Kings of Chicago Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Box Contents
• Game Goal
• Setup
• Turn Order
  • 1. Moving an Envoy and Updating the Range Track
  • 2. Collecting the Advance
  • 3. Placing a Barrel
  • 4. Expansion Bonus
  • Optional Actions
• End of the Game
• Special Rules: Barrels and Special Barrels
  • Gang Rules
  • Envoy Abilities
  • Event Tokens
  • Location Services
  • Location Cards

Box Contents

• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Board
• 1 Range Track
• 4 Gang Sheets
• 4 Player Aids
• 19 Location Cards
• 8 Envoys
• 12 Event Tokens
• 102 Cash Tokens ($) in 3 denominations
• 36 Barrels in 4 colours

Game Goal

During the game of Kings of Chicago, players will use neutral Envoys to smuggle their Barrels into important Locations in the city. The winner is the player who, through skilful management of supplies, gathers the most Szmal ($).

Setup

Two variants are provided: the Secret variant and the Open variant. In the Secret variant, Event Tokens are revealed during the game, so play is less predictable; this variant is intended for players who prefer a lighter game or are playing for the first time. In the Open variant, Event Tokens are revealed immediately. Play is fully calculable, although the initial amount of information may overwhelm players. Later parts of the rulebook give the details of each variant. Remember to apply only the rules of the variant you have chosen.

How to assemble the Range Track:

1. Place the Board in the middle of the table.
2. Shuffle the 8 Locations and place them in their designated places on the Board, around the Railway Station.
3. Place 1 Event Token at random (face down) on the Event Space of each Location. Return the remaining Tokens to the box; they do not take part in the game. If the players chose the Open variant, they reveal the tokens immediately (turning them face up).
4. Place in the Pot of each Location as many Szmal ($) as there are "$" symbols on it (1-3).
5. Place 2$ on each Expansion space on the Board.
6. Assemble the Range Track and place it next to the Board in such a way that everyone has convenient access to it.
7. Randomly choose the first player and prepare the Envoys.
   • 7.1. The first player draws 3 different Envoys and places them on the Range Track. Envoys on the Range Track represent the movement range of their counterparts on the Board.
   • 7.2. The players place on the Railway Station 3 Envoys corresponding to the Envoys located on spaces 1, 2 and 3 on the Range Track.
   • 7.3. The two copies of the last Envoy are placed on the Inactive Envoy space on the Range Track.
8. Each player draws or chooses 1 gang and takes the components designated for it: a Gang Sheet, a Player Aid, 9 Barrels in the gang's colour, and 1$ or 2$, depending on the gang's Starting Budget.
9. The players place all the remaining Szmal ($) Tokens in a stack next to the Board, forming the Common Pool.
10. The players begin the game.

Szmal. Szmal is the money present in the game (the Polish term is slang for cash). It is represented by 3 tokens: 1$, 2$ and 5$. These tokens reflect the value of cash the player's gang has at its disposal. At any moment they may be exchanged with the Common Pool, as the players need. The number of Szmal tokens is not limited; if they run out, the players may use any substitute.

The Envoys placed on the Range Track show the movement range of their counterparts on the Board.

Turn Order

The players take their turns in clockwise order, starting from the first player. On their turn, a player must perform the following actions, in the order given:

1. Move an Envoy and update the Range Track.
2. Collect the Advance.
3. Place a Barrel.
4. Expansion Bonus.

Additionally, there are optional actions, described below.

1. Moving an Envoy and Updating the Range Track

The player chooses 1 Envoy on the Board and moves it, in accordance with the following rules.

• The Envoy must move exactly as many times as the Range of its counterpart on the Range Track indicates.
• An Envoy always moves to a neighbouring Location, that is, a Location sharing the longer or shorter side with the one it is in.
• During its move, an Envoy may not return to a Location it has already passed through. It also may not enter the Location in which it began the move.
• An Envoy may freely pass other Envoys and end its move in a Location on which other Envoys are located.
• After the move on the Board, the player lifts from the Range Track the Envoy corresponding to the one that made the move, and places it on the top of the track.
• After the Envoy is lifted, the Range Track updates itself automatically, leaving the space "1" empty. The Envoy that has just made the move is placed there.
• In the Secret variant, the player reveals (turns face up) the Event Token in the Location where the Envoy ended its move. The effect of each token applies from the moment it is revealed.

