Overview

Federation is a worker-placement and area-influence game set in 2442. A galactic federation of 5 planets seeks a new member, and players lead competing delegations vying to join. Over 5 rounds, players place Ambassador tokens (each with a Voting or Funding side) onto Senate spaces to perform actions on federated planets, gain resources, influence, and prestige. Special missions on individual boards provide additional actions. The player with the most prestige points at the end wins.

Components

• 1 Central board (Senate with 3 floors, 5 federated planets, Major Projects, Law tracks)
• 4 Individual player boards
• 16 Ambassador tokens (4 per player, double-sided: Voting/Funding)
• 32 Spaceships (8 per player)
• 48 Special Mission tokens (12 per player)
• 4 Accreditation markers
• 4 Mage pawns, 24 Robot pawns, 4 Miner pawns
• 24 Trade discs (6 per player)
• 4 Assistant dice
• 45 Erudite tiles (5 types, 3 levels)
• 10 Law tiles (5 left-wing, 5 right-wing)
• 8 Deep Space tiles, 8 Starting tiles
• 8 Megastructure tokens, 50 Alteration tokens
• 12 Asteroid tokens, 28 Medals of honor
• 76 Resource tokens (Lavandium, Coppernium, Oceanium, Gold Diamonds)
• 60 Crystals, 7 Major Project markers
• 4 Joint Major Project markers, 8 Scoring markers
• 1 President of the Senate pawn, 8 Player aids

Setup

1. Place central board; sort Erudite tiles by level/color, reveal Level 3 and first tile of each Level 1 pile.
2. Place Alteration tokens face-down on moons; reveal first moon’s tokens.
3. Place Mage pawns on starting moon of blue planet. Place Trade discs on yellow planet. Place Robot pawns on green planet. Place Miner pawns on orange planet.
4. Place resources, asteroids, megastructures, medals of honor, laws, Major Project markers.
5. Each player sets up individual board: Accreditation marker on step 1, 4 Ambassadors on spaces, 1 spaceship in hangar, supply of 7 spaceships + 12 Special Mission tokens + Assistant die.
6. Deal starting tiles (players + 1); choose in reverse turn order; receive bonus.

Turn Structure

Each of 5 rounds has 2 phases:

I. Ambassador Phase (4 turns per player per round)

Each turn, in clockwise order from the President of the Senate:

1. Main Action (mandatory): Place 1 Ambassador token on an available Senate space, choosing Voting or Funding side:

• Funding side: Unlock a Special Mission on your individual board; participate in Major Project funding during Executive phase.
• Voting side: Gain majority on Senate floors; potentially pass laws during Executive phase. May place Assistant die to increase voting power.
• Optionally add an Alteration token to modify the Ambassador’s characteristics.
• Immediately receive any crystal bonus on the token.
• Perform the action of the Senate space (Federated Planet action, Room of Senate action, or Spy action).

2. Optional Action: Send 1 spaceship on an accessible Special Mission if:

• A Special Mission token is on that space
• You have an available spaceship in your hangar
• Your accreditation level meets the mission requirement

II. Executive Phase (end of round)

• Players receive income
• Fund Major Projects (Funding tokens contribute)
• Pass laws (Voting tokens determine majorities on Senate floors)

Actions

Senate Action Types

1. Federated Planet Actions — Interact with the 5 planets to gain influence, resources, and recruit Erudites
2. Rooms of the Senate — Special rooms providing unique abilities
3. Spy Action — Gain intelligence and advantages

Special Missions (Individual Board)

• Up to 8 missions per game
• Each can only be accomplished once
• Require sufficient accreditation level
• Include intrigue missions and deep space missions

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends after 5 rounds. Final scoring includes:

• Prestige points earned during the game
• Major Project contributions
• Medals of honor (earned by reaching influence thresholds on planets or accomplishing individual board objectives)
• Law bonuses
• End-game scoring conditions

The player with the most prestige points wins and joins the Federation.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Medals of honor are a race: first player to reach a planet’s influence threshold gets the lowest-value medal available; subsequent players need higher influence.
• Accreditation medal: Earned at level 8 (highest step of level 4).
• Intrigue medal: Earned by accomplishing the intrigue special mission.
• Reserve limits: Max 10 crystals, max 5 gold diamonds in reserve. You may discard excess.
• Alteration tokens replace Ambassador characteristics for the round.
• Assistant die can only be placed with a Voting Ambassador to increase voting power.
• 2-3 player variants include Neutral Player tokens and modified Senate rooms.

Player Reference

Item	Details
Players	2-4
Rounds	5
Ambassadors per player	4 (placed 4 times per round)
Spaceships per player	8
Special Missions max	8 per game
Ambassador sides	Voting (influence/laws) or Funding (missions/projects)
Crystal reserve max	10
Gold diamond reserve max	5
Win condition	Most prestige points