Avignon: A Clash of Popes
Avignon: A Clash of Popes Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 12 Character Cards
- 5 Map Cards
- 1 Reference Card
Setup
Set up the Map Cards between the players in this order: Avignon, Nice, Genoa, Florence and Rome.
Shuffle the Character Cards. Draw five cards and place them face up in a row extending outwards from Genoa. Place the remaining cards face-down in a deck, leaving space for a discard pile.
One player will play as Rome and the other as Avignon. The Roman player goes first.
Characters in Avignon belong to one of six factions: Bishop, Cardinal, Inquisitor, Knight, Noble, or Peasant. When a card references any of those names (for a Petition ability or Alternate Win), it is referring to any card in that faction. This will come into play when playing with expansion content.
Special: The Samaritan Rule
Players may not take actions that, at the end of their turn, have completely reversed the previous player's turn. Partial reversals are allowed.
Game Terms
The game uses the following key terms:
When an action instructs a player to PUSH a card, that player takes a card and moves it the distance of one Map Card toward his or her opponent.
When an action instructs a player to PULL a card, that player takes one card and moves it the distance of one map card toward themselves.
- PUSH: an upward arrow.
- PULL: a downward arrow.
- PULL TWICE: a double downward arrow.
- RIVAL (Opponent): a silhouette of a person.
- WIN: a crown.
Turn Sequence
On his or her turn, each player takes exactly two of the actions listed below, and the same action may not be taken twice. Play then alternates between the players.
Special: The Selfless Rule
The player who has the first turn of the game takes only a single action.
BESEECH: Pull a character one space.
CHASTISE: Push a character one space.
EXCOMMUNICATE: Choose a character and place it in the discard pile. Draw a new character and place it in the exact position the removed card occupied. If the deck is empty, shuffle all discarded cards to form a new deck.
PETITION: Use the unique PETITION ability of one character in play.
Scoring
If any action causes a card to move past either the Rome or the Avignon card, it is placed face up in front of the player it was moving towards. This stack of cards is the player's Congregation. That player then draws a new character and places it in the same row as the removed card, equal to Genoa. If the deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
Cards in a player's Congregation are considered to be out of play and cannot be affected by actions. Also, these cards may be looked at by either player at any time.
Ending the Game
The game ends when one player has three cards in his or her Congregation. That player wins the game.
Characters may have other conditions under which the game could end.
Example - The Noble: You (the player with the Noble in their Congregation) win if your Rival has the Knight in their Congregation.
Your Rival wins if you have the Peasant in your Congregation.
If two players would win the game at the same time, the player who took the game's final action wins.
Notes
During their turn, each player may rotate the cards in play, so that the orientation of the card is facing them. As players get more familiar with the cards, this rotation will no longer be necessary.
Some may want to play with the Character Cards on their side. In that case, the Map Cards can be flipped over to display horizontally facing map cards.
Complete Card Abilities
For clarification on any of the card abilities, visit buttonshygames.com.