Example of an incorrect move: The Dirty Cop has Range 3. Antek makes a move with it, starting at the Railway Station and ending at the Post Office. Antek made the move incorrectly, because the Dirty Cop passed through the Railway Station, and during a move an Envoy may not enter a Location in which it was already located.

Example of a correct move: The Dirty Cop has Range 3. Antek makes a move with it, starting at the Railway Station and ending at the City Hall. Since the game is played in the Secret variant, Antek reveals the Event Token in the Location where the Envoy ended its move. This is a correctly made move.

Example of updating the Range Track: Antek updates the Range Track after the move of the Dirty Cop:

1. He lifts the Dirty Cop from the Range Track.
2. The remaining Envoys shift, freeing space 1.
3. Antek places the Dirty Cop on space 1.

2. Collecting the Advance

If there are any Szmal tokens in the Pot of the Location in which the Envoy ended its move, the player takes 1$ from them.

3. Placing a Barrel

The player must place 1 of their Barrels in the Location in which the Envoy ended its move, in accordance with the following rules.

• The player chooses which of their Barrels to place in the Location.
• The player places the chosen Barrel in the Location on the first free space (counting from the left).
• If there is no available space for a Barrel in the Location, the player must discard the chosen Barrel. The discarded Barrel is set aside, does not take part in the game further, and cannot be recovered.
• Spaces marked with the symbols 3+ and 4+ are available only in games with at least 3 and 4 players respectively.

Example of placing a Barrel: Antek places a Barrel in the City Hall. The first space is occupied, so Antek places the Barrel on the second space (the first available, counting from the left). If another player wanted to place a Barrel in this Location, they could do so only if at least 3 players take part in the game.

4. Expansion Bonus

The first player who manages to gather at least 1 Barrel in every Location in a given row, column or diagonal on the Board receives a special bonus of 2$. The player takes this amount from the Expansion space corresponding to that arrangement. If in one turn a player formed several arrangements, they collect the bonus for each of them.

The Expansion bonus is one-time, so only the player who first completed the given arrangement receives it.

Example of the Expansion bonus: Antek has at least 1 Barrel in each Location in the middle column. Thanks to this he collects 2$ from the Expansion space of the middle column. The bonus from this space has already been collected, so the other players will not be able to receive it, even if they form such an arrangement.

Optional Actions

There are two additional actions which the player may use at any moment of their turn, but only after moving an Envoy.

• Envoy Ability (once per turn). Each Envoy has its own Ability. When the player decides to activate it, they proceed in accordance with its description. (The descriptions of the Envoy Abilities are given later in the rulebook and on the Player Aids.)
• Location Service (once per turn). The player may use the Service of the Location in which the Envoy ended its move. For this, they pay the Service Cost by returning the indicated amount of $ to the Location Pot, and then proceed in accordance with the description of that Service. Not all Locations offer Services. The player may not use the Location Service if they do not pay its cost.

End of the Game

The game ends after the ninth turn of the last player (when the last player runs out of Barrels). When this happens, the players carry out the following steps, in the order given.

1. The player controlling the Devils of Chicago gang reveals their Bomb and decides whether to activate it.
2. The player controlling the Lucky Joe gang reveals their Cheap Gin and decides whether to activate their Special Barrels.
3. The players proceed to count the income from the Locations.
4. The players add up all their $. The player who has gathered the most is the winner. If there is a tie, the player who controls more Locations wins. If the tie remains, the order of players decides: the player who made their last turn earlier wins.

When counting the income from Locations, remember the Event Token that lies in each of them. It may affect the final result or the way ties are resolved.

A player who has the most Barrels in a given Location controls it and receives as many $ as its value. If there is a tie, the Barrels of the tied players are checked from left to right. The player whose Barrel is first controls the Location. Remember here the Golden Whisky, the Special Barrel of the Golden Gang.

Example of the end of the game:

1. The Red player revealed the Bomb, but could not use it because of an Event Token.
2. The Green player revealed the Cheap Gin and the Good Goods and activated their Special Barrels.
3. The players proceeded to count the points.

Player	Casino	Police Precinct	Bank	City Hall	Railway Station	Church	Hotel	Post Office	Prison	Szmal	Total
Rotten Guys			5 (5+2-2)				5			11	21
Lucky Joe		5 (Does not receive +2 due to the Event Token)		1 (The last Barrel in the Location does not count)

(Translator's note: the table cells are transcribed from the printed example; the printed column order is Casino, Police Precinct, Bank, City Hall, Railway Station, Church, Hotel, Post Office, Prison, Szmal, Total.)

