Deal with the Devil
Deal with the Devil Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Assembly
- Credits
- Setup
- The 4 Roles
- Using the App
- Round Overview
- Production Phase
- Buying and Selling Resources
- Loans
- Cards Phase
- Deal Phase
- Action Phase
- Achievements
- Interest Phase
- Reputation Phase
- End of the Round
- Witch Hunt Phase
- Inquisition Phase
- Preparation
- The Dark Ritual
- Devil – Pieces of Soul
- Anyone – Coins for the Inquisitors
- Opening Chests in Round 3
- Bribes
- Souls
- Inspecting the Souls
- Guesses
- Returning Chests
- Opening Chests in Round 5
- Bribes (Round 5)
- Souls (Round 5)
- Guesses (Round 5)
- Returning Soul Pieces
- The Inquisition
- End of the Inquisition Phase
- End of Game
- For Expert Players
- Too Much Information FAQ
- Explanations of Certain Cards
Components
- 1 production board with production wheel
- 4 walls, each with action board and rooftop
- Premium Resources: 15 marble tokens, 15 glass tokens
- Basic Resources: 23 wood tokens, 23 stone tokens, 19 wheat tokens
- 1 double-layer inquisition board with inquisition overview tile
- 4 chests
- 54 coin tokens
- 10 angel wing tokens, 10 demon wing tokens
- 12 voting rings
- 6 pieces of mortal soul, 99% pure
- 2 pieces of cultist soul, slightly tainted
- 5 role-guessing tokens
- 14 jester tokens
- 80 building cards – 16 cards for each round
- 20 event cards: 8 A cards, 12 B cards
- 11 inquisitor cards: 3 yellow, 4 red, 4 ordinary
- 12 request cards including 4 check cards
- 4 minor and 4 major achievement tiles in each color
- 4 courtier tiles in each color
- 6 plastic tokens in each color: 4 action tokens, 1 reputation marker, 1 scoring marker
- 2 plastic cubes in each color: 1 debt marker, 1 interest marker
- 2 reminder tokens in each color
- 4 info cards
- 8 indulgence tokens
- 2 angry mobs with cardboard stands
- 2 containers for tokens
Replacement tokens: Store the tile in the box in case you lose one of these essential tokens. Do not punch these out!
Assembly
Assemble chests as shown.
- Apply double-sided tape as shown. Fold to create the bottom half of chest.
- Wide-topped rivet goes through chest's lid and bottom half, then inserts into other rivet. Be sure to do all 4 rivets the same way!
14 pieces of tape included.
Assemble main board as shown.
Assemble players' walls as shown. They are designed to be disassembled for storage in the box between games.
Credits
A game by Matúš Kotry
Development Team: Matúš Kotry, Adam Španěl, Vít Vodička, Radek "RBX" Boxan, Jan Zvoníček, Jakub Uhlíř
Graphic Design: Radek "RBX" Boxan
Art: David Cochard, Štěpán Drašťák, Martin "Skam" Krejčí, Jan "Arenoth" Vohlídal, Ladislava Pechová, Dávid Jablonovský
App Development: Adam Španěl
Trailer & 3D Assets: Radim "Finder" Pech, Roman Bednář
Production: Vít Vodička
Rulebook Writer: Jason Holt
Project Management: Jan Zvoníček
Project Supervision: Petr Murmak
I would like to thank the Prague team, Adam, Zvonda, Vítek, Emil, Uhlíček, David, and Standa, for the massive amount of games they completed during the final playtesting and fine-tuning. And especially Radek, who in addition to his playtesting was also doing a wonderful and exceptional job of fine-tuning the graphical and technical aspects of the game components.
I would like to thank Míra, Dita, and Ondra, the most devoted playtesting trio during the early stages when the game was especially long and full of unresolved problems.
Big thanks also to the following playtesters: Bett, Kat, Elwen, Mín, Štěpán, Kreten, Zdenka, Angie, Aleš, Ursus, aTom, Zuzka, Janča, Míra, Klára, Ivča, Hanka, Tomáš, Regi, Tom, Lucia, Uhlík, Roman, Eleni, Alexandra, Nathan, Pája, Adam Nedvídek, Youda, Johnyczech, Ozzy, Pítrs, and Falco.
And finaly thanks to these playtesters from the early state of the game: Vlaada, Marcela, Filip, Vlado, Rumun, Chasník, and Ondra Skoupý.
© Czech Games Edition, October 2022, www.CzechGames.com
Setup
Set up the main board in the center of the table.
Set the production wheel to position 1.
Players set up their kingdoms on the four sides of the board. The game requires exactly 4 players.
- Each section of the board has different starting conditions, so players should be seated randomly.
- Info cards are marked with a diamond pattern matching the one beside the icon in your section of the main board. Take the card corresponding to your seat.
- Choose a color and take the pieces and boards in that color.
- Place one of your markers on the starting space of your interest cycle.
- Place your alchemist courtier on its own space.
- Place one of your markers on the 0 space of your debt track.
- Stack your courtier tiles on the 2-coin space of the main board.
Separate the building cards according to the numbers on their backs and shuffle each set separately. Stack sets 2 to 5 in order, with 5 on the bottom and 2 on top, to create the building deck. Set deck 1 aside for the moment.
Place the coin tokens and the wheat, wood, stone, glass, and marble resource tokens beside the board to form a general supply that everyone can reach.
Divide the event cards into decks A and B. Shuffle each deck, then stack A onto B to make the event deck.
Set the inquisition board beside the main board.
- Place one marker from each player on the 0 space of the scoring track.
- Place one marker from each player on a starting space of the reputation track (the space labeled with the knot).
- The inquisition overview tile fits inside the inquisition board and reminds you of special phases that occur in certain rounds of the game. Place it so that the reminders for rounds 2 and 3 are visible.
- Place all angel wing tokens in the space above the reputation track; place all demon wing tokens in the space below.
- Place the indulgence tokens beside the board, near the top of the reputation track.
- Assemble the angry mob figures and keep them near the board.
- Set up inquisitors in the inquisitor spaces along the right side of the board:
- Place The Ascetic in the top space. This is the only inquisitor that starts the game face up.
- The Fundamentalist and The Plebeian go face down on the next two spaces. They are labeled B and C on the back.
- Keep the stack of Houseguest inquisitors near the inquisition board.
- Shuffle the remaining inquisitors (the four with the red envelopes) and deal three of them randomly face down on spaces 1, 2, and 3. Return the other one to the box.
Note: Inquisitors' effects are identifiable from the back of the card. At any time, any player may look at the front side of the card to read the full text of the effect.
Each player sets up the wall in their chosen color.
- Slip your 4 minor achievement tiles into the wooden slots behind your battlements. (Their order is not important.) Slip your 4 major achievement tiles into the gold slots on the right.
- Place 4 action tokens in the spaces in the right corner of your action board.
