Contraband Counter?

[Bezmozgu]

Per the Smuggling Hold card, whenever you add a token to your Resource Pool, you add a Contraband counter to the card. What is a Contraband counter? I am unable to find a reference to them in the Rules, the Icon Reference, or the Errata posts.

[Horizon Jeff]

Per the Smuggling Hold card, whenever you add a token to your Resource Pool, you add a Contraband counter to the card. What is a Contraband counter? I am unable to find a reference to them in the Rules, the Icon Reference, or the Errata posts.

"Counters are generated by or used to track specific effects, but have no independent agency, effect or ability outside that granted by a specific card." (Rulebook, pg. 6)

What that means is a card may need to track some value in order to generate an ability, and in those cases a counter is employed. Counters, regardless of the name, do nothing on their own. Because counters have no inherent game value, unlike a token, we don't provide any specific way to track them. Popular ways to track similar effects in other games are little glass beads, pennies, or anything cheap, numerous and unlikely to damage the card.

In the case of Smuggling Hold, you're allowed to add a Contraband Counter to the card whenever you add a token to your Resource Pool. Those counters on their own do nothing. But the card itself has abilities that require Contraband Counters as a cost.

You may be wondering why they're called Contraband Counters and not just counters. Partially it's for thematic purposes, and it also to helps illustrate what the card does. So Finch & Cho, CPAs have Bookkeeping Counters, Biddable Official has Corruption Counters, etc.

[Bezmozgu]

Got it, thanks Jeff!

[Baron_Gerry_Rail]

Beads as counters! Yeah, more swag for my game.