The Great Evening Banquet
The Great Evening Banquet Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 100 Guest Tokens
- 25 Gentleman tokens (5 of each color)
- 25 Lady tokens (5 of each color)
- 25 Senior Gentleman tokens (5 of each color)
- 25 Senior Lady tokens (5 of each color)
- Guest token colors: blue, green, yellow, brown, peach
- 1 of every 5 Guest tokens of the same color and type has a toast icon (a raised glass)
- 1 Point Board (double-sided: one side for 2-4 players, the other for Solo mode)
- 4 Point Markers (red, blue, purple, tan)
- 4 Carriage Tiles
- 24 VIP Tiles (6 of each color: red, blue, purple, tan) — each shows a letter from A to F on its front
- 20 Commemorative Photo Bonus Tiles (5 of each color: red, blue, purple, tan) — each shows a number from 1 to 5 on its front
- 9 Arrival Cards: 1 with value 4, 4 with value 3, 4 with value 2
- 1 Final Round Card (double-sided: one side for 2-4 players, the other for Solo mode)
- 4 Summary Cards
- 1 Bag
Setup
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Place the same number of Carriage Tiles in the center of the table as there are players. Return any remaining Carriage Tiles to the box. Place the Point Board nearby, with the side for 2-4 players face up.
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Each player chooses a color and takes 6 VIP Tiles and 5 Commemorative Photo Bonus Tiles of that color. Following the letters and numbers, arrange them in front of yourself as shown on the setup diagram (each color's arrangement varies slightly). The area where these tiles are placed is called your Grand Chamber Area. Return any tiles of unchosen colors to the box.
The VIP Tiles and the Commemorative Photo Bonus Tiles are never moved or exchanged during the game.
Random VIP Tile placement: once all players are familiar with the game, you can play using Random VIP Tile placement or the Expert Rules (see below). To use Random VIP Tile placement, one player becomes the representative and arranges their VIP Tiles randomly so that there are three tiles in the top row and three in the bottom row. Then every other player arranges their own tiles so that the alphabetical order matches the representative's order. The positions of the Commemorative Photo Bonus Tiles do not change.
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Place each player's Point Marker on space "0" of the Point Board.
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Place the Final Round Card with the side for 2-4 players face up, near the Carriage Tiles. Shuffle the 9 Arrival Cards face down and place them in a stack, then place that stack face down on top of the Final Round Card. This stack is called the Arrival Card deck. Flip the top card of the Arrival Card deck face up and place it next to the deck.
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Place all Guest Tokens in the bag and mix them. Draw 4 Guest Tokens from the bag and place them in the Grand Salon on the Point Board.
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The player who most recently attended a party takes the bag. That player is the first player for the first round.
Game Overview
The Great Evening Banquet is a board game for 1 to 4 players. Players are diplomats who fill the Grand Chamber of the state guest house by placing Guest Tokens around the VIP Tiles in their play areas. You must place around each VIP the Guest Tokens that VIP likes, while being careful not to place next to it Guest Tokens it dislikes. It's important to arrange guests around your VIP Tiles in a way that's advantageous for your country. When 4 Guest Tokens are placed around a VIP Tile, you score points based on the type and color of the tokens, and on how well they match that VIP's preferences. At the end of the game, points from the Commemorative Photo Bonus scoring are added, and the player with the most points wins.
Game Flow
The rules explained here are for playing with the standard rules (for the rules when playing with the "Expert Rules," see below; for "Solo Mode," see below).
The game lasts 9 rounds. Each round, players draw Guest Tokens from the bag and place them on the Carriage Tiles. Starting with the first player, players take turns choosing and taking a Carriage Tile, then place the Guest Tokens from that tile in their Grand Chamber Area. Scoring happens each time a VIP Tile is completed (when 4 Guest Tokens are placed around a VIP Tile). By the end of round 9, each player will have completed all of their VIP Tiles. The final score is then calculated.
