Fictions: Memoirs of a Gangster
Fictions: Memoirs of a Gangster Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
171 Cards:
- 35 Henchman Cards: 20 Level 1 (1 Expertise), 10 Level 2 (2 Expertise), 5 Level 3 (3 Expertise)
- 23 Problem Cards
- 1 Summary Card
- 1 Clan Deck Card
- 1 Henchmen Reserve Card
- 110 Scenario Cards: 16 Hands Up!, 17 High-speed Rescue, 14 Intimate Enemies, 15 No More Bets!, 23 Family Business, 25 Bid for Power
Other components: 1 Starting Player Token, 15 Cubes, 8 Dice (7 white and 1 red), 1 Police Token, 1 Scenarios Book, 3 reversible Scenario Boards, 1 Clock, 15 Sacks of Money, 1 Clan Car, 1 Police Van, 1 Gear Stick, 1 Income Token, 1 Clan Pistol, 1 Rebel Pistol, 1 Croupier, 1 Safe, 10 Betting Chips, 1 Blocking Token, 1 Campaign Token, 12 Support Tokens.
The Summary Card reminds you of the round structure: Start of round: choose the Starting Player, draw 1 Problem Card (with 4 players the player to your left also draws 1 Problem Card). During the round: each player performs 2 actions on their turn: recruit Henchmen, act, or pass. End of turn: return the rotated (i.e., used) Henchmen on the table to your hand, then apply your Problem Cards' "end of turn" effects. Evidence: you lose the game if, at the end of a round, there are 5 Fingerprints visible in play, or one individual player accumulates 3. The Summary Card also lists Skill examples: double the Expertise of a Henchman before acting; remove a Problem Card from play; -3 difficulty (you cannot go below 1).
Summary and Aim of the Game
Fictions is a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players based on the classic gangster novels of the 1920s and 1930s, also known as "pulp". During this adventure, you will play the role of a mafia boss whose objective is to gain power and take control of the city, and ultimately win the mayoral elections in the final Scenario. To do so, you will have to complete two previous Scenarios in order to achieve enough prestige so that the most feared Henchmen in the city join the ranks of your clan and help you carry out your ambitious plan.
A game of Fictions takes place over 3 chapters, each chapter being a different Scenario. In addition to this General Rulebook, common to all Scenarios, each Scenario will have its own specific rules, which are described in the Scenarios Book.
Your goal in the first two Scenarios is to get as many Reputation Points as possible to spend on getting new and better Henchmen, as the strength of your gang lies in your Clan Deck. A Clan Deck containing a good number of level 2 and 3 Henchmen will allow you to reach the last Scenario, Bid for Power, which is always the same, with the maximum possibility of success.
A complete game of Fictions is played as follows:
- Chapter I: choose and play a Scenario.
- Intermission: recruit new Henchmen.
- Chapter II: choose and play another Scenario.
- Intermission: recruit new Henchmen.
- Chapter III (final): play the Bid for Power Scenario to try to win the elections and thus the game.
It is possible to play a full game of Fictions over different sessions. After completing one of the first two Scenarios, and before starting the next one, you just need to save your Clan Deck and next time continue where you left off.
Setup
Before starting the first Chapter, create the Clan Deck with the 20 level 1 Henchmen. The rest of the deck with the level 2 (10 Cards) and level 3 (5 Cards) Henchmen will form what we will call the Henchmen Reserve. Next, choose a Scenario to start the first Chapter and set it up as follows:
- Place the chosen Scenario in the centre of the table. For the first game, we recommend starting with the Hands Up! Scenario; we will use this Scenario to illustrate the setup.
- Shuffle the Clan Deck and place it face down on the space marked for it on the Scenario Board.
- Each player draws 3 Cards from the Clan Deck as a starting hand (hands are always hidden from other players).
- Set the Henchmen Reserve Deck aside out of the way, with the Henchmen Reserve Card on top of it: you'll only use it at the end of the Scenario.
- Shuffle the Problem Cards into a deck and place it face down on the space marked for it on the Scenario Board.
