Edgar & Lucien Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
  • Victory Conditions
• Setup
• Course of the Game
  • 1. Programming Phase
  • 2. Movement Phase
  • 3. Action Phase
  • Action Details
• Ordinary Actions of Edgar
  • Rob an Opposing Lucien
  • Play a Manigance Card
  • Administration Actions of Edgar
  • Administration Places of Edgar
• Ordinary Actions of Lucien
  • Buy a District from the City
  • Buy a District from Another Player
• Administration Actions of Lucien
  • Drunken Pig Square
  • Archives
  • Central Bank
  • City Hall
• End of Electoral Period
  • 1. Tax Collection Phase
  • 2. Governor Election Phase
• End of the Game
• Compendium
  • Manigance Cards
  • FAQ

Components

• 1 double-sided game board showing the city of Fosko (2–3 players / 4 players)
• 4 movement wheels to assemble
• 1 popularity track of the Fosko polling institute (including the tally track)
• 4 Lucien pawns (red, yellow, blue and white)
• 4 Edgar pawns (red, yellow, blue and white)
• 4 markers (red, yellow, blue and white)
• 1 black marker for the tally track
• 64 influence tokens (16 in each colour), each with a symbol face and a padlock face
• 4 play aids, double-sided French/English
• 4 certificate cards and 1 Heritage Protection card
• 45 notes of 10,000 Cogs
• 15 notes of 50,000 Cogs
• 1 deck of 20 Manigance cards (in French) and 1 deck of 20 Shenanigan cards (in English)
• 1 Governor token
• 1 first player token
• 1 rulebook

Goal of the Game

Each player will try to take control of the city of Fosko. The first player who simultaneously achieves three of the four possible victory conditions is immediately declared the Grand Triumphant.

Victory Conditions

1. Wealthy Dandy (Dandy Fortuné): Possess at least 150,000 Cogs.
2. High Tax Collector (Haut Percepteur): With 2 or 4 players, control 7 districts or more, all types of districts combined. With 3 players, only 6 districts are needed.
3. Influential Bureaucrat (Bureaucrate Influent): With 2 or 3 players, control at least 3 Administration districts. With 4 players, only 2 Administration districts are needed.
4. Grand Zealot (Grand Zélateur): Be the Governor and have 100 popularity points on the Fosko polling institute track.

Setup

Each player receives at the start of the game:

1. 50,000 Cogs
2. 1 movement wheel
3. 1 play aid
4. 2 character pawns of their colour (1 Edgar and 1 Lucien)
5. 16 influence tokens of their colour
6. 1 marker of their colour

Place the remaining elements around the board.

• Place each player's colour marker (6) on 50 popularity points on the Fosko polling institute track.
• Place the black marker (7) on the tally track, to the right of the same track.

The player who is the most richly dressed begins the game. Clockwise around the board, each player in turn places their two characters (4), together with one of their influence tokens placed face symbol up, on a district of the game board. All other players do the same, choosing exclusively neutral districts, that is, districts that do not yet hold an influence token.

The most richly dressed player begins the game and therefore receives the first player token (8).

Caution: 2 players may not start on the same space. Nor may 3 players, nor 4 for that matter!

Notes:

• All influence tokens are placed on the districts, symbol face visible. The padlock faces are only used by the holder of the Heritage Protection card (see Archives, page 5).
• The Governor token (9) only comes into play during the Governor Election phase (see End of Electoral Period, page 6).

Course of the Game

The game is paced by rounds, called Electoral Periods, each made up of 4 turns. There is no predefined number of rounds. The game ends as soon as a player has met the victory conditions required to win.

Each turn is divided into 3 phases of play:

1. The programming phase
2. The movement phase
3. The action phase

Caution: The fourth and last turn of each Electoral Period has two additional phases.

1. Programming Phase

All players simultaneously program the movements of their two characters on their movement wheel. To do so, place the needles corresponding to your two characters on the colour and icon of the border to cross, or of the metro line to take.

Important: A movement always goes from the district where the character is to an adjacent district (unless the metro is used). If a player wishes to leave one or more of their characters on the same district, they position the corresponding needle(s) on Immobile.

Caution: This phase takes place out of sight of the other players, because in Fosko one can trust no one!

2. Movement Phase

Once the movements have been programmed, the players are invited to place their wheel face down on the table. When all the wheels have been placed, all players reveal them simultaneously, then each player moves their 2 characters in turn order.

Example: If you positioned Lucien's needle on red and Edgar's needle on blue, your Lucien will cross the red border. Your Edgar, for his part, will take the blue metro.

Remark: When taking a metro, you must exit through another metro entrance of the same colour as the one through which you entered.

Important: If the colour indicated by the needle is not valid, the character concerned stays in place, as if it had chosen Immobile.

3. Action Phase

Once all movements have been made, and always respecting the turn order, each player may now perform one action at most with each of their characters.

Important: You may have your Edgar and your Lucien act in the order of your choice.

Remark: It is perfectly possible to perform an action with only one of your characters, or even to perform no action at all during your turn.

Action Details

Each character has particular abilities and can perform only certain actions.

Edgar's actions:

• Rob an opposing Lucien (ordinary action)
• Play a Manigance card (ordinary action)
• Perform an administration action

Lucien's actions:

• Buy a district from the city (ordinary action)
• Buy a district from another player (ordinary action)
• Perform an administration action

Important: Each of the 8 possible administration actions can be performed only once per player during an Electoral Period. Place one of your influence tokens on your play aid as soon as you perform one, to remember that you can no longer repeat that action before the next Electoral Period.

Caution: On every Administration district, a character may choose to perform either an ordinary action or an administration action.

Remark: Ordinary actions may be performed on any district, as long as the required conditions are met. To control a district, you must have bought it from the city or from another player and have placed one of your influence tokens on it. The Requisition action also allows you to acquire a district (see page 4).

Ordinary Actions of Edgar

Rob an Opposing Lucien

If your Edgar arrives on a district occupied by an opposing Lucien, he may choose to rob him. He then steals half of the targeted player's fortune (in Cogs), rounded up.

If an Edgar is present on the same district as the Lucien of his own colour, he acts as bodyguard. The Lucien in question cannot then be robbed by another Edgar present on the district.

Caution: When your Edgar is on the same district as several opposing Luciens not accompanied by their Edgar, you must choose one victim, and one only, from among those possible.

Remark: A Lucien may be robbed several times during the same turn or the same Electoral Period.

Example: If you possess 30,000 Cogs and a first player robs you, you must give him 20,000 Cogs. If, during the same turn, a second player robs you, that player recovers your last 10,000 Cogs.

Play a Manigance Card

To play a Manigance card, you must have one, which implies having previously performed the Counter Manigances action (see Place du Cochon Saoul). Manigance cards often have an activation condition.

The cards show a TITLE, an EFFECT and a CONDITION.

Important: All Manigance cards are detailed in the Compendium on page 7.

Administration Actions of Edgar

Each time you perform an administration action with your Edgar, you lose 20 popularity points. Move your colour marker down 20 points on the popularity track of the Fosko polling institute.

Remark: If a player falls below 20 popularity points on the polling institute track, he can no longer perform administration actions with Edgar until he has recovered enough, either with a Populist Speech (see Lucien's administration actions, page 5), after the Tax Collection (see End of Electoral Period, page 6), or by using a Manigance card.

Administration Places of Edgar

Place du Cochon Saoul (Drunken Pig Square): This is where Edgar prepares his Counter Manigances. If you choose this action, draw 2 cards from the Manigance deck and add them to your hand (without showing them to the other players). From your next turn onwards, you may play one of these cards as an Edgar action.

Archives: It is behind these great buildings that Edgar devotes himself to one of his favourite activities: Intimidation. If you choose this action, designate two different players. Each of them must choose one of their districts and make it neutral by removing one of their influence tokens from the board.

Important: With 2 players, only one district is made neutral, at the choice of the intimidating player.

Central Bank: Your Edgar may choose to stage a bank robbery. You immediately recover 50,000 Cogs from the Bank.

Remark: The money you possess may be hidden (we advise an evil laugh, "rire machiavélique"). You may lie about the amount you have. But if you are robbed, you will be obliged to show your notes in order to give truly half of your Cogs, rounded up.

City Hall: Requisition of a district. This is when Edgar engages in intrigues with the authorities of Fosko to seize a district by force. If you perform this action, place one of your influence tokens on a neutral district (one not already belonging to another player) without paying its Cogs cost.

Caution: It may happen that there are no more neutral districts. Only at that moment may your Edgar requisition a district already belonging to another player. You then remove the influence token of the former owner and replace it with a token of your colour.

Ordinary Actions of Lucien

Buy a District from the City

Controlling districts allows you to extend your influence over the city, to collect more taxes at the end of each Electoral Period, and to get closer to victory (see Tax Collection, page 6).

During your turn, your Lucien may buy from the city the neutral district on which he stands by paying 20,000 Cogs to the Bank. He then places one of your influence tokens, symbol face up, on that district.

