Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Player Counts
• Component Anatomy
• Setup (summary)
• How to Play — Main Rules
  • Preparation Phase
  • Action Phase
  • Production Phase
  • Elections Phase
  • Scoring Phase
  • Game End
• Working Class
• Capitalist Class
• Middle Class
• State
• Politics Table (7 Policies)
• Other Rules
  • Loans
  • IMF Intervention
  • Component Limitations

Player Counts

• 2 players: Capitalist Class and Working Class.
• 3 players: Capitalist Class, Working Class, and Middle Class.
• 4 players: all roles.

Component Anatomy

Company Cards represent Companies that produce goods and services. Each lists the amount and type of Workers required, the resources produced, and (when appropriate) the Wage those Workers are paid. Company color indicates the Industry: Agriculture (green), Luxury (blue), Healthcare (red), Education (orange), Media (purple). Companies show three Wage levels (L1/L2/L3). A Cooperative Farm (Working Class only) requires 3 unskilled Workers and produces 2 Food; it is a Private Company but not placed on the board. Automated Companies have a large Machinery symbol and no Worker slots — always operational, require no Workers, and produce without any Wage paid.

Action Cards allow you to perform actions. You may play them for their effect (only if the requirement is met — usually about the current Policy) or discard them to perform a Basic Action. If an Action card played for its effect shows Class symbols with numbers at the bottom, the Legitimacy scores for those Classes are modified on the State's board (4-player games only; ignore with fewer players and when discarded for a Basic Action).

Export Cards show 8 possible transactions for selling goods/services to the Foreign Market. A new one is revealed each round.

Political Agenda Cards (4-player only) are drawn each round by the State; the State scores VP based on how close the current politics are to the card.

Immigration Cards indicate the type of Immigrants (skilled/unskilled) coming in each round.

Event Cards (4-player only) show issues the State must deal with.

Business Deal Cards let the Capitalist Class buy multiple goods (Food/Luxury) from the Foreign Market at lower prices (tariffs may be paid to the State depending on Policy 6, unless goods are only sold back to the Foreign Market).

Storages increase capacity in the Capitalist/Middle Class player boards. The Free Trade Zone (Capitalist Class starts with it) only stores goods (Food and Luxury) that may only be sold in the Foreign Market.

Setup (summary)

Main board: Place the board. Place the 4 starting Capitalist Class Companies (Supermarket, Shopping Mall, College, Clinic) with an L2 Wage marker. Place the 3 starting Public Companies in the first Public Sector row (each beneath its resource) with L2 Wage markers, then a face-down card of each type in row two and the remaining 3 face-down in row three. (3–4 players: place the 2 starting Middle Class Companies — Convenience Store, Doctor's Office — with L2 Wage markers.) Shuffle and deal Business Deal, Export (with a marker on the middle Import space), and Immigration decks. Place Policy markers with Policies 1–5 starting in mixed positions and 6–7 as set. Place 120 in the State Treasury. Place Health/Education/Influence in Public Services (2 players: 5/5/3; 3–4 players: 6/6/4). Place the Round marker on 1 and the Tax Multiplier on 5. Scoring markers on 0. Make 3 piles of Voting cubes by color; put 8 cubes of each color into the cloth bag (add all 3 colors even in 2-player games). Group resources, money, and Workers near the board.

Working Class Setup: Board; Population marker at 10; Prosperity at 0; 30 money and 1 Influence; 3 red Bill markers and Voting token; shuffle Working Class Action deck, draw 7; 2 Cooperative Farm cards aside; place starting Workers on the indicated Companies; add starting unemployed Workers and draw Immigration cards.

Middle Class Setup (3–4 players): Board; Population 10; Prosperity 0; 40 money and 1 Influence; 1 Food and 1 Health in Storage (Food price 12, others 8); 3 yellow Bill markers and Voting token; shuffle Middle Class Action deck, draw 7; shuffle Middle Class Companies, reveal 3 as your Market; place starting Workers; add starting unemployed Worker and draw 2 Immigration cards.

Capitalist Class Setup: Board; 120 in Revenue; Wealth marker; 1 Food, 2 Luxury, 2 Education, 1 Influence in Storage (Food 12, others 8); Free Trade Zone; 3 blue Bill markers and Voting token; shuffle Capitalist Class Action deck, draw 7; shuffle Capitalist Class Companies, reveal 4 as your Market.

State Setup (4-player only): Board; a marker on the second space of each Legitimacy track; 1 Influence; 3 gray Bill markers and Voting token; shuffle State Action deck, draw 7; shuffle Event cards, draw 2 face-up (reshuffle any "Rounds 2-5 only"); draw the top Political Agenda card face-up; place the Health Welfare Tile (side for Policy 4.B).

