Mobster Metropolis
Mobster Metropolis Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Setup
- Components
- Five Rounds, Nine Phases
- Starting a New Game
- 1. Newspaper Phase
- 2. Draft Phase
- 3. Invest Phase
- 4. Delegate Phase
- 5. Scheme Phase
- 6. Reveal Phase
- 7. Police Phase
- 8. Drive-by Phase
- 9. Collect Phase
- Starting A New Round
- Game End
- Symbols
- FAQ
- Optional Rules
- District Tiles Summary
- Round Summary
Setup
The Board
Mobster Metropolis consists of nine Districts (A-I). Each District is made up of nine Blocks (1-9) where players can place Turfs. The Districts are separated by four streets, each with six Street Sections, where players can place Recruits. The Board also includes the Round Track, the Phase Track and the Reputation Track. It also holds the District Tiles and Legacy Tokens, the Bank (all money), and the decks (space for a discard pile for each deck is required):
- Mobster Deck (40 Mobster Cards)
- Black Market Deck (40 Black Market Cards)
- Newspaper Deck (5 out of 25 Newspaper Cards)
- Police Deck (5 out of 25 Police Cards)
Newspaper and Police Decks
The backsides of Newspaper and Police Cards are marked 1 to 5, representing each of the five rounds of a game. First, split all Newspaper Cards into piles according to their indicated round. Then draw one card at random from each pile (without looking at their front side) to create the Newspaper Deck, with five cards marked 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, from top to bottom. Repeat this procedure with the Police Cards to create the Police Deck.
Player inventories (per player)
- 1 Gangster Character
- 1 Player Screen
- 44 Income Tokens
- 24 Defense Tokens
- 1 Unarmed Card
- 1 Drive-by Selector
- 5 Autos
- 14 Turfs: 3 Drinkeries, 3 Greenhouses, 3 Brothels, 3 Warehouses, 1 Distillery, 1 Casino
- 28 Recruits: 10 Madams, 10 Dealers, 8 Thugs
Components
A brief overview of all major components and their basic purpose in the game. Each component and its function is described in greater detail in later sections. It is always recommended that at least one player has read through the complete rules before starting a new game.
- District Tiles: Provide each District with a unique attribute.
- Gangster Characters: All players start with one Gangster Character with unique abilities. The characters also include players' Garages where bought Autos are placed.
- Turfs: Provide your syndicate with income. Generally, the larger the Turf, the more potential income.
- Recruits: Three different kinds of Recruits are used to support Turfs: Dealers and Madams provide extra Income, while Thugs provide extra defense.
- Income Tokens: Represent the income a Turf can provide, as long as the tokens are not stolen by other players' Drive-by attacks.
- Defense Tokens: Represent defense that can be attributed to a Turf. During the game, you will have to prioritize between Income and Defense Tokens.
- Autos: Used either to conduct Drive-bys (attacking other players' Turfs), or to support the defense of your own Turfs versus other players' Drive-bys.
- Drive-By Selectors: Used during the Scheme Phase to secretly send Autos to different Turfs.
- Mobster Cards: Provide a variety of different effects that either provide you with an advantage or let you undermine other players' syndicates.
- Black Market Cards: Most Black Market Cards are Combat Cards (marked 'COMBAT') that can be played to strengthen the attack of a Drive-by, or the defense of a Turf.
- All players always have an Unarmed Card, which can be used as a 'fake' Black Market Card during the Drive-by Phase.
Five Rounds, Nine Phases
A game of Mobster Metropolis is played in five rounds, each containing nine phases: The Newspaper, Draft, Invest, Delegate, Scheme, Reveal, Police, Drive-by and Collect Phases. Essentially, the Invest and Drive-by Phases are the two main phases, while the other phases represent shorter procedures and events.
The game ends after five complete rounds, making the fifth Collect Phase the final phase of the game. After that, all players convert their money into Reputation and add it to the Reputation they have earned during the game. The player with the highest Reputation wins the game.
Starting a New Game
Determine the number of Districts to be included in the game
The Board is divided into nine Districts, containing nine Blocks each. For a balanced experience, playing with the following numbers of Districts is highly recommended:
- 2 player game: Play with District A-C only, using the surrounding Street Sections only.
- 3 player game: Play with District A-F only, using the surrounding Street Sections only.
