Squire: The Collector of the Glorious Rarities
Squire: The Collector of the Glorious Rarities Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Double-sided game board.
- 4 player boards.
- 55 exhibit tokens (11 of each colour).
- 50 regular coins.
- 4 royal coins.
- 32 regular tickets.
- 8 royal tickets.
- 42 message cards and 4 hint cards.
- Market.
- 8 character pawns.
- 10 wooden price markers with stickers.
- Exhibition token.
- This rulebook.
Setup
- Choose which side of the game board you will play on. The side with the British Isles is simpler; the world map side is more complex and involves more interaction between players. Place the game board with the chosen side face up.
- Shuffle the exhibit tokens and place them face down next to the game board. This is the common supply of tokens. Depending on the number of players, return some random tokens to the box: 7 for a 3-player game, 16 for a 2-player game.
- Randomly choose 15 exhibit tokens and place one face up in each city on the game board. Leave the unused tokens next to the game board.
- Place all coins next to the game board; from now on their supply is called the bank. Give each player 10 regular coins.
- Place all tickets next to the game board. Give each player 1 royal ticket (the one showing a crown).
- Shuffle the deck of message cards and place it on its designated space on the game board. Deal each player 1 message card face down. Do not show it to your opponents!
- Place the market in its designated space on the game board. Before the first game you need to assemble it (see "How to assemble the market" on page 11).
- Place the price markers on the market as shown in the illustration. During play the markers show the price of exhibits. Before the first game, place on the sides of the price markers a matching pair of stickers of the corresponding colour.
- Some stickers show the exhibit type. Place the markers with these stickers in the left part of the market.
- Other stickers show the region symbol. Place the markers with these stickers in the right part of the market.
Player Setup
- Each player chooses a player board. Each board has its own special ability, which only its owner may use. Both sides of the boards give players the same abilities, but they differ in the character picture. Choose which character you will play and place your board with that side face up.
- Take the pawn of your character. Before the first game, assemble the character pawns by inserting 2 stands into the slots in the bottom of each pawn.
- Choose the first player at random. The player sitting to the right of the first player (the one who will play last) receives the exhibition token. Before the first game, assemble the exhibition token.
NOW YOU CAN START THE GAME!
Game Flow
The game consists of several rounds. In each round the participants take turns clockwise, starting with the first player. On your turn you perform 5 actions, in the order given:
- I. Move on the game board (mandatory action).
- II. Buy or sell 1 exhibit from the game board (mandatory action).
- III. Update the market (mandatory action).
- IV. Place a new exhibit in your gallery (if you made a purchase).
- V. Hold an exhibition (if you have the exhibition token).
When you have performed all the actions you can, your turn ends and the turn of the player sitting to your left (clockwise) begins. If you held an exhibition on your turn, give the exhibition token to the player sitting to your right (counterclockwise). Now let us look at each action in more detail.
I. Movement on the Game Board
You must move every turn: ladies and gentlemen do not linger in one city for long! On your first turn, instead of moving, place your character pawn in any city on the board.
IMPORTANT! You may be in the same city as other players!
You may move between cities connected by a land or sea dotted line. Movement is paid for with tickets: each move from one city to an adjacent city costs 1 ticket. You may pay with several tickets to pass through a series of cities in one turn.
Regular (non-royal) tickets are discarded after use, while royal tickets are not discarded; they can be used every turn for the whole game. You may pay for 1 move with a royal ticket, just like a regular ticket.
Example. Sir Fox wants to reach Tokyo. He can first move to Samarkand and then on to Tokyo. For this he pays for the first move with a royal ticket and discards 1 regular ticket for the second move.
II. Buying or Selling an Exhibit
Over the course of the game you will deal with various exhibits: paintings, sculptures, rare books and others. The type of an exhibit corresponds to the colour of its token: for example, painting tokens are red, ceramics tokens are blue, and so on.
