District Noir rules: how to play and how to score

District Noir quick rules

The goal

You each lead a criminal organization fighting for control of the city. There are two ways to win: have more points than your opponent after four rounds, thanks to majorities of Support cards, or gather all three City cards, which wins instantly.

The cards

Support cards are worth 5, 6, 7 or 8: the higher the value, the fewer there are. Alliance cards give bonus points, Betrayal cards take points away. The three City cards win the game if you have them all.

A round

Each player starts the round with 5 cards in hand, and the Faction token shows who goes first. Taking turns, each player takes one action: play a card from their hand at the end of the line, or take the last five cards of the line. Each player takes six actions per round.

Taking cards

You take exactly five cards, starting from the end of the line, and lay them in front of you, sorted by type. If the line has fewer than five, you take them all; if it’s empty, you can’t take this action. Cards you take are yours until the end, and you can only take once per round.

End of a round and of the game

A round ends when both players have taken six actions: hands are empty. If the draw pile is empty, the game is over; otherwise, both draw 5 cards and the Faction token goes to the other player. Cards left in the line stay there. After four rounds, the draw pile is empty and you score.

Scoring

For each Support value, whoever has the most cards of that value scores the value; if tied on a value, nobody scores. Each set of four different Supports, one of each value, scores 5 points. Add your Alliances and subtract your Betrayals. City cards are worth no points.

Ties and traps

If tied on points, the majority of 8-value Supports wins, then 7s, and so on. Beginner traps: you can only take cards once per round, so don’t rush it. And if your hand is empty, you can’t play a card anymore: you must take.

How to score District Noir

Support majorities

For each value (8, 7, 6, 5), whoever has the most Supports of that value scores the value; if tied, nobody scores.

Sets of 4 Supports

A set is one Support of each value (5, 6, 7 and 8): 5 points per complete set.

Alliances

The sum of the points on your Alliance cards.

Betrayals

The sum of the points on your Betrayal cards, subtracted from your score.

Tie-breaker

If tied on points, the most 8-value Supports wins, then 7s, 6s and 5s. City cards are worth nothing, but all three together win without scoring.

Worked example

Emma has the majority of 8s and 6s (8 + 6 = 14), two complete sets (2 × 5 = 10), 3 Alliance points and 4 Betrayal points: 14 + 10 + 3 − 4 = 23 points.

Common mistakes

• Scoring a tied value: if you have the same number of Supports of that value, nobody scores.
• Counting Support cards instead of their value: a majority of 7s scores 7 points, however many cards it takes.
• Adding Betrayals instead of subtracting them.
• Scoring City cards: they’re worth no points; only all three together win the game.

How to set up District Noir

Setup takes a minute, in four parts to follow in order.