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1971
1971 Rules, for the 70’s-Era Cold War Card Game
What is 1971?
The year is 1971. The war remains, but the air tastes different. There is life sprinkled within the darkness. Is that… hope? No, no, it can’t be. The weapons are bigger now. Foreign relations grow more hostile by the day. No, what your nation needs is a strong leader. There is but one solution that can lead to world peace and continued prosperity… Nukes.
1971 Rules Overview
1971 Rules Overview
The deck is composed of just 6 unique Building/Action cards which can be played in three ways:
- Constructed as a Building.
- Discarded as an Action.
- Stacked face down as a Shield.
Players will take turns drawing 1 card, and playing 1 card in any of the three ways. As the game progresses, players will unlock additional Building Abilities, which can be used during their turn.
1971 Rules Summary
1971 Rules Summary
Your Mission
Your Mission
1971 Set-Up (3+ Players)
1971 Set-Up (3+ Players)
To set up 1971, follow these instructions:
Deal Victory Cards
Deal Victory Cards
Shuffle the 6 Victory Cards and deal 1 to each player. Return any extras to the box.
Play Your Victory Card
Play Your Victory Card
Each player chooses their preferred side to their Victory Card and places it in front of them, with that side face up. This choice is permanent.
Note: The Victory Card is your first building. Throughout the game, players will construct a row of buildings in front of them, so make sure they have space!
Shuffle 1971 Game Cards
Shuffle 1971 Game Cards
Shuffle the 54 Building/Action cards (9 copies of each unique Building/ Action card). Place this, the Play Deck, in the middle of all players. The Discard Pile will be adjacent to the Play Deck
Note: Cards are discarded face up. Whenever the Play Deck is depleted, the Discard Pile is shuffled and becomes the new Play Deck.
Deal 1971 Game Cards
Deal 1971 Game Cards
Deal 3 cards from the Play Deck to each player as their starting Hands.
Play Your First Card
Play Your First Card
Each player chooses 1 card from their starting Hand and plays it face down as their Victory Card’s first Shield
1971 Set-Up (2 Players)
1971 Set-Up (2 Players)
To set up 1971, follow these instructions:
Who Goes First?
Who Goes First?
Everyone plays a round of House Fish Balloon (HFB) to determine who goes first (see Appendix HFB). Depending on the number of players, this step could take more than one round of HFB, but no one should complain about having more fun.
Deal Victory Cards
Deal Victory Cards
Shuffle the 6 Victory Cards and deal 1 to each player. Return any extras to the box.
Play Your Victory Card
Play Your Victory Card
Each player chooses their preferred side to their Victory Card and places it in front of them, with that side face up. This choice is permanent.
Note: The Victory Card is your first building. Throughout the game, players will construct a row of buildings in front of them, so make sure they have space!
Shuffle 1971 Game Cards
Shuffle 1971 Game Cards
Shuffle the 54 Building/Action cards (9 copies of each unique Building/ Action card). Place this, the Play Deck, in the middle of all players. The Discard Pile will be adjacent to the Play Deck
Note: Cards are discarded face up. Whenever the Play Deck is depleted, the Discard Pile is shuffled and becomes the new Play Deck.
Deal 1971 Game Cards
Deal 1971 Game Cards
Deal 3 cards from the Play Deck to the first player as their starting Hand. Deal 4 cards to the second player.
Player Turns – Basic
Player Turns – Basic
1971 is a turn-based draw and play game. Each turn, each player MUST draw 1 card (from the Play Deck) and play 1 card (from their Hand).
They may also choose to use as many Building Abilities available to them during their turn as they wish (including none). Great care should be taken deciding the specific order in which players choose to play the 1 card from their Hand and use their Abilities during any given turn. The amount that can be accomplished during a single turn may dramatically increase depending on this order.
A turn only ends when a player passes to the player on their left.
Playing Cards
Playing Cards
- As a new Building
- As an Action
- As a Shield (on a Building)
Nation Building
Nation Building
Players accumulate Buildings in a row in front of them, forming their Nation. There is no Building limit. New Buildings can be placed at either end of a Nation or directly between existing Buildings, but may not be rearranged. If destroyed, a Building card is discarded, and the remaining Buildings are slid together to close the gap.
