Among Nobles Rulebook by Troels Vastrup

Rule book Establish the most powerful and prestigious family dynasty through marriage alliances, warfare and intrigue in feudal Europe

Game overview Among Nobles is a card game where players establish and expand a family dynasty in feudal Europe. Players control some of the most iconic and influential figures in European history. Using their unique abilities cunningly is crucial in the fierce competition between the leading noble houses. The game is won and lost in the intricate interaction between war, strategic marriages and influence at court. Each player starts with a lord and his lady and will bring generations of their family to life through birth and marriage. As the game progresses, more powerful nobles come into play. Three generational changes occur in which the oldest generation perishes due to old age. Players advance their influence in the game by waging war, earning gold and expanding their family. Gold is used to buy extra actions, pay for wedding feasts, muster armies and pay for the education and finer upbringing of male heirs. Armies are used to wage war, bringing riches and prestige back from distant provinces. Prestige points are a measure of your influence on society. The player with the most prestige points at the end wins the game. Players take turns activating one of their characters or couples. An activation lets you pick a series of actions in a horizonal row on the character. As a wife’s actions are added to her husband’s, activating couples can be more effective than activating single characters. Most daughters get married off to other families, while the sons continue your family’s bloodline. Games can be won and lost because of the right or wrong marriages.

Game components • 1 rule book. • 60 character cards: ·· 6 ancestral ladies, ·· 6 ancestral lords, ·· 16 age I characters, ·· 16 age II characters, ·· 16 age III characters.

Cyntia de Aragó

Married to de Aragón,Alfonso rival to Charlema gne.

“I look upon

Charl

Leonor de Toledo

emag

Rem begi embe with n the r, yo ga u 1 2 ar gold anme mie s. d

n IV af

Christia

“R whatight ac is rig tion ht, is bette we the castle mu r tha the queenup here on the hill st kn n kn for whom and ow ow we all kill.” wonder who’s what ledge; is rig but ht.” in ord - Ch er arlem to do agne .

Danmar

d. to 3 gol h Pay up% for eac y. Gain d this wa gold pai

May return any one of your spent action tokens to supply. It may be spent later this turn.

Napolé

on Bon

aparte

Gain he m % ever y in oves an time cont to a prov army one aining ince oppo at lea sing st arm y.

I II III

ns strengthe “Piety

“In Wellin this age, “The highest ofIV n distinctions is servicegto to n, others. when”in- pas George VI Christia askedt ages, in about any age age. the greate, Napol st gen eon.” eral of the

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• 9 province cards. • 5 game overviews. • 1 first player card. • 45 gold pieces. • Prestige point tokens: ·· 50 of 1 prestige points, ·· 50 of 5 prestige points.

5 5 1 % %

• Player tokens in each of the 5 player colours (black, white, orange, purple, grey): ·· 3 action tokens (disks) , ·· 10 army tokens (cubes). There is no limit on gold pieces, prestige point tokens and army tokens. In case you run out of any of these tokens, use any substitute you like; always assume that these tokens have unlimited availability. While the the amount of gold and armies in each player’s supply is open information, players should keep their prestige point tokens face down to conceal the exact amount.

The character card Male character cards have a brown background colour, while female character cards have a light background colour. The colour in the upper and lower part of the character cards indicates the trait of the character. Traits are an indication of the strengths represented by that category of character cards, and the traits of a couple determine the possible traits of their children. Red: Commander. Strong on warfare actions and the first (top) action series. Blue: Devout. Strong on piety actions and the second action series. Yellow: Tradesman. Strong on commerce actions and the third action series. Green: Negotiator. Strong on intrigue actions with special abilities and the fourth (bottom) action series. The power symbols at the top of the rule box indicate one time benefits or permanent abilities: Nobility. A permanent ability for this character. Christening. A benefit to be claimed at the character’s birth. Alliance. A benefit to be claimed when the character is claimed as a bride by an opponent. Legacy. An inheritance to be claimed when the character dies of old age at a generational change. Intrigue. Special rules for this character describes the effect of an intrigue action.

Name and portrait; no game effect Rule box power symbol and rule text Background colour indicates gender Armies, if any, are shown as shields

Action series with a warfare action and a male birth action Charlotte von Mecklenburg

Return up to 2 armies to their owner’s/ owners’ supply.

Patroness of Fine Arts, and of Botany.

Action series with a female birth action and a hire action Action series with a female birth action and a hire action Action series with an intrigue action and a birth action Note, that birth actions on an unmarried character are without effect

Top and bottom colour indicates the trait Action series with two warfare actions and a male birth action Baudouin de Bourgogne

Charlotte von Mecklenburg

Action series with a piety action, a hire action, a female birth action and a second hire action

Gain % for each province containing at least one of your armies.

