Grifters Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Ringleader Cards
  • Specialist Cards
  • Job Cards
• Setup
  • 1. Fill the Government Coffers
  • 2. Prepare the Jobs
  • 3. Distribute Ringleaders, Tableaus and ISK
  • 4. Prepare the Specialist Deck
• Game Play
  • Phase 1: Advance Time
  • Phase 2: Play Specialists
  • Phase 3: Refresh
  • Example of Completing a Job
• Game End & Scoring
• FAQ
• Credits

Components

• 60 Specialist cards (12 Ringleaders, 48 Specialists)
• 20 Job cards
• 75 ISK tokens (1M ISK each)
• 4 Player tableaus

Ringleader Cards

Every player starts with the same three Ringleader cards:

• Mastermind — Draw three Specialists. Choose one to add to your Hand, and discard the other two.
• Thief — Steal 2M ISK from the Coffers.
• Pickpocket — Steal 2M ISK from an opponent's Stash.

Ringleaders may not be Abducted.

Specialist Cards

Each Specialist card shows a Skill type (brain, speed, or brawn), a card name, and a card action.

Job Cards

Each Job card shows, in order: the stack order number (top left), the target (shown by the card's color), the job name, the job skill requirements (the number and type of skills needed to complete it), the completion reward, the target completion bonus, and the number of players for which the card is used (for example, "2+" — in a 3-player game, the 2+ and 3+ cards are both used).

For example, the Job card "Kidnap Weapon Experts" (2+) requires a team of three brain Skills, rewards "Draw two Specialists," and has a bonus of 2M ISK / 4M ISK / 8M ISK for completing multiple Jobs of the same target.

Setup

1. Fill the Government Coffers

Place the appropriate number of ISK tokens in the center of the play area. Place the remaining tokens back in the box, out of play.

• 2 Players – 50 ISK tokens
• 3 Players – 65 ISK tokens
• 4 Players – 75 ISK tokens

2. Prepare the Jobs

Job cards are color coded by target; separate the Job cards by color into five stacks.

If playing with 3 players, remove one stack (all the Job cards marked with 4+ at the bottom right of the card). If playing with 2 players, remove two stacks (all the Job cards marked 3+ and 4+). Place the removed Job cards back in the box, out of play.

Then use the number on the top left of each card to sort each color stack with the lowest number on top and the highest number on the bottom of each stack so the Jobs are stacked in order of difficulty. Place each stack of Job cards in the center of the play area.

3. Distribute Ringleaders, Tableaus and ISK

Give each player one of each of the three Ringleader cards (Mastermind, Thief and Pickpocket), their tableau and three ISK tokens from the Coffers. Place the remaining Ringleader cards and Hideouts back in the box, out of play.

4. Prepare the Specialist Deck

Shuffle the remaining Specialist cards and deal three cards to each player to complete their starting hand. Place the Specialist Deck in the center of the play area with room nearby for the Discard Pile.

You are ready to play!

Game Play

The player that has most recently committed a legal infraction, no matter how minor, is the start player and will go first. Players take turns in clockwise order until one of the Game End conditions is met, in which case the game ends immediately. Each player's turn has 3 phases:

1. Advance Time
2. Play Specialists
3. Refresh

Each player's tableau consists of their Hideout, which contains 3 Night spaces (Night One, Night Two, Night Three), and a Refresh Area. During the game, players will be playing cards to their Hideout and moving those cards from Night One towards the Refresh Area before taking those cards back into hand.

The ISK that a player has is called their Stash, and can be stolen by other players.

Phase 1: Advance Time

(Skip this step on your first turn)

Move all Specialist cards currently in the Hideout forward a Night. Any card(s) that start in Night Three are moved out of the Hideout and into the Refresh Area.

Phase 2: Play Specialists

Each turn the active player must play Specialist(s) from their hand to either Perform a Caper or Complete a Job.

Perform a Caper — The player selects a Specialist card from hand, resolves the text on the card and places the card into Night One of their Hideout.

Note: Unless otherwise stated on a card, only one Specialist card may be played on a turn to Perform a Caper.

Complete a Job — The player announces which of the available (i.e. topmost) Job cards they are completing and plays multiple Specialist cards from hand as a Team into Night One of their Hideout. The Skills of the Specialists on the Team must match exactly with the Skill icons shown on the Job card. The Player gets the rewards listed on the completed Job card and places the Job card in their play area.

Notes: When Completing a Job, the text on the Specialist cards is ignored. Completing multiple Jobs of the same target category (color) earns an end game bonus.

