Wealth of Nations: War Clouds Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup Changes
  • Military Units - Setup (Red Star)
  • Reduced Industry Tiles (2ED)
  • Super Industry Tiles - Setup Note (2ED)
  • Reduced Flags (2ED)
  • Starting Packages (2ED)
• New Game Tiles
  • Impassable Terrain (2ED)
  • Super Industry Tiles (2ED)
  • Terrain Set Up (2ED)
• Basic Game Changes
  • Promissory Notes Interest Payments (2ED)
  • Trade Phase - Faster Trading (2ED)
  • End Game Changes - Final Sell Off (2ED)
• Rules of War (War Clouds)
  • Military Units (Red Star)
  • Develop Phase - Build (Red Star)
  • Develop Phase - Activate (Red Star)
  • Develop Phase - Transport (Red Star)
    • Activate Example I (Red Star)
  • Operations (Red Star)
    • Activate Example II (Red Star)
  • Transporting Industry Tiles (Red Star)
  • Produce Phase - Occupy a Tile (Red Star)
• Two-Player Game (2ED)
• Optional Rules (2ED)
  • Limited Passing Trade Phase
  • Cash-Only Start
  • Shared Dots Synergy
  • Starting Player does not Choose first Package
• How to Use the Planning Mat

Components

• 48 Military Units
• 6 Impassable Terrain Tiles
• 1 Integrated Economy Tile
• 1 Super Industry Tiles Rulesheet
• 6 Planning Mats
• 1 Rule Book

Setup Changes

Military Units - Setup (Red Star)

If you are using the War Clouds rules, each player starts with one Military Unit of their color. After all of the tiles have been placed, the Starting Player places their Military Unit on one of their own tiles. Then, in clockwise order, each player places their Military Unit.

The Military Units are shown as a red star for Bolshevia, a blue star for Bharat, an orange star for Federal Provinces, a green star for Showa Republic, a purple star for Arazzaq and a grey star for Anglica.

Reduced Industry Tiles (2ED)

Remove tiles from the starting stacks as follows. Start the games with only 12 Farm Tiles and 7 of each of the other Industries.

Super Industry Tiles - Setup Note (2ED)

Wealth of Nations now has new, more efficient Super Industry tiles! Players will need to use the Integrated Economy Tile for Package number 6. See Page 6.

Reduced Flags (2ED)

Reduce the number of starting Flags according to the chart below. The game end is still triggered the moment a player places their last Flag on the map.

Players	Flags
3-4	16
5	15
6	14

Starting Packages (2ED)

The Starting Packages have been changed to make them more balanced and to provide more money at the start of the game. See the revised chart below.

Industry Packages

• Industry Package 1: 3 Farms, 3 Flags
• Industry Package 2: 2 Generators, 2 Flags, $10
• Industry Package 3: 2 Academies, 2 Flags
• Industry Package 4: 2 Mines, 2 Flags
• Industry Package 5: 2 Factories, 2 Flags
• Industry Package 6: 1 Integrated Economy Tile, 1 Farm, 2 Flags

Commodity Packages

• Commodity Package 1: 9 Food, 1 Energy, $80
• Commodity Package 2: 3 Food, 2 Energy, 1 Labor, $80
• Commodity Package 3: 3 Labor, 1 Energy, $80
• Commodity Package 4: 1 Labor, 1 Ore, 1 Capital, $80
• Commodity Package 5: 3 Ore, $80
• Commodity Package 6: 2 Capital, 1 Energy, $80

New Game Tiles

Impassable Terrain (2ED)

This set includes Impassable Terrain tiles that act in the same way as the central non-playable space. The use of the terrain tiles is optional. No units, Flags, or Industries may be placed on an Impassable Terrain tile. The tiles reduce the number of available spaces and accelerate the game end. There are several arrangements that are illustrated on the opposite page.

(The board arrangement diagrams are shown under Terrain Set Up below.)

Super Industry Tiles (2ED)

The war machine breeds new, efficient industrial centers! These new tiles are purchased and placed in the Develop phase just like normal Industry tiles. They are not mixed in to the regular industry tile stacks and do not count against the game ending when 5 of the 6 stacks are empty.

