Rise to Power Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Setup
• PRISM
• Contracts
• Power Plant & The Grid
• Agendas
• Playing the Game
• Available Actions
• Game End & Scoring
• Expansions
  • Expansion – CEO
  • Expansion – Government Sector
  • Expansion – PRISM Pylons
  • Expansion – Advanced Agendas
• Glossary
• Card Reference

Game Components

PIP Indicators — PIP indicators identify which cards to include when playing with different numbers of players.

• Include 3-pip cards when playing with 3 or more players.
• Include 5-pip cards when playing with 5 or more players.

The base game includes:

• Exchange Marker (1)
• PRISM Cards (72)
• Power Plants (6)
• Agendas (4)
• Contracts (54)
• Attribute Markers (18)
• Player Mats (6)
• Government Contracts (18)

The following are optional expansion modules that add new and interesting ways to experience the game:

• CEOs (6)
• PRISM Pylons (6)
• Advanced Agendas (4)

Setup

Central Area

• Include any cards with the relevant numbered pip-indicators based on the number of players.
• Shuffle the PRISM deck and contract deck separately and place them in the central area.
• Deal 4 contracts from the contract deck and place them in the central area to form the contract zone.
• Set aside some space near the decks to form the discard piles.
• Place the Exchange marker card in the central area. This forms the Exchange zone.
• Shuffle the Agenda cards. Deal cards equal to the number of players into the central area to form the Agenda Zone.

Player Area

• Give each player a power plant card and have them place it in an open space in front of them to form the player's grid.
• Deal 2 cards face-down from the PRISM deck to each player. These form the player's hand.

PRISM

PRISM represents the primary energy resource for Rise to Power.

A PRISM card consists of a value and a type.

PRISM values range from 1 to 6. Each card's value represents the PRISM's power output.

There are three different types of PRISM, with each type differentiated by colour and shape: green, blue and orange.

Each PRISM type corresponds to different refinement qualities. Different contracts require the use of a specific PRISM type to power.

Contracts

Contract

A contract is an agreement between the government and a company to supply power to a district in need of PRISM.

Each contract shows:

• Sector & District Name — There are 3 sectors in the base game: Residential, Offshore and Outer Space.
• Exchange Ability — The ability of this contract when played to the Exchange. Some contracts also show an ability that lets a player choose a contract attached to any grid and copy its Exchange ability.
• Benefits earned when powered — Indicates influence value and any plant attribute bonus you gain once the card becomes a district.
• PRISM Cost — The cost required to power this contract.

District

A district's main source of power is supplied by a company's power plant attached to their grid.

• Plant Attribute Bonus — Each icon on a district adds 1 to your plant's attribute modifier of that type.
• Influence — The amount of influence you earn at the end of the game for having this district on your grid.

Power Plant & The Grid

Power Plant

These monolithic structures extract PRISM from the planet's environment and are capable of providing clean and abundant energy throughout the grid.

Each power plant shows:

• Draw Power — The number of PRISM cards a player can draw when taking the "Draw PRISM" action.
• PRISM Limit — The maximum number of PRISM cards a player can hold in their hand after their cleanup phase.
• Grid Limit — The number of districts a player can have on their grid.

The Grid

The grid is the main infrastructure that routes PRISM from the power plant to districts.

When placing a contract on the grid, you must place it next to a district or the power plant.

As long as one edge of the contract is adjacent to a district or the power plant, the placement is considered valid.

Agendas

All companies have an agenda; the key is keeping it a secret.

Every Agenda is unique, and shows:

• Name
• Influence — The amount of influence you earn at the end of the game.
• Goal — This goal must be met before the Agenda can be claimed.

Players complete agendas to increase their influence.

During a player's turn, if the stated goal of an Agenda has been met, they must immediately claim that Agenda from the Agenda zone. The card should be placed face-up near that player's Grid.

If an Agenda's goal is met outside of a player's turn, they claim the Agenda at the start of their next turn.

Playing the Game

First Player

Before the game begins, each player cuts the PRISM deck to reveal a card. The player who reveals the highest number goes first. In case of a tie, those players should split the deck again until a clear winner is determined.

Turn Sequence

The game consists of a sequence of turns performed by each player. Players take turns in a clockwise fashion, beginning from the first player.

Phase Order

A player's turn is broken up into 3 phases, performed in succession:

1. Acquire — Acquire 2 Contracts. A player must choose 2 contracts from the contract zone and place them on their grid (see "Power Plant & The Grid"). If a chosen contract cannot be placed legally, the remainder of their acquisition phase is skipped.
2. Action — Take 2 Actions. Each player has 2 Action Points (AP) which they can use on any of the 6 different actions. Every action a player takes requires 1 AP to perform (see "Available Actions"). The same action can be played more than once.
3. Cleanup — Discard, Refill, Power Exchange. Before a player's turn ends, the following steps must be completed:
   • Discard PRISM cards from your hand until you reach your plant's PRISM limit.
   • Refill the contract zone with contracts from the top of the deck.
   • Power any contracts placed on the Exchange by flipping them over.

