Time Barons Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components
Setup
Core Rules
Multiplayer Rules
Card Sets
Credits

Components

6 Starting Site Cards
- 2 Homeland Cards
- 4 Capital Cards
100 Gameplay Cards
- 50 Core Set Cards
- 50 Expansion Set Cards
5 Free-for-All Cards
- 1 The Hammer Card
- 4 Forge Cards
4 Reference Cards
4 Level Markers
55 Blue Follower Tokens
30 Red Damage Counters
24 Weapon Tokens
1 Rulebook (You're holding it right now!)

Note: In the lower left hand corner of each gameplay card is a symbol that tells you what set the card belongs to (Core Set or Expansion Set).

Setup

Place a green STARTING SITE card in front of each player. In a 2-player game, use only the starting sites named Homeland. In a 3 or 4-player game, use only the starting sites named Capital. Your starting site is the first of many site cards that you will use throughout the game.
Select which CARD SET to use. If this is your first time playing, use the Core Set listed under Card Sets. The other gameplay cards will not be used.
Notice the roman numerals (I-IV) on the back of the gameplay cards. These roman numerals represent technology level. Separate the cards by their level into FOUR FACE DOWN DRAW STACKS. Shuffle each stack.
Place 10 FOLLOWER TOKENS on each player's starting site. Place the remaining follower tokens and the damage counters in a pile to the side somewhere. This pile is called the SUPPLY.
Each player draws a hand of 5 CARDS from the Level I stack.
Each player claims a LEVEL MARKER and places it next to the Level I stack to show they begin the game on Level I.
The player whose starting site says "You are the first player" begins the game.

Core Rules

The following rules are focused on 2-player, which we recommend new players play first to learn the game. In 3 and 4-player games, some rules may differ. See Multiplayer Rules for more information on these differences.

Turn Structure

Each player starts their turn with 3 ACTIONS.

Exception: The player who starts the game only gets 2 actions on their first turn.

Actions can be spent during your turn to do a variety of things:

DRAW A CARD from a stack of a level equal to or lower than your current level. For example, if you are on Level II, you may draw from either the Level I stack or the Level II stack. [ 1 action ]

Beginner Tip: While there's no hand limit, be careful about hoarding cards. A Level III card called Bioweapon will punish you for having a large hand.
GAIN A FOLLOWER from the supply and place it on any site you have in play. [ 1 action ]
RELOCATE. Pick up any number of followers from any number of your sites and redistribute them across your sites in any new arrangement you want. [ 1 action ]

Beginner Tip: Be careful putting all your followers on one site. Certain cards can destroy a site in one turn.
PLAY A CARD from your hand. Each card has an action cost that's displayed in the top right corner of the card.
UPGRADE to the next level. Advance your level marker accordingly.
- Upgrading from Level I to Level II costs 2 actions.
- Upgrading from Level II to Level III costs 3 actions.
- Upgrading from Level III to Level IV costs 4 actions.
Beginner Tip: Although upgrading is powerful, it is also risky due to the high action cost. In fact, not every game will make it to the higher levels. To get to Level IV, you will need a way to gain extra actions.

During your turn, you may also ACTIVATE SITE ABILITIES (more on this in the next section). Sometimes site abilities cost actions and sometimes they don't.

When you are unable or unwilling to spend any more actions or activate any more abilities, you may declare the end of your turn. Then your opponent begins their turn.

Sites

Site cards are designated by a house symbol in the top right corner. Sites are played face up and remain in play until destroyed. When sites are in play, followers can be placed on them and relocated to and from them. At the beginning of the game, you only have a starting site. As the game advances, you will want to put other sites into play so you can spread out your followers and gain benefits from site abilities.

Abilities

Many sites have abilities that can be activated when certain requirements are met. Most abilities require that a minimum number of followers are on the site before the ability can be activated. Some abilities also require you to spend actions. These requirements are displayed as icons before the ability text.

