Politik Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Designer Note
  • Gameflow Note
• Gameplay Overview
• Components
• Game Setup
  • Main Board Setup
  • Player Setup
  • Final Setup
• Your Tableau
• Control Tokens
• Nation Tokens
• Hand Size
• Common Card Terms
• Card Anatomy
  • Politik Card
    • Average Value & Frequency
  • Landscape Card
  • Keywords & Color
• Game Concepts
  • Control
    • Military
    • Political
    • Corporate
  • Power Grabs & Victory
• Military
  • Regions
  • Influence and States
  • Broadcast Stations
    • Signal
    • Noise
    • Example: A Noise Ability
  • Immunity
• Political
  • The Council
    • Chair
    • Justice*
    • Commerce
    • Labor
    • Intel
    • Defense*
  • Propaganda
  • Bases
  • Support
• Corporate
  • Industries
  • Companies
  • Assets
  • Market
  • Margin
• Ties & Final Say
  • • Example: A Change in Final Say
• Corruption
• Obligations
• Prices
• Landscapes
  • • Example: Resolve a Landscape
• Resources
• Leaders
• Trading
• Sequence of Play
  • Main Actions
    • MP Multiplier
    • X Multiplier
  • Edge Actions
  • Taking an Action
    • Declare Action
    • Meet Requirements
    • Pay Costs
    • Resolve Effect
    • Canceled Effects
  • Check Power Grabs
• Actions
  • Main Actions
    • Play
      • To Play - Company
      • To Play - Asset
      • To Play - Propaganda
      • To Play - Event
      • To Play - Obligation
    • Use Ability
      • To Use Ability
    • National Action
      • To National Action - Income
      • To National Action - Rally
• Examples
  • Main Actions
  • Card Abilities
  • Obligation Abilities
  • Edge Actions
  • Edge Card Abilities
• Tips & Tricks
• Game Variants
• Terms

Introduction

Politik is a dynamic strategy game of military, political, and corporate control for 2–6 players. Representing any of 12 nations, players develop distinct identities during their struggle for global supremacy. They seize territories, orchestrate propaganda campaigns, and pilot companies to conquer markets. 500+ unique cards provide the landscapes, propaganda, companies, assets, and events for each nation to forge its path to power.

Designer Note

Politik is set in a fictional universe but includes concepts and belief systems relating to the real world. In the game, political ideologies are expressed through propaganda cards whose ideas can appear in both positive and negative light. Think of the game as a box of political and economic puzzle pieces that fit together in different ways and through them tell a story. Politik is not attempting to model real-world countries or cast judgment over political ideas (except fascism, which is bad).

Gameflow Note

Politik gives players broad agency to manipulate the economic environment and manage how easy or difficult each path to victory is. Price changes can lead to opening the flood gates or stopping the presses. Prepare for some games with major price volatility and high resource variance. New or different ways of doing things can be a lot faster or cheaper, so if a player develops a competitive advantage, shake things up!

Gameplay Overview

Politik is a game about control and majorities, culminating in Power Grabs. Players represent Nations competing over the 3 types of Power Grabs: Military, Political, and Corporate.

• Control a majority of Regions for a Military Power Grab.
• Control a majority of Council Seats for a Political Power Grab.
• Control a majority of Industries for a Corporate Power Grab.

Accumulate enough Power Grabs to win (p.13).

During their turn, Nations play cards from their hand to build a tableau of complementary Propaganda, Companies, and Assets. With no dice, nearly every opportunity will come from cards in hand or in play. Because cards are multi-use, players must think about the best way to utilize them. They have enormous value in the right hands, so trading and negotiation can be key. Whatever cards aren't played fuel Clashes across Military, Political, and Corporate arenas, leading to major swings of fate.

Nations are limited to 2 Main Actions per turn. The price of some Main Actions change over the course of the game, so timing is always a factor. Timing's also critical as Nations decide when to trigger National Actions—sweeping payoffs aligned with Military, Political, and Corporate strategies. Setting up and capitalizing on windows of opportunity leads to Power Grabs—and, eventually, victory!

Each victory condition utilizes different game concepts, so throughout the rulebook, color will be used to highlight Military, Political, and Corporate systems.

Components

• 1 Main Board
• 6 Nation Boards
• 20 Company Boards
• 412 Politik Cards
• 54 Landscape Cards
• 24 Starting Propaganda Cards
• 24 Obligation Cards
• 12 Nation Cards
• 12 Startup Company Cards
• 5 Broadcast Station Cards
• 1 Final Say Card
• 3 Immunity Cards
• 1 Resource Tracking Pad
• 360 Control Tokens
• 72 Leader Tokens
• 60 Nation Tokens
• 90 Market Tokens
• 6 Price Markers
• 20 Margin Tokens
• 2 Clash Markers

Game Setup

Main Board Setup

1. Sort the Control Tokens and Nation Tokens by Nation.
2. Sort the Leader Tokens by type (Military/Political/Corporate) and arrange them near the Main Board.
3. Gather the 24 Starting Propaganda cards, sort them by Nation, and set them near the Main Board.
4. Place 1 Market Token per player in each of the 6 Industries matching color to Industry.
5. Match the 6 Price Tokens to their correct row in the Prices area and set them on the pre-shaded spaces.
6. Gather the 24 Obligation cards, shuffle them, and store the deck face down in the top left of the Main Board.
7. Gather the 5 Broadcast Station cards. Store them face down in the council image in the bottom right corner of the Main Board.
8. Gather the Landscape cards, shuffle them, and store them in the bottom left of the Main Board.
9. Take the top Landscape and place it in the Active space to the right of the stack. Resolve the Active Landscape by moving corresponding Price Tokens and adding or removing Market from Industries as notated (p.22).
10. Shuffle the Politik Cards and store them in the upper right of the Main Board.
11. Shuffle the 12 Nation Cards.
12. Shuffle the 12 Startup Company cards.

