Peaky Blinders: Under New Management Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Tip
• Goal of the Game
• Game Components
• Preparations
• The Game Starts
• Preparation Phase
• Action Phase
  • The Die Roll
  • Henchman
  • Location
• Locations
  • Zone 1: Small Heath
  • Zone 2: Birmingham City
  • Zone 3: Camden Town
  • Zone 4: Central London
• Conflict Location
• Open Game State
  • Play Conflict Cards
  • Place a Control Marker
  • Bail Out a Henchman
  • Sell, Buy or Trade 1 Material Card at the Covent Garden Market
• The Epsom Derby
• Suspicion Meter
• Fortune
• End of the Game

Tip

Read the rules carefully before you start the game.

Goal of the Game

At the start of the game, each player is given 3 mission cards. The first player to complete these missions wins the game.

Game Components

• 1 game board (Birmingham: 1 - Small Heath, 2 - Birmingham City, 3 - Camden Town, 4 - Central London; London area with Wingon Green Prison and Covent Garden Market)
• 4 player boards
• 1 side board
• 11 mission cards
• 4 control mission cards
• 4 suspicion bars
• 16 control markers
• 1 8-sided die
• 1 6-sided racing die
• 40 conflict cards (20 defence cards, 20 offence cards)
• 108 upgrade tokens (+1)
• 12 fortune tokens
• 30 rum barrel cards (10 rum barrel cards (5), 20 rum barrel cards (1))
• 30 weapons crates cards (10 weapons crate cards (5), 20 weapons crate cards (1))
• 30 car parts cards (10 car parts cards (5), 20 car parts cards (1))
• 50 cash cards (10 cash cards (5), 40 cash cards (1))
• 50 member tokens (10 member tokens (5), 40 member tokens (1))
• 16 miniature pieces: per player 1 charisma henchman, 1 strength henchman, 1 intellect henchman, and 1 horse

During the whole game players can exchange 5 cards with a value of 1 for 1 card with a value of 5.

Preparations

Lay out the game board so that all players can see and reach it. Place the side board next to the game board.

Players: All players receive:

• a player board, 4 miniature pieces, 4 control markers and 1 suspicion bar in the same colour.
• 3 fortune tokens.
• 5 cash cards with value 1 and 2 cash cards with value 5.

The players set their suspicion bars in the suspicion meter on the side board to the first square. Place 3 fortune tokens on the allotted spaces on the player board.

General:

• Organise the material cards (rum barrels, weapons crates, car parts and cash cards) into 4 stacks and place them next to the game board so that they can be reached by all players.
• Shuffle the conflict cards (both the Offence and the Defence cards) and place this stack face down next to the game board.
• Place the upgrade and member tokens where all players can reach them.
• Shuffle the mission cards and give every player 2 random mission cards.
• Shuffle the control mission cards and give every player 1 random control mission card. The players place 1 of their mission or control mission cards face up. The other mission cards are kept face down during the entire game, so that the other players cannot see them.

The Game Starts

The game board consists of 4 different zones. In every round, all players play the same zone. A round consists of three phases: the preparation phase, the action phase and the open game state.

Preparation Phase

The game starts in zone 1 (Small Heath). The players then progress to zone 2 (Birmingham City), zone 3 (Camden Town) and, finally, zone 4 (Central London). These zones are revisited in the same order until the game is over. Zone 4 (Central London) is always followed by the Epsom Derby, which is played on the side board.

In this phase, there are certain locations where players can and cannot place their henchmen. There are a limited number of spaces in each location. The dots indicate which locations can be used for henchmen when playing with a certain number of players. Example: The location marked with 4 dots remains unused when there are only 3 players.

Player-count diagram (printed on page 4): 3 player situation: the location with 4 dots is crossed out. 2 players, 3 players and 4 players are the three player-count columns shown.

The starter first places one of their three henchmen on the game board in the zone that is played that round. Now, the other three players take turns to place one henchman on the game board until the three henchmen are on the game board. Players can also choose not to place a henchman, they do not have to. It will become clear why this can be a tactical move later on in the game. Where players decide to place their henchmen in the zone affects the game.

The starter: The identity of the starter is determined during the game by counting the number of upgrade tokens on the leadership section of the player boards. The player with the most tokens gets to start. This is reviewed at the start of every phase. When two or more players have the same number of leadership tokens (or no tokens at all), the players roll the 8-sided die to determine who gets to start.

Please note! Control markers take precedence over the leadership rule. The player who has the most control markers in a zone gets to start during the preparation phase for that zone. If two or more players have the same number of control markers in a zone, the number of leadership tokens determines who gets to start (see "open game state" for more info).

Action Phase

The players take turns retrieving the henchmen placed on the game board in a fixed order: from left to right and from top to bottom.

