Manrent: Sworn & Sold

Rules Overview

Game design: David McDougal

A Game of Bonds, Manrent, and Broken Loyalty

Players: 4
Playing time: 45–60 minutes
Rounds: 4

Overview

In late medieval and early modern Scotland, powerful families used Bonds of Manrent to secure service, protection, and political loyalty.

Invite Royal allies into your Court, entice them away from rival clans, and secure them permanently within your House. Court Royals remain vulnerable to richer offers and foreign Occupation. Housed Royals are safe and score their full value at the end of the game.

After four rounds, the player with the most influential House wins.

Components

Use one standard 52-card deck, divided into:

• 36 Commons: Cards ranked 2–10 in all four suits
• 12 Royals: Four Jacks, four Queens, and four Kings
• 4 Aces: Occupation events

You will also need a First Player marker and something for recording scores.

Royal Costs and Values

• Jack: Invite or Entice for 15; Secure for 8; score 15 points
• Queen: Invite or Entice for 20; Secure for 10; score 20 points
• King: Invite or Entice for 25; Secure for 13; score 25 points

Loyalty Bonus

When paying to Invite, Secure, or Entice a Royal, each Common matching that Royal’s suit is worth one additional point.

For example, a 9♥ contributes 10 toward a Heart Royal but 9 toward any other Royal.

Payments must equal or exceed the cost. Excess value is lost. The Loyalty Bonus does not apply to Occupation.

The Playing Areas

Open Market

The Open Market contains:

• A face-up row of up to four Commons
• A face-down Stock
• A face-up Market Discard pile

Royal Market

The Royal Market contains all Royals currently available to be Invited. Housed Royals never return to it.

Court

Royals you Invite or Entice enter your Court. Court Royals may be Enticed by opponents and are vulnerable to Occupation.

House

Royals you Secure enter your House. They remain there for the rest of the game, cannot be Enticed, and are immune to Occupation.

Round 1 Setup

1. Separate the Commons, Royals, and Aces.
2. Shuffle the 36 Commons and deal seven to each player.
3. Take the eight remaining Commons and shuffle one randomly selected Ace into them to form the Open Market deck.
4. Reveal cards until the Market Row contains four Commons. If an Ace appears, set it aside temporarily. Shuffle any set-aside Ace back into the remaining Stock after the row is complete.
5. Place all four Jacks, all four Queens, and K♥ in the Royal Market.
6. Randomly choose the first player. Play proceeds clockwise.

Playing a Turn

On your turn, complete these three phases:

1. Draw
2. Act
3. Discard

1. Draw

Take one Common:

• Choose one from the Market Row and refill its space from the Stock, or
• Draw blindly from the Stock

Whenever an Ace is drawn or revealed, resolve Occupation immediately. An Ace never enters a hand or remains in the Market Row.

After resolving the Ace, set it aside for the rest of the round and complete the interrupted draw or refill. If another Ace appears, resolve it in the same way.

2. Act

Choose one action: Invite, Secure, Entice, or Pass.

Invite

Choose a Royal in the Royal Market and pay its Invite cost with Commons from your hand.

Place the payment in the Market Discard pile and move the Royal into your Court.

Secure

Choose a Royal in your Court and pay its Secure cost with Commons from your hand.

Place the payment in the Market Discard pile and move the Royal into your House. Keep Royals Secured during the current round upright. Keep Royals from previous rounds sideways.

A Housed Royal is permanent, immune to Occupation, and cannot be Enticed.

Entice

Choose a Royal in another player’s Court and pay its full Invite cost.

Give the payment directly to that player instead of placing it in the Market Discard pile. Move the Royal into your Court.

An Enticed Royal does not enter your House and must be Secured on a later turn. Housed Royals cannot be Enticed.

Pass

Take no action. Passing provides no additional draw or other benefit.

3. Discard

If you have more than seven Commons, discard down to seven.

The hand limit is checked only at the end of your own turn. Cards received through Entice may therefore leave you above seven until your next turn.

Occupation

Whenever an Ace is drawn or revealed, its suit becomes the Tribute Suit. Pause the active turn and resolve Occupation, beginning with the active player and proceeding clockwise.

Each player completes the following before the next player resolves:

1. For each Royal in your Court, either:
   - Discard two Commons matching the Tribute Suit to protect it, or
   - Return it to the Royal Market.
2. Draw one blind compensation card for each Royal you returned.

You choose which Royals to protect. The Royals’ ranks and suits do not affect the tribute: every protected Court Royal requires two physical cards of the Ace’s suit.

Housed Royals are unaffected.

If a compensation draw reveals another Ace, resolve the new Occupation immediately, beginning with the same active player. Then resume any unfinished compensation draws.

After every player has resolved the Occupation, set the triggering Ace aside, complete the interrupted draw or refill, and resume the active player’s turn.

Rebuilding the Stock

Whenever the Stock cannot supply a required draw or Market Row refill, shuffle the Market Discard pile to form a new Stock.

Tribute cards discarded during Occupation are part of the Market Discard pile and may be included in this reshuffle.

If no Stock or discarded Commons are available:

• Skip a draw that cannot be completed.
• Lose any unavailable compensation draw.
• Leave Market Row spaces empty until they can be refilled.

Ending a Round

A round ends immediately when either:

• The Royal Market is empty, or
• One player Secures their third Royal during that round.

Only upright Royals—those Secured during the current round—count toward the second condition.

Finish the action that triggered the ending, then proceed directly to Round Cleanup. Do not complete the active player’s Discard phase.

Round Cleanup

At the end of Rounds 1–3:

1. Return all Court Royals to the Royal Market.
2. Leave all Housed Royals with their owners and turn newly Housed Royals sideways.
3. Gather and shuffle all 36 Commons from hands, the Market Row, Stock, and Market Discard pile.
4. Deal seven Commons to each player.
5. Add the required Aces to the eight remaining Commons and form a new Open Market deck.
6. Create a four-Common Market Row. Temporarily set aside any Aces revealed, then shuffle them back into the remaining Stock.
7. Add the next King to the Royal Market.
8. Pass the First Player marker one seat to the left.

Unclaimed Royals remain available. An earlier King stays in the Royal Market when the next King is added.

Round Escalation

• Round 1: K♥ and 1 random Ace
• Round 2: Add K♦ and use 2 random Aces
• Round 3: Add K♠ and use 3 random Aces
• Round 4: Add K♣ and use all 4 Aces

Return all Aces to the supply before selecting the Aces for each new round.

Game End and Scoring

The game ends when Round 4 reaches either round-end condition. Do not perform Round Cleanup.

Score:

• 15 points for each Housed Jack
• 20 points for each Housed Queen
• 25 points for each Housed King
• 5 points for each Royal still in your Court

A Court Royal scores 5 points regardless of rank.

The player with the highest score wins.

Tiebreakers

If tied, compare:

1. Most Housed Kings
2. Most Housed Queens
3. Most Housed Jacks
4. Most total Housed Royals

If still tied, share the victory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Edge Cases

Player Aid

Royal Costs

• Jack: Invite/Entice 15 · Secure 8 · Score 15
• Queen: Invite/Entice 20 · Secure 10 · Score 20
• King: Invite/Entice 25 · Secure 13 · Score 25
• Loyalty: Each payment card matching the Royal’s suit gains +1 value

Your Turn

1. Draw one Common

Take one from the Market Row or draw blindly from the Stock.

2. Choose one action

• Invite: Pay discard; Royal Market → your Court
• Secure: Pay discard; your Court → your House
• Entice: Pay owner; their Court → your Court
• Pass: No action

3. Discard to seven

Check your hand limit only at the end of your own turn.

Occupation

When an Ace appears:

• Its suit becomes the Tribute Suit.
• Resolve clockwise, beginning with the active player.
• For each Court Royal, pay two cards of the Tribute Suit or return it to the Royal Market.
• Draw one blind compensation card per returned Royal.
• Housed Royals are immune.
• Set aside the Ace and complete the interrupted draw or refill.

Round End

End the round immediately when:

• The Royal Market is empty, or
• One player Secures their third Royal that round.

Upright: Secured this round
Sideways: Secured in an earlier round

Remember

• Empty Stock: shuffle the Market Discard.
• Entice payments go to the Royal’s former owner.
• Housed Royals are permanent.
• Round 4 Court Royals score 5 points each.