Service Rat · Directives · Veto

Veto

Veto is the late-game safety valve. Once it's unlocked, the Chief Engineer can refuse to enact either blueprint, but only if the CEO agrees. It's a two-key power that takes both halves of a government to fire, and it's Service Rat's version of the Secret Hitler power called Veto Power.

When it unlocks

Veto is not granted by player count. It unlocks the moment 5 Sabotage blueprints are on the board, the same fifth-Sabotage milestone that re-triggers Termination. From that point on, for the rest of the game, the veto option is available on every Workshop. The board is now a single Sabotage away from a Saboteur win, so the stakes on every enactment are at their peak.

How it works

Veto is a request, not a unilateral move:

1. The Chief Engineer is handed the two blueprints as usual, but instead of enacting one, they can request a veto.
2. The CEO then approves or denies.
3. If the CEO approves: both blueprints are discarded, nothing is enacted, and the downtime tracker advances by one (the same tracker that triggers Chaos at three).
4. If the CEO denies: the Chief Engineer must enact one of the two blueprints, exactly as a normal Workshop.

Strategy

As the Workers

With 5 Sabotage on the board, a Worker Chief Engineer handed two Sabotage blueprints should strongly consider requesting the veto — enacting either one ends the game in a Saboteur win. A Worker CEO should approve in that spot. The catch is the tracker: a couple of vetoes and Chaos enacts the top card for you, so use vetoes to buy time, not to stall forever.

As the Saboteurs or Rat

Veto cuts both ways. A Saboteur CEO can deny a veto to force a desperate Worker Chief Engineer to enact the sixth Sabotage and win the game. And because a veto needs both seats to cooperate, watching who requests and who approves is a tell — a CEO who eagerly approves a veto on two Sabotage cards is probably a Worker, while one who denies is either confident the Engineer is bluffing or quietly steering toward the loss.

Where it fits in the bigger picture

Veto is the fifth and final CEO power covered on the directives hub. It arrives at the same moment as the second Termination, so the endgame often comes down to whether the Workers can veto and terminate their way out before the sixth Sabotage lands. For the full Workshop and Chaos rules, see How to Play.