Round Flow
Each round consists of the following 6 phases:
- Prepare Guest Tokens
- Select and Take a Carriage Tile
- Place Guest Tokens
- Complete VIP Tiles (only for applicable players)
- Use the Grand Salon (only for applicable players)
- Prepare the Next Round
1. Prepare Guest Tokens
The first player places, on the Carriage Tiles, Guest Tokens they draw at random from the bag. Place on each Carriage Tile a number of Guest Tokens equal to the number (2-4) shown on the face-up Arrival Card next to the deck.
2. Select and Take a Carriage Tile
Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each player chooses one of the Carriage Tiles at the center of the table. Players take the Carriage Tile they chose along with the Guest Tokens on it.
3. Place Guest Tokens
Important: everyone does this phase at the same time!
Each player places all the Guest Tokens they obtained in Phase 2 ("Select and Take a Carriage Tile"), one at a time, into the spaces of the VIP Tiles in their Grand Chamber Area. You may place any number of Guest Tokens on any number of VIP Tiles. All Guest Tokens must be placed. Once a Guest Token has been placed, it cannot be moved in later rounds.
4. Complete VIP Tiles (only for applicable players)
Important: this phase is carried out clockwise, starting with the first player!
Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each player states whether or not they have a completed VIP Tile (a VIP Tile with a Guest Token placed in each of its four spaces) in their Grand Chamber Area as a result of this round's Phase 3 ("Place Guest Tokens"). If one or more players have completed VIP Tiles, that player calculates the score for all of their completed VIP Tiles, one at a time, on their turn. The scoring details are explained below.
VIP Tile Scoring
A completed VIP Tile awards points according to the following 3 criteria, based on the 4 Guest Tokens placed in the tile's 4 spaces:
1. Guest Types
Points are earned according to the combination of Guest Token types (Gentleman, Lady, Senior Gentleman, Senior Lady):
- 1 pair (2 guests of the same type): 1 point
- 2 pairs (2 guests of each of 2 types): 2 points
- 3 of a kind (3 guests of the same type): 3 points
- 4 of a kind (4 guests of the same type): 4 points
- Complete set (1 guest of each of the 4 types): 5 points
2. Number of Colors
You earn points according to how many colors (blue, green, yellow, brown, peach) are present among the 4 Guest Tokens:
- 4 colors (all different): 1 point
- 3 colors: 0 points
- 2 colors (any distribution): 2 points
- 1 color (all identical): 3 points
3. Toast Bonus
If you have 2 (or 3) guests with a toast icon, you get 2 points. If all 4 have a toast icon, you get 4 points.
VIP Tile Requirements and Penalties
After that, check whether you meet the requirement shown on the VIP Tile. If you meet it, you receive the full total of the 3 criteria above. If you do not meet it, as a penalty you receive only half of that total (rounded down).
The six lettered requirements found on VIP Tiles are:
- A — Seat 2 or more guests with a toast icon.
- B — Have no guests of the indicated color.
- C — Seat 2 or more guests of the indicated type.
- D — Have no guests of the indicated type.
- E — Seat 1 or more guests of each of the 2 indicated types.
- F — Seat 2 or more guests of the indicated color.
Flipping the VIP Tile
After calculating the score, the player flips the VIP Tile to show that it has been scored. If several VIP Tiles are completed in the same round, it's recommended to calculate the score for each tile, advance the point marker, and flip the VIP Tiles one at a time.
Example: Completing VIP Tiles
A player has completed VIP Tiles C and F this round.
Tile C (4 points): Complete set (5 points) + 2 colors (2 points) + Toast Bonus (2 points) = 9 points total. However, since the VIP Tile's requirement (2 or more Senior Ladies) was not met, the points are reduced by half (rounded down to 4 points).
Tile F (5 points): 3 of a kind (3 points) + 2 colors (2 points) + Toast Bonus (0 points).
