Yes, multi player games are best. I remember the
old Illuminati board game, that was a fun game except
that the Gnomes of Zurich always tended to win. Which
was fine unless you weren't lucky enough to draw them
at the start.

I don't know if trading is allowed in this club;
if not, ignore and penalize me!<br><br>I need an
ultra-rare card--Militia from the Assassins set--and one
Promo card, Strange Bedfellows. I could also use an
Unlimited copy of Computer Security. I have to offer one
ultra-rare card, Spontaneous Combustion, along with any
number of rares from the unlimited and assassins sets.
If interested, e-mail me for a list, or visit my
geocities page (www.geocities.com/neocons) for a full list.

Hi,<br>this may just be your lucky day :)<br>I've
got a spare strange bedfellows, and I'm pretty sure
that I'm one spont.comb. short.<br><br>Email me
(plasmoid@...), and I'll check it out in the meantime :)

Any players in Portland? I have the INWO
SubGenius set and recently found a "One With Everything"
set (minus manual) at a thrift store for - ready? -
fiftynine cents. But know no players. I am 42 years old.
Hope that doesn't weird you out. I have no ulterior
motives, just want to try the darn game once before I die.

Don't be ashamed to play with yourself. There are
also variants for 1 person play. With the SubG set,
you can play all the factions at once then slack off
so the game never ends. A lot of complicated board
games are best played with this method.

Try using the Steve Jackson Gamer Finder...<br><br><a
href=http://www.sjgames.com/gamerfinder/
target=new>http://www.sjgames.com/gamerfinder/</a>

lyndon larouche is an assassins card

Hey, the Daily Illuminator
(<a href=http://www.sjgames.com/ill/ target=new>http://www.sjgames.com/ill/</a>)
notes today (Nov. 2) that there may be a future
expansion for the Classic Illuminati (*NOT* the CCG). Sure,
this doesn't mean much to the INWO players of the
world, but at least the Illuminati franchise is getting
some attention...<br><br>Just as an exercise in
creativity (and just something to post about), what types of
new Goals do you wish there were? Goals for certain
alignments or attributes? Goals pertainining to massive
destruction? Goals as useless as Fratricide? We tried a
"nations with global power count double" homebrew card
once, and it seems to work pretty well.<br><br>For my
money, though, I like double-alignment/attribute combos,
much like Criminal Overlords...I wish there were more
like these, perhaps with common combinations, like
Corporate Media, Liberal Green, Straight Conservative, or
(my fave) Weird Science. Any takes on this? Or is
this boring?

Hey, it worked surprisingly well before, so I'll
try it again.<br><br>I'm looking for the German INWO
cards unique to that set. (If you're not sure what I'm
talking about, check the SJGames web site or just e-mail
me; I want the ones that were made especially for the
German release and not the INWO release, like Autonome
and Helmut Kohl.) <br><br>Anyone who has extras and
wants to trade, e-mail me at smacinwo@... so we
don't clutter up the message boards. All I really have
to offer are a good number of Rare cards from the
Limited, Unlimited, and Assassins sets; go to
www.geocities.com/smacinwo or www.drpolis.freeservers.com (both the same
thing) to see the full list.<br><br>Any questions? Let
me know! And if posting trade offers is bothering
anyone, I apologize in advance and will stop.

wow..Oregon..how..unusual..:)<br>I'm in Oregon..and Play INWO (Built Deck, OWE,
Sub-G)..contact me (macro@...)..<br>I'm actually in The Dalles..but do
get to portland quite a bit..:)

Any INWO players around in London, UK?

Is anyone here for the chat game today?

