Cytress Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay Overview
• Factions, Lifepaths, and Ability
• Gameplay
  • I. Gain Supplies
  • II. Spread Influence
  • III. Travel
    • Meet Factions
    • Stratos (Meet Stratolites / Meet Netprowler)
    • Meet Fixer
    • Meet Merchant
    • Meet Bounty Hunters
    • Complete Skill Cards
  • IV. Recoup & Retire
• Game End
• Scoring
  • Crew Sent to Stratos
  • Tubes Controlled
  • Bounty Hunter Rewards Collected
  • Unlocked Skills
  • Remaining Supplies
• Constructing the Stratos Floating City
• Solo Mode (v3.2)
  • Solo Setup
  • Solo Gameplay
    • II. Spread Influence
    • III. Travel
  • AI Actions
    • Complete Mission
    • Build Tube/s
    • Complete Bounty
    • Skills
  • Solo Game End

Overview

Cytress is an action-selection, engine-building game set in a post-modern cyberpunk world. 2-5 players, 20 min / player, age 14+. Over multiple rounds, players will send their crew to complete missions for factions, earning abilities that build their lifepath; while vying for control of the surface world, and trying escape to the floating city of Stratos.

Players will earn Prestige (points) for sending crew to Stratos via the Tubes, controlling Territory around these Tubes, turning in wanted Faction members to Bounty Hunters, and being the first to complete Skills to become the best in Cytress.

Once the last Tube Section is played, the current round will finish and the game will end.

The player with the highest Prestige at the end of the game is declared the winner.

Components

• 5 x Double-Sided Rebel Boards
• 5 x Rebel Standees
• 15 x Ship Standees (3 for each player colour)
• 75 x Crew Cubes (15 for each player colour)
• 5 x Double-Sided Mini-map Tiles
• 4 x Faction District Boards
• 1 x Underbelly District Board
• 1 x Stratos Board
• 72 x Faction Mission Cards (Mini Euro) (18 for each of the 4 Factions)
• 15 x Skill Cards (Mini Euro)
• 6 x Skill Unlocked Tokens
• 12 x Stratolite Cards (Mini Euro)
• 12 x Bounty Cards (Mini Euro)
• 5 x Supply Tracker Boards
• 20 x Supply Tracker Tokens (5 of each Supply Type)
• 50 x Tube Sections
• 1 x Tube Bag
• 1 x Stratos Floating City
• 1 x First Player Marker
• 1 x Score Pad

Setup

1. Place 1 randomly selected Mini-map Tile per player into the pattern shown (in the rulebook, for 2, 3, 4 and 5 players), in the middle of the table. This is known as the Mini-Map.
2. Place the 4 Faction Mission Boards around the Mini-map, with either the 1-3 player side or 4+ player side face up, depending on the number of people playing.
3. Divide the Faction Mission Cards into their 4 decks, based on the back of the card. Shuffle each deck and place it face-down on its matching Faction Mission Board (e.g. yellow deck on yellow board etc), revealing the top 3 cards and placing them face-up in the adjacent slots.
4. Place the Underbelly District Board below the Mini-map. Randomly select which side is face-up.
5. Sort the Bounty cards based on the number of players, returning any not matching the player count to the box. Stack the cards face-up on their matching spaces on the Underbelly District Board, with the lowest points at the bottom of the stack, increasing to the highest points on top.
6. Place the 6 Skill Ascension Tokens face-up on the Underbelly District Board in their matching spaces, ensuring to cover the spaces on the board.
7. Construct the Stratos Floating City model (see back page), ensuring either the 1-3 player side or 4+ player side is face up, depending on the number of people playing, and place it above the Mini-map.
8. Place the Stratos Board under the Stratos Floating City.
9. Shuffle the Stratolite cards and place them in a face-down deck below Stratos, revealing 5 face-up onto Stratos.
10. Place 7 Tube Sections per player into the Tube Bag and place it near Stratos. Place the remaining Tube Sections out of reach, these will be used at the end of the game.
11. Randomly deal each player a Rebel Board. They may choose which side they use. Give each player the Rebel Standee, 3 Ship Standees, and 15 Crew Cubes that match their Rebel Colour.
12. Give each player a Supply Tracker Board and Supply Tracker Token for each supply. All players start with 2 of each supply, place the Tokens value 2.
13. Sort the Skill Cards based on the number of players, then shuffle and deal 2 cards, face-down to each player [3 in a 2 player game], returning any undealt cards to the box. Players may look at their Skill Cards.