As shown in the diagram, the player earned 4 points for Tile C and moved their Point Marker from space "7" to space "11". Since another player's marker is already on space "11," they place their marker on top of it, and flip this VIP Tile. After earning another 5 points for Tile F, the player moves their Point Marker from space "11" to space "16" and flips this VIP Tile.
5. Use the Grand Salon (only for applicable players)
Important: this phase is carried out clockwise, starting with the first player!
After Phase 4 ("Complete VIP Tiles") ends for this round, players who reach 10 points or more on the Point Board for the first time use the Grand Salon.
Using the Grand Salon means choosing 1 of the 4 Guest Tokens in the Grand Salon on the Point Board and exchanging it for 1 of your Guest Tokens placed in your Grand Chamber Area. The Guest Token from your Grand Chamber Area that you exchange may be chosen from a space around a completed VIP Tile (a scored VIP Tile) or from a space around an incomplete VIP Tile. However, note that if you exchange a Guest Token placed around a completed VIP Tile, that tile's score calculation is not changed — the exchanged Guest Token will only be used for the Commemorative Photo Bonus scoring at the end of the game.
Each player may use the Grand Salon only once at most during the entire game. Players who have already used the Grand Salon in a previous round cannot do so again. If every player has already used the Grand Salon, you may skip this phase.
Using the Grand Salon is mandatory. Even if there is no Guest Token in the Grand Salon that interests you, you must still make an exchange during the round in which you reach 10 points or more.
Example: Using the Grand Salon
This player must use the Grand Salon because this is the first time they reach 10 points or more (they had already reached 10 points when scoring Tile C, but still needed to score Tile F, so that calculation had to happen first).
The exchanged Guest Token could have been swapped for a Guest Token around an incomplete VIP Tile, but this player, anticipating the Commemorative Photo Bonus scoring, instead chooses the brown Gentleman from the completed VIP Tile C and exchanges it for the blue Senior Lady from the Grand Salon.
6. Prepare the Next Round
The current first player flips and reveals the top card of the Arrival Card deck. This indicates the number of Guest Tokens that will be placed on the Carriage Tiles next round.
Then the first player passes the bag to the player on their left. The player who receives the bag becomes the first player for the next round.
Finally, each player returns their Carriage Tile to the center of the table. Return to Phase 1 ("Prepare Guest Tokens") and continue the game.
Special Rules for the Final Round Only
If the Final Round Card appears when revealing a card from the Arrival Card deck, the following round is the final round of the game. The following rules change only for that final round.
The first player of the final round is the player with the lowest score at the moment the Final Round Card is revealed. That player takes the bag.
Turn order in the final round is not clockwise, but from lowest score to highest score. If several players are tied (Point Markers stacked on the same space of the Point Board), the player whose marker is on top (the player who reached that space more recently) is considered to have the lower score.
Every phase of the final round follows this special final-round turn order (only Phase 3, "Place Guest Tokens," is still carried out by all players simultaneously).
Commemorative Photo Bonus Scoring (Final Scoring)
Once the final round has ended, proceed to the Commemorative Photo Bonus scoring. At this point, all VIP Tiles should have been completed.
First, set aside all Guest Tokens from the Grand Salon.
Note: during the Commemorative Photo Bonus scoring, even if a player reaches 10 points or more for the first time, they do not use the Grand Salon.
Then calculate the points for the Commemorative Photo Bonus Tiles. First, everyone calculates their Tile 1 at the same time. At this point, players who scored points from their Tile 1 advance their Point Marker on the Point Board and then flip their Commemorative Photo Bonus Tile 1. Players who scored 0 points from their Tile 1 do not flip Tile 1.
Then, calculate Tiles numbered 2 through 5 in the same way, flipping only the tiles that scored points.
After all bonus tiles have been counted, the player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player who flipped the most bonus tiles wins. If there is still a tie, victory is shared.
