How to Play

Fantastic Factories

1-5 players 45-60 min 7.4 Board Game Geek Rating

Players compete to construct efficient factory networks using dice as workers. Each turn involves acquiring blueprints or contractors, then simultaneously rolling dice to operate buildings that produce goods and resources. Strategic sequencing creates powerful production chains. Victory goes to whoever scores most points through manufacturing twelve goods or building ten structures first.

Published 2019

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Choose player colors

Each player selects a color (except white) and takes 4 matching dice

Distribute headquarters

Each player receives 1 headquarters board

Provide player aid

Each player receives 1 player aid card (Legend on one side, Each Round on the other)

Give starting resources

Each player receives 1 metal token and 2 energy tokens

Deal starting blueprints

Each player receives 4 randomly dealt blueprint cards (keep hidden from other players)

Determine first player

The player who most recently used any tool receives the starting player token

Shuffle decks separately

Shuffle the blueprint deck and contractor deck into separate piles

Create the market

Reveal 4 blueprint cards and 4 contractor cards face-up on the table

Place tool tokens

Put 1 tool token above each face-up contractor card (order doesn't matter but stays fixed)

Establish the supply

Place metal, energy, and victory point tokens plus white dice where all players can reach them

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Take turns in order

Starting with the first player, proceed clockwise with each player taking one action

Option A - Take a blueprint

Choose one of 4 face-up blueprint cards and add it to your hand for free, then replace it from the deck

Option B - Hire a contractor

Choose a contractor card by discarding a blueprint from hand matching the tool token symbol above it, execute the contractor's instructions, discard the contractor, then replace it from the deck

Optional market refresh

Before choosing, pay 1 metal OR 1 energy to discard all 4 blueprints OR all 4 contractors (not both) and reveal 4 new cards from that deck (once per player per round)

Roll dice simultaneously

All players roll their dice at the same time

Perform actions in any order

Build cards, place workers, and activate cards in any sequence you choose

Pay the build cost

Discard a blueprint card from hand with a matching symbol and pay the metal/energy cost shown in the upper left

Build multiple times

No limit on how many cards you can build per round if you can pay the costs

Unique building restriction

You cannot build a second copy of a card with the same name unless the card text says otherwise

Research

Place any die on Research to draw 1 blueprint card from the deck (die value doesn't matter)

Generate

Place a die showing 1, 2, or 3 to gain energy equal to the die's value

Mine

Place a die showing 4, 5, or 6 to gain 1 metal

Earn match bonuses

If two dice on the same action have matching values, gain 1 extra resource/card; if three match, gain 2 extra

Pay activation costs

Fulfill everything shown left of the arrow on a card's recipe to gain everything shown right of the arrow

Place workers when required

Some cards require placing specific dice on worker spaces

Activate once per round

Each card can only be activated once per round

Track activated cards

Push activated cards slightly upward to remember their status

Enforce resource limit

Keep maximum 12 total resources (metal + energy combined)

Enforce hand limit

Keep maximum 10 cards in hand, discard excess

Pass first player token

Give the starting player token clockwise to the next player

Leave workers placed

Keep dice on cards so other players can see your completed actions

Winning

How to claim victory.

Trigger endgame

When any player has manufactured 12 or more goods OR built 10 or more buildings in their compound, the endgame begins

Complete the current round

All players finish the current market and production phases normally

Play one final round

All players play one additional complete round (market phase + production phase)

Calculate final score

Add your total manufactured goods to the prestige values of all buildings in your compound

Determine winner

The player with the highest total score wins

Break ties

In case of a tie, the player with the most metal wins; if still tied, most energy; then most blueprint cards; if still tied, players share the victory