Manifest Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Winning
• Components
  • The Map and Board
• Standard Game Setup
• Taking a Turn
  • End of Turn
• Contracts
• Shipping Company Board
• Cargo
• Movement
• Pirate Attacks and Other Hazards
• Action Card Special Abilities
• Sample Turns
• Standard Game Frequently Asked Questions
• The Expert Game
  • Deck-Building Overview
  • Expert Game Components
  • Expert Game Winning
  • Expert Game Set Up
  • Expert Game Taking a Turn
  • Purchasing Action Cards
  • Cycling Action Cards
  • Upgrading Starter Cards
  • Starter Cards and Upgrades Explained
  • New Action Card Special Abilities
  • Expert Game Frequently Asked Questions
• Quick Start Reminder (for the Standard Game)

Overview

Manifest is a game of worldwide shipping in the 1920s. You get points for completing Contracts to pick up goods or passengers at their source and deliver them to a port where they are wanted.

Each player has two ships, represented on the map board by ship meeples and on-shore by a Company Shipping Board that shows what each ship is carrying. Cargo can be goods or people.

Action Cards let you move ships, spend money, or take steps to help yourself or bedevil opponents. You can play any or all of the Action Cards in your hand. You can combine actions as you like but each card can only do ONE of these things:

• Move a ship up to the move point value
• Spend $ to buy Contracts or load cargo
• Use special card abilities

You may decide to keep as many of your cards for future turns as you like. You may not discard cards - the only way to get them out of your hand is to play them.

Two games in one! Using the components and rules provided, you can play two very different versions of Manifest. The Standard Game is ideal for beginners and novice gamers. The Expert Game adds a deck building dimension for a more challenging gaming experience. The Standard rules are presented first, followed by the Expert version.

Tip for new shippers: Loading extra cargo helps mitigate against the risk of piracy or other losses, and may help you to complete more than one Contract.

Winning

When any player reaches the target number of Points (see the table below), all other players get one final turn. The winner is the player with the most points. If there's a tie, the player with the most cargo on ship is the winner. If still tied, shake hands.

Length of Game	2 Players	3 Players	4 Players	5 Players
45-60 min	15	13	12	11
60-90 min	20	17	16	15

Components

Standard Game

• A double-sided Game board, showing maps of the world with shipping routes and ports (A)
• 10 cargo ships of different colours. Each player plays two colours. (B)
• 54 Action cards. (C)
• 42 Contract cards. (D)
• 48 Cargo tokens (6 of 8 colours). (E)
• 24 Passenger meeples (6 of 4 colours). (F)
• 5 Player aid cards (not shown)
• 2 Dice, used only to resolve pirate attacks and other mishaps. (G)
• 5 Shipping Company Boards, showing ships of two colours. In the example in the rulebook the player will use the light and dark green ships. (H)

For the Expert Game

• 60 Colour-coded Starter & Upgrade cards
• 28 Deck-builder Action Cards

For the Variants

• A black pirate ship
• 5 Company Advantage cards

Note on the Variants: the booklet lists the black pirate ship and the Company Advantage cards as components and refers to "variant details on p.7" (under GET A WIGGLE ON, below), but the rules for these Variants are not printed in this booklet. Page 7 contains only the sample turns. Nothing about the Variants is transcribed here beyond the references that appear in the rules.

The Map and Board

• Supply ports: Ports that supply cargo are marked with symbols, e.g. Wool is available in Auckland and Perth.
• Map edge: At the east and west margins ships may cross over to the other side of the map. Moving a ship between the edge markers at the same latitude does not count as a move.
• Red routes: The red routes indicate pirate water.
• Dice: The dice are used to resolve pirate attacks and other hazards. See the Pirate Attacks section.
• Action Card Draw Pile: Players start with four Action Cards and replenish to four at the end of their turn.
• Action Card Discard Pile: Used Action Cards are placed here. When the Draw Pile runs out, the used cards are shuffled to form a new Draw Pile.
• Cargo tokens: Goods and passengers are represented throughout the game by cargo cubes and meeples.
• Contract Draw Pile: The back of the card indicates the price to buy the Contract. Once bought it becomes your Private Contract. The number on the front shows the points you will earn upon completing it.
• Public Contracts Area: Three Contracts are always displayed here. The first player to complete one, by delivering the cargo, can take the card and add it to their score. A Contract is completed when at least one token is delivered to its destination.
• Movement example: It costs two movement points to steam between Havana and New Orleans. See the Movement section.

