Usurp the King
Usurp the King Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 10 Leverage cards per family (5 families: Hayhurst, Sylvestre, Quinton, Altham, Lemaire)
- 11 Court Member cards
- 5 Turn Order cards
- 1 Turn marker and 10 Loyalty markers
- 8 Tutorial cards
- 5 Player Reference cards
Tutorial Deck
First-time players may find the open format and shifting alliances challenging to navigate. New players can use the Tutorial cards to help give them direction and make recommendations towards a specific objective. The intent is to use these cards as a guide. Players are not obligated to pursue the goal on the card. If using this deck, deal one card face-down to each player. Set the extras aside.
Setup
Each player takes one set of family Leverage cards (11 cards with the same shield on the back).
Take the 5 Turn Order cards and place them face-up (family names visible) in the middle of the gaming area. Only use the cards of the families that are in play. Place the cards in turn order. Put the turn marker on the first card.
Refer to the chart below to determine which Court Members to include.
- 2 Players: King, Usurper, Heir, Bastard, Anarchist
- 3 Players: Add - Queen, Duchess, Alchemist
- 4 Players: Add - Emissary, Bishop
- 5 Players: Add - Oracle
The number of crosses on each Court Member card indicates the player count for which that card is used.
Set Court Member cards around the Turn Order cards. Place the cards in numerical order (number on the shield in the lower left-hand corner of the card) counterclockwise starting with the King.
Place Loyalty Markers above each Court Member. Indicate whether they are loyal or disgruntled. Pictured in the upper right-hand corner of each Court Member's card is their starting status.
How to Play
Players will lay down cards and then use the played card over two phases (Intrigue and Rebellion). Completing each phase once will end the game.
Choose the first player.
Intrigue Phase
Each player will take turns placing one of their cards face-up below a Court Member card. Move the turn marker to the next family member card in the center of the court. After the last player places a card the turn order will reverse back to the first player (the last player will place two cards). This process will continue until each player has played six of their ten cards.
This Serpentine turn order means that the first player will play one card on the first turn. Then two cards twice. The round will end with the first player playing one card. At this point, all players will have placed six cards.
Influence on a Court Member
Each card placed counts as an influence for the family. The family with at least one more Influence on a Court Member than any other family will control that Court Member. Controlling a Court Member will help determine victory conditions at the end of the game.
Rebellion Phase
Flip Loyalty/Disgruntled tokens to indicate the current loyalty status of each Court Member.
Place Items under books.
Resolve Leverage cards in the following order:
- Spy
- Agent
- Dagger
- Betrayal
- Books
- Poison
Resolving Each Card Type
Spy cards resolve first. Resolve any Spy cards on the King. Proceed in Court Member's numerical order around the court. Resolve each Spy card. If a Court Member has more than one Spy card next to it, resolve the one closest to the Court Member first. Continue until all Spy cards have been resolved.
Next resolve Daggers in the same manner.
Continue until all cards have been resolved.
After resolving the card, flip it face-down. Players may not reactivate cards under any circumstance.
Never flip Antidotes, Bribery, or Conspiracy cards.
Card Actions
Except for the Dagger and the Poison, a player may choose not to take the card action.
Spy: The Spy allows the player to move any one of their opponent's cards from one Court Member to any other LIVING Court Member.
- Poison cards may not be moved.
Agent: The Agent allows a player to move ANY Leverage card currently in the same space as the Agent (this includes Poison). The Agent MUST move with the card.
- Players may only move cards on to LIVING Court Members.
- Players can NOT play Agent cards in Books.
- A player MAY use an Agent card even if it is on a Court Member that is dead.
Dagger: The Dagger MUST kill the Court Member it is next to (if they do not have a Guard with their card). If there is a Guard in the space, flip the Guard card over instead of killing the Court Member. If there is more than one Guard, the player that played the Dagger may choose which Guard to stab.
Betrayal: Betrayal allows the player to move any one of their cards from one Court Member to another.
- May not move a Poison card.
- MAY use a Betrayal card if it is on a dead Court Member.
Books: At the start of the Rebellion phase, any player with a Book in play places a card from their hand under the Book card. When resolving the Book, reveal the card that was placed underneath and immediately take the card action (this includes Betrayal and Poison).
- When moving a Book, the card under the Book also moves.
- The Book AND the card under it count as ONE influence.
- A player may NOT use a Book card if it is on a dead Court Member.
Cards That Do Not Perform an "Action"
Poison: When resolved, the Court Member with the Poison placed on them dies if they do not have an Antidote with their card at the time.
- Poison cards resolve simultaneously.
- Players may NOT move Poison cards with Betrayal or Spy cards. Only the Agent is allowed to move Poison.
Guard: A Dagger will not kill a Court Member if there is a Guard present in their space. Daggers MUST kill the Guards first before killing any Court Member. If a player kills a Guard, flip the card face-down. The card still counts as influence.
Conspiracy, Bribery, and Antidote cards are never flipped over but still count as an influence.
Antidote: Poison will not kill a Court Member if there is an Antidote card present in their space. ALL Poison cards on this Court Member are blocked.
Bribery: A Court Member with this card may not be disgruntled. They are considered happy with the King, whether their card default is disgruntled or a Conspiracy card(s) was played on them. Flip the Loyalty Marker to the Loyal side when played.
Conspiracy: A Court Member with this card is disgruntled with the King. Playing a Conspiracy card on the King does not count as a disgruntled Court Member for the Usurper victory. The card will count as an influence. Unless there is a Bribery card on this Court Member, flip the Loyalty Marker to the Disgruntled side.
Victory
Once all players have taken their actions, the game ends. Victory conditions are listed in descending order. If the top condition has not been achieved, move to the next one on the list.
Having CONTROL means that a player has the most cards attached to a Court Member. Ties do not count as control.
USURPER VICTORY: At least 3 Subjects are disgruntled, and this may include the Usurper. The Usurper must also be alive and the Usurper controlled by your family. Consider the Usurper disgruntled unless there is a Bribery card on him.
KING: You have control of the King, and the King is alive.
HEIR: The King is dead; you control the Heir; the Heir is alive and loyal.
BASTARD: The King is dead; you control the Bastard; the Bastard is alive and loyal.
COURT: You control the most Subjects that are alive and loyal.
ANARCHY: If none of the above victory conditions are met, the Anarchist wins. If no player controls the Anarchist, nobody wins.
TIES FOR CONTROL: Subjects with the same number of cards from different families are considered under no player's control and will not satisfy a victory condition.
King Maker
A King-maker situation will occur if:
- it is the last turn of the game.
- the player taking the last turn cannot win (or does not see a way they can win).
- the only moves they can make will cause one of at least two other players to win.
If this situation occurs, the player that cannot win (the King-maker) chooses an action based on their Family Reference card. They must select the action where the family that is highest on their card wins.
Example: The player playing Altham cannot win on the last turn. The action they choose will cause either the Lemaire family or the Quinton family to win. The player MUST select the action that allows the Lemaire family to win.
Team Play (6 or 8 players)
½ of the players (A players) will take a Family Player Reference card. Their teammate (B players) must sit opposite them across the table. Randomly deal out the 10 Family cards to each family member so that the A and B player for each family have 5 Leverage cards of that family.
The rules follow the base game rules. Each PLAYER will play 3 cards instead of 6. Turn order is still serpentine.
Example: White A, Red A, Blue A, Blue B, Red B, White B and so on.
Communication Between Players
Players are not allowed to communicate using electronic devices, notes and must communicate in a language that everyone knows (including ASL). Rudimentary signs are allowed but it must be possible for other players to intercept communications.