Oriflamme
Oriflamme Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
At the end of 6 rounds of play, the player whose family has accumulated the greatest number of Influence Points wins the game.
Contents
- 50 Influence cards (10 in 5 different colors)
- 70 Influence Point tokens (value 1 and 5)
- 1 First Player tile
- 1 Resolution Direction tile
Setup
- Each player takes a complete family, represented by 10 cards of the same color. Shuffle your 10 cards, then removes 3 random cards, and set them aside face down. Keep the remaining 7 cards in your hand, without showing them to the other players.
- Each player takes 1 Influence Point. Place it in front of you. Pile all the other Influence Points on the table where everyone can reach them, forming the supply.
- The oldest player starts the game. This player takes the First Player tile, and places it in front of them.
- The First Player places the Resolution Direction tile in the middle of the table. This indicates the direction in which the effects of the cards in the Influence Queue will be applied for the entirety of the game (see 2/ Resolution Phase).
Round of the Game
Oriflamme plays over 6 rounds. Each round consists of 2 phases:
1/ Placement Phase
Each player MUST play a card from their hand.
A- The first player secretly chooses a card from their hand and places it face down in the middle of the table. As long as a card is face down it is considered "unrevealed".
B- The next player (clockwise) must place a card to the right or left of the first card in order to form a horizontal line of cards: the "Influence Queue".
C- And so forth, with each subsequent player playing their card to the left or right of all the cards already placed. You cannot play between cards.
The placement phase is complete once everyone has placed one card from their hand on the table.
Placement phase example:
- A — Red is the 1st player, and places a card face down in the middle of the table.
- B — Blue must play a card to the left or right of Red's card.
- C — Green must play their card to the left of Blue's or to the right of Red's.
2/ Resolution Phase
Each player MAY reveal one or more of their cards they have placed, and MUST activate the abilities of those they have revealed.
The player whose card is in the first position in the Influence Queue (according to the Resolution Direction) chooses whether to reveal their card:
- If they do not reveal it, the card remains face down, has no effect, and that player places 1 Influence Point on it.
- If they reveal it, they immediately apply the card's effect, and gain any Influence Points on it.
Repeat this operation with the following card, and so forth until the end of the Influence Queue. Depending on the players' choices, it is quite possible that no cards are flipped over, that only some are, or that all are.
It is quite possible to reveal a card in the same round in which it was placed, with no Influence Points on it.
During this phase, each revealed card will apply its ability, eliminate a card, remain in play, or be discarded.
Reveal a Card
When you reveal one of your cards, you gain the Influence Points that have been placed on it.
There are 2 exceptions to this rule:
- Conspiracy earns you double the Influence Points placed on it.
- Ambush never earns you any of the Influence Points placed on it. When Ambush is revealed, discard all of them.
Apply an Ability
Once a card is revealed, you must apply its ability during the resolution phase of each round. For example, a Soldier must always eliminate an adjacent card, even if it is from the same family.
Eliminate a Card
Each time you eliminates a card (no matter which color), you gain 1 Influence Point.
Place eliminated cards face up in front of their owner. Everyone can look at these.
Discard a Card
Certain cards must be discarded after applying their ability.
Place discarded cards face up in front of their owner. Everyone can look at these.
Remain in Play
Cards in the Influence Queue will remain there for the following round, whether they are face down or face up (unless the card indicates it should be discarded after applying its ability).
A card in the Influence Queue, that is revealed and not covered, continues to apply its ability in the following round.
Resolution phase example:
- A — In this example, Red is first to choose whether to reveal their first card.
- B — Red decides not to reveal their card. Red places 1 Influence Point from the supply on the card, instead.
- C — Blue decides to reveal their card. Blue immediately gains the Influence Point that was on his card.
- D — Blue's card is a Soldier, which must eliminate an adjacent card. Blue chooses Red's second card, and reveals it. Blue discards the Influence Point on it, removes the red card and places it face up in front of Red, then gains 1 Influence Point from the supply for eliminating a card.
- E — With the red card gone, Green is next. Green decides not to reveal their card, and places 1 Influence Point from the supply on it.
Note: At any time, you may peek at your face-down cards in the Influence Queue, as well as the cards removed during setup.
A New Round of the Game
The player who has the First Player tile passes it to the left. A new round of the game begins. Cards in the Influence Queue remain where they are, as they are.
The new first player chooses a card from their hand to place face down at the beginning or end of the Influence Queue, and so forth until everyone has placed a new card face down.
Then, resolve the Influence Queue in the resolution direction.
- For each card already revealed, apply its ability anew.
- For each card face down, its owner decides whether to reveal it. If it is revealed, apply its ability. If it remains face down, add 1 Influence Point to it.
