Illegal
A humorous card game by ElPadre
For 2-6 players age 10 and up.
Translated by Jeff Goldsmith and Alta-Vista's Babelfish
Preface
This game concerns illegal businesses. Naturally,
this is only a game. It is not a primer in illegal
behavior; players should keep their hands out of
such business.
[Translator's note: this game is extremely
similar to Grass. I shall use some of the same
terminology so those who know how to play Grass
will pick up the game very easily. Grass is a
variation on Mille Bornes.]
Background
By playing cards, each player tries to build his own company,
specializing in businesses of all kinds. Income
is possible both in legal and illegal means. Since
the competition doesn't sleep, one must watch out. Otherwise,
one is vulnerable to raids or tax auditors.
Contents
108 cards:
- 10 Market Open
- 4 Day of Accounting
- Illegal Businesses:
- 7 "Gambling" (each 5,000 Euros)
- 7 "Pimps" (each 5,000 Euros)
- 10 "Merchandise" (each 25,000 Euros)
- 6 "Weapons" (each 50,000 Euros)
- 1 "The Coup" (100,000 Euros)
- Legal Businesses:
- 8 "Tropical Fish" (each 1,000 Euros)
- 4 "Brokering" (each 3,000 Euros)
- 2 "Politics" (each 10,000 Euros)
- Hassle Cards:
- 2 "Raid"
- 2 "Protection money"
- 3 "Tax Inspection"
- 3 "Vacation in Sweden"
- Solution Cards:
- 4 "Informant"
- 4 "Mister Zero"
- 4 "White Coat"
- 4 "Alibi"
- 4 "Bribe"
- Paranoia Cards:
- 4 "Death in the Family"
- 3 "Loan Sharks"
- 1 "Debris & Ash"
- Helpful Cards:
- 4 "Hostile Takeover"
- 4 "Relatives"
- 1 "Magnum"
- 2 Overview cards
Prepare for Play
Choose a dealer. Shuffle the cards and deal
seven to each player. The remaining cards are
placed in a stack, face down. The player to the
left the dealer goes first; turns follow clockwise.
Goal of the Game
Other than fun, the goal of the game is to make
as much money from business. The player with the
most money at the end of the game wins.
Normal turns
In each round a player may play only one card
(exceptions: Legal businesses, Magnum, and Bribe).
After the card's effects are resolved, he draws to
refill his hand. The turn passes to the left.
[One major rule isn't clear to me. I don't know
if the player just draws one card or refills to seven.
The latter probably makes for a better game.]
The Cards
Market Open (Geschäftseröffnung)
Playing a Market Open card is necessary for most other
other cards to be played. When played, it is
placed face-up in front of the player. Until
one has played a Market Open card, one cannot
play businesses (legal or illegal), Hostile Takeover
cards, become taken over, play Relatives,
or Day of Accounting. No one may use Hassle
cards against a player who has not opened a store.
Illegal Businesses
There are five different illegal businesses, Gambling,
Pimping, Merchandise, Weapons, and The Coup. They can
be played if the player has already played a Market Open
card and does not have a Hassle card played on him. Businesses
score their printed value if one owns them at the end of the game.
Legal Businesses
There are three types of legal businesses, Tropical Fish,
Brokering, and Politics. Legal businesses have lower
values than illegal businesses, but they are easier and
faster to play. A legal business may be played if a player
has a Market Open card and does not have a Vacation in
Sweden card played on him. A player may play a legal
business even if he has already played an illegal one
that turn, in which case, he gets to play two cards
in the same turn.
Hassle Cards
Hassle hards are played on other players to hinder
their business. Only one Hassle card may be played
on a player at a time. The Hassle card is placed
on top of the player's Market Open card, covering it.
A player with any Hassle card may not play Hostile Takeover
or Day of Accounting. The different Hassle cards are
described individually:
Raid (Razzia)
"Alarm! Illegal businesses are forbidden. Each turn,
you lose an illegal business." The player with the
Raid card played on him may not play illegal businesses
and at the end of each of his turns, he must discard one
illegal business he has played. The Raid card is discarded
if the player has no more illegal businesses or if he plays
Informant, Bribe, Relatives, or Magnum.
Protection Money (Schutzgeld)
"Giving is better than taking. Each round, you lose a
business. No illegal businesses may be played." At the
end of a turn in which a player is hindered by Protection
Money, he must discard a business. He may not play
illegal businesses. If a player has no businesses, legal
or illegal, he discards Protection Money. It may be discarded
by the play of Mister Zero, Bribe, Relatives, or Magnum.
