The World Council

The World Council Rulebook

Table of Contents

Objective

You are one of the country leaders in The World Council. All players strive to be the first to achieve their countries' objectives, which are determined by their country cards, while preventing the ambition of other leaders, as well as the end of the world. The player who achieves his country's objectives wins the game!

Game Box Contents

1x Rulebook
4x Doomsday Cards
25x Doomsday Tokens
30x Land Tokens
40x Action Cards
69x Building Cards
8x Country Cards

Game Components

Draw Pile

Can be used as Natural Resources (Food, Energy, Water).

Action Cards

Action Cards provide strategy for Councilors to gain advantage for their country.

Building Cards

Building need Resources to construct, but they can provide Resources or even strategic superiority for countries. More importantly, Resources provided by building will not cause the rise of Doomsday Index and certain buildings are apart of specific country's winning objectives.

Starting Card

Country Cards

Each player receives one of these cards and represent the country leaders in the game. Different Countries have different objectives.

The objectives printed on each country card are (the circle-slash symbol and the check symbol are shown on the cards; the handbook does not print a separate legend for them):

Island Country: circle-slash [Global Warming Index] to reach [17]; check [Nuclear Power Plant] and [Signal System].
Developed Country: check [2] [Renewable Power] or check [2] [Water Supply Facilities].
Totalitarian State: check [Strategic Missile System] and [Military Base].
Super Power: circle-slash [World War Index] to reach [17]; check [Missile Defense System].
Developing Country: circle-slash [Starvation] and [Drought] to reach [17]; check [International Airport] and [Global Supply Chain].

Doomsday Board

The Doomsday Board presents the closeness of 4 types of Doomsday by placing the Doomsday Tokens on it. Its four indexes are:

World War Index (Use of some Action cards)
Global Warming Index (Use of natural Energy)
Starvation Index (Use of natural Food)
Drought Index (Use of natural Water)

Tokens

Doomsday Tokens: Place on the Doomsday Board to indicate the closeness of Doomsday.
Land Tokens: To mark the remaining land of a country.

Global Corporation Mode Setup

3-4 players: 15 Doomsday Index
5-6 players: 20 Doomsday Index

Place 3 Land Tokens in front of each player to represent the land they have. And place the Doomsday Board and draw pile of 3 natural resources in the middle of the board, Doomsday token on aside.

The country for each player is determined randomly before the start of the game.

Starting Hands

Councilors can extract from 3 draw pile one by one, decided the starting card.

The starting country cards are printed with a number beneath each one: Super Power 5, Developed Country 4, Totalitarian State 3, Developing Country 2, Island Country 1.

Resources Introduction

Natural Resources

Natural Resources can be drawn in the Draw Pile. They are:

Food
Energy
Water

Non-Natural Resources

Non-Natural Resources cannot be drawn (they are only provided by buildings). They are:

Firepower
Technology
Land

Special Building Introduction

Signal System: You can draw 1 more card each turn if you built this building. (Card shows a need of 2 Food and 2 Water; its natural resource value is Energy.)
International Airport: You can discard and exchange for 2 Lands. (Card shows a need of Technology (no count printed on the icon) and 3 Food; its natural resource value is Food; it also shows 2 Land.)

Action Introduction

Each Action card shows its natural resource value in the upper left of the card.

Tactical Strike (Food): Capture [1 Land] or [2 Card] from a country if you have a greater [Fire Power]. (Card shows +2 to the World War Index.)
Global Supply Chain (Food): [Trade]: If you have more [Global Supply Chain], you can force trade one hand with one Councilor each turn (If you have 2 more [Global Supply Chain], you can force trade 2 cards each turn). Choose the resource you need from their hands by looking up the back of the cards. (Card art: "You can force trade each turn with any country.")
Propaganda (Water): Capture [2 Cards] from a country. (Card shows +2 to the World War Index and Take away 2 cards from a country.)
Nuclear Deterrence (Water): Capture [1 Land] from a country. (Card shows +2 to the World War Index and Capture Land from a country.)
Academic Exchange (Water): [Tech]: This Card can be treated as a payment of [1 Technology].
Economic Sanctions (Water): Break a [Global Supply Chain]. (Card shows Break a Global Supply Chain.)
Peace Keeping (Energy): Prevent any country from capturing anything. You can use this card right after any capturing attempt, [Doomsday Index] will not be adjusted if a successful counter is made.

Global Corporation Mode Walkthrough

Phase 1: Draw Cards

Draw 2 Cards from the 3 draw pile.

Phase 2: Trading

Councilors are allowed to trade one hand each turn with one Councilor with mutual agreement.

Phase 3: Play Cards or Do Nothing

There is no limit on the number of actions each turn.

Councilors can pay the cost of a building using natural resources (Each card has a natural resources value showed on the upper left of a card), or other building cards, but you need to discard those builds to trash as an action of supporting another buildings.

Some building may require lands, place your land token on top of that building to activate. And Councilors can reclaim the used land when discarding the building card to trash.

Phase 4: Pass the Turn

Pass the turn to another player.

8 is the maximum number of hands. You have to discard if your have over 8 cards by the end of your turn.

