Welcome to the World of Lords of Vegas!

If you’re eager to dive into the exciting world of board games, then you’re in for a treat with Lords of Vegas! This game will transport you to the dazzling and ruthless world of casino moguls as you compete to become the king of the strip. Get ready to strategize, take risks, and make some bold moves as you build and expand your own Las Vegas empire.

Understanding the Game Rules

Before we get started, let’s go over the basic rules of Lords of Vegas. The goal of the game is to build the most successful casinos and accumulate the highest value in your portfolio. In this world of high stakes, every decision counts, so make sure to plan your moves carefully. Let’s explore some key aspects of the game:

1. Building and Expanding Casinos

Your journey to becoming a casino tycoon begins with building your first casino. You’ll start with a small, low-value casino, but don’t worry – with a bit of luck and smart investment, you can grow it into a lucrative establishment. As you expand your casino empire, you can even merge smaller casinos to create larger, more valuable establishments.

2. The Importance of Placing Casinos Strategically

Location is everything in the world of Las Vegas. Placing your casinos strategically is crucial to attracting visitors and generating income. Consider the neighboring casinos, the types of establishments around, and the potential for expansion. Be sure to keep an eye on other players’ moves and adapt your strategy accordingly. Study the board and make the most of every opportunity.

3. Making Deals and Taking Risks

In Lords of Vegas, making deals with other players is an essential part of the game. You can negotiate the exchange of properties, casinos, and even cash. This adds an element of excitement and uncertainty to the gameplay, as you never know what opportunities may arise or what risks you might have to take. Trust your instincts, weigh the risks and rewards, and be ready to seize the moment.

4. The Role of Chance and Luck

Lords of Vegas is a game of chance, and luck can play a significant role in determining your success. Rolling the dice can lead to unexpected outcomes, both good and bad. Sometimes luck may be on your side, and you’ll strike gold. Other times, you may face unfortunate setbacks. Embrace the unpredictable nature of the game and use it to your advantage.

5. The Power Moves of a Casino Mogul

As a true casino mogul, you have access to special power moves that can change the course of the game. These moves allow you to influence the board state, sabotage your rivals, or even take control of their casinos. Use your power wisely and strategically to secure your place as the ultimate Lord of Vegas.

In Conclusion

Now that you have an overview of the basic rules of Lords of Vegas, you’re ready to dive into the thrilling world of high-stakes gambling and strategic decision-making. Remember, every move counts, and the competition is fierce. Are you ready to become the king of the strip? Grab your luck, gather your resources, and let the games begin!

In Lords of Vegas, I’m a developer and casino boss in Las Vegas. I get to build casinos, trade properties, play games at other players’ casinos, and make improvements to the casinos I manage. And the best part is, I earn points and money for owning and running the top-notch casinos. The goal of the game is to accumulate the most points, which means I need to control the best casinos. The bigger the casinos I own, the more points I’ll get. Oh, and they also pay me money, which I can use to take care of my properties. So, my strategy is to build and run the biggest and most profitable casinos. It’s all about making smart choices and coming out on top! Are you ready to dive into the thrilling world of Las Vegas and become the ultimate casino tycoon in Lords of Vegas? Then buckle up and let’s get started!

Welcome to the Board: Hey there! So, picture this: the board is like a tiny version of the famous Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as “The Strip”. Each square on the board is a little space called a “lot”. And get this, you actually own each lot that has one of your markers on it. How cool is that?

But wait, there’s more! You also own any lot that has one of your dice on it. So, it’s like you’re claiming your territory on the board. You’re the boss! Speaking of the board, it’s not just about owning lots. It has a few more cool features.

There’s a scoring track, which keeps track of how well you’re doing in the game. And you’ve got a wager space, where you can bet on stuff. Exciting, right? Oh, almost forgot, there are also spaces for discarded cards. Gotta keep things neat and tidy!

Casino Tiles: These square pieces represent individual casinos, or sections of larger casinos. There are 9 tiles in each of 5 colors (aqua, brown, gold, purple, and silver). The casino colors do NOT correspond to player colors. Player Dice: Each player has 12 dice, representing influence in casinos. The four player colors are blue, green, red, and yellow. When you own a tile, you mark it with a die. The value on the die indicates how much influence you have in that space. The single die with the largest value in a given casino designates the boss of that casino.

