El Grande: König & Intrigant Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Game Sequence
• Action Card Clarifications (King & Intrigue)
  • Intrigue Card
  • King's Card
  • Caballero Card
  • King and Intrigue Power Cards
• Player's Edition
• Special Cards

Components

• King and Intrigue: 90 Power cards (18 cards per color), 3 Intrigue cards, 3 Caballero cards, 3 King's cards, and 2 Action markers (Double Scoring markers). The reverse of each King and Intrigue card is marked with a crown symbol.
• Player's Edition: 55 Power cards (11 cards per color), and 5 Action markers (2 alliance markers, 1 bridge, 1 quarantine marker, and 1 risk of collapse tile).
• Special Cards: 50 Power cards (10 cards per color), and 4 Action markers (1 King's Guard, 3 limit tables).

The face of each card shows one of three symbols: one for King and Intrigue, one for Player's Edition, and one for Special Cards.

Setup

Setup is identical to the base game with the following exceptions:

1. The Action cards of the base game are not used. Instead, you will use the Intrigue, Caballero, and King's Cards whose reverse side is marked for the corresponding number of players. Place the Intrigue card on the left. Place the Caballero cards to the right of the Intrigue card. And then place the King's Card furthest to the right. There should be as many cards as there are players.

   The reverse side of each card shows the player count (4 and 5 player icons).

   Transcription note: the source's 4-player setup illustration shows the Intrigue card with three printed lines ("You may move 1 Caballero. OR You may move all your Caballeros from one region. OR You may execute your special action."). The 4-player Action-card box on page 2 of the same document shows the same card with two lines only ("You may move 1 Caballero. OR You may move all your Caballeros from one region."), and the Action Card clarifications on page 3 describe the two-action version. Both readings are transcribed as printed; the card text used in play should be checked against the physical card.

2. After all players have determined their home region, each of them will place 1 Caballero on the board. All players choose a region on their secret disc (not the King's region) and reveal their choice simultaneously. Each player places 1 Caballero from the Province in their chosen region.

   Setup illustration (captioned "Setup for 4 players" in the source): Each player places 1 additional Caballero from the Province into their secretly chosen region.

3. Instead of using the Power cards from the base game, each player will be given a complete set of "King and Intrigue" Power cards in his color. Of these 18 cards, each player will secretly choose 13 of them with which he will play the game. Each player then puts the 5 cards he chose not to use back in the box, without showing the other players.

   The source's setup example shows the blue player's 18 King and Intrigue cards. Of these 18 cards, the blue player has chosen the 13 cards numbered 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 70, 110, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170 and 180. The remaining 5 cards (60, 80, 90, 100 and 120) are removed from the game.

Game Sequence

The game sequence is very similar to that of the base game.

Each player has their own set of cards. These cards combine the Power cards and the special actions of the Action cards in the base game. In this rulebook, these cards are referred to simply as Power cards. Additionally, the Action cards of the base game have been replaced with 1 Intrigue card, 1 King's Card, and as many as 3 Caballero cards. These cards are referred to simply as Action cards.

As in the base game, each player plays a Power card from his hand (clockwise, starting with the player with the start player marker). Each player must play a different numbered Power card (i.e., 2 cards with the same number may not be played in the same round).

Example: Benita begins by playing Power card 40. The other players follow in clockwise order. The Veto stays in front of her.

After all players have played a Power card, the player who played the highest numbered card takes the King's Card. Then the other players in descending Power card order each take the Action card offering the most Caballeros from those remaining. The player with the lowest numbered Power card takes the Intrigue card. Then each player takes their turn, starting with the player who has the King's Card, and proceeding in descending Power card order.

The Action cards for a 4-player game are shown in the source as: King's card, Caballero card, Caballero card, Intrigue card.

On his turn, a player first takes a number of Caballeros from the Province into his Court equal to the number of Caballeros depicted on his Power card (as in the base game, a player may choose to take fewer Caballeros). Then, in the order of his choice, the player executes his special action and places a number of Caballeros from his Court onto the board (as in the base game, a player may choose to place fewer Caballeros).

Normally a player will execute the special action on his Power card.

Exception: In a 4- or 5-player game, the players with the King's Card and Intrigue card will only perform the action specified on that Action card. The special actions depicted on their Power cards are ignored. They will still take the Caballeros depicted on their Power card.

Example: Benita takes 4 Caballeros from the Province into her Court. The Caballero card allows her to place 2 Caballeros in Spain.

