FAQ

"Gain" always means free, with no cost, and is used consistently throughout the game precisely so players know nothing has to be paid. By contrast, "Produce" means you follow the normal Produce rules, including production limits and resource costs. The wording was deliberately tightened ("get" was changed to "gain") for this reason.

Source: designer/publisher answer on BGG.

No. "Get a Growth Card" is the printed name of one of the eight standard actions (rulebook p.15) and includes paying the card's cost. "Get" is deliberately retained only for Growth cards, which you pay for; free things always use "gain."

Source: designer/publisher answer on BGG.

No keyword list exists in the rulebook. Actions are printed in bold with a capital first letter; a bolded action means you follow that action's full rules, including costs. The designer acknowledged the suggestion and said they'd consider it for future revisions.

Instructions starting with "can" are optional. If you are able to perform a card instruction not phrased with "can," you must do it — you may not skip part of an effect (e.g. to save money).

If Move appears in bold it is the keyword action and you pay normal move costs ($5 per Army). Cards explicitly say "without paying costs" if movement is free.

"Most" includes ties. If ties are meant to be excluded, the wording is "more than each other player."

Discard a card from hand; it is defined in the Diplomacy & Dominance rulebook. Cards with a globe icon come from that expansion.

No. Gaining a resource on a production increase happens only when choosing Focus in the Preparation Phase (FAQ p.23).

No. Player-board costs apply only to the Focus step. With a card, you pay only what the card states (if anything). Confirmed specifically for "Boost Production."

Source: designer/publisher answer on BGG.

No — each bullet may only be used once; only China can increase twice, as stated on its board.

Source: designer/publisher answer on BGG.

Yes. Whenever you get a chance to increase Prosperity you pay the next slot's cost, unless an effect says it's free.

Any two production markers, upper (primary) or lower (secondary), but they must be two different resources. You gain no resources. It is a one-time effect when you buy the card, though the increase is permanent.

No. Focus limits only the Focus step. A card that says Produce lets you produce any resource, following normal production rules, limits and costs.

Yes — each production activation allows up to your limit, so you can produce in Preparation and again with a Produce action.

No. With e.g. "Produce 3 Resources," each must be a different resource.

Source: designer/publisher answer on BGG.

Yes, both count as resources (Produce, rulebook p.15) for produce/increase/trade effects, even though Tanks are physical pieces rather than tracked. They can be produced via Focus, card effects, market-phase symbols on unplayed cards, and "produce X resources" effects.

No. One step lets you pay to increase your Diplomacy production marker; a separate step lets you Produce Diplomacy ($3 each, up to your limit). You produce once.

Storage is 10 of each resource. Excess converts to money immediately (sold at the low price) — e.g. at 9 Energy, gaining 3 puts you at 10 and gives 6 coins. This applies to every instance of Production, not just at round start; no allied country is needed since it is not an export.

Not in the base game; World in Turmoil adds effects that lower Productions. The spaces below the starting level partly exist to show how different the powers' production ranges are.

On the player board within the Focus text (in parentheses). Multiple players complained it is hard to reference and asked for a cost table; community-made reference cards have been posted. (Usability complaint, not a rules dispute.)

It's the rule as written; the Preparation Phase is skipped in round 1 so only the last effects matter. It gives everyone +2 Research and prevents anyone having the +1 Threat or cheaper Engage in round 1.

Choose a resource type per Import transaction, then count that resource's symbol (bottom-right of your allied Country cards and on your Trade Deals card). You may buy up to that many, paying the Import cost (3 coins) per unit — to the bank for Country sources, or to the player for player sources. Any resource symbol with a small arrow pointing toward you is importable. You cannot pick the same resource for two transactions in one Trade action, and you can't both import and export the same type in one action.

Only what your own Trade Deals card shows for that power (plus your allied Country cards' symbols).

Yes — once you choose a resource type you may buy it from all available sources (allied Countries and any players offering it). You just can't spend a second Import transaction on that same resource.

One per icon you have with an arrow pointing at that power. Only Russia shows three icons (Energy/Raw Materials), so from other powers it's typically one per Trade action. If both the USA and EU show Services, you take one from each, not two from the USA (plus any from your allied countries).

