Gambit Royale Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Preparation
• Playing the game
  • Playing a round
• End of a round
  • Example 1: Assignment of the Goal cards
  • Example 2: Assignment of the Goal cards
• End of the game
  • Scoring example
• Variant for 2 players
• Credits
• Appendix: Overview of the conspirators
  • 1.) Cards that only have numbers
  • 2.) Cards that trigger an action during the round
  • 3.) Cards that influence the awarding of the goal cards

Contents

• 186 conspirator cards, consisting of six sets of cards in six colors with 31 cards in each set. Each set has the same conspirator cards.

  Each conspirator card shows its value (in the upper corners), its name, and — where it has one — its effect or talent. The images of the people on the card backs have no game meaning.

• 36 Goal cards, 6 cards per discipline (alchemy, fencing, agriculture, commerce, religion, and music) with the respective values of 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5.

• 1 Crown Card — You may have 1 extra card in hand as long as you have the crown. Value at game end: 3 influence.

• 6 reference sheets

Preparation

Each player takes a set of 31 conspirator cards in one color. Each player shuffles their set of cards and places them face down as a supply deck in their play area (the area before them on the table). Each player draws 3 cards from their stack as their starting hand, which they keep secret from the other players. Next, shuffle the 36 goal cards and create a row of face down piles of 6 cards in the middle of the table equal to the number of players (e.g. with 3 players: 3 stacks of 6 cards, with 5 players, 5 stacks of 6 cards). Place the Crown near the goal cards. Place the remaining goal cards back in the box – they will not be used in this game.

Playing the game

The game is played over 6 rounds. At the beginning of each round turn over the top goal card in each stack: 1 for each player (e. g. 4 cards for 4 players). Leave room under each goal card for players to place conspirator cards. The players choose a starting player and they start the game:

Example of a 4-player game after a few rounds: a row of columns, each headed by a goal card with conspirator cards placed beneath it. Each player has a supply deck, a hand of cards and a discard pile in their play area. The empty places below the goal cards are the places which must be filled with conspirators to "complete" the above goal cards and end the round (see below).

Playing a round

On a player's turn, they must place one conspirator card from their hand face-down at the bottom empty space in the column of their choice. If there is a face down card above the card they place, the player turns the previously placed card face-up, regardless of its color. If the card turned over has an effect, it is executed immediately. If it has a talent, it is executed at the end of the round in initiative order. These effects and talents are explained in detail on the separate overview of the conspirators.

Afterwards, the player draws 1 card from their supply deck. If their supply deck is exhausted, they shuffle their discards and place them face down as their supply deck. Then the next player in clockwise order takes their turn. The game continues in this way until the end of the round.

End of a round

A round ends when all goal cards have been completed. A goal card is complete, when there are at least as many conspirator cards in its column as the value shown on the goal card (see examples below). Players may place conspirator cards below already completed goal cards, so it is possible that it can take a long time for all goal cards to be completed. As soon as all goal cards are complete the round ends. Turn over all face-down cards. Actions that would have been triggered upon turning cards over are not done. Then, in initiative order, all cards with initiative resolve their effects, one column at a time.

Now the goal cards are distributed. Each column is considered separately. The players sum the values of their conspirator cards in the column and the player with the largest sum in a column wins the goal card for that column. If players tie with the largest sum, the player among them with a card closest to the goal card wins the card.

The players take the goal cards they won and place them face down in their play areas. After the goal cards are distributed, the players take their used influence cards and place them in their discard piles. Then, the players turn over the appropriate number of goal cards for the next round. The new round begins with the player to the left of the player who played last in the just-completed round.

Example 1: Assignment of the Goal cards

Red's sum is 14 because the Fencing Master matches the goal type, but Blue and White tie with the highest sum (16). As Blue's card is closer to the goal card than White's, Blue wins the goal card.

The column shown is headed by the "3 fencing" goal card and contains, from top to bottom: the red Fencing Master (12/8), the blue Queen (16), the white Queen (16) and the red Squire (2, talent: Wins the goal card when together with the Prince).

Example 2: Assignment of the Goal cards

The White wizard uses his special ability to remove the Blue king and, thus, Red wins the goal card with the 8 point Cardinal over White's 7 point Wizard.

The column shown is headed by the "1 music" goal card and contains, from top to bottom: the white Wizard (7, talent: Removes all conspirators with value 10 or higher. Two or more Wizards in the column cancel each other.), the blue King (20) and the red Cardinal (12/8).

End of the game

The game ends after all goal cards have been distributed at the end of the 6th round.

The players count the points on the goal cards they have won in the game. There are two possibilities:

• The players sum the points on all goal cards they won (see example Sarah).
• If a player has goal cards from every discipline, they sum the points on 6 cards, one from each discipline, and double that sum. Then, from this doubled sum, subtract 1 point for each remaining goal card they have won (see examples for Isabelle and Leonardo). The owners of the Crown and Gold cards each score 3 additional points.

The player with the most points wins the game.

Scoring example

• Leonardo: 3 music, 2 commerce, 2 religion, 3 agriculture, 1 fencing, 2 alchemy = 13 X 2 = 36 (as printed in the rulebook)
• Sarah: 4 music, 5 music, 3 commerce, 4 fencing, 4 alchemy = 20
• Isabelle: 1 music, 4 commerce, 5 religion, 3 religion, 2 agriculture, 2 fencing, 1 alchemy = 15 x 2 = 30 - 1 = 29

Variant for 2 players

The game can also be played as a duel. The 2-player variant is the same as the basic version with an exception. The game is played with three sets of goal cards instead of two. At the beginning of each round, turn over three goal cards and play according to the basic rules.

