Illuminati (card game)

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Illuminati
Illuminati: Game components and building a power structure in the German version from 1988
Illuminati: Game components and building a power structure
in the German version from 1988
Game data
author Steve Jackson
publishing company Steve Jackson Games (English, since 1982),
Citadel (German, 1988),
Pegasus Games (German, since 2005)
Publishing year first in 1982, last in German in 2005
Art Card game / board game
Teammates 3–6 (2–8)
Duration 1–4 hours or more
Age from 12 years

Awards

Origins Award : Best Science Fiction Boardgame 1983

Illuminati is a complex card game that is published in the original English by Steve Jackson Games . The American game publisher, which also regards the game as a board game , as it contains some board game elements despite the lack of a game board, has released several new editions with changed rules and different game elements since 1982. It is best to play with 4–6 players; with rule changes, games with 2–8 players are also possible. A game usually lasts one to four hours or even longer, depending on the number of players. In 1983 Illuminati won the Origins Award for Best Science Fiction Boardgame of 1982 .

Versions

The original English game was first sold in July 1982 in a small plastic package with black and white cards and cardboard money. In 1987 an approximately 23 × 31 cm large game box with cards in black, white and pink as well as cardboard money was released. The 1991 edition was changed from the 1987 edition in that the money chips were now made of plastic. And in 1999 a set with multi-colored cards and cardboard money, also called Deluxe Illuminati or Illuminati , appeared in a smaller box measuring 12.7 × 20.3 cm . The Game of Conspiracy is called.

The only Illuminati expansion that contained a board was Illuminati Brainwash , which was the third expansion of the game that first appeared in 1985 in the multi-colored version in 2001. Illuminati Y2K was released in 1999 and addressed concerns about the year 2000 problem and the end of the world scenarios associated with the turn of the millennium . Illuminati Bavarian Fire Drill was released in 2007 and took group cards and mechanisms from the Illuminati trading card game . New world order , z. B. the card type Artifact and the groups NATO and Rosicrucian . In 2004, Steve Jackson published Illuminati: Crime Lords , which consists of 112 cards, not as an expansion, but as an independent spin-off .

In 1988, Illuminati was published for the first time in a German translation by Hamburg's Citadel Verlag as a licensed edition from the American manufacturer. The new German edition of Pegasus Spiele , which followed on from the 1999 English edition , was designed by Manfred Escher and appeared with revised rules in 2005 for the Essen Toy Fair . Common names here are also Illuminati. The World Conspiracy and Illuminati Deluxe . The cards for the English Y2K expansion are already included. In November 2007, Pegasus published the expansion Illuminati: Bavarian fire extinguishing exercise with 120 cards, including additional cards that allude to specifically German aspects compared to the English version.

Illuminati is not a trading card game , also from Steve Jackson developed Illuminati. The new world order, however, does.

Furnishing

Game components Illuminati (German edition 2005)
229 playing cards, including
* 10 Illuminati
* 178 groups
* 41 special cards
11 blank cards, of which
* 3 blank illuminatics
* 6 blank group cards
* 2 blank special cards
234 MegaTeuro coins
2 6-sided game dice
Rules of the game

The game consists of around 220 cards, play money and instructions. You also need two six-sided dice . The cards are divided into three types:

  • Illuminati
  • groups
  • Special cards

The players take on the role of various organizations, the so-called Illuminati . These are groups that are seen as the masterminds behind the scenes in various conspiracy theories :

The world itself, which these conspiracies are trying to bring under their control, is represented by the group cards , such as the CIA , California or the medical association , but also druids , El Niño or Elvis imitators. Many card ideas come from the field of conspiracy theories (for example the "mind control laser "), especially from Shea's and Wilson's Illuminatus! -Trilogy. Most of them are designed by Dan Smith with a subtle sense of humor (e.g. "Nuclear opponent" with two heads).

Each group has play values ​​for power, resistance and income, the Illuminati groups only have power and income, and many groups have an attitude (e.g. liberal, conservative, criminal etc.). In addition, connecting arrows are drawn on each group card, via which they can be connected to other groups, so that a complex “power structure” arises. It is important to plan your own power structure carefully, as unfavorably located groups can block the arrows connecting the surrounding groups. In addition, groups that are close to the central Illuminati receive a defense bonus against attacks by other players. Each group has its own money, which is increased by the group's income each round and can be used for game activities. Money can only be transferred between different groups with certain restrictions.

Special cards represent unexpected events or changes in groups, such as higher income or lower resistance.

Game flow

The game is played in rounds. The main task of every player is to take over and control as many groups as possible. To take over new groups, the player must make a "control attack" on this group. The attacked group can either be in the uncontrolled play area or in the power structure of another player. During a control attack, the attacker must use the combined power of all attacking groups to overcome the victim's resistance value. This balance of power can be influenced by the attitude of the groups as well as the use of money and special cards. Other players can also intervene in the fight and support one side, so that diplomatic negotiations form part of the game. After a successful takeover, the new group is included in the own power structure by placing it on a free connecting arrow. As an alternative to a control attack, groups can also be neutralized (removed from the power structure and placed in the uncontrolled area) or destroyed (taken out of play). In addition to carrying out such attacks, the players can largely act freely among themselves, form and break alliances, lie, cheat and steal.

A player wins as soon as he has controlled a certain number of groups or achieved his special goal. For example, the gnome player of Zurich wins if he has accumulated 150 monetary units (“MegaTeuro”) in his power structure; the Bermuda Triangle player wins if he has represented each of the ten different orientations in his power structure.

Web links

Game databases

Publishing homepages

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Illuminati card list . On: pegasus.de, February 20, 2006.
  2. ^ Illuminati card list . On: pegasus.de, February 20, 2006.
  3. ↑ Alludes to the Swiss Grand Lodge Alpina (SGLA), see Freemasonry .
  4. ↑ See Church of the SubGenius in the English language Wikipedia.