Tapestry: Fantasies & Futures
Tapestry: Fantasies & Futures Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Setup
- Gameplay
- Charm Bonuses
- Tapestry Card Abilities
- Income Turn 5: Use Reserved Items
- Advance on Track [FF]
- Technology: Charm and Income-Turn-5 Prerequisites [FF]
- Military: Response Cards [FF]
- Buildings and Capital Cities: Districts of Advanced City Mats [AA] [FF]
- Playing Tapestry Cards After Era 4
- Ending the Game
- Optional Variants
- Icon Reference: Fantasies & Futures Icons
- Tech Card Reference: Fantasies & Futures Tech Cards
- Frequently Asked Questions: Fantasies & Futures Entries
- Civilizations: Fantasies & Futures
- Solo Play: Automa
Components
Fantasies & Futures adds the following components. Marks with an asterisk replace components from the base game or an earlier expansion.
- Civilization mats: 10
- Advanced capital city mats: 6 (City in a Bottle, Netherworld, Polar, Quagmire, Savanna, Veil)
- Income mat overlays: 5
- Tapestry cards: 38 (+1*)
- Tech cards: 12 (+1*)
- Landmark cards: 3*
- Rulebook: 1*
* Replaces component(s) from base game or earlier expansion.
Setup
Combine mats and cards from the base game and expansion(s). Do not mix the basic capital city mats with the advanced capital city mats.
The following icons appear in this rulebook beside rules that only apply when playing with each expansion. The Fantasies & Futures icon is shown as [FF]. Where a rule is shared with Arts & Architecture, both icons are shown as [AA] [FF].
The printed global setup has no Fantasies & Futures-specific steps. The Fantasies & Futures setup changes are in Player Setup below.
Player Setup
A. Civilization and capital city mats: Draw 2 civilizations. In a 4-5 player game, draw 1 basic capital city mat; in a 1-3 player game, pair the basic capital city mats based on the numbers on the board and draw a random pair. [AA] [FF] In addition, draw a random advanced capital city mat.
Place 2 outpost tokens on the territory of the map that matches the basic city mat number(s) you drew.
Keep 1 capital city mat and 1 civilization mat, then discard the others. [AA] [FF] We recommend that new players keep a basic capital city mat. Reshuffle all civilizations not in play, including those just discarded.
B. Income mat: Place an income mat between your civilization and city mats. Seed its resource tracks with the corresponding buildings (5 yellow markets, 5 gray houses, 5 brown farms, and 5 red armories). Leave the leftmost space of each row exposed. Place 1 token for each of the 4 resources on the 0 space of the resource tracker at the bottom of your income mat.
C. Income mat overlay [FF]: Place an income mat overlay over the right edge of your income mat, tucking the right side of the overlay beneath your capital city mat.
Gameplay
Income turns, step 2 (Play Tapestry Card) [FF]: As explained in the Charm Bonuses section below, gain charm bonuses [FF] and/or use your tapestry card's ability.
Income turn 5 [FF]: Income turn 5 has a step before the upgrade step, in which reserved items are used. See Income Turn 5: Use Reserved Items below.
Charm Bonuses
[FF] CHARM BONUSES
Some tapestries, reflecting the influence of parallel realities, have tags called "charms" that give bonuses linked to the presence of other tapestries. Charms may appear on the left and/or right side of a card. You may take the indicated charm bonus(es) and the tapestry's WHEN PLAYED ability (below) in any order.
- Left charm: Gain the left bonus when you play this tapestry card to the right of another tapestry card. It does not matter if that card to the left is face down or on Maker of Fire or if it has a charm or not. Nor does it matter if this card is being placed on top of other tapestries.
- Right charm: Gain the right bonus the first time you place a tapestry card to the right of this tapestry card. It does not matter if that card to the right is face down or has a charm. However, it does matter whether you are placing that card on top of another tapestry card, because this card's charm only triggers the first time that you place a card to the right of this card.
Note: Only the ability of a tapestry is copied by other cards (e.g., Espionage) and by other civilizations (e.g., Heralds), not charm bonuses.
Example, Wizards' Guild: WHEN PLAYED: Gain 3 VP per tapestry card charm currently visible on your income mat. The Wizards' Guild card has a left charm and a right charm, each shown as two icons joined by "OR", meaning you gain the bonus shown by one of them.
Tapestry Card Abilities
- If your tapestry card has a WHEN PLAYED ability, use it (before or after any charm bonuses).
- If your tapestry card has a THIS ERA ability, it applies immediately until the beginning of your next income turn.
- [AA] [FF] If your tapestry card has a CONTINUOUS ability, it applies immediately until the end of the game. Continuous abilities cannot be copied (e.g., by Espionage).
Under certain circumstances, you may be able to play another tapestry card completely covering an existing tapestry card (e.g., via the Nuclear Bomb advancement). In this case, only the visible card is active (deactivating any covered cards).
Income Turn 5: Use Reserved Items
[FF] INCOME TURN 5: USE RESERVED ITEMS BEFORE PROCEEDING TO YOUR UPGRADE STEP
Some tapestry cards have WHEN PLAYED abilities that direct you to place items at the right edge of your income mat. These items are considered "reserved." Use reserved items during income turn 5 at the point when you'd ordinarily play a tapestry card (i.e., immediately before upgrading a tech card).