- Place the Summary Card, the Starting Player Token, the 15 Cubes and the 8 Dice next to the Scenario.
- Follow the specific instructions for the chosen Scenario to conclude the setup.
Playing the Game
All Scenarios in a game of Fictions are played in rounds. One round after another will be played until one of the End-of-Scenario conditions is met, always determined by the Scenario being played.
Fictions is a cooperative game where all players will be on the same side and, therefore, must collaborate and agree with each other, with the player whose turn it is or active player always having the final say. This communication must be limited to the intentions and plans of the players, without revealing their Cards or the content of their Cards. For example, it is permitted to make general comments such as: "Leave this Challenge to me", "Attempt that Challenge and I'll help you" or "I'll take care of the police". However, specific comments such as: "I can roll 4 dice in this Challenge" or "Attempt that Challenge as I have a Henchman Card that adds 2 to the result" are forbidden.
Game Round
A round is played as follows:
Start of round. The Scenario-specific starting instructions, if there are any, are applied first.
Next, the players, after consulting their respective hand of Cards, agree on a Starting Player. The chosen player takes the Starting Player Token and:
- With 2 or 3 players, the Starting Player draws 1 Problem Card.
- For 4 players, the Starting Player draws 1 Problem Card and the player to their left also draws 1 Problem Card.
Note: When a player draws a Problem Card, they place it face up in front of them on the table. It cannot be assigned to another player.
During the round. Starting with the Starting Player and continuing clockwise, each player, on their turn, must perform 2 actions. In 2-player games, each player must perform 3 actions. When all players have played their turn, the round ends.
End of Round. Scenario-specific End-of-Round instructions are applied, if any. A check is then made to see if any of the End-of-Scenario or End-of-Game requirements are met. If not, a new round is started.
Turn of Play
The player whose turn it is, who we will call the active player, must perform 2 actions (or 3 actions in 2-player games) in any combination, they can even repeat the same action twice. The actions common to all Scenarios are:
- Recruit Henchmen
- Act
- Pass
Recruit Henchmen
Before we get down to business, we need to make sure we have the right Henchmen for the job in hand or for the problem that needs solving. No one can be good at everything yet even a blundering idiot can do something right.
This action allows you to draw 1 or 2 Cards from the Clan Deck and put them in your hand. You can draw one and then decide whether to draw the second. There is no limit to the number of Cards you can hold in your hand.
Act
As men of action, we are not afraid of anything or anyone. The goal is clear and we are going for it guns blazing, we may come out of it badly, but that's the risk we gotta take.
This action is the main action of the game and consists of trying to overcome the Challenges presented by each Scenario, in addition to the problems and setbacks that will arise during the game.
Before you act, you need to choose the particular Challenge you will try to overcome. Challenges are found on the Scenario Boards, specific Cards, and your own or other players' Problem Cards.
The general structure of a Challenge is as follows: the number of Triumphs required to overcome the Challenge; the Ideal Expertise required for the Challenge; the Difficulty level required to Triumph; and the Outcome of overcoming the Challenge.
To attempt to overcome a Challenge, the player must:
- Play 1 or 2 Henchmen Cards from their hand.
- Roll the Dice obtained from those Cards.
- Resolve the roll.
1. Play 1 or 2 Henchmen Cards
Each Henchman Card shows: the Location associated with the Henchman (this only affects certain Scenarios), the Expertise, and the Skill. A Skill may be marked with the exhaust symbol (the Henchman is exhausted after using their Skill) and may carry a limitation on using the card in the No More Bets! Scenario.
The Expertise are grouped into the following 5 categories:
| Category | Expertise |
|---|---|
| Information | Search, Investigate |
| Combat | Fight, Shoot |
| Pursuit | Run, Drive |
| Influence | Intimidate, Persuade |
| Know-how | Heal, Repair |
The Expertise in the same category have the same colour and shape so that you can easily identify them.
