City of the Great Machine
City of the Great Machine Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Overview
- Game Components
- Setup
- The Game Round
- I. Opening Phase
- II. Access Phase
- III. The Great Machine's Phase
- IV. Heroes Phase
- V. Closing Phase
- Victory and Defeat
- Component Limitations
- Credits
- Rules Summary
Game Overview
This game features the conflict between the Great Machine and an alliance of Heroes.
One player takes the role of the Great Machine. That player commands a force of perfected Servants and mechanical Guards. The Great Machine's goal is to complete the Master Plan, that will bring happiness to mankind. Meanwhile, it is necessary to deal with the growing disorder in the City.
The other players are called Revolutionaries. They work together against the Great Machine. Each Revolutionary controls a Hero. The goal of the Revolutionaries is to bring about a Revolution and overthrow the despotic regime of the Great Machine. Yet, what can a rag-tag bunch of Heroes accomplish against the whole of the City's police force, the sinister Servants, and the seemingly invincible Guards?!
Against these odds, the Heroes seek support from the people and encourage discontent. At the same time, they work to prevent the Great Machine from completing its horrific Plan, that leads to enslaving of mankind.
The City is made up of several Districts. Each District sits on a colossal floating platform. The platforms are interconnected, so one can move between them.
During the game the Heroes and the Servants of the Great Machine move around the Districts. Every District has unique Actions for the Heroes or Servants to take. The Heroes also have to be on the lookout for mechanical Guards and use Access cards to enter certain Districts.
The Revolutionaries' main weapon is the people's discontent — the Great Machine relies on oppression. The Great Machine publishes Directives — the Heroes find ways to cancel them. The Heroes convince whereas the Great Machine commands. The Heroes' resource is Trust — the Great Machine's is Bonds.
Both sides firmly believe that their course is the right one.
Goal of the Game
The objective of the Revolutionaries is to bring about a Revolution. To do this, they must lead three successful Riots against the Great Machine's regime.
The objective of the Great Machine is to complete its Master Plan. This happens after the Plan marker reaches the end of its track.
The victor is the side that achieves its objective first.
Game Components
The City
- 1 Progress Board
- 30 Famous Citizen tokens (5 of each)
- Two-sided Trust and Bond tokens: 1s — 24 tokens, 4s — 12 tokens
- 21 City Event cards
- 5 Minor Districts
- 4 Major Districts
The Great Machine
- 3 Servant Order tokens
- 3 Servant miniatures (Lex Hecate, Judgementor, Phantasmer)
- 18 wooden Guard figures
- 9 Directive cards
- 2 oversized Reference cards
- 3 Raid tokens
The Heroes
- 6 oversized Hero cards (Actress, Physician, Veteran, Artificer, Vagabond, Fowler)
- 54 Access cards (9 per Hero)
- 6 Revolutionary Reference cards (2 for each player)
- 6 Hero miniatures
- 1 Assault die
- 1 Escape die
- Riot token
Setup
1. The City
Place the District tiles, following these rules:
- Each District may be placed horizontally or vertically.
- Each District must be connected to at least 2 other Districts.
- There should never be such a situation that you remove a District, and the City breaks apart into two unconnected parts.
Having these rules in mind, you may arrange the Districts however you like. Feel free to experiment! You may make your own City, or use one of presets in the end of the Reference Guide, which also serve as an example. You'll find some advice on random City setup there as well.
The City is made up of District tiles. Each District must be connected to at least 2 other Districts.
2. Famous Citizens
Shuffle the Famous Citizen tokens. While keeping them face-down, place one token in each square on the bottom of the District tile highlighted with blue. The squares are highlighted to help in setting up the game and have no effect on gameplay.
There will be 4 Citizens in each Minor District and on the Central Square, as well as 1 Citizen on the Grand Citadel, Tower of L.A.W., and Control Nexus. In total, 27 Famous Citizen tokens will be placed.
Note the orientation of Citizen tokens while placing them. The outline icon of the Citizen token should be visible, while the green indicator and the outline figure of the Citizen should be covered.
Put the remaining 3 Citizen tokens face-down near the Districts or next to the Progress Board. These Citizens are considered arrested.
Famous Citizens are often called 'Citizens' in the rules for simplicity. These are the most influential people in the City whose opinions make the difference.
3. Guards
Place 2 Guard figures in any of the smaller squares on the left of each District tile. After that, there should be 2 Guards in each District.
Placing Famous Citizens and Guards is the longest part of the setup process. All players are encouraged to work together to complete it.
4. Choose Your Roles
The game is set in the conflict of 3 Servants controlled by the Great Machine and 3 Heroes controlled by the Revolutionary players.
One player takes on the role of the Great Machine. For your first game we recommend to choose the most experienced player (or the one who knows the rules best).
The other players play as Revolutionaries. Depending on how many there are:
- 1 Revolutionary — Controls all 3 Heroes.
- 2 Revolutionaries — One of the 2 Revolutionary players controls 2 Heroes, the other player controls 1 Hero.
- 3 Revolutionaries — Each of the 3 Revolutionary players controls 1 Hero.
When there are 2 Revolutionaries, they may agree to control one of the Heroes together. They then will collectively decide that Hero's movements and Actions through the course of the game.
5. Progress Board
The Progress Board should be within reach of all players but most importantly within the reach of the Great Machine player, who is responsible for supervising it.
Point the Master Plan pointer to III on the Master Plan track.
If the player for the Great Machine has a lot of experience in the game and the Revolutionaries don't, you may start with the Master Plan at II or even I. This is only decided by the Great Machine player.
The Progress Board is made of 3 discs and a pointer at the center. The middle disc and the pointer move, while the rest remain stationary.
- The outer disc is the Master Plan track, marked by roman numerals I to XII. It does not move.
- The middle disc is the Master Plan pointer. If the Progress board is assembled correctly, this disc can be rotated without moving anything else.
- The inner disc is the Discontent track. It does not move.
- The pointer is the Discontent pointer which shows the current level of Discontent.
Before playing your first game, you will need to assemble the Progress Board as shown in the illustrations. You will not need to disassemble it afterwards.
