John Company: Second Edition Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • The Board
  • Rulebooks and Aids
  • Player Pieces
  • India Pieces
  • Wooden Pawns and Other Cubes
  • Money Supply
  • Crown AI Cards and Board
  • Enterprises (small cards)
  • Office Cards
  • Prestige and Blackmail Cards
  • Law Cards
  • Company Failure Cards
  • Setup Cards and Scenario Cards
  • Ships
  • Prime Minister
  • Regiments and Local Alliances
  • Closed/Filled Orders
  • Power Tokens
  • Office Overlays
  • Other Pieces, Markers and Dice
• Setup
  • Scenarios
  • Draft Variant
• Concepts and Key Terms
  • Component Limits and Infinite Tracks
  • Your Play Area and Hidden Information
  • Cash Flow
  • The Presidencies
  • The Map of India and How to Read It
  • Empires
  • The Looming Crisis (The Elephant)
  • Negotiation
• Game End
  • Final Scoring
• Sequence of Play
• I. The London Season
  • Attrition
  • Retirements
  • Prestige Cards
    • Prestige and Blackmail Cards in Detail
• II. Family
  • Family Action
  • New Company Shares
• III. Hiring
  • General Hiring Procedure
  • Hiring by Office
• IV. Company Operation
  • Success Checks
  • Chairman
  • Director of Trade
  • Manager of Shipping
  • Military Affairs
  • Presidency Operations
  • Commanders
  • Governors
  • Superintendent of Trade in China
  • Governor General
• V. Bonuses
• VI. Revenue
  • Expenses
  • Check Expectations
  • Pay Dividends
• VII. Events in India
  • The Storm Die
  • Region Loss
  • Elephant's March
  • Events Described
  • Attacks Against the Company
• VIII. Parliament Meets
  • Voting
  • Resolving the Vote
  • The Vote to Deregulate
• IX. Upkeep and Refresh
• Deregulation
  • Firms
  • The Firms Phase
• Playing with One or Two (The Crown)
  • Setup
  • Difficulty
  • Gameplay
• Credits

Components

The Board

John Company's board has four main areas. On the far left there are five prize boxes where players will score the majority of their points. The middle left contains tracks which show the Company's health and boxes to hold various pieces and cards. The map on the right side displays the political status and potential profitability of India. Lastly, there is a red ribbon which starts in the top left and proceeds along the bottom edge of the map, ending in the Bay of Bengal. This ribbon charts the course of play through the game's phases and the operations of the different company offices.

Rulebooks and Aids

There are two main rulebooks: this one and the Crown Handbook which is used for the solo and two-player play. The game also includes two large player aids and two small player aid cards.

Player Pieces

Each of the game's six families has several game pieces, including 18 family members, 1 victory point marker, 5 promise cards, 1 glass opportunity marker, a family board, 2 firm cubes and 4 firm strategy cards.

A player's family members are their most important resource and will be used in the game to mark many things, including their control of various company positions, their shares in the Company, and the vast estates they have purchased.

India Pieces

John Company uses several different types of pieces to track the political fortunes of India. There are 20 tower levels and 8 domes, one for each region. There are 3 sets of metal flags, which are used to track the size of the empires which might emerge on the subcontinent. Events are resolved using a set of 20 event tiles. There are 8 control/loot tokens used to track which regions have been looted by the Company and the Presidency associated with them. Finally, there is a resin Elephant used to indicate a looming political Crisis.

Wooden Pawns and Other Cubes

There are 6 pawns in three colors which are used as markers to indicate the status of various tracks. Red pawns mark Company Standing, Balance, and Debt. Black pawns mark the game turn and votes. The silver pawn can be used to keep track of the current phase. There are 30 orange cubes that are used to mark fatigue when placed on office cards and unrest when placed on Company-controlled regions. The 12 red Crown promise cubes are used in the solo and two-player game.

Money Supply

The game includes coins in the following denominations and quantities: £1 (40), £2 (20), £5 (20), and £10 (10). The bank is unlimited, but these coins should cover almost every circumstance.

Crown AI Cards and Board

There are 10 Crown AI cards and a Crown board which are used in the solo and two-player games.

Enterprises (small cards)

There are 58 small enterprises in the three enterprise types: 22 shipyards (shipping), 20 workshops (manufacturing), and 16 luxuries (social). Shipyards, workshops, and luxuries generally share the same points of card anatomy.

Office Cards

There are 17 office cards used to track which player controls which office. If an office is vacant, its office card is placed facedown on the Vacant Offices box on the board. Some offices are not in play at the start of the game and should be placed nearby.

Prestige and Blackmail Cards

Prestige cards (20) and blackmail cards (10) are usually won in the London Season and grant special bonuses. Prestige cards with an icon in the top right also count as enterprises. Many of these cards have special powers which are described in text on the card.

Law Cards

Law cards (26) are used by the Prime Minister player during the Parliament Meets phase. These cards can change the fundamental rules of the game or present challenges which the players must all face together. If a law is passed, it is placed faceup near the board and the remainder are kept in a stack near the Prime Minister. One law card, the Deregulation card (with Debtor's Prison on back), is used only in certain scenarios.

Company Failure Cards

John Company ends either with the success of the Company or its failure. When the Company is successful, players will compete in one final retirement, where they may score additional points. If the Company fails, a random Company failure card (6) is drawn to determine whom the fickle public will blame for this disaster. Most failure cards inflict some sort of scoring penalty.

Setup Cards and Scenario Cards

John Company has several scenarios which are described on 3 scenario cards. Players use the matching set of setup cards (18 each) to create their starting positions.

Ships

There are 22 player-owned ships. These ships are placed on shipyards when unfitted and then placed on the map or on firms when fitted. If fatigued, they are turned to their fatigued side. There are also 14 other ships used by the Company. On one side, they are extra ships, which are under short-term leases and will only trade for a single turn before returning to the supply. On the other side, they are Company ships that are built and maintained by the Company.

Prime Minister

One player will always be the Prime Minister and keeps the Prime Minister dial in their play area. The Prime Minister's arm is used to indicate the proposed policy that will be enacted if the current law passes.

Regiments and Local Alliances

There are 20 regiments and 7 local alliance pieces which strengthen Company armies.

Closed/Filled Orders

There are 17 pieces used to mark closed orders in India and those filled by the Company or firms.

Power Tokens

There are 4 power tokens that track the power status of the 3 different enterprise types and of Company shares. These are placed on the Power track and will shift in position depending mostly on the passage of certain policies.

Office Overlays

There are 8 different Governor overlays, which are added to the map if a region becomes Company-controlled. The family member serving as Governor is placed on top of the overlay. In addition, there is one Superintendent of Trade in China overlay used to hold both the family member in that position and any ships assigned to Trade in China. There is also one Governor General overlay which is placed on the ribbon if that office is in play.

Other Pieces, Markers and Dice

There are 6 dividers, used to show writer affiliation. There is a Chairman marker and an Opposition Leader marker which are given to the player(s) with that office or title. There's a Company share victory point token used in some scenarios. There are also 18 trophy/passed law pieces. Finally, there are 10 standard dice, and 1 storm die.

