Tea & Rum

Tea & Rum Rulebook

Table of Contents

Objective of the Game
Components
Player Board Anatomy
Setup
Round Structure
Cards Anatomy
Allegiance: Proving Your Worth and Loyalty to the Crown
Reputation Track
End of the Game (3-4 Players)
2-Player Rules
Icon Legend
Captains
Buildings
Allegiances

Objective of the Game

Become the next Governor or the Pirate King (or both!) of the island after 5 Rounds.

There are two types of Victory Points (VP):

Blue VP represents prestige with the Crown (victory as Governor).
Red VP represents support from the People (victory as Pirate King).

This means the game can end with two winners and two losers.

Components

This Rulebook
2 Player Aids summarizing the different buildings
3 Plastic Trays to sort Resources and Cards
1 Contracts Board
1 Allegiance Board
1 Reputation Track
1 Trade Board
4 Action Boards
1 First Player Marker (double-sided)
16 Action Tiles (to complete the Action Boards)
30 Captain Cards (6 per round: I/II/III/IV/V)
18 Contract Cards
10 Allegiance Cards
6 Starting Endowment Cards
9 People's Wish Cards (end-of-round bonus)
9 Ship Cards
75 Building Cards (5 colors, each containing 5 different buildings, 3 copies of each)
5 People's Wish Reward Tiles, one for each round (I/II/III/IV/V)

Money:

12x $10 coin
12x $5 coin
50x $1 coin

Victory Points:

Blue VP Tokens (12x 10 VP, 16x 5 VP, 20x 2 VP, 26x 1 VP)
Red VP Tokens (12x 10 VP, 16x 5 VP, 20x 2 VP, 26x 1 VP)

Per Player (x4, in their color):

4 Worker Pawns
1 Star Pawn
1 Population Pawn
1 Chest to store Victory Points
6 Warehouse Expansion Tokens (costs: 1/1/1/2/2/3)
1 Player Board

Resources (6 types):

22x Yellow Cubes – Wheat
22x Brown Cubes – Wood
22x Gray Cubes – Ore (Cubes are primarily used for Building.)
12x Barrel Pawns
12x Tobacco Leaf Pawns (Barrels and Tobacco Leaves are primarily used for fulfilling Contracts)
12x Cannon Pawns (Cannons are primarily used for Captains)

For 2 Player game only:

2 Player Tiles A/B
8 Automa Tiles (with Action Board icons)
6 Victory Type Cards
1 ACTION ORDER Board

Player Board Anatomy

The Player Board shows: the Population Track, Money Storage, Workers Storage, Resource base Prices, the Warehouse (for Resources), Additional Warehouse Spaces for sale, and the Round Phases.

In this game, the "$" symbol will be used to represent money.

Special additional rules for 2 players are found at the end of this rulebook.

Setup

Building Cards

Place the Building cards face up in the center of the table, grouped by type and color.

2 Players: Use 1 copy of each Building. Hence, all 25 different Buildings in the game will be used.
3 Players: Use 2 copies of each Building. In each Building category (color), randomly remove one Building type from the game. Hence, there will be 4 different Buildings available in each of the 5 colors.
4 Players: Use 3 copies of each Building. In each Building category (color), randomly remove one Building type from the game. Hence, there will be 4 different Buildings available in each of the 5 colors.

The five Building colors and their buildings: Church, Academy, Architects' Guild, Warehouse, Bathhouse, Washhouse, City Hall, Inn, Watchtower, Fort, Palace, Statue, Tobacco Dryer, Distillery, Dispensary, Public Latrines, Hotel, Gambling Den, Foundry, Barracks (plus Town Square, Workshop, Well, Great Hall, Prison — see Buildings below for the full list of 25).

Contracts & Allegiance

Place the Contracts and Allegiance Boards within players' reach. Use the side of the Boards showing the relevant number of players (4 players or 2–3 players).
Shuffle the Contract cards to form a draw pile and place it on the left space of the Contracts Board. Reveal as many Contract cards as there are spaces on the board, then place one card on each space.
Shuffle the Allegiance cards, then reveal and place one card on each available space on the Allegiance Board. Any remaining Allegiance cards are returned to the box.

Reputation

Place the Reputation Track within players' reach.

Resources / Victory Points (VP) / Coins

Place all Resources, Coins and VP in reach of all players. You can use the Plastic Trays.

