Rattus: Mercatus Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Set-up
• Suggestions for Card Sets
• Game Sequence
  • Goods Tokens
  • Sales
  • Money
• The New Class Cards
  • Treasurer (Royalty)
  • Stadtholder (Royalty)
  • Deacon (Church)
  • Pope (Church)
  • Assassin (Chivalry)
  • Raider (Chivalry)
  • Swindler (Bourgeoisie)
  • Hanseatic Trader (Bourgeoisie)
  • Shaman (Magic)
  • Grave Robber (Magic)
  • Brewer (Peasantry)
  • Landowner (Peasantry)
• Game End

Game Components

• 28 goods tokens, 7 of each of 4 different types (fish, cloth, lumber and salt)
• 12 class cards, 2 for each of the 6 classes (Peasantry, Bourgeoisie, Church, Chivalry, Magic and Royalty)
• Game money: 32 x 1 coin and 20 x 5 coins

Set-up

1. Place the board on the table, distribute (and remove some of) the rat tokens as in the base game and place the Plague Piece in a randomly chosen region.
2. Take four goods of each type and place them face down in a supply next to the board. Flip over one good of each type. These four goods tokens constitute the available goods supply.
3. The remaining goods are placed on the board. Randomly place one goods token face up in each region. In a game with less than four players not all regions are used and therefore not all goods tokens are needed. In a two-player game remove one goods token of each type from the game. In a three-player game remove randomly two different goods tokens from the game.
4. Place all coins in a bank next to the board. Each player receives 4 coins.
5. Choose six class cards that will be used to play the game.

This can be done in a number of different ways:

• Draw six class cards at random after shuffling all available class cards (from this expansion, the base game and any other expansion).
• Shuffle the class cards of the six different classes separately and randomly draw one card for each class.
• Use one of the suggested sets listed below.
• Select a set of cards that all players agree on.

Note: When playing with less than 4 players, it is recommended that at least one of the Chivalry cards is included among the class cards used to ensure that no part of the board will ever be completely safe from the plague.

Important: If two or more cards belonging to the same class are in play, each symbol on a rat token will kill one cube for each card of this class a player holds.

Example: If both the Raider card and the Knight card are in play and two different players hold these cards, they will lose one cube each for each Chivalry symbol when the plague has an outbreak. If both these cards are held by one player, this player will lose two cubes for each Chivalry symbol.

Suggestions for Card Sets

• Violent Times: Raider, Assassin, Grave Robber, Witch, Shaman, Swindler. As the name suggests, this card set will usually result in much conflict. But however you play, please keep the violence strictly within the game!
• Production and Trade: Hanseatic Trader, Brewer, Baker, Raider, Serf, Courier. This set is recommended if you also own the Pied Piper Expansion. As its name indicates, the focus of this set is to give the players some extra possibilities to gain goods token, as well as ways of fighting for majorities in order to be able to sell these goods.
• For beginners: Peasant, Monk, Knight, Merchant, King, Witch. You may want to try to play the game using the goods tokens and money from this expansion, but stick to the cards from the base game. This will add the aspect of collecting and selling goods to the game without the extra complications (and options) provided by the new class cards.
• The Aristocrats: King, Treasurer, Stadtholder, Pope, Landowner, Knight. In this peaceful set of cards players use money and goods to increase their populations on the board as well as in the castle.

Game Sequence

The game is played according to the rules from the base game (and any expansion used) with the following additions:

Goods Tokens

At the start of each player's turn one goods token of each type should be available. If this is not the case, flip over the missing goods token(s) so all four types of goods are available.

During his turn a player may take one of the available goods tokens from the supply. He can do this at any time during his turn before phase C («Move the Plague Piece»). Some of the new class cards allow players to take additional goods. In any case a player can only choose from the available goods tokens in the supply and therefore can never take the same type of good twice in the same turn.

Sales

If at the end of a player's turn (after phase C) the supply of one or more types of goods has completely been depleted (no face up and face down goods tokens are left) a Sales phase occurs.

All players must sell all their goods tokens of the depleted type(s). The goods tokens of the depleted type must be sold to regions containing a goods tokens of the same type. A player can only sell goods to a region in which he holds the majority of cubes. In such case, he returns the goods token to the supply and receives three coins from the bank. A player can only sell one goods token to each region.

If two or more players are tied for the majority in a region, they are all considered to hold the majority in this region. This way it's possible for multiple players to sell goods to the same region. All goods tokens of the depleted type not sold to a region are returned to the supply and don't bring in any coins.

All returned goods tokens are placed face down in the supply.

At the end of the game, after all rats have been revealed, but before scoring, a final Sales phase occurs in which all players must sell all their goods to regions in which they hold the majority (or return them to the supply without receiving any coins).

Example: During the set-up of the game «Fish» goods token are placed in Germania, Polonia and Hungaria. The blue player currently has three Fish tokens and holds the majority of cubes in Germania and Polonia.

It is the red player's turn. In his turn, he takes the last Fish token from the supply and places cubes on the board so that at the end of his turn (after the Plague phase), he shares the majority in Germania with the blue player and holds the majority in Hungaria.

At the end of his turn no Fish tokens are left in the supply so a Sales phase for Fish occurs: The blue player has 3 Fish tokens, but only 2 majorities in Fish regions. He returns his 3 Fish tokens to the supply and receives 2x3 = 6 coins. The red player has 1 Fish token and 2 majorities in Fish regions. He returns his 1 Fish token to the supply and receives 1x3 = 3 coins.

Money

At the end of the game each 5 coins counts as one additional cube when scoring. Some of the new class cards allow players to spend or earn money in various ways.

