Game Objective: Build the Greatest Nation in History!

In Nations, you and your friends take control of great nations, from ancient times to the First Great War. The objective is simple, yet challenging: guide your civilization through 4 historical eras, balancing immediate needs, threats, and opportunities, to accumulate the maximum number of Victory Points (VP) and become the greatest nation in human history!

You will need to provide Food and Stability for your growing population, build a productive economy, and amaze the world with great achievements, symbolized by Books. At the end of each era, you earn VP for having more Books than other nations. At the end of the game, the nation with the most VP across all its achievements will be the grand winner!

Preparation (Setup): Assembling Your Empire

Preparing Nations for your first game is an organized process. Let's set up the table for 4 players:

1. Each player takes a Player Board. For the first game, use side A.
2. Shuffle the Event Cards for each era separately. Set aside the Era II-IV decks for now. For the first game, do not use the Advanced and Expert cards.
3. The 50 Book tokens form a complete circle on the Heritage Track.
4. Place the shuffled Era I Event Card deck near the Score Board.
5. Place the Architects near the Score Board. This will be the "Architect Supply".
6. The Score Board and the Progress Board are placed in the center of the table, close to each other.
7. Shuffle the Progress Card decks for each era separately. Set aside the Era II-IV decks. For the first game, do not use the Advanced and Expert cards.
8. Place the resource markers (Gold, Stone, Food, Books) within reach of all players. This is the "Resource Supply".
9. Place the shuffled Era I Progress Card deck near the Progress Board.

Score Board Setup:

1. Player Order: Randomly select the order. The first player places their disc on number 1 of the Heritage Track, followed by the others, so that the last player's disc will be at the front. Each player also places another disc on the corresponding numbers on the Player Order Track.
2. Round Marker: Place the white round marker on space "A" of Era I (Antiquity).
3. Difficulty Level: Each player chooses their difficulty level (Chieftain, Prince, King, or Emperor) by placing a disc of their color on the desired level.
4. Military Strength Track: Each player places a disc of their color on the 0 value of the Military Strength Track.
5. War Marker: Place the black War Marker in this location.
6. Stability Track: Each player places a disc of their color on the 0 value of the Stability Track.
7. Starting Architects: Place three Architects in the reserved squares for them (for 3-4 players).
8. The space for Event Cards remains empty for now.

Player Board Setup:

Your Player Board has spaces for:

• An Advisor (you can only have one at a time).
• Available spaces for Buildings and Military.
• A space for Wonder under construction (only one at a time).
• Up to 5 spaces for Completed Wonders.
• Your Resource Area, where you keep your starting resources and Workers.
• The Population Track, from which you take Workers.
• Two spaces for Colonies (maximum of two at a time).

Progress Board Setup:

The Progress Board starts empty. It will be filled with Progress Cards at the beginning of each round.

The Game Turn: Rise and Fall of Empires

Each round of Nations is divided into three main phases:

1. Maintenance Phase
2. Action Phase
3. Resolution Phase

Maintenance Phase: Preparing the Ground

This phase prepares the game for the next round:

1. Round Marker: Move the marker to the next space on the Round Track. (Ignore in the first round).
2. Progress Cards: Remove remaining cards from rows 1 and 2 of the Progress Board. Move cards from row 3 to row 1. Reveal new Progress Cards from the current era to fill all empty spaces.
3. Growth: In reverse player order, each nation decides between:
   • Grow Population: Take a Worker from the Population Track to your Resource Area. This reduces your Stability by 3 or requires paying 3 Food in the Production Phase.
   • Bonus Resources: Choose between Food, Stone, or Gold and gain the amount corresponding to your difficulty level.
4. New Events: Reveal an Event Card from the current era and place it in the historical event space on the Score Board.
5. Architects: Move any remaining Architects to the supply. Place new Architects in the space, according to the number of players and as indicated on the Event Card.

Action Phase: The Heart of Your Empire

This is the main phase where you will make crucial decisions for your nation. Players take turns, performing one action at a time, until everyone passes. Once a player passes, they can no longer take actions in the round.

You can choose one of the 3 basic actions or pass:

1. Buy a Progress Card:
   • Choose a card from the Progress Board and pay the Gold cost of the row it is in.
   • Cards are used immediately:
     • Buildings, Military, Advisors, Colonies, and Wonders are placed on your Player Board. If there is no space, an old card is removed.
     • Battles and Golden Ages are resolved and removed.
     • Wars are placed in the "War" space on the Score Board.
   • Remember to adjust your Military Strength and Stability immediately when covering cards, buying new ones, or allocating/deallocating Workers.