I’ve got something exciting to tell you! Did you know that in our game, you get your very own markers? You’re going to love them! Here’s how they work: every player has 10 markers, and you can use them to mark the spaces you own on the board. Cool, right? So, whenever you own a space, just put one of your markers on it. It’s like claiming your territory!

Scoring Chips: Your scoring chip starts at space “0” on the scoring track and keeps track of your points as they are awarded to you. Be aware that the scoring track has numbers spaced apart, making it more challenging to earn points as you advance.

Money: In this game, all the values are described in dollars (like $1, $5, $10), but these numbers actually represent millions of dollars (like $1M, $5M, $10M).

Hey there! Let’s talk about money in this game. We use dollars as our currency, so you’ll see values like $1, $5, and $10. But here’s the cool part: these numbers represent millions of dollars! So when you see $1, it actually means $1 million. And $5? That’s $5 million. And $10? You guessed it, $10 million! Pretty neat, huh?

Property Cards: The deck contains 49 property cards, with each card representing a space on the board. One of these cards, the End of Game card, not only serves as a property but also determines when the game ends.

Player Card: This card is passed around to indicate whose turn it is.

House Card: When a player gambles, they receive this card, which displays the winning rolls.

Action Cards: There are 4 action cards, each of which summarizes the actions you can take during your turn.

Game Setup

First, everyone chooses a color and takes an action card, as well as the corresponding chips, markers, and dice. We need to select someone to be the Banker, who will be responsible for keeping track of the scores. Each player places their scoring chip on the starting space of the scoring track.

Next, we need to prepare the property cards. Remove the End of Game card from the deck and shuffle the rest. Each player will receive 2 cards from this shuffled deck. Using the cards you receive, place one of your markers on each of the designated spaces on the game board.

When you’re playing this game, you need to take some steps to set everything up. First, you have to withdraw money from the bank. The amount you take out should be the total of the two values shown on your cards. Let’s say your cards have values of $4 and $7. That means you start with $11. Remember, these values are only used during setup.

Next, you have to get rid of your two cards. You can do this by putting them on the colored discard spaces on the edge of the board. It’s important to arrange these discard piles in a way that makes it easy to count how many cards of each color have been discarded. Each color has 9 cards, and there are also 3 cards that pay The Strip.

After that, you need to insert the End of Game card into the shuffled deck. Here’s how you do it: divide the deck into 4 stacks that are roughly equal in size. Then, place the End of Game card on top of the 4th stack. Put the other 3 stacks on top, and place the draw pile next to the board. Now, you’re all set to start playing!

Who owns what?

A lot is an empty space without a tile. When you draw a card for a lot, you put one of your markers on it to claim ownership.

If you pay to build on a lot you already own, you place a tile and one of your dice on it. This turns the lot into a casino, either its own or part of an existing one. The die represents your influence in that casino.

A casino is a connected group of tiles of the same color. Each tile must share at least one edge with another tile. Casinos cannot be split apart; they are one big entity.

The player who has the highest-valued die in a casino is the boss of that casino.

Game Play

In the beginning, we all roll 2 dice. Whoever rolls the highest becomes the first player and gets the player card. Each turn represents a year, where different players and development companies thrive.

When your turn is over, the player card goes to the person on your left, and they start their turn. This continues until we draw the End of Game card.

Okay, now let’s go through the two steps of your turn: “Draw” and “Play”.

Step 1: Draw

First, you need to draw a new card to start your turn. Then, you take ownership of the specific lot mentioned on the card. After that, all the lots you own will earn you money, and the casinos mentioned on the card will give you points and money.

Take Over Your Lot

If the lot mentioned on your card is empty, you can claim it by placing one of your player markers on it. Congratulations, now it’s yours!

If there’s already a tile on the lot, just switch the die on it with one of your own dice, keeping the same value. But if there’s no die on the tile, simply place your die with the value shown on the board.

Owned Lots Pay

Every lot that has a player marker (which we call an “owned lot”) pays you $1, regardless of the card that’s drawn.

Casinos Pay

Every time it’s your turn, the development company mentioned on the card gives you money and points.

Most cards say that you get paid by all the casinos of the same color, but there are 4 cards (including the “End of Game” card) that say “Pay The Strip”.

