Pendulum – Stonemaier Games

Pendulum

Pendulum

  • Designer Travis Jones
  • Artist Robert Leask

Pendulum is a competitive, turnless, asymmetric worker placement, time-optimization game.

Base Game
60-90 mins Game Length
5 mins Setup Time
1-5 Players
Heavy Game Weight
Stonemaier Champion

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In Pendulum, each player is a powerful, unique noble vying to succeed the Timeless King as the true ruler of Dünya. Players command their workers, execute stratagems, and expand the provinces in their domain in real time to gain resources and move up the 4 victory tracks: power, prestige, popularity, and legendary achievement.

Players must use actual time as a resource in managing their strategy to best their opponents, using time on different action types and balancing it with time spent planning and analyzing. The winner will be the player who manages and invests their time most effectively and who builds the best engine, not the player who acts the quickest.

Pendulum is the highest-rated protoype in the history of the Stonemaier Games Design Day. If you enjoy Tzolk’in (time and resource optimization) and 7 Wonders (simultaneous play), we think you’ll enjoy Pendulum. Please join us in the Pendulum Facebook group to discuss the game, or look through other photos of the game (taken by Doctor Meeple) here!

Featured Components:

  • 1 box (30x30x7cm; 2 kg). Each first-printing box is individually numbered.
  • 1 game board (53x50cm)
  • 250 tokens
  • 3 sand timers (45 sec, 2 minutes, 3 minutes)
  • 5 double-sided, frosted character mats (asymmetric) and 4 stratagem cards per character (40 total; 44x67mm)
  • 56 Province cards (63x63mm)
  • 31 council reward cards (44x67mm)
  • 10 achievement cards (59x91mm)
  • 1 legendary achievement token (metal)
  • 1 rulebook
  • 1 quick-reference guide
  • 1 Automa rulebook
  • 1 Automa scoring mat
  • 38 Automa cards (59x91mm)

Release Details: Pendulum was available to preorder from Stonemaier Games on August 5. The worldwide retail release date was October 2, 2020.

Product Details: The SKU is STM250. Pendulum is 95% language independent, but it will be published in a number of languages.

Photos: Professional photos courtesy of Tim Chuon available here. Please credit Tim as the photographer and Stonemaier Games as the publisher.

Copyright 2020 Stonemaier LLC. Pendulum is a trademark of Stonemaier LLC. All Rights Reserved. This content is not authorized for posting on Steam.

198 Comments on “Pendulum

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  1. My wife and I love this game. It takes 45 min to finish a game and it is super engaging. We would love to see an expansion someday. The game deserves it!

    1. I’m so glad you’re enjoying Pendulum! Currently we don’t have plans for expansions, but if we do, we’ll post about them here. :)

    1. Matagot is the French publisher. You can ask them if they have a pdf of the rules available for download. :)

  2. Got the english version of Pendulum and I do understand most of it, but want to now if I can get/download the rulebook in Dutch?

    1. Thanks Yvonne! 999 Games is our Dutch partner–please check their website for the Dutch rules (and if it’s not there, you can request it from them).

    1. It should start to work after the sand flows through it a few times, but if it still doesn’t, please fill out our replacement parts form so we can send you another purple timer.

  3. […] Before I begin, I was provided a review copy of the game in exchange for an honest review.  This is not a paid review. If you would rather watch a video of this review check it out below. Get your own copy here. […]

  4. Hey guys, love your games but I went to play my copy of Pendulum tonight and realized my rulebook has gone missing. I’m using my iPad and the rulebook online but I MUCH prefer a physical copy. Might there be any way I can get a replacement?

  5. […] Stonemaier Games is one of the premier board game publishers and developers. They’ve churned out hit after hit over the last few years. Even casual fans will recognize some of their hits like Scythe, Wingspan, and Tapestry. Today, the company announced its next game. As ever, Stonemaier is again pushing the industry forward with Pendulum. […]

  6. Finally, I’ll receive my (italian localized) copy tomorrow!!! Can’t wait anymore to play it

    Really a good job SM! Thumbs up!

  7. Will you release a french version of Pendulum? If so, when? I already ordered the upgrades from Meeple Source…

  8. […] Pendulum by Stonemaier GamesPrice: ~$60.00Players: 1 to 5Playtime: 60-90 minutesPerfect for: Groups who enjoy asynchronous real-time engine-building and resource optimization games. […]

  9. Hi, I have a question about the world wide release date (especially in the Netherlands). I asked 999 Games about the release date, because on their website there is no date for pre order / availability. They said that Stonemaier is working hard to release Pendulum worldwide, but they said nothing about a possible date. So my question is: Is October 2 still the aimed release date or is it postponed because of the problems with the Canadian distribution? Thank you in advance, love your games!