Player Setup

13. Take 1 Nation Board.
14. Take 1 Resource Tracking Sheet. (Players provide their own writing implement.)
15. Draw 2 Nation Cards and find the Starting Propaganda Cards named at the bottom.
16. Draw 6 Politik Cards.
17. Draw 1 Startup Company.
18. Optional: Discard your 6 Politik Cards to draw 6 Politik Cards. This may only be done once.
19. Select 1 Nation Card and 1 of its 2 Starting Propaganda. Place the Nation Card on the Nation Board and the selected Propaganda to the lower right. Discard the unchosen Propaganda to the upper left.
20. Collect the 30 Control Tokens and 5 Nation Tokens matching the selected Nation.
21. Place 1 Nation Token in the starting space (0) of the Corruption track on the left side of the Main Board.
22. If your Starting Propaganda has the Corruption keyword, gain 1 Corruption and draw 1 Obligation.
23. Record the starting Capital, Carbon, and Food listed at the top of your Nation Card onto your Resource Tracking Sheet.
24. Place each starting Support in a Base matching a keyword on your Starting Propaganda. This is represented with Control Tokens set to the appropriate number (usually 1).
25. Choose starting Leaders (Military/Political/Corporate), also usually 1, and place them on your Nation Board.

Final Setup

26. Randomly determine the starting player. This sets the clockwise turn order for the game.

27. Determine which player has Final Say (p.20). They move the Final Say Card to their tableau.

28. Beginning with the last player in turn order and proceeding counterclockwise, each player chooses 1 bonus except the starting player and second player*:

    • a. Choose 1: 8 Capital, 1 Food, 1 Carbon, Research, Exchange.
    • b. After a player chooses a bonus, no other players can choose that bonus.
    • c. Record bonus resources on Resource Tracking Sheets and resolve Research and Exchange bonuses as chosen.

    In a 2 player game, the second player does receive a bonus.

29. Beginning with the starting player, each player selects a State in a Region (not a Broadcast Station) and places a Control Token showing 8 Influence in it, then gains the State's benefit (Food/Carbon/Research).

30. The starting player becomes the active player and begins the first turn (Sequence of Play, p.24).

Your Tableau

Each Nation manages a tableau area in front of them. A Nation Card is placed at the beginning of the game along with a Starting Propaganda, both selected by the player. New Propaganda cards are played in a row above the Starting Propaganda (to a maximum of 4). Leaders are held on the right according to their type. When controlled, place Broadcast Stations to the lower left. As cards leave play, each Nation maintains a discard pile. The Nation Board also displays Main and Edge Actions, as well as a reference area for common icons.

Each time you play a Company, add a new Company Board to your tableau. Company Boards track the Market and Margin of each Company and hold their Assets.

The Resource Tracking Sheet tracks Capital, Food, and Carbon. Resources and hand size are public information.

1. Nation Card
2. Starting Propaganda
3. Propaganda
4. Leaders
5. Broadcast Stations
6. Discard Pile
7. Reference Area
8. Company Board
9. Resource Tracking Sheet

Control Tokens

Each Nation has 30 double-sided Control Tokens: one side with even values, the other odd. Control Tokens range in value from 1 to 8.

Control Tokens represent a Nation's current "strength" in a given area. The meaning of each Control Token depends on where it is placed on the Main Board.

In States, Control Tokens track Influence. In Council Seats and Bases, they track Support. In Industries, they track total Market. Control Tokens also track a Nation's accumulated Power Grabs by type.

Quantities of each Control Token are limited. If a particular token is depleted, place the next smaller denomination available.

Nation Tokens

Each Nation has 5 wooden Nation Tokens: 4 track National Actions, 1 tracks Corruption.

When a Nation takes a National Action, they place a Nation Token in that National Action space (p.27).

The Nation Token tracking Corruption begins at 0 (above the '1').

Hand Size

The hand size limit is 10 cards. If, at any time, a player's hand grows to greater than 10 cards, they must discard down to 10 before play can proceed. This is not a Develop (see below).

Common Card Terms

• Research - Draw a card.
• Develop - Discard a card from hand.
• Remove - Discard a card or token from tableau.
• Activate - Rotate card to pay a cost.
• Ready - Reset card.

Card Anatomy

Politik Card

Politik Cards are the lifeblood of the game. Each is unique and can either be played or used in a Clash (p.28).

Politik Cards display up to 3 Focus Values: Military, Political, and Corporate. Focus Values range from 0 to 4.

Card anatomy labels: Card Type, Focus Values (0-4), Margin (0-8), Card Number, Requirements, Cost, Abilities, Keyword(s) (up to 4).

Average Value & Frequency

• Military - 1.2 | 64% of cards
• Political - 1.1 | 61% of cards
• Corporate - 1.4 | 70% of cards

Landscape Card

Landscape Cards drive the global economy by moving prices, markets, and margins.

Landscape card labels: Value (1-2), Bull/Bear, Industries (1-2), Prices (1-3).

Keywords & Color

Politik makes extensive use of keywords and color. There are 13 keywords in the game including 6 Industries, 4 Bases, Negotiation, Startup, and Corruption. Each card's artwork uses colors matching keywords on the card to aid in recognition.

Bases: Capitalism, Communism, Fascism, Statism.

Industries: Energy, Financial, Humanities, Media, Manufacturing, Technology.

