Tesla vs. Edison: Duel
Tesla vs. Edison: Duel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 3 Region Cards
- 16 Inventor Cards (8 English, 8 Multilingual)
- 24 Assistant Cards
- 24 City Cards
- 40 Stock Shares (5 per Company)
- 3 "No AC/DC" Chips
- 3 Technology Chips
- 1 Yellow PR Marker (AC)
- 1 Blue PR Marker (DC)
- 1 PR Track
- 1 Sticker Sheet
- 2 Quick Reference Cards
- 1 Rule Book
Setup
Minor Company Stock Shares. Next to the PR track, set out the minor company Stock shares in six piles, each with all five shares of one minor company. These comprise the market of available Stocks for acquisition.
Choose Inventors. Each Inventor uses one of the two power types, AC or DC. (AC: Tesla, Brush, Thomson, and Westinghouse; DC: Edison, Insull, Maxim, and Walker) The player who most recently changed a light bulb is the first player and chooses an Inventor to play this game. The other player then selects an Inventor of the other power type. The remaining Inventor cards are set aside and will not be used. Note: Multi-lingual cards are included for each Inventor. Feel free to use the Inventor card in the language of your choice.
PR Track. Place the PR track to one side of the Region cards.
Region Cards. Place the three Region cards in a row separating the players.
"No AC/DC" Chips. Place the three "No AC/DC" chips near the Region cards.
Inventor Stock Shares. Companies have five available Stock shares and are associated with a specific Region as shown by the color of their Stock shares matching that Region color. Each player places one Stock share of their Inventor's company on their side of the table below the company's associated Region card. The other four shares should be placed next to each player's Inventor card and reserved for future use in Portfolio Actions. Note: Inventor Stock shares can only be used by the player of that Inventor. Stock shares for the remaining six companies become the minor company Stock shares for this game.
Technology Chips. Technology chips indicate which player is leading in a particular electric Technology. Companies also have preferred Technologies as shown by icons on their Stock shares. The second player takes the preferred Technology chip of their Inventor's company, chooses one additional Technology chip from the two remaining, and places their PR marker at zero on the PR track. The first player takes the remaining Technology chip and places their PR marker at two on the PR track.
City Cards. Shuffle the City cards and place them in a face-down deck near the Region cards. From that deck, draw three City cards and set them out face-up alongside to show the first electrifiable Cities.
Assistant Cards. Shuffle the Assistant cards and place them in a face-down deck next to the City cards.
You are now ready to play!
Overview
Duel is played in three alternating phases - the first player begins phase one, the second player starts in phase two, and the first player again initiates play in phase three. During each phase, the following sequence of events occur:
- Draft Assistants
- Take Actions
- Check Inventor Personal Goals
- Award Region Bonuses (Phases 1 and 2)
Unless the game ends sooner by a single Inventor meeting their personal goal at the end of a phase, final scoring occurs after phase three is complete.
Draft Assistants
At the start of each phase, players draft three Assistants as follows:
- Deal three Assistant cards from the deck to each player.
- Each player selects one of the three Assistant cards in their hand to keep and then passes the other two cards to their opponent.
- From their new hand of three cards, each player then passes one final Assistant card to the other player.
- This final Assistant card received, along with the two cards previously kept, forms a hand of three cards for each player during the phase. The starting player for that phase then commences play.
Note: If one or both players have never played TvE: Duel, ignore the draft and simply deal three Assistant cards to each player at the start of every phase.
Take Actions
During each phase, players alternate taking turns playing one Assistant each until both players have no more Assistant cards in hand.
Each turn, you must play an Assistant card from your hand. Every Assistant card lists one or two specific Actions which may be performed in any order. You may also choose not to perform any or both of these Actions when playing an Assistant card.
Assistant Actions
The following five Actions are available to players via Assistant cards or, as discussed below, as Free Actions:
Electrify City (or Refresh Electrifiable Cities) – Select an electrifiable City and place the card below its associated Region on your side of the table. You have now brought electric power to the City! This contributes two points towards your control of that Region.
You may not select an electrifiable City whose associated Region is monopolized with a "No AC/DC" chip on it that excludes your Inventor's power type. Immediately replace any City taken with another card from the deck. There should always be three electrifiable Cities available unless the deck is finished.
