PART 1: HOW TO PLAY
GAME SYNOPSIS
(What to Expect)
Although TACTICA can be played as a one-off game, the true experience is a sequence of three battles that will determine the final outcome of a war. Each battle will become more desperate as the spacing between sides grows smaller and resources become depleted. Gameplay is very similar between battles, but there are differences (as explained below).
Note that the basic game (and thus the following setup) is for 2 players, but is designed to accommodate a 3-player, 4-player (two teams of 2), or even 6-player game!
The following sections will explain how to
Unpack the box and prep the battlefield (setup: under 2 minutes)
See PREPPING THE BATTLEFIELD
Prepare the battlefield depending on the stage of war (Battle 1, 2, or 3) you are fighting (setup: approximately 5 minutes)
See PRE-BATTLE SETUP
Begin battle and follow the Order of Play recommended for each stage of war (Battle 1, 2, or 3). (Battle 1: 60-90 minutes; Battle 2: 45-60 minutes; Battle 3: 45-60 minutes)
PREPPING THE BATTLEFIELD
(Organizing your Battlespace)
Separate the SUN and MOON cards from each other
Make a pile of separated Troop cards. Shuffle these and place them face down near the battlefield. This is the Troop Pile.
Make a pile of separated Tactics cards. Shuffle these and place them face down near the Troop Pile. This will be the Tactics Pile.
Make a pile of Training cards (shuffling is unnecessary). It is recommended to place these near both the Troop and Tactics Piles. This is your Training Pile.
Place the RESUPPLY CARD and the LOST CARD near the battlefield but separated from the Troop, Tactics, and Training cards (to avoid later confusion!).
You are now ready to begin Pre-Battle Set-up! (see below)
PRE-BATTLE SETUP
(Prepare for Battle between each Stage of War)
IMPORTANT: Note that some actions are common for all three battles of the war (noted as COMMON), and others are battle-specific, noted as BATTLE 1, BATTLE 2, or BATTLE 3.
PLAYER 1 SELECTION
BATTLE 1: Players agree or choose randomly who is Player 1 for Round 1
During gameplay, players alternate between Player 1 and Player 2
Example: In Round 1, SUN is Player 1 and MOON is Player 2. In Round 2, MOON is Player 1 and SUN is Player 2, etc.
BATTLE 2: The Victor of BATTLE 1 is Player 1 for every Round.
BATTLE 3: The Victor of BATTLE 2 is Player 1 for every Round.
SETTING UP WALL CARDS
COMMON: Both Players start with 5 Wall Cards (Exception: If any Wall Cards were lost in previous Battles, they do not return).
COMMON: A player’s Wall Cards must be placed adjacent to one another (in the basic game) and do not move during gameplay (unless destroyed and sent to the LOST pile.
BATTLE 1: Opposing Walls must be placed 9 hexes apart (as marked on the battlespace as “BATTLE 1”).
BATTLE 2: Opposing Walls must be placed 7 hexes apart (as marked on the battlespace as “BATTLE 2”).
BATTLE 3: Opposing Walls must be placed 5 hexes apart (as marked on the battlespace as “BATTLE 3”).
SETTING UP Landmark CARDS
COMMON: Player 2 sets up all Landmark Cards first, then Player 1.
BATTLE 1: Both Players start with 3 Landmark Cards. These cards can be placed on a hex within 5 hexes of a friendly Wall card.
BATTLE 2: Victor of Battle 1 starts with 2 Landmark Cards and gives the remaining card to their opponent, who starts with 4. These cards can be placed within 4 hexes of a friendly wall card.
BATTLE 3: As with Battle 2, in Battle 3, the victor of Battle 2 gives one of their Landmark Cards to their opponent, who may begin with it in play. Thus, if a player won both prior battles, they would start with 1 landmark card, and their opponent would start with 5. If both players had won a single victory, they would be starting Battle 3 with three landmark cards each. These cards can be placed within 3 hexes of a friendly wall card
BARRACKS CREATION
COMMON: Both players may draw up to 6 cards (max) into their hand (called their BARRACKS), choosing any combination of Troop and Tactics cards from those respective piles. Note that players may not look at cards until all 6 are drawn.
ORDER OF PLAY (GAMEPLAY)
Each Turn of a Battle is comprised of:
BARRACKS PHASE <— not used in the Beginner Game
RECRUITMENT PHASE
MUSTERING PHASE
MOVEMENT PHASE
COMBAT PHASE
RESOLUTION
Remember that during a player’s turn, a single tactics card may also be played during each MUSTERING, MOVEMENT, and COMBAT phases. If a player does not play a tactics card, opponents cannot play a counter-tactics card.
It is also important to remember that you can always play a counter-tactics card to oppose an opponent’s played card, even if it is not your turn, and even if the card played was to counter a previous card of your own. But if it is your opponent’s turn, and they do not play a card, you are prohibited from playing a card, as there is no tactic to counter