Pessoa
Pessoa Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Heteronyms
Álvaro de Campos — Campos was energetic and loved technology and the role it played in the world, at the same time he despised conventional wisdom and behaviours. Campos wanted to feel everything. His existence was a quest against time, a frenetic venture that is visible in his poems. They lack structure, rhyme, and any sort of traditional framework, but they are intense, phonetically vibrant and strictly unconventional. Campos was like the steam trains that he loved to write about.
Ricardo Reis — Reis was a classicist, with a stoic character, and passionate about order and the works of the ancient Greeks. Pessoa described him as someone who contemplated the metaphysical nature of love, someone who loved in silence and through carefully written words, always putting aside the physical nature of his passions. Ricardo Reis wrote mainly sonnets, which were composed of strophes of 3 and 4 verses. That's why Reis scores additional victory points at the end of the game for his 3 and 4 verse poems when you play his advanced side.
Bernardo Soares — Bernardo Soares was the most conventional of the 4 Heteronyms, perhaps he was the closest representation of Fernando Pessoa's real character. He not only wrote poetry, but various other creative writings which reflected the capacity to navigate between the 3 writing spheres (suits) depicted in this game. Scholars often distinguished Soares from the other 3 heteronyms, and treated him more like an alter ego of Pessoa himself. We feel he has a place in this game, and we wanted to integrate his balanced nature when designing his advanced side.
Alberto Caeiro — The poems of Caeiro focused essentially upon nature and its bucolic character, and sometimes criticised progress and technological innovation. Caeiro was the poet of silence, of the contemplation of nature and the passage of time. He wrote in free verse, not concerned with rhymes, because similar to his writing, never two trees are born equal side by side.
1. Game Components
- 1 Game Board, assembled by 7 pieces
- 1 Metaphysical Space Board that connects with the assembled Game Board
- 1 First Player token
- 4 double-sided Heteronym Boards (front / back)
- 4 double-sided Heteronym Tiles
- 8 Coloured Discs
- 5 Wooden Meeples
- 4 Player Aid Cards
- 60 Inspiration Cards
- 14 Bookshop Cards
- 30 Poem Tiles
- 24 double-sided Bookshelf Tiles
- 20 Mensagem Cards (module 2)
Metaphysical Space
The Metaphysical Space is represented by a rotating board fixed at the centre of the main game board. It is comprised of 3 Elements:
- Pessoa's Mind, where the heteronyms can travel into.
- The Astral Map, that may grant players bonuses.
- The Calendar, that tracks the rounds.
The Astral Map is comprised of 12 Sections. Each section contains:
- 2 Astrological Signs, 1 of which must match a player's Inspiration Card to earn them a bonus.
- The bonus that can be earned.
Inspiration Cards
Inspiration Cards are the heart of the game and they represent fragments of poems written by Fernando Pessoa, or to be more accurate, written by his heteronyms. There are 3 different suits of Inspiration Cards: Naturalism, Classicism and Futurism. Inspiration Cards have values ranging between 1 and 5. Some Inspiration Cards have 2 values, giving players more flexibility when writing poems. When playing such a card, the player announces which of the 2 values they are using.
2. Game Set-up
Board Set-up
- Create the Game Board by assembling all the pieces and place it in the middle of the table.
- Take the Inspiration Cards, shuffle them and create a deck, placing it face-down beside the game board.
- a. Draw 5 Inspiration Cards and place 1 on each space of "A Brasileira". b. Draw 5 Inspiration Cards and place 1 on each space of "Martinho da Arcada".
- a. Take the Bookshop Cards, shuffle them and create a deck, placing it face-up next to the game board. b. Draw 1 Bookshop Card and place it face-up on the indicated space of the game board.
- a. Take the Bookshelf Tiles, and randomly create 2 stacks of 12 tiles each and place them face-up (all tiles must have their orange coloured side face down), next to the Bookshop Cards deck. b. Take the Bookshelf Tile from the top Bookshelf stack and place it on the indicated space on the game board. c. Take the Bookshelf Tile from the lower Bookshelf stack and place it on the indicated space on the game board.
- Take all Poem Tiles, separate them by value into 3 different stacks and place them next to the Game Board. Place a certain number of tiles on Rossio, on the indicated spaces: 1, 2 or 3 tiles of each value in a 2, 3 or 4 player game; place tiles of value 3 on the leftmost space, tiles of value 4 on the middle space and tiles of value 5 on the rightmost space.
Player Set-up
- Place and rotate the Metaphysical Space Board so that the space "1913" is aligned with the arrow at the top. This board will be referred to as the Metaphysical Space from now on.
- Each player chooses a Heteronym Board and places it green hat side face-up in front of them. Then they choose a color and they take the matching colour Heteronym Tile and the 2 discs of that colour. Place 1 of them on the rightmost space of the energy track on the heteronym board.
- Each player places the second disc of their chosen colour on space 0 of the scoring track.
- Each player places their coloured meeple in the Metaphysical Space.
- The Fernando Pessoa meeple (black meeple) is placed on the black-rectangular space of Rossio.
- The player who most recently read a poem takes the First Player Token and, in clockwise order, the last player (the player to the right of the first player) flips his Heteronym Tile to the 'Pessoa' side.
- Each player draws 5 Inspiration Cards from the deck, chooses 3 to keep as a starting hand and discards the remaining 2 to the discard pile.
This set-up procedure shows the placement for 4 Players.
2 and 3 Player Games
In a 3 player game the neutral meeple (the meeple not assigned to the players) must be placed on the grey-rectangular space of the Bookshop. It will be referred to as the Neutral Heteronym from now on.
In a 2 player game the neutral meeples (the meeples not assigned to the players) must be placed on the grey-rectangular spaces of the Bookshop and Rossio. They will be referred to as the Neutral Heteronyms from now on.