The starting position of the Discontent pointer is determined by the number of Revolutionaries and it is marked on the track with icons of 1, 2, or 3 people. The fewer the players — the easier it is to agree on what to do.
6. City Event Deck
Take the City Event cards. Do these steps in the following order:
- Find the special City Event card 'The Countdown' and put it face-down next to the Progress Board.
- Separate the remaining cards into 2 stacks according to their backs ('City Event I' and 'City Event II'). There should be 10 cards in each stack. Shuffle each stack separately.
- Take 6 cards from the 'City Event II' stack and put them face-down on 'The Countdown' card. Return the remaining 4 cards to the game box without looking at them. Repeat the same process for the 'City Event I' stack.
In the end, you should have a deck of 13 City Events cards, with 'The Countdown' card at the bottom, 6 'City Event II' cards in the middle and 6 'City Events I' cards on top.
7. The Great Machine's Preparations
- Take the 3 Servants miniatures and place them in the Grand Citadel District.
- Take the Directive deck, shuffle it, and place it face-down nearby.
- Take 3 Raid tokens and the Great Machine Reference cards.
- Take 3 Servant Order tokens to mark when a Servant completes their Action (simply flip the corresponding Order token to its grey side). The Order tokens are optional and are included for your convenience.
Servants lose their real names upon being adopted as the loyal tools of the Great Machine. Now they are referred to as Lex Hecate, Judgementor, and Phantasmer (from left to right).
In the base game (this may change with expansions), there is no gameplay difference between the Servants other than their portraits on the Order tokens and miniatures — this helps to keep track of which of the Servants have already taken an Action.
From this moment on, the Great Machine player is to be addressed only as 'the Great Machine' and has no other name.
8. The Revolutionaries' Preparations
For each Revolutionary player:
- Choose a Hero and take their miniature and Hero card.
- Place your Hero in the District that has the same icon as shown at the bottom of the Hero card.
- Take all 9 Access cards with the portrait of your Hero on their backs. Randomly discard one Access card and place it next to the Progress Board face-down. You and other Revolutionaries at any time may look what is this card. The Great Machine may not.
- Take 2 Revolutionary Reference cards.
Discarded Access cards are called forfeited Access cards. A forfeited Access card is always placed face-down. For now, there will be 1 forfeited Access card per Hero.
Repeat these steps if you are playing more than one Hero (see "4. Choose Your Roles" above).
From this moment on, each of the Revolutionaries is called either 'Revolutionary' (as a player), or by their Hero's name (in gameplay terms). The player and their Hero are one and the same.
Hero Cards show:
- Hero's name and occupation.
- Hero's unique ability.
- Starting District for the Hero. This is important during setup only.
- Maximum Trust this Hero may have. Excess Trust must be immediately discarded.
- Initiative which determines the order of the Heroes' turns.
- At the beginning of the game, each Hero gets all 9 of their Access cards, and randomly forfeits one of them.
9. Final Steps
Place 2 Riot tokens, the Assault die and Escape die, and Bond/Trust tokens within reach of the players. The Bond/Trust tokens belong to the common reserve.
LET THE STRUGGLE BEGIN!
The Game Round
The game round consists of five phases, played in this order:
- I. Opening Phase
- II. Access Phase
- III. The Great Machine Phase
- IV. Heroes Phase
- V. Closing Phase
Communication between Revolutionaries
Revolutionaries may communicate however they want, as long as it is done in the presence of the Great Machine.
- They may not leave the room to discuss their plans, and may not whisper.
- They may use gestures, as long as it is done in the Great Machine's field of view.
- They may secretly show one another their Access cards.
- They may view Citizen tokens that have been identified by any Revolutionary.
Skilled Revolutionaries will always figure out a way to surprise the Great Machine, even when it's watching their every move.
A skilled Great Machine will lead the Revolutionaries into trap after trap, all the while convincing them that it doesn't have a clue what they are planning.
I. Opening Phase
Reveal a New City Event Card
The Great Machine reveals the top card from the City Event deck and places it next to the deck. New City Event cards are placed on top of the previous ones, so that only the current City Event card is visible.
Only the top revealed City Event card is in effect.
When the 'The Countdown' card is revealed (in the 13th round, if nobody has won yet), it remains in effect until the end of the game. You don't draw any more City Events cards. During Step 3 of each round's Closing Phase, advance the Master Plan by 1, as instructed by 'The Countdown' card.
The Great Machine starts the final countdown for its Master Plan to be fulfilled. People in the City begin to understand what is happening, but... it might be too late to do something about it now. Or perhaps not?
City Event Cards
Each City Event card has two parts (except for the unique 'The Countdown' card).
The TOP HALF of the text on the card has a special rule for the current game round.
During this round only... changes game rules for the first 4 of the 5 game Phases.
At the end of this round only... is checked and resolved at Step 2 of the 5th Phase — the Closing Phase (see 'V. Closing Phase').
The BOTTOM HALF of the text on the card has the conditions for the Master Plan advancing at the end of the current round.
The Master Plan advances if... conditions are checked at Step 3 of the Closing Phase (see 'V. Closing Phase').
Note that the Master Plan never advances because of the City Event card until the Closing Phase!
Receive Trust and Bonds
The amount of Bonds the Great Machine receives depends on the current Stage of Discontent.
The Great Machine receives 6 Bonds in the 1st round, as Discontent is at Zero Stage. As play continues, the Discontent pointer moves to higher Stages and the Great Machine will receive more Bonds in the Opening Phase.
The Great Machine can hold an unlimited number of Bonds.
Each Famous Citizen provides 1 Trust to the Hero (or Heroes) in their current District. That Trust provided must be shared among the Heroes if there is more than one in the District.
For instance, if there are 1 Hero and 3 Citizens in the District, the Hero receives 3 Trust.
A Citizen cannot provide more than 1 Trust per round. If 2 or more Heroes are in the same District, they must choose how distribute this Trust among themselves. If they cannot come to an agreement, the Hero with the smallest Initiative number decides.
Revealed Traitors provide no Trust.
The maximum amount of Trust a Hero can have is shown on the Hero sheet. Excess Trust is immediately discarded.
