World Exchangers
World Exchangers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 12 starting city cards
- 45 city cards
- 8 trend cards
- 4 role cards
- 4 media influence markers (4 colors)
- 1 media influence board
- 4 player boards (sides A and B, eight in total)
- 4 water-based markers (pens)
- 1 scoring board
Game Setup
- Each player takes one player board and one pen. (Side A or side B of the board may be used at random.)
- Note: In your first game, it is recommended that all players use side A of the player board.
- a) Shuffle the starting city cards and deal 3 to each player; players place them face up in front of themselves. b) Each player subtracts the total of the base values of their 3 cards from 1,300 [coin], and marks the result as their starting cash on their player board at the amount position of month 0. Return the remaining starting city cards to the box.
- Note: Starting city cards have an [S] symbol at the bottom of the card.
- Example: Ai's starting city cards are Dallas, Cairo and Taipei, with a total base value of 1,000 [coin] (300 + 300 + 400). On her player board she marks a starting point at the 300 position of month 0 (1300 - 300 - 300 - 400 = 300 [coin]).
- Shuffle the city cards and place them in the middle of the table as a deck. Flip 5 cards face up to form the city sale area.
- Shuffle the mid-year (6) and year-end (12) trend cards separately. Flip 1 of each face up and place them beside the city sale area; return the remaining trend cards to the box.
- Note: In your first game, it is recommended to use the trend cards marked with the atom symbol.
- Deal each player one role card at random. Players jointly decide whether to use the basic side A or the advanced side B.
- Note: In your first game, it is recommended that all players use side A of the role cards.
- Place the media influence board and the scoring board next to the city deck. Place each player's media influence marker on the corresponding space of the media influence board according to the color of their role card. (Normally starting from 0.)
- The player using the red marker is the starting player. If nobody is using the red marker, the player who spent the most money today is the starting player!
City card elements
- Base value: the large number on the card.
- Bonus sale price: the number at the bottom of the card (with an up arrow).
Goal of the Game
Each round, you buy and sell cities, trading at the right moments and planning well to earn various rewards. At the end of the game, the rewards of each category are totaled, and the player with the greatest total amount wins.
Game Rules
The game lasts 12 rounds. Starting with the starting player, players take one turn each in clockwise order. When a round ends, the starting player does not change; continue with the next round.
On your turn, choose one of the following two actions.
Buy a City Card
Choose one city card from the city sale area and place it in front of you to indicate the purchase. Pay the base value of that city, and on your player board mark the settlement cash for the current month (the current round), drawing a straight line between it and the amount of the previous month, to record the cash flow of this transaction.
Example: In her first round, Ai chooses to buy the city card Vienna, whose base value is 100 [coin]. Her original starting amount of 300 [coin] must pay 100 [coin] (300 - 100 = 200). She records the amount at the 200 position of month 1 on her player board, and completes the cash flow between month 0 and month 1.
Note: Once per game, you may mark an X in the "buy two cities" box at the lower right of your player board, which lets you buy two city cards in one turn (1 extra purchase).
Note: A player's cash cannot be lower than 0 [coin]. If a player's [coin] is not enough to pay the base value of the city card, the player can NOT buy that city card.
Sell a City Card
Choose one city card in front of you and put it back in the city sale area to indicate the sale. Gain the amount marked on the sale price area of the card (you may gain the bonus sale price depending on the month of the sale), and on your player board mark the settlement cash for the current month (the current round), drawing a straight line between it and the amount of the previous month, to record the cash flow of this transaction.
Example: In her second round, Ai chooses to sell the city card Vienna. From the original amount of 200 [coin] in month 1, she gains the month-2 bonus sale price of 200 [coin] (200 + 200 = 400). She records the amount at the 400 position of month 2 on her player board, and completes the cash flow between month 1 and month 2.
Note: Once per game, you may mark an X in the "sell two cities" box at the lower right of your player board, which lets you sell two city cards in one turn (1 extra sale).
Note: A player's cash cannot be higher than 1,000 [coin]. If the cash flow exceeds 1,000 [coin] after selling a city card, the amount above 1,000 [coin] is ignored.
Important: When the city sale area has 2 or fewer city cards left, immediately flip cards from the deck to refill it to 5 cards.
About the Cash Flow
The line graph recorded on the player board is called the cash flow. The symbols on the spaces that the line drawn by the player passes through or stops on are all resources the player can gain.
Investment Symbols
[green] [orange] [blue]: At the end of the game, each investment symbol gives the player 100 [coin] for each city card of the corresponding color held (the three city card colors are green, yellow/orange and blue, matching the three investment symbols).
[media] [media -]: When you gain a media influence symbol (+) or (-), immediately advance or move back your media influence marker by one space.
Example 1: In month 3, Louis's settled cash flow passes through 2 [blue] symbols and 1 [media] symbol. The investment symbols are only counted at the end of the game, while the media influence marker is immediately moved forward 1 space.
Celebration Ring
Some city cards have a red mark on one of their sale months. If you perform "Sell a City Card" in that month, in addition to gaining the bonus sale price, you also gain a celebration ring:
In the red-marked month, at the end position of the cash flow settlement, draw a circle with a radius of less than 1 space. All symbols the ring passes through are counted.
Example 2: In month 5, Ai sells the city card Dubai. From the original amount of 0 [coin] in month 4, she gains the bonus sale price of 700 [coin] (0 + 700 = 700), and because of the red mark [celebration] she draws a celebration ring at the end of the cash flow. In addition to gaining 1 [blue] and 2 [media], she gains 1 extra [green].
Settlement Points
[star]: If a player's cash flow stops on a [star] in certain months, the player gains a settlement reward. At the end of the game, the more settlement points the player has stopped on, the higher the reward.
Example 3: In Case (A), Louis's cash flow in month 7 stops on 1 settlement point [star], so she gains 1 settlement reward. In the other situation, Case (B), Louis passes through the settlement area but does not stop on a [star], so in this situation Louis does not gain a [star].
Note: The symbols on city cards are only counted at the end of the game.
Mid-Year and Year-End Trend Card Resolution
At the end of round 6, check the mid-year trend card (6). Every player who meets the condition gains that reward. After the mid-year trend card is resolved, remove all cards in the city sale area from the game, and flip 5 city cards from the deck to refill the city sale area.
Example: At the end of round 6, Ai has 3 city cards and Felix has 2 city cards. Ai is the player with the most city cards, so she immediately gains 1 [media] as the mid-year trend card reward.
After the mid-year trend card reward (6) is resolved, remove all cards in the city sale area from the game and flip 5 city cards from the deck to refill the city sale area.
Mid-year trend cards (each gives +1 [media]):
- Mid-year (6), holding the MOST / LEAST cash: gain 1 [media]; your media influence marker immediately advances one space.
- Mid-year (6), holding the MOST / LEAST city cards: gain 1 [media]; your media influence marker immediately advances one space.
At the end of round 12, check the year-end trend card (12). Every player who meets the condition gains an extra reward:
- Cash flow line has stopped on 1000 / 0 [coin] positions: once each only; each time gain 300 [coin]. (Max. 600 [coin])
- Cash flow line has stopped on 400 / 500 [coin] positions: once each only; each time lose 200 [coin]. (Max. 400 [coin])
- Cash flow line has stopped on 5 / 7 / 9 different amounts: gain 100 [coin] / 300 [coin] / 600 [coin].
- Cash flow line has stopped on 2 / 3 / 4 identical amounts: gain 100 [coin] / 300 [coin] / 600 [coin].
Note: The player's starting month 0 is not counted in these conditions.
Role Cards
Side A (Basic): Each role card gives the player one investment symbol or extra media influence.
- FELIX: at the end of the game, gain 1 [green].
- WIGSTAN: at the end of the game, gain 1 [orange].
- RUE: at the end of the game, gain 1 [blue].
- ESTELLE: during game setup, gain 1 [media] and move your media influence marker (+1).
Side B (Advanced): The player may use the ability on the role card during their own turn; abilities may be used multiple times during the game.
- FELIX: Spend 1 media influence [media]: at the end position of this turn's cash flow settlement, draw 1 "celebration ring".
- WIGSTAN: Used when performing the "Sell a City Card" action: for each 1 media influence [media] spent, gain an extra 100 [coin]. It may be used multiple times in one turn.
- RUE: Spend 2 media influence [media]: this turn, if you choose to buy, you may buy 1 extra city card; or if you choose to sell, you may sell 1 extra city card. Note: this ability cannot be used at the same time as the "buy/sell two cities" boxes on the player board.
- ESTELLE: Spend 1 media influence [media]: discard any number of city cards from the city sale area, then flip city cards from the deck to refill the city sale area to 5 cards.
Game End and Scoring
The game ends after the year-end trend card (12) is resolved. Record the amounts of the following items on the scoring board and add them up:
- City cards: the total of the base values of the city cards the player holds in front of them.
- Cash: the cash value marked on the player board at the position where the cash flow stops in month 12.
- Settlement points: add the number of times the cash flow line stopped on a settlement point [star] and the number of purple card settlement points; according to this total, gain the corresponding reward of 200 [coin] / 500 [coin] / 900 [coin] / 1400 [coin] / 2000 [coin] (1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 settlement points).
- Investment symbols: (the number of city cards of each corresponding color [green city / yellow city / blue city] the player holds in front of them) x (the increases/decreases of that investment symbol on the city cards + the number of that investment symbol gained on the player board) x 100 [coin].
- Year-end trend card: the reward or penalty amount from achieving the year-end trend card (12).
- Media influence: after counting the increases [media] and decreases [media -] of media influence on city cards, the reward amount according to the media influence ranking, as follows:
| Number of players | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 500 [coin] | - | - |
| 3 | 800 [coin] | 400 [coin] | - |
| 4 | 900 [coin] | 600 [coin] | 300 [coin] |
Note: If two players tie, the players split equally the total reward of that rank and the next rank. If three or more players tie, the players split the reward amount in the same manner.
Total score: add all of the above items. The player with the highest total amount wins. In case of a tie, the player with more city cards wins; if the number of city cards is also tied, the player with more remaining cash wins; if still tied, the victory is shared.
Scoring Example
Rue's final score:
- City cards: Melbourne 500 + Vienna 100 + Lisbon 400 + Roma 200 + San Juan 200 = 1400 [coin].
- Investment symbols: 0 yellow cities x 3 [orange] = 0 [coin]; 3 green cities x 4 [green] = 1200 [coin]; 1 blue city x 5 [blue] = 500 [coin]. (For example, for [blue]: player board: 3, role card: 1, city card Lisbon: 1.)
- Final cash flow at 700 [coin].
- Settlement points: player board: 3 [star] and Melbourne: 1 [star] = 4 settlement points = 1400 [coin].
- Because the year-end trend card goal was achieved, a reward of 600 [coin].
- In this two-player game, ranked first in media influence, a reward of 500 [coin].
Total amount = 6300 [coin] (1400 + 1700 + 700 + 1400 + 600 + 500).