Pendulum Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
  • Cards
  • Plastic Pieces
  • Timers
• Global Setup
  • Province Cards
  • Stratagem Cards
  • Council Reward Cards
• Player Setup
  • Workers
  • The Characters
• Beginning Play
• Game Basics
• Victory Tracks, Resources, & Votes
  • Imperial Privilege
  • Workers
  • Production
  • Council Phase (overview)
• Timers, Rows, and Action Spaces
  • Actions
• Worker Actions
  • Example of a full worker action
  • Moving Workers
  • Taking Worker Actions
• Forgetting About Workers
• Conquer Province
• Untimed Actions
  • Flip Timer
  • Play Stratagem
  • Pick Up Stratagems
  • Claiming Achievement
  • Refresh Province Cards
  • Call Council
• Council Phase
• Claiming Privilege
• Game End
• 2-3 Player Games
• Removing Timers from the Game
• Advanced Variant
  • Worker Placement
  • Glory
• Explanation of Action Spaces & Cards
  • Costs
  • Rewards
  • Stratagem Cards & Council Reward Cards
  • Province Cards
• FAQ

Contents

• A 1 game board
• B 1 council board
• C 5 player mats (double sided)
• D 10 ten-vote chips (2 per player)
• E 1 timer track board (optional)

Cards

• 5 advanced character reference cards
• 5 action summary cards (1 per player)
• 1 council summary tile
• 56 province cards
• 10 achievement cards
• 40 stratagem cards (4 per character)
• 1 grande worker council reward card
• 25 council reward cards
• 5 final council reward cards

Plastic Pieces

• 15 common workers (3 per player)
• 10 grande workers (2 per player)
• 20 VP tokens (4 per player)
• 5 hexagonal privilege markers (1 per player)
• 5 octagonal achievement markers (1 per player)
• 150 resource cubes (50 of each, 10 of each per player)
• 50 vote tokens
• 3 time markers
• 1 legendary achievement token
• 1 time token (optional) — used for untimed games

Timers

• 1 purple 3-minute timer
• 1 green 2-minute timer
• 1 black 45-second timer

If you need a replacement for a missing, broken, or malfunctioning component, please fill out the form at stonemaiergames.com/replacement-parts

Global Setup

1. Place the game board (A) in the center of the table, choosing the side based on your number of players. One side is for 1-3 players and the other is for 4-5 players.
2. Place the council board (B) anywhere in the play area and place the council summary tile nearby.
3. Place the 3 timers on the game board on their matching-color action area in the gold circles on the top row of each area (the purple action area has two gold frame circles per row; you can place the timer in either circle on the top row). Place the 3 purple time markers, one in each of the remaining open gold frame circles on the purple action area.
4. Shuffle the 10 achievement cards and place them face-down on the indicated slot on the board. Reveal the top card and place the legendary achievement token on the middle of the card.

Province Cards

5. Shuffle the province cards and place them onto the province area. Deal the top 4 cards face-up onto the display.

Stratagem Cards

6. Each player gains the stratagem cards with their character's icon (the icon is found on the backs of these cards and the bottom-right corner of the front of each card).

Council Reward Cards

7. Place the grande worker council reward card onto the designated spot on the council board (it has a different back to differentiate it).

8. Separate out the 5 final council reward cards, which have a trophy icon in the upper-left corner and a red back. Place them face down on the council board in the designated spot to form the bottom of the deck (they will be the 5 cards available in the fourth council phase).

   Shuffle the remaining 25 council reward cards. Remove 10 of them from the game, returning them to the box. Deal 5 of them face-up onto the open spots on the council board, and place the last 10 face-down on top of the final council reward cards to complete the deck.

Because it is a real-time game, it is crucial to set up Pendulum so all players can easily reach the board. The suggested layout is shown in the rulebook, but feel free to adjust as each table and play space is different. What is important is that each player is able to easily reach the game board and their player mat.

Player Setup

Each player takes 1 worker action summary card, two 10-vote chips, a set of VP tokens (one each of red, blue, yellow, and grey), and a set of resource cubes (10 each of red, yellow, and blue) and 10 vote tokens (purple rectangles) that only they will have access to (and are limited to gaining during the game). Return any excess tokens to the box.

Each player randomly chooses a character and takes that character's player mat. One side of each player mat is for experienced players. We recommend using the basic sides for your first few games.

1. The player mat has the character's symbol on it above their name. Players take their character's set of 4 starting stratagem cards marked with the character's symbol. Put all starting stratagem cards of unused characters back into the box.
2. Players set their player mat in front of them, then places their worker action summary card nearby.
3. Players sort their resource cubes by color and place them in piles next to their player mat. Add the two 10-vote chips to the pile of purple vote tokens (use this if you ever get more than 10/20 votes). Players then move the number of cubes of each resource indicated in the lower right-hand corner of each resource box onto their player mat. This indicates they are available for use as starting resources.

