Rattlesnake City Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
  • The Board
  • Other Components
  • Starting the Game
• Playing the Game
  • General
    • Tiles
    • Markers
    • Coup Cards
    • Action Cards
    • Money
  • Turn Order
    • 1. Drawing a Tile
    • 2. Drawing an Action Card or Two Coup Cards
    • 3. Playing, Buying or Selling Miscellaneous Cards
    • 4. Attacking an Opponent's Bank and/or Challenging to a Poker Game
      • Attacking an Opponent's Bank
• End of the Game
• Variant
  • Notes on the Variant Cards
    • The Tar & Feathers Card
    • The Cheater Card
    • The Professional Player Card

Setup

The Board

• The board is placed in the centre of the table. It represents Rattlesnake Valley and includes:
  • 6 ruined towns, each with 7 spaces: one building may be built on each space. The space at which the railway line ends is reserved for a possible station.
  • 11 grassland areas (green): ranches may be built on them. The maximum number of ranches depends on the size of the area: ranch tiles may be adjacent but may never extend beyond the area.
  • 4 mountain areas: a gold mine may be built on each of these areas.
  • railway lines, some sections of which are in poor condition: new railway tracks may be built on the corresponding spaces.
• An "income track" runs along the edge of the board. It is used to show the income each player receives each turn.

Other Components

• The most honest player is named Treasurer. The Treasurer places the bills by value beside them and gives 10,000 $ to each player. The Treasurer will then pay each player the income due to them each turn.
• Each player takes a set of markers in the colour of their choice and the saloon tile of the same colour.
• Each player places one of their markers on space 0 of the income track.
• Unused saloon tiles and markers are returned to the box.
• All other tiles are placed in the bag.
• The action cards are shuffled and each player is dealt five, which they look at. The remaining cards are placed face down as a draw pile.
• The coup cards are shuffled and placed face down as a draw pile.
• The rulers are used to determine which saloon is nearest to a building when there is any doubt. Distance is measured from an outer corner to another outer corner, choosing the measurement that favours the players. If the distance between the building and the two saloons is strictly identical, the player who placed the building collects the corresponding income. If the distance is too long, the two rulers may be placed end to end.
• Every town has at least one space located at the same distance from a mine as the neighbouring town. These are marked with a yellow dot, so there is no need to measure…

Starting the Game

• A first player is determined at random.
• Play proceeds clockwise.
• The first player places their saloon on a space in the town of their choice: this town is now "theirs". The next player does the same in another town. When all players' saloons have been placed, the game can begin.
• The last player to place their saloon takes the first turn.

Playing the Game

General

Tiles

• There are two kinds of tile:
  • 16 railway tracks, used to repair the railway and to connect stations to one another.
  • 50 building tiles to be placed:
    • in the towns: Sheriff's Office, Bank, Station, General Store, Hotel, Blacksmith, Church, School, Cemetery;
    • on the grassland areas: Ranch;
    • on the mountains: Mine.
• Most buildings earn money, because their occupants frequent the saloons regularly.
  • The Sheriff's Office, Bank, Station, General Store, Hotel, Blacksmith, Mine and Ranch automatically earn 1,000 $ per turn for the owner of the nearest saloon to where they are placed.
  • Stations also earn an additional 1,000 $ for each station connected by railway tracks in good condition.
    • A station connected to another station therefore earns 1,000 $ for the owner of the town, plus an extra 2,000 $ per turn, i.e. 1,000 $ to each of the two owners of the towns in which they are placed, or to the sole owner of a town if the second town belongs to no one. Three connected stations earn an additional 3,000 $, and so on.
  • Mines earn an additional 2,000 $ for the owner of the nearest bank.
    • If the same player owns both the saloon and the nearest bank to a mine, that mine therefore earns them 3,000 $ per turn.
    • If there is only one bank and three mines placed, the owner of the bank collects an additional 6,000 $ per turn (plus the 1,000 $ from their bank, of course)…
• Some buildings earn nothing: the saloon, of course, as well as schools, churches and cemeteries.
• It is forbidden to place more than one identical building in the same town, except cemeteries.

Markers

• Markers are used to make income checks easier during the game. They are placed on disputed buildings, or on buildings for which the rulers were needed, and on mines (marker in the colour of the owner of the nearest bank), so that it is known to whom they pay out.

Coup Cards

• Each coup card shows one, two or three cartridges. They correspond to one, two or three revolver shots and there are 27, 18 and 9 of each respectively.
• If the coup card pile runs out, the discarded coup cards are shuffled to form a new draw pile.

