Components

• 1 Game Board:
• 110 Cards (A- & B-sets)
• 82 Faction Blocks
• 120 Control Tokens
• 3 Election Markers
• 1 Turn & 1 Province Markers (Black)
• 6 Player Aids
• Rulebook

Cards

The cards are divided into two sets. The A-set, which enters play first, favors the Moderates and Royalists while the B-set favors the Radicals. There are three types of cards:

• Personality Cards show an oval portrait of important individuals and a background color matching a Region. Personality Cards have one to three Faction Blocks in one of three faction colors that can be placed on the board. Personality Cards may be further marked with unique symbols:

  • Cannon: may place one Control Token in the Battle Box,
  • Sans-Culottes: allows a fifth card to be placed in a personal display, and
  • General: makes a player eligible to win a Battle.

• Club Cards represent the political groups during the era. Club Cards are wild (neutral background color) and have the Cannon symbol. Every Club card can place a single Faction Block in any Province or place a single Control Token in the Battle Box.

• Special Cards reflect common events used to remove other cards and Faction Blocks from play.

Card Features

1. A-Set / B-Set
2. Region
3. Faction Blocks / Faction Color
4. Sans-Culottes
5. General
6. Cannon
7. Background Color
8. Personality Portrait
9. Card ID#
10. Card Title
11. Special Effect

Setup

See back cover of rulebook for a graphical set up.

• Place the board in the middle of the table.

• Each player selects a set of Control Tokens. Unselected sets are returned to the box.

• Each player places one Control Token on the 0-space of the Victory Point Track to record total accrued Victory Points (VPs).
  

• Randomly determine a start player who places his Control Token on the first space of the Player Order Track. Then proceeding clockwise, each player places a Control Token in the next open space.

• Separate and shuffle the B-set cards and place this deck face- down next to the board.

• Shuffle the A-set cards and deal seven cards face-down to each player.

• Place the remaining A-set cards on top of the B-set. Flip over the top three cards and place these face-up next to the deck.

• Separate the Faction Blocks by faction color and form a supply of each next to the board. Take two of each faction color and place them underneath the 2-space of the Turn Track (these Blocks will be returned to the supply at the start of Turn 2).

• Place the blue, white, and red Election Markers on the 0-space of the Election Track.
  

• Place the Turn Marker on the 1-space of the Turn Track.

• Place the Province Marker next to the Faction Block supplies.

Game Play

A turn is divided into the following Phases:

1. Determine Player Order - skip on Turn 1
2. Refresh Hand - skip on Turn 1
3. Action Phase - players complete variable number of Action Rounds
4. Battle Phase - skip on Turn 1
5. Election Phase

Each Phase is completed by all players in player order before proceeding to the next Phase.

1. Determine Player Order

During Turn 1, this Phase is skipped as the player order was determined during Set Up.

At the start of Turn 2, return the six Faction Blocks on the Turn Track to their respective supplies.

In Turns 2-4, the accrued VPs determine player order. The new start player is the player with the most VPs, followed by players with the next most VPs, and ending with the last-place player.

In case of a tie, decide randomly among those tied who will take precedence. Control Tokens are arranged on the Player Order Track to show the new player order.

2. Refresh Hand

During Turn 1, this Phase is skipped as the players' hands were dealt during Set Up.

In Turns 2-4, players return to their hand any cards in their personal display (there is no hand limit).

In player order, each player may discard as many cards as desired. Whether discarding or not, he then refills his hand to seven cards (unless already at seven or more in hand). Cards may be taken from those face-up next to the deck and/or drawn from the deck itself. Any face-up card taken is immediately replaced with the top card from the deck.

3. Action Phase

Each turn has a variable number of Action Rounds. A Round is completed once each player has taken one Action. Rounds are continued until one supply of Faction Blocks is exhausted and the last player takes the last Action of the Round.

In player order, each player takes one of the following three Actions:

A. Action: Play Card(s)

1. Play 1 Club or 1 Personality Card

   The active player may play one Club or Personality Card from his hand to be used in one of two ways:

   • a) Place Faction Blocks in the Provinces

     A number of Faction Blocks equal to the card value and faction color are placed on the board.

     If a Club Card is played, one Block can be placed in any Province.