Players choose a color and take the following pieces: 1 hexagonal privilege marker, 1 octagonal achievement marker, 3 common workers, and 2 grande workers.

Players place:

4. One VP token at the start (far left) of each of their victory point tracks.
5. The octagonal achievement marker next to their player mat.
6. The hexagonal privilege markers on the privilege track on the board in random order.

There are 5 basic characters and 5 advanced characters (advanced characters each have their own Reference Card). It is recommended to only play an advanced character if you have played Pendulum before. If you play an advanced character, be sure to read through their Reference Card before playing.

Workers

A Each player places 1 common worker and 1 grande worker in the center section of their player mat. These are in play and available for actions.

Players place their other grande worker next to the council board. (These pieces only come into the game through the grande worker council reward, which replaces a common worker with a grande worker.)

B Players place their 2 remaining common workers anywhere next to their player mat. These are not in play, but can be brought into play by playing a specific stratagem card.

Important: You may never have more than 4 total workers (including grande workers).

Finally, return the timer track board and time token to the box, unless you plan to use them (see Removing Timers from the Game, page 20).

If you are playing a 2 or 3 player game, be sure to read the rules for this (see 2-3 Player Games, page 20).

Start Player: Pendulum is a real-time, turnless game. There is no start player! Please enjoy never waiting for someone else to take their turn while you play.

The Characters

Character	Basic	Advanced	Notes
Gambal	The Briber	The Insurgent	Gambal was not born with a noble title. Nonetheless, he continues to claw his way to power using untraditional means. Gambal's longest victory track is Popularity, as he depends on the favor of the people more so than Prestige or Power.
Bolk	The Champion	The Warmonger	Bolk served as the First General for the Timeless King before Surcil's disappearance. The minotaur plans to leverage the allegiance of the empire's armies to fight his way to the throne. Bolk's longest victory track is Power, as he must leverage his strength on the battlefield to secure his place as the new Timeless King.
Mesoat	The Justicar	The Pacifist	Mesoat, one of the Sphinxes from the sky city of Almadinat, is the current High Priest of Gahael. While some common folk have never even glimpsed a Sphinx in the flesh, the nobility of the empire have always looked upon the ancient creatures with great respect. Mesoat's longest victory track is Prestige, as the Sphinx's path to the throne relies on consolidating the favor of the noble ruling class.
Licinia	The Implacable	The Alchemist	Licinia is famously ruthless and will do whatever it takes to claim power. Rumors say she strives to unlock dark powers to aid in her quest for the throne. Always the opportunist, Licinia pursues all three victory tracks equally.
Dhrenkir	The Insidious	The Tyrant	Dhrenkir seeks to reinstate a version of the order that existed before the Timeless King, when dragons ruled Dünya. Though most historians view this as a dark time, many have begun to flock to the strength and order Dhrenkir promises now that the world faces such uncertainty. Dhrenkir's longest victory track is Popularity (Prestige when played as The Tyrant), as the dragon requires the backing of the people to overcome the entrenched forces that do not wish to see a dragon return to power.

Beginning Play

When you are ready to begin, in privilege order (see Imperial Privilege, page 7), each player places 1 grande worker on an eligible bottom-row action space. Then, each player places 1 common worker in the same order. All normal placement rules apply (see Worker Actions, page 9). When everyone is ready, flip all 3 timers to each bottom row, and begin play!

If any player is playing for the first time, we recommend that you either play with frequent timer pauses or that you play the first round without timers (see Removing Timers from the Game, page 20).

Game Basics

Pendulum is played over 4 rounds of real-time activity. After each round a council phase takes place, which is not played in real time. After the council phase of the 4th round, the game ends and a winner is declared based on total victory points (see Game End, page 19).

Victory Tracks, Resources, & Votes

Victory tracks: power, prestige, popularity, legendary achievement.

Resources: military, culture, gold.

Votes: votes.

Limited Inventory: The amount of resources/victory points you can have at one time is limited. If you gain more resources than the 10 cubes you have access to or gain victory points that would move you off the end of the track, the additional resources/victory points are forfeited. Votes are the one exception to this—there is no limit to the number of votes a player can have. (If you acquire more than 10, use a 10-vote chip.)

Trading: You cannot trade resources, votes, workers, or anything else with other players.

Action Costs: Three types of actions in the game always have a cost: Worker Actions in the purple and green action areas require gold, Conquer Province on the black action area requires military, and Pick Up Stratagems requires culture. Certain stratagem cards have a cost as well.

Costs on cards are shown preceding a black arrow. You must always pay the cost of an action before taking the reward. You can only pay the cost and gain the reward once. For example, if you play the Stratagem card pictured, you cannot choose to pay 6 to gain 4.

Personal Resource Bank vs. Player Mat: The 10 of each resource available to you can be considered your own personal bank. Resources and votes gained from your bank are moved to your player mat. Only the resources and votes on your player mat may be spent. You gain from and discard to your personal bank. No other resources are available to you, nor can you have more than 10 of each resource. Votes are unlimited and are not considered resources. Use your 10-vote chips to indicate vote quantities greater than 10.

