In an attack, a group spends its Action to use its Power, trying to control or to destroy another group. The success of the attack is determined by rolling two dice.

Illuminati groups can attack, but cannot be attacked! The only way to hurt the Illuminati is to take away all the groups they control.

Attacks come after your automatic takeover, and, unlike the automatic takeover, require a die roll. Note that Resources may only be played as an automatic takeover.

Announcing an Attack

You must announce who is attacking, who is aiding, the type of attack, and the target. (Example: "The KKK, aided by the CIA, will attempt to control the TV Preachers.")

You may attack any group, regardless of alignment. Alignment controls who can aid your attack, but not what group can start the attack. However, it's much easier to control a group if its alignments are similar to the attacker's -- see below.

Calling Off an Attack

If rivals use cards or tokens to aid either side, but you call off your attack before it's committed, they get their cards or tokens back.

If you call off an attack on a card from your hand, return it to your hand.

Note that if an attack requires a Plot card to play -- like most Instant attacks, for instance -- then making the attack is the same as playing a Plot card, and it cannot be called off.

No Duplicates in the Same Attack!

No player may use duplicates of the same Plot card in a single attack, or to defend against a single attack, either with the same or for different groups.

Attack to Control

To make an Attack to Control, your attacking group must have at least one outward-pointing arrow free. If a group has no outgoing arrow (either because all are being used or some are blocked), it cannot try to control another group.

The strength of the attack is the attacker's Power minus the defender's Resistance. You must roll that number or less, on two dice. So roll low! You must get your attack's strength to at least 2, because that is the lowest number you can roll on two dice. An attack with a lower strength cannot succeed.

If you attack a group from your own hand, you must still roll to control it, and other players may try to interfere.

Example: If a Power of 6 attacks a Resistance of 2, it succeeds only on a roll of 4 or less. If a Power of 10 attacks that same Resistance of 2, it succeeds on an 8 or less . . . a much better chance.

Defense and Interference. Other groups, both your own and those of other players, can get involved in the attack. This is described below.

Automatic Failure. A roll of 11 or 12 always means the attack failed, no matter how much Power was involved.

Alignments

If the groups have any identical alignments, add 4 to the attacker's effective Power for each one. If they have any opposite alignments, subtract 4 from Power for each one. (Remember, all Fanatic groups are opposites!) Example: A Weird, Corporate group is trying to control a Straight, Government group. There are two sets of opposite alignments, so subtract 8 from the attacker's effective Power! Maybe this attack is a bad idea . . .

Attributes. These words (in italics, in the bottom right corner) are not the same as alignments. They don't affect an attack unless an attacker has a special ability referring to an Attribute on the defender, or vice versa.

Whoops! If you forget to declare a bonus during an attack, whether it's for attack or defense, you lose it. When the dice are rolled, it's over.

Aiding Attacks

Any number of groups may aid one attack, adding their Power to the Power of the original attacker. Example: A group with a Power of 6 is aided by two other groups, each with a Power of 4. The total power of the attack is 14.

Suppose you start an attack, and meet unexpectedly heavy opposition from your foes. You may throw other groups into the battle, as long as those groups have not yet used their actions.

Alignment is very important when aiding an attack. A group may aid an Attack to Control only if it has Global Power, or at least one alignment in common with the target! A group may oppose an Attack to Control (that is, defend the target) only if it has Global Power, or an alignment in common with the target, or if it is the target's master or the target's puppet.

However, aiding groups do not get bonuses and penalties for similar or opposed alignment. That applies only to the group that is leading the attack.

Aiding Attacks With Global Power

If a group's alignments don't let it use its normal Power in an attack, it can still use its Global Power. Thus, groups with Global Power are more flexible.

Increases in Power do not change Global Power unless the card making the change specifies Global Power. But if a group's Power is decreased to below its Global Power, then its Global Power must be reduced to equal the new Power.

Resistance to Control

Controlling Alignment. A group is more loyal if it agrees with its masters' ideals. A group gets +4 to its Resistance for every alignment that is the same as that of its master. Opposing alignments don't matter (and remember, Fanatic is the opposite of Fanatic).

Power Structure Position. Groups already in play become harder to attack if they're near the center of the Power Structure. A group which is directly controlled by the Illuminati gets a +10 to Resistance! If it is one group away, it gets a +5. If it's farther away, it gets no bonus.

Note that nothing can multiply this bonus.

