Gangsta!
Gangsta! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 5 Boss Cards
- 35 Gangster Cards
- 90 Heist Cards, divided in 3 Chapters
- 12 Resource Cards
- 8 Snitch Cards
- $80 (30 x $1 bills, 10 x $5 bills)
- 1 Rulebook
Game Setup
- Each player randomly receives a Boss Card and the indicated number of $.
- Shuffle the Heist Cards from Chapter I (Chapter II and Chapter III Cards decks are kept aside for later use). Reveal and place the first 5 Heist Cards facing upward. They will be the first Available Heists of the game. Form a draw pile with the remaining Heist Cards from Chapter I.
- Proceed in the same way with the Gangster Cards to create the Recruitment Reserve. Form a draw pile with the remaining gangsters.
- The last player who robbed a bank is designated first player. By default, the youngest player starts the game.
Game Turns
Starting with the first player, and going clockwise, each player first proceeds to Mobilise his/her gang before performing one of the three Actions allowed in his/her game turn.
About Available / Engaged gangsters. As soon as a gangster takes part in a Heist (see Actions), turn him 90° clockwise to represent its status. He is now considered as Engaged. Any gangster who is not Engaged is considered as Available. Gangsters may become Available again under certain conditions during the Gang Mobilisation phase detailed below.
Gang Mobilisation
This allows players to make one or more gangsters Available (at the choice of the player). The following explanation should make more sense as the game goes on, when players will have to deal with an increasing number of gangsters to manage.
The most common situation is to have gangsters Engaged while others are Available. Every gangster with the Leader skill allows a player to make another gangster Available for free, provided that this Leader is Available himself (Engaged Leaders are considered to be too busy to give the merest of instruction).
Note that a Leader who started the mobilisation phase in the Engaged position is not allowed to use his Leader skill.
If need be, a player can make additional gangsters Available by paying $1 per gangster.
There is one peculiar case: if all the gangsters are Engaged at the beginning of the turn, the gang is considered as Synchronised, which automatically makes all the gangsters Available.
One of the elementary strategies of the game is therefore to succeed in having the whole gang in the Engaged position at the end of a player's turn, making his/her gang fully ready at the start of the next game turn.
Mobilisation examples
Situation 1: During the mobilisation phase, two gangsters with the Leader skill are Available. James can therefore make two other gangsters Available. He then proceeds to perform his action.
Situation 2: During the mobilisation phase, only one gangster with the Leader skill is Available. James can only make one other gangster Available. He chooses to do so with his Boss. He also decides to pay $1 to make his last Engaged gangster Available. He then proceeds to perform his action.
Situation 3: During the mobilisation phase, none of the Leaders are Available. James can decide to pay $1 for each gangster he would like to make Available. In the example below, James only has $2 left and decides to make both gangsters possessing the Leader skill Available. He then proceeds to perform his action.
Situation 4: During the mobilisation phase, all the gangsters are Engaged. They are thus considered as Synchronised. James automatically makes them all Available for free. He then proceeds to perform his action.
Actions
There are three different actions available (players must choose one at each turn): Recruit a Gangster – Perform a Heist – Pass.
Action: Recruit a Gangster
Players can recruit any of the gangsters belonging to the Recruitment Reserve, by paying the price of that gangster to the bank. Once the transaction has been made, place the newly acquired gangster in your gangsters pool in the Available position.
Once a gangster has been recruited, place a new gangster in the vacant spot of the Recruitment Reserve by revealing the next gangster from the Gangster Deck.
Action: Perform a Heist
Every Heist requires at least one skill. In order to perform a heist, a player must engage enough gangsters to have all the skills required by the Heist Card. Heists can only be performed by Available gangsters.
After having announced the heist he/she plans to perform, the player engages the selected gangsters one by one, in the order of his/her choice. Nevertheless, the player will have to follow certain rules of engagement. This strategic aspect will become increasingly crucial as the game progresses.
- It is possible to engage a gangster who has only one of the required skills, even if he possesses other skills that are useless for the targeted heist.
- It is impossible to engage a gangster who doesn't have at least one of the required skills.
- When a gangster is selected, it is impossible to ignore a skill that would still be necessary to perform a heist.
Each player can determine the order in which he/she engages his/her gangsters, as long as this order does not contravene the aforementioned conditions. One should therefore carefully assess the different combinations Available before performing a heist.
Once the selected gangsters satisfy all the requirements and have been Engaged, the player receives the reward(s) indicated at the bottom of the card. He then puts the Heist card face down in a pile with all the performed heists (whether they include IP or not).
The rewards of a heist usually consist of cash income and/or Influence Points, but as the game progresses, these will gradually diversify. Special rewards will be detailed under Rewards.
Once the heist is completed and the player rewarded, draw a new Heist Card and place it in the vacant spot.
Example – Heist performing. Peter would like to benefit from the Synchronisation strategy (see Gang Mobilisation) and intends to engage all of his gangsters to perform this heist. Can he do it?
