Zenith
Zenith Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
Players will struggle to gain Influence on the 5 planets: Mercury, Venus, Terra, Mars, and Jupiter. This Influence is represented by discs in different colors.
In Zenith, there are 3 victory conditions:
- Absolute victory (3=): Gain 3 Influence discs from the same planet.
- Democratic victory (4≠): Gain 4 Influence discs from strictly different planets.
- Popular victory (5): Gain 5 Influence discs (from any planets).
The game ends immediately as soon as one player meets 1 of these three conditions.
Contents and Game Elements
- 1 Technology board (double-sided, with 3 pieces). Each of the 3 Technology tracks shows: the Level / Zenithium cost (between 1 and 5), Row bonuses, Bonus token spaces, Tech marker starting spaces, and Faction symbols (Animod, Human, Robot). Reference for the configurations: S/D - U/O - N/P.
- 1 Planet board, with Bonus token spaces and Agent card spaces, showing the 5 planets (Mercury, Venus, Terra, Mars, Jupiter).
- 6 Tech markers (3 per player, black or white).
- 16 Zenithium tokens.
- 20 Influence discs: 4x Mercury (purple), 4x Venus (orange), 4x Terra (blue), 4x Mars (red), 4x Jupiter (green).
- 30 Credit tokens: 10x 5 credits, 13x 3 credits, 28x 1 credit.
- 16 Bonus tokens.
- 1 Leader Badge token (Front: Silver side / Back: Gold side).
- 1 Diplomacy board (double-sided: 2-player side / 4-player side). It has a Leader Badge space, Faction symbols (Robot, Human, Animod), and Diplomacy effects. Use one side for 2-player games and the other side for 4-player games.
- 90 Agent cards. Each card shows its Credit cost (between 1 and 10), a Faction symbol (Robot, Human, Animod), a Planet color, and its Effects.
- 2 player aids.
- 1 effect descriptions reference.
Note: This rulebook explains a 2-player game. For 4-player games, see changes in the 4-Player Team Mode section.
Setup
Planet board
Place the Planet board between you and your opponent. Place 1 Influence disc of each color on the corresponding spaces in the middle of the board.
Technology board
Assemble the Technology board using all 3 pieces. During your first game, use the S.U.N. configuration. During future games, randomly choose the configuration.
Tech markers
Place the 6 Tech markers on their starting spaces (3 black, 3 white).
Bonus tokens
Place 1 Bonus token, randomly and face up, on:
- Each of the 5 spaces on the Planet board,
- Each of the 3 spaces on the Technology board.
Diplomacy board
Place the Diplomacy board on the 2-player side, then place the Leader badge on the dedicated space.
Reserve
Set aside the Influence discs, Credits, Zenithium, and Bonus tokens (face down) to make a reserve near the boards.
Each player
Each player takes 12 Credits and 1 Zenithium. Shuffle all the Agent cards to make a deck. Each player draws 4 Agent cards to make their starting hand. Each player takes a random player aid, which determines who will play first. Their opponent will play second and immediately gains 1 Terra Influence (moving the Terra Influence disc 1 space towards their control zone).
Forming your Starting Hand
Before starting the game, each player may decide to discard all or part of their hand (0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 cards) and then draw the same number of cards. Each player starts the game with a hand of 4 cards.
Tip: During your first game, we suggest keeping cards with low Credit costs.
Each player should keep their hand secret during the game.
Tip for New Players
Experienced players can decide to give 2 extra Influence to their novice opponent. The novice opponent plays 2nd and starts with 1 Influence on Mars and Venus, in addition to Terra.
The Influence System
Each Influence track has 9 spaces:
- 1 middle space
- 6 spaces (3 on each side of the middle space)
- 2 control zones (1 for each player, on the edge of the board)
During the game, players will gain Influence on the 5 planets and move the discs onto these spaces. When you gain an Influence, you will move the Influence disc of the corresponding color 1 space toward your control zone.
Whenever you move an Influence disc to your control zone, gain this disc.
Note: In certain cases, an effect may let you move an Influence disc beyond your control zone. If this happens, you lose the extra movement.
When you gain an Influence disc:
- Place Influence discs gained this way on the edge of the Diplomacy board (within the notches). This lets all players keep an eye on the game progress.
- When one player gains the 1st Influence disc from a given planet, they immediately apply the corresponding Bonus token effect, then discard the token.
- At the end of the player's turn, place a new Influence disc on the middle space. Do NOT replace the Bonus token.
Turn Overview
Whoever received the corresponding player aid plays first. Then players alternate taking turns until someone meets 1 of the three victory conditions.
On your turn, you must:
- Play 1 card from your hand to take 1 of the three following actions:
- A. Recruit an Agent
- B. Develop a Technology
- C. Become the Leader
then
- Resolve End of Turn steps:
- Refill your hand
- Refresh the Planet board
A. Recruit an Agent
Resolve the following steps, in order:
- Choose an Agent card from your hand and place it on your side of the Planet board, on the space corresponding to its planet. During the game, you will create 5 columns of cards with the same color, 1 for each planet. For each column, stack cards so only the top section is visible.
