The Special Build Phase was the first official way to accommodate play by 5-6 players with the introduction of the base game extension.

The Special Build Phase was replaced by the Paired Player Turn rule, starting with the English 6th edition and 4th international edition. The introduction of the Paired Player Turn rule actually predated these editions, so there are some English 5th edition and 3rd international edition sets with the Paired Player Turn rules instead.

Gameplay

The Special Build Phase is a period between player turns in which players other than the player whose turn has concluded, including the player next to move, may perform build actions.

The intent of the Special Build Phase is to prevent players from repeatedly being subject to the hand limit due to slowly accumulating resources while waiting for their next turn.

• Each player, other than the player whose turn has concluded, starting with the player next to move, and proceeding in turn order, executes any build actions they need.
  • A player may not execute build actions in the Special Build Phase until the player preceding them has completed all of theirs.

Note that a player may gain victory points during the Special Build Phase, but because it is not the turn proper for any player, players may not declare victory during the Special Build Phase.