Fantasy Flight Games

The Palace Gates are Open

Published 17 June 2013 |

The Palace Gates are Open

Masques is Now on Sale!

Amongst the steamy canals of Venice, the invitations arrive for the old nobility of the city. The Doge is holding a masquerade ball to celebrate the Carnival! It might seem like a party, but in Venice, everyone wants something, and every action has a purpose. Whether one desires the favor of the guilds or just cold, hard ducats, each family must walk the marble hallways of the palace, hire agents to do their unsavory tasks, and pave their own way to the golden throne of the City of Water.

The political maneuvers and posturing of Masques are now available in your local retail store and on our webstore! Masques is a card game for two to four players, each of whom controls a powerful family at the Doge’s palace in Venice. The prize of the party is the favor of the Venetian guilds, and by clever positioning, a family can gather the influence it needs to gain control over Venice. But the road to power requires more than just the use of one’s own family. Outside help will be necessary, and there are plenty of agents available for the family that cares to hire them. After all, no price is really to high to pay in order to become the real rulers of Venice.

Balance your Efforts in the Palace

At the beginning of a game of Masques, players set up the palace of the Doge, and seed favor and ducats throughout the hallways. If players want to gain favor with a guild, they will need to strategically place influential members of their family in the halls, but there is always some kind of competition waiting. If an opponent’s family members are more important, they will win the duel for money or influence, leaving your own family shut out in the cold.

Although favor is the path to victory in Masques, a wise player will also devote himself to more economic concerns. The number of members in a player’s family is limited, and not all family members are created equal. Only by skillful placement and deduction will players be able to determine what is the most important use of their own limited resources.

Enlist the Lowborn to Aid You

Even a noble family cannot accomplish every task easily, and sometimes, a less recognizable person is better. For the price of a few ducats, players can hire a member of lower society to help. Assassins and thieves, gondoliers, courtesans, and more are willing to lend their special talents to the help of their employer. But beware, these agents know exactly how much they are worth—and as they are employed more and more, their prices increase drastically.

The invitations have arrived, and the party is beginning! Masques is now available at your local retail store and at our webstore. Check out the rules on the support page, then claim your place and join the dance of power today!

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Begin Your Plot for Power

Published 5 February 2013 |

Begin Your Plot for Power

The Rules for Masques Are Now Available

Climbing the social ladder in the Venetian court is no easy task, so get an edge on your rivals by downloading the rules for Masques, now available on our support page! In the game of Masques, a rerelease of the game Intrigo, two to four players take on the roles of the heads of one of Venice’s most influential families. The most important members of the powerful guilds of Venice are all attending the Doge’s masquerade ball, and this night is your best chance to get into the favor of these influential paragons of commerce.

The Doge’s palace features valuable ducats and tokens of guild favor distributed throughout the building’s rooms, and players complete for these resources by manipulating the influential guests at the party. Each player has a hand of cards that feature guests from rival families as well as from their own. Pit your competitors’ guests against one another and frustrate their attempts to earn ducats and guild favor as you deftly position your own guests to garner rewards for your family.

While the strategic use of the party’s attendees is the best way to go about winning ducats and gaining the attention of the guilds, every now and then you may need to get a bit of an edge. A couple of ducats can go a long way to securing a few friends of a more mercenary inclination, and there are a host of nefarious agents willing to accept a little coin in exchange for some dirty deeds. Will you hire an Assassin to “remove” a troublesome guest? Perhaps you will take a more subtle route and lead someone astray with the wiles of an alluring Courtesan? These agents can make all the difference in your play for power, so use them wisely.

Start Scheming...

The Doge’s palace is a hotbed of intrigue, and you can’t win this game of powerful plots without staying one step ahead of your competition. Get to know the ambitious agents and plan your approach to power by downloading the rules (pdf, 2.7 MB) for Masques from our support page. Curry favor, spend your ducats wisely, and watch your back as you vie for the Doge’s attention in Masques!

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Announcing Masques

Published 7 December 2012 |

Announcing Masques

Plot and Scheme Your Way to Power in This Card Game for 2-4 Players

The new Doge has invited you to attend a prestigious masquerade ball at his palace during the Carnival of Venice! It’s the perfect escape from the boredom of noble life. But even better, it’s the perfect opportunity to plot and scheme your way to a position of power! While the various guilds frolic and cavort under the moonlit arcades of the ducal palace, you must utilize every means at your disposal to gain their support.

Fantasy Flight Games is excited to announce Masques, a card game in which two to four players take on the roles of influential families as they plot, scheme, and outmaneuver their opponents for the favor of powerful Venetian guilds. Formerly released in 2010 as Intrigo, Masques lets you hire agents to carry out your dirty work assassinating, wooing, and robbing the members of the court as you work to become the secret power behind the throne!

As the head of an ambitious Venetian family, you have sent your most influential representatives to mingle at the Doge’s masquerade ball. By cleverly positioning these guests (and by manipulating the guests of your opponents), you’ll vie for the attention of Venice’s elite guild masters, ensuring the most political power for your family.

Finding Favor for Your Family

Gameplay revolves chiefly around the clever use of guest cards with varying levels of influence. Each player receives a hand of guest cards, and each guest card has an influence value. The higher the influence, the greater that guest’s clout at court. Each player’s hand consists of a mix of cards representing members of any of the families currently in play. Use a rival family’s guest cards against them, and watch for chances to set up your own house for success.

Each of the rooms of the Doge’s palace offer tokens guild favor or valuable ducats to be won by ambitious nobles. The spaces between each card representing a room in the palace are the hallways of the Doge’s estate – the areas in which guest cards are placed to compete for adjacent resources.

Powerful Guilds and Dastardly Agents

Getting into the good graces of the guilds of Venice is the key to success in this power grab, so tokens of guild favor are vital. The guilds consist of the clergy, the vintners, the merchants, the military, and the scribes.

A player can win by currying favor with these powerful groups in one of two ways. If you want to cast a wide net with your influence, then you can seal your path to greatness by gaining at least one guild token with four out of the five guilds. If you’d rather focus the efforts of your manipulations, muster all your strength with a single backer by gaining four guild tokens for any one guild.

The nobles aren’t the only ones looking to get ahead at the masquerade ball. The palace abounds with opportunistic commoners whose loyalty can be bought for a bit of coin. Assassins and thieves, courtesans and palace guards, all have services for sale. Accruing ducats is the only way to secure the skills of these nefarious agents, allowing a savvy schemer to frustrate the plans of his opponents and create advantageous situations for himself.

The Doge’s masquerade is sure to be a lively one with all of this action behind the scenes! Frustrate the plots and schemes of your rivals as you manipulate, maneuver, and bribe your way to power in the cutthroat Venetian court in the mysterious game of Masques! Keep checking back for more information, and look for Masques in stores late in the first quarter of 2013.

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