Axon Protocol Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Game Components
• Setup
  • Desktop Area
• Rounds and Player Turns
  • Turn Phase
  • Player Turn
  • Player Actions
    • Activate Character
    • Phishing
    • Take First Player Token
    • Reverse the Turn Order
  • Special Actions
    • Use your Corporation's Special Ability (1x per Round)
    • Create Monopoly (1x per Game)
  • End of the Round Phase
• End of the Game
  • Score summary
• Characters
  • Character Card Layout
  • Activating Characters
  • Character Routines
    • Example
  • Hacking a Character
  • Area Actions
• Character Skills
  • Augment
  • Buy
  • Drugs
  • Crime
  • Murder
  • Data
  • Scandal
  • Move
  • Drive
  • Fly
  • Arrest
  • Execute
  • Investigate
• The Corporations
• The Resources
  • Augments
  • Data
  • Drugs
  • Products
  • Scandal
  • Violence
• The Scoreboard
• City Areas
  • Shops
  • Action Boxes
  • Prisons
• Software Cards
  • Play into Desktop Area
  • Card types
  • Random Number
• Two Player Mode

Game Overview

In order to win the game, you use these Characters to generate Resources and thus profit for your Corporation while hindering the enemy players and destroying their Resources.

The game is played in Rounds. During a Round, players take Turns, activating a Character or performing another action. When all Characters have been activated, the Round ends. The game ends when the city has reached its Breaking Point and collapses under the corporate struggle. The player who generated the most Resources for their Corporation wins the game.

Game Components

• 1 Scoreboard
• 3 Reference Sheets
• 1 City Board
• 60 Resource Cubes
• 6 Resource Counters
• 10 Android Tokens
• 10 Bioroid Tokens
• 10 AI Tokens
• 6 Monopoly Tokens
• 6 Player Reference Cards
• 30 Character Cards
• 6 Corporation Tokens
• 1 First Player Token
• 50 Software Cards
• 6 Corporation Cards
• 30 Character Standees
• 30 Activation Tokens
• 1 Stress Token
• 1 Breaking Point Token
• 6 Permanent Victory-point Tokens
• 6 Card Tokens

Setup

The following describes the setup for a game with 3-6 players. For 2 players, see Two Player Mode.

1. Place the City Board at the center of the table.

2. Place the Scoreboard next to it. Fill the Scoreboard with Resource Counters and Tokens as follows:

   • Place one Resource Token of corresponding color on each space with a colored circle.
   • Place one Card Token on each space with a card symbol.
   • Place one Permanent Victory Point Token on each "VP" space.
   • Place the Stress Token at the start of the Breaking Point Track.
   • Place the Breaking Point Token on the Breaking Point Track, in the space marked with a white number on blue equal to the number of players.
   • Place the Resource Counters on the designated spaces.
   • Place your Corporation Tokens at the start of the VP Track.

3. Shuffle the Software Cards Deck and place it face down near the board. Shuffle the deck of Character Cards and place it face down near the Software Cards. This is the Character Stack.

   Beginner level: During your first few games, we suggest you take out the Character Cards with a special symbol printed in the lower left corner, and leave them in the box. These are advanced Characters with more complex routines.

4. The player who last installed a software on their computer becomes the first player and takes the First Player Token.

5. Beginning with the first player, each player chooses one Corporation Card, clockwise. For the best game experience, choose a Corporation that shares exactly 1 scoring resource with another Corporation already chosen by a player. Place your Corporation Card in front of you on the table within your Desktop Area. Put any remaining Corporation Cards back into the box. They will not be used in this game.

Now you are ready to play.

Desktop Area

The Desktop Area is the space in front of you on the table, where you keep your Corporation Card, tokens like Permanent Victory Points or Monopoly Tokens, and sometimes Software Cards.

Rounds and Player Turns

A round consists of two phases:

• The Turn Phase
• The End of Round Phase

Turn Phase

During the Turn Phase, beginning with the first player, players take Turns clockwise (or counterclockwise if the turn order has been changed once). The player currently taking a Turn is called the active player.

