Setup · Nippon: Zaibatsu

The main board

Put the main board in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 9 Demand tiles. Put 8 face up, one on each City space, each turned to a random direction. Return the last one to the box.
Put one Round marker on the leftmost dark space of the Round track and the other on the leftmost bright space.
Put the 6 Expert Workers on their spaces in the Iwakura Mission area, one per Destination.
Stack the Upgraded Department tokens on their matching spaces in the Iwakura Mission area: 1 of each type.
Draw 3 random Workers from the bag onto each Hiring space.
Fill the Worker Queue with random Workers from the bag: the top area only.
Sort the standard Factory tiles (numbered 1–4) by type into 6 piles. Lay out 2 of each type at random beside the board — the Factories you can build all game. Return the rest to the box. You may turn them to random sides; side A is recommended for your first few games.
[Genro] Determine the first player at random as the expansion setup requires. Its solo instructions do not clearly say whether this replaces solo’s first-player rule; check the table note on the [Genro page](genro/#solo-with-genro).
[Genro] Cover the Local Markets action space with its board. Choose two different Genro boards; for a first play with the expansion, Legislator and Regulator are recommended.
[Genro] Place the Loyalty boards and use Both 3-row sides. For solo, use the 2-player setup.
[Genro] Each player takes 12 Loyalty tokens in their color. Follow the chosen Genro boards’ setup for their markers and tiles.
Make a general supply of Goods, Resources (Coal, Silk, Iron) and Money within everyone’s reach.

Solo: the Automa

Take out 2 sets of 6 Workers, one of each colour, and put the other 36 Workers into the bag. From the first set, place 4 Workers at random, one in each Region of the main board, and return its other 2 to the box. Keep the second set beside the board.
Do not set up a Zaibatsu for the Automa and skip both modules: you take only your own Zaibatsu and components.
Put the Automa board beside the main board. Choose an unused colour and put its Trains and Influence tokens on the areas to the right of the Automa board.
Choose the difficulty and take random Solo Goal tokens: 1 for Easy, 2 for Normal, 3 for Hard. Put them on the left of the Automa board, from the top space down.
Put the second set of 6 Workers in random order in the Priority area of the Automa board.
Shuffle the 9 Action tokens and put them face down as a pile on their space on the Automa board.
[Genro] Set up Genro as a 2-player game and put one extra Automa Worker beside each Loyalty board, as directed by the expansion.

Each player

Choose a colour and take all its components, plus 3 Track markers and a Zaibatsu board.
Put your 6 Ships, 6 Machines and 6 Trains on their spaces on your Zaibatsu.
Put the R&D, Mining and Finance markers on the leftmost spaces of their tracks.
Put the Influence tokens worth 3, 5 and 7 on the left side of your Zaibatsu — you cannot use them until you unlock them — together with both Scoring discs.
Put the other 7 Influence tokens (1 to 7) in your supply, right of your Zaibatsu: you can use them from the start.
Put your 8 Contracts face up left of your Zaibatsu.
Sort your 9 Favor tokens into 3 piles by level and put each pile on its space on your Zaibatsu.

Starting conditions

Lay out 2 random pairs of Starting tokens, A with B, and take one; return the other. You are always the first player.
On taking your pair: apply the effect on the left of token A, put your 0/100 Scoring disc on the Scoring track at the number on the right of token A, then gain everything shown on token B. Return the unused Starting tokens to the box.

The main board

Put the main board in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 9 Demand tiles. Put 8 face up, one on each City space, each turned to a random direction. Return the last one to the box.
Put one Round marker on the leftmost dark space of the Round track and the other on the leftmost bright space.
Put the 6 Expert Workers on their spaces in the Iwakura Mission area, one per Destination.
Stack the Upgraded Department tokens on their matching spaces in the Iwakura Mission area: 1 of each type.
Draw 3 random Workers from the bag onto each Hiring space.
Fill the Worker Queue with random Workers from the bag: the top area only.
Sort the standard Factory tiles (numbered 1–4) by type into 6 piles. Lay out 2 of each type at random beside the board — the Factories you can build all game. Return the rest to the box. First game: play every Factory on side A.
Make a general supply of Goods, Resources (Coal, Silk, Iron) and Money within everyone’s reach.