Exhibits also differ in value, that is, in how many victory points (VP) they will earn. Each token shows a number from 2 to 6: this is the number of VP the player receives at the end of the game for that exhibit in their gallery.
On each of your turns you must buy or sell an exhibit located in the city where you finished your movement.
IMPORTANT! You may buy or sell only 1 exhibit per turn! Buying and selling is done only from the game board.
Cost of buying and selling. The cost of buying and selling exhibits changes during the game. It is determined by the positions of the price markers on the market (the numbers next to the markers of the corresponding colours), which change after every purchase and sale.
- The price markers in the left part of the market correspond to exhibit types.
- The price markers in the right part of the market correspond to regions of the game board (the colours of the cities in which the exhibits are located).
The total price of an exhibit is the sum of the numbers shown next to the corresponding price markers (for the exhibit type and for the region) on the market.
Example. Sir Fox buys ceramics (blue token) in Rio de Janeiro (blue region). Its price is 2 + 3 = 5 coins. Sir Fox must pay this to the bank.
If a player BUYS an exhibit, they must pay its total price to the bank.
If a player SELLS an exhibit, they receive money from the bank. The amount received is calculated in the same way as for buying: the sum of the numbers shown next to the price markers (for the exhibit type and the region) on the market. Sold exhibits are placed in a separate discard pile and are not returned to the game board.
After you have bought or sold an exhibit, take a new exhibit token from the common supply next to the game board (if any remain) and place it face up in the city that has been vacated.
IMPORTANT! All regular (non-royal) coins used to pay for an exhibit purchase are discarded. Royal coins, like royal tickets, are kept by the players, and they can be used every turn. When selling an exhibit, the amount received is always paid from the bank in regular coins.
III. Updating the Market
After buying or selling an exhibit, you must change the prices on the market:
- After BUYING an exhibit, move the price markers of the corresponding region and exhibit type to the very top of the market.
- After SELLING an exhibit, you lower the prices: move both price markers to the very bottom of the market.
Example. Sir Fox bought ceramics in the blue region, so both blue price markers are moved to the top of the market. Now, if you want to buy or sell ceramics in the same region, its price will be much higher. Had Sir Fox been selling ceramics, the markers of the corresponding colours would have been moved to the bottom of the market.
IV. Placing a New Exhibit in the Gallery
You must place all your exhibits in your personal gallery (on your player board). When you receive a new exhibit, you may place it in any empty cell.
Only exhibits located in the gallery will earn you VP at the end of the game.
IMPORTANT! Once an exhibit has been placed in the gallery, it can no longer be moved, sold or discarded! Moving rare artefacts and ancient statues unnecessarily may cause them irreparable damage!
By placing an exhibit in the gallery you may receive a one-time or permanent bonus. There are two ways to receive bonuses:
- Place an exhibit in a cell with a hall bonus.
- Fill an entire floor with four exhibits (horizontally) or a row with three exhibits (vertically).
A. Floor bonuses
- 1st floor: no bonus.
- 2nd floor: increase your message card hand limit by 2 (permanent ability).
- 3rd floor: take 1 exhibit of your choice from the discard pile and place it in your gallery (one-time ability).
B. Row bonuses
- The left row gives you 1 additional royal ticket.
- The right row gives you 1 royal coin.
- The two middle rows give no bonuses.
C. Hall bonuses
Some cells give you a bonus when an exhibit is placed in them. Depending on the cell, you may receive regular coins or regular tickets.
Each bonus can be received only once: at the moment of placing an exhibit in a hall-bonus cell, or in the last free cell of a floor/row. During one turn you may receive two bonuses at once if you meet the corresponding conditions: placing an exhibit in a hall-bonus cell and simultaneously completing a floor/row!
V. Holding an Exhibition
If you have the exhibition token, you must hold an exhibition on your turn. If you do not have the token, you cannot hold an exhibition!
IMPORTANT! The exhibition token is passed counterclockwise. It is NOT passed on every turn, but ONLY after the active player has held an exhibition.
