Official Rules of Play
๐ฒ Religion, the Board Game (Second Edition)
L.N. Hunter
Time passes, and human civilisation is slowly heading towards destruction. Some of the most significant forces in the world are religions, and it is their duty to do what they do best: recruit Earthโs entire population before the inevitable end!
In Religion, the Board Game, you play as one of five ^^Religions^^ competing to amass the most ^^Worshippers^^ before the doomsday clock runs out.
Game Components
Inside the box, youโll find:
A circular World Board with spaces for card stacks, the general population pool and other tokens. The Doomsday Track is displayed along its circumference.
Five player board segments to be placed around the central hub. These track numbers of ^^Believers^^, ^^Followers^^, and ^^Worshippers^^, as well as current values of ^^Charisma^^ (rate of converting ^^Followers^^ to ^^Worshippers^^), ^^Stability^^ (susceptibility to unforeseen ^^Events^^) and ^^Stealth^^ (ability of ^^Believers^^ to spread into other ^^Religionsโ^^ domains). Each board segment is illustrated with an image of the ^^Religionโs^^ god(s) and a list of skills and reminders of relevant ^^Action^^ modifiers.
Sixteen dice with varying numbers of sides and distribution of values, to be used as directed by specific ^^Actions^^.
Three hundred Population Tokens, representing the people of the world.
Five each of ^^Blight^^, ^^Conflict^^, ^^Miracle^^ and ^^Misconduct Tokens^^ (used as designated by relevant Action cards).
Seventy-three ^^Event^^ cards.
Five ^^End Time^^ cards.
One hundred and eleven ^^Action^^ cards.
One ^^Time Marker^^.
This rules booklet.
Overview
Taking on the role of a Religion, you start off with a small number of ^^Worshippers^^ as well as some ^^Believers^^ and ^^Followers^^. Your goal is to convert ^^Followers^^ to ^^Worshippers^^, recruiting replacement ^^Followers^^ using your ^^Believers^^. The relationship between ^^Believers^^ and ^^Followers^^ is complex: some ^^Believers^^ go on to become ^^Followers^^, while others inveigle themselves into other ^^Religions^^ to steal their ^^Followers^^โsometimes at the cost of their own lives.
Strategy Tip! Cleverly deployed ^^Missionaries^^ can reap huge benefits, but if you send too many into one region, you might suffer a catastrophic backlash.
At the start of each turn, an ^^Event^^ will occur at random, such as ^^Plague of Insects^^ or ^^Tsunami & Earthquake^^. This affects all players to a greater or lesser degree, but can be mitigated or deflected onto other ^^Religions^^ by playing an appropriate ^^Action^^ card. Note that not all ^^Events^^ are negativeโoccasionally a beneficent event occurs, such as the ^^Miracle of Healing^^, but more common are ^^Events^^ which are positive for some ^^Religions^^ and negative for others.
The game ends in one of two ways: first, one ^^Religion^^ takes over the entire world, by acquiring ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ from opponentsโa player will be knocked out of the game if they lose all their ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^. Second, the doomsday clock runs out and the world ends; the winner is the player whose ^^Religion^^ has most ^^Worshippers^^ (^^Followers^^ and ^^Believers^^ do not contribute to the final score, but see the special case of ^^Atheism^^ later).
Strategy Tip! The world has a finite maximum population. Players can accelerate the end of the world by causing there to be a demand for more ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ than the world can sustain (i.e., by emptying the general population pool); trailing players are advised to keep an eye on the leader and take steps to decimate the worldโs population to avoid a premature apocalypse.
Religions
The five ^^Religions^^ contained within the base game are:
- Modern Monotheism. This ^^Religion^^ starts with a large number of ^^Followers^^, but has low initial ^^Charisma^^ due to internal disagreements over the importance of reverence. ^^Stealth^^ is low, because adherents of this ^^Religion^^ can be rather vocal and thus tricky to keep hidden. Finally, with low ^^Stability^^ levels, ^^Modern Monotheism^^ is prone to schism and infighting.
- Ancient Polytheism. Here, the starting ^^Charisma^^ level is high, as pagan rituals tend to encourage active participation. ^^Stability^^ is also high due to ^^Followersโ^^ allegiance being distributed across a panoply of gods. ^^Stealth^^ is low, because this ^^Religion^^ tends to encourage a boisterous party spirit.
- Technology. The god here is ^^Money^^, which has a lot of ^^Followers^^ and a high conversion rate to mindless ^^Worshipper^^ (^^Charisma^^). ^^Stability^^ is low, however, as technology trends can suddenly change, leading ^^Worshippers^^ to switch allegiance quickly.
