New Corp Order Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Scoring
• Game Components
• Game Setup (3 to 4 players)
  • Changes to Setup for 2-Player Games
• Gameplay
  • Plot
  • Infiltrate
  • Take Over
• Solo Play - "It's lonely at the top"
  • Goal of the Game (Solo)
  • Setup (Solo)
  • Gameplay (Solo)
  • Automa Guide

Goal of the Game

The game ends when:

• There are not enough cards left in the deck to replenish the open display, or
• There's 3 or more Companies that simultaneously have 7+ agents.

Once one or two of the above conditions are met, players play a final round. Then count victory points (see scoring). The player with more victory points win the game.

Scoring

Each player counts the number of cards and agents they have of each Conglomerate (color). For each conglomerate:

• each player counts their share on that conglomerate. Share = number of cards of that conglomerate on their HQ + double the number of agents of that conglomerate on their HQ. Example: If you have 5 yellow cards, and 2 yellow cubes, your share for the yellow conglomerate is 9.
• the player with higher share scores 2 victory point per Company controlled by agents of that conglomerate. If 2 or more players are tied for higher share, the player with more agents of that conglomerate win the tie-breaker. If there is still a tie, all those players score the corresponding victory points.
• the player with 2nd higher share scores 1 victory point per Company controlled by agents of that conglomerate. If 2 or more players are tied for 2nd higher share, the player with more agents of that conglomerate win the tie-breaker. If there is still a tie, all those players score the corresponding victory points. This scoring is not applied when playing with 2 players.
• Companies that share a symbol with the scoring player's secret objectives (either if they have higher or 2nd higher share) are worth 2 extra victory point.

Each player then scores victory points according to the number of Consultants they have:

• 1/3/5/7 victory points for having 1/2/3/4 different consultants.
• +1 victory point for each extra copy of each consultant.

Game Components

• 126 Cards:
  • 80 Conglomerate cards (20 of each of the 4 colors)
  • 18 Company tiles (3 of each of the 6 types) - they are square
  • 12 Secret Objective cards (2 of each of the 6 types)
  • 24 Consultant cards
• 100 Agent tokens (25 of each of the 4 colors) - not provided in this PnP

Game Setup (3 to 4 players)

• Shuffle all Company tiles and place them randomly in a 4x4 grid, face up. Return to the box the 2 unused tiles.
• Return to the box the secret objective cards that share symbol with the unused Company tiles. Then deal 2 secret objective cards to each player. Each player can decide to discard to the box face down 1 or 2 of the secret objective cards and replace them with new cards.
• Take 4 agents of each color and place one of them randomly on each of the Company tiles. Place the remaining agents in a general reserve, next to the Company tiles.
• Take a set of 4 different Consultant cards, and give 1 randomly to each player.
• Place X-1 copies of each Consultant cards available to Hire on the supply, where X = number of players.
• Shuffle the 80 Conglomerate cards and deal 4 to each player. Place the rest in a deck next to the Consultant cards and create an open display by revealing the 5 top cards.

Changes to Setup for 2-Player Games

• Use only 2 Company tiles of each type, and place them forming a 4x3 grid (instead of a 4x4 grid).
• Take 3 agents of each color and place one of them randomly on each of the Company tiles (instead of placing 4 of each color).
• Don't return any of the secret objective cards to the box, and deal 2 to each player.
• The Consultant cards "Corporate Lawyer" will not be used, put them back in the box.

Gameplay

Starting with the highest-ranking executive among the players, players take turns clockwise. Players keep alternating turns until the condition(s) described in Goal of the Game are met.

During each player's turn, that player can do ONE of the following actions:

• Plot
• Infiltrate
• Takeover

On any turn, the active player can use any 1 of the Consultants they have on their HQ. If they do, they apply the effect of the Consultant, and they surrender the chosen consultant to the supply. If you have Consultants at the end of the game, you will earn extra points. Their effects are as follows (ALWAYS USE THE TEXT PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IF IT DIFFERS FROM THE TEXT ON THE PnP CARDS):

• INSIDER: When you infiltrate this turn, you may use a Conglomerate card in your hand as a wild card (it is used as a card from the Conglomerate of your choice)
• DEALMAKER: When you take over this turn, you draw two Conglomerate cards of your choice from the supply and/or the top of the deck
• CORPORATE LAWYER: When you infiltrate this turn, you can place cards from 2 different Conglomerates (instead of only one)
• MILITARY CONTRACTOR: To take over this turn, you only need to equal the number of agents in the Company of arrival (instead of exceeding them)

Once the action is done, that player passes the turn to the following player.

Plot

The player draws 2 Conglomerate cards, from the open display and/or the top of the deck. The player can look at the first card drawn before deciding where to draw the second card from. Then, if necessary, the player replenishes the open display to 5 cards.

Players can't have more than 6 cards in their hand at the end of their turn. If they have more than 6, they have to discard down to 6 cards.

Infiltrate

The player can place as many Conglomerate cards of a single color from their hand to the table, in front of them and face-up. Those cards are considered to be in that player's HQ. Then, that player places that many agents of that color from the general reserve on one of the Companies that already has agent(s) of that color.

If the player places 3 or more Conglomerate cards of a single color from their hand to the table, that player can take 1 Consultant card from the supply and places it in their HQ. This consultant may grant them victory points at the end of the game (see Scoring) plus an advantage during gameplay. Consultants remain always face up. If you used a Consultant card this turn, you can't take a Consultant card of the same type from the supply this turn.

Take Over

The player can tap as many Conglomerate cards of a single color from their HQ to move that many agents of that color on a Company of their choice to an orthogonally adjacent Company of their choice. Then, depending on the number and color of the agents on the Company of arrival:

• If the Company where the agents are moved to already holds agents of that color, there is no further effect.
• If the Company where the agents are moved to already holds agents of another color, you can only take over if the moved agents are more numerous than the agents on the Company of arrival. Then, do the following:
  • Return to the general reserve all the agents on the Company of arrival, except one, that is kept on the HQ of the player taking over (see Scoring).
  • The player taking over activates the ability of the Company that was taken over.

The available effects are depending on the type of Company, as each one specialises in one type of marketing (ALWAYS USE THE TEXT PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IF IT DIFFERS FROM THE TEXT ON THE PnP CARDS):

• BROADCAST NETWORK: Move up to 2 agents of the same color (they must be moved to 1 or 2 Companies that contain agents of the same color)
• GUERRILLA MARKETING: Tap up to 2 cards of the same color from a single player's HQ
• PRINT: Exchange 1 Conglomerate card in your HQ with another Conglomerate card in another player's HQ
• AMBIENT ADVERTISING: Untap up to 2 cards from any single player's HQ
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Return to the box up to 1 Conglomerate card from a single player's HQ
• ONLINE MARKETING: Exchange the agents on two Companies

Important things to remember when taking over:

1. There must be at least 1 agent in each Company at all times. That is, when taking over you must leave at least 1 agent in the Company you're taking over from.
2. There can't be agents of different colors in the same Company.
3. If a takeover would result in the elimination of all the agents of one color, that takeover can't be done.

Solo Play - "It's lonely at the top"

In the solo variant, you will play against an evil automa; but don't lower your guard...it is hard to beat. Play as following the normal rules, except with the following changes:

Goal of the Game (Solo)

The game ends when there are not enough cards left in the deck to replenish the open display. Once this condition is met, the game ends immediately.

Then count victory points: you get 1 point for each Company you control that is of 1 of the 3 Secret Objective types; the automa counts its points in the same way. If you have more points than the automa, you win; otherwise, you lose. If there is a tie, but you have more total of agents in your HQ (captured cubes), you win; otherwise, you lose...Better luck next time!

