D.E.I.: Divide et Impera
D.E.I.: Divide et Impera Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- The Game
- 1. Game Board
- 2. Outposts and Markets
- 3. Purebred Missions
- 4. The Factions
- 5. Game Rules
- Region Anatomy
- Market Requirements
- Majority Rule
- Tie
- Supremacy
- Control an Outpost
- Player Turn
- First Action Phase
- Second Action Phase – Feats
- Third Action Phase – Missions
- Clean-up Phase
- Priority
- End Game
- Victory
- Actions
- Basic Actions
- Advanced Actions
- Drones
- Candy Boost
- Leader Skills
- Codex
- Lexicon and Icons
- Mission Cards
- Tactic Feat Tokens
- Logistic Feat Tokens
- Machinery Feat Tokens
- Glossary
- 6. Appendix
- Credits
The Game
The game is set on a modular board of Districts subdivided into areas called Ground and Roof Regions.
The Scrappers, your Faction's workers who search the city far and wide for pieces of valuable scrap, will try to move on the board using their Feats to collect as many materials as possible.
You are going to find two types of Resources: Technology items and Energy Cells, represented in the game by tokens.
These materials can be used to buy items in various Markets, in order to improve your skills, or they can be kept until the end of the game to convert them into food and medicine Supplies (Victory Points).
At the end of each Turn, you will be asked to satisfy the Purebred's requests through public Missions that everyone can undertake if the prerequisites are met.
Powerful Purebred Drones will be assigned to help you. But beware of your opponents, they might steal them and use them against you.
A D.E.I.: Divide et Impera game lasts 4 Turns, each of them structured into 3 Phases.
At the end of the 4 Turns, the player with the most Supplies will survive and win the game.
Note: from page 5 to page 15, the rulebook presents two parallel columns for each component: a Components column (familiarizing you with the game's materials) and a Game Setup column (the setup for a 4-player game; for 2/3-player setup modifiers, see the Appendix). Both are transcribed together below, component by component.
1. Game Board
District - 16 tiles
Each District has two distinct areas, the Ground (A) and Roof (B) Regions. Each tile has three layers for a 3D effect.
On the back of each tile you will find the number of players for which this tile is used (C), and the unique code ID of that tile (D). Regions are divided by a Border or by a Level (E). Therefore, each District contains several Regions of varying levels, and each tile is its own District.
Setup: This is a quick setup of the 16 District Tiles for a 4-player game. (Feel free to rotate the Districts as you prefer during the Game Board setup.) The numbers shown are the tile IDs.
After the first few games, feel free to create your own District configurations, placing the tiles randomly in position and orientation, remembering that the two starting tiles with the Neutral Refuge symbol cannot be orthogonally adjacent.
Neutral Bridges - 2 tokens
The 2 Neutral Bridges connecting the Roof Regions bearing the symbol must be placed at the beginning of the game in Districts 2.3 and 4.3.
Setup: Place the Neutral Bridges in Districts 2.3 and 4.3 connecting the two Roof Regions bearing the symbol.
4 Drone Tokens
Setup: Shuffle the Drone Tokens of the starting Drones connected to the Factions in play (with the front side face down) and place them randomly in the Districts showing the Drone symbol. Then turn them over and place the Drones in the Region containing the Drone token with the corresponding symbol.
All 4 Factions of the core game have a connected Starter Drone:
| Faction | Starter Drone |
|---|---|
| Refuge 42 | Simon |
| Farm-Z | Draco |
| Ravagers | Masamune |
| Auxilia | Fly |
Drones - 4 models
The Purebred are the institution that rules over the whole known area. They require Resources (which players collect for them) in exchange for Supplies. The Purebred also make 4 Drones available for use during the game. These Drones are connected to a specific Faction at the start of the game, but throughout the game, other Factions can share their control by using specific Market cards.
The 4 Drone models are: Draco Drone, Simon Drone, Masamune Drone, and Fly Drone.
Resources - 100 tokens
These represent the materials required by the Purebred that guarantee food and medicine Supplies at the end of the game.
Resources can also be used to buy cards from the Markets.
There are 60 Technology tokens and 40 Energy Cell tokens.
Setup: Place a Technology Token in the Ground Regions for each Technology symbol. Place an Energy Cell Token in the Roof Regions for each Energy Cell symbol. Create a Common Reserve with the remaining tokens.
Candy Boost - 16 tokens
These tokens provide Actions, buying Requirements, and Resources.
"Candy Boost sweets are now a rare commodity, the sugar they contain is energizing and helps you face the freezing cold. With that wonderful minty breath they leave, every Scrapper in Old London will fall for you. For this very reason they are way more precious as a bargaining chip..."
— Apu, Merchant of Portobello
Setup: Create a Candy Boost Reserve of face down and shuffled Candy Boost Tokens, so that they are easily accessible to all players.
2. Outposts and Markets
Groups of survivors have dedicated themselves to the collection and reconstruction of objects from the old era.
These groups of collectors and craftsmen have specialized in the production of many types of objects: Tactic, Logistic, and Machinery.
They produce their goods in their Outposts and then sell them in various places where the market trade takes place.
Checking these Outposts gives you more influence when buying in the various Markets.
Outposts - 15 tokens and 15 Cubes
Outposts are places where survivors specialized in finding and creating equipment, useful to Scrappers in their hard work. The three Outpost colors/types are Tactic, Logistic, and Machinery.
Setup - Quick setup for the first game: Place the red Outposts on the letters "A", the blue ones on the "B" and the green ones on the "C".
Setup - Advanced setup for subsequent games: Take one Outpost Token of each color, shuffle them face down, and randomly place one on each letter, anywhere on the Game Board. Reveal the 3 Outposts on the map and place all others normally by matching the color to the letter as those originally placed.
