Actions

The nine actions of Nippon: Zaibatsu — R&D, Mining, Factory, Machines, Production, Ships, Trains, Local Markets, Investment and Contracts — with Department bonuses and action modifiers.

Every action starts the same way: take a Worker from the Hiring space above it (Your turn), then pay and resolve its activations.

Action	Activations	Cost of each	You get
R&D	1	1 / 3 / 6	1 / 2 / 3 steps on R&D
Mining	1	1 / 3 / 6	1 / 2 / 3 steps on Mining
Factory	1	6	a Factory
Machines	1–3, different Factories	5	a Machine
Production	1–3, different Factories	2 / 3 / 4	Goods
Ships	1–3, different Destinations	3 or 5 + 1	a Ship, an Expert Worker, a Department upgrade
Trains	1–3, different Regions	3 or 5 + 1	a Train and its space’s bonus
Local Markets	1–3, one Region	1–3 of one kind	an Influence token and a Region bonus
Investment and Contracts	1–3	1, then 2, then 3	2 steps on Finance, or a Contract

Research

1 activation: spend 1 / 3 / 6 Money to advance 1 / 2 / 3 spaces on the R&D track. Your R&D level decides which Factories you may build. Spaces on the track unlock your locked Influence tokens and give Department bonuses.

Mining

1 activation: spend 1 / 3 / 6 Money to advance 1 / 2 / 3 spaces on the Mining track. The higher your marker, the more Coal you collect at every Consolidation.

Factory

1 activation: spend 6 Money to build one Factory .

1. Choose a Factory from those on offer. Your R&D level must meet its requirement.
2. Put it on the leftmost empty space of the Factories area of your Zaibatsu.
3. Apply its immediate effect, if it has one.

Level	Factories	R&D needed	To produce
1	Cotton, Paper	2	2
2	Bento, Lenses	4	3
3	Bulbs, Clocks	6	4

• Short of the R&D level? Spend 1 / 3 / 6 Silk to count 1 / 2 / 3 levels higher for this Factory (Silk).
• You may own several Factories of the same type. You have 6 Factory spaces — no seventh.
• Every Factory face and its effect is listed under Cards & Components.

Factory effects

• Immediate (lightning bolt) — happens once, as you place the Factory. It is free.
• Action modifier (an action icon) — improves that action each time you take it.
• Special (no icon) — a lasting effect, or one that triggers in a given situation.

Action modifiers

You may use the modifier of only one Factory per action — not one per activation, even if you own several Factories with the same modifier. Factory effects are not actions, so they never trigger a modifier.

Machines

1–3 activations, each in a different Factory: spend 5 Money to build one Machine .

1. Choose one of your Factories with an empty Machine space.
2. Put your leftmost Machine on an empty Machine space there. If the space shows an extra cost, pay it too: every Factory has one free space and one that costs 1 Iron.

Each Machine adds 1 Good to that Factory’s production.

Production

1–3 activations, each in a different Factory: produce in one of your Factories.

1. Choose a Factory.
2. Spend 2 / 3 / 4 Coal for a level 1 / 2 / 3 Factory.
3. Put the Goods on the empty spaces under the Factory: 1 plus 1 per Machine in it.

• A Factory holds at most 4 Goods; any more are discarded.
• A Factory always produces its own kind of Goods. Goods never move between Factories, even of the same type — but you may spend Goods from two Factories of the same type together.

Ships

1–3 activations, each to a different Destination: spend 3 Iron, or 5 Money and 1 Iron, to build one Ship .

1. Choose a Destination in the Iwakura Mission area that still has its Expert Worker.
2. Put your leftmost Ship on an empty Ship space there.
3. Take that Destination’s Expert Worker and put it on the lowest empty space of your Workers area. If you have no room, you cannot build the Ship.
4. Take that Destination’s Upgraded Department token and put it on its space in your Departments area — unless that Department is already upgraded.

• Destinations have 2 / 3 / 4 Ship spaces with 2 / 3 / 4 players.
• Experts go back to the Iwakura Mission when you consolidate, so the same Destination can be reached again later.
• Expert Workers count as ordinary Workers at Consolidation — their colour costs salary too.

Trains

1–3 activations, each in a different Region: spend 3 Iron, or 5 Money and 1 Iron, to build one Train .

1. Choose a Region on the main board.
2. Put your leftmost Train on an empty Train space there.
3. Gain the bonus printed on that space, if any.

• Regions have 3 / 5 / 7 Train spaces with 2 / 3 / 4 players.
• At Influence Scoring each of your Trains adds 2 Influence in its Region — but only if you have at least one Influence token there. Trains cannot be knocked out.

Local Markets

1–3 activations, all in one Region: serve a Local Market.

[Genro] The expansion covers this action with its overlay and replaces its Influence-token procedure with the approval and Loyalty sequence (Genro rules).

1. Choose an Influence space in a Local Market of that Region.
2. Spend 1–3 Goods of the kind shown on the side of the City’s Demand tile next to that space. All Goods for one token are of one kind.
3. Put one of your available Influence tokens of the matching value on the space.
4. Gain the Region’s bonus — 2 Silk, 2 Iron, 2 Coal or 3 Money, as printed — or 2 victory points.

Choosing a space

• An empty space takes any token. Ignore the number printed on it.
• An occupied space — yours or another player’s — takes only a token of higher value. The old token goes back to its owner. Equal or lower: you cannot place there.
• You may replace your own tokens, even ones placed in this same action — every activation earns its Region bonus again.

Fewer players

Each Local Market takes at most 2 / 3 / 4 player tokens with 2 / 3 / 4 players; with 2 or 3 you choose which of the 4 spaces to use. When the limit is reached you can still replace a token with a higher one. You can also place on a further empty space if your token beats at least one token in that market — then the market’s lowest token goes back to its owner (the active player chooses between tied lowest tokens).

Investment and Contracts

1–3 activations, each with Goods of a different kind:

• first: spend 1 Good;
• second: spend 2 Goods of another kind;
• third: spend 3 Goods of a third kind.

Each activation gives either 2 steps on the Finance track or one Contract :

1. Choose one of your Contracts not yet fulfilled.
2. Gain its bonus.
3. Put it on the leftmost empty Contract space at the bottom of your Zaibatsu (face down if you like). The Factory above that space does not matter.

Two Contracts have a condition: among the Goods spent in this action there must be at least one level-2 Good (or level-3, as the Contract shows). Each of these gives a Department bonus of your choice.

Department bonuses

Each Department has a Worker colour. A Department bonus gives the basic amount, or the upgraded amount once you hold that Department’s Upgraded token (from a Ship).

Department	Worker	Basic	Upgraded
Energy	black	2	3
Prospection	red	2	3
Transportation	grey	2	3
Financial	blue	3	5
Innovation	white	1 step on R&D or Mining	2 steps: both on one track, or 1 on each
Foreign Affairs	yellow	2	4

You gain Department bonuses at Consolidation, from track spaces, from Contracts and from Factory effects.