Notebook Nations Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Gameplay Intro
  • How to Win
  • Determining The Game Length
  • Victory Point Types
• Setup
  • Game Board Setup
  • Player Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Round Summary
  • Initiative Phase
  • Player Turns Phase
    • Income Step
    • Actions Step
• Buildings and Building Actions
  • Triggering a Building's Action
• Units and Unit Actions
  • Unit Sizes
  • Unit Types
  • Unit Actions
    • 1. Moving a Unit
    • 2. Occupying Buildings
  • Performing a Unit Action
    • 1. Attacking with a Unit
    • 2. Combine Units
    • 3. Special Actions
• Avatar Actions
  • 1. Move your Avatar
  • 2. Perform 1 Basic Avatar Action
  • 3. Activate 1 Avatar Source Power
  • Nation Objectives
• Research Step
• End of Turn, Round, and Game
  • End of Turn
  • End of Round
  • End of Game
• Solo Mode
  • Setup
  • Initiative Phase
  • AI Turns
  • AI Nation-Specific Rules

Components

• 1 Game Board
• 1 Research Board
• 4 Nation Mats
• 4 Avatars (1 per Nation)
• 74 Unit Tiles
• 92 Building Tiles
• 112 Nation Tokens
• 16 Encounter Tiles
• 16 Encounter Tokens
• 16 Resource Tokens
• 4 Wooden Initiative Pawns
• 4 Income Trackers
• 4 Reference Cards

Gameplay Intro

Players pick the game length, then select Nations to play and select a map. Each round, the players will choose Initiative bonuses, gain income, take actions, and research new tech, repeating these steps each round until one (or more) players have earned the selected number of victory points at the end of a round.

How to Win

Earn the selected number of victory points! There are three victory point types: military, science, and culture. You can gain a maximum of 2 of each type. During setup, you will select the number of victory points required to win, so you can pick how long the game will be.

Determining The Game Length

The game length changes depending on the number of victory points (VPs) you need to win and the size of the map you select. The game can be played to any number of victory points, but here are our recommendations:

• 1 VP Game: 4X in under an hour. First to any VP wins! Best with 2 players on a 2-player map.
• 3 VP Game: Achieve any 3 VPs to win. Great at any player count. Match the player count to the map size for the best experience!
• 5 VP Game: Achieve any 5 VPs to win. This will feel the most like a traditional 4X game.

Nic Pick: For your first game, try playing to 1 VP on a 2-player map and play the Mushroom Tribes vs Thimble Empire to keep it simple.

Alex Pick: Try playing a 5VP game with 2 players on the 3- or 4-player map. The low player count keeps the pace quick, the big map means lots of room to grow, and lots of VPs means a deep and complex game experience.

Victory Point Types

There are 3 types of Victory Points that can be earned in the game:

1. Military: War will be a constant. Your resources will be dedicated to raising your Population Limit, spawning Units, and researching new Unit types. You may also wish to use your Avatar as a military piece in order to overwhelm your enemy. You will earn 1 Military VP for each enemy Town Hall you occupy at the end of a round. Each player can earn a maximum of 2 Military VP.
2. Science: Research is your best friend. Your resources will be dedicated to increasing your Science Points, earning Gold for research purchases, and defending yourself while you climb the Research Tree. You will earn your first Science VP if, at the end of a round, you have unlocked 8 research options in a 2-player game or 6 research options in a 3- or 4-player game. You will earn your second Science VP at the end of a round by accumulating 20 Science Points on the Science Track. Each player can earn a maximum of 2 Science VP.
3. Culture: Your temples, unique Wonder, and Unique Crown Building—these are the keys to a culture victory. You will win Culture VP by gaining the required Culture Points at the end of a round if your nation's unique Wonder has been built. The requirement is 10 or more Culture for the first VP and 20 for the second VP. Each player can earn a maximum of 2 Culture VP.

Setup

Game Board Setup

1. Map Board: Unfold the game board to show the desired map. The 3-player map is on one side and the 4-player map is on the other side, or you can fold the 4-player map in half and pick either side for a 2-player map. Place the map board in the middle of the table, making sure to leave enough space for each player's play area.
2. Research Board: Place the Research board beside the map board, with either the 2-player (2P) side or 3-4-player side showing, based on the player count.
3. Encounter Tokens: Place 1 Encounter token on top of each Encounter space on the map, then shuffle the Encounter tiles and place them in the Encounter Deck space on the Research board.

