To Court the King
To Court the King Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
60 character cards, 1 start player figure, 12 dice, 5 summary cards.
- Fool, 5x (back side / Charlatan)
- King, 1x; Queen, 1x (back side V)
- Alchemist, 3x; Bishop, 3x; Noble, 3x; General, 3x (back side IV)
- Pawn broker, 3x; Knight, 3x; Magician, 3x; Hostess, 3x (back side III)
- Astronomer, 3x; Merchant, 3x; Hunter, 3x (back side II)
- Farmer, 4x; Serving Maid, 4x; Philosopher, 4x; Laborer, 4x; Guard, 4x (back side I)
Players: 2-5. Age: 10 years and up. Length: 45 minutes.
Preparation
Only with five players are all character cards used in the game. When playing with fewer than five players, use the table below to determine how many of each character card will be used. The numbers are based on the roman numerals on the back sides of the cards. For example, in a two-player game, the players use 2 Laborers, 2 Farmers, and so on. The number of Fool/Charlatan cards is considered unlimited (see the Description of the Character Cards section for details).
| Back side of the character cards | 2 players | 3 players | 4 players |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| II | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| III / IV | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| V | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Place the cards in rows in the middle of the table. The position of the cards within a row plays no role in the game, but each row has only cards with the same back side:
- back side V: King, Queen
- back side IV: Alchemist, Bishop, Noble, General
- back side III: Pawn broker, Knight, Magician, Hostess
- back side II: Astronomer, Merchant, Hunter
- back side I: Farmer, Serving Maid, Philosopher, Laborer, Guard
Each card shows the cost of the character card in the upper area and the ability of the character below it. Cards with I on the back side can be acquired with just three dice, cards with II on the back require four dice, and so on.
The players choose a start player using any method they prefer. He takes three dice and the start player figure.
Playing the Game
The start player begins and takes his turn, then the other players follow in clockwise order. On a player's turn, he takes three dice and rolls them. The just-rolled dice are the active dice. The player must now set aside at least one of the active dice. If there are any dice left after setting aside those he wishes, he may roll those left again. These rolled dice are now the active dice and he must, again, set aside at least one of them. The player continues in this way until he has set aside all dice he is allowed to roll.
At the end of the player's turn, the set aside dice represent his dice result. With this dice result, the player may acquire a character card from the character card display. Per turn, the player may only acquire one character card, only one that is still in the display, and only one that he does not already have in his play area (the only exception to this is the Fool/Charlatan, see also "Description of Character Cards"). Of course, the dice result must match the cost for the card acquired.
Example: Suzanne's dice result is 5-5-5. With this dice result, she has several possibilities. She can acquire either a Farmer (cost: one pair), a Laborer (cost: pip total of 15 or more), or a Guard (cost: triplet). She chooses a Guard, takes the card, and places it face up in her play area.
Some character cards, such as the Farmer, provide extra dice the player must roll at the start of his turn. Others, such as the Laborer, provide extra dice that the player may bring into play only after he has made his initial roll. After his initial roll, which must include extra dice like the one from the Farmer, a player may use his other character cards at any time during his turn to modify active dice or to bring new dice into play, either before, after, or in between setting aside one or more active dice. A player may only use each character once per turn! To indicate a card has been used, the player should rotate it 90 or 180 degrees to show it has been used on this turn. After a player's turn, he should return all used cards to their normal face orientation.
Abilities of the Character Cards in an Example
The abilities of the character cards allow a player to either bring new dice into play or modify one or more active dice. The following should help players better understand the way these cards can be used (please have a summary card available to refer to while reading this example).
Suzanne has the following character cards: Laborer, Guard, and Astronomer.
First roll: she rolls 6-5-2. She sets the 2 aside, uses the Laborer to bring in a new die with value 1 from the supply as an active die and rolls again.
Second roll: 5-3-3. She uses the Guard to bring in a new die with value 2 from the supply as an active die, sets it aside, and rolls again.