Available Actions

Power a Contract

Powering contracts is the primary way to gain influence in the game.

To power a contract, you must pay the stated PRISM cost. To do so, reveal and discard PRISM of the same type (symbol and colour). The total discarded must be equal to or greater than the value specified on the contract. Once payment is made, flip the card. You now gain any plant attribute bonuses from that district permanently.

Before powering a contract, first ensure that your grid limit is greater than the number of districts on your grid.

It is important to note that some contracts offer a grid limit attribute bonus when powered. These "self-sufficient" districts can still be powered even if you've reached your grid limit.

Bonus AP

Efficient allocation of your resources is key to staying ahead of your rivals.

Whenever you pay the exact PRISM value required (using any number of PRISM cards of the same type) to power a contract or upgrade a district, you are awarded 1 AP to spend during your turn.

Note that you must have at least 1 AP available before taking any action, even if it would result in gaining a bonus AP.

Upgrade a District

Upgrading districts is a more economical way to earn influence than simply powering a contract.

Total influence is cumulative, with each additional level also earning bonus influence.

To upgrade a district, first power the contract. Then, instead of placing it back on the grid, place it on top of another district with the same name.

An upgrade must be of a lower influence value than the card beneath it (highest value at the bottom).

Districts without upgrades are considered "Level 1" districts. Each upgrade to a district increases its level by one. For example, a district with 2 upgrades is considered a "Level 3" district.

It is important to note that plant attribute bonuses do not stack. Only the top-most bonus is considered when determining your plant's attribute values.

Influence values of obscured cards are considered "hidden information."

Example: Tahlia has a Seaport district with 5 influence. She acquires a Seaport contract of 2 influence this turn and decides she'd like to use it as an upgrade. She pays the PRISM cost, flips the contract and places it squarely on top of the existing Seaport district with 5 influence.

Draw PRISM

The only way to harness and store PRISM is through PRISM power plants.

To Draw PRISM, take cards from the PRISM deck equal to your power plant's draw power and place them in your hand.

You are able to draw past your power plant's PRISM limit; however, you must discard PRISM during the cleanup phase (see "Phase Order: Cleanup").

Use Exchange Ability

The Exchange is a free market that lets power companies give up contracts for powerful one-time effects. But, what you give up might be just what a rival company needs.

To use an Exchange ability, remove a contract from your grid, place it onto the Exchange zone, and resolve its effect.

A card's effect must be resolved fully and in the order as it appears on the card. If any part of the effect cannot be met, then the ability cannot be played.

No PRISM is required when a card instructs a player to "Power" a contract or "Upgrade" a District.

For example, the Space Station district has the following Exchange ability: "Discard an upgrade. Gain 3 AP." To resolve this ability, the player must first discard an upgrade before they can gain 3 AP.

Take a District from the Exchange

When taking a district from the Exchange, you must immediately place it on your grid as a new district or use it as an upgrade.

The normal district placement rules still apply (see "Power Plant & The Grid: The Grid").

Challenge a Contract

The government wants districts up and running quickly and efficiently. Companies can challenge each other for their acquired contracts to get the job done.

Before challenging a rival's contract, be sure to first meet the following criteria:

• You have the required PRISM to power the target contract.
• Should the challenge succeed, the district won't cause you to exceed your grid limit if placed as a new district.

To issue a challenge, first indicate to a target rival which contract of theirs is being challenged. Then reveal enough PRISM to pay the cost of powering the contract.

The defending player may respond by revealing and discarding enough PRISM to immediately power the contract. In this instance, the challenge is deemed unsuccessful and any PRISM revealed by the challenger is returned to their hand.

If the defending player cannot pay the required cost, or if doing so would result in them exceeding their grid limit, the contract is then forfeited to the challenging player. The challenger then discards the revealed PRISM and must immediately power the newly acquired contract. In this instance, the challenge is deemed successful.

Some additional notes:

• The contract may be used as a district or an upgrade.
• Paying the exact PRISM value when challenging a contract does not award you a bonus AP.
• A rival may choose not to defend a contract for whatever reason.

Game End & Scoring

Game End

The game ends when:

• a player has 8 districts on their grid at the end of their turn. Once this occurs, all other players have 1 more turn before the game ends; or
• it is not possible to fully refill the contract zone during a cleanup phase. Should this happen, all players have 1 more turn before the game ends. No player has an Acquisition phase during their final turn.

