Game: Illuminati: New World Order

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EndersGame — 2008-09-17T02:45:38+00:00

The artwork on the reverse of the cards forms a single image (see GeekList #34803)

Thread: Re: INWO stuff for trade...

mcc46 — 2008-08-21T13:24:14+00:00

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moxtaveto — 2008-07-16T22:47:16+00:00

The titles of the 9 Illuminati cards in the Factory Set are printed with 9 different fonts!

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moxtaveto — 2008-07-16T22:35:31+00:00

These 3 promos are very hard to find

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moxtaveto — 2008-07-16T22:30:09+00:00

The 10 Ultra-rares from Assassins expansion

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moxtaveto — 2008-07-16T22:24:51+00:00

the first 3 promos were reprinted with the Factory Set (lower row with black border)

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moxtaveto — 2008-07-16T22:15:04+00:00

artwork changes (from the left: Limited to Unlimited, Factory, German). The girl on the limited card has been changed in the other versions...

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moxtaveto — 2008-07-16T22:07:12+00:00

artwork changes (from the left: Limited, Unlimited, Factory set, German); German edition zoomed in (Finanzamt) + zoomed out (Mondfahrer)

Thread: Re: This is weird

Jaggeh — 2008-05-23T10:42:15+00:00

Lol. That page is really funny

I'm a big fan of RAW's Illuminatus Trilogy as is Steve Jackson hence the "game".

Anyone interested in The Illuminatus Trilogy and associated material knows that a) it's mostly fiction and b) based on observations and the ability for governments to lie. They are, after all, human.

In creating a 'humourous' setting for the game the designers have to draw parallels with the real world else it won't work. People need to associate the game with real life - this is what gives the game it's appeal. "It could actually happen couldn't it?!"

So to predict a terrorist attack on a well known symbol of western capitalism is hardly fantastical. Admittedly the artwork is kinda similar to the actual first strike - but coincidences happen. Same for the Pentagon. Central military/intelligence HQ = target. Simple.

As for everything else on that page it's laughable. Anyone that opens their eyes to the world about them can easily see that various government organisations aren't always benign - they are fully capable of manipulating the population as well as those within the government. Is it a NWO? Or a conspiracy? Maybe. But it's also human nature. Some will do 'bad' to achieve a greater good. Others just to save their own ass.

As for tying it all in with the anti-christ and bible prophecies... I won't go there. Needless to say it's all laughable. Obviously the author of that page has never heard of the CND or seen their logo. "Kill for Peace" or whatever it is called is a tongue in cheek take on 'peace' groups going to extreme measures to achieve their goal. It's irony. Lost, unfortunately, on many.

The pentagon and twin towers cards are well known - the rest is the spoutings of a fanatic. And fanatics are dangerous as they are blinded by their belief. In my mind, the rantings on this page are just as bad as those they are trying 'expose'.

It's all part of OM.

Thread: Re: INWO can be spooky

Coase — 2008-05-18T01:01:31+00:00

I've always thought this was a perfect game for regular updating. Selling, say, 100-card sets every two years or so I think would be reasonably profitable, though I'm certainly aware of how tight the market is. Still, when you release an "Al Queda" card or a "Weapons of Mass Destruction" card you're going to get a ton of free advertising, I would think.

I personally prefer the CCG over the board game; I'm convinced those that feel otherwise are simply nostalgic. I'll concede that the original rules and some of the cards basically need rebooted, but it's hardly a major deal.

We still play this on occasion, 10+ years on. It's a nice, solid, balanced game. My friends are actually (very slowly) making our own homebrew set mostly for S&G's; the mechanics are perfect for this sort of thing. It's a shame SJ Games stopped supporting it, though I can certainly see the market rationale for it.

Thread: INWO can be spooky

wargamer55 — 2008-05-18T00:15:17+00:00

Illuminati: New World Order can be a spooky game, even if you're not a conspiracy theorist.

The game, for those who don't know it, is a collectible card game riff of an earlier Steve Jackson noncollectible card game design that postulates that there really are shadowing conspirators pulling the strings behind the scenes in a bid to control the world. Players represent one of those secret societies, such as the Bavarian Illuminati, the Gnomes of Zurich or UFOs, using plots such as Currency Speculation or Media Connections to control groups such as Feminists, Offshore Banks or the Recording Industry in pursuit of goals such as Power for Its Own Sake or Kill For Peace. Players attempt to build networks while disrupting the networks and plans of their opponents.