Finally, place a Cube of the same color in each Outpost Token slot.
Markets - 4 Boards
These 4 boards represent the 3 Outpost Markets and the Black Market. Each Market Board has its own color to identify the Market cards that will be placed on it.
In the upper area of the Market Board you will find the requirement and modifiers to make purchases in each Market (see Market Requirements, page 16).
Setup: Place the 4 Market Boards so that each player can easily reach them.
Market Cards - 48
Market Cards are Action Cards that can be purchased in the Markets: 8 Tactic, 8 Logistic, 8 Machinery, and 12 Black Market cards.
The 12 Drone Cards do not belong to any specific Market; they are randomly distributed in the Markets.
The Market Cards, placed on the Market Board, include the following information:
A. Market Requirement B. Cost in Technology and Energy Cells C. Quantity of Supplies collected at the end of the game D. Picture E. Actions F. Card Code
Setup: Shuffle all the Drone Cards of the Drones in play and randomly divide them into 3 decks of 4 cards each. Add each of these 3 decks to each in-game Market deck to get 3 Outpost Market decks of 12 cards each. Finally, shuffle each Market deck. Drone Cards are never shuffled into the Black Market deck.
Place the Market deck and draw the first cards by placing them face up in the next 3 slots on each Outpost Market Board.
Place the Black Market deck on the Black Market Board, then draw 3 cards, as you did for the other Markets. There must be 12 face up Market Cards available at the start of the game.
Feats - 18 tokens
Controlling an Outpost (see page 16) will unlock Feats, which give players a permanent Skill.
Setup: Create a Common Reserve with the Feats Tokens sorted by color. You will use them in the Feats Selection step of the setup.
3. Purebred Missions
The control that the Purebred exercise over the Factions of survivors is also expressed through the Missions entrusted to them. To constantly keep them in competition, and prevent them from joining together under a single flag, the Purebred give all factions the same missions, promising everyone the same reward to whoever completes it.
Mission Board - 1
Here you will find the Purebred's Missions, the most important way to get Supplies and win the game.
On the Mission Board, you will find different sections:
A. Priority Track B. Mission Cards slots, row 1 C. Mission Cards slots, row 2 D. Turns E. End Game Supplies
Setup: Place the Mission Board on the table in an area that is easily visible to all players.
Missions Cards - 12
These cards represent the missions assigned by the Purebred to trade in for food and medicine Supplies (see page 18).
A. Duty to fulfill B. Supplies for Missions on time C. Supplies for Missions on a later Turn
Setup: Randomly draw 8 Missions from the Mission Cards (see Optional Rule #1) and put them faceup on the board, providing players with two Mission choices per Turn.
Optional Rule #1 — No Choices To increase the level of player interaction, select only 4 Mission cards, providing only one Mission choice per Turn, using only row 1 of the Mission Board.
Turn Marker - 1
It is used to keep track of the current Turn on the Mission Board.
Setup: Place the Turn Marker under the slot for Turn 1.
Supply Board - 1
Game Effects that earn Supplies immediately advance the Supply token on the numbered slots of this Board.
At the end of the game, additional Supplies will be awarded determining the final ranking.
Setup: Place the Supply Board on the table in an area that is easily visible to all players.
Faction Pads - 4
These pads are used to hold all the material a player needs during the game.
On the Faction Pad, you will find different sections:
A. Leader Cardboard B. Feats Tokens C. Outpost Cubes Spaces D. Player Resources Reserve E. Recycle Bin F. Phase 1 Action Card slot G. Phase 2 Action Card slot H. Phase 3 Action Card slot I. Faction Tokens
Setup: Each player takes a Faction Pad (from now on: Pad) and two Resources from the Reserve to place on the Pad on the space provided (D): 1 Technology Token and 1 Energy Cell Token.
Purebred
In the days following the White Death and in later years, only one faction seemed to be prepared for what was happening. The Purebred arose from cold ashes of civilization and quickly imposed their undisputed will, thanks to their superior technology and determination.
Little is known about the birth of this powerful caste. It is rumored that they were soldiers who took advantage of the chaos to take power. Or, that they were born from one of the largest corporations of the old world, Achab Corporation.
Even before catastrophe hit, this megacorporation had become an economic power, thanks to the high-tech products launched on the market. These were products that changed everyone's lifestyle in a few years and forced the technology to jump forward by centuries.
Whatever the truth, they now govern what remains of the world from their fortified citadels and their capital, exploiting their superior technology and military training.
If you are one of them, you're lucky. If you are not one of them, you are one of the many survivors of the frozen lands. You will be destined to bend to their will in the hope of obtaining citizenship and becoming one of them.
4. The Factions
Several Factions of survivors have sprung up in the icy moor, working to stay alive and obtain the citizenship of the Purebred. Some of these groups arose spontaneously to take advantage of group work. Others are communities that survived to the New Ice Age, remaining hidden for years in safe places.
Factions
Setup: Each player chooses their Faction, starting with the oldest player. Each player takes all the components belonging to the chosen Faction.
Auxilia — The group in closer contact with the Purebred can count on their support in exchange for information and tasks to be performed. Their leaders are cunning and ruthless, ready to do anything to keep the ruling caste's favor. (Leader: Neena)
Ravagers — This group, which welcomes any desperado in need, is in touch with the Rebels, although no one can confirm it for fear of infuriating the Purebred. Many of their leaders are actually Rebel agents with a secret mission to complete. (Leader: Abraham)
Refuge 42 — Heirs of all the citizens of London who escaped the White Death hiding inside underground shelters, these survivors can count on technological devices from the past and the knowledge they inherited. (Leader: Aria)
Farm-Z — The genetic experimentation laboratory-bunkers called "Farms" host scientists, support staff, and other people who have found refuge here. To lead the expeditions outside, the scientists always pick one of their test subjects… (Leader: Z-13)
Faction Cards - 32
Each Faction has a starting set of 8 Faction Cards, among these one Drone Faction Card corresponding to the Drone introduced by this Faction.
