Volto
Volto Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 20 Masks: 10 of each color. Each player has the same number of masks as their opponent.
- 1 game mat of St Mark's Square made up of a 5x5 grid with two palace rows on either side, each made up of 5 squares:
- 5 squares of first palace
- 5x5 grid of St Mark's Square
- 5 squares of second palace
Each set of 10 masks is made up of:
- 3 Nobles
- 1 Soldier
- 1 Candidate
- 3 Advisors
- 2 Ladies
Object of the Game
To win a game of VOLTO, one of the following must happen at the end of a turn:
- you remove your opponent's candidate from the game mat,
- your opponent captures both of your ladies,
- your candidate makes their way to one of the 5 palace squares belonging to your rival.
Setup
- Place the game mat between the two players so that each player has 5 palace squares in front of them and they are both facing their opponent.
- Each player chooses a mask color and puts the 10 corresponding Masks in front of them with their eyes facing towards their opponent. This way, a player can see the symbols on the back of their own masks only. See setup example S1.
- Each player secretly puts their 10 masks in any order they like on the 5 squares of their own palace and on the row of 5 squares of St Mark's Square immediately in front of their palace. There should be one mask per square. See setup example S2.
The core concept of VOLTO is that players do not know the identity of their opponent's masks until the moment they dare to capture them!
How to Play
Whichever player is the most cunning will play first. They start the game and then players take turns.
On their turn, a player takes one of their Masks on the mat and moves it to another square, while respecting the following rules:
- A player cannot skip their turn. They must move one of their Masks on the mat: either to an empty square or to a square with an opponent's mask. This means they capture the opponent's mask. See Capturing Opponent's Masks.
- A player cannot move their mask to a square that holds one of their own masks.
- Each mask has a way of moving that is unique to it. This can be found by looking at the symbol on the back of the mask:
Noble: a noble moves forward, backward, left or right to one of the 4 adjacent squares. They can capture an opponent's mask.
Advisor: an advisor moves to one of the 4 diagonal squares. They can capture an opponent's mask.
Candidate: the candidate moves to one of the 8 squares around them. They can capture an opponent's mask.
Soldier: the soldier moves in a straight line as many spaces as they like, forward only. For them to move, the squares in front of them they wish to move through must be empty. Only the final square in front of them can have an opponent's mask on it if they wish to capture it. Exception: if a soldier reaches one of the opponent's 5 palace squares, they cannot move from there. Despite everything, they can be captured.
Lady: a lady moves to one of the 8 squares around her. Beware: the 2 ladies are the only pieces that cannot capture an opponent's mask. This is shown with the Circle symbol. A lady must only move into an empty square.
Capturing Opponent's Masks
When a player captures an opponent's mask, its symbol is revealed and the corresponding capture effect is applied:
- When a player captures a noble, an advisor or a soldier, the captured piece is removed from the mat. Players continue playing in turns. See example E1.
- When a player captures their opponent's candidate, they immediately win the game. See example E2.
- When a player captures an opponent's lady, the piece that captured her is removed from the mat, along with the opponent's lady. Players continue playing in turns. See example E3.
Beware: when a candidate captures an opponent's lady, they are both removed from the game and the player whose lady was taken immediately wins the game. See End of the Game.
After moving your mask and carrying out its capturing effect, your turn is over. If none of the conditions for winning the game were met, then it is your opponent's turn to play.
End of the Game
A game of VOLTO ends when one of the following happens at the end of a player's turn:
- A player removes their opponent's candidate from the mat. That player immediately wins the game. See example E2.
- Both of a player's ladies are captured. That player immediately wins the game. See example E4.
- A player's candidate reaches one of their opponent's 5 palace squares. The candidate is unmasked and immediately wins the game. See example E5.
In each of these situations, the winner succeeds in publicly discrediting their rival! They win all the committee's votes and become the new Doge of Venice!
Credits
© 2022 Blue Orange Edition. Volto and Blue Orange are trademarks of Blue Orange Edition, France. Game published and distributed under license by Blue Orange, 97 impasse Jean Lamour, 54700 Pont-à-Mousson, France. www.blueorangegames.eu
Game design: Yusuke Emi