Hi all,<br>it seems that most people don't get to
play INWO like they used to. *sigh*<br><br>Anyway - if
you know a few players, but you just can't find the
time to come up with a good deck design, perhaps the
deckathon is for you :)<br><br>Quite simply, it is a
competition pitting the 80 pre-made "Deck of the Week" decks
against each other. Try a game, it's great fun.<br>Oh,
and there's even a prize
:<br><br><a href=http://home.worldonline.dk/~nyskes/13th/Deckathon.htm
target=new>http://home.worldonline.dk/~nyskes/13th/Deckathon.htm</a><br><br>Mart\
in

Not deterred by the fact that the original post
was written 6 months ago, I think I'll have a shot at
this.<br><br>I, for one, would not like to see any more doubler
goals. Doubler goals are played in much the same way, so
now ones would not add new strategies. Secondly,
doubler goals are only fun because they can not be
achieved by all decks - and hence, it takes some clever
designing to fit them into your deck. If there were doubler
goals for all attributes/alinments, then playing them
would become very dull.<br><br>Here are my suggestions
for new goals.<br>Comments are welcome.<br>Some, but
not all, have been playtested.<br><br>1) The Bermuda
goal - but with attributes:<br>Control a total Power
of 35, including your <br>Illuminatis own Power, and
groups sharing at least 10 different attributes between
them. A group with more than 1 attribute counts for all
of its attributes. You may only count one of the
attributes huge, coastal or nation toward this
goal.<br><br>2) A cross between Bermuda and Cthulhu<br>Destroy
one group of each alignment. A group with <br>more
than one alignment counts for all its alignments. At
least 6 of the 10 alignments must be from groups
destroyed while belonging to your rivals. <br><br>3) A mini
cthulhu, with some very subtle twists.<br>You may count
one group in your destroyed pile as a group
controlled _instead_. You may only count that group's
printed values, except where modified by a new world
order. <br><br>4) Hermes goal with gadgets, but made
harder.<br>Each Gadget Resource you control, beyond the first,
counts as one group toward the Basic Goal. This Goal
cannot be combined with other Goals in any way.
<br><br>5) An 'antigoal' grow small rather than big :)<br>If
any 8 groups you control have a total power of 8 or
less, you may claim victory. Devastation will not
prevent a devastated group or its puppets from counting
towards this goal.<br><br>6) An illuminati - global power
goal.<br>Special Ability: During your turn, you may expose 2
randomly selected plots from the hand of a rival.
<br>Special Goal: control groups with a total global power of
37 or more, including your own global power. For the
purpose of this goal, all power multiplication is
ignored. <br><br>7) An illuminati - resistance
goal<br>Special Ability: You start your turn by drawing two group
cards rather than just one. <br>Special Goal: Control 8
groups with a resistance of 6 or more.<br><br>Martin

My own (evolving) tastes have come up with a few
goals, some that fit in with Martin's (and some that
don't).<br><br>I don't mind doublers if they're creative enough. I
agree that we don't want to make everything a
doubler--that would be silly. <br><br>I also had no problem
with the new Blinded By Science (after some initial
grumbling, as usual). similar cards, probably centered
around attributes, would be good.<br><br>And destruction
is good, too--though not as difficult as the
control/destroy ones already included, nor confusing like
Population Reduction. This promotes interaction amongst
players, and makes everyone paranoid.<br><br>Here are the
goals we use around here when we're in the mood for
homebrewing (which isn't often):<br><br>Vox Populi: Have your
Personalities control groups with a combined total power of
30.<br><br>[I like this for two reasons: it makes Personalities
a goal and it isn't a doubler. Yet the threat of an
Assassination makes this rather difficult.]<br><br>Workers of
the World, Unite! Control six communist groups, at
least three of which must be Nations or have Global
power. In addition, no other player can control any
Communist groups!<br><br>[This isn't as bad as the original
Blinded By Science, plus it *may* require
destruction.)<br><br>Global Policeman: Destruction of up to three Violent
Government groups or Dictatorships count as one group
controlled towards the basic goal.<br><br>[I would say
Cthulhu doesn't get any additional bonus because of this
card. Pop Red was just too confusing in that part, and
none of the doubler stuff, either.]<br><br>Anyway,
that's my thoughts. And they've changed since 6 months
ago...

I'm looking for a website for this card game.  Do any of you know of a website
for the Illuminati new world order card game?  I'm interested in finding out
more about the game.

The official web site for Illuminati: New World
Order is located at
<a href=http://www.sjgames.com/inwo/
target=new>http://www.sjgames.com/inwo/</a><br><br>There's also a surprising
number of player-created web
sites, and it's not all trading, either. Rather than
list them here, most of the best are located in the
"Unofficial Pages" section, which should be listed on the
main page.<br><br>And if you need some other
"unofficial" advice, like how much to pay for cards, what the
best cards are, what expansions you should bother with
(hint: forget SubGenius, IMO), etc., just post
here--most of the people who post here would be glad to
help. Any new players are always
welcome.<br><br>And--just in case you didn't hear--a new expanion is on the
way! Or so they've led us to believe...