Setup: Keep your Action Cards face up in front of you so that all players can see them.
Supply Tokens - 4
On the opposite side you will find +40 in the event that a player exceeds 39 Supplies; in this case flip the Token and start counting again from 40.
Setup: Put all Faction tokens on space 0 of the Supply Board.
Faction Tokens - 28
Each player has 7 Faction tokens to indicate the Missions completed and the Priority (the Turn order).
Note: The sixth and the seventh Faction Token for each Faction are not used during a standard core box game.
Setup: Each player puts 4 Faction Tokens on their Pad, then Randomly establish Priority. Once the order has been established, each player places another Faction Token on the Priority Track (Mission Board), in the space corresponding to their Turn order (first player in space "1", second player in space "2" and so on).
Constructions - 36 tokens
Each player has 9 Construction tokens to be used during the game: 3 Refuges, 3 Bridges and 3 Elevators.
Each set has the color of the Faction it is paired with, and only the owner can place and use them during the game.
Refuges allow you to deploy new Scrappers, while Bridges allow the Units to move between two non-adjacent Roof Regions. Elevators link Ground Regions to Roof Regions and vice versa.
Setup: Place the Constructions tokens near your Faction Pad.
Leaders - 4 cardboards
Each Faction has a Leader at its disposal. They cannot be removed from the Game Board by any effect, and always count as one Unit to establish Faction Majorities.
Setup: Put the Leader Cardboard on its slot on the Faction Pad.
Leaders - 4 models
Setup: Place the Leader's model near your Faction Pad.
Scrapper - 60 models
Each player has 15 Scrapper models of their own color, representing the Scrappers who gather under a Faction and try to clean up Old London's Districts.
Setup: Place the Scrapper models near your Faction Pad.
Feats Selection
Setup: Each player randomly draws and places face-down 1 Feats Token for each color on the corresponding space on their Faction Pad (see Optional Rule #2).
Players can check their tokens to verify which Feats can be unlocked during the game, taking care to keep them secret from other players until they are unlocked.
Optional Rule #2 — Feats Draft Players may draft Feats tokens to better control their game strategy. Divide the Feats tokens by color near the Game Board. The first player chooses one color, reads all Feats of that color, and picks one. Then, proceeding in Priority order, the other players pick 1 Feat from any color group of their choice in the same way. Once all players have picked 1 Feat, repeat the process starting from the last player proceeding in reverse Priority order, selecting a different color Feat than they have. Once all players have 2 Feats of different colors, repeat the process a final time starting from the first player in Priority order. Each player chooses only 1 Feat from each color group, ending with 3 Feats of different colors.
Reference Sheets - 4
Each player gets 1 Reference Sheet, summarizing the Turn Order, Basic Actions, Advanced Actions, and Lexicon icons (see the corresponding sections below for the full text of each).
Setup: Each player gets 1 Reference Sheet.
Now you are ready to play!
5. Game Rules
Region Anatomy
Regions divided by a Border or by a Level (respectively black lines and red lines in the image) are considered Adjacent.
Spaces on the same level, belonging to two or more adjacent Districts, are considered the same Region (dashed).
Adjacent Regions that are on the same level (Ground or Roof), and that are divided by a Border, are considered Linked (black line in the image). The Adjacent Regions but on different levels (red line in the image), are considered Not Linked (Note: All adjacent Roof Regions are considered Linked, although there is a difference in height in the cardboard). Units only may move between Linked Regions, while Drones can move between Adjacent Regions without restrictions.
Market Requirements
When a Player performs a Buy action (see page 20), they can buy one of the cards available from any Market, paying its Resource cost, indicated in the upper left corner of the card and taking into account the Outpost Requirements:
Outpost Markets: Indicates the number of Outposts of the same Market's color (A) you must control to buy the Action Card from the corresponding Market space.
Black Markets: Indicates if you must pay an additional Technology to buy the Action Card (B), or if you receive a Technology (taken from the Common Reserve) after purchasing the card from the corresponding Market Space (C).
Majority Rule
In D.E.I., many Actions can be performed only if a player has Majority in the Region in which they are to perform the action itself.
Majority is a numerical value determined by the number of the Faction's Units present in a given Region (each Unit counts 1), plus any modifiers deriving from Feats or Leader Skills.
The Faction with the highest value in a given Region has Majority in that Region.
Actions which need Majority:
- Move: To move your Units in a Region you need to establish Majority in that Region by the end of that movement.
- Collect: To collect Resources in a Region, you need Majority in that Region.
Tie
If two or more players in a Region have the same Majority value, it will be a Tie. No player has the Majority in that Region.
Supremacy
You gain Supremacy when you have the Majority in a Region where at least one opposing Unit is present.
Control an Outpost
A Player controls all Outposts in a Region where they have Majority; indicate this by placing the Outpost's colored cubes on their Pad, next to the Feat Token of the same color.
A player can have a maximum of 4 Cubes of the same color on their Pad. If a player loses control of a Region with one or more Outposts in favor of another player, they lose control of these Outposts, and so they must give the cubes of each lost Outpost to the opponent.
The control Cube must be placed back on top of the Outpost if no Faction has a Majority in the Region where that Outpost is located.
This can happen in two cases:
- In the case of a Majority tie between 2 or more Factions.
- If all the Units of the controlling Faction leave that Region and there are no Units of other Factions.
Player Turn
Each game is divided into 4 Turns, each composed of 3 Action Phases and a Clean-up Phase:
- First Action Phase
- Second Action Phase - Unlock Feats
- Third Action Phase - Missions
- Clean-up Phase
Starting with the First Player, all players perform their First Action Phase in Priority order. Then proceed playing the Second Action Phase, unlocking Feats at the Phase's end. Continue playing the Third Action Phase completing Missions at the Phase's end (see below). Finally, each player resolves the Clean-up Phase always in Priority order.
At the end of the last player's Clean-up Phase, the Turn ends, and a new Priority order will be determined for the next Turn (see Priority, below).
First Action Phase
During this Action Phase, each player, one at a time starting with the First Player, must play 2 Action Cards.
Only for the first Turn of the game, in the First Action Phase of each player, before playing their first Action Card, follow these rules to deploy your starting Units on the Game Board:
- First player: Deploy the Leader and two Scrappers on any Neutral Refuge; deploy the Units dividing them as evenly as possible in the Regions with Neutral Refuge.
- Second player: Deploy the Leader and three Scrappers on any Neutral Refuge; deploy the Units dividing them as evenly as possible in the Regions with Neutral Refuge.
- Third player: Deploy the Leader and four Scrappers on any Neutral Refuge; deploy the Units dividing them as evenly as possible in the Regions with Neutral Refuge.
- Fourth player: Deploy the Leader and five Scrappers on any Neutral Refuge; deploy the Units dividing them as evenly as possible in the Regions with Neutral Refuge.
Action Cards
The Action Cards are the cards that allow you to perform Actions during the Action Phases (1, 2, and 3) of the game Turns. There are two types of Action Cards:
Faction Cards - The cards that form each player's starting hand.
Market Cards - Cards for sale in Markets, which can be purchased by players during the game, these are generally more powerful than Faction Cards.
When a rule refers to Action Cards, it refers to both types just described.
Placing and playing cards:
Players must place 2 cards on their Pad per Action Phase which define exactly what can be done in that phase. If a card is placed faceup, you will use the action icons on the card to complete an Action (see Actions, below). However, if you will use the Buy Action to purchase a card from a Market in this phase, the card must be placed face down on your Pad (exception: see Basic Actions, below, for expansion Action cards having a special symbol). Therefore, face-down cards are for the Buy Action; face-up cards are for all other Actions. During the Clean-up Phase, any face-down cards on your Pad will go to your Recycle Bin and any face-up cards go back to your hand.
Resolve the Actions listed on the first Action Card first (1). Then resolve the Actions of the second Action Card, but place it in the top space of the current Action Phase (2).
Actions:
- The Actions on a card can be performed in any order, not necessarily in the order shown.
- The player may decide not to execute some or all of the Actions indicated on the card played.
- Each Action must be resolved separately, one at a time.
Second Action Phase – Feats
This Phase is identical to the First Action Phase, but each player, at the end of their Second Action Phase, can unlock one or more Feats.
Unlocking Feats
If there are at least 2 Outpost cubes of the same color on the Pad, the Feat of the corresponding color is unlocked, flipping its Token.
From now on this player will be able to use the effect shown by the Feat Token (see Tactic/Logistic/Machinery Feat Tokens, below).
Optional Rule #3 — Planning To increase interaction, players keep their Action Cards in their hands without revealing them. At the beginning of each Action Phase, all players place two face down cards on their Pad, after which they are revealed and resolved following Priority order. One of the two cards can be kept face down to buy from the Markets.
Third Action Phase – Missions
This Phase is identical to the First Action Phase, but each player, at the end of their Third Action Phase, must complete a single Mission. Missions are the main way to gain Supplies in the game.
Completing Missions
The player must assign one of their 4 Faction tokens (A) to one of the Purebred Missions.
To do this, choose the Mission to be carried out, and move one of the Faction tokens from your Faction Pad to the chosen Mission Card (B). The player cannot assign more than one Faction token per column.
Mission on time
If the chosen Mission is placed on the current Turn column or one of the next (future) Turn's of the Mission Board, you must accept the top part of the Mission Card (C) in order to gain Supplies from it.
Mission on a later Turn
If the chosen Mission is in the column of a previous Turn of the Mission Board, you must accept the lower part of the Mission Card (D) in order to gain Supplies from it.
Supplies
Supplies earned by the Missions are counted immediately on the Supply Board.
Optional Rule #4 — Confrontation Missions are completed by players at the end of the 3rd Action Phase of ALL players following the Turn order. This includes also the End game Supply Count. This rule increases the players' level of interaction and their way of planning moves.
Optional Rule #5 — Rebel Players are not forced to select a Mission at the end of the Turn, so that at the end of the game they will complete less than 4 Missions, but during the game they will have more choices between the remaining actions.
Clean-up Phase
During this Phase, all players must:
- Move all the face-down Action Cards on the Pad to the Recycle Bin (these cards will no longer be available for the rest of the game, except for Missions resolution and for the End Game Supply Count).
- All the face-up Action Cards go back to the player's hand.
- Move the Turn Marker to the next number along the line on the Mission Board.
If you are playing the last Turn, you can skip the Clean-up Phase and Priority and proceed to the End Game.
Priority
At the end of each game Turn (except the last one), the order of play is determined by the ranking of the Factions on the Supply Board.
The player currently in last position on the Supply Board will be the first player, the second-last player will be the second player and so on until you get to the first in the standings who will be the last player.
To break any ties in the ranking, the player who had the highest Priority (i.e. played before the other tied player) in the Turn just played will be lower (i.e. will play after the other tied player).
After this step, a new game Turn begins.
Priority Example - At the end of the first Turn the ranking is composed as follows: 9 Supply for the Ravagers, 7 for the Farm-Z, and 5 Supply for both Auxilia and Refuge 42. Following the rules of priority, the order of play for the next Turn will be determined as follows: 1st - Auxilia (since they tied for least points with Refuge 42 and were in a lower priority than Refuge 42 in the previous Turn), 2nd - Refuge 42, 3rd - Farm-Z, 4th - Ravagers.
