Contents

1 The Fantastic Factories Game Rules

The Fantastic Factories Game Rules

Welcome to the exciting world of Fantastic Factories! In this game, it’s all about building and expanding your own factory empire. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the game, these rules will guide you on your journey to success.

First things first, let’s talk about the goal. Your objective is to earn the most points by producing goods and fulfilling contracts. Points can be earned through efficient factory layouts, advanced technology, and fulfilling those lucrative contracts.

To start the game, each player will receive their own player board, a set of dice, and factory cards. These factory cards are the heart of your operation. They come in two types: blue and red. Blue cards are primary production cards, while red cards are secondary production cards. Each card will have a cost to build, a production value, and requirements. You can build as many factories as you want as long as you meet the requirements.

Now, let’s move on to the gameplay. Each round is divided into four phases: planning, production, cleanup, and research. During the planning phase, you will roll your dice and use them to assign workers to different tasks in your factories. You can assign workers to activate primary or secondary production cards, fulfill a contract, research technology, or trade resources.

Once all players have assigned their workers, we move on to the production phase. This is where you will reap the rewards of your planning. Activated cards will produce goods and generate resources based on their production value. Goods can be used to fulfill contracts, while resources can be used to build more factories or upgrade existing ones.

After production, we have the cleanup phase. Here, you will discard any unused dice and choose new cards for your next round. You can either draw from the available cards or spend resources to draw from the deck.

Finally, we have the research phase. This is where you can spend resources to unlock advanced technology cards. These cards provide powerful bonuses and can give you an edge over your opponents.

The game continues for a set number of rounds or until a certain number of contracts have been fulfilled. At the end, players will tally up their points and the player with the highest score wins!

That’s the basics of Fantastic Factories. Remember, the key to success is efficient factory layouts, clever use of resources, and fulfilling contracts. So, roll those dice and get ready to build your empire!

Hey there! Ready to dive into an electrifying race against other players? In this thrilling game, you’ll be competing to construct the most effective factories in the fastest time possible. It’s all about being smart and strategic!

What’s in the Game?

I’ve got a total of 28 dice
I’ve also got 50 energy tokens
Not to mention 30 metal tokens
And 45 goods tokens
Plus an extra 40 goods tokens
To keep things organized, there are 4 tool label tokens
For strategy purposes, there are 78 blueprint cards
And 18 contractor cards
I’ve even got a first player token
Of course, you need a player board, and you’ll get 5 of them
And to help you out, there are 5 player aid cards
To make sure you know the rules, there’s a rulebook

Setting Up the Game

Terminology: Let me explain what I mean when I say “dice.” Whenever I talk about workers, I’m actually referring to these dice.

The person who last used a tool becomes the first player and gets the first player token. Be sure to shuffle the blueprint and contractor decks independently.

To start the game, just follow these simple steps:

Choose a color (anything except white)
Gather 4 dice that match your chosen color
Grab a player board (“Research,” “Mine,” or “Generate”)

When you play the game, you’ll get a player aid card. One side is called “Legend” and the other side is “Each Round.” You’ll also get 1 metal resource and 2 energy resources. Plus, you’ll receive 4 random blueprint cards.

Your compound is the area in front of you on the table where you’ll build factories. You can look at your hand, but don’t show it to others.

Here’s how to set up the game: Deal 4 blueprint and 4 contractor cards face up on the table. Make sure each face-up contractor card has a tool label token above it. It doesn’t matter what order the tools are in, but they have to stay that way for the rest of the game. These 8 cards make up the marketplace.

Finally, put the metal, energy, goods tokens, and white dice in the center of the table for everyone to reach. These are the supplies you’ll use during the game.

Infinite Resources: You have an endless amount of resources and dice available. If you run out, come up with a creative solution to keep track.

How to Set Up the Game

The Main Objective

The main objective of the game is to win by being the first player to get rid of all your cards. All players start with an equal number of cards, and the game continues until one player has played all of their cards. It’s a thrilling race to see who can empty their hand the fastest!

