Suzerain Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Components and Concepts
  • 2.1 Empire Mats
  • 2.2 Counters
  • 2.3 Cards
• 3. Setup
• 4. Sequence of Play
• 5. Draw Hand / Exchange Cards
• 6. Playing Cards
  • 6.1 Empire Cards
  • 6.2 Adversity Cards
  • 6.3 Event Cards
• 7. Going to War / Drawing Cards
  • 7.1 Going to War
  • 7.2 Spoils of War
  • 7.3 Drawing Cards
  • 7.4 Discarding Excess Cards
• 8. Restore Inactive Counters
• 9. Courtship
  • The Consort
• 10. Winning / Playing the Heir
• 11. Etiquette

1. Introduction

Learning to play Suzerain:

Start by playing a 3 or 4 player game. (Until players are comfortable with the rules and have mastered some of the tactics described in the Player Notes, games with 2 players may become too lopsided and games with 5 or 6 players may both take too long and end too abruptly.)

The rules to Suzerain can be divided into three logical groups: Card Play and Empire Building; Going to War; and Courtship and Playing the Heir. Learn them in stages. First, read sections 1-8, skipping 7.1 and 7.2 (the War rules), and play out the first round of play (since no attacks may be made during the first round). Then read sections 7.1 and 7.2. Continue playing until one player has placed two pieces on the Noble level. Stop play at this point and go over sections 9 and 10 (Courtship and Heir rules) before finishing the game.

2. Components and Concepts

A complete copy of Suzerain includes:

• 6 Empire mats
• 160 die cut counters
• 1 deck of 100 Cards
• 1 Card Summary / Player Notes sheet
• 1 four-page Rules folder (what you're reading)

[The publisher's replacement-parts mailing address printed under this list is omitted from this transcription.]

2.1 Empire Mats

Each empire consists of a pyramid with five levels. Initially, each player has only a single ruler located on the bottom level of their empire. As the game progresses, players build their empires from the bottom up, promoting their rulers upwards. Boxes are filled by playing empire cards (see below) of the specified type and placing a counter in the box. As each box is filled, the empire acquires the printed war ability or card draw indicated in the box. The object of the game is to be crowned Suzerain by being the first player to build a complete empire.

2.2 Counters

Four types of counters are provided:

• Empire counters (90). These represent Serfs, Knights and Nobles within an Empire, varying in strength from 1 to 5. They may become inactive as indicated by their reversed (red) sides. Inactive counters do not provide the abilities printed in their boxes to their Empire.
• Royal counters (50). These represent Princes and Princesses. These counters also vary in strength from 1 to 5 and may become inactive.
• Ruler counters (12). These represent each player's Ruler, a King or a Queen. All Rulers have a strength of 5 and never become inactive.
• First Player and Attack Order chits (6) are used to designate the First Player and the order in which players go to War during a turn.

2.3 Cards

Every card (except Plague) may be used either as described on the card or as a War card when a player is attacking or defending. When used as a War card, its Strength is equal to its printed value, ranging from 1 to 5. There are three types of cards:

• Empire cards (54). These cards have black titles and represent Serfs, Knights, Nobles, Princes and Princesses that may be added to a player's Empire. When played to do so, a counter of matching Strength is placed on the player's Empire mat.
• Adversity cards (27). These cards have red titles and are played on other players' Empires to flip one or more of their counters over to become inactive. An Adversity card's Strength applies only when the card is being used as a War card (Exception: Siege).
• Event Cards (19). These cards have brown titles and various effects (see Card Summary). An Event card's Strength applies only when the card is being used as a War card (Exception: Peasant Revolt).

3. Setup

If only 2 players are playing, remove the Intrigue 5, one Good Harvest 3 and one Good Harvest 5 cards from the deck (these cards are designated by "**" in their upper right hand corners). If 5 or 6 players are playing, remove one of the Peasant Revolt 1 cards ("*") from the deck instead.

