A new game for all great strategists! Experience the golden age of the Renaissance! Assume the role of the head of an Italian Aristocratic dynasty and lead your family like the Medici or Borgia. Build magnificent buildings, cultivate beautiful parks, and invite famous artists and scholars to live and work in your court. The players support the builders, artists, and scholars so that their completed works bring them fame and prestige. As the patrons of such great works, players multiply their reputations, but only one will become the most prestigious Prince of Florence!

The components in the game nicely capture the period and are up to Alea's usual standard.
Princes of Florence is played over seven rounds with each round having 2 separate phases. The first phase in each round is an auction phase. In the auction phase, each player gets the opportunity to win one item up for bids. Play begins with the start player for the round who chooses one item from among the five options available, trying to get items that will help the player attract the artisans necessary to gain victory points.

After all players have gained an item in auction, play moves into the Action phase. Moving clockwise from the start player, each player is allowed to take two actions from the five available and quite often wanting do 3, 4 or all five of them!

Play continues through seven rounds with each player completing works or building up resources to complete most efficiently and effectively. The choices players face with each round make playing Princes of Florence a constant, and satisfying, challenge.