Game

• first turn: place your action token in a column and optionally take top action then optionally take bottom action
• subsequent turns: move action token and repeat (i.e. can’t do same action twice in a row – unless you’re red star faction with Relentless ability)
• Top Actions
  • Trade
    • Pay 1 coin to Gain 2 Resources or Gain 2 Popularities
    • If Armory built, Gain 1 Fighting power
  • Bolster
    • Pay 1 coin to Increase Fighting Power / Gain Combat Card
    • If Monument built, Gain 1 Popularity
  • Move/Gain
    • Move Units or Gain Coins
    • If Mine Built, use it
  • Produce
    • Pay cost shown (increases as you place workers) for workers in 2/3 (3/4 with Mill) territories to Produce on the terrain they’re in – 1 resource per worker:
      • Mountain – Metal
      • Farm – Food
      • Tundra – Oil
      • Forest – Wood
      • Village – Worker
    • If Mill built, produce there too
• Bottom Actions
  • Upgrade – Pay Oil to Upgrade = Move cube from the top to bottom(, Gain Coin(s))
  • Deploy – Pay Iron to Deploy any Mech(, Gain Coin(s)) – mech appears in a hex with a worker
  • Build – Pay wood to Build a Structure(, Gain Coin(s)) – building appears in a hex with a worker, 1 structure limit per hex
  • Enlist – Pay food to Enlist (move one token brom bottom action area to the faction mat)(, Gain Coin(s))
    • Gets 1 time bonus from faction mat, ongoing bonus when neighbours do corresponding actions
• Placement of 6th star immediately ends the game

During Play

• Place stars for (10 options, 6th placement ends the game):
  • All 6 upgrades
  • All 4 mechs
  • All 4 structures
  • All 4 recruits
  • All 8 workers
  • 1 completed objective
  • Win combat (first time)
  • Win combat (second time)
  • reach 18 popularity
  • reach 16 power
• Enlisted bonuses
  • Upgrade – gain 1 fighting power and pay attention if players on left/right upgrade
  • Deploy – gain 1 coin and pay attention if players on left/right deploy
  • Build – gain 1 popularity and pay attention if players on left/right build
  • Enlist – gain 1 combat card and attention if players on left/right enlist
• Deployed mech bonuses (apply to mechs and character)
  • All: Riverwalk – travel across rivers to certain terrains
  • All: Speed – +1hex per movement
  • Underpass – move between controlled mountain and any tunnel
  • Disarm – before combat on a territory with a tunnel, opponent gets -2
  • Township – move between controlled villages or the factory
  • Peoples army – play an extra combat card if a worker is present
  • Seaworthy – move to/from lakes. Retreat into adjacent lakes
  • Artillery – before compat, pay 1 power for opponent to lose 2 power
  • Wayfare – move to any non-opponent home base
  • Scout – Before combat steal 1 combat card from opponent
  • Submerge – enter and move between lakes
  • Camaraderie – don’t lose popularity forcing opponent worker retreat
• Faction bonuses
  • Dominate – no limit to objectives/combat stars
  • Relentless – can repeat same action as previous turn
  • Swim – workers may cross rivers
  • coercion – spend a combat card as a resource (once per turn)
  • Meander – pick up to 2 options per encounter card
• Movement
  • Standard move action: move 2 different units 1 territory each
  • All units may carry any/all resources with them as they move
  • Mechs can pickup/drop off workers too
  • Movement ends for combat (including workers simply retreating), encounter, factory card
• Combat
  • Select power value
  • Optionally add 1 card per unit involved
  • Winner gets territory (and resources if any) and places star
  • Winner loses 1 popularity for each worker forced into retreat (i.e. they were attacker)
  • Loser retreats units to home base and gains 1 combat card if they revealed more than 0
• Encounters
  • Move character into hex with encounter token, take a card, choose a bonus
• Factory
  • Center hex is worth 3 hex at end game scoring
  • If character ends turn in factory take a factory bonus card
• Factory bonus card actions
  • Top action (one of):
    • Pay 1 popularity, Gain 1 Enlist or 1 Upgrade
    • Pay 2 coin, Gain 1 Upgrade and 1 Popularity
    • etc
  • Bottom action (all have):
    • Move 1 unit twice within the same move action (move 3 spaces if speed mech ability unlocked)

Gain Points From

• Coins in hand
• Structure bonus tile
• Ranking on popularity track affects coins gained per count of:
  • Stars placed – 3/4/5 coins
  • Territories controlled – 2/3/4 coins
  • Per 2 resources – 1/2/3 coins

Tips

• Start of game
  • familiarise yourself with your factions mech abilities
  • familiarise yourself with your factions bottom action costs/rewards (coins)
  • familiarise yourself with your factions special ability
  • familiarise yourself with the Structure bonus tile
• Try to get both top and bottom actions as frequently as possible
• Popularity is important for the multiplier – gain it from
  • Trade (top action)
  • Place monument to reveal gain popularity icon
  • Enlist from the Build action to reveal gain popluarity from neighbour bonus
• Focus on points: popularity multiplier and winning stars/controlling territories
• Basic strategy: spread out gaining territories while working towards stars
• Lots of ways to get stars, choose which ones to ignore and which to focus on
  • Some are quicker than others (e.g. 4 mechs vs 6 upgrades)
• Upgrade(s) can make it so that the top actions Trade/Produce can pay for their bottom actions all in the same turn
• Build structures to keep control of a territory
• Leave mechs defending workers/territory/resources
• Get first 3 workers out early (target village first turn)
• Combat cards and power track are only good for combat, no end game bonus
• The same unit can’t use more than 1 move action per round (Speed mech bonus increases range, factory card gives double move action, double move +speed = 3 hex)
• Add multiple units into combat to play multiple combat cards
• Factory card facilitates consecutive movements
• In combat, when forfeiting, playing 0 points, but 1 combat card will earn you a new combat card and lose no points