Squillo: Bordello d'Oriente
Squillo: Bordello d'Oriente Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Dynamics
Basic Rules
Squillo® is played in two phases. The transition from the first to the second, known as the "final phase", is marked by the exhaustion of the main deck. More information on the special rules tied to the final phase is given later in this guide.
In general, it is not a problem to be left without Squillo cards in play during a game. In such cases you keep playing normally, using events and hoping to draw a new girl on your next turn.
During your own turn, after drawing the first two cards, the player has complete freedom of choice over what their Squillo do. It is not necessary to declare all the actions you want to perform straight away: the player may first decide what one or more whores will do and afterwards say what they will do with the remaining ones.
In Squillo®, a card is turned sideways (or "tapped", as will be indicated later) only as a result of particular events, and not when it is used. If a Squillo is in this condition, she is unable to act and to use her abilities. Every transitory effect caused by an event or ability always lasts until the end of the next turn of the player who suffered that misfortune, unless otherwise indicated.
Squillo Actions
For each Squillo card a player has in play, four different actions may be chosen, called Squillo Actions. These are: attack, work the street ("battere"), use one of the personal abilities, and sell the organs. Their operation is described in the rules. Some abilities or events inhibit some of the Squillo Actions for a particular card, thus restricting the choice or even forcing a single one (see Demonic Possession). Events that force a particular action therefore make it impossible to use that card in other ways.
Selling the organs is one of the possible actions for a card, and not a condition that occurs when the Squillo dies: the only way to make money from this is therefore to choose to kill her.
As noted above, it is not necessary to declare at the start of the turn all the Squillo Actions you want to perform. This is essential for the correct management of your girls' takings. After indicating the group of Squillo that is sent to work the street, or killed to sell their organs, the total sum taken must be calculated. This sum must be spent immediately, and any remainder is lost, even if you subsequently choose to send other whores to work.
Power-Ups
Power-ups are always kept separate from the main deck, in what is called the "power-up deck". Once purchased, they are immediately assigned to your Squillo, with no maximum limit on how many a girl may accumulate. When a girl dies, her power-ups are returned to the bottom of the power-up deck, so that they come back into play to be purchased again. If the power-up deck runs out, it is simply no longer possible to purchase power-ups.
Events
Apart from the Squillo, the other cards that make up the main deck are events. Beyond the distinction given in the rules and on the cards themselves, attention must be paid to a second distinction, linked to the target of the event. There are three possible targets: the pimp, a single Squillo, or all the Squillo in play (the "community").
Traps
Trap cards are particular events that are played face down to protect your girls. Each of your whores may be assigned at most one trap, and once assigned, it cannot be replaced. A trap is activated when an attack is made against the Squillo to which it is attached. "Attack" means only the attack action performed by an opposing girl. The activation of a trap may be countered in the same way that events are countered, bearing in mind that traps are not launched directly by the pimp. If the attack is carried out by several whores, all of them suffer the effects of the trap, unless particular exceptions apply.
Typically, the personal abilities of whores do not activate traps; this is, however, explicitly indicated on the cards of the Bordello d'Oriente deck. The matter is different for the personal abilities of the Squillo of the Deluxe Edition deck, in which traps were not present. It must therefore be understood that every personal ability that causes the death of a whore, except those also present in Bordello (Ruthless Killer, Killer Spietata), does not activate traps.
Traps may be destroyed as a result of particular events or of the personal actions of the Squillo®, but not only in those ways. The elimination of a whore, which takes place without setting off the trap, or the moving of a girl from the sidewalk of one pimp to that of another, causes the destruction of the trap associated with her.
Attached Cards
In Squillo® Bordello d'Oriente, many cards carry the wording "Attach this card". These are events that introduce continuous effects, and they are placed beneath the Squillo to which they are attached. There is no limit to the number of attached cards that may be attached to one of your girls, by analogy with power-ups. By virtue of this analogy, events that remove all power-ups from whores, for example Reincarnation, also entail the removal of attached cards. Although this condition is always specified on the cards of the Bordello d'Oriente deck, the same is not true of the Deluxe Edition deck. By analogy with what is established for traps: if a Deluxe Edition card says to remove or recover all power-ups from a Squillo, for example Surprise Whore (Troia a Sorpresa), the same applies to attached cards, unless there is an explicit indication otherwise (Whore Swap, Scambio di Troie).
Geishas
Geishas are new, extremely powerful Squillo in the Bordello d'Oriente deck. Given their power, at most one (LIMIT 1) may be placed on your sidewalk. If a pimp draws a Geisha card while already having one in play, they must return it to the deck and shuffle the deck. The situation may arise, especially towards the end of the game, where only geishas remain in the deck. In that case, the pimp draws no cards for that turn. Otherwise, these cards function like any other whore.