Credits

• Author: Lutz Stepponat
• Editor: Martin Jörg
• Developer: Marcus Lange
• Illustration: Julien Delval
• Graphic Design and Layout: Christof Tisch
• Proofreading: Christof Tisch und Marcus Lange
• Printed in Germany

Appendix: Overview of the conspirators

Translated from the conspirator overview in the official German rulebook of the first edition (Kabale und Hiebe, Hans im Glück 2006), which the English Gambit Royale rulebook prints on separate reference sheets instead. Card names use the English wording of this edition; "effect" is an action that happens immediately when the card is turned over, "talent" is an ability resolved at the end of the round.

There are three different kinds of influence cards: 1.) cards that only have numbers, 2.) cards that, in addition to their number, trigger an action during the round, and 3.) cards that, in addition to their number, influence the awarding of the goal cards. Every card acts only in the column in which it lies!

1.) Cards that only have numbers

• King — He has the number 20.
• Queen — She has the number 16.
• Juliet — She has the number 14.
• Alchemist, Fencing Master, Lord, Trader, Cardinal, Minnesinger — The higher number 12 applies when this card lies in a column with the matching goal card, that is, when the symbol next to the 12 is the same as the one on the goal card. If the card lies in a column with a different symbol, the lower number 8 counts. This is not a special ability (see "Musketeers" below).

2.) Cards that trigger an action during the round

The action takes effect exactly when this card is turned over by another card. It does not take effect if the card is only turned over at the end of the round.

• Explorer — The revealed Explorer immediately moves to the next column to the right (the arrow indicates this). If it is already in the rightmost column, it moves to the first column on the left. In the column where it lands it is placed face down again at the very bottom. Then it turns over the card lying above it, if there is one. This happens every time the Explorer is turned over and then moves on.
• Assassin — The card that turns over the Assassin is immediately placed on its owner's discard pile. If another card is later placed under the now face-up Assassin, nothing happens to that card.
• Storm — If the Storm is turned over, no further card may be added to this column. The goal card of this column counts as completed, even if fewer influence cards lie there than required. If an Explorer would land in the column with the Storm, it moves on to the next column.
• Invisibility Cloak — If the Invisibility Cloak is turned over, its owner may push a card from their hand face down under the Invisibility Cloak and immediately draw a replacement. The card under the Invisibility Cloak is only revealed at the end of the round. If the revealed card has a special ability that influences the awarding of the goal cards, that ability takes effect.
• Traitor — If the Traitor is turned over, its owner may exchange the goal card in the Traitor's column with a goal card from another column. If, through the exchange, all goal cards are completed, the round ends immediately.

3.) Cards that influence the awarding of the goal cards

These special abilities take effect at the end of the round, when all goal cards are completed and the columns are scored one at a time.

The following 5 cards are resolved first, in exactly this order:

1. Musketeers — The special abilities of all remaining cards in this column are cancelled. Those cards then have only their printed number. In this case the Doppelgänger has no number. If there are no Musketeers in the column, continue with the Wizard:
2. Wizard — All cards with the number 10 or greater are immediately removed from the column. These are: King, Queen, Juliet, Alchemist, Fencing Master, … (when they lie under "their" goal card), Explorer, Traitor, Prince, Hermit, Dragon, and a Doppelgänger appearing as one of the named cards. All of this applies as well if the card lay under the Invisibility Cloak. If two or more Wizards lie in one column, their special ability is cancelled.
3. Witch — All cards with the number 9 or lower are immediately removed from the column. The Witch herself is exempt from this. The Witch removes: Alchemist, Fencing Master, … (when they do not lie under "their" goal card), Storm, Invisibility Cloak, Wizard, Squire, Small Giant, Romeo, Beggar, and a Doppelgänger appearing as one of the named cards. All of this applies as well if the card lay under the Invisibility Cloak. If two or more Witches lie in one column, their special ability is cancelled.
4. Prince & Squire — If both cards of one color lie in the same column, they have automatically won the goal card. If several players have Prince and Squire lying in the same column, the one who is closest to the goal card with one of these cards wins. (The combination can of course be broken up beforehand by Musketeers, Wizard or Witch.)

For all further cards the order is of no importance:

• Hermit — Each further card in this column (no matter whom it belongs to) reduces the Hermit's number by 1.
• Small Giant — Each further card in this column (no matter whom it belongs to) increases the Small Giant's number by 3.
• Doppelgänger — The Doppelgänger takes on the number of the card lying beneath it. If the card under the Doppelgänger was removed, it takes on the number of the next card below that. If no card lies under the Doppelgänger, it has no number. If another Doppelgänger lies under the Doppelgänger, the upper Doppelgänger takes on the number of the lower Doppelgänger, provided that one has a number from a card lying beneath it; otherwise both Doppelgängers have no number. The Doppelgänger copies only the number, not the special ability, of the card lying beneath it.
• Dragon — The Dragon reduces the number of all cards in this column by 2. The cards of the Dragon's owner are exempt. If several Dragons lie in one column, each Dragon reduces the numbers of all other players' cards by 2.
• Romeo — He has the number 5. If Juliet of the same color lies in the same column, Romeo has the number 15.
• Beggar — In this column the player who has achieved the lowest sum with their cards wins. If two or more players have the same lowest sum, the winner among them is the player who is furthest from the goal card with one of their cards. A player who has no card, or only a Doppelgänger without a number, in this column does not take part in the awarding of the goal card. If a player has only the Invisibility Cloak in this column, it is the lowest "sum" with the number 0.