- Items at the right edge of your income mat are reserved. You may not use them until income turn 5 (e.g., you can't gain the reserved farm in the example below using the Tunnels advancement). You still get to use reserved items during income turn 5 even if the tapestry card that reserved those items is covered. Charmed tapestry cards are the only cards that may have effects after they are covered.
- When reserving a card (e.g., tech) or tile (e.g., space), place it face up.
- It is allowable to copy the WHEN PLAYED ability of an uncovered tapestry card like the one above. For example, you could use Espionage to copy Microbial Magic, thereby reserving a farm to place on income turn 5.
Example, Microbial Magic: WHEN PLAYED: Place your next farm at the right edge of your income mat. Include this building when scoring farms. Place this building into your capital city.
Example (figure caption): Move your next farm onto the overlay at the edge of your income mat. This improves the benefits that you gain during income turns. Do not place it into your capital city until income turn 5.
Advance on Track [FF]
Similar to research, there are benefits that advance your token on a specific track. When you gain one of these benefits, advance for free on the corresponding track, then, if there is no X beneath the track icon, gain the benefit, and you may pay to gain the bonus (if any).
For example, the icon for "advance on any track without benefit or bonus" requires you to advance on the tech track for free, without gaining the benefit or the bonus.
If researching/advancing would push your player token off the end of the track (beyond the 12th space), then do not advance and do not gain a benefit or bonus.
Technology: Charm and Income-Turn-5 Prerequisites [FF]
[FF] CHARM/INCOME-TURN-5 PREREQUISITES
Techs with the prerequisite (charm icon) / (income turn 5 icon) provide futuristic square benefits that you may access early in the game if you have previously placed a charmed tapestry card and, thus, come in contact with parallel realities.
These techs may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry card on your income mat, or if you are on or after your income turn 5.
A charmed tapestry card satisfies this prerequisite even if another tapestry card was placed on top of it, and a single charmed tapestry card satisfies this prerequisite for multiple techs. Whether your neighbors meet this prerequisite is irrelevant.
Some techs, like the one above, have a square benefit that may only be gained once. When gaining such a square benefit, flip the card so you cannot use it again. Include flipped cards when scoring your tech cards.
Other players may not upgrade your single-use tech cards to the top row or use your flipped tech cards (e.g., via the abilities of civilizations or tapestry cards).
Military: Response Cards [FF]
The Plans & Ploys rule for trap-response cards is not transcribed here. The following Fantasies & Futures sentence extends it:
[PP] [FF] This rule also applies to any response card (e.g., Surprise Party or Gremlins) that your opponent discards in order to topple your outpost.
Buildings and Capital Cities: Districts of Advanced City Mats [AA] [FF]
[AA] [FF] NOTES ON THE DISTRICTS OF ADVANCED CITY MATS
The notes below cover the six advanced capital city mats that come with Fantasies & Futures. Notes for the Arts & Architecture mats (Archipelago, Cloud City, Swamp) are not transcribed here.
- City in a Bottle: You have 6 districts that can each generate 1 resource when completed. You may not place landmarks in the city.
- Netherworld: You have 4 districts, each of which you cover by connecting an imp to the city center. You may cover imps and the city center in any order.
- Polar: You have 6 districts, each of which is a line of plots that you cover to gain 1 or 2 resource(s). Building outside your 6 districts contributes to scoring rows/columns but does not generate resources.
- Quagmire: Will-o'-the-wisps and water are impassable. Try not to place landmarks orthogonally adjacent to Will-o'-the-wisps, as shown by reeds on the mat.
- Savanna: You have 6 districts, each of which produces a resource every income turn after covering, but which does not produce a resource immediately at the moment that you complete it. Building outside your 6 districts contributes to scoring rows/columns but does not generate resources.
- Veil: You have 8 districts, 5 of which are traditional 3x3 districts that produce a resource when covered, and 3 of which are irregularly shaped and yield a different non-resource benefit when covered.
Playing Tapestry Cards After Era 4
Playing tapestry cards (icon) after era 4: Rarely, you might have the opportunity to play a tapestry card onto your income mat during or after income turn 5 (e.g., if upgrading the Printing Press tech card to the top row on income turn 5). In such a case, play a tapestry card on top of the card from era 4. [FF] If this tapestry card directs you to reserve an item (reserve icon), immediately use that item.
Ending the Game
The game ends at different times for each player. Your game ends when you finish your final (5th) income turn. During your final income turn, gain benefits from your civilization, [FF] any reserved items, 1 upgrade, and victory points as shown on your income mat. If other players still have turns after your game has ended, you may still gain victory points from passive civilization abilities, but you cannot gain anything else.
Optional Variants
The following optional variants are printed in the optional variants list. Only the parts marked with an icon for Fantasies & Futures (or shared with it) are transcribed here.
- [PP] [AA] [FF] You may require all players to draw civilizations from the same expansion.
- On income turn 1, draw 2 tapestries instead of 1. Keep 1 and discard the other. [FF] The Psionics draw 3, keep 1, and discard 2.
- Whenever drawing a civilization, always draw 2, keep 1, and discard the other. [FF] The Psionics draw 3, keep 1, and discard 2.
