Game Objective: Building a Better Dystopia

Alright, future dystopian leader! In Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia, you're not just playing a game, you're rewriting the history of a post-apocalyptic world. Your society, which you once thought was a utopia, has revealed its true distorted face. Now, with two loyal workers and the promise of more, you're ready to make your mark and take control!

This is a worker placement game where your dice are your workers, and the number on each represents their knowledge level. The more they explore, the smarter they get, and that can be a problem... too-smart workers might abandon your cause!

Your path to victory is paved with the sweat of your workers, the strength of your loyalties, and the tunnels you dig. But the main goal is land appropriation through area control. You'll do this by building structures that impose restrictions on other players, influence the game, and open new paths. Or, who knows, by focusing on collecting artifacts from the ancient world – rare objects that the dystopian elite covet and trade for land control.

The game ends when a player manages to place all of their 10 authority tokens on the board or on their cards. That player is the grand winner, taking control of the dystopia!

Setup: Assembling Your New Order

Let's set up the table to start shaping your dystopia! Follow these practical steps:

1. Board and Unavailable Territory Tokens: Place the board in the center of the table. On each territory (star-shaped) of each faction, place the unavailable territory tokens so that the number of remaining spaces equals the number of players. For example, in a 4-player game, 2 tokens go on each territory.
2. Construction Site Organization: Shuffle the structure tokens and place 6 of them face down on the construction sites on the board (within the marked spaces). The Icarite structures come pre-built. The remaining tokens will not be used.
3. Progress Markers and Digger Meeples: Place the progress markers on each "start" word on the loyalty track (bottom right corner of the board). Place 1 digger meeple at the beginning of each tunnel.
4. Authority Tokens: Each player takes 10 authority tokens of their color and places them next to their reference/ethical dilemma card.
5. Player Markers: Each player places 1 motivation marker (heart) on the leftmost space of the motivation track and 1 knowledge marker (face) on the + level of the knowledge track.
6. Resources and Commodities: Organize the commodity tokens (energy, food, water, and bliss) near their corresponding collection areas (Generator, Farm, Aquifer, and Cloud Mine). Do the same with the resource tokens (gold, stone, and clay) near their respective tunnels in Euphoria, Subterra, and Wasteland.
7. Ethical Dilemma Cards: Shuffle the 6 ethical dilemma cards and deal 1 to each player, face down (reference side up). You may look at yours.
8. Worker Dice: Each player starts with 2 worker dice of their color. Group the additional dice next to the board to form the recruitable worker pool.
9. Exclusive Action Space: Place 1 unavailable action space token at the end of each tunnel.
10. Recruit Cards: Shuffle the recruit cards and deal 4 to each player. Each player chooses 2 cards and discards the rest face down. Of the 2 chosen, 1 is their active recruit (face up, revealed simultaneously with others) and the other is their inactive recruit (face down). The remaining deck stays near the board.
11. Artifact Cards: Shuffle the artifact cards and place them face down near the board.
12. Multiplier Tokens: Each player receives 1 multiplier token to track resources and commodities, should the markers run out.
13. Starting Player: Each player rolls their 2 worker dice. The highest result wins and determines the starting player (in case of a tie, the oldest player wins). Keep the dice values, as they are the initial knowledge of your workers.

The Game Turn: Your Choices in the Dystopia

Your turn in Euphoria is straightforward, but full of decisions! You can do exactly one of the following options:

1. Place 1 Available Worker on the Board:
   • Choose 1 of your available workers (a die not on the board) and place it on an action space.
   • Order of Operations: Whenever you place a worker, first place it (bumping another if necessary/possible), then pay the cost, and only then gain the benefit.
   • Exception - Matching Dice: If at the start of your turn you have workers that share the same degree of knowledge (dice with the same result), you can place all those workers in a single turn, performing multiple consecutive actions!
2. Retrieve All or Part of Your Workers:
   • Instead of placing a worker, you can retrieve any number of your workers from the board (minimum 1).
   • Retrieval Cost: Pay the retrieval cost (indicated on the board, does not change with the number of workers) or lose 1 motivation to retrieve them for free.
   • Roll and Knowledge Check: Immediately roll the retrieved workers. If the sum of the knowledge of all your available workers (including those you just rolled) + your level on the knowledge track is equal to or greater than 16, you must lose the available worker with the highest knowledge (the die returns to the pool).
3. Reveal Your Ethical Dilemma Card:
   • Once per game, you can use your turn to complete your ethical dilemma card. You cannot place or retrieve workers in the same turn.
   • To complete it, flip the card and discard the required artifact OR any 2 artifact cards.
   • You choose: Fight the system (left side) to draw 2 recruit cards, keep 1 (as an inactive recruit, activating it if the faction already has a loyalty bonus of 3, and placing an authority token if it already has a bonus of 4), or Contribute to the dystopia (right side) to place an authority token directly on your ethical dilemma card.

