Sunshine City
Sunshine City Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
To be the first player to convert your city's power grid to solar power.
Short Game (Recommended for your first game!) — First to build 4 solar power plants wins – 30-40 minutes
Normal Game — First to 7 solar power plants wins – 45-60 minutes
Long Game — First to 11 solar power plants wins – 60-70 minutes
Components
- 2 six-sided dice
- 1 city sheet per player
- 1 pen or pencil per player
- 3 different-colored workers for each player (meeples if available, but anything will do)
- Yellow – builder
- Red – inventor
- Blue – lobbyist
Setup
Every player takes a sheet and places their Builder, Inventor, and Lobbyist in the left-most district on their sheet, the Money District.
Place the dice in the center of the table where all players can see them. Roll them until they show any 2 different numbers. This will be the roll for the first turn.
Make sure all players have a pen or pencil.
You're ready to play!
Overview
Sunshine City is a roll-and-write game. Each turn, the dice are rolled then used by all players simultaneously.
After both dice are rolled, every player uses the lower die to move a worker around their city clockwise, activating the worker in whatever district it lands in. Then, every player uses the higher die to move a different worker, also activating it in whatever district it lands in.
Workers upgrade your city in different ways:
- The Builder increases the city's production
- The Inventor unlocks new ongoing abilities
- The Lobbyist activates powerful one-time effects.
All of these abilities, effects, and production contribute to the goal of converting your city's power grid to solar power.
Districts
Sunshine City is made up of 7 distinct districts:
money icon Money District — Money makes the sun shine! The Money District makes money, which can be used as a wild resource.
chip icon Chip District — Computer chips tell daylight where to go. They are primarily used for developing new inventions.
wood icon Wood District — Wood, unlike money, does grow on trees! Wood is used almost exclusively to construct new buildings.
glass icon Glass District — Glass is a 2019 film directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is the cheapest material in the city.
steel icon Steel District — Steel is a valuable resource, used in buildings, inventions, and vehicles. Do not eat it. It is not food.
science icon Science District — Science is created in the Science District, then put into bottles and distributed around the city. Science!
support icon (phone) Support District — Support represents swaying the opinions of your citizenry. It is exclusively used by your lobbyist.
Completing a District
When every box of a single type is filled within a district, a solar power plant is created. Mark it at the bottom of your sheet.
The Inventor works on the invention: the red boxes in the top-left corner of each district.
The Builder works on the buildings: the yellow boxes on the right of each district.
The Lobbyist works on filling the vehicles: the blue boxes at the bottom of each district.
Example: In the above example, 2 solar power plants have been created! One from the invention in the top-left corner and one from the vehicles at the bottom.
As soon as a player has created the required number of solar power plants (4, 7, or 11 based on desired game length), the game is over and that player is the winner!
Gameplay
Sunshine City takes place over a number of turns, continuing until a player wins. All players take their turns simultaneously, and each turn has 3 phases:
1. Roll
Roll both the central dice. Everyone will use the same dice roll each turn: first the lower die, then the higher die.
For your first turn, use the dice rolled during setup.
2. Move and Activate
Each player chooses 1 of their workers (Builder, Inventor, or Lobbyist) to move clockwise a number of districts equal to the lower die result.
A district can hold any number of workers.
Example: If the lower die was a 1 on the first turn, you could move your Inventor to the Chip District because it is 1 space clockwise from the starting point (the Money District).
Activate your worker in the district where it landed.
When you activate a worker, it gains the resources circled below the buildings in that district. At the start of the game, each district produces 2 resources of its type.
Spend each gained resource anywhere in your city in a box of that worker's color, which contains that resource.
Example: In the above example, the Inventor gains 2 chips, and can fill in any 2 red boxes containing chips. These can be in different districts or the same district, and they do not have to be boxes within the chip district. The Inventor can not fill in any blue or yellow boxes.
