How to Play Guilds of London: Wards of London

Objective of the Game

London is a city divided by Guilds and politics, with physical areas segregated into Wards of London. This expansion provides new opportunities for machinations and allows for a 5th player. Players are trying to gain influence and score points through various actions and control of Guild tiles within these wards. The ultimate goal is to have the most victory points at the end of the game.

Preparation (Setup)

Wards of London Play – 2 players

1. Deal each player a random Ward tile. Then, deal a random Ward tile to the left of each player. Each player should have a Ward tile in front of them, and a Ward tile to their left and to their right. Shuffle the remaining Ward tiles into the stack of Guild tiles.
2. Place the Guild Hall tile next to the scoreboard.
3. Place the silver Beadle on the lowest numbered guild tile that is in play (regardless of which ward that is in), and place 2nd Place Reward tokens onto all the Guild tiles in play as normal.
4. Place one of your Liveryman pawns on your starting Ward tile.
5. Randomly choose 1 Plantation tile to use for the game and place it with a random side face-up.
6. Place the silver Beadle on the lowest numbered guild tile that is in play (regardless of which ward that is in), and place 2nd Place Reward tokens onto all the Guild tiles in play as normal.
7. Place the silver Beadle on the lowest numbered guild tile that is in play (regardless of which ward that is in), and place 2nd Place Reward tokens onto all the Guild tiles in play as normal.
8. Set up the other components as normal: Deal each player 3 Mayoral Reward cards from which they choose 1 to keep, deal each player 6 Action cards, place 4 Liverymen from each player onto the Guildhall, and place the appropriate tokens on the scoreboard.
9. Repeat this process for the two Ward tiles that were dealt to either side of the two players. Each player should now have a group of tiles in front of them that is their ward, as well as a group of tiles on their left and right that are neutral wards, owned by no player.
10. Do not arrange tiles in the center of the table to begin the game. Instead, look for the Ward diagram on your Ward tile. Draw Guild tiles from the stack at random and place them face-up next to your starting Ward tile to create the configuration shown by your Ward diagram. The starting Ward tile should be in the position indicated by the blue square in the diagram, and the other Guild tiles should be in the position indicated by the white squares in the diagram.

Wards of London Play – 3 or more players

1. Place the Guild Hall tiles next to the scoreboard.
2. Place the silver Beadle on the LOWEST numbered guild tile that is in play, and place 2nd Place Reward tokens onto all the Guild tiles in play as normal, regardless of which ward that tile is in. Place the new golden Beadle on the HIGHEST numbered tile that is in play. Each Beadle counts towards the number needed to cause the resolution of the tile it is on, just as the silver Beadle does in the base game.
3. When playing with 3 or 4 players, randomly select a side of a single Plantation tile to use for the game. When playing with 5 players, select random sides of two random Plantation tiles to use during the game.
4. Deal each player a random Ward tile. Set aside a number of random Ward tiles equal to the number of players in the game (3 / 4 / 5 Ward tiles set aside for 3 / 4 / 5 players). Shuffle the remaining Ward tiles into the stack of Guild tiles.
5. Place one of your Liveryman pawns on your starting Ward tile.
6. Set up the other components as normal: Deal each player 3 Mayoral Reward cards from which they choose 1 to keep, deal each player 6 Action cards, place 4 Liverymen from each player onto the Guildhall, and place the appropriate tokens on the scoreboard.
7. Each player should now have a group of tiles in front of them that is their ward.
8. Do not arrange tiles in the center of the table to begin the game. Instead, look for the Ward diagram on your Ward tile. Draw Guild tiles from the stack at random and place them face-up next to your starting Ward tile to create the configuration shown by your Ward diagram. The starting Ward tile should be in the position indicated by the blue square in the diagram, and the other Guild tiles should be in the position indicated by the white squares in the diagram.
9. The new Coin and Veto tokens should be placed in piles near the scoreboard.
10. When playing with 5 players only: Add the 2 new Neutral Liveryman pawns to the pool of available Neutral Liverymen.

Fluxo do Jogo

The game proceeds as normal, with some modifications for Wards of London play. During the game, players will move their Liverymen, resolve Guild tiles, and score points.

Growth Phases

• In 2-player games, Growth phases do not add any new tiles to the board.
• In 3 or more player games, Growth phases during rounds 3, 9, and 12 do not add any new tiles to the board.
• During the Growth phase in round 6 (3 or more players), take the Ward tiles that were set aside at the beginning of the game and place one between each set of neighboring players. Construct a ward using the Ward diagram on those tiles as you did for each of the players at the start of the game. These newly constructed wards are neutral and are owned by no player. Every player should now have neutral wards to their left and right, instead of wards belonging to their neighboring opponents.
• During every Growth Phase (3, 6, 9, and 12), you must also move the new golden Beadle to the highest numbered Guild tile that is still face-up in play (just as you normally move the silver Beadle to the lowest numbered one).
• Similarly, any time a tile with the golden Beadle on it resolves and flips, the golden Beadle will move to the highest numbered Guild tile that is still face-up.
• Resolve the Plantation tile as normal during every Growth Phase. When playing with 5 players, also resolve the second Plantation tiles during every Growth Phase.