Setup

1. Place the game board and component trays in the center of the table.
2. Shuffle the India event tiles and place them next to the board.
3. Place the local alliance tiles in the Army boxes where they are listed.
4. Place a marker on the "5" space of the Company Balance track located on the bottom edge of the board.
5. Place the four power tokens on their indicated spaces on the Power track.
6. Every player should take a set of player pieces including their family board. Place each family's victory point marker on the "0" space of the Victory Point track (top left of the board).
7. Place the tower levels, domes, and flags near the right side of the board.
8. Place the laws, office, prestige, blackmail, and setup cards nearby.
9. Place each loot token in the matching region (£ side face up).
10. Next, choose a scenario.

Scenarios

• The 1710 Scenario should be played first.
• The 1758 Scenario is recommended for those who have played the 1710 scenario a couple times. Here, the Company begins with its monopoly, but this can be broken, opening the gates of India to private firms.
• The 1813 Scenario is the most advanced scenario. In it, the Company starts without its monopoly, and players may start private trading firms. This scenario is best with 5 or 6 players.
• The Long 1710 Scenario is intended for players who have the time to play through the full history of the Company. This scenario begins identically to the 1710 scenario, but it gives players the tools of Deregulation. This scenario may go up to 8 turns and often takes twice as long as the other scenarios.

After choosing a scenario, take the matching scenario setup card. Follow any instructions on the front of the card, taking components as needed and using pawns to mark the listed position on various tracks. Then, set up the regions of India as shown on the card. Place a black pawn on the space with the matching date on the Turn track, and the arm on the Prime Minister dial to point to the matching date.

Next, take the player setup cards matching the date of the chosen scenario. If playing with 5 players, add 3 of that scenario's extra cards. If playing with 6 players, add 6. Shuffle these cards together. Next, deal out the setup cards evenly among the players. Each player should take everything listed on their setup cards. For each office listed, place a family member on the listed office space and take the matching office card. For cash listed, take that amount from the bank.

Then, complete setup:

11. Set any remaining office cards near the board.
12. Build the London Season Display. Shuffle the prestige cards and blackmail cards together and deal three. Prestige cards should be placed faceup, blackmail cards should be placed facedown.
13. Shuffle the remaining law cards and place them near the board.

Draft Variant

Instead of drawing random setup cards, players may wish to draft starting positions using the following procedure. After setup cards are dealt, each player selects one and then passes the remainder to the player to their left. Continue doing this until no cards remain.

Concepts and Key Terms

Component Limits and Infinite Tracks

Most components in John Company are limited by the pieces included. If a supply of pieces is empty, complete as much of the action as possible. However, players may use proxies if they run out of cash, trophy/passed law tokens, dice, and regiments. The Company Balance, Victory Point, and Vote tracks have no limit.

Your Play Area and Hidden Information

Players maintain a play area that contains everything they own. All information (including the contents of discard piles) is public except facedown blackmail cards.

Cash Flow

In John Company, cash always has a location, and its location determines how it can be spent, traded, or paid. You can spend cash in your family treasury on various family actions, retirements, upkeep, taxes, and negotiations. Cash within a Company office can only be spent by that office. Some Company positions will reward players with extra income during their actions.

The Presidencies

The British East India Company divided India into three administrative zones called Presidencies which are each named after their home region. In John Company, these Presidencies are special offices that maintain their own Army, cadre of writers, fleet of ships, and—later in the game—subordinate offices. These resources are stored in their marked boxes or in the zone of the Indian Ocean near their office box on the map.

The Map of India and How to Read It

The map is divided into eight regions, each roughly corresponding to a different political and commercial trade center. Each region has a number of qualities:

• Every region has strength, usually represented by its tower. The number of levels in the tower dictates the strength of the region (the dome does not count as a tower level). This number is used to determine a region's attack and defense value.
• Within each region are a number of connected circles called orders. Each order contains a number that indicates the value of that order and is connected to other orders with a dotted line. Orders represent economic opportunities for the players.
  • Home Ports. Orders with a heavy black outline are called home ports. Players use these orders to access other orders deeper in India.
  • Closed Orders. If an order is closed, cover it with a closed order token. This represents trade disruptions or anti-Company sentiment.
• Every region has a political alignment: either sovereign or dominated. Sovereign regions (those with a large flag or a dome without any flag) will attempt to invade their neighbors. Dominated regions (those with a small flag or no dome) will attempt to rebel to regain their sovereignty.

Empires

When a region conquers another region, it either forms an empire or expands its existing empire. All empires are composed of one capital region (marked by a flag with a star) and at least one dominated region (marked by a smaller version of that flag). Empires combine the strengths of their regions when attacking and defending in many situations.

• Empire Decline. If an empire is ever reduced to only its capital region, return its flag to the supply. It is no longer an empire.

The Looming Crisis (The Elephant)

India is always faced with a looming Crisis. This is represented by the Elephant and its position and direction on the map. The Elephant is always in play. It indicates one of two types of Crisis:

• Impending Invasions. When the Elephant is placed on a border between two regions, the acting region (with the Elephant's tail) is getting ready to invade the region the Elephant faces.
• Impending Rebellions. If the Elephant is in the center of a region or facing the region that dominates it, the acting region is getting ready to rebel against its sovereign.

Negotiation

John Company is a negotiation game. Players can transfer a wide range of assets to one another. This includes: enterprises, facedown blackmail cards, cash in your family's treasury, shares, and promise cards. You cannot transfer officeholders, writers, officers, pieces on prizes, spouses, passed laws, played blackmail cards, Prime Minister dial, or trophies.

• Promise Cards. Each player has a set of five promise cards they may give other players as part of a negotiation. You may "call in" a promise card and force the player who guaranteed the promise to fulfill the promise if they can. Critically, you cannot "call in" a promise card once the game is over and players are resolving Final Scoring. If multiple players call in a promise at the same time, the player who guaranteed them chooses which to fulfill if they cannot fulfill all of them.

When transferring resources there is one golden rule: something transferred cannot activate twice. Negotiations involving immediate transfers are binding. All other negotiations are non-binding.

Further transferring details:

• Enterprises and Blackmail Cards. You may trade any enterprise card. You may allow others to peek at your facedown blackmail cards and trade them, but they cannot be traded faceup. Remember to adjust the victory point total if transferring luxuries.
• Family Cash. You may freely transfer money from your family's treasury to the treasuries of other families.
• Shares. When exchanging these pieces, the player gaining the piece should return the previous owner's piece to their supply and place a family member from their supply in its place. You may not transfer the Chairman.
• Promise Cards. You may trade promise cards with any player, including returning them to their guarantor or giving them to a third party.

Game End

Each scenario of John Company concludes at the end of the turn indicated by the scenario. The game can also end immediately if the Company Standing marker ever moves to the leftmost space on the Standing track.

Once the game is over, players may not negotiate, cash in promises, or play blackmail cards (unless a card's text explicitly allows it). Then players perform the Final Scoring phase.

Final Scoring

Final scoring has several steps. Any ties after Final Scoring are broken in favor of the player with the most window icons and then in Prime Minister order (clockwise, starting with the Prime Minister).

1. Power Award. Each player totals their power. Power comes from these sources:

   • Power Track. Each enterprise (remember: some prestige cards are enterprises) or Company share is worth the amount of power indicated next to its token on the Power track. The bottom two spaces are worth 0 power.
   • Prime Minister and Laws. Each passed law token in your play area is worth +1 power. The Prime Minister grants its holder +2 power.
   • Cards. Some blackmail cards and one spouse are worth power. Power for blackmail cards in your player area is gained if the card is faceup or down.
   • Trophies. Each trophy token in your play area is worth +1 power.

   The players with the most and second most power gain victory points depending on which turn was the final game turn, as indicated by the table on the board. If players are tied for the most power, award the lower value to the tied players only, and no other power award is given. Players tied for second place get nothing.

2. Score Court and Workshops. If the Company survived, each Company share is worth the number of victory points indicated on the Court. If the Company failed, players lower their score by that number instead for each, and players score 1 for each workshop they own. Scores may drop below zero.

3. Final Retirement or Consequence of Failure. If the Company survived, all players roll for attrition and retire any pensioners. No prestige cards are gained. If the Company failed, draw one Company failure card and resolve it.

Sequence of Play

John Company is a procedural game played over a set number of game turns. Each game turn consists of phases performed in the following order:

• I. The London Season. Officeholders retire and compete for prestige cards.
• II. Family. Players invest in the Company and increase their holdings. Then new Company shares may be created.
• III. Hiring. The Company fills all vacant positions.
• IV. Company Operation. Each Company office operates following the red ribbon from left to right on the game board.
• V. Bonuses. Players take bonus income.
• VI. Revenue. The Company pays its expenses, the Chairman may pay dividends, and the Company adjusts its Standing.
• VII. Events in India. Storms and events in India are resolved.
• VIII. Parliament Meets. Parliament meets to vote on a law.
• IX. Upkeep and Refresh. Players pay upkeep on their prizes and prepare for the next game turn.

I. The London Season

The London Season has three steps: Attrition, Retirements, and Prestige Cards. This phase is skipped on the game's first turn.

Attrition

This step should be completed simultaneously by all players. Roll one die for each office card you hold. Each fatigue on a card adds +1 to the result of that office's die roll. The result determines what happens:

• 1 or 2: Nothing happens.
• 3 or 4: Add a fatigue to the office card.
• 5 or more: That officeholder retires. Move the family member holding that office to the Pensioners box on the board. Then, flip the office card to its vacant side and place it in the Vacant Offices box nearby. Any fatigue that was on the office card should be returned to the supply.
  • The Stress of Being Chairman. When rolling for the Chairman, add +1 to the result.

Retirements

Starting with the Chairman (or former Chairman if the office is vacant) and going clockwise, each player may retire their pensioner(s). For each pensioner, choose a prize on the left side of the board, pay the cost indicated on the top left of the prize box, and move your pensioner to that box. Increase your victory point marker by the amount listed.

Note: most prizes also have an upkeep value listed to the right of their cost which must be paid during the Upkeep and Refresh phase. In addition, many prizes also have window tax icons, which may need to be paid for during the Parliament Meets phase.

Instead of paying the cost of your retirements directly to the bank, set it near your player area. It will be used to determine turn order in the next step and should be paid to the bank at the end of the London Season.

Prestige Cards

Beginning with the player who spent the most total cash on retirements this turn, each player who retired at least one pensioner this turn must take or discard one card from the London Season Display. Any ties are broken in favor of most total window icons (including from retirements this turn!) and then in Prime Minister order.

When choosing their card, the acting player is welcome to peek at any blackmail card in the London Season Display. If there are no cards remaining in the display, all remaining players are skipped.

Then, discard any remaining cards and refill the London Season Display to three cards. Place blackmail cards facedown. Place regular prestige cards faceup. Note: this is done even if there were no cards taken this turn! Lastly, return any family members in the Pensioners box to their supplies.

Prestige and Blackmail Cards in Detail

• Spouses usually increase your family's victory points, but most come with a restriction you must follow for the rest of the game. Spouses cannot be transferred. If a restriction requires you to discard or trade enterprises/shares, players must negotiate any trades immediately after they take the spouse. Most spouses also have a retirement discount that lowers the cost of a retirement by the amount shown. These discounts can be stacked, but may only be used by you alone. Each discount may be used once per London Season and once per Final Scoring.
• Enterprises on prestige cards offer special powers which a player may use. These enterprises may be worth power during Final Scoring like other enterprises of their type and are likewise affected by policies during the Parliament Meets phase. These enterprises can be transferred.
• Blackmails offer one-time effects. After they are used they are placed in your player area faceup and cannot be transferred. At the end of the game, all blackmail cards in a player's area (faceup or down) count for power during Final Scoring.

II. Family

This phase has two steps. First, all players will take their family action. Then, new Company shares may be created.

Family Action

Starting with the player with the Chairman title and proceeding clockwise, each player selects one family action from those listed in this section and places their opportunity marker on the action they choose. (Note: at the start of the game, this marker is not on any action.)

Out of Family Pieces? If you need to place a family piece but have none, you must choose to take one from any prize. If taken from a prize, lower your victory point marker by the printed value of that prize.

If a player's opportunity marker was already on the action they chose at the start of this phase, they may take that action twice instead.

• Extra Actions. Some laws enable players to take an additional action after they have taken their main action. Only the most recently-passed extra action can be used. This action does not benefit from a player's opportunity marker.
• No Action. Rarely, players may be unable to take a family action. In these cases, no action is taken and their opportunity token should be placed in their supply of pieces.

The family actions are:

• Enlist Writer. Place one family member in one of the three regional Writers boxes. If there are four or more vacant offices, you may place an additional writer once this turn.
• Enlist Officer. Place one family member in the Officers-in-Training box.
• Purchase Luxury. Pay £4 to the bank and take one luxury. Each luxury gives you 2 victory points as long as they are in your possession. Each luxury has a window tax icon. Each luxury counts as a social enterprise.
• Purchase Shipyard. Pay £2 to the bank and take one shipyard. Place the matching ship token on the shipyard in the space indicated. Shipyards provide a £1 bonus each turn if their ship has been fitted and provide a single vote in the Parliament Meets phase. Each shipyard counts as a shipping enterprise.
• Purchase Workshop. Pay £5 to the bank and take one workshop. A workshop provides a £1 bonus each turn and two votes in the Parliament Meets phase. If the Company fails, it is worth 1 victory point during Final Scoring. Each workshop counts as a manufacturing enterprise.
• Seek Share. Place a family member on an empty space on the Stock Exchange track above the Court of Directors and pay the price printed on that space to the bank. These family members may become shares at the end of the Family phase. Once shares, they may provide income through dividends and will be worth victory points at the end of the game if the Company survives. If the Company fails, they will cost victory points instead.

New Company Shares

Once all players have completed their turn, check to see if any family members on the Stock Exchange track are added to the Court. One will be added for each Company Debt.