It's all very dark and fun, and a spot on satire of the world scene circa 1995, when the game was designed.

Looking at it some 10 years on, though, given some of the events that have occurred, the game can be kind of spooky to look at.

]]>The single spookiest card has to be the "Terrorist Nuke" card, with its image of the Twin Towers being attacked in a way that eerily resembles the actual terror attacks of 9/11. It wasn't a nuke, of course, but the card illustration bears an uncanny resemblance to the location and scale of the first airplane impact.

The controversies over the government's warrant-less wiretaps programs might make one consider the implications of the N.S.A. and Phone Company groups.
Saddam Hussein really did have the power to distract a government from its goals, as it turns out.

Quite a few of the personalities from the 1995 game are no longer with us (Princess Di, Ronald Reagan and Imelda Marcos) while many of the others have faded from view (Ross Perot, Dan Quayle and George H.W. Bush). A few others refuse to fade away completely, although their time seems past (Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Fidel Castro).

]]>

At least one seems relevant still, such as Al Gore (he got the Nobel Peace Prize plot card played on him, no?)

While individuals come and go, some of the organizations that dominated the news 10 years ago seem just as potent now, such as OPEC, International Cocaine Smugglers and the Supreme Court while others have faded from view such as the Moonies, Moral Minority (sic) and the KKK. A few have even started bouncing back into view such as the Libertarians, Gay Activists and Anti-War Activists.

I've heard it said that the basic Illuminati game is a better game, perhaps because it's easier to balance a particular set of cards than the more open-ended environment of a Collectible Card Game with constructed decks. One way around this is to play out of one common deck. There are rules for playing that way available from Steve Jackson Games.

I think effective satire is hard, especially in a game format, yet INWO manages to achieve that goal. It's a little dated now and a new set of cars might freshen it up a bit. After all, we have a whole new set of personalities in the news and crazy events since the new century started.

From my game blog at http://pawnderings.blogspot.com

Thread: INWO stuff for trade...

SliverXII — 2008-04-04T15:20:43+00:00

I have started a thread in the trade forum trying to trade this away.
Here's a link to that thread...
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/304869

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glundee1 — 2008-03-09T20:09:51+00:00

Proxy I made of a hard to find promo card

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glundee1 — 2008-03-09T19:27:06+00:00

I made this homebrew version of the very tough to find promo card "Strange Bedfellows"

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glundee1 — 2008-03-09T19:26:00+00:00

The text for this card was released on the Steve Jackson website. I created the card myself-- this is from the non-existent (for INWO, at least) Bavarian Fire Drill expansion.

Thread: A Sign of the Apocolpyse?

Coase — 2008-02-16T03:47:04+00:00

We had a very unusual game of Illuminati: New World Order a few days ago. (I mean unusual outside of the sense of actually playing a game of INWO in 2008.) We ALMOST caused the end of the world. The following happened:

1. Someone actually managed to successful play Angst.
2. Someone actually became a Vampire*.

and...

3. Someone ALMOST used the Elders of Zion's special ability.

Thank goodness for that "almost." Otherwise we'd be knee deep in locusts at this point. Next up: someone actually puts the Paranoids in their deck.

*Ronald Reagan, for those keeping score at home.

Thread: Re: Transforming the CCG into a Non-CCG: Cards?

ced1106 — 2008-01-06T00:14:29+00:00

Definitely do some research on this. IMO, the OWE deck favors Cthulhu, perhaps b/c destroying is *relatively* easier in a random deck than the individual goals.

Personally, I would first include enough cards to satisfy each group's winning condition twice over then go from there.

aka. Washu! ^O^

Thread: Re: User Review

Coase — 2008-01-06T00:11:19+00:00

larsk7 wrote:
Also, for those who might be curious about getting into this interesting game, it is somewhat broken as a build-your-own-deck game. We played with a buddy that won in 2 turns. Some cards are too powerful, and all of the combinations of cards were surely not considered before production.

But the game can be fun, funny, crazy, interactive, strategic, etc...so as the OWE, a better game.