Ações e Como Jogar

Players will take actions during their turn, typically by playing Action cards and moving Liverymen. The core gameplay remains similar to the base game, but with specific rules regarding movement and tile resolution within wards.

Movement of Liverymen

• You may only move your Liverymen to tiles in your ward and the neutral Wards to your left and right.
• You may not move your Liverymen to your opponent’s ward unless you are resolving an ability which specifies that you may place a Liveryman in ANY ward.
• In 3 or more player games, you may only move your Liverymen to tiles in your ward and the wards on either side of you. You may not move your Liverymen to a ward that is not to the left or right of your ward unless you are resolving an ability which specifies that you may place a Liveryman in ANY ward.
• Whenever sending a Liveryman pawn to a Plantation tile in a 5 player game, it may be sent to the Plantation tile of your choice. If an action would send multiple Liveryman pawns at the same time, these may be split up between the Plantation tiles in whichever way you choose.

Beadles

• The new golden Beadle is placed on the HIGHEST numbered tile that is in play at the beginning of the game. This Beadle counts towards the number needed to cause the resolution of the tile it is on, just as the silver Beadle does.
• Whenever you have a card, tile, or token effect which would move the Beadle, you may choose which Beadle to move.
• During each Growth Phase, and whenever a tile with the golden Beadle on it resolves, move the golden Beadle to the highest numbered tile that is currently face-up in play.

Guild Tiles and Resolution

• Some of the new Ward tiles have several slots on the back, below the suit indicators. When placing one of your Liveryman pawns as a master on the back of a tile which you won the vote for, you may choose which slot to put the Liveryman on. The tile is considered to be the suit of the slot in which the Liveryman is placed.
• When playing with the new Guild tiles, any actions or effects which would automatically cause the resolution of a Guild tile (regardless of how many pawns are on it) instead reduce the resolution threshold by 3 until the end of the round.
• All Special Building tiles should be treated the same as Guild tiles – any card or effect that references a Guild tile may also be used to affect Special Building tiles.

New Tokens

• Coin tokens: Can be used as 1 coin for the purpose of paying for cards with coin costs. Discard the coin when used. You may also spend 2 coins during your turn (by discarding 2 cards or Coin tokens in any combination) to move 1 of your Liveryman pawns from any Guild tile to another unresolved Guild tile in your ward or the two wards on either side of your ward.
• Veto tokens: Can be placed at any time during your turn, while you are playing cards. They may be placed on any Guild or Plantation tile. If that tile would resolve during the End of Round phase, there is no negotiation stage – which means that no Neutral Liverymen pawns may be used to replace other Liverymen pawns on that tile this round. Any such tokens still remaining on Guild or Plantation tiles at the end of the round are discarded, whether or not the tile they are on resolved this round.

New 2nd Place Reward tokens and Guild tile rewards

• Gain 2 points immediately. You may move one of your Liveryman or Master pawns from any Guild tile to a Plantation tile.
• Gain 1 or 2 points immediately, as indicated on the token. You may move one of your Liveryman pawns to ANY face-up Guild tile in ANY ward, even if the ward is not to your left or right.
• Draw 2 cards immediately or draw 3 cards immediately, as indicated by the token.
• Draw and keep the top Mayoral reward card.
• Draw 2 Mayoral Rewards cards. Choose one to keep and discard the other.
• Gain 1 Coin token from the center of the table.
• Gain 1 Veto token from the center of the table.

Fim de Jogo e Pontuação

End Game Trigger

• If all Guild tiles in play are resolved prior to the Growth phase at the end of round 6 (3 or more players), immediately advance the round marker to 6, and proceed as if you had just entered the Growth phase for round 6.
• If all the Guild tiles in play are resolved at any time after the round 6 Growth phase, the game ends as per the normal rules for early game ending.
• When playing with 5 players, you will play for 12 rounds, just as you do when playing with 4 players.

Scoring

• During scoring, score 2 points instead of the normal 1 point for each of your own adjacent Masters. This does not apply to Mayoral Reward cards that provide points for adjacent Masters.
• You automatically win ties when resolving tiles in your own ward, regardless of adjacent Masters.

New Mayoral Rewards cards scoring

• Gain 2VP for each Ward tile you control.
• Each coin chit you have scores you 1VP.
• Each Veto chit you have scores you 1VP.
• Gain 1VP for each 10VP (round down) – score this last.
• Each non-scoring Mayoral Reward card you have scores 1 VP.

Dicas para Vencer

• Focus on controlling your own ward and the neutral wards to your left and right, as movement to other wards is restricted unless an ability allows it.
• Utilize the new Coin and Veto tokens strategically. Coins can provide flexible movement, while Veto tokens can prevent opponents from using Neutral Liverymen to replace your pawns during tile resolution.
• Pay attention to the golden Beadle, as it influences the resolution of the highest numbered Guild tiles, similar to how the silver Beadle affects the lowest numbered ones.