[A Study in Emerald] - Invictus wins!

Daemonis

‘A Study in Emerald’ the board game takes as its inspiration the world conjured up by Neil Gaiman in the award winning short story. This is an alternative reality where fiction has become fact. The Old Ones have not only returned but have been ruling the earth for centuries. Opposition is rising, though, as humanity fights between itself to decide its future. Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriaty are but two figures caught in this struggle.

‘A Study in Emerald’ is a Kickstarterproject by Martin Wallas. Does it make sense to try it before by? If you wish, please signup. I'll moderate the game and accept up to 5 players.

Rules: treefroggames.com/print/a-study-in-emerald-rules-v2.pdf
Quick overview: treefroggames.com/print/study-in-emerald-overview.pdf

Map;

Cities:

LONDON
Controlled by Reverend Green

4 cards, top card - Nicholas Kibalchich
2
Agents: Zombie

PARIS
Controlled by Miss Scarlett

2 cards, top card - Assassinate Royalty or Agent
2, 2
Agent: Zombie

BERLIN
Controlled by Colonel Mustard

3 cards, top card - Assassinate Royalty or Agent
Royalty: the Burrower Beneath - HIDDEN
3, 3
Agents: Colonel Mustard

ST. PETERSBURG
Controlled by Mrs Peacock

2 cards, top card - Louise Michel
BLOCKED
Agents: none

CAIRO
Controlled by Mrs Peacock

4 cards, top card - Assassinate Royalty or Agent
BLOCKED
Agents: Mrs Peacock

MADRID
Controlled by Miss Scarlett

2 cards, top card - Johann Most
Agents: Zombie, Eli Reclus

ZURICH
Controlled by Professor Plum

No cards
Agents: Miss Scarlett

THE HAGUE
Controlled by Professor Plum

No cards
Agents: Zombie, Professor Plum, vampire

CONSTANTINOPLE
Controlled by Miss Scarlett

2 cards, top card - Errico Malatesta
No agents

WASHINGTON
Controlled by Professor Plum

2 cards, top card - The Diogenes Club
Agents: Zombie, Reverend Green

ROME
Controlled by Colonel Mustard

No cards
No influence
Agents: Zombie

VIENNA
Controlled by Mrs Peacock

1 cards, top card - Baron Ungern-Sternberg
BLOCKED
Agents: none

Players:

caliber as Colonel Mustard, Loyalist

Influence - Available: 5 Limbo: 9 Pool: 3
Cards - In hand: 6 Discard: 11 Deck: 4
Agents - Colonel Mustard in Berlin
MAD

Invictus as Professor Plum

Influence - Available: 3 Limbo:4 Pool: 6
Cards - In hand: 6 Discard: 0 Deck: 13
Agents - Professor Plum, vampire in Hague, Irene Adler, vampire in Limbo
MAD

Belfast as Miss Scarlett, Loyalist

Influence - Available: 0 Limbo:11 Pool: 7
Cards - In hand: 6 Discard: 8 Deck: 3
Agents - Miss Scarlett in Zurich, Eli Reclus in Madrid
MAD

Tayrun as Reverend Green

Influence - Available: 9 Limbo:10 Pool: 1
Cards - In hand: 6 Discard: 5 Deck: 0
Agents - Reverend Green in Washington

Neaden as Mrs Peacock

Influence - Available: 8 Limbo:12 Pool: 0
Cards - In hand: 6 Discard: 0 Deck: 9
Agents - Mrs Peacock in Cairo

State:

War track: 10
Revolution track: 1

VPs:
caliber: 22
Invictus : 24
Belfast: 19
Tayrun: 0
Neaden: 14

blahmcblah

I'm interested, currently reading the rules. I probably can't play if it starts earlier than like, Monday or Tuesday though.

Daemonis

Turn:

On his turn every player performs two actions. After performing actions he draws his hand back up to six cards. If player's draw deck is exhausted and he needs to draw a card, he shuffles his discard pile to make a new deck.

Actions:

Most actions involves cards in hand. Cards can be used in a variety of ways. In all cases, a card can only be used for either: one type of symbol on it: or for its action. You cannot use a cards action and the symbol on it, or use more than one type of symbol in a single action.