Game Concepts

Control

Nations compete for control of:

• States to control Regions.
• Seats to control The Council.
• Market to control Industries.

Military

To control a State, a Nation must control Influence in that State.

To control a Region, a Nation must control 2+ States in that Region and the most* States in the Region.

Political

To control a Council Seat, a Nation must control Support in that Seat and the most* Support in the Seat.

Corporate

To control an Industry, a Nation's Companies must collectively control the most* Market of the Industry.

*In Politik, "the most" includes winning a tie for the most (see Ties & Final Say, p.20).

Control is tracked using Control Tokens (p.11).

Nations control all of their tokens and the cards in their tableau.

Power Grabs & Victory

To win, a Nation must control at least 2 types of Power Grabs (Military, Political, and Corporate) and enough Power Grabs for victory:

• 2 players: 4 Power Grabs
• 3-4 players: 3 Power Grabs
• 5-6 players: 2 Power Grabs

A Nation cannot claim more than 2 Power Grabs of the same type.

Types of Power Grabs:

• Military Power Grab: Control 3+ Regions
• Political Power Grab: Control 4+ Seats
• Corporate Power Grab: Control 4+ Industries

The active player claims Power Grabs by meeting criteria at the end of their turn. It is possible to claim multiple Power Grabs by meeting multiple criteria. If the same criteria is met on a later turn, claim another Power Grab.

Once Power Grabs are claimed, they cannot be lost. Multiple players can attain Power Grabs of the same type.

Example: 4-Player Power Grab Combos. The printed example shows shield icons without labels; tuple order is (Military, Political, Corporate), following the icon colors in the printed example.

• (2, 1, 0), (0, 1, 2), (0, 2, 1)
• (2, 0, 1), (1, 2, 0), (1, 0, 2)
• (1, 1, 1)

Military

Regions

The map is the battleground for Military Power Grabs. It is divided into Regions and each Region into States. Regions are connected by Broadcast Stations—powerful States used to amplify or neutralize nearby Influence. Nations Clash to gain control of States to eventually control their Regions.

Controlling 3+ Regions secures a Military Power Grab.

Influence and States

Nations use Control Tokens to track their Influence as control of States changes. Other than Nations' starting locations, States begin the game controlled by Imperial forces.

Capturing States bolsters a Nation's resources and resource potential. The National Action Produce buttresses this approach rewarding Nations for each State they control and each Region they occupy.

Broadcast Stations

Broadcast Stations allow Nations to channel the strength of Propaganda.

Broadcast Stations have 2 Abilities:

• Signal: add Influence to your States.
• Noise: reduce Influence in opponents' States.

Signal

1. Activate the Broadcast Station.
2. Choose a Base (Capitalism, Communism, Statism, Fascism).
3. Target the 2 Regions adjacent to the Broadcast Station State.
4. Add Influence to each State you control in both Regions equal to the number of Propaganda you control of the chosen Base.

Noise

1. Activate the Broadcast Station.
2. Choose a Base (Capitalism, Communism, Statism, Fascism).
3. Target the 2 Regions adjacent to the Broadcast Station State.
4. Remove Influence from each opposing State in those Regions equal to the number of Propaganda of the chosen Base the active player controls. For each State, reduce the amount of Influence removed by the number of Propaganda of the chosen Base the State's Nation controls.
5. Skip Step 4 when targeting Nations with Immunity.

Example: A Noise Ability

UTP has 4 Capitalism Propaganda, Arden has 1 Statist Propaganda, and Isant Isay has 2 Capitalism Propaganda. UTP Uses the Broadcast Station Nova's Noise Ability, choosing Capitalism.

All of Arden's States in Regions A and C lose 4 Influence and all of Isant Isay's States in Regions A and C lose 2 Influence.

Libris, which has 0 Capitalism Propaganda, would have lost Influence but they currently control the Defense Seat and therefore have Immunity.

Immunity

Immunity prevents the Broadcast Station's Noise Ability from changing Influence in a Nation's States. Most often, a Nation has Immunity because they control the Defense Seat, however a handful of other card Abilities grant Immunity.

Immunity Abilities may have an Activate cost, or, like the Defense Seat, be perpetually available. When a Nation gains Immunity, they gain 1 Immunity Card and place it in their tableau.

At the end of the active player's turn, Nations return Immunity Cards they gained from card Abilities.

Political

The Council

The Council is the battleground for Political Power Grabs. It is composed of 6 Council Seats offering powerful Abilities. When Nations take the National Action Rally, they resolve the Abilities of each Council Seat they control.

There are 2 ways for a Nation to gain Support in a Council Seat:

• Campaign
• Win a Political Clash

The 6 Council Seats and their powers are:

Chair

Remove 1 Support from a Council Seat.

Justice*

Move the Final Say Card to your tableau.

Commerce

Gain 1 Market and Exchange X.

Labor

Educate and Price 3.

Intel

Gain 1 Corruption and Research.

Defense*

Move 1 Immunity Card to your tableau. Gain 5 Influence among your States.

*The Justice Seat and Defense Seat immediately furnish their card to the Nations controlling them (other Abilities require a Rally).

Controlling 4+ Seats secures a Political Power Grab.

Propaganda

Propaganda add new Abilities, generate Support and strengthen Broadcast Station Abilities. Nations begin with 1 Starting Propaganda and can Play additional Propaganda over the course of a game.

Each Nation can have a maximum of 4 Propaganda in their tableau. Propaganda beyond the 4th will displace an existing Propaganda.

Bases

Propaganda and Support align with 4 ideological Bases: Capitalism, Communism, Statism, Fascism.

