Headline Cards
The optional Headline module: a new event card every round that changes the rules for that round.
Short tag: [Headlines]
What it adds
12 Headline cards (Age I and Age II) recreate the red tape of the licence era and the openings of the liberal reforms. Each round a new Headline changes that round only, helping or hurting some or all players. Headlines take the place of one Planning Commission card and also make Politics a little stronger.
Setup
- Shuffle the Planning Commission A and B decks; place 1 A and 1 B in the two left slots (instead of 1 A and 2 B).
- Shuffle the Headline Age I and Age II decks separately. Put 4 Age I cards on top of all 3 Age II cards: a 7-card deck, one per round.
- Place it face down in the right Planning Commission slot, marked with an asterisk.
During the round
At the very start of each round, before activating a region, the Tycoon turns the top Headline face up on the deck and reads it out. Each card says when it applies:
| Timing | What it means |
|---|---|
| Start of Round | Extra steps now, before the region is activated |
| Round Event | Extra steps when resolving phase 2 |
| Entire Round / Actions | A rule change for the whole round, or for one action |
| End of Round | Extra steps after phase 4 |
After the action phase the Tycoon removes the Headline from the game.
Politics bonus: anyone taking Politics this round also gains the Politics bonus shown on the current Headline.
Examples of Headlines
| Timing | Effect |
|---|---|
| End of Round | Whoever has the most Industry cards (built or not; all tied players) pays 2 Favor or 30 Cr; without 2 Favor tokens they must pay the money, with an Emergency Loan if needed |
| End of Round | Each player who took Build this round discards 2 Favor or goes back 9 Influence (never below 0) |
| End of Round | Everyone pays 5 Cr per Industry card they own, built or not |
| End of Round | Everyone collects dividends as usual: 15 Cr per opponent share (10 from the owner, 5 from the supply) |
Solo and 2-player changes
AIPL opponents ignore Headlines completely — no bonuses and no penalties. Humans resolve them as usual.
Scoring changes
None: Headlines leave play after their round. The only end-game difference is that just 2 Planning Commission cards score.