Each natural resource you use will cause the rise of the Doomsday Index by 1. The card art maps each resource to its index: the Energy (atom) symbol raises the Global Warming Index, the Food (wheat) symbol raises the Starvation Index, the Water (drop) symbol raises the Drought Index, and the cloud symbol raises the World War Index.

Global Corporation Mode End Game

When a country's objectives are achieved, that country needs to wait for 1 more turn to win the game. If the objectives are destroyed, the victory will be invalid.
When there are only one country left in the Council, that country will win immediately.
When all remaining Councilors agreed that they are not able to save the world, the game will end with no winner.
When one of the Doomsday Indexes reaches its upper limit, or the deck is out of cards, all country will lose the game.
When a Councilor loses all land, that country loses immediately.

Cold War Mode Setup

3-4 players: 15 Doomsday Index
5-6 players: 20 Doomsday Index

Each player receives 3 Lands and 3 starting hands.

Split into 2 teams, each team elect a Leader. The Leader of the team will have 2 more starting hands and a Military Base when the game begins.

Leaders pick an Achievement Card, which determines the objective of the team; that card needs to be hidden. Each Leader also takes a Bloc Leader card. Teammates use the same color of Bloc Card as their Leader.

The older Team Leader and his team will make the first move.

If the number of Councilors is an odd number, the youngest Councilor will play the role of Neutral. The Neutral Councilor only has to fulfill the country's objectives like in Global Corporation Mode. However, the Neutral Councilor will receive 3 Lands and be able to pick 3 starting hands at the start of the game no matter what country he starts with.

Cold War Mode Walkthrough

Phase Summary

Same as Global Corporation Mode, with 2 more rules:

Each teammate has a chance to give their Team Leader 1 card each turn.
Every Player can change their team in the game, but they have to give 1 land to their leader before so.
Capturing attempts are not allowed in a team, but force trading is acceptable.

Cold War Mode End Game

When an Achievement Card is achieved, the team needs to wait for 1 more turn to win the game and the Leader has to show the Achievement Card to all. If the Achievements are destroyed, the victory will be invalid.
When a Strategic Missile System is built next to the opponents' Leader, the team needs to wait for 1 more turn to win the game. If the Strategic Missile System is destroyed or the opponents' Leader owns a Missile Defense System, the victory will be invalid.
When there is only one country left in the Council, his team will win immediately.
When all remaining Councilors agreed that they are not able to save the world, the game will end with no winner.
When one of the Doomsday Indexes reaches its upper limit, or the deck is out of cards, all country will lose the game.
When a Councilor loses all land, that country loses immediately.

Disaster Cards

The doomsday is near! Greenhouse effect and extreme weather disasters have been affecting the whole world, and our sad planet is on its last legs. Will the councilors around the world work together to solve these environmental issues, or will they pursue their own political agendas?

Rules for the Disaster Cards

For every 5 Doomsday Tokens accumulated on the Doomsday Indexes, 1 Disaster Card will be drawn and placed on the board until the conditions on the card are satisfied or a solution is achieved. All players are responsible for solving the problem indicated by the Disaster Cards, each of which brings about catastrophes of different degrees. After a Disaster Card is solved (or if it is not solved and the disaster occurs), the card will be removed from the game.

Policy Decisions (9)

Disarmament Meeting: Vote on disarmament. If it is supported by more than half of the councilors, then it is successful. If it is supported by half, or less than half, then the disarmament fails.
- Successful Disarmament: The councilor with the most Military Power will need to remove 1 military building (if there is a tie for most Military Power, remove 1 military building each).
- Failed Disarmament: Add 3 Doomsday Tokens to the World War Index.
Genocide: Racial hatred has been escalating. If none of the councilors use the Peacekeeping Action in time, there will be a genocide.
- Genocide: All councilors must discard 2 cards. If a councilor has no cards in hand, the councilor must discard a piece of Land Token in place of the cards.
Nuclear Incident: Each country must offer the councilor beside it 3 resource cards as aid. If any councilor is unable to or does not agree to give up the resources, the nuclear pollution will spread.
- Spread of Nuclear Pollution: All buildings that produce water and food must be withdrawn.
Oil Leak: Add 1 Doomsday Token to the Global Warming Index each round.
- Solution: Players must offer a total of 5 Water Resource Cards.

Random Disasters (6)

Earthquake: Twice the amount of resources will be consumed when constructing a building in the round this card is played.
Solar Storm: All councilors who built communication systems must immediately withdraw their established communication systems.
Scientist Misjudgment: Remove 3 Doomsday Tokens from the Global Warming Index.
Glaer Meltci: For 2 rounds, the number of cards each councilor can draw from the deck is reduced by 1.
Nuclear Arms Race: A nuclear war could start any minute! This card will remain on the board until the end of the game. When any councilor uses a Strategic Strike, the Doomsday Tokens on the Doomsday Indexes will be doubled. If the councilors build more than 2 Tactical Missile Systems, the world war will begin and the game is over.
International Debt Crisis: For an unlimited number of times within a round, councilors may return 1 Land Token to the world in exchange for a chance to draw 3 cards from the deck.