Draw Attack Order chits to determine First Player for the initial round of play and seating order. Each player takes an Empire Mat and their choice of Ruler counter, either King or Queen. (This choice has some effect on play but isn't crucial. If players wish to each play Rulers of their own gender, the game will work just fine.) Place the Ruler on the Empire Mat in the middle box of the Serf level. Deal 5 cards to each player. If a player draws the Plague among his or her initial cards, exchange it for another card and reshuffle the Plague back into the deck.

4. Sequence of Play

Each round, play proceeds as follows:

1. Each player draws 5 cards if holding no cards. Then, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise, each player may exchange his or her entire hand for a new hand if desired (subject to a maximum of 5 new cards as described below).

2. Starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise until all players have Passed, each player must either Pass or play one card on any Empire. Once a player Passes, he or she may not play any more cards in this step (except Festival or Return from Quest). Attack Order chits #1, #2, etc. are claimed by players in the order they Pass.

3. In the Attack Order determined in the previous step, each player:

   • May go to War against one other Empire (except on the first Round).
   • Draws 1 card per active Serf in his or her Empire. (Good Harvests may result in additional card draws; see 7.31.)
   • Discards down to 10 cards (12 cards in a two-player game).

   Note that all three of these steps are performed by one player before the next player performs any of them.

4. Flip over all inactive counters in each player's Empire. Resolve Plague if it was revealed earlier during this turn. The player with Attack Order chit #1 becomes the First Player (flip the chit over) for the next round of play. Remove the rest of the Attack Order chits.

Notes: The card hand limit of 10 (or 12) cards applies throughout the turn; it should be checked whenever a player receives Dowry, turns in a Noble for two cards or takes a card as Spoils of War. Whenever Plague is drawn during a round, it is revealed and set aside to be resolved during step 4; the player drawing it does not draw a replacement. The game ends immediately when a player completes his or her Empire.

5. Draw Hand / Exchange Cards

Each player who starts a round of play with no cards draws 5 cards. Starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise, each player (including one who just drew 5 cards) may choose to trade in all of his or her cards for either 5 cards or the same number of cards as that player turned in, whichever is fewer. A player may only do this once a round.

§ Playing Tip: On the first round of play, a player who doesn't hold any Serf, Good Harvest, Wild, Alchemy, or two or more Noble cards, should probably exchange his or her hand for a new one.

6. Playing Cards

Card play is optional. Cards are played in clockwise order one at a time until all players Pass. A player must play a card or Pass. After passing, a player may not play any cards except Festival or Return from Quest.

6.1 Empire Cards

Empire cards (Serf, Knight, Noble, Prince, Princess and Wild cards) may be played to add to the player's Empire. When an Empire card is played, a corresponding counter is placed on the player's Empire mat and the card is discarded. Empire cards may only be played to fill empty boxes in an Empire or to promote a Ruler (see below). They may not be used to "upgrade" existing counters to higher Strength values.

Serf cards may be played to fill any empty Serf box. Knights may only be played to fill empty Knight boxes located above two occupied Serf boxes, forming a pyramid. Similarly, Nobles may only be placed above two occupied Knight boxes and a Prince or a Princess may only be placed in an empty Royal box above two occupied Noble boxes. Wild cards may be used as any of the above cards when adding to an Empire.

Example: A Knight may be placed at "A" above two Serfs. Once that Knight has been placed (but not before), a Noble could be added to "B".

Note that Royal boxes hold two Royals (Prince and Princess). The first counter in a Royal box is placed according to the rules above; the second counter may only be added by Courtship or as Spoils of War (see below).

6.11 No counter may ever be placed above a box containing a Ruler.

6.12 Once a counter is placed, it may not be removed nor rearranged.

Properties of Empire Counters

• Each Serf counter provides one card draw.

  Serfs with Strength greater than 1 can benefit from Good Harvest cards.

• Each Knight counter permits the owner to play one card during war.

• Each Noble counter adds its Strength to an Empire's defense.

• Each Royal counter adds its Strength to both attack and defense.

The properties of a Ruler depend on its location in an Empire. At the Serf level, a Ruler provides 1 card draw; as a Knight, a Ruler allows a war card to be played during War; as a Noble, a Ruler adds 5 to the Empire's defense; as a Royal, a Ruler adds 5 to both attack and defense. The Strengths of all Serfs (except a Ruler at the Serf level) and active Knights (including a Ruler at the Knight level) in an Empire determine the outcome of a Peasant Revolt (see Card Summary Sheet).

