World Order Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Component Anatomy
  • Player Boards
  • Ability Cards
  • Country Cards
  • Strategic Asset Cards
  • Growth Cards
  • Trade Deals & Commerce Cards
  • Auto-Influence Cards
• Game Setup
• How to Play
• Preparation Phase
  • Draw Cards
  • Reveal Country Cards
  • Determine Turn Order
  • Produce Primary Resources
  • Choose Focus
• Action Phase
  • Actions
  • Improve Relations (Diplomatic)
  • Engage (Diplomatic)
  • Trade (Economic)
  • Invest (Economic)
  • Move (Military)
  • Build a Base (Military)
  • Get a Growth Card (Domestic)
  • Produce (Domestic)
  • Important Notes
    • Adding Influence
    • Resetting Temporary Influence
    • Drawing Cards
    • Trashing Cards
    • Gaining / Losing VPs
  • Research
  • Add Auto-Influence
• Aftermath
  • Return on Investments
  • Increase Prosperity
  • Resolve THREAT
  • Scoring
• Game End
• Optional Module: Executive Orders
• FAQ
  • Rule Questions
  • Ability Cards Questions
  • Strategic Asset Cards Questions
  • Growth Cards Questions
• Credits

Components

• 1 Main board
• 4 Player boards (Russian Federation, People's Republic of China, European Union, United States of America)
• 4 Player Aids
• 94 Influence cubes (23 Blue, 23 Red, 23 Yellow, 23 White, 2 Black)
• 28 Production cubes (7 Blue, 7 Red, 7 Yellow, 7 White)
• 4 Focus markers (cylinders in 4 colors: Blue, Red, Yellow, White)
• 4 Prosperity markers (cylinders in 4 colors: Blue, Red, Yellow, White)
• 4 Scoring markers (discs in 4 colors: Blue, Red, Yellow, White)
• 24 Resource markers (4 Energy, 4 Raw Materials, 4 Food, 4 Consumer Goods, 4 Services, 4 Diplomacy)
• 1 Round marker
• 48 Starting Ability Cards (12 for each player)
• 66 Market Ability Cards
• 20 Strategic Asset Cards (5 for each player)
• 4 Executive Order Cards (1 for each player)
• 17 Starting Country Cards
• 76 Map Country Cards
• 9 Commerce Cards
• 20 Auto-Influence Cards
• 20 Growth Cards
• 4 Trade Deals Cards (1 for each player)
• 85 Ordis Coin Tokens (in 4 denominations: 1, 5, 10, 20)
• 60 Army Tokens (17 Blue, 14 Red, 12 Yellow, 17 White)
• 3 Majority Tokens
• 10 Engage Tokens (3 Blue, 2 Red, 3 Yellow, 2 White)
• 4 Turn Order Markers
• 24 Military Base Tokens
• 24 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Tokens

Component Anatomy

Player Boards

These boards indicate your power's domestic capabilities. They show the production rate for each resource, and the bottom part tracks the actual resources that you have. Each board also keeps track of your Prosperity level as well as what your power's Focus is each round (Domestic, Diplomatic, or Military).

Ability Cards

These cards are the primary way you will be performing your actions. You start with a deck containing 12 cards (some of them unique to each power), and throughout the game you will be adding more cards to it.

The actions that these cards allow you to perform belong to one of four categories, indicated by the color on the card's side: Diplomatic, Economic, Military, Domestic.

Country Cards

These cards represent Countries around the world with which you interact. While placed in front of you, they are considered allied Countries and indicate you have good relations with them.

Allied Countries in front of you can be in one of two states: When face up, they are considered ready. When they are face down, they are considered exhausted.

Each Country card shows: its Value (the cost to Improve Relations with it, in the hexagon in the top left corner), the Cost to Invest in it, the powers that cannot Improve Relations with this Country, the powers allowed to Build a Base there, the Country's flag, name, and Region, and the Resources you can Export (Sell) and Import (Buy) from it.

Strategic Asset Cards

These cards represent unique assets that only you can use. Their effect is usually more powerful than regular Ability cards, and you can only use them once in each game.

Growth Cards

These cards represent improvements to your infrastructure. They usually feature ongoing abilities that become available when you acquire them. Each card shows its Level, Name, Cost, Victory Points, and Ability.

Trade Deals & Commerce Cards

These cards are used during trading. Your Trade Deals card indicates how many Export and Import transactions you can perform and also which resources you can Import from other players. The Commerce cards are used to indicate whether you have resources available for trade.

Auto-Influence Cards

These cards are only included in 2- and 3-player games. They are used to determine where the nonparticipating players will place Influence and Armies and which players they will trade with.

Game Setup

1. Place the Main board in the middle of the table.
2. Separate the Map Country cards by their Region. Shuffle each Region's cards separately and place them in a face-up deck on the left side of the corresponding space on the board. Then, take the top Country card of each deck and place it to the right of the deck (creating a second deck), so that 2 cards are visible in each Region.
3. Place Influence cubes in each Region as indicated by the colors of the slots on the board, and place the Round marker on the 1st space of the Round track.
4. Place the 3 Majority tokens on the board with the side corresponding to the number of players face up (the side with the 2-player symbol for 2 players and the other side for 3+ players).
5. Shuffle the Market Ability cards and place them in a face-down deck below the board. Reveal the first 6 cards and place them face up in a row next to the Ability deck. These 6 cards will be collectively called the Market.
6. Separate all the Growth cards into piles by name and place them above the board in numerical order. In a 3-player game, remove one of each Level 1 card. In a 2-player game, remove one of each Level 1–4 card. Note that not all of the piles have the same number of cards in them.
7. Make piles of the coins, Military Base tokens, and FDI tokens, and place them next to the board where all players can reach them. These will collectively be called the Supply.
8. Each player chooses one of the available powers (USA, EU, Russia, and China) and takes its corresponding Player board, Starting Ability cards, Starting Country cards, Trade Deals card, Strategic Asset cards, Commerce cards, Production cubes, Influence cubes, Army tokens, Engage tokens, Focus marker, Prosperity marker, Player Aid, starting money (shown above the resource track, on the right), and one of each Resource marker.

