Smartphone Inc.

The Smartphone Revolution

Congratulations! You are the new CEO of an exciting new startup ready to pounce on the brand-new technology they are already calling “smartphones!” This is your chance to be a top disrupter in the digital economy. If you’re going to make your company the biggest in the world, you’re going to need all your business savvy as you set prices for your products, streamline your production, develop new technologies, manufacture goods, and handle logistics and sales. Oh, and keep an eye on your competitors: they’re trying to grow, too, and they’ll do it at your expense!

In smartphone^Inc., your goal is to create the largest (and richest) smartphone company. The game is played over 5 rounds, and each round is split into 8 phases, indicated on the game board in the Phase Track, which will help guide you through the process of running your business.

The main feature of the game is the planning Pads, which you will use to direct your business operations each round. They are designed so you can overlap one over the other, closing off some possibilities while opening up others. Good planning is the key to good business!

Goal of the Game

Your goal is to earn as much money as possible. To make it simple, we will refer to money in the game as “Victory Points” (VP for short). There are three ways to earn VP:

• Sell Goods.
• Control market regions around the world—by selling more Goods in those regions than the other players.
• Register Patents—by being the first player to fully research new Technologies.

If there are less than 5 players, you can also obtain VP from Retailers occupying market regions on the game board.

Player Pieces

PADS (10 pcs — 2 per player)

Each player has a set of two planning Pads. The Pads represent their company’s resources: research and development departments, production shops, etc. Using their Pads, the players determine what they are going to do in the current round—what they will focus on or sacrifice. The way the Pads are arranged is called a “decision.”

SCREENS (5 pcs — 1 per player)

The screens protect against “industrial espionage” by hiding a player’s decisions from prying eyes.

Each screen shows the starting position for one player. It also has a handy multiplication table to help add up VP.

STARTING IMPROVEMENTS (5 pcs — 1 per player)

Improvements give players additional options when planning. Each player receives 1 Improvement at the beginning of the game. The Improvement received is displayed on the player’s screen and marked by the player’s color and company name.

ORGANIZERS (5 pcs — 1 per player)

The organizer is designed for the players’ convenience. It helps them keep their components safe and in one place, with sections for unbuilt goods, progress markers, and office markers. The fourth section is the “Available Goods” section, where all Goods produced are placed until they are sold.

PROGRESS MARKERS (60 pcs — 12 per player)

Progress markers are used to indicate progress towards reaching some goal. Players accumulate these in specified places until they have collected the required quantity.

Note: Progress is unlimited! In the unlikely event that you run out of Progress markers and need more, use any suitable substitute.

OFFICE MARKERS (90 pcs — 18 per player)

Office markers indicate when goals have been reached. They replace the Progress markers gathered at a location.

GOODS MARKERS (100 pcs — 20 per player)

Goods markers symbolize cargo containers with smartphones for sale.

Shared Pieces

GAME BOARD (1 pc)

The game board shows a digital world map where players can observe how their decisions turn into reality in real time.

ROUND AND PHASE MARKERS (2 pcs)

Round and Phase markers indicate the current round and the active phase during the game.

VP SCOREBOARD (1 pc)

Used to mark the companies’ success.

PATENTS (6 pcs)

Patents go to the first player to fully research a new Technology. They award extra VP at the end of the game.

TECHNOLOGIES (6 pcs)

Technologies grant bonuses to players who have researched them. Technology cards have two sides, which adds diversity to the game. At the beginning of the game, the players choose which side of each card to use.

IMPROVEMENTS (27 pcs)

Improvements can be used to upgrade Pads or produce additional goods.

GOODS TOKENS (20 pcs)

Goods tokens produce 1 unit of Goods each round. Players get these automatically each time they do not use the Production Improvements on their pads.

RETAILERS (7 pcs)

Retailers are used only if there are less than 5 players in the game. They block regions on the board, stimulating the players to be more competitive. There are three types of Retailers in various sizes.

RULEBOOK (1 pc)

You are holding it now.

Steve’s Components (AI Competitor)

Steve is an “artificial intelligence” that you can choose to add to the game as an additional competitor. You can use Steve in games with 1 to 4 players.

