Noblemen
Noblemen Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Board
- Victory Point Track
- Prestige Track
- Round Track
- Folly area
- Decade Track
- Space for Bribe Tokens
- Spaces for Donations to the Church (two sets, one on each side of the board)
- Castle area
- Palace area
- Chapel area
Note: Due to the material, the game board may slightly warp. This happens due to differences in temperature, like when the game board lies on a cool surface and a warm lamp or the sun shines on top of it. In this case, flip the board to the other side (both sides are identical).
Components
- 1 Game Board (two pieces)
- 5 Player Screens (three pieces each)
- 12 Titles
- 202 Land Tiles (62 Fields, 44 Fountains, 48 Woods, 48 Meadows)
- 20 Bribe Tokens
- 5 Tax Tokens (in 5 colours)
- 5 Acquire Land Tokens (in 5 colours)
- 82 Money Tokens (40x 1, 26x 5, 16x 10)
- 35 Scandal Cards
- 10 Overview Cards (5x A, 5x B)
- 15 Castles
- 15 Chapels
- 12 Palaces
- 4 Follies
- 1 Queen
- 10 Men-at-arms (in 5 colours)
- 5 Victory Point Counters (in 5 colours)
- 5 Prestige Counters (in 5 colours)
- 1 Decade Counter
- 1 Round Counter
- 1 Bag
Setup
(Example for 4 players)
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Assemble the game board from its two parts and place it in the middle of the table.
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Depending on the player count, place a number of Castles, Chapels, Palaces and Follies on the brown spaces in their proper areas:
Castle area Chapel area Palace area Folly area 3 players 3 Castles 3 Chapels 2 Palaces 4 Follies 4 players 4 Castles 4 Chapels 3 Palaces 4 Follies 5 players 5 Castles 5 Chapels 4 Palaces 4 Follies Place these structures on the most expensive spaces. Place the remaining Castles, Chapels and Palaces as a supply next to the game board.
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Place the green Round Counter on the space with the arrow on the Round Track. Place the blue Decade Counter on space I of the Decade Track.
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Stack the Bribe Tokens on their proper space on the game board.
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Each player selects a colour and takes the Player Screen, Tax Token and Acquire Land Token of that colour. Place both tokens behind your screens.
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Each player takes 1 Title Baron/Baroness and attaches it to his screen.
Note: All Titles are printed on both sides. Hence, you can attach the Title to your screen such that your opponents see the proper head (male/female).
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Depending on the player count, place a number of additional Titles as a supply next to the game board:
Duke/Duchess Marquess/Marchioness Earl/Countess Viscount/Viscountess 3 players 1 1 1 1 4 players 1 1 1 2 5 players 1 1 2 3 With fewer than 5 players, put the remaining Titles back into the game box – they will not be needed.
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The player who most recently has been to a garden becomes the Start Player. He takes a number of Money Tokens worth a total of £10. Each other player takes £1 more than the player to his right, i.e. £11, £12, £13, and £14, respectively. Each player puts his money behind his screen. Place the remaining Money Tokens as a supply next to the game board.
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The player to the right of the Start Player takes the Queen and places it in front of his screen, so that all players can see it.
The Queen figure symbolizes the Queen's favour.
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From the Land Tiles, each player takes 1 Meadow and places it in front of his screen to begin his Estate. Then each player takes 1 Castle from the supply and places it on his Meadow.
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Each player begins the game with 12 Land tiles behind his screen. First, each player chooses up to 3 tiles of each type (Field, Wood, Fountain, Meadow). Then, place the remaining Land Tiles into the bag and mix them. Finally, each player draws additional Land Tiles at random from the bag until he has a total of 12 tiles behind his screen.
Attention! If you are playing Noblemen for the first time, you should take 3 Land Tiles of each of the 4 types! Do not draw any additional Land Tiles from the bag as you will then already have 12 tiles.
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Place the Victory Point Counter of your colour on space 0 of the Victory Point Track. Move it along the track whenever you receive Victory Points.
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Place the Prestige Counter of your colour on space 0 of the Prestige Track. This counter will only be moved during Masquerade Balls.
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Place the Men-at-arms of your colour as a supply next to the game board.
