Copycat Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Layout of Action Cards
• Layout of Offices in the Federal Department
• The Colors of the Actions (Action Cards and Offices)
• Setup
• How to Play
  • 1. Planning: Drawing Cards and Determining the Order of Play
  • 2. Action: Placing Campaign Workers in the Federal Building and Using Actions
  • 3. Buying and Success: Buying Cards and Receiving Victory Points
  • 4. Cleaning Up: Clearing the Game Board and Preparing the Next Round
• General Rules for Action Cards and Offices
• End of Game
• Overview of the Actions
• Glossary of Offices and Action Cards
  • Offices
  • Action Cards
• Credits

Contents

114 cards, consisting of:

1. 40 start cards (4 sets with the letters A to D, each set consisting of 7 money cards and 3 victory point cards)
2. 55 action cards (each of which displays a roman numeral from I to V)
   • 11 cards for section I
   • 15 cards for section II
   • 13 cards for section III
   • 12 cards for section IV
   • 4 cards for section V (the doctorates)
3. 15 office cards
   • a) 4 normal offices
   • b) 11 extra offices
4. 4 overview cards
5. 28 campaign workers (7 each in 4 different colors)
6. 8 playing pieces for order of play and career path (2 each in 4 different colors)
7. 25 green victory point markers made of wood
8. 1 game board (= federal department)

Layout of Action Cards

A. Each action card contains a number in the upper left-hand corner. Each set of start cards is numbered 9 to 18: Each player takes one set of identical start cards. Each one of the remaining action cards has an individual number. The red action cards are numbered 1 to 8, and the remaining action cards are numbered 19 to 61.

B. The price (the number of coins that a player has to pay to buy the action card) is displayed in the bottom left-hand corner.

C. The picture in the middle of the card and the title of the card indicate what kind of action it is. They have no further importance.

D. The roman numeral directly below the picture on the right-hand side indicates in which section (I to V) of the game the card is available. On the start cards, the letters A–D are displayed here.

E. The action box below the picture shows the action of the card. The color indicates which type of action this card offers and therefore the phase, in which the action can be used.

Layout of Offices in the Federal Department

There is no difference between the office spaces on the game board and the office cards. All offices are treated the same throughout the course of the game.

A. The picture and the title of the office cards indicate what kind of action it is. They have no further importance. (To save space, the office spaces on the game board do not have a title.)

B. The numeral directly below the picture on the right-hand side indicates in which section (1 to 5) of the game the card is placed in the federal department. The four normal offices for 3-4 or 4 players show the player symbol here.

C. The action box below the picture shows the action of the office. The color indicates which type of action this office offers and therefore the phase, in which the action can be used.

The Colors of the Actions (Action Cards and Offices)

• Purple (Phase 2): Campaign workers
• Blue (Phase 2): Action cards
• Yellow (Phase 3): Money and buys
• Green (Phase 3): Victory points
• Grey (Special): Special actions
• Red: No action

Setup

Translated from the official German instruction sheet ("Beiblatt"), which illustrates each of the following numbered steps on the game board diagram.

1. The game board represents the federal department. It is placed in the middle of the table, so that every player can reach it easily.

2. Each player receives one set (A, B, C or D) with their 10 start cards. It consists of 7 money cards and 3 victory point cards. Each player shuffles their card stack and places it face-down as their personal draw pile in front of themselves.

3. The action card deck is prepared as follows: as many section V cards (the doctorates) as there are players form, face-down, the bottom part of the deck. (With 3 players, for example, 3 doctorate cards are used.) Then all section IV cards are shuffled and placed face-down on top of the doctorates. The same is done in turn with the action cards of sections III and II. The resulting deck is placed to the lower right of the game board, next to the street that lies on the board beneath the federal department building.

   Exception for a two-player game: Before the draw pile is assembled, the following three cards are removed from the game: 23, 32 and 49! (These numbers are printed in the upper left corner of the cards.)

