Sheriff of Nottingham

Overview

Sheriff of Nottingham is a bluffing, negotiation, and set-collection board game published by Arcane Wonders (2014). Players are merchants trying to bring goods into Nottingham, but some of their goods may be illegal contraband. Each round, one player acts as the Sheriff, inspecting (or not) the other players’ merchant bags. Merchants must declare what is in their bag – but they can lie. If the Sheriff inspects and catches a liar, the merchant pays fines. If the merchant was truthful, the Sheriff pays compensation. The game revolves around deception, bluffing, bribery, and negotiation. After each player has been Sheriff twice (three times in 3-player games), the wealthiest merchant wins.

Components

• 216 Goods cards:
  • Legal Goods: Apples, Cheese, Bread, Chickens (varying quantities)
  • Contraband: Pepper, Mead, Silk, Crossbows
  • Royal Goods (removed in beginner game)
• 5 Merchant Stands (player boards)
• 5 Merchant Bags (snap-close bags)
• 1 Sheriff marker
• Gold coins (1, 5, 20, 50 denominations)
• 2 Discard pile markers

Setup

Each player receives a Merchant Stand, matching Merchant Bag, and 50 Gold. The player acting as banker distributes coins. For beginners, remove 12 Royal Goods cards. Shuffle the remaining deck and deal 6 cards to each player face-down. Create two separate discard piles with 5 cards each. The player with the most cash becomes the first Sheriff.

Turn Structure

Each round has 5 phases, played in order:

Phase 1: Market

Starting with the player to the Sheriff’s left (clockwise), each merchant may discard up to 5 cards face-up to either discard pile and draw replacement cards back to 6. Cards can come from discard piles (top card only, no digging) or the draw deck.

Phase 2: Load Merchant Bag

All merchants simultaneously place 1-5 goods cards into their Merchant Bag. Once closed, bags cannot be reopened.

Phase 3: Declaration

Each merchant declares their goods to the Sheriff. Declaration rules:

• You must declare only Legal Goods (never contraband).
• You must declare only one type of goods.
• You must declare the exact number of cards in your bag.
• Example: “I have 4 Apples.” (Even if the bag contains 2 Apples, 1 Pepper, and 1 Silk.)

Phase 4: Inspection

The Sheriff decides which bags to inspect. Before inspection:

• Bribery: Merchants may offer bribes to avoid inspection – Gold, Legal Goods from their stand, Contraband, or even promises of future favors.
• Counter-offers: Players can negotiate, counter-bribe, or encourage the Sheriff to inspect rivals.
• You may not offer cards from your hand as bribes.

If the Sheriff lets you pass: Place Legal Goods face-up on your Merchant Stand. Place Contraband face-down (reveal only quantity).

If the Sheriff inspects:

• Truthful declaration: The Sheriff pays the merchant Gold equal to the penalty value of each declared good.
• Caught lying: Confiscated goods (anything not matching the declaration) go to a discard pile. The merchant pays the Sheriff Gold equal to the penalty value of each confiscated good. Correctly declared goods are placed on the Merchant Stand.

Phase 5: End of Round

If all players have been Sheriff the required number of times, proceed to final scoring. Otherwise, pass the Sheriff marker left, and all players draw cards back to 6.

Actions

Merchant Actions (Non-Sheriff Players)

• Discard and Draw (Market phase): Discard up to 5 cards and draw replacements to maintain a hand of 6.
• Load Bag: Place 1-5 goods cards in your Merchant Bag secretly.
• Declare: Announce contents to the Sheriff (must name one legal good type and the exact card count).
• Negotiate/Bribe: Offer Gold, goods from your stand, contraband, or future favors to convince the Sheriff not to inspect your bag.

Sheriff Actions

• Inspect: Open a merchant’s bag and check contents against their declaration.
• Let Pass: Allow a merchant through without inspection.
• Accept/Reject Bribes: Negotiate with merchants before deciding to inspect.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

After the final round, calculate each player’s score:

1. Goods value: Sum the value of all goods on your Merchant Stand (Legal and Contraband).
2. Gold remaining: Add remaining Gold coins.
3. King and Queen bonuses:
   • Apples: King (most) +20, Queen (2nd most) +10
   • Cheese: King +15, Queen +10
   • Bread: King +15, Queen +10
   • Chickens: King +10, Queen +5

The player with the highest total wins. Tiebreakers: most Legal Goods, then most Contraband.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Declaration Must Be Lies-Compatible: You must always declare a legal good type. Saying “I have 3 Contraband” is not allowed.
• Empty Bags: You must put at least 1 card in your bag. Maximum 5.
• Sheriff Cannot Self-Inspect: The Sheriff doesn’t load a bag – they only inspect.
• Bribe Goods: Accepted bribe goods go to the Sheriff’s stand. Goods offered but not accepted as part of a negotiation stay with the original owner.
• Royal Goods (advanced game): Rare goods worth high values but also high penalties. Counted as their corresponding legal good type for King/Queen bonuses.
• Sheriff Profit Motive: The Sheriff profits from both catching liars (fines) and accepting bribes, creating an interesting economic decision.
• Committed Bribes: Once a bribe is accepted and goods exchanged, the deal is binding.

Player Reference

Good	Value	Penalty	King Bonus	Queen Bonus
Apples	2	2	+20	+10
Cheese	3	2	+15	+10
Bread	3	2	+15	+10
Chickens	4	2	+10	+5
Pepper	6	6	–	–
Mead	7	7	–	–
Silk	8	8	–	–
Crossbow	9	9	–	–

Declaration Rule: Legal goods only, one type, exact count.

Sheriff Rounds: 2 per player (3 in 3-player game).