Icon Reference: Fantasies & Futures Icons
The entries of the printed icon reference that carry the Fantasies & Futures icon (or the shared Arts & Architecture and Fantasies & Futures icon) are:
- Income turn 5 (e.g., use reserved items, immediately before the upgrade step) [FF]
- Any 1 income building (market, house, farm, or armory) [AA] [FF]
- Gain 1 VP per income building [AA] [FF]
- Score 1 VP per landmark [FF]
- Advance on any track without benefit or bonus [FF]
- Charmed tapestry card on your income mat (refers to the presence of a charmed tapestry card on your income mat, as a prerequisite for upgrading certain tech cards) [FF]
Tech Card Reference: Fantasies & Futures Tech Cards
The twelve Fantasies & Futures tech cards are listed below. On each card, the first benefit line (marked with a square) is the top-row benefit and the second line (marked with a circle) is the middle-row benefit, as shown on the card (see Technology in the base rules, and the Advance on Track section above). Cards marked "Flip this card (single use)" have a square benefit that may be gained only once.
Golem Minions
Technology - Invention
- Top row (square): Advance on the military track (no benefit/bonus). Then gain 1 VP per military track space you've advanced.
- Middle row (circle): Score 1 VP per landmark.
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
Levitation
Technology - Invention. Flip this tech (single use).
- Top row (square): Explore using a space tile from your supply. Flip this tech.
- Middle row (circle): Explore a territory tile or gain a space tile.
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
- Square benefit: You may only gain the square benefit once.
Mind Control
Technology - Invention. Flip this tech (single use).
- Top row (square): Advance on the science or military track. Gain the benefit & you may pay to gain the bonus (if any). Flip this tech.
- Middle row (circle): Advance on the science or military track (no benefit/bonus).
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
- Square benefit: You may only gain the square benefit once.
Object Cloning
Technology - Invention. Flip this tech (single use).
- Top row (square): Advance on the arts or technology track. Gain the benefit & you may pay to gain the bonus (if any). Flip this tech.
- Middle row (circle): Advance on the arts or technology track (no benefit/bonus).
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
- Square benefit: You may only gain the square benefit once.
- Printed on the card as "may payto gain the bonus"; transcribed as "may pay to gain the bonus" (missing space in the print).
Perfect Memory
Technology - Invention. Flip this tech (single use).
- Top row (square): Advance on the science or arts track. Gain the benefit & you may pay to gain the bonus (if any). Flip this tech.
- Middle row (circle): Advance on the science or arts track (no benefit or bonus).
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
- Square benefit: You may only gain the square benefit once.
- Printed on the card as "science or artstrack"; transcribed as "science or arts track" (missing space in the print).
Pyrokinesis
Technology - Invention.
- Top row (square): Score 1 VP per territory controlled, plus 1 VP per armory.
- Middle row (circle): Gain an armory.
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
Remote Viewing
Technology - Invention. Flip this tech (single use).
- Top row (square): Research with benefit (may pay for bonus). Flip this tech.
- Middle row (circle): Gain a random territory tile. Explore anywhere.
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
- Square benefit: You may only gain the square benefit once.
- The card carries the ANYWHERE marking.
Superhuman Strength
Technology - Invention. Flip this tech (single use).
- Top row (square): Advance on the exploration or military track. Gain the benefit & you may pay to gain the bonus (if any). Flip this tech.
- Middle row (circle): Advance on the exploration or military track (no benefit/bonus).
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
- Square benefit: You may only gain the square benefit once.
Super Speed
Technology - Invention.
- Top row (square): Explore twice.
- Middle row (circle): Score 1 VP per territory tile in your supply.
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
Teleportation
Technology - Invention. Flip this tech (single use).
- Top row (square): Advance on the exploration or technology track. Gain the benefit & you may pay to gain the bonus (if any). Flip this tech.
- Middle row (circle): Advance on the exploration or technology track (no benefit/bonus).
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
- Square benefit: You may only gain the square benefit once.
Transmogrification
Technology - Invention.
- Top row (square): Gain an income building of your choice.
- Middle row (circle): Invent 1 tech card.
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
Weather Control
Technology - Invention. Flip this tech (single use).
- Top row (square): Gain the benefit (may buy bonus) of your current position on any track. Flip this tech.
- Middle row (circle): Explore.
- Upgrade rule: You may only upgrade to the top row if you have ever played a charmed tapestry onto your income mat or if you are on or after income turn 5. (Ignore neighbors.)
- Square benefit: You may only gain the square benefit once.
- Printed as "may buy bonus"; transcribed as printed.
Frequently Asked Questions: Fantasies & Futures Entries
Only the entries of the printed FAQ that carry the Fantasies & Futures icon, or that discuss Fantasies & Futures rules, are transcribed here.
Income Turns
Older versions of the game said we could not play a tapestry card in era 5. Now we can? Which is right?
Income turn 5 did not and does not have a step in which you play a tapestry card onto your mat. With [FF] in use, you will use reserved items during income turn 5 just before you upgrade (i.e., when you'd usually play a tapestry card). Some civilizations, specifically Merfolk and Elder Ones, may continue playing after income turn 5.
For consistency, regardless of whether [FF] is in play, the rules for all civilizations are now that if you ever have an opportunity to play a tapestry card on or after income turn 5, you may place it on top of your era 4 stack. This is extremely rare unless you have the Merfolk or Elder Ones. In previous versions of the game, you would not have been allowed to play such a tapestry card at all during income turn 5.
Specific Tapestry Cards
[FF] If it's era 5, and I play a tapestry card that reserves an item, may I use that item immediately?
Yes.
[FF] How does Age of Sail combine with Psionics?
