Operation F.A.U.S.T. Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Set Up
• Gameplay
  • The following rules apply to all players
• Extended Examples
• Card Specific Abilities
  • French Resistance
  • Art Dealer
  • Spy
  • Allies
  • Double Agent
  • Forged Documents

Game Set Up

• Shuffle all of the Plot cards (cards with the star button and dog tag on the back), deal two cards to each player and place the remaining cards in a stack within reach of all players. This will be called the Plot Draw Deck. When Plot cards are discarded they should be discarded face down in a different orientation than the plot draw deck. This will be the Plot Discard Pile.
• Place all the INTEL counters in the middle of the table. This will be called the Pool. The intelligence counters come in three denominations: 1 INTEL, 3 INTEL and 5 INTEL. Denominations are identified by stars.
• Give each player 5 INTEL to start.
• Shuffle all of the art cards (cards with the grey wallpaper and blank brass plate on the back) and place them in a stack within reach of all players. This will be called the Art Pile.
• Draw 4 art cards from the top of the art pile and place them face down in two rows and two columns next to the art pile. This will be called the Art Cache.
• Place a number of forged document cards face up and within reach of all players. The number of forged documents you place should be equal to the number of players.
• Give each player one of the provided player aids. Players are free to refer to this sheet at any time during the game.
• If you are playing with the optional role cards, shuffle them and deal one at random to each player. Put the rest in the box without revealing them. Players may keep their role card secret until they choose to use the ability of their role.

You are now ready to play.

Gameplay

On a player's turn he/she may take only one of the following actions:

1. Recruit: Pay 4 INTEL to the pool and draw 1 new plot card from the plot draw deck.
2. Purchase Art: Pay 10 INTEL to the pool and draw 1 art card from the art pile or from the art cache.
3. Forge: Pay 3 INTEL to the bank and take 1 forged document card.
4. Plot: Claim one plot card ability (claiming a plot ability counts as a player's one action even when it is blocked or challenged).

To win the game a player must be the first to acquire an art collection that equals or exceeds $1,000,000 in black market value AND does not contain any forged art. Each art card represents a piece of art that was either stolen by the Third Reich during WWII or was successfully hidden from Hitler's forces. On each art card you will see the artwork information, the black market value, and whether the work is a FORGERY or considered DEGENERATE. When a player acquires an art card they keep it face down in front of them.

The following rules apply to all players

• When claiming a plot card, you may claim a plot card that you hold or you may lie and claim a plot card you do not have.
• When claiming a plot card ability with a hand icon (a hand holding a card), you may keep the card in your hand if you are not challenged.
• When claiming a plot card ability with a table icon (a downward arrow onto a line), you must place the card face down on the table when you claim it. You must ALWAYS place a tabled card in the discard pile at the end of your turn whether it is challenged or not. If you table multiple Spy cards, they all must all be discarded.
• Any player that has 2 or more INTEL may challenge any plot card that is claimed, even if not the target of the plot. Important: A player with less than 2 INTEL may not make a challenge!
• When a challenge is made, the loser must give half of their INTEL (rounded up) to the winning player:
  • If your plot card is challenged and you do indeed hold it, you must show it and immediately discard it. Note: Sometimes a player may wish to challenge even if they think the player does have the card claimed in order to get it out of their hand. When you do, the player who challenged you must give you half of their INTEL rounded up and the plot ability still goes through. You may also draw a new replacement plot card from the top of the plot card deck.
  • If your plot card is challenged, and you do not have the card you claimed, you must give the challenging player half of your INTEL rounded up, and lose your turn. The ability you claimed does not go through. You do NOT need to discard if you claimed an ability with a hand icon, but if you claimed an ability with a table icon you lose the card(s) you tabled.
• If the plot card ability you claimed is not challenged you may execute the ability whether you have the card or not.
• Players may not freely trade or give money or cards to any other player. Cards and money should only change hands when an ability is activated or after a challenge.
• If a player drops below 2 plot cards, he/she may immediately draw back up to 2 plot cards at any time. In the rare case he/she cannot draw up to 2 plot cards because none are available, he/she may draw as soon as a plot card is discarded.

