BoardGameArchiveHow to Play Grand Austria Hotel: Dice, Guests, Rooms & Staff
Learn Grand Austria Hotel base-game rules: dice action groups, café guests, food and drink, room preparation, staff cards, Emperor track and seven rounds.
Grand Austria Hotel is a seven-round dice-drafting eurogame. Players attract guests to their cafés, serve their orders, prepare hotel rooms, hire staf
Grand Austria Hotel is a seven-round dice-drafting eurogame. Players attract guests to their cafés, serve their orders, prepare hotel rooms, hire staff and stay in the Emperor’s favor.
Key takeaway
Learn Grand Austria Hotel base-game rules: dice action groups, café guests, food and drink, room preparation, staff cards, Emperor track and seven rounds.
About this guide
Original rules, scoring explanations, related links and editorial references are retained in the sections below.
Topics covered
Roll and group the dice
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Optionally attract a guest
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Take one die and resolve its action
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Serve guests and move them into rooms
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Scope: Lookout Games base game only; Let’s Waltz modules are excluded.
Roll and group the dice
At the start of a round, roll the shared dice and place them on the six action spaces matching their values. The strength of most actions depends on how many dice remain in that group when you take it.
Optionally attract a guest
Before your main die action, you may take an eligible guest card from the public row into an open café table, paying any required cost/discount under the rules.
Take one die and resolve its action
Choose a die group, remove one die and perform that numbered action. The actions provide food/drink, rooms, money/Emperor progress, staff or flexible benefits depending on the die value.
Serve guests and move them into rooms
Place required food and drink cubes on guests. Once a guest is fully served and you have an eligible prepared room of the matching color, move that guest into the room, score the guest and resolve its completion reward.
Staff cards create persistent and one-time effects
Hiring staff can provide discounts, extra resources, action modifications or end-game scoring. Apply each Staff card according to its timing icon.
Turn order snakes
Each player receives two turns per round, with the second pass through the table resolving in reverse order from the first. This makes late first-turn dice choices especially important.
Emperor scoring after rounds 3, 5 and 7
Score your current Emperor position, then retreat 3, 5 or 7 spaces. Ending at 3+ receives the current Emperor bonus; ending at 0 suffers the penalty.
Publisher reference: Lookout Games base rules. Checked September 21, 2026.