Return up to 2 armies to their owner’s/ owners’ supply.

Action series with a commerce action, a female birth action and a hire action Action series with a marriage action, an intrigue action and a birth action

The last wish of a dying noble. Patroness of Fine Arts, and of Botany.

The absence of an action box means that the action series has fewer actions

Flavour text; no game effect

Setup 1. Place the province cards in 3 rows with 3 cards in each. In a 3 player game, however, first remove Holland, Normandie and Wien (indicated by 4+ in the lower right corner) and place the remaining 6 province cards 2 by 3. 2. In a 3 player game, remove all the green character cards from the game. 3. Shuffle the 3 decks (I, II & III) of character cards separately. Set decks II & III aside. 4. Draw 7 character cards from deck I (5 cards in a 3 player game) and display them face up in a line next to the deck. These are the characters on display and represent the potential children. 5. Place the prestige point tokens and gold pieces in bank piles next to the province cards and display line. 6. Each player chooses a colour and takes all the army tokens of that colour and 3 action tokens (2 action tokens in a 5 player game). The army tokens are in a general bank supply and not immediately available for your use; they need to be moved to your own personal supply first. 7. Each player receives a game overview card. 8. Each player receives 1 gold and 2 armies from the bank. Place them in front of you; this is your supply. 9. Determine the first player as described below. 10. Distribute the ancestral lords and ladies as described below. 11. Each player places the lady’s card under the lord’s card so that only the right-hand side shows (action series are visible for both cards).

Alfonso de Aragón

Cyntia de Aragón

Remember, you begin the game with 1 gold and 2 armies.

Married to Alfonso de Aragón, rival to Charlemagne.

Married couples are displayed with the wife to the right and partly below the husband. Female characters have a light background colour, while male charcters have a darker background.

“Since Don Alfonso refused to die “I look of his upon wounds, the castle he was up here on the hill and wonder who’s strangled in his bed.” - Burchard. the queen for whom we all kill.”

The nine province cards

Determining first player All players present a closed fist. On the count of three all players show a number of fingers between zero and five. The first player is the player who presented the most fingers. If there is a tie, the first player is the player who presented the second-most fingers. If no first player could be determined because no player showed a unique number of fingers, start over. The first player receives the first player card.

Distributing ancestral lords and ladies Lay out the ancestral lord and ladies in married couples, as indicated on the ladies. Place rival couples together, thereby making 3 groups (as indicated by the designations A, B and C on the back of the cards). Each group has one character of each trait (colour). Each ancestral lord is rival to one other lord, this helps ensure the correct distribution of traits among the players from the start of the game.

Arianne of Cumberland

George,

Earl of

and

Cumberl

Married to George, Earl of Cumberland, rival to Christian.

u ber, yo e Rememthe gam d begin 1 gold an with armies. 2

een for Queve r for a queen, and I demand to be treated like a queen.” ament “I am Tourn glove he t. her ha n of the ampio gave him yed on his pla the Ch er she Being eth I, aft r wore it dis Elizab thereafte

Cyntia de Aragón

de Alfonso

Aragón

u ber, yo e Rememthe gam d begin 1 gold an with armies. 2

nmark

u ber, yo e Rememthe gam d begin 1 gold an with armies. 2

ld, my “Beho

Married to Christian af Danmark, rival to George.

d God an from is a gift or!” eod d heir son an named Th

be shall“Behind every man there is a woman.”

u ber, yo e Rememthe gam d begin 1 gold an with armies. 2

the Urged

Charlem

u ber, yo e Rememthe gam d begin 1 gold an with armies. 2

Married to Charlemagne, rival to Alfonso.

to do e. order “Men emagn fight wars. Women win them.” but in ledge; ht.” - Charl n know at is rig ter tha is bet know wh t action must “Righis right, we what

Married to Johann der Großmütige, rival to Carlos.

n Marti I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I n“Iofknow editio have the heart and stomach of a king.” plete t com . rks the firs ng of Luther’s wo printi

Hildegard de France

agne

n af Da

Sigrid von Sachsen

mütige

der Groß

Johann

s he wa “I lookds,upon the castle up here on the hill and wonder who’s woun the queen for whom we all kill.” of his . to die- Burchard used so ref his bed.” Alfon Don strangled in “Since

Benedicte af Danmark

Christia

Married to Alfonso de Aragón, rival to Charlemagne.

Beatrice de Austria

Carlos

de Austr

u ber, yo e Rememthe gam d begin 1 gold an with armies. 2

Married to Carlos de Austria, rival to Johann.

s due racter “God forgive you, but I never can.” c cha ty. gmati personali st eni y era’s moly unhealth of the s one and possib ge es wa Charlto his stran

3 player game The last player (seated to the right of the first player) chooses one of the three couples. (Since green cards are removed from the game, there are only 3 couples to choose from). The first player chooses freely from the remaining two couples. The last couple is given to the remaining player.