1. STEVE’S MARKER 1 pc: Steve uses this marker to plan his next move.
2. STEVE’S RULEBOOK 1 pc: Instructions on how to execute Steve’s programming.
3. STEVE’S PAD 1 pc: Using this Pad, Steve programs his decisions for each round. His Pad is better than yours, by the way.

Preparing for the Game

1. Place the game board in the center of the table.
2. Place the Phase marker on the first square of the Phase Track.
3. Place the Round marker on the “I.”
4. Place the VP Scoreboard near the board.
5. If there are less than 5 players, you’ll need to cover some regions with Retailers (see Retailer Placement below).
6. Place the Patents on the matching spaces. Use the Technology symbols on the board as a guide.
7. Place the Technologies next to the matching Patents. If this is the first time you are playing the game, we recommend playing with the Technologies face up. Next time, you can place them randomly (face up or face down) or select the Technologies you want to use for the game together with the other players.
8. Shuffle the Improvements and place 5 of them face-up on the Improvement Block. Place the rest in a pile face down near the board.
9. Place all goods tokens in a pile face down near the board.

Player Preparation

Each player chooses the color they want to play. Hand out all the markers and pieces of their selected color to each player. These include:

• 12 Progress markers
• 18 Office markers
• 20 Goods markers

Hand each player an organizer. Place the markers into the corresponding sections.

Give two Pads to each of the players: one Pad must have this symbol , and the other—this symbol .

Each player takes the screen of their color.

Following the symbols on their screens, the players must:

1. Place an Office marker on the first Office space in their home regions.
2. Place a Goods marker on the VP Scoreboard, on the space that matches their color.
3. Take the Improvement of their color.

Each player places a Goods marker on the board in the Price Block, on the “5” space. These Goods markers must be placed in the same order as on the VP Scoreboard (left to right: green, blue, black, yellow, red).

Placement of Retailers for 2- to 4-Player Games

To keep the game competitive, Retailers are placed on some of the market regions. For example:

Each Retailer matches certain regions on the board. They come in three sizes, just like the regions: S small, M medium, and L large. The symbols on the regions and Retailers match the sizes.

For example, North Africa is a medium-size region. Have you noticed the letter “M”? It means you can place a Retailer with the same letter (“M”) on it.

Shuffle the Retailers and place them with a random side up on the regions shown below:

For 2 players:

Use Retailers to cover China, Canada, and the Caribbean, as well as all medium-sized regions not occupied by the players’ Office markers — .

For 3 players:

Use Retailers to cover Europe and the RSA, as well as all medium-sized regions not occupied by a player’s .

For 4 players:

Use Retailers to cover Canada and the 1 medium-sized region not occupied by an .

For 5 players:

Do not use Retailers. Return all unused Retailers to the box.

Round Structure Overview

The game consists of 5 rounds, which are shown on the Round Track at the top of the game board:

Each round has 8 phases. The phases are indicated by symbols in the Phase Track on the game board:

The phases are played in order, from left to right on the Phase Track. When the last phase is complete, the round ends and the next round can begin.

The Priority Rule

Starting with Phase 4, the prices set by players in Phase 2 become critical for turn order:

• The player with the lowest price is the first to play during the phase, followed by the next lowest price, and so on.
• If several players share the same price, the first one to play is the one with the lowest VP on the Scoreboard.
• If two or more players are equal on price and VP, the tie is broken by looking at their starting position on the VP Scoreboard (the colored spaces in the top row): The player who started with the least VP gets to go first.

Playing Hint: Price is of the utmost importance in the game: Starting in Phase 4 (Improve Production), price determines the order in which players take turns, which can be critical to winning the game! Note that it is possible that a player’s set price will change during the round, so the Priority should be checked at the beginning of each phase.

Phase 1. Planning

Using their two Pads, all players simultaneously make their decisions for the current round in secret, behind their screens. A decision is made by placing one Pad on top of the other. Each player may arrange their Pads however they like, with either side up, as long as they observe the following rules:

1. The Pads must be parallel or perpendicular to each other:

2. One Pad must cover 1 to 4 cells on the other Pad:

Each Pad has 6 cells on each side. Some cells have symbols, while others are empty.

