President (Too Bad Games)
President (Too Bad Games) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Score 7 victory points.
Components
- 1 presidential medal token
- 10 animal boards
- 6 day cards
- 30 envelope cards
- 1 corruption token
- 4 camera tokens
- 70 action cards
- 1 marker
Setup
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Each player chooses 1 animal board, chooses the side of the board that goes face up, and takes the 7 action cards of the matching colour to form their starting hand.
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Place the animal boards on the table at random, creating an organization chart based on the number of players. There are 3 levels which represent the provisional positions within the party (from top to bottom): Presidency (P), Vice presidency (V), Secretariat (S). The chart by player count (as shown in the diagram) is:
- 3 players: 1 Presidency, 2 Secretariat
- 4 players: 1 Presidency, 1 Vice presidency, 2 Secretariat
- 5 players: 1 Presidency, 2 Vice presidency, 2 Secretariat
- 6 players: 1 Presidency, 2 Vice presidency, 3 Secretariat
- 7 players: 1 Presidency, 2 Vice presidency, 4 Secretariat
- 8 players: 1 Presidency, 2 Vice presidency, 5 Secretariat
- 9 players: 1 Presidency, 2 Vice presidency, 6 Secretariat
- 10 players: 1 Presidency, 3 Vice presidency, 6 Secretariat
(Transcriber's note: these counts were read from the setup diagram, which shows each layout graphically.)
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Write down your name on your animal board and fill in 1 victory point. Then, those who hold a position in the secretariat fill in 1 popularity point. Both victory points and popularity points must be completed from left to right.
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Place the presidential medal token above the animal board that holds the presidency.
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Shuffle the day cards to create the day deck and place it on the table with the arrow side face up.
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Shuffle the envelope cards to create the envelope deck and place it face down next to the day deck. Set the corruption token aside.
How to Play
PRESIDENT is played during an indeterminate number of rounds (days), following this sequence:
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PLANNING PHASE: Choose 1 action card from your hand and place it face down in front of you.
During this phase you are allowed to talk (even lie) about what you're going to play, make pacts, or influence others on the use of certain cards.
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RESOLUTION: In party-hierarchy position order (from bottom to top), reveal your cards and apply their effects one by one until every player has resolved the card they played in the planning phase.
Position: The spot you occupy in the organization chart each day. Starting from the bottom level and following the arrow's direction, each position matches a number: "1" is the first position and the highest number is the presidency.
After resolving your action card, place it in a pile in front of you, so every player can see the cards you have played.
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PRESS CONFERENCE PHASE: Check which animals fill in victory points and popularity points as a result of the actions named "Interview" and "Camera".
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END OF THE DAY PHASE: Check which animals meet the condition of the current day card. Then, whoever is holding the presidency draws the next day card and reads it out loud. If it's the last card, reshuffle all the day cards to create a new day deck.
Presidential medal
You get 1 victory point while you hold the presidency. Don't fill in the space on the animal board.
Corruption token
You get 1 victory point while you have it. Don't fill in the space on the animal board.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately when a player reaches 7 victory points. That player wins the game!
In case of a tie, the tied animal that holds the highest position number on the organization chart wins.
You don't need to be the president to win the game.
Action Cards
Promotion
Swap positions with an animal 1 level above the one you occupy in the organization chart. The turn order remains the same for the player who now holds your position.
When the turn proceeds to your new position, skip your turn.
Climb the corporate ladder by making someone sadder.
Interview
Resolve this card during the press conference phase. Among the animals that played an Interview card during the current day, the animal who holds the highest position number fills in 1 victory point. In 9-10 player games, the animal holding the second highest position number also fills in 1 victory point.
Talk the talk and walk the walk.
Holidays
Recover all the action cards from your pile (including Holidays).
Tax haven is what you're craving.
Camera
Take 1 camera token from the supply and place it on your animal board. If there aren't any left, take it from another animal.
In the press conference phase, fill in 1 popularity point for each camera you have. If it's the third popularity point (indicated by a marked space), also fill in 1 victory point. If you must fill in 1 popularity point and don't have any available, fill in 1 victory point for each popularity point you can't fill in.