Solo: the Automa

Take out 2 sets of 6 Workers, one of each colour, and put the other 36 Workers into the bag. From the first set, place 4 Workers at random, one in each Region of the main board, and return its other 2 to the box. Keep the second set beside the board.
Do not set up a Zaibatsu for the Automa and skip both modules: you take only your own Zaibatsu and components.
Put the Automa board beside the main board. Choose an unused colour and put its Trains and Influence tokens on the areas to the right of the Automa board.
Choose the difficulty and take random Solo Goal tokens: 1 for Easy, 2 for Normal, 3 for Hard. Put them on the left of the Automa board, from the top space down.
Put the second set of 6 Workers in random order in the Priority area of the Automa board.
Shuffle the 9 Action tokens and put them face down as a pile on their space on the Automa board.

Each player

Choose a colour and take all its components, plus 3 Track markers and a Zaibatsu board.
Put your 6 Ships, 6 Machines and 6 Trains on their spaces on your Zaibatsu.
Put the R&D, Mining and Finance markers on the leftmost spaces of their tracks.
Put the Influence tokens worth 3, 5 and 7 on the left side of your Zaibatsu — you cannot use them until you unlock them — together with both Scoring discs.
Put the other 7 Influence tokens (1 to 7) in your supply, right of your Zaibatsu: you can use them from the start.
Put your 8 Contracts face up left of your Zaibatsu.
Sort your 9 Favor tokens into 3 piles by level and put each pile on its space on your Zaibatsu.

Starting conditions

Lay out 2 random pairs of Starting tokens, A with B, and take one; return the other. You are always the first player.
On taking your pair: apply the effect on the left of token A, put your 0/100 Scoring disc on the Scoring track at the number on the right of token A, then gain everything shown on token B. Return the unused Starting tokens to the box.

The main board

Put the main board in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 9 Demand tiles. Put 8 face up, one on each City space, each turned to a random direction. Return the last one to the box.
Put one Round marker on the leftmost dark space of the Round track and the other on the leftmost bright space.
Put the 6 Expert Workers on their spaces in the Iwakura Mission area, one per Destination.
Stack the Upgraded Department tokens on their matching spaces in the Iwakura Mission area: 2 of each type.
Take out 2 sets of 6 Workers, one of each colour, and put them back in the box. Put the other 36 Workers into the bag.
Draw 3 random Workers from the bag onto each Hiring space.
Fill the Worker Queue with random Workers from the bag: the top area only.
Sort the standard Factory tiles (numbered 1–4) by type into 6 piles. Lay out 2 of each type at random beside the board — the Factories you can build all game. Return the rest to the box. You may turn them to random sides; side A is recommended for your first few games.
Optional — choose at most one module. Late-Game Factories: add 3 late-game Factory tiles (numbered 5) at random to the Factories on offer. Common Goals: put the Common Goals board left of the main board with 1 random Common Goal in each Period.
[Genro] Determine the first player at random as the expansion setup requires. Its solo instructions do not clearly say whether this replaces solo’s first-player rule; check the table note on the [Genro page](genro/#solo-with-genro).
[Genro] Cover the Local Markets action space with its board. Choose two different Genro boards; for a first play with the expansion, Legislator and Regulator are recommended.
[Genro] Place the Loyalty boards and use Both 3-row sides. For solo, use the 2-player setup.
[Genro] Each player takes 12 Loyalty tokens in their color. Follow the chosen Genro boards’ setup for their markers and tiles.
Make a general supply of Goods, Resources (Coal, Silk, Iron) and Money within everyone’s reach.

Each player

Choose a colour and take all its components, plus 3 Track markers and a Zaibatsu board.
Put your 6 Ships, 6 Machines and 6 Trains on their spaces on your Zaibatsu.
Put the R&D, Mining and Finance markers on the leftmost spaces of their tracks.
Put the Influence tokens worth 3, 5 and 7 on the left side of your Zaibatsu — you cannot use them until you unlock them — together with both Scoring discs.
Put the other 7 Influence tokens (1 to 7) in your supply, right of your Zaibatsu: you can use them from the start.
Put your 8 Contracts face up left of your Zaibatsu.
Sort your 9 Favor tokens into 3 piles by level and put each pile on its space on your Zaibatsu.

Starting conditions

Choose the first player at random.
Lay out 3 random pairs of Starting tokens, A with B, face up. Starting with the player to the right of the first player and going counterclockwise, each player takes one pair (the first player chooses last).
On taking your pair: apply the effect on the left of token A, put your 0/100 Scoring disc on the Scoring track at the number on the right of token A, then gain everything shown on token B. Return the unused Starting tokens to the box.

The main board

Put the main board in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 9 Demand tiles. Put 8 face up, one on each City space, each turned to a random direction. Return the last one to the box.
Put one Round marker on the leftmost dark space of the Round track and the other on the leftmost bright space.
Put the 6 Expert Workers on their spaces in the Iwakura Mission area, one per Destination.
Stack the Upgraded Department tokens on their matching spaces in the Iwakura Mission area: 2 of each type.
Take out 2 sets of 6 Workers, one of each colour, and put them back in the box. Put the other 36 Workers into the bag.
Draw 3 random Workers from the bag onto each Hiring space.
Fill the Worker Queue with random Workers from the bag: the top area only.
Sort the standard Factory tiles (numbered 1–4) by type into 6 piles. Lay out 2 of each type at random beside the board — the Factories you can build all game. Return the rest to the box. First game: play every Factory on side A.
Make a general supply of Goods, Resources (Coal, Silk, Iron) and Money within everyone’s reach.

Each player

Choose a colour and take all its components, plus 3 Track markers and a Zaibatsu board.
Put your 6 Ships, 6 Machines and 6 Trains on their spaces on your Zaibatsu.
Put the R&D, Mining and Finance markers on the leftmost spaces of their tracks.
Put the Influence tokens worth 3, 5 and 7 on the left side of your Zaibatsu — you cannot use them until you unlock them — together with both Scoring discs.
Put the other 7 Influence tokens (1 to 7) in your supply, right of your Zaibatsu: you can use them from the start.
Put your 8 Contracts face up left of your Zaibatsu.
Sort your 9 Favor tokens into 3 piles by level and put each pile on its space on your Zaibatsu.

Starting conditions

Choose the first player at random.
Lay out 3 random pairs of Starting tokens, A with B, face up. Starting with the player to the right of the first player and going counterclockwise, each player takes one pair (the first player chooses last).
On taking your pair: apply the effect on the left of token A, put your 0/100 Scoring disc on the Scoring track at the number on the right of token A, then gain everything shown on token B. Return the unused Starting tokens to the box.

The main board

Put the main board in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 9 Demand tiles. Put 8 face up, one on each City space, each turned to a random direction. Return the last one to the box.
Put one Round marker on the leftmost dark space of the Round track and the other on the leftmost bright space.
Put the 6 Expert Workers on their spaces in the Iwakura Mission area, one per Destination.
Stack the Upgraded Department tokens on their matching spaces in the Iwakura Mission area: 3 of each type.
Take out 1 set of 6 Workers, one of each colour, and put it back in the box. Put the other 42 Workers into the bag.
Draw 3 random Workers from the bag onto each Hiring space.
Fill the Worker Queue with random Workers from the bag: the top and middle areas.
Sort the standard Factory tiles (numbered 1–4) by type into 6 piles. Lay out 3 of each type at random beside the board — the Factories you can build all game. Return the rest to the box. You may turn them to random sides; side A is recommended for your first few games.
Optional — choose at most one module. Late-Game Factories: add 4 late-game Factory tiles (numbered 5) at random to the Factories on offer. Common Goals: put the Common Goals board left of the main board with 2 random Common Goals in each Period.
[Genro] Determine the first player at random as the expansion setup requires. Its solo instructions do not clearly say whether this replaces solo’s first-player rule; check the table note on the [Genro page](genro/#solo-with-genro).
[Genro] Cover the Local Markets action space with its board. Choose two different Genro boards; for a first play with the expansion, Legislator and Regulator are recommended.
[Genro] Place the Loyalty boards and use one 3-row and one 4-row side. For solo, use the 2-player setup.
[Genro] Each player takes 12 Loyalty tokens in their color. Follow the chosen Genro boards’ setup for their markers and tiles.
Make a general supply of Goods, Resources (Coal, Silk, Iron) and Money within everyone’s reach.