4. All section I action cards are shuffled and laid face-up side by side along the street spaces at the bottom of the board, starting with the leftmost space.

   Exception for a two-player game: Since card 23 belongs to section I but has been removed from the game, an action card is drawn from the draw pile and placed as the last card on the street, so that 11 cards once again fill the street.

5. With three or four players, normal offices are added to the federal department, in the form of the office cards printed "3-4" (for 3 players) or "3-4" and "4" (for 4 players); these are placed on the spaces with the round windows to the left of the printed office spaces.

   In a two-player game, no further normal offices are used. The normal-office cards (printed "3-4" and "4") therefore stay in the box; the extra-office cards, however, are used (see step 6).

6. The draw pile for the extra offices is prepared as follows: the office card for section 5 is placed face-down at the very bottom. The two shuffled cards for section 4 are placed on top of it. The office cards of the other sections are handled the same way, so that the section 1 cards end up on top of the deck.

7. The top office card is drawn from the deck and placed on the first window to the right of the printed office spaces of the federal department, in column 1.

8. Each player has room in front of them for their own play area, consisting of four different zones:

   • a) a face-down draw pile of their own action cards,
   • b) a play area, where all action cards already played (and used) this round lie face-up,
   • c) a temporary clipboard pile — a stack turned 90°, holding face-up all cards that have been used for other purposes this round (bidding for turn order, cards traded in),
   • d) a discard pile, onto which, at the end of the round, all cards from the play area and the temporary clipboard pile are placed face-up.

9. Each player takes 1 overview card, plus 3 campaign workers and 2 playing pieces in their color. The remaining campaign workers of all players (4 per color) form a shared general supply. The front of the overview card shows all the actions available from the start of the game; the back shows all the actions that come into play through the extra offices.

10. Each player places one of their playing pieces on space 0 of the career path that runs around the game board.

11. The other playing piece shows the current order of play on the bus picture on the game board. These pieces are now drawn at random and placed one by one on the bus windows in a provisional order of play. Only at the beginning of the first round of the game do the players compete for the actual order of play, in phase 1.

12. The green victory point markers form the general supply and are placed on the table.

13. All unused start cards, campaign workers and playing pieces go back in the box and are not used in this game.

How to Play

The game consists of several rounds. Each round consists of the following four phases:

1. Planning: Drawing cards and determining the order of play
2. Action: Placing campaign workers in the federal department and using actions
3. Buying and success: Buying cards and taking victory points
4. Cleaning up: Clearing the game board and preparing the next round

1. Planning: Drawing Cards and Determining the Order of Play

What are the options in this round? And who gets to be the first to sharpen their elbows or secure new perks?

In this phase, the following steps are carried out in the following order:

A. Each player draws 5 cards from their own face-down draw pile, holding them in their hand.

B. To determine the order of play each player selects one of their cards and lays it face-down in front of them on the table. Once everyone has selected a card, the players turn the cards over. Whoever selected the highest card goes first and places their playing piece on the first bus window. The player with the second highest card goes second and places their playing piece on the second bus window, and so on. The new order of play applies to the rest of the phases of this round.

If two players selected a card of the same value, they trade positions in their order of play, so that the player who went first in the previous round goes second in this round. (If three players all drew a card of the same value, they trade positions in their order of play, so that the player who went first in the previous round trades positions with the player who went last in the previous round. If four players all have a card of the same value, the player who went first in the last round trades positions with the player who went fourth, and the player who was second trades with the player who was third.)

Example: Helen and Angela both selected the card 16; the other players selected a lower number. In the last round, Angela was second and Helen was third. In this round, Helen is now first and Angela is second.

C. The players now discard the cards used to determine the order of play in the temporary clipboard piles (turned 90° to emphasize their position). These cards can no longer be used during this round.

2. Action: Placing Campaign Workers in the Federal Building and Using Actions

Everyone sends out their workers and tries to be present at all the most important functions: raise money, recruit new campaign workers, or even score some victory points to advance your political career.

