Full manual text

Rulebook
The Great Civilizations Of Mankind
RulebookRulebook
The Great Civilizations Of Mankind
1

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Introduction
F
rom the humble beginnings of civilization through the
historical ages of progress, mankind has lived, fought
and built together in nations. Great nations protect and
provide for their own, while ﬁ ghting and competing
against both other nations and nature itself.
Nations must provide Food and Stability as the popula-
tion increases. They must build a productive economy.
And all the while they must amaze the world with their
great achievements and build up their heritage to become
the greatest nation in the history of mankind!
Credits
Game design
Einar Rosén, Robert Rosén,
Nina Håkansson, Rustan Håkansson
Card art
Frida Lögdberg
Graphic design, rulebook
Jere Kasanen
Game box cover, colony card art
Ossi Hiekkala (www.archipictor.com)
Logo
Paul Laane (www.designaqua.com)
Publisher
© Lautapelit.ﬁ 2014 (www.lautapelit.ﬁ )
Thank you for help and suggestions
Adam Jakobsson, Andrea Nini, Anna Call, Anthony Williams,
Brent Lloyd, Christian Brunner, Daniel Danzer, Daniel
Hammond, Eric Fridén, Erik Arnström, Erik Eriksson,
Filip Wiltgren, Heikki Hyhkö, Jere Kasanen, Jessica Kang,
Johan Falk, Jonatan Björkman, Jonathan Madison, Juuso
Mattila, Jukka Autio, Keith Leonard, Kim Williams, Lewis
Wagner, Linnea Talltjärn, Lukas Bremer, Markus Bremer,
Mikael Andersson, Mikael Call, Michael Bauland, Mikko
Snygg, Oskari Westerholm, Pernilla Vighagen, Peter
Andersson, Pontus Nilsson, Sami Lappereläinen, Sebastian
Pöder, Shawn Macleod, Simon Winter, Tomas Wallström,
Toni Niittymäki, Valentina Chapolova, Vlaada Chvátil
And thank you to all playtesters over the many
years of development, your encouragement
and enjoyment kept the project going!
Special thanks
Ulf Lundström
Textures
www.cgtextures.com
Idea of the game
N
ations is an intensely competitive historical board game
for 1-5 players that takes 40 minutes per player to play.
Players control the fate of nations from ancient times until
the brink of World War I. The nations constantly compete
against each other and must balance immediate needs,
long-term growth, threats and opportunities.
The game covers 4 historical ages of human history;
Antiquity, Medieval, Renaissance and Industrial. Each
age spans 2 game rounds of development, competition
and production. Every round brings historical risks and
opportunities that players need to compete to avoid or gain.
Military Strength is costly, but can help you avoid devastat-
ing Wars, conquer rich Colonies and gain tactical inﬂ uence
to act before the other nations in coming rounds.
During the game, nations gain and lose Victory Points
(VP). It is especially important to accumulate Books
(re presenting the national heritage), as at the end of
every age, nations gain VP for every other nation with
fewer Books. At the end of the game the total VP for all
the accomplishments of each nation is summed up, and
the nation with the most VP is the greatest nation and the
winner of the game!
Please note that Nations is a very challenging game to
play, especially for beginners. Sometimes you will feel that
you are playing as much against the game itself as against
the other players. Even if you are an experienced player, we
strongly recommend for your ﬁ rst games that you choose an
easier diﬃ culty level and leave out the advanced and expert
cards, or else you risk having a frustrating ﬁ rst experience.
Greetings and welcome to the
game of great nations. I will be
your guide through this rule-
book and remind you of cer-
tain key rules that are often
overlooked.
Introduction
F
rom the humble beginnings of civilization through the
historical ages of progress, mankind has lived, fought
and built together in nations. Great nations protect and
provide for their own, while ﬁ ghting and competing
against both other nations and nature itself.
Nations must provide Food and Stability as the popula-
tion increases. They must build a productive economy.
And all the while they must amaze the world with their
great achievements and build up their heritage to become
the greatest nation in the history of mankind!
Credits
Game design
Einar Rosén, Robert Rosén,
Nina Håkansson, Rustan Håkansson
Card art
Frida Lögdberg
Graphic design, rulebook
Jere Kasanen
Game box cover, colony card art
Ossi Hiekkala (www.archipictor.com)
Logo
Paul Laane (www.designaqua.com)
Publisher
© Lautapelit.ﬁ 2014 (www.lautapelit.ﬁ )
Thank you for help and suggestions
Adam Jakobsson, Andrea Nini, Anna Call, Anthony Williams,
Brent Lloyd, Christian Brunner, Daniel Danzer, Daniel
Hammond, Eric Fridén, Erik Arnström, Erik Eriksson,
Filip Wiltgren, Heikki Hyhkö, Jere Kasanen, Jessica Kang,
Johan Falk, Jonatan Björkman, Jonathan Madison, Juuso
Mattila, Jukka Autio, Keith Leonard, Kim Williams, Lewis
Wagner, Linnea Talltjärn, Lukas Bremer, Markus Bremer,
Mikael Andersson, Mikael Call, Michael Bauland, Mikko
Snygg, Oskari Westerholm, Pernilla Vighagen, Peter
Andersson, Pontus Nilsson, Sami Lappereläinen, Sebastian
Pöder, Shawn Macleod, Simon Winter, Tomas Wallström,
Toni Niittymäki, Valentina Chapolova, Vlaada Chvátil
And thank you to all playtesters over the many
years of development, your encouragement
and enjoyment kept the project going!
Special thanks
Ulf Lundström
Textures
www.cgtextures.com
Idea of the game
N
ations is an intensely competitive historical board game
for 1-5 players that takes 40 minutes per player to play.
Players control the fate of nations from ancient times until
the brink of World War I. The nations constantly compete
against each other and must balance immediate needs,
long-term growth, threats and opportunities.
The game covers 4 historical ages of human history;
Antiquity, Medieval, Renaissance and Industrial. Each
age spans 2 game rounds of development, competition
and production. Every round brings historical risks and
opportunities that players need to compete to avoid or gain.
Military Strength is costly, but can help you avoid devastat-
ing Wars, conquer rich Colonies and gain tactical inﬂ uence
to act before the other nations in coming rounds.
During the game, nations gain and lose Victory Points
(VP). It is especially important to accumulate Books
(re presenting the national heritage), as at the end of
every age, nations gain VP for every other nation with
fewer Books. At the end of the game the total VP for all
the accomplishments of each nation is summed up, and
the nation with the most VP is the greatest nation and the
winner of the game!
Please note that Nations is a very challenging game to
play, especially for beginners. Sometimes you will feel that
you are playing as much against the game itself as against
the other players. Even if you are an experienced player, we
strongly recommend for your ﬁ rst games that you choose an
easier diﬃ culty level and leave out the advanced and expert
cards, or else you risk having a frustrating ﬁ rst experience.
Greetings and welcome to the
game of great nations. I will be
your guide through this rule-
book and remind you of cer-
tain key rules that are often
overlooked.
Greetings and welcome to the
game of great nations. I will be
your guide through this rule-
book and remind you of cer-
tain key rules that are often
Greetings and welcome to the
game of great nations. I will be
your guide through this rule-
book and remind you of cer-
tain key rules that are often
2 3

your ﬁ rst games that you choose an easier diﬃ culty level and leave out the advanced and expert cards or else you risk having a frustrating ﬁ rst experience Greetings and welcome to the game of great nations I will be your guide through this rule book and remind you of cer tain key rules that are often overlooked Greetings and welcome to the game of great nations I will be your guide through this rule book and remind you of cer tain key rules that are often Greetings and welcome to the game of great nations I will be your guide through this rule book and remind you of cer tain key rules that are often 2 3

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Game Components
A
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chief tain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
x5
x1
x296
x1
x4
x36 x36 x36 x36
x16 x16 x16 x16
x8 x8 x8 x4
x1 x15 x12
x4
x1
x1
x1
x5
x48
x24
x1
x13
in five
player
colors
Player aid tile
Player order
cards
x5
1 1 1 1
3 3 3 3
10 10 10 10
Workers Player
discs
Progress Board
Score Board Two-sided Player Boards
Progress Cards Event Cards
Solo Event tiles
Food GoldStone VP
Book
War Round UsedArchitect
Scoring pad
Rulebook
6 sided die
Rulebook
T he Great Civilizations Of Mankind
1
50
Game Components
A
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
Player
order
Player
War
Chief tain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
x5
x1
x296
x1
x4
x36 x36 x36 x36
x16 x16 x16 x16
x8 x8 x8 x4
x1 x15 x12
x4
x1
x1
x1
x5
x48
x24
x1
x13x13
in five
player
colors
Player aid tile
Player order
cards
x5
x36x36x36 x36x36x36 x36x36 x36x36
x16x16x16 x16x16 x16x16 x16x16
x8x8 x8x8 x8x8
11 11 11 11
33 33 33 33
1010 1010 1010 1010
Workers Player
discs
Progress Board
Score Board Two-sided Player Boards
Progress Cards Event Cards
Solo Event tiles
Food GoldStone VP
Book
War Round UsedArchitect
Scoring pad
Rulebook
6 sided die
RulebookRulebookRulebook
T he Great Civilizations Of Mankind
Round SummaryRound SummaryRound Summary
MAINTENANCE PHASE MAINTENANCE PHASE MAINTENANCE PHASE
ACTION PHASE ACTION PHASE ACTION PHASE
Book
5050
Used
x12
2 3

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Setup for 4 players
A
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
A
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Greece
3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
A
Advisor
ColonyColonyWonderWonder Wonder
China36675
WonderWonder
Wonder
under
construction
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
50
50
Each player takes a Player
Board. When playing
for the first time you
should use A-sides.
When playing with
B-sides, Player boards are
chosen in reverse player
order after Scoring and
Progress Board setup.
See more on page 21.
The 50-Book tokens
will be taken by players
completing a full circle
of the Heritage Track.
Place the Architects
next to the Scoring
Board. This is called
the “Architect Supply.”
Place the shuffled
Event Card deck
for age I next to
the Scoring Board.
The Scoring Board
and the Progress
Board are placed
in the middle of
the table next
to each other.
Shuffle the Event Card decks
for each age separately.
Place the Event Card decks
for ages II-IV aside for now.
For your first game leave
out Advanced and Expert
cards. See more on page 11.
Setup for 4 players
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder Wonder
A
Advisor
Colony
Wonder
Wonder
Wonder
Greece
3
6
6
7
5
Wonder
Wonder Wonder
under
construction
A
Wonder Wonder
China36675
WonderWonder
Wonder
under
construction
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
Player
order
Player
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
5050505050505050505050505050
505050505050505050505050505050505050505050505050505050505050505050
Colony
Industrial (II II)Industrial (II II)Industrial (II II)
Each player takes a Player
Board. When playing
for the first time you
should use A-sides.
When playing with
B-sides, Player boards are
chosen in reverse player
order after Scoring and
Progress Board setup.
See more on page 21.
The 50-Book tokens The 50-Book tokens The 50-Book tokens
will be taken by players will be taken by players will be taken by players will be taken by players
completing a full circle completing a full circle completing a full circle
of the Heritage Track.of the Heritage Track.of the Heritage Track.
Place the Architects Place the Architects Place the Architects
next to the Scoring next to the Scoring
Board. This is called
the “Architect Supply.”
Place the shuffled
Event Card deck
for age I next to for age I next to for age I next to
the Scoring Board.the Scoring Board.the Scoring Board.
The Scoring Board The Scoring Board The Scoring Board
and the Progress and the Progress and the Progress
Board are placed Board are placed Board are placed
in the middle of in the middle of
the table next
to each other.
Shuffle the Event Card decks
for each age separately.
Place the Event Card decks
for ages II-IV aside for now.
For your first game leave
out Advanced and Expert
cards. See more on page 11.
4 5

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A
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
A
Advisor
ColonyColonyWonderWonder Wonder
Rome
36675
WonderWonder
Wonder
under
construction
A
Advisor
ColonyColonyWonderWonder Wonder
China36675
WonderWonder
Wonder
under
construction
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
10
Place the resource markers
within easy reach of all
players. This is called
the “Resource Supply.”
Place the shuffled
Progress Card deck
for age I next to the
Progress Board.
Shuffle the Progress Card
decks for each age separately.
Place the Progress Card decks
for ages II-IV aside for now.
For your first game leave
out Advanced and Expert
cards. See more on page 11.
A
WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
A
Advisor Colony
Colony
Wonder
Wonder
Wonder
Rome
3
6
6
7
5
Wonder
WonderWonder
under
construction
Advisor
ColonyColonyWonderWonder
11
11
11
11
11111111111111
11
111
11
11
111111111
33
10101010101010101010101010
Place the resource markers Place the resource markers Place the resource markers
within easy reach of all within easy reach of all
players. This is called
the “Resource Supply.”
Place the shuffled Place the shuffled Place the shuffled
Progress Card deck Progress Card deck Progress Card deck
for age I next to the for age I next to the for age I next to the for age I next to the for age I next to the
Progress Board.Progress Board.Progress Board.Progress Board.Progress Board.
Shuffle the Progress Card
decks for each age separately.
Place the Progress Card decks
for ages II-IV aside for now.
For your first game leave
out Advanced and Expert
cards. See more on page 11.
4 5