§ Playing Tip: Build Empires with high valued Knights and mostly low valued Serfs to reduce the effects of Peasant Revolts. One high valued Serf to take advantage of Good Harvest cards is generally desirable.

Promoting the Ruler

Each Ruler counter (King or Queen) starts out in a Serf box, gradually getting promoted up the Empire as it is built. A Ruler is promoted either by being moved above two filled adjacent boxes or by placing a counter to "bump up" a Ruler located next to an already occupied box.

Example: A Ruler at the Serf level could be promoted to the Knight level by moving it to any empty Knight box located above two adjacent Serf counters, such as "A". Alternatively, the Ruler could be promoted by playing a Serf counter to the Ruler's box (B) "bumping up" the Ruler to the Knight box (C) located above the two Serfs, or the owning player could choose to leave the Ruler at the Serf level and play a Knight counter to "A" instead. A Knight counter could not be played to "C" until the Ruler is promoted since no counter may ever be placed in a box located above a Ruler.

6.13 Rulers do not have to be the first counter placed on each new level.

Shifting the Ruler

Before and/or after a player's card play, before a Player's Pass and after a Player goes to War, the Ruler (and Consort) may be freely shifted to any empty box at the same or higher level (provided that box meets the normal requirements for being a legal promotion). A Ruler may never be shifted downward. If a Ruler at the Serf level with a pending Good Harvest is promoted, discard that Good Harvest.

Other Uses for Empire Cards

Instead of being played to add to a player's Empire, a Serf card may be exchanged for a new card; a Knight card may be played as bonus card during War; a Noble card may be exchanged for two new cards; and Prince, Princess and Wild cards may be played during Courtship to form Royal couples. Note that using a Serf or a Noble card in this manner does count as a card play and that a Wild card may not be used as a bonus card in War nor exchanged for new card draw(s).

6.2 Adversity Cards

Adversity cards (Bad Harvest, Famine, On Quest, Crusade, Siege and Treachery) are played on other players' Empires, affecting Serf, Knight, Noble or Royal (Princes and/or Princesses) counters. Each card affects one or more counters, flipping them over to their inactive side. The card played is then discarded (Exception: Siege).

6.21 The effect of Bad Harvest or Famine on a Serf with a pending Good Harvest is to cancel the Good Harvest but leave that Serf active.

6.22 Rulers are never affected by adversity cards. Bad Harvest or Famine has no effect on a Ruler with a pending Good Harvest. A Ruler's Consort may be affected by Treachery.

Note that Treachery may also be played by a defender during War as a bonus card.

6.3 Event Cards

Event Cards have varying effects (see Card Summary sheet). Six of the ten Event card types are played normally during card play. Festival and Return from Quest may be played at any time (except when drawing cards or paying Dowry during Courtship). Ransom may be played after a player announces Spoils of War. Plague is immediately revealed when drawn and resolved at the end of the round.

6.31 Playing Festival or Return from Quest does not count as a card play when it is a player's turn to play or Pass.

7. Going to War / Drawing Cards

In Attack Order, each player may announce and resolve an attack on one other Empire (except on the first round of play); draw cards for each active Serf in his or her Empire; and discard down to 10 (or 12) cards.

7.1 Going to War

An attack consists of:

• The attacker announces the Empire being attacked.
• The attacker plays facedown the War cards he or she wishes to play.
• The attacker plays faceup any bonus Knight cards.
• If applicable, determine if the Intrigue attack +5 has been earned.
• The defender plays faceup any War cards and any bonus Knight or Treachery cards he or she wishes to play.
• Flip over the attacker's War cards and compare Strength totals.
• The attacker wins if his or her Strength total is greater than the defender's Strength total. Otherwise, the defender wins.
• The winner takes one card or counter as Spoils of War (see below).
• All other cards played during war are then discarded.

Any card may be played facedown during war as a War card. The number of facedown War cards a player is entitled to play is equal to the number of active Knight counters in his or her Empire. Before playing War cards, either player may play Return From Quest cards to increase the number of active Knights in his or her Empire. Note that the Strength value of a Knight counter has no effect on War. (Knight counter values affect only the resolution of Peasant Revolts.)

