Bequest
Bequest Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Over the course of 5 rounds, players will strategically split Dr. Schism's fortune with the villains on either side of them. In the end, the villain that has amassed the most Money will be the new Mastermind!
Components
- 150 Asset Cards
- 30 Special Cards
- 6 Character Power Cards
- 6 Reference Cards
- Score pad
- 1 Round tracker
- 12 Decision Tokens
- 6 Splitter boards
- 1 Game board
- 1 Rule Book
Setup
- Place the Game board in the center of the play area.
- Flip the Round tracker like a coin and then place it in the monitor spot reading "I" on the Game board. During the game, the Round tracker determines which direction you place the Asset cards that are split.
- Shuffle the 30 Special cards and place them in a stack to the left of the Game board.
- Prepare the Asset card decks:
a. Separate the Asset cards by their backs creating 5 decks, one for each round of the game.
b. Remove cards from each Round's deck and put them back in the box depending on player count, as shown in the bottom-right corner of the cards:
- 3-player game: Remove cards with "4+", "5+", or "6".
- 4-player game: Remove cards with "5+" or "6".
- 5-player game: Remove cards with "6".
- 6-player game: Do not remove any cards. c. Shuffle each deck and then place it facedown above the relevant round number on the Game board.
- Each player takes a Reference card and 2 Decision tokens, an "A" and a "B".
- Place a Splitter board between each set of neighboring players. It does not matter which Splitter boards you use, or which way the Splitter board is oriented.
- You are ready to begin!
Setting Up Each Round
Each Round introduces a new set of Special cards from Dr. Schism's vault, each with unique benefits to whoever can claim them.
According to the chart on the Game board, reveal Special cards from the Special card deck and place each card faceup onto any vacant card slot on the Game board.
| Number of Players | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Special cards to reveal | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Example: In a 6-player game, reveal 5 Special cards.
Gameplay
The game takes place over 5 rounds. These represent the 5 days you spend at Dr. Schism's lair dividing up his assets. Each Round has 2 Phases: Split & Choose and Special Card Draft.
Phase 1: Split & Choose
a. Each player draws 5 Asset cards into their hand from the Round's deck. The Round's deck is the deck directly above the Round tracker. Keep these cards secret. There should be no cards remaining in that Round's deck.
b. Simultaneously, each player splits these 5 cards into 2 groups and places each group facedown onto each of the card spaces on the appropriate Splitter board. The appropriate Splitter board is the one in the direction shown on the Round tracker - a clockwise arrow means you place these cards on the Splitter board to your left, and a counter-clockwise arrow means you place them on the Splitter board to your right.
- You may split your 5 cards into a group of 3 and 2, or a group of 4 and 1. You may not make a group of 5 and 0.
- It does not matter which card slot on the Splitter board you place any particular group of cards.
- As you will learn throughout the course of this rulebook, each card helps or hinders you in a different way, but in general you are trying to make a split where both sides are relatively equal in value.
c. Once all players have finished splitting their 5 cards by placing them on the appropriate Splitter boards, you may look at the 2 groups of cards that were split by your neighbor. Be careful not to alter the groups! When you have decided which group of cards you want, place them back on the card slots on the Splitter board facedown.
- Place a Decision token facedown in the middle of the Splitter board that corresponds to the group you want, either A or B.
- It is important that the Decision token not played onto the Splitter board remains facedown; otherwise the one played would not be a secret!
d. When all players have placed their Decision token, everyone reveals their Decision token and takes the corresponding group of cards from that Splitter board.
e. Then, from the other Splitter board, everyone takes the group of cards that their neighbor did not choose.
f. Both sets of cards received are placed faceup in front of the player in their "card display". Sort your cards by type. Splay them in columns so your opponents can see how many of each type of card you own.
g. Finally, each player takes back their Decision token that they placed on the Splitter board.
Example: The Buffler splits his 5 cards and places them on the left side Splitter board, according to the Round tracker. When all players are done splitting, the Buffler looks at the 2 groups of cards on the right side Splitter board, split by The Geminoids. In the meantime, his left neighbor, Auctioneer Buccaneer, is looking at the cards split by the Buffler. The Buffler decides which group he wants, so he puts the groups back down on the Splitter board and places his "A" Decision token facedown to indicate that he wants group A. When everyone has locked in their decision, the Buffler reveals his Decision token and will grab group A on the right AND will grab the group not chosen by Auctioneer Buccaneer on the left.
Phase 2: Special Card Draft
a. The player who has the "#1" Key discards that card. That player must then take any faceup Special card from the Game board and add it to their card display. Start a faceup discard pile to the right of the Game board. If a player chose a Lackey Special card, they use it immediately, then discard it. All other card types are simply added to the player's card display.
b. This process is repeated for the player who has the "#2" Key, then "#3" Key, and so on...until all Keys have been discarded and thus all Special cards have been taken.
