Components

• 16 Clan Leader cards
• 48 Clan Member cards
• 1 Noblemen Reminder card
• 1 Guardians Reminder card
• 1 Scoring Reminder card
• Instructions

The game depicts intrigue and treachery among the Scottish clans vying for the crown.

Clans ascend the pyramid of cards, rising from the bottom three rows of commoners, through the ranks of noblemen and guardians, until one finally gains the crown and is named King of Scotland.

Once a king is crowned, clans can only continue to advance by committing acts of betrayal against their neighbors. Players continue by playing influence cards until everyone has passed, thereby ending the game.

Setup

Deal Out Family Clan Members to Each Player

Take 1 card of each of the 8 clans from the Clan Member cards and use these 8 cards to deal 2 Clan Members to each player. This ensures that all players have at least 2 unique Clan Members,

Next, randomly deal 1 more Clan Member card to each player.

If this creates a duplicate, return the Clan Member card face down and receive a replacement from the dealer until you have 3 unique Clan Member Cards.

These Clan Member cards represent your Clan Family. Be careful not to reveal your Clan Family cards to your opponents. These cards will score at the end of the game.

Deal Out Influence Clan Members to Each Player

Reshuffle the remaining Clan Member cards and deal four Clan Members (in a 4 player game) or five (in a 2 - 3 player game) to each player to represent the Influence the player has over Clan Members.

Keep your hand of Influence cards separate from your Clan Family cards and be careful not to reveal them to your opponents.

Create the Clan Member Draw Pile

Place the remaining Clan Members to one side to form a face-up draw pile.

Shuffle the 16 Clan Leaders and place them face up on top of the Clan Members to complete tire draw pile.

Create the Pyramid Base

Place the first six cards from the draw pile in a face up row along the bottom of the playing area, leaving a full card width of space between them.

Over the course of the game, this will form the base of a six row pyramid of cards, so be sure to leave yourself enough space for the game to develop.

Place Reminder Cards

Place the Scoring Reminder card off to one side, approximately in line with the top of the pyramid.

Place the Guardians Reminder card immediately below it in line with what will be the 5th row (second to top) of the pyramid.

Place the Nobleman Reminder card below the Guardian Reminder card in line with what will be the 4th row (third from top row) of the pyramid.

The player with the clearest line of inheritance to the Scottish Crown begins the game.

Game Play

Ascending the Throne

Players take turns, proceeding in clockwise order from the starting player. There are two t\|><- of turns:

A. Advancing a Clan Member Card

Advancing a Clan Member card is the most common action players use to promote their own Clan Family interests.

• Advancing a Clan Member card consists of making a diagonal move with a Clan Member card such that it ascends to the next level of the pyramid (A).

• Advancing a Clan Member card is the most common action players use to promote their own Clan Family interests.

Once a Clan Member card moves upward, the resulting empty space (a power vacuum) must be filled by the active player:

1. If the power vacuum is not on the bottom row, it is filled with one of the two Clan Member cards beneath it at the choice of the active player. This will create another empty space that must Ise filled in a similar fashion.

2. If the empty space is on the bottom row, it is filled by the top card of the draw pile.

Once all of tire power vacuums have been filled, the turn ends. In the rare case when the Clan Member cards run out, shuffle the discards to create a new Clan Member draw pile.

Clan Member cards require support in order to advance.

1. They can only ascend in the direction of a neighboring Clan Member Card (A).

2. If the space to the left or light of the moving card is empty (B), it cannot ascend in that direction (C).

B. Using Influence to Betray a Clan Card

Using influence to betray a Clan Card in the pyramid is a very useful method of eliminating rival Clan Cards; however, you only have a small number of influence cards to use in tire game.

Rather than ascending in a peaceful fashion, players may discard a Clan Influence card from their hand to influence a Clan Member' in the pyramid to betray one of its neighbors.

Discard an Influence card from your hand (A) to use influence on a Clan

Member (B) in the pyramid.

1. To betray a neighboring Clan Member (C) in die top three rows of the pyramid, you must use a matching clan influence card.

2. To betray any other neighboring clan member (in the bottom three rows of the pyramid), you may use any of your influence cards.

The neighboring betrayed card is removed from the game, creating a power vacuum that the active player must fill in the normal fashion (D).

Influenced Clan Member cards can betray a .single neighbor in any of .six directions shown - left, right, and the four diagonals.

They are even permitted to betray members of their own clan. All cards, including the King Clan Member card, can be betrayed.

Kings, Guardians, and Noblemen

The Noblemen and Guardian Reminder cards offer a special effect the first time any player ascends to their respective row.

Both cards cause die same effect - forcing you and everyone but your right hand opponent to turn one of their three Clan Family cards face up on the table.

(In the two-player game, the Guardian Reminder card forces the player who triggers the effect to reveal all but one of their Clan Family cards).

Choosing to Pass

Once a King has been crowned, players can choose to pass rather than discarding their Influence cards to commit acts of betrayal.

Players who choose to pass cannot re-enter the game and must sit out until all players have passed and the crown is finally secure.

End of the Game

Assessing Clan Family Victory Points

Once everyone has passed, the game is over. All players reveal the three Clan Family Cards they were dealt at the beginning of the game.

Ten points is the perfect score! The player with the most points is the winner.

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