Motion Pictures: Movies Out of Cardboard Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Preparation
• Playing the Game
  • Overview
  • Staff Card Breakdown
  • Project Card Breakdown
• Player Actions
  • Shoot: Play a Filmmaker
  • Project Type requirements
    • Movies
    • Commercials
    • TV Series
    • Awards
    • Trilogy
  • Hire: Add new Filmmakers to your Studio.
  • Recruit: Discard and Draw
• Small Goals
• Big Goals
• End of an Era
• End of the Game and Scoring
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Actions
• Terminology

Components

• 86 Filmmaker Cards (24 Starting Filmmakers, 62 Advanced Filmmakers)
• 80 Projects Cards (20 for each of the four eras)
• 4 Trilogy Cards
• 18 Goal Cards (8 Big Goals, 10 Small Goals)
• Starting Player Token
• 8 Player Aids

Preparation

1. Shuffle the deck of Advanced Filmmakers and place it within reach of all players. This is the Filmmaker's Deck.
2. Draw four cards from the Filmmakers Deck and place them face up beside the deck. This is the Filmmakers Row. The cards in the Filmmakers row must always be of at least three different colours. If this is ever not the case, put the last card(s) placed on the Filmmakers Row on the bottom of the Filmmakers Deck and replace it with its top card.
3. Shuffle the Big Goal Cards. Draw two and place them face-up above the Filmmaker's Row. Put the rest back to the box.
4. Shuffle the Small Goal Cards. Draw as many as there are players and place them face-up above the Filmmaker's Row. Put the rest back to the box.
5. Draw one of the four Trilogy Cards at random and place it face up at the middle of the table.
6. Divide the Project Cards into four piles, sorted by Era. The amount of Project Cards in each Era pile is determined by the number of players. Return all extra Project Cards to the box and then shuffle each Era pile.
   • 2 Players - 11 Projects per Era
   • 3 Players - 15 Projects per Era
   • 4 Players - 19 Projects per Era
7. Draw Project Cards from the 1st Era pile and place them between the players so that each player has three Project Cards on her left and three on her right.
8. Each player takes six Starting Filmmakers, one of each Specialty, beginning that player's Studio. These cards make up the player's starting hand. Each player also receives two Player Aids.
9. The Starting Player Token is given to the player who last saw a movie in a cinema. If you went to the movies at the same time, the first player is the one who bought the pop corn.

(Page 3 shows the table layout for 4, 3 and 2 players, with numbered markers corresponding to the setup steps above.)

Playing the Game

Overview

A game of Motion Pictures consists of four rounds, called Eras.

In the game, players are film studio owners who must use their Filmmakers wisely to earn Fame by completing Projects, fulfilling Goals and contributing to a Trilogy.

With each passing Era, the players' reputation grows and more prestigious and difficult Projects become available. Players will need to acquire more skilled Filmmakers to complete these advanced Projects.

Staff Card Breakdown

1. Skills
2. Specialty
3. Name
4. Ability
5. Illustration

Project Card Breakdown

1. Requirements
2. Fame Points
3. Illustration
4. Project type
5. Ability text

Player Actions

During their turn, players may take one action out of a possible three: Shoot, Hire, or Recast. If a player does not have any cards left in his hand, he has to Pass and does not play any actions.

Shoot: Play a Filmmaker

With this action, players place a Filmmaker card from their hand next to one of their available Project cards to work towards completing them. When completed, some Projects provide abilities. They also grant Fame at the end of the game.

Each player always has seven available Projects: three on their left, three on their right, and the Trilogy, which is available to all players. In order to place a Filmmaker next to a Project, the Filmmaker's Skills or Specialty must follow the requirements of that Project type (see below). When a Filmmaker is played, the player applies its ability, which can provide various bonuses.