Exhibition rewards
To hold an exhibition, choose which type of exhibit you will display. You may choose only one type of exhibit. The game board shows the rewards for exhibiting each type of exhibit.
IMPORTANT! You may hold an exhibition of any of the indicated types even if you have no such exhibits — after all, your gallery has large storerooms! For example, you may hold an exhibition of paintings (red tokens) even if during the game you did not acquire a single painting.
Place the exhibition token on the chosen exhibit type on the game board and receive the reward indicated for the player holding the exhibition. Then the other players whose galleries contain at least 1 exhibit of the type you chose receive the reward (starting with the player sitting to your left and continuing clockwise).
After all players have received their reward, pass the exhibition token to the player sitting to your right.
IMPORTANT! The reward for the player holding the exhibition differs from the reward for the other players.
Holding an exhibition in a two-player game
After holding an exhibition, leave the exhibition token on the game board. Your opponent takes the exhibition token from the game board only at the end of their turn.
Then, when your opponent holds an exhibition at the end of their next turn, they too leave the exhibition token on the game board. You will take it at the end of your turn.
Message Cards
Collectors often correspond on business, discussing the latest news about gallery openings and other events. The Queen herself may contact you, asking you to accept an important commission!
At the start of the game each participant receives 1 message card. When holding exhibitions, players may receive new message cards. When you are entitled to take a message card, take the top card of the deck into your hand.
IMPORTANT! The hand limit for message cards equals the number of ceramics tokens (blue tokens) in your gallery plus 1 (and plus 2 more if you received the 2nd floor bonus in your gallery).
Each message card is divided into two parts: you simultaneously receive a tempting offer concerning the development of your gallery, and a royal commission (hereafter "commission"). However, you may choose only one: either develop your gallery or accept the commission.
IMPORTANT! Each card may be played only once, so think carefully before making your choice!
On your turn you may play more than one message card.
Tempting offer
You may use a tempting offer when buying or selling an exhibit to receive the bonus indicated.
On your turn you may receive the bonus if, when you buy or sell, the conditions shown in the upper part of the message card are met. In this case play the card and receive the indicated bonus from the bank in addition to the usual effects. Then discard the card (it no longer takes part in the game) by placing it face up in the area next to the message deck marked with the symbol X on the game board.
If you have several such cards, you may play as many of them as you like during the same action.
Example. If you buy or sell an exhibit in the red region (with the rose symbol), you may (if you wish) play this card and receive 3 coins from the bank.
Royal commission
To accept a commission, you must hold an exhibition of sculptures (green tokens). In this case you place the card under your player board so that only the commission is visible from under it.
At the end of the game you receive VP for accepted commissions according to their text.
IMPORTANT! The number of commissions you may place under your player board equals the number of sculpture tokens (green tokens) in your gallery plus 1.
You may not discard accepted commissions, with one exception: when another participant holds an exhibition of sculptures, you may discard one of your accepted commissions and play another!
Example. At the end of the game you receive 1 VP for each ceramics and sculpture token in your gallery.
End of the Game
The game approaches its end when all exhibit tokens in the common supply run out. The active player finishes their turn in the usual order, after which all participants count their results.
You receive VP for:
- The total value of exhibits in your gallery (on your board).
- Accepted commissions (the number of VP depends on the commission).
- Unspent tickets and coins (including royal ones): add them all together and receive 1 VP for every 5 tickets and coins you have left.
The participant with the most VP wins. In the event of a tie, the contender with the most remaining tickets and coins wins. If there is still a tie, the contender with the largest collection of exhibits wins.
How to Assemble the Market
The market is assembled from six parts, numbered 1 to 6, as shown in the illustration on page 11 of the official rulebook. Transcriber's note: the assembly diagram itself is pictorial and the printed text does not describe the placement of each part, so the step order is given only as numbered in the source; consult the illustration.