City of Gears Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1. Produce Resources
  • 2. Activate City Tiles
  • 3. Perform Actions
  • 4. Spoil Overages
• Prestige
• Ending The Game
  • Determining the Winner
• 3-Player Setup
• Low Conflict 4-Player Alternate Setup
• Reference
• Credits

Goal of the Game

Your goal in City of Gears is to collect the most Prestige before Opening Day.

There are many ways to gain prestige: discovering City tiles, activating City tiles, activating Link Bonuses, collecting Developments, and controlling City tiles at the end of the game.

You will have to decide when it is best to expand and when it is best to consolidate control - when you should be using your resources to activate City tiles and when to confront your opponents.

The game can end suddenly, so do your best to maximize the prestige you earn with every action!

Components

17 Production Dice

• 4 Red
• 4 Blue
• 4 Green
• 4 Yellow
• 1 Grey (Neutral) — for use when an effect instructs you to "Roll 1 die."

80 Ownership Markers

• 20 Red
• 20 Blue
• 20 Green
• 20 Yellow

36 Resource Tokens

• 12 Steam
• 12 Cog
• 12 Zap

24 Automaton Worker Pawns

• 6 Red
• 6 Blue
• 6 Green
• 6 Yellow

13 Discovery Tokens

30 Movement Tokens

63 Prestige Tokens

• x23 worth 1
• x20 worth 3
• x10 worth 5
• x10 worth 10

4 Factory Boards

21 City Tiles

1 Gear Bag

4 Opening Day Gears

4 Converter Development Gears

40 Standard Gears (with Development sticker on 1 side)

Setup

1. Build the unexplored city by shuffling the City tiles and drawing nine at random, arranging them in a 3x3 grid face-down in the center of the table. Players should not see the tiles that go into making the city and unused tiles should be returned to the box without being viewed. Place a Discovery token on the indicated space on the back of each City tile, returning any excess tokens to the box. (There are alternate setup instructions for 3 players and a variant for 4 players – see the 3-Player Setup and Low Conflict 4-Player Alternate Setup sections below.)

2. Each player chooses a color and takes the Production dice, Factory board, Automaton Worker pawns, Converter Development, and Ownership markers of that color.

3. Determine the first player. We recommend the player who most recently discovered something, but you may also decide on a first player randomly.

4. Each player places their Factory board along the center of one edge of the city. Place your Converter Development in the colored slot in the top-middle of your Factory. Place 3 Workers on the Factory board – standing up (unlocked and ready) – and 1 Worker in each of the three Locked spaces (lying down), to possibly be constructed later. (In a 3 player game, the third player's Factory board is offset from the center – see the 3-Player Setup section.)

5. Place 40 Standard Gears into the Gear Bag and mix them well. Leave the 4 Opening Day Gears off to the side to be added in after all the included City tiles have been discovered. (If you have Promo Gears, you will want to include 40 random Standard Gears in the game and return any excess to the box without looking at them).

6. Place the Resource tokens, Prestige tokens, and Neutral die to the side of the table where all players can reach them.

7. Give each player bonus starting Resources/Prestige clockwise from the first player:

• Second player: 1 Prestige
• Third player: 1 Prestige and 1 Movement token
• Fourth player: 2 Prestige and 1 Movement token

8. Each player begins with three of their Resource dice. The remaining Resource dice are placed in the general supply until they are unlocked.

Play now begins with the first player and proceeds clockwise.

Gameplay

The game is played over a series of turns, with each turn following this sequence:

1. PRODUCE RESOURCES
2. ACTIVATE CITY TILES
3. PERFORM ACTIONS
4. SPOIL OVERAGES

1. Produce Resources

Roll your available Production dice (three dice at the beginning of the game and four dice after the entire City has been revealed) to gain Steam, Cogs, or Zaps (as shown below) to use on your turn. You should spend the dice as though they are the resources they show. At the end of the turn, unspent dice are converted into resource tokens to store until next turn. Once per turn, you may use your Converter Development to convert any two resources into a single resource of your choosing.

NOTE: Split results showing two different resources provide one depicted resource of the player's choice, not both.

Each player's dice are identical and provide results in the quantities shown below. Each Production die (the same six faces for every color) shows: Steam, Steam, Zap, Cog, Your Choice (re-roll or the Cog shown), and Your Choice (re-roll or the Steam shown).