Player Setup

Each player chooses which Nation they will play (Mushroom Tribes, Thimble Empire, Humming Republic, or Seed Children), then chooses the side of the board they will start on based on their Nation's priority score, listed beneath their Nation's icon on their Nation mat. The player with the highest priority score chooses first, then the next highest, and so on. Once all players have chosen a starting side, each player takes the following:

1. Nation Mat: Take the Nation Mat for your selected Nation and place it in your play area in front of you.

2. Building Tiles: Take the Building tiles for your selected Nation and place them to the right of your Nation Mat. Each Building type should be placed in its own stack.

3. Town Hall: Depending on the number of players, place 1 of your Town Hall Building tiles on the 2P, 3P, or 4P Start Zone on your side of the game board, oriented to match the grid spaces and with the bottom of the Town Hall tile towards the closest edge of the map.

4. Unit Tiles: Take the Unit tiles for your selected Nation and place them to the left of your Nation Mat. Each Unit type should be placed in its own stack.

5. Income Tracker: Take an Income Tracker card and place it in your play area.

6. Avatar Tile: Place your Nation's Avatar on the map so it is adjacent to your Town Hall Building tile.

7. Player Aid: Take your Nation's Reference card and place it to the side of your Income Tracker.

8. Resource Track Tokens: Take 1 each of the Food, Wood, Gold, and Source tokens. Place them on the "0" space on the Resource Track at the bottom of your Nation Mat.

9. Initiative Pawns: Each player takes their Nation's Initiative Pawn and places it beneath the word "Initiative" on the Initiative Track of the Research board.

Note: You will see the term "adjacent" used in a number of places throughout this rulebook. Adjacent in Notebook Nations means that a Building or Unit covers one or more squares that share an edge with another Building or Unit. Diagonal does not count.

Example: Alex's Avatar is adjacent to his Town Hall because the 2 tiles have 1 square of shared edge.

(Setup diagram key: 1 game board, 2 research board, 3 encounter tiles, 4 town hall, 5 avatar, 6 encounter token, 7 Initiative Pawns, 8 Nation Tokens on Research Board, 9 income tracker, 10 Nation Tokens on Income Tracker, 11 extra Nation Tokens, 12 Reference card, 13 Unit tiles, 14 nation mat, 15 resource tokens on nation mat, 16 building tiles.)

Playing the Game

Round Summary

Notebook Nations is played over multiple rounds, each divided into 2 main phases:

1. Initiative Phase: During the Initiative Phase, the players determine the Initiative Order for the round. The Initiative Order determines when players will take their turn, and choosing to go later provides increasingly valuable bonuses.
2. Player Turns Phase: During the Player Turns Phase, the players take turns in Initiative Order (left to right). On their turn, each player gains their income, takes their actions, and then researches, which helps guide their strategy on future turns.

Initiative Phase

1. First Round: In the first round, the players determine the order they will place their Nation tokens onto the Initiative Track according to their Nation's priority score, listed beneath their Nation's icon on their Nation Mat. (The first round is the only time this priority number is used for initiative in the game.)

   • A. The player with the lowest priority score places their token in the space of their choice on the Initiative Track first, followed by the player with the next-lowest priority score, and so on.
   • B. The player with the lowest priority score moves the Source token on their Nation Mat's Resource Track to the "1" space. The player with the next-lowest priority score moves their Source token to their "2" space, and so on until all players have gained their starting Source.

   Example: The Mushroom Tribes Nation has a priority of 3 and the Thimble Empire has a priority of 5. For the first round, the Mushroom Tribes player selects Initiative first, then places the Source token on their Nation mat on the 1 space of the Resource Tracker. Then the Thimble Empire player selects their Initiative and places the Source token on their Nation mat on the 2 space of the Resource Tracker.

2. After the First Round: From the second round onward, the player whose token occupies the Initiative space with the lowest Initiative number removes all players' Nation tokens from the Initiative Track by sliding them up above the track, being careful to keep them in the same order. That player then places their own Nation token on the Initiative space of their choice on the track. Players continue to select their Initiative position in order, following the placement rules below.

   Example: In the second round, the Thimble Empire has the lowest Initiative on the Initiative Track. The Thimble Empire player slides all the Nation tokens above the track, then selects their Initiative for the round. Then the Mushroom Tribes player (second in the previous round's order) selects their Initiative for the round.

