Nottingham
Nottingham Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Idea
The players play as the Sheriff's Deputies. They can collect cards in order to trade them in later for victory points, or they can pay cards to carry out actions which get them other cards. At the end of the game, the player with the most victory points is the winner.
Game Materials
- 1 game board showing Nottinghamshire
- 1 black Sheriff figure
- 7 playing figures (red, yellow, green, blue, purple, white and grey)
- 84 item cards (12 each of 7 different types)
- 13 ambush cards
- 8 assignment cards
- 1 rule booklet
- 5 blank cards
Game Preparation
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Place the game board showing Nottingham County into the middle of the table. Place the black Sheriff figure onto the Nottingham City space.
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Shuffle the item cards well and place them into the middle of the table as a face-down draw pile.
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Deal each player 3 item cards from the draw pile. The players should take their cards into their hands without showing them to anyone else.
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Each player chooses a colour and takes the playing figure of that colour. Return unused figures to the game box.
Note: The player colours are only of importance during the game when an Ambush action is chosen (see "The Actions" at the end of the rules).
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Shuffle the ambush cards well and place them into the middle of the table as a face-down pile.
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If fewer than 7 players be taking part, then all of the ambush cards showing an unused player colour should be removed first. Return these unused cards to the game box.
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Prepare the assignment cards: Split the assignment cards into pairs of cards with identical illustrations and stack each pair separately. The cards should be placed front side up (light green border), with the card that shows a single playing figure on its upper half on top of each stack.
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Place the 4 pairs of assignment cards in plain view next to the playing area.
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Agree on which player goes first.
Game Play
Draw a Card from the Pile
At the start of the active player's turn, the first thing he must do is draw and reveal the top card of the item card draw pile so that all players can see it clearly.
The upper area of each card shows an item as well as the number of victory points it can be traded in for. The lower area of each card shows a trumpet with either a red or an orange banner. An action is shown on the banner.
Note: An item, its worth, and the possible action are tied to each other. There are therefore only 7 different kinds of cards:
| Item | Worth | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Copper Coin | 7 | Purchase |
| Silver Candlestick | 8 | Steal |
| Gold | 9 | Ambush |
| Pearls | 10 | Rob |
| Jewels | 11 | Hold Up |
| Necklace | 12 | Defend |
| Chest | 13 | Trade |
The active player must now decide whether he wishes to either
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take the revealed card into his hand in order to trade it in later, along with other cards, for victory points
or
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carry out the action shown on the banner. Carrying out the action will lead to cards being exchanged with another player. The actions are described in detail at the end of the rules.
Next, the player may trade in cards for victory points.
It is then the turn of the player to the left of the active player.
Trade in Cards for Victory Points
A player may trade in cards for victory points once during his turn. Victory points are awarded for trading in 3 or more of the same item or for completing an assignment.
After the player has traded in items, the Sheriff moves 1 space forward on the game board and awards favours to the players.
Trade in 3 or More Items
The active player plays 3 or more cards with the same item on them out in front of himself.
He gets to keep 1 of the cards, which is turned face-down and set aside. The player's set-aside cards are collected together in a victory pile (a separate pile for each player). At the end of the game, each card is worth victory points equal to the number shown in the moneybag on the card.
The remaining cards are discarded and placed face-up next to the draw pile, forming a discard pile.
Hint: It can make sense to trade in more than 3 cards in order to gain a favour from the Sheriff (see the end of this rules section) or when at least one player has an ambush card showing (see "The Actions" and "Ambush", below).
Complete an Assignment
The active player completes an assignment when he plays out a combination of cards shown on an available assignment card. There are 4 different assignments:
- The player must play out 1 card of each item.
- The player must play out 5 cards of the same item.
- The player must play out pairs of 4 different items.
- The player must play out pairs of 3 different items.
The cards are discarded to the discard pile.
