The London Season
Phase I of John Company: attrition on every office, retiring pensioners to the five prizes, and taking prestige, spouse and blackmail cards from the London Season Display.
Overview
The London Season is where most victory points are made. It has three steps: Attrition, Retirements and Prestige Cards. It is skipped on the first turn of the game.
You don’t choose when your family members retire: attrition does. Have cash ready (or someone willing to lend it) when it happens.
Attrition
All players roll at the same time: one die for each office card you hold. Add +1 for each
fatigue cube on that card, and +1 more for the Chairman.
| Result | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Nothing. |
| 3–4 | Put a fatigue cube on the office card. |
| 5 or more | The officeholder retires: move the family member to the Pensioners box, return the card’s fatigue to the supply, and put the office card face down in Vacant Offices. |
Commanders are not offices and never roll.
Retirements
Starting with the Chairman (or the former Chairman if the office is vacant) and going clockwise,
each player may retire their pensioners. For each one, choose a prize, pay its cost and move the
pensioner onto it. Gain the prize’s 
victory points at once.
Pay the cost into a pile in front of you, not straight to the bank: the totals decide the order for prestige cards. All of it goes to the bank at the end of the London Season.
A pensioner you don’t retire simply goes home to your supply at the end of the phase.
Prizes
| Prize | Cost | Upkeep each turn | |  Windows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallest estate | £2 | — | 0 | — |
| Second | £4 | £1 | 2 | 1 |
| Third | £8 | £2 | 4 | 2 |
| Fourth | £14 | £3 | 8 | 3 |
| Largest estate | £20 | £4 | 12 | 4 |
The £2 prize gives no points, but it is a cheap way to retire and earn a turn at the London Season Display. Upkeep is paid every turn in Upkeep and Refresh; if you can’t pay it, the family member goes home and you lose that prize’s points. Windows are taxed when Parliament passes a window tax.
Prestige cards
Starting with the player who spent the most on retirements this turn, each player who retired
at least one pensioner must take or discard one card from the London Season Display. Ties go to
the player with the most window icons (counting this turn’s retirements), then in
Prime Minister order (clockwise from the Prime Minister). You may peek at face-down blackmail cards
before you choose. When the display is empty, everyone left is skipped.
Then discard what is left and deal three new cards — prestige face up, blackmail face down — even if nobody took a card this turn. Finally, send everyone in the Pensioners box back to their owners.
Spouses
Spouses usually give victory points, and most carry a restriction you must
obey for the rest of the game. They can never be traded. If a restriction makes you give up
enterprises or shares, negotiate those trades straight after you take the spouse.
Most spouses also give a retirement discount. Discounts stack, only work for you, and each can be used once per London Season and once in Final Scoring. A discount lowers what you spent, so it can change who picks first.
Prestige enterprises
Prestige cards with an enterprise icon in the corner count as enterprises of that type: they have special powers, are scored by the Power track, are hit by Parliament’s policies, and can be traded.
Blackmail cards
Blackmail cards are one-shot effects kept face down until used. Once played, they lie face up in your
area and can’t be traded. At the end of the game every blackmail card you hold, face up or down,
counts its 
power.
Each card is pictured on Cards & Components.