Game Objective

Welcome, atomic age strategists! In The Manhattan Project, you are the leaders of great nations, plunged into a deadly race to build the biggest and best nuclear bombs. But don't think it's just a matter of science; espionage and military might will be your allies to ensure global supremacy!

Your objective is simple, yet challenging: accumulate Victory Points by building, testing, and loading Nuclear Bombs. The first nation to reach the necessary total points, which varies depending on the number of players, becomes the dominant superpower and wins the game!

• 2 Players: 70 points
• 3 Players: 60 points
• 4 Players: 50 points
• 5 Players: 45 points

Setup

Let's set up the table so the arms race can begin! Follow these steps for Setup:

1. The Board and the Supply

   • Place the Main Board in the center of the table.
   • Each player chooses a color and places a Colored Player Disc on the bottom space (0) of the Plutonium, Enriched Uranium, and Espionage tracks on the Main Board.
   • Create a General Supply with the following components:
     • Loaded Bomb Markers
     • Damage Markers
     • Coins
     • Yellowcake Cubes
     • All 12 gray Contractors
     • 4 Engineers of each player's color
     • 4 Scientists of each player's color
   • Organize the Implosion Test Markers by value. Use only those necessary for the number of players:
     • 2 players: "0" and "6"
     • 3 players: "0", "4" and "8"
     • 4 players: "0", "2", "4" and "6"
     • 5 players: All 5 markers
     Add the selected markers to the General Supply and return the others to the box.

2. The Building Market

   • Shuffle the six Initial Buildings (red back) and place them face up in the first 6 spaces of the Building Market (starting with the $2 space).
   • Shuffle the remaining 44 Buildings (blue back), form a face-down pile, and place the top card in the $20 space. Leave the rest of the pile on the Main Board.

3. The Bomb Cards

   • Shuffle the 30 Bomb Cards.
   • Draw a number of cards equal to the number of players plus one and place them face up in a line near the General Supply. (Ex: 4 cards for 3 players).
   • Place the rest of the cards in a face-down pile in the Supply.

4. Player Supplies

   • Each player chooses a color and places their corresponding Player Board in front of them. Make sure everyone can see and reach each other's boards.
   • Each player receives:
     • 4 Workers of their color
     • $10 in Coins
     • 1 Fighter Marker of their color — placed on space "1" of the Fighter Track
     • 1 Bomber Marker of their color — placed on space "1" of the Bomber Track
   • Your Workers and money are placed in your personal supply, visible to everyone.

5. Initial Player Bonuses

   • Choose the first player randomly. Play order proceeds clockwise.
   • Distribute the following bonuses from the General Supply, based on turn order:
     • Player 1: Receives nothing
     • Player 2: Receives $2
     • Player 3: Receives $4
     • Player 4: Receives $2 and a Scientist or Engineer of their color (player chooses)
     • Player 5: Receives $4 and a Scientist or Engineer of their color (player chooses)

The Game Turn

A game of The Manhattan Project is played in turns, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, until someone reaches the necessary victory score.

On your turn, you must choose one and only one of these two options:

• Allocate Workers
• Recall Workers

Important: If you do not have Workers in your personal supply to allocate, you are forced to Recall Workers.

Allocate Workers

This is your chance to get to work and make your nation prosper! If you choose to Allocate Workers, follow these steps:

1. You can allocate one Worker to the Main Board.

   • Each space on the Main Board holds only one Worker, except the Building Space (any number) and the Bomb Design Space (exactly two).
   • You cannot allocate a Worker to an already occupied space (except the Building Space).
   • If a space has requirements (like a Scientist or Engineer), you must meet them. If there is a slash (/), you only need to meet one of the requirements.
   • When allocating a Worker, they immediately perform the Worker Action of that location. You can choose not to perform the action, but allocation requirements (including payments) must still be met.
   • Some spaces on the Main Board have circular arrows around a resource or action. This means that all other players receive that benefit, even if you do not perform the main action.

2. You can allocate Workers to any number of Buildings on your Player Board. This step can be repeated as many times as you wish, until you run out of Workers or Buildings to use.

   • Each Building Card indicates the exact number of Workers that must be allocated to it.
   • You can never allocate a Worker to an already occupied Building or a damaged Building.
   • You can only allocate Workers to your own Buildings, unless you have used the Espionage Action in Step 1.
   • Buildings also have Worker requirements. A question mark (?) means any type of Worker can be allocated.

Both steps are optional, but you must allocate at least one Worker during your turn.

Additionally, at any time during your Allocate Workers turn, you can perform any number of Bomb Actions (Build, Test, Load), provided you have the necessary resources.

