Meta-Rules

These rules take precedence even over what's printed on the cards.

Keep track of which cards are your property. When someone takes a card you own, make a note, so you can get it back at the end of the game! Or put one of your own tokens on the card. Or use a sticky-note.

No one can ever steal a card from your hand, deck. etc., without showing you what they have taken.

When you use a duplicate card to steal a group from someone else, put your own card in your Power Structure and let them keep theirs.

When two Plots conflict, the last one played is the one that rules. If card B is played to nullify card A, and then card C is immediately played to nullify card B, then card A is once again effective.

Many cards change groups' Power or Resistance. When several cards take effect, changes to a specific number come first, then cards that multiply or divide, and then additions or subtractions. So if one Plot card increases the Power of the Dentists to 6, another one doubles it, and then a NWO card gives them +2 Power, you first increase it to 6, then double it to 12, and then add the +2. The final Power is 14!

You may never use two multiplying cards to increase the same "quot;stats"quot; of one group -- for instance, to double its Power and then double it again. No matter what the cards say, you may use only the single highest "quot;multiply"quot; effect.

If a card specifically says something cannot happen to it, this takes precedence over a card that (supposedly) does that thing to other cards. But: if Card A specifically mentions Card B by name, then A's ability takes precedence over any defense or immunity B may have.

Impossible die-rolls cannot happen. For instance, the Suicide Squad calls for the player to roll one die. One die gives a result from 1 to 6. Any card that would increase the result to more than 6 is treated as a 6; anything that would decrease the result to less than 1 is treated as a 1.

Illuminati groups never have alignments. They can never be destroyed, except by losing all their puppets.

Glossary of Terms

Any Time: You may do this during another player's turn. But you still may not interfere with a privileged attack (see p. 10), or use or discard a card to keep someone else from looking at it or stealing it.

Automatic Failure: This lets you wreck another player's attack after he commits actions and Plot cards and rolls the dice. The attack fails, and all the actions and cards are gone. Life is cruel.

Cancel: Some cards can cancel a group's action after it is announced. An action is also canceled if it is made illegal (due to an alignment change which conflicts with an immunity, for instance).

The canceled action, and any token(s) used to power it, are lost. If an attack is canceled, any Plots used by the attacking group are lost, but tokens and Plots spent by aiding and opposing groups are returned. See p. 15.

If a Plot is canceled, the token(s) that powered it are lost.

A Plot or action cannot be canceled after the dice are rolled!

"quot;Cancel"quot; does not mean "quot;remove an Action token before it is used."quot; That is an entirely different power.

Decks: All your undrawn Plot and Group cards. You may not look at them!

Direct attacks are those made by the group itself. For instance, the Hackers have a +4 for direct control of any Computer group. This means you get a +4 bonus when trying to take over a Computer group with that card. If you attack a Computer group with another card, even if the Hackers aid with their power, this +4 bonus does not help you.

Discard: Cards may be discarded for several reasons. A card is also discarded if played, unless it remains on the table with a Link. That type of card is considered "quot;discarded"quot; only if the Link is permanently invalidated.

When a card is discarded, it is permanently removed from play unless a Plot card or special ability is immediately used to recover it.

Note that you cannot discard (or give away, or use) a card to keep someone from taking it or looking at it, if they have already played the card that lets them take it or look at it!

Discards are all face-up unless a card specifically says to make that discard face-down or without looking.

When a card requires a discard, discard from your hand unless the card specifies to discard from your deck.

Draw and Choose: "quot;Draw"quot; means take the top card from the deck. "quot;Choose"quot; lets you go through the deck!

Hand: The Plot, Group, and Resource cards that you have drawn. You can look at them at any time. They are not considered "quot;in play."quot;

Immunity: If a group (or Power Structure) is immune to a certain type of group, it cannot be attacked or affected by the Power, Global Power or special abilities of any enemy group of that type. Those groups can't even aid an attack on the immune group or Power Structure. They defend normally against its attacks.

If your whole Power Structure is immune to something, your hand, decks, and discard pile are also immune!

Master and Puppet: If group A controls group B directly, then A is the master and B is the puppet.

Permanent Change: Any change to a group's Power, Global Power, Resistance, attributes or alignments that does not have a specific built-in time limit. Changes made by NWO cards, for instance, are permanent. Note that "quot;permanent"quot; changes can still be undone by another Plot or special ability!

Power Structure: Your Illuminati, plus all the groups that it controls, both directly and through its puppets.

Shuffle: After you look through a deck to choose a card, you must shuffle it, and any other player may cut.

Temporary Change: Any change to a group's Power, Global Power, Resistance, attributes or alignments that has a specific built-in time limit, such as "quot;for the next action,"quot; or "quot;to the end of the turn."quot;

Turn: When a card says it does something "quot;each turn,"quot; that means each time its owner takes a turn! Bonuses are granted at the appropriate turn phase; extra Action tokens come when you get your regular tokens, and so on.