- 4 player game: Play with all nine Districts and all Street Sections.
Place District Tiles
The District Tiles provide each District with unique conditions that affect interactions or components within that District.
- Shuffle all District Tiles. For each District that will be used, draw one tile and place it in the middle of that District, on Block 5.
Gangster Characters
Randomly provide each player with a Gangster Character.
- Abilities: Each Gangster Character comes with unique abilities that become active according to your Reputation. For example, Luciana's first ability is active until you reach 10 Reputation - at that moment, her second ability becomes active instead of the first one. The second ability will be active until you reach 14 Reputation, when the third ability activates instead. This applies for all characters.
- Garages: Each Gangster Character also includes each player's Garage. The function of Garages is explained later within the Invest Phase.
Starting Assets
- Player Inventories: All players should make sure to have all assets listed under Player Inventories, in the Setup section above.
- Reputation: All players place their Reputation Token on '0' on the Reputation Track.
- Money: All players get $12 from the bank. Keep your money as well as your Income Tokens and Defense Tokens behind your Player Screen, hidden from other players.
- Unarmed Card: All players should always have an Unarmed Card, which can be used as a 'fake' Black Market Card during the Drive-by Phase. A player's hand may never include more than eight cards, including the Unarmed Card.
Starting player
The player carrying the largest amount of physical (real) cash on him is obviously the most dubious person among you. He or she gets the First Player Token and will be the starting player during the first round. At the end of each round, the First Player Token will move clockwise to the next player, who will become the starting player during the next round, and so forth.
The Starting Player also needs to make sure to place the Round Token on '1' on the Round Track.
1. Newspaper Phase
The starting player draws the top card from the Newspaper Deck (it should be marked with the same 'page number' as the current round number). Read it out aloud and play out its effects.
Round 1: Carello's Legacy
The first Newspaper is always named 'Carello's Legacy' and indicates where the remains of Carello's great syndicate - Legacy Tokens - should be placed on the Board. The number of Legacy Tokens is adjusted according to the number of players; use the first column for two players, the two first columns for three players, and all three columns for four players. Each combination of a letter and a number refers to a Block on the Board, where a Legacy Token should be placed.
Legacy Tokens
During the game, whenever a player places a Turf on a Block with a Legacy Token, that player should remove the token from the Board and receive a bonus according to the token's symbol:
- Place one face-up Income Token on the Turf you just placed.
- Place one face-up Defense Token on the Turf you just placed.
- Draw one Black Market Card.
- Draw one Mobster Card.
Round 2-5: Bidding
In the Newspaper Phase during rounds 2 to 5, each Newspaper presents a reward for players to bid for. Everyone should secretly decide how much money they want to bid for the stated reward, and hide the amount in one of their hands. All players then reach in with their closed hands over the Board. At the same time, all players open their hands to reveal their bids.
- Highest bid: The player with the highest bid pays the complete bid to the bank and gets the reward stated on the Newspaper card.
- Tie: If two or more players are tied for the highest bid, their already bid money should be put on the table in front of each player. They will then play out another bid between themselves. This continues until there is a winner with a highest bid, who will then pay the complete sum from all his or her bids to the bank. (If tied players decide to stop bidding at the same time, no one gets the reward and everyone keeps their money.)
- Losing bids: All remaining (losing) players keep their money.
2. Draft Phase
2 player game
Both players lay down their Unarmed Card and any saved cards from the previous round. Then both draw three Mobster Cards and three Black Market Cards. Each player picks one card to keep (without revealing it to the other player), then discards one card, before passing on the rest of the cards to the other player. You may not pass on or discard a card you have already picked. Repeat this procedure until both players have picked three cards and discarded three cards. (Remember that a player's hand may never include more than eight cards, including the Unarmed Card.)
3-4 player game
All players lay down their Unarmed Card and any saved cards from the previous round. Each player draws two Mobster Cards and two Black Market Cards. Each player then picks one card to keep (without revealing it to the other players), then passes on the remaining cards to the next player. You may not pass on an already picked card. Repeat this procedure until everyone has picked four cards (and passed on cards three times). (Remember that a player's hand may never include more than eight cards, including the Unarmed Card.)
Draft cards clockwise during rounds 1, 3, and 5, and counterclockwise during rounds 2 and 4, as indicated by the small arrows on the Round Track.