Each Henchman Card, in addition to a Skill, has one or more Expertise. To try to overcome a Challenge, you must play 1 or 2 Henchmen Cards from your hand and place them face up in front of you: these Henchmen take on the Challenge and are used only for their Expertise, thus renouncing their Skills. Each of these Henchmen will provide a number of Dice according to their Expertise:
| Situation | Number of dice |
|---|---|
| If the Henchman possesses the ideal Expertise required for the Challenge | 3 White Dice |
| If the Henchman does not possess the ideal Expertise required for the Challenge, but possesses one from the same category | 2 White Dice |
| If the Henchman's Expertise is from a different category | 1 White Die |
At most there will be 7 White Dice available and sometimes fewer; you will always have to stick to what is available at the time.
A Henchman Card may have more than one Expertise (level 2 and 3 Henchmen), but you can only use one of them at a time. The Expertise of your Henchmen is therefore very important when facing a Challenge, given that in most cases, rolling more Dice increases your chances of Triumph, even if it means an added risk, as we will see below.
Example: An alarm is particularly annoying to you in the Hands Up! Scenario and, as the active player, you use the first Action of your turn to act in order to try to disable it. You face a Challenge of difficulty 4 that requires 2 Triumphs to overcome, which is a total of 8 (4x2) or more on the roll. The ideal Expertise to meet the Challenge is shown on the Challenge. You decide to play two Henchmen from your hand, one with the ideal Expertise and one with an Expertise of a different category, giving you 4 White Dice: 3 for the first and 1 for the second.
2. Roll the Dice
Before rolling the White Dice you got based on Henchmen Cards played, you can add the Red Die. While this is optional, it is usually beneficial to add it as it will often be the only way to overcome the Challenge you are facing. Once you have gathered the Dice, roll them all at once.
Example: You decide to add the Red Die to the White Dice you collected with your Henchmen and roll them all, with the following result: blocked die (lock), 3, re-roll (clover), 1, and Problem (warning) on the Red Die.
3. Resolve the Roll
The result of the roll will be equal to the total shown on the White Dice rolled, after applying the effects obtained by the Dice and the Skills of the Henchmen played by both the active player and the other players (see Henchmen Skills below).
The White Dice
| Face | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1, 2, 3, 4 | Dice with values from 1 to 4 are the starting point from which you will attempt to overcome the Challenges. |
| Lock (blocked) | The Die is blocked: you cannot re-roll it. In addition, one Henchman of your choice receives 1 damage (see Assigning Damage to Henchmen). |
| Clover (re-roll) | You may re-roll one or more Dice of your choice (this includes the Red Die) that are not blocked; once used in this way, this Die is blocked. |
The Red Die
| Face | Effect |
|---|---|
| x2, x3, x4 | Apply the multiplier obtained to just one of the values obtained on the White Dice. |
| Lock (blocked) | Same effect as for the White Dice. |
| Card | The active player may draw a Henchman Card from the Clan Deck. |
| Warning (Problem) | The active player must draw a Problem Card. |
Important: The Problem Cards or Henchmen Cards obtained thanks to the Red Die are only drawn after the result of the roll has been resolved, therefore they do not affect and cannot be used to modify the result of the current roll.
Example (continued): The result of your roll was not very good, so you decide to use the clover to re-roll the 1 and the Problem die, now you get a 1 and x2, so that, not being able to do anything else (after having used the clover, it is now blocked), you assign x2 to the 3 and by adding the 1 you get a total value of 7 (3x2 + 1).
Henchmen Skills
Each Henchman Card has a Skill that usually consists of the possibility to ignore or modify a particular rule of the game, and in many cases will help you modify the dice roll. At any time during your turn or another player's turn, you may play one or more Henchmen Cards from your hand without using an Action (lightning icon) to apply their Skill. This is your way of helping and cooperating with other players when it is not your turn, or helping yourself on your own turn.
Henchmen used in this way go directly into the Exhausted Henchmen Deck (heart icon) and do not count against the limit of 2 Henchmen the active player can play during their turn.
Note: In the No More Bets! Scenario, you will not be able to use the Skills of certain Henchmen. This is indicated by an icon on the card.
Example (continued): Seeing that you haven't reached the total value of 8 you need to overcome the Challenge, another player decides to help you and plays a Henchman from their hand which, because of their Skill, allows you to add 2 to the total result of the roll, so you now have 9. The Henchman played by your partner immediately goes to the Exhausted Henchmen Deck.
Triumph
The final result obtained in the roll, after resolving the effects of the Dice and the Skills of the Henchmen that have been played, has to be equal or superior to the difficulty of the Challenge in order to achieve at least one Triumph. There are Challenges that require more than one Triumph and you can achieve several Triumphs on the same roll: you achieve 2 Triumphs if the result is double the difficulty level of the Challenge; 3 Triumphs if it is triple the difficulty; and so on.
If the Challenge requires more than one Triumph, it can be overcome over several rolls and even by different players. Place a Cube on the corresponding space on the Card for each Triumph. As soon as you have achieved the required number of Triumphs, you overcome the Challenge and the outcome indicated to the right of the Challenge is applied (in many cases this will consist of discarding the Card). If you have used Cubes to count Triumphs, these are returned to the Reserve once the Challenge has been overcome.
Example: Thanks to your partner's help, you have achieved the 2 Triumphs you needed and overcome the Challenge in its entirety in a single action. That alarm will no longer bother you: discard the Card. If the total of your roll had been 7, you would have placed a Cube on a Triumph space on the Card and you could have tried again to remove the alarm with your second action of your turn, by acting again, or you could have left it there for another player to deal with later.
Assigning Damage to Henchmen
As we saw earlier, each lock blocks the Die and, in addition, causes one of the Henchmen participating in the Challenge to receive one damage. After resolving the roll, distribute this damage among the Henchmen you have played as you wish, bearing in mind that:
- If a Henchman receives 1 damage, they are exhausted and discarded to the Exhausted Henchmen Deck.
- If a Henchman receives 2 damage, they are KO'd and discarded to the KO'd Henchmen Deck.
You can only assign a maximum of 2 damage to any one Henchman; if there is excess damage to assign to Henchmen, it is simply ignored.
There are special cases, such as Revive and Motivate, where locks still block the Dice, but any damage they may cause to Henchmen is ignored.
Important: A Henchman once played cannot be used again in that turn. Rotate by 90 degrees the Henchmen that have not gone into the Exhausted or KO'd Henchmen Decks, only after assigning damage: you will return them to your hand at the end of your turn.
Example: Being a gangster is not easy, you got a lock on your roll and you are forced to assign damage to one of the Henchmen who participated in the Challenge, and thus exhaust them. You decide to exhaust the Henchman with one of the Expertise; the other is rotated and remains like this on the table: they will not return to your hand until the end of your turn.
Pass
When things go badly wrong they can only get worse, sometimes it's better to retreat rather than end up in the slammer.
You spend your action doing nothing.
End of Turn
Once you have completed your turn, all of the Henchmen that remain on the table (those rotated) return to your hand to be used again later. Finally, apply the End-of-Turn effects of any of your Problem Cards in play.
Problems
Life on the edge of the law is exciting, but not easy. Throughout this adventure, countless problems will arise and we will have to deal with them, either by solving them or putting up with the consequences.
A Problem Card shows: Evidence (Fingerprint, on some cards), Background text, the Challenge that must be overcome to eliminate the Problem, and the Penalty.
Each problem is assigned face up to a specific player and displays a Challenge that requires 1 Triumph to overcome. While the problem is in play, the affected player must suffer the penalty indicated at the bottom of the Card.
When an effect indicates that "a player draws a Problem Card", you must decide between all of you who is going to do it. If no consensus is reached, the active player has the final say.
Note: In the No More Bets! Scenario, penalties for certain problems do not apply. This is indicated by an icon on the card.
Penalties
Sometimes it's just a matter of putting up with whatever comes your way.
They are always negative effects, found on Problem Cards, on specific Scenario Cards, and on some Scenario Boards. The most common are:
| Icon | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Single person | Applies to the player to whom the Card is assigned. |
| Group of people | Applies to all players. |
| Hand | Applies at the end of the round. |
Evidence
No matter how much we pay attention to detail and even if we thoroughly clean the crime scene, we will always miss something that will put the police on our trail. Even so, we must try to make sure that the evidence is circumstantial and never enough to take us down.