Note: Resources must be spent immediately – you can't save them. Unspent resources are lost.
money icon Money may be spent as any resource; it functions as a wild.
? Question-mark boxes may be filled by any resource.
After you have used the lower die number to move and activate a worker, use the higher die number to move and activate a different worker in whatever district they land in.
Example: If the higher die was a 2 on the first turn, you could move your Builder to the Wood District. The Builder could then fill in any 2 yellow boxes containing wood (or question-marks).
As you progress through the game, you will increase each district's production and unlock special abilities and effects. It is possible for the second worker you move to benefit from things you just unlocked with your first worker.
3. Check for Victory
Once everyone has moved and activated both their workers, players should announce if they completed any solar power plants that turn. If any player has won by completing the required number of power plants (4, 7, or 11), the game is over. If not, start a new turn by rolling both dice again.
Rolling Doubles
When both dice show the same number, do not move your workers. Instead, activate all 3 of your workers in their current district in any order you choose.
To keep track of which workers have been activated, move each worker to the bottom of the district when you activate it. You should end your turn with all 3 workers at the bottom of their district(s).
Doubles can occur several times in a row.
Example: In the above example, if the next roll was doubles, you would fill in any 2 vehicle boxes, 2 invention boxes containing chips or question-marks, and 2 building boxes containing wood or question-marks, in an order of your choice. Each worker must finish resolving before the next worker begins.
Workers
Each player has the same 3 workers: a Builder, an Inventor, and a Lobbyist. Each of them moves and gains resources in the same way, but spends them in different parts of each district:
Builder (yellow)
Your Builder spends resources on buildings, the yellow boxes in the middle of each district.
Filling every box in a column completes a building and increases the production of that district.
Example: If your Builder had placed a science, a steel, a chip, and a wood in the second column in the Science District, that would complete that building.
When a building is complete, circle the resource beneath it. Whenever a district is activated, the worker who activates it gains each circled resource in that district.
If a building is completed mid-activation, the increased production does not occur until the next worker activates that district. Buildings can be completed in any order, and new buildings can be started even if there are incomplete buildings in the same district.
Note: The buildings in the Money District are made up of 2 columns. Both columns must be filled to complete those buildings.
Inventor (red)
Your Inventor spends resources on inventions, the red boxes at the top left of each district.
Filling in the top 9 invention boxes in a district unlocks that district's special power for the rest of the game.
Example: If your Inventor had filled in the top 3 boxes with any resources, then spent 6 glass here, they would have unlocked the Support District's invention.
When the top 9 boxes are complete, circle the lightbulb at the top of that district to show that its power is unlocked. These powers do not apply until the next worker activates.
Note: The powers at the top of the Money and Wood Districts only require 6 boxes to be filled instead of 9.
For a list of all powers and what they do, see the Powers section below.
Lobbyist (blue)
Your Lobbyist spends resources on vehicles, the blue boxes at the bottom of each district, to earn gears. These gears are then spent on projects, single-use effects at the bottom left of your sheet.
Each district contains different vehicles with different costs.
Example: If your Lobbyist spent 4 support on the center vehicle in the Steel District, that would give you a gear which could be spent on a project.
Once a vehicle has been completed, you may spend the gears it unlocked. Unlike resources, these do not have to be spent immediately – you may spend them at any time.
Gears are spent on the 5 projects at the bottom left-hand corner of your player sheet. To spend a gear, cross it off on both the completed vehicle and the project of your choice.
When every gear above a project is crossed off, use its one-time effect. See the Projects section below for a list of projects and what they do.
Each project can only be used once by each player in a game, and they may be completed in any order.
Solar Power Plants
Whenever every box of a worker's area is filled within a district, gain a solar power plant by marking it off at the bottom of your sheet. This includes the 6 or 9 boxes in each invention which do not unlock its power and the vehicle boxes which do not unlock gears.
This means that each district can gain up to 3 solar power plants – 1 for all of the building boxes being filled, 1 for all of the invention boxes being filled, and 1 for all of the vehicle boxes being filled.
