Stage 1 - Pay Salaries and Loans to the Bank

This stage is mandatory.

• Phase A: Receive tribute
  • For every home territory a player controls, they receive $200 million. This is received even if the territory is unoccupied, but not if it is nuked.
  • For every foreign territory a player occupies, they receive $100 million.
• Phase B: Pay Salaries
  • Any player may turn a face down company they control face up.
  • Any player may pay $200 million to untap a tapped company they control.
  • For every face-up company a player controls, he must pay $50 million or tap that company (even if they just paid to untap it). Tapped companies do not produce resources in Stage 2.
  • For every army and navy a player controls, he must pay $10 million or remove that army/navy.
• Phase C: Pay Bank Loans
  • If a player has a bank loan, he must pay the interest now. If a player cannot or will not pay the interest, that loan has defaulted, and the interest is added to the principal. See Bank Loans.
  • If a player has a non-default bank loan, he may pay down the principal in billion dollar increments.

Stage 2 - Transfer Production Units to Supply Center

This stage is mandatory.

• Phase A: Captured Supply Centers
  1. Determine the status of any captured supply centers, as described under Captured Supply Centers.
• Phase B: Transfer Production Units
  1. Players transfer all resource units from their untapped, non-blockaded, non-sieged, face up companies to their supply centers. Excess units are lost.

  It is not required for a player to control a foreign territory a company is in to make use of it, just so long as no one else occupies that territory.

Stage 3 - Sell Resources

• Phase A: Blind Bid
• Phase B: Market Ghost
  1. For each resource, lower its market value by d3-1 positions.
• Phase C: Sell Resources on the Market
  1. Players under seige may not sell on the market.
  2. Players with a default bank loan may sell on the market, but all proceeds go directly to paying down the interest on their loan.
  3. Each player may sell 1, 2, or 3 units of a single resource at a time. Sold units are removed from their supply center, and the player receives money equal to the (market rate * the number of units sold). Lower the resource's market value by 1 position if 1 or 2 units were sold, or by 2 positions if 3 units were sold, before moving on to the next player. Repeat until all players pass.
• Phase D: Sell Resources to Other Players
  1. Only players who bid on this stage may sell. Anyone may buy, even those who did not bid.
  2. Only players who bid on this stage may receive money. Anyone may give money, even those who did not bid.
  3. A player with captured supply centers may move resources between them as desired.

Stage 4 - Attack

• Phase A: Blind Bid
• Phase B: Attack with Forces and Weapons
  1. Each player may make one attack, which may cause one or more counterattacks, before moving on to the next player.
  2. To attack, the player picks one of the following battle drills:
     • Conventional Assault Battle Drill
     • Nuclear Strike Battle Drill
     • L-Star Clash Battle Drill
  3. After attacking, all defenders (but not champions) are entitled to one counterattack, even if they did not bid on this stage. Determine order randomly. A counterattack may only be targetted at the original attacker. Counterattacks do not generate further counterattacks.
  4. After the last counterattack is finished, move on to the next player.
  5. This phase may not end with any armies in enemy territory (due to an airlift or amphibious assault). If the attacker cannot or will not continue fighting until one side is defeated, he must surrender his forces. Remove them from the board.
• Phase C: Aftermath
  1. If a player with captured supply centers loses the last home territory for one of those supply centers, that supply center is frozen until next turn.
  2. Control of any face up companies goes to the occupier of that zone. Any face down companies that are in a zone that is now controlled by another player are returned to the resource deck.
  3. New blockades or sieges may now be in effect, and old ones may no longer be. See Blockades and Sieges.
  4. If at this phase, a player does not control any of his home territories, he is removed from the game.
     • Any bank loan is erased.
     • Any armies or navies in foreign zones are removed.
     • Any remaining nukes or L-Stars are removed.
     • Any companies (face up or face down) are returned to the deck.
     • If the last home territory was occupied (as opposed to nuked), the occupier receives all of that player's remaining money.
     • The supply center will be up for grabs next turn. See Captured Supply Centers.