4 player game The last player (seated to the right of the first player) chooses one of the six couples and gives the rival couple to the player across (second in player order). The first player chooses one of the remaining four possible couples and gives the rival couple to the remaining player, the player who is third in player order. The remaining ancestral couples are not used.

5 player game The last layer (seated to the right of the first player) chooses one of the six couples and gives the rival couple to the player who is third in player order. The first player chooses one of the remaining four couples and gives the rival couple to the player who is fourth in player order. The remaining player (seated to the left of the first player), picks any of the remaining two couples. The remaining ancestral couple is not used. Example. Distributing ancestral lords and ladies in a five player game. Asger is first player, after him come Bo, Camilla, Daniel and Emil. Emil as the last player has first choice and can freely choose from all six couples. Emil chooses the green-blue combination of “Christian af Danmark” and “Benedicte af Danmark” , one of the A couples. Camilla then receives the remaining A couple, the red-yellow combination “George, Earl of Cumberland” and “Arianne of Cumberland“. Now Asger gets to choose from one of the four B and C couples. He chooses the blue-red combination “Charlemagne” and “Hildegard de France” from the B couples. Daniel then receives the yellow-green combination “Alfonso de Aragón” and “Cyntia de Aragón”, the remaining B couple. Bo can now choose either of the C couples. He chooses the red-green pairing“Johann der Großmütige“ and “Sigrid von Sachsen”.

Player tips Money is important, especially in the beginning of the game. Money allows you to have sons, muster armies from the supply and marry, and also gives you flexibility with the hire actions. Make sure you have some way of earning money, and if you have a money shortage, consider carefully how you spend your money. Sons are important; they give access to more actions and can ensure future generations. Marriage is important; it gives longer action series and ensures future generations. It is not advisible to rely solely on the marriage action of the ancestral lord. Try to acquire a character card with a marriage action to ensure that future marriages are possible without the expensive solution of marrying through a hire action. Marrying a bride with the same trait (colour) as the groom can be a strong strategy (since they are often strong in the same action series), but it can also backfire. Since any heir must be same colour, you’ll have fewer character cards to choose from in birth actions, so consider carefully before engaging in such a marriage. Keep an eye on the traits (colours) of the couples of the player before you. If you have couples with the same traits, you will be competing for the same character cards on the display line. It can be a setback to sit after a player who has a couple with the same traits as you. Take this into consideration when taking marriage actions.

Things you might forget the first time you play • • • • • •

You only have one action in the very first activation phase. Sons cost 1 gold when you acquire the card. Immediately claim the armies that some newborns bring you. Pay 1 gold when you use a military action to move an army from your supply to a province. The player whose daughter is chosen as the bride in a marriage action gains 2 prestige points. You can only have three generation rows in play at the same time.

Game play The game is played over three ages: I, II and III. Each age consists of several rounds with two phases: an activation phase with 3 actions per player followed by an upkeep phase. Each age lasts until the current deck of cards runs out. When the last card of a deck is put on display, a generational change occurs in the next upkeep phase. The game ends after the third and final generational change.

Difference between 3, 4 and 5 player games The game play is the same whether the game is played with 3, 4 or 5 players. The differences are: • The number of action tokens: 3 tokens in a 3 or 4 player game, but only 2 in a 5 player game. • The number of cards in the display line: 7 cards in a 4 or 5 player game, but only 5 in a 3 player game. • In a 3 player game only 6 of the 9 provinces are used, see Setup. • The distribution of ancestral lords and ladies, see Setup. • In a 3 player game all the green cards are removed from the game. As a game variant, either all the red or all the blue character cards could be removed instead. Removing the yellow character cards is only advised for expert players.

Activation phase Activation Starting with the first player and going clockwise around the table, each player in turn activates a character. If the chosen character is married, the couple is activated, not just the chosen character. Each player has 3 action tokens, enabling the activation of 3 characters/couples per activation phase. However, in the very first activation phase, each player has only 1 action token. A player’s turn consists of activating a character by placing an action token on the card and choosing one of the 4 action series. Each action series consists of up to 4 possible actions. The actions in the chosen series are executed in strict order from left to right. Any birth actions in the chosen series are mandatory for married couples and unavailable for unmarried characters; all other actions are optional.

Reactivation A player can only activate each of his characters and couples once each activation phase. However, if all male characters and couples have been activated, remaining action tokens can be used for reactivation, even if there are unactivated female characters. When reactivating a character or couple, only the leftmost action in each series is available (absent actions do not count as available actions). A character or couple is reactivated by placing another action token on a card, choosing one of the 4 action series and executing only the first (leftmost) action in the chosen series.