Scoring

Add all the influence values from each of your districts and any Agendas you have earned.

When scoring districts with upgrades, add up all the influence values for each card on the stack. You also earn 1 influence for each additional level. So, a level 3 district earns you 2 bonus influence.

The player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, the tied player with the highest level district is the winner. In case of a further tie, the player with the most PRISM cards in their hand wins. If there is still no clear winner, we suggest everyone play again!

Expansions

Expansions in Rise to Power are modular, allowing any or all to be included alongside the base game. Although the basic game remains fundamentally the same, each expansion provides more options and interesting ways to interact with the game and your rivals.

No change to the core game component setup is required when including any of the expansions. Simply add the desired expansion cards and follow the rules outlined in their respective sections.

The CEO, Prism Pylon, and Advanced Agenda expansions all introduce new actions a player may take during their Action Phase. These new actions are denoted by a lightning symbol and, just like all other actions in the game, they require 1 AP to use.

Expansion – CEO

At the top of every powerful company is a powerful person.

Each CEO card shows:

• CEO Name — Each CEO has a unique name.
• Active Trait — Powerful one-time ability. Requires 1 AP to use.
• Passive Trait — Once an active trait has been used, this effect lasts for the rest of the game.

Before starting a game, once player order has been determined, each player chooses a CEO in reverse player order. The player who has their turn last chooses a CEO first and so on.

Each player places their selected CEO card, with the Active Trait side up, somewhere near their Grid.

During the game, players may choose to spend 1 AP and use their CEO's Active Trait if able. A card's effect must be resolved fully and in the order it appears on the card. Once the effect has been resolved, flip the card. You now gain the stated Passive Trait permanently.

Note that it is up to each player to remember to use their Passive Trait when able. Rivals are not likely to remind you!

For example, the CEO Dawn has the Active Trait "Discard a contract on your grid. Then power a contract." and, once used, gains the Passive Trait "When taking the 'Power a Contract' action, if you paid exact PRISM, keep one of the PRISM cards used."

Expansion – Government Sector

The power market is closely monitored by the Government. Sometimes harsh sanctions are needed to keep everything in check.

During setup, include the Government Sector contracts when forming the Contract Deck.

The Government Sector functions identically to the standard sectors (Residential, Offshore and Outer Space) but with some important exceptions:

• Each Government Sector contract is powered using two types of PRISM. For example, "The Bureau" requires blue and orange. This also applies when challenging a Government Sector contract.
• Exchange abilities are broken into two parts. The first part is bold and is an immediate beneficial effect awarded to the player placing it on the Exchange. The second part is an ongoing detrimental effect that applies to all players while the card is on the Exchange.
• While a Government Sector contract is on the Exchange, it does not power during the Cleanup Phase. Instead it remains a contract and must instead be purchased from the Exchange for one of the two PRISM cost values in order to be acquired.

For example, "High Court" is on the exchange and no player may take the "Power a Contract" action. In order to remove this card from the Exchange, and end this effect, it must be purchased for either green PRISM or orange PRISM.

Once removed from the Exchange, it is immediately powered and must be placed on the player's grid as a new district or used as an upgrade (see "Available Actions: Power a Contract" and "Available Actions: Upgrade a District").

Expansion – PRISM Pylons

These towering structures strip PRISM of its colour and shape. It might be less efficient, but it's great in a pinch.

During setup, deal 1 PRISM Pylon card to each player. It should be placed face-up near the player's grid.

A player may, during their turn, spend 1 AP and place 1 PRISM card from their hand face-down onto the PRISM Pylon. The maximum number of PRISM cards a PRISM Pylon can hold is 3.

PRISM stored on a PRISM Pylon has no colour or shape.

All PRISM costs incurred by a player during the game are reduced by 1 for each PRISM card on their PRISM Pylon. Players can choose not to use their PRISM Pylon when paying PRISM costs.

Note that no bonus AP is awarded if a PRISM Pylon was used when powering a contract (see "Available Actions: Power a Contract, Bonus AP").

Expansion – Advanced Agendas

The government has an itch. Scratch it and you'll be well looked after.

Advanced Agendas function in the same way as regular Agendas, with 2 important exceptions:

• They are worth 3 influence instead of 5 influence.
• Each Advanced Agenda has a powerful single-use ability: "Discard this agenda. Search deck for a contract and acquire it. Shuffle the deck. You may power the acquired contract."

Advanced Agendas can replace or be used in addition to regular Agendas.

During setup, shuffle the Advanced Agenda cards in with the regular Agenda cards, or remove the regular Agenda cards altogether, and follow the same setup procedure (see "Setup: Central Area").

Advanced Agendas are obtained in the same way as regular Agendas (see "Agendas").

Players may, during their turn, spend 1 AP and discard an Advanced Agenda to use its ability. Advanced Agendas discarded this way are removed from the game and are not available to other players. They are also not included when scoring (see "Game End & Scoring").

Glossary

Acquire – The act of taking a contract and placing it on your grid.

Power a Contract – Paying the PRISM cost of a contract and flipping the card to the district side.

Upgrade – Paying the PRISM cost of a contract and placing it on top of an existing and same named district on your grid.

Influence – The player with the most influence at the end of the game wins.

Grid – The area in front of a player where their Power Plant, Contracts, and Districts are placed.

AP – Action Point.

Bonus AP – Extra AP awarded when a player pays exact PRISM value to power a contract.

Plant Attributes – A collective term that refers to Draw Power, PRISM Limit, and Grid Limit.

Draw Power – The number of PRISM cards a player can draw during a Draw action.

PRISM Limit – Total number of PRISM cards a player can have in their hand after the Cleanup Phase.

Grid Limit – Total number of districts connected to a player's grid.

PRISM Value – The number specified on a PRISM card.

PRISM Type – The colour and shape of PRISM (green triangle, blue square, and orange hexagon).

Card Reference

The manual's component gallery lists one example of every named card. Each contract's PRISM cost and its influence/plant attribute bonus are printed as icons on the physical card (see "Contracts" and "Power Plant & The Grid") and vary between the three pip-tiers of a sector; the Exchange ability text below is fixed per named card.

Residential

• Inner City – Exchange: "Draw 2 PRISM cards. Gain 1 AP."
• Parkland – Exchange: "Upgrade a district by up to 2 levels."
• Hinterland – Exchange: "Draw 5 contracts from the deck and acquire 2. Shuffle the rest back into the deck. Gain 1 AP."

Offshore

• Marina – Exchange: "Target rival must choose: discard exactly 3 PRISM cards; or let you draw 2 PRISM cards. Gain 1 AP."
• Seaport – Exchange: "Target rival must choose: discard a contract; or let you power a contract. Gain 1 AP."
• The Island – Exchange: "Choose a rival's contract; they may power it. Search the deck for a same named contract and acquire it."

Outer Space

• Space Port – Exchange: "Draw and reveal 4 PRISM cards. Only keep PRISM cards of one type. Discard the rest. Gain 1 AP."
• Biosphere – Exchange: "Choose a contract attached to any grid and copy its Exchange ability."
• Space Station – Exchange: "Discard an upgrade. Gain 3 AP."

Government (each requires two PRISM types to power)

• Customs – Exchange: "Draw 4 PRISM. Gain 1 AP. While on the Exchange, all players' draw power is 2."
• High Court – Exchange: "Power a contract. While on the Exchange, no player can take the 'Power a Contract' action."
• The Bureau – Exchange: "Upgrade a district. While on the Exchange, no player can take the 'Upgrade a District' action."

CEOs

• Dawn – Active: "Discard a contract on your grid. Then power a contract." Passive: "When taking the 'Power a Contract' action, if you paid exact PRISM, keep one of the PRISM cards used."
• Dr. Nakagawa Kozi – Active: "Choose a contract from your grid. You may use its Exchange ability without placing it on the Exchange."
• Scott Kearney – Active: "Search the PRISM deck for 2 PRISM cards and place them in your hand. Then shuffle the deck."
• Tahlia Butler – Active: "Choose a contract on your grid and discard it. Search the deck for a same named contract and acquire it."
• Brendan Gray – Active: "Gain 3 AP."
• Bridgelyn – Active: "Discard the top PRISM deck card. If it's green: draw 3 PRISM; blue: power a contract; orange: gain 2 AP."

Each CEO's Passive Trait is printed on the back of their own card and is revealed once their Active Trait has been used.

Agendas (5 influence)

• Urban Planner – Be the first to have the following districts: Inner City, Parkland and Hinterland.
• Technologist – Be the first to upgrade 3 districts.
• Frontiersman – Be the first to have the following districts: Space Port, Biosphere and Space Station.
• Harbour Master – Be the first to have the following districts: Marina, Seaport and The Island.

Advanced Agendas (3 influence; each: "Discard this Agenda. Search deck for a contract and acquire it. Shuffle the deck. You may power the acquired contract.")

• Industrialist – Have 3 districts from the same sector.
• Logistician – Gain 3 additional Action Points in a turn.
• Engineer – Reach 6 on any power plant attribute.
• Architect – Have a level 3 district.