The Final Phase
As soon as the main deck is empty, the final phase begins. From this moment, if a player is left with no Squillo cards on their table, they immediately lose the game. In the final phase the two cards drawn at the start of the turn are no longer drawn, and the discard pile is shuffled and used every time an event or ability is played that requires drawing a card to determine the effect of that action. During the final phase, some abilities become unusable under particular conditions stated in their descriptions.
The final phase ends when only one player has Squillo cards in play, or when a stalemate arises in which no player can kill the whores of one or more of their opponents: in this case, victory is shared.
Abilities
Among all the abilities of the Squillo of Bordello d'Oriente, one is the most particular:
Imboscamento
Imboscamento is one of the most powerful abilities of Squillo®. By choosing to send a Squillo with this ability to work the street, you normally obtain her fee and, in addition, she goes into hiding, making her immune to every type of attack or event, except for exceptions expressly indicated in the text of the cards. It is still possible to assign power-ups to her.
At the start of the player's next turn, the hidden whore comes out of her hiding place and may be used for a new Squillo Action.
The possibility of hiding is lost in the final phase if this card is the only one left in your stable.
The Cards
Many of the Squillo® cards are immediately understandable; for others it is worth spending a few seconds more considering how they actually behave.
Acupuncture (Agopuntura)
Acupuncture is a handy practice with which to relieve the ills of your girls, possessions included, or it may be used as a voodoo practice to remove beneficial powers from opposing girls. It is able to remove the attached cards from Squillo but, however effective, it is not possible to bring the (un)dead back to life.
Note that cards indicating places, such as Bunker, Casa Chiusa and Chinese Textile Factory, are not attached cards.
Aiko
World War II marked the end of the world of the geishas. Many of them, unable to do anything else, were forced to reinvent themselves as high-class prostitutes. Aiko, despite her ninja training, preferred to keep her feminine image, avoiding the factories and the war in order to give herself to soldiers, easing their suffering. Reluctant to die, she is in the habit of using her fellow street girls as a human shield.
Whatever the source of the threat to Aiko's life, she is always able to sacrifice another whore to save her pristine backside and preserve it for the next customer. Obviously, Aiko must be able to act, so if she is prevented from doing so, her life may be short.
As for her ninja training, this characterises her and remains with her even after death (Zombie) or if she is guided by a demon (Demonic Possession).
Ascension (Ascensione)
Only the most deserving whores can rise to the rank of Geisha. With Ascension you can train any slut in the arts of service and pleasure, transforming her into a geisha.
To be used, this card requires at least one Geisha card to be present in the deck and, obviously, it cannot be used on a geisha.
Bakula
Bakula is a skilled manipulator. She is able to enslave every other girl to her will, to the point of driving her to act against her own companions. The pimp who owns Bakula may use the manipulated whore as he pleases, but may not sell her organs or direct her against his own girls.
Bakula's role ends with the manipulation; every other action is the responsibility of the manipulated whore. This means that any attacks are not made by Bakula but by whoever she is commanding. A direct consequence of this is that any traps trigger against the manipulated slut (or against her pimp).
Baobao
Baobao works in the same way as Shannon (Deluxe Edition). In addition, it should be remembered that traps are events.
Glazed Like a Duck (Caramellata come un'anatra)
Nothing satisfies more than a client with a copious gush. Sometimes, however, it is excessive and can lead to serious side effects.
A whore who is glazed is unusable until the facial scrub is paid for. This restriction takes effect IMMEDIATELY, thus inhibiting any possible hiding (Imboscamento). Payment is made in advance and the takings from the service are safe. It is therefore possible, in lucky cases, to remedy the damage straight away, but the girl still cannot be used for that turn, and the actions following the service are in any case cancelled.
Dysentery (Dissenteria)
This is what happens when you take too much bifidus: a good discharge of faeces. And there is no refuge in which to protect yourself: if it escapes, it escapes! The only way to stop the uncontrolled discharge from your own sphincter is to undergo a good session of acupuncture; otherwise, every turn, in every place and every lake, a power-up will find its way to the biological pit.
Chinese Textile Factory (Fabbrica Tessile Cinese)
What greater punishment for your girls than taking them off the sidewalk to lock them up in a textile factory? By using at least one Squillo®, you may open one, which will generate $150 for each little tart working inside it. Girls may be locked inside it at any time, even after having performed their action, immediately generating the $150 given by their presence. Leaving, however, requires the use of the girl's personal action.
Inside the factory, the whores are protected from external events, except those against the community, because of the fragile asbestos sheets from which it is built. Once the final phase is reached, the factory is immediately torn down. The absence of whores inside it also entails its closure.
Erratum: the Chinese Textile Factory is to be used on your own turn, not on another player's turn.