3. Game Structure
PESSOA is played over 12 Rounds, representing the last 22 years of Fernando Pessoa's life.
Every round, starting with the first player and proceeding in clockwise order, each player performs their turn by taking 1 action or resting.
At the end of the round, the player who currently controls Fernando Pessoa (has their Heteronym Tile flipped to the Pessoa side) takes the First Player Token and becomes the first player for the next round.
After 12 rounds (after having played round "1935"), players will have the chance to write a final poem. Then, players proceed to final scoring and the player with the most Victory Points wins the game.
4. Player's Turn
On their turn a player can either:
- Move and perform 1 action, or
- Rest
After doing 1 of those 2 options, their turn ends and the next player can start their turn.
Move and Perform 1 Action
The player must MOVE either their Heteronym meeple OR Pessoa's meeple (if the player currently controls Pessoa) into a different space, physical or metaphysical. An heteronym meeple is placed on the grey rectangle, Pessoa's meeple is placed on the black rectangle. Then, the player performs the action of that space. When placing a meeple in an action space, the following rules must be followed:
- An Heteronym meeple can NEVER share the same physical space with another Heteronym meeple.
- An Heteronym CAN share a physical space with Pessoa's meeple.
- All Heteronyms CAN be together in the Metaphysical Space.
- Pessoa's meeple can NEVER move to the Metaphysical Space.
Physical Spaces
- Café "Martinho da Arcada"
- Café "A Brasileira"
- Bookshop
- Rossio Square
Metaphysical Space 5. Pessoa's Mind
Note: The player who controls Pessoa is not obliged to move Pessoa's meeple. They can decide to move their heteronym meeple instead.
A player cannot move to a space if he cannot perform the corresponding action. In that case, he must move and perform another action or REST.
Historical Note: Fernando Pessoa would often float between the physical places of his beloved Lisbon and his own creative mind, where his heteronyms lived. In Portuguese, "Pessoa" means literally "Person". And he lived his life creating people, writing and behaving as he would imagine them. That's why in this game players are not only different metaphysical entities but also the same physical person.
Controlling Pessoa
On their turn AND BEFORE PERFORMING THEIR ACTION OR REST, a player can spend 1 energy to flip their Heteronym Tile to the Pessoa side. That player now controls the physical body of Fernando Pessoa (the black meeple). The player who previously controlled Pessoa, must flip their tile to their heteronym side.
A player keeps control of Pessoa until another player, at the start of their turn, pays 1 energy to gain control of Pessoa.
By controlling Pessoa a player can: move their heteronym meeple to perform an action; move Pessoa's meeple to perform an action; or, Rest. The player controlling Pessoa at the end of the round takes the first player token for the following round.
Example: It's Joana's turn (blue player), and she does not control Pessoa, which means that if she moves her meeple she:
- CANNOT stay in her current space, A Brasileira, because the meeple performing the action always has to be moved;
- She CANNOT go to the Bookshop or Martinho da Arcada because there are heteronym meeples on these physical spaces;
- She CAN move her meeple to Rossio, because only Pessoa is there;
- She CAN move to the Metaphysical space because all heteronyms can be there simultaneously.
If she pays 1 energy to flip her heteronym tile she will control Pessoa, and now she can move her meeple OR Pessoa's meeple. If she decides to move Pessoa's meeple she:
- CANNOT stay in Rossio because the meeple performing the action always has to be moved;
- CANNOT move Pessoa's meeple to the Metaphysical space, because he can never move there;
- CAN move to A Brasileira, the Bookshop or Martinho da Arcada because Pessoa's meeple can always be in the same physical space as any other heteronym meeple (even the Heteronym Meeple of the player performing the action).
Historical Note: Fernando Pessoa would often impersonate the Heteronyms that he created, writing and behaving like them in real life. He often surprised journalists by saying "Hi, my name is Álvaro de Campos, Fernando Pessoa apologies but he cannot come today, so you'll be talking with me." That's why in this game, when you perform actions, you can perform them as an heteronym or as Pessoa himself. However, transforming from a metaphysical entity into a physical entity, requires a cost of energy, since you are straining your ethereal self. Unfortunately, none of this can be confirmed by science, so you'll have to trust us.
Meditate
Before performing their turn, the player may discard Inspiration Cards from their hand and gain 1 energy for each card discarded. This may be performed any number of times and there is a reminder on the players' Heteronym Boards.
Creative Energy (from now on described simply as energy) will often be spent and sometimes gained during the game. When you lose energy or gain energy, simply slide your energy marker on your heteronym board to track the amount.
Metaphysical Space: Pessoa's Mind
Pessoa's Mind is a unique space where ALL Heteronym meeples CAN be placed together and where Pessoa's meeple CANNOT move to.
When a player moves their heteronym meeple to the Metaphysical space it costs them 1 energy and then they can perform the action of the physical space where Pessoa's meeple currently is.
The player only pays the cost when entering the metaphysical space, not when leaving it.
Remember: Pessoa can never move to the Metaphysical space, because, well, his physical body cannot move inside his own head!
Example: It's Joana's turn (blue player) and she also wants to write a poem. However, Inês (yellow player) is still in Rossio. Because Pessoa's meeple is also in Rossio, Joana spends 1 energy and moves her meeple to the metaphysical space and performs the action where Pessoa's meeple currently is, in this case, Rossio.
Physical Space (1): Martinho da Arcada
At "Martinho da Arcada" players can draw Inspiration Cards into their hands by taking them from the display, one at a time, paying 1 energy for each card taken. However, a player cannot take a card that is on the second and/or fourth position(s), unless they have taken the cards on its left and right. A lock icon shows this connection between those cards and the cards on their left and right side.
After drawing cards, any remaining cards slide to the left occupying the empty spaces, and new cards are drawn from the deck, filling the empty spaces from left to right until there are 5 cards available again.
If the draw deck ever becomes depleted, shuffle the discard pile and form a new deck.
Example: Afonso (red player), moves his meeple to "Martinho da Arcada". He wants to take cards A and B. He takes card A but he cannot take card B because it is locked by the card C that has not been taken. So he takes card C. Now he takes card B as all cards that locked it have been taken, and spends a total of 3 energy, for the 3 cards taken. Afonso ends his turn replenishing the display: the 2 remaining cards slide to the left and 3 new cards are added to the display.
Historical Note: Martinho da Arcada was one of the most famous cafes of Lisbon at the beginning of the 20th century.
Hand Limit
Players cannot have more than 7 cards in their hand. During their turn they may hold more than this limit, but at the end of their turn they must discard cards from their hand until they have no more than 7. The back side of a Bookshelf Tile increases this value by 2. This will be explained shortly when we examine the Bookshop.
Physical Space (2): A Brasileira
At "A Brasileira" players can also draw Inspiration Cards into their hands.
They can take any of the 5 face up cards. For each card taken, the player has to spend the amount of energy depicted above the card they want to take.
- The leftmost card costs 0 energy, so can be taken for free.
- The next 2 cards cost 1 energy each.
- The last 2 cards cost 2 energy each.
The player can take any combination of cards that they wish and can afford.
After drawing cards, any remaining cards slide to the left occupying the empty spaces, and new cards are drawn from the deck, filling the empty spaces from left to right until there are 5 cards available again.
If the draw deck ever becomes depleted, shuffle the discard pile and form a new deck.
Historical Note: "A Brasileira" in Chiado is probably the most iconic cafe in Lisbon, and Pessoa was often seen there. Indeed his statue sits on the cafe's terrace to this day.
Example: On Inês's (yellow player) turn, she would like to go to "A Brasileira". She cannot move her meeple there because Joana (blue player) is already there. She decides to spend 1 energy and takes control of Pessoa. She flips her Heteronym Tile to the Pessoa side and she moves Pessoa's meeple to "A Brasileira". She has 3 energy left and she decides to take the first (0 energy cost), the second (1 energy cost) and last (2 energy cost) cards, adding them to her hand. She ends her turn with 0 energy. The 2 remaining cards slide to the left and 3 new cards are added to the display.
Physical Space (3): Bookshop
At the Bookshop, players can gain Bookshelf Tiles from the display which will improve the quality of their poems and/or their maximum amount of energy and hand size.
The player must discard from their hand 1, 2 or 3 Inspiration Cards. The requirements, i.e. the type of cards that must be discarded, are indicated on the Bookshop Card on display. This can be cards with a certain value or of a certain suit.
Upon discarding the required type of card they gain the reward indicated, either a Bookshelf tile or 5 Victory Points:
- If the player discards a Naturalism card, they gain a Bookshelf tile.
- If the player discards a value "3" card, they gain 5 Victory Points.
- If the player discards a Classicism card, they gain a Bookshelf tile.
A player cannot meet more than 1 requirement with the same Inspiration Card.
Before performing the action, the player MAY manipulate the position of the Bookshop Card, sliding it up or down. This will change the required Inspiration Cards aligned against each reward. If the player wants to manipulate the card they have to do so BEFORE performing the action.
Example: The player decides to manipulate the card by sliding it up: if the player discards a value "3" card, they gain a Bookshelf tile. If the player discards a Classicism card, they gain 5 Victory Points.
Each time the player gains 1 Bookshelf Tile, they decide if they want to use its face-up side or flip it and use its face-down side that depicts energy. Then, the player places the tile in the corresponding space under their Heteronym Board, or on the right side of it (in the case of an energy tile).
There are 4 different types of Bookshelf Tiles that can be obtained at the Bookshop. After they are added to the Heteronym Board of the player, they provide the player with the following improvements:
- Gain 1 extra victory point for each Naturalism card played when writing a poem.
- Gain 1 extra victory point for each Classicism card played when writing a poem.
- Gain 1 extra victory point for each Futurism card played when writing a poem.
- Gain 1 extra energy when the player Rests, and hand size is increased by 2.
Historical Note: Fernando Pessoa had one of the most impressive libraries of this period. With books in both Portuguese and English covering a huge variety of writing, these books fuelled his creative process. That's why, in this game, collecting bookshelves filled with books, conceptually recreates this "growth process".
Example: It's Joana's turn (blue player), and she moves her heteronym meeple to the Bookshop. She would like to gain the Naturalism tile which requires a Naturalism card to be discarded. She doesn't want to do that, so decides to slide the card up, creating new alignments. She discards a value "3" card and gains the Naturalism tile. Then, she discards a Classicism card and she gains 5 Victory Points. Then she places the gained tile in the corresponding space of her Heteronym Board and she scores the 5 Victory Points that she gained by advancing her scoring disc 5 spaces on the scoring track.
After performing the action, remove from the game the card currently on the Bookshop and then take the top Bookshop Card from the deck and place it on the display.
Finally, refill any empty spaces with Bookshelf tiles from the stacks: the top space must be filled with the top tile from the first stack and the bottom space must be filled with the top tile from the top of the second stack.
If one of the stacks gets depleted, then draw from the stack that still contains tiles.
Astral Map Bonuses
After performing the action at the Bookshop or at Rossio, players MAY activate the Astral Map. The Astral Map is a part of the Metaphysical space, and each round one section faces the Bookshop and another section faces Rossio.
When playing Inspiration Cards at the Bookshop or Rossio, if at least 1 card has a matching astrological sign with 1 of the 2 signs on the section adjacent to it, the player gains the corresponding bonus. This bonus is only earned ONCE per action even if both astrological signs match.
Types of Bonus:
- Gain the top Bookshelf Tile of 1 of the stacks of the Bookshop. The bonus is taken before refreshing the Bookshop.
- Draw 2 Inspiration Cards from the top of the deck and add them to your hand.
- Gain 3 Victory Points.
- Gain 2 energy by sliding your energy marker 2 spaces to the right on the energy track.
Historical Note: Astrology played an enormous part in Fernando Pessoa's life. Sometimes Fernando Pessoa cancelled meetings because the stars were unfavourable on those days. He drew his own Astral Map and the Astral Maps of his heteronyms. He predicted almost precisely the year of his own death. Astral Maps rotate counter-clockwise but, we decided that in this game, the Metaphysical space rotates clockwise, in order to be coherent with the round structure and board gaming standards.
Physical Space (4): Rossio
At Rossio (one of the most vibrant squares of Lisbon), players can write poems by discarding Inspiration Cards from their hand and gaining Victory Points.
The player must play from their hand 3, 4 or 5 Inspiration Cards, and use them to write a poem. To write a poem, the player lays down on the table in front of them Inspiration Cards from their hand in ascending order, never repeating the same value. Values don't have to be consecutive. Each card must be played, overlaying the previous card, leaving only the header (value and suit) of the previous card visible. If a player uses a card with 2 values, they must announce which of the 2 values they are using.
IMPORTANT: To create the perfect atmosphere, and to show off your poetical prowess, players are encouraged to read out loud the fragments of poetry on the Inspiration Cards as they lay them on the table!
Example: Afonso (red player) wants to move his meeple to Rossio so that he can write a poem. However, Inês (yellow player) is already there. He decides to pay 1 energy to transform himself into Pessoa, flipping his Heteronym Tile to the Pessoa side. He now moves the Pessoa meeple to Rossio in order to write the poem. He plays 4 cards from his hand. A Naturalism card value 1, a Futurism card values 1/2 announcing that he is using the value 2, a Futurism card value 4 and a Naturalism card value 5.
Next, the player scores the poem. Each Inspiration Card played will score Victory Points determined by the value of each suit as depicted on their heteronym board plus all the Bookshelf Tiles underneath it. The player adds the total for each Inspiration Card and scores that many Victory Points.
Style coherence: as a bonus, each Inspiration Card that is played immediately after a card of the same suit will score the player 1 additional Victory Point.
The player then collects a Poem Tile equal to the number of verses of the poem. Each Inspiration Card represents 1 verse. So, if the poem consisted of 3 cards, the player takes a size 3 Poem Tile. If the poem consisted of 4 cards, the player takes a size 4 Poem Tile and so on. The player takes the corresponding Poem Tile from the Rossio section of the game board if there are still Poem Tiles of that size available there. If not, the player takes it from the supply. If a Poem Tile is taken from the Rossio section, the player gets 3 additional Victory Points as depicted on the game board. If the Poem Tile is taken from the supply, no extra bonus points are awarded. Poem Tiles will score again at the end of the game so should be kept to the left of the player's Heteronym Board.
Astral Map: After performing the action (just like when performing the Bookshop action), the player checks if they can activate the Astral Map.
Finally, the player selects 1 of the played Inspiration Cards to keep for their Final Poem (explained later). The chosen card is placed under their Heteronym Tile and will score again at the end of the game. Players may examine their reserved cards at any time. The rest of the Inspiration Cards are placed onto the discard pile.
Historical Note: Rossio square is located in the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon and has been one of its main squares since the Middle Ages. It has been the setting of popular revolts and celebrations, bullfights and executions, and is now a preferred meeting place of Lisbon natives and tourists alike.
Example: Afonso (red player) now scores the poem: Naturalism cards score him 1 Victory Point and Futurism cards score him 3 Victory Points. So, he scores 1 Victory Point from card A, 3 Victory Points for card B, 3 Victory Points for card C and 1 Victory Point for D. Also, since card C was played after a card of the same type (card B), it scores 1 extra Victory Point. In total, this poem scores 9 Victory Points. Afonso takes the size 4 Poem Tile from Rossio because there is still one there and scores 3 extra Victory Points. In total Afonso scored 12 Victory Points and advances his score marker on the scoring track. Since one of the played cards has the same Astrological Sign as one of the Astrological Signs depicted on the section of the Astral Map facing Rossio, Afonso gains the respective bonus. In this case, the bonus is a Bookshelf Tile that the player can take from one of the stacks beside the Bookshop. He decides to take the Classicism tile. Finally, he decides to keep the Futurism 1/2 card which he places under his Heteronym Tile and discards the remaining cards.
Rest
If a player does not move a meeple and perform an action, either because they don't have energy or they don't want to, they must Rest. They remove their meeple from the Game Board and place it in front of their Heteronym Board.
Then, they replenish ALL the energy of their Heteronym on their Heteronym Board, by moving the energy marker to the rightmost space of its energy track, including the spaces on any Bookshop Tiles.
On their next turn, the player will be able to move their Heteronym meeple back onto the game board and perform an action, or move Pessoa's meeple instead, if the player controls him and wishes to do so.
Example: It's Inês's turn (yellow player), she still has 1 energy point, but she decides to rest. She removes her heteronym meeple from the board and moves her energy marker to the rightmost space.