- Take the starting resources shown on the lower left corner of your section of the main board. Keep all resources hidden behind your wall.
- Take 3 voting rings, 1 in each other player's color. Keep them behind your wall.
- Take a set of 3 request cards and keep them nearby.
- Take 2 reminder tokens in your color.
The 4 Roles
The players are the rulers of four medieval kingdoms, each striving for an architectural renaissance. But each player also has a secret role: two are mortals, one is a cultist, and one is the devil.
All players have the same goal: get the most points. But they have different starting resources and different ways to score.
Each role has its own chest. At the start of the game, each treasure chest is loaded with the role's starting resources.
Mortals
Mortals start with no extra building materials in their chests. However, the resource they start with is the most valuable of all – an immortal soul. The soul is divided into 3 sellable pieces whose actual market value remains to be seen. In addition, the mortals have the means to guess the identity of the cultist and the devil.
The mortals' chests are marked (on the inside!) with one of these icons. Each mortal's chest gets:
- 3 pieces of immortal soul.
- 1 token for guessing the devil and 1 for guessing the cultist. Tokens match the color of the mortal's icon.
Cultist
One kingdom's ruler has already joined a secret cult, receiving valuable resources in exchange for a tiny piece of soul. Still with two pieces left to trade, the cultist looks for a way to join the devil's side.
The cultist's chest is marked with this icon. The cultist's chest gets:
- 2 pieces of tainted soul with the cultist's icon.
- 1 marble, 1 glass, and 1 coin.
- 1 token for guessing the devil.
Devil
The devil has decided to bless this corner of the world with a little visit. Okay, "bless" might not be the best choice of words. The devil has taken the form of one of the four kingdoms' rulers. (Because, why take the form of a peasant when you can be a ruler?) The devil has brought along a large amount of surplus wealth to trade for the other players' souls. While in this form, the devil is vulnerable and must keep an eye on the Inquisition.
The devil's chest is marked with this icon. The devil's chest gets:
- 1 marble, 1 glass, 1 wood, 1 stone, 1 wheat, and 8 coins.
- No pieces of soul whatsoever.
Tip: Make sure everyone sees every chest. Players will need to know how to recognize their role at the beginning of the game and they will need to know how to recognize other roles' chests during the Deal phase. Pass the chests around before closing them so that their appearance becomes familiar to everyone.
Using the App
Roles are kept hidden with the help of the Deal with the Devil Companion App. The app is free and can be downloaded using the link below the QR code on the box components page. (Or just scan the QR code.)
The game uses one device running the app. When you start the app, select New Game.
The app should respond by telling you it is time to distribute the roles. Place your scanning device on the table so you can read the display. Take a chest and hold it over the device's front camera. The display should change to a player's color. Give that player that chest.
Tip: It's unlikely any of the players can distinguish chests by their QR code, but just in case, always hold the chests so that their QR codes cannot be seen (except by the app).
Take your chest behind your wall and open it to discover your role for the game. Keep your role secret! Remove the contents of your chest and store them behind your wall. Keep the empty chest close at hand. You will need it to make deals during play.
Distributing the Chests
Once the chests are set up, close them and shuffle them. Once the stack of chests is thoroughly randomized, scan the chests with the app.
Scanning Tips
- Hold the chest 15 cm above your device. (15 cm = the length of your hand.)
- Hold the chest horizontal and still, just one more moment, please.
- Aim for the front camera of your device, not the screen.
- Turn up the screen brightness and turn off the ceiling lights.
Round Overview
The game is played over 5 rounds, which are counted by the production wheel. Each round has 6 phases:
- Production
- Cards
- Deals
- Actions
- Interest
- Reputation
Rounds 2 and 3 also have a 7. Witch Hunt phase.
Rounds 3 and 5 end with an 8. Inquisition.
In any phase, players can buy or sell resources and take out loans as described on the facing page. Their ability to repay loans, however, is limited to phases 1, 2, and 8.
Production Phase
Each round begins with Production. Each player has 4 production spaces which start the game at level 1. The spaces produce the resources shown on the production wheel, which are different for every player and which will change every round.
Premium Resources
Glass and marble are premium resources. They take up 2 production spaces. You produce the amount show on the lesser of the two spaces. Details are on the Achievements page. In the first round, you produce 1 glass or 1 marble, depending on what is in your section of the board.
Basic Resources
Wood, stone, and wheat are basic resources. Each basic resource on the wheel corresponds to 1 production space.
Coins
Your kingdom also produces 2 coins. This can be improved by improving your central production spaces, as explained in the Achievements section.
EXAMPLE: The production spaces for a given player produce 1 glass, 1 wheat, 1 stone, and 2 coins. Production for each round is shown on your info card.
Buying and Selling Resources
The main function of coins is to help you get the resources you need.
- You can buy 1 wood, 1 stone, or 1 wheat for 3 coins.
- You can buy 1 glass or 1 marble for 5 coins.
It is also possible to sell resources for coins.
- Wood, stone, or wheat can be sold for 1 coin each.
- Glass or marble can be sold for 2 coins each.
Resources can be bought or sold in any phase. But in the Deal phase, you might be able to get a better offer from a fellow player.
A reminder is printed inside your wall's rooftop.
Loans
If you don't have enough money, no problem! You can take out a loan. Move your debt marker ahead on the track and take that much money from the bank. You are not allowed to increase your debt beyond 10.
You can take out a loan in any phase, but you can pay off your debt only in certain phases:
- Production phase
- Cards phase
- Inquisition phase (which occurs only in rounds 3 and 5)
To pay off part of your debt, simply return some number of coins to the general supply and reduce your debt by that amount.
EXAMPLE: This player currently has a debt of 3. She can increase her debt to 8 and gain 5 coins, which she can keep behind her wall. In this example, however, she needs 1 glass to help pay for a building, so she immediately spends the coins to get the glass and immediately spends the glass to finish the building. It's almost like she got the glass for free! (But later we'll see what happens to her in the Interest phase.)
Cards Phase
After the Production phase, players draw buildings and events.
In round 1, the Cards phase works like this:
- Divide building deck 1 into stacks A, B, C, and D. Shuffle each stack separately and deal each player one random building from each stack.
- Each player draws 1 event card.
In later rounds, the Cards phase has these steps:
- Discard all buildings in hand except one.
- Draw 4 buildings.
- Draw 1 event card.
- Choose 2 of the buildings you just drew and pass them in the direction shown on the back of the cards. (Pass left in even rounds, right in odd rounds.) You will receive 2 from another player.
- Everyone has one last chance to pay off some or all of their debt.
Some notes:
- In round 1, you draw buildings from deck 1. In round 2, they come from deck 2. And so on.
- In rounds 1 and 2, you draw A events. In rounds 3, 4, and 5, you draw B events.
- When you pass buildings, you pass and receive only those from the current round's deck.