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Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
Scoring Board Setup
This slot is for plac-
ing Event Cards (see
page 9). Do not draw
an Event Card during
setup as players will
need to choose their
growth option ﬁ rst (see
page 13).
Step 2: Place the white
round marker on the “A”
-space of Age I (Antiquity).
Step 5: Place the
black War Marker in
this slot. If a player
buys a War during a
round, the Progress
Card representing
the War will be
placed here and
the War Marker
is moved on the
Military Strength
Track (see page 15).
Step 3: Each player selects
the difficulty level they
wish to play by placing a
player disk of their colour
on the desired level (see
page 11). Play on Prince
in your first game.
Step 6: Each player places one player disk of
their colour on value 0 of the Stability Track.
Each player’s Stability will be measured on
this track through the game (see page 8).
Any Stability above 15 is counted as
15, and any Stability below -3 is placed
on -∞ but counted as its real value.
Step 4: Each
player places one
player disk of their
color on value 0
of the Military
Strength Track.
Each player’s
Military Strength
will be measured
on this track
through the game
(see page 8).
Any Military
Strength above 40
is counted as 40.
Step 1: Randomly
select player order.
The first player places
her disk on number
1 of the Heritage
Track, followed
by each player in
player order, i.e. the
last player’s disk is
highest on the track.
Each player also
places another disk
on corresponding
numbers of the
Player Order Track.
Step 7: Place up to
three Architects
(depending on the
number of players)
on the squares
reserved for them.
Note that further
Architects may be
added depending on
the Event Card for the
round (see page 9).
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
Player
order
Player
War
Renaissance (III)
Scoring Board Setup
This slot is for plac-
ing Event Cards (see
page 9). Do not draw
an Event Card during
setup as players will
need to choose their
growth option ﬁ rst (see
page 13).
ing Event Cards (see ing Event Cards (see
page 9). Do not draw
an Event Card during
setup as players will
need to choose their
growth option ﬁ rst (see
ing Event Cards (see
page 9). Do not draw
an Event Card during
setup as players will
need to choose their
growth option ﬁ rst (see
Antiquity (I)
Player
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
King
Renaissance (III)
Antiquity (I)
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
Chieftain
Prince
Renaissance (III)Industrial (II II)
Revolt
Step 2: Place the white
round marker on the “A”
-space of Age I (Antiquity).
Step 5: Place the Step 5: Place the
black War Marker in black War Marker in
this slot. If a player this slot. If a player
buys a War during a buys a War during a
round, the Progress round, the Progress round, the Progress
Card representing Card representing Card representing
the War will be the War will be
placed here and placed here and
the War Marker the War Marker
is moved on the is moved on the
Military Strength Military Strength Military Strength
Track (see page 15).
Step 3: Each player selects
the difficulty level they
wish to play by placing a
player disk of their colour player disk of their colour player disk of their colour
on the desired level (see on the desired level (see on the desired level (see on the desired level (see on the desired level (see
page 11). Play on Prince page 11). Play on Prince page 11). Play on Prince page 11). Play on Prince
in your first game.in your first game.in your first game.in your first game.
Step 6: Each player places one player disk of
their colour on value 0 of the Stability Track.
Each player’s Stability will be measured on
this track through the game (see page 8).
Any Stability above 15 is counted as
15, and any Stability below -3 is placed
on -∞ but counted as its real value.
Step 4: Each
player places one
player disk of their
color on value 0
of the Military
Strength Track.
Each player’s
Military Strength
will be measured
on this track
through the game
(see page 8).
Any Military
Strength above 40
is counted as 40.is counted as 40.is counted as 40.
Step 1: Randomly
select player order.
The first player places The first player places
her disk on number
1 of the Heritage
Track, followed
by each player in
player order, i.e. the
last player’s disk is
highest on the track.
Each player also
places another disk
on corresponding
numbers of the
Player Order Track.
Step 7: Place up to
three Architects
(depending on the
number of players)
on the squares
reserved for them.
Note that further
Architects may be
added depending on
the Event Card for the the Event Card for the
round (see page 9).round (see page 9).
6 7

Military Strength above 40 is counted as 40 is counted as 40 is counted as 40 Step 1 Randomly select player order The first player places The first player places her disk on number 1 of the Heritage Track followed by each player in player order i e the last player s disk is highest on the track Each player also places another disk on corresponding numbers of the Player Order Track Step 7 Place up to three Architects depending on the number of players on the squares reserved for them Note that further Architects may be added depending on the Event Card for the the Event Card for the round see page 9 round see page 9 6 7

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A
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
Player Board Setup
Fill the board with Progress
Cards like at the beginning of
each round (see page 12).
When Progress Cards are bought from
the Progress Board, their price will
depend on the row where they are
located. Cards on the top row cost
3 Gold each, 2 on the middle row
and those on the bottom row can be
bought for 1 Gold (see page 14).
Progress Board Setup
1
3 3
3
3
3
These are the slots available for Building and Military Progress Cards. Each of the slots may be used either for a Building or a Military.
This slot is reserved for your Advisor. As a general rule, you may only have one Advisor at a time. If you acquire a new Advisor, remove the previous one.
These two slots are reserved for the Colonies you conquer. As a general rule, you may have two Colonies at a time. When you acquire a third, you must remove either of the previous ones at your choice.
Ready Wonders are placed in these slots. You cannot have more than 5 ready Wonders.
The starting resources and number of starting Workers of the nation. Place your resource here. This is called your “Resource Area”.
When you purchase a Wonder
from the Progress Board, it is
placed here. You may only have
one Wonder under construction
at any one time. If you purchase a
new Wonder before the previous
is ready, the old one is removed.
This is the Population Track. When
you grow your population, you
may take any Worker you wish
from the Population Track.
The name of your nation
is displayed here.
Progress Board filled
for 4 playersEmpty Progress Board
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder
Wonder
construction
A
Player Board Setup
AA
Fill the board with Progress
Cards like at the beginning of
each round (see page 12).
When Progress Cards are bought from
the Progress Board, their price will
depend on the row where they are
located. Cards on the top row cost
3 Gold each, 2 on the middle row
and those on the bottom row can be
bought for 1 Gold (see page 14).
Progress Board Setup
11
333333 33333333333
3333
3
3
3
3333333333333
3
3
33
3
3
333333333333333
333
3
3
3
333
3
3
3
3333333333
3
3
33
3
33
3
33
3
3
111
Advisor Wonder
under
construction
WonderWonderWonder
These are the slots available for
Building and Military Progress Building and Military Progress Building and Military Progress
Cards. Each of the slots may be used Cards. Each of the slots may be used Cards. Each of the slots may be used
either for a Building or a Military.either for a Building or a Military.either for a Building or a Military.
This slot is reserved for your Advisor.
As a general rule, you may only have As a general rule, you may only have As a general rule, you may only have
one Advisor at a time. If you acquire a one Advisor at a time. If you acquire a one Advisor at a time. If you acquire a
new Advisor, remove the previous one.new Advisor, remove the previous one.new Advisor, remove the previous one.
These two slots are reserved for the These two slots are reserved for the
Colonies you conquer. As a general
rule, you may have two Colonies at
a time. When you acquire a third,
you must remove either of the
previous ones at your choice.
Ready Wonders Ready Wonders Ready Wonders WonderReady Wonders Wonder
are placed in these are placed in these are placed in these
slots. You cannot slots. You cannot slots. You cannot slots. You cannot slots. You cannot
have more than 5 have more than 5 have more than 5 have more than 5
ready Wonders.ready Wonders.ready Wonders.
The starting resources and The starting resources and The starting resources and
number of starting Workers number of starting Workers number of starting Workers
of the nation. Place your
resource here. This is called
your “Resource Area”.
When you purchase a Wonder
from the Progress Board, it is
placed here. You may only have
one Wonder under construction
at any one time. If you purchase a at any one time. If you purchase a at any one time. If you purchase a
new Wonder before the previous new Wonder before the previous new Wonder before the previous
is ready, the old one is removed.is ready, the old one is removed.is ready, the old one is removed.
This is the Population Track. When
you grow your population, you
may take any Worker you wish
from the Population Track.
The name of your nation The name of your nation The name of your nation
is displayed here.
Progress Board filled
for 4 playersEmpty Progress Board
6 7

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Game Concepts
Resources
There are 4 resources that nations gain and consume
during the game: Gold, Stone, Food, and Books.
Gold is used for buying Progress Cards, Stone for
deploying Workers in Buildings and Military as well as
constructing Wonders, Food protects from famine and
permits the growth of the population and accumulated
Books give Nations VPs at the end of every age.
Red circles indicate a gain of the applicable resource
and black circles consumption/upkeep.
When you pay resources you pay to the bank, not to
another player.
Victory Points
During the game, nations gain and lose Victory Points
(VPs). In the game materials, gained VPs are indicated
by a yellow circle with laurels and a loss by a black circle
with laurels.
Stability and Military Strength
Stability and Military Strength are not produced in
the Resolution Phase (see page 18); instead their value
changes immediately when something during game play
aﬀ ects their value. You can always count your respective
values from the Progress Cards on your Player Board
(Stability & Military Strength) and from the empty slots
on your Population Track (Stability).
Military Strength keeps your nation safe against War
and Events, helps you conquer Colonies, ﬁ ght Battles and
act early.
Stability is helpful if you lack Strength to ﬁ ght Wars,
permits the growth of the population and is important
for Events. High Stability represents contentment and
civil preparedness for War, while low Stability means
problems with civil unrest, crime and revolt.
Red squares indicate an increase of Stability or Military
Strength and black squares a decrease.
Revolt
All nations in revolt during Production Phase (nations
are in revolt if they have negative Stability) lose 1 Book
per negative Stability point and also 1 VP regardless of
how many negative points they have.
Workers
Workers represent your population. You may deploy one
or more workers on each of your Building and Military
Progress Cards in order to gain the eﬀ ects of those cards.
Stone Books
Military Strength
Stability
Gold Food
Game Concepts
Resources
There are 4 resources that nations gain and consume
during the game: Gold, Stone, Food, and Books.
Gold is used for buying Progress Cards, Stone for
deploying Workers in Buildings and Military as well as
constructing Wonders, Food protects from famine and
permits the growth of the population and accumulated
Books give Nations VPs at the end of every age.
Red circles indicate a gain of the applicable resource
and black circles consumption/upkeep.
When you pay resources you pay to the bank, not to
another player.
Victory Points
During the game, nations gain and lose Victory Points
(VPs). In the game materials, gained VPs are indicated
by a yellow circle with laurels and a loss by a black circle
with laurels.
Stability and Military Strength
Stability and Military Strength are not produced in
the Resolution Phase (see page 18); instead their value
changes immediately when something during game play
aﬀ ects their value. You can always count your respective
values from the Progress Cards on your Player Board
(Stability & Military Strength) and from the empty slots
on your Population Track (Stability).
Military Strength keeps your nation safe against War
and Events, helps you conquer Colonies, ﬁ ght Battles and
act early.
Stability is helpful if you lack Strength to ﬁ ght Wars,
permits the growth of the population and is important
for Events. High Stability represents contentment and
civil preparedness for War, while low Stability means
problems with civil unrest, crime and revolt.
Red squares indicate an increase of Stability or Military
Strength and black squares a decrease.
Revolt
All nations in revolt during Production Phase (nations
are in revolt if they have negative Stability) lose 1 Book
per negative Stability point and also 1 VP regardless of
how many negative points they have.
Workers
Workers represent your population. You may deploy one
or more workers on each of your Building and Military
Progress Cards in order to gain the eﬀ ects of those cards.
Stone Books
Military Strength
Stability
Gold Food
8 9

---

Progress Cards
During the game, nations will purchase Progress Cards
from the Progress Board. The Progress Cards represent
the investments that each nation makes. There are 8 dif-
ferent types of Progress Cards: Advisors, Battles, Build-
ings, Colonies, Golden Ages, Military, Wars and Wonders.
These categories are described in detail on pages 15-16.
Events
At the end of each round, when all players have taken their
actions and calculated their production and consumption
of resources, two historical events will occur (see page 19).
These are referred to as Events. The Events are revealed
at the beginning of each round in the Maintenance Phase
(see page 13), so the players will have time to prepare for
them during the Action Phase.
Some Events have positive eﬀ ects and some negative,
and most inﬂ uence only players who fulﬁ ll certain condi-
tions, such as highest Military Strength.
The Event Cards also indicate the number of additional
Architects available to all players during the round as
well as the number of Food that each nation will need
to have available due to famine in the Resolution Phase.
Age
Age
Effect per
Worker deployed
Raid
value
Title
Deploy
cost
VP
condition
Set icon
Set icon
Age
Event 1
Architects
Background
Age
Effect/
Special abilities
Minimum Military
Strength required
Architect slots
Title
Construction
cost
Set icon
VP
Background
Title
Famine
Event 2
Progress Cards
During the game, nations will purchase Progress Cards
from the Progress Board. The Progress Cards represent
the investments that each nation makes. There are 8 dif-
ferent types of Progress Cards: Advisors, Battles, Build-
ings, Colonies, Golden Ages, Military, Wars and Wonders.
These categories are described in detail on pages 15-16.
Events
At the end of each round, when all players have taken their
actions and calculated their production and consumption
of resources, two historical events will occur (see page 19).
These are referred to as Events. The Events are revealed
at the beginning of each round in the Maintenance Phase
(see page 13), so the players will have time to prepare for
them during the Action Phase.
Some Events have positive eﬀ ects and some negative,
and most inﬂ uence only players who fulﬁ ll certain condi-
tions, such as highest Military Strength.
The Event Cards also indicate the number of additional
Architects available to all players during the round as
well as the number of Food that each nation will need
to have available due to famine in the Resolution Phase.
111111111
111
-1-1-1
111
-1-1-1
111111
111
Age
AgeAgeAge
Effect per
Worker deployed
Raid
value
Title
Deploy
cost
VP
conditioncondition
Set iconSet icon
Set iconSet iconSet iconSet iconSet icon
AgeAge
Event 1Event 1Event 1
Architects
BackgroundBackground
111111111
111111111111
111111
AgeAge
Effect/Effect/Effect/
Special abilities
Minimum Military Minimum Military Minimum Military Minimum Military Minimum Military Minimum Military Minimum Military Minimum Military Minimum Military Minimum Military
Strength requiredStrength requiredStrength requiredStrength required
Architect slotsArchitect slots
TitleTitleTitle
Construction
cost
Set iconSet icon
VPVP
BackgroundBackground
Title
Famine
Event 2Event 2Event 2
8 9