Special Rules: Barrels and Special Barrels

Each gang has 9 Barrels. These are the basic resource with which the players fight for control over the Locations. Some Barrels have special properties; these are called Special Barrels and are marked with the symbol "X" on the lid. Some Barrels also have an additional marking on the bottom. The list of gangs and their Special Barrels follows below.

Empty spaces. Some actions in the game (for example, the Devils of Chicago Bomb) may lead to an empty space appearing between Barrels in a Location. If for any reason an empty space appears in a Location, all Barrels in it located to the right of the gap are moved to the left so as to cover it.

Gang Rules

Rotten Guys. The player owns 1 Big Barrel. Treat the Big Barrel as 2 Barrels located on one space. Only you may move it.

• Explanation: For the purposes of effects that depend on the number of Barrels (for example, the Bank), the Big Barrel is treated as 2 Barrels.
• The Big Barrel may be moved by the Troublemaker only by the player controlling the Rotten Guys.
• The effect of the Big Barrel also blocks its movement caused by a Location Service (for example, the Police Precinct Service), or its exchange with another Barrel (for example, in the case of the Distillery Service).

Devils of Chicago. The player owns 2 Fakes and 1 Bomb. The Bomb has an additional symbol on its base. The Fakes have no effect. The Bomb may be used at the end of the game to remove the 2 Barrels adjacent to it.

Lucky Joe. The player owns 1 Good Goods and 1 Cheap Gin. The Cheap Gin has an additional symbol on its base. At the end of the game, the player decides whether to activate their Special Barrels. If they activate them, the Good Goods increases the Value of the Location in which it is located by 2, while the Cheap Gin decreases the Value of the Location in which it is located by 2.

• Explanation: Lucky Joe activates its Barrels always together; it cannot choose just one of them. The exception is when, for some reason (for example, an Event Token), one of the Barrels cannot be activated.

Golden Gang. The player owns 2 Golden Whiskies. If at the end of the game you tie in a Location in which a Golden Whisky is located, skip resolving the tie. Immediately, you gain control of this Location.

Envoy Abilities

When the player moves a chosen Envoy, they may also use its Ability. Activating an Envoy's Ability is free. Below is the list of Envoy Abilities, with examples of their use.

• Smuggler (Przemytnik). Collect the Advance in each Location through which the Smuggler passed, but do not collect it a second time from the Location in which it ended its move.
  • Explanation: A Location through which the Smuggler passes is every Location it enters during the move. (So the Smuggler does not collect the Advance in the Location from which it starts its move.)
• Informant (Informator). Exchange the Event Token from the Location in which the Informant ended its move with the Event Token from a neighbouring Location.
  • Explanation: In the Secret variant, the Informant may exchange face-down Event Tokens, but does not reveal them after the exchange.
• Troublemaker (Awanturnik). Before placing a Barrel, move the last Barrel from the Location in which the Troublemaker ended its move to a neighbouring Location.
  • Explanation: The Troublemaker cannot move a Barrel to a Location in which there is no free space. The Troublemaker may move a Barrel belonging to the player who makes the move with it. The Troublemaker uses its ability only before placing a Barrel, so it cannot move the Barrel it has just placed in the current move.
• Dirty Cop (Brudny Glina). You may use a Location Service for free. Other Envoys may not target the Location in which the Dirty Cop is located.
  • Explanation: The Smuggler may not collect the Advance in a Location in which the Dirty Cop is located. The Informant may not exchange an Event Token in a Location in which the Dirty Cop is located. The Troublemaker may not move a Barrel from a Location in which the Dirty Cop is located, nor to such a Location.

Event Tokens

Event Tokens modify the rules that apply in the Locations in which they are located. Their effects may be helpful or harmful to the player. The list of Event Tokens with their descriptions follows.

Explanation: In very rare cases during the Open variant, some Event Tokens may not be revealed before the end of the game. In such a case, they are revealed at the end of the game and taken into account when counting points.