After a henchman is picked up, the player rolls a die to receive a reward (this will be explained over pages 6 & 7).

There are three factors that determine what a player should do after retrieving his/her henchman: a die roll, which henchman they play, and the location of the henchman on the game board.

The Die Roll

The players roll the 8-sided die to get rewards. Players add their henchman's upgrade tokens to the outcome of the die roll. (Two upgrade tokens + a die score of 5 add up to a total score of 7.) The reward depends on the type of henchman and the location of the henchman. This die result is called the total score.

Example: 5 (die) + 1 + 1 (two upgrade tokens) = 7 (total score).

Henchman

All players have 3 henchmen: 1 intellect henchman, 1 charisma henchman and 1 strength henchman. The difference between these henchmen lies in the number of rewards players receive after rolling the die, which also depends on the henchman's location on the game board.

Strength: If the strength henchman is placed on a location, players receive:

• total score of 1 - 5: 2 rewards + 1 suspicion
• total score of 6 - 9: 3 rewards + 2 suspicion
• total score of 10+: 4 rewards + 3 suspicion

Charisma: If the charisma henchman is placed on a location, players receive:

• total score of 1 - 5: 0 reward
• total score of 6+: 3 rewards

Intellect: If the intellect henchman is placed on a location, players receive:

• total score of 1 - 5: 1 reward
• total score of 6 - 9: 2 rewards
• total score of 10+: 3 rewards

Location

Which reward a player receives depends on the location of their henchman. The rewards can be materials (rum barrels, weapons crates, or car parts cards), cash cards or member tokens, but they can also involve reducing suspicion or upgrading a henchman.

Now the players know the total score of their roll, consult the list on the next page to see what the players receive where. The game board contains the following locations:

Locations

Zone 1: Small Heath

• Charlie's Yard: Receive 1 upgrade token per reward and place it on the horsepower square on your player board.
• The Garrison Pub: Receive 1 member token per reward. Players place this token next to their player board.
• The Shelby Company Ltd: Receive 1 upgrade token per reward and place it on the leadership square on your player board.

Zone 2: Birmingham City

• King Maine's Boxing Ring: Receive 1 upgrade token per reward and place it on your strength square on your player board.
• Small Arms Company: Receive 1 weapons crate card per reward. Players place this card next to their player board.
• Winson Green Prison: Receive -1 suspicion per reward (the suspicion bar goes back one step).

Please note! Your suspicion cannot be lower than the first square.

Zone 3: Camden Town

• The Library: Receive 1 upgrade token per reward and place it on your charisma square on your player board.
• Solomon's "Bakery": Receive 1 rum barrel card per reward. Players place this card next to their player board.
• The Bank: Receive 1 cash card per reward. Players place this card next to their player board.

Zone 4: Central London

• The Houses of Parliament: Receive 1 upgrade token per reward and place it on your intellect square on your player board.
• Poplar Docks: Receive 1 car parts card per reward. Players place this card next to their player board.
• The Eden Club: Receive 1 conflict card per reward. Players put this card next to their player board face down.

Conflict Location

There is one conflict location in each zone. If a player places their henchman here during the preparation phase, he/she receives a conflict card during the action phase. This can either be an Offence card that lets you trouble your opponents or a Defence card to give yourself a strategic advantage. Players can receive this card without having to roll the die, but only if none of their opponents have placed a control marker in the zone.

If a player chooses to place a henchman in the conflict location while one of his/her opponents has a control marker in the same zone, a conflict arises between those 2 players. If multiple players have a control marker in the conflict location, the player placing the henchman can choose which player he/she wants to start a conflict with.

The player placing the henchman on the conflict location is the attacking player. The player who has one or more control markers in that zone and who is chosen for the conflict is the defending player.

Both players roll the 8-sided die. The attacking player adds his/her henchman's upgrade tokens to the outcome of the roll. (Two upgrade tokens + a die score of 5 add up to a total score of 7.) The defending player does the same, using his/her henchman card of the same name. Both players also add their member tokens to the total score.

Whoever has the highest score, wins the conflict.

Example (printed on page 8): the attacking player rolls 5, adds two upgrade tokens and four member tokens for a total score of 11; the defending player rolls 4, adds three upgrade tokens and three member tokens for a total score of 10.

• The winning player draws a conflict card from the stack, looks at it and places it in front of him/her face down.
• If the attacking player wins with a score higher than 15 (including upgrade tokens and member tokens), he/she can choose to remove 1 control marker of the defending player from the zone, replacing it with a control marker of their own. The attacking player does not have to pay for this marker.
• The losing player removes all the upgrade tokens from their leadership square.
• If the attacking player loses the conflict, he/she removes all upgrade tokens from the corresponding henchman. The defending player does not have to do this.

Open Game State

After the action phase, all players play the open game state. During this phase, they can play conflict cards, place control markers and bail out henchmen.