There are many ways for a Nation to gain Support in a Base:

• National Action Rally
• National Action Produce
• Taking control of Broadcast Stations
• Card Abilities

When a Nation gains or pays Support, it may be Base specific.

Propaganda list Base keywords on their cards. Nations use Control Tokens to track their Support by placing them in corresponding Bases when they are gained. Certain card Abilities allow Support to be shifted from one Base to another.

Support

Support is used to pay for new Propaganda and to Campaign into Council Seats. It is tracked on the Main Board in 2 areas: Bases and Council Seats.

When Support moves into The Council, it is no longer associated with any Base.

Corporate

Industries

Industries are the battleground for Corporate Power Grabs. The global marketplace is divided into 6 Industries: Media, Energy, Financial, Humanities, Technology, and Manufacturing.

Each Industry is made up of Market. Nations build and diversify Companies so they can compete for Market and over time assert Industry dominance. Nations use Control Tokens to track the total Market their Companies possess.

Nations strengthen their Companies by gaining Market and Margin. Nations earn profits from their Companies when they take the National Action Income. Controlling Industries boosts Income further, incentivizing Nations to hold Industries.

If an Industry runs out of available Market, any new Company entering the game or ticking past 9 Margin and any Nation resolving Income or the Commerce Seat will not be able to gain Market from that Industry. A Nation can still Play a Company even if it would start with 0 Market.

Controlling 4+ Industries secures a Corporate Power Grab.

Companies

Companies are dynamic entities responsible for capturing Market and generating Capital. Companies enter play with Company Boards to track their Margin and Market. Nations can Play Assets on Companies to improve them.

Assets

Assets add Abilities, Margin and Industry keywords to their Companies. When an Asset is played, its Company gains Margin equal to the Starting Margin listed on the Asset.

Market

Companies compete over segments of Industry called Market. Market is stored in the Industries area of the Main Board until Companies capture it.

Landscape Cards (p.22) will add and remove Market from Industries, as well as affect Company Margins.

Market can be gained by:

• Playing a Company
• Exceeding 9 Margin
• Resolving the Commerce Seat
• National Action Income
• Winning a Corporate Clash
• Card Abilities

Margin

Margin is a measure of Company profitability and a defense against Corporate Clashes. Margin can be gained by playing Assets, winning Corporate Clashes and numerous card Abilities. If a Company gains or loses Margin, move its Margin Token up or down its Company Board accordingly.

If a Company gains Margin that would increase its Margin past 9, its Nation may reset the Margin Token to 0, gain 1 Market matching an Industry on the Company or its Assets, and continue adding any Margin remaining. Instead, the Nation may opt to remain at 9 and not gain Market.

If a Company would fall below 0 Margin, it remains at 0. Market can never be lost this way.

Ties & Final Say

As Nations attempt to wrest control of Regions, Council Seats, and Industries, ties will occur. The results of ties are decided on a case-by-case basis by the Nation with Final Say. This privilege is represented by a Final Say Card that can move between Nations.

The Nation with Final Say breaks all ties between Nations.

Use the following criteria to determine which Nation has Final Say, beginning at the top and stopping when a criteria is met by exactly 1 Nation (no ties):

• The Nation controlling the Justice Seat.
• The Nation with the most Corruption.
• The Nation controlling the most Negotiation keywords.
• The active player.

Whenever a game situation results in the current criteria becoming tied or a higher criteria becoming met, the Final Say Card is transferred to the qualifying Nation immediately.

Bribes paid to secure a certain judgment in a tiebreak are not considered Trading (p.23).

Example: A Change in Final Say

Mount Roq is the active player. No Nation controls the Justice Seat, Indoverra has the most Corruption at 3, and Gran Santi has 2 Corruption. Gran Santi Plays a card with the Corruption keyword, gains 1 Corruption and draws 1 Obligation.

There is now a tie for Final Say in Corruption. All Nations check their tableau for Negotiation keywords. Centina and Neometro both control 2 Negotiation, another tie. Therefore, Mount Roq, the active player, will have Final Say.

Corruption

Corruption provides Nations access to more powerful Abilities, but burdens them with Obligations.

When a Nation plays a card with the Corruption keyword, they gain 1 Corruption and draw 1 Obligation Card from the Obligation deck. Cards with high Corruption requirements require a Nation to raise their Corruption numerous times before they can be played.

At 9+ Corruption, a Nation takes 3 Main Actions each turn rather than 2.

For Obligations, all X values are equal to the Nation's current Corruption.

Obligations

Nations work to rid themselves of Obligations. Obligations count against the 10 card hand size.

There are 2 ways to deal with Obligations:

• As a Main Action, Play the Obligation (resolve it).
• As an Edge Action, pay 10 Capital times the Nation's Corruption to Shirk the Obligation (discard it).

Most Obligations have an X in both their cost and effect text. X is equal to the Nation's Corruption. The higher a Nation's Corruption, the bigger the cost to Play the Obligation but also the more powerful its effect.

Focus Values appear as a cost on some Obligation Cards. When an Obligation requires a Nation to Develop X of a specific type of Focus Value (Military/Political/Corporate), the Nation Develops cards with a total Focus Value greater than or equal to the value required.

Nations cannot Trade, Develop, or Focus Obligations.

Prices

The prices of resources and certain Main Actions marked MP fluctuate during the game. Prices are tracked in the Prices area using Price Tokens positioned from 1 to 10.

When a Price X effect resolves, move any number of Price Tokens a total of X increments.

Landscapes

Landscapes drive prices, profits, and Industry changes. They resolve during the National Action Refresh.

Nations always see 2 Landscapes: the current active Landscape and the upcoming Landscape sitting on the top of the deck.