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Shuffle the Scandal Cards and place them as a stack face-down next to the game board. Each player takes 3 cards from that stack and looks at them. Keep 1 card and place it behind your screen. Return the remaining 2 cards face-down to the bottom of the stack.
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Take one each of the two Overview Cards (A and B) and place them in front of you.
The Land Tiles
These 4 types of Land Tiles (hereinafter just: tiles) will be used to expand your Estate throughout the game:
- Fields: provide Money.
- Woods: provide new Tiles.
- Fountains: provide Prestige.
- Meadows: provide space for Structures.
4 matching tiles (except Meadows) placed in a square create an Area, marked by an Area Symbol:
- 4 Fields create a Farm.
- 4 Woods create a Forest.
- 4 Fountains create a Garden.
Each Farm, Forest, and Garden provides a Bonus.
On the rare occasion that a player may draw more tiles from the bag than available, he draws all the remaining tiles. There is no compensation for missing tiles.
A Player's Turn
Beginning with the Start Player, in clockwise order, each player takes a turn.
On your turn, you take exactly 1 action. Additionally, prior to or after your action, you may play at most 1 Scandal Card. Also, you may trade 2 tiles from behind your screen for any 1 Tile from the bag – you may do this any number of times during your turn. (You may look into the bag to find the tile you want, and you may abandon the trade if there is no such tile in the bag.)
You may only take an action, play a Scandal card, and trade tiles on your own turn, unless specifically allowed by a Scandal card.
End of the Turn
If you hold the Queen at the end of your turn, then 2 things happen before the next player takes his turn:
- You get 1 Victory Point.
- Move the Round Counter forward by 1 space in the direction indicated by the arrow.
The Actions
On your turn, you take exactly 1 action from the following list:
- A) Expand Estate
- B) Build Structure
- C) Bribe Royalty
- D) Collect Taxes
- E) Acquire Lands
- F) Donate to the Church
- G) Leisure Time
A. Expand Estate
The larger your Estate, the more influence, money and prestige it provides.
Take up to 3 tiles from behind your screen and add them to your Estate. Newly placed tiles must be adjacent (horizontally or vertically) to at least one other tile.
When placing a tile, you receive a reward depending on its type. (You will also find this information in the middle section of your player screen – in the left column.)
- For each newly placed Field take £1 from the supply. Take an additional £2 for each newly completed Farm. Place the money behind your screen.
- For each newly placed Wood draw 1 random Tile from the bag. Draw 2 additional tiles for each newly completed Forest. (Draw these new tiles after you have finished placing tiles during this turn and place them behind your screen.)
- Newly placed Fountains increase your Prestige during future Masquerade Balls, but have no immediate effect. Exception: Immediately take the Queen if you complete a new Garden.
- Newly placed Meadows provide space for future structures, but have no immediate effect.
Example: Frank has previously expanded his Estate by 2 Fields, 2 Woods and 2 Fountains. He now adds 2 Woods and 1 Fountain. He then draws 2 tiles from the bag due to the 2 Woods he has placed. Frank has also completed a Forest and, therefore, draws 2 more tiles. In total, he has drawn 4 new tiles. He does not receive anything for the Fountain (for now). However, if he adds another Fountain in a future turn to complete a Garden, he will get the Queen. Frank does not receive any money as he has not placed any Fields this turn.
B. Build Structures
What would an Estate be like without any palatial structures?
This action allows you to build exactly 1 structure. You may only build a structure that is available on the game board. There are 4 types of structures: Castles, Palaces, Chapels, and Follies. Each type of structure comes with some special rules that will be explained in detail further below.
Each structure has a cost indicated by a symbol on the game board. When building, pay the cost to the supply. You may not build a structure that you cannot afford at the moment.
Some Titles may reduce the cost of a structure:
- Duke/Duchess: Each structure costs £3 less.
- Marquess/Marchioness: Each structure costs £2 less.
- Earl/Countess: Each structure costs £1 less.
- Viscount/Viscountess: No reduction.
- Baron/Baroness: No reduction.
The minimum cost for a structure is 0.
