The "World Map", also known as the "Global Operation Map", is a game board mainly used in Conquest Mode to keep track of which Regions someone has or hasn't taken control over, which also has the Conquest Tracker for both sides.
The World Map also contains the Alien Unit Tracker, which can be used in both Game Modes.
Conquest Mode
Conquest Mode is one of the two main Game Modes in Chronicle X. In it, the players compete for control of the Earth, tracking their progress via a World Map with different regions.
The rulebook says:
Liberate, conquer and hold key regions of the Global Operations Map in order to gether unique resources, Upgrade Nodes and Abduction Points. Liberate enemy controlled sectors and fortify existing strongholds. Player will be able to select from an array of regions as each team takes it in turn to Conquer or Liberate the planet.Each team will start controlling three regions of the World Map. Each is selected one at a time, starting with the Hero Team.To achieve victory in this mode each team will have to earn points on the Conquest Trackers. The winner is the team with the most points after 5 Rounds.Conquest Mode Setup
1. Do the general game set up, as in get the components out of the box, sort/shuffle the decks of cards as needed, and so on. Also decide who plays as the Overmind Player, and which Heroes the Hero Players want to use. (If you only have the Core Box and no Expansions, there's no choice for the Hero Player; six Heroes are needed, and only six are available in the Core Box)
2. The Hero Players get a Space Station consisting of the two rooms "HQ" and "Warehouse". The Overmind Player gets a Alien Upgrade Sheet without any Upgrade Nodes. (Both sides can make Upgrades during the Resolution Phase at the end of each Round.)
3. Place the World Map next to the main play area on the table. Set the Conquest Tracker for both sides to zero.
4. Start the first Round.
Conquest Mode Rounds
In Conquest Mode, the game is played in Rounds which consist of the following phases:
- Hero Player Global Operations Phase. The Hero Player decides which Region to Conquer/Liberate.
- Hero Player Conflict Phase. The selected Mission is played.
- Overmind Player Global Operations Phase. The Overmind Player decides which Region to Conquer/Liberate.
- Overmind Player Conflict Phase. The selected Mission is played.
- Resolution Phase. The players get to make Upgrades.
That sequence is repeated up to five times, after which the side who controls most Regions wins the game. (If it becomes clear before five rounds that one side can't win, the game ends at that point.)
Conquest Mode Mission Map
In Conquest Mode, the Hero Players and the Alien Forces alternate in deciding what kind of Mission they want to play. There are two different Mission types: Liberate and Conquer.
For Liberate Missions, the active player tries to liberate a region on the World Map from the control of the other player. In this case, the player who controls the region builds a Mission Map consisting of four by four tiles in any way they like (although reasonably, they should use tiles of similar backgrounds, not make a random patchwork of completely different environments).
For Conquer Missions, the active player tries to take control over a previously not controlled region on the World Map. In this case, the player who chose which region to conquer places one Mission Map tile, and then the players take turns until a four by four tiles large map has been built.