Gameplay Overview

Cytress is played over multiple rounds, each divided into 4 phases:

• I. Gain Supplies – simultaneous – earn Supplies, based on your Lifepath.
• II. Spread Influence – in turn order – Spread Influence with your Rebel, earning Supplies.
• III. Travel – in turn order – meet shady characters of Cytress with your Ships.
• IV. Recoup & Retire – simultaneous – gather your Rebel and Ships, pay Debts, and prepare for the next round.

Factions, Lifepaths, and Ability

As you make your way around Cytress, you will encounter 4 different Factions: Corpocrats, Privateers, Rovers, and Hooligangs. Each faction holds control of a different aspect of day-to-day life. As you complete Missions for the 4 factions, you will earn Faction Abilities building your lifepath and enhancing your ability associated with the different phases.

The 4 different lifepaths a Rebel can build towards are:

• Corpocrats dominate production and procurement of supplies, increasing the supplies you earn in the Gain Supplies Phase [I].
• Privateers can be reputable advocates for you, earning you supplies if other players Spread Influence in those Faction Districts during the Spread Influence Phase [II].
• Rovers specialise in craft and trade, increasing your trade ratio if you choose to Meet Merchant in the Travel Phase [III].
• Hooligangs have strength in numbers, thus providing efficient reinforcement, reducing the cost of actions in the Travel Phase [III].

Abilities gained through performing missions from each faction are placed next to your Rebel Board in their matching location, extending the lifepath from that location. To gauge your ability in an aspect, simply count the number of supply icons along that line.

All Rebels begin with one of each supply icon in the Rover Lifepath; additionally, each Rebel has 2 unique supply icons spread out across the other Lifepaths.

Each mission card also has 2 symbols at the top, on the left and right of the card. These indicate the Skill Type (left) and Targeted Faction (right) the mission is completed against.

There are 6 Skill Types: Terminate, Infiltrate, Immobilize, Abduct, Sabotage, Loot.

There are 4 Factions: Corpocrats, Privateers, Rovers, Hooligangs.

These will help you earn skill bonuses when you Unlock Skills, and complete Bounty Hunter rewards when you Meet with Bounty Hunters.

Gameplay

I. Gain Supplies

Simultaneously, all players gain all supplies shown in their Corpocrat lifepaths (top left lifepaths).

Count the number of supplies you earn for each type and increase your supply tracker for that type by the same amount.

II. Spread Influence

In turn order, based on the first player marker, players send their Rebel to one of the 4 Faction Districts to spread influence, earning you supplies from that faction.

You must visit an empty location. In a 1-3 player game, only one space is available for each Faction District. In a 4+ player game, 2 spaces are available.

When you visit a Faction, you will earn the number of supplies shown on the space you select.

All other players may still gain supplies of that type, depending on their Privateer Lifepath (bottom left lifepath). If you have Lifepath in the Faction that another player has visited, you will earn that many supplies.

Note: you do not gain additional supplies for the faction you visit.

Example: red player could choose to Meet with the Privateer Leaders to gain 5 supplies, the Rover Leaders to gain 3, or the Hooligang Leaders to gain 3. They decide to Meet the Hooligang Leader, earning themselves 3. The blue player will earn 2 as they have 2 from their Privateer Lifepath.

III. Travel

Players will send their Ships to meet one of the nine characters of Cytress, completing missions, escaping through tunnels, and partaking in other suspect dealings.

Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, move one of your Ships from your Supply Tracker Board to one of the nine Landing Pads to take the action. There is no limit to how many ships can visit a location, or how many times you can visit a location, but you must be able to complete the action in full at the location you select.

Throughout the Travel Phase, your Hooligang Lifepaths (bottom right) will reduce the cost of the actions.

If you have any Supplies shown in your Hooligang Lifepaths, matching the supply required for an action, you receive a discount of that many from the cost. You must always be able to pay the full cost (action cost minus Hooligang Support) to take the action.

Meet Factions

Meet with the 4 Factions to complete missions, building your lifepaths as you do so, and spreading your control across the Mini-map.

To complete a mission, pay the Mission Cost. The cost of each mission varies based on the faction you sent your Ship to. Each faction's mission costs are shown on their faction board, with the icons pointing downwards, as a sign of cost.

Next, send one of your Crew to an empty location (hex) on the Mini-Map that matches the colour of the mission you are completing (e.g. completing a Privateer mission (blue) you will place a crew on a blue hex).

Lastly take one of the 3 Mission Cards from the Faction Board that you completed and slot it into the lifepath matching that faction on your Rebel board (i.e. matching the colour of the card). Remember to consider the Faction Ability you will receive as you develop your lifepaths, the Skill Type for completing your Skill Cards, and the Targeted Faction you complete the mission against for Bounty Hunter Rewards. Once complete, refill the empty mission slot with a new card from the deck if any remain.

Example: The red player decides to meet with the Privateers to complete a mission. 1) First, they pay the mission cost of 2 supplies. 2) Next, they place their crew on the blue hex. 3) Lastly, they take a Privateer Mission Card as their reward, placing it next to their Privateer life path, refilling the empty space.

Note: When Meeting a Faction, the cost, hex you occupy on the mini-map, mission card you take, and location on your lifepath should all be the same colour (blue in the examples above).

A Spy in our Midst's: When meeting factions, if you complete a mission adjacent to 2 or more crew of the same opponent, you may gain 1 resource matching one of the hexes that those crew occupy on the mini-map. If you are next to 2 or more crew of multiple opponents, you may gain 1 resource matching one of the hexes that each opponents crew occupy on the mini-map.

Stratos (Meet Stratolites / Meet Netprowler)

The Stratos Board has two character locations, one to Meet the Stratolites and the other to Meet the Netprowler. Both locations allow you to build tubes on the Mini-Map on a hex where you have a crew member, sending them to Stratos, and earning you Prestige at the end of the game.

The cost of the tube depends on the height of the tube you build, as shown at the bottom of the Stratos Board. Tubes may be built up to three sections high. Higher tubes will earn you more points but cost more per tube section. You may not build on an existing tube.

Remember: Tubes are limited and will trigger the last round of the game when they run out.

The difference between Netprowler and Stratolites is in the supplies that are used for going to Stratos.

Meeting the Netprowler allows you to build your tubes on any hex where you have a crew and paying any single supply type of your choice.

Meeting the Stratolites require you to pick a Stratolite card on the first level of Stratos. The Stratolite will dictate a specific location (colour) on the Mini-Map that the tubes must be built, and the supply type that they must receive to build the tubes, making it harder. However, all tubes built through the Stratolites allow players to have an extra action by replaying their ships again after the round ends. Continuing in turn order, players must move their ships, one at a time, from the Meet the Stratolites location to any other location on the board, taking that action as they do so.

Once paid for, take the Stratolite Card and place it to the right of the Stratos board, sliding any other Stratolite cards right, and adding a new card to the left most space from the Stratolite deck.

For either, move your Crew member from the Mini-Map onto the Stratos Structure, placing them on the level matching the number of tubes you built. Then place Tube Sections equal to the number of tubes you paid for onto the hex where the Crew member had been previously on the Mini-Map.

The first few crew to make it to each level of Stratos will additionally send their Rebel supplies once they arrive. Ensure you place your crew on this location and take your supplies. You may take any single supply type, but must be able to pay in full to send your crew to that level.

Meet Fixer

The Fixer is a shady character in the Underbelly District who offers you supplies when you are most in need.

To Meet the Fixer, travel to the location on the Underbelly District Board.

You may either gain 2 of one type of Supply, or 1 each of 3 different supplies.

Meet Merchant

Merchants make a living in the Underbelly District by selling whatever stuff you need – fenced items, contraband goods, and more.

Meeting the Merchant let you trade one type of supply for another, based on the Trade Market Triangle shown on the Underbelly District board, and your trade ratios negotiated by completing Rover Missions.

All Rebels start with a 1:1 trade ratio for Weapons, Credits, and Tech. Stims may always be traded for any other supply, but you may never gain Stims in a trade. As you complete Rover Missions, your ratio will increase.

You may trade 1 supply for any 1 other allowed type as indicated by the arrows in the Trade Market Triangle shown on the Meet Merchant location, as many times as you can afford, in a single action.

Example: the player has a 1:1 ratio for credits, and a 1:2 ratio for Tech and Weapons.

The trade possibilities change from game to game, depending which side of the Underbelly District Board is randomly selected during setup.

Meet Bounty Hunters

The Bounty Hunters are the Stratolites' private security force, working to keep the factions out of Stratos. These corrupt characters will reward you with Prestige for ratting out the faction you have dealt with.

Once you have completed 3 missions against the same faction you may Meet with the Bounty Hunters to claim your reward, taking the topmost card matching that faction (Corpocrats, Privateers, Rovers, Hooligangs), scoring you prestige at the end of the game.

You do not discard the cards used to claim a reward, and you may claim multiple of the same reward, provided you have completed a set of 3 missions for each reward you claim. You can only claim 1 bounty card per action.

I.e., you would need to have completed 6 missions against Corpocrats to claim 2 Corpocrat wanted rewards.

Complete Skill Cards

Players have 2 Skill Cards that they were dealt at the start of the game (3 in a 2-player game). These represent the skill types you excel at and can specialise in throughout the game. Each skill is shown on multiple skill cards, so you will most likely be competing with other players to become a specialist in your field of expertise.

There are 6 types of skills in Cytress: Terminate, Infiltrate, Immobilize, Abduct, Sabotage, Loot.

To Unlock your Skill, you must specialise in a specific type of mission by completing 3 missions with the same skill type that match one of your Skill Cards.

Each card has 2 possibilities of what you could specialise in, and you may only complete one skill per card.

Once you have completed 3 missions with the same skill type, you may immediately take the matching Skill Unlocked Tile. Reveal your matching skill card and place the token over the other half of the card.

The first player to Unlock each Skill will earn 3 Prestige as shown on the tile. From then on, all players who have completed 3 missions of that skill type will be able to complete missions of the matching skill for one less supply for the rest of the game, as revealed underneath the Skill Unlock Token on the Underbelly board, regardless if they have the card required.

Completing a Skill card does not take an action; you may take a Skill Unlock Token in addition to any of the actions above on your turn.

IV. Recoup & Retire

Simultaneously, all players gather their Ships and their Rebel.

If you have a Loan Shark Debt, you may repay it by returning the amount borrowed, then flipping the card over and placing it in the Debt Paid section of your board.

Discard the rightmost Stratolite, sliding all remaining one space to the right, and add a new Stratolite from the deck to the leftmost space.

Pass the First Player Token to the next player clockwise.

You are ready to begin the next round.

Game End

Once the last Tube Section is played from the Tube Bag, the end of the game is near. Bring out the remaining Tube Sections that were set aside at the start of the game. Players play out the rest of the round as normal then move to scoring.

Scoring

At the end of the game, players earn Prestige for the following:

Crew Sent to Stratos

Players earns Prestige for each Crew they smuggled into Stratos.

• 5 Prestige per Crew on the Lowest Tier
• 10 Prestige per Crew on the Middle Tier
• 15 Prestige per Crew on the Upper Tier

Tubes Controlled

The player with majority of Crew around each Tube earns Prestige based on the height of the Tubes. If there is a tie, neither player earns any Prestige for that Tube:

• 3 Prestige per Tube 1 Section high
• 5 Prestige per Tube 2 Sections high
• 7 Prestige per Tube 3 Sections high

Bounty Hunter Rewards Collected

Players earn Prestige as shown on any Bounties they have collected throughout the game.

Unlocked Skills

The first player to unlock each skill will earn 3 Prestige for as shown on the skill unlock tokens that they have collected throughout the game.

Remaining Supplies

Players earn 1 Prestige per 3 supply of each remaining supply type.

For example, a player with 2, 3, and 5 of three supply types will score 2 points (1 for the 3 and 1 for the 5).