Trust vs. Bonds
There are two kinds of 'currency' in the game. One is called Trust, while the other is Bonds. Trust and Bonds use the same tokens, which are double-sided.
TRUST is the resource of the Heroes. It represents the people's faith in the Revolution, and their willingness to support it and even sacrifice for it.
BONDS is the resource of the Great Machine. It represents everything the Great Machine has levied from the population through taxation and regulations.
When a Hero receives Trust or the Great Machine receives Bonds, take the tokens from the common reserve. When paying Trust or Bonds, return the tokens back to the common reserve.
You may swap out 1s/4s at any time as needed.
Discontent Track
The Discontent track is the inner disc of the Progress Board. It represents the mood in the City.
The Discontent track consists of 18 slots (3 slots for each of the main 6 Stages) and 1 red circle at the end of the track which is the last 19th slot.
When Discontent rises, move the Discontent pointer clockwise to the next slot. When Discontent drops, move the pointer back one slot.
The first 3 slots represent the Zero Stage of Discontent. The Revolutionaries have just begun their work. No one is ready to support the revolution... yet.
At the beginning of the game, the Discontent pointer is pointed at 1 of these 3 slots, depending on the number of Revolutionaries.
The next 5 sets of 3 slots represent Discontent Stages 1–5. Each Stage is depicted with a Famous Citizen portrait and the Stage number. The same portraits and numbers are on the Citizen tokens.
The current Stage of Discontent determines which Famous Citizens are ready to support a Riot. If a Citizen's number is lower than or equal to the current Stage of Discontent, they are ready to support a Riot.
For example, if Discontent is at Stage 2, this means that Artists (1) and Scientists (2) are ready to support a Riot! This also means that the Great Machine receives 8 Bonds in the Opening Phase of a round.
If the Discontent marker ever reaches the end of the track marked by a red circle, this itself counts as 1 successful Riot and is called the Riot Stage. Ignore any changes to Discontent after this — it will never rise or drop for the rest of the game.
The City is aflame with revolutionary fervor. The people are on the streets, barricades are going up. We are on the verge of a Revolution!
In the Opening Phase of each round the Great Machine receives Bonds depending on the current Stage of Discontent.
It receives 6 Bonds at Zero Stage, 7 Bonds at Stage 1, 8 Bonds at Stage 2, and so on — as shown on the Progress Board. The Great Machine receives a maximum of 12 Bonds at Stage 5 and the Riot Stage.
For example, if Discontent is at Riot Stage, it will not change for the rest of the game. All Famous Citizens, except for Traitors, are ready to support a Riot! There is no way to drop Discontent now. This also means that the Great Machine receives 12 Bonds in the Opening Phase of a round.
II. Access Phase
Each Hero chooses which District they will move to. They may stay in their current District or move to a different one.
To choose a District, each Hero takes one of their Access cards (from their hand) and places it face-down on the table in front of them. The District shown on the chosen Access card is often called the destination District in game terms.
A Hero cannot move to or stay in a District unless they have the Access card for that District.
Heroes may look at each other's chosen Access cards.
Any Hero may change their mind and choose a different Access card before this Phase has ended.
The Great Machine should not see which cards the Heroes choose.
The Heroes are free to view the forfeited Access cards, if they'd like, but they cannot use them at all. The Great Machine cannot view these cards.
The chosen Access card is put face-down near the Hero card.
The Heroes tell the Great Machine when they've finished choosing. Then the round moves to the Great Machine's Phase. After this the Heroes cannot change their chosen Access cards.
III. The Great Machine's Phase
As the Great Machine you act primarily through your Servants and Guards. Their movements and Actions are paid for in Bonds.
Your Servants can move between Districts and carry out Actions. Guards only move.
You can move your Servants and Guards in any order. As long as you have enough Bonds, you can move them as much as you like. The only restriction: a Servant may not move after taking an Action.
Movement
The Great Machine can move a Guard or Servant by any number of Districts.
Guards: Pay 1 Bond for every District a Guard exits while on the way to its destination.
Servants: Pay 2 Bonds for every District a Servant exits while on the way to their destination.
For instance, a Guard moves from District A to District C via District B. The Great Machine pays 2 Bonds, because the Guard has exited 2 Districts. If a Servant moves from District A to District C, then the Great Machine would pay 4 Bonds.
Guards and Servants can only move through the connections between Districts.
A Guard must end its movement on any free smaller square on the left of a District tile. If there are no free squares in a District, a Guard cannot end their movement there. It can, however, move through the District.
Servants are placed in the center of the District tiles (like Heroes). There can be any number of Heroes and Servants in a District.
Servant Actions
Each Servant can take only one Action per round.
A Servant may take an Action only in their current District.
A Servant cannot move to another District after taking an Action.
Servant Actions always cost 2 Bonds unless otherwise specified.
If you want to move a Servant, do that first. Afterwards the Servant can take one available Action. A Servant may also remain where they are and/or take no Action.
There are three types of Servant Actions:
- Standard Actions — can be taken in any District.
- Special Actions — can only be taken in the appropriate Major Districts.
- Directive and City Event Actions — follow the instructions on the Directive or City Event card.
Standard Servant Actions: Arrest, Repair, Raid
Arrest Action
Cost: 2 Bonds
Remove one revealed active Famous Citizen token from the District. Place this token face-down with the other Citizen tokens near the Progress Board. The Citizen is arrested. (See 'Identified, Revealed, and Arrested Famous Citizens'.)
The Great Machine cannot arrest a Citizen who is not revealed or is inactive (not ready to join a Riot).
Repair Action
Cost: 2 Bonds
The Heroes have learned how to break the mechanical Guards (see 'Broken Guards'). The Great Machine knows how to fix them.
Put the broken Guard figure upright. It is now operational.
A Servant can repair only one Guard with this Action.
Raid Action
Cost: 2 Bonds
A Servant can organize a Raid to capture the Heroes. Place a Raid token on the District.
As you have 3 Servants at your disposal, you may organize Raids in 2 or even 3 Districts in the same round. There is no point in organizing more than 1 Raid in the same District at once.
Your goal is to guess which Access cards the Heroes chose this turn, and try to seize them in their destination Districts. They made their choices in the previous Phase, and they can't change them now!
