The Big Shuffle: A Film Noir Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setting Up the Game
  • Active and Inactive
  • Setup Continued
  • Beginner Game
  • Public Knowledge
• Winning the Game
  • Winning the Game Example
• Card Types
  • Replace
  • Trash
  • Scene Card Example
• The Big Shuffle Rule
• Playing the Game
• Start of Turn Abilities
  • Simultaneous Effects
• Drawing Cards
  • Empty Deck
• Playing Cards
  • Searching a Deck
• Attempting Scene Changes
  • Multiple Scene Changes
  • A. Choose a Scene
  • B. Reveal a Scene Change Card
  • C. Hire Goons
  • D. Determine Success
• Variations on the Game
• FAQ
• Quick Setup Guide

Components

• Characters x6
• Informants x10
• Scene Change x20
• Agendas x16
• Scene cards x33: Title cards x3, WHO x10, WHAT x10, WHERE x10
• Reference cards x4
• Noir cards x60: Goons x20, Loot x20, Action x15, Reaction x5

Setting Up the Game

The early bird gets the worm, as they say. The player who woke up earliest is the first player. The first player chooses a character to play, followed by the rest of the players in clockwise order. Set the remaining characters aside.

Each large Scene card represents a different type of scene: a WHO, a WHAT, or a WHERE, indicated by the symbol in the upper right hand corner. Set aside the three Title cards and separate the rest of the cards into three different decks by type. Shuffle each deck and place them face down (so that the inactive side is showing) in a row with WHO on the left, WHAT in the middle, and WHERE on the right.

Active and Inactive

A Scene card has a face-up active side with rules text, and a face-down inactive side with just the name of the scene. The top Scene of the Midtown WHO, WHAT, and WHERE are always active, and other Scenes are always inactive.

Setup Continued

Place one Title card on top of each deck.

Shuffle the Noir cards together to form the Noir deck. Deal 5 cards to each character and set this deck face down within reach of each of the characters. Noir cards are designated by the card back image.

Shuffle the Informant cards together to form the Informant deck. Deal 1 Informant to each character and set this deck face down within reach of each of the characters.

Shuffle the Scene Change cards together to form the Scene Change deck. Set this deck face down within reach of each of the characters.

Shuffle the Agenda cards together and deal 1 Agenda card facedown to each character. Place 1 agenda facedown in between each of the characters and set the remaining agendas aside. The Agenda dealt to you, and the Agendas between you and another player are considered your Agendas and you can look at them at any time.

Agenda cards have four parts: the Agenda Title, an Agenda WHO, an Agenda WHAT, and an Agenda WHERE.

Beginner Game

For your first game, it is recommended that agendas between players are turned face-up to reduce the amount of secrets players have to keep track of. Afterwards, keeping all the Agendas face down can be a fun way to encourage collusion and backstabbing between neighboring players and engage in a true battle of wits!

Give each character a reference card. This is a quick way to look up the core rules of the game while in play.

Public Knowledge

Any discarded card (or cards returned from the discard), revealed cards, Scenes in the Uptown and Downtown decks, and the inactive side of the Scene directly below an active Scene are public knowledge. Players can check these at any time.

Winning the Game

Each agenda has a combination of a WHO, WHAT, and WHERE. Each character has their personal Agenda that they were dealt face down, in addition to the facedown Agenda placed between them and the characters on their right and left (or, for a two player game, just the single Agenda between them and their opponent).

At any point during your turn, if the active WHO, WHAT, and WHERE each match a scene depicted among your Agendas, you win! Note that winning scenes can be from any combination of a character's Agendas.

Winning the Game Example

In this example, you see that The Femme Fatale has a personal Agenda of The Private Eye, The Oldest Profession, at The Mob HQ. She also shares an Agenda with The Police Chief character sitting on her right of The Mafia Don, The Dirty Double Cross, at The Train Station.

Since the active Scenes on her turn are The Private Eye, The Oldest Profession, and The Train Station, she wins! The active Scenes match a combination of her Agendas.

