Hegemonic Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Great Houses of the Post-Human Assembly
• Game Overview + Objective
• Component Summary
  • 6 Player Boards
• Game Setup
  • CAPs and Negotiations
• Game Rounds
  • Phase Tracker
  • Phase 1. Collection
  • Phase 2. Exploration
  • Advancing Technologies
  • Phases 3, 4, & 5. Action Phases
  • Phase 6. Arbitration
• Ending the Game
• Power + Range
  • The Industrial, Political, and Martial Tracks
  • Power
  • Range
• Resolving Actions
  • [1] ASSAULT — Take up to 2 actions
  • [2] INDUSTRIALIZE — Take up to 2 actions
  • [2] POLITICIZE — Take up to 2 actions
  • [2] MARTIALIZE — Take up to 2 actions
  • [3] SUBVERT — Take up to 2 actions
  • [4] DISCOVER — Take up to 2 actions
  • Action Card Icon Reference
  • Playing Action Cards
  • BASIC Actions
  • BUILD Actions
  • Quantum Gates
  • Conflict Actions (DESTROY / TAKEOVER)
• Conflicts
  • Step 1 – Determine Starting Conflict Power
  • Step 2 – Add Political Support
  • Step 3 – Add Technology Card Power
  • Step 4 – Compare Final Conflict Power
  • Step 5 – Cleanup
  • Inactive Technology Cards
• Scoring
  • Final Scoring + Determining the Winner
• The Learning Game
• Optional Advanced Rules
  • Optional: Leaders
  • Optional: Multiple Technology Discard Piles
  • Optional: Technology Draft
  • Optional: Longer Game
  • Optional: "Wild" Home Embassies

Great Houses of the Post-Human Assembly

• House BUSHIDO — Martial ways of rigor and discipline are the pathways to the Assembly's fulfillment and its absolute unity with higher orders of existence.
• House OSIRIS — Growth and prosperity is fabricated in the Assembly through superior foresight and economic leadership. Wealth is power.
• House MARDUK — Empathy is the source of enlightenment. By understanding each other we can come to understand our place in the universe.
• House YAKSHA — Transcendence can only be achieved through harmony with nature and by embracing evolutionary processes. Let all life evolve.
• House DAEDALUS — Through discovery, innovation, and the pursuit of knowledge, we can unlock the secrets of the multiverse and harness unfathomable energies.
• House VANIR — The mind is the source of reality. The psyche contains unlimited potential for shaping reality to the vision of the mind.

Game Overview + Objective

Hegemonic is a game of galactic exploration, conquest, and intrigue for 2-6 players.

• The object is to have the most victory points (VPs) at the end of the game. VPs are earned by controlling regions of the galaxy and by advancing technologies.
• Regions are controlled by building Bases—Industrial Complexes, Political Embassies, and Martial Outposts—and by using their power and influence to win conflicts against opposing players.
• The game ends when the stack of Sector Tiles runs out, or when all Sectors of the galaxy have been explored.

Component Summary

1 Galactic Core Board. The Galactic Core board features a Center Sector that is used to track the phases of the current round. The Center Sector cannot be used for tile placement, Base and Unit construction, or movement. The other Sectors can be used normally. Players who control the Galactic Core earn additional VPs.

9 Five-Sector Galaxy Boards. The game board is composed of a number of Galaxy Boards, each made up of a number of empty hexes called "Sectors". Sector Tiles are placed in these empty hexes over the course of the game as players explore the galaxy. VPs are awarded to players who control these areas of the galaxy at the end of each round of play.

Player Bases + Unit Tokens in 6 Colors (Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, Yellow). Players are limited to the number of Base and Unit tokens available in their colors:

BASES	90 Industrial Complexes (15 each of 6 colors)	54 Political Embassies (9 each of 6 colors)
	72 Martial Outposts (12 each of 6 colors)
UNITS	18 Quantum Gate Pairs (3 pairs each of 6 colors)	18 Political Agent Units (3 each of 6 colors)
	18 Fleet Units (3 each of 6 colors)

1 Score Track. Players track their score over the course of the game by moving one of their tokens along the Score Track. A second token is placed in the shaded areas for +50, +100, etc., as laps are completed around the track.

Score Track Tokens - 2 per player. These small octagonal tokens are used to track player scores on the Score Track.

36 Action Cards - 1 set of 6 cards per player. Each player takes a set of 6 identical Action Cards. Each Action Card describes which actions may be taken when it is played, as well as an Order Number which determines the order in which cards are resolved during the Action Phase. Each card shows: Card Name, Action Limits, Order Number, and Available Actions.

54 Technology Cards. These dual-purpose cards can be used to increase a player's Power during a Conflict or played as an Advanced Technology to provide an ongoing benefit. Each card shows: Required Technology Tier, Technology Cost, Technology Name, Technology Effect, and Power—used in Conflicts. The Power value used depends on the type of base or unit that is involved in the Conflict.

48 Sector Tiles. Sector Tiles represent areas of the galaxy that can be explored. Many tiles show Locations for building the three types of Bases: Industrial Complexes (yellow squares), Political Embassies (blue circles) and Martial Outposts (red triangles). Sectors with Embassy Locations also show a colored background and a symbol (orange, purple, or green), representing one of three alien Factions. A single tile may combine several Locations—for example a Martial Location plus an Orange Faction Political Location, or three Industrial Locations with no Faction.

6 Home Sector Tiles - 1 per player. Identified by the House symbol in center of the tile, Home Sector tiles have an Embassy Location, but no Faction color. Home Sector Embassies provide no Power unless the optional "Wild" Home Embassies rule is used.

1 Arbiter Token. The Arbiter Token is given to the player with the most CAPs at the end of a round. The Arbiter receives certain privileges during the round.

100 "CAP" (Capacity) Tokens. CAPs (short for Capacity) are the resource units used in the game. 70 white 1-value tokens and 30 black 5-value tokens are available. Players may make change at any time.