- Pay the Credit cost of the card.
- Important: Each previously-placed card in this column reduces the Credit cost by 1 (a card may be free, but you do not gain Credits if the cost would become negative). Return Credits you pay to the reserve.
- Apply the effects on the card, from left to right.
- All cards provide 1 Influence on the corresponding planet, in addition to other effects.
Example: Esteban wants to play the Nero card, so he takes the Recruit an Agent action. This card costs 7 Credits, but Esteban has already played 2 Mercury cards on his side of the Planet board. This reduces the Credit cost to 5 (7 - 2). Nero gives him 1 Mercury Influence and 3 Zenithium (which he takes from the reserve).
Agent Cards
Some Agent cards have the following effects:
- Mobilize: Draw the top card of the deck and place it in the column of the corresponding planet, WITHOUT applying its effects.
- Exile: Discard the last card of a column.
- Transfer: Take the last card of an opponent's column and place it in your own column, WITHOUT applying its effects.
Important: When applying an Exile or Transfer effect, the last card always refers to the card most recently added to a column. You cannot apply effects to covered cards.
Bonus Tokens
You may gain Bonus tokens in play (5 on the Planet board and 3 on the Technology board), and also those in the reserve. The tokens on the boards are face-up, while the ones in the reserve are face-down.
When you gain a Bonus token, immediately apply its effect, then discard the token (leave it face up to distinguish it from those in the reserve).
B. Develop a Technology
Resolve the following steps, in order:
- Discard 1 card from your hand to develop a Technology of the corresponding Factions (Human, Robot, Animod).
- Pay the Zenithium cost of the next level (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) of the corresponding Technology.
- Move your Tech marker to the next level.
- Apply the effects of the new level IN ADDITION TO the effects of previous levels on the same track (apply effects from top to bottom).
Note: You cannot "skip" a level. Markers must move from one level to the next for each of the 3 Technologies.
Example: Esteban wants to develop the Level 1 Robot Technology. He plays a Robot card from his hand and pays 1 Zenithium. He immediately applies the Level 1 effect. Later on, he can develop the Level 2 Robot, the Level 1 Animod, the Level 1 Human Technologies.
Level 2 Bonus
The first player to reach Level 2 of a Technology track gains the associated Bonus token. They apply the effect then discard the token (after the Level 2 effect but before the Level 1 effect).
Example: Esteban is now developing the Level 2 Robot Technology. He plays a Robot card from his hand and pays 2 Zenithium. He immediately applies the Level 2 effect. Then, since he is the first player to reach this level, he gains the Bonus token on the track (and immediately applies the effect before discarding the token). Finally, he applies the Level 1 Robot Technology effect.
Row Bonus
- When you have developed all 3 Level 1 Technologies, gain 1 Influence on any 1 Planet.
- When you have developed all 3 Level 2 Technologies, gain 2 Influence on any 1 Planet.
- When you have developed all 3 Level 3 Technologies, gain 3 Influence on any 1 Planet.
Apply the row bonus AFTER the track effects.
Example: Later in the game, Esteban has developed both the Level 2 Robot Technology and the Level 1 Animod Technology. Now he develops the Level 1 Human Technology and gains the effect. This means he has developed all 3 Level 1 Technologies. He gains the Level 1 row bonus: 1 Influence on any 1 Planet.
C. Become the Leader
Discard 1 card from your hand to take the associated Faction actions (Animod, Human, Robot).
- Robot: Take the Leader badge and gain 1 Zenithium.
- Human: Take the Leader badge and gain 3 Credits.
- Animod: Take the Leader badge and mobilize 2 cards.
Example: Esteban wants to take the Leader badge, so he chooses the Become the Leader action. He discards 1 Robot card from his hand. He takes 1 Zenithium from the reserve, then takes the Leader badge from his opponent and places it in front of him, on the Silver side.
Leader Badge
The Leader badge shows the number of cards (5 or 6) that the holder can have in their hand at the end of their turn. In addition, the Leader badge blocks certain Agent card effects.
When you gain the Leader badge:
- If you do not have the badge, take it from your opponent and place it on the Silver side (5 cards).
- If you already have the badge on the Silver side, flip it to the Gold side (6 cards).
- If you already have the badge on the Gold side, nothing happens.
Note: Certain Agent cards will let you take the badge and flip it immediately to the Gold side.
End of Turn
1. Refill your hand
Refill your hand of cards as needed:
- If you do not have the Leader badge, draw back up to 4 cards.
- If you have the Leader badge on the Silver side, draw back up to 5 cards.
- If you have the Leader badge on the Gold side, draw back up to 6 cards.
Note: You may have more cards in hand than allowed (through Agent card effects). If this happens, keep all of your cards; do not draw more or discard down.