Stage 5 - Move Forces

• Phase A: Blind Bid
• Phase B: Move Army and Navy Units
  1. Each player may only move forces to one zone before moving on to the next player.
  2. Territories and light blue seas occupied by another player may be moved through with the occupier's permission, but forces may not stop there.
  3. Unoccupied foreign zones may be occupied simply by moving forces into that zone. Unoccupied home territories belonging to another player may not be occupied in this stage, and must be attacked in Stage 4.
  4. Deep blue seas may be moved through without permission, and may be shared.
  5. Movement costs are paid according to the Movement Table.
  6. After movement, new blockades or sieges may now be in effect, and old ones may no longer be. See Blockades and Sieges.

Stage 6 - Build Forces and Weapons

• Phase A: Blind Bid
• Phase B: Build and Deploy Conventional Forces
  1. Armies and navies may be bought for $100 million apiece, plus a set of resources (1 Grain, 1 Oil, and 1 Mineral) for each group of 3 (round up). They may be bought in any combination, and do not need to be placed together. Placement is as so:
     • There is no stacking limit.
     • Armies cannot be placed in blockaded foreign territories, or in any foreign territory if this player is under siege.
     • Armies cannot be placed onto navies.
     • Otherwise, armies can be placed in any controlled territory.
     • Navies may be placed in any occupied light blue sea with a port to a controlled territory.
     • Navies may also be placed in any unoccupied light blue sea with a port to a controlled territory, as long as no other player have controlled territories with ports to that sea, or the other player(s) give his (their) permission.

     The United States of America controls Eastern U.S.A., and the Confederation of South America controls Brazil. Both these territories have ports into the Carribean Sea. Because of this, while the Carribean Sea is unoccupied, neither one may build navies into that sea without the other's permission.

     The League of European Nations controls Scandinavia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics controls Siberia. While both territories border the Barents Sea, Scandiavia does not have a port to it. Therefore, if the Barents Sea is unoccupied, the USSR is free to build navies into it.

• Phase C: Build and Deploy Strategic Weapons
  1. Only players who have researched nukes or L-Stars in Phase D may build them, even if the player has bought nukes or L-Stars from elsewhere.
  2. Building a nuke costs $500 million and 1 Mineral. A supply center can hold a maximum of 12 nukes.
  3. Building an L-Star costs $1 billion and 2 Minerals. A supply center can hold a maximum of 12 L-Stars.
• Phase D: Research and Development
  1. Each player may only attempt to research once in this phase.
  2. The player declares whether they wish to research nukes or L-Stars, and how many cards they wish to check. The cost is $200 million per card. That many cards are drawn randomly from the resource deck; if the set includes a card for the desired technology, continue to the next step. Otherwise, it has failed. All cards are returned to the deck.
  3. If a player draws the desired card, he must immediately build one nuke or L-Star as appropriate. If he is unable or unwilling to afford this, then the research is not successful and the player must try again later.
• Phase E: Arms Bazaar
  1. Players who bid on this stage may initiate deals with other players (even those who did not bid on this stage) at their discretion. Only money, conventional forces, and strategic forces can be transferred.
  2. For conventional forces, replace them with tokens of the appropriate color. Movement costs mut be paid (see Stage 5) by any combination of the buyer or seller to move the forces into a legal position. Forces of two different players may not end up sharing the same territory or light blue sea.
  3. It is permissible to transfer all armies in a foreign territory to another player without moving them. In this case, the other player now controls that territory, and receives all face up companies for that territory. Any face down companies held by the original player are returned to the resource deck.