Imperial Privilege

The privilege track includes the privilege symbol. Whenever you see a reference to "privilege order" this refers to the current order of players on the privilege track, with the highest rank being 1st. This order is reset each council phase based on votes.

Workers

There are 2 types of workers in the game—common workers and grande workers. The any-worker icon indicates either common or grande. Grande workers function just like common workers except they can be placed in the top gold frame of an action space, even if other workers are already there.

Production

The reward for certain actions is a production icon. This means you gain all the resources and votes shown on that icon on your player mat, as well as on province cards tucked below that icon.

Council Phase (overview)

While most of Pendulum is played in real-time, there are breaks in the action when the council is called. During the council phase, no timers can be flipped, and the real-time flow of the game is put on hold. Council is called when the last purple time marker is knocked off the board. The game ends after the council phase of the 4th round.

Timers, Rows, and Action Spaces

The game board has three separate action areas: purple, green, and black. Each area has its own set of action spaces and its own timer that governs the actions taken there.

• Every action space has a top gold frame, where workers are initially placed, and a bottom box, which shows the rewards gained from taking that action.
• Each action area consists of 2 identical rows of action spaces. Both rows are used by all players to take actions.
• Every row of action spaces has one or more gold frame circles. If a timer is on one of these gold frame circles, the timer is considered to be on that row. Whether the sand in the timer is still running or not is irrelevant, what matters is which row the timer is on.

Full details on using workers will be provided later (see Worker Actions), but to summarize—you will plan to take an action by placing a worker on the row that does not have the timer, and then take that action when the timer is later flipped onto that row. This process is covered by 2 simple rules:

• You can only move workers on or off action spaces on a row that the timer is NOT on.
• You can only take actions with workers on a row that the timer IS on.

Full details on using timers are provided later (see Untimed Actions), but here are a few rules to keep in mind:

• Never flip a timer in place—it always flips from one row to the other in its area.
• Timers can never be flipped while the sand is still running (unless you are playing an untimed round).
• Flipping a timer is assumed to occur instantaneously. There is no period that both rows are considered to be without a timer regardless of how fast you can move a worker, or how slowly the timer is flipped.

Actions

There are no turns in Pendulum. You may take whatever action you wish at any time. Options are:

• Worker Actions: Move a worker around the action areas. The status of the timers is important in determining what you can do at any given time.
• Untimed Actions: Take an action that does not rely on timers or workers at all.

No Required Actions: No actions are ever required to be taken. Just because a timer has run out does not mean it has to be flipped. Just because a worker is on a row with a timer does not mean you have to take an action with that worker. It is up to you to decide what you want to do at any time.

One Action at a Time: Once you start an action, you must finish it before starting another one. For example, you may take the Conquer Province action and, while deciding which province card to gain, remember that you want to move a worker from one spot to another. You must fully complete the Conquer Province action that you started before moving the worker.

Pay First: Whenever you take an action with a cost, you must always pay the cost before resolving the action. Playing in real-time, you are more likely to forget the negative part of an action (paying the cost) than the positive part (getting a reward). Be sure to pay the cost first to ensure this step isn't forgotten!

Designer's Note: Take time to think through what you wish to do next. While the game may feel hectic at times, it is important to remember to take time for this! You will see a return on this investment in the long run.

Designer's Note: Unlike many other real-time games, you'll find there are not many moments where you are trying to beat a buzzer or a countdown. With the various options for actions arrayed across different timers the intent is that you'll still find the game tense as time is constantly slipping away, but it is different from the stress of trying to "beat the clock". There may also be periods where you are waiting for a timer to finish before you can take your next action. Use these times to take a breath.

Worker Actions

There are just 2 basic rules that govern this process:

• You can only move workers on or off action spaces on the row the timer is NOT on.
• You can take actions with workers on the row the timer IS on.

These rules are summarized on the worker actions summary card.

Note: Some advanced character abilities break these rules, and take precedence.

Example of a full worker action

The white player wishes to gain the reward of 2 popularity from the action space in the green action area.

1. The white player places one of their available workers on the top gold frame of the action space on the row that does not have the timer.
2. Once the timer has finished running, they flip it from its current row over to the other row of action spaces, where their worker is.
3. At some point before the timer is flipped back to the top row, the white player shifts their worker down from the top gold frame to the bottom rewards box, pays 2 gold, and gains 2 popularity.
4. Once the timer has finished running, they flip the timer off of its current row and onto the other row of action spaces.
5. They remove the worker from the action space and place it elsewhere.

Pendulum's rules for "moving workers" and "taking worker actions" may be different than other strategy games you've played. In Pendulum, moving a worker onto an action space will never allow you to immediately take that action. You can only take worker actions when your worker is on an action space and then a timer is flipped onto that row containing your worker. In other words, the action is available only when the timer moves onto the row containing your worker, not when the worker moves onto the action. Understanding this distinction is crucial to understanding the flow of Pendulum.