Player Turn

During your Turn, perform exactly 1 of the following actions:

• Activate Character
• Phishing
• Take First Player Token
• Reverse the Turn Order

In addition, you may either before or after that action perform a Special Action:

Once per Round:

• Use your Corporation's Special Ability

Once per Game:

• Create a Monopoly

Also in addition, you may play as many Software Cards as you like during your own or another player's Turn, before or after an action.

After all effects have been resolved, the next player becomes the active player and takes their Turn. The Turn Phase ends when all Characters in the Display have been activated, and the End of Round Phase begins.

Player Actions

Activate Character

Choose 1 Character from the Character Display that does not have an Activation Token. Then

• EITHER: Let that Character perform its Routine.
• OR: Discard 1 Software Card to hack that Character.

After all effects have been resolved, put an Activation Token on that Character's card. This Character cannot be activated again this round. Lay the Character's Standee on its side. That way, it is easier to spot which Characters have already been activated on the board.

Phishing

Discard 1 Software Card to bring a new Character into the city. Choose an Exit Area with an empty Phishing Action Box and place an Activation Token on the box. Take the top 5 Character Cards from the stack, choose 1 and place it in the Character Display. Shuffle the rest back into the stack. Take the Character's Standee and place it at the Starting Location printed on the Character's card.

Important: A Phishing Action is not possible if all Phishing Action Boxes have already been activated. Phishing does not activate the phished Character!

Take First Player Token

Discard 1 Software Card to take the First Player Token. This action cannot be used if another player has already taken the First Player Token using this action this round.

Reverse the Turn Order

Discard 1 Software Card to reverse the Turn Order from clockwise to counterclockwise or vice versa. This takes place immediately after your turn.

Special Actions

Use your Corporation's Special Ability (1x per Round)

Discard 1 Software Card to use your Corporation's Special Ability. Put an Activation Token on your Corporation Card.

Create Monopoly (1x per Game)

Discard 4 Software Cards to turn your corporation into a Monopoly. Choose 1 of the 2 Resources your Corporation scores. From now on you only score Victory Points for this chosen Resource, but each of its Resource Tokens in play counts as 2 Victory Points for you. Take the corresponding Monopoly Token and place it on your Corporation Card.

Important: Monopoly. Data Tokens on your Corporate Area still only count as 1 negative Victory Point per token. (See Resources.) Every Monopoly is unique and can exist only once. Example: if a player created a drugs Monopoly, no other player may create a second one.

End of the Round Phase

In the End of the Round Phase, players perform the following 3 steps in the Turn Order, beginning with the first player:

1. You may discard any number of Software Cards from your hand. For each card discarded in this way perform 1 Phishing Action following the normal rules, if possible.
2. Draw 3 Software Cards.
3. Check the Hand Limit. Your hand limit is normally 4. If you have more Software Cards in hand than your hand limit allows, discard down to your hand limit.

Important: Software Cards can usually be played any time, during the Turn Phase. But you cannot play Software Cards during the End of the Round Phase to avoid discarding.

Then the players perform the following steps together:

4. Remove all Activation Tokens from Area Action Boxes, Character Cards etc. Put all Character Standees back up.

5. Check the Scoreboard. If 1 or more Resource Counters are in the Red Zone, move the Breaking Point Marker down 1 step on the Breaking Point Track. If the Breaking Point Marker is then on the same space as the Stress Token, the End of the Game is triggered immediately (see End of the Game).

6. Check all players' current Victory Points on the Scoreboard. The player with the least Victory Points gets the First Player Token. In case of a tie, choose the first player in Turn Order among the tied players.

   Exception: If a player took the First Player Token using the corresponding action this Round, skip step 6.

7. The player with the least Victory Points now gets 1 free Phishing Action. This does not activate an Exit Area's Phishing Action Box. In case of a tie, draw the top Character from the stack and place it in the city at its Starting Location.

When all steps are resolved, the Round ends and the next Round begins. The player with the First Player Token becomes the new active player and takes the first Turn.

End of the Game

At some point sooner or later, the city has reached its limit and collapses under the corporate struggle. Chaos and anarchy in the streets will follow. It doesn't matter. You have wrung the maximum profit out of it. And there is always another city.

The end of the game is triggered if 1 of the following 2 conditions is met:

1. The Stress Token (white) moves to the same space as the Breaking Point Token (black) on the Breaking Point Track.
2. A Resource is generated, but all tokens of this Resource are already in play.

