Obsession

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Details

Sourced from: https://jmo.name/games

Player Aid Author: Jarrod Moore

Description

Renovate an estate, manage servants, and pursue romance in Victorian England

Expansions in Use

  • Upstairs, Downstairs
  • Wessex
  • Promotional Tiles

  • Place supply board in centre of table
  • Place servant meeples on supply board
Servant Type2P3P4P5-6PUnderbutlers (black)2222Footmen (white)46810Valets (green)2345Lady's Maids (purple)2345Cooks (orange)2345Hall Boys (light blue)2345Head Housemaids (pink)2345Useful Men (brown)2345
  • Prepare servant drafting pool:
    • Take one of each of the following from servants for hire:
      • 1 cook (orange)
      • 1 hall boy (light blue)
      • 1 head housemaid (pink)
      • 1 useful man (brown)
      • 1 valet (green)
      • 1 lady's maid (purple)
      • 1 footman (white)
    • Place in separate pile in centre of board

  • Randomly choose a start player and give them the purple pawn
  • Starting from first player and going clockwise:
    • Choose a family and receive:
      • Family's player board
      • Family's matching box of components, which contains:
        • Starting family cards
        • Starting servant meeples
        • Reputation markers
        • Reminder token
        • Starting improvement tiles
        • Player aids
    • Choose one servant from drafting pool:
      • Place chosen servant in Available Service area
  • Return all unchosen servants to Servants for Hire area
  • Place "1" reputation token on corresponding space on player board
  • Place reputation marker on "1" space of player board
  • Place starting servants in Available Service area:
    • 1 butler (dark blue)
    • 1 housekeeper (red)
    • 1 valet (green)
    • 1 lady's maid (purple)
    • 1 footman (white)
  • Place starting improvement tiles underneath player board
  • Receive 2 random starting guests:
    • Starting guest cards marked with crown in top left corner
    • After all players have received starting guests, shuffle remaining starting guest cards into casual guest deck
    • Starting hand will be made up of 2 starting guests + family cards
  • Prepare objective cards:
    • Deal 5 random cards to each player
    • Place remaining cards on supply board
  • Any bonuses received depending on the family chosen:
    • Cavendish: Move reputation marker to 4 space on reputation track
    • York: Receive 1 extra footman (white) from supply and place in Available Service
    • Wessex: Place either Breakfast Room or Tennis Court
    • Howard: Receive 1 cook (orange) from servants for hire and place into available service area
    • Asquith: Starts with an extra family member in hand
    • Porsonby: Start with 300 pounds

  • Place Round Track board in centre of table, with space count matching desired game length face up:
    • Standard game: 16 round track spaces
    • Extended game: 20 round track spaces
  • Place money by side of board
  • Place white pawn on first square of round track
  • Shuffle and place decks on corresponding spaces on board:
    • Casual guest cards (with remaining starting guests shuffled in)
    • Prestige guest cards
    • Theme cards
  • Place Charles + Elizabeth Fairchild cards near round track
  • Fill builder market spaces with tiles:
    • Do not use any of the following as starting builder market improvement tiles:
      • Tiles with prestige rating of 4, 5 or 6
      • Queen's Suite or Lionheart Suite
      • Servant's Hall
      • All monuments
    • If any duplicates are drawn, stack them on top of previously drawn tiles of same type
    • Sort tiles left to right in ascending order by the number written on tile
    • Place tiles rose-side down (or white flower with line-side up)
    • All other tiles are returned to supply
  • Add monument tiles to supply:
    • 2P: Sculpture Garden + 2 random monuments
    • 3P: Sculpture Garden + 3 random monuments
    • 4-6P: 5 random monuments
  • Place 2 random milestone cards near board

The game plays over a series of rounds that are one of two types:

  • Standard rounds
  • Courtship rounds

Special Actions

In standard rounds, players each take a turn to either host an activity or pass. During your turn, you may also take any of the following special actions:

