Free Radicals Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Overview
• How to Use This Rulebook
• General Components
• Faction-Specific Components
• General Setup
  • Non-Player Factions
• Faction Overview
• How to Play
  • Objective
  • Game Rounds
  • End of Game
  • Taking Your Turn
  • Items
• Favor
• The Prestige Token
• Data Cards
  • Using Data Cards to Awaken Buildings
  • Victory Points from Awakening
  • Controlling a Building
• Awakening a Building
  • Steps of Awakening a Building
• Visiting Awakened Buildings
• Faction Bonus Powers
• Overview of Buildings
• Knowledge Track
  • Gaining Knowledge for Yourself
  • Granting Knowledge to an Opponent
• Game End & Final Scoring
  • Knowledge Track
  • Most Favor
  • Favor Sets
  • Items
  • Victory
• Summary
• Icon Overview

Introduction

It has been just a few years since the Free Radicals forever changed the world. Their tech allowed us to produce and distribute nearly infinite energy, food, and resources, turning Earth into a utopia. In the absence of scarcity and suffering, people began to do anything their hearts truly desired.

The Free Radical known as the Sphere appeared above the uninhabited Atacama Desert, west of the Andes Mountains, and a community quickly sprang up around it. In less than a decade, Sphere City has become a great megalopolis, a hub of culture, entertainment, knowledge, and freedom.

Still, the Sphere has secrets left to give. Many Factions seek to decode the true meaning behind the Free Radical's cryptic transmissions in order to advance their own agendas.

But in what many suspect is part of the Free Radicals' plan, none can unlock the Sphere's knowledge alone. Co-operation and mutual aid is required in order to gain the Sphere's knowledge.

Which faction will be the one to gain understanding of the Sphere's mysteries, Awaken architectural marvels, and rise to prominence in Sphere City?

Welcome to the world of Free Radicals!

Overview

Free Radicals is a dramatically asymmetric game with 10 unique Factions that each have their own rules and objectives. Although all Factions ultimately want to score the most Victory Points, their means of doing so vary wildly – from hand management, to tile-laying, to pick-up and delivery.

Over 12 rounds of play, players gather Resources, Credits, and Data, advancing their Knowledge, gaining Favor with rival Factions, and Awakening the Free Radicals. Whoever plays their Faction most effectively will earn the capricious favor of the Free Radicals and win the game!

How to Use This Rulebook

This rulebook focuses on General Gameplay with an overview of the game and shared game concepts for all Factions.

Each Player Aid sheet covers the rules for one of the 10 Factions.

To play your first game, we recommend you read the General Gameplay section and the Faction Rules for the specific Factions your players have selected. You do not need to learn the rules for Factions that are not being used by players in your game.

General Components

• 1 Main board
• 45 Credits: 30 "1" and 15 "5" Credits
• 1 Prestige token
• 50 Data cards
• 60 Resources: 20 Carbon, 20 Hydrogen, 20 Titanium

Each color has 40 Favor cubes, 1 board with a different faction on each side, and 2 Player Aids with faction-specific rules.

Faction-Specific Components

Adventurer: 5 Standees, 50 Map tiles

Artisans: (No special components)