Types of Action Spaces

There are three types of spaces where you can place your workers:

• Collective Use: Represented by a large light-gray rectangle. There is no limit to the number of workers.
  • Example: Commodity Areas (Generator, Aquifer, Farm, Cloud Mine). The number of commodities you collect is determined by the total knowledge of all workers present in the area.
    • Total Knowledge between 1 and 4: Gain 1 commodity and advance the loyalty track by 1 level.
    • Total Knowledge between 5 and 8: Gain 1 commodity and lose 1 level on the knowledge track.
    • Total Knowledge of 9 or More: Gain 2 commodities and gain 1 level on the knowledge track.
• Temporary Use: A dotted light-gray square with an arrow to the right. You can place a worker even if it's already occupied. By doing so, you bump the worker that was there, which returns to its owner and is immediately rolled.
  • Example: Tunnels, Built Structures, Artifact Markets.
  • Tunnels: Advance the digger meeple. Upon reaching the 6th level, inactive recruits of the corresponding faction are activated. At the 9th level, an exclusive action space is freed for workers of that faction.
  • Built Structures: Pay the costs and place an authority token on an empty faction territory or advance the loyalty track.
• Single Use: A solid light-gray square, without arrows, with a cost of 1 resource. To place your worker, pay the cost. You cannot be bumped.
  • Example: Structure Construction Sites. When the required number of spaces is filled simultaneously, the structure is completed. The contributing workers are bumped and rolled, and each contributing player places 1 authority token on the structure. Players without an authority token suffer the structure's penalty.

Motivation and Knowledge Tracks

• Motivation Track: Affects the number of artifact cards you can hold. Increasing motivation increases your card limit, decreasing motivation decreases it.
• Knowledge Track: Monitors the perception of your workers. If the collective knowledge (sum of available dice + your level on the track) is 16 or more, you lose the available worker with the highest knowledge.

Loyalty Track

It's not an action space, but it records the strength of each faction's loyalty. Advancing the loyalty progress marker by 1 level activates bonuses for players with active recruits of that faction:

• Bonus 1 (levels 2 to 4): Gain 1 extra commodity when visiting the corresponding commodity area.
• Bonus 2 (levels 5 to 7): Faction tunnel action gives more commodities. For Icarites, allows buying commodity after placing worker in Icarite territory.
• Bonus 3 (levels 8 to 10): Activates inactive recruits of the corresponding faction.
• Bonus 4 (level 11): Each player places 1 authority token on each active recruit they possess from that faction.

End of Game and Scoring: Triumph in the Dystopia

The game reaches its climax when a player manages to place all of their 10 authority tokens. That player is the winner and takes control of the dystopia!

Where to Place Authority Tokens

You can place your precious authority tokens in the following locations:

• On a structure (maximum 1): If you helped in its construction or used the corresponding artifact market.
• On a territory (star-shaped): No limit per player until all spaces are occupied.
• On a recruit card (maximum 1 per recruit): When the recruit's faction reaches the maximum loyalty level on the loyalty track (Bonus 4).
• On a completed ethical dilemma card (maximum 1): If you chose to "contribute to the dystopia".

Tie-breaker

It's possible for ties to occur, especially if multiple players place their last authority tokens at the same time. In these cases, the tie-breaker order is:

1. Highest motivation wins.
2. Lowest knowledge wins.
3. More structures with your authority tokens on them.
4. More territories with at least 1 of your authority tokens on them.
5. Roll all your available workers until a tie is broken (lowest value wins).

Tips for Winning: Strategies for the Dystopian Leader

So you don't get lost in this new world order, here are some essential tips:

• Focus on Your Active Recruit and Faction: In the first turns, concentrate your actions on the areas and bonuses of your active recruit's faction. This will give you a clear objective and help you understand the specific mechanics that benefit you.
• Manage Worker Knowledge: Remember, too-smart workers can flee! Keep an eye on the knowledge track and the total sum of available dice. Plan your retrievals to prevent collective knowledge from reaching 16 or more, which would cause you to lose a valuable worker.
• Take Advantage of Loyalty Bonuses: The loyalty track is a powerful source of benefits. Try to advance the loyalties of factions that correspond to your recruits to unlock extra bonuses in commodity areas, tunnels, and, crucially, activate your inactive recruits and gain authority tokens at Bonus 4.

Now you're ready to dive into Euphoria and build your best (or worst) dystopia!