Note there is a restriction in games with 2 players when choosing powers: One player has to choose between USA and EU, while the other player has to choose between Russia and China. In games with 3 players, there is no restriction.

Then, each of you performs the following:

9. Place your Player board in front of you.
10. Put a Production cube on the starting Production space of each track (the colored square).
11. Place your Focus marker in the Domestic Focus space.
12. Place your Prosperity marker in the first space of the Prosperity track.
13. Place the 6 Resource markers on the Resource track, each one on the number equal to its starting Production, and place the appropriate number of starting Army tokens on the top of your Player board (not on the Resource track). Keep your remaining Army tokens and your Influence cubes nearby.
14. Place the 4 Starting Country cards face up above your Player board; they are your allied Countries.
15. Place your Trade Deals card next to your Player board. Then, place your Commerce cards face up (showing the resource symbols) next to your Trade Deals card.
16. Shuffle your Starting Ability cards and form 2 piles of 6 cards at random. Look at the cards in each pile and choose one as your starting hand. Shuffle the other pile face down and place it to the side. It will be your deck during the game. If this is your first game, see the Starting Hand box below instead.

Starting Hand: If this is the first time you are playing World Order, we suggest that you start with a fixed starting hand. Instead of drawing 6 cards at random, take the 6 Starting Ability cards with an arrow right before their name, as shown in the image. Shuffle the remaining cards and place them in a face-down pile as your deck.

17. Shuffle your 5 Strategic Asset cards and draw 3 of them at random. Choose 2 to keep and place them face up beneath your Player board. Return all of your remaining Strategic Asset cards back to the box, as they won't be needed. Then, place your Scoring marker on the space around the board that corresponds to the sum of the starting Victory Points (VPs) listed on your 2 chosen cards.
18. Place your starting money near your Player board.
19. Take the 4 Turn Order markers and place them next to the Turn Order track on the board. If this is your first time playing, just place them in reverse VP order on the track. Otherwise, the player with the fewest starting VPs on the board places their marker in the space of their choice on the track. Continue doing this for all the players, in reverse VP order. In case of a tie, the player with the least starting money chooses first.

After everyone has placed their Turn Order marker, you are now ready to start the game.

If you are playing with 4 players, return the Auto-Influence cards to the box as they are not needed. If playing with less than 4 players, shuffle the Auto-Influence cards, draw 2 of them, and place them above the Main board. For every power that is not taken by an actual player, place Influence cubes of their color next to the power's flag as well as Army tokens if indicated on the cards.

How to Play

The game lasts for 6 rounds. Each round is divided into 3 phases: Preparation Phase, Action Phase, and Aftermath. Through your actions, you place Influence cubes in various Regions on the board which grant you VPs. In addition, you gain VPs based on who has the most Influence in each Region during the game's 2 scoring intervals. At the end of the 6th round, the player with the most VPs wins!

Preparation Phase

This phase is skipped during the 1st round. If this is the first time you are reading the rules, it may be better to skip this section and come back here after you've read what happens in the other phases and have a better understanding of how the game plays.

In the Preparation Phase you perform the following steps. Note that most of these steps can be performed simultaneously by the players to save time. If, however, it is important for one or more players to see what the others are doing, use the regular turn order to perform them, with each step fully carried out by all players before moving to the next step.

Draw Cards

Draw 6 cards from your deck. If at any moment there are no cards to draw from, shuffle your discard pile and form a new deck. Continue drawing cards from the new deck until you've drawn a total of 6 cards.

Reveal Country Cards

In each Region, take the top card of the left deck of Country cards and move it to the top of the right deck. If you end up placing the last card from the left deck on the right one, move the single deck you now have to the left side and place the top card to the right side of the deck.

Determine Turn Order

Slide the Turn Order markers slightly downward. Then, the player with the fewest VPs places their Turn Order marker on the space of their choice on the track. Continue doing this for all the players in reverse VP order. In case of a tie, the player with the least money among those tied chooses first. If there is still a tie, the tied player with the least starting money chooses first.

Produce Primary Resources

Produce all 3 of your primary Resources: Energy, Raw Materials, and Food. For each resource, you gain as many as your matching Production cube indicates, moving the corresponding marker on the Resource Track accordingly. See the Produce action's section for additional details.

Choose Focus

Choose what you want to focus on this round among the three available options: Domestic Focus, Diplomatic Focus, or Military Focus. Move the Focus marker on your board accordingly, and then perform the instructions listed there in order.

Some instructions allow you to increase a Production on your player board. If you choose to do so, spend the cost listed and move the corresponding Production cube one space to the right. Note that if you increase the Production of a primary resource this way (Energy, Raw Materials, or Food), immediately gain 1 of that resource.

If an instruction tells you to Produce a secondary resource, specifically Consumer Goods, Services, Diplomacy, or Armies, you can produce up to as many of that resource as the number indicated by its Production cube. However, for each secondary resource that you produce, you need to spend the corresponding requirements listed next to it. For example, for each Consumer Goods produced, you need to spend 1 Energy and 1 Raw Materials. If your Production cube in the Consumer Goods track is in the 3rd space, it means you can produce up to 3 Consumer Goods, spending 3 Energy and 3 Raw Materials if you produce all 3.

Commerce Cards: Whenever you produce a resource that is listed on your Commerce cards, turn all of those cards face up again. They represent surplus resources allocated for use in Trade.

Note that the last item in each Focus section (without a bullet) is an ongoing ability that applies during the whole round, not something to be performed in this step. In the first round, all players start with Domestic Focus, and its ongoing ability applies as normal.

