Pacifica Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Game Material
• Before the First Game
• Game Setup
• Game Play
  • A) Draw 1 card
  • B) Play 1 card
  • C) Activate up to 2 cards
    • Already activated
    • Conditions required
    • Discard required
• The Idols
  • Steal and secure Idol
  • The idol of diversity
  • The rule of the idols: You own what you own!
• End of the Game
• Important Information
• Detailed Example of a Turn
• The Categories
  • Treasure
  • Population
  • Resources
  • Architecture
  • Knowledge
  • Machines
  • City Festival

Game Overview

In PACIFICA you play cards from different categories and use them to build your half of the city. The cards all show certain symbols. If you collect a certain number of symbols in a category, you receive the idol of that particular category. The first player to collect 5 idols OR 3 secured idols in their half of the city wins.

Game Material

• 114 Cards (7 categories — each with 16 cards + 2 x Overview Cards)
  • 16 x Treasure
  • 16 x Population
  • 16 x Resources
  • 16 x Architecture
  • 16 x Knowledge
  • 16 x Machines
  • 16 x City Festival
  • 2 x Overview
• 8 Idols (Point dials)
• 32 Activated markers

Before the First Game

Carefully remove all pieces from the punchboard. Then assemble the 8 idols (point dials). They consist of two parts: a disc (back) and a disc section (front). Place the two matching coloured pieces on top of each other and fasten them with the enclosed plastic rivets, so that you get a fastened idol in each colour.

Game Setup

Each player should take an "overview card". Sort all the other cards according to their backs. Shuffle the individual stacks and place them face down next to each other in the middle between both players.

Lay the card stacks out in this order, forming each player's city half:

• City half of Player 2: Treasure, Population, Resources, Architecture, Knowledge, Machines, City Festival

• City half of Player 1: Treasure, Population, Resources, Architecture, Knowledge, Machines, City Festival

• Place the 8 idols clearly visible at the edge of the playing area. Set all idols so that the number "3" is visible. An exception is the light gray diversity idol. This must show the number "1".

• The Activated markers should be placed next to the playing area.

• Whoever lost the last game gets to make the first move in this game. If it's your first game, whoever was last at the sea begins.

• The second player to take their turn now draws 2 cards from any stack into their hand. This can also be 2 cards from the same stack.

Game Play

You always take turns to play. When it is your turn, you carry out 3 actions. You can perform these in any order and choose the same action more than once. You can choose from these options:

• A) Draw 1 card
• B) Play 1 card
• C) Activate up to 2 cards

Example: Sarah plays 1 card first. Then she plays 1 more card. Finally, she activates up to 2 cards. OR she activates up to 2 cards first. Then she draws 1 card. Finally, she plays 1 card. OR she draws 3 cards. OR she activates up to 6 cards. OR …

You may not split the "activate up to 2 cards" action, e.g. activate the first card, then draw 2 cards and then activate the second card.

A) Draw 1 card

Draw 1 card from any stack into your hand. Hand card limit: You may hold a maximum of 3 cards in your hand. If you already have 3 cards in your hand and still want to draw more, you must first play a card.

B) Play 1 card

Choose 1 card from your hand and place it in your city half (on your side of the game field). Note that the card must be placed beneath the stack of the appropriate category. You can tell which category a card belongs to by the coloured border, the uppermost symbol on the left side or on the back of the card. If there are already other cards of this category in your half of the city, place the new card beneath them so that all cards are always visible.

Example: Max plays a Machines card in their half of the city. They place it beneath the Machines stack and the card they have placed there previously.

C) Activate up to 2 cards

Activate up to 2 cards by placing an activated marker on the activation zone. To do this, you may need to meet certain conditions.

Card overview: each card shows a symbol, an activation zone (showing the criteria for activation), and — only on City Festival and Machines cards — a bonus effect.

There are three ways to activate cards:

• Already activated
• Conditions required
• Discard required

Already activated

Cards with a white tick on their green activation zone are already activated when they come into play. The symbols and bonus effects are valid immediately after being played.

Conditions required

Cards with a grey activation zone come into play inactive. You must use the "Activate up to 2 cards" action. To do this, you must have the designated symbols that are shown in the activation zone of this card on activated cards already present in your half of the city.

Example: To activate this card and obtain the City Festival symbol and the bonus effect, Sarah must own at least 1 Population symbol and 1 Treasure symbol each on one or more of her other activated cards.

Discard required

Cards with a red jagged activation zone come into play inactive. You must use the "Activate card" action, and in addition, you need to not only own the card(s) with activated symbols shown but also discard those specific cards. Discard means to remove the card(s) from your half of the city and lay it/them under the appropriate card stack.

Example: To activate this card and obtain the 3 Architecture symbols, Sarah must discard one of her other activated cards that show at least 1 Brass symbol.

When you use the "Activate up to 2 Cards" action you activate up to 2 cards one after the other! You may activate the first card and then use the symbols to immediately activate the second card. Bonus effects are always valid as soon as they are activated.