I disagree. INWO actually has some of the few self-balancing rules I've seen in a CCG. Yes, there are a few power decks that, if not countered pretty quick, can steamroll an entire game. But once everyone is familiar with the cards this largely becomes a non-issue. I've only seen one game that lasted less than three turns, and 90% of the games last the standard 8-10 turns.

Thread: Re: Transforming the CCG into a Non-CCG: Cards?

Coase — 2008-01-06T00:08:18+00:00

In my experience, you'll want multiples of the following cards:

Hoax
Secrets Man Was Not Meant To Know

Both of these cards, while not required, make the game much more interesting. If you only have one of each, those who have those cards will be inordinately powerful. If you have too many, though, you'll just end up with half the actions in the game getting canceled. If you're playing with the standard OWE (approx 400-450 cards, if you're playing with duplicates) I would say perhaps 10 total (5 of each, perhaps).

All the +10 cards
Hat Trick
Computer Virus
Deasil Engine
Early Warning
Savings and Loan Scam
Stealing the Plans
Murphy's Law
Time Warp
Bribery

Most of the rest of these cards are general use cards. I wouldn't say any of them are required to be duplicates, but I think it allows players to be flexible; these cards are the ones I see most often in everyone's individual decks, so having more in a one-deck game would be advantageous.

Also make sure you note: certain cards need to be altered or removed if you're playing a one-deck game (i.e. And STAY Dead, a useless card if there is no chance of a duplicate group coming into play). I forget the entire list, but it should be fairly easy to find on the SJG website.

Thread: Re: User Review

larsk7 — 2007-08-20T06:00:49+00:00

Also, for those who might be curious about getting into this interesting game, it is somewhat broken as a build-your-own-deck game. We played with a buddy that won in 2 turns. Some cards are too powerful, and all of the combinations of cards were surely not considered before production.

But the game can be fun, funny, crazy, interactive, strategic, etc...so as the OWE, a better game.

Thread: Re: Symbol of the Illuminati found on New York City building

Thunder — 2007-07-23T22:13:46+00:00

We Know.

Peace

Thread: Symbol of the Illuminati found on New York City building

wookie1 — 2007-07-23T13:07:08+00:00

Symbol of the Illuminati found on New York City building....experts are baffled!

FNORD!

Article: Symbol in NYC building a history mystery

This photo from 2003 shows three triangular shapes that were built into the wall of a building at 211 Pearl Street in New York City. This section has been painstakingly preserved from a 175-year-old building in lower Manhattan and the brickwork symbol is, at least to some, a smoking gun in a tantalizing historical whodunit.

Thread: Re: Transforming the CCG into a Non-CCG: Cards?

tool — 2007-05-13T15:35:13+00:00

Also, in case you're not aware of it, SJG produced a set called One With Everything which had every card in the original release, including the promos (it doesn't have the Assassins expansionc cards). Getting a copy of that might be easier than getting the individual cards.

Thread: Re: Transforming the CCG into a Non-CCG: Cards?

berserkr — 2007-05-13T14:41:23+00:00

I'd suggest checking SJG' webpage (if you haven't done so already) for a few ideas:

http://www.sjgames.com/inwo/rules/variants/onebigdeck.html

Thread: Re: INWO question

Viper[FFW] — 2007-04-12T18:28:55+00:00

Thanks for the info guys.
As for that trade, kamawell, I have to check how much would the shipping cost from Croatia to UK.

Thread: Re: INWO question

kamawell — 2007-04-11T17:20:24+00:00

I think there are cards from the main set that you will need - the Illuminati groups (Bavarian Illuminati, UFOs,Assassins, Gnomes of Zurich etc) at least.

If you have trouble finding them I have a "One With Everything" set (one of each of the base set cards) I'd be happy to trade for some of your spare Assassins cards if you're interested

Thread: Re: INWO question

Rokkr — 2007-04-11T17:03:34+00:00

There are 120 or so cards in the Assassins expansion. While I'm sure you can make a reasonably competitive deck from them, I suspect you might want some of the original release to give you more deck building options.

Thread: INWO question

Viper[FFW] — 2007-04-11T16:50:40+00:00

I have just bought a whole bunch of Assassins expansion boosters (70 or so)very cheap. Will I get inside all the cards I need to make several decks or are there some essential cards that I can get in starters only?
Thanks

Thread: Discard Plot Cards for temporary power

cosmosaic — 2007-03-31T21:27:26+00:00

Here's a very simple variant that adds a lot to multiplayer games.