3. When Placing Tokens for Initiative:

   • A. Multiple tokens cannot occupy the same space on the Initiative Track.

Player Turns Phase

Once all players have placed their tokens for Initiative, each player takes their turn in Initiative Order from left to right on the Initiative Track. Each player's turn consists of 3 steps:

1. Income Step
2. Actions Step
3. Research Step

Income Step

1. At the start of your turn, you receive resources equal to what is shown on your Income Tracker. First, move your token a number of spaces on the Science and Culture Tracks on the Research board equal to matching values on your Income Tracker. Then move the Food, Wood, and Gold Resource tokens on your Nation Mat's Resource Track to the right a number of spaces equal to the values for each of those resources on your Income Tracker.

   Nic note: In 3 and 4 player games, you'll start with an extra Food, Wood, and Gold on the Income Tracker. The game starts fast, so watch out!

2. Paying Resources: Any time you are instructed to pay resources as part of an action, move the corresponding Resource token to the left on your Resource Track a number of spaces equal to the amount paid.

   Example: Ronan has 2 Gold and would like to place a Lumber Camp. He pays 1 Gold to do so.

Actions Step

After the player's Income Step, their Actions Step begins. During the Actions Step, the player may take any of the following actions in any order they choose:

1. Building Actions
   • A. Trigger a Building Action
   • B. Purchase and Spawn a Unit
2. Unit Actions
   • A. Move Units
   • B. Act with Units
   • C. Combine Units
   • D. Attack with a Unit
3. Avatar Actions
   • A. Move your Avatar
   • B. Perform 1 Basic Avatar Action
   • C. Activate 1 Avatar Source Power

Buildings and Building Actions

Each Building tile shows its Building Cost (top left), Building Type, and Income Gained (bottom right).

There are 2 types of Buildings:

1. Town Buildings

   Town Buildings are denoted by the Town Building symbol. This type of Building can only be placed adjacent to a Town Hall. Each Nation's Town Buildings include 1 unique Wonder and 2 of each other type of Town Building:

   • House - increases your Population Limit.
   • Barracks - can spawn Melee, Ranged, & Cavalry Units.
   • Market - provides Gold each turn and can be used to exchange Gold for Wood and Food or vice versa.
   • University - provides Science each turn.
   • Temple - provides Culture each turn and can be used to either spawn Magic Units or buy Source.
   • Siegeworks - can spawn Siege Units.
   • Unique Wonder - each Nation has its own Wonder, different from the other Nations. This unique Wonder has special rules on that Nation's Reference card.

2. Crown Buildings

   Crown Buildings are denoted by the Crown Building symbol. This type of Building can be built away from your towns, and is placed adjacent to your Avatar. Crown Buildings are primarily for gaining resources, but you can also use them to deny resources to your opponent (even by blocking the Source Pool if you're sure you won't need access to it). Each Nation's Crown Buildings include 3 Town Halls, 1 Unique Crown Building, and 2 of each other type of Crown Building:

   • Town Hall - You start the game with 1 of these and can build more if you research them. This Building is super important if you want to keep building more Town Buildings, want to increase your Population Limit, or just want the large quantity of resources it produces each turn.
   • Mining Camp - Place on a mountain to produce more Gold.
   • Lumber Camp - Place on a forest to produce more Wood.
   • Food Camp - Place on the associated resource to produce more Food. This Building is different depending on which Nation you are playing, meaning you'll be on the lookout for a different type of resource square than your opponents.

Triggering a Building's Action

Each Building has an action that can be triggered once per turn. Building actions cannot be activated if the Building is occupied by an opponent's Unit (see Occupying Buildings), but may be activated later during the player's turn if the Building is no longer occupied.

