Million Club Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup
• Game Overview
• Round Sequence
  • Unavailable disc
  • Each round
• The Colony Cards
• The Industry Cards
• The Discs and Their Actions
  • Placing pawns
  • Placement order
  • Carrying out actions
  • 1. Lobby
  • 2. Intrigue
  • 3. Colonies
  • 4. Stock Exchange
  • 5. Industries
• End of Round
  • 1. Industry turn
  • 2. Preparation for the next round
• Game End
  • 1. Industries
  • 2. Colonies
  • 3. Wealth
  • Winner
• Alternative Setup
• The Intrigue Cards

Contents

• 5 Action discs
• 1 Price board and 3 price markers
• 60 Banknotes
• 39 Industry cards
• 30 Colony cards
• 8 Intrigue cards
• 12 Pawns in 6 colours, plus 6 player markers
• 1 Start player tile
• 1 Game overview sheet
• 1 Score pad

Setup

1. Lay out the five action discs side by side in ascending order: Lobby (I), Intrigue (II), Colonies (III), Stock Exchange (IV) and Industries (V). Place the price board above the Stock Exchange disc (IV). Place the three price markers on space 0 of the price board.
2. Sort the Industry, Intrigue and Colony cards into three separate decks, shuffle each deck, and place each deck in the middle of its corresponding disc.
3. Each player chooses a colour and takes the corresponding two pawns and the player marker. Each player receives 7 million as starting capital. The banknotes owned by a player are kept as a face-down stack in front of that player during the game. The other players can see whether a player has money, but they do not know the exact amount.
4. Sort the remaining banknotes by their values and lay them out face up as the bank. Banknotes may be exchanged at any time.

Alternative setup: Distinguished members of the Million Club (also called experienced players) may use the alternative setup described on page 14. This gives each player an individual starting position.

5. Each player draws one Colony card from the deck, looks at it, and places it face down in front of them.
6. Each player draws one Industry card and places it face up in front of them, so that the starting development level ("1") is showing at the top.
7. Choose a start player at random. This player receives the start player tile.
8. Calculate the current price of each of the three industry types (Factories, Transport and Raw materials) and place the price markers accordingly on the price board. To calculate the price of an industry type, add together the development levels of all Industry cards of that type owned by the players. Each of the three industry types has one price marker, which always shows the current value of that industry (= the sum of all its development levels).

Game Overview

A game of Million Club is played over exactly 9 rounds. In each round, each player performs two actions. To do this, you place one of your two pawns on one of the action discs in turn, then the other. Once all pawns have been placed, you carry out the action of each disc (Lobby, Intrigue, Colonies, Stock Exchange and Industries) and, where applicable, use that disc's privilege. After the last round, victory points are scored. These consist of the development levels of your industries, your colonies and your wealth. The player with the most victory points wins.

Round Sequence

Unavailable disc

Before the first round, turn the Lobby disc (I) over to its reverse side. It is unavailable for the whole first round. In the second round, the Intrigue disc (II) is unavailable, and so it continues in each following round up to and including the fifth round. Before the sixth round begins, the order is reversed, and the Stock Exchange disc (IV) is again unavailable, and so on, until the Lobby disc (I) is unavailable once more in the ninth and last round. The order in which the discs are unavailable is therefore I, II, III, IV, V, IV, III, II, I.

Example: In the fourth round, disc IV is unavailable and is turned over. The corresponding price board is not affected by this and always remains visible.

Each round

A. Placing pawns: see the placement order below.

B. Carrying out actions: see the disc actions below.

C. End of round: see the end-of-round rules below.

The Colony Cards

The Colony cards represent lucrative trade contracts with colonies on the five continents: Africa, Asia, America, India and Oceania. There are 6 cards for each continent.

The Industry Cards

There are 3 types of industry: raw-material-producing industries, factories and transport industries. There are 13 cards of each type. The value shown on an Industry card indicates its current development level, which can be from 1 to 4.

Industry turns

• Develop: With a quarter-turn counterclockwise, you raise the development level of an industry by 1.
• Or draw capital: First, you take from the bank as many millions as the current development level of the industry. Then you lower the development level of this industry by 1 with a quarter-turn clockwise.