     If a Personality Card is played, the Blocks can be placed in any Province that matches the background color of the card (also represented as a black region within France on the card).

     When placing two or three Blocks, a player may place them in more than one Province in the same Region.

     Placement Rules

     Faction Blocks must be placed on the board as follows:

     1. A single stack can only contain one to three Faction Blocks;
     2. A single stack must be all the same faction color;
     3. A single Province may only contain up to three stacks;
     4. A player may control only one stack in a Province; and
     5. All the Blocks in a stack belong to one player; a player can never add to another player's stack.

     When placing a stack, a player's Control Token is placed on top to show that he controls that stack. A player may always add Faction Blocks to his previously placed stacks, as long as he follows the Placement Rules. A player cannot move or remove Blocks, except through the play of some Special Cards.

     A player may not be able to place all of a card's Blocks (i.e., the supply is exhausted or no available space in the Region), in which case he places as many as he can. A player may not, however, voluntarily place fewer Blocks than shown on the card.

   • b) Place 1 Control Token in the Battle Box

     Battle Box

     
     

     In Turns 2-4, if there is a Cannon on the card, the player may place one of his Control Tokens in the Battle Box instead of placing Faction Blocks in the Provinces.

     Regardless of the card value, only one Control Token is placed in the Battle Box per Action.

     There is no limit to the number of Control Tokens that can be placed in the Battle Box during a turn.

2. Play Second 1-value Card

   A player may play a second Club/Personality Card if the following conditions are met:

   1. The first Card placed a Faction Block in a Province (not a Control Token in the Battle Box);
   2. Both Cards are value-1;
   3. Both Cards have the same background color or one/both is a wild Club Card (facTion color is irrelevant); and
   4. The second Faction Block must be placed in the same Region as the first Block.

3. Play 1 Special Card

   In addition to playing a Club/Personality Card, a player may play one Special Card from his hand. A player may choose to play only a Special Card but cannot play two Special Cards in one Action Round (even if a Club/Personality Card is not played).

   The effect of the Special Card is resolved immediately; however, it may be played before or after a Club/Personality Card is played.

   A player may still play a Special Card even if playing two Club/ Personality Cards; he may play the three Cards in any order.

   Clean-up

   

   After playing any card, it is discarded. Alternatively, a Club/Personality Card may be saved in the active player's personal display.

   A player may have up to four cards in his display. If at least one card has the Sans-Culottes symbol, he may keep five cards in his display.

B. Action: Take Card(s)

1. 9+ Cards In Hand, Discard 2

   If a player has nine or more cards in hand when refreshing his hand, he must first discard two cards from his hand. If a player has less than nine cards in hand, he does not discard any.

2. Take 1 Card

   The player then takes one of the three face-up cards by the deck or draws from the deck itself. Any face-up card taken is immediately replaced with the top card from the deck.

3. Take Second 1-value Card*

   If the first card taken was a face-up value-1 card by the deck, then a second face-up value-1 card may be taken as well. The card is immediately replaced with the top card from the deck.

   A second card cannot be taken if a Special Card was taken or a card was drawn from the deck. It can, however, be taken if it was revealed after taking the first face-up card. A player does not discard any cards before drawing this second card even if he would now have nine or more cards in hand.

C. Action: Pass

In the unlikely event that a player does not wish to take an Action, he may pass. He may again take Actions if play returns to him during the same turn.

End Of The Action Phase

The Action Phase ends when one supply of Faction Blocks is exhausted. However, play continues until the last player has completed his Action in the current Round (i.e., all players have the same number of Actions during a turn).

4. Battle Phase

During Turn 1, this Phase is skipped.

In Turns 2-4, there is a Battle. Players with at least one General Card in their personal display and at least one Control Token in the Battle Box are eligible to lead the Revolutionary Army. Of those eligible, the player who has the most Control Tokens in the Battle Box leads the Army and wins that Battle's VPs (as shown under the Turn Track).

In case of a tie with the number of Control Tokens, each tied player in player order may advance one General. The player who advances the highest value General leads the Army and wins the VPs.

If the tie remains unbroken, nobody leads the Army; the Battle is considered a Lost Battle. If this happens, place a white Faction Block over the Battle (if none are available, place one after the elections have been resolved). A Lost Battle counts as a controlled Counter- Revolutionary Province.

