Belfort: The Expansion Expansion
Belfort: The Expansion Expansion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
10 Assistant Tiles. Each Assistant tile shows:
- a Token Nest (some Assistants get a token, or tokens, here);
- a Phase Clearance, describing when this Assistant's Specialty is useful;
- the Specialty name and Specialty text, explaining the Assistant's Specialty;
- Seasonal Values, describing how the Specialty varies according to the current season.
20 Expansion Permits, 2 each of the 10 different Permits. Each Permit shows:
- the Base Property to be expanded;
- the Expansion name;
- a Worker Plank: a Worker must be placed here (plank costs paid upon placement) to initiate the Expansion;
- Bonus Scoring details, the reason you expand these things at all;
- a Red Board, displaying the cost of finalizing the Expansion.
5 new Guild tiles. See the Guilds Appendix for details. Each shows the Guild name, its Cost to Build, and its Guild Action.
8 Assistant tokens. Some Assistants come with tokens.
Changes to Basic Setup
Set up the game according to the usual instructions for Belfort. There are only three very simple changes to the main setup:
- Place the Calendar marker on the first month of the Calendar, instead of "next to" it. (This means of course that the game will have six rounds instead of seven.)
- Place all Scoring Markers on the 6th space of the Score Track, instead of "near the start". (This means that players will start feeling the effects of taxes much sooner than in the base game.)
- Include the new Guilds when determining which will be included in the game. Check the Guilds Appendix to learn all about the new Guilds.
Expansion Setup
In a 2 player or 3 player game, play with only one of each Expansion Permit (so ten total). Return all ten duplicate Permits to the box.
In a 4 player or 5 player game, play with all twenty Expansion Permits.
Stack the Permits on the top area of the Calendar board. (On the "clip" of the clipboard.) Players are permitted to examine the Permits deck at any time.
Assistant Setup
Shuffle the Assistant tiles and lay out a display of random Assistants; one more than the number of players. Place the rest back in the box. Optionally, players may agree (using whatever method they like) to select certain Assistants for their game.
Find the Assistant tokens for any Assistant that needs them (if any) and stack the tokens in the token nest of the matching Assistant tile. Leftover tokens are returned to the box.
Example: In this 2-player game we set out three random Assistants. The Giant gets its 3 tokens, and the Goon gets 1. We place them in their nests and return all unused Assistants and tokens to the box.
Choosing Assistants
Every round, during the Calendar Phase, each player in reverse turn order will choose an Assistant, placing the tile (and any tokens it may come with) face up in front of themselves. There will always be one leftover Assistant each round.
Place 1 Gold coin on top of the Assistant that was not chosen. If a Player chooses an Assistant that has Gold on top if it, he collects the Gold as well.
Example: Blue is last in turn order so he chooses first. He chooses the Goon, collecting its tile and token. Next it's Red's turn. She chooses the Gargoyle, which means that the Giant is left over. The Giant gets 1 Gold from the supply placed on it.
That's it for this round, but next round if someone picks the Giant they'll get to take his Gold as well. If nobody picks him again, he'll get a second Gold. If somebody does pick him, it'll be one of the other Assistants that gets the Gold.
Using Assistants
Players can use their Assistant in one of two different ways:.
- Use its Specialty or
- Get a new Expansion Permit
1. Use its Specialty
To use an Assistant's Specialty, the player follows the instructions in the Assistant's Specialty text, then flips the Assistant tile face down to indicate that it's exhausted for the round.
A time and a place for everything. Different Assistants' Specialties are used at different times. Each tile has a Phase Clearance, which is a reminder of when its Specialty is used. Check the Assistants Appendix for precise details.
Changing Seasons. Assistant Specialties improve as the seasons progress. When the Calendar marker is in a Spring month, apply the Spring value for its Specialty. When it's in Summer apply the Summer value, and when it's in Autumn, apply the Autumn value.
Example: It's a Spring month according to the Calendar, and Red wants to use her Gargoyle's Specialty. The instruction text says to gain X cards, and the Spring value for X is 1... so Red gains 1 card, then flips the Assistant tile face down to indicate that it's exhausted. In later seasons, that X value grows higher and higher.
2. Get a new Expansion Permit
To get a new Expansion Permit, the player flips the Assistant over (indicating that it's exhausted for the round), and then takes any Expansion Permit of their choice that remains in the deck.
- A player may only do this during their own turn during the Actions Phase.
- A player may only choose a Permit if the relevant Property card is already built and in play on the table in front of them.
The new Permit is tucked under the relevant Property card so that the name and illustration of the completed Expansion is covered.
