Gentleman's Deal Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Game Goal
• Game Setup
• Game Overview
• Game Play
• Offer
• Voting
• Results
  • "Accepted"
  • "Not accepted"
• Game End
• Detailed Description of Accomplice, Prison and Gang Cards

Game Contents

• 18 Deal cards
• 6 Accomplice cards
• 1 Prison card
• 10 Gang cards
• 27 Argument tokens
• 9 Screens
• 6 Accomplice tokens
• 90 Money tokens:
  • 60 tokens with the value 1
  • 30 tokens with the value 5

Game Goal

Your main goal is to get as much money as possible by making deals. On each turn, one of the players becomes a dealer who shares money among the other players by making offers to them. Then the dealer appropriates all unshared money. When you play as a dealer, you try to make offers that will bring you as much money as possible after sharing. When you are not the dealer, you demand a bigger share. In both cases, you should be cautious because you could lose all your share or even go to prison!

Game Setup

1. Shuffle the deck of Deal cards and place it in the center of the table face down.
2. Place all Accomplice cards in one or more rows in the center of the table.
3. Place the Prison card beside the Accomplice cards. Place each of the Accomplice tokens near the corresponding Accomplice card.
4. Place the deck of Gang cards beside the Accomplice cards.
5. Sort all Money tokens by their values and place them on the table within easy reach of all the players.
6. Give 1 Screen and 3 Argument tokens to each player.
7. The first player is the one who has most recently counted money.

(The manual shows a game setup example for 6 players.)

Game Overview

Players take turns one by one. (For the sake of simplicity, a player henceforth will be referred to as he.) On his turn, a player becomes a dealer and draws 1 card from the Deal deck. Each Deal card depicts the amount of money the dealer will share, as well as symbols of accomplices ready to establish new business contacts.

The dealer makes an offer by telling to each player what he will get. The players can discuss an offer and ask dealer to add more. The dealer's objective is to make the most interesting offer.

Then the dealer makes his final offer and the other players vote for or against it. If they accept the offer, they take what they were promised and the dealer takes all the rest. If they reject the offer, the dealer goes to into prison and no one gains anything. In both cases, the next player takes his turn.

The winner of the game is the player who collects the greatest sum of money by the end of the game.

Example Deal card: the money you will share. It may amount from 12 to 16 money. The symbols of accomplices ready to establish new business contacts.

Game Play

A dealer's turn consists of 3 phases, played in the following order:

1. Offer: The dealer offers his plan to share money and accomplices among the other players.
2. Voting: The other players vote to accept or reject the offer.
3. Results: Depending on the vote results, there may be two outcomes: either the other players share the offered money and accomplices, while the dealer takes everything left, or the dealer goes to prison and no one collects money or accomplices (i.e. the deal is canceled).

Offer

The dealer draws 1 card from the Deal deck and looks at it secretly. No one else should see how much money and which accomplices the card indicates.

The dealer decides what sum of money he is going to share among the other players. Then he tells each player the amount of money that player will get if he accepts the dealer's offer. The dealer takes the Accomplice and Money tokens from the reserve and places them in front of the players' Screens in accordance with his offer.

Example (from the manual's diagram of the table, with the dealer and three other players): My proposal is that Joshua will get the Senator, Emily will get 3 money, and William will get 1 money and the Tycoon.

The dealer must make only those offers he can realize if accepted. He cannot offer anything except the accomplices and money indicated on the current Deal card.

The other players may discuss the offered deal. They can propose counteroffers to the Dealer as well as demand more accomplices and/or money. The dealer may then make one final offer. Afterwards, the dealer cannot cancel or change his final offer.

Note: In order to streamline the players' discussions and the dealer's thinking process, you can use a 2-minute timer. If the final offer has not been made by expiry of that time, the deal is considered not accepted followed by the appropriate effects (see below).

Voting

The other players must vote for or against the offer made by the dealer. There can be only two results of their voting: "accepted" or "not accepted". The player with the Prison card doesn't participate in voting.

Each player starts the game with 3 Argument tokens which he can use to increase his chances of success. When you use an Argument token, you receive +2 to your vote (3 in total). Discard your Argument token after use. You can use only 1 Argument token per vote.