Upkeep phase 1. Determine province ownership. For each province the ownership is determined. If several players have armies in the same province, each player removes an army and returns it to their own personal supply. Continue this process until at most one player has armies left on this province. All other armies stay on the provinces. Empty provinces have no owner. 2. Receive income from provinces. All province owners receive income from their provinces. Players receive 1 gold for each commerce symbol and 1 prestige point for each piety symbol on their provinces. 3. Reset characters. Each player takes back their action tokens from the characters and couples. 4. Reset display line, if no cards were taken. If all 7 cards (5 in a 3 player game) still remain in the display line after the activation phase ended, discard all cards on the display line. 5. Generational change. If a generational change was triggered in the previous upkeep phase, each player carries out a generational change as described below. If this was the third generational change, the game ends. 6. Refill display line. Refill the display line to 7 cards (5 in a 3 player game), if necessary by using the next deck. Start by using deck I, then switch to deck II and then finally deck III. When the last card of a deck is put on display, a generational change occurs in the next upkeep phase, and the first player card is flipped over to indicate this. When the last card from deck III has been put on display, the game ends after the next upkeep phase. 7. Pass the first player card left. The next player clockwise is the first player in the new round.

Generational change A generational change occurs in the next upkeep phase after deck I, II or III has run out. Each player removes the oldest generation (the top row of character cards). At the first generational change this means removing the ancestral lord and lady. At the second and third generational change all characters in the top row are removed from the game. You can only have three generations in play at one time. When the oldest generation die of old age, there is room for a new third generation. The game ends after the third and final generational change. When character cards are removed, claim any inheritance stated on the removed character cards, marked by the legacy power symbol on the card. In the unlikely case there is no male heir after a player’s generation change, the player draws character cards from the deck until a male character is drawn. He becomes the player’s new head of family and marries a daughter (if any) from the oldest possible generation. Shuffle the revealed cards into the deck again.

Game end and scoring The game ends after the third and final generational change. Players use their remaining gold to buy prestige points for 3 gold each. The player with most prestige points is the winner. In case of a tie the player with most remaining gold wins. If there is still a tie the player who controls the most provinces wins. If there is still a tie, play another game to settle it.

Original paintings of Danish kings from Frederiksborg Castle

Christian II (1481-1559)

Christian IV (1577-1648)

King of Denmark and Norway 1513-1523 and Sweden 1520-1521. He tried to maintain the Kalmar Union between the Scandinavian countries which brought him to war with Sweden. He captured Sweden, but his slaughter of leading Swedish nobility in the Stockholm Bloodbath made him very unpopular, and a successful rebellion was led by Gustav Vasa. He also grew unpopular in Denmark and was deposed and exiled. Upon his return to Denmark he was imprisoned for the rest of his life.

King of Denmark and Norway 1588-1648. He was an ambitious king and initiated many reforms and projects. He established the Danish East India Company and is remembered for erecting many prominent and important buildings including the Stock Exchange (Børsen), the Round Tower observatory (Rundetårn), Copenhagen Fortress (Kastellet), Rosenborg Castle, the worker’s district Nyboder and Copenhagen naval Church of Holmen (Holmens kirke).

Painting by Pieter van Coninxloo, Det Nationalhistoriske Museum, Frederiksborg Castle.

Painting by Pieter Isaacsz, Det Nationalhistoriske Museum, Frederiksborg Castle.

Actions Warfare Cost: 1 gold. Move one of your armies from your personal supply to any province. Cost: 0 gold. Move one of your armies from one province to another. Move one of your armies to any province. Provinces do not have to be adjacent; an army can move freely from any province to any other province. Also, it does not matter how many or which armies are present in the provinces that an army leaves and enters. If a player has several warfare actions, he can move several armies into several (or the same) provinces, as long as he pays one gold for each army taken from the personal supply. If a player has no gold, he can only move armies between provinces.

Example: Daniel (orange player) executes an action series that gives him two warfare actions (1). He moves one army from Westfalen to Wien (2); this action has no cost. He places an army from his supply in Sachsen (3), thereby consolidating his position there; for this action he must pay one gold (4). 1 3

Charles I of England

Gain an army each time he gains a son.

2 4

“I shall go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be.” - Charles I on the scaffold

Piety Gain 1 prestige point.

Commerce Gain 1 gold.