5. End of the Round
After all players have performed their turn, the round ends. Follow this procedure (which is also depicted on the game board):
A. First, the player who controls Pessoa takes the First Player Token.
B. Then, in a 2 and 3 player game only, players move the neutral heteronym(s):
- In a 3 player game: Players move the neutral heteronym to the next PHYSICAL space clockwise that is not occupied by an heteronym meeple. If all PHYSICAL spaces are occupied with heteronym meeples, players move the neutral meeple to the METAPHYSICAL space instead. The next time that the meeple in the METAPHYSICAL space will move, he will move to the lowest numbered PHYSICAL space (each space is numbered and consider the Metaphysical Space as number 5) that does not contain an heteronym meeple.
- In a 2 player game: Players will move both neutral heteronym meeples. They move first one of the neutral heteronyms (the one who currently occupies the lowest numbered space) to the next PHYSICAL space clockwise that is not occupied by an heteronym meeple. Then they move the other heteronym meeple.
If ALL PHYSICAL spaces are occupied with heteronym meeples when moving a neutral, move it to the METAPHYSICAL space instead. The next time that the meeple in the METAPHYSICAL space will move, it will move to the lowest numbered PHYSICAL space that does not contain an heteronym meeple.
Attention: If players forget to move the neutrals at the end of a round, DO NOT backtrack player movements.
C. Finally, players rotate the Metaphysical space one step, so that the arrow points to the next calendar date.
After playing round "1935", the game ends and players write their final poem.
Example (2 players): Afonso (red player) and Inês (yellow player) are playing a 2 player game. Inês controls Pessoa at the end of the round and gets the 1st Player token. They will move the 2 neutral heteronyms: the first to be moved is the blue meeple on "A Brasileira" (space number 2), because it's the lowest numbered space occupied by the neutral meeples. The meeple is moved to the Metaphysical space because all other physical spaces are occupied by heteronym meeples. Then, the other neutral meeple (the white meeple) which is currently at the Bookshop (space number 3) moves to the next free physical space in clockwise direction, in this case "A Brasileira" which was left vacant by the movement of the blue neutral meeple.
At the end of the next round, Inês (yellow player) still controls Pessoa so she keeps first player token. First, players move the white meeple that is currently on "A Brasileira" (space number 2). The meeple is moved to "Martinho da Arcada" (space number 3) which is the next free Physical Space in clockwise direction. Secondly players move the blue meeple that is currently in the Metaphysical Space (space number 5) and they move it to "A Brasileira" which is the only available free Physical Space.
6. Final Poem
After players have completed round "1935", the game ends. Now players have the opportunity to compose the greatest poem of their virtual lives. In order to do so, players may use:
- ALL the cards stored under their heteronym tile, plus
- 1 additional card from their hand
The rules to write a poem are exactly the same as described before on the Rossio physical space, with the exception that the poem token is always taken from the supply and not from the Rossio space, even if there are still poem tokens remaining there. Players cannot gain a bonus from the Astral Map when writing their final poem. Then, after scoring the poem, collecting the respective token and discarding all the cards used to write the poem, the game ends.
Example: All players will write their final poem. Afonso (red player), uses 3 cards that he has kept during the game after writing poems (A, B, and D). He adds 1 card from his hand (C) and he scores the poem: card A scores 2 Victory Points, card B scores 3 Victory Points, card C scores 3 Victory Points + 1 extra Victory Point and card D scores 3 Victory Points + 1 extra Victory Point. This final poem scores 13 Victory Points. Afonso collects from the supply a size 4 poem tile.
Historical Note: On 29 November 1935, Pessoa was taken to the Hospital de São Luís suffering from abdominal pain and a high fever; there he wrote, in English, his last words: "I know not what tomorrow will bring." He died the next day, 30 November 1935 around 8 pm, aged 47, leaving behind an extraordinary life of creation. The Final Poem reflects the last literary statement of each heteronym, before they vanish away with the body of their creator.
7. End of the Game
When the game ends players proceed to final scoring by scoring the Poem Tiles in their possession. Each player will score:
- 3 Victory Points for each Size 3 Poem Tile
- 4 Victory Points for each Size 4 Poem Tile
- 5 Victory Points for each Size 5 Poem Tile
- 1 Victory Point for each Inspiration Card remaining in their hand.
After adding those Victory Points to the points that they have scored during the game, the player with the most Victory Points is the winner. Ties are broken firstly by the player with more Poem Tiles, then by the player with more Bookshelf Tiles. If that still does not break the tie, the players share the victory, after all there is enough metaphysical space for several heteronyms to live in posterity.
Example: The game has ended and Afonso (red player) has scored 70 Victory Points during the game. Now, he scores his Poem Tiles. The size 3 tile scores 3 Victory Points, the size 4 tiles score 4 Victory Points each and the size 5 tile scores 5 Victory Points, for a total of 16 Victory Points. He also has 2 cards in hand, so he scores 2 extra Victory Points. His final score is 88 Victory Points (70+16+2).
Historical Note: In his lifetime, Pessoa published four books in English and only one in Portuguese: Mensagem (Message). However, he left a lifetime of unpublished, unfinished or just sketchy work in a domed, wooden trunk (25,574 manuscript and typed pages which have been housed in the Portuguese National Library since 1988). The heavy burden of editing this mass of work is still in progress. The goal of this game is to show you, fellow gamer, what an extraordinary person Fernando Pessoa was and how amazing his contribution to poetry in the 20th Century was.
Module 1: Advanced Heteronyms
This module reflects how diverse these heteronyms were and to which sphere of writing they focused. It adds asymmetry to the game right from the start. To play with this module, flip the Heteronym Boards to their advanced side (red side) during set-up.