Examples:

An ability requiring at least 3 followers on the site and 2 actions.
An ability requiring at least 5 followers and no actions.
An ability requiring at least 2 followers and 1 action.
An ability requiring no followers and no actions.

Restrictions on Abilities

As soon as the requirements of an ability are met, the owner of the site may activate the ability, even on the turn the site was played. However, the site owner can only activate a particular site's ability during their turn and only once per turn.

Some sites (like the Library) have multiple abilities. You may only choose one of these abilities to activate per turn.

Infinite Abilities

Some site abilities have an infinity symbol next to them. These infinite abilities are less restrictive than normal abilities. They can be activated during any player's turn, and as many times as the owner wants, provided the conditions on the ability are met. For example, you may activate an infinite ability whenever your opponent relocates.

Note: if a site has both an infinite and a regular ability, then activating the infinite ability does not prevent you from still activating the regular ability once per turn.

Additional Terms Relating to Sites

A site's INTEGRITY determines how much damage it can take before being destroyed and is shown on a shield in the lower right corner of the card. Most sites have an integrity of 3. For more information on destroying sites, see Damage and Destruction.

Homeland and Capital are STARTING SITES. Nothing special happens if your starting site is destroyed — starting sites simply go to the discard pile and cards which can affect the discard pile also affect starting sites. Starting sites are Level I cards.

A site with 1 or more followers is OCCUPIED. A site with no followers is unoccupied.

Any text on a site that is not preceded by an icon and a colon is merely SITE DESCRIPTION and is not considered an ability for the purposes of the game.

Other Card Types

EVENT CARDS are designated by a star in the top right corner. Events take effect immediately after they are played. Follow the instructions on the card and then place it in the discard pile.

REACTION CARDS are designated by two arrows in the top right corner. Reactions cost no actions and may be played during either your turn or your opponent's turn. However, they can only be played when certain conditions are met (as described on the card). Discard them after they're played.

ATTACHMENT CARDS are designated by two circles in the top right corner. Attachments are placed on sites owned by either player. They affect the site they are attached to either positively or negatively, and remain in play. If a site with an attachment is destroyed, discard the attachment as well. There is no limit to the number of attachments that can be placed on a single site.

Note: If part of a card text cannot be performed, simply do nothing. For example, if you are instructed to draw a card of a certain level, but no such cards are left, do not draw a card.

Placing Attachments

Attachments are placed underneath sites face up and sticking out the top, with the name of the attachment showing. Example: the Bank can have two attachments, Plague and Retrofitting.

Tuck a Card (Expansion Set Only)

The following mechanism only appears on certain Expansion Set cards. If this is your first time playing Time Barons, you may skip this section.

While playing with the Expansion Set cards, you will sometimes be instructed to tuck a card. To tuck a card is to take a card from your hand and slide it face down underneath a site. Typically this will make the site more powerful. If the site is destroyed, all cards tucked under it go to the discard pile.

Some clarifications:

You can only tuck a card when an event or ability instructs you to.
You don't have to reveal the identity of cards that you tuck to your opponent.
You can peek at your own tucked cards.
You don't have to use the benefit that comes from tucking a card. For example, if you tuck a card under Port, you don't have to relocate.
In most cases, you can only tuck 1 card at a time. Remember that site abilities can only be activated once per turn.
Also, remember that when sites have two abilities, you can only choose one of those abilities to activate on a given turn. For example, if the owner of the Port just tucked a card using the first ability, they will have to wait until next turn before they can activate the second ability and draw 3 cards.
It is possible for any site to have cards tucked underneath it, even to no effect.

Damage and Destruction

Time Barons is not a peaceful game, and many cards allow you to harm your opponent (or require you to harm yourself). You'll need to know the following terms:

KILL a follower by returning it to the supply.

DO DAMAGE to a site by killing followers on the site (if any are present), and placing damage tokens on the site. For example, doing 2 damage to a site means killing 2 followers on that site and adding 2 damage counters to the site itself.