Commemorative Photo Bonus Tiles
Each Commemorative Photo Bonus Tile has its own target area used to calculate its score. Tiles 1, 2, and 3 have a target area made up of 2 VIP Tiles arranged vertically, totaling 8 Guest Tokens. Tiles 4 and 5 have a target area of 3 VIP Tiles arranged horizontally, totaling 12 Guest Tokens.
- Tile 1 — If there are exactly 3 colors of Guest Tokens in the target area, you get 2 points.
- Tile 2 — For every 3 Guest Tokens of the specified color in the target area, you get 2 points.
- Tile 3 — For every 2 Guest Tokens of the specified type in the target area, you get 1 point.
- Tile 4 — For every 2 Guest Tokens of the specified color in the target area, you get 1 point.
- Tile 5 — If there are exactly 3 colors of Guest Tokens in the target area, you get 3 points.
Example: Commemorative Photo Bonus Scoring
- Tile 1: The Guest Tokens in Tile 1's target area have exactly 3 colors, so you get 2 points.
- Tile 2: There are 4 Guest Tokens of the specified brown color in Tile 2's target area. Each group of 3 tokens is worth 2 points, so you get 2 points.
- Tile 3: There are 5 Guest Tokens of the specified Senior Lady type in Tile 3's target area. Each group of 2 tokens is worth 1 point, so you get 2 points.
- Tile 4: There are 2 Guest Tokens of the specified peach color in Tile 4's target area. Each group of 2 tokens is worth 1 point, so you get 1 point.
- Tile 5: There are 5 colors of Guest Tokens in Tile 5's target area. Since there are not exactly 3 colors, you get 0 points.
Expert Rules
Once players are familiar with the game, we recommend trying a game using the Expert Rules. With the Expert Rules, the way the VIP Tiles are arranged changes drastically, and 6 of the Guest Token spaces overlap between 2 VIP Tiles. Naturally, you must try to satisfy the requirements of both VIP Tiles. Choosing carefully where to seat guests next to 2 VIPs will be quite a challenge.
The game is played the same way as with the standard rules, but with the following changes:
Setup, step 2: Each player places their 6 VIP Tiles and 5 Commemorative Photo Bonus Tiles of their color as shown in the Expert Rules setup diagram. You may place 1 Guest Token in each of the 6 red (shared) spaces, and these Guest Tokens count as placed on both of the two adjacent VIP Tiles.
Random VIP Tile placement (Expert Rules): you can also combine the Expert Rules with Random VIP Tile placement, but the letters must still be arranged in the same position for every player. Combining the Expert Rules with Random VIP Tile placement can create a particularly difficult board state — it's recommended to use the arrangement given in the Expert Rules setup diagram, but if you want something more challenging, you may also use Random VIP Tile placement.
Setup, step 4: From the 9 Arrival Cards, remove 1 card of value 2 and 1 card of value 4 and return them to the box. Shuffle the remaining 7 cards face down and form a stack, then place that stack face down on top of the Final Round Card to create the Arrival Card deck. Flip the top card face up and place it next to the deck.
A game using the Expert Rules lasts a total of 7 rounds, and each player will place 18 Guest Tokens during the whole game.
Completed VIP Tiles (Expert Rules)
When 4 Guest Tokens are placed in a VIP Tile's 4 embossed spaces, the VIP Tile is completed. The Guest Tokens placed in the shared red circular spaces shown in the diagram are used as a reference when completing each of the 2 adjacent VIP Tiles. The points earned for completing a VIP Tile are the same as in the standard rules.
Commemorative Photo Bonus Scoring (Expert Rules)
The target area used for the Commemorative Photo Bonus Tiles' scoring changes as shown below. Because adjacent VIP Tiles now share Guest Token spaces, the number of Guest Tokens that can be used for Tiles 2, 4, and 5 is reduced compared to the standard rules, but the scoring conditions (points per group of tokens, or points for having exactly 3 colors) do not change.
Solo Mode
When you play this game solo, your challenge is to see how high a score you can achieve. In Solo Mode, the rules of play are the same as the standard rules. When playing, apply the Special Rules listed below.
