Black Sonata: The Fair Youth — Rules Manual

Black Sonata
by John Kean

Expansion:
The Fair Youth

1 player
aged 14+
30 mins

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The Dark Lady is not the only mysterious character
to haunt Shakespeare's sonnets...

Black Sonata: the Fair Youth includes several expansions that may be
added to the base game separately or in any combination. The Fair
Youth and The Rendezvous add further deduction tasks, while the
Darker Ladies replace those from the base game for a slightly
harder challenge. The Rival Poet comes in two forms: one which
makes the game easier and one harder. And Waypoints and Traces
provides tools to help track the Dark Lady as she flees through
London.

Components

The Rival Poet
The Aggressive Poet
- Every turn, move
one space.
- Player: unique
- New cards are a location:
with the correct symbol
- Player never in the fog
- Court of Thieves:
right

the
Darker
Ladies
Black Sonata

13 poker cards

20 miniEuro cards

24 tokens

1 pawn

... and 1 rule booklet

The expansions are designed to fit inside
the box with the base game, if you wish.

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The Darker Ladies

This alternative set of Dark Lady cards has four suits, each
containing three cards. These cards will be more difficult to
deduce and may require more clues than the base game. The
difficulty level is lowest for hearts and clubs, and highest for
spades.

Components: 12 Darker Lady cards.

Set up: Replace the Dark Lady cards from the base set with these
ones. Shuffle them, and tuck the top card face down under the
game board as usual. This is the Dark Lady whose characteristics
you must deduce.

Locate the two other cards with the same suit as the Dark Lady.
Place one of these face down near the board and stack the
location keys on top of it. This clue will become available once
you have visited every location on the map. Then take three
other clue cards and shuffle them together with the last card
from the Dark Lady's suit. Place these face down on top of the
clue mask card, then place the remaining clue cards on top. Flip
the stack over so that the mask card is on top and place this clue
deck to one side of the board.

Game play: The rest of the game plays as normal.

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The Fair Youth

Aim: The Fair Youth has passed through the city and is now
hiding out somewhere in London. You must deduce his location
and catch him there.

Components: 11 miniEuro cards and 22 optional arrow tokens.

Set up: Shuffle the 11 Fair Youth cards and choose one, placing it
face down next to the game board. Set the remaining 10 cards
aside – they will not be used.

Game play: This expansion uses all the rules of the base game
but adds one further option during your turn: you may ask a
bystander which direction the Fair Youth went when he passed
through your current location. To do so, place the Fair Youth
card on top of the current location key, align the cards and flip
them over together. In the keyhole you will see a landmark
present in the next location to which the Fair Youth passed from
here. You may optionally use the arrow tokens to indicate the
possibilities.

The Fair Youth always travels the shortest path to his
hideout, though in some cases there may be two paths that
are equally short.

If you are currently in the Fair Youth's location then the
bystander will mistakenly tell you which direction he went
when he left the last time.

You must ask bystanders at several locations to deduce where
the Fair Youth is hiding, remembering that the information
gained from his current location is misleading. Then you must
travel to his location and confront him.

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Confronting the Fair Youth

When you believe you are in the right location, simply turn over
the Fair Youth card and check the location printed there.

* If it matches, then you have found him – add 20 points to
your score.

* If not, he has eluded you – subtract 20 points from your
score.

* If you successfully confront both the Fair Youth and the Dark
Lady in the same location at the same time then add a further
10 points to your score!

1. At set up, choose one
of the eleven Fair Youth
cards without viewing it.

2. On your turn you may
ask a bystander by
viewing the Fair Youth
card through the hole
of the current location
card. The icon revealed is present at the next
location towards the Fair Youth’s hideout.

3. Mark the way using the
arrow tokens provided.

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You must deduce the landmark on the Rendezvous card before
confronting the Dark Lady. When you do confront her, first turn
over the Rendezvous card. That landmark must be present in
your location, otherwise you lose. Then reveal the Dark Lady
and check her symbols as normal.

You win only if you correctly identified the Dark Lady in a
location with the correct Rendezvous landmark. If you win, add
15 points to your score.

1. At set up, choose a
Rendezvous card. Each time you
query it, it will tell you how far
away from your current location
is the special landmark.

So shall then feed
on deaths, that
feeds on men.
And death once dead,
there's no more dying
then.

2. Mark the results using
the tokens provided.

3. Unmask the Dark Lady at a
location with the special landmark.

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The Rival Poet

This expansion adds a second pawn, representing the Rival Poet.
Two different Poets are available: the Elusive Poet makes the
game easier by offering an additional way to gain clues, while
the Aggressive Poet makes it harder by hampering your
movement.

Components: 1 additional pawn and 1 Rival Poet card.

Set up: After placing the player pawn in its starting location,
place the Rival Poet pawn in the location with the matching
colour (if green, you may choose either of the two vacant
locations).

Game play: Each turn now consists of three steps:
1. Update the Dark Lady's location.
2. Update the Rival Poet's location.
3. Take your turn as normal, but see below for what happens if
the player and Poet pawns are in the same location.

Updating the Poet's location:
The Elusive Poet will only move when the player pawn is in an
adjoining location. Then he will move one step away from the
player pawn if there is a valid opportunity for him to do so. If
there is more than one way he could go, he takes the right-most
option facing away from the player pawn.

On each turn the Aggressive Poet will try to move one step
towards the player pawn, taking the shortest valid route. If there

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are two valid routes that are equally short then he will take the
right-most option facing towards the player pawn.

In both cases
• the Poet will never move into a location that has the same
symbol as that shown on the current stealth card, and
• the Poet will not move if a fog card is showing on the stealth
deck.

If the Poet cannot move according to these rules then he will
remain in his current location for that turn.

On your turn: If you move into the same location as the Elusive
Poet then he gives you a clue about the Dark Lady. Discard one
fog card from the fog deck, take a new clue card, and move the
Poet pawn to a location with the matching colour.

Conversely, you may never voluntarily move to where the
Aggressive Poet is. If he has moved into your location then you
must use your turn to move away. You may not search for the
Dark Lady, use a fog card, or even pass when in the same
location as the Aggressive Poet.

Scoring: Subtract 10 points from your final score if you used the
Elusive Poet, or add 10 points if you used the Aggressive Poet.

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Waypoints and Traces

Sometimes as you pursue the Dark Lady you may see her at a
distance, unable to reach her before she melts away again. This
expansion provides two tools to help you head her off next
time: a waypoint card ① and a tracer card !. Each can mark a
particular place on the map and in the stealth deck. You can use
them however you like, but the main use would be to mark
where the Dark Lady is at a particular point in her flight. This
can help to find her next time through the stealth deck, and may
let you tackle the more challenging variants in the game.
Components: 2 miniEuro cards, 2 tokens

Game play

During your turn you may use either of these cards, if available,
even if you have already moved or searched in that turn. It may
be best to use them immediately before searching, or after a
search but before advancing the stealth deck as the Lady flees.

To mark a waypoint: Place the ① card on the bottom of the
stealth deck and put the corresponding token on one of the
locations on the board, such as where you know the Dark Lady
to be. Remove the card when you encounter it on your next
time through the stealth deck, and the next card will correspond
to the marked location. Then remove the token from the map.
You may then use the waypoint a second time if you wish.

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To trace the Lady: Choose whether you want 3 or 5 moves
warning of her position and flip the tracer card ! accordingly.
Separate the corresponding number of cards from the bottom of
the stealth deck (not counting any cards with coloured borders),
add the tracer card, and replace the bottom cards in the same
order. Then add the footprint token to the map.

When the tracer card comes up next time set it aside: you now
know how many moves you have left to reach the marked
location and intercept the Lady. Once both card and token have
been set aside you may re-use them a second time.

1. Mark the location where you
know the Dark Lady to be.

2. Add the Waypoints card to
the bottom of the stealth
deck. When it appears at the
top you'll know Dark Lady is
at the marked location.

The Traces card works similarly, except
that it tells how many turns before the
Dark Lady will reach the marked location.

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Credits

Black Sonata: The Fair Youth
© Side Room Games LLC, 2019
Version: 20200220
Game design by John Kean
Anne Hathaway portrait by Roger Brien Dunn (2010) ©
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, used with permission.
Playtesting and suggestions: Israel Waldrom, Jake, Liam Kean,
Jay Klitz, Mariusz Kosecki and Melty Man.
http://www.sideroomgames.com
https://www.facebook.com/sideroomgames
@sideroomgames
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