The Building actions include:

1. Town Hall Action (Develop): Town Halls have the Develop action, which allows you to place Town Buildings.

   • A. Each of your Town Halls can have a maximum of 4 Buildings adjacent to it (unless specified otherwise by an ability or game effect). If you would like to place a Building next to a Town Hall that has reached its limit, you must first destroy (remove from the game board) one of the Buildings that is currently adjacent to it.
   • B. To place a Building, first pay the required resources shown in the top left corner of the Building tile. Some Buildings require you to achieve a certain level of research before you can purchase them. These Buildings have a Research Lock icon. You cannot purchase these unless the corresponding node on the Research Board has been unlocked.
   • C. When placing a Building:
     • Buildings occupy 6 spaces (2 high by 3 wide) and must be placed so they are oriented the same way as your starting Town Hall.
     • Each Town Building must be placed adjacent to your Town Hall.
     • A Building cannot be placed overlapping another Building, a Unit, or an Avatar.
     • Buildings CAN be placed overlapping the Source Pool or any other resource zone on the board.
     • Any time you place a Building which has a resource shown in the bottom-right corner of its tile, you increase your income for that resource on your Income Tracker by sliding that token to the right on its track.

   Example 1: This placement is valid because the House tile shares at least 1 square of edge with the Town Hall, so it is adjacent.

   Example 2: This House tile does not have a valid placement because there is no square with a shared edge. Diagonal is not considered adjacent.

   Example 3: This placement is invalid because the House tile is overlapping another tile. Buildings are never allowed to be placed where they overlap another Building or a Unit.

   Example 4: Here, the Camp has a valid placement because it is adjacent to the Avatar and overlaps the required resource square. If either of these 2 conditions were not met, the placement would be invalid.

Units and Unit Actions

Each Unit tile shows its Unit Cost (top left), a Research Lock icon if applicable, and its Unit Type (bottom right).

Unit Sizes

1. Units come in 2 sizes, denoted by the number of Unit type icons in the bottom-right corner of the Unit's tile. Size-1 is on the left and size-2 is on the right.
2. There are a limited number of each Unit type available, so a large military will need to vary its composition.
   • A. Size-1 Units can be spawned onto the map adjacent to Buildings which show that Unit's icon in the bottom-right.
   • B. Size-2 Units are created by overlapping 2 size-1 Units of the same type (see Combine Units).
   • C. Some Nations only have size-1 Units!
   • D. Whenever a size-2 Unit takes 1 damage, remove it from the board and place a size-1 Unit of the same type in its place. If you do not have any size-1 Units of that type available, then you're out of luck and the Unit is removed from the board without being replaced.

Nic note: Each Nation has a different number of Units. This might change your strategy or what research options you pick.

Alex note: Speaking of Unit tiles, you get them back when they're removed from the board, but you can't put more into play than you have available. If your size-2 Unit takes 1 damage, but you have no size-1 Unit to place, you're out of luck.

Unit Types

1. Melee Units: Melee Units don't need to be researched and can spawn from a Barracks. They're cheap, but they're nothing special!
2. Magic Units: Magic Units also don't need to be researched, but they cost Source to spawn from a Temple. They're quite special, because they're the only spawnable Unit with the Channel ability, which allows them to gain Source from the Source Pool (see Special Actions).
3. Ranged Units: Ranged Units require research to spawn from your Barracks and cost more than Melee Units. They're slow, but they can attack from further away.
4. Cavalry Units: Cavalry Units require research to spawn from a Barracks, cost more than a Melee Unit, and are the fastest Units in the game.
5. Siege Units: Siege Units require research to spawn, cost a lot, and require the Siegeworks Building. They're quite slow, but have an action called Demolish that can destroy Buildings (removing the Building from the board). Keep them safe!
6. Avatar: Your Avatar is a special character that you control like your personal presence on the map to build Crown Buildings, channel Source from the Source Pool, and unleash Source Powers that only an Avatar can do! (See Avatar Actions.)

Unit Actions

Each Unit can be activated once per turn. When you activate a Unit, you may first move that Unit and then perform 1 Unit action.

1. Moving a Unit

• A. The number of spaces a Unit can move is listed on your Nation Mat as the first number next to that Unit's type symbol. For example, the Thimble Empire's Melee Units can move 5 spaces.
• B. When moving, Units count their movement from the advancing edge, meaning whichever edge is closest to the direction of motion each time they step into a square. If moving straight forward, the top edge of the tile can move X squares straight forward. If moving straight backward, the bottom edge can move X squares straight backward. Units can only move 1 space at a time, forward, back, left, or right, never diagonally.
• C. Units can never be fully in water while moving. They must overlap at least 1 non-water square at all times.
• D. Units may move through friendly Units and both friendly and enemy Buildings, but may not move through enemy Units. Units can end their movement on top of ("overlapping") both friendly and enemy Buildings (see below), but may not finish their movement overlapping another Unit.
• E. Units do not need to use their entire movement value. Units can never move after performing an action that turn.