  • Spend 2 reputation to gain 100 pounds
  • Spend 3 reputation to move a servant from Servants' Quarters to Available Service
  • Spend 4 reputation to refresh the Builder's Market
  • Discard a victory point card to gain the bonus shown on the card:
    • Doing this will forfeit the victory points shown on the card at the end of the game

Spending reputation means moving the black reputation marker down the corresponding number of steps, updating your reputation level as necessary

Servants

Players are only allowed to have one of the following servants at a time:

  • Cook (orange)
  • Hall boy (light blue)
  • Head housemaid (pink)
  • Useful man (brown):
    • If you discard the useful man, you cannot hire another for the rest of the game

When stealing servants from other players, you cannot steal:

  • Butler (dark blue)
  • Head housekeeper (red)
  • Underbutler (black)
  • Cook (orange)
  • Hall boy (light blue)
  • Head housemaid (pink)
  • Useful man (brown)

Gentry Cards

During the game, you will gain tiles that require you to play a certain number of cards from your hand to host an activity with that tile. You can tell which kinds of cards need to be played in the following way:

  • Gentry:
    • Any guest cards
  • Lady:
    • Cards with circular portraits
  • Gentleman:
    • Cards with square portraits
  • Family:
    • Cards with your family's symbol in the top left corner

  • Rotate servants:
    • Move servants in Servant' Quarters to Available Service
    • Move servants in Expended Service to Servants' Quarters
  • If current space shows special event:
    • Builder's Holiday: Purchase as many files from builder's market and/or reserve as you wish
    • National Holiday: Reputation does not limit actions this round, you may host any activity and any guests
    • Objective Card Draw: Draw 2 Objective cards
    • Village Fair: If Private Study has rose-side up:
      • Gain 2 reputation
      • Gain 300 pounds
  • Gain rewards as shown on monuments tiles
  • If you have Servant's Hall:
    • Place any available servant on that tile
    • Steal 1 reputation from another player
    • Place used servant into expended service
  • Choose improvement tile into activity area:
    • You must meet the tile's requirements:
      • Prestige level must not exceed your reputation level
      • Servants in Available Service
  • Play gentry cards as required from your hand:
    • Chosen gentry cards prestige rating cannot exceed your reputation level
    • Any required servants must be in Available Service
    • If you play a card that requires you to spend money, you must be able to afford that cost when receiving the event's favours later in this turn
  • Place mandatory servants on tiles and gentry cards:
    • If no Lady's Maid is available, you may use a Housekeeper in its place
    • You may also place any supplementary servants at this time
  • Receive the event's favours:
    • Gain (or lose):
      • Money
      • Reputation:
        • If reputation goes from "5" to "1", increase reputation by 1
        • If reputation goes from "1" to "5", decrease reputation by 1
        • Reputation never goes lower than reputation 1, position 1 or higher than Max level, position 5
    • Invite guests:
      • Draw cards from casual or prestige guest decks
    • Collect any other favours, such as servants, victory point cards, etc.:
      • Any received servants are placed into Expended Service
    • Optionally, you may choose to dismiss guests:
      • Place dismissed/screened at bottom of corresponding decks
  • Optionally, purchase 1 improvement tile from builder's market or reserve:
    • You cannot buy a tile which you already have
    • Pay market cost adjusted by any modifier on tile itself
    • Place tile rose-side down (or white-flower side up) in column matching tile colour
  • Refill Builder's Market:
    • Slide remaining tiles to left to fill any empty spaces
    • Draw tiles from supply to fill any remaining spaces on right:
      • Place tiles rose-side down (or while flower-side up)
      • Place any tiles matching active reserve on active reserve
      • Place any tiles matching those already in display on top of matching tile
      • If Builder's Holiday, place tiles at right in order based on number on tile
  • Move any servants used during turn to Expended Service
  • Place gentry cards played during turn to discard pile
  • Return tile to activity area rose side-up (or white flower side-down)

