Romeo i Julia Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Goal of the game
• 2. Contents of the box
  • 2.1 Location card
  • Event types
  • 2.2 Hero card
  • Skills
  • 2.3 Villain card
  • 2.4 Action cards
  • 2.5 Glass stones
• 3. Setup
• 4. Gameplay
  • 4.1 Phase 1: draw phase
  • 4.2 Phase 2: decision phase
  • 4.3 Phase 3: exchange phase
  • 4.4 Phase 4: complication phase
  • 4.4 Phase 5: final phase
  • 4.5 Checking whether an event succeeded
  • Card layout during play

1. Goal of the game

Each player directs the actions of a pair of heroes. Each pair has a different opponent to defeat, the villain. Before the decisive confrontation, however, Romeo and Julia must find the villain. To do so they visit various places in search of clues, often taking part in hair-raising events (car chases, shootouts, etc.). The number of locations the players must get through before they find the villain depends on the number of players. In a 2-player game each player must visit 6 locations, in a 3-player game 4, and with 4 players 3. The player who first finds the villain's hideout and defeats him wins the game.

2. Contents of the box

12 location cards, 4 hero cards, 4 villain cards, 24 action cards, 12 glass stones, 1 die, rulebook.

2.1 Location card

Location cards show the places our heroes visit during play. Each card shows three different event symbols and a question-mark symbol. The event symbols show what may happen to our heroes at that location. Each event symbol has a matching skill symbol on the hero card.

Event types

• Car chase, losing a tail, escape (car symbol)
• Shootout (pistol symbol)
• Relying on luck (dial symbol)
• Examining found traces, such as fingerprints and scattered notes (microscope symbol)
• Swimming, climbing, running, hand-to-hand combat (footprint symbol)
• Searching databases, checking the contents of hard drives (computer mouse symbol)

2.2 Hero card

Each hero card is divided into two parts: a left and a right half. The left half shows Julia's skills, and the right half shows Romeo's skills. Each skill symbol also carries a number from 1 to 3. The higher the number, the better the character uses that skill. Each character has three skills. The value of a skill the character does not have is zero. Each skill has a matching event symbol on the location card.

Skills

• Driving (car symbol), matches car chase, losing a tail, escape
• Deduction (microscope symbol), matches examining found traces
• Shooting (pistol symbol), matches shootout
• Stamina (footprint symbol), matches swimming, climbing, running, hand-to-hand combat
• Luck (dial symbol), matches relying on luck
• Computer operation (mouse symbol), matches searching databases and checking hard drives

2.3 Villain card

Each villain card shows the symbols of three skills with which the villain can be defeated.

2.4 Action cards

Action cards are used to raise the value of your own heroes' skills and to lower the value of skills of heroes played by other players. The cards come in four kinds: cards affecting only Julia (red), cards affecting only Romeo (blue), cards affecting the pair when they act together (yellow), and special cards showing pictures of Romeo and Julia. Each red, blue and yellow card shows the skill symbol it affects. Special cards may be used to raise or lower the value of any skill of Romeo or Julia. Each action card raises or lowers the value of a hero's skill by one.

2.5 Glass stones

The game uses colored stones. The red stone represents Julia, the blue stone represents Romeo, and the yellow stone represents the pair of heroes. Each player has a set of three stones.

3. Setup

Shuffle the location cards and place them face-down in the middle of the table. Shuffle the action cards and place them face-down beside the location cards. Each player is dealt a random hero card and a villain card. Each player places their hero card face-up in front of them, and beside it their villain card, also face-up. Each player also receives three glass stones, one of each color (red, blue and yellow).

Players roll the die. The player with the highest roll begins the game. In case of a tie, the roll is repeated.

4. Gameplay

The game proceeds clockwise. The player who begins the game is also the dealer during the first turn. In the second turn the dealer is the next player seated to the left of the current dealer, and so on.

The game is played in turns. Each turn consists of five phases, which follow one after another:

• Phase 1: draw phase
• Phase 2: decision phase
• Phase 3: exchange phase
• Phase 4: complication phase
• Phase 5: final phase

4.1 Phase 1: draw phase

If any player does not have a location card laid out on the table, they must take one from the pile of location cards and place it face-up in front of them on the table. The dealer then deals five action cards to each player. The remaining action cards are placed by the dealer face-down in the middle of the table. Players do not show each other the action cards they have received.

4.2 Phase 2: decision phase

If any player has a location card on the table on which one or two stones lie, that player skips the decision phase. If three stones lie on their location card, they may arrange them in a different configuration.

Based on the action cards they received and the skills of their heroes, the players decide in which of the events shown on their location card they want their heroes to take part. Players mark this by placing colored stones on the event symbols.

Example: if a player places the red stone on the car symbol, Julia will take part in the car chase. If the blue stone is placed on the mouse symbol, Romeo will sit in front of the monitor searching for relevant data. If the yellow stone rests on the pistol symbol, the pair of heroes will take part in the shootout.

It is important to place the stones so that the values of the heroes' skills matching the chosen events, combined with the action cards in hand, are as high as possible. A player may place one of their stones on the question-mark symbol. This means it is not known in which event the hero or heroes will take part. Only in the final phase does the player decide which event it will be. They may choose any of the three events which are not already shown on that location card.

