Courtisans Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview and Goal of the Game
• Components
• Setup
• Game Flow
• A Player's Turn
  • Around the Queen's Table (above or below the game mat)
  • In Your Domain (in front of you)
  • In an Opponent's Domain (in front of any opponent)
• End of the Turn
• Special Roles
  • Noble (x4 per family)
  • Spy (x2 per family)
  • Assassin (x2 per family)
  • Guard (x3 per family)
• Game End and Scoring
  • Scoring Example
• Game Information
• Credits

Overview and Goal of the Game

In Courtisans, you receive and play 3 cards on each of your turns. One is played at the Queen's table to sway a family's influence... in a positive or negative manner. The two other cards are played in your domain and in an opponent's domain, and can be worth positive or negative points, depending on their family's status. Choose where best to place your 3 cards if you want to end up with the most points... and win the game.

Components

• 90 Courtier cards (6 families with 15 cards each)
• 20 Secret Mission cards (10 white and 10 blue)
• 1 game mat

Setup

1. Place the game mat in the center of the table. Shuffle all Courtier cards, without looking at them. Randomly remove cards without revealing them, according to the number of players.
   • When playing with 2 players, remove 30 cards (60 cards will be left in the deck).
   • When playing with 3 players, remove 18 cards (72 cards will be left in the deck).
   • When playing with 4 players, remove 6 cards (84 cards will be left in the deck).
   • When playing with 5 players, do not remove any cards. You play with the entire deck.
2. Deal 3 Courtier cards, face down, to each player. Everyone looks at their own cards without revealing them.
3. Place all remaining Courtier cards as a face down deck, near the game mat.
4. Then deal 2 Secret Mission cards, a blue one and a white one, to each player. Each player secretly looks at them and keeps them nearby. Place remaining Secret Mission cards back in the box without looking at them. They will not be used during the game. You may look at your Secret Mission cards at any point of the game, but you can never reveal them to your opponents.

Randomly choose a first player.

LET THE FEAST BEGIN!

Game Flow

A game of Courtisans plays in successive turns in clockwise order. Starting with the first player, each player plays their turn completely, then the player to their left, and so on. The game ends when the deck is empty, and no one has cards in their hand. Each player then scores their cards. The player with the most points wins.

A Player's Turn

On your turn, you must play all 3 cards in your hand. You place one, face up, in each of the 3 game areas listed below.

• AROUND THE QUEEN'S TABLE
• IN YOUR DOMAIN
• IN AN OPPONENT'S DOMAIN

You may play your 3 cards in any order, as long as you place ONE CARD PER AREA.

Around the Queen's Table (above or below the game mat)

Place the card in the column of the matching family. Choose whether to place it above or below the game mat. When the game ends, the families with more cards above than below the mat will be esteemed. Those with more cards below the mat than above will be fallen from grace.

In Your Domain (in front of you)

At the end of the game, each card in an esteemed family will earn you 1 point, whereas each card in a fallen from grace family will have you lose 1 point.

In an Opponent's Domain (in front of any opponent)

At the end of the game, each card in an esteemed family earns them 1 point, whereas each card in a fallen from grace family has them lose 1 point.

End of the Turn

Once you have played your 3 cards, draw 3 new cards from the top of the deck for your next turn. If the deck was empty, that was your last turn. Wait for the table turn to end.

Special Roles

Some courtiers have a role, shown on the art with an item and in the corners of the card as an icon. There are 4 different roles and they each have a special effect.

Noble (x4 per family)

At the end of the game, each noble counts as two cards, whether in a player's domain or around the Queen's table.

Spy (x2 per family)

Spies are always played face down instead of face up. No one can look at a played spy, even the player who has played it.

Whenever a spy is played around the Queen's table, it is placed in the Queen's column, below or above her seat on the mat, so as to hide its family for now.

Assassin (x2 per family)

Whenever you place an assassin in an area, you may eliminate one other Courtier card in that area. This effect triggers whether an assassin is played in a player's domain, or at the Queen's table. The card is removed from the game.

If you place an assassin around the Queen's table, you may eliminate any card in that area, regardless of its family or placement.

You may even get rid of a spy this way (however, do not look at it nor reveal it). You do not have to use an assassin's ability.

Noëmie plays a Nightingale assassin below the Queen's table. She takes her chance and eliminates a Hare noble above the Queen's table, since the Nightingale assassin is being played around the Queen's table.

Guard (x3 per family)

Guards can never be eliminated by assassins. Once played, they cannot be removed.

Game End and Scoring

The game ends when the Courtier deck is empty and no one has cards left in hand. All spies (face down cards) are now revealed. Those at the Queen's table are moved to their family, without changing their level: cards above the mat stay above the mat, and those below the mat stay below the mat.

Then determine each family's status at the Queen's table. Families with more cards above the game mat are esteemed whereas those with more cards below are fallen from grace. If there is no majority, a family is neutral. Do not forget nobles are worth two cards.

Calculate each player's score. Each courtier in an esteemed family is worth 1 point, whereas each courtier in a fallen from grace family has you lose 1 point. Families that stayed neutral have no effect. Do not forget nobles count as two cards.

Each player then reveals their Secret Mission cards. A card you meet the condition of is worth 3 extra points. Cards you don't fulfill are worth nothing.

The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, tied players share victory.

Scoring Example

With more cards above the Queen than below, the Stag, Toad and Butterfly families end up being esteemed. With 2 cards above and 2 cards below the Queen's table, the Carp family is neutral. In the case of the Nightingale family, the noble counts as two cards, tipping the scales. The Nightingale and Hare family are fallen from grace, as they have more cards below.

With the cards in her domain at the end of the game, Noëmie's score is 11 points. She gains 11 points (3 + 3 + 5) for her Butterfly, Toad and Stag cards (nobles count for 2). She loses 3 VP because of her 2 cards (including a noble!) in the Nightingale family. Her Carp cards are worth nothing, and her validated Secret Mission earns her 3 points additional points.

Example Secret Mission card: Hares must be fallen from grace at court — worth +3 VP if fulfilled.

Game Information

• 2-5 Players
• 20 Min.
• Ages 8+

Credits

• Game designers: Romaric Galonnier & Anthony Perone
• Art: Noëmie Chevalier
• Project manager: Clément Milker
• Translation: Mathieu Rivero
• Production manager: Benoît Stella (Synergy Games)
• Published by: Catch Up Games
• Distribution: Blackrock Games
• Additional Graphic Design: Peter Wocken

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