Yes, if you have 2+ imports: pick Raw Materials for one and Energy for the other. Russia flips one Commerce card per resource type (2 cards), even if you take only 1 of each. You still gain only 1 Diplomacy, and to earn Diplomacy from Russia alone you must buy all 3 of one of those resources.

No. Opponents cannot deny an import as long as they have the resources. They flip a face-up Commerce card if they have one; otherwise resources come off their player board. If they have neither, you cannot import from them. Flipping a Commerce card costs the seller no resources.

The transactions are not simultaneous; the buyer decides the order of their purchases.

Once per Trade action (rulebook p.13), regardless of how many transactions or players. With Russia you only get it if you take all 3 of the resource; taking 1-2 flips the card but grants no Diplomacy (same if their board holds fewer than the full amount). AI/non-player powers give no Diplomacy; Automas do count as players for this.

Yes: six tradeable items — Energy, Raw Materials, Food, Consumer Goods, Services, Tanks (price chart, p.13 and player aids).

You receive exactly what they pay ($3); the bank is not involved. The $5 export rate applies only when you take the Export action with allied countries.

No. They are used only when another player imports from you; they show what and how much can be taken and whether it's still available. To export you must spend actual resources from your board.

Source: designer/publisher answer on BGG.

They represent resources set aside for trade, buffering your board. Each card covers one transaction / one resource type — importing Goods flips one card, importing Services in the same action flips a separate one. You cannot buy two of the same resource from a player in one Trade action even if both Commerce cards are available (that would take two actions). A combined Services/Consumer Goods card is "or" (slash) — a card is flipped for each resource type bought.

When you Produce the resource shown on them — during the Focus step or from a card. Producing even 1 unit flips all your matching Commerce cards. Since primary resources are produced automatically each round, Russia's Commerce cards refresh every Preparation phase.

Yes. The only differences with non-player powers are that no Commerce card is flipped and no Diplomacy is gained.

Their resources are unlimited; no cards or tracking are set up for them. You gain no Diplomacy and payment goes to the bank. The publisher acknowledged this needed clarifying in the rulebook.

(original question deleted). One poster said you may make one transaction at a time as long as you track your faction's transaction limits; another noted the only advantage would be importing and then exporting the same resource, which the rules prohibit. No designer answer in the thread.

Unresolved — no designer or publisher answer in the source threads.

The Country cards currently face up/available in that Region's slots — not cards still in the deck, and not other players' allies.

Nothing stops the attempt, but nothing happens as a result — no Commerce card flips, nothing triggers — so it's equivalent to not doing it. Endorsed by another poster; no designer statement cited.

Community interpretation only — no designer or publisher statement cited.

Only when they share the same name (all starting countries have a duplicate in the decks). Place the new card face up on top of the previous one, splayed so both cards' trade symbols show, keeping any Military Base or FDI tokens. Thereafter treat them as a single Country using the top card's characteristics (value, investment cost); only the trade symbols carry over from the bottom card. It represents relations moving from "good" to "very good."

Increased trade symbols (more import/export capacity), potentially a higher hex value (which also raises any existing FDI return), and — if the original card was ready — 1 Influence in that Region. If the original was exhausted, the merged card becomes ready instead (rulebook p.12, last paragraph). Downside: you don't gain a separate additional Country to exhaust for discounts, and you forgo allying elsewhere.

• Answer A (allowed): Yes, confirmed by the designer — but then you do not place the Influence cube, since the card was not ready. The combined card ends up ready/face up afterwards. A community post adds that you may use all countries in the same Region to lower the cost, and that the designer confirmed using a starting country of the same name is allowed at the price of the Influence cube.

• Answer B (not allowed — later publisher correction): The publisher first said yes (allowed, forgoing the free Influence), then corrected that answer: officially it is not allowed. Reasoning given was playtest-based — losing one of your starting Countries felt too brutal, especially if it was then taken by someone else. The debate turned on the rulebook phrase "other allied Countries from the same Region."

Sources conflict — the two readings above cannot both be right.

These sources directly contradict each other; the "not allowed" post is presented as a correction of the earlier "allowed" post in that thread.