Psionics get 1 additional option for each tile they draw. So instead of just drawing 3 tiles, you draw 2 and keep 1, then draw 2 and keep 1, and finally draw 2 and keep 1. Shuffle each leftover back into the supply. (Most players won't mind if you draw 6, keep 3 and return 3, if doing so enables you to finish your turn faster.)
Other Civilizations and Mats
[FF] How does the Scouting advancement combine with Psionics?
Psionics get 1 additional option for each tile they draw. So instead of just drawing 2 tiles, you draw 2 and keep 1, then draw 2 and keep 1. Shuffle each leftover tile back into the supply.
[FF] When the Werefolk use their civilization ability, and the tile lands face up, may the Werefolk "regress" on a track using a player token that is on the track's starting spot?
No, the intent is that you only explore with the space tile if a player token actually moves back 1 space on its track.
Suppose you are the Inventors and have a token on a tech card in an opponent's middle row, and the opponent upgrades it to the top row. What happens?
Your opponent gets the square benefit, then you gain the card (without gaining the benefit) and you place it on your bottom row. All tokens remain on it. [FF] If the stolen card is a "SINGLE-USE" card, then you must flip it and may not further upgrade it.
Civilizations: Fantasies & Futures
The printed Civilization Adjustments page (the last page of the rulebook) lists the base game, Plans & Ploys and Arts & Architecture civilizations only. None of the Fantasies & Futures civilizations appears on that page, so no Fantasies & Futures civilization adjustments are transcribed here. The Fantasies & Futures civilization mats carry their own rules.
Solo Play: Automa
The text in this section is the official Automa companion rules (Tapestry, "Rules for Solo Play", FF_Automa_TapRules_r6.pdf, designed by Morten Monrad Pedersen and David Studley with Nick Shaw, Lieve Teugels, and Karel Titeca). It is included as printed. Plans & Ploys and Arts & Architecture items are marked with their icons, as in the printed companion. The Plans & Ploys "Fate of Atlantis" campaign and the Arts & Architecture "Twin Impact" variant are not transcribed here, because they belong to those expansions. The companion's component table and its illustrated income, decision and player-aid card grids are artwork and are not reproduced.
Introduction
This rulebook introduces a system for adding two artificial players, the Automa and the Shadow Empire. They take the place of human players and are collectively known as bots.
You can use the Automa and the Shadow Empire together to play by yourself or you can use just the Shadow Empire with 2 human players. For the latter, read the separate rule sheet.
To reduce your effort, the Automa and the Shadow Empire play by their own simpler rules. Any rule not explicitly overridden here is still in effect, which includes you following the multiplayer rules.
The following icons appear in this rulebook beside rules that only apply when playing with each expansion: [PP] Plans & Ploys, [AA] Arts & Architecture, [FF] Fantasies & Futures. When the expansions are referred to in the text they're abbreviated to P&P, A&A, and F&F.
Components to Remove and Replace
Remove the components listed below from the game.
- Tapestry cards: Age of Sail*, Alliance, Coal Baron*, Dictatorship, Diplomacy*, Espionage*, [AA] Granges, [FF] High Council, Marriage of State, Oil Magnate, Olympic Host, [FF] Robotic Decoys*, [FF] Soothsaying*, Steam Tycoon*, [FF] Superpower Regulators, Trade Economy*.
- Traps: 2 traps (there should be 5 traps in the game). [AA] [FF] [PP] Keep all traps in the game.
- Civilizations: [PP] Advisors*, Futurists*, [FF] Genies, Heralds*, [FF] Illuminati, Inventors*, [PP] Spies, Traders, and [FF] Weefolk.
* These components may be used, but they will either unfairly benefit or hurt you.
Setup
Set up as you would for a 3-player game except that you always start on the territory labeled "2/4" no matter which capital city mat you're using.
Set up for yourself first following the normal rules, [AA] [PP] except for the landmark cards, then for the bots:
-
Choose a color for the Automa (Designer's note: We suggest blue for consistency with the icons.) Give it the following components and nothing else: a. The Automa income mat with the Normal side up (default difficulty level). b. All outposts of its color. Place 2 of them on the territory labeled "3/5". c. All player tokens of its color: Place 1 on 0 VP and 1 on the starting space of each advancement track. d. Give the Automa a random civilization from among all Automa civilizations and place it in the corresponding box in the top-left corner of its income mat. For the first couple of games use either Engineers, Explorers, or Scientists. e. [AA] If playing with the arts track, place the scoring overlay tile on top of the technology and exploration scoring icon on the Automa's income mat. f. [AA] Before your first play with A&A, permanently replace the following 10 Automa decision cards provided in the base game (card IDs: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, and 19) with the ones provided in A&A. The replacement cards work with and without expansions. g. [AA] [PP] If you have the A&A and P&P expansions, use the Hucksters/Trailblazers civilization card provided with A&A and permanently replace the one from P&P.
Designer's Note: Our artificial opponents got the name "Automa" from the Italian word for "automaton," chosen because the first opponent we made was for the game Viticulture, which is set in Italy. Well, the Shadow Empire didn't get its name this way.
h. The track icon shown next to the favorite-track icon on the Automa's civilization card is the Automa's favorite track. [AA] [FF] [PP] If a science die icon is shown next to it, roll the science die to determine the Automa's favorite track. i. Place another of its player tokens on the start space of its favorite track and move the two tokens together when the Automa advances or regresses.