---

Resolving Ties
When there is a tie between two or more players for any
measurement, for positive eﬀ ects no one will receive the
beneﬁ t or reward (you must have the most alone) and for
negative eﬀ ects all players tied for the lowest value will suf-
fer the eﬀ ects or penalty. All nations with negative Stability
(i.e. in Revolt) are considered to tie for last place in respect
to Stability irrespective of the negative amount.
Resource loss
When a nation is required to lose resources but does not
have enough, it must lose what it has plus 1 VP. In addition
it loses 1 Book per missing resource.
If your total amount of Books is at 0 and should be
reduced below, it stays at 0 and you lose one VP plus one
other resource of your choice per Book you should have lost.
It is only possible to lose at most 1 VP per round per
resource that you do not have enough of. It is not possible
to have less than 0 VP.
Removing
Any reference to “removing” means removing the game
piece in question (usually a card) from the game and
returning it to the game box.
Some Progress Cards state that they are removed if cer-
tain conditions are fulﬁ lled, e.g. having the least Military
Strength. Those conditions can be fulﬁ lled at any time,
even during the turn of other players. If the condition is
fulﬁ lled, the card is removed immediately.
Taking and Returning Workers
In these rules, taking a Worker means taking a Worker
from your Population Track and adding it to your Resource
Area. Returning a Worker means returning a Worker back
to the Population Track. In each case, you can freely decide
in which section of the Population Track (Food or Stability)
you take and return Workers.
You can, for example, have taken three Workers from
the Food section and none from the Stability section. A
section may not, however, have more than 4 Workers. If
you are forced to return a Worker when you have no free
slots available on your Population Track, place the Worker
on top of the Population Track nonetheless. The next time
you take a Worker, take this “free” Worker ﬁ rst.
Deploying and undeploying Workers
The word deploying refers to placing a Worker on a Build-
ing or Military Progress Card on your Player Board and pay-
ing its deployment cost indicated on the card it is deployed
on. Workers may be deployed from your Resource Area or
another Building or Military, but not from your Popula-
tion Track.
Undeploying a Worker means moving a Worker back
from a Building or Military on your Player Board into your
Resource Area.
Hiring
Hiring an Architect means taking an Architect from the
Architect Space, placing it on your Wonder under construc-
tion and paying its associated construction cost in Stone.
Interpretation of symbols
The text on some Progress Cards use certain symbols that
should be interpreted as follows:
“/” means a choice between the resources listed. You may
only choose one of the resources listed, not a mix of two or
more. For example, with Piazza San Marco you may once
per round exchange two Gold for one of the following: 5
Books, 5 Food or 5 Stone.
“:” means the result of an action or eﬀ ect or the fulﬁ llment
of a condition. For example, with the Great Lighthouse,
each time you buy a Progress Card for 3 Gold, you gain a
Book; with Notre Dame during the Production Phase, you
gain 3 Books if you have the most Stability.
Remember that to win a
reward, you must win alone,
even in a two player game.
You also suﬀ er the full nega-
tive eﬀ ect if tied for last place;
there is no splitting of the eﬀ ect
between the weakest players.
You can lose one VP for each
type of resource you do not
have enough of, but only once
per round for each type of
resource, i.e. a maximum of
4 per round.
Example: lose only 1 VP even if
you have too little Food during
production, Events and famine.
Resolving Ties
When there is a tie between two or more players for any
measurement, for positive eﬀ ects no one will receive the
beneﬁ t or reward (you must have the most alone) and for
negative eﬀ ects all players tied for the lowest value will suf-
fer the eﬀ ects or penalty. All nations with negative Stability
(i.e. in Revolt) are considered to tie for last place in respect
to Stability irrespective of the negative amount.
Resource loss
When a nation is required to lose resources but does not
have enough, it must lose what it has plus 1 VP. In addition
it loses 1 Book per missing resource.
If your total amount of Books is at 0 and should be
reduced below, it stays at 0 and you lose one VP plus one
other resource of your choice per Book you should have lost.
It is only possible to lose at most 1 VP per round per
resource that you do not have enough of. It is not possible
to have less than 0 VP.
Removing
Any reference to “removing” means removing the game
piece in question (usually a card) from the game and
returning it to the game box.
Some Progress Cards state that they are removed if cer-
tain conditions are fulﬁ lled, e.g. having the least Military
Strength. Those conditions can be fulﬁ lled at any time,
even during the turn of other players. If the condition is
fulﬁ lled, the card is removed immediately.
Taking and Returning Workers
In these rules, taking a Worker means taking a Worker
from your Population Track and adding it to your Resource
Area. Returning a Worker means returning a Worker back
to the Population Track. In each case, you can freely decide
in which section of the Population Track (Food or Stability)
you take and return Workers.
You can, for example, have taken three Workers from
the Food section and none from the Stability section. A
section may not, however, have more than 4 Workers. If
you are forced to return a Worker when you have no free
slots available on your Population Track, place the Worker
on top of the Population Track nonetheless. The next time
you take a Worker, take this “free” Worker ﬁ rst.
Deploying and undeploying Workers
The word deploying refers to placing a Worker on a Build-
ing or Military Progress Card on your Player Board and pay-
ing its deployment cost indicated on the card it is deployed
on. Workers may be deployed from your Resource Area or
another Building or Military, but not from your Popula-
tion Track.
Undeploying a Worker means moving a Worker back
from a Building or Military on your Player Board into your
Resource Area.
Hiring
Hiring an Architect means taking an Architect from the
Architect Space, placing it on your Wonder under construc-
tion and paying its associated construction cost in Stone.
Interpretation of symbols
The text on some Progress Cards use certain symbols that
should be interpreted as follows:
“/” means a choice between the resources listed. You may
only choose one of the resources listed, not a mix of two or
more. For example, with Piazza San Marco you may once
per round exchange two Gold for one of the following: 5
Books, 5 Food or 5 Stone.
“:” means the result of an action or eﬀ ect or the fulﬁ llment
of a condition. For example, with the Great Lighthouse,
each time you buy a Progress Card for 3 Gold, you gain a
Book; with Notre Dame during the Production Phase, you
gain 3 Books if you have the most Stability.
Remember that to win a
reward, you must win alone,
even in a two player game.
You also suﬀ er the full nega-
tive eﬀ ect if tied for last place;
there is no splitting of the eﬀ ect
between the weakest players.
You can lose one VP for each
type of resource you do not
have enough of, but only once
per round for each type of
resource, i.e. a maximum of
4 per round.
You can lose one VP for each
type of resource you do not
have enough of, but only once
per round for each type of
resource, i.e. a maximum of
You can lose one VP for each
type of resource you do not
have enough of, but only once
per round for each type of
resource, i.e. a maximum of
Example: lose only 1 VP even if Example: lose only 1 VP even if Example: lose only 1 VP even if
you have too little Food during you have too little Food during you have too little Food during
production, Events and famine. production, Events and famine. production, Events and famine. production, Events and famine.
10 11

round You can lose one VP for each type of resource you do not have enough of but only once per round for each type of resource i e a maximum of You can lose one VP for each type of resource you do not have enough of but only once per round for each type of resource i e a maximum of Example lose only 1 VP even if Example lose only 1 VP even if Example lose only 1 VP even if you have too little Food during you have too little Food during you have too little Food during production Events and famine production Events and famine production Events and famine production Events and famine 10 11

---

Base, advanced and expert cards
The Progress Cards have three diﬃ culty levels: base,
advanced and expert. The set symbol, if any, can be found
in the top right corner of the picture.
The symbols are as follows:
»base set, no symbol
»advanced set:
»expert set:
Diﬃ culty levels
Nations has a built-in handicap system that allows play-
ers of varying experience to enjoy an equally challenging
and balanced game. At the beginning of the game, each
player will choose between four diﬃ culty levels: chieftain,
prince, king and emperor.
While the diﬀ erence between these diﬃ culty levels only
materializes during the growth step of the Maintenance
Phase (see page 13), make no mistake - it is a signiﬁ cant
diﬀ erence.
For your ﬁ rst few games
Players: Play with 3 or 4 players.
Cards: Even if you are an exprerienced gamer, it is still highly recommended to start your
Nations career with the basic card set. Using all cards will create interesting swings in card
distribution that can be very diﬃ cult for the inexperienced Nations players to master, even
if you are a very experienced gamer.
Boards: It is recommended to use A sides of the player boards for the ﬁ rst games. If B-sides
are used, make sure the selection process of the Nations is followed correctly (see p.21/B-sides).
Diﬃ culty: Prince level is recommended for all, but small variations may be made if players
have very diﬀ erent gaming background.
First rounds: Take no worker during the ﬁ rst 2-3 rounds and make sure to develop your
resource production (especially Gold and Stone); do not over-invest in Strength, Stability
and Books to the detriment of long-term growth. High Strength is very costly to maintain,
so try to put military workers to better use once they have done what you needed them for.
111111111111 111111111111111111 111111
Base, advanced and expert cards
The Progress Cards have three diﬃ culty levels: base,
advanced and expert. The set symbol, if any, can be found
in the top right corner of the picture.
The symbols are as follows:
»base set, no symbol
»advanced set:
»expert set:
Diﬃ culty levels
Nations has a built-in handicap system that allows play-
ers of varying experience to enjoy an equally challenging
and balanced game. At the beginning of the game, each
player will choose between four diﬃ culty levels: chieftain,
prince, king and emperor.
While the diﬀ erence between these diﬃ culty levels only
materializes during the growth step of the Maintenance
Phase (see page 13), make no mistake - it is a signiﬁ cant
diﬀ erence.
For your ﬁ rst few games
Players: Play with 3 or 4 players.
Cards: Even if you are an exprerienced gamer, it is still highly recommended to start your
Nations career with the basic card set. Using all cards will create interesting swings in card
distribution that can be very diﬃ cult for the inexperienced Nations players to master, even
if you are a very experienced gamer.
Boards: It is recommended to use A sides of the player boards for the ﬁ rst games. If B-sides
are used, make sure the selection process of the Nations is followed correctly (see p.21/B-sides).
Diﬃ culty: Prince level is recommended for all, but small variations may be made if players
have very diﬀ erent gaming background.
First rounds: Take no worker during the ﬁ rst 2-3 rounds and make sure to develop your
resource production (especially Gold and Stone); do not over-invest in Strength, Stability
and Books to the detriment of long-term growth. High Strength is very costly to maintain,
so try to put military workers to better use once they have done what you needed them for.
10 11

---

Maintenance Phase
Do the following steps in order.
1. Round Marker
Move the round marker to the next space on the Round
Track. Let it stay on space A in the ﬁ rst round of the game.
2. Progress Cards
Remove any remaining Progress Cards on row 1 and 2 of
the Progress Board. Then move all remaining cards from
row 3 to row 1. To make it clear what cards are old move
these old cards from row 3 as far left as possible on row 1.
Draw new Progress Cards from the Progress Card deck
speciﬁ c to the current age and ﬁ ll all empty spaces on the
Progress Board in use with the number of players in the
game. With 1-2 players use 4 columns, with 3 players
use 5 columns, with 4 players use 6 columns and with 5
players use 7 columns. In the ﬁ rst round of the game all
used spaces are ﬁ lled once, no cards are cleared.
Note that cards from previous ages are not automati-
cally removed, so for example in the ﬁ rst round of Medi-
eval some Antiquity cards will be on row 1 (unless all cards
on row 3 were bought in the previous round).
Playing the Game
During each round, the following phases take place in the
order presented below:
MAINTENANCE PHASE (p.12-13)
1. Round Marker: Move to next round
2. Progress Cards: Reﬁ ll Progress Board
3. Growth: Take or / /
4. New Events: Draw new Event Card
5. Architects: Reﬁ ll Architect spaces
ACTION PHASE (p.14-17)
A. Buy Progress Card
B. Deploy
C. Hire Architect
D. Special action
The Maintenance and Resolu-
tion Phase are mainly for tech-
nical upkeeping measures. The
main part of the game will be
spent during the Action Phase.
RESOLUTION PHASE (p.18-19)
1.
Production: Building+Military+Colony+Wonder+
Advisor. Remember consumption/upkeep .
2. Player order: Adjust if needed
3. War: If defeated, lose VP and pay resources
4. Events: Resolve both events on Event Card
5. Famine: Consume amount of Food stated on Event Card
(6.) : Score if end of age
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
Maintenance Phase
Do the following steps in order.
1. Round Marker
Move the round marker to the next space on the Round
Track. Let it stay on space A in the ﬁ rst round of the game.
2. Progress Cards
Remove any remaining Progress Cards on row 1 and 2 of
the Progress Board. Then move all remaining cards from
row 3 to row 1. To make it clear what cards are old move
these old cards from row 3 as far left as possible on row 1.
Draw new Progress Cards from the Progress Card deck
speciﬁ c to the current age and ﬁ ll all empty spaces on the
Progress Board in use with the number of players in the
game. With 1-2 players use 4 columns, with 3 players
use 5 columns, with 4 players use 6 columns and with 5
players use 7 columns. In the ﬁ rst round of the game all
used spaces are ﬁ lled once, no cards are cleared.
Note that cards from previous ages are not automati-
cally removed, so for example in the ﬁ rst round of Medi-
eval some Antiquity cards will be on row 1 (unless all cards
on row 3 were bought in the previous round).
Playing the Game
During each round, the following phases take place in the
order presented below:
MAINTENANCE PHASE (p.12-13)
1. Round Marker: Move to next round
2. Progress Cards: Reﬁ ll Progress Board
3. Growth: Takeor / /
4. New Events: Draw new Event Card
5. Architects: Reﬁ ll Architect spaces
ACTION PHASE (p.14-17)
A. Buy Progress Card
B. DeployDeploy
C. Hire Architect
D. Special action
The Maintenance and Resolu-
tion Phase are mainly for tech-
nical upkeeping measures. The
main part of the game will be
spent during the Action Phase.
The Maintenance and Resolu-
tion Phase are mainly for tech-
nical upkeeping measures. The
main part of the game will be
spent during the Action Phase.
The Maintenance and Resolu-
tion Phase are mainly for tech-
nical upkeeping measures. The
main part of the game will be
spent during the Action Phase.
RESOLUTION PHASE (p.18-19)
1. Production: Building+Military+Colony+Wonder+
Advisor. Remember consumption/upkeep.
2. Player order: Adjust if needed
3. War: If defeated, lose VP and pay resources
4. Events: Resolve both events on Event Card
5. Famine: Consume amount of Food stated on Event Card
(6.) : Score if end of age
Antiquity (I) Medieval (II)Antiquity (I)Antiquity (I)Antiquity (I)
12 13

