Louis XIV Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• GOAL
• CONTENTS
• PREPARATION
• PLAYING THE GAME
  • 1st phase: supply
  • 2nd phase: influence
  • 3rd phase: scoring
  • 4th phase: mission
• GAME END
• The game boards
• The mission cards
• The game for 2 players
• Some historical background
• Credits

GOAL

The game is played over exactly four rounds. Each round consists of four phases, played one after another. First, the players take gold and new influence cards. Next, using their cards, the players try to distribute their influence markers in the most profitable way to the different court followers.

After that, the players score their placed influence markers to earn mission chips, gold, and more cards.

With the chips, players can fulfill secret missions, gaining them victory points.

At the end of the game, the player with the most victory points is the winner.

In 4 rounds players try to place their influence markers in the most profitable way to fulfill secret missions and earn victory points. The player with the most victory points is the winner!

CONTENTS

• 90 cards (20 + 12 + 8 mission cards, 30 influence cards, 12 intrigue cards, 8 gold cards)
• 64 influence markers (16 wood markers in 4 colors)
• 4 cardboard frames with 12 game boards (showing 12 different court followers)
• 60 coats-of-arms (10 of 6 different coats-of-arms)
• 34 mission chips (10 crowns; 6 each of scepter, helm, ring, and letter)
• 32 gold coins (22 x 1 Louisdor coins; 10 x 5 Louisdor coins)
• 1 start player tile (shows the Versailles Palace)
• 1 Louis XIV figure
• 1 plastic stand

When reading these rules for the first time, we recommend that you focus on these rules and pay no attention to the bold text in the sidebars. This text is useful for experienced players who seek quick answers to questions during a game.

PREPARATION

(Note: the following rules should be used when playing with 3 or 4 players. The rule changes for 2 players are on page 15 of this booklet.)

The 12 game boards each show a portrait of an important person in the court of the Sun King (look for a short biography of each person on the last two pages of this booklet). To the right of the portraits is a graphic showing what this person offers, during the game, to a player who wins influence over that person. Under this graphic is a number from 1 - 12, showing the number for this board. Place all 12 game boards with the red number face-up on the table. Start with number 1 (Anna d'Autriche) in the middle, and follow with the others (2 - 12) in ascending order, placing the boards in a spiral pattern as shown below.

Place the game boards in a spiral pattern from 1 - 12

The 34 mission chips (six-sided) show the same symbols as are displayed with the persons on game boards 1 to 4, 5, and 9. The players need them to fulfill their secret missions. Sort the chips by symbol and place them in the empty spaces between the game boards next to the appropriate person game board (place the letter chips, for example, in the empty space between boards 8 and 9, so that they are next to Philippe I). Place an equal number of crowns in the corners next to boards 5 and 6 and also 9 and 10.

place mission chips, coats-of-arms, gold, Louis XIV, and cards

The 60 coats-of-arms (square) show 10 each of six different coats-of-arms. Shuffle them face-down and place them as a supply near the game boards as shown below.

The 32 gold coins (round) show the number 1 or 5. Sort them by value (number) and place them next to the coats-of-arms as the bank.

The Louis XIV figure is first placed in the plastic stand. Then, place it next to the gold coins.

Sort the cards by the graphics on their backs:

• The 8 gold cards (yellow backs): show how much gold each player gets for each new round. They also show which of the game boards the king visits in the round. Shuffle the 8 cards face-down, remove 4 without looking at their values, placing them face-down back in the box, and place the remaining 4 cards as a face-down supply next to the gold coins.
• The 12 intrigue cards (red-brown backs) each picture one of the 12 court followers. Shuffle them as a face-down supply and place the stack in the empty space between board 11 and 12.
• The 30 influence cards (green backs) picture each of the 12 court followers twice each and 6 joker cards showing picture frames with curtains and a question mark. Shuffle these cards and place them as a face-down supply beneath board 11.
• The 40 mission cards (three different-hued blue backs) indicate which missions the players should fulfill at court and what reward they reap per round, after they have fulfilled the mission. There are three different kinds of missions, differentiated by the backs of the cards: light, middle, and dark blue. Sort the cards by the back colors, shuffle each kind separately, and place each as a face-down supply beneath the game boards.

Each player takes:

• the 16 influence markers (wood cubes) of his color;
• 5 Louisdor from the bank, that he places in full view in his play area (a player may make change for gold from the bank at any time);
• one light and one middle blue mission card, that he holds secretly in his hands, so the other players cannot see them.

each player takes: 16 influence markers, 5 Louisdor, 2 mission cards (1 light and 1 middle blue)

The start player tile (Versailles Palace) indicates who is the starting player. The players choose a starting player and give him this tile. In clockwise order, each player places some of his influence markers in the closest empty space between the game boards (see figure to the left; blue is the start player):

• start player: 5 influence markers
• 2nd player: 5 influence markers
• 3rd player: 6 influence markers
• 4th player: 7 influence markers

each player places some of his influence markers in the general supply: 1st player: 5 markers, 2nd player: 5 markers, 3rd player: 6 markers, 4th player: 7 markers

The players now also have different numbers of influence markers in their own supplies in the play areas before them (11, 11, 10, 9) just at they have different numbers in the general supply in the middle of the table (5, 5, 6, 7).

PLAYING THE GAME

The game is played over exactly four rounds, each with four phases, played in the following order:

• 1st phase: supply
• 2nd phase: influence
• 3rd phase: scoring
• 4th phase: mission

After the mission phase of the 4th round, the game ends. The player with the most victory points is the winner.

1st phase: supply

This phase consists of three steps, executed in the following order:

1. Draw the top-most gold card (also in the 1st round): each player takes the shown amount of gold from the bank and places it visibly in his play area with his other gold. Then, the start player places the Louis XIV figure on the game board matching the number on the drawn card (more on this figure on page 8).
2. Beginning with the start player, and continuing once around the table in clockwise order, each player executes the text on fulfilled mission cards in his play area that refer to the supply phase (except in the 1st round, as no missions have yet been fulfilled). The mission cards in the player's hand have no effect as they have not yet been fulfilled.
3. Each player takes 5 influence cards from the supply of influence cards that are beneath game board 11 (Jules Mazarin), adding them to his hand, so that the other players do not see what is on the cards.

SUPPLY: 1) draw gold card (each player takes gold; start player places Louis XIV) 2) execute the text on fulfilled mission cards (for the supply phase) 3) 5 influence cards per player

2nd phase: influence

Beginning with the start player, and continuing in clockwise order until all players have played all their influence cards, each player, on his turn, places one of his influence cards face-up in the middle of the game boards (see fig. 1).

After playing the card, the player has two possibilities for using it:

• either place influence markers
• or take his influence markers from the general supply, placing them in his supply.

(A player may not with a single influence card both place and take influence markers; he may only place or take them in one turn.)

INFLUENCE: the players take turns playing 1 influence card per turn — the number, the picture, and the reward of the game board, where the player may place influence markers

Person influence cards (2 cards per person)

Place: after playing a person influence card, the player may place up to 3 influence markers (less is OK) from his own supply on the game board that matches the person pictured on the card.* If he wants, he may now move some of the just placed markers to a diagonally adjacent game board. If he does, he must leave at least one of the just-placed markers on the game board he just moved from. Then, he may, if he wishes, move one of the just moved markers (if he moved two) on a second diagonally adjacent game board, but this must be diagonally adjacent to the second board and not the starting board, and he must leave one marker on the second board. At most, he can place markers on three game boards, as he places only three markers (see following examples).

* To make things easy to track, the players should group the influence markers by color on the lower left part of the game board.

Note: when a player moves markers to a second and third board, he must move markers just placed! He may not move influence markers that were placed earlier on the game boards!

Per card: up to 3 (person card) or up to 2 (joker card) influence markers — either place on board(s) or take from the general supply

Take: after playing a person influence card, the player may take 3 of his influence markers from the general supply in the middle of the board, placing them in his own supply. If he has less than three markers left in the general supply, he takes what is left.

Joker influence cards (the 6 curtains)

Place: after playing a joker influence card, the player may place up to 2 influence markers. First, the player takes 1 marker from his own supply and places it on any one of the 12 game boards. If he wants, he may then place a second marker from his supply on the same game board or on any diagonally adjacent game board.

Take: after playing a joker influence card, the player may take 2 of his influence markers from the general supply in the middle of the board, placing them in his own supply. If he has less than two markers left in the general supply, he takes what is left, if any.

Example: Karen plays a "le Grand Condé" (board 6) influence card, and she can now place up to 3 (or fewer) of her influence markers on game board 6 (fig. 2). Now, she may move up to 2 of these markers to a diagonally adjacent game board, e.g. board 1 (or 5), leaving at least one of the markers on game board 6 (fig. 3). If she wants, she can next move one influence marker from board 1 to any one of the 3 diagonally adjacent game boards, e.g. board 4 (or 2 or 7). In this case, she must leave one marker on game board 1 (fig. 4).

She may not, however, move a stone to a second diagonally adjacent board from board 6, such as to board 5, as she did to board 1 (fig. 5). From the "le Grand Condé" (board 6), she could move one marker to "Anna d'Autriche" (board 1) or "Françoise de Montespan" (board 5), leaving two markers on board 6, ending her turn successfully.

Note: these examples show only a few of the many possible ways that Karen can place her three influence markers when she plays the number 6 influence card. And, of course, she could choose to place fewer than three influence markers.