Action Phase

This is the phase in which most of the game takes place. You play cards from your hand to affect the board and pursue your agenda. At the end of this phase, you will also get to add new cards to your deck.

This phase consists of 3 steps. The 1st player on the Turn Order track goes first in each one.

Actions

Choose one of the Ability cards in your hand. Play that card in front of you and resolve its effect. If you can't resolve the full effect listed, resolve as much of it as you can. The card then stays in front of you. (Do not put it in your discard pile.)

Instead of playing a card and resolving its effect (or if, for any reason, you are left without any cards in your hand), you can choose one of the following options:

• Play a Strategic Asset card: Place an Ability card from your hand face down in front of you (if able), and resolve the effect of one of your available (face-up) Strategic Asset cards. Then, turn that card face down.
• Pass: Place an Ability card from your hand face down in front of you (if able) and gain 10 Ordis.

After you have resolved your played Ability card (through resolving either the card's effect or one of the other available options), your turn is over. The next player on the Turn Order track gets to play their turn. This goes on until you have all had 4 turns. As soon as that happens, you proceed to the Research step.

The Ability cards in front of you serve as a reminder of how many turns you've taken so far in the round. If, due to an effect, you end up playing multiple cards within the same turn, place them on top of each other so that the number of "piles" in front of you remains equal to the number of turns you have taken so far. To save on space, you can have these piles slightly overlap one another, leaving only each card's color visible to remind you of what you played.

The following is a description of each action. Note that some of those actions allow you to add Influence to a Region. See later on for more details on that.

Improve Relations (Diplomatic)

This action allows you to improve your relations with other countries and form new alliances. You can even use existing alliances to help establish new ones.

Choose an available Country card on the board (the top card of either deck in a Region). Spend Diplomacy equal to the Country's value (the number in the hexagon in the top left corner), and place it face up in front of you. It is now considered an allied Country.

If you have other allied Countries from the same Region, you can exhaust them (turn them face down) to lower the Diplomacy cost you need to spend. Each Country you exhaust lowers the Diplomacy cost by an amount equal to its value.

Note that each Region should always have 2 Country cards available. If, while Improving Relations, you take the last card from either deck, move the top card of the remaining deck to the empty space.

EXAMPLE: Kate, playing China, wants to Improve Relations with Australia, which has a value of 3. Normally, she would have to spend 3 Diplomacy to do so. However, she decides to use her good relations with Singapore, another Country in the same Region, to her advantage. She exhausts Singapore's card and gets a discount of 2 Diplomacy, equal to its value (2). Thus, Kate spends just 1 Diplomacy and takes Australia in front of her.

If you Improve Relations with a Country you already have in front of you (1 of your 4 Starting Countries), place the new card face up on top of the previous card, slightly upward so that both cards' trade symbols are visible, keeping any Military Base or FDI tokens it had. If the previous card is ready (face up) when you do this, you also add 1 Influence to that Country's Region. From this point onward, treat these as a single Country for all intents and purposes (with the top card's characteristics—only the trade icons are kept from the previous card).

Note that some Countries do not allow for some powers to Improve Relations with them. If a power's flag is crossed out in the upper-right corner of a Country card, then that player cannot choose that Country for this action. USA, for example, cannot Improve Relations with Iran.

Engage (Diplomatic)

This action allows you to cement your Influence in a region through your diplomatic ties.

Choose a Region on the board in which you have at least 1 allied Country. Spend the Diplomacy cost listed on that Region, and add 1 Influence to it. Then, place one of your Engage tokens on that Region. If you don't have any available, you can move one of your tokens already on the board.

Similarly to the Improve Relations action, you can exhaust allied Countries from the same Region (turn them face down) to lower the Diplomacy cost you need to spend. Each Country you exhaust lowers the Diplomacy cost by an amount equal to its value.

Remember that, if you have Diplomatic Focus, Engage costs 2 less Diplomacy.

EXAMPLE: Anna plays the European Union and wants to Engage in Middle East–North Africa. She looks at the Region on the board and sees that the cost to Engage there is 6 Diplomacy. This is more than what she can spend, but luckily for her, she has Jordan and Qatar among her allied Countries. She decides to exhaust their cards to get a discount. Their values are 1 and 2, so she gets a total discount of 3 Diplomacy. She then spends the remaining 3 Diplomacy and adds one of her Influence to the Region along with one of her Engage tokens.

Trade (Economic)

This action allows you to trade with other countries and players, generating income and gaining access to resources that you can't produce yourself in a sufficient quantity.

Whenever you perform this action, you can perform a number of Export and Import transactions. The exact number of transactions of each type you can perform is listed on your Trade Deals card: either 2 or 3.

When you Export, you sell your resources to other Countries. To perform an Export transaction, choose a resource type and count the number of times its symbol appears on the left side of your allied Countries (regardless if they are ready or exhausted), in the large section at the bottom of their cards. You can sell up to that many of that resource.

When you Import, you buy resources from other Countries and other players. To perform an Import transaction, choose a resource type and count the number of times its symbol appears on the small section of your allied Countries (with an arrow pointing toward you) and on your Trade Deals card (getting it from the other players). You can buy up to that many of that resource.

Note that each resource type can only be used in one transaction. You cannot Export or Import the same type of resource twice, nor can you Export a resource type and then Import it in the same Trade action.

The revenue from or cost of the resources you Export or Import can be seen in the following table. Note that when Importing from allied Countries, the amount you pay goes to the supply, but when Importing from another player, it goes to that player.

	Energy	Raw Materials	Food	Consumer Goods	Services	Armies
EXPORT GAIN (amount you earn)	5 Ordis	5 Ordis	5 Ordis	15 Ordis	15 Ordis	20 Ordis
IMPORT COST (amount you pay)	3 Ordis	3 Ordis	3 Ordis	10 Ordis	10 Ordis	—

When Importing from another player, that player must have that resource available for you. If the player has a Commerce card showing that resource, turn that card face down and gain the listed resource(s), giving the corresponding amount of money to that player. If the player you're importing from does not have a face-up Commerce card with that resource, then you can only buy it from them if they have it available on their board in which case they reduce their quantity accordingly. In both cases, the other player cannot deny you the transaction. If a player does not have any of that resource on their board, and has no face-up Commerce cards, you cannot buy it from them.

