In The Staufer Dynasty, the players are nobles in the 12th century, accompanying Henry VI on his tour of the areas of Europe brought under control by the Staufer family, an area that included much of modern-day Germany, from the Baltic Sea in the north to Sicily in the south. You're eager to improve your own lot in the land by placing envoys and nobles in positions of power in the six regions represented in this game.

The game lasts five rounds with each player having three actions per round. Players take actions in order of their family members on the action board from top to bottom; on a turn you either take a supply action (moving to one side of the action board) or a move/deploy action (moving to the other side).