Pay Based on Color: When a card with just one color is drawn, all the casinos of that color pay money and points, no matter where they are on the board.

Pay The Strip: When I draw 1 of the 4 cards that Pay The Strip, each casino that is next to The Strip has to pay points and money, but not based on a single color.

Money Paid

When a casino pays money, you get $1 for each number on your dice that is in the casino. So, if my red die shows a 5, I get $5 as the red player.

Points Paid

When a casino pays points, the boss of the casino gets 1 point for every tile in that casino. The points are shown on the scoring track, where you move your chip.

Example

Hey there! It’s my turn as the Yellow player. I just drew a cool gold card, D8. Now, I’m gonna use one of my markers to mark D8. Oh, and check this out – the Green and Yellow properties I own are earning me some money! Green property pays me $1, and so does the Yellow one. Sweet!

Since I pulled a gold card, all the gold casinos on the board are payin’ up. And guess what? I’m about to get a nice little payout! I’m gettin’ $6 and 1 point for my awesome 1-tile gold casino in the lower right. Woohoo! But you know what’s interesting? The brown and purple casinos don’t pay any money or points. Bummer for them!

Now, here’s where it gets really cool. Green happens to be the boss of the 3-tile gold casino. So, you know what that means? Green gets paid 3 points! And get this, the dice in that casino are payin’ out too. Blue gets $2, and Green gets a whopping $6! Now that’s what I call a great payday!

Example

Hey there! Did you know there are different types of casinos on The Strip? We have a 1-tile brown casino and a 3-tile gold casino that both touch The Strip, but the 1-tile purple casino and the 1-tile gold casino don’t.

When you’re the boss of a casino, you earn points. These points are recorded and help you move your scoring chip on the scoring track. Some spaces on the track require more than 1 point to advance. We call these spaces “breaks”.

If you want to move your scoring chip past a break, you need to have enough points. You have to record enough points to meet the requirement for the space after the break. If you don’t have enough points, your chip stops right before the break and you lose the extra points.

Here’s an example to help you visualize:

If your scoring chip is on the 8-space on the scoring track and a casino pays you only 1 point, your chip does not advance to the 10-space. But if you are paid 2 or 3 points, your chip moves up to the 10-space. And if you receive 4 or 5 points, your chip jumps to the 12-space.

When you get points for multiple casinos on the same turn, record the points for each casino individually. Start with the casino that paid you the fewest points and work your way up to the one that paid you the most. If there is a tie, it’s up to you to decide which one to record first. So, even if you get paid by several 1-tile casinos on the same turn, your scoring chip won’t move from the 8-space to the 10-space.

Ending Step 1

Once Step 1 is done, discard your card in the appropriate discard pile, and move on to Step 2.

Step 2: Play

When it’s my turn in Step 2, I have some choices to make in order to manage my holdings. These choices are: build, sprawl, remodel, reorganize, and gamble. I can do any of these actions in any order, except for gamble which I can do multiple times. Let me explain each action to you.

Note: You can also trade with other players whenever you want.

Available Tiles: If all the tiles of a certain color are already on the board, I can’t place another tile of that color when I build, sprawl, or remodel.

Types of Dice: If you have already used all of your dice and you add a new tile (build or sprawl), you need to select one of your dice to remove and put it on the new tile. The tile that is left without a die still stays on the board, but it doesn’t belong to anyone. Keep in mind that you have the option to trade in order to free up a die.

I’m going to show you how the build action works in the game. When you want to build something on a lot that you own, you follow these steps:

1. Take your player marker off the board.

2. Choose a casino tile that you want to build.

3. Pay the amount of money that is specified for that lot.

4. Place the tile on the lot. Turn one of your dice so that the number on the lot is facing up.

Here’s an example to help you understand:

Example: Let’s say I own a lot and I want to build a casino on it. I remove my player marker from the board and choose the casino tile. Then, I pay the required amount for that lot. Finally, I place the tile on the lot and turn one of my dice so that the number on the lot is visible.

That’s how the build action works in the game.

I’ve got my marker on space A2 and I’m ready to build my casino there. It’s gonna cost me $6, but it’s worth it. I decide to go all out and build a fancy gold tile. I place a die on the tile with a value of 2 facing up, just like it says on space A2.