During an attack, the attacking player, or any player that can assist or interfere, can discard plot cards in order to affect the odds of success (up or down). Each discarded plot card can count for 1 point of power.

This has the following benefits:
1) You can trade favors with other players more easily. In the original Illuminati game, a lot of the game was in trying to garner assistance (or discourage interference) from other players. INWO makes that harder because there is no money. Now Plot Cards can be used in place of money.
2) If you're playing with a common deck, you can get plot cards that aren't too useful. Now you can at least consider them worth something.
3) There is more strategic decision-making in a "battle". Not just whether to assist with your other groups, but whether to discard potentially useful Plot Cards for the sake of better odds.

I imagine each Plot to represent not only the plans for an action, but also the resources to carry it through. Thus discarding the plot can be considered "redirecting" those resources. Also, it seems fitting that the Gnomes of Zurich (aka the bankers) can hold an extra Plot Card (i.e., they can store more resources).

One other thing. Because Plot Cards are now intrinsically more useful, the Network's special power of drawing 2 Plot Cards each turn should be balanced out by reducing their power by 1 point.

In my experience, there is much more room to negotiate in multiplayer games when there is a fluid currency.

Thread: Transforming the CCG into a Non-CCG: Cards?

Legomancer — 2007-02-14T18:24:59+00:00

I'm putting together a complete set of this game to be played as a non-CCG (shared draw deck). I would like at least one of every card, but I suspect there are some cards I'd want multiples of.

For those that have played this way, which cards would you recommend having multiple copies of in a shared deck?

Thread: Re: User Review

richarnd — 2005-12-13T21:28:17+00:00

The OWE is great for gaming, provided you play the "One Big Deck" variant rather than with a traditional CCG built-deck. I find that this works much better for players that may be new to the game or don't want to invest the time to build a deck, especially if they don't have cards of their own.

Thread: Re: This is weird

Philip Thomas — 2005-09-23T19:27:15+00:00

It is obviously a marketing ploy to sell more copies of this great game!

Thread: Re: This is weird

bwingrave — 2005-09-23T17:00:50+00:00

I saw this too. Bizarre.

Thread: This is weird

Otter — 2005-09-23T16:51:36+00:00

I guess a game like this is bound to attrach stuff like this:

http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1753.cfm

Thread: Session Report

DangerMouse — 2004-09-17T13:46:41+00:00

Illuminati: New World Order (aka INWO); Brian, Tami, James and Mark

We'd talked about INWO the previous week, most of us mentioning that we own cards but have never played. James had played it though, quite a bit and he'd brought his decks. So off we went to try out this CCG version of the old classic.

In short it feels and plays a whole lot like its predecessor. Lots of screwage and complicated scenarios for winning, knocking down the leader until finally someone sneaks in the win with some unexpected maneuver. Tami was the winner, but we all had our chances. My shot at victory was foiled when Brian killed off Elvis! ARGH!

Thread: Session Report

Coase — 2004-06-29T23:12:04+00:00

MB played as Cthulhu and led with the CIA. JH played as Shangri-La and led with Japan (which bounced), so led with Vatican City. CG and JB played as the Network; CG’s Japan bounced, so led with the Phone Company in its place. JB led with NATO. SH played as Bermuda and led with the Tobacco Companies.

MB went first. He played a standard Cthulhu deck, bringing out such cards as the Mafia, Cycle Gangs, Semiconscious Liberation Army, and so on. CG also played a fairly standard Computer deck, bringing out the Post Office, Wargamers, and Silicon Valley. JB played a Violent Government deck with a Nations subtheme, and quickly brought out China, Texas, and Germany; however, he lost Privatization to an early Hoax discard, foiling his China/Brazil/Hawaii trick with Germany. He also brought out the Rogue Boomer, getting a +9 to control any Nation. SH played a purely Government deck, making an automatic takeover and a fairly easy attack to control from the Tobacco Companies, bringing out MI-5, B.A.T.F., Secret Service, and the Supreme Court. JH played an all-Peaceful Shangri-La deck, and slowly brought out Peaceful cards.