To summarize the several rules for the placing of influence markers, a player may:

• always place up to 3 (person) or 2 (joker) influence markers;
• may move only to diagonally adjacent game boards;
• when moving markers from a game board, at least one must be left behind;
• markers may not be moved from a board in two directions.

In this way, each player plays 1 influence card per turn, until he has just one influence card left. Each player's last influence card is not played, instead, it is placed, face-down, on top of the stack of undistributed influence card immediately after the player plays his second-to-the-last card! This last card is not kept for the next round.

Each player plays all, but one, of his influence cards.

When all players have played all their influence cards in this way, the phase ends.

Just before going to the next phase, however, the start player shuffles all 30 influence cards and places them face-down as a new supply in the space beneath game board 11.

At the end of this phase, shuffle all influence cards and place them as a new supply.

To clarify: based on the effect of game board 11 and the fulfilled mission cards, starting with round 2, players may have different numbers of influence cards in their hands. As each player plays cards in the influence phase until he has just one card left, players often play different numbers of turns. If all other players have used all their cards, and a player has cards left, he may play several turns in a row, until he has just one card left, which he places on the supply stack, as always.

3rd phase: scoring

Beginning with game board 1, then board 2, 3, and so forth, all the way to board 12, check each board one-at-a-time to see which player gets the reward for the board (details of the rewards are described on page 10). There are three different conditions that the 12 game boards demand from players, who want to acquire the offered rewards:

• gold
• 1st place
• influence markers

SCORING: Score the game boards from 1 to 12. 3 conditions: gold, 1st place, influence markers

Gold (in the 1st round, game boards 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 12)

The player, who has the most influence markers on the game board, takes the game board's reward for no cost, but must take all his influence markers from this board and place them in the general supply in the middle of the table (he cannot choose to pay the cost to avoid moving his influence markers to the general supply!). Then all other players with at least one influence marker on this board may (but, need not), in clockwise order, beginning with the start player, buy the reward for this game board, by paying the indicated number of Louisdor to the bank. Then, the player takes his influence markers from this board and places them in his supply (he does this whether he buys the reward or not).

If 2 or more players tie with the most influence markers on a game board, no one takes the reward for no cost. Instead, all players with at least one influence marker on the board may buy the reward, using the normal rules for doing so. And, all influence markers on this board are returned to their owners' supplies (see example, page 7).

Exception: the Louis XIV figure stands on this board (see page 8).

Gold: player with the most influence markers gets the reward for no cost (influence markers → general supply); all other players with markers on the board may buy the reward (influence markers → player's supplies).

1st place (in the 1st round, game boards 5, 7, 9, and 11)

The player, who has the most influence markers on the game board, and only this player, takes the reward at no cost. Next, he places all of his influence markers on this board in the general supply. All other players get nothing and players with influence markers on the board, take them, putting them back in their own supplies.

If 2 or more players tie with the most influence markers on a game board, no one gets the reward. All influence markers on this board are returned to their owners' supplies (see example, page 7).

Exception: the Louis XIV figure stands on this board (see page 8).

1st place: only the player with the most influence markers takes the reward (influence markers → general supply); all others get nothing (influence markers → player's supplies).

Influence markers (in the 1st round, game boards 6 and 10)

In clockwise order, beginning with the start player, each player with at least the indicated number of influence markers on this board takes the reward and takes his influence markers from the board, placing them in his supply. A player, who has fewer than the indicated number of influence markers on this board, gets nothing and takes his influence markers from this board, placing them back in his supply.

Having the most influence markers on this board is meaningless, as no influence markers from this board are placed in the general supply (see example on page 7).

Influence markers: all players with the indicated number of influence markers take the reward (influence markers → player's supplies).

The intrigue cards

For each of the 12 persons on the game boards, there is exactly one intrigue card. During the scoring phase, when the players are scoring a game board and one of the players has the intrigue card matching that game board, he can play this card just before the game board is scored. If the player chooses to play the card, he can either place one of his influence markers from the general supply or up to two marker from his own supply onto this board (1 marker from general + 1 marker from his own supply is not allowed!). The player places the played intrigue card face-down under the stack of intrigue card next to game board 12. Then, the game board is scored.

When a player plays an intrigue card in the scoring phase, the player can either place 1 marker from the general or up to 2 markers from his own supply onto the game board being scored.

Note: a player is not required to play an intrigue card.

For each intrigue card a player holds at the end of the game, he takes one coat-of-arms (see page 10: "Game end").

Turn over game boards

For the conditions "Gold" and "1st place": whenever a single player has the most influence markers on one of these boards, the players turn over this board after it is scored. Thus, the players will need to meet a different condition to get the reward from this board in the next round.

If no single player has the most influence markers on such a game board, the player do not turn over this board (exception: Louis XIV figure; see page 8).

For the condition "influence markers": the players turn over this board when at least one player takes the reward for this board.

During scoring, when a single player has the most influence markers (Gold/1st place) or at least one player takes the reward (influence markers), the players turn over this game board

Note: in the 4th round, turning over game boards is not necessary. However, placing influence markers back in the players' or the general supplies should be done as described above, as the number of influence markers in the players' supplies is used to break ties when determining the victor.

Examples for different scorings:

• Yellow takes 1 helm chip for free, red and green can buy 1 helm chip each for 3 Louisdor; blue cannot buy one as he did not place influence markers on the board. Yellow places her markers from the board in the general supply; the others put their markers in their own supplies. The board is not turned over.
• No one takes a helm chip for free. Yellow, red, and green can each buy one for 3 Louisdor. All place their influence markers in their own supplies. The board is not turned over.
• Yellow takes 1 scepter chip, red and green get nothing. Yellow places her markers from the board in the general supply; the others put their markers in their own supplies. The board is then turned over.
• No one takes a scepter chip. Both players get nothing and place their influence markers in their own supplies. The board is not turned over.
• Yellow and red each take 2 coats-of-arms. Green gets nothing. All place their influence markers in their own supplies. The board is then turned over.

The "Louis XIV" figure

For the game board with Louis XIV:

In each supply phase, the drawn gold card indicates which of the game boards numbered 1 to 4 will host the Louis XIV figure for the round. When the board with the Louis XIV figure is scored, the rules are different from the normal scoring of a game board:

• The player, who has placed the most influence markers on the board takes two chips: the chip, which is offered as the board's reward and a crown chip. Next, as normal, he places all of his influence markers from this board in the general supply. This happens for both the gold and 1st place conditions. (1st player takes 2 chips: 1 of the board's reward and 1 crown — influence markers → general supply)
• The player with the second-most influence markers on the board takes one chip of the kind offered as the board's reward. Next, he places all of his influence markers from this board in his own supply. This happens for both the gold and 1st place conditions. (2nd player takes 1 chip of the board's reward — influence markers → his own supply)
• All other players with influence markers on the board get nothing if the condition is 1st place or can buy one chip of the kind offered as the board's reward for the normal cost if the condition is gold. In either case, they then place their influence markers from the board in their own supplies. (other players get nothing [1st place] or can buy a chip of the board's reward [gold] — influence markers → their own supplies)

The players put the Louis XIV figure back in its place next to the gold cards, where he waits until the supply phase of the next round. The game board is now turned over.

Note: if two or more players tie with the most influence markers on the board with the Louis XIV figure, all players tied with the most influence markers on the board take one chip like the one offered as the board's reward, but no one gets a crown chip. They must them place their influence markers from this board in the general supply. All other players with influence markers on this board get nothing if the condition is 1st place or can buy one chip of the kind offered as the board's reward for the normal cost if the condition is gold. If there are two or more players tied with second-most influence markers, they are treated as all other players and get nothing if the condition is 1st place or can buy the chip offered as the board's reward if the condition is gold. The game board is now turned over.

Examples for different scorings with the Louis XIV figure:

• Yellow takes 1 helm and 1 crown chip and red takes 1 helm chip. Green can buy 1 helm chip for 3 Louisdor, if he wants. Yellow places her markers from the board in the general supply; the others put their markers in their own supplies. The board is then turned over.
• Yellow takes 1 scepter and 1 crown chip and red takes 1 scepter chip. Green gets nothing. Yellow places her markers from the board in the general supply; the others put their markers in their own supplies. The board is then turned over.
• Red and yellow each take 1 helm chip. Green and blue can each pay 3 Louisdor to buy 1 helm chip, if each wants. Red and yellow places their markers from the board in the general supply; green and blue put their markers in their own supplies. The board is then turned over.
• Yellow takes 1 scepter and 1 crown chip. Red and green get nothing. Yellow places her markers from the board in the general supply; the others put their markers in their own supplies. The board is then turned over.

4th phase: mission

After all 12 game boards are scored, the players fulfill mission cards from their hands, beginning with the start player and continuing around the table in clockwise order. To fulfill a mission card, a player must have the two mission chips pictured on the card. He returns them to their supplies and places the fulfilled card face-up in his play area.

MISSION: in clockwise order, players fulfill their mission card by returning the indicated mission chips

A crown chip can be used for either of these chips. In fact, a player can use 2 crown chips to fulfill mission card.

The "?" which appears on the right-most pictured chip on the light-blue missions cards means the player may use any chip for that half of the mission.