End Game
Final Supply Count
At the end of each player's 4th Turn (or at the end of all players' Turns with Optional rule "Confrontation"), they will count their own Supply to determine the winner of the game.
Each player will gain:
Outposts — 1 Supply for each controlled Outpost.
Feats — 1, 3, or 6 Supplies, based on the number of Feats unlocked.
Technology tokens — 1 Supply for each 2 tokens owned.
Energy Cell tokens — 1 Supply for each token owned.
Victory
After the Final Supply Count, all players, following the Priority order, count the Supply shown on the Market Cards purchased, including those in the Recycle Bin.
All Supply points are totaled and this will determine the final score and the winner, the player who has the highest Supply value.
NOTE: In case of Tie the highest Priority Faction wins.
Actions
Basic Actions
Action Cards will activate a series of Actions, i.e. Basic Actions, such as Move, Collect, or Build. Below you can find the complete list of basic actions:
Enlist - You can deploy a Scrapper, moving it from your Reserve to a Region with a Refuge of your Faction or a Neutral Refuge.
It is never possible to use your opponents' Refuges. If you have no Scrappers in your Reserve, you can take one of your already deployed Scrappers, and place it on that Region (this Scrapper is not considered removed from the game table).
Move - You can move any number of your Units from one Region to another Linked Region.
You are not required to move all your Units placed in that Region. Unless otherwise indicated, you may move to a Region only if you have Majority in the destination Region by the end the Movement.
Collect - You can collect one Resource, if available, from the selected Region by placing it in your Reserve. Unless otherwise indicated by a special rule, you can collect only if you have Majority. You can keep a maximum of 10 Resources on your Faction Pad; if you Collect an eleventh Resource, you have to discard a Resource already present on your Faction Pad.
Buy - This action allows you to purchase a revealed card from one of the Markets. To perform this Action, play one of your cards face down on your Pad and then purchase the desired Market Card. Once the card is bought, the cards on the Market Board slide to the right to fill any vacant Market slot, then a new Action Card is revealed from the Market deck and placed in its leftmost space.
A newly purchased Market card is immediately available and can also be played in the same Phase in which it was purchased, if it is still possible to play an Action Card.
This Action can be performed only once per Action Phase.
In the Clean-up Phase, cards played this way will be placed in the Recycle Bin and will no longer be used for the rest of the game.
The Action cards played face down to use this action or in the Recycle Bin, even if they can no longer be used for the rest of the game, are still owned by the player, so they must be considered for any effects or to complete Missions.
Attention: In the game expansions this symbol also appears on the front of the Action Cards, along with the icons of any other actions. When a Buy Action is performed using a symbol placed on the front of an Action Card, this card must not be placed in the Recycle Bin during the Clean-Up phase.
Build - This action allows you to place Refuges, Elevators and Bridges on the Game Board using a Construction Token from your Reserve.
You can Build:
- In a Region without Majority, you just need the presence of at least one of your Units.
- In the same Regions with any number of Constructions already present.
- If you have no more Construction tokens in your Reserve, you can recover one of your already deployed Constructions, and place it again.
You cannot use opponents' Constructions, just yours and the Neutral ones.
Build a Refuge - You can place one of your Refuge tokens in a Region containing at least one of your Units.
Build a Bridge - You can link two Roof Regions of the same District by placing a Bridge Token that touches both. The Bridge must run over a single Ground Region. One of the two Roofs you want to link must contain at least one of your Units. The Bridges link the two Regions only for the Units of their Faction. A Bridge is considered to be placed inside both Regions it links.
Build an Elevator - You can link a Ground Region with an adjacent Roof Region. An Elevator can only be placed in the Ground Region and must be placed in contact with the Roof Region that you want to link. To build an Elevator, you must have at least one of your own Units in the Ground Region or Roof Region you want to link. Elevators link the 2 Regions only for the Units of their Faction.
Bridge/Elevator examples:
- A Bridge - Building this Bridge is allowed.
- B Bridge - Building this Bridge is not allowed because the Bridge runs over two different Ground Regions.
- C Bridge - Building this Bridge is allowed.
- D Bridge - Building this Bridge is not allowed because the Bridge runs over two different Districts.
- E Elevator - Links the two orange highlighted Regions.
- F Elevator - Links the two purple highlighted Regions.
Advanced Actions
Normally, Market Cards you buy indicate a larger number or a different combination of Actions. Advanced Actions include:
Copy - Copy all the Actions on one of your Action Cards already played in this Turn. It is not allowed to copy the Copy Action.
Gain Supplies - You immediately gain the indicated Supply value.
Kill - The player who suffers this effect must remove one of their Scrappers in the Region where it is applied. After removing the Scrapper, the affected player gains a Candy Boost. You cannot Kill your own Faction's Scrappers in this way.
Gain Technology / Energy Cell - You immediately gain the indicated Resources, taking them from the Common Reserve.
Actions per Outpost - Perform the indicated Action a number of times equal to the number of corresponding controlled Outposts. This value must be calculated when the player declares to resolve the Advanced Action.
- Any Outpost
- Tactic Outpost
- Logistic Outpost
- Machinery Outpost
Advanced "Tactic" Actions (red)
Tactic Move - Same effect as a Move Action, but you can move ignoring the Majority Rule.
Tactic Enlist - Same effect as an Enlist Action, but you can perform it in any Region where you have at least one Unit.
Advanced "Logistic" Actions (blue)
Logistic Move - Same effect as a Move Action, but you can move from a Ground Region to a Roof Region, or vice versa, as if they were Linked.
Logistic Collect - Same effect as a Collect Action, then, if you have collected a Technology, you can immediately exchange it with an Energy Cell.