Winning the Game
Winning the Game
1971 Rules Advanced
1971 Rules Advanced
Buildings
Buildings
Buildings are placed in a single row in front of each player to form their Nation. Orient them such that the owner can read the Building text. Players are eliminated when their Nation has no Buildings left.
When Buildings are first played (or Constructed), they are unprotected. Cards can be played as Shields by stacking them face down onto Buildings, such that they cover the Action side of that card. Building names and their abilities should be visible at all times.
Building Abilities
Building Abilities
Most Buildings provide Abilities which players may use during their turns. Some Buildings affect adjacent Buildings or enhance Actions. Building Abilities become available immediately after they are Constructed (i.e., during the same turn).
Disabling 1971 Buildings
Disabling 1971 Buildings
Buildings can be disabled. While disabled, Buildings lose all text, including their name. They no longer provide their Abilities and the Buildings themselves no longer contribute to Victory Conditions. Stacking may continue on top of disabled Buildings. Buildings Stacks cannot be disabled and always contribute to Victory Conditions.
Shields
Shields
Placing Shield on Buildings is called Stacking. Building with one or more Shields are considered Stacked. The last card placed on a Stack is the Top of the Stack
Buildings are NOT part of their own Stacks (i.e., they are never Top of Stack). Action cards interacting with CARDS only affect the Top of the Stack.
NOTE: Players may not look at their own Stacked cards unless an Action allows it.
Actions and Abilities
Actions and Abilities
To play a card as an Action, discard it face up into the Discard Pile.
Note: some Actions are not discarded to the discard pile. When in doubt, do what the card says or look it up in the “Card Breakdown” section of this rulebook.
Building Abilities act similarly to Actions, except that the Building card won’t need to be discarded in order to activate it.
Note: However, a player may need to discard one of that Building’s stacked cards.
Usually, Actions/Abilities cause damage to others players’ Buildings and/or Shields and reduce their progress toward Victory Conditions.
However, it’s quite possible that taking an Action/Ability may result in undesired damage to the instigator as well! This risk enhances the excitement of gameplay and purposefully mimics the “Mutually Assured Destruction” of the real Cold War.
Launching Missiles!
Launching Missiles!
Launching missiles is 1971’s most fundamental mechanic. All new players must understand missiles before playing the game. Missiles target a single player and hit every Building in their City. Specifically, Missiles destroy the Top card of each Buildings’ Stack. Unprotected Buildings (without a Stack) are also destroyed.
No Shields Left?
No Shields Left?
If a Building has no Stack, it is destroyed. This University would be destroyed.
Missiles target the top card of each Building’s stack. Destroyed cards are put in the Discard Pile.
If you have no cards on your nation, you are eliminated from the game
Response Systems
Response Systems
If a Response System is destroyed by a missile, immediately launch a return missile at the player who destroyed it. (and so on and so forth…)
Response Systems make it entirely possible for a single launched missile to eliminate 2 players on the same turn! Much of 1971’s deception and diplomacy comes from this real threat of Mutually Assured Destruction. See “Card Breakdowns” on the following pages of this booklet for more info.
1971 Buildings
1971 Buildings
Military Base
Military Base
Discard a card from this stack to Sabotage a card.
What Does Sabotage Mean?
What Does Sabotage Mean?
This card utilizes the Sabotage mechanic:
Sabotage: Flip 1 stacked card. Play its action.
When a card is Sabotaged, its action side is played immediately. The player doing the Sabotaging gets to choose how that action is played.
WATCH OUT! If a Response System is flipped, the Response System immediately fires a missile at the player who Sabotaged it.
Note: If you Sabotage your own Response System, you decide where that missile is launched (even at yourself).
How Many Uses?
How Many Uses?
Any number of cards can be discarded from a Military Base on any given turn. Only cards stacked on the Military Base can be discarded. Civil Reforms may be discarded to activate a Military Base.
Note: When a face up Civil Reform is targeted by Sabotage, the Civil Reform is replayed just as any other action card would be. It may be played on any stack (including the stack it started on).
Note: You may use your Military Base the same turn it becomes stacked.
Farm
Farm
If this isn’t stacked, produce a card each turn
To produce a card, draw a card from the deck without looking at it and stack it on any building.
The produced card may be placed face down on any stack of any player, even if there is a Peaceful Protest on the stack. Playing a card over Peaceful Protestdoes not disable the Peaceful Protest. It protects it.