---

3. Growth
Every nation, in reverse player order, decides to either
grow its population or take bonus resources. To grow your
population, take a Worker of your choice from the Popula-
tion Track into your Resource Area. Every Worker taken
from the Population Track either reduces your Stability
immediately by 3 or causes you to pay 3 Food during
Production in the Resolution Phase (see page 18).
Nations that take bonus resources choose either Food,
Stone or Gold. Gain as much of that resource as your
diﬃ culty level (for example, 3 for Prince). It is not pos-
sible to mix and take some from one resource and some
from another.
4. New Events
Draw one Event Card from the current age and place it
face up on the historical event space on the Score Board.
The events on the Event Card will be resolved during the
Resolution Phase (see page 19).
5. Architects
Move any remaining Architects from the Architects space
on the Score Board to the Architect supply, so that the
Architects space is empty. Place 0 (1 player), 1 (2 play-
ers), 2 (3-4 players) or 3 (5 players) new Architects there,
and add as many as shown at the top of the Event Card.
If you placed Architects based on the number of players
during set-up, on the ﬁ rst round of play only add those
based on the Event Card.
A
Advisor
Colony Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
Some Progress cards may
grant players extra “private”
Architects per round. Check
at this time that these cards
also have the correct number
of Architects as well (usually
one). Such Architects do not
accumulate if unused. If such
cards are bought during the
round they come with these
architects on them.
Example: Egypt grows
and takes a Worker from
the Food section. It has
taken one before from
that section (none from
the Stability section), so
Food upkeep for popula-
tion increases from 3 per
round to 3+3=6 per round.
Example: In a 4-player
game the Event Card shows
1 architect at the top. Place
2+1=3 Architects on the
Architects space.
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
3. Growth
Every nation, in reverse player order, decides to either
grow its population or take bonus resources. To grow your
population, take a Worker of your choice from the Popula-
tion Track into your Resource Area. Every Worker taken
from the Population Track either reduces your Stability
immediately by 3 or causes you to pay 3 Food during
Production in the Resolution Phase (see page 18).
Nations that take bonus resources choose either Food,
Stone or Gold. Gain as much of that resource as your
diﬃ culty level (for example, 3 for Prince). It is not pos-
sible to mix and take some from one resource and some
from another.
4. New Events
Draw one Event Card from the current age and place it
face up on the historical event space on the Score Board.
The events on the Event Card will be resolved during the
Resolution Phase (see page 19).
5. Architects
Move any remaining Architects from the Architects space
on the Score Board to the Architect supply, so that the
Architects space is empty. Place 0 (1 player), 1 (2 play-
ers), 2 (3-4 players) or 3 (5 players) new Architects there,
and add as many as shown at the top of the Event Card.
If you placed Architects based on the number of players
during set-up, on the ﬁ rst round of play only add those
based on the Event Card.
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
111
Some Progress cards may
grant players extra “private”
Architects per round. Check
at this time that these cards
also have the correct number
of Architects as well (usually
one). Such Architects do not
accumulate if unused. If such
cards are bought during the
round they come with these
architects on them.
also have the correct number also have the correct number
of Architects as well (usually
one). Such Architects do not
accumulate if unused. If such
cards are bought during the
round they come with these
also have the correct number
of Architects as well (usually
one). Such Architects do not
accumulate if unused. If such
cards are bought during the
round they come with these
Example: Egypt grows
and takes a Worker from
the Food section. It has
taken one before from
that section (none from
the Stability section), so
Food upkeep for popula-
tion increases from 3 per
round to 3+3=6 per round.
Example: In a 4-player
game the Event Card shows
1 architect at the top. Place
2+1=3 Architects on the
Architects space.
Nations
111
AA
12 13

---

Action Phase
This is the main phase of each round. Nations take one
action each in player order until all players have passed.
Once a player has passed, she may not resume taking
actions later during the round.
The Actions
There are 4 actions available for the players:
A. Buy a Progress Card
B. Deploy a Worker on a Building or Military
C. Hire an Architect to build a Wonder
D.
Special action. This action means using an action
described on a card on your player board.
You can only do one of these or pass on your turn.
A. Buy a Progress Card
To buy a Progress Card, take the card from the Progress
Board, pay the price in Gold shown on the left of the row in
which the card was located and immediately use the card.
You cannot place Progress Cards you buy “in reserve”.
Depending on the type of card bought, you either:
i. place it on your Player Board on a space with the
same border color (Buildings/Military, Advisors,
Colonies and Wonders);
ii.
remove it after resolving its eﬀ ect (Battles and
Golden Ages); or
iii.
place it in the “War” slot on the Scoring Board
(Wars).
When placing a card on your Player Board, the number
of spaces per type is limited to what you have on your
Player Board. If you have no free spaces for that type of
card remove an old card from play to make room for the
new card. The removed cards, including the pre-printed
cards on the Player Board (if covered with a new card),
can never be used again.
The cards you buy only aﬀ ect yourself; cards that can
aﬀ ect others will say so. Special actions provided by cards
you have can be used any number of times, while cards
that can be used limited number of times per round will
say so.
Remember to update your
Military Strength and Stabil-
ity immediately when covering
an old card, buying a new card
and deploying or undeploying
Workers.
A
WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
Action Phase
This is the main phase of each round. Nations take one
action each in player order until all players have passed.
Once a player has passed, she may not resume taking
actions later during the round.
The Actions
There are 4 actions available for the players:
A. Buy a Progress Card
B. Deploy a Worker on a Building or Military
C. Hire an Architect to build a Wonder
D. Special action. This action means using an action
described on a card on your player board.
You can only do one of these or pass on your turn.
A. Buy a Progress Card
To buy a Progress Card, take the card from the Progress
Board, pay the price in Gold shown on the left of the row in
which the card was located and immediately use the card.
You cannot place Progress Cards you buy “in reserve”.
Depending on the type of card bought, you either:
i. place it on your Player Board on a space with the
same border color (Buildings/Military, Advisors,
Colonies and Wonders);
ii. remove it after resolving its eﬀ ect (Battles and
Golden Ages); or
iii. place it in the “War” slot on the Scoring Board
(Wars).
When placing a card on your Player Board, the number
of spaces per type is limited to what you have on your
Player Board. If you have no free spaces for that type of
card remove an old card from play to make room for the
new card. The removed cards, including the pre-printed
cards on the Player Board (if covered with a new card),
can never be used again.
The cards you buy only aﬀ ect yourself; cards that can
aﬀ ect others will say so. Special actions provided by cards
you have can be used any number of times, while cards
that can be used limited number of times per round will
say so.
Remember to update your
Military Strength and Stabil-
ity immediately when covering
an old card, buying a new card
and deploying or undeploying
Workers.
Remember to update your
Military Strength and Stabil-
ity immediately when covering
an old card, buying a new card
and deploying or undeploying
Remember to update your
Military Strength and Stabil-
ity immediately when covering
an old card, buying a new card
and deploying or undeploying
A
Wonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Wonder
under
construction
111111
111111
111111 111111
Wonder
111111 111111111111
14 15

---

Building
New Buildings can replace existing Buildings and Military so
you can, for example, have 5 diﬀ erent Buildings at the same
time. When an existing Building is removed by a new Military
or Building, the Workers on the old Building are undeployed
(moved back to your Resource Area). In the Resolution Phase,
each Worker deployed on the Building produces the amount
of resources stated on the top of the card. Any Stability adjust-
ments are performed immediately. Buildings without Workers
have no eﬀ ect.
Military
New Military can replace old Military and Buildings so you
can, for example, have 3 Military cards at the same time. When
an existing Military is replaced by a new Military or Build-
ing, the Workers on the old Military are undeployed (moved
back to your Resource Area). Each Worker deployed on the
Military immediately increases the Military Strength by the
amount stated on the top of the card. If the Military has an
upkeep cost, adjust it immediately (Stability) or pay it during
the Resolution Phase (resources).
Each Military also has a Raid value. The Raid value of
the Military can be used for Battles if the card has at least
one deployed Worker. Multiple Workers on the card do not
increase its Raid value. Military without Workers has no eﬀ ect.
Colony
Colonies have a Military Strength requirement. To buy a Col-
ony you must meet or exceed its Military Strength require-
ment. Once you have bought a Colony the Military Strength
requirement no longer matters; your Military Strength may fall
below it without any eﬀ ects on your acquired Colony. Bought
Colonies are immediately in eﬀ ect.
War
Any player can buy a War as an action. Each round only a
single War may be bought. Once a War is bought no nation
may buy another War. When bought, it is placed on the War
space of the Score Board. Place the War marker on the same
Military Strength as the nation who bought the War. In the
Resolution Phase, any nation with less Military Strength than
the War will suﬀ er a defeat (see p. 19). The War marker does
not move with the nation that bought it, so if that nation
increases its Military Strength the War marker stays where
it is. If the nation that bought the War later decreases its Mili-
tary Strength that nation may also be defeated by the War.
A nation with no military may
buy War. It is impossible for any
nation to suﬀ er any losses due to
a Strength 0 War.
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
Example: the cost to deploy a Worker
on Ziggurat is 1 Stone. Each Worker
deployed on the card immediately increases the nation’s Stability by 2 and in the Production Phase each
Worker produces 1 Stone. At the end
of the game, the first and second Worker deployed on the card give 1
VP each.
Example: the raid value of Hoplites is 3 if there is at least one Worker deployed on it. The cost to deploy
a Worker on the card is 1 Stone and
it provides 3 Military Strength per deployed Worker. Each Worker deployed on the Hoplite during the
Production Phase consumes 1 Stone
and the first and second Worker deployed on the card at the end of
the game give 1 VP each.
Example: when a nation conquers Macedonia, the nation’s Military Strength will immediately increase
by 2.
Building
New Buildings can replace existing Buildings and Military so
you can, for example, have 5 diﬀ erent Buildings at the same
time. When an existing Building is removed by a new Military
or Building, the Workers on the old Building are undeployed
(moved back to your Resource Area). In the Resolution Phase,
each Worker deployed on the Building produces the amount
of resources stated on the top of the card. Any Stability adjust-
ments are performed immediately. Buildings without Workers performed immediately. Buildings without Workers performed
have no eﬀ ect.
Military
New Military can replace old Military and Buildings so you
can, for example, have 3 Military cards at the same time. When
an existing Military is replaced by a new Military or Build-
ing, the Workers on the old Military are undeployed (moved
back to your Resource Area). Each Worker deployed on the
Military immediately increases the Military Strength by the
amount stated on the top of the card. If the Military has an
upkeep cost, adjust it immediately (Stability) or pay it during
the Resolution Phase (resources).
Each Military also has a Raid value. The Raid value of
the Military can be used for Battles if the card has at least
one deployed Worker. Multiple Workers on the card do not
increase its Raid value. Military without Workers has no eﬀ ect.
Colony
Colonies have a Military Strength requirement. To buy a Col-
ony you must meet or exceed its Military Strength require-
ment. Once you have bought a Colony the Military Strength
requirement no longer matters; your Military Strength may fall
below it without any eﬀ ects on your acquired Colony. Bought
Colonies are immediately in eﬀ ect.
War
Any player can buy a War as an action. Each round only a
single War may be bought. Once a War is bought no nation
may buy another War. When bought, it is placed on the War
space of the Score Board. Place the War marker on the same
Military Strength as the nation who bought the War. In the
Resolution Phase, any nation with less Military Strength than
the War will suﬀ er a defeat (see p. 19). The War marker does
not move with the nation that bought it, so if that nation
increases its Military Strength the War marker stays where
it is. If the nation that bought the War later decreases its Mili-
tary Strength that nation may also be defeated by the War.
A nation with no military may
buy War. It is impossible for any
nation to suﬀ er any losses due to
a Strength 0 War.
A nation with no military may
buy War. It is impossible for any
nation to suﬀ er any losses due to
A nation with no military may
buy War. It is impossible for any
nation to suﬀ er any losses due to
111111
111111
111111
111111
Player
order
Player
order
Player
Emperor
War
111111
War
Example: the cost to deploy a Worker
on Ziggurat is 1 Stone. Each Worker
deployed on the card immediately
increases the nation’s Stability by
2 and in the Production Phase each
Worker produces 1 Stone. At the end
of the game, the first and second
Worker deployed on the card give 1
VP each.
Example: the raid value of Hoplites
is 3 if there is at least one Worker
deployed on it. The cost to deploy
a Worker on the card is 1 Stone and
it provides 3 Military Strength per
deployed Worker. Each Worker
deployed on the Hoplite during the
Production Phase consumes 1 Stone
and the first and second Worker
deployed on the card at the end of
the game give 1 VP each.
Example: when a nation conquers
Macedonia, the nation’s Military
Strength will immediately increase
by 2.
14 15