- At the end of the phase, you have 4 buildings from the current round in hand and 1 building from one of the previous rounds. You have 1 event card, or perhaps 2 if you played no event last round.
Your buildings and events are kept hidden in your hand until you play them (during the Action phase). The Cards phase affects only the buildings in your hand, not the ones you have played in previous rounds.
Deal Phase
In this phase, you use your chest to offer a deal to other players. With the help of the app, players' offers will be randomly distributed. Everything in this phase is secret – no one knows what you are offering, you don't know who sees your offer, and when you get an offer, you don't know which player it is from.
Making an Offer
You can offer resources and coins, in any combination. Secretly place the tokens in your chest. Then set the indicator to show what you want:
- Mortals ask for 2 to 7 coins.
- The devil asks for 1 or 2 pieces of soul.
- The cultist asks for 2 to 6 coins or 1 piece of soul.
You don't have to offer anything if you don't want to. Note that you cannot offer pieces of soul – you have to wait for the devil or the cultist to ask for them.
Tip: When players make their first offer, remind them that they can offer only resources or coins. Coins make sense if you are asking for a piece of soul. Asking if you can offer a piece of soul might give away your role. Note that the tokens you can offer are depicted inside the chest.
EXAMPLE: The Cultist is offering 2 stones for 4 coins.
Distributing the Offers
Once everyone has their offer ready, shuffle the chests. Be sure the app is showing the correct round and phase, then scan each chest. The app will tell you who gets which chest, ensuring that no one gets their own offer.
Considering Offers
You will end up with a chest belonging to another player. Open it behind your wall. You will immediately know whether the offer is from a mortal, the cultist, or the devil, but you will not know which player made the offer.
You have 2 choices:
- Accept the offer. If you like the offer, take everything out of the chest and put in the coins or pieces of soul that were asked for. Double-check to be sure you deposited the right amount. Don't forget that you can take out a loan if you are short on cash.
- Reject the offer. If you don't want to pay the cost of the offer, leave everything where it is and close the chest.
Note that the offer is always take-it-or-leave-it. You can't take part of the offer and pay part of the price.
Second Offer
Once everyone is done accepting or rejecting offers, mix them up and use the app to distribute them a second time. You will receive a second offer from a different player.
Someone else has already seen this offer, and if they have accepted it, the chest will have the payment shown on the indicator – coins or pieces of soul. If you receive such a chest, simply shut it again – there is nothing you can do with it. By contrast, if you receive an offer that is still available you can either accept it or reject it.
Note: If the player before you has accepted the offer, you are not allowed to meddle with their payment in any way. In particular, the cultist is not allowed to replace a piece of pure mortal soul with a piece of cultist soul.
Returning Chests
Once everyone is done with their second offer, mix up the chests again. Be sure the app is set to the correct step, and scan the chests. The app will tell you who each chest belongs to. Return the chests to their players.
Behind your wall, open your chest. If your offer was accepted (you won't know by whom) the chest will be holding the coins or pieces of soul you asked for. If no one accepted your offer, your offer will still be there. In either event, scoop out the tokens and store them behind your wall.
If someone took your offer but made a mistake in their payment, don't panic! Use the app's Back button to redistribute chests and correct mistakes.
How to Make a Good Offer
As explained on the previous page, the game allows players to buy basic resources for 3 coins and premium resources for 5. Your offer should ask for less than this. After all, why should someone pay you 3 coins for wood? They can get wood from the general supply without helping a rival.
Here are some good offers:
- 1 wood for 2 coins
- 1 glass for 4 coins
- 1 stone and 1 wheat for 5 coins
If you are asking for pieces of soul, you need to understand that everyone will want to have pieces of soul during the coming inquisitions. Whether devil or cultist, you should be expecting to give up at least 1 premium resource and 1 basic resource for a piece of soul, and there are situations where you can come out ahead offering much more than that. Also, if you are a beginner playing the devil, we suggest you ask for only 1 piece of soul at a time, at least in the early rounds.
Players are allowed to say what resources they are hoping to see in an offer. And you can place one of these cards face up in front of you to remind other players what you need.
Action Phase
The Action phase is for building buildings, playing events, and working toward achievements.
You begin the Action phase by hiding your action board with your rooftop. Secretly you plan the following things:
- Whether to use your event card.
- Which half of the event card to use.
- Where to use your action tokens.
- Which buildings you will build, if any.
All players reveal their plans and perform the steps of the Action phase as depicted on their action boards.
Planning Your Event
At the start of the Action phase, you have at least 1 event card. If you have 2, discard down to 1.
Now you have 1 event card. You can either play it, or not. If you decide to play it, you are presented with a choice:
- On the left is an option to gain wealth, but this has a negative impact on your reputation with the Church.
- On the right is an option to spend wealth in exchange for a positive impact on your reputation.
Your reputation does not actually reflect whether your character has been good or evil. Rather, it represents the reaction of the Church and of medieval society in general. In this game (and perhaps you've noticed something similar in real life) even the devil can be popular. If you think every action which improves your reputation in this game is also the morally correct action in real life, then congratulations! In a medieval society, you would fit right in.
If you choose to play the event, place it in the middle of your action board. Then slide it left if you want to use the left option or right if you want to use the right option.
EXAMPLE: A player has chosen to use the left option of the event.
Planning Your Action Tokens
You have 4 action tokens to spend on the actions depicted on your action board. You decide how many of them to use.
Your first 2 tokens are free to use. If you choose to use more than 2, you will have to pay wheat for them later in the Action phase.
The following actions are available:
- Use building 1. Use its action, if any.
- Use building 2. Use its action, if any.
- Build a building.
- Build a second building.
- Recruit a courtier.
- Pay for extra action tokens.
- Right option of event.
- Left option of event.
- Gain achievements.
Tip: A player planning 3 actions places 1 wheat as a reminder that she will have to pay for the third one.
In round 1, you can ignore the two action-building spaces because you have not yet built any buildings.
Buildings are the main purpose of the Action phase.
Buildings
To plan a building, place the card you wish to build on one of the two building spaces and place an action token above it. It is possible to plan up to 2 buildings in the Action phase.
Each building card shows its name, type, phase of effect, cost, effect, and points scored at end of game.
Note that the buildings cover half the event card, but that's okay because they do not cover the half you chose to use.
Immediate effects occur as soon as you build the building, before your next action in the phase. Action effects are actions you can plan and use with your action tokens.
When you plan a building, be sure you can pay its cost – the resources depicted along the left edge of the card. You can place the required resources on the card when you plan it to remind you of what you will spend once your plans are revealed.
It's okay to plan a building that you can't pay for right now, but in that case, you need to have a way to get those resources before it is time to build. Don't forget that it is possible to purchase missing resources at any time and it is possible to get coins by selling resources or by taking out a loan.
