Based on the game appearing in Gary Gygax's Saga of Old City, 1985.
© 2007 Trigee Enterprises Company & Matthew Breen. All rights reserved.
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All players ante, and Edward deals seven plaques to each player, two face-up.
Two of the five unique plaques have already surfaced, although as yet their special properties are not in play. Edward is the only player to have completed a combination so far, with a pair of Bows. Aaron, as the first player, must initiate a betting round after the deal or yield; he bets a single chit. The other four players see the bet, and Aaron's turn continues. His third plaque is a Green Spear; this does not form a combination with his Blue Gate and Black Sigil, so he turns another; a Black Horse. This could lead to a Company if he can find a third Black military plaque, but as yet his tableau is stil valueless, and he turns his fifth plaque. A Green Horse; he now possesses a Pair (and indeed, one ranked more highly than Edward's) - things are looking up. With two plaques remaining, Aaron must now bet or yield; he again bets a single chit, and Barbara, Carl, Diane, and Edward all respond with a single chit of their own. Play passes to Barbara.
Barbara turns up a Red Crown; no help yet! But her fourth plaque is a Blue Crown - a Pair, and the highest-ranked yet! Her tableau has increased in value, so her turn passes, but with three plaques remaining, betting is not mandatory. She elects not to bet, and it is Carl's turn. Carl's third plaque is a Dragon, completing a Pair with his White Spear. It's not enough to beat Barbara's Pair of Crowns, but by the rules Carl's turn is over. Diane turns over her third plaque, revealing a Red Sword - no combination there. But her fourth plaque is a Red Horse, and yet another Pair joins the table. Neither Diane nor Aaron hold out much hope for collecting many more Horses, with four of the five already on the table, but there's also a second Dragon yet to appear... Edward's third plaque is a Red Spear, his fourth, a White Crown; but his fifth is the Red Bow, and he now holds three, placing him once again at the forefront of the pack. His turn is over, and a bet is mandatory; he bets three chits. Seeing Edward's three Bows and Diane holding two of his precious Horses, Aaron yields. Barbara on the other hand, with three plaques unturned, is feeling lucky, and raises the bet to four. Carl and Diane see the bet, and Edward tosses in a fourth chit to complete the betting round. With Aaron out, play passes to Barbara.
Barbara's fifth plaque is a Blue Tower - no immediate help, but her Dwarf is now in play; none of the other players may use a Dragon or Elf to emulate a Sword, Crown, or Tower plaque (the plaques displayed in Barbara's tableau). The only Dragon currently in play is Carl's, and it is being used for a Spear - no problem there. With two plaques left, her turn is over, and she must bet or yield. She bets a single chit, and the three remaining players see the bet. Carl's fourth plaque is the Blue Horse, dashing any hope Diane might have had for making four with a Dragon. Carl's tableau is a stronger Pair now than previously, but still a Pair; the tableau is not considered to have increased in value, and he turns his fifth plaque. A Red Coffer; it doesn't change his position significantly, but has potential for helping with his remaining two plaques. Turning those will have to wait, however; he bets a single chit. Diane yields, but Edward and Barbara see the bet. Edward turns his sixth plaque... the second Dragon! Barbara's Dwarf does not prohibit emulating a Bow - Edward's tableau now display Four Bows, and he is in a very strong position. Barbara's chances of pulling off Four Crowns are slim, with both Dragons already in play and the White Crown in Edward's tableau, but she's also on track for completing a Kingdom. Edward is feeling confident, however, and elects to initiate a betting round before passing his turn, betting two chits. Barbara and Carl both see the bet to stay in the game.
