Influence Scoring at the Institute in a Two-Player Game

• In a two-player game, 3 non-player Influence tokens (neutral tokens) are placed on the Institute at setup (page 2).
• At end-game scoring, these 3 neutral tokens are included in the comparison as if they were the Influence of a third house (page 7).

How Neutral Tokens Affect Scoring:

• When determining who has the most and second-most Influence at the Institute, compare each player's Influence to the neutral tokens as a third "player."
• The player(s) with the most Influence (including the neutral tokens as a possible contender) gain 4 points per Influence they have at the Institute.
• The player(s) with the second-most Influence gain 2 points per Influence.
• All other players gain 1 point per Influence.

Tiebreakers and Majority:

• If a player is tied with the neutral tokens for most or second-most, they are considered to share that position.
• The rules do not specify a special tiebreaker for the neutral tokens; they are treated exactly as a third house for the purposes of majority and ties.

Example (from page 7):

"In a 2-player game, 3 non-player Influence tokens start on the Institute. The 2 players will include those 3 tokens in the end-game comparison as if they were the Influence of a third house."

Summary

• Neutral tokens count as a third house for majority and tiebreaker purposes.
• Ties with the neutral tokens are treated as normal ties for majority/second-most.
• Scoring is based on the position (most, second-most, other) after including the neutral tokens in the comparison.

Source: page 7.

Source: Core Rulebook (pp. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7)