Extended Examples

1. John has 4 INTEL and holds a Double Agent card. He announces that he has the Double Agent and will steal 3 INTEL from Susan using the Double Agent's hand ability. Susan has 6 INTEL, and she announces that she has an Allies card and will use its hand ability to block John's Double Agent card. John challenges Susan's claim of holding an Allies card. Susan does not have an Allies card, so she loses the challenge and must give John half (3) of her INTEL. In addition, the Double Agent's ability still goes through and steals Susan's remaining 3 INTEL.
2. Susan claims an Art Dealer and places a card face down on the table in front of her. She then claims she is going to force an art trade with Bill using the Art Dealer's table ability. Susan passes one of her Art cards (a forgery) face down to Bill. Bill has 3 Art cards, so he fans them out for Susan, who must pick one randomly. Bill gets Susan's foraged art, and Susan gets lucky and plucks the Mona Lisa from Bill's art collection, which is worth $500,000 in black market value.

Card Specific Abilities

French Resistance

If a player who claims more than one French Resistance is challenged, he/she must show all the cards claimed. For example, Susan claims 3 French Resistance in order to take 6 INTEL (2 INTEL for each). John challenges Susan's claim of 3 French Resistance. Susan reveals 3 French Resistance cards, so John must give Susan half of his INTEL rounded up. Since Susan did have the cards, the ability still goes through so she also takes 6 INTEL from the pool. Finally, she may draw 3 new plot cards from the plot draw deck since she had to discard her 3 French Resistance due to John's unsuccessful challenge.

Art Dealer

When claiming the Art Broker's table ability you may pick any painting you hold to trade, but the painting you take from the targeted player must be random. The targeted player may shuffle her Art cards before you pick one.

Source note: the draft says "Art Broker's table ability" in this entry while the card is titled Art Dealer; printed wording is kept. The draft also says "foraged art" in Example 2 where "forged" is likely meant; that wording is kept as printed.

Spy

The Spy's ability allows the player to get a 3 INTEL discount for EVERY Spy card tabled. For example, Bob places 2 cards face down, claims them to be Spies and announces he will recover a piece of art from the art cache for 4 INTEL (10 INTEL minus the 6 INTEL discount for playing 2 spies). If challenged, Bob must reveal both cards. If Bob does not have BOTH spies, he loses half his INTEL rounded up to the challenger, both his cards are discarded and he loses his turn without gaining a piece of art. However, Bob is allowed to draw back up to 2 plot cards if he fell under 2. If Bob did have 2 Spy cards, he would win half the challenger's INTEL and would receive the art at the -6 INTEL discount. However, Bob would still only draw back up to 2 Plot cards since he used a table ability.

Allies

"Ignore" means that a player with the Allies card does not have to pay any INTEL to a player who claims the Double Agent and does not have to trade a piece of art with a player claiming the Art Dealer. This ability can be claimed any time you are impacted by the Double Agent or Art Dealer. You may not claim Allies for any player but yourself. However, any other player can challenge your claim of holding an Allies card.

When using the Allies table ability you must pick one player and may look at ALL of the art cards they hold. If they have an Art card labelled "FORGERY" you may take it from them. If the player has 2 or more forgeries, you may only take 1 of them, but may choose which one.

Double Agent

When using the Double Agent's table ability, you may choose the Art pile or any player with 1 or more art cards. If the player you choose has more than 1 Art card, you must choose randomly. If the Art card you choose has the label "DEGENERATE", you may keep the card. If you choose from the Art pile and draw a DEGENERATE piece of art, you must reveal the card to all players in order to prove it is DEGENERATE. If it is not DEGENERATE you must place it back on top of the Art pile, but do not have to reveal it. You may NOT use the Double Agent to look at a card in the Art Cache.

Forged Documents

If you have a forged document you can count a forged painting as if it were not forged for the purposes of winning the game. Each forged painting you hold requires a separate forged document in order to count. You may also give a forged document in lieu of half of your INTEL when losing a challenge.