2. Activate City Tiles

You may now spend the resources rolled in the previous step (as well as any stored resources on your Factory board) to bring the machinery of the city to life and reap the benefits! This process happens in two steps: Activate Tiles and Collect Link Bonus(es). You must have at least 1 Worker occupying a tile in order to activate it. You may only activate a given tile once per turn.

ACTIVATE TILES

Activate the special ability of a City tile by spending the resources shown in the lower left corner of the tile. The robot icon there indicates that you must have a Worker present in order to activate the tile. (It will not be possible to activate tiles on your first turn as all workers begin on your Factory board.) Spent dice are set aside. Spent tokens are returned to the supply. Follow the instructions on the tile to perform the tile's action.

NOTE: Players may wish to place an Ownership marker on tiles they have activated to show that they have been activated this turn. If you do so, remember to reclaim the Ownership marker at the end of your turn.

EXAMPLE: To activate the Galvanic Mill tile, a player must have a Worker present on it and spend 1 Steam and 1 Cog resource. They will immediately gain 1 Zap token and 1 Prestige.

COLLECT LINK BONUS(ES)

After activating all City tiles you wish to activate, you may then collect Link Bonuses. Each tile's Link Bonus is displayed in the top center just above the name of the City tile. A key to the iconography present in Link Bonuses (and elsewhere) appears in the Reference section below. You may collect the resource or activate the effect displayed in the Link Bonus space of a City tile if the following conditions are both true:

1. You did not activate the tile this turn.
2. The tile is connected by your Gear Links to one or more tiles that you did activate this turn.

You do not need a Worker on a City tile to gain its Link Bonus.

EXAMPLE: The Galvanic Mill tile's Link Bonus provides 1 Steam token from the supply.

EXAMPLE: The blue player activated only the Pneumatic Tubery this turn. After resolving its effect, they collect the link bonuses from any tiles connected back to the Pneumatic Tubery tiles by Blue Gear Links – in this case, the Aerodrome and the Aether Dynamo. Therefore the blue player collects 1 Prestige and 1 Movement Token as Link Bonuses.

IMPORTANT: You may activate any number of City tiles you occupy during each turn, provided that you can pay the resource requirements to do so. You may only activate each City tile once per turn. You must activate all City tiles that you wish to before proceeding to the next step (Perform Actions). Once you move a Worker, draw a Gear, or perform any other action, you cannot activate City tiles for the remainder of your turn.

3. Perform Actions

During the Perform Actions phase, you have a wide variety of actions at your disposal. These actions can be performed in any order and are limited in use only by the resources you have available.

MOVE:

• STANDARD MOVEMENT: Move one of your Workers across one Gear Link you own. You must spend either 1 Steam or 1 Movement token to move a Worker in this way. (Example A)
• RAPID TRANSIT: Spend 1 Zap (instead of 1 Steam or Movement token) to move one of your Workers across any number of your Gear Links. (Example B)
• EXPLORE: If you move your Worker onto a face-down City tile, the new tile is revealed (flipped over) and you claim the Discovery token (worth 2 Prestige). This can be a Standard Movement or a Rapid Transit, with an additional effect. Movement still requires you to spend 1 Steam, 1 Movement token, or 1 Zap. (Example C)

(Example A: a Worker moves one space across a single owned Gear Link, spending 1 Steam. Example B: a Worker uses Rapid Transit to cross several owned Gear Links in one move by spending 1 Zap. Example C: a Worker explores onto a face-down City tile, flipping it face-up and claiming its Discovery token.)

DRAW AND PLACE GEARS:

Spend one or more Cog resources to draw an equal number of Gears out of the bag. Look at the drawn Gear(s) and choose to use them in one of two ways:

• AS A GEAR LINK: Place the Gear (with the blank side up) on a valid open connection spot between two City tiles, or between your Factory and a City tile. Then, place one of your Ownership markers on the new Gear Link. This creates a "bridge" across which you can move your Workers.

  IMPORTANT: You must have a Worker on at least one of the City or Factory tiles touching the spot where you place the Gear Link. You may not place Gear Links on the outer edges of the City tiles. You may not place Gear Links connecting to opponents' Factory boards.

• AS A DEVELOPMENT: Place the Gear (with Development side up) in a free slot at the bottom of your Factory. The benefit of your new Development is available immediately. Unless otherwise noted, each Development can only be used once per turn. Factories can only hold 6 unique Developments - including your Converter Development. If you have filled all 6 Development spaces on your player board, you may still develop but must discard a previously kept Development. (The discarded Development is removed from the game. You may discard a Development you already activated this turn. You may not discard your Converter Development.)