Available actions:
- Place Influence cubes - Play one or more cards (all of which must have Cube symbols on them) from your hand. You must then take the same number of cubes from your
available stock (not the pool). Cubes can either be placed on a face-up game card on the board or in a city box. All cubes placed in a single action must be placed in the same place.
- Take Game card - You can take a face-up Game card from the board on which you have more influence points than any other single player. This must be the first action you perform. Place the card that you take on your discard pile. Your cubes on the card are removed and placed in the Limbo box. If the card is an Agent, then you also place one of your control discs on the corresponding agent counter and place it in the city box that the card was claimed from. You now have control of that agent.
- Take City card - You can take a City card if you have more influence points in a city box than any other single player. This must be the first action you perform. Place one of your control discs in the circle indicated in the city box. If the city has not previously been controlled then you take the corresponding card from the deck of City cards and place it on your discard pile. If the city is already controlled by another player then remove their control disc and replace it with your own. They must then find the city card in question and hand it to you.
- Retrieve cubes - Play one or more cards (with Cube symbols on) from hand. You then retrieve that number of cubes from Limbo and/or from the board. Note that you can retrieve cubes from a variety of locations, unlike the action where you place cubes. You cannot retrieve cubes from the pool.
- Buy Influence cubes - You play one or more cards with Coin symbol. For every two gold you spend, take one of your cubes from the pool and add it to your available stock.
- Place/Remove Block Disc - Play a card with Blocking Disk symbol. You take one of the black discs from the pool and place it either on a face-up card on the board or in a city box. While a card or city box has a black disc on it, no player can take that card. You cannot place more than one black disc on a card or in a city box. Alternatively you can use this action to remove a black disc from a card or city box and place it back by the side of the board.
- Move Agents - You can move one or more agents that you control, including your player agent. The cost of moving one agent along one connection is shown in the gold circle on the connection. After moving agents you calculate how much you need to pay and then play cards so that the number of Coin symbols matches the cost.
- Move Markers - There are two tracks towards the edge of the board. One is marked ‘Revolution’, the other is marked ‘War’. The Restorationists want to encourage the masses to rise up and revolt against their inhuman masters. The Loyalists wish to quietly engineer a war that will create enough madness to give their masters the strength to open Eldritch portals. To move one or both of these markers you can play one or more cards with Arrowsymbols. Each card you play allows you to move one marker in the direction indicated on the card.
- Discard cards - As an action you can discard one or more cards. You do not have to show all of the cards you discard, only the one shown visible on the top of the pile.
- Reveal your identity - You can choose to reveal your identity at any point during your turn. This is a free action.
- Reveal Double Agent - Every player starts the game with two double agent counters. You can choose to reveal that an agent is a double agent. This is a free action. Note that you could not reveal a double agent to allow you to claim a card. You can also do this during another player’s turn to stop an action.
- Pass - Do nothing.

Agent cards:

Evno Asef - Cube; Green arrow up 1; Red arrow down 1 - Assassinate Agent or Royalty
Louise Michel - Cube; Red arrow up 2 - 1 VP
Leon Czolgosz - Cube - Assassinate Royalty
Emma Goldman - Cube; Red arrow up 2 - 1 VP
Errico Malatesta - Cube; Red arrow up 1 - 1 VP
Eli Reclus - Cube; Red arrow up 1 - 2 VP
Ravachol - Cube - Assassinate Royalty
Vladimir Burtsev - Cube - Reveal identity
Nicholas Kibalchich - Cube
Professor Moriarty - 2 Cubes; Green arrow up 2 - Assassinate Agent
Sherlock Holmes - 2 Cubes; Green arrow down 2 - Assassinate Royalty
Peter Rachkovsky - 2 Cubes - Double agents
Marquis de Rochefort - Cube; Coin; Red arrow up 1
Sergei Kravchinsky - Cube - Assassinate Royalty
William Morris - Cube; Red arrow up 2 - 1 VP
Prince Kropotkin - Cube; Coin; Red arrow up 2 - 1 VP
Irene Adler - Cube; Coin - Turn Agent
Baron Ungern-Sternberg - Cube; Green arrow up 2 - Assassinate Agent or Royalty
Vera Figner - Cube; Red arrow up 1 - Assassinate Royalty
Wilhelm Stieber - Cube; Green arrow up 2; Red arrow down 2 - Assassinate Agent
Johann Most - Cube; Red arrow up 2
Sergei Mechaev - Cube; - Assassinate Agent or Royalty

Game cards:

Assassinate Royalty or Agent Bomb Carry out assassination in city where you have at least one agent. You can target either the 'Royal Person' there or another agent. One use only
The Peoples' Will Cube Take one Influence cube from your unavailable stock and add to your available stock Free action.
Nadar Cube Move agent to any city of your choice Free action.
Inspector Lestrade Block Place or remove Blocking Disc on/from one card.
Duchess d Uzès 2 Coins Place one influence cube as per the standard rules. Free action.
Infernal Machine 3 Bombs One use only
Fenians Cube; 2 Bombs
Okhrana Cube; Coin Remove two cubes from the board and place in Limbo. Can belong to any player.
Zombies First you may assassinate one agent in a city that has a zombie counter in. Then you place three zombie counters. Chaos
Old Ones Remove one agent of your choice from the board. One use only; Chaos
Vampires Turn one of your own agents into a vampire OR convert another agent to one. Chaos
The Diogenes Club Cube; Coin Draw two cards from your deck Free action.
Freemasons Cube Discard as many cards as you wish and draw the same number, including one for this card. Free action.
Hide Royalty Cube; Bomb Hide Royalty
The Holy Brotherhood Move one or two of your cubes from anywhere on the board (including Limbo) to anywhere else on the board.
Matvei Golovinsky 2 Coins Move marker two spaces up the War track Free action.
Pinkerton Agents Draw four Double Agent counters. Retain two and place two back with the other counters. One use only
Bismarck Cube; Coin You select one city and force all agents there, except your own, to leave for connected cities. The owning players decide where they will move their agents to. You also remove all cubes in the city and on the associated card apart from your own and place them in Limbo. You also remove any blocking disc in the city, if you wish to. Chaos
Necronomicon Score 3VPs when you claim this card. Chaos
The Third Section Cube; Coin Remove one face-up card from the board and place to one side. Any cubes on the card are placed in Limbo.You cannot remove a card with a blocking disc on.
The Black Hand Bomb Score 2VPs at the end of the game or when you reveal your identity for every 'Royal Person' you have assassinated, but only if you are a Restorationist.
Terrors of the Night Force one player of your choice (not yourself) to draw a Sanity counter. Free action.

