Kings' Struggle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Card Anatomy
• Setup
• Game Overview
• Playing a Round
• Determining the Round Winner
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• Determining the Winner
• Card Abilities
  • Servants
  • Merchants
  • Royals
• Variants

Components

• 60 cards (6 decks of 10 cards each)
• Round track (scoring board)
• 80 gold coins (10 coins of value 10, 20 coins of value 5, 50 coins of value 1)
• Five +5 modifier tokens and five +2 modifier tokens
• Round marker (crown)
• Current player marker (sceptre)
• First player marker (star)
• 6 double-sided reference cards (summary cards)
• This rulebook

Card Anatomy

Each card shows the following:

• Card name
• Image
• Card class: shown by an icon and by the background colour of the card. Apple = Servant, Coins = Merchant, Crown = Royal.
• Descriptive ability text
• Power level: a number from 1 to 10, shown in the upper-right corner of the card.

Setup

1. Each player takes a deck of 10 cards.

2. Return the remaining decks to the box, as they will not be used.

3. Place all coins, the +2 tokens and the +5 tokens in the centre of the table, where all players can reach them.

4. Place the round track and the round marker on the starting space of the track.

5. Each player takes 5 gold from the supply in the centre of the table.

   Important: each gold coin is worth 1 victory point at the end of the game.

6. Determine the first player and give that player the first player marker (star) and the current player marker (sceptre). To determine the first player, each player shuffles their deck and draws one card at random. The player with the highest Power becomes the first player. If players tie, the tied players each draw one more card, and continue until a first player is determined.

7. Decide whether the game is played with complete information (Day) or incomplete information (Night).

   • Day: in this version each player starts with all 10 cards in hand, and the game lasts 7 rounds. At the end of the game each player will have 3 unplayed cards left.
   • Night: in this version each player shuffles their deck, removes two cards at random without revealing them, and then plays with the remaining 8 cards in hand. The game lasts 7 rounds. At the end of the game each player will have 1 unplayed card left.

8. If the players have not agreed on Day or Night, the first player decides: they shuffle their deck and draw one card at random. If the card's number is EVEN, play Day. If it is ODD, play Night.

Game Overview

The game lasts 7 rounds. In each round every player plays only 1 card. At the end of the round, the player with the highest Power wins the trick and takes all cards in play that do not have an equal Power level.

At the end of the game, cards are worth victory points, which increase in value depending on matching card names or on runs of consecutive Power levels.

Most cards have an ability text that may be activated if the player chooses. These abilities can earn gold (which is also worth victory points), change Power levels, remove cards from play, steal the lead, allow new cards to be played, and so on. Players may use gold or promises to negotiate with other players, trying to influence how they use the abilities of their cards. You will quickly find that negotiation is the basis of the game.

Playing a Round

The first player (the leader) must play any card from their hand face up. All other players then choose any card from their hand and play it face down. After all cards have been played, the face-down cards are turned face up at the same time. Cards must lie in front of their owners, not thrown together in a pile. This lets everyone see who played which card until the round is finished.

Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, players may use the abilities of their cards if they wish and if they can.

After taking their turn, a player passes the current player marker (sceptre) to the player on their left.

If you played a card with the NEGOTIATE ability, then on your turn (while the current player marker is in front of you) you may agree to use your action in a particular way, or promise that your action will not be used.

You may accept any combination of gold, promises that an action will or will not be applied in the future, or any combination of these. You may not trade cards or turn order. Any player may propose possible deals. In short, the following may be agreed:

• Carry out your action to benefit or harm another player or players, for any amount of gold (mandatory).
• Carry out your action, but agree not to benefit or harm a particular player or players, for any amount of gold (mandatory).
• Do not carry out your action at all, for any amount of gold (mandatory).
• Carry out your action in a particular way, or not carry out your action, in return for another player's promise to give you any amount of gold in the future (optional).
• Carry out your action in a particular way, or not carry out your action, in return for another player's promise to carry out a particular ability that will benefit or harm another player or players in the future (optional).
• Carry out your action in a particular way, or not carry out your action, unless another player has made a specific promise to do something that will benefit or harm another player or players in the future (optional).
• You may also make a deal that has both mandatory and optional parts. For example: "I will use my ability to do X if you give me 2 gold (mandatory), and you promise to use your ability to do Y in return (optional)."

You may add any amount of gold and/or promises to any deal, and you may cancel your deal, or any part of your deal, at any time up to the point where the deal is carried out.

You are not obliged to accept the highest offer; you may accept or reject any offer you wish.

Remember that if players agree to a deal that can be carried out immediately, the deal is mandatory. For example, if John agrees to give you 5 gold in exchange for adding the +5 bonus of your Merchant to his Merchant, you immediately receive 5 gold from John and place the +5 token on John's Merchant. You may not take the gold and then fail to carry out your part of the deal.

If a deal depends on future promises, the deal may take effect, but any promise is not mandatory.

Example of negotiation. Mary plays first, with her Jester played (Power 7). Bobby plays second, with his Peasant (Power 1). Charlie plays third, with his Knight (Power 8). For Mary to win the trick, Bobby must replace his Peasant with the Jeweler (Power 6), and then add the Jeweler's +2 ability to Mary's Jester. To make the deal attractive to Bobby, Mary offers 4 gold.

Bobby accepts the deal, so Mary must give Bobby 4 gold and activate the Jester's ability on Bobby. Bobby must replace the Peasant with the Jeweler, since this can be carried out immediately. If Bobby did not have the Jeweler in hand, he could not accept the deal! But Bobby also makes a deal with Charlie, so that he does not apply the Jeweler's +2 to Mary's Jester, as was agreed in the previous deal, in exchange for 2 gold from Charlie. Charlie's Knight has Power 8, and he knows that if Bobby adds +2 to Mary's Jester, she will win the trick with a total Power of 9 (7+2). So Charlie agrees to give Bobby 2 gold so that he does not use his Jeweler's ability. Bobby accepts, and since this deal can be carried out immediately, it is mandatory. Charlie gives Bobby 2 gold, Bobby does not use his ability, and Charlie wins the trick. Bobby is not obliged to carry out his deal with Mary, because he would use the ability of his new card on his own turn, not on Mary's turn. So that part of the deal was a promise and therefore not mandatory.

Many different agreements may arise in the game. Deals may require actions, or inaction; they may extend into future rounds, or even involve several players! It is important to remember that if a deal (or part of a deal) can be carried out immediately, it must be carried out. If it cannot, you rely on the word of the other side or sides. Be careful!

After the first player completes their action, they must pass the current player marker (sceptre) to the player on their left, who then carries out an action with their card if possible. If a player has no action they can use, or decides not to use their action, or if their card has been removed from play, they simply pass the current player marker to the player on their left. The round ends when all players have finished their turn. This is easy to track: when the current player marker reaches the player holding the first player marker (star), the round ends. The first player marker exists only to remind you who started the round.

It is important to note that, except for the Cooper and the Cobbler, once a player has carried out a NEGOTIATE action, they may not carry out another NEGOTIATE action in the same round.

If you give a +5 modifier to a player with your Farmer, and another player later in the round forces you to play a new card with their Jester, you must play the new card, but the ability of the new card is not activated. However, the Power of the new card is still counted when determining the trick, and you take your Farmer card back into your hand.

Just remember that a NEGOTIATE action is carried out only when you hold the current player marker. The only exception to this rule is the Cobbler, which allows the player to give the current player marker and the first player marker to any player (including themselves) immediately before the start of the round.

Determining the Round Winner

After all players have played, the round ends and the winner of the round is declared. The round winner is determined as follows:

1. Compare the Power of all cards in play. The Power of each card equals the number in the upper-right corner of the card PLUS any modifier token(s) on the card.

2. Any cards that have equal Power are removed from the trick and placed in a discard pile. Remember that if Power levels match (modified and/or unmodified), those cards are discarded from the trick and will not be won! Return the modifier tokens to the centre of the table.