Taking turns according to the new order of play, each player, one by one, places one of their campaign workers in an empty office of the federal department. Each office may contain one campaign worker only.

If there happens to be one or more victory point markers in the selected office, the player takes them and puts them into a pile in front of themselves.

On a player's turn, they can also play cards and/or use any actions of selected offices either before or after having placed their campaign worker. Cards that have been played are laid face up in the player's own play area. If the action of an office has been used, the player lays down their campaign worker in the corresponding office to indicate that its action has already been used. Once the player decides not to play any more cards and/or the action of the selected office has been carried out, it is the next player's turn to place one of their campaign workers.

If a player has no campaign workers left, they have to pass on their turn and cannot play more cards or use any offices. All other players continue placing their campaign workers in offices until nobody has any campaign workers left. A player can voluntarily decide not to place all of their campaign workers. If all offices are occupied by campaign workers, any remaining campaign workers cannot be placed anymore.

Once all campaign workers have been placed into offices, phase 3 begins.

Note: In general, blue and purple cards, and blue office actions are used in phase 2 only. During the first round only blue offices are available. All green and yellow cards and office actions are used in phase 3 only. Office actions and cards that are grey are subject to special rules. Red cards do not have any actions.

Hint: In this phase purple actions help you recruit more campaign workers, who can help you to get more lucrative offices, while blue actions let you draw more cards. You use all green and yellow actions only in the next phase, as these let you buy new cards or give you victory points.

3. Buying and Success: Buying Cards and Receiving Victory Points

Finally comes the hard-earned success! Hoard new action options for the future and further your career. What else could you ask for?

Taking turns in player order, each player plays ALL their remaining cards from their hand (laying them in their own play area) and uses all actions of their selected offices with green, yellow or grey actions that they haven't yet used. As soon as the first player has finished all their actions, their turn is over and the next player begins their turn.

Note: In the third phase blue and purple cards, as well as blue office actions, cannot be used. Their actions are forfeited.

A. A player buys new cards with all of their available money, if they have campaign workers in the offices offering buy actions. They add all coins, which are depicted on the cards from within their own play area including any coins that may be depicted on their selected office spaces in the federal department. With this virtual money they can buy 1 card for each buy action from the street, which are lying face up at the bottom of the game board (only a single office in the whole federal department allows a player to buy 2 cards). The cards lying on the first four street spaces from left to right cost the same amount as shown on the cards. The cards from the fifth to the eighth space increase in cost by one coin each, and the cards from the ninth to the eleventh space increase in cost by two coins each, as shown below the respective space on the game board. The total cost of all cards that the player buys from the street may not exceed the total sum of their coins. Any left over money that the player has not spent is forfeited: money cannot be saved for the following round!

If there are any RED CARDS on any street fields to the left of the acquired card, the player has to pick ALL of them. The player puts all the new cards, both the bought cards and all red cards, into the temporary clipboard pile in the player's own play area.

Hint: Red cards do not have any actions and are more of a nuisance. They should be avoided if it can be helped. Players can get rid of the red cards, for example, by using the action card "Election Campaign Office" to trade one in for an additional campaign worker.

Note: Empty street spaces are not replenished with cards until phase 4!

B. After they made any card purchases, the player adds up all their victory points that they get for cards, offices and/or collected wooden victory point markers. Then, they move their game piece forward along the career path by the same number of spaces as victory points. They then return the wooden victory point markers to the pool of victory point markers next to the game board.

Note: All campaign workers always remain in their appointed offices until phase 4!

4. Cleaning Up: Clearing the Game Board and Preparing the Next Round

Starting a new round with a clean slate. Kick it into high gear and get your campaign rolling ...

In every office where there is no campaign worker, place a wooden victory point marker. If there are already one or more victory point markers in an office, add another one.

Each player takes the cards from their play area, including the cards from their temporary clipboard pile, and lays them all face up on their discard pile.