After a player has returned the two required mission chips to their supplies and placed the fulfilled mission card in his play area, he draws immediately one new mission card from one of the three stacks.

after fulfilling a mission, the player draws another

A player need not draw the same colored card as the one he just fulfilled. He may draw from any of the three stacks he wants.

If the player wants (and can), he may now fulfill another mission card from his hand (or the same one if he has its duplicate) by returning the required mission chips to their supplies. When he does so, he draws another new mission card as before. A player may continue to fulfill mission cards as long as he is able. When a player cannot or will not fulfill any more mission cards, his turn ends, and the next player takes his turn, until all players have had one turn each.

Note: each player may only keep at most one mission chip for the next round. This, if a player ends his turn in the mission phase with more than one mission chip left, he must return all but one of these to their supplies. He chooses which to return. For each chip he returns in this way, he takes one coat-of-arms from the face-down supply as a consolation prize.

Each player may keep at most 1 mission chip for the next round. Any extra chips must be traded for coats-of-arms.

Example: Michael has the 4 chips shown and has the two mission cards shown in his hand. First, he returns a scepter and a ring to their supplies to fulfill the mission card on the left, placing it face-up in his play area. Immediately, he draws a new mission card, choosing to draw from the dark blue stack, hoping to draw a card requiring double scepters to fulfill. Unfortunately, he draws a card requiring double helms! So, Michael returns his remaining chips, a crown and a helm to fulfill the mission card on the right (crown = helm and scepter = ?), placing it face-up in his play area. Now, he draws another new mission card. As he has no mission chips left, he ends his mission phase, and the next player takes his turn.

After all players have taken their turns in the mission phase, the start player passes the start player tile to his left neighbor, who becomes the new start player, and begins a new round (see supply phase).

After the mission phase in the 4th round, the game ends.

Note: when playing with 3 players, in the supply phase of the 4th round, the start player takes the top-most intrigue card from the stack as compensation for being the start player twice in the game.

GAME END

After the mission phase of the 4th round has ended, the players trade the following "excess material" for coats-of-arms. For each

• 1 unused influence card
• 1 unused intrigue card
• 1 unused mission chip
• 1 influence marker on game boards
• 3 Louisdor

the players each take one face-down coat-of-arms from the supply.

After the 4th round, the players trade: 1 influence card, 1 intrigue card, 1 mission chip, 1 influence marker on game boards, 3 Louisdor — for 1 coat-of-arms.

Example: at game end, Wolfgang has

• 1 influence card (= 1 coat-of-arms)
• 2 intrigue cards (= 2 coats-of-arms)
• 8 Louisdor (= 2 coats-of-arms)
• 2 influence markers on game board 5 (= 2 coats-of-arms).

Wolfgang takes a total of 7 coats-of-arms from the supply, adding them to the others already collected in his play.

All players now turn over their coats-of-arms and sort them by the symbols on them. Next the players count the numbers they have of each kind. The player who has the most of a kind, takes one additional coat-of-arms from the supply, placing it face-down in his play area. If two or more players tie for most, each of those tied for most takes a coat-of-arms.

Then, the players determine who has the most of each kind of coat-of-arms: for the most → +1 coat-of-arms.

After the 6 different coats-of-arms are scored, the players each count their victory points. A player earns 1 victory point for each coat-of-arms (face-up or face-down) and 5 victory point for each fulfilled mission card in his play area (regardless of its function).

the victory points: 1 per coat-of-arms, 5 per fulfilled mission

The player with the most victory points is the winner! If players tie with the most victory points, the player among those tied with the most influence markers left in his supply is the winner.

The player with the most victory points is the winner!

The game boards

The rewards, that each game board (person) offers, are the same on both sides of the board. However, the condition for receiving the rewards varies by side among "gold", "1st place", and "influence markers".

Anne d'Autriche (# 1): The player takes one "scepter" mission chip.

Philippe I. de Orléans (# 2): The player takes one "letter" mission chip.

Marie-Thérèse d'Espagne (# 3): The player takes one "ring" mission chip.

le Grand Dauphin (# 4): The player takes one "helm" mission chip.

Note: with the Louis XIV figure, these 4 game boards offer a bonus of a crown mission chip to the board winner.

Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan (# 5): The player takes one "crown" mission chip.

le Grand Condé (# 6): The player takes one face-down coat-of-arms from the supply. Next, he places one of his own influence markers from the general supply on any game board. The player can even place the influence marker on a game board that has not yet been scored this round (#7-12), so that he may increase his rewards there. Of course, he may also place it on a previously scored game board (#1-5, or even #6), for use in the following round or in the trade for coats-of-arms at the end of the game.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert (# 7): The player takes 5 Louisdor from the bank.

Françoise de Maintenon (# 8): The player may take two of his own influence markers from the general supply and place them on game board 5. In addition, he takes one influence marker from the general supply, placing it in his own supply.

