Desperados Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• I. Setup
• II. Flow of Play
• III. Marshal's Move
  • 1. Moving Stage Coaches
  • 2. Moving Sheriffs
  • 3. Moving the Marshal Pawn
• IV. Desperadoes Move
  • 1. Moving Desperadoes
  • 2. Activities
  • Spying Out Banks
  • Example: Desperadoes Move
• V. Examination Phase
  • Example: Examination Phase (continues Example "Desperadoes Move")
  • Bank Hold-Up
  • End of a Turn
• VI. End of the Game
• What happens if...

Components

• 1 game board
• 2 stage coaches, brown and blue (connect before first play)
• 5 two-sided schedules
• 14 poker tiles: 5 x 300, 4 x 400, 3 x 500, 2 x 600
• 10 stage coach tiles: 2 x 800, 2 x 900, 2 x 1000, 2 x 1100, 2 x 1200
• 12 bank tiles: 500, 800, 1100, 1400, 1700, 3 x 2000, 2300, 2600, 2900, 3200
• 1 Marshal (white)
• 5 Sheriffs (black)
• 5 Desperados
• 5 wooden discs
• 5 wanted posters and 1 Marshal's star badge
• 120 movement cards (6 decks, each 19 cities and one saloon)

I. Setup

1. Place the game board in the middle of the table.
2. Sort out two of the three 2000 Dollar bank tiles. Separate the other tiles into a stack with lower values (500 – 2000) and a stack with higher values (2300 – 3200) and shuffle them face down. Draw three tiles from the lower values stack and two from the higher values stack and shuffle them together. Place one face down on each bank on the game board. Shuffle the rest of the two stacks together and stack them face down next to the game board. Put the two 2000 Dollar tiles at the very bottom of that stack.
3. Shuffle the poker tiles face down and place one on each city without a bank. Take care that the cities names remain readable.
4. Shuffle the stage coach tiles face down and place them as one stack next to the game board.
5. Choose one schedule randomly and place it with the brown side facing up next to the game board. Place the schedule which starts where this one ends next to this one (brown side, not blue side). (Example: If the first schedule goes from Los Lunas to Gallup, the second goes from Gallup to Flagstaff. Continue until all five schedules lay next to the map.)
6. Place the brown stage coach on the game board at the city indicated as the start city on the first schedule (Los Lunas in the example). Place the blue stage coach next to the game board.
7. Determine who will play Marshal. The Marshal player takes the white card deck, the Marshal star badge, the marshal pawn and as many Sheriffs as other players apart of the Marshal player participate in the game (if there are three more players, the Marshal takes three Sheriffs). Remaining Sheriffs are not required and put back in the game box. The Marshal star badge goes in front of the Marshal, and the Marshal and Sheriff pawns to any cities on the game board (Marshal's choice). More than one pawn may be in a city, but take care again that the cities names remain readable.
8. The other players are desperadoes and take a wanted poster, a movement card deck, a pawn and a wooden disc in colour of their choice. They place the wanted poster in front of them and their pawn on the game board – it doesn't matter if the Marshal or a Sheriff is in the same city at this time. The wooden disc may be placed on the wanted poster.

II. Flow of Play

Stage coaches and Sheriffs are moved visibly, Marshal and Desperadoes hidden. A game turn consists of five movements and an examination phase. The game ends after five turns.

The Marshal player starts playing. He moves the stage coach and the Sheriffs over the game board. Then he moves the Marshal to a neighbouring city of his choice – but hidden, by playing a movement card face down instead of moving the pawn. Then it's the desperadoes' turn. They also make hidden moves. If a desperado wants to cheat in poker or rob a stage coach, he puts his wooden disc in the appropriate city. The first turn ends after five moves.

Now, movement cards are revealed successively. Whether activities indicated by wooden discs are successful or not is determined during this phase. After that, bank hold-up takes place.

At the end of the first turn the first stage coach schedule is turned over and the second stage coach comes into play (it is placed at the city indicated as start city on the turned over schedule). The game ends after five turns. If the desperadoes happen to have made sufficient money, they win altogether. If not, the Marshal wins.

Marshal player may look beneath the bank tiles on the game board any time (without showing the values to the other players).

III. Marshal's Move

1. Moving Stage Coaches

Move stage coaches according to schedule. A robbed stage coach remains where it is until the examination phase.

The brown stage coach follows the first schedule in the first turn, the second schedule in the second turn, etc. After being executed, schedules are turned over and make up the schedule for the blue stage coach (which follows the first schedule in the second turn, the second schedule in the third turn, etc). This means there is only one stage coach in the first turn and two stage coaches in all subsequent turns. Marshal player moves the stage coach(es) as specified on the schedule.

A robbed stage coach (having wooden discs played onto it) does not move any further. It remains where it is until the examination phase. After evaluation phase it is moved to the city indicated as starting point on the next schedule.

Example: During the third move the blue stage coach moves from Shiprock to Aztec. Thus, the Marshal player pushes the blue stage coach from Shiprock to Aztec. The brown stage coach has been robbed last turn in El Paso and remains there.

2. Moving Sheriffs

Move any Sheriff to an adjacent city.

