Alter Ego Rules - v2.4

Alter Ego
By Seth Jaffee – Rules v2.4
A cooperative deck building game of vigilante heroism

You won't see Crime City on any map, but that's how people have come to know your hometown. Sadists, Anarchists, and the Mafia each carving out portions of the city they call their own. Hundreds of innocent bystanders caught up every day in their turf wars, or held under their oppressive thumbs. Precious few have the time, the money, the guts, or the wherewithal to do anything about it. You're one of those few... Of course it means you'll have to give up that happy home life, or that cushy job. The paper paints vigilantism in a negative light - you'd be viewed by the community as a monster. But your city bleeds... the city bleeds and it calls your name. Will you answer?

You're a vigilante hero, one of the few in Crime City who have come together to put an end to the reign of terror the city's been trapped under. Banding together, you'll fight through a swath of henchmen in order to find and defeat several Arch Villains. But as you get stronger as a hero, you'll have to neglect some parts of your Alter Ego life - your family, your job, and your community.

Components:
50 Hero cards (5 types)
75 Alter Ego Cards
- 25 Family Cards
- 25 Job Cards
- 25 Community Cards
XX Henchmen Cards
9 Arch Villain Cards (3 types)
XX Nemesis Cards
XX Equipment Cards
XX Civilian (CIV) Tokens (3 types)
XX Teamwork Tokens
27 Arch Villain Tokens
[XX Cop Tokens]

Setup:
1. Shuffle the Henchmen cards to create the henchmen deck. Place this deck in the middle of the table.
2. Randomly choose 1 Arch Villain of each type. Those will be the Arch Villains used this game, put the rest back into the box.
3. Sort the Hero and Equipment cards by type and place them in piles in the center of the table, accessible by all players.
4. Give each player 4 of each Alter Ego card (Family, Job, and Community). Sort the rest of the Alter Ego cards by type and place them alongside the Hero cards.
5. Each player shuffles his deck of 12 Alter Ego cards and deals 4 cards face up into his "display" area, then draws a hand of 4 from the remaining cards in his deck.
6. Sort the Civ tokens by type and create pools of each. Also create a pool of Teamwork tokens.
7. Deal each player 1 Nemesis card, which they keep hidden from other players.

Terminology: In order to make it easier to describe the steps of the turn, the term Trophy will be used. A Trophy is an icon on a Henchman card that you have defeated.

Player Turns:
Players take turns one at a time resolving each phase of their own turn before the next player plays. Each turn consists of the following phases, in order:

1.       Income phase: Collect income from your Job:
* For each Job card in your display, collect $1
* If you have at least 1 Job card in your display, collect $1 for each $ Trophy in your play area.
You may spend these $s to buy or activate Equipment this turn.

2.       Patrol phase: On your turn you must first bring a henchman into play:
* Draw 1 card from the Henchmen deck.
* If you have any face up Community cards in your display, draw 1 additional Henchman card for each Community card.
* If you have at least 1 Community card in your display, draw 1 additional Henchman card for each Community Trophy in your play area.
* Choose 1 of the drawn Henchman cards to put into play, and discard the rest in a face down discard pile.
* "Call the Cops" - If you have at least 3 Community icons in play and played at least 1 Community card, then you may [discard a Cop token from the group's supply and] remove 1 Henchman card in play from the game. Any hostages on that henchman are considered rescued and are returned to their supply pools. No player takes the Henchman card into their play area.

When a henchman comes into play he takes some civilians hostage! Place CIV tokens on the Henchman card as indicated. If a CIV token must be taken but the supply is empty, then the game is over and the Villains win!

                                                                          

3.       Support phase: After a Henchman has come into play, you may gain support from your family, allowing you to draw cards from your deck:
* For each Family card in your display, draw 2 cards from your deck.
* If you have at least 1 Family card in your display, also draw 1 card from your deck for each Family Trophy in your play area.
* If you have at least 3 Family icons in play and played at least 1 Family card, then you may collect 1 Teamwork token from the supply.

4.       Equip phase: You may spend money on fancy equipment to make you a stronger hero:
You may spend $s to buy as many new Equipment cards as you can afford. Place these cards in your discard pile, unless the card indicates that it should be placed directly into play.

5.       Crime-fighting phase: Now that you have geared up and garnered the support of your friends and family, it's time to go fight some crime!
* Hero cards in your display may be spent to rescue CIV tokens currently being held on a Henchman card. Hero cards spent must match the icons depicted on the Henchman card. The rescued CIV token is returned to the supply UNLESS that henchman’s Arch Villain is in play. See Arch Villains below.
* If you have at least 1 Hero card of a particular type in your display, you may use the matching Hero Trophies in your play area.
* You may "request help" from another player. Give an opponent 1 Teamwork token in order to use one of the Hero cards in their display (they need not discard it). You can only request help from each opponent once per turn, and each request requires a Teamwork token.
* You may discard 2 Teamwork tokens to the general supply in lieu of any 1 Hero symbol.
* If the last CIV token on a henchman is rescued, that henchman is DEFEATED, and then you may keep that henchman in your play area and gain the printed benefit (Trophy).
* Whenever a henchman is defeated, check to see if it has any Arch Villain icons. For each Arch Villain icon, place an Arch Villain token on the matching Arch Villain card. Once enough Arch Villain tokens are placed on an Arch Villain card, that Arch Villain will come into play and terrorize the city until he is defeated! (See Arch Villains – below)

6.       Recoup phase: After you're all spent from fighting crime, you get a chance to recuperate and plan your next turn.
* Discard all cards in your display.
* Play 4 cards from your hand face up into your display.
* For each Display icon on Equipment or henchmen you have defeated (in your play area), you may play an additional card face up into your display.
* Choose a Hero or Alter Ego card from the supply stacks and place it face up in your display.
* Discard the rest of your hand, then draw 4 new cards from your deck (shuffle your discard pile as needed) plus 1 card for each Hand Size icon on henchmen you have defeated (in your play area).

Play continues with the next player in clockwise order. 

Arch Villains:
When Arch Villains come into play, they take hostages just as Henchmen do. Place CIV tokens on the Arch Villain card as indicated. If a CIV token must be taken but the supply is empty, then the game is over and the Villains win!

While an Arch Villain is in play, Civ tokens rescued by defeating henchmen are removed from the game instead of returned to the supply. Civ tokens rescued from the Arch Villain card are returned to the supply as normal.

Game End:
When the last Arch Villain is defeated, then the game is over. The Heroes have saved Crime City from the clutches of evil and everybody wins!

OR...

When the last Arch Villain is defeated, then the game is over. The Heroes have saved Crime City from the clutches of evil! Any player who has defeated their Nemesis wins a Personal Victory, while all players win a Cooperative Victory.

OR...

When the last Arch Villain is defeated, then the game is over. If all players have defeated their Nemesis, then the Heroes have saved Crime City from the clutches of evil and everybody wins! Otherwise, the Nemeses who were not defeated rise up and overtake Crime City!

OR...

When any player defeats their Nemesis OR the last Arch Villain is defeated, then the game is over. If the game ended because a Nemesis was defeated, then the player defeating their Nemesis wins. If the game ended because an Arch Villain was defeated, then the Heroes have saved Crime City from the clutches of evil and everybody wins!

If at any time a CIV token must be taken but the supply is empty, then the game is over and the Villains win!