There are several kinds of building effects:
Permanent effects occur during a certain phase of the round, as indicated by the icon in the upper right corner: Production phase, Action phase, Interest phase, Reputation phase, Inquisition phase, End scoring.
Planning to Use Action Buildings
Unlike other buildings, an action building's effect must be planned with an action token.
Build and Use Immediately. To plan to use an action building immediately after it is built, place an action token on this space.
Use a Previous Round's Action Building. These 2 spaces on the edge of the board are for keeping your action buildings after they have been built. In many games, 2 spaces will be enough. However, if you get more than 2 action buildings simply choose 2 to go here. You can change them any time during planning before plans are revealed. Placing a building here does not mean you will use it – it just means you could, by placing a token on the corresponding space of your action board. Place a token here to plan to use action building 1.
Planning to Recruit a Courtier
At the start of the game you have 3 courtiers available to recruit. The alchemist cannot be recruited from here; other courtiers can be recruited from the 2-coin space, and previously used courtiers can be recruited from the 3-coin space.
Place an action token on this space to plan to recruit a courtier. You should also plan on paying for it! This action costs 2 coins the first time the courtier is recruited. Recruited courtiers are kept behind your wall (with your resources) until they are used. Once used, courtiers go on the 3-coin space. As you would expect, recruiting a courtier from that space costs 3 coins. Courtiers can be used and then recruited again any number of times.
Your alchemist courtier does not start the game on the 2-coin space, so initially, it cannot be recruited. Courtiers will be more fully explained in the section on Achievements.
Resolving the Action Phase
Use the checkmark card to show the other players that you are done planning.
Once everyone has planned their phase, remove the rooftops and evaluate the actions in order. At this point, it is no longer possible to change plans. Players should take turns so that everyone can see what everyone else does.
Resolve the phase in the order shown on your action board:
- Left option of event. If you chose the left option of your event, it is the first thing you resolve. This can give you valuable resources for use in subsequent steps of the phase. Move your marker down the reputation track by the amount shown.
- Actions from previous round's buildings. Don't forget that these require action tokens.
- First building. Pay the cost and move the building to the table in front of your wall. If it has an action effect that you spent an action token on, or if it has an immediate effect, resolve the effect at this time.
- Second building. If you planned two buildings, the second is built according to the same rules as the first.
- Recruiting a courtier. Pay the cost and take the courtier. Keep it behind your wall.
- Right option of event. If you chose the right option of your event, pay any costs and advance your marker on the reputation track by the amount shown.
- Pay wheat for each extra action token you used. (The first 2 action tokens are free.)
- Check achievements.
Reminder Tokens
Reminder tokens can be used to help you remember the effects of certain buildings. For example, if you build the Rectory, you could place a reminder token on the corresponding space of the production board.
Planned Actions are Mandatory
All your decisions are made during planning. Once plans are revealed, you are committed to everything you planned. You must resolve your event as planned. You must perform – and pay for! – every action you planned. If you are short of resources, you must buy them from the general supply. If you lack coins, you must take out a loan or sell a resource.
Your ability to take out loans is limited by the maximum value of the debt track. So if you made a mistake in planning, you might end up with a cost you cannot possibly pay. If you chose an action you cannot pay for – either because you cannot pay its cost or because you will not be able to pay 1 wheat for its action token – skip the action and move down 1 space on the reputation track.
Similarly, if you chose the right option of an event and ended up unable to pay for it, you lose 1 reputation for not paying and you gain nothing. This even applies to events that say "If you ..." – if you didn't do the thing, then you lose 1 reputation.
When players are learning the game, you can be more forgiving of their mistakes and agree to play without these reputation penalties.
Achievements
Each building has an icon in the upper left corner representing its place in medieval society: Country buildings, Town buildings, Church buildings, Science buildings.
At the end of the Action phase, if you have certain sets of buildings, you claim the corresponding achievements.
To claim an achievement, you need the specific set shown on the tile (for example, 5 church buildings). An achievement represents progress and the accomplishments of your medieval kingdom.
Completing Sets
Of course, the most obvious way to gain an achievement is to build exactly the buildings shown on the tile. However, there are few tricks for speeding your progress along:
- A building with 2 types gives you both at the same time.
- A science symbol is actually a wildcard. When checking for a particular achievement, each science symbol can be any symbol you need.
- A courtier can contribute its symbol to any set when you check for achievements. As soon as the courtier is used in one set, it is returned to the board (at the 3-coin space) and is not available for other sets until you recruit it again.
Note that a building might fulfill multiple different achievements at once. It's even possible to use a science building as a different symbol for different achievements. A courtier, by contrast, can only be used on one achievement; then you discard it to the 3-coin space.
Minor Achievements
The 4 smaller achievements in the wooden section of your action board are minor achievements. Each requires 3 symbols. If you have met the requirements, remove the tile from your board and place it on one of your production spaces on the main board, turning one of your 1s into a 2. As mentioned in the Production section, this has the following benefits:
- When the wheel offers a basic resource at that space, you will get 2 instead of 1.
- Where the wheel offers a premium resource, you will get 2 if you have both spaces improved to 2 (otherwise, it's still just 1).
- An improved middle space also produces 1 additional coin.
- You choose which space to improve. Note that each space can be improved at most once.
EXAMPLE: Blue produces 1 glass, 2 wheat, 1 stone, and 4 coins. Red produces 2 marble, 1 wheat, 2 wood, and 3 coins.
Major Achievements
The 4 tiles in the gold section of your action board are major achievements. These each give an immediate reward:
- If you have 5 country symbols, gain 1 glass and 1 marble.
- If you have 5 town symbols, gain 7 coins.
- If you have 5 church symbols, gain 2 angel wing tokens.
- If you have 2 of each, take your alchemist courtier.
Once the achievement is completed, place it as a banner in front of your wall so that everyone can see it.
Alchemist
The alchemist is a special courtier who cannot enter your service until you have accomplished a particular major achievement. The alchemist has a science symbol, so it can be used to represent any symbol you need. Once used, it goes to the 3-coin space and can be recruited like any other courtier.
Interest Phase
If you have no debts, this phase does not apply to you. You can simply sit back and grin as everyone else pays interest on their debts.
Interest is handled by your interest marker in the four-cornered space on the left edge of your debt track. The four corners are stages of your interest cycle, and your marker moves through these stages clockwise.
At the beginning of the Interest phase, check your debt, then move your interest marker through that many stages of the cycle. Keep track of how many times it visits the starting corner. Once your marker is done moving, increase your debt that many times.
For example, if your debt is 4, the marker will move all the way around, hitting the starting corner exactly once, so your debt will increase to 5. However, if your debt starts at 2, it might increase to 3 or it might not, depending on where the marker was at the start of the phase.
If this causes your debt to increase above 10, then your debt marker actually moves back down to 9. Someone has decided to write you off as bad debt. You gain 1 demon wing token. We haven't explained what this means yet, but you can already tell it's going to be bad.
