Ultimaeus

Ultimaeus is a law-making card game where cheating, bribing, and lying is a part of the game.

Each player is dealt a Legislator card, which determines how many Legislation cards, Holdings cards, and gems they get. Then the d10 is rolled, and players check the back of their Legislator card to see which secret goal they are working towards. Alternatively, they can aim to pass 3 laws or get a certain number of gems.

Starting with the first player, they put forward a Law card from their hand, then each other player has a chance to play addendums or penalties for the law, and there is a final vote. If the law passes, the game rules are now affected by that new rule. If it fails, you'll have to get them next time.

In the Night Phase that follows, players use their Holdings hands to benefit from contraband, plant it on other people, sell their next vote, blackmail someone's vote, and otherwise use their Holdings cards to get an edge, or even investigate another player's face down cards, or their secret goal.

Play moves between the Legislation Phase and Night Phases until each player has had the chance to try and get their law passed twice, then you check to see if anyone has won on a secret goal yet. If not, a final round is had to determine who has achieved the most victory conditions.

Legislators can be killed, blackmailed, bought out, or form alliances-- and cheating is a big part of the game.

Did I mention secret rules in the back of the rulebook that you have to pay gems to look at? Oh yeah, there are those, too. And secret rules that overcome those rules, and more. Need to punish a cheater or change a rule that isn't working for your group? Hold an impromptu voting session and do your best to bend the game to your favor!