Henchmania
Henchmania Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Box Contents
- Goal of the Game
- Setup
- Playing the Game
- How to Fight a Duel?
- End of the Game
- Notes About the Rules
- Notes About the Cards
- The Additional Cards
- The Cards
- The Tavern — Catch your opponents with tricks and ruses
- The Castle — Use your Henchmen to entertain the Royal Court with their performances to gain favor
- The Main Square — Assert your superiority in duels
- The Church — Your devotion is rewarded by Divine providence, improving your performance score
- The Armory — Gear up with accessories your Henchmen procure for you to get the upper hand in duels
- Credits
Box Contents
130 cards - 40 pawns - 5 site mini boards - 5 score meters - 1 Badge of Honor pawn - 3 dice - 1 manual - 5 Help cards - 1 day meter - 5 "Full" pawns
Goal of the Game
The players represent the Lords from the city's 5 prestigious families. With the help from their faithful Henchmen, they have to earn as many points (laurel wreath) as possible on their respective Coat of arms to become the next Bailiff of Montfleury.
Setup
Each player picks a Coat of arms and retrieves the appropriate number of Henchmen pawns. Each player starts the game with 5 points on their Coat of arms.
Shuffle the 5 decks of cards and place them, face down, in their respective sites. Assemble the 5 city sites in the order of your choice.
The player with the dirtiest fingernails starts playing. If it's a draw, the youngest player starts. The first player sets the Badge of Honor in front of him and becomes the first player for this round.
Playing the Game
The game is played over 4 days, and each day is itself divided into 3 phases:
- Set the Henchmen pawns
- Play the cards
- End of the day
Every day, repeat the 3 phases. After Day 4, the Bailiff is appointed.
1 - Set the Henchmen Pawns
The Lord in possession of the Badge of Honor is the first to play. He may set a Henchman on one of the 5 sites and immediately picks a card from that site.
Rotating clockwise, the following players do the same. Repeat this setup until all players have placed all of their 8 Henchmen pawns, as to establish their 8 cards starting hand for that day.
When a pile is empty, immediately mix the cards from the corresponding discard pile as to form a new pile.
On each site, the number of available spots for the Henchmen pawns is limited:
- 2 players: 4 spots
- 3 players: 5 spots
- 4 players: 7 spots
- 5 players: 8 spots
When all the Henchmen pawns have been set, the player with the majority of Henchmen pawns on a site dominates it. There, he may draw an additional card. In case of a draw, no Lord dominates that site.
The players can then advance to the second phase of the day.
2 - Play Your Cards
The Lord with the Badge of Honor starts playing. At their turn, the players play clockwise one card at a time.
There are three types of cards:
The Action cards When an Action card is played, it is placed in the Discard pile of its original site and its effect is immediate.
- Immediate effect (lightning bolt icon)
The Reserve cards When a Reserve card is played, it is placed face up in front of the player and kept in the Reserve throughout the game - except if the text on the card specifies that it must be discarded to be effective. The effect of a Reserve card cannot be used from the player's hand but from his Reserve. A player can have up to 8 cards in his Reserve. If he wants to play a new card, he must discard one already used.
- The maximum number of the same card in the Reserve is shown on the card. Caution: any action for which this maximum amount would be surpassed is not allowed.
- The cards showing this icon must be rotated horizontally to indicate that their effect has been used. If a rotated card was to move to another player, it is vertically rotated and can be used again. Caution: if the text starts by "At your turn", this means that the effect is used instead of playing a card from your hand.
The Trump cards Each site has only one Trump card. A Trump card is an advantage for each player. It does not count in the Reserve and is immune to the effects on the Reserve cards.
A player can only have one Trump card. If he wishes to use a new one, he must discard the old one.
- The cards showing this icon must be rotated horizontally to indicate that their effect has been used.
If a player cannot play or decides to stop playing, he forfeits his right to play more cards for that day - except for a Guard card or an Armory card during a duel, see page 8 for the list of cards.
When all players have played their turn, they must discard all the remaining cards in their hand before moving on to the third phase of the day. They will start the next day with no cards, except for the ones in their Reserve.
How to Fight a Duel?
At their turn, a player can challenge an opponent to a duel by playing the Glove card, making him an Attacker. The opponent may not refuse the duel and becomes a Defender.
Step 1: What Can You Use to Fight?
The Attacker must declare his weapon of choice for the duel:
- either by playing a single Armory card
- or fight bare-handed, if the Attacker did not to pick an Armory card nor does not wish to play one for this duel.
The Defender must declare his weapon of choice for the duel:
- either by playing a single Armory card
- or fight bare-handed, if the Defender did not to pick an Armory card nor does not wish to play one for this duel.
Step 2: The Dice Roll
The Attacker rolls 3 dice, corresponding to 3 hits. Only the results equal or superior to the Attack value shown on their card are parried. With bare hands, the value is 6.
The Defender rolls as many dice as successful hits by the Attacker. Only the results equal or superior to the Defense value shown on their card are parried. With bare hands, the value is 6.