You won't know if the Raid is successful or not until the next Phase, when the Heroes reveal their Access cards.
There are two possible outcomes:
SUCCESSFUL RAID
One or more Heroes end their movement in a District with a Raid token. Each of these Heroes is immediately detained (see 'Detainment').
FAILED RAID
No Heroes ended their movement in a District with a Raid token. At the end of the round Discontent rises by 1 for every failed Raid (see 'V. Closing Phase').
Broken Guards
When a Hero breaks a Guard:
- Put the Guard figure on its side.
- Broken Guards still take up a square in the District.
- The Great Machine cannot move broken Guards.
- Broken Guards are not counted when Heroes are moving or taking Actions.
- Broken Guards are not counted during Riots.
In other words, a broken Guard is a useless hunk of metal until the Great Machine fixes it. The broken Guard figure is put on its side. It is inactive until repaired. The other 3 Guards in the District are upright and are operational.
When the rules or cards talk about Guards without specifically saying 'broken Guards', they always mean operational Guards.
Detainment
A Hero can be detained in two situations:
- The Hero ends their movement in a District with a Raid token (see 'Raid Action').
- The Hero is captured by Guards while moving from District to District (see 'IV. Heroes Phase').
Each Hero can only be detained once per round. If a Hero is captured by the Guards while moving to a District with a Raid token, it is still considered one detainment, not two.
When a Hero is detained, the Great Machine chooses between two possible options.
OPTION A. The Great Machine advances the Master Plan by 1. After this, the detained Hero may proceed with their turn as normal.
This Hero is considered detained for certain game cards and effects for the rest of the round, but suffers no other bad consequences, except that the Great Machine is now one step closer to its victory!
OPTION B. The detained Hero's turn is finished. That Hero can take no Actions this round.
In addition to this, the Great Machine chooses and applies 1 of the 2 Punitive Measures: 'No Trust!' or 'No Access!'.
NO TRUST! The detained Hero discards all their Trust. The Great Machine collects the same number in Bonds. Just hand the Trust tokens to the Great Machine and flip them over to the Bonds side.
NO ACCESS! The detained Hero forfeits the Access card they chose for this round. The card is placed face-down with the other forfeited Access cards (see '8. The Revolutionaries' Preparations' in Setup).
The citizens watched as the Guards ambled by on their mechanical limbs, a handcuffed figure in tow. What had he done? He didn't look like a criminal. Was he one of the Revolutionaries they're always hearing whispers about?...
For example, having chosen Science District's Access card for this round, the Fowler must move to this District — and gets detained during a Raid. The Fowler finishes his movement, and the Great Machine may immediately advance the Master Plan by 1. OR the Great Machine may cancel all of Fowler's Actions for this round and then take all his Trust as Bonds or force him to forfeit the Science District's Access card.
Special Servant Actions
Cost: 2 Bonds, except at the Central Square.
Unlike Standard Actions that may be taken in any District, Servants can take Special Actions only when they are in the appropriate Districts.
For instance, for the Great Machine to draw a Directive card, a Servant must take an Action in the Grand Citadel District.
Grand Citadel District
Special Action. The Great Machine draws one Directive card from the top of the deck.
If the Directive deck runs out, Servants cannot take this Action. This deck is never reshuffled.
There is no limit to the number of Directive cards you can have in your hand. The Heroes may ask how many Directive cards the Great Machine has.
Tower of L.A.W. District
[Logic.Automation.Work.]
Special Action. The Great Machine publishes one Directive.
Choose a Directive from your hand to publish. Place the published Directive face-up in a place clearly visible to all players. Any player can read it at any time.
There cannot be more than 3 Directives published at a time. If you want to publish a 4th Directive, you must return one of the 3 published Directives to your hand first.
A published Directive comes into effect immediately.
Control Nexus District
Special Action. The Great Machine repositions one District.
Carefully take the District tile with everything on it and put it in a different part of the City.
Two Route Principle: Each District must be connected to at least 2 other Districts. Additionally, there should never be such a situation that 2 parts of the City are connected through one District only. In other words, there should always be at least 2 routes from any one part of the City to another one.
Rules of Repositioning:
- The Two Route Principle should be followed when repositioning a District.
- Only a District with at least one free side can be repositioned. Imagine it as sliding a District tile across the surface of the game table. If you have to lift a District up to reposition it or to move other Districts — this means that the District cannot be repositioned.
- A District moves together with everything on its tile (Heroes, Servants, Guards...).
Repositioning Examples:
- City Districts before repositioning.
- Not possible. Only a District with at least one free side can be repositioned.
- Not possible. The repositioned District must be connected with 2 or more Districts.
- Not possible. The repositioned District is connected with 2 other Districts, but the other one (Control Nexus) has only one connection now.
- The District is repositioned correctly!
A District may be rotated when repositioned. It can be placed vertical or horizontal, regardless of how it was positioned before.
The other Districts should not be moved while repositioning.
Each District of the City was built on a colossal floating platform. Equipped with powerful engines, these platforms are mobile and can be moved from one corner of the City to another. The Great Machine's operators guide them from the Control Nexus.
Cost: free. This is the only Action that costs no Bonds for a Servant in the game.
Central Square District
Special Action. The Great Machine receives a Bond for each Famous Citizen on the Central Square minus the number of Guards.
For instance, if there are 5 Citizens and 2 Guards on the Central Square, the Great Machine receives 3 Bonds.
As usual, broken Guards are not counted.
Revealed Traitors are counted like any other Citizens.
Directive and City Event Actions
The 'Pacify' and 'Confiscate' Directives, as well as some City Event cards allow your Servants to choose from other Actions. The cost of these Actions is always 2 Bonds. The rules for such Actions are described on the relevant Directive or City Event card.
Remember that in no situation a Servant may take 2 Actions (unless the 'Optimize' Directive is published), no matter if it is a Standard Action, Special Action, or a Directive or City Event Action.
Playing as the Great Machine
The Revolutionaries are clever, tricky, and dangerous. Your main priority is to complete the Master Plan as quickly as possible. You achieve this with the help of City Event cards and by detaining the Heroes. If you ignore the Heroes, you might find yourself on the losing end of a Revolution before the Plan is completed.
- A good strategy is to publish a few Directives in the early game. You may even want to put one Servant in the Grand Citadel and another one in the Tower of L.A.W. This way you can draw and publish one Directive per turn. Or, alternatively, you may postpone Directives for later, until you have more resources, and hunt the Heroes down starting with the first few game rounds.
- Send Guards to the Heroes. This drains their resources and makes them unable to take Actions. You might even get lucky and detain them during their movement.
- A Servant in the Control Nexus can reposition a District with a Hero to the other side of the City. This can cause a Hero to end up running across the entire City, spending all their Trust and possibly getting detained.
- Don't make Raids too often. It might be smart to make 2 or 3 Raids all at once when you have a good idea of where the Heroes are going.
- Event Cards often help the Heroes predict what you will do. Sometimes it's better to do the opposite. Leave the Master Plan for a moment and give the Heroes an unpleasant surprise!
Don't ignore the tools you have at your disposal. Drive the Heroes into a corner. Make them fear their own shadows. Then the great Purpose for which you were created will be fulfilled at last!
The Great Machine's Turn Ends
After the Great Machine has finished moving its Guards and Servants and the Servants have taken their Actions, the Great Machine tells the Heroes it's the end of its turn.
THE HEROES' TURNS BEGIN.
IV. Heroes Phase
Initiative Order
Heroes take turns according to the Initiative shown in the upper-right corner of their Hero cards, from lowest to highest. The Hero with the lowest Initiative number goes first.
Each Hero fully completes their turn before the next Hero starts.
A Hero's turn consists of two parts:
Part 1. MOVEMENT. Move to the destination District.
Part 2. ACTION. You may take one Action. In no situation you may take 2 Actions (unless you are the Fowler).
Part 1. Movement
The Revolutionary reveals their Access card that was chosen during the Access Phase. Now their Hero must move to the destination District shown on the card.
Heroes move through the connections between Districts.
Heroes may move through any connected Districts, including Districts they do not have Access cards for. Heroes ignore Raid tokens in the Districts they move through.
Heroes are placed in the center of the District tiles. There can be any number of Heroes and Servants in a District.
You cannot refuse to move your Hero, but you are free to choose the route.
After reaching your destination District, return the Access card to your hand (if it wasn't forfeited due to detainment). Next turn you can use any one of the Access cards you have in your hand, including this one.
In case the Access card to the current Hero's District was chosen, the Hero stays where they are. It is still considered 'movement' for some game effects.
When exiting a District, you must pay 1 Trust for every Guard in the District. Broken Guards are not counted.
If the Hero needs to move through several Districts, you must pay for every District they exit.
You do not pay Trust for Guards in the destination District.
If you don't have enough Trust to pay for exiting a District, you'll need to rely on your luck.
Return all your remaining Trust to the common reserve and roll the Escape die. There are two possible outcomes:
SUCCESS! The Escape die shows an icon of a running man. You slipped past the Guards and entered the next District on your route.
If you haven't reached the destination District yet (and there is at least one Guard in the new District you are in), you'll have to roll the Escape die again. This way you continue to roll the Escape die until you reach your destination District.
DETAINED... You've rolled a handcuffs icon on the Escape die. You are detained.
For example, when exiting the Art District, the Artificer pays 3 Trust — 1 Trust per Guard in the District. Now there are two routes. Obviously, the Artificer chooses the route with less Guards!
Place your Hero in the destination District. Next, the Great Machine immediately chooses to advance the Master Plan by 1 OR to cancel your Actions for this round and apply 1 of the 2 Punitive Measures (see 'Detainment' above).
Heroes always end their movement in the destination District shown on their chosen Access card. The only questions are whether they arrive on their own or in handcuffs (detained), and how much Trust they will have after movement.
Part 2. Actions
A Hero may take one Action after arriving in the destination District.
A Hero may take an Action in this District only.
There are three types of Hero Actions:
- Incitement. In any Minor District.
- Standard Actions. In any District.
- Special Actions. In the appropriate Major Districts.
The Incitement Action and Special Actions are listed on your Access cards. These Actions always cost you 1 Trust per Guard in the District.
The Standard Actions may be taken in any District and so are not shown on the Access cards (they are listed in your Reference cards and in these rules). The cost for each Standard Action is calculated differently.
A Hero cannot take an Action if they do not have enough Trust. Note that an Action that requires you to pay 1 Trust per Guard, costs you no Trust in a District with no Guards (broken Guards are not counted).
Incitement
Cost: 1 Trust per Guard in the District.
The Incitement Action increases Discontent by 1. Move the Discontent pointer one slot clockwise on the Progress Board.
This is the key method for the Heroes to prepare the City for the Revolution. The Incitement Action can only be taken in Minor Districts (the Art, Science, Commerce, Industrial, and Velvet Districts), where City population mainly lives.
When the people rise up, it becomes easier to persuade the Famous Citizens to join our side!
Standard Hero Actions
Attack a Guard
Cost: variable.
A Hero may attack 1 Guard in their current District.
Pay as much Trust as you wish and roll the Assault die.
If you have paid the same amount of Trust as rolled on the Assault die or more, the Guard is broken.
If you have paid less Trust than rolled on the Assault die OR a shield icon is rolled, the attack fails.
Either way your Hero has spent their Action for this round, and the Trust paid is not returned.
Assault die faces: Success (at least 2 Trust paid), Success (at least 3 Trust paid), Success (Trust paid), Attack fails.
Broken Guard figures are put on their side. They are not counted for movement and Action costs, during Riots and so on until the Great Machine repairs them (see 'Broken Guards' above).
For example, the Physician paid 3 Trust and then rolled the Assault die. The dice lands 2 Trust up — success! The Guard is broken. The Hero puts the Guard's figure on its side.
Identify Famous Citizens
Cost: 1 Trust per Guard in the District.
A Hero may identify 1 or more Citizens with this Action.
For every Citizen you want to identify, discard 1 Trust per Guard in the District.
For example, if you want to identify 3 Citizens and there are 2 Guards in the District, you must pay 6 Trust.
