Energy Apex
Energy Apex Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
Accumulate the most points over 3 rounds. Each round consists of multiple turns and one scoring.
Components
- Rulesheet x1
- Market Board x1
- Energy Sector Tiles x8
- Investment Cards x48
- Trading Suspended Tile x1
- Scoring Pad x1
Game Setup
Please refer to Figure A for layout.
- Place the Market Board in the center of the table, and randomly place the 8 Energy Sector Tiles on the 8 sides. a. Do not use the front sides with special effects when playing the game for the first time. b. You may decide to use all 8 effects or a mix of unused effects.
- Take 1 Scoring sheet from the pad. If the game consists of mostly basic players, please use the General Scoring side. Only use the Competitive Scoring side if everyone is an advanced player.
- Shuffle all 48 Investment Cards and randomly arrange 6 cards under each Energy Sector tiles as shown. These will make up the 8 Energy Sectors.
- The person who most recently used an AA (No.3) battery will be the starting player. The player to the right of the starting player chooses and places the Trading Suspended Tile on one of the Energy Sectors.
- You may now start playing the game!
[Figure A: layout diagram showing the Market Board in the centre, the 8 Energy Sector Tiles around it, 6 cards under each sector, the Trading Suspended Tile, and a Scoring sheet beside the layout.]
Game Round
Beginning clockwise from the starting player, each player will take turns to pick up an Investment Card. Continue clockwise until the round end condition is triggered.
- On your turn, choose and take the top card from any area that does not have the Trading Suspended Tile. a. You may choose to activate the special effect of this Energy Sector.
- Place the newly obtained card in front of you. This is public information and may be inspected by all players.
- Move the Trading Suspended Tile to the sector you just took a card from.
- Proceed to "Round Scoring" if any area is empty of cards.
- If there are no empty sectors, the round continues and the next clockwise player takes a turn.
[Figure B: an example mid-round layout showing cards taken from sectors, with the Trading Suspended Tile on one sector.]
Special Effects
Each sector tile has a unique power printed on the front side. On your turn, you may freely decide if you want to activate the effect or not when taking a card from that sector.
The eight effects, as printed on the sector tiles (listed left to right, top row then bottom row):
- You can choose the top or bottom card when taking a card from this sector.
- After taking a card, you may place the Suspended Trading tile on any sector of your choice.
- After taking a card, choose a card in any sector, and move it to the top of its sector.
- After taking a card, randomly shuffle the card order in any sector of your choice.
- After taking a card, choose the top card in any sector, and move it to the bottom of its sector.
- Choose a card from the sector with the most cards, and remove it from play (it is returned on the next round). If there is a tie, you choose from the tied sectors.
- After taking a card, you may give a card you have to another player. If you do so, you gain 2 Energy generation for this round. Write +2 on the scoring sheet.
- After taking a card, you may place one of your cards at the bottom of any sector. If you do so, you gain 2 Energy generation for this round. Write +2 on the scoring sheet.
Round Scoring
At the end of each round, rotate the Market Board so that the side marked in Red is pointed at the empty sector. See Figure C.
You may rotate the board anytime during the round to help visualize scoring.
Some sides of the Market Board are marked in Red, Yellow, Green, and no color. These correspond to the different Energy levels that can be provided by the cards.
For each card in your hand, check the color of the Market Board that is pointed to its Energy Sector. You'll generate Energy from each card equivalent to the number that matches the color indicated.
Cards from sectors that are not indicated by any of the Red, Yellow, and Green sides generate 0 energy.
Add the total Energy you generated this round, and write it on the scoring sheet row for this round. Calculate VP for all players with either General Scoring or Competitive Scoring.
If this is not the 3rd round, proceed to the next round from step 3 of Game Setup. The starting player for the new round will be whoever is sitting to the left of the person that ended this round.
[Figure C: the Market Board rotated so the Red side points at the empty sector.]
[Figure D: a worked Round 1 example. Arrows point from the Market Board sectors to the scoring sheet, which records Energy 19 and Round VP 19.]
General Scoring
The VP you gain in each round is equal to the Energy you generated in that same round. See Figure D.
Competitive Scoring
The VP you gain for this round is equal to the Energy generation of the player whose total is just below yours. In case of a tie, all tied players gain VP equal to the next highest total. The player whose total is the lowest gains 5 VP. See Figure E.
Example: In a 4-player game, the 1st player's VP will be the 2nd player's Energy generation; the 2nd & 3rd player are tied so they both gain VP equal to the 4th player's Energy generation; and the 4th player gains 5 VP.
[Figure E: Competitive Scoring table, Round 1, with five ranks.]
| NAME | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANK (排名) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| ENERGY (電力) | 30 | 24 | 24 | 15 | 8 |
| ROUND VP (分數) | 24 | 15 | 15 | 8 | 5 |
End of the Game
The game ends after scoring VP on the 3rd round.
The player with the highest total VP gained wins the game.
In case of a tie, the winner is decided by who gained more VP on the last round, and keep comparing the previous rounds if needed.
If the players are tied on all 3 rounds, they share a combined victory.
Q&A
Q1. Can I decide not to activate the special effects of the Energy Sector? A1. Yes, you may choose to ignore it.
Q2. What is the goal of the game? A2. Strive to generate the highest Energy output and become the player with the highest VP over 3 rounds.
Q3. When generating Energy, what if my cards don't match any colors? A3. Those cards contribute 0 Energy output.
Q4. Can I rotate the market board during my turn to predict Energy output? A4. Yes, you can. It doesn't affect the game.
Q5. Can I arrange the Energy Sector tiles based on my government's energy policy? A5. Yes, the designer encourages you to do so.
Q6. Can I persuade other players to choose a specific card in the game? A6. Yes, the game encourages all players to do so.
Q7. Can I ask other players for assistance in a Competitive Scoring game if I am lagging behind in score? A7. Yes, we encourage cooperation among players to even out the playing field.
Q8. What should I do if I realize that I am not going to win the game? A8. Since you can calculate that, it is likely you'll do better next time.
Q9. Is there a big advantage if the starting players acquire more cards? A9. Going early gives you more chances to pick the cards, while playing later gives you more time to assess the situation. Both can be advantageous.
Q10. In the Competitive Scoring mode, is it possible to have the fourth player earn 0 VP while the fifth player earn 5 VP? A10. Yes, it's possible and is a correct interpretation of the rules.