Magazine Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Topic Tiles
• Magazine Cards
• Setup
• Round Preparation
  • 1. Develop the drafts into articles
  • 2. Complete the topic tiles
  • 3. Reveal Magazine cards
  • 4. Determine turn order
• Taking Turns
  • Buy 1 topic tile
  • Publish 1 magazine (requires an Action token)
  • Sign an advertising contract (requires an Action token)
  • Pass
• End of Round
• Completed Sets
• Magazine Rewards
• End of Game
• Special Magazine Rewards

Overview

A game of Magazine lasts 6 rounds. Each round begins with a preparation phase, then players take turns, in turn order, buying topic tiles, publishing magazines or signing advertising contracts, until all players have passed. At the end of the sixth round, the final scoring takes place. The player who has accumulated the most Reputation Points wins the game.

Components

• 1 central board
• 12 Player discs (3 per player)
• 8 Action tokens (2 per player)
• 1 white bonus Action token
• 1 round marker
• 1 Initiative marker
• 4 Player markers (1 per player)
• 10 lot markers
• 65 topic tiles
• 1 Hot Topic tile
• 60 Money cards (20 × 1K, 20 × 2K, 10 × 5K, 10 × 10K)
• 30 Magazine cards
• 1 cloth bag

Note: the reputation points icon is a red heart, abbreviated PR in this rulebook. Money is shown in thousands, written as "K" (for example, 3K). The domain icons are named in the topic tile section below.

Topic Tiles

Topic tiles represent draft articles. They are divided into 5 major domains, each identified by an icon:

• Nature
• Social Life
• Urban Life
• Art
• Knowledge

Each topic tile has a level (from 0 to 4 stars) and a price that depends on its level (from 2K to 10K). The more tiles you have of the same level, the more Reputation Points (PR) they earn you at the end of the game (see "End of Game" and the table there, which is also printed on the central board).

Note (translator): the component text says the level runs "from 0 to 4 stars", while the note under the tile diagram says "from 0 to 3 stars" and the scoring table uses 0 to 3 stars. The source is transcribed as printed; the tile level is shown as a number of stars on each tile.

Each topic tile is double-sided and shows the following information:

• Back (draft): the draft side. It shows the Season(s) to which the draft is linked, the domain icon, and the level and cost (the level is shown in stars, and the cost in money is shown as a number of K).
• Front (article): the developed side, showing the article, its level (stars) and its domain icon.

Details of each item:

• Season: each draft is linked to one or more seasons. When the season of the draft matches the current round, it is developed into an article (turned face up, article side visible).
• Domain icon: each topic tile belongs to one of the five domains.
• Cost and level: the higher the level of a topic tile, the more it costs.

Note: the topic tiles are stored in the cloth bag and placed face down on the board when drawn (draft side visible). When a player buys one, they place it face down in front of them. If the tile's season matches the current round, the draft is developed into an article and the player turns the tile face up (article side visible).

Magazine Cards

Magazine cards are split into two types by the back: light-back cards and dark-back cards. The light-back cards are used in rounds 1 to 3, and the dark-back cards in rounds 4 to 6.

Each Magazine card shows the configuration in which it must be played (for example, "3+" for a 3- or 4-player game).

Each Magazine presents 2 types of rewards, shown at the bottom of its card:

• Immediate reward (Special issue): when you place one of your Action tokens on this space, immediately receive the corresponding reward, once only. You do not gain the card.
• Periodic reward (end-of-round reward): if you place one of your Action tokens on this space, you gain this card at the end of the current round, and receive the corresponding reward at the end of each round (including the current round).

Rewards depend on the number of developed articles (topic tiles turned face up) you have in a given domain, or on sets of articles (see "Magazine Rewards" below).

Setup

Example of setup for a 3-player game.

1. Place the central board in the middle of the table.
2. Depending on the number of players, return the unused Magazine cards to the box:
   • 2 players: use only the 20 cards marked "2+".
   • 3 players: use the 24 cards marked "2+" and "3+" (all except the "4+" cards).
   • 4 players: use all 30 cards.
3. Separate the Magazine cards into two piles according to their back. Shuffle each pile separately, then form a single draw pile by placing the light-back cards on top of the dark-back cards. Place this pile next to the central board.
4. The person who most recently read a press article becomes the first player and takes the Initiative marker. Alternatively, you may leave the choice to chance.
5. Each player receives 20K of money. In a 4-player game, the third and fourth players receive an additional 2K and 4K respectively.
6. Sort the remaining Money cards by value and place them near the central board to form the bank.
7. Each player chooses a colour and takes the Player discs, the Player marker and the matching Action tokens.
8. Each player places one of their discs on the "12" space of the reputation track (important: each player starts with 12 PR), and places another disc on the space without a value in the 30/60/90/120 PR zone. Your third disc is used to determine turn order each round. Your Player marker is used only to show your colour.
9. Place the round marker on the first space of the round track, leaving the season icons visible.
10. Place the Hot Topic tile and the bonus Action token next to the central board. Form a supply of lot markers.
11. Put the 65 topic tiles into the cloth bag.