If the Company has Debt, move the rightmost family member on the Stock Exchange into the Court box and lower the Company Debt marker by one. A family member in the Court is called a Company share. If Company Debt remains, repeat this step again.

Finally, if there are still pieces in the Stock Exchange track but no Company Debt, slide rightward all remaining family members on the Stock Exchange as far as possible, preserving their order.

III. Hiring

In this phase, all vacant offices in the Company are filled through hiring.

General Hiring Procedure

Offices are hired in ascending order using the number on the back of each office card. Vacant offices can only be hired by certain officeholders who choose from a specific pool of candidates. Once a candidate is hired, move that family member to the new office and give that player the matching office card.

• Nepotism. You may select your own family member to hire, but you must have the verbal consent of every other player in that office's candidate pool. This does not apply to electing the Chairman.
• Promotions. Some higher offices (like the Director of Trade) are hired from family members who already hold offices. Whenever a family member is promoted in this way, their previously held office card should be flipped over and added to the stack of vacant offices in ascending order. Any fatigue tokens on the promoted officeholder's previous card are moved over to the new office card.

No Candidates or Hirer? In some circumstances there may be no eligible candidates for an office. When this happens the office is skipped in the hiring process and will remain vacant through the turn, taking no actions (including hiring others). If the office responsible for hiring a candidate is vacant, that office is skipped.

Hiring by Office

Chairman. Any player with a Company share may attempt to become the new Chairman. To be elected the new Chairman you need consent from players that control a majority of the current Company shares. At the start of the election, the former Chairman should declare the number of Company shares required to achieve a pure majority (more than half of total). As soon as a candidate has the required number of supporting Company shares, the election is over, and that player is chosen as the new Chairman. The newly-elected Chairman takes the Chairman marker and moves one of their Company shares to the Chairman slot on the board. This piece still counts as a Company share, but cannot be traded in a negotiation or used for firm investments. If no candidate can receive the necessary support, the former Chairman picks any player with at least one Company share to become the new Chairman, including themselves (not subject to Nepotism).

• An Empty Court? In some scenarios the Court may be empty. In this case the former Chairman will automatically become the next Chairman, and should place a family member from their supply to the Chairman slot. If empty, they must take from a prize if possible. If that is not possible, there will be no Chairman.

Director of Trade. The Chairman hires from any current officeholder except the Chairman or a Governor. If all offices are vacant, any writer can be chosen. Note: Commanders are not officeholders.

Manager of Shipping. The Chairman hires any writer for this position.

Military Affairs. The Chairman hires any Commander in a Presidential Army for this position. If there are none, they may hire any officer, or, if none, any piece in the Officers-in-Training box.

Presidents. The Director of Trade hires any writer or Governor associated with that region's Presidency for this position.

Governors. The President associated with the Governorship hires from any writer or officer in the region. Note: a Commander is not an officer and cannot be promoted to a Governor. If there is a Governor General, these positions no longer exist.

Superintendent of Trade in China. The Chairman hires any writer for this position.

IV. Company Operation

Starting with the Chairman, each Company office acts in order, left to right, following the red ribbon on the game board. The Chairman is responsible for making sure players realize whose turn it is to act and that this phase proceeds in a timely fashion.

• Vacant Offices. Sometimes offices will remain vacant if there were no eligible candidates to hire or if the hiring office was vacant. In this case, the office is skipped.
• No Dead Actions. A player cannot take an action that would have no effect or chance of success.

Success Checks

Doing business in India is risky. Most actions that concern India require the acting player to make a check. Each check requires a roll of the dice. Any money spent comes from the office's treasury and is paid to the bank.

When making a check, first decide on the amount of resources you want to spend or exhaust, and gather the appropriate number of dice equal to the amount shown on the office card. Then, remove dice equal to the penalty. Finally, roll the dice. Use the lowest rolled value to determine one of three results:

• 1 or 2 is a success.
• 3 or 4 is a failure. The check may be attempted again if there are sufficient resources.
• 5 or 6 is a catastrophic failure. The office will take no further actions. The acting officeholder is immediately returned to its player's supply, and that office card is flipped and placed in the Vacant Offices box. Any fatigue that was on the office card should be returned to the supply.

Dice	1d6	2d6	3d6	4d6	5d6	6d6	7d6
Success	33%	56%	70%	80%	87%	91%	94%
Failure	33%	33%	26%	19%	13%	9%	6%
Catastrophic Failure	33%	11%	4%	1%	<1%	<1%	<1%

Chairman

The Chairman may first increase Company Debt and then must allocate the Company Balance. You may advance the Company Debt marker up to three times. For each advance, increase the Company Balance by £5. If you wish to advance the Debt marker additional times, you must have the consent of players who control a majority of Company shares for each additional advancement (the Chairman counts as a share). The Chairman may not advance the debt beyond the end of the track.

Then, allocate all funds on the Company Balance track to any other office treasuries. Reduce the marker on the Company Balance track by the amount transferred and add it to the respective office treasuries.

Director of Trade

The Director of Trade may take the Special Envoy action and then may move writers and ships between the Presidencies. The Special Envoy action can be taken multiple times.

Special Envoy. Make a check. Each £1 you spend gives you one die. There is no penalty. If you are successful, choose one of the following:

• Open trade with China. Create the Superintendent of Trade in China by placing the office overlay to the right of the board near the Bengal Presidency and taking its office card. The office should be hired immediately.
• Open an Order. Open one closed order in any region in India that is not controlled by the Company.

Then, you may make up to two transfers. In each, move one writer or ship from one Presidency or sea zone to any other.

Manager of Shipping

The Manager of Shipping fits, buys, and leases ships on behalf of the Company. You must spend funds in your treasury until it has at most £2 remaining. Funds can be spent to:

• Lease Extra Ships. Pay £2 to the bank to place an extra ship from the general supply in a sea zone. Extra ships are on short-term leases that will be returned to the supply during the Refresh step.
• Fit Ships on Shipyards. Pay £3 to the bank to take a ship from a shipyard and place it in any of the three sea zones. This does not require the shipyard owner's consent.
• Buy Company Ships. If there are no ships on shipyards, pay £5 to the bank and place a Company ship from the general supply in a sea zone.

Military Affairs

Military Affairs moves officers and regiments between Armies, assigns new officers, and assigns Commanders.

First, you may make up to two Army transfers. In each, move one officer or regiment from one Army to any other Army. Moved pieces always remain in the top half of the Army box.

Then, you must assign each piece in the Officers-in-Training box to any of the three Armies. New officers are placed in the top half of their Army box.

Finally, for each Army, if there is a player with more total pieces than the current Commander player or if the Commander slot is vacant, assign a new Commander. Choose a player from among those having the greatest number of total pieces in that Army. Move one of their officers to the Commander slot, putting any previous Commander there back into the top half of the Army box as an officer.

Presidency Operations

Each President generates revenue for the Company with the Trade action and decides the order in which they, their Commander, and their Governor(s) act. Commanders and Governors are not required to take any actions but they must be given the opportunity to act.