In a 4- or 5-player game, the player with the King's Card only executes the action on the King's Card itself. The special action on his Power card is ignored. In a 2- or 3-player game, the player with the King's Card has a choice between two actions. The same is true of the Intrigue card.

In a 2- or 3-player game, the King's Card and Intrigue card offer a choice between two actions.

After all players have completed their turns, each player discards their Power card to his facedown discard pile.

The rules for this expansion are otherwise identical to the base game.

You may choose to add cards from the Player's Edition and/or Special Cards modules. This will increase the selection of Power cards and introduce new facets of the game to discover.

• The Player's Edition module consists of 55 additional Power cards (11 per color) and is marked with its own symbol.
• The Special Cards module consists of 50 additional Power cards (10 per color) and is marked with its own symbol.

Action Card Clarifications (King & Intrigue)

Intrigue Card

You must choose one of the two possible actions:

• You may move 1 of your own or 1 foreign Caballero.

OR

• You move all of your Caballeros from one region to another region.

The King's region is always taboo!

Printed text on the card: "You may move 1 Caballero. OR You may move all your Caballeros from one region." The setup illustration on page 1 shows a third line, "OR You may execute your special action."; see the transcription note under Setup.

King's Card

You may move the King before or after you place Caballeros. You may not place the King in the Castillo.

Printed text on the card: "You may move the King to the region of your choice." On the 2- and 3-player side: "You may move the King to the region of your choice. OR You may execute your special action."

Caballero Card

Printed text on the card: "You may execute your special action."

King and Intrigue Power Cards

Cards in the King and Intrigue set carry a number and, where printed, a label; the card number is the value used for turn order. Each card's printed text is given first, followed by the source's clarification.

10 (Intrigue)

• Printed: "You may execute the action on the Intrigue card."
• Clarification: This is the Power card with the lowest value. You are therefore the player that takes the Intrigue card and executes its action.

20

• Printed: "You may place your Caballeros in the region(s) of your choice."
• Clarification: You may place Caballeros in the region of your choice, instead of only in regions neighboring the King's region. The King's region itself is always taboo!

30

• Printed: "Each of your opponents must return all Caballeros in their Court to the Province. This only takes effect on your turn."
• Clarification: This does not affect you. It only affects your opponents.

40 (Veto)

• Printed: "You may prevent one special action in this round or the next round. All players must announce their special actions before they execute them."
• Clarification: The Veto action is explained in detail in the base game rules (stack 2, page 10).

50

• Printed: "In clockwise order, each of your opponents must return 3 Caballeros to the Province. These Caballeros may come from their Court and/or a region on the board."
• Clarification: In clockwise order, your opponents (not you) choose which 3 of their Caballeros to return to the Province.

60, 100, 110, 120, 150, 170 (Special Scoring)

• Clarification: The 60, 100, 110, 120, 150, and 170 cards trigger a special scoring and are identical to those Action cards found in the base game (stacks 3 and 4, pages 11-12). Their printed text is not reproduced in this document; the base game rules apply.

70

• Printed: "You may return 1 Caballero of each opponent from a region to the Province."
• Clarification: You choose 1 Caballero belonging to each opponent (not your own) and place them in the Province.

80

• Printed: "You may move your Grande. Then you may move 3 of your Caballeros to your Grande's new region."
• Clarification: You may not take your Grande or Caballeros from the King's region. You may not place your Grande in the King's region or the Castillo.

90

• Printed: "You may place a mobile scoreboard OR move an existing one."
• Clarification: The mobile scoreboard action is explained in detail in the base game rules (stack 4, page 12).

130

• Printed: "You may choose a region and place it facedown in front of you. During the next general scoring, this region scores double."
• Clarification: The double scoring only occurs during the next general scoring. If a special scoring occurs in the region before the next general scoring, the score is not doubled. After the next general scoring, return the Region card and the 2x marker to the supply.

140

• Printed: "You may move 2 of each player's Caballeros in the Castillo. Foreign Caballeros must be taken from regions. Your Caballeros may also be taken from your Court."
• Clarification: You may choose to forfeit this action entirely. However, if you move any foreign Caballeros to the Castillo, you must also move 2 of your own Caballeros to the Castillo. You may not take any Caballeros from the King's region.

160

• Printed: "You may move the King to an adjacent region."
• Clarification: Before or after you place Caballeros, you may move the King to an adjacent region.