The Role of Cards

Each card in the game has a number or a symbol on it. The cards are played in a specific order, and players must match the number or symbol on the card that was played before theirs. For example, if the previous card played is a 5, the next player must play a card with a 5 on it or a card with a matching symbol, depending on the rules of the game.

Gameplay

To start the game, each player is dealt a hand of cards. The remaining cards are placed facedown in a draw pile. The top card of the draw pile is then flipped over and placed face up next to the draw pile – this is the starting card.

The first player, determined randomly or by some other agreed-upon method, plays a card that matches the starting card in number or symbol. The next player must then play a card that matches the previously played card, and so on.

If a player cannot play a card that matches the previous card, they must draw a card from the draw pile. If the drawn card can be played, it can be played immediately. Otherwise, the player’s turn ends and the next player takes their turn.

Special Cards

Some games have special cards that can change the course of the game. These cards may allow you to skip a turn, reverse the direction of play, or even make the next player draw extra cards.

Strategies

Winning at the game often requires a combination of luck and skill. It’s important to pay close attention to the cards that have been played and plan your moves accordingly. Sometimes it may be wise to hold onto certain cards for later in the game, while other times it may be better to play them as soon as possible.

It’s also important to pay attention to what cards other players are holding. If you can determine what cards they have, you can plan your moves accordingly and potentially block them from playing certain cards.

Conclusion

Playing card games can be a lot of fun and can provide hours of entertainment for everyone involved. Whether you enjoy simple games like Go Fish or more complex games like Uno, card games offer a variety of challenges and strategies to explore. So grab a deck of cards and get ready to have some fun!

The objective is to get as many points as you can. You can earn points in two ways: through prestige and goods. Each building in your compound has a prestige value printed on its top right corner, which determines its worth.

In addition to prestige, you can also accumulate goods by producing them in your factories (indicated by the crate symbol). Your total score is the sum of the goods you have and your total prestige.

Now let’s talk about the gameplay. Each round has two phases. The first phase is the market phase, where players take turns choosing a card from the marketplace.

Once all players have made their choices, the second phase begins: the work phase. During this phase, all players roll their dice, assign them as workers, and construct factories simultaneously.

To begin, the market phase is explained in more detail below.

When it’s time to make trades, it’s my turn first, because I have the first player token. Then we go in order, clockwise. There are two options for me to choose:

I can get a blueprint card.

TIP: When picking a blueprint card, try to choose cards that you want to build or cards that have the same tool symbol () as a card you already have and want to build. (See “Building Cards” in the “Work Phase” part for more details).

If you want to get some help with your construction project, you have a few options to choose from:

Do it yourself. In this case, you would need to gather the necessary materials and tools and follow the instructions yourself. But keep in mind that this can be tricky, and you may encounter some challenges along the way.
Ask a friend. If you have a friend who is knowledgeable about construction, you can ask them for help. They might be able to give you some tips and guidance, and it could be a fun project to work on together.
Hire a contractor. You can choose one of the contractors in the marketplace to hire. To do this, you need to discard a blueprint from your hand that has the same tool symbol as the token above the contractor. Once you hire a contractor, you need to follow the instructions on their card and then discard it. The marketplace will then be refilled with a new card from the contractor deck. Some contractors may have an additional cost, which is shown on the top left corner of the card.

Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to think carefully about what will work best for you. Good luck with your construction project!

Before you make any decisions about which blueprint or contractor to choose, you have the option to pay 1 metal or 1 energy resource. If you do, you can get rid of all the blueprints or all the contractors in the marketplace and reveal 4 new cards from the corresponding deck. This is something you can do once per turn, and it can be helpful if you don’t like the options available or if you want to remove cards that other players might find valuable.

Once everyone has had a turn, the work phase begins. During this phase, all players take their turns at the same time. However, if there are any players who are new to the game, it might be a good idea to take turns one at a time for the first round or two.

When we start the work phase, the first thing we do is pick up our dice and give them a roll. After that, it’s time to get down to business. Each player can take their turn in any order, but there are three main actions we can choose from: building cards, placing workers, and activating buildings.