Note: If the active player has no cards in hand, they must place an ISK token into Night One of their Hideout – that ISK token advances each turn as if it were a card and is returned to the Coffers when it enters the Refresh Area.

Phase 3: Refresh

The active player takes all the cards from their Refresh Area back into hand.

Play continues with the next player in clockwise order.

Example of Completing a Job

Dave selects the Hack Credit System Job card, which requires 2 speed and 1 brawn Skills to complete. He places the Con Man (speed), Thief (speed) and Middle Man (brawn) cards from his hand into Night One of his Hideout as a Team. As a reward, he steals 2M ISK from Jake's Stash.

• Hack Credit System (3+): Required team skills 2x speed, 1x brawn. Reward: Steal 2M ISK from an opponent's Stash. Bonus: 2M ISK / 4M ISK / 8M ISK.
• Middle Man (Specialist action): Choose a Specialist in your Refresh Area. Team up that Specialist with the Middle Man and immediately take its Action.
• Con Man (Specialist action): Steal 1M ISK from the Coffers and 1M ISK from an opponent's Stash.

Game End & Scoring

The game ends immediately if any of the following conditions are met:

• The last ISK token is taken from the Coffers.
• All Jobs have been completed.
• There are no cards left in the Specialist deck and Discard Pile.

At the end of the game, players get a bonus if they have completed 2 or more Jobs of the same color as follows:

• 2 Jobs of the same color – 2M ISK bonus
• 3 Jobs of the same color – 4M ISK bonus
• 4 Jobs of the same color – 8M ISK bonus

A player earns the bonus for each color that they have completed 2 or more Jobs.

Add the ISK earned during play with the Job bonus to determine the winner. If there is a tie, the player amongst the leaders with the most completed Jobs is the winner. If there is still a tie, the player amongst the leaders with the fewest Specialists (inclusive of all cards in their hand, Hideout and Refresh Areas) is the winner.

FAQ

Q: Is there a hand limit? A: No, there is no hand limit.

Q: Can I play cards from my Refresh area? A: No, you can only play cards from your hand. Cards in your Refresh Area are returned to your hand at the end of the turn.

Q: Are cards in my Refresh area in my Hideout? A: No, the Hideout is just the 3 Night spaces. Cards in your Refresh Area are no longer in your Hideout.

Q: What happens when I draw a card from the Specialist Deck but none are left? A: If there are cards in the Discard Pile, shuffle those cards to reform the Specialist Deck. If there are no cards in the Discard Pile, the game ends immediately.

Q: What happens if I attempt to steal from an opponent's Stash, but that opponent doesn't have enough ISK? A: You take only the ISK available.

Q: What is a Team? A: A Team is a group of 2 or more cards in a single Night space in a player's Hideout.

Q: How does the Femme Fatale work? A: When you play the Femme Fatale, you place it on Night One of the Hideout, and you may play another card from hand to perform a second caper that turn. If you choose to do so, perform the Advance Time (phase 1 of your normal action) again before playing that card into Night One. The Femme Fatale card will be the Night Two space of your Hideout, the card(s) that started the turn in Night One will have advanced to Night Three. All cards that started in Night Two and Night Three will be in your Refresh Area and returned to hand at the end of the turn.

Q: How does the Thug work? A: When the Thug Performs a Caper, play another card with it. Steal 1M ISK from each of your opponents for every card in their Hideout that is both 1) the same Skill as the card that you played with the Thug and 2) not in a Team.

Q: How does the Inside Man work? A: The Inside Man's action allows you to exchange (Abduct) the Inside Man card with any opponent's card in their Hideout, and then take the action of the exchanged card. The Inside Man is a special card in several other ways. This card cannot be duplicated by any other card. The Inside Man can be used as any Skill, but only one Skill when played in a Team or when paired with the Thug. If targeted by a Thug, the Inside Man counts as any Skill.

Q: How does the Snitch work? A: The Snitch allows you to move cards in any one player's Hideout, including your own. When moving cards, you switch all cards from one Night location to another, keeping all cards in a Team together.

Q: What happens if a Ringleader is randomly Abducted? A: If a player randomly chooses a Ringleader to Abduct, return the Ringleader, no card is Abducted as a result of this action.

Credits

• Game Design: Jake Tlapek and David Fulton
• Illustration & Graphic Design: Jarek Nocon, Stephanie Gustafsson
• Publisher: Indie Boards and Cards