  10. So we played for the first time last night but ran into a problem where the purple timer half the time would get stuck and not count down when we flipped it. If you really slam it down onto the board it seems to work fairly regularly but when you’re in the heat of playing the game sometimes you forget to do it and then you’re waiting a long time for your purple to flip but it never happens. Any suggestions on what to do here?

  11. Hi, just received my copy of Pendulum and looks pretty amazing really looking forward to playing.
    Unfortunately I seem to only have 5 achievement cards and it says 10 in rulebook. I have requested replacement but was wondering if I can still play game with only 5 ?
    Thanks
    Adam

    1. Absolutely! I’ll get to your replacement parts request later today, but you don’t even need 5 Achievement Cards to play a full game. You’ll use 3 in a normal game. :)

      1. Hi Joe, as it turns out , I have found the cards I thought I didn’t have, so it is totally my fault and not missing components. Sorry for the inconvenience, I have also contacted support and told them I dont need anything.

    1. We might be able to release some copies in a few weeks when we’re confident the fulfillment process is complete, so make sure to sign up for a back-in-stock notification.

  12. WOW…I received mine last week and when I opened up the box to review the contents I was amazed at the quality of the rule book material! If you’ve used this material before, I missed it somehow and this should be the standard for all others. It’s like a heavy duty, linen/plastic material that will stand the test of time for sure. Quality is critical to me and you nailed it. Well done!

    1. Thanks Dane! We started using that material in Between Two Castles, and we’ve used it ever since (including in some reprints, like Scythe and Viticulture).

  13. […] the challenge of this real-time worker placement game, you can order Pendulum on Amazon, direct from Stonemaier Games or check with your local game store for availability. Keep time with Stonemaier Games by […]

    1. Hi Sylvain! I don’t have any more information than I did previously. We’re expecting Pendulum to arrive at the Canadian fulfillment center this week, but I have not heard any news yet. You’ll get a tracking email as soon as it ships. Thank you for your patience!

  14. Champion here – still not shipping info. Do we have any idea how close all Champion games are to fulfillment? Not worried. Not upset. Just curious. Perhaps wishful thinking that it would take 3 or 4 days for all Champion pre-orders to go out? I’m aware I don’t know anything about the process or amount of games -again – just curious. That’s all!

    1. Hi Nick! It looks like your order is going out today. But if anyone else is reading this, if your order doesn’t ship today, some Champion orders will be shipped next week as well. Thank you for your patience!

      1. Cool. Thanks Joe! I guess I underestimated the amount of orders and must apologize for that! Glad to know a lot of people are waiting to get this on their table.

  15. Argh – still waiting for shipping notification (am champion). Looking forward to trying this out – looks great!

  16. If i had known these games when i was in school, i would have studied English harder. Thank god the wingspan comes in Finnish this september, so i’ll have even one on your games.

  17. Hi. Preorder is in, and watching Rahdo run through it. I know the release is sometime in August, but have the ships reached port yet (US)?

  18. Hi. Preorder is in, ans watching Rahdo run through it. I know the release is sometime in August, but have the ships reached port yet (US)?

  19. I watched it twice. Once mostly to figure out that Eric Summerer was the voice and the second time to figure out why i was going to buy the game.

  20. Hi! I am thinking about preordering Pendulum, but first I would like to know if it will be sold in Spanish on September 18. I know it is almost language independent, but I have all of your games in Spanish so I might keep it this way :) thank you!!

    1. The code CHAMPION-INT should work if you’re a Champion and you’re signed into Shopify as a user. If not, please proceed to place the order without the code and then send a note with the order number to Joe at contact@stonemaiergames.com

  21. So just to clarify, based on the game only being 4 rounds, in a 5 player game, there is 1 player who will have zero chance of winning?

    1. No. There is a council rewards card available at the end of the last round that can get you the legendary achievement token.

    2. Think i found an answer at the bottom of the rules, looks like there is a card that lets you pay any 10 resource to get your legendary box.

    1. You’ll know it when the preorder goes live. :) You won’t spend more than $65 total if you preorder from us (for most regions of the world, at least).