How to Play — Main Rules

Hegemony is played over 5 Rounds. Each round has these phases: Preparation, Action, Production, Elections, Scoring. After the 5th round, endgame scoring is applied.

Preparation Phase

Skipped during the 1st round. Move the Round marker to the next spot. Each player performs the steps for their role. Then proceed to the Action Phase.

Action Phase

Players play 5 turns, leaving 2 cards in hand for the next round. Turn order is always: 1. Working Class, 2. Middle Class, 3. Capitalist Class, 4. State (ignore roles not playing). On a turn, a player chooses one card to perform their Main Action (play its effect or discard it for a Basic Action) and may also perform one Free Action (before or after the Main Action). Each role has its own Basic and Free Actions.

Production Phase

Player order is reversed (State, then Capitalist Class, then Middle Class, then Working Class); move to the next step only after all players have performed the previous one. Steps:

• Produce Goods & Services: Each player controlling Companies pays the listed Wage for each Company (the Wage is for all Workers there, not each separately) to the player who controls those Workers, then the Company produces the listed goods/services. Even in 2/3-player games, Public Companies produce (pay Wages from the State Treasury; produced resources go to Public Services). Each Public Service has a storage limit equal to the production of the corresponding available Public Companies plus 6; excess is lost.
• Cover Needs: The Middle Class and Working Class consume Food equal to their Population; if insufficient, buy the rest from any sources.
• Check IMF: Check if the State has more Loans than its Fiscal Policy allows; if so and it can't pay them off (55 each), the IMF intervenes.
• Pay Taxes: Players pay taxes to the State based on Taxation Policy (money always goes to the State Treasury).

Elections Phase

Elections determine whether proposed Bills pass. Skipped entirely if no Bill was proposed. Steps:

• Refill Bag: Before elections, each Class adds Voting cubes: the Working Class adds cubes equal to half its Population (rounded up); the Capitalist Class adds cubes equal to half its operational Companies (rounded up); the Middle Class adds whichever is higher of half its Population or half its operational Companies (rounded up). In a 2-player game, still add 5 Middle Class cubes. The State adds nothing (it gains Influence based on its lowest Legitimacy).
• Carry Out Elections: For each Policy with a proposed Bill (Policy 1 onward), players (starting Working Class, in player-order) state in favor or against (no abstaining; the proposer is in favor by default). Draw 5 cubes from the bag onto the board. Players may then spend Influence (secretly, revealed simultaneously) — each Influence is an additional vote for that player's initial choice. If "In Favor" has equal or more votes than "Against," the Bill passes: move the Policy marker, the proposer immediately gains 3 VP, and all other players who supported them with at least 1 vote gain 1 VP. If "Against" has more, the Bill does not pass (no VP). Discard cubes/Influence on the winning side and all spent Influence; return losing-side cubes to the bag. In a 2-player game, Middle Class cubes drawn count as part of the 5 but are immediately discarded (neither for nor against); if all 5 are Middle Class and no Influence is spent, the Bill passes. If all players state the same preference, 5 cubes are still drawn and discarded, and VP are awarded as normal. If the bag empties, perform Refill Bag twice (no Influence to the State) and draw.

Scoring Phase

Players score additional VP based on their progress. The State also applies penalties for Events not acted upon.

Game End

At the end of the 5th round: The Capitalist Class gets -5 VP per Loan. Other players may pay off Loans (55 each); if they can't afford the full amount, they spend as much as they can in increments of 5 and lose 1 VP for every 5 unpaid. Then final scores are calculated (see each role's Game End). The player with the most VP wins. Ties: count how many of Policies 1–5 each tied player has in their preferred section (A Working, B Middle, C Capitalist, matching their Agenda for State); most wins. If still tied and the State is among them, the State wins; otherwise most Voting cubes; if still tied, share the victory.

Working Class

Goal: increase your people's Prosperity by covering basic needs (Food, Health, Education, entertainment). (When your effects mention Workers, they refer to your own Class only. Keep the Population track matching your actual Workers.)

Preparation Phase (in order): Pay Interest on Loans (5 each); Drop Prosperity by 1 (no VP lost); Draw 5 Action cards (to 7); Get New Workers and Adjust Population (add 2 unskilled gray Workers to Unemployed; if Immigration is B/C, reveal 1 or 2 Immigration cards and add the shown Working Class Worker(s); move Population marker forward).