Louise de La Vallière (# 9): The player takes one "crown" mission chip.

Henri de Turenne (# 10): The player takes 2 face-down coats-of-arms from the supply.

Jules Mazarin (# 11): The player takes the top-most influence card from the supply stack.

François-Michel Louvois (# 12): The player takes one face-down coat-of-arms from the supply and the top-most intrigue card from the supply stack.

Note:

• For all game boards, the player with the most influence markers on the board takes his reward first. Then, the other players follow in clockwise order starting with the start player. Note, however, that the order is only really relevant for boards 6 and 8.
• Each qualified player takes a reward from each board only once per round. Players are also not allowed to buy additional chips, cards, etc.
• When a player is allowed to take a crown chip (boards 5 and 9), he may take the crown from either supply, as the allocation to each serves no actual purpose except visual in the game.
• When a player takes coats-of-arms (boards 6, 10, and 12), he places them face-down in his play area, so the other players do not know which coats-of-arms he has. Each player, however, may look at his own coats-of-arms during the game at any time.
• When a player takes an influence card (board 11), he adds it to his hand. In the following influence phase, he is, thus, allowed one extra influence card play.
• When a player takes an intrigue card (board 12), he adds it to his hand. In the following scoring phase, he can play the card.
• When a player is allowed to place his influence markers from the general supply (boards 6 and 8), he may also use influence markers from his own supply, if there are not enough of his influence markers in the general supply.

Also note: Where small influence markers are shown on the game boards and cards, these always refer to influence markers from the general supply. Where large influence markers are shown, these always refer to influence markers from the players' own supplies.

It is not intended that the supplies of gold, missions chips, or coats-of-arms be limited by the numbers included in the game. Thus, should the supply of these ever run out, substitute some similar items for the short duration of the shortage.

The mission cards

A fulfilled mission card remains face-up in the payer's play area until the end of the game. If the text on a card does not mention otherwise, it is assumed the card may be used just once in the indicated phase per round. All mission cards are not limited to only once per game, but once per round. A fulfilled mission card may be used by its owner, but need not be if he chooses not to. It is, perhaps, best for players to place their fulfilled mission cards from left to right by phase, so they can be easily used.

The 20 light blue mission cards are the simplest to fulfill, as they require just one specific mission chip plus any other mission chip to be fulfilled. Of course, they may not be as useful as others... There are 7 different kinds of light blue mission cards, described below in detail:

• + 1 mission card (2): these two mission cards are the only ones that are not associated with a phase. Instead their effect is immediate and occurs just once: immediately after they are fulfilled. Immediately after fulfilling this mission, the player draws any 2 new missions cards, instead of the one card usually drawn. The player may look at the first card he draws before deciding what color card to draw as his second (the second can come from the same or a different stack). Also, the player will have, for the rest of the game, at least 3 mission cards in his hand.
• + 1 influence marker (4): in step 2 of the supply phase, the player takes one of his influence markers from the general supply, placing it in his own supply. If he has no more markers in the general supply, he takes nothing.
• + 1 Louisdor (4): in step 2 of the supply phase, the player takes 1 Louisdor from the bank.
• 1 influence marker on game board 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 (1 of each): at the beginning of the influence phase, the player may take one of his influence markers from the general supply and place it on game board 1, 2, 3, or 4, as indicated on the mission card. If he has no more markers in the general supply, he may take one influence marker from his own supply, instead.
• pay 2 Louisdor... (2): the player may, once in each influence phase, pay 2 Louisdor to the bank, instead of playing an influence card. After paying, the next player takes his turn. Thus, for the cost of 2 Louisdor, the player may skip a turn.
• mission chip trade (2): the player may, for the cost of 2 Louisdor paid to the bank, at any one time during the mission phase, trade one of his mission chips for a crown chip. He may even use this card during the mission phase when he fulfills it.
• mission card trade (2): at the end of each mission phase, the player may trade one or two of the mission cards in his hand for one or two (same number) new mission cards from any stack. He puts the traded away cards face down under the appropriate stack. He may trade one card, look at the new card, and then trade a second card. He may not retrade the card just drawn. If the player has fulfilled both of these cards, he may use first one and then the other. He may even trade away a card he drew using the first of these cards when using the second of these cards.