• Vacant President. If a President is vacant, the Chairman will decide the order of the Commander and Governor(s). A Chairman acting in this way cannot approve local alliance purchases or take the Trade action.

Trade. You may fill open orders in India using the Trade action, starting from your Presidency's home port and continuing through any open orders you fill:

1. Declare the regions in which you wish to trade. You must include your home region and cannot include regions that you could not trade in.
2. Make a check. Each £1 you spend gives you one die. Subtract one for each region outside of your home region that you declared.

If successful, place one writer on an open, empty order space for each ship in this Presidency's sea zone. The first writer must be placed on the Presidency's home port. After that, additional writers must be adjacent to a writer you already placed. For each order filled, increase the Company Balance by the amount listed on the order.

• Out of Writers? If all writers have been placed and ships remain to fill additional orders, place filled order tokens on the orders to show they have been filled.
• Home Region Privileges. A President may not fill an order in another President's home region.
• One Trade. Each President may only successfully trade at most once per game turn.

Then, you take £1 from the bank for each order you filled. Finally, each player takes £1 from the bank for each of their writers you placed on an order.

The Association of Writers. If a writer is ever placed on an order adjacent to a writer from a different Presidency, place a Presidency divider on the connection so that the affiliation of writers is kept separate during the Refresh step.

Commanders

First, you may request funds from your President to purchase any local alliances located in your Army box and shift them to the top of the Army box. The cost of each is listed on the alliance piece and is paid from your President's treasury.

• Local Alliances. Local alliances are temporary Army pieces. Their strength can be used for two purposes: the Deploy action and to defend against threats in India during the Events in India phase. Each piece can only be used once on the turn they are purchased.

Then you may take the Deploy action as many times as you wish and can afford.

Deploy.

1. Select a target. You may select your President's home region, a region associated with your Presidency, or a region that shares a border with a region associated with your Presidency. You cannot target another President's home region or a Company-controlled region associated with another Presidency.
2. Make a check. Each officer or regiment you exhaust gives you one die. Each local alliance you exhaust gives the number of dice indicated on the piece. To exhaust a piece, move it to the bottom half of its Army box. Subtract the strength of the region (and any empire it belongs to) from your total dice. Regions that are Company-controlled have a strength of zero when defending.
3. Check for losses. Each player must roll a die for each of their officers exhausted in this action (never regiments!). For each 6 rolled, they must return one of their officers to their supply.

If successful, perform the following steps:

1. Divide Loot. Gather cash from the bank based on the target region: +£4 for each Tower Level, plus the Loot Modifier (+£4 to +£9 if faceup).
   • Loot Minimum. If there is less cash than the number of officers + 1 (used and survived), increase it by the difference from the bank.
   • Distribute cash among participants who survived. First, give yourself £1 (the Commander's share) and £1 for each of your officers. Then continue clockwise, giving each player £1 for each of their officers. After paying players, if cash remains, give £1 to the bank for each regiment and local alliance. If cash remains, continue distributing again.
2. Take Trophies. Take one trophy token for each level in the targeted region's tower. Then, remove the tower and dome. If it was a capital, remove all matching flags.
3. Impose Order. Open all orders and remove any unrest in the region.
4. Form Governorship. If the region is not Company-controlled, move the region's loot/control token to the space above the President's box with the region symbol side faceup. Place the matching Governor overlay in the region and take the matching Governor card. This region is now Company-controlled.
   • Elephant Redirect. If the Elephant was in the invaded region and faced another region, place it in the center of the invaded region.

If the Deploy action is a catastrophic failure, first return half (rounding up) of your trophies to the supply and return the Commander to your supply.

Governors

Governors are created through the Deploy action. Governors take a series of Administer actions using a diminishing dice pool. First, take dice equal to the number listed on the office card. Then you may take an Administer action.

Administer. Make a check using the number of dice remaining in the pool. There is no penalty. If successful, take £1 then choose one of the three following options. If the previous roll was not a success, take an additional £1:

• Build Company Ship. Building a ship occurs over two successful actions. If there is no Company ship in your region, place one there. If there is already a Company ship in your region, move that ship to the sea zone associated with your President.
• Commission Regiment. Place a regiment from the supply in the Army associated with your President. Regiments are treated as officers, but any loot they earn is paid to the bank and they cannot be removed through a loss check.
• Tax. Add £2 from the bank to either the Company Balance or your President's treasury. You may not split this amount. Each time you choose this after your first time this turn, add one unrest to the region.

If the check did not succeed, add an unrest to the region. Then lower the number of dice in the pool by 1 regardless of its result. You may continue taking actions until: you roll a catastrophic failure, you run out of dice, or you decide to stop.

Superintendent of Trade in China

This office is created either if the Director of Trade's Special Envoy to China is successful or if Parliament passes the "Envoy to China" law. When created, the office is hired immediately by the Chairman who may promote any writer. Unlike a President's treasury, the Superintendent's treasury only contains ships. These ships count as if they were in the Eastern sea zone for storms, expenses, events, and laws. This office acts after the Presidency of Bengal operates.

Trade in China. Make a check. Roll one die for each ship in your office's treasury. This check may only be attempted once and cannot be attempted if there are no export icons in Company-controlled regions. If successful, increase the Company Balance by £4 for each export icon in all Company-controlled regions. Then, you take £1 from the bank for each export icon.

Governor General

The Governor General is created by passing a law of the same name. When passed, all Governors immediately become pensioners. Remove any Governor overlays on the map and any partially-built Company ships. No new Governors are created when additional regions become Company-controlled. The player holding the Director of Trade card replaces it with the Governor General card and places the Governor General overlay on the ribbon. The Governor General is hired like the Director of Trade by the Chairman and is subject to attrition like any other office. It hires Presidents and performs all of its actions during the part of the Company Operation phase formerly used by the Director of Trade.

When acting, first increase the Company Balance by £3 for each region that is Company-controlled. Then the Governor General may attempt the Govern action any number of times.

Govern.

1. Make a check. Each £1 you spend gives you one die. There is no penalty.
2. For each 6 rolled, place one unrest in each Company-controlled region.

If you are successful, take £1 for each region that is Company-controlled. Then, for each region that is Company-controlled, choose one of the following (you must choose an option!):

• Governor General's Shipbuilding. Place a Company ship in any sea zone (including China).
• Governor General's Commission Regiment. Place a regiment from the supply in any Army.
• Governor General's Tax. Either increase the Company Balance by £2 or place £2 in any Company treasury except your own. Then place an unrest in a Company-controlled region.

If the check did not succeed, place 1 unrest in each Company-controlled region.

• One Govern. The Governor General may only successfully govern at most once per game turn.

V. Bonuses

During this phase, players collect bonuses. Every player should take £1 for each shipyard with a fitted ship and each workshop they own.

VI. Revenue

During the Revenue phase, the Company will pay expenses, check expectations, and then pay dividends. During this phase, the Company's Standing will often be adjusted. If the Standing marker is moved to the leftmost position, the Company has failed. Go to Final Scoring immediately.

Expenses

First, lower the Company Balance marker by £1 for each debt (as indicated by the Company Debt track), each regiment and officer in an Army (do not include Commanders), and each ship in the three sea zones.