  22. I’m not a real time game fan, but after watching play through videos and now reviews, I’m really looking forward to this game. I like how Rhado pointed out the option to play without the timers was a big hit with he and his wife. I think you found a good one here Jamey (and that’s why you have brought it to us)!!

    1. Hi Ralph! We don’t use Kickstart anymore, and we haven’t for years. This will be available for Preorder on our online store on August 5th and shipments should begin in the following weeks, the exact shipment date depending on your location.

      1. Hi Joe – As a noob, I’m curious why don’t you guys use kickstarter any more? (I’m asking because my wife & I designed a game and are trying to decide whether or not it’s worth doing kickstarter for it). THANKS and good luck to you!

          1. Jamey, thank you so much! I read the blog post you linked and learned a lot. I’ve also spent some time reading your other posts and from what I can tell, overall you are glad you switched to the distributor-retailer-consumer model (with perhaps some exceptions). All models have their PROs/CONs. I would have expected you would also sell directly on Amazon, since that’s what I do & know best, but am glad they (Amazon) don’t rule everyone’s lives. :)

            I’m amazed at the scale of your business, and the fact you take the time to kindly respond to your blog comments! Thank you for that and I wish you the best!

  23. Several reviewers so far have given various degrees of concern about defected sand timers. Rahdo especially seemed to have a major issue with sand timers stopping midway, even on camera. Is this an issue that has been fixed since those review prototypes were sent out?

    1. Sand timers sometimes have a sediment in them that needs to break up a bit–this can take multiple uses. The sand timers were made months ago, placed in the printed games, and some of those games were sent to reviewers. The remaining games were completed a month ago and placed on ocean freight to fulfillment centers.

      If your sand timers have issues after a few uses, just let us know and we’ll replace them.

      1. Y’all are always great with replacements, so I figure it’ll overall be a non-issue. Thanks Jamey!

  24. I have to be honest. I don’t think the playthrough videos to this point are doing the game any favors in terms of differentiating it from any other, generic, real-time game. Everyone seems to be playing the game with the mindset that there is a clear benefit to flipping the timers as quickly as possible. This leads (in my opinion) to artificial chaos, confusion, and physical conflict when in fact, there really doesn’t NEED to be any of that. Am I wrong, or will we eventually see a game where players really take their time and only flip timers when they really need to, not as soon as the sand runs out?

    1. Robert: I’m biased, but if Pendulum were a speedy, stressful, race-against-time game, I wouldn’t have published it. It’s a time-optimization game. Players are flipping timers because they’re eager to unlock their workers (and get benefits from their opposite workers).

      I played an untimed teaching game just yesterday, and even the time optimization in it is something I’ve only experienced in one other game (Tzolk’in).

      1. Jamey: Thank you for the reply and I don’t disagree with you. My thought is that all of the playthroughs thus far (at least the ones I have seen) are treating the game as if it were “…a speedy, stressful, race-against-time…” and it shows in the videos. We’ve yet to see a group play the timed game who fully grasp (or maybe they do and just don’t care) that there is literally nothing in the rules that says you MUST flip any timer…ever (other than to start the game). While not optimal, we could start the game, perform out first actions, place our workers on new locations, then…take a break for lunch, come back an hour later, and continue. Am I missing something?

        1. You’re right! It is definitely in the players’ control as to when they flip the timers, and I think we’ll see different groups use this control for various reasons when they get the game.

  25. Hi. Will Phalanx publish Polish edition? If yes, do you synchronize reuse date?

    Looking forward to this one! Great job Stonemaier Games!

  26. I’ve seen some comments on playthrough videos talking about recessed player boards and the worry that in the hustle to move workers/keep up with the real-time aspect that score trackers may get bumped. I assume the reason there is no recession in the board is so that you can quickly and easily grab/move pieces and if anything gets bumped its on your honor. There’s also an increased cost to recessed boards I assume. Was there a particular reason in your mind Jamey?

    1. There were a couple reasons. :) Cost is a factor, though the frosted player mats cost pretty much just as much. Another factor is since the mats are double-sided, instead of 2 layers, it would actually end up being 3 layers per mat. Perhaps the biggest factor is warping–when you glue cardboard together, it significantly increases the chances that it will warp.

      1. Hi. Im from Germany, too. I did look at the homepage of “Feuerland-Spiele” but pendulum doesnt seem to be at the list of their upcoming releases. (while all other stonemaiergames seem to be.)