As soon as a Farm becomes stacked, it can no longer produce, even if it hasn’t yet produced that turn.
Note: You may produce the same turn your Farm is played.
Hippies
Hippies
Adjacent non-Hippies buildings are disabled
All text on disabled buildings is ignored, including the building name. You cannot win the game using a disabled Victory Card.
Note: You cannot use a disabled building as a part of a Victory Condition. However, you CAN use cards stacked on disabled buildings toward Victory Conditions (see Raven Rock pg.14), since cards acting as shields cannot be disabled in 1971.
Remember that ANY building can be constructed onto an opponent’s nation (though it is often a bad idea). Constructing buildings on opponents is the same as constructing your own, so you can slide a new Hippies between two existing buildings as long as you do not rearrange any buildings.
If you have Hippies on your board, your Countercultures, First Strikes, and Invades, are upgraded*.
Note: First Strike and Counterculture can only be upgraded once, so a single Hippies is sufficient. This is unlike Agency in 1961.
Radar Tower
Radar Tower
Adjacent Stacks cannot be targeted by Actions.
Cards stacked as Shields on the Buildings adjacent to a Radar Tower cannot be targeted.
- Counterculture CANNOT move 1 stacked card…
- Military Bases CANNOT Sabotage a card…
- Invade CANNOT destroy a Stack… …if the card/stack is on a building adjacent to a Radar Tower.
If an action/ability has no other valid target, then it cannot be played. If either effect must be activated (for example: if it was revealed by Sabotage), then the effect fizzles, and the card is discarded with no effect.
As with all buildings, you may slide Radar Towers between two buildings as you play them.
Note: Radar Towers do not protect adjacent buildings from missiles, or any effect that does not specifically target a card or stack.
University
University
At the start of your turn, you may play the top card of this stack.
Unlike other abilities, this ability MUST be used before any other action/ability, and before any card.
If you do anything besides drawing a card, the university is disabled(see pg 9) until you pass to the next player.
You must play the top card of the stack. This card may be played as either an action or a building.(cannot be played face down)
REMEMBER! You cannot look at any stacked cards at any point in the game, unless otherwise stated.
Note: This is a building ability. You must still play a card from your hand after this ability.
Interstate Highway
Interstate Highway
During your turn, cards may travel to or from this stack.
To make a card travel, move the top card from its current stack to the top of the stack adjacent to it. Cards can only travel TO or FROM an Interstate Highway.
Travel Times May Vary
Travel Times May Vary
You may travel any number of cards any number of times in one turn, as long as the interstate highway enables them to do so. In fact, it is possible and can be beneficial to rearrange stacked cards by having them travel back and forth.
Disable vs Travel
Disable vs Travel
Cards can travel onto or off of disabled buildings, as long as the Interstate Highway is not the disabled building in question. As soon as the Interstate Highway is disabled. Travel is stopped, instantly.
Peaceful Protests can travel just as other stacked cards can.
1971 Actions
1971 Actions
Legislate
Legislate
Produce a card onto each of your buildings.
Produce 1 card onto every building in your Nation. You may not opt out of producing onto specific buildings, nor can you decide where each card goes.
How to Produce
How to Produce
To produce a card, draw a card from the Play Deck without looking at it and Stack it on a Building.
This means that nobody, not even you, know what card you just stacked.
Remember that once you stack a card onto a farm, it can no longer produce cards on its own!
Counterculture
Counterculture
Move 1 stacked card. With Hippies, move 2 cards.
Without Hippies in Your Nation…
Without Hippies in Your Nation…
Select one top card from a stack. Move it onto any other stack as the new top card.
With Hippies in the Nation…
With Hippies in the Nation…
Select one top card from a stack. Move it onto any other stack as the new top card. Repeat this one time so that two top cards have moved in total.
Move means anywhere! if you want to move a card to or from your opponent, you can.
Note: this is not traveling (see pg 10)! Cards moved by counterculture do not need to move to an adjacent stack.
Counterculture
Counterculture
Move 1 stacked card. With Hippies, move 2 cards.
Without Hippies in Your Nation…
Without Hippies in Your Nation…
Select one top card from a stack. Move it onto any other stack as the new top card.
