City of Guilds Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Set-up
• Game Play/Rules
  • Select the starting player
  • Select Guilds
  • Deal
  • Play
• End Game/Scoring
• 1P Variant
• Guild Cards
  • Guild of Bankers
  • Guild of Craftsmen
  • Guild of Magicians
  • Guild of Merchants
  • Guild of Thieves
  • Society of Scholars
• Action Cards
  • Academy
  • Beggars
  • Dwindling Influence
  • Financial Crisis
  • Gain [1] in Cherriton
  • Gain [1] in the Docks
  • Gain [1] in the Financial District
  • Gain [1] in the Market
  • Gain [1] in the Poor Quarter
  • Gain [1] in the Royal Quarter
  • Gain [1] in the Street of Minor Miracles
  • Gain [1] in the University Quarter

Set-up

The following items are required to play:

• 30 wooden cubes in each of 4 colours
• 34 action cards
• 6 guild cards
• 1 mayor card
• gold coin tokens totalling 50 (e.g. 50x1, or 20x1+6x5, etc.)
• 1 game board

Each player selects a colour and receives 30 wooden cubes of the given colour. These should be placed in front of each player. The board should then be placed in the centre of the playing area or table. The Mayor card should be removed from the deck and placed to the side, and the rest of the card should be separated into 2 piles; the 6 guilds cards (white border) and the 34 action cards (black border).

Select the Mayor (first player) by dice result, age or any other method, and give them the Mayor card. You are now ready to play.

Game Play/Rules

The game is made up of 5 rounds and in each round players will gain control of different guilds. The rounds proceed as follows:

Select the starting player

If it is the first round then the starting player will have been selected during set-up. The starting player is then given the Mayor card to indicate that they are the starting player for the current round.

In 2 player games, the players alternate being the Mayor up to the last round, when the player with the least money becomes the starting player.

In 3 player games, the Mayor role moves clock-wise around the table until each of the 3 players have been the start player. In the 4th and 5th rounds the player with the least gold at the start of the round becomes the start player.

In 4 player games, the Mayor role moves clock-wise around the table up to the last round, when the player with the least money becomes the starting player.

Select Guilds

Starting with the Mayor and proceeding clockwise, players choose one of the Guilds. Players may not select a Guild they have already played (unless they have no option but to do so). When they have selected a Guild they take the corresponding Guild card and place a cube in the relevant Guild box on the board.

Deal

Deal 3 action cards to each player (unless they have kept a card from a previous round, in which case deal them 2 cards to take their hand back up to 3). Then the draw pile is dealt, face down next to the board. This consists of 8 cards in 2 player games, 10 in 3 player games and 12 in a four player game. The draw pile is made up solely of action cards.

Play

Players now take their turn, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise. During each player's turn they can take 1 of 4 actions:

• Draw a card – draw the top card of the draw pile. The maximum hand size is 3 cards, so players can only draw a card if they have less than 3 cards currently in their hand.
• Discard a card – players can choose to discard a card to the discard pile, face up.
• Play a card – the player takes the action outlined on the card and then places the card, face down, on the trash pile. See the Card List section for details of each card.
• Guild special action – one per round the player may take the special action outlined on the Guild card they selected for the current round.

The round ends when the draw pile has been exhausted and the players either have no cards in their hand, or only card in their hand that they wish to keep for the next round. Only one card per player may be kept in this way. Note that even if there are cards remaining in the discard pile, these cannot be drawn once the draw pile has been exhausted.

Players now collect tax revenues from the areas of the city they control. In a 2 player game, players receive 1 gold for each area of the city they have a clear majority in (including any buildings). In 3 and 4 player games, player's receive 2 gold for each area of the city they have a clear majority in, and 1 gold for each area they share the lead in.

Then the cards from the discard and trash piles, and the cards not used in the current round, are shuffled and the next round proceeds as detailed above.