1 Phase Tracker Token. The Arbiter moves the Phase Track Token around the Center Sector of the Galactic Core Board to indicate the current phase.

6 Leader Cards. OPTIONAL: Experienced players may use the Leader Cards to add a further dynamic to the game (see Optional: Leaders).

6 Player Boards

Each player uses their own Player Board to store unbuilt Bases and Units. The Player Board shows the player's income, Base building costs, and Retention Limit. At the beginning of the game, each player places all of their Bases and Units on the matching spaces of their Player Board.

• Bases must be built from left to right across the Player Board. When a Base is built, it is moved from the Player Board to a matching Location on the game board. If a Base is destroyed or otherwise returned to its owner's Player Board, it is always put back in reverse order (i.e., in the right-most empty space of the matching type).
• The COST (in CAPs) to build each Base is the red number directly below the space for that Base.
• The INCOME for each type of Base (in CAPs) is the yellow number directly above the right-most empty space for that Base type. Each round, the player earns CAPs equal to the income of all three Base types.
• The RETENTION LIMIT is the maximum number of unspent CAPs the player can hold from round to round. This limit is the lowest exposed grey number shown inside all the empty Base spaces on their Player Board.
• As players build Bases, they will advance from Technology Tier 1, to Tier 2, and eventually Tier 3 for each type of Base separately. A player's current Technology Tier for each Base type is determined by the right-most empty space for that type of Base.
• Optional: The Leader Ability Slot is only used if the optional Leader Cards are in the game.

The Player Board holds: Advanced Technology Slots (3 slots), CAP Gain (above each Base track), the Industrial Bases track (15 Complexes), the Political Bases track (9 Embassies), the Martial Bases track (12 Outposts), Retention Limit numbers (inside each space), Build Cost numbers (below each space), the Quantum Gate Supply (3 pairs), the Agent Supply (3), the Fleet Supply (3), and the Leader Ability Slot.

Player Board Example. This player has constructed 3 Complexes (Tier 1), 4 Embassies (Tier 2), and 8 Outposts (also Tier 2).

• The cost to construct the next Complex is 2 CAPs, the next Embassy is 5 CAPs, and the next Outpost is 5 CAPs.
• The Retention Limit for the player is 4—the lowest exposed Retention number across all three Base types.
• The total CAP income across all Base types is 16: 4 for Industrial, plus 5 for Political, plus 7 for Martial.

Game Setup

1. Choose a player to begin the game as the Arbiter. That player takes the Arbiter Token.
2. Construct the galaxy using the Core Board plus a number of Galaxy Boards determined by the number of players: 2 players = 3, 3 players = 5, 4 players = 6, 5 players = 8, 6 players = 9. The example layouts in the rulebook are suggestions, but they are not the only layouts that can be used. If players wish, they may take turns placing boards one at a time, starting with the Arbiter and taking turns counterclockwise. Each board placed must touch two other boards (one of which must be the Galactic Core Board, if possible).
3. Players choose a color and take the Player Board, Tokens, Home Sector, and Action Cards of their color.
4. OPTIONAL: If using the optional Leader Cards, deal one randomly to each player.
5. Shuffle the Technology Cards and deal five to each player. Form a draw deck with the remaining cards. For a 2- or 3-player game, remove one copy of each card before shuffling and dealing the Technology Cards.
6. Randomly select eight Sector Tiles per player for 4- to 6-player games. For 2- or 3-player games, use only the set of tiles with the 2 or 3 player icon.
7. Shuffle the selected tiles to create a sector draw stack and deal two tiles to each player.
8. Starting with the Arbiter and proceeding clockwise, each player places their Home Sector on an empty hex of any unoccupied Galaxy Board (each player must place their Home Sector on a different Galaxy Board). Players cannot place their Home Sector adjacent to another player's Home Sector or on the Galactic Core Board.
9. Each player then puts their first Complex, Embassy, and Outpost tokens on the appropriate Locations of their Home Sector.
10. Each player, starting with the Arbiter and proceeding clockwise, now places one Sector Tile from their hand on any empty hex adjacent to their Home Sector.
11. All players now place their remaining Sector Tile into a "Sector Pool". In a 2-player game, add one additional tile from the tile stack to the pool.

The first round is ready to begin.

The suggested board layouts show recommended Home Sector starting positions (marked with red dots) for more balanced play: 6 Player Setup = 9 Boards + Core; 5 Player Setup = 8 Boards + Core; 4 Player Setup = 6 Boards + Core; 3 Player Setup = 5 Boards + Core; 2 Player Setup = 3 Boards + Core.

CAPs and Negotiations

• Players are free to make any deals they wish during the game for whatever reason, and may freely exchange CAPs at any time (but only CAPs—other pieces may not change hands). All deals are non-binding.

Game Rounds

Hegemonic is played over a series of game rounds. Each round is divided into 6 phases, which must be played in order. All players complete each phase before any players may move on to the next phase.

• Phase 1. Collection—players collect income.
• Phase 2. Exploration—players add Sector Tiles to the board and draw Technology Cards.
• Phase 3. Actions #1—players play Action Cards and resolve actions.
• Phase 4. Actions #2—players play Action Cards and resolve actions.
• Phase 5. Actions #3—players play Action Cards and resolve actions.
• Phase 6. Arbitration—a new Arbiter is chosen and players discard CAPs down to their Retention Limits.

Phase Tracker

The Center Sector of the Galactic Core Board has a track showing the six phases of the round. The Phase Tracker Token indicates which phase of the game round is currently being played. At the end of each phase, the Phase Tracker is moved to the next space on the track, following the arrows shown on the board.

Phase 1. Collection

Each player gains CAPs equal to their total CAP Gain amounts (for their right-most built Complex, Embassy, and Outpost on the Tracks of their Player Board—see Player Board Example).

OPTIONAL: If using the optional Leader Cards, players advance their cards to the next ability level during this phase.

