Plague & Pestilence Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Equipment
• Set Up
• Plague Dice
• Object of the Game
• Prosperity
• Plague
• Turn Sequence
• Playing Cards
• Special Cards
• Improvements
• Optional Rules

Equipment

• 2 Plague Dice
• 1 Population Board
• 6 Turn Sequence Cards
• 60 Playing Cards
• 13 Improvements

Population Board: Spaces numbered from 0 to 49 with four scrolls labeled 0, 50, 100, and 150 found on the left side of the board. Players will track their current Population (or "POP") by moving their token around the board.

If you advance to the 0 space from the 49 space, move your second token down one space to the 50, 100, or 150 space. Conversely, if you move from the 49 space to the 0 space, move your second token up one space.

Time to Play: 30-45 minutes

Number of Players: Two to Six

Set Up

Place the Population Board in the center of the play area.

Each player selects a token color and places one token on the 0 space on the board track and the second token on the 50 scroll on the Population Board. Each player begins with 50 Population.

Place the Turn Sequence Card that matches the color of their token in front of each player.

Place the Improvement Cards face up in the center of the play area.

Remove the Inquisition and Death Ship Cards from the deck of Playing Cards. Shuffle the remaining Playing Cards and deal 5 cards to each player. Add the Inquisition and Death Ship Cards back into the deck, shuffle, and place the playing cards in the center of the playing area to create the Draw Pile.

Each player rolls two Plague Dice. The player with the highest roll plays first.

Plague Dice

Six-sided dice with the Plague figure in place of the one pip. The Plague figure counts as a 1.

Dice Roll: player rolls both dice anytime the rules refer to Dice Roll.

Die Roll: player rolls one die anytime the rules refer to Die Roll.

Any time doubles are rolled, the rolling player MAY move any/all Pestilence Cards that are currently in play to another player(s) of their choice.

Any time double Plague figures (1's) are rolled, the rolling player MAY move Pestilence Cards (as above), loses 20 Population, searches the Draw Pile for the Death Ship Card, and plays the card as if it had been drawn.

After the Plague phase has begun, any time double Plague figures (1's) are rolled, the rolling player loses 20 Population.

Object of the Game

To be the last player with Population. He who dies last wins!

When a player has 0 Population, that player is eliminated and all of that player's Playing Cards are placed in the Discard Pile.

Prosperity

The game begins in the Prosperity phase. Players make a Prosperity Roll and gain Population equal to the dice roll and any modifiers.

Plague

The Plague phase begins immediately when the Death Ship is drawn or the first time double Plague figures (1's) are rolled. The player that drew the Death Ship will play it on any player. That Target Player immediately becomes the Active Player. Place the Death Ship in the center of the play area to remind all that the Plague has begun. During the Plague phase, players lose Population based on their dice rolls and any modifiers.

Turn Sequence

Beginning with the first player and proceeding to the left, each player takes a turn being the Active Player. The Turn Sequence Card in front of each player notes the order of actions for the Active Player turn.

1. The Active Player rolls 2 dice for Prosperity or Plague. During the Prosperity phase, the player gains Population equal to the number rolled after any modifiers. During the Plague phase, the player loses Population by the number rolled after any modifiers. Modifiers include Improvements, Pestilence, and Tactical Advantage Cards. The Active Player moves their token(s) on the Population Board the number of spaces equal to the final roll including any modifiers. It is possible that a player could lose Population during Prosperity or gain during Plague due to modifiers.
2. If the Inquisition card is in play on the Active Player, the Active Player rolls 2 dice. If the roll is between 3 and 7, the Active Player loses 5 Population. If the roll is 8 or higher, the player may move the Inquisition Card to any player of their choosing. This roll is made separately and after the Prosperity or Plague roll.
3. The Active Player fills hand to 6 cards from the top of the Draw Pile. If the Death Ship or Inquisition Cards are drawn, the Active Player must play them immediately. (See Special Cards for instructions to resolve the Death Ship or Inquisition Cards.)
4. The Active Player must either:
   • Play or discard one card from hand. When no cards left in the Draw Pile, shuffle the Discard Pile to create a new Draw Pile.
   • OR Build an Improvement
5. Continue with the next player. Turn order moves clockwise.

Playing Cards

Playing Cards have either a Sun or a Rat in the upper left-hand corner.

During a turn, the Active Player may play a card on himself or another player. Typically, but not always, you will play a card with a Sun on yourself and a Rat on another player. The person you play the card on is referred to as the Target Player.

The Target Player will immediately gain or lose Population as described on the bottom of the card. The card is then placed in the Discard Pile.

Some cards say to "Take" Population. Deduct the Population from the Target player(s) and add it to your Population.

Some cards specify the loss of an Improvement in addition to Population. If the Target Player has more than one Improvement, the Active Player will determine which is removed.

