Brillance
Brillance Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board
- 1 copy of the rules
- 31 carts
- 90 plastic Merchandise tokens
- 36 Order tokens
- 1 turn counter
- 36 Event cards
- 28 Event markers
Object of the Game
Players must deliver as many merchandise items as possible to their shops and leave Brillance before sunrise, that is, after 10 turns of play.
Basic Concepts
Each player begins the game with 5 carts and 15 merchandise. Each cart can carry a maximum of 3 merchandise, which the player stacks on the cart token.
Order tokens indicate the number of merchandise items each shop wishes to receive. As soon as a shop has received all of the merchandise ordered, the player removes the Order token and the merchandise and places them in front of him on the table.
The game board represents the city of Brillance. Carts move along the light-coloured spaces following the streets. The coloured spaces outside the city are the carts' starting spaces. The coloured spaces inside the city are the delivery points of the shops marked by signs of the same colour. Carts must stop on coloured spaces in order to deliver to shops.
A cart can only deliver to shops of the same colour as itself.
Setup
Each player chooses a colour. He then takes his 5 carts, 15 Merchandise tokens and six Order tokens (3 tokens representing two merchandise and 3 tokens representing three merchandise).
Shuffle each player's Order tokens and place them face down on each of the shops of his colour. Turn them over to see how much merchandise each shop has ordered.
Each player places his carts on the starting spaces outside the city and places three merchandise on each of them. Place Pakius's brigand cart (the black cart), empty, in the castle, marked by the mask.
If there are fewer than 6 players, place the remaining carts on the delivery spaces of the corresponding colours. Do not place carts on the island. These carts do not move and permanently block the streets, reducing the mobility of the players' carts.
Shuffle the Event cards and place the deck face down near the board. Each player draws two cards before the game begins. Place the turn counter on the first space of the turn track.
Sequence of Play
The game is divided into turns during which everyone plays clockwise, starting with the youngest player. At the end of his turn, a player draws a new Event card. At the end of a complete turn, the first player advances the turn counter one step.
Movement
On his turn, each player may move his carts. Each cart has 5 action points. Moving one space costs 1 point.
At the start of the game the first player has one action point, the 2nd player has 2 points, the 3rd player has 3 points, and so on up to a maximum of 5 points. After that, each player has 5 action points per cart. Spaces outside the city count in movement.
The streets of Brillance are very narrow, so the presence of a single cart blocks the way. A cart may neither stop on a space occupied by another cart nor pass another cart. A cart may very well block a cart of its own colour (it is not a question of ill will, it is just a question of space).
When a cart arrives on a space of its own colour in front of a shop, it may unload its merchandise. This costs one action point per merchandise unloaded. Place the merchandise on the delivered shop, next to the Order token. A cart may resume its movement after unloading if it has enough movement left. Furthermore, it is forbidden to remain on an opponent's delivery space for more than one turn.
A cart may unload fewer merchandise than the order indicates, but it can never exceed the number ordered. Once a shop has received all of the merchandise ordered, the player removes the merchandise and the Order token from the game board and places them on the table in front of him. In this way the board becomes less cluttered as the game progresses.
Example: It is the yellow player's turn. The yellow cart may move 5 spaces. It covers the two spaces separating it from its delivery space. There it delivers two merchandise (the number ordered), which costs two action points. It uses its last point to stop on the blue company's delivery space. Thus the blue cart will not be able to deliver to its shop on its next turn.
Two carts of the same colour may pass merchandise between them. The transfer costs one action point per merchandise to the cart making the transfer.
Gates
Carts may only leave the city through the gate by which they entered. Once a cart has left Brillance, the guards do not let it return before the following night (and the game will be over well before then).
The guards at the gates only cooperate with merchants who have bribed them correctly. A cart may not stop on a guard space of a different colour. However, it may pass over it as long as it does not stop there.
Guard spaces are not considered empty (see the cards Unexpected Obstacle and Bribe).
Example: It is the blue player's turn. The blue cart may move 5 spaces. Since the orange cart blocks the Tapirs Bridge, the blue cart heads for the Ox Bridge. The guard in the pay of the orange company forbids the blue cart from stopping in front of the gate. It must stop on the previous space.
Event Cards
Each player begins the game with two Event cards. He draws one at the end of his turn, without ever holding more than 4 cards in hand. Any number of Event cards may be played during a player's turn (with the exception of "Lucky Break", which cancels the effect of any card and is played immediately after the card one wishes to cancel).
Each card gives the effect printed on it. Here are some additional explanations for certain cards.
The Brigands. The brigand cart begins the game with no merchandise in the castle. It is activated by the players as soon as a Brigands card is played. The player who plays this card may then move Pakius's cart 5 spaces, after which the next player moves the brigands before moving his own carts, and so on. Each time the brigand cart stops on a space adjacent to a player's cart, it steals one merchandise from it. This transfer costs the brigands one action point. It may steal only one merchandise per cart.
The brigand cart can carry three merchandise. Pakius must return to his castle to unload his loot (the transfer is free). Any player who moves the brigand cart while it is full must direct it to the castle by the most direct route possible. To leave the castle again, a new Brigands card must be played.
Note: It is possible to play Event cards on the Brigands' cart.
Unfair Competition. By playing the Unfair Competition card, a player may steal one merchandise from an adjacent cart (if his own cart is not full). This is the only way to recover stolen merchandise. The transfer costs the thief's cart one action point.
Bonus Gift - Delivery Error. By playing this card, you reduce (or increase) the number of merchandise needed to deliver to a shop. You place a -1 or +1 marker on the shop concerned. However, once the order has been filled, you gain the victory points printed on the Order token (for example, you must deliver 3 merchandise to a shop; you play the "Bonus Gift" card, you finally deposit only two merchandise, but you gain 3 victory points).
Notes: Delivery Error cards are played on opponents' shops. It is possible to place a Delivery Error card and/or a Bonus Gift card on the same shop, but only if that shop has not yet been delivered to. It is not possible to play the same card twice in the same place (for example, one cannot stack "Delivery Error" cards on the same shop).
Breakdown and Collision. You must play the "Breakdown" and "Collision" cards on one or more opposing carts. The player targeted by this card may not move his affected cart(s) on his next turn. He keeps the card in front of him until the end of his next turn and then places it in the discard pile. In the case of a collision involving two carts of different colours, each of the two players must suffer the penalty for one turn only.
Unexpected Obstacle. By playing this card, you place a drunken dwarf on an "empty" space of the game board. It stays in place until a "Clear the Way" card is played on it. It of course blocks the space it occupies.
Notes: A "Bribe" card does not allow the "Unexpected Obstacle" token to be moved. An opponent's delivery space is considered an empty space (but is it worthwhile to block a specific player?).
End of the Game
The game ends at the end of the tenth turn. Players count the merchandise delivered (only shops that have been fully delivered count) and add to this number the number of carts that have returned to their starting point. Carts that are still within the walls of Brillance, with or without merchandise, are not counted. The player with the highest total wins the game. In case of a tie, the first player to have brought out a cart wins.
Tactical Notes
Let the newcomers among you not underestimate the harshness of the charge of the carts. The streets of Brillance can become a real challenge for the most accomplished tacticians among you.
Since you have only 5 carts to deliver to 6 shops, at least two of your carts will have to deliver in two places in succession. You would be well advised to think of a tactic to achieve this before the game begins.
A skilful player may try to occupy the strategic points that open the most options for him and limit those of his competitors. It is sometimes wiser to go around the city by following the wall rather than facing the traffic jams of the city centre.
However hateful they may be, you may have to lower yourself to negotiate with your competitors to resolve desperately blocked situations. Beware, however, of opportunists (even more hateful) who will not hesitate to slip into the streets thus freed.
Once you have delivered most of your shops, you may devote yourself fully to hindering your competitors by blocking their exit route and playing Event cards.
Finally, do not forget that the winner is the one with the most victory points (not necessarily the one who delivered the most shops, although that can help).
Wandering Competitors
Optional rule for 2 to 5 players.
After moving all of his carts and before drawing an Event card, each player may move the carts of non-participating companies (the carts that block the streets and belong to no player). Depending on the number of players, he may move those carts a certain number of spaces. Note that he may very well split these spaces among several carts.
- 2-3 players: 3 spaces
- 4 players: 2 spaces
- 5 players: 1 space
This rule makes the game more complicated, but also more interesting when there are few players.
Speed Bonus
Optional rule for 4 or more players.
Despite the perfectly legitimate obligation to deliver to the shops, the infernal din of the rush of the carts leads many citizens of Brillance to voice the most vehement protests to their mayor. He, always attentive to his fellow citizens (the best way, after all, to get re-elected), has offered the various companies a small bonus to hasten the departure from the city. Each empty cart that leaves during turn 6 scores 6 points, during turn 7: 4 points, during turn 8: 3 points, during turn 9: 2 points, and on the last turn 1 point.
Practical note: To more easily remember which carts have already moved, you may place a marker face down next to each of them. At the end of his turn, the player removes the white markers he used.