It's a Wonderful World
It's a Wonderful World Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
GOAL AND CONCEPT
In It’s a Wonderful World, you are leading an expanding Empire. You must choose the path that will get you to develop faster and better than your competitors.
The game lasts 4 rounds. Each round, you draft (see page 3) cards that you use to produce Resources and develop your Empire.
After having chosen your cards, you can recycle some of them to acquire Resources immediately, or slate them for Construction to produce Resources each round and/or gain Victory Points. At the end of the 4th round, the player with the most Victory Points wins the game.
CONTENTS
- 1 five-part gameboard to assemble
- 5 two-sided Empire cards (A/B)
- 150 Development cards
- 170 Resource cubes (35 Materials, 30 Energy, 30 Science, 30 Gold, 30 Exploration, 15 Krystallium)
- 80 Character tokens (40 Generals and 40 Financiers)
- 1 Round-Tracker token
- 1 score pad
GAME MODE
The following rules teach you how to play a normal game with 3–5 players. At the end of the rulebook (page 7), you will find specific rules for the following modes:
- Solo mode (1 player)
- 2-player mode
SETUP
- Assemble the gameboard and place the Round-Tracker token on round 1.
- Shuffle the Development cards to form a deck, then place it in its notch along the gameboard.
- Place the Resource cubes and Character tokens on their respective Supply spaces on the gameboard.
- Choose whether to play with side A or B of the Empire cards (for your first few games, use side A). Deal one Empire card to each player. Everyone must place theirs with the same side up.
- Lay out your cards in the following manner to organize your play area (see below): Allow sufficient space above your Empire card to place your constructed Development cards. You also need a Draft area for the current round, and a Construction area (feel free to use a mirror-image layout, depending on whether you are right-handed or left-handed).
Note: You cannot play with both the A and B sides of the Empire cards at the same time. For your first game, we strongly recommend using side A.
PLAYING THE GAME
The game lasts 4 rounds. Each round comprises the 3 following phases:
- A. Draft phase
- B. Planning phase
- C. Production phase
At the end of the 4th round, count your Victory Points.
Tip: In each phase, everyone plays simultaneously. You don’t take turns; everyone performs their actions at the same time.
A. DRAFT PHASE
Drafting: A game mechanism that allows you to select cards while minimizing the luck factor of the draw. Each player receives the same number of cards, looks at them, chooses one and sets it down, then passes the rest to the player on their left or right (depending on the draft direction). They repeat this operation with the cards they just received, and so on until all cards are chosen. Drafting allows you to focus your picks for a particular strategy and/or try to weed out cards that would help your opponents.
- Deal 7 Development cards face down from the deck to each player.
- All players look at their cards, choose 1 that they set face down in their Draft
Area, then pass the rest to the player on their...
- left (in rounds 1 and 3).
- right (in rounds 2 and 4).
- Everyone simultaneously reveals their chosen card and lays it face up in their Draft area before picking up the cards passed by their neighbor.
- Continue like this, drafting 1 card at a time, until each player has 7 Development cards in their Draft area.
Tip: Be aware of the cards you pass to your neighbor: While they may seem useless to you, they could be very powerful for other strategies, and you can always draft cards for their Recycling Bonus (see next page).
B. PLANNING PHASE
You must make a decision for each Development card in your Draft area. For each card, you have 2 options:
- Slate it for Construction: Move the card into your Construction area (the card is considered “Under Construction”).
- Recycle it: Discard the card and collect the card’s Recycling Bonus. Take the Resource from the gameboard and place it either directly on a card Under Construction (see “C. Production phase, 3. Construction”), or on your Empire card.
Note: If recycling a card permits you to place the final construction Resource on another card, this immediately completes its construction (see C. Production phase, 3. Construction). Place it directly on your Empire card, with its Production visible. It will be able to produce Resources still within this round.
This phase ends once everyone has moved all of their Development cards from their Draft area, either recycling them or slating them for Construction.
C. PRODUCTION PHASE
This phase comprises 5 sequential Production steps, one for each type of Resource.
During each step, everyone simultaneously produces the corresponding type of Resource. Production is resolved in the order indicated on the gameboard:
Materials > Energy > Science > Gold > Exploration
PERFORMING A PRODUCTION STEP
- Production: Count the number of icons you produce that match the current Production step. Only count the icons in your Empire (Empire card, and Development cards you’ve constructed); ignore cards Under Construction.
Note: Some cards have a Production icon that represents a type of card . This icon counts once for each card of that type you have in your Empire. If you have no cards of this type, the card produces nothing. - Supremacy Bonus: Announce your Production total to the other players. If you have produced the single most of this Resource, you earn the Supremacy Bonus and immediately receive the corresponding Character token, which you place on your Empire card.
- Construction: Take the number of Resource cubes you counted for Production from the corresponding supply. Immediately distribute them among your cards Under Construction and/or on your Empire card.
