WHITE LOTUS - DESIGNER RULES The original rules a created by Martin Wallace. COMPONENTS Rules Map Neutral Tiles Player chips Emperor marker Rebel Leader marker Victory Point chips Influence cards, (including 6 zero cards). Army cards Colour cards Control markers (wooden blocks) Player Aid cards STARTING THE GAME Each player selects a colour. The player with the most grey hair takes the Emperor marker, (notional emperor until the palace is won). The influence and army cards should be separated into piles of identical cards, i.e. all the '1' Influence cards in one pile, and so on. Each player will need a zero card and the following Influence and Army cards: Influence - 2 x '3', 2 x '2', and 2 x '1' Army - 3 x '1' The Colour cards are used to 'vote' against a player and each player will need a colour card for each colour in play except his own. With less than 6 players some Colour cards and Zero influence cards should be placed back in the box. Take the following neutral tiles and randomly place them face down, one each on each of the starting areas, (marked by white lotuses). In a 6 player games the shaded areas are in play, otherwise they are off-limits. 1 Palace, 1 Temple, 1 Ricefield, 1 Fort, (festung), 3 Villages, (Dorf). With 6 players place an extra Village. Now turn the tiles face up. The remaining tiles will be placed but not until the initial 7/8 tiles have been resolved, which saves confusion. PLAYING THE GAME The game will last for 4 turns. There is no turn track so you will have to remember how many turns have passed, (you could use the Victory Point chips to keep track). In each turn you will do the following: 1. Place Control Markers. 2. Resolve Control of Areas. 3. Emperor's Victory Point. 4. Rebellion. 5. New cards. 1. PLACE CONTROL MARKERS In play order, which goes clockwise from the Emperor, each player places one of their wooden control blocks in an area containing a neutral tile. Repeat until players have had the opportunity to place all 5 of their blocks. In the first turn players can place in any of the 7/8 starting areas. In subsequent turns a control marker can be placed in any area which is adjacent to an area containing a player-controlled chip, i.e. control of areas will spread across the board towards the sea. An area can contain up to 6 blocks, but can never have 2 of the same colour placed in it. A player can choose to pass, which means discarding a block to show he has passed, (and which is regained for the start of the next turn). Players can place up to 5 blocks. 2. RESOLVE CONTROL OF AREAS Once players have placed their control blocks cards are played to decide who will take control of each contested area. In the 1st turn the first area to be resolved must be the Palace. The winner will immediately become the Emperor. The Emperor then picks the next area to be resolved. In the ensuing turns the Emperor always decides the order in which areas are resolved. All the players who have a control block in the area being resolved are involved in the contest to control the area. The last man standing will take control of the area. Players simultaneously and secretly select 2 Influence cards, (no more, no less). They also select a Colour card, (one only). This Colour card indicates who they are voting against. Once all involved players have selected cards they reveal them. The player who received the most votes against them is kicked out of the area, removing his wooden block. In the case of a tie the Emperor decides which of the tied players will be kicked out. Players who remained in the contest must discard all Influence cards played except for any Zero card, (this is always retained, along with all Colour cards). The player who was kicked out gets half of his Influence points back, rounding up. Treat the cards like money, players can exchange cards for different denominations at any time during the game. Note that this rule means that if a player is kicked out of an area after playing just 1 point of Influence he will not discard any cards. Repeat the above process until only one wooden block is left. This player has won the contest and takes control of the area. He replaces the neutral tile with one of his own chips that matches the symbol on the tile, e.g. if it's a Palace then he places one of his own Palace chips, (note that the back of the chips is always a Village). Once one area has been resolved the Emperor selects another area to be resolved. The phase ends when all areas containing control blocks have been resolved. If an area started the phase with just one control block in it then that player automatically takes control of the area without expending any Influence cards. The Emperor is always the player who controls the most Palaces. Whoe is Emperor can switch mid phase if another player takes control of more Palaces. This is the case throughout the game, including in the Rebellion phase. However, if another simply matches the number of Palaces controlled by the Emperor player then the Emperor remains with the original player, (i.e. the number must be surpassed for control to switch player). After control has been resolved in the 1st turn randomly place the remaining Neutral Tiles on the map, one in each area. Once placed turn them face up. This allows players plan a long-term strategy. Any unused tiles should be placed back in the box. Players are encouraged to negotiate during this phase. Co operation between certain players will reduce the number of Influence points they need to expend to gain control of an area. 3. EMPEROR'S VICTORY POINT The player who is presently the Emperor receives 1Victory Point chip. VP chips are retained until the end of the game. 4. REBELLION There must be a rebellion. The Rebel Leader is the player who controls the most villages. If there is a tie then the tied player closest to the left of the Emperor is the Rebel Leader. The Emperor cannot be the Rebel Leader, so if he has the most villages the Rebel Leader will be the player who has the next most villages. The Rebel Leader should take the Rebel Leader marker. All players must take part in the rebellion. The rebellion is between the Emperor and the Rebel Leader. The remaining players must choose which side they will support. Players secretly decide which side they will fight against by selecting that colour card, (using the same convention as resolving areas). Players are either going to pick the Emperor's colour or the Rebel Leader's colour. The Emperor and Rebel Leader do not have to pick a colour card as it is obvious who they are fighting against. All players then secretly select a number of Army cards to throw into the fight. This should be done in the fist under the table so that players cannot see how many cards other players are selecting. A player all, some or none of his cards. Army cards can be exchanged for smaller or higher denominations at any point. Players reveal Colour cards and Army cards. Add up the totals for each side. The Emperor gains an additional +2 for each Palace he controls. The Rebel Leader gains an additional +2 for each Village he controls. There are no other modifiers. The side with the most Army points on its side wins. A player will be fighting with the Rebel Leader if he picks the Emperor's colour, and vice versa. In the case of a tie the Emperor's side wins. Each player on the winning side gains control of one chip from a player on the losing side. The leader of the winning side, (which will be either the Emperor or the Rebel Leader), has first pick, then the player who played the most Army points on the winning side, and so on. In the case of a tie the Emperor decides who will pick first. A player takes control of a chip by repalcing it with one of his own, must be the same symbol. A player can only take control of a chip if he already has control of an adjacent area, (i.e. he has one of his chips adjacent). If this means that a player cannot take control of a chip then he takes a Victory Point chip instead. Remember, if the ownership of Palaces changes the Emperor may also change ownership, so keep track of that. If a player has no chips on the map then he picks any chip belonging to one of the opposing players. A player can lose control of more than one chip. 5. NEW CARDS In play order players take new cards. Players take 10 points worth of Influence cards, (any denomination), and 2 points worth of Army cards. They also take extra Influence and Army cards for controlling the following chips: Palace - player can either take 2 extra Influence points or 1 extra Army point. Temple - player takes 3 extra Influence points. Fort - player takes 2 extra Army points. Ricefield - player takes 1 extra Influence point and 1 extra Army point. Village - player gains nothing. You are now ready to start a new turn. The game ends at the end of the Rebellion of the 4th turn, (there is no point in taking cards after the Rebellion). WINNING THE GAME Players score VPs controlling chips, as follows: Palace - worth 3 VPs each Temple - worth 2 VPs each. Fort, Ricefield, Village - worth 1VP each. Players also score 1 VP for each VP chip they hold. Certain areas are marked with a Dragon. Each such area controlled gives the controlling player an extra 2VPs. Having the largest, contiguous, group of controlled areas gains a player an extra 3 VPs. If there is a tie then each tied player gains 1VP. The player with the most VPs is the winner. In the case of a tie the tied player with the most chips on the board is the winner. If there is still a tie then it remains a tie.