Don Carlo
Don Carlo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
100 number cards
25 cards each in 4 different colours:
- 4 × numbers 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4
- 3 × number 5
- 2 × number 6
7 country cards
Egoistria [1-3], Abstrusia [4], Abracadabria [5], Absurdistan [6], [7], Chaotania [8], Squadronia [9-12].
You also need pencil and paper to write down the points.
How to Set Up the Game
Each of you chooses one of the four families and takes the corresponding 25 coloured number cards. Return the remaining number cards to the box. Shuffle your own number cards and place them face down in front of you. That is your family stockpile.
The eldest player is the bookkeeper. They take a sheet of paper and a pencil and write down the players' names. During the course of the game, they write down your points in your column.
Now place the country cards in the centre of the table. Depending on the number of players, use those countries with the following numbers:
- 4 players: [1-3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9-12]
- 3 players: [1-3] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9-12]
- 2 players: [1-3] [5] [6] [7] [9-12]
(Game set-up for 2 players: country cards [1-3], 5, 6, 7, 9-12 in the centre; each player has a family stockpile face down and four hand cards face up in front of them in the illustration.)
How to Play
Take it in turns, with play moving in clockwise direction. At the beginning of the game, each of you draws four number cards from your family stockpile. These are your hand cards. Make sure no-one else can see the numbers you hold in your hand. Take a look at your four hand cards. They show you the head of your family and a number from 0 to 6. To strengthen the influence of your families in the various countries, send your agents to these countries. But their names must remain top secret, of course.
Therefore, you give each agent a code name. Generate this code name using the numbers on your hand cards.
The youngest player begins. Is it your turn? Then send exactly one agent to a corresponding country. How does that work? It's all very simple:
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Assign a code name: Give your agent a code name. This name may comprise up to four numbers. To make this, you use 1 to 4 of your hand cards. Sort the cards according to their numbers, in ascending order from left to right.
Example: Adrian is the counsellor of James Cook and has the hand cards 1, 1, 6 and 6. He chooses the 1 twice and then a 6 to go with them. He uses these to generate the code name 1/1/6.
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Designate a country: Send your agent to the corresponding country. For this, simply add up all the numbers of your code name. The sum indicates which country you must send your agent to.
Notes: Both of the countries Egoistria [1-3] and Squadronia [9-12] each show a range of numbers. That means that the sum of the code name can be any number within this range of numbers.
And since there is no country with the number 0 or 13, you may not, of course, use your hand cards to generate any number 0 or greater than 12. If there are less than four players, there are also other numbers that you cannot generate.
Example: The code name of Adrian's agent, 1/1/6, makes up the sum 1 + 1 + 6 = 8. Thus, he sends this agent to Chaotania [8].
Attention: Each code name may only be present once in each country! That'd really take the biscuit, if there were two agents 1/1/6!
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To the back of the queue: Haven't any of you yet managed to send an agent to this country? Then place yours directly under the country card. Are there already some agents up to mischief in this country? Then place yours at the very bottom, "at the back of the queue" so to speak. Thus, you can always see which agents are out and about in the country and also, in which order you sent them there.
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Each new agent immediately gains you . Did you send your agent to that country? Then count up the agents now milling around in that country. The agent just played also counts, and all those that had previously sent to that country. This is your points score.
What Do I Do, If I Can't Send Out an Agent?
It's your turn and your four hand cards don't allow you to send a new agent to a country? That means, you can't generate a single code name that isn't already on the board? Then lay your hand cards face up in front of you. Draw the top card from your family stockpile and lay this with the others. Now try again, to generate a valid code name. Of course, you may still only use up to four hand cards! You still can't do it? Then draw a sixth card and so forth, until you are able to send your agent to a corresponding country and gain your points.
Next, pick up your hand cards again. If you have more than four hand cards, you must continue to place cards at the bottom of your family pile, until you are left with four hand cards. If you have less than four hand cards, draw new cards as usual.
If you have all your remaining number cards lying before you and still cannot generate a code name from the four cards, then the game ends here for you. From now on, your fellow players bypass you.
Have you played out all your 25 number cards? That of course, also means the end of the game for you.
End of the Game: Country Scoring
None of you can send a new agent to a country? Then the tension mounts even more as you now get your much-wanted country points:
Go through the countries one at a time. Look at each country and see who has sent the most agents to that country. This player gets the corresponding country card. Have more than one player got the same score? Then the country card goes to the one who first sent their agent to that country.