Knight cards may be played as faceup bonus cards during war by either player. Treachery may only be played as bonus cards by the defender.

The attacker's Strength is the sum of the Strengths of all active Royals in his or her Empire, plus the Strengths of all War cards and any bonus Knight cards that the attacker played, plus the Strengths of any Siege cards that the attacker played earlier in the current round versus the defender. In addition, if Intrigue has been earlier placed between the attacking and defending Empires and the attacker's Strength total after subtracting the Defender's Royals and Nobles (but before the defender plays any cards, including Festival) is greater than 0 (assume that all facedown War cards played by the attacker have Strengths of "5" for this purpose only), then the attacker's Strength is increased by 5 and the Intrigue card is discarded.

Note that the attacker, if desired, may attack with only his or her active Royals (plus any previously played Intrigue or Siege cards), playing no War or Knight cards.

The defender's Strength is the sum of the Strengths of all active Royals and Nobles in his or her Empire plus the Strengths of all War cards and any bonus Knight and/or Treachery cards that the defender played.

Example: The attacker plays two War cards facedown (A) for a Strength total between 12 and 20 (7 for the active Royals plus 3 for the two Siege cards (B) directed versus the defending Empire plus between 2 and 10 for his facedown War cards (since the Strength value of a card ranges from 1 to 5)). Since 20 is more than the sum of the defender's active Royals and Nobles (9), the attacker gains a further bonus of +5 from the previously played Intrigue card (C), which is discarded. The defender then plays Return from Quest to restore one of his inactive Knights (D) and plays two War cards (E), totaling 7, plus a 5 Knight and 2 Treachery (F) as bonus cards. The defender's total after doing this is 23. The attacker then reveals the facedown War cards (G) to be a 3 and a 5 for a total of 23, a tie. The defender wins ties and takes the 5 Knight as Spoils of War (see below). All other cards played during the attack are then discarded.

7.2 Spoils of War

The winner of a War is entitled to take one card (or counter) from the loser as Spoils of War.

If the defender wins, the defender may only take any one War or bonus card played in the attack by either the attacker or defender.

If the attacker wins, the attacker may do one of:

• Take 1 War or bonus card played by the defender (only).
• Look at the defender's hand and take 1 card from it.
• Take 1 unprotected counter from the defender's Empire.

7.21 If the attacker chooses to take a card from the defender's hand, the attacker gets to look at the defender's hand and select a card. After looking, the attacker may not select a different Spoils of War option.

7.22 An Empire counter is unprotected if no counter is in a box above it. An inactive counter does protect the counters beneath it. A Ruler may never be taken. A Ruler's Consort may be taken. After taking an Empire counter, the attacker must either immediately add it to the attacker's Empire (if there is a legal placement for it) or discard it. If an inactive counter is taken and added, it remains inactive. If a Serf with a pending Good Harvest is taken, the Good Harvest comes with it.

7.23 A Prince or Princess counter taken as Spoils of War may be used to form a Royal couple or played with the Heir to win the game. Doing so does not require discarding Dowry / five cards; in contrast to forming a Royal couple or playing the Heir during normal card play (see below).

§ Design Note: In medieval times, it wasn't sufficient merely to conquer neighboring lands to hold them; you also needed a recognized claim, usually obtained by marrying into the hereditary nobles of those lands. In Suzerain, this process is represented by a player successfully attacking and taking a Royal counter and adding it to his or her Empire, usually to form a Royal couple. Similarly, Courtship (see below) represents the alternative method of acquiring new lands during these times; namely, through marriage in return for wealth given as Dowry.

7.24 Spoils of War may be added that results in the promotion of the Ruler. In addition, after resolving Spoils of War, the attacker may freely shift the Ruler as described in 6.1.

[Editor's note: the printed sentence for 7.24 is incomplete as printed ("Spoils of War may be added that results in..."); it is transcribed as printed.]