Important: Instead of electrifying a City, you may alternatively use this Action to refresh the current three electrifiable City cards by sending them to the bottom of the deck and setting out three new City cards from the top of the deck in their place.
Acquire Stock – Take one minor company Stock share from the market and place the share below its associated Region on your side of the table. Shares of Stock contribute towards your control of a Region. 1/2/3/4/5 shares of a single company in a Region contribute 1/3/6/8/9 points towards control of that Region.
Each minor company has a required Technology icon indicated on its shares (Bulbs, Transformers, or Electric Meters) and only the player that is the leader in that Technology, holding the corresponding Technology chip, may acquire its Stock.
Wage Propaganda – Advance your PR marker 1 point on the PR track per symbol on the Assistant card. If you take this as a Free Action gain 2 points.
Climbing the PR Track is valuable for two reasons:
- The leader on the PR Track wins all ties for Region control and determining the winner of the game.
- Progress on the PR track can earn you Free Actions.
Achieving PR – Every time you land on or pass a multiple of three on the PR track (3, 6, 9, etc.) marked with a star, you earn a Free Action which may be used at any time during your turn - before, after, or between taking the Action(s) of your Assistant card. A Free Action is essentially "wild" and can be used to perform any one of the five Assistant Actions. You may earn and use multiple Free Actions on a single turn. Taking Free Actions from PR does not prevent you from also taking Free Actions earned during Portfolio Actions discussed below.
Advance Technology – Take a Technology chip from your opponent and place it in front of you. Technology chips indicate your leadership in particular Technologies and are required for you to acquire shares of different minor companies.
Monopolize Power – You may place a "No AC/DC" chip on any Region that does not have one or flip a previously placed "No AC/DC" chip on the Region of your choice. A "No AC/DC" chip on a Region forbids the player using that type of power, AC or DC, from electrifying and placing Cities there.
Portfolio Actions
In addition to taking any Actions from your Assistant card on your turn, you may also take a Portfolio Action with a Stock share if available. You can only take one Portfolio Action per turn for a maximum of three Portfolio Actions per phase. Your Portfolio Action (and any resulting Free Actions) can be taken at any time during your turn - before, after, or between taking the Action(s) of your Assistant card. There are two different Portfolio Actions for you to chose from:
Place A Share – If available, you may place one of your reserved (next to your Inventor) company Stock shares in its associated Region even if you do not hold the required Technology chip. This contributes to your control of that Region.
Sell A Share – Alternatively, to earn a Free Action for use on this turn, you may instead choose to sell one Stock share you control. You can either sell one of your Inventor company shares (whether reserved or already placed in its Region) or one minor company share you previously placed in a Region. There is no Technology requirement to sell a share. Minor company shares sold are returned to the market and Inventor company shares sold are returned to the box, permanently out of the game.
Personal Goals
Every Inventor has a different Personal Goal indicated on their card. Personal Goals are public information - you may check your opponent's Inventor card at any time. Once both players have used all of their Assistants and the last acting player for a phase has finished their turn including completing any Portfolio Actions, then check to see if either player meets their Inventor's Personal Goal. If only one player does then they win the game immediately.
If neither player meets their Personal Goal or if both players do, play continues as normal and, during phases one and two, proceeds to awarding region bonuses. In the third phase of the game, assuming only one player did not just meet their Personal Goal and thus win the game immediately, move directly to final scoring without awarding any region bonuses.
Region Bonuses
At the end of phase one and phase two, after determining whether either player has met their Inventor's personal goal, Regions are scored and their bonuses are awarded. (Region bonuses are not awarded at the end of phase three.)
Score Regions
Determine the leader of each Region by adding together the points from City cards and Stock shares for each player:
- 2 points for each City card placed in that Region;
- and 1/3/6/8/9 points for each set of 1/2/3/4/5 Stock shares of a single company placed in that Region.
Ties: If the score is tied in a Region, the player leading on the PR Track wins that Region for this phase; if both players have equal PR, then the player with more Technology chips wins control.
Allocate Bonuses
Leaders - Award Region bonuses in the following order to the point leader of each Region.
- New England: Gain 3 PR and take your Free Action immediately.