If the Mobster Deck or Black Market Deck ever run out
Reshuffle that deck's discard pile to create a new deck to draw from.
3. Invest Phase
Players take turns to conduct actions
This is the most extensive phase, where players invest to increase their syndicates' presence on the Board, or to arm themselves for future combats.
Starting with the player who has the First Player Token, all players take turns, in clockwise order, to conduct any one of the following six actions. Players can only conduct one action at a time, but there is no limit to the total number of actions per player. The Invest Phase continues until all players have passed.
Action: Buy a Turf
Turfs are 'buildings' that represent the permanent operations of syndicates and generate income. Each player has a designated number of available Turfs (the same number for all player colors) and these are limited to each individual player.
A Turf shows:
- The cost of a Turf.
- The Reputation gained when buying this Turf.
- Guaranteed Income - All Turfs provide an amount of Guaranteed Income each round.
- Income Value - the amount each Income Token on this Turf generates when collected for money.
- The kind of Recruits that can support the Turf with extra Income Tokens.
All Turfs provide tokens for income or defense. A Turf provides the same number of tokens as the number of Blocks it covers on the Board. For example, a Drinkery provides one token, a Brothel provides two and a Casino provides three. Hence, the larger the Turf, the more income or defense it will generate. This is further explained in later sections.
A bought Turf must immediately be placed on empty Blocks on the Board, and the Reputation of the buying player should be adjusted accordingly.
Action: Buy a Recruit
Recruits are placed on empty Street Sections on the Board and can provide support to Turfs in adjacent Districts (there are two Districts adjacent to each Street Section). There are three different kinds of Recruits: Dealer, Madam and Thug.
Dealers and Madams each cost $2 and can support Turfs in adjacent Districts by adding one face-up Income Token to one Turf per round. Dealers can only support Greenhouses, Warehouses and Distilleries, while Madams can only support Drinkeries, Brothels and Casinos.
Thugs cost $3 and increase the defense of one Turf of any kind in an adjacent District by adding one face-up Defense Token.
Bought Recruits must immediately be placed on an empty Street Section. You will learn more about Turfs and tokens in the sections on the Delegate and Collect Phases.
Example: Recruits and Turfs. In the example, both the Dealer (1) and the Thug (2) can support any Turfs in the adjacent Districts C and F. During the Delegate Phase, Red directs their support to the Warehouse, which therefore gets one additional face-up Income Token (3) from the Dealer, and one additional face-up Defense Token (4) from the Thug. The Warehouse itself also provides two facedown tokens (5) as it covers two Blocks.
Action: Buy an Auto
Autos are used in the Drive-by Phase to either conduct Drive-bys (attacking other players' Turfs), or support the defense of your own Turfs versus other players' Drive-bys. An Auto provides either 1 Attack or 1 Defense.
A player may own up to a maximum of five Autos, as indicated by the five spots in the Garage. Those spots also indicate the cost of a new Auto - the third Auto will cost more than the first two, and so on. After buying an Auto, immediately place it in your Garage and gain 1 Reputation.
Action: Buy a Black Market Card
Most Black Market Cards are Combat Cards (clearly marked COMBAT) and can be used to either increase the Attack of a Drive-by, or increase the Defense of a Turf against other players' Drive-bys. A small number of Black Market Cards provide other, non-combat advantages.
To buy a Black Market Card, pay $3 and draw three cards from the Black Market Deck. Pick one card and add it to your hand, discard the rest. As you gain more Reputation, the cost of buying at the Black Market will increase, as indicated next to the Reputation Track on the Board. A player's hand may never contain more than eight cards, including the Unarmed Card. If the Black Market Deck runs out, reshuffle its discard pile to create a new deck to draw from.
Hint: The maximum Attack or Defense a Combat Card can provide is 3. An Auto adds either 1 Attack or 1 Defense, and a Defense Token adds 1 Defense. Some Black Market Cards must be used in combination with a Defense Token.
Action: Play a card from your hand
Play a Mobster Card or Black Market Card that is designated for the Invest Phase. The top of each card clearly states its designated phase.
Action: Pass
A player who cannot, or does not wish to, conduct another action must pass. After passing, it is not possible to jump back in and conduct additional actions in this round's Invest Phase. Once all players have passed, the Invest Phase is over.