-
Choose a color for the Shadow Empire (Designer's note: We suggest gray for consistency with the icons.) Give it the following components and nothing else: a. All outposts of its color. b. All player tokens of its color. Place 1 on the starting space of each advancement track. c. Roll the science die until you get a track different than the Automa's favorite track. This is the Shadow Empire's favorite track. Place another of its player tokens on the start space of its favorite track and move the two tokens together when the Shadow Empire advances or regresses.
A Decision Card Pair
Decision cards are placed as pairs on the table to determine what the bots do.
Anatomy of a decision card. The left card is called the track card and the right card is called the tiebreaker card. Only the active section (highlighted in purple) is used during the turn.
Decision cards consist of several elements: the Automa track indicator; the Shadow Empire track indicator; the hex tiebreaker; the income indicator; the toppled outpost indicator; the track tiebreakers; the card type; and the card ID. The Card ID number has no gameplay function but the card type indicates how the card is handled during setup: circle cards go in the decision deck from the beginning and rectangle cards go in the progress deck. The shading and color relates to the Shadow Empire 2-player variant. The other card elements are explained later.
The Shadow Empire
The Shadow Empire increases the competition for landmarks and the "complete any advancement track" achievement.
- It follows a small subset of the Automa's rules.
- It functions as a neighbor and opponent for both you and the Automa.
- Note that it never places its outposts; those are instead placed as part of the Automa's conquer actions.
What the Bots Never Gain
The bots only gain what's explicitly mentioned in this rulebook (e.g., they never gain income buildings or resources, and the Shadow Empire also never gains VP). Since they don't gain income buildings they won't help you meet the related tech card upgrade requirements.
A Bot Turn
The bot pair take their turn together either before or after you depending on whether you're first player or not.
Like a human player, the bots' first turn is an income turn (see Income Turns below).
For all other turns: If the decision deck is empty, take an income turn. Otherwise, follow these steps:
- Discard the decision card pair from last turn (if any).
- Draw the topmost 2 cards of the decision deck and place them face up randomly as a decision card pair.
- If the decision deck is now empty and the track card has an income icon, the bots take their income turn and you skip the last step of this procedure.
- Otherwise, take an advance turn: a. Advance on one track for the Automa (see the next section). b. Advance on one track for the Shadow Empire.
You can look through the decision deck discard pile at any time.
Advance on One Track
The blue track indicator icon on the track card defines one or more valid tracks for the Automa. The Shadow Empire uses the same icons in gray and with an "S" on them.
The valid tracks are:
- All tracks where the bot hasn't reached the end. (track-card icon: empty square)
- The track(s) with the shortest distance from the bot's token to either an unclaimed landmark or the end of the track. Ignore tracks where the token is on the last space. (track-card icon: landmark)
- The track(s) with the shortest distance from the bot's token to the end of the track. Ignore tracks where the token is on the last space. (track-card icon: finish flag)
- If more than one track is valid, the bot advances on the track that's first in the track tiebreaker section on the tiebreaker card—top to bottom for the Automa and bottom to top for the Shadow Empire. (track-card icon: tiebreaker)
- Indicates the bot's favorite track. (track-card icon: heart with 5)
When regressing, tracks where the Automa is on the start space are valid. Regressions on such tracks have no effect.
Example: If the military and technology tracks are valid for an Automa advance, the tiebreakers on the left would make it pick the technology track. If the same tracks were valid for the Shadow Empire and its favorite track was science, then it would pick the military track.
Benefits
- When advancing to a new space the Automa only gains benefits from icons that are listed in this chart. Benefits and text not shown here are ignored.
- The same goes for benefits gained in other ways.
- If a benefit is granted multiple times on a space, the Automa only gains it once.
- The Shadow Empire never gains benefits.
- Neither bot gains bonuses.
| Normal benefit | Automa benefit |
|---|---|
| Science die icon, with or without the X | Roll and advance on the indicated track (with or without the benefit). If the Automa is at the end of the track, then the roll is wasted. |
| Tech card (face-up) | Discard all 3 face-up tech cards and replace them. |
| Conquer icon, or conquer icon marked ANYWHERE | See Conquer. |
| Explore icon, or explore icon marked ANYWHERE | See Explore. |
| Track icons (one or more advancement/regression icons, the arts icon being [AA]) | Roll the science die until it selects one of the indicated tracks. Carry out the corresponding advancement/regression. |
| Tapestry card | Give the Automa a tapestry card face down next to its mat. |
| Masterpiece card [AA] | Discard all 3 face-up masterpiece cards and replace them. |
Designer's note: The Automa implements these icons (and no others) because they relate to interactions between players.
Landmarks
If either bot gains a landmark, place it in the box on the Automa's income mat. All landmarks there belong to the Automa. Note that for the purposes of the Historians civilization, landmarks gained by the Shadow Empire don't count as being gained by the Automa and vice versa.
For the purposes of the tapestry card Age of Wonders the landmarks gained by the Shadow Empire count as belonging to the Automa.
The Hex Tiebreaker
All procedures for placing tiles and outposts on the board use the hex tiebreaker to choose 1 hex among a set of valid hexes.
Using the hex tiebreaker icon on the tiebreaker card, start with the hex that the black arrow points to. Look at the hexes in order along the row in the direction indicated by that arrow. If you don't reach a valid hex, go on to the row pointed at by the gray arrow, then the row beyond that, etc. Continue until you reach a valid hex. The Automa chooses this hex.