Stuffed in Every Orifice (Farcita in ogni orifizio)
It is well known that motivating your employees brings significant productivity gains. Giving one of your girls a night of pleasure in the company of three hunks will mean that she can act three times. It is possible to perform the same action more than once.
Fujiko
Fujiko's personal power is not an attack, as the card states. Consequently, it cannot be cancelled by events such as Deals with the Yakuza (Intrallazzi con la Yakuza). It is, however, possible to take advantage of its non-use to launch the Punishment of Stupidity (Punizione della Stupidità) on the pimp who owns her.
Ginseng
Erratum: Ginseng is to be used on your own turn, not on another player's turn.
Great Wall (Grande Muraglia)
The Great Wall allows you to convert any type of power-up into defensive power-ups. Up to 3 may be chosen, and they must be reassigned to the same whores from which they were taken. If desired, defensive power-ups may also be exchanged for other, more powerful ones.
Vietnam War (Guerra in Vietnam)
As indicated in the section on traps, an attack against a Squillo protected by a trap causes the effect to occur against all the girls taking part in the Vietnam War, but it is always possible to attempt to counter its effects. As a general rule, however, the "overriding negation" applies: if even a single whore or a single pimp negates the effect of a trap, that trap is negated for all participants.
Hentai
Remembering that Hentai is used on another player's turn, a factor often overlooked, this card can cancel event cards of any kind played against the pimp or against a single whore. It is therefore not valid for countering events launched against the community.
Indira
Indira works in the same way as Katy (Deluxe Edition). In addition, it should be emphasised that the characterisation Ruthless Killer (Killer Spietata) is only an explanation of the attack power; consequently, attacking with Indira nevertheless activates traps.
Anal Incident (Incidente Anale)
Anal hygiene comes first of all; it is the first rule of the manual of the good whore. It is logical that a client takes offence if he is ignored: nobody likes finding his penis turned into a chocolate cone.
The earnings generated by this service are lost, together with all the power-ups associated with the whore.
This event may be played even if a pimp sends more than one girl to work. In that case, the player who plays Anal Incident must indicate which whore forgot to use the bidet before going to work.
Buggered by a Panda (Inculata da un panda)
To ensure that his unfortunate girl survives the anal encounter with the panda, her protector must discard all the event cards in his hand. If he has none, he can simply say goodbye to his slut.
Karaoke
Organising a karaoke party is an excellent way to avoid dangerous catfights between Squillo®. When you want a pimp not to send his girls to fight, then as soon as he declares his first attack action, Karaoke may be played, to prevent him from launching attacks and to force him to change his choice. Karaoke cannot be played if an attack has already been carried out.
Karma
Karma is a powerful and versatile card, but care must be taken in how it is used. Indeed, if it is activated on your own turn, thereby showing that you could carry out an attack and choosing not to, the Punishment of Stupidity is lurking right behind it, waiting to be used!
Kalindi
Kalindi knows how to do her job. Her ability, Corkscrew (Cavatappi), can prevent the girls owned by the pimp to the right of Kalindi's protector from working for one turn. In line with similar cases, Kalindi's death does not remove this partial restriction, and newcomers do not suffer the harmful effects of the corkscrew.
Kim Jong Un
Kim Jong Un works in the same way as the Great Wall, but refers to offensive power-ups.
Kulì
Erratum: Kulì also cancels the attack.
Lai Ming
Lai Ming can prevent a trap from being triggered. As emphasised in the section on the Vietnam War, the effect of this ability is enjoyed by all the whores attacking together with her.
Atomic Pump (Pompa Atomica)
The Atomic Pump is the absolute weapon,
[Note: the printed text of this entry ends here, mid-sentence, at the foot of page 8 of the source PDF (the last page of the guide). No further text is printed for this card in the source, and no other copy of the guide was found to complete it. The entry is transcribed as printed.]
Purification (Purificazione)
With Purification it is possible to eliminate all the traps in play. Since it is an event that strikes the traps, and not the Squillo®, it also eliminates the traps placed in front of hidden whores or in any case immune to events against the community.
Sati
With her Greedy Arse (Culo Avido), Sati only doubles her base fee. Any bonuses provided by power-ups are only added and not doubled.
Triumph of the Black Men (Trionfo di Negri)
Comparable to the joy of being stuffed in every orifice is that of an orgy with virile and well-endowed black men. With this card you can give immense pleasures (and 5 power-ups) to one of your girls, but only if you are the pimp with the fewest whores in total. Any ties preclude the use of this event.
Yang
Yang extends the game by drawing 20 cards from the discard pile and shuffling them back into the main deck. This card cannot, however, be used in the final phase, since it would cause the exit from that phase, to the disadvantage of the players who have already been eliminated.