• Emergency Loans. If the Company cannot pay its expenses, emergency loans must be taken to cover those expenses. For each emergency loan taken, move the Company Debt marker one space to the right and add £5 to the Company Balance track. If the Company Debt marker is already on the rightmost space, you still take out emergency loans but do not advance the marker. Do this until all expenses have been met. Emergency loan advancements do not incur expenses during this game turn. Finally, set the Company Balance to zero.
• Public Embarrassment. Lower the Company's Standing one space to the left if one or two emergency loans were taken this turn. Lower it two spaces if three or more emergency loans were taken this turn.

Check Expectations

Next, lower the Company's Standing one space to the left if the Company Balance is less than the Expectations value listed beneath the Company's Standing.

Pay Dividends

Finally, the Chairman may pay out dividends. The cost of each dividend is equal to the number of Company shares. When a dividend is paid, lower the Balance by an amount equal to the number of Company shares. Each player takes £1 for each of their Company shares. Multiple dividends may be paid (the Chairman counts as a Company share for dividends).

• Public Enthusiasm. Advance Standing one space to the right if more total cash was paid in dividends than Expectations.

VII. Events in India

During this phase, roll the storm die, resolve any storms and then resolve a number of events in India during which the political and economic landscape of India will shift and Company-controlled regions may face Rebellion.

The Storm Die

Roll the storm die. The resulting face indicates which ships are subject to storms and how many events occur in India.

• Storms. If one of the three sea zones is rolled, roll a die for each ship in that sea zone except Company and Extra ships. If the die face with three storms is rolled, you must check for all sea zones. On a 1 or 2, nothing happens. On a 3 or 4, flip the ship to its fatigued side. If already fatigued, it is sunk and returned to its shipyard. On a 5 or 6, the ship is sunk and returned to its shipyard. When returned, it is flipped to its non-fatigued side.
• Events in India. After resolving any storms, resolve as many events in India as indicated by the number on the storm die. For each event, flip one tile from the draw stack. The location of the event often depends on the back of the top tile in the India draw stack.

Writer Loss. When resolving events, orders sometimes become closed. If a writer is on such an order, the writer is returned to its owner's supply. If the order has a filled order token, flip it instead.

Cascade. If you are ever required to close an order but all orders in that region are already closed, a Cascade occurs. Close all open orders connected to the orders in that region. When doing this, if a connected order is already closed, close the northernmost open order in that region instead. If every order in that region is already closed, trigger an additional Cascade. Each region can only Cascade once during the resolution of each event tile.

Region Loss

Attacks against the Company can trigger the loss of a Company-controlled region. When this occurs, follow these steps:

1. Tarnish the Commander's Name. The Commander of the Army associated with this region returns half (rounding up) of the trophies their family owns to the supply. Return the Commander to its supply.
2. Officer Rout. Roll a die for every officer in the Army and remove it if the roll is a 6.
3. Governor Elimination. If this region has a Governor, return it to the unused offices stack and return the officeholder's family member to that player's supply.
4. Restore Local Authority. Remove the Governor overlay, any Company ship, and any unrest in the region, and place a dome back in the region with one tower level (place the appropriate flag if this region fell as part of a successful Invasion Crisis). Place the region's control token back with the loot side facedown. If triggered by an Invasion Crisis, close every open order in the region, resolving a Cascade if all are already closed.
5. Company Humiliation. Lower the Company's Standing by one to the left for each region lost this turn (including this region). E.g. the first lost region lowers Standing by 1 space, the second by an additional 2 spaces, etc. This can cause Company failure.

Elephant's March

After resolving some events, the Elephant will move. First, check for Imperial Ambitions. Otherwise, it will move to the region pictured on the top of the draw stack.

• Imperial Ambitions. After resolving a successful Invasion Crisis, the Elephant will always be moved to the successful capital's region, regardless of which tile is on top of the draw stack.

After moving the Elephant, determine its position:

• If the region is Company-controlled, put the Elephant in the center of the region.
• If the region is currently dominated by another region, place the Elephant on the border facing its current sovereign to indicate a looming Rebellion.
• If the region is sovereign, place the Elephant on the border matching the shape (circle, triangle, or square) printed on the tile to indicate a looming Invasion, facing towards the region on the other side of that border. If the Elephant faces a region already dominated by the acting region, use the first clockwise region from that border where this is not true.
  • Fully-Formed Empires. If all neighbors are dominated, place the Elephant on the border matching the shape on the Elephant redirect arrow, pointing at the empire's capital.

Events Described

• Turmoil. Close the northernmost open order in the region pictured on the top of the draw stack. Any writer on the order is returned to that player's supply. If all orders in this region are already closed, perform a Cascade.
• Windfall. Players take £1 from the bank for each writer they have on an order in the region pictured on the top of the draw stack and all adjacent regions.
• Shuffle. First, perform the Elephant's March. Then, shuffle this tile in with the remainder of the draw stack. Finally, shuffle the discards and place them on top of the draw stack, facedown.
• Leader. If the region pictured on the top of the draw stack is sovereign, add a tower level to it. Otherwise, treat this event as a Rebellion in the pictured region with a strength modifier equal to the number on the explosion symbol.
• Peace. Open any orders that are connected through the border the Elephant stands on. Then add one tower level to each region touching the Elephant that is not controlled by the Company. If the Elephant was wholly within a region, open all orders in that region and remove any unrest. Then, perform the Elephant's March.
• Crisis. Like Peace, the location of the Crisis is determined by the placement of the Elephant piece. The Elephant's tail indicates the attacker. The Elephant's head indicates the defender. After resolving a Crisis, perform the Elephant's March.

Invasion. If the attacker is a sovereign region, resolve an Invasion. Determine whether the attacker's strength (including any empire) plus the modifier listed on the event tile is greater than the defender's strength (including any empire). If so, the Invasion is successful. If successful, remove any flag on the defending region's dome and place a flag matching the attacker.

• Shattered Empire. If the defending region was a capital, any flags matching its empire are returned to the supply.
• New Empire. If the attacker was successful and does not have a flag, place any flag with a star still in the supply on their dome. If none remain, no new empire is formed.
• If the Invasion failed, remove one tower level from the attacker.

Rebellion. If the attacker is a dominated region, resolve a Rebellion. The Crisis is only between a dominated region and the region that dominates it. Determine whether the attacker's strength plus the modifier is greater than the defender's strength. When a Rebellion is successful the attacking region is now sovereign. Return its flag to the supply. Then, close every open order in the attacking region (Cascade if all closed). If the Rebellion failed, remove one tower level from the capital.