The 12 middle blue mission cards are somewhat more difficult to fulfill, as a player needs 2 different mission chips, but their rewards are also a bit better. The 5 different card types are described below:

• + 2 Louisdor... (4): in step 2 of the supply phase, the player takes either 2 Louisdor from the bank, or 1 Louisdor and 1 of his influence markers from the general supply, or 2 of his influence markers from the general supply, putting any markers taken in his own supply.
• + 1 coat-of-arms (2): in step 2 of the supply phase, the player takes a face-down coat-of-arms from the supply, placing it in his play area.
• 1 influence marker on the game board where Louis XIV stands (2): at the beginning of each influence phase, the player may take one of his influence markers from the general supply and place it on the game board where Louis XIV stands.
• 1 influence marker on game board 5 / 9 (1 of each): at the beginning of each influence phase, the player may place one of his influence markers from the general supply on game board 5 or 9, as indicated on the mission card.
• 1 influence card trade (2): once in each influence phase, instead of playing an influence card, the player discards it, but without using it, and draws the top-most card from the influence card stack. After discarding, the next player takes his turn.

The 8 dark blue mission cards (1 of each kind) are the most difficult to fulfill, as a player needs 2 of the same mission chips, but their rewards are the best. The 8 different card types are described below:

• + 3 influence markers: in step 2 of the supply phase, the player takes up to 3 of his influence markers from the general supply and places them in his supply. If he has no more markers in the general supply, he takes nothing.
• + 3 Louisdor: in step 2 of the supply phase, the player takes 3 Louisdor from the bank.
• + 1 intrigue card: in step 2 of the supply phase, the player takes the top-most card from the intrigue supply stack, adding it to his hand.
• 1 influence marker = 1 influence card: the player may, in each supply phase, take one influence marker from his own supply, placing it in the general supply. In trade for this, he takes the top-most card from the influence supply stack, adding it to his hand.
• 1 influence card = 4 influence markers: the player may once in each influence phase, play one of his influence cards (person or joker) and place up to 4 of his influence markers on any game board. Thus, the card acts like a joker, even if it is a person card and it allows up to 4 markers. The player may then move the markers (as in a normal placement, but to as many as 3 more boards. This allows him to use any of his influence cards as a 4 marker joker, once per influence phase.
• 1 influence marker placement: at the end of each influence phase, after all players have played all their cards, the player may take one of his influence markers from the general supply, placing it on any one game board. If he has no more markers in the general supply, he may take the influence marker from his supply.
• Tie breaker: once in each scoring phase, the player may use this mission card to break one tie for first place in his favor. As the board is played as though he won, it is turned over after it is scored. Note: this card is used after the corresponding intrigue card is used if a player has it and chooses to use it. Example: during the scoring phase, King Louis XIV is on game board 4 (with "1st place" face up). Cindy has this mission card and has 3 influence markers on the board, tied for 1st place with 2 other players. No one plays the corresponding intrigue card, so Cindy uses this mission card to break the tie and win 1st place. She places her 3 influence markers from the board to the general supply and takes 1 helm chip and 1 crown chip. The other 2 players get nothing and take their influence markers back, placing them in their supplies. Cindy then turn game board 4 over. Cindy can next use this mission card again in the scoring phase of the next round.
• - 1 Louisdor: in each scoring phase, the player pays 1 Louisdor less, when he buys a reward from a game board. He may use this mission card several times in the phase, not just once! Note: this card does not reduce the costs of using other mission cards that require gold as payment for something.

Note:

• If a player has 2 (or more) of the same mission card in his play area, he can use each in each corresponding phase. So, for example, if a player has 2 "mission chip trade" cards in his play area, he may pay 4 Louisdor (2 x 2) to the bank and trade any 2 of his chips for 2 crown chips. A player, for example, with 2 "+1 mission card" cards in his play area, has thereby a total of 4 mission cards in his hand.
• When a player, using a fulfilled mission card to take influence markers from the general supply, has not enough markers in the general supply, he may take enough from his own supply to make up the deficit.

The game for 2 players

Preparation

All is the same, but with the following exception: the start player places 5 of his influence marker in the general supply in the middle of the table and the other player place 6.

The start player places 5 and the other player 6 influence markers in the general supply.

Playing the game

All remains the same, but with the following exceptions: play with 8 influence markers of a third, neutral, color. Thus, the game plays as though there is a third, imaginary, player. At the beginning of each influence phase, place 2 influence markers of the "third" player on the game board where Louis XIV stands. Then, the players draw the top-most 3 cards from the influence supply stack and place 2 influence markers of the "third" player on each of these game board. When a joker is drawn, discard it and draw another card. Discard all drawn cards.

At the beginning of each influence phase, the third, imaginary, player places 8 influence markers on game boards.

Then, the 2 players take their turns playing influence cards as normal. The scoring phase is played as in the normal game, except when the "third" player wins a majority, he takes no reward, but does prevent a real player from "winning" it. The real players may still buy rewards, when allowed, as normal. The "third" player has no other effect on the game.

Some historical background

For this game, we selected personalities that played important roles in the life and at the court of the Sun King. Not all were actual contemporaries at Versailles. For example, Cardinal Mazarin was already before Madame de Montespan came into the life of Louis XIV.

