Cerebria: The Inside World Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Gloom Components
  • Bliss Components
• Game Overview
• Setup
  • The Origin
  • Main Board Setup
  • The Basic Game Mode
• The Main Board
• Player Setup
  • Teams
  • Spirits
  • Vibe Tokens
  • Emotions
    • Strong Emotions
    • Deckbuilding Rules
    • The Emotion Deck
    • Emotion Vibes
    • Starting Emotions
• Final Steps
  • Aspirations
  • Order of Play
  • Place Spirits & Starting Emotions
• Realm and Frontier Control
  • Frontier Control
  • Realm Control
  • Initial Spirit Actions
  • Checklist
• Gameplay
  • Turn Overview
  • What Can You Do?
• Spirit Actions
  • Unlocking & Upgrading Spirit Actions
    • Placing a Vibe Token
    • Other Ways to Add Vibe Tokens
  • Move Spirit
  • Invoke Emotion
  • Quell Emotion
  • Fortify
    • Benefits of Fortresses
  • Empower Emotion
• Realm Actions
  • Realm Actions vs. Spirit Actions
  • Valley of Motives
  • Cradle of Senses
  • Network of Thoughts
  • Land of Desires
  • Willow of Values
  • Realm Actions Summary
• Abilities
  • Ambition Abilities
  • The Absorb Ability
• Scoring
  • Intentions
• Revelations, Fragments, & the Identity
• The Aspiration Cards
• Ending the Game
  • Final Scoring
• Cerebria and You
• Credits
• Appendix
  • Game Variant for 2-3 Players: The Shaper
    • Changes in Player Setup
    • Changes in Main Board Setup
  • List of Intentions
  • Cerebria's Spirits & Their Powers
    • Misery, the Breaker of Mirth, the Unobscured Mind
    • Delight, the Ever-Bright, the Carefree
    • Hatred, the Rampaging Flame, the Daring
    • Love, the Heartfelt Flame, the Attached
    • Malice, the Vitriolic, the Self-Preserving
    • Empathy, the Clement Curer, the Selfless
    • Anxiety, the Dark Harvester, the Vigilant
    • Harmony, the Prudent, the Quiescent
  • The Asymmetric Spirit Boards
    • Love
    • Delight
    • Empathy
    • Harmony
    • Hatred
    • Misery
    • Malice
    • Anxiety
  • Spirit-Specific Starter Decks
  • Emotion Powers
  • Icons Glossary

Components

Gloom Components

• 1 Gloom Quick Reference card
• 1 Main board
• 4 double-sided Gloom Spirit boards
• 1 Gloom double-sided Team board
• 20 Gloom Essence counters
• 60 Willpower counters
• 9 Gloom Aspiration cards
• 64 Gloom Mild Emotion cards
• 32 Gloom Strong Emotion cards
• 6 Bleakness Emotion cards
• 1 Base piece
• 32 Gloom Vibe tokens
• 8 Wild Gloom Vibe tokens
• 1 Gloom Emotion sheet
• 2 Gloom Action Tracker tokens
• 5 Gloom Minor Identity Fragments
• 3 Gloom Major Identity Fragments
• 1 Gloom Capping Identity Fragment
• 4 Gloom Player Order markers
• 3 Ambition tokens
• 2 Point counters (1 spare)
• 5 double-sided Realm Control markers
• 6 Insecurity tokens
• 18 double-sided Intensity tokens
• 4 Gloom Spirit Figures with plastic stands

Bliss Components

• 1 Bliss Quick Reference card
• 1 Origin board
• 4 double-sided Bliss Spirit boards
• 1 Bliss double-sided Team board
• 20 Bliss Essence counters
• 9 Common Aspiration cards
• 9 Bliss Aspiration cards
• 64 Bliss Mild Emotion cards
• 32 Bliss Strong Emotion cards
• 2 Brightness Emotion cards
• 32 Bliss Vibe tokens
• 8 Wild Bliss Vibe tokens
• 1 Bliss Emotion sheet
• 2 Bliss Action Tracker tokens
• 5 Bliss Minor Identity Fragments
• 3 Bliss Major Identity Fragments
• 1 Bliss Capping Identity Fragment
• 4 Bliss Player Order markers
• 3 Ambition tokens
• 2 Point counters (1 spare)
• 5 double-sided Frontier Control markers
• 12 double-sided Intensity tokens
• 4 Bliss Spirit Figures with plastic stands

Rules video available at mindclashgames.com/cerebria.

Game Overview

Cerebria is a dynamic, team-based, objective-driven area control game. Players play as Spirits — powerful entities representing Bliss or Gloom, the two opposing forces of the Inside World.

Players take turns performing Actions to manipulate Emotion cards within Cerebria. Points are scored in two ways:

• Intentions are publicly known minor objectives. When a player accomplishes an Intention, their team scores it immediately.
• Aspirations are major objectives. Unlike Intentions, the Aspirations will change dynamically during the course of the game. Each team has a Hidden Aspiration, and both teams compete to be the one who fulfills a Common Aspiration. Players can trigger scoring events called Revelations, which cause Aspirations to be revealed and evaluated. This allows the teams to build Cerebria's Identity by stacking point-scoring tiles called Fragments.

At the end of the game, the Fragments in the Identity are scored and added to the points scored for Intentions. The team with more points wins, having become the dominant force in Cerebria.

Setup

The Origin

Our souls are connected to the Origin, an endless source of energy that allows us to grow and evolve along different paths, represented by the Spheres. Every now and then, we experience a Revelation, during which we understand more about our lives.

1. Assembling the game board. Begin setup by attaching the Origin board to the Main board, with a random orientation.
2. Origin Starting Setup. The five Spheres of the Origin provide Willpower, the energy that powers Cerebria. During play, your Spirit will be able to absorb this Willpower and use it to shape the Inside World. When a Sphere is emptied, Cerebria experiences a Revelation, then the Sphere is replenished. Each Sphere starts with seven Willpower counters. Remaining Willpower will be kept within easy reach of each team as a general supply.
3. The center of the Origin board is initially empty, but during play, Cerebria will build up an Identity. The Origin is also the place where you will build Cerebria's Identity. During play, Identity Fragments will be stacked here, recording your impact on Cerebria. At the beginning of the game, the mind does not even know who it is, and this space is empty.

Main Board Setup

Our inside world is an inside-out reflection of the outside world.

This section depicts the basic setup for a standard four-player game. Rules for other numbers of players are in the Appendix.

1. Set up the Origin and give each Sphere 7 Willpower counters, as explained above.
2. Place the remaining Willpower counters and each team's Essence counters on the Main board, next to the play area where players can reach them.
3. Place each team's Point counter on the "0" starting space of their Wheel of Intentions.
   • BASIC GAME: The Point counter will not be used until the end of the basic game.
4. Player Setup: Players choose Spirits and build Emotion decks, as described below. Decks should be shuffled and placed on the board. The top card of each Emotion deck is always face up.
5. Shuffle the deck of Common Aspirations and deal all nine cards face up in a row. Aspirations are explained in detail later.
   • BASIC GAME: In the basic game, before shuffling the Common Aspiration deck, remove the cards Reflection and Sensibility from it, and only deal seven cards.
6. Take the four players' Player Order markers and randomly determine the order of play for the game. One team's players should go first and third; the other team's players go second and fourth. Place the markers near the board to remind you of play order.
7. Initial conditions: Players will begin the game by deciding where to place their Spirit Figures and Starting Emotions. If your group is learning Cerebria, you should place figures and cards as shown in the rulebook diagram, to guarantee a fair start.

Gloom players sit on one side of the board; Bliss players sit on the other side. Each player on a team has their own Emotion deck. The top card is always face up.

The Basic Game Mode

Cerebria is a deep and complex game that takes a few playthroughs to master. To make it easier to learn the game, we developed a basic game mode that excludes some of the more advanced game concepts and helps you learn the game step by step. If your group is new to the game, we strongly recommend starting with the basic mode. After a few plays, you can move on to the full game, but feel free to return to the basic version whenever you like. For specific rules regarding the basic game, look for text boxes like this throughout the rulebook. You can also find a summary in the Appendix.

The Main Board

FORTRESS LOCATION — Each Realm has a pentagonal location where a team may build a Fortress to solidify their control of the Realm.

EMOTION SLOT — Emotions in these 15 slots will determine who controls Cerebria.

SPIRIT SPACE — Spirit Figures can move along the glowing paths to visit these 10 circular spaces.

REALM CONTROL MARKER / FRONTIER CONTROL MARKER — Each Realm and Frontier has a two-sided control marker to denote which team controls it. If neither team is in control, set the marker beside the board.

REALM — Cerebria is divided into five Realms. Each Realm is associated with a specific Action. A team that controls the Realm can use the Action more cheaply. Each Realm has two Realm Emotion slots.

FRONTIER — Between the Realms are five Frontiers. Spirits and Emotions on Frontiers are not fully in either Realm, but they are in position to influence both of them. Each Frontier has one Frontier Emotion slot.

WILLPOWER — This is the energy that flows through Cerebria. It is possible to take Willpower directly from the supply, but usually players will get Willpower by Absorbing it from one of the five Spheres. Willpower can be spent on various Actions. Spent Willpower is returned to this supply. When a Sphere is emptied of Willpower, Cerebria experiences a Revelation, after which the Sphere is replenished with 7 Willpower from this supply.

ESSENCE — This is the life force required to sustain the Emotions. During play, players will take Essence from this supply and store it on their Spirit boards. Sometimes it is spent and returned to this supply, but usually it is given to an Emotion to make it stronger.

Player Setup

Players have a number of choices they can make before the game actually begins. These choices can be bewildering to players who don't even know what the game is about yet. We give recommendations that you should follow when setting up the game for people who are new to Cerebria.

Teams

Our positive and negative aspects lead us to different actions, but they share a common goal: to steer us through life.