Stacks of Cards
Starting with the 2nd round of the game, it is possible to place a card in the Influence Queue by creating a stack of cards.
You can only play a card ON another of your own cards, already in play, regardless of whether it is revealed.
The card just played now covers the previous one. We call this a "stack of cards". As long as a card is covered, it is not taken into account during the resolution phase. A covered card thus can neither be revealed, accumulate additional Influence Points on it, apply its ability, let you take its Influence Points, nor be targeted by another player.
There is no limit to the number of cards that can be stacked. This means you should be careful not to lose too many Influence Points by playing too many cards atop one another.
Tip: By using a stack of cards, you can protect one of your cards that would otherwise be eliminated or place a Soldier in the middle of the Queue to eliminate cards otherwise out of range, or even set up a cascade of actions.
Example: Red plays a card from his hand to cover one of his own cards (in this case, the Shapeshifter). During the resolution phase, the red Shapeshifter cannot take effect unless the card covering it is discarded or eliminated first.
Tip: You can make combinations with stacks of cards. For example, covering a card with an Assassination allows you to play 2 times in a row: first by revealing the Assassination, which you discard after its effect, then immediately play the card that was under the Assassination, which has again become active.
End of the Game
Because you started the game with 7 cards in your hand, after the 6 rounds of the game, you will have 1 card left. You will not play this card.
Whoever accumulated the most Influence Points wins the game!
Your Influence Points are visible throughout the game.
At the end of the game, Influence Points still on the cards in the Influence Queue do not count in the final score.
If there is a tie, the tied player with the most cards still in the Influence Queue wins.
Abilities
Archer
Eliminate the first or last card from the Queue.
It doesn't matter whether the target card is revealed. If you have no other choice, you must eliminate a card from your family, but you still earn 1 Influence Point.
Soldier
Eliminate an adjacent card.
It doesn't matter whether the target card is revealed. If you have no other choice, you must eliminate a card from your family, but you still earn 1 Influence Point.
Spy
Steal 1 Influence Point from a player who has a card adjacent to your Spy.
It doesn't matter whether the target card is revealed. If you have to steal from yourself, you end up with the same number of Influence Points. Steal the Influence Point from the player's stack, not from the adjacent card!
Heir
If there is no other card revealed with the same name, gain 2 Influence Points.
As soon as another Heir is revealed and uncovered in the Queue, no Heirs gain any Influence Points.
Assassination
Eliminate any card in the Queue. Discard Assassination.
It doesn't matter whether the target card is revealed. This is the only card that allows you to kill wherever you like in the Influence Queue.
Royal Decree
Move a card wherever you want in the Queue. Discard Royal Decree.
To move a character, leave the Royal Decree where it is, make the move, then remove the Royal Decree and continue resolution with the next card.
Lord
Earn 1 Influence Point, plus 1 Influence Point per adjacent card that is in your family.
Each adjacent card in your family earns you 1 Influence Point, regardless of whether it is revealed or covered.
Shapeshifter
Copy the ability of an adjacent revealed card.
The target card must be revealed and uncovered. The Shapeshifter copies only the ability of a card, not its name. No matter what it copies, the Shapeshifter always retains its name, Shapeshifter.
e.g. If you copy the only Heir in the Queue, you gain 2 Influence Points… unless there is another Shapeshifter in the Queue.
Ambush
If revealed by an opponent's card, discard the attacker and gain 4 Influence Points. If you reveal it yourself, gain 1 Influence Point. Discard Ambush.
If an opponent's card targets your Ambush, discard this card. Ambush is discarded with any Influence Points placed on it, and gain 4 Influence Points from the supply. If you reveal your own Ambush, discard Ambush and any Influence Points placed on it, and gain 1 Influence Point from the supply.
e.g. If an opponent's Soldier eliminates your Ambush, the Soldier's owner gains 1 Influence Point for eliminating a card, and you gain 4 Influence Points. Both cards and all Influence Points on Ambush are discarded.
e.g. If your Soldier eliminates your Ambush, you gain 2 Influence Points. 1 because your Soldier eliminated a card, and 1 because you have revealed your own Ambush. Both cards are discarded, along with all Influence Points on Ambush.
Conspiracy
Gain double the Influence Points accumulated on Conspiracy when it is revealed. Discard Conspiracy.
If there are 3 Influence Points on this card when you reveal it, you gain them, as well as 3 more, for a total of 6.
Designers' Acknowledgements
We particularly thank the Dorel family, Benjamin, Daniel, and Michael Agnard, as well as the entire Forgenext team.
English translation: Nathan Morse
Art direction: Forgenext / Graphic design: L'encre invisible