180

• Printed: "You may execute the action on the King's card."
• Clarification: This is the Power card with the highest value. You are therefore the player that takes the King's Card and executes its action.

Player's Edition

The Player's Edition module cards are numbered as shown on each card. The Joker card carries no number in the source.

Joker

• Printed: "You may wait until each of your opponents has played a card before deciding which card you wish to play."
• Clarification: When you play this card, you will wait for all of your opponents to play a Power card. Once all have done so, you play another Power card out of your hand. You may not play a number that has already been played.

13 – Field Day

• Printed: "Each of your opponents chooses a region on their secret disc. Each of your opponents places their Grande in their chosen region."
• Clarification: If an opponent's Grande is in the King's region, they do not participate. If an opponent chooses the King's region, their Grande remains where it is.

23 – Relocate

• Printed: "You may relocate the Castillo to a region of your choice. Place all Caballeros from the chosen region in the Castillo. The region and the Castillo continue to be used as normal. When the Castillo is scored, it is scored according to the scoreboard of the chosen region. After the next general scoring, the Castillo is returned to its normal place."

• Clarification: You may not place the Castillo in the King's region. You must move the Castillo and its contents without revealing the Caballeros within. Once the Castillo has been relocated, move all Caballeros in the region that the Castillo now occupies into the Castillo itself.

  From now on, players may choose to place/move Caballeros in/to the region (next to the Castillo) or in the Castillo itself. If the King is moved to the region where the Castillo is located, it has no effect on the Castillo.

  During general scoring, you will empty and score the Castillo first, as usual (take special care not to mix the Caballeros in the Castillo with the Caballeros in the same region). Then, score the Castillo according to the scoreboard in the region it occupies (including any relevant King or home region bonuses). Finally, return the Castillo to its normal position on the board.

43 – Civil War

• Printed: "Choose a region. Each of your opponents must return all of their Caballeros in this region to their Court. You must return 1 Caballero from your Court to the Province."
• Clarification: You may not choose the King's region. If you have Caballeros in the chosen region, they remain there. If you do not have any Caballeros in your Court, you may not execute this action.

53 – Alliance

• Printed: "You may place the 2 alliance markers in the regions of your choice. In the next general scoring, these 2 regions will be scored together: the Caballeros and points from both regions will be combined."
• Clarification: You may not place either of the markers in the King's region. During general scoring, all players count and combine the number of Caballeros they have in the two marked regions. The rewards for each region are combined (e.g., the player with the most Caballeros scores first place points according the scoreboards of both regions, etc.). If one of the regions is the King's region, or a player's home region, bonus points are awarded accordingly. After general scoring is completed, remove the alliance markers. If another player plays the Alliance card before the next general scoring, they may move the Alliance markers to different regions.

63 – Bridge Construction

• Printed: "Place the bridge tile between 2 adjacent regions. Place a Caballero from your Court on this bridge. You may move as many of your Caballeros between these two regions. During general scoring, you score 1 point for the bridge. Only one bridge may be in play."

• Clarification: Place the bridge between two adjacent regions. Neither of these regions may be the King's region. In addition to the 3 Caballeros you will place this turn, you will also place a Caballero from your Court onto the bridge itself.

  As long as the bridge remains: directly before your turn in following rounds, you may freely move your Caballeros between these two regions. In each general scoring, the player who controls the bridge scores 1 point. If you remove the Caballero from the bridge, the bridge is returned to the supply. If another player plays the Bridge card, they take the bridge. If you have a Caballero on the bridge at this time, return it to your Court.

73 – Revolt

• Printed: "You may rotate a mobile scoreboard in any region 180 degrees. Whenever this region is scored, it is the player with the least Caballeros in this region (at least 1) that will score the most points, etc."
• Clarification: When reversed, the 8/4/0 mobile scoreboard becomes a 0/4/8 scoreboard, meaning that the player with the fewest Caballeros (at least one) scores 8 points. The player with the second fewest Caballeros scores 4 points. The same applies to the 4/0/0 mobile scoreboard. If another player plays the Revolt card, they may return a mobile scoreboard to its original position or reverse the other scoreboard. When a player moves a reversed scoreboard, it remains reversed.

83 – Risk of Collapse

• Printed: "Players may not place Caballeros in the Castillo. Players may place Caballeros beside the Castillo instead. After the next general scoring, use of the Castillo returns to normal. Place the collapse marker on the Castillo."
• Clarification: Caballeros already inside the Castillo remain in the Castillo, and will be scored normally during general and special scorings.