To resolve a Landscape:

1. Note the '+' or '-' and '1' or '2' (X). They set the direction and magnitude of the Landscape's impact on the game economy.
2. Each Industry appearing on the right is affected.
3. Add or remove X Market from each listed Industry in the Industries area of the Main Board.
4. Companies gain or lose X Margin if they have that Industry keyword. Each Company can only gain or lose Margin once per Industry.
5. Raise or lower the prices of Main Actions and resources by X using corresponding Price Tokens.

Example: Resolve a Landscape

• Remove 2 Market from Technology in the Industries area of the Main Board.
• All Technology Companies lose 2 Margin.
• Decrease the cost of Research and Food by 2 in the Prices area.

Resources

Resources are tracked on Resource Tracking Sheets.

• Food is a high-value resource used to Educate.
• Carbon is used to Clash and build Companies and Assets.
• Capital is cold hard cash.

Resources are public information.

Leaders

A Leader is a prepackaged Clash (p.28) suited specifically to Military, Political, and Corporate combat. They are stored on the Nation Board until called into service. Leaders free up Nations to spend Carbon on other things.

Leaders have 2 impacts on a Clash:

• Reduce the cost to 0.
• During Focus, add 1 Focus Value.

Trading

Nations can trade almost anything: cards in hand, cards in their tableau, the use of a card, resources, Margin, favors, etc.

Trading does still have some rules:

• Must involve multiple Nations.
• Must be blessed by the active player.
• Agreements are non-binding.
• When a Nation receives something, they do not count as "gaining" it for gameplay purposes.
• Cards received retain their Ready or Activated position.
• Nations cannot Trade: Obligation Cards, the Final Say Card, the Immunity Card.

Sequence of Play

Each turn, the active player resolves 3 steps:

1. Main Action #1
2. Main Action #2
3. Check Power Grabs

They may resolve the same Main Action twice.

Before, during and after Main Actions, all players can resolve Edge Actions. Timing clauses frequently dictate when a given Edge Action triggers, however some can be triggered at any time.

Main Actions

There are 8 Main Actions available to the active player:

• Play (p.26)
• Use Ability (p.26)
• National Action (p.27)
• MP (Clash) or a Leader (Military/Political/Corporate): Clash (p.28)
• MP (Educate) X: Educate X (p.31)
• MP (Research) X: Research X (p.31)
• MP (Campaign) X: Campaign X (p.31)
• Exchange X (Food/Carbon) (p.31)

MP Multiplier

MP is the current price of a specified resource or Main Action as shown in the Prices area of the Main Board (p.22). The MP cost is not paid when resolving Educate, Research or Campaign by other means.

X Multiplier

Depending on the usage, X is either a value set by the player or it is pegged to another value in the game. If X appears multiple times in an Action, the first X sets all X values.

Edge Actions

Edge Actions can be taken by any Nation on any Nation's turn.

There are 4 Edge Actions available to all players:

• Play Event (p.26)
• Use Ability (p.26)
• Pay 10 Capital times the Nation's Corruption: Shirk Obligation (p.31)
• Trade (p.23)

Edge Actions may have a specific timing clause dictating when they can resolve (before, after, etc.).

If multiple Nations want to take an Edge Action at the same time, the Nation with Final Say decides the resolution order.

Taking an Action

1. Declare Action
2. Meet requirements (Play only)
3. Pay costs
4. Resolve effect

Declare Action

Announce the Main Action or Edge Action being resolved.

Meet Requirements

A Corruption requirement (X Corruption) may appear in the upper right of a card. In order to Play that card, its Nation must have Corruption greater than or equal to X.

Pay Costs

Costs take many forms: Capital, Food, Carbon, Support, Leaders, Activating cards, Removing cards and tokens from play, Developing (discarding) cards, etc.

If a cost or effect does not specify a value, it is implied to be 1 (e.g. Research = draw 1).

Costs may require payment of a specified subtype which will be noted afterward in parentheses.

Resolve Effect

Each Action has a different effect. See detailed resolution steps (p.26) and examples (p.32) for each Main Action and Edge Action.

Canceled Effects

Some Edge Abilities Cancel other Actions. Actions are Canceled after paying costs and before resolving effects unless specified otherwise.

If an Ability is canceled, costs paid are lost and the effect of the Ability does not resolve. The next step in the sequence of play proceeds.

Check Power Grabs

Move all resolved Events to their discard piles.

The active player claims all Power Grabs (p.13) they meet the criteria for by placing their Control Tokens on corresponding Power Grab spaces.

A Nation can accumulate up to 2 Power Grabs of the same type. Nations occupy the same Power Grab spaces with their Control Tokens.

• Military Power Grab Space: Control 3+ Regions.
• Political Power Grab Space: Control 4+ Seats.
• Corporate Power Grab Space: Control 4+ Industries.

Actions

Main Actions

Play

Play 1 Company, Asset, Propaganda, Event, or Obligation from hand.

After any card with the Corruption keyword is played, gain 1 Corruption (p.21) and draw 1 Obligation.

To Play - Company

1. Meet requirements and pay card cost.
2. Place a Company Board in the Nation's tableau.
3. Place the Company to the right of the Company Board.
4. Place a Margin Token on the Company Board according to the Company's Starting Margin.
5. If available, the Company gains 1 Market from an Industry matching one of its keywords. Place any Market gained on the Company Board. If Market is gained, add (or flip) the Nation's Control Token in Industries to reflect the additional Market the Nation controls.