Advanced "Machinery" Actions (green)
Machinery Enlist - Same effect as an Enlist Action, then you can also place in the same Region a Resource from the Reserve (Technology on Grounds or Energy Cell on Roofs).
Machinery Collect - Same Effect as a Collect Action, then you immediately gain 1 Technology Resource from the Common Reserve.
Drones
Some Action cards allow you to Activate the Purebred's Drones. All those cards are considered "Drone Cards", represented by the Drone Card symbol.
Drones' Activations
Any Drone: You can Activate any Drone on the Game Board.
Masamune - Harvester: Move the Masamune and then Collect up to 2 Resources from the Region where the Drone is located.
Simon - Transporter: Move the Simon and then place up to 2 Scrappers in the Region where the Drone is located.
Fly - Teleporter: Move the Fly Drone and then, from the Region it is in, you can choose to apply 1 of the following effects:
- Remove 1 or 2 of your Scrappers from that Region and place them in a Ground Region or 2 Ground Regions of your choice;
- Remove 1 of your Scrappers from that Region and place them in a Roof Region of your choice.
Draco - Reaper: Move the Draco and then use the Kill Action on each opposing Faction in the Region where the Drone is located. You gain 1 Supply and 1 Candy Boost.
Drones' Movement Rules
- Drones can move from an Adjacent Region to another ignoring Level differences and the Majority Rule.
- A Drone always performs its movement before its Drone Action. It can also choose not to move at all.
- Each Drone can move up to 2 Regions each time it is activated; some Drone Cards offer bonuses to their movement, like +1 or +2.
- Multiple Drones may occupy the same Region.
Candy Boost
Players get these tokens face down as an outcome of certain game effects. A Candy Boost can add an Action or a bonus to a card played on the Pad. To do this, they must be placed on the card just played (maximum one per card). During the Clean-up Phase, discard all the Candy Boost on Action Cards to the Candy Reserve, then create a new Candy Reserve shuffling all the Candy Boost tokens face down.
Candy Boost tokens can provide: Enlist, Move, Collect, Build a Refuge / Elevator / Bridge, Take 1 Technology, or count as one controlled Outpost of any color during a Market purchase or for the Advanced Actions that provides "Actions per Outpost".
Leader Skills
Each Faction's Leader has a special skill.
Neena — Auxilia Stealth: Every time you perform a Move Action involving Neena (alone or with any number of Scrappers), you can perform it ignoring the Majority Rule.
Abraham — Ravagers Seeker: Once per Action Phase, when you perform a Collect Action in the Region where Abraham is located, perform an additional Collect Action.
Aria — Refuge 42 Grapples: When Aria performs a Move Action, she considers Adjacent Ground and Roof Regions as Linked (but only for herself).
Z-13 — Farm-Z Bully: In order to establish Majority in a Region, Z-13 adds 3 instead of 1 to the Farm-Z Faction.
Codex
Lexicon and Icons
Quick guide to better understand Feats and Mission Cards.
- A:B — For each A, you get B
- A/B — A or B
- A▶B — If A, then B
- A=B — You can use A as B
These icons are used on many game elements and can refer to concepts (e.g. Majority) or physical objects in play (e.g. Units, Buildings etc.). This list describes all of these icons for quick and easy reference:
a Scrapper, an Action Card, a Construction, a Bridge, a Refuge, an Elevator, Once per Action Phase, a Roof Region, a Ground Region, a Resource, a Technology, an Energy Cell, a Generic Outpost, a Specific Outpost, a Drone, Tie (see page 16), Supremacy (see page 16), Majority (see page 16), a Drone Action Card, Action Phase, Turn.
Mission Cards
Collected Technologies — You gain 1 Supply for each Technology Token in your Reserve, or 2 Supplies for every 3 Technology tokens if the Mission is completed on a later Turn.
Collected Energy Cells — You gain 2 Supplies for each Energy Cell Token in your Reserve, or 3 Supplies for every 2 Energy Cells if the Mission is completed on a later Turn.
Drone Cards — You gain 2 Supplies for each Drone Card owned (including the starting Drone Card of your Faction), or you gain 1 Supply for each Drone Card owned (including the starting Drone Card of your Faction) if the Mission is completed on a later Turn.
Constructions in play — You gain 2 Supplies for each Construction you have in play, or you gain 1 Supply for each Construction you have in play if the Mission is completed on a later Turn.
Scrappers in play — You gain 3 Supplies for every 3 Scrappers you have in play, or you gain 2 Supplies for every 3 Scrappers you have in play if the Mission is completed on a later Turn.
Controlled Generic Outposts — You gain 2 Supplies for each Outpost cube on your Pad, or you gain 1 Supply for each Outpost cube on your Pad if the Mission is completed on a later Turn.
Controlled Specific Outposts — You gain 3 Supplies for each Outpost cube on your Pad of the indicated color, or you gain 2 Supplies for each Outpost cube on your Pad of the indicated color if the Mission is completed on a later Turn.
Garrisoned Outposts — You gain 2 Supplies for each Outpost you Garrison (see Glossary: Outpost), or you gain 1 Supply for each Outpost you Garrison if the Mission is completed on a later Turn.
Tactic Feat Tokens
Bombing — Each of your Bridges adds +2 to your Majority value in the Ground Region below that Bridge.
Fortress — Each of your Refuge adds +2 to your Majority value in the Region it is located.
Field Knowledge — In each Region, in case of a Tie you have Majority.
Trojan Horses — Each Drone adds +1 to your Majority value in the Region it is located if there is at least 1 of your Units in that Region.
Extreme Remedies — If you don't have Majority in a Region, you can use a Collect Action in that Region as Kill Action.
Caravan — Each of your Refuge adds +1 to your Majority value in the Region it is located. You can also move your Refuge as one of your Scrappers.