Special Abilities. Some groups' special abilities (shown on the card) increase their resistance against certain attacks.

Defense

Regardless of alignments, a group can always use its action to defend itself, or its master, or its puppets. The Illuminati may defend any group.

Other groups can defend the target only if they have at least one alignment in common with it, or if they have Global Power (see p. 10).

Example: A group with a Power of 6, aided by other groups with a total Power of 9, attacks a group with a Resistance of 4. The base strength of the attack is 15 minus 4, or 11.

But the target still has an Action token of its own. Its Power is 2. Doubled, this is 4, so spending the token reduces the attack to a 7. And the group's master also spends a token. Its power is 5, which reduces the attack to a 2!

Now the attacker can spend more tokens (if he has them) or ask other players for help -- see Interference, p. 10.

The final strength of the attack is not settled until no players are able or willing to commit any more tokens, Plot cards, or special abilities. At that point, the attacker rolls the dice!

Results of an Attack to Control

If it came from your own hand, you may try again if you have any actions left. However, if you have not taken the card by the end of your turn, your agents are revealed and eliminated -- you must discard that card! (This is a reason to have two cards for the same group . . . it can give you a second chance.)

If Your Attack Succeeded: the target group is captured! It becomes part of your Power Structure. Put it next to the group that captured it, with its incoming arrow touching any outgoing arrow of its new master. It does not matter if a card is upside-down or sideways, as long as the arrows line up properly.

If it controlled any puppets, they are also captured! When placed in your Power Structure, they should keep the same position, relative to their master, that they had originally. If that makes some cards overlap, you may rearrange any new cards that overlap, as long as they keep the same master. New groups which still cannot fit must be discarded!

A newly-captured group may not act on the turn you capture it. If it had an Action token, remove it. It cannot get an action that turn except from a card that explicitly gives an action to a newly-controlled group, like Blitzkrieg. (Groups controlled by an automatic takeover do get an Action token on the same turn.)

Attack to Destroy

1. Instead of rolling "Power minus Resistance," roll "Power minus Power." That is, the target defends with its Power rather than its Resistance. Its closeness to the Illuminati (p. 8) still counts for defense, unless you're destroying one of your own groups. Alignments in common with its master do not help!

2. Unlike groups destroy each other more easily. An Attack to Destroy gets a +4 bonus for every opposite alignment, and a -4 for every identical alignment.

3. Unless it is using Global Power, a group may only aid an Attack to Destroy if it has at least one alignment opposite from the target's. A group may oppose an Attack to Destroy if it has at least one alignment the same as the target's, or if it is the target's master, or its puppet.

4. A group does not need an open control arrow to attack to destroy!

5. If your attack succeeds, the target group goes to your own separate "destroyed pile." Since many Goals depend on destroying groups, you must keep track of which player destroyed each group -- and some cards can return groups to play!

6. Its puppets are not destroyed -- they lose their tokens and go back to the hand of the player who controlled the destroyed group.

7. You may try to destroy a group that you already control. But no group may attack itself, or aid an attack on itself!

Interference

(1) You can use the Power of any of your groups to aid either the attacker or the defender. This is your group's action, and costs its Action token. To be eligible to interfere, it must have at least one alignment that matches the target's (or one that is opposite, to help destroy the target) or it must have Global Power!

(2) You can use a Plot card or special ability.

Hidden Agents

Only one "agents" card can be used in any one attack. The owner of the real group cannot play an "agents" card. Once used, the duplicate is discarded, whether the attack succeeds or fails.

Playing an "agents" card gives +10 to aid an attack, either to control or destroy. It can be used to oppose an attack, too, but it gives only -6 to oppose.

If a foe plays a Group card from his hand as an automatic takeover, your "agents" card won't help you . . . yet. You cannot prevent an automatic takeover.

But if a foe tries an Attack to Control against a Group from his own hand, and you have an "agents" card, you can use it right then to defend the group, giving a -6 to his takeover attempt. But you might prefer to let him bring the group into play . . . and then take it away from him!

Limits on Attacks and Interference

No "third party" player can interfere either for or against a Privileged Attack. No one can help the attacking player. If the attacker is trying to control a group from his own hand, no one can oppose that attack. If the attack is against a group controlled by another player, only that player's groups and Plots can help defend. No one else can use cards or special abilities in his behalf, even to cancel the action; nobody can give him cards until the attack is over.