Phase 2. Exploration

Starting with the Arbiter and proceeding clockwise, each player takes an exploration turn by following these four steps in order, before the next player begins their turn:

A. Flip over one Sector Tile from the sector draw stack and add it to the Sector Pool, face up.

B. Choose one Sector Tile from the Sector Pool and place it on any empty hex of the galaxy.

• An empty hex is any hex on the board where no Sector Tile or Home Sector Tile has already been played. The new Sector Tile does not have to be placed adjacent to an already-played tile.
• Sector Tiles cannot be placed on the center sector of the Galactic Core Board.

C. Draw one Technology Card from any one of the following choices: (1) the draw pile; (2) the top card of the discard pile; or (3) one of that player's already played Advanced Technologies.

• Reshuffle the discard pile and create a new draw deck if the draw deck is empty.

D. Discard one Technology Card or Advance one Technology Card, following the Advancing Technologies rules (see below).

• Discarded Technology Cards are placed face up in the Technology Card discard pile.
• A player may discard or advance the card just drawn in Step C.

Advancing Technologies

A player may use a Technology Card to gain an on-going bonus. This is called Advancing a Technology:

• Each Player Board has three Advanced Technology Slots at the top of the board. When a player Advances a Technology, the Technology Card is placed in one of these slots. A player may never have more than three Advanced Technologies in play at one time.
• A player may discard an Advanced Technology at any time to open up an Advanced Technology Slot.
• Each Technology card has a minimum Technology Tier Level (Industrial, Political or Martial Level 1, 2, or 3). A player can only Advance a Technology if these minimums are met. The requirement can be met in two ways:
  • The player has constructed a Base in or above the required Technology Tier on their Player Board.
  • The player already has another Advanced Technology of the same type (Industrial, Political, or Martial) that is one tier lower, of equal tier, or from a higher tier than the Technology being Advanced. The player may discard the required Advanced Technology to free up space for the new Technology Card.
• Each Technology Card also has a cost (in CAPs) that must be paid before playing the card.
• A player can only have one copy of each specific Advanced Technology Card at a time.
• If a player is later reduced to a lower Technology Tier, any Advanced Technologies remain in play and can be used to their full effect. The Tier requirement only applies to playing Advanced Technologies.

Example: This player can play Emergent Economics even though they are not currently in Industrial Technology Tier 3, because they have already advanced Nano-Fabricants, a Tier 2 Industrial Technology.

Phases 3, 4, & 5. Action Phases

Three Action Phases are played each round. All players take turns during each Action Phase before continuing to the next phase. Each Action Phase is divided into three steps:

A. Choose One Action Card: All players simultaneously choose and then reveal one of their Action Cards. See Resolving Actions for how to use each Action Card.

B. Resolve Action Cards: The Action Cards are resolved in numerical order, based on the cards' Order Numbers (the large number in the upper left corner), going from lowest to highest. If multiple cards have the same number, resolve those cards in clockwise order around the table, starting with the player chosen by the Arbiter.

• When a player resolves their Action Card, they may take up to 2 total actions chosen from those allowed by that card and immediately resolve any conflicts that occur before moving on to the next action or player.

C. Recover Action Cards: Once all players have resolved their cards, return the Action Cards to their owners' hands and proceed to the next Action Phase (or the Arbitration Phase at the end of the third Action Phase).

Action Phase Example: In a 5-player game, the following Action Cards are played by the players (who are seated in the following order): Red (the Arbiter): [2] Industrialize; Orange: [1] Assault; Yellow: [2] Politicize; Green: [2] Industrialize; Blue: [4] Discover. Orange played the Assault Action Card, which has the lowest Order Number so they go first. Red, Yellow, and Green all played an Action Card with Order Number [2]: a three way tie. Red (the Arbiter) chooses which player goes first, and they choose themselves. Red resolves their card, then Yellow and Green resolve their cards in clockwise order after Red completes their actions. Finally, Blue will resolve their Discover card—since their Action Card has the highest Order Number, they go last.

Phase 6. Arbitration

A. Choose New Arbiter: The player with the most CAPs at the beginning of the Arbitration Phase takes the Arbiter Token and will be Arbiter for the next Turn. If the current Arbiter has the most CAPs, they retain the Arbiter Token.

• In the case of a tie, the current Arbiter chooses who among the tied players receives the Arbiter Token.
• If the current Arbiter is one of the tied players, they cannot keep the Arbiter Token and must give it to one of the other tied players.

B. Discard CAPs to Retention Limit: Each player now discards CAPs until they have CAPs equal to or less than their Retention Limit. A player's Retention Limit is the lowest exposed Retention Limit number listed on their Player Board across all Base types.

C. Scoring: All players then earn points for their control of the Galaxy Boards, moving their Score Track Tokens around the Score Track (see Scoring).

After all players have scored, check if either of the end game conditions have been met. If not, begin a new round with the Collection Phase.

Ending the Game

• The game ends at the end of any full round (after Arbitration and scoring) if there are no Sector Tiles remaining in the Sector Tile draw stack or if there are no empty hexes on the board where a Sector Tile may be placed.
• A final scoring is resolved and the game winner is declared (see Scoring).

Power + Range

The Industrial, Political, and Martial Tracks

During the game, players will improve their empires' Industrial, Political, and Martial capabilities by building Bases on the Locations of the Sector Tiles.

The level of development a player has achieved in each of these areas is recorded on the three tracks of their individual Player Board. A player's level of development determines their income, Retention Limit, and Technology Tier.

Locations are spaces on the Sector Tiles where Bases can be built. Each Location indicates what kind of Base can be built there: squares for Industrial Complexes, circles for Political Embassies, and triangles for Martial Outposts.

Units (Agents, Fleets, and Gates) do not occupy Locations. They are always placed in the empty area of a Sector Tile.

Power

Power is the ability of a Base or a Unit to influence the galaxy around it. There are three types of Power, which correspond to the three types of Bases and Units: Industrial Power, Political Power, and Martial Power.