Each assignment can be completed by no more than 2 players during the entire game. For that reason, there are only 2 of each assignment card. If, at the end of the game, only 1 player has completed a particular assignment, then he receives more points for it than he does if 2 players have completed the same assignment. This is why the assignment cards have 1 or 2 playing figures shown at their tops, and why the accompanying point values are higher for 1 playing figure than they are for 2 playing figures.
The first player to complete an assignment takes the assignment card with the single playing figure and higher point value and places it in front of himself. Should a second player complete the same assignment, then that player receives the assignment card with the 2 playing figures and the first player to complete the assignment turns his card over to the side showing 2 playing figures.
Once 2 players have completed an assignment, then it is no longer available and cannot be completed by any other players.
Note: The second card in each set of assignment cards has identical front and back sides. Therefore, the side that the second player puts face-up when he places the card in front of himself doesn't matter.
Important: Over the course of the game, players are allowed to complete any remaining available assignments, but they may only complete them once! Players may not complete an assignment twice and thereby prevent any other player from scoring any points for it.
Move the Sheriff and Obtain Favours
Each time that the active player trades in cards for victory points, the Sheriff is moved one space forward in clockwise direction.
Now, all players who have as many or fewer cards in hand as the number shown on the space to which the Sheriff moved are awarded a favour. They each receive 1 item card from the draw pile without having to show it to the other players.
Exhausted Draw Pile
When the draw pile is exhausted, the discard pile is turned over, well shuffled and placed into the middle of the table as a new draw pile.
Exception: In the event that there isn't a discard pile which can be turned over and re-used, then all players who have more cards in hand than the number shown on the space the Sheriff is on must discard as many cards as needed to bring their hand size down to that number. Each player chooses which cards he will discard. Afterwards, the Sheriff moves one space further. The Sheriff does not award favours for the space on which he is now located.
Game End
- The game ends as soon as the Sheriff is moved back onto the start space Nottingham.
- The game also ends as soon as a player claims the eighth and final assignment card from the middle of the table.
Scoring
Each player adds up the victory points shown on the cards in his victory pile as well as those on his completed assignment cards. The player with the most victory points is the winner.
In the event of a tie, then the winner is the tied player who has the most cards in his victory pile. If there is still a tie, then the players share the win.
The Actions
If the active player chooses to carry out the action shown on the card they drew and revealed, then he lays the card out in front of himself and carries the action out.
There are seven different actions:
Purchase
Each player except the active player must choose 1 of his cards in hand and lay it out face-down in front of himself as an offer for the Copper Coin that was revealed.
Important: The players cannot choose to offer a Copper Coin. If a player has no other kind of card in hand, then he must announce this and reveal his hand to all.
Once all players have chosen and played a card, the cards are revealed. Now, the active player may choose which of the offered cards he would like to have and takes that card into his hand. The player whose card was chosen gets the Copper Coin as payment and takes it into his hand. The active player may also choose to decline all of the offers made and keep the Copper Coin for himself instead.
Finally, the other players take their cards back into their hands.
Steal
The active player draws a random card from the hand of a player of his choice. He must give that player the Silver Candlestick in exchange. Both players take the cards into their hands.
Ambush
Setting an ambush
- The active player draws the top two cards from the ambush card pile and looks at them without allowing another player to see them.
- He then chooses one of the two cards and puts it face-down at the bottom of the ambush card pile. He keeps the other card and puts it face-down in front of himself. Note: The player may not keep an ambush card of his own colour.
- Finally, he takes the Gold and places it sideways beneath the ambush card.
Note: The ambush card and the Gold beneath it do not count towards a player's hand size and are not worth anything at the end of the game.
Activating an ambush card
A player can activate one of his ambush cards whenever another player attempts to trade in 3 or more items for victory points. Note: Ambush cards cannot be activated when another player completes an assignment.
- Should the ambush card show two different items, then the player can activate it whenever another player attempts to trade in 3 or more of one of the items shown on the card for victory points.