If a player has placed a group of Filmmaker cards that meet all of a Project's requirements, the Project is completed and:

• Each Filmmaker played on the Project is moved to the discard pile of its owner.
• The player who completed the Project applies its ability (if any).
• The player who completed the Project places it face up in front of her on a pile with all her other Completed Projects (if any). All Completed Project piles may be inspected by any player at any time.
• Finally, a new Project Card is drawn from the Era pile to replace the completed Project. If this isn't possible because the Era pile has run out, the Era is almost over (see End of an Era).

Project Type requirements

In order to complete a project, a player has to provide all required Skills by himself, ignoring any Skills played from the other players.

Movies

Movie Projects come in 4 different genres: Comedy Movies, Drama Movies, Action Movies and Thriller Movies.

Any Filmmaker may be played on a Movie Project.

A player completes a Movie Project when all of the Project's needed Skills are matched by Skills on the Filmmaker cards she played next to it.

(Example: a Thriller Movie requires two Skills. A Filmmaker already played provided one of the Skills; the player completes the project with the other Skill of the new Filmmaker she plays.)

Commercials

Any Filmmaker may be played on a Commercials Project.

A player completes a Commercials Project when all of the Project's needed Specialties (not Skills) are matched by Specialties of the Filmmakers she played next to it.

(Example: Player has played a Filmmaker with the Star Specialty, therefore he only needs a Filmmaker with the Pre-Production Specialty to complete the Project.)

TV Series

In order to play a Filmmaker on a TV Series Project, none of the Filmmaker's Skills may match any of the Skills listed on the Project. The Filmmaker may have any Specialty.

A player completes a TV Series Project when the number of Skills she has placed next to it is equal to or greater than the number of Skills required by the Project.

(Example: Filmmaker can be played since both his Skills are permitted to this Project. Player need one more Skill from a different Filmmaker to complete the Project.)

Awards

In order to complete an Awards Project, the Skills of the Filmmakers played must exactly match all of the Skills listed on the Project. Therefore, a Filmmaker cannot be played on an Awards Project if he has Skills different than the ones required, or even if the Skills he provides are no longer needed (if another Filmmaker with the same Skill has been played and no more Skills of that type are required).

(Example: Player cannot play this Filmmaker to this project since the project required only the camera Skill.)

Trilogy

The Trilogy is available to all players throughout the game and any Filmmaker may be played on it. Players place Filmmakers on the trilogy face down (so their ability isn't activated) and do not get them back at the end of an Era - the Filmmakers are committed to the Trilogy until the end of the game.

The Trilogy provides Fame to all players at the end of the game depending on how many Skills each one played on it. In addition, the player who committed the most Skills earns bonus Fame (see Scoring).

Hire: Add new Filmmakers to your Studio.

With this action, players may discard Filmmakers from their hand to their discard pile in order to acquire Advanced Filmmakers. Players may either:

• Discard one Filmmaker and take a card from the Filmmakers Row which matches the Specialty (background colour) of the discarded card.
• Discard any two Filmmakers and take any one card from the Filmmakers Row, regardless of its Specialty.
• Discard any two Filmmakers and Audition one Filmmaker (draw the top card of the Filmmakers Deck).

All cards acquired with the Hire Action are added to players' hands and may be used in subsequent turns.

If a card was taken from the Filmmakers Row, replace it with the top card of the Filmmakers Deck. Remember to make sure that at least three colours of cards are always visible in the Filmmakers Row (see Setup step 2).

Recruit: Discard and Draw

With this action, a player may discard one Filmmaker from their hand to their discard pile in order to draw a new Filmmaker from their draw pile. If the player doesn't have a draw pile, they shuffle their discard pile to form a new draw pile.

In addition, the player may also discard a Filmmaker from the Filmmakers Row and replace it with the top card of the Filmmakers Deck.

This action is useful for players who do not like the cards in their hand and/or want to use another card they have in their draw pile. It is also helpful if they wish a new Advanced Filmmaker to become available for purchase.

Small Goals

Players may claim Small Goals at any time during the game by fulfilling the requirements listed on the card. When a player claims a Small Goal, she places its card in front of her and it may not be claimed by any other player. Claimed Small Goals are worth Fame at the end of the game.

Big Goals

At the end of the game players can claim Big Goals if they complete the requirements met. Big Goals are worth Fame at the end of the game.

End of an Era

If, after completing a Project, the Era pile has run out, the Era ends after the turn of the player to the right of the start player (all players will have played the same number of turns in the Era).

An Era can also end if all players but one have passed due to having run out of Filmmakers. The last player left takes one more turn, after which the Era ends.

At the end of each Era, players take all the Filmmakers of their Studio and all the Filmmakers they played on Projects (but not those committed to the Trilogy) and shuffle them together, forming their new draw pile, and draw the top six cards of their deck. All incomplete Projects are returned to the box. Draw cards from the new Era pile and place them between the players to create the new available Projects (see Setup step 7). Finally, the First Player Token is passed clockwise to the next player.

End of the Game and Scoring

The game ends after the end of the 4th Era. Each player earns Fame for the following:

• Trilogy: Reveal all Filmmakers played on the Trilogy. Each player earns one Fame for every two Skills she played on the Trilogy. The player who played the most Skills receives its card as a completed project, earning a bonus five Fame. In the case of a tie, the bonus Fame is given to the player who played the most Filmmakers to the Trilogy amongst those tied. If there is still a tie, no-one earns the bonus Fame.
• Big Goals: Each Big Goal grants its listed Fame to the player who claimed it. If more than one player has claimed a Big Goal, its Fame is divided between those players (rounding down and no player is consider to have successfully claimed the particular Goal.
• Completed Projects: Each Completed Project grants its listed Fame to the player who completed it. All Awards Projects and some Movie Projects have blue backgrounds. These Project provide additional Fame according to the other Projects a player has completed.

The player with the most total Fame is the winner. In the case of a tie, the player with the most Filmmakers in their Studio among those tied is the winner. If still tied, the player who completed the most Goals among those tied is the winner. If players are still tied, we recommend playing another game of Moving Pictures to settle the score!

Frequently Asked Questions

Projects are not completed cooperatively. A player needs to place all the required Skills or Specialties on his own.

You can play a Filmmaker on a Project just to use his ability, even though his Skills may be irrelevant. (of course you have to follow restrictions).

Ties are always resolved favoring the player with the most Filmmakers among those tied.

Using the Hire action early on will provide you with better Filmmakers for the rest of the game.

Remember to get Projects similar to the Awards you have completed. Awards can provide you a lot of Fame.

Trilogy can not only help you earn Fame points but also remove starting Filmmakers from your deck until the end of the game.

Remember that both Small and Big Goals can give you a significant advantage if you claim them.

Actions

Shoot: Play a Filmmaker from your hand in an available Project and use his ability.

Hire: Discard one Filmmaker to add a Filmmaker of the same Specialty from the Filmmaker Row to your hand. OR discard any two Filmmakers to add any one Filmmaker from the Filmmaker Row or Audition one.

Recruit: Discard one Filmmaker to Draw a Filmmaker and optionally discard a Filmmaker from the Filmmaker Row.

Terminology

• Studio: All of a player's cards (hand, discard pile, and draw pile).
• Fire: Remove Filmmaker from the game.
• Audition: Draw a Filmmaker from the Filmmaker Deck.
• Skills: The symbols on Filmmakers.
• Specialties: The background color of a Filmmaker.
• Completed Project: Project where all requirements are met from a single player.
• Free Project: An available project with no Filmmakers on it.

Symbols:

• Question mark: Can be used as any Skill.
• Number in a circle: The number of required Skills.
• Crossed-out Skill icon: This type of Skill cannot be used.
• Skill icon with frame: No additional Skills can be used other than the ones depicted.
• Star: Fame.
• Red lightning bolt: Ability only used when Hiring the Filmmaker.
• Coloured card icon: This type of Specialty is required.
• Red Background: Ongoing card ability.
• Cyan Background: Additional scoring conditions apply at game end.

Specialty colours: Equipment (purple), Post Production (red), Pre Production (green), Star (yellow), Special Effects (orange), Production (blue).