• Each Base provides an amount of Power based on the type of Base and the Location where it was built.
• Power is primarily used during Conflicts with other players (see Conflicts).
• Power is also used to determine which player controls each Galaxy Board, including the Galactic Core (see Scoring).

Power is calculated differently for each type of Base:

Industrial Power

• Only a single Complex can be built on each Industrial Location.
• Multiple players may have Complexes in the same Sector by building on different Industrial Locations.
• The Industrial Power of each Complex is always 1, but Complexes in the same Sector that are owned by the same player always combine their Power together (for a total of 1, 2, or 3 Power for the entire Sector).
• Complexes owned by different players never combine their Power.
• Gates (Industrial Units) never provide any Power (but may be defended by Complexes in Range during a Conflict).

Political Power

• Only a single Embassy can be built on each Political Location.
• A Political Location indicates how much Power an Embassy will have if it is built there. Each Location will offer 1, 2, or 3 Power.
• Each Political Location belongs to one of the three Factions. The Sector Tile will have a color and symbol to show which Faction it belongs to. The Faction an Embassy is attached to determines when it can use its Power during a Conflict.
• The Embassy in a player's Home Sector does not provide any Political Power, and is not part of any Faction (unless the "Wild" Home Embassy rule is in effect).
• Agents (Political Units) each provide 1 Political Power during Conflicts.

Martial Power

• Only a single player at a time may build Outposts on a given Martial Location.
• A number of Outposts can be built on each Martial Location by stacking Outposts on top of each other. The number of triangles on the Martial Location indicates the maximum number of Outposts that can be built there.
• When multiple Outposts occupy the same Location, they always combine their Power together. The total Martial Power of a combined stack of Outposts is equal to the total number of Outposts in the stack (1, 2, or 3).
• Fleets (Martial Units) each provide Power equal to the owning player's current Martial Technology Tier during Conflicts (1, 2, or 3).

Location examples: Each Industrial Complex provides 1 Power, and the range of an Industrial Complex is always 1 Sector. Each Embassy provides from 1 to 3 Power to one Faction, as indicated on the tile; the range of a Political Embassy is always 1 Sector. A Martial Location may hold a number of Outposts up to the number of triangles on that Location (up to 3). The Power the Outpost stack provides equals the number of Outposts in the stack (from 1 to 3). The range of the Outposts varies depending on the number of Outposts in the stack: 1 Outpost = Range 0; 2 Outposts = Range 1; 3 Outposts = Range 2.

Range

A Base's Range is the maximum number of hexes over which that Base can use its Power or support actions.

• Like Power, Range can be Industrial, Political, or Martial, depending on the type of Base or Unit providing the Power.
• A player may only take an Action in a Sector that is within Range of a Base or Unit of the proper type.
• A Base or Unit can only provide Power during a Conflict if it is within Range (Exception: Embassies—see Conflicts).

There are three possible Ranges:

• Range 0 = Within the Base's or Unit's current Sector only.
• Range 1 = Within that Sector or in an adjacent Sector.
• Range 2 = As above and extending out to 2 Sectors away.

The Ranges of the Bases and Units are as follows:

• Complexes: Industrial Range 1
• Embassies: Political Range 1
• Outposts: Range is dependent on current Power (stack height):
  • Power 1 Outpost (1 high): Martial 0 Range
  • Power 2 Outpost (2 high): Martial 1 Range
  • Power 3 Outpost (3 high): Martial 2 Range
• Agents: Political Range 0
• Fleets: Martial Range 0
• Gates: Not applicable (Gates do not provide Power and thus have no Range)

Resolving Actions

During each of the three Action Phases in a round, players will take actions to expand their empires and attack their rivals. At the start of the phase, each player chooses one of their six Action Cards to play. The actions that a player may take in the phase are determined by the Action Card played.

Each player has an identical set of six Action Cards, each showing two or three actions that the player may choose:

[1] ASSAULT — Take up to 2 actions

1. DESTROY Action: Choose one Conflict type and a target of the type shown to attack. Sabotage or Raze actions allow Agents or Fleets (respectively) to move first before initiating a Conflict. Each Conflict counts as one action. (The three DESTROY options are Liquidate, Sabotage, and Raze.)
2. BASIC Action.

[2] INDUSTRIALIZE — Take up to 2 actions

1. BUILD Action: Place Complexes and/or Gates in any quantity and order. Complexes must be built within Industrial range. Gates must be placed at Complexes (which may be newly built).
2. TAKEOVER Action (Merger): Attack an opponent's Complexes and/or Gates in a single Sector within Industrial Range.
3. BASIC Action.

[2] POLITICIZE — Take up to 2 actions

1. BUILD Action: Place Embassies and/or Agents in any quantity and order. Embassies must be placed within Political range. Agents must be placed at Embassies (which may be newly built).
2. TAKEOVER Action (Infiltrate): May move one Agent and may then attack an opponent's Embassy or Agent in range of the moving Agent.
3. BASIC Action.

[2] MARTIALIZE — Take up to 2 actions

1. BUILD Action: Place Outposts and/or Fleets in any quantity and order. Outposts must be placed within Martial range. Fleets must be placed at Outposts (which may be newly built). May stack additional Outposts up to the limit indicated by the Sector Tile.
2. TAKEOVER Action (Strike): May move one Fleet and may then attack an opponent's Outpost or Fleet in range of the moving Fleet.
3. BASIC Action.

[3] SUBVERT — Take up to 2 actions

1. TAKEOVER Action: Choose one Conflict type and a target of the type shown to attack. Annex or Invade actions allow Agents or Fleets (respectively) to move first before initiating a Conflict. Each Conflict counts as one action. (The three TAKEOVER options are Corrupt, Annex, and Invade.)
2. BASIC Action.

[4] DISCOVER — Take up to 2 actions

1. CAPITALIZE Action: Collect CAPs from the Base type that provides the lowest CAP gain (indicated on the Player Board).
2. SURVEY Action: Add one Sector Tile to the Sector Pool, then play any one tile from the pool to the board.
3. RESEARCH Action: Return all inactive Technology cards to hand, then discard any number of unwanted Technology cards and redraw back up to 5 cards.