- Should the ambush card show another player's colour, then the player can activate it whenever that player attempts to trade in 3 or more items for victory points. The type of item that the opponent attempts to trade in doesn't matter for this type of ambush card.
When a player activates an ambush card, he reveals it and then takes one of the cards that the other player was attempting to trade in for victory points. He adds that card to his hand. In exchange, he must give the other player the Gold that was below the ambush card. The ambush card is then turned face-down and added to the bottom of the ambush card pile.
Important: If the ambushed player now has fewer than 3 items to trade in, then he is out of luck. He is not allowed to add additional cards from his hand, and therefore cannot trade any of his cards in for victory points. Any remaining item cards that player has are taken back into his hand.
Note: A player can be ambushed more than once while trading in items, since each item is shown on 2 ambush cards and there is 1 additional ambush card in each colour. There aren't any ambush cards with Gold on them. Therefore, the only way a player can be ambushed for Gold is with the ambush card in his colour.
Rob
The active player may look at the hand of another player. He must make sure that no other players can see the cards while he does this.
The active player must then choose one of the other player's cards and take it into his hand. In exchange, he gives the other player the Pearls.
Hold Up
The active player names another player of his choice. That player must lay his cards in hand out openly onto the table, so that all players can clearly see which items he is collecting.
The active player must choose one of the other player's cards and take it into his hand. In exchange, he gives the other player the Jewels.
Defend
This is the only action that is not carried out immediately after the active player draws and reveals the card. This card must be taken into the player's hand instead.
Note: This is the only action that is carried out by a card held in hand. To make sure that the card is clearly recognizable, orange parchment icons are shown in its corners.
When a player is attacked by an action on a red banner (Steal, Rob or Hold Up), he can immediately play a Defend card. The player attempting the attack may not carry his action out. The defending player takes the card he was being attacked with and gives his attacker the Necklace in exchange. Both players then take the cards into their hands.
Trade
All players must make an offer for the Chest. The player to the immediate left of the active player starts. He chooses 1 or 2 of his cards in hand and lays them out openly in front of himself as an offer. The remaining players follow in turn order. The other players also have the choice of offering either 1 or 2 cards.
Important: The players cannot choose to offer any Chests. If a player has no other kind of card in hand, then he must announce this and reveal his hand to all.
Once all of the players have made their offers, then the active player chooses which offer he will accept. He may not decline to trade.
Finally, the other players take their cards back into their hands.
Some General Hints
Since the only face-down cards in the entire game are the ones that players receive at the start or from the Sheriff, you should always pay close attention to which items the other players are collecting.
You should also always keep an eye on the Sheriff's game board, because players who choose not to trade in items on several occasions — choosing to collect cards for a difficult assignment instead — have more cards in hand and therefore don't receive the Sheriff's favour.
Ambush cards on the table are a threat. Since you're only allowed to trade in items for victory points once a turn, it can be very annoying to become the victim of an ambush and then not have enough cards to trade in any more. To be safe, you should sometimes trade in 1 or even 2 cards more than necessary. Doing so might also gain you the Sheriff's favour.
With the assignments, you should recognize that while some of them are very lucrative (such as "5 of a kind"), they take longer to complete. First, you must pass on trading in 3 or more items. As a result, you have more cards in hand and therefore become a more tempting target for opposing players' actions. Having so many cards in hand also usually ensures that you aren't awarded any of the Sheriff's favours. And with the "5 of a kind" assignment in particular, you should only count on receiving the lower number of victory points since that assignment is often completed by another player as well.
The "3 different pairs" assignment is of little interest during the early and middle stages of the game. It becomes more interesting, however, shortly before the end of the game when you might have several pairs in hand and can't seem to get a third. With a little luck, you'll also be the only player completing this assignment and will therefore receive the higher number of victory points.
Credits
Author: Uwe Rosenberg. Illustration: Christof Tisch. Translation: Patrick Korner.
© 2006 ABACUSSPIELE Verlags GmbH & Co. KG, Dreieich. All rights reserved. Made in Germany.