Note: The discard pile may only be shuffled once the player wants to draw a new card, but their draw pile is empty. As long as there are cards in their draw pile, the player draws cards from it. Once it is empty, the player shuffles their discard pile and lays it down as their new draw pile on the corresponding draw pile space, from which they then draw the new cards. During a round, cards from the temporary clipboard pile and play area are NEVER shuffled into a new draw pile.

Note: Cards that were played in a round, for example, for determining the order of play or which were traded in for other action cards, lie in the temporary clipboard pile and may not be used again in this round!

All players remove their campaign workers from the game board. Each player keeps three campaign workers of their own color. If a player used more than three campaign workers, they return the remaining pieces to the other unused campaign workers beside the game board.

Place the uppermost card from the supply of office cards on the next free window in the federal department building on the right side according to the appropriate section. After three rounds, all the offices in the federal department building for section 1 have been used. The offices for section 2 are placed in the second column, and so on.

Depending on the number of players, some or even all action cards from the first three street fields from left to right, which were not bought, are taken off the game board and removed from the game. The number of depicted people above these spaces indicate how many cards must be removed: for example, all the unsold cards from the first two spaces are removed for a three-player game.

Once these cards have been taken off the board, move all the cards in the remaining street spaces to the left to the less expensive spaces. The now vacant street spaces to the right are replenished with cards from the supply, so that there are once again eleven cards lying face up, covering all the street spaces.

A new round can now begin, starting with phase 1.

General Rules for Action Cards and Offices

• If an action of a card or office contradicts a rule, the action takes precedence.
• The actions on cards and offices vary in their strengths. All actions on the cards and offices can be used to the maximum limit as indicated by the numeral in front of a symbol (or above the arrow) on the card. For example, the symbol on the right office of the second row of the game board means that a player, whose campaign worker is standing on the office, can buy 0, 1 or 2 cards. A player can always pass completely on a chosen action.
• The player can combine their actions on their action cards and offices in any way to get the best result. For example, they can combine "Inside Information" with "Sharpen your Elbows".
• Very important: All cards, campaign workers, wooden victory point markers and coins can be used or doubled a maximum of two times per round! The corresponding action can therefore be used once, and then, with the help of certain offices or action cards, can be re-activated for use once more only. Cards that have been played a second time with the help of an office are taken from the play area and moved to the temporary clipboard pile (turned 90°).

Example: If a player has campaign workers in two different "Allocation Offices for Major Projects", they have to use the corresponding action (use the action of a card two times) for two of their cards.

The symbol on the action card "Campaign Trail" means that the original number of victory point markers is doubled. A combination of these two actions is, however, possible: If a player has a campaign worker on "Allocation Office for Major Projects" and also plays the action card "Campaign Trail" and wants to play the card "Campaign Trail" a second time, the original number of victory point markers is doubled again, so that the player has three times the number of victory points. (Playing the second action card "Campaign Trail" wouldn't have any further effect, since the victory point markers may only be doubled a maximum of two times!)

End of Game

The game is over at the conclusion of the round in which one of the following three conditions is met:

A. A player reaches 95 or more victory points.

B. A player has bought the last "doctorate".

C. The eleventh round is over.

The player with the most victory points is elected to be the next president and wins the game! In the event of a tie, the player with the most total victory points and who collected the most victory points in the last round wins.

Overview of the Actions

Purple actions (Phase 2) — for campaign workers

• Take 1 additional campaign worker (or 2 additional campaign workers).
• Shred 1 card to take 1 additional campaign worker.
• Choose 1 additional office.
• Place 1 campaign worker in an occupied office.

Blue actions (Phase 3) — for action cards

• Immediately draw 1 card, 2 cards, etc.
• For each coin spent, draw 1 card.
• Lay down up to 2 cards (or up to 3 cards) on the temporary clipboard pile to draw the same number of cards from the draw pile.
• Buy 1 card (or 2 cards).
• All cards lying on the street fields are first moved to the left, then buy 1 card.