Setup (Solo)

Follow the instructions to set up the game as if it were a game for 2 players, with the following changes:

• You will need a marker for the automa (more on this later). The marker is not provided on this PnP. Place the next to the first Company tile of your 4x3 grid, outside the grid and above the 1-1 position of the grid.
• Return the Consultant cards to the box. They are not used in solitary mode.
• Pick 2 different Conglomerates at random; those will be yours, and the automa will play with the remaining 2. You can never use cards of the automa's Conglomerates, nor can the automa use cards from your Conglomerates.
• Don't deal any Conglomerate cards to the automa, nor to you. Both players start with 0 Conglomerate cards in hand.
• The Conglomerate card open display consists of 4 cards (instead of 5), and it doesn't replenish automatically (more on this later).
• Reveal 3 Secret Objective cards (instead of dealing 2 to each player) and place them face up next to the playing area. Both the automa and you have those objectives.
• You always take the first turn.

Gameplay (Solo)

Play the game as normal, alternating turns between you & the automa, with the following differences:

• The automa follows a devious strategy to decide what it does in its turn. See below: Automa Guide.
• Neither player has a hand!
• Moving the automa marker: At the start of each automa turn, advance its marker 1 space. If the marker is in the last column of the grid, move it to the 1st grid of the column. The position of the automa marker can be crucial in deciding the automa's next move!!
• PLOT:
  • If you take cards from the automa's Conglomerates, discard them immediately. If the automa takes cards of your Conglomerates, discard them immediately.
  • Whenever you or the automa Plots, don't put those Conglomerate cards in that player's hand, and Infiltrate with them instead. Example: You Plot to get 1 Red and 1 Green Conglomerate cards (which are of your Conglomerates). When you take those cards, place them directly in front of you and then place 1 Red and 1 Green agent in any 2 suitable Companies on the board, as per the rules of Infiltrate.
  • Only replenish the open supply of Conglomerate cards if it contains 0 cards.
• INFILTRATE: This action is now linked to the Plot action. Neither you nor the automa can Infiltrate as a distinct action (only after Plotting).
• TAKE OVER: Works as usual. The automa NEVER takes over Companies that it already controls.

Automa Guide

The automa is evil, and it always wants to attack you and destroy your position. Will you be able to beat it?

The Automa uses a list of priorities in its turn to decide the best course of action. At the start of the automa turn, advance 1 position the automa marker and execute the first available action.

IMPORTANT: When checking priorities for the automa's actions, always take into account first the Companies that are in the current column of the automa marker, from top to bottom. If none of the Companies in the current column qualify for the current priority, proceed to check the Companies in the next column, and so on. If none of the Companies on the grid qualify, proceed to check for the next priority.

Here's the list of priorities for the automa's actions:

1. If the automa can Take Over a Company controlled by the player, decide which one is taken over following these priorities:
   1. A Company of 1 of the Secret Objective types.
   2. The Company with most cubes.
   3. The Company that is next to most Companies controlled by the player.
   4. The Company that is nearest to an edge of the grid.
2. If the automa can NOT Take Over a Company controlled by the player, it Plots following these priorities:
   1. If there are 2 Conglomerate cards of 1 of its Conglomerates, the automa takes those cards.
      • In case there's 2 cards of 1 of its Conglomerates, and 2 of its other Conglomerate, the automa takes the 2 cards of the Conglomerate he already control more cards of.
   2. If there's 1 card of each of its Conglomerates, the automa takes those cards.
   3. If there is only 1 card of its Conglomerates, the automa takes that card and discards a card from the player's Conglomerates.
      • The automa always discards the card from the Conglomerate you have more cards (if there's a tie, the leftmost card on the display).
   4. If there's no cards of the automa's Conglomerates, it discards 2 cards of your Conglomerates.
      • If there's 2 of the same Conglomerate, it discards those.
      • If there's a tie, the automa always discards the card from the Conglomerate you have more cards (if there's a tie, start with the leftmost card on the display).
3. After Plotting, the automa add agents to his companies according to the cards acquired following these priorities: