Liberation
Liberation Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
COMPONENTS
4 Map cards, 14 City cards
SETUP
Shuffle the Map cards, flipping and rotating them at random; then lay them out in a 2x2 grid to represent the galaxy.
Shuffle the 14 City cards into a face-down deck, with the I oriented to the top. Place the deck on one side of the Map.
Discard the top card to form the face-down discard pile on the opposite side of the map.
Each player draws 3 cards.
CHOOSING ROLES
Dynasty: Choose a player to play the Dynasty. The Dynasty places one of their cards face up in front of them. This is the first City they occupy.
The Dynasty's goal is to find and attack their opponent's secret base.
Liberation: The other player is the Liberation. The Liberation places one of their cards face down in front of them. This is their secret base.
The Liberation's goal is to gain enough support to survive for 3 ACTS.
An ACT ends when the deck needs to be shuffled.
The Dynasty takes the first turn, and then players alternate turns.
CITY CARD ANATOMY
Each City card shows: a planet icon and reference letter in the top corner, the City name and City description across the top, a City category icon, a Liberation Mission (with its cost) below the art, and a Dynasty Mission (with its cost) at the bottom.
DYNASTY TURN
STEP 1: You may draw a card, unexploit an exploited City (see below), or do neither.
STEP 2: You may take one Action:
Mission: Reveal a card from your hand to perform its Mission and then discard it. If the mission has a cost, you must pay the cost first.
Exploit a City: Rotate a card 90 degrees, to a horizontal position, using that City listed on it to do one of the following:
Occupy: Choose a City card from your hand that is adjacent (connected by 1 line on the map) to the City you exploited, and place it face up in front of you. You occupy that City.
Attack: Name a City adjacent to the City you exploited. If the Liberation has that City's card in their hand, take the card and occupy or discard it (your choice). If you attack the Liberation's secret base, you win!
Mission: Perform the Dynasty Mission of the City you exploited. If the Mission has a cost, you must pay the cost first in addition to exploiting the City.
Unexploit a City: Rotate a card 90 degrees, back to a vertical position.
STEP 3: Discard down to 3 cards. (Discards are face down.)
Tip: There are two different ways for the Dynasty player to use a card's Mission. If in hand, you can reveal it and discard it. And if it's an occupied City, you can exploit it to use its Mission.
LIBERATION TURN
STEP 1: You may draw a card.
STEP 2: You may take one Action:
Evade: Return your base card to your hand and then secretly put down either the same City card or an adjacent (connected by 1 line on the map) City card as your new base.
Sabotage: Name a City that is either adjacent to a card from your hand, or is adjacent to your base. If the Dynasty has that card in their hand, they discard it.
Mission: Reveal a card from your hand to perform its Liberation Mission and then discard the card. If the Mission has a cost, you must pay the cost first.
STEP 3: Discard down to 3 cards. (Discards are face down.)
RESHUFFLING THE DECK
When the deck is empty and a player tries to draw a card, reshuffle the discard pile into a new draw pile.
After you shuffle, rotate the deck for the next act.
GAME END / VICTORY
The game ends on the following conditions:
Liberation: The game ends with a Liberation victory after ACT III (the third time the deck has been emptied and needs to reshuffle). When the third reshuffle would occur, the game ends.
Dynasty: The game ends with a Dynasty victory if the Dynasty attacks the Liberation's secret base.
BALANCE ADJUSTMENTS
If two players are coming from different skill levels or play styles, feel free to make the following adjustments during setup:
DISCARD 0 CARDS — Easier for Dynasty.
DISCARD 1 CARD — Standard recommended setup.
DISCARD 2 CARDS — Easier for Liberation.
GLOSSARY / REFERENCE
Each City is in a specific category, and all Cities of the same category share the same Missions.
| Category | Liberation Mission | Dynasty Mission |
|---|---|---|
| Political Center | Public Support | Propaganda Campaign |
| Weapons Factory | Armed Resistance | Deploy Superweapon |
| Shipyard | Mobilize Base | Launch Fleet |
| Research Station | Design Flaw | Deep-Space Probe |
| Underworld | Recruit Spy | Recruit Spy |
Occupy: The Dynasty places a City card face up in front of them to occupy it. That City is now occupied. The number of occupied Cities is not limited. The Liberation never occupies Cities.
Exploit: Rotate an occupied City card 90° to mark it as exploited. To unexploit a City, rotate it back to normal.
Attack: The Dynasty names a City to attack. If the Liberation has that City's card in their hand, the Dynasty takes it and chooses to occupy or discard it. But if the City is the secret base, the Dynasty wins!
Sabotage: The Liberation names a City to sabotage. If the Dynasty has that City's card in their hand, they reveal and discard it. Occupied Cities are unaffected.
Costs: A Mission's cost is shown as one or more icons. The discard icon means discard 1 other card from your hand. The exploit icon means exploit 1 other City.
CREDITS
Design: Jon Simantov
Art: Sara Beauvais
Rules Editing: Travis D. Hill
2018 Button Shy Games
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