Notre Dame

Overview

Notre Dame is a strategy game set in 14th-century Paris where players lead influential families competing for prestige. Players use action cards to place influence markers in their borough sectors, gaining money, prestige, or other advantages. A card-drafting mechanism determines available actions each round, while a persistent plague threat forces players to balance ambition with caution. The player with the most prestige points after 9 rounds (3 periods of 3 rounds) wins.

Components

• 5 Game board sections, 3 Notre Dame tiles (3/4/5-sided)
• 45 Action cards (9 per player color), 15 Person cards (6 brown, 9 gray)
• 70 Influence markers (14 per color), 5 Rat markers, 5 Trusted friends, 5 Carriages
• 1 Bell-ringer (start player), 20 Messages, 25 Gold coins, 84 Prestige tokens

Setup

1. Arrange board sections using the correct Notre Dame tile for player count.
2. Each player takes: trusted friend, carriage (on marketplace), 4 influence markers (supply pile), 10 influence markers (general supply), 4 messages (on borough edges), 9 shuffled action cards, 3 gold coins, rat marker on 0.
3. Prepare person cards: 6 brown shuffled face down; 9 gray organized as stack (A on top, B middle, C bottom).

Turn Structure

The game has 3 periods (A, B, C) of 3 rounds each = 9 rounds total. Each round has 5 phases:

Phase 1: Lay Out Person Cards

Reveal 2 brown person cards + 1 gray person card face up.

Phase 2: Choose Action Cards (Drafting)

Draw 3 from your action card deck. Keep 1, pass 2 left. From received 2, keep 1, pass 1 left. Receive and keep the final card. You now have 3 cards in hand.

Phase 3: Play Action Cards

Choose 2 of your 3 cards to play (one at a time, clockwise from start player). Each card lets you place influence markers in the corresponding borough sector and gain its benefit.

Phase 4: Hire a Person

Each player (clockwise) may hire 1 of the 3 revealed person cards by paying the listed cost (usually gold). Gain the person’s benefit.

Phase 5: Plague (Rat Check)

Advance each player’s rat marker by 1 for each rat symbol on the 3 person cards. Any player at 9+ on the plague track loses 2 prestige and returns 1 influence marker, then resets to 9.

Actions

Borough Sectors (Action Cards)

Sector	Benefit
Bank	Gain 1 gold per influence in bank
Residence	Gain 1 prestige per influence in residence
Cloister School	Gain 1 influence marker from general supply per influence there
Hotel	Gain 1 prestige per message in other players’ boroughs
Hospital	Move rat marker back 1 per influence in hospital
Carriage House	Move carriage 1 space per influence; collect messages for prestige
Park	Place influence in any sector
Notre Dame	Contribute to Notre Dame; gain prestige
Trusted Friend	Move your trusted friend to any sector; activate it

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Prestige is accumulated throughout the game. The player with the most prestige at game end wins. Prestige comes from residences, carriages collecting messages, Notre Dame contributions, person cards, and other bonuses.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Messages: When carriage moves through a message, collect it for prestige. Messages from other players’ boroughs score points.
• Notre Dame: Players can contribute influence to Notre Dame for prestige bonuses. The player with most influence in Notre Dame at end of each period gains extra prestige.
• Plague track: If rat marker reaches 9+, you suffer -2 prestige and lose 1 influence marker. Managing the plague is critical.
• 2-player variant: Uses modified board setup and special rules (see rulebook page 8).
• New Persons expansion: Replaces gray person cards with 18 new cards (6 each A/B/C).

Player Reference

Plague Track	Effect
0-8	Safe
9+	Lose 2 prestige, return 1 influence marker, reset to 9

Period	Rounds	Gray Cards
A	1-3	A cards
B	4-6	B cards
C	7-9	C cards