Action Card Icon Reference

The icons on the Action Cards, in addition to the card text, indicate how the specific actions can be used and what types of conflicts can be attempted: Your Complex / Enemy Complex; Your Gate; Your Embassy / Enemy Embassy; Your Agent / Enemy Agent; Your Outpost / Enemy Outpost; Your Fleet / Enemy Fleet; Take an Action Within Range; Initiate a Conflict Within Range; Takeover (remove opponent's and replace with own); CAPs; Place or take; Destroy (return to Player Board).

Action Card Example: the INDUSTRIALIZE Action Card lists three possible actions: a BUILD Action for Complexes and Gates, a Conflict Action to TAKEOVER, and a BASIC action.

Playing Action Cards

• Each Action Card shows a different set of specific actions that may be performed when playing that card.
• Each player may perform up to two total actions on their turn.
• A player may choose any of the actions on their played Action Card, in any order, and may repeat the same action if desired.
• Many actions have a cost (in CAPs) that must be paid before the action is performed.
• The results of any action always take effect immediately, before the next action begins. A player can "chain" or sequence their actions in a turn, using the first action to set up the second one.

BASIC Actions

All Action Cards except Discover include a "Basic Action" that a player may choose to take. The Basic Action is always the same: it allows the player to do one of the following:

• Collect 2 CAPs; or
• Draw one Technology Card and then discard or Advance one Technology Card.

BUILD Actions

A player can use a Build Action to construct Bases and/or Units within Range of their existing Bases and Units of the appropriate type (e.g., a player can build Political Embassies within Range of their existing Embassies or Agents).

• Build Limits: Each BUILD Action allows the player to construct as many Bases (Complexes, Embassies, or Outposts) and/or Units (Gates, Agents, or Fleets) as they wish to build (and can pay for) as a single action.
• Build Chaining: Newly constructed Bases and Units are considered in play the moment they are built, and the player can immediately build additional Bases or Units within their Range as part of the same Build Action.
• Relocating: If a player does not have any Bases of the needed type left on their Player Board, they may instead relocate one of their Bases of that type already in play. They simply move one of their Bases of the appropriate type from anywhere on the board to a new Location within Range. The player must pay the lowest (left-most) CAP Cost for a Base of that type (as indicated on their Player Board).
• Bases can be built on any matching Location that is within Range of at least one of the player's Bases of that type already on the board.
• Agents and Fleets must be placed in the same Sector as one of the player's Bases of that type (i.e., an Agent can only be built in a Sector with one of that player's Embassies).

INDUSTRIALIZE - BUILD Action Example: With a single BUILD action, the Yellow Player can construct any combination of Complexes and Gates they can afford. Starting with a Complex at (A), Yellow can build into the adjacent Sector (B), constructing a Complex and then a Gate. The other Gate of the pair is placed in Sector (C), and Yellow can immediately use it to build a 2nd complex, then a 3rd complex in Sector (D). All of this building takes only one action.

POLITICIZE - MOVE and BUILD Action Example: The Blue player has an Embassy and an Agent at (A) when they play a POLITICIZE Action Card. First, they use the INFILTRATE action to move their Agent to (B), paying 2 CAPs (for crossing 1 border between Galaxy Boards). For their second action, they can now BUILD an Embassy at (B), which then has Range to build additional Embassies at (C) and (D), as well as another Agent at (D)—all as part of the same Build action.

MARTIALIZE - MOVE and BUILD Action Example: The Red Player already has a Fleet constructed at their Home Sector (A). They use STRIKE for the first of their two actions to move the Fleet to a nearby sector with a Power 3 Outpost Location (B), paying 1 CAP for the move. With their second action, they choose to BUILD and construct 3 Outposts at (B), then construct 2 more Outposts at (C). They can build here since a 3 Power Outpost's Range is 2 sectors. Finally, they construct a single Outpost at (D), which is within Range of the new Power 2 Outpost.

Quantum Gates

Quantum Gates are a special kind of Unit that connects two Sectors together, regardless of the distance between them. Two Sectors that contain matching Quantum Gate pieces are treated as adjacent for all players and for all purposes (not only for the player who constructed the Gate!).

• Both "halves" of a Quantum Gate are built as part of the same purchase. The cost to build a Gate is for the pair.
• When a Gate is built, a matching pair of Quantum Gate pieces is placed on the board. One of the Gates in the pair must be placed in the same Sector as one of the player's complexes. The other gate in the pair must be placed in a Sector containing an Industrial Location (this Location does not have to be controlled by the player) and which is up to a number of hexes away determined by the player's current Industrial Technology Tier:
  • Tier 1 Industrial: up to 2 hexes
  • Tier 2 Industrial: up to 3 hexes
  • Tier 3 Industrial: up to 4 hexes
• You may relocate a placed Gate pair by paying its cost, and placing the Gate pair in new legal position.

Conflict Actions (DESTROY / TAKEOVER)

There are two types of Conflict Actions: DESTROY and TAKEOVER. Both types of Conflict Actions allow the player to target an opponent's Bases and/or Units on the board. Some Conflict Actions also allow the player to move their units on the game board.

The two parts of a Conflict Action—moving Units and having a Conflict—are optional. The player may first choose to move their Agents or Fleets (or not), and then choose to initiate a Conflict (or not).

Any Conflict initiated is resolved immediately (see Conflicts).

Moving Agents and Fleets

If a player chooses a Political or Martial Conflict Action, they may first move an Agent (Political) or Fleet (Martial) before initiating the Conflict. When moving:

• An Agent may move from its Sector to any other Sector, anywhere on the board. The player must pay 2 CAPs each time the Agent crosses the "border" between two Galaxy Boards (including the Galactic Core). Moving an Agent within a Galaxy Board is free.
• A Fleet may move up to 3 hexes, paying 1 CAP for the entire move regardless of the number of hexes crossed.
• Agents and Fleets must end their move on a Sector Tile, but they can move through empty hexes (with no tiles).
• Agents and Fleets can move through an opponent's Home Sector Tile, but they cannot end their move there.
• The Center Sector (with the Phase Tracker) is out of play for all purposes. Agents and Fleets cannot move through or end their move on the Center Sector.
• Agents and Fleets cannot move off the board.

