Nations

2013

Take control of a nation in 'Nations', a strategic board game. Balance growth, threats, opportunities, and compete in historical events to lead your nation to glory.

200
minutes

1 - 5
player(s)

14+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Nations is an enthralling and immersive board game that whisks players away on a journey through time. As the name suggests, you are put in charge of a nation, starting from the humble beginnings of the antiquity and leading your people through the annals of human history up to the brink of the modern world.

Nations is a game of civilization building where your choices and decisions will shape the course of your nation’s history. You will grapple with the complex interplay of war, famine, and technological innovation, while also dealing with the unpredictable challenges that each new era brings.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Nations is a strategy board game that immerses players in the ebb and flow of history. Here is a breakdown of the components involved in the game:

1. Game Board: The vibrant game board is the center of activity. It displays the progress track, the event track, and spaces for cards. It’s where players place their workers, track their progress, and monitor the events impacting all nations.

2. Progress Cards: These cards represent various historical advancements. They come in different types such as military, colony, wonder, and advisor cards. Players purchase them to improve their nations and gain advantages.

3. Event Cards: The game includes event cards that simulate historical events. These cards can be beneficial or detrimental. The events occur at specific intervals and can affect all players.

4. Player Boards: Each player has a personal board representing their nation. It’s where they place their progress cards and manage their resources. It also includes a stability track, which determines the order of play.

5. Resource Tokens: These are the tokens representing the five resources in the game: food, stone, gold, iron, and knowledge. Players collect these resources to purchase progress cards and improve their nations.

6. Worker Tokens: Players use these tokens to perform various actions on the game board and on their own player boards. Workers can be assigned to gather resources, build structures, or achieve other tasks.

7. Dice: The game includes dice which are used in various stages of the game. Dice can determine the outcome of certain events or influence the availability of resources.

8. Player Markers: These markers are used to track players’ progress on the main game board. They move along the progress track and event track, showing the advancement of each player’s nation.

9. Chits: These are small cardboard pieces representing various game elements, such as disaster markers, war markers, and bonus markers. They are used to indicate certain events or bonuses that affect the game.

In general, the components of Nations all interact to create a dynamic and evolving game state. Players must carefully manage their resources, utilize their workers effectively, and adapt to the changing events and progress possibilities to lead their nation to victory.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Nations is a complex and engaging board game that simulates the development of different civilizations over the ages. The following is a step-by-step guide to setting up a game of Nations.

To start, each player must choose a civilization to represent. This will determine their initial resources and abilities throughout the game. Player roles in Nations are determined by the civilization they choose and any inherent abilities that civilization may have.

Setup:

Place the main game board in the center of the playing area. This board will display the progress track, which shows the current age and round, as well as the military track and the progress bar for culture and stability.
Separate the progress cards by age and shuffle each pile separately. Then, place them face down next to the game board.
Each player should choose a civilization to play as. Each civilization has a unique ability that will aid them in their progress throughout the game.
Each player receives a player board, which represents their civilization. It has spaces for buildings, colonies, wonders, and advisors. It also has a track for stability and a space for any war tiles.
Give each player their starting resources. The amount and type of resources a player begins with is determined by their chosen civilization.
Draw progress cards equal to the number of players plus three from the first age deck. Place these cards face up in the market area of the game board.
Place the round marker on the first round space of the progress track and the age marker on the first age space. The game is now ready to begin.

Random Elements:

Nations has several random elements that add to the variability and replayability of the game. These include the progress cards and war tiles.

Progress Cards: These cards represent technological advancements, cultural achievements, and military developments. The cards drawn each round are random, adding an element of unpredictability to the game.
War Tiles: War tiles represent conflicts between civilizations. They are drawn at random at the start of each age, adding another level of uncertainty and forcing players to adapt their strategies accordingly.

In conclusion, Nations is a game of strategy and adaptability. Each game is different due to the random elements and the wide variety of civilizations to choose from. Happy gaming!

Game flow Round and round we go

‘Nations’ is a strategic board game where players guide the development of their civilization throughout different periods in history. This game is played in a series of rounds, commonly referred to as ages, and each age consists of multiple phases where players perform certain actions. The game continues until the end of the last age, after which the player with the most victory points is declared the winner.

The phases of each age are as follows:

Growth Phase: During this phase, players acquire resources based on their nation’s current level of development. The players can gather food and materials, which are essential for further development, and gold, which can be used for a variety of purposes.
Action Phase: Each player, in turn order, can perform one action during this phase. Actions include building structures, recruiting advisers, creating wonders, initiating wars and so on. Each action has a cost and may provide immediate benefits, ongoing advantages, or victory points.
Progress Phase: In this phase, players can use their resources to advance their civilizations. They can invest in technology, improve their military strength, increase their population, and so on. Advancements often require a combination of different types of resources and can lead to significant long-term benefits.
Maintenance Phase: During this phase, players must feed their populations and maintain their buildings. If a player cannot meet these requirements, they suffer penalties, usually in the form of lost victory points.
Scoring Phase: At the end of each age, players earn victory points based on their civilizations’ achievements. Points can be earned in various ways, such as by having the most advanced civilization, the most powerful military, the most wonders, and so on.

After the scoring phase, the game progresses to the next age, and the process repeats. The number of ages in a game can vary, but typically there are four or five. Once the final age is complete and the last scoring phase has been concluded, the game ends. The player with the most victory points is declared the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the board game ‘Nations’, each player’s turn is divided into several phases. Understanding these phases and the possible actions within each can help players develop effective strategies.