Example: Here, the Mushroom Tribes warriors move to the left 1 square, then up, then left, then up twice, for a total of 5 movement. Each time they change direction, their movement is counted by the new advancing edge: First, their left edge moves 1 square over, then the top edge moves 1 square up, and so on.

2. Occupying Buildings

If a Unit ends its movement with all 4 squares overlapping a Building, that Building is "occupied." Stunned Units cannot occupy a Building.

• A. A Building occupied by an enemy Unit cannot perform its Building action(s) until the occupying Unit is removed.
• B. A Building occupied by a friendly Unit can still perform its Building action(s).
• C. An Avatar can occupy a Building if it has 4 squares on top of that Building, but the Building is no longer occupied if the Avatar is Stunned.
• D. Avatars cannot occupy Town Halls. Avatars can never overlap any Town Hall.

Alex note: Occupying one of your Buildings with a friendly Unit is a great way to block enemy Units from occupying it themselves.

Performing a Unit Action

After a Unit has moved (or chosen not to), it may perform 1 action. The Unit may not move after it has performed an action. Unit actions include:

1. Attacking with a Unit

A Unit that has not yet attacked that turn and has an enemy target within its attack range may declare an attack.

• A. A Unit's range is equal to the second number after its type symbol on your Nation Mat. Range is measured by counting each square from the Unit to its target. Similar to movement, range is counted 1 square at a time forward, back, left, or right. Range is never counted diagonally.
• B. The damage a Unit inflicts when it attacks is equal to its size: Size-1 = 1 Damage; Size-2 = 2 Damage.
• C. To resolve the attack, the attacking Unit subtracts its size from the size of its target. If the target Unit's size is reduced to 0 or less, the target Unit is returned to the controlling player's play area.
• D. The target gets to deal damage simultaneously to the attacker if the attacker is also within the target's range. If it does, the target subtracts its size from the size of the attacker. If the attacking Unit's size is reduced to 0 or less, the attacking Unit is also returned to the controlling player's play area.
• E. If a size-2 Unit's size is reduced to 1, remove the size-2 Unit from the board and replace it with a size-1 Unit tile of the same type.
• F. Avatars are an exception to this rule and do not have a size. Instead, they are flipped to their Stunned side when attacked.
• G. Getting Stunned: Both Units and Avatars can be Stunned, but they are affected in different ways:
  • If an Avatar is Stunned, flip its tile over to the Stunned side. While Stunned, the only basic action available to your Avatar is the Recover action. However, you can still move and use Source Powers freely. To regain access to your other basic actions, you will need to use the Recover action as your Avatar's basic action (or Source Power if available) on your turn.
  • When a regular Unit is stunned, it flips over as well. When your Stunned Unit is activated on your turn, the only thing that Unit can do is flip over to its front side. This counts as both the Unit's movement and action for that turn.

Example 1: BEFORE - Here, the Mushroom Tribes size-1 Melee Unit declares an attack. Its range is 1, so the enemy is in range. The enemy is size-2 with a range of 6, so it can also reach the attacking Mushroom Tribes Melee Unit.

Example 1: AFTER - The damage is applied simultaneously. The size-1 Mushroom warriors deal 1 damage to the Thimble gunmen, reducing it from size-2 to size-1. The size-2 Thimble gunmen do 2 damage to the Mushroom warriors, reducing them to 0 or less, which removes them from the map and returns the tile to the Mushroom player.

Example 2: BEFORE - Here, the Thimble gunmen are attacking the Mushroom warriors. Both are size 1. The Thimble gunmen can reach the Mushroom warriors, but the Mushroom warriors can't reach the Thimble gunmen. (Remember: range is never counted diagonally, so the Units are at range 2 from each other, further than the Mushroom warriors' range of 1.)

Example 2: AFTER - Since the Mushroom warriors aren't in range, they can't apply any damage. So, the Thimble gunmen take no damage, while the Mushroom warriors take 1 damage and are returned to the controlling player's play area.

2. Combine Units

A size-1 Unit may end its movement completely overlapping another friendly size-1 Unit of the same type in order to use its action to combine with the overlapped Unit. Replace both tiles with a size-2 tile of the same Unit type. The newly created size-2 Unit is treated as if it was newly spawned, and may move and perform an action like a newly spawned Unit, even if either or both of the combined Units were already activated that turn.