Note: When playing a building card the player first pays the cost of the build (4 gold). They then place a cube in the relevant building square on the board, and also place a cube in that area of the city. If there isn't an available space in that area, they may remove an influence cube of an opponent and place their cube in that square. The building card stays in play, face up in front of the player who played it.

Building cubes may never be removed.

End Game/Scoring

At the end of the 5th round the game ends. The player who controls the most areas of the city is the winner. If two or more players are tied based on number of areas, then the total number of cubes they have on the board is used to determine the winner.

1P Variant

In the single player variant the player takes on the existing Ruler of the city and attempts to overthrow him by gaining enough influence. The game is set-up in the same way as the multi-player game, except the Ruler starts with one influence cube in each area of the city.

In the single player game the rounds are as follows:

• Select the starting player – The player always take their turn first, and then play the Rulers turn.
• Select Guilds – The player selects the Guild they wish at the start of the round, whilst the Ruler never selects a Guild.
• Deal – The player deals 3 cards to themselves and none to the Ruler. If they kept a card in the previous round then they only deal themselves 1 card to make their hand up to 3 cards. 8 cards are then dealt face down to form the Draw Pile.
• Play – The player now takes their turn, playing as normal. Once they have taken their turn they then take the Ruler's turn. On the Ruler's turn the player draws the top card from the Draw Pile and plays it immediately. There are certain cards the Ruler can't play, or that must be played in a certain way. If the Ruler cannot play the card then it is discarded and the next card drawn.
  • Gain [1] in city area – If the area is full and the Ruler has 3 or more gold then they must pay the 3 gold, remove 1 of the player's cube and place their own cube in that square. If area is full of only the Ruler's cubes or the ruler doesn't have the necessary gold, then this card cannot be played.
  • Beggars – If the Ruler doesn't have 1 or more gold then this card cannot be played.
  • Dwindling Influence – Remove 1 of the player's cubes from the area of the city the player has the most influence cubes in.
  • Malicious Rumours – If the Ruler doesn't have 3 or more gold then this card cannot be played. Remove 1 of the player's influence cubes from whichever of Cherriton or the Royal Quarter the player currently has the most influence cubes in.
  • Power Shift – The Ruler cannot play this card.

The round ends when the Draw Pile has been exhausted and the player is either out of cards, or has only one card remaining that they wish to keep for the next round.

As per the normal, 2 player game, both the player and the Ruler collect 1 gold for each area of the city they have a clear majority in. After 5 rounds the game ends, and if the Player controls more areas of the city than the Ruler then they win. However, in the case of a draw the player automatically loses. They cannot win on total influence cubes in the single player game, they must have a clear city area victory over the Ruler in order to usurp him.

Guild Cards

Guild of Bankers

• Action: You may sell a building you own for 5 gold. Remove your influence cube from the relevant building on the board and trash the building card.
• Ability: Each building costs 1 gold less to construct.

Guild of Craftsmen

• Action: Search the trash pile and take one card into your hand.
• Ability: You may draw from the discard pile as well as the draw pile. Once the draw pile is exhausted you may no longer draw from the discard pile.

Guild of Magicians

• Action: Draw 2 cards, discard one and play the other immediately.
• Ability: Whenever you would discard a card instead trash it (except when using guild ability).

Guild of Merchants

• Action: Search the discard pile and take one card into your hand.
• Ability: Gain 1 gold whenever you discard a card.

Guild of Thieves

• Action: Steal a card at random from an opponent's hand.
• Ability: When drawing a card, instead draw 2, keep one card and then you can either gain 1 gold and return the other card to the top of the draw pile, discard the other card, or pay 1 gold and trash the other card.

Society of Scholars

• Action: Search the draw pile and take one card into your hand.
• Ability: When drawing a card, instead draw 3, keep 1, discard 1 and replace the other on the draw pile.

Action Cards

Academy

• Building – Pay 4 Gold to build this building. Place one influence cube in the Academy square within the Royal Quarter, then place one influence square within the Royal Quarter itself. If there isn't an available square then remove 1 opponents influence cube from the Royal Quarter and place your influence cube in the freed-up space.