Okay, what I'd like to know is WHAT is this game about.  I know there's probably
thousands of different story lines, but basically, what is it about?

Here's my take on it. Ask ten different players,
get ten different answers.<br><br>Illuminati: New
World Order (INWO) is a collectable card game. (Well,
not quite, but that's a different topic.) You play
the game as one of several factions (Illuminati) that
are trying to take over the world. Examples of
Illuminati are The Network (computers taking over the
world); the Gnomes of Zurich (bankers taking over the
world); Shangri-La (peaceniks taking over the world); and
the ever-mysterious UFOs (aliens--or
something--taking over the world). Each Illuminati has a special
ability that makes them different than the others. Each
one also has a special goal they can
reach.<br><br>Players take control of various organizations, places,
people, and resources, attaching them as puppets to other
organizations, people, etc. (It's hard to describe without a
diagram). These groups make the heart of the game: there's
cards for Democrats, Congressional Wives, Lyndon
LaRouche, International Cocaine Smugglers, Cable TV,
Stonehenge, Vatican City, Germany, the United Nations (of
course), Hollywood, the Triliberal Commission, you name
it. Any conspiracy that's batted about in newsgroups
and leaflets passed out in bus stations is in this
game.<br><br>Each group has alignments (like Violent, Conservative,
and Government) and/or attributes (Science,
Communist, Church). They have Power and Resistance and
control arrows. Controlling a set number of these groups
(usually 12) wins the game.<br><br>You attack your rivals
with your own groups. There's Plot cards that let you
break the rules. There's New World Order cards that
allow you to change the game for everyone
(Military-Industrial Complex, for instance, makes all Corporate groups
Government groups.) This may sound confusing, but the game
is actually quite deep yet simple to understand once
you get a hang of the rules. I would venture to say
that there's around five Major Rules you must master,
and the rest should fall into place.<br><br>In case
you didn't know, the whole thing is tongue-in-cheek.
I've known people who hate collectable card games buy
packs of this game simply because it makes them laugh.
And, be forewarned: This is *not* a politically
correct game. This game makes fun of *everything,* from
Gay Activists to Girlie Magazines to World Hunger.
And, yes, I know people who have been
offended.<br><br>To me, the best part of the game is that it's at
least partly researched--they didn't just come up with
a bunch of weird items or cool graphics and slap
them together, like some games. <br><br>There's a ton
more stuff, but I'll let other people write about it.
<br><br>This is a different version than the early-80's board
game. If you're getting into this version, make sure
you don't buy the old version instead. They're
closely related, but are *not* the same game.

I'm very interested in learning more about that early 80's board game.  Where
can I find out everything I need to know about it, and what can you tell me
about it?

I can't help you here, except to point to its
official web
site:<br><br><a href=http://www.sjgames.com/illuminati/
target=new>http://www.sjgames.com/illuminati/</a><br><br>I've never played it
myself, but I've seen it played
by others. While I think it's quicker, cleaner, and
certainly less rules-mucked-up, it lacks the personality of
INWO--when I craft a deck, I like to know if I've done a
good job at it. In Illuminati (the Original), everyone
draws from the same deck, so there's no
customization.<br><br>It all depends on what you like, I guess. Both are
very fun, mind you, and they're quality products.
Others can probably give you better tesimonials, though.

When people play role playing games, there are "books" that come with them.  You
know what I mean?  Are there such books for any of these games?

Sorry, not really. INWO and the original
Illuminati aren't really role-playing games; they're both
card games. The game is based, loosely, on Robert
Anton Wilson's Illuminatus! trilogy, but that's a
novel. There's a book for INWO, creatively called "The
INWO Book," which is available for a song on eBay; but
this is mostly tricks and strategies for the CCG
game.<br><br>If you're looking for Illuminati-based RPGs, though,
the GURPS system has GURPS Illuminati and GURPS
Illuminati University. (Both of these are described at the
SJG web site.) I don't play GURPS (or any RPGs), so I
can't say much about them, but it's apparently themed
on largely the same thing as the card game. You may
want to ask someone who knows more than me, however.