Standard Game Setup

1. Tailor the supply of cargo tokens by the number of players: four of each type for two players, five for three, all six tokens for four or five players.
2. If playing the Standard game, set aside the cards with 'Deck-Builder' on the back.
3. Shuffle and deal four Action Cards to each player. Place the rest face down in Siberia as a Draw Pile.
4. Each player takes a Shipping Company Board and the two matching ship markers.
5. Give each player three Contract Cards (one each worth 1, 2 and 3 points). Shuffle and place the remaining contracts face down as a Draw Pile.
6. Players decide who will go first by any means desired or by rolling the two dice.
7. Players look at their cards, decide which two Contracts they want to keep and then donate the third Contract to the Public display, face down. Empty spaces must be filled before doubling up.
8. Then in turn, players place their ships in ports or at sea on the marked interchanges. More than one ship can be in the same place.
9. Finally, the Public Contracts are turned over to reveal the details. In a two-player game, draw a third Contract from the draw pile to fill the spare spot. With four or five players, flip the piles over so the first cards placed become the top Contracts.

Taking a Turn

A turn consists of playing any number of Action Cards from your hand. Each card can only be used for ONE purpose. Once used they are discarded face-up in the common discard pile. See the Sample Turns section for examples.

Play Action cards in any order you like, to optimise how you buy cargo and contracts, move ships and deliver cargo to complete contracts.

End of Turn

Draw back up to four Action Cards and fill any empty Public Contract spaces.

Contracts

Contracts are represented by a deck of cards placed face down on the board. The back of the card shows the cost of the contract. The front shows the type of cargo to be picked up and where to deliver it to fulfil the contract and gain points from it.

A Contract is completed when at least one token is delivered to its destination. It is free to deliver any number of cargo that fulfils a Contract.

• Buying a Contract: You can buy a face down Contract by paying the cost shown, using the $ on one or more Action cards. You can only see the Contract's details after buying it. Only the top one is available for purchase. You can look at the price of upcoming Contracts to see if you can afford more than just the top one.
• Once a Contract is bought, keep it with your Private Contracts. You can buy as many Contracts as you can afford, up to the hand limit of three.
• Public Contracts: There are also Public Contracts - three on open display. These cannot be bought and will instead go to the first person to complete them. There may be more than one Contract in each of the three piles. Only the three currently on top are available for completion. Whenever a space for a Public Contract is empty at the end of a turn, flip a Contract card from the deck to fill it.
• Dual Contracts: In the case of a dual Contract, two types of goods must be delivered. This can be achieved with one or both of your ships. You claim the points when you unload both types of cargo on the same turn.
• Scoring a Contract: On completing a Contract, place the card next to your Company Board with the points visible to all players. These points are tallied at game end.

Shipping Company Board

The two colour-coded ships on the board match the ship meeples in play on the game board.

• The numbered outlines are cargo holds that you use to display the cargo on board each ship. You may carry a mix of different cargo on a ship.
• Normally each ship has a capacity of four cargo units, but this can be temporarily increased to eight by using a 'Double Stacked' card.

Cargo

Cargo can be goods or passengers and can be loaded when your ship is at a port marked with the appropriate colour symbol, at a cost of $1 per token. If no tokens of that type are available in the Supply, you cannot load any.

Your ship may have a mix of cargo types and you may load them in any empty hold, however, once loaded, cargo cannot be rearranged. It is a good idea to load more than one of each type as they can be lost through piracy and other mishaps.

Upon reaching your destination, you can unload one or more of the relevant cargo tokens for free. ONE must be unloaded to complete a Contract. Delivered cargo is returned to the supply. You can make space for new cargo by paying to remove it at any port at a cost of $1 per item.

Movement

Ships move along shipping lanes. You must pay enough Move points to complete each leg of a journey, either to a port or to an interchange in the sea. Excess Move points are lost. Example: You need at least 4 Move points to travel from Perth to Melbourne.

You can combine the Move points on two or more Action Cards to move your ship one or more legs. You cannot split the Move points of one card between ships.

Once you do any port business, excess Move points (on already played cards) are lost. Ships may move further once a Contract is completed or cargo loaded, if you have more Move points to play.