Moving Workers

You can only move workers on or off action spaces on the row the timer is not on.

As you plan your actions, you can move any available worker onto the top gold frame of an action space or your player mat if you're not sure what you want to do with them yet. You are free to change your mind at any time and move a worker out of an action space to another location, as long as the timer is not on that worker's row when you move them.

There are some important placement rules for workers.

You cannot place a common worker onto the top gold frame of an action space in the green and purple action areas if any other workers are already there. No worker is blocked by other workers in action spaces in the black area, as indicated by the icons there.

Grande workers are never blocked by other workers (common or grande).

These rules do not apply to the bottom rewards box. Workers are never blocked from moving from a top box of an action to the corresponding bottom box.

Designer's Note: Once you've played Pendulum a few times, see the Advanced Variant for a simple revision to the worker placement rules that makes the game more challenging.

Taking Worker Actions

You can only take actions with workers on the row that the timer is on.

When the timer is on a row, workers on that row can take their actions. Shift the worker down from the top gold frame to the bottom rewards box, pay any cost in between, and then gain the reward shown.

• All action spaces in the green and purple areas have a cost of 2 gold. This cost must be paid before claiming the reward shown.
• Action spaces in the black area have no gold cost. However, there is one special action there, "Conquer Province", that has a cost of 4 military.
• If you no longer wish to perform the action, or you can't afford its cost, you can forgo resolving the action with a worker. However, because you can only move workers off an action space when the timer is not on the row, you must wait until the timer is flipped to move the worker elsewhere.

Remember, you can only move workers off an action space when the timer is not on the row. This means that after taking a worker action you cannot move the worker elsewhere until the timer is flipped off the row. Until that time, it is "stuck" in the bottom box. This represents the time it took for your worker to carry out your commands.

You only have to start an action while the timer is on the worker's row, not finish it. As long as you have shifted your worker down to the bottom rewards box to begin the action (paying its cost), you may complete it (gaining its rewards) even if the timer flips off of the row before you are done.

Forgetting About Workers

Over the course of the game, you will inevitably forget to do something with one of your workers before a timer is flipped. Don't feel bad when this happens—playing a perfect game of Pendulum is nearly impossible. Mistakes like this are part of the game. The winner will not be the player who never makes a mistake, but the player who manages their mistakes better than their opponents do.

Forgetting to move or take a worker action does not "break the rules." All the rules still apply just the same. For example, if you forget to move a worker off the bottom box of an action space before the timer flips back onto the row, your worker is now "stuck" in the bottom box and cannot be moved off until the timer is flipped off the row.

You do not need to remember what you planned for a worker to apply the rules correctly. There are only four possible states a worker can be in, and they apply the same whether you planned to end up there or not:

On the row the timer is not on:

• In the top gold frame: This worker is free to move anywhere else, or it can take an action later once the timer is flipped onto its row.
• In the bottom box: This worker is free to move anywhere else.

On the row the timer is on:

• In the top gold frame: This worker can take the action they're on.
• In the bottom box: There is nothing this worker can do. It is "stuck" until the timer is flipped off its row.

Issues only arise when you forget to do a required step in the game—for example, if you forget to pay for an action or forget to gain the reward for an action. If this happens, don't stress, you are just playing for fun! Do your best to rectify what was forgotten and move along with the game.

If you ever need to pause the game due to some kind of urgent matter that has come up, or to look up a rule question that is too significant to temporarily resolve by just claiming privilege, quickly set all three timers on their side. Do this the same way for all timers so that you know which end should be on top when you stand the timers up again. This will effectively pause the game so you can resolve whatever issue is at hand. When you are ready to resume play, stand all the timers back up at the same time.

Conquer Province

Certain actions in the game, such as an action in the black area, give you the reward of conquering a province. When you gain this reward, draw one of the face-up province cards from the province area or a face-down card from the top of the province deck. If you're feeling courteous, you can immediately deal out a new province card to replace the one you took, but it's not required (see Refresh Province Cards, page 15).

Then tuck the province card into any slot at the bottom of your player mat. Align the card so it shows the same color production icon as the slot on your player mat that you place it under. Note, the card may show a different resource icon or vote icon—it's the color of the production icon (the background color) that must be aligned. If you have already tucked cards under the chosen slot, the new province card is tucked under the existing cards. Once a province card has been placed in this way, it cannot be moved or "reassigned" later.

You may play an unlimited number of province cards to each slot, however during each council phase you will have to discard down to two per slot.

Note that while the card has a different resource/vote icon within the yellow octagon, this placement is perfectly legal. What matters is that the card is aligned with the yellow octagon background.

Untimed Actions

Untimed actions do not require a worker and do not rely on a timer in any way. Players can carry them out during a round whenever they wish.

