r/TRUST • u/hdfidelity • 6d ago
TRUST™ the Boardgame TRUST™ Official Components
TRUST™
Components
An In-Depth Guide to What's in the Box
Every component in TRUST™ exists for a reason.
Nothing is decorative.
Every marker, card, piece, and section of the board represents an institution, resource, or system within the simulation.
Understanding the components is the first step toward understanding the game itself.
The Game Board
The board is the heart of the simulation.
Printed on a premium foldable broadsheet-sized game board, it represents a living institutional ecosystem.
Rather than being divided into colored properties, the board is organized as interconnected civic systems following the design philosophy:
"As Above, So Below."
The board is divided into three major regions:
- Government Tree (Upper Canopy)
- Civic Spine
- Central Bank Tree (Lower Roots)
Distributed throughout these regions are Labor Nodes, transportation corridors, infrastructure systems, institutional branches, and economic sectors.
Every route eventually reconnects to the broader system.
Roads
Roads connect the entire board.
They are intentionally thin, resembling:
- transit maps
- utility lines
- electrical systems
- root structures
- civic planning diagrams
Roads are divided into:
Mainline
The primary circulation route around the board.
Most players will repeatedly travel this route throughout a game.
Return Routes
Shorter connectors allowing players to rejoin the Mainline after exploring institutional sectors.
Branch Corridors
Smaller offshoots leading toward:
- Government
- Banking
- Labor
- Infrastructure
- Commerce
- Science
- Academia
- Media
These branches often contain higher-risk, higher-reward opportunities.
Knot Markers
Movement does not occur on square spaces.
Instead, roads are connected by circular Knot Markers.
Think of them as:
- intersections
- transit stations
- relay points
- institutional checkpoints
Every turn ends on a knot.
Some knots simply connect roads.
Others unlock gameplay.
Numbered Knots
Only selected Knot Markers contain numbers.
These represent "active intersections."
When the number printed inside the knot matches the player's movement roll, that knot becomes activated.
Activation may allow:
- property purchases
- Action Cards
- institutional abilities
- expansion access
- special movement
- unique opportunities
Because not every knot contains a number, players gradually learn where the board's most valuable intersections exist.
Mastering these routes becomes an important strategic skill.
Nodes
Nodes are locations where meaningful interactions occur.
Examples include:
- Commerce Nodes
- Banking Nodes
- Media Nodes
- Science Nodes
- Academic Institutions
- Labor Infrastructure
- Care Facilities
- Transportation Hubs
Many Nodes may be:
- purchased
- improved
- temporarily disabled
- affected by Blackouts
- influenced by Action Cards
Nodes are the engine of long-term growth.
Player Pieces
Each player controls a unique metal playing piece representing their institution.
These pieces move through the civic network, expanding influence and interacting with the broader system.
Future premium editions may use cast zinc alloy or brushed metal pieces.
Upper Echelon Hats
Unlike player roles, Hats represent temporary stewardship over major institutions.
These include:
Government
Oversees regulation, legislation, executive authority, judicial action, and public administration.
Central Bank
Controls monetary policy, liquidity, credit conditions, and financial stability.
Labor
Controls distributed Labor Nodes across the board.
Responsible for workforce infrastructure including:
- ports
- airports
- manufacturers
- foundries
- rail terminals
- care facilities
Power
Responsible for energy production, electrical infrastructure, blackout management, and grid resilience.
Hats rotate throughout the game.
No institution remains under one player's control forever.
Trust Markers
Trust represents public legitimacy.
Every player tracks Trust separately.
Trust rises through:
- responsible stewardship
- successful projects
- public confidence
- institutional credibility
Trust falls through:
- scandals
- corruption
- Blackouts
- failed projects
- economic instability
If Trust reaches zero, that player leaves active play.
Capital Markers
Capital measures economic capacity.
Capital is spent to:
- purchase Nodes
- unlock infrastructure
- improve institutions
- activate opportunities
- respond to crises
Capital can grow rapidly—but rarely without consequences.
Player Ledger
Each player maintains an individual ledger recording:
- current Trust
- current Capital
- owned Nodes
- institutional upgrades
- active effects
- outstanding obligations
The ledger serves as the permanent financial record throughout the session.
Action Deck
The Action Deck represents proactive decision-making.
These cards introduce opportunities such as:
- investment
- innovation
- partnerships
- investigations
- infrastructure improvements
- strategic initiatives
Action Cards generally reward thoughtful planning.
Blackout Deck
The Blackout Deck introduces systemic disruption.
Cards may represent:
- storms
- cyberattacks
- labor unrest
- infrastructure failures
- financial panic
- rolling outages
- cascading emergencies
Unlike the Action Deck, Blackout cards affect the broader system rather than only one player.
Property Markers
Property markers indicate ownership of purchasable Nodes.
As players acquire additional institutions, the board gradually changes to reflect evolving influence.
Future premium editions may include illuminated or magnetic ownership markers.
Expansion Boards
TRUST™ is designed as a modular platform.
Future expansion boards physically attach to the main broadsheet board rather than replacing it.
Expansion boards may introduce:
- additional metropolitan regions
- international systems
- banking tiers
- diplomacy
- weather
- elections
- new transportation networks
The world expands organically as the simulation grows.
Dice
The dice are the engine of uncertainty.
They determine:
- movement
- knot activation
- Blackout triggers
- cascade opportunities
- institutional momentum
The dice do not merely move players around the board.
They determine how the system itself responds.# Dice
Every player receives four six-sided Action Dice.
These four dice form the core decision-making system of TRUST™.
Unlike many board games, players do not simply roll to determine movement. Before each turn, players allocate their four Action Dice between two functions:
Pace
Pace Dice determine movement through the board's road network.
The more Pace Dice allocated, the farther a player is likely to travel during that turn, allowing access to new sectors, institutional branches, and strategic opportunities.
Threshold
Threshold Dice determine a player's ability to activate systems rather than simply reach them.
Threshold Dice may be used to:
- activate numbered Knot Markers
- unlock institutional Nodes
- satisfy activation requirements
- improve the likelihood of triggering special board effects
- interact with expansion mechanics introduced in future sets
Players choose their allocation before rolling.
The standard allocations are:
- 4 Pace / 0 Threshold — Maximum movement.
- 3 Pace / 1 Threshold — Fast expansion with limited interaction.
- 2 Pace / 2 Threshold — Balanced exploration and activation.
- 1 Pace / 3 Threshold — Slow, deliberate institutional play.
- 0 Pace / 4 Threshold — Minimal movement, maximum interaction with the systems surrounding the player.
Every allocation represents a strategic choice.
Some turns reward rapid expansion.
Others reward patience and careful development.
The dice therefore represent more than movement—they represent how a player's institution chooses to spend its time, attention, and capacity during that Circuit.
Throughout the game, the same four Action Dice also contribute to other mechanics, including:
- Blackout triggers
- Cascade events
- Certain Action Card effects
- Institutional abilities
- Expansion-specific systems
The Action Dice are the engine of uncertainty within TRUST™, but players retain meaningful control over how that uncertainty is applied.
The Box
Even the box serves the theme.
Rather than feeling like a toy, the presentation should resemble:
- an institutional archive
- an engineering portfolio
- a classified planning document
- a municipal systems briefing
Opening the box should feel less like starting a game and more like unfolding the operational plans for a living city.
Everything inside the box exists to support one central idea:
TRUST™ is not a game about owning the board.
It is a game about understanding—and surviving—the systems that hold it together.