- New York: Acquire any Stock share from the Stock market and place it in its corresponding Region, even if you do not hold the required Technology chip.
- Out West: Select any City card from the current three electrifiable Cities and place it in its corresponding Region, even if a "No AC/DC" chip for that Region would normally prevent you from doing so.
Note: Be sure to score and award bonuses for each Region in the order listed above before proceeding to resolve the next Region. The initial leader in New York or Out West can possibly lose their lead in that Region due to a previously allocated bonus from another Region. You do not get the bonus for a Region unless you are leading when that Region is actually scored!
Non-Leaders After the leader in a Region takes their bonus (and before awarding bonuses for the next Region), the other player and non-leader in that Region immediately takes an Advance Technology Action or a Monopolize Power Action at their discretion. This non-leader Action occurs for each Region scored at the end of a Phase.
Final Scoring
At the end of phase three, assuming only one player did not just meet their Personal Goal and thus immediately win the game, determine the final leader in each Region as discussed above by adding together the points from City cards and Stock shares for each player and resolving any ties as usual. No Region bonuses are awarded during final scoring. The player who controls the most Regions at this point wins the duel!
Example: Edison (top) has 11 points (6 points for the three Edison shares, 2 points for Albany, 1 point for the Insull share, and 2 points for Buffalo.) Tesla (bottom) has 15 points (8 points for the four Tesla shares, 2 points for Brooklyn, 2 points for Niagara, and 3 points for two Insull shares.) Tesla is the leader of the New York Region and is awarded the New York Region bonus. Once Tesla takes his bonus, Edison, the non-leader, choses his non-leader Action to Advance Technology or Monopolize Power. Then, the Out West Region would be scored next.
Short Rules
Three phases, then score. During each phase:
- Draft Assistants
- Take Actions
- Check Inventor Personal Goals
- Award Region Bonuses (Phases 1 and 2)
Assistant Actions
- Electrify City – Observe "No AC/DC" chips. May also Refresh Electrifiable Cities.
- Acquire Stock – Observe required Technology icon.
- Wage Propaganda – 1 point per symbol. 2 points via a Free Action. Free Action earned every 3 pts (3, 6, 9, etc.).
- Advance Technology – Take a Technology chip and place it in front of you.
- Monopolize Power – Place "No AC/DC" chip on a Region or flip previously placed one.
Portfolio Actions
- Place a Share – If avail, place 1 reserved Inventor company Stock share. No Technology requirements.
- Sell a Share – 1 minor or Inventor company Stock share = Free Action. No Technology requirements.
Design Notes
I develop an intimate relationship with the themes of the games that I make. In the case of Tesla vs. Edison, that is a love affair that continues year, after year, after year. I am most grateful for the interest that our players show for this theme and these games. I suspect this will not be my last crack at making them.
We hope you enjoy the game.
Dirk Knemeyer Southborough, Massachusetts
Science and business are often considered separate pursuits, but industry and invention go hand-in-hand. It's been a wonderful experience learning about this world - our world - and the great people, companies, and ideas that came from the War of Currents. I'm happy to have helped bring a narrative about a history so many people may be unaware of to a different audience, one who may very well find themselves lost in this brilliant tale of wonders and the people who brought them to life. Thanks for playing!
J.R. Honeycutt Fort Worth, Texas
Credits
- Designer - Dirk Knemeyer
- Lead Developer, Additional Design, & Additional Art - J.R. Honeycutt
- Art Director - Heiko Gunther
- Custom Illustrations - Jess Riola & Heiko Günther
- Additional Development - Marcus Muller
- Additional Art - Zihui (Rae) Wu
- Special thanks to - Amanda Barnett, Brad Johnson, Joe Brogno, Keith Instone, Samuel Bailey, and Shiram Subbaraman
- Playtesters - Andrew Enriquez, Aubrey House, Ben Friedberg, Brett Goodnow, Bri Molles, Charles Wright, Cody Lewis, Doug Levandowski, Eric Yorkston, James "Stoney" Potter, Jason Hammer, Jason Miceli, John Shulters, Johnny Salas, Kris Drummond, Nathan Hough, Paul Peterson, Phil Garrott, Sarah Graybill, Stephanie Straw, TJ Jackson, Timothy Mattes, Victoria Mann