The New Class Cards

Note: Only the active player may use the special abilities of his class card(s). He may use the abilities of each card only once per turn and only before phase C is played (exception: Raider, Assassin, Deacon and Grave robber).

Treasurer (Royalty)

The player holding this card may take two coins from the supply.

Stadtholder (Royalty)

The player holding this card may pay coins to place extra cubes on the board. For 1 coin, he may place 1 cube, for 3 coins 2 cubes, and for 6 coins he may place 3 cubes.

All extra cubes placed with the Stadtholder must be placed in the same region. This can be any region and doesn't have to be the region chosen in phase B.

Deacon (Church)

During phase C of his turn, the player holding this card may pay coins to the bank to avoid the effects of the rats after revealing them. The first time he chooses to do this during his turn, he must pay 1 coin to the bank. The second time he pays an additional 2 coins and the third time he must pay an additional 3 coins.

Note: He chooses whether or not to pay after revealing a rat token. Only the effects concerning the player with this card are ignored. All other players still suffer the effects of the rat token and lose cubes as normal.

Always first determine which players are struck by the plague. Then the player holding this card decides whether or not he'll discard cubes or pay to keep them on the board.

Pope (Church)

The player holding this card may pay two coins to the bank to place one cube from his supply directly into the palace area of the board.

Assassin (Chivalry)

The player holding this card may move the plague piece up to two steps in phase C before the effects of the plague are evaluated. Additionally, he receives one coin from the bank for each rat token that kills at least one cube belonging to another player during his turn.

Raider (Chivalry)

The player holding this card may move the plague piece up to two steps in phase C before the effects of the plague are evaluated. Additionally, he may take one face up goods token from the supply (if still available) of the same type as the goods token in the plague region.

Card Combinations: If a player holds two or more Chivalry cards, he will still only be able to move the plague piece up to two steps.

Swindler (Bourgeoisie)

The player holding this card may, at any time during his turn, place one rat from the supply into any region on the board in which he has at least one of his own cubes. If he does, he may also take a face up goods token from the supply (if still available) of the same type as the goods token in that region.

If using the Swindler depletes the supply of rats, the game will end after phase C of the player's turn. In this case the plague will not spread since no more rats are available.

Note: No region is ever allowed to contain more than 3 rat tokens. Therefore the player holding the Swindler cannot place a rat token into a region already containing 3 rat tokens.

Hanseatic Trader (Bourgeoisie)

To use this card, the player holding it must place one of his goods tokens on the card. This goods token no longer belongs to the player: it can't be sold or used it in any other way. Even in the Sales phase this goods token won't be sold and stays on the card. This goods token will remain on the card until another player takes the card or until the player holding the card decides to replace it with another goods token. In both cases the goods token on the card is returned face down to the supply.

A player can even take this card when he doesn't have any goods tokens. Also, a player isn't forced to place a goods token on it immediately. He may place a token later in his turn or in a later round on this card to use it. After (re)placing a token on the card, you can still use the card (provided that the card hasn't been used yet this turn).

The player holding this card may move up to five cubes of his own colour from one region into another region containing a goods token of the same type as the token on the card. All the cubes moved with the Hanseatic Trader must go to the same region.

Shaman (Magic)

To use this card, the player holding it must place one of his goods tokens on the card (see «Hanseatic Trader» above for details).

The player holding this card may, once during his turn, freely distribute the rat tokens (without looking at them) among all regions on the board containing a goods token of the same type as the token on this card.

Grave Robber (Magic)

In phase C, the player holding this card may take one face up goods token from the supply (if still available) for each rat token that kills at least one cube belonging to another player during his turn.

Note: No region is ever allowed to contain more than 3 rat tokens.

Brewer (Peasantry)

The player holding this card may take one additional face up goods token from the supply (if still available).

Landowner (Peasantry)

To use this card, the player holding it must place one of his goods tokens on the card (see «Hanseatic Trader» for details).

The player holding this card may place two cubes into a region containing a goods token of the same type as the token on this card.

Game End

As in the base game, when the game ends, there is a final counter-clockwise round in which all players, except the player who played the last regular turn, may use the abilities of their class cards one last time.

The cards have their usual abilities with the following exceptions:

• Stadtholder: In the final round, this card is restricted to adding at most one cube. This means that the player holding this card in the final round may pay one coin to the bank and place one cube in one region of his choice the board.
• Hanseatic Trader, Landowner, Shaman: A player holding any of these cards may still replace the token on the card with one of his goods tokens as during the game. The cards have their usual abilities.
• Brewer, Swindler, Raider, Grave robber: During the final round, all goods tokens in the supply are considered to be available. Players holding these cards may therefore take any type of goods, as long as there are tokens remaining in the supply.
• Swindler: If the supply of rat tokens is depleted, randomly draw one from the used rat tokens.
• Raider: The player holding this card may move the Plague Piece up to two steps and take one goods token from the supply (if still available) of the same type as the goods token in the region moved into.
• Assassin: The player holding this card may move the Plague Piece up to two steps, reveal the rats in this region one by one and take coins from the bank for each rat that kills at least one cube belonging to another player.
• Grave robber, Deacon: The player holding this card may move the Plague Piece one step, reveal the rats in this region one by one and use the card's effect in this region.

Important: There will be no Sales phase when a type of goods is completely depleted during the final counter-clockwise round.

Card Combinations: If one player holds more than one of the cards whose effects depend on the plague piece (e.g. Raider, Assassin, Grave robber, Deacon), he must apply the effects of these cards in the same region.