Special Cards

Two Cards, the Death Ship & the Inquisition have black borders with rats climbing the left-hand side of the border. These cards are not included in the initial deal and must be played immediately upon being drawn.

If both cards are drawn during the same turn, play the Inquisition Card first followed by the Death Ship Card; they may be played on different Target Players. Neither card will be removed from play prior to the end of the game.

Inquisition: Place the card in front of the Target Player. During each of the Target Player's turns, the player MUST make an Inquisition Dice Roll. On a result of 3-7, the player will lose 5 Population. On a result of 8+, the player MAY move the card to any player. If the Inquisition is in play on the eliminated Player, he must move it to another player who has Population.

Death Ship: The Target Player loses 10 Population; see Plague.

Some cards have a Yellow Sun in the upper left-hand corner. These cards may be played anytime dice are rolled or in response to another card being played. These cards may be played regardless of whether the player playing the card is the Active Player or the Target Player.

Buy Indulgence/Negotiated Peace: Play to ignore/discard a War or Crusade Card. This card must be played BEFORE dice are rolled.

Tactical Advantage: Playing Player may add or subtract two from any roll made by any player. Players may play more than one Tactical Advantage with the modifiers being cumulative. May be played AFTER dice are rolled. If played during the resolution of a War, all Tactical Advantages remain in play until the War is resolved.

Pestilence: When a Pestilence card is played or moved, the Target Player loses 5 Population. The card is not discarded but remains in front of the Target Player. Each time the player must roll dice for Prosperity, a minus 1 modifier is applied to the roll. Each time the player must roll dice for Plague, a plus 1 modifier is applied to the roll. A player may have more than 1 Pestilence card; any affected rolls will be modified by the cumulative total. For example, if the player has 3 Pestilence Cards in front of them, they will modify any Prosperity or Plague roll they make by 3. Any time doubles are rolled, the rolling player MAY move any Pestilence card(s) currently in play to any other player(s).

War: The Active Player has instigated a War. The Active Player selects a Target Player to play the War on. The Target Player must then select a player other than the Active Player to go to War against. The Target Player and the Selected Player will each roll one die, modified by any Tactical Advantages played or City Walls in play on the Target or Selected Player(s). The high roll suffers the losses indicated for the winner and the low roll suffers the losses indicated for the loser. In the event of a tie (after any modification), both players suffer the winner's losses and roll again, incurring losses as above until one player "wins". If losses include removal of an Improvement, the winner of the war selects which of the loser's Improvements is removed.

If there are only two players, the Target rolls one die, on even, that player suffers the winner's losses, on odd, the loser's losses. In ONLY this case, any player who plays a Tactical Advantage can declare the die roll to be either odd or even. If more than one card is played, the die must be rolled.

Mass Migration: Decrease all other players' population by 5. The Active Player gains population equal to the total lost and MAY move a Pestilence card.

Children's Crusade: Decrease Target Player's Population by 15. The Active Player gains 15 Population.

Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller: The Knight Cards are the only Improvements that are included in the Draw Pile. These cards remain in front of the player until removed by another card, provide modifiers to War die rolls, prevent Crusades, and allow the player to build the noted Improvement. If a Knights Templar or Knights Hospitaller Card is removed from a player, place it in the Discard pile. If the Active Player plays a Knights Hospitaller or Knights Templar Card and the improvement noted is no longer available, the player receives all benefits except the ability to build the noted improvement.

Improvements

Improvement Cards have a Stone Mason in the upper left-hand corner.

The Active Player may Build one Improvement during the turn INSTEAD of playing or discarding a card. Improvements list modifiers to dice rolls and may limit the cards that may target a player.

To Build an Improvement, select one from those available in the center of the table. Place the card in front of yourself. It will remain there until removed by another card.

There are 6 types of Improvements: Aqueduct, City Walls, Monastery, Sewer, Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller. A player may not have more than 1 Improvement of each type at any time.

Once removed from play by another card, an Improvement is removed from the game and may not be reused.

The Active Player will determine which Improvement is removed by a card. For example, the Active Player plays a Fire Card on a Target Player, who currently has Knights Templar, Aqueduct, and City Walls Improvements. The Target Player loses 5 Population and the Active Player selects one of those three improvements to remove.

When an improvement is removed by a War loss, the winner selects the improvement the loser must remove.

Optional Rules

Setup for a shorter game: To control the length of the Prosperity phase, insert the Death Ship into the deck near the top rather than shuffling it into the Draw Pile.

Improvements (for games with 2-3 Players): Limit Improvements by using only 2 of each type. Remove the other Improvement cards from play.

Improvements: May only be built during Prosperity. Exception - Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller may be played at any time and will build the Improvements as indicated on the card.

Plague: When the first player reaches 100 Population, search the Draw Pile for the Death Ship and play as if the Death Ship had been drawn.

Inquisition: If any player has the Knights Templar in play, the Inquisition Card must target that player when played or moved. The Knights Templar card must be discarded immediately.