Components
- 12 Ringleader Cards
- 48 Specialist Cards
- 20 Job Cards
- 75 Isk Tokens (IM ISK)
- 4 Player Tableaus
- Instructions
Object of the Game
Grifters operate on the fringes of The Dystopian Universe, eager to take advantage of every opportunity to profit from the chaos caused by the resistance.
Players take on the role of powerful crime bosses, building their criminal organizations by carefully recruiting new operatives with specialized skills.
During the game, the players' criminal teams will steal ISK from the government, powerful corporations and each other via cons, blackmail, daring heists and a multitude of other nefarious deeds.
As always, money is power in The Dystopian Universe and the player with the most ISK at the end of the game is the winner.
Setup
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Fill the government coffers
Place the appropriate number of ISK tokens in the center of the play area. Place the remaining back in the box, out of play.
- 2 Players - 50 Isk Tokens
- 3 Players - 65 Isk Tokens
- 4 Players - 75 Isk Tokens
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Prepare the Jobs
Job cards are color coded by target; separate the Job cards by color into five stacks. If playing with 3 players, remove one stack (all the Job cards marked with 4+ at the bottom right of the card).
If playing with 2 players, remove two stacks (all the Job cards marked 3+ and 4+). Place the removed Job cards back in the box, out of play.
Then use the number on the top left of each card to sort each color stack with the lowest number on top and the highest number on the bottom of each stack so the Jobs are stacked in order of difficulty. Place each stack of Job cards in the center of the play area.
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Distribute Ringleaders, Tableaus and ISK
Give each player one of each of the three Ringleader cards (Mastermind, Thief and Pickpocket), their tableau and three ISK tokens from the Coffers. Place the remaining Ringleader cards and Hideouts back in the box, out of play.
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Prepare the Specialist Deck
Shuffle the remaining Specialist cards and deal three cards to each player to complete their starting hand. Place the Specialist Deck in the center of the play area with room nearby for the Discard Pile.
You are ready to play!
Specialist Cards
Job Cards
Player Tableau
Each player's tableau consists of their Hideout, which contains 3 Night spaces , and a Refresh area as shown.
During the game, players will be playing cards to their Hideout and moving those cards from Night One towards the Refresh Area before taking those cards back into hand.
The ISK that a player has is called their Stash, and can be stolen by other players
Game Play
The player that has most recently committed a legal infraction, no matter how minor, is the start player and will go first. Players take turns in clockwise order until one of the Game End conditions is met, in which case the game ends immediately. Each player's turn has 3 phases:
- Advance Time
- Play Specialists
- Refresh
Phase 1: Advance Time
(Skip this step on your first turn)
Move all Specialist cards currently in the Hideout forward a Night. Any card(s) that start in Night Three are moved out of the Hideout and into the Refresh Area.
Phase 2: Play Specialists
Each turn the active player must play Specialist(s) from their hand to either Perform a Caper or Complete a Job.
Note: If the active player has no cards in hand, they must place an ISK token into Night One of their Hideout - that ISK token advances each turn as if it were a card and is returned to the Coffers when it enters the Refresh Area.
Perform a Caper
The player selects a Specialist card from hand, resolves the text on the card and places the card into Night One of their Hideout.
Note: Unless otherwise stated on a card, only one Specialist card may be played on a turn to Perform a Caper.
Complete a Job
The player announces which of the available (ie, topmost) Job cards they are completing and plays multiple Specialist cards from hand as a Team into Night One of their Hideout. The Skills of the Specialists on the Team must match exactly with the Skill icons shown on the Job card.
The Player gets the rewards listed on the completed Job card and places the Job card in their play area.
Notes: When Completing a Job, the text on the Specialist cards is ignored. Completing multiple Jobs of the same target category (color) earns an end game bonus.
Phase 3: Refresh
The active player takes all the cards from their Refresh Area back into hand. Play continues with the next player in clockwise order.
Example of completing a job
Dave selects the Hack Credit System Job card, which requires 2 SPEED and 1 BRAWN Skills to complete.
He places the Con Man (SPEED), Thief (SPEED) and Middle Man (BRAWN) cards from his hand into Night One of his Hideout as a Team. As a reward, he steals 2M ISK from Jake's Stash.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately if any of the following conditions are met:
- The last ISK token is taken from the Coffers.
- All Jobs have been completed.
- There are no cards left in the Specialist deck and Discard Pile.
At the end of the game, players get a bonus if they have completed 2 or more Jobs of the same color as follows:
- 2 Jobs of the same color - 2M ISK bonus
- 3 Jobs of the same color - 4M ISK bonus
- 4 Jobs of the same color - 8M ISK bonus
A player earns the bonus for each color that they have completed 2 or more Jobs.
Add the ISK earned during play with the Job bonus to determine the winner.
If there is a tie, the player among the leaders with the most completed Jobs is the winner. If there is still a tie, the player among the leaders with the fewest Specialists (inclusive of all cards in their , Hideout and Refresh Areas) is the winner.
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