Limit – Board Game Rules – PDF

Limit is a competitive global development game for 1–6 players (13+, ~40 minutes per player) that simulates the years 1850–2060, from the Industrial Revolution to a near future. Each player leads a nation with identical starting conditions and shapes its destiny through political cards, production choices, social policy, and international brinkmanship. Across seven generations (or until four global crises hit), you’ll juggle population growth, finite fossil resources, pollution, social unrest, and war to see how resilient “your” world really is.

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Key Features:

1. Seven Generations, Planetary Limits: The game spans up to seven generations (rounds) from 1850–2060. Each generation you resolve domestic policy, social evolution, and international crises. The game can end early if a total of four global crisis tiles (Financial, Environmental, Military) have been placed.
2. Three Resource Types + Fossils: Nations manage Renewable (n), Industrial (u), and Military (m) resources, powered by finite Fossil resources (O). Renewable production is capped by your Territory (L); high-level industrial and military production (from level 4 up) consumes fossils and generates Pollution (D), pushing the planet toward environmental crisis.
3. Social Classes & Standard of Living: Your population is split into 5 social classes (A–E). Each class has a standard-of-living level (1–4) tracked by cylinders on your nation board. This system controls population growth, demographic shifts, tax income, and even your hand size and access to powerful cards like Market Access, Robotization, and Mass Destruction. Higher classes must always be at least as well off as lower classes.
4. Three-Phase Round Structure: Every generation runs in three phases: the Political phase (choose and play policy cards), the Social phase (automatic resolution of consumption, growth, production, unrest, and demographic effects), and the International phase (Cold War tension, global crises, and optional alliances).
5. Shortages & Social Unrest: If you can’t fully supply your population with renewables (n), industrial goods (u), fossils (O), or military resources (m), you suffer shortages. These reduce population or production levels and spike Social Unrest (S) in different ways—famines shrink your population and factories, industrial shortages hit living standards, and fossil/military shortages undercut your army and confidence.
6. Dynamic World Market & World Bank: A central marketplace board tracks stock levels and buy/sell prices of n/u/m/O. Playing cards like Market Access or Speculation lets you buy (k) or sell (l) a single resource type, shifting its price cube along a supply-and-demand track and paying/receiving money from the finite World Bank. Emptying the Bank can trigger a financial crisis.
7. Global Crises Cascade: Three global crisis types can hit: Financial (X) when the World Bank runs dry, Environmental (Z) when the pollution reserve empties, and Military (Y) when the disruption reserve runs out. Each new tile worsens future effects—tax shocks, territory loss, population drops, and forced reductions in production and living standards—while sometimes boosting lagging nations via migration.
8. Politics Cards: Instant vs. Permanent: Each nation has three decks (Society, Military & Economy, Production). You gradually add new cards each generation, then play them in turn order: Instant (A) cards resolve immediately and return to your hand at round end, while Permanent (B) cards change the rules for the rest of the game (reforming taxation, greening production, altering consumption, etc.).
9. War & Alliances (Optional Step): Military cards can attack others (Annexation, Mass Destruction, Military Operations), with defenders choosing to resist by matching your Military (m) spend. An optional Alliance step lets nations sign economic and military pacts, share resources in emergencies, and even trigger global Demilitarization if all nations join one military alliance—resetting m production and rewarding peaceful economies.
10. Nuanced End-Game Scoring & Stress Test: At the end, you “stress test” your nation by repeating Supply/Consumption/Production without new crises, then score on Gross Domestic Happiness (standard of living × population index), Financial Strength (money adjusted by number of crises), Territory, and Military Power, minus a harsh Historical Impact penalty for pollution (D, s) and disruption (W).

Gameplay Overview:

Each generation begins with the Political phase, where nations simultaneously gain tech-dependent cards (like Market Access or Robotization) based on the standard of living of their richest class (A), draw new policy cards from one of the three decks, and check their hand limit. Then, in turn order, players take turns choosing to play 2 cards, 1 card then pass, or pass, paying costs in money (a), unrest (S), or production/living-standard changes. Instant cards resolve immediately; permanent cards sit in front of you, reshaping how your Social phase will unfold.

The Social phase is where the system “runs”: all nations simultaneously resolve a column of steps determined by their median class (C). Populations must be fed with renewables (n), or they shrink and riot. At higher standards of living, people also demand industrial goods (u); failure to provide them causes drops in standard of living and spikes in unrest. Taxation pulls money from the World Bank based on population and society type, while Economic Growth shifts production levels of renewables, industry, and military. Demographic shift tiles (T) represent transitions from high birth/mortality to low birth/stable populations, tied to mid- and high-level living standards. Production then adds new n/u/m to your stock, but high industrial/military output consumes fossils (O) and generates Pollution (D), possibly spawning shortages or exhausting the global pollution reserve. Finally, Public Order uses your Social Unrest track: at high unrest you may face Uprisings that eat m or money; in the middle you enjoy Growth (small E boosts); at very low unrest you hit a Boom, gaining money and improved standards of living.

The International phase starts with a “Cold War” check—any nation hoarding more than 15 m gains disruption (W), nudging the world toward a military crisis. Then you resolve global crises in order: Financial (if the World Bank ran out of money), Environmental (if the pollution reserve emptied), and Military (if the disruption reserve emptied). Each crisis tile applies harsh global effects and also stacks with previous tiles, so later crises are nastier. Optionally, players then take turns in the Alliance step, forming or modifying economic and military alliances, merging blocs, or even triggering one-time Demilitarization if everyone belongs to the same military alliance. At generation end, you flip the current generation tile, pass the leadership marker left, and either start a new generation or, if four crises have occurred or seven generations are done, move to the stress test and scoring.