If a player has multiple Keys, they take multiple turns during this phase, but they still take those turns in numerical order. If a player has no Keys, they take no turns this phase.
End of Round
Once these 2 Phases are completed, flip the Round tracker to its opposite side, advance it to the next monitor spot, and begin a new round. If it is the end of Round 5, the game is over, proceed to scoring. Use the provided score pad to record players' scores.
End of the Game (Card Types & Scoring)
The double-sided Reference card provides a quick look at the different types of cards in the game and their effects.
Global Influence
There are 2 types of Global Influence: Western and Eastern.
Western Global Influence:
- If a player has equal to or more Western Global Influence than both neighbors, they earn $15.
- If a player has equal to or more Western Global Influence than one neighbor, they earn $10.
Eastern Global Influence:
- If a player has equal to or more Eastern Global Influence than both neighbors, they earn $20.
- If a player has equal to or more Eastern Global Influence than one neighbor, they earn $5.
Example: You have an equal number of Eastern Global Influence as your neighbor to the left and more than your neighbor to the right, so you earn $20.
Example: You have more Western Global Influence than your neighbor on the right but less than your neighbor to the left, so you earn $10.
Example: You have less Eastern Global Influence than either of your neighbors, so you earn nothing.
Gadgets
There are 3 types of Gadgets: Cannons, Power Cores, and Vehicles. The player earns Money for each type of Gadget according to the size of that collection.
| Number of Gadgets of a type | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Money | $0 | $1 | $5 | $15 |
Example: You have 5 Power Cores, 2 Vehicles, and 1 Cannon. These sets earn you $16 (5 Power Cores = $15, 2 Vehicles = $1, 1 Cannon = $0).
If a player has zero of any given type, they earn $0 for that type.
Treasure
Whenever a player acquires a Treasure card they must flip it facedown immediately.
At the end of the game, the first facedown card you own is worth $1, the second is worth $2, and so on...
Example: You have 6 facedown cards which earns $21 ($1+$2+$3+$4+$5+$6 = $21).
Evidence
If the player has 3 or more Evidence cards, each Evidence card is worth -$3.
Example: You have 4 Evidence cards so you lose $12 (4 x -$3 = -$12).
Example: You have only 2 Evidence cards so you lose nothing (because you do not have 3 or more).
Hideouts
Hideouts earn the player the depicted amount of Money on the card, positive or negative.
Example: You have 3 Hideouts: worth -$1, $2, and $4. You earn a total of $5 from these Hideouts.
Lackey
Lackeys provide powerful one-time effects. When the player acquires a Lackey, they must use it immediately. The effect is always optional. After use, the player discards the Lackey card.
Many Lackey cards refer to "selling" cards. That means the player flips over the card being "sold." Since that card is facedown it is now considered "Treasure" at the end of the game and scores as such.
Example: You received a Lackey card during the Special Draft. It reads: "Sell up to 2 Hideout cards". You decide to sell 1, so you flip 1 of your Hideout cards over and add it to your existing pile of facedown cards. Then, you discard the Lackey card.
Schemes
Each Scheme card earns Money based on a condition depicted as icons on the top and as text on the bottom of the card.
Example: You have a Scheme card that reads: "$1 for each of your Gadget cards". Having a total of 6 Gadget cards, that Scheme earns you $6.
Winning the Game
The player with the most Money after 5 Rounds is the winner and the heir to Dr. Schism's legacy!
In the event of a tie, the player with the fewest Evidence cards is the winner. If there is still a tie, the player with the fewest Money-losing Hideouts is the winner. If there is still a tie, the victory is shared.
Advanced Mode
For experienced players, we suggest adding these character cards to the game. As a final step of Setup, randomly deal a Character Power card to each player. Place your character card faceup in front of you. Each character has a unique ability that changes the rules slightly.
- Brainstorm: If you have 5 or more Evidence cards, ignore all negative points from Evidence cards during scoring.
- Buffler: This card is considered a Scheme. Whenever you use a Key, instead of discarding it, tuck it under this card. During scoring, earn $2 per Key here.
- Professor Emerald: During scoring, this card counts as one Treasure card.
- Auctioneer Buccaneer: Double the value of each of your Hideout cards (including negatives).
- The Geminoids: This card is considered a Scheme. Earn $3 per pair of Eastern and Western Hemisphere Influence. Examples: 2 Western cards = $0; 1 Western, 1 Eastern = $3; Special card with one of each = $3.
- Master Mime: During scoring, this card counts as a copy of any 1 of your Gadget cards.