Tiefe Taschen
Tiefe Taschen Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Material
- Rules
- 40 action cards (5 per player)
- 16 bribe tokens (2 per player)
- 8 investigators (1 per player)
- 100 money cards (1 Mio, 2 Mio, 3 Mio, 4 Mio, and 5 Mio money cards, 20 times each)
Preparation
Each player gets 5 action cards, two bribe tokens and an investigator in his color. Additionally each player gets 2 Mio, 3 Mio and 4 Mio money cards as private money. This money should be kept secret.
All other money cards are shuffled. They build the treasury deck. The most cunning player becomes first president.
Objective
The game ends with national bankruptcy, i.e. as soon as there is not enough money left in the treasury for another round. The winner is the player with the most private money.
General Gameplay
The game lasts several election periods. At the beginning of a period the current president distributes money from the treasury deck. Then the negotiations begin. The players vote about the distribution and the current president. If a majority is happy with the distribution or does other things but voting against, everyone gets the distributed money. If a majority votes against the distribution, the current president has to resign. Another player becomes president. The new president has to distribute the same money between the remaining players. Again negotiations and voting takes place until a distribution is accepted. Then a new period starts. All former presidents have their comebacks and new money is drawn.
Sequence of Play
Phase 0 – Start of Election Period
The president draws a number of players' money cards from the treasury deck. This money is put open on the table. All former presidents become active again.
Phase 1 – Distribute Money
The president distributes money between all active players. He can do any distribution. Especially he is not forced to give money to every player. This phase ends, as soon as the president has finished his distribution. It cannot be changed anymore. All money remains open in front of the player.
Phase 2 – Negotiations and Voting
In this phase all the politics take place. At the end of this phase all players need to have exactly one action card played facedown in front of them. Played action cards can be changed till the end of this phase. The players can also try to bribe others (see Bribes) or send their investigators to others. The investigator is a prerequisite to blackmail others.
The position of an investigator can also be changed till the end of this phase.
This phase ends, when all players have played an action card and no one wants to change anything. If players are changing things in endless circles, bribe markers and investigators are played clockwise beginning with the president.
Phase 3 – Take Action
In this phase all action cards are revealed and the corresponding action is immediately taken. The president always begins, then the other players follow clockwise. When the action of one player is completely finished, the next player reveals his card. The only exception is the card Avert Blackmail. It can be revealed out of turn.
When revealing an action card the player first checks if he can take any bribes or if he has to give them back (see Bribes). Then he takes his action.
Agree or Reject
This is a vote for or against the current president and his distribution. In the next phase it is evaluated if the president was successful or if he has to resign. The current president is not allowed to vote against his own distribution. Thus, he cannot play the card Reject.
Take from Treasury
The first player revealing this card draws a money card from the treasury deck. This card is turned into his private money. All others who played this card get nothing.
Blackmail
To use this card the own investigator needs to be in front of another player (in Phase 2 – Negotiations and Voting the investigator can be placed). A random card can be drawn from the private money of this player and turned into own private money. But only, if this player has not chosen the card Avert Blackmail.
Avert Blackmail
This card prevents being blackmailed by the card Blackmail. This card can be played out of turn, when blackmailed, i.e. if someone with his investigator in front of the player reveals the card Blackmail. Now the player with the Avert Blackmail card can draw a card from the one with the card Blackmail. When revealed, the Avert Blackmail card stays in front of the player and protects against all blackmail till the end of Phase 3 – Take Action.
Phase 4 – New President or End of Election Period
The votes for the president (Agree cards) are compared with votes against the president (Reject cards). All other cards don't count. If a majority voted against the president, he has to resign. If not, everyone can turn the distributed money into private money.
At the end of this phase all players get back their investigators and take the played action card back into their hands.
President's Resignation
If a majority voted against the president, he has to resign. This election period, he is politically dead. This means he can not vote, receive any money, bribe or being bribed or blackmailed. He and all other former presidents resigned this period are out of the game till new money from the treasury deck is distributed.
The money distributed in Phase 1 – Distribute Money goes back. The first player revealing the card Reject becomes new president. Now he can try to find a better distribution. Next Phase 1 – Distribute Money is played.
Special rule: If only one player remains, this player gets all money and the game continues with Phase 0 – Start of Election Period.
Success for the President
If no majority was against the distribution, the president was successful. Everyone puts the distributed money into his private money. The current president goes as president into the next election period (Phase 0 – Start of Election Period). All inactive former presidents have their political comebacks.
Bribes
Bribes in Phase 2
In Phase 2 – Negotiations and Voting players can try to influence others with bribes. To bribe, a bribe token is placed together with one money card from the own private money in front of another player. This money card can be placed facedown or faceup. The bribe token shows which action card the bribed player is expected to play. One token has the options Agree and Not Agree, the other has the options Reject or Not Reject. The bribed player can look at facedown played bribe money. It is also allowed to show the bribes to others.
Evaluate Bribes
In Phase 3 – Take Action the bribes are evaluated. If a bribe token is in front of the current player, it is immediately evaluated. If the action card of this player fulfills the bribe token, the player takes the money into his private money. If not, the bribe goes back into the private money of the bribing player. All evaluated bribe tokens are put back to their owners.
Politically Inactive Players
Presidents forced to resign are out of the game for the rest of the current election period. The current president cannot distribute any money to them. They cannot play an action card or place a bribe token, and no one can bribe or blackmail them.
End of Game
The game ends with national bankruptcy, i.e. if there is not enough money to distribute in Phase 0 – Start of Election Period. Now every player counts his private money. The player with the most private money wins.