kennerspiel des Jahres 2014 Nominee
annual · Germany · since 2014
Deutscher Spiele Preis 2014 (3rd place)
annual · Germany · since 2014
BGG Top-10 Ranked 2015-2026
ongoing · worldwide · since 2015
Board Game Arena online tournaments
ongoing · worldwide · since 2016
Dice Tower Best New Strategy Game 2014 Nominee
annual · USA · since 2014
Where it is played
Governing bodies
PD-Verlag (publisher, Mac Gerdts's imprint)
Founded 2000 · Germany
Rio Grande Games (English publisher)
Founded 1998 · USA
International Gamers Award jury
Founded 2000 · USA
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Mac Gerdts (Germany, b. 1960) — Designer; also created Antike (2005), Imperial (2006), Imperial 2030 (2009), Navegador (2010), Transatlantic (2018)
- PD-Verlag — Mac's self-publishing imprint
- Klemens Franz (Austria) — Art on Concordia + expansions
- Rio Grande Games (Jay Tummelson) — English publisher of many top Euros
Learn this sport
beginner
- 1
Play 2-player 60 min on Italia side
Smaller map, faster game to learn card cycle.
- 2
Focus on Tribune timing
Deck-cycling is the biggest new-player learning curve.
- 3
Buy 3-4 god cards + track their scoring
Understanding god synergy is #1 skill.
intermediate
- 1
Play 3-4 players Imperium side
Full map + more players; card denial matters.
- 2
Try different god focus each game
Mars-heavy vs Saturnus-spread vs Minerva-province variety.
advanced
- 1
Board Game Arena ranked play
Async with top world players.
- 2
Add SALSA + FORUM expansion
New cards refresh the game.
- 3
Try alternate maps (Britannia+Germania, Egypt, Aegyptus, Balearica)
Each map plays differently.
Frequently asked
What is Concordia?+
2013 MEDIUM-WEIGHT EURO BOARD GAME by MAC GERDTS (PD-Verlag / Rio Grande Games). 2-5 players are Roman merchant dynasties trading + colonizing the Roman Empire. Uses 7-card personality hand + Tribune deck-cycling + point-to-point colonist movement + endgame god VP scoring. Considered one of the FINEST MEDIUM-WEIGHT EUROS EVER DESIGNED — top-10 on BoardGameGeek since 2015. Under 2 hours, elegant, deep, low luck. Multiple map expansions add variety.
Who is Mac Gerdts?+
GERMAN GAME DESIGNER (b. 1960) — creator of the ROND MECHANIC (rotating action wheel used in Antike, Imperial, Navegador). Notable games: ANTIKE (2005), IMPERIAL (2006, and Imperial 2030 sequel), NAVEGADOR (2010), CONCORDIA (2013), TRANSATLANTIC (2018). Runs PD-VERLAG (self-publishing imprint). Considered a master of elegant medium-weight Euros with historical + geographic themes. Concordia is his most acclaimed + best-selling design.
How does Concordia compare to Puerto Rico?+
BOTH are CLASSIC EUROS but different mechanics. PUERTO RICO = role-selection where each pick affects all players; SETUP-heavy shared board. CONCORDIA = personality-card hand with private timing; MAP + provincial-house production; ENDGAME god VP scoring. Puerto Rico has more direct interaction; Concordia has cleaner deck-cycle + no downtime + more replayability (via multiple maps + gods). Both under 2 hours. Modern gamers often prefer CONCORDIA for its cleaner design + expansion support.
Sources & provenance
- BoardGameGeek — Concordia— BGG
- Rio Grande Games — Concordia— Rio Grande Games
- PD-Verlag — Concordia— PD-Verlag
- Wikipedia — Concordia (game)— Wikipedia