Thespianage
Designed by Will Kenyon
3-6 Players
Ages 13+
45-60 Minutes
You’re all aspiring actors and stage crew for a local theater group. You’re about to put on the play of the season, and it’s time to start rehearsal. You hope the play is a success, but more than that, you hope you’re the star of the show.
You also want your Crush to be the star alongside you. And that person you hate, your Nemesis, well… you hope they bomb (without bringing the whole show down, of course).
In Thespianage, you’re working together to pull of a heck of a show. But you’re also working hard to make sure you and one other player get most of the credit, while yet another player tanks.
Components
- 62 Intrigue Tiles with numbers ranging from 5 to -5
- 13 Special Tiles
- 114 Play Cards (including 30 Places! cards, 32 Rehearsal cards, and 50 other cards with varying powers)
- 12 Event Cards
- 6 Crush Cards
- 6 Nemesis Cards
- 6 One Shot Cards
- 6 Aspect Tracks
- 6 Player Character Sheets (Annabelle, Betsy, Bob, Frisco, Mona, and Randolph)
- 6 Player Standees to denote who’s who from across the table
Object of the Game
When the game ends (by the last card being drawn from the Play Deck as described below), all players will reveal the Intrigue Tiles on their Character Sheets. Tally the total of all players. If that number is equal to or greater than 5x the number of players, then congratulations, the play is a success! If not, then the player with the lowest score wins outright, as that player distanced himself or herself from this debacle.
If the play is a success, the player with the highest score after all modifications is the winner and is declared The Star of The Show!
Set-Up
Take all 62 Intrigue Tiles, mix them up, and put them face down in the center of the play area, in reach of all players.
Set the 13 Special Tiles aside, but within easy reach.
Shuffle the Play Deck thoroughly. Deal 3 Play Cards to each player. Now separate the Play Deck into 4 smaller decks of roughly equal size. Shuffle the 12 Event Cards, then randomly choose 8 of them. Put the remaining Event Cards back in the box. They will not be used in this game. Shuffle 2 Event Cards into each of the smaller, separated decks. Finally, stack the 4 smaller decks back together in a random order. This will disperse the 8 Event Cards somewhat evenly through the Play Deck.
Place the Play Deck next to one player, who will be the dealer for the game.
For each player less than 6 in the game, remove one random Crush Card and the Nemesis Card of the same character. So if you’re only playing with 4 players, remove 2 random Crush Cards and their corresponding Nemesis Cards.
Deal each player a Crush card. This card is kept secret.
Deal each player a Nemesis card. If any player gets dealt a Nemesis who is the same as his or her Crush, deal that player a different card. No player should have a Crush or Nemesis who is the same. The Nemesis card is also kept secret.
Each player then chooses a Character who is neither his or her Crush nor Nemesis. That is the Character that player will play this game. They should take the Character Sheet and the Character standee for that Character. Each player should also take an Aspect Track. Every one should put his or her Character Sheet, Standee, and Aspect Track in front of him or her so everyone can see it.
Finally, deal each player a random One Shot card. This card is also kept secret.
Gameplay
The player who last saw or participated in a play goes first. Play continues in a clockwise direction, with each player taking his turn in order.
On each player’s turn, he or she can take one action. The actions are:
1) Play UP TO TWO PLAY CARDS – Play one card, resolve it fully, then optionally play another, resolving it fully
2) Rehearsal – Discard two Play Cards to take ONE Intrigue Tile from the pile in the center of the play area, look at it, then place it EITHER face down or face up on an Aspect of his or her Aspect Track. That Tile is now THAT Aspect. Its Aspect (Charisma, Compassion, or Connections) cannot change.
3) Places! – Discard three Play Cards to take ONE Intrigue Tile from any player’s Aspect Track, look at it, then place it in its CURRENT position, either face down or face up, on the corresponding Aspect of any player’s Character Sheet. Players MAY choose to take an Intrigue Tile from their own Aspect Tracks, and may choose to receive the Tile themselves.
All played and discarded cards are put in a face-up Discard Pile next to the Play Deck.
These actions may NOT be done in tandem. In other words, you cannot play one card, then discard the other two to take a Rehearsal action.
Once the player has taken his or her action, that player draws TWO cards from the Play Deck and ends his or her turn.
If the player draws an Event Card, that card gets shown to all players and must be resolved. It remains in play in its designated area until it is forced to be discarded or until the end of the game. The drawing player now draws to replace that Event Card so that the drawing player always adds an additional 2 cards to his or her hand.
There is no hand limit.
Players may look at the face down Intrigue Tiles on their Aspect Track and Character Sheets at any time, but may not look at the face down Tiles on another player’s Track or Sheet without the use of a card that says they can.
The End of the Game
When the last card is drawn from the Play Deck, the game end triggers. Each player, including the one who drew the last card, gets one final turn. During this final turn, players get ONE FREE Places! action, in addition to any of the other actions they may take. When the last player takes that last turn, it’s Showtime!
All players reveal all the Intrigue Tiles on their Character Sheets. Intrigue Tiles on their Aspect Tracks do not count for anything.
Final Scoring
First, each player discards all the LOWEST numbered Intrigue Tiles on the Aspect at the top of his or her Character Sheet (for instance, Charisma on Frisco). If there are several Tiles tied for the lowest, they are all discarded. It is possible that this leaves no Tiles on that Aspect.
Next, each player discards all the HIGHEST numbered Intrigue Tiles on the Aspect at the bottom of his or her Character Sheet (for instance, Connections on Frisco). If there are several Tiles tied for the highest, they are all discarded. Again, it is possible that this leaves no Tiles on that Aspect.
No Tiles are discarded from the middle Aspect.
Now all players add up the remaining Intrigue Tiles on their entire Character Sheet.
If a player has a Prop Tile anywhere on his or her Character Sheet, regardless of Aspect, he or she adds 5 points to his or her score, UNLESS that player ALSO has a Broken Prop Tile anywhere on his or her Sheet (also regardless of Aspect). For every matched pair of Prop and Broken Prop, that player must negate his or her +5 and instead take -5. Broken Props without a matching Prop are not counted. Example: Frisco has 3 Prop Tiles and 2 Broken Prop Tiles. Frisco scores -5 for each matching pair ( so, -10) and 5 points for the Prop Tile without a matching Broken Prop Tile for a total of -5 points.
Now all players apply any bonuses or penalties they have through Special Tokens or Events to come up with an initial score.
At this point, add up ALL players scores, and add or subtract any bonuses or penalties from events. If that total score is equal to or greater than 5x the number of players (so 30 points in a 6-player game), the play is a success. If not, the play bombed, and the player(s) with the lowest score wins the game. All ties are shared.
If the play is a success, then all players reveal their Crush and Nemesis Cards. The player(s) whose Crush has the highest score receives an additional 5 points. The player(s) whose Nemesis has the lowest score receives an additional 3 points. All ties are shared and each qualifying player gets the additional points.
Now, with these final scores in place, the player with the highest score wins. Again, all ties are shared.