Manchukuo Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Village Board
  • School Board
• Overview and Objective
  • A Note on Historical Context
• How to Play (Summary)
• Day Phase
  • 1) Assign Students
  • 2) Take Bonus Action (Optional)
  • 3) Take Primary Action (Optional)
  • Assigning Your Last Student
• Night Phase
  • 1) Recruit Students
  • 2) Assemble and Feed Students
  • 3) Gain Wisdom or Suspicion
  • 4) Train with Your Disciples
  • 5) Refresh the Game Board
• Game End and Final Scoring
• Wise Students
• Meditation

Components

• 1x Village Board
• 7x Location Boards
• 4x School Boards
• 17x gold "Clever" students
• 17x gray "Swift" students
• 17x blue "Strong" students
• 12x red "Wise" students
• 15x Family Cards
• 27x Repair Cards
• Tools, Food, Coin, Wisdom, and Offering resource tokens
• 8x School Trackers
• 12x Disciple cards (4x Clever, Strong, and Swift)
• 1x First Player Marker
• 28x Restriction cards (7x per school)
• 1x Patrol Tile
• 1x Student Bag
• 1x Round Tracker

Setup

Village Board

1. Unfold the Village board and place it in the center of the play area.

2. Lay out the location boards in a circle surrounding the Village board, starting at the top and proceeding clockwise in order: Temple (2a), Factory (2b), Fields (2c), Commons (2d), Workers' Quarter (2e), Bank (2f), and Market (2g). Place the Patrol tile (2h) between the Commons and Workers' Quarters.

3. Populate the residences: gather 4 Strong, 4 Clever, 4 Swift, and 2 Wise students. Place those students into the bag. Place two random students from the bag into each residence. A residence is one of the seven homes outlined with white on the Village board.

4. Establish resource token supplies: place all food beside the Fields, all tools beside the Factory, all coins beside the Bank, and all wisdom and offerings beside the Temple.

5. Shuffle all Repair cards to form the Repair deck. Place it beside the Workers' Quarter location, then draw a card from that deck and place it face-up in each of the Workers' Quarter's three spaces.

6. Sort the Family cards by type, and shuffle each stack. Display these stacks face-up beside each other to form the Commons Row. A Family card's type is determined by its labor value: the number indicated in its meeple-shaped icon.

7. Establish the Town Square: place the first player token into the Town Square (the outlined area at the center of the Village board). Then draw one random student from the bag for each player beyond the first, and add those students to the Town Square beside the first player marker.

8. Take six red "Wise" students from the bag, and place one beside each altar at the Temple.

9. Place the round tracker on the first space of the Village board's round track.

School Board

10. Choose a style (crane, mantis, monkey, or tiger) and collect all of that style's matching colored components: school board, school markers, and restriction cards.

11. Lay your school board in front of you, in the center of your play area.

12. Place one of your school markers on the Village board's prominence track, at the "0" space. Place your other school marker on the shaded space of your school board's suspicion track (12a).

13. Deal one Clever, one Strong, and one Swift Disciple to each player. Players should then orient their Disciple cards in such a way that their indicated "Starting Skill Level" for each Disciple faces their school boards appropriately (see below).

14. Collect student meeples in each color equal to your Disciple's skill level, and place them in the leftmost and topmost slots available on your School board. All players should begin with exactly six students in their schools.

15. Collect the starting resources indicated on your School board, and place them beside your board to form your personal supply.

16. Shuffle your restriction cards to form your restriction deck, and place it face-down beside your school board. Draw one card as your starting restriction, and place it face-up nearby.

17. Return all unused students to the bag. Randomly determine the starting player.

Overview and Objective

In Manchukuo, you take the role of a teacher and elder in northeast China, and your goal is to emerge from the other end of your village's occupation with the greatest reputation and most prominent style of martial arts.

At the end of the fifth game round, proceed to final scoring. The player with the most prominent style (most VP) wins.

A Note on Historical Context

By 1932, Japanese armies had spread through northeast China, and installed Puyi as the emperor of their new puppet state: Manchukuo.

This was the start of a tragic occupation that would last until the Japanese surrender at the end of the second World War.

This game focuses on the stories behind the leaders of the communities within Manchukuo, who were often teachers and masters of their own styles of martial arts. During a time when so many were displaced or persecuted, it often fell to these leaders to see to the needs of those around them, and resist in whatever ways they could. While this is a competitive game, the competition between players only represents the benign rivalry that existed among the allies that stood together against great adversity. The specific schools and styles depicted in this game are fictionalized--styles with animal attributions were not prevalent during this period in northeast China.