Barbara's sixth plaque is the Blue Coffer, completing a Duchy. She's still behind Edward's Four Bows, but her chances of completing a Kingdom aren't bad - with the Blue Coffer on display, any of the four remaining Gates in the stack will do it for her. ... as long as Edward doesn't have another Bow in hand. Carl's sixth plaque is the White Gate. Normally, this would complete a Red Duchy for him - he could consider the Gate to be Red because of the Red Coffer in his tableau, and his Dragon could stand for a Red Crown or Red Tower. However, Barbara's Dwarf forbids the Dragon from emulating both Towers and Crowns; the Gate is worthless to him, and Carl turns his final plaque. A Blue Sigil, and Carl's finished tableau would be a Company... Blue Sigil, Blue Horse, and a Dragon standing for a Blue Bow or Blue Spear... but his Elf lets the Sigil stand for any Blue plaque, and with the Dragon, he thus has three Horses. Carl's combination is nevertheless still inferior to both Barbara's and Edward's - he cannot win. Edward's final plaque is the Black Gate. It adds no value to his tableau, but cuts down Barbara's odds of completing her Kingdom. Before passing his turn, he bets three chits; Barbara sees the bet, and Edward, knowing victory to be impossible, yields. Two Gates remain, Red and Green, and Barbara turns her final plaque... not a Gate. But wait - the Blue Bow in conjunction with her Dwarf means that Edward's Dragon can no longer stand for a Bow, and his tableau no longer displays Four Bows, only Three... inferior to Barbara's Blue Duchy. After a moment's horror, however, he realises that Three Bows is not the highest value combination his tableau contains; with his Dragon standing for a Red Sigil, he has a Red Company of Sigil, Bow, and Spear, and the Pair of Black and White Bows completes the Allied Company - more powerful than a Duchy by a hair.
Edward takes the pot, and the deal passes to Aaron for the next hand. Everyone antes; Aaron deals seven plaques to each player, two face-up.
Barbara leads off the betting with two chits. She, Carl, and Diane are already displaying Pairs, while both Aaron and Edward are well on the way to completing a Duchy. Nobody hesitates to throw in the two chits to see the bet. Barbara turns her third plaque - a Green Gate. Her fourth is a Blue Spear, not following through on the promise her first two plaques displayed, but her fifth is the Elf - with a Sword and a Dragon, she can now claim Three Gates. Her confidence renewed, she throws three more chits in as her mandatory bet. None of the other players are willing to bow out before even turning any plaques, so they all see her three, and play passes to Carl. A Green Horse, and he has three for three! The Horses are not the equal of Barbara's Gates, but there are four plaques to come! Despite his glee, he elects not to bet as he passes the turn to Diane. Diane's third plaque is the Blue Tower - no help to her Spears. But her fourth is the Black Spear - three players now hold Three of a Kind. With Diane choosing to pass on laying a bet, Edward takes his turn, revealing the Green Spear. All five are now in play, plus the Elf and one Dragon; Diane's odds of improving her tableau to Four Spears is now slim. Edward's fourth plaque is the Green Tower - not making headway towards his Duchy, but an increase in his tableau's value nevertheless, and it is Aaron's turn. The Red Bow does nothing for Aaron's tableau, but he then reveals the second Dragon, and can claim a Duchy - currently the strongest combination showing. He is not required to bet at this point, but chooses to nonetheless, tossing one chit onto the table. Barbara, Carl, and Edward follow suit, but Diane has chosen to cut her losses and yields.
Barbara turns her sixth plaque to reveal the Green Coffer, and careful application of special properties means she now completes the Green Kingdom! Her Green Gate and Green Coffer require a Green Tower and Green Crown for the combination; the Elf lets her White Sword count as a White Tower, counted as Green due to the Coffer... and the Dragon stands for the Green Crown. It will not be an easy tableau to unseat. Once again, she elects to bet despite not being required to do so, laying down two chits; the others' confidence is unshaken, however, and her three remaining opponents see the bet unflinchingly. Amazingly, Carl's fourth plaque is yet another Horse - Black. He has not surpassed Barbara's Kingdom, but he has three chances left to better his tableau. Edward turns up the Blue Bow for his fifth plaque. The rules require him to bet or yield; he no longer has faith in his tableau's ability to defeat Barbara or Carl, and he retires from the round. Aaron turns his fifth plaque... the Blue Coffer! He too now possesses a Kingdom, and his Crown, unlike Barbara's, is a true plaque, granting him the lead. With a grin, he bets two chits, and Barbara and Carl match him.
Barbara turns over her final plaque, her last chance to beat Aaron's Blue Kingdom. The White Tower, alas, is of no use to her. Carl's fifth plaque is the Green Crown, and of no immediate help - he needs Horses or Coffers, not Crowns! But two plaques remain to him, and he's not giving up hope - he puts in one chit as his required bet. Aaron raises the bet to two; after Barbara yields, Carl sees the second chit, and play passes to Aaron. The Black Bow fails to improve Aaron's tableau, and his final plaque is the Thief. Aaron holds the Blue Coffer, which means the Thief invalidates any Blue plaques in the other players' tableaux - his only remaining opponent, Carl, does not have any showing, but if Carl should turn up the Blue Horse he has been hoping for in one of his two remaining plaques, it will be a painful irony. Carl flips his last two plaques - the Black Crown, and the Dwarf. The Crown completes an Aligned Pair, bettering his existing Four Horses, but unfortunately the combination falls barely short of Aaron's Blue Kingdom. Aaron wins the hand.
After the ante, Barbara deals.
Carl bets a single chit, which everyone sees... until Barbara, smug with her Dragon already showing, raises to two. Another circuit of the players has everyone in, and Carl starts turning plaques: the Blue Coffer, followed by the Blue Tower, forming a pair with his White Tower. Diane is pleased to see a Green Crown - not only does this make a pair, but she already shows a Green Bow, and the Green/White alliance formed by the Crowns can only increase her chances of a good combination. Edward also turns up a pair, the White Horse matching the Red one he was initially dealt. Aaron flips his third plaque to reveal the Green Tower - no help for his Red Crown, but the Tower in his tableau means the Dwarf's special property is active - Barbara's Dragon will be restricted in what it can emulate. His fourth plaque is the Red Tower, giving him two potential avenues to victory - Red Duchy or a set of Towers - but Carl's two Towers make the latter unlikely. Barbara takes her first turn, and immediately shows the White Coffer - with her Dragon, that makes three!
Play comes back round to Carl, who flips the Blue Sword. This is his fifth plaque, and he must bet or yield... he's not feeling confident, and declines to continue. Diane turns up the White Spear - on track for a White/Green Company, perhaps, but not increasing her tableau's current Pair. Her fifth plaque, however, is the Black Crown! Three of a kind, and better than Barbara's. A bet is required, and she bets two; Edward, Aaron, and Barbara all see the bet. Edward's fourth plaque is the Red Gate, and his fifth is the Black Horse - his third. He bets one, and the other three follow suit. Aaron's Red Bow isn't promising; with a choice of betting or yielding, he opts to yield. Diane and Edward both stare in horror as Barbara turns over her fourth plaque, and they see the grinning face of the Thief. Barbara's tableau already displays two Coffers, and the Thief means that Diane and Edward cannot make use of their Green or White plaques. That hurts Edward's combination, removing one of his Three Horses from play, but the impact on Diane is far more severe - of her five plaques showing, only one remains unaffected! Her winning tableau is shattered beyond all hope of redemption. Scenting blood, Barbara chooses to make a bet of three chits at this point. Diane yields immediately, but Edward - perhaps recklessly - decides to stay in, and sees the three. It's still Barbara's turn, since despite its huge effect on the others, the Thief did not actually improve the value of Barbara's own tableau. Her fifth plaque is the Blue Bow, which might have made an Aligned Pair with the Coffers and Dragon were it not for the Dwarf still face-up in Aaron's yielded tableau - his Red Bow means Barbara's Dragon cannot stand for a Bow. She bets another chit, and Edward sees it to take his own turn.
There is virtue in faith, it seems, as Edward's sixth plaque reveals the Blue Horse. But Three Horses will not beat Three Coffers. One plaque remains, and even the Green Horse will be of no help with Barbara's Thief lurking in the shadows; Edward needs to turn over the Dragon to retain any hope of victory. ... alas, the Red Coffer greets him when he flips the plaque. A disappointed Edward is all set to concede the hand to Barbara, when he realises Diane is excitedly pointing at the White Horse and Red Coffer; after a moment, he understands. The Red Coffer will permit him to treat the White Horse as Red... and that will allow it to count towards the value of his tableau, since the Thief is only preventing Green and White plaques from being considered. He has his Four Horses after all! Were it not for the Thief, his tableau would be even stronger - Four Horses and a Coffer would complete the Highwayman, but the Horses must specifically be of different colours, and two of his Horses, for the moment, are Red. Barbara is in trouble; she turns her last two plaques, hoping for a miracle, but the Black Sword and Blue Gate add nothing to her tableau's value. Edward's Four Horses stand supreme, and he takes his second hand of the game.
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