  • Move all servants to Available Service
  • Return all discarded Gentry cards to your hand
  • Choose one of the following:
    • Collect 200 pounds
    • Use the Butler's room to hire servants
    • Refresh Builder's Market:
      • Set aside tiles currently in market
      • Draw 6 new tiles:
        • If tiles matches active reserve, place there and draw again
      • Place tiles rose-side down (or white flower-side up)
      • Place tiles in order based on number on tile
      • Return tiles that were set aside to supply
  • Optionally, purchase a tile from Builder's Market

  • If a player has a Fairchild card, return it to the round track board
  • Players total their improvement tile victory points for the season's theme
  • The player with the highest total choose a Fairchild card to place in their hand:
    • In the case that players are tied, no players take a Fairchild card
  • The player(s) with the highest total takes a victory point card
  • Each player discards an objective card
  • Move white round track pawn to next space on round track
  • Pass first player pawn to next player counter-clockwise
  • After 1st and 2nd Courtship rounds:
    • Move all service and prestige rating 1 tiles to Builder's Market Reserve space
  • Reveal top card of theme deck for next season's courtship:
    • Keep in mind to skip this step if you are playing a variant, such as Jane Austen or Charles Dickens

  • If a player has a Fairchild card, return it to the round track board
  • Players total improvement tile victory points for each category for which a theme card was revealed during the game:
    • If two cards of the same theme were revealed during the game, the category is scored twice
    • Any ties are resolved by highest reputation level and position:
      • Otherwise, tie remains
  • The player with the highest total choose a Fairchild card to place in their hand:
    • In the case that players are tied, no players take a Fairchild card
  • The player(s) with the highest total takes a victory point card:
    • Players may discard the received victory card for favour on card
  • Each player discards an objective card
  • Move white round track pawn to Wedding Bells space on round track

The game ends after the 4th courtship round has been completed and round track pawn is on Wedding Bells space.

Then final scoring begins

  • Each player scores the following:
    • Reputation level:

Standard game

Reputation LevelVictory Points112336410515621Max28

Extended game

Reputation LevelVictory Points112336410515621728835Max45
  • Points as shown on:
    • Improvement tiles
    • Gentry cards
    • Objective cards
    • Milestones
  • 2 victory points per servant
  • 1 victory point per 200 pounds (rounded down)
  • Finally, reveal and add points from victory point cards

The player with the most victory points wins. Tiebreakers are:

  • Player who has a Fairchild card
  • Highest reputation level

Otherwise, tied players share the victory

Starts with reputation marker on space 4 of reputation track

Receive 1 extra footman (white)

Place either Breakfast Room or Tennis Court

Receive 1 cook (orange) from servants for hire and put into available service area

Starts with an extra family member in hand

Start with 300 pounds

Colour: Dark blue

  • Standard servant meeple that all players start the game with
  • There are sereval tiles and a few elite guests where this meeple must be used
  • This servant cannot be taken by other players with a recruiting action
  • This meeple can be used to steal servants from other players when using the Butler's Room tile:
    • When taking a recruiting action, both the butler meeple and the stolen servant are placed into Expended Service

Colour: Green

  • Standard servant meeple that all players start the game with
  • There are sereval tiles and a few elite guests where this meeple must be used

Colour: Red

  • Standard servant meeple that all players start the game with
  • There are sereval tiles and a few elite guests where this meeple must be used
  • The housekeeper may also stand in for a lady's maid (purple) when there are no lady's maids available
  • This servant cannot be taken by other players with a recruiting action

Colour: Purple

  • Standard servant meeple that all players start the game with
  • There are sereval tiles and a few elite guests where this meeple must be used

Colour: Black

  • Can only be hired by a player if they have acquired the Butler's Pantry service tile
  • May serve in the capacity of any of the following servants at any time:
    • Butler (dark blue)
    • Valet (green)
    • Footman (white)
    • Hall boy (light blue)
  • This servant cannot be taken by other players with a recruiting action

Colour: White

  • Standard servant meeple that all players start the game with
  • There are sereval tiles and a few elite guests where this meeple must be used
  • If player has acquired the Brushing Room service tile, a footman may stand in for a valet (green) when no valets are available

Colour: Orange

  • When placed on a tile when hosting an activity, guests with prestige ratings 1 or 2 above the family's reputation level can attend
  • Always increase family reputation by 1 when gaining favours

Colour: Light blue

  • Place on gentry card to increase money favour received by 100 pounds:
    • Can only be used this way if card provides money favour
  • May be used in place of butler (dark blue) on a gentry card:
    • When used this way, will not also increase money favour
  • May be used in place of footman (white) on Carriage House service tile

Colour: Pink

  • Place on gentry card or hosted activity to look at one extra guest card when gaining new guest:
    • Unselected guest is discarded to bottom of respective deck unseen by other players
  • May be used in place of housekeeper (red):
    • In this case, head housemaid will not also screen guests

Colour: Brown

  • During step 2 of a village fair round, the useful man can be placed on the Private Study to increase revenue by 200 pounds
  • Place on tile in builder's market when buying to decrease cost by 100 pounds:
    • Cannot reduce cost to 0 pounds
  • Place onto improvement tile when hosting activity to decrease tile's prestige by 1
  • Discard useful man to refresh builder's market
  • Discard useful man to place any tile player wants in 800 pound space of Builder's Market:
    • The desired tile must not be a monument tile
    • Remove tile on 300 pound space and return to supply
    • Slide tiles left
    • Take desired tile from supply

The game plays the same as the standard game with the following changes:

  • Use the 20 round space side of the round board
  • Use the 7/8 reputation markers
  • Receive 4 random objective cards at the start of the game

When the 1st player pawn is passed counter-clockwise during Courtship rounds, the Builder's Market is refreshed

The theme card for a season is revealed at the start of the courtship round of that season

Instead of revealing the theme cards for the season at the start of the season:

  • Roll the 20-sided die
  • Based on the number rolled, place the die on the following space of the season:

Standard game

Dice ValueSpace1-51st space6-102nd space11-153rd space16-204th (courtship) space
Extended game
Dice ValueSpace1-41st space5-82nd space9-123rd space13-164th space17-205th (courtship) space
  • The theme card for that season when the round track pawn lands on the space containing the 20-sided die

  • Just before the round track pawn is moved to the next space:
    • Remove and put aside the tile(s) on the 300 pound space of the Builder's Market
    • Move all tiles to the left to fill in the empty space
    • Place a random tile from the supply onto the 800 pound space of the Builder's Market
    • Return the tiles put aside to the tile supply

  • When setting up the game, include the following tiles in the 6 tiles used to fill the Builder's Market:
    • Barn
    • Brushing Room
    • Butler's Pantry

  • When setting up the game, use this process to give starting guests to all players:
    • Create a deck of following number of cards based on player count:
    PlayersCards142638410512614
    • Starting with the player going last, going counter-clockwise around the table:
      • Choose a guest from the deck
      • Pass the remaining cards to the player on their right
      • When the deck gets to the first player:
        • That player choose two guests from the deck
        • They then pass the deck back to the player on their left
        • Players then will choose their second starting guest in a similar fashion, passing the remaining cards to the player on their left
      • After the last player has chosen their second starting guest:
        • The two remaining cards are shuffled back into the casual guests deck

  • Use the Starter Guest Card Draft Variant
  • Shuffle objective cards, but place on game board without dealing any to players
  • Use the Tableau Round Track game board
  • Do not use:
    • Fairchild cards
    • Theme cards
    • 20-sided die
  • Use the lower VP value Momument tiles
  • 2P: Use 7/8 and 9/10 reputation tiles