Some Cards contain a Fingerprint, which means that the police have obtained evidence against the clan.
If at the end of a round there are 5 visible Fingerprints in play, you lose the game immediately, which means that you must start from scratch, choosing the same or other Scenarios and you can try again. In 3-player and 4-player games, you also lose if at the end of a round a single player accumulates 3 Fingerprints among their Problem Cards.
Fingerprints can appear on Problem Cards and on some Scenario Cards. You must take into account all those that are visible at the end of the round.
Important: The number of Fingerprints is only checked at the end of the round, there are no consequences if there are more than the allowed number of Fingerprints at any other time.
Police
The police will be on our tail and will be watching our every move, the only way to get them off our backs is to have them on our side. As long as we keep the police bought off, they will turn a blind eye, but the moment we don't stick to our side of the bargain, they will be all over us.
All but one of the Scenarios have their own Police Card, which you must place on the appropriate space on the Board, with the Police Token on the "Uncontrolled" side (question mark) on top of it. If you manage to control the Police by overcoming the Challenge indicated on the Board, flip the Police Token to its "Controlled" side (check mark). As long as the Police Token is on the Card, regardless of which side it is on, the Police remain inactive. In this way, at the end of each round, the status of the police is checked:
- If the Token is on the "Controlled" side, flip it to "Uncontrolled" as you will have to overcome the Challenge again in the next round to keep the Police inactive.
- If the Token is on the "Uncontrolled" side, remove the Token from the Scenario and the Police becomes active. Its effect is applied from the next round onwards, and until the end of the Scenario, you cannot control it again.
Important: The locks obtained when trying to control the Police block the Dice, as usual, but do not cause damage to the Henchmen used.
(The Police Card shows: the Challenge that must be overcome to control the Police; "Ignore damage from any lock" while controlled; if you fail to control the Police during the round, remove the Token: the Police will be activated and the effect will be applied from the next round onwards; if you manage to control the Police, flip the Police Token to its "Controlled" side.)
Clan Deck, Exhausted Henchmen Deck and KO'd Henchmen Deck
Although your allies are tough, there will be times when they are at their limit. The challenge is to push them to the limit to get the most out of them, but without going too far.
On the left side of each Scenario Board there are 3 locations where Henchmen are placed according to their condition:
- KO'd Henchmen Deck: Face up. When a Henchman is Knocked Out, they are placed here.
- Exhausted Henchmen Deck: Face up. When a Henchman is exhausted, they are placed here.
- Clan Deck: Face down. This deck contains all the available cards from which the players will recruit new Henchmen.
You can consult at any time the Cards in the Exhausted and KO'd Henchmen Decks.
There are different ways to move Henchmen Cards from one deck to another:
-
Revive: You can act to try to get Henchmen back from the KO'd Deck. The corresponding Challenge is indicated on the Board. You can achieve more than one Triumph and each Triumph allows you to move 1 Card from the KO'd Henchmen Deck to the Exhausted Henchmen Deck. Consult with your teammates which Cards to choose, but you will have the final say as the active player.
-
Motivate: You can act to try to make Exhausted Henchmen available again. The corresponding Challenge is indicated on the Board. You can achieve more than one Triumph and each Triumph allows you to move 1 Card from the Exhausted Henchmen Deck to the Clan Deck. Consult with your teammates which Cards to choose, but you will have the final say as the active player. Shuffle the Clan Deck after adding the chosen Cards.
Important: The locks obtained by reviving or motivating block the Dice, as usual, but do not cause damage to the Henchmen used.
-
Rally the Clan: Allows you to return all Exhausted Henchmen to the Clan Deck at once without using an action, after which you must shuffle the Clan Deck. It is not necessary to overcome any Challenge, however, it means there is an immediate penalty indicated on the Scenario Board and which will vary according to the Scenario (in the illustration it involves advancing the Clock one step).