Return on Investment uses the card's current value -> 2 × 3 = 6.

Source: publisher answer on BGG.

Yes to both. Nothing prevents it (unless a card says otherwise), and it may deny another player an easy Influence. Each of the 16 Starting Countries has two separate cards, so each player interacts with their own copy; both could have a base there if otherwise allowed (base limits are effectively per card). Exception: the EU's "EU Member States" card has no second copy.

Only the top card of each of the two piles is available. Whenever one pile becomes empty, immediately move a card from the other so there are always 2 available Countries per Region (this changed from an earlier rule where the spot stayed empty). Do not shuffle: move the stack from right to left, then place the top card in the right slot.

Starting cards show a superpower flag on the right side instead of a cost; there are 12 per power. A small triangle/arrow marks the six recommended beginner starting-hand cards (rulebook p.6 and the red box on p.9).

No — any time you use a Country it must be ready, and you exhaust it as part of doing so. Exception: Trade uses the Country's symbols regardless of ready/exhausted state. Engage is borderline: you need a Country present in the Region as an on/off requirement, but exhausting Countries there lowers the Diplomacy cost. Countries ready during the Choose Focus step — each Focus on your player board lists how many you ready (this is on the board, not in the rulebook text); some Ability cards also ready allied Countries.

The card doesn't say "can," so you must do both if able. "Must" applies only to the Diplomacy you actually have — you are not forced to optimize, so you may take a Diplomacy-2 country first and then legitimately be unable to take a second. Exhausting an ally is optional and is not factored into whether you're "able."

Source: designer answer on BGG.

No. Each country is resolved separately and excess value does not carry over. You may, however, exhaust the first country you acquire to help pay for the second.

No — it costs that country's normal Diplomacy cost plus 1.

No region restriction. Order: Improve Relations in Region A -> pay 1 extra Diplomacy and Improve Relations with any country on the board (you may even exhaust the first country to help pay) -> Engage in Region A. The growth card grants an extra Improve Relations action; it does not double the played card, so only one Engage occurs.

Source: designer answer on BGG.

No. The readying and the Improve Relations are separate effects, deliberately worded so they can be used in different regions.

Source: designer answer on BGG.

No. The reduction counts allied countries regardless of exhaustion; you may then still pay the remainder by exhausting ready countries or spending Diplomacy.

Source: designer answer on BGG.

No. Some pre-release playthrough videos showed this, but the rules changed; there are no VPs for Improve Relations.

It lets you perform Improve Relations paying money instead of Diplomacy — every 4 money spent reduces the Diplomacy cost by 1, so you can mix money and Diplomacy freely.

Yes — at least 1 Army from your player board to the Region, paying the normal move cost, up to the country's hex value. If you have no Army, or no money for the movement, you cannot take the action. The "apply as much as you can" rule refers to card abilities, not to the requirements of a defined action.

Source: publisher answer on BGG.

No. Bases stay on the Country card, which already indicates the Region. Keeping them on cards makes ownership clear since base tokens are identical.

No, unless a card explicitly says otherwise. Same applies to Investing (rulebook p.15 top).

Yes — a country that accepts a Base holds only one, unless a card states otherwise. (Confirmed as a rulebook omission that was added; appears on p.15 of the final rules.) For the Automa the regional limit is instead the number of its allied countries in that Region that allow a base, plus 1.

Source: publisher answer on BGG.

Bases stay where built unless a card says otherwise, but nothing stops you moving the Armies out afterwards — players track opponents' bases via their allied Country cards.

They allow moving Armies into a Region outside your zone of interest, and some card effects require having a base. They give no THREAT or Defense bonus by themselves.

No — you may move Armies from your player board into Regions in your zone of interest without a Base. Zone of interest is unrelated to building a Base; building requires your flag above the Base symbol on the Country card.

No regional cap; Armies are unlimited components (use substitutes if you run out). The country's hex value caps only the Build a Base action's movement; later Move actions can bring in as many as the action allows and you can pay for, though individual cards may impose limits (e.g. "Move up to 3").