  • Use the Queen Victoria Variant
  • First player pawn never rotates
  • Round track pawn always moves counter-clockwise
  • After round 3, activate both Builder's Market reserves
  • Grand Ball:
    • As first action:
      • Draw 3 prestige guests from deck
      • Keep 1 card in your hand
      • Place others at bottom of deck
    • Then continue with your turn

  • Game ends when any player finishes turn at Max Reputation
  • Only score VPs for:
    • Reputation level:
      • 2P:
        • Level 9 = 45 points
        • Level 10 = 55 points
        • Max = 66 points
    • Improvement tiles
    • Only apply positive victory point modifiers for:
      • Victory points cards
      • Objective cards
      • Milestones
    • Only apply negative victory point modifiers for:
      • Guest cards

The player with the most victory points wins. Tiebreakers are:

  • Most victory points for improvement tiles

Otherwise, the victory is shared

  • You are always the starting player
  • You must use the following variants:
    • Jane Austen (Closed courtship)
  • You can optionally use the following variants:
    • Intensive Service:
      • Always include Barn, Brushing Room and Butler's Pantry in 6 starting tiles in Builder's Market
    • Queen Victoria:
      • Remove cheapest tile from Builder's Market at end of each round

Setup

  • Set up the same as for a 2 player game, except only one of each of the following servants are available for hire:
    • Cook (orange)
    • Hall boy (light blue)
    • Head housemaid (pink)
    • Useful man (brown)
  • Select an opponent card matching the desired game length (standard or extended) and difficulty
  • Place the Builder's Market AI card near the chosen opponent card
  • Place the 20-sided die near the board

Taking a Turn

  • The solo player takes their turn as normal
  • After the solo player completes their turn, roll the 20-sided die
If there is at least one Monument tile is available in the Builder's Market
Die ValueTile to Remove1-7Cheapest Monument8-10Tile in Position 111-12Tile in Position 213-14Tile in Position 315Tile in Position 416-19No tiles removed this round20Refresh Builder's Market
If there are no Monument tiles is available in the Builder's Market
Die ValueTile to Remove1-4Tile in Position 15-7Tile in Position 28-10Tile in Position 311-12Tile in Position 413-14Tile in Position 515Tile in Position 616-19No tiles removed this round20Refresh Builder's Market
  • All tiles stacked on a position in the market are cleared by the bot
  • Rules Exceptions:
    • Any card effects that attack other players have no effect in the solo game
    • The Butler's Room tile can only hire servants, not recruit them from the bot opponent

Refreshing the Builder's Market

  • Remove all tiles currently available in market and set them aside
  • Replace all tiles with new tiles drawn from bag:
    • Ensure that any duplicates are stacked on top of each other
    • Return tiles that were set aside back to tile bag
  • If the bot rolls 16 or higher (Refresh Builder's Market or No Purchase):
    • Subtract 5 from the die value rolled next round before it is evaluated

Courtship

  • As usual, any player with a Fairchild card in their hand or discard pile must return it at the start of a courtship round
  • Reveal the theme card for the season at the start of the courtship round of the season
  • Compare the total number of victory points on tiles in your estate to the number shown on the bot opponent's card for the revealed theme
  • If you win the courtship, receive the following:
    • 1 Victory Point card
    • One of the Fairchilds cards
  • If the bot wins the courtship, it receives the following:
    • 1 Victory Point card
    • For the final courtship round, it also receives one of the Fairchilds cards
  • In the event of a tie, both the solo player and the bot receive 1 Victory Point card and neither receives a Fairchild card

End Game Scoring

  • In addition to the points shown on the bot opponent card, the bot scores points for:
    • Victory Points received from courtships
    • A Fairchild card received for winning the final courtship if it has one
  • In the event of a tie, the bot opponent is considered the winner

Thumbnail courtesy of BoardGameGeek and the respective publisher.