1
Basic Rules ..........................2
Object of the Game ....................... 2
Beginning the Game...................... 2
Sequence of Play ........................... 2
The Groups.................................... 3
Alignment .................................. 3
Power ......................................... 3
Resistance .................................. 4
Income........................................ 4
Special Abilities......................... 4
Actions........................................... 4
Attacks........................................... 4
Attack to Control ....................... 4
Attack to Neutralize................... 6
Attack to Destroy....................... 6
Interference.................................... 7
Calling Off an Attack .................... 7
Transferring Money....................... 7
Moving a Group ............................ 7
Free Actions................................... 7
Gifts and Trades ............................ 7
Transferring Groups................... 7
Throwing the Game ................... 8
When Is a Deal Binding?........... 8
Threats and Negotiations............... 8
Special Cards................................. 8
Eliminating a Player...................... 8
Leaving the Game...................... 8
Winning the Game......................... 8
Advanced Rules....................9
Adjusting Game Length .................9
Hidden Goals..................................9
Hidden Illuminati............................9
Larger Games .................................9
Cheating..........................................9
Strategy .............................10
The Power Structure.....................10
Negotiations..................................10
Capturing Several Groups
at Once ......................................10
About the Illuminati .....................11
Bibliography.................................15
Illuminati Rules Summary...........16
T H E G A M E O F C O N S P I R A C Y
Game Design by STEVE JACKSON
With development by J. DAVID GEORGE
Cover DAVID MARTIN
Card illustrators JOHN GRIGNI,
SHEA RYAN, DAN SMITH, and
CLIFFORD VANMETER
With additional coloring by
BYRON TAYLOR
Art Director ALAIN H. DAWSON
Production by ALEX FERNANDEZ
Print Buyer PHILIP REED
Prepress Checker MONICA STEPHENS
Illuminati
and the all-seeing pyramid are registered
trademarks, and the names of all other products published by
Steve Jackson Games are trademarks or registered trademarks,
of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license.
Illuminati
is copyright © 1982-2013 by Steve Jackson
Games Incorporated. Rules version 3.2 (June 2013).
All rights reserved. Fnord.
®
illuminati.com
Components
This game includes 8 Illuminati cards; 83 cards representing other Groups; 15
Special cards; 4 blank cards; 160 money tokens, representing megabucks (MB); two dice;
and this rulebook.
Number of Players
Illuminati is best for four to six players. You can play with three or even two, but this
limits the possibilities for diplomacy and negotiation. With seven or eight, some rule
changes will be needed to keep the game moving quickly (see p. 9).
Contents
This book has three sections: Basic Rules, Advanced Rules, and Strategy. You may
start by reading only the Basic Rules, leaving the rest until later. The Rules Summary on
the back page contains everything necessary to play.
Object of the Game
The object of Illuminati is to take control of the world.
You start with a single Illuminati card, representing your
own secret conspiracy. During the game, you take over other
Groups (represented by cards). These Groups are added to
your Power Structure and do your bidding – unless a foe
takes them from you. You may win either by controlling
enough Groups, or by fulfilling the special goal of your own
Illuminati. See p. 8.
Beginning the Game
Remove the eight Illuminati cards from the deck; they
have dark backs to make them easy to find. Place them face-
down on the table. Each player draws an Illuminati card,
places it face-up before him, and draws its indicated Income
from the bank, placing it on the card. Leftover Illuminati
cards are not used for the remainder of the game.
Shuffle the remaining cards (including Specials) and
place them face-down in the center of the table.
Turn four cards face-up and place them in the center of
the table. (If any Special cards are turned over, bury them
in the deck and turn over new Group cards to replace
them.) These four Groups are the original “uncontrolled
Groups.”
Each player rolls two dice; the player with the highest
roll plays first. He follows the Sequence of Play,
below: he starts by collecting more income for his
Illuminati Group, turning over one card, and then
(probably) trying to take over an uncontrolled
Group with his Illuminati. And the race for world
control is on!
Sequence of Play
Play proceeds in turns. On his turn, a player
does the following:
1. Collect Income. For each Group that has an
Income, draw that income from the bank. Put the
money directly on that card (the Group treasury).
Hint: The game will go faster if players count up their
Income before their turn starts, and have it ready
beside each Group card. Money should not be placed
on the card until that player’s turn actually begins.
A player may stack his money so only the top
one can be seen, or spread them out to flaunt his
wealth.
2. Draw a card. If the card is a Group, it is
placed face-up in the center of the table, with the
other uncontrolled Groups.
If it is a Special card, the player keeps it. He may place it
face-down or face-up (whichever he chooses) in front of
him. However, he must display the card; he can’t hide it in a
pocket. The other players do not have the right to know what
the card says, but they do have the right to know how many
Specials each player has.
3. Take two “actions,” as explained below.
4. Take any “free actions.” Free actions (also explained
below) do not count against the two actions a player is
allowed during each turn. Free actions may be taken before,
between, or after a player’s regular two actions.
5. Transfer money. Part or all of the contents of two trea-
suries may be moved to the treasuries of adjacent Groups.
See p. 7.
6. Take special-power actions. If the player is the
Gnomes of Zurich, this is the time when he may redistribute
his money between treasuries. If he is the Bermuda Triangle,
this is the time when he may reorganize his Power Structure.
7. Add targets. At the end of each turn, if the uncon-
trolled area has fewer than two Groups, draw cards until
there are two uncontrolled Groups. If a Special is drawn,
discard it.
Play continues counter-clockwise until a player (or coali-
tion of players) wins by achieving their Goals – see p. 16. As
play develops, a game might look something like this:
2
BASIC RULES
Figure 1.
The game table. A – The deck of face-down
cards; B – Uncontrolled Groups; C – Pile of destroyed
Groups; D – Power Structures of the four players in the
game, each built around an Illuminati card; E – The bank.