4. Delegate Phase
During this phase, players will have to prioritize between income or defense. Each Turf provides a number of facedown tokens equal to the number of Blocks it covers - for example, a Greenhouse provides one, a Warehouse two and a Distillery three tokens. Players are allowed to choose their own mix of Income Tokens and Defense Tokens when placing facedown tokens for each Turf.
Two kinds of tokens
- Income Tokens represent additional income that will be collected for money in the Collect Phase, according to the Income Value of the Turfs they were collected from. Income Tokens can be stolen by other players' Drive-bys.
- Defense Tokens provide 1 defense against potential Drive-bys.
Recruits support Turfs with additional tokens
Besides the facedown tokens each Turf provides, additional tokens can be provided by up to two Recruits, as long as they are placed on Street Sections adjacent to the Turf's District.
- A Dealer can support a Greenhouse, Warehouse or Distillery Turf with one face-up Income Token.
- A Madam can support a Drinkery, Brothel or Casino Turf with one face-up Income Token.
- A Thug can provide one face-up Defense Token to any kind of Turf.
All players should place the following number of tokens:
- One face-up token for each Recruit - Each Recruit can support one Turf with one token.
- Facedown tokens for each Turf - equal to the number of Blocks each Turf covers on the Board.
For first time players of Mobster Metropolis, it's advisable to take turns delegating: First the face-up tokens for each Recruit, followed by facedown tokens for each Turf.
Example: Delegating. Blue's Drinkery can be supported by the Madams (1) and (2), as well as the Thug (3), as all three are placed on Street Sections adjacent to District A. The Brothel can only be supported by one Madam (2) and the Thug (3), as only they are placed on Street Sections adjacent to District D. Blue decides to divide the support from the Madams by placing one face-up Income Token on the Drinkery and one on the Brothel. Blue also directs the Thug's support to the Brothel, which therefore gets one face-up Defense Token. The Drinkery provides one facedown token and the Brothel provides two facedown tokens. Blue can choose freely between Income Tokens and Defense Tokens when placing facedown tokens. As Blue has not invested in Dealers to support the Warehouse, it will only get two facedown tokens. The last Madam (4) cannot provide any support, as she is not adjacent to any Drinkery, Brothel or Casino.
Have your competitors invested in several Autos? Then you'll probably need to defend your Turfs with some Defense Tokens. Also, remember that the maximum Attack or Defense from a Black Market Card is 3. When Drive-bys play out, each Auto adds 1 Attack or 1 Defense, and each Defense Token adds 1 Defense.
5. Scheme Phase
Players with Autos scheme simultaneously using Drive-by Selectors
All players who own one or more Autos secretly target Turfs on the Board by using the wheels on their Drive-by Selectors to pair one District (left side, A-I) and one Block (right side, 1-9) per Auto. Target other players' Turfs to attack, or target your own Turfs to provide defense against attacks. An Auto can target any Turf (that is in play) on the Board and there is no limit to the number of Autos that can target the same Turf.
Each Auto provides either 1 Attack or 1 Defense, but Defense Tokens and Combat Cards will also play a big role in the outcome of a Drive-by Combat, which is resolved in the Drive-by Phase.
When all players are done scheming, everyone reveals their Drive-by Selectors simultaneously to disclose their plans. Everyone then places Autos (from their Garages) accordingly on the Board.
Example: Scheming with Drive-by Selectors. Blue and Red are done scheming and therefore reveal their Drive-by Selectors. Blue is attacking Red's Greenhouse (left) with one Auto by targeting District H, Block 1 with the Drive-by Selector. Blue is also attacking Red's Brothel (right) with two Autos, by targeting District H, Block 2 twice with the Drive-by Selector. However, Red has also targeted the Brothel, to send one Auto for defense. The two resulting Drive-by Combats will be played out during the Drive-by Phase.
6. Reveal Phase
This is the moment when all players reveal how they prioritized between Income Tokens and Defense Tokens during the Delegate Phase. All players' facedown tokens on the Board must be turned face-up.
7. Police Phase
The Police conduct raids in Mobster Metropolis, striking hardest at the player(s) with the highest Reputation. Many times, the player(s) with the lowest Reputation will not be affected at all. For each new round of the game, the Police will provide even tougher demands and penalties, so make sure to be prepared.