Álvaro de Campos — His starting values for scoring poems are: 0 points for each Naturalism card, 0 points for each Classicism card and 2 points for each Futurism card. At the end of the game, scores 3 points for each Size 3 Poem Tile, 4 points for each Size 4 Poem Tile and 5 points for each Size 5 Poem Tile. His energy track is 1 space bigger and his hand limit is 1 higher than the other heteronyms. Special trait: When Campos writes a poem, he may ignore placing the Inspiration Cards in ascending order and can therefore gain bonus points for playing the same suits together. He must still use different values of course. For example, he can play a "3" followed by a "1", followed by a "4". Ignore this special trait when writing the Final Poem.
Ricardo Reis — His starting values for scoring poems are: 1 point for each Naturalism card, 2 points for each Classicism card and 0 points for each Futurism card. At the end of the game, scores 3 points for each Size 3 Poem Tile, 3 points for each Size 4 Poem Tile, but scores 0 points for each Size 5 Poem Tile. Additionally, for each set of one Size 3 and one Size 4 Poem Tiles, he scores 3 extra points. Special trait: Each time Reis writes a poem, he gains 1 extra point for each Inspiration Card played whose value is exactly +1 more than the previous card, i.e. a "3" after a "2" or a "4" after a "3" and so on. Ignore this special trait when writing the Final Poem.
Bernardo Soares — His starting values for scoring poems are: 1 point for each Naturalism card, 1 point for each Classicism card and 1 point for each Futurism card. At the end of the game, scores 4 points for each Size 3 Poem Tile, 4 points for each Size 4 Poem Tile and 4 points for each Size 5 Poem Tile. Special trait: When Soares writes a poem and his Heteronym Tile is on the Pessoa side, he gains 3 extra Points. Ignore this special trait when writing the Final Poem.
Alberto Caeiro — His starting values for scoring poems are: 2 points for each Naturalism card, 1 point for each Classicism card and 0 points for each Futurism card. At the end of the game, scores 3 points for each Size 3 Poem Tile, 4 points for each Size 4 Poem Tile and 5 points for each Size 5 Poem Tile. Special trait: Each time Caeiro writes a poem and his meeple or Pessoa's meeple is alone in Rossio, he gains 3 extra Points. Ignore this special trait when writing the Final Poem.
Reminder: Even if an heteronym scores 0 Points for a card of a certain suit, they can still earn 1 additional point if played after a card of the same suit.
Module 2: Mensagem
Mensagem was the only relevant book that Fernando Pessoa published during his life. To use this module, take all Mensagem cards, shuffle them into a deck and place them face-down next to the board during set-up. Each player draws 2 Mensagem cards into their hand. Mensagem cards DO NOT COUNT towards the hand limit.
During the Game: Each time a player performs the REST action, they draw 1 Mensagem card from the top of the deck and add it to their hand. Then, from the 3 Mensagem cards they now hold, they play 1 sliding it under one of the top 3 spaces of their Heteronym Board, leaving only the icons visible. These cards will score extra Victory Points at the end of the game.
Then, ALL players pass 1 of the 2 Mensagem cards they currently have to the player on their left, receiving 1 Mensagem card from the player on their right.
Note: Players cannot have more than 3 Mensagem cards in play. If they would play a 4th card they either discard 1 of the 3 existing Mensagem cards to make room for a new one, or simply discard 1 from their hand.
Final Poem: After players write their final poem, all players play 1 final Mensagem card from the 2 they still hold (no cards are passed to other players). The remaining card is discarded.
End of the Game: At the end of the game, after players have scored their poem tiles, players will score the Mensagem cards they have played into their Heteronym Board.
Types of Mensagem Cards:
- 1 Victory Point for each Poem Tile you have.
- 1 Victory Point for each Bookshelf Tile you have.
- 2 Victory Points for each Bookshelf Tile of the indicated type that you have.
- 2/3 Victory Points for each Poem Tile of the indicated size that you have.
- 5 Victory Points for each set of 1 Naturalism + 1 Classicism + 1 Futurism Bookshelf Tiles that you have.
- 5 Victory Points for each set of 1 Size 3 Poem + 1 Size 4 Poem + 1 Size 5 Poem Tiles that you have.
If you have the majority, or you are tied for majority, of Poem Tiles, gain 5 Victory Points. If you have the majority, or you are tied for majority, of Bookshelf Tiles, gain 5 Victory Points. If you have the majority, or you are tied for majority, of the indicated Bookshelf Tile, gain 5 Victory Points. If you have the majority, or you are tied for majority, of the indicated type of Poem Tile, gain 5 Victory Points.
Historical Note: The book "Mensagem" was one of the few works published by Fernando Pessoa during his life, and represents his biggest published achievement. It epitomises the collective achievement of Pessoa's mind and, consequently, embodies the contribuiton of all characters that lived inside his extraordinary brain.
Example: Afonso (red player), scores his Mensagem cards at the end of the game. The first card gives him 4 Victory Points, since he has 2 Futurism Bookshelf tiles. The second card scores him 5 Victory Points since he is tied for majority of Futurism Bookshelf tiles. He has 2 and Joana also has 2, so he can score the card. Finally, his third Mensagem card scores him 0 Victory Points, since he has 2 size 3 Poem Tiles, but Inês has 3, so he doesn't have the majority and he is not tied for majority. In total, his Mensagem cards score him 9 Victory Points.
Solo Mode
Goal of the Solo Game: Score 100 or more Victory Points to win the game.
Historical Context
You will play against Raphael Baldaya, a lesser known heteronym of Pessoa, an astrologer who studied Astrology and Occultism. Baldaya will try to block your movement in order to force your destiny to become a reality: defeat. Can you beat Baldaya and build a path to fame and posterity?
Set-up
Set up the game as if you would be playing a 2 player game using both modules. You cannot play in solo mode without both modules.
Remove Mensagem cards "M06" and "M16". They cannot be used in the solo game.
