Montmartre
Montmartre Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Aim of the Game
Find inspiration through the muses of Montmartre and sell your paintings at the best time through Ambroise Vollard, the art dealer.
Living from your art is difficult: you may have to sell some rather cheap or draw for newspapers…
Setup
- Place the 20 Collector cards at the center of the table in 4 piles (1 per color): the value 2 card on top of the pile, followed by the cards 4, 6, 8 and 10.
- Next to them, place the 5 contracts and the Ambroise Vollard figurine.
- Shuffle the 60 Muse cards face down and give 4 cards to each player.
- Divide the remaining cards into three equal piles, face up in the center of the table.
- Make a money pile with the 27 coins and place them within reach of all the players.
- Give the First Player token to the person who last painted something. They keep it until the end of the game.
Game Turn
The rules from here onwards are for 3 to 5 players. You will find the adjustments at the end of the game rules (p.12) for 2 players.
During your turn, you have a choice between action A or B:
A: Paint (+ Sell Off) + Pick
1. Paint (mandatory)
In your painting workshop (the area in front of you), place the following cards face up:
- one card from your hand, regardless of its value
OR
- two cards if the sum of them is less than or equal to 5.
Note: the cards of the same style must be stacked on the same pile in a way that allows you to see the value of each card. We recommend ranking them from lowest to highest value, with the most finished painting on top of the others.
Example: Pablo can paint 2 paintings since their combined value isn't higher than 5.
2. Sell Off at the Market (optional)
If you wish to make room in your workshop, sell off your paintings at the market:
- Discard one or more paintings of the same style.
- Get 1 franc per sold painting this way. (It's not a lot, but remember, the people at the market aren't that much richer than you. At least you'll be able to eat tonight.)
Example: Alfons decides to sell 2 of the 3 green paintings. The 2 cards are discarded, and he gets 2 francs.
Important: at the end of the turn, your workshop can hold up to 6 paintings. If you go over this limit, selling the paintings off is mandatory.
3. Pick
At the end of the turn pick up cards from the same pile until you have a total of 4 cards in your hand.
When two of the three piles are empty at the end of a player's turn, shuffle all the cards of the remaining pile with the cards from the discarded pile and make 3 new piles (see setup, page 7).
Example: Amadeo has 2 cards in his hand and has to pick 2 more: he picks the "7 blue" in the third pile and has to pick his second card in the same pile (4 green).
Note 1: If you take the last card in a pile and still have more to pick up, as an exception you can use another pile.
Note 2: If you forget to pick up at the end of the turn, you will have to wait until the end of your next turn to pick the cards you need.
B: Sell (+ Draw for a Newspaper)
1. Sell to a Collector (mandatory)
Warning! You can only sell under 2 conditions:
1st condition: at the beginning of your turn, Ambroise Vollard must not be next to the Collector you wish to sell your painting to.
2nd condition: to convince a Collector, you must have in the style they enjoy:
- either more paintings than any other player.
- or paintings of a total value that's higher than the total value of the other players' paintings.
Each Collector only likes one type of painting, according to their color.
Example: Henri can sell to the blue Collector since he has the most blue cards (3). Alfons can also sell him his painting, since he has 8 points in total, which is more than Henri (7) and Amadeo (6).
If these two conditions are met:
- Move Ambroise Vollard, your broker, next to another Collector of your choice.
- Discard the painting with the highest value and of the same color of the Collector approached by Ambroise Vollard.
- Pick the card on top of the pile of this Collector and keep it face down.
2. Draw for a Newspaper (optional)
Each player can use their growing fame to earn a contract. This allows them to draw for a newspaper once per game.
- When they get a second Collector color: they can pick the white contract (4) if it is still available.
- When they get a third Collector color: they can pick a grey contract (7 or 3) if one is still available.
- When they get a fourth Collector color: they can pick the brown contract (12 or 5) if one is still available.
Important: a contract can only be taken during the game turn where the condition is met for the first time.
End of the Game
The game ends when
- 2 of the 4 Collector piles are empty
OR
- a player has at least 15 Francs (except Collector cards and Contract).
End the game in a way that allows every player to have the same number of turns.
Each player adds up the following things:
- the value of each Collector card,
- the Francs earned at the market,
- the value of the Contract they might own
The player with the highest score becomes the most renowned painter. In the case of a tie, you share the glory!
Variant for 2 Players
Setup
Leave the Ambroise Vollard figurine in the box.
Sell (Action B)
Ambroise Vollard is no longer used: a player can sell during their turn to the 4 Collectors. However, it is only possible to sell if you caught the attention of 2 Collectors at the same time! If this is the case:
- win a card from each of the two Collectors.
- discard the card of the highest value for each of the styles involved.
Draw for a Newspaper (Action B)
To get a Contract, you now need different pairs of Collectors.
Example: an additional green Collector card is needed to get the grey Contract.