Castle
Take the cheapest Castle, pay its cost, and place it on an empty Meadow Tile in your Estate. Castles may not be adjacent to other Castles or Palaces (neither horizontally, nor vertically, nor diagonally). You may not build a Castle if your Estate does not have a valid spot for it.
As a reward for building a Castle, you may place or move one of your Men-at-arms. Take a Man-at-arms from the supply or an opponent's Estate and place him on an opponent's completed, unoccupied Area Symbol (Farm, Forest, Garden). Depending on the symbol, your opponent has to give you something as follows. (You will also find this information in the middle section of your player screen – in the right column.)
- Your opponent has to pay you £2. If he does not have that much, he pays you what he can.
- Your opponent has to give you 2 tiles of his choice. If he does not have that many, he gives you what tiles he has left.
- Your opponent has to give you the Queen. If he does not have it, you do not get anything.
Palace
Take the cheapest Palace, pay its cost, and replace a Castle in your Estate with it. Return the Castle to the supply. (Do not place it back on the game board!) You may not build a Palace if you do not have a Castle to replace.
Take the Queen as a reward for building a Palace.
Chapel
Take the cheapest Chapel, pay its cost, and place it on an empty Meadow Tile in your Estate. Chapels may not be adjacent to other Chapels (neither horizontally, nor vertically, nor diagonally). You may not build a Chapel if your Estate does not have a valid spot for it.
As a reward for building a Chapel, take 1 Scandal Card: Draw 3 cards from top of the stack and look at them. Keep 1 of them and return the other 2 to the bottom of the stack.
Folly
In English architecture, a folly is a small building for extravagant decoration of a garden.
In order to build a Folly, you must first have completed certain Areas in your Estate. The areas needed for each folly are displayed on the game board. It does not matter if an area is occupied by an opponent's Man-at-arms.
- You must have at least 2 Forests in your Estate.
- You must have at least 2 Farms in your Estate.
- You must have at least 2 Gardens in your Estate.
- You must have at least 1 Forest, 1 Farm and 1 Garden in your Estate.
Each Folly costs £12. Take the proper Folly, pay its cost, and place it on an empty Meadow Tile in your Estate. You may not build a Folly if your Estate does not have an empty Meadow Tile.
As a reward for building a Folly, you get a number of Victory Points. This number depends on the number of Follies already built (by any player):
- 12 Victory Points if this is the first Folly built.
- 10 Victory Points if this is the second Folly built.
- 8 Victory Points if this is the third Folly built.
- 6 Victory Points if this is the fourth Folly built.
C. Bribe Royalty
Some members of the Royal Family do not mind doing you a favour for a little pocket money.
Take up to 5 Bribe Tokens from the board and place them behind your screen. For each token you take, pay £2 and receive 1 Victory Point. You may not take more Bribe Tokens than you can pay for.
Later in the game, you may spend your Bribe Tokens during the following events:
- during the Collect Taxes action
- during the Acquire Lands action
- during a Masquerade Ball
Return spent Bribe Tokens back to the proper space on the game board. From there, they can be purchased again.
D. Collect Taxes
Some noblemen compete for the most creative kind of tax ...
Each player can only take this action once per decade. Take your Tax Token and place it in front of your screen. This indicates that you have already taken this action during the current decade.
Then collect money from the supply. (There is an overview in the middle section of your player screen – in the second column.)
- Collect £1 for each Field in your Estate.
- Collect £2 for each unoccupied Farm Symbol in your Estate. You do not receive any money for Farms occupied by Men-at-arms.
- Collect £2 for each of your own Men-at-arms occupying an opponent's Farm.
- Collect £1 for each Bribe Token that you return back to the supply on the game board.
Example: Frank wants to collect taxes (see figure below). He owns 7 Field Tiles and receives £7 for these. His one Farm Symbol yields another £2. Also, one of his Men-at-arms occupies an opponent's Farm (not displayed) – that is another £2. He does not spend any Bribe Tokens. In total, Frank receives £7+£2+£2=£11.
E. Acquire Lands
You do not talk in public about how you acquire new lands.
Each player can only take this action once per decade. Take your Acquire Lands Token and place it in front of your screen. This indicates that you have already taken this action during the current decade.
Then randomly draw tiles from the bag. (There is an overview in the middle section of your player screen – in the third column.)
- Draw 1 tile for each Wood in your Estate.
- Draw 2 tiles for each unoccupied Forest Symbol in your Estate. You do not receive any tiles for Forests occupied by Men-at-arms.
- Draw 2 tiles for each of your own Men-at-arms occupying an opponent's Forest.
- Draw 1 tile for each Bribe Token that you return back to the supply on the game board.
Example: Now Frank wants to acquire lands (see figure below). He draws 7 tiles from the bag for his 7 Woods. His Forest Symbol is occupied by an opponent's Man-at-arms, so he does not draw additional tiles for that. Also, none of his Men-at-arms are occupying opponent Forests. Frank spends 3 Bribe Tokens to draw 3 more tiles. In total, Frank draws 7+3=10 tiles.
F. Donate to the Church
The Church usually shows Her gratitude if you give Her some land.
Take any number of tiles from behind your screen and place them on the proper spaces for Donations to the Church on the game board. However, in any decade the Church only accepts 3 tiles of each type. You receive 1 Victory Point for each tile that you donate to the Church.
Example: On the game board, the spaces for Donations to the Church already contain 3 Fields, 2 Fountains and 2 Meadows. Frank donates 3 Woods and 1 Fountain to the Church. Thus, he receives 4 Victory Points.
Frank also wanted to donate 2 Fields, but the Church does not want any more of these. The Church only wants 1 more Meadow in this decade, but Frank does not have one that he wants to donate.
G. Leisure Time
Formerly, leisure time was a noble privilege and allowed to devote oneself to the arts and culture. This way even doing nothing made sense.
Simply receive 1 Victory Point while enjoying your Leisure Time.
The Decades
The game lasts 3 Decades, as indicated by the blue Decade Counter. Throughout a Decade, the green Round Counter moves in a circle around the Round Track.
At the end of his turn, if a player has the Queen, he receives 1 Victory Point and moves the green Round Counter forward by 1 space. Thus, a "round" is not necessarily over after each player has had one turn. If the Queen is passed around frequently, the Round Counter will move forward very quickly.
Some spaces introduce a special event:
- When the Round Counter moves onto this space, there is a Masquerade Ball.
- While the Round Counter remains on this space, no player can take away the Queen. You may still take actions that would normally result in getting the Queen (e.g. building a Palace), but the Queen stays at its current owner.
- When the Round Counter moves onto this space, there is a Scoring of Structures. After this scoring, the current Decade ends.
Masquerade Ball
Twice a decade the Queen hosts a Masquerade Ball. This is when the coveted titles are awarded.
When the Round Counter moves onto a space with a mask, there is a Masquerade Ball. During such, follow these instructions in order:
- Return Titles
- Count Prestige
- Assign new Titles
- Receive Victory Points
- Reset Prestige Counters
- Move Round Counter
1. Return Titles
Each player returns his current Title back to the supply. It is recommended that the Titles be sorted in rank order (see p. 10).
2. Count Prestige
Beginning with the player holding the Queen, each player determines his Prestige Value. The other players follow in clockwise order. (There is an overview on the left side of your player screens.)
- Each Fountain in your Estate is worth 1 Prestige.
- Each unoccupied Garden Symbol in your Estate is worth 2 Prestige. No prestige is awarded for Gardens occupied by Men-at-arms.
- Each of your own Men-at-arms occupying an opponent's Garden is worth 2 Prestige.
- Each Palace in your Estate is worth 2 Prestige.
- Each Bribe Token that you return back to the supply on the game board is worth 1 Prestige.
- Each Blackmail Scandal Card that you return to the bottom of the stack is worth 3 Prestige.
- Each other Scandal Card that you return likewise is worth 1 Prestige.
Determine your total Prestige Value and move your Prestige Counter to the corresponding space on the Prestige Track. If the space is occupied by an opponent, move your Prestige Counter to the next lower unoccupied space! Then the next player determines his total Prestige Value, and so on until all players have done so.
Example: Frank owns 5 Fountain Tiles worth a total of 5 Prestige. The Garden Symbol is worth another 2 Prestige. His Palace is also worth another 2 Prestige. Frank's total Prestige Value is 5+2+2=9 Prestige.