Action Cards

• There are two kinds of action card:
  • 36 poker cards:
    • 25 playing cards, 7 of which show a revolver.
    • 3 Cheater: allows the player to swap their revealed playing card for one of an opponent's.
    • 3 Professional Player: allows the player to take back their revealed playing card and replace it with another from their hand.
    • 4 Yellow-Livered Coyote: allows the player to refuse a poker game or a gunfight that would be triggered afterwards.
    • 1 Tar & Feathers: to be played after a Cheater.
  • 20 miscellaneous cards:
    • 11 with a permanent effect:
      • 1 French Cook, 1 French Cancan: +1,000 $ per turn
      • 1 Mexican Cook, 1 Adulterated Whisky: -1,000 $ per turn
      • 1 Lili the Tigress: +1,000 $ if a hotel is placed in the player's town; discard if it is destroyed
      • 1 Thumbtacks: -1,000 $ if a hotel is placed in the player's town; discard if it is destroyed
      • 1 Undertaker: +1,000 $ per cemetery placed in the player's town
      • 1 Ironfist Jim, 1 Slippery Joe: +1 shot in each gunfight; works only once per gunfight
      • 1 Honest Jim, 1 Stinky Joe: -1 shot in each gunfight; works only once per gunfight
    • 9 with a single-use effect:
      • 6 Dynamitero: allows the player to destroy a building or a section of railway track. It is forbidden to dynamite a saloon!
      • 2 Stroke of Fate: allows the player to discard a permanent-effect card regardless of who owns it
      • 1 Bounty Hunter: allows the player to stop a Joe (the card is then discarded) and collect the corresponding bounty

Money

• Each player's money is kept secret, except when a bank is attacked or in certain poker games.

Turn Order

On their turn, each player:

1. draws a tile and places it;
2. draws an action card or two coup cards;
3. may play miscellaneous cards, buy them or sell them;
4. may attack an opponent's bank and/or challenge an opponent to a poker game;
5. collects their income.

1. Drawing a Tile

• If it is a railway track tile, the player places it on a matching faulty section (for example a straight track tile on a straight section of railway).
• If it is a building tile, the player places it, as the case may be, on an empty space in a town of their choice (including any town belonging to no one), on a mountain or on a grassland area.
  • If this tile earns them money, they advance their marker on the income track. Long John places a hotel in his town on the first turn: he advances his marker one space on the income track (1,000 $), indicating that he will collect 1,000 $ at the end of his turn. If he adds a Sheriff's Office on the following turn, his marker moves to 2,000 $.
  • If this tile earns money for another player, that other player advances their marker on the income track.
  • If this tile earns money for several players, each advances their marker on the income track by the corresponding gain.

2. Drawing an Action Card or Two Coup Cards

• The player then chooses to draw either one action card or two coup cards, which they add to their hand.

3. Playing, Buying or Selling Miscellaneous Cards

• These actions are optional.
• The player may play as many miscellaneous cards as they wish. The effect of each is printed on the card.
  • Cards with a permanent effect are placed in front of the players. Jimmy the Kid places "Adulterated Whisky" in front of Long John. Long John will earn 1,000 $ less per turn, and immediately moves his marker back one space on the income track. Jimmy places "Ironfist Jim" in front of himself: he will get one extra revolver shot (and only one) in each gunfight.
  • Cards with a single-use effect are applied immediately and discarded. Jimmy uses a "Dynamitero" to destroy a ranch that earns income for John: the ranch is removed from the game and John immediately moves his marker back one space on the income track. The "Dynamitero" card is discarded.
• The player may offer miscellaneous cards for sale or ask to buy them. The price is agreed between the players.

4. Attacking an Opponent's Bank and/or Challenging to a Poker Game

• These are two optional actions. The player may carry out either or both, in the order of their choice.

Attacking an Opponent's Bank

• This action may be carried out only once per turn.
• The player chooses an opponent who has a bank in their town and announces that they are attacking it: they must place a coup card in front of them, or possess a permanent-effect card that gives them a free shot.
• The attacked player has two options:
  • either they admit defeat: they give the attacker half (rounded in the attacker's favour) of all the money they hold;
  • or they defend, and a gunfight follows: see "Gunfight".
• If the attacked player wins, nothing happens. If the attacker wins, they loot the bank: the loser gives them half (rounded in the attacker's favour) of all the money they hold.
• After an attack on a bank has been resolved, the owner of the bank draws two coup cards, whether they defended or not.