2 and in the Production Phase each Worker produces 1 Stone At the end of the game the first and second Worker deployed on the card give 1 VP each Example the raid value of Hoplites is 3 if there is at least one Worker deployed on it The cost to deploy a Worker on the card is 1 Stone and it provides 3 Military Strength per deployed Worker Each Worker deployed on the Hoplite during the Production Phase consumes 1 Stone and the first and second Worker deployed on the card at the end of the game give 1 VP each Example when a nation conquers Macedonia the nation s Military Strength will immediately increase by 2 14 15

---

Battle
When you buy a Battle you immediately gain either Books,
Food or Stone and then remove the card. You decide what
type, but you have to choose only one type. How much
you gain depends on the Raid value of your best military
(your best military card that has at least one Worker on
it). Your Raid value does not increase by having more
than one Worker deployed on a raiding Military. You may
only buy Battle if you have at least one Worker deployed
on a Military.
You can only buy one VP per
Golden Age and the price of the
VP increases each age. Remem-
ber that you can pay the cost of
the VP with a mix of resources,
including Books.
Example: Persia buys a Renais-
sance Golden Age, chooses to
either take 2 Stone or pays 3
resources (for example 1 Food
and 2 Books) to get 1 VP. If Per-
sia had Uraniborg (Golden Age
bonus: 2) the choices would
have been to take 4 Stone or pay
1 resource to get 1 VP.
Remember that when buying a
Battle, you must have a Worker on
a Military, but you only get a Mili-
tary’s Raid value once, irrespective
of the number of Workers on the
Military.
Example: Even
though Blue player
has 2 Workers on
Hoplite. Its raid
value is still 3.
When Blue player
buys Siege of Alesia
he chooses to take 3
food.
Wonder
Wonders bought from the Progress Board are placed on the
”Wonder under construction” space of your Player Board.
You may only build on one Wonder at a time. If you buy
a new Wonder while currently constructing another, the
old Wonder is removed and all Architects on it are lost.
When a Wonder is ready (i.e. the construction of its last
section is completed), its special eﬀ ects are activated and it will produce in the Resolution Phase (if it has resource production capability).
Advisor
A bought Advisor is placed on the Player Board in the slot
reserved for Advisors. You can have just one Advisor at a
time unless you have a Progress Card stating otherwise.
Golden age
When you buy a Golden Age you immediately gain either
the resources printed on the card or 1VP and then remove
the card. You decide what you gain, but you have to choose
only one of the options. To gain 1VP you must pay the
number of resources shown in any combination of Stone,
Gold, Food or Books.
If you have a Golden Age bonus you will either get more
of the resource or pay fewer resources for a VP; how much
depends on the bonus number. Multiple bonuses are
added, but a VP can not cost less than 0.
Battle
When you buy a Battle you immediately gain either Books,
Food or Stone and then remove the card. You decide what
type, but you have to choose only one type. How much
you gain depends on the Raid value of your best military
(your best military card that has at least one Worker on
it). Your Raid value does not increase by having more
than one Worker deployed on a raiding Military. You may
only buy Battle if you have at least one Worker deployed
on a Military.
You can only buy one VP per
Golden Age and the price of the
VP increases each age. Remem-
ber that you can pay the cost of
the VP with a mix of resources,
including Books.
You can only buy one VP per
Golden Age and the price of the
VP increases each age. Remem-
ber that you can pay the cost of
the VP with a mix of resources,
You can only buy one VP per
Golden Age and the price of the
VP increases each age. Remem-
ber that you can pay the cost of
the VP with a mix of resources,
Example: Persia buys a Renais-
sance Golden Age, chooses to
either take 2 Stone or pays 3
resources (for example 1 Food
and 2 Books) to get 1 VP. If Per-
sia had Uraniborg (Golden Age
bonus: 2) the choices would
have been to take 4 Stone or pay
1 resource to get 1 VP.
Remember that when buying a
Battle, you must have a Worker on
a Military, but you only get a Mili-
tary’s Raid value once, irrespective
of the number of Workers on the
Military.
Remember that when buying a Remember that when buying a
Battle, you must have a Worker on
a Military, but you only get a Mili-
tary’s Raid value once, irrespective
of the number of Workers on the
Remember that when buying a
Battle, you must have a Worker on
a Military, but you only get a Mili-
tary’s Raid value once, irrespective
of the number of Workers on the
Example: Even
though Blue player
has 2 Workers on
Hoplite. Its raid
value is still 3.
When Blue player
buys Siege of Alesia
he chooses to take 3
food.
111111
111111111111111111
111111 111111
Wonder
Wonders bought from the Progress Board are placed on the
”Wonder under construction” space of your Player Board.
You may only build on one Wonder at a time. If you buy
a new Wonder while currently constructing another, the
old Wonder is removed and all Architects on it are lost.
When a Wonder is ready (i.e. the construction of its last
section is completed), its special eﬀ ects are activated and
it will produce in the Resolution Phase (if it has resource
production capability).
Advisor
A bought Advisor is placed on the Player Board in the slot
reserved for Advisors. You can have just one Advisor at a
time unless you have a Progress Card stating otherwise.
Golden age
When you buy a Golden Age you immediately gain either
the resources printed on the card or 1VP and then remove
the card. You decide what you gain, but you have to choose
only one of the options. To gain 1VP you must pay the
number of resources shown in any combination of Stone,
Gold, Food or Books.
If you have a Golden Age bonus you will either get more
of the resource or pay fewer resources for a VP; how much
depends on the bonus number. Multiple bonuses are
added, but a VP can not cost less than 0.
16 17

can have just one Advisor at a time unless you have a Progress Card stating otherwise Golden age When you buy a Golden Age you immediately gain either the resources printed on the card or 1VP and then remove the card You decide what you gain but you have to choose only one of the options To gain 1VP you must pay the number of resources shown in any combination of Stone Gold Food or Books If you have a Golden Age bonus you will either get more of the resource or pay fewer resources for a VP how much depends on the bonus number Multiple bonuses are added but a VP can not cost less than 0 16 17

---

B. Deploy a Worker
An empty Building or Military does nothing. To deploy a
Worker on a Building or Military, place the Worker on the
card and pay its deployment cost in Stone. The Worker
must be taken from your Resource Area (but you can
undeploy from another Building or Military just before
taking this action). You can place several Workers on a
Building or Military, multiplying the card’s eﬀ ect, but
only one Worker can be deployed per turn.
A Worker can be undeployed from a Building or Military
at any time during your turn. Undeployment is not an
action so you can do it for example just before passing
or buying a War. You can undeploy multiple Workers at
once. Workers stay on cards until you undeploy them.
The eﬀ ect of each deployed Worker is displayed at the
top of the Building or Military it is deployed on. Build-
ings produce resources and/or increase your Stability.
Military increases your Military Strength and consumes
some resource and/or decreases Stability.
Workers can only be deployed on Buildings and Mili-
tary. When a Worker is undeployed from a card, its ben-
eﬁ t is lost immediately. Workers cannot be deployed on
Colonies, Wonders or Advisors.
C. Hire Architect
A Wonder must be built in sections while it is placed on
the “Wonder under construction”-space. To construct a
section of a Wonder, take an Architect from the Score
Board, place it on the leftmost free section of the Wonder
under construction and pay the section’s construction
cost in Stone.
If there are no Architects available, you do not have a
Wonder under construction or you do not have enough
Stone to pay the next section’s cost, you cannot choose
this action.
When the last section of the Wonder is constructed,
the Wonder is ready. Move it immediately to a Wonder
space on your Player Board. You may place it on top of
another ready Wonder which is destroyed in the process.
Return the Architect(s) to Architect Supply.
Certain cards allow additional Architects to be used
in addition to those available to all nations. Place extra
Architects from the supply on it when buying such a card
or take from the supply when using such eﬀ ects from an
event.
D. Special Action
If you have progress cards on your player board that have
special actions, you can use one of them as an action.
Place a marker on a Progress Card when you have
used a special action on it, if the number of times it can
be used is limited.
This is my favourite action!
Remember that in case you
are tempted to purchase a new
Wonder before your current
Wonder under construction is
ﬁ nished, you can do so. Unfor-
tunately, any Architects as well
as Stone paid for sections of the
unﬁ nished Wonder are lost.
Remember that Military
Strength and Stability are
adjusted immediately when
the Worker is deployed and
the resources are produced and
consumed during the Resolu-
tion Phase.
Example: A Worker on Conquis-
tador is moved to Railroad. Pay
4 Stone, reduce Military Strength
by 7, increase Stability by 3.
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
111111
B. Deploy a Worker
An empty Building or Military does nothing. To deploy a
Worker on a Building or Military, place the Worker on the
card and pay its deployment cost in Stone. The Worker
must be taken from your Resource Area (but you can
undeploy from another Building or Military just before
taking this action). You can place several Workers on a
Building or Military, multiplying the card’s eﬀ ect, but
only one Worker can be deployed per turn.
A Worker can be undeployed from a Building or Military
at any time during your turn. Undeployment is not an
action so you can do it for example just before passing
or buying a War. You can undeploy multiple Workers at
once. Workers stay on cards until you undeploy them.
The eﬀ ect of each deployed Worker is displayed at the
top of the Building or Military it is deployed on. Build-
ings produce resources and/or increase your Stability.
Military increases your Military Strength and consumes
some resource and/or decreases Stability.
Workers can only be deployed on Buildings and Mili-
tary. When a Worker is undeployed from a card, its ben-
eﬁ t is lost immediately. Workers cannot be deployed on
Colonies, Wonders or Advisors.
C. Hire Architect
A Wonder must be built in sections while it is placed on
the “Wonder under construction”-space. To construct a
section of a Wonder, take an Architect from the Score
Board, place it on the leftmost free section of the Wonder
under construction and pay the section’s construction
cost in Stone.
If there are no Architects available, you do not have a
Wonder under construction or you do not have enough
Stone to pay the next section’s cost, you cannot choose
this action.
When the last section of the Wonder is constructed,
the Wonder is ready. Move it immediately to a Wonder
space on your Player Board. You may place it on top of
another ready Wonder which is destroyed in the process.
Return the Architect(s) to Architect Supply.
Certain cards allow additional Architects to be used
in addition to those available to all nations. Place extra
Architects from the supply on it when buying such a card
or take from the supply when using such eﬀ ects from an
event.
D. Special Action
If you have progress cards on your player board that have
special actions, you can use one of them as an action.
Place a
special actions, you can use one of them as an action.
marker on a Progress Card when you have marker on a Progress Card when you have
used a special action on it, if the number of times it can used a special action on it, if the number of times it can
be used is limited.
This is my favourite action!
Remember that in case you
are tempted to purchase a new
Wonder before your current
Wonder under construction is
ﬁ nished, you can do so. Unfor-
tunately, any Architects as well
as Stone paid for sections of the
unﬁ nished Wonder are lost.
Remember that Military
Strength and Stability are
adjusted immediately when
the Worker is deployed and
the resources are produced and
consumed during the Resolu-
tion Phase.
are tempted to purchase a new
D. Special Action
are tempted to purchase a new
Wonder before your current
Wonder under construction is
ﬁ nished, you can do so. Unfor-
tunately, any Architects as well
as Stone paid for sections of the
unﬁ nished Wonder are lost.
are tempted to purchase a new
Wonder before your current
Wonder under construction is
ﬁ nished, you can do so. Unfor-
tunately, any Architects as well
as Stone paid for sections of the
unﬁ nished Wonder are lost.
Remember that Military Remember that Military
Strength and Stability are
adjusted immediately when
the Worker is deployed and
the resources are produced and
consumed during the Resolu-
Remember that Military
Strength and Stability are
adjusted immediately when
the Worker is deployed and
the resources are produced and
consumed during the Resolu-
Example: A Worker on Conquis-
tador is moved to Railroad. Pay
4 Stone, reduce Military Strength
by 7, increase Stability by 3.
11__1111__1111__1111__1111__1111__11111111111111111111
16 17

are tempted to purchase a new Wonder before your current Wonder under construction is ﬁ nished you can do so Unfor tunately any Architects as well as Stone paid for sections of the unﬁ nished Wonder are lost Remember that Military Remember that Military Strength and Stability are adjusted immediately when the Worker is deployed and the resources are produced and consumed during the Resolu Remember that Military Strength and Stability are adjusted immediately when the Worker is deployed and the resources are produced and consumed during the Resolu Example A Worker on Conquis tador is moved to Railroad Pay 4 Stone reduce Military Strength by 7 increase Stability by 3 11 1111 1111 1111 1111 1111 11111111111111111111 16 17

