DEAD LAST is a 'social collusion' game of shifting alliances, betrayals and murder for profit, where 6-12 devious players conspire and vote upon whom to kill each round, in an effort to be the last player standing and collect gold.
Absolutely any means of communication is allowed as you plot... a glance, a nod, pointing a finger, flashing their card, anything - but make sure you don't tip off the target or they could ambush you instead!
Components
- 12 Player ID cards & stands
- 12 sets of 12 Voting cards
- 2 sets of 3 Final Showdown cards
- 80 Gold Bar cards
- Organizing Tray
- Rulebook
Setup
Players each take a Player ID card and place it in a stand in front of themselves. ID cards should be visible to all players and identifies players, by color, during the game.
Give each player their set of matching Voting cards. Remove from each set any cards for player colors not being used this game and place them back in the box.
Place the Gold Bar deck face down to one side and deal to the center of the table four Gold Bar cards, keeping their values hidden.
Place the Final Showdown Cards to the side. They will be used later.
Game Play
The game is divided into rounds. Each round consists of a series of votes, in which players collectively decide who to murder. Four Gold Bars are available to the survivor(s) of each round. A round ends in one of three ways:
- Just one player survives and takes all four Gold Bars.
- Two players survive and must participate in a Final Showdown.
- No players survive - no one gets the four Gold Bars. Instead, all those NOT involved in the last Vote, gain one Gold Bar from the deck.
Note: if no one survives, no new gold is added for the next round.
Play continues until, at the end of a round, a player reveals that they have collected enough Gold Bar points to win. For 6-9 players: 25 points. 10-12 players: 24 points.
If more than one player has enough gold to win, the highest point total wins. If still tied, the tied players conduct another Final Showdown, until any single player at the table has collected the highest gold point total.
Conspire
Before each vote, players will conspire (for no longer than a minute and a half or so), trying to persuade others to vote with them or trying to align with the plans of others. Being part of the largest voting group is VERY important.
Players may use ANY means necessary to communicate with each other in order to decide whom to kill before the vote is conducted. These communications may be covert or overt.
Pointing under the table, glancing in someone's direction, calling someone out, flashing a Voting card to others, whispering, texting, plotting when they leave the room... anything is allowed. But if a player suspects you are gunning for them, they may turn the tables on you, so be careful.
Vote
After players plot and conspire, it is time to vote. There will always be a few players who have missed seeing the machinations of others and will therefore be hesitant to commit to a vote. The owner of this game should now ask for their final decisions.
If you don't know who the Target is, it may be YOU!
To vote, players place the Voting card matching the Player ID card of the person they want to eliminate face down in front of them. There is no turn order. And, yes, players are free to change their votes until the votes are revealed.
If a player suspects they are the Target of the group, they may defend themselves by playing their Ambush card instead of choosing another player's card. Once all players have placed their Voting cards down, they reveal their choices at the same time and resolve the outcome.
The player who received the most votes is The Target and is eliminated from the round.
If there is a tie for the most votes, all tied Targets are eliminated.
In addition, any players who did not vote for a Target are also eliminated.
Knock over the ID cards for any players who have been eliminated so that only surviving Player ID cards remain standing for the next Vote.
Yes, this is a very deadly game. You will die quickly and often. But don't go far, you'll be back for the next round soon enough - and while you are gone, they will definitely be conspiring against you!
Example: Red and Emerald are tied for most votes against them and are both eliminated.
In addition, anyone who didn't vote for Red or Emerald are also eliminated. Only 5 of 10 players remain standing after the first Vote.
Ambush: If a player played their Ambush card and received enough votes to be declared a Target, they are NOT eliminated. Instead, they eliminate one of the players who voted for them.
However, if a player played their Ambush card and was not a Target, they have eliminated themselves.
Important: In tallying the vote, Ambush cards are NOT counted.
The vote is tied, 1 vote for Red, 1 vote for Yellow. Both are declared Targets. (Ambush is not a vote). Yellow is eliminated.
Red played Ambush -and is not eliminated.
Red can only choose to eliminate a player who voted for her. So, both Red and Pink remain.
The vote is 4 for Blue (Ambush is not a vote) and only 3 for Purple, so Blue is the Target.
Players who didn't vote for Blue are eliminated.
Emerald Ambushed, but is not a Target, so he is eliminated. Blue played Ambush and is a Target, so she is not eliminated. Instead, she chooses a player who voted Blue to eliminate.
Final Showdown
As mentioned previously, if only two players survive the round, they must face off in a Final Showdown.
In a Final Showdown, the two remaining players each take one set of Final Showdown Cards. There are three options to choose from:
Agree to split the 4 Gold Bars equally, 2 bars each.
Attempt to take all 4 Gold Bars for yourself.
Guarantee yourself 1 Gold Bar & give 3 to your opponent.
The two players take a moment to discuss their intentions and convince the other player they will fulfill their half of the bargain. After that, each player chooses one of the three Final Showdown cards and places it face down.
When both are ready, they reveal their choice at the same time and resolve the Showdown as shown below:
Note: in the case of a STEAL/STEAL, the Showdown players get nothing. Leave the gold at the center of the table for next round & give all other players i gold from the deck.
In a double GRAB ONE & GO, each gets only i with two gold being left behind, so draw just two new gold for next round.
End of the Game
At the end of the round, regardless of which of the three ways it may have ended, players who received Gold Bars should check their point totals to see if they have won the game. The point values range from 3 to 5, so most often a player will be able to declare a win with 7 or 8 bars.
If a player has daimed 25 points worth of Gold (24 in a 10-12 player game), they WIN!
If not, start a new round of play. All players are back in the game, stand their Player ID cards upright again, and start conspiring for the next vote (if they haven't been already).
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