Flip Timer

Every action area has 2 rows of action spaces with one or more gold frame circles where the timer for that action area can be placed. If a timer has finished, any player may flip it to the opposite row (never flip a timer in place). Flipping a timer is not announced or coordinated with other players, and it's perfectly legal to let a finished timer sit until you're ready to flip it. You cannot move a worker from one row of an action area to the other row on the same action area as the timer flips.

The purple action area has 2 gold frame circles for each row of action spaces (to hold the purple time marker tokens). When you flip the timer you must use it to physically knock a time marker token off the action area, and then place the timer in the now-open circle. If after doing this there are no time marker tokens left on either row of the purple action area, you must "call council" (see Call Council, page 16).

Play Stratagem

Every player has a hand of stratagem cards, which they can play at any time. Simply place a card into the "Discarded Stratagems" section of your player mat. If there is a cost, pay it first, then gain the reward shown. The card cannot be played again until it is returned to your hand (through the Pick Up Stratagems action).

Pick Up Stratagems

This action costs 5 culture. After paying the culture cost, pick up all your discarded stratagems and return them to your hand. You do not have to have played all of your stratagems prior to taking this action.

Designer's Note: Because players need to flip a timer to start or finish an action on the other row, you'll find the timers effectively regulate themselves once play is moving. There is no rule requiring timers to be flipped, but, nonetheless, there is almost always someone eagerly waiting to flip a timer once it's finished.

Claiming Achievement

At any time, if you have resource cubes and vote tokens equal to or greater than all those shown on the top half of the current achievement card, you may claim the achievement. You don't lose the resources and votes.

Place your octagonal achievement marker into one of the open spots on the card. If the legendary achievement token is still on the card and you haven't taken it in a previous round, you may take it and gain your legendary achievement victory point. Other than possibly gaining one specific final council rewards card, this is the only way to gain your legendary achievement victory point, which is required to win the game. If the legendary achievement token has already been taken this round, or if you choose not to take it, you gain the complete reward shown in the brown ribbon on the bottom of the card. You are choosing one of these options; you cannot gain both the legendary achievement token and the bottom rewards box.

Leave your achievement marker on the card—you can only claim an achievement once each round. You retrieve your achievement marker during the council phase.

Refresh Province Cards

At any time, if there are open slots for province cards on the board, any player may deal cards off the top of the deck, placing them face up to fill the slots. This action can be done during the council phase as well.

Call Council

With the disappearance of the Timeless King, the remaining nobles convene a great council at the start of each season to manage the business of the kingdom.

Players must immediately "call council" when a player flips the purple timer and knocks the last purple time marker cube off its space (not just from off that row).

After calling council, players may continue taking actions. There is no time limit, and no timers may be flipped. Players continue taking actions until they all agree they are done. All normal rules for taking actions still apply. If more than one player wishes to act last, break this tie by "claiming privilege" (see Claiming Privilege, page 18). Once all players are done taking actions, do not remove workers—instead, simply proceed to the council phase.

Call Council summary tile: TRIGGER: last purple time marker knocked off. Cannot flip timers. Continue play until all players are done: Placing and Taking Actions; Claiming the Achievement; Picking up/Playing stratagems.

Council Phase

Once you have called council and all players have finished taking their actions, proceed to the council phase.

The steps to be taken are summarized on the "Council Phase" side of the council summary card. Once the council phase begins, players may not take any action, including playing stratagem cards or moving workers (unless specified elsewhere), until the phase ends and play resumes. There is one exception—players may deal new province cards during the council phase.

1. Players arrange their hexagonal privilege markers on the privilege track in order from most (1st) to fewest (last) votes. Break ties in reverse order (i.e., whoever is currently ranked lowest gets to move ahead). Then all players discard all vote tokens.

2. All players gain their rewards in privilege order as shown on the privilege track. All players gain a council rewards card. Do not replenish the cards as they are gained. 1st place gains an additional 2 victory points (excluding the legendary achievement victory point) of their choice (they don't have to be the same). 2nd and 3rd place (only 2nd in a 2-3 player game) gain an additional victory point (excluding the legendary achievement victory point) of their choice.

   • The reward in the bottom left corner of the council board is always available for all players, even if it has previously been chosen this council phase. Gain one victory point of your choice (excluding legendary achievement).
   • If you select the grande worker reward (with a grande worker symbol in the top left corner) it takes effect immediately and then is flipped over. This card may not be chosen again this council phase, but it is flipped back over after the phase is complete.
   • Cards with a red symbol in the top left corner (and a red border) take effect immediately and then are removed from the game.
   • Cards with a stratagem icon in the top left corner (and a blue border) are permanent stratagem cards. Add the card to your hand of stratagems (not your discard pile). This card is just like any other stratagem—play it at any time once play resumes. Return the card to your hand with the Pick Up Stratagems action.
   • In the 4th council phase, the final council reward cards (with a trophy symbol in the top left corner) will be available. When you select one of these cards, pay any cost shown and gain the reward shown. Then, remove the card from the game. You may not select a card if you cannot pay its cost. You may not select the card that gives a legendary achievement if you already have a legendary achievement victory point.
   • See Explanation of Action Spaces & Cards, page 22, for details on the cards.