NOTE: The abilities provided by your Factory Developments can be used at any time during your turn but only one time each turn (unless specifically noted). It may be helpful to indicate a Development has been used by placing one of your Ownership markers on it then removing it at the end of your turn.

You may place a maximum of two Gears per turn: ONE Gear Link and ONE Development, even if you are able to draw more than two Gears from the bag. The benefit of drawing more than two Gears is that you gain a better selection of Developments from which to choose. Gears in excess of those used for Gear Links or Developments are returned to the bag.

IMPORTANT: All Gears must be drawn simultaneously and you may only take the Draw and Place Gears action once per turn. Some effects from City tile activation, Link Bonuses, or Developments might instruct you to draw and/or place additional Gear Links or Developments. These actions happen in addition to the once per turn you may take the Draw and Place Gears action.

EXAMPLE: The Yellow Player takes the Draw and Place Gears action, spending 3 Cog resources to draw 3 Gears from the Gear Bag. They choose one to place as a Gear Link, one to Place as a Development and then must return the third Gear to the bag.

OVERCHARGE:

Spend Zap resources to overcharge an opponent's Worker or Gear Link and remove it from the City.

• DESTROY: Spend 1 Zap resource to return an opponent's Worker that shares a City tile with one of your Workers to its owner's Factory. This Worker is still ready and available for use on your opponent's future turns.
• DEMOLISH: Spend 2 Zap resources to remove an opponent's Gear Link from a space adjacent to a tile occupied by one of your Workers. The demolished Gear is removed from the game, and the Ownership marker is returned to its owner.

CONSTRUCT NEW WORKER:

You may increase your workforce by spending the prestige indicated on your Factory board. The required Prestige tokens spent are returned to the supply and the newly unlocked Worker is stood up, ready to use. Workers are unlocked from left to right (least to most expensive). You may only take this action once per turn.

4. Spoil Overages

You may save unused resources from your dice by taking matching resource tokens and adding them to your Factory's storage spaces at the end of your turn. Each Factory has a limit of 1 of each resource (Steam, Cog, and Zap) as well as a "wild" storage space as indicated on the Factory boards.

Beyond these limits, excess resources you have at the end of your turn must be returned to the supply.

• MOVEMENT: There is no limit to Movement tokens you may store at your Factory.
• ZAPS: Any Zaps you would spoil or store at the end of your turn may instead be returned to the supply for 1 Prestige each.

After resolving the Spoil Overages step, play passes to the next player clockwise.

Prestige

Gaining Prestige is the goal of City of Gears, and the player with the most Prestige at the end of the game wins. There are multiple ways to gain Prestige:

1. Revealing a new City tile (being the first to move a Worker onto it and flip it over) earns you a Discovery token worth 2 Prestige. (Moving to a City tile after it has been revealed does NOT earn Prestige)
2. Activating certain City tile abilities and gaining some Link Bonuses provides Prestige.
3. Each Zap cashed in at the end of your turn earns you 1 Prestige.
4. Some Developments marked "ENDGAME" provide Prestige as described on the Development.
5. Owning a City tile at the end of the game provides a Prestige bonus, which is listed at the bottom right of each City tile (described in detail in the Ending the Game section).

Whenever a player gains Prestige, they take a Prestige token from the supply on the table. Prestige tokens have a value of 1, 3, 5, or 10, and players can trade out the denominations during the game as they accrue more. Prestige tokens should be kept face-down in front of each player so their value cannot be determined by other players until the end of the game.

OPENING DAY:

When the ninth and final City tile is revealed (flipped up to show its face), the City of Gears is rapidly nearing its Grand Opening to the excited public. Production ramps up, and the following changes take place immediately:

1. All players will now roll four dice instead of three during each PRODUCE RESOURCES step for the rest of the game. The player who revealed the ninth tile immediately rolls their fourth die, which becomes available for use this turn.
2. Add the four white Opening Day Gears to the Gear Bag. For the rest of the game, whenever an Opening Day Gear is drawn, set it aside on the table where all players can see it, and draw a replacement Gear.

Ending The Game

The game ends immediately once the third Opening Day token is drawn. The player who drew the last Opening Day Gear does not finish their turn. No resources may be exchanged for Prestige once the third Opening Day Gear is drawn. The City of Gears is now open to the public!

NOTE: For a faster game experience, end the game after the second Opening Day Gear is drawn. Decide as a group beforehand if you want the abbreviated game.

