12 Monks

This story takes place in the 12th century when Portugal was taking shape...

With his armies marching towards the south, Afonso Henriques, the King of Portugal, could not abandon the territory conquered from the Moors and decided to donate a huge plot of land in the center of the country (44,000 hectares) to a religious order of French origin called Cistercians. This community of monks, which had already settled in other regions, would have to manage the territory and resources of this place. In order to do that, an enormous monastery was built in Alcobaça and that same monastery would go on to become one of the most important for the Order.

The Cistercians' motto was Ora et Labora (prayer and work), so their abbeys were usually in secluded locations. Silence for their prayers was paramount, as was easy access to stone (in order to build the monastery) and several other goods, such as wood and iron (which were essential to build farming equipment and tools). Fertile land and access to water (necessary for food, hygiene, and agriculture) were also essential to achieve self-sufficiency. Alcobaça filled all the requirements for the task, so the Cistercians accepted the king's challenge — and this is the historical background from which this game was born.

12 Monks is a competitive game in which players emulate the mission given by the King to the Cistercians to manage and run the resources from the grounds of Alcobaça. Players will occupy this territory, produce and manufacture cultivated goods, extract the necessary resources to build the monastery of Alcobaça, and build the levada (that is, a system of aqueducts) that will give them access to fresh water.

—description from the designer