Invented by Mark Caines.
Published by Amigo.
Translated by Peter Wotruba.
See also the quick start rules and tip sheet.
America in the 1930's. Don Marco is CAPONE. Scarcely is the solemn burial ceremony over, and already the fight over his estate flares up. Who will be his successor?
As the head of a respectable family, you will fill your cashbox by way of illegal activities. In this powerfight you endure with the other families, you must remember one rule in order to end up on top: Launder your money in legal businesses. The winner of the game is the first one to have invested one million dollars in legal businesses.
The board shows a birds-eye view of a typical American large city in the 1930's at night. In the numerous businesses shown, money is earned either legally or illegally.
The legal businesses, with white signs, are however only available once. With these you can without risk, earn in an aboveboard manner small ammounts at first, and then more and more money later on.
The illegal businesses, with signs in green, yellow, orange, and red, are however somewhat more available - there are two of each on the board. In these you can with higher risk, and in a not quite so aboveboard manner, earn a lot of money from the beginning.
The three businesses with purple signs involve the "Out of Communication" cards.
All colors and symbols of these businesses can also be found on the corresponding game cards - to easily match the cards to the businesses.
The prison (bottom right part of the board) is for involuntary prolonged stays, and the harbor (bottom left of the board) is where the dead family members will pile up.
The park, in the middle of the board, serves as a place for discarded cards, and also for bodyguards which were removed from illegal businesses during a game year.
Before the first game, take the labels, and place every one of the eight pictures, that are found next to the family's name, and place them on the large wooden pieces of the family's color.
Place the game board in the middle of the table. Everyone takes a family photo on which a name of one of the families appears. Then every player takes the eight large and eight small wooden pieces in his family's color.
One player additionally is in charge of the bank, and distributes to every player 100 Riesen (equal to $100,000). The remaining money is the bank, which the player keeps separate from his own money.
Every player takes an investment marker, which is placed on the edge of the family photo to mark legal investments. Every space shows the player's total investment in legal businesses in increments of $100,000. At the beginning of the game, this marker is placed on the zero space.
The family members are organized, and are placed on the family photo on the appropriate space - so it is clear at all time which marker is still available. The bodyguard markers are also placed on the Family Photo beneath thesketch.
The game occurs over an indefinate number of game years. Every year takes four or five rounds (5 rounds if 3-5 players; 4 rounds if 6 players). In every game year, the players can rake in much money from illegal businesses. Therefore, what youearn depends mainly on how much you risk.
If only three people are playing, take out one card for each illegal business.
The banker is the dealer for the first year. At the beginning of a year, all cards are shuffled together, and five cards are dealt to each player (or if six people are playing - four cards).
The players, starting with the player to the left of the dealer, and proceeding clock- wise around the table, look secretly at their cards and decide if they will return any of their cards, and if so how many. Any number of cards can be exchanged (even all of them), or they may all be kept. In order, give back to the dealer the number of cards you want to exchange, and recieve the same number of new cards. This exchange may only be done this one time. The rest of the cards are placed to the side. They will not be needed anymore for this game year.
Starting with the player to the left of the dealer, the participants, in turn, play their cards in clockwise order. The player, who's turn it is, places a card face-up on the discard pile, and follows the instructions printed on the card. A player is also allowed to discard a card without carrying out the instructions - he just places the card unused on the discard pile.
There are three different types: Legal Businesses, Illegal Businesses, and Action Cards.
For every one of the eight legal businesses, there is exactly one card. This card only has meaning if you have already have invested in legal businesses, and the investment marker is no longer on the zero space of the Family Photo. If a person recieves this card, and has not yet invested in a legal business, must discard the card unused sometime during his turn in the game year. Therefore no-one may use this card during the first game year.
Whoever plays this card, places one of his bodyguards on the corresponding business space. He immediately recieves from the bank, for his prior investments, an ammount of money corresponding to his investments. (See the table below).
Investments of $100,000 $ Recieved ----------------------- ---------- 1 10,000 2 20,000 3-4 30,000 5-6 40,000 7-8 50,000 9 60,000
On a family photo, the investment marker is on the 4 space. Alberto therefore recieves $30,000.
There are two of each of the 10 illegal businesses on the board. For every one of these businesses there are four corresponding cards (for 4-6 players). (In a game with 3 players, there are only three cards for each illegal business). Through illegal businesses, you can earn a lot of money. You must place family members and/or bodyguards on the business space the card shows. The placed game pieces must together total at least the cards specified dollar value.
The value of every family member is shown on the game piece, and every bodyguard has a value of $5,000.
The following restrictions apply to the placement of game pieces:
If one of your pieces is already on a space because of an earlier round, you may add more bodyguards or family members later, by playing the corresponding card. These new pieces must also be at least equivelent to the card value. The restrictions for the Don and the Mama are still in force. If you are going to place a gamepiece on an illegal business, and one of the two sites on the board is already occupied, you may either place your pieces on the empty sapce, or the occupied space.