Courier: 18 Contract mini-cards, 3 Drone tokens, 12 cost tokens

Entertainer: 12 Entertainer mini-cards, 5 Prediction mini-cards

Executives: 10 Asset tokens, 10 Project tokens

Farmers: 7 Crystals, 16 Goods tokens, 21 Crop tiles

Hoteliers: 42 Hotelier mini-cards, 50 Room tiles

Merchants: 1 Merchant standee, 5 Stalls

Paladin: 5 Paladin disks, 8 Quest mini-cards

Underground: 18 Character mini-cards, 9 Character upgrade markers

General Setup

1. Main board: Place the Main board in the center of the table.
2. Supply: Place all Resources and Credits in a general supply accessible to all players. Place the Prestige token nearby.
3. Data cards display: Shuffle the Data cards. Reveal 4 cards and display them in a row on the Main board. Place the rest of the deck facedown beside the Main board.
4. Factions: Each player chooses a Faction color and chooses one of the 2 Factions of that color. (See the faction overview below for details of how each Faction feels to play.) Gather all game pieces of that Faction.
   • Faction board
   • 40 Favor cubes
   • All Unique Faction components
   • Faction Player Aid
5. Unique Faction Setup: Each Faction has a unique set of starting Items. Refer to your Faction Player Aid to see which items your Faction starts with. Each player follows the unique setup instructions for their Faction printed on their Faction Player Aid.
6. Score Track: Each player places 1 Favor cube on "0" on the Score Track to act as their Score Marker.
7. Knowledge Tracks: Each player places 1 Favor cube on "0" on the Knowledge Track of their color to act as their Knowledge marker.
8. Non-Player Factions: Also place 1 Favor cube of each unplayed color on the "0" of the matching color Knowledge Track. Place all remaining Favor cubes of these colors near the Resource supply.
9. First player: Choose a random first player. They place 1 Favor cube on the "1" space of the Round Track to act as the Round marker. The first player is responsible for advancing the Round marker at the start of their turn (skipped on the first turn).

Non-Player Factions

There are always 5 Factions in each game. If you are playing with fewer than 5 players, the player colors that are not used become non-player Factions. These Factions don't have turns or score points, but can gain Knowledge through player actions, and will reward players with Favor.

Faction Overview

Farmers use Free Radicals to grow healthier, more sustainable crops. A slow-Building domino-based Faction that does few actions in the early game then ramps up toward the end, making the Farmers great for beginners and players that like saving up for big gains.

Executives forecast the future using Free Radical algorithms. The Executives are for the player that wants control. This Mancala-based Faction has very few random elements, but can be unforgiving to mistakes.

Artisans inspire whole new genres of art using hardlight technology from Free Radicals. Hand management fans will feel right at home with this Faction. The Artisans are a great Faction for those that like multi-use cards.

The Underground are a clandestine group sharing the latest findings of Free Radical research. Deck-leveling is the key to playing The Underground. Those that enjoy customization will appreciate powering-up the different characters of The Underground.

Merchants seize the opportunity to sell bits and pieces of Free Radicals for a profit. Players who pay attention to their opponents and the true state of the game will do well. This Faction is also good for those that like Resource-conversion engines.

Hoteliers develop real estate for tourists who want to see the Free Radicals. The Hoteliers are a great choice for the player that likes puzzles. However, this Faction can sometimes put players into difficult positions.

Couriers are needed to securely deliver Free Radical tech to labs around Sphere City. Players that like to plan ahead will like The Couriers, along with players who like pick-up and deliver mechanisms.

Entertainers broadcast live performances on, near, or about the Free Radicals. This Faction is all about tactics and optimizing randomness. Players interested in making the best of a random draw each round will want to play The Entertainers.

Adventurers explore the new urban environments growing Building around Free Radicals. This Faction is great for exploration. Players who enjoy discovering different routes to victory each game will like The Adventurers.

Paladins want to ensure Free Radical tech is used for the greater good. This Faction employs a programming mechanism and is also good for beginners. Players who want to plan ahead and don't mind being locked in to their actions will want to play The Paladins.

How to Play

Objective

The player that earns the most Victory Points at the end of the game wins. All Factions can earn Victory Points by spending Resources to Awaken Buildings, advancing on the Knowledge Track, and collecting Favor from other Factions. Each Faction also has various unique actions and goals to score Victory Points.

Game Rounds

The game lasts 12 rounds.

Each round, each player takes 1 turn. Turns start with the first player and proceed in clockwise order around the play area.

To signal the start of each new round, the first player must advance the Round marker each time they start their turn (except for the first turn of the game).

End of Game

If the Round marker is already on "12" when the first player would advance it, the game ends (see Game End & Final Scoring).

