Villagers & Villains Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Objective
• Components
• Card Guide
• Set Up
• Game Sequence
  • 1. Recruit Phase
  • 2. Defend Phase
  • 3. Pillage Phase
  • 4. Earning Phase
  • 5. Build/Hire Phase
  • 6. Reset Phase
• 2-Player Rules
• Advanced Game
• Game Rulings
• Game End
• Game Score Sheet

Game Objective

The Mayor earning the most points wins (see Game Score Sheet).

Components

• 100 playing cards (25 Buildings, 30 Challenges, 25 Citizens, 20 Heroes)
• 10 starting hand cards (5 Angry Mobs, 5 Deputy Mayors)
• 1 Start Marker
• 1 King's Favor Marker
• 64 gold tokens (48 One Gold, 16 Two Gold)
• 5 quick reference cards and 1 die
• 1 Game Score Pad

Card Guide

Each card shows the following information, depending on its type:

• Town Value — the card's contribution to your Town Value at game end.
• Defeat Value (Challenge) / Defeat Bonus (Hero) — a Challenge Card's Defeat Value is the number a Mayor's roll must equal or beat to defeat it; a Hero Card's Defeat Bonus is added to a Hero Defense roll.
• Purchase Price — the gold cost to move the card from your hand into your town.
• Pillage Loss (Challenge) / Earnings (Citizen) — a Challenge Card's Pillage Loss is gold lost during the Pillage Phase; a Citizen Card's Earnings is gold gained during the Earning Phase.
• Loot Box — the gold gained for defeating this Challenge Card.
• Additional card features — text describing the card's ability (ADVANCED GAME).
• Pair Information — the bonus gained for completing a pair with another card (ADVANCED GAME).

Set Up

1. Deal each Mayor 1 Angry Mob card and 1 Deputy Mayor card. This is their starting hand. Remove remaining Angry Mobs and Deputy Mayors from the game.
2. Give each Mayor 6 gold tokens (6g). Place remaining gold tokens in a separate pile within reach of all Mayors. This is the bank supply.
3. Shuffle the playing cards to form a deck in the middle of the table. Draw the top 6 playing cards and place them face up to the left of the deck (use 7 cards if there are 5 Mayors). This is the Recruitment Pool. The card farthest from the deck is in the "1" position.
4. Determine the starting Mayor and place the Start Marker in that Mayor's town. A Mayor's town is the area in front of him/her. The Mayor with the Start Marker will go first in each Phase of a round.
5. ADVANCED GAME: The starting Mayor rolls a die to determine the position of the King's Favor Marker. Place the marker on the Recruitment Pool card that corresponds with the die roll.

Game Sequence

There are 6 Phases in a round. Each Mayor takes one turn in clockwise order during each Phase. Begin each Phase with the Mayor holding the Start Marker. A new round begins when all 6 Phases end. The Start Marker is then passed to the Mayor on the left.

1. Recruit Phase

Each Mayor will get a card from the Recruitment Pool. On their turn Mayors first announce their desired card, then roll a die. The roll must be equal to or higher than the card's position to succeed. Example: If Mayor Tim wants the 4th card in the pool, he needs to roll a 4 or higher. If he rolls a 1, 2, or 3, he fails and must take the card in the 1 position. Prior to his roll, Tim can buy extra chances to get the 4th card. However, each extra roll costs 1 gold (1g). So, if Tim has 3 gold (3g) he must decide, before rolling, to add 1, 2, or 3 extra rolls for recruitment. Each roll will give him a chance to get a 4 or higher. Tim's spent gold must go to the bank. Once Tim gets a card, he removes it from the pool. If it's a Challenge Card, it is placed in his town. Any other card goes into his hand. His turn ends, and play continues clockwise until all Mayors recruit a card. When a card is removed from the Recruitment Pool the remaining cards move forward in their position, as shown above.

