The Godfather: A New Don
The Godfather: A New Don Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
A. Place the board with either the 3-4 player side or the 5-6 player side face-up, depending on how many players are playing.
B. Each player places all the Soldier tokens of one color in the area in front of them called their "House."
C. Each player places 1 Soldier token in the Zero Zone near the Muscle track.
D. Each player takes the five dice in their color.
E. Place the three red dice near Vegas.
F. Roll a die to see who will be the Godfather first. The player with the highest roll is the Godfather. All other players get to place one of their Soldier tokens in the #6 spot on the Favor track in the river.
Overview
Players take turns acting as the Godfather, making offers to other players in the form of dice. Once offers are accepted or refused, all players make sets and rush to claim neighborhoods on the map of New York. Players receive points by having more of their Soldier tokens in each district than the other players. The player with the most points when the game ends becomes the final Godfather and wins the game!
Components
- 1 Double-sided board / map of NYC
- 30 6-sided dice (5 per player)
- 3 Red 6-sided Vegas dice
- 90 Soldier tokens (15 Soldier tokens per player color)
- 6 Family dice screens
Round Overview
There are five main phases in the game:
- Vegas: The Godfather rolls and distributes the red Vegas dice.
- Roll: All players roll their dice and reveal favors.
- Offer: The Godfather accepts favor or makes an offer to each player. Players can reroll any of their dice.
- Resolution: Starting with the Godfather, all players resolve their dice, use favors, and claim neighborhoods.
- Clean up: Appoint a new Godfather, reorganize muscle, refresh dice, check for game end, start a new round.
Round Details
1. Vegas
Vegas: The Godfather rolls Vegas dice (skip on the first turn).
The Godfather rolls the three red Vegas dice. Players who have a Soldier token on a number in Vegas get to take all the red dice that match the number where their Soldier token is placed. Soldier tokens used to acquire dice from Vegas are returned to their owners. All other Soldier tokens remain in Vegas for the next round.
Dice claimed from Vegas can be added to the player's pool to be rolled for the next phase or players can "lock" a Vegas die on that number instead of rerolling it in the next phase. Locked dice go behind the Family dice screen with the rest of their pool.
Example: Maria has a Soldier token on the 4 and 6 in Vegas. The Godfather rolls the Vegas dice and two 4s and a 5 are rolled. Maria takes the two 4s, reclaims her Soldier token, and chooses to leave both dice as 4s for the next phase.
Note: The Godfather can also claim/lock these dice if he or she had placed Soldier tokens in Vegas in the previous round.
2. Roll
Roll: All players roll their dice and reveal favors.
All players roll their dice simultaneously behind their screens. This becomes their dice pool.
Note: A player may "lock" any Vegas dice obtained during phase 1 and not roll them in phase 2. These dice retain their original value. A player may not wish to advertise that they are rolling their Vegas dice. Knowing that a Vegas dice is "locked" or not gives the Godfather an advantage during the Offer phase.
Next, each player simultaneously reveals one die from their dice pool and puts it in front of their screen for the Godfather to see. This revealed die is called a "favor."
3. Offer
Offer: The Godfather accepts favors or makes an offer to each player.
Starting with the player to his left and proceeding clockwise until each player's offer has been considered, the Godfather chooses one of two options for each player:
A. Take the favor: The Godfather can choose to take the die a player has revealed as their favor. If he does, the Godfather takes the revealed die and places it in front of his screen. The player who revealed the die then places a Soldier token on that number on the Favor track.
Example: Maria's favor was a 5 (i.e., she revealed a die showing a 5 in front of her screen) and the Godfather has accepted it, so Maria places one of her Soldier tokens on the 5 on the Favor track. One of the Godfather's many enemies is now sleeping with the fishes, courtesy of Maria.
B. Make that player an offer they can't refuse: If the Godfather doesn't want the favor a player has revealed, then the Godfather can request a die with ANY number he wants from that player.
a. If that player has a die with the requested number, then they MUST give that die to the Godfather—it was an offer they couldn't refuse! That player then places one of their Soldier tokens on one of two spots on the Favor track in the river: i. On the numbered spot equal to the number on the die the Godfather requested. or ii. On the numbered spot equal to the number on the die the player originally offered.
b. If that player does NOT have a die with the requested number on it, they must reveal their dice to prove they don't have what the Godfather requested. They do not give ANY die to the Godfather. They still place one of their Soldier tokens on the numbered spot equal to the number on the die they originally revealed to the Godfather.