To Produce Commodities a Super Industry tile must be powered and fed like a normal tile. If a Super Industry Tile has more than one type of industry represented on it, then each industry section must be fed and powered independently. All of the standard rules for producing apply You may choose to run one or both sections of the Bloc or not to run it at all.

The Integrated Economy tile can be purchased during the Develop phase for 1 Ore and 2 Capital.

• The Integrated Economy tile can connect two groups of Farm tiles into a single Bloc.
• The Generator section requires one Food each turn to run.
• The Farm section must be part of a powered Bloc.

Terrain Set Up (2ED)

The illustrated terrain arrangements are listed below by name and player count. Each arrangement shows where the Impassable Terrain tiles are placed on the board.

• Mountains and Valleys: 2, 3, or 6 Players
• Friends and Enemies: 6 Players
• The Great Ocean: 2, 3, or 6 Players
• Five Empires: 5 Players
• Land of Lakes: 2, 3, or 6 Players
• Through the Pass: 4 Players

Basic Game Changes

Promissory Notes Interest Payments (2ED)

At the beginning of each turn, players must pay $1 for each note that they are holding from the previous turn. If they do not have enough to pay the interest, they must borrow additional money (but they don't have to pay the interest on the note they just drew).

Players may not conduct any trades at this time. Players may not borrow more than 20 notes, and if they cannot pay the interest, then they are eliminated from the game. All their cubes and money are returned to the supply, but their Flags, Military Units, and Industry tiles remain in play on the board.

Example: Showa starts the turn with 5 Promissory notes and must immediately pay $5. Since the Showa player does not have enough money, they must immediately take out another loan. They already have 5 loans, so their sixth loan is worth $15. Showa is still only required to pay $5 because the new loan was from this turn.

Trade Phase - Faster Trading (2ED)

During the Trade phase, use the basic rules for prices, bartering, and Promissory notes along with the following four possible Trade actions:

• Buy 1, 2 or 3 Commodity cubes from the Markets.
• Sell 1, 2 or 3 Commodity cubes to the Markets.
• Barter any amount of Commodity cubes and/or money with one player.
• Pass and do nothing.

If you pass on a Trade action, you're still allowed to take other Trade actions later in the phase. You can also take out or repay one or more Promissory notes on the Trade phase.

Buying Commodities From the Markets

You may purchase 1, 2, or 3 Commodity cubes from the Markets during your Trade action. These can be from a single Market or spread among any number of Markets.

Selling Commodities to the Markets

You may sell 1, 2, or 3 Commodity cubes to the Markets during your Trade action. These can be to a single Market or spread among any number of Markets.

Helpful Hints to Speed up the Trade Phase

• At the beginning of the Trade phase, players should push forward cubes that they may wish to trade. This allows players to see what is available. While the other players are haggling over barter prices, you should be checking what cubes you need and who has them.
• When offering a trade, clearly state the value of your offer in terms of both cubes and their barter value. Example: I will give you 3 food which is worth $15 for your energy cube and $2.
• While two players are discussing a trade, you can discuss potential trades on the side with other players.

End Game Changes - Final Sell Off (2ED)

To speed up the final Trade phase, change the selling rules as follows. After the end of the game is triggered there is a final Trade phase where all players sell their cubes to the Markets. For each commodity players will all sell their cubes for the same price. To calculate the Sell Price do the following:

1. Add up all cubes of one type held by all players.
2. Divide that number in half, rounding down (15 becomes 7 spaces).
3. Count down this number of spaces on the Market and mark that space.
4. All players now sell all cubes of this type for the Sell Price in the well to the right.

Continue to the next commodity type.

Example: Players hold a total of 15 cubes of one type. 15/2 = 7.5, rounded down to 7. Place a marker cube 7 spaces to the right of the initial price. The Final Sell Price is 10, so the final price is $10.

Rules of War (War Clouds)

Every section in this part is a War Clouds rule, marked with the Red Star.

Military Units (Red Star)

Each country has a new unit type - The Military Unit. The Military Unit is a star that represents an army with its support. Military Units can be used to conduct a war against your opponents. They can invade an opponent's territory, Occupy an opponent's Industry tile, Conquer an opponent's Flags, move rapidly across the board, and defend against other Military Units.

Changes to the Turn (Red Star)

• Develop Phase
  • Build Military Unit
  • Activate Military Units 3 times
    • Battle
    • Conquer
    • Settle
  • Move Tiles
• Produce Phase
  • Occupy Industry

Develop Phase - Build (Red Star)

A Military unit can be purchased during the Develop phase for 1 Labor and 1 Energy. This counts as your Develop action. Military Units must be placed on a tile you own. You may only build one Military unit per tile per action. To keep track of which tile has built, twist your flag 90 degrees when it builds a unit. You may have more than one Military Unit on a tile. A military unit does not show control of a tile and you must still always keep 1 Flag on each tile.

(Diagram: Showa builds a Military Unit.)

Develop Phase - Activate (Red Star)

During the Develop phase, as a Develop action, you may make up to three Activations at the cost of one Food. You can divide the Activations between one or more Military Units. An Activated Military unit may make one move on the map and then conduct an Operation. Operations include Attack, Conquer, or Settle."

• An Activated Military unit may move onto any adjacent hex except for the center hex or Impassable Terrain. You may chose not to move a Military unit. An Activated Military unit can conduct an Operation whether it moved or not.
• You can also choose not to conduct an Operation with an Activated Military Unit.
• Each Military Unit must complete its move and Operation before Activating the next Military Unit.

(Editor's note: this paragraph names the operations "Attack, Conquer, or Settle", while the Operations section below names them "Battle, Conquer, Settle". Both are transcribed as printed; the Operations section is the operative list.)

Develop Phase - Transport (Red Star)

During the Develop phase, as a Develop action, you may Transport a single Military Unit at the cost of one Ore. A Transported Military Unit can be moved into any empty hex or a hex with one of your pieces, but it cannot be placed in a hex with any pieces belonging to an opponent. After Transporting the Military Unit can conduct the Settle Operation or simply do nothing.

Activate Example I (Red Star)

(Diagram omitted; the numbered steps are shown below.)

Showa spends 1 Food to Activate and Move Military Units. They can make 3 Moves and conduct Operations.

1. First Showa Activates a Military Unit, moves to the right, but does not conduct an Operation.
2. Showa then Activates the same unit, moves up against the Bharat, and, chooses to Battle. Both Units are removed.
3. For the final move, Showa moves his remaining Military Unit up to the Bharat Tile. Showa can choose to Occupy on the next Phase.

Operations (Red Star)

A Military Unit that is Activated can conduct a single Operation after it finishes its move. Each Activated Military Unit can do one of the following Operations:

• Battle
• Conquer
• Settle

A Military Unit can also undertake no Operations after moving.

Battle Operation

If you Activate a Military Unit, and it is in the same hex as any opponent's Military Unit, you may choose to Battle that Unit. You and your opponent must remove your respective Military Units. Units are always removed on a one-for-one basis.

• You can choose not to Battle and simply leave your Military Unit with the opponent's Military Unit.
• If there are two or more other players with Military Units in the same hex, you may choose which Military Unit to Battle.

Activate Example II (Red Star)

(Diagram omitted; the numbered steps are shown below.)

On the following turn Showa continues the offensive.

1. Showa Activates a Military Unit, moves to the right, conducts a Settle Operation, and replaces his Military Unit with a Flag.
2. Showa activates the occupying Military Unit, moves to the right, and conducts a Conquest Operation, replaces the Bharat Flag with a Showa Flag and removes the Military Unit.

Conquer Operation

If you have Activated a Military Unit, and that Unit is on a hex that contains an opponent's Flag but NO Industry tile, you may choose to Conquer the Flag. To Conquer a Flag, remove your Military Unit and the Flag of the current owner. Place your Flag on that tile and return the other player's Flag to their supply.

You may choose not to Conquer an opponent's flag.

Defensive Stand

If you move a Military Unit onto a hex that contains one or more opponent's Military Units a single defender may immediately choose to fight. This battle takes place before the active Military Unit can execute its Operation. Both the defending and moving Military Units are removed.

Settle Operation

If you have Activated or Transported a Military Unit, and it is in a hex without a Flag, you may choose the Settle Operation. Remove the Military unit and replace it with your Flag.

Transporting Industry Tiles (Red Star)

If you are using the War Clouds expansion, use the Wealth of Nations rules under P12: Move Industries with the following changes:

• Industry tiles may only be moved into a hex that contains one of your Flags.
• When choosing the Move Industries option, move the Industry tile as normal, but leave all other pieces behind including the Flag.
• If the Industry tile has an Automation token, the token is destroyed and returned to the supply.

Produce Phase - Occupy a Tile (Red Star)

During the Produce phase, if you have a Military Unit on an opponent's Bloc, you can choose to Occupy that Bloc. This does not cost you any resources. You must declare at the beginning of the Production phase that you are going to Occupy the Bloc.

When you occupy a Bloc that produces you may steal resources from it. For each occupying unit on a Bloc that runs, the owners Occupying Military Unit may choose to take one resource from the production of that block.

• You steal one resource for each Military Unit on the Bloc.
• The owner of the Bloc may choose to run the entire Bloc, a portion of the Bloc or not run the Bloc at all.
• Occupying players always recieve their cubes before the owner of the Bloc.
• If there are several military units on the Bloc belonging to different nations each one can choose to Occupy the Bloc.
• If the Bloc does not produce enough cubes to pay each occupying player then they should go in turn order taking one cube each until all are paid.

(Diagram example: Bharat has a Unit in the middle of a Bloc of Federated Mines. The Fed runs all three Mine tiles and produces a total of 5 cubes of Ore. Bharat steals 1 cube with his occupying Military Unit.)

Additional Rules & Important Reminders

• If you Activate a Military Unit, you may keep it in the same hex and conduct an Operation there.
• You may build a Military Unit on your Industry tile even if there is an opponent's Military Unit on your tile.
• You may not place a Flag in a hex that contains an opponent's Military Unit.

Two-Player Game (2ED)

Wealth of Nations for two players plays the same as the normal game, but with the following changes:

• Each player starts with 18 Flags.
• Players may not barter with one another. All Commodities must be bought and sold on the market.

Optional Rules (2ED)

Here are optional rules to add some variety to the basic Wealth of Nations game. Mix and match as you like!

Limited Passing Trade Phase

During the Trade phase, if you decide to Pass, you are out and may not conduct any more Trade actions that phase. Taking or Repaying a Promissory note does not count as taking a Trade action.

Cash-Only Start

Instead of using Starting Packages, every player starts with $360 in cash and one Flag. Fill all of the wells on the upper two rows of every Market board. Beginning with the Starting Player and going clockwise, each player places their single Flag on the board. The game starts with the Trade phase.

Shared Dots Synergy

When two players have tiles of the same kind that share a complete dot, both players get the full production from that shared dot when they each run their respective Industries. The player will get the benefit from the shared dot even if the other player chooses not to run their corresponding Industrial Bloc.

Starting Player does not Choose first Package

In this variant, the Starting Player does not get first pick for Industry Packages. Place one Industry tile per player face down on the table. One of these should be a Generator, one should be a Mine, and the rest Farms. Randomize the face-down tiles and have each player pick one. The player who picks the Generator tile gets the first player marker and will be the first player at the Trade phase. However, the player who picks the Mine acts as the first player when Choosing Packages. Don't forget to return these tiles back to their respective stacks.

How to Use the Planning Mat

(Component guide printed on the Planning Mat sheet. The printed word "prchase" in the second paragraph is read here as "purchase"; the rest of the printed spelling is kept as published.)

Each turn you will have a number of activities that you will want to perform and most of these included spending cubes. During the Trade Phase you will acquire cubes that you will use throughout the turn. Place your cubes on the different boxes of the activities as you prepare for your turn.

It is very important that you purchase all the cubes you will need for the entire turn during the Trade Phase. If you place cubes that you are trying to trade here other players will be able to quickly see what is available.

• For each tile that you want to build you will need the appropriate cubes.
• If you are only playing second edition rules only use this row.
• For War Clouds use all the rows in the Develop box.
• It is critical that you have enough cubes to run each of your industry tiles during the Product Phase.