Peter is tempted to engage a particular gangster (B) in first position because he alone provides 3 of the 4 required skills to achieve this heist. In this case, he has to use the 3 skills (he cannot ignore any of the skills needed to achieve the heist). He therefore loses the possibility to Engage all of his gangsters.
The only solution to benefit from the Synchronisation for the next game turn is therefore to first Engage the Boss and then the other two gangsters (in order of choice).
Action: Pass
A player can decide to pass his/her turn. By doing so, the player receives an income equivalent to the number of gangsters possessing the Leader skill (whether they are Available or Engaged).
In addition, the player who decides to pass his/her turn may also choose to discard one of the Heist Cards from the Available Heists or one of the Gangster Cards from the Recruitment Reserve. Replace the discarded Heist Card/Gangster Card by the first card of its respective deck.
Rewards
Income $. The player receives the indicated amount of $.
Influence Points (IP). The player keeps the Heist Cards, face down, in view of the final count.
Fast recruitment. Once this heist is completed, the player can immediately recruit a gangster from the Recruiting Reserve, paying the recruitment cost of the selected gangster and placing it in the Available position.
Learning. A player can add the learning card underneath one of the gangsters who performed the heist, so that the newly learned skill is visible on the board. This gangster now has an extra skill for the remainder of the game. A gangster can never acquire more than one learned skill or obtain a second Leader skill.
Play again. A player can immediately play a new turn (which includes the Gang Mobilisation) before proceeding to a new action. You cannot benefit from this special reward twice in a row.
Theft. A player can steal the indicated number of $ from one (and only one) opponent's reserve. There is no compensation if this amount is greater than the targeted opponent's reserve.
Diversion. A player can immediately Engage up to the indicated number of Available gangsters among one or more of his/her opponents.
Assassination. A player can select an opponent. He/she must discard one of his/her gangsters possessing two skills (no more, no less - learned skills included).
Rallying. After having performed the heist, a player must make his/her entire gang Available (even those gangsters who didn't take part in the heist).
Cooperative Heists (Chapters II & III)
The player who decides to perform a Cooperative Heist must initiate the action by first engaging at least one of his/her Available gangsters.
While respecting the usual rules of engagement, a player initiating a Cooperative Heist may then call on an additional number of gangsters, either belonging to his/her gang or to an opponent's gang (the opponent being not allowed to refuse).
Any gangster involved in a Cooperative Heist is Engaged at this time. Therefore, an already Engaged adversary gangster cannot participate in a Cooperative Heist.
Players are free to choose the combinations that will handicap their opponents as much as possible (provided that they do not infringe on the rules of engagement).
Should the heist take place in a cooperative mode, the player initiating the heist will be rewarded as expressed in the left box (A) while all the players involved – including the initiating player – will each be rewarded as expressed in the right box (B).
If the heist was performed alone, the player gets only the reward from the left box (A).
In all cases, once the heist is performed and the rewards distributed, draw a new Heist Card.
The Chapters
The game is divided into three narrative Chapters. Each Chapter corresponds to a specific period in the development of a player's gang.
Chapter I (Genesis)
Bosses gradually recruit gangsters, allowing them to perform their first heists.
As soon as one of the players recruits his/her 4th gangster (including the Boss), Chapter I is over, ending with an additional income called opportunity income.
Each player adds up the amount of skills amassed within his/her gang (including learned skills). The players who have the smallest amount of skills receive the differential amount converted to $.
Example: Jonas has a total of 8 skills, Emily has 6 and Trevor has 5. Emily receives $2 and Trevor receives $3.
To continue, remove all the Heist Cards from Chapter I (deck included) and replace them with five heists from Chapter II. Any Snitch Card showing at the first draw must be replaced with a new Heist Card, then put the Snitch Card back in the deck and shuffle the cards.
The game then continues normally. The player seated on the left of the one who triggered the end of Chapter I starts Chapter II.
Chapter II (Gang War)
When the police decides to take action to thwart the gangs' plans, they resort to using informants and seek to infiltrate the gangs (see Snitches).
Chapter II ends when one of the players recruits his 7th gangster (including the Boss), causing the Gang War. Having become increasingly powerful, gangs resort to coming to blows to settle their disputes.
Each player adds up the amount of Mercenaries skills in their gang.
- The player with the most Mercenaries skills (if any) wins the Chapter and avoids losing any gangsters,
- In all other cases, players must discard 1 of their Gangster Cards of their choice.
Important: gangsters are of unfailing loyalty to their Boss. As a result, the Boss can never be eliminated, whatever the circumstances!
Once the Gang War is over, remove all the Heist Cards from Chapter II (deck included) and replace them with 5 Heist Cards from Chapter III. If you draw a Snitch Card at that first draw, replace it with a new Heist Card, then put it back in the deck and shuffle the cards. The player seated on the left of the one who triggered the end of Chapter II starts Chapter III.
Chapter III (Domination)
Gangs have become a threat to national security. The government thus decides to increase its efforts to put an end to their activities: the number of Snitch Cards increases from 3 to 5 for the duration of this Chapter.
Chapter III ends when one of the two following conditions are met:
- One of the players recruits his/her 9th gangster
- A third Snitch Card is drawn. In this case, resolve the Snitch Card effect before ending the game.
Snitches
As soon as a Snitch Card is drawn, each player must count the number of Informants among his/her gangsters (both Available and Engaged) and compare them to the number displayed on the Snitch Card.
Players having an equal or higher number of informants will escape the police. Otherwise, he will have to mobilize resources to counter police operations and pay the difference expressed in $. If the player does not have enough money in his reserve, the police manages to put one of his gangsters in jail.
The player must then discard a gangster of his/her choice (and possibly lose the money he had left, even if this amount was insufficient).
Summary of conditions and events related to each Chapter
| Chapter | Ends when: | Events at the end of the Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter I | A player has recruited 4 gangsters | Opportunity Income |
| Chapter II | A player has recruited 7 gangsters | Gang War |
| Chapter III | 9 gangsters recruited or when 3 Snitch Cards have been drawn | Final Countdown |
Ending the Game
Each player adds up all of their Influence Points (IP):
- The accumulated IP gained by the heists performed throughout the game,
- The IP corresponding to each of the gangsters still in play,
- Two end of game bonuses:
- The wealthiest player receives 2 extra IP
- The player with the highest number of gangsters alive receives 2 extra IP
In both cases, if several players are eligible, they each receive 1 IP.
The player with the highest number of IP after the countdown wins the game! In case of a tie, whoever has the highest number of gangsters left in his/her gang wins the game. If it still ends up in a tie, all tied players win the game.
2 Players Special Rules
Gang war: in case of a tie, each player must discard 1 Gangster Card of their choice. If there is a winner, only the loser must discard 1 gangster of their choice. If a player wins the Gang War by reaching double or more Mercenaries' skills than his opponent, he/she will choose the gangster to discard (Boss excluded).
Variants
Players can freely combine the two following variants. However, make sure not to use them for an initiation game.
Variant 1. Clans
This variant will allow a player to further optimize his/her gang. During the game, players will benefit from a $1 reduction each time they decide to recruit a gangster belonging to the same clan as their Boss. Furthermore, at the end of the game, additional IP are awarded to the players who were able to recruit the most gangsters for each of the five clans: Bratva, Cartel, Ghetto Gang, Mafia, Triad.
The IP bonuses at the end of the game change in the following way:
- The bonus for the highest number of gangsters is not assigned. Instead, each player having the majority in one of the five clans receives 2 extra IP. If several players are eligible, they each get 1 IP.
- The wealthiest player still receives 2 extra IP.
Variant 2. Resource Cards
Resource Cards will offer a player new strategic options. This variant allows players to get a Resource Card that they will try to activate during the game so they can benefit from its specified effect.
When setting up the game, once the Bosses are selected, and before placing the heists and gangsters decks, players randomly receive two Resource Cards, selecting only one and discarding the other. Players then place their Resource Card horizontally on its visible side.
When a player succeeds in matching all the Resource Card requirements with the corresponding skills within their gangsters, they can immediately activate it (for free) and rotate it vertically.
The Resource Card is considered as active and will remain so until the end of the game (even when a player loses a gangster who is still needed to match the requirements). Resource Cards also allow to gain additional IP at the end of the game (not for players who were unable to activate them during the game).
Resource Cards Reference
- Bank – Store up to $10 in the bank. This money cannot be targeted by a Theft. You can transfer or withdraw money into or from the bank at any time during your turn.
- Police Station – Never pay more than $1 to the bank when a Snitch is revealed. The usual rules apply if you are unable to shell out $1.
- High tech equipment – Ignore one requirement of your choice if you perform Art Theft or Hack Attack.
- Bikers gang – At the beginning of your turn, you can look at the first Heist Card from the stack. You will be allowed to perform the heist during this phase by paying $1 in advance.
- Hospital – All your gangsters who were eliminated during the game are placed on the Hospital card. You can recover them (in Available position) when you choose to pass your turn. This does not apply to gangsters who are arrested when a Snitch is revealed.
- Counterfeit Printing – Receive $1 at the beginning of each of your turns. Discard the Counterfeit Printing card during the gang war and place it with your stored Heist Cards.
- Private jet – If you just performed or participated in a Cooperative Heist, make any of your gangsters Available.
- Black Market – Receive + $2 when you Pass your Turn.
- Media – Receive 1 IP at the end of the game for each stored heist which includes Influence Points (with a maximum of 7).
- Headquarters – Pay $1 to make your entire gang available.
- Indicator Network – At the beginning of your turn, you can look at the first gangster from the stack. You can recruit him during this turn. Should he belong to the same family as your Boss, he will cost you $1 less.
- Secret society – At the end of your turn, make one of your leaders available for free.
Credits
Author: Yves Rosenbaum – Illustrations and Graphic Design: Fred Navez
© 2019 Schmeta Games – www.schmetagames.be