JH made the first attempt to win, and this was the first attack to occur. With Japan and Vatican City in play—as well as a Chicken in Every Pot and Law and Order—30 points of Peaceful power came out in the third round. MB played a Giant Kudzu on Japan, which everyone wanted to have devastate but not destroy. This was successful, and Japan was devastated, thwarting the victory.

After bringing out Gun Control and a Clipper Chip, SH had 65+ power…but no Goal card to win with it. However, the large number of Government groups in the game allowed him to prevent several attacks from winning the game for any individual.

CG got enough bonuses to control Computer groups and declared victory; however, MB then destroyed Finland with a disaster, thwarting the victory but adding an additional card to his basic goal.

JB made to attacks to control against other players—the Cycle Gangs (from MB) and the Secret Service (from SH), winning both. However, an early fail to control England left him somewhat behind and never really caught up.

JH made another attempt to win by playing Kinder and Gentler on the CIA. (CG had previously played Dictatorship on Japan, taking a large chunk out of the Peaceful power.)

Cthuhlu finally controlled something like 14 groups (including two destroyed groups) and declared victory—at this point, there was enough Peaceful power to have Shangri-La declare victory as well. Since MB won only with the assistance of Shangri-La, a Backlash was played on the CIA, foiling her victory. CG gave Power for Its Own Sake to SH for doing so, and so both MB and SH declared victory and won.

The game was somewhat unusual in that several Plot cards were traded—at least a dozen amongst the players. Most players seemed to have made decks tailored to a specific type of deck that was not actually in play.

Thread: Session Report

Coase — 2004-06-06T17:34:27+00:00

AM played as the Network and led Japan. JY played as the UFOs and led Bjorne. MB played as the Bermuda Triangle and led Bill Clinton. SH played as the Adepts and led Madison Avenue.

AM played a fairly standard Computer deck, bringing out the Phone Phreaks and Silicon Valley in the first turn, along with WITCH. JY loaded up Bjorne by sticking the Immortality Serum and Messiah to him, as well as bringing out some Corporate staples, such as the Multinational Oil Companies, Cable TV, and the Recording Industry, but lost an early attack to control from his hand of the Rosicrucians. Bjorne was also graced with a Nobel Peace Prize, and was soon up to 15 Power. MB played a Liberal Government-grabbing deck, complete with France and Italy for defense and the Democrats for global power, along with the Anti-Nuclear Activists and the Eco-Guerillas. SH played somewhat conservatively, simply making an automatic takeover of a variety of groups, such as the Gay Activists, Offshore Banks, and the Tabloids, and one useless Angel’s Feather.

AM quickly ran to a win; however, with several places and little defense, declined to declare victory despite having 12 groups. Soon after, she also lost the Nuclear Power Companies, with the help of MB’s Eco-Guerillas and the Anti-Nuclear Activists, along with an Agents card from JY, forcing her to put the Wargamers and Hackers back into her hand. She quickly built back up, but always flirting with only 11 groups. JY piled more power onto Bjorne, bringing him up to around 15 power with the addition of a few Churches and Media groups. MB brought out some general-interest Liberal groups (such as the Girlie Magazines) but also brought out some heavy-Power groups, such as the I.R.S and New York (which was quickly devastated by a Giant Kudzu).

SH was awarded with a win with Heil Eris. He started with seven groups, one Magic Resource, and the Adepts, moved the Intellectuals to the Tabloids and the Local Police Departments to the Gay Activists (making both of them a 3-Power Weird group), and played The Weird Turn Pro on the Intellectuals themselves. An ATO of the Necronomicon brought him up to 13 groups, one more than needed, and no one could pull any resource-killing cards or NOW cards to affect the outcome.

The game was marked with a strange quickness in growth and little attacks to one another—the only attacks were against the Nuclear Power Companies and New York. Only one NWO was played—Don’t Forget to Smash the State, which was played late and ended up having little impact overall. Also, special abilities were easily forgotten—the Network had the Phone Companies but rarely looked at any cards and Bermuda only reorganized twice.

Thread: Session Report

Coase — 2004-05-19T14:19:48+00:00

JB played as the UFOs (lead with Loan Sharks); JY played as Bavaria (led with Japan); and SH played as the Adepts (led with Fraternal Orders).

JY went first and brought out New York. He then brought out Warehouse 23, went through his deck to pull the Cyborg Soldiers, and linked it to New York. JB brought out the Semiconscious Liberation Army and manuel Noriega. SH brought out Warehouse 23 (with a Forgery), brought in the Flying Saucer, and took over the Hammer of Thor and the Frog god.

On JY's second turn, he took over the Pentagon and the FBI. Unfortunately, JB did not have enough action tokens to prevent takeovers, and SH had lots of resources, but couldn't do much with his groups. JY played a Clipper Ship and Gun Control and easiy attained 50+ power (New York+Cyborg Soldiers 7x2 = 14 + CC + GC (3+1) = 20; Japan + CC = 8; Pentagon = 6 + GC + CC = 12; Bavaria = 10). Neither JB or SH could pull any Disasters or NWOs, and the game was over. An ugly win but a two-turn win nonetheless.

Thread: Session Report

Coase — 2004-05-16T22:53:30+00:00

JY played as the UFOs. MB played as Bavaria. JB and SH both played as Discordia.

JY played as a largely Violent Government UFOs, led with Bill Clinton. JB and SH both bounced Franternal Orders; JB then led with Israel and SH led with the Lawyers. MB played an exclusively Media deck and led with Big Media.

Surprisingly, there was little overlap in the Discordia decks besides Fraternal Orders. JY, within the first few turns, had New York, Elvis, Vatican City, and the Church of Elvis, and all assumed he was aiming for Power For its Own Sake or unmasking as Shangri-La. JB came out with Science Fiction Fans, Comic Books (after playing Solidarity), and the Conspiracy Theorists. SH played the Republicans, Orbital Mind Control Lasers, W.I.T.C.H., and Offshore Banks. MB brought out all of the startard Media groups (Madison Avenue, California, etc, including one Dr. Phil, Media Sensation).

MB grew quickly in Power; in fact, he at one point reached 50 points of Power in the third turn, but much of it was due to Chicken in Every Pot and California (which was ripe for a Disaster, and would as such lose a lot of Power) and he chose not to declare victory yet. SH used a Crop Circles eary on, powered by W.I.T.C.H., to bring out the bounced Fraternal Orders. Two combined Disasters were played, one against California and one against Israel; California was Devastated (though quickly provided relief); unfortunately, Israel was destroyed, and three puppets were lost to JB.

SH made a surprise move and made an ATO of the Hackers, made an attack to control the Nephews of God (thankfully, Chicken in Every Pot was replaced by Fear and Loathing at this point, and Political Correctness had removed Solidarity from play) and anothre attack to control the Nephews of God, so the attacks to control was fairly easy; and the Orbital Mind Control Lasers made the Fraternal Orders Weird, reaching 12 groups with three counting double (Fraternal Orders, Hackers, and W.I.T.C.H.). MB, by this time, then also declared victory with 55+ Power.

Main difference in this game was that there were no attacks to destroy (not counting Disasters). Most games have fairly easy wanton destruction.

Thread: Collection Notes

Coase — 2004-04-30T07:24:21+00:00

This is a listing of all of the different incarnations of Illuminati: New World Order that have been released. This is a good list to use if you are just starting to collect or if you’re not sure if the card(s) you have are compatible with other cards.

Please note that I’ve pulled a lot of this information both from the main web site, posts from others, and my own personal experience. Since some of it—especially concerning the foreign publishers—came from multiple, unofficial sources, take it with a grain of salt. Please feel free to add corrections or anything else. All information is current as of April 2004.

The first release of INWO was the Limited Edition set. There was a total of 409 cards: 100 Rare, 100 Uncommon, and 200 Common, and 9 Illuminati. Illuminati cards only came in starter sets. 200 of the cards were Groups/Resources, and 200 were Plots.

Starter sets (a “set” in INWO is, in actuality, two boxes shrink wrapped together with a rules booklet) came with four Illuminati cards (two to a box); this is the only way to get Illuminati cards in the Limited set. Each box came with 2 Rares (4 total per set), 8 Uncommons (16 total); and the remaining cards were Common cards. Some Limited Starters received a few “extra” rare cards that replaced Common cards.

Booster packs came with fifteen cards total: one Rare, three Uncommons, and the rest Commons.

There were also three promotional cards released at this time; one, Trading Card Games, was released in Duelist #4. The other two, The Great Pyramid and Pyramid Marketing Schemes, were released in Pyramid #12.