          1. They have, but on Facebook :) will be available on their website to order on September.

  27. Newsflash: Sabotage auf deutsch, neue Beutel für die Saurier und mehr – Honig, Tatze, Fell – Brettspielblog says:

    […] Die kurze Marketing Phase für seine Spiele nutzt der gute Jamey ja immer intensiv aus. Inzwischen gibt es reichlich Bilder des Spielbretts und Informationen, wie sich Pendulum spielt. So gibt es drei Sanduhren von 45 Sekunden bis 3 Minuten, die für alle Spieler gelten. Es handelt sich also in Teilen um ein Echtzeit Spiel wie Magic Maze oder Kitchen Rush. Allerdings sollen diese Phasen nur einen Teil des Spiels ausmachen. Ich bleibe da persönlich etwas skeptisch und werde wohl die Feuerland Version im September abwarten, bis dahin gibt es sicherlich bereits reichlich Rezensionen. Die Meeple sind übrigens aus Kunststoff und man sieht auf Bildern deutlich die „Naht“. Das gefällt mir ehrlich gesagt gar nicht. Der Grund sind offenbar Probleme mit dem Export von Holzteilen nach Australien. Ich empfehle für weitere Informationen zum Spiel das Design Diary. […]

  28. […] Stonemaier’s 2020 game release, and you can imagine our surprise when we saw that their new game Pendulum was designed by Travis Jones! At first it seemed like our own Travis Jones has been doing some […]

  29. My experience with sand timers had never been ideal because of the racket they don’t make when they “go off”. So are the players able to miss the fact that a timer has expired – meaning that an app (or other substitute digital timers) will instantly make gameplay better/easier)? Or is it always the case that the players have nothing else to do, other than watch the timers because they have to wait?

  30. […] I think about real-time games, I think about frantic action with no time to think. That will no longer be true when Stonemaier Games releases Pendulum. Okay, the sand timers will still put a bit of pressure on your decisions, but they are forty-five […]

  31. Do you guys sell games directly to Brazil?
    Will i be able to buy this with you on the pre-orders or i have to wait for a localized version?

    1. Nathan: We’ve had issues shipping from the US to Brazil, but if you have a forwarding address in the US, we can ship to it.

      1. There’s a notification that Grok Games will sell the game in the brazilian market, can you confirm if that’s true, please?

  32. Your fans in Turkey got really excited when the game theme is set in “Dünya”, which is a Turkish spelling of an Arabic word from the Qur’an, meaning this world is temporary. Could you tell us what made you choose this name? -if it wouldn’t be a spoiler- Some say you might even be muslim now, lol

    1. The artist and worldbuilder chose that name, specifically from the Turkish word for “world.” :)

      1. Thank you! Still a little puzzled, but I like what is being said about it. Will there be play-through videos?

        1. Of course! :) We’ve barely touched on what the game is at this point–we’ll be unveiling details over the next few weeks.

  33. Hi. Very impressive idea and images. I have a question, how language dependant it would be? Can you advance more on this?

    Thanks Jamey

  34. 「ペンデュラム」ヤバイ新作情報キターー!「サイズ-大鎌戦役-」のメーカー新作だぜ says:

    […] Pendulum […]

  35. So duniya translates to “the world” in Hindi, does that mean it will have eastern/asiatic theming, or it’s just used as reference to an internal world?

    1. It’s just a name for the world (the artist/worldbuilder selected it from the Turkish word for “world”). :)

  36. Being of Turkish origin the name “Dünya” really sounded great! Any particular reason why it was names like that?

  37. Very interesting. I love the artwork by Robert Leask. The box cover is very interesting, a throne within a giant clock, clouds circling the clock, mythical creatures, and the ominous guy near the clock. 3:20, what could that time mean? :)

    1. We were actually aiming for 3:14, which is the area code of St. Louis, where Stonemaier Games is based.

      1. Fun fact, the time in 99% of watches in adds is 10 to 2. This is to simulate a smile. I love seeing something different!

  38. Amazing art.
    7w is my favorite game of all time.
    I’ve never played tzolkin and the only stonemeier game I own is wingspan.
    I’m curious was wondering wingspan brought to a design day or not? What other games from design days have been published and what were their average ratings?

  39. Will we be able to add other Stonemaier products to the pre-order of this game?º
    Thanks in advance.

  40. Looks good. I wonder if you need to turn the square cards each time the timers have ran out. Looking forward to learn more soon.

  41. Can’t wait to give Pendulum a shot! Looks like there’s a sand timer in one of the pictures. So is this a game where players have a certain amount of time per turn then? Maybe different lengths of time based on choices made?
    When I first heard using actual time as a resource my first thought was similar to competitive chess.

