How to Play Belfort: Her Majesty's Civil Service

Objective of the Game

Welcome to Her Majesty’s Civil Service! This is a collection of mini-expansion modules for Belfort, designed to add new twists and turns to your plays. The goal is to mix and match any combination of these modules to enhance your Belfort experience. The "Less Red Tape" variant offers a quicker structure of play with less upkeep, while other modules like "Heritage Properties," "The Queen of Belfort," "Parks & Rex," and "The Key to Belfort" introduce new gameplay elements, opportunities, and challenges. Ultimately, players are striving for success within these varied rule sets, with timing being key.

Preparation (Setup)

Set up the game according to the usual instructions for Belfort, with the following specific changes for the "Less Red Tape" variant:

1. Leave the Turn Order Crests out of the game. Randomly pick a starting player; turn order always passes clockwise in this variant.
2. Leave the Calendar marker out of the game. Instead, each player places one of their own Property markers beside the first calendar space.
3. Do not make a Draw Pool of Property cards. Instead, deal out a row of 5 face up cards to form the Property Row. If there are ever 3 or more identical cards in the Property Row (during Setup or during the game), discard the entire row and replace with 5 new cards.
4. Lay out 2 more Assistants than there are players in the game. In reverse turn order, each player chooses one Assistant to begin the game with. Leave the remaining Assistants there as a display.

Additional Setup for Specific Modules:

• Heritage Properties: Pick an unused player color to represent the Heritage properties. Reveal 1 Property card and place a Heritage Property marker on the matching spot in any one district to start. (Remove that Property card from the game.) Continuing clockwise, perform this process for all five districts.
• The Queen of Belfort: Remove the "Swap Turn Order Crests" card from the game. Place the Queen Pawn in any random board district. Shuffle the Queen cards, and keep the deck face down near the Calendar board. Place the Queen’s Chamber tile in the middle of the board, covering the Keep roof.
• Parks & Rex: You must play with the Guild of Parks & Rex as one of your Guilds. Place Ms. Parks in one random district and Mr. Rex in another. If you’re also playing with the Queen, ensure that all 3 are in different districts.
• The Key to Belfort: Place the Key to Belfort in the general supply. Make sure the Locksmiths’ Guild is included in the 5 Guilds you use for this game. Shuffle the Key cards and deal one to each player, placing the rest off to the side in a face down draw pile. Remove the "Draw an extra property card" Key Card from the game if playing with the "Less Red Tape" variant.

Fluxo do Jogo

On your turn, you will perform one Main Action and any number of Free Actions.

During each Calendar phase (The Queen of Belfort module):

After all players have moved one space on the calendar track, move the Queen 1 space clockwise, and replace the current Queen card with another one. Do this again after all players have moved 2 spaces, etc.

Discard the active Queen card (if this is the first round of the game, there will not be one). Reveal a new Queen card from the deck to be the active Queen card. Move the Queen 1 district clockwise.

During the Placement phase (The Queen of Belfort module):

You may place a worker on the plank in the Queen's Chamber during the Placement phase.

During the Action phase (The Queen of Belfort module):

If you have a worker on the Queen's Chamber, activate and reclaim it at any point on your turn to relocate the Queen to any other district (except one containing Ms. Parks or Mr. Rex). Moving the Queen using the Queen's Chamber does not cause the current Queen card to change.

Ações e Como Jogar

Main Actions:

1. Place a worker on a Guild and activate it: Same as in the original game (including placement fee), but gain the Guild’s benefit immediately.
2. Place a worker in the Recruitment Center: Gain 1 Elf per Elf and 1 Dwarf per Dwarf that you take back from the Recruitment Center.
3. Place as many of your workers as you want in the various Resource Areas to gather resources, then Build anything you want to and can afford:
   • The Resource Areas work similar to the original game except that you don’t have to place all of your workers if you don’t want to. There are no majority bonuses in the Resource Areas in this variant.
   • Building is the same as the original game except that you may only build a Wall, a Guild, or one of the 5 Properties in Property Row.
   • When you build a Property, take it and fill the gap in Property Row with a fresh card from the deck.
   • If you place a worker on the Queen's Chamber (which is a Main Action), move the Queen immediately upon placing. This movement does not cause the current Queen card to change.
4. Collect workers, recruit workers, progress, score, and collect income: This is how you get your workers back. If you have no workers left, you must choose this main action. Perform the following in order:
   1. Take back all of your workers into your supply, from wherever they are.
   2. Move your property marker one space forward on the Calendar.
   3. Collect income (including the gold from any gnomed Banks you own) and then pay taxes.
   4. Swap your current Assistant with one from the display, and place a gold coin from the supply on the other.

   If you move onto a scoring round, then calculate majorities for districts and workers as in the normal game, but only you score points.

   2-Player rule for Less Red Tape variant: At game start, assign one Non-Player as color A and another as color B. During gameplay each time you move to a new spot on the Calendar, immediately build a Non-Player property from Property Row (for no cost), then refresh Property Row. If you are the first to reach that Calendar spot, use color A. If you are the second to reach that Calendar spot, use color B.

Free Actions:

• Hire one Gnome and place it immediately: Maximum once per turn; you must have an empty Gnome Lock to put it on.
• Place workers on your Properties: As many or as few as you want (pay fees as normal). Activate the Property powers immediately.
• Visit the Trading Post: One sell and one buy per turn as usual (unless you have something granting you extra visits, such as a gnomed Market).