To Play - Asset

1. Meet requirements and pay card cost.
2. Place the Asset above an existing Company the Nation controls.
3. The Company can now control Market in Industries matching the Asset's keywords.
4. Add its Margin to the Company's current Margin. If the Margin Token would increase beyond 9, the Nation chooses a) or b):
   • a. Gain 1 Market, if available, from an Industry matching one of its keywords, reset the Margin Token to 0, and continue gaining any Margin due.
   • b. Leave the Margin Token at 9.

To Play - Propaganda

1. Meet requirements and pay card cost. Support paid must match one of the Base(s) listed.
2. Place the Propaganda in the Nation's tableau above its Starting Propaganda.

To Play - Event

1. Meet requirements and pay card cost.
2. Place the Event in the Nation's tableau.
3. Resolve its Ability.
4. Discard at the end of the turn.

To Play - Obligation

1. Place the Obligation (p.21) in the Nation's tableau.
2. Resolve its Ability.
3. Put the fulfilled Obligation at the bottom of the Obligation deck.

Use Ability

Resolve 1 Ability on a Company, Asset, Propaganda, or Broadcast Station.

To Use Ability

1. Pay Ability cost.
2. Resolve Ability effect.

Abilities on already Activated cards can still be resolved if costs can be paid.

National Action

Place Nation Token: National Action.

There are 4 National Actions: Income, Rally, Produce, Refresh.

National Actions push Nations through Military, Political, and Corporate cycles. They are payoffs Nations can sequence according to their individual strategic needs.

Nations resolve National Actions by placing their Nation Token in a National Action space.

A Nation cannot resolve a National Action that already contains their Nation Token.

Once a Nation has resolved all 4 National Actions, their Nation Tokens are returned.

To National Action - Income

1. Place 1 Nation Token.
2. Gain 5 Capital.
3. Gain Company profits. Multiply each Company's Margin by its Market. Gain that much Capital.
4. Gain 5 Capital for each Industry the Nation controls the most Market in.
5. Optional: Buy 1 Market for 20 Capital from the Industries area. The buyer chooses a Company they control operating in that Industry to gain the Market.

To National Action - Rally

1. Place 1 Nation Token.
2. For each Propaganda the Nation controls, gain 1 Support matching one of the Propaganda's Base keywords. Place this Support in the corresponding Base on the Main Board.
3. Resolve any Abilities on Council Seats the Nation controls, starting with The Chair and proceeding rightward. The Chair Ability may alter which Nations control subsequent Seats in the Rally.

To National Action - Produce

1. Place 1 Nation Token.
2. Gain Food, Carbon, Support, and Research according to the icon beside each State the Nation controls. Support can belong to any Base and be designated after Step 2.
3. Research for each Region the Nation controls a State in.

To National Action - Refresh

1. Place 1 Nation Token.
2. Ready all cards the Nation controls.
3. Resolve the next Landscape (p.22).

Clash

Pay MP (Clash) or a Leader (Military/Political/Corporate): Clash (Military/Political/Corporate).

Nations Clash in three different arenas to gain advantage. The targets, risk, and rewards of a Clash are different in each arena.

To Clash - Military

1. Pay MP (Clash) in Carbon or Leader (Military).
2. Place a Clash Token on a State anywhere on the Map.
3. The active player is the attacker and the targeted Nation is the defender for the following sections.
4. The attacker has the opportunity to Focus.
   • a. Focus any number of Politik Cards from their hand face-down.
   • b. Add additional Leaders (Military) at a ratio of 1 Leader (Military) to 1 Focus Value by committing Leaders (Military) from their Nation Board.
   • c. Resolve any "During Focus" Edge Abilities.
   • d. If the attacker controls State(s) adjacent to the target, they may Focus Influence into the Clash gaining 1 Focus Value per Influence.
5. The defender has the opportunity to Focus.
   • a. Focus any number of Politik Cards from their hand face-down.
   • b. Add additional Leaders (Military) at a ratio of 1 Leader (Military) to 1 Focus Value by committing Leaders (Military) from their Nation Board.
   • c. Resolve any "During Focus" Edge Abilities.
   • d. If the defender controls State(s) adjacent to the target, they may Focus Influence into the Clash gaining 1 Focus Value per Influence.
   • e. If the target State is not player controlled, Focus the top card from the Politik deck face-down in defence of the State.
   • f. If the State is a Broadcast Station, Focus the top 2 cards instead.
6. The attacker and defender reveal their Focus Cards.
7. Resolve any "After Focus Cards are revealed" Edge Abilities.
8. Total up Focus Value by combining:
   • a. Focus Values of cards and Leaders (Military).

To Clash - Political

1. Pay MP (Clash) in Carbon or Leader (Political).
2. Place a Clash Token on another Nation's Support in a Council Seat.
3. The active player is the attacker and the targeted Nation is the defender for the following sections.
4. The attacker has the opportunity to Focus.
   • a. Focus any number of Politik Cards from their hand face-down.
   • b. Add additional Leaders (Political) at a ratio of 1 Leader (Political) to 1 Focus Value by committing Leaders (Political) from their Nation Board.
   • c. Resolve any "During Focus" Edge Abilities.
5. The defender has the opportunity to Focus.
   • a. Focus any number of Politik Cards from their hand face-down.
   • b. Add additional Leaders (Political) at a ratio of 1 Leader (Political) to 1 Focus Value by committing Leaders (Political) from their Nation Board.
   • c. Resolve any "During Focus" Edge Abilities.
6. The attacker and defender reveal their Focus Cards.
7. Resolve any "After Focus Cards are revealed" Edge Abilities.
8. Total up Focus Value by combining:
   • a. Focus Values of cards and Leaders (Political).
   • b. "During Focus" and "After Focus Cards are revealed" Edge Abilities.
9. Compare totals.
   • a. Resolve any "Before a Clash resolves" Edge Abilities.
   • b. If the attacker has the higher total Focus Value, they capture Support belonging to the defender equal to the difference. If the defender controls less Support than is owed, the attacker captures as much as possible.