Marshal player may move all Sheriffs to an adjacent city. An adjacent city is one where a road leads to. If two cities are not directly connected with a road, it cannot be reached in one move. Sheriffs need not to move, some or all may remain where they have been.

Example: The Sheriff depicted in the illustration may move to Tucson (and Silver City), but not to Tombstone, as there is no direct connection. He may ride to Silver City now and to Tombstone during the next move – but he doesn't want to and moves to Tucson instead.

3. Moving the Marshal Pawn

Play movement card for Marshal.

The Marshal also moves to an adjacent city, but it is a hidden move. The Marshal player chooses the movement card of the destination city from his deck and places it face down in front of him. He neither moves the Marshal pawn, nor does he reveal the destination to the other players. Playing the saloon means that the Marshal remains in the city where he was before. This is the only way the Marshal may remain where he is, as he is obliged to play a card.

The movement card for the first move is placed on the table in front of the player with sufficient place to the right, and in each consecutive move a new movement card is placed right of the one(s) lying on the table already. At the end of the turn (after the fifth move), all players have five movement cards lying in front of them, keeping – from left to right – the hidden tracks made during this turn.

Example: Five hidden Moves during one Turn. Matthias is at Tuba City at the beginning of the turn. In the first movement phase he wants to go to Gallup. Thus, he places the "Gallup" movement card face down in front of him, with sufficient place to the right for four more cards. The pawn remains in Tuba City!

All other players make their first move as well. In the second movement phase, Matthias places the "St. Johns" movement card face down to the right side of the "Gallup" movement card lying on the table already – which means he continues his way from Gallup to St. Johns.

Matthias places the Saloon right to "St. Johns" in the third movement phase. This means his pawn remains in St. Johns.

In the fourth movement phase he moves to Globe. He might also have moved to Socorro, Silver City, Payson or Flagstaff. But not to Gallup, as he placed that card on the table already.

For a moment Matthias is not quite sure whether his pawn is really in Globe. Thus, he looks at the cards in his display. Now he is certain again and makes his last move to Tucson.

Matthias now has five cards lying face down in front of him on the game table (from left to right): Gallup, St. Johns, Saloon, Globe, Tucson. His pawn is still in Tuba City.

IV. Desperadoes Move

1. Moving Desperadoes

Place movement cards for the desperadoes.

When the Marshal has played his first movement card, the desperadoes' turn begins. The desperado players move the desperadoes like the Marshal player moved the Marshal – hidden, without moving the pawns! But they may coordinate their moves by showing their movement cards to each other and agree on a certain destination – as far as possible in a way that the Marshal player sitting next to them and listening to their negotiations doesn't realise where they plan to go to.

Important: Players have to place a movement card! If a player wants to stay at the place he currently is at, he may play his "Saloon" movement card. If he played that already, he has to move on to a different city!

2. Activities

More desperadoes have to participate in an activity than Sheriffs are present in order to make it happen.

If there are more desperadoes in a city than Sheriffs, they may cheat in poker (if there is still a poker tile in that city) and rob stage coaches (if there is a stage coach in that city). But a desperado can only participate in one activity. If a player wants to participate in an activity, he places his wooden disc either on the poker tile or next to the stage coach. In order to prove that he really is in that city, he shows the last movement card he played to the Marshal (he has to show the last but one also if the last one is the saloon). Afterward, he places the movement card face down in his display again. Any activity only takes place if more desperadoes place their wooden disc for that activity than Sheriffs are in the city. In other words: If there are no sufficient wooden discs, they must not be placed! It is probably helpful if desperado players negotiate that in advance...

Activities may take place in various cities in one move. Each desperado can only participate in one activity within one turn (as he only has one wooden disc). It is important to remember that activities are only marked with wooden discs during movement. Whether they are successful or not turn out during evaluation phase. Desperadoes do not get booties now!

Spying Out Banks

If a desperado is in a city with a bank, he may spy out the bank. He proves that he is in that city by showing the last movement card he played (or the last two, see above) and turns over the bank tile in that city. He then puts back the bank tile face down on the game board. He may do so independently from the presence of Sheriffs. He does not have to "pay" a wooden disc. He may spend (or have spent) his wooden disc for a different activity during this turn, but he mustn't do another activity during this move.

Example: Desperadoes Move

In Salem is a poker tile, the brown stage coach and a Sheriff. In Silver City is also a Sheriff.

Gregor is at Socorro. He shows his "Salem" movement card to the other desperadoes – of course in a way that the Marshal cannot see which card he is showing – and asks whether other players are willing to join him. Patrick approves, he is currently in La Luz.

Both Gregor and Patrick place their "Salem" movement cards in their display.

Sabine is in Salem already and plays the Saloon. Leon is not able to make it, he is currently in Globe and moves to Silver City.

Gregor and Patrick prove that they are really in Salem by showing the Marshal the rightmost cards from their displays (the "Salem" cards) and place their wooden discs next to the stage coach.

