Omerta
Omerta Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Material
65 cards:
- 40 Bottle cards (from 1 to 10)
- 20 Character cards
- 5 Famous Gangster cards
1 rulebook
Aim of the Game
Play as many rounds as the number of players. Whoever has the lowest score at the end wins. To win a round, you have to be the one who has the lowest stock of bottles when Omerta is called.
Setting Up the Game
Take as many Famous Gangsters cards as the number of players (the remaining cards will not be used), shuffle them and give one to each player. The player who has Al Capone starts the game. If no one has Al Capone, distribute the cards again. For the next rounds, the player with the highest score starts.
The five Famous Gangster cards are: Johnny Torrio "The Fox," Charles Luciano "Lucky Luciano," Al Capone "Scarface," Meyer Lansky "The Mastermind of the Mob," and Virginia Hill "Flamingo."
Shuffle the bottle and character cards together. Distribute 4 cards to each player, face down. All the players place their cards face down in front of them without looking at them. Place 4 cards, face down, in the middle. Those cards are in the safe. You will be able to check them only with the Safecracker.
Form a draw pile in the middle with the rest of the cards, face down.
Before Starting
When Al Capone gives the go-ahead, the players check 2 of their cards (the choice is theirs), memorize them and put them back face down in front of them.
How to Play
At your turn, you shall draw a card, either the first one from the draw pile, and secretly look at it, or the first one from the discard pile. Then you can choose to:
- Replace one of your cards with the card you just picked, face down, but without looking at the card from your hand. The card from your hand goes to the discard pile, face up.
- Or put the card you just drew directly on the discard pile, face up (this is only when you draw from the draw pile, not the discard pile).
When a player discards a bottle card, all the players (including himself) can get rid of an identical card by revealing it and discarding it. Beware, only one card can be discarded this way: only the fastest player will be able to get rid of one card. If the player puts the wrong card down, the card goes back on the table and the player draws one more card as a penalty (the card is placed directly face down and the player cannot look at it). If other players tried to discard their card but were too slow, they just take back their card without a penalty.
Discard a Character Card
When the active player discards a character card, the power of the card is activated. The powers are described on the cards and below.
As you will see, characters are almost always useful: they will help you lower your stock of bottles or mess up your adversaries' game. But be careful, they also carry bottles (the number of points is indicated on the top left of the cards), and if you end the round with them, they will considerably increase your score...
If the draw pile is empty, shuffle the cards from the discard pile to make a new draw pile and continue playing.
Call "Omerta" and End the Round
When you think your stock is 7 or lower, including points from character cards, you can call Omerta. Beware: you can only declare Omerta at the beginning of your turn before picking a card. The game ends immediately. Players reveal their hand and count their score (bottles + character cards).
If the player calling Omerta has a stock of 7 or less and has the lowest score, s/he wins the round and gets 0 points.
If not, the player with the lowest score wins the round and scores 0 points. The player who called Omerta loses the round, gets as many points as the sum of their cards and gets an extra penalty of 20 points.
Every other player gets a score that matches the sum of their cards (bottles + characters).
If there is a tie between the player who calls Omerta and another player, the player who called Omerta still gets 0 point, and the other player gets their score as usual.
The game ends after a certain number of rounds: you play as many rounds as players around the table. The player with the lowest score wins the game.
Explanation of the Cards
Bottle cards = 1 to 10 points (x40) These cards represent your stock of bottles. The value of these cards matches the number of bottles and is written on the card.
The Gangster = 15 points (x3) Exchange one card with another without looking at them. You can either exchange one of your cards with one of your adversaries', or two cards in your adversaries' hands.
The Lady = 15 points (x3) Shuffle an adversary's hand, without looking at the cards.
The Mole = 15 points (x3) Look at one of your cards and put it back in front of you face down.
The Snitch = 20 points (x2) Give two cards from the draw pile: you can either give 2 cards to the same player, or 1 card to two different players.
The Driver = 20 points (x2) Discard up to two of your bottle cards. If you wrongly discard a character card, you have to take the discarded card(s) back and draw one extra card as a penalty.
The Safecracker = 15 points (x2) You can access the safe: look at the 4 cards in the safe, then exchange one of your cards (without looking at it) for one card from the safe. The exchanged card stays in the safe.
The Killer = 15 points (x1) The Killer can stop the Snitch, the Lady, the Gangster, the Mamma and the Police Patrol: if one of those cards is used against you, just reveal the Killer and counter it. Both cards are then discarded.
The Witness = 10 points (x1) The witness doesn't have any special ability, but she is rather annoying... Get rid of her ASAP!
The Alibi = 0 points (x1) The alibi might save your neck: keep it close! This card doesn't add any points to your score.
The Mamma = 15 points (x1) Give this card to another player: he/she cannot play for 1 turn. The player who has the Mamma cannot declare Omerta, draw cards, discard cards, and the other players cannot shuffle his/her hand or give him/her more cards.
The Police Patrol = 15 points (x1) Put this card on another player's card: this card is blocked for 2 turns. When the patrol blocks a card, this card cannot be exchanged, looked at or discarded. If a player receives the patrol and only has one card left, he/she draws a card and discards it straightaway, repeating this for 2 turns.
Beware
- The player who gets the Police Patrol cannot call Omerta.
- The cards of the Mamma and the Police Patrol are placed on the blocked card or in front of the player prevented from playing. The card is discarded after one or two entire turns, right after the player who placed it draws a card (this means the player cannot draw it and play it again). If a player calls Omerta when you have been given one of these cards, don't add it to your score. Only your own cards count towards your score.
- For more info, download the FAQ on www.helvetiq.com/omerta-multi
Credits
Authors: Adrien Dumont & Timothée Rignault Design: Timothée Rignault & Florian Bellon
3-5 players, ages 10-99, 20-30 minutes.