Junta: Viva el Presidente!
Junta: Viva el Presidente! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Materials
- 45 Game Cards
- 5 Summary Cards (in 5 player colors)
- 25 Building Tiles
- 20 Militia Dice (in 5 player colors)
- 5 Screens
- 1 Pair Presidential Sunglasses
- 5 Estates (in 5 player colors), each with a Main House, a space for Promises, a space for used Militias, spaces for Building Tiles, a space for a Screen, and numbers for Militia orders
Some cards depict a Diversionary Tactic, an Assassination, a Gunboat, or Foreign Aid — these are examples of the Game Cards.
Additional Tip for the Building Tiles: Some tiles, like the Helicopter Pad or Swimming Pool, aren't actually buildings, per se, but are nevertheless generally regarded by the members of the junta as buildings. The Main House already present on the Estate at the beginning of the game also counts as a building.
Before Your 1st Game: Before your first game, put together the Screens. Fold the roof, the sides, and the two flaps together in the indicated places. Put the tabs in the roof slots, as depicted. After the game, you can leave the Screens assembled. They're designed to stack inside each other and there's room for them in the box.
Game Set Up
Every player receives 1 Screen. Pick a color, and take your Estate, Summary Card, and 1 Militia Die in your color. The rest of the dice and all the Building Tiles are placed in the middle of the table as Supplies.
Shuffle all 45 Game Cards face down as the Deck next to the Supplies. In the course of the game, place cards that have been played and discarded as a face up Discard Pile next to the Deck. When the Deck is all used up, shuffle the Discard Pile and use it as a new Deck.
Roll to see who can be your first Presidente. The victor takes the Presidential Sunglasses. The Sunglasses gives you an obvious indication who the current Presidente is during the game. All the players who are not Presidente, are called Golpistas in these instructions.
Tip: In some places in the instructions, you will find a box with the Presidential Sunglasses. They contain special rules that apply to the Presidente.
Two Versions
There are two different ways to play Junta: Viva el Presidente! First, we will explain the rules for the Basic Game. After that follow the rules for the Expert Game.
If this is your first time playing Junta: Viva el Presidente!, you should play the Basic Game in order to get a feel for the game. Next time you get together to play, you can try the Expert Game. It's nastier and sneakier than the Basic Game. And that's what you're here for, right?
Course of Play
One game takes place over several rounds. Every round is divided into six Phases, which follow each other. There are no turns, but you can usually act in every Phase. The Phases are:
- Draw Cards
- Make Promises
- Command Militias
- Combat
- Spend Money
- Check Number of Cards
1) Draw Cards
The Presidente begins. He takes as many cards from the Deck equal to the total number of players plus 2. If you're playing with 4 players, for example, the Presidente draws 6 (=4+2) cards in this phase.
Then the Golpistas each take 1 card, proceeding in a clockwise direction. Exception: In the first round of the game, each Golpista takes 1 additional card, for a total of 2 cards.
Tip: You must always keep the cards in your hand hidden. You may not talk about what cards you have or which you lost in Combat. However, you may not keep the number of cards you have secret.
2) Make Promises
The Presidente picks out at least 1 of the cards in his hand for each Golpista. He places those cards as Promises face down on the Space for Promises of the appropriate Estate. The Golpistas may look at the Promises and put them back down, but they may not put them in their hands.
Tip: Immediately following the Promises is the moment when the Burglars card may be played.
Example: Lars (blue) is Presidente. He decides to promise Andy (red) and Susanne (yellow) each 1 card from his hand. He even gives Matt (black) 2 cards from his hand. Andy, Susanne, and Matt look at their Promises and put them back down on the Spaces for Promises.
3) Command Militias
Each die represents 1 Militia. You begin the game with 1 Militia, and during the course of the game, you can obtain more Militia dice.