Support present at the beginning of a Clash (Political) limits the Support that can be captured. Excess Support cannot be generated.

To Clash - Corporate

1. Pay MP (Clash) in Carbon or Leader (Corporate).
2. Place a Clash Token on another Nation's Company. Place a second Clash Token on a Company the active player controls.
3. The active player is the attacker and the targeted Nation is the defender for the following sections.
4. The attacker has the opportunity to Focus.
   • a. Focus any number of Politik Cards from their hand face-down.
   • b. Add additional Leaders (Corporate) at a ratio of 1 Leader (Corporate) to 1 Focus Value by committing Leaders (Corporate) from their Nation Board.
   • c. Resolve any "During Focus" Edge Abilities.
5. The defender has the opportunity to Focus.
   • a. Focus any number of Politik Cards from their hand face-down.
   • b. Add additional Leaders (Corporate) at a ratio of 1 Leader (Corporate) to 1 Focus Value by committing Leaders (Corporate) from their Nation Board.
   • c. Resolve any "During Focus" Edge Abilities.
6. The attacker and defender reveal their Focus Cards.
7. Resolve any "After Focus Cards are revealed" Edge Abilities.
8. Total up Focus Value by combining:
   • a. Focus Values of cards and Leaders (Corporate).
   • b. "During Focus" and "After Focus Cards are revealed" Edge Abilities.
9. Compare totals.
   • a. Resolve any "Before a Clash resolves" Edge Abilities.
   • b. If the attacker has the higher total Focus Value, they capture Market and/or Margin from the defender's Company equal to the difference, as chosen by the defender.

Main Actions (X)

Below, X is the number of times the cost MP is paid.

MP (Educate) X: Educate X

To Educate

1. Pay MP (Educate) X in Food.
2. Gain X Leaders of any type(s) (Military/Political/Corporate).

MP (Research) X: Research X

To Research

1. Pay MP (Research) X in Capital.
2. Draw X cards.

MP (Campaign) X: Campaign X

To Campaign

1. Pay MP (Campaign) X in Capital.
2. Move X Support you control from any Base(s) into 1 Council Seat.

Campaign can never move Support into multiple Seats.

Exchange X (Food/Carbon)

To Exchange

1. Buy and sell X Food and Carbon for Capital at MP. Refer to the Prices area of the Main Board for Food and Carbon prices.
2. Resolve each in any order:
   • Buy Food.
   • Sell Food.
   • Buy Carbon.
   • Sell Carbon.

Edge Actions

• Play Event (see p.26).
• Use Ability (see p.26).
• Pay 10 Capital times Corruption: Shirk Obligation.

To Shirk

1. Pay 10 Capital where Corruption is the Nation's current Corruption.
2. Discard 1 Obligation from hand (its effect does not trigger).

Trade

Give and receive almost anything (p.23) with another Nation.

Examples

Main Actions

Play Company 'Atoma'. Pay 15 Capital and 1 Carbon to play Atoma. Because it has the Corruption keyword, gain 1 Corruption by moving your Control Token up the Corruption track. Draw 1 Obligation card. Grab a new Company Board and move 1 Energy Market on to it from the Industries area (if possible). Set Atoma's Margin Token on 5. Place your Control Token in the Energy Industry showing '1'.

Use Ability. See Card Abilities (below).

National Action Produce. Place your Nation Token on Produce (which does not already contain your token). You control 4 States: 2 Carbon producers, 1 Food producer and 1 Broadcast Station. Gain 2 Carbon, 1 Food and 1 Support from them. Then, because you control a State in both A and B Regions, Research 2 (draw 2).

MP (Clash)=3 Carbon: Clash (Military) in Iniza. The price of Clash is 3 Carbon which you pay because you have no Leaders (Military). You Focus 2 cards from your hand into the Clash. One has 3 Focus Value, the other has 1 Focus Value. Another player flips 1 card for Imperial defenses which has 2 Focus Value. You win by 2 (4-2) and place your Control Token showing '2' in Iniza. Then, Research (draw 1) that is Iniza's State benefit.

MP (Educate)=2 Food: Educate 3. The price of Educate is 2 Food. Choosing X as 3, pay 6 Food to Educate 3. You choose to gain 2 Leaders (Military) and 1 Leader (Political).

MP (Research)=5 Capital: Research 5. The price of Research is 5 Capital. Choosing 5 as X, pay 25 Capital to Research 5 (draw 5).

MP (Campaign)=8 Capital: Campaign 2. The price of Campaign is 8 Capital. Choosing 2 as X (and limited by having just 2 Support across Bases), pay 16 Capital to Campaign 2. Move 2 Support you control in Bases to the Justice Seat. Move the Final Say card to your tableau.

Exchange 5 (Sell 3 Food / Buy 2 Carbon). The price of Food is 9 Capital and price of Carbon is 4 Capital. Sell 3 Food for 27 Capital and buy 2 Carbon for 8 Capital.

Card Abilities

Develop: Gain 3 Margin. Discard 1 card from your hand. Then this Company gains 3 Margin.

Activate: Gain 1 Food and 1 Carbon. Exchange X. Rotate this card to gain 1 Food and 1 Carbon. Then Exchange any amount of Food and Carbon at MP (current prices).

Develop X, Activate: Campaign X. Discard a chosen number of cards (X) and rotate this card. Then move that same number of your Support (X) from Bases to 1 Seat.

Pay X Food, Activate: Gain X Support. Pay X Food and rotate this card to gain X Support belonging to Base(s) of your choice.

