Booze Barons Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Objective
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Move Phase
  • Action Phase
  • End of Round
• Locations
• Quick Reference Notes
  • Phases and Action Reference
• End of Game
• Other Stuff
• Booze Types
• Quick Reference Tables
  • Dealing Booze
  • Drawing Delivery
  • End Game Scoring
• Gameplay Reference

Components

• 54 Movement Cards
• 36 Delivery Cards
• 9 Booze Cards
• 9 Bootlegger Cards
• 9 Bootlegger Pawns
• 6 Location Cards
• 2 Snitch Tokens
• 1 Booze Baron Token

Objective

Gather Coins by collecting Delivery, Movement, and Snitch tokens. Collect Delivery cards by making deliveries to speakeasies. Collect Movement and Snitch tokens by exposing opposing Bootleggers from other Mobs. When only one Bootlegger remains unexposed, the game will end, and the Mob with the most Coins will win.

Setup

1. Place the six Location cards on the table. For your first game, use the "A" side of each Location. During future games, you may choose to mix and match.
2. Separate the Booze cards by Mob. The Mobs are identified by the shape and colored border around the logo. Shuffle each Mob's pile separately.
3. If you are playing with three, five, six, eight, or nine players, create a pile of Booze cards by adding one card from each Mob's pile until the number of cards is equal to or greater than the number of players. For example, in a six player game, two cards would be added from each Mob. Deal one Booze card to each player. Return all unused Booze cards to the box without viewing them.
4. If you are playing with four or seven players, create a pile of Booze cards by adding one card from each Mob until the number of cards in the pile is one less than the number of players. For example, in a four player game, one card would be added from each Mob. Shuffle all of the remaining Booze cards from all of the Mobs together and add one of those cards to the pile. Shuffle the pile and deal one Booze card to each player. Return all unused Booze cards to the box without viewing them.
5. Shuffle the Delivery deck and draw nine cards. Place each card below the location displayed on the Delivery card.
6. Each player chooses a Bootlegger and takes the corresponding pawn, Bootlegger card, and deck of Movement cards.
7. The player who is the most similar to their Bootlegger takes the Booze Baron token. The Booze Baron will be the first player to take a turn.

Setup Reference page: the printed Setup Reference page gives the same steps in short form, with "Give one player the Booze Baron" in place of step 7, and "Draw and place nine Delivery cards" in place of step 5.

Gameplay

Gameplay takes place in a series of rounds. Each round consists of two phases: the Move Phase and the Action Phase.

Each phase and action can be found on the back of your Bootlegger card.

Move Phase

Each player chooses the Movement card that corresponds with the Location they want to visit this round and places it face-down on the table. Each player reveals their chosen card at the same time and moves their Bootlegger pawn to the Location shown on that card. All players then pick up the Movement card they played during the previous round.

No player can move to the same Location during two consecutive rounds. Each player leaves their selected Movement card face-up on the table until the next round when they have revealed another Movement card.

Action Phase

Starting with the Booze Baron and proceeding clockwise, each player takes one turn during the Action Phase. On their turn, each player chooses one of the following four actions and immediately takes that action.

DELIVER

Take one Delivery card from your current Location and place it face-up in front of you. You may only collect a Delivery card if your Booze type is shown on that Delivery card.

TAIL

Choose another player at your Location. Look at all of that player's Delivery cards for up to 20 seconds. You may then either Steal or Expose (see below), but you may not do both.

• STEAL: After Tailing another player, choose one of their face-down Delivery cards that matches your Booze type. Place that card face-up in front of you. Both Exposed and Unexposed players may have their Delivery cards stolen.
• EXPOSE: After Tailing an Unexposed player, you may attempt to Expose that player by publicly guessing their Booze type. If you guess correctly, that player becomes Exposed and must turn their Booze card face-up. You collect that player's Movement token corresponding with their current Location. That Movement token cannot be stolen from you. If you guess incorrectly, no Movement cards are exchanged, and your turn is over.

The first player to Expose another player takes a Snitch token. If there are seven or more players, the second player to Expose another player also takes a Snitch token.

EVENT

Trigger the Event listed at your current Location (if applicable).

PASS

You may choose to pass and do nothing on your turn.

End of Round

When each player has taken an action, the round ends. The player holding the Booze Baron card passes it to the player on their left.

Draw a number of Delivery cards equal to half the number of players (round up). Place each Delivery card at its corresponding Location.

If there are no Delivery cards remaining in the deck, the Unexposed player with the fewest Coins is automatically Exposed and must place their Movement card corresponding with their current Location back in the box. If players are tied for the lowest number of coins, all of those players are exposed.

If there are fewer than two Unexposed players, the game ends (see End of Game). If more than one player is Unexposed, the game will continue. Give all players a moment to review which Delivery cards were taken during the round, then turn all face-up Delivery cards face-down. The round ends, and a new round begins.

