Setup

Shuffle the rank 13 cards (The Dreamer, The Spider, The Servant, The Orphan, The Woods, and The Manacles). Deal one, face down, to each player; this is their secret class for the game. Place the rest face down in the center of the table as the Influence deck.

Shuffle the remaining cards and deal 12 to each player; this is their hand. Place one per player on the Influence deck, and the rest face down in the center as the Reserve deck.

Designate a place for the discard pile. Whenever the Reserve is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new Reserve.

Scheming

On your turn, choose one of three actions:

• Move one card from your hand, face down, to your Scheme.
• Discard a card, and move the top card of the Reserve, without looking at it, to your Scheme.
• Trade with another player. Announce one or more realms that you would like. The other players may request another realm in exchange. If both players agree, select one card from your hand and play it face down to the other player's Scheme, and that player selects one card from their hand and plays it face down to your Scheme.

Play continues until each player has twelve cards in their Scheme and none in their hand.

Call to Action

Each player takes their Scheme into their hand. The player who first emptied their hand (on their turn, in case of a tie) goes first. On your turn, select one:

• Play a card from your hand, face down, to the Influence deck.
• Play a set: Play three cards from the same realm face up to the table, and resolve its effect:
  • The Academy (♚): Draw two cards from the Reserve, then shuffle two cards from your hand into the Reserve.
  • The Bestiary (♞): Choose a player, and then choose two realms. That player must give you a card from one of those two realms, and you will give them one of yours. If that player cannot give you a card from either realm, flip cards over from the top of the reserve deck until you find a card of one of those realms, take it, and discard a card. If you go through the entire reserve and there is still no card from either realm, your set has no effect.
  • The Court (♛): Each other player discards a card.
  • The Duties (♟): Draw a card, then discard a card.
  • The Ethereal (♝): Look at the Influence deck and replace one card in it with a card from your Scheme.
  • The Fixtures (♜): Look at the Influence deck and remove a card of your choice from it. It goes face down into the discard pile.

Play continues until each player has emptied their hand. The winner is the player whose secret class has the most card in the Influence deck. In case of a tie, the realm with the highest-ranked (lowest-numbered) card in the Influence deck wins.