From Erik Arneson,
Your Guide to Board / Card Games.
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For 2 players

forsooth: adv: an archaic word originally meaning "in truth" but now usually used to express disbelief.

THE STORY

Civil war has divided the Kingdom of Forsooth into two regions: North Forsooth and South Forsooth. Each region has a king, queen and tax collector, who reside alone -- either by the mountain, in the valley or by the river.

Both tax collectors are unscrupulous and always lie when questioned. Both queens are virtuous and always speak truthfully when questioned. Both kings are diplomats and will lie or speak truthfully as they see fit.

The tax collector of each region has just given the royal couple an accounting of the other region's wealth. They know he's lying, so they send you, their trusted auditor, to interrogate the inhabitants of the other region. For security reasons, you are allowed to speak only to the other auditor, who will relay the answers of the questioned resident.

You must determine the distribution of wealth in the region by deducing the identity of the residents and, therefore, whether to trust their answers.

EQUIPMENT

The board is a plain sheet of paper with the following words written on it:

• MOUNTAIN, down the left side
• VALLEY, down the middle
• RIVER, down the right side

From a deck of cards, take the Jack, Queen and King of any two suits. The Jacks are the tax collectors and the other four cards represent royalty. Each player gets one suit.

Each player needs two quarters, two dimes, two nickels and two pennies. One set represents the wealth of the North; the other represents the wealth of the South.

A sturdy divider, tall enough to obstruct each player's view of the cards and coins on the opposite side, must be placed on the board without completely covering it.

SETUP

Players sit opposite one another with the board between them, so that the mountain is to the left of one player. Place the divider on the board so that it bisects each word. During play, refer to the sections of the board as "by the mountain", "in the valley" and "by the river."

Each player places the 3 cards face-up on the board, with 1 card in each section. This represents the residence of the inhabitant.

Next, each player places the 4 coins representing their own wealth on top of any of the cards. Each card can have from 0 to 4 coins on it. All 4 coins must be used.

Set aside each player's second set of coins. These will be used to help track where the other player's wealth is located.

GAMEPLAY

Choose who will go first. On a turn, you may ask one of the inhabitants a single question, or you may deduce the location of your opponent's coins (see Deducing, below.) There are only 2 types of valid questions:

• Those which ask if an inhabitant lives in a specific section.
• Those which ask if the wealth of a specific section is less than, equal to or greater than a specific value.

Furthermore, the value must be between one cent and forty cents. Your opponent can only answer "yes" or "no." Since you don't necessarily know who resides where, you must begin your question like this, "This question is for the person..." after which you specify "by the mountain", "in the valley" or "by the river."

The other player should carefully consider the question before responding. This will give the player a chance to formulate the appropriate response, without giving away inadvertent clues as to whether the truth is being spoken.

Here are some examples of valid questions:

• This question is for the person by the mountain. Is the wealth by the mountain greater than 35 cents?

• This question is for the person in the valley. Does the queen live by the river?

• This question is for the person by the river. Is the wealth in the valley less than 1 cent?

Here are some examples of invalid questions (with reasons in parentheses):

• This question is for the person by the mountain. Does the king live next to the queen? (Fails to ask if the king lives in a specific section.)

• This question is for the person by the river. Does the wealth in the valley have exactly 2 coins? (Fails to give a specific value.)

• This question is for the person by the mountain Does the tax collector have more than 10 cents? (Mixes the two question types.)

• This question is for the person in the valley. Is the wealth by the river greater than 41 cents? (Violates the value limit rule -- if the tax collector (liar) is asked this question, he must respond "yes," which is a dead giveaway!)

After your opponent responds, your turn is over. Use the second set of coins to help you keep track of where you think your opponent's coins are located. You should arrange them from left to right in front of you, well away from your three cards.

WINNING

At the beginning of your turn, you may tell your opponent where you think her coins are. If you're correct, you win! If you're incorrect, you must divulge the location of one of your inhabitants (verbally).