If no General was advanced, no cards are discarded. Finally, all Control Tokens in the Battle Box are returned to their owners.

Example: Turn 2 is the "Battle of Valmy". Christie has 1 control token in the Battle Box and 1 General in her Personal Display; Joshua has 2 tokens and 1 General; and Max has 3 tokens but no General.

Although Max has the most control tokens, he is ineligible since he has no General. Between Christie and Joshua, Joshua has the most tokens and leads the army. Joshua scores 4 VPs and keeps his General as it was not advanced.

5. Election Phase

Elections are resolved as follows:

A. Provincial Elections

Remove all Control Tokens from the Presence in Government Box. Return the three Election Markers to the 0-space of the Election Track. Starting with 1-Normandie, proceed one Province at a time until all 27 elections have been resolved. Place the Province Marker on the Province being resolved to track the progress.

The election in a Province will normally return just one vote (Exception: Paris) to the faction with the highest single stack in a Province. The player controlling this stack takes one Faction Block from it and holds it until the end of the Election Phase.

The rest of the Faction Blocks (if any) remain in the Province. The winning faction's Election Marker advances one space on the Election Track.

With a stacking limit of three Faction Blocks, ties will be common. In case of a tie, each tied player in player order may advance one card. The faction color of his Card and stack must match in the contested Province (background color is irrelevant).

The player who advances the highest value card wins the Provincial election; he takes one Faction Block from his stack and advances that faction one space on the Election Track.

If the tie remains unbroken, no vote is registered.

Whenever there is a tie, whether it is broken or not, all remaining Faction Blocks in that Province are returned to the supply after the election has been resolved. This includes the Faction Blocks of any player not involved in the tie.

Paris

The 8-lle-de-France (Paris) election is resolved as normal with the following exceptions:

1. Instead of taking one Faction Block, the election winner takes all of his Blocks from the stack. Each Block advances that faction one space on the Election Track (i.e., Paris could return up to three votes).

2. If after advancing cards there is still a tie, repeat the process among those tied until the tie is broken or players are unable or unwilling to advance a card. If the tie remains unbroken, no votes are registered. All remaining Faction Blocks are removed from the Province as normal.

Victory Point Provinces

Four Provinces contain a 1 VP or 2 VP icon. In Turns 3-4 only, the player who wins the election in these Provinces will also gain the VPs. If nobody wins the election, no VPs are awarded.

Example 1: The election starts in 1-Normandie, where Christie controls a stack of 3 red faction blocks, Joshua controls a stack of 2 blues, and Max controls another stack of 2 blues.

The red stack wins the election in the province, despite the fact that there is a total of 4 blue faction blocks. Christie takes 1 of the red faction blocks from her stack and holds it for now. The red election marker is moved up 1 space along the Election Track.

Example 2: The election continues to 8-lle-de-France (Paris). Christie controls a stack of 3 red faction blocks, Joshua controls another stack of 3 reds, and Max controls 1 white block.

There is a tie, which means cards may be advanced. Christie goes before Joshua in player order. She advances Jean-Paul Marat (#71), who is a 3-value red personality. Joshua decides not to advance a card. Christie wins and takes all 3 of her faction blocks and holds them.

The red election marker is moved up 3 spaces on the Election Track. As there was a tie, all remaining faction blocks, including the white block, are removed from the province and returned to the supply. Christie discards the advanced Marat.

B. The New Government

Once all Provincial Elections have been resolved, the faction that received the most votes (i.e., it is furthest along the Election Track) will form the new government. Place its Election Marker in the Presence in Government Box. The faction that received the second most votes is the opposition. Its Election Marker remains on the Election Track.

Presence in Government Box

In case of a tie on the Election Track, each player in player order may advance one card. The tied faction that has the highest value matching its faction color wins and any other factions on the same or lower level on the Election Track are moved one space back.

If there is still a tie, repeat the process until the tie is broken or players are unable or unwilling to advance a card. If the tie remains unbroken, the Radicals win over the Moderates, who in turn win over the Royalists.

C. Victory Points

Players now claim Victory Points. The player who holds the most votes (Faction Blocks) in the same faction color as the new government wins 5 VPs. The player who holds the second most votes in the new government wins 2 VPs. The player who holds the most votes in the opposition wins 3 VPs.