Declaring and Targeting Conflicts

The Conflict Action indicates what type of Base or Unit can attack, and what type of Base or Unit can be targeted. The player who initiates the Conflict is called the "Attacker" in the Conflict. The player who owns the Bases and/or Units that are targeted by the Attacker is called the "Defender".

The Attacker must declare which pieces are attacking, and which Bases or Units will be defending.

• The Attacker may only use Bases or Units to attack if they are the correct type, as indicated by their Action Card. The Attacker must choose a Complex to attack with if using Industrial Power, an Agent if using Political Power, or a Fleet if using Martial Power.
• The defending Bases or Units targeted must also be the correct type indicated on the card. All defending Bases and/or Units that are targeted must be in the same Sector (called the "Conflict Sector").
  • A player may only target an opponent's Bases (Complexes, Embassies, or Outposts) if there are any Bases of the appropriate type in the Conflict Sector.
  • Units (Gates, Agents, and Fleets) can only be targeted if no Base of the matching type belonging to that player is in the Conflict Sector.
  • The Conflict Sector must be within Range of the Bases or Units chosen for the attack.
• All of a player's Complexes in the same Sector always attack and defend collectively as a group. A player cannot choose to target only a single Complex if its owner controls any other Complexes in the Conflict Sector.
• Each individual Agent, Fleet, or group of Complexes may only be used for one Conflict Action per Phase (though they may defend against multiple Conflict Actions taken by the other players).
• A player may never target Bases or Units in another player's Home Sector.

Conflict Costs

When a player targets an opponent's Base, they must pay CAPs in addition to any required movement costs.

• If it is a DESTROY Action, the player must pay 1 CAP per point of the target Base's Power.
• If it is a TAKEOVER Action, the player must pay 2 CAPs per point of the target Base's Power.

These costs are also listed on the Action Cards.

Conflicts

When a player performs a DESTROY or TAKEOVER action, they may choose to initiate a Conflict with another player. During the Conflict, the Attacker and Defender will determine their "Conflict Power" in the Conflict. Conflict Power includes the Power of any attacking and defending Bases and Units, as well as any additional sources of Power, such as Technology Cards. The player with the higher Conflict Power wins the Conflict.

A Conflict is divided into these five steps:

• Step 1: Determine Starting Conflict Power
• Step 2: Add Political Support
• Step 3: Add Technology Card Power
• Step 4: Compare Final Conflict Power
• Step 5: Cleanup

To resolve the Conflict, the Attacker and the Defender must complete these steps in order.

Step 1 – Determine Starting Conflict Power

First, the Attacker and Defender each determine the starting Conflict Power of their Bases and Units that are involved in the Conflict, including any Advanced Technologies that apply.

The Conflict Power is calculated differently for different types of Bases and Units:

Industrial Complex

• The Conflict Power of an attacking or defending Complex is equal to the total number of that player's Complexes in that Sector (the Conflict Sector if defending, or the Sector the Complex is in if attacking);
• PLUS the Power of all other Complexes in Range that player also controls (i.e., in adjacent Sectors).

Quantum Gate

• The Conflict Power of a Quantum Gate is equal to the Power of all of that player's Complexes in range.

Embassy

• The Conflict Power of a defending Embassy is equal to its Location Power (as indicated on the Sector Tile);
• PLUS the total Power of that player's other Embassies in all Sectors that belong to the same Faction;
• PLUS one Power for each Agent owned by that player in the Conflict Sector.
• Remember: A player's Embassy in their Home Sector does not provide any Power during Conflicts.

Agent

• An attacking or defending Agent has a Conflict Power of one;
• PLUS the Agent's owner may draw Power from any one Faction of their choice, adding the total Power from all of their Embassies on Sectors that belong to that Faction to the Agent's Power.
• Important: A player may only use each Faction to lend power to one of their Agents once per phase.

Outpost

• The Conflict Power of a defending Outpost is equal to the number of Outposts stacked in that Location;
• PLUS the total Power of that player's other Outposts within range of the defending Outpost;
• PLUS the Power of any of the player's other Outposts with enough range to reach the defending Outpost;
• PLUS the Power of any of the player's Fleets (i.e., Martial Technology Tier) that are in the Conflict Sector.

Fleet

• An attacking or defending Fleet's Conflict Power is equal to its owner's current Martial Technology Tier (on their Player Board);
• PLUS the Fleet's owner may draw power from any one of their Outposts with enough range to reach the Fleet, adding the Power of this Outpost as described above (i.e., the Outpost's base Power, plus other Outposts within range, plus any Fleets in that Outpost's Sector).
• Important: Each individual Outpost may only be selected to add Power to one Fleet once per phase.

Both the Attacker and the Defender may have Advanced Technologies that modify their starting Conflict Power. These modifications are also added in during this step.

Conflict Example: Industrial vs. Political — The Yellow Player is attempting to TAKEOVER the Blue Player's Embassy at (A) with their Complexes at (B). They can attempt this Conflict because the Gate pair makes Sectors (A) and (B) adjacent. Yellow's attack Power is 7: 3 from the 3 attacking Complexes, plus their adjacent Complexes at (A), (C), and (D). Blue's defending Strength is 5: the Defending Embassy is in the Green Political Faction, so they add the total Power of all Blue Embassies in Green Sectors (A and E). Their Home Sector Embassy (F) provides no Political Power, but there is an Agent at the defending Embassy adding +1 Power.

Step 2 – Add Political Support

Each player who is not involved in the Conflict may now lend Political Power to an Attacker or Defender that is using Political Power in the Conflict.

