Fagin's Gang Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object
• Mechanism
• Preparation & Setup
  • Contents
  • i. Game Board
  • ii. Fill the Warehouses
  • iii. Prepare Smithfield Market
  • iv. Place the Constables
  • v. Give Each Player
  • vi. Select a Starting Player
• Playing the Game
  • Summary
• Phase 1: Player Action
  • a. Move Urchins (affects current player only)
  • Bumping
  • b. Steal Goods (affects current player only)
  • c. Steal Shillings (affects current player only)
  • d. Go to Smithfield Market (affects all players)
• Phase 2: Move the Constables
  • Constable Bumping
• Phase 3: Balance the Books
• Phase 4: Move the Turn-Marker
• Game End

Object

The aim of FAGIN'S GANG is to make enough shillings to return urchins safely to Fagin. The first player to return 3 urchins to Fagin is the winner!

Mechanism

To earn shillings, you must move your urchins at various London locations; to move them, you use goods stolen at other locations on the board. Each level at each London location offers goods and shillings in various quantities; but a location rarely offers the goods needed to move along itself, so you must use your urchins wisely - balancing your income across London. Shillings can be used to buy extra goods at the market, but ultimately your shillings must be saved to pay off Fagin.

Preparation & Setup

Contents

• 1 Game Board - showing a map of London Town c.1838, with locations and warehouses; Smithfield Market is at the centre, and a shilling track (1-100) around the edge.
• 180 Goods Cubes (30 of each colour).
• 6 Player Colour Discs (1 each of 6 colours).
• 30 Player Pawns (5 each of the same 6 colours).
• 6 Shilling Marker Cylinders (1 each of the 6 colours).
• 6 Blue Police Constable Pawns (one for each location).
• 1 6-sided dice.
• 1 First Player Token ("1").
• 1 Market Token ("M").
• 1 Market Price Wheel.

i. Game Board

• Place the board near the centre of the table.
• Place the Market Price Wheel on Smithfield Market at the centre of the board (the orientation of the disk does not matter at this stage).

ii. Fill the Warehouses

Place the coloured goods cubes onto their respective warehouses next to each location:

• 2 or 3 players = 15 of each colour cube
• 4 players = 20 of each colour cube
• 5 players = 25 of each colour cube
• 6 players = 30 of each colour cube

iii. Prepare Smithfield Market

• Fill all 21 spaces on the market with goods cubes from the warehouse stocks - 5 purple, 2 blue, 4 yellow, 3 black, 3 green, 4 red.
• Roll the 6-sided die and rotate the Price Wheel clockwise this number of sectors (the market is now randomised).

NB: If a 6 is rolled, the Price Wheel does not move!

iv. Place the Constables

A constable (blue pawn) is placed on each location. During the game, constables will move up the left side of their location and down the right side - as indicated by the blue arrows.

• To establish initial direction, roll the die for each constable. If his roll is odd, place him on the left side at the 5 level; if the roll is even, place him on the right side at the 5 level. (e.g. in the example here, the first die roll is a 4, so he is placed on the right)
• To establish initial position, roll the die again for each constable. Now move each constable the number of arrows shown on his die. Make sure he walks in the correct direction (left-up/right-down!) (e.g. in the example here, the second die roll is a 6)

NB: The ends of each location contain 2 arrows. The constable must step on both arrows as he follows his beat round the corner.

v. Give Each Player

• 1 disc of their chosen colour.
• 5 player pawns of the same colour (these will be used on the locations during the game).
• 1 cylinder of the same colour. Placed on the 20 shilling mark on the track around the edge of the board.
• 1 of each goods cube - taken from warehouses.

vi. Select a Starting Player

• Use your favourite method to determine a starting player.
• Give this player the First Player Token. During the game, play will proceed clockwise around the table.