Players divide evenly into two teams, Bliss and Gloom. Teammates sit side by side with their Team board between them.

TEAM COMMUNICATION: Players are free to share any information with their teammate, including showing them their hand of Emotion cards. However, teammates are not allowed to trade Essence, Willpower or cards between each other.

The two sides of the Team board have different Intentions — ways to score points during your turn. Both teams should play with the same side, A or B.

Each team should take 3 Ambition tokens and place them on their board with their inactive side up. The Team board also shows the team's Ambition Abilities.

Each team shuffles their deck of Hidden Aspirations and places it on their Team board.

• BASIC GAME: Before shuffling your deck of Hidden Aspirations, remove the cards Reflection and Sensibility from it. Intentions are not used at all in the basic game.

NOTE: Don't look at the top card until you have chosen your Spirit and built your Emotion deck, as explained below.

Each team should also take the Fragments and the Intensity tokens associated with their team. The teams also have different Essence, which can be kept on the Main board. The Fragments — Minor Fragments, Major Fragments and the Capping Fragment — will be stacked in the center of the Origin board to keep score during Revelations.

Spirits

We all have multiple facets to our personalities. When the inner voices speak, we should listen to their advice, but it is not wise to allow them to take control of our lives.

Each player chooses one of their team's Spirits to play for the duration of the game. Unchosen Spirits can be left in the box.

Take the board and figure corresponding to your chosen Spirit.

All Spirit boards have the same Actions on the A side. The B side gives each Spirit a unique set of Spirit Actions, which are explained in the Appendix. Everyone should play with the same side, A or B.

NOTE: The side of the Team board does not have to match the side of the Spirit board. For example, you can use B-side Spirits with the A-side Team boards, if you wish.

• BASIC GAME: Use the A side in the basic game. These are the Actions that are explained in the main part of this rulebook.

Place your Action Tracker token on your Spirit board, as shown. This is where it will be at the beginning of each of your turns.

Take 2 Essence and 4 Willpower from the general supply. Place these on your Spirit board to denote that they are available for you to spend.

Vibe Tokens

These tokens are used to denote which of your 5 Spirit Actions have been unlocked or upgraded. You start the game with 4 wild Vibe tokens, and you can use them to unlock or upgrade any Actions you wish. Keep your Vibe token supply within easy reach.

• BASIC GAME: Each player should place a wild Vibe token on the Move, Invoke, Quell, and Fortify Actions. This denotes that you have these 4 Actions unlocked.

Experienced players do not have to make final decisions about their 4 initial Vibe tokens until just before the first player's turn.

You start with 2 Emotions in your hand.

Emotions

If spirits are the officers aboard the ship of inner exploration, emotions are the crew. They guide us through everyday life and help us relate to our environment.

Emotions are the manifestations of the Spirits' actions in Cerebria. They are represented by cards drawn from the Emotion decks. Each player has their own deck.

When building your Emotion decks, one player on each team should play with cards marked with a symbol in the upper right corner. This helps identify the deck the Emotion belongs to, which is relevant when the Emotion is discarded, and makes the setup and tear-down easier.

The Emotion card shows its name, its Vibe, its Essence spaces with their Intensity values, its related Strong Emotion, and its Emotion Power. The frame color indicates which team the Emotion belongs to.

POWERS: Emotion powers are explained in detail on the Emotion sheets. Unless otherwise stated, you can use an Emotion power only if the Emotion belongs to your team and only during your own turn.

• BASIC GAME: In the first few basic games, teams should play two of the starter decks listed here, 16 cards for each teammate. These decks only include Emotions with straightforward powers, but once you are familiar with the basic game, feel free to try the Spirit-specific starter decks, or your own Emotion combinations.
  • BLISS STARTER DECK (one per teammate): 2x Courage, 2x Sociability, 2x Cheerfulness, 2x Excitement, 2x Kindness, 2x Desire, 2x Optimism, 2x Self-Esteem
  • GLOOM STARTER DECK (one per teammate): 2x Anger, 2x Jealousy, 2x Pessimism, 2x Bitterness, 2x Dislike, 2x Mistrust, 2x Embarrassment, 2x Loneliness

Strong Emotions

Cards with the Strong Emotion symbol on the back are Strong Emotions. They are not used when building your deck. Your deck will have only Mild Emotions. They can grow into Strong Emotions during play. For now, set your team's Strong Emotions aside. You do not need to shuffle this deck. In fact, it will speed up play if you keep it in alphabetical order.

• BASIC GAME: Since the Empower Action is not part of the basic game, the Strong Emotions won't be needed.

Deckbuilding Rules

If you construct your own deck, follow these rules:

• Use exactly 16 Mild Emotion cards.
• Use no more than 2 copies of each card.

For preconstructed deck lists for each Spirit, refer to the Appendix.

The Emotion Deck

Shuffle your Emotion deck at the start of the game. Place it on the space near you on the corner of the Main board. Draw 2 cards for your starting hand, then turn the top card of the Emotion deck face up.

NOTE: The top card of your Emotion deck should always be face up.

Emotion Vibes

Every Emotion in your deck has a Vibe, represented by an icon of a certain color. Bliss and Gloom have the same 4 colors, but different icons. Only the colors have gameplay effect. The icons symbolize that two opposing Emotions with the same Vibe see it from opposite sides. The four Vibes are Red Vibes, Yellow Vibes, Green Vibes and Blue Vibes.

Starting Emotions

Bleakness and Brightness are the simple Emotions that shape the early development of Cerebria. They are not put into a deck. They are placed on the Main board as the players prepare to start playing.

Final Steps

As the final steps of setup, players need to discover their Aspirations, choose a random play order, and place their Spirit Figures and Starting Emotions.

Aspirations

We all have certain goals in life. We believe we pursue these goals by choice. After some introspection, we might realize that our aspirations have always been part of our personality, waiting to be discovered.

Aspirations serve as guidance for the Spirits, determining what they need to strive for. Cerebria is a goal-driven game. During play, you will have the opportunity to trigger scoring events called Revelations, at which time the teams will be scored based on how well they accomplished their Aspirations.

At all times, there is one Common Aspiration contested by both sides. The Common Aspirations are face up in a row along one edge of the Main board. The leftmost one is the first goal players are competing to achieve. After a Revelation is scored, the current Common Aspiration is turned face down, and players aspire to the goal represented by the next card in line.

Each team also has their own Hidden Aspiration, on top of their own deck. After laying out the Common Aspirations, shuffle your team's deck of Hidden Aspirations and set it face down on your Team board. Peek at the top card. Your Hidden Aspiration must never match the current Common Aspiration. If it matches, shuffle your deck and try again. (If it doesn't match, then you leave it on top.)

The card atop your deck is a secret goal your team is trying to achieve. You may look at this card at any time.

NOTE: Each Aspiration card is explained in detail in the section on Scoring.

Order of Play

As we walk through life, our outlook alternates between Bliss and Gloom.

Each Spirit has a Player Order marker. Play should alternate between Bliss and Gloom players, with the starting player chosen randomly. Determine the order of play, and place the markers in that order near the Main board.

NOTE: Play order will not be clockwise, so it's nice to have the markers to remind everyone of the order. Play order does not change during the game.

The starting player begins the game with 2 more Willpower than the other players, but must flip over their Action Tracker token.

Place Spirits & Starting Emotions

Our first smiles, our first tears — these beginnings do not define us, but they do shape us.

• BASIC GAME: Place your Spirit Figures and Starting Emotion cards on the board as shown in the setup picture. Essence counters on these cards are placed from the general supply. You may skip the following section.

Each player takes one Bleakness or Brightness card — the starting Emotion belonging to their team. In player order, each player does the following:

1. Place your Spirit Figure on an empty space on one of the five Frontiers.
2. Place your Starting Emotion card on a slot adjacent to your Frontier's Emotion slot. (So the Starting Emotion will be entirely within a Realm, not on your Frontier.)
3. Place 1 Essence from the general supply on the first (shaded) Essence space of the Emotion card.

NOTE: This initial placement is an exception because the Emotion card goes into a Realm slot. Normally, a Spirit Figure on a Frontier can affect only the Emotion slot on that Frontier.

Realm and Frontier Control

With the power of the emotions, Bliss or Gloom may take over your thoughts, change the nature of your motivations, affect your desires, reform your beliefs, and even influence your perception of reality.

Depending on where players placed their Starting Emotions, certain Realms and Frontiers may now be under one team's control.

• BASIC GAME: The setup picture has the correct Realm and Frontier Control markers, but you should read this section anyway. Understanding control is essential to understanding the game.

Control will change over the course of the game as the players manipulate Cerebria's Emotions. After each change, Realm and Frontier Control should be reevaluated.

Frontier Control

Control of a Frontier is determined by the Emotion slot on that Frontier and the two adjacent slots (one in each neighboring Realm). These three slots are the Frontier's Triad. Only Emotions in these 3 slots can influence this Frontier. If only one team has Emotions in the Triad, that team controls the Frontier.

If both teams have Emotions in the Triad, you should compare their Intensities.

Intensity: Each Emotion has a number of Essence on it, filling spaces from left to right. The highest-numbered space with an Essence on it is that Emotion's Intensity. For example, an Affection card with Essence up to the second space has 2 Intensity.

Add up each team's total Intensities in the Frontier's Triad. The team with the higher total controls that Frontier. Use the double-sided Frontier Control marker to denote the controlling team.

If both teams' Intensities are equal (or if neither team has an Emotion in the Triad), then neither team controls the Frontier, and the Frontier Control marker should be placed nearby, off the board.

Benefits of Controlling a Frontier

• It may be a condition for an Aspiration.
• Your Absorb Ability gains you 1 extra Willpower if your Spirit Figure is on or adjacent to that Frontier.

Realm Control

A Realm can be influenced by four Emotion slots — the two in the Realm, and one on each adjacent Frontier — and by a Fortress in the Realm's Fortress location. However, an Emotion on a Frontier can be blocked: If you have an Emotion in the Realm, it blocks any opposing Emotion on the adjacent Frontier slot. (The blocked Emotion still influences its Frontier and possibly the other adjacent Realm.)

NOTE: You do not block your own Emotions.

Unlike a Frontier, a Realm can also be influenced by a Fortress. Each Realm has one location for a Fortress, which can be built using the "Fortify" Spirit Action. A team with a Fortress adds +1 or +2 to their Intensity, depending on the Fortress. This bonus is marked with a token on the board. The bonus should be added to that team's Intensity when calculating who controls the Realm.

Add up the Intensities of Emotions in the Realm and unblocked Emotions on the adjacent Frontiers, plus any bonus from a Fortress.

Whichever team has more Intensity controls the Realm. Use the Realm Control marker to denote this. If their Intensities are equal, then neither team controls the Realm and the marker should be kept off to the side.

EXAMPLE: AFFECTION blocks FEAR on the left Frontier, so Gloom can count only DISLIKE and CRAVING on the right. Gloom's total Intensity is 2. Bliss's Intensity is 2 + 1 from the Fortress, so Bliss controls the Realm. Without the Fortress, Bliss and Gloom would be tied at 2 and neither team would control the Realm.

Benefits of Controlling a Realm

• It may be a condition for an Aspiration.
• Using the Realm Action associated with that Realm costs you 1 less Willpower.

Initial Spirit Actions

Each player starts the game with 4 wild Vibe tokens on their Spirit Actions.

• BASIC GAME: If you are learning the game, you have already unlocked 4 Spirit Actions when you set up your Spirit board.

Experienced players do not have to choose their Spirit Actions and upgrades until just before the first player's turn. At this time, each player draws their starting hand of 2 Emotions, then in player order, each player places 4 wild Vibe tokens on their Spirit Actions.

You start with at most 4 Spirit Actions unlocked, but you can also choose to have fewer unlocked and some of them upgraded. Unlocking and upgrading is explained in detail later, in the section on Spirit Actions.

Checklist

Each player starts with:

• 2 Emotion cards in hand
• 2 Essence on their Spirit board
• 4 Willpower on their Spirit board (6 Willpower for the starting player)
• 4 wild Vibe tokens on their Spirit Actions

Gameplay

From birth to death, life is a journey to discover one's true self. Some have more revelations than others, but the quantity does not matter. Each revelation has value.

Players take turns, according to the play order established at the beginning of the game, alternating between Bliss and Gloom players. If a player's turn triggers a Revelation scoring event, the Revelation is resolved immediately, and the player's turn continues afterwards.

Turn Overview

On your turn, you take 3 Actions.

You have 10 possible Actions available:

• 5 Spirit Actions, depicted on your Spirit board.
• 5 Realm Actions, depicted in the 5 Realms on the Main board.

You may take the same Action more than once, if you wish.

In addition, you have 3 Ambition Abilities, which you may use before or after any Action, if you have available Ambition. In particular, one of these Ambition Abilities allows you to buy an extra Action for the turn. Ambition Abilities are depicted on your Team board. Each Ambition Ability can be used only once per turn.

You also have an Absorb Ability, which can be used only once per turn. Using it might trigger a Revelation.

Use your Action Tracker token to keep track of how many Actions you have already used. If you use your Absorb Ability, flip the token over. Tracking this information will be especially helpful if your turn is interrupted by a Revelation.

At the end of your turn:

• Flip 1 used Ambition token to the "available" side OR draw 2 Emotion cards.
• If you have 0 Willpower, gain 1.
• If necessary, flip your Action Tracker token to show that Absorb is available again.

What Can You Do?

On a typical turn, you will want to affect the Emotions in some way. To affect the Emotion slot on a Frontier, you need to be on the Spirit space on that Frontier. To affect either Emotion slot in a Realm, you need to be in that Realm. So you might need to spend some Actions moving your Spirit Figure. Most Actions require Willpower, so you will probably want to get some using your Absorb Ability. And there are Actions you can take to gain Willpower or Essence from the general supply.

Spirit Actions

There are five Spirit Actions in Cerebria, printed on your Spirit board. Only those with a Vibe token are available to you.

Unlocking & Upgrading Spirit Actions

A Spirit Action with a Vibe token on the leftmost slot is unlocked. If a Spirit Action has no Vibe token, you may still perform that Action but only if you first place a Vibe token as the first step of that Action.

Placing a Vibe Token

Immediately after declaring you are performing a Spirit Action and before carrying out that Action, you may place one Vibe token on that Action. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Discard one Emotion card from your hand.
2. From the supply, take a Vibe token that matches the Vibe on the discarded Emotion.
3. If the Spirit Action is not unlocked (i.e. there is no Vibe token on the leftmost space of the Spirit Action's row), place the Vibe token on the leftmost space. This unlocks the Action. If the Action is already unlocked, you may place the Vibe token on any of its three upgrades instead.

When placing Vibe tokens, you must keep in mind one restriction: You cannot have two Vibe tokens of the same color in the same Spirit Action row.

WILD VIBE TOKENS: Wild Vibe tokens are special tokens you placed on your board at the beginning of the game. Wild Vibe tokens have no color. In other words, a wild Vibe token does not match the color of any other token in its row, not even another wild Vibe token, therefore they do not limit further Vibe token placement.

Each Spirit Action row has one Unlocked space and three Upgraded spaces. The use of upgrades is always optional. When performing a Spirit Action, you may use any number of your available upgrades on the Action. Each upgrade can be used at most once.

Spirit Actions and their standard upgrades are described in this section. Experienced players can play with the B sides of the Spirit boards, on which each Spirit has a unique set of upgrades. These are explained in the Appendix.

All Spirit Actions have the same third upgrade, so we explain it here.

Determination: Using the Spirit Action costs 1 less Willpower. This discount is applied only once — for example, if you use the base Spirit Action and 2 upgrades, your discount is still only 1 Willpower, not 3.

EXAMPLE: Diana would like to move adjacent to KINDNESS. However, KINDNESS's Realm is 2 slots away, so Diana will need to upgrade her Move Action. Before taking the Action, she discards COURAGE from her hand and places a red Vibe token on the first upgrade of the Move Action. For the rest of the game, she may move 1 or 2 spaces with her Move, but moving 2 spaces costs her 1 additional Willpower.

Other Ways to Add Vibe Tokens

Players may have access to abilities and powers that allow them to unlock or upgrade Spirit Actions at other times. The following rules always apply:

• You cannot upgrade a Spirit Action that has not yet been unlocked.
• The Vibe token you add must be a different color from those already in the row.
• You add one of your team's normal Vibe tokens, not a wild Vibe token.

Move Spirit

Our emotions impact various aspects of our soul. Over time they may influence more and more of our mindset and ideas.

The state of Cerebria is in constant flux. This Action helps you keep up with the flow of events.

Move Spirit: Pay 1 Willpower to move your Spirit Figure along a path to an adjacent space. By default, you cannot end your move on the same space as an opposing Spirit. However, you can share a space with your teammate.

• Haste: Pay 1 additional Willpower to move 1 extra space (but only 1). This allows you to pass through (but not end at) spaces occupied by opposing Spirits.
• Surmount: Pay 1 additional Willpower to end your move on a space occupied by an opposing Spirit.

Invoke Emotion

A life bereft of emotions — whether pleasant or troubling — would be a desolate wasteland.

Invoking Emotions is the primary way to get more Emotion cards on the Main board.

Invoke Emotion: Pay 2 Willpower to play an Emotion card from your hand onto an empty Emotion slot adjacent to your Spirit. Then, immediately place Essence from your Spirit board on the Emotion's shaded Essence space. Recalculate control of Realms and Frontiers.

Adjacency: A Spirit Figure on a Frontier is adjacent to 1 Emotion slot, the one on that Frontier. A Spirit Figure in a Realm is adjacent to 2 Emotion slots, the two in that Realm.

NOTE: The first Essence space is shaded to remind you that Essence must be placed here when you invoke it. Emotions have powers, some of which trigger when they are invoked. Powers are explained in the Appendix.

• Bolster: You may also spend 1 Ambition to give the Emotion 1 Essence above the amount the Emotion usually starts with. This extra Essence comes from the general supply.
  • NOTE: You spend Ambition by flipping over an available Ambition token. The details will be explained in the section on Ambition.
• Inner Force: For 2 additional Willpower, you may take the required Essence from the general supply instead of using your own.

Quell Emotion

Sometimes we have little control over what emotions emerge in our minds, but it is up to us to decide which ones we sustain and which ones we let go.

In the struggle for Cerebria, Emotions sometimes have to be deprived of their Essence and removed from the board. This costly but effective Action is called Quell.

Quell Emotion: Spend 2 Willpower and 1 Ambition to quell an opposing Emotion adjacent to your Spirit Figure. You must have an Emotion card in your hand with a Vibe color that matches that of the opposing Emotion. Reveal your card and remove the rightmost Essence from the quelled Emotion. (The Essence goes to the general supply. The revealed card remains in your hand.)

If the Emotion is left with no Essence, remove it from the board and discard it. Mild Emotions go to the bottom of the Emotion deck. Strong Emotions go back to their deck.

DISCARDED CARDS: Whenever a card is discarded, put it face down on the bottom of the Emotion deck if it is a Mild Emotion or back in the Strong Emotion deck if it is a Strong Emotion.

NOTE: You cannot quell an Emotion unless you hold a card with a matching Vibe.

EXCEPTION: Brightness and Bleakness, the starting Emotions, match any Vibe. You can quell them as long as you have a card in your hand. When they are removed from the board, they go back into the box.

• Subdue: For 2 additional Willpower, you may remove 1 additional Essence from the quelled Emotion. (But you cannot spend 4 Willpower to remove an additional 2.)
• Extinguish: For 1 additional Willpower, you do not have to reveal a card to quell an Emotion. This also means you may quell even if your hand is empty.