You are ready to start the game! (Do not forget the start-of-round phase, see "Round Preparation" below.)

Round Preparation

Each round begins with the following four steps.

1. Develop the drafts into articles

(Skip this step in round 1.) Players turn face up their topic tiles whose season matches the current round. The topic is then "developed".

Note: some rounds show two season symbols. For example, round 2 counts as both autumn and winter, so you may develop your drafts matching both seasons.

The round track shows the seasons for each round: round I – spring/summer; round II – autumn/winter; round III – spring; round IV – summer; round V – autumn; round VI – winter.

2. Complete the topic tiles

Draw topic tiles from the bag to fill the empty spaces on the central board:

• 2 players: fill the 6 unmarked spaces.
• 3 players: fill 8 spaces (6 unmarked + 2 spaces marked "3+").
• 4 players: fill all 10 spaces.

You may look at both sides of the tiles when drawing them, but they must be placed face down on the central board. Do not remove any tiles left over from a previous round: fill only the empty spaces. You can only gain a topic tile by performing the Buy action (see "Taking Turns"); tiles cannot otherwise be removed from the board.

3. Reveal Magazine cards

Draw as many Magazine cards as the number of players +1, and place them on the central board face up. (Example: in a 3-player game, draw 4 new Magazine cards.)

Important: in a 2-player game, reveal 4 new Magazine cards instead of 3 in rounds 3 and 6.

4. Determine turn order

Starting with the player who has the Initiative marker and continuing clockwise, each player places their disc on a free space of the Turn Order track and immediately gains the corresponding bonus.

Turn Order track bonuses:

• 1: no bonus (you will play first in the next phase).
• 2: 2 PR.
• 3: 3K of money (from the bank).
• 4: bonus Action token (added to your 2 basic Action tokens; return it at the end of the round).
• 5: Hot Topic tile (may be considered an article of the domain chosen by the player who holds it. You choose this domain only when you use this tile to obtain a Magazine card reward; it does not change for the rest of the round. Return this tile at the end of the round).

Example:

• Kevin (red) holds the Initiative marker. He places his disc on space 5 of the Turn Order track and takes the Hot Topic tile for this round.
• Marc (blue), seated to Kevin's left, places his disc on space 3. He gains 3K from the bank.
• Elsa (green) wants to play before the others, so she places her disc on space 2. She gains 2 PR and moves her disc 2 spaces on the reputation track.
• Although Kevin still holds the Initiative marker, turns will follow the order of the discs on the Turn Order track for this round: Elsa, Marc, then Kevin.

Taking Turns

Players take turns in the order shown by their discs on the Turn Order track. On your turn, perform one of the following actions:

• Buy 1 topic tile
• Publish 1 magazine (this action requires an Action token)
• Sign an advertising contract (this action requires an Action token)
• Pass

Note: some actions require an Action token. If you have none left, you cannot perform such an action. The player holding the bonus Action token may of course use it to perform an action requiring one more token than the other players.

Note: players may choose to keep their money hidden during the game.

Buy 1 topic tile

Choose one of the available topic tiles, face down, on the central board. Pay its cost to the bank, and place this tile face down in front of you. If its season matches the current round, turn it face up (develop the topic into an article).

For example, if you buy a summer topic tile in round 1 (spring/summer), you develop the topic immediately. If you buy an autumn topic tile in round 3 (spring), the topic will only be developed at the start of round 5 (autumn).

So, if you buy a spring topic tile after round 3 (spring), you will normally no longer be able to develop the topic (see "Special Magazine Rewards"). However, you may still continue to buy such topics to improve your end-of-game score (see "End of Game") or to complete sets (see "Completed Sets").

Publish 1 magazine (requires an Action token)

Place an Action token to gain a reward (immediate or periodic) from a Magazine card on the central board. Each reward space can only be occupied by a single Action token.

• Immediate reward: gain it immediately when you place your token.
• Periodic reward: gain the reward AND the Magazine card (place it in front of you) at the end of the round.

Each player may hold up to 3 Magazine cards, but this number may be increased by completing sets of topic tiles (see "Completed Sets"). If you gain a Magazine card beyond this limit, you must discard one of the cards you acquired earlier to make room for the new one.

Note: you may not place an Action token on a Magazine card placed in front of a player.

Sign an advertising contract (requires an Action token)

Place one of your Action tokens on the Advertising Contract space to gain 2K from the bank. There is no limit to the number of Action tokens that may be placed on this space.