7.25 Ransom may be played by any player immediately after Spoils of War has been announced, to attempt to cancel the loss of a counter being taken as Spoils of War. If the player losing the counter gives the attacker cards from his or her hand whose totalled Strengths equal or exceed the Strength of the counter being taken, the counter is returned to its owner; otherwise the attacker takes the counter. In either case, discard the Ransom card. Extra cards may not be contributed towards a ransom. Ransom may be used to stop a player from winning by preventing that player from taking a Royal as Spoils of War and playing it with the Heir.

7.3 Drawing Cards

After resolving an attack (if any), a player draws cards equal to one card for each active Serf counter in his or her Empire. Shuffle the discard pile if the end of deck is reached. Then, discard any previously played Siege, Good Harvest or Civil War cards belonging to that Empire. Do not discard an Intrigue card that is still pending if present.

7.31 Each Serf counter with a pending Good Harvest yields as many draws as the Strength of that Serf counter.

7.4 Discarding Excess Cards

After drawing cards, a player must discard down to 10 cards (12 cards in a two-player game) if holding excess cards.

7.41 A player may not choose to discard cards below the card limit.

7.42 This card limit is always in effect. A player holding excess cards (due to exchanging a Noble card, receiving Dowry or taking a card as Spoils of War) must immediately discard any excess cards (the discarding player chooses which cards to discard).

8. Restore Inactive Counters

All players flip over all inactive counters in their Empires. If the Plague card was revealed earlier during the round, resolve it at this time following the instructions on the Card Summary sheet.

9. Courtship

§ The Courtship rules are unique to Suzerain and somewhat complex. The key to understanding them is to remember that they reflect the power of being the matchmaker. Thus, the size of the Dowry depends on who is making the match, not which counters are being moved to which Empire.

Courtship is the process of forming a Royal couple during card play by pairing up an eligible Royal (Ruler, Prince or Princess) with a Prince or Princess of the opposite gender and paying a Dowry of 1-5 cards.

A Prince, Princess or Ruler becomes eligible for Courtship by being placed in a Royal box through normal play as described above.

Once eligible, a Royal counter may be paired up in one of three ways:

• The owning player may form the couple using an eligible Royal counter from another player's Empire.
• Another player may (on his or her turn) form the couple by using either an eligible Royal counter from that player's Empire or a Prince, Princess or Wild card from that player's hand.
• The owning player may, on any subsequent round, form the couple by playing a Royal or Wild card from the owning player's hand or shifting an eligible counter from the other Royal box in his or her Empire.

In the first two cases, the resulting couple may then be placed in either player's Empire (provided a legal placement exists in the destination Empire). The player receiving the Royal couple must give the player providing the Royal a Dowry of cards. The number of cards given must equal the Strength of the passive Royal involved; i.e. the Royal owned by the player not making the match. The player paying the Dowry chooses which cards to give.

Example: Player A plays a Prince of Strength 4 on top of two Nobles in his Empire. Player B has an eligible Princess of Strength 3 in her Empire. Player A may form a Royal Couple by taking the Princess counter from B, paying B three cards as Dowry.

Example: Player A plays a Princess of Strength 4 on top of two Nobles in his Empire. It is now Player B's turn. Player B pairs this Princess by playing a Prince of Strength 1 and placing this couple in A's Empire, receiving four cards as Dowry. Alternatively, B could place this couple in B's Empire, giving four cards to A as Dowry.

§ Design Note: Dowry will often differ depending on which player is forming a given Royal couple. For example, a 5 Prince (belonging to the player taking his or her turn) taking a 1 Princess will only pay 1 card as Dowry. The same Prince taking a 4 Princess will pay 4 cards as Dowry. But either Princess, if provided by their owner on their owner's turn to this same 5 Prince, will result in the owning player receiving 5 cards as Dowry. This difference represents the power of being the matchmaker.

In the third case, where a player is forming a Royal couple using a card and a counter or two counters from his or her own Empire, the player forms the Royal couple by discarding cards equal to the Strength of the counter already present in the Royal box.

Example: Player A's 2 Prince was not paired up during the round that it was first placed in the Royal box. On a subsequent round of play, Player A forms a Royal couple by providing a Princess 3, discarding two cards as Dowry.

