SHADOW MOON SYNDICATES
FAQ

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SETUP

Q: “It seems like after the first round there are not enough cards to form a deck. Is this intentional? Example: In our first 4-player game, with 40 cards, each player has banked 3 cards and then draws 6 cards, leaving only 4 cards available for deck+card row+ burn pile.”
A: Your 4 Player Game should have had 60 cards. See point #5 on page 6 of the rulebook. You'll select 6 factions for a 4 player game. 

INFLUENCE

Q: “What happens if a player runs out of influence tokens? Can they just not play tokens?”
A: You can utilise previously placed influence from other regions instead. 

AGENT CARDS

Q: "When a card enters play as the result of another card (such as Lucky Kittie - 001), can I play that card facedown onto the agent stack to get 1 influence and ensure a match?"
A: Any card that enters play as a result of deploying an agent faceup, must also enter play faceup, therefore you may not play the cards that enter play facedown.

Q: "Do I have to do everything on a card"
A: No, you can choose to not take some of the actions on a card, and you may choose to do them at lower values. Say for example, Ship 2 you could ship 0, 1 or 2 influence. If you choose to do an action though, you must complete. So you may not use Interfere to draw a card but not discard it.

Q: "When playing an agent that allows you to “interfere” if you place an agent on multiple stacks that would allow for bottom line abilities do you then get multiple activations of those abilities?"
A: No. Placing an agent into a stack with interfere does not count as playing the card. You don't get to use any of the effects on it. However, If the interfere occurred as a result of an above the line ability, and you have placed the agent into your own agent stack, then it may change whether the below the line ability on your own played card functions.

Q: “When using Push or Pull, can you target an opponent's influence tokens?”
A: Yes! 

Q: “What happens if you Burn so many cards that not all of the players can draw 6 cards during round 2?”
A: If you find yourself running out of cards through overenthusiatic burning in games. Add a random syndicate to the draw pile. But if you are playing with the correct number of cards for the player count, this should be very hard to achieve.

Q: “I play Feral-002 and Burn MFB-010. In the below the line ability, I can now Eliminate 1 from all sectors mentioned on MFB-010. How many sectors can I Eliminate from: one, or up to three?
A: Anywhere is the only sector on the card. So the answer is 1. The logic is as follows. Feral 1 Eliminates 1 Influence for all sectors mentioned on burn card. That is "anywhere 1", the card also references locking down up to 2 sectors mentioned on the burned card. The only sector mentioned on the burned card in this example is "anywhere 1" and that was already targeted by the previous effect.

Q: “Do any of the cards have proper names other than Feral-001, Feral-002, etc.?”
A: Whilst we did consider it, there are no creative card names, just the syndicate names and numbers as you mentioned.

OPERATION TOKENS

Q: “Do Operations tokens only refresh at the beginning of round 3? And can only one be used during each turn?”
A: At the end of a round you refresh the equivalent number of Operation tokens which you did not score from for that round. 

STATUS TOKENS

Q: "How do action keywords involving Status Tokens work? When resolving an action that says “Add 1. Must remove a Status Token OR place a Status Token in the target sector,” do I choose between two different effects?”
A: No. You always Add 1 Influence first. Then resolve the Status Token portion based on the board state:

  • If a Status Token is present in that sector, you remove it.

  • If no Status Token is present, you place one in that sector.

The “OR” applies only to the Status Token outcome — not the entire action

HELPFUL VIDEOS

QUICK LINKS

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW

Area Majority/Influence || Hand Management || Set Collection || Open Drafting

What was once a small rag-tag mining colony, Shadow Moon has grown to become the greatest trading hub of the outer sector. But beneath the thin veneer of legitimacy, lies a plague of desperate, corrupt, and highly motivated criminal syndicates. Here, success is for the sinful, and fortunes are won through daring heists and ruthless raids. Rub shoulders with the street thugs, corporate operatives, and two-faced humanitarians as you build your syndicate from the underbelly of society, to establish your influence over Shadow Moon. 

In Shadow Moon Syndicates, 2-5 players take on the role of a syndicate crime boss. Over 3 rounds, players will utilize their hand of cards to nefariously influence regions of the Shadow Moon, carry out high-stakes criminal operations, and assemble their specialists for the game’s finale. How players manage their cards is the key to placing influence in the most effective way to gain lucrative credits, complete missions, and overcome their rivals for ascendancy. The player who accumulates the most credits by the game's end is deemed the winner.

Will you be the one to rise above the rest, turning sin into success, to become the Sovereign of Shadow Moon?

MEET THE TEAM

Shadow Moon Syndicates has been made for you, and brought to you by an experienced
and passionate team in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON!