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We're living in the future, and a magical new form of energy has been discovered called PRISM, which is always written in upper-case because it's way better than that nasty ol' oil and coal. Refineries have distilled PRISM into three colorful shapes — and one colorless alternate shape — and we're going to use that PRISM to supply power to customers.
At the start of the game, we can draw two PRISM cards when we draw, hold at most four cards in hand at the end of our turns, and have at most four districts in our network. As you might be able to guess by the tokens on the chart, those values can change during the game.
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At the start of each of your turns, you draft two district contracts from the four on display. These contracts show (at bottom) the amount and type of PRISM needed to fulfill the contract, (at top) the reward you'll receive for fulfilling this contract — points, more cards when you draw, more room for districts or cards in hand — and (in the middle) the power that you can use if you discard this contract instead of actually supplying those poor saps their precious PRISM.
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You place contracts next to your power plant or districts you've previously powered, then they stare at you with big puppy-dog eyes until either you power them (by discarding PRISM) or someone else powers them first, assuming that you don't defend your business interests by whipping out the PRISM and preventing that rustling.
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In addition to scoring points from fulfilled contracts, you can work toward public agendas, with as many agendas being available as the number of players — not that each player is limited to taking one agenda, mind you. If you meet the conditions on an agenda and someone else hasn't already claimed it — and you remember to actually claim it yourself on your turn, which is often not the case because you're focused on the other stuff you want to do — then you can take it. Score!
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After you take contracts, you have two action points to spend on any of six different actions: draw cards; power a contract; power and upgrade; use the "exchange" ability on a contract, then discard it; claim a previously discarded (and now powered) district from the exchange; and try to swipe another player's contract. You can repeat actions, and you can also earn extra action points on your turn through exchange actions or the powering of a contract with exactly the right amount of PRISM. Your efficiency is rewarded.
The game has components for 2-6 players, with the PRISM and contract decks scaling based on that number. Three expansions are included, and each can be used on its own or combined with others, but you'll be plenty occupied without them for at least your first few plays.
For more details about the rules of Rise to Power, first thoughts on my two plays, and details about why I'm embarrassed to post this overview now instead of late November 2014, I offer the following video. I appreciate all the positive feedback from readers who like the "Game 411" format for being easier to scan or to check out at work when you should be working and don't want to be disciplined for not working, but I'll still be creating overview videos, too, especially when I have more to say about the game in question or want to riff about something else in the context of the game being featured. Let me know what you think!
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