Each player

Choose a colour and take all its components, plus 3 Track markers and a Zaibatsu board.
Put your 6 Ships, 6 Machines and 6 Trains on their spaces on your Zaibatsu.
Put the R&D, Mining and Finance markers on the leftmost spaces of their tracks.
Put the Influence tokens worth 3, 5 and 7 on the left side of your Zaibatsu — you cannot use them until you unlock them — together with both Scoring discs.
Put the other 7 Influence tokens (1 to 7) in your supply, right of your Zaibatsu: you can use them from the start.
Put your 8 Contracts face up left of your Zaibatsu.
Sort your 9 Favor tokens into 3 piles by level and put each pile on its space on your Zaibatsu.

Starting conditions

Choose the first player at random.
Lay out 4 random pairs of Starting tokens, A with B, face up. Starting with the player to the right of the first player and going counterclockwise, each player takes one pair (the first player chooses last).
On taking your pair: apply the effect on the left of token A, put your 0/100 Scoring disc on the Scoring track at the number on the right of token A, then gain everything shown on token B. Return the unused Starting tokens to the box.

The main board

Put the main board in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 9 Demand tiles. Put 8 face up, one on each City space, each turned to a random direction. Return the last one to the box.
Put one Round marker on the leftmost dark space of the Round track and the other on the leftmost bright space.
Put the 6 Expert Workers on their spaces in the Iwakura Mission area, one per Destination.
Stack the Upgraded Department tokens on their matching spaces in the Iwakura Mission area: 3 of each type.
Take out 1 set of 6 Workers, one of each colour, and put it back in the box. Put the other 42 Workers into the bag.
Draw 3 random Workers from the bag onto each Hiring space.
Fill the Worker Queue with random Workers from the bag: the top and middle areas.
Sort the standard Factory tiles (numbered 1–4) by type into 6 piles. Lay out 3 of each type at random beside the board — the Factories you can build all game. Return the rest to the box. First game: play every Factory on side A.
Make a general supply of Goods, Resources (Coal, Silk, Iron) and Money within everyone’s reach.

Each player

Choose a colour and take all its components, plus 3 Track markers and a Zaibatsu board.
Put your 6 Ships, 6 Machines and 6 Trains on their spaces on your Zaibatsu.
Put the R&D, Mining and Finance markers on the leftmost spaces of their tracks.
Put the Influence tokens worth 3, 5 and 7 on the left side of your Zaibatsu — you cannot use them until you unlock them — together with both Scoring discs.
Put the other 7 Influence tokens (1 to 7) in your supply, right of your Zaibatsu: you can use them from the start.
Put your 8 Contracts face up left of your Zaibatsu.
Sort your 9 Favor tokens into 3 piles by level and put each pile on its space on your Zaibatsu.

Starting conditions

Choose the first player at random.
Lay out 4 random pairs of Starting tokens, A with B, face up. Starting with the player to the right of the first player and going counterclockwise, each player takes one pair (the first player chooses last).
On taking your pair: apply the effect on the left of token A, put your 0/100 Scoring disc on the Scoring track at the number on the right of token A, then gain everything shown on token B. Return the unused Starting tokens to the box.