After you finish importing, if you ended up buying from one or more other players, you also gain 1 Diplomacy (regardless of the number of transactions or how many players you bought from). Note that in 2- or 3-player games, you can still buy from powers not controlled by an actual player. In this case, the resources you want to buy are always available; however, you don't gain any Diplomacy.

Similarly, when buying Energy or Raw Materials from Russia, who lists 3 of each resource on its Commerce cards, you can buy less than 3 resources if you like (flipping the Commerce card as usual), but you won't gain the Diplomacy unless all 3 are bought.

EXAMPLE: Jim plays Russia and is about to perform a Trade action. He looks at the icons on his allied Countries and decides he will Export Energy and Raw Materials. There are 5 Energy icons on the left side of his allied Countries and 2 Raw Materials icons, meaning he can sell up to 5 Energy and 2 Raw Materials. (Whether the cards are exhausted or ready, plays no role in this.) Jim decides to Export 4 Energy and 2 Raw Materials for 5 Ordis each, moving the markers on his Player board accordingly, for a total of 30 Ordis.

Then, Jim looks at what he will Import. He cannot Import Energy or Raw Materials since he just Exported them, so he decides to Import Services. Out of his Country cards, only India offers Services. However, Jim can also Import from the other players. He decides to get a total of 2 Services, 1 from India and 1 from Anna (EU). He pays 10 Ordis to the Supply and gives another 10 Ordis to Anna, who turns one of her Commerce cards face down. Then, he moves his Services marker 2 spaces forward. Since he traded with another player, he also gains 1 Diplomacy, moving that marker 1 space forward.

Invest (Economic)

This action allows you to finance large-scale projects in foreign countries. Such projects do not only bring you long term financial gains, they also help you establish a foothold in the region.

Choose a ready allied Country in front of you. Spend the amount of money listed on the top of the card (right beneath its value), and exhaust it (turn it face down). Then, place a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) token above the Country, and add 1 Influence to that Country's Region.

Note that, unless stated otherwise, you can only Invest once in each Country.

EXAMPLE: Kate (China) wants to Invest in Pakistan, one of her allied Countries. The cost to do so in that Country is 15 Ordis. She spends the amount, exhausts the card, and places an FDI token on top of it. Then, she adds 1 Influence to South Asia.

Move (Military)

This action allows you to move your army around the world, tipping the balance to your favor.

Choose one of your Army tokens, either from your Player board or anywhere on the Main board, and move it to a Region in your zone of interest (showing your flag in a small circle) or a Region where you have a Military Base (see Build a Base below). You then spend 5 Ordis.

EXAMPLE: Jim (Russia) wants to put some pressure on the other players, so he decides to use the Military Reinforcements card, which allows him to Move 3 Armies. He takes 2 Armies from his board and places them in Europe. Then, he takes his Army in Central Asia and moves it to East Asia. He can make the move in Europe because it is in his zone of interest, featuring Russia's flag on the board. East Asia, on the other hand, is not in his zone of interest, but he has built a Base in Vietnam, a country of that Region, which allows him to send Armies there too. Finally, he pays the cost for these moves: a total of 15 Ordis, 5 for each Army moved.

Build a Base (Military)

This action allows you to build a military base on foreign soil, ensuring a permanent military presence of yours in the region.

Choose a ready allied Country in front of you with a Military Base symbol and your flag shown beneath it (if your flag is not shown there, you cannot perform the action). Exhaust the Country card, place a Military Base token above it, and move an amount of Armies up to that Country's value (minimum of 1) from your Player board to that Country's Region. Spend a total of 5 Ordis for the Base and 5 Ordis for each Army moved, and then add 1 Influence to that Country's Region (regardless of the amount of Armies sent).

Note that, if you don't have any Armies on your board or the money to pay the cost required, you cannot perform this action. Note also that, unless stated otherwise, you can only Build a Base once in each Country.

EXAMPLE: Alex, who plays the United States of America, has 3 Armies on his board and wants to Build a Base in Turkey, one of his allied Countries that allows him to do so. He starts by exhausting the Country card and placing a Military Base token above it. Turkey has a value of 3, which means he can send all of his 3 Armies along with that Base, if he likes. He decides to send only 2 of them and keep the remaining 1. He moves his 2 Armies to the Middle East–North Africa Region (which Turkey belongs to) and spends a total of 15 Ordis (5 for the Base and 10 for the 2 Armies). Finally, he adds 1 of his Influence to the Region.

Get a Growth Card (Domestic)

This action allows you to tackle the inner workings of your power, improving the way things function and leading to a more efficient form of governance.

Choose one of the available Growth cards, pay its cost, place the card near your Player board, and gain the VPs listed on the card. The first time you Get a Growth Card, you take a Level 1 card. Then, each time you perform the action, you must choose a Growth card exactly 1 level higher than the previous card you got.

These cards usually provide you with an ongoing ability that you can make use of for the rest of the game. Note, however, that each ability becomes active on the round equal to its level. You may still get a Growth card in an earlier round (and gain its VPs as normal), but the ability will only apply when the game reaches the same round as its level. Note also that the number of each available Growth card is limited and may be less than the number of players. Once all copies of a card are taken, that particular ability is no longer available to other players.

EXAMPLE: Kate (China) just played the Growth Strategy card that allows her to Get a Growth Card. She already has a Level 1 and a Level 2 Growth card, so she must take a Level 3 card this time. There are 2 different cards available: Tactical Flexibility and Diplomatic Opening. She decides to go for the first one, so she pays its cost, 3 Services and 15 Ordis, and takes the card in front of her. She also gains 6 VP as listed on the card.

