
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Rise! The Ballistic Expansion Pack
- 2 players
- 20 min
- 2012

2012
Rules assistance for Rise!
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Rise! is a board game released in 2012 for 2 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Michael Coe and its main mechanics are Area Movement, Area Majority / Influence, and Tile Placement.
In Rise!, players race to be the first to construct three towers on the growing game board, moving workers to and fro to keep the towers rising and the opponent befuddled. To set up, place 12 hexagonal tiles in a dogbone shape as specified in the rulebook, then place one token for each player on their starting locations. On a turn, a player takes two actions (possibly the same action twice) from this list of options: Place a land tile adjacent to any existing tile. Place a worker adjacent to any of your workers already on the game board. Move one of your workers to an adjacent empty space. Jump an opponent's worker and land on an empty space, removing that worker from play. Remove two of your workers from the board to remove an opponent's worker from any space. Remove two of your workers from the board to place one of your workers in any empty space. Remove one of your tower layers from the board. If at any time during play you have a circle of six of your workers surrounding an empty space, place the first layer of one of your towers in that space. Your ring of workers must remain in place for two additional turns for the remaining two layers to be added to the tower; if your ring is disrupted, you can complete it later to continue the tower-building. If you completely surround an opponent's tower, you can remove the top level of that tower from the board. In addition to building three complete towers, a player can also win by eliminating all of the opponent's workers from the game board.
Rise! supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Rise! is 20 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Rise! for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Rise! has a complexity rating of 1.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Rise! belongs to these categories: Territory Building, Abstract Strategy, and City Building. Its main mechanics are Area Movement, Area Majority / Influence, and Tile Placement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Rise! are: Michael Coe. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Rise! as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.