Place 1 Neutral Heteronym meeple in the Bookshop space and the other on Rossio, as you would do in a 2 player game. Then, take the heteronym meeple chosen to represent Baldaya and place it on the Metaphysical Space.
Baldaya does not use a Heteronym Board and takes no Inspiration Cards at the start of the game. During gameplay he does not take or discard Inspiration Cards and, similarly, energy. He also will not score Victory Points. Give him the appropriate Heteronym Tile and 2 Mensagem cards, kept face down.
Place the 2 player discs of Baldaya on the calendar spaces "1921" and "1931" of the Metaphysical Space.
To WIN you must score at least 100 Victory Points. You start the game as first player and Baldaya starts with its Heteronym Tile Pessoa side face up.
During the Game
Play the game as a normal 2 player game. On Baldaya's turn, do the following:
- If Baldaya does not control Pessoa, flip his Heteronym tile to Pessoa side. So, in your future turn, if you want to control Pessoa, you will have to spend 1 energy to take the control back, like in a multiplayer game.
- Draw the top Inspiration Card from the deck and place it on the discard pile: Baldaya's meeple will try to move to a space (see Baldaya's Movement). If the card has 2 numbers, use the lowest number.
- Baldaya performs an action on that space (see Baldaya's Actions).
Baldaya's Movement: Baldaya's will try to move his heteronym meeple to a space as indicated by the value on the Inspiration Card. Each value refers to a specific space on the game board (Each space is numbered, e.g. the Metaphysical Space is 5). After determining the space he will move to and, before moving any meeple, do the following check:
- If there is another heteronym meeple in that space (yours, a neutral or Baldaya's meeple), move Pessoa's meeple instead.
- If there is another heteronym meeple in that space (yours, a neutral or Baldaya's meeple) AND also Pessoa's meeple, move Baldaya's meeple to the next PHYSICAL space clockwise that is not occupied by an heteronym meeple. If ALL PHYSICAL spaces are occupied with heteronym meeples, then move him to the METAPHYSICAL space instead and perform the action of the space where Pessoa's meeple is.
- If a card with a value "5" is drawn then simply move Baldaya's meeple to the Metaphysical Space and perform the action of the space where Pessoa's meeple is. If Baldaya's meeple is already on the Metaphysical Space, then move it to the lowest numbered physical space that is not occupied by an heteronym meeple.
Example: Baldaya (red meeple), draws an Inspiration Card value "2" and has to move to "A Brasileira". Since another heteronym meeple is there, he cannot move his red meeple, so he moves Pessoa's meeple instead.
Example: Baldaya (red meeple), draws an Inspiration Card value "4/5" and he has to use the lowest value, in this case the "4", which means that he has to move to Rossio. However Rossio is occupied by an heteronym meeple AND Pessoa, so he has to move to the next space clockwise that does not contain an heteronym meeple, in this case "A Brasileira".
Baldaya's Actions:
- Martinho da Arcada: Baldaya discards the 3 leftmost cards onto the discard pile.
- A Brasileira: Baldaya discards the 3 leftmost cards onto the discard pile.
- Bookshop: Baldaya takes both Bookshelf Tiles. Place them face up next to his Mensagem cards. Restock the Bookshop. Please note that Baldaya does not gain any bonus from the astral map.
- Rossio: Baldaya gains the lowest size Poem Tile available in Rossio. If there are no more Poem Tiles in Rossio, he takes the Poem Tile from the supply of the type he has less. In case of a tie, he takes the one of lowest value. Place the tile next to his Mensagem cards. Please note that Baldaya does not gain any bonus from the astral map.
- Pessoa's Mind: Baldaya performs the action where Pessoa's meeple stands.
Example: Baldaya (red meeple), draws an Inspiration Card value "4" and has to move to Rossio. Since his meeple and Pessoa meeple are already there, he has to move to the next space clockwise that does not contain an heteronym meeple. However, there are no free physical spaces for him to move to, so he has to move his meeple to the metaphysical space. Then, he performs the action of the space where Pessoa's meeple currently is, in this case Rossio. He gains the lowest size poem tile available in Rossio, in this case a size 3 poem tile.
Rest Action
When you perform a Rest action do the following:
- After you have drawn 1 Mensagem Card add it to your hand and play 1 Mensagem Card;
- Pass 1 of the 2 Mensagem cards you have in hand to Baldaya;
- Randomly take 1 of Baldaya's Mensagem cards into your hand as in a 2 player game.
When the calendar reaches 1921 and 1931 (as highlighted by Baldaya's discs) Baldaya performs the REST action as follows:
- He draws 1 Mensagem card, adds it to his hand and then randomly discards 1 of the 3 cards from his hand;
- Choose 1 Mensagem card from your hand to give to Baldaya and randomly take one of the Mensagem cards he has in hand;
- Then remove Baldaya's disc from that calendar space.
End of the Round
Proceed normally giving the first player token to whoever controls Pessoa. Don't forget to move the 2 Neutral Heteronyms as in a 2 player game and rotate the Metaphysical Space.
Final Poem
Write your poem as usual. Baldaya gains a size 5 Poem Tile and places the tile next to his Mensagem cards. In accordance with the normal game rules you may now play 1 of the 2 Mensagem cards from your hand.
End of the Game
At the end of the game, when you score your Mensagem Cards, check all the Bookshelf Tiles and Poem Tiles that Baldaya has in order to compare majorities.
To win, your final score must be at least 100 or higher. If your score is less than that, you have lost the game. If you won, check the table below to see how you will be remembered as a poet.
Ranking:
- 100–109 Victory Points: You are a Poet Apprentice. We cannot say that your poems are mesmerising, but at least you are considered the best at your local poetry club.
- 110–124 Victory Points: You have officially published your first book. Don't expect to be covered in glory, but at least some people will read you and remember your name.