Yes, making a deal with the money lenders might be as dangerous as making a deal with the devil.
EXAMPLE: Green's debt is 8. She moves her interest marker 8 steps, and it goes all the way around twice. This increases her debt to 10.
Let's say Green does not pay off any debt and her debt is still 10 in the next Interest phase. Now her interest marker moves 10 spaces. Her interest marker entered the starting space 3 times, so she increases her debt by 3. The first increase actually knocks her back to 9, and she takes 1 demon wing token. She still has 2 increases to resolve. The first takes her up to 10. The second moves her back to 9 and gives her a second demon wing token.
Reputation Phase
During the various phases of the game, your reputation moves up and down.
Reputation Track
The player highest on the reputation track gets 1 angel wing token. If players are tied, they each get angel wings.
The player lowest on the reputation track gets 1 demon wing token. If players are tied, they each get demon wings.
However, in the rare case in which all 4 players are on the same space of the reputation track, no one is highest, no one is lowest, and no one gets any token.
Angel Wings and Demon Wings
Your wings are kept on designated spaces of the main board. As soon as you accumulate 3 wings of the same type, something happens:
- If you have 3 angel wings, return all 3 and take 1 indulgence token from the general supply.
- If you have 3 demon wings, return all 3 and take 1 inquisitor from the Houseguest inquisitor deck. This is your personal inquisitor who has come to stay in your castle. Keep the card on the table in front of you in anticipation of the next Inquisition phase. Also lose 2 points immediately. This could give you a negative score.
Ways to Gain Wings
- You gain angel wings if you reach the top space of the reputation track.
- You gain demon wings if you move down onto or down through one of the bottom three spaces of the reputation track. (Note, however, that there is no more penalty for reputation losses that would take you below the track – rock bottom is simply as low as anyone can go.)
- Some buildings might give you angel wings or take away demon wings.
- The 5-church-symbol achievement gives you 2 angel wings.
- You gain demon wings if your debt is forgiven – exceeds 10 and moves back to 9 – during the Interest phase.
- You gain angel wings for being highest or demon wings for being lowest on the reputation track in the Reputation phase.
- If you are accused of witchcraft in a Witch Hunt phase, you gain angel wings if you prove your innocence or demon wings if you confess.
- You can buy angel wings at a price of 5 coins per token at the beginning of the Inquisition phase.
Gaining Reputation
Some effects cause you to move up on the track. If this would move you off the track, stop on the top space.
If you reach the top space, take 1 angel wing token.
Losing Reputation
Sometimes you move down on the track. If this would move you off the track, stop on the bottom space.
This even applies to costs. For example, all science buildings have a loss of 4 reputation as part of their cost. If you cannot move down 4 spaces, you are not prevented from building the building – simply move your marker to the bottom space.
In the Middle Ages, people made no distinction between science and witchcraft.
The bottom three spaces are marked with demon wings. If you move down onto or down through such a space, take a demon wing token. In the process of moving down to the bottommost space, you would thus acquire a total of 3 demon wings. (This would be bad. See the Angel Wings and Demon Wings section.) You do not gain demon wings when you move up.
Forgetfulness
At the end of the Reputation phase, slide each player's reputation marker toward the middle of the track, as indicated by the number and direction of the arrows. For example, a player who reaches a space marked to move down 2 spaces will move down 2 spaces at the end of the Reputation phase.
People forget the good things you have done. It becomes necessary to impress them all over again. Fortunately, they also forget the bad things you have done.
The middle space of the reputation track is marked with a knot. All markers move toward this space and markers on this space do not move. Note that the knot is one space below the starting space.
End of the Round
Round 1 ends after the Reputation phase.
At the end of the round, move the production wheel clockwise until you see the number of the new round. Everyone will have new resources in their section of the main board. The buildings deck has been set up so that the buildings for the new round are already on top.
- Round 2 has a Witch Hunt phase before it ends.
- Round 3 has a Witch Hunt phase and an Inquisition Phase before it ends.
- Round 4 ends after the Reputation phase.
- Round 5 has an Inquisition phase. At the end of round 5, you don't move the wheel – the game is over and it is time for final scoring.
Now we will consider those phases that happen only at the ends of particular rounds.
Witch Hunt Phase
The four kingdoms are divided by uncertainty and paranoia. No one yet realizes that one of the rulers is actually the Devil, but everyone has the vague sense that something is not right. Someone has managed to gather more resources than is humanly possible. This can only be explained by some dark magic! Everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else.
The Witch Hunt is a special phase that happens after the Reputation phase. It occurs only in rounds 2 and 3. A reminder will appear on the production wheel.
During this phase, you have the chance to call out one player who seems to be suspicious. In game terms, you are trying to identify one player who does not have 3 pieces of soul. (This could be the devil or the cultist, but it could also be a mortal who has already sold a piece.)
Players vote using their voting rings. You have one in each other player's color. Choose one and hide it in your hand. You can also choose to not vote, but you still pretend to have something in your hand.
All players reveal simultaneously. Any player receiving at least 2 votes is sent to be interrogated. (It is possible that 0, 1, or even 2 players will be interrogated.)
If you are interrogated, you have 2 choices:
- Prove your innocence. Publicly reveal exactly 3 pieces of soul. (If by some chance, you have more, don't reveal more. That would be very suspicious.) Be careful: The cultist's soul is marked. If you have some marked pieces of soul, be sure to show only the unmarked side. If you prove your innocence, immediately gain 1 angel wing token.
- Confess your sins. If you have fewer than 3 pieces of soul, this is, in fact your only option. Lose 1 reputation and gain 1 demon wing token. You don't show any soul pieces, even if you have them. Take an angry mob figure and place it outside your walls to remind everyone that you have confessed to witchcraft. A player who confesses in round 2 cannot be accused again in round 3, but is still able to vote.
Maybe you have the feeling that this game is not historically accurate and that witch trials did not really work this way. Well, that's true. But this is a modern board game, and modern board game culture frowns on player elimination.
Mortals and Cultist – Guesses
The mortals and the cultist start the game with guessing tokens for this particular phase. Mortals have tokens for guessing the cultist and the devil. The cultist, of course, can only make guesses about the devil. You are not required to guess if you don't want to.
To guess that a player is the devil, place your devil token in your voting ring of that player's color and put the combined token in your chest. Similarly, you can guess the cultist using your cultist token if you are a mortal.
Inquisition Phase
The Inquisition phase is divided into two parts – a dark ritual and the inquisition. When this phase begins, remind players that they can pay off their debt at any time during this phase.
Preparation
Every player gets a chance to buy as many angel wings as they want. The cost is 5 coins per token. The main reason to do so is to gain an indulgence (for 3 angel wings) which will help you obtain forgiveness from the inquisitors in the next phase.