Sabine may not play poker, as she would also need a majority against the Sheriff present in Salem. She could decide to do nothing and keep her wooden disc for the next move, but she decides to also participate in the stage coach robbery. She shows both the "Saloon" and "Salem" cards from her display to the Marshal and also places her wooden disc next to the stage coach – not on the wooden disc stack made up from Gregor's and Patrick's discs, but rather aside of them. This indicates that there is one more wooden disc than necessary to perform that activity (we will come back to that in the next example which continues this one).

Leon is in Silver City. He also shows his movement card to the Marshal and looks at the bank tile in Silver City.

V. Examination Phase

Movement cards are evaluated successively; Marshal arrests all desperadoes in the city he is at; arrested players discard that movement card; booty.

Examination phase takes place in every turn after the fifth move. Players disclose the first movement card they played and move their pawns accordingly. Desperadoes who end up being in the same city with the Marshal are arrested and have to hand out their movement card of that city to the Marshal – which means that they will not be able to enter that city for the rest of the game. With one exception: If the movement card which led to the arrest was the "Saloon", the arrested player may keep it. In any case the turn is over for that desperado.

If there are wooden discs in the city the pawns are moved to, the appropriate activity is evaluated. The Sheriffs who were there when the wooden discs were played are not there any longer, but if sufficient desperadoes have managed to reach that city without being arrested by the Marshal before, the activity is successful. If it was cheating in poker, the desperadoes get the poker tile from that city. If it was a stage coach robbery, they draw the uppermost tile from the stage coach stack.

Example: Examination Phase (continues Example "Desperadoes Move")

All players disclose the third card in their displays and move their pawns accordingly: Gregor moves to Socorro, Patrick to La Luz, Sabine to Salem, Leon to Globe and the Marshal to La Luz. It turns out that both Patrick and the Marshal are in the same city. Thus, Patrick discards his "La Luz" movement card. For him, the examination phase is over (he will spend the remainder of this turn in prison, but will manage to escape in time to participate in the next turn). Sabine, who moved from La Luz to Salem in this move, is not affected: the Marshal comes to La Luz indeed, but she leaves it.

All players except Patrick (who is in prison) now disclose their fourth movement card and move their pawns accordingly. It now turns out that Sabine's behaviour was very foresighted (see last example): Although Patrick hasn't made it to Salem (and cannot participate in the stage coach robbery consequently), there are still sufficient participants – as indicated by the way the wooden discs have been stacked. Thus, the desperadoes get the uppermost tile from the stage coach stack as booty. If Sabine wouldn't have played her wooden disc, the robbery would fail, as less wooden discs would be available than required!

Bank Hold-Up

After the fifth move has been examined and all consequences have been evaluated, banks are robbed: All banks in cities where more (non-arrested) desperadoes are present than Sheriffs are robbed. Desperadoes take that city's bank tile as bounty.

Example: Bank Hold-Up (continues Example "Examination Phase")

All players except Patrick disclose their fifth movement card and move their pawns accordingly: Leon discloses his "Saloon" movement card and remains in Silver City, Gregor moves to Silver City. Now there are two desperadoes in Silver City, but only one Sheriff. The bank in Silver City is robbed, desperadoes get the Silver City bank tile as booty.

Sabine and the Marshal move to Socorro. Patrick would have moved there as well, but... The bank hold-up in Socorro fails: Sabine is in Socorro, but also a Sheriff. Even worse, the Marshal is there as well and arrests Sabine who has to discard her "Socorro" movement card. And the Marshal would have arrested any further desperadoes in Socorro – moving the Sheriff there was only camouflage.

Note: What would have happened if Leon would have been arrested before he arrived in Silver City? In this case, the desperadoes would have been lucky: Leon wouldn't have been able to look at the bank tile in Silver City, but the desperadoes would have been told by someone they met at a campfire...

End of a Turn

At the end of a turn players take their movement cards back on their hands (except the ones they had to discard because they were arrested). They also take back their wooden discs. The Marshal draws a new tile from the bank stack for every bank robbed (he may look at them, but he has to place them first – he must not choose where to place them depending on their worth). The schedule just being finished by the brown stage coach is turned over. Stage coaches not being robbed are automatically in the next starting city. Stage coaches that have been robbed (successfully or not) are moved to the next starting city.

VI. End of the Game

4,000 Dollars per Desperado.

After the fifth turn – when the last schedule is turned over – the game ends. Desperadoes count their money. If they managed to acquire 4000 Dollars or more per desperado, they win altogether (8,000 Dollars for two desperadoes, 12,000 Dollars for three desperadoes, etc). This is not easy at all if the Marshal is neat. And it shouldn't be too easy if the play is all against one. But after some games you may want to adapt that – depending on the skill of the Marshal and the experience of the desperadoes.

What happens if...

...it turns out during examination phase that a player made an impossible move? The move of that player ends, and all further activities are invalid (as if he would have been arrested – only that the player keeps the movement card of that city).

...a player moved so miserably that he cannot proceed any further? (Although it is theoretically possible this has never happened while testing the game.) In this case the player makes an impossible move, and during examination phase it is treated as mentioned above.

...desperadoes plan their next move openly because the Marshal has made his move already and cannot do anything against it? As long as a move is not finished (all players placed a movement card in their display), players may change the card they played (also the Marshal).