In this Phase, all Golpistas give their Militias orders for attacks or defensive measures. To do this, place your Screen on the marking of the street on your Estate. Then, hidden behind the screen, turn the Militia Dice to the following numbers accordingly:
- Attack someone: In order to attack the Presidente or another Golpista with a Militia, turn the number of their respective Estate up.
- Defend yourself: To defend yourself, turn the die so the number of your own Estate is visible.
- Defend the Presidente: You can assist the Presidente in his own defense. For that, turn the die or dice to the number 6. The number 6 always refers to the defense of the Presidente, independent of who happens to be Presidente at the moment.
If you have two or more Militias, you may command them independent of each other. That is, you decide individually what each Militia does, turning up whatever numbers you care to on them, except that you may not simultaneously attack and defend the Presidente.
The Presidente's Militias receive no orders: they must defend the Presidente. The Presidente may not attack any other players.
Tip: Immediately after setting all the Militia Dice is the moment at which the Spy card may be played.
As soon as all the Golpistas have given commands to their Militias, and no one wants to play a Spy, everyone removes his screen at the Presidente's command, so that all players have a clear view of all the Militias.
Example: Andy (red) has set 2 Militias to Lars's number, so that they attack Presidente Lars (blue). His next Militia shows Matt's number, so that it attacks Matt (black). Andy's fourth Militia shows his own number, so that it defends him.
Susanne (yellow) attacks Matt with 2 Militias and defends herself with her other Militia.
Matt helps Presidente Lars in his defense with a 6. His other two Militias attack Susanne.
4) Combat
Attack orders lead to Combat. Combat is resolved in a prescribed order. If someone attacks the Presidente, that battle is always resolved first. Then, proceeding in a clockwise fashion, all Golpistas resolve the battles in which they are the Defender, that is, in which they're being attacked. If more than one Golpista attacks the same player, these attacks happen together and are resolved in the same battle.
Example: Lars is the sitting Presidente. First, the battle is conducted in which Lars is attacked. To his left sits Andy, but no one is attacking Andy in this round. Continuing clockwise, Susanne is next, and Matt's attack on her is resolved next. Finally comes Andy and Susanne's attack on Matt, who's sitting to Susanne's left.
If no one attacks the Presidente, all the players immediately receive their Promises — before the battles between the Golpistas are carried out.
In general, all combat goes identically. A battle is divided into 4 Combat Steps which transpire in the following order:
- A) Defender's Cards
- B) Attacker's Cards
- C) Roll for Militias
- D) Plunder
Tip: Be careful during this Phase to keep the Militia Dice that have already been rolled separate from those which haven't been rolled. A good way to do this is, after removing the Screen, place the Militias up front next to your Die Banner. After rolling a die, move it back to the round space at bottom left where your character is depicted.
A) Defender's Cards
The defending player may play as many cards as they like from their hand, as long as they are played, per the card text, "before battle." If an attacker loses all attacking Militia Dice, they're out of the battle. If there are no more attackers, the combat ends immediately.
Any player who's defending the Presidente with at least 1 Militia counts equally as defenders (of the Presidente) and may play cards in that battle.
B) Attacker's Cards
All attacking players in a given battle may play whatever cards in their hand they like, as long as they do so "before battle," as the cards say. Independently, the defender takes part in the battle in any case.
If a player who is defending the Presidente loses all his defending Militia Dice, he is no longer involved in the battle. The cards that player played remain in effect, but he may play no further cards during that battle.
C) Roll for Militias
All players now roll their Militia Dice involved in the battle simultaneously. You may not roll a Militia which has received other orders. It is possible that the defender will have no Militia assigned to defend them. In this case, only the attackers roll.
Tip: Immediately after rolling the dice is the moment at which a player involved in a battle may play the Diversionary Tactic card.
Each attacker reports their Personal Combat Value, which is the sum of all the dice they've rolled. The sum of these combat values from all attackers becomes the total Attack Value.
The defender then adds all the results of their rolls, adding to it, however, the number of buildings they have. The sum is the Defense Value. Every building (including the Main House) raises the Defense Value by 1.