In case of a tie, each tied player in player order may advance one card. The player who advances the highest value card matching the faction color of the government/opposition wins the VPs.

If there is still a tie, repeat the process among those tied until the tie is broken or players are unable or unwilling to advance a card.

If the tie is broken for first place in the government, the player who lost the tie wins the second place VPs.

If the tie remains unbroken, the following occurs in each case:

• for first place in government, each tied player wins 3 VPs (second place VPs are still awarded);
• for second place in government, each tied player wins 1 VP; or
• for first place in opposition, each tied player wins 2 VPs.

Every player holding any votes matching the faction color of the new government has a presence in that government. Each of these players places one of his unused Control Tokens in the Presence in Government Box. presence is a prerequisite to playing some Special Cards.

All votes held by players are now returned to the supply. Faction Blocks on the board remain. The Turn Marker advances one space and a new Game Turn is started.

Special Cards

Special Cards may target any player, including the one who played the card. There are six types in the game:

• 

  Bread Shortage (A-Set x4)

  Remove any one Faction Block of the same faction color as the current government from any one Province. During Turn 1, any Faction Block can be removed. The affected Block is returned to the supply.

• 

  Emigration (A-Set x2)

  Remove any one Royalist (white) Personality Card from a player's personal display (including your own).

  The affected Card is placed on the discard pile.

• 

  Religious Problems (A-Set x2)

  Remove any one Moderate (blue) or Radical (red) Faction Block from any one Province.

  The affected Block is returned to the supply.

• 

  Guillotine (B-Set x2)

  Remove any one Personality Card from a player's personal display (including your own).

  The affected Card is "decapitated" and returned to the box.

• 

  Purge (B-Set x4)

  Prerequisite: Presence in Government.

  Remove any one Club or Personality Card from a player's personal display (including your own). The affected Card is placed on the discard pile.

• 

  Terror (B-Set x6)

  Prerequisite: Presence in Radical (red) Government.

  Remove any one stack of Faction Blocks from any one Province containing at least one Radical (red) stack.

  The Radical stack that allowed the Action to be taken may be the stack removed (i.e., Radicals can target themselves). The affected Blocks are returned to the supply.

  Any one Club or Personality Card from a player's personal display (including your own) may also be removed. The affected Card is disbanded / decapitated and returned to the box.

Important: Once the end of the Action Phase has been triggered by exhausting one supply of Faction Blocks, the Phase cannot be extended even if a Special Card has returned Blocks from the board to the supply.

The Round will still end once the last player has taken his Action.

End of the Game

The game can end due to one of the following three conditions:

1. End of 4 turns

   If a sudden-death victory has not been triggered first, the game ends after Turn 4. The player with the most Victory Points is the winner.

   In case of a tie, the tied player with the highest total value on all the cards in his personal display wins. If there is still a tie, all tied players share the win.

2. Radical Electoral Landslide

   At the end of the Provincial Elections step, if the red faction gained at least 17 votes, the game ends immediately with a Radical Electoral Landslide. A Landslide may occur in any turn.

   The player with the most Red Points is the winner. Each player adds together the following:

   • All red votes (Faction Blocks) he holds from the elections,
   • All red Faction Blocks he controls on the board, and
   • All red Faction Blocks shown on the cards in his hand and personal display.

   Accrued VPs count for nothing. In case of a tie, the tied player with the highest total Red Points on all the cards in his hand and personal display wins. If there is still a tie, all tied players share the win.

3. Royalist Counter-revolution

   If at least seven Provinces with a Fleur-de-lis are controlled by white stacks, the game ends immediately with a Royalist Counter-Revolution.

   It is up to the players to spot this condition but, if missed, cannot be claimed retroactively. A Counter-Revolution can only occur during Turns 3-4 and in any Phase except the Election Phase.

   Each Lost Battle counts as one controlled Counter-Revolutionary Province, which reduces the number of Provinces that need to be controlled on the board.

The player with the most White Points is the winner. Each player adds together the following:

• All white Faction Blocks he controls on the board, and
• All white Faction Blocks shown on the cards in his hand and personal display.

Accrued VPs count for nothing. In case of a tie, the tied player with the highest total White Points on all the cards in his hand and personal display wins. If there is still a tie, all tied players share the win.

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