What?! You can buy forgiveness with money? Well, yes, in medieval Europe, this was quite possible. A sinner could pay a Church representative to write an official statement that particular sins had been forgiven.
The Czech priest Jan Hus objected to buying and selling forgiveness. After careful consideration of his objections, the Church burned him at the stake, so we recommend you think twice before you question these rules.
"They sell everything. Do you want to baptize a baby? Pay up! Do you want to rob and murder? Pay up, and it will be forgiven. But if the Devil himself paid up, would he be able to get into heaven?" — Jan Hus
In this game, the answer is yes, more or less. Even the devil can buy angel wings.
The Dark Ritual
The devil is running out of worldly goods. Perhaps a dark ritual will bring more resources and gold. To power this ritual, the devil needs souls, which will draw the attention of the inquisition.
Once everyone has had a chance to buy angel wings, it is time for the ritual. Everyone can make a secret play by placing certain items in their chest. When you are ready, place your chest in the center of the table.
Devil – Pieces of Soul
If you are the devil, you put pieces of soul in your chest. It is usually best to include all pieces you have acquired because that gives you the best reward; however, in some situations you may choose to withhold certain pieces to avoid the attention of additional inquisitors. It's your choice, except that in round 3 all your pieces with the cultist's mark must be placed in your chest. (The cultist receives a reward for giving those pieces of soul to you.)
Anyone – Coins for the Inquisitors
Whether you are the devil or not, you can also put any number of coins in your chest. This is a bribe to make some inquisitors go away.
Opening Chests in Round 3
Once all chests are in the middle, mix them up and then open them.
Bribes
Any coins in the chests are added to the bribe spaces on the inquisition board. When all 5 spaces are filled, inquisitor A, The Ascetic, suddenly decides your kingdoms are okay and don't need a visit. The inquisitor disappears, as do the 5 coins. (Yes, there is a connection here. Pretend you don't see it.) Keep adding coins as long as you keep finding them in chests. Any extra coins left on the board at the end of round 3 remain there – so in round 5, you might not have to start from zero.
The next set of 5 coins removes inquisitor B, The Fundamentalist. And 5 more will remove inquisitor C, The Plebeian. (It doesn't matter whether they are face up or face down.) Inquisitors A, B, and C are the only ones that can be bribed.
Souls
The devil is rewarded for having pieces of soul, as shown on the inquisition overview tile. In round 3, the rewards are as shown:
- Add 1 glass and 1 marble to the devil's chest.
- Add 1 wood and 1 stone to the devil's chest.
- Add 2 coins to the devil's chest. Turn inquisitor 1 face up.
- Turn inquisitor 2 face up.
Rewards are cumulative. The devil always gets 1 glass and 1 marble. The devil gets 1 wood and 1 stone if the devil has at least 1 piece of soul. And so on.
Place the resources and coins in the devil's chest, where they will sit snugly beside the devil's hard-earned souls.
The cultist also gets rewards for souls – not for collecting them, but for giving them to the devil. In round 3, use the table shown on the board.
Inspect the souls in the devil's chest. If at least one has the cultist's mark, put 1 wheat and 1 coin in the cultist's chest. If two have the cultist's mark, put 3 more coins in the cultist's chest. (The cultist started the game with only two pieces, so the table can go no higher.)
Inspecting the Souls
When you explain this step to your friends, tell them that you, personally, will be inspecting the pieces of soul in the devil's chest to see if any are from the cultist. Ideally, the devil should put them in the chest with the cultist symbol showing, but if the devil forgets, the cultist can't say, "Um ... let's check the back," without giving away valuable information. If everyone knows you will be inspecting the pieces, then you won't look like the cultist when you check their backs. (Of course, if two pieces are showing the cultist symbol, no inspection of any other pieces is necessary.)
Guesses
Finally, deal with the guesses. The cultist and the mortals had a chance to guess the identity of the devil. If no 2 guesses are the same, simply leave the guessing tokens in the chests. Players will have a chance to guess again in round 5 and they will be free to make the same guesses or different guesses.
If 2 guesses for the devil are the same or if 2 guesses for the cultist are the same, remove all guesses for the devil and the cultist from the chests and place them beside the inquisition board. Those guesses (role tokens and voting rings) are now locked in for the rest of the game, and everyone who guessed a role will be unable to make a different guess for that role or that player in round 5.
If a player is accused of being the devil by at least 2 players, the accused player must (honestly!) say whether the accusation is true or false.
- If guessed correctly, the devil moves down 4 spaces on the reputation track and inquisitor 3 is flipped face up. (Yes, sometimes correctly guessing the devil can be bad for the guessers, too.)
- Place 2 coins in each chest that had a correct guess for the devil. There is no penalty for an incorrect guess, but of course, now that the devil has been revealed, no one will make guesses for the devil in round 5.
Yes, if people discover you are the Devil, the fallen angel Lucifer, personal ruler of Hell, that does have a negative impact on your reputation. In fact, it's as bad as building something dedicated to science! But don't worry. Over time, they'll forget about the whole affair.
- If the 2 guesses are a false accusation, the accused simply says it is false without revealing their true role. Note that if the third player made a different guess, that guess must remain on the table with all the other guesses.
If a player is accused of being the cultist by at least 2 players, the accused player must say whether the accusation is true or false.
- If both mortals have correctly guessed the cultist, the cultist moves down 3 spaces on the reputation track. Place 2 coins in each mortal's chest.
- If they have guessed wrong, nothing happens. Their guesses remain on the table, along with all the other guesses made this round.
Returning Chests
Close all chests, mix them up, and use the app to return them to their rightful owners. Flip the inquisition overview tile over to the other side so players can see what will happen in round 5.
Opening Chests in Round 5
In round 5, when everyone puts their chest in the middle, there is no need to mix them up. Everyone simultaneously opens their chests to reveal who they really are!
Bribes (Round 5)
As before, deal with bribes first. There might be some coins still on the board from round 3. Don't forget that only inquisitors A, B, and C can be bribed.
Souls (Round 5)
In round 5 the devil's rewards are points:
- If inquisitor 1 is still face down, turn him face up.
- Turn inquisitor 2 face up. If inquisitor 2 was already face up, turn up inquisitor 3.
- Each piece beyond 4 is worth 6 points.
Points are cumulative. So if the devil has 4 pieces of soul, the devil scores 6 points.
In round 5, the cultist receives no rewards for giving pieces of soul to the devil. That applied only to round 3.
Guesses (Round 5)
First, recall that there are situations in which certain guesses may not be allowed in round 5:
- If the devil was revealed in round 3, no one may guess the devil in round 5.
- If your guess was left beside the inquisition board in round 3, then that is your guess for that role and player and you cannot make another guess for that role or that player in round 5.
- If no two guesses were the same in round 3, then all players are free to guess again in round 5.