Each Police Card is split into three levels of consequences; one for the player(s) with highest Reputation, one for the player(s) with the lowest Reputation and one for the player(s) in between.
The starting player draws one Police Card and reads it out aloud to everyone. Play out the consequences for each level and all affected players. Players must always choose one of the consequences if possible.
If all players have the same Reputation, they will all face the consequences stated as 'Low' on the Police Card.
8. Drive-by Phase
Players take turns to conduct actions
This is by far the most action-packed phase, during which Drive-bys are resolved at Turfs where Autos were sent during the Scheme Phase.
Starting with the player who has the First Player Token, all players take turns, in clockwise order, to conduct any one of the following three actions until all players have passed. Players can only conduct one action at a time, but there is no limit to the total number of actions per player.
Action: Initiate and resolve a Drive-by Combat
Players with one or more Autos placed on opposing players' Turfs may initiate a Drive-by Combat at one of those Turfs (defending players may not). A Drive-by Combat always involves all players with Autos on the targeted Turf, as well as the defending player who owns the Turf.
When playing out a Drive-by Combat, all involved players must decide on one Combat Card to play (a Black Market Card marked COMBAT or the Unarmed Card). When all players are ready, everyone holds their card in front of them, before everyone reveals their cards simultaneously.
The outcome of a Drive-by Combat is decided by comparing each attacking player's total Attack and the defending player's total Defense, including:
- All involved Autos provide either 1 Attack or 1 Defense.
- Each Defense Token provides 1 Defense.
- Combat Cards provide up to 3 Attack or 3 Defense. Note that some Combat Cards must be used in combination with a Defense Token.
- Unarmed Cards can be used as Combat Cards, but provide nothing.
The player with the highest Attack or Defense wins. If tied between attacker(s) and defender, the defender wins. If tied between two attackers, the one who initiated the Drive-by Combat wins.
- The player who wins a Drive-by Combat, attacker or defender, always gains 1 Reputation.
- An attacking player who wins will also steal a number of Income Tokens, equal to the difference between that player's total Attack and the defending player's total Defense. Stolen tokens are immediately removed from the Turf and collected for money at the bank, according to the Turf's Income Value. For example, an attacker who won with 4 Attack versus the defender's 2 Defense will steal two Income Tokens (4-2=2) and collect money equal to the attacked Turf's Income Value, for both of them.
- When the defender wins, all tokens are left on the Turf - they will be collected for money during the Collect Phase.
- After a Drive-by has been resolved, all involved attacking Autos must be returned to their Garages. Played Unarmed Cards should be returned to players' hands. Discard all other cards.
Action: Play a Mobster Card from your hand
Play a Mobster Card that is designated for the Drive-by Phase. The top of each card clearly states its designated phase.
Action: Pass
Players with attacking Autos still on the Board are not allowed to pass. A player who does not have any attacking Autos on the Board, and does not wish to (or cannot) play a card, must pass. After passing, it is not possible to jump back in and conduct additional actions, but it is still allowed to participate in Drive-by Combats to defend against enemy Drive-bys.
Continue conducting actions, one at a time, until all players have passed.
When all players have passed
Once all Drive-bys have been played out and all players have passed, return all defending Autos from the Board to their players' Garages. The Drive-by Phase ends.
Playing out a Drive-by: Example 1
During the Scheme Phase, Blue decided to send one Auto to a Warehouse that belongs to Red. Blue's Auto (1) provides 1 Attack. The Defense Tokens (2) on Red's Warehouse provide 2 Defense. When both players reveal their Combat Cards, Blue has a Molotov Cocktail (3) that provides 3 Attack and Red has a Guard Dog (4) that provides 1 Defense.
As the total Attack for Blue is 4 (1+3=4), and the total Defense for Red is 3 (2+1=3), Blue wins the Drive-by Combat with one (4-3=1). Blue therefore steals one of the Income Tokens (5) from Red's Warehouse and immediately exchanges it for $3 from the bank, according to the Warehouse's Income Value (6). Blue also gets 1 Reputation and adjusts the Reputation Track accordingly. Both players discard their used cards and Blue returns the attacking Auto to Blue's Garage.