Beggars

Pay 1 Gold, remove 1 influence cube of an opponent, place 1 influence cube of your own in the Poor Quarter. You may choose not to remove an influence cube.

Dwindling Influence

Remove any 1 influence cube of an opponent from the board.

Financial Crisis

Remove 1 influence cube of your choice from the Financial District. If there only your own cubes in the Financial District then one of those must be removed. Also remove 1 influence cube of your choice from the Market. If there only your own cubes in the Market then one of those must be removed.

Gain [1] in Cherriton

Place 1 influence cube in Cherriton. You may also pay 3 gold to remove an opponents' cube from Cherriton.

Gain [1] in the Docks

Place 1 influence cube in the Docks. You may also pay 3 gold to remove an opponents' cube from the Docks.

Gain [1] in the Financial District

Place 1 influence cube in the Financial District. You may also pay 3 gold to remove an opponents' cube from the Financial District.

Gain [1] in the Market

Place 1 influence cube in the Market. You may also pay 3 gold to remove an opponents' cube from the Market.

Gain [1] in the Poor Quarter

Place 1 influence cube in the Poor Quarter. You may also pay 3 gold to remove an opponents' cube from the Poor Quarter.

Gain [1] in the Royal Quarter

Place 1 influence cube in the Royal Quarter. You may also pay 3 gold to remove an opponents' cube from the Royal Quarter.

Gain [1] in the Street of Minor Miracles

Place 1 influence cube in the Street of Minor Miracles. You may also pay 3 gold to remove an opponents' cube from the Street of Minor Miracles.

Gain [1] in the University Quarter

Place 1 influence cube in the University Quarter. You may also pay 3 gold to remove an opponents' cube from the University Quarter.

Harbour Wall

• Building – Pay 4 Gold to build this building. Place one influence cube in the Harbour Wall square within the Docks, then place one influence square within the Docks itself. If there isn't an available square then remove 1 opponents influence cube from the Docks and place your influence cube in the freed-up space.

Library

• Building – Pay 4 Gold to build this building. Place one influence cube in the Library square within the University Quarter, then place one influence square within the University Quarter itself. If there isn't an available square then remove 1 opponents influence cube from the University Quarter and place your influence cube in the freed-up space.

Malicious Rumours

Pay 2 gold, then remove 1 influence cube of your choice from either the Royal Quarter or Cherriton. You may choose not to remove an influence cube.

Market Hall

• Building – Pay 4 Gold to build this building. Place one influence cube in the Market Hall square within the Market, then place one influence square within the Market itself. If there isn't an available square then remove 1 opponents influence cube from the Market and place your influence cube in the freed-up space.

Political Machinations

Pay 2 gold, remove 1 influence cube of your choice from the Royal Quarter, then gain 1 influence cube in the Royal Quarter. You may choose not to remove an influence cube.

Power Shift

Move 1 of your own influence cube from one space on the board to another available space.

Recycle

Discard your hand and then draw 3 cards.

Stock Exchange

• Building – Pay 4 Gold to build this building. Place one influence cube in the Stock Exchange square within the Financial District, then place one influence square within the Financial District itself. If there isn't an available square then remove 1 opponents influence cube from the Financial District and place your influence cube in the freed-up space.

Swap

Swap any two influence cube on the board.

Theatre

• Building – Pay 4 Gold to build this building. Place one influence cube in the Theatre square within Cherriton, then place one influence square within Cherriton itself. If there isn't an available square then remove 1 opponents influence cube from the Cherriton and place your influence cube in the freed-up space.

Workers' Revolt

Remove 1 influence cube of your choice from the Docks. If there only your own cubes in the Docks then one of those must be removed. Also remove 1 influence cube of your choice from the Poor Quarter. If there is only your own cubes in the Poor Quarter then one of those must be removed.