Tail winds cease as soon as you stop for port business or roll for pirate attacks.

Note that the interchanges on the eastern and western edges of the map represent the same place. You can move from a map edge to its corresponding position on the other side of the map without paying any points.

Pirate Attacks and Other Hazards

Whenever you travel over a red route while carrying cargo, you may be attacked by pirates.

The dice procedure below also applies if you are attacked by a Roaming Pirate or other attack cards from another player.

Attack procedure:

1. The ship owner rolls two dice. Remove any cargo from the corresponding numbered cargo holds on the ship. Example: You have cargo in holds 1, 2 and 3. You roll a 1 and a 4. You lose the token in hold 1. If you have two tokens in one position (you may have played the Double Stacked card), lose one of your choice unless that hold number is rolled with both dice.
2. A double Pirate attack will sink your ship! Return all cargo on board to the supply. Put the ship meeple on your Company Board. On your next turn, you may redeploy your empty ship in any port.
3. After seeing the dice rolls, you can play a Pirate Defence card if you have one, to avoid taking any losses or sinking.
4. You must roll for each segment of pirate water you travel through, even if they are contiguous.
5. When you choose to stop and roll the dice, any Tail Wind stops too. You can risk taking a long haul and not stopping to roll until you've moved as far as the Tail Wind allows, the risk being if you lose cargo it's a longer way back to buy more.

Action Card Special Abilities

• CASH CRISIS: Give the card to an opponent: they cannot spend any money on their next turn. They discard it on their turn, after obeying the restriction.
• CONTRACT CONFUSION: Re-order the Public Contract display as you like. You may leave ONE space empty. If you play a second Confusion card then you may leave a second space empty.
• CONTRACT UP: Collect the next Contract from the Draw Pile for free if you hold fewer than three.
• DOCKSIDE THEFT: Attack an opponent's ship while it is in a port. They roll the two dice and you may collect and load any stolen cargo. You don't need to be in the same port as the ship being attacked. Double pirate dice will not sink a ship.
• DOUBLE STACKED: You may double-stack one ship in port, with up to eight tokens. Valid for ONE port visit only. Once you leave port you cannot add more cargo until your ship has empty positions at the lower level.
• DOUBLE WHAMMY: You can use BOTH the Move and $ values on this card, and apply them to the same or different ships.
• FREE TRADE: Swap onboard cargo for a new type, one for one. Your ship must be in the port that supplies the items you want to load.
• GET A WIGGLE ON: Swap or rotate Company Advantages. The Advantage cards change hands, but any advantages already gained are unaffected. See variant details on p.7 (see the note under Components).
• PIRATE DEFENCE: Protection from any type of piracy but not other hazards. Play this card instead of or after rolling the dice. Also prevents sinking. Once committed towards Movement, the card cannot then be used for Defence.

Sample Turns

Sample Turn (first example, panels A-D)

1. White Star spends $4 (A) to load Britannia with four British Engineers in London, then ...
2. Plays (B) Contract Confusion to rearrange the Public Contracts - exposing a Contract to take Engineers to Georgetown...
3. Plays (C) Renegotiate to swap an unwanted Contract from his hand for the Engineers Contract...
4. Holds on to Tail Wind (D) to use on his next turn..
5. Draws three new Action Cards to end his turn. He is now in a good position to set off on a fast journey with cargo that matches his new Contract.

Sample Turn (second example, panels A-F)

1. Turakina is in Los Angeles with three wool...
2. Refuels (A), so she now has five cards to play...
3. Plays (B) Double Stacked to allow her to... fast journey with cargo that matches his new Contract.
4. Spend $4 (C) to buy four motorcycles...
5. Plays (D) Tail Wind to allow her to...
6. Double the five Movement points on (E + F) to move ten from L.A. to Valparaiso...
7. Draws four new Action Cards to end her turn.

The sample turn text above is transcribed as printed. The printed sample-turn captions are truncated in the source ("...") and the page's panels (A-F) are diagrams that are not reproduced.

Standard Game Frequently Asked Questions

Can I deliver goods without a Contract? No.

What can I do to get rid of unwanted cargo? The surest way is to dump it in any port at a cost of $1 per token (cargo goes back to the supply), or use a Free Trade card to swap one-for-one. You can also travel pirate routes in the hope of being robbed or simply wait to get Contracts that require those goods.

Do uncompleted Contracts at game end count against me? No.

Can I spend money from one Action Card to load two ships? Yes, and you can split the money for different purposes e.g. $4 can get you three cargo tokens plus a $1 contract.

Can I swap cargo between my ships at all? No.

Does the Stock Market Crash affect the perpetrator? Yes.

Can I move my own ship using a Storm card? No. The Storm, Roaming Piracy and other attack cards are to be played on opponents only!

Who are all the people on the Action Cards? Backers who supported Manifest on Kickstarter.

When is a ship 'at sea'? When it is not at a named port.

What if the Contract Draw pile is exhausted? It rarely happens but if it does then you must compete for the Public Contracts.

I have a question for the designers of Manifest, how can I contact them? Email [email protected]

The Expert Game

Deck-Building Overview

Are you a master at Manifest? Are you ready for a new challenge? Try picking up and delivering your cargo while building your deck... of cards. Now you must carefully optimize and balance your purchasing power, movement points and attack and defense capabilities, with an eye to the strategies your opponents are favoring. Done right, you will have the satisfaction of achieving more on each turn as the game progresses. But make bad choices and watch your shipping company end up in a whirlpool of trouble!

Expert Game Components

1. All the components from the Standard Game except the Action Card deck.
2. The 'Deck Builder' cards. Each shipping company has (in their colour):
   • six (S) Starter cards, with plain borders, lettered A-F, and
   • six (U) Upgrade cards, with ornate borders, also lettered A-F
   • 28 Action cards of standard design that will be offered for sale to all players

Expert Game Winning

Play to the same point limits as for the Standard Game.

Expert Game Set Up

1. Tailor the cargo supply to the number of players: four of each type for two players, five for three or all six tokens for four or five players.
2. Players take a Shipping Company Board, the two matching ships, and a 1, 2 and 3 point Contract, as in the standard game. Shuffle the remaining Contracts to form a draw pile as usual.
3. Each player takes the 12 Starter and Upgrade cards in their company colour. The six Starter cards should be shuffled and the first three drawn to form a starting hand. Upgrades should be set aside within reach.
4. The 28 standard design Expert Action cards will be offered for sale in the Supply area (shown below). Shuffle these cards and place them in a facedown pile to the right of the Supply.
5. Determine the starting player. In turn, players donate one Contract to the Public Contract area and place their ships in starting positions.
6. Reveal the Public Contracts. If two are playing, fill the empty space with a Contract from the draw pile. With four or five players, flip the piles over.
7. Draw the first three Action Cards and display these face up in the Supply area. These are for sale at $3 each.

Now the first player can take their turn.

Expert Game Taking a Turn

Until you acquire additional Action Cards or upgrade your Starter cards, you will be restricted to the combined actions, money and movement points on the three cards drawn from your Starter deck. Once a card has been used it should be placed in the face up discard pile in your own area.

The normal hand size is three instead of four.

Another important difference to the standard game is that at the end of your turn, you may choose to discard or keep any unused cards, then draw back up to the hand limit of three.

Tip: At the end of your turn, draw your next three cards so you can make plans for your next turn and be ready to defend yourself against pirates and other perils.

Whenever your draw deck is exhausted (e.g. after your first two turns), shuffle your discard pile to make a new draw deck.

Diagram labels: Your Draw Deck / Cards in Your Hand / Your Discard Pile.

Purchasing Action Cards

Each Action card that is for sale costs $3, and when purchased is placed face up on your discard pile, to be shuffled into your draw deck for use on later turns. You cannot use it straight away. The empty supply slot is replenished immediately, so if you have another $3, you can buy the replacement card.

You cannot buy more than one of a type (e.g. Tail Wind) within the same turn.

Cycling Action Cards

If you have money to spend but don't want any of the cards for sale, you can pay $1 to cycle one, two or all three of the cards on display, i.e. discard it and fill the empty slot by drawing a new one. Then you can pay $3 to buy one of the new cards now on sale.

Cycling: Pay $1 to refresh the display. Each card in turn may be removed to the Discard area and a replacement drawn. You can choose to stop cycling before all three cards are renewed. Shuffle the discarded Action cards when there are none left in the Supply draw deck.

Upgrading Starter Cards

Whenever you have $5 to spend you have the chance to upgrade any Starter card in your hand. The money on the Starter card you wish to upgrade will count towards this $5.