After a player triggered the end of the game, all other players perform 1 last Turn according to the Turn Order. If this is not possible because there are not enough Characters left in the Display without an Activation Token, the Turn Phase is finished normally.

Then all players count their Victory Points. You score 1 Victory Point for each token of the 2 Resources your Corporation scores that is currently in play. If you turned your Corporation into a Monopoly, you score 2 Victory Points for each token of your Monopoly's single scoring Resource. In addition, every Permanent Victory Point Token in your Desktop Area counts as 1 Victory Point. Finally subtract 1 Victory Point for each Data Token on your Corporate Area.

Score summary

• +1 VP for each token of your 2 Resources in play, OR +2 VP for each Monopoly Resource token
• +1 VP for each Permanent Victory Point Token in your Desktop Area
• -1 VP for each Data Token on your Corporate Area

The player with the most Victory Points wins the game!

In case of a tie, the tied player with the most Software Cards left in hand wins. If there is still a tie, the tied player with the most Permanent Victory Point Tokens wins.

Characters

Activating Characters is the core mechanic of the game.

Character Card Layout

Every Character card has a Routine written in the box on the lower half of the card (1), and below that box a number of Skill Icons (2). Each Character has a Starting Location (3). It determines in which City Area the Character's Standee is placed when it enters the game. If the Starting Location says "Random Area", draw a Software Card and check its Random Number (see Software Cards). Place the Standee on the Area with the corresponding number and discard the Software Card face up.

The character's Type (4) comes into effect when other cards or game mechanics reference it.

Lastly every Character has an Initiative Number (5). If a situation occurs where several Characters would act simultaneously, the Characters act in order of their Initiative Numbers, beginning with the highest number.

Activating Characters

When you activate a Character, you have exactly 2 options: you can let that Character perform its Routine, or you can hack the Character to use 1 of its Skills.

1. EITHER

   • perform the Routine, step by step, until 1 action is performed, if possible.
   • If a Routine leaves a choice, the active player gets to choose.

   OR

   • hack the Character to perform 1 of its Skills.
   • hack the Character and do nothing.

2. Optional: Perform 1 Area Action, if possible.

Character Routines

The Routine represents a Character's usual behavior. It is always performed step by step, from top to bottom, according to the following rules:

• A Character performs exactly 1 action when activated. The Routine ends after the first action is performed successfully. Important: If a step of a Routine leaves a choice, the player who activated the Character gets to choose.
• If a step of a Routine is not possible, skip it and move to the next one.
• Sometimes it may be impossible to perform any step of a Routine. In that case, the Character does nothing.

Some Characters have texts in green color at the bottom of their Routine Box. These are permanent abilities, that are always active no matter if you let a Character go through its Routine or hack it.

Example

The top line of the Street Samurai's Routine reads "ARREST or EXECUTE". This means if the Street Samurai is in the same city area as a Criminal Character, she would either use her ARREST or EXECUTE Skill on that Character. After the action has been performed and all effects are resolved, the Routine ends. This step leaves a choice between two Skills. The acting player gets to choose.

However if there is no Criminal Character in the same area, neither ARREST nor EXECUTE are possible. In that case skip the first step and go to the next one. It reads: "Else: DRIVE to closest Criminal". If there is a Character with a violence token or the type "Criminal" in the city, the Street Samurai will use the DRIVE Skill to get as close to that Character as possible.

This step of the Routine leaves no choice! If there is more than one Criminal in the city, the Street Samurai must drive to the closest one, and in the shortest way possible. However, if there are several Criminals in the same distance, the acting player again gets to choose.

But what if there are no criminal Characters in the city at all? In that case skip the second step of the Routine as well and move to the third. It reads: "Else: DRIVE". The Samurai can drive in any direction you wish. The Street Samurai might not be able to drive, for example when she is in a Prison Area, where Movement Skills cannot be used. In that case, she does not act at all.

Lastly, the Street Samurai has a permanent ability: she can kill Characters of the type Android.

Hacking a Character

To hack a Character, you must always discard a Software Card. Then you may choose 1 of the Character's Skills and let it perform the corresponding action. See "Character Skills".