IMPORTANT: You cannot draw capital from an industry whose development level is 1. You cannot develop an industry whose development level is 4.

Example: Each of yellow, blue and red has one pawn in the factory sector. Each therefore receives 3 industry turns for their factory or factories. The players may use these turns on a single factory or divide them among several factories. Red has placed the second pawn in the transport sector and receives 1 turn for one of their transport industries.

The Discs and Their Actions

Placing pawns

The placement options differ between the action discs:

On the Intrigue, Colonies and Industries discs: At most as many pawns may be placed on each of these discs as there are players in the game. These discs have placement spaces for pawns (the "leather armchairs") marked with numbers. The first pawn is placed on the space marked "1", and so on.

Example: In a four-player game, there are four placement spaces available, so a total of four pawns may be placed on this disc.

On the Lobby and Stock Exchange discs: If you want to place a pawn on one of these action discs, you must choose an industry type (raw materials, factories or transport) and place your pawn in the corresponding sector. If you want to place your second pawn on the same action disc, you may choose the same sector or another one. There is no limit on the number of pawns that may be on one of these discs or in a single sector.

Placement order

After you have turned over the unavailable disc for this round, the start player places one of their pawns on one of the available action discs. The next player clockwise then does the same, and so on. Once every player has placed a pawn, the start player begins again and places their second pawn on an action disc, followed by the other players clockwise. Passing is not allowed.

Carrying out actions

Once all players have placed their two pawns, you carry out the actions in the order of the action discs: first Lobby, then Intrigue, Colonies, Stock Exchange and finally Industries. For each pawn you have placed on an action disc, you carry out that disc's action. In addition, each disc grants a privilege to the player who has more pawns on that disc than any other single player. If no other player has a pawn on a particular disc, one pawn is enough to receive that disc's privilege (in addition to the regular action). If at least one other player also has one pawn on a particular disc, you must have both of your pawns on that disc to receive the privilege. In case of a tie, the privilege of that disc is not awarded.

1. Lobby

In placement order (the start player begins), each of you receives, for each of your pawns in one of the three sectors, as many industry turns (see page 7) for industries of the depicted type as there are pawns in total in that sector. You may distribute the turns freely among your industries of that type, and you may both develop and draw capital.

Privilege: Lobbyist. After all players have carried out their turns, the player who receives the privilege may move one of their pawns from the Lobby disc to another available disc. In doing so, the player must of course observe the available placement spaces where applicable.

Example: In the example above, red has received the privilege. Red moves one of their pawns to another disc and thus gains an additional action in this round.

2. Intrigue

The player whose pawn is on the first placement space (1) draws as many Intrigue cards from the deck as there are pawns on the Intrigue disc, plus 1 additional card (e.g. 5 cards if there are 4 pawns). They choose 1 of them and immediately carry out its effect (if possible). Then they pass the remaining cards to the player whose pawn is on the next placement space (2). This may also be the same player. This player also chooses 1 card and carries it out if possible. This continues until the last player with a pawn on this disc has received two cards and has chosen and carried out one of them. The remaining card is set aside for the time being. The effects of the Intrigue cards are explained in detail on the last page of these rules.

Privilege: Machiavelli. After all players have carried out their action on this disc, the player who receives the privilege draws one more card from the deck and carries it out if possible. Then the deck of all Intrigue cards is reshuffled and prepared for the next round.

3. Colonies

The player whose pawn is on the first placement space (1) draws as many Colony cards from the deck as there are pawns on the Colonies disc, plus 1 additional card (e.g. 2 cards if there is 1 pawn). They choose 1 card and buy it for 2 million (payable to the bank) or set it aside face down. If they buy the card, they place it face down in front of them. Then they pass the remaining cards to the player whose pawn is on the next placement space (2). This may also be the same player. This player also chooses 1 card and buys it for 2 million or sets it aside. This continues until the last player with a pawn on this disc has received two cards and has bought or set aside one of them. The remaining card is added to the cards already set aside.