A site is DESTROYED when the number of damage counters on it equals or exceeds its integrity (displayed on the shield in the lower right corner of the card). When a site is destroyed, all the followers on the site are killed and returned to the supply. The site is discarded.

DISCARD a card by placing it in the discard pile off to the side. The discard pile should be kept face up and may be freely looked through by both players.

To SACRIFICE a follower is to kill a follower you own. To sacrifice a site is to destroy a site you own.

To STEAL a follower is to take a follower from an opponent and place it on a site you own. This movement of followers does not count as a relocate for either player.

Some sites are FORTIFIED. Damage done to a fortified site does not kill the followers on it unless the site is destroyed.

STRUCTURAL DAMAGE (Expansion Set only) is a special kind of damage that causes damage counters to be placed but does not kill followers. Structural damage counts as damage for the purposes of triggering reaction cards and other effects that depend on damage being done.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, the owner of a card that does damage decides which sites are damaged, and the owner of a card that kills followers decides which followers are killed. In addition, all damage or kills originating from the same event or ability are considered to happen simultaneously.

Game End

The game ends:

Immediately after one player loses all of their followers. The player who still has followers wins a TOTAL VICTORY. If both players lose all of their followers simultaneously, victory passes to the player at the higher technology level. If technology level is also the same, the game is a draw.
At the end of a turn in which 3 out of 4 draw stacks have run out. The player with more followers wins a MAJORITY VICTORY. In the case of a tie, victory passes to the player at the higher technology level. If technology level is also the same, the game is a draw.

End of Days Variant: The game no longer ends when 3 out of 4 draw stacks run out. Instead, the exhaustion of 3 draw stacks triggers the "End of Days" at the start of the next player's turn. While the End of Days is in effect, each player begins their turn by choosing and destroying one of their own sites. If that site has followers on it, those followers are killed. Otherwise, play continues as normal until only one player has followers left. That player is the winner.

Multiplayer Rules

The following additional rules are only used in a 3 or 4-player game. Multiplayer Time Barons can be played in either team or free-for-all mode.

Multiplayer has additional rules and requires more cards to play than 2-player, so we recommend that new players learn the basic rules by playing 2-player first.

Universal Multiplayer Rules

In all multiplayer modes, any event or site ability that refers to AN OPPONENT only refers to one of your opponents. When you play the event or activate the site ability, you decide which opponent will be affected.

Note: If a card does not contain the word "opponent", it does NOT follow this restriction. For example, Onslaught allows you to damage sites owned by multiple opponents.
When starting a multiplayer game, make sure that each player is using a Capital for their starting site and that you've chosen an appropriate card set to play with. Our recommended sets for 3-4 players are listed under Card Sets.

Team Multiplayer

Team Time Barons is a tense, strategic experience. Cooperation with your teammate is critical, and one wrong move can cost you the game.

Before the game starts, divide into two teams, either 2 vs. 1 in a three-player game, or 2 vs. 2 in a four-player game. The following rules apply to all team games:

If one teammate loses, the whole team loses. The moment either teammate has no followers, the game is over and that team has lost.
If 3 card stacks run out, count teammates' combined followers. In the event that 3 out of 4 card stacks run out, the team with more total combined followers wins the game. In case of a tie, victory goes to the team with the higher total combined tech level. If still tied, the game is a draw.
During a relocate action you can pass followers and cards. When relocating, you also have the option to pass followers and/or cards to your teammate at no extra cost.
- Passed cards must originate from your hand, and upon being passed immediately enter your teammate's hand. Pass cards face down so their identity is hidden from the opposing team.
- When you pass followers to your teammate, they decide where to place those followers, not you. Passed followers can be distributed across multiple sites.
  