Check the chosen Citizen token and put it back without showing the Great Machine. Turn the checked token so that the green indicator is visible (see 'Identified, Revealed, and Arrested Famous Citizens' below).
If there are no Guards in the District, you may identify all or any Citizens for free (broken Guards are not counted). You may not try to identify a Citizen that was identified already. All Revolutionaries may look at identified Citizen tokens at any time.
Move Famous Citizens
Cost: 1 Trust for each District a Citizen exits.
A Hero can move 1 or more Citizens with this Action.
The Citizens may be moved from your Hero's current District to any Districts of your choice. Pay 1 Trust for each District a Citizen exits. This Action does not require you to pay for the Guards in the District.
For example, a Hero pays 3 Trust to move one Citizen to a neighboring District, and another Citizen by 2 Districts.
Citizens move through the connections between Districts — same as Heroes, Servants, and Guards. You must place a Citizen token in any free square in their new District after movement. Citizens can be moved through any Districts, even through a District with no free squares for Citizens. An identified Citizen stays identified after movement, a revealed one stays revealed, etc.
Identified, Revealed, and Arrested Famous Citizens
At the start of the game neither the Great Machine nor the Revolutionaries know which Citizens are where. The Citizen tokens are all face-down and have the same orientation (the outline icon of the Citizen token is visible under the corner of each Citizen token).
IDENTIFIED CITIZENS
A Hero may use the 'Identify Famous Citizens' Action to view one or more Citizen tokens in their current District. After checking a token, put it back where it was face-down and turn the token so that the icon with green indicator is now visible.
The green indicator shows that this Citizen is identified. Any Revolutionary can check any of the identified Citizen tokens at any time. They should do their best to keep it secret from the Great Machine.
REVEALED CITIZENS
Citizen tokens are revealed during Riots or under special conditions. These Citizen tokens are turned face-up, and the outline figure of the Citizen on the tile becomes visible.
There is only one way to turn a Citizen token face-down again — if the Citizen becomes arrested and is removed from the City.
ARRESTED CITIZENS
During setup, 3 Citizen tokens are left face-down next to the Progress board. These Citizens are rotting in the Great Machine's jails. They are arrested. No player may view them.
The Great Machine may arrest more Citizens during the course of the game. Add them to other arrested Citizens face-down.
In certain cases, a player may return an arrested Citizen to the City. When this happens, carefully shuffle all tokens of arrested Citizens and pick one at random. Place it on a free square in any District of that player's choice. The returned Citizen is unknown to both the Great Machine and the Revolutionaries.
Active and Inactive Famous Citizens
A few Citizens hold great influence in the City, whether through wealth, connections, or throngs of supporters. In order to win, the Revolutionaries need their support. Only this can make a Revolution against the Great Machine possible.
Famous Citizens are represented by respective tokens. There are 5 social classes: Artists, Scientists, Merchants, Industrialists, and Nobles. Social class is indicated by the number and the portrait on the face of the token.
If the number on the token is less than or equal to the current Stage of Discontent, then this Citizen is active. If the number is higher, the Citizen is inactive.
Only active Citizens join Riots.
For example, if the pointer on the Discontent track is pointed at one of the slots of Stage 2, then Citizens with a 1 or 2 are active, while those with a 3, 4, and 5 are not ready to support Riots.
As for Traitors — they never support Riots and join the Great Machine instead.
Social Classes in the City:
- 1 — Artists. Creative folk are the most inclined to rebel. Who wants to paint by numbers, sing what you're told, and only put on plays that foster 'proper ideals'? Damn the system!
- 2 — Scientists. Their enlightened minds understand where the Great Machine's actions are leading, but they are cautious by nature. Still, if it comes to rebellion, their words will resonate in the press and bring the students out onto the streets.
- 3 — Merchants. Money makes the world go round. But not under the rule of an incorruptible artificial mind. Trade is suffocated by taxes and regulations. Every day it gets worse. Soon it might be time to put the counting machines aside.
- 4 — Industrialists. The industrialists have plenty to lose in a revolt. Yet when the Great Machine keeps making laws that ignore profits, when one cannot breathe from the weight of taxes, it might be time to shut down the factories.
- 5 — Nobles. Even in the palaces, where the days pass in carousing and indolence, one can feel the disturbing changes in the City. The nobles know that Progress marches against them. They'd prefer to stay aside, enjoying their lives of luxury while they can. But because of the Great Machine, it looks like their time is ending much faster than expected.
- Traitors. As snakes in the grass, there are traitors among the Famous Citizens. They promise the Revolutionaries support, but their true loyalties lie with the Great Machine.
There are 5 of each Famous Citizens in the game.
Start a Riot
Cost: 1 Trust per Guard for each unidentified Famous Citizen in the District.
The Heroes' main goal is to start 3 successful Riots. After the 3rd successful Riot there is a Revolution and the Heroes win.
To start a Riot, you must pay 1 Trust for each Citizen in the District that hasn't been previously identified. If all Citizens are identified, initiating a Riot is free. Next, reveal all Citizen tokens in this District.
Active Citizens join the Riot. If there are Traitors in the District, they join the Great Machine. Inactive Citizens do not participate. Guards support the Great Machine.
SUCCESSFUL RIOT: There are more active Citizens than Guards and Traitors in the District.
- Place a Riot token on the District tile. The Heroes cannot start another Riot in this District for the rest of the game.
- Put all the Guard figures in the District on their sides. They are broken.
- If this was the 3rd successful Riot, ignore the above steps as the Revolution sweeps through the City and the Heroes are victorious!
FAILED RIOT: The total number of Guards and Traitors is equal to or more than the number of active Citizens.
- The Master Plan advances by 1.
- The Great Machine may immediately arrest any or all of the active Citizens in this District for free (see 'Arrest Action').
For example, Discontent is at Stage 3, and the Physician initiates a Riot in the Commerce District. 2 Citizens are unidentified. There is only 1 operational Guard, so the Physician has to pay only 2 Trust (it would be 4 Trust if the second Guard wasn't broken).