Third roll: 6-5-4. She uses the astronomer to modify one of the active dice to match the set aside dice: to make it a value 2 die, sets it aside, and rolls again.
Fourth roll: 3-2. She sets the 2 aside and rolls again.
Fifth roll: 4. She sets it aside (as she must set one aside).
Her dice result is 4-2-2-2-2. With this dice result, Suzanne acquires a Hunter, which costs four of a kind, and places the card face up in her play area.
For all character card abilities, players should remember one General Rule: only active dice can be modified by the ability of a character card. Once a die has been set aside, it may not be modified or re-rolled.
The costs and abilities of the character cards are described in detail in "Description of the Character Cards" below. After his turn, the player returns all his used character cards to their normal orientation to make them available for his next turn.
When all players have taken a turn in the round (the player to the right of the start player has just finished his turn), the start player gives the start player figure to the player on his right and this player immediately begins the next round as the new start player. Thus, the player to last roll in one round will be the first to roll in the next round — taking two turns in a row. After a player finishes his turn, play normally continues in a clockwise direction, but this clockwise flow is interrupted each time the turn would return to the start player. When this happens, the start player's right neighbor becomes the new start player and so on.
When all the character cards of a certain type have been acquired, no player may acquire such a card for the rest of the game.
Game End
When a player achieves a dice result of seven of a kind, he may, but need not, acquire the King card and, thereby, initiate the end of the game. He may, however, choose another card that his dice result allows and the game continues normally. Should the player choose to acquire the King, he also takes the Queen.
When a player acquires the King, the current round continues until its normal end. Of course, no other player, regardless of roll, can acquire the King and Queen (as they are gone from the display).
Then follows the final round. As normal, it begins with the player to the right of the previous round's start player. However, the player with the King card skips his normal turn and rolls last in the final round.
In this final round, each player tries, on his turn, to roll as high a dice result as he can, always trying to roll better than the player holding the King card. Players note their rolls.
Note: the more dice of a kind the better (e.g. eight 1's is better than seven 6's). With the same number of dice of a kind, the higher the number the better, of course. When two players have rolled the same number of a kind with the same number on the dice, the player who rolled the dice result first takes precedence.
The player with the current highest dice result takes the King card (to show he has the highest), but not the Queen card.
The player with the Queen card has the ability to roll an extra die and roll last in the final round, which gives him great advantages! When this player rolls, he also has the advantage that he need merely match, not better the current best dice result to win the game. If he does not do that, the player who currently holds the King card (he has the best dice result) is the winner!
Example: Anna, Bob, Carl, and Doris are playing (and sitting in this playing order at the table). Bob rolls seven 2's and takes the King and Queen, adding them to his play area. As Anna is the start player for this round, Carl and Doris each have one turn to finish before the final round begins, and they do so.
Now, the players begin the final round. Doris begins and rolls eight 1's, which is higher than 7 2's (the result the King was first claimed with) and takes the King card as she has the current highest dice result. Anna does not roll, as she has but seven dice and, thus, could not beat Doris' dice result. Carl rolls eight 3's and takes the King card, as his roll is higher than Doris'. Finally, Bob rolls last and gets eight 4's, winning the game!
Tactical Notes
Timing is the most important tactic in the game: players must choose when to use their card abilities (see the Abilities of the Character Cards in an Example section). When choosing which cards to buy, extra dice are very important, especially for the final round.
Description of the Character Cards
Fool
Cost: The total of the pips on the dice result must be 0 or higher. That means a player can acquire a Fool with any dice result.
Ability: The player may re-roll one active die.
Charlatan
Cost: The total of the pips on the dice result must be 0 or higher, and the player must have a Fool card in his play area. He turns it over to acquire a Charlatan.
Ability: The player must begin his turn rolling one additional die.
A player has a Charlatan instead of a Fool. To acquire a Charlatan, the player turns over a Fool in his play area. A player may not have more than one Fool in his play area, but may have several Charlatans. To acquire another Fool, he must have turned all his Fools into Charlatans.
Farmer
Cost: The dice result must include one pair (two dice with the same number of pips).
Ability: The player must begin his turn rolling one additional die.
Serving Maid
Cost: Each die (and every) in the dice result must show an odd number of pips.
Ability: The player may add one, two, or three pips to one of his active dice. When doing so, he can never exceed 6 pips on the die.
Philosopher
Cost: Each die (and every) in the dice result must show an even number of pips.
Ability: The player may move any number of pips from one active die to one other active die. The result may never be greater than 6 pips or less than 1 pip.
Example: Frank has the Philosopher and rolls 5-3-1. He uses the Philosopher to move 2 pips from the 5 to the 1, giving him 3-3-3.
Laborer
Cost: The total number of pips on all dice in the dice result must be 15 or higher.
Ability: The player may bring a value 1 die into play as an active die.
Guard
Cost: The dice result must include a triplet (three dice with the same number of pips).
Ability: The player may bring a value 2 die into play as an active die.
Hunter
Cost: The dice result must include four dice with the same number of pips.
Ability: The player may bring a value 3 die into play as an active die.
Astronomer
Cost: The dice result must include two pairs (two sets of two dice with the same number of pips). Of course, four dice with the same number of pips will also work.
Ability: The player may adjust the value of one active die to be the same as one of his set aside dice.
Example: Anna has the Astronomer and has set aside 3-3. She rolls a 1 and uses the Astronomer to change the 1 into a 3, giving her 3-3-3.
Merchant
Cost: The total number of pips on all dice in the dice result must be 20 or higher.
Ability: The player may re-roll any number of his active dice. Any dice re-rolled remain active after the re-roll.
Noblewoman
Cost: The dice result must include a full house (one pair and one triplet). Of course, five dice with the same number of pips will also work.
Ability: The player may add one pip each to any number of his active dice. When doing so, he can never exceed 6 pips on a die.
Pawn Broker
Cost: The total number of pips on all dice in the dice result must be 30 or higher.
Ability: The player may bring a value 4 die into play as an active die.
Knight
Cost: The dice result must include a five dice with the same number of pips.
Ability: The player may bring a value 5 die into play as an active die.
Magician
Cost: The dice result must include a straight of length 5: either values 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6.
Ability: The player may adjust one active die to any value.
Alchemist
Cost: The dice result must include a straight of length 6: thus, values 1-2-3-4-5-6.
Ability: The player may move the pips among three active dice in any way he chooses. The result may never be greater than 6 pips or less than 1 pip. The sum of the pips on the three dice must remain the same.
Example: Kevin rolls 2-5-5 and uses the Alchemist to move one pip each from both 5's to the 2, giving him a result of 4-4-4.
Another example: He rolls 6-2-1. He moves three pips from the 6, adding 2 to the 1 and 1 to the 2, giving him a result of 3-3-3. A player may also move pips from one die to another, like the Philosopher.
Bishop
Cost: The dice result must include a three pairs. Of course, six dice with the same number or four dice with one number and two dice with another will also work.
Ability: The player may bring a value 6 die into play as an active die.
Nobleman
Cost: The dice result must include a two triplets. Of course, six dice with the same number will also work.
Ability: The player may add exactly two to any number of his active dice. When doing so, he can never exceed 6 pips on a die (thus, not 5's or 6's!!).
General
Cost: The dice result must include a six dice with the same number of pips.
Ability: The player must begin his turn rolling two additional dice.
Queen
Cost: The first player to claim the King also takes the Queen.
Ability: The player may bring a die of any value into play as an active die.
King
Cost: The dice result must include a seven dice with the same number of pips.
Ability: The player takes also the Queen and initiates the final round. He rolls last during the final round.
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