Vive le Roi!
Vive le Roi! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game components
- Gameboard (the Castle), with floors from bottom to top: Servants, Craftsmen, Merchants, Officers, Dignitaries, Nobles, and the Throne room at the very top. A Score track runs around the edge of the board. Two Dungeons and two WCs sit off to the sides of the Castle.
- Score tokens
- Players' color cards
- 14 Characters (pawns), each with a face side (showing the Character's portrait, labeled A through V) and a back side (showing the Character's name, e.g. Anna, Bridget, Caius...). One of the 14 Characters is the Jester.
- Vote cards (x32): Yes, No, Stomachache
- Favorites cards (x26)
- Ambition cards (x16)
Aim of the game
Each player has his secret list of 6 Favorites among the Characters of the Court. He must make them rise to the highest in the hierarchy of the Castle and, if possible, have one of them crowned King. Indeed, he scores points according to the position of his Favorites in the castle at the time of the coronation. After 3 coronations, the player who totals the most points is the winner.
Installation
- Place the game board on the table.
- Place the 14 Character pawns next to the board, except the Jester: place it immediately on floor 3 of the Castle.
- Each player chooses their playing color (player colors have no connection with those of the Characters, and vice versa). They take the card of this color, which they place in front of them. They place their score token of the same color on box 20 of the score track.
- Then shuffle the Favorites cards and deal one, face down, to each player. These are the first names of their Favorites, the 6 Characters who can make them score points. The order of the names on the card is of no importance. Each player can consult their card but must never show it to anyone.
- Each player also receives the same number of Vote cards, which varies according to the number of players in the game. Simply follow this table:
| Players | Yes | No | Stomachache |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 5-8 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Warning: with 2 players, follow this basic rule but use the Emissary of the Empire variant.
First player
In the first round, the most noble player is designated as the starting player. In subsequent rounds, the starting player is the one who triggered the final coronation in the previous round.
Initial placement
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player takes turns placing a Character (one of their Favorites or not, as they wish) on one of the floors 1, 2, 3 or 4 of the Castle.
- No Characters are placed in the WCs or Dungeons.
- There can be no more than 4 Characters per floor. Note: for 2 players, the limit is 3 characters per floor.
We stop when all players have placed the same number of Characters. All remaining Characters are placed on floor 0.
At 2, 3, 4 and 6 players: there is only one Character left.
At 5 players: there are 3 Characters left.
With 7 players: each player places 2 Characters, except the last player who places only one. He immediately scores 3 compensation victory points.
With 8 players: each player places 2 Characters, except the last 3 players who place only one. The last 3 players each score 3 compensation victory points.
Game turn
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player in turn must move one of the Characters up one floor (and only one). The Character can be one of his Favorites or not, as he wishes. You can never exceed the limit of 4 Characters per floor (3 for a two players game).
Warning: The toilets and dungeons are outside the floors, they do not count towards this limit.
The WC
There are two WC locations next to floors 3 and 4. On his turn, a player can only move a Character into the WC of the upper floor if the limit of 4 Characters of that upper floor has already been reached, and if the WC is free. A character in a WC can then only exit on the same floor, if there are at that time fewer than 4 Characters on that floor (limit of 3 Characters for 2 players). A player uses his turn to make this move, instead of moving another Character.
The King's coronation
As soon as a player brings a Character up to the Throne Room at the top of the castle, a Coronation procedure is triggered!
Each player votes by choosing one of their Vote cards (Yes, No, or Stomachache) and placing it face down in front of them. Then all players reveal their cards simultaneously:
- REJECT: a single NO (or more), and the Character is rejected: he is not crowned King! In this case, if no Stomachache has been played, the Character is sent to the Dungeon next to floor 3 for the first rejected, next to floor 2 for the second rejected, next to floor 1 for the third rejected. The following rejected Characters return to the box. Then the round continues with the next player.
- CANCELLATION: If only one Stomachache (or more) has been played, the coronation procedure is cancelled (due to the Character's anxiety and discomfort in the face of his responsibilities): the Character is neither crowned nor thrown into the Dungeon. He remains in play and simply goes back down to floor 5.
