Notes

Setting the Stage

This game is competitive
It has a blend of strategy and tactics that’s very hard to balance
You have to be adaptable
Every thing you do has a downside
You could get screwed easily, so it’s not the most forgiving
Everything needs a bit of reframing
- It feels like leader gets lots of actions, then all followers are struggling with one action, like a bunch of losers
  - Instead, think of it as everyone gets one action, but the leader gets extra actions.
  - Also, if leader plays low, anyone with higher number of that suit can surpass and play all their actions.

Hand of cards, each card is a round, and whole hand is a chapter
Person plays lead card, then others follow
Card anatomy
- top left number is the rank, with higher surpassing lower
- pips are number of actions for leader (and surpass-er)
- bottom left icons reference which ambition you can call for as leader
Following is:
- Surpass.. same suit but higher card than leader (not other followers), so therefore can play all number of pips
- Copy.. play flipped down, opting to play same suit actions but only one action.
- Pivot.. play flipped up, different suit, opting to play new suit actions but only one action.
One last thing you can do, if you’re a follower but can’t surpass and desperately want to lead next, you can sacrifice an extra card to seize leadership.
- When seizing happens, the first one to do it (sacrifice or play 7) gets it.

Play card
- Leader can optionally choose an ambition
Can optionally do prelude actions
- Spending resources
- Prelude actions from guild cards
Do actions

Ships can be fresh (full health) or damaged
Control of a system means you have more fresh ships than anyone else there, regardless of cities and yards
Outrage
- Outrage on related resource (can’t use it for prelude anymore)
- Lose all of related resource (both tokens and guild cards)
- Can ransack the court by taking any one court card that has any of destroyed city owner’s agents (plus take the agents as trophies, not captives)

Build
- One ship per shipyard per entire turn (if you control, healthy; otherwise it’s built damaged)
- One city or shipyard per action (if you control, healthy; otherwise it’s built damaged)
Repair
Tax
- One resource per loyal/controlled city per entire turn
  - If rival city, take a captive as well
Influence
- Place an agent on a court card to bid on it
Secure
- Grab a court card if you have majority bids on it
  - You also take any rival agents as captives
Move
- Any number of ships to an adjacent space
- If at a yard, you can catapult
  - Move any number of spaces until they meet controlled resistance
  - You can leave ships along the way
Battle
- Choose system and defender
- Choose dice types (you can combo types)
  - Blue safe dice
  - Red risky dice
  - Raid dice only for buildings
- Assign flame damage to attacker
- Assign circle intercept damage to attacker (only one ring applies), where defender hits you with damage equal to number of their ships
- Assign attack damage to defender
- Raid equal to amount of keys

Score the ambitions top to bottom
Captives and trophies stay until Tyrant/Warlord is scored
Remember to check court cards’ icons
Bonus City Power: Each time you get first place in an ambition (not tied), gain 2 extra Power if the +2 city slot is uncovered, or gain 5 if both slots are uncovered. You can only gain bonus power once per ambition, regardless of how many ambition markers it has.