Taking Your Turn

Your Faction has a unique Turn Sequence printed on its Faction board. This is also detailed in your Faction's Player Aid.

On your turn, perform each step in your Turn Sequence in order. After you complete the last step in your Turn Sequence, your turn is over, and play passes to the next player.

During the game, you and the other Factions will play very differently, but you will all interact with some common components.

• You might gain and spend Items like Hydrogen, Carbon, Titanium, Credits, and Data cards.
• You might also trade Favor cubes between yourself and the other Factions. Some Factions also use their own Favor cubes as markers on tracks of their Faction board.
• You might take the Prestige token, which represents the highest esteem of the entire world. Only one Faction may possess the Prestige token, so it will change hands often.
• You might Awaken Buildings on the main board by using Data cards and Items.
• You might Visit Awakened Buildings on the main board to gain more Items or to activate your Faction-specific abilities when you Visit a particular Building.

Items

The following components, collectively referred to as Items, are used by every Faction:

Resources: The 3 Resource types are Hydrogen, Carbon, and Titanium. A Resource icon means your choice of these 3 Resources. If you gain or spend more than one Resource icon at once, you may choose different Resources.

Credits: Credits are not considered a Resource. When you gain or spend Resources, you may not choose Credits.

Data cards: (See Data Cards for details.)

When you spend or discard Items to do an action or pay the cost of a card, they are always returned to the supply.

Players can only exchange Items when an action specifically instructs them to do so.

The supply of Credits and Resources is unlimited. If you run out of Credits or any Resource, use substitute components.

Note: Favor cubes and Faction-specific components (such as the Couriers' Goods tokens) are not considered Items.

Favor

Favor cubes represent your standing with the other Factions in the game. Favor you collect from other Factions (including non-player Factions) are a key source of Victory Points at the end of the game (see Game End & Final Scoring). Your own Favor have no value to you, and exist solely to be given to other Factions.

Various actions can earn you Favor during the game:

Specific Color: When you earn Favor of a specific color, the Faction of that color must give them to you from their supply. (Players can never decline to give Favor to a Faction that has earned them.) When you earn Favor from a non-player Faction, gain them from the general supply.

Any Color: When you earn Favor of any color, you may gain them from any other Faction or Factions (including non-player Factions). You can never earn your own Favor.

Favor you have earned from other Factions cannot be lost or given away by any means. Whenever you must give Favor to another Faction (for example, when you Visit a Building), you must give them Favor of your color from your supply (not Favor of other colors you have earned).

Important: Each player has an unlimited number of Favor to give out. If a player runs out of Favor cubes, use substitute components.

The Prestige Token

The Prestige token represents the esteem and gratitude of the populace.

• If you hold the Prestige token at the start of your turn, you score 1 Victory Point.
• When an action lets you gain the Prestige token:
  • If you do not have the Prestige token, take it from another player and score 1 Victory Point.
  • If you hold the Prestige token, instead immediately score 1 Victory Point.

Tip: Remember to score a Victory Point if you have the Prestige token at the start of your turn, as this is an important way for your Faction to earn Victory Points.

Data Cards

Before you can Awaken a Building, you must first acquire a Data card for the Building that has a Data icon matching your Faction color.

You can hold any number of Data cards in your hand. There are many ways to acquire them:

• This icon means you may choose a Data card from either the display or the top of the deck. Whenever you gain a Data card from the display, immediately replace it with a new card from the deck.
• This icon means you must draw a random Data card from the deck (you may not choose one from the display).

Important: If playing with 3 or fewer players, some Data cards will have Data icons that do not match any player Faction. Whenever a card is revealed in the public display that can't be used by any player, immediately discard it and draw a new card. Note: This does not include blind draws, only the public display.

Using Data Cards to Awaken Buildings

You can use Data cards that don't match your Faction color for various other purposes, but you can't Awaken Buildings with them.

