Treachery in a Pocket
Treachery in a Pocket Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 10 Character Cards
- 8 Nobles
- 2 Neutrals
- 14 Action Cards
- 6 Hidden Agenda Cards
- 5 Victory Cards
- 1 Player Aid Card
Card Anatomy
Character Card
The Character card has a Wounded side and an Unwounded side.
- House Icon
- Name
- Ability (inactive) - on the Unwounded side
- Ability (active) - on the Wounded side
Action Card
- Top Action
- Bottom Action
- Move Effect
- Attack Effect
- Heal Effect
- Orientation Arrow
- Row Separator
Setup
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Form two rows of 4 Characters, with a Noble from each House in each row (chosen at random). Place the 2 Neutral Characters in a new row, between the previous two. These 3 rows are the initial levels of power.
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Shuffle the Hidden Agenda cards (changing also their orientation as you shuffle) and give one to each player. The top sigil in each player's card is the House they want to see rise in power while the bottom one is the House they want to fall in obscurity. After seeing their card, each player places it face-down in front of them, keeping the same orientation as the Characters. You may look at your own Hidden Agenda card at any time but you may not change its orientation. You may never look at another player's Hidden Agenda card.
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Shuffle the Action cards and deal one to each player which you all keep in your hand.
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Reveal one Action card near the Characters and place the rest of the Action cards in a face-down pile next to it. This will be the Action deck. Make sure that the arrow in the revealed card points towards the top.
Game Overview
The game is played in a series of turns. The oldest player goes first.
On your turn, you perform one action. You choose among the 2 shown on the card in your hand and the 2 shown on the revealed Action card (for a total of 4 options).
After you perform your action, discard the card you used and replace it with a new one from the Action deck. The player on your left plays next.
If the Action deck runs out, shuffle the discarded cards and create a new Action deck. If it runs out a second time, the game ends (see Game End).
Actions
Each action consists of one or more effects. When you perform an action make sure that the Orientation Arrow in the card points towards the top and apply all of the action's effects. The effects that may be included in an action are the following:
- Move: Move a Character card to another row as indicated by the arrow.
- Attack: Wound a Character. If that Character was Unwounded, flip the card so that the Wounded side is now facing up. If that Character was already Wounded, they are now Killed. Turn the card sideways to indicate it.
- Heal: Flip a Wounded Character's card so that the Unwounded side is now facing up.
When multiple effects are included in the same action, they are always performed in the following order:
Heal - Move - Attack
When an action has multiple Move effects, they can be resolved in any order.
An action also contains the minimum requirements that must be met in order for the effects to be applied:
- Character symbols in a row: these represent the Characters. When shown in the same row, it means that the action requires at least that many Characters on that row. If a row is shown empty, then it may have any number of Characters on it or none at all.
- Two yellow symbols: when two yellow symbols are shown in an action, the Characters they represent must be of the same House.
- Yellow and white symbols: when both white and yellow symbols are shown in an action, the Characters they represent must be of different Houses.
- Two or more white symbols: when two or more white symbols are shown in an action, the Characters they represent may belong to any House - it doesn't matter if they are of the same House or not.
The order of the Characters in the same row, does not matter. The same applies to the card symbols on an Action card. If for example 2 yellow symbols are shown in an Action card and one of them is to be moved downwards, you may choose either of the two Characters to perform the effect.
To choose an action, you must meet all of its requirements and you must be able to fully apply all of its effects. If even one of the effects cannot be applied or a requirement is not met, the action may not be chosen. If no action can be chosen, the game ends (see Game End).
Wounded / Killed Characters
A Character can be in one of the following states: Unwounded, Wounded or Killed.
While Unwounded, Characters do not have any abilities. If they are Attacked, they become Wounded.
When a Character becomes Wounded, turn its card over so that the Wounded side is face-up. That also means that the Character's ability becomes active. If they get Healed, they become Unwounded again.
When a Wounded Character is Attacked, they are Killed and you turn their card sideways. Killed Characters remain on the row they were when they died - they may not be moved again for the rest of the game nor can there be any effect applied on them (i.e. they cannot be Attacked again or Healed). They also don't count for the Action cards' requirements.
Some of the Characters have abilities that are triggered when they are Killed. These abilities are applied immediately after a Character is Killed.
Example: It is Nick's turn and he chooses to perform the bottom action in the card in his hand. The action requires 2 Characters of the same House in one row and another Character (of a different House) in the row above them. One of the bottom two Characters will move upwards and the Character above will get attacked.
The only Characters of the same House in the same row are Lady Filia and Duke Asher. Nick decides to move Lady Filia upwards and attack Master Lucius.
Master Lucius was already Wounded and now that he is attacked he gets Killed. That causes his ability to trigger which heals a Wounded Character and attacks an Unwounded one. Nick decides to heal Commander Gerard and wound Lady Elaine. He then draws a card in his hand.
Example (Maria's action): It is now Maria's turn. She plays the top action on the revealed card, choosing to apply the Effect on Duke Asher. She moves him to the row below and attacks him, flipping his card to the Wounded side. She then reveals a new Action card.
Important Notes
- If at the end of a player's turn a row has no Characters in it, it disappears. Bring the other rows closer together.
- There is no restriction on the number of rows there may be in the game. If a Character is already on the highest row and they move upwards, a new row is created above them and the Character is moved there. Similarly, if a Character is on the lowest row and they move downwards, a new row is created below them and the Character is moved there.
- Performing an action is not optional. You must choose one of the 4 actions on your turn, even if it's not to your advantage.
Game End
The game ends if any of the following happens:
- Two Characters are Killed (game ends at the end of the current player's turn).
- The Action deck runs out for a second time.
- A player is not able to perform any of their actions.
When this happens, you all reveal your Hidden Agenda cards and you score points:
- For every Character belonging to the top House (including those Killed), score 1 point for each row below them.
- For every Character belonging to the bottom House (including those Killed), score 1 point for each row above them.
- For every Character who is Wounded or Killed and their House appears on your Hidden Agenda card, lose 1 point.
The player with the most points wins the game! In case of a tie, the player among them who got the most points out of a single Noble is the winner. If there is still a tie, all tied players share the victory.
We suggest that you play a series of games (alternating the first player) until a player has 2 victories. Use the provided Victory cards to keep track.
Example: Players reveal their Hidden Agenda cards. Nick has the green sigil on the top of his Hidden Agenda card and the red sigil on the bottom. For the Characters with the green sigil, he counts the rows below them: 3 for Lady Filia and 1 for Duke Asher. For the Characters with the red sigil, he counts the rows above them: 2 for Lord Brutol and 3 for Commander Gerrard. Duke Asher is Wounded so he also loses 1 point for that. His final total is 8.
Maria had the same top sigil as Nick but her bottom sigil was the purple one. She scores for its Characters 1 point (Countess Diane) and 3 points (Lady Elaine). She also loses 1 point due to Lady Elaine being Wounded. Her final score is 6 which means Nick is the winner.