Important: A Character always performs 1 action when activated, regardless of how many skills he or she has.

When you hack a Character, you can choose to let the Character perform no action at all.

Important: This does not apply when you let a Character use its Routine. In that case the Character will always do what the Routine dictates.

Area Actions

After you let a Character perform its Routine or hacked the Character, that Character may perform the action described in its City Area's Action Box as an additional free action, if the Action Box does not already have an Activation Token.

There are 4 different types of Area Actions:

• Free Action: Every Character can perform a Free Action regardless of its Skills.
• Skill Action: Some actions on city areas have Skill Icons printed above the Action Box. Only a Character with at least 1 of the corresponding Skills can perform such an action.
• Phishing Action: A Phishing Action can be performed by every Character. However, they can also be performed by a player directly by discarding a Software Card during their turn. In this case, there doesn't have to be a Character in the area in order to activate the Phishing Action.
• Leave Action: Every Character can perform a Leave Action regardless of its Skills. Remove the Character Standee from the city. Shuffle its card back into the stack. All tokens that have been placed on the Character go back into the pool. Move the Resource Tokens on the Scoreboard down accordingly.

Important: After an Area Action has been performed, put an Activation Token on the Action Box. This action cannot be used again until the end of the round.

Example (Skill Action): The acting player lets the Street Samurai perform her Routine in the Area "Microbionics Inc". After that they want her to perform the area's Area Action, which has not yet been used this round. It is a Skill Action that requires either the AUGMENT or the HACK Skill. Since the Street Samurai has the AUGMENT Skill, she can perform the action.

Example (Leave Action): The Street Samurai with 2 augment and 1 violence token performs a Leave Action. All tokens go back into the pool. The Augment Counter on the Scoreboard goes down 2 steps, and the Violence Counter one step.

Character Skills

Here is a list of all Character Skills.

Augment

If at a "Shop" area or in the same area as a Character of the type "Merchant", take 1 Augment Token from the pool and put it on the activated Character's card. Move the Augments Counter on the Scoreboard up 1 step, and the Stress Token up 1 step on the Breaking Point Track.

Buy

If at a "Shop" area or in the same area as a Character of the type "Merchant", take 1 Products Token from the pool and put it on the activated Character's card. Move the Products Counter on the Scoreboard up 1 step, and the Stress Token up 1 step on the Breaking Point Track.

Drugs

If at a "Shop" area or in the same area as a Character of the type "Dealer", take 1 Drug Token from the pool and put it on the Character's card. Move the Drug Counter on the Scoreboard up 1 step, and the Stress Token on the Breaking Point Track up 1 step.

Crime

Commit a crime in the current area. Put 1 Violence Token from the pool on the area's Action Box. That area now counts as a Crimescene, and Characters cannot use the Area Action until the crime is investigated and the Violence Token removed. Put 1 Violence Token on the activated Character's card. The Character gains the type "Criminal" in addition to any other Type. Move the Violence Counter on the Scoreboard up 2 steps, and the Stress Token on the Breaking Point Track up 2 steps.

Important: There can be only 1 Violence Token on an area's Action Box. However, areas with 2 Action Boxes, like Exit Areas, can have one Violence Token on each. If a city area already has a Violence Token on every Action Box, performing the Crime Skill is not possible in that area.

Murder

Kill 1 Character in the same area. Put the Character's card on the discard pile and remove its Standee from the board. All its Product Tokens go to the killer. All of the remaining Tokens go back into the pool. Place 1 Violence Token on the murderer. He counts as a criminal. Move the Violence Counter on the Scoreboard and the Stress Token on the Breaking Point Track accordingly.

Data

If at a Corporate Area, put 1 Data Token from the pool on that area. Move the Data Counter on the Scoreboard up 1 step, and the Stress Token on the Breaking Point Track up 1 step. Data Tokens count as negative Victory Points for the Corporation they are on.

Scandal

Put 1 Scandal Token on a Character in the same area. If the acting Character has at least 1 Scandal Token, place 2 Scandal Tokens on the target Character instead. Move the Scandal Counter on the Scoreboard and the Stress Token on the Breaking Point Track up accordingly.

Move

Move along one street.

Drive

Move along either up to two streets or one freeway.