Stage 7 - Buy Resources

• Phase A: Blind Bid
• Phase B: Market Ghost
  1. For each resource, raise its market value by d3-1 positions.
• Phase C: Buy Resources on the Market
  1. Players under seige may not buy from the market.
  2. Players with a default bank loan may not buy from the market.
  3. Each player may buy 1, 2, or 3 units of a single resource at a time. A player may not buy units their supply center does not have capacity to hold. The player pays (market rate * the number of units bought), and receives the purchased units. Raise the resource's market value by 1 position if 1 or 2 units were bought, or by 2 positions if 3 units were bought, before moving on to the next player. Repeat until all players pass.
• Phase D: Buy Resources from Other Players
  1. Only players who bid on this stage may buy. Anyone may sell, even those who did not bid.
  2. Only players who bid on this stage may give money. Anyone may receive money, even those who did not bid.
  3. A player with captured supply centers may move resources between them as desired.

Stage 8 - Prospect for Resources

• Phase A: Blind Bid
• Phase B: Prospect for Resources
  1. Each player may only attempt to prospect once for each bid chit bid on this stage.
  2. The player declares whether they are free prospecting, or prospecting for a specific resource. They then name a number of cards from the deck.
  3. The cost is $200 million per card if free prospecting, or $100 million per card otherwise.
  4. The player receives that many cards randomly from the resource deck, and may pick one company that they keep face down.
     • It cannot be for a territory occupied by another player, or for a nuked territory.
     • If the player is not free prospecting, it must be for the named resource type.
  5. If the player chooses a card, they place it face down. A face down card may be turned face up for free during Stage 1. If another player captures that territory before the card is turned face up, it is returned to the resource deck.

Conventional Assault Battle Drill

1. Attack Tactics. All conventional attacks target one enemy zone per drill. The attacker chooses one or more of the following tactics. At least one attacker force must participate. Each selection costs the attacker one set of resources (1 Grain, 1 Oil, and 1 Mineral). A selection may be taken more than once, but must be paid for each time.
   • Continued Assault. If the target zone is a territory that already has attacker forces in it (eg due to an Airlift Assault), all attacker forces already in the zone must participate.
   • Standard Assault. The attacker names a single zone to attack from. If the enemy zone is a dark blue sea, this must be the same zone. Otherwise, it may be an adjacent zone. The attacker names which forces from the attacking zone will participate:
     • Armies do not participate in attacks at sea, even if they are being convoyed by navies participating in the attack.
     • Armies in a territory may attack an adjacent light blue sea, but will not be able to occupy it in Step 5.
     • Navies in a light blue sea may attack an adjacent territory, but will not be able to occupy it in Step 5.
   • Airlift Assault. If the enemy zone is a territory, the attacker may use airlift movement (see Stage 5) to move any number of armies not already in enemy territory from any number of zones into the enemy territory. All airlifted armies must participate.
   • Amphibious Assault. If the enemy zone is a territory, the attacker may unload convoyed armies (see Stage 5) from any number of navies in light blue seas that the enemy territory has a port for. All navies that unloaded, and all unloaded armies must participate.

   It is required to attack empty home territories of another superpower to move into them. Empty foreign territories may be attacked (spending 1 set of resources in addition to the movement cost), but no battle will actually occur. They may also be moved into without spending the 1 set of resources in Stage 5.

2. Defender Tactics. The defender chooses zero or more of the following tactics. All defender forces that remain in the targeted zone must participate:
   • First Strike. Only usable if the defender has nukes, and bid on this stage. The defender may immediately fire nukes at the attacker (only). Run through the Nuclear Strike Battle Drill (this does not generate a counterattack) and then continue here. If the attacking force is destroyed in the nuclear strike, skip to the Reinforcements step.
   • Defend. The defender spends a set of resources (1 Grain, 1 Oil, and 1 Mineral) to get an extra die to roll in the Battle step.
   • Withdraw. The defender may pay standard movement costs (see Stage 5) to remove forces from the zone being attacked. If all forces are withdrawn from a non-home territory, skip to Step 5. If it is a home territory that is still being attacked, continue with the drill.