Privilege: Acquisition. After all players have carried out their action on this disc, the player who receives the privilege draws one more Colony card from the deck and may buy it for 2 million. Afterwards, the remaining Colony cards are shuffled together with the set-aside cards and prepared for the next round.

4. Stock Exchange

For each pawn in a sector of the Stock Exchange disc, its owner gains or loses money. The amount depends on the difference between Industry A (in whose sector the pawn stands) and Industry B (on which Industry A depends). The value of B is subtracted from the value of A, and the result gives the difference in millions. If the difference is positive, the player receives that money from the bank. If it is negative, the player must pay that amount to the bank.

• Factories depend on raw materials. (The profits that can be made with factories depend on the price of raw materials.)
• Raw materials depend on transport. (The profits that can be made with raw materials depend on transport costs.)
• Transport depends on factories. (The profits from transport depend on the production costs of ships, trains and machines.)

Example: Yellow has placed two pawns in the factory sector. When the Stock Exchange disc is resolved, the factory value (= sum of the development levels of all factories) is 16. The value of raw materials is 12. Therefore yellow gains 4 million per pawn (16 – 12), a total of 8 million.

If a player would have to pay more money than they have, they pay all their money to the bank. The shortfall is ignored.

Privilege: Hostile takeover. After all gains and losses have been resolved, the player who receives the privilege may buy out an industry of any other player. The takeover price is three times the current value of that industry, and it is paid by the acquiring player to the player whose industry is taken over. The industry keeps its current value and passes into the possession of the acquiring player.

Price markers: Whenever a player acquires an industry, develops an industry, or draws capital from one, the price of that industry type changes. The price marker must be adjusted immediately to the current value, so that the correct value of each industry type is always shown. If the value of an industry type exceeds 20, turn the marker to its "20+" side to show that 20 must be added to the value shown. If the value of an industry type exceeds 40, turn the marker again, but remember that 40 must then be added to the value.

5. Industries

The player whose pawn is on the first placement space (1) draws as many Industry cards from the deck as there are pawns on the Industries disc, plus 1 additional card (e.g. 5 cards if there are 4 pawns). They choose 1 card and buy it for 4 million (payable to the bank) or set it aside face down. If they buy the card, they place it face up in front of them with development level 1. Then they pass the remaining cards to the player whose pawn is on the next placement space (2). This may also be the same player. This player also chooses 1 card and buys it for 4 million or sets it aside. This continues until the last player with a pawn on this disc has received two cards and has bought or set aside one of them. The remaining card is added to the cards already set aside.

Privilege: Opportunity. After all players have carried out their action on this disc, the player who receives the privilege draws one more Industry card from the deck and may buy it for 4 million. Afterwards, the remaining Industry cards are shuffled together with the set-aside cards and prepared for the next round.

End of Round

1. Industry turn

Starting with the start player and then going clockwise, each player receives 1 industry turn, i.e. may either develop one of their industries or draw capital from it.

Example: Yellow owns an industry at development level 3. They may either develop it to level 4, OR take 3 million from the bank and lower the development level to 2.

2. Preparation for the next round

Each player takes their two pawns back from the action discs and places them in front of them.

The action disc that was not available in this round is turned over (and is therefore available again in the next round). The next disc is turned over, so that it will not be available in the next round.

The start player marker is passed to the next player clockwise.

Game End

After the ninth and last round, each player's victory points are counted and entered on the score pad.

Scoring sheet: To simplify the scoring, the game overview sheet and the score pad should be placed next to each other, so that it is clear where each victory point is to be recorded.

1. Industries

Industry cards: 1 VP per development level. Each Industry card gives its owner 1 victory point for each development level it currently shows.

Market leader: +1 VP per card. For each of the 3 industry types, it is checked which player owns the most cards of that type. That player receives as many victory points as they have cards of that type, regardless of the development levels of those cards.

Example: One player has 5 factory cards, and the other players have 4, 3 and 0 factory cards. This player is the market leader in factories and receives 5 VP for their 5 cards.

