One of the board games making a big splash last year was Sheriff of Nottingham by Arcane Wonders. Its for three to five players and involves some role-playing, bluffing and memory. Played with the right group, this game will create fun, laughter and great memories.
The premise of the game is that all players are medieval merchants trying to enter Nottingham to bring their goods to market. The Sheriff of Nottingham is the only person standing in the players' way. Players take turns playing the role of the sheriff.
To begin, players have six cards that may feature both legal and illegal goods such as apples, cheese, pepper, silk, crossbows and bread. During the first phase of the game at the market, players can swap out or draw new cards to try to assemble a group of goods they feel good about.
In the next phase, players decide what goods to secretly load into their bags, which are represented by actual bags in the players' colors. The next phase, players are stopped by the Sheriff of Nottingham and must declare what is in their bags, even though it may not be true.
The rules for declaring goods are three: declare only legal goods, declare a single commodity and declare truthfully how many cards are in the bag. The sheriff can choose to inspect any or all of the bags but the other players can strike a deal by bribing the sheriff with money, goods or future promises.
If a bag is inspected, the sheriff confiscates all the goods that were not declared, and the offending player pays the sheriff for the undeclared goods. If all the goods declared are truthful, the sheriff must pay that player for every item that was truthfully declared. Players then keep all the goods that were not confiscated by the sheriff.
The role of the sheriff changes to the next player, and play continues with a new round. After each player has been the sheriff twice, the game ends. Each player adds up the value of each of his or her goods, and bonuses are awarded for having the most or second-most number of legal goods.
The premise of the game is that all players are medieval merchants trying to enter Nottingham to bring their goods to market. The Sheriff of Nottingham is the only person standing in the players' way. Players take turns playing the role of the sheriff.
To begin, players have six cards that may feature both legal and illegal goods such as apples, cheese, pepper, silk, crossbows and bread. During the first phase of the game at the market, players can swap out or draw new cards to try to assemble a group of goods they feel good about.
In the next phase, players decide what goods to secretly load into their bags, which are represented by actual bags in the players' colors. The next phase, players are stopped by the Sheriff of Nottingham and must declare what is in their bags, even though it may not be true.
The rules for declaring goods are three: declare only legal goods, declare a single commodity and declare truthfully how many cards are in the bag. The sheriff can choose to inspect any or all of the bags but the other players can strike a deal by bribing the sheriff with money, goods or future promises.
If a bag is inspected, the sheriff confiscates all the goods that were not declared, and the offending player pays the sheriff for the undeclared goods. If all the goods declared are truthful, the sheriff must pay that player for every item that was truthfully declared. Players then keep all the goods that were not confiscated by the sheriff.
The role of the sheriff changes to the next player, and play continues with a new round. After each player has been the sheriff twice, the game ends. Each player adds up the value of each of his or her goods, and bonuses are awarded for having the most or second-most number of legal goods.
