Secret Agents is a ten-card booster for PlayPunk’s Zenith. It adds new Agent effects to the existing card deck; the base game is required. The publisher’s booster rules are short because the regular game’s influence, Technology, Leader and victory rules still apply.
What is in the booster?
There are ten new Agent cards. Five cost zero Credits. The other five cost five Credits and look at something the opposing side has, such as its Leader badge, Credits or Zenithium. A small dot in the bottom-left corner identifies expansion cards if you later want to separate them. Setup is simple: shuffle all ten into the base Agent deck before dealing hands.
These are new cards, not a new planet, board, faction or fourth action. They enter the ordinary choice every turn: recruit a card for its planet influence and effects, or discard it to develop its faction’s Technology or use its faction’s Leader effect. If recruited, its printed Credit cost is still reduced by cards already in your own matching planet column, as in the base game.
How the conditional effects work
Several five-Credit cards evaluate the opponent’s current possessions. The booster rules give an example that grants a bonus if the opponent has at least three Zenithium, with influence on a different planet from the one just chosen. Check the condition when resolving the card, and pay attention to words such as “another planet.” A card whose effect develops your lowest Technology tells you to pay its Zenithium cost; it is not a free advance.
One new effect lets both sides top up Credits if they have fewer than eight. That can help the opponent as well as you, so consider their next turn before playing it. Another grants the opponent influence on a planet of your choice except Mars. If its disc is already one step from their control zone, any influence beyond the claim is lost; no replacement disc enters until the end of the turn. An opponent can receive a disc and trigger a planet bonus during your turn, and an immediate win must still be checked.
What changes strategically?
Editorial analysis: free Agents can make a low-Credit hand more usable, while five-Credit conditional cards reward reading the other side’s resource and badge state. Their value is not fixed: a bonus tied to an opponent’s Zenithium is weaker when that opponent has spent it. In a team game, the opposing team shares Credits, Zenithium and Leader, so evaluate its shared supply. Keep counting the base game’s three win threats rather than being distracted by a flashy conditional effect.
Should you add it to your first game?
PlayPunk’s rules allow simply shuffling it in, but for a first teach we recommend learning the base deck first. Its ninety original Agent cards and alternative Technology boards already offer variety. The booster is a good fit when you want more card surprises within the familiar 25–35 minute duel or two-versus-two format. It does not supply a solo or three-player mode.
Is another Zenith expansion coming?
PlayPunk’s studio page describes a planned 2027 expansion with Corporations and stronger wild cards. That is an announced future plan, separate from the available Secret Agents booster. Contents and timing can change; consult the publisher for the final release details.
Official sources: Secret Agents rules PDF · Zenith product page · PlayPunk studio news.
More Zenith guides: Zenith game guide · How to play Zenith · Zenith strategy · Victory conditions and influence discs · Secret Agents expansion