Determining the Winner

As soon as the game ends, players go City tile by City tile, awarding Prestige to the tiles' owners. Prestige is indicated on the bottom right of each city tile in a Copper Gear. The owner of a City tile is the player with the highest combined total number of Workers on, and Gear Links connected to, that tile. If this is tied, the player with the most Gear Links connected to the City tile gains the Prestige. If this is still tied, all tied players gain the full Prestige.

Next, all players collect Prestige from ENDGAME Developments based on their specific criteria.

Players reveal all their Prestige tokens and add up their values. The player with the highest total Prestige value wins...and becomes the mayor of the gleaming City of Gears!

In the case of a tie, the winner is the player who owns the most City tiles.

If it is still a tie, all tied players share the victory.

SCORING EXAMPLE: On the Gear Foundry tile, blue has 2 influence (1 Gear Link and 1 Worker). Red and yellow each have 3 influence. Because Gear Links decide ties, the yellow player scores 4 Prestige by taking tokens from the supply.

3-Player Setup

In a 3-player game, the 3x3 City tile grid is set up as normal in the center of the table. The First Player's Factory board sits centered along the bottom edge of the city as usual. The Second Player's Factory board sits centered along the left edge of the city. The Third Player's Factory board is offset from the center, positioned along the upper-right edge of the city rather than directly centered on the top edge.

Low Conflict 4-Player Alternate Setup

For a lower-conflict 4-player game, arrange the nine City tiles in a plus/cross shape (one tile extending from the center of each side of the 3x3 grid) instead of the standard compact 3x3 grid, spacing the tiles further apart. Each of the four players' Factory boards is placed centered along one arm of the cross: First Player along the bottom, Second Player along the left, Third Player along the top, and Fourth Player along the right. This spreads the players' starting Factories further apart from one another at the start of the game.

Reference

• Discovery Token: a green token showing a Prestige value, awarded for revealing a new City tile.
• Gear Link: the bridge piece placed between tiles, shown blank-side-up.
• Steam: cloud icon resource.
• Science Tile: a City tile type marked with a beaker/lab icon.
• Prestige: a copper or silver token showing its value.
• Die: a Production die icon.
• Zap: a lightning bolt icon resource.
• Wealth Tile: a City tile type marked with a stack/pyramid icon.
• Worker: an Automaton Worker pawn icon.
• Development: a scroll icon.
• Cog: a gear icon resource.
• Industrial Tile: a City tile type marked with a factory/smokestack icon.
• Your Choice: Reroll or Resource Shown — a die face icon with a diagonal slash, letting you choose between the resource shown or rerolling.
• Re-roll (Some/All of your unused dice) — a die icon with a circular arrow.
• Die Result — the plain resource icon shown on a die face (Cog, slashed/blank, Steam, or Zap).

Industrial Collective (City Tile): Permanently installed workers cannot be targeted, moved, or used to activate a tile. They do count for influence at game end.

Credits

Game Design: Chris Leder and Daryl Andrews

Game Development: Joshua Lobkowicz

Cover Illustration: Vivid GameArt Agency

Building Illustrations: Anthony Cournoyer, Vivid GameArt Agency

Remaining Art and Graphics: Tyler Myatt

Rulebook Layout: Tyler Myatt

Editing: Joshua Lobkowicz, Dawn Lobkowicz, Owen Reissmann, Joseph Reissmann, Alex Goldsmith

Playtesters: Matthew Roberts, Connie Roberts, Shane Myerscough, Tina Bushey, Jay E. Bushey, Steve Fraser, Casey Boyette, Andrew N. Mous, Alex Leder, Dan Nelson, Jake Pfeiffer, Kevin Rodgers, Grant Warszona, Dan Monge, Wayne Messenger, Chris Kulawiak, Chris Walker, Jason Glover, Scott Morris and many more. Thanks for all your help getting this game to where it is today!

Special Thanks:

"Opening the gates of City of Gears has been a long time coming and I want to call out some folks who helped make it happen. The game exists because of The Game Crafter, and I am forever grateful to JT, Tavis, and Jamie for their amazing site and the designer community it fostered. Ben Haskett, thanks for seeing the potential in the game. You rock, duder. Thanks to Scott Morris, my gaming spouse, who fought the good fight, believed in the game, and brought it to the next level. Daryl, you wondrous man, thanks for reigniting the spark. Finally, a trillion thanks to Becky and my family, for supporting my dream and helping make it a reality."

- Chris Leder