3. Check each slot at the bottom of your player mat—you can have a maximum of two cards in each slot. If any slot is over the maximum, remove cards of your choice from the game to bring the number of cards down to 2.

4. If this is the 4th council phase, then the game is over (see Game End, page 19). You can tell it is the 4th council phase because there will be no more council reward cards to deal out.

   If the game is not over, then set up for the next round:

   • If the grande worker council reward card was chosen, flip it back over.
   • Remove any unchosen council reward cards from the game (excluding the grande worker card) and deal out a new set of 5.
   • Remove the face-up province cards on the province area from the game and deal out 4 new cards.
   • All players retrieve their achievement marker if they played it last round. Remove the achievement card from the game and deal out a new achievement card and place the legendary achievement token onto the new card (whether it was taken or not).
   • Place each purple time marker token back onto an open gold frame circle in the purple action area.

5. At this time, you may move or place any workers. Resolve any conflicts in privilege order. All placement rules still apply (workers cannot be removed from or placed onto a row with a timer on it). You still cannot take any other actions at this time (i.e., you cannot take actions with workers or play cards.)

6. If any timers are still running at this point, wait for them to finish. Once all players are ready, flip all three timers (per the usual rules—flip them from their current row to the other row on their board). Resume play.

Designer's Note: You'll find some Council Reward cards are generally better than others. This is intentional, as one of the benefits of having more votes is the privilege of choosing your reward first.

Because the rest of the game is played in real time, players should take advantage of the breaks for the council phase to use the restroom or attend to other personal needs.

Claiming Privilege

Because Pendulum is a real-time game, there is the potential for two players to attempt to perform the same action simultaneously and come into conflict. Rather than letting things devolve into fisticuffs, all disputes in the game are resolved cleanly and civilly. If there is any question of who "got there first", the players in question resolve the issue through the privilege track. Whoever is ranked higher in privilege order "claims privilege" and resolves the dispute in their favor.

For two actions to be considered simultaneous, they do not have to be literally happening at the exact same moment. We recommend that you allow for an approximate one second grace period in considering actions to be simultaneous. This grace period is to discourage players from frantically moving pieces around the board, and to allow for a more relaxed atmosphere of play. You will win Pendulum through shrewd planning and decision-making, not through hair-trigger reflexes. Of course, your group is free to disregard this rule if you are looking for a more intense style of play.

Below are some examples of potential simultaneous actions/disputes:

• Conquering the same province at the same time.
• Claiming the legendary achievement token at the same time.
• Placing a common worker on the top gold frame of an action space in the green or purple action area at the same time.
• Moving a worker onto an action space at the same time that another player flips a timer onto its row.

You do not claim privilege to break a tie in votes during the council phase (break those ties in reverse privilege order).

This is not an exhaustive list. Players may claim privilege to resolve other matters of dispute that they don't have time to argue over/dissect as the game continues. It's generally more fun to keep the game moving than to try to pause and hash out details of a problem, but of course your group can make their own decision on this!

Designer's Note: Every table is different, but generally the issue of Claiming Privilege only arises once or twice a game, and many times it never even comes up. Nonetheless, it's of course important to have a rule to clear up these conflicts quickly in real-time.

Game End

The game ends after the council phase of the 4th round. If any player has advanced all of their victory tracks into the section on the parchment at the end of the tracks, this player is declared the winner and the new Timeless Ruler. If multiple players qualify as the winner, the tie is broken by the player with the most victory points in the parchment (for example, the player pictured has a score of 5). If still tied, the winner is the top player in privilege order.

If no player has advanced all of their VP tokens into the parchment section of the victory point tracks, then the winner is one of the players who have their legendary achievement victory point. Look at each of these players' lowest-scoring victory track (i.e., the track furthest from the parchment). The player whose lowest-scoring track is closest to the parchment is the winner. If tied, compare the next victory point track, and so on. If still tied, the winner is the top player in privilege order.

If no player has a legendary achievement victory point, there is no winner, and the kingdom descends into civil war for an age.

In the example shown, Player A is the winner because Player B does not have their legendary achievement victory point, and Player C's lowest-scoring track is further from the parchment than the Player A's lowest-scoring track.

Designer's Note: You will generally find each resource has one victory track that it is most effective at advancing. Military for power (most provinces can give power), culture for prestige (via the stratagem that gives prestige), and gold for popularity (via action spaces that give popularity). The tracks are color coded to remind players of this during play (i.e., the icons for military and power are all red).

2-3 Player Games

Use the side of the game board for 1-3 players, as shown in the top left and bottom right corners of the board.

At the start of the game, place the legendary achievement token on top of the council rewards deck rather than placing it on the first achievement card. The legendary achievement token is not available the first round. Players may still claim the achievement, but can only gain the bottom reward. Add the legendary achievement token back into the game during the first council phase as usual.

