The Gallerist
131 questions players ask about The Gallerist. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-03.
Setup and Components
- Are Artist bonus tiles placed face up at setup, and does the starting face-up Artist get one?
- Where do I put the Reputation tile I take at setup?
- What happens to the Reputation tiles that are left over after setup in a 2 or 3 player game?
- At setup, does every Lobby get a Visitor regardless of player count?
- Why does one Artist start the game already discovered?
- What do the Visitor icons above the scoring track on the board mean?
- Do I need to track which Artist made each Work of Art I own (the red/blue Artist chips on the tiles)?
- What is the extra dark pawn in the box for?
- Does the Starting Player marker pass to another player during the game?
- Do the 2015, 2019 and 2020 editions of The Gallerist differ in rules?
Turns, Movement and Kicked-Out Actions
- Can I move to a Location and choose not to take one of its actions?
- Must I move away from my starting Location on my first turn?
- After being kicked out, can I go back to the same Location on my next turn?
- Whose turn is next after a Kicked-Out action?
- When I'm kicked out, can I use any Location's action or only the one I was kicked out of?
- What does a Kicked-Out Location action cost, and does an Executive Action cost anything?
- Can I take a Kicked-Out Location action if my Influence is at 0?
- After a Kicked-Out action, do I still get a full turn with an Executive Action on my next turn?
- If I move onto a space holding my own Assistant, do I get a Kicked-Out action?
Assistants and Executive Actions
- Can I use an Assistant that was just kicked out (or sits on a Location) for an action?
- Can I take an Assistant off a contract card or the International Market to use elsewhere?
- When I move my Gallerist onto a space where my own Assistant stands, can I move that Assistant elsewhere instead of sending it home?
- When can I leave an Assistant behind, and can I leave more than one?
- When can I take an Executive Action, and how many?
- How many Visitors can one Executive Action move?
- Can I place more than one Assistant on contract bonuses in a single Executive Action?
- Does the order of steps inside an action matter, and can I spend what I gain mid-action?
- Can I buy two Works of Art, or sell to fulfil two contracts, in one action?
Visitors and Tickets
- Can tickets move Visitors out of a Gallery, mine or someone else's?
- How many Collectors can I have in my Gallery?
- A bonus says to take a Visitor from the bag but the bag is empty. What happens?
- When can I take a Visitor from the bag instead of the Plaza?
- Can I look into the bag and pick a Visitor, and what does 'choose' mean versus 'take'?
- What are Visitors in my Lobby for, and do they score?
- Do Visitors in my Gallery or Lobby score money at the end of the game?
- What if a bonus gives me a ticket of a colour that has run out in the box office?
- Can a Reputation tile move a Visitor into my Lobby instead of my Gallery?
- Is there a limit on how many tickets I can hold?
Influence
- Can I move my Influence disc back to gain money I don't spend immediately?
- Can I spend Influence for money even if I have cash, and can it cover the whole cost?
- Can I spend Influence to raise Fame whenever an Artist's Fame goes up, including from a tile or bonus?
- Can I spend Influence to raise a different Artist's Fame than the one my action targets?
- What happens to Influence I gain when my disc is at the end of the track?
Artists Colony
- When I discover an Artist, in what order do the steps go, and can the bonus raise that same Artist's Fame?
- Can I discover any face-down Artist, such as a red one before the blue one?
- Can I hold more than one commission, or discover another Artist while I have one?
- How does a commission work: what do I pay and must I use it first?
- Can I buy both of an Artist's two Works the normal way?
- Can I buy a Work from an Artist who is still face down?
- What if the Work stack for my commissioned Artist is empty?
- Can I still buy a Work if there aren't enough Visitors left in the bag to put on the newly revealed Work?
- If buying a Work makes its Artist a Celebrity, can I put that Work in the 4th Gallery slot?
Sales Office and Contracts
- Where do fulfilled or covered contracts go?
- What happens when the contract deck runs out and I need to draw four new contracts?
- Can I take any face-up contract, or only the top card of each stack?
- How often can I draw four new contracts when signing a contract?
- Can I place a new contract over an unfulfilled one, or sign with three unfulfilled contracts?