• The player controlling this Location at the end of the game receives 1/2/3$.
• The player controlling this Location at the end of the game loses 1/2$.
• When a Barrel arrives in this Location, its owner receives 1$.
• Advances cannot be collected in this Location.
• For the purposes of counting control, ignore the last Barrel in this Location.
• Ties in this Location are resolved by the last Barrel, instead of the first.
• This Location is worth exactly 3$.
• The cost of this Location's Service is 2x greater.
• In this Location, ignore the effects of Special Barrels.

Location Services

Below is the list of Location rules which may cause problems, with answers to questions about them in context.

• In every case where a Service orders you to "lose" or "gain" $, and its text does not suggest otherwise, take $ from the Common Pool and return it there. There is no limit on the cash that may be taken from the Common Pool.
• If at any point the Szmal tokens run out, the players may use any substitute.
• If the effect of any Service orders you to lose $ and the player no longer has any cash, ignore this effect.

Railway Station (Dworzec Kolejowy). After activating this Service, indicate an Envoy on the Board and exchange it with the Envoy located on the Inactive Envoy space. The same must be done with an Envoy located on the Range Track. The new Envoy always enters space 1 of the Range Track.

• It is possible to exchange the Envoy with which the player has just made their move.

Police Precinct (Komisariat Policji). Move the last Barrel from a neighbouring Location to the Police Precinct. Its owner must pay 2$ to the Police Precinct.

• The explanation printed on page 11 of the rulebook says the owner of the moved Barrel must give "1$" to the Police Precinct pool, while the Location card and the card text say 2$. This transcription keeps both figures as printed; check the physical card when in doubt.

Location Cards

Each Location card shows, from top to bottom: its Value (the large coin, in $), its Pot (the hatched $ symbols, or the Szmal token standing in that space in the example layout; the number of $ symbols is the starting amount placed in the Pot during setup), its Event Space (the "?" area, which holds an Event Token), and its Name and Service (the text box). The small coin at the left of the Service text is the Service Cost (Koszt Usługi), paid to the Location Pot when the Service is used. The row of circles beneath is the Barrel spaces; spaces marked 3+ and 4+ are used only in games with that many players. The Service costs and Pots below are read from the printed cards on pages 5 and 8 of the rulebook.

• Casino (Kasyno). Value 6$. Pot 1$. Service Cost 1$. Service: Each player loses 1$ for each of their Barrels on a red space and gains 1$ for each of their Barrels on a green space.
• Police Precinct (Komisariat Policji). Value 5$. Pot 1$. Service Cost 1$. Service: Move the last Barrel from a neighbouring Location to the Police Precinct. Its owner must pay 2$ to the Police Precinct. (See the note above on the 1$/2$ figures.)
• Bank (Bank). Value 5$. Pot 2$. Service Cost 1$. Service: Receive 1$ for each Barrel of any player that is located on the Bank.
• City Hall (Ratusz). Value 1$. Pot 1$. Service Cost 2$. Service: Receive 1$ for each Location other than City Hall in which you have at least 1 Barrel.
• Railway Station (Dworzec Kolejowy). Value 6$. Pot 2$. Service Cost 1$. Service: Exchange the chosen Envoy from any Location with the Envoy on the Inactive Envoy space. (The full procedure is given in the Location Services section above.)
• Church (Kościół). Value 2$. Pot 1$. Service Cost 1$. Service: Each player loses 1$ for each neighbouring Location in which they have any Barrel.
• Hotel (Hotel). Value 5$. Pot 1$. Service Cost 2$. Service: Receive 2$ for each Envoy located in the Hotel or in a neighbouring Location.
• Post Office (Poczta). Value 4$. Pot 1$. Service Cost 1$. Service: Move your chosen Barrel from the Post Office to any other Location.
• Prison (Więzienie). Value 8$. Pot 1$. No Service Cost coin is printed on this card, and the card carries no written Service text. Its Service is shown only by pictograms (a stack of Barrels, an arrow, and an exchange symbol), which the rulebook does not explain in words. The Prison is therefore not transcribed as a Service; check the physical card.

Note: The bag, coin and crown symbols at the lower left of each card in the page 8 example layout are Event Tokens placed on the example board, not part of the Location card itself. The Event Tokens are described in the Event Tokens section above.

Translator's note: The Service Cost and Pot figures are read from the card artwork on pages 5 and 8 of the printed Polish rulebook, and the Prison's Service pictograms are not described in the rulebook text. Check the physical cards before relying on these figures.