Fame is fame, regardless of the name.
Deal
Deal cards pair up in turn order and provide 1 victory point to the animals who played them. A single Deal card doesn't provide any victory points.
It is possible to close more than 1 deal combining envelope cards and/or action cards, but you can never close a deal with yourself.
Try to convince another animal to close a deal with you or lie to them, so they don't get their reward, but remember that the other animals can be as dishonest as you are.
Let's shake hands and close the deal at last.
Envelope
Draw 1 envelope card, look at it, and keep it face down where everyone can see it.
Envelopes contain extra actions you can play right before revealing your action card.
You can play as many envelope cards as you want and then discard the ones played.
An envelope you retrieve is an ace up your sleeve.
Corruption token
Whoever draws the first envelope gets the corruption token, which they must place to the right of their victory track, covering the last space. Every time an animal draws or plays an envelope card, check who has the most envelopes and give them the corruption token (unless they already have it). In case of a tie, the current owner decides who keeps it.
The player with the corruption token gets 1 victory point while they own it (do not fill in a space on the animal board).
Slander
After revealing this card, place it on top of another animal's board to try to guess their action card. During the slandered animal's turn and before they reveal their card, you must name the action you think they will perform.
- If you get it right, steal 1 victory point from that animal (the slandered animal must erase 1 and you must fill in 1).
- If you get it wrong, nothing happens.
Then, place your Slander card on your pile and the slandered animal plays their action.
Players can play a Slander card on animals that already revealed their action card. If that's the case, Slander is resolved the next day.
If an animal is slandered several times, the cards pile up on their animal board. Then, when it's the slandered animal's turn, resolve those cards in the order they were placed there (bottom to top). For each card, each player must name a different action. If the slandered animal doesn't have any victory points, you can't steal 1 from them and, therefore, you can't add it to your animal board.
For a sure victory, guess your enemy.
Day Cards
Day cards describe a condition that must be checked at the end of the day. If you meet it, recover 1 action card of your choice from your pile.
Remember that the victory points earned with the presidential medal and the corruption token also count.
- Gain Ground: At the end of the day, if you have more victory points than the ones you started with (the current day), recover 1 of your cards.
- Take Control: At the end of the day, if you hold the presidency or the vice presidency, recover 1 of your cards.
- Avoid Standing Out: At the end of the day, if you have the same victory points or less than the ones you started with (the current day), recover 1 of your cards.
- Bow Your Head: At the end of the day, if you have the least victory points, even if there's a tie, recover 1 of your cards.
- Find Allies: If you played the same action card as any of the animals sitting next to you (it could be both), recover 1 of your cards. You can only recover 1 card even if your card matches both player's cards.
- Keep Your Word: Before the planning phase and following the position order, each animal must name the action they will play (lying is allowed). If you play the action you named, recover 1 of your cards.
Quick Reference
Day
- PLANNING PHASE: Play 1 card face down.
- RESOLUTION PHASE: In position order, reveal the cards played and resolve their effects. Before resolving your action card, you can use envelope cards.
- PRESS CONFERENCE PHASE: Gain the rewards from Interview and Camera.
- Interview: Fill in 1 victory point if you are the last animal who "gave an Interview".
- Camera: Fill in 1 popularity point for each camera token you have.
- END OF THE DAY PHASE: If you meet the condition of the current day card, recover 1 card. Draw 1 new day card and read it out loud.
Action cards
- PROMOTION: Swap positions with any animal 1 level above yours.
- INTERVIEW: Among the animals who played Interview, the highest position number gets 1 victory point.
- SLANDER: Try to guess the action another animal played during planning. If you get it right, gain 1 victory point.
- CAMERA: Draw 1 camera token. Resolve this card during the press conference phase.
- ENVELOPE: Draw 1 envelope card. Corruption token: The player with the most envelopes gets 1 victory point.
- DEAL: If 2 animals close a deal, they both get 1 victory point.
- HOLIDAYS: Return all the cards from your pile to your hand.
Game length: 3-10 players, 30 minutes, age 10+.