Attention: It's the number of agents that counts, not the number of cards!
Example: Zampano (blue) and Donny (green) each have 2 agents in Squadronia [9-12]. Zampano sent an agent there before Donny, so Zampano wins this country card.
Note: Of course, the bookkeeper had already written down the influence points for both the combinations of 3; 3/3/2 (2 bonus points for Zampano) and 3/4/5 (1 bonus point for Donny).
Have you distributed all the country cards? Then add up your country points: the printed number of the country is decisive.
Attention: Egoistria [1-3] always counts 3 points. Squadronia [9-12] always counts 9 points!
The bookkeeper writes down your country points in your column. Now work out your total score (influence, bonus and country points). The one with the most points wins and is awarded the honorary title of Don Carlo. In the event of a tie, the player with the fewest own number cards, wins. If there is a tie here, too, then you share the victory. How about a return game?
Cooperative Variant: Together Our Families Are Stronger!
A cooperative game for 2 to 4 players age 8+. You'll need the "Don Carlo" card game for this play variation!
Preparation
You always play with the number cards of all four families. Shuffle the 25 number cards for each family separately, then put the four piles on top of each other. This is your shared draw pile containing all of the 100 number cards. Each player should draw five cards from the pile — these are your hand cards.
Now take the country cards and return country card #5 (ABRACADABRIA) to the box. Shuffle the six remaining country cards and lay them out in a row. The order of the countries should be entirely random.
What's Our Mission?
You all play together, against the game. Each country card in the row represents a task. You win if you complete all of the tasks in the given order, from left to right.
First, you need to complete the task on the country card on the left, then the task on the card to its right and so on. As soon as one of you completes the final task (on the far right), you've won the game.
How to Play
The youngest player starts; play then continues in a clockwise direction. As in the original game, you must create a code name for your agent when it's your turn, then send it to the appropriate country.
The following variations apply:
- The agent code name you create can comprise up to five hand cards.
- You may also use number cards of different colors to create code names. However, you must still sort the numbers in ascending order and each code name may only be used once — regardless of the color of the individual cards.
- You must complete tasks in the correct order, i.e., you cannot send the "last" agent to this country.
Beware: You may send your agents to suitable countries from the start of the game. However, you may only complete the task on the country card that is furthest to the left.
How Do You Complete Tasks?
The task on a country card is complete when the correct number of agents have been sent to the country:
- For countries 4-8, you must send as many agents as the number indicated on the country card.
- For countries 1-3, you will need three agents.
- And for countries 9-12, you must send nine agents.
This corresponds to exactly the "country points" of the basic game.
Note: In this play variation, you do not receive any points for your agents. All that matters is that you work together to complete all of the country cards.
Completed a task? Molto bene! Then take all of the agents that are under this country card and put them in a pile. Place this pile face down on top of the country card. The country is now closed and you cannot add any more agents to this country anymore. You need to complete the task on the right card along next.
Don't forget to draw more cards! At the end of your turn, draw enough number cards so that you have five cards in your hand again.
Help, I Can't Create a Code Name for an Agent!
There are three situations where you cannot create a code name for an agent:
- You've used up all possible code names.
- The corresponding country has already been closed.
- You can only create new agents that fulfill tasks and it isn't time for these tasks yet.
Can't create a code name for a new agent? Then you must place one of the cards in your hand to the right of the row of country cards as a penalty card. You then draw another card to replace it and your turn ends.
Can We Confer?
- Yes, you can discuss the country cards laid out in the middle at any time. For example: "Would it be ok for me to close Egoistria?" "Can someone play a card for Absurdistan? Then I can complete the task." "Please leave country card #7 open, else I won't be able to play any cards!"
- However, you are not allowed to talk about the specific cards you have in your hand or their numerical values.
End of the Game
The game can end in one of two different ways:
- You've won: Completed the task on the last country card? Splendido! Blood really is thicker than water.
- You've lost: Does one of you have to discard a fourth penalty card? Oh no! Well, that's it then! Pull yourselves together and have another try.
Too difficult? Too easy?
- Make the game easier by removing a country card with a higher number instead of country card #5 at the start (e.g., #6 or #7).
- Make the game harder by returning country card #4 (ABSTRUSIA) to the box at the start instead of country card #5 (ABRACADABRIA).
- It is even more difficult if you each only play with four cards in your hand.
- And for the real pros: try to win without Abstrusia and with only four cards in your hand.