How to Play

Sheriff of Nottingham

3-5 players 60-60 min 7.0 Board Game Geek Rating

Merchants smuggle goods past the Sheriff of Nottingham during Prince John's visit. Players secretly pack legal or contraband items in bags, then declare contents to the rotating Sheriff player. Through bluffing, bribery, and negotiation, merchants try convincing the Sheriff to let them pass uninspected. If caught lying, goods are confiscated. Victory goes to whoever accumulates the most valuable merchandise.

Published 2014

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Distribute player components

Each player receives a Merchant Stand, matching Merchant Bag, and 50 Gold (one 20-coin, five 5-coins, five 1-coins)

Deal starting hands

Each player receives 6 cards to their hand

Create discard piles

Deal 5 cards face-up into each of 2 separate discard piles

Place the bank

Set remaining gold aside for making change and endgame scoring

Determine first Sheriff

The player with the most cash takes the Sheriff Marker

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Understand round structure

Each round has 5 phases: Market, Load Merchant Bag, Declaration, Inspection, and End of Round

Set aside cards

Starting with player to Sheriff's left, set aside up to 5 cards from hand

Draw replacement cards

Draw that many cards from either discard pile tops or draw pile

Discard set aside cards

Place set aside cards face-up to one discard pile in any order

Fill your bag

Each Merchant places 1-5 Goods cards in their bag and snaps it closed

Declare your goods

Starting left of Sheriff, hand bag to Sheriff and state contents

Negotiate with Sheriff

Sheriff may threaten or demand bribes; Merchants may offer bribes

Sheriff decides

Sheriff either Opens the bag or Returns it unopened

Resolve opened bag (honest merchant)

Sheriff pays Merchant the penalty value on each Legal Good; cards go face-up to Merchant Stand

Resolve opened bag (lying merchant)

Declared goods go to Merchant Stand; undeclared goods are confiscated to discard pile; Merchant pays Sheriff the penalty on each confiscated card

Resolve returned bag

All goods go to Merchant Stand (Legal face-up, Contraband face-down)

Repeat inspection

Sheriff continues until all bags are opened or returned

Pass Sheriff Marker

Pass marker to the left unless game ends

Refill hands

All players draw back up to 6 cards

Card payment rules

Never pay penalties or bribes with cards from hand; payments never go to hand

Public information

Number of Contraband cards in each Merchant Stand is public knowledge

Handle insufficient gold

If unable to pay penalty, give Legal Goods worth at least the debt; if none, give Contraband; remaining debt is forgiven

Honor deals

Same-turn deals must be honored; future promises are not binding

Promised goods

Only pay goods actually in your bag; no penalty for lying about bag contents in bribes

Winning

How to claim victory.

End the game

Game ends after all players have been Sheriff exactly twice

Calculate goods value

Sum the Value of all goods in your Merchant Stand (discard cards in hand)

Count gold

Add total Gold to your score

Award King bonus

Player with most of each Legal Good type receives King bonus points

Award Queen bonus

Player with second most of each Legal Good type receives Queen bonus points

Handle King ties

If tied for most, tied players share sum of King and Queen points (rounded down); no Queen points awarded

Handle Queen ties

If tied for second, tied players share Queen points

Count Royal Goods

Royal Goods count as 2 or 3 of a normal good for King/Queen purposes only

Determine winner

Highest total score wins

Sheriff of Nottingham

Get Ready

On Your Turn

Winning

watch & Learn

¿Cómo jugar al SHERIFF de NOTTINGHAM? Juegazo de engaños

¿Como jugar el Sheriff de Nottingham?

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