Birth Cost: 1 gold for a son. Cost: 0 gold for a daughter. Take a character card of appropriate gender and trait from the display line and place it in the card row below the couple. The gender is given by the symbol of the birth action: either < (male), > (female) or ] (either gender). The child must have a trait inherited from the parents. Traits are indicated by the coloured areas in the top and bottom of character cards. In order to claim a son or daughter of a green trait, at least one parent must have a green trait, and so on. This action is not available to unmarried characters. For couples, however, it is mandatory to claim sons and daughters, unless the cost cannot be paid, the display line is empty, the right traits are not available, or it would start a fourth generation row. If the claimed character card has shield symbols in the upper right corner, take as many armies and add to your personal supply immediately. Claim any benefits stated on the child’s character card, marked by the christening power symbol in the card’s rule box. Organise your character cards in front of you like a genealogical tree. At the top is the oldest generation. Their children are placed in a row below them, and grandchildren are placed in a third row. At any time there can be only 3 generation rows. Once a child is placed in a generation, it is not important to remember who the parents were. The horisontal placement within a generation is unimportant for the game play, but for the feel of the game it might be nice to place children directly below their parents.

Hildegard de France

Married to Charlemagne, rival to Alfonso.

Oldest generation

Charlemagne

Remember, you begin the game with 1 gold and 2 armies.

“Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do Women win them.” “Men fight wars. what is right, we must know what is right.” - Charlemagne.

Ancestral couple

Anne of Cleves

Christian II af Danmark

Baudouin de Bourgogne

Jane Seymour of England

Mary I of England

Gain }}.

Gain % for each character in his generation.

Gain % for each province containing at least one of your armies.

Gain }}.

Gain }} and %%.

“I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse.” Made the pope sue -for peace.VIII, commenting on their wedding night Henry

Married son no. 1

“Here lieth a Phoenix, by whose death, another Phoenix life The last wish of a gave dyingbreath. noble. It is to be lamented much. The world at once ne’er knew two such.”

Offered amnesty to his enemies. When they accepted, he executed them in the Stockholm Bloodbath.

Married son no. 2

Son

Sibylle of Cleves

Marguerite de Lorraine

Felipe II de España

Gain }} and %%.

Gain %%%.

Remove one of your unmarried female characters from the game to gain }} and %%.

Sibylle, daughter I do love a good wedding feast! of Johann, married to Johann, mother of Johann, Johann, Johann and Johann.

Married grandson

Married Gaston, Duke of Orléans three times.

Ruler of the empire on which the sun never sets.

Granddaughter

Grandson

Daughter Third generation

Charles de Solier

His { are free.

Earned her nickname “Bloody Mary” in just 5 years. 5 Years and 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake.

Second generation

Fernando de Toledo

Gain an army.

Genealogical tree: organising the family’s cards

Marriage Cost: 2 gold. The groom’s family pays the expenses of the wedding feast. Select one of your unmarried male characters (the groom) to send to the royal court to look for potential brides. Each opponent must, if they can, present at court one of their unmarried female characters as a potential bride. If no brides are presented, nothing happens, and the wedding cost of 2 gold is returned to the player. The potential brides are normally selected by your opponents simultaneously, but if a player requests it, they are presented in player order beginning from the player whose turn it is. You have to choose one of the presented brides. When the bride is selected, the player who presented the bride gains 2 prestige points. Opponents who presented brides that were not chosen take their character cards back. If the bride’s card is marked by the alliance power symbol in the card rule box, the player who presented the bride claims the stated benefits in addition to the 2 prestige points the player of a chosen bride always receives. Place the bride behind your groom so that only the right-hand side of the card is shown (her husband blocking her rule box and portrait). Her action series now join her husband’s to give the couple longer action series, and her rule box text no longer applies. She is part of your family now, and no longer part of your opponent’s family. Return any spent action token on her to its owner; this action token cannot be used later this turn. She can no longer have an action token, she can only be activated as part of the couple together with her husband. Note, a female character might give actions to two players in the same round. If she is first activated as a daughter by one player, and then married to a male character who has not yet been activated, she can be activated again in the same round together with her husband. Note, however, that if the character card that was activated to trigger the marriage action is the groom himself, he cannot take advantage of this new wife’s actions this turn.

Intrigue Some characters have an ability marked with an intrigue power symbol in the rule box on the card. This ability is only used when the character (or couple) executes an intrigue action. Act according to the text in the rule box. Multiple instances of intrigue actions triggers the rules once for each action.

Hire Cost: 2 gold for a warfare, piety or marriage action. The hire action grants the character the ability to execute an extra action for 2 gold. The 3 available actions for hire are: warfare, piety and marriage. Any additional cost associated with executing the action, for example the price of 2 gold for a marriage, must also be paid. You cannot acquire commerce, birth or intrigue actions through a hire action.

Male character cards, Age I Antoine le Bon

Fernando de Toledo At his birth you gain a warfare action which is free of cost.