Whenever you discard a Data card, place it faceup in the general Data card discard pile next to the Draw Pile. If the Draw Pile is ever empty, shuffle the discard pile to create a new Draw Pile.

Victory Points from Awakening

Awakening a Building scores you Victory Points and makes the Building available for all players to Visit it.

Controlling a Building

Each time you Awaken a Building, you place a Favor cube in one of its control slots on the Main board to show that it is Awakened and you control it.

Each Building has 2 control slots, meaning up to 2 players can share control of it. A single player can occupy both slots, in which case they gain double the reward when other players Visit.

Note: Once both of a Building's control slots are full, players can still Awaken that Building to score Victory Points, but are no longer able to gain control of it.

Awakening a Building

There are 10 Buildings on the Main board, which acquire unique powers once their connection to the Sphere has been Awakened.

Once a Building has been Awakened at least once, any player can Visit the Building to use its unique power. When they do, the player (or players) who Awakened it receive rewards.

Steps of Awakening a Building

When an action lets you Awaken a Building, follow these steps:

1. Play Data card: Reveal 1 Data card from your hand that has a Data icon matching your Faction color.
2. Pay cost: Pay the card's Resource cost or Credit cost to the supply.
3. Place Favor: Place 1 Favor from your supply in an empty control slot on the Building space on the Main board. (If there are no empty slots, skip this step.)
4. Score Victory Points: Score the Victory Points on the Data card.
5. Discard: Place the Data card in the general discard pile.

Visiting Awakened Buildings

Once a Building is Awakened (i.e. there is a cube in at least one control slot), any player may Visit that Building to use its unique power.

When an action lets you Visit an Awakened Building, follow the steps below.

1. Give Favor: Place 1 Favor from your supply on the Building for each control slot occupied by a player other than yourself.

   Example: The Executives Visit the Holo-Castle, which is controlled by the Artisans and Paladins. The Executives must place 2 (red) Favor from their supply.

2. Use Power: Use the Building's power, paying any cost it has to the supply. (If it has a bonus power for your Faction, you may activate this power instead; see Faction Bonus Powers.)

   The Executives then spend 1 Titanium to score Victory Points per their Knowledge Level. Their Knowledge is Level 3 so they score 3 Victory Points.

3. Control Rewards: For each control slot occupied by a player other than you, that player gains 1 of the Favor you placed AND 1 copy of the Building's Item reward from the supply. (If a single player controls both slots, they gain both Favor and 2x the Item reward.)

   If the Artisans controlled both slots, they would instead gain both Red Favor and 2 random Data cards.

Important:

• Each Awakened Building can only be Visited once each turn.
• If you are able to Visit multiple Buildings in a single turn, you must Visit a different Building each time.
• The cost associated with a Building's unique power is always paid to the supply, not the controlling player(s).
• You do not gain any control rewards when Visiting Buildings you control.

Faction Bonus Powers

Each of the 10 Buildings has a bonus power that can be used by a specific Faction.

When that Faction Visits the Building, they can choose to use its bonus power instead of its main power (even if they do not control the Building).

If other players control the Building, they receive rewards as normal.

Example: The Paladins Visit the Neon Church, which they alone control, so they do not have to give any Favor. They use their Faction's bonus power to take the Prestige token (score a Victory Point) and gain 1 Favor from another Faction of their choice.

Note: Though the Paladins control this Building, they don't gain any control rewards for Visiting it themselves.

Overview of Buildings

There are 10 Buildings on the Main board, which acquire unique powers once the Free Radicals hovering above them have been Awakened.

Vertical Farm — When you Visit, pay 1 Resource of your choice and receive 3 Resources of your choice. Farmer power: Farmers may instead discard 1 Data card to do a Farm Action.

Cyber Cafe — When you Visit, pay 2 Carbon to receive 4 Victory Points. Underground power: Underground may instead draw 1 Scoundrel Card.

