Secrets of a Steampunk World: The Lore Behind Our Board Game

About Machiavellian: The City of Masks, from BoardGameGeek:

Machiavellian is a big-box euro-style strategy game set in an alternate 1800s steampunk Venice. Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci's “Venetian Doctrine” has transformed the city into the heart of a global empire of gears, masks, and intrigue. Senators hide behind ornate masks, crime families thrive in the shadows, and every invention serves the state. In this world, power is theatre, and only the most cunning can rise to the top. Players take the role of ambitious nobles vying to become the next Doge of Venice. To win, you must secure the loyalty of enough Senators through influence, bribery, and manipulation. The game revolves around Favor tokens, the currency of power across six domains (War, Trade, Finance, Politics, Technology, and Crime). You'll spend Favors to play tech cards, scheme in government buildings, fund wars, bribe Senators, or trade across Venice's far-reaching markets. At the heart of the game is a dynamic mask placement and combo system: each round you send your masked agent into the halls of power, triggering narrative effects and chaining together bonuses that can shift the balance of the game. Tech cards can be played in multiple ways-discarded for powerful one-time effects, banked for long-term abilities, or cycled back into your hand for repeated use-giving you a wealth of tactical options. The ultimate goal is to gather enough Senatorial support to seize the Dogeship. You can win instantly by assembling the right combination of Senators, or by building overwhelming reach across the Venetian Concordium. Every choice matters: will you rely on wealth and diplomacy, or intimidation and war machines? In Machiavellian, masks will fall, alliances will break, and only the most ruthless strategist will be crowned Doge-for-Life. -description from the publisher