The Presidente may not roll his Militias! Instead, each presidential Militia is treated as if it had rolled a 1. So, his Defense Value equals the number of his buildings plus the number of his Militias. Added to that are the Personal Combat Values of the players who have chosen to defend the Presidente.
If the Attack Value is less than or equal to the Defense Value, the attack was unsuccessful. If the Attack Value was higher, the attackers may proceed to Plunder.
D) Plunder
If the attack was successful, every attacking player may Plunder by taking one card from the defender's hand at random. The attacker who had the highest Personal Combat Value may draw first. (In the case of a tie, the players roll dice to see who goes first.) The rest of the attackers follow in the order of their Personal Combat Value. If more players Plunder than the defender has cards, some of the attackers will go home empty-handed.
If an attack on the Presidente was successful, the attackers first Plunder by taking a card from the Presidente's hand. All (!) players then turn their Promises face up on the Discard Pile. No one receives them.
After all combat has been resolved, the attacker who attacked the Presidente with the highest Personal Combat Value receives the Presidential Sunglasses and becomes the new Presidente.
If an attack on the Presidente was not successful, all the players who did not attack the Presidente, immediately receive their Promises. It makes no difference whether they have helped defend the Presidente or not. On the other hand, the attackers must put their Promises face up on the Discard Pile.
Combat Examples
Combat Example 1: Two of Andy's Militias (red) attack Presidente Lars (blue) who possesses 1 building and 2 Militias. Matt (black) sends one Militia to Lars's defense. First, Lars and Matt are allowed to play cards, because they are the defenders. Lars chooses not to play any cards. Matt plays a Gunboat which raises the Combat Value for Presidente Lars by 3.
Then Andy can play cards. He plays Assassination on Matt's Militia, destroying it (it's placed back in the Supplies). After the assassination, Matt has no Militia left in the fight, and bows out of the combat. The Gunboat he played continues to be in play for Lars however.
Now Andy rolls his two attacking Militia, rolling a 6 (4+2). As Presidente, Lars may not roll his Militias. His Defense Value is 1 for one building, plus 2 for his two Militias, and plus 3 for the Gunboat card, totaling 6. That's a tie, so the attack is unsuccessful.
Andy's attack has been thwarted, he may not Plunder. Susanne and Matt may now take their Promises and add them to their hand. Andy must discard his Promise.
Combat Example 2: Two of Matt's Militias (black) attack Susanne (yellow), who possesses 3 buildings and has deployed 1 Militia for defense. Neither care to play cards, and they roll their Militias. Susanne throws a 4, Matt a 6 and a 3. Matt's Attack Value is 9, Susanne's Defense Value is 7.
Matt's attack is successful and he Plunders one card from Susanne's hand.
Combat Example 3: Andy attacks Matt with 1 Militia. Susanne sends 2 Militia to Matt's estate. Matt has deployed no Militias for his defense. No one wants to play a card, so Andy and Susanne roll their Militias. Andy rolls a 5, Susanne 2 and 3. They each have a Personal Combat Value of 5. Their combined Attack Value is 10. Matt's defense is 2, courtesy of his two buildings.
The attackers win, 10-2. Andy and Susanne Plunder. They have the identical Personal Combat Value, so they each roll a die to see who goes first. Andy rolls a 2, Susanne a 4. Susanne may draw a card from Matt's hand. Because Matt only had one card in his hand, Andy goes home empty-handed.
5) Spend Money
If someone ends up with no Militias, they now receive 1 new Militia free. Then you may spend the (hopefully) huge fortunes you've amassed. The Presidente may go first, and the Golpistas follow in clockwise fashion. You may buy the following:
- 4 Million Pesos: 1 Building. Take one building from the Supplies and put it on the appropriate space on your Estate. Each building raises your Defense Value by 1 and is worth 1 Victory Point.
- 2 Million Pesos: 1 Militia. Take 1 Militia die of your color from the Supplies. Each player may possess at most 4 Militias.
