How to Play
Sovereign is a 7-lap economic strategy game for 3 players (1 human + 2 scripted opponents). The goal is to score the most Influence Points when the game ends.
The board
Section titled “The board”40 spaces, arranged as a square loop. Spaces fall into eight color systems plus a few special types.
| Color system | Properties | Cost range | Identity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revolutionary Debt | 2 | 60 TN | Cheap, early; under the Funding Act |
| State Debt | 3 | 100–120 TN | Boosted by the Assumption Act |
| Revenue System | 3 | 140–160 TN | Boosted by the Tariff Schedule |
| Commercial Infrastructure | 3 | 180–200 TN | Ports and exchanges |
| National Finance | 3 | 220–240 TN | Treasury Securities, Bank Subscription, Federal Deposits |
| Internal Improvements | 3 | 260–280 TN | Turnpikes, canals, post roads |
| Manufactures | 3 | 300–320 TN | Textiles, iron, glass |
| Strategic Industry | 2 | 350–400 TN | Armory, Shipbuilding |
Plus 4 Routes (with a 25 / 50 / 100 / 150 payment ladder), 2 Institutions (Bank of the United States, US Mint), 4 corners, and 2 tax spaces.
The turn
Section titled “The turn”- Roll 2d6.
- Move that many spaces around the loop.
- Resolve landing — buy / decline / pay rent / draw a card / trigger an Act / etc.
- End turn, next player acts.
When the active player’s turn loops back around through the start (Treasury Opens), the lap counter advances. A new Act of Congress comes up for vote at the start of each lap.
Acts of Congress
Section titled “Acts of Congress”7 Acts pass in fixed historical order, one per lap. They require a majority vote of the 3 players.
| Lap | Act | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Funding Act | Revolutionary Debt rents ×1.5 permanently. Public Credit +2. |
| 2 | Assumption Act | State Debt rents ×2 permanently. Public Credit +2. Public Resistance +1. |
| 3 | Bank Charter | Bank pays 10× dice (was 4×). Mint enables 20× dice combo. |
| 4 | Tariff Schedule | Revenue System rents ×1.5 permanently. Public Resistance +1. |
| 5 | Coinage Act | Mint owner collects 50 TN from each other player. Public Credit +1. Industrial Capacity +1. |
| 6 | Report on Manufactures | Mfg + Strategic upgrade costs halved one lap. Each Mfg/Strategic owner collects 50 TN per such property owned. Capacity +2. |
| 7 | Excise Enforcement | Whiskey Excise pays 2×. Public Resistance +2. |
Force-fee: a profile may pay 100 TN to force an Act vote when conditions favor it (Treasury / Finance does this for Bank Charter; Manufacturer does it for Report on Manufactures if Capacity is low; Merchant does it for Tariff if Resistance is low).
Shared tracks
Section titled “Shared tracks”Three tracks visible at the table center, each running 0–12.
- Public Credit (starts 5). High Credit makes National Finance scoring kick in. Drops below 2 hurt routes; hitting 0 triggers a Default event (cash halved, one upgrade destroyed per player).
- Public Resistance (starts 2). Rises with Acts that anger the public. Hits 12 → Rebellion (Excise owners hit hardest).
- Industrial Capacity (starts 1). Climbs +1 per industrial property purchased (v0.5+). At ≥ 6: Mfg/Strategic payments +25%. At ≥ 8: payments +50%, plus +2 Influence bonus per qualifying industrial system at game end. At ≥ 10: another +2 per qualifying industrial system.
Scoring
Section titled “Scoring”When the game ends (lap 7 wraps), compute Influence Points per player:
| Source | IP |
|---|---|
| Cash held | 1 IP per 400 TN (floor) |
| Property owned | 1 IP each |
| Upgraded property | +2 IP each (any tier) |
| Complete color set | +3 IP each |
| Route owned | 1 IP each |
| Institution owned | 2 IP each |
| NF Credit bonus | +1 IP per qualifying NF owner if Credit ≥ 8; +2 if Credit = 12 |
| Industrial Capacity ≥ 8 | +2 IP per qualifying industrial system held |
| Industrial Capacity ≥ 10 | additional +2 IP per qualifying industrial system (stacks with ≥ 8) |
| Full Manufactures set | +3 IP (in addition to color-set bonus) |
| Full Strategic Industry set | +2 IP (in addition to color-set bonus) |
| “You Are Hamilton” card kept | +1 IP |
| Bankrupt lap | −1 IP per lap spent at cash < 0 |
Highest total wins.
Strategy hints
Section titled “Strategy hints”- Treasury / Finance is the strongest profile. To beat it as a human, you must either out-Treasury it (which is hard from slot 0 against a scripted Hamilton in slot 1) or pursue a different specialty hard enough to outscore.
- Routes are strong but capped — the v0.2 ladder change means 4-route monopolies pay 150 TN per landing, not 200. Worth pursuing but won’t autowin.
- Industry is the late bloomer. Buy Manufactures + Strategic Industry properties to push Industrial Capacity up. If Capacity reaches ≥ 8, the industrial Influence bonuses are large enough to threaten Treasury.