End of Scenario
At the end of each Scenario, all Henchmen remaining in the KO'd Deck are considered eliminated, and therefore are returned to the Henchmen Reserve Deck. It is usually a good idea to try to Revive them before it is too late. The remaining Henchmen (in players' hands, in the Clan Deck, and in the Exhausted Henchmen Deck) make up the Clan Deck again. Return the specific Scenario Cards to the Game Box, now you must spend the Reputation Points you just earned in the Intermission.
Intermission
In this step you will recruit new Henchmen for the next Scenario. You must spend all the Reputation Points obtained during the Scenario you just played, keeping in mind that:
- 5 points allow you to acquire a Level 3 Henchman.
- 3 points allow you to acquire a Level 2 Henchman.
- 1 point allows you to acquire a Level 1 Henchman.
You can remove a Henchman of your choice from the Clan Deck to get 1 Reputation Point, but you can only do so twice during each Intermission. Return eliminated Cards to the Henchmen Reserve Deck.
Separate the Cards from the Henchmen Reserve Deck by level, forming a face down deck for each level. To choose a new Henchman, randomly draw 2 Cards from the deck corresponding to the level you have chosen and, with the help of the other players, choose one of the two; return the discarded Henchman to the bottom of the corresponding deck. The new Henchmen are shuffled into the Clan Deck and the Clan Deck is ready for the next Scenario.
At this point, you can decide to prepare another Scenario - if it is the third one it must be Bid for Power - and continue playing, or save your Clan Deck and continue playing on another gaming session; in the latter case, place the Clan Deck Card and the Henchmen Reserve Card on top of their respective decks in order to differentiate them.
End of Game
For us there are no half measures, either we leave with what we came for or we have failed.
The game ends in defeat if at the end of a round there are 5 Fingerprints in play or a single player accumulates 3 Fingerprints (in a game with 3 or 4 players). In this case, you must start a new game, with the same or other Scenarios.
You also lose if at the end of the last Scenario, Bid for Power, you fail to win the elections or if you suffer a Betrayal.
Therefore, the only way to win is to reach the end of the last Scenario, Bid for Power, and win the elections.
Solo Mode
This mode is played in exactly the same way as a 2-player game, except that you will alternate your turns between the two hands of Cards. Like in 2-player games, you have 3 actions per turn.
Start the game with the two hands of Cards face up on the table and separated from each other. You must keep them this way throughout the whole game.
At the start of the round, you decide which hand of Cards to assign the Starting Player Token to and the resulting Problem Card. In this way you also control the end of the round.
Play your first turn of the round with the Starting Player's hand of Cards. When you complete your first turn, play your second turn of the round with the other hand of Cards. Remember that whichever hand of Cards you are not playing with will only serve for the Skills of the Henchmen, not for their Expertise. When you are free to assign a Problem or Penalty, you decide which hand to assign it to.
Once the round is completed, if the Scenario has not ended, start a new round.
Clarifications and Reminders
- Hand of Cards: Always remains hidden and has no hand limit, and you cannot expressly communicate details about it.
- Communication: Make comments, hints or suggestions, but always of a general nature, you are not allowed to give explicit information about your Cards.
- Starting Player: Is chosen again at the beginning of each round, and can be several times the same player, so that in each round at least one Problem Card will be assigned.
- White Dice: Your roll is limited at all times to the White Dice available, and can never be more than the seven that come with the game.
- Red Die: It is optional to add it to your roll.
- Lightning icon: Does not cost an action.
- Trash icon: Discard the card.
- Henchmen Cards: You can only use them for their Expertise or their Skills, but not for both at the same time.
- Play 1 or 2 Henchmen Cards (to act): These Henchmen are used only for their Expertise and are directly in charge of overcoming the Challenge. Both the active player and the other players may help these Henchmen by playing others from their hand, but only using them for their Skills.
- Skills: Using Henchmen Skills does not cost an action. In return, Henchmen played for their Skills go directly to the Exhausted Henchmen Deck.
- Henchmen Skills related to Dice: They always include the blocked Dice, unless otherwise indicated.