Manchukuo is the setting of so many more stories than these, and we encourage you to learn more about them.

How to Play (Summary)

Manchukuo is played over a series of five game rounds, each round consisting of a Day Phase and a Night Phase.

Day Phase: Assign students from your school to tasks around town. Gather resources at the field, factory, bank, and market. Spend these resources at the workers' quarter to repair damaged buildings, or at the commons to assist families that have been displaced by the conflict, thus improving your school's reputation.

At the end of the day phase, the students you've assigned to the board will determine what students you recruit to teach at your school during the night phase.

Night Phase: After recruiting and feeding your students, you will begin training with them in secret to continue spreading your art.

Assembly of students is illegal, and too great a gathering can draw unwanted suspicion!

However, the more students you have, the more effectively you'll be able to train, and the more you will be able to act during the next round.

Day Phase

Each Day Phase, perform the steps noted below, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise in order. The Day Phase ends once all players have assigned all of the students in their schools.

1) Assign Students

Choose a location board, and assign any number of ready students in your school to your reserved space (matching your school's icon) on that location. Make sure you are following the rules of all of your restrictions (see: Restrictions).

The Patrol: When assigning to a location adjacent to the patrol, gain 2 suspicion. However, you may pay up to two wisdom, and avoid one suspicion for each wisdom you spend in this way!

Restrictions: During this time in history, the occupying armies often abused their power over towns like yours. Your Restriction cards represent the local garrison limiting your and your students' activities.

When assigning students to tasks, you must obey the rules shown on all of the Restriction cards in your play area.

You will gain an additional Restriction card each time your school marker completes a lap around your board's Suspicion Wheel.

Example: Here, the Crane school assigns three students to the Bank location. The Crane player places these students into the outlined space reserved for their school, to track who assigned these students to the location.

Bribing the Garrison: By paying coins to the bank as indicated on your Restriction card, you may ignore a Restriction until the end of your turn. After your turn ends, the Restriction is immediately effective once again. You may pay a Bribe to ignore that Restriction on a future turn, and you may pay multiple Bribes to ignore more than one Restriction during your turn.

Example: Here, the "Harassment" restriction prevents the Mantis school from assigning students to an occupied location unless they assign more students than each other player already has present. Since the Crane school has three students at the location, the Mantis school would need to assign four or more students, or pay a bribe!

2) Take Bonus Action (Optional)

If you have taught your students well, then they will be able to apply your lessons to excel at their tasks in one of two ways: by gaining the bonus effect printed on your Disciple cards, or by spending wisdom to enhance the action at their location. You cannot do both in the same turn!

2a) Gain Disciple Bonuses: By assigning two or more students that share a type to a single task, you may trigger the bonus ability shown on your matching Disciple card. Immediately gain the resource(s) shown at the top edge of that Disciple card. The higher the Disciple's current level, the better the bonus.

2b) Enhance Action with Wisdom: Work smart, not hard! Spend any amount of Wisdom to perform the assigned task as though you had assigned that many additional Students to it. This extra labor value can enhance the output of the action you are taking at that location (see: page 7).

Wisdom spent in this way does not count towards or against your Restrictions, and it is not counted when determining majorities during the "Recruit New Students" step of the Night Phase (see: "Night Phase - Recruit Students").

Example: Since the Crane player assigned more than one Strong student, they may choose to gain a Disciple bonus. The Crane player's Strong Disciple is currently level 3 (as shown in the number at the Disciple card's top edge), so they may gain either one wisdom or two tools.

The Crane player spends one wisdom to increase their labor value for the task. This wisdom is returned to the bank, and the increased labor value applies during step 3 of the player's turn in the Day Phase.

3) Take Primary Action (Optional)

After you have taken your bonus action, count the number of students (and wisdom, if applicable) that you assigned to the location this turn. This number is your labor value, and will determine the output of your primary action at the location.

The three students the Crane player assigned to the Bank produce labor value of three. For three labor at the Bank, the Crane player will collect three coins from the supply.

Your labor value is spent in different ways at different locations. This can include:

Labor to Gather Resources (Factory, Fields, and Bank): Labor assigned at these locations will gather the indicated number of resources from the supply. The more labor you assign to the task, the more resources you will gather.

Labor to Assist the Community (Commons and Workers' Quarter): Labor assigned to the Commons and Workers' Quarter can be divided among the labor costs shown among the cards at that location: Family cards at the Commons, and Repair cards at the Workers' Quarter. By satisfying the labor requirements on one or more cards, and paying any of their additional resource costs, you may complete that card and receive its rewards.

