Obsession: Upstairs, Downstairs

No. The Cook, Hall Boy, Head Housemaid, and Useful Man provide optional supplemental service: place one to use an ability, in addition to any mandatory servants the tile or card requires. Mandatory service is still required when shown by an icon (p. 6).

Sometimes. The Hall Boy can replace a butler on a guest card or a footman on the Carriage House, and the Head Housemaid can replace a housekeeper; when used this way, they don’t also provide their supplemental ability. The Housekeeper’s Room grants the Head Housemaid additional replacement roles (pp. 7–8, 16).

No. After refreshing service and reclaiming your discard pile, choose one pass benefit: collect £200, hire servants, or refresh the Builders’ Market. Hiring is optional (p. 9).

In a standard game, take five at setup; in an extended game, take four. Keep them all initially, discard one after each courtship, and keep both cards when the round track directs you to draw two (p. 5).

No. At the beginning of your turn, before the Host Activity step, place an available servant on the Hall to take one reputation from another player and gain one yourself; that servant is expended at the end of your turn. You can’t use it on a courtship round (p. 5).

No. At the end of each season, pass it counterclockwise, to the player on your right. Turn order within each round still proceeds clockwise from the first player (p. 5).