For the King (and Me)
For the King (and Me) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 1 Government Board
- 5 Noble Tiles
- 36 Duty Tiles
- 1 Card Distribution Sheet
- 108 Cards:
- 54 Government cards
- 15 King cards
- 39 Gold cards
Overview and Goal
The game is played over 2 phases. During the first phase, players will take turns drawing cards one by one and deciding where to place them until the deck is empty. During the second phase, players will acquire new cards and gain riches. Be the player with the most influence in each office of the government to gain the most points!
Invest your Gold wisely to establish yourself in different offices: diplomacy, military, architecture, livestock, entertainment, and provisions! Lower the esteem of the offices your opponents are focused on to become the ultimate Adviser to the King!
Game Elements and Setup
1. Each player takes a Noble tile and places it in front of them, with either side face up. Put the unused tiles back in the box.
This tile represents your character. At the end of the game, you can display all of the Duties you are responsible for underneath this tile.
2. Place the Government board to the side, with the side corresponding to the number of players you have face up:
- With 2, 3, or 4 players, there should be 5 portraits visible.
- With 5 players, there should be 6 portraits visible.
The Government board shows portraits with two spaces for Duty tiles below each of them.
3. Place each 3-value Duty tile on the matching spaces just below each portrait on the Government board. Place the matching 1-value Duty tiles below the 3-value tiles.
In 2-player games only, do not use the 1-value tiles. Only one tile should be below each portrait. Leave the unused tiles in the box.
Duty tiles show the esteem of each office of government in victory points. These values can be adjusted between 1 and 6 during the game. The tile placed on the higher space is called the Primary Duty. The tile placed on the lower space is called the Secondary Duty.
4. Find all of the cards marked with a number higher than the number of players at the bottom and put them back in the box. If a card doesn't have a number at the bottom, keep it.
Example: In a 3-player game, remove all of the cards with a 4 or 5 at the bottom and keep all the others.
5. Shuffle all the remaining cards, then randomly put the number of cards shown in the table below back in the box without looking at them.
| Players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cards removed | -22 | -13 | -8 | -0 |
6. Shuffle all the remaining cards again and make a face-down deck.
- Government cards (with a bronze border) represent different offices you can occupy: diplomacy, military, architecture, livestock, entertainment, and provisions. Their values range from 1 to 4. There is a letter at the bottom-right of each card. It is only used to break ties.
- King cards (with a silver border) let players modify the value of Primary Duty tiles of their choice by increasing or decreasing the value by 1.
- Gold cards (with a gold border) have a value of 1 to 3 and let you purchase new cards during the second phase of the game.
7. Randomly choose the first player. They take the deck and will be the first player to distribute cards.
Gameplay
The game is played over 2 phases:
- Share Influence Phase
- Gain Esteem Phase
1. Share Influence Phase
During this phase, the players will take turns being the Advisor. The Advisor will distribute cards from the deck to themselves, the other players, and a common Favor deck. Players continue taking turns until the deck is empty.
Each player's turn is divided into 3 steps:
1. Distribute Cards
When it is your turn as Advisor, draw the top card from the deck, consider it carefully without showing it to the other players, then place it in one of 3 areas:
- In front of yourself. Place the card face down in front of you, in your personal deck. Limit per turn: 1 card
- In the middle of the table. Place the card face up in the middle of the table. Limit per turn: 1 card per opponent
- Next to the Government board. Place the card face down next to the Government board on top of the Favor deck. Limit per turn: 1 card
Then, draw the next card and repeat the procedure. If you reach the limit of one of these 3 areas on your turn, you can no longer place any more cards there. In total, you will only distribute one card per player plus one.
You must place the card you draw before drawing the next card. You cannot change your decision and move the card after you draw the next card.
Keep distributing cards until you reach the limit in all 3 areas. Then continue to the next step.
2. Choose Central Cards
Each of your opponents, starting with the player to your left and going clockwise, will choose one of the cards you placed in the middle of the table and add it to their personal deck, face down.
3. Change Adviser
Give the deck to the player to your left. They become the Adviser and begin a new turn with the Distribute Cards step.
If the deck is empty, continue to the GAIN ESTEEM PHASE.
EXAMPLE
- In a 4-player game, you draw the top card of the deck and decide to keep it.
- You draw the next card and place it in the middle of the table, face up.
- You like the third card, but have already kept a card for yourself. So, you place it on top of the common Favor deck, hoping to acquire it in the second phase of the game.
- You must place the next 2 cards in the middle of the table. Your opponents will take turns choosing the 3 face-up cards in the middle.
Receiving King Cards
When you receive a King card that you would normally add to your personal deck, reveal it immediately instead. Then modify the value of one or more Primary Duty tiles (refer to the symbols below). Put the King card back in the box.
You cannot decrease a value below 1 and you cannot increase a value above 6. You cannot modify a Secondary Duty tile either.
When you modify the value of a tile, replace the tile on the board with the corresponding tile showing the new value.
- +1/-1: Increase or decrease the value of a single Primary Duty tile of your choice by 1.
- +1 or -1: Modify the value of a single Primary Duty tile of your choice by 1, as shown on the card.
- +1 or -1 (two symbols): Modify the value of two different Primary Duty tiles of your choice by 1, as shown on the card.