---

A
Colony Wonder WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
under
construction
Resolution Phase
Do the following steps in order.
1. Production
All nations produce simultaneously. Calculate production
and consumption for each resource in the order shown on
the player aid cards (Gold, Food, Stone, Books). Sum up
your total production and consumption of each resource
from your Player Board, multiplying production and con-
sumption for each Worker on a Building and Military.
Take (or pay) that much of each resource and place them
in your resource area.
If your total Books exceed 50, take a 50 Books tile and
continue counting from 0.
All nations in revolt (with negative Stability) lose 1 Book
per negative point and also 1 VP regardless of how many
negative points they have.
If you do not have enough Stone, Gold or Food, lose 1
Book for each missing. In addition, lose 1 VP for each.
If your total amount of Books is at 0 and should be
reduced below, it stays at 0 and you lose one VP plus one
other resource of your choice per Book you should have
lost. You can not lose more VP if you are at 0.
Example: If you should pay 5 stone but only have 2,
you lose those 2, 1 VP, and 3 books.
2. Player order
Determine the player order for the next round. Player
order is determined in accordance with Military Strength
with the player with the highest Military Strength going
ﬁ rst, second highest going second and so on. In the case
of a tie, higher Stability acts as a tiebreaker. If there is
still a tie, the order between the tied players from the
previous round remains.
Redistribute the player order cards and update the
player order track on the Score Board.
Remember to check all Prog-
ress Cards on your Player
Board, including Advisors,
Wonders and Colonies. Do not
forget to pay upkeep costs!
Food production: +2-1+3+2-2-3=+1
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
A
Colony WonderWonder
Egypt3 6 6 7 5
Wonder Wonder
Resolution Phase
Do the following steps in order.
1. Production
All nations produce simultaneously. Calculate production
and consumption for each resource in the order shown on
the player aid cards (Gold, Food, Stone, Books). Sum up
your total production and consumption of each resource
from your Player Board, multiplying production and con-
sumption for each Worker on a Building and Military.
Take (or pay) that much of each resource and place them
in your resource area.
If your total Books exceed 50, take a 50 Books tile and
continue counting from 0.
All nations in revolt (with negative Stability) lose 1 Book
per negative point and also 1 VP regardless of how many
negative points they have.
If you do not have enough Stone, Gold or Food, lose 1
Book for each missing. In addition, lose 1 VP for each.
If your total amount of Books is at 0 and should be
reduced below, it stays at 0 and you lose one VP plus one
other resource of your choice per Book you should have
lost. You can not lose more VP if you are at 0.
Example: If you should pay 5 stone but only have 2,
you lose those 2, 1 VP, and 3 books.
2. Player order
Determine the player order for the next round. Player
order is determined in accordance with Military Strength
with the player with the highest Military Strength going
ﬁ rst, second highest going second and so on. In the case
of a tie, higher Stability acts as a tiebreaker. If there is
still a tie, the order between the tied players from the
previous round remains.
Redistribute the player order cards and update the
player order track on the Score Board.
Remember to check all Prog-
ress Cards on your Player
Board, including Advisors,
Wonders and Colonies. Do not
forget to pay upkeep costs!
Remember to check all Prog-
ress Cards on your Player
Board, including Advisors,
Wonders and Colonies. Do not
forget to pay upkeep costs!
Remember to check all Prog-
ress Cards on your Player
Board, including Advisors,
Wonders and Colonies. Do not
forget to pay upkeep costs!
Food production: +2-1+3+2-2-3=+1
construction
under
construction
111111
111111
111111
WonderWonder
111111
Wonder
Player
order
Player
order
Player
Prince
Emperor
Player
order
Player
order
Player
War
111111
18 19

---

3. War
Nations matching or exceeding the Strength of the War are
unaﬀ ected. Nations with lower Military Strength than the
War suﬀ er a defeat. The amount of resources each defeated
nation has to pay is shown on the bottom of the War card.
If a defeated nation has a Stability that is higher than 0, its
resource loss is reduced by that number. It is possible to lose
no resources to a War even if defeated. However, all defeated
nations lose 1 VP as shown on the War card, even if they did
not lose any resources. The VP loss cannot be mitigated by
Stability. Then remove the War and return the War marker
to the War space.
4. Events
Determine the eﬀ ect of each Event on the Event Card in order
from top to bottom.
If two or more nations tie for strongest, none get the beneﬁ t.
If two or more nations tie for lowest (lowest Military Strength
is also called the weakest), all suﬀ er the penalty in full. All
nations with negative Stability are considered to tie for low-
est Stability.
Some Events change the player order. If several nations are
aﬀ ected by such an Event, resolve it in player order.
Whenever multiple nations have a choice, the choice is made
in reverse player order (last in player order goes ﬁ rst). After
all have chosen, the event happens at the same time for all.
Some Events increase or decrease the number of Work-
ers for nations. Gained Workers are always taken from the
Population Track on the Player Board, and lost Workers are
placed back on an empty space there. Which track to take
from or place back to are chosen by the player.
Event eﬀ ects can only be used once.
5. Famine
All nations must pay the famine cost in Food shown at the
top of the Historical Events card.
(6.) Score at the end of each age
At the end of an age, each nation gains a VP for each nation
that has accumulated fewer Books than itself.
Antiquity (I)
Player
order
War
Chieftain
Prince
Emperor
Nations
Revolt
King
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
Remember to reduce the
resource loss of defeated
nations by the amount of their
Stability. The VP loss cannot be
mitigated.
The accumulated Books scor-
ing happens at the end of each
age. This means at the end of
rounds 2, 4, 6 and 8.
If you can’t pay the required
amount of Food you must pay
what you can, lose 1 VP and
lose as many Books as you
could not pay. It is only pos-
sible to lose at most 1 VP per
round per resource.
Example: Player order is 1: China, 2:
Persia, 3: Rome. Rome must choose ﬁ rst
to pay 2 Food or pass and go last. Then
Persia. Then China. After that all who did
not pay are moved to the end, but keep
relative order. All who did pay go to the
front, but keep relative order. So if Rome
paid but not the others the order would
become 1: Rome, 2: China, 3: Persia.
Example: At the end of Antiquity Blue has 13
Books, Yellow 11, Green 11 and Red 4. Blue gains
3 VP, Yellow and Green 1 VP and Red 0 VP.
3. War
Nations matching or exceeding the Strength of the War are
unaﬀ ected. Nations with lower Military Strength than the
War suﬀ er a defeat. The amount of resources each defeated
nation has to pay is shown on the bottom of the War card.
If a defeated nation has a Stability that is higher than 0, its
resource loss is reduced by that number. It is possible to lose
no resources to a War even if defeated. However, all defeated
nations lose 1 VP as shown on the War card, even if they did
not lose any resources. The VP loss cannot be mitigated by
Stability. Then remove the War and return the War marker
to the War space.
4. Events
Determine the eﬀ ect of each Event on the Event Card in order
from top to bottom.
If two or more nations tie for strongest, none get the beneﬁ t.
If two or more nations tie for lowest (lowest Military Strength
is also called the weakest), all suﬀ er the penalty in full. All
nations with negative Stability are considered to tie for low-
est Stability.
Some Events change the player order. If several nations are
aﬀ ected by such an Event, resolve it in player order.
Whenever multiple nations have a choice, the choice is made
in reverse player order (last in player order goes ﬁ rst). After
all have chosen, the event happens at the same time for all.
Some Events increase or decrease the number of Work-
ers for nations. Gained Workers are always taken from the
Population Track on the Player Board, and lost Workers are
placed back on an empty space there. Which track to take
from or place back to are chosen by the player.
Event eﬀ ects can only be used once.
5. Famine
All nations must pay the famine cost in Food shown at the
top of the Historical Events card.
(6.) Score at the end of each age at the end of each age
At the end of an age, each nation gains a VP for each nation
that has accumulated fewer Books than itself.
Antiquity (I)
Renaissance (III)
Medieval (II)
Industrial (II II)
Remember to reduce the
resource loss of defeated
nations by the amount of their
Stability. The VP loss cannot be
mitigated.
Nations matching or exceeding the Strength of the War are
unaﬀ ected. Nations with lower Military Strength than the
War suﬀ er a defeat. The amount of resources each defeated
nation has to pay is shown on the bottom of the War card.
If a defeated nation has a Stability that is higher than 0, its
resource loss is reduced by that number. It is possible to lose
no resources to a War even if defeated. However, all defeated
nations lose 1 VP as shown on the War card, even if they did
not lose any resources. The VP loss cannot be mitigated by
Stability. Then remove the War and return the War marker
to the War space.
Remember to reduce the
resource loss of defeated
nations by the amount of their
Stability. The VP loss cannot be
Remember to reduce the
resource loss of defeated
nations by the amount of their
Stability. The VP loss cannot be
The accumulated Books scor-
ing happens at the end of each
age. This means at the end of
rounds 2, 4, 6 and 8.
If you can’t pay the required
amount of Food you must pay
what you can, lose 1 VP and
lose as many Books as you
could not pay. It is only pos-
sible to lose at most 1 VP per
round per resource.
The accumulated Books scor-
ing happens at the end of each
age. This means at the end of
The accumulated Books scor-
ing happens at the end of each
age. This means at the end of
If you can’t pay the required If you can’t pay the required
amount of Food you must pay
what you can, lose 1 VP and
lose as many Books as you
could not pay. It is only pos-
sible to lose at most 1 VP per
If you can’t pay the required
amount of Food you must pay
what you can, lose 1 VP and
lose as many Books as you
could not pay. It is only pos-
sible to lose at most 1 VP per
Example: Player order is 1: China, 2:
Persia, 3: Rome. Rome must choose ﬁ rst
to pay 2 Food or pass and go last. Then
Persia. Then China. After that all who did
not pay are moved to the end, but keep
relative order. All who did pay go to the
front, but keep relative order. So if Rome
paid but not the others the order would
become 1: Rome, 2: China, 3: Persia.
Example: At the end of Antiquity Blue has 13
Books, Yellow 11, Green 11 and Red 4. Blue gains
3 VP, Yellow and Green 1 VP and Red 0 VP.
-4-4-4
111111
-4-4-4
18 19

to lose at most 1 VP per Example Player order is 1 China 2 Persia 3 Rome Rome must choose ﬁ rst to pay 2 Food or pass and go last Then Persia Then China After that all who did not pay are moved to the end but keep relative order All who did pay go to the front but keep relative order So if Rome paid but not the others the order would become 1 Rome 2 China 3 Persia Example At the end of Antiquity Blue has 13 Books Yellow 11 Green 11 and Red 4 Blue gains 3 VP Yellow and Green 1 VP and Red 0 VP 4 4 4 111111 4 4 4 18 19

---

Game end
Victory points are awarded normally for accumulated
Books at the end of Resolution Phase in round 8. After
that the ﬁ nal scoring is done and the winner celebrated!
Final scoring
At the end of the game, record the score of each nation
on the score pad as follows:
A. Game VP
B. Colonies
C. Wonders

D. Buildings and Military
E. Resources
A. Game VP
Game VP is the sum of the value of the tokens that
you have at the end of the game (those you started with
plus or minus any gained throughout the game).
B. Colonies
Add the VPs gained from your Colonies.
C. Wonders
Add VPs gained from your Wonders, including any special
VP bonus they might award.
D. Buildings and Military
Sum up the VPs gained from your Workers deployed on
Buildings and Military. The number of VPs for a deployed
Worker can be seen below the picture of the Building and
Military. The ﬁ rst Worker on a card gives the leftmost VP
value, the second Worker the next and so on. If there are
more Workers than VP symbols on the card, the excess
Workers gain no VPs for you. Buildings and Military with-
out Workers do not yield any VPs.
E. Resources
Add up the value of your remaining Gold, Food and Stone
tokens as well as your accumulated Books. To that ﬁ gure,
add your current Military Strength and Stability. For each
full 10 of this sum you get 1 VP.
Add up the total number. The nation with the most VPs
is the winner. Any ties are resolved in player order.
Although the last part of the end
scoring is called ‘Resources’ for
short, do not forget to add your
Military Strength and Stability
to the ﬁ gure.
Example: 3 Stone, 7 Gold, 5 Food, 6 Books,
10 Military Strength and 6 Stability sums
up to 37, and gives you 3 VP.
Game end
Victory points are awarded normally for accumulated
Books at the end of Resolution Phase in round 8. After
that the ﬁ nal scoring is done and the winner celebrated!
Final scoring
At the end of the game, record the score of each nation
on the score pad as follows:
A. Game VP
B. Colonies
C. Wonders
D. Buildings and Military
E. Resources
A. Game VP
Game VP is the sum of the value of the tokens that
you have at the end of the game (those you started with
plus or minus any gained throughout the game).
B. Colonies
Add the VPs gained from your Colonies.
C. Wonders
Add VPs gained from your Wonders, including any special
VP bonus they might award.
D. Buildings and Military
Sum up the VPs gained from your Workers deployed on
Buildings and Military. The number of VPs for a deployed
Worker can be seen below the picture of the Building and
Military. The ﬁ rst Worker on a card gives the leftmost VP
value, the second Worker the next and so on. If there are
more Workers than VP symbols on the card, the excess
Workers gain no VPs for you. Buildings and Military with-
out Workers do not yield any VPs.
E. Resources
Add up the value of your remaining Gold, Food and Stone
tokens as well as your accumulated Books. To that ﬁ gure,
add your current Military Strength and Stability. For each
full 10 of this sum you get 1 VP.
Add up the total number. The nation with the most VPs
is the winner. Any ties are resolved in player order.
Although the last part of the end
scoring is called ‘Resources’ for
short, do not forget to add your
Military Strength and Stability
to the ﬁ gure.
Although the last part of the end
scoring is called ‘Resources’ for
short, do not forget to add your
Military Strength and Stability
Although the last part of the end
scoring is called ‘Resources’ for
short, do not forget to add your
Military Strength and Stability
Example: 3 Stone, 7 Gold, 5 Food, 6 Books,
10 Military Strength and 6 Stability sums
up to 37, and gives you 3 VP.
20 21

---

Recommendations to learn the game
»With beginners, use only basic cards, the A-sides of
the Player Boards, play with 3-4 players and take no
worker the ﬁ rst few rounds.
»
With advanced players, use basic and advanced
cards, play with 2-4 players
»
With expert players, use all cards, play with any num-
ber of players.
Advanced and expert game
The advanced and expert cards add more interaction,
variation and new concepts. After a few games with basic
cards you can add the advanced cards, mixing them in
with the basic cards. After a few more games you can add
the expert cards.
5 players
With 5 players you must play the Advanced and/or Expert
game to have enough Progress Cards.
Positive Events also aﬀ ect the second strongest (unless
tied), negative Events aﬀ ect the two weakest (including
all tied). Other card eﬀ ects work similarly, so for Saint
Augustine (most stable) you get the eﬀ ect if you have
the most or second most Stability. Passed ﬁ rst counts
for passed ﬁ rst or second. Passed last counts for passed
fourth or ﬁ fth.
Example: China has 23 Military Strength, Persia 22,
Greece 22, Rome 5, Egypt 4. China is strongest, Rome
and Egypt are weakest.
Example: China has 8 Stability, Persia 7, Greece 5, Rome
5, Egypt 4. China and Persia are most stable. Greece,
Rome and Egypt are least stable.
2 players
The 2-player game is tough—you either win or lose all
Events. Competition is ﬁ ercer, you might take more
risks and the game might be (or seem to be) decided
early. Books yield fewer VP in absolute numbers, but as
with more players you want to have just more than your
opponent.
Competitive game
Nations is meant to be played as a friendly game. The
individual diﬃ culty levels, B-sides of the Player Boards
plus the advanced and expert decks enhance the enjoy-
ment of friendly games and allow for players with varying
experience to play very varied games together on equal
Additional rules & clarifications
terms. If you want to play a more competitive and regu-
lated game we recommend playing with 3-4 players, using
the A-sides of the Player Boards and choosing the same
diﬃ culty level.
For balanced Progress Card decks, construct the decks
for each age by starting with the base cards and then
exchange some base cards with advanced and/or expert
cards of the same type as the exchanged base card (e.g.
replace a base set Advisor with an expert Advisor).
Short game
If you want to play a shorter game, decide before the start
how many ages you want to play. Play the game normally
and at the end of the last age do the full scoring calcula-
tion. For learning games with players unaccustomed to
long and complex games, playing the ﬁ rst 2 or 3 ages
instead of a full game can be a good idea.
Easier game
If you ﬁ nd the game too tough you can start with an
extra Worker. Take one Worker from the track and hide
the upkeep for it. This makes building up your engine
easier, but also allows for more competition for events
and Books. With this variant it is common to both over-
produce a resource and to overcommit when ﬁ ghting for
early points.
B-sides
After a couple of games you can try to play with the
B-sides of the Player Boards. Each has some special
rules and changes, all shown on the boards. Note the
diﬀ erences in starting resources, especially the addi-
tional worker for China.
The setup is done in this order: randomize player
order, select diﬃ culties, place initial cards on card
row, randomize what Player Boards are in play (same
as number of players). Then select Player Boards in
reverse player order (player 5 selects ﬁ rst in a 5-player
game). When selecting you can choose to use the
A-side instead of the B-side. You can have the same
card twice if you buy a card already on the Player
Board from the start.
Example: In a 3-player game the Player Boards
China, Persia and Rome are drawn. The players look
at the cards on the Progress Board. Player 3 picks
Rome. Player 2 then chooses Persia, and ﬂ ips it to the
A-side. Player 1 picks China.
Recommendations to learn the game
»With beginners, use only basic cards, the A-sides of
the Player Boards, play with 3-4 players and take no
worker the ﬁ rst few rounds.
»With advanced players, use basic and advanced
cards, play with 2-4 players
»With expert players, use all cards, play with any num-
ber of players.
Advanced and expert game
The advanced and expert cards add more interaction,
variation and new concepts. After a few games with basic
cards you can add the advanced cards, mixing them in
with the basic cards. After a few more games you can add
the expert cards.
5 players
With 5 players you must play the Advanced and/or Expert
game to have enough Progress Cards.
Positive Events also aﬀ ect the second strongest (unless
tied), negative Events aﬀ ect the two weakest (including
all tied). Other card eﬀ ects work similarly, so for Saint
Augustine (most stable) you get the eﬀ ect if you have
the most or second most Stability. Passed ﬁ rst counts
for passed ﬁ rst or second. Passed last counts for passed
fourth or ﬁ fth.
Example: China has 23 Military Strength, Persia 22,
Greece 22, Rome 5, Egypt 4. China is strongest, Rome
and Egypt are weakest.
Example: China has 8 Stability, Persia 7, Greece 5, Rome
5, Egypt 4. China and Persia are most stable. Greece,
Rome and Egypt are least stable.
2 players
The 2-player game is tough—you either win or lose all
Events. Competition is ﬁ ercer, you might take more
risks and the game might be (or seem to be) decided
early. Books yield fewer VP in absolute numbers, but as
with more players you want to have just more than your
opponent.
Competitive game
Nations is meant to be played as a friendly game. The
individual diﬃ culty levels, B-sides of the Player Boards
plus the advanced and expert decks enhance the enjoy-
ment of friendly games and allow for players with varying
experience to play very varied games together on equal
Additional rules & clarifications
terms. If you want to play a more competitive and regu-
lated game we recommend playing with 3-4 players, using
the A-sides of the Player Boards and choosing the same
diﬃ culty level.
For balanced Progress Card decks, construct the decks
for each age by starting with the base cards and then
exchange some base cards with advanced and/or expert
cards of the same type as the exchanged base card (e.g.
replace a base set Advisor with an expert Advisor).
Short game
If you want to play a shorter game, decide before the start
how many ages you want to play. Play the game normally
and at the end of the last age do the full scoring calcula-
tion. For learning games with players unaccustomed to
long and complex games, playing the ﬁ rst 2 or 3 ages
instead of a full game can be a good idea.
Easier game
If you ﬁ nd the game too tough you can start with an
extra Worker. Take one Worker from the track and hide
the upkeep for it. This makes building up your engine
easier, but also allows for more competition for events
and Books. With this variant it is common to both over-
produce a resource and to overcommit when ﬁ ghting for
early points.
B-sides
After a couple of games you can try to play with the
B-sides of the Player Boards. Each has some special
rules and changes, all shown on the boards. Note the
diﬀ erences in starting resources, especially the addi-
tional worker for China.
The setup is done in this order: randomize player
order, select diﬃ culties, place initial cards on card
row, randomize what Player Boards are in play (same
as number of players). Then select Player Boards in
reverse player order (player 5 selects ﬁ rst in a 5-player
game). When selecting you can choose to use the
A-side instead of the B-side. You can have the same
card twice if you buy a card already on the Player
Board from the start.
Example: In a 3-player game the Player Boards
China, Persia and Rome are drawn. The players look
at the cards on the Progress Board. Player 3 picks
Rome. Player 2 then chooses Persia, and ﬂ ips it to the
A-side. Player 1 picks China.
20 21

culties place initial cards on card row randomize what Player Boards are in play same as number of players Then select Player Boards in reverse player order player 5 selects ﬁ rst in a 5 player game When selecting you can choose to use the A side instead of the B side You can have the same card twice if you buy a card already on the Player Board from the start Example In a 3 player game the Player Boards China Persia and Rome are drawn The players look at the cards on the Progress Board Player 3 picks Rome Player 2 then chooses Persia and ﬂ ips it to the A side Player 1 picks China 20 21

---

1 Player Variant
In the solo game you play against a shadow opponent
represented by Event tiles and a die. You strive to maxi-
mize your victory points at the end of the game. If you
play it to learn the game it is recommended to only use
the basic cards, as in the ﬁ rst game with more players,
and play on Prince.
Instead of drawing a normal Event Card you will draw
a random Event tile from the current age, showing:
»what Strength and Stability values the shadow oppo-
nent starts with this round, and possible changes.
Note that the Strength and Stability of the Shadow
can vary up and down signiﬁ cantly between turns,
and even during a turn depending on what you roll.
»how many books to add to the total for the Shadow
at the beginning of this round. Note that there can be
further changes depending on what you roll.
»how many architects are avilable
»the famine level
The game is played normally and all comparisons are
done with the current value of the shadow opponent. If
the shadow opponent has no value you win that category
(always passed ﬁ rst, always most Workers etc).
You start as player 1, with 1 Book. The shadow oppo-
nent starts with 2 Books. On the Progress Board, use 4
Progress Card columns.
After every action (including a special action) except
deploying a worker on a building you must roll the die
for the shadow opponent.
Also roll the die for the shadow opponent before your
ﬁ rst turn in a round if you are 2nd in player order.
The D6 roll result is resolved as follows:
1-4: Remove all Progress Cards from the correspon-
ding column on the Progress Board. If there was
at least one War left in that column, the shadow
opponent “buys” the cheapest War. The strength
of the War is the shadow opponent’s Military
Strength at the time it “bought” the War. If the
column is empty, nothing happens. Neither you
nor the shadow may buy a war if one already has
been bought this round. If the shadow rolls for a
war you discard it.
5-6: Resolve the corresponding action for the shadow
opponent stated on the current Event tile. Apply
the same eﬀ ect again if a number is rolled several
times during a round.
At the end of the round, compare your stability with that
of the shadow.
+1 VP if more Stability than shadow opponent,
-1 VP otherwise
At the end of the game compare your score with the
Hall of Fame. Try to score more in the next game and
when you feel ready play on a harder diﬃ culty level. Note
that the total VP in a solo game is not comparable to a
multiplayer game.
The Shadow is not aﬀ ected by wars in any way. You
can buy wars to avoid the eﬀ ects, as only one war can be
bought each round.
Solo round summary:
»Move round marker
»Reﬁ ll Progress Cards
»Growth or bonus resources
»Draw Event tile (no normal Event Card)
»Place opponent Military Strength and Stability
»Add Books for shadow opponent
»Reﬁ ll Architects
»Take actions
»Produce
»Player order
»War
»+1 VP if more Stability than shadow opponent,
»-1 VP otherwise
»Famine
»Score 3 VP if more Books at end of age
Solo Hall of Fame
»70 Trajan
»60 Ashoka
»55 Wu Zetian
»50 Saladin
»45 Victoria
»40 Charles V
»35 Cleopatra
»30 Pericles
»25 Darius III
»20 Atahualpa
»15 Cixi
»10 Dan Quayle
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
4
1
2
0
4
3
1
2
1
+2
-2
+2
+1
-2
+2
-4
-3
-2
-2
-3
-11
3
3
4
1
0
2
2
3
7
6
+3
+1
-2
-1
-3
-1
10
1
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
5 0
1
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
3
3
3
10
10
10
10
10
1
3
3
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
10
Round Summary
MAINTENANCE PHASE
(p.12-13)
1. Round Marker: Move to next round
2. Progress Cards: Refill Progress Board
3. Growth: Takeor
//
4. New Events: Draw new Event Card
5. Architects: Refill Architect spaces
ACTION PHASE
(p.14-17)
A. Buy Progress Card
B. Deploy
C. Hire Architect
D. Special action
RESOLUTION PHASE
(p.18- 19)
1. Production
2. Player order
3. War
4. Events
5. Famine
(6.) : Score if end of age
Nations_punchboard_2014-02-24.indd 1 04-Mar-14 17:42:10
Example of Solo event tile front.
Age
Architects Famine
Strength
Books
Stability
Changes
1 Player Variant
In the solo game you play against a shadow opponent
represented by Event tiles and a die. You strive to maxi-
mize your victory points at the end of the game. If you
play it to learn the game it is recommended to only use
the basic cards, as in the ﬁ rst game with more players,
and play on Prince.
Instead of drawing a normal Event Card you will draw
a random Event tile from the current age, showing:
»what Strength and Stability values the shadow oppo-
nent starts with this round, and possible changes.
Note that the Strength and Stability of the Shadow
can vary up and down signiﬁ cantly between turns,
and even during a turn depending on what you roll.
»how many books to add to the total for the Shadow
at the beginning of this round. Note that there can be
further changes depending on what you roll.
»how many architects are avilable
»the famine level
The game is played normally and all comparisons are
done with the current value of the shadow opponent. If
the shadow opponent has no value you win that category
(always passed ﬁ rst, always most Workers etc).
You start as player 1, with 1 Book. The shadow oppo-
nent starts with 2 Books. On the Progress Board, use 4
Progress Card columns.
After every action (including a special action) except
deploying a worker on a building you must roll the die
for the shadow opponent.
Also roll the die for the shadow opponent before your
ﬁ rst turn in a round if you are 2nd in player order.
The D6 roll result is resolved as follows:
1-4:Remove all Progress Cards from the correspon-
ding column on the Progress Board. If there was
at least one War left in that column, the shadow
opponent “buys” the cheapest War. The strength
of the War is the shadow opponent’s Military
Strength at the time it “bought” the War. If the
column is empty, nothing happens. Neither you
nor the shadow may buy a war if one already has
been bought this round. If the shadow rolls for a
war you discard it.
5-6:Resolve the corresponding action for the shadow
opponent stated on the current Event tile. Apply
the same eﬀ ect again if a number is rolled several
times during a round.
At the end of the round, compare your stability with that
of the shadow.
+1 VP if more Stability than shadow opponent,
-1 VP otherwise
At the end of the game compare your score with the
Hall of Fame. Try to score more in the next game and
when you feel ready play on a harder diﬃ culty level. Note
that the total VP in a solo game is not comparable to a
multiplayer game.
The Shadow is not aﬀ ected by wars in any way. You
can buy wars to avoid the eﬀ ects, as only one war can be
bought each round.
Solo round summary:
»Move round marker
»Reﬁ ll Progress Cards
»Growth or bonus resources
»Draw Event tile (no normal Event Card)
»Place opponent Military Strength and Stability
»Add Books for shadow opponent
»Reﬁ ll Architects
»Take actions
»Produce
»Player order
»War
»+1 VP if more Stability than shadow opponent,
»-1 VP otherwise
»Famine
»Score 3 VP if more Books at end of age
Solo Hall of Fame
»70 Trajan
»60 Ashoka
»55 Wu Zetian
»50 Saladin
»45 Victoria
»40 Charles V
»35 Cleopatra
»30 Pericles
»25 Darius III
»20 Atahualpa
»15 Cixi
»10 Dan Quayle
1
2
0
+2
-4
0
Example of Solo event tile front.
2
1
AgeAge
Architects Famine
Strength
Books
Stability
Changes
+2+2+2
11
+3
22 23

