Scales of Influence
Scales of Influence Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Alignments: 3 Shadow, 1 Harmony, 3 Light
- Traveler's Tarot: 78-card deck, including the Traveler
- The Shaman: 1 Shaman
- 1 Guidebook
- Reading Markers: 1 Past, 1 Present, 1 Future
- Player Aids: 7 player aids
- Board & Tracker: 1 cloth board, 1 phase tracker
- Energy & Influence: 50 Energy crystals, 16 Influence tokens
- Source Bags: 1 Energy source (blue), 1 Influence source (brown)
- Alignment Bags: 1 Shadow alignment, 1 Light alignment
Board Setup
Tarot Deck
Separate the Traveler from the deck, shuffle the rest, and place the deck in the draw area.
The Tarot Reading
Place the past, present, and future Reading Markers on their marked placements.
Energy Source
Put all Energy crystals in the blue bag to gain from.
Influence Source
Put all Influence tokens in the brown bag to draw from.
Alignment Bags
Will hold Influence tokens given to the Shadow and Light alignments.
Discard Pile
Discarded cards are placed here face up. Players are not allowed to look through them.
The Scale
During gameplay, Energy is placed onto the Shadow and Light sides of the Scale.
Phase Tracker
Place the tracker on Sun Phase. This marks the current phase.
Player Setup
It is time to prepare for your journey ahead. Let's first find out what sage you are aligned to.
I. Alignment
Determine player count and gather alignment cards for play. Shuffle and deal an alignment card to each player face down.
- Odd Player Count: Gather 1 Harmony alignment card and an equal number of Light and Shadow alignment cards.
- Even Player Count: Gather equal number of Light and Shadow alignment cards, shuffle them, and replace 1 with a Harmony alignment card.
II. Starting Energy
Distribute 3 Energy crystals to each player. Energy is placed on the Scale during gameplay or is used to take special actions.
III. Starting Cards
Each player gets 3 cards from the Traveler's Tarot deck as starting cards in their hand.
IV. The Traveler
The player who most recently had a tarot reading or went on a hike receives the Traveler. Place the card in front of them. The Traveler is the starting player and begins the journey. Play continues clockwise from the Traveler.
V. The Shaman
Set the Shaman aside for now. At the end of each day, the player with the most Energy becomes the Shaman. The Shaman can return 2 Energy to take 1 special action per day. These actions may be played at any time, even when it is not the Shaman player's turn.
- Block any Shooting Star
- Add 2 Energy to one side of the Scale
- Return 1 revealed Influence during the Weighing Phase
Once used, flip the card over until the day ends.
Game Overview
Objective
Shadow & Light: Have at least 10 Energy crystals on the Scale at the end of Weighing.
Harmony: Have an equal amount of 5 or more Energy crystals on each side of the Scale at any point of the game.
Game Elements
- The Tarot Reading: Built from cards played into the past, present, or future to affect the game later.
- Energy Crystals: Placed on the Scale during gameplay or used to take special actions.
- The Scale: Holds Energy placed on Shadow or Light sides to win.
- Influence Tokens: Secretly put into bags to add/remove Energy from the Scale.
Journey Overview
The game is played over multiple in-game "days" consisting of 4 phases. Players take actions in the Sun and Moon phases to alter the outcome of the Reading and Weighing phases.
- Start of day. Phase Tracker starts at Sun.
- Sun Phase: Players take actions to collectively build a tarot reading and secretly put Influence tokens in alignment bags.
- Moon Phase: Players may cover (Eclipse) cards in the tarot reading.
- Reading Phase: The past, present, and future cards take effect one at a time.
- Weighing Phase: Energy on the Scale is adjusted based on the sum of tokens.
- End of day. A new day begins if no objective was met.
- Cosmic Events can occur during any phase.
Timing is important! Be sure to use a card's ability before it's too late. Once an action is resolved, it cannot be undone.