Add an army to your personal supply when he dies.

Antoine le Bon

Fernando de Toledo

May take § for free.

Gain an army.

Great battles. Great Glory.

Made the pope sue for peace.

Baudouin de Bourgogne

Christian II af Danmark

You gain one prestige point for each province that contains at least one of your armies when he dies. Baudouin de Bourgogne

Christian II af Danmark

Gain % for each province containing at least one of your armies.

Gain % for each character in his generation.

Offered amnesty to his enemies. When they accepted, he executed them in the Stockholm Bloodbath.

The last wish of a dying noble.

Charles le Victorieux

Christian IV af Danmark For each intrigue action he executes he may spend up to 3 gold to gain up to 3 prestige points at a cost of 1 gold per prestige point.

When he dies you gain an amount of gold equal to the amount of gold you have at this point. Charles le Victorieux

When he dies you gain prestige points equal to the number of individual character cards in his generation, including himself, i.e. all characters in the row that is removed at this generational change. Couples count as two cards in this case.

Whenever he is reactivated you gain 1 gold.

Double the amount of gold you have.

Christian IV af Danmark

Pay up to 3 gold. Gain % for each gold paid this way.

Gain } whenever he is reactivated. A good merchant can make money out of anything, a brilliant one can make it out of nothing.

“Piety strengthens the realms.” - Christian IV

Cosimo I de’ Medici

For the remainder of this activation, the couple may give birth to children of any trait. Illegitimate or not, he’s my son!

Whenever he executes an intrigue action, either his own or one of his wife’s, the couple may ignore traits for the remainder of the action series, allowing the couple to choose children with any trait they want; gender must still be respected.

Francesco Della Rovere Whenever he executes an intrigue action you gain 1 prestige point and may execute a warfare action. Francesco Della Rovere

Gain § and %.

With sword and cross in hand.

Female character cards, Age I Jane Seymour of England

Mary I of England

You gain 2 gold at her birth.

You gain 2 gold and 2 additional prestige points when she is married off to an opponent.

Jane Seymour of England

Mary I of England

Gain }}.

Gain }} and %%.

“Here lieth a Phoenix, by whose death, another Phoenix life gave breath. It is to be lamented much. The world at once ne’er knew two such.”

Earned her nickname “Bloody Mary” in just 5 years. 5 Years and 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake.

Elisabeth d’Autriche

Isabel de Portugal You gain 2 gold and 2 additional prestige points when she is married off to an opponent.

You gain 2 gold at her birth.

Élisabeth d’Autriche

Isabel de Portugal

Gain }}.

Gain }} and %%.

With her flawless white skin, long blond hair and perfect physique, she was considered one of the great beauties of her era.

Isabella was a skilled marriage negotiator though she herself was married late at the age of 30.

Anne of Cleves

Sibylle of Cleves You gain 2 gold and 2 additional prestige points when she is married off to an opponent.

You gain 2 gold at her birth.

Anne of Cleves

Sibylle of Cleves

Gain }}.

Gain }} and %%.

“I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse.” - Henry VIII, commenting on their wedding night

Sibylle, daughter of Johann, married to Johann, mother of Johann, Johann, Johann and Johann.

Eleonora Della Rovere

Isabella d’Este You gain 2 gold and 2 additional prestige points when she is married off to an opponent.

You gain 2 gold at her birth.

Eleonora Della Rovere

Isabella d’Este

Gain }}.

Gain }} and %%.

As Duchess of Urbino she was largely responsible for the internal government of Urbino during her husband’s exile.

“The First Lady of the world.” - Diplomat Niccolò da Correggio

Male character cards, Age II Charles I of England

Charles IX de France

You gain an army each time he has a son.

Charles I of England

Charles IX de France

Gain an army each time he gains a son.

May move up to 2 of your armies to provinces with piety for free.

“I shall go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be.” - Charles I on the scaffold

With an intrigue action you can remove one of your unmarried female characters from the game. She enters a convent, and you gain 2 gold and 2 prestige points.

Remove one of your unmarried female characters from the game to gain }} and %%.

Sir Nicholas Carew Once per turn you may use an intrigue action to activate him again after his activation. Sir Nicholas Carew

Activate him again after this activation. You can only use this ability once each turn.

Ruler of the empire on which the sun never sets.

Joachim II Hector His (and his wife’s) marriage actions are free of cost.

When he is using a hire action to execute a piety action (gaining 1 prestige point), the cost of the hire action is only 1 gold.

Charles de Solier

Joachim II Hector

His { are free.

Using his [ to acquire % only costs 1 gold.

I do love a good wedding feast!

Heaven is but a handful of coins away.

Edward VI of England

Guidobaldo II Rovere

When you place your action token on this character you may instead activate another character.

When activated, you may activate another of your characters instead. Do not place an action token on the other character. Ruled the ones that ruled for him.

When married this means that he can acquire more than one child in the same turn.

“But what does he really accomplish?” - Robert the lazy

Charles de Solier

Edward VI of England

Note, as he does not have any intrigue actions; he will need a skilled wife.

“What blood shed! What murders! What evil counsel I have followed!” - Charles IX

Felipe II de España

With an intrigue action he can move an army without paying any gold cost, even if the army comes from your supply, but that army can only be moved into provinces with a % symbol.

As you do not place an action token on the other character, you may activate that character again later this turn, or you may activate a character even if it has an action token already.

With an intrigue action you can remove one of your armies from the game to gain 2 gold and 2 prestige points. Guidobaldo II Rovere

Remove one of your armies from the game to gain }} and %%.

“Men should either be treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injures – for heavy ones they cannot.” - Niccolò Machiavelli

You can remove it from a province or from your supply. This army is returned to the general bank supply.

Female character cards, Age II Anna Esterházy

Mary, Queen of Scots You gain 3 gold at her birth.

Anna Esterházy

Mary, Queen of Scots

Gain }}}.

Gain §.

“Remember money for the mistresses.” - Robert the lazy

Her life ended, her line did not.

Marguerite de Lorraine

Mariana de Austria

You gain 3 gold at her birth.

Marguerite de Lorraine

Mariana de Austria

Gain %%%.

Can only be presented at court if the groom has at least one piety action.

Married Gaston, Duke of Orléans three times.

Maria de’ Medici You gain 3 gold at her birth.

Anne d’Autriche

Maria de’ Medici

Gain }}}.

Gain %%% and the groom’s family gains }}}.

Mother to the Sun King who reigned for more than 72 years.

Money and power combined, as shown by her marriage to the king of France and her generous dowry.

Anne Boleyn

Gain %% every time she is presented at court.

Second wife of Henry VIII, who had her beheaded after she failed to produce a male heir.

You can only present her as a potential bride during another player’s marriage action if the groom has at least one piety action on his character card.

Religious to an extent that was excessive even for her time.

Anne d’Autriche

Anne Boleyn

She converts her own intrigue actions into warfare actions, as long as she is unmarried. Once she is married, her intrigue actions have the effect of the intrigue ability of her husband, if any.

Place 3 gold from the bank on her character card when she is born. When she is presented at court, this is her dowry: If she is selected as a bride, the gold goes to the groom‘s family, and you gain 3 prestige points. Return the gold to the bank at the end of the game if she is still unmarried.

Leonor de Toledo Every time she is presented as a potential bride during another player’s marriage action you will instantly gain 2 prestige points. You may gain prestige points several times this way.

You effectively gain an extra action token this turn. This means you have an action after all other players have finished theirs. Leonor de Toledo

May return any one of your spent action tokens to supply. It may be spent later this turn. “The highest of distinctions is service to others.” - George VI

Male character cards, Age III Arthur, Duke of Wellington

Napoléon Bonaparte

When you execute an intrigue action, choose an opponent’s army from any province and return it to its owner’s supply.

You gain 1 prestige point each time you move an army into a province containing at least one army belonging to an opponent.

Arthur, Duke of Wellington

Napoléon Bonaparte

Return an army to its owner’s supply.

Gain % every time he moves an army into a province containing at least one opposing army.

“In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon.” Wellington, when asked about the greatest general of the age.

“The hardest thing of all for a soldier is to retreat.” Wellington

August III Sas

Pyotr III Fyodorovich When you execute an intrigue action you gain 1 prestige point for each married couple in your family.

August III Sas

Gain % for each married couple in his family.

Note, as he does not have any intrigue actions; he will need a skilled wife.

During his reign, August spent little time in Poland and was known to prefer recreation to ruling.

You gain 1 prestige point each time you move an army into a province with a % symbol. Pyotr III Fyodorovich

Gain % every time he moves an army into a province with piety.

You can gain multiple prestige points with the same army by moving it again using more than one warfare action.

Likely assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife and successor, later known as Catherine the Great.

Alasdair of Glengarry

Ferdinand I der Gütige

When he is using a hire action, the cost of the hire action is only 1 gold.

When you execute an intrigue action you gain 1 prestige point for each unmarried female character in your family.

Alasdair of Glengarry

Ferdinand I der Gütige

His [ only costs 1 gold.

Gain % for each unmarried woman in his family.

The inventor of the Glengarry bonnet considered himself the last genuine specimen of a Highland chief.