Source note: the End of Round phase text reads "half the number of players (round up)", while the Drawing Delivery panel of the printed Quick Reference page reads "half the number of players, rounded down". Both are printed in the rulebook and are transcribed as printed; the phase text is the one followed above.

Locations

Each Location has a Side A and a Side B. For your first game, use Side A. During future games, you may choose to mix and match.

Casino Regale (Side A) — Event: Reveal the top 3 cards of the Delivery deck. You may choose and keep any number of those Delivery cards that match your Booze type. Discard any that you do not keep.

River Caves (Side A) — Event: You can only be Tailed by players who are also at the River Caves. This event is automatically activated.

Seedy Pete's (Side A) — Event: Steal a Delivery card that matches your Booze type from the player seated to your left or right. If that player still has more Delivery cards than you, you may steal a second Delivery card from them.

Officer's Club (Side A) — Event: Tail the player seated to your right.

Curtain Club (Side A) — Event: Tail the player seated to your left.

Docks (Side A) — Event: Choose another player. That player may collect up to 2 Delivery cards that match their Booze type from any Location(s).

Docks (Side B) — Event: Choose another player. That player becomes the Booze Baron next round.

Source note: the rulebook prints only the Docks Side B text legibly; the Side B events of the other five Locations are not printed in the rulebook text and are not transcribed here.

Quick Reference Notes

Phases and Action Reference

• You may only take a Delivery card from your current Location.
• Newly-acquired Delivery cards remain face-up until the end of the round.
• You may only collect Delivery cards that match your Booze Type (regardless of how you obtain them).
• The River Caves has a passive ability that is always activated while you are there. It does not require you to use your Action to trigger the Location's Event.
• Face-up Delivery cards cannot be stolen.
• A player who has been Exposed cannot be Exposed again.
• Exposing a player and taking their Movement card gives you two more coins and takes those two coins from them.
• A player who guesses a Booze type incorrectly when attempting to Expose suffers no penalty, but their turn is over.
• When a player's Movement card has been stolen, they are unable to visit that Location again.
• Each Snitch token has a number in the corner to indicate the number of players with which it should be used.

End of Game

When there are fewer than two Unexposed players at the end of a round, the game ends. The Mob with the most Coins wins the game. Coins are counted as follows:

• +1 Coin for each Delivery card acquired
• +1 Coin for each Snitch token acquired
• +2 Coins for each Movement card (both your cards and any cards acquired from opposing Bootleggers)
• -2 Coins for each Movement card acquired from another player in your Mob

In four and five player games, the Coins of any player who does not have a teammate are doubled at the end of the game. In seven and eight player games, Mobs of three players only count the Coins of two players when determining their score: their highest-scoring player and their lowest-scoring player.

If there is a tie, the Mob that Exposed the most opposing Bootleggers wins. If a tie persists, the last Mob who had an Unexposed Bootlegger wins.

Other Stuff

Anytime that you are required to Discard a Delivery card, place that card at the bottom of the Delivery deck without showing it to any player.

Table talk is highly encouraged. You are allowed to say whatever you'd like. Bluff, extort, share information. You're a mobster - it's what you do. There are no restrictions on verbal communication.

You may not show your Booze card to any other player unless you are required to do so because it is Exposed.

The number of Delivery cards each player has at any time and which Movement card(s) each player has collected is public information.

Booze Types

Beer Mob

• Punching Bag Porter
• Dolled Up Blonde
• Laying Low Lager
• Good Hop Bad Hop

Liquor Mob

• Time Bomb Tequila
• Reach for the Sky Rye
• Back Alley Bourbon
• Lucky Lightning

Wine Mob

• Machine Gun Merlot
• Big House Brandy
• Shakedown Champagne
• Shifty's Chardonnay

Quick Reference Tables

Dealing Booze

Number of Players	Directions
3, 5, 6, 8, 9	Separate and shuffle each of the three Booze types. Place one Booze card of each type in a new pile until the number of cards in that pile is equal to or greater than the number of players. Deal one card from the new pile to each player, and return any unused cards to the box.
4, 7	Separate and shuffle each of the three Booze types. Place one card of each type in a new pile until the number of cards in that pile is one less than the number of players. Shuffle all of the remaining Booze cards, and add one of these cards to the new pile. Return the remaining Booze cards to the deck. Deal one card from the new pile to each player.

Drawing Delivery

• During Setup: Draw 9 Delivery cards.
• After Each Round: Draw a number of Delivery cards equal to half the number of players, rounded down. (See the source note under End of Round.)

End Game Scoring

• Movement: 2 Coins each
• Delivery: 1 Coin each
• Snitch: 1 Coin each

Gameplay Reference

The printed Gameplay Reference page: "If space allows, you may choose to place the rulebook on the table with this page showing for players to reference throughout the game."

Move Phase: Move to a new Location.

Action Phase: Choose one of the following four actions.

• DELIVER: Take one Delivery card from your Location.
• TAIL: View the Delivery cards of another player at your Location, then Expose or Steal.
• EVENT: Trigger the Event listed on your Location.
• PASS: Do not take an action this turn.