Note that she took the last available copy of Tactical Flexibility. If another player goes for a Level 3 Growth card, they will have to get Diplomatic Opening.

Produce (Domestic)

Managing your power's productions and getting much needed resources are vital in your pursuit of global hegemony.

When an effect instructs you to Produce 1 or more types of resources, you can choose any of the 7 available types of resources. If you choose a primary resource to Produce (Energy, Raw Materials, or Food), you gain as much of that resource as your Production indicates. If you choose a secondary resource to Produce (Consumer Goods, Services, Diplomacy, or Armies), you gain up to the quantity your Production allows, spending the necessary requirements for each resource produced, as shown in the Focus section above that resource's Production track.

Note that, when you Produce multiple types of resources within the same action, you can choose any combination between primary and secondary resources. You are also allowed to spend primary resources just produced in that action to pay for any secondary resources you also want to produce.

Note also that, whenever you Produce a resource that is listed on your Commerce cards, you also turn all those cards face up again. They represent surplus resources that have been allocated for use in Trade.

When producing Armies, if you run out of tokens in your color, use any available items as an equivalent, as they are supposed to be unlimited. For all resources that use the Resource Track, if you ever have more than 10 of a particular resource, leave the marker on the 10th space. For each resource you would gain beyond the 10th, gain money equal to its Import cost instead (3 Ordis for a primary resource and 10 Ordis for a secondary resource).

EXAMPLE: Anna (EU) also plays the Growth Strategy card but chooses the second option on the card, to Produce 3 resources types. She mainly wants to get Services, but even though she has a lot of Energy, she only has 1 Food, which is the other requirement. Thus, for her first resource, she chooses Food and produces 3 of it, as her Production indicates. For the second resource type, she chooses Services and spends the 4 Food she now has, along with 4 Energy, to produce a total of 4 Services. Finally, for the third resource type, she chooses Diplomacy. She has a Diplomacy Production of 4 but decides to Produce only 3, spending 9 Ordis (3 Ordis for each Diplomacy).

Important Notes

Adding Influence

Each region contains slots where Influence can be placed, with each slot indicating the amount of VPs you immediately gain when doing so. There are 2 types of such slots: permanent ones and temporary ones. Whenever you add Influence to a Region, for any reason, you can choose which of the available types of slots to use.

The slots above the line are permanent Influence slots. Whenever you place Influence in one of these slots, the Influence placed will remain there until the end of the game. However, their number is limited, and if they all become filled, you can no longer place any of your cubes there unless an effect instructs you otherwise.

The slots beneath the line are temporary Influence slots. Whenever you place Influence in one of these slots, it has to go in the first available slot from the left, and you'll likely gain more VPs than with a permanent Influence slot. However, when all of these slots are filled and new Influence needs to be added, the left-most Influence is removed, and the remaining cubes all move one space to the left. The new cube is then added to the right-most slot, but you don't gain any immediate VPs.

Some effects allow you to convert a temporary Influence to a permanent one. When that happens, move the temporary Influence cube above the line. If there is an available permanent slot, place it there (without gaining any VPs). Otherwise, place it next to all the existing permanent Influence. Then, if there are any temporary Influence cubes to the right of where the converted one was, move those cubes one space to the left (again, without anyone gaining any points due to this move).

Note that, when majorities are checked in each Region (see Score Regions on page 20), all Influence cubes count in determining who has the most, regardless if they are in temporary or permanent slots. However, for a Region to score, it needs to have all the permanent Influence slots covered. If it doesn't, the Region won't score any points at all.

EXAMPLE:

1. Jim (Russia) just built a Base in Syria, so he gets to add 1 Influence in Middle East–North Africa.
2. All of the slots are available, so he decides to place his Influence in a temporary slot. The left-most temporary slot gives him 5 VP.
3. Alex (USA) plays after him and Invests in Saudi Arabia, which also gives him 1 Influence in the Region. He chooses to place it in a permanent slot, gaining just 1 VP for now but ensuring his cube will stay there for the rest of the game.
4. Much later in the game, Anna (EU) decides to Engage in the Region, which will allow her to add another Influence there.
5. By this point, all the slots (both permanent and temporary) are filled. Thus, she can only place her cube in the right-most temporary slot, pushing all the other cubes in temporary slots one space to the left. She doesn't gain any immediate VP at this time, but at least she got to push one of Jim's Influence cubes out of the Region.

Resetting Temporary Influence

Some effects allow you to Reset your temporary Influence. When that happens, remove one of your temporary Influence in a Region, push all the Influence cubes that were to its right one space to the left, and place your Influence back in the first available temporary slot. You do not gain any VPs when you do so. This "protects" your cube from being pushed off the Region by moving it farther to the right. Note that, if there isn't any other Influence to the right of your cube, the Reset has no effect on it.

Drawing Cards

If any effect instructs you to draw cards during the Action Phase and there are no longer any cards in your deck, shuffle the cards in your discard pile (but not the cards in front of you that you have played this round) and form a new deck to draw from.

Trashing Cards

When you Trash a card, return it back to the box or set it aside. It will no longer be used.

Gaining / Losing VPs

Whenever you gain or lose VPs, move your Scoring marker on the VP track around the board accordingly. If you ever have more than 100 VPs, flip your Scoring marker to its other side to indicate your first 100 points and continue tracking the remaining points along the board.

Research

After you have all played 4 turns, the Actions step is over. You are now given the opportunity to add new cards to your deck. (Note that in the game's final round, this step is fully skipped.)

First, place all the Ability cards in front of you in your discard pile. Then, reveal the remaining cards in your hand. In the beginning, there will be 2 cards left, but some effects in the game may later change that number. For each revealed card, gain the upper Bonus listed on it (usually Ordis, Diplomacy, or Armies) and then add up the total amount of Research shown (the lower Bonus) on all your revealed cards. You can use that Research to add new cards to your deck from the Market.

Market Ability cards list their cost in Research to the right of their name. To get a new card, spend as much as it costs from the Research you just gained. You can also gain additional Research by exhausting allied Country cards. Every Country card exhausted for this will provide you with Research equal to its value. Note that any unspent Research is lost; it doesn't carry over to the next round.

If you don't like the available cards in the Market, there is a way to change them: You can spend 2 Research to discard the 3 right-most cards. You can do this as many times as you wish.

Whenever a card is discarded from the Market and whenever you get a new card for your deck, move the cards on the left of where it was one space to the right and immediately reveal a new card to the left-most available position. You can get as many new cards as you have Research for, with each such card placed immediately on top of your deck. Discard your revealed Ability cards afterward.

Note that if you have Domestic Focus, you gain 2 Research more during this step.

In 3-player games, after everyone has finished getting new cards, discard the right-most card in the Market, move all remaining cards one space to the right and reveal a new card to the left-most space. In 2-player games, discard the 2 right-most cards instead.

EXAMPLE: Everyone finished their actions, and being the 1st player, Kate (China) begins the Research step. She starts by revealing the cards in her hand. She has a Growth Strategy and a Foreign Trade.

She checks the Bonuses on those 2 cards and sees that she gets 5 Ordis, which she takes from the Supply. The cards also give her 4 Research that she can use to get new cards from the Market. However, she has Domestic Focus which provides her with an additional 2 Research for a total of 6 Research.

She takes a look at the available cards and decides she wants to take Well-Laid Plans, costing 5 Research. She places that card on top of her deck and slides the remaining cards on its left one slot to the right, revealing a new card, Convincing Arguments.

Kate realizes that the card that was just revealed will fit very well in her deck, so she wants to get that one too. However, it costs 4 Research, and she only has 1 Research remaining to spend. To cover the remaining amount, she will use her allied Countries. She decides to exhaust Singapore (value 2) and Tajikistan (value 1) for a total of 3 Research, enough to reach the 4 Research she needs to get the Convincing Arguments. She takes that card and places it on top of her deck as well, revealing a new card for the Market.

Add Auto-Influence

If you are playing with 4 players, skip this step. Otherwise, take the Influence cubes from the 2 revealed Auto-Influence cards (one card at a time) and place them into the Regions listed next to them. If an Army icon is also shown next to the Region's name, place an Army of the same color in that Region as well. If a circular flag of another power is shown next to the Region's name, and that power is controlled by an actual player, that player checks if they have any face up Commerce cards next to their board. If they do, they turn one of them face down, and they gain 10 Ordis. If all of their Commerce cards are face down, nothing happens.

When adding Influence to a Region this way, if there is a permanent Influence slot available, place it in that slot. Otherwise, place it in the first available temporary slot.

Then, draw 2 new Auto-Influence cards. For every power that is not taken by an actual player, place Influence cubes of that power's color on the cards, next to their flags, as well as Armies if indicated on the same row. These indicate where Influence and Armies will be added in the Add Auto-Influence step of the next round.

You then move to the next phase.

EXAMPLE: Alex (USA) and Kate (China) are playing a 2-player game and are using the Auto-Influence cards for Russia and the European Union, which are not controlled by players. It is now the end of the 2nd round's Action Phase, and they look at the Auto-Influence cards they had drawn the previous round.

They start by placing a yellow Influence cube (representing EU) in Europe, along with 1 Army of the same color. They continue by placing a white Influence cube (representing Russia) in Africa. There is also a Chinese flag shown on that row, so Kate gains 10 Ordis and turns one of her Commerce cards face down.

Then, they add another yellow Influence cube in Middle East–North Africa and a white Influence cube in Europe, accompanied by a Russian Army. Since there is a USA flag shown in the EU's row, Alex would also gain 10 Ordis. However, both of his Commerce cards are face down so he doesn't gain anything.

Aftermath

In this phase, you deal with the results of your actions. Your investments pay off, and your army's presence has an effect on your opponents. This is also the phase in which scoring happens.

The Aftermath consists of the following steps.

Return on Investments

For every FDI token you have on an allied Country card, gain 2 Ordis multiplied by the card's value.

You can then discard any Engage tokens you have on the board. For each such token you choose to discard from a Region, gain 5 Ordis per allied Country you have from that Region.

EXAMPLE: It's the Return on Investments step, and Anna (EU) has 3 Country cards with an FDI token on them. Norway and Jordan both have a value of 1, so she gains 2 Ordis from each of them. Turkey has a value of 3, so she gains 6 Ordis from it. In total, she gains 10 Ordis from her FDI tokens during this step.

She also has an Engage token in Africa, which she decides to discard. Since she has 2 allied Countries from that Region, Nigeria and Djibouti, she gains 10 Ordis from that.

Increase Prosperity

You can spend the amount of Consumer Goods listed next to your Prosperity marker and move it to the next space. If you do, immediately gain the VPs and money listed on that space. You can only move a single space on the Prosperity track each round, even if you have enough Consumer Goods to move again.

Resolve THREAT

During this step, each player checks the military presence of their opponents in each Region within their zone of interest. A player's zone of interest consists of all the Regions that feature their flag in a small circle on the Main board. The number of each player's Armies there equals their THREAT in that Region. The number of your Armies in a Region in your zone of interest equals your Defense there.

When resolving THREAT, you check each Region in your zone of interest and lose 2 VPs for every other player who has more THREAT there than you have Defense. Usually this means you lose 2 VPs for every other player in that Region with more Armies than you, but there are some effects that may change this.

If you have Military Focus, you gain +1 to your THREAT wherever you have Armies, and +1 Defense in Regions within your zone of interest, (even if you have no Armies there).

If you have an Engage token in a Region within your zone of interest, you can choose to discard it during this step. If you do, then for this round, you gain +1 Defense in that Region for each allied Country you have from that Region.

Note that USA and EU both have the Member of NATO special ability which allows them to ignore THREAT from each other.

EXAMPLE 1: It's time to check for THREAT, and there are 3 players with Armies in Central Asia. Kate (China) has 2, Jim (Russia) has 1, and Anna (EU) also has 1. Since the Russian and Chinese flags are the only ones shown in the Region, only Russia and China will check for THREAT here. Jim's Defense is tied with Anna's THREAT, so he doesn't lose any points from her. Kate, however has more Armies than him. As a result, her THREAT is higher than Jim's Defense, and Russia loses 2 VP. If Anna had 2 Armies in the same Region, there would be 2 players with more Armies than Russia, and Jim would lose 4 VP instead. Kate doesn't lose any VP because there aren't any other players with more THREAT than her Defense.

EXAMPLE 2: The players are checking for THREAT in Europe in which there are also 3 players with Armies. Alex (USA) has 3, Jim has 2 and Anna has 1. On top of that, Jim has Military Focus which gives him +1 THREAT and Defense, and Anna has an Engage token in the Region which she can discard to increase her Defense.

Since the flags of all 3 players appear in the Region, all of them will check for THREAT. Alex's THREAT is 3, equal to his Armies there. Jim's THREAT is also 3: 2 from his Armies and 1 more from his Military Focus. As a result, neither of them lose any VP. Anna has THREAT and Defense equal to 1 which is lower than both other players' THREAT. However, she doesn't lose any VP due to Alex's Armies because they are both Members of NATO and thus ignore THREAT from each other. Jim's THREAT, on the other hand, would normally cause her to lose VP, but she decides to discard her Engage token. She has 3 allied Countries from Europe at the moment which gives her +3 in Defense for a total of 4. As a result, she doesn't lose any VP either.

Scoring

This step takes place only in the 3rd and 6th rounds. In all other rounds, you skip it entirely.

During scoring, only Regions that have all of their permanent Influence slots filled get to score. For each such Region, count each player's Influence cubes there—they all gain 1 VP per Influence cube they have. Then, the player with the most Influence cubes gains the 1st majority bonus listed in the bottom-right corner. The player with the second most Influence gains the 2nd bonus and so on.

In case of a tie, the VP bonus goes to the player with the most Armies in that Region. If there is still a tie, all tied players gain the bonus of the lowest position among them. For example, if 2 players are tied for most Influence cubes in a Region and have the same number of Armies there, they both gain the VPs corresponding to 2nd place.

Note that 2 Regions start the game with black Influence cubes. These represent Influence by local powers in the Region. When determining majorities, they should be treated as belonging to another player, affecting ties as described above.

EXAMPLE 1: It's the end of the 3rd round, and scoring takes place. The Americas Region is checked, but since the permanent slots are not all filled, no points are given at all.

EXAMPLE 2: It's the end of the 6th round, and players check Middle East–North Africa. Since all the permanent slots are filled, scoring takes place as normal. Note that, through the use of a card's ability, Alex (USA) was able to add a permanent Influence even though there was no available slot.

Players start by counting their Influence in the Region, gaining 1 VP for each of their cubes. Alex scores 4 VP, Anna (EU) and Jim (Russia) score 3 VP each, and Kate (China) scores 1 VP. They then check who has the majority. Alex has the most cubes (4) so he gets an additional 10 VP. Anna and Jim are tied with 3 Influence each, so they look at their Armies. Since Jim has more (4 Armies compared to Anna's 1), he takes the 2nd place, gaining an additional 7 VP, with Anna getting 3rd place's 4 VP. Kate's single Influence is tied with the starting local Influence, and since she doesn't have any Armies in the Region, she ends up in "5th" place, not gaining any additional VP at all.

USA has an additional ability that applies during this step, called Superpower Overstretch: In each Scoring step, count the number of Regions in which USA has the most Influence or is tied for most. If that number is less than 4, USA receives the corresponding penalty:

0	1	2	3
-12 VP	-9 VP	-6 VP	-3 VP

Russia also has an ability that applies during this step, called Secured Sphere of Influence: In each Scoring step, for each Region in Russia's zone of interest where Russia has the most Armies or is tied for most (having at least 1 Army), it gains 2 VPs.

China has an ability that applies during this step as well, called Global FDI Network: In each Scoring step, count the number of Regions in which China has at least 1 FDI token. Then, China gains the corresponding VPs:

3	4	5	6	7
1 VP	2 VP	3 VP	5 VP	7 VP

After all Regions are checked and VPs are awarded, check the 3 Majority tokens on the board. They also award VPs to the players based on who has a majority in 3 key metrics:

• Most money
• Most Armies on the Main board (ignoring those on Player boards and those of nonparticipating players in 2- or 3-player games)
• Most allied Countries

In case of a tie in any of these 3 majorities, all tied players gain the points of the lowest position among them.

Note that, in 2-player games, only the player who wins each majority scores points. The other player doesn't gain anything. Thus, if the 2 players are tied in one of the 3 metrics, no points are given.

EXAMPLE: After scoring all Regions, players proceed to score the 3 Majority tokens. They start with the one for most money. Kate (China) finished the game with 121 Ordis, Anna (EU) had 78 Ordis, Alex (USA) 54 Ordis, and Jim (Russia) 49 Ordis. As a result, Kate gets 5 VP, Anna gets 3 VP, and Alex gets 1 VP.

They proceed to check who has the most Armies on the board. Alex is the clear winner with 8 Armies, getting 1st place and 6 VP. Jim and Kate happen to have 5 Armies each, so they both gain just 1 VP, the bonus corresponding to 3rd place.

Finally, they check who has the most allied Countries. Anna has 10 Countries, so she gains the 7 VP for 1st place, while Alex has 9 Countries and gains 4 VP for 2nd place. Jim and Kate have 8 Countries each. Since they are tied for 3rd place, they gain the rewards of "4th" place, which means no points at all.