If you want to place your piece ona business that is owned by another family, the total value of the pieces must be at least $5,000 more than the pieces already there. The pieces of the other family are then removed from the business. Family members are eliminated from the game, and are placed in the harbor. Therefore, every family will eventually have its own pile of dead in the harbor. Bodyguards are placed next to the gameboard, and can be hired again at the end of the year.
On a Casino space Alberto has his Secretary ($30,000) and four of his bodyguards ($20,000). To claim that space, Carla must place pieces there totaling at least $5,000 more than Alberto. She puts her Right Hand ($50,000) and a bodyguard ($5,000) on the space, and removes Alberto's pieces.
If the last player's last card is an illegal business, he must place the exact number of bodyguards there which corresponds to the business's value. If he can not, he may place instead one single family member which is as small as possible. This family member must have, of course, a higher value than is shown on the card. This piece may, at the owners discrestion, be placed on either an empty or owned business. (As long as the family member is at least $5,000 more than the value of the pieces on the owned business). If the player only has smaller pieces than the business's value on his Family Photo, then he must discard the card unused.
The last card is Jewelers $30,000. Luigi, who only has one bodyguard left (value $5,000), places his lowest family member on the space which has a value of at least $30,000. Since he unfortunatly has already used his Secretary ($30,000), he places his next lowest family member there. This is the Enforcer ($40,000).
There are eight action cards. These can be played in your turn instead of a business card. The "Out of Communication" card has a violet sign, and the rest have grey signs. With the exception of the "An Offer" cards, there are only one of each card type.
There are three diferent types of this card. They all however have the same meaning:
These cards allow you to remove any other player's family member you want, who is on an illegal business, and place them on the spot named on the card. That family member must remain on that space until the end of the current year. (It does not earn any income this year).
Off to jail. An enemy family member goes to jail for the rest of this current year, plus two more years. When this card is played, take any other player's family member, which is on an illegal business, or on an "Out of Communication" space, and place it in the 'Block 3' space of the jail. In jail, a detained family member may buy his freedom at any time, buy paying to the bank an ammount equal to the family mamber's printed value. The family member may then be immediately placed.
Payday! You may take protection money from one of the other player's who have already invested in legal businesses. The ammount extorted depends on the player's investment, and is shown in the table below:
Investments of $100,000 Payments ----------------------- -------- 1-2 10,000 3-4 20,000 5-6 30,000 7-8 40,000 9 50,000
Fredirico places in front of Bernardo, his annoying rival, the protection money card. Bernardo has already invested in legal businesses, and his marker is on the 5 space on his Family Photo card. They look up on the table above, and see that Bernardo has to pay Fredrico $30,000.
Players, who have not yet invested in legal businesses, would not have to pay any money if the card was played against them.
You can remove another family from any illegal business space you choose, and replace them with pieces of your own that have the same total value. The removed pieces are immediately given back to the owning player.
Gianna removes, from a bank space that Robert owns, a Secretary (30,000), a Novice (20,000), and four bodyguards (20,000). She now replaces them with her Mama (60,000) and two bodyguards (10,000).
Heads up! You may remove every piece of an opposing player from an illegal business or an 'Out of Communication' space.
There are two of these cards!
When the last card has been played, the year is at an end. Beginning with the starting player, the banker determines every player's income from the proceeding year. To do this, he adds together every player's gamepiece values which are on illegal businesses. The player recieves from the banker exactly as much money as he has on the illegal business spaces.
Carlotta has a Bookkeeper (30,000) on a casino space along with two bodyguards (10,000). On a jeweler space, she has 3 bodyguards (15,000), and she has her Novice (20,000) at a nightclub. She recieves no income from her Don (in jail) or from her Right Hand (in the penthouse). The same goes for her bodyguard on the Junkyard. For this legal business, she already has recieved the stake money. Carlotta therefore recieves a payment of $75,000 from the bank.
Directly after the payments are made by the bank, every player takes back his game pieces from the businesses, and from the "Out of Communication" spaces.
Bodyguards which were removed from businesses during the year, can now be rehired for $5,000 each. If they are not rehired, they are eliminated from the game.
All pieces which are in jail are moved one space to the next lower cell. (From block 3 to block 2, from block 2 to block 1, and from block 1 back to the owner).
Beginning with the starting player, everyone in order can invest in legal businesses. For every $100,000 you pay the bank, you may move your investment marker one space up. If you are in need of cash, you may also sell back your legal investments for $50,000 for each space you move your investment marker down.
The player to the left of the last dealer, is the dealer for the upcoming game year. He shuffles the cards and deals out the required number. The rest of the year proceeds as described earlier.
Game End & Victory
The first person to have invested one million dollars in legal businesses, (i.e. he has his investment marker on the 10 space) wins. If more than one player fulfils these conditions at the end of a game year, the person with the most cash wins. If this is also the same, the winner is the player who has the highest value of family members alive and free.
When figuring the money to pay out at the end of the year, the game pieces which are on illegal businesses do not equal the ammount of money paid out. Rather it is the business itself which determines how much money is paid. The color of each business determines the ammount of money it is worth: