Last Updated on October 9, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

At the dawn of the 20th century, Vienna stood as a cultural and political hub of Europe. Artists, nobles, politicians, and tourists flocked to its grand streets — all under the watchful eye of the Emperor. In Grand Austria Hotel, you step into the role of an ambitious hotelier, striving to transform your modest café into the most prestigious establishment in Vienna.

You’ll attract guests, fulfill their culinary demands, hire staff, prepare luxurious rooms, and curry favor with the Emperor. Balancing service, expansion, and reputation is key to victory.

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How to Play Grand Austria Hotel

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Overview

2–4 Players | 60–120 Minutes | Ages 12+

Components

• 4 double-sided Hotel Boards
• 1 Game Board
• 1 Action Board
• 9 Turn Order Tiles
• 48 Staff Cards
• 56 Guest Cards
• 12 Politics Cards
• 4 Overview Cards
• 84 Room Tiles (28 each of red, yellow, and blue)
• 120 Dish and Drink Cubes (30 of each: Coffee, Cake, Wine, Strudel)
• 12 Emperor Tiles
• 14 Dice
• 24 Wooden Disks (6 in each player color)
• 1 Round Marker
• 1 Dustbin
• 4 Victory Point Markers

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Setup

1. Place the Game Board in the center of the table.
   • Add the Action Board beside it.
   • Sort cubes, tiles, and decks nearby for easy access.
2. Prepare Cards and Tiles:
   • Shuffle and place the Guest Deck face down. Reveal 5 Guests face up.
   • Shuffle the Staff Deck face down.
   • Choose one Politics Card each from sets A, B, and C, and one Emperor Tile from each group. Place them face up on the board.
   • Sort Room Tiles by color into stacks.
3. Dice and Turn Order:
   • 2 Players = 10 Dice
   • 3 Players = 12 Dice
   • 4 Players = 14 Dice
   • Use matching Turn Order Tiles for player count.
4. Player Setup:
   Each player takes:
   • 1 Hotel Board (choose same side for first game).
   • 1 Overview Card.
   • 6 Wooden Disks of their color.
   • Place disks on:
     • Emperor Track “0”
     • Victory Track “0”
     • Money Track “10” (start with 10 Kronen).
   • Take 1 Coffee, 1 Wine, 1 Cake, and 1 Strudel cube for your Kitchen.
   • Draw 6 Staff Cards into your hand.
5. Determine Start Player:
   Randomly assign Turn Order Tiles “1–X”.
6. Guest Selection (Reverse Order):
   Starting with the last player and moving counterclockwise, each chooses one face-up Guest and places it in their Café for free. Refill from the Guest Deck after each pick.
7. Prepare Rooms:
   Each player prepares up to 3 rooms by paying the printed cost, starting from the bottom-left. Rooms must be adjacent.

You are now ready to begin the game.

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Objective

The game is played over 7 rounds. After rounds 3, 5, and 7, an Emperor Scoring occurs. After the final scoring at the end of Round 7, the player with the most Victory Points (VP) wins.

Victory Points are earned by:

• Fulfilling Guests’ orders
• Occupying rooms
• Advancing on the Emperor Track
• Completing Politics objectives
• Endgame Staff and resource bonuses

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Game Structure

Start of Each Round

The start player rolls all dice and places them on the Action Board according to their number (1–6).

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Player Turn Sequence

On your turn, you may:

1. Take a Guest (optional)
2. Choose a Die and perform the Action (mandatory)
3. Perform any number of Additional Actions (optional)

After your turn, play passes to the player with the lowest visible Turn Order number.

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1. Take a Guest (Optional)

Choose one of the 5 face-up Guests:

• Pay its cost (shown above the slot on the board).
• Place it into a free Café space.

If all Café spaces are occupied, you cannot take a new Guest.
Slide the remaining Guests right and reveal a new one on the left.

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2. Take a Die and Perform the Action

Choose one Action Space that has dice remaining.
The number of dice indicates the strength of the action.
Remove one die after performing it and place it on your Turn Order Tile.

Action 1 – Take Strudel and/or Cake

For each die, take 1 Strudel or 1 Cake.

• You cannot take more Cake than Strudel.

Action 2 – Take Wine and/or Coffee

Same as Action 1, but choose between Wine and Coffee.

• You cannot take more Coffee than Wine.

Action 3 – Prepare Rooms

For each die, you may prepare one Room:

• Must be adjacent to an existing tile.
• Pay the printed cost on your board.
• Room color must match its space.
• If the space shows VP, gain them immediately.

Action 4 – Advance Tracks

For each die, move 1 space on either the Emperor Track or Money Track (split as desired).

Action 5 – Hire Staff

Play a Staff Card from your hand.

• Reduce its cost by 1 per die on this space.
• Pay the remainder in Kronen.

Action 6 – Flexible Action

Pay 1 Krone to perform any other Action (1–5).
Use the number of 6 dice to determine its strength.

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3. Additional Actions

You may also perform these anytime during your turn:

• Once per turn: Pay 1 Krone to add +1 to the chosen Action’s dice count.
• Pay 1 Krone: Move up to 3 dishes/drinks from Kitchen to Guest cards.
• Place a Disk on a Politics Card (if you meet its condition).
• Use a “once-per-round” Staff Card.
• Move a satisfied Guest to a matching room. Gain VP and their reward, then discard them.
  • Completing all rooms in a group grants an Occupancy Bonus.

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Passing

If none of the available actions help, you may pass. After all players have passed or taken both actions, the player with the lowest visible Turn Order number re-rolls all remaining dice (after removing one).

Play continues until all players have taken two actions.

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Occupancy Bonuses

Completing all rooms in a group immediately grants:

• Yellow Rooms: Advance on Emperor Track
• Blue Rooms: Gain VP
• Red Rooms: Gain Kronen

The larger the group, the bigger the reward. Each group’s bonus triggers only once.

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Politics Cards

Three Politics Cards are in play each game.
When you meet a card’s condition, place one of your disks on it to immediately score the listed Victory Points.
Each player may only claim a card once.

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Emperor Scoring

Occurs at the end of rounds 3, 5, and 7:

1. Each player gains VP equal to the number below their position on the Emperor Track.
2. Move your marker backward:
   • 3 spaces after Round 3
   • 5 spaces after Round 5
   • 7 spaces after Round 7
3. Apply the result:
   • Yellow zone (3+): Gain Emperor Tile bonus.
   • Red zone (0): Suffer Emperor Tile penalty.
   • 1–2: No effect.

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End of the Round

After each round:

• Refresh once-per-round Staff Cards.
• Pass Turn Order Tiles clockwise.
• Move Round Marker forward one space.

After Round 7, conduct Final Scoring.

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Final Scoring

Add together:

• VP from Staff Cards with endgame bonuses
• VP for Occupied Rooms
  • Row 1 = 1 VP each
  • Row 2 = 2 VP each
  • Row 3 = 3 VP each
  • Row 4 = 4 VP each
• VP for leftover Kronen and Dishes/Drinks (1 each)
• Subtract 5 VP for each Guest still in your Café

The player with the highest score wins.
Ties go to the player with the most remaining Kronen, Dishes, and Drinks.

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Introductory Variant

Use the prearranged Staff Card Sets (A–D) for your first game.
Distribute based on player order and shuffle the rest into the deck.

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Advanced Variant

For experienced players, draft your starting Staff Cards:

1. Deal 6 cards to each player.
2. Choose 1 to keep, pass the rest to the left.
3. Repeat until all players have 6 chosen cards.

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Strategy Tips

• Balance Guests and Rooms: Avoid clogging your Café with guests you can’t serve; it will cost you points later.
• Timing Matters: The dice pool shrinks fast — plan actions early to avoid weak choices.
• Emperor Track is crucial: Falling out of favor hurts; maintain mid-level progress for safety.
• Diversify Staff: Permanent effects stack beautifully; one-time bonuses can push key turns.
• Group Bonuses: Complete room sets efficiently — the VP and resource rewards add up fast.
• Don’t hoard resources: Turn them into actions and fulfilled orders before the round ends.

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Grand Austria Hotel FAQ

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Overview of Symbols

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Conclusion

The core of how to play Grand Austria Hotel is learning to leverage the dice-drafting mechanism to its fullest. Over seven rounds, you must deftly combine the actions gained from the rolled dice—like gathering food, preparing rooms, and hiring staff—with the strategic placement of guests in your café. Mastering the Grand Austria Hotel rules hinges on the crucial balance: serving guests to occupy rooms and score bonuses, while advancing on the Emperor Track for mid-game victory points. The player who best manages their resources and maximizes their actions to satisfy Vienna’s elite by the final scoring after round seven will be crowned the winner.