How to Play

The Godfather: Corleone's Empire

2-5 players 60-90 min 7.5 Board Game Geek Rating

Mafia families battle for control of New York's criminal underworld in this confrontational worker placement game. Players deploy family members—don, wife, heir, and thugs—to extort businesses and fight territorial wars. Cards represent money, rackets, and special advantages, with limited hand sizes forcing tough decisions. Victory goes to whoever accumulates the most cash after five rounds of murder and intrigue.

Published 2017

The Godfather: Corleone's Empire

Get Ready

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

1
Position Don Corleone
Place Don Corleone figure on Act I of the Act Track
2
Position Police Car
Place the Police Car on the 1st space of the Phase Track
3
Prepare supply cards
Create stacks of each illegal good card and each $ card, place by the board
4
Prepare Business tiles
Sort and shuffle Business tiles by color, create 2 face-down stacks by board
5
Place starting Business tiles (4 players)
Draw 1 blue Business tile and put face-up on Turf 1 (Wall St.)
6
Place starting Business tiles (5 players)
Draw 3 blue Business tiles and put on Turfs 1, 2, and 3
7
Prepare Job cards
Shuffle Job cards and place face-down by board
8
Deal face-up Job cards
Draw Job cards based on player count and place face-up on right edge of board
9
Prepare Act I Ally cards
Shuffle the 6 Act I Ally cards, place face-up on bottom edge per player count (return unused Act I cards to box)
10
Set aside future Ally cards
Keep Ally cards for remaining Acts in a stack to the side
11
Place neutral figures
Put the Mayor, Union Boss, and Police Chief by the board (remaining figures back in box)
12
Distribute player components
Each player receives 1 metal suitcase, 9 control markers, 2 Thugs (3 Thugs in 2-player game), and 3 Family members
13
Position Family members
Keep the Don, place Consigliere on Act II and Heir on Act IV of the Act Track
14
Deal starting money
Each player receives one $1, one $2, and one $3 money card
15
Deal starting Jobs
Each player receives 2 random Job cards (keep hidden)
16
Determine first player
Pick start player and award Horse Head token

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Track current phase
Move the police car along the Phase Track to mark the current Phase during each Act
2
Open New Business (Acts I & II)
Add a blue Business tile to the lowest numbered available Turf space
3
Open New Business (Acts III & IV)
Add a red Business tile to the lowest numbered available Turf space
4
Take one action
On your turn, perform a single action from the available options
5
Pass when out of figures
Once you have no more figures to play, you are passed over (cannot complete Job or play Ally)
6
Play a Thug
Place a figure with square base on an available business, take the front of business action (bottom of tile)
7
Play a Family Member
Place a figure with round base on an available circular spot between Turfs
8
Complete a Job
Spend an action to complete a Job card from hand or face-up on board
9
Play an Ally
Spend an action to play an Ally from hand face-up and use its ability (each Ally usable once per Act)
10
Suitcase ability
Take 1 $ card from your hand, show it to other players, and place it in your suitcase
11
Illegal goods ability
Discard 1 card from hand and take a Booze, Gun, or Blood Money card into hand
12
Job deck ability
Take top 2 cards from Job deck, add 1 to hand, discard the other
13
Exact money ability
Take exactly the $ card(s) indicated
14
$5 conversion (1 card)
Discard 1 card from hand and take a $5 card into hand
15
$5 conversion (2 cards)
Discard 2 cards from hand and take a $5 card into hand
16
$8 conversion (3 cards)
Discard 3 cards from hand and take a $5 and $3 card into hand
17
Horse head ability
Take the horse head token, immediately becoming 1st player
18
No change rule
Players cannot change $ between hand, suitcase, or supply for any reason
19
Empty Illegal Goods
If a pile runs out, no cards of that type can be taken
20
Empty $ pile
If a $ pile runs out, take a card of the next lower value available (rounding down)
21
Empty Jobs deck
If Jobs deck runs out, shuffle discards to create a new deck
22
Determine influence
For each Turf in order, determine highest influence by totaling all figures
23
Place control marker
Place control marker of player with most influence; if tie, no marker placed
24
Move existing markers
If out of markers, may move 1 from an existing Turf
25
Neutral figures
Neutral figures are not part of a Family and may cause ties
26
Control determination
Topmost marker determines control for next Act; markers underneath count for end game scoring
27
Secret bidding
Players secretly move bids into lid of suitcase (can bid 0), then simultaneously reveal
28
Ally selection
Highest bid gets choice of Ally card to hand, followed by next bid, etc.
29
Winning bid payment
Winning bids go back to $ piles
30
Losing bid kept
Losing bids stay in player suitcase
31
Tie resolution
Turn order (starting with horse head) determines winner
32
Zero bid restriction
If you bid 0, you cannot take an Ally card
33
Final Act
No Bribery phase in last Act of game
34
Return Ally cards
Take back all Ally cards played
35
Discard to hand limit
Discard down to the hand limit of the current Act
36
Discarded card destinations
Discarded Ally cards are removed from game, Job cards go to discard pile, $ cards go to supply
37
Return figures
Return all figures from board to players; neutral figures go to side of board
38
Advance Don Corleone
Move Don Corleone to the next Act
39
Add Family Members
If starting Act II or IV, add the waiting Family Member to player's available figures
40
Replenish Job cards
Add face-up Job cards per number of players (do not remove remaining cards from last Act)
41
Update Ally cards
Remove remaining Ally cards for current Act, place Ally cards for next Act face-up per player count (skip when entering last Act)

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Final hand reduction
At end of Act IV, players discard down to 2 cards in hand
2
Final suitcase deposits
Place any $ cards from remaining 2 cards into suitcase, discard other cards
3
Open suitcases
Open suitcase and separate $ cards from Job cards
4
Turf Dominance bonus
Gain +$5 for each Turf where you have the most Control markers
5
Job color bonus
Gain +$5 for having the most of each different complete Job color (yellow/blue/green/gray)
6
Endgame bonus availability
Endgame bonus $ are not subject to $ card availability (full payment is made)
7
Determine winner
Player with most $ wins
8
Tiebreaker
Tied player who earned most Turf Dominance bonus $ wins

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Le Parrain: L'Empire de Corleone - Règles et explipartie - Jeux Conseils # 147

Le Parrain: L'Empire de Corleone - Règles et explipartie - Jeux Conseils # 147

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MadzioraGra  | The Godfather: Imperium Corleone | zasady gry | rozgrywka

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FULL rules

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