A player may be market leader in more than one industry type. In case of a tie between two or more players, there is no market leader in that industry type.

Consortium: +2 VP. Each player receives 2 victory points for each complete set of all 3 industry types. This bonus is awarded independently of the market leader bonus. The Industry cards count both for the market leader scoring and for the consortium scoring.

Example: A player owns 4 factory, 3 raw-material and 2 transport cards. They have 2 consortia and receive 4 VP for this.

2. Colonies

All players reveal their Colony cards.

Colony cards: 1 VP per card. Each Colony card gives its owner 1 victory point.

Dominance: +1 VP per card. For each of the 5 continents, it is checked which player owns the most cards of that continent. That player receives as many victory points as they have cards of that continent.

Example: A player owns 3 Asia cards, and the other players have 2, 1 and 0 Asia cards. This player has dominance in Asia and receives 3 VP for their 3 cards.

A player may have dominance in more than one continent. In case of a tie between two or more players, there is no dominance in that continent.

Globalisation: +2 VP. Each player receives 2 victory points for each complete set of all 5 continents. This bonus is awarded independently of the dominance bonus. The Industry cards count both for the dominance scoring and for the globalisation scoring. [Translator's note: the German original reads "Die Industriekarten zählen" in this sentence. This appears to be a misprint for "Koloniekarten" (Colony cards), since this bonus concerns Colony cards; it is transcribed here as printed.]

3. Wealth

All players reveal their wealth.

Wealth: 1 VP per 4 million. Each player receives 1 victory point for every 4 million in their possession. Surplus millions give no victory points, but they can matter in a tie.

Example: A player has a wealth of 15 million and receives 3 VP for it.

Winner

The player with the most victory points wins the game.

In case of a tie, the player with the greater wealth is ranked higher. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the placement.

Alternative Setup

You may also play a game with different starting conditions for each player. If you want to do this, distribute the player colours at random. Depending on the colour, each player receives a different starting advantage. If you are playing with fewer than 6 players, remove the colour green beforehand.

The Lobbyist: Your starting industry begins at development level 2.

The Capitalist: Your starting industry already has the advantage of the Intrigue card "Capital Increase", see the back of these rules.

The Colonist: After all players have drawn their starting colony, pick one more colony from the deck and then shuffle the deck.

The Heir: You begin the game with 11 million (instead of 7).

The Entrepreneur: After all players have drawn their starting industry, pick one more industry from the deck and then shuffle the deck. Both industries begin at development level 1.

The Schemer (only in games with 6 players): You set up after your fellow players. As soon as your fellow players have received their starting industry (or industries), pick your starting industry from the deck and shuffle the deck. As soon as your fellow players have received their starting colony (or colonies), secretly look at all the colonies of your fellow players. Then pick your starting colony from the deck and shuffle the deck. You begin the game with 9 million and determine the start player for the first round. (You may choose yourself.)

The Intrigue Cards

Racket Take 3 million from the bank. Each opponent must pay 3 million to the bank. If an opponent does not have that much money, they pay all of their money, and the shortfall is ignored.

Buy a colonial contract Look at the Colony cards of one opponent. You may buy one card of your choice from them for 3 million and place it in front of you. (The 3 million go to the opponent.)

Colonial Unrest Look at the Colony cards of one opponent. You may exchange one of your Colony cards for one of their Colony cards.

Expansion You receive 2 industry turns for 1 of your industries (develop and/or draw capital).

Capitalisation Take 6 million from the bank.

Unfair competition Raise the development level of one of your industries by 1. Afterwards, lower the development level of one industry of the same type by 1 for each opponent (if possible). If an opponent has more than one industry of this type, you decide which industry's level is lowered.

Dumping Exchange one of your Industry cards for an Industry card (of the same or of another type) belonging to an opponent. The difference between the development levels of the two industries may be at most 1.

Capital Increase Take 1 million from the bank and place the banknote under one of your Industry cards. The current development level of this industry is permanently increased by 1 for all purposes (value calculation, drawing capital, Stock Exchange, victory points, etc.). If the industry is taken over by another player, any banknotes under this industry remain under it.