Faust vs Mephisto Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Turn Overview
  • A Trick
• End of Round 1
• Round 2 Setup
• End of Round 2 and End of the Game
• Strength of Colors
• Power of Colors
• Coins
• Example of Play
  • Trick 1
  • Trick 2
  • Trick 3
  • Trick 4
  • End of Trick 4

Components

• 22 cards in 4 colors:
  • Love: 4 cards (1-4)
  • Power: 6 cards (1-6)
  • Knowledge: 5 cards (1-5)
  • Youth: 7 cards (1-7)
• 4 Color tokens (double-sided: Faust side / Mephisto side)
• 1 board
• 4 coins

Setup

1. Choose who will play Faust and who will play Mephisto.
2. Place the board in the center of the table. Place the 4 Color tokens beside it, Faust side up.
3. Each of you takes 2 coins from the supply.
4. In the first round, Mephisto deals. Shuffle the 22 cards and deal 10 to each player. Set 2 cards aside without revealing them. (The cards set aside are not used during this round.)
5. Mephisto leads the first trick of the first round.

Turn Overview

The game lasts 2 rounds, each made up of 10 tricks.

A Trick

1. First card: The player who starts the trick plays a card from their hand. You cannot play the Love color as the first card, unless you have only Love cards in hand, or unless a Love card has already been played in a previous trick of this round.
2. Follow suit: If you play second, you must play a card of the same color as the first card played. If you have no card of that color, play a card of any other color (including Love).
3. Resolving the trick:
   • If you and your opponent played two cards of the same color, the player who played the card of highest value wins the trick.
   • If you and your opponent played two cards of different colors, the player who played the strongest color (see "Strength of Colors" below) wins the trick.
4. Collecting the trick: If you win the trick, take both cards and place them face up in front of you, grouped by color for better readability. You play the first card of the next trick.

End of Round 1

At the end of the 10th trick, the round ends.

1. Flip the Color tokens. If Faust or Mephisto has collected all the cards of a color, flip the corresponding Color token to its Mephisto side. Note: Count only the cards won through tricks; ignore the 2 cards set aside.
2. Check for end of game.
   • If 2 or more Color tokens have been flipped to their Mephisto side, the game ends immediately and Mephisto wins.
   • If 3 or more Color tokens are still on their Faust side after Round 1, the game continues with Round 2.

Round 2 Setup

1. Place all the Color tokens beside the board. Tokens flipped to their Mephisto side in Round 1 stay on that side.
2. Take coins from the supply so that each of you has 2.
3. Faust deals. Shuffle the 22 cards and deal 10 to each player. Set 2 cards aside without revealing them.
4. Faust leads the first trick of the second round.

End of Round 2 and End of the Game

If Faust or Mephisto has collected all the cards of a color, flip the corresponding Color token to its Mephisto side. Color tokens already flipped in Round 1 stay on the same side.

• If 2 or more Color tokens have been flipped to their Mephisto side, Mephisto wins.
• If 3 or more Color tokens are still on their Faust side, Faust wins.

Strength of Colors

• When you play a card of a color that is not yet on the board, place its Color token in the lowest free space of the board's track. Ignore the additional space, which is reserved only for the Power token.
• The strength of a color depends on its position: the lower it is placed on the track, the weaker it is. As a general rule, colors played later in the round are therefore stronger.
• When you place the Power token, put it on the free space above the lowest free space. If only one free space remains, place the Power token in the additional space located below the track: Power then becomes the weakest color.
• If all 4 Color tokens are on the board at the end of a trick, reset the strength of colors by putting all the tokens back beside the board, except the Knowledge token.

Note: Once placed, the Knowledge token stays in that space for the entire round.

Example: Youth 2 is played. It is the first Youth card played. The Youth token is placed in the lowest free space of the track. (The board shows the track and the additional space, used only for the Power token when it is the weakest color.)

Power of Colors

• Youth (1-7): No specific rules.
• Love (1-4): Cannot be played as the first card, except under a special condition (see "First card" on page 2).
• Knowledge (1-5): Once placed, the Knowledge token stays in that space for the entire round (see "Strength of Colors").
• Power (1-6): The Power token is placed on the free space above the lowest free space, unless only one free space remains. In that case, it is placed in the additional space and becomes the weakest color (see "Strength of Colors").

Illustrations: Two spaces are free, so the Power token is placed in the free space above the lowest one. Power becomes the strongest color! / Only one space is free, so the Power token is placed in the additional space. Power becomes the weakest color!

Coins

You may use a coin during your turn to force your opponent to play a card from their hand in your place:

1. Return one of your coins to the supply.
2. Choose a color and say "the weakest" or "the strongest".
3. Your opponent must play a card from their hand in your place. They must play a card of the specified color, choosing the weakest or the strongest card in that color, as you indicated.

If they cannot play the indicated color, either because it is unplayable or because they do not have it in hand, they must play another color, while still respecting the rule of playing the weakest or the strongest card in that color.

Note: The Love rule and the follow-suit rule must always be respected.

If the card played by your opponent in your place wins the trick, you win the trick.

During a trick, you may both use your coins on your turn. The effect of one coin does not cancel the other: each of you plays a card in place of the other.

Note: Because of coins, you may not have the same number of cards in hand at the end of a trick. If you have no more cards to play, you must use your coin. This means that you and your opponent must play the same number of coins each round.

Example of Play

Trick 1

Mephisto leads with the Power 2 card (1). He places the Power token in the space above the lowest free space (2). Faust plays the Power 4 card (3) and wins the trick (4).

Trick 2

Faust leads with the Youth 3 card (1). He places the Youth token in the lowest free space (2). Mephisto plays the Youth 5 card (3) and wins the trick (4).

Trick 3

Mephisto leads with the Knowledge 5 card (1) and places the Knowledge token (2). Faust uses a coin to ask for the strongest Love card (3), but Mephisto has a Knowledge card, so he must follow suit. He plays his Knowledge 3 card instead (4), since it is his strongest Knowledge card. Mephisto wins this trick (5).

Trick 4

Mephisto uses a coin to ask for the strongest Knowledge card (1). He thinks Faust has the Knowledge 2 and 4 cards, but Faust has only the Knowledge 2 card. Faust plays the Knowledge 2 card for Mephisto (2), then plays the Love 1 card for himself (3) and places the Love token on the board (4). Love is stronger than Knowledge, so Faust wins (5). Thus, the Knowledge cards are split between the two players, and Faust prevents the Knowledge token from being flipped during this round.

End of Trick 4

The 4 Color tokens are on the board. Faust and Mephisto reset the strength of colors and put all the Color tokens, except the Knowledge token, back beside the board. The round continues until all 10 tricks have been played.