Worker Types

There are three types of Workers, all used in the same way:

• Laborer
• Engineer
• Scientist

They can be permanent (of your color) or Contractors (gray). Both have the same effect.

Common Worker Actions on the Main Board

• Construction: Allocating a Worker to the Construction Space allows you to buy a Building Card from the Building Market for the indicated cost. If you allocate an Engineer, you can build one of the 2 cheapest structures ($2 and $3) for free. Take the card, slide the others to the left, and reveal a new one in the $20 space. Building the three most expensive Buildings adds $1 to the Bribe Pile. Building the cheapest ($2) allows you to take all the money from the Bribe Pile.
• Factories (Money): Produce money from the General Supply. Some spaces require Yellowcake payment or produce money for opponents. Allocating a Worker to one of these spaces adds $1 to the Bribe Pile.
• Factories (Aircraft): Produce Fighters or Bombers, adding them to your tracks on the Player Board. Limit of 10 Fighters and 10 Bombers.
• Mines: Produce Yellowcake Cubes. Some spaces require money payment or produce Yellowcake for opponents.
• Universities: Produce other Workers (Laborers, Engineers, Scientists) from the General Supply, which can be used immediately. You can choose between permanent Workers or Contractors.
• Reactor: Requires a Scientist and 2 Yellowcake Cubes to produce 1 unit of Plutonium. Limit of 8 units of Plutonium.
• Enrichment Plant: Requires a Scientist, 2 Yellowcake Cubes, and $3 to produce 1 unit of Enriched Uranium. Limit of 8 units of Enriched Uranium.
• Air Strike: Allocating a Worker allows you to launch as many attacks as you wish, limited by your aircraft.
  • Fighter Attack: Spend 1 Fighter to destroy 1 enemy aircraft (Fighter or Bomber).
  • Bombing: Spend 1 Bomber to damage an enemy Building. Cannot bomb if the opponent has Fighters. Place a Damage Marker ("1" side up) on the attacked Building (or flip an existing one to the "2" side). Damaged Buildings cannot be used.
  • Negotiations: Can be made before an Air Strike, involving only the current round and the use of aircraft.
• Design Bombs: Requires an Engineer and a Scientist. All players take the face-up Bomb Cards, secretly choose one, and pass the remaining ones to the left, until each player has chosen one and the last card returns to the active player (who takes 2 cards in total). Replenish the face-up Bomb Cards (always one more than the number of players).
• Repairs: Allocating a Worker and paying $5 allows you to remove up to 3 damage points from your Buildings. Other players can repair damage to their buildings, paying $2 for the first, $3 for the second, and $5 for the third damage point (maximum of 3 points per player).
• Espionage: Allocating a Worker and paying $3 moves your disc on the Espionage column one space up (maximum of 6 spies). During Step 2 of this turn (and only this turn), you can allocate Workers to opponents' Buildings, up to the limit of the number of spies you have.

Actions in Buildings

All Buildings offer resource or Worker production, as indicated on the card. Worker and resource requirements are shown at the top of the card.

• Mines: Produce Yellowcake.
• Factories: Produce money and/or aircraft (Fighters or Bombers). If there is a slash (/), choose one of the options.
• Universities: Produce Workers (Laborers, Engineers, Scientists). If there is a slash (/), choose one type.
• Enrichment Plants: Produce Enriched Uranium, requiring money and Yellowcake. Limit of 8 units.
• Reactors: Produce Plutonium, requiring Yellowcake or Enriched Uranium (if there is a slash). Limit of 8 units.

Recall Workers

If you choose to Recall Workers, follow these three steps in sequence:

1. Return all your permanent Workers (of your color) from the Main Board and your opponents' Player Boards to your personal supply.
2. Return all Workers on your Buildings, Bombs, and Implosion Test Markers to their respective supplies. Contractors return to the General Supply; permanent Workers return to your personal supply.
3. Return all Contractors from the Main Board and your personal supply to the General Supply.

Note: At the end of your turn, there should be no Workers allocated to your Buildings, Bombs, or Implosion Test Markers. All your 12 permanent Workers must be in your personal supply or the General Supply, and there should be no Contractors allocated to the Main Board or your personal supply.

Recalling Workers must result in at least one permanent Worker being recalled. If this is not possible, you are forced to choose to Allocate Workers.

Bomb Actions

Bomb Actions are the path to victory! They can be performed at any time during your Allocate Workers turn and in any order, provided you have the necessary resources.

Important: Bomb Actions are the only actions that grant Victory Points!

1. Build Bomb

   To build a bomb:

   • Have the Bomb Card in your hand, the necessary Workers in your personal supply, and a sufficient amount of the appropriate Fuel (Enriched Uranium or Plutonium) on the Main Board.