The players raise their fists, count to 3, and then simultaneously show one of the following gestures:

• Thumbs up (single hand): 1 vote for "accepted".
• Thumbs up (second gesture, multiple-vote version): 3 votes for "accepted", and the player must discard one of his Argument tokens. If he doesn't have any, this way of voting is unavailable for him.
• Thumbs down (single hand): 1 vote for "not accepted".
• Thumbs down (second gesture, multiple-vote version): 3 votes for "not accepted", and the player must discard one of his Argument tokens. If he doesn't have any, this way of voting is unavailable for him.

(The printed manual shows these four gestures as pictograms; they are described here in words from the manual's text and the pictograms' thumb direction.)

The players count the votes. In the case of a tie, the offer is considered "accepted".

Results

In spite of the voting results, the dealer reveals the current Deal card. Now everybody can see what the card depicts.

"Accepted"

The players get everything they were offered. They move the Money tokens placed in front of their Screens behind their Screens. At the beginning of the next turn, they place the Accomplice cards, which they were offered, in front of their Screens (replacing the corresponding Accomplice tokens). Their Accomplice tokens are discarded and moved back in the center of the table. It means that a previous owner of an Accomplice card has had a chance to use its benefits before he lost it.

Note: The Accomplice cards are placed in front of the players' Screens face up, those cards are open information.

Important: The Accomplice cards are passing cards. If you must take an Accomplice card held by any other player, just take it from him.

The dealer gets all unshared money and accomplices. Each player keeps his collected money behind his Screen without showing them to the others. Each player, to whom the dealer has offered nothing, takes a Gang card. Your Gang card automatically gives you +1 to your vote during the next voting round; discard the Gang card after use.

"Not accepted"

The dealer takes the Prison card. He doesn't participate in the next voting. The Prison card is discarded at the end of the next turn. Each player gets nothing from the current Deal card.

Important: Even if a player is in a prison, the current dealer can still make an offer to him during the deal. If nothing is offered to the prisoner player, he gets 1 Gang card.

After all turn phases have been played, the next player in a clockwise direction becomes the dealer and starts a new turn.

Game End

After each player has taken one turn, a game round ends.

• If there are 5 to 6 players, the game ends after the 2nd round.
• If there are 7 to 9 players, the game ends after the 1st round.

Players count their money. The player collected the most money is the winner. In case of a tie, it is considered a tie and the players are equal winners.

Detailed Description of Accomplice, Prison and Gang Cards

Sheriff: You get 2 each time the dealer goes to prison, even if the dealer is yourself, (i.e. when the dealer takes the Prison card because the deal was not accepted). Each time you must take a Gang card (when nothing is offered to you or when the Boss votes for your offer), you take 2 Gang cards instead. It means that you have +2 to your vote during the next voting round. (Yes, he is the corrupt cop!).

Senator: If you use an Argument token, it gives you +4 to your vote, (i.e., your vote is equal to 5 instead of 3, without other possible bonuses). (Political arguments have a special weight.)

Tycoon: You get 1 each time a deal is accepted. It doesn't matter if you voted for or against it. (He knows how to take advantage of any situation!)

Journalist: You get 1 each time you or your neighbors (the players sitting to your left and right) use an Argument token (i.e., you can get 0 to 3 per turn). (A foul play can be a sensation, and sensations earn profit!)

Boss: If you vote for the deal acceptance, the dealer takes a Gang card. (The criminal support makes each vote stronger.)

Banker: You take 1 from your neighbors (the players sitting to your left and right) each time they get money from the Deal card (i.e., you can get 0 to 2 per turn). You don't take their money if they collect them by applying their Accomplice cards. (He takes his share for money laundering.)

Gang: You get +1 to your vote during the next voting round. You must discard this card at the end of the next turn, after voting round. (Sometimes it is necessary to use sheer force!)

Prison: You don't participate in the next voting round. The Prison card is discarded at the end of the next turn. (No one wants to get there.)

Transcriber's note: the printed Gang and Prison entries read "roung" in the source; it is corrected to "round" here.