Pass

If you no longer wish to, or cannot, perform any action, pass and remove your disc from the Turn Order track. You may no longer play during this round.

End of Round

When all players have passed:

1. Each player takes back their Action tokens. If you placed an Action token on the periodic reward of a Magazine card, take the card and place it in front of you.
2. Discard the Magazine cards still on the central board (whose periodic reward was not claimed).
3. Each player gains the periodic rewards of all Magazine cards in front of them. If needed, resolve these rewards clockwise, starting with the player who holds the Initiative marker.
4. Return the Hot Topic tile and the bonus Action token to the side of the Turn Order track.
5. Advance the round marker and pass the Initiative marker to the next player clockwise.

At the end of round 6, the game ends. Otherwise, play the next round.

Reminder: topic tiles still on the central board remain in place! Do not discard them.

Example 1:

Kevin (red) has 3 articles. He places an Action token on this immediate reward. He gains 3K and 6 PR.

Note: if Kevin has the Hot Topic tile and announces that it is a Nature topic, he gains 1K and 2 PR more. However, once the domain of the Hot Topic tile has been chosen, it is fixed until the end of the round.

Completed Sets

When you own one topic tile from each domain, whether a draft or a developed article, these tiles form a completed set. Take a lot marker from the supply. Each of these markers allows you to keep one additional Magazine card (see the reminder on the central board). If you own two topic tiles from each domain, you form a second set, and so on. The Hot Topic tile does not count towards completing a set.

Note: if you run out of lot markers, use any necessary substitute.

Example 2:

In a later round, Kevin has 4 articles in one domain and 2 articles in another, and at the end of the round he gains the periodic rewards of his Magazine cards.

Magazine Rewards

Most Magazine rewards depend on the number of articles (developed topic tiles) you have in a specific domain.

• A/B: choose one of the two domains shown and count how many articles you have in that domain (usually the one in which you have the most articles of the two).
• A+B: count how many sets of one article from each of the domains shown you have (count the domain in which you have the fewest articles of the two).

Note: undeveloped drafts (topic tiles not turned face up) do not count towards rewards.

Example 2 (continued):

• For this reward, Kevin chooses Nature and gains 4K.
• For this reward, Kevin has 2 sets of articles (one Knowledge and one Nature), so he gains 6 PR.

Note: if Kevin has the Hot Topic tile in example 2 above and its domain is not yet fixed, he may:

• announce that it is Nature and gain 1K more for the left reward (5 Nature articles);
• announce that it is Knowledge and gain 3 PR more for the right reward (3 sets of articles of Knowledge and Nature).

End of Game

After round 6, the game ends. Each player gains additional PR depending on the level of their articles and the money they have left. Refer to the table below, which is also printed under the round track on the central board.

Note: the scoring table lists points by level for each number of topic tiles (articles or drafts) at that level. Columns are the number of tiles at a given level; rows are the star level (1, 2 or 3 stars). The final column "+n" means each further tile adds that many PR.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Each additional
1 star	0	1	3	6	10	12	14	+2
2 stars	1	3	6	10	15	18	21	+3
3 stars	3	6	10	15

(Table transcribed from the scoring table on the central board and page 10. The tile values are the printed PR values for the number of tiles of each level.)

Additional end-of-game scoring:

• Topic tiles by level: gain PR according to the number of topic tiles (drafts or articles) you have at each level, per the table above.
• Money: gain 1 PR for each complete block of 5K still in your possession.

The end-of-game page also prints worked scoring examples that use this table.

Tiebreak: the player with the most Reputation Points wins the game! Ties are broken in favour of the player with the most topic tiles. If still tied, the victory is shared.

Special Magazine Rewards

Some rewards have specific effects:

• Keep one additional Magazine card. This reward lets you keep one additional Magazine card.
• Develop one of your drafts into an article, regardless of season, OR gain 4 PR.
• Develop two of your drafts into articles, regardless of season, OR develop one of your drafts into an article, regardless of season, and gain 5K.
• Draw 2 topic tiles from the bag. You may buy one of them by paying PR instead of money. Place it face down in front of you, and turn it face up if its season matches the current round. Return the unchosen tile or tiles to the bag. The PR cost depends on the tile's level: 3 stars: 4 PR; 2 stars: 3 PR; 1 star: 2 PR; 0 stars: 0 PR.
• Gain 1K for each of your drafts (topic tiles face down).
• Gain 2 PR for each of your drafts (topic tiles face down).
• Gain 2K for each different domain present among your articles (topic tiles face up, including the Hot Topic tile; maximum 10K).

Note: the Hot Topic tile counts as an article for its chosen domain, as described in the Turn Order track rules.