- 1 Million Pesos: 1 Card. Take the top card from the Deck and put it in your hand. If the new card delivers Foreign Aid, you may immediately spend this money, if you choose. Each player may buy at most 1 card per round.
You pay for your purchases by taking cards from your hand with the appropriate value and putting them on the Discard Pile. If you don't have the exact sum, you get no change. You may, however, make more than one purchase.
Tip: In this Phase, you may play the cards Party Donation and PR Campaign.
Example: Susanne has 2 Foreign Aid cards totaling 5 million Pesos. She buys 1 building and 1 card, paying for the two together by placing the 5 million pesos on the Discard Pile. Her new card is a Foreign Aid card worth 3 million pesos. Susanne plays the card immediately, buying 1 Militia, which only costs 2 million, so Susanne has paid 1 million too much. She may buy no more cards and receives no change.
6) Check Number of Cards
In this Phase, you may possess at most 4 cards. If you have more than 4 cards in your hand, you must discard as many cards as it takes to get you down to 4, placing the surplus cards on the Discard Pile. The limit only applies in this Phase. Before this Phase, you may exceed it as much as you like.
Tip: Estates, buildings, Militias, and the number of cards in your hand must be visible to all players at all times. You may only place your Militias behind the screen when you give them orders.
End of the Game
As soon as at least 1 player has 5 or more Victory Points at the end of a Spend Money Phase, the game ends. Every building (including the Main House) counts as 1 Victory Point. In addition, the Yacht and Super Car each give 1 Victory Point to the player who has them in their hand. The player with the most Victory Points wins. In case of a tie, the tied player with the most money in hand wins.
Tip: You must complete the Spend Money Phase. The game does not end beforehand if someone has 5 Victory Points, if there are players that have not had their turn. When the game ends, the Check Number of Cards Phase does not occur, so that no one must discard cards with Foreign Aid, which could help break a tie and get them the win.
Expert Game
So you've played the Basic Game and now want to take it to another level? You want it nastier and more scheming? Then you absolutely have to play the Expert Game! To do so, change the rules as follows:
End of Game
The game ends when someone has 6 or more Victory Points. The Presidential Sunglasses are now also worth 1 Victory Point. You've got more to gain by attacking the Presidente.
Destroyed Militias
If someone rolls a 1 in Combat, after the battle he may destroy 1 opposing Militia that was involved in the battle. It has no influence on the outcome of the Combat. Destroyed Militias are placed back in the Supplies.
Tip: This rule ensures a fluctuation in numbers of Militia. This will give you more options during Spend Money in the somewhat longer game up to 6 Victory Points.
Promises
When the Presidente makes his Promises in Phase 2, he may not only promise cards but Militias too:
- As before, he must promise each Golpista at least 1 card, but may additionally promise one or more Militia Die.
- He may promise more than one Golpista Militias.
- He may promise all his Militias.
- He may freely choose which number is facing up on the promised Militia Dice; it may not, however, be the number of the Presidente's Estate and also not 6. The Golpistas may not change the number. (It's best if the Presidente places the promised Militia(s) directly on the promised card(s) so that all players may see them easily.)
As before, the Presidente may not order any Militias in Phase 3 and may not initiate attacks against Golpistas.
What consequences does this have? At first, a potential battle against the Presidente will go as usual. Unpromised Militias, as in the Basic game, add 1 to the Presidente's defense. Promised Militias are ignored.
Anyone not receiving his Promises after a battle must give the promised Militia back to the Presidente immediately. On the other hand, if you receive the Promises, you may add the promised Militia to your own Militias which have not yet been resolved. Whatever number the Presidente has placed face up determines whether the Militias contribute to your defense or assist in attacks on other players. Be careful about the following:
- You must deploy the Militia received from the Presidente. You may not refuse it.
- These Militia are thereafter considered Presidential Militias.
- You roll the dice for them, if necessary, not the Presidente.