Card Types

Character: A Character represents you in The Big Shuffle. Characters have a name, influence for each of the different scene types, and an ability (with the exception of the Governor character, who compensates with his incredible influence).

The card shows a Character Icon (a star), the Character Name, the Character Ability, and the Who/What/Where Influence values.

Informant: Your character will work with Informants to achieve their goals. Informants have a name, a modifier for each of your Influence stats, and an effect that can drastically alter your strategy. Note, you should always have an informant unless otherwise specified. See Replace for more details.

The card shows an Informant Icon, the Informant Name, the Informant Ability, and the Influence Modifier for each of the Who, What, and Where.

Replace

Some effects may replace cards under your control. When this occurs, place the card in its discard pile and reveal a new one from the top of its deck and take control of it. Killing is a type of replacement that is specific to informants.

Loot: Loot are Noir cards that represent tools a character uses to get the job done. Loot is differentiated by the briefcase icon in the top right. Loot cards have a name and effect. A character can only have 3 Loot at a time. If a character ever plays or steals Loot that causes them to have more than 3, they must trash any additional Loot.

The card shows a Loot Icon, the Loot Name, and the Loot Ability.

Trash

Sometimes you will be instructed to trash a card. To trash a card, put it into the Noir discard. You can only trash a card that you have in play.

Action: Actions are one-time use Noir cards that represent an event. Actions are differentiated by the gun icon in the top right. Action cards have a name and effect. To play an Action, simply place it in front of you, perform the effect, then place it in the Noir discard.

The card shows an Action Icon, the Action Name, and the Action Ability.

Reaction: Reactions are one-time use Noir cards that represent a character altering circumstances as they unfold. Reactions are differentiated by the exclamation icon in the top right. Reaction cards have a name and effect. Reactions always have a "Play When" clause that indicates when you can play that Reaction from your hand, usually sometime during another character's turn. To play a Reaction, simply place it in front of you, perform the effect, then place it in the Noir discard.

The card shows a Reaction Icon, the Reaction Name, and the Reaction Ability.

Goons: Goons are special one-time use Noir cards that represent mooks that characters dispatch to either help grease the wheels of the city, or intimidate rivals to keep them in check. Goons are differentiated by the silhouette icon in the top right and bottom left. Goons have an influence modifier in the top left and bottom right that may have an associated effect. Goons can only ever be played during a scene change attempt. See "Hiring Goons" under Attempting Scene Changes for additional details.

The card shows a Positive Influence, a Goon Icon, a Goon Ability, and a Negative Influence.

Scene: Scene cards represent the action of the film noir and lay of the land in the city. Scene cards are indicated by the icon in the top right, which also indicates the type of Scene, WHO, WHAT, or WHERE. Scenes have a name, an effect, and difficulty to change the scene Uptown (the left number) or Downtown (the right number) as indicated by the arrows above the number. The back of a Scene card will also have the same name but no effect, and is used when that Scene is inactive (see Active and Inactive, above). Note that in some cases, the numbers to move a Scene Uptown or Downtown may differ on the inactive side.

Scene Card Example

The example Scene card, The Dope Deal, shows a Scene Icon, a Scene Name, Scene Effects, an Uptown Number, and a Downtown Number. Its effect reads: "When you change this Scene, you may draw two cards and discard one of them."

Scene Change cards: Scene Change cards represent the unforeseen circumstances a character faces as they attempt to get their way in the city. Scene Change cards are differentiated by the clapperboard icon in the top right. Scene Change cards have an influence modifier in the top left, a name, and sometimes an effect. A Scene Change card will be revealed from the top of the Scene Change deck whenever you attempt a scene change. See "Reveal Scene Change" under Attempting Scene Changes for additional details.

The example Scene Change card, Run the Racket, shows a Scene Change Influence, a Scene Change Icon, a Scene Change Name, and a Scene Change Ability.

