Alma Mater Strategy Board Game

About this product

Build a university worthy of the Renaissance, where knowledge is power and reputation is everything.

A strategic worker-placement board game for 2–4 players, combining university development, research, resource management and competition for academic prestige.

Recruit talented professors and promising students, develop your university's knowledge and outshine rival institutions in 15th-century Europe.

Product Description

Welcome to the early Renaissance, a time when new ideas are transforming Europe and universities are beginning to challenge traditional approaches to learning.

In Alma Mater, you take on the role of chancellor of an emerging university, determined to establish one of the most prestigious centres of higher education in the land.

Your challenge is to attract exceptional students, recruit distinguished professors and develop your institution's expertise across four academic disciplines: art, law, medicine and mathematics.

But academic success requires more than impressive teaching staff. Books are valuable resources, research influences their reputation, and competing universities are eager to attract the same talented minds.

Each round, strategically place your masters on action spaces to gather resources, recruit students and professors, advance research or strengthen your university's financial position. You can also use your professors to deliver lectures, unlocking additional opportunities as your institution grows.

One of the game's distinctive features is its textbook economy. Produce books in your university's colours, build their reputation through research and purchase knowledge from competing institutions. The decisions you make about developing and exchanging books can influence your ability to recruit valuable academic talent.

As your university expands, new students provide useful abilities, professors offer specialised actions, and research milestones create opportunities to develop your academic influence.

Across six rounds, every decision contributes towards your institution's future. Balance immediate opportunities with long-term planning, pursue prestigious achievements and prepare for the final assessment of your university's success.

When the final semester ends, the university with the most prestige points claims victory and earns its place among the great centres of Renaissance learning.

View the Alma Mater Official Rulebook (PDF)

Why You'll Love It

• Build Your Own University: Develop a prestigious Renaissance institution through academic recruitment, research and careful planning.
• Strategic Worker Placement: Assign masters to valuable action spaces and compete for opportunities with rival universities.
• Recruit Academic Talent: Attract professors and students from four different faculties, each offering useful abilities.
• A Distinctive Textbook Economy: Produce, exchange and purchase books while managing their changing academic reputation.
• Research and Discovery: Progress along the research track to reach milestones, unlock bonuses and strengthen your institution.
• Meaningful Player Interaction: Compete for action spaces, academic talent and valuable knowledge through the shared textbook economy.
• Multiple Paths to Prestige: Earn points through research, professors, students, academic achievements and resource management.
• Rich Strategic Decisions: Balance short-term opportunities and long-term development across six rounds of university growth.

Quick Details

• Game: Alma Mater
• Publisher: Eggertspiele
• Product Type: Competitive strategy board game
• Players: 2–4
• Recommended Age: 12+
• Playing Time: 90–150 minutes
• Designers: Virginio Gigli, Flaminia Brasini, Antonio Tinto and Stefano Luperto
• Setting: Early Renaissance Europe
• Main Mechanics: Worker placement, resource management, drafting and university development
• Game Format: Standalone game

What's Included

• 1 Double-sided Game Board
• 4 University Boards
• 24 Setup Cards
• 10 Chancellor Cards
• 12 Bust Cards
• 16 Ignotus Cards
• 20 Research Cards
• 48 Student Tiles
• 48 Professor Cards
• 9 Glory Tiles
• 28 Bookshelves
• 100 Textbooks
• 20 Dictionaries
• 24 Masters
• 6 Tutors
• 9 Price Tiles
• 50 Coins
• 12 Markers
• 1 Round Marker
• 1 Phase Marker

Good to Know

• Standalone Game: Alma Mater does not require a separate base game or expansion.
• Six-Round Gameplay: The game takes place over six rounds featuring action, administrative and income phases.
• Two-Player Rules: A special automated university, Ignotus, is introduced when playing with two players.
• Four Academic Faculties: Recruit students and professors specialising in art, law, medicine and mathematics.
• Final Scoring: Prestige is earned through several areas of university development, including research achievements, academic staff, students and resources.
• Strategic Experience: Suitable for players who enjoy involved strategy games with resource planning, worker placement and interconnected decisions.