- You cannot move cubes you have already placed to other cards later.
- You cannot save Resource cubes (except Krystallium ) for a later phase or round. Remember: Resource cubes can only be placed on cards Under Construction or on your Empire card.
Note: The Resources are not limited to the components included. If you run out of cubes, you can replace cubes on your Empire card with any other cubes, or wait until someone else completes a construction, or even replace cubes already placed with Krystallium cubes.
Once all of the spaces of a card Under Construction are filled, its Construction is complete:
- Return all of the cubes / Character tokens on it to their respective supplies.
- Collect its Construction Bonus, if it has one.
- Add the card to your Empire, placing it on the previous one so its Production icons stay visible.
Note: There is no restriction on construction; you can construct several copies of the same card.
Construction Bonus: Some cards give you a Construction Bonus and generate Character tokens or Krystallium cubes. Immediately take these Character tokens and Krystallium cubes, and place them on your Empire card (you only get the Bonus one time, when construction is completed).
Transforming cubes into Krystallium: Each time you have 5 Resource cubes on your Empire card (regardless of what these Resources are), immediately discard them to gain 1 Krystallium cube, which you can keep on your Empire card. You can keep Krystallium cubes indefinitely, and at any time, you can use a Krystallium cube to replace any Resource, or to fill a space requiring Krystallium.
TRANSFORMING CUBES INTO KRYSTALLIUM
Note: Resource cubes on your Empire card can only be used to produce Krystallium. You cannot retrieve them to place them on cards Under Construction.
Some spaces require Krystallium cubes or Character tokens. You can fill these spaces at any time by placing the appropriate item on them, if you have it in your possession. Unlike Resource cubes, you can wait until later to place them.
Remember: You can use a Krystallium cube to replace any Resource cube; however, you cannot use it to replace a Character token.
Discarding a card Under Construction: At any time, you can discard one of your cards Under Construction. If you do, collect its Recycling Bonus, placing the Resource on your Empire card. You lose any cubes and Character tokens that were on the discarded card; they return to their respective supplies.
Careful: This action is not particularly profitable; it is more efficient to recycle Development cards during the Planning phase, because you can place the Recycling Bonus on your cards Under Construction. This action is only useful to work toward generating Krystallium cubes, using cards you know you can no longer construct.
Note: You keep your cards Under Construction, and the Resources on them from round to round.
Once everyone has placed their Resources appropriately, move on to the next Production step. If this was the final Production step (Exploration), the round is complete. Flip the Round-Tracker token and move it to the next round.
END OF THE GAME
The game ends at the end of the 4th round. Each player sums the Victory Points of their Empire. Use the scorepad to facilitate the tally:
- Add your “gross” Victory Points: Your Victory Points on cards in your Empire that depend on neither Character tokens nor types of cards.
- Add your “combo” Victory Points: Your Victory Points that depend on the number of cards of a certain type that you have.
- Add your Generals’ Victory Points: By default, 1 General = 1 Victory Point, to which you add Victory Points granted by certain cards.
- Add your Financiers’ Victory Points: By default, 1 Financier = 1 Victory Point, to which you add Victory Points granted by certain cards.
Note: Krystallium is worthless at the end of the game. Also, it doesn’t matter if you still have Development cards in your Construction area at the end of the game.
The player with the highest score wins the game. In the case of a tie, the tied player with the most cards in their Empire wins. If there is still a tie, the tied player with the most Character tokens wins. If the tie still persists, the tied players share the victory.
2-PLAYER MODE
In a 2-player game, the Draft phase is slightly modified. Instead of dealing 7 Development cards to each player, deal 10. The draft itself goes in the usual fashion, but when you each have 3 cards left in hand, discard these cards (you do not get the Recycling Bonus) before continuing to the Construction phase. Thus, just as in a normal game, you each end the Draft phase with 7 Development cards in your Draft area.
No other rules are changed.
SOLO MODE
In solo mode (1-player game), the setup and all phases are modified.
Setup: Shuffle the Development cards and form 8 face-down mini-decks of 5 cards each. These are the Development Pools. Form a deck from the rest of the Development cards.
Draft phase: Since you are the only player, skip this phase, and move on to the Planning phase.
Planning phase: You play 2 consecutive Sequences each Planning phase (8 total Sequences during the game).
For each Sequence, take a random 5-card Development Pool into your hand and look at the cards. You can:
- Discard any 2 cards from your hand to draw 5 Development cards from the deck, keeping 1, and discarding the other 4. You can repeat this as often as you like, even discarding a card you just got. This allows you to see more of the cards, making it easier to hunt for cards that suit your strategy.
- Place some or all of the cards in your Construction area.
- Recycle some or all of the cards to collect their Recycling Bonuses. Once you have placed or recycled all of the cards from your first Pool, start the second Sequence by taking a second Pool. Once you have completed both Sequences, move on to the Production phase.
