Allegiance Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• The Cards
• Playing the Game
  • Card Allocation Phase
  • Action Phase
• Actions
• Attributes
• Winning the Game
  • Influence
  • Allegiance
  • Winning

Setup

• 3-Player game: Remove two Thieves and two Monks from the deck.

• 4-Player game: Remove four Thieves and four Monks from the deck.

• 5-Player game: Play with the full deck.

• Place the Temple and Thieves' Guild cards in the center of the playing space.

• Give each player one Inquisitor card.

• Shuffle the deck and deal each player one card. The Inquisitor and the dealt card form each player's starting hand.

• Shuffle the deck and place it in the center of the playing space.

• Select a player to go first and give that player the First Action card.

The rulebook includes a 4-player setup example diagram showing the First Action card, each player's hand and tableau, the Temple, the Deck and the Guild placed around the center of the table.

The Cards

Each card in Allegiance is associated with the Temple, the Thieves' Guild, or is unaligned. Cards affect influence when placed on the Temple or Thieves' Guild and they affect allegiance when placed in a player's hand or tableau.

Card key, as printed: Temple (white), Unaligned (grey), Thieves' Guild (black).

Playing the Game

Allegiance is played in a series of rounds, with the game ending when the deck is exhausted. Each round has two phases: the Card Allocation Phase and the Action Phase.

Card Allocation Phase

At the beginning of each round, deal each player three cards from the top of the deck to add to their hands. All players then simultaneously choose one card from their hand to place facedown on the Temple, and choose one card from their hand to place facedown on the Thieves' Guild.

Action Phase

After all players have allocated their cards, the action phase begins. If the player with the First Action card has a card with an action in their hand, they can choose to use it to take an action. When a player uses an action, they place the card faceup on the table in front of them - called their tableau - and perform the action as described below. Cards used to take actions remain faceup on the player's tableau for the rest of the game. After the first player completes their action, declines to use an action, or cannot use an action because they did not have an Action Card, play passes to the left, with each player having the option to take one action. At the end of the Action Phase, the player with the First Action card passes it to the player to their left.

The round is then over and the next Card Allocation Phase begins. This continues until the deck has been exhausted.

Actions

Most of the Temple and Thieves' Guild cards in Allegiance can be used to take actions. Symbols in the upper left corner of a card indicate the action that can be taken.

• Assassinate (Assassin): Place this card faceup in your tableau to take this action. Choose any card on the table and remove it from the game, or look at a player's hand, choose one of the cards in their hand, reveal the card to the target player, and remove the card from the game.

• Convert (Priest): Place this card faceup in your tableau to take this action. Choose one player (not including yourself) and either take one faceup Thieves Guild cards in their tableau and place it faceup by the Temple, or look at their hand, choose a Thieves Guild card from their hand, and place it faceup by the Temple. At the end of the game, each Thieves Guild card faceup by the Temple adds one point of influence to the Temple.

• Corrupt (Guildmaster): Place this card faceup in your tableau to take this action. At the end of the game, all Temple cards in your hand and tableau are treated as Thieves Guild cards for purposes of determining allegiance.

• Follow (Cutpurse and Initiate): Place one or more Cutpurses or one or more Initiates faceup in your tableau to take this action. At the end of the game, if all players combine for five or more Cutpurses faceup in their tableaus, the Thieves' Guild gains +3 influence. If all players combine for five or more Initiates faceup in their tableaus, the Temple gains +3 influence.

• Infiltrate (Double Agent): Place this card faceup in your tableau to take this action. Choose one card from your hand and place it facedown in another player's tableau. This card affects the player's allegiance as if it was a faceup card in their tableau. The card can be the target of an Assassinate action.

• Investigate (Inquisitor and Spy): Place this card faceup in your tableau to take this action. Choose one player and look at their hand, or secretly look at a facedown card in any player's tableau (including your own).

Table talk: In Allegiance players are encouraged to engage in table talk. They can say anything they want during the game, but they may not reveal their cards to other players except through the Actions described above. They are encouraged to use deception and partnerships to help win the game.

Attributes

All three unaligned cards have attributes. Attributes are similar to actions, except they do not require players to take actions during the Action Phase for the effect to take place. Attribute symbols are located in the upper left corner of cards, just like action symbols.

• Finance (Merchant): Compare the number of Merchants on the Temple and Thieves' Guild at the end of the game. The organization that has the most adds one point of influence per Merchant card. If there are an equal number of Merchants, neither side gets a bonus.

• Protect (Guard): During your turn on the Action Phase, you may place one Guard on top of a faceup card in your tableau. This does not count as an action. The card under the Guard is protected from the Assassinate and Convert actions, unless the Guard is assassinated first.

• Royal Support (Noble): Each Noble card in the Temple and Thieves Guild counts as two points of influence for the organization. Noble cards do not affect allegiance.

Winning the Game

Once all the cards in the deck have been drawn and the last player completes their turn in the Action Phase, the game is over. The cards on the Temple, on the Thieves' Guild, and in players' hands are revealed.

Influence

Count the number of Temple cards placed on the Temple and Thieves' Guild cards placed on the Thieves' Guild. Each Temple and Thieves' Guild card is worth one point. Remember to include the effects of Convert, Finance, and Royal Support when determining Influence. The organization with the highest total has the most influence. If the result is a tie, the Thieves' Guild has the most influence.

Allegiance

Each player adds the number of Temple cards and Thieves' Guild cards in their hand and tableau. Again, each card is worth one point. Each player's allegiance is determined by which organization has the most combined points in that player's hand and tableau. If the result is a tie, the player has allegiance to the Thieves' Guild.

Winning

If the Temple has the most influence, all players with allegiance to the Temple win.

If the Thieves' Guild has the most influence, the player with allegiance to the Thieves' Guild wins. If more than one player has allegiance to the Thieves' Guild, those players compare their Thieves' Guild points:

• The player with the most Thieves' Guild points wins;
• If the result is a tie, the player with the largest difference between their Thieves' Guild points and Temple points wins;
• If there is still a tie, a player wins if they had the Guildmaster;
• If there is still a tie, the player with the biggest knife in their pocket wins.