Pendulum

Place the double-sided game board in the center of the table, selecting the side appropriate for the number of players. Position the Council board next to the game board, along with the round aid tile. Separate the reward cards into two decks based on their back color (red and blue), shuffle each deck, and place them face-down on the Council board, with the red-backed deck on the bottom and the blue-backed deck on top. Shuffle the province cards, place them face-down on their designated space, and reveal the top four cards face-up. Each player chooses a double-sided player board (starting with the basic side) and receives 10 voting tiles, two 10-vote tiles, 10 resource cubes of each color (red, yellow, blue), and one victory point token of each color (red, yellow, blue, gray). Players also choose a color and receive one privilege marker, one achievement marker, three small workers, and two large workers of that color. Place the privilege markers on the privilege track on the game board according to player count. Place the three hourglasses (purple, green, black) on the top-most golden circles of their corresponding colored action zones on the game board. Place one small worker and one large worker on their designated spaces on your player board; keep the remaining workers in your personal supply. Place your victory point tokens on the leftmost space of their respective tracks on your player board. Each player receives a reference card and four strategy cards corresponding to their chosen character.

The primary objective in Pendulum is to become the new ruler of the empire by accumulating the most victory points. Players achieve this by strategically gathering resources, conquering provinces, and playing cards, all of which contribute to advancing their markers on the four victory point tracks (power, prestige, popularity, and legendary achievement) on their individual player boards.

Pendulum is a real-time game played over four rounds, each concluding with a Council Phase. During a round, players simultaneously perform actions. Action rows are either active or blocked, depending on the position of the hourglasses. If an hourglass is in front of a row, that row is blocked, preventing workers from being placed or removed. If a row is not blocked, players can place workers (small or large) on golden worker placement spots. Only one small worker can occupy a golden worker placement spot, but large workers can always be placed, even if a small worker is already there. Once a worker is placed, the corresponding action below the worker placement spot can be performed. Actions can be time-based (requiring a worker) or timeless (not requiring a worker). The game proceeds with players continuously taking actions until all players have run out of available options, at which point the Council Phase begins. The game can also be played in a classic, turn-based mode by ignoring the hourglasses and using a separate round tracker.

Victory points are tracked on each player's board across four different colored tracks: red for power, blue for prestige, yellow for popularity, and gray for legendary achievement. Players advance their respective colored tokens along these tracks by performing actions that grant victory points. The player who has successfully moved all four of their victory point markers past the parchment line on their player board is the immediate winner. If no player achieves this by the end of the game, the player with the highest total sum of victory points across all four tracks is declared the winner. In the event of a tie in total victory points, the player whose privilege marker is highest on the privilege track on the main game board wins.

The game concludes after the fourth Council Phase. If, at this point, any player has successfully moved all four of their victory point markers beyond the parchment line on their player board, that player immediately wins. If multiple players achieve this, the one with the most total victory points wins. If no player has all four markers past the parchment line, the game proceeds to a final scoring. Players sum the current positions of their victory point markers on their player boards. The player with the highest total score wins. In the case of a tie, the tied player who is highest on the privilege track on the main game board is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.