3. Special Actions

Some Units can perform special actions, which are listed beneath their symbol and stats on your Nation mat.

• A. Channel X: If a Unit with Channel is adjacent to at least 1 square of the Source Pool, you may use its action to gain X Source on your Nation's Resource Track.
• B. Demolish: A Unit with the Demolish ability can use its action to destroy a Building. The destroyed Building is returned to the controlling player's play area. Any friendly or enemy Units which have at least 1 square overlapping the destroyed Building take 1 damage (equivalent to a Unit size of 1).

Avatar Actions

Your Avatar is the leader of your Nation and has many unique actions and abilities.

When activated, your Avatar may move, perform 1 basic action, and use 1 Source Power. You may do these 3 things in any order (unlike standard Units, which must move and then perform an action in that exact order). Your Avatar's basic actions and Source Powers are listed at the top of your Nation mat.

1. Move your Avatar

Your Avatar moves following the normal rules for Unit movement, with the exception that your Avatar cannot end its movement with any part of its tile overlapping a Town Hall. Similar to Units, your Avatar may move less than the full allowance and cannot move again once it stops moving for the turn. Your Avatar's movement range is listed as the first number in the top-left corner of your Nation mat.

2. Perform 1 Basic Avatar Action

• A. Attack: Your Avatar's range is listed as the second number in the top-left corner of your Nation mat. Your Avatar deals 1 damage when it attacks and, unlike standard Units, if it destroys the target Unit, the target Unit does not get to deal damage back to your Avatar even if it is in range. If your Avatar does not destroy the target Unit (i.e., the target is a size-2 Unit and you inflict only 1 damage), the target Unit does get to deal damage back to your Avatar if it is in range, and your Avatar is flipped to its Stunned side.
• B. Recover: Recover from being Stunned by flipping your Avatar back to its active side. Remember, if your Avatar is Stunned, this is the only basic action that you can have your Avatar perform on your turn. (Your Avatar can still move and use Source Powers while Stunned.)
• C. Build a Crown Building: Purchasing and placing a Crown Building follows the same rules as purchasing and placing a Town Building, except Crown Buildings must be placed adjacent to your Avatar. Your Avatar cannot build Town Buildings.
  • Town Halls: Town Halls are research-locked, and at the start of the game you are limited to just the Town Hall that you start the game with. As the game progresses, you can build 1 additional Town Hall for each "+1 Town Hall" Research Node you unlock on the Research Tree.
  • Some Crown Buildings have a region requirement and must be placed with at least 1 square overlapping a square that matches the icon on the Building tile. For example, a Mining Camp must overlap at least 1 mountain square.
• D. Collect an Encounter Token: If your Avatar is adjacent to an Encounter token, you can remove that Encounter token from the map to collect it. When you collect an Encounter token, draw 1 Encounter tile from the deck on the Research board and place it in your play area. Some Encounter tiles grant resources while others have special abilities that allow you to spawn Units, increase your Avatar's movement range, Research once for free, etc. You can use your Encounter tiles at any time during your turn (even as soon as you draw one). Once an Encounter tile has been used, it is placed in the Encounter discard pile.
  • Encounter tokens are destroyed if an Avatar or Unit ends their movement on top of them.

3. Activate 1 Avatar Source Power

Pay the amount of Source shown next to a Source Power on your Nation Mat to have your Avatar use that Power. Some Source Powers are the same as basic actions and grant you another opportunity to perform that basic action on your turn (even if you already performed that basic action once). Other Source Powers are unique to your Avatar and can be resolved by following the text below the Source Power's name.

• Avatars cannot activate their Source Power 2 until they have reached 2 Culture on the Culture Track on the Research board.
• Avatars cannot activate their Grand Source Power until they have reached 12 Culture on the Culture Track on the Research board.

Nation Objectives

In addition to information about your Avatar, Units, and resources, your Nation Mat lists 3 Objectives that you can try to complete during the game. When you complete an Objective listed on your Nation mat, place a Nation token on it to show that you have completed that Objective, then you may immediately gain either 1 Culture or 1 Science by moving your token on the corresponding track on the Research board.

Research Step

1. Once you have completed all of your desired actions in the Actions Step (Avatar, Units, and Buildings), you may purchase 1 new Research Node on the Research Tree.

2. You may purchase a Research Node only if you have reached (or passed) the Tier on the Science Track corresponding to the Research Node you would like to unlock. Pay the Gold price listed next to the Research Tier for your desired Research Node and place one of your Nation tokens on the node to indicate that it is unlocked. Research Nodes that you unlock remain unlocked for the rest of the game and do not need to be purchased again.

3. Your Science is not reduced when you purchase a Research Node.

   Example: Nic has reached 3 on the Science Track, so he is able to purchase any of the Research Nodes in Tier I or Tier II. He would like to unlock Access to Cavalry, so he pays 1 Gold and places a Nation token on the Access to Cavalry Node. For the rest of the game, he can now spawn Cavalry Units from any Building that is able to spawn them.

4. Research Node Types: The available Research Nodes vary depending on whether you are using the 2-player or 3+ player side of the Research board.

   • A. +1 Food Per Turn: Gain 1 additional Food each turn.
   • B. +1 Wood Per Turn: Gain 1 additional Wood each turn.
   • C. Access to Cavalry: Unlock the ability to spawn Cavalry Units at Buildings that are able to spawn them.
   • D. Access to 1-Star Building: Unlock the ability to purchase and place your Unique Crown Building.
   • E. Access to Ranged Units: Unlock the ability to spawn Ranged Units at Buildings that are able to spawn them.

End of Turn, Round, and Game

End of Turn

Once a player has completed all 3 steps of their turn, play proceeds to the player whose Nation token appears in the next space to the right on the Initiative Track.

End of Round

Once all players have completed their turns, check whether each player has earned any Victory Points:

1. Science: You can gain up to 2 Science VP during the game.
   • A. Gain 1 VP at the end of the round in which you unlocked your 8th Research Node in a 2-player game or 6th Research Node in a 3+ player game.
   • B. Gain 1 Science VP at the end of the round in which you first reached 20 Science on the Science Track.
2. Culture: You can gain up to 2 Culture VP during the game.
   • A. Gain 1 Culture VP at the end of the first round in which you have both 10 or more Culture on the Culture Track and your unique Wonder is on the map and unoccupied.
   • B. Gain 1 Culture VP at the end of the first round in which you have both 20 on the Culture Track and your unique Wonder is on the map and unoccupied.
3. Military: You can gain up to 2 Military VP during the game. Gain 1 Military VP if you occupy an opponent's Town Hall at the end of a round. (Stunned Units cannot earn a Military VP.) 2 VP can be gained in the same round if you occupy 2 enemy Town Halls at the end of the round.
4. Place 1 of your Nation tokens on the VP section of the Research board for each VP you have earned at the end of the round.

Once all players have gained any VP earned during the round, if any player now has VP equal to or greater than the goal selected during setup, proceed to the End of Game section. Otherwise, play proceeds to the next round, starting with the Initiative Phase.

End of Game

Once one or more players have reached the target number of VP, the player with the most VP is declared the winner! If 2 or more players are tied for the most VP, the one with the most Source on their Resource Tracker is the winner. If 2 or more players are still tied, the one with the lowest Initiative in the final round is the winner.

Solo Mode

When you play the Notebook Nations solo mode, you compete against another of the Nations in the game as your opponent, controlled by the game "AI". Any rules not referenced here remain the same as in the normal 2-player game. Set up the game board and your player area for a 2-player game. Select a Nation for your AI opponent, and, to the side, set up the Nation Mat, Reference card, Building tiles, and Unit tiles for their Nation.

Setup

Perform the following additional setup:

1. Place the AI's Town Hall on their Nation's starting space on the game board. Place a Barracks directly above their Town Hall, a Temple to the right side of their Town Hall, a University below their Town Hall, and their Nation's Wonder (Unique Town Building) to the left side of their Town Hall.
2. Place the AI's Unique Crown Building below and to the left or right of the Town Hall as close to the Town Hall as possible without overlapping the Town Buildings that have been placed.
3. Flip the AI's Wonder and Unique Crown Building face down on the board. These Buildings are considered inactive until they have been researched on the Research Tree by the AI.

Initiative Phase

The AI will choose the No Bonus space if it is available. Otherwise, they choose the Initiative space closest to the No Bonus space.