• The bonus effects of Machine cards bearing the permanent-bonus symbol are valid permanently — i.e. as long as the activated card is in your half of the city.
• City Festival cards bear the one-time-bonus symbol and allow a one time immediate effect. Such an effect can only be executed during activation. You are not allowed to "save" it and use it later.

The Idols

There is 1 idol for each of the 7 categories. If you have the minimum number of corresponding symbols in your half of the city, you may take the idol for that category. At the beginning of the game you need 3 symbols in each category.

Beware! You only count symbols on activated cards!

You place the idol in your half of the city under the corresponding category. Then spin the disk up a level so that the next highest number becomes visible. Which means, if you take the idol from the centre, you rotate the dial from the number 3 to the number 5.

Steal and secure Idol

At the beginning of the game, idols are easy to obtain because they only require 3 symbols. However, they are really not safe with you at first. If your opponent manages to get 5 symbols of the corresponding type in their half of the city, they immediately steal this idol from you. In this case, the idol is rotated one level higher, so the next highest number becomes visible. If you own the 5 symbols, you can take the idol to your side of the city and rotate it to show the number 7.

The idol can now only be won and taken one last time. If you have 7 symbols of the same type, take the corresponding idol and turn it so that the back is now visible. You now own a secured idol. It stays in your half of the city for the rest of the game.

Important! If you own an idol, you may of course use your symbols to rotate it one or more levels higher yourself. This makes it more difficult for your opponent to steal the idol from you.

The idol of diversity

The eighth idol is not assigned to any of the 7 categories. In order to obtain it, you need at least 1 symbol from each of the 7 categories. To secure it, you must own 2 symbols in each category.

The rule of the idols: You own what you own!

It can happen that you obtain an idol, but later in the game you have to discard cards which show the corresponding symbol for that idol. So, in effect you would then own fewer symbols than originally necessary for the idol. In this case, the rule applies: You own what you own! So you only have to hand over idols when your opponent wins them from you.

End of the Game

If you own 5 idols OR 3 secured idols in your half of the city, you win and the game ends immediately.

Important Information

Resources is the only category that has two different symbols: Stone and Brass. Both symbols can be used to reach the correct number to obtain the Resources idol. Both stone and brass count as 1 Resource symbol. The distinction is important for cards of other categories where you either require stone or brass as a condition.

You don't have to remember the exact differences between the categories. Just note the correct game setup and this rule of thumb: The categories are sorted "from cheap to expensive". That said, Treasure cards often come into play already activated, whereas City Festival cards rarely do. Cards from "expensive" categories tend to be stronger than cards in a "cheap" category.

We recommend that you count the actions of your turn out loud ("one, two, three") so that you don't forget how many actions you have already performed.

You now know all the rules and can start playing. If you want to delve deeper into the game, read the categories overview below about the strengths and weaknesses of each category and how they relate to each other.

Detailed Example of a Turn

It's Sarah's turn.

1. As the first of her three actions she chooses "Draw 1 card". She decides to draw a Population card from the stack.
2. Sarah chooses "Play 1 card" as her second action.
3. As a third action she chooses "Activate up to 2 cards".
   • First, Sarah activates her Population card, by placing an Activated marker on the activation zone. She can do this because she has two Architecture symbols in her half of the city. By activating this card she now has 3 Population symbols. This means that she can obtain the Population Idol and rotate it one level higher, so that the number "5" is now displayed.
   • Sarah also activates her City Festival card that she played on a previous turn. Doing so triggers that card's special ability, allowing her to draw a card from the Machines stack and place it directly into her half of the city.

That's the end of Sarah's turn. Next up is Max.

The Categories

Here you can get an overview of the special features of each category in order to build more successfully.

Treasure

• It sounds strange, but Treasure symbols are often free in Pacifica. Half of these cards are already activated when they come into play.
• You need Treasure symbols as a condition in almost all of the other categories. Often you have to discard Treasure cards.
• Inactive Treasure cards require Population symbols to activate them.

Population

• More than half of the Population cards come into play already activated.
• They are often required as a condition for stronger cards (especially Treasure).
• Your people need housing, therefore Architecture symbols are required as a condition.

Resources

• Resources are often required as a condition for Architecture cards.
• You almost always have to not only own stone and brass, but also discard.
• Brass is rarer than stone. Brass is however indispensable for some strong Architecture cards that are among the best cards in the game.

Architecture

• Architecture symbols can be obtained quickly as many Architecture cards show 2 or 3 symbols.
• However, these cards also cost Resources, which always have to be discarded.

Knowledge

• Knowledge cards enrich all categories, because they often contain another category symbol with the Knowledge symbol.
• Knowledge cards enable you to quickly own symbols of a wider range of categories.

Machines

• Machines cards are special in that they allow a permanent bonus effect after they have been activated.
• If the bonus effect allows you to draw cards, you may draw them into your hand from any stack unless otherwise specified.

City Festival

• City Festival cards provide bonus effects which you can implement once, immediately upon activation.
• If the bonus effect allows you to draw cards, you may draw them into your hand from any stack unless otherwise specified.
• If through a bonus effect you receive "temporary" symbols, these are virtual and expire immediately after activation. For example, you may win and take an idol with the briefly increased number of symbols or you may rotate the number on one of your idols up a level.