Some groups, and some Plot cards, allow a player to negate the Privilege of an attack. If Privilege is negated, it cannot be regained on that attack.

After a Privileged Attack is over, other players may use cards that change or negate the die-roll. (They are not interfering with the attack itself.)

Secret Groups

Secret groups can only be affected by Illuminati groups, by other Secret groups, and by groups whose special abilities let them aid or attack Secret groups.

In addition, a Secret group's master and puppets may always use their special powers to help the Secret group, and they may defend it if it is attacked. They may also use their Power to aid its attacks if they have Global Power or the right alignments to aid (see p. 8).

No other groups can make attacks against Secret groups, or interfere for or against attacks on Secret groups, or use their special abilities for or against Secret groups, or aid attacks made by Secret groups!

Instant Attacks

An Instant attack is strictly between the Power of the attacking card and the Power of the defender! No other cards can aid either side in any way, either with Power or special abilities, unless they specifically say they can interfere with such attacks. For instance, a generic "+2 to destroy" does not add power to a volcano! A Plot card which entirely negates another card can stop an Instant attack.

Closeness to the Illuminati does help defend against an Instant attack, unless you are attacking a group you control.

The target may not spend any Action tokens, even to defend itself, until the attack is resolved.

Instant attacks may not be combined, unless a Plot card specifically allows it.

If cards previously played gave the target a temporary Power bonus for that turn, it does count.

Assassinations

A Personality destroyed by an Assassination is killed, and may only be saved or returned to play by appropriate cards. A regular Attack to Destroy can strip a Personality of power and influence, but not kill them, and such a Personality can be returned to play the same way a destroyed Organization can.

Disasters

Most Disasters can cause Devastation -- see below. Some Disasters can completely destroy their targets, if the die roll on the attack is good enough.

The target of a Disaster always loses one Action token, if it had any, as soon as the Disaster card is played. It does get it back if the Disaster is canceled, negated by Hoax, etc.

Devastation and Relief

You may move a group out from under the Devastated group, by spending an action from its new master or your Illuminati. It may then act normally. You may move a group to an empty control arrow of a Devastated group, if you really need to, but it loses any Action tokens it has. It cannot get new ones until its master gets Relief.

While a group is Devastated, its Power is halved (round down) against any attack to destroy. Being Devastated again, while already Devastated, has no further effect.

Relief can come from a Plot card, or from a special ability, or by spending actions, all at once, worth 3 times the printed Power of the devastated place. So, if a Place has a Power of 3, Relief would cost tokens from groups with a total Power of at least 9. They can be spent by any player or players, at any time, as long as they are all spent at the same time.

Timing

A player might announce an attack with Group A; then a rival uses Resource B to change Group A in a way that makes the attack impossible or pointless; then another rival plays Plot C to destroy Resource B, so that Group A's attack continues.

Thus, you can use a Plot or special ability to make a rival's just-announced action unprofitable, or even illegal (see p. 15). But you can never announce a play that is illegal at the moment it is made, even if the play (if allowed) would render itself legal. Example: Discordia is immune to all Government groups. The Discordian player uses his Illuminati action to power a Plot that turns the Nuclear Power Companies from Corporate to Government. Can the NPCs use their special ability to cancel that Discordian action, preserving their Corporate status? No! When Discordia made them Government, they could not "step back in time" and make themselves eligible to cancel the Discordian action.

If an action is canceled, its effects are also canceled. (If a card is played to cancel a Disaster, for instance, the target gets its Action token back.)

Throwing Away Cards: If a rival uses a card or special ability to look at (or steal) your cards, you may not spend or discard any cards to keep him from getting them or to control which one he gets. But if you (or an ally) can use a card or special ability to cancel whatever it was that gave him access to your cards, you may do so. That's all you can do about it.

Speed Play

The only time that speed of play matters is when cards doing the same thing (or mutually exclusive things) are played at the same time -- for instance, two players both play Vultures to grab the same card. In that case, the first one played is the one that works. If they're really simultaneous, roll two dice; the high roll wins. Plot cards and special abilities can affect these die rolls as though they were "attacks"!

Note that saying you might play a card, or making a threat, is not the same as playing the card. For instance, if A plays an instant Disaster, B may not respond by boosting the Power of the target. But if A threatens to play an Instant attack, B may pre-emptively play a card which boosts the defensive power of the target. When in doubt, B should always ask "Are you doing it, or just threatening?" A can then put up or shut up.