Playing the Game

Summary

Each round consists of the following 4 phases:

Phase 1: Player Action Take turns to choose 1 of the following actions: a. Move urchins (at up to 3 locations) b. Steal / Exchange goods (at up to 3 locations) c. Steal shillings (at up to 3 locations) d. Go to market (buy 2/sell 2 [others buy 1/sell 1]) (nb. you may not mix actions)

Phase 2: Move the Constables Move constables at occupied locations (die roll)

Phase 3: Balance the Books i. All players reduce goods cubes in hand to 15 ii. Re-fill the market only if completely empty iii. Rotate the market Price Wheel (roll die)

Phase 4: Move First Player Token Pass the First Player Token to the left

Phase 1: Player Action

Starting with the player holding the First Player Token, each player chooses ONE action:

• a. Move Urchins - at up to 3 locations
• b. Steal / Exchange Goods - at up to 3 locations
• c. Steal Shillings - at up to 3 locations
• d. Go to Smithfield Market - all players go to the market

NB: Players choose ONE action only. They may not mix actions (ie: a player may NOT move at one location, take commodities at another location, and take shillings at a third location).

a. Move Urchins (affects current player only)

In their turn a player may pay goods cubes from their own stock to move their own urchins at up to 3 different locations. At each of these locations, the player may do one of the following:

• i. Move an existing urchin up or down.
• ii. Bring an urchin into the location.
• iii. Leave the location - at the bottom or the top.
• iv. Go back to Fagin.

i. Move an existing urchin up or down. Movement is paid for using the number of goods cubes shown at the foot of each location; each price shown is for 1 level of movement (up or down).

eg. 1 blue (book) cube = 1 level movement on the blue location (River Thames). 4 purple (jewellery) cubes = 1 level movement on the purple location (St. Paul's Cathedral).

Each urchin may be moved as many levels at a location as the player can afford (eg. 3 levels at St Paul's Cathedral [purple] will cost 12 purple [jewellery] cubes). Complete movement for an urchin must be paid for before the urchin starts to move. Urchins must move the full distance paid for in one direction; they may NOT change direction mid-move (eg. in the example below, brown pays 12 purple cubes to move 3 spaces down the purple location).

ii. Bring an urchin into the location. Urchins enter at the "start" (5) level, which costs 1 level of movement for that location. Players may then continue their full paid-for movement along the location. (eg. in the example here, orange pays 8 purple cubes to move onto the "start" space and then up 1 further level).

Urchins are placed at the centre of each location level, leaving the arrows clear for constable movement. No location may contain more than one urchin from each player.

A player may NOT pay to move another player's urchins; they may, however, move them by 'bumping' (see page 5).

iii. Leave the location - at the bottom or the top. A player may choose to move their own urchin out of a location. This can only be done at the top or the bottom of the location. The movement must be paid for in full; that is, they must pay enough goods cubes to go one level beyond the last marked level on the track. (eg. in this example, white pays 8 purple cubes to move onto the bottom level and then off the location).

An urchin which has left a location may NOT return to the same location until at least the next round. However, this urchin is free to enter a different track in this round. NB: This counts as movement on a further track (making 2 of the 3 allowed in one turn).

An urchin moved off the bottom of a location must return to the player; an urchin moved off the top of the location may return to the player OR go back to Fagin (see page 5)...

iv. Go back to Fagin. An urchin is returned to Fagin by paying to move it off the top of a track and then paying 15 shillings. This movement must be paid for in full; that is, players must pay enough goods cubes to go one level beyond the highest marked level on the track. Players must then pay 15 shillings (taken off the shilling track around the edge of the board) and place their urchin on the Fagin symbol. If an urchin is moved off the top of the location but cannot (or chooses not to) pay 15 shillings, it must be returned to the player.

NB: An urchin who has gone back to Fagin is left at the top of the location for the rest of the game (eg. orange in the example below has returned to Fagin). The player may NOT use this location or this urchin again.

The first player to get 3 urchins back to Fagin is the winner!

Bumping

Urchins and constables may NOT occupy the same space as each other on any location.

