NOIR is a turn-based card game about Mafia, booze and betrayal set in the Prohibition Era.
Players take on the roles of fledgeling crime bosses struggling to control alcohol, which is highly profitable now thanks to the geniuses in the Congress, in a quintessetial American city of 1920s; Noirbrough.
Game Set-up: Everyone starts with: 6 cards, 3 tokens and one hideout. You will need a couple 6 sided dice and 80 tokens; poker chips, bottle caps, quarters whatever you have lying around. Worst case scenario you can use the print out dice and tokens. After dealing the cards and three tokens each place the remaining cards and the tokens in the middle of the tabe.
The Noirbrough has a limited amount of money to be made from illicit businesses; For a 3 player game; place 50 tokens on the table, for a 4 player game; 60, for a 5 player game; 70, for a 6 player game; 80.
Cards:
Businesses: There are four kinds of illicit business you can dabble into; each business lets you take a slice from the underbelly of the city, providing income. Each business costs its income minus one token to set-up and has hit points equal to its income. Businesses cannot retaliate against an attack on their own.
Additionally, businesses house your gangsters. Each business can support gangsters up to its income in total hit points.(e.g. A speakeasy which has 3 income can house one power 1 and one power 2 gangster but cannot maintain a power 4 gangster)
Gangsters: Gangsters are your muscle; they attack your enemies and defend your businesses. Gangsters must be deployed at a business and can only be rearranged at the preparation phase. Each gangster costs its power minus one token and has hit points equal to its power. At the start of your preparation phase, you have to have enough businesses to accommodate your gangsters or they will be discarded starting from the weakest. Only gangsters that are already deployed at the start of your attack phase can be used to attack your enemies. Attacking gangsters are considered “AWAY” and cannot retaliate until the start of your next round.
Hideout: Hideout is your base where you keep your fortune. It is the only building that can retaliate by itself because you, the Mob boss, are there. Hideout can also house up to three hit points of Gangsters. You start with your hideout deployed and can bury it under anyone of your businesses during your preparation phase. When you bury your Hideout, your opponents cannot get to you without destroying the business first. As long as you have money, your hideout cannot be destroyed. If an opponent gets through your defenses you lose (extra damage + d6) money. If you can not pay your hideout is destroyed and you LOSE. If your hideout is razed, the attacker takes all of your cards to his hand, including your remaining gangsters and businesses deployed on the table.
Reactions:
This is where the magic happens. Reaction cards can be played anytime, even in another player’s turn or as a reaction to another reaction.
Turncoat: Take any Gangster deployed on the table to your hand, except gangsters currently placed on a hide-out.
Bribe: There are always a few rotten apples. Bribe is used only against Police. Both the bribe and the Police cards are discarded before the Police have any effect. Other players can override your Bribe by using another Bribe card.
Drive-By: A couple tommy-guns and a Cadillac can send a very loud message. Deals d6 damage to a business. If it is defended, gangsters are shot first, starting with the weakest. Multiple drive-bys can be used simultaneously even by different players, thus dealing multiple d6 damage. Drive-by cannot be used against a hideout since, well… It is hidden in the basement. No money can be stolen by a drive-by because the card is called a drive-by not a heist.
Poker Night: Nothing can relieve stress like a nice poker game with your adversaries in a smoke filled room over a glass of your favorite poison and that is what you do. Each player who has tokens wagers 2 tokens. The player who uses the Poker Night has a considerable advantage since they host the game. Host rolls 2d6 and takes the highest, other participants roll one dice. In case of a tie, players roll one dice until it is resolved. Highest roller takes it all.
Gameplay:
The player who had more drinks starts the game, if you are not certain or there is any contention roll a tie breaker. Turn moves clockwise.
Preparation
First order of business every round is to put things in order:
Collect income, if there is any left on the table. Then arrange your gangsters and move your hideout if necessary. You can move gangsters and your hideout between your businesses only in this phase. Draw your cards: Each player can have up to 6 cards in their hand. If you have more, which means you have razed a hideout last turn, do not be greedy and discard until you drop to 6. You can discard as many cards as you like but each card you draw after the first one costs you one token. The first card is on the house, you see… If there is no cards left, shuffle and flip the discard pile then continue
Attack
You can only attack with gangsters that are already deployed on your businesses and hideout.
You can use as many gangsters as you wish to attack a business or a hideout. You can attack to as many buildings as you like, but never more than once to the same building. Each gangster deals damage equal to its power. Damage is allocated starting with the weakest gangster on the defender's side. Defending gangsters retaliate at the same time in the same fashion.
If the total damage exceeds the total hit points of gangsters and the income of the business, the business is also razed and discarded, plus the attacker steals money equal to income from the razed business from the defender.
Attacking gangsters are placed horizontally on the table to show that they are away and they can not retaliate until the next turn of the attacker.
In order to attack a buried hideout, the business on top of it must be razed first. After the business is razed, remaining attackers can continue attacking the hideout and gangsters that defend it, if there is any.
Deploy
Now finally, you can deploy buildings and gangsters. Gangsters can only be deployed if there is enough room to accommodate them in a business. Gangsters who are away do not occupy any business.
How to win?:
There are two ways to eliminate your competition; kill them one by one and be the last one standing or become so filthy rich that none would think of challenging you. In a standard four player game, the player who has 35 tokens at the end of their round wins. (3 players = 30, 5 players = 40, 6 players = 45)
If no player manages to achieve any of the victory conditions, the game ends 5 rounds after the money on the table is depleted for the first time. This means all players including the one in whose turn the money is depleted will take five more turns before the game ends. During these five turns, players can win by victory conditions. Calculate the total value of deployed cards and tokens each player has, plus 15 points for each Hideout destroyed.
OPTIONAL RULE-> Long Game: Game continues until one of the victory conditions is met.
We wanted to play a game which requires a little more brains than poker but also simple enough to play after a couple drinks. So we made one. We had quite a lot of fun designing and playing NOIR, and hope you will too. If there is any ambiguity about rules do not hesitate to contact one of us.
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