§ Design Note: When a player pairs up his own Royal from his or her hand, the Dowry is computed differently than if the player was forming the same couple using a Royal counter from another player's Empire. A player pairing up his or her own Royal with a card from his or her own hand is considered to be (temporarily) a matchmaking "player" from outside the game providing a Royal in exchange for Dowry (which then "leaves" the game by being discarded).

9.1 Inactive Royal counters may be used to form Royal couples. An inactive Royal counter remains inactive if moved to another player's Empire. An active Royal paired with an inactive Royal remains active.

9.2 Forming a Royal couple using two Royal counters does not count as a card play and may be done before or after a card play or before a player Passes. It may not be done after a player has Passed.

9.3 A player may not form and keep a Royal couple if the player doing so doesn't have sufficient cards to pay / discard the required Dowry.

9.4 A player may choose to form a Royal couple and give it to the other player involved if the receiving player lacks sufficient cards to pay the Dowry. A player doing so receives instead all the cards the recipient has.

9.5 A player receiving Dowry must immediately discard down to the hand limit of 10 cards (12 in the 2 player game) if holding excess cards.

The Consort

Once a Ruler is promoted to Royal, a Consort (either Prince or Princess; whichever is of the gender opposite to the Ruler's gender) may be added to the Ruler's box through either Courtship or Conquest. If added through Courtship, Rulers are treated exactly the same as Prince/Princess couples except that they may not be taken from the owning player's Empire. (Note this rule prevents pairing up two Rulers.)

Example: Player B promotes her Ruler, a Queen, by playing a Noble. Following this play, B takes a Prince 4 from Player A's Empire, paying A four cards as Dowry.

10. Winning / Playing the Heir

A player wins by building a complete Empire. The final step is playing the Heir and promoting the Ruler/Consort couple, thus securing enough land to found a dynasty, become Suzerain and win. The Heir is either a Prince or a Princess, whichever one is of the same gender as the Ruler. Thus, a King's Heir must be a Prince and a Queen's Heir must be a Princess. The Heir may be played in one of two different ways:

• During card play: A player whose Empire began the round of play containing both Royal couples (Ruler/Consort and Prince/Princess) and which continues to hold the same two couples, may play as Heir an appropriate Royal (or Wild) card, provided the player doing so discards five additional cards. These cards are discarded and the Heir is placed in the box containing the Ruler and Consort, promoting them to the topmost Empire box. Note that only the Heir is played when a player wins by card play; a third Royal couple containing the Heir is not formed.
• After Spoils of War: A player who holds an appropriate Royal (or Wild) card to play as Heir and whose Empire contains both Royal couples, may take a Royal counter of the gender opposite to the Heir as Spoils of War and place both the Heir and this captured Royal counter in the box containing the Ruler and Consort, promoting the Ruler and Consort to the topmost Empire box. Doing so does not require discarding five additional cards. Note that a player who wins by conquest need not have begun the turn with both the Ruler/Consort and Prince/Princess couples already formed.

Example: A player whose Ruler is a Queen begins a round of play with both Royal couples already formed. To win, the player plays a Princess as Heir, discarding five cards and promoting the Queen and her Consort to the topmost box. Alternatively, the player could acquire a Prince counter as Spoils of War and then immediately play it with a Princess to win without discarding five cards.

§ Design Note: To win, a player must have at least two Princes and two Princesses, regardless of whether the player's Ruler is a Queen or a King (one of each for the Prince/Princess Royal couple plus one of one gender as the Ruler's Consort and one of the other gender as the Heir).

11. Etiquette

All discards are public, except for cards lost due to Plague. Players may freely discuss their cards but may not show each other their cards (except when a successful attacker is taking a defender's card as Spoils of War) or give each other cards (except as Dowry). Cards given from one player to another as Dowry or Spoils of War should not be shown to other players. The number of cards in each player's hand is public information.

Players may make deals. For example, a player may offer to attack another player if a third player weakens that player's defense by first playing Treachery, Siege, On Quest, etc. Such deals aren't binding.

[The closing rules-question contact paragraph, copyright line, and credits block printed after section 11 are omitted from this transcription.]