Also, the money has been adjusted to fit the game mechanics, as 3 or 4 Louisdor would not have been sufficient to tempt someone at the court of the Sun King.

Louis XIV. 5. September 1638; † 1. September 1715 He was crowned at the young age of 5, but his mother, Anna d'Autriche, served as regent and controlled the government, along with the prime minister, Kardinal Mazarin. After the death of the prime minister in 1661, Louis XIV took control of his crown and became the absolute monarch. In the next decades, he became the most important monarch in all of Europe, and all came to the court of the Sun King, around whom the universe revolved.

Anne d'Autriche 22. September 1601; † 20. January 1666 As the daughter of Philippe III of Spain, she married Louis XIII, her nephew, in Bordeau in 1615. After 23 years without producing an heir to the throne, she finally bore a son in the fall of 1638. After the death of the king in 1643, she served as regent for 20 years, during which time she withstood a rebellion from power-hungry nobles against the house of the king.

Philippe I. de Orléans 21. September 1640; † 8. June 1701 As second-born, the vice-king stood in the shadow of his older brother, who, in the end, survived him. He was named Duke of Orléans 1661, and later has a successful military career in the French army. In his second marriage, he was called "Monsieur" to Lieselotte from the Pfalz.

Marie-Thérèse d'Espagne 10. September 1638; † 30. July 1683 Born the daughter of the Spanish king Philippe V, she married Louis XIV in 1660. Together they had six children, all but the first-born, le Grand Dauphin, died in early childhood. Because of the many lovers the Sun King took, she played no important role at court.

Le Grand Dauphin 1. November 1661; † 14. April 1711 Born as Louis de France, he was the only legitimate heir of the king who survived childhood, but he never served as regent because his father survived him. From his marriage to Maria Anna of Bavaria, his son, Louis of France, was the father of der Louis XV.

Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan 5. October 1640; † 27. May 1707 The young Marie-Thérèse came to the court as a noble woman, and finally reached her life-long goal of becoming the king's lover, by pushing aside Madame de La Vallière, and taking her place in the heart of Louis XIV. she had 8 children with the king, most of whom were legitimitized.

Le Grand Condé 8. September 1621; † 11. December 1686 Born as Louis II, Prince of Condé, and Duke of Bourbon, he was especially successful on the battlefields 30-years War. During the rebellion against the king, he took the side of the rebels and was imprisoned, but later rehabilitated by Louis XIV and named General in the French army.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert 29. August 1619; † 6. September 1683 As a faithful protege of Mazarin, Louis XIV named him minister of finance and trade after the death of Mazarin. In the next 20 years, through his return to mercantile trade, he rapidly increased the wealth of the French Empire, especially through strong exports and colonial expansion.

Françoise de Maintenon 27. November 1635; † 15. April 1719 She came to Versailles in 1669 to take care of the children of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, and was soon held in high regard by the king. One year after the death of Marie-Thérèse, the king secretly married the now Marquise de Maintenon.

Louise de La Vallière 6. August 1644; † 6. June 1710 First, she was the noble woman, Henrietta from England, the first wife of Philippe I de Orléans. Soon, however, she became a favorite of the young king. But, with the coming of Madame de Montespan into the king's heart, her importance at the court began a steep decline, until she eventually left the court to enter a cloister.

Henri de Turenne 11. September 1611; † 27. July 1675 First, he fought against the king in the rebellion, but later changed sides and joined the king to fight his former weapons master, Condé, in the battle for Paris. In 1660, he was named top General in the army of the king. he was killed by a cannon ball while serving in the Dutch War.

Jules Mazarin 14. July 1604; † 9. March 1661 He was born in Pescina, Italy, as Giulio Mazarini, and traveled to Paris to study at Nuntius. In 1640, he took service with Cardinal Richelieu. Two years later, he was offered the office of prime minister with the approval of the king mother and the young king. He served in this position for nearly 20 years until his death in 1661.

François-Michel de Louvois 18. January 1641; † 16. July 1691 He followed his father, Michel le Tellier, as France's war minister in 1666. In the following two decades, he build the French army into one of the strongest in all of Europe. After the death of Colberts in 1683, he was also influential in internal politics.

Credits

The author and publisher thank all the test players for there time, interest, and valuable suggestions for this game, especially the game clubs in Bödefeld, Nürnberg, Prien, Rosenheim, Siegsdorf, Wasserburg, and Wien.

The author especially thanks his wife Maja for her unending help in getting the best from the game.

If you have comments, suggestions, or questions, please write us at:

Rio Grande Games | PO Box 45715 | Rio Rancho, NM 87174, USA E-Mail: [email protected]

Please visit our website: www.riograndegames.com

© 2004 Rüdiger Dorn © 2005 Ravensburger Spieleverlag