Thieves of the Black Keep
Criteria
Your game must implement the mechanic: Hidden Movement/Secret Unit Deployment.
The game must be playable by 2 or more players.
You are welcome to use any printables or game pieces available in our shop to create your game.
The cost of your game cannot exceed $34.99
1).
A rules document must be downloadable from your game's shop page and also included in the game itself. Can be in booklet or document form.
The game must be publish ready (as it relates to our shop, not as it relates to being finished). This means it has a logo, backdrop, shop ad, action shots, description, and cool factors. It must also have all images proofed, and have a box.
This must be a new game created for this contest. It cannot have existed on TGC prior to the start of the contest.
All artwork must be your own, commissioned by you, licensed to you, or in the public domain.
All entries must be submitted through TGC's game editor (by clicking on the “Contests” button) no later than Noon UTC (6am US Central) on October 23, 2017.
Contestants may submit multiple entries to this contest. Each entry will be judged separately.
Blurb
Be the first thief to steal the treasure, alert guards to thwart the other thieves. Don't get caught.
Rulebook
Number of Players
2 to 6 (limit of 3 to keep the game under $35 for the competition)
Components
1 black dice
Pawns
3 translucent avatars
1 blue Thief Marker
1 green Thief Marker
1 red Thief Marker
3 Location dials (blue, green and red)
5 double sided hexagonal mats
16 double sided hexagonal tile punchouts
4 Alert/Interested status counters
4 Bored/Distracted status counters
4 Pursuing/Returning status counters
4 Rock/Extinguished Torch counter
69 Poker cards
Advanced Components
1 white dice
1 black bag
Pawns
3 Location dials (yellow, white and purple)
3 double sided hexagonal mats
12 double sided hexagonal tile punchouts
3 Alert/Interested status counters
3 Bored/Distracted status counters
3 Pursuing/Returning status counters
3 Rock/Extinguished Torch counter
49 Poker cards
Setup
-
Each Player
Randomly choose the
Treasure you are after. You may look at this card, but should keep it hidden from other players. Your treasure card doesn't go into your hand, but is kept nearby.
Randomly choose a
Map Tile. This is the tile you will be responsible for moving the guard(s) on during the game. You can use either side of the tile.
Choose Guards
Easy difficulty: Randomly choose one
guard to go on your map tile.
Hard difficulty: Randomly choose two different kinds of
guard to go on your map tile.
You start with your
Thief Cards, a
Thief Marker and a
Location Dial of your colour (blue, green or red) and a
Sequence of Play card.

Place the Vault Map Tile in the centre of the table. Don't place any guard on this tile yet, the guard only appears when a thief enters the tile for the first time. You can place this tile either side up, it changes the direction the guard will move.
Place the Play Aid tile next to the Vault Map Tile in any direction you like. It gives you a place to put your guard card deck and discards, reminds you of the guard statuses, and provides the common directions that every player will use for moving their thief.
Determine the First Player - the player wearing the darkest clothing.
Starting with the First Player and going clockwise, each player places their map tile so it touches the Vault Map Tile, then places the guard they picked on its starting location. Place a guard Status Marker under the guard.
Advanced Setup
Choosing Guards
Choosing guards for map tiles depends on the level of difficulty you want in the game and which guard variants you wish to use-
Easy difficulty | As the basic game. |
Medium difficulty | Include one guard variant |
Hard difficulty | Include more than one guard variant |
Starting the Game
Winning the Game
To win the game your thief must-
1) Reach the Vault Hex without being caught by a guard.
2) Reveal your hidden Treasure Card.
3) Reach an Outside Hex on the Map Tile marked with your Exit Thief Card. You must do this while suffering the restrictions of your Treasure and without being caught by a guard.
4) Play a movement Thief Card to move off the Outside Hex on that map tile and get away into the night. | The Vault Hex.
Once your thief reaches this hex, you reveal your Treasure card as you've now stolen the treasure. The treasure will effect your thief once you leave this hex, so a good time to Rest if you can. You may now win the game by leaving the map tile marked with your Exit Thief Card |
Outside Hexes
A hex is defined as an Outside Hex and therefore a legitimate way for a thief to enter2) or exit3) the Keep if:
The hex is not on the Vault map tile
The hex is one of the six corner hexes of a map tile
The hex has two hex sides not adjacent to any other hex
In the illustration on the right, Outside Hexes are shown with a purple border.
