The year is 298 After Aegon's Conquest. The place is King's Landing, the capital of Westeros. King Robert has just died in a hunting accident. The Lannisters are running the country from the Royal Court in the Red Keep. In "Secret Spider", players are members of the Small Council attempting to keep the fragile Lannister rule in place and protect it from rebellions and upheavals. Watch out though there are secret Council members among you who are illoyal towards the Lannisters. And one of them is Varys, the Spider, whose intrigues can throw Westeros into chaos.
OVERVIEW AND G OAL OF THE G AME At the beginning of the game, each player is secretly assigned to one of three roles: Lannister, Disloyals or Varys. The Lannisters have a majority, but they don t know for sure who is on their side and who isn't. The Disloyals must resort to secrecy and sabotage to accomplish their goals. Varys plays for the Disloyals, and they know Varys identity from the outset, but Varys doesn t know the Disloyals and must work to figure them out. The Lannisters win by securing the King's Peace five times and save Westeros from a rebellion or by killing Varys. The Disloyals win by stirring up six Dances of Dragons, wreaking havoc on Westeros, or if Varys is elected Hand of the King after three Dances of Dragons have taken place. After a rebellion (Dance of Dragons), the acting King becomes more powerful and is granted a singleuse power which must be used before the next round can begin. It doesn t matter what team the King is on; in fact, even Lannister players might be tempted to stir up a Dance of Dragons to gain new powers and exercise them. GAME MATERIAL A Game board B 17 Westeros cards (6x King's Peace, 11x Dance of Dragons) C 1x Hand of the King D 1x King E 10 Secret Role cards (6x Lannister, 3x Disloyal, 1x Varys) F 10x Approval (burning candle) G 10x Rejection (blown-out candle) H 2 Loyalty cards I You'll also need a token of your choice to be used as the "Throne Stone". This can be a coin, a meeple, an old tooth or even something the cat spat out.
SETTING UP THE G AME Put the game board in the middle of the table. Place the "Throne Stone" on the field marked with "I". Shuffle the 17 Westeros cards and place that deck face down as a draw pile next to the game board. Every player gets a Secret Role card, one Approval and one Rejection card. Use the table below to determine the correct distribution of secret roles. ANZAHL 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lannisters 3 4 4 5 5 6 Disloyals 1 + Varys 1 + Varys 2 + Varys 2 + Varys 3 + Varys 3 + Varys DER SPIELER Lannister cards show a small lion symbol in the lower right-hand corner. Disloyal cards are marked by a small dragon symbol. It doesn't matter which person is depicted on the card itself, the only thing that is important for the game is the correct number of Lannisters, Disloyals and Varys. All players should examine their Secret Role cards in secret and put them face down in front of them. It may never be revealed for the rest of the game to anyone. The last player who has read a text by George R.R. Martin becomes the first King and gets the "King" card and the "Hand of the King" card. The King gives the A Lannister (Tyrion), a Disloyal (Oberyn) and Varys. following directions to all players (including himself ). Varys plays for the Disloyal team. His card shows a black All players have to follow these directions without dragon symbol. cheating. FOR GAMES OF 5-6 PLAYERS : Everybody close your eyes. Disloyals and Varys, open your eyes and acknowledge each other. [Take a long pause] Everyone close your eyes. Everyone can open your eyes. If anyone is confused or something went wrong, please tell the group now. We'll throw potato chips in your face. FOR GAMES OF 7-10 PLAYERS : Everybody close your eyes and extend your hand into a fist in front of you. All Disloyals who are NOT Varys should open their eyes and acknowledge each other. [Take a long pause] Varys - keep your eyes closed but put your thumb out into a thumbs-up gesture. Disloyals, behold! Take thou note of the one, who has an extended an ugly thumb, for that player is Varys, the Secret Spider. [Take a long pause] Everyone close your eyes and put your hands down. Everyone can open your eyes. If anyone is confused or something went wrong, please tell the group now. Together we will escort you to the black cells.