  Note: You can only pass cards or followers during a "full" relocate action. "Limited" relocates that constrain how or where you can relocate (such as those caused by Escape Route, Castle, Threat, or Assimilation) do not allow passing to your teammate.
All table talk must be public. You can discuss strategy with your teammate but only publicly so that everyone can hear.
You cannot show other players cards in your hand. You cannot physically show another player your cards, though you can verbally say what cards you have, as long as you do so publicly per the previous rule.
"You" only refers to you. If a card refers to a "site you own" that must be a site you personally own. For example, if a reaction card triggers "when one of your sites is damaged", you cannot use that card when one of your teammate's sites is damaged.

Strategy Tips: A good guideline is to have roughly the same number of followers as your teammate so that neither of you becomes an easy target. Also, if you are holding an important card you can't afford to play, it may be better to pass it to your teammate rather than wait until your next turn.

Four-Player Rules

Teammates do not sit next to each other. The seating order around the table should alternate between a member of one team and a member of the other: Team 1, Team 2, Team 1, Team 2.
The player whose Capital says "You are the first player" goes first. Play proceeds clockwise around the table.
The first three players in turn order only get 2 actions on their first turn. In contrast, the fourth player gets 3 actions on their first turn. After one complete cycle around the table, all players get 3 actions per turn as normal.

Three-Player Rules

In 3-player team play, two players will join forces as the Team Barons. The third player will stand alone as the Solo Baron.

Endowed with unilateral decision-making capability, the Solo Baron is a powerful despot who takes twice as many turns and only needs to destroy one of the opposing team's civilizations to win. The Team Barons have more resources, but they will need to cooperate carefully in order to achieve victory.

Team Barons always start the game. After viewing their hands, the Team Barons decide which of them will start the game. The Team Baron who starts the game gets a full 3 action turn, and all turns are 3 actions from then on.
The Solo Baron takes every other turn. Every time a Team Baron takes a turn, the Solo Baron gets a turn immediately after. In other words, turns happen in the following repeated sequence:
1. Team Baron #1 takes a turn.
2. Solo Baron takes a turn.
3. Team Baron #2 takes a turn.
4. Solo Baron takes a turn.
Team Barons get a bonus for upgrading. After you upgrade as a Team Baron, you may draw a card for no actions.
The Solo Baron pays extra for upgrading. In order to upgrade as the Solo Baron, you must discard a card from your hand in addition to paying the normal action cost. If you have no cards to discard, you cannot upgrade.

Note: In the rare event that you have both no cards to discard and no cards to draw, you have made a very serious mistake.

Free-for-All Multiplayer

Not for the faint of heart, free-for-all mode forces players into a brutal struggle with only one winner.

The following rules apply to free-for-all games:

Set up. Locate the card named The Hammer and place it in the middle of the table, next to the draw stacks. Then locate the Forge cards and give one to each player. Finally, add weapon tokens to the supply.
The player whose Capital says "You are the first player" takes the first turn. After that play proceeds clockwise around the table.
The first players in turn order only get 2 actions on their first turn. The last player in turn order is the first to get a full 3 action turn.
The first player to upgrade claims The Hammer. If no player controls The Hammer and you upgrade, you get control of The Hammer.
From then on, attack The Hammer's controller to get The Hammer. If someone else has The Hammer, you can get control of it in 3 different ways:
1. Kill a follower owned by The Hammer's controller.
2. Damage a site owned by The Hammer's controller. If the damage is prevented, such as by Cannon Fodder, you do not get The Hammer.
3. Place an attachment on a site owned by The Hammer's controller. This could be a hurtful or a helpful attachment. Note that you get The Hammer upon attachment, but not as a result of any future effects the attachment might have. For example, when you place Plague on The Hammer's controller, you will get The Hammer immediately. However, future followers that die of Plague won't cause you to get The Hammer.
Having The Hammer lets you build a weapon in your Forge. If you end your turn while in control of The Hammer, you gain 1 weapon token. Place this weapon token on your Forge.
A completed weapon can be used to damage everyone else at the table. During your turn, you may take 3 weapon tokens off your Forge and return them to the supply. If you do, then start with the opponent to your left and choose one of their sites. Do 3 damage to that site. Then do the same to each other opponent, moving clockwise around the table.

Note: You do not need to be in possession of The Hammer to spend your weapon tokens. There is no limit to the number of weapon tokens you can spend in a single turn.
A player with no followers is eliminated. All weapon counters on their Forge are placed on the Forge of the opponent who eliminated them. If no opponent directly caused the elimination (e.g. it was caused by an attachment or a sacrifice), then return the weapon tokens to the supply. Any remaining cards owned by the eliminated player are discarded.
Last person standing is victorious. If you are the only player left in the game with followers, you win.
If 3 card stacks run out, the player with the most followers wins. In case of a tie, the player with the highest technology level wins. If still tied, the game is a draw.

Card Sets

Core Set (Recommended for First Time Players)

We encourage you to play the Core Set several times before moving on. Knowing the cards and what might come up is a key part of developing a winning strategy in Time Barons. A card that will shift the game in your favor may be only a draw away. Alternatively, you can counter your opponent more effectively if you can guess what they have in their hand.

This set is designated by the diamond in the lower left hand corner of each card.

With 2 PLAYERS, use all 50 Core Set cards.

With 3-4 PLAYERS, use all 50 Core Set cards, but REMOVE:

II. Military Base ( x2 ), II. Fortify ( x1 ), II. Loss of Faith ( x1 ), III. Archaeology ( x1 )

Then ADD the following 21 Expansion Set cards:

I. Barracks ( x2 ), I. Fertility Fest ( x2 ), I. Mason's Guild ( x1 ), I. Alien Monolith ( x1 ), I. Onslaught ( x1 ), I. Cannon Fodder ( x1 ), II. Mortar ( x2 ), II. University ( x1 ), II. Supply Depot ( x1 ), II. Spy Agency ( x1 ), II. Conscription ( x1 ), II. Retrofitting ( x1 ), II. Threat ( x1 ), II. Revolt ( x1 ), III. Arms Factory ( x1 ), III. Dilemma ( x1 ), III. Trade Agreement ( x1 ), IV. Nanobots ( x1 )

Expansion Set

After you have grown familiar with the Core Set, you may wish to move on to the Expansion Set, designated by the crescent moon in the lower left hand corner of each card. The Expansion Set features two new mechanisms: "structural damage" and "tuck a card."

With 2 PLAYERS, use all 50 Expansion Set cards.

With 3-4 PLAYERS, use all 50 Expansion Set cards, but REMOVE:

I. Bad Omen ( x1 ), III. Power Plant ( x1 ), IV. Replicator ( x1 )

Then ADD the following 19 Core Set cards:

I. Church ( x2 ), I. Catapult ( x1 ), I. Fort ( x1 ), I. Siege ( x1 ), I. Divine Inspiration ( x1 ), I. Display of Power ( x1 ), I. Escape Route ( x1 ), I. Misinformation ( x1 ), II. Hospital ( x1 ), II. Sniper Nest ( x1 ), II. Railroad ( x1 ), II. Conversion ( x1 ), II. Shelling ( x1 ), III. Missile Silo ( x1 ), III. Radio Station ( x1 ), III. Airstrike ( x1 ), IV. Forcefield ( x1 ), IV. Mind Control ( x1 )

Level-by-Level Mix (2-Player Only)

Level-by-Level is designed for players who are already familiar with both the Core Set and the Expansion Set and want to add more variety to their play experience without sacrificing too much predictability.

Begin by randomly selecting a Level I stack from either the Core Set or the Expansion Set. Then randomly select a Level II stack, a Level III stack, and a Level IV stack in the same manner.