Warning: in any case, all NO and Stomachache cards played during a vote are always eliminated and returned to the box. Players always take back and keep their YES card.
Then the round continues with the next player.
- UNANIMITY: all players voted YES. A new King is crowned! Long live the King! The round is over, and victory points are immediately counted.
Scoring
Players reveal their Favorites card and each player wins points based on the position of their Favorites in the castle.
- Floor 6 (the King): 10 Points
- Floor 5: 5 points. Floor 4: 4 points. Floor 3: 3 points, etc.
- Favorite in a WC (or in the box): 0 Point
- Favorite in a Dungeon: -3 in the Floor 3 Dungeon, -2 in the Floor 2 Dungeon, -1 in the Floor 1 Dungeon.
Each player moves their marker on the score track according to the points won or lost.
Next round
When the coronation of a new King ends round 1 or 2, the game continues and a new round is started:
- All Character tokens are placed next to the game board, except the Jester, who is placed on level 3.
- Players take back Vote cards to have the same number and type as at the beginning of the game.
- All Favorite cards are shuffled, one is given face down to each player.
- The score tokens obviously stay in place!
- The first player is the one who triggered the final coronation of the previous round.
Special case: the Jester
The Jester is not present on any Favorites card. But he can be crowned King... In this case, it's madness, it's the world upside down: all the points are reversed!
- Floor 6 (the King): 0 Point
- Floor 5: -5 points. Floor 4: -4 points. Floor 3: -3 points, etc.
- Favorite in a WC (or in the box): 0 Point
- Favorite in a Dungeon: +3 in the dungeon on floor 3, +2 in the dungeon on floor 2, +1 in the dungeon on floor 1.
Please note: A player's overall score can never drop below 0 on the score track.
Reject: If the Jester is rejected as King, he does not go to a Dungeon. He remains in play and returns to floor 2 (or 1 if floor 2 is full, 0 if floors 2 and 1 are full). In case of Stomachache, he returns like any Character to floor 5.
End of game and victory
If the King's coronation ends the 3rd round, the game is over. The player with the most victory points on the score track is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest Favorite in the castle wins. Otherwise... Vote?
Options
These options can be played alone or together, with the base game as with all the variants. They bring more calculation and tension.
1. Ambition
Before each round, after giving each player their Favorites card, shuffle the Ambition cards and deal 2 face down to each player. Each player looks at them and chooses one, which they keep face down in front of them. The other card is put back in the box without being seen.
At the end of a round, during the counting, each player reveals his Ambition card: if he meets now the condition, he scores the additional points indicated therein in the seal at the top left.
Please note: in the event of the Jester being crowned, the points on these cards remain positive.
2. The Banished
Do not count as a Favorite the Character that is marked with a black seal on your Favorites card. In short, you play with 5 Favorites instead of 6...
Variants
The Emissary of the Empire (2 to 5 players)
Must be used with 2 players
The Empire is sending an Emissary to try to control your kingdom by influencing the choice of your King. This is an unacceptable attempt at interference! Stay in control.
Installation
Choose a color for the Emissary. Place his score marker on space 40. Place his game color card near the game board. Right next to it, randomly distribute a Favorite card, which always remains visible. The players then receive their Vote cards according to this table:
Give the same number of Vote cards to the Emissary. Shuffle them and place them face down in a pile next to his Favorites card. The players then place all the Characters in the castle as in the basic rule. The Emissary, however, places nothing.
| Players | Yes | No | Stomachache |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Warning: for 2 players, the limit of Characters per floor is only 3, for the initial placement as for the game.
How does the Emissary play?
The Emissary never moves a Character, he simply votes, and scores points according to his Favorites if a King is crowned.
During an election, if the Character is one of his Favorites, the Emissary always votes YES without playing a card. Otherwise, the first card of his Vote pile is revealed and applied. As for any player, the Emissary's NO or Stomachache cards are eliminated after the vote.
End of a round
When a King is crowned, the Emissary scores points with his Favorites normally. For the next round, he is given a new Favorites card, and his initial distribution and random pile of Vote cards are redone.
Victory?
At the end of the game, if the Emissary is ahead of all the other players, he has won! And all the other players have lost... So, try to avoid that and win yourself!
The Royal Wedding (2 to 8 players)
You are not going to elect a King, but a royal couple! A woman and a man, two women, two men, a woman and a dog, a dog and a jester, etc. In short, 2 Characters!
At the coronation of the first King, each player reveals his Favorite card and the points are counted normally. The Character who has become King places himself at the top left of the throne. He is waiting for his other half! The round is not over, a second Character will have to be elected. So we continue to play normally, with the next player.
Please note: after this first coronation, the players' Favorite cards remain face up, visible! They will also be used for the second coronation.
When a second Character is crowned, a count is carried out again (without recounting the first King). The royal couple is formed: this time, the round is over!
- Jester: his crazy inverse scoring is applied at the moment he is crowned, exactly like in the base game.
- Ambition: Ambition cards are only revealed and scored for the second coronation.
Team Royalty (2 to 8 players)
Each player on a team has their own Favorites and their own score. But it is better to play in harmony to balance the points: at the end of the game, it is the lowest score of the two players that counts! Finesse and diplomacy required.
Installation
Form teams of 2 players. The 2 players sit side by side. Each player on a team has their own color, their own score token, and their own Favorites card (which they can freely show to their teammate). On the other hand, the team receives a single common set of Vote cards, in accordance with the number of players.
For example, when playing 6 players with 3 teams, each team receives 1 Yes, 4 No, and 1 Stomachache, exactly like with 3 players in the base game.
Note: it is quite possible to play with a lone player at the same time as with teams. For example, with 7 players, 3 teams of 2 and a lone player. Then count that there are 4 players (3+1).
Game turn
In turn, the team places (during the initial phase) or moves (during the game) a single Character: it is up to both players to agree! And in case of election, the team plays a single Vote card...
End of a round
When the King is elected, each teammate's points are counted separately according to each teammate's Favorites card, and are also marked separately with each teammate's score token.
Victory
At the end of the game, only the lowest score of the two teammates is taken into account for the ranking and the victory...
- Ambition: If you play with Ambition cards, each teammate receives 2 and separately chooses their own, which will (maybe) improve their score.
Team variation (to be used sparingly, however!)
Use only one color and one scoring pawn for each team. At each coronation, advance this common scoring pawn only by the smallest total of points scored by one of the 2 players of the team. Note that this variant theoretically allows you to play up to... 16 players! That is to say 8 teams of 2.
The publisher declines all responsibility for this kind of extreme game that he has not tested and which can turn into a terrible chaos!
Ambition cards
- Jester King — 5 points if the Jester is the King
- It's a Queen! — 3 points if the Queen is a woman (not Ouaf or the Jester)
- It's a King! — 3 points if the King is a man (not Ouaf or the Jester)
- 0 Favorite in WC — 5 points if you have 0 Favorites in the WC
- No floors 2 & 3 — 3 points if you have no Favorites in floors 2 et 3
- No floors 0 & 1 — 5 points if you have no Favorites in floors 0 & 1
- 1 Favorite in the dungeons — 3 points if exactly 1 of your Favorites is in the dungeons
- 2 Favorites in the dungeons — 5 points if exactly 2 of your Favorites are in the dungeons
- 1 Favorite in WC — 3 points if exactly 1 of your Favorites is in the WC
- 2 Favorites in WC — 5 points if exactly 2 of your Favorites are in the WC
- Only Yes — 3 points if you have only your Yes card
- No floors 4 & 5 — 5 points if you have no Favorite in floors 4 & 5
- 3 Favorites in the dungeons — 8 points if the 3 dungeons are occupied by 3 of your Favorites
- 0 Favorite in WC and in dungeons — 8 points if you have no Favorite in a WC and in a dungeon
- Friend of the King — 3 points if you have brought the new King into the Throne Room
- Score under 11 points — 3 consolation points if your score on this coronation is less than 11 points
Credits
Authors: Stefano Luperto, Jean-Michel Maman, Andrés J. Voicu Illustrators: David Cochard (inside), Fabrice Weiss (front cover) Graphist: Maria Dao Printer: Whatz Game Publisher: Spiel-ou-Face, 64 boulevard de la Villette 75019 Paris.