Description

Description from the designer:

The year is 1492. It is Sunday. The old pope is dead and now the race is on for the election of the new pope. You’re one of the hopefuls in this election, however, not everyone is on your side… yet. But don’t worry, they’ll come around once you show them a little financial appreciation. After all, everyone has a vote, and everyone can be bought. And once the new pope is elected, the richest player wins—just like in real life.

The goal in Habeamus is to amass more money than the other players, while electing a new pope. Every player has one vote, and there are three non-player cardinals with a vote each as well. During their turns, players can place bribes face-down on the non-player cardinals in the middle of the playing field. These cardinals will vote for whomever promises the largest bribe when the vote starts.
Each player also has a vote that they can use for themselves, or sell to other players. Every player can make hidden or open bribe offers to other players. If, during the vote count, a player accepts an offer by another player, that bribe goes into their account. However, if they do not accept the offer, the player making the offer gets the bribe into their account. In this way, players will have to balance their offers to other players and make sure they themselves sell their vote for a good price. To shake things up a bit more, a player can increase the papal salary, or play actions to change the bribes already on offer.
Once all cards have been played, the votes are counted. If a pope is elected, he will receive a salary bonus into their account. Then, every player counts their money and the richest player wins.