3. Of the remaining cards, the card with the highest total Power wins. The owner of that card takes all cards remaining in play and places them in their point pile. Return the modifier tokens to the centre of the table.

4. The player who won the trick also takes the first player marker and the current player marker, and moves the round marker forward one space on the round track.

Example. In this example the Queen wins the trick. The Cooper's total Power is 10 (5 base Power PLUS a +5 modifier), which is equal to the King's Power of 10, so neither of these cards can win the trick. Since the Queen has the next highest Power level (9), the player who played the Queen wins and adds the Peasant, the Farmer and the Queen to their point pile, together with the 5 gold from the Queen's ability. The Cooper and the King must be discarded, since they cannot win the trick because of equal Power.

End of the Game

The game ends after all 7 rounds have been played.

Scoring

Your cards, together with your gold, give victory points (VP) at the end of the game.

Gold: each gold coin gives one victory point.

Matching cards: cards with the SAME name (3 Kings, 2 Jesters, 4 Farmers, etc.).

Number of matching cards	Victory points
1 card (no match)	1 VP
2 cards	3 VP
3 cards	6 VP
4 cards	10 VP
5 cards	20 VP
6 cards	30 VP

Power runs: cards in an unbroken sequence of Power levels, WITHOUT modifiers (2, 3, 4 or 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc.).

Length of run	Victory points
Run of 3	4 VP
Run of 4	6 VP
Run of 5	9 VP
Run of 6	13 VP
Run of 7	18 VP
Run of 8	24 VP
Run of 9	31 VP
Run of 10	39 VP

Example of scoring. In this example the player has scored 27 points: 13 points for a run, 6 points for matching cards, 1 point for a single King and 7 points for gold.

• The run 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 has 6 consecutive numbers, so it is worth 13 points. Remember that a run uses the unmodified Power level.
• The set of 3 identical cards is worth 6 points.
• A single card that is not used in any set is worth 1 point.
• 7 gold is worth 7 points, since each gold is worth 1 point at the end of the game.

Each player may use each card they have won only once. For each card they must decide whether to use it in a set of identical cards or in a run. A player may have any number of runs, matching sets and/or single cards.

Determining the Winner

The player with the highest number of VP (the sum of gold and the VP earned from won cards) is the winner. In case of a tie, the winner is the player with the greater total number of cards won. If there is still a tie, break it by the cards won: the winner is the tied player with the most cards of Power 10 won; if still tied, the most cards of Power 9, then 8, and so on.

Card Abilities

Servants

1 - Peasant: the Peasant's ability is not executed during your turn. It activates only if the Peasant is in play at the end of the round and there are no other Servants in play (Peasants, Farmers or Assassins). In that case the Peasant wins the trick, regardless of the Power of any other card in play. If any other Servant is still in play when the trick winner is determined, the Peasant has Power 1.

Translator's note: the Russian text here calls this card "Крепостной" (Serf) in the sentence about Power 1. It refers to the Peasant card itself, which is the card named in the first sentence.

2 - Farmer: the Farmer has a very weak chance of winning the trick, but a high chance of receiving gold and/or services from Merchants. The Farmer may add a +5 modifier token to any Merchant in play (the Cobbler, the Cooper or the Jeweler). You do not have to use this ability if you do not want to, but if you decide to use it, the target must accept the +5 modifier. If, after adding +5 to a Merchant in play, the card's new Power equals that of another card in the trick at the end of the round, both cards are discarded, rather than being added to the trick winner's point pile.

3 - Assassin: without a good chance of winning the trick, the Assassin can kill one Royal or one Merchant. When the Assassin kills, the player who played the Assassin takes the chosen card and adds it to their point pile. A card taken by the Assassin before its owner's turn is not activated. The Assassin has a good chance of using its ability in exchange for gold and favour. Furthermore, do not underestimate the Assassin's ability to increase your final score by completing runs or matching sets.

Merchants

4 - Cobbler: if you are the only Cobbler in play at the start of the round, then after all cards have been revealed, you may take the first player marker (star) and the current player marker (sceptre) and give them to any player (including yourself). The player you choose will be the first player in this round. Note: this is the only NEGOTIATE ability that can be carried out outside the turn of the current player.

Since the Cobbler can affect other players by changing the turn order, the use or non-use of the Cobbler's first ability may be negotiated. If you cannot or do not want to use the Cobbler's first ability, the current first player begins the round as normal, and you may still carry out the Cobbler's second ability (take 1 gold for each Servant in play) on your turn.

If there is more than one Cobbler in play at the start of the round, you cannot carry out the first ability. Instead, on your turn you may carry out the second ability (take 1 gold for each Servant in play), regardless of whether another Cobbler is in play.

Note: the Cobbler's ability is not considered "used" until the Cobbler's turn comes! For example, a player may use the Cobbler's first ability to change the turn order at the start of the round, and then be forced to play a new card because of the Jester before their actual turn. In that case the player may carry out the ability of their new card.

5 - Cooper: if you are the only Cooper in play, then on your turn you may play a new card from your hand and activate the ability of the new card. If you decide to play a new card, you must take the Cooper back into your hand, and you may not take the gold from the second ability (taking 1 gold for each Merchant in play). If you cannot or do not want to use the Cooper's ability to play a new card, you may still use the second ability: take 1 gold for each Merchant in play. When you take gold, you take gold for each Merchant in play, including your Cooper.

6 - Jeweler: the Jeweler may add a +2 modifier token to any Royal in play (the Knight, the Jester, the Queen or the King). If you decide to use this ability, the target must accept the +2 modifier. If, after adding +2 to a card, the card's new Power equals that of another card in the trick, those cards are discarded, rather than being added to the trick winner's point pile. Whether or not you wish to use this ability, you may always take 1 gold for each Royal in play if your Jeweler is in play on your turn.

Royals

7 - Jester: the Jester is a simple but powerful card. On your turn it allows you to force any other player to play a new card. If the player you choose has already activated the ability of their card, they may not activate the ability of the new card, but the new Power level will apply. If the player you choose has not yet activated their ability, they may use the ability of the new card as normal. When a player plays a new card, the old card returns to their hand and may be used on a future turn. If the Jester uses its ability, the player must play a new card. If the Jester's ability is used as part of a deal to force a player to play a specific card, the player may not agree to the deal unless they have the requested card.

8 - Knight: the Knight has great Power and is well able to win the trick, but it can also take up to two Servants from the trick and put them in the point pile of the Knight's owner. The player with the Knight may take 2 Servants, 1 Servant, or no Servants at all. The Knight can influence who wins the trick, especially when it is played at the start of the round, so the Knight may also be in a strong negotiating position.

9 - Queen: the Queen's Power is surpassed only by the King, but more importantly, if the Queen wins the trick, she also gains 5 gold. This ability activates only if she wins the trick. Winning with the Queen may be an unexpected stroke of luck, but be careful: the court will do everything it can to keep her from winning, unless, of course, you are ready to pay.

10 - King: the King has the highest Power level, but has no abilities. The King is strong at winning tricks, but is not invincible. Apart from the fact that the Farmer and the Jeweler are the main candidates to be killed, they may hand victory to another player, unless you can win them over with your negotiating skills.

Note: whenever a card that has one or more modifier tokens is replaced by a Jester or a Cooper, or is removed from play, the token(s) must immediately be returned to the supply.

Variants

Free Market (for experienced players). Cards in your point pile may also be sold as part of a deal. When individual cards are offered as part of a deal, they may be offered face up or face down. When point cards are exchanged as part of a deal, they are added to the point pile of the player(s) receiving them. Note: this variant increases the playing time by 15 to 45 minutes.

Regulated Market (for beginners). Players may not offer more than 3 gold and 1 reciprocal action in any deal. This variant is best used when advanced and new players play together. The Regulated Market variant helps level the game by preventing advanced players from taking advantage of new players.