AI Turns

On their turn, your opponent acts in the following manner:

1. Gain Science and Culture: At the start of their turn, the AI gains Science and Culture as normal. However, the AI does not gain or use Food, Wood, Gold, or Source.
2. Activate Avatar: The AI Avatar moves and attacks/Encounters as follows.
   • A. Move: The AI Avatar moves towards the closest available Encounter token each round & gains 1 Culture when that Encounter is claimed (ignore the normal Encounter reward). If no Encounters remain on the board, the AI Avatar will move toward the closest enemy Unit or Avatar.
   • B. Attack: If the AI Avatar cannot claim an Encounter, the AI Avatar will attack the closest enemy Unit or Avatar that is within attack range.

Build Buildings: The AI will build Buildings as described below.

1. Building a Second Town Hall: The AI will build a second Town Hall when it is unlocked on the Research Tree and place it as close to the first Town Hall as possible while leaving space for the following Buildings, which will be placed immediately after placing the second Town Hall: place a Barracks directly above the second Town Hall, a Temple to the right side of the second Town Hall, a University below the second Town Hall, and a Siegeworks to the left side of the second Town Hall.
2. Building Additional Buildings: The AI will not build a third Town Hall or any other Buildings after placing their second Town Hall and its corresponding Buildings. AI Buildings cannot be destroyed.

Spawn Units: The AI will spawn Units as described below. When spawning Units, the AI ignores Population Limits and build costs (Food, Wood, Gold, and Source).

• Ranged Units: If Ranged Units have been unlocked on the Research Tree, place 1 small Ranged Unit on top of each of the AI's Town Halls that does not currently have a Ranged Unit on it.
• Siege Units: The AI Siegeworks will spawn 1 Siege Unit above the Siegeworks each round if Siege Units are unlocked on the Research Tree.
• Melee and Cavalry Units: Each AI Barracks will spawn 1 Melee Unit above that Barracks each round. If Cavalry Units are unlocked on the Research Tree, each Barracks will spawn 1 Cavalry Unit instead of 1 Melee Unit.
• Magic Units: Each AI Temple will spawn 1 Magician above the Temple Unit each round until they are out of available Unit cards.
• Unit Limits: If at any time all of the AI Nation's Units of a specific type are on the board and no tiles remain in reserves for that Unit, the AI will not spawn that Unit. The AI will, however, spawn a Melee Unit in place of a Cavalry Unit if it does not have a Cavalry Unit in reserve, but still has a Melee Unit available.

Move and attack with AI Units:

• Activation Order: The AI's Units are activated in order starting with the Units(s) closest to one of your Town Halls, then next closest, and so on.
• Melee / Cavalry / Magic Units: If an AI Melee, Cavalry, or Magic Unit is close enough to an enemy Avatar or enemy Unit to move and attack that Unit, the AI Unit will do so. If no enemies are in range, these AI Units move directly towards the closest enemy Town Hall, overlapping it if possible. When moving, AI Melee, Cavalry, and Magic Units will never overlap to create Size-2 Units, even if their Nation would normally allow this.
• Ranged Units: AI Ranged Units do not move and only deal damage to the first enemy Avatar or Unit in range that targets them with an attack.
• Siege Units: AI Siege Units do not move. When attacking, they attack enemy Siege Units first, then the enemy's Wonder, then the enemy's Unique Crown Building, then enemy Temples.
• Attack Priority: If multiple enemy Units and/or the enemy Avatar are within range and the same distance from an AI Unit, the AI Unit will prioritize enemy Units that are overlapping any of the AI's buildings. AI Units ignore an enemy Avatar that is Stunned.

Research: The AI unlocks 1 Research Node per round from top to bottom, left to right on the Research Tree for free at the end of each round if they have met the Science requirement to unlock those Research Nodes.

AI Nation-Specific Rules

• Mushroom Tribes - Treat the Unique Crown Building as normal. (Spawns a size 2 Melee or Cavalry Unit if unlocked on the Research Tree and provides 1 Culture each round).
• Thimble Empire - Treat the Unique Crown Building as a University that provides 1 Science and 1 Culture each round.
• Seed Children - Treat the Unique Crown Building as a Temple that cannot produce Magic Units but provides 2 Culture each round instead.
• Humming Republic - Treat the Unique Crown Building as normal (provides +2 movement to Units/Avatar and provides 1 Culture each round).