Winter Court
Winter Court Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 8 court tiles, depicting 12 characters labeled A-L
- 60 cards: 6 suits — Lands, Might, Wealth, Knowledge, Devotion, Wit — of 10 cards, ranked 1-10
- 12 pawns ... 4 purple royals and 8 other court members
- 2 summary tiles
The suits represent spheres of courtly life:
- Lands
- Knowledge
- Might
- Devotion
- Wealth
- Wit
Setup
Place the court tiles in a row, in order A-L, between the two players. Put a pawn on top of each court tile, with the 4 purple royal pawns on tiles A-D.
The A-D royal tiles are two-sided. Use whichever side of each that you prefer.
Choose a player to go first. Shuffle the cards. Deal 5 cards to the first player and 6 cards to the second player. The remaining cards form the draw pile.
The 4 royals each provide 2-5 status. The other 8 court members are worth only 1 status at game end but have special powers. To use their special powers, you must give up control of them (losing their status).
Overview
Two opposing courtiers try to sway members of a court to their side. The four royals have higher status, but the other court members have special powers that can be used to influence them. If a courtier ever controls all four royals at the same time, they instantly win! Otherwise, the courtier with the most status at the end of winter (when the draw pile runs out) wins.
Each court member is represented by a pawn, which is either unclaimed, on its court tile between the players, or controlled by a player, on that player's side. To shift a pawn one position towards you, play a card of a suit matching the color(s) of its court tile that is of higher rank than any card currently influencing that court member.
Your card remains, indicating your influence, until a player later plays a card of higher rank to influence this court member, discarding your card. As the game progresses, more and more influence will be established, creating diplomatic "terrain" that players must navigate.
Turns
Players alternate turns. On your turn, play 1 card or pass (make no play).
At any time during this step, you may return non-royal pawns — that you controlled at the start of your turn — to their court tiles to use their powers.
Then, you may draw 1 card.
If you pass, you must draw, but may (instead of drawing 1 card) draw 2 cards together, look at them, and then discard 1 of them.
There is no hand limit. Players' hands may increase or decrease during play.
Most turns are: play 1 card; draw 1 card.
Players may pass either for draw selection or, if ahead, to speed up the game.
If behind, a player can play 1 card and draw 0 cards to slow down the game (in order to play cards from their hand before it ends).
A player cannot pass and draw 0 cards; they must do something. A player with no cards to play must pass and then draw.
Playing a Card
Place it on your side of one of the three court tiles whose suit it matches.
Example: A Lands 4 can be played on the Ruler, Steward, or Matchmaker.
If a previously played card exists on either side of the court member's tile, then the rank of the card played must exceed the rank of the card already present, which is then discarded.
If the court member can be influenced by two suits, then a card of either suit can be played, regardless of the suit of a card already present (see example below).
Shift the court member's pawn one position towards you. Take control of it, if it was unclaimed, or place it on its court tile, if your opponent controlled it.
a. Anne plays Lands 4 to claim the Steward.
b. Bob plays Wealth 6 (the other suit that influences the Steward), shifts the Steward pawn back to its court tile, and discards Anne's previously played Lands 4.
c. Bob later plays Lands 7 to claim the Steward, discarding his previously played Wealth 6.
Boosting a Card
You may play one or more rank 1, 2, or 3 cards of the same suit as the card being played to temporarily increase its rank. Discard any boosting cards after the play. 1s, 2s, and 3s have * after their ranks as a reminder. You may not boost a previously played card.
Example: Anne plays Wealth 5, boosted by Wealth 1 and 2 — a total of 8 — to shift the Steward (currently controlled by Lands 7) back to its court tile. Anne then discards Wealth 1 and 2 (and the previously played Lands 7), leaving Wealth 5 in play.
Powers
Each non-royal court member has a power. To use it, you must control the court member at the start of your turn and then return its pawn to its court tile. Do not discard the card influencing them; it stays, making it harder to claim them.
Four powers produce effects directly:
- Wizard. Make a second play (anywhere; after resolving your first play).
- Steward. Draw 2 cards (your end-of-turn draw is in addition to this).
Example: Bob takes control of the Steward. On his next turn, Bob returns its pawn to its court card to draw 2 cards before making a play. After doing so, Bob draws 1 card.
- Sage. Examine the discard pile (which begins empty), take any card from it, show it to your opponent, and put it in your hand.
- Charlatan. Discard the card influencing an unclaimed court member (one whose pawn is on its court tile).
Example: Anne returns the Charlatan to its court tile to discard the previously played Lands 10 that shifted the Ruler to its tile. Anne then plays Might 9 to claim the Ruler.
Four powers modify a play as you make it:
- Knight. Add a Might card to your play.
- Lover. Add a Devotion card to your play.
- Matchmaker. When playing to a court member that can be influenced by two suits, add a card of the other suit to your play.
- Fool. Play a card of an influencing suit but lower rank than the card currently influencing a court member to influence that court member.
Example: Anne controls the Consort with Knowledge 9. Bob returns the Fool's pawn and plays Wit 2 (the Consort's other influencing suit) to shift its pawn back to its court tile, discarding Knowledge 9. Bob then returns the Wizard's pawn to make another play: Wit 10 to take control of the Consort (discarding Wit 2).
Adding a Card to a Play
When you use a power to add a card, you play it with a card play, adding its rank to the played card's rank, and then leave it in play. The card played and the added card(s) are now considered one card, whose rank is the sum of their ranks (and may exceed 10), for all purposes until they are discarded.
You cannot add to a previously played card.
By using several powers, you can add several cards to one play.
Add cards, unlike boost cards, can be of any rank. They can be boosted.
Example: Bob controls the Consort with Wit 10. Anne, who controls the Matchmaker, plays Knowledge 4, boosted by Knowledge 1, and returns the Matchmaker's pawn to add Wit 4 (the Consort's other influencing suit), boosted by Wit 2, for 11 total influence (4+1 and 4+2) on the Consort.
11 influence exceeds Bob's 10 influence, so Anne shifts the Consort's pawn back to its court tile and discards both boost cards (Knowledge 1 and Wit 2), along with Bob's Wit 10, keeping Knowledge 4 and Wit 4 as one combined card in play with 8 influence (their total ranks) on the now unclaimed Consort.
A player who controls a court member may play on it (discarding their previous influence) to strengthen the amount by which they hold it.
Game End
The game ends immediately if a player ever controls all four royals (purple pawns) at once, instantly winning, or when the last card in the draw pile is drawn (do not reshuffle discards).
If the draw pile runs out, total the status of all court members each player controls. The player with the most status wins.
If tied, the player who controls the court member closest to the ruler, with the earliest letter alphabetically (A, then B, ...) wins.
(very rare) If neither player controls any court members, the result is a draw.
Etiquette
The draw pile may be counted (to see how many cards remain in it near the end of the game). The discard pile is open for examination. If asked, you must state how many cards you have.