Consensus of three posters, referencing the rulebook's Move example showing two regions: yes. No designer confirmation cited.

Community interpretation only — no designer or publisher statement cited.

No. "Move" isn't bolded there, so it is not a Move action; it is a Build a Base action and needs a legal Base target (you may only build once per Country).

Source: publisher answer on BGG.

No. "Then" sets the order: you must be able to Build a Base first (requiring at least 1 Army already on your board), after which you gain 1 free Army.

No. The two moves happen simultaneously, so you need 4 different tanks. (Final card text costs 5 additional coins per Army, i.e. $10 each.)

Source: designer answer on BGG.

You pay 25 and 1 Service once for all three, and the tanks come from your unproduced supply.

The pile of tanks next to your player board — those not yet constructed. Tanks already on your player board are not the supply.

Source: designer answer on BGG.

No — they must come from your player board. Exception: when bidding tanks in the World in Turmoil expansion, they may come from the main board.

Source: publisher answer on BGG.

Yes, it comes free from your supply to your available tanks (not produced), and you may then move up to two tanks from your board or from the map — paying normal move costs.

Yes. The card is worded briefly for space: "when you choose Focus" covers everything you do after choosing that Focus, including producing the tank. An earlier community answer said no; the designer overruled it.

Source: designer answer on BGG.

Build a Base (minimum $10 including moving one Army), gaining an Influence. Then you may optionally move 1 more Army to that Region (cost $5, from your board or the map); only if you do so do you exhaust 1 ally of each player in that Region.

Yes — the card overrides the requirement. Strategic Assets are intended to be powerful.

Functionally it doesn't matter, because in each case the only listed Region outside that power's zone of interest is the one adjacent to the bracket. No designer ruling cited.

Community interpretation only — no designer or publisher statement cited.

Into. The wording was a typo/imprecision acknowledged by the publisher for correction.

No, unless stated otherwise (rulebook, Invest action). Also, you cannot Invest in an exhausted country (p.15 top).

No. Each Invest is paid in full as normal, with the second costing an additional 10 coins (an earlier card version was quoted as +20). General principle: when a card lets you perform an action, it's performed normally with all its costs unless stated otherwise.

Yes, optional. But if you have tokens available you must place one; that is part of the action. Token quantities are fixed/limited — if all are on the board you can't place another, but you may relocate an existing one.

Source: designer answer on BGG.

Yes — you always gain an Influence when you Engage, regardless of moving or placing a token.

Back to your player area/supply for reuse; they are not removed from the game. (The game's term for permanent removal is "trash.")

Yes — confirmed in the rulebook FAQ (p.22). Each discarded token gives its full benefit. Note the rulebook's Defence wording ("an Engage token... discard it") is looser than the Return on Investments wording, which caused table disputes, but multiple tokens for the same purpose in one round is legal.

Source: publisher answer on BGG.

During Return on Investments, discard for $5 per allied Country you have from that Region; during Resolve Threat, discard for +2 Defence per allied Country from that Region (for the round). You must discard to gain the Defence bonus — you cannot keep it and still benefit, and a single token cannot do both.

Yes — unlike the Military Focus Defence bonus, the Engage token bonus doesn't depend on whether you have Armies there.

Source: publisher answer on BGG.

Yes. It allows the EU to perform 1 or 2 Engage actions in a turn (placing 2 Influence and 2 Engage tokens), with all normal costs plus the additional $10 for the second Engage.

Yes. Temporary slots are always available, and unless stated otherwise you may choose freely between permanent and temporary.

Source: designer answer on BGG.

Yes, if the slot has a number. You always take the left-most free temporary slot and score its VPs immediately. When the temporary track is full, the new cube is inserted in the right-most slot and you score nothing (p.16); the placement still changes the Region's majority. Cubes shifting to new slots don't re-score.

Yes. You follow the rules of the action you are performing in full, so an Invest, Build a Base or Engage taken through an Executive Order still places a cube in that Region, and a cube landing on a numbered space still scores those VPs. The same applies to cubes placed by a Strategic Asset card. If the temporary slots are full and your placement pushes another cube off, you score nothing for it.

Community interpretation only — no designer or publisher statement cited.