- Atheism. There is no god, which also means there is no distinction between ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ (^^Charisma^^ is 100%). Instead, at the end of the game, the average of both is used as the final score. ^^Stability^^ is very high, as atheists are quite firm in their beliefs, and ^^Stealth^^ is also high, with atheist ^^Believers^^ being able to sneak into other ^^Religions^^ undetected. The initial number of ^^Followers^^ is chosen randomly.
- Aliens. This ^^Religion^^ is very secretive, and right from the start, ^^Believers^^ are almost all already hidden within other ^^Religions^^ (^^Stealth^^ is very high). The gods of this ^^Religion^^ are a total mystery, as reflected by ^^Charisma^^ varying dramatically across the game (requiring a roll of the eight-sided green ^^Charisma^^ die to determine the ^^Follower^^ to ^^Worshipper^^ conversion rate at the start of each turn).
Strategy Tip! Although you can omit any ^^Religion^^ if there are fewer than five players, it is recommended to remove ^^Aliens^^ and ^^Atheists^^ by preference, to maximise friction between players. Itโs not advisable to play with fewer than three, or the ^^Religions^^ will self-destruct too quickly.
How to Play
- Shuffle the ^^Event^^ and ^^Action^^ cards and place them face-down in stacks in the indicated locations on the central board. Place the ^^Population Tokens^^ alongside to form the general population pool, and add the other tokens where indicated. Set the ^^Time Marker^^ at the start of the ^^Doomsday Track^^.
- Players are assigned their ^^Religion^^ randomly, taking ^^Believers^^, ^^Followers^^, and ^^Worshippers^^ from the general population pool in the numbers indicated on the player board segments. Finally, three ^^Action^^ cards are dealt to each player, who can look at them, but must keep them hidden from other players.
- The first player is the person who most recently said a prayer, or in the case of ^^Atheism^^, when the player most recently swore. Play subsequently proceeds clockwise.
- The game progresses via a series of rounds in which an ^^Event^^ card is revealed, then in turn order, players react to the ^^Event^^ by following the instructions on the card. ^^Events^^ typically adjust numbers of ^^Believers^^, ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^, and may additionally cause players to end their turn immediately or perform an extra ^^Action^^ for free.
- After dealing with the ^^Event^^, a player may perform one or more ^^Actions^^ using the cards from their hand. ^^Actions^^ have a cost in terms of the number of ^^Believers^^, marked on the top right of the ^^Action^^ card, which will be returned to the general population when the card is played. Some ^^Actions^^ have additional requirements, such as minimum and maximum ^^Stealth^^ level or number of ^^Worshippers^^โthe requirements are indicated in the top half of the card. The lower half of the card explains the consequences of the ^^Action^^, such as invalidating or reducing the impact of the current ^^Event^^, as well as adjustments to numbers of ^^Believers^^, ^^Followers^^, and ^^Worshippers^^ belonging to either the current player or specified others, as well as the ^^Stealth^^, ^^Stability^^, and ^^Charisma^^ values. When the player has completed as many ^^Actions^^ as they wantโdiscarding each card after using themโplay moves to the next player.
- Once all players have taken their turn, game end checks are performed. If at any point during the round the general population pool is empty, the ^^Time Marker^^ is moved to the end of the ^^Doomsday Track^^, triggering the end of the game. Likewise, if only one ^^Religion^^ is left with ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^, the game ends.
- If the game has not ended, players replenish their hand back to three ^^Action^^ cards by drawing from the ^^Action^^ card stack and optionally convert ^^Followers^^ to ^^Worshippers^^ based on their current ^^Charisma^^.
- After this, the next round can start.
Strategy Tip! For a shorter game, start with only two hundred ^^Population Tokens^^ instead of three hundred; for longer games, add more tokens, using whatever comes to hand. Note that the New Religion: This Time We Mean It expansion pack includes extra tokens, as well as two more ^^Religions^^, ^^Narcissism^^ and ^^Ur^^, along with a new game mechanism, ^^Resurrection^^.
Round Example
For ease of explanation, assume play is in the order the ^^Religions^^ were listed earlier.
At the start of the round, ^^Atheism^^ rolls the ^^Charisma^^ die to determine their ^^Charisma^^ for the round. They roll a value of 10%.