Fly

Move to any area in the city, no matter the distance, except to a Prison Area.

Arrest

Choose one criminal Character in the same area and place it into the top section of a Prison Area. In "Nexus City", this is city area Nr. 1 "Fort Plissken". All its Violence and Drugs Tokens go back into the pool. Move the Resource Counters on the Scoreboard down accordingly.

Execute

Kill 1 Character in the same area with a Violence Token or the Type Criminal printed on the card. This does not count as a crime and does not generate a Violence Token. Put the killed Character's card on the discard pile and remove its Standee from the board. All its Product Tokens go to the killer. All of the remaining Tokens go back into the pool. Move the Resource Counters on the Scoreboard down accordingly.

Investigate

If at a crimescene, remove the Violence Token from the area's Action Box. The Area Action can be used again. Move the Violence Counter on the Scoreboard down 1 step.

Guard

Until the end of the Round, Characters cannot use the Crime Skill and other Characters cannot get killed while in the same area as the activated Character that guards. Some Characters have Guard as a passive effect in their Routine, which is always active even if the Character has not yet been activated.

Hack

Hack 1 Character in the same city area. This Skill can hack characters that have already been activated this round.

The Corporations

Each Corporation is represented in the game by a Corporation Card and a Corporate Area on the "Nexus City" board. Each Corporation profits from two different Resources. The Corporation scores one Victory Point for every token of the corresponding Resources in play when the game ends.

Each Corporation has a unique Special Ability. It can be activated once per Round during your turn by discarding a Software Card. After the ability is resolved, put an Activation Token on the ability box of your Corporation Card.

The Resources

There are 6 different Resources in the game. Generating Resources by activating Characters is the main way to gain Victory Points for your Corporation. Resources are not permanent. They can be as easily destroyed as they are generated. In addition to counting as Victory Points, Resources have different effects in the game that are described in detail below.

Resources are represented by cubes of different colors. Every time a Resource Token is brought into play, move the corresponding Resource Counter on the Scoreboard up 1 step and the Stress Token on the Breaking Point Track up 1 step as well. Every time a Resource Token is destroyed, put it back into the pool. It can come back into play any time again. Move the corresponding Resource Counter on the Scoreboard down 1 step.

Important: The white Stress Token on the Breaking Point Track never goes down during the game.

Resource Tokens are either placed on Character Cards or on Corporate City Areas, depending on the type.

The six resources are: Augments, Data, Drugs, Products, Scandal, Violence.

Augments

Get with the AUGMENT Skill at a Shop or Merchant. Must always be placed on a Character. Each Augment Token counts as 1 hit point.

Cyberware, artificial body parts like arms, legs, eyes etc. make a person faster, hotter, deadlier, more than human. Everybody wants them, the more the better. Augments can be bought by a Character using the Augment Skill at a Shop Area or in the same area as a Character of the type Merchant, either as part of its Routine or when the Character gets hacked.

Augments are always placed on a Character's card. Augment tokens function as hit points. If a Character with at least 1 augment token on it would get killed, remove 1 augment token from that Character instead and put it back into the pool.

Important: This does not work against a drug overdose!

There is no limit to how many Augment Tokens a Character can have.

Example: The Street Samurai with 2 Augment Tokens would get murdered by another Character. Remove 1 of her Augment Tokens instead and put it back into the pool. Then move the Augment Counter on the Scoreboard down 1 step as well.

Data

Must be placed on a Corporate Area. Each Data Token counts as -1 VP for the Corporation it is lying on.

When sensitive corporate data leaks out, it can greatly damage your business. But for some, dealing with data is the business. To generate a Data Token, a Character has to use the Data Skill while at a Corporate Area, either as part of its Routine or when the Character gets hacked. Place 1 Data Token on the Corporate Area. Data Tokens can only be placed on Corporate Areas. Each Data Token on your Corporate Area counts as 1 negative Victory Point for you at the end of the game.

Important: Data Tokens never block an area's Action Box like Violence Tokens do.

Drugs

Get with the DRUGS Skill at a Shop or Dealer. Must always be placed on a Character. Each Drug Token gives a Character +1 movement.

If you can't get stronger than your opponent, you have to be faster. Powerful, industrially produced pharmaceuticals can heighten the senses and burst reflexes and speed. Drugs can be bought by a Character using the Drugs Skill while at a Shop Area or in the same area as a Character of the type Dealer, either as part of its Routine or when the Character gets hacked. Drugs are always placed on a Character's card. For each Drugs Token a Character can move 1 additional street when using DRIVE or MOVE.

Example: A Character with 1 Drug Token who uses DRIVE can move along 3 streets, or 1 freeway and 1 street, but not 2 freeways.

Important: Drugs can be lethal! If a Character has 3 or more Drugs Tokens when it gets activated, that Character dies immediately (Overdose).

Products

Get with the BUY Skill at a Shop or Merchant. Must always be placed on a Character. When killed by another Character, a Character's Product Tokens go to the killer.

Consumer products make the bleak everyday life bearable. Products can be bought by a Character using the Buy Skill while at a Shop Area or in the same area as a Character of the type Merchant, either as part of its Routine or when the Character gets hacked.

Products are always placed on a Character's card. There is no limit to the amount of Product Tokens on a single Character. Products are not lost when a Character gets killed by another Character. Instead, the killer takes all the Product Tokens from the dead Character. However, Product Tokens are put back into the pool when a Character dies from a cause such as a drug overdose, Software Cards, or leaves the city.

Scandal

Give with the SCANDAL Skill to another Character in the same area. Must always be placed on a Character. If the acting Character has at least 1 Scandal Token, the target Character gets 2 Scandal Tokens.

Like corporate data, intimate personal details can make or break a person. And once a scandal is exposed on the net, it sticks to a person until death. Scandal Tokens are always placed on a Character's card. A Character can give another Character in the same City Area a scandal token by using the Scandal Skill. If the acting Character has at least 1 Scandal Token as well, the target Character gets 2 Scandal Tokens instead. There is no limit to how many Scandal Tokens a Character can have.

Violence

There are 2 different types of violence in the game: crimes committed in City Areas and murder of Characters.

1. Crime: Place 1 Violence Token on the active Character and 1 on an Action Box in the Character's area.

To commit a crime in a City Area, a Character has to use the Crime Skill either as part of its Routine or when the Character gets hacked. This generates 2 Violence Tokens at once. Place 1 on the area's Action Box, the other on the Character's card. The area counts as a Crimescene, and the area's Action Box cannot be activated as long as the Violence Token remains on it. To remove a Violence Token from an Action Box, a Character has to use the Investigate Skill while in the area.

Important: There can only be 1 Violence Token on an area's Action Box. However if an area has 2 Action Boxes, there can be a Violence Token on each. If all boxes of an area already have a Violence Token, performing the Crime Skill in the area is not possible.

2. Murder: Place 1 Violence Token on the murderer.

To murder another Character, a Character has to use the Murder Skill while in the same City Area as the other Character, either as part of its Routine or when the Character gets hacked. This generates only 1 Violence Token. Place it on the murderer's Character card. There is no limit to how many Violence Tokens a Character can have.

An Area with a Violence Token counts as a Crimescene. A Character with a Violence Token counts as a Criminal. Killing a criminal Character never generates a Violence Token.

Important: Characters with Violence Tokens on them count as Criminals. Killing a Criminal does not count as a crime and never generates a Violence Token.

The Scoreboard

The Scoreboard consists of one vertical Resource Track (1) for each Resource, counting from 0 to 10, the Breaking Point Track (2) running around the Resource Tracks, and the VP Track (3) on the sides.

With the VP Track players can keep track of their Corporation's current Victory Points.

The Breaking Point Track measures the stress the corporate struggle puts on the city and usually determines the end of the game.

The 6 Resource Tracks keep track of all the Resources currently in the game. Each Resource Track holds a number of one time rewards. 2 spaces with colored circles each hold 1 Resource Token of the corresponding color, 1 space holds a Permanent Victory Point Token and 1 space holds a Card Token. When a Resource Counter moves on such a space for the first time, the player who caused the move gets the space's reward.

• In case of a Resource Token, the player places that token on a Character of their choice. If it's a Data Token, the player places it on a Corporate Area of their choice instead.

  Important: Don't forget to move the corresponding Resource Counter and the Stress Token up accordingly. This can trigger additional rewards!

• In case of a Permanent Victory Point Token, the player takes the token and places it in their Desktop Area.

• If the space holds a Card Token, the player draws 1 Software Card into their hand and removes the Card Token.

Important: Resource Counters can move up and down repeatedly as resources are generated and destroyed. However, each reward of the Scoreboard can be claimed only once.

The upper half of the Resource Tracks contains spaces with a red background. This is the Red Zone. During the End of the Round Phase, if 1 or more Resource Counters are in the Red Zone, move the Breaking Point Token down 1 step. This can trigger the end of the game (see End of the Game). In this special case, none of the players get an additional Turn before the end.

City Areas

There are 5 different types of City Areas: Private, Public, Corporate, Exit and Prison Areas.

The type comes into effect when card texts or game mechanics reference it.

Shops

In addition to the type, some areas have a Shop icon. At a Shop Area, a Character can get Augment, Drugs or Products Tokens with the corresponding Skill.

Action Boxes

Most City Areas let Characters perform an Area Action. It is described in the area's Action Box. For more information, see "Area Actions". An area may have a permanent effect instead of an Area Action that is always active and affects all Characters in the area.

Prisons

A Prison Area is divided into 2 sections. A Character who gets into a Prison is placed in the topmost section.

If a Character in a Prison becomes activated, that Character is moved down one section in addition to any action it might perform. Characters that are already in the lowest section are placed in a City Area of the acting player's choice AFTER they performed their action.

Characters in a Prison Area cannot use DRIVE, MOVE or FLY.

Characters in a Prison are not viable targets for Characters in other areas. For example, if a Routine tells a Character to move to the closest Criminal, he will not move towards a Criminal in the prison even if there is no closer Criminal Character available. However, inmates are viable targets for each other and for Software Cards. The Prison Area is considered "in the city" for all other effects and game mechanics.

Software Cards

Software Cards represent programs and viruses you use to hack and attack other players or defend yourself.

Software Cards must be discarded from your hand to hack Characters and perform player actions. When a Software Card is discarded in this way, its card text is ignored and has no effect.

Software Cards can also be played for their imprinted effect during the Turn Phase, before or after actions, either in your own Turn or in another player's Turn, unless the text on the card says specifically otherwise.

Important: Software Cards can only be played in the Turn Phase, not the End of Round Phase.

Playing a Software Card is free. When you play a Software Card for its text effect, the game pauses and the effects of the card are resolved immediately. Then the card is put face up on the discard pile and the Turn Phase continues normally.

Play into Desktop Area

Some Software Cards tell you to place them on the table within the Desktop Area. These cards take effect the moment they come into play, and the effect lasts as long as the card remains in the Desktop Area.

Card types

There are 3 different types of Software Cards: Attacks, Counters and Utilities.

• Attacks: An Attack Card is a program that directly affects a specific target that is named in the card text.
• Counters: A Counter Card is a program that interrupts an Attack Card. Counter Cards stack, and some Counters can be used to interrupt enemy Counter Cards.
• Utilities: Utilities are used to buff yourself or other targets.

Important: Attacks do not stack. You cannot use your own attack to interrupt an opponent's attack. However you can play your own attack as a response, after the effects of an opponent's attack have been resolved.

Important: Utilities are not attacks, and can never be countered.

Random Number

Every Software Card has a Random Number in the top right corner. If the game asks you to draw a Random Number, draw the top card from the Software Deck and check its Random Number for your result. Then discard the Software Card face up on the discard pile.

If the Software Deck ever runs out during the game, shuffle the discard pile and place it face down next to the board as the new Software Deck.

Two Player Mode

The rules for two players work exactly as described above with 3 exceptions:

1. During the game setup, in step 5, choose your Corporation so that you don't share any Resource with your opponent. Then each player, beginning with the first player, chooses one of the remaining Resources as an additional scoring Resource, so that each player profits from 3 different Resources. In step 6 of the game setup, each player draws 5 Character Cards and chooses 2, so that you begin the game with a total of 4 Characters.
2. In two player mode, you can't discard a Software Card to reverse the Turn Order.
3. If you turn your Corporation into a Monopoly you must forfeit 2 of your 3 Resource types.