Example: The hexes with purple borders are the valid hexes for an explore action. Using the hex tiebreaker icon on the left you go through the hexes in the numbered order. The first valid hex you reach is the one labeled "9", so the Automa places a territory tile there.
Distance
Some of the Automa actions refer to a hex closest to a specific hex. This is the hex that is the fewest hexes away, not "as the crow flies", but via the shortest path along which the Automa could do a series of conquests (i.e., a path of hexes with 0 Automa outposts and 0-1 of your tokens). The path can include empty hexes. There's an example in the Conquer Opponent section.
A hex is closest to itself (distance 0), e.g. the middle island hex is the hex that's closest to the middle island.
Conquer
The Automa's conquer actions are divided into 2 different procedures:
- If the Automa can legally conquer a territory you control, carry out the Conquer Opponent procedure.
- Otherwise, carry out the Conquer Neutral procedure.
Conquer Opponent. Valid territories: All territories you control, which the Automa can legally conquer, are valid (this includes "anywhere" when applicable).
Tiebreakers:
- If the Automa can still gain the "middle island" achievement, only the valid territories closest to the middle island remain valid.
- Use the hex tiebreaker to pick one territory among the valid ones.
Action: Place an outpost from the Automa's supply on the chosen territory and topple your outpost, or the Automa's outpost if you play a trap. [FF] [PP] Other response cards can also modify which outpost is toppled (see Response Cards).
Example: Conquer Opponent. The Automa, playing as blue, takes a conquer action. There are territories you control that the Automa can legally conquer (marked by a border), so the Conquer Opponent procedure must be carried out. Valid territories: your 2 territories which the Automa can legally conquer are both valid. Tiebreaker 1: Since the Automa can still gain the "middle island" achievement the valid territories are reduced to those closest to the middle island (which is marked on the board). The bottom illustration shows how the distances to the middle island are counted around the territories that can't be conquered by the Automa. There's only one closest territory, the one marked with "3", and so it's selected. Therefore, the Automa places one of its outposts there and your outpost must be toppled unless you play a response card that prevents it.
Conquer Neutral.
Valid hexes:
- All hexes that can legally be conquered or explored by the Automa are valid (this includes "anywhere" when applicable).
- Hexes adjacent to territories you control are only valid if the adjacency icon is on the tiebreaker card. If there are no valid hexes, skip the action.
Tiebreakers:
- If the Automa can still gain the "middle island" achievement, only the valid hexes closest to the middle island remain valid.
- If you control any territories that have a single token on them, only valid hexes closest to such territories remain valid.
- If you don't control a territory with a single token on it, only valid hexes closest to any territory you control remain valid.
- Use the hex tiebreaker to pick one hex among the valid ones.
Actions:
- If the Automa is conquering an unexplored hex: Draw a territory tile and place it face-up with a random orientation on the chosen hex.
- Place an outpost from the Automa's supply on the conquered territory.
- If the toppled-outpost icon is on the tiebreaker card and the conquered terrain isn't the middle island, place one of the Shadow Empire's outposts toppled on the territory.
Example: Conquer Neutral. The Automa, playing as blue, takes a conquer action. The Automa can't legally conquer any territory you control, so the Conquer Neutral procedure must be carried out. Valid hexes, step 1: the 10 hexes the Automa can legally conquer are valid. Valid hexes, step 2: let's say there is no adjacency icon on the tiebreaker card, so the hexes adjacent to territories you control are no longer valid. Tiebreaker 1: since the Automa has already conquered the middle island, this tiebreaker does nothing. Tiebreaker 2: because you control a conquerable territory, only the valid hexes closest to it remain valid. Tiebreaker 3: since one of the territories you control has only a single token, this tiebreaker has no effect. Tiebreaker 4: the hex with the green check mark is selected as it's the first valid hex starting from the black hex tiebreaker arrow. Therefore, the Automa places one of its outposts there. If there had instead been the adjacency icon on the tiebreaker card, only the hexes closest to your territory would have been valid after tiebreaker 2, and based on tiebreaker 4 the Automa would have placed one of its outposts together with a toppled Shadow Empire outpost on the selected hex.
Explore
Valid hexes: All hexes that the Automa can legally explore are valid (this includes "anywhere" when applicable). If there are none, skip this action.
Tiebreakers:
- If the Automa doesn't have military as its favorite track, then only the valid hexes with the longest distance to territories you control remain valid.
- Use the hex tiebreaker to pick one hex among the valid ones.
Action: Draw a territory tile and place it face up with a random orientation on the chosen hex.
Example: Explore. The Automa, playing as blue, has science as its favorite track and takes an explore action. Tiebreaker 1: since the Automa's favorite track isn't military, only the valid hexes that are the longest distance from territories you control remain valid. There's only 1 such hex, and therefore the Automa will select that hex and places a territory tile there. If the Automa's favorite track was military instead, tiebreaker 1 wouldn't have an effect, so distance is ignored. Tiebreaker 2 would be applied using the hex tiebreaker to select the space with the red check mark.
Response Cards
If you conquer a territory controlled by the Automa and it has any tapestry cards next to its mat:
- Discard one of its tapestry cards at random.
- If that card was a trap, the Automa retains control of the territory and your outpost enters play toppled.