Each Turn
Initiative Phase
Resource Phase
Movement Phases
Guards Movement Phase
In player order, each player moves the guard(s) on the map tile they are responsible for. The first thief that moves onto the Vault Map Tile is also responsible for initially placing and subsequently moving the guard on that tile from now on.
Guards check to see if they spot a thief, or if they fulfil their patrol route or the conditions to change their status.
Players Movement Phase
Each player secretly plays one card face down in front of them from their deck. This card will be either a Thief Card or a Guard Card
Thief Cards allow you to move, hide, get your cards back (see Resting) or Pick Pocket a guard.
Guard Cards modify guard behaviour or give your thief temporary advantages.
Once all players have played a card (Thief or Guard) the cards are turned face up, resolved in player order, and then put in the line of spent cards in front of the player.
If the card played is invalid (ie a special move, but the thief is not next to a special space), the thief remains stationary.
If a Guard card is played, the player's thief remains stationary. Guard cards are moved to the Guard Card discard pile after their effects cease.
Players secretly update their Location Dial to their current location.
Guards check to see if they spot a thief, or if they fulfil their patrol route or the conditions to change their status.
Movement
Movement with Thief Cards
| In this example -
the red thief at H2 can only move to a different map tile by playing the Nor-East, East or Run card
the green thief at D5 can move to any of the green hexes by playing a Run card. Note - they can't move into the wall or the special hex. |
| In this example -
the red thief at H2 can only move into the special hex G2 by playing the Rope Arrow card
the green thief at D5 can move to -
* C5 or D4 (blue arrows) by playing a Nor-West card
* D4 or E5 (white arrows) by playing a Nor-East card
* E5 or E6 (green arrows) by playing an East card
* E6 or D6 (purple arrows) by playing a Sou-East card
* C6 or D6 (yellow arrows) by playing a Sou-West card
* C5 or C6 (red arrows) by playing a West card |
Spotting a Thief
Guards usually only look straight ahead unless they are on a higher alert status. See Line of Sight.
If your thief ends their move in a guard's line of sight, declare that your thief is spotted, place your Thief Marker where you were spotted and change the guard's alert status to Pursuing if needed.
If a guard ends its move to be within line of sight of your thief, declare that your thief is spotted, place your Thief Marker where you were spotted, change the guard's alert status if needed.
If you suspect a guard spots another player's thief (ie you know they're on the same map tile and probably within the same row) but they don't mention it, they must show one of their Location Dials (either the letter or the number) to prove they aren't in line of sight of that guard.
Thieves only see each other if they are Spotted by a guard first, or if the thief rests and reveals their location. A thief cannot reveal the location of another thief.
Getting Cards Back
When a Guard Card is played, it is expended and placed into the Guard Card discard pile - only to be reshuffled later if you run out of Guard Cards.
Thief Cards that have been played or spent in the Resources Phase are face up in front of the player. They remain there until the Thief Rests.
Resting
When you play a Rest Thief Card in your Players Movement Phase.
Reveal your Location Dial so other players see where your thief actually is.
Move your Thief Marker to the revealed location and lay it on its side. You have revealed your location to the other players, but not to the guards.
Retrieve all your spent Thief Cards and put them back in your deck. This is the only way you get Thief Cards back.
On the next Resource Phase if your Thief Marker is still showing where you rested (it may have been moved if your thief has been spotted since then), remove it from the map tile.
Pick Pocketing
You may sneak up on a guard and pick their pocket. Your thief must be adjacent to a guard, and out of line of sight of that guard (but may be in line of sight of any other guard).
During the Players Movement Phase, play the Pick Pocket card.
Reveal your Location Dial so other players see where your thief actually is.
Move your Thief Marker to the revealed location. You have revealed your location to everyone - guards and players. If you are in line of sight of a guard, you are now spotted and will be pursued.
Take the top facedown card from the Guard Cards deck and place it in your deck.
Guards
Appendices