ADVANCED GAME • King's Favor: If a Mayor recruits a card with the King's Favor Marker on it, he/she places the marker in his/her town. This Mayor can use it to grant one bonus. Each Phase offers different bonuses (see King's Favor Reference Guide). Bonus options are explained in each Phase below. The following option is also available: a Mayor holding the King's Favor Marker at the start of any Phase can opt to keep it or use it to move the Start Marker to any Mayor he/she chooses. Once the King's Favor Marker is used, place it in the bank.

ADVANCED GAME • Recruit Favor Bonus: The Mayor with the King's Favor Marker may decide to use it this Phase to add 2 to a recruit die roll.

King's Favor Bonus (basic reference): Move the Start Marker when this Phase begins, or add 2 to a recruit roll.

2. Defend Phase

In turn, each Mayor may attempt to remove one or more Challenge Cards. A Mayor gets 1 attempt (called TOWN DEFENSE roll), plus 1 additional attempt for each hero in his/her town (called HERO DEFENSE roll). To start, a Mayor selects a Challenge Card in his/her town. Then, the Mayor declares TOWN DEFENSE or HERO DEFENSE to attack the Challenge Card. To declare a HERO DEFENSE, the Mayor selects a Hero Card in his/her town. That Hero Card's Defeat Bonus gets added to the HERO DEFENSE roll. TOWN DEFENSE rolls have no bonus. Next, he/she rolls a die. If the total is equal to or more than the Challenge Card's Defeat Value, the Challenge Card is removed from town and placed in his/her hand. Defeated Challenge Cards can provide bonus points at the end of the game (see Game Score Sheet). Mayors may also receive gold for defeating Challenge Cards. Gold collected is equal to the value in the Loot Box. However, if the DEFENSE roll is less than the Defeat Value, the Challenge Card is not defeated. The Mayor can then try to defeat it with an unused attempt. If all attempts are used, or no Challenge Cards remain in a Mayor's town, or if he/she chooses not to defend, play continues clockwise.

ANGRY MOB OPTION: A Mayor can play the Angry Mob card, if it's in his/her hand. This option will add 3 to any DEFENSE roll and must be declared before rolling. Once used, remove the Angry Mob from the game. A Mayor who never uses the Angry Mob will gain a 3 point bonus at the end of the game (see Game Score Sheet).

ADVANCED GAME • Defend Favor Bonus: The Mayor with the King's Favor Marker may decide to use it this Phase to add 2 to a DEFENSE roll.

King's Favor Bonus (basic reference): Move the Start Marker when this Phase begins, or add 2 to a DEFENSE roll.

3. Pillage Phase

If Challenge Cards remain in a Mayor's town, that Mayor may lose gold. Each Mayor takes a turn adding up the total Pillage Loss on Challenge Cards in his/her own town and transfers that amount in gold directly to the bank. If a Mayor has no gold, there is no effect.

ADVANCED GAME • Pillage Favor Bonus: The Mayor with the King's Favor Marker may decide to use it this phase to avoid losing gold.

King's Favor Bonus (basic reference): Move the Start Marker when this Phase begins, or avoid losing gold.

4. Earning Phase

In turn, each Mayor may receive gold from the bank. The amount gained is equal to the total Earnings from all Citizen Cards in his/her own town.

ADVANCED GAME • Earning Favor Bonus: The Mayor with the King's Favor Marker may decide to use it this Phase to gain 1 extra gold from the bank supply.

King's Favor Bonus (basic reference): Move the Start Marker when this Phase begins, or earn 1 extra gold.

5. Build/Hire Phase

In turn, each Mayor selects a Building, Hero, or Citizen Card from his/her hand to add to his/her own town. Cards in town are always face up. Mayors must place gold in the bank equal to the Purchase Price on the selected card. Mayors with insufficient gold or cards cannot build or hire. Mayors may only add 1 card to their town in this Phase — except when using an ADVANCED GAME card ability. When a town has 9 (10 in a 2 player game) or more cards (including Challenge Cards), the GAME ENDS after this Phase is completed.

King's Favor Bonus (basic reference): Move the Start Marker when this Phase begins.