Have a look at some possible Pad arrangement options below, each with some cells covered. Covered cells may have symbols or not:

Playing Hint: What do you need to consider when making decisions? We will talk about that while explaining the rules. For now, it is important to know that your decisions will affect all future phases in the current round!

Players may also use their Improvements to modify their Pads.

The players keep their decisions secret behind their screens until all players are finished planning. Then, all players set their screens aside and show their decisions to everybody.

Please remember: All visible symbols on your Pads are “active,” and any covered symbols are “inactive.” Cells without symbols are called “open.”

Using Improvements and Goods Tokens

Each player starts the game with 1 Improvement, which they can use beginning with Round 1. Once acquired, Improvements can be used every round in Phase 1. Each Improvement can be used in two ways:

1. An Improvement can be used to modify the player’s Pads. They can place the Improvement on their Pads any way they like, as long as they follow these rules:
   • Rule 1: The Improvement must be placed face up on the pad.

   

   • Rule 2: The Improvement must cover 2 cells of the Pad. It cannot extend beyond the edge of the Pad (Exception: a player who has researched 4G technology may partially ignore this rule).

   

   Any cells covered by an Improvement are inactive. But, when are produced in Phase 3, cells covered by Improvements do not produce additional .

   Improvements can overlap each other, but one Improvement cannot fully cover another one.

   

   Any or all of an Improvement can be covered by the other Pad.

2. Or, the player can place the Improvement face down in front of them. Each face-down Improvement produces 1 in Phase 3.

The symbol on the back of each Improvement is a reminder that it cannot be placed face down on a pad.

Goods tokens () can never be placed on a Pad at all, which is indicated by the symbol on both sides of the token. Each produces 1 during Phase 3.

Phase 2. Set Prices

In this phase, the players determine the prices they will sell their Goods for this round (). Prices are recorded on the Price Block on the board.

At the beginning of each round, all prices are set at 5. All active price symbols on the Pads adjust these values:

• Each symbol reduces that company’s price by 1.
• Each symbol increases that company’s price by 1.

For example, with this Pad arrangement, the price for Goods is 3 because we have 2 active symbols reducing the price by 1 point each.

Phase 3. Production

In this phase, the players produce Goods () to sell into the markets later in the round.

A player can produce in several ways:

1. Each active symbol on their Pads produces 1 .
2. Each covered cell on their Pads also produces 1 .

For example, this Pad arrangement will bring 7 to this player, as 4 cells on one Pad are covered and 3 symbols are active.

Produced are placed in the Available Goods section of the player’s organizer.

In addition to the methods above, can also be produced by using Technologies that have been researched, from Retailers, and through Improvements and Goods tokens.

Phase 4. Improve Production

Starting with this phase, players take turns following the Priority Rule.

Starting with the first player and going in Priority order, each player in turn takes one of the two actions below, depending on whether the symbol on their Pad is active or not:

1. If the symbol is active, the player takes 1 Improvement of their choice from the Improvement Block.

2. If the symbol is not active, the player takes a Goods token instead ().

The player can use their new Improvement or starting in the next round.

Phase 5. Research Technology

During this phase, the players take turns following the Priority Rule.

Technologies can boost sales or provide special helpful bonuses. Research into new Technologies is tracked at the bottom of the game board.

• Progress markers () are used to track research.
• At the beginning of this phase, each player receives 1 for each active symbol on their Pads.
• Following the Priority Rule, the players take turns spending all of the they received to research new Technologies. Players may choose not to spend some , but unused disappear at the end of their turn.
• The number of required to successfully research a Technology is shown on the Technology card.

• Players place in the space near the Technology they are going to research. Each player can distribute among the various Technologies as they wish, if they have multiple .
• Once a player has accumulated a number of equal to the Technology cost in the matching space, they have successfully researched that Technology. They take back all of their from that space and place an Office marker () of their color near that Technology card. From now on, they may use the benefits of that Technology (see page 18).

For example, let’s say you made the following decision on your Pads:

Since a total of 3 symbols are active, you receive 3 . You want to study 4G Technology, which costs 6 .

To complete the research, you’ll need to earn 3 more in addition to what you have. So, you decide to start researching the Technology and place your 3 in the space next to 4G Technology, planning to research it more next round.

If you did research in the next round, you could add the you gained to the space next to that Technology, or change your mind and begin researching something else.