Custom Mix

If you're feeling creative, construct a custom Time Barons set out of whatever combination of cards you prefer. Although there are no strict rules, for a balanced set we recommend that you make about 50% of the cards sites and that you keep the size of the level stacks close to the following numbers:

2 players: 20 Level I cards, 15 Level II cards, 10 Level III cards, 5 Level IV cards
3-4 players: 28 Level I cards, 20 Level II cards, 12 Level III cards, 6 Level IV cards

Note: Players who don't mind some added unpredictability and chaos can try creating a random mix by shuffling all the Core Set and Expansion Set cards together and dealing out a subset of them according to the recommended deck sizes above.

Check online for new card sets and ways to play!

Core Set Card List

I. Catapult ( x2 )
I. Temple ( x2 )
I. Mission ( x2 )
I. Fort ( x2 )
I. Church ( x2 )
I. Plague ( x2 )
I. Siege ( x2 )
I. Fanaticism ( x2 )
I. Divine Inspiration
I. Display of Power
I. Escape Route
I. Misinformation
II. Military Base ( x2 )
II. Library ( x2 )
II. Hospital
II. Sniper Nest
II. Railroad
II. Conversion ( x2 )
II. Fortify
II. Shelling
II. Blockade
II. Sabotage
II. Loss of Faith
II. Martyr
III. Missile Silo ( x2 )
III. Robotics Lab ( x2 )
III. Radio Station
III. Computer Network
III. Air Strike
III. Bioweapon
III. Archaeology
III. Ruthless Efficiency
IV. Doomsday Laser
IV. Ark
IV. Force Field
IV. Sentient AI
IV. Mind Control

Expansion Set Card List

I. Battering Ram ( x2 )
I. Barracks ( x2 )
I. Farm ( x2 )
I. Castle
I. Mason's Guild
I. Alien Monolith
I. Mine
I. Onslaught ( x2 )
I. Radicalism ( x2 )
I. Fertility Fest ( x2 )
I. Cannon Fodder ( x2 )
I. Pillage
I. Bad Omen
II. Mortar ( x2 )
II. Port ( x2 )
II. University
II. Supply Depot
II. Spy Agency
II. Conscription ( x2 )
II. Research
II. Outrage
II. Retrofitting
II. Demolition
II. Threat
II. Revolt
III. Arms Factory ( x2 )
III. Bank ( x2 )
III. Power Plant
III. Oil Drilling
III. Dilemma
III. Trade Agreement
III. Sanctions
III. Surgical Strike
IV. Replicator
IV. Alien Weapon
IV. Assimilation
IV. Brain Emulation
IV. Nanobots

Credits

Original Design by: Jon Perry and Aaron Pickering

Artwork and Graphic Design by: Derek Yu

Lead Testers: Daniel West and Gabe Cuzzillo

Additional Testing: Austin Andersen, James Andersen, David Borella, Jason Bowers, Joe Brinkman, Lauren Cannon, William Cennamo, Janak Chandrasoma, Perry Clayton, Sharon Clayton, Alexander Cobleigh, Leonardo Daud, Steven Duncan, Joel Dumas, Stephan Forden, Tom Francis, Noah Gadea, Montana Graboyes, Phil Hatfield, Brian Henk, Aithi Hong, Andy Hull, Stephen Kamhi, Alex Kibler, Gideon Lazarus, Wesley Johnson, Pat Johnston, Daniel Jordan, Stephen Kamhi, Joe Kaminski, Ty McDonald, Boaz Moser, Colin Northway, Sarah Northway, Elizabeth Onder, Matt Onusko, Tim Patton, Patricia Pei, Jacob Pesavento, Craig Phillips, Chris Register, Oliver Rizk, Ryan Sands, Matt Slowiak, Benoit Stordeur, Eirik Suhrke, Ken Venosdel, Tom Victor, Dennis Voegele, Maxence Voleau, Thomas Welker, Josh Weiner, David West, Jonathan West, Carmelita Williams, Josh Wood, Chris "Tepid Play" Yamaoka, Benjamin Zerbe