Solo Mode Setup
- Prepare 2 Carriage Tiles and place them in the center of the table. Place the remaining Carriage Tiles back in the box. Play face up with the standard rules in Solo Mode.
- Place a Point Marker of your choice on space "0" of the Point Track. Place another Point Marker on the arrow of the Redraw Track. Point Markers are not used for anything else, so set them aside in the box.
- When you build the Arrival Card deck, place the Final Round card face up on top of the Solo Mode deck. Then stack the Carriage-value cards face down on the Arrival Cards to build the deck, and reveal the top card.
Solo Mode Round Flow
1. Prepare Guest Tokens.
2. Select and Take a Carriage Tile.
In Solo Mode, the number of Carriage Tiles in use varies depending on the current round number and is always an odd number.
Odd-numbered rounds: during odd-numbered rounds, there must be 2 Carriage Tiles at the center of the table, and both tiles on the table must have Guest Tokens placed according to the Arrival Card. Place the Guest Tokens on the Carriage Tiles.
Keep the Carriage Tile in your possession.
Redraw Guest Tokens: after placing the Guest Tokens on the Carriage Tile in Phase 1 ("Prepare Guest Tokens"), you may redraw Guest Tokens. To do so, move your Point Marker one space to the right on the Redraw Track.
Then choose 1 Carriage Tile and place the Guest Tokens in your Grand Chamber Area. You cannot keep some Guest Tokens — you must return all the Guest Tokens on that Carriage Tile to the box before redrawing the Carriage Tile, along with any that were not removed from play, and choose a new Carriage Tile.
Note that the Redraw Track only has two spaces, so you may redraw a maximum of twice per round. Each time you redraw, your Point Marker moves one space to the right on the Redraw Track. Depending on how many times you redraw Guest Tokens, your final score may decrease. However, your points will not decrease during the game itself.
Even-numbered rounds: during even-numbered rounds, there must be 1 Carriage Tile at the center of the table; place the Guest Tokens specified on the Arrival Card only on that Carriage Tile. You must take that Carriage Tile.
Keep the Carriage Tile in your possession.
3–5. Place Guest Tokens / Complete VIP Tiles / Use the Grand Salon — played as in the standard rules.
6. Prepare the Next Round
After a round with an odd number ends: you will have only 1 Carriage Tile in front of you (at the end of an odd-numbered round); keep your Carriage Tile in front of you instead of returning it to the center of the table.
After a round with an even number ends: you will have 2 Carriage Tiles in front of you (at the end of an even-numbered round); return both Carriage Tiles to the center of the table.
Preparing for the Final Round: after revealing the Final Round Card, the number of Carriage Tiles you return to the center of the table is based on your current score.
If you have 20 points or more, return 1 Carriage Tile to the center of the table. In this case, you will have only 1 Carriage Tile to choose from for the final round.
If you have 19 points or fewer, return both Carriage Tiles to the center of the table. In this case, you will have 2 Carriage Tiles and will choose 1 of them.
Solo Mode Final Scoring
After calculating the Commemorative Photo Bonus scoring, you lose points according to the position of your Point Marker on the Redraw Track. If you redrew once, you lose 1 point; if you redrew twice, you lose 2 points.
Depending on your final score, your ranking as a diplomat at the state guest house is determined as follows. Try to achieve the best ranking possible.
| Standard Rules | Expert Rules | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 45+ | 42+ | Legendary Diplomat |
| 42-44 | 39-41 | Best Diplomat in the Country |
| 39-41 | 36-38 | Outstanding Diplomat Candidate |
| 36-38 | 33-35 | Veteran Diplomat |
| 33-35 | 30-32 | Promising Diplomat |
| 32 or less | 29 or less | Apprentice Diplomat |
Credits
- Design: Saashi
- Illustration: Takako Takarai
- Graphic Design: Saashi & Saashi
- Rules-Writing Assistance: Makoto Nishida
- Translation (EN): Nathan Hunley
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