SETUP Lay out the board as normal, including the number counters. After the board is finished, you will remove parts of it to simulate the area used by the fictional players. Assign each side of the board a number 1-6. Roll two dice and remove one row of three land hexes from each side that is rolled.

The removed hexes are taken out of the game entirely, including their number counters. No settlement or city can be built on any corner that touches one of these removed hexes, and no roads can be built on their edges. This will make some ports unreachable, and they are effectively removed from the game. This simulates a four player games where certain parts of the board ar inaccessible because of where other players have their raods and settlements.

If too many good numbers are removed by this roll, the players can agree to re-roll. We recommend re-rolling if more than two 6s or 8s are removed.More 6s and 8s on the board mean more commodities and a faster paced game.
 

 
PLAY

Each real player takes their turn normally, including the initial placement of settlements. They cannot trade with the fictional players during their turns.

When a player plays a Monopoly card, they receive 1d6-2 cards from each fictional player (roll two dice and subtract 2 from each number rolled, counting any negative number as 0) in addition to any received from the opposing player.

FICTIONAL TURNS

After each player's turn, they conduct a turn for a fictional player (the "shadow"). The fictional player rolls the dice as a normal player, potentially providing resources for the real players. If a fictional player rolls a 7, the real player with the lowest number of victory points (roll off if a tie) moves the robber to the hex of their choice and chooses one card from the opposing player. The stolen card, if any, is discarded.

After the fictional player's roll, the fictional player offers a card for trade with the real players. Assign a number from 1-5 to each resource (we have always used 1-wood, 2-brick, 3-sheep, 4-wheat, 5-rocks and set the piles up in that order on the board). The number rolled is the resource that is offered. If a 6 is rolled, the fictional player does not offer any resources this turn. We have also played where if a six is rolled we re-roll until a 1-5 is rolled.

Any real player can offer a resource card in exchange for the fictional player's card. The resource card can be any resource and must be revealed to the other player. If more than one real player offers a card for trade, either player can add another card to their offer. The player who offers the highest number of cards makes the trade. That player discards his card(s) and takes the offered card from the resource deck; the other player returns his card(s) to his hand. If both players offer the same number of resource cards in trade, the player with the lowest number of VPs at that time can make the trade. If both players tie for this as well, they roll and award the trade to the player who rolls higher. Neither player can alter their offer after the dice are rolled.

ENDGAME

The game ends as normal, when a player has 10 VPs on their turn. A typical game for us usually takes about 45 minutes. If you have any questions about how anything is done, please email. This plays VERY well.