Landing on an urchin. If an urchin finishes its movement in a space occupied by another urchin, the current player must move, or 'bump', the other urchin up or down one space (the owner of the other urchin has no choice in the matter). If the bumped urchin then finishes on a space occupied by a further urchin, this further urchin is also bumped - in the same direction as the initial bumped urchin. This chain-reaction process continues until each urchin occupies its own space (eg. in the example here, grey pays 4 green cubes to move 2 spaces; he must then bump pink either a: down one space into the empty 7 space; or b: up one space into the 5 space, which must then bump white up one space into the empty 4 space).

Landing on a constable. Constables (blue pawns) are never bumped! If an urchin finishes its movement in a space occupied by a constable, the owner of the urchin must move to the space above or below the constable (no additional payment is made for this move). If this new space is occupied by another urchin, this other urchin is bumped in the same direction as the first urchin, and so on until each urchin occupies its own space. (eg. in the example here, cream pays 4 green cubes to move 2 spaces but lands on the constable; he must then move either a: down one space into the empty 2 space; or b: up one space into the 0 space, which bumps brown off the top of the location - but NOT back to Fagin.). If an urchin is bumped onto a space occupied by a constable, the urchin skips past the constable into the next space - bumping as it goes!

As a result of all this bumping, urchins may (as we have seen) get forced off a location. These urchins MUST return to their own players for use again. They may NOT return to Fagin.

NB: When a player enters an urchin at the "start" (5) level, all bumping rules apply.

b. Steal Goods (affects current player only)

In their turn, a player may steal goods at up to 3 different locations at which they have urchins. To do this the player chooses 3 different urchins and collects goods cubes according to the position of each urchin at its location (eg. in the example below, the orange urchin on the 4 level of the yellow track would collect 2 blue cubes + 2 black cubes). Cubes are taken from warehouse stocks; if stocks are depleted, the player takes as much as they can until stocks are depleted.

For each white hand showing on the location level the player may choose a goods cube of any colour - including the colour of the current location (eg. in the example above, the brown urchin on the 0 level of the yellow track would collect 4 cubes of any 4 chosen colours).

NB: The lowest marked level of each location offers zero goods to steal (but a lot of shillings!)

ALTERNATIVE action: Exchange Goods

Instead of stealing goods at a location, the player may choose to swap 3 goods cubes in hand (any colours) for one goods cube of a chosen colour (swap with warehouses).

Therefore, a player choosing Action b in this phase could choose to do any one of the following:

• Steal goods cubes at 3 locations;
• Steal goods cubes at 2 locations AND swap any 3 cubes in hand for 1 of choice;
• Steal goods cubes at 1 location AND swap any 6 cubes in hand for 2 of choice;
• Swap any 9 cubes in hand for 3 of choice.

NB: these actions may be taken in any order (ie. a player may steal at one location and then swap).

c. Steal Shillings (affects current player only)

In their turn a player may steal shillings at up to 3 different locations at which they have urchins. To do this the player chooses 3 different urchins and collects shillings according to the level of each urchin at its location. Shillings are shown on the right of each location.

(eg. in this example, the orange urchin on the yellow location would steal 4 shillings, the pink urchin would steal 2 shillings, and the brown urchin would steal 0 (zero) shillings)

NB: The highest marked level of each location offers zero shillings to steal (but a lot of goods!)

The player adds their shilling total to the shilling track along the edge of the board. In the unlikely event of a player passing 100, they simply continue round the track, making a note of the additional 100 and thumbing their nose at the other players!

d. Go to Smithfield Market (affects all players)

In their turn a player may choose to go to Smithfield Market; this player takes the Market Token, and announces "market open". All players now have an opportunity to buy and sell; each participating player must place their player colour disc on the board next to the market to indicate their involvement.

Starting with the player who holds the Market Token, all players take turns (anti-clockwise) to BUY or SELL goods cubes at the market.

The current value of each goods cube (for buying AND selling) is indicated by the Price Wheel at the centre of the market (eg. in the example below, purple cubes can be bought or sold for 6 shillings, black cubes can be bought or sold for 12 shillings, and so on).

NB: the wheel is rotated according to a die roll in the 'Balance the Books' phase [3] of every round.

Buying: Players may buy ONE goods cube at a time from anywhere on the market. However, the player holding the Market Token may buy ONE or TWO cubes at a time. Players may only buy from Smithfield Market, NOT from warehouses. If a stall is empty, no commodities of this type are available (eg. in the example to the left, no blue cubes are available to buy).

Selling: Players may sell ONE commodity cube at a time to any free space on the market. However, the player holding the Market Token may sell ONE or TWO cubes at a time. Players may only sell to Smithfield Market, NOT to warehouses. If a stall is full, no commodities of this type can be sold (eg. in the example to the left, green cubes cannot be sold to the market).

Once a player has bought or sold, the option to buy or sell passes to the player on the right. A Player who chooses not to buy or sell says "PASS" and takes back their player colour disc. Market trading continues anti-clockwise around the table until all players have passed. Players who have passed may NOT return to the market. A single player left at the market may continue to buy or sell as many cubes as they choose - or can afford.

NB: The player holding the Market Token (ie. the person whose opened the market) may buy OR sell 1 or 2 different coloured cubes each time the market trading option reaches them; however, they may NOT buy AND sell at the same time. They must do one or the other, and then wait for the trading option to come round again before doing something different.

At the end of market trading, Phase 1 continues with the player to the left of the player holding the Market Token. The Market Token is returned to a neutral holding position next to the board.

Phase 1 ends when play again reaches the player holding the First Player Token:

Play now moves to Phase 2...

Phase 2: Move the Constables

After each player has taken their action, the police constables are moved on the London locations that contain urchins. Throughout the game, each constable walks a circular beat on one location. He moves UP the LEFT side of the location and DOWN the RIGHT side - as indicated by the arrows.

Roll the 6-sided die ONCE. Any blue constable pawn on a location that contains urchins is moved this number of arrows - in the direction indicated by his current position on the location (eg. in the example to the right, the constable starts his move DOWN the location). Each constable must move the full amount shown on the die (see also page 2, iv, NB).

Constable Bumping

During the course of this movement, constables pass urchins with no effect; however, if a constable ends his movement in a space occupied by an urchin, the urchin is bumped in the direction of the constable's final movement. This may cause chain-reaction bumping; all bumped urchins are bumped in the same direction - and may be bumped off the location (eg. in the example to the right, the constable moving 3 spaces will bump the brown pawn onto the bottom level, which will bump the orange pawn off the location).

NB: When a constable reaches the end of his location, he crosses over and continues back along the other side to complete his die movement. This end space is counted TWICE (once for each arrow), therefore, an urchin standing at the end level has two chances of being bumped by the constable. If the constable finishes his move on the first of the two arrows, the urchin in the end space is bumped off the location; however, if the constable finishes his move on the second arrow, the urchin is bumped back along the location (eg. in the example to the right, the orange pawn is bumped the location if the constable roll is 4, but bumped up one level (bumping brown) if the roll is 5).

Transcriber's note: the printed sentence above reads "the orange pawn is bumped the location if the constable roll is 4"; the word "off" appears to be missing from the print. Transcribed as printed.

Phase 3: Balance the Books

Complete the following 3 actions - if necessary.

• i. Any player with more than 15 commodity cubes in-hand returns the excess to warehouses (players choose their own discards).
• ii. If Smithfield Market is completely empty, re-fill all spaces from warehouse stocks (if available).
• iii. Roll the die and rotate the market Price Wheel the indicated number of sectors to change the commodity prices.

NB: if a '6' is rolled, the disc does not move and the prices remain the same.

Phase 4: Move the Turn-Marker

Move the turn-marker clockwise to the next player. Play now continues at Phase 1.

Transcriber's note: the Summary on page 3 names this phase "Move First Player Token" (pass the First Player Token to the left), while this page names it "Move the Turn-Marker" (clockwise). Both headings are transcribed as printed.

Game End

The game ends immediately a player pays to get their 3rd urchin back to Fagin. This player is the winner! NB: Excess shillings and goods cubes count for nothing at the end of the game; however, players may wish to continue playing for 2nd, 3rd, 4th place, et cetera...