To purchase a card, a player must spend the number of tokens indicated on the card. A Gold (joker) token can replace any color. The spent tokens (including any jokers) are returned the table. Players can use also the gems produced on any of their Development Cards. Gems on Development Cards are not spent and players can use them again on the next turn.

A player may purchase one of the face-up Development Cards in the middle of the table or a card in his hand that was reserved on a previous turn.

Each player makes distinct rows with the acquired Development Cards by sorting them by color, and staggering them vertically so that their bonuses and prestige point values are always visible.

Important: when a Development Card from the middle of the table is acquired or reserved, it must immediately be replaced by a card of the same level.

At all times during the game, there must be 4 face-up cards of each level (unless the deck in question is empty, in which case the empty spaces also remain empty).