• Each player who is not involved in the Conflict may lend Political Power to either the Attacker or the Defender. This Power is added to the player's Conflict Power.
• A player may only lend Political Power from their Embassies that are in Sectors that belong to the same Faction as one being used by the player they are supporting in the Conflict. Each matching Sector adds one Political Power to their Conflict Power.
• An Embassy in a player's Home Sector may not be used to lend Political support.

Conflict Example: Political vs. Martial — The Blue Player has moved an Agent to (A) and is attempting to DESTROY the Red Player's Outpost. The Blue Player attacks with their Agent's Power of 1 plus all their Power from any one Faction. They choose Orange, which adds 7 Power for a total of 8. Red's defending Outpost is Power 3, plus they gain the Power from their other Outposts in range (+2 and +1), and the Power of their Fleets in the defending Outpost's Sector: +2 Power since Red is in Tier 2. Red's total Power is 8. Red's other Fleet and their Home Sector Outpost do not contribute to the defense.

Step 3 – Add Technology Card Power

The Attacker and Defender now each simultaneously choose one Technology Card from their hands. Both players reveal their chosen card at the same time.

The bottom of each Technology Card shows three Power values, one each for Industrial, Political, and Martial Power. The player adds the Power value that matches the type of Power they are using in the Conflict.

So, if a player is using Complexes in a Conflict, they would add the yellow Industrial Power from their chosen Technology Card, the blue Political Power would be used if the Conflict involves their Embassies or Agents, and the red Martial Power would be added to the Power of Outposts or Fleets.

Step 4 – Compare Final Conflict Power

The player with the higher total Conflict Power wins the Conflict. The Bases and/or Units on the losing side may be destroyed (and returned to their owner's Player Board) as follows:

The Attacker Wins a DESTROY Conflict. All defending Bases are destroyed along with any defending Units in the Conflict Sector.

The Attacker Wins a TAKEOVER Conflict. All defending Bases are destroyed and replaced with the Attacker's Bases of the same type. Any defending Units in the Conflict Sector are also destroyed, but are not replaced with the Attacker's Units.

• If the Attacker has no un-built Bases of the proper type available to place on the board, they may either leave the Locations empty or relocate their already-constructed Bases to the Conflict Sector.

The Defender Wins any Conflict. If the attack was carried out by a Fleet or Agent, the attacking Unit (or Units) is destroyed. Any attacking Bases are not affected.

The Conflict is a Draw. If neither the Attacker nor Defender has a higher Conflict Power, no Bases are destroyed. All Fleets or Agents used to carry out the attack are destroyed, as are all defending Units in the Conflict Sector.

Destroying Quantum Gates. If a player loses a Conflict while using their Industrial Power, the winner of the Conflict may choose to destroy any of the losing side's Quantum Gates in the Conflict Sector. Both halves of any destroyed Gates are removed from the board.

Conflict Example: Martial vs. Political — The Red Player has moved their Fleet to (A) so they can attack the Blue Player's Agent. They can target the Agent because Blue has no Embassy at (A). Red's Conflict Power is 2 for their Fleet (Martial Tier 2) plus the Power they can draw from the Outpost at (B): 2 for itself, plus 3 for the Outpost at (C) and 1 more for the Outpost at (D). The Fleet at (C) does not provide any Power. Thus, Red's Conflict Power will be 8. The Blue Player's Agent starts at 1 Conflict Power, but they can choose any Faction to support it. They choose the Orange Faction, which adds 5 Power for their Embassies at (E) and (F). If Blue can convince the Yellow Player to lend support for their Embassies, they will have a Conflict Power of 8 also.

Conflict Example: Martial vs. Industrial — The Red Player has moved their Fleet to attack Yellow's Complexes at (A). Red's Fleet attacks with 2 Power (as Red is in Tier 2), plus it may draw Power from any one Outpost within range of the Fleet. They choose the Power 3 Outpost at (B) (with range of 2). This Outpost's Power is 7 (3+2+1+1), counting all the Outposts in Range plus 2 more for the Fleet in the Outpost's Sector (9 Power all together). Red's total Power therefore is 11. The Power of the Yellow Player's two defending Complexes is 8, counting their 2 Power plus the Power of all of their other complexes in Range at (C), (D), and (E).

Step 5 – Cleanup

The Attacker and Defender must each choose what to do with the Technology Cards they played in Step 3. Each player may either:

• Place the Technology Card face up in their Inactive Technology Pile (next to their Player Board); or
• Discard the Technology Card (to the discard pile) and draw a new Technology Card, which is placed face up in their Inactive Technology Pile.

Inactive Technology Cards

Cards in a player's Inactive Technology Pile must remain there until one of the following occurs:

• The player takes the RESEARCH action.
• The player plays their last Technology Card.
• The round advances to the Arbitration Phase.

At this point, the player takes all of the Technology Cards in their Inactive Technology Pile and returns them to their hand.

Scoring

At the end of each Arbitration Phase, the players earn VPs for having Bases on the various Galaxy Boards (including the Galactic Core Board). Each board is scored one at a time as follows:

1. Each player counts the Power of all their Bases (Complexes, Embassies, and Outposts) in all Sectors of that Galaxy Board. Complexes provide one Power each, Embassies provide Power as indicated by their Locations (from 1 to 3), and Outposts provide Power based on their current stack height (from 1 to 3).
2. The players compare their Power on that Galaxy Board, earning points based on their relative totals:

Award	VPs	Condition
Control	6 VPs	For the player with the most Power (in Bases) on that Galactic Board.
Influence	3 VPs	For the player with the second most Power on that Galactic Board.
Presence	1 VP	For each of the other players who have at least one Base on that Galactic Board (and not scoring for 1st or 2nd place).
Exclusivity	+2 VPs	If a player is the only one who has any Bases on that Galactic Board.
Core Bonus	+1 VP	The Galactic Core Board is scored normally, except each player who has at least one Base there gets a bonus VP (so, Control is worth 7 VPs, Influence is worth 4 VPs, and Presence is worth 2 VPs).

