Consolidation

Consolidation in Nippon: Zaibatsu — taking a Favor token, losing your Money and Coal, Department bonuses and income, then paying salaries per Worker colour.

Instead of an action you may consolidate — as long as at least one Worker is in your Workers area. You must consolidate when you cannot act: no action you can activate, or no room for another Worker. Consolidation is how you get paid, and how you claim Personal Objectives.

Do these steps in order.

A. Favor token

1. Take a Favor token from the pile beside your topmost Worker. The three top spaces of the Workers area have a pile each — the higher the space, the higher the level (1, 2, 3). You may take a lower level instead, and must when that pile is empty. With 3 Workers or fewer, no pile is beside your topmost Worker: you take no Favor token.
2. Put it on any empty Personal Objective space of your Zaibatsu: Ships, Machines, Trains, R&D, Mining, Finance, Factories or Contracts.

Once placed, a Favor token stays there. It scores at the end of the game, the more the further you have got in that objective (Personal Objectives).

B. Discard Money and Coal

Discard all your Money and Coal. Spend them before you consolidate! Silk, Iron and Goods stay.

Coal kept on a Starting token or by a Factory’s special effect is not discarded.

C. Departments and income

1. Gain the Department bonus of your lowest Worker’s colour.
2. With 4 or more Workers whose top and bottom Workers differ in colour, also gain the Department bonus of your topmost Worker’s colour.
3. Gain Coal as shown by your Mining marker.
4. Gain Money as shown by your Finance marker.

Workers on the grey spaces never give Department bonuses.

D. Salaries and clean-up

1. Pay 3 Money for each different colour among the Workers in your Workers area, Expert Workers included. You may never pay with your last Money.
2. For each Money you owe but cannot pay — that last Money included — lose 1 victory point.
3. Put the Expert Workers back on their Destinations in the Iwakura Mission.
4. Put your other Workers back into the bag.

You may turn Silk into Money at any moment of a Consolidation to pay salaries.