Casino — When you Visit, pay 2 Titanium to receive 4 Victory Points. Hotelier power: Hoteliers may instead discard 1 Data card to receive 2 Victory Points and 1 Credit.

Cast Tower — When you Visit, pay 1 Credit to receive 3 Data cards. (Choose from display or random.) Entertainer power: Entertainers may instead use the power of any other Awakened Building.

Holo-Castle — When you Visit, pay 1 Credit to receive 1 Victory Point for each Level of your Faction's Knowledge. Adventurer power: Adventurers may instead pay 2 Credits to receive 2 Victory Points and 2 Action Points.

Company Spire — When you Visit, you receive 2 Favor of your choice. Executive power: Executives may instead score 1 Victory Point per different type of Asset in Headquarters.

Grant Office — When you Visit, pay 1 Resource of your choice and advance the Knowledge of any Faction. Artisan power: Artisans may instead receive 3 Victory Points if they used the Femtoscope that turn.

Bazaar — When you Visit, discard 1 Data card to receive 3 Credits. Merchant power: Merchants may instead pay 1 Resource of their choice to receive 1 Credit for each Stall they built.

Aero-Dock — When you Visit, pay 2 Credits for 1 Carbon, 1 Titanium, and 1 Hydrogen. Courier power: Couriers may instead pay 2 Goods to receive 4 Victory Points.

Neon Church — When you Visit, pay 2 Hydrogen to receive 4 Victory Points. Paladin power: Paladins may instead take 1 Favor of their choice and the Prestige token.

Knowledge Track

Each Faction has a Knowledge Track representing their collective insight into the mystery of the Free Radicals.

The Knowledge Track is divided into 4 Knowledge Levels, which get progressively more expensive and give greater rewards when reached.

At the end of the game, the players who are furthest on the Knowledge Track score additional Victory Points (see Game End & Final Scoring).

Note: Most Factions can only advance Knowledge by one step per action (with the exception of the Executives, Farmers, and Couriers).

Gaining Knowledge for Yourself

When you advance your Faction's Knowledge, follow these steps:

1. Pay cost: Pay the cost to advance to the next step on your track (shown at the top of the next column).
2. Advance: Move your marker forward one step.
3. Score: Immediately score the Victory Points printed there.

Important: When you advance your own Knowledge, you do not gain the Benefactor Bonus shown between Level columns (see next section for details).

Each column of the Knowledge Track shows the Victory Points rewarded for advancing a step into that column, the cost to advance into this column, and the Benefactor Bonus for advancing an opponent to the next level.

Granting Knowledge to an Opponent

Many actions let you advance the Knowledge of any Faction in the game. (If you are playing with fewer than 5 players, this includes non-player Factions.)

When you advance another Faction's Knowledge, follow these steps:

1. Pay cost: Pay the cost to advance the Faction to the next step on their track (shown at the top of the next column).
2. Advance: Move the Faction's marker forward one step.
3. Score: Immediately score the Victory Points printed there. (Note: You score the points, not the Faction you advanced.)
4. Benefactor Bonus for new Level: Gain bonus Favor and Items based on the Faction's new Knowledge Level. All Favor you gain come from the Faction you advanced. (If it is a non-player Faction, gain Favor from the supply.)
   • Level 1: 1 Favor of the Faction advanced
   • Level 2: 1 Favor of the Faction advanced and 1 Data card
   • Level 3: 2 Favor of the Faction advanced
   • Level 4: 2 Favor of the Faction advanced and 1 Resource of your Choice

Example: The Artisans (Yellow) use an action to advance the Knowledge of the Executives (Red). They must first pay 1 Titanium and 1 Credit to advance the Executives to the next step on their track.

The Artisans score 2 Victory Points and gain the Benefactor Bonus of 1 Data card and 1 Red Favor from the Executives. The Executives do not score and gain no Favor from this action.

Game End & Final Scoring

The game ends at the end of the 12th round. Before determining the winner, players add the following end-game Victory Points to their score.

Knowledge Track

The player that has advanced furthest on the Knowledge Track scores Victory Points.

The player that has advanced 2nd-furthest scores fewer Victory Points.

If there is a tie for most Knowledge, all 1st-place players score the higher amount, and no one scores the 2nd-place amount.

If there is a tie for 2nd-most Knowledge (and no tie for most), then all 2nd-place players score the 2nd-place amount.

Note: Non-player Factions are included in the rankings, but do not score. For example, if a non-player Faction is further than any player on the Knowledge track, the second-furthest player will score the 1st-place amount, and no one will score the 2nd-place amount.

Most Favor

The player with the most total Favor cubes from other Factions scores Victory Points.

The player with the 2nd-most total Favor scores fewer Victory Points.

Do not count leftover Favor of your own color.

If there is a tie for most Favor, all 1st-place players score the higher amount, and no one scores the 2nd-place amount.

If there is a tie for 2nd-most Favor (and no tie for most) then all 2nd-place players score the 2nd-place amount.

Favor Sets

Each player scores Victory Points for each complete set of all 4 other Factions' Favor.

This includes non-player Faction colors. It does not include your own Faction color.

Example: The Paladins score 2 Victory Points for each set of 1 Blue, 1 Red, 1 Yellow, and 1 Green Favor they collect. They do not count their own leftover Purple Favor. They have 3 Red, 2 Yellow, 4 Green, 4 Blue. That makes a total of 2 complete sets. They score a total of 4 Victory Points.

Items

Each player scores a Victory Point for every 3 Items they have remaining (rounded down). Items are Resources, Credits, and Data cards.

Note: Faction-specific Items such as Underground cards are not counted.

Example: If you have 1 Hydrogen, 4 Credits, and 1 Data card left, you score 2 Victory Points for 6 Items total.

Victory

After adding in the end-game Victory Points, the player with the most Victory Points wins.

• If players are tied for most Victory Points, the tied player with most total Credits and Data cards wins.
• If still tied, the tied player with most total Titanium, Hydrogen, and Carbon wins.

If there is still a tie, then all tied players share the victory.

Summary

On your turn, perform each step in your Turn Sequence in order.

After you complete the last step in your Turn Sequence, your turn is over, and play passes to the next player.

The game ends at the end of the 12th round. Add the following end-game Victory Points to your score.

• Furthest on the Knowledge Track
• 2nd-furthest on the Knowledge Track
• Most total Favor cubes from other Factions
• 2nd-most total Favor
• Each complete set of all 4 other Factions' Favor
• Every 3 Items, rounded down (Items are Resources, Credits, and Data cards)

The player with the most Victory Points wins.

• If players are tied for most Victory Points, the tied player with most total Titanium, Hydrogen, and Carbon wins.
• If still tied, the tied player with most total Credits and Data cards wins.

If there is still a tie, then all tied players share the victory.

Icon Overview

Colors: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple.

Knowledge Level: Knowledge Level ranges from 0 to 4.

Favor Cubes: A Favor icon of your choice can be 1 Red Favor, 1 Yellow Favor, 1 Green Favor, 1 Blue Favor, or 1 Purple Favor.

Actions: Spend the Items shown on the left side of an action. If there is no black background, the action is free. Gain the rewards or do the actions shown on the right side.

Action icons include: Visit an Awakened Building; Awaken a Building, paying its cost; Advance Knowledge of your choice by 1 increment; Gain 1 Victory Point; Gain the Prestige token. (Reminder: Gain 1 Victory Point when you gain the Prestige token or start your turn with it.)

Items: Note: Favor cubes and Faction-specific components (such as the Couriers' Goods tokens) are not considered Items.

Item icons include: 1 Resource of your Choice; 1 Titanium; 1 Carbon; 1 Hydrogen; 1 Credit; a Data card from your hand; your choice of Data card from the deck or the display; a random Data card from the top of the deck.