Specific Properties & Guilds Effects:

• Library: When you place a worker here, draw 2 cards, add them to the Property Row, then remove any 2 cards so the Property Row will contain 5 cards. When you place a Gnome on a Library, draw a new card and place it face-up in a top shelf row above the Property Row. Only players with a gnomed Library may build properties from the top shelf row. After you build a card from the top shelf row, replace it with a new one from the deck.
• Blacksmith: For each gnomed Blacksmith you own, you may buy 1 metal for 1 gold, but only when you are Building as your main action.
• Goon Assistant: The Goon may not be placed on the Locksmiths’ Guild or the Guild of Parks & Rex.
• Librarians’ Guild and Spies’ Guild: Do not use these guilds with this variant.
• Gargoyle Assistant: Do not use the Gargoyle with this variant.
• Giant Assistant: The first time you place workers in the collection area while you have the Giant assistant, place the Giant token(s) there as well.
• Non-Human Resources Guild: Return the 3 workers to the supply when you take the Retrieve Workers action.
• Archives Expansion: Treat the plank as if blank, and the red board as if it had 2 coins on it.
• Clipboard Makers’ Guild: Draw the card off the top of the deck and keep it face down in front of you. You may build that card as if it were in the property row.
• Gorgon Assistant: Immediately upon taking this assistant, place the Gorgon token. The first time each opponent builds in the Gorgon's district, they must pay the fee. The first time you build in the Gorgon's district, collect the reward. You can temporarily place property markers onto the Gorgon tile to help remember that you've done this. When returning the Gorgon tile to the supply, give these property markers back to their owners. The next time someone takes the Gorgon assistant, everyone is subject to her abilities again.
• Heritage Properties (Effect on Gameplay): Heritage properties are considered to be an independent player when calculating majorities during the Scoring phase; the Heritage properties could therefore come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a given district, but you do not need to keep track of the Heritage property’s points. Heritage properties may be moved to a different district via the Wizard’s Guild.
• The Queen of Belfort (Effect on Gameplay): Each time you build in the Queen’s current district (whether Property, Wall, or Guild), you receive the benefit listed on the active Queen card. Placing a Property marker on the second half of a Gatehouse does not count as “building”.
• Parks & Rex (Effect on Gameplay): If you place a worker on the Guild of Parks & Rex during the Placement phase, you may move either Ms. Parks or Mr. Rex during your turn of the Action phase. Remember, no two of Ms. Parks, Mr. Rex, and the Queen can ever be in the same district. In the Less Red Tape variant, move either Ms. Parks or Mr. Rex to another district immediately upon placing on the Guild of Parks and Rex.
• The Key to Belfort (Effect on Gameplay): Use the Locksmiths’ Guild to get your hands on the Key to Belfort and more Key cards. While you hold the Key, all of your Key cards are active, providing you with game-changing benefits. When you place one of your workers on the Locksmiths’ Guild, draw another Key card from the deck into your hand, and take the Key to Belfort into your playing area. When an opponent takes the Key to Belfort from you, take your Key cards back into your hand, they are no longer active. While you hold the Key to Belfort, your Key cards are considered active; display them next to the Key tile. You may take advantage of their benefits until someone takes the Key from you.

New Guilds:

• Printers’ Guild:
  • Action: Choose another Guild that currently has a worker in it, and activate it as if you had a worker in it.
• Guild of Parks & Rex:
  • Action: Move either Ms. Parks or Mr. Rex from their current district into a different one. The new district may not contain the other character or the Queen.
  • If playing with the Expansion Expansion, a Goon may not be used to activate this guild.
• Summoners’ Guild:
  • Action: Immediately on placement retrieve any 3 of your workers from their current positions (except the one in the Summoners’ Guild), back to your player board.
• Employee of the Month Guild:
  • Action: Immediately on placement for every Elf on your own Property card planks gain 2 Wood and for every Dwarf on your own Property card planks, gain 2 Stone.
• Landlords’ Guild:
  • Action: Check all five districts. For each district if there is a player other than yourself with a clear majority of Property markers (no ties), steal 1 Gold from that player.
• Locksmiths’ Guild:
  • Action: Immediately on placement draw 1 Key card and take the Key to Belfort from whoever has it. While you hold the Key to Belfort, only your Key cards are active.
  • If playing with the Expansion Expansion, a Goon may not be used to activate this guild.

Fim de Jogo e Pontuação

The game ends when all players have completed their third and final scoring (remembering to also collect income and then pay taxes).

• Once you have completed your final scoring, your turn is skipped for the rest of the game.
• If your score ever goes above 50, keep moving on the score track. Remember that your score is 50 points higher, and your tax rate is 9 coins more than what is displayed on the board.

Scoring Criteria for Specific Modules:

• Heritage Properties: When playing a 3 player game with Heritage properties, score 3rd place as if it were a 4 player game.
• Parks & Rex: The district with Ms. Parks scores 8/3/0 for 1st/2nd/3rd place, and the district with Mr. Rex scores 6/5/4 for 1st/2nd/3rd place, instead of the normal values. As usual, you do not score 3rd place in a 2-3 player game.
• Archives Expansion: Bonus Scoring: Earn 1 point for every Property card in the top shelf row.

Dicas para Vencer

• Timing is key to success, especially in the "Less Red Tape" variant, though in different phases compared to the original rules.
• When playing with "The Queen of Belfort," building quickly and efficiently in the Queen’s current district can earn her favor and the benefits listed on the active Queen card.
• If playing with "The Key to Belfort," strategically using the Locksmiths’ Guild to gain and maintain control of the Key to Belfort will keep your powerful Key cards active, providing significant game-changing benefits.