- You are not required to guess in either round.
So there may be some guesses already beside the inquisition board, locked in from round 3. And there may be some (allowed) guesses in the chests in round 5. Score all these guesses according to these rules:
- For each correct guess, the guesser scores 2 points.
- For each incorrect guess for the devil, the devil scores 1 point.
- For each incorrect guess for the cultist, the cultist scores 1 point.
Returning Soul Pieces
There is no reason to return chests to players in round 5, but the devil does get to take back the revealed pieces of soul for use in the next part of the Inquisition phase.
The Inquisition
The inquisition is the second part of the Inquisition phase. It occurs in rounds 3 and 5, after players have had a chance to bribe inquisitors. Now it is time to face the consequences of your diabolic bargains.
First, let's meet your inquisitors:
- You must answer to The Ascetic unless he has been bribed to leave.
- You must answer to The Fundamentalist and The Plebeian in round 5, unless they have been bribed to leave. (In round 3, just ignore them. They are not active yet.)
- You must answer to any inquisitors 1, 2, or 3 that have been turned face up. (Those who are already face up in round 3 will also pester you in round 5.)
- You must answer to any personal Houseguest inquisitors you may have acquired during play.
For each inquisitor confronting you, you must show 1 piece of soul or 1 indulgence – or else face the consequences. If you show a piece of soul, you keep it. If you show an indulgence, you return it to the general supply.
You show all required pieces of soul at once, and you show only one side. If a piece is marked with the cultist symbol, do not show the marked side. You are allowed to pretend to have fewer pieces of soul than you actually do, but that might not be your best play. You are not allowed to show more pieces of soul than the inquisition demands.
If you appease some inquisitors but not all, you choose which ones are appeased. For each inquisitor you do not appease, pay the penalty described on the card.
If your score goes negative, simply move your marker behind the zero space and remember that you have negative points.
EXAMPLE: Inquisitors A and B have been bribed away, leaving inquisitor C, who is face up because it is round 5. Inquisitors 1 and 2 have been turned face up as well. All players, therefore, must somehow deal with three inquisitors – C, 1, and 2 – but the player in this example also has a Houseguest, so she must deal with four inquisitors. As a mortal, she does not have 4 pieces of soul. In fact, she is now down to 2 pieces of soul, thanks to her errant ways. However, she has managed to acquire one indulgence through studious accumulation of angel wings. If she shows both pieces of soul and discards the indulgence, she appeases 3 inquisitors. But there is still one who will be left unappeased. She must choose one of those four cards and pay the penalty depicted on it.
End of the Inquisition Phase
The Inquisition phase is the last phase of rounds 3 and 5.
At the end of round 3, reveal the B and C inquisitors. Return all Houseguest inquisitors to the deck, even those who were not appeased. (You confessed. You were punished. All is now forgiven.) Flip the inquisition overview tile to the other side.
At the end of round 5, the game is over and it is time for final scoring.
End of Game
There are a few buildings with effects that can allow you to score points during play. You have several opportunities to lose points during play. And some points are scored during the final Inquisition phase. So at the end of the game, you may already have some points, either positive or negative. Now it is time for final scoring.
Your rooftop has a reminder of the steps of final scoring. Score the following:
- Buildings. Points are depicted in the lower left corner.
- Debts. Lose points equal to half your debt, rounded up. (These losses are already calculated for you and printed below the debt track.)
- Major Achievements. For each major achievement, score 2 points – unless you're the devil! The devil's not here to lead a cultural renaissance; the devil has other goals.
- Angel wing tokens are worth 1 point each.
- Demon wing tokens are worth -1 point each.
- Unspent indulgence tokens are worth 2 points each.
- Unused courtiers behind your wall are worth 1 point each.
- Cultist souls. For each piece of soul you have with the cultist symbol, lose 1 point.
- Unused premium resource tokens are worth 1 point each.
- Unused coins and basic resource tokens can be converted into premium resources at the usual rate of 5 for 1. And any leftover can be counted as fifths of a point for purposes of breaking a tie.
Cultist Soul Penalty: The -1 penalty for cultist souls is mostly an incentive for the cultist to trade those pieces to the devil. True, the penalty applies to the devil, too, but as long as the devil can get at least one piece of pure mortal soul, each piece of cultist soul will be a net benefit.
Winning
The player with the most points wins. That's it. All this business with the souls, the wings, and the indulgences was purely about trying to get the most points. Whether you sold your soul or kept it has already been factored into the mechanics of the game.
In particular, selling your soul in this game has no effect on the legal status of your soul in real life. Your soul in the game is made of cardboard – that's how you can tell the difference.
For Expert Players
Jester Tokens
During Setup, people with sensitive ears may be able to tell which chest is which while they are being scanned and distributed. If this is a problem for your group, use the jester tokens to fill up the cultist and mortal chests. If you get jester tokens, you must keep them behind your wall so you don't reveal any hidden information.
As long as everyone understands how deals work, you can also put jester tokens in chests during the Deal phase. Jester tokens have no game effect.
But if you don't have anything to offer, jester tokens will at least make it sound like something is in your chest. Or you can use a jester token to respond to someone else's offer. The tokens are two-faced. Use the face that seems more appropriate.
If you open someone else's chest with jester tokens, just ignore them. If your own chest is returned with jester tokens, keep them without comment.
Dealing in Indulgences
Expert players are allowed to offer indulgence tokens during the Deal phase. Treat them as though they were just another resource token.
Indulgences are not souls, so if you accept an offer for a piece of soul, you must pay with a piece of soul, not an indulgence token.
Indulgences are quite limited, which means it can be difficult to get a fair price for them and offering one can give away your hidden role. For these reasons, we do not recommend allowing deals for indulgences if less experienced players are in the game.
Bribing Inquisitors with Resources
Each resource can be sold for 1 or 2 coins, but if you sell resources just in time to bribe inquisitors, it might give your identity away – or at least alert others that you are planning a bribe. Expert players can agree that everyone will be allowed to include resources when loading their chests with bribes for the inquisitors. Convert the resources to coins as soon as the chests are opened, and deal with the coins in the usual way.
How the App Works
If you're a first-time player, don't worry about how the app works. It just works! But once your group is more experienced, share this information with them:
- The cultist gets the devil's chest every round. The cultist will see the devil's offer first in round 3. In other rounds, a mortal sees the offer first.
- Each mortal gets exactly 2 chances to be the first player to see the devil's offer.
- The cultist's chest is sent to the devil only once per game, as the second chest the devil sees in either round 2 or 4. Yes, the devil can sell a piece of soul to the cultist.
After your group plays a few games, some players may have preferences of which roles to play. If you turn on the "advanced mode" in the app settings, you can input your preferences of what roles you want and don't want to play, that the algorithm will take into account when distributing the roles. Each distribution is always possible, but the probabilities are skewed in favor of your preferences.