6. Reset Phase

The Mayor with the Start Marker passes it to the Mayor on the left. The new owner of the Start Marker resets the Recruitment Pool. To reset the Recruitment Pool, remove any non-challenge cards in the Recruitment Pool from the game. Next, slide all Challenge Cards to the lowest possible positions, as shown above. Then deal new cards to the Recruitment Pool until it returns to 6. Use 7 cards if there are 5 Mayors (see SET UP step 3). The Mayor with the Start Marker begins a new round on Phase 1.

ADVANCED GAME • Reset Rule: If the King's Favor Marker is in a Mayor's town or on a Challenge Card, it remains there. Otherwise, roll a die to determine its new position in the Recruitment Pool (see SET UP step 5).

2-Player Rules

During the Recruit Phase, each Mayor gets two turns. These turns are taken in alternating order until both Mayors have recruited 2 cards. The game will end when 10 cards are in a town, rather than 9. All other rules remain the same.

Advanced Game

After mastering the basic rules, play the ADVANCED GAME. The ADVANCED GAME rules include card abilities, the King's Favor Marker, and card pairs. Rulings for advanced play include:

Card Abilities: An ability can be used during the Phase indicated on the card once per turn. Some cards allow Mayors an option to pay gold for the use of an ability. Any card with the word VEND also allows other Mayors to pay to use that ability during their own turn. Since the payment and its recipient(s) may vary, the information is indicated on the card. The card owner can also deny a Mayor use of his VEND ability.

King's Favor Marker: Mayors may earn a Favor (see ADVANCED GAME sections) from the King. The Favor can be used in different ways depending on the Phase. After granting one bonus, the Favor returns to the Recruitment Pool during the Reset Phase. Then, on the Recruit Phase, any Mayor has the chance to earn the Favor. A Mayor can hold an unused Favor for as long as he/she wishes (see the Reference Guide for ways to spend a King's Favor Bonus).

Card Pairs: Each Mayor receives bonus points for creating pairs (see Game Score Sheet). Cards with pairing capacity, are listed on the card (see Card Guide). To get the bonus points, both cards of a pair must be in a Mayor's town at the end of the game. Cards of a pair can't be paired with any other cards. Example: The Mystic Seer can only pair with a Citizen Card if it isn't already in a pair.

Game Rulings

When to use a bonus: Before rolling the die a Mayor must declare the use of bonuses, i.e. card abilities, the King's Favor Marker bonus, the Angry Mob, or extra recruit rolls.

Timing: Challenge, Building, Hero, and Citizen Cards and their abilities take effect after the Phase in which they enter a town. If multiple rulings occur on one turn, that Mayor can choose the order they will take effect. Example: On his turn during the Pillage Phase, Mayor Tim will have a total Pillage Loss of 3g, the Tax Collector Card is in play, plus he wants to pay for the ability of the Lord Card. Mayor Tim can choose the order in which these three rulings take effect.

Extra Cards: If a card ability allows you to draw an extra card from the deck, that card goes directly into your hand. There is no Loot Box bonus if that card is a Challenge Card, however it is counted towards your VICTORY BONUS (see Game Score Sheet).

Game End

The game ends when any town has 9 (10 in a 2 player game) or more cards (including Challenge Cards) when Phase 5 ends. The game will also end if no cards remain in the deck. The Mayor earning the most points wins. Use the Game Score Pad to add up each Mayor's points.

Game Score Sheet

For each Mayor, total the following:

• Town Value — Total the TOWN VALUE of all cards in your town.
• Civility Bonus — 3 points if Angry Mob is still in your hand.
• Heroic Bonus — 2 points per Hero Card to the Mayor(s) with the most Hero Cards in their town. Add 1 point per hero to the Mayor(s) with the second most Hero Cards in their town.
• Victory Bonus — 1 point per Challenge Card to the Mayor(s) with the most Challenge Cards in their hand. Add 1 point per 2 Challenge Cards to the Mayor(s) with the second most Challenge Cards in their hand.
• Largest Town Bonus — 3 points to the Mayor(s) with the most cards in their town.
• Matchmaker Bonus (ADVANCED GAME only) — 2 points per pair in your town.
• Total Points — sum all of the above.

Note: If 2 or more Mayors tie for any bonus, each of them get the full bonus.