After the Godfather has taken the revealed die or made an offer to the player, the player can immediately reroll any number of their dice, regardless of whether the Godfather took a die or not. Dice should be kept hidden until it's a player's turn to act in the following phase.
Note: This is a free reroll and does not require a Soldier token on the Free Reroll spot on the Favor track. The Godfather does not receive a free reroll.
4. Resolution
Resolution: Resolve dice, use favors, and claim neighborhoods.
A. Starting with the Godfather and proceeding clockwise, each player reveals their dice and then takes their turn to resolve all of their dice and use favors. The Godfather CANNOT use favors.
B. Players use their dice plus any dice they collected from Vegas and/or other players to compose various sets. Players then spend each set to claim a neighborhood that matches their set.
i. Claim a neighborhood: Players may spend a set of dice by placing them behind their screen to indicate that they have been used. They then place one of their Soldier tokens on an empty neighborhood, matching the set's value and size. There are two types of sets: a. Sets of one number (e.g., a pair of 3s, triple 4s, etc.). b. A straight. Straights are three dice long and need to include the number indicated in that neighborhood (e.g., 4, 5, 6).
Players may claim as many neighborhoods on their turns as they are able to claim.
Example: Claire has a pair of 3s, a 4, and a 5 left. She elects to go for the 3-4-5 run in District Three to solidify her hold on first place.
ii. Muscle an opponent out of a neighborhood: If there are no empty neighborhoods matching a player's set and that player wants to claim a neighborhood occupied by an opponent, then they can Muscle the opponent out of that neighborhood as long as they are HIGHER on the Muscle track than the opponent.
To Muscle another player:
a. The player spends the set of dice, placing them behind their screen to indicate that they have been used.
b. The player takes the Soldier token off the target neighborhood, replacing it with one of their own.
c. The player places the Soldier token being Muscled out of the neighborhood onto the Favor track. It is placed on the Ability matching the number of the district that it came from.
d. NOTE: A player with a token in the Zero Zone cannot Muscle any opponents out and can be Muscled out by any opponent who is on a lettered or numbered space on the track. While the lettered spaces count as zeroes for the purposes of counting, they are considered higher in value than the Zero Zone. A player in the lettered spots can Muscle a player whose token is before theirs in alphabetical sequence.
Example: Maria is on the letter D of the Muscle track. Johnny is on the letter B of the Muscle track. Maria Muscles Johnny's token out of District Two, placing his token on the Ability Two section of the Favor track. One of Johnny's soldiers is now wearing cement shoes, capiche?
C. If a player has dice left over that cannot be used to claim a neighborhood, they can spend them to recruit muscle and/or make a bet in Vegas.
Note: These options are NOT available to the Godfather. The Godfather can only claim neighborhoods/muscle opponents out of a neighborhood on his turn.
i. Recruit Muscle:
a. The player moves their Soldier token forward on the Muscle track a number of spaces equal to the sum of the dice they wish to spend. If a player is on a lettered space on the Muscle track, they begin movement starting with 1. After movement, the player places all spent dice behind their screen, indicating that the dice have been used.
b. Only one Soldier token is allowed per space (numerical or alphabetical) on the Muscle track. If a player's Soldier token would land on an opponent's Soldier token, the player places their Soldier token on the next empty space to the left of the opponent's Soldier token instead.
Example: Johnny is on the letter B of the Muscle track and is sick of getting knocked around by Maria. He spends a die showing a 4 to climb from the letter B to the number 4 on the Muscle track, placing that die behind his screen. If Maria wants to outmuscle him, she'll have to spend 5 or more to overpower his soldiers.
ii. Make a Bet:
a. For each die spent to make a bet, the player places one of their Soldier tokens on any empty spot on the Vegas track. The player places all spent dice behind their screen, indicating that they have been used.
b. If there are no empty spots, then no one else can place a Soldier token in Vegas.
c. The number on the die rolled does not have to be the number a Soldier token is placed on in Vegas.
D. All players EXCEPT the Godfather can use favors from the Favor track at any time on their turn—before, during, or after dice resolution.
i. A player elects to use a specific favor by removing their Soldier token from that area of the Favor track and placing the Soldier token back in their House.
ii. A player can use multiple favors in a round if they have multiple Soldier tokens on the Favor track. These can be the same or different favors, as long as the player has Soldier tokens to remove.
iii. Unused Soldier tokens can accumulate for future use.
Example: Due to Maria Muscling him out, Johnny now has a Soldier token on the number 2 on the Favor track and can now add or subtract one from the value of one of his dice on his turn.
5. Clean up
Clean up: Reorganize muscle/appoint new Godfather, refresh dice, check for game end, start a new round.