Activate: Gain 12 Capital for each Negotiation you control. Rotate this card. Then gain 12 Capital for each Negotiation keyword on cards in your tableau.

Obligation Abilities

Develop (2X Corporate Focus Value): Gain X Margin among Companies you control. Discard cards whose total Corporate Focus Value is equal to twice your Corruption. Then gain Margin equal to your Corruption, divided among Companies in your tableau.

Control X Support: Ready a card. Your total Support across Bases and The Council must meet or exceed your Corruption. Then Ready 1 card in your tableau.

Edge Actions

Edge: Play Event 'Premeditated'. First, check that you meet the Corruption 2 requirement (yes, you have 3 Corruption). Because Premeditated has the Corruption keyword, gain 1 Corruption by moving your Control Token up the Corruption track. Draw 1 Obligation card. You can now Play a card ignoring its Corruption requirement.

Edge: Use Ability (Edge Card Abilities). See Edge Card Abilities (below).

Edge, 10 Capital: Shirk the Obligation 'Steward'. Because your Corruption is 3, you pay 30 Capital to return an Obligation from your hand to the Obligation discard pile. Its Ability does not resolve.

Edge: Trade with Rodgrod. You are the active player and give Rodgrod 20 Capital and 2 cards from your hand they expressed interest in. Rodgrod gives you control of the State of Zibir. Place your Control Token there showing '6' Influence and Rodgrod returns their '6'. You do not gain the State benefit when taking over control of the State via Trade.

Edge Card Abilities

Edge: After each card you Develop, Focus, or Remove, gain 2 Capital. Any time you Develop (discard) cards from your hand, Focus cards in a Clash or Remove cards you or another Nation controls, gain 2 Capital per card.

Edge: After you Activate a Company or Asset, Research (draw 1). Any time you rotate a Company or Asset, Research (draw 1).

X Leader, Activate: Gain X Support. At any time, spend a chosen number of Leaders (X) and rotate this card. Gain that same number of Support (X) in Base(s) of your choosing.

Edge, Develop X, Activate: Gain 5X Capital. At any time, Develop (discard) X cards from your hand and rotate this card. Gain 5 Capital for each card you discarded.

Edge, Activate: Before you Develop, Research (draw 1). Before an Ability makes you Develop (discard) cards from your hand, rotate this card and Research (draw 1). Then proceed with the Develop.

Edge, Develop 1 card and Remove this card: Educate. At any time, Develop (discard) 1 card from your hand and Remove this card from your tableau to Educate. Gain 1 Leader of any type (Military/Political/Corporate).

X Influence, Activate: Research X. At any time, reduce your Influence among any States you control by a total of X. Research X (draw X).

Edge Actions and Edge Card Abilities always begin with the Edge icon.

Tips & Tricks

Always have a hand and create a plan for replenishing it.

• Clash into States from different Regions.
• Each Region has a State that produces Research as its benefit.
• A Nation with a small hand is a natural target for a Clash.

Obscure your goals.

• If other players can easily intuit which battlegrounds matter to you, it will be easier for them to block or sabotage your efforts. Try to disguise your motives and set up moments that are difficult to interrupt.

The Justice Seat is power.

• Because Politik is a control game, ties occur frequently. Controlling the Justice Seat allows you to declare yourself or another player the victor. Everything becomes easier when a tie is as good as a win.

Big-time Corruption takes concerted effort.

• At 9+ Corruption, you gain an additional Main Action each turn for the rest of the game, gaining massive action economy. To get to 9 though, you need to heavily prioritize laddering up Corruption while shedding Obligations as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• Stalling out at 7-8 Corruption can be the worst of all worlds, trapping a player into a small hand.

National Action cycling times may vary.

• Some games are won without cycling through all National Actions even once, while other games rely on repeated cycling. The frequency of cycling through National Actions depends on a given strategy and player count (which can vary greatly).
• Always try to maximize payoffs when taking National Actions. Sometimes however, you may just take a National Action to clear your Nation Tokens.

Know when to fight and when to cut your losses.

• Not every Clash or race in Military, Political, or Corporate arenas will be worth the time and energy. If another player has a competitive advantage making it much cheaper or easier to capture ground, it is sometimes better to save resources and plan a counterattack or shift focus to other greener pastures.

Game Variants

For additional variety, apply a rule variant below:

• Draft Game - Players draft and pass packs of 6 Politik Cards to create their starting hands (no mulligans).
• Long War - Add 1 Power Grab to victory conditions.
• The Trifecta - 1 Power Grab of each type required for victory (ignore other victory conditions).
• Team Game - Play 2v2 or 2v2v2 using 2p or 3p victory conditions, respectively.
• Raging Imperials - During Military Clash, flip 1 additional Politik Card for Imperial-controlled States.

Terms

Page references are to the printed rulebook.

• Ability - p.26
• Action - p.24,25
• Activate - p.11
• Asset - p.18
• Base - p.17
• Broadcast Station - p.14,15
• Campaign - p.31
• Cancel - p.25
• Capital - p.23
• Capitalism - p.17
• Carbon - p.23
• Chair Seat - p.16
• Clash - p.27-30
• Commerce Seat - p.16
• Communism - p.17
• Company - p.18,19
• Control Token - p.11,13
• Corporate - p.18,19
• Corruption - p.21
• Defense Seat - p.15,16
• Develop - p.11
• Edge - p.24
• Educate - p.31
• Energy - p.12,18
• Event - p.26,31
• Exchange - p.31
• Fascism - p.17
• Final Say - p.20
• Financial - p.12,18
• Focus - p.12, 28-30