Captain Cards

Sort the 30 Captain cards by their backs (Rounds I / II / III / IV / V) to form 5 separate piles.
Shuffle each pile separately and randomly keep:
- 4 cards from each pile in a 4-player game
- 3 cards from each pile in a 3- or 2-player game
Return the unused Captain cards to the box without looking at them.
Create a single draw pile by stacking the piles in the following order (Round V at the bottom, then IV, III, II, and Round I on top).
Then display the Captain cards of Round I.

Action Boards

Place the 4 Action Boards on the table.
For each board, take the 4 Action Tiles showing the relevant number of players (4 players or 2–3 players) and randomly place them on that board.
- Note: In a 2–3 player game, each tile with a blank side is placed on the top row of its Action Board.

Round Rewards & People's Wishes

For each Round (I / II / III / IV / V):

Randomly choose the side (Blue or Red) of each People's Wish Reward Tile and create a line with those tiles in ascending order.
Shuffle the People's Wish cards, then randomly draw 1 card per round and place it face up under the corresponding Reward Tile (5 People's Wish cards total). All remaining People's Wish cards are returned to the box.

Player Setup

Each player:

Takes their player components: Chest, Worker Pawns, Population Pawn, Star Pawn, Player Board, and the 6 Warehouse Expansion Tokens (1/1/1/2/2/3).
Places each of their 6 Warehouse Expansion tokens on a space of their Warehouse.
Places 1 Worker on each of the 4 Action Boards, and the Star at step 0 on the Reputation Track.
Randomly draws 1 Starting Endowment card and takes the Resources, Money, Stars, and VP shown on it (for Stars see "Reputation Track" below), then discards those cards.
The starting player is the player with the least amount of money. This player takes the First Player Marker.

Round Structure

The game is played over 5 Rounds and each Round is divided into 6 successive phases (detailed hereafter).

1. Income

Players gain money equal to their level on the Population Track.
In the first Round, each player therefore gains $10.
Note: Money is unlimited.

2. Ships (you can buy ships that will give you resources to put in your Warehouse)

In a 2-player game, randomly select 5 of the 9 Ship cards and place them face up in ascending order.
In a 3-player game, randomly select 7 of the 9 Ship cards and place them face up in ascending order.
In a 4-player game, place all 9 Ship cards face up in ascending order.
Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player may pay the cost of a Ship to take the resources shown on one of its rows. The chosen card is then flipped face-down and is no longer available to other players.
The game continues clockwise with the next player (as long as players wish to buy ships). A player can buy several ships, but only one at a time.

Warehouse explanation: Only one resource can be stored per Warehouse square. If a player does not have enough space to store resources, they may (at any time):

Pay the money cost shown on a Warehouse Expansion token to remove it and thus increase their Warehouse capacity, or
Discard one resource of their choice to free up space.

Otherwise, any resource that cannot be stored is lost.

3. Actions (this is the most important part of the game, when you use your Workers)

During odd-numbered Rounds (I, III, V), players remove their Workers. When you REMOVE a worker, you perform one of the actions from the row of the Action Board corresponding to the total number of Workers present BEFORE removing it.
During even-numbered Rounds (II, IV), players place their Workers. When you PLACE a worker, you perform one of the actions from the row of the Action Board corresponding to the total number of workers present AFTER placing it.

IMPORTANT: The total number of Workers on an Action board is limited:

4 Workers in a 4-player game.
3 Workers in a 2-3 player game.

If there is a "/" symbol on the row, you must choose either the left action or the right action.

Each player resolves the action(s) of ONE of their Workers FROM LEFT TO RIGHT IF THERE ARE SEVERAL ICONS, then play passes to the next player. This continues until all players have removed/placed their 4 Workers.

The Actions are mainly of four types: TRADE Resources, BUILD a Building, Fulfill a CONTRACT, Hire a CAPTAIN.

Action Details

BUILD — The player pays the resource cost shown and takes an available Building. A player may not build the same Building twice. Some Buildings grant Instantaneous Effect (resources, VP, etc.) and/or Permanent Effect.

Fulfill a CONTRACT — The player pays the resources shown on the chosen Contract card and chooses whether to gain the RED or BLUE Victory Points from that contract. They also gain the VP or STARS indicated on the board beneath the Contract's space. When you fulfill a Contract, add it to your player area.

Hire a CAPTAIN — The player pays the cost of the Captain card (usually money, sometimes resources) and places it in their play area. They immediately gain the Instantaneous Effect shown on the Captain card (the box with the lightning bolt).

Captain Activation: Some Captains require CANNONS. Once purchased, they remain face up in the player's play area. They may be activated later during the Action Phase to gain the associated rewards, after which the card is flipped face down. This activation doesn't count as an Action.

Icon reference used on cards and boards:

Receive COINS: receive the matching number of coins.
Receive REPUTATION: each Star symbol advances the player one step on the Reputation Track.
Receive RESOURCES: for each resource icon, receive the matching resource. In case of a multicolored cube, choose a cube of any color.
Receive VICTORY POINTS: receive the matching color Victory Points.

TRADE — Players may buy and sell any number of resources. To do so, use the Trade Board: place the Resources you wish to sell from your Warehouse (on the left side of the scale) and place the resources you wish to buy from the game (on the right side of the scale). Both sides can be balanced with coins.

Example: Nicolas wants to Buy 2 Cannons and 3 Wheat, the normal value would be 7+7+2+2+2 = $20.

Only Cannons can be placed on the upper plate to reduce the cost of each, so the value becomes: 6 + 6 + 2 + 2 + 2 = $18.

Nicolas wants to Sell 2 Ore and 1 Wood, the normal value should be 4+4+3 = $11.

When selling, players may choose one resource type and place all resources of that type on the upper left plate of the scale (+1). Players earn a +$1 bonus for each resource on that scale. He decides to place his most numerous resource (Ore) on the upper plate to increase the value of each by $1, so the total value becomes 5+5+3 = $13.

When buying, players may choose one resource type and place all resources of that type on the upper right plate of the scale (-1). Players receive a -$1 discount for each resource on that scale.

To balance the transaction, he simply adds $5 from his board to the left side of the scale, so each side has equal value ($18 = $18). He then takes all the resources from the right side and discards everything on the left side. The trade action is now complete.

Restrictions:

The +$1 selling bonus cannot be applied to Cannons (maximum selling price: $7).
The -$1 buying bonus cannot be applied to Wheat (minimum buying price: $2).
A player may not buy and sell the same type of resource during a single Trade action.

Reminder: Players may unlock additional Warehouse storage at any time by paying the cost shown on one of their Warehouse Expansion Tokens. The token will then be discarded to gain one additional storage space.

Each Action Board has an alternative action shown at the bottom of that board. If the action available on the player's current row does not suit them, they may always choose the alternative action of that Action Board instead.

IMPORTANT:

It is possible to have MULTIPLE workers of the SAME COLOR on the same Action Board.
Before or after their action, a player who has a face-up Captain card in front of them that requires one or more Cannons may pay for those cannons from their supply to gain the associated benefits (the Captain card is then flipped face down); the player can also choose to wait for another round to do it.

UNTIL A PLAYER GETS THEIR 8TH BLUE VP, ALL THEIR VP ARE VISIBLE TO ALL PLAYERS.

AS SOON AS A PLAYER REACHES 8 BLUE VICTORY POINTS, THEY MUST TAKE AN ALLEGIANCE CARD TO THE CROWN (see Allegiance below).

4. Assigning the People's Wishes (and getting rewarded)

According to the People's Wish card for the current Round, each player totals the corresponding symbols (Hygiene, Security, Entertainment) matching the current Round's wish.

If several types of People's Wish symbols appear on the card, players add together all the matching symbols they have. The player(s) with the highest total receive(s) the reward shown on the People's Wish Reward Tile for this Round, according to their ranking.

A player with a total of 0 is never rewarded.

Ties: In case of a tie for first place, all tied players receive the first-place reward, and no one receives the second-place reward. In case of a tie for second place, all tied players receive the second-rank reward.

5. Each player increases their Population by 1.

6. End of Round (refill Contracts, add new Captains, pass and flip 1st Player Marker)

Move all uncompleted Contracts as far to the right as possible on the Contracts Board, then refill empty spaces with new Contract cards face up.
Add the number of Captain cards of the next Round (II / III / IV / V): 4 Captains in a 4-player game, and 3 Captains in a 2- or 3-player game. Captains from previous Round(s) remain available.
Pass the First Player Marker clockwise, then flip it over.

Cards Anatomy

Each card (Captain, Building) shows a Cost, a Title, an Instantaneous Effect(s) box, and a Permanent Effect(s) box where applicable.

Allegiance: Proving Your Worth and Loyalty to the Crown

At the beginning of the game, all Victory Points (Red and Blue) are public. Once a player reaches their 8th Blue Victory Point, they may then place all their VP in their Chest.

As soon as a player gains their 8th Blue Victory Point, they must choose how they will prove to the Crown that they are worthy of becoming the next Governor. They place all their VP (Blue and Red) in their Chest.

From now on:

All Red and Blue Victory Points gained by that player are placed in their chest, and only that player may look at them.
The player chooses one ALLEGIANCE card among those still available and places it face up in their play area.
They immediately gain the Red Victory Points shown on that card.
In the rare case where two players reach their 8th Blue VP at the same time, the one who comes first in turn order chooses first.

Once a player has fulfilled their Allegiance during the game, they may flip their Allegiance card.

If a player has not fulfilled their Allegiance condition at the end of the game, they cannot win as Governor, regardless of their Blue VP total.

Note: Players are not forced to fulfill their Allegiance if they'd prefer to focus on winning as Pirate King (Red VP).

VERY IMPORTANT: At the end of the game, the difference between a player's Blue and Red Victory Points may not exceed 10 (see End of Game).

Reputation Track

When a player gains a Star symbol, they advance on the Reputation Track and immediately gain the indicated Resources / VP / Coins / Action.

If a space is divided by a "/", the player must select only one of the effects.

If a player advances multiple steps on the Reputation Track, they resolve the effects of each space in order, before moving on to the next one.

End of the Game (3-4 Players)

One or two winners will be determined; there is no ranking among the winners.

At the end of the 5th Round (V), the game ends. Then, in order:

Captains requiring CANNONS may be activated to gain the associated rewards, after which the card is flipped. This activation doesn't count as an Action.
Players who are able to prove their Allegiance to the Crown (if it requires resources or money) may do so.
All players sell any remaining resources in their Warehouse at the base price.
Each Player may then secretly exchange $10 for 1 Victory Point, either Blue or Red, as many times as they wish.
If a player has a difference of more than 10 VP between their Blue and Red VP, they lose the excess VP until the difference is reduced to 10 VP maximum.
The Governor is then determined:
- A player who has not fulfilled their Allegiance to the Crown cannot win as Governor.
- Note: Competing for the Governor victory is not mandatory. If no player is competing for victory as Governor, no Governor is appointed.
- If only one player has proven their Allegiance, they are automatically appointed Governor, regardless of their Blue VP total.
- If several players are eligible, the player with the most Blue VP becomes Governor. In case of a tie, compare their Red VP. If the tie persists, they share the Governor victory.
The Pirate King is then determined by comparing Red VP. The player with the most Red VP becomes Pirate King. In case of a tie, compare their Blue VP. If the tie persists, they share the Pirate King victory.

Note: If no Governor is appointed, there can be only one winner. It is also possible for the Governor to be the Pirate King, in which case there is only one winner.

For a more dramatic and fun ending, we recommend comparing Victory Points step by step: Do you have 10 Blue VP? Do you have 20 Blue VP? Do you have 30 Blue VP? Do you have 35 Blue VP?... That way, the tension stays high until the very end! (For example, victory is for the player with the most Blue VP, and who has fulfilled their Allegiance.)

2-Player Rules

These rules only describe the elements that differ from the 3–4 player game. If nothing is specified here, use the 3-player setup rules.

The AUTOMA is a fictitious player that places/removes Workers on the Action Boards.

Setup

Use the Action tiles, Contract and Allegiance boards with the side for 2-3 players.
Each human Player sets up normally.
A third unused Worker color is used for the Automa, but it has no player board and no resources.
The Automa only uses its 4 Workers on the Action Boards.
Shuffle the 6 Victory Type cards and place 1 face down above each Round Reward Tile without looking at it. The sixth card remains unused and unknown; it is returned to the box.
After drawing Starting Endowment cards, the player with the least amount of money takes the "Player A" Token. The other player becomes "Player B".
Place the 2-player Action Order Board on the side starting with "Player A", and place an unused-color Star pawn on the first space to indicate who acts.
Place the 8 Automa Tokens face down and shuffle them.

Buildings

No Building is removed from each category (all 25 Buildings are in play).
Each Building is available in only one copy.

Ship Phase

The Automa does not take part in this phase.
Every Round, draw 5 Ship cards and place them face up.

Turn Order

During a Round, the players and the Automa follow the Action Order Board to determine who acts. Move the marker one space forward each time. When it reaches the end of the board, flip the board for the next Round.

When It Is the Automa's Turn

Randomly draw one Automa Token, which indicates the Action Board on which it places or removes a Worker.
Depending on the current Round, add or remove an Automa Worker from the corresponding location.
The Automa does not perform any action (the Automa has no Player Board, no Resources, etc.).
If the Automa cannot use the chosen Action Board, draw another Automa Token.

Start of Each Round

Place the 8 Automa Tokens face down and shuffle them.
At the beginning of each Round, reveal the Victory Type card for that Round. It can be:
- Red = People's victory (Pirate King), or
- Blue = Crown victory (Governor)

End of the Game (2 Players)

At the end of the 5 Rounds, the majority color of Victory Type cards determines how victory is awarded. In practice, players gradually discover throughout the game which color will decide the final victory.

The end-game sequence remains the same as in the standard game, but only one winner is determined. All standard constraints still apply (notably the maximum 10-point difference between Red and Blue VP).

Special Case: If the final victory color is Blue and no player has proven their Allegiance to the Crown, neither player wins the game.

Note: It is sometimes possible to determine the winner before the end of the 5th round if:

The final victory color is Blue,
Only one player has proven their Allegiance to the Crown, and the opposing player can no longer possibly prove theirs.

Icon Legend

Icons used throughout the cards and boards represent:

Coin with a number: receive that many dollars.
Coin with "-N": pay N dollars less.
"/": this is an "OR" — choose either the left or right option.
"+": this is an "AND" — perform both the left and right parts.
Yellow cube: 1 Wheat.
Brown cube: 1 Wood.
Grey cube: 1 Ore.
Multicolored cube: 1 Cube of the color of your choice.
Cube with "-1": pay 1 Cube less.
Barrel: 1 Barrel.
Tobacco leaf: 1 Tobacco.
Cannon: 1 Cannon.
Cannon with a curved arrow: pay 1 Cannon for...
Lightning bolt: immediately receive/perform the following.
Star: advance 1 on the Reputation Track.
Blue circle with a number: receive that many Blue Victory Points.
Red square with a number: receive that many Red Victory Points.
Two flags (shield/water drop/music note): different kinds of People's Wishes (Security, Hygiene, Entertainment).
Two people figures with "+1": increase your Population by 1.
Ship with "-1": each Ship you pick costs $1 less.
Warehouse Expansion token with an X: discard a Warehouse Expansion Token.
Fountain: whenever you perform an action on the Governor Board.
Coins falling into a bag: during the Income Phase.

Captains

Effects of Captains:

#	Round	Cost	Instantaneous Effects	Cannon(s) Needed	Cannon(s) Effects	People's Wish Icon
1	I	$3	Advance 1 Reputation	1 Cannon	2 Blue VP	—
2	I	$3	Advance 2 Reputation	—	—	—
3	I	2 Wood	Advance 1 Reputation + 1 Wheat	1 Cannon	3 Blue VP	—
4	I

Buildings

Effects of Buildings:

#	Name	Continuous Effects	VP	Instantaneous Effects	People's Wish Icon(s)
1	Church	(Income phase): Gain $3	3 Red	—	—
2	Academy	—	2 Blue OR 2 Red	Increase your Population by 1	—
3	Palace	Any action on the Governor (Fountain) Board: +1 Blue VP	2 Red	—	—
4	Statue	—	4 Blue	—	—

Allegiances

Requirements to claim the Governor victory:

#	Requirement	Red VP
1	Have built 7 Buildings by the end of the game.
2	Have reached level 19 on the Population Track by the end of the game.
3	Have built 4 Buildings of the same color by the end of the game.
4	Have reached 20 on the Reputation track by the end of the game.
5	Have built 5 Buildings + Hired 4 Captains + Fulfilled 3 Contracts by the end of the game.
6	Have no more than a 5-point difference between Blue and Red VP by the end of the game.
7	Have fulfilled 4 Contracts by the end of the game.
8

Each Allegiance card also grants a Red VP reward (shown on the card) when chosen, as described under Allegiance above.