Patents

Only the first player to complete the research into a new Technology can claim the Patent for that Technology. After placing their on the Technology, they take the Patent from the board and place it in front of them.

Patents are an additional source of VP, awarding the VP shown on the Patent tile at the end of the game (for example, 6 VP).

However, until the Patent has been claimed, the required to research that Technology is increased by 1.

Once the Patent has been taken, the cost of that Technology is 1 less, allowing other players to acquire that Technology more easily. But, only the first player to research it can get the Patent!

Since two or more players can research the same Technology at the same time, if one player takes the Patent—which makes the Technology cheaper—the other players can complete it at once (if they now have enough ). They must still wait for their turn to complete the research, though!

Phase 6. Logistics

In this phase, players take turns in accordance with the Priority Rule.

At the beginning of the game, each player only has an in one region, but they need to expand to other regions to increase their sales. This is where Logistics comes to help.

• In order to expand into another region, a player needs .
• For each active symbol on their Pads, the player receives 1 .
• Following the Priority Rule, starting with the first player and so on, each player places all of the they received, distributing them to regions they want to expand into by placing them in the space for those regions. A player can only place in a region connected to one where they already have an . Regions are connected if they have a line linking them together on the game board.

For example, Victor only has an in North Africa. This means that he can expand into Europe, China, Emirates, and South America. During his turn, he can place only in those regions.

• Any not used by a player on their turn disappear back to their supply.
• Once the number of equals the cost for the region, the player places their in that region, removing their there back to their supply.

A new always goes into the empty space furthest to the left.

If there are no empty spaces, no player can add an to that region.

Each player can only have one in each region (unless a Technology or Retailer allows them to add another one).

The bigger the region, the more difficult it is to put an there, but it also opens up more opportunities for the player.

Phase 7. Selling Goods

Following the Priority Rule, each player sells their produced (in the Available Goods section of their organizer).

can be sold only if all 3 of the following conditions are met:

• The player has an in the region.
• There are no Retailers in the region.
• There are available Buyers in the region who are ready to buy their .

In order to sell a , the player must place it on a Buyer. But not every Buyer is ready to buy all , so let us take a closer look at what kinds of Buyers there are:

• Price Buyers (Red Squares): A Buyer in a red square will not pay more then the price shown on their square. But, if a player offers a lower price, this Buyer will buy their at their asking price. In other words, the price shown on the Buyer indicates their willingness to pay, but they will be happy to pay less.
• Technology Buyers (Purple Squares): A purple Buyer (without a price) is ready to pay any price for (but still no higher then the price set), but only if the player has the Technology required by the Buyer. The required Technology is shown on the Buyer’s square.

Only one can be sold to each Buyer. Any that cannot be sold are lost (returned to the section of the player’s organizer with the cube symbol).

Important: The are always placed on the willing Buyers in a region from left to right. You cannot place on purple Buyers while ignoring red Buyers, if the price of your is right for them.

For example, let’s say you produced 4 and you are present in only one region. In Phase 2, you set the price of your at 3. You have the Gamepad and 4G Technologies. As a result, you can only sell 3 in this region, since the last buyer demands NFC Technology, which you don’t have. You cannot sell 1 of your , and it disappears at the end of this phase.

Playing Hint: If you missed a place where you could have sold (and the other players did not help you see it), then it is assumed that you failed to sell those . You can try negotiating with the other players to get their permission to sell out of turn. The game developers, however, strongly recommend that the other players not yield to your persuasion!

Phase 8. Receive VP

In this phase, all players receive VP for the they sold and for controlling regions. The order in which players are awarded VP is not important.

Goods Sold

Each player counts the number of they have on the game board and multiplies that amount by their price (shown in the Price Block). To help out, there is a multiplication table on the back of the player screens.

Controlling Regions

A player can earn additional VP if they dominate the market in a region. The player who sold the most in a region controls it (and gets the VP). The number of VP received is shown above the furthest to the right in that region.

VP are not awarded to a player for regions where they did not sell any , even if they have an there.

For example, the blue player controls this region since he sold more than the yellow player. The blue player gets 2 VP, since that is the number shown above the rightmost , despite the fact that this Office does not belong to the blue player.