GAMEPLAY Secret Spider is played in rounds. Each round is divided into three phases. 1. The succession of the King and the Hand. 2. The Westeros phase, where intrigues and decisions of the King and his Hand either keep the King's Peace or start a Dance of Dragons. 3. The King's Power, where the King exercises his power. PHASE 1: T HE SUCCESSION OF THE KING AND THE HAND 1. Pass the King card. At the beginning of a new round, the King card moves clockwise to the next player, who is the new King. 2. Nominate a Hand of the King. The King chooses a player he wants to nominate as Hand of the King by passing the "Hand of the King" card. But he has to consider, that not every player is a legitimate candidate for becoming the next Hand of the King. Only legitimate players may be nominated. The King is free to discuss Hand of the King options with the table to build consensus and make it more likely his favourite candidate for that office gets accepted before he makes his decision. Legitimacy: The last round's King or Hand of the King are considered illegitimate and cannot be nominated and chosen as Hand of the King. A player can be nominated as the Hand of the King several times in a row, even though the Small Council rejected him (see below). Illegitimacy only affects nominations to the Hand of the King; anyone can be King, even someone who was just Hand of the King. If there are only five players left in the game, only the last elected Hand of the King is ineligible to be Hand of the King; the last King may be nominated. 3. The Royal Council votes. Once the King Candidate has chosen a legitimate Hand of the King Candidate, players may discuss, if they like those two players becoming King and Hand or not. All players, including the King and the Hand, choose either the Approval card or the Rejection card from their hands. They put the card of their choice face down on the table in front of them. When every player has picked one card and placed it on the table, they reveal them simultaneously so that everyone s decision for or against their rulers is public. If the vote is a tie, or if a majority of players rejects the new rulers, the King player moves the King card clockwise to the next player. The Throne Stone on the game board moves to the next field on the track.
If the group rejects three Kings and Hands in a row and the Throne Stone has reached the field with the black card, the country is thrown into chaos. Immediately reveal the top card of the Westeros deck and place it onto the appropriate space on the game board (see Westeros phase below). Any power granted by this card is ignored. The round ends and the Throne Stone is reset to the first field. During the following round all players become legitimate candidates to hold the office of Hand of the King. If a majority of players approves the King and the Hand, the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros have a new King and a new Hand. If three or more Dances of Dragons have already taken place, the King now has to ask if the new Hand of the King is Varys. The Hand-player has to answer truthfully. If he is indeed Varys, the game is over and the Disloyals win. Otherwise, other players know for sure the Hand of the King is not Varys. The game continues with the Westeros phase. PHASE 2: T HE WESTEROS PHASE During the Westeros phase the King and his Hand work together secretly to decide, if the country stays peaceful or if a rebellion, a Dance of Dragons, will be stirred up. A B C D A The King draws the top three Westeros cards and secretly looks at them. B He discards one of them face down into the Discard pile. He gives the remaining two cards to the Hand of the King. C The Hand looks at both cards, also discards one face down and reveals the remaining card to all the players at the table. D Depending on what card it is, "King's Peace" or "Dance of Dragons", it has to be placed on the corresponding track on the game board (In the picture above the Hand has chosen a "Dance of Dragons". He places the card on the next empty space for dragons' dances). Verbal and nonverbal communication between the King and Hand of the King is forbidden. The King may not use any words, signs or ravens to send a message to the Hand about which card he has discarded or which one the Hand should pick. The King and Hand may not pick Westeros cards at random, shuffle the cards before discarding one, or do anything else clever to avoid secretly and intentionally selecting one. Discarded Westeros cards should never be revealed to the group. Players must rely on the word of the King and Hand of the King, who are free to lie.
About lying: Often, some players learn things that the rest of the players don t know, e.g. which side another player is on. You can always lie about hidden knowledge in "Secret Spider" if you want to and think it's necessary. About telling the truth: The only time players must tell the truth is in gameending. A player who is Varys must say so if he is assassinated by the King. Varys also has to reveal his identity if he is elected Hand of the King after three Dances of Dragons have taken place. If the King tortures a player to find out his loyalty, the player has to show him truthfully, what side he's on: Lannisters or Disloayls (see more below). If there are fewer than three cards remaining in the Westeros deck at the end of this phase, shuffle them with the Discard pile to create a new Westeros deck. Unused Westeros cards should never be revealed, and they should not be simply placed on top of the new Westeros deck. Whenever the Hand reveals a "Dance of Dragons" card and puts it on the board, it can happen that the King is granted a new power he has to use immediately. The game continues with Phase 3, "The King's Power". If the "King's Peace" was played or a "Dance of Dragons" doesn't grant any power to the King a new round starts where players have to decide on the succession of the King and Hand. The Hand places a "Dance of Dragons" on the game board. If there are 7-10 players, the King is granted the power to torture a player to test his loyalty (eye-symbol). Any time a new Westeros card is played face-up, the Throne Stone is reset, no matter whether the card was revealed by the Hand or because the rulers were rejected by the Small Council. PHASE 3: T HE KING'S POWER The game board shows if the King has to use a power after a "Dance of Dragons" and what kind of power it is. Gameplay cannot continue until the King has exercised his power. The numbers show, how many players have to be in the game for the King to be able to use it. In this example the King is granted the power to torture another player if there are 9 or 10 players in the game. If there are less players, the King doesn't get a new power. If there are 5-6 players, the King is granted the power to see the future. If there are 7-10 players he has to appoint a Bastard King instead. If no numbers are given, the King is always granted the power. In this example he execute another player, no matter how many players are in the game. Before using a power, the King is free to discuss the issue with other players, but ultimately the King gets to decide how and when the power is used. Royal Powers are used only once; they don t stack or roll over to future turns.