“Ich bin der Kaiser und ich will Knödel!” (“I’m the Emperor, and I want dumplings!”) - Ferdinand I

Heinrich XIII von Reuß

Henry VIII of England

Heinrich XIII von Reuß

His [ gives two actions of the same kind instead of one.

A handful of coins will get you far. The friendship of the emperor will get you further.

You can gain multiple prestige points with the same army by moving it again using more than one warfare action.

You gain either 2 piety actions, 2 warfare actions or 2 marriage actions for each hire action you execute. You still pay any further costs associated with carrying out the actions.

Henry VIII of England

Remove his wife from the game without executing her actions: Gain }}} and %%%.

Henry had 6 wives. Only one outlived him.

With an intrigue action you may remove his wife from the game. You do not execute (the rest of) the wife’s actions. You gain 3 gold and 3 prestige points. He may marry again during the same action series where he removes his wife from the game.

Female character cards, Age III Catherine the Great

Charlotte von Mecklenburg

You gain 2 armies when she is married off to an opponent.

Catherine the Great

Her warfare actions are free of cost.

Gain 2 armies.

Charlotte von Mecklenburg

Return up to 2 armies to their owner’s/ owners’ supply.

At her birth you may choose any two armies belonging to opponents and return them to their owner’s supply. They can be from the same or from different provinces, and from the same or different opponents.

Her § are free. Reformed Russia leading it into a golden age.

Patroness of Fine Arts, and of Botany.

Maria Leszczynska

Mary, Baroness of Cathcart

You may reactivate another characther in your family after her actions.

Maria Leszczynska

You may reactivate another character in your family after her actions.

You can only reactivate a character with an action token on it. You may reactivate a character that has already been reactivated.

Everybody always got busy looking … busy ... around her.

After her actions you may execute a marriage action free of cost.

Mary, Baroness of Cathcart

After her actions, may take { for free.

Everybody should have a husband as dedicated as mine.

Madame de Pompadour

Ulla Tessin, née Sparre

At her birth you may activate an unmarried character in your family.

Madame de Pompadour

Activate an unmarried character in her family.

As you do not place an action token on the other character, you may activate that character later this turn, or you may activate a character that has an action token already.

“Au reste, après nous, le Déluge.” (“Besides, after us, the Deluge.”) – Madame de Pompadour while comforting the king.

Ulla Tessin, née Sparre

Gain }, %, § and {.

A talented artist and a skilful socialite.

Henriette Marie de France

Mary, Countess Howe

She may execute a birth action without being married. The child can have any trait (colour). Henriette Marie de France

Mary, Countess Howe

Gives birth without being married, child can have any trait.

Gain %% every time she is presented at court.

Intrinsically apolitical, undereducated and frivolous.

When she is born, you will gain the following actions in order: commerce, piety, warfare and finally marriage. You can spend gold earned through the commerce action to pay for later actions.

Every time she is presented as a potential bride during another player’s marriage action you will instantly gain 2 prestige points. You may gain prestige points several times this way.

Her only legacy was an eight foot high portrait, the breakthrough piece of painter Thomas Gainsborough.

A game by Among Meeples Game design and development Troels Vastrup, Lone Gram Larsen, Robert Bonde Jensen, Tina Christensen & Morten Andersen

Credits Graphics: Robert Bonde Jensen and Troels Vastrup Logo: Jeppe Norsker Box cover: Bo Jørgensen Video: Sheila Seah Jakobsen Hansen and Jesper Nøhr

Contact Email: info@amongmeeples.dk Website: http://amongmeeples.dk

Acknowledgements ¤¤ Bo Jørgensen – if the game doesn’t look stunning, it’s because we didn’t listen enough to your advice. ¤¤ Jeppe Norsker – you must have answered a million questions ranging from layout to graphics design, and everything DTP. ¤¤ Sheila Seah Jakobsen Hansen and Jesper Nøhr – for making the game come alive, and for valuable advice on social media. ¤¤ Daniel Skjold Pedersen – you were the play tester who challenged us with questions that forced us to reconsider our designs, often leading to breakthroughs and radical streamlining. ¤¤ Asger Sams Granerud & Nikolaj Wendt – our elite play testers during the game’s rough birth. ¤¤ Special thanks to the facebook community spildesign.dk and to all the rest of our play testers – your feedback improved the game immensely. ¤¤ Thank you to Fastaval – for accepting our game in the competition and to the jury for nominating it. ¤¤ Thank you to Nordic Game Artisans – for the seal of approval. ¤¤ This game was funded through Kickstarter.com. Special thanks to all our backers – we love you guys!

3-5 players Ages 14+ FASTA V

FASTA V

ST E R Æ B

FASTA V

2013 L

VINDER

2013

NOMINEE

90-120ED minutes

2013

NOMINERET

WINNER

2013

Among Meeples