The ^^Schism Event^^ card is revealed. This incites conflict within a ^^Religion^^, causing ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ to be lost. ^^Modern Monotheism^^ is particularly prone to this and must roll the high-value white twenty-sided die to determine how many to lose as well as lowering the ^^Charisma^^ value by the number of percentage points indicated by rolling the ^^Charisma^^ die.
After this, the next player, ^^Ancient Polytheism^^, rolls the low-value grey six-sided die for losses, but this player happens to have the Ask for ^^Tolerance Action^^ card and chooses to play this, which halves the number rolled on the die and also avoids any loss in ^^Charisma^^.
Next, ^^Technology^^ also uses the high-value white die, but before the player can roll, ^^Modern Monotheism^^ plays the ^^Man Should Not Meddle Action^^ card, which means that lost ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ go to ^^Modern Monotheism^^ instead of back to the general population pool.
^^Atheism^^ is not affected by ^^Schism^^ except to increase the ^^Stealth^^ level (unless it is already at maximum).
And finally, ^^Aliens^^ is also not affected by ^^Schism^^, but the ^^Event^^ permits them to optionally reroll for ^^Charisma^^, which they choose to do since their current value is low.
The population pool is not empty, and all players still have ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^, so the game end is not triggered.
The ^^Time Marker^^ is moved along the ^^Doomsday Track^^.
Now, all players convert ^^Followers^^ to ^^Worshippers^^, and begin the next round.
We hope this has given you a flavour for gameplay in Religion: The Board Game.
Comments on Specific Event Cards
The ^^Sainthood Event^^ doubles a ^^Religionโs^^ ^^Followers^^ and ^^Believers^^, except for ^^Atheism^^, which loses both, unless the ^^Contra-Evidence Action^^ is played, which cancels all playersโ gains and losses.
Disaster Events Both ^^Natural Disaster^^ and ^^Human Disaster^^ will lead to conflict between ^^Religions^^, but take care to note which ^^Religions^^ attack which others as indicated on the ^^Event^^ card; Non-specific ^^Disaster^^ lets each player choose whom they want to attack. In all cases, the results of the conflict are determined as indicated on the ^^Religion^^ player board segments, not the ^^Event^^ cards.
The ^^Missionary Event^^ allows each ^^Religion^^ to roll the die indicated on their player board to either convert a number of one other ^^Religionโs Followers^^ into ^^Believers^^ of their own ^^Religion^^ or to convert some of their ^^Followers^^ into ^^Believers^^ to be spread into all other ^^Religions^^. Both options can be countered by playing the ^^Strength of Faith Action^^ card.
Advanced Play: End Times
In this mode of play, one player will be randomly and secretly designated as an ^^End time Cult^^ at the start of the game, and will do their best to end the world before the end of the fifth round. If they can do this, they win the game regardless of how many ^^Worshippers^^ any player has. On the other hand, if they fail to achieve this, they must lose half their ^^Followers^^ and ^^Worshippers^^ due to ^^False Prophecy^^.
To play this variant of the game, deal the ^^End Time^^ cards (only one of which has โend timeโ printed on it) to each player, who will look at them in secret. At the end of the fifth round or the end of the world, whichever comes first, all players reveal their End time cards and take the action indicated above.
Strategy Tip! โ Note that ^^False Prophecy^^ also exists as an ^^Action^^ card; when using the ^^End Times^^ mechanism, you may wish to remove this card from play to avoid confusion, but itโs not essential.
Changes from the First Edition
For the benefit of players familiar with the first edition of the game, here are the major changes:
^^Intelligence^^ has been removed as a ^^Religion^^ attributeโits definition and value proved to be too contentious among players.
The ^^Second Coming^^ sub-game has also been removed for similar reasons. Instead, a ^^Messiah Event^^ card had been added, along with ^^False Prophecy^^ and ^^Scepticism Action^^ cards.
To reflect changes in the real world, the strength of the ^^Antivax^^, ^^Intelligent Design^^, and ^^Conspiracy Theory^^ events has been increased, while ^^Scientific Evidence^^ and ^^Voice of Reason^^ are weakened.
L.N. Hunterโs comic fantasy novel, The Feather and the Lamp, sits alongside works in anthologies such as Best of British Science Fiction 2022 and Ghostly, as well as several issues of Short รditionโs Short Circuit and the Horrifying Tales of Wonder podcast. There have also been papers in the IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, which are probably somewhat less relevant and definitely less entertaining. When not writing, L.N. occasionally masquerades as a software developer or can be found unwinding in a disorganised home in Carlisle, UK, along with two cats and a soulmate.