Why it shines: Limit doesn’t just ask “how do I win?” but “what does my path to winning do to the world?” Every short-term boost—pushing production, drawing loans from the World Bank, militarizing for security, or pumping the marketplace for profit—feeds long-term pressures: pollution, crises, and social unrest. The joy of the game is in watching the system react to your ideology (green, growth-first, militarist, technocrat, etc.), debating the outcomes at the table, and trying again with totally different policies to see how the world might have turned out.

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Limit FAQ (Rules & Tricky Details)

• When does the game end?
  Limit is played over a maximum of 7 generations. The game can end earlier if, at any point, there are 4 or more global crisis tiles (X, Y, Z combined) on the generation row. Finish resolving the current generation, then perform the stress test and scoring.
• What do the three phases of a generation actually do?
  Political phase: you gain tech-dependent special cards and play Politics cards (instant A or permanent B) in turn order. Social phase: all nations simultaneously handle supply/consumption, population growth, demographic shifts, taxes, economic growth, production, public order, and class struggle. International phase: you apply Cold War tension, resolve any triggered global crises in order (Financial → Environmental → Military), and optionally manage alliances.
• How do social classes and standard of living work?
  There are 5 classes (A–E), each with a standard of living from 1–4. Cylinders move right to increase, left to decrease. Higher classes must never be worse off than lower classes—you can’t move E to level 3 if D is still at level 2, or drop A below B. Many effects let you increase/decrease “+1E” spread across multiple classes, but you must always respect this ordering. When a class first hits level 3, remove its T tile from the row and place it in the Demographic Shift zone, later triggering population-level effects.
• How does a shortage of renewable resources (n) work?
  During the Supply step, you’re supposed to spend 1 n per Population level (P). If you don’t have enough n, you supply the highest P level you can, then for each population level that goes unfed you: reduce Population (P) by 1 level, reduce any one production level (N/U/M) by 1, and gain 3 Social Unrest (S). Any remaining n stays in stock. Also, after feeding, if you still have more than 10 n, you lose the excess down to 10 (reset the n 10s marker and flip its side).
• What about shortages of industrial resources (u)?
  Once median class C reaches level 2+, your population also consumes u. If you can’t fully meet industrial consumption, you pay as much u as possible, then for each unmet P level you decrease the standard of living (E) by 1 and gain 2 S. This shortage doesn’t directly reduce P or U production, but it can push your society into unrest and future Uprisings.
• How does a fossil resource (O) shortage affect production?
  Production is resolved in order: N, then U, then M. From level 4 of U or M production onwards, you must spend O and gain D as shown on the track. If you don’t have enough O to support full U or M production, you produce at the highest level you can, then for each production level that didn’t produce you gain 2 S and reduce that production (U or M) by 1 level. Fossils you spend go to the £ box, and pollution comes from the pollution reserve (or excess pollution if that’s empty).
• What happens if I run out of military resources (m) during an Uprising?
  In Uprising (S at the far right) and for certain C levels, you must spend m based on your P. If you can’t pay the full amount, you spend as much m as you can and then suffer a shortage of military resources: for each P level you couldn’t cover, you reduce one standard of living (E) by 1. This can drag your society back down the ladder and reduce access to advanced tech cards.
• Exactly when do global crises trigger?
  Financial Crisis (X): if taxes or effects require money and the World Bank doesn’t have enough, you place an X tile on the current generation and immediately take the missing a from the £ box. Later, each X tile causes all nations to lose a per P and collectively drop one E somewhere. Environmental Crisis (Z): if the pollution reserve empties during production, you place a Z tile; all nations reduce N, lose territory, and the highest polluters lose P and E while others may gain P through migration. Military Crisis (Y): if the disruption reserve empties, you place a Y tile; nations suffer hits to their lowest class’s E, possibly P, and must spend m per P. Multiple tiles stack, making each crisis type nastier over time.
• How do trading and the marketplace work?
  You can only buy/sell via cards like Market Access or Speculation. A transaction chooses one resource type (n/u/m/O) and buys or sells any legal amount: limited by marketplace stock for buying and your personal stock for selling. You adjust both stocks, move the corresponding price cube (right after a buy, left after a sell), and exchange money with the World Bank. You can’t sell if the price cube is at the far left, and if it’s at the far right you can still buy but the price no longer increases (stays at 20 a per unit).
• How do alliances and Demilitarization work?
  If you use the optional Alliance step, each nation has a Military and an Economic alliance token. During that step, in turn order, you can propose alliances (paying 2 a to the World Bank if accepted), merge existing alliances, exclude members, or leave. Economic alliances allow emergency sharing of n/u/O or covering card a costs; military alliances can share m for resisting attacks or preventing m shortages. If at any point all nations are in the same military alliance, Demilitarization triggers: nations with M production ≥ +5 gain +1 U production, then everyone drops M to its lowest level, discards all m, gains +1 E somewhere, reduces S by 1, and can return up to 2 W to the disruption reserve.
• What is the “Stress Test” and how does it affect scoring?
  After the final generation, before scoring, you run a “future generations” stress test: you repeat Supply, Consumption, and Production once more for your nation, applying any shortages (and their penalties) but without triggering new crises. Only then do you compute your score: Gross Domestic Happiness (sum of A/B/C standards of living × demographic index V from your final Population), Financial Strength (money / 10 × modified value based on number of crises), Territory (5 VP per L), Military Power (1 VP per 3 m), and Historical Impact (-2 VP per D/s, -1 VP per W). Surviving the stress test in good shape is often more important than raw money or m.