Next, the Physician reveals all Citizens. The Artist (1) and both Merchants (3) are active and join the Riot — that makes 3. The Traitor and the only Guard support the Great Machine — that makes 2. The Industrialist (4) is inactive and does not participate in the Riot. Same for the other Guard as it is broken. Servants have no influence on Riot results.
Summarizing, 3 is more than 2, so the Riot is successful! If it was the 1st or 2nd successful Riot, the game continues. Place the Riot token in the District and put the Guard figure on its side. However, if it was the 3rd Riot, the Heroes win!
Special Hero Actions
Cost: 1 Trust per Guard in the District.
Note that 3 of 4 Major Districts (the Central Square is the exception) offer 2 completely different special Actions to choose from. These Actions are listed on the Access cards.
Central Square District
Available Special Actions: 1
Discontent rises by the number of Citizens in the Central Square minus the number of Guards.
Revealed Traitors are not counted.
If there are more Guards than Citizens in the Central Square or equal, this Action has no effect.
For example, there are 4 Citizens and 1 Guard in the Central Square. You pay only 1 Trust, as there is only 1 Guard. Then Discontent rises by 3 points (4–1=3). Move the Discontent pointer 3 slots clockwise.
This Action is similar to Incitement, but may have a much stronger effect.
Control Nexus District
Available Special Actions: 2
Action. Reposition a District.
See 'Control Nexus District' under 'III. The Great Machine's Phase' — the rules of repositioning are the same for the Revolutionaries and the Great Machine.
Each District of the City was built on a colossal floating platform. People used to call them 'flying carpets.' Equipped with powerful engines, the 'flying carpets' are mobile and can be repositioned from one corner of the City to another. Some of the Control Nexus operators have joined our cause, and they can offer us some help!
Action. Any one Hero receives 3 Trust.
Choose any Hero, including yourself. That Hero receives 3 Trust (from the common reserve). A Hero cannot receive more Trust than their allowed maximum — excess Trust is immediately discarded.
Tower of L.A.W. District
[Logic.Automation.Work.]
Available Special Actions: 2
Action. Cancel a published Directive.
Discard a published Directive card of your choice. You cannot discard a Directive card from the Great Machine's hand with this Action.
Action. Any one Hero retrieves a forfeited Access card.
Choose any Hero, including yourself. That Hero chooses one of their forfeited Access cards and returns it to their hand. That card is not shown to the Great Machine.
Grand Citadel District
Available Special Actions: 2
Action. Discard an unpublished Directive.
View the Directive cards in the Great Machine's hand and discard one of them. You cannot discard a published Directive with this Action.
The Revolutionaries may view the cards together and discuss which one they want to discard, but the person who took the Action makes the final decision.
Action. Return one arrested Famous Citizen to any District.
Randomly take one of the arrested Citizens and place it on a free square in any District. The identity of this Citizen remains a secret to all players.
Playing as a Revolutionary
The Great Machine is always trying to calculate and predict your next moves. Your goal is to start 3 successful Riots, but if you relax or let early victories go to your head, the Great Machine won't give you a second chance.
- Coordinate what you do. Use body language. Work as a team. Always check which Access cards the other Heroes choose.
- The simplest way to raise Discontent is the Incitement Action, which you can take in any Minor District. The higher the Stage of Discontent, the more Famous Citizens will support Riots. Better yet, reaching the last circle of the Discontent track itself counts as 1 successful Riot!
- The best place to raise Discontent is on the Central Square. The Great Machine knows this, however, so be careful.
- Don't let the Great Machine gain the upper hand. Discard its Directives in the Tower of L.A.W. and Grand Citadel. Break the Guards. Retrieve your forfeited Access cards in the Tower of L.A.W.
- Prepare Districts for Riots. Identify Famous Citizens. Move Traitors to Districts where Riots are harder to organize. Gather active Citizens in one District and organize a Riot there in the same round.
Make the best possible use of all your abilities and available Actions. Be unpredictable. Sometimes the best strategy isn't the most logical one. Trick the Great Machine into making mistakes, organizing useless Raids, and pointlessly driving its Servants around the City. Vive La Révolution!
V. Closing Phase
The Closing Phase is often referred as "end of the round" or "round's end" in the rules and cards.
Go through the following steps in this order:
STEP 1. Failed Raids Raise Discontent
Remove any Raid tokens. For each failed Raid move the Discontent pointer 1 slot clockwise.
STEP 2. City Event: End of the Round
If the City Event card has a "At the end of this round only..." condition, complete it now.
STEP 3. City Event: The Master Plan Advancement
Every City Event card has a "The Master Plan advances if…" condition. Check if the condition has been satisfied. If so, the Master Plan advances by 1.
Sometimes the condition allows for the Great Machine or Heroes to do something during this step.
Check the detailed descriptions of City Events cards in the Reference Guide.
START THE NEXT ROUND!
Victory and Defeat
The Revolutionaries immediately win on the 3rd successful Riot.
There are 2 possible ways for the Revolutionaries to win:
- Successful Riots in 3 different Districts,
- Successful Riots in 2 different Districts, and raising Discontent to Riot Stage (the red circle in the end of the Discontent track).
The Revolution is victorious! The mechanical Guards couldn't hold back the throngs. One after another, the Servants were captured. The crowds broke through the black gates of the Citadel.
The Great Machine's voice crackles from the speakers, calling for calm or making threats or promising happiness until someone — you, perhaps? — entered the command into the control panel of the immense calculating mechanisms that house the mind of the Great Machine. The command was
The Great Machine immediately wins when the Master Plan is completed — its pointer reaches the highest position on the Master Plan track, marked with XII.
This often happens at the end of the round by the City Event card conditions, but may occur earlier due to a detainment.
Finally, everything is coming together. There are riots on the streets, but it does not matter any longer.
The latest regulations have come into force. The City police and mechanical Guards, headed by enhanced Servants, are rounding up stragglers in mass arrests throughout the City, while the first implants are being installed in unwitting prisoners. Once released, they will return to their families, but now obedient and eager to support the just course.
The Great Dream soon will be completed, and yet the Purpose has not been fully achieved. The world below must be perfected as well. This City is no more than the first step in bringing Mankind to a new level of existence under the guidance of the Great Machine.
