Gamehelparistofarsa

Aristofarsa is a card game for 3 to 6 players designed by Douglas Jansen and published by Cordilheira Games. The king's centennial celebration is underway and, with no heir, noble families compete for his favor. Each round you parade a card in the Ball Garden and then either scheme on the Whispers Balcony or Convoke a Noble to strengthen your deck.

Goal

Score the most Influence Points (the crowns at the bottom of each card). A card scores when it wins a round in the Ball Garden; scored cards leave the game and keep their crowns.

Prestige (the number in the top corner) only decides who wins each round. It can be changed by card effects; crowns never change.

Setup

• Each player takes one family (color).
• The 5 Nobles of each family (Squire 5, Courtisan 6, Bishop 7, Knight 8, Aristocrat 9) form that player's Noble's Parlor, face up.
• The 7 Peasants (Rogue 0, Servant 1, Servant 1, Witch 2, Jester 3, Damsel 4, Merchant 5) are shuffled to form the player's draw deck.
• Each player draws 3 cards.

Round

1. Draw

Each player draws until they have 3 cards in hand. If a draw deck runs out, that player's discard pile is shuffled to form a new deck (scored cards never come back).

2. Phase 1 – Ball Garden

In turn order, each player plays 1 card face up in the Ball Garden, one after another in a queue. The position in the queue matters for some effects.

• Ball Garden effects trigger as soon as their condition is met. They are mandatory and can stack.
• The card with the highest Prestige at the end of Phase 1 will act last in Phase 2 (ties: the card played first counts as higher).

3. Phase 2 – Conspire or Convoke

Starting with the player to the left of the highest Prestige card, each player chooses one action:

• Conspire: play 1 card from your hand face down on the Whispers Balcony.
• Convoke: discard your 2 remaining cards and add their Prestige. Take any Noble from your Noble's Parlor whose Prestige is less than or equal to that total. Each Servant counts as Prestige 3 when discarded this way. Convoked Nobles go to your discard pile and will join your deck when it is reshuffled.

The first player of Phase 2 receives the Litter: +2 Prestige to Convoke this round.

4. Resolve the Balcony

Balcony cards are revealed one by one, in the order they were played, and each effect is applied immediately. Effects are mandatory unless they say "may", they stack, and some can cancel others.

5. Score

The highest Prestige card in the Ball Garden wins the round (unless an effect says otherwise, like the Jester). All tied cards score. Scoring cards go to their owner's scored area; all other cards of the round go to their owners' discard piles, face up.

The next round is started by the winner (on a tie, by whoever played first).

End of the game

The game ends when:

• a player scores the Aristocrat (the game ends immediately);
• a player cannot refill their hand to 3 cards (deck and discard pile are empty);
• all Nobles of one player have been Convoked: play one more round, then the game ends.

The player with the most Influence Points wins. Ties are broken by: the player who scored the Aristocrat, then the most Nobles scored, then the most cards scored. If still tied, the victory is shared.

Cards

Card	Prestige	Type	Ball Garden	Whispers Balcony
Rogue	0	Peasant	+10 Prestige while there is at least one Noble in the Garden. If this card scores, activate its Balcony effect.	Convoke the lowest Prestige Noble from your Noble's Parlor.
Servant (x2)	1	Peasant	If you play your other Servant on the Balcony, this Servant's Prestige becomes 11. If you win, score both cards.	No effect. Counts as Prestige 3 when discarded to Convoke.
Witch	2	Peasant	No effect.	+5 or -5 Prestige to another card in the Garden. Negative values are allowed.
Jester	3	Peasant	No effect.	The lowest Prestige wins this round. A second Jester cancels the first (an even number of Jesters has no effect).
Damsel	4	Peasant	If you score this card, Convoke the Knight.	Your card in the Garden exchanges Prestige with another player's card. If you win, score only this Damsel and Convoke the Knight.
Merchant	5	Peasant	No effect.	Double the Prestige of a card in the Garden (it may be your own). If that card scores, this Merchant scores too.
Squire	5	Noble	+5 Prestige while it is the only Noble in the Garden.	You may exchange your Garden card for a card in your hand.
Courtisan	6	Noble	If the card played just before it in the Garden queue is a Peasant, add that card's Prestige to this card.	Force another player to exchange their Garden card for the card in their hand.
Bishop	7	Noble	This round, Balcony cards are played face up and their effects apply as soon as they are played.	Cancel the effect of one Balcony card, even if it has not been revealed yet.
Knight	8	Noble	If you lose the round by 3 Prestige or less, this Knight scores anyway.	+8 Prestige to your card in the Garden.
Aristocrat	9	Noble	Nobles already in the Garden (including other Aristocrats) have their Prestige reduced to 5 (Balcony effects still apply to them). Cards played afterward are not affected.	No effect.

Exiled expansion

Optional (table option). Each player adds 4 cards, kept apart as their Exiled deck, face up in this order: Bard (top), Scribe, Elder, Oracle.

At the end of each round, the player with the worst Prestige (the lowest, or the highest if a Jester is active) exiles their Garden card: it goes to the bottom of their Exiled deck, and they immediately take the top card of that deck into their hand. All players tied for the worst position exile. If every player is tied, nobody exiles.

The Aristocrat cannot be exiled: if an Aristocrat ends a round in the worst position, the game ends once that round's effects are resolved.

Card	Prestige	Type	Ball Garden	Whispers Balcony
Bard	3	Peasant	Choose another player; they reveal a card of their choice from their hand, and its Prestige is added to this card.	Discard the card from your hand. Add its Prestige and the Bard's Prestige to your Garden card.
Scribe	4	Peasant	Draw a card, then discard a card. If you score this card, you may also score a Peasant card from your hand.	-7 Prestige to another card in the Garden (it may be your own). If the chosen card is Exiled, this Scribe scores too.
Elder	6	Noble	+5 Prestige while there is a Noble right before or after it in the Garden queue (not cumulative).	Copy the Balcony effect of the card you played in the Ball Garden.
Oracle	7	Noble	You act last in Phase 2. Before choosing to Conspire or Convoke, you may peek at one hidden Balcony card.	At the start of the next round, draw up to 5 cards, keep 3 and discard 2.