Game Objective

Prepare to relive one of the greatest political scandals in American history with **Watergate**! In this two-player card game, you and a friend will dive into the intrigue and race against time that defined the Nixon era. One of you will take on the role of the **Editor** of a newspaper, tirelessly searching for evidence linking the White House to the scandal. Your objective is to connect at least **two informants** (represented by face-up photos on the **evidence board**) directly to President Nixon's photo, using an unbroken path of face-up **evidence tokens**. If you succeed, the truth will come out, and you win! On the other side, the **Nixon Administration** player (or simply **Nixon**) will do everything to suppress the scandal and protect the President. Your objective is simple: to see the game through to the end of Nixon's term, accumulating **5 momentum tokens** on your momentum card. If time runs out and the Editor hasn't uncovered the plot, the Administration prevails! Will the famous source "Deep Throat" manage to pass on enough information, or will the Nixon Administration manage to evade the evidence? The race against time has already begun!

Setup

Let's set up the table and dive into history! Follow these steps to prepare your game of **Watergate**:

1. First, decide who will be the **Editor** and who will be the **Nixon Administration** (or **Nixon**).
2. Position the **board** between the two players. The **Editor** should see it in the correct orientation, and **Nixon** upside down.
3. Each player takes their **21 cards** (20 game cards and 1 momentum card).
4. Position your **momentum card** face up, next to the **research track**, on your side of the board.
5. Shuffle your **20 game cards** and position them as a face-down **draw pile** in front of you.
6. Next to space 0 of the **research track**, position the **initiative card** face up, between the two momentum cards, so that the arrows point to the **Editor**. Leave the **end-of-round summary card** next to it.
7. Position the **initiative token** and **1 momentum token** on space 0 of the **research track**. Next to the board, form a supply with the remaining **8 momentum tokens**.
8. Create a supply for the **photo tokens**. This supply will be called the "**potential informants supply**".
9. Place the **36 evidence tokens** in the **bag**, leaving it within reach of the players.
10. **Nixon only**: Draw **3 evidence tokens** from the bag and look at them secretly. Then, position them face down on space 0 of the **research track**. Remember, **Nixon** can look at the tokens on the research track at any time, the **Editor** cannot.

Done! The table is set for the confrontation.

The Game Turn

**Watergate** is played in a series of rounds, and each round unfolds in three phases:

A) Initial Phase

To begin each round, follow these two steps:

• **Both players**: Check the side of the **initiative card** that points to you and draw the indicated number of cards (4 or 5 cards) from your personal **draw pile**. Bring these cards into your hand, keeping them secret from your opponent.
• If your **draw pile** runs out, simply shuffle your **discard pile** (formed during the game) to create a new face-down draw pile in front of you.

B) Card Phase

This is the main phase where the action happens!

• Starting with the player who has the **initiative** (the one to whom the arrows on the **initiative card** are pointing), players alternate turns until neither player has any cards left in their hand.
• On your turn, you must play **ONE card** from your hand. Each card has two parts: a **value** and an **action**. You must choose **ONE** of these parts to use.

Using the Card Value

If you choose to use the card's **value** (a number from 1 to 4), you will move a **token** present on the **research track** as many spaces in your direction as the value shown. You can choose to move:

• The **initiative token**.
• The **momentum token**.
• An **evidence token**.

**Rules for Moving Evidence Tokens:**

• There are three basic types of evidence, each in a specific color:
  • **Blue** (checks for Nixon's re-election campaign)
  • **Yellow** (Watergate complex blueprints)
  • **Green** (transcripts of Nixon's White House recordings)
• There are also **two-color evidence tokens**, which can be used as either of those colors.
• When using the card's value to move an **evidence token**, it must be a token of the color shown on the card, or a two-color token that includes that color.
• If your card shows a **wildcard** (with all 3 colors), you can move **any evidence token**.

**Moving Face-Down Evidence Tokens:**

• **As Nixon**: To move a face-down **evidence token** with the color shown on the card, simply reveal the token (turning it face up) and move it. Remember that **Nixon** can always look at face-down tokens.
• **As Editor**: If you want to move a face-down **evidence token**, ask **Nixon** if there is one with the color of your card (if your card is a wildcard, choose a color).
  • If there is one, **Nixon** must reveal it and move it the appropriate number of spaces to your side.
  • If there is more than one token of that color, **Nixon** chooses which one will be revealed and moved.
  • If there are no evidence tokens of that color, **Nixon** informs you, and you can move the **initiative token**, the **momentum token**, or an already revealed **evidence token** of the appropriate color (or, in the case of a wildcard, of any color).

**Important**: After using the card's value, discard it into a personal **discard pile**, face up. **Claiming Tokens on the Research Track:**

• Whenever you manage to move a **token** to space 5 on your side of the **research track**, any additional steps are wasted, and you immediately gain that token.
• Immediately after gaining a token, it leaves the **research track** and can no longer be moved.

Using the Card Action

If you choose to use the card's **action**, follow the instructions printed on it. There are three types of actions:

• **Events**: Most cards in the game have an event. **Events** must be removed from the game (to the box) after use, with the exception of the "Gambit" event, which has an alternative.
• **Conspirators**: Only **Nixon** has **Conspirators**. After **Nixon** uses this action, the card goes to Nixon's **discard pile**.
• **Journalists**: Only the **Editor** has **Journalists**. After the **Editor** uses this action, the card goes to the Editor's **discard pile**.