Basic Actions:

• Propose Bill: Place one Bill marker on a Policy, on a section next to the current one (not two away, and not on a Policy already having a marker). You may call for an Immediate Vote by spending 1 Influence to resolve that election immediately. You have 3 markers (so at most 3 Bills per round unless calling Immediate Votes).
• Assign Workers: Place up to 3 of your Workers (from anywhere on the board, unless committed) on the corresponding slots of available Companies. A Company must have all required Workers (operational) or none; skilled slots require skilled Workers of that industry. Assigned Workers become committed (turned sideways) — they may not be reassigned, their Wage may not be lowered, and the Company cannot be sold; they return to standing when they produce. You may also assign skilled Workers to Trade Unions on your board, but only if you have at least 4 other Workers in that industry (Union Workers are always committed and receive no Wage; each Union gives 1 Influence during Production and 2 VP during Scoring). If you no longer have 4 Workers in a Union's industry, that Union Worker returns to Unemployed.
• Buy Goods & Services: Choose a single good/service and buy from up to 2 sources, each up to your Population. Prices are on each source; Foreign Market prices are affected by Policy 6 tariffs (paid to the State); State prices for Health/Education by Policies 4 and 5. Resources go to your Goods & Services area.
• Strike: Place a Strike token on up to 2 Companies where your Workers work (not Companies with committed Workers or Level 3 Wages; Public Companies only in 4-player games). At the start of Production, discard Strike tokens from L3-Wage Companies; for each operational Company still with a Strike token, skip its production (no resources, no Wage) and gain 1 Influence, then discard all Strike tokens.
• Demonstration: Only if your unemployed Workers exceed available Worker slots for your Class by at least 2. Place the Demonstration token in the Unemployed area. If someone builds a Company and assigns your Workers there (and the condition is no longer met), discard it. If it remains until Production, discard it, gain 1 Influence, and the other players lose (in total) VP equal to your unemployed Workers plus your Trade Unions (you choose how much each loses, but not more than the empty Company spaces on their board).
• Apply Political Pressure: Add 3 of your Voting cubes to the bag.
• Pay Off Loan: Spend 50, discard the Loan.

Free Actions (Prosperity increases are your main VP source — each +1 Prosperity moves your marker forward and gains VP equal to the new value):

• Use Healthcare: Spend Health equal to your Population; gain 1 Prosperity, 2 bonus VP, and add a new unskilled Worker to Unemployed.
• Use Education: Spend Education equal to your Population; gain 1 Prosperity and upgrade one of your Workers to a skilled one (from anywhere).
• Use Luxury: Spend Luxury equal to your Population; gain 1 Prosperity.
• Swap Workers: Swap an employed skilled Worker in an unskilled slot with a Worker in Unemployed (may repeat).
• Receive Benefits (4-player only): Take the benefits the State placed in your State Benefits area (Voting cubes go to the bag; State gains 1 VP).

Production Phase: Produce (get paid for your Workers in others' Companies; Cooperative Farms produce 2 Food each; get 1 Influence per Trade Union; return committed Workers to standing). Cover Needs (buy Food equal to Population, mandatory; take a Loan if you can't afford it). Pay Taxes (Income Tax, depending on Labor Market Policy 2 and Taxation Policy 3, per Population).

Scoring Phase: Gain 2 VP per Trade Union.

Game End: Score by number of Socialist Policies (section A of Policies 1–5): 1/4/8/12/18 VP for 1/2/3/4/5 policies. Gain 1 VP for every 10 money remaining (up to 15 VP).

Capitalist Class

Goal: maximize profit — build Companies and strike business deals to produce goods/services, then sell for profit. Revenue is untaxed recent money; Capital is taxed money. Money gained goes to Revenue; costs are paid from Revenue (then Capital). If insufficient in both, take a Loan (50 added to Capital).

Preparation Phase: Pay Interest on Loans (5 each); Draw 5 Action cards (to 7); Reveal New Companies (discard any from Market, draw to 4); Draw Business Deal & Export Cards (add Business Deals per Policy 6, draw a new Export — before the other Classes get new Workers).

Basic Actions: Propose Bill (as above); Build Company (choose from Market, pay cost from Revenue, place in Private Sector, set a Wage abiding by Labor Market; may assign and commit available same-Class Workers; up to 12 Companies); Sell Company (discard one; Workers to Unemployed; gain money equal to cost; not if committed Workers); Sell to the Foreign Market (per current Export card, each transaction once per action; no Influence sold); Make Business Deal (buy Food/Luxury cheaper — regular Storage allows local sale but pays tariffs; Free Trade Zone pays only main cost but sells only to the Foreign Market); Lobby (spend 30 from Capital, gain 3 Influence); Apply Political Pressure (add 3 Voting cubes); Receive Benefits (4-player); Pay Off Loan (50 from Capital).

Free Actions: Adjust Prices; Adjust Wages (raise commits Workers; must abide Labor Market; can't lower committed); Give Bonus (give 5 to Workers in an operational Company, then commit them); Buy Storage (spend 20, one Storage tile per resource).

Machinery Tokens: Placed on a Company with the Machinery icon, increasing production. One per Company. A Company with a Machinery token is NOT automated (still needs Workers to be operational).

Production Phase: Produce (pay Wages, get resources into Storages — limits 8 for Food, 12 for others; excess lost except Food/Luxury can overflow to the Free Trade Zone); Cover Needs (players may buy Food from you; money to Revenue); Pay Taxes (Employment Tax = operational Companies × Tax Multiplier; Corporate Tax based on Revenue and Taxation Policy).

Scoring Phase: Transfer Revenue to Capital; gain VP per the Wealth table for Capital; if the Wealth marker moves right, gain 3 VP per space.

Game End: Score by number of Neoliberal Policies (section C): 1/4/8/12/18 VP. Gain 1 VP per 2 Food / 3 of each other resource in Storages (including Free Trade Zone). Lose 5 VP per Loan.

Middle Class

Goal: increase Prosperity by covering basic needs while running your own Companies.

Preparation Phase: Pay Interest; Drop Prosperity by 2; Draw 5 (to 7); Reveal New Companies (to 3); Get New Workers (add 1 unskilled and 1 skilled of your choice; if Immigration is B/C, reveal 1 or 2 cards and add the Middle Class Worker[s]).

Basic Actions: Propose Bill; Assign Workers (as Working Class — committing Workers; if you reassign a Worker running one of your Companies, it becomes non-operational and any employee goes to Unemployed); Build Company (up to 8; two types — run by one Middle Class Worker with optional Working Class employee, or two Middle Class Workers; only the Middle Class Workers must be available; may add a Working Class employee); Sell Company (not if committed); Sell to the Foreign Market (only from Storages; gain 1 VP per transaction); Buy Goods & Services (including from yourself, transferring from Storage to Goods & Services for free — limited to Population, and only one other source that action); Extra Shift (choose a Company with non-committed Middle Class Worker(s), commit and produce; pay any employee's Wage); Apply Political Pressure; Receive Benefits (4-player); Pay Off Loan.

Free Actions: Use Healthcare / Use Education / Use Luxury (as Working Class); Adjust Prices; Adjust Wages; Swap Workers.

Production Phase: Produce (your Middle-Class-only Companies produce without Wages; pay Wages for Working Class employees and get their Employee Production Bonus; get paid for your Workers in others' Companies first). Cover Needs (provide Food equal to Population). Pay Taxes (Income Tax based on Labor Market and Taxation, times the number of Companies other than your own where you have Workers; Employment Tax = your operational Companies × Tax Multiplier).

Scoring Phase: If your Prosperity is lower than your number of fully operational Companies (2 Workers, or with a required employee), gain 1 Prosperity free.

Game End: Score by number of section-B Policies: 1/3/6/10/15 VP. Gain 1 VP per 2 Food / 3 of each other resource in Storages (not Goods & Services). Gain 1 VP per 15 money remaining.

State

Goal: keep all 3 Classes happy to increase Legitimacy, while dealing with issues. All Public Companies produce services (Health, Education, or Influence). Media Influence (produced, stored in Public Services) can be sold; Personal Influence (gained by effects, on your board) cannot be sold and is what "Influence" means for your effects.

Legitimacy Tracks & Tokens: 3 tracks, one per Class. Helping a Class raises its Legitimacy; harming it lowers it (per Action card symbols, played by any player). A Legitimacy token immediately raises that Class's score by 1 and provides a permanent +1 each round during Scoring.

Preparation Phase: Pay Interest; Reveal New Events (draw 2 face-up); Reveal New Political Agenda; Draw 5 Action cards (to 7).

Action Phase note: The Working Class and Middle Class may buy your Public Services (money to the State Treasury). Selling Health/Education at reduced prices (Policies 4/5): at 5 each (section B), gain 1 VP regardless of amount; for free (section A), gain 1 Legitimacy (to the buying Class) per 3 resources sold. Cards may instruct you to Provide resources/money/Voting cubes — place them in the corresponding State Benefits area (you may buy what you need first, but not more than the card indicates, and not from the player you're providing to). When another player takes provided items via Receive Benefits, gain 1 VP.