A. Reorganize Muscle/Appoint New Godfather
i. All Soldier tokens in the Zero Zone remain there. They are not considered to be on the Muscle track at all. ii. Slide all of the Soldier tokens on the Muscle track to the left, maintaining the same order. Place the lowest valued token on the A spot, and place all other tokens in subsequent relative order. iii. The player that is the highest on the Muscle track becomes the new Godfather for the next round. Place the new Godfather's Soldier token on the red 3 spot of the Muscle track (indicated in red).
Example: At the end of the round, Vincent is in the Zero Zone on the Muscle track, while Maria is on C, Johnny is on 4, and Claire is on 5.
After reorganization, lowly Vincent is still in the Zero Zone (gun symbol). Maria's token slides left from the C to the A, Johnny to the B, and Claire to the C. Claire, however, is the next Godfather, so she places her token on the red 3 spot—it's good to be the Godfather!
B. Refresh Dice: Ensure all players have five dice behind their screen to start the next round.
C. Check for Game End: See "Game End" below.
D. Start New Round: Play continues with a new round, starting with phase 1 above.
Game End
If one or more districts are full of Soldier tokens, the game is over at the end of that round. The game can also end if a player has no more Soldier tokens left in their House at the end of a round.
Scoring
Players can use their dice to keep track of their score. Points are earned in two ways:
1. Districts
Each district is highlighted in a different color, and a different set of dice results are required to claim neighborhoods in each district. However, the sets required to claim neighborhoods in a given district always use the same die result in different combinations. So in District 1, players will have to use combinations of 1 to claim neighborhoods. The same is true for District 2, District 3, and so on.
Each district has its own scoring indicator with three numbers in it. These numbers represent the points that are awarded to the players in first, second, and third place in that district.
A. Score each district individually.
B. Count up the neighborhoods each player controls in one district.
i. The player with the most neighborhoods in the district claims first place for that district and is awarded a number of points equal to the first number on that district's scoring indicator. The player with the second most neighborhoods in the district is awarded points equal to the second number in that district's scoring indicator. And the player with the third most neighborhoods in the district is awarded points equal to the third number.
ii. If there is a tie, then all tied players score the points awarded to the next lowest place, and all subsequent scores are awarded one rank lower as well, meaning that no points are awarded in certain situations such as ties for third place.
Example: At game end, the group is scoring a district where the scoring indicator shows 7/4/2 points awarded. Vincent controlled three neighborhoods, while Maria and Claire tied with two apiece, leaving Johnny with one measly neighborhood in that district.
Vincent is awarded seven points, while both Maria and Claire tie and score two points each instead of four. This leaves poor Johnny out in the cold, scoring zero points for that district.
If Vincent had controlled three neighborhoods and Claire had tied with him instead of Maria, Vincent and Claire would score four points each, and Maria would still score two, being bumped down to the third place scoring tier. Johnny is still bumped out of scoring.
2. House
Players count up how many Soldier tokens they have left in their House (in front of them, and not played onto the map). The player with the most Soldier tokens remaining in their House scores three points, while the player with the second most Soldier tokens is awarded two points, and the third place player gets one point. Ties work the same as they do when scoring districts—tied players earn a number of points equal to the next lower place, bumping the next-placed player one rank lower.
Soldier tokens that are still on Vegas or on the Favor track at the end of the game remain there and do not count towards scoring for the House bonus. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!
The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. If there is a tie, the player who was highest on the Muscle track amongst the tied players wins!
"Keep Your Friends Close, But Your Enemies Closer" Scoring Variant
When scoring for each district, all players tied for the most neighborhoods will get points equal to the first number in the scoring indicator for that district. Then all players tied for second most neighborhoods will get points equal to the second number in the scoring indicator and finally all players tied for third most neighborhoods will get points equal to the third number in the scoring indicator.
This variant means that more players will score more points and is a little more friendly.
Appendix
Free Reroll: Reroll any dice in front of you. Dice that are rerolled can now only be used to make sets.
+/-1 to a die: Add or subtract one from a die result. Change a 4 to a 3 or a 5. (1 is low, 6 is high.)
Move to an empty adjacent neighborhood: On the map, move one of your Soldier tokens to an adjacent neighborhood (a neighborhood that shares part of the same border or connects via a bridge) as long as there are no Soldier tokens in the new neighborhood.
Turn 1 die to any side: Turn a die to any number you desire.
Treat 1 die as 2 dice with the same number: Add an imaginary die to your pool of dice. The number on this new imaginary die must match the number on one of your other dice you rolled.
Perform any action: Perform any action above.