Attacks Against the Company

Both Invasions and Rebellions against Company-controlled regions are resolved the same way. Whenever attacked by any type of Crisis, the Company must resolve the Crisis (called the primary Crisis) and then must resolve an additional Rebellion Crisis in each other region with unrest cubes:

• Order of Resolution. Always resolve the primary Crisis first. Then, starting with the Commander of the Army of Bombay and proceeding downwards, each Commander resolves attacks in regions associated with their Presidency.
  • Vacant Commander. If the Commander is vacant, Military Affairs will act in its stead. If that office is also vacant, the Chairman will choose. The acting player will not lose or gain trophies.
• Attack Strength. In the primary Crisis, calculate strength depending on the Crisis type. In addition, add one to the strength for every unrest in this region. In other regions, the strength of each Rebellion is equal to the number of unrest in that region.
• Mounting Defense. The Commander associated with the region must exhaust pieces in the Army equal to the strength of the Crisis or as many as possible. If the newly-exhausted pieces do not equal the strength of the Crisis, the Crisis succeeds. Perform the steps of Region Loss. If the attack failed, remove all unrest in the attacked region and the Commander takes a trophy token.
• Failed and Successful Invasions. If the primary Crisis was an Invasion that failed, remove one tower level from the attacking region if possible. If it was successful follow the rules of empire creation and growth.

Foreign Invasion. Roll the storm die and resolve an Invasion Crisis and/or Attack against the Company in each region linked to a storm (Bombay for West Indian, Madras for South Indian, and Bengal for East Indian). If all storms are rolled, resolve once in each. If no storms are rolled, resolve in the region on the top card of the draw stack instead. For each event, roll a die. Treat this like an Invasion with strength equal to the roll. If successful: close every open order in the region (Cascade if all closed); return any flag on this region's dome to the supply; set the region's strength to half the strength of the Invasion (round down).

VIII. Parliament Meets

The player with the Prime Minister dial must select a law and bring it up for a vote. They do this by drawing and revealing, one at a time, up to three cards from the law deck and selecting one. The remainder are discarded. However, if a dilemma (indicated at the top of the card) is drawn, the Prime Minister must stop drawing and select that law.

After selecting the law, the Prime Minister must select a policy by rotating the dial's arm either clockwise or counter-clockwise. The Prime Minister must stop at the first space that matches the icon printed on the bottom of the law card. Each space on the Policy track has a policy consequence and a target. There are three policy consequences:

• Tax. Each player must pay £1 to the bank for each target they own. For each they cannot pay for, the target should be returned to its supply (this includes the Chairman!).
  • Window Tax. Some tax policy spaces have a window icon. If a law passes and this space is selected, all players must pay cash equal to the number of window icons associated with each of their family members on a prize and each of their enterprises. If they cannot, the enterprise or family member on the prize is returned to its supply.
• Bonus. Each player takes £1 from the bank for each target they own.
• Power. Swap the position of the Power marker matching the target with the next higher Power marker. If already in the highest position, swap the position of any two other Power markers.

Next, the Prime Minister reads the text of the law aloud and marks its starting support (printed on bottom right of law) using the Votes marker on its track.

Voting

Starting with the Prime Minister, players take turns voting. After all players have had a chance to vote, the Prime Minister can decide to initiate an additional round of voting or to stop and resolve the vote. If no votes were cast in the round, the vote must be resolved.

A player's votes come from several sources. Each £1 they spend from their family treasury is worth 1 vote. In addition, any card in their play area is worth votes equal to the number of vote icons on the card. As players vote, adjust the Votes marker one space for each vote cast. Players may advance or lower the marker. There is no limit to the number of votes that can be cast.

• The Opposition. Any player who votes against the law is part of the opposition. Once a player votes against a law, they may not vote in favor of it later during that vote. A player who previously voted for the law may change their mind and join the opposition with later votes.
  • The Opposition Leader. The player who has cast the most votes against the law is the Opposition Leader and takes the Opposition Leader marker. If there is a tie, the previous holder continues to hold it.
  • Coalitions in Opposition. Players may cast votes on behalf of another player with that player's consent.
  • The Prime Minister's Honor. The Prime Minister cannot vote against the current law or consent to their enterprises being used to vote for that purpose.

Resolving the Vote

When voting stops, the law passes or fails depending on the position of the Votes marker:

• If the law has -1 support or less, it fails. Discard the law, resolving any "If Failed" effects if it is a dilemma. Then, the player with the Opposition Leader token returns it to the supply and takes the Prime Minister wheel. The new Prime Minister moves the selected policy to either adjacent space on the Policy track and then resolves its effect.

• Otherwise, the law passes. Place the law near the board next to other passed laws. The Prime Minister takes a passed law token. Then, resolve the policy consequence in the space selected and then any immediate effects of the law.

• Legislated Company Failure. If a law causes the Company to fail, the game is over. Finish resolving the vote then perform Final Scoring.

The Vote to Deregulate

In the 1758 and long 1710 scenarios, the Prime Minister may initiate a special session of Parliament at the start of the turn before the London Season phase. To do this, the Company Standing marker and/or Company Debt marker must be on a lined space. If at least one of these markers is on a space marked with a star, the Prime Minister must initiate a special session to vote on Deregulation.

If the vote passes, lower Company Debt one space for every two Debt and place the Standing marker on the space marked "S." The Prime Minister gains a passed law token. If the law fails, increase the value of Company shares by placing (or flipping) the Company share victory point token in the Court (shares cannot be worth more than +/-3 victory points). This law is not associated with a policy. If it fails, the current Prime Minister remains in power and this law is not discarded.

IX. Upkeep and Refresh

Everyone must pay for their family members on prizes. Each is paid for individually, using the indicated amount on that prize. If a player cannot pay for a prize's expense, instead return the family member to its supply and lower their owner's victory point marker by that prize's value.

Players now prepare the board for the next turn. If it is the final turn of the game, skip this step and proceed to Final Scoring.

• Return writers to their associated Presidency.
• Return filled order tokens and Presidency dividers to the supply.
• Return all extra ships to the supply.
• Any exhausted officers and regiments become active. Any active local alliances are exhausted.
• Then, advance the turn marker and proceed with the first phase.

Deregulation

These rules are in play during the 1813 scenario. In addition, they may be triggered if players vote to deregulate the Company during the long 1710 scenario or the 1758 scenario.

Firms

Players may now own shares in and manage firms. Firms can trade in India independently of the Company and provide shareholders with alternate ways to score victory points.

The Two Firm Treasuries. Each firm has two treasury boxes:

• London Treasury. Used to pay expenses and fit new ships. Any cash raised from investments is placed here. Players may not transfer cash in their family treasury to or from firm treasuries!
• India Treasury. Holds revenue gained from trade in India. Used to pay dividends and expenses. Any remainder is then transferred to the London treasury.

Dissolving a Firm. If all shareholders consent, a firm may be dissolved following the firm dissolution rules.

Special Retirement. During the London Season phase, each player with at least one firm share may take one additional retirement using a piece from their supply instead of a pensioner. The total amount of money spent for this retirement cannot exceed the value of the highest total dividend paid out by a firm in which they own a share. Only one special retirement can be taken.

• Disreputable Firms. A firm that has not yet placed its dividend cube or has its dividend cube on the zero space may not be used for any special retirement.

Firms in Final Scoring. At the start of Final Scoring, players will score or lose the number of victory points indicated by the firm's value for each firm share they own or each family piece they have in Debtor's Prison. Then, regardless of Company success or failure, shareholders may perform one special retirement before proceeding with the rest of Final Scoring.

