Persuasion
Persuasion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Preface
You've recently met some eligible suitors, full of potential wealth, standing, and passion. You've detailed your desires in your diary, and now you must discern who meets your needs by reading the trait cards they mail you.
Your cards describe actions, but only the players you court will perform them. Each round, share a card with a player, and they'll choose which of your cards to leverage. When you find the one, send them your ring! They must reciprocate for you two to become engaged, so you must persuade them you're compatible with their desires!
Symbols used in this rulebook: wealth, standing, and passion.
Components
- 96 x Stamp Tokens
- 8 x Ring/Seal Tokens
- 8 x Inbox Markers
- 54 x Card Sleeves
- 54 x Trait Cards
- 10 x Diary Cards
- 1 x Hostex Marker
- 3 x Cats (for fun)
The Setting (Game Setup)
Shuffle the diary cards and trait cards separately. Each player then performs the following:
- Take a ring/seal token, its stamps, and its inbox marker.
- Draw 1 diary card, and 6 trait cards.
- Place your inbox marker in front of yourself.
Return remaining diary and trait cards to the box. The most polite player takes the hostex marker.
Introductions: Before the first round, each player must:
- Flip up one card, placing it face up below your inbox marker in the TRAITS section. This will share one of your symbols and expose a card action for others.
- Discard one card to a shared central location, putting a stamp into its sleeve first. This lets you remove an action from others, or prime the discards for independence.
- Place remaining cards facedown in your TRAITS.
(Setup diagram labels: "Your flipped up card"; "Discard with your stamp".)
Summary (Overview)
Your goal in Persuasion is to find then engage a player that meets your needs as specified on your diary card, which shows symbols you desire and despise. You win if:
- You have exchanged rings with a player whose trait cards have more of your desired symbols than despised.
- You haven't exchanged rings and the discards have more of your desired symbols than despised.
It's possible for all or no players to win, or for one sided engagements where only one partner wins!
The visibility and knowledge of cards is vital in this game. Unless specified, all cards stay hidden and facedown, including when they're discarded, or used for their action.
This isn't a memory game. Mark cards you've seen by putting a stamp in its sleeve, so you can ask to see it later.
Round Structure
Persuasion is played in rounds with two phases each:
- The Mailing Phase: Players show off their cards, hoping others will like them and reciprocate in kind. You show a card to a player by delivering it with your seal token.
- The Reception Phase: Players take turns leveraging their knowledge and influence over their suitors, performing an action from any of their cards, provided you hold their seal.
Your seal lets the recipient know who to return the card to, and grants access to your cards' actions in the next phase.
(Mailing diagram labels: "Pink has seen this card and may ask to see it again"; "Blue sent the card, and the card will be returned to them"; "Yellow gets to see and stamp the card, then uses an action from Blue's cards next phase".)
The game ends when two players have exchanged rings. During the mailing phase, you can send your ring to propose, but to become engaged they must send you theirs during the same phase, so the feeling must be mutual!
Negotiation and gossip is allowed and encouraged for any reason except for your cards symbols, honesty is optional!
Mailing Phase (Playing Phase 1 of a Round)
Each round, all players simultaneously deliver one of the following to any other player's INBOX:
- Deliver your seal with a personal card the recipient isn't aware of (a facedown card without their stamp).
- Deliver your ring, without a card.
When you receive a card with a seal, peek at (and stamp) the card. Return the card to the author's (the seal owner's) TRAITS, but keep their seal. Keep any rings you receive.
Once all players have delivered their seal/ring and all cards have been returned, proceed to the Reception phase.
Reception Phase (Playing Phase 2 of a Round)
After all seals/rings have been delivered, if any player has no seals/rings, pass the hostex marker clockwise to the first with none. Starting with the hostex, players take a turn:
- If you hold no seals/rings, you must discard 1 of anyone's cards (you may even choose one of your own).
- If you hold any seals/rings, you may perform 1 action from one of the seal/ring owner's cards you're aware of (faceup cards or cards with your stamps).
After each player has taken an action:
- If a player has no cards, or if any rings were exchanged, return all other rings & seals and go to the Resolution.
- Otherwise, return all rings and seals and play another round at the Mailing phase.
The Resolution (Game End)
When a player has no cards, or when any players have exchanged rings, single players get a final opportunity:
- Simultaneously, players still holding their own ring deliver their ring to another player, or to the discards.
- Any rings not mutually exchanged are discarded.
- All players reveal their diaries and trait cards.
- Any players who have exchanged rings win if the other's trait cards have more desired than despised symbols as specified on your own diary card.
- Any players who have discarded their rings win if the discards have more desired than despised symbols.
(Example diagram: "Blue and Pink exchanged rings". Blue's cards have wealth, wealth, wealth, passion, passion, standing, standing, plus one unknown card. Pink would only win if the last unknown card has a passion symbol. Ties are insufficient!)
Etiquette (Clarifications)
You may always look at your own cards and any cards you've seen before, marked with your stamp in its sleeve.
If players are simultaneously waiting for others to send mail, resolve clockwise from hostex marker holder.
When uncertain how a card works, the recipient interprets the card's action with the sender affirming them.
Stamps are not component limited.
If a player is aware of all your cards, you can only send them proposals! Careful unbridled players!
It's possible for all or no players to win, or for one sided engagements where only one partner wins!
The cat tokens serve no purpose, use at your leisure!
This is a game about the contractual institution of marriage, not necessarily finding romance. Polyamory is valid!
Component Notes
Composition of trait cards (transcribed as printed; the layout's column labels read "1 x wealth/standing/passion", "2 x wealth/standing/passion", "3 x wealth/standing/passion" with counts 14, 3 and 1. The printed key does not state the count unit explicitly):
| Printed label | Count |
|---|---|
| 1 x wealth/standing/passion | 14 |
| 2 x wealth/standing/passion | 3 |
| 3 x wealth/standing/passion | 1 |
Composition of diary cards (desired > despised, as printed):
| Diary pairing | Number of diary cards |
|---|---|
| Wealth > Passion | 2 |
| Wealth > Standing | 2 |
| Standing > Passion | 2 |
| Standing > Wealth | 2 |
| Passion > Wealth | 1 |
| Passion > Standing | 1 |
Simplified Mode: Evening Ball
If you wish to introduce Persuasion to folks new to card games, all players can agree to ignore the effects on the cards, and use the following alternative Resolution phase:
- After all seals/rings have been delivered, any players with no seals/rings must discard 1 of anyone's cards (even one of their own).
- If a player has no cards, or if any rings were exchanged, return all other rings & seals and go to the Resolution.
- Otherwise, return all rings and seals and play another round at the Mailing phase.
Vocabulary (Key Terminology)
- author: The card's current owner.
- aware of: A faceup card or card with your stamp.
- bystander: Anyone but the author or yourself.
- card: Unless diary is specified, card refers to trait cards.
- discard: Stamp then discard to the shared central area.
- exchanged rings: When you and another player have delivered your rings to each other in the same phase.
- flip up: Place the card faceup, returning any stamps on it. When a card has every players' stamp, flip up the card. If a card's action says to flip up an already faceup card, you may still take the action. Faceup cards stay faceup all game.
- give: Stamp then place in the specified player's TRAITS.
- peek: Choose a specified card to look at and stamp.
- personal: One of your own cards.
- show: Reveal to the specified player a card that they aren't aware of, then they may stamp it.
- stamped: A card with your stamp in its sleeve, which you may always check or ask to see.
- take: After the specified card's owner stamps it, move the card to your TRAITS.