Theocracy is a variation of goofspiel with some tweaks. You represent a lineage of priest-kings that must try to be the more powerful word at the end of the game by having the biggest amount of eternal memory.
COMPONENTS: 4 dice, 4 believer cards per player and 5 power cards per player (valued from 1 to 5).
RULES FOR TWO PLAYERS:
GAME STRUCTURE: players named First and Last that alternate in each round (the last will be first). The game has an undefined number of rounds with 4 turns per round.
ROUND SETUP: each player places his 4 cards that represent believers on the table and holds his 5 power cards in the hand.
TURN: divided in 4 noble phases:
1) Tribulation: Last roll a dice that represent resources. Then each player bid for this dice with one of his power cards putting it face-down in the table. The values of the dice of the different turns of a round cannot be repeated, so you must re-roll the dice to obtain different values for the 4 resources (1 per turn) of each round.
2) Omen: First can prophesy or not. Then Last can do the same. Prophesy is to say who will be the winner/loser of the bid or if it will be a draw. The prophecies can’t be repeated, i.e., if First said "I see a dark future" the others players can’t say the same prophecy.
Examples:
Win:
(Me) I see a bright morning
(X player) In the land of X will shine a new day
Lose:
(Me) I see dark clouds on the horizon
(X player) The night will be long on the land of X
Draw:
The desert will arrive to everywhere
3) Revelation: the cards of the bid are faced-up. The win is for the bigger power card but the 1 wins to the 5 (when I am weak, then I am strong).
4) Grace: we resolve situations in this order:
a) The player that fulfills a prophecy acquires one of the believers of the opponent if he has still any believer. The believer to take, in any case, is chosen by the opponent and if it has a dice over then the dice is acquired too. You can't acquire a believer that was acquired by the opponent in this turn.
b) The player that fail a prophecy lose a believer (and a dice if it had one over) if he still have any.
c) The power cards played on the bid are set aside. If the bid was a draw the dice is set aside too.
d) The winner of the bid must put the dice over one of his believer cards, if he still have one believer card with no dice over (a believer card can have just one dice over). If there is no free believer card then the dice is set aside.
e) The set aside cards (and dice) can’t be played again in this round.
END OF A ROUND: at the end of the round we score the values of any dice that each player had over a believer that represent an amount of eternal memory.
END OF THE GAME: two conditions can arise to end the game:
1) Transcendence: if a player reaches the sacred amount of 54 points or more of eternal memory then the game ends (just half was enough to stop the wheel).
2) Inscrutability of fate: if there is no transcendence then Last draw 2 dice and if the sum is 9 then the game ends (apocagnarok arrived as a thief in the night). In any other case you must play another round.
The winner of the game is who have the biggest amount of eternal memory for his word when the game ends (only those who have enough faith will prevail).
ADDED RULES FOR 3 PLAYERS:
1) Added Lukewarm as the second player to portend. The game must be played on anticlockwise from First to Lukewarm and from here to Last. In a new round Last of previous round will be First and change the other players accordingly to this.
2) The chosen: when a player fulfills a prophecy he must choose who will be the player that gives to him the believer card (the enlightened mark the way).
3) Ouroboros: in the phase of revelation a circular win can happen, e.g., something like 1 vs 5 vs 3... the 5 wins to the 3, the 3 wins to the 1 and the 1 wins to the 5... This is considered a draw (no infinite, just void).
4) Ruin: if a draw on powers cards happens these cards are not taken into account for the outcome of the bid, e.g.: 4 vs 4 vs 2, the 2 win the bid (misery is struggle between equals).
ADDED RULES FOR 4 PLAYERS:
1) First, Lukewarm, Lost and Last are the name of the players, and they play on this order anticlockwise. As ever in a new round Last of previous round will be First and you change others players accordingly to this.
2) The chosen rule applies to 4 players too.
3) Ouroboros and Ruin conditions must be applied to resolve bids (e.g.:1 vs 2 vs 4 vs 5 = draw, 4 vs 4 vs 1 vs 5 = 1 win, 2 vs 3 vs 4 vs 5 = 5 win, 1 vs 1 vs 1 vs 3 = 3 win, 2 vs 2 vs 3 vs 3 = draw).