Logistic Feat Tokens
Field Engineer — After you build a Bridge or an Elevator, you may perform two extra Move Actions during this Action Phase.
Sky Boots — After you played a card with at least one Move Action, you may perform one extra Move Action during this Action Phase.
Drop Pod — You can build a Refuge also in Regions that do not contain your Units.
Underground Shortcut — All Regions with Neutral Elevator and your Faction's Elevator are considered Linked for Move Actions of your Units.
Outnumber — If all your 15 Scrappers are deployed, your Enlist Action can also be used as a Move Action or Collect Action. The Leader does not affect this Feat.
Remote Drive — When you activate a Drone add +1 to their movement.
Machinery Feat Tokens
Exploitation Camp — When you use a Collect Action in a Ground Region with a Neutral Elevator or one of your Elevators, you can exchange the collected Technology with Energy Cell taken from the Reserve.
Alternative Energy — Once for Action Phase, you can pay 1 Technology Resource instead of 1 Energy Cell and vice versa when you perform a Buy Action.
Delivery Bot — Once for Action Phase, you can discard 1 Energy Cell to perform a Buy Action (without play any card on your Pad).
Deep Excavation — You can use a Collect Action to place 1 Resource taken from the Reserve in a Region containing your Units (Technology in the Ground Regions or Energy Cell in the Roof Regions).
Low Energy Remote Control — When you buy a Drone Card, the cost is reduced by 1 Resource of your choice.
Trading Post — Gain 1 Supply every time you perform a Buy Action.
Glossary
Action Cards - Are played onto your Faction Pad to perform Actions. Some effects in D.E.I. expansions may refer to the Action Card type. Below is a detailed list of the different types of Action Cards.
- Action Cards: all cards a player can play on their Faction Pad.
- Faction Cards: the Action Cards that the player receives at the start of the game and feature the logo of their Faction.
- Market Cards: Action Cards found in the Markets and purchased by a player at a Market. Market Cards with the colored flag at the top left are considered Action Cards belonging to a specific Market, based on the color of the flag.
- Drone Cards: Action Cards that allow you to activate any Drone or copy the Action of a Drone Card. A Drone Card purchased from a Market is considered both a Market Card and a Drone Card, but is not considered to belong to any Market, but only purchased from a Market. Faction Cards that allow you to activate a Drone are considered both Faction Cards and Drone Cards.
Adjacent - Two Regions separated by a Border or a different Level are called Adjacent.
Action Phase - The portion of a Turn in which a player plays two Action cards.
Activate a Drone - Allows you to use a Drone under your control.
Border - Graphic element or different Level that divides the Game Board into Regions.
Bridge - A specific Construction that links two Roof Regions of the same District.
Drone Token - During setup it is placed on a Roof and represents the starting position of the Drone indicated.
Candy Boost - Can be played with an Action card, limit one for each Action card.
Cards - There are three types of cards:
- Action Cards: see Action Cards.
- Mission Cards: see Mission.
- Leader Cardboards: see Leader.
Construction - There are three different Constructions:
- Bridge: Makes two Roofs linked.
- Elevator: Makes a Ground and a Roof linked.
- Refuge: Allows you to deploy Scrappers.
Deploy - Place a Unit on the Game Board from your Reserve.
Discard - Return a game item to the Common Reserve.
District - One of the tiles that form the Game Board.
Drone - A non-Faction model. See Drone Cards.
Drone Cards - Action cards that allow you to activate a specific Drone. Can be Faction Cards or Market Cards.
Faction - Each player controls their own Faction, with their own Units, Action Cards, and tokens.
Faction Construction - Construction that can only be used by the Faction it belongs to.
Feat - Skill unlockable at the end of Action Phase 2 of each Turn by controlling at least 2 Outposts of the same color.
Gain - Earn Supply or a specific game component.
- Gain Candy Boost: Take a Candy Boost Token from the Common Reserve and place it face down in front of you.
- Gain Resources: Take a Resource Token from the Common Reserve and place it in your Personal Reserve. Cannot be gained if you already have 10 Resources.
- Gain Supplies: Advance your Faction Token on the Supply Board.
- Gain Market Cards: Add cards to your hand of Action Cards.
Game Board - The set of Districts that make up the Game Board in which a game is played. It is of different sizes depending on the number of players.
Leader - Each Faction has its own specific Leader. A Leader is considered a Unit.
- Leader Cardboard: Must be placed on the Faction Pad, it shows the Leader and their skill.
- Leader Skill: Unique skill of a specific Leader.
Level - Regions can be of two different levels: Ground (the lowest level) or Roof (the highest level).
Linked - Two Regions are linked if they are on the same level and are Adjacent. Units can only move between Linked Regions. Constructions and other special rules can link two Regions even in conditions different from the standard one.
Majority - The Player with the highest Majority value has the Majority in a Region. The Majority is a numerical value calculated by adding together the Units of a Faction in a Region plus any bonuses due to Feats and Skills.
Market - Display Market Action Cards, they have different colors.
- Black Market: The Market not linked with any type of Outpost.
- Outpost Markets: Linked to a specific Outpost type by the color.
Model - Any 3D model (meeple or miniature) representing a Unit or Drone.
Move - The action that allows you to move one or more models from one Region to another.
Neutral - A game element that can be used by all Factions.
Opponent - All Models and Constructions that do not belong to the Faction you are playing are considered Opponents.
Outpost - Are points of interest in the game:
- Outpost Token: Represents an Outpost on the Game Board.
- Outpost Cube: Represents the control of an Outpost.
- Control Outpost: If you have the Majority in a Region where an Outpost is located, you can take its cube.
- Garrison Outpost: You have at least one Unit in a Region where an Outpost is located.
Pad (Faction) - The player Faction board.
Pay - When you Buy a Market Card and pay its cost in Resources, you must discard the required Resources and return them to the Common Reserve.
