Overview

For a Crown is a competitive card game where players represent noble families vying to form a single kingdom. Over 4 rounds, players recruit Mercenaries from a shared market, place them into a shared deck, then reveal them one at a time to trigger effects. Players manipulate an influence track (the Gallery), collect Rubies, send Masked Bandits to rivals, and use magic to undermine opponents. The player with the most Rubies at the end wins and dons the first crown.

Components

• 1 Board with inlaid cost track and Gallery
• 55 Mercenary cards (5 levels)
• 7 Event cards (including 2 Starting Events)
• 5 Chests (one per player, for secret storage)
• 5 Portrait pawns, 5 sets of card sleeves (with family crests)
• 5 Recruitment cost tiles (0, 1, 3, 5 values)
• 1 Magic die
• 25 Masked Bandit tokens
• 60 Coin tokens
• 30 Ruby tokens
• 5 Heirloom tiles

Setup

1. Place the board. Slide the 1, 3, and 5 Recruitment cost tiles into the inlaid track.
2. Royal Square: Sort Mercenary cards by level (1-5). Level 1: sort by effect, make 3 face-up stacks. Levels 2-5: shuffle each, place face-down, reveal 2 cards from each.
3. Shuffle Event cards (excluding Starting Events) into a face-down stack. Place 2 Starting Events face-down as the shared deck.
4. Each player chooses a family, takes their chest, 5 card sleeves, Heirloom tile, and 10 Rubies (in chest, kept secret).
5. Randomly place Portrait pawns in the Gallery (rightmost = most influential).
6. Players receive starting Coins based on influence: most influential = 3, least = 5, others = 4.
7. Place the magic die and token reserve nearby.

Turn Structure

The game plays over 4 rounds, each with 3 phases.

Phase 1: Recruit

In influence order (most to least), each player recruits 1 Mercenary from the Royal Square:

1. Choose: Select a face-up card or the top card of a deck (look at it secretly).
2. Pay: Pay the recruitment cost (shown on the column’s cost tile) in Coins and/or Rubies. Rubies may always substitute for Coins (but not vice versa).
3. Sleeve and Place: Put the card in one of your family crest card sleeves, then place it face-down on the shared deck.

After all players recruit, refill the Royal Square from decks.

Important: During the first round only, complete this phase TWICE (each player recruits 2 Mercenaries).

Phase 2: Reveal

Shuffle the shared deck. Reveal the top card and apply its effect immediately. Continue revealing one at a time until the deck is empty.

• Mercenary cards: The player who recruited it (identified by family crest sleeve) applies the effect.
• Event cards: All affected players apply the effect.

Phase 3: End of the Round

1. Start a new shared deck from all cards played this round (face-down).
2. Draw a new Event card and place it (unrevealed) on top of the new shared deck.
3. Slide a 0 Recruitment cost tile into the track, shifting costs right (making new columns available and changing prices).

Skip this phase at the end of round 4; proceed directly to end of game.

Actions

Mercenary Effects

• Move in Gallery: Move any Portrait to the next free space in either direction.
• Gain 1 Coin: Take from reserve to your chest.
• Gain 1 Ruby: Take from reserve to your chest.
• Lose 1 Ruby: Choose another player; they return 1 Ruby to reserve.
• Masked Bandit: Choose another player; they take 1 Masked Bandit token.
• Magic Die: Roll the magic die and apply its effect.

Level 1 cards have two effects separated by a slash; the recruiting player chooses which to apply each round.

Event Effects

• Scandal: Players lose 0, 1, or 2 Rubies depending on their Gallery position (least influential lose most).
• Burglary: Player(s) with the most Masked Bandits lose 2 Rubies and return all Masked Bandits.
• Bribery: In influence order, each player may pay Coins/Rubies to return that many Masked Bandits.
• Mercenary Mages: In influence order, each player may pay 1 Coin/Ruby to roll the magic die.
• Helping (Magic) Hand: The least influential player rolls the magic die.

Influence (Gallery)

The Gallery is a track showing each player’s influence. Portraits further right are more influential. Influence determines:

• Player order during recruitment
• Tiebreaking at game end
• Ruby losses from Scandal events

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends after round 4 or immediately if a player is eliminated.

Final Scoring (in order):

1. Most influential player gains 1 Ruby.
2. Player(s) with the most Coins gain 1 Ruby.
3. Player(s) with the most Masked Bandits lose 1 Ruby.

Reveal chest contents. Heirloom (if still owned) counts as 10 Rubies. The player with the most Rubies wins. Ties broken by influence (more influential wins).

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Running Out of Rubies: If you must return Rubies but have none:
  • With Heirloom: Sell your Heirloom (announce it, place in front of you). Gain 10 Rubies, then pay the required amount. The Heirloom can never be recovered.
  • Without Heirloom: You are eliminated. Remove your Portrait from the Gallery, return Masked Bandits. Your opponents finish the current round, then the game ends.
• Ruby/Coin Substitution: You may always pay 1 Ruby instead of 1 Coin, but you can NEVER pay 1 Coin instead of 1 Ruby.
• Secret Information: Contents of your chest (Rubies, Coins) are kept secret throughout the game.
• Colorblind Accessibility: Each player has a unique family crest on their card sleeves for identification.
• Empty Columns: If a deck runs out and there are not enough cards to refill a Royal Square column, leave those spaces empty.
• Eliminated Player’s Cards: If cards from an eliminated player’s family are revealed, ignore them.

Player Reference

Round Structure

1. Recruit — Choose and pay for a Mercenary; sleeve it and add to shared deck
2. Reveal — Shuffle and reveal shared deck one card at a time; apply effects
3. End of Round — Prepare new shared deck, add Event, shift cost tiles

Key Mechanics

• Rubies = victory points AND currency
• Coins = currency only (cannot substitute for Rubies)
• Masked Bandits = penalties (most at game end lose 1 Ruby; Burglary events punish holders)
• Gallery position = turn order, tiebreaker, Scandal vulnerability

Game End Scoring

1. +1 Ruby: most influential
2. +1 Ruby: most Coins
3. -1 Ruby: most Masked Bandits
4. Heirloom = 10 Rubies
5. Most Rubies wins (tie: most influential)