     Defender troops in enemy territory due to an airlift may not withdraw. Defender troops in enemy territory due to an amphibious assault may only withdraw by boarding navies via a port.

3. Battle. Each side rolls dice, as so:
   1. The attacker gets one die.
   2. The defender gets one die.
   3. If the defender paid to Defend, the defender gets another die.
   4. The side with the most L-Stars gets another die.
   5. The side with the most forces participating in the assault gets another die.

   Armies in a naval battle are not counted.

   6. The dice are rolled. For every three points (rounded down) rolled, one of the opponent's armies or navies (roller's choice) are removed. If a navy convoying armies is removed, the armies are removed as well.

   The battle is skipped if attacking an empty foreign territory.

4. Occupation. If battle results in no defender forces remaining, and at least one attacker force remaining, the attacker may pay standard movement costs (see Stage 5 to occupy the defending zone with any or all participating forces.
5. Reinforcements. Reinforcements are now made using the standard movement rules (see Stage 5):
   1. The defender may make as many force movements as they wish, but only to the targeted zone (if they still control it) or an adjacent zone. Movement costs are paid as normal.
   2. The attacker may make as many force movements as they wish, but only to the targeted zone (if they now occupy it) or an adjacent zone, with the following exceptions:
      • Armies in an enemy territory due to an airlift assault or amphibious assault may not be withdrawn.
      • Armies may be moved into enemy territories to reinforce existing armies from an airlift or amphibious assault.
6. Counterattack. If this was not itself a counterattack, the defender may now counterattack with the Battle Drill of their choice.

Nuclear Strike Battle Drill

1. Identify Ground Zero. The attacker declares how many nukes are being fired, and the target for each (any zone on the board, as well as "outer space"). Put an upside down mushroom cloud on each target as a marker, and remove the appropriate number of nukes from the supply center.
   • If outer space is targetted, all players who control L-Stars are counted as defenders for this drill.
   • If this is not a First Strike, Retributive Strike, or a counterattack, multiple players may be targetted. Otherwise, only zones controlled by the original attacker may be targetted (outer space may not).
   • A player may not nuke a territory or light blue sea zone he has forces in.
2. Retributive Strike. Any player targetted who has bid a chit on this stage may launch their own nukes, following the process described above, except that they may only target zones controlled by their attacker (and cannot target outer space). Retributive strikes do not cause further retributive strikes.
3. Champions. If a player wishes to use their L-Stars to shoot down nukes not aimed at them and not aimed into outer space, they must spend a bid chit to become a champion (this does not count as bidding for this stage, and must be done even if they did bid for the stage). This lasts for the rest of the stage.
4. L-Star Screen. The defender(s) (and champions, if any) declare which nuke their L-Stars are targetting. For each L-Star targetting a nuke, put a chit on that nuke as a marker (use different colors to denote defenders and champions). After all targets have been declared, roll a die for each chit on a nuke. For a defender, a 1-5 shoots down the nuke. For a champion, 1-3. L-Stars are not destroyed after use, and may be re-used indefinitely.
5. Winds of Fate. For each nuke still in the air, roll a d6. On a 6, that nuke has failed. Remove it.
6. Fallout. Assess the damage for each nuke that successfully strikes its target:
   • Outer space. All L-Stars are destroyed. All players who had L-Stars (excepting the attacker) may counterattack.
   • A dark blue sea. The owner of the nuke removes one navy of his choice from the sea. If the navy was convoying armies, they are removed as well.
   • A light blue sea. All navies in the sea (and any convoyed armies) are removed.
   • A territory. All armies in that territory are removed, and any companies (face up or face down) located in that territory are returned to the resource deck. Put a black mushroom cloud on that territory. For the rest of the game, no army may enter or move through that territory, and companies for that territory may not be chosen during prospecting (see Stage 8).
     • Nuclear Winter. If more than 12 territories are now nuked, nuclear winter will ensue if a roll of d6 is equal to or less than (the number of nuked territories - 12). If so, the game is over. See Victory Conditions.
7. Counterattack. If this was not itself a counterattack or First Strike, the defender(s) may now counterattack with the Battle Drill of their choice.