The Big Shuffle Rule

The Big Shuffle occurs when any Scene deck doesn't have any scenes in the Midtown location, along with other card effects that may cause The Big Shuffle. Anytime you perform a Big Shuffle, shuffle each scene type together, put one card from each Scene deck Uptown, one Downtown, and the rest in Midtown.

Playing the Game

The game is played in a series of turns, starting with the first character and proceeding clockwise around the table. Each character's turn consists of the following steps in order:

1. Start of turn abilities.
2. Draw a Noir card.
3. Play a card or attempt a scene change.

Note: the printed rulebook labels the last step "2." as well; it is transcribed here as the third step.

The Inescapable Fact: Occasionally cards will contradict these rules. If there is a contradiction, the card takes precedence.

Start of Turn Abilities

Most characters have abilities that may be used at the start of their turn. There are also cards (usually Loot) that have start of turn effects that often replace the abilities of the character when they choose to use them.

Simultaneous Effects

If multiple characters have effects that would resolve at the same time, resolve those effects in player order. If one character has multiple effects that would resolve at the same time, that character chooses the order in which those effects resolve.

Drawing Cards

Characters draw a card from the top of the Noir deck on their turn.

Empty Deck

If a card would be drawn or revealed from any deck other than a Scene deck and there are no cards left, shuffle the discard pile to form the new deck.

Playing Cards

Each character may play up to 1 Action or Loot card from their hand on their turn. Remember that Goons can only be played during a scene change (see "Hiring Goons" below).

Searching a Deck

If an effect searches a deck, that deck must be shuffled after the search.

Attempting Scene Changes

Each character that didn't play a card may attempt a scene change during their turn. Characters can only attempt scene changes during their turn.

Multiple Scene Changes

If there are multiple scene changes, each scene change is resolved one at a time until its completion before moving onto the next scene change.

Every scene change has the following steps:

A. Choose a Scene. B. Reveal a Scene Change card. C. Hire Goons. D. Determine Success.

A. Choose a Scene

The character attempting the scene change chooses a Scene and declares the intended destination (Uptown, Midtown, Downtown). The chosen Scene determines the type (WHO, WHAT, or WHERE) of scene change being performed, and the destination determines the difficulty of the scene change.

Choose a Scene - Example: The Femme Fatale declares that she is attempting a scene change to change The Private Eye Uptown. This is a WHO scene change because The Private Eye is a WHO scene. The difficulty is 4 because she is moving The Private Eye to Uptown.

You can only choose the Midtown destination for a scene that is already Uptown or Downtown. Scenes can't move above Uptown or below Downtown. Scenes can only move one destination at a time; you can't move a scene straight from Uptown to Downtown.

B. Reveal a Scene Change Card

The character attempting the scene change reveals the top card of the Scene Change deck.

C. Hire Goons

Starting with the character attempting the scene change and followed by the other characters in clockwise order, each character may 'hire' a Goon from their hand (play it) or pass.

Goons can be hired for or against the character attempting the scene change. Goons hired for a character use a positive influence modifier and hired against use a negative influence modifier. When you hire a Goon you get the effect associated with the modifier chosen, if any. Once a character passes, that player cannot hire Goons for the rest of the scene change.

Repeat the above process until each character has passed, at which point play proceeds to determine success.

Hire Goons - Example: In a 3-player game, The Mafia Don is attempting to change a scene. He hires a +1 Goon for himself. The Police Chief on his left passes, then The Cat Burglar hires a -3 Goon against him. It comes back to The Mafia Don, who plays another +1 Goon. Since The Police Chief passed already, he cannot play a Goon the second time around and must pass. The Cat Burglar passes as well now, and it comes back to The Mafia Don again. He may either continue hiring Goons (if he still needs more influence for example) or he may pass as well.

D. Determine Success

The character attempting the scene change determines their modified influence by combining their corresponding influence type (WHO, WHAT, or WHERE) with modifiers from Informants, Loot, Scene Change cards, Goons, etc.

Modifiers: Modifiers are any red number preceded by a "+" or "-" and add or subtract from influence respectively. Modifiers are considered effects and are also ignored by things that ignore effects.