Collation on this set was not optimal—if you purchase, say, an entire Point of Purchase package, all the Rare cards are likely to be all Plots, or all Groups, or all Resources, etc.

The next set to be released was the Unlimited set. The rarity is the same as the Limited set. The backs to this are the same as the backs to the Limited set, so they can be used interchangeably. The titling of the cards is different so they can be identified.

Unlimited Starter sets have the same collation as the Limited set.

Booster backs came with sixteen cards (one higher than the Limited set); there was an extra Rare card inserted. Also, unlike the Limited edition set, there is a chance to get an Illuminati card in a booster back (about 1/24).

Collation was very nice and balanced in this edition. This is the edition to purchase if you are planning to play the game, since significant wording changes were made between the Limited and Unlimited printings.

Some material found on the official web site is misleading. It states that the Unlimited set does not include the three promotional cards. While this is true, it implies that they were included in the Limited set. The three promotional cards are not in regular distribution for either set and are only available as promotional cards.

The One With Everything (sometimes called the “Factory Set”) was released next. This was a collection of the 400 cards in the Unlimited set, three copies each of the Illuminati, several blank cards, and the three promotional cards.

Chessex produced a token package, called the World Domination Kit, with came with glass beads, cloth bad, and small plastic pyramids to use for links.

“The INWO Book” is a small paperback book (which fits nicely into a POP display) detailing each card in the Unlimited Set (and the three promo cards) as well as design notes, variants, dirty tricks, and so on.

The first expansion set was the Assassins expansion. There were a total of 123 cards in this set, with an additional two promotional cards for a total of 125. There were 10 Ultra-Rare cards, 30 Rare cards, 32 Uncommon cards, and the remainder were Common cards.
Each Assassins booster had 8 cards: 1 Rare, 2 Uncommons, and 5 Commons. One out of every 10 Rare cards was replaced by an Ultra-Rare. About 1 out of every 25 Uncommons was an Illuminati card.

Collation was not very good for Assassins; many boosters came with multiples within the same pack. Opening an entire box will give you many copies of one card and zero copies of another card, even though in a 60-pack POP display you statistically should have at least one copy of all the rares. (Seriously—in 60 packs, 6 would be Ultra-Rare, which actually happens at the rate it is supposed to. But you may also get 10 copies of two different rare cards, and little else.)

The two promotional cards were available in Pyramid Magazine. Convenience Stores was available in Pyramid #15; Strange Bedfellows was available in Pyramid #18. (Strange Bedfellows was originally released in a foreign magazine, Lotus Noir.) Australia was released as a “promo” card in many foreign (and domestic) magazines, but this is available in the general distribution as a rare card so it is not really a promo card.

The next expansion was the Church of the SubGenius set. It was marketed as a standalone game, but it could also be incorporated into INWO and is tournament legal. There were 100 cards in this set; no collection required.

Several years later, the Deluxe INWO set was released. This was simply the One With Everything boxed set along with 8 Assassins booster packs, a cloth bag, dice, and the INWO book.

There were also blank cards released; each pack had 20 cards, 10 with Group backs and 10 with Plot backs.

There were two foreign-language releases. The German language release was similar in collation as the Limited Set. The German set had several cards unique to German politics and society (for instance, the Bill Clinton card was replaced with the Helmut Kohl card). There were two promotional cards released: the German language equivalent of Trading Card Games, and one unique promo card, CONspiracy, which was given out at conventions only.

There was a German promotional package which had several standard Boosters as well as the token package and (I believe) a starter set--please inform me if there was anything additional.

There was a Polish language set that was equivalent to the collation to the Limited set.

Steve Jackson Games announced that there would, in fact, be another non-collectable (but not standalone) set released after SubGenius, tentatively titled “Bavarian Fire Drill”…however, this was before SJG’s financial “difficulties” (ahem) and has since stated that INWO is no longer actively supported. (Deluxe INWO was released after this declaration, so it may be released later…but doubtful.)

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To complicate things, there is the original "Illuminati" game, which is NOT collectable but is a standalone game. There were several editions in the 80's, and "Deluxe Illuminati" was released in the late 90's. An expansion called Y2K was released right before--well, you know. While the theme is the same, and the mechanics are somewhat similar, neither of these have ANYTHING to do with INWO.