Buy a District from Another Player

If the district where your Lucien stands belongs to another player, he must, if he wants to take possession of it, buy it back by paying 30,000 Cogs to the player who owns the district. The active player thus takes possession of the district: they remove from the board the influence token that was there, return it to its owner, then place a token of their own colour in its place.

Attention: Purchases can never be contested. Exception: if a player possesses the Heritage Protection card, their districts are protected from purchase (see Archives below).

Administration Actions of Lucien

Drunken Pig Square

The sympathetic and convincing Populist Speech delivered by your Lucien immediately gains you 50 popularity points in the polls. Move your colour marker up 50 points on the polling institute track.

Remark: You may perform this action before Edgar's action, which may be useful if your popularity is low. Your popularity cannot exceed 100 points; any excess point is lost.

Archives

Lucien knows how to use his high-level contacts to acquire the Heritage Protection (Protection du Patrimoine). You may thus take possession of the card of the same name, and immediately turn over all of your influence tokens located on the board onto their padlock face.

Your districts are now protected from any buyout by a Lucien, from any Manigance card, and from any district Requisition, even if you do not wish to be protected.

Attention: The Heritage Protection card does not protect against Intimidation (see Archives, page 4).

Remark: The Heritage Protection card remains in your possession as long as no other player comes to the same district to perform the same action and steal it from you. The player who held the card until then hands it to the player who has just performed the action, and turns their influence tokens back onto their symbol face; they are no longer protected. The player who recovers the card turns their tokens onto their padlock faces; their districts are now protected.

Central Bank

Your Lucien may here choose to perform a Certificate Acquisition, a common practice in Fosko and the neighbouring cities, serving as a legal guarantee. This action allows you to take a certificate corresponding to a victory condition that you possess. The certificate serves as a temporary safeguard.

Example: The red player acquires the Wealthy Dandy certificate, because he possesses 150,000 Cogs and his Lucien is located on the Central Bank district. His victory condition will remain valid even if he later loses money, whether by being robbed or by buying other districts.

Remark: The certificate remains in your possession as long as no other player comes to the same district to perform the same action and steal the same certificate. For that, the other player must absolutely possess the victory condition corresponding to the certificate taken.

Example: The yellow player arrives at the Central Bank and also has enough Cogs. At the cost of an action of his Lucien, he may recover the red player's certificate. The latter then loses the safeguard of his victory condition (he will again need 150,000 Cogs or more to validate the Wealthy Dandy condition).

Remark: There is only one copy of each certificate. They are not necessary to win the game, but they are sometimes a great help. A player arriving on this district may choose to take any of the four certificates, as long as they possess the corresponding condition.

City Hall

Political support gives your Lucien enough power to double your Edgar's administration action for the current turn, for the modest sum of only 30 popularity points.

Attention: To perform this action, you must have, during the same turn, your Lucien on City Hall and your Edgar on an administration district (or have in hand the Manigance card "Remote Action", Action à distance). You must also have enough popularity to perform this double action, that is, at least 30 popularity points.

Example: The red Lucien is at City Hall while the red Edgar is at the Central Bank. The red player may then combine the actions of his two characters to carry out a more important bank robbery, which brings in 100,000 Cogs (instead of 50,000) at a cost of 30 popularity points (instead of 20).

Remark: With Lucien's political support, Edgar may also:

• Draw 4 Manigance cards at Drunken Pig Square instead of 2;
• Requisition 2 districts at City Hall instead of 1;
• Launch the Intimidation action twice at the Archives.

End of Electoral Period

At the end of the fourth and last turn of each Electoral Period, two additional phases take place:

1. The Tax Collection phase
2. The Governor Election phase

Remark: During the first Electoral Period there is not yet a Governor. The victory condition Grand Zealot therefore cannot be fulfilled before the first Governor election.

1. Tax Collection Phase

Each player, in turn order, gains popularity points and collects Cogs depending on the districts they control:

• Ivory District (Quartier Ivoire): 20 popularity points PER controlled Ivory district.
• Steel District (Quartier Acier): 20,000 Cogs from the Bank PER controlled Steel district.

Attention: The Administration districts (Central Bank, Archives, Drunken Pig Square and City Hall) yield nothing during the Tax Collection phase.

Important: A winner may declare themselves during the Tax Collection phase. Remember to respect the turn order when awarding the victory.

2. Governor Election Phase

Once the Tax Collection is complete, the player who has the most popularity points on the Fosko polling institute track is elected Governor of the city.