93 – Quarantine

• Printed: "You may place the quarantine marker in a region adjacent to the King's region. This region is protected from change in the same manner as the King's region. This quarantine lasts until the end of the next general scoring or until a player moves the quarantine token."
• Clarification: Any region hosting the quarantine marker may not be changed in any way. It is taboo just like the King's region. For further details, see the base game rules (King's region, page 5).

113 – Hurricane

• Printed: "After all players have played their cards, but before the players take their actions, choose a region on your secret disk. When your turn begins, reveal the chosen region. Each player must return half of their Caballeros (rounded up) from this region to their Court. All Caballeros you place in this round must be placed in the chosen region."
• Clarification: You reveal your secret disc at the beginning of your turn.

153 – Mistress

• Printed: "You may place your Caballeros in the region of your choice. There is no King's bonus this round."
• Clarification: You may not place Caballeros in the King's region. If there is a special scoring in the King's region this round, the King's bonus will not be awarded. Also, if there is a general scoring directly following this round, the King's bonus will not be awarded. Home region bonuses score as usual.

Special Cards

15 – Fiesta

• Printed: "You may place 5 Caballeros."
• Clarification: You do not receive any Caballeros from the Province into your Court. In addition to the Caballeros your Caballero card allows you to place, you may also place another 5 Caballeros.

25 – Espionage

• Printed: "During the next general scoring, you may choose to have your opponents choose where to move their Caballeros from the Castillo without you. Then, you must choose a region to move your Caballeros from the Castillo. Keep this card in front of you until its effect is complete."
• Clarification: This card has no effect on your use of the secret disc during a special action. After the next general scoring, discard this card.

35 – Coup

• Printed: "You may place an opponent's Grande in the Castillo. A Grande still gives its bonus in the Castillo."

• Clarification: You may not take a Grande from the King's region. During the next general scoring, any player whose Grande is found in the Castillo is relocated (along with his Caballeros) to the region chosen on that player's secret disc.

  In this way, it is possible for a player to score their home region bonus twice during a general scoring (once for the Castillo and once for the region to which the Grande is relocated).

66 – Table for Six

• Printed: "You may place the 6-Limit table in a region containing no more than 6 Caballeros. This region may no longer contain more than 6 Caballeros."
• Clarification: You may not place the limit table in the King's region. A player using the Intrigue card may move Caballeros to or from the limit table. If (e.g., by secret disc) more Caballeros are placed in the region than there is space on the limit table, these newer, excess Caballeros are returned to the players' Courts.

75 (card carries the label "Province")

• Printed: "You may place a Caballero from the Province on this card. Immediately before a region is scored, you may move the Caballero on this card to that region. Keep this card in front of you until its effect is complete."
• Clarification: You may move the Caballero on this card to a region directly before a region is scored during a special or general scoring. You may not move this Caballero to the Castillo or the King's region.

95 – King's Guard

• Printed: "You may place the King's marker in the region of your choice. This region is protected from change in the same manner as the King's region for the rest of the round."
• Clarification: Any region hosting the King's marker may not be changed in any way. It is taboo just like the King's region. For further details, see the base game rules (King's region, page 5). If the King's marker is placed in a round immediately preceding a general scoring, it remains on the board during general scoring, adding the King's bonus to the region it occupies.

125 (no title printed)

• Printed: "You may choose a card in front of a player featuring the phrase 'Keep this card in front of you until its effect is complete.' That card is discarded without effect. OR You may remove a limit table from the board."
• Clarification: With this card you may discard a 25 or 75 card placed in front of another player or remove a limit table.
• Optional rule: You may choose to allow this card to cancel effects represented by tokens and tiles (e.g., alliance markers, risk of collapse tile, the bridge).

135 – Special Scoring

• Printed: "Choose a region where you have one or more Caballeros, but not the most Caballeros. Score this region immediately."
• Clarification: You may only choose a region in which you have at least 1 Caballero.

145 – Special Scoring

• Printed: "Choose a region to be scored immediately. Afterwards, return all Caballeros in this region to the Province."
• Clarification: You may choose a region in which you have no Caballeros.

155 – Special Scoring

• Printed: "Choose 3 regions and 1 opponent. That opponent must choose 1 of those 3 regions. Immediately score the chosen region."
• Clarification: You give your opponent the choice of 3 regions. Of these 3 regions, your opponent chooses which will be scored.