Kontor is a challenging two-player game with a nicely-realized nautical and trading theme. Sometimes play tends to feel constrained, however. This variant may appeal to those who want a more wide open game with more tactical options. Starting with less money should make players worry more about bankruptcy. Having fewer cards should force more planning.

Rules for the Variant

Play the game as described in the original rules making only the following changes:

1. Initially, instead of the cross pattern, the Harbor Center card (anchor) is the only card on the table. The Ship begins on it and the Ship rules are used.
2. Instead of always starting with 4 coins, each player begins with a number of coins equal to the number of players in the game.
3. The board is of size 7x7.
4. Shuffle all of the special cards into the Water deck.
5. Deal each player 2 cards from the Water deck and 2 cards from their Docks deck.
6. The hand size is 4.
7. Use the Free Choice rule so that players may replenish their hands from either the Water or the Docks deck.
8. Choose the first player randomly.
9. Play is conducted sequentially, not simultaneously. That is, a player turn is a player playing a card, resolving it, and replenishing with a new card. Play then proceeds in clockwise order.
10. When a player places a coin card, every other player must pay a tax of 1 coin. If a player is unable to pay, he instead places an unused warehouse atop his cards in hand on the table. When it is his turn, he turns in the warehouse instead of taking a turn.
11. It is now permitted to use bridge and flood cards to affect already-enclosed areas.
12. No area is scored until the game is over. Players may wish to use the warehouse keepers as indicate who is currently dominating each area (i.e. place the red pawn on the distribution center which is currently dominant).
13. The Crane card does not have to be placed orthogonal to an existing card. It may instead be played in a diagonal relationship to a played card.
14. The Tavern card permits its owner to move any warehouse in the area to its original card and place a coin (taken from the bank or the player's pocket) under it. The workers at this warehouse are drunk and therefore do not count. The owner of the tavern may change which warehouse is affected at the start of his own turn before playing a card. If the affected warehouse card is removed or isolated from the area containing the tavern, the warehouse is no longer "drunk" and the coin is removed. The same thing happens if the ship takes the tavern card.
15. All areas are scored as long as they have a size of at least 2.

For a 3- or 4-player game, use all of the above variant rules with the addition of the following:

1. In this variant, each player plays for himself, not for a partnership.
2. Each player must provide some uniquely-colored tokens.
3. Shuffle the two Docks decks together to form a single Docks deck. Players are dealt their docks from this deck. Each player can play any Docks card. The player then places one of his tokens over the card number in order to show that these docks belong to him.
4. In this version, the relative values of commodities are changed. Now, Spice is always more valuable than Tea and Wine. Tea is always more valuable than Wine. (To help remember, Spice comes from the faraway Spice Islands and so is most valuable. Tea, coming from slightly nearer China, is only slightly less valuable. Wine comes from relatively close France and Germany.)
5. If both agree, two players may declare alliance in an area, combining their warehouses into a single distribution center. The alliance competes as if it were a single player. A player may only join or leave an alliance before playing his card on his own turn. No more than two players may be in an alliance. If two or more areas become joined with the result that one player is suddenly in alliance with more than one other player, then all the involved players must break the alliances and return their warehouses to their own distribution centers. Then players may begin to form new alliances on the next player turn.
6. At the end of the game, alliances that win areas split the points achieved evenly, including any customs houses. If there is an extra point left over, it goes to the player in the alliance who contributed more warehouses. If the number is the same, then the point is lost.

By the way, the card distribution in the game is as follows: Numbers Cards 1-2 Customs House 3-4 3x Commodities (ship) 5-10 2x Commodities 11-28 1x Commodities (6 have ships) 29-32 Crane 33-38 1x Commodities 39-52 Water with ship 53-66 Water with coin 67-81 Water 82-87 1x Commodities (ships) 88-89 Tavern 90 Flood 91-92 Bridge 93 Flood

Picture credit to Die Pöppelkiste

• Auf deutsch als "Freie Hand" (letze Überarbeitung: 22-Nov-1999) -- with some very minor rule changes, e.g. an added requirement that each player must retain at least one of each card type in hand (which to me seems an unnecessary restriction).
• Designer Michael Schacht maintains a Kontor web site.
• More pictures at Die Pöppelkiste