Tarot Cards
Deck Structure
The tarot deck consists of the Traveler and 77 cards divided among the Major Arcana, Court Cards, and Minor Arcana.
Card Anatomy
Each tarot card is unique with its own rank, symbol, ability, element, name, and original art. Elements are Spirit, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.
Symbols
- Hand: Hands are played into the Reading during a player's turn. Their ability takes effect in the Reading Phase.
- Shooting Star: Shooting Stars can be played at any time, as long as the player has 1+ Energy. They start Cosmic Events.
Major Arcana
21 Spirit cards ranked 1 to 21. These Shooting Star cards start inevitable Cosmic Events and symbolize major life events.
Court Cards
16 Fire, Water, Air, and Earth character cards ranked Novice (N, 11), Apprentice (A, 12), Expert (E, 13), and Master (M, 14). These sets of 4 rank above Minor Arcana rank 10 and represent stages of personal evolution.
Minor Arcana
40 Fire, Water, Air, and Earth cards ranked 1 to 10. These sets of 10 affect different game elements and represent unique approaches to life.
Fire affects Energy • Water affects Influence • Air affects players • Earth affects cards.
Sun Phase
The sun has risen. It's time for the journey to begin. Starting with the Traveler, players must receive then release, but may channel at any time on their turn. Play continues clockwise until phase end.
I. Receive Action
- Draw 1 new tarot card. Players discard down to 7 cards at the end of their turn.
- — or —
- Gain 1 Energy. Players return down to 7 Energy at the end of their turn.
II. Release Action
- Play to the Reading: Place a Hand card face up on any Reading placement. Take the Reading Marker. The card's ability will take effect during the Reading Phase.
- — or —
- Give Influence: Secretly draw 2 Influence tokens and put 1 in the Shadow or Light alignment bag. Return the unused one to the source bag.
There are 16 tokens: One +3, Three +2, Six +1, Two -2, Four -1.
III. Channel Action (Optional)
For first-time players, it is recommended to wait until the start of the next round to take a channel action.
Players may take one of these additional actions once:
- Return 1 Energy to draw an additional card.
- Discard 2 cards face up to take 2 Energy from a player.
- Return 3 Energy to discard a card from the Reading. Reading Marker returns to the board.
Phase End
The Sun Phase ends when all players have taken a turn and when one of two conditions are met:
- All 3 of the Reading Markers have been taken.
- The Influence source bag is empty.
Moon Phase
The moon has risen. Will there be an Eclipse? Move the Phase Tracker to Moon. Turns begin clockwise starting with the player who played last in the Sun Phase. Players choose to Eclipse or pass. The phase ends when all players have taken an optional action.
Eclipse Action (Optional)
- Eclipse a card by placing a Hand card with a higher rank on top of a card in the Reading of a matching element.
- 1 Energy must be paid to the player being Eclipsed.
- The Eclipsing player receives the Reading Marker.
(Exchange: 1 Energy paid for the Reading Marker. Eclipse: higher rank Hand card of same element placed on top.)
Reading Phase
Prepare for the Reading . . . Move the Phase Tracker to Read. All players holding the past, present, and future Reading Markers will activate their cards in order (I Past, II Present, III Future). Cards remain in the Reading until the end of day.
Ability: Card abilities take effect in sequential order.
Tarot Reading (Optional)
Tarot readings are a time for introspection to gain clarity, both personally and collectively. Find meaning behind the cards in the Reading by utilizing the Guidebook. If skipped, continue with gameplay.
Cosmic Event
Which star will shine the brightest?
The Spirit cards are Shooting Stars, ranked from 1 to 21. There is no cost to starting a Cosmic Event, but a player must have at least 1 Energy to start one.
Gameplay is interrupted when a Shooting Star is played from a player's hand in view of all players. Everyone pauses to admire the Cosmic Event. A Shooting Star's ability does not take effect yet.
