The Downfall of Pompeii

To set up The Downfall of Pompeii, first give each player a complete set of colored game pieces. For a 4-player game, reduce each set to 25 pieces by removing 5. Next, separate the 7 Omen cards and 2 AD 79 cards from the rest of the deck. Shuffle the remaining Pompeii cards and deal 7 sets of 4 cards, setting them aside. Shuffle the remaining deck and Omen cards together, then draw 10 cards (for 4 players) or 15 (for 2-3 players) to form a player-specific pile. Insert one AD 79 card near the top and another deeper in the deck, then top it with two of the previously set-aside 4-card piles. Assemble the volcano and place it in the center circle of the game board. Finally, put all lava tiles into the cloth bag and shake well.

The main goal of the game is to rescue as many of your citizen pawns as possible by moving them out of Pompeii's city gates before the volcano erupts and lava covers the entire city.

During the first phase (citizens entering Pompeii), on your turn you must play one card from your hand of four, place one of your pieces onto the corresponding building space on the board, and then draw a replacement card from the deck. Once the volcano erupts (second phase), your turn consists of drawing a lava tile from the bag, placing it adjacent to existing tiles matching its symbol, and then moving up to two of your game pieces toward the exits.

Each game piece successfully moved out of the city gates through any exit is considered safe and counts as one point at the end of the game.

The game concludes when the final lava tile is drawn from the bag and placed on the board, or earlier if no pieces are left inside the city or all gates become blocked by lava tiles. Players with the most saved pieces in the volcano win the game.