Move round marker Reﬁ ll Progress Cards Growth or bonus resources Draw Event tile no normal Event Card Place opponent Military Strength and Stability Add Books for shadow opponent Reﬁ ll Architects Take actions Produce Player order War 1 VP if more Stability than shadow opponent 1 VP otherwise Famine Score 3 VP if more Books at end of age Solo Hall of Fame 70 Trajan 60 Ashoka 55 Wu Zetian 50 Saladin 45 Victoria 40 Charles V 35 Cleopatra 30 Pericles 25 Darius III 20 Atahualpa 15 Cixi 10 Dan Quayle 1 2 0 2 4 0 Example of Solo event tile front 2 1 AgeAge Architects Famine Strength Books Stability Changes 2 2 2 11 3 22 23

---

Appendix
Notes and reminders
»Cards that have a speciﬁ c eﬀ ect when a condition has
been fulﬁ lled, or can only be used once per round:
Place a marker on the card when fulﬁ lled or used.
Remove it at the end of the round.
»Card texts overrule the general rules in the rulebook.
»Resources are produced before they are consumed, so
there is for example no need to have a buﬀ er from last
round to feed your military.
»
You may not voluntarily spend more resources than
you have and lose VP, this can only happen when you
are forced to lose something.
»
All architects are cleared from the architects space
before placing new ones there at the start of a round.
Architects never accumulate, so any that are not used
during a round (private or public) are lost.
»Cards normally only aﬀ ect the Nation they are placed
in. Some cards, speciﬁ cally those incurring an eﬀ ect on
the nations with least or most of something, can aﬀ ect
others as well. Another notable type is when cards aﬀ ect
All, then they will also aﬀ ect the Nation it is in.
»A card with ”Production: If most Strength: +2 Stone”
means: If you are the strongest during the Production
phase you get 2 extra Stone. You get nothing if shared
strongest.
»
A card with ”If X: remove” means: If you at any moment,
even during the brief moment when someone undeploys
a worker to deploy in another building or military, con-
dition X is fulﬁ lled, you must remove the card and lose
the eﬀ ects of it.
»
When buying a battle you only beneﬁ t from the best
Raid value if you have at least 1 worker on that military
card. Having more than 1 worker on a card makes no
diﬀ erence, you never get multiples of the Battle eﬀ ects.
»Golden Age Bonus X means you get X more of the same
resource you get from a Golden Age you buy, or if you
pay resources to get the VP you pay X less. Minimum
0, you can not gain resources from buying VP. If you
have several Golden Age bonus eﬀ ects they all apply,
so if you have both bonus 1 and bonus 2 you eﬀ ectively
have Golden Age bonus 3.
»
You can place a ready Wonder over an existing wonder,
even if you have free wonder slots. A wonder eﬀ ect that
happens when a wonder is ready is performed even if
the new wonder replaces the wonder with that eﬀ ect.
»
Stability only reduces losses from defeat in war, it does
not reduce losses from event eﬀ ects.
»
In a 5-player game with 2 Nations having the most
Strength, both get the bonus from a strongest Nation
event.
»
In a 5-player game with 3 Nations having the most
Strength, none get the bonus from a strongest Nation
event.
Historical notes
The game starts in Prehistoric (before 4000 B.C.E) and is
then divided into four ages: Antiquity (4000 B.C.E-500
C.E), Medieval (500-1450 C.E), Renaissance (1450-1750
C.E) and Industrial (1750-1913 C.E). A nation in Nations
is not deﬁ ned simply as a nation state in its modern form
but also as cultural spheres and as coalitions of peoples.
Many scholars argue that the concept of Nation is a
fairly modern, post-Westphalian invention. To be truly
accurate and capture the various political groupings that
have existed throughout history, we should have called the
game: Nations, empires, city states, tribes, polis, civiliza-
tions, kingdoms, republics, caliphates, cantons, hordes,
democracies, dominions, principalities, countries, unions,
confederations, tyrannies, despotisms and theocracies.
However, that title didn’t ﬁ t on the box.
Books represents the heritage of your Nation; develop-
ments in art, technology and religion. It is the sum of what
is remembered and passed down throught the generations
in the Nation and also what is known in the world about
the Nation.
Food represents preparations for catastrophes. Gold rep-
resents the development of your Nation, what you focus on
accomplishing and improving. Stone represent industrial
development. Strength represents military might. Stability
represents national unity, the power of the central govern-
ment and dynastic stability.
See www.lautapelit.ﬁ /Nations for a latest version of the rulebook and a com-
prehensive FAQ with detailed descriptions of just about everything that you might
wonder about regarding interactions between cards and comments about eﬀ ects in
Nations. You do not need that document to play the game. However, if you are uncer-
tain about a speciﬁ c card or situation you can look it up here.
Appendix
Notes and reminders
»Cards that have a speciﬁ c eﬀ ect when a condition has
been fulﬁ lled, or can only be used once per round:
Place a
been fulﬁ lled, or can only be used once per round: been fulﬁ lled, or can only be used once per round:
marker on the card when fulﬁ lled or used. marker on the card when fulﬁ lled or used.
Remove it at the end of the round. Remove it at the end of the round. Remove it at the end of the round.
»Card texts overrule the general rules in the rulebook.
»Resources are produced before they are consumed, so
there is for example no need to have a buﬀ er from last
round to feed your military.
»You may not voluntarily spend more resources than
you have and lose VP, this can only happen when you
are forced to lose something.
»All architects are cleared from the architects space
before placing new ones there at the start of a round.
Architects never accumulate, so any that are not used
during a round (private or public) are lost.
»Cards normally only aﬀ ect the Nation they are placed
in. Some cards, speciﬁ cally those incurring an eﬀ ect on
the nations with least or most of something, can aﬀ ect
others as well. Another notable type is when cards aﬀ ect
All, then they will also aﬀ ect the Nation it is in.
»A card with ”Production: If most Strength: +2 Stone”
means: If you are the strongest during the Production
phase you get 2 extra Stone. You get nothing if shared
strongest.
»A card with ”If X: remove” means: If you at any moment,
even during the brief moment when someone undeploys
a worker to deploy in another building or military, con-
dition X is fulﬁ lled, you must remove the card and lose
the eﬀ ects of it.
»When buying a battle you only beneﬁ t from the best
Raid value if you have at least 1 worker on that military
card. Having more than 1 worker on a card makes no
diﬀ erence, you never get multiples of the Battle eﬀ ects.
»Golden Age Bonus X means you get X more of the same
resource you get from a Golden Age you buy, or if you
pay resources to get the VP you pay X less. Minimum
0, you can not gain resources from buying VP. If you
have several Golden Age bonus eﬀ ects they all apply,
so if you have both bonus 1 and bonus 2 you eﬀ ectively
have Golden Age bonus 3.
»You can place a ready Wonder over an existing wonder,
even if you have free wonder slots. A wonder eﬀ ect that
happens when a wonder is ready is performed even if
the new wonder replaces the wonder with that eﬀ ect.
»Stability only reduces losses from defeat in war, it does
not reduce losses from event eﬀ ects.
»In a 5-player game with 2 Nations having the most
Strength, both get the bonus from a strongest Nation
event.
»In a 5-player game with 3 Nations having the most
Strength, none get the bonus from a strongest Nation
event.
Historical notes
The game starts in Prehistoric (before 4000 B.C.E) and is
then divided into four ages: Antiquity (4000 B.C.E-500
C.E), Medieval (500-1450 C.E), Renaissance (1450-1750
C.E) and Industrial (1750-1913 C.E). A nation in Nations
is not deﬁ ned simply as a nation state in its modern form
but also as cultural spheres and as coalitions of peoples.
Many scholars argue that the concept of Nation is a
fairly modern, post-Westphalian invention. To be truly
accurate and capture the various political groupings that
have existed throughout history, we should have called the
game: Nations, empires, city states, tribes, polis, civiliza-
tions, kingdoms, republics, caliphates, cantons, hordes,
democracies, dominions, principalities, countries, unions,
confederations, tyrannies, despotisms and theocracies.
However, that title didn’t ﬁ t on the box.
Books represents the heritage of your Nation; develop-
ments in art, technology and religion. It is the sum of what
is remembered and passed down throught the generations
in the Nation and also what is known in the world about
the Nation.
Food represents preparations for catastrophes. Gold rep-
resents the development of your Nation, what you focus on
accomplishing and improving. Stone represent industrial
development. Strength represents military might. Stability
represents national unity, the power of the central govern-
ment and dynastic stability.
See www.lautapelit.ﬁ /Nations for a latest version of the rulebook and a com-
prehensive FAQ with detailed descriptions of just about everything that you might
wonder about regarding interactions between cards and comments about eﬀ ects in
Nations. You do not need that document to play the game. However, if you are uncer-
tain about a speciﬁ c card or situation you can look it up here.
22 23

known in the world about the Nation Food represents preparations for catastrophes Gold rep resents the development of your Nation what you focus on accomplishing and improving Stone represent industrial development Strength represents military might Stability represents national unity the power of the central govern ment and dynastic stability See www lautapelit ﬁ Nations for a latest version of the rulebook and a com prehensive FAQ with detailed descriptions of just about everything that you might wonder about regarding interactions between cards and comments about eﬀ ects in Nations You do not need that document to play the game However if you are uncer tain about a speciﬁ c card or situation you can look it up here 22 23

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Game Summary
Round
MAINTENANCE PHASE (p.12-13)
1. Round Marker: Move to next round
2. Progress Cards: Reﬁ ll Progress Board
3. Growth: Take or / /
4. New Events: Draw new Event Card
5. Architects: Reﬁ ll Architect spaces
ACTION PHASE (p.14-17)
A. Buy Progress Card
B. Deploy
C. Hire Architect
D. Special Action
RESOLUTION PHASE (p.18-19)
1.
Production: Building+Military+Colony+Wonder+
Advisor. Remember consumption/upkeep .
2. Player order: Adjust if needed
3. War: If defeated, lose VP and pay resources
4. Events: Resolve both events on Event Card
5. Famine
(6.) : Score if end of age
Game end
Scoring
A. Game VP
B. Colonies
C. Wonders

D. Buildings and Military
E. Resources
A. Game VP
Game VP is the sum of the value of the tokens
that you have at the end of the game (those you started
with plus or minus any gained throughout the game).
B. Colonies
Add the VPs gained from your Colonies.
C. Wonders
Add VPs gained from your Wonders, including any
special VP bonus they might award.
D. Buildings and Military
Sum up the VPs gained from your Workers deployed
on Buildings and Military. The number of VPs for a
deployed Worker can be seen below the picture of the
Building and Military. The ﬁ rst Worker on a card gives
the leftmost VP value, the second Worker the next and
so on. If there are more Workers than VP symbols on
the card, the excess Workers gain no VPs for you. Build-
ings and Military without Workers do not yield any VPs.
E. Resources
Add up the value of your remaining Gold, Food and
Stone tokens as well as your accumulated Books. To
that ﬁ gure, add your current Military Strength and
Stability. For each full 10 of this sum you get 1 VP.
Add up the total number. The nation with the most
VPs is the winner. Any ties are resolved in player order.
5 players
With 5 players you must play the Advanced and/or Expert
game to have enough Progress Cards.
Positive Events also aﬀ ect the second strongest (unless
tied), negative Events aﬀ ect the two weakest (including all
tied). Other card eﬀ ects work similarly, so for Saint Augus-
tine (most stable) you get the eﬀ ect if you have most or
second most Stability. Passed ﬁ rst counts for passed ﬁ rst
or second. Passed last counts for passed fourth or ﬁ fth.
Game Summary
Round
MAINTENANCE PHASE (p.12-13)
1. Round Marker: Move to next round
2. Progress Cards: Reﬁ ll Progress Board
3. Growth: Takeor / /
4. New Events: Draw new Event Card
5. Architects: Reﬁ ll Architect spaces
ACTION PHASE (p.14-17)
A. Buy Progress Card
B. DeployDeploy
C. Hire Architect
D. Special Action
RESOLUTION PHASE (p.18-19)
1. Production: Building+Military+Colony+Wonder+
Advisor. Remember consumption/upkeep.
2. Player order: Adjust if needed
3. War: If defeated, lose VP and pay resources
4. Events: Resolve both events on Event Card
5. Famine
(6.) : Score if end of age
Game end
Scoring
A. Game VP
B. Colonies
C. Wonders
D. Buildings and Military
E. Resources
A. Game VP
Game VP is the sum of the value of the tokens
that you have at the end of the game (those you started
with plus or minus any gained throughout the game).
B. Colonies
Add the VPs gained from your Colonies.
C. Wonders
Add VPs gained from your Wonders, including any
special VP bonus they might award.
D. Buildings and Military
Sum up the VPs gained from your Workers deployed
on Buildings and Military. The number of VPs for a
deployed Worker can be seen below the picture of the
Building and Military. The ﬁ rst Worker on a card gives
the leftmost VP value, the second Worker the next and
so on. If there are more Workers than VP symbols on
the card, the excess Workers gain no VPs for you. Build-
ings and Military without Workers do not yield any VPs.
E. Resources
Add up the value of your remaining Gold, Food and
Stone tokens as well as your accumulated Books. To
that ﬁ gure, add your current Military Strength and
Stability. For each full 10 of this sum you get 1 VP.
Add up the total number. The nation with the most
VPs is the winner. Any ties are resolved in player order.
5 players
With 5 players you must play the Advanced and/or Expert
game to have enough Progress Cards.
Positive Events also aﬀ ect the second strongest (unless
tied), negative Events aﬀ ect the two weakest (including all
tied). Other card eﬀ ects work similarly, so for Saint Augus-
tine (most stable) you get the eﬀ ect if you have most or
second most Stability. Passed ﬁ rst counts for passed ﬁ rst
or second. Passed last counts for passed fourth or ﬁ fth.
24 24

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Nations

2013 1–5 players ★ 7.6 ⚙ 3.5/5

Go to Game Page How to Play Guide

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