2. Refresh the Planet board
If you gained 1 or more Influence discs, place new Influence discs on the middle spaces of the Planet board as needed.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately as soon as one player meets 1 of the three victory conditions (3=, 4≠, or 5).
4-Player Team Mode (2 VS 2)
For games with 4 players, form 2 teams of 2 players. Teammates sit side-by-side.
Setup
- Use the 4-player side of the Diplomacy board.
- Distribute the player aids, team side up.
- The team playing second starts with 1 Influence on Mars and 1 Influence on Venus, instead of 1 on Terra.
Specific Rules
Resources (Credits and Zenithium), as well as the Leader badge, are shared by teammates. Each team uses their own reserve.
Each player has their own hand of cards. Players may speak freely (about their hands or strategy), in front of their opponents, but you can never show your cards to your teammate.
Turn Overview
Teams alternate playing; both teammates will play their entire turn one after the other.
On each turn, teammates will agree and choose which order they want to take their respective turn. The first player takes their entire turn (Action Phase and End of Turn Phase), then their teammate takes their turn.
Example: Esteban and Moon are on the same team and it's their turn to play. Esteban would like to develop the Level 3 Animod Technology, but the team only has 2 Zenithium. Moon shares that she can gain them the missing Zenithium. Both teammates agree that she should play first. Her Recruit an Agent action lets her gain at least 1 Zenithium. She finishes her turn by refilling her hand. Then Esteban begins his turn and can Develop a Technology by using the Zenithium his teammate just gained.
The Recruit an Agent and Become the Leader actions are modified as follows:
A. Recruit an Agent on an Authorized Planet
The teammate sitting near the Diplomacy board can ONLY Recruit an Agent on the 3 following planets: Terra, Mars, Jupiter.
The teammate sitting near the Technology board can ONLY Recruit an Agent on the 3 following planets: Mercury, Venus, Terra.
Clarification: This restriction only applies to the Recruit an Agent action. Both teammates may use any of their Agent cards to take the Develop a Technology and Become the Leader actions.
B. Become the Leader and Give Agent Cards
When a teammate takes the Become the Leader action, they may, in addition to the usual effects, give up to 2 cards to their teammate from their hand.
Example: Esteban and Moon are on the same team. Esteban takes his turn, then Moon plays hers. On her turn, she takes the Leader badge and decides to give Esteban 1 card. At the end of her turn, Moon refills her hand to 5 cards, since she has the Leader badge on the Silver side. However, Esteban only refilled his hand to 4 cards on his turn. Next turn, if their team still has the Leader badge, both teammates will benefit from the effect when they refill their hands.
F.A.Q.
Q: What happens if the Agent card deck / Bonus token reserve is empty? Shuffle the discard to make a new deck / reserve.
Q: Do you replace Bonus tokens on the board? No. You never replace them no matter how they were removed from the board.
Q: During the Recruit an Agent action, can the played card be targeted by its own effects? Yes. First you play a card, THEN you apply their effects.
Q: When I gain an Influence disc, do I discard the cards in the corresponding column? No. You only discard cards if an effect tells you to.
Q: I gained 2 Influence on a planet whose disc is currently on the space closest to my control zone. Can I gain this Influence disc, and then gain the remaining Influence on the newly-placed Influence disc? No. You place new Influence discs on the middle space at the end of your turn. In this case, you lose the second Influence.
Q: What happens if I cannot apply one or more effects? Ignore any effect you cannot apply.
Q: Can I make my opponent gain an Influence disc, on my own turn, using Agent cards? Yes. If this causes your opponent to gain the Bonus token on the concerned planet, they immediately apply the Bonus token effect, then discard the token.
Q: The effects of cards H3RB3RT and L0V3CR4FT let me Exile multiple Agent cards to gain Influence / Zenithium. Do I have to Exile a card of each color? No. You may apply all or some of the effect.
Q: What happens if I have to take an opponent's resource, but they don't have any? In the rare cases where you don't have an element (Influence disc, Credits, Zenithium), use any substitution from the reserve.
Note: In the rare case where an item is missing (Influence disc, Credits, Zenithium), use a substitute item of your choice to complete the reserve.
Credits and Thanks
ZENITH is a game published by PlayPunk (Rue Saint-Léonard, 511, 4000 Lièges, Belgium).
- Designers: Grégory Grard & Mathieu Roussel
- Development & Publishing: Antoine Bauza & Thomas Provoost
- Illustration: Naïade
- Graphics Design: Alexis Vanmeerbeeck
- 3D Modeling: 3D ZeBlate
- Production: Gabriel Durnerin
- BoardGameArena programming: Fabien Riffaud
- Proofreading: Bruno Goube
- Translation: Danni Loe
At PlayPunk, we write the rules using gender neutral pronouns to make sure every player is included.
The Influence discs, Zenithium tokens, and Tech markers are made in Germany, with 100% recycled materials (of which 80% is wood) using RE-Wood technology.