2 Player Games Only: Choose a player color not being used. This will become a neutral player for the game. During setup, place 1 neutral worker on each of the 4 smaller single action spaces remaining in the green and purple areas as shown in the rulebook. These workers will remain there for the game, blocking common workers from entering those action spaces.

Also, place the neutral hexagonal privilege marker on the privilege track in last place. The neutral player will compete for the privilege track every council phase with 3 votes. Place 3 vote tokens next to their privilege marker as a reminder. If tied in votes, break the tie as usual (the player currently ranked lower will move ahead).

With only 2 players, the wait time between actions may feel longer and less active without other players to observe. If this is the case for your group, try switching to an untimed game (see Removing Timers from the Game).

Removing Timers from the Game

You can always play any given round in Pendulum untimed (i.e., without the "real-time" element of the timers). The timers are still used, but you ignore the sand in them. For some players, this may simply be the preferred way to play. If this is the first game for any player, it is recommended to play at least the first round untimed.

Place the timer track board anywhere in the play area and place the time token next to it. To start play, place the time token on the first space of the timer track and flip the indicated timers as usual. Players now act simultaneously in real time to take any actions they wish, with all normal rules applying. However, there is no time limit (and players cannot flip timers). Players can take as much time as they wish and plan their actions, move workers, play cards, ask rules questions, etc. Once all players have finished their actions, move the time token to the next space and flip the indicated timers. Again, players take any actions they wish simultaneously before the game moves to the next space on the timer track. Once you reach the end of the timer track, Call Council. After the council phase, if you want to continue this way, place the time token at the first space again. Flip the timers to another row in their action area and proceed.

Since actions are happening simultaneously, claim privilege as usual to resolve any conflicts.

You can play the entire game of Pendulum this way if you wish. Also, you can flip back and forth between timed and untimed mid-game. Simply decide at the end of each council phase whether the next round will be timed or untimed.

Advanced Variant

Over time you may find your skill at Pendulum increasing, and you may even reach the ends of all four victory tracks prior to the final council phase. If so, you may want to play with these advanced variant rules to provide a greater challenge and to allow for additional scoring.

These rules make the game slightly more complicated and are not recommended for new players. Not every player in the same game has to use the advanced rules. This can be a good way to level the playing field between experienced and newer players. These two rules are intended to be used together, but if you strongly prefer the original worker placement rules you may still use those and play with the Glory scoring variant.

Worker Placement

A player using the advanced variant rules may never place more than one of their own workers in the same top gold frame of an action space. This applies to both grande and common workers. Other placement rules are unchanged: Grande workers may be placed in action spaces where other players' workers are, and you may place a common worker on an action space in the black area even if other players' workers are already there.

This rule does not apply to the bottom rewards box. Workers are never blocked from entering the bottom box from the top gold frame of an action space, including when using the pictured stratagem card of the advanced character Gambal the Insurgent.

Glory

If you are using the advanced variant rules, and you gain victory points on a track that you are already at the very end of (i.e., you cannot gain any more of that victory point), you may choose to gain 1 glory for each victory point you gain past the end of the track. Glory is represented by placing a resource cube (either from your personal supply or your player board) onto the corresponding victory point track (match colors). For example, if you are at the end of the power track, and then gain three more power, you can take 3 of your red cubes (which you use to represent your military resources) and place them onto the power victory point track.

This will permanently reduce the cubes you have available for this resource, and thus reduce the maximum amount of this resource you can ever have. Once you convert a resource cube to glory you may not convert it back. Glory is not victory points. If you take an action that costs victory points, you may not use glory to pay this cost. Paying victory points on a track on which you have glory does not reduce or impact glory you have gained on that track. You cannot gain glory for the Legendary Achievement victory point track.

At the end of the game, if there is a tie in victory points for the winner, the 1st tie breaker is glory cubes. If still tied, then proceed to privilege order to break the tie, skipping any other tie breaker conditions.

Explanation of Action Spaces & Cards

Costs

Some actions in the game cost a "wild" resource. You can pay this cost with any combination of military, gold, and culture that totals the number shown. Votes are not resources and cannot be used to pay this cost.

Rewards

Rewards may be gained from different places, including worker action spaces, stratagem cards, or achievement cards. Regardless of where you gain a reward, it always functions the same way. If a reward gives you a number of victory points, resources, or votes, simply gain what is shown. For other rewards, see below.

• Wild resources: This reward is some number of "wild" resources. Choose any combination of military, gold, and culture when you gain this reward. You cannot gain votes in this way.
• Conquer province: When you gain this reward, you may conquer 1 province (see Conquer Province, page 13).
• Retrieve worker: Remove 1 of your workers from a row with a timer on it (either from the top gold-framed or the bottom rewards box). It is immediately available for use again.
• Production: Gain all the resources and votes shown on the given production icon on your player mat and on any province cards tucked below that icon. For example, if this player gained the red production icon reward, they would receive 6 military, 2 culture, and 1 power victory point. The maximum of 2 province cards is only checked at the end of the council phase—the maximum has no impact on what you can gain until then.
• Pick up stratagems: Pick up all of your discarded stratagem cards and return them to your hand.