L-Star Clash Battle Drill

1. Identify Targets. The attacker identifies which L-Stars they control are taking part in the battle, and which L-Stars are being attacked. If this is a counterattack, only the original attacker's L-Stars can be attacked. Otherwise, the attacker may target L-Stars belonging to multiple people, if they wish. In the event that there are more attacking L-Stars than defending L-Stars, note which defending L-Stars are being attacked more than once.
2. Duel. For every L-Star attacking an opponent's L-Star, both players roll a die. The low roller loses an L-Star. On a tie, both players lose an L-Star. If multiple L-Stars were attacking a defending L-Star that is destroyed, the remaining L-Stars in that group do nothing (they cannot be retargetted to other remaining L-Stars).
3. Counterattack. If this was not itself a counterattack, the defender(s) may now counterattack with the Battle Drill of their choice.

Bank Loans

A player who does not already have a bank loan may take out a loan at any time, up to a maximum of $500 million per untapped, face up company. Interest on the loan must be paid in Stage 1 according to the table below. If a player is unable or unwilling to pay the interest, the loan has defaulted. Unpaid interest is added to the principal of the loan, which itself may cause higher interest payments down the line. Until the loan is paid back down to at least its original value, that player may not pay down the principal or buy from the market, and any money made from selling to the market goes directly to the bank to pay down the interest first.

Blind Bidding and Player Order

At the beginning of each turn, each player takes 5 bid chits with which to bid on Stage 3 through Stage 8. However, each player may only play 3 stages maximum per turn. Unused bid chits are lost at the end of the turn.

To bid, each player secretly picks zero or more bid chits from their remaining pool for that turn.

The player who bid the highest number of chits goes first, followed by the second highest amount, etc. Ties are broken randomly.

If a player does not bid to play in a stage, they may not take part except where noted (specifically, they may accept deals made by a player who did bid in Stage 3, Stage 6, and Stage 7).

During each phase, a player may perform the action(s) for that stage, or pass. As long as one player does not pass, the phase will keep repeating until all players have passed consecutively, at which point that phase is over, and the next one begins.

Bid chits are also used to Champion during a Nuclear Strike Battle Drill, and determine the number of times a player can prospect during Stage 8.

Blockades and Sieges

If a player (or group of players) control all light blue seas a player-controlled foreign territory has port access to, they may declare (or lift) a blockade at any time. Home territories may not be blockaded. A blockade has these effects:

• Companies located within the blockaded territory do not produce resources in Stage 2.
• Armies may not be built in the blockaded territory in Stage 6.

If a player (or group of players) control all light blue seas a player's home territories have port access to, they may declare (or lift) a siege at any time. A siege has these effects:

• Companies located within foreign zones do not produce resources in Stage 2.
• Armies may not be built in foreign territories in Stage 6.
• The player may not sell on the market in Stage 3 or buy from the market in Stage 7.

Diplomacy

Players may make any deals they wish. With the exception of immediate exchanges during Stage 3, Stage 6, and Stage 7, none are enforced by the rules, and there is no penalty for breaking an agreement.

Transferring money and resources may be done in Stage 3 and Stage 7. Transferring money, conventional forces, and strategic forces may be done in Stage 6. No other transfers are allowed.

