The Gallerist

Overview

The Gallerist is a heavy strategy game by Vital Lacerda where 1-4 players take on the role of art gallery owners. Players discover and promote artists, buy and display art, sell pieces to international buyers, and build their reputation. The game combines worker placement with economic management as players navigate four distinct locations to build the most prestigious gallery and amass the highest score.

Components

• 1 Main game board (4 location areas)
• 4 Player boards (personal galleries)
• Artist tiles, Art tiles
• Visitor meeples (collectors and VIPs)
• Influence tokens and reputation markers
• Money tokens
• Bonus tiles and tickets
• Gallery tiles
• Fame markers
• Assistant meeples (1 per player)
• Player pawn (1 per player)
• Score track markers
• Rulebook

Setup

1. Place the main board centrally with all decks and supplies arranged.
2. Each player takes a player board, starting money, an assistant, and a player pawn.
3. Seed the board with initial artists, art pieces, visitors, and gallery tiles.
4. Shuffle and place bonus tiles, tickets, and fame tokens.
5. Place starting artists in the Artists’ Colony.
6. Determine first player.

Turn Structure

On your turn, move your pawn to one of the 4 locations and perform that location’s executive action. If another player’s pawn is at the location you move to, that player gets a “kicked out” bonus action.

The Four Locations

1. Artists’ Colony

• Discover a new artist (take an artist tile and place in the colony)
• Promote an existing artist (increase their fame, making their art more valuable)

2. Sales Office

• Buy art from available artists (pay the cost based on artist fame)
• Acquire art and place it in your gallery

3. Media Center

• Promote art through media (increase artist fame and attract visitors)
• Gain influence tokens
• Hire assistants

4. International Market

• Sell art from your gallery to international buyers (earn money based on art value and buyer interest)
• Attract international visitors to your gallery

Kicked-Out Bonus

When your pawn is displaced, perform one of several bonus actions (use an assistant, gain a small benefit, etc.).

Actions

Executive Actions (at each location):

• Discover/Promote artists
• Buy/Display art in your gallery
• Promote through media
• Sell art internationally

Free Actions (available anytime):

• Use influence tokens for various benefits
• Place/move assistants
• Draw bonus tiles
• Attract visitors to your gallery

Visitor Management:

• Collectors visit your gallery based on displayed art
• VIPs visit based on artist fame
• Visitors generate income and end-game scoring

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when a set number of conditions are met (artists discovered, art sold, etc.). Final scoring includes:

• Money remaining (1 VP per unit)
• Art in gallery (VP based on fame of the artist)
• Visitors in gallery (VP per collector/VIP)
• Influence tokens (VP per token)
• Reputation track position
• Completed bonus objectives
• International sales bonuses
• Tickets collected

The player with the most VP wins. Ties broken by money remaining.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Kicked-Out Mechanism: A player whose pawn is displaced must use the bonus action – it is not optional. This creates interactive timing decisions.
• Artist Fame: An artist’s fame level determines the value of their art. Multiple players can promote the same artist, but only the gallery owner benefits from sales.
• Gallery Capacity: Each player’s gallery has limited display space. Art must be managed carefully.
• Assistants: Players have a limited number of assistants. They can be placed at locations to enable future bonus actions or to hold positions.
• Solo Mode: Includes a solo variant with an automated opponent.
• Visitor Types: Collectors are drawn to specific art types; VIPs follow artist fame. Both provide different scoring benefits.
• Closing Galleries: If a player has no art displayed, they cannot attract visitors.

Player Reference

Location	Executive Action
Artists’ Colony	Discover or promote artists
Sales Office	Buy art for your gallery
Media Center	Promote art, gain influence, hire assistants
International Market	Sell art, attract international visitors

Key Scoring: Art value + Visitors + Influence + Money + Bonuses

Kicked Out: Displaced player gets a bonus action