The Player with the most Prestige at the end of the game is the winner. In the case of a tie, the player with the most completed missions is the winner!

Constructing the Stratos Floating City

1. Slot the two vertical parts together.
2. Place the Stratos Layers over the top, ensuring the correct side is face up for the number of people playing.
3. The floating city is complete!

Solo Mode (v3.2)

Compete against an AI that uses the memory of its past actions on future turns.

Solo Setup

Setting up the AI Player:

1. There are 5 difficulties for the AI, from level 1 to level 5. Pick a difficulty and place the matching AI board (found on the back of the Resource Boards) within reach.
2. Select a Rebel Standee, and Crew Cubes to represent the AI. Place them near the AI board.
3. Place one Supply Tracker Token on each slot across the top of the AI board, matching the colour on the background of that section.
4. Place one of each Supply Tracker Token in bag.

Set up the rest of the game as described in the front of the rulebook, with the following changes:

• Step 1: Place 3 randomly selected Mini-Map Tiles in the arrangement shown in the middle of the table.
• Step 10: Place 14 Tube Sections on the table near Stratos as the game timer. Place the remaining tubes above the solo board. These will be used for tracking when the AI builds tubes.
• Step 13: Take all 6 Skill cards for 1+ players and place them on the table in front of your Rebel.

Solo Gameplay

A solo game of Cytress plays in the same way as a regular game of Cytress, with the AI taking an action each turn before the player. The AI goes first every round.

II. Spread Influence

1. Draw a token from the bag.
2. The Faction matching this Supply this is the location the AI will Spread Influence. Place the AI Standee on that space. If you have any Supplies in the privateer Lifepath, gain those supplies.
3. Return the token to the bag.

III. Travel

Before you move each of your Ships from your Resource Board, the AI will take an action.

1. Draw a token from bag, then take the left most matching token from the solo board if available.
2. Place both tokens back into the bag and take the right most revealed action. If that action can't be taken for any reason, take the action to the left of that space and so on.

AI Actions

Complete Mission

1. Take a mission card matching the faction drawn. The card you take will depend on the turn in the round as shown on the solo board (first round, take card from first slot, second round take card from second slot and so on) placing the card in that slot on the solo board.

2. Place an AI crew on the Mini-Map following these rules in priority order (NOTE! AI will always take best location):

   1. Next to largest tower
   2. Next to opponent crew
   3. Next to AI crew
   4. Toward the middle of the map

   E.g., if there is a single tower on the board, with only an AI crew next to it, the AI would place its new crew next to both the tower, and AI Crew, on the side closest to the middle of the map.

3. Refill the mission card slot.

Build Tube/s

1. Send an AI crew to Stratos from a hex on the Mini-Map matching the resource drawn. The height of the tube depends on the round, as shown on the solo board.

2. Follow these rules to determine which crew will move to Stratos (NOTE! The AI will never give control, or give up control of an existing tower to ascend to Stratos):

   1. A location that the AI will be in control of the tube being placed.
   2. Next to an AI crew
   3. Furthest from the middle of map

   Reminder: make sure you build tubes from the supply near Stratos. If no crew meets the requirements, take the action to the left of this symbol instead.

3. If there is an early access space available on Stratos, the AI will occupy it.

4. Place a tube from the remaining tubes set aside on the solo board in that slot as a reminder that the AI has taken an action this turn.

Complete Bounty

1. If the AI has completed 3 missions against ANY faction, immediately take that Faction's bounty card.
2. Turn it to the back side of the card and add it to the slot on the solo board.

If the AI has not completed a bounty, or the card is not available, take the action to the left of this symbol instead.

Skills

As soon as the AI has 3 matching skills, immediately take the skill unlocked token. The AI will score points for this at the end of the game.

Solo Game End

A solo game will end either at the end of the 6th round, or once the last of the 14 starting Tube Sections has been played (as in a multiplayer game) bring out the remaining Tube Sections that were set aside at the start of the game and play out the rest of the round as normal.

Score the game as normal, adding up points for Crew Sent to Stratos, Tubes Controlled, Bounty Hunter Rewards, Unlocked Skills, and Remaining Supplies (player only). The player with the most points is the winner. In the case of a tie, the AI wins.