If the furthest to the right has a value for second place, then a second-place winner for control of that region is determined by the same method as described above.

If the number of sold by 2 or more players is equal, then VP are awarded to the player whose is located further to the left.

As an example, let us consider the following situation: The blue player is in first place. Although the blue player sold the same number of as the green and red players, the blue player’s is located the furthest to the left. So, the blue player receives 6 VP for control of the region. The second place for control is given to the green player (3 VP), since when compared to the red player (who sold the same number of ), the green player’s are located further to the left.

Record all VP received on the VP Scoreboard.

Preparation for the Next Round

• All players take all of their off the game board and return them in their organizers (not in the Available Goods section).

• Remove any Improvements still on the game board and put them back in the box. Add 5 new Improvements from the pile to the Improvement Block, face up.

• Reset the in the Price Block to the starting value of 5.

• Move the Round marker to the next round.

Start the new round with Phase 1.

Overview

When a player finishes researching a Technology, they receive an immediate bonus. A player must use all Technology bonuses if they can.

Some Technologies give a one-time bonus, and some a permanent bonus. Each Technology takes effect during certain phases, as indicated on the Technology itself.

Each Technology a player successfully researches provides the bonus indicated on the Technology card, often additional effects in certain phases or enhancements to the effect of symbols on their Pads. For complete descriptions of all Technologies, see page 18.

Explanations for the Symbols on the Technologies

• Numbered Phase Indicator: A colored symbol with a number indicates the phase when the bonus is activated.
• No Number: If there is no number, then there is no specific phase in which the bonus could be activated—see a more detailed description of those bonuses below.
• Red Notification Dot: If there is a red notification dot, it means that the player receives the bonus immediately, as soon as the Technology is fully researched, and possibly every round during the specified phase. If there is no phase number, the player only receives the bonus once (when they gain the Technology).

Technology Details

GPS

From now on, the symbol on your Pad gives you 2 instead of 1 during Phase 3. This is a permanent bonus.

Produce 5 immediately. Put these in the Available Goods section of your organizer. This is a one-time bonus.

WI-FI

During Phase 6 each round, you may add 1 to any region where you already have an . You cannot place a third in this way. You cannot place a second on a Retailer. This is a permanent bonus.

Any that you failed to sell during Phase 7 are kept for the next round instead of being lost. This is a permanent bonus.

GAMEPAD

For the rest of the game, the number of you need to research new Technologies is reduced by 1. This is a permanent bonus.

Place 1 in any small region where you do not have an . If there is a Retailer in that region, you get the Retailer’s bonus as normal. This is a one-time bonus.

LI-ION

From now on, the symbol on your Pads and Improvements is also treated as a symbol. In other words, in Phase 6, count your symbols along with your symbols. This is a permanent bonus.

Immediately produce 1 for every 2 Technologies you have. Also, during Phase 3 each round, produce 1 for every 2 Technologies you have. This is a permanent bonus.

NFC

On your turn during Phase 6, you may sell from 0 to 3 you have produced at the price you set for the round. Do not place these in any region. Instead, score your VP on the VP Scoreboard immediately and return the to your supply. This is a permanent bonus.

Immediately increase your price by 1. Also, during Phase 2 each round, increase your price by 1. This is a permanent bonus.

4G

When you place Improvements on your Pads in Phase 1, they can extend beyond the edge of your Pads. This is a permanent bonus.

During phase 7, you may sell 1 that you have produced in each region where you do not have an . You must place these on Buyers that you would be allowed to sell to following the rules for selling on page 15. This is a permanent bonus.

Overview

Retailers prevent the players from selling in their region. But, using Logistics, players can still put an in that region (once they have enough there). The is not placed on a normal space in that region, but on the blue spaces on the Retailer instead.

The number in the red square next to the blue space is the number of VP a player will receive at the end of the game if their is placed there. are always placed from left to right, so the first player to place their will receive more VP than all subsequent players.

As soon as a player places their on the Retailer, they receive the bonus shown. This is a one-time bonus. The player can choose not to use the bonus. Note that there are some Retailers in the game without bonuses.

Please remember: There cannot be two of the same color on the same Retailer.