Tayrun

Interested, definitely.

Daemonis

Looks like a duel. Ok, choose your colors - Mrs Peacock, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlett, Reverend Green or Professor Plum, then roll a d100 to determine who is the first player.

Tayrun

Umm, maybe we could wait for a few more players?

@stever777 @Farangu @Langly @Flimflammery @Belfast @ArcticLancer @Darian @jakobagger @SeGaTai

Neaden

I am interested as a 3rd.

Invictus

I, too, would play.

jakobagger

I'll be watching this with interest but having just lost a couple of sanity attempting to read the rulebook I'll skip on playing for now.

caliber

Ooh, I was reading the rules on this recently. I'd give it a shot.

Invictus

Hmmm..just noted the request for an official signup!

SeGaTai

too busy right now to get involved in somethign I'm unfamilar. Looks cool though.

Belfast

Ah, I have been mentioned. I'll Sign up

Daemonis

Sorry, Belfast, I've got five. May be next time.

blahmcblah: 23
Tayrun: 19
Neaden: 11
Invictus: 77
caliber: 82

So, the player order is: @caliber - @Invictus - @blahmcblah - @Tayrun - @Neaden
Now I'm sending you your cards.

Daemonis

Cards sent.
Now, in turn order, please choose your color and put your main agent in a city of your choice

Invictus

@Daemonis
Can you fix the image of the map in the OP?

Daemonis

Invictus wrote: »

@Daemonis
Can you fix the image of the map in the OP?

What is wrong with it?

Invictus

Daemonis wrote: »

Invictus wrote: »

@Daemonis
Can you fix the image of the map in the OP?

What is wrong with it?

When I open the spoiler, I see the text "asiemapbefore.jpg" and no image.

Daemonis

Strange, I see the picture. It's large, try wait a bit.
Here is the link img835.imageshack.us/img835/1769/asiemapbefore.jpg

Tayrun

Working for me too.

Invictus

Daemonis wrote: »

Strange, I see the picture. It's large, try wait a bit.
Here is the link img835.imageshack.us/img835/1769/asiemapbefore.jpg

I get 'the image http://...asiemapbefore.jpg cannot be displayed because it contains errors.' when I click on that link. The OP still shows no image, but it does show a different message: "Click on the image to enlarge it; it has been resized to fit this page." This doesn't make a ton of sense, since I see no image.

Tayrun

Link is working fine for me. Try clicking harder.

Daemonis

I'm not sure what to do. Which browser you use?

Invictus

I'm using firefox on my laptop right now. If it's working for Tayrun, don't worry about it, I'll figure it out.

caliber

Sorry for the slight delay, I was having trouble finding a spot with a list of what the player agents did, precisely (for any searching for the same thing, each player agent is worth a single bomb point).

As I have located this info, it is time to reveal that I am, of course, Colonel Mustard, currently stationed in Berlin.

Daemonis

@Invictus, you could see the general map overview n the Treefrog site treefroggames.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/sie-map.gif and the OP contains info which card is available in each city.
Just in case of you could not see my map.

Invictus

I'll be Professor Plum, currently stationed in St. Petersburg.

Invictus

@blahmcblah

Daemonis

Do not forget, when you claim a card with Chaos symbol, you draw Sanity marker

caliber

@blahmcblah

Daemonis

Ok, if @blahmcblah does not appear today, we probably need to replace him. @Belfast, are you still interested?

blahmcblah

Sorry for holding you guys up, totally forgot this game was happening. Yeah, Belfast should play instead if he's interested.

Daemonis

So, you hold us up, and now instead of going on, you suggest us to wait a bit longer?
Ok, I've sent all the data to Belfast. @Belfast, choose you color and place your starting agent, please.

Belfast

With out knowing what I'm doing. Ms Scarlet to la Paris s'il vous plaît.

Anyone have a problem with me typing fluent Franglais for the rest of the game?

caliber

I have oft heard it said that Franglish is the language of love.

@Tayrun

Tayrun

Reverend Green, London

Daemonis

@Neaden, you are Mrs Peacock, choose a city for her to start

Daemonis

@Neaden

Neaden

Sorry busy day. Mrs. Peacock is currently in Vienna.

Daemonis

@caliber, you start actions

Daemonis