Cirque
$79.99Price
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Welcome to the Big Top! Cirque is a competitive board game about the joys and wonders of the circus. In Cirque, players take on the role of a Ringleader as they scout for talent, hire performers, build the reputation of their circus, and, of course, carry out performances. Cirque is designed around friendly competition, immense replayability, and appreciation for the circus and its craft.
In combining tableau building and engine building mechanics, Cirque presents a fresh take on these genres by staging two distinct venues, the Big Top and the Sideshow. Each performer contains abilities specific to each venue, forcing players to strategize how to carefully arrange their roster of acts for maximum effect. With 180 unique performer cards and dozens of randomized objectives, each game presents a unique experience. The combinations are practically endless!
BUILD YOUR CIRCUS
Each player chooses a Ringleader and builds their circus from the ground up, placing performer cards into the 15 performer slots. Most cards will be hired into the circular Big Top and eventually retired into the Sideshow grid. Arranging cards and their abilities to maximize their effects and scoring potential helps players chart their path to victory, combining engine and tableau mechanics that force tough decisions and produce powerful combinations.
Card-Driven
With strong engine- and tableau-building design, the cards lie at the heart of the game. The base game has 180 unique performer cards, which makes for an almost endless number of ways to build your circus and score points.
Each card has two abilities that activate depending on which venue they are placed into.
Replayable
Randomized setup elements and almost 200 unique performer cards ensure that every game is unique! Each game presents different personal and shared scoring chances.
Players construct a different circus every game, and there are many paths to victory — will you capitalize on your reputation for having the most wondrous animals or acrobats, or will you pursue a more rounded, comprehensive playbill?
Asymmetrical
Ringleader cards present players with unique passive and active abilities, providing a potential playstyle unique to their circus. These cards have significant in-game advantages and scoring opportunities. The game may be played symmetrically, but the inclusion of Ringleaders is the intended experience of Cirque.
Interactive
Actions are taken on the main game board, conferring benefits to opponents who have already taken the same action. Players strategize their action order based on denying and earning these benefits, compete with one another to achieve randomized feats and great renown, and race to fill their player boards.
While there is little direct competition or sabotage in Cirque, players who pay close attention to their opponents' circuses will find success in responding to their success and succeeding themselves.
COMPONENTS
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Action Tiles (5)
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Player Boards (4)
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Rewards Board (1)
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Rulebook (1)
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Quick Reference Sheet (4)
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Performer Cards (180)
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Ringleader Cards (10)
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Ringleader Selection Tokens (10)
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Ringleader Play Tokens (13)
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Solo Mode Cards (11)
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Tutorial Mode Cards (16)
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Player Game Piece Sets (4)
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Current Turn Marker (1)
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Rest Marker (1)
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Popcorn (60), x10 (21)
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Peanuts (30)
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Coins x1 (51), x5 (14), x10 (14)
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Spec Tiles (15)
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Feat Tiles (18)
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Renown Tiles (12)
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D12 Die (1)
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Scoresheet (1)
How to Play
Each turn, players will choose one of five different actions. Any action can be taken on a turn, and each action helps the player build their circus and score points in a different way.
Draw performer cards!
The Talent Scout action allows player to draw cards from the Hiring Office or deck into their hands.
Increase the reputation of your circus!
The Barker action allows players to increase the Approval track, and one loop around the Approval track permanently increases the circus's Reputation.
Hire performers into your circus to build your engine!
The Circus Manager action allows players to Hire and/or Retire performer cards, either placing them into their Big Top or moving them from the Big Top to the Sideshow.
Stage performances to earn revenue and resources!
Finally, the Performance action is where the magic happens! Players will earn revenue, activate their Big Top abilities in order, and then activate any Sideshow abilities.
The strength of a player's performance engine will depend on the synergies across their abilities.
Race to earn achievements and global renown!
Race your opponents to capture scoring achievements, and build a circus that earns you global renown!
Fill your Entire circus to trigger game end!
Game end is triggered when a player has completely filled their circus, though they do not necessarily win the game. The winner is the player who creates the most wondrous circus through performer value, earned achievements, performance-driven resources, and global renown.
What Kind of Circus Will You Build?
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