Fortify

Dwelling on blissful or gloomy thoughts can have a lasting effect on our inside world.

Instead of looking to claim enemy lands, the Spirits of Cerebria sometimes prefer to consolidate their influence over certain areas. Fragments that are not yet part of the Identity can be used to fortify a Realm.

This Action and its upgrades allow you to affect the Fortress location in a Realm. You can take this Action only if your Spirit Figure is on one of the 3 spaces next to the Fortress location.

Fortify: Take this Action only in a Realm that your opponent does not control and only if the Fortress location is empty. You may spend 3 Willpower to place one of your unused Minor Fragments on the Fortress location. Place a +1 Intensity token on the space above it. You now have a bonus of +1 Intensity in that Realm (but not on any Frontier).

NOTE: If the Realm is controlled by neither team, building a Fortress there will give your team control of the Realm.

• Exalt: Use this upgrade only in a Realm that your opponent does not control and only if your team already has a Minor Fragment on the Fortress location. Spend 1 Ambition (in addition to the 3 Willpower you pay for the Action) to replace your Minor Fragment with one of your Major Fragments. Flip the +1 Intensity token to the +2 side.

  • NOTE: Using the Exalt upgrade changes the effect of the basic Fortify Action from placing a Minor Fragment to replacing a Minor Fragment with a Major Fragment. Therefore, to get a Major Fragment, you first need to choose the basic Fortify Action (costing 3 Willpower), and then as a later Action, choose the Exalt upgrade to replace the Minor Fragment with a Major one (costing 3 Willpower and an Ambition).

• Raze: Use this upgrade only when adjacent to a Fortress location with an opponent's Fragment. For 1 additional Willpower and an Ambition, instead of adding your own Fragment, you may either:

  • Remove the opponent's Minor Fragment (and the +1 Intensity counter), OR
  • Replace the opponent's Major Fragment with a Minor one and flip the +2 Intensity counter to its +1 side.

  NOTE: Unlike the base Action or the Exalt upgrade, you may use the Raze upgrade even in a Realm controlled by your opponent.

  After using the Raze upgrade, you gain an additional Action for this turn.

SPECIAL CASES: Fragments are intended to be limited. If the type of Fragment you need is not available, you cannot complete the Action. If your opponent has no Minor Fragments, you cannot raze their Major Fragment.

Benefits of Fortresses

Cerebria is a fast-paced tactical game with constantly changing board states. Fortresses, however, add a more strategic layer to the gameplay. They have many benefits, but most of their power will only show over time. Fortresses provide the following advantages:

• They contribute +1 (or +2) Intensity towards the control of the Realm they're on, making it harder to lose it to the other team.
• They contribute to the Aspiration of Fortitude.
• Most importantly, they can be added to the Identity during Revelations (under certain conditions as explained later). This gives you a way to add additional Fragments to the Identity, which is a major goal of the game.

Empower Emotion

As we dwell on our emotions, we experience them more strongly.

Each Mild Emotion has a Strong counterpart that can be brought into play only with this Action. Strong Emotions generally have higher Intensity values and more powerful abilities, so this Action can have a major impact on the game.

• BASIC GAME: The Empower Action is not part of the basic game. In the basic game, simply ignore the bottom row of the Spirit board.

Empower Emotion: To empower one of your team's Emotions, it must be on a slot adjacent to your Spirit Figure. (Adjacency is explained under the "Invoke Emotion" Action.) The Emotion must be a Mild Emotion with Essence that meets or exceeds its Empower threshold, as depicted on the card. If this is so, then you spend 3 Willpower to replace it with its counterpart from your deck of Strong Emotions. Discard the Mild Emotion and transfer all Essence from it onto the new Strong Emotion. Any other tokens on the Emotion are discarded.

NOTE: The name of the corresponding Strong Emotion is printed on the Mild Emotion's card.

NOTE: In the rare case that both copies of the Strong Emotion are already in play, the Mild Emotion cannot be empowered.

• Channeled Power: Before empowering the Mild Emotion, you may spend 1 Ambition to add 1 Essence to it from the supply. (You can use this only if there is an empty Essence space. It allows you to empower an Emotion that would otherwise be below the threshold.)
• Emotional Outburst: Instead of empowering an Emotion that is adjacent, you can spend 1 additional Willpower to empower any Emotion on the board that meets the other requirements.

EXAMPLE: Diana is adjacent to KINDNESS. The card has 2 Essence on it already (enough to reach its Empower threshold), and she chooses to empower it. She spends 3 Willpower. She discards KINDNESS and replaces it with BENEVOLENCE, its Strong counterpart from the deck of Strong Emotions. The 2 Essence from Kindness go on Benevolence.

NOTE: She would not have been able to empower Kindness at all if it had only one Essence on it, unless she also had the Channeled Power upgrade.

Realm Actions

There are five Realm Actions, each associated with one of the five Realms of Cerebria.

NOTE: All five are available to you, regardless of your Spirit Figure's location.

Performing a Realm Action costs the amount of Willpower depicted below the Realm's name. In most Realms, the cost is 1 Willpower, but the Action associated with the Network of Thoughts costs 2.

If your team controls a particular Realm, that Realm's Action costs you 1 less Willpower.

Realm Actions vs. Spirit Actions

• Spirit Actions must be unlocked. Realm Actions are always available.
• Spirit Actions are upgradable. Realm Actions are not.
• Controlling a Realm gives your team a discount on that Realm's Action.
• Realm Actions require only Willpower. Some Spirit Actions and upgrades also require Ambition.

Realms and their Actions are described below.

Valley of Motives

Deep within ourselves we all have access to an unlimited source of energy, and our motives help us tap into it.

The Valley of Motives is an inspiring Realm. It allows you to take Willpower directly from the general supply.

Gain Willpower: Pay 1 Willpower to gain 4 Willpower from the general supply (not from any of the five Origin spheres).

CONTROL: If your team controls this Realm, you just take 4 Willpower for free. If your team does not control this Realm, you must have at least 1 Willpower on your Spirit board to spend on this Action and your net gain will be 3.

Cradle of Senses

Emotions come and go. We can choose which ones we will allow to affect our inside world.

The Cradle of Senses is the hub of contact with the Outside World. Taste, sight, touch, smell, and hearing make this the birthplace of Emotions. This Action allows you to draw as many Emotion cards as you want, if you can pay for them.

Draw Emotion cards: This Action has 2 steps.

1. Pay 1 Willpower to draw the top card of your Emotion deck. Turn the new top card face up.
2. If you wish, you may also draw the new top card by paying 2 Willpower. Turn the next top card face up. You can repeat step 2 as many times as you want. (If you can afford it.)

CONTROL: If your team controls this Realm, the first card is free, but each additional card still costs 2 Willpower.

Network of Thoughts

Our thoughts are deeply affected by our emotions. We can shift them around in our heads, but their influence remains.

The Network of Thoughts is an effective way for Emotions to travel through the Realms and Frontiers of Cerebria.

Move Emotion: Pay 2 Willpower to take one of your team's Emotion cards from any slot on the Main board and place it in an empty Emotion slot adjacent to your Spirit Figure. Recalculate control of the affected Realms and Frontiers.

CONTROL: If your team controls this Realm, the cost is discounted to 1 Willpower.

ADJACENCY: As illustrated under the "Invoke Emotion" Action, the slot you can affect depends on your Spirit Figure's location. A Spirit on a Frontier can move an Emotion only to the slot on that Frontier. A Spirit in a Realm can move an Emotion to either of the two slots in that Realm.

Land of Desires

Whatever we long for in life, our desires will intensify our related emotions — but daydreaming won't get us any closer to our aspirations.

The Land of Desires allows Spirits to use the power of imagination to focus attention on certain Emotions, nurturing them with Essence.

Intensify Emotion: This Action has 2 steps.

1. Pay 1 Willpower to choose an Emotion belonging to your team that is adjacent to your Spirit Figure. Add 1 Essence from your Spirit board to that Emotion. (The Essence spaces on the Emotion card fill from left to right.)
2. Pay any additional amount of Willpower to add that many additional Essence from your Spirit board to the same card.

This usually increases the Emotion's Intensity, and you may need to recalculate control of Realms and Frontiers.

CONTROL: If your team controls the Land of Desires, the first step is free, but you still have to pay 1 Willpower for each Essence you add in step 2.

ADJACENCY: To intensify an Emotion on a Frontier, you must be on that Frontier. To intensify an Emotion in a Realm, you must be in that Realm.

Willow of Values

Our values have deep roots in our subconscious, and they quietly nourish our emotions.

The Willow of Values grows Essence, the essential energy source for Emotions. Spirits have access to the tree's fruit, and can freely choose how to allocate it.

Harvest Essence: Pay 1 Willpower to exchange any amount of Willpower on your Spirit board for the same amount of Essence from the general supply.

CONTROL: If your team controls this Realm, then you just exchange Willpower for Essence, one for one. If your team does not control this Realm, you pay 1 Willpower first, then exchange one for one.

LIMITLESS ESSENCE: Essence counters are not intended to be limited. In the unlikely event that the supply runs out of tokens, use a suitable substitute.

Realm Actions Summary

Each Realm Action costs 1 less Willpower if the Realm is under your control. You can find all Realm Actions on your Quick Reference card.

• VALLEY OF MOTIVES — Gain 4 Willpower.
• CRADLE OF SENSES — Draw an Emotion card; draw any number of additional Emotion cards, paying +2 Willpower for each.
• LAND OF DESIRES — Place 1 Essence on an adjacent Emotion; place any number of additional Essence, paying +1 Willpower for each.
• WILLOW OF VALUES — Convert any amount of Willpower into Essence.
• NETWORK OF THOUGHTS — Relocate an Emotion to a slot adjacent to you.

Abilities

On your turn, you have a number of Abilities which you can use before or after any Action. Using an Ability does not count as an Action. You can use multiple Abilities on your turn, but you cannot use the same Ability twice in one turn. Your Ambition Abilities are explained here. Your Absorb Ability is explained below.

Ambition Abilities

Ambition is a third resource besides Willpower and Essence. It is limited to 3 tokens, which are shared between team members. Ambition can be spent on:

1. Certain powerful Spirit Actions and upgrades (such as Quell), as described in the previous chapter.
2. Ambition Abilities.

Your team starts the game with no available Ambition. The most common way to gain Ambition is at the end of your turn when you may flip over one face-down Ambition token instead of drawing 2 Emotion cards.

There may be other ways to gain Ambition during your turn, but such opportunities are rare.

To spend Ambition, flip one available token over. If all tokens are flipped over, you cannot spend Ambition and thus cannot use Ambition Abilities.

The Ambition Abilities are depicted on your Team board.

LIMITATION: You can use as many different Abilities as you can pay for, but each Ability can be used only once per turn.

• Add a Vibe token: Spend 1 Ambition to place a Vibe token to unlock or upgrade one of your Spirit Actions.

  NOTE: The effect of this Ability is similar to adding a Vibe token as the first step of a Spirit Action, but it circumvents most of its restrictions, giving you a lot more flexibility. When using this Ambition Ability:

  • You don't have to discard a card.
  • You can choose a Vibe token of any color that is not currently in that Spirit Action's row, even if you do not have an Emotion with that Vibe in hand. (But you cannot choose a wild Vibe token. Those are used only at the beginning of the game.)
  • You don't have to immediately perform the Action you unlocked or upgraded.

• Rotate Origin: Spend 1 Ambition to rotate the Origin. Each Sphere moves 1 step clockwise to the next Realm. This can help players access Spheres they otherwise wouldn't be able to.

• Additional Action: Spend 2 Ambition to gain an additional Action for the turn.

These Abilities are very powerful when used right, but Ambition is quite rare. Consider what you are spending it on carefully!

The Absorb Ability

Absorb is your ability to attune with the Origin. This Ability can be used only once each turn, before or after any Action.

The Absorb Ability has two very important benefits:

• It is a great source of Willpower and other resources.
• It can trigger a Revelation that allows you to add Fragments to the Identity.

Well-timed Absorbs ending in a beneficial Revelation can be very satisfying and are the key to mastering Cerebria.

To use your Absorb Ability:

1. Flip your Action Tracker token to its inactive side, indicating that Absorb cannot be used again this turn.

   NOTE: Since the starting player's Action Tracker token starts face down, they cannot Absorb on their first turn.

2. Choose an adjacent Origin Sphere. A Spirit in a Realm can Absorb only from that Realm's sphere. It can get a bonus if its team controls either of the 2 adjacent Frontiers. A Spirit on a Frontier can choose between 2 Realms' Spheres. It can get a bonus if its team controls the adjacent Frontier.

3. Take Willpower from it:

   • Your base Absorb is 2 Willpower.
   • Take 1 additional Willpower for each adjacent Frontier your team controls. (If your Spirit Figure is in a Realm, it is adjacent to 2 Frontiers. On a Frontier, it is adjacent only to that Frontier.)
   • Some Emotions have powers that may also modify the amount of Willpower you receive.
   • If you are entitled to Absorb more Willpower than is currently in the Sphere, you simply take all that is left.

4. Receive the bonus depicted on the Sphere:

   • Commitment: Pay 1 Willpower, then flip 1 Ambition token to the "available" side.
   • Humility: Take 1 Essence from the general supply.
   • Diligence: Take 2 Willpower from the general supply (not from the Sphere).
   • Knowledge: Add a Vibe token of your choice to any of your Spirit Actions. (This works exactly like the Ambition Ability.)
   • Creativity: Draw 1 Emotion card.

   NOTE: These bonuses are optional. With Commitment, for example, you don't have to pay Willpower and gain 1 Ambition if you don't want to. Usually, you want to.

5. If the Sphere is now empty, it is time for a Revelation. Revelations are explained in the next section.

6. Rotate the Origin clockwise once, changing the alignment of the Spheres.

EXAMPLE: Diana chooses to use her Absorb Ability. She flips her Action Tracker token to indicate this. Her Spirit, Delight, is in a Realm, which means she is adjacent to only 1 Sphere, Diligence. Her base Absorb is 2, plus 2 because Bliss controls two Frontiers adjacent to the Valley of Motives. Benevolence (a Strong Emotion not included in the basic game) allows her to take 1 additional Willpower from a Sphere in that Realm, so she Absorbs a total of 5. This empties the Sphere. The bonus from the Diligence Sphere gives her an additional 2 Willpower from the supply. Finally, she receives 1 more Willpower from the supply because Benevolence is on an adjacent Triad. Because the Sphere was emptied, a Revelation is triggered. After resolving the Revelation, she rotates the Origin one step clockwise.

Scoring

There are two ways to score:

• Accomplish one of your Intentions and score points on your turn.

• Add Fragments to the Identity, which will be scored at the end of the game.

• BASIC GAME: Intentions are not used in the basic game. They can be a powerful tool in the hands of experienced players, but playing them right takes a little practice. When playing the basic game, you can ignore the Intentions section of your Team board and the Wheel of Intentions. This also means that the basic game has only one way to score: adding Fragments to the Identity.

Intentions

Whether we pursue our goals consciously or instinctively, our inner world offers many ways to achieve them.

Your team has a number of Intentions depicted on your Team board. If you accomplish one of these goals on your turn, you score 1 point after the respective Action or Ability has been resolved. For each Intention accomplished beyond the first during the same turn, you score 2 points. The individual Intentions are fully explained in the Appendix.

Points are recorded by moving your team's counter around the Wheel of Intentions. If you land on or pass one of the marked spaces, you also get a bonus:

• Gain 1 Essence.
• Draw an Emotion card.
• Flip 1 Ambition token to "available" (if you do not have all 3 available).

If your counter reaches 20 points, this triggers the end of the game. You play out the rest of your turn, and if you accomplish more Intentions, just keep moving the counter around the wheel. (So 1 means 21, for example.) At the end of your turn, it will be time for final scoring.

The game can also end in other ways, as described below.

Revelations, Fragments, & the Identity

Whenever we experience a Revelation, our state of mind is matched against our aspirations and we draw a conclusion that leaves a mark on our Identity.

Revelations are the most important moments of a game of Cerebria. This is when the Aspirations the Spirits have been striving for are evaluated, and as a result, new Fragments are added to Cerebria's developing Identity. At the end of the game, Fragments in the Identity will be worth points, so its composition will be crucial in determining the winning side.

A Revelation is triggered immediately once a Sphere is emptied as a result of a Spirit's Absorb Ability. When this happens, take the following steps in this order:

1. Each side reveals their current Hidden Aspiration (the topmost card of their Hidden Aspiration deck).

2. Bliss and Gloom each check their own Hidden Aspiration and the Common Aspiration to see if they accomplished either of them. This always involves determining which team has more of something. (If both teams have the same amount, the Aspiration has not been accomplished.)

   NOTE: It is not possible to accomplish the other team's Hidden Aspiration.

3. A team that accomplished an Aspiration may add a Fragment to the Identity by stacking it on the center of the board:

   • A team that accomplished only one Aspiration adds a Minor Fragment.
   • A team that accomplished their Hidden Aspiration and the Common Aspiration adds a Major Fragment.
   • If the team does not have any more Fragments of the type they are supposed to add, this triggers the end of the game. They will get to add their Capping Fragment, as explained in the section on Ending the Game.

4. Determine the new Common Aspiration:

   • The Common Aspiration is turned face down. It will not be scored again.
   • If one team added a Major Fragment, then the other team must choose one of the face-up Aspirations and return it to the box. (If neither added a Major Fragment, skip this step.)
   • The leftmost face-up Aspiration will be the new Common Aspiration.

5. Choose new Hidden Aspirations:

   • Each team returns their Hidden Aspiration to the box, whether it was accomplished or not.
   • If a team accomplished no Aspiration during this Revelation, they may look at the top 3 cards of their Hidden Aspiration deck, choose 1, shuffle the rest into the deck, and place the chosen card on top. The Aspiration they choose must not be the same as the new Common Aspiration.
   • A team that did add a Fragment simply checks their new top card to be certain it is different from the new Common Aspiration. If it is the same, they shuffle the deck until they have one that is different.
   • The top card of each Hidden Aspiration deck will be the new Hidden Aspiration for each team.

6. If the Fortress location adjacent to the emptied Sphere has a Fragment that was built or Exalted earlier than the current turn, add that Fragment to the Identity and remove its associated Intensity token from the Realm. As a result, Realm control may change.

   NOTE: A Fortress that you built this turn cannot be added to the Identity. Likewise, a Fortress that you Exalted this turn (replacing its Minor Fragment with a Major Fragment) cannot be added to the Identity.

7. Finally, place 7 Willpower from the general supply into the Sphere just emptied.

   LIMITLESS WILLPOWER: Willpower counters are not intended to be limited. In the unlikely event that the supply runs out of counters, use a suitable substitute.

After the Revelation has been resolved, the current player's turn continues.

The Aspiration Cards

Aspirations are the driving force behind Revelations, and as such, they have a strong effect on gameplay. Though pursuing Aspirations is not the only way to do well in Cerebria, it is generally never wrong. When in doubt about what to do, just refer to the current Aspirations!

There are nine different Aspirations in the game. Each is found in the Common Aspiration deck and in each team's Hidden Aspirations deck. At all times, each team is pursuing one Hidden Aspiration and one Common Aspiration, which is also being pursued by their opponents.

Aspirations are evaluated only during Revelations, after which everyone gets new Aspirations. Hidden Aspirations must never be the same as the Common Aspiration.

• ATTITUDE — CONTROL MORE REALMS: Aspiration of Attitude is accomplished by controlling more Realms than the other team.

• OPENNESS — CONTROL MORE FRONTIERS: Aspiration of Openness is accomplished by controlling more Frontiers than the other team.

• AWARENESS — HAVE EMOTIONS IN MORE TRIADS: Aspiration of Awareness is accomplished by having Emotions in more Triads than the other team.

  REMINDER: A Triad is the set of 3 Emotion slots that can influence one Frontier. The board has five Triads.

• UNITY — HAVE MORE ADJACENT EMOTIONS: Aspiration of Unity is accomplished by having a longer chain of adjacent Emotions than the other team. This chain is referred to as a Unity.

• LIVELINESS — HAVE MORE ESSENCE ON THE MAIN BOARD: Aspiration of Liveliness is accomplished by having more total Essence on Emotions than the other team has.

• VERSATILITY — HAVE MORE DIFFERENT VIBES ON EMOTIONS: Aspiration of Versatility is accomplished by having Emotions on the board with more types of Vibes than the other team has.

  NOTE: Brightness and Bleakness (the starting Emotions) have no Vibe, so they do not count towards this Aspiration.

• FORTITUDE — HAVE MORE TOTAL INTENSITY FROM FORTRESSES: Aspiration of Fortitude is accomplished by having a higher total Intensity bonus from Fortresses than the other team has.

• SENSIBILITY — HAVE THE MOST INTENSE EMOTION: Aspiration of Sensibility is accomplished by having an Emotion with a higher Intensity than any Emotion owned by the other team.

• REFLECTION — CONTROL MORE OPPOSITE REALM-FRONTIER PAIRS: Aspiration of Reflection is accomplished by controlling more Realm-Frontier reflected pairs than the other team.

• BASIC GAME: Aspirations of Sensibility and Reflection are not used in the basic game — simply remove them from the Common and Hidden Aspiration decks at the start of the game. This will also make the basic game somewhat shorter than the full game.

EXAMPLE: Diana's last Absorb Ability emptied the Diligence Sphere, which immediately triggered a Revelation. Diana and Thomas, playing as Bliss, reveal their Hidden Aspiration (Unity), while Leo and Fred, playing as Gloom, reveal theirs (Attitude). The current Common Aspiration is Awareness.

• A — Bliss has a chain of four adjacent Emotions while Gloom only has three, so Bliss accomplished their Hidden Aspiration.
• B — Both Bliss and Gloom have Emotions on three different Triads, so the Common Aspiration is accomplished by no one.
• C — Bliss controls the Willow of Values and the Land of Desires, while Gloom controls the Network of Thoughts and the Cradle of Senses. Influence on the Valley of Motives is tied, so no one controls it. This means that Gloom failed to accomplish their Hidden Aspiration.

As a result of this Revelation, Bliss scores a Minor Fragment. Because the Fortress Fragment adjacent to the Sphere was there at the beginning of the turn, they add that to the Identity as well, resulting in a total of 2 Minor Fragments.

Bliss and Gloom each discard their Hidden Aspirations. The Common Aspiration is turned face down.

Since no Major Fragments were scored, no Common Aspiration is removed. The game simply proceeds with the next Common Aspiration. Bliss' new current Hidden Aspiration will be the topmost one of their deck, but Gloom may choose their next Hidden Aspiration from the top three, since they did not accomplish any Aspiration.

After the Revelation, Diana refills the empty Diligence Sphere with 7 Willpower from the general supply, rotates the Origin clockwise, and proceeds to take the one remaining Action in her turn.

Ending the Game

A game of Cerebria can end in three ways:

1. The last Common Aspiration is scored: The game ends if it is not possible to proceed to a new Common Aspiration after a Revelation, either because the final Common Aspiration was scored, or because the final one was removed during the Revelation.
2. A team would score a Minor or Major Fragment during a Revelation but has none remaining of that type: In this case, that team adds their Capping Fragment to the Identity after all other Fragments, including Fortresses, have been added. In the extremely rare case when both teams would add a Capping Fragment, the team that triggered the Revelation adds their Capping Fragment, and the other team scores 4 points. Their Wheel of Intentions can be used to record these points.
3. A team acquires 20 or more points on their Wheel of Intentions (full game only).

If any of these occurs, the active player may still finish their turn. Then proceed to final scoring.

NOTE: It is possible that some players will have one less turn than others.

Final Scoring

Points for Fragments in the Identity will be added to the points the teams already have in their Wheels of Intentions. You can use the Wheels to add up total points. Just remember how many times you have passed the starting space.

POINTS ARE SCORED AS FOLLOWS:

• 3 points for each Minor Fragment.
• 5 points for each Major Fragment.
• 4 points for the team (if any) that has the Capping Fragment.

In case of a tie, the team with the Capping Fragment wins. If neither team has the Capping Fragment, the game ends in a tie, with Cerebria in complete balance.

Cerebria and You

We humans are explorers, with the strong desire to discover the world around us. Yet here we are, so close to a world with so much to discover and so few brave enough to enter — our own Inside World.

Most of us are simply afraid of the monsters we might encounter, our deepest secrets and hidden truths we would have to face and are too indolent to look into the reasons behind our delighted moments.

As a result of our inaction, our inner Spirits will take over the job and shape the Inside World as they believe it's best for us — only their point of view is deeply influenced by their nature, shifting our attention towards Gloom or Bliss, leaving us with seemingly no authority over our state of mind.

This game is a kind reminder that you have indeed full control over your Inside World — it is only up to you which side you support, which Spirits you vivify, which Emotions will stay and which ones will have to go. You will see that both Bliss and Gloom have their own, very important role in your journey to find the connection with your true inner self, an essential relationship that leads to a harmonic and joyful life we all desire.

With this short note we would like to encourage you to see behind the surface of Cerebria, and discover the depths of this wonderful, unique and exciting creation: You.

Credits

GAME DESIGN: Viktor Peter, Richard Ámann, with István Pócsi and Frigyes Schőberl

ART: Villő Farkas, Toby Allen, Jamie Sichel, Pedro A. Alberto

3D DESIGN: Krisztián Hartmann, László Forgách

RULEBOOK: Jason A. Holt, Viktor Peter

ADDITIONAL RULEBOOK EDITING: Paul Grogan, Emanuela Pratt, Robert Pratt

PLAYTESTERS: Balázs Faragó, Róbert Zöldi-Kovács, Dániel Tóth-Szegő, Ádám Jóna, Géza Gálos, Mihály Kovács, Marcell Klein, Győző Nagy, Krisztián Schőberl, András Berze, Zsolt Varga, Mate Cziner, Norbert Krizsán, Dávid Turczi, Wai-yee Phuah, Anthony Howgego, Nick Shaw, Gordon Calleja, Eleni Papadopoulou, Reuben Debono, Kevin Ciantar, Paul Grogan, Paul Luxton, Paul Bryant, Ian Gent, John Harrison, Neil Walker, Matt Lawrence, Sarah Louise Batten, Rob Hayward

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Over 6000 amazing Kickstarter backers who made this game possible; Sven Stratmann for rallying our German backers; Benoit Guillet for rallying our French backers; Frances & Anthony from Ant Lab Games, Eleni Papadopoulou and Tamás Kőszegi for our Kickstarter videos; Emanuela & Robert Pratt for their invaluable help in playtesting and promoting Cerebria, as well as their gameplay videos; Everyone at Gaming Rules! HQ for their ideas for the basic game.

Appendix

Game Variant for 2-3 Players: The Shaper

Playing as the Shaper, a player can control one Spirit representing Bliss or Gloom on its own. The Shaper variant can be used in three- or two-player games. In a three-player game, one player can play a Shaper against a full team of two, while in a two-player game, two Shapers can face each other.

As a Shaper, it is a bit more difficult to cover the whole board, but it is compensated by the fact that all resources and Ambition of a side are concentrated in one hand. Therefore, apart from the game setup, the Shaper's gameplay does not differ from that of a normal Spirit — the standard rules apply everywhere. Shapers can be played in the basic game as well.

NOTE: If you are playing with fewer than four players but already have some experience in Cerebria, instead of playing a Shaper, you can also play the standard 4-player setup and control two Spirits at once. It is a challenging but rewarding experience!

Changes in Player Setup

• The Shaper chooses a side (Bliss or Gloom), and one Spirit belonging to the chosen side. Place that Spirit's board in front of the player.
• The Shaper has one Emotion deck with 16 Mild Emotions. Just like in the standard game, you may use the basic Bliss/Gloom deck, the recommended deck for your Spirit, or build your own deck.
• The Shaper starts with the same resources as normal Spirits: 4 Willpower, 2 Essence, and a starting hand of 2 Emotion cards.

Changes in Main Board Setup

1. Player order
   • When setting up the player order in a three-player game, use 2 Player Order markers for the Shaper's Spirit — the Shaper will take a turn after each player of the opposing team. The Shaper should always go second and fourth. Similarly to the standard game, the starting player is unable to use the Absorb Ability on their first turn.
   • In a two-player game with two Shapers, randomly determine the starting player. Flip the starting Shaper's Action Tracker token face down to indicate that they cannot use their Absorb Ability on their first turn, and give them 2 additional Willpower.
2. Place Spirits and Starting Emotions:
   • Place your first Starting Emotion as usual. On your second turn to place a Starting Emotion, place it as though you had a second Spirit Figure on one of the remaining spaces. (In a 2-Shaper game, the first player chooses from three empty spaces, leaving only two for the other player.)

List of Intentions

Intentions serve as secondary goals beside Aspirations. Each can be completed multiple times per game, awarding 1-2 points to the accomplishing team, as well as an occasional bonus Essence, cards, or Ambition.

Pursuing Intentions can be a great fallback strategy when the current Aspirations seem out of reach, and well-timed bonuses from the Wheel of Intentions can result in very efficient and satisfying turns. Intentions work best once players are comfortable with Cerebria, therefore they are not part of the Basic game.

There are two sets of Intentions, one on each side of the Team boards. Both teams should play with the same side, either "A" or "B".

SIDE "A"

• Remove at least 1 Essence with the Quell Action.
• Take 4 or more Willpower from a Sphere with Absorb.
• Fill all Essence spaces on an Emotion card (except Brightness and Bleakness).
• Fully upgrade a Spirit Action.

SIDE "B"

• Remove at least 1 Essence with the Quell Action.
• Add a Fortress to the Identity during a Revelation.
• Empower an Emotion.
• Score this the first time you have at least 1 Vibe token in each Spirit Action row. Also score it the first time you have at least 2, at least 3, and 4.

Cerebria's Spirits & Their Powers

Each Spirit has a special power that reinforces (but not demands) a certain playstyle. A lot of replayability lies in various Spirit pairings — feel free to experiment with different combinations!

Similarly to Intentions, Spirit Powers are not used in the basic game.

Misery, the Breaker of Mirth, the Unobscured Mind

At first, a gaunt, sullen figure came forth from the shadows: Misery, the oldest of all Spirits. Wherever it goes, colors become grey, smiles fade, Bitterness and Pessimism turn joy into a sour memory.

Albeit bleak and morose, Misery is capable of incredible rationality and practical judgement, devising ingenious plans to squeeze out every grain of the Origin's energies. It's no wonder that Misery can get even Lethargy and Indifference to do its bidding.

Power: When using its Absorb Ability, Misery may choose to take its Willpower income from a Sphere adjacent to the one(s) it can access. If it does, it receives the Sphere bonus of that Sphere instead, but if a Revelation is triggered this way, the Fortress adjacent to that Sphere is not added to the Identity.

Delight, the Ever-Bright, the Carefree

Delight is the sunny, energetic counterpart of Misery, emerging second, from the light of Bliss. It is the jolliest and most playful of all Spirits, bringer of Cheerfulness and Excitement. Though Delight is a lot of fun to have around, it can become easily distracted and lost in its momentary fancies, breaking free of all cares in the world. Delight might seem a goofy figure, but it has an unshakeable seed of buoyancy and can develop one of the strongest Emotions known in the Inside World: Faith.

Power: Whenever Delight gains 4 or more Willpower while using its Absorb Ability, it may also draw a card.

Hatred, the Rampaging Flame, the Daring

Fierce and frightening, like a smouldering black blaze, Hatred's fire can never be fully quenched. If left unchecked, its fury could envelop the whole of Cerebria. Hostility and Anger are its common accomplices — the same rowdy types as Hatred.

Although rough and short-tempered, one must never forget that Hatred may be the boldest of Spirits, knowing no fear or hesitation. Story goes that it gained ferocious Rage's services by wrestling it into submission.

Power: Using a Spirit Action with at least one upgrade other than Determination costs 1 less Willpower. If Determination is also used, the two discounts are cumulative.

Love, the Heartfelt Flame, the Attached

Love is the warm embrace, the fiery passion and inspiration, the unshakeable bridge that connects solitary souls, forging bonds that hold for a lifetime. Love is accompanied by Affection and Adoration, but also by valiant Valor. Like a column of light that pierces the darkest clouds, Love can focus Origin's powers on Realms fortified by Bliss energies with great efficiency, but doing so can fatigue it to the point of being unable to exert its will on other territories.

Power: When Love uses its Absorb Ability, it gains 1 additional Willpower from the supply for each adjacent Fortress of Bliss.

Malice, the Vitriolic, the Self-Preserving

Malice is the vainest and proudest of all Spirits. It is convinced that everyone else is obviously unworthy of ruling the Inside World and all of it should fall into its capable claws. Malice has a vile nature, lashing out with razor-sharp criticism even towards its fellow Gloom Spirits. No wonder that Emotions like Selfishness and Dislike gathered under its banner — even self-obsessed Narcissism. Malice is an egoist, but it is also the Spirit of self-preservation, knowing exactly that one can not achieve anything without fending for oneself first.

Power: While on a Frontier space, Malice can quell any opposing Emotion in the adjacent Triad. While on a Realm space, it may also quell any opposing Emotion on the two adjacent Frontier slots.

Empathy, the Clement Curer, the Selfless

Empathy is a kind-hearted, sweet and loving fellow, who came into being when the rivalry between the Spirits had ravaged too much of the Inside World. Though meek and ingenuous, Empathy may be the most respected Spirit by the inhabitants of Cerebria, for it cares deeply for their well-being, tending to their wounds and easing their toll and suffering whenever possible. Empathy tends to be utterly selfless, dangerously depleting itself to help others. Its compassionate company is usually Kindness, Benevolence, and even the most benign of all Emotions: Purity.

Power: Bliss Emotions on slots adjacent to Empathy and on slots adjacent to those slots cannot be quelled.

Anxiety, the Dark Harvester, the Vigilant

Planting small seeds of darkness and slowly nurturing them to full growth until all of the Five Realms fall to Gloom — this is the way Anxiety spreads its dark influence. Since its arrival in Cerebria, Bliss Spirits have been constantly experiencing the crawling feeling of its presence, like a specter that you can only see from the corner of your eye.

Emotions in its wake tell stories of feeling completely alone and powerless, stripped of all Bliss, with only hollowness inside — encounters with some of Anxiety's strongest servants, Isolation and Doubt.

Anxiety is an eerie Spirit, but also one of constant vigilance, staying alert for changes in other Spirits and looking out for dangers that could threaten Cerebria.

Power: Instead of Invoking an Emotion from its hand, Anxiety may choose to invoke a Bleakness Emotion from the general supply with the Invoke Action. The total number of Bleakness Emotions on the Main board is limited to 6.

Harmony, the Prudent, the Quiescent

Quiet contemplation, self-discovery and perpetual learning — these are the most important values to Harmony. Placid and bright, it teaches that realizing our own worth and potential is essential, as is constantly expanding the horizons of our understanding. Harmony is a calm and observant Spirit, but sometimes this strong inward focus renders it quiescent to the point of inactivity, making it lose touch with the other Spirits and the happenings in Cerebria. Harmony promotes Emotions like Tranquility and Confidence in the Inside World, but also managed to earn the respect of Dignity, one of the most venerable of all Emotions.

Power: When discarding a card to place a Vibe token, Harmony may discard an additional card to place an additional token. The placed tokens can be any color, regardless of the Vibe of the discarded Emotion.

The Asymmetric Spirit Boards

The B side of each Spirit board features a set of Action upgrade variants specific to each Spirit. If your group already has some experience with Cerebria and is looking for additional variety, we recommend playing the asymmetric Spirit boards.

On the asymmetric boards, each Action still has three upgrades; Spirit-specific ones replace some of the original upgrades. In some cases the upgrade's effect is the same, but it has a different cost.

In this chapter, we will provide a detailed description of all upgrades specific to the "B" side.

Love

MOVE

• Surmount: Costs 0 WP instead of 1.
• Embrace (+1 WP): If you end this Move Action adjacent to a Bliss Emotion, you may place 1 Essence on it. Replaces Determination.

INVOKE

• Forging Bonds (+1 WP): If you invoked this Emotion adjacent to another Bliss Emotion, you may take the required Essence from the general supply instead of using your own. Replaces Inner Force.

ADJACENCY: Each Emotion slot is adjacent to 2 other slots. In particular, 2 slots in the same Realm are adjacent to each other.

QUELL

• Home Ground (+1 WP): If you quell on a Realm slot with an adjacent Bliss Fortress, gain 1 Ambition. Replaces Extinguish.

FORTIFY

• Pierce the Darkness (no additional cost): You may fortify on Realms your opponents control. (But only if the Fortress location is empty). Replaces Exalt.
• Raze: Costs +3 WP instead of +1 Ambition and +1 WP.
• Garrison (+1 Ambition): After you build a Fortress (on an empty location), you may take a bonus Action to invoke an Emotion on an empty slot in the new Fortress's Realm. The bonus Action follows all the rules of Invoke (you can unlock or upgrade the Action, you pay Willpower for it, you can use upgrades), except that the Emotion is invoked inside the Realm even if your Spirit is on a Frontier. Replaces Determination.

EMPOWER

• Brighten Up (no additional cost): After this Empower Action, you may use a Vibe token matching the discarded Mild Emotion's Vibe to unlock or upgrade one of your Spirit Actions. Replaces Channeled Power.

Delight

MOVE

• Push (+1 WP): You may end your move on a space occupied by an opposing Spirit. If you do, move that Spirit to an adjacent Spirit space. (You can choose a space that is occupied by your teammate, even if the moved Spirit has no Surmount upgrade.) Replaces Surmount.

INVOKE

• Summon (+1 WP): Instead of invoking a card from your hand, invoke the top card of your deck. Replaces Bolster.

QUELL

• Cleansing Light (+1 WP): You may quell an Emotion without being adjacent to it. Discard the revealed card if you do. Replaces Extinguish.

EMPOWER

• Relish (+1 WP): After this Empower Action, draw two cards, keep one and discard the other. Replaces Channeled Power.

Empathy

MOVE

• Surmount: Costs 0 WP instead of 1.
• Switcheroo (+1 WP): Instead of moving, switch spaces with any other Spirit. You cannot end up on the same space as an opposing Spirit unless you have the Surmount upgrade. Replaces Determination.

INVOKE

• Sharing is Caring (+2 WP): You may give the Emotion 1 Essence above the amount the Emotion usually starts with. This Essence comes from your Spirit board. Replaces Bolster.
• Motivation (+3 WP): After this Invoke Action, gain 1 Ambition. Replaces Inner Force.

QUELL

• Conversion (no additional cost): If you remove the last Essence from a Gloom Emotion with this Quell Action, gain 1 Essence. Replaces Determination.

FORTIFY

• Feeling Safe (no additional cost): After this Fortify Action, gain 1 Essence. Replaces Raze.

EMPOWER

• Emotional Outburst: has no additional cost.

Harmony

MOVE

• Flight (+1 WP): Move up to 2 extra spaces. Replaces Haste.
• Surmount: Costs 0 WP instead of 1.

INVOKE

• Relish (+1 WP): After this Invoke Action, draw a card. Replaces Bolster.

QUELL

• Vanquish (+1 Ambition): You may remove up to 2 additional Essence from the quelled Emotion. Replaces Subdue.
• Emotional Cycle (no additional cost): If you remove the last Essence from a Gloom Emotion with this Quell Action, draw a card. Replaces Determination.

FORTIFY

• Attune with Origin (+1 WP, +1 Ambition): Use this upgrade only if your team (Bliss) already has a Minor Fragment on the Fortress location. Move that Fragment to the Identity. (Remove the +1 Intensity marker and recalculate Realm control.) Replaces Exalt.

  NOTE: You can use this upgrade even in a Realm controlled by your opponent.

EMPOWER

• Rush to Aid (+1 WP): Before Empowering an Emotion, you may pay this cost to pick up your Spirit Figure and place it on the Spirit space adjacent to that Emotion, even if the space is occupied by an opposing Spirit. Replaces Emotional Outburst.

Hatred

MOVE

• Charge (+1 WP): Move up to 2 extra spaces. Replaces Haste.
• Wildfire (+1 Ambition, +3 Willpower): If you end your move adjacent to a Bliss Emotion, you may remove 1 Essence from it. This is not considered a Quell Action. Replaces Determination.

INVOKE

• Seethe (+1 WP): After this Invoke Action, draw a card. Replaces Bolster.

QUELL

• Repel (no additional cost): When you use Quell on a Realm slot with a Gloom Fortress, gain 2 WP. Replaces Determination.

FORTIFY

• Seethe (+1 WP): After this Fortify Action, draw a card. Replaces Exalt.
• Raze: Costs +4 WP instead of +1 WP and +1 Ambition.

EMPOWER

• Seethe (+1 WP): After this Empower Action, draw a card. Replaces Channeled Power.

Misery

MOVE

• Surmount: Costs 0 WP instead of 1.
• Deceive (+1 WP): Instead of moving, switch spaces with any other Spirit. You cannot end up on the same space as an opposing Spirit unless you have the Surmount upgrade. Replaces Determination.

QUELL

• Drain (no additional cost): After this Quell Action, take 1 Willpower from an adjacent Origin Sphere with 2 or more Willpower (without triggering the Sphere bonus). Replaces Determination.

FORTIFY

• Exalt: Costs +2 WP instead of +1 Ambition.
• Drain (no additional cost): After this Fortify Action, take 1 Willpower from an adjacent Origin Sphere with 2 or more Willpower (without triggering the Sphere bonus). Replaces Determination.

EMPOWER

• Assimilate (no additional cost): After this Empower Action, you may use a Vibe token matching the discarded Mild Emotion's Vibe to unlock or upgrade one of your Spirit Actions. Replaces Channeled Power.
• Drain (no additional cost): After this Empower Action, take 1 Willpower from an adjacent Origin Sphere with 2 or more Willpower (without triggering the Sphere bonus). Replaces Determination.

Malice

MOVE

• Push (+1 WP): You may end your move on a space occupied by an opposing Spirit. If you do, move that Spirit to an adjacent Spirit space. (You can choose a space that is occupied by your teammate.) Replaces Surmount.

INVOKE

• Summon (+1 WP): Instead of invoking a card from your hand, invoke the top card of your deck. Replaces Bolster.

QUELL

• Extinguish: Costs 0 WP instead of 1.
• Exterminate (+2 WP, +1 Ambition): Remove up to 2 additional Essence from the quelled Emotion. Can be combined with Subdue. Replaces Determination.

FORTIFY

• All for Me (no additional cost): After this Fortify Action, gain 1 Essence. Replaces Exalt.

EMPOWER

• Channeled Power: Costs +2 WP instead of +1 Ambition.
• Emotional Outburst: Costs 0 WP instead of 1.

Anxiety

MOVE

• Flight (+1 WP): Move up to 2 extra spaces. Replaces Haste.
• From the Shadows (no additional cost): Pick up your Spirit Figure and place it on any space adjacent to a Bleakness Emotion, then gain 2 WP. You cannot end up on the same space as an opposing Spirit unless you have the Surmount upgrade. Replaces Determination.

INVOKE

• Bolster: Costs +3 WP instead of +1 Ambition.
• Seeds of Darkness (+1 WP): You may invoke a Bleakness Emotion on any empty Emotion slot, even on one you are not adjacent to. Replaces Inner Force.

QUELL

• Devour (no additional cost): After this Quell Action, you may use a Vibe token matching the quelled Emotion's Vibe color to unlock or upgrade one of your Spirit Actions. Replaces Extinguish.

FORTIFY

• Attune with Origin (+1 WP, +1 Ambition): Use this upgrade only if your team (Gloom) already has a Minor Fragment on the Fortress location. Move that Fragment to the Identity. (Remove the +1 Intensity marker and recalculate Realm control.) Replaces Raze.

  NOTE: You can use this upgrade even in a Realm controlled by your opponent.

EMPOWER

• Spreading Darkness (no additional cost): Empower an adjacent Bleakness Emotion to the Strong version of a Mild Emotion in your hand. The Bleakness must meet the Empower threshold of the Strong Emotion. Discard the Mild Emotion from your hand. Replaces Channeled Power.

Spirit-Specific Starter Decks

• LOVE: 2x Self-Esteem, 2x Confidence, 2x Comfort, 2x Sociability, 2x Desire, 2x Innocence, 2x Cheerfulness, 2x Trust
• DELIGHT: 2x Comfort, 2x Courage, 2x Cheerfulness, 2x Excitement, 2x Optimism, 2x Tranquility, 2x Generosity, 2x Kindness
• EMPATHY: 2x Confidence, 2x Tranquility, 2x Kindness, 2x Generosity, 2x Safety, 2x Trust, 2x Affection, 2x Sociability
• HARMONY: 2x Self-Esteem, 2x Optimism, 2x Sociability, 2x Courage, 2x Innocence, 2x Kindness, 2x Excitement, 2x Cheerfulness
• HATRED: 2x Anger, 2x Jealousy, 2x Pessimism, 2x Bitterness, 2x Insecurity, 2x Embarrassment, 2x Selfishness, 2x Dislike
• MISERY: 2x Fear, 2x Loneliness, 2x Jealousy, 2x Craving, 2x Mistrust, 2x Disgust, 2x Guilt, 2x Bitterness
• MALICE: 2x Insecurity, 2x Embarrassment, 2x Hostility, 2x Jealousy, 2x Selfishness, 2x Dislike, 2x Boredom, 2x Pessimism
• ANXIETY: 2x Loneliness, 2x Fear, 2x Mistrust, 2x Disgust, 2x Boredom, 2x Guilt, 2x Anger, 2x Craving

Emotion Powers

Each Emotion has a power that affects gameplay. Some of these powers are only relevant when the Emotion is put into play, while others have an ongoing ability that triggers in certain situations. The powers of the Emotions are described in detail on the Emotion sheets. When the text refers to you, it assumes that it is currently your turn and the Emotion belongs to your team.

When the text refers to putting an Emotion into play, that means you have just now put it into an Emotion slot on the board. Mild Emotions enter play when they are invoked. Strong Emotions enter play when their Mild counterpart is empowered. As soon as an Emotion enters play it is in play, and it remains in play until it leaves play. Moving an Emotion from one slot to another does not count as entering or leaving play.

When an Emotion receives an Intensity token, that means it gets a bonus to its Intensity beyond the amount printed on the card. The Intensity token affects only the numerical value of the Emotion's Intensity and has no effect on attempts to intensify, empower, or quell. The Intensity token is discarded if the Emotion card is discarded (for example, because it is empowered or quelled). In most cases, the Emotion receives an Intensity bonus when it enters play, and the bonus remains the same while the Emotion is in play. Some Emotions have bonuses that change dynamically, and these are noted in the text. An Emotion cannot have more than one Intensity token, and the highest Intensity bonus an Emotion can get from a token is 6.

Icons Glossary

COMMON ICONS

• Willpower
• Spend Ambition
• Gain Ambition
• Common Aspiration card
• Spend Willpower
• Intention Point
• Origin Sphere
• Sphere Bonus
• Main board
• Triad
• Realm
• Vibe
• Put Emotion into play
• Gain an Action
• Expand to adjacent
• Blocked
• Move
• Place
• Remove

GLOOM ICONS

• Gloom Essence
• Use Gloom Absorb ability
• Gloom Spirit
• Gloom Hidden Aspiration card
• Gloom Emotion card
• Discard Emotion card
• Gloom Mild Emotion card
• Gloom Strong Emotion card
• Gloom Intensity token
• Gloom Emotion Essence space
• Gloom Vibe token
• Red Vibe
• Yellow Vibe
• Green Vibe
• Blue Vibe
• Empower
• Gloom Minor Identity Fragment
• Gloom Major Identity Fragment
• Gloom Capping Identity Fragment

BLISS ICONS

• Bliss Essence
• Use Bliss Absorb ability
• Bliss Spirit
• Bliss Hidden Aspiration card
• Bliss Emotion card
• Discard Emotion card
• Bliss Mild Emotion card
• Bliss Strong Emotion card
• Bliss Intensity token
• Bliss Emotion Essence space
• Bliss Vibe token
• Red Vibe
• Yellow Vibe
• Green Vibe
• Blue Vibe
• Empower
• Bliss Minor Identity Fragment
• Bliss Major Identity Fragment
• Bliss Capping Identity Fragment