In Ora et Labora (Latin for 'Pray and Work'), each player is the head of a monastery in the Middle Ages who acquires land and constructs buildings. They are, so to speak, small businesses that provide resources and profits. The goal is to build a working infrastructure and craft 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 "major" game, has game mechanics similar to his Le Havre, such as two-sided resource cards that can be upgraded from a basic item to something more useful. Instead of adding resources to the board every turn as in Agricola and Le Havre, Ora et Labora uses a numbered rondel to show how much of each resource is available at any time. At the start of each round, players spin the rondel one segment, adjusting the counts of all resources at once.

Each player has a personal game board. New buildings enter the game from time to time, and players can build them on their game boards with the building materials they collect, with some terrain restrictions on what can be built where. Some spaces start with trees or swamps on them, and these hinder development until a player clears the land, but they also provide resources when removed. Smart building on your personal game board will influence your final score, and players can purchase additional terrain during the game if necessary.

Players also have three workers who can enter buildings to take the action associated with that location. Workers must remain in place until you have 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 entrance fee so that he moves one of his workers into that building to do the work for you .

Ora et Labora has two variants: France and Ireland.