- +1/-1 (paired): Increase the value of a single Primary Duty tile of your choice. Then, decrease the value of a different Primary Duty tile of your choice.
Secondary Duty Tiles
The value of Secondary Duty tiles will change automatically throughout the game depending on the value of the Primary Duty tiles. Their value is always equal to half of the corresponding Primary Duty tile (rounded down). If this value is 0, do not put any Secondary Duty tile on the board.
Adjust the value of the Secondary Duty tiles during the game, any time you change the value of a Primary Duty tile.
During a 2-player game, only the Primary Duty tiles are used. Ignore the rules for the Secondary Duty tiles.
2. Gain Esteem Phase
This phase plays over several rounds.
First, shuffle the common Favor deck and place it face-down in the middle of the table.
Each player takes their personal deck into their hand. The player to the left of the last Advisor in the previous phase becomes the first player.
Then follow these steps in order, repeating the steps until the common deck is empty:
- The first player reveals the top card of the Favor deck and places it in the middle of the table.
- Starting with the first player then taking turns in clockwise order, Raise or Pass following the rules outlined below.
- Whoever wins the card pays the total amount they bid and takes the card into their hand.
Gain Esteem
On your turn, you can try to Gain Esteem by bidding a number or Pass.
BID
The first number bid that round must be equal to or greater than 1. Any subsequent bids must be strictly greater than the previous number declared during that round. Players can continue raising the bid around the table multiple times.
PASS
If you Pass, you are removed from the bidding and can no longer Raise this round. You can Pass as early as your first turn.
END OF A ROUND
When all players but one have passed, the remaining player wins the bid and successfully Gains Esteem. They must pay whatever they declared on their last bid.
- If the card players were bidding on is a Government or King card, the winner must pay as much Gold as the last number they bid. They must discard one or more Gold cards face up from their hand until the sum shown on those Gold card(s) is equal to or greater than their winning bid. If they discard more Gold than required, they do not get any change. If they won a Government card, they take it into their hand. If they won a King card, they immediately apply its effect (see p.5) then discard it.
- If the card players were bidding on is a Gold card, the winner must discard as many cards (of any type) from their hand as the last number they declared. They discard these cards face down without showing them to anyone. Then, they take the card they won into their hand.
You might be tempted to raise the bid for a card you aren't actually interested in, solely to make it more expensive for your opponents. But if you win this bid, you must still pay it.
If you don't have enough cards to pay, you don't pay anything. Instead, the player to your left immediately draws a random card from your hand and discards it face down without showing it to anyone. Then, all players except you bid for the same card. You cannot participate this round.
If all players Pass without bidding on a card, discard the card.
Once the revealed card is won or discarded, the player to the left of the first player becomes the first player for the next round. Then they reveal the top card of the Favor deck and the players bid on it.
After the final round is over and the common deck is empty, continue to the END OF THE GAME.
EXAMPLE
You try to gain this King card by bidding 2 Gold. Your neighbor bids 4 Gold and the other players Pass. It's your turn again and you decide to Pass as well. Your neighbor must pay 4 Gold. In her hand, she has a 2 Gold card and a 3 Gold card. She pays both of these cards by discarding them face up, but doesn't get back the 1 extra Gold she paid. She takes the King card and plays it immediately.
Your neighbor tries to gain this Gold card. She bids 2 cards. The other players Pass. You bid 3 cards, then your neighbor Passes. You win the favor and choose 3 cards to discard from your hand, face down. Then you take the Gold card into your hand.
End of the Game
Add up the value of your Government cards in each color separately.
The player with the highest sum takes the Primary Duty tile of the corresponding color. If there is a tie, the tied player with the card marked A (or closest to A in alphabetical order) in that color takes the tile.
Then, the player with the next highest sum takes the Secondary Duty tile of the corresponding color, if there is one. If there is a tie between multiple players for second place, break the tie in the same way described above. In case of a tie for the Primary Duty, the player who lost the tie takes the corresponding Secondary tile.
Count your victory points by adding the esteem of all the Primary and Secondary Duty tiles you gained. The player with the most victory points wins the game!
If there's a tie between players in the lead, the tied player with the highest value in Gold cards wins (Gold doesn't have any other purpose at the end of the game). If there is still a tie, the one with the most Diplomacy cards wins. If there is still a tie, the one who has the blue card with A (or closest to A in alphabetical order) wins. If no tied player has any Diplomacy cards, follow the same steps with the Entertainment cards, then Livestock, Architecture, Military, and Provision cards until the tie is broken.
From now on, you can boast to the whole court about your new governmental duties!
EXAMPLE
In a 5-player game, you have the most esteem in Military and Entertainment. You have the second most esteem in Provisions. You take the 3 corresponding tiles and place them below your portrait, giving you a total of 9 victory points.
Credits
Designer: Steve Finn Illustrator: Anthony Weinstock Project Manager: Xavier Taverne Graphic Designer: Vincent Mougenot Editor: Xavier Taverne Proofing: William Niebling Translation: Danni Loe
© 2019-2021 IELLO. IELLO, For the King (and Me) and their logos are trademarks of IELLO USA LLC under permission from IELLO.
Made in China, by LongPack Games.
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Jeu en anglais. Importé au Canada par IELLO USA LLC
Lot: FTKEN052021