- Repeat step 1 and 2 until the Automa either discards a trap or runs out of tapestry cards.
[FF] F&F has 4 response cards that a player may discard when attacked. Ghost Ships, Gremlins, Kraken, and League of the Charmed: These cards function like the trap cards from the core game if the Automa draws them when you try to conquer its territories.
[PP] There are 5 response cards in P&P: Double Cross, Stolen Plans, and Surrender: When drawing tapestry cards from the Automa's deck, these 3 cards function as any other non-trap cards. Retreat and Surprise Party: If the Automa fulfills the conditions, these cards work as written. If there are multiple options for Retreat, use the hex tiebreaker. If the Automa does not fulfill the conditions, discard the card and continue drawing tapestry cards from its deck as usual.
Achievements
- The Automa earns achievements and the VP from them in the same way as you, except that only your outposts count towards the "topple 2 opponent outposts" achievement.
- The Shadow Empire can only earn the "complete any advancement track" achievement but gains no VP from doing so.
Tiebreaking Without a Card
If the Automa ever needs to use a tiebreaker and it does not have any decision cards face up, draw one from the progress deck. After use shuffle it back into the progress deck.
Income Turns
The Automa gains what's listed on the income chart on its mat, top to bottom, left column first. So, for the default difficulty (level 2), the order is: change favorite track, civilization ability, gain VP, add cards to the decision deck, place tapestry card on the income mat, gain tapestry card, and finally reshuffle the decision deck.
Note that the multipliers are not applied to the extra VP from Automa civilizations such as the 1 VP per landmark for the Engineers.
Note that contrary to human players, the Automa gains VP before playing a tapestry card and it almost exclusively gains VP during income turns.
- For each bot, if its tokens on its favorite track have reached the end or there's a further advanced token there, then the bot changes its favorite track. The track it chooses is the one that would be chosen if it used the advance-turn icon (shortest distance to unclaimed landmark or end of track) during an advance turn. This can be the same track as the current favorite or the favorite of the other bot. Move one of its two tokens from its current favorite track to the token already on the new favorite track.
- Advance track tokens of both bots using the currently face-up decision card pair. The Automa gains the benefits (if any). This means that the Automa will do an advance and gain income during a single turn. It also means that the most recent card pair is sometimes used twice.
- The Automa gains the income turn bonus (if any) from its civilization card.
- Automa gains VP using the icons below "Maker of Fire" and the leftmost not covered multipliers as described below. The Automa gains VP for each landmark on its mat and for each controlled territory. The Automa gains VP for each space advanced on each of the indicated [AA] tracks. For each of the VP icons, multiply the number of advancements/landmarks/territories by the leftmost multiplier not covered by a tapestry card.
Example: During income turn 3, the multipliers are x2, x1, and x1, respectively. This means that the Automa gains 2 VP per territory it controls, 2 VP per landmark on its mat, 1 VP for each advance on the military and science tracks, and 1 VP for each advance on the exploration and technology tracks. If it was the first to start a new era, it also gains 3 VP.
- If the Automa is the first to start a new era, it gains the VP shown.
- Add the 2 topmost cards from the progress deck to the decision deck discard pile.
- Place a card from the tapestry deck (not from the Automa's tapestry cards) face down on the leftmost empty tapestry space on the Automa's income mat.
- Discard the face-up decision card pair, then shuffle the decision deck discard pile (including any cards added this turn) to form a new face-down decision deck.
Game End
Determine the winner following the instructions in the core rulebook. The Shadow Empire doesn't participate in determining the winner at the end of the game. Only you or the Automa can win.
Difficulty Levels
You can choose one of the difficulty levels below to get the level of challenge you want.
- The setup instructions use level 2.
- On levels 1, 3, and 4 cover the income chart of the Automa's mat with the corresponding income card.
- On levels 5 and 6, flip the Automa's mat to the Hard side.
- [AA] When playing with the arts track: For levels 1-4, cover the income chart of the Automa's income mat with the corresponding A&A income card. Levels 5-6 still use the income chart as printed on the Hard side of the income mat.
- On level 1 as the first step of your first income turn advance once on each track (in the order listed in the table) gaining the benefits. On level 5 each bot advances once on their favorite track, and on level 6 they each advance once on all 4 tracks (in the order listed). [AA] On levels 1 and 6 there are no free advances on the arts track.
- On level 6, the Automa starts with an extra civilization (your choice). The favorite track of that civilization card has no effect. During income turns, apply the effects of the first civilization before the second.
| Level | Income turn 1: you | Income turn 1: bots | Income mat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — Automa the Underachiever | Advance once on each track shown (sword, globe, gear and flask icons: military, exploration, technology, science) | None | Normal |
| 2 — Automa the Average | None | None | Normal |
| 3 — Automa the Slightly Intimidating | None | None | Normal |
| 4 — Automa the Somewhat Awesome | None | None | Normal |
| 5 — Automa the Definitely Awesome | None | Advance on favorite track | Hard |
| 6 — Automa the Crusher of Dreams | None | Advance once on each track shown (purple, sword, globe, gear and flask icons) |
The table is reproduced from the printed table on page 10 of the companion; the track icons are described by name in this transcription.
Scenarios: General Rules
From the companion's scenarios page. The Plans & Ploys "Fate of Atlantis" campaign that follows it on the printed pages is not transcribed here.