Basic Actions: Propose Bill (you have no Voting cubes — rely on Influence and other players' support; if your own Bill passes, gain 3 VP); Event Action (address an Event: make its choice, gain the reward, discard it); Sell to the Foreign Market (goods only); Meet with a Party's MPs (give 2 Personal Influence to a player, move that Class's Legitimacy forward 1); Extra Tax (get 10 from each other player, then -1 Legitimacy to the two lowest Classes; players who can't pay take a Loan); Campaign (convert up to 3 Media Influence to Personal Influence); Pay Off Loan.

Free Actions: Adjust Wages; Pay Off Loan.

Production Phase: Produce (services to Public Services, limit = production + 6; goods to your board); Cover Needs (players may buy Food if you produce it); Pay Taxes (all players pay you — money to the State Treasury).

Elections Phase: Refill Bag — you place no cubes; instead gain Personal Influence based on the lowest Legitimacy. Carry Out Elections — you affect outcomes only via Personal Influence; you must state a preference in every election if you have any Influence.

Scoring Phase: Apply Event Penalties (for Events not acted upon — usually Legitimacy loss — then discard); Score Legitimacy (gain VP equal to the sum of the two lowest Legitimacy values, then halve all 3 markers rounded up, then add +1 per Legitimacy token); Score Political Agenda (1 VP per matching Policy, then discard the card).

Game End: Gain 1 VP per 2 Food / 3 of each other resource / 3 Media Influence in your Storages. Gain 1 VP per 30 money in the State Treasury.

Politics Table (7 Policies)

Each Policy sits in section A, B, or C. In Policies 1–5, A = Socialism, C = Neoliberalism; in Policies 6–7, A = Nationalism, C = Globalism.

1. Fiscal Policy — determines the size of the Public Sector (available Public Companies: 3 at C, 6 at B, 9 at A) and the number of Loans at which the State collapses and the IMF intervenes (1 at C, 2 at A/B). When the Public Sector grows, reveal the next row and pay the cost from the Treasury (available Workers may be auto-assigned); when it shrinks, sell those Companies (add money to the Treasury) and send Workers to Unemployed.
2. Labor Market — the minimum allowable Wage: A allows only L3, B allows L2–L3, C allows all levels. On change, owners must fix non-compliant Wages.
3. Taxation — the amount each Class pays. Sets the base Tax Multiplier (A = 3, B = 2, C = 1) and how Policy 4/5 modifiers count (A doubles them; B normal; C ignores them). Adjust the Tax Multiplier whenever this changes.
4. Welfare State: Health & Benefits — cost of Public Health (A free, +2 Tax Multiplier; B costs 5, +1; C costs 10, no modifier). Enables certain benefits.
5. Welfare State: Education — cost of Public Education (A free, +2; B costs 5, +1; C costs 10, no modifier).
6. Foreign Trade — tariffs on imported goods (A: Food 10/Luxury 6; B: Food 5/Luxury 3; C: no tariffs) and the number of Business Deal cards drawn (A: 0, B: 1, C: 2). Tariffs are paid to the State.
7. Immigration — additional Workers the Working and Middle Classes get each round (A: 0, B: 1 each, C: 2 each), on top of their default Workers.

Other Rules

Loans

You take a Loan only when forced to pay a mandatory cost you can't cover (not to fund optional spending). To take a Loan, place a Loan card and gain 50. Each Loan costs 5 interest during Preparation. Pay off a Loan with the Pay Off Loan Free Action (spend 50, discard). At game end, all players except the Capitalist Class may pay off Loans (55 each) or lose VP for the shortfall; the Capitalist Class loses 5 VP per Loan. In 2/3-player games, if the State Treasury runs out, the State takes a Loan (place it on the Treasury with 50); pay interest and, if it has more than 50, pay it off during Preparation.

IMF Intervention

If, during Check IMF, the State has more Loans than its Fiscal Policy allows and can't pay them off, the IMF intervenes: discard all proposed Bills (each player gains 1 Influence per discarded Bill of theirs); Fiscal Policy, Labor Market (all Wages forced to L1), Taxation, Welfare, and Foreign Trade Policies shift as the IMF demands (apply all consequent effects — Public Companies sold, Tax Multiplier and import prices updated). Then the State pays off its Loans (55 each; discards remaining ones if it still can't pay) and halves all 3 Legitimacy markers (rounded up).

Component Limitations

Limited to the components in the game except money (unlimited). If a needed skilled Worker isn't available, place an unskilled one instead; if a needed unskilled Worker isn't available, place a skilled one of your choice.