- How long does an Assistant stay on a contract card?
- Can I sell a Work if I have no Visitor in my Gallery, and how do I orient the contract?
- Which bonus on a flipped contract card can I use?
- Can I hold several contracts for the same art form, and does one sale fulfil all of them?
- A contract bonus gives a Visitor from the bag but the bag is empty. What happens?
Media Center
- Can I hire more Assistants than I have empty desks?
- If a bonus gives me a free hire, do I still get the bonus printed on that queue spot?
- Can I promote an Artist who hasn't been discovered?
- What does Promote Artist cost and in what order does it resolve?
- Can I promote an Artist who is already at the top promotion level?
- Where does the Visitor from a promotion bonus go?
International Market
- Is the middle column of the International Market used in 2-player and solo games?
- What do I need in my Lobby to use each International Market column?
- Can I use the International Market if I have no Assistant, even if a bonus would give me one?
- Can two Assistants share a space in the International Market?
- Can I win a Renowned Work at the end-game auction without having placed a bid?
- Can I take an auction space whose bonus I can't use?
- Do I need to have acquired a Work of Art to bid in the auction part of the market?
Fame, Celebrities and Masterpieces
- Does a Work's sale value change when its Artist's Fame rises, including for other players' Works?
- Is a Work free to buy when its Artist's Fame is below the first star?
- What happens when an Artist becomes a Celebrity?
- Can I still promote an Artist after they become a Celebrity?
- How does the 4th Gallery slot work with Masterpieces?
- How do I tell which of my Works is a Masterpiece if I own several of the same form?
- Can a Fame bonus go to any Artist, and can it be split between Artists?
- Do I take another Signature token when I buy a second Work by the same Artist?
- Does it matter who discovered an Artist when scoring Works by them?
Intermediate Scoring and Game End
- When does Intermediate Scoring happen, and does it repeat?
- Does Intermediate Scoring happen before or after a Kicked-Out action on the triggering turn?
- What if Intermediate Scoring is triggered on the very last turn of the game?
- What ends the game, and how many conditions are needed?
- When counts the Visitor bag as empty?
- If the end is triggered during a Kicked-Out action, how many more turns are there?
- Can I refuse a bonus that would trigger the end of the game?
Endgame Scoring
- In what order is end-game scoring resolved, and are Reputation tiles scored before the auction?
- Can the Renowned Work I win at auction count for Curator or Art Dealer goals, and where does it go?
- What is an auctioned Renowned Work worth if no Artist of its form has been discovered?
- If I win an auction Work that would be my third Gallery piece, do I get the third-slot Reputation tile?
- Can one Work count in several Curator or Art Dealer sets, and can a set score twice?
- Does a Work I sold still count as acquired?
- Do Works still in my Gallery pay out at the end?
- Does money I'm holding count towards my final score?
- Do I score second or third in an International Market column where I have no Assistants?
Reputation Tiles
- How does the Reputation tile on my third Gallery slot work?
- When exactly is the third-slot Reputation tile placed relative to my Executive Action?
- Can I take the third-slot Reputation tile if I have no Visitor in my Lobby?
- What if I never fill my third Gallery slot, do I still score the starting tile?
- Which Visitor leaves my Lobby when I take a Reputation tile from the International Market?
- When do Reputation tiles score, and do they do anything during the game?
- In what order do I resolve Reputation tiles if one pays per Influence?
- Do the tiles for Artists with Fame 15+ or promotion level 4+ count all Artists or only mine?
- Which Assistants count for the Reputation tile that scores Assistants in play?
Solitaire Play
- How do I set up Visitors in a solo game, including Lacerda's Lobby?
- When is Lacerda's Gallerist placed in solo, and does the placement count as an action?
- Does Lacerda place an Assistant when he starts on the International Market?
- Where and when does Lacerda place Assistants in the International Market?
- Does Lacerda leave an Assistant behind when he moves?
- What if Lacerda runs out of Assistants in a solo game?
- What happens when I kick out Lacerda or his Assistant in solo, and does he kicking his own Assistant matter?
- What happens after the last ticket is taken in solo?
- How is a solo game scored, and do I need every goal of a level?
- Which Masterpieces count for the solo goals?