1. Income Phase:

The first phase of a player’s turn is the Income Phase. In this phase, players gather resources from their territories, buildings, and wonders. The type and quantity of resources gathered can greatly impact a player’s strategy for the rest of the turn.

2. Manpower Phase:

Next is the Manpower Phase. Depending on the buildings and wonders they own, players may gain additional workers. These workers can then be assigned to different tasks, which could affect the player’s resources and scoring.

3. Growth Phase:

In the Growth Phase, players can select new territories, buildings, and wonders from the market. This is a critical phase in terms of strategic choices, as the selection can alter a player’s future income, manpower, and scoring potential. The cost of these items is paid in resources.

4. Maintenance Phase:

The final phase is the Maintenance Phase. Players must feed their population and maintain their buildings and wonders. Failure to do so can result in negative consequences, such as loss of resources or points. Therefore, it’s important for players to ensure they have sufficient resources to cover these costs.

In terms of strategic choices, players must balance immediate benefits with long-term goals. For example, buying an expensive building might provide a significant immediate boost in resources, but could leave a player unable to afford necessary maintenance costs in the future. Similarly, focusing too much on expansion could leave a player with insufficient resources to invest in buildings and wonders, thus limiting their scoring potential. Understanding the implications of each action and making informed decisions is key to success in ‘Nations’.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Nations’ ends after the completion of the last round, which is the eighth Age. Each Age signifies a round in the game, and the game starts from the first Age (representing Antiquity) and goes up to the eighth Age (representing the Late Modern Era).

At the end of the game, all players must ensure that they have balanced their books, meaning that their food production should meet or exceed their food consumption, and their military strength should be sufficient to protect their civilization.

Victory Conditions:

Civilization Points: The primary victory condition in ‘Nations’ is the accumulation of Civilization Points. Players gain these points through various activities such as building wonders, advancing on the progress track, conquering colonies, and having a high stability. At the end of the game, the player with the most Civilization Points is declared the winner.
Progress Track: Advancing on the progress track is another way to gain points. The further you advance, the more points you will accumulate. However, falling behind can lead to negative points.
Wonders: Constructing wonders gives players a one-time bonus as well as ongoing benefits, which can include Civilization Points.
Colonies: Colonies provide players with additional resources and Civilization Points. However, they also increase the civilization’s need for military strength.

Actions before Final Scoring:

Balance Books: Players must ensure that their food production meets or exceeds their food consumption, otherwise they will lose points.
Check Military Strength: If a player’s civilization is not strong enough to protect all of its colonies, they will have to surrender the weakest one, losing any benefits it provides.
Convert Resources: Players can convert any remaining resources into Civilization Points at a rate determined by their position on the progress track.

Once all these actions have been taken, players can proceed to the final scoring. The player with the highest total of Civilization Points is the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most remaining resources wins.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Nations is a strategy board game where players aim to achieve the most victory points by the end of the game. The scoring system is comprehensive and includes various aspects of the game.

The scoring system is as follows:

Progress Tiles: Players earn points equal to the number indicated on the Progress tiles they have acquired. For example, a player with a Progress tile displaying a ‘3’ will earn 3 points.
Books: At the end of each round, players receive points equal to the number of Books they have on their player boards. These are cumulative, so players will add the total number of Books accumulated throughout the game.
Wars: Players receive points for each War they have won. The number of points awarded depends on the specific War tile.
Stability: Players earn points equal to their Stability marker’s position on the Stability track at the end of the game.
Gold and Resources: At the end of the game, each player receives one point for every 5 Gold or Resources they possess. This is not cumulative, so if a player has 7 Gold and 2 Resources, they would only receive 1 point.
Colonies: Each Colony owned by a player is worth a specific number of points, as indicated on the Colony tile.
Wonders: Wonders provide points as indicated on the Wonder tile. Some Wonders provide additional benefits, such as extra points for certain conditions, e.g., ‘Earn 2 additional points for each War you have won’.
Advisors: Some Advisors provide points, either a fixed amount or based on certain conditions, e.g., ‘Earn 1 additional point for each Colony you own’.

In the event of a tie, the following tie-breakers are applied in order:

The player with the most leftover Gold and Resources combined is the winner.
If there is still a tie, the player with the highest total of Books on their player board wins.
If a tie persists, the player with the most completed Wonders is the winner.
Finally, if there is still a tie, the player with the most Colonies wins.

If a tie cannot be broken after applying all these rules, the victory is shared.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Nations is a complex and highly strategic board game that can take several hours to play. While the basic rules of the game are relatively straightforward, there are several rarer rules, exceptions, and clarifications that might be important to keep in mind while playing. These include the following:

War: This is an important aspect of the game. A player can only declare war on another player if their military strength is equal to or greater than the other player’s military strength. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, a player cannot declare war on another player who has a peace treaty.
Colonies: Colonies can be acquired in the game by using a Colonize action. However, a player can only have as many colonies as their total number of military actions. If a player acquires a new colony, they must give up an existing one if they don’t have enough military actions.
Stability: Stability is important for preventing civil unrest. If a player’s stability is lower than their total number of cities, they must discard cards from their hand until their stability is no longer lower than their total number of cities.
Progress: Progress in the game is measured by victory points. However, there are several ways to earn these points, and not all of them are immediately obvious. For example, players can earn victory points by constructing wonders, achieving progress goals, and winning wars.

There are also several rule clarifications that might be helpful:

The order of play in each round is determined by the player order track, not by the number of victory points each player has.
Players are not allowed to trade resources or cards with each other, except when a specific card or rule allows it.
If a player is required to discard cards and they have no cards in their hand, they must discard cards from their tableau instead.