Shooting Stars can be played in any phase. When a Shooting Star is seen, others are bound to follow. Starting to the left of the player that played the Shooting Star, all players have a chance to Eclipse it to keep its ability from occurring and let their own star shine.
Eclipse Action (Optional)
- Eclipse a Shooting Star by placing another Shooting Star of higher rank on top of it. Players must pay 1 Energy to Eclipse. The Shooting Star does not need to be resolved.
Event End
When all players have taken an optional Eclipse action, the Shooting Star still visible will have only its ability take effect. Discard Shooting Stars. Gameplay will now continue.
Example Scenario
- Cooper is resolving Deception in the Reading.
- Madison plays The Fighter to try to block its ability. ("I'm playing The Fighter.")
- Eclipse actions are taken, starting left of Madison.
- Cooper passes because he does not have Energy. ("I'm passing.")
- Amanda plays The Light to Eclipse The Fighter. ("I'm Eclipsing it with The Light.")
- Bruno passes because he does not have Shooting Stars. ("I'm passing.")
- The Light's ability is resolved, Cosmic Event ends.
- Gameplay continues. Deception is resolved.
Weighing Phase
It's time to weigh the Energy . . . Move the Phase Tracker to Weigh.
I. Reveal Influence
Reveal Influence from each alignment bag.
II. Adjust Scale
Use the Energy source bag to add/remove Energy from the Scale according to the sum of each alignment bag's Influence tokens. Energy totals cannot go below zero. Removed Energy returns to the source bag.
(Illustrated example: one bag's revealed sum is 1 and the other's is 3.)
Win Conditions
The game ends when an alignment achieves their objective. Every player gets 1 opportunity starting with the Traveler to prevent game end by utilizing the Shaman and Shooting Stars. If the play cannot be stopped, the game ends.
- Shadow & Light: Have at least 10 Energy crystals and the most on the Scale at the end of the Weighing Phase.
- Harmony: Have an equal 5 or more Energy on each side of the Scale at any point of the game.
Day Reset
If the game did not end, prepare the game for a new day.
I. New Traveler & Shaman
The Traveler moves to the player to the left to start the day. The player with the most Energy becomes the Shaman. If there is a tie, the new Traveler picks one of the tied players to become the next Shaman.
II. Reset Cloth Board
Move the Phase Tracker back to Sun. Return all Influence to its source bag. Discard cards from the Reading face up, except for any impacting the next day. Return the Reading Markers to their placements.
Other Endings
Tarot Deck Ending
Upon the final tarot card being drawn, this will start game end. Players will finish the day as normal.
Traveler Ending
In a game with 4 or more players, when The Traveler reaches the last player, the final day will begin.
If one of these endings is reached, the winner is decided by:
- Shadow & Light: Have the most Energy on the Scale.
- Harmony: Have any equal amount of Energy on both sides of the Scale.
Game Variant
Shadow vs Light
In even player count games, you may choose to play without a Harmony player. The Shadow and Light objectives remain the same as do the game end conditions.
Glossary
These terms and keywords are found on the tarot cards and throughout the game. Additional clarification can be found on our website: unphazedgames.com
- Alignment Bag: A team's bag of Influence colored purple (Shadow) or gold (Light).
- Block: Prevent another card from resolving.
- Draw (Influence): Secretly pull Influence tokens from the Influence source bag.
- Eclipse: A higher Rank card is placed on a lower Rank card of the same Element.
- Energy (Crystals): A resource spent for actions and placed onto the Scale.
- Gain: Pull Energy crystals from the Energy source bag.
- Give: Secretly put Influence tokens into an alignment bag.
- Hand (card): When capitalized, refers to cards with a hand symbol that are played to the Reading.
- Influence (Tokens): Used to add or remove Energy from the Scale during Weighing.
- Rank: Power level assigned to a card.
- Reading: Past, Present, and Future card placements on the game board.
- Reading Marker: Indicates who controls the ability of a card in the Reading.
- Resolve: A card's ability takes effect.