Then, in the final Scoring step of the game, each player gains 2 VPs for each of their Strategic Assets that they didn't use during the game.

Game End

The player with the most VPs at the end is the winner. In case of a tie, the winner is the player who took the 1st majority bonus in the most Regions during the final scoring. If there are still tied players, the player among them with the most Influence cubes on the board in total is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Optional Module: Executive Orders

Executive Orders is an optional module that you can use in your games, which consists of just 4 cards.

At the beginning of the game, give each player their Executive Order card (as indicated by their backs). During the game, instead of resolving an Ability card, you can place a card from your hand face down and use your Executive Order instead. This allows you to perform any one of the actions listed on the card. Then, return the Executive Order card back to the box.

At the end of the game, during the final Scoring step, if you haven't used your Executive Order card, gain 3 VPs.

FAQ

Rule Questions

Can I have multiple of my Engage tokens in the same Region? Yes, there is no limit to the number of Engage tokens a Region may have (of any players).

Do I lose/gain any VPs when playing a Strategic Asset card? No. The VPs shown on the card only determine the starting VPs for each player. There are no VPs gained/lost when playing a Strategic Asset card unless mentioned in its effect. However, each Strategic Asset card you did not use during the game provides you with a bonus 2 VPs during final scoring.

Some effects instruct me to add a permanent Influence to a Region, even if there is no available slot. If, for whatever reason, it is more preferable to me, can I choose to place a temporary Influence instead? No. If an effect instructs you to add a permanent Influence, you have to place it above the line, as a permanent Influence, following the effect's instructions.

Some abilities instruct me, as part of their effect, to play another card. When doing so, does the additional card need to be an Ability card, or can I play a Strategic Asset/Executive Order card if I like? The additional card you play can be any type of card you can usually play on your turn. This includes Ability cards and Strategic Asset cards, as well as Executive Orders. To play a Strategic Asset or Executive Order card, however, you still need to place an Ability card from your hand face down as normal (unless you don't have any cards in your hand).

EU's starting Influence slot in Africa has the number 4 on it. Does the EU player gain those 4 VPs at the start of the game? No. The number 4 is there in case an effect causes the starting Influence cube to be removed and there is no other temporary Influence in the Region. If that ever happens, the first temporary Influence that is then added in Africa will be placed in that slot, and the player will gain 4 VP as per the normal rules.

Ability Cards Questions

Can I choose a Country card that is not exhausted? Yes, you can. Readying a card that is already ready won't do anything, so you proceed with the remaining part of the ability (Invest in that Country without exhausting it).

Can I Build a Base in the Country I'll get if my power's flag is not shown on its card, beneath the Base symbol? No. You will need to be able to Build a Base in the Country, as per the normal game's rules. Similarly, you cannot choose to Move your Army to that Country's Region, if it's not in your zone of interest, and you don't have a Base in another Country there.

When choosing the second option, can I Produce the same resource type more than once? No. You must choose different resource types to Produce.

Strategic Asset Cards Questions

In a 2- or 3-player game in which Russia is not controlled by an actual player, what happens when I use this card? When not controlled by a player, Russia will always add an Influence cube to the remaining Region.

Can I increase the same Production more than once? No. You must choose 2 or 3 different Productions to increase.

Growth Cards Questions

Can I increase the same Production twice? No. You must choose 2 different Productions to increase.

If I increase the Production of a primary resource, do I immediately gain 1 of that resource? No. This only happens if you increase the Production of a primary resource when choosing Focus.

Can I use this ability during the Preparation Phase? For example, before choosing Focus? (Knowledge Transfer) Yes, you can. There is no restriction when exactly in the round it can be used.

Can I use this ability during the Preparation Phase? For example, before choosing Focus? (Reduced Bureaucracy) Yes, you can. There is no restriction when exactly in the round it can be used.

When Improving Relations with the second Country, can I exhaust an allied Country card from the same Region to cover the extra 1 Diplomacy I need to spend? No. That extra 1 Diplomacy comes from the ability and needs to be spent from your board—you can't "lower" that cost. However, you can exhaust other allied Countries to lower each Country card's cost as per the normal rules.

If I get this card during my first turn in the round, do I get to use its ability immediately and play an additional card? Yes. Once you get the card (assuming you are in round 4 or later), its ability immediately becomes active, so you can use it within that same turn and thus play an additional card.

Credits

Game Design: Varnavas Timotheou, Vangelis Bagiartakis

Game Development: Panagiotis Zinoviadis

Additional Development & Lead Playtester: Dimitris Siakampenis

Main Illustrator: Miłosz Wojtasik

Additional Illustrations: Angga Satriohadi (Gong Studios)

Graphic Design: Katerina Xerovasila

Editor: Jordan Boschman

Academic Advisors: Dr. Zenonas Tziarras, Dr. Moritz S. Graefrath, Dr. Chris Oates, Dr Russell Foster, Dr. Connor Judge, Dr. Igor Logvienko, Emmanuel Pietrobon

Playtesters: Gál József, Pásztor Balázs and Kicktester Team, Theodoros Mavraganis, Thanasis Boros, Stefanos Spanoudakis, Konstantinos Karagiannis, George Avgouleas, Vasilis Zitros, Lefteris Giraleas, Constantis Lavrentiadis, Charalampos Zinoviadis, Spyros Gkiouzepas, Konstantinos Lekkas and the Dracon Rules Design Studio playtesters, Angela Mavromati, Ioannis Kalemis, Vasilis Keramidas, George Nikolopoulos, Andreas Rizopoulos, Giannis Andrikopoulos, Christos Schoinas, Dimitra Issari

Special thanks to: Joe Pilkus, Justin Buckingham, and Alexander Klein for their feedback with the rulebook.

"Ordis" name based on suggestions by Thodoris Mavraganis, Joseph Johnson, Patryk Kuczyński, and Victor Gallegos Melon