Time for Action – Sprawl

Now, let’s talk about the “sprawl” action. When you take this action, you’re expanding one of your casinos where you’re the boss:

• You gotta pay double the amount specified on that lot. It’s gonna cost you, but hey, it’s an investment.
• Next, you’ll place a tile of the same color as your casino on any empty, unowned lot that’s right next to your casino. But here’s the catch – if there’s no tile of that color available, you can’t sprawl. Gotta work with what you’ve got!
• And finally, in that tile, you’ll place one of your dice and make sure the value of the lot’s die is face up. Keep an eye on those dice!

For Example…

Hey there! So here’s the deal: Red wants to expand into A5 and make it part of their territory. A5 is fair game because no one owns it, but A3 is a no-go because Yellow has already claimed it. Red has to use gold-colored tiles for the new casino in A5 to match the original one. The catch is, it’s gonna cost Red $18, which is double the normal build cost for A5. Phew, talk about expensive!

Now, let’s talk strategy. Sprawling can be a bit risky because there’s a card that corresponds to the sprawling lot in the deck. If another player draws that card, they can immediately replace Red’s die in that lot with their own. Yikes!

Action – Remodel

When you decide to remodel, it’s time to change things up. You get to choose the color of the tiles for a casino where you’re the boss. Pretty cool, right? Here’s how it goes:

• You gotta pay $5 for each tile in the casino. It’s gonna cost ya.
• Then, you exchange every single tile in the casino for new tiles of the color you chose. Out with the old, in with the new.

Example

I’m going to tell you about a situation I encountered in a game. In this game, I played as the Red player and I wanted to change the color of my casino from gold to brown. The cost to make this change was $10, which breaks down to $5 per tile. So, I paid the fee and went ahead with the remodel.

Here’s where things get interesting. The remodel caused my casino to merge with a smaller brown casino that was already owned by another player called Yellow. Now, Yellow became the boss of the newly merged casino because their 5-sided die was larger than my 3-sided die.

What did I learn from this? Well, I discovered that by using a remodel, I could change the chances of my casino’s color being drawn. It also gave me the opportunity to merge multiple small casinos that I controlled into a single larger one. Alternatively, I could even join forces with a neighboring player and take over their casino, which can be a really effective strategy.

If you’re playing a game like this, it’s important to consider the option of remodeling. It can be a powerful tool to reshape the game board and increase your chances of success. So, if you’re looking for a way to gain an advantage, give remodeling a try!

Action – Reorganize

Hey, guess what? I’ve got an exciting strategy for you to shake things up at the casino! It’s called the reorganize (re-org) action, and when you use it, you get to reroll all of the dice in a casino. And get this, you don’t even have to be the boss to do it! Check it out:

• All you have to do is pay $1 for each pip on each die in the casino.
• Once you’ve paid up, it’s time to reroll all the dice in the casino. But here’s the catch: you can only reroll each die once in a turn, even if it becomes part of a bigger casino.
• After the rerolls, you get to put the dice back where they came from. If you have multiple dice in the casino, you have the power to decide which ones go where.

Oh, and don’t forget: If you want to keep track of which tiles are involved in a re-org, you can use one of your markers and temporarily place it on each of them. That way, you’ll have everything under control!

Let’s talk strategy: When a casino undergoes a reorganization, it’s like a big shake-up among the important people. And let me tell you, that can really change the balance of power!

See, after a re-org, some tiles might get taken over or moved around, so it’s super important to choose your replacement dice wisely. You want to make sure you protect those high rolls from being snatched away by a rival player.

Now, here’s a little trick that many players use during a reorganization. They start by building a small casino with just one tile and a low die value, like a 1 or 2. Then, they quickly reorganize it for a really low cost, hoping to get a better die value in return.

Here’s an example:

So, here’s an interesting scenario: In the last example, the Red player decided to revamp his casino in A2 and A5 to match the Yellow player’s brown casino in A3. Afterward, he rearranged the brand new 3-tile casino, which cost him $10 (since there are a total of 10 pips in the casino).

Here’s what happened as a result of this shake-up: Red actually ended up becoming the boss of the casino because his Red 5 turned out to be the biggest die. If things hadn’t gone Red’s way in the reroll, he wouldn’t have been allowed to reorganize that same casino on the same turn.

Ready for some action? Let’s talk about gambling.