After all henchmen have been retrieved from the game board and all actions have been carried out, the players enter the open game state. Players take turns clockwise deciding whether or not to carry out an action, starting with the starter (highest leadership). Players do not have to carry out actions.

During the open game state, players can:

Play Conflict Cards

Players can play their conflict cards in this phase. If a conflict card shows an 8-sided die icon, the player playing the conflict card (regardless of whether it is an Offence or Defence card) rolls the 8 sided die to boost the outcome of the card. The player adds the upgrade tokens on the nominated henchman to his/her roll. After a conflict card has been played, it is placed on the discard pile.

Example: a Defence card reads "Reduce suspicion by 1" (normal card effect). If the player has a charisma 8+ boost, the boosted card effect "Reduce suspicion by 2 more" is added on the normal card effect.

Place a Control Marker

All players have 4 control markers. During the open game state phase, you can purchase a control marker for 8 points in cash cards and place it in a zone, so that you own part of that zone. You can place the control marker in your zone of choice, as long as there is space in that zone. There is no limit to the number of control markers that can be placed during a player's turn.

You can place your control marker in a zone specified on one of your mission cards* to help you complete your mission, but you can also place it in another zone to obstruct another player. When a player has no control markers left to place, he/she can take one from another zone (this marker still has to be paid for!).

* All players have 1 control mission, for which they have to place 4 control markers in a specific zone. To win the game, a player must have fully occupied 1 zone.

The player with the most control markers in the current zone becomes the starter in that zone. This control-marker rule takes precedence over the rule that the person with the highest leadership gets to start.

Bail Out a Henchman

When your strength henchman ends up in jail (see "suspicion meter" for more info), you can bail him out for 10 points in cash cards.

Sell, Buy or Trade 1 Material Card at the Covent Garden Market

Material cards are rum barrels, weapons crates and car parts. Players can sell, buy or trade once per open game state, but there is no limit to how many cards a player sells, buys or trades.

• Sell: Sell 1 rum barrel, weapons crate or car parts card by placing it on the side board. Place the card face up in one of the two allotted spaces. Selling a rum barrel, weapons crate or car parts card gets you 1 cash card per card value.
• Buy: Buy 1 face-up material card from one of the two stacks on the side board. Pay by placing 1 cash card back on the cash card stack. Please note! The card must be one of the top face-up cards on one of the two stacks.
• Swap: Swap 1 material card with 1 face-up material card on one of the two stacks on the side board. Please note! The card must be one of the top face-up cards on one of the two stacks.

Please note! Players are not allowed to use a material or cash card with a value of 5 during selling, buying or trading.

After the open game state, the players proceed to the next zone on the game board, playing the preparation phase, action phase and open game state phase in the right order. After the open game state for zone 4: Central London, the players continue to the Epsom Derby, a mini-game that is played immediately after the 4 zones have been completed.

The Epsom Derby

All players place their horses on the first circle on the race track and move their horses forward by a number of spaces equal to their number of horsepower upgrade tokens.

All players must bet 1 cash card on their horse. If a player has no cash cards, he/she still takes part in the race, but cannot win any money.

The starter rolls the racing die. All other players now take their turn clockwise. The players now move their horses forward by the number of spaces indicated by the racing die. The first horse to land on or cross the finish line wins the race.

The winning player receives:

• 1 cash card from the stack of cash cards for each member token he/she owns.
• All bets.

Please note! If the winning horse belongs to a player who did not place a bet, this player does not win anything, regardless of how many member tokens they own. All other players lose their bet.

Suspicion Meter

All players have a suspicion meter on the side board, indicating how much suspicion they are drawing. When suspicion falls, the bar is moved to the left, and when suspicion grows, the bar is moved to the right.

There are several ways in which suspicion can grow, but high die rolls with a strength henchman is the main way. Players can try to keep their suspicion level low by going to Winson Green Prison in zone 2: Birmingham City.

When a player's suspicion meter is full, he/she loses his/her strength henchman (the bar has reached the rightmost square). Place the strength henchman on the Winson Green Prison zone on the side board next to the suspicion meter. This henchman can no longer be used during the game, until he is bailed out, and all upgrade tokens must be removed from the strength henchman.

During the open game state phase, players can bail out their henchman for 10 points in cash cards (see "open game state" for more info). After bailing out their strength henchman, players can return the suspicion bar to the first square.

Fortune

Fortune tokens can be used after a roll with the 8-sided die or the racing die.

When a player uses a fortune token, they can add 1 point to their total die score (a die score of 5 plus a fortune token results in a total die score of 6).

Fortune tokens are difficult to earn, so be careful when you use them.

Please note! Players can only use 1 fortune token per roll.

End of the Game

The first player to complete their control mission and the two other missions wins the game.

The game ends immediately, without finishing the round or phase.