Designer's Note: Note the variance in the timers' run-times. The green and purple areas offer greater rewards, but take 2 or 3 minutes instead of 45 seconds. It is recommended that you do not place all of your workers on the same row of the purple action area, as this will lock up all of your options for a long period of time! Of course, if you're certain it's the best play, there's nothing illegal about doing it.

Stratagem Cards & Council Reward Cards

See the Advanced Characters Reference Cards for rules on those characters' stratagem cards.

• Grande worker card: Immediately convert 1 of your common workers into a grande worker (retrieve your grande worker from the pile next to the council board). Place the grande worker in the same location that the converted common worker was in. Remove the converted common worker piece from the game (you cannot bring it back into play; your total combination of common workers and grande workers may never exceed 4). You may not choose this card if you already have 2 grande workers.
• Additional common worker (character-specific): These stratagems are unique for each character. They allow you to gain an additional common worker by paying the cost shown. You cannot use these cards to gain a grande worker. The worker gained immediately comes into play and may be placed per normal rules. You may never have more than 4 total workers (including grande workers).
• Extra province capacity: Although this is a red (remove-from-game) card, do not remove it from the game. Instead, place it to the side of your player mat. During the council phase (including the phase when you select this council reward), you may have a maximum of 3 province cards in each slot of your player mat, rather than 2. If you have one of these cards, you may not claim the same reward in a future council phase, and doing so will not increase your maximum province count again.
• Convert victory point: Convert exactly 1 victory point of your choice (excluding legendary achievement) into 1 other victory point of your choice (excluding legendary achievement).
• Avoid action cost: Play this card when taking a worker action in the green or purple areas. Do not pay the cost of 2 gold for taking the action. This card cannot be used to avoid the cost of 4 military for the Conquer Province action on the black area.
• Legendary achievement: Pay any combination of 10 resources to gain your legendary achievement victory point. You cannot select this card if you already have your legendary achievement victory point.

Province Cards

Some province cards are colored differently. This indicates that each production icon gives the same kind of reward (i.e., red cards: all military, blue cards: all culture, yellow cards: all gold, purple cards: all votes).

FAQ

Can a grande worker be placed on the black action area? Yes. There is no restriction on where a grande worker can be placed (except in the advanced variant).

Can I move a worker from the bottom box of an action space back to the top gold frame of that same action space? Not while the timer is on that row. Once the timer is flipped off the row, that worker is free to be moved to any legal place, including the top gold frame of that same action space.

Is it legal to move a worker from 1 row of an area to the other row in the same area by moving very quickly while the timer is "in the air" being flipped? No, timers are considered to be flipped instantly to the other row.

Can I place a common worker onto an action space on the green or purple action areas containing only a grande worker? No. Grande workers can break the placement rules and can always be placed into an action space, but common workers cannot be placed in an action space if there are any workers there (except in the black area).

If I decide I no longer want to take an action, can I just take my worker off an action space? If the timer is not on the row, yes—your worker is free to be moved. If the timer is on the row, no—you cannot move a worker off an action space if the timer is on the row. You must wait until the timer is flipped off the row, even if you don't take the action.

When I conquer a province, can I draw straight off the top of the deck without dealing a new province card first? Yes.

What if, after calling council, players refuse to declare they are done with their actions and move to the council phase because multiple players are waiting on other players to say they are done first? It is rare, but possible, for players to get stuck in a strategic loop where they wish to keep adjusting their workers in response to one another. If this happens, claim privilege to break the stalemate (i.e., whoever is ranked higher gets to place last).

Is council called after the purple timer finishes running out of sand? No, you do not wait for the sand to run out of the purple timer to call council. As soon as the last purple timer marker cube is knocked off you must immediately call council.

Should we reset the boards for the council phase (i.e., pull off the timers and workers and restart like at the beginning of the game after the council phase)? No. Do not "reset" any workers or timers during the council phase. The council phase effectively pauses the game—leave all timers and workers where they are. However, you may continue to move workers and take actions after calling council (except for flipping timers). It is only once all players agree to move to the council phase itself that no more actions can be taken.

How do we start the next round of play after we've completed the council phase? There are no special steps you need to take to resume play. Once you have completed all the steps of the council phase, and once all players are ready, simply flip all three timers and resume play. As is always the case whenever you flip a timer, flip it from its current row to the other row in its area.

Can I play multiple stratagem cards that modify a worker action on the same action? Yes. For example, if you were Bolk the Warmonger, you could play his stratagem card to take an adjacent action and also play a stratagem to avoid paying the gold cost of an action. However, this would only avoid the gold cost of one of the actions; you would still have to pay the cost of the other action.

Can I place two of my workers into the top gold frame of the same action space? Yes. As long as you follow the placement rules, it is legal to place more than one of your own workers in the same action space (except in the advanced variant).

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