With Hippies in the Nation…
With Hippies in the Nation…
Select one top card from a stack. Move it onto any other stack as the new top card. Repeat this one time so that two top cards have moved in total.
Move means anywhere! if you want to move a card to or from your opponent, you can.
Note: this is not traveling (see pg 10)! Cards moved by counterculture do not need to move to an adjacent stack.
Invasion
Invasion
Destroy a stack. With Hippies, Ignore 1 Response System.
Select one building. Reveal every card stacked as a shield on this building. If it is not a Response System, put it in the discard pile without using its action.
Without Hippies in Your Nation…
Without Hippies in Your Nation…
Invading a Building will trigger every response system stacked on the building.
With Hippies in the Nation…
With Hippies in the Nation…
Invading a Building will trigger almost every response system stacked on the building. Place the first revealed response system into the discard pile without launching a missile.
Note: Players invading their own Building Stack and triggering a response system may decide where these missiles are launched.
First Strike
First Strike
Launch 1 missile. With Hippies, launch 1 at a second target.
See Missiles (pg.06).
Without Hippies in Your Nation…
Without Hippies in Your Nation…
Launch a missile at a selected player.
With Hippies in the Nation…
With Hippies in the Nation…
Launch a missile at a selected player. Next, launch a missile at a second, separate, player. In total, you should launch 2 missiles at 2 unique players*
2 Player Rules
2 Player Rules
In a 2-person game, you may opt-out of launching a second missile with Hippies. Doing so would force you to missile yourself, after all!
REMEMBER: There are No prerequisites for launching your first nuclear missile! so launch away! it might even be best to fire early, before the other nations build up their own nuclear arsenals.
Note: There is nothing preventing you from launching a missile at yourself. If you reveal any of your own Response Systems, you may choose where each new missile is launched.
Response System
Response System
If this card is Sabotaged or missiled, return a missile.
Response Systems must be played as Shields, stacked on a building, such that they are indistinguishable from any other stacked card.
How Does it Launch a Missile?
How Does it Launch a Missile?
If a response system is discarded by another missile, sabotage, or invasion, instantly launch a missile at the player who discarded this response system
Revealing Your Own Response System…
Revealing Your Own Response System…
If you reveal your own Response System by missile, invasion, or sabotage, you may choose targets for each new missile.
Nuclear Exchange
Nuclear Exchange
When multiple Response Systems are launched at once, remember to resolve all of the launched missiles before using any newly revealed response systems. This may mean missiling an opponent several times and destroying their nation before launching all of theirs back at you.
Note: You may NOT opt out of launching a missile when a response system is flipped.
Civil Reform
Civil Reform
Stack this face up on a building. If you have 3 Civil Reforms, you win.
Civil Reforms are not played into the discard pile, and instead must be played face up as a Shield.
As soon as you have 3 face-up Civil Reforms stacked on buildings in your nation, you win. It does not matter whose turn it is. As soon as a player has 3, the game ends immediately.
Cards Stacked on top of Peaceful Protests do not disable them, but rather, protect them
Note: Civil Reforms are still a card in the stack. They can be destroyed by missiles or Invades, discarded, and Sabotaged.
Victory Cards
If your Victory Card is destroyed, it is not discarded, but is removed from the game entirely. If you lose your Victory Card, you are still in the game (unless that was your last building).
Shuttle Program
Shuttle Program
Stack 5 cards as shields on the Shuttle Program to win the game. Civil Reform counts towards this victory!
Shuttle Program is best used with production cards. you can threaten victory with only 3 cards stacked on this, With only a farm, or a university with legislate.
Fun Fact: The Shuttle Program in 1971 is the same victory as the Moon Lander in 1961. As a result, it plays great with both sets!
UN Building
UN Building
Win the game if you have 3 of the same building.
Build 3 of the same building to win the game with the UN Building. Remember! Hippies will disable the UN building if built next to it.
UN Building simulates the embassies of 1961. if you have strong duplicate cards in your hand, it might be good to choose the UN building.
Woodstock
Woodstock
Your Hippies also count toward World Peace.
You may use Civil Reforms and Hippies in any combination of 3 cards to win the game.
With 1961, your Embargoes count as Embassies.
Woodstock is a strong “Control” Card. it discourages other players from playing disable effects on your nation.
Hollywood
Hollywood
Win the game if both adjacent buildings have 3 stacked cards.