- 125–139 Victory Points: You are a Great Poet. Everybody in your country knows who you are. You're probably going to be translated to other languages.
- 140+: You are officially the Greatest Poet Of All Time. We bow to your genius and your name will be remembered for generations to come.
Campaign Play
You can play the solo mode in a campaign, meaning that you will play a series of games. The goal of campaign play is to play the maximum number of games in a row without losing (of course you can do this over several days). Your final score is the number of games in a row that you have won. If you manage to complete 9 games without losing, you arrive to the end of the campaign and you will be remembered as the Greatest Poet Of All Time.
You must choose a Heteronym and use him during the whole campaign. You will be able to keep some Bookshelf Tiles between games, which will make your heteronym stronger as the campaign unfolds.
During Set-up, place 12 Bookshelf Tiles in each stack. However, after your first game, this number of tiles will be lower, so distribute them as evenly as possible for each stack.
The table below indicates which score you have to achieve to win each specific game and how many Bookshelf Tiles you will be able to keep to use in your next game. To determine which tiles you keep, simply take all the bookshelf tiles you have won during the game and randomly pick a number of tiles as indicated on the table. Place these Bookshop Tiles in a zip-lock bag if you take a break from your campaign.
| Game # | Target Score | Bookshelf Tiles to Keep |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | 100 | 1 |
| Game 2 | 105 | 1 |
| Game 3 | 110 | 1 |
| Game 4 | 115 | 2 |
| Game 5 | 120 | 2 |
| Game 6 | 125 | 2 |
| Game 7 | 130 | 3 |
| Game 8 | 135 | 3 |
| Game 9 | 140: Greatest Poet Of All Time!!! | — |
Summary
Round Structure
Before performing their turn, the player can:
- Take control of Pessoa: by paying 1 energy;
- Meditate: discard Inspiration Cards to gain 1 energy for each card discarded.
Move and perform 1 action: Move your heteronym meeple or Pessoa's (if you control him):
- Martinho da Arcada — Buy Inspiration Cards. Each card costs 1 energy. Cards on second and fourth positions can only be bought if cards on their right and left have already been bought; check hand size; add new inspiration cards to Martinho da Arcada.
- A Brasileira — Buy Inspiration Cards. Cards cost between 0 and 2 Energy; check hand size; add new inspiration cards to A Brasileira.
- Bookshop — You may move the Bookshop card up or down; discard 1, 2 or 3 Inspiration Cards. Cards must meet the requirement and gain the rewards (Bookshop Tiles and/or Victory Points). When gaining a tile choose its side (suit or energy); check if you gain a bonus from the Astral Map (1 of the played cards matches 1 of the zodiac signs); refresh the Bookshop display.
- Rossio — Discard 3, 4 or 5 Inspiration Cards; gain Victory Points; gain Poem Tile from Rossio (if available) or supply; check if you gain a bonus from the Astral Map (1 of the played cards matches 1 of the zodiac signs); select 1 Inspiration Card to keep for the final poem, discard the others.
- Metaphysical Space — Pay 1 Energy; perform the action of the physical space where Pessoa's meeple currently is.
Rest
- Remove heteronym meeple from game board;
- Maximize Energy;
- Module 2: Draw 1 and Play 1 Mensagem card. All players pass 1 Mensagem card to players on their left.
End of Round
- Player who controls Pessoa gets 1st Player token;
- Move neutral heteronym(s) in a 2 and 3 player game;
- Rotate the Metaphysical Space.
Game End (After 1935)
- All players write their final poem (cards placed aside + 1 card from hand);
- Module 2: Players play 1 final Mensagem Card.
Final Scoring
- 3/4/5 Victory Points for each Poem token of size 3/4/5.
- Module 1: Ricardo Reis scores 3 Victory Points for each Poem token of size 3 and 4 PLUS 3 extra Victory Points for each set of one size 3 and one size 4 poem tokens;
- Module 1: Bernardo Soares scores 4 Victory Points for each Poem token of size 3/4/5.
- 1 Victory Point for each Inspiration Card in hand.
- Module 2: Victory Points for played Mensagem Cards.
Credits
- Game Design: Orlando Sá
- Illustration & Graphic Design: Marina Costa (using ©Shutterstock)
- Development: David M Santos-Mendes
- Revision: Neil Horabin
- Poems Translation: Miguel Lourenço
Acknowledgements: The designer wants to thank his wife Joana and his kids Afonso and Inês for being who they are – amazing and inspirational. Without them, this game would not be possible. The designer also wants to thank the sensational group of people involved in the development of the game, specifically Neil Horabin, Miguel Conceição, César Maciel, Rita Jesus and Hugo Marinho. And all the playtesters who helped shape the game: Seb Horabin, Cheryl Horabin, Hélder Sá, Fernanda Castelo, António Castelo, Dina Brito, Pedro Dominguez, Rôla, Costa, Andreia Domingues, Pedro Mendes, Diana Domingues, Gert Breugelmans, Etienne Espreman, Frédéric Delporte, Fabrice Beghin, André Santos, Fábio Lima and all the team of "Dice Cultural", specifically Ricardo Jesus, Cristina Fidalgo, Marco Silva, César Mendes, and Miguel Lourenço for his extraordinary work with the translations. And last but not least, David Santos-Mendes for believing in this project and Marina Costa for her stunning illustration work.
Marina, the artist, thanks Orlando Sá and David Santos-Mendes for all the care and support provided throughout the project. She would also like to pay tribute to her father, José António Costa, who died shortly before the completion of this project. She thanks him for the love shown in each of his fascinating and funny stories that he told her in drawing form during her childhood, the inspiration for her artistic and illustrative vocation.
PYTHAGORAS 2021 © All rights reserved