Global Warming
Global Warming Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
In Global Warming you are the leader of a western country buying oil to power your industries and provide your consumers (i.e. your voters) goods to keep them happy. The country with the happiest people will win. But watch out though - the more oil you use, the more you contribute to Global Warming. And if Global Warming reaches the critical value, the ecological catastrophe happens and in this case the winner is whoever contributed least to the warming.
Content
- 1 game board
- 60 oil markers (black plastic squares)
- 3 global warming markers (black oil drums)
- 5 oil rigs in each of 4 players colours
- 4x1 warming contribution markers (train) in each of 4 players colours and black
- 4x1 population happiness markers (truck) in each of 4 players colours
- 90 cards
- 1 die
- 1 rulebook
Preparation of the Game Board
The board is divided into different areas. The bank on the left hand side shows the players financial resources.
The world map on the right shows the oil producing countries, their oil capacities (Oil) and the number of available drilling fields in each country.
Attention: In a 3-player game, in Saudi-Arabia, the number of drilling fields is reduced to 3 (not 4!)
The world map is surrounded by the Happiness Track (the street). The markers representing the customer satisfaction (the trucks) are placed on position zero of the track. A four player game ends when a player reaches the 20 point space, a three player game ends when a player reaches the 25 point space and a 2 player game ends on the 30 point space (see marks on the track).
Also surrounding the world map is the Global Warming Track (the rail tracks). The appropriate markers (the trains) are placed on position zero of the track. The black train shows the total warming reached, the coloured trains the contribution of the players to that warming.
Further Preparation
One of the blue event cards (4 pieces) is shuffled together with the other cards to create a faced-down deck. The three remaining blue cards will be needed later. Each player receives 5 cards from the deck (not the blue card!) and $5. Financial resources are shown with one of the players oil rigs placed on the appropriate field of the bank.
The oil drums are placed on the Global Warming Track (the rail tracks) on the positions 30, 60 and 100. Then, the oil markers are placed (stacked) on the countries. The number of markers is indicated below the name of the country (Oil).
The player who purchased gasoline most recently begins.
The Game
The game is played in rounds. Each round the players can choose one of the following possibilities.
Player Action
On their turn each player performs one action. Then the turn passes clockwise. Possible player actions are:
- Draw Cards: The player may draw three cards and discard two of the cards then at hand. The players may not have more than 7 cards in their hand at one time. Extra cards must be discarded immediately. If all cards have been used, the discard pile is shuffled and a new deck created. Attention: There are cards that will not be put back in the deck, but are taken off the game after use!
- Place an Oil Rig: The player places one of his oil rigs on any empty drilling field in one of the oil producing regions. The player may not place an oil rig in a region where all the drilling fields are used up. If all the player's oil rigs have already been placed, the player may move an oil rig from one area to another.
- Produce Oil: For each oil rig a player has placed, he may pay the production cost for that region, remove an oil marker and place it in front of him. A player may produce with all of his oil rigs or may choose which oil rigs to produce with.
- Play a Card: The player plays a card and reads it to the other players. The different type of cards are explained later on.
- Pass: The player does nothing. The other players follow in clockwise direction.
Card Types
There are five different card types: industry, consumer, green, action and event cards.
- Industry Cards (black): Industry cards cost a certain number of oil markers to play. In return, the player receives the indicated amount of money. The cards also show a temperature and a die. When an industry card is played, the player rolls the die, adds or multiplies the indicated number and increases both, the overall global warming marker (the black train) and his personal warming contribution marker (his train) by that amount. Industry cards may also have other effects, as written on the card. Industry cards are discarded after use.
- Consumer Cards (yellow): Consumer cards costs the indicated amount of money to play. The player receives the indicated number of population happiness points - the truck is moved accordingly. Consumer cards are discarded after use.
- Green Cards (green): Green cards cost the amount of money indicated to play. They reduce the overall global warming by the number of points indicated but they do not reduce the players personal warming contribution. So only the black train is moved backwards. They also score a number of happiness points for the player who played them. The players truck is moved accordingly. Green cards are discarded after use.
- Actions Cards (red): Playing actions cards cost nothing. Their effects are of different nature. Some cards are relevant for a player, others have influence on the regions on the map. Also, there are cards that undo effects of other action cards and cards that are discarded from the game after usage. Veto is the only card that can be played when it is not the players turn. Action cards are discarded after use.
- Event Cards (blue): Playing events cards costs nothing. The player who draws the card must play it at once by reading it aloud to the other players. He cannot put it on the discard pile. After being used, events cards are placed back in the box and a new blue card is placed on the discard pile.
Peculiarities of Some Cards
On some cards there are further graphics which are explained in the following:
- Oil drums with arrow: The player must move one of the oil drums on the global warming track in the appropriate direction (up or down) by one or two fields.
- Trains with value: These cards change their influence as soon as the black train reaches or passes the indicated field on the global warming track.
Signs of Global Warming
The oil drums on the global warming track represent steps of influence by global warming because of the rising impact on the ecology. These steps of influence are as follows:
- Oil drum:
- As soon as the black train reaches the first oil drum, all players lose one of their hand cards. Each player pulls one of the cards of the player to his right and puts it on the discard pile.
- As soon as a player's train reaches the first oil drum, he has to take one of his oil rigs out of the game. When all players have passed the first oil drum, it is discarded from the track.
- Oil drum:
- As soon as the black train reaches the second oil drum, all players lose happiness points. The player with the highest degree of personal contribution to global warming (whose train is in front) loses 5 happiness points, the following player 3 points and the third 1 point.
- As soon as a player's train reaches the second oil drum, the next card played has to be a green card (or an action card that enables him to get a green card in case he has none). When all players have passed the second oil drum, it is discarded from the track.
- Oil drum:
- As soon as the black train reaches the third oil drum, the game ends, which is explained in the following.
End of the Game
The game can end in four ways:
- If the total global warming marker (the black train) reaches the third oil drum, the game ends after the effects of the current card being played are applied. The player who caused the warming marker to reach the oil drum adds an additional 5 points to his personal contribution (the train in his colour). The winner is the player with the least personal contribution to global warming. This is known as the I told you so victory.
- If a player reaches the happiness end space, he wins the game. In a 4 player game the needed amount of happiness points is 20, in a 3 player game 25 and in a 2 player game 30 (see happiness track).
- If there is no oil remaining on the world map, the game immediately ends after the last oil marker is produced. The winner is the player with the most population happiness points.
- If all players pass one after the other, the game ends. The winner is the player with the most population happiness points.
If there is a tie in happiness points at the end of the game, the winner is the tied player with the most money. If money is also tied, the winner is the player with the most remaining oil markers. If oil is also tied, the winner is the player with the most remaining cards. If there is still a tie, the players rejoice in their shared victory.
If the game ended due to Global Warming and there is a tie on the warming track, all players lose.
Appendix: Explanation of Cards
- Tornado: Beginning with the active player, the players have to remove one of their oil rigs from the map. America means all regions in North and South America; Arabia covers all oil fields in that region. If a player does not have oil rigs in the defined area, he does not have to remove one.
- Public apathy: This card is permanent and can only be replaced by Veto. The player can play green cards by the help of other cards.
- Emissions trade: The player can reduce his personal contribution at a rate of $5 per point.
- Oil strike: The oil markers are taken from another region.
- Ice caps melt: The black train is moved forward 5 steps.
- Subsidies: The player may place or replace his oil rigs on the world map according to his wishes.
- Veto: Can be played against public apathy.