After this phase ends, players may not move stones on their location cards.

Effect of action cards:

• Red cards affect Julia and the pair of heroes, if the red or yellow stone lies on the same symbol as the one shown on the red card.
• Blue cards affect Romeo and the pair of heroes, if the blue or yellow stone lies on the same symbol as the one shown on the blue card.
• Yellow cards affect only the pair of heroes, if the yellow stone lies on the same symbol as the one shown on the yellow card.
• The special Julia card affects Julia and the pair of heroes, regardless of the event in which they take part.
• The special Romeo card affects Romeo and the pair of heroes, regardless of the event in which they take part.

4.3 Phase 3: exchange phase

Players may exchange any number of the action cards they hold. Cards discarded by players are shuffled by the dealer together with the remaining action cards. The dealer then deals cards so that each player again holds five. Before exchanging cards, players should take a good look at the events in which the heroes controlled by other players will take part.

4.4 Phase 4: complication phase

The dealer begins this phase. Each player, in clockwise order, must play one action card and add it to any location card. If it is added to the player's own location card, it raises the value of the skill of the hero or heroes shown on that card. If the action card is added to another player's location card, it lowers the value of the skill of the hero or heroes shown on that card. A player may receive at most 2 action cards that lower their skills. The phase ends when all players have got rid of all their action cards.

4.4 Phase 5: final phase

[Printed heading: "4.4 Faza 4: faza końcowa". The printed number 4.4 repeats the complication phase and the printed "Faza 4" should read Phase 5, as the list of phases above shows. The text is transcribed as printed.]

The dealer begins this phase. Each player, in clockwise order, states in which event their hero or heroes took part. Then it is determined whether that event was a success or a failure. If the event succeeded, the stone from that event is moved to the appropriate place on the location card: the red stone is moved to Julia's portrait, the blue stone to Romeo's portrait, and the yellow stone to the heart symbol. If the event failed, the stone lying on it does not change its position.

4.5 Checking whether an event succeeded

The player announces to the other players in which event their hero took part, then checks the value of the hero's skill that corresponds to that event. If the event involves both characters (yellow stone), the values of both heroes' skills are added together. (Each pair has one shared skill.) The player may add one point to this value for each matching action card that they played themselves. They must also take into account the action cards other players have played on their location card. Each such card that matches a hero taking part in the event subtracts one point from the value of the skill. After adding and/or subtracting points, the player obtains the success factor. The player then rolls the die and adds the result to the success factor. If the resulting sum is equal to or greater than 6, the event was a success. Otherwise it was a failure.

The success factor is determined separately for each stone, and a die roll is made separately for each success factor. If a player has played on their own location card an action card that could be used to increase the success factor of two of their stones, they must choose ONE of them to which it applies. The same applies to action cards played by other players. The player decides which success factor is lowered. However, a player MUST use all action cards that lower success factors and match the events in which their heroes took part.

Example: the red stone lies on the luck symbol, the blue stone lies on the question-mark symbol, and the yellow stone lies on the microscope symbol. The player has played the following action cards on themselves: the blue heart card, the blue microscope card and the special Julia card. The other players have played on this player's location card: the special Romeo card and the red pistol card. The player announces that Julia relies on luck. Julia's luck value is 3, and the player decides to use the special Julia card and raises the success factor by one. No card played by the other players could affect Julia's success factor. The player rolls the die and gets 3, so the event was a success: 4+3=7. The red stone is moved to Julia's portrait. The player then declares that Romeo will use his stamina. The blue stone lies on the question-mark symbol, so the player may choose any kind of event which is not yet on the card. In this case, they could still choose the car chase or sitting in front of the monitor. Romeo's stamina value is 3, and in addition he uses the blue heart card and decides to use the special Romeo card played by the other player. His success factor is: 3+1-1=3. The player rolls the die and gets 2, so the event was a failure. The blue stone stays where it is. In the next decision phase, this player will not be able to place stones on their location card. One stone remains, the yellow one. The player adds up the skill values of their heroes: Julia 2, Romeo 1, a total of 3. The player then uses the blue microscope card and raises the success factor to 4. The die roll is 5, so the event was a success. The player moves the yellow stone to the heart on the location card. The remaining red pistol card is set aside; it had no effect on the events at this location. Unfortunately, the player must still take part in events at this location. However, the blue stone lies on the question-mark symbol, so the player will be able to use another of Romeo's skills.

If all the events on one location card succeed (all stones are removed from the event symbols), the player places that card face-down beside their hero card. This is the pile of completed locations. If the player has in their pile of completed locations the appropriate number of cards (6 cards in a 2-player game, 4 cards in a 3-player game, and 3 cards with 4 players), they no longer draw location cards. Instead they use their villain card. The fight with the villain proceeds in exactly the same way as taking part in events on the location cards, except that the villain card has no question-mark symbol. If all the attacks (events) succeed, the villain is defeated and the player wins the game.

Card layout during play

Printed caption: "Card layout during play". The diagram shows, in order: action cards played by other players, the current location card, the hero card, the villain card, and the action cards played by the player.