The Repair card's cost: two labor, three tools, and one coin.

When completing a Family card, gain the rewards printed, and then move that Family card to the bottom of its stack. That family will not need help again for some time!

When completing a Repair card, gain the prominence points shown above its text box, then take that card and place it in your play area. This new safe haven for you and your students will allow you to benefit from its printed ability. These cards can lend you special powers immediately, at the end of the game, or during special timing windows. (At the end of your turn, refill the Repair row with new draws.)

Labor to Trade (Market Only): Each labor assigned to the Market will allow you to make a single exchange across one of the two trade lanes. For example, one labor might be used to trade two food for a coin, or two wisdom for an offering.

Visit the Temple (Temple Only): For two labor, you may choose one space at the Temple (or two different spaces, for three labor), and spend the indicated number of offerings to gain the indicated prominence. If you were the first player to make this specific offering, you also take the Wise (red) student from that space and move it to your meditation chamber. For example, spending 3 offerings would grant you 6 prominence (and possibly a Wise student, if no other player before you had turned in a set of exactly 3 offerings).

Assigning Your Last Student

At the end of your turn during the Day Phase, if you just assigned your last student to the board, you must immediately take one of the remaining items from the Town Square: either a student, or the first player marker for the next round.

If you take a student in this fashion, it is placed in your school's meditation chamber. It cannot be assigned this turn.

During the game's fifth round, gain 1 prominence if you take the first player marker.

The Day Phase continues until all players have assigned all of their students. If you have run out of students before the other players, you will simply skip any further turns you would have had.

Night Phase

The Night Phase begins once all students have been assigned to the game board. During the Night, players will perform the following steps simultaneously:

1. Recruit Students
2. Assemble and Feed Students
3. Gain Wisdom or Suspicion
4. Train with Disciples
5. Refresh the Game Board

1) Recruit Students

At each location on the game board, check to see who has assigned the most students to the location. The player with the most students at that location recruits all of the students in that location's linked residence, then places the students they assigned at the location into that same residence, effectively exchanging them.

All other players' students at the location return to their originating School's Meditation Chamber.

If two or more players are tied for majority at a location, all students assigned at that location are returned to their Schools. The students in the residence remain untouched until next round.

Example: The Crane school has the most students assigned to the Bank. The Crane player moves the students in that location's residence to their meditation chamber (1), then moves the students they assigned to the location to the residence (2). The Monkey and Mantis player each move the students they assigned to the location back to their respective meditation chambers (3)(4).

2) Assemble and Feed Students

First, move all students from your meditation chamber (which you recruited in step 1) onto the available spaces on your school board. Place them as far left and as far up as possible.

Then, check the set of icons beneath the column that holds the student farthest to the right on your board. You must pay this amount of food to the supply.

If you do not have enough food to feed your students, you must gain one suspicion for each food you cannot pay (see below). Note: You do not lose your unfed students.

Since the Crane school has seven total students, they must pay three food.

Your school can only fit a maximum of 12 students. If you have more than 12, any in excess of 12 are arrested and returned to the bag!

3) Gain Wisdom or Suspicion

Just beneath the icons showing the food to pay in step 2, your school board will show you whether you gain wisdom or suspicion.

A smaller class will allow you to better exchange ideas, and wisely avoid the notice of the garrison. With six or fewer students, take the indicated wisdom tokens from the supply.

Make too much noise, and the garrison will begin to notice your activities! With seven or more students, advance your school marker one space clockwise on your suspicion wheel for each suspicion icon shown at the base of the column. If this causes your marker to land on or pass the wheel's shaded space, immediately draw a card from your restriction deck and lay it face-up beside your other restriction(s). Remember, you must obey all of your restriction cards each time you assign students to the Village board!

With seven students, the Crane player must advance their school marker one space on their suspicion wheel. Since that completes a lap on the wheel, the Crane player draws another Restriction card!

With four or fewer students, you will be able to recruit additional students. For each icon of this type at the base of your rightmost column, you may draw one student randomly from the bag and add that student directly to your school.

Note: You do not need to feed this student during this Night phase, but you will be able to count it when Training (see: Training with your Disciples).

4) Train with Your Disciples

For each of your Disciples, if you have more Students of that Disciple's type in your School than that Disciple's current Skill Level, that Disciple will "Level Up." A Disciple may only level up a maximum of once each round, and a Disciple will never decrease in Skill Level.

When you Level a Disciple Up, add one to its Skill Level, and then rotate it until it is oriented properly to reflect its new Skill Level.