Stack 3 cards as shields on adjacent buildings to win the game. Civil Reform counts towards this victory!
Hollywood synergizes very well with movement cards such as counterculture and highways.
Raven Rock
Raven Rock
Win the game if you have 10 stacked cards in total.
If you have 10 cards stacked anywhere in your Nation, win the game.
Raven Rock is a great victory card for raw production power. It is best friends with legislates, farms, and any other method of building your stacks.
World’s Fair
World’s Fair
Win the game if you have 5 unique Buildings.
If you have 5 unique buildings, including the World’s Fair, win the game. (or 4 unique buildings, aside from this card.)
world’s fair helps you build wide rather than “tall.” just remember to build up your nation as you go, to prevent a single missile from wiping your board.
Note: Hippies count towards your victory here, but will disable any building next to them, making that building invalid for your victory. They will also disable the World’s Fair itself, if placed next to it.
Gameplay Questions
Gameplay Questions
How Actions Target Cards!
How Actions Target Cards!
Order Matters
Order Matters
Sabotage and Counterculture both interact with stacked cards. When interacting with single stacked cards, you may only target the very top card of a stack
Can You Target Buildings?
Can You Target Buildings?
NO! Sabotage and Counterculture can only target cards stacked onto a building, not the building itself. Even if a building has no cards stacked on it, it still can not be targeted.
Note: You can target multiple cards from the same stack, but the card must be the top card of the stack at the time it is being targeted.
Strange Scenarios
Strange Scenarios
If The Play Deck Runs Out of Cards…
If The Play Deck Runs Out of Cards…
Shuffle the discard pile into a new Play Deck to draw from. If there is no discard pile left to shuffle, and you try to draw a card from an empty deck, then your countries enter a financial crisis. In other words…
…a missile is immediately launched at every player, starting with you. Yay! Now you have a discard pile to shuffle into a play deck to draw from! (no response systems are launched in retaliation.)
Adding Buildings/Cards to Rival Nations
Adding Buildings/Cards to Rival Nations
if you just Stacked the 4th card on your Shuttle Program then it’s clear you could win next turn. You could create another target for players to consider attacking instead of you by playing another player’s second Peaceful Protest for them!
Victory Cards
Victory Cards
If your Victory Card is destroyed, it is not discarded, but is removed from the game entirely. If you lose your Victory Card, you are still in the game (unless that was your last building).
Shuttle Program
Shuttle Program
Stack 5 cards as shields on the Shuttle Program to win the game. Civil Reform counts towards this victory!
Shuttle Program is best used with production cards. you can threaten victory with only 3 cards stacked on this, With only a farm, or a university with legislate.
Fun Fact: The Shuttle Program in 1971 is the same victory as the Moon Lander in 1961. As a result, it plays great with both sets!
UN Building
UN Building
Win the game if you have 3 of the same building.
Build 3 of the same building to win the game with the UN Building. Remember! Hippies will disable the UN building if built next to it.
UN Building simulates the embassies of 1961. if you have strong duplicate cards in your hand, it might be good to choose the UN building.
Woodstock
Woodstock
Your Hippies also count toward World Peace.
You may use Civil Reforms and Hippies in any combination of 3 cards to win the game.
With 1961, your Embargoes count as Embassies.
Woodstock is a strong “Control” Card. it discourages other players from playing disable effects on your nation.
Hollywood
Hollywood
Win the game if both adjacent buildings have 3 stacked cards.
Stack 3 cards as shields on adjacent buildings to win the game. Civil Reform counts towards this victory!
Hollywood synergizes very well with movement cards such as counterculture and highways.
Raven Rock
Raven Rock
Win the game if you have 10 stacked cards in total.
If you have 10 cards stacked anywhere in your Nation, win the game.
Raven Rock is a great victory card for raw production power. It is best friends with legislates, farms, and any other method of building your stacks.
World’s Fair
World’s Fair
Win the game if you have 5 unique Buildings.
If you have 5 unique buildings, including the World’s Fair, win the game. (or 4 unique buildings, aside from this card.)
world’s fair helps you build wide rather than “tall.” just remember to build up your nation as you go, to prevent a single missile from wiping your board.
Note: Hippies count towards your victory here, but will disable any building next to them, making that building invalid for your victory. They will also disable the World’s Fair itself, if placed next to it.