Step 3: The Outcome
If at least one hit is not parried, the Attacker wins the duel. If all hits are missed or parried, the Defender wins the duel. Immediately report the points on each Coat of Arms as indicated below.
In case of victory for the Attacker:
- +5 points for the Attacker
- -1 point by non parried hit for the Defender
In case of victory for the Defender:
- +2 points for the Defender
- -1 point for the Attacker
After each duel, the played cards must be returned in the Discard pile of their original site, in the order of their choice.
3 - End of the Day
Starting with the Lord with the Badge of Honor and then in turn, the players report the points from their Reserve cards.
The Performance cards earn:
- 1 point if you only have one
- 3 points if you have two different ones
- 5 points if you have three different ones
Once all the points have been reported to the respective Coat of arms, the players rotate their cards vertically and gather their Henchmen pawns. If a player's score is over 30 points it's the 4th day, go to the End of the Game section. If not, the Badge of Honor is moved clockwise to the next player and the next day begins.
End of the Game
If a player reaches 30 points at the end of the third phase of any day, the game is over and the player with the most points on their Coat of arms wins.
At the end of the fourth day, the player with the most points wins the game and becomes the new Bailiff of Montfleury.
If a player goes over 30 points, the 1 should calculated as 31, the 2 as 32, the 11 as 41, and so on...
In Case of a Draw
In case of a draw between only two players, they have to fight a duel. At their turn, they become Attacker and Defender. The one who inflicts the most wounds after the two fights wins. They can use the Reserve cards in front of them. In case of another draw, they have to fight another duel...
In case of a draw between more than two players, the game continues for another day.
Custom Mode
You may decide to change the rules of the game: 3 days for a quick game or 5 days for a long game. Or you may also want to lower the immediate win to 25 points.
Notes About the Rules
The Reserve cards are kept throughout the game, except if the text on the card specifies that it must be discarded to be effective.
At any time, the players can look at the discarded cards or at the back of their opponents' cards.
Some cards allow you to pick into an opponent's hand, like Drunkard or Trick for example. You may look at the cards' back before making your choice.
The cards with a benefit can only be played to your advantage (e.g., Guard, Prayer, Holy Water). They cannot be played to help another player. The Courtesan card is the only one allowing you to intervene in a duel in which you are not involved.
If you can move Henchmen on the board, do it to your advantage (e.g., Traitor). This way, you can dominate a site or make an opponent lose their domination.
The Reserve cards starting with "At your turn" are played instead of playing a card from your hand.
You cannot put down a Reserve card whose maximum amount has been reached (e.g., Belladonna Root).
You cannot discard a card from your hand to win a round.
If a player goes over 30 points, the 1 should calculated as 31, the 2 as 32, the 11 as 41, and so on...
Notes About the Cards
Apothecary Card: When you play the Apothecary card, you cancel a wound during the duel. Therefore, you can win the duel if you cancel the last wound of the Attacker.
Trump Cards: The Trump Cards are not counted towards the maximum number of cards in your Reserve. Therefore, you can have up to nine cards down in front of you.
Porter Card: The effect of the Porter Card is played during the "Set the Henchmen" phase. You can place a Henchman pawn on a site, even if the maximum amount of spots has been reached or another Porter is already present.
Traitor Card: Whenever you play a Traitor Card, you immediately take the pawn. The next day, you will put down the Henchman pawn on the site of your choice and draw the card but the pawn will count for your opponent when majorities are calculated.
Nosy Parker Card: At the end of the second phase of the day, the players must discard all their cards in hand. But if you have the Nosy Parker in your Reserve, you can keep one card for the next day.
The Guard card must be played right after the Gauntlet card. If, in a hurry, the Attacker has already put down his Armory card, it can be taken back.
Penitent Card: This card protects you from the effects of the Brawl but does not cancel its effects for the other players.
Old Lady Card: On top of your own Trump card, you can benefit from the effect of a Trump card which is in an opponent's Reserve, even if it is rotated.
The Additional Cards
The 6 animal cards below are added to the piles for each site, for a total of 27: Mule, Vermin, Torecat, Mutt, Pigeon, Ox.
Pick among the 5 Glove cards below to be added to the game. Then, remove the basic Glove cards to keep a total of 12: Falconer Glove, Gauntlet, Silk Glove, Velvet Glove, Hunting Glove.
Pick among the 8 Henchmen cards below to be added to the game. Then, remove the corresponding cards to keep the same amount as indicated on page 8: Porter, Gossip, Traitor, Drunkard, Helm, Mace, Round shield, Coat of mail.
The Cards
The Tavern — Catch your opponents with tricks and ruses
- Gossip (x8, Action): Pick an opponent, he loses 1 point and you earn 1 point.
- Trick (x4, Action): Pick an opponent, take one card from his hand to put it in yours, you can look at the back of the cards to choose.