Well I tried playing INWO at the recent Ultimate
Chaos state championship at
alternateworlds<br><br>www.alternateworlds.com.au<br><br>Didn't do too well. The
main problem was that The
Servants of Cthulhu (or whichever illuminati you play) is
VERY vulnerable to cards that say things like 'Destroy
any card on the table'. As on the other player's turn
your games rules don't apply (such as the Illuminati
being immune from attack) Illuminati and DBZ didn't
fare too well. The winner had a deck which allowed him
to have an infinite number of turns, make all the
other players discard all their cards and destroy all
their cards on the table and all have to throw ot our
hands!

Oops, forgot one.<br><br>8) A goal exactly like
Population Reduction, except that you count killed(!)
personalities. Just like population reduction doesn't permit use
of WW3, this goal doesnøt permit use of the
moonbase.

Hi "smacinwo".<br>from the top:<br><br>I, for
one, didn't like blinded by science - and I think that
the errata (science of at least 30 power) was
needed.<br><br>The idea of using power structure lay out for goals
is neat. Perhaps the 30 power is too easy though. I
mean, have a personality control another
(*cough*reorganize*cough*), that controls 3 big groups, and you've come a
long way. Perhaps too far?<br><br>I actually like the
BbS style goal - because of the neat restriction. I
still fear it as a speed goal though, even though it
can get screwed by rivals packing commie groups.
Clone Arrangers is a popular commie lead, so perhaps
this will work :)<br><br>Destruction that counts as
groups controlled is a nice idea. I think they worded
pop-reduction like they did, in order to avoid this combining
with a doubler goal. (Then again, if cthulhu can, then
why not let everybody do it). Pretty neat :)

Something else to look into, if you're interested
in INWO (and I'm new here and I haven't checked the
Links page for this...) is the INWO Homebrew page at
<a href=http://www.illuminated.co.uk/inwo
target=new>http://www.illuminated.co.uk/inwo</a> . Granted, this is mostly for
S&Gs, but it's
still fun. If you manage to find the "One With
Everything" boxed set, it comes with 20 blanks (I think...
Maybe it's 10...) You can use the homebrew stuff with
the blanks, but provide your own card art.<br><br>Red
Wolf

Are there any? I've got the "One With Everything"
and some other stuff (which I CAN'T find...) and
would really like to find people who play this game.
I've already gotten Vampire: the Eternal Struggle CCG
as the new Gamer's Crack at the local game shop and
I'd like to see if I can get this stuff to catch on
as well.<br><br>Okay, as for suppliers, I know I can
get stuff from Gameboard... when their warehouse
manager has bothered to order any. I don't deal with
e-bay anymore, either.<br><br>One last question: Anyone
know of a Y! club for the Illuminati (original) card
game? Yeah, the more complicated one with Income on the
cards...<br><br>Red Wolf

Speaking of blanks, you can also buy packs of
blanks (10 Groups, 10 Plots); they're still available
through SJ Games' online sales arm, Warehouse
23:<br><a href=http://www.warehouse23.com/
target=new>http://www.warehouse23.com/</a><br>...and enjoy many happy things
while there (like news
about the next expansion)!<br><br>Alex Yeager
YeagerAW@...<br>SJ Games North US MIB RD/Cheapass Games Demo Monkey

You can still find cards available through some
online vendors (if you're willing to commit a $100 chunk
of change, I suggest Potomac Distributors:
<a href=http://www.potomacdist.com/
target=new>http://www.potomacdist.com/</a><br><br>Beyond that, check out Marc
Sherman's INWO Power
Constructor: <a href=http://www.projectile.ca/inwo/pc/
target=new>http://www.projectile.ca/inwo/pc/</a><br>This is
where all the cool kids hang out and play INWO
online...<br><br>And, finally, I don't know of any Yahoo! group devoted
to Illuminati; one thought is to sign up for Pyramid
($15/yr), as you'll find lots of Illuminati (and INWO and
GURPS and...) players to chat with.<br><br>Alex Yeager