    1. “So is this a game where players have a certain amount of time per turn then?”

      Good guess, but nope! :)

      “Maybe different lengths of time based on choices made?”

      That’s a lot closer. You’ll see soon. :)

  42. I’m always amazed by each new game you publish. I got about half way through and it clicked, sand timer workers? That sounds fun. The art looks pretty epic, I’m hoping my girls will be interested. My wife and I like Tapestry and Scythe.

  43. […] пока не отличившийся заметными играми. Продуктовая страничка описывает будущую игру как ассиметричный […]

  44. Not too much info yet, but can you tell us how long the sand timers are? 30 Seconds? 5 Minutes?

      1. Wow, this looks really great! My guess about “Sand” was that it was a sandbox game. I’m intrigued…

  45. Real-time games tend to be difficult for those of us with color vision deficiency or other visual/physical limitations. I’ve yet to find a real-time game I enjoy, because I cannot ask “is this green?” without disrupting the experience.

    How have you tackled this challenge in design, development, and playtesting? Thanks!

    1. We spent a lot of time on the UI and the color selection to make the game as colorblind friendly as possible. I think it helps that you know where you placed your workers, and for most actions, no other workers are there. Also, unlike real-time games, Pendulum isn’t frantic–you have plenty of time to think about your workers, resources, and strategy.

      1. I’m very curious now as to how frantic-ness is being counteracted. I haven’t given it that much thought before, but “frantic” seems inherent in having a timer, and introducing it seems like the primary reason you would want a timer.

  46. Looking forward to this real time play game, Stonemaier games are so well done with quality components, great mechanics, amazing artwork and awesome customer service.

  47. Pumped! Will there be any play through/mechanics videos released before the pre-sale? (I’ve had some iffy experiences with real time games in the past…)

    1. Definitely! That type of content will be available at least a week before the preorder.

  48. I am in the the “convince me” group. I do not like real time games. On the other hand, I have never not liked a Stonemaier game and three of them are in my top 10.

  49. Was actually just discussing with my wife yesterday how we both wished some new realtime games would come out. One of these days we’re hoping that someone tries to put realtime on a roll/flip and write.

    Definitely excited to see what this one is bringing!

  50. Like others have mentioned, the artwork is stunning. I always appreciate the detail and effort put into the artwork for all Stonemaier Games….really elevates your games to the next level. I’m really excited about a “turnless” based game. My family and I are big into real time games with little to no downtime. Any idea what the BBG weight of the game will be? Thanks Jamey!

  51. I had the impression sand timers were notoriously inaccurate / variable, or at least the types that are cheap enough to include in board games were. Has that not been a problem?

    1. It’s not a problem in this game, as it’s not like each player has their own sand timers. They’re shared, and at most they’re only off by a few seconds. Plus, players determine when the timers are flipped.

  52. Sounds interesting. I love the artwork and am already using the images on the right as wallpaper on my phone. :)

  53. This is intriguing. I wonder if the workers are sand timers, and you have to wait for them to complete before taking the action.

  54. Real-time is…going to require a lot of convincing. I don’t like anything where I can’t take time to answer questions or look up rules during play. Need to see a lot more details about how this is going to work, but I guess that’s the point of the upcoming design diaries…

    1. The game can be played without the timers, and if you ever need a break in the action, you can just set the timers on their side. Also, there are a number of built-in breaks throughout the game.

  55. I was sold until I read “actual time” is a resource. I hope this means something different than a typical real time game. I don’t think I can get excited about a 60-90 minute “real time” game. Although, I’m hoping there is something else going on here and I am excited to see what that might be! Stonemaier has not let me down yet so I have a faith!!

  56. Oh boy…I am giddy with excitement. I love the theme and mechanics. Box art looks incredible as well. Can’t wait.

    1. It’s a turnless, simultaneous action game with time optimization. It does use a few sand timers, yes.

    1. Good looking as usual, groundbreaking as I hope. Already in my wishlist.
      One question only, by the available pictures one can tell that there isn’t a lot of text. But how language dependant it would be? Can you advance more on this? Some of SM games are out of my scope just because of this, as my game and life partner is not an English speaker and portuguese editions are close to none in Portugal; Wingspan being the only one.
      Thank you in advance and keep up the good work SM Games!

      1. It’s a fairly language-independent game, maybe 95%. As long as there is one English speaker in the game, it is perfectly fine.

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