- Belladonna root (x4, Action): Pick an opponent, he must choose a card from his Reserve to put it in your Reserve.
- Drunkard (x4, Action): Pick an opponent, discard one card from his hand, you can look at the back of the cards to choose.
- Traitor (x3, Action): Take an opponent's Henchman pawn for the next day, only one Traitor per day and per player.
- Brawl (x1, Action): All the opponents have to pick a card from their Reserve and discard it.
- Boss Lady (x1, Reserve): At any time, whenever you play a Gossip card, you can rotate this card so that its effects are raised by 2 points.
- Trump — Influence (x1): After placing a Henchman pawn on a site, you can rotate this card and pick 2 cards instead of one.
The Castle — Use your Henchmen to entertain the Royal Court with their performances to gain favor
- Minstrel Performance (x6, Reserve): At the end of the day, earn 1 point if you only have one Performance, 3 points if you have two different ones, 5 points if you have three different ones.
- Troubadour Performance (x6, Reserve): Same scoring as above.
- Jester Performance (x6, Reserve): Same scoring as above.
- Bear Tamer (x3, Action): Pick a Performance card in one of your opponent's Reserve to be discarded.
- Guard (x2, Action): Cancel a Glove card.
- Intrigue (x1, Reserve): At the end of the day, after counting points, every player with more points than you gives you 1.
- Courtesan (x1, Reserve): At any time, you can rotate this card and force an opponent to reroll one dice for attack or defense.
- Trump — Eloquence (x1): At the end of the day, you can rotate this card and add 2 points to one of your Performance cards.
The Main Square — Assert your superiority in duels
- Glove (x12, Action): Challenge to a duel.
- Porter (x3, Reserve): When you set a Henchman pawn, you can discard this card to earn an additional spot on a site which is already full.
- Public bawler (x3, Action): Pick one card in all the sites when you have the majority.
- Nosy parker (x2, Reserve): As long as the Nosy Parker is in your Reserve, you can keep a card in hand for the next day.
- Apothecary (x2, Reserve): At any time, discard this card and cancel a hit that wasn't parried during a duel.
- Pillory (x2, Action): Pick a card in one of your opponents' Reserve to be discarded.
- Old Lady (x1, Reserve): At any time, you can rotate this card and benefit from another player's Trump card.
- Trump — Bravery (x1): At any time, you can rotate this card and cancel the effects of a card affecting your hand or your Reserve.
The Church — Your devotion is rewarded by Divine providence, improving your performance score
- Prayer (x5, Reserve): At any time, discard this card and reroll one of your dice.
- Holy water (x5, Reserve): At any time, discard this card and add 1 to the value of one of your dice.
- Choir boys (x5, Reserve): At the end of the day, you can discard this card and add 1 point to each of your Performances.
- Gravedigger (x4, Action): Pick a card in a Discard pile and add it to your hand.
- Penitent (x4, Reserve): At any time, discard this card and cancel the effect of a Tavern card targeting you.
- Inquisition (x1, Reserve): Discard this card, mix all your opponents' Trump cards with the Discard pile and the other discarded cards.
- Bigots (x1, Reserve): At your turn, you can rotate this card and pick a card from a site in which you have an equality.
- Trump — Providence (x1): At any time, you can rotate this card and reroll one or several dice.
The Armory — Gear up with accessories your Henchmen procure for you to get the upper hand in duels
- Dagger (x5, Armory): Successful Attack if 5 or more, Successful Defense if 5 or more.
- Cudgel (x4, Armory): Successful Attack if 4 or more, Successful Defense if 5 or more.
- Axe (x4, Armory): Successful Attack if 2 or more, Successful Defense if 5 or more.
- Sword (x1, Armory): Successful Attack if 1 or more, Successful Defense if 4 or more.
- Coat of mail (x5, Armory): Successful Attack if 4 or more, Successful Defense if 4 or more.
- Iron shield (x4, Armory): Successful Attack if 4 or more, Successful Defense if 2 or more.
- Complete armor (x1, Armory): Successful Attack if 4 or more, Successful Defense if 1 or more.
- Damsel (x1, Reserve): At the end of the day, earn as many points as the number of your Henchmen on a site which you don't dominate.
- Trump — Confidence (x1): At any time, you can rotate this card and add 1 to your dice value, attacking or defending.
Credits
Creators: Vincent Jouanneau & Jean-Pierre Nicolas Illustrator: Laurent Nicolas Painters: Landry Munoz & Sébastien Guichard Graphic Designers: Luc Deveze & Romain Soularue
Thanks to Nicolas Chazal, Fanny Bouquard, Jérôme Bayeux, Florent Hequet, Stanislas Grazon, Lance Myxter, Aude Layani, Kevin Crombrez and Jean-Michel Trayaud for their beneficial contributions.
Published by Jocus. © 2016 Jocus All Rights Reserved. © 2016 Sbires All Rights Reserved.
Not suitable for children under 36 months. Contains small parts that could be swallowed. Risk of choking.