   Types of Progress Cards:

   • Building: Produce resources and/or increase your Stability when Workers are allocated.
   • Military: Increase your Military Strength and have an Attack value. May consume resources or decrease Stability.
   • Colony: Require a minimum Military Strength to be purchased and cause immediate effects.
   • War: Purchased by a player to challenge the Military Strength of other nations. Nations with less Military Strength than the War suffer defeat.
   • Battle: When purchased, you gain Books, Food, or Stone depending on the Attack value of your best Military card (with at least one Worker allocated). The card is removed.
   • Wonder: Placed in the "Wonder under construction" space. Needs Architects to be built in sections.
   • Advisor: Placed in the Advisor space. You can only have one at a time.
   • Golden Age: Offers the choice to gain resources or 1 VP by paying resources. The card is removed.
2. B. Allocate a Worker:
   • Move a Worker from your Resource Area (or from another Building/Military card) to an empty Building or Military card on your Player Board.
   • Pay the allocation cost in Stone indicated on the card.
   • You can allocate multiple Workers to a card (multiplying its effects), but only one Worker can be allocated per turn.
   • Deallocating a Worker (moving it back to your Resource Area) can be done at any time during your turn and does not count as an action.
3. C. Hire Architect:
   • If you have a Wonder under construction, take an Architect from the Score Board and place it on the leftmost free section of the Wonder.
   • Pay the construction cost in Stone for that section.
   • When the last section is built, the Wonder is complete. Move it to a Completed Wonder space on your Player Board and return the Architects to the supply.

Resolution Phase: Reaping the Rewards (and the Debts)

All players resolve this phase simultaneously:

1. Production:
   • Calculate the production and consumption of each resource (Gold, Food, Stone, Books) from your Buildings, Military, Colonies, Wonders, and Advisors.
   • Take or pay the resources. If your Books exceed 50, take a 50 Book token.
   • Nations with negative Stability (in revolt) lose 1 Book per negative point and 1 VP.
   • If you do not have enough resources (Stone, Gold, Food), lose 1 Book per missing resource and 1 VP for each type of missing resource (maximum 4 VP per round).
2. Player Order: The playing order for the next turn is determined by the highest Military Strength (the player with the most Military Strength plays first). In case of a tie, the highest Stability breaks the tie. If there is still a tie, the relative order remains. Redistribute the player order cards.
3. War: If a War was purchased, nations with lower Military Strength than the War suffer defeat. They lose resources (reduced by positive Stability) and 1 VP. The War is then removed.
4. Events: Resolve the two events on the Event Card. Remember that for positive effects, you need to win alone (no ties), and for negative effects, all tied for last suffer the penalty.
5. Scarcity: All nations pay the Food cost indicated on the Event Card.
6. Scoring at the end of each Era (Rounds 2, 4, 6, and 8): Each nation gains 1 VP for each nation that accumulated fewer Books than itself.

End of Game and Scoring: The Legacy of Your Nation

The game ends after the Resolution Phase of round 8. It's time to tally the VPs and see who built the greatest nation!

The final score is recorded on the score pad and follows these categories:

1. Game VPs: Sum the values of the VP tokens you accumulated during the game.
2. Colonies: Add the VPs gained from your Colonies.
3. Wonders: Add the VPs gained from your Wonders, including any special bonuses.
4. Buildings and Military: Sum the VPs gained by Workers allocated to your Buildings and Military. The VP value per Worker is shown on the card. Buildings and Military without Workers do not produce VPs.
5. Resources: Sum the value of your remaining Gold, Food, and Stone tokens, plus your Accumulated Books, your current Military Strength, and your current Stability. For every complete 10 of this sum, you gain 1 VP.

The nation with the highest total VPs is the winner! In case of a tie, player order breaks the tie.

Tips for Winning: Be a Wise Leader!

1. Balance is Key: Nations is a game of balance. You need Food for your population, Stone for constructions, Gold for new cards, Books for VPs, and Military Strength to protect yourself and conquer. Do not neglect any of these aspects, as the lack of one can be costly in VPs or even resources.
2. Pay Attention to Events and Player Order: Event Cards and War can have a huge impact. Plan your actions to prepare for negative events and take advantage of positive ones. Remember that Military Strength defines player order, and acting first can be crucial to grab the best Progress Cards or avoid penalties.
3. Manage Your Workers Wisely: Workers are your productive force. Allocating them to Buildings and Military is essential to generate resources, Stability, and Military Strength. However, each additional Worker in your resource area requires Food or reduces your Stability. Think carefully about where and when to expand your population!