Phase - A part of a game Turn, in each phase you must play two Action Cards.
- First Action Phase: Perform Actions.
- Second Action Phase: Perform Actions and check unlocking Feats.
- Third Action Phase: Perform Actions and complete a Mission.
- Clean-up Phase: Players return the used Action Cards to their hand and move the Action Cards played face down in the Recycle Bin.
Place - Put a game element on the Game Board from the Common Reserve or from a different Region of the Game Board.
Priority - The order in which players perform their Phases during a Turn.
Recycle Bin - Area on Faction Pad where a player puts all the cards played face down.
Region - A portion of the Game Board bounded by Borders and/or by different levels.
- Ground Regions: Represent lower level Regions.
- Roof Regions: Represent high level Regions.
- Linked Regions: Units can move between the two Regions.
- Adjacent Regions: Regions that share a border.
Remove - Remove the game element (models, tokens, etc.) from the Game Board and place it in the appropriate reserve, unless otherwise indicated.
Removing Scrappers - Several game effects in D.E.I. expansions may force a player to remove Scrappers from the Game Board. In the event that a player suffers more than one effect of this type, the following points must be respected:
- If a Remove effect needs to be resolved at the end of Action Phase-3 it must be resolved before completing a Mission, unless otherwise specified.
- Effects that occur in a specific Region, such as effects caused by a model, are resolved first.
- Effects that apply in a Region of the player's choice are resolved next.
- If the player has to choose which Scrappers to remove they must choose (if possible) any Scrappers that would not be removed anyway in the same Phase due to another effect.
Opponent - All Models and Constructions that do not belong to the Faction you are playing are considered Opponents.
Resource - Tokens collected from the Game Boards:
- Technology: Resources in the Ground Regions.
- Energy Cell: Resources in the Roof Regions.
The number of Resource Tokens is to be considered unlimited. If a player needs to gain a Resource from the Common Reserve but there are no tokens available, a replacement component can be used to represent that Resource.
Requirement - Indicates Outposts that must be controlled in order to buy an Action Card from the Outpost Markets.
Reserve - The set of game elements not yet used during a game. Some Actions allow you to take some of these items directly from Reserve.
- Common Reserve: All players can take/discard game elements from/in this Reserve.
- Candy Reserve: Pool formed by all the unused Candy Boost tokens.
- Player Reserve: The set of game elements available to a single player.
Token - Game elements used to indicate:
- Feat: see Feat.
- Resources: see Resource.
- Candy Boost Token: Bonus tokens to add Actions to your Action Cards.
- Drone Tokens: Used to deploy Drones at the start of the game.
- Faction Tokens: Used for completing Missions and Priority.
- Construction: Represent Constructions.
- Turn Marker: Shows the current Turn.
Turn - A Turn is a set of 3 Action Phases and a Clean-up Phase in which the players take Turns playing. A game lasts 4 Turns.
Scrapper - A Unit type of the Faction.
Skills - Special rules that take precedence over standard rules. Skills are usually associated with Leaders, Drones, or Feats.
Supplies - Indicates the player's score on the Supply Board. Determines the winner at the end of the game.
Supremacy - When you have the Majority in a Region where there are also opposing Units, you have a Supremacy.
Tie - When two or more Factions have the same Majority value in a Region, a Tie occurs and therefore no one has the Majority in that Region.
Units - Each Faction has two types of Units: Scrappers (15) and Leaders (1).
6. Appendix
Game Board Layouts
You can experiment with different layouts of Game Boards, as shown in the images. You are free to try to create original maps, but, to create a balanced game experience, we invite you to follow these rules:
- The number of Districts with the Drone symbol must always be equal to the number of players.
- Districts with a Neutral Refuge cannot be orthogonally adjacent.
Apart from these two limitations, you can give vent to your imagination and share your best layouts with the community!
2-Player Game
This is a quick setup of 9 District Tiles for a 2-player game (feel free to rotate the Districts as you prefer during the Game Board setup).
In a 2-player game apply the modified following rule:
Drones - The Drones in play will only be those of the respective Factions. Furthermore, the Drone Cards related to unused Drones must be removed before mixing them with the other Market Cards.
3-Player Game
This is a quick setup of 12 District Tiles for a 3-player game (feel free to rotate the Districts as you prefer during the Game Board setup).
In a 3-player game apply the following modified rules:
Drones - The Drones in play will only be those of the respective Factions. Furthermore, the Drone Cards related to unused Drones must be removed before mixing them with the other Market Cards.
Credits
Game Design: Tommaso Battista
Development: Luca Bernardini, Michele Morosini, Andrea Colletti
English Translation: Frank Calcagno
Editing: Frank Calcagno, Louis Angelli, Christopher Nelson, Daniel Liswood
Art Director: Andrea Colletti
Concept Artist: Giovanni Pirrotta, Simone De Paolis
Graphic Design: Paolo Scippo, Diego Fonseca
Lead 3D Sculptor: Fernando Armentano
3D Sculptor: Tommaso Incecchi
Web Editors: Luca Bernardini
Advertising: Emiliano Caretti
Kickstarter Manager: Andrea Colletti
Fulfillment: Michele Mirizio, Marco Presentino
Production: Fabio Braghettoni
Playtesters: Dario Aggioli, Maurizio Picanza, Valerio Salvi, Saverio de Ceglia, Giovanni Benfatto, Daniele Vendittozzi, Chiara Spagnoletto, Luca Benedetti, Gianni Punzo, Francesco Pica, Lorenzo Meucci, Luca Francescangeli.
Ludus Magnus Store: shop.ludusmagnusstudio.com
D.E.I. - Rulebook v.1.4 Ludus Magnus s.r.l. - 2023 © All rights reserved www.ludusmagnusstudio.com