- The Presidente himself does not take part in any Combat in which his on-loan Militias are engaged. Consequently, the Presidente may not play any cards in such Combat.
- If an attack succeeds with the help of a Presidential Militia, the Presidente may not Plunder the defeated player, only the attacking player — even if Presidential Militias alone were involved in the Combat.
- After all battles have been carried out, the Presidente receives his loaned-out Militias back again — as long as they weren't destroyed in battle.
Example: Lars (blue) is Presidente. In addition to cards, he promises Matt (black) 1 Militia with the number 4. If Matt receives the Promises he must attack Andy with this additional Militia, even if he has not turned any of his Militias to the number 4.
In addition, Lars promises 2 of his Militias to Susanne. One serves in Susanne's defense, and with the other, she too must attack Andy.
Card Effects
On most cards, it is written exactly at what moment they can be played. You need Foreign Aid to Spend Money. Cards that may be played before combat, can be played only as described above in Combat Steps A and B. Anyone not directly involved in Combat as an attacker or defender may not play any cards.
Explanation of Certain Cards
Assassination — Play before Combat. Destroy one opposing Militia of your choice. You destroy 1 Militia taking part in the battle against you. Do not return this Militia to the Estate of its boss, put it in the Supplies!
Spy — Play immediately after all players have commanded their Militias. Look at the Militias of all other players before you command yours. The other players may not change their Militias' orders. Be careful not to miss the point when all the Golpistas have set their dice. As soon as the Presidente gives the command to raise the Screens, it's too late for the Spy.
Bribery — Play before Combat. Ignore the Presidente's Militias in this Combat. In the Basic Game, the Presidente's Militias are not added to his Defense Value. In the Expert Game, the Militias loaned out by the Presidente are also ignored — they may not be rolled.
Students Circulate Petition — No effect. This card has no effect. You may not play it. It can, however, change hands through a Presidential Promise or a successful attack on its possessor.
Diversionary Tactic — Play immediately after someone has rolled dice. Either one or all of the dice must be re-rolled. You can use this on your roll or another player's roll, as long as you are both involved in the same battle. If several players are attacking together, you may declare the roll of only one of these players invalid. The invalid roll must be re-rolled. You may choose if exactly 1 or all dice are to be re-rolled. You can't declare 2 out of 3 dice invalid, though, for example.
Supercar — Worth 1 Victory Point. This card is worth 1 Victory Point, but does not raise one's Defense Value (as a building does). You may never play this card. It can, however, change hands through a Presidential Promise or a successful attack on its possessor.
Gunboat — Play before Combat. Your Combat Value is raised by 3. As attacker, you raise your Personal Combat Value by 3. As defender, you raise your Defense Value by 3. As supporter of the Presidente, you raise the Presidente's Defense Value by 3.
Surprise Attack — Play before Combat, as attacker. Ignore all buildings of the defender in this battle. In this Combat, the defender's buildings are not added to their Defense Value.
Yacht — Worth 1 Victory Point. See Supercar.
Peasant Uprising — Play before Combat. All defending Militias in this Combat have the Value 2. (Don't roll them.) In this Combat, all defending players' Militia receive the value of 2. If the Presidente is attacked, this counts for the Presidente's Militias as well (they become stronger than usual!) as well as the Militias of the Golpistas who support the Presidente. In the Expert game, this card also affects Presidential Militias on loan for defense.
Credits
Game Designers: Sebastian Resl & Christoph Reiser
Published by Z-Man Games, Inc.
License: White Castle – Agency for Inventors (www.whitecastle.at), under license of Pegasus Spiele GmbH
Illustration: Claus Stephan & Martin Hoffmann
Graphic Design: Claus Stephan, Martin Hoffmann, Hans-Georg Schneider
Realization: Thygra Board Game Agency
Translation: Bill Walsh
64 Prince Road, Mahopac, NY 10541
Copyright (c) 2010 Pegasus Spiele GmbH. All rights reserved.
For any comments, questions, suggestions, please contact [email protected] — www.zmangames.com