Yellow actions (Phase 3) — for money and buys

• Get 1 coin, 2 coins, 3 coins, etc.
• Shred 1 card to take 1 coin (or up to 2 cards for 1 coin each).
• Double all coins.

Green actions (Phase 3) — for victory points

• Get 1 victory point, 2 victory points, 3 victory points, etc.
• For each coin spent, take 1 victory point.
• Double the victory points for all wooden victory point markers.

Yellow-green actions (Phase 3) — for money or victory points

• Get 1 coin OR 2 victory points.

Grey actions — for specials

• Use 1 card in the play area a second time.
• Use 1 campaign worker in the same office a second time.
• Keep any number of unused cards for the next round.
• Copy 1 card in your play area.

Glossary of Offices and Action Cards

Translated from the official German instruction sheet ("Beiblatt"), which provides a detailed glossary of the individual offices and action cards on its reverse side. Card and office titles below are translated literally from the German edition; the card art itself has no mechanical significance (see "Layout of Action Cards" above).

Offices

Blue offices (played in phase 2) — for action cards

• Extra cards: The player immediately draws (depending on the office) 1, 2 or 3 action cards from their draw pile.
• Card exchange: The player may (depending on the office) place up to 2 or 3 cards at once from their hand onto the temporary clipboard pile and draw the corresponding number of new action cards from their draw pile. They must decide at the start of the action how many cards they want to exchange.

Yellow offices (played in phase 3) — for money and buys

• Extra money: The player receives (depending on the office) 1, 2 or 3 coins, which count toward the total number of coins and can be used to buy cards.
• Permission to buy: The player may (depending on the office) buy 1 or 2 cards. Only a player who places a campaign worker in one of these offices may acquire cards lying on the street. If a player occupies several of these offices, they may buy correspondingly more cards.
• Special buying permission: First, all cards lying on the street are shifted to the left if there are free spaces further left. (Cards already on the leftmost spaces are not removed in the process.) Then new action cards are drawn from the draw pile and placed on the free spaces at the right end of the street. The player may now buy 1 card. If the player activates this action, the cards must actually be shifted, provided there are free spaces on the street.
• Card shredding: The player may (depending on the office) destroy 1 or 2 unused cards from their hand at once and receive 1 or 2 coins in return. The destroyed cards are removed from the game entirely. For each destroyed card, this player's total number of coins for buying cards increases by 1 coin. The player must decide at the start of the action how many cards to destroy. This action can also be used even if the player does not want to buy any cards.

Green offices (played in phase 3) — for victory points

• Victory points: The player receives (depending on the office) 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 victory points. These count toward the total number of victory points, and the playing piece is moved forward on the career path accordingly.

Grey offices — for specials

• Double card use: The player may activate 1 card in their play area a second time. (Cards in the temporary clipboard pile cannot be used again!) This action can be used in phase 2 for blue, purple and grey cards, and in phase 3 for green, yellow and grey cards. The card reused in this way then goes into the temporary clipboard pile. If the player gains extra coins through this action, those coins cannot be multiplied by other actions! This action can never be used to select offices!

Action Cards

Purple cards (played in phase 2) — for campaign workers

• Inside information: In addition to the first office, the player may immediately occupy a second office by placing another of their own campaign workers in a different unoccupied office. If the player is allowed to use the card again (due to another action), they must choose a third unoccupied office and place another of their own campaign workers there.
• Sharpen your elbows: The player may place 1 of their campaign workers into an already-occupied office, alongside another player's campaign worker. This allows them to use that office themselves as well.
• Small PR campaign, Big PR campaign: The player takes (depending on the action symbol) 1 or 2 additional campaign workers from the general supply and may use them this round (a maximum of 4 additional campaign workers is available!). At the end of the round, they return these extra campaign workers to the general supply.
• Campaign office: The player may destroy (remove from the game) 1 unused card from their hand, and in return take 1 campaign worker from the general supply to use this round. At the end of the round, they return this extra campaign worker to the general supply.

