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Thiefdom (Work in Progress)

(The final rulebook will consist of 20-24 pages)
Prologue 4
Tutorial Game 4
Regular Setup 5
2 Player Setup 6
Guilds 6
Equipment Draft 6
How to Play Thiefdom 8
Field of View 9
Field of View: Thieves 9
Field of View: Nobles and the Carriage 10
Field of View: Guards 10
Round Structure 12
Phase I: Planning - Night 12
Phase II: Actions - Night 13
Townsfolk Actions 13
Noble 14
Guard 14
Attempted Arrest 16
Arrest 16
Carriage 16
Thief Actions 17
Move 17
Steal from Townsfolk (Guards, Nobles, Carriage) 20
Wanted Poster 20
Use a Location 21
Market 21
Villa 22
Dealer 22
Tavern 23
Dungeon 23
Smuggler 24
Perform a Card Action 24
Phase III: Day - Administration 25
End of the Game 25
Solo Variant 26
Cards 28
1. Equipment 30
2. Guests 34
Iconography Overview 39
Credits 40

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Prologue
Bacharach, 1420.

The great thieves' guilds of the Middle Rhine Valley have lost their leaders. Following an old tradition,
the thieves have set up a competition for fame and fortune to compete over the title, “Master Guild”. A
guild’s coordination, skill, and cunning must all be proven in equal measure.

The location on the Rhine, the fire wine production, and a large timber deposit led to the prosperity of
a select few; a prosperity that was built on the suffering of those less fortunate. A fairer distribution of
wealth is long overdue, and so the council of thieves has decided to donate the gold captured in their
contest to the poor.

Now it's up to the thieves to coordinate their guilds, discover the city's hidden art treasures, supply the
smugglers with goods, and make just the right friends in the taverns. But they must be careful when
stepping out of the shadows into the light of the streets! The guards seem to know about the
competition and tirelessly patrol the idyllic port city’s narrow lanes.

In Thiefdom, you take control of a thieves guild and guide the fortune of 3 thieves. Your band of
larcenous “heroes” will earn you victory points (VP) for their actions. Then, after 6 nights, the guild
with the most VP wins and is elevated to the status of “Master Guild”.

Setup Insert
When you punch out the game material from the punchboard,
make sure you stack the empty punchboards underneath the
insert as shown in the graphic. This way the lid will help to
prevent components from moving around. The punchboards
can be removed when expansion content is added to the
game box in the future.

Tutorial Game
Thiefdom is a sandbox pick-up and deliver game, which means that there are many different paths to
follow. For this reason, we advise you to play your first game of Thiefdom using the tutorial setup we
provided with our tutorial game. The city is already built with placed hideouts and starting equipment
for each guild. In addition, you can read the tutorial guide, which will give you an example for every
thief’s first turn and also a few tips for a strategy your guild could pursue during this first game. This
will help you understand which strategies and possibilities exist in Thiefdom, without overwhelming
you with figuring out all those options from the start.

For 2 Players: Thiefdom_Tutorial Set Up_2 Players

For 3 Players: Thiefdom_Tutorial Set Up_3 Players
For 4 Players: Thiefdom_Tutorial Set Up_4 Players

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Regular Setup
Preparations for a 3-4 player game (for 2 player setup, follow the regular instructions
and then read the 2 player modifications on the next page)

01. There are 8 city square boards, each with a different layout printed on each side. These are
used to assemble a randomly generated 4x2 city map. Take the 8 city square boards and sort
out the 2 boards showing a river. Randomly
place the 2 boards next to each other so that
the river and city are connected. Shuffle and lay
out the other 6 city square boards (using either
side in any rotated orientation) next to the 2
river boards as shown, to create a 4x2 city map
with all boards combined. Each layout presents
you with new challenges.

02. Place the victory point board (vineyard) to the far left of the board. On this victory point board,
a compass indicates the north (N) and south (S). The river is in the east and the vineyards are
in the west of the city. Place the carriage on the lantern closest to the entrance marked on the
Victory Point board.

03. The city squares now have 4 open entrances toward the north and 4 toward the south. Take
the 4 catacombs and look at the back side to see where to place each one. They must be
placed next to open entrances of specific areas (1A/B, 3A/B, 6A/B, and 8A/B).

04. Shuffle the 4 villas and place them at the remaining free northern and southern entrances of
the city squares (2A/B, 4A/B, 5A/B, and 7A/B). Randomly place 1 painting on each villa
faceup, revealing its bonus.

05. Place the loot board and choose the side that corresponds to your number of players. On the
loot board, the guards, the nobles, and the carriage are depicted. Place 1 badge token and 1
bag token per corresponding slot and all wanted posters as a draw pile on its corresponding
slot.

06. Place the round marker on the first space of the round track (1. half moon on the victory point
board).

07. Shuffle the guest cards and place them facedown as a draw pile next to the board within easy
reach.

08. Shuffle the smuggling missions and place 1 faceup on each of the designated areas on the
game board. Place the remaining smuggling missions in a facedown draw pile next to the
board.

09. Randomly place 1 guard on the lantern closest to the entrance of each of the villas. Guards
have a field of view marked with an eye. Place the guards in front of the villas so that they
have their backs (the side opposite of their eye) to the villas. Their field of view (the side
marked with an eye) should be oriented south or north toward the city and away from the villa.

10. Place the 4 nobles randomly on the lantern spaces closest to the entrances of the catacombs.

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 11. Sort the rest of the goods by type (wine, gems, liquor, badges and gold) and make a general
supply. Goods (except for the badges you take from the guards on the loot board) are
considered unlimited.

2 Player Setup

Setup the game like a 3-4 player game with the following changes:

● put the city square boards 1A/B and 5A/B back into the box. Build the city with the remaining
6 city boards in a 3x2 grid.
● use the 1-2 player side of the loot board. Place only 1 badge per guard.
● put noble D and guard D back into the box.
● use only 3 catacombs and 3 villas. Remove 1 villa randomly and catacomb 1A/B.

Guilds
Pick a player color and take the corresponding player board, 3 thief figurines, 4 planning markers, VP
marker, hideout, and stamina marker. You will start the game with 10 victory points each, marked with
your VP markers on the VP track. You can lose VP, but you can’t lose VP anymore if you are on 0 VP.
Put the player boards in front of you and place the pieces in their appropriate areas as shown below.

Each player receives 8 gold. Place it into your hideout inventory on the right side of your player board.

Patrol Boards

Select the patrol boards corresponding to the number of players and put the rest back in the
box. Shuffle the patrol boards and randomly deal 1 to each player. Place them faceup next
to your player boards. The player with the start icon (as shown on the patrol board above)
on their patrol board is the starting player for the first round.

Equipment Draft
There are 12 different pieces of equipment, each of which appears twice. Sort the equipment cards
according to their symbol on the backside. Now you should have 2 sets in which each piece of
equipment appears once. Shuffle the deck of equipment cards with the full red circle and place them

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as a facedown draw pile next to the board. Draw 4 cards and place them faceup next to the board.
These are offered by the dealer for purchase during the game and are open information during the
equipment draft.

Then, shuffle the deck of equipment cards with a red semicircle on the back, and deal each player 3
cards facedown.

1) From these 3 cards, each player selects 1 equipment card and places it facedown in
front of them.
2) The remaining 2 cards are passed facedown in counterclockwise direction. Each
player now selects another equipment card from these 2 cards and places it facedown in
front of them.
3) Finally, all players pass their last card counterclockwise. All players now should have
3 pieces of equipment, from which they can choose to buy 0-2 pieces of equipment paid
with gold returned to the supply, and equip these to their thieves, distributed however
they choose. Each guild consists of 3 thieves, which differ from each other by shape.
During this initial draft, and throughout the game, a player may own multiple copies of the same
equipment, but no thief can carry duplicate equipment. Each thief may carry a maximum of 2 different
pieces of equipment. Place each equipment card below the respective thief on the player board. Once
an equipment is placed to a thief, it can never be redistributed to another thief.

Once all players have acquired 0-2 equipment, shuffle all remaining equipment cards (those not
chosen by players and also the remaining deck of cards with a semicircle on the back) into the
facedown draw pile next to the board. This pile then contains full circle and semicircle cards.

If players have any gold left, it remains in their hideout inventory. Any individual thief can take this gold
into their inventory as thieves start the game in the hideout.

Placement of the Hideouts

Starting with the player to the right of the starting player and then moving counterclockwise, all
players position their hideout in a house of their choice.

Houses are marked with a gray icon. Locations, on the other hand, are marked with an orange icon.
The following rules apply to the placement of hideouts:

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 ● You are not allowed to set up hideouts in locations (too many watchful eyes).
● You are not allowed to place your hideouts in the church (come on, really?).
● There can only be 1 hideout in a house at a time (thieves don’t like to share all the time).

Every thief of your guild starts in the hideout. You can store up to 8 goods in your hideout inventory.
Thieves of your guild can place any goods from their own inventory into the hideout inventory and pick
up goods from the hideout inventory whenever they are there. This does not cost an action. Thus,
your hideout is a transfer point and a safe meeting place for your thieves.

Note: If 1 of your own thieves enters the location with your hideout, they are always considered to be
standing in the hideout. All your thieves are allowed to be in the hideout at the same time. Rival
thieves are allowed to enter the house with your hideout. However, they do not suspect that your guild
is hiding there and therefor have no access to your hideout inventory. Only thieves from other different
thief’s guilds without a hideout in a house with a hideout lose VP when they meet each other.

Example: Purple has 3 thieves in their hideout. A yellow thief enters the house of purple’s hideout
and does NOT lose any VP. Now, a blue thief enters the same house and loses 1 VP due to the
yellow thief in there.

You are now ready to discover Thiefdom. Sneak through the city, capture gems, liquor, wine, and
gold. You may also want to steal badges from the guards and discover valuable paintings. In the
village tavern, interesting personalities are waiting for you to buy some drinks. Their help can make
the difference between victory and defeat. Coordinate your thieves skillfully and do your best to avoid
the guards. An arrest will damage your reputation. May the most skillful guild win!

How to Play Thiefdom

Bacharach: a city alive with people
There is a lot going on in the alleys of Bacharach.

Each guild consists of 3 thieves. Thieves without equipment and/or friends have the same skills. Each
thief can carry a maximum of 2 different pieces of equipment (no duplicates) and can befriend exactly
1 guest in the tavern. This will specialize your thief and grants you new abilities.

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 Each of your thieves also have their own
inventory for loot and gold (exactly 4
slots each). If the thieves have to deliver
loot or pay gold during the game, it must
always be done from their own inventory.

Townsfolk
Besides the thieves, all sorts of other characters move through the alleys of Bacharach.

Guards, nobles, and the carriage. These figurines are neutral, but controlled by the players
themselves.

During movement, you can skip over the nobles and the carriage.
By doing so, you can increase the distance you are able to travel
through the city. They are usually friendly toward you.

The guards, on the other hand, do pose a direct threat to the thieves. Guards attempt to arrest every
thief, that are in their field of view.

Field of View

Each figurine has a field of view. It defines the street spaces that each figurine is able to see.

Field of View: Thieves

For thieves, the field of view plays a role using certain
equipment. The thieves' field of view extends in a line
from the space they are standing in, through multiple
orthogonal spaces until the view gets blocked by a
location, a house, or a wall. If the thieves are standing in
a building (gray or orange), their field of view extends
throughout the building as one contiguous space (this is
relevant for the equipments “Throwing Star” and
“Crossbow”). The field of view can expand across
multiple city square boards.

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Field of View: Nobles and the Carriage

A Noble’s and the Carriages' field of view is just the space they are standing on or spaces which they
pass through while moving.

Field of View: Guards

The guards, unlike all other figurines, have a
front side that defines the guard's field of
view. They look down the alley they are
facing until their gaze gets blocked by a
house, a location, or a wall. Guards are
somewhat sluggish, so they only look in one
direction at a time.
The field of view starts on the field where the
guard is standing on and then extends in a
straight line from the direction the guard is
facing (marked with eyes printed on).
The guards must therefore always be
standing up on the board, so that their field of
view can be clearly seen by all players. If a
thief enters a guard's field of view, the guard
attempts to arrest the thief.

Tabletop Simulator version only:

In Tabletop Simulator, the guard
figurine cannot be stood up, and
most users prefer a top-down view.
So the guards are there are a flat
rectangular token. The direction of
their line of sight is marked on the
token. In this example, the yellow
thief is safe. The guard can only
move toward noble B or D and will
stop on an empty lantern they
reach after passing them.

A Wealthy City. The Goods

There are 2 types of goods in Bacharach: gold and loot. Loot usually has to be bought or stolen and
then delivered. Gold is the currency of the game and is earned while smuggling or, of course, stolen.
Gold is placed in the yellow gold sack (right) and loot is placed in the brown loot sack (left). Without
additional equipment, a thief can carry a maximum of 4 gold and 4 loot each.

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Gold: With gold, thieves can buy liquor, equipment, or friendships. You could call it bribery.

Loot:
● Gems: Gems can be captured in villas or stolen from nobles. Gems can be exchanged for VP
at the dealer or used in some smuggling missions. Oh, how shiny they are!

● Wine: Can be obtained through the "Robbing a Carriage" action. It can either be converted
into 2 VP each in 1 of the taverns or handed in at the appropriate smugglers. Fire wine is a
well-known local delicacy.

● Liquor: Liquor can be purchased in the tavern for 1 gold each.

In the market, you can spend liquor for 1 VP each or use them for a smuggling mission
otherwise. A gift to the people naturally gets around and earns the guild glory. Smugglers also
crave the masterfully brewed moonshine liquor.

● Badges: Can be obtained through the "Steal from Guards" action. Each guard carries 2
badges (only 1 in a 2 player game). Badges can be spent in the dungeon for 2 VP each or
delivered to smugglers when their smuggling orders call for them. Stealing badges of the
guards and pinning them on the dungeons towers is a sign of ultimate skill.

● Paintings: Thieves can steal 1 painting from each of the villas. Paintings are kept in the loot
area and are subject to the same rules as loot, but take up 4 slots in the inventory and count
as 4 loot. Paintings can fetch a fair amount of glory from the dealer.

All goods and wanted posters

are unlimited in quantity. If you
ever run out of these, help
yourself with other suitable
materials.

The City
Bacharach consists of a labyrinth of alleys, which, starting from the Rhine river, winds its way through
complexes of houses and locations and finally ends in the vineyards.

Houses The gray areas are houses which allow thieves to hide. Houses only differ from
each other in relation to specific guest abilities. There are: towers, gardens, black smithies,
stables and the church.

Catacombs: Thieves can move from catacomb to catacomb.

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 Walls: Walls are impassable for any thief.

Locations: Areas of the city squares highlighted in orange are locations. These are:
● Market - 1x
● Dealer - 2x (1x in a 2 player game)
● Dungeon - 1x
● Tavern - 2x
● Smuggler - 4x (3x in a 2 player game)
● Villa - 4x (3x in a 2 player game)
The locations are described in detail in the chapter "Using a Location".

Alleys: The alley network of the city is represented by dark blue cobblestones. In the
alleys, thieves are exposed to all kinds of dangers. Only 1 figurine may stand in an alley
space at a time. But during movement, figurines may skip over each other.

Lanterns: Lanterns mark the crossroads in the city's maze of alleys. The guards, the
carriage, and the nobles move from lantern to lantern.

Round Structure
A round consists of 3 phases and is divided by “night” and “day”. A night consists of the two phases:
1. Planning Phase
2. Action Phase

The night is followed by the day at the end of a round. The day consists of:
3. Administration Phase

The night is shown as a half moon, and the day/administration as a sun. A full moon
symbolizes the endgame.

Phase I: Planning - Night

Each player plans the course of actions for the upcoming night. This is carried out simultaneously
using the four planning markers to determine the order in which you want your thieves to act in the
Action Phase. In each night, every thief will get one turn. You will also determine when the figurines
listed on the patrol board will move. The planning markers are placed facedown on the corresponding
spots on your player board. After every player has completed their planning, all planning markers are
revealed at the same time.

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Phase II: Actions - Night
Turn order is clockwise, starting with the starting player. On your turn, you either
control one of your thieves or move the townsfolk listed on your patrol board.

The starting player (the one with the starting symbol on the patrol board )
begins with their #1 planning marker. Turn over the planning marker (number facedown) and put it just
above your player board, to indicate it is used. Move the townsfolk figurines if the #1 is located on
your patrol board, or use your thief if the #1 planning marker is on one of your thieves. If you resolve a
planning marker on a thief, this thief becomes the “active thief”. After the #1 planning marker is
resolved, continue clockwise with the next player until all players have resolved their #1 planning
marker. Then all players resolve their #2 planning marker, beginning again with the starting player,
and so on. The action phase ends after all players have resolved all of their planning markers.

Townsfolk Actions

Patrol board

If your active the planning marker is placed on your patrol board, you now move the nobles, guard(s),
and, if applicable, the carriage listed on the patrol board. Always move nobles first, then guard(s), and
then the carriage.

Movement of the Townsfolk

General Movement Rule

● Townsfolk always begin and end their movement on lantern spaces.
● Townsfolk can never change their direction of movement by
180 degrees. Due to skipping occupied lantern spaces, they may

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 however move in a complete circle and end up back on their starting lantern, though.
● Townsfolk skip over any figurines
● Townsfolk skip any occupied lanterns
● If you control multiple townsfolks of the same type, always move them in alphabetical order as
indicated on the patrol board

Here, for example, if noble A moves to the northern lantern,

they cannot skip over the thief while moving, because then
they would have changed their direction by 180 degrees
during movement.

Here is a description of the unique way each townsfolk moves.

Noble
First, move the noble listed on your patrol board. Move the noble in any direction through the alleys
and stop on the first unoccupied lantern.

Guard
Choose any of the 3 directions front-left-right from the guard’s field of view and start your movement.
At each crossway, you can again choose among the 3 directions front, left and right, considering the
direction of their current field of view. Whenever a guard moves, they always look straight ahead on
their path and have to turn 90 degrees when moving around the corner. The guard finishes their
movement and stops on the first unoccupied lantern they step on, looking in the direction of their
last movement.

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In this example, the guard can reach 5 unoccupied lanterns. You can see the guard’s field of view at
the beginning of their movement and at each of the 5 possible stops.
Before their movement, the guard looks to the right toward the carriage. The thief in the guard’s back
is safe for now, since the guard cannot get to see them and cannot change their direction by 180
degrees.

Arrest by a Guard

A guard attempts an arrest of a thief when the thief is in their field of view. This can happen in 3
different ways when the guard moves:
● the guard skips over the thief
● the thief is temporarily in the guard’s field of view during the guard’s movement
● the thief is in the guard’s field of view at the end of the guard’s movement

If any of the above 3 happens, the respective thieves are laid down.

Of course, an attempted arrest also happens if a thief is in the guard’s field of view during a player’s
turn.

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Attempted Arrest
If at the end of any movement or action, one or multiple thieves are laid down, check whether they
can prevent an arrest. If they can, stand them back up. If they cannot, they are now arrested.

Arrest

Thieves are clever and always have small tools

at hand that allow them to open handcuffs and
escape to their hideout first. However, in the
process they have to drop all the goods. Being
caught is also a disgrace to your guild, of course!

● Return an arrested thief to their respective hideout.

● You lose 2 VP for each of your thieves that got arrested this turn.
● Any goods that an arrested thief was carrying are placed in the dungeon on city square board
7A/B.

Arrests can also be triggered by certain players’ actions (e.g. “Cudgel” or “Crossbow”).

Carriage
If the carriage is listed on the patrol board, you now move the carriage. Move the carriage in any
direction. At every crossway you can choose where to move. Skip exactly one unoccupied lantern.
The carriage stops on the second unoccupied lantern it reaches.

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Thief Actions

Each of your thieves has one turn during each night, and 3 actions per turn.

A thief may:

● Move
● Use a location
● Steal
● Use a card action

The player’s thieves start the game in their hideout. They can move any leftover gold
from the hideout inventory to their inventory before leaving the hideout.
When a thief’s planning marker activates, they may perform up to 3 actions in any
order. You can even do several actions of the same type in a row (example: doing 2
move actions). With the stamina marker, a thief may perform a fourth action (see
"Stamina Marker").

The Stamina Marker

The thief's life is exciting, dangerous, and strains your nerves.

During the action phase, you are allowed to use your stamina marker
once per night to give 1 of your thieves a bonus action. That thief
may then perform 4 actions instead of the usual 3. Place the stamina
marker on the designated space on the back of your planning marker
and perform your bonus action.

Move
A thief can move up to 3 spaces for each action spent. Each alley space, house and location counts
as a space. The following rules apply to the movement of a thief:

● All alley spaces orthogonally adjacent to a catacomb are considered adjacent to each other
for movement. So if you move through the catacombs, only count the unoccupied spaces in
front of the catacomb that you step in and the first unoccupied space in front of the catacomb
you are stepping out of during the move.

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 ● If a thief is moving through a guard’s line of sight, the guard attempts an arrest and the thief is
laid down.

● Any occupied alley space is skipped and not counted in movement. If you skip over rival
thieves, you pay them respect for letting you pass. You lose 1 VP, per rival thief you pass. The
rival guild does not gain VP.

Due to the fact that occupied alley spaces are skipped over, it can never happen that 2
figurines are standing on the same alley space.

Entering a house

A thief may enter orthogonally adjacent houses. These buildings count as one large space. If a thief
enters a house, the current movement ends immediately. Example: You enter a house with the
second of your 3 movement points. You cannot exit the house with your third movement point as the
third movement point is forfeited. Of course you can spend an additional action to exit the house.

A thief leaves a house on any orthogonally adjacent alley space with a move action, counting the
adjacent alley space as the first space of the move. If you start inside your hideout, you leave the
house in which the hideout is located as described here.

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Entering a location

Thieves can also move into locations, but only from the alley spaces marked with an arrow.
Also, when entering a location, the current movement action ends immediately. You can only leave the
location again via an alley space marked with an arrow.

If your thief enters a house or location and there are already rival thieves
located there, you lose 1 VP for each rival thief inside.

Exchange of goods between thieves of a guild

If you skip 1 of your thieves over another of

your thieves on an alley space, goods can be
exchanged between the thieves for free. This
is not an additional action. Of course, the
normal restrictions of the inventory limits of the
respective thieves apply (not during the
exchange, but after the exchange).

If thieves of your guild are in the same house

(without your hideout) or location, they cannot
exchange goods. But remember, that you can
exchange goods between thieves if they meet
in your hideout.

They stay away from each other here,

because they don't want anyone to know that they belong to a guild. Deception is the friend of the
master thief.

In the example above, the encircled thief can reach the stable house by skipping over the other thief.

Teleport: When a thief is able to “teleport” they appear without moving and thus ignore entrances.
Cunning thieves know secret ways of getting from one area to another.

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Steal from Townsfolk (Guards, Nobles, Carriage)

Each thief can steal from each townsfolk figurine exactly once per night. The stealing thief must
stand in an alley space orthogonally adjacent to the respective figurine.

Robbing the Carriage

If the thief is standing on an alley space orthogonally adjacent to the carriage, they may rob the
carriage for 1 action point. The thief immediately receives 1 wine. Put a wanted poster on the player
board in the area of this thief (not in the inventory!). Each thief can only have one wanted poster at a
time.

The carriage transports the beloved fire wine through the city. Since this is a robbery, the carriage
driver now knows the thief's face.

Wanted Poster

A thief with a wanted poster is wanted city wide. A phantom image has been
shown to the nobles. The carriage driver also recognizes you. Be careful.

The carriage and nobles can now arrest the thief, as they immediately sound
the alarm when they spot the wanted thief. Since their field of view is limited
only to the space they are on, this means that a wanted thief will be arrested
immediately if they skip over the carriage or nobles. A wanted thief is also
arrested when a noble or carriage skips over them.

You can get rid of a wanted poster by:

● Moving your wanted thief into your own hideout. You can lose the wanted poster there without
spending an action.
Changing their outfits, is what thieves learn first.

● Using the dungeon. In this case, you even get 3 VP.

Destroying the evidence is very glorious.

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 ● A wanted poster is also discarded as soon as the wanted thief gets arrested.

Steal from the guards

If your thief is standing in an alley space that is orthogonally adjacent to a guard
AND
not in their line of sight (i.e. in the back or flank of a guard), you may steal 1
badge from them for 1 action point. It is not possible to steal from a guard at
any time when the thief is in their line of sight, even if the thief is allowed
to be there by bonuses. Take the badge of the corresponding guard. Since
guards carry limited badges, you can steal from a guard only if they are still
carrying a badge

Steal from nobles

If you are standing on an alley space orthogonally adjacent to a noble, you may
steal from the noble for 1 action point. Take either 2 gold or 1 gem from the
general supply and flip the bag token of this noble on the loot board. They are
now considered empty-handed and no one can steal from them again until the
bag token is flipped back up.

Use a Location
Thieves in a location may use any location actions depicted for 1 action point. It does not matter if
there are other thieves in the location.

A location may only be activated once per night by each thief.

In each location, different actions can be carried out. A thief can do all available actions in any order.
But each action can only be done once and cannot be interrupted by any other action. Thieves will
often take goods. Goods can be discarded at any time to make room for other goods. Discarded
goods go into the general supply.
If a conversion action is marked with the infinity symbol, the thief can repeat this conversion as often
as they like during the action (Example: A thief with 3 liquor in their loot inventory stands in the
market. When using the location, they may give away 3 liquor and receive 3 VP in return. This only
costs 1 action).

Market

As people bustle about in the crowded market, they haggle with

merchants while thieves unobtrusively reach into their pockets here
and there.

Spend 1 action point. Then you can do all listed actions once. These may be done in any order:
● The thief replenishes their gold inventory to the maximum.
You steal here and there while everyone is distracted.
● The thief gives away liquor for 1 VP each
A round of liquor on you makes everyone happy.

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Villa
The villas are loaded with gems as well as masterfully drawn paintings.

Villa with locked painting.

Villa with locked gems.

The thief must choose 1 of 2 possible actions in a villa, 1 of which is always marked with a padlock.
The option with a padlock is only available to thieves that are equipped with a “Lock Pick”.

● A. Fill this thief's inventory to the maximum with gems (remember that you can always discard
goods to make room).

● B. Steal the painting from the villa if it is still there. The painting goes into a thief’s inventory
and takes up 4 slots. The villas are never replenished with paintings after the start of the
game.

Dealer
The dealers of the city are silent and mysterious
personalities. A bit creepy looking, they sell
equipment, are on the lookout for rare paintings, and
are known for their great passion for gems.

Spend 1 action point. Then you can do all listed actions once. These may be done in any order:
● The thief hands over gems and receives 1 VP each.
● The thief delivers a painting and receives the bonuses depicted on it.
● The thief pays the cost of 1-2 equipment cards on display to purchase them. Immediately
receive the VP depicted on the top right of the card. Each thief can carry a maximum of 2
different equipment cards. You cannot buy equipment if both equipment slots of the thief are
occupied. At the end of your turn, replenish the equipment display to 4 equipment cards if any
were purchased.

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Tavern

The tavern is a lively place. People of all classes come

together here. They drink, play, party, and trade. The
basements are filled with homemade liquor, wine in the
house is always welcome, and many friendships have
begun here.

Spend 1 action point. Then you can do all listed actions once. These may be done in any order. The
first action (A) allows you to interact with guest cards and presents you with 3 options, of which you
must choose only 1. Additionally, you may perform action B and/or C.

● A) Guest cards: If this thief’s guest card slot (above the player board) is still empty, they
reveal the top 4 cards from the guest draw pile. If the draw pile has become depleted, shuffle
the discarded cards facedown to form a new draw pile. After seeing which guests are
available, the player must now choose 1 of the following 3 options:
○ A1) Make a friend: Pay the cost of 1 of the revealed guests and form a friendship with
that person. Immediately receive the VP depicted on the bottom right of the card.
Each thief may only have 1 befriended guest per game. Once a thief has gained a
friend, they cannot get rid of them.
○ A2) Bar fight: Choose any of the 4 drawn guest cards and place it facedown in this
thief’s friend area. Immediately receive 1 VP as noted on the card. This thief will not
be able to make friends for the rest of the game anymore and cannot do a bar fight
anymore either.
○ A3) Don’t receive a card: If none of the guests interest you, and you do not want to
choose a bar fight, you may choose to not take any of the revealed guest cards.

Once the player has chosen 1 of these 3 options, remove all cards that were not
selected (3 or 4) and place them into a face up discard pile.
● B) The thief may buy 1 liquor for 1 gold each.
● C) The thief may spend wine to gain 2 VP for each wine token spent.

After a bar fight, that thief is now known in town as a rapscallion, and no one wants to be their
friend anymore. As word of the brawl spreads around town and the tale takes on epic
proportions, you at least got some glory. In any case, don’t worry about the 3 poor souls who
were not chosen during this tavern visit. They spend the evening together and write their own
story. Whether they have an affair, make a friendship for life, or have a philosophical
discourse ... who knows?!

Dungeon

The dungeon is a dark place. All the loot confiscated by

guards during arrests lies here. It naturally tempts any good
thief to take back his honestly stolen goods.

23
Spend 1 action point. Then you can do all listed actions once. These may be done in any order.

● If there are goods in the dungeon from an earlier arrest, your thief can now steal 1-4 slots of
goods if they have enough inventory space.
● Place badges in the general supply and receive 2 VP per badge.
● If the thief is carrying a wanted poster (see “Robbing a Carriage”), they can now get rid of it
and immediately receive 3 VP for it. Your thief burns the charcoal drawing made by the
carriage driver’s description of the thief. This humiliation of the guard earns you some honor.

Smuggler

When your thief is at the smuggler, they can for one action point deliver loot from this thief's inventory.
The smuggling missions show which loot the smuggler is after. It is always a combination of at least 2
different goods.

Also shown is the reward in the form of goods and VP. Spend one action, put the requested loot from
the thief's inventory into the general supply and take the smuggling mission. The thief now receives
the goods. Then move your VP marker the number of spaces forward as indicated by the smuggling
mission. The smuggling missions are replenished every 2 nights (see “Administration”). A smuggler
without an available smuggling mission cannot be supplied for the time being.

Perform a Card Action

If your thief has an equipment or befriended a guest that

enables an action, this thief can use that card's action as
specified either indefinitely or once per turn. Some card
actions cost an action and others do not. What bonuses the
equipment and guests bring is described in the equipment and
guests chapter in detail.

24
Phase III: Day - Administration
Administration occurs when all players have turned over
their 4 planning markers and the appropriate actions have
been taken. The night is over and over the day
preparations for the next night are made.

1. Move the round marker to the next spot on the

round track. (next half moon).
2. Take back your planning markers and the
stamina marker into your hand.
3. Swap the patrol boards counterclockwise, thus
changing the starting player.
4. Each player now receives 1 VP for each thief
they have on an alley space

Keeping a lookout in the dangerous streets is risky and needs to be rewarded.

After round 2 and 4, the following happens:

1. Flip the bag tokens of the nobles on the loot board to the side with the bonuses shown.
2. Refill the loot board with badges from the supply, with one badge per spot.
3. All smuggling locations without a smuggling mission receive a new smuggling mission from
the draw pile.
4. The equipment cards on display are discarded and replaced with 4 cards from the draw pile. If
the draw pile is depleted, shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.

End of the Game

After a total of 6 nights, the game ends. At the full moon, the players now
count their riches.

1) Each player receives VPs for goods in their own possession, whether in
the hideout inventory or in the thieves' inventories:
● 4 gold 1VP
● Set of 2 gems 1VP
● Set of 2 liquor 1VP
● 1 badge 1VP
● 1 wine 1VP
● 1 undelivered painting 3VP

The goods remain in their respective inventories.

2) Count any end-game bonuses from your befriended guests with a full moon icon.

25
Please note, that friends who give extra VP for goods in your hideout inventory, do not grant extra VP
for goods in your thieves’ inventory, even if the thieves are in the hideout. Also, those goods can score
multiple times, namely normally for the regulars goods endgame scoring and again for the respective
friend scoring because the goods are not discarded after being scored.

3) Any thief who made it back to their own hideout will also receive 1VP.

The guild with the most VP wins the competition and is elevated to the status of “Master Guild”. In
case of a tie, the guild with the most good tokens in its possession at the end of the game wins. In the
unlikely event that there is still a tie, the winner is determined by who has more good tokens of the
following types:

Wine > Badge > Liquor > Gems > Gold

If there is still a tie (really?), we recommend a second game. Photograph this historic moment and
share it on Boardgamegeek. The thieves' guilds share the victory for now, but the match should be
repeated soon.

Variant: Chaotic Planning

To speed up the game, you can play the planning phase differently. Each player shuffles their planning
markers and places them randomly on the designated spaces on their player tableau and patrol
board. This variant is good for getting to know the game or for playing the game a little more loosely.
You should agree to not play too slowly when agreeing to use this variant.

Solo Variant

In the solo variant, you and your guild go up against the guards alone, trying to score as many victory
points as possible.
Prepare to set up a 2 player game with the VP board on the left side and the river on the right side of
the city from your point of view, but use the 3 patrol boards for one player. As usual, take a player
board and the materials in the color of your guild. However, you can put planning marker #4 back in
the box. Unlike in the normal game, you do not deal patrol boards yourself, but shuffle the three patrol

26
boards and place them face down in a draw pile next to the board. Also, place 3 rival thieves (of one
player color) next to the board.

Place the compass next to your player board where the patrol board would otherwise be. North should
face to the board and the side with your start player symbol should be visible. Place the D8 die on the
compass.

Take the player board of a rival thief player

color and use the backside. It guides you
through the solo game.

To draft equipment, first draw 3 cards, pick 1 of

them, then draw 2 cards, again keep 1, then
draw another single card from the draw pile.
From the three equipment cards, you can now
buy 0-2 equipment and distribute it among your
thieves as you wish. Then place your hideout.

Gameplay

Plan the order of your thieves

In the first round, you are the starting player. You can see this on your compass, which means you
first perform your actions with your thief #1.

Then you turn over the top patrol board. The figurines listed on the patrol board now perform a
movement. As usual, the nobles move first, then the guards, and then possibly the carriage. Multiple
townsfolk of the same kind are moved in alphabetical order. Roll the D8 die to determine in which
direction the figurines want to move, use the compass for this. If the figurine cannot walk into this
direction for some reason (wall, house/location, dead-end street or because the guard cannot move
backwards), follow the arrows on the compass and find the next possible alternative direction.
Figurines will skip over lanterns occupied by other figurines as usual. The figurine then tries to move
on again in the direction defined by the die. Neutral figurines can't change their movement direction by

27
180 degrees during a move as usual. In this case, they would choose the next possible alternative
direction.

Example: In the example above, there are 5 unoccupied lanterns. The guard can possibly reach 4 of
them. The one lantern in the back of the guard cannot be reached. The other 4 unoccupied lanterns
can be reached by the respective die rolls indicated.
If an 8 is rolled: the guard would first attempt to move to the lantern on the left from our point of view.
This lantern is in the back of the guard, who looks to the right at the moment. Hence, the guard cannot
move to that lantern because the guard would have to turn by 180 degrees to move there, and the
guard is not allowed to do that. Hence, we check the compass and the arrow from the 8 is directing to
the 2 on our compass. Thus, the guard attempts to move to the top and that is possible. It then needs
to turn left and stops at the top left lantern.

In addition, place the rival thief, whose outline is shown at the top
right of the patrol board, on specific locations determined by the D8
using the following rules. A thief can stay in its location if the die roll
indicates so.

If you enter a location with a rival thief, you lose 1 VP per rival thief
in that location, just as in the multiplayer game. After you have made
the movements of the neutral figurines, it is your second thief's turn.
Then, you turn over the next patrol board and again perform the
movements shown, and so on. In the administration phase, you turn
over your compass. So the next turn starts with the uncovering of a
patrol board. The rival thieves should all be in locations after the first
round and change their location when they are shown on the patrol
board, determined by the roll of the D8. If the thieves are already in
the chosen location, they stay there.

If you get arrested in a solo game, goods are discarded and not placed in the dungeon!!!

Game End
The game ends after 6 rounds. Check the table on
the back of the player board to see how well you
did, and feel free to share your result with a photo
of the layout on Boardgamegeek.

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Cards
Some equipment and friend cards do cost an action to be performed, while others do not. If a card
has no specific indication about time, frequency and location, you can perform the card as often as
you want during the turn of the thief, who has the card. Otherwise, it is indicated if the card can only
be used in a certain location, during a specific phase, a certain number of times or if the card can
even be used by other thieves of your guild.

Action: This icon means, a new type of action is enabled by the card and performing
the card’s effect does cost an action of the friendly thief.

Bonus for action: This icon means, this card makes an already existing action
better. The card is then usually not listing everything the original action can do, but
simply what the card offers on top when performing the action. In order to perform the
card’s effect, one has to perform the actual action, thus spending an action point.

Free action: If a card neither displays the action icon

nor the bonus for action icon, then you can perform the
card’s effect as a free action, without spending an action
point.

Example: the friendly thief can turn one liquor into 1

wine in a garden house, without spending an action and
once per turn.

A thief with a guest card in their guest card slot becomes a “friendly thief” toward that guest.

If a card has an ability that affects your entire guild, it is shown on that
card.

29
 1. Equipment
All the equipment cards have the same front layout. If a card has special conditions, they are shown
on the card.

Each thief can carry a maximum of 2 different pieces of equipment (no duplicates). When you buy an
equipment, you pay the cost and receive the immediate bonus. You can then slide it under your player
board from the bottom for that thief, showing only the relevant action box at the bottom of the card.

30
There are 12 different equipment cards, each occurring twice. One set of equipment is used in the
equipment draft (semicircle) and the other set will become available during the game. (full circle). You
can distinguish them by the different backs of the two sets:

Each player starts with drafted equipment. After the initial draft, both decks will be shuffled together to
form a draw pile. Additional equipment from there can be bought at the dealer.

List of all the Equipment:

Effect
Card
VP Equipment Cost
Number

(1x per turn, bonus for action) During a move action, the thief
may skip over a wall once per turn. The thief may enter and
Climbing leave a location over a wall. The location entrances may be
0 1 4
Tools ignored during this movement if the thief climbed over an
adjacent wall. Of course, the current movement ends as usual
when entering a house or location.
(1x per turn, action) The thief can shoot at a single guard in
their field of view for 1 action point. The player receives 1 VP
2 2 Crossbow 3 and immediately moves guard following the regular guard
movement rules. This could lead to an arrest. The crossbow
may also be used in houses or locations.
(Bonus for action) During the action "Steal from the guards", the
player receives 1 VP and immediately moves the guard
following the regular guard movement rules. This could lead to
1 3 Cudgel 3 an arrest. The Cudgel may also be used if the guard is no
longer carrying a badge. It cannot be used against a guard
while in field of view of that guard even if another bonus
prevents arrest.
(House, location, action)The thief can rob the carriage from
orthogonally adjacent locations or houses for 1 action point.
1 4 Fishing Rod 2 The thief receives 1 wine and the player receives 2 VP. Don't
gain a wanted poster. This does not count as a "Robbing the
Carriage" action.
(House, location, action) For 1 action point, the thief can
"teleport" in a straight line across the alley from 1 house or
location to another location/house. All figurines in the alley are
Grappling ignored (no exchange between thieves is possible), they can
0 5 4
Hook even move across guards this way. Entrances and exits
(entering a location) are also ignored. Thematically, they jump
from roof to roof. The grapple hook does not allow to cross
walls!
(Passive) The sack adds 2 empty slots to the thief's loot or gold
inventory. The sack can hold both loot and gold.
1 6 Sack 3
Example: In the market / villa you can fill your inventory up to 6
gold / 6 gems.

31
 (action) The thief can exchange up to 3 goods from their
inventory
Messenger with a another thief from their guild for 1 action point. This
1 7 2
Pigeon happens simultaneously.
Take 3 goods (no painting) you want to exchange from each
inventory and then redistribute them.
(Villa, bonus for action)The thief receives an additional 1 VP
2 8 Lockpick 3 during the villa action. Inside the villa, the thief may also steal
the loot marked with a padlock.
(Passive) If the thief moves, they can move up to 4 spaces per
action.
1 9 Shoes 3

(Action, discard)The thief can use it for 1 action point anywhere.

The thief treats all figurines standing in the alleys as friendly
and cannot be arrested for the the remainder of the turn.
Consequently, this thief also ignores the guards' field of view
Smoke and can even skip over guards. Note, that you still cannot steal
0 10 2
Bomb a badge from a guard while in their view. (That would be too
risky, they would catch you!)

The equipment is discarded after use and the player

immediately gains 4VP.
(Bonus for action) The thief receives 2 gold and 1 gem during
1 11 Thimblerig 1 the "Steal from nobles" action instead of just one or the other.

(Action, discard) For 1 action point, use them on a noble or the

carriage within field of view. The targeted figurine is then moved
Throwing by 1 lantern following their regular movement rules. This can
0 12 2
Stars lead to an arrest. The card is then discarded, and the player
immediately gains 5 VP. The Throwing Stars may also be used
from within houses or locations.

32
33
 2. Guests

There are 36 different guest cards in Thiefdom. All of them have the same layout. If a card has any
special conditions, they are shown on the card.

With the tavern action, a thief can become friends with one of the guests. After you have paid for the
guest, you receive the immediate bonus. You can then slide the card under your player board from the
top for that thief. You only need to show the relevant action box on the top.

List of all Guests:

Card
Numbe Guests Cost VP Effect
r

(Church, 1x per turn, free action) The friendly thief can get
13 Antonius 2 1 a wine, when they are in the church.

(Garden, 1x per turn, free action) The friendly thief may

14 Appolon 1 1 convert 1 liquor from their own inventory into a wine once
per turn in a garden.

(Church, free action, discard) On the befriended thief's

turn, return Beatrix to the church. Discard Beatrix,
15 Beatrix 0 0
immediately receive 3VP and +3 actions to spend with this
thief.

34
 (Rival thieves, passive) The friendly thief does not lose VP
16 Benjamin 3 1 when encountering rival thieves.

(1x per turn, action) The friendly thief gets 2 badges

immediately 1x per turn: the thief may put 1 gold in the
dungeon so that 1 chosen guard loses their field of view
17 Bernhard 3 1
and cannot arrest the befriended thief for this round. The
befriended thief may still not steal a badge from that
"blind" guard while being in their original field of view.
(Endgame) Each gold in the guild's hideout inventory
18 Elise 1 1
grants 1 VP at the end of the game.
(Endgame) Each badge in the guild's hideout inventory
19 Grimm 1 0 grants 2 VP at the end of the game.

(Endgame) Each liquor in the guild's hideout inventory

20 Helmut 3 1 grants 1 VP at the end of the game.

(Endgame) Each gem in the guild's hideout inventory

21 Iwana 2 1 grants 1 VP at the end of the game.

(Market, bonus for action) The thief immediately receives a

one-time bonus of 2 liquor which they place in their loot
22 Janus 3 1 inventory. During the market action, the friendly thief can
exchange liquor in the market for 2 VP each, instead of 1
VP.
(1x per turn, bonus for action) The friendly thief may skip
over any house or location during a move, as if the house
or location were a figurine. Continue the movement on any
23 Jin 3 1
alley space orthogonally adjacent to the location or house.
They do not enter the building. (Jin the architect knows
shortcuts through everyone's property)
(1x per turn, free action) The friendly thief may "teleport"
from any space orthogonally adjacent to the river to any
24 Juma 1 1 other space orthogonally adjacent to the river.
This way the befriended thief can also enter/exit houses
and locations along the river. Great swimmer.
(Stable, free action) The friendly thief can "teleport" from a
25 Jolanda 3 1 house with a stable to another house with a stable. Secret
tunnel.
(Garden, free action) The friendly thief can "teleport" from
26 Johanna 3 1 a house with a garden to another house with a garden.
Secret tunnel.
(Tavern, villa, bonus for action) The friendly thief can
exchange wine for 4 VP instead of 2 VP during the tavern
27 Jonathan 3 1
action or can use the villa action to exchange wine for 4
VP there.
(Church, 1x per turn, free action) The friendly thief can
28 Konstanze 0 1
convert 2 gold into 3 VP each in the church as many times

35
 as desired.
(Market, bonus for action) At the market the friendly thief
29 Kunrad 2 1
gets 1 gem and 1 VP when using the market action.
(Blacksmith, free action) The friendly thief can "teleport"
30 Larissa 3 1 from a blacksmith to another blacksmith. Secret tunnel.

(1x turn, free action) The friendly thief can send 1 slot of
31 Lentz 2 1 goods from their inventory or receive 1 slot of goods from
a friendly thief during their turn.
(Dealer, bonus for action) The friendly thief receives 2
gems immediately. Whem performing the dealer action,
32 Malika 3 1
the friendly thief can exchange gems for 2 VP each
instead of 1VP.

(Blacksmith, free action) Thieves of the befriended guild

can now buy equipment in any blacksmith house. There,
33 Melisande 4 3 every equipment costs 1 gold less for them and they get
+1 VP when they buy equipment there. This does not cost
any action! Unlimited times.
(Bonus for action) The friendly thief can pay 1 gold during
the "Robbing the Carriage" action, then receives 2 wine
34 Mortana 2 1 and no wanted poster. Since this is an enhanced "Robbing
the carriage" action, the friendly thief cannot rob the
carriage another time.
(Smugglier, bonus for action) Thieves of the friendly guild
35 Oswald 2 1 receive +2 gold and +2 VP when fulfilling a smuggling
mission.
(Steal from nobles, bonus for action) The friendly thief
receives +1 gem when they perform the action "Steal from
36 Quinta 3 3
nobles". They can only perform this if the noble is not
empty handed.
(Market, tavern, bonus for action) Other thieves from this
37 Richard 0 1 thief's guild can now make friends with the market or
tavern action without paying any gold cost.
(Hideout, free action) The friendly thief can convert
gems/liquor in the hideout inventory into 2 gold and 1 VP
38 Ruth 2 1
each. The friendly thief can convert wine in the hideout
inventory to 2 gold and 2 VP each.

(1x per turn, action) The friendly thief may swap positions
39 Samuel 2 1 with 1 thief of their guild for an action. Both thieves
"teleport". Who is the fool now?
(Tower, free action) The friendly thief may "teleport" from 1
40 Siti 3 2 towered house to any other towered house. Secret tunnel.

(Day/Aministration) If the friendly thief is standing on an

41 Stoffel 0 1
alley space during administration, they receive 4 gold.
(Tavern, dealer, bonus for action) The friendly thief can
42 Svenja 3 2 "teleport" from dealer to tavern and from tavern to dealer

36
 when performing the tavern or dealer action. Secret
tunnel.
(Tavern, free action) The friendly thief immediately
43 Towa 2 2 receives 1 wine. The friendly thief can "teleport" to the
other tavern.

(Catacombs, passive) If the friendly thief moves through a

44 Tristan 1 1
catacomb, they get +1 movement.
(Dungeon city square, passive) The friendly thief gets a
badge immediately. Guards in the dungeon city square
45 Wibald 4 2
cannot arrest the friendly thief. This bonus applies even if
it is not the friendly thief's turn.

(Endgame) The friendly thief receives 1 wine immediately.

Wine in the thief's guilds hideout inventory grants 2 VP
46 Wilma 2 2
each at the end of
the game.
(Guards, passive) A friendly thief cannot be arrested by
47 Wolff 4 1 guards during their turn. They can move through the field
of view of all guards without being arrested.
(1x per turn, bonus for action) The friendly thief may pay 1
gold and one action to move 4-6 spaces (not through the
48 Wotana 2 1
catacombs). This horse is fast!
This does not stack with the shoes equipment.

37
38
Iconography Overview

39
Credits

Tahsin Shamma, Fraser Mackenzie, Ryan Guerra, Francesco Virotta, Anthony Gerald
Fitzsimons

40