Component Limitations
In the unlikely event that you run out of Trust and Bonds, use any substitutes. All other components are supplied in the necessary quantity. If something runs out, then it's unavailable.
For instance, if the Directive cards are all published, discarded, or in the Great Machine's hand, then the Great Machine cannot draw any more Directives. If you run out of Riot tokens, then the Heroes have won.
Credits
Game Designer: German Tikhomirov
Project Lead & Development: Denis Davydov
Art Directors: Denis Davydov, Nadezhda Penkrat
Box Art: Maya Kurkhuli
Art: Nikolai Mitrukhin (Progress Board, Heroes & Servants, City Events, Famous Citizen back), Anna Laryushina (Districts, City Events), Vadim Vangeliy (Heroes), Andrey Lipaev (Heroes), Igor Pankin (Famous Citizens, Heroes), Anna Myasnikova (District icons)
Graphic Design: Nikolay Mitrukhin, Maya Kurkhuli, Vladimir Nikulo, Ekaterina Ratnikova, Mikhail Emelyanov, Dmitry Alekseev, Vyacheslav Troshko
Hero & Servant Models: Punga Miniatures Studio
Layout Design: Igor Pekhterev, Rafael Piloyan, Ulyana Grebeneva, Andrey Shestakov, Alina Kleymenova
Rules and Cards Text: Denis Davydov
Editors: Laura Pickens, Vuk Brankovich
Project overseen by: Maxim Istomin, Evgeniy Maslovskiy
Key Playtesters: Alexander Kazantsev, Andrey Zakharchenko, Anton Demyanov, Denis Uafin, Roman Gaffarov, Sergey Grafchikov
Official Playtesters: Azret Bairamkulov, Alexander Vatolin, Alexander Grudinin, Alexander Orekhov, Alexandra Ugai, Alla Samogina, Anastasia Kuvshinova, Anastasia Novozhilova, Anatoly Okhapkin, Andrey Gagarinov, Anna Pervina, Arseny Konnov, Vadim Trishkin, Valentina Grigoryeva, Valentina Zaitseva, Veron Zaitseva, and others.
The game went through extensive testing in Board Games Development Guild (GRaNI) and Moroz Testing Ground club.
Additional thanks to: Yuri Yamshchikov, who introduced us to this great game and later took part in playtesting.
© CrowD Games, 2021. © Denis Davydov, 2021. All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced without specific permission. City of the Great Machine, its logo, CrowD Games logo are trademarks of CrowD Games. Actual game components may vary from those shown. Any resemblance to existing or past organizations, actual persons, either living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Rules Summary
I. Opening Phase
- Reveal a new City Event card.
- Receive Trust and Bonds. The Great Machine receives Bonds according to the current Stage of Discontent. Each Citizen provides 1 Trust to the Hero in the District (or one of the Heroes if there are more), except for revealed Traitors.
II. Access Phase
Each Hero chooses an Access card for this round.
III. The Great Machine's Phase
Movement: Move Guards for 1 Bond per District and Servants for 2 Bonds per District.
Actions: Each Servant may take 1 Action in their District after moving at the cost of 2 Bonds (except for the Central Square).
Standard Servant Actions
- Arrest: Take 1 revealed active Citizen and put with other arrested Citizens.
- Repair: Put 1 broken Guard figure upright. It is no longer broken.
- Raid: Place a Raid token.
Special Servant Actions
- Grand Citadel: Draw 1 Directive.
- Tower of L.A.W.: Publish 1 Directive from your hand.
- Control Nexus: Reposition a District.
- Central Square: Receive 1 Bond for each Citizen in the Central Square minus the number of Guards (free).
Detainment: A Hero is detained if captured by Guards when moving or ends their movement in a District with a Raid token. Then the Great Machine chooses between 2 options:
- Option A. Advance the Master Plan by 1.
- Option B. The Hero's turn is finished, and the Great Machine applies 1 of 2 Punitive Measures: 'No Trust!' or 'No Access!'.
IV. Heroes Phase
Heroes take turns in Initiative order (lowest number first). On your turn, reveal your Access card and move to the shown District. Then you may take 1 Action in that District.
Movement: Pay 1 Trust for each Guard in each District you exit. If you don't have enough Trust — discard your remaining Trust and roll the Escape die to avoid being detained.
Incitement Action: 1 Trust per Guard. Increase Discontent by 1. In Minor Districts only.
Standard Hero Actions
- Attack a Guard: Pay any amount of Trust and roll the Assault die. If the roll is less than or equal to the amount you paid and not the shield, the Guard is broken.
- Identify Famous Citizens (1 Trust per Guard for each Citizen you identify): Secretly peek at a Citizen and put it back so that the green indicator in the square is visible.
- Move Famous Citizens (1 Trust for each District a Citizen exits): Move Citizens from your District to other Districts.
- Start a Riot (1 Trust per Guard for each unidentified Citizen): Reveal all Citizens in the District. The Riot is a success if there are more active Citizens than Guards and Traitors. Success: Place a Riot token and break the Guards. Failure: The Master Plan advances by 1, and the Great Machine may arrest the active Citizens.
Special Hero Actions
1 Trust per Guard. In Major Districts. Most Major Districts have 2 Actions to choose from.
- Central Square: Increase Discontent by the number of Citizens minus the number of Guards. Revealed Traitors are not counted.
- Control Nexus: Reposition a District. Any one Hero receives 3 Trust.
- Tower of L.A.W.: Cancel a published Directive. Any one Hero retrieves a forfeited Access card.
- Grand Citadel: Choose and discard a Directive from the Great Machine's hand. Return 1 arrested Citizen to a District of your choice.
V. Closing Phase
- STEP 1. For each failed Raid, increase Discontent by 1. Remove Raid tokens.
- STEP 2. Execute City Event "At the end of this round only..." condition (if there is one).
- STEP 3. Check for City Event "The Master Plan advances if..." condition.
Start the next round.
Victory and Defeat
The Revolutionaries win after 3 successful Riots. Riot Stage of the Discontent track counts as 1 successful Riot.
The Great Machine wins when the Master Plan is at XII.