In 2004, another version called "Illuminati: Crime Lords" was released. This is a game about mafia factions fighting it out; the mechanics are similar to both Illuminati and INWO but are NOT compatible with either.

Thread: Session Report

Coase — 2004-04-26T23:14:58+00:00

This was the first game for three of four players, and all of them enjoyed it. MB and JB played as Bermuda, JH played as the Gnomes of Zurich, and SH played as the Network.

The initial setup saw the Gnomes lead with the Phone Company and the Network lead with Orbit One. Bermuda/JB led with the Pentagon and Bermuda/MB led with the Federal Reserve. Since this was new for most of the players, things were timid at first. Gnomes started and simply made an ATO of Switzerland; Bermuda/JB went next, with an ATO of Wall Street, and Bermuda/MB ATO'd the Vatican. The Network made an ATO of another group--I believe it was Japan--and attacked to control the International Weather Organization and moved it to be a puppet of Orbit One.

Since we were playing mainly from about four Starter boxes each, there was a lot of overlap in the groups used. IN fact, aside from disasters, each attack made had at least one Agents card involved.

After a few rounds, the Gnomes started to be more aggressive. They grew to add the Lawyers, Empty Vee, and Brazil, and with the aid of a Wall Street Agent took over both that and the Pentagon. Bermuda/JB, losing two key groups in one attack, had the Klan and California (plus a Midas Mill) but little else. Bermuda/MB eventaully took Hawaii and the Republicans, but the Vatican was eventually devastated by the Oregon Crud. The Network took over the Hackers and England, but a failed attempt to control the Post Office stalled expansion.

The Gnomes made a surprisingly quick move to win. The Nuclear Power Companies were ATO'd--this counted double. Both the Phone Company and Wall Street also counted double; in an attempt to thwart a victory, all other players spent action tokens to get disasters. Eventually, Bermuda/MB drew a Tidal Wave and gave it to the Network (to gain the IWO bonus for disasters), and this devastated Brazil...but then the Gnomes had about five action tokens and all the other players spent them to get more Plots, fishing for Disasters. She easily took over the Religious Reich, and the game ended somewhat abruptly.

Even as a "learning" game, everyone seemed to have a blast. The Gnomes won; the Network and Bermuda/MB was not far between one another; Bermuda/JB was hurt by the attack to control Wall Street and never fully recovered.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

I'm an original fan of the non-CCG version of this game. I never did get into the CCG version, but I did buy this set, mostly for the nice cards to look at and joke over.

As the reviewer said, this set really skews the whole CCG concept as you would want to customize your deck and use multiples of certain cards. If you just play it with one big shared deck as I usually do, it's still fun, but it is a certainly a different experience.

One variation you might try with experienced players is to deal out the entire deck to everyone playing and then give them time to construct their decks. It's not perfect, but it is a little nicer to be playing an Illuminati group and KNOW that the crads you draw might actually be useful to you.

Thread: User Review

BoardGameGeek — 2001-06-18T02:57:28+00:00

INWO: One With Everything is the non-collectable edition of the collectable card game Illuminati: New World Order. This CCG is based on the earlier Illuminati game, but differs from it in rather significant ways.

My feeling is that playing INWO: OWE by itself can be fun, but defeats much of the purpose of the collectable game, namely customizing a deck to suit your own insidious desires.

The premise of the game is that each player represents a group of Illuminati, secret organizations that plot and scheme against each other in a bid for world domination. This domination comes through the subtle manipulation of thier puppets, groups ranging from the CIA to the Boy Scounts. Often these organizations act as the masters of puppets of their own. Each group has a unique power, and it is the interaction of these powers that gives the game its flavor.

Play is highly interactive, with players aiding and abetting in attacks to control or destroy various groups, or seeking to defend these same groups. There are many, many plot cards which can be brought into play, which have various odd powers of their own, but only for a short while.

INWO: OWE is really more for the collector than for the gamer, since it provides only one of each card, including ones that should be much more commonplace, which skews the feel of the game. It is a good source for the rarer cards for the collecting completist, or for those wishing to use a specific set of cards in their decks.

Overall, a great CCG and a great presentation of the cardset, but not quite as marvelous as a stand-alone game.