Challenging to a Poker Game

• This action may be carried out only once per turn.
• The player chooses an opponent and announces that they challenge them to poker. They decide the amount of the stake and place the corresponding money on the table.
• The challenged player can avoid the poker game only by playing a "Yellow-Livered Coyote" card, which they discard immediately.
• If the challenged player has no playing card, they draw an action card (good faith is of course expected!). Even if it is not a playing card, they cannot refuse the game.
• If the challenged player proves, by revealing the amount of their fortune, that they cannot cover the stake proposed, the stake is reduced to that amount, which they then place on the table in turn.
• Whether or not the challenged player avoids the poker game, each of the other players may decide to take part, for the stake decided. Each adds their bills to the table.
• The player who challenged to the poker game may, if they wish, agree to lower the stake at the request of other players who are too poor. In all cases, all players must bet the same amount.
• All participants in the poker game choose a playing card from their hand and place it face down in front of them. The cards are revealed simultaneously.
• The challenged player places their playing card last. They may choose not to play a card, or be obliged to do so if they have none: they then automatically lose their stake. If they had only one opponent, that opponent discards their playing card without revealing it.
• The playing card of the highest value wins the total of the stakes.
• BUT…
  • There may be Cheaters or Professional Players who influence the cards played.
  • Some playing cards show a revolver.
    • If one of the losers played a card showing a revolver, they may trigger a gunfight: see "Gunfight".
    • If a participant in the poker game then plays a "Yellow-Livered Coyote" card, they avoid the gunfight and run away with all the money from the game. If several participants play a "Yellow-Livered Coyote" card, they run away sharing the money from the game. If the share does not divide exactly, the remainder stays on the table for the winner of the gunfight.

5. Collecting Income

• The player announces to the Treasurer the amount corresponding to the position of their marker on the income track, and collects what is due.
• Income cannot fall below zero.
• After this last action, the turn passes to the next player.

Gunfight

• Two actions can trigger a gunfight: attacking a bank, and a loser of a poker game choosing to use a revolver after the game.

When a Bank Is Attacked

• The attacker starts the gunfight. They must have at least one shot, either from a permanent-effect card (placed in front of them) or from a coup card, which is then revealed and placed face up in front of them.
• The attacked player must then reply with at least one additional shot, taking into account their own permanent-effect cards too, and by placing one or more coup cards.
• The gunfight continues until one of the two players can no longer, or no longer wishes to, exceed the other.
• If the attacked player can, at best, only equal the attacker's number of shots, they lose the gunfight.
• All coup cards used are discarded.
• Long John attacks Jimmy the Kid's bank. He has Slippery Joe, which gives him a first free shot. Jimmy chooses to defend his bank: he lays down a coup card with two cartridges. Long John must then add at least two cartridges (in one or two coup cards) if he wishes to continue the gunfight, and so on.

At the End of a Poker Game

• The player who triggered the gunfight is considered the attacker and starts the gunfight, which proceeds as in a bank attack.
• All players who took part in the poker game and did not run away then have two options: either they withdraw, or they take part in the gunfight, clockwise, until they withdraw or run out of shots.
• The last player to have played a coup card wins the gunfight (and the total of the stakes).
• All coup cards used are discarded.

End of the Game

• The game can end in two different ways.
  • When the last tile is placed on the board: the game stops immediately at the end of the turn of the player who placed it, and the richest player wins.
  • As soon as a player holds a certain sum of money:
    • 200,000 $ with 2 or 3 players;
    • 150,000 $ with 4 to 6 players.
    • This player is immediately declared the winner.

Variant

• This variant is entirely optional. It lengthens the game and requires a standard poker deck (or better, the Rattlesnake City Poker Deck!).
• When a player triggers a poker game, they may choose to play the normal rules (above) or to play a "real" deal with a standard deck of cards and the rules of their choice (Texas hold'em, for example).
• Each playing card corresponds to a specific card, the one shown at the top of the playing card (1 = 2 of Clubs… 25 = Ace of Spades). Players may replace a "normal" card with a playing card before revealing their hand.
  • After exchanging three cards, Long John ends up with the following cards: 9 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds, Jack of Diamonds, Queen of Spades and… 7 of Clubs! Fortunately, he holds playing card 23, which represents a King of Hearts. He naturally discards his miserable 7 and replaces it with 23 to get a very nice straight…
• If a player has replaced a normal card with a playing card showing a revolver, they may trigger a gunfight if they lose.
• The playing card used, if any, is discarded at the end of the poker game.
• When a player challenges another to poker, they always choose the amount of the blind (opening stake). Then anyone who has the necessary money may join in. There may be several raises, depending on the rule chosen, but as soon as a player can no longer keep up, the poker game stops once all those who wish to have matched.
• Of course, the player with the strongest combination wins all the stakes.

Notes on the Variant Cards

The Tar & Feathers Card

• If a player ends up with two identical cards after replacing a normal card with a playing card, one of the other players, whether or not they took part in the poker game, may play a "Tar & Feathers" card (two Aces of Spades, that's dodgy, isn't it?).
  • The "cheater's" stake is then shared among all players, whether or not they took part in the game.
  • Then the player with the best combination wins the total of the stakes remaining on the table… unless a loser triggers a gunfight.

The Cheater Card

• After the cards of the poker game's participants have been revealed, a player may use a "Cheater" card to swap one of their cards for one of an opponent's, that is:
  • a playing card for another playing card;
  • a normal card for a normal card;
  • a playing card for a normal card;
  • a normal card for a playing card.

The Professional Player Card

• After all the cards of the poker game's participants have been revealed, a player may use a "Professional Player" card to draw the first three cards of the remaining pile of normal cards. They may then replace one, two or three of the cards in front of them to form a new combination.