Example: During Blue's turn, he decides to grab a new Expansion Permit. He flips his Assistant face down. Blue has a Pub and a Keep built on the table; he could choose a Permit for either of those, assuming that their Permits remain in the Permits deck. He finds and selects the Pub's Permit, and slides it up under his Pub card as shown. Blue's Pub is now ready to be Expanded with a Lodge!
Expanding a Property
Now that the Property has an Expansion Permit in place, it can be expanded by the owning player. Expanding a Property is a 2-step process.
Step one of Expanding
During the Placement Phase, the player may place a Worker onto a plank of the Permit during the normal routine of placing Workers.
- Some planks show a fee. The fee is paid immediately upon placement.
Gold, Wood, Stone, and Metal fees are paid back into the supply. Property card fees are paid into the discard pile.
Example: Blue places a Dwarf onto the plank of his Pub's Permit when it's his turn to place in the Placement Phase. The plank shows a fee of 1 Stone so Blue pays it to the supply.
Step two of Expanding
During their own turn in the Actions Phase, the player pays the cost shown on the Red Board to reclaim the Worker on the Permit's plank and expand the Property.
Red Board costs of Wood, Stone, Metal, or Gold go back to the supply. See the Expansions Appendix for what to do with Red Board costs of other types.
- Some of the Permits have two planks. If only one of such a Permit's planks has a Worker on it, the Property can not be expanded and the Worker is reclaimed with no effect.
- If the cost on the Red Board can not be paid by the player (by choice or for lack of resources), the Property can not be expanded and the Worker is reclaimed with no effect.
Then, the player slides the Property card down and left so that the Expansion name and illustration are showing. This Property is now fully expanded and its Bonus Scoring becomes active.
Example: During his own turn in the Actions Phase, Blue pays the two Stone shown on his Permit's Red Board back to the supply and reclaims his Dwarf.
Example continued: Blue slides the Pub card down so that the Lodge name and illustration are showing. His Pub is now a Pub+Lodge, and its Bonus Scoring will be in effect in future Scoring Phases!
Scoring Expansions
Scoring is the whole point of adding Expansions to Properties. During every Scoring Phase, each player checks their own fully-expanded Properties and earns bonus points as applicable.
Example: The Bonus Scoring for Blue's Pub+Lodge says that Blue earns 1 point for every 5 Stone in the combined Build Costs of his built Property cards. Blue has a Pub and a Keep built, which together total 6 Stone. Blue earns 1 bonus point for his Pub+Lodge; the 1 extra Stone is ignored. Hopefully that bonus will be worth more in later Scoring Phases as Blue continues to build Properties featuring Stone!
Check the Expansions Appendix to learn all of the details about every Expansion.
Ending the Round
At the end of the Round, before the next Calendar Phase, all players return their Assistant tiles (and tokens) face up to the display.
Appendix: Assistants
Centaur
- Tokens: 1
- Active: Immediately and Actions Phase
Immediately when you choose the Centaur, place its token on one of your available Gnome Locks, unlocking it for the turn. This does not count as "Using its Specialty".
The Centaur token does not count as a Gnome for majority purposes.
At the end of the round when Assistants are returned to the display, the Centaur token is returned as well, re-locking that Gnome Lock.
Certain effects will need to be "undone" as follows:
- Pub or Gardens: Flip one promoted Master Dwarf or Master Elf (respectively) back to its normal side.
- Gatehouse: Remove any one of your Property markers from any one Gatehouse on the board.
Specialty: Gnome Transport. Activate during the Actions Phase when you are hiring a Gnome to get a discount of X on that hire. This discount applies to the normal once-per-round Gnome hire that usually costs 3 Gold; not to Gnomes you might get from other sources such as Tower Property cards or the Clipboard Makers' Guild.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = 2 Gold | X = 1 Gold | X = free |
Djinn
- Tokens: none
- Active: Actions Phase
- Specialty: A-La-Ka-Zamming!
Activate during the Actions Phase to either:
a) Exchange X points for X Metal, OR b) Exchange X points for Y Gold/Wood/Stone in the combination of your choosing.
You may use an earlier season's X and Y values if you wish.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = 1, Y = 3 | X = 2, Y = 5 | X = 3, Y = 7 |
Gargoyle
- Tokens: none
- Active: Actions Phase (Turn End)
- Specialty: Blueprint Drafting
Activate at the end of your turn in the Actions Phase to take X Property cards into your hand from the discard pile and/or from the Draw Pool, in any combination. When you're done, replenish the Draw Pool if necessary.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = 1 | X = 2 | X = 3 |
Giant
- Tokens: 3
- Active: Placement Phase (Passing)
- Specialty: Haulage
Activate when you pass during the Placement Phase, and stack X Giant tokens in one Resource Area. During Collection, each Giant token counts as (and functions exactly like) one normal Elf or Dwarf (your choice) in that area for collection and for majority towards winning the area's bonus.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = 1 | X = 2 | X = 3 |
Goon
- Tokens: 1
- Active: Placement Phase
- Specialty: "Sharing"
Activate during the Placement Phase to pay X and immediately place your Goon token instead of placing a Worker. The Goon token must be placed on a Guild plank that is already occupied by an opponent's Worker (or by a non-player's Worker in a 2-player game.)
During the Actions Phase, both you and the other player occupying the plank will resolve the Guild as normal. If the Guild's effect is one that can logically only be performed once per round (like the Assistants' Guild), then only the earlier player in turn order will be able to resolve the Guild.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = normal cost of the Guild, + 1 Gold to supply | X = normal cost of the Guild | X = nothing |
Gorgon
- Tokens: 1
- Active: Placement Phase (Passing)
- Specialty: Stony Gaze
Activate when you pass during the Placement Phase, and place the Gorgon token into a district of your choice.
During their turns in the Actions Phase, other players must pay X to the supply* for permission to build anything (Properties/Guilds/Walls) in that district.
If you build anything (Properties/Guilds/Walls) in that district during your turn of the Actions Phase, collect X from the supply*.
* Once per player per turn only, even if building multiple items in the district during the turn.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = 1 Gold | X = 2 Gold | X = 3 Gold |
Halfling
- Tokens: none
- Active: Collection Phase (Pay Taxes)
- Specialty: Cooking the Books
Activate when you are supposed to Pay Your Taxes during the Collection Phase, and do X instead.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = collect 1 Gold | X = pay nothing | X = pay 2 Gold to the supply |
Hobgoblin
- Tokens: none
- Active: Actions Phase
- Specialty: Corner-cutting
Activate during the Actions Phase. X Properties that you build on this turn (using Property cards from your hand) get a discount of 2 Wood/Stone.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = 1 | X = 2 | X = 3 |
Imps
- Tokens: 2
- Active: Placement Phase
- Specialty: Breaking & Entering
Activate when it is your turn during the Placement Phase to immediately place X Imp tokens instead of placing a Worker.
Each Imp may only be placed on an unoccupied, unlocked plank on a built Property card belonging to any player.
If an Imp is placed on an opponent's plank that has a fee, pay the fee to that player instead of to the supply; if on your own plank that has a fee, pay the fee as normal.
Once an Imp is on a plank, the plank is considered occupied; no other Workers can be placed there this round.
| Spring | Summer | Autumn |
|---|---|---|
| X = 1 | X = 1 | X = 2 |
Pixie
- Tokens: none
- Active: Actions Phase
- Specialty: Adding Value
Activate during your turn in the Actions Phase to immediately choose one district and score it. The chosen district is scored following all the normal rules used during a Scoring Phase, including all rules for ties. The only difference is that the Pixie's seasonal scoring values are used instead of the normal scoring values.
| Season | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Summer | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Autumn | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Losing Masters
Unlike in the base game of Belfort, the Expansion Expansion includes ways that you can lose Dwarves/Elves during the game; specifically due to the Inn+Pool Expansion and the Non-Human Resources Guild. It's possible that you will lose Master Dwarves/Elves, so a clarification is necessary.
The Rule: You are permitted at any time to assess your unlocked Pubs/Gardens to determine how many Master Dwarves/Elves you are entitled to, then to adjust your Worker tokens to the correct amount of Masters. (For clarity, you are entitled to 1 Master Dwarf/Elf per unlocked Pub/Garden.)
It is possible that you might find yourself with more unlocked Pubs/Gardens than you have Dwarf/Elf tokens. In that situation—following the rule above—once you gain a new Dwarf/Elf, you could immediately assess your Pubs/Gardens and promote the new Worker to a Master if appropriate.
Appendix: Expansions
Bank+Treasury
- Planks: 1, with a fee of 1 Gold
- Red Board: 1 Wood + 1 Stone
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every 3 Gold in your possession, up to a maximum of 4 points per Scoring Phase. Ignore remainders.
Example: 7 Gold would earn you 2 points.
Blacksmith+Foundry
- Planks: 1, with a fee of 1 Metal
- Red Board: 1 Metal
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every 3 Metal found in the combined Build Costs of your built Property cards on the table in front of you. Ignore remainders.
Example: With two Keeps and a Blacksmith built, their combined Build Costs would contain 5 Metal; you would earn 1 point.
Gardens+Pavilion
- Planks: 1, with a fee of 1 Wood
- Red Board: 2 Wood
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every 5 Wood found in the combined Build Costs of your built Property cards on the table in front of you. Ignore remainders.
Example: With a Gardens and two Banks built, their combined Build Costs would contain 11 Wood; you would earn 2 points.
Gatehouse+Barracks
- Planks: 1, with a fee of 1 Gold
- Red Board: 1 Wood + 1 Stone
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every Wall that you've built.
Example: 4 Walls would earn you 4 points.
Inn+Pool
- Planks: 2, with no fees
- Red Board: 1 Dwarf* or 1 Elf*
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every complete set of Workers (Dwarf + Elf + Gnome) you have.
See the Losing Masters note above.
Example: 3 Dwarves, 4 Elves, and 5 Gnomes, would earn you 3 Points.
* This Worker goes back into the supply.
Keep+Chapel
- Planks: 1, with a fee of 1 Gold
- Red Board: 2 Gold
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for each district in which you have at least one Property marker.
Example: Property markers in 3 different districts would earn you 3 points.
Library+Archives
- Planks: 1, with a fee of 2 Property cards*
- Red Board: No cost
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every 2 Property cards in your hand, rounding up.
Example: 3 cards would earn you 2 points.
* These cards go into the discard pile.
Market+Plaza
- Planks: 2, with no fees
- Red Board: 2 Wood/Stone
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every Guild that you have built.
Example: 2 Guilds would earn you 2 points.
Pub+Lodge
- Planks: 1, with a fee of 1 Stone
- Red Board: 2 Stone
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every 5 Stone found in the combined Build Costs of your built Property cards on the table in front of you. Ignore remainders.
Example: With a Pub, a Tower, and a Keep built, their combined Build Costs would contain 9 Stone; you would earn 1 point.
Tower+Scriptorium
- Planks: 1, with no fee
- Red Board: 1 Gnome*
- Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every Expansion Permit (expanded or not) that you own.
Example: With three Expansion Permits in your possession, you'd earn 3 points.
* When a Gnome is discarded (back to the supply) from a Gnome Lock, certain effects will need to be "undone". Pub or Gardens: Flip one promoted Master Dwarf or Master Elf (respectively) back to its normal side. Gatehouse: Remove any one of your Property markers from any one Gatehouse on the board.
Appendix: Guilds
These five new Guilds can be included in your selection of Guilds when setting up your game. (Although to use the Assistants' and Planners' Guilds you must be playing with the full Expansion Expansion.) Note the new type of resolution timing: "On Placement", as seen on the Assistants' and Non-Human Resources Guilds.
Basic Guilds
Assistants' Guild
- Cost: 2 Wood, 2 Stone, 2 Metal
Action: Immediately when you place your Worker here during the Placement Phase, take the remaining Assistant tile from the display (plus its tokens if it has any and any Gold that is on it). You may use this Assistant this round (in addition to using your original Assistant), following all of its normal rules of use.
Clipboard Makers' Guild
- Cost: 2 Wood, 2 Stone, 2 Metal
Action: Draw 1 Property card from the deck.
Second Action: You get one additional Trading Post visit during this Actions Phase.
Third Action: You may hire a Gnome for 1 Gold. This hire does not count towards the normal 1-per-round Gnome hiring limit.
Decorators' Guild
- Cost: 2 Wood, 2 Stone, 2 Metal
Action: Choose 2 of your own Property markers on the board and "decorate" them by placing a Gold coin from the supply under each one. During the Scoring Phase, any "decorated" marker is counted as 1.5 Property markers when calculating majority for its district.
For example if you have 3 markers in a district and one of them is decorated, that counts as 3.5 Propery markers towards winning the district's majority.
Non-Human Resources Guild
- Cost: 2 Wood, 2 Stone, 2 Metal
See the Losing Masters note above.
Action: Immediately when you place your Worker here during the Placement Phase, take any combination of 3 Elves/Dwarves from the supply. At the end of your turn in the Action Phase, return any combination of 3 Elves/Dwarves to the supply.
For example you could take 2 Elves and a Dwarf upon placement, then return 3 Elves at the end of your turn in the Action Phase.
Planners' Guild
- Cost: 2 Wood, 2 Stone, 2 Metal
Action: Take up to 2 Expansion Permits for Property cards that you have built on the table in front of you; treat them exactly as if you'd obtained them through the normal method.