Hegemony rules: how to play and how to score

Hegemony quick rules

The goal

Each player leads a group: the Working Class, the Middle Class, the Capitalist Class or the State. With 2 players, the Working Class faces the Capitalist Class; with 3, add the Middle Class; with 4, add the State. After five rounds, the most Victory Points wins.

A round

Each round has five phases: Preparation (skipped in the first round), Action, Production, Elections, then Scoring, where each role scores its points for the round.

Your turn

Turn order is fixed: Working Class, Middle Class, Capitalist Class, State. On your turn, play an Action card for its effect, if its Policy requirement is met, or discard it for one of your role’s Basic Actions. You may also take a Free Action. Everyone plays five turns and keeps two cards for the next round.

Companies and Workers

The Capitalist Class, the Middle Class and the State own Companies; the Working Class and Middle Class assign their Workers to them. A Company only produces if all its slots are filled, and a colored slot needs a skilled Worker. A Worker you just assigned is committed until production.

Policies and elections

Seven Policies, each in section A, B or C. A Bill proposes the adjacent section. In the Elections Phase, five Voting cubes are drawn from the bag, then players may secretly spend Influence. Ties pass the Bill: its proposer gains 3 points, and every player who added a vote in favor gains 1.

The Production Phase

Player order is reversed. Wages are paid, Companies produce, the Working Class and Middle Class provide one Food per Population, then everyone pays taxes. A mandatory cost you can’t pay forces you to take a Loan of 50, which costs 5 interest per round.

Each role’s points

The Working Class and Middle Class mostly score by raising their Prosperity: points equal to its new value. Trade Unions score 2 points per round. The Capitalist Class scores from its Capital and Wealth, the State from its two lowest Legitimacy values and its Political Agenda.

Game end

After the fifth round, Loans are settled, then each class scores for the number of Policies in its section, its leftover resources and money. On a tie, the most Policies in your favor wins.

Beginner traps

Prosperity drops every Preparation Phase: one space for the Working Class, two for the Middle Class. Food is mandatory. If the State has too many Loans, the IMF intervenes, discards the Bills and changes several Policies at once.

Solo and modules

The Extended Edition includes Crisis & Control: its Automas run a class in place of a player, one AI card per turn, and let you play solo. Hidden Agendas, Crisis Response and Alternative Events can be added once you know the game.

Historical Events

With this expansion, a history card is revealed at the end of each Preparation Phase, starting in the first round. It applies only once, if its requirements are met, at the moment it states.

How to score Hegemony

Class

The class you played: your end-of-game points depend on it.

Scoring track

Your space on the track after the fifth round’s Scoring Phase: elections, Prosperity, Trade Unions, Wealth, Legitimacy, Hidden Agendas.

Policies in your section

Policies 1 to 5 in section A for the Working Class or C for the Capitalist Class: 1, 4, 8, 12 or 18 points. Section B for the Middle Class: 1, 3, 6, 10 or 15. The State scores nothing here.

Leftover resources

Middle Class, Capitalist Class and State: 1 point per 2 Food and per 3 Luxury, 3 Health, 3 Education, plus 3 Media Influence for the State. Nothing for the Working Class.

Leftover money

Working Class: 1 point per 10, up to 15. Middle Class: 1 per 15. State: 1 per 30 in the State Treasury. Nothing for the Capitalist Class.

Unpaid Loans

Capitalist Class: −5 per Loan. The others first pay 55 per Loan, then lose 1 point for every 5 they couldn’t pay.

Tiebreaker

The most Policies in your favor; then the State if it is tied; then the most Voting cubes.

Worked example

Emma plays the Working Class: 112 on the track, 3 Policies in section A (8), 47 money (4), no Loans: 124 points. Jake plays the Capitalist Class: 105 on the track, 2 Policies in section C (4), 5 Food, 7 Luxury and 4 Education (2 + 2 + 1 = 5) and one Loan (−5): 109 points. Emma wins.

Common mistakes

• Adding the Capitalist Class’s money: its Capital already scored every round.
• Counting the Middle Class’s Goods & Services area: only its Storages count.
• Forgetting the Capitalist Class’s Free Trade Zone: it counts.
• Settling Loans after money: pay them off first, then count the money left.

How to set up Hegemony

Setup takes about twenty minutes: the board, politics and supply, then each role. For a first game, the rulebook recommends playing with 2.