Contents
Revolution! Game Rules
Let’s delve into the exciting world of Revolution! Here, I’ll explain the rules of the game and how to play it.
In Revolution!, you’ll navigate a treacherous landscape, hoping to claim power and influence over various social groups. The game is designed to challenge your strategic thinking and decision-making abilities. So, let’s get started!
To begin the game, each player is given a set number of influence cubes, tokens that represent their power over different social classes. You’ll place these cubes strategically on the game board to establish your presence.
Throughout the game, you’ll have the opportunity to bid on and control different social groups, represented by cards. These groups include the clergy, nobility, merchants, and commoners. Each group offers its own unique benefits and challenges.
As you gain control over social groups, you’ll also acquire points. Points are crucial in determining the winner at the end of the game. You can earn points by controlling certain combinations of social groups, bidding wisely, and outmaneuvering your opponents.
But be careful! Revolution! is a game of unpredictable twists and turns. Your opponents can launch counter-revolutions, topple your influence, and disrupt your plans. So, you must strategize and adapt to the ever-changing circumstances of the game.
One exciting aspect of Revolution! is the ability to secretly allocate your influence cubes during each round. This adds an element of suspense and surprise as players reveal their strategic moves simultaneously. It’s a thrilling moment filled with anticipation and tension!
At the end of the game, the player with the highest number of points wins. Revolution! is a game of cunning, strategy, and adaptability. It will test your ability to navigate complex social dynamics and make strategic choices.
So, gather your friends, sharpen your wits, and let the revolution begin! Are you ready to claim power and emerge victorious? Take on the challenge of Revolution! and see if you have what it takes to become the ruler of this intriguing game world!
Hey there! Ready for some fun? I’ve got a game for you to play. It’s called “Three or Four Can Play.” Here’s how it goes!
First things first, put the gameboard in the middle of the table where everyone can reach it. Make sure each player picks a color and takes a bid card, a bidding screen, influence cubes, and a score marker that matches their color. Then, place the score markers with the “bomb” side facing up on the exclamation point at the top-left corner of the board.
About the Board
The gameboard has a couple of important things you should know about. First, there’s the Support Track that goes all the way around the edge. Your score on this track represents the overall support your group has gained in your troubled city. The cool thing is, these points are permanent! If your Support score reaches 99, flip your marker over to the 100 side and start again.
The board also has seven different areas of town, each one representing a different kind of power. For example, there’s the Cathedral that represents religious power, and the Fortress that represents military power. Each area has white spaces where you can put your Influence Cubes.
At the end of the game, when I control an area, it gives me extra support. How cool is that?
Let’s talk about Influence Cubes
Whenever I gain influence in a certain area, I’ll simply put one of my cubes in an empty space there. It’s as easy as that.
But here’s the catch: if all the spaces are already occupied, I won’t be able to place any more cubes. The good news is, even if the area is full, I can still swap out cubes. To make it fair, there are exactly 25 cubes of each color.
Welcome to The Bid Board
Hey there! I wanted to talk about this cool thing called The Bid Board. You see, each player has their own bid board, which is like a game board divided into spaces. These spaces represent important people who can help you out in your quest for victory.
Now, here’s the cool part. Each space on your bid board shows the different benefits that person can provide you with if you win them over. It’s pretty neat, right? But here’s the catch – these characters are quite fickle. They don’t stay loyal for long, so you’ll need to use your bid board wisely in each round of the game.
The Bid Board is your secret weapon. It’s where you strategize, plan your moves, and determine which influential people to target. With each round, you’ll have the opportunity to win over different characters and gain their powerful advantages. But remember, everyone else is doing the same thing, so you’ll need to be smart and stay one step ahead.
Think of The Bid Board as a game within a game. It adds an extra layer of excitement and unpredictability to the overall experience. So, whether you’re new to the game or a seasoned player, The Bid Board is an essential tool that can significantly impact your chances of success. Don’t overlook its power!
The Screen
When you play the game, you get your very own screen. This screen is important because it keeps your bids hidden from the other players until it’s time to reveal them. That way, no one can see your strategy and try to counter it before you have a chance to make your move. It’s like having a secret weapon up your sleeve!
Tokens
In the game, there are three different types of tokens that you will use. These tokens are like little markers that you place on the bid board to show what kind of persuasion you are using on each character. They represent the strength of your persuasion, with some being stronger than others.
Let me explain the three types of tokens in order from strongest to weakest:
At the beginning of the game, I start with one Force, one Blackmail, and three Gold. The rest of the tokens belong to the bank, which has 32 Gold, 12 Blackmail, and 12 Force.
How the Game Works
The game is divided into rounds, and each round consists of four phases. What’s unique about this game is that all players take action at the same time – there’s no waiting for your turn. Let’s go over the phases:
1. Espionage
In this phase, we all get to see what resources our rivals have. It’s like the town is filled with spies, and everyone knows what everyone else has. We start by revealing our tokens to each other. By knowing what our opponents have, we can better plan our strategies.
2. Bidding
Next comes the Bidding phase. Here, I hide my bid board behind my screen and place my tokens secretly. Each token represents a different “persuasion” that I can use against the town’s power structure. It’s all about making strategic choices and outsmarting your opponents.
When it comes to winning, force is the ultimate power. It surpasses anything else – blackmail or gold. Blackmail, however, is still a formidable token. A single blackmail can overpower any amount of gold. Gold, on the other hand, can only claim victory if neither force nor blackmail are in play.
Bids That Break the Rules
Did you know that there are two sneaky ways to bid illegally? Let me fill you in on the details:
The first way is by bidding a token on a character who is immune to that specific persuasion. You see, red tokens cannot be played on a character that already has a red background, and the same goes for black tokens and characters with a black background. It’s against the rules, but don’t worry, if you get caught, the illegal tokens will be removed. However, there won’t be any other consequences for you. So, even if your remaining tokens turn out to be the strongest bid, you’ll still secure the win. Talk about a risky move, huh?
So, here’s the thing – sometimes, I accidentally get a bit carried away and bid on too many characters. Can you believe it? Well, guess what? Only the first six bids actually count. Yup, it’s true! The rest of them are just tossed aside with zero consequences. Phew!
Now, let’s talk about what happens when the highest tokens in a bid are the same type. I mean, imagine two players have the same kind of tokens at the top. What do we do then? Well, we check out their numbers, of course! See, two Force tokens beat one Force token. And if someone has three Force tokens, those beat the two Force tokens. It’s like a little hierarchy going on here.
But wait, that’s not all! What if the highest tokens in a bid are not only the same kind, but also the same amount? Well, in that case, we take a look at the lesser tokens. For example, a Force token and a Blackmail token would beat just one Force token. And if you really want to up the ante, a Blackmail token and three Gold tokens would overcome a Blackmail token and two Gold tokens. It’s all about the numbers, my friend!
Now, here’s the deal – you have to use all of your tokens each turn. No exceptions. But here’s the fun part – you can’t bid on more than six characters in one turn. That’s the limit, my friend! Gotta keep things fair and balanced, you know?
Hey there! Did you know that not every token can be used to bid on every character? It’s true! Let me give you an example. The General, for instance, is immune to Force. Take a look at the bid card and you’ll see what kind of persuasion will work on each character.
Now, here’s an important tip: if a space is red, that means you can’t bid red tokens on it. And if a space is black, you can’t bid black on it. Simple, right?
Alright, let’s move on to the next step. When you’re finished bidding, just raise your hand, and let everyone else know that you’re ready. Once all players are ready, the screens are taken away.
3. Resolution
Now that the screens are gone, each player can see all the bids. It’s time to find out who wins! Let’s start by resolving each row of characters from left to right, and then move down to the next row.
So, what does that mean? Well, it means that the General – who’s always in the upper-left corner of the bid card – gets evaluated first, and the Mercenary – who’s always last – is evaluated at the end.
When it comes to bidding, the highest bid always comes out on top. That means whoever places the highest bid gets to enjoy the benefits that come with that character. But here’s the catch – if two or more players have the same highest bid, nobody wins. And if nobody bids on a character, nobody gets to enjoy its benefits for that round.
Once each character has been evaluated, all players must remove the tokens they used to place their bids, regardless of the outcome. These discarded tokens are then placed back into the bank. By the end of the round, no tokens will be left on anyone’s bid board.
What Happens When You Win a Bid
- If the character you’ve won grants support, you get to move your scoring token a number of spaces on the Support track.
- If the character you’ve won grants tokens, you get to take them from the bank and keep them for the next round. Just make sure not to mix them up with the tokens you already have on your bid board!
When a character gives me influence, I can put one of my influence cubes in the specified area of the board. But if that area is full, I don’t get to place a cube. The Spy and Apothecary can affect cubes that are already on the board. They have special abilities that let them interact with the cubes.
Once all the bids have been resolved and everyone has their rewards, it’s time to check how many tokens each player has. If a player has less than five tokens, no matter what type they are, they get some Gold coins from the bank. The amount is enough to bring their total to five tokens.
You don’t receive Force or Blackmail tokens during the patronage phase. To obtain them, you must win character bids. Your secret patrons will only give you Gold, and only when you truly need it!
Once the patronage phase is over, a new round begins.
The game concludes when all the influence spaces on the board are filled at the end of a Resolution phase. At this point, players will score additional support for the areas they control and the tokens they earned in the previous round.
Here are the scoring details:
– Each Force token grants 5 support.
– Each Blackmail token grants 3 support.
– Each Gold token grants 1 support.
Additionally, each area provides a significant bonus to the player with the most influence there. It’s not necessary to have a majority of spaces in that area, just the most. If there’s a tie for influence, no one receives its support.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
Example A: The Cathedral has seven spaces. Red and Green each have two influence cubes, but Blue has three. Blue wins the 35 Support.
Example B: Red and Blue each have three cubes, and Green has one. The area is tied, and no one gets its support.
So, the player with the most Support wins.
Spy and Apothecary
The Spy and the Apothecary are two incredibly powerful characters that can completely change the game if used strategically. They are the only ones who can alter the positions of cubes on the board or shift the balance of power in an area once all the spaces are filled.
If you manage to obtain the Spy, you can take an influence space away from another player. The Spy also gives you the ability to reduce the total amount of influence another player has on the board.
The Apothecary gets more powerful as you fill up the spaces with influence. At first, you might not see the value in swapping influence cubes, but towards the end of the game, you can strategically switch them to benefit yourself and hinder your opponents.
Keep in mind that you can move other players’ pieces using the Apothecary.
Hey there! Let me tell you a story about a game of strategy and cunning. In this game, there are different colored pieces representing different players. One player, Red, made a smart move. They traded one of Blue’s pieces in the Cathedral for one of Yellow’s pieces in the Tavern. Now, Red has the most cubes in both the Cathedral and the Tavern! Impressive, right?
- Don’t underestimate the power of the Printer! Getting popular support is the ultimate key to victory.
- Keep an eye on the characters that other players are busy fighting over. Try bidding on the ones that aren’t getting much attention – you might be able to snatch them up at a bargain price.
- If you find yourself starting a round with only Gold, don’t fret! There are two characters on the bid card that only require Gold. Plus, you can always spread your Gold across the board and hope for some luck.
- Even if the areas a character influences are already full, they can still be worth bidding on. You never know when you’ll be able to sway a character’s loyalty for just a single Gold – now that’s a steal!
Optional Rules
Bid Refunds
Now, here’s an interesting twist. What if we change the rules a bit? Instead of taking the bribe and running, why not negotiate and pay only after you see tangible results? If you win the bid, the money goes to the bank. But, if you lose or tie, don’t worry, you get your tokens back to use in the next round. It’s like getting a second chance!
And guess what? Those refunded tokens even count towards your final Support total at the end of the game. So, you’re not just getting a second chance, you’re also boosting your chances of winning!
Area Control Bonus
Now, let’s talk about the power of influence. Picture this – if you manage to control all the spaces in an area, your influence there is unbreakable. It’s like being the undisputed king or queen of that territory. Your opponent won’t be able to remove or switch any of your cubes in that area. Plus, you get an additional 10 Support at the end of the game just for being the ruler of that land. Talk about a sweet deal!