In case of a tie, the players concerned must hold open auctions. In turn order, each player announces the number of Cogs from their own pocket that they wish to bet (or offer as wine to the city's high dignitaries, so to speak) to win the election.

Attention: Each new bid must be higher than the previous one.

Example: If the white player is the second player in turn order and is tied on popularity with the blue player, who plays fourth, the white player starts the bidding. He announces aloud that he bets 20,000 Cogs. If the blue player wishes to continue bidding, he must bet at least 30,000 Cogs.

As soon as a player does not want to or can no longer outbid, they drop out (conceding the victory to their opponents). When only one player remains in the running, that player is obliged to pay the money promised to the Bank. The other players get their bets back.

Remarks:

• Bids may involve 2 to 4 players during the same Governor Election phase.
• If no player wishes to bet money during the Governor Election phase, no Governor is designated. The first player of the previous Electoral Period remains first player.

When a player wins the election, they immediately acquire the Governor token and thus become the last player. And yes, political socialising takes up more of your time than you had planned!

The first player token then passes to the left-hand neighbour of the current first player. Next, all influence tokens placed on the play aids are removed, which makes the 8 administration actions available again for the new Electoral Period about to begin, and the black tally marker is reset to turn 1.

End of the Game

As soon as a player possesses 3 victory conditions out of the 4 possible (see page 1), they immediately win the game, whatever the phase, turn or Electoral Period in progress.

Compendium

Manigance Cards

Each card's number of copies in the deck is shown in brackets.

• Plan B (×2): Move your Lucien to the district of your choice. Condition: No particular condition is required.
• Influence Trafficking (Trafic d'influence) (×2): Buy back a district from another player for 30,000 Cogs. Condition: Have your Edgar on the targeted district. The player who was present on the district cannot refuse this buyback. However, a player holding the Heritage Protection card cannot have a district bought back from them.
• Discredit Threat (Menace de Discrédit) (×2): Each of the other players chooses either to lose 20 popularity points or to give you 10,000 Cogs. If you possess only one of the two resources, you must pay with the one you have left.
• Certification (×1): Take the available certificate for a victory condition that you possess. Condition: You may not dispossess another player of their certificate.
• Financial Backer (Soutien Financier) (×2): Gain 40,000 Cogs. Condition: Have your Edgar placed on one of your Steel districts.
• Popular Support (Soutien Populaire) (×2): Gain 40 popularity points. Condition: Have your Edgar on one of your Ivory districts.
• Extortion (Extorsion) (×1): Draw a Manigance card at random from another player's hand. Condition: Have your Edgar placed on the same district as one of the characters of the targeted player.
• Remote Action (Action à distance) (×2): Perform an administration action with your Edgar. Condition: Not have already performed that action during the current Electoral Period, and be able to pay its popularity cost.
• Coup d'État (×1): Steal the Governor token. Your left-hand neighbour recovers the first player token. Have your Edgar on City Hall. The turn order only changes in the next turn.

FAQ

Each of the 8 administration actions can be played only once per player during each Electoral Period. Place one of your influence tokens on your play aid at the appropriate place, to remember the actions you have performed. At each new Electoral Period, remove all the tokens from your play aid; you may then again choose, among the 8 actions, the one you want.

• There is no limit to the number of characters who may be present on a district of a given type: Steel, Ivory or Administration.
• Each square of the board is delimited by coloured borders and represents an entire district.
• A certificate serves as a safeguard for a victory condition. You may win the game with one or several certificates, but you may acquire only one certificate per Electoral Period.
• Players are not obliged to perform an action during their turn. But if they choose to, they remain limited to one action per character.
• Each player determines the organisation of their turn. They may choose to resolve their Lucien's action or their Edgar's action first.
  • Example: The yellow player prefers to activate his Edgar before his Lucien. He can thus stage a Central Bank robbery, then buy a district from another player using the money just collected.
  • Example: Conversely, if the red player no longer has enough popularity to perform an administration action with his Edgar, he may decide to activate his Lucien first on Drunken Pig Square, to gain 50 popularity points, and then perform a district Requisition.
• All programmed movements are mandatory. If a movement proves impossible (the colour pointed to by the needle does not exist on the district where the character stands), that movement is lost and the character stays where it was.
• It is not necessary to possess a certificate in order to possess the associated victory condition.
• If you no longer have enough popularity points to perform administration actions with your Edgar, you can recover some with your Lucien on Drunken Pig Square, or wait for the Tax Collection phase.
• Robbing an opposing Lucien with your Edgar, or playing a Manigance card, does not cost any popularity points.
• Each Manigance card played by Edgar is worth a full action; each player may play only one of them during the same turn.