**Important Notes on Actions:**

• Some cards show **requirements** that must be met for the action to be possible.
• Some cards are **reaction cards**. You can only use the action of these cards as a direct reaction to a specific card played by your opponent.
• When following the card's instructions, you must completely perform all instructions, as much as possible. Instructions that cannot be performed (e.g., a token is not available) can be ignored.
• Whenever you move an **evidence token** that was face down, you must reveal it, leaving it face up.
• If an instruction tells you to "place a photo on the evidence board," take the corresponding person's **photo token** from the **potential informants supply** and place it in their space on the board. The **Editor** always places photos face up (recruited informants), while **Nixon** places them face down.
• Whenever you gain an **evidence token** (or are instructed by a card to place it on the **evidence board**), position it on an empty evidence space that is marked with a reminder of the token's color (or, in the case of two-color tokens, one of the two colors).
  • If you are the **Editor**, position the token face up (to create connections).
  • If you are **Nixon**, position it face down (to create disruptions).
  • **Attention**: if the evidence token shows a specific symbol, also move the **momentum token** one space in your direction on the **research track**.
• At any time, either player can look at the face-down **evidence tokens** that are already on the **evidence board**.
• At any time, either player can look at the cards in any of the **discard piles** and those that have been removed from the game (but never the cards present in the **draw piles**).

C) Evaluation Phase

Once neither player has any cards left in their hand, proceed with the evaluation phase, performing the following 5 steps, in order:

1. **Return neutral evidence tokens to the bag**: If there are any **evidence tokens** in space 0 of the **research track** (face up or face down), return them to the bag.
2. **Award the round's initiative token**: Award the **initiative token** to the player on whose side it ended its movement on the **research track**. If the **initiative token** is on space 0, it is gained by the player who did not have the initiative this round. If the **initiative token** was gained early this round, skip this step.
   • **Receiving the initiative token**: When you receive the **initiative token**, take it from the **research track** and place it on your **initiative card**. Then, flip the **initiative card** (if necessary) so that the arrows now point to you. This indicates that you now have the initiative.
3. **Award the round's momentum token**: Award the **momentum token** to the player on whose side it ended its movement on the **research track**. If the **momentum token** is on space 0, it is not gained by any player and returns to the supply. If the **momentum token** was gained early this round, skip this step.
   • **Receiving the momentum token**: When you receive the **momentum token**, take it from the **research track** and place it on your **momentum card**, in the empty space with the lowest number. If there is an instruction next to that space, do what it says. If the **Editor** gains the **momentum token** but does not have a free space on their **momentum card**, remove this token from the game!
4. **Position the initiative token and 1 new momentum token on space 0**: Take the **initiative token** from the **initiative card** and position it on space 0 of the **research track**. Take **1 momentum token** from the supply and position it, also, on space 0 of the **research track**. If you cannot do this because there are no more **momentum tokens** in the supply, **Nixon** immediately wins the game.
5. **Award the round's evidence tokens**: Finally, each player receives the **evidence tokens** that ended their movements on their side of the **research track**. The player with the initiative starts, placing all the **evidence tokens** on their side (if any) on the **evidence board**. Then the other player does the same with any evidence on their side.

If neither player has won the game at this point, a new round begins!

End of Game and Scoring

The tension builds as the game approaches its climax! The game ends immediately in one of the following situations:

• **Nixon's Victory**:
  • As soon as **Nixon** manages to position a total of **5 momentum tokens** on their **momentum card**.
  • Or, rarely, when there are no more **momentum tokens** to be positioned on the **research track** during step 4 of the Evaluation Phase.
• **Editor's Victory**:
  • As soon as at least **2 informants** (face-up photos) on the **evidence board** are connected to **Nixon's** photo (in the center of the board).
  • An informant is considered connected to **Nixon** if a line starting from a face-up **photo token** can pass only through face-up **evidence tokens** until it reaches **Nixon's** photo. **Empty spaces** or **face-down evidence tokens** break the path!

Tips for Winning

To help you uncover or suppress the scandal, here are some tactical tips:

1. For the Editor: Focus on Informants and Connections! Your main objective is to connect informants to Nixon. Prioritize cards that allow you to place informant photos face up on the **evidence board** and that help move **evidence tokens** to your side, especially those that can create or extend paths of face-up evidence. Don't forget that two-color evidence tokens are super versatile for filling gaps!
2. For Nixon: Control the Momentum and Hide the Evidence! Your time is limited, so accumulating **momentum tokens** is crucial. Use the card values to move the **momentum token** to your side whenever possible. Additionally, when placing **evidence tokens** on the board, always place them face down to block the Editor's connections and sow doubt. Conspirator actions that remove evidence or move the momentum token are valuable.
3. Initiative is Gold! Having the **initiative** means you play first in the Card Phase and also have the advantage of resolving your **evidence tokens** first in the Evaluation Phase. Fighting for the **initiative token** on the **research track** is an important tactic for both players, as it ensures greater control over the flow of the round.