Blue cards (played in phase 2) — for action cards

• Sauna with colleagues, Federal press ball, Keynote speaker at the Bremen Schaffermahl: The player immediately draws (depending on the action symbol) 2, 3 or 4 cards from their draw pile.
• Fundraising: For each coin that the player spends, they may draw 1 new card from their draw pile. This is the only action during phase 2 for which the player may spend coins from cards and/or offices. The player places the spent coin cards in their play area. If they do not want to spend all the coins from a card or office, the excess coins are lost. If the player is allowed to use Fundraising again (due to another action), they must spend new coins to use the action again!

Yellow cards (played in phase 3) — for money and buys

• Fatherly friend, Friends in industry, Friends at the banks: These cards yield (depending on the action symbol) 1, 2 or 3 coins. These then count toward the total number of coins and can be used to buy cards.
• Garden party for friends: This card doubles the original number of coins: after the player has added up all the coins they receive from cards and campaign workers in offices, they double the result. If the player is allowed to use the card again (due to another action), the original number of coins is added again, for a maximum total of three times the amount.

Yellow-green cards (played in phase 3) — for money or victory points

• Wife's charity gala: This card brings the player 1 coin or 2 victory points; they must decide between these two options. If the player chooses the coin, it counts toward the total number of coins and can be used to buy cards. If they choose 2 victory points, these count toward the total number of victory points. If the player is allowed to use the card again (due to another action), they may choose between the two options again.

Green cards (played in phase 3) — for victory points

• Local radio, local newspaper, local television, national radio, best-selling daily newspaper, national television: These cards yield (depending on the action symbol) 1, 3, 6 or 10 victory points. These count toward the total number of victory points, and the playing piece is moved forward on the career path accordingly.
• Campaign trail: The original number of wooden victory point markers is doubled. After the player has added up all their victory point markers, they double the result. If the player is allowed to use the card again (due to another action), the original number of victory point markers is added again, for a maximum total of three times the amount.
• "Dr. rer. pol.", "Dr. rer. nat.", "Dr. phil.", "Dr. jur." (the doctorates): For every coin invested, the player receives 1 victory point. This is a one-time action carried out immediately: instead of buying this card, the player activates it directly. For every coin they spend, they receive one victory point. They then lay the doctorate card face-up in front of themselves to make an impression — otherwise this card is of no further use. It goes neither to the temporary clipboard pile nor to the discard pile, cannot be activated a second time, and is therefore out of the game. If the card is on one of the street spaces to the right that carry a cost, the player must first pay the corresponding coins before they can exchange any further coins for victory points.

Grey cards — for specials

• Bonus payment to team member (played in phase 2 or 3): The player may activate one of their own campaign workers in an office a second time. If the player is allowed to use the card again (due to another action), they must choose a different campaign worker.
• Press spokesperson (played in phase 2 or 3): Whoever plays this card may copy any other of their own cards that is in their play area. (The copied card is thus treated as if it were now present twice.)
• Strategy session (played in phase 3): The player may keep any number of unused cards for the next round. They do not have to show these cards to the other players. At the beginning of the next round, they draw 5 new cards as usual and add the cards they kept from the previous round. If the player is allowed to use the card again (due to another action), there is no additional benefit.

Red cards

The red cards have no function whatsoever. They carry the lowest numbers, so they are not especially helpful when determining the starting player. A player inevitably picks them up when buying an action card if red cards are lying on any space to the left of it on the street. These cards have no price and cannot be taken voluntarily — no politician should be that desperate!

Credits

• Author: Friedemann Friese
• Editors: Friedemann Friese, Henning Kröpke
• Graphics & design: Harald Lieske
• Game instructions and translation: Birgit Irgang
• English rules editing: Jay Tummelson

© 2012 2F-Spiele, Bremen/Germany. Published in North America by Rio Grande Games, PO Box 1033, Placitas, NM 87043, USA.