Additionally, there are 2 bonus conditions at the top-left corner of each sheet. The first time a bonus condition is met, you immediately gain a solar power plant. See the Bonus Conditions section below for the special conditions.
Game End
In the round where a player constructs their last required solar power plant, the game is over and that player wins!
If multiple players construct their last solar power plant in the same round, ties are broken by, in order:
- Additional constructed solar power plants, if any
- Most gears
- Most solar power plants earned from inventions
- Most solar power plants earned from buildings
If still a tie, the player who was last in direct sunlight wins!
Bonus Conditions
When you complete a bonus condition, mark the solar power plant beside it as well as a solar power plant from the bottom of your sheet. The bonus conditions are:
-
Complete any 4 money buildings in your city.
Note that the last building in each district is a money building.
-
Complete any 7 money buildings in your city.
The 2 money icons on your sheet circled at the start of the game are not buildings.
Powers
(starting on the left and going clockwise)
- money icon — You may move your second worker using the lower die instead of the higher die. This does not count as rolling doubles.
- chip icon — Districts which have unlocked their power produce 1 additional resource of their type when activated.
- wood icon — Whenever a 6 is rolled, you may treat it as a 0: activate a worker without moving it. 6's used this way are considered the lower die result. When two 6's are rolled, you must still treat them as doubles.
- glass icon — If there are any other workers in a district where your worker activates, it produces 1 additional resource of that district's type when activated.
- steel icon — Whenever you complete a building, immediately gain the resource you circle. This resource may be spent as though any worker gained it (i.e. it can be spent on a box of any color).
- science icon — Whenever you gain a science, you may spend it to fill a box showing any resource. Like money, it must still be used by the type of worker who activated it. Eg your Builder must still fill yellow boxes.
- support icon (phone) — Whenever your Builder or Inventor lands here, they may instead act as a Lobbyist.
Projects
- 1 gear — Gain 3 money. This money may be spent on boxes of any color or colors.
- 2 gears — Next turn, each worker has +2 production when activated.
- 3 gears — Move 1 of your workers to another district. Activate it immediately in the new district.
- 4 gears — Next turn, keep your workers where they are instead of moving them. Activate all 3.
- 5 gears — Fill in 3 sets of horizontally adjacent boxes in any buildings or inventions.
Solo Mode
Sunshine City can be played solo! Place a black token in the Money District. This is the anti-environmentalist. His name is Angus. When playing solo, play the normal game – to 7 solar power plants.
Solo Gameplay
Angus seeks to convince corporations in your city to fund new fossil fuel initiatives. Angus is not a worker.
Each turn (including the first) move Angus clockwise a number of districts equal to the lower die roll before moving your workers. Angus always treats the dice as rolled, ignoring any effects or abilities used on them.
Workers may move to and activate Angus's district as usual, but you may not fill in boxes in the district Angus is in.
After moving Angus, mark 1 building in his current district. This represents a new fossil fuel initiative being funded.
Example: If a 1 and a 2 were rolled, Angus would move clockwise from the Science District to the Support District, and mark the final building. You would not be able to fill in any boxes in the Support District this turn.
When all 4 buildings in a district are marked (3 in the Money District) that district has funded a new fossil fuel initiative. You may still use that district as normal. Whenever Angus would land in a district with all buildings marked, move him 1 additional district clockwise – he lands in the new district instead. Repeat this if necessary.
When doubles are rolled, keep Angus where he is this turn and mark 2 buildings instead of 1. If there's only 1 unmarked building, mark it. If all buildings in that district were already marked, Angus does nothing. Even climate change deniers need a day off occasionally.
If Angus marks each building of all 7 districts, he has successfully funded a new generation of fossil fuel - he wins, and you lose. If you build 7 solar power plants before he manages this, you win!
Hard mode: For a more challenging solo experience, try to complete 10 solar power plants before Angus wins.