



• 1 standard deck of cards

• 1 pad of paper

• 6 pencils

• 1 six-sided die (or any method of making a random selection)

• 6 unique tokens (coins, meeples, cubes, etc)

• 1 printed game board (see below)





OBJECT





To deduce the team affiliation and roles of the other players, in order to eliminate them in the final shooting rounds. Eliminating opposing team players will result in one's team accumulating more victory points.





SET UP





A deck is compiled of:





• 1 Red King & 1 Black King (Godfathers)

• 1 Red Queen & 1 Black Queen (Assassins)

• 1 Red Jack & 1 Black Jack (Street Soldiers)





Distribute to six players, who look at their card and save them face down for the duration of the game. It is permissable to tell any or all players anything one wishes about team affiliation or role, but it is never permissible to physically show another one's card.





Select one player randomly. That player places his or her unique token on space 1 of the game board. The player sitting on the first player's left places his or her token on space two, continuing clockwise until all players have placed there token on spaces 1 - 6, in order. Players should track which token belongs to which player.





PLAYING THE GAME.





All players close their eyes. On the count of three, the two Godfathers open their eyes, acknowledge each other with a nod, and close their eyes. After a brief pause all players open their eyes.





SIT-DOWN ROUND





(1) Distribute to the players on one side of the board, red or black, one red card and one black card each, drawn from the remainder of the deck. Each player on this one side of the board selects the card corresponding to their affiliation, and slides it face down to the center of the table, keeping the other card concealed. A designated player takes the cards at the center, shuffles them, and passes them to another player who shuffles an reveals the cards for all. Once they are observed, these cards and the remaining cards are placed face down and shuffled back into the remainder of the deck.





(2) Choose one player randomly. That player trades the positions of any two tokens on the board. The player to that player's left trades positions of any two tokens, and play continues clockwise until all have had an opportunity to do so.





(3) Discussion / Horse-Trading. Form alliances, offer trades of information, leave the room for conference, make promises for the shooting rounds.





(4) When all players indicate they are ready, repeat the above three steps.





(5) When all players indicate they are ready, repeat the above three steps one more time.





ASSASSINS SHOOTING ROUND





Any Assassins occupying an opponents space get a chance to shoot one player. All players write down a number on a scrap of paper, and cover it with his or her hand, out where all players can see the reveal. Assassins in opposing territory write down the number from the space of the player that they wish to eliminate. All other players write "0". On the count of three, all players reveal their paper. Shot players are dead and out. Dead men tell no tales, so players out must remain silent for the remainder of the game. No one yet reveals his or heard identity card.





RESERVOIR DOGS' ROUND





All living players aim their guns at one other player. A designated player counts down evenly from 10 to 0. During this time any player may adjust their aim to any other player. At zero all players must maintain their aim. 1 minute of discussion passes. Convince those that you think are opposing Street Soldiers that they are aiming at the wrong person. When the minute has elapsed, on the count of three all players shoot with a "blam".

• Street Soldiers may choose at this instant to shift their aim and shoot a different player. The action must be taken decisively and without hesitation.

• Godfathers and Street Soldiers whose tokens are not occupying their own team space are not able to load their guns and must declare "click".

• Out of respect, Godfathers may not shoot each other.

• Assassins may take this final shot regardless of where their token is.

• Any player may choose his or her bullet into the harmlessly into ceiling.

• The shots must be taken simultaneously. decisively and without hesitation.





Players who were able to shoot another player keep their guns aimed while shots are tallied. Roles are scored as follows:

• Godfather 3 pts.

• Assassins 2 pts.

• Street Soldiers 1 pt.





In the event of a tie, death of a Godfather is a loss. If both or neither Godfathers are eliminated and the score is a tie, the team with the most living players wins. All other ties are a draw.





8 or 10 Player Variant





Add soldiers to the deck, keep the Godfathers and Assassins at one each per team.





7 or 9 Player Variant





Add an Ace of either suit. The player that draws this card is the Barman, a civilian who is unaffiliated with either team. The Barman's victory condition is both:





• to end the final round on the neutral space (the bar), and

• to avoid being shot.





Any player occupying the neutral space does not get a shot and must keep his or her hands on the table, with the exception of the Assassin.





If the Assassin ends the final round on the neutral space, adjust his actions as follows:





• Assassin does not get a first shot in the Assassins' Round, and must write "0" on his or her paper.

• However, during the 1-minute timed discussion in the Reservoir Dogs Round, the Assassin begins with his or her hands on the table. At 30 seconds the Assassin may lift his gun and aim it at any player, and then shoot along with everyone at the 1-minute mark.





5 Player Variant





Remove the Street Soldiers, and add the Barman. All rules remain the same.