You’re only allowed to take the gamble action once during your turn. When you decide to go for it, you’re basically placing a bet at a casino where another player is the boss.

You’ll need to hand over the House card to that player. Then, choose one of their casinos.

Next, you can bet up to $5 for each tile in that chosen casino. Just don’t go overboard and bet more money than you actually have.

Imagine rolling two dice and adding up the numbers you get. If the total is 3, 4, 9, 10, or 11, congratulations, you win! The boss of the casino will give you an amount of money equal to your bet. But if you roll a 2 or 12, something even more exciting happens – the boss has to pay you double what you bet! Keep in mind, though, that if the boss doesn’t have enough money to pay you in full, you’ll only get what he can afford. Now, here’s where it gets interesting. If your roll adds up to 5, 6, 7, or 8, you unfortunately lose, and you have to give the boss an amount of money equal to your bet.

Before you even roll the dice, you have the option for the casino boss to “lay off” half of your bet to the bank. This means if you win, the boss only has to pay you half of your bet, and the bank will cover the rest. On the flip side, if you lose, the boss only gets half of your bet, and the bank takes the rest.

Hey there! Let me tell you about a cool strategy you can use in a game called craps. It’s called the field bet, and it has a 5.6% advantage for the house. It’s a nifty little trick you can use when you’re in need of some extra cash for your turn, but feel free to use it whenever you want.

For example:

Imagine this: I’m the boss of a 3-tile casino, and you’re one of my players. You come to my casino and decide to bet $4, which happens to be the maximum amount you can bet. You choose not to lay off half of the bet, and take your chances. Then, you roll the dice and get a 3. Luck is on your side, because you end up winning $4 from me. Not bad, huh?

Now, here’s something interesting: after each action, we have to reroll if we’re tied. It adds another layer of excitement to the game. So, if our scores are the same, we’ll have to roll the dice again to determine the winner. This way, there’s never a dull moment in my casino!

Once you’ve taken an action, make sure to check if any casino has 2 or more players with dice tied for the highest value. When this happens, it means that there are multiple bosses in that casino. In this case, all of the dice with the highest value must be rerolled right away.

Don’t worry, rerolls cost nothing. Only the dice that are tied for the highest value need to be rerolled. If they are still tied after the reroll, keep rerolling until there is only one die with the highest value remaining.

However, if all of the tied dice belong to the same player or if their values are not the highest in the casino, then no reroll is necessary.

Sometimes there’s a power struggle in a game where players are competing to be the boss. This can lead to disaster if two players reroll their dice and get a lower number than another player’s die – then that player becomes the boss.

Let me give you an example:

Imagine there are three players: Green, Red, and Yellow. Green owns a 2-tile gold casino, Red owns a 3-tile brown casino, and Yellow has a 2. Green decides to remodel his gold casino to brown.

Now Green and Red are tied for control of the new 5-tile casino. They both reroll their dice – Green gets a 3 and Red gets a 3 as well. But Green’s original roll of 4 is higher than Red’s original roll of 2, so Green becomes the boss and there’s no need for any more rerolls.

Trading at Any Time

Here’s something else you should know: you can trade with other players whenever you want, even if it’s not your turn. However, there are some rules about what you can trade.

Trading is an important aspect of the game. You have the freedom to trade various things like money, lots, and dice in casinos, as well as your own actions during your turn.

Let me give you an example. You can trade a die for a lot or for money. You can also trade one of your actions for money. And if you have a lot and a die, you can trade them for two dice.

When you trade a lot, you need to replace your marker on the lot with the marker of the player you are trading with. The same goes for trading a die – you replace your die with the player’s die. However, the new die has the same value as the one it’s replacing, not the value indicated on the space.

Keep in mind that trading is limited to certain items. You cannot trade points or casino tiles. You are also not allowed to make promises about future actions or exchange/transfer items to be used in future turns. Each player can only take actions on their own turn.

The Game’s Conclusion

If you have the most points by the time the End of Game card is drawn and paid, you win. When that happens, there’s one more payment for The Strip, so you know there’s a final payoff. If there’s a tie for the most points, the player who is tied and has the most money wins.

There’s also another way to win right away: if you have 90 or more points. As far as anyone knows, this has never actually happened. But hey, in Las Vegas, anything is possible!