Compare the modified influence determined above with the difficulty of the scene change. If the modified influence is equal to or greater than the difficulty, the scene change is successful. Otherwise, the scene change fails and is unsuccessful.

On a successful scene change, the chosen scene is changed. To change a scene, place it facedown on the top of its destination (Uptown, Midtown, Downtown). Then, if it is the top card of its Midtown deck, it becomes active.

Regardless of the outcome, resolve any after the scene change triggers and discard any hired Goons, revealed Scene Changes, etc.

Variations on the Game

Expert Mode - Cement Shoes and Brass Tax: When setting up the Scene deck, set aside the Title cards and perform The Big Shuffle instead. At the end of your turn, you may reveal a personal or shared Agenda if two or more of the scenes on that Agenda (and only that Agenda) are active. If you do, you score points equal to the number of active Scenes that match that Agenda, set that Agenda aside, and deal a new Agenda in its place. The first character to score 5 points wins. You may only score points on your turn.

FAQ

If I succeed at two consecutive scene changes with Endless Rain, do I get a third scene change?

Yes. Endless Rain is revealed as your scene change card and you resolve its effects any number of times, as long as you are successful. You could change any number of scenes until you fail one, the only catch is all those scene changes are made at -2 influence.

If I pass while controlling The Fat Man and each other character also passes, can I still hire a Goon?

No. Once every player passes consecutively, play proceeds to determine success and you can no longer hire Goons.

If The Bookie is my informant, and a character hires a -2 Goon against me, does The Bookie reduce it to a -1?

Yes. The Bookie is working for you, not against you. If he was working against you, Lord knows he wouldn't be long for this world.

If I draw cards after playing A New York Minute, can I play those cards as part of the effect?

Yes. A New York Minute's effect is ongoing until you are done playing cards.

If a character played "What happened here?" during my scene change, do I still get the influence modifier from my Informant?

No. Your informant is dead as a doornail. The only one they're helping out is the undertaker.

Can a Title card be put into a Scene deck by The Car Chase or The Serial Killing Spree, or shuffled in after the deck it is on top of is searched?

No. If a Title card would be put anywhere other than on top of its respective Midtown deck, it is removed from the game instead.

If The Car Chase or The Serial Killing Spree puts a Scene on the bottom of its deck, do I get the "When you change this Scene" effect?

No. You didn't "change the scene," it was put on the bottom of its deck. Likewise, any effects you have that trigger when a scene is changed (i.e. The Telephone) can't be used.

If The Police Station is active while I control The Key to the City, does my The Key to the City still allow me to ignore The Police Station's effect?

Yes. The Key to the City takes precedence over The Police Station.

If The Speakeasy is active, can I still use The Pipe, The Disguise Kit, or The Timepiece even though I can't use my character's ability?

Yes. You're not using your character's ability, you're replacing it so you may still use the effects of these Loot.

If I draw two cards while The Dirty Cop is active, can I draw one from the top of the Noir discard, and the other from the top of the Noir deck?

Yes. You may choose to draw from the Noir discard for each card you draw while The Dirty Cop is active.

If I move The Crazed Killer to Midtown from Uptown, does his effect trigger, causing each players' Informant to be killed unless they discard a Goon?

Yes. He will become active upon moving to Midtown, thus he kills. He cannot help it. He's Crazy.

Quick Setup Guide

The rulebook's final page is a one-page quick reference, transcribed here.

Character Turn

1. Start of turn abilities.
2. Draw a Noir card.
3. Play a card or attempt a scene change.

Winning the Game

During your turn, if the active WHO, WHAT, and WHERE each match a scene depicted among your Agendas, you win! Winning scenes can be from any combination of a character's Agendas.

Scene Change Attempt

A. Choose a Scene and declare if you are moving it up or down.

B. Reveal a Scene Change card.

C. Hire Goons: In player order, each character who hasn't already passed hires a Goon or passes.

D. Determine Success: Total the influence and all modifiers. If it is greater than or equal to difficulty, change the Scene.