The Firms Phase

After the Family phase is complete and before the Hiring phase, players will perform the Firms phase. The Firms phase has two steps: Firm Investments and Firm Strategy.

Firm Investments. This step has no set order. The phase ends when no player wishes to take further actions. Restrictions:

• Weak Company Shares. If the Company Standing and/or Debt marker is on a lined space, you may not use Company shares to form a firm or invest.
• Immature Company Shares. You may not invest with a Company share that was created this turn.

Actions:

• Forming a Firm. A player who does not currently manage a firm may form one by returning one of their Company shares to its supply or flipping one workshop to its invested side. Flip your family board over to its firm charter side. Place one family member from your supply on the firm's Shares box. Place one of your cubes on the leftmost space of the Value track. Add £5 from the bank to this firm's London treasury. You are now the firm manager.
• Court and Workshop Investment. With the consent of the firm's manager, players may invest in a firm. For each investment, add £5 from the bank to this firm's London treasury and place a family member on the firm's Shares box. To invest, a player must first either return one of their Company shares to its supply or flip one of their workshops to its invested side.
  • Invested Workshops. An invested workshop is not scored if the Company fails and no longer generates a bonus.
  • Firm Share Limit. Firms may only have 10 shares.
• Acquiring Ships as a Firm. A firm manager may spend cash from the firm's London treasury to fit ships on shipyards (each costs £3), placed on the firm's charter, only with the consent of the shipyard owner. A firm manager may also buy any player-owned ship in the Company with its owner's consent (£3 unfatigued, £2 fatigued; money added to the Shipping office's treasury). Firms may not acquire Company ships or extra ships.
• Hostile Takeovers. If you do not manage a firm and have the consent of players who collectively hold a majority of a firm's shares, you may initiate a hostile takeover.
• Mergers. Firm managers may consolidate any number of firms into a single firm through a negotiated merger. The highest value firm among those merging is the primary firm. All involved firms must have the full consent of every shareholder.

Firm Strategy. After the Firm Investments step, all firm managers must simultaneously and secretly decide their trading sea zone and how much money to spend trading. They indicate this by placing the matching firm strategy card facedown and placing the money they wish to spend on the matching box. A firm may select a sea zone as long as they have at least one ship. Firm managers that do not wish to trade may select the "Hobnob" strategy (no cash placed; will not trade or pay dividends but keeps its previous dividend marker for special retirements).

Filling Orders as a Firm. At the start of a Presidency's Operations, any firm with a strategy associated with that Presidency reveals their strategy and makes a check with dice equal to the cash allocated. If at least one success is rolled, the firm may trade. Each firm that successfully trades has an initiative value equal to the total of their ships minus the number of successful dice they rolled. Players fill orders starting with the firm or Company with the lowest initiative. Firms fill a number of open orders up to the number of ships they own plus one, starting with the home port. When a firm first fills an order, mark it with a filled order token and add the value to the firm's India treasury.

• Previously-Filled Orders. Firms may fill orders previously filled this turn by other firms or the Company (and vice versa); this generates half of the listed value, rounding down.

Finally, advance your firm's Value marker one space for each £6 you added to the firm's India treasury this turn.

Firm Expenses and Dividends. At the start of the Revenue phase, before the Company pays expenses, firms will pay expenses and dividends in initiative order.

• Firm Expenses and Dissolution. Each firm must pay £1 for each ship on the firm's charter, and £1 for each share in the firm's Share box or £ equal to the firm value, whichever is higher. If a firm cannot pay expenses it must be dissolved: move each share piece to the Debtor's Prison box (pieces here lower a player's score by one victory point), return ships to shipyards, and flip the charter back to the family side. A firm facing dissolution may receive Emergency Investments or participate in an Emergency Merger.
• Firm Dividends. The manager may choose to pay out a number of dividends using cash in the firm's India treasury. For each dividend, £1 for each share is paid to the owning player, and £1 is given to the manager. Any shareholder may elect to not be paid for any number of their shares on any dividend, so long as the manager consents. Then, the firm manager records the total amount of cash paid in dividends by placing the firm's dividend cube on the Company Balance track (used to determine max special retirement value). Finally, any cash remaining in the India treasury moves to the London treasury.

Firms and Storms. When rolling for storms, treat all firm ships as if they were in the sea zone indicated by the firm's strategy. If the strategy was "Hobnob," firm ships will not be affected by storms.

Playing with One or Two (The Crown)

In the solo and two player game, you will be playing against the Crown. The Crown is sometimes keen to see the Company succeed and at other times seeks for the Company to fail. You must negotiate with the Crown and influence their decision-making to seize victory for yourself. You do so via a set of 12 Crown promise cubes. The game follows all of the standard multiplayer rules, with adjustments described in the Crown Handbook.

Setup

Set up a game in any scenario (the 1710 scenario is recommended for a first game with the Crown). Before dealing setup cards:

1. The Crown uses the family board titled "The Crown."
2. Give the Crown the family members of two players, so they have 36 pieces instead of 18.
3. Divide the 12 Crown promise cubes equally between the Crown and the human players (6 each in a solo game, 4 each in a 2-player game).
4. The Crown sits last in order in respect to whoever was Chairman during setup.

For solo, shuffle the 12 setup cards, draw 3, keep 1, and give 2 to the Crown; repeat 3 more times (soloist finishes with 4, Crown with 8). For two players, set up as a 3-player game with the Crown as one family; each player draws 3, keeps 2, gives 1 to the Crown; repeat 2 times.

The Player Button (2-player). Designate one component as the Player Button. When the Crown must decide between the two players, they select the player holding the Player Button, who then immediately passes it to the other player.

Difficulty

• Easy. 5 promise cards are available to each player, which can be traded for promise cubes.
• Normal. Promise cards are not available for trading for promise cubes.
• Hard. As Normal, but also give 4 more promise cubes to the Crown.
• Expert. As Hard, but also give the Crown 3 extra setup cards.

Gameplay

The Crown Handbook determines the behavior and interactions of the Crown during each game, often affected by the current climate (determined by the current AI card). Throughout the game, players can modify the actions of the Crown by spending promise cubes, and gain promise cubes by acting in ways beneficial to the Crown.

Favors and Promise Cubes. In most phases, promise cubes can be exchanged to/from the Crown via a favor. There are two kinds of favors: those that require you to pay promise cubes to the Crown (red box) and those that force the Crown to give you promise cubes (blue box). Favors are only available during the resolution of the indicated phase or step. You may never perform a favor you cannot fully pay. Some favors are mandatory and must be performed if the conditions are met.

Credits

Game Design, Graphic Design, and Research: Cole Wehrle. Development: Drew Wehrle (Second Edition), Chas Threlkeld (First Edition). Design of the Crown: Richard Wilkins. Art: Janek Lipiński, Amita Pai, Amarjeet Bitke, Corey DeVore. Editor: Travis D. Hill.

John Company: Second Edition. Published by Wehrlegig Games llc. Licensed under Creative Commons license BY–NC–SA 4.0.