If you want new challenges that force you to rethink your strategies, these scenarios are for you. You can play any single scenario as a one-off game or play them consecutively in 2 campaigns.
- Unless otherwise noted you and the Automa each gain your civilization as normal.
- All scenarios have special rules that take precedence over the normal rules.
- Any components removed in a scenario's setup are in addition to those normally removed when playing solo.
- To win a scenario you must win the game as normal while following the scenario rules and accomplish the scenario goals, if any. Otherwise the Automa wins.
Mini-Campaign: Rise of the Kaiju [FF]
[FF] The F&F expansion contains two thematically connected scenarios that can be played either individually or consecutively as a mini-campaign. They work with the core game as well as with any combination of the expansions.
Rise of the Kaiju, Scenario 1: The Kaiju Masters
Word reached your lands that a group of magicians calling themselves the Kaiju Masters had taken control of the neighboring civilization using giant monsters called kaiju. Everyone wrote it off as fanciful rumors, until a giant three-headed lizard emerged from the ground and smashed its way through the defensive wall of your capital.
Setup
- The Automa has no civilization but otherwise it and the Shadow Empire ([AA] as well as Twin Impact) work as normal.
- Don't use advanced capital city mats.
- Don't use civilizations that place income buildings or landmarks in places other than the capital city.
Designer's note: This scenario destroys buildings in your capital, creating significant regression to what has always been progression in the game. It's not for the faint of heart.
- Place an outpost of an unused color in the top right district of your capital city mat. It's not on any single plot. This is the kaiju.
- Roll the Science die to determine the favorite track of the Automa.
In-Game Rules
When the Automa advances according to a decision card pair, before moving the Automa marker(s) on the relevant track, do the following:
- Find the topmost icon on the tiebreaker card that's also on the compass to the right and move the kaiju to the neighboring district in the indicated direction. a. If that would move the kaiju outside the city, it instead moves in the opposite direction. b. If the kaiju would move back to the district it most recently was in, redo step 1 but pick the next icon on the tiebreaker card.
Designer's tip: You can place the kaiju close to the district it came from to keep track of this.
- If there's at least 1 empty plot and at least 1 income building within the district the kaiju just moved into, remove from the game the income building that comes first if you go left to right, top to bottom through the plots of the district. Then, place a player token of any unused color on that plot. a. That token cannot be removed or built over. b. You don't score VPs from completed rows and columns with a player token and districts with a player token don't give you a resource when completed. You no longer gain VP from buildings that are destroyed.
You can place buildings in the district the kaiju is in.
Any time a card or civilization is revealed that allows placement of buildings in places other than the capital city, discard it and draw a replacement. This rule does not apply to the Automa's tapestry cards.
End of Game
By the end of the game, you need to have more VP than the Automa in order to win the game and force the Kaiju Masters to call back their rampaging monster. Otherwise, you lose the game. If you play the mini-campaign and lost, you can decide whether to replay the scenario or move on to the next, knowing that no one will ever truly be safe while the beast roams free.
Rise of the Kaiju, Scenario 2: Inevitable
After terrorizing their neighbors, the Kaiju Masters lost control of their kaiju army and it now runs rampant, bringing on the end of civilization.
In this scenario you play without the bots.
Setup
- Skip all bot setup steps.
- Remove the tapestry card Militarism from the game.
- Shuffle all the Automa decision cards into one face-down deck. This is the kaiju deck.
Designer's note: This scenario changes the feel of the game significantly and requires you to question core strategies of the game.
- Remove the landmarks from Tier III (the middle landmarks) on all tracks from the game.
- Place 2 player tokens of any unused color next to the board. These are the blockers.
- Take all outposts of 4 unused colors. These are the kaiju.
- [AA] [PP] If you play with the landmark cards, draw 2 and keep 1 of them.
- Mark 40/70/100/130/160/190 VP for difficulty levels 1/2/3/4/5/6 respectively on the VP track using player tokens of another color than yours. This is the target VP marker. The default difficulty level is 2.
During setup and during gameplay, immediately draw replacements for any card or civilization that:
- allows placement of anything other than outposts on the map and/or
- refers to other players.
Ignore all rules related to the Automa and the Shadow Empire.
In-Game Rules
- Since you're the only player, you always get the resource(s) for being the first to start a new era and if you earn an achievement, you're considered the first to do so.
- Ignore all tech card upgrade prerequisites.
After each of your turns (advance or income):
- If the kaiju deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
- Place both blockers next to the board.
- Draw an Automa card and move a blocker from next to the board to the advancement track indicated by the bottommost track icon on the card that isn't the "S" (Shadow Empire) icon.
- Find the first hex (explored, preprinted, or unexplored) without a kaiju using the directional tiebreaker.
- If you have outposts there: Remove one of them from the game.
- Otherwise place a kaiju on the chosen hex whether it's been explored or not.
- Repeat steps 3-6 once. Both blockers can go to the same track.
- You cannot explore or conquer territories with a kaiju.
- You cannot choose to advance on advancement tracks with at least 1 blocker as the advancement of your turn unless you pay an additional resource, but you can advance on them in all other ways, e.g. via the science die.
End of Game
The game ends at the end of the turn where either:
- You reach the target VP marker, in which case you defeat the kaijus and win the game.
- You have no outpost on the map, in which case the kaiju hordes take over the world and you lose the game.
- You complete your fifth income turn but haven't reached the target VP marker, in which case you lose.