by Lars Vogt
(7) UPGRADEThe Upgrade Action allows a player to improve one of his/her actions of type 2-6 (in the Expert Game the actions 1-6) by upgrading it on the Actions Board to the next higher Status/Level. The Action Board as well as the rules for each action specify in detail, which action- and status-specific conditions must be met by the player and whether specific cards or money have to be spent during the Upgrade Action for reaching the desired Status.
However, if during the course of the game a player does not meet one of the conditions for an upgraded Status anymore, this player must NOT reset his/her Action Status Marker to a lower Status, but the player can only perform those Statuses of which he/she currently still meets the conditions. As soon as the player meets all the conditions again, he/she may chose from all Action Statuses again.
Increase in Productivity
The first player to upgrade a specific type of action to its 5th Action Status receives the unit of his/her color located at the top of this Action on the Action Board. The player must immediately deploy this unit (this does not require an extra Organization & Expansion or Building Action). In other words, if a player is the first to reach the highest Level of an Action, he/she must deploy the unit he/she receives without taking another action. This unit can be placed on the player‘s Units Chart (thereby lowering the wages), or the player can deploy it for operating/managing one of his/her cultivations or buildings, for defending a Map Tile or for preparing an attack for a subsequent Action. This applies to the Actions 1-6 (although Action 1 is ignored in the Basic Game).
A player only receives this unit if he/she is the first to reach the 5th Status of this Action Type. All players who reach this Status later during the game do not receive their units! Their units remain on the Action Board.