Market

1. Every resource (Grain, Oil, and Mineral) has a current market value.
2. The market value is adjusted automatically at the start of Stage 3 and Stage 7; it then goes up if a player buys that resource, and goes down if a player sells that resource.
3. The market values are (in millions): $1 / $5 / $10 / $25 / $50 / $50 / $100 / $100 / $200 / $200 / $400 / $400 / $500 / $600 / $700 / $800 / $900 / $1000
4. The market value cannot fall below $1 million or above $1 billion

Setting Up

1. Superpowers: Superpowers are distributed in some manner pleasing to the players.
2. Money: Each player starts with $7 billion, but may give that up to start with $d5+4 billion instead.
3. Companies: The companies are divided into individual piles for each superpower. Each pile is shuffled, and that player draws 4 cards (at random) from the pile. Next, the remaining, non-superpower companies are shuffled, and 2 are dealt to each player. If two (or more) players end up with companies in the same zone, both (all) are returned to the resource deck and redrawn. All companies begin face up and untapped.
4. All remaining companies are shuffled into the resource deck.
5. Armies and Navies: Each player gets 1 army in each home territory, and in any foreign territory they control a company in. Each player additionall gets their choice of 9 armies and/or navies. Armies may be placed in any occupied territory. Navies may be placed in any light blue sea that this player is the only superpower with port access to. Armies may not start on board navies.

   Both the United States of America and the Confederation of South America control territories with ports into the Carribean Sea. Because of this, neither one may start with navies there.

   Both the League of European Nations and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics border the Barents Sea. However, since the League of European Nations does not have a port into the Barents Sea, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is free to start with navies there if they wish.

6. Resources: Each player starts with 3 Grain, 3 Oil, and 3 Mineral, plus any desired combination of 9 more resources.
7. Pricing the Market: Each resource starts at the 2d6th position from the left.

Supply Centers

1. Every superpower has a supply center, which is used to track nukes, L-Stars, and resources.
2. Each supply center can hold up to 12 nukes, 12 L-Stars, 12 Grain, 12 Oil, and 12 Minerals.
3. If any players have been removed from the game (controlling none of their home territories), control of their supply center depends on the state of their home territories during Stage 2:
   • If all of their home territories have been nuked, the supply center is removed from the game.
   • If one player controls a majority of the non-nuked home territories, that player gains control of the supply center for this turn.
   • Otherwise, the supply center is frozen and may not be used this turn.
4. If a player who controls a captured supply center loses the last home territory (not just the majority) for that supply center, it is frozen until the next turn.
5. If a captured supply center is not frozen, a player may use it as so:
   • Resources, nukes, and L-Stars the player spends or receives may go to, or come from, any supply center they control. When receiving or spending resources, all resources involved must come from the same supply center. A player may spend from one supply center, and then spend from the other at the next oppurtunity, but may not spend from them both at the same time.
   • Resources may be traded between supply centers in Stage 3 and Stage 7.
   • No other transfers between supply centers are allowed.

Terms

• Company: A resource card that generates resources in Stage 2.
• Controlled territory: Any territory where the player has armies, as well as any of their own home territories that are unoccupied. Nuked territories are not considered controlled.
• Forces: Armies, navies, nukes, and L-Stars. Armies and navies are "conventional forces". Nukes and L-Stars are "strategic forces".
• Foreign territory: Any territory that is not the color of this player's superpower.
• Home territory: The territories on the board that are the color of this player's superpower. Home territories are only considered such for that player. To all other players, they are foreign territories.
• Port: A dot on the board that connects a territory to a light blue sea. Armies may only board and disembark from navies when there is a port.
• Resources: Grain, Minerals, Oil. Resources can be sold in Stage 3 and bought in Stage 7. They are used to pay for attacks in Stage 4, movement in Stage 4, Stage 5, and Stage 6, and for purchasing forces in Stage 6.
• Territory: A land area on the board.
• Zone: An area on the board. Encompasses territories, light blue seas, and dark blue seas.

Victory Conditions

• Supremacy. When only one player remains in the game, that player is the winner.
• Detente. If the game is ended with multiple players, the winner is determined by calculating each surviving player's wealth on the table below. The wealthiest player wins.
• Alien Archeologists. If the game ends due to nuclear winter, the player(s) who fired the last volley of nukes loses. All other players who were in the game when it ended calculate their wealth, as per Detente, but subtract $500 million for each territory they nuked. Wealthiest player is the winner.