Note: Each school board features a "trainer" outline on its sixth and eighth student spaces. If a trainer space does not hold a student during this step, you may count that trainer as though it were a student of any one type for training purposes.

The Crane school has three Clever students--not enough to level their level 3 Clever Disciple up. Three Swift students, however, are enough to advance their Swift Disciple to level 3. The Mantis player rotates the Strong Disciple, thereby improving the output of its bonus ability (see: "Take Bonus Action").

One Strong student is not enough to level the Crane player's Strong Disciple. However, with seven students, the Mantis player has left one trainer icon uncovered on their school board. This trainer may count as a student of any one type they choose, allowing the Strong Disciple to level up!

Promoting a New Master: When a Level 4 Disciple is able to level up, it flips over to become a Master. A Master has reached the pinnacle of what you are able to teach them, and cannot level up again.

Notably, Masters still provide a Disciple Bonus when you assign two or more Students of their color.

When you first level up a new Master, you may immediately send some of your students with the Master to help open a new School. You may return any number of Students of the Master's type to the bag, and gain 2 prominence for each Student you send away in this fashion.

Your School must keep a minimum of two students, and you cannot send away more Students than this rule would permit.

5) Refresh the Game Board

• If no students were assigned to the Workers' Quarter location this round, discard all of the cards on the Repair row, then replace them with fresh draws from the Repair deck.
• Note the first player, then return the first player marker to the Town Square.
• Advance the round tracker one space on the round track.
• Repopulate the Town Square to its starting quantity of students (one fewer than the number of players), using randomly drawn students from the bag.
• Move the Patrol: Determine the single location where the most students were assigned this turn, and move the Patrol tile so that it is positioned between that location and the next location clockwise in order. If two or more locations are tied for most students, the location nearest the Patrol clockwise in order breaks the tie.

If this was the end of the fifth round, proceed to end game and final scoring (see below). Otherwise, begin a new Day Phase, starting with the new first player.

Game End and Final Scoring

At the end of the fifth and final game round, take the following steps to calculate players' final scores:

• Gain one prominence for every three tools, two coins, two wisdom, and one offering that you have remaining in your supply.
• Gain "End of Game" prominence indicated on your Repair cards.
• Gain prominence equal to your Disciples' combined Skill Levels (Masters count as level 5).
• Lose 0/1/3/6/10 prominence for having 1/2/3/4/5+ Restrictions.
• Gain 1 prominence if you most recently took the first player marker from the Town Square.

The player with the most prominence wins! In case of a tie, the tied player with the most students wins. If a tie persists, the tied players share the victory.

Strategy Tip - Managing your Students: A large class means you could take on more restrictions, but you'll have more action during the Day phase; smaller class means you can assign more flexibly, but it may be more of a challenge to assist the community and recruit more students. Make sure you tailor your line of play to get the most out of your students, regardless of how many there may be!

Wise Students

Wise (red) students are special, and less common than their Clever, Strong, or Swift counterparts. Wise students are effectively wild, and can count as students of any type whenever their types are checked.

This can be significant in three different ways: while checking for Disciple Bonuses, while checking for certain restriction cards, and while training at night.

Wise Students and Disciple Bonuses: When you assign a Wise student, you may choose its type. Once you declare its type, it may trigger any Disciple bonuses as though it were a student of that type.

Wise Students and Restrictions: As noted above, you choose a Wise student's type as you assign it. Any Restrictions will apply to the type of student you choose to assign the Wise student as. If a Restriction checks the types of students already assigned to a location, or at its residence, then you may also choose those students' types as you assign. Note: the "Escort" restriction still must be observed, even if you choose the Wise students to count as other types.

Wise Students and Training: While training, Wise students count as trainers: you may choose each Wise student's type individually, allowing them to train as the student of that type for the Night phase. Each Wise student may only count as a single type during training.

Meditation

Your school board features a staging zone called the meditation chamber. This zone is used in two ways.

First, you may assign students to your meditation chamber on your turn during the Day phase. When you do so, you must assign all of your remaining students, then gain one wisdom (regardless of how many students you assigned here). Assigning students to meditate has no further effect, but those students are guaranteed to return to your school during the next Night phase.

Secondly, your meditation chamber is used to stage students that you recruit--either from locations at the beginning of the Night phase, or from other effects (such as the Wise student you recruit when making an offering at the Temple). Students in your meditation chamber cannot be assigned to tasks, and they will not join your school normally until step 2 of the Night phase. Note: you gain wisdom only when assigning students to meditate, not when you stage new students.