Space 9 on the Prestige Track is already occupied by Britta. Thus, Frank would have to move his Prestige Counter to space 8. He is not OK with that! As space 10 of the Prestige Track is already occupied by Karsten, Frank spends 1 Bribe Token and 1 Scandal Card for 1 Prestige each, allowing him to move his Prestige Counter to space 11.
3. Assign new Titles
In order of total Prestige Value, from highest to lowest, each player takes a new Title. You may not take a Title if your Prestige Value is lower than the minimum required for that Title (see table to the right).
Attach your new Title to your Player Screen. You keep them until the next Masquerade Ball. Some Titles reduce the cost when building structures.
- Duke/Duchess: requires 14 or more Prestige
- Marquess/Marchioness: requires 10 or more Prestige
- Earl/Countess: requires 6 or more Prestige
- Viscount/Viscountess: requires 2 or more Prestige
- Baron/Baroness: does not require any Prestige
Example: Frank has 11 total Prestige, Karsten 10, Britta 9, and Paul 1. In a 4-player game, there are the following Titles: 1x Duke, 1x Marquess, 1x Earl, 2x Viscount, 4x Baron. Frank may choose first. He does not have enough Prestige for the Duke, but he may take the Marquess. Karsten also has enough Prestige for the Marquess, but that Title has already been taken. Karsten takes the Earl instead. Britta takes the next Title – a Viscount. There is 1 more Viscount, but Paul does not have enough Prestige to take it, so he must settle for a Baron.
4. Receive Victory Points
Depending on his new Title, each player receives a number of Victory Points:
- Duke/Duchess: 7 Victory Points
- Marquess/Marchioness: 5 Victory Points
- Earl/Countess: 3 Victory Points
- Viscount/Viscountess: 1 Victory Points
- Baron/Baroness: no Victory Points
5. Reset Prestige Counters
Each player moves his Prestige Counter back to space 0 of the Prestige Track.
6. Move Round Counter
Finally, move the green Round Counter forward by 1 space. The player to the left of the current holder of the Queen takes his turn.
Scoring of Structures
When the Round Counter moves onto the last space of a Decade, there is a Scoring of Structures. Each player receives Victory Points for the structures in his Estate. (There is an overview on the right side of your player screens.)
- You receive 3 Victory Points for each Castle in your Estate that is completely surrounded by land (horizontally, vertically, diagonally). You receive 1 more Victory Point for each Chapel adjacent to the Castle (horizontally, vertically, diagonally).
- You receive 5 Victory Points for each Palace in your Estate that is completely surrounded by land (horizontally, vertically, diagonally). You receive 2 more Victory Points for each Chapel adjacent to the Palace (horizontally, vertically, diagonally).
You do not receive any additional Victory Points for Follies.
Example: Castle (A) is completely surrounded by land and adjacent to 1 Chapel. Frank scores 3+1=4 Victory Points for this Castle. Castle (B) is not surrounded by land, so it does not score any Victory Points – despite the adjacent Chapel. Palace (C) is surrounded by land and is adjacent to 2 Chapels. Frank scores another 5+2+2=9 Victory Points. No extra Victory Points are awarded for the Folly. In total, Frank scores 13 Victory Points and moves his Victory Point Counter accordingly.
The current Decade ends after the scoring. The game ends after the third Decade.
Preparing a new Decade
The following preparations must be done at the beginning of the 2nd and 3rd Decades:
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Refill the game board with Castles, Chapels and Palaces from the supply according to the player count:
Castle area Chapel area Palace area 3 players 3 Castles 3 Chapels 2 Palaces 4 players 4 Castles 4 Chapels 3 Palaces 5 players 5 Castles 5 Chapels 4 Palaces Note: At the beginning of the third Decade, it is possible that there are not enough Castles in the supply. In this case, take all the Castles that are left and place them on the most expensive spots. The other spots remain empty.
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Remove all donated tiles from the board and shuffle them back into the bag.
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Each player puts his Tax Token and Acquire Land Token back behind his screen (unless it is still there).
