House of Borgia cover
2017BGG rank #8,661

House of Borgia

by Scott Almes · Gamelyn Games

Browsing is free. Ask BoardGameBrain about this game when rules coverage is ready.

Players2–6
Time30m
ComplexityMedium-Light
Age14+

About the game

What is House of Borgia?

DESCRIPTION: Players take on hidden roles competing for influence in this ingenious tip of the hat to Liar's Dice. GENERAL INFO: A bluffing game with dice for 2-6 players that plays in less than 30 minutes. THEME: It is 1492, the church is without a pope. With the shadows to thank, the Borgia family is at the peak of their power. In a week the Cardinals will gather for the Conclave. With your reputation you could never win the seat, but you may be able to control who does! HOOK: It's like Coup meets Liar's Dice! A quick and glorious game of lies and deceit! Richly thematic and completely immersive. WINNING CONDITION: Having secretly controlled the Cardinal who has the most influence at the end of the game. MECHANICS: Players are randomly given an identity at the beginning of the game. It is imperative that they keep their identity secret from the other players. These identities represent the Cardinal who they want to gain the most influence. 6 cards representing Cardinals, are randomly placed in an ascending ladder-like line up. A Cardinals position on this ladder determines how much, if any, influence they will gain at the end of the turn. Using dice and bluffing in a similar fashion to Liar's Dice, players will be able to manipulate a Cardinal's position on the ladder; or manipulate how much influence they have; or even accuse another player of the Cardinal they are controlling. At the end of the game, if another player has accurately paired you with a Rumor Card, one that matches your secret identity, you lose; regardless of how much influence you may have acquired for your Cardinal.

How it plays

Mechanics

Betting and BluffingDice Rolling

On the shelf

Categories

BluffingDiceMedievalReligiousRenaissance

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

  • How do setup and the first turn work in House of Borgia?
  • When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
  • How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?