The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire

Objective and scope: Players develop a nation and seek the highest final victory-point total. Points come from Structure cards, Energy dice, the United Nations track, Achievements, and unpolluted spaces in the player’s environment. This is a standalone game in the Minion Games Manhattan Project line. The 2016 rulebook lists 1–5 players, roughly 1–2 hours, ages 13+, and includes solo rules. Cold War expansion content is outside this summary.

Setup: Each player selects a nation board and receives starting workers, Energy and pollution, plus the resources, money or other items indicated by its chosen Nation card. Arrange public Structure cards in the Government, Industry, and Commerce markets. Set out the Global Impact track, pollution tokens, United Nations track, Achievement board, energy dice, and resource supply. The player’s Environment tracks pollution caused by their nation; the shared track controls global impacts, oil prices, and the game’s remaining time.

Turn choices: On a turn, choose either Work or Generate. For a Work turn, place one worker from the player mat at a main-board location, then activate eligible Structure cards matching the board’s region; the Nation card may be activated regardless of region. If a location already has another player’s worker, the rules allow a taller stack formed with energy. A player cannot use energy alone to occupy a location or skip the board and activate tableau cards directly.

Work turns: After placing a worker in Government, Industry, or Commerce, activate owned structures in the corresponding region using workers and Energy. Pay each card’s costs and resolve its resources or special effects immediately. Newly gained resources may be used to activate further cards in the same Work turn. If another worker stack occupies the location, use the required energy to make a taller stack with the single worker before carrying out the action.

Generate turns: If eligible, claim an Achievement, return workers and discard existing Energy, optionally refine oil for temporary Petroleum dice, then roll chosen Energy dice to gain Energy shown by their symbols. Different dice represent different energy sources and change both supply and pollution outcomes. The Generate turn also removes pollution from the Global Impact track as the rules prescribe. The dice and Environment board form an energy engine, so players must consider production, pollution, and the public events that may follow.

Pollution and global effects: Some actions add pollution to a player’s Environment, covering spaces that might otherwise score at the end. Pollution can also trigger Global Impact cards or affect oil prices. Science, cleanup actions, and Structure abilities can mitigate those costs. Tokens on the Global Impact track are gradually removed by game effects; that shared track also determines oil prices and the timing of global events. Pollution is both a scoring concern and a timing mechanism.

End trigger: When the last pollution token is removed from the Global Impact track, the end of the game is triggered. The active player completes their current turn, then each player receives one final turn, including the player who triggered the end. Special rules govern pollution and oil prices during the final turns. Only after those turns are finished do players calculate their scores.

Final scoring and solo scope: Add points from Structures, Energy dice, the United Nations position and leadership bonus, Achievements, unpolluted Environment spaces, and complete-column bonuses. Achievement scoring is capped; ties are broken by remaining resources under the rulebook. The original rulebook includes solo play. Cold War is a separate expansion with replacement solo-deck rules, which should not be treated as part of the base game.