THE DIFFERENT R OYAL POWERS Torture: The King chooses a player to torture in order to investigate his loyalty. That player takes both Loyalty cards and hands the King the appropriate card of his team face down. If the player is a Lannister, he gives him the card with the lion symbol. If he is in the Disloyal team (or Varys), he hands over the card with the three-headed dragon of the Targaryens. The King looks at the card and then returns the card to the player. The player shuffles both Loyalty cards and puts them back on the table. A player must pick the correct card to show to the King. Disloyals must not choose the Lannister Loyalty card or vice versa. The King learns if the player is in the Disloyal or Lannister team, but he still doesn't know, if the player is Varys. The King may share (or lie about!) the results of their investigation. No player may be tortured and investigated twice in the same game. See the Future: The King secretly looks at the top three cards in the Westeros deck and then returns them to the top of the deck without changing the order. Appoint a Bastard King: The King chooses any other player at the table to be the next King by passing that player the King card. This player is now the ligitimized bastard of the old King and is called "Bastard King". The Bastard King nominates an eligible player as Hand of the King. The game proceeds as usual with the decision of the Small Council (see above). The appointment of a Bastard King does not skip any players. When the Bastard King player has to pass the King card to someone else, it returns to the left of the old King who appointed the Bastard King. If the King appoints the next player in the rotation as Bastard King, that player would get to run for King twice in a row: once for the appointment as Bastard King and once for their normal shift in the royal rotation. Execution: The King chooses a player to have him executed. He points at that player dramatically and utters the following solemn words: "I, [name], Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and King of the Andlas, the Rhoynar and the First Men, sentence You, [name of the chosen player], to be executed immediately." If that player is Varys, the game ends in a Lannister victory. If the executed player is not Varys, the table should not learn whether a Disloyal or a Lannister has been killed; players must try to work out for themselves the new table balance. Executed players are removed from the game and may not speak, vote, or rule. THE VETO POWER The Veto Power is a special rule that comes into effect after five Dances of Dragons have taken place. During every Westeros phase that follows, the King and the Hand may discard all three Westeros cards face down and draw three new ones if both the Hand of the King and King agree. The King draws three Westeros cards, discards one, and passes the remaining two to the Hand of the King as usual. Instead of revealing one of the two remaining cards, the Hand may say: "I strongly dissuade the King and the Council from enacting that policy." (or some other flamboyant phraseology)
If the King consents he says: "So be it. The Hand speaks with the King's voice." The Hand discards both Westeros cards face down. The King passes the King card to the left as usual. The Throne Stone moves to the next field. If the King does not consent to the Hand's veto, he says: "The king eats and the Hand takes the shit." (or some less ribald pronouncement) The Hand of the King must reveal one of the two Westeros cards as normal. VICTORY CONDITIONS The game can end in four possible ways. The Lannisters win by securing the King's Peace five times and save Westeros from a rebellion or by killing Varys. The fifth "King's Peace" card is revealed. Peace is secured in After the fourth and fifth Dance of Dragons the King can exewesteros and the Lannisters win. cute a player. If that player is Varys, the Lannisters win. The Disloyals win by stirring up six Dances of Dragons, wreaking havoc on Westeros, or if Varys is elected Hand of the King after three Dances of Dragons have taken place. The Small Council must approve the Hand of the King, just the appointment by the King alone is not enough to win. The sixth"dance of Dragons" card is revealed. The rule of the If at least three Dances of Dragons have taken place already and Lannisters is broken and a new age dawns on Westeros. Varys is chosen as Hand of the King, the Disloyals win and overthrow the Lannisters. THANKS AND LICENCE "Secret Spider" is a variation of "Secret Hitler" by Mike Boxleiter, Tommy Maranges, Max Temkin, and Mac Schubert. The game is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 4.0 International Licence. You can find the original game here: http://www.secrethitler.com/