1. Objective of the Game

The Gallerist is a race to build the most successful art gallery. Players act as Gallerists, promoting and nurturing Artists, buying, displaying and selling their Works of Art, and expanding their International Influence. The player who ends the game with the most money wins.

2. Setup

1. Place the Game board in the center. Place each Player board around the board next to the matching color gallery. Draw the Visitors from the cloth bag. For 4 players use all visitors; for 3 players remove 2 of each type; for 2 or 1 player remove 4 of each type.
2. Place each player’s Influence marker on the “10” space of the Influence Track.
3. In the Box office put tickets: 20 for 4‑player, 15 for 3‑player, 10 for 1‑ or 2‑player games. Return any extras to the box.
4. Shuffle the Contract cards, place them face‑down on the leftmost space, then draw 4 and place them face‑up on the four contract display spaces.
5. Shuffle all 16 Artist tiles. Place them one by one onto the board spaces that match the tile’s color and art form. If a space is already occupied, return the tile to the box. Continue until all spaces are filled; return any remaining tiles to the box.
6. Place the first drawn blue Artist tile face‑up, mark its initial Fame with a white cube. All other Artists start face‑down. Put one Artist bonus tile on each, and one white Collector Visitor on each red Artist tile.
7. Place both Signature Tokens next to each Artist tile.
8. For each art form shuffle its Works of Art stack, place it face‑up next to the studio, and set aside the top card. Put random Visitors on each topmost Work of Art equal to the number of tickets shown on the card.
9. Stack each set of Promotion tokens on the corresponding numbered spaces.
10. Randomly choose 12 Reputation Tiles, place one face‑up on each space of the top 4 rows of the International Market. (In solitaire or 2‑player games choose only 8 tiles and cover only the top four rows of the 1st and 3rd columns.)
11. Shuffle the 4 Works of Art that were set aside, place one at random on each easel beside the board. Use three easels for 4 players, two for 3 players, one for 2 or solo. Return any extras to the box.
12. Place 4 random Visitors in the Plaza and one random Visitor in each Player’s Lobby.
13. Randomly choose 4 remaining Reputation Tiles and place one face‑up next to each Location on the board.
14. Choose a start player at random, give them the Starting Player marker. In reverse order each player chooses a Location, places their Gallerist pawn there, and takes the Reputation Tile from that Location.
15. Each player sets up their gallery: place 8 Assistants on the unemployment queue, put the remaining 2 Assistants at desks in the office, place the taken Reputation Tile on the 3rd art space of their board, take 10 money from the bank, and deal one random Art Dealer card and one Curator card to themselves.

3. Flow of the Game

The game proceeds in turns, clockwise. On a turn a player:

1. Moves their Gallerist pawn to one of the four Locations on the board (Artist Colony, Sales Office, Media Center, International Market). If another player’s pawn or an Assistant is already there, that piece is kicked‑out and moved to the black space in front of the Location.
2. Performs one of the two Location Actions available at that spot.
3. May also take one of two Executive Actions either before or after the Location Action: (a) move Visitors by offering tickets, or (b) use a bonus from a contract card.

After the active player finishes, any player who was kicked‑out may take a Kicked‑Out Action (optional). The kicked‑out piece then returns home.

The round continues until all players have taken a turn. The game ends when at least two of the following conditions are met:

• The Box office is empty of tickets.
• Two or more Artists have become Celebrity.
• The Visitors bag is empty.

When a condition is met, the round continues until the last player finishes his turn. Then, beginning with the Starting Player, each player gets one more normal turn (no Kicked‑Out Actions). Final scoring follows.

4. Actions and How to Play

Artist Colony

• Discover an Artist: Choose a face‑down Artist tile, gain the bonus on its bonus tile, discard the bonus tile, move the Collector from the tile to the Plaza (if red), flip the tile face‑up, place a Fame marker on the brown space of the tile, and move one Signature Token to the player’s commission space. Only one commission may be active at a time.
• Buy & Exhibit a Work of Art: Choose an Artist with an available Signature Token or one you have a commission for. Pay the Artist’s current Fame (or initial Fame if you have a commission). Increase the Artist’s Fame by the work’s value plus 1 for each Collector in your Gallery. Gain the tickets shown on the work, move the work to the leftmost empty slot in your Gallery face‑down, move the Signature Token to the right of your Art value track, and place random Visitors on the work equal to its ticket count. If a Reputation Tile was on the slot, place it over the work until your turn ends, then move it to an empty Reputation space on your board and receive its bonus. Move one Visitor from your Lobby back to the Plaza if you have any.

Sales Office

• Sign a Contract: Take one of the face‑up contract cards from the display. Optionally draw 4 new cards to replace the current four; you may then choose one of the new cards or keep the old ones. Place the chosen card on an empty contract space on your board (or over a fulfilled contract). If the space was empty, receive the ticket shown on the slot from the Box office. If the card had an Assistant on it, that Assistant goes home.
• Sell a Work of Art: If you have a face‑up contract that matches a Work of Art in your Gallery, remove that work, slide remaining works left, receive money equal to the position of the corresponding Signature Token on your Art value track, return the Signature Token to the Artist tile, move one Visitor from your Gallery to the Plaza, flip the contract face‑down, orient the card so the top half matches the type of Visitor moved (Influence for a VIP, Investment for an Investor, or either if a Collector or none), and keep the bonus for later use via an Executive Action.

Media Center

• Hire Assistants: Move up to 4 Assistants from the top of your unemployment queue to empty desks in your office, paying the cost shown next to each space. You may use Influence to cover the cost. Gain any hiring bonus shown next to the space.
• Promote Artist: Pay Influence equal to the level of promotion taken (use Influence to cover the cost). Return the current Promotion token, place the next level token on the Artist, receive the ticket bonus shown on the board, and increase the Artist’s Fame by 1 plus 1 for each Collector in your Gallery.

International Market

• Take a Reputation Tile (upper section): Choose a Reputation Tile from a column and row you have access to. Earn the Influence shown above the column, take the tile to an empty Reputation space on your board and receive its bonus, move one Visitor from your Lobby to the Plaza, and place one of your Assistants on the empty Reputation space.
• Make an Offer for Art of International Renown (lower section): Choose a row you have access to, pay the offer value (1, 3, or 6 money), gain the Influence shown above the column, take the bonus shown on the space, and place one of your Assistants on the space.

Executive Actions

• Move Visitors by offering tickets: Discard any number of tickets of a color; each discarded ticket moves one Visitor of that color one space toward your Gallery. Tickets are placed on the discard pile.
• Use a bonus from a contract card: Place one of your Assistants (from your office or a Location) onto a contract card to receive the bonus shown on the card. The Assistant remains on the card until the contract is used to sell a Work of Art, at which point the Assistant returns home and the card flips over to show a new bonus.

Kicked‑Out Actions

• Optional: Reduce Influence back to the previous Fame icon to perform one of the Location’s actions.
• Optional: Take an Executive Action (move Visitors or use a contract bonus).

5. End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when at least two of the three end‑game conditions are met. After the final normal turn, each player gets one more turn (no Kicked‑Out Actions). Final scoring consists of:

1. International Market Majorities: For each column, the player with the most Assistants in that column receives 6 money, the second most 3 money, the third most 1 money. Ties are split (rounded down). Repeat for all three columns.
2. Reputation Tiles: Each Reputation Tile on a player’s board awards money and/or Influence as described on the tile.
3. Exhibition: For every Work of Art currently exhibited in a player’s Gallery, award money equal to its sales value (position of its Signature Token on the Art value track).
4. Auction of Renowned Works of Art: Each assistant on the bottom three rows of the International Market is worth 1, 3, or 6 money depending on the row. Sum each player’s offers; the highest offer chooses a renowned Work of Art (placed in their Gallery or next to their board) and receives money equal to the sales value of that work as if it were created by the most famous Artist of that art form. The second highest offer chooses the next work, and so on. Each player may take only one renowned work.
5. Curator Cards: Award money for each completed collection shown on the player’s Curator card. A collection may be fulfilled by any combination of exhibited Works of Art, including Masterpieces and Auctioned Works.
6. Art Dealer Cards: Award money for each completed set of sold Works of Art shown on the player’s Art Dealer card.
7. Influence Track: Each player receives money based on their final position on the Influence Track (see the track’s money icons).

The player with the most money after all scoring is the winner. In case of a tie, the tie‑breakers are: 1) most Works of Art acquired (exhibited and sold), 2) most Visitors in the Gallery, 3) most Assistants in play. If still tied, all tied players win.

6. Tips to Win

• Buy a Work of Art from a newly discovered Artist while their Fame is still low; sell it later when their Fame has risen to maximize profit.
• Use the Media Center to promote Artists early. Promotion not only increases the sale price of their works but also grants you tickets and Influence bonuses that can be used elsewhere.
• Keep an eye on the International Market columns. Placing Assistants in the upper rows for Reputation Tiles and in the lower rows for auction offers can secure majorities and valuable renowned Works of Art at the end.