Building Cards

In order to create a card for your collection, you will need to complete a few steps. First, you need to pay attention to the build cost displayed in the top left corner. To cover this cost, you will have to get rid of another blueprint card that has the same tool symbol as the one you want to create. Along with discarding the card, you will also need to pay the required amount of resources, which can be either metal or energy.

Important: You can build as many times as you want in one turn, as long as you can pay for all the building costs.

However, you can’t build a second card with the same name unless the card text says otherwise.

Doing the Basics

On your player board, you have three basic actions to choose from: Research, Mine, and Generate. To do one of these actions, put a worker in an empty slot on your board and immediately do that action. Here’s what each action does:

Research

When you put a worker on Research, draw one card from the top of the blueprint deck. It doesn’t matter what value the worker has.

Card Drawing: Whenever you draw a card during work time, you must draw from the top of the deck. You can’t take a card from the marketplace.

If any deck is out of cards, shuffle the discard pile to replenish the deck.

Mine

When you place a worker on Mine, you get 1 metal resource from the supply. The worker’s value must be 4, 5, or 6.

Generate

When you place a worker on Generate, you get resources equal to the worker’s value (the number on the die face). The worker’s value must be 1, 2, or 3.

Note: Mine and Generate produce different amounts of resources! Mine only produces 1 metal resource per worker, while Generate can produce multiple energy resources per worker depending on the value used.

Matching Bonus

When you place a worker on a basic action and it matches another worker already placed on that same action, you get a bonus! You’ll receive an extra card or resource for that action. If all three of your workers match, you get two extra cards or resources. You don’t have to place all three workers at the same time to get the matching bonus.

Activating Cards

Once you’ve built a card in your compound, you can activate it right away. The recipe for activating a card is shown on the lower part of the card using symbols. If you pay everything on the left side of the arrow, you’ll gain everything on the right side as a result. If you’re not sure what a symbol means, you can refer to the Legend player aid card for help.

Activation Limit: You can only use each card once per turn. If a card doesn’t have worker slots, it may not be clear if you’ve already used it. To show that a card has been activated, simply push it up slightly from the rest of your cards.
Worker Placement: You can’t assign the same worker to multiple actions. Each worker can only be used once per turn. After finishing your turn, keep your workers on the cards so other players can see what you did.
Activation Order: Cards can be activated in any order, as long as you meet the activation requirements. When you activate a card, you immediately gain the output, which can help you activate additional cards or build new ones.
Collecting Goods: When you earn goods, make sure to place them on the card that made them. This way, everyone can see which factories are being used.

Ending Work

After all players have placed their workers and finished their tasks, it’s time to tidy up. Each player needs to get rid of enough resources to have a total of 12 (combining both metal and energy) and reduce their hand to 10 cards.

The work phase is now complete. The first player token should be passed to the next player clockwise, and a new round begins with the market phase.

End of the Game

The game comes to an end when any player has produced 12 or more goods or built 10 or more buildings in their compound.

When you’re playing this game, you finish the round you’re currently in, and then you play one more round. This extra round is made up of the market phase and the work phase. On the player aid card, there’s a helpful reminder about how the game ends.

Hey there! I want to talk to you today about an important thing in the game. You know, sometimes when you’re playing, you might end up with a bunch of goods. But here’s the thing: when we talk about ending the game with 12 or more goods, we’re only considering the goods tokens that you’ve made. This doesn’t include the value of the buildings you have.

So, when the game is over, I tally up all the stuff I made and the fancy buildings in my compound. That gives me my final score. The person with the most points wins!

But wait, what if there’s a tie? Well, we gotta break it somehow. First, we look at who has the most metal resources. If that’s still not enough, we move on to who has the most energy resources. And if we’re still tied, it comes down to who has the most blueprints in their hand.

But you know what? If we’re all still tied after all that, we all get to celebrate our shared victory. Pretty cool, right?

How to play Fantastic Factories Official Rules