Example 1: Jamie is holding Starter cards A, D, and E. He wants to upgrade his A card. The money on A and D equals $5. He removes A from the game and replaces it with its upgrade (U/A), placing the Upgraded A and card D on his discard pile. He can now use or discard E, or leave it in his hand for his next turn.

Example 2 (diagram): Jackie must play all three cards in her hand in order to pay $5. The only card she can upgrade is her D Starter card. This goes out of the game and the Upgraded D (Rent-A-Card) is placed in her discard pile along with her other 2 hand cards, for future use.

Tip: Since many of the cards in the Deck Builder lack movement points and/or spending money and because you play with just three cards, be very careful to balance your deck's abilities as you acquire and upgrade cards.

Starter Cards and Upgrades Explained

• CONTRACT CONFUSION, CONTRACT UP and FREE TRADE work as in the Standard game.
• CONTRACT SHUFFLE: This upgrade allows you to draw the top Contract for free, even if you are holding the hand limit of three. Then you must discard one from your hand to the Public Contracts.
• DOUBLE DEFENSE: Protection from one or two pirate attacks.
• ON THE LEVEL: Allows you to cycle each Action Card for sale up to two times, which would normally cost $2.
• ON THE UP AND UP: Discard this card and draw another. A good option if you don't need the movement or money on this card.
• PIRATE ATTACK(s): Works just like the Roaming Pirate in the Standard game. The opponent rolls the dice and the attacker may claim any lost tokens. The Upgrade allows two attacks, on either the same opponent/ship or on two different opponents/ships.
• PIRATE DEFENSE: The standard card is effective against one pirate attack. It can be played by the victim after the dice are rolled to prevent loss or sinking. The upgrade protects you from two consecutive attacks from an opponent using the Attacks upgrade.
• PUTTING ON THE RITZ: Like Tail Wind except the doubled movement points only apply to one other card.
• RENT-A-CARD: You may use the movement points, money or ability of any Action Card that is for sale during your turn. Do not move the card from the Supply; it is still available for purchase.
  • Tip: You may rent a card, then use another card (or the money you just rented) to purchase the same card.

New Action Card Special Abilities

The deck builder introduces eight new types of cards for sale plus it contains Double Whammy, Get A Wiggle On, Renegotiation and Tail Wind cards which work exactly as in the Standard game. Here are the details on the new cards:

• THE BEE'S KNEES: This card has no movement points, but allows you to draw another card from your draw deck for use in your turn and to spend up to $2.
• COAST GUARD RESCUE: A generic defensive card that protects you from any card played against you by an opponent or from loss/sinking incurred when travelling through red pirate waters.
• HEDGING: You may spend up to $2. You can also use the card to rearrange tokens on one of your ships, including any you've just purchased with the $2, enabling you to double-stack tokens in your holds.
• HIT ON ALL SIXES: Purely movement points: 6.
• MUTINY: Move a ship to its closest 'at sea' spot. Can be used to move an opponent's ship away from their presumed destination or to move your own ship. The ship can start at sea or in port, but must end at sea.

Expert Game Frequently Asked Questions

If I am holding Rent-a-Card when another player attacks or moves my ship (with Piracy, Rough Seas, Mutiny or Whirlpool) can I rent the ability on a Coast Guard Rescue card if there is one on display, to protect myself? Yes, you then discard your Rent-a-Card and draw a replacement card.

If I use Free Trade to swap out previously 'Hedged' cargo, can the new goods be double-stacked? Yes. They can be swapped 'one-for-one' in the same places. You cannot rearrange though.

If I have a card with $4 on it, can I use it to cycle the Action Cards for sale and then buy one of them? Yes.

Can I upgrade a Starter card that is not currently in my hand? No.

I have a question for the designers of Manifest, how can I contact them? Email [email protected]

Quick Start Reminder (for the Standard Game)

1. Deal four Action Cards to each player.
2. Each player takes a shipping company board and the two matching ships.
3. Give each player three Contract Cards (one each worth 1, 2 and 3 points).
4. Players donate one Contract to the Public display face down.
5. Then in turn, players place their ships in port or at sea on the marked interchanges. More than one ship can be in the same starting place.
6. Finally, the Public Contracts are turned over to reveal the details.