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Each player receives 1 Scandal Card. As usual, he draws 3 Scandal Cards from the stack, keeps 1 of them and returns the other 2 to the bottom of the stack. (The first player to get a new Scandal Card is the player holding the Queen. All other players follow in clockwise order.)
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Move the blue Decade Counter forward by 1 space.
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Move the green Round Counter forward by 1 space to the starting space with the arrow.
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The player to the left of the current holder of the Queen takes the first turn in the new Decade. The game continues as usual.
Game End
The game ends after the Scoring of Structures at the end of the third Decade. Each player scores a final 3 Victory Points for each Liaison Scandal Card that he owns. The player with the most Victory Points wins the game. In case of a tie, remaining money breaks the tie. If still tied, the tied players share the victory.
The Scandal Cards
Whenever a player receives a Scandal Card, he draws 3 cards from the top of the stack, looks at them, keeps 1 card and returns the other 2 cards to the bottom of the stack. Players receive Scandal cards at the beginning of each Decade as well as when building Chapels.
On your turn, you may play at most 1 Scandal Card – prior to or after your action. Played cards are returned to the bottom of the stack.
During a Masquerade Ball, you may return any number of Scandal Cards to receive 1 Prestige each. Cards returned in this fashion cannot be used for anything else. Returned cards always go back to the bottom of the stack.
Blackmail (4x)
Worth 3 Prestige during a Masquerade Ball. You may play any number of Blackmail cards during the same Masquerade Ball.
Cunning Stroke (4x)
Play an extra Expand Estate action. If you play this card on the same turn that you take an Expand Estate action, you will expand your Estate twice in one turn.
Dowry (4x)
Randomly draw 4 tiles from the bag.
Favour of the Vicar (3x)
Return up to 4 tiles from behind your screen back to the bag. Immediately receive 1 Victory Point for each such tile.
Inheritance (3x)
Receive a free Castle. Take the cheapest Castle from the game board and place it on an empty Meadow Tile in your Estate – as usual, not adjacent to another Castle or Palace. You do not get to place a Man-at-arms. You may not play this card if you do not have a valid spot for the Castle in your Estate.
Intrigue (3x)
When receiving a Scandal Card and looking at the top 3 cards, you may play this card to keep all 3 Scandal Cards. In this case, you do not return any cards to the bottom of the stack. You must already own an Intrigue card in order to play it. You are allowed to first look at the drawn cards, before you decide to play an Intrigue card that you already own.
Liaison (4x)
Worth 3 Victory Points at the end of the game if you still have this card. You may score any number of Liaison cards at the end of the game.
Secret Marriage (4x)
Immediately take 2 Bribe Tokens from the game board and receive 2 Victory Points. (If there are fewer than 2 Bribe Tokens available, take all that you can, but still receive 2 Victory Points.)
Tribute (4x)
Take £5 from the supply.
Whitehall (2x)
Take the Queen.
Easily Forgotten Rules
- Castles and Palaces need to be completely surrounded by land (including diagonally) in order to score Victory Points.
- At any time during your turn, you may trade 2 tiles for any 1 tile from the bag.
- Castles and Palaces may not be placed adjacent to other Castles or Palaces.
- Chapels may not be placed adjacent to other Chapels.
Credits
Designer: Dwight Sullivan
Illustration: Claus Stephan & Oliver Schlemmer
Graphic design: Claus Stephan, Oliver Schlemmer, Hans-Georg Schneider
Realisation: Thygra Board Game Agency
English Translation: Grzegorz Kobiela
Used under license of Pegasus Spiele GmbH.
© 2012 by Tasty Minstrel Games – All rights reserved.
www.pegasus.de – www.playtmg.com
The designer thanks Mark Galvez, Justine Love and Andrew Juell for their tremendous help in the game's embryotic states, and Seth Jaffee who was a huge help refining the game. Also many thanks to the play testers Clark Barthel, Greg Daigle, Bill Cox, Michele Cox, Bill Kull, Tim Moore, Cameron Silver, Scott Slomiany, Anna Sullivan, Graham West and the members of the Board Game Design Workshop. And last but not least thanks to the Hippodice Spieleclub e. V. for Noblemen getting 1st place in its designer contest in 2009.