Museum: The Black Market Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Principle
• Setup
• Rules
  • Black Market Object Cards
  • Black Market Favour Cards
  • Taking a Favour Card
• End of Each Player Turn
• End of the Game
• Glossary
  • Expert Cards
  • Headline Cards
  • Favour Cards

Components

• 1 Black Market Board
• 30 Black Market Object Cards
• 30 Black Market Favour Cards
• 2 Expert Cards
• 3 Headline Cards

Principle

The Black Market gives you a new way to obtain both Object and Favour cards! The Object cards available on the Black Market help you to complete your Collections, whereas the Favour cards allow you to pull some sinister tricks on your opponents. The longer an Object stays on the market the cheaper it becomes, but beware - the longer you wait the higher chance you have of another curator stealing it from under your nose!

Setup

After having set up the Main Board, place the Black Market Board adjacent to it. Shuffle the 30 Black Market Object cards and the 30 Black Market Favour cards together and place the deck on the appropriate spot. Draw the first 5 cards from the deck and place 1 card in each of the 5 available slots. Then continue your game setup as normal.

Rules

Cards available on the Black Market may be purchased as per the basic rules of Museum, with one exception. The price of the Object or Favour card varies depending on its location on the Black Market board : from its full value, down to its value -2.

Black Market Object Cards

Black Market Object cards differ slightly from the regular Object cards in Museum, in that they have either a Domain or a Civilisation, never both. This means that they can only be part of one collection at a time.

• An Object card purchased from the Black Market Board is placed directly into the buyer's Museum, not into their Personal Reserve (hand).
• The Black Market Objects face up on the Market Board cannot be taken for free during any player's Exploration phase in the manner of an ordinary Object card, they must be purchased to be obtained.

Black Market Favour Cards

Favour cards purchased from the Black Market Board are placed into your hand to be played at a time of your choosing. You may play as many Black Market Favour Cards as you choose during your turn.

• Black Market Favour cards may only be played during your turn, unless specified otherwise.
• Black Market Favour cards face up on the Market Board cannot be taken for free each time a player passes 10 points on the Score track in the same manner as an ordinary Favour card, they must be purchased.
• Each time you play a Black Market Favour Card, it is not discarded into the Favour card discard pile or the Black Market discard pile. Instead, place it next to your own Common Pool (discard pile), as it could cause you to lose points at the end of the game (See End of the Game).

Refilling the Market: When a card is purchased from the Black Market, slide the remaining cards along the track to fill in the gap, then draw a new card from the deck to add to the end of the line.

Taking a Favour Card

In a regular game of Museum, you are allowed to draw a Favour card each time you pass 10 points on the Score Track. In the Black Market expansion, each time you pass 10 points on the Score Track you may choose to either draw a regular Favour Card from the top of the Favour card Deck, or you may draw a card from the top of the Black Market Deck. This card (whether an Object card or a Favour Card) is added to your Personal Reserve (your hand).

End of Each Player Turn

Contrary to the rules for refreshing cards on the Experts board, cards on the Black Market board are refreshed at the end of each player turn. Before the start of the next player's turn, discard the card on the end of the Black Market track, slide the remaining cards along the track to fill in the gap, then draw a new card from the deck to add to the end of the line.

End of the Game

At the end of the game, each player must count the number of Black Market Favour cards they used, as well as the number of Black Market Object cards either displayed in their Museum or present in their Common Pool (discard pile).

If a player has played 4 Black Market cards or more during the game, then their reputation takes a hit, causing them to lose points in the following manner :

• -1 point per Black Market Favour Card used during the game
• -1 point per Black Market Object Card displayed in their Museum
• • the value of each Black Market Object card present in your Common Pool (discard)

Example: At the end of the game, Jamie has used 2 Black Market Favour Cards. He also has the Bust of Julius Cesar (value of 5) displayed in his Museum, and the Roman Strigil (value of 3) in his Common Pool (discard pile). Jamie loses 2+1+3 = -6 points in total.

Any Black Market cards remaining in the player's Personal Reserve (hand) have no effect.

Glossary

Expert Cards

• Katrina Rakovic: Black Market cards (Objects or Favours) cost -1 to purchase.
• Gareth Mc Dubs: Gain +1 Prestige Point each time you acquire a Black Market card.

Headline Cards

• Government crackdown: No cards can be purchased on the Black Market this round.
• New contacts: All current Black Market cards are discarded and replaced.
• Exchange rate: Black Market cards cost -1.

Favour Cards

• Forgery: Pay the value of an Object currently exhibited in another player's Museum. This Object is then shuffled back into the Continent pile.
• Smear Campaign: Remove 1 Public Opinion token from the Continent of your choice, then add it to another Continent of your choice.
• Administrative Shutdown: The targeted player cannot place any Objects into any Museum this turn.
• Mandatory Donation: You may move one card from your Common Pool into the Common Pool of another player.
• Theft: Choose a card currently being exhibited in another player's Museum. Pay its cost by discarding cards into that player's Common Pool, then place that Object into your own Museum.
• Scandal: Choose an Expert currently working for another player's Museum and force them to resign. The card is reshuffled into the Expert deck.
• Political Endorsement: Cancel the effect of one Black Market card being used against you. This card can be used during another player's turn.
• Flooded Cellars: The targeted player must discard up to 2 Object cards from their Personal Reserve (their hand) into their Common Pool (their discard).
• Diplomacy: You are unaffected by the current Headline card for one turn.
• Contraband: You may sell an Object from your Personal Reserve (hand) to art smugglers. This card is removed from play permanently and you receive its value +2 in Prestige points.