Retailers’ Bonuses

Produce the number of shown of your color. Place these in the Available Goods section of your organizer.

Take the number of shown of your color and place them in the research space for any Technology of your choice. If you get 2 , they may be divided between two Technologies. If this gives you enough to complete your research in a Technology, you must still wait until your turn in Phase 5 (according to the Priority Rule) before you can place your there.

Increase or decrease the price of your on the Price Block by 1.

Place a second in any region where you already have 1 . You cannot place a third or put one where you have no . Thus, you cannot place this on a Retailer.

Move 1 of your color from one region to another. You may move an between other Retailers. If, as a result of this move, there is now an empty place in a region or on a Retailer, then move all other there to the left to fill the gap. You do not receive any Retailer’s bonus from this move.

End of the Game and Determining the Winner

The game lasts exactly 5 rounds and ends right after Phase 8 of the fifth round. Each player adds up their total VP for the game:

1. Count the VP received during the game.
2. Add VP for any Patents they collected.
3. Add any VP they earned from Retailers.

The player with the most VP wins the game!

In case of a draw, the contender with the most Technologies wins. If that is a draw as well, the tied player with the greatest number of Patents wins. If you managed to get a draw here too, then all the tied players share the victory.

FAQ

Can the Retailers be placed randomly at the beginning of the game?
No. This will upset the game balance.

What do the symbols ( / ) on the player Pads mean?
They are only needed for you to be able to easily tell the two types of player Pads apart at the beginning of the game. During the game, these symbols are not used.

Can I change the position of my Pads during the round after Phase 1?
No. The game creators do not allow you to change the positions of your Pads, even if you claim to have made a critical mistake.

What do we do if the players still remain equal under the Priority Rule?
If two or more players are equal on price and VP, the tie is broken by looking at their starting position on the VP Scoreboard (the colored spaces in the top row): The player who started with the least VP gets to go first.

Can I put an Improvement under my Pads so that it disappears from sight?
Yes, you can. Both cells of your Improvement must be on one or both of your Pads. The Improvement could be placed with its two cells on one Pad and then completely covered with the second Pad. It does not make much sense, but it is not against the rules.

Can I place my Pads so one is completely covered by the other, or just place them next to each other during Phase 1?
No. One Pad must cover 1 to 4 cells of the other Pad. If you did that, you would not be able to observe this rule!

I produced more in Phase 3 than I need. Can I suspend the production of a certain amount of to reduce this amount?
No. You must produce exactly the number of you are able to.

Development Team

• Project Editor: Max Vereschagin
• Artist: Aleksandr Kiselev
• General Director: Mikhail Pakhomov
• Art Director: Viktor Zaburdaev
• Promotion: Darina Orlova, Nataliya Naboyshchikova, Katerina Schlecker
• Production Director: Sergey Morozov
• Translation: Runa LLC
• Proofreader: William Niebling

Author’s Acknowledgments

Herman Tikhomirov for great advice on the game promotion. Andrei Stolyarov for motivation to start making the game. Yuri Zhuravlev and Nikolai Pegasov for inspiration from the “The Golden Sails”. I also thank the entire Guild of Board Game Developers (GRaNl) for their contribution and promotion.

Special Thanks for Help in the Development and Work on the Project

Andrei Kolupaev, Konstantin Domashev, Konstantin Malygin, Yuri Yamshchikov, Valery Kruzhalov, Ilya Stepanov, Yulia Ilyinskaya, Natalia Telezhkina, Yan Yegorov, Nikolai Zolotarev, Valentina Aristarkhova, Aleksandr Eremin, Andrei Kalinin, Igor Ganzha, Vasily Redinsky, Nadezhda Penkrat, Victoria Drobotova, Andrei Aganov, Anastasia Yushina, Vitaly Terekhov, Dmitry Krylov, Vasily Vereschagin.

Our Thanks to the “Astronauts with Hammers”

Aleksandr Tkachev, Bogdan Khokhlov, Pavel Eltsin, Oleg Meleshin, Aleksandr Chapurin, Artur Katarzhanov, Yulia Tkachenko, Anton Prinov, Anton Kravchenko, Anna Kravchenko, Roman Gaffarov, Aleksandr Aleksnanin, Loerglil Meflizh, Delli Arieri.