Too Much Information FAQ
Before roles are assigned, it is a good idea to warn players that certain questions give away too much information:
Assigning Roles
Q: My chest only has 2 pieces of soul. Shouldn't I get a third piece? A: Not if you are the cultist.
Q: What does the icon on the souls mean? A: It means you are the cultist. (Or, if you ask this at the end of the Deal phase, it means you are the devil and you just got a piece of soul from the cultist.)
Q: What are these clowns for? A: They are jester tokens. Their purpose is to make your chest sound like it has lots of stuff in it. The devil does not get any, so now we know you're not the devil.
Q: How come I didn't get any jester tokens? A: Because you are the devil. (Or because your group decided not to play with jester tokens.)
Making Offer
Q: So can I trade for resources, or do I only get to ask for coins? A: You only get to ask for coins. Also, everyone now knows you're a mortal. The devil and the cultist can ask for souls.
Q: Is there a way I can offer to trade resources for money? A: Not if you are the devil.
Q: How do I ask for more than 7 coins? A: You don't. Also, you are a mortal. The cultist can ask for at most 6. The devil can only ask for souls.
Q: Can I offer my soul for coins? A: No. No one can offer a piece of soul; you have to wait to be asked. Also, the devil starts with no soul, so ...
Accepting Offers
Q: Does it matter whether I sell the devil a piece of cultist soul or a piece of mortal soul? A: Either is legal, but you want to sell your piece of cultist soul because you are the cultist.
Q: Can I sell the cultist's soul back to the cultist? A: Yes. And you are the devil.
Q: This chest has a piece of soul in it. Can I swap it with a piece of my soul? A: No, that would be cheating. Also, that sounds like the sort of thing only the cultist would ask.
Witch Hunt
Q: Do I use my cultist token or my devil token in the witch trial? A: No. You just use the voting ring in a particular player's color. Also, the devil and the cultist do not have a cultist token, so that means you are a mortal. (The cultist does, however, have a devil token.)
Guesses Before the Inquisition
Q: How do I make a guess? Shouldn't I have a cultist token? A: Only mortals have a cultist token. If you have no way to make a guess, you are the devil.
Q: Don't we get to take our guessing tokens back? A: If 2 people made the same guess, all guesses remain on the table at the end of round 3. The fact that you are asking about guesses suggests you are a player who can guess.
Bluffing and Deception
Q: Can I ask one of these questions in an attempt to mislead the other players? A: Yes.
Explanations of Certain Cards
Some buildings and events give you a courtier. When you gain a courtier, simply take it from the 2-coin space or the 3-coin space without paying any coins.
Events
Education. You can fulfill the requirements of the right option only by performing the action. Other means of acquiring courtiers do not count.
Forest, New World, Popular Play. These right-option rewards have costs that require you to give up a certain courtier. You must have the courtier behind your wall, and you pay the cost by moving the courtier to the 3-coin space. It is not possible to pay these costs with your alchemist courtier instead.
Prosperity. To gain the reward of the right option, you need to plan and use at least 3 action tokens. Don't count actions you can't pay for.
Slow Economy. You have a chance to pay off your debt in the Cards phase, when you draw this event. It is also your last chance – debts cannot be paid during the Deal phase or the Action phase.
Buildings
Archbishop's Seat. During the Action phase, debts cannot be paid off in the usual way, but the Archbishop's Seat gives you a special way to reduce your debt immediately when it is built.
Bank. In particular, if your debt is 6 or less, your interest marker does not move.
Bell Tower (with Reliquary or Minster). When an effect depends on reputation at the start of a phase, it is always referring to where players' reputations were before they started resolving any effects. This means you should wait to resolve your Bell Tower until other players have had a chance to note their relative position on the reputation track.
EXAMPLE: Red has the Reliquary. Blue has the Bell Tower. Because everyone else has more reputation, Blue will move up 2. But first, they make a note of Red's reputation at the start of the phase. Red starts the phase higher than Blue, so the Reliquary will give Red 1 coin. Now that they know what their buildings' effects will be, Red and Blue can resolve their effects simultaneously.
Catacombs, Port, Vineyard. You gain coins only for matching buildings, not courtiers. Those with two symbols match as long as one of their symbols matches. Science buildings do not match.
Coven Hideout. The starting space is marked with this symbol.
Dam. You can even remove an achievement you have not achieved. This makes it impossible to achieve later. If you already have all minor achievements, remove the tile from the production space, reducing it to 1 again.
Fort, Guildhall (gain achievement). To gain an achievement, simply take one minor achievement from your action board and immediately play it on the main board, as you would do during the achievements step if you met its requirements.
Guildhall (action token). This has no effect on the current phase. When you return action tokens to their spaces, leave one of the top spaces empty. In future rounds, you will have only 1 action that costs no wheat. If you choose to plan 2 or 3 actions, you must pay wheat for each action beyond the first.
Monastery with Gambling House. If both cards are in play, be sure to resolve the Monastery before the Gambling House.
Stable. You choose the action building immediately, as soon as the stable is built. You can choose an action building you built just before the Stable or one built in a previous round. And you get to use its action, even if you've already used it earlier in the phase. The building under the Stable still counts as a building you built, you can still use its symbol, and you get its points at the end of the game. However, it can no longer be one of the two action buildings you can activate with an action token. The effect cannot be saved for later; if you build the Stable when you have no action building, then the Stable is simply a 1-point building with a flower on it.
Trade Route. Premium resources are worth 1 point, so there is no reason to ship them along your Trade Route. Choose wheat, stone, or wood, discard all tokens of that type, and score 1 point for each while you are scoring buildings.
University. This applies to achievements gained the usual way and to those gained from effects like those of the Fort and the Guildhall.
Inquisitors
The Ascetic wants you to give up material goods. For each that you do not give up, you lose 2 points.
The Debt Collector arrives with news that your uncle has died and his debt is being transferred to you. Then he penalizes you for being in debt. As with interest, each time your uncle's debt would push you off the debt track, reduce your debt to 9 and take 1 demon wing token. If this results in a Houseguest inquisitor, you must deal with him immediately.
The Fundamentalist is opposed to all this progress. He penalizes you for each achievement you have earned so far.
The Houseguest is a jolly fellow, just checking up on you, making sure you're on the straight-and-narrow, and taking 4 points. You can also think of him as your own personal inquisitor, because his penalty applies to you and no one else.
The Orator is here to make a point. And to take away your points. And to take away even more points unless your reputation is better than everyone else's.
The Plebeian is not impressed by your new-fangled architecture. He penalizes you for each pair of buildings you have built. (Divide by 2; round down.)
The Profligate can be persuaded not to take your points if you are willing to offer some things to decorate his cathedral.
The Vandal … is just insane. Who let him in here? If you have two buildings tied for highest, then they are also tied for second highest and you choose which one The Vandal destroys.