The main board

Put the main board in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 9 Demand tiles. Put 8 face up, one on each City space, each turned to a random direction. Return the last one to the box.
Put one Round marker on the leftmost dark space of the Round track and the other on the leftmost bright space.
Put the 6 Expert Workers on their spaces in the Iwakura Mission area, one per Destination.
Stack the Upgraded Department tokens on their matching spaces in the Iwakura Mission area: 4 of each type.
Put all 48 Workers into the cloth bag.
Draw 3 random Workers from the bag onto each Hiring space.
Fill the Worker Queue with random Workers from the bag: all three areas.
Sort the standard Factory tiles (numbered 1–4) by type into 6 piles. Lay out 4 of each type at random beside the board — the Factories you can build all game. Return the rest to the box. You may turn them to random sides; side A is recommended for your first few games.
Optional — choose at most one module. Late-Game Factories: add 5 late-game Factory tiles (numbered 5) at random to the Factories on offer. Common Goals: put the Common Goals board left of the main board with 3 random Common Goals in each Period.
[Genro] Determine the first player at random as the expansion setup requires. Its solo instructions do not clearly say whether this replaces solo’s first-player rule; check the table note on the [Genro page](genro/#solo-with-genro).
[Genro] Cover the Local Markets action space with its board. Choose two different Genro boards; for a first play with the expansion, Legislator and Regulator are recommended.
[Genro] Place the Loyalty boards and use both 4-row sides. For solo, use the 2-player setup.
[Genro] Each player takes 12 Loyalty tokens in their color. Follow the chosen Genro boards’ setup for their markers and tiles.
Make a general supply of Goods, Resources (Coal, Silk, Iron) and Money within everyone’s reach.

Each player

Choose a colour and take all its components, plus 3 Track markers and a Zaibatsu board.
Put your 6 Ships, 6 Machines and 6 Trains on their spaces on your Zaibatsu.
Put the R&D, Mining and Finance markers on the leftmost spaces of their tracks.
Put the Influence tokens worth 3, 5 and 7 on the left side of your Zaibatsu — you cannot use them until you unlock them — together with both Scoring discs.
Put the other 7 Influence tokens (1 to 7) in your supply, right of your Zaibatsu: you can use them from the start.
Put your 8 Contracts face up left of your Zaibatsu.
Sort your 9 Favor tokens into 3 piles by level and put each pile on its space on your Zaibatsu.

Starting conditions

Choose the first player at random.
Lay out 5 random pairs of Starting tokens, A with B, face up. Starting with the player to the right of the first player and going counterclockwise, each player takes one pair (the first player chooses last).
On taking your pair: apply the effect on the left of token A, put your 0/100 Scoring disc on the Scoring track at the number on the right of token A, then gain everything shown on token B. Return the unused Starting tokens to the box.

The main board

Put the main board in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 9 Demand tiles. Put 8 face up, one on each City space, each turned to a random direction. Return the last one to the box.
Put one Round marker on the leftmost dark space of the Round track and the other on the leftmost bright space.
Put the 6 Expert Workers on their spaces in the Iwakura Mission area, one per Destination.
Stack the Upgraded Department tokens on their matching spaces in the Iwakura Mission area: 4 of each type.
Put all 48 Workers into the cloth bag.
Draw 3 random Workers from the bag onto each Hiring space.
Fill the Worker Queue with random Workers from the bag: all three areas.
Sort the standard Factory tiles (numbered 1–4) by type into 6 piles. Lay out 4 of each type at random beside the board — the Factories you can build all game. Return the rest to the box. First game: play every Factory on side A.
Make a general supply of Goods, Resources (Coal, Silk, Iron) and Money within everyone’s reach.

Each player

Choose a colour and take all its components, plus 3 Track markers and a Zaibatsu board.
Put your 6 Ships, 6 Machines and 6 Trains on their spaces on your Zaibatsu.
Put the R&D, Mining and Finance markers on the leftmost spaces of their tracks.
Put the Influence tokens worth 3, 5 and 7 on the left side of your Zaibatsu — you cannot use them until you unlock them — together with both Scoring discs.
Put the other 7 Influence tokens (1 to 7) in your supply, right of your Zaibatsu: you can use them from the start.
Put your 8 Contracts face up left of your Zaibatsu.
Sort your 9 Favor tokens into 3 piles by level and put each pile on its space on your Zaibatsu.

Starting conditions

Choose the first player at random.
Lay out 5 random pairs of Starting tokens, A with B, face up. Starting with the player to the right of the first player and going counterclockwise, each player takes one pair (the first player chooses last).
On taking your pair: apply the effect on the left of token A, put your 0/100 Scoring disc on the Scoring track at the number on the right of token A, then gain everything shown on token B. Return the unused Starting tokens to the box.