Tax Inspection (Steuerprüfung)
"And the receipts? You may not play illegal businesses
and must play with open cards." While a player is hindered
by Tax Inspection, he may play no illegal businesses and
must keep his hand face up on the table. To remove Tax
Inspection, one must play a Bribe or White Coat or
Relatives or Magnum. Only then may one return one's cards
to one's hand.
Vacation in Sweden (Urlaub in Schweden)
"Clean air is good for allergies. You may not play
any businesses." No businesses, legal or illegal,
may be played by a player who is in Sweden. To remove
this card, play an Alibi, a Bribe, Relatives, or the Magnun.
Solution Cards
Solutions remove Hassles. They may be played on oneself
or on another, but why help other players? When a Solution
card is played, both the Solution and Hassle are discarded.
The Solution cards in detail:
- Alibi: Solves Vacation in Sweden
- Informant: Solves Raid
- Mister Zero: Solves Protection Money
- White Coat: Solves Tax Inspection
- Bribe: Solves any problem, but to use it, a player
must also discard a business card (legal or illegal)
from his hand. If he cannot discard a business card,
he cannot play the Bribe.
Paranoia Cards
Paranoia cards affect the player who plays them. They
can take affect even if the player does not have a Market
Open card or if he has a Hassle card covering his Market
Open card. Paranoia cards left unplayed in the player's
hand at the end of the game count against him. In addition,
after the play of an Paranoia card, each player passes a
card face down to the player on his left.
Death in the Family (Familienfeier)
If played, lose one turn and one open business. If held
in the hand at the end of the game, it costs 25,000 Euros.
Loan Shark (Kredithai)
If played, lose two turns and your most expensive open
business. If held in the hand at the end of the game,
it costs 50,000 Euros.
Debris and Ash (Schutt & Asche)
If played, lose two turns and all open businesses.
If held at the end of the game, it costs 100,000 Euros.
[Could be worse. In Grass, it also
removes your Market Open card.]
Helpful Cards
Hostile Takeover (Geschäftsübernahme)
Take a business (legal or illegal) from another player.
You must have an uncovered Market Open card. [In Grass,
one may only take a player's smallest open business. This
is probably for the best.]
Relatives (Beziehungen)
Relatives are just like a Hostile Takeover, but they
can be played while a Hassle card is covering one's
Market Open. In addition, the Hassle card is discarded.
Magnum (Magnum)
The Magnum card may be played in many ways, perhaps
even on someone else's turn. In this case, the player
does not immediately draw a replacement card. It can
be used to stop a Hostile Takeover or a theft via Relatives.
Alternatively, it can be used to remove any one Hassle card.
In all cases, the Magnum card and the card it cancels are
discarded.
Day of Accounting
"The game is over." In order to play Day of Accounting,
one must have a Market Open with no Hassle cards on it.
The game is immediately over. Accounting then follows.
Discarding
If a player is unable to play a card, he must discard
one and only one as his turn.
If a player has three cards identical in
title and picture, he may discard all three. This is
allowed even after the previously discussed discard,
if desired. [It is not clear if this is an alternative
to a turn or in addition. I think the latter, given
that one may discard four cards.]
If one is able to discard all the cards in one's hand,
the game is over.
Note: One may not discard one Paranoia card, but
three identical ones may be discarded.
Trading
One may also trade cards with other players. One
may trade more than one card, and the number of cards
given and received need not be equal. One must, however,
trade at least one cardno gifts. One may only trade
with the active player. Whether one must know all the
cards in a trade or not is up to the players. Trading
is in addition to the normal card play (or discard).
[Trading more than one card for one ought not be allowed.
Otherwise, players can conspire to end the game quickly.]
End of the Game
The game ends if:
- a player plays Day of Accounting, or
- the deck runs out, or
- a player empties his hand discarding
In each case, accounting is performed.
Accounting
At the end of the game, each player receives face
value for each legal and illegal business he has
played. Paranoia cards in his hand subtract their
value. Also subtract the highest-valued unplayed
business in each player's hand. Other cards in hand
are irrelevant.
The player with the most money wins.
Several Hands
One may play Illegal as a single hand or over multiple
hands. Play until someone has 500,000 or 1,000,000 Euros.
The dealer should rotate.