Playing out a Drive-by: Example 2
Both Yellow and Red targeted Blue's Distillery during the Scheme Phase. Yellow sent two Autos (1) that together provide 2 Attack, and Red sent one Auto (2) which provides 1 Attack. Blue saw it coming and decided to send a defensive Auto (3) and place two Defense Tokens (4), all of which provides 3 Defense in total. All three players reveal their Combat Cards simultaneously. Yellow's Brass Knuckle (5) provides 1 Attack and Red's Shotgun (6) provides 2 Attack. Blue was forced to use the Unarmed Card (7), which provides no extra defense.
All three players are now tied, as both Yellow and Red have 3 Attack in total (2+1=3 and 1+2=3) and Blue has 3 Defense (1+2+0=3). As the defender always wins a tie between attacker(s) and defender, Blue is the winner of this Drive-by Combat. Blue therefore gets 1 Reputation and keeps the Income Token on the Distillery (to be exchanged for money during the Collect Phase).
Yellow and Red return their attacking Autos to their Garages and discard their cards. Blue's Auto stays to provide defense versus any additional threats this phase, like the 'Cousin in Town' Mobster Card. Blue's Unarmed Card is returned to Blue's hand.
9. Collect Phase
All players take turns to conduct the following:
- Collect income from all Turfs - trade Income Tokens for money from the bank:
- Collect the Guaranteed Income of each Turf.
- Collect money for each Income Token, according to the Income Value of the Turf each token is placed on. All Income Tokens on the Board must be exchanged for money from the bank and returned to each player.
- Return all Defense Tokens from the Board to each player.
- Players may save one Mobster Card or one Black Market Card for the next round, as well as the Unarmed Card. Any additional cards must be sold for $1 (discard them accordingly).
Experienced players may want to trust each other to handle these steps simultaneously.
Starting A New Round
Before starting a new round:
- Move the Round Token one step on the Round Track on the Board.
- Move the First Player Token clockwise to the next player.
Start a new round by playing a new Newspaper Phase. The game ends after the fifth Collect Phase has been played out - see next section for final scoring.
Game End
The player with the highest Reputation wins
After five rounds of Mobster Metropolis, all players convert their money into Reputation by dividing their total money by five, rounded down ($5 equals 1 Reputation). The resulting Reputation is added to each player's Reputation on the Reputation Track. The player with the highest Reputation is the winner of Mobster Metropolis.
In case of a tie
The winner is decided based on the following criteria, from top to bottom:
- The player with the most Reputation.
- The player with the most Recruits on the board at the end of the game.
- The player who owns the most Autos at the end of the game.
- The player with the most Turfs on the Board at the end of the game.
- The player that converted the highest amount of money into Reputation at the final scoring.
Symbols
- Reputation: the number indicates the amount of Reputation gained or lost.
- Auto (the cars of Mobster Metropolis).
- Recruits: Dealers, Madams and Thugs.
- Defense Token: represents 1 Defense.
- Cost: the cost of something.
- Guaranteed Income: the amount of Guaranteed Income a Turf generates each round.
- Income Value: a Turf's Income Value, which indicates how much an Income Token is worth when placed on the Turf.
- Income Token: represents the income a Turf is producing. Income Tokens are exchanged for money in the Collect Phase.
FAQ
What if a player has 0 Reputation and cannot meet any of the consequences on a Police Card? In this extremely rare case, that poor excuse for a gangster gets away without any consequence.
Who wins a Drive-by Combat if the result is tied between two attackers and neither one of them initiated the combat to begin with? (Only possible when four players are involved.) In this very rare case, the player who sits closest clockwise to the player who initiated the Drive-by Combat wins.
Optional Rules
'Cramped Metropolis' - Shorter game mode
Mobster Metropolis is primarily made and balanced to be played as a full game of five rounds, as outlined in the sections above. However, if your time is limited it is also very enjoyable in a game of just four rounds, as long as that has been agreed upon beforehand.
When playing a game of four rounds, players should jointly agree on one corner District (or one additional corner District in a 2-3 players game) that should not be used during the game.
'Fragile Alliances' - 2 vs 2 mode
This is a mode for experienced players who want to enjoy Mobster Metropolis in a different way. When playing 2 vs 2, the following rules are adjusted or included:
- Player order: Each player should be followed by a player from the opposing team. This can either be arranged with a zigzag order, or in clockwise order with teammates sitting diagonally from each other.
- Resources, cards and Drive-by Selectors: Teammates are allowed to show all their resources, cards and Drive-by Selectors to each other. Any effect that says 'another player' must be used on a player in the opposing team.
- Drive-by Phase: Combats are played out exactly as in an ordinary game. Attack and Defense cannot be combined between players. Your fragile alliance is built on ambition and greed, not trust.
- Collect Phase: As an additional last step of each Collect Phase, teammates are allowed to give any amount of money, as well as one card each, to each other (but players are still not allowed to save more than one Mobster Card or Black Market Card, per player, for the next turn).
- Game End: The team with the highest combined total Reputation wins the game!
District Tiles Summary
Each tile's text, as printed (18 tiles; the summary lists them in two columns):
- During the Delegate Phase, each Turf in this District produces one extra face-up Income Token. It is not allowed to place any Defense Tokens here.
- Players can only target Turfs in this District with one Auto each. Turfs cost $2 more to buy here.
- Draw one Black Market Card when placing a Turf in this District. Turfs cost $3 more to buy here.
- Turfs in this District have +$2 Guaranteed Income. Turfs cost $3 more to buy here.
- Players can only target Turfs in this District with one Auto each. It is not allowed to place more than one Defense Token on each Turf here.
- All tokens are always placed face-up on Turfs in this District.
- Players must have 10 or more Reputation before buying Turfs for this District.
- Players with Turfs in this District can buy Thugs for $1 less, when placed on adjacent Street Sections. Turfs here get -$1 Guaranteed Income.
- Draw one Mobster Card when placing a Turf in this District. Turfs cost $2 more to buy here.
- Turfs cost $2 less to buy for this District. All attackers get 1 Attack extra in Drive-by Combats here.
- No Drinkeries or Greenhouses can be placed here.
- Turfs cost $3 more to buy for this District. Defenders get 1 Defense extra in Drive-by Combats here.
- Turfs cost $2 less to buy for this District. Turfs here cannot be supported by any Recruits.
- Players must pay $1 for each Combat Card they play during Drive-by Combats here. Unarmed Cards can still be played for free.
- Players are allowed to play two Combat Cards simultaneously in Drive-by Combats. A player that intends to do so must clearly state so before the Combat begins.
- Turfs in this District get +$1 Income Value. Turfs cost $2 more to buy here.
- Players gain 1 additional Reputation when winning a Combat in this District (applies to both attackers and defenders).
Round Summary
- Newspaper Phase: Draw a Newspaper Card. Read it out aloud and play out its effects.
- Draft Phase: 2 player game: Both players draw three Mobster Cards and three Black Market Cards. Each player picks one card to keep, discards another card, and then passes on the rest. This continues until both players have added three cards to their hands. 3-4 player game: All players draw two Mobster Cards and two Black Market Cards. Each player picks one card to keep and passes on the rest (in the direction indicated on the Round Track). Continue until all players have added four cards to their hands.
- Invest Phase (turn based): Take turns to buy Turfs, Recruits (Dealers and Madams for $2, Thugs for $3), Autos and Black Market Cards (pay the amount indicated on the Reputation Track, then pick three and choose one), play an Invest Phase card, or pass. Continue until everyone has passed.
- Delegate Phase: All players place facedown Income Tokens or Defense Tokens on their Turfs (one per covered Block), as well as face-up Income Tokens for each supporting Recruit.
- Scheme Phase: Use Drive-by Selectors to secretly target Turfs with Autos. When ready, all players reveal their selectors simultaneously and place Autos according to their targets.
- Reveal Phase: All facedown tokens on the Board are turned face-up.
- Police Phase: Draw a Police Card and play out its effects according to each player's Reputation.
- Drive-by Phase (turn based): Take turns to either resolve a Drive-by Combat, play a card, or pass. Combatants simultaneously reveal one Combat Card (or the Unarmed Card). The winner, attacker or defender, gains 1 Reputation, all used cards are discarded (except Unarmed Cards) and attacking Autos are returned to their Garages. If an attacker wins, a number of the defender's Income Tokens are stolen and exchanged for money from the bank. If tied, the defender wins. Continue until all players have passed, then return all defending Autos.
Start A New Round: Move the First Player Token clockwise and move the Round Token one step forward on the Round Track. Start a new round with a new Newspaper Phase. Continue until five entire rounds have been played, then go through final scoring to determine the winner.