Production phase: Because you are the only player, the Supremacy rule is modified. You can only collect the Supremacy Bonus for a Resource if you produced at least 5 of that Resource this round. No other rules are changed.
End of the game: Compare your score to the chart below to see how you performed!
| 60- | 60+ | 80+ | 100+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROOKY | DICTATOR | EMPEROR | LIVING GOD |
| It’s not at everybody’s reach to become the ruler of the world. Keep trying. | Nice one, you can rule a country the size of a small town... | Generations of subjects will claim your name for the next centuries. | Your name will be feared and worshipped in the coming millennium. |
SOLO SCENARIOS
This mode allows you to discover the different strategies of the game. In order to win, you have to construct all of the required cards. Compare your score to the required values to determine whether you earn a bronze, silver, or gold medal!
Play with the Solo-Mode rules.
SC01: TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
Supreme Leader, you who shine upon the Empire and provide happiness to your humble subjects! I’ve just received an urgent missive from our explorers team in the Arctic. They’ve found a secret tunnel to the center of the Earth!
– Very good! Tell them to set up the camp and to build the Mega-Drill. Allow them to use the Super-Sonar as well. Give them the order to reach the center of the Earth before any other Empire. I demand it!
RULES
Take an Empire card, B-side up, and place the following cards in your Construction area: Polar Base, Mega-Drill, Super-Sonar and Center of the Earth. At the end of the game, these cards have to be Constructed.
Bronze medal: 70PV+
Silver medal: 95PV+
Gold medal: 115PV+
SC02: A BETTER WORLD
Wherever I look, all I see is filthy horizons filled with sick children. How can anyone be inspired, when the sky is filled with toxic fumes and the oceans full of garbage? This is unworthy of my respectful person! Grand Vizier, clean this mess immediately!
RULES
Take an Empire card, B-side up, and place the following cards in your Construction area: Recycling Plant, Wind Turbines, Universal Vaccine and Aquaculture. At the end of the game, these cards have to be Constructed.
Bronze medal: 70PV+
Silver medal: 95PV+
Gold medal: 115PV+
SC03: THEY ARE AMONG US
The Supreme Leader made the globe spin nervously. He certainly was in a foul mood.
« What about here? he asked his Grand Vizier.
− This is ours, it’s a protectorate.
− And here? Come on, be quick about it!
− Here too, it’s a puppet government. »
The Supreme Leader went mad:
« This planet is too small for me! Now, th time has come to have a greater ambition. Grand vizier, tell the Special Science Research Development division that I am ready to bring hope and happiness to other planets! »
RULES
Take an Empire card, B-side up, and place the following cards in your Construction area: Unknown Technology, Saucer Squadron, Lunar Base and Secret Laboratory. At the end of the game, these cards have to be Constructed.
Bronze medal: 70PV+
Silver medal: 90PV+
Gold medal: 105PV+
SC04: BACK TO THE FUTURE
« Grand Vizier, I have defeated all my enemies, from the outside AND from the inside. I have avoided all the traps and outwitted all the greatest leaders of the past. Is there any obstacle left for me to overcome? »
Lost in his philosophical thoughts, the Grand Vizier said softly:
« Time, Ô Supreme Leader. Time always has the final word. »
The Supreme Leader stared at him coldly.
« I will prevent time from existing, then! »
RULES
Take an Empire card, B-side up, and place the following cards in your Construction area: Research Center, Neuroscience and Time Travel. At the end of the game, these cards have to be Constructed.
Bronze medal: 65PV+
Silver medal: 85PV+
Gold medal: 105PV+
SC05: THE END OF TIMES
The Supreme Leader has been spending all of this time surrounded by maps, books and reports. One day, the Grand Vizier glimpsed a sparkle in his eye, the same sparkle he had when he was young and at the peak of his power. The Great Leader complained:
« Fools, ungrateful traitors! They ruined everything! After all I’ve done for them... But, this is not over! I’ve conquered the Earth, the sky and space, but there is still a whole world to possess. And it is here, right under my feet! »
RULES
Take an Empire card, B-side up, and place the following cards in your Construction area: Industrial Complex, Underground City, Underwater City and Secret Society. At the end of the game, these cards have to be Constructed.
Bronze medal: 75PV+
Silver medal: 95PV+
Gold medal: 120PV+
SC06: MONEY HAS NO SMELL
The Supreme Leader had summoned his Grand Vizier:
« I have the power to decide if anyone should live or die. Yet, the megacorporations still seem more powerful than I am. I want this to end. Have the biggest monument built for my glory, (I mean, for the glory of the Empire) and make the megacorporations pay for it.»
RULES
Take an Empire card, B-side up, and place the following cards in your Construction area: Financial Center, Propaganda Center, National Monument. At the end of the game, these cards have to be Constructed.
Bronze medal: 60PV+
Silver medal: 85PV+
Gold medal: 105PV+