Pillars of the Earth is a board game based off a book of the same name by Ken Follett. I have not read the book, but I've played the game, and I have to tell you it's awesome. The game revolves around building a cathedral for the king. You and the other players are all craftsmen, and vie to be the best craftsman in the land, and build the best and most impressive contributions to the effort.
Buy Pillars of the Earth
Mayfair Games Pillars of the Earth
Amazon Price: $39.57 (as of 12/19/2009) 
Pillars of the Earth Expansion
Amazon Price: $22.99 (as of 12/19/2009)
The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah's Book Club)
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/19/2009)
Gameplay
Playing Pillars of the Earth is quite easy. The game always has 6 turns, and the player with the most points at the end wins. Each turn is marked with another component of a model cathedral (made of wood) being placed in the center of the board.
Each turn consists of gathering resources, and then allocating your "master builders". Placing your master builders is the bulk of the game, and involves a bit of money management. If your builder is randomly chosen first, it costs a lot to place him (but you get the first choice!). If you get chosen later, it gets cheaper. Then anybody who declined to pay gets to place theirs for free.
When you place your master builders, you pick one of about 15 spots to place him. Some let you trade materials, others give you immunity from taxes, and others let you score victory points or new craftsmen.
The only thing I don't like about the Pillars of the Earth Board Game is that it takes a while to setup the board. There are several different kinds of cards, each of which has to be shuffled and placed in the correct spot. It's not complicated if you keep your game box in order, and worth it for the play.
Each turn consists of gathering resources, and then allocating your "master builders". Placing your master builders is the bulk of the game, and involves a bit of money management. If your builder is randomly chosen first, it costs a lot to place him (but you get the first choice!). If you get chosen later, it gets cheaper. Then anybody who declined to pay gets to place theirs for free.
When you place your master builders, you pick one of about 15 spots to place him. Some let you trade materials, others give you immunity from taxes, and others let you score victory points or new craftsmen.
The only thing I don't like about the Pillars of the Earth Board Game is that it takes a while to setup the board. There are several different kinds of cards, each of which has to be shuffled and placed in the correct spot. It's not complicated if you keep your game box in order, and worth it for the play.
Look and Feel
This is the best painted game board I've ever seen. Because Pillars of the Earth is based off of a novel, the world has been painstakingly made to come to life. The cathedral that gets built over the course of the game is a glorified turn market, yet it comes in wooden pieces that get placed in the center of the board. You get to see the cathedral go up as you play and contribute to its building.
Play Pillars of the Earth Online
The German game site Brettspielwelt (BSW) has a digital version of Pillars of the Earth.
Photo Credits
The Svetitskhoveli Cathedreal picture is from www.paata.ge's Flickr.
