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Plague & Pestilence

Wage war on your enemies. Lead a Holy Crusade. But above all else, prepare for the coming of the Plague! A 'Beer and Pretzels' style card game for 2-6 players. Time: 15-45 min. Very easy to pick up!

PLAGUE & PESTILENCE is the registered trademark of Hillary's Toy Box, 1993. It was also manufactured by Chessex.


Object of the Game: To be the last player with POPULATION (PPs).

Set-Up:
1) Give 50 POPULATION POINTS (PPs) worth of POPULATION cards to each player.
2) Place one PROSPERITY/PLAGUE reference cards in front of each player, PROSPERITY side up.
3) Shuffle the rest of the cards (PLAYING cards) and deal 5 PLAYING cards face down to each player as a starting hand. Important Note: If someone is dealt the DEATH SHIP card in their starting hand, reshuffle it back into the deck and draw another card.
4) Place the remaining PLAYING cards face down in the center of the playing area to form a draw pile, and each player rolls a die to determine who goes first.

Prosperity Phase: PLAGUE & PESTILENCE starts in the Prosperity Phase. Beginning with the first player and proceeding to their left, each player:
1) Rolls two six sided dice for a PROPSERITY ROLL, and receives the number of POPULATION POINTS (PPs) shown on the PROSPERITY reference card. Note: IMPROVEMENTS will affect this roll.
2) Draws one or more cards from the DRAW PILE until they have 6 cards in their hand.
3) Plays or discards one card. (Once played or discarded, all cards are placed in a DISCARD PILE)
Play continues in this fashion until one player draws the DEATH SHIP card. The "arrival" of the DEATH SHIP signifies the outbreak of the Black Plague and this begins the Plague Phase.

Plague Phase: When the DEATH SHIP card is drawn, it must be immediately played on another player. That player loses ten POPULATION POINTS (10 PPs), and everyone must turn over their PROSPERITY cards to the PLAGUE side. Remove the DEATH SHIP card from the game, and reshuffle the DISCARD PILE back into the DRAW PILE. The player who drew the DEATH SHIP card ends their turn, without drawing any more cards. Play resumes starting with the recipient of the DEATH SHIP, going left. Instead of gaining PPs each turn with a PROSPERITY ROLL, players now lose PPS each turn with a PLAGUE ROLL.


War Cards: (Ex: Major War, Minor War) When played, two players are targeted. They both roll a die and compare the results; the player with the higher roll wins the war, and losses are applied according to the card. If the result is a tie, both players suffer the "winner's" losses, and roll again. Important Note: If there are only two players in the game, the war occurs between the two. The winner of the rolls does not suffer the "winner's" losses.

Counter Cards: (Ex: Buy Indulgence/Negotiated Peace, Tactical Advantage) These cards can be played at any time either to stop the effects of a CRUSADE or WAR, or to give the player an advantage in a WAR. COUNTER cards must be played before dice are rolled. After being played, the card is placed in the DISCARD PILE.

Improvement Cards: (Ex: City Walls, Aqueduct, Sewers) When played, these cards stay active until removed by the effects of another card. While active, the player is entitled to its benefits listed on the card.

Thank you for checking out one of my favorite games! If you enjoyed playing, be sure to rate it! I'm always open to tips, criticisms, and suggestions. Plague & Pestilence to my knowledge is no longer in print, so this is one of the last few places to get it.

Plague & Pestilence on Boardgamegeek[boardgamegeek.com]