• Ties: Players tied for 1st earn 3 VPs each; players tied for 2nd earn 1 VP each.
• Units (Gates, Agents, and Fleets) do not count towards scoring.

3. Each player records their VPs by moving their Score Track Token along the Score Track. Then the players move on to the next Galaxy Board.

Once all of the Galaxy Boards have been scored, the game round ends and a new one can begin—unless it was the last round of the game. Once the last round is over, conduct the Final Scoring as described below.

Scoring Example: Galactic Board (A): Red has the most Power at 5 (and gets 6 VPs), Blue is in 2nd with 4 Power (3 VPs) and Yellow is in 3rd place with 2 Power (only 1 VP). Galactic Board (B): Yellow has exclusive control of this board with 8 Power, earning 6 VPs for having the most Power plus a bonus of +2 VPs—a total of 8 VPs. Galactic Board (C): Red has the most Power at 7 (6 VPs), while Blue is in 2nd at 4 Power (3 VPs). For the turn, Red earns a total of 12 VPs, Blue gets 6 VPs, and Yellow gains 9 VPs.

Final Scoring + Determining the Winner

At the end of the game, the players gain additional points for their advanced Technologies.

Each advanced Technology is worth 2 VPs per Technology Tier of the Technology Card:

• Tier 1 = 3 VPs
• Tier 2 = 4 VPs
• Tier 3 = 6 VPs

The winner is the player with the highest total victory points after Final Scoring!

• In the case of a tie, the tied players compare their current total CAP gain, adding together their Industrial, Political, and Martial tracks. The player with highest total CAP gain is the winner.

The Learning Game

Players new to Hegemonic may wish to try the Learning Game when playing for the first time. The Learning Game simplifies certain aspects of gameplay, allowing players to learn the basics. The changes are:

Setup - Modify the standard setup as follows:

• Use the suggested pre-set board layouts.
• Randomly select 4 Sector Tiles per player (instead of 8), creating a single stack of tiles. Deal tiles equal to the number of players from the stack to the Sector Pool. Deal 1 additional tile to the pool in a 2-player game.
• Starting with the first player and going in turn order, the players place their Home Sector Tiles on the board using the pre-set layouts. Then, they each draw 1 Sector Tile from the stack and place it next to their Home Sector Tiles.
• Players do not hold a hand of Technology Cards. Do not deal any Technology Cards to the players.
• Do not use the optional Leader Cards.

Arbitration (Phase 6) Changes

• Ignore Retention Limits during the Arbitration Phase.
• The Arbiter token always passes to the next player counter-clockwise during the Arbitration phase, regardless of the CAPs each player holds.

Conflicts

• Players may not lend Political Power to other players during Conflicts.
• After determining their Power in a conflict, each player turns over one card from the top of the Technology Card draw pile. Both players add the appropriate Power to their total.

General Play

• Players may not exchange or give CAPs to another player (even when making deals).

Optional Advanced Rules

These optional rules are intended primarily for experienced players already quite familiar with Hegemonic's rules and basic gameplay, though those wishing to dive right into the full experience are welcome to try them out as well! Feel free to use some or all of these optional rules:

Optional: Leaders

The Leader Cards grant unique abilities to each player that they may use during the game.

• Before the game begins, the players may choose Leaders using any agreed upon method, or simply deal the Leaders out at random to determine which ability each player will have.
• Each player places their Leader partially under the edge of their Player Board, so that only the Leader portrait is showing.
• During the Collection Phase, each player slides their Leader Card down until the next higher level ability is showing.
  • If the level 3 ability is showing, the Leader remains in that position until it is used.

Using Leader Card Abilities

• A player may use any of the abilities showing on their Leader Card at any time (players are not limited to using only the highest level ability showing). Activating a Leader Card temporarily interrupts the normal sequence of play until the ability is resolved.
  • If a Leader Card ability interrupts another player's declared action before that player has paid the action's cost and/or started to resolve any Conflict caused by the action, the interrupted player may choose not to take their original action and take a different one instead after the Leader Card has been resolved. If the costs for the interrupted action have already been paid (or if Conflict resolution has begun), the interrupted player must complete the original action after the Leader Card has been resolved.
• When activating a Leader ability, the player chooses any one of the exposed actions to take.
• After resolving the effects of the Leader Card, the player must slide the card back under the player board until only the Leader portrait is showing. Leader Cards are always returned to this "0" position after being used, regardless of which level ability was actually used.

Optional: Multiple Technology Discard Piles

Instead of there being only a single discard pile, with this optional rule there will be three separate discard piles, one for each type of Technology Card (Industrial, Political, and Martial).

• When a player discards a Technology card for any reason, it is placed in the matching discard pile for that type of card.
• When a player draws cards, they may take the top exposed card from any of these three piles (instead of only from a single combined discard pile), or from the draw pile or their Advanced Technologies as normal.
• When the draw pile is empty, all three discard piles are reshuffled together to form a single new draw pile.

Optional: Technology Draft

Players "draft" Technology Cards at the start of the game. Players draft their initial hand of Technology Cards as follows:

• Deal six Technology Cards to each player.
• Each player secretly chooses one card to keep, placing it face down in front of them, and then passes the remaining cards clockwise to the next player.
• Repeat this process until only a single card is left to be passed. Discard this remaining card to the appropriate discard pile. Players will have five cards in hand.

Optional: Longer Game

Players may choose to extend the game length by one to two rounds by playing until the last hex on the board has been filled with a played Sector Tile and the galaxy is "full". The game ends after this final round with the normal scoring and Final Scoring resolved as usual.

Optional: "Wild" Home Embassies

Normally, the Embassy in a player's Home Sector does not provide Political Power in any way. With this optional rule, the Home Sector Embassy becomes a "wild" Embassy:

• The Home Sector Embassy provides 1 Political Power.
• The Home Sector Embassy can provide Power to any political Faction.
• The Home Sector Embassy can be used to support other players like any normal Embassy that belongs to the Faction engaged in the Conflict.