2014Uwe Rosenberg
- Videos
- 99
- Creators
- 83
2 players15 - 30 minLight weight

2011Uwe Rosenberg
Mainly reviews and playthroughs. Ora et Labora is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 16 reviews, 9 how-to-play guides, 15 recorded sessions, 4 unboxings, and 4 other videos.
From BoardGameGeek
In Ora et Labora (Latin for 'Pray and work'), each player is head of a monastery in the Medieval era who acquires land and constructs buildings - little enterprises that will gain resources and profit. The goal is to build a working infrastructure and manufacture prestigious items - such as books, ceramics, ornaments, and relics - to gain the most victory points at the end of the game. Ora et Labora, Uwe Rosenberg's fifth "big" game, has game play mechanisms similar to his Le Havre, such as two-sided resource tiles that can be upgraded from a basic item to something more useful. Instead of adding resources to the board turn by turn as in Agricola and Le Havre, Ora et Labora uses a numbered rondel to show how many of each resource is available at any time. At the beginning of each round, players turn the rondel by one segment, adjusting the counts of all resources at the same time. Each player has a personal game board. New buildings enter the game from time to time, and players can construct them on their game boards with the building materials they gather, with some terrain restrictions on what can be built where. Some spaces start with trees or moors on them, as in Agricola: Farmers of the Moor, so they hinder development until a player clears the land, but they provide resources when they are removed. Clever building on your personal game board will impact your final score, and players can buy additional terrain during the game, if needed. Players also have three workers who can enter buildings to take the action associated with that location. Workers must stay in place until you've placed all three. You can enter your own buildings with these workers, but to enter and use another player's buildings, you must pay that player an entry fee so that he'll move one of his workers into that building to do the work for you. Ora et Labora features two variants: France and Ireland.
Ora et Labora has 48 videos from 36 creators: 16 reviews, 9 how-to-play guides, 15 playthroughs, 4 unboxings and 4 other videos. They date from 2011 to February 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Miscellaneous Board Game Videos #1: Ora et Labora Production Wheel (Dis-)Assembly" by Michael Wißner, which runs 1 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Miami Dice - Episode 55 - Ora and Labora" by The Dice Tower. 14 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "BoardGameCast 02 Ora et Labora" by BoardGameCast, one of 15 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Patchwork, A Feast for Odin, New York Zoo and Caverna: Cave vs Cave, also by Uwe Rosenberg.
8 of 36
2014Uwe Rosenberg
2 players15 - 30 minLight weight
2016Uwe Rosenberg
1 - 4 players30 - 120 minHeavy weight
2020Uwe Rosenberg
1 - 5 players30 - 60 minMedium weight
2017Uwe Rosenberg
1 - 2 players20 - 40 minMedium weight
From BoardGameGeek:
In Ora et Labora (Latin for 'Pray and work'), each player is head of a monastery in the Medieval era who acquires land and constructs buildings - little enterprises that will gain resources and profit. The goal is to build a working infrastructure and manufacture prestigious items - such as books, ceramics, ornaments, and relics - to gain the most victory points at the end of the game. Ora et Labora, Uwe Rosenberg's fifth "big" game, has game play mechanisms similar to his Le Havre, such as two-sided resource tiles that can be upgraded from a basic item to something more useful. Instead of adding resources to the board turn by turn as in Agricola and Le Havre, Ora et Labora uses a numbered rondel to show how many of each resource is available at any time. At the beginning of each round, players turn the rondel by one segment, adjusting the counts of all resources at the same time. Each player has a personal game board. New buildings enter the game from time to time, and players can construct them on their game boards with the building materials they gather, with some terrain restrictions on what can be built where. Some spaces start with trees or moors on them, as in Agricola: Farmers of the Moor, so they hinder development until a player clears the land, but they provide resources when they are removed. Clever building on your personal game board will impact your final score, and players can buy additional terrain during the game, if needed. Players also have three workers who can enter buildings to take the action associated with that location. Workers must stay in place until you've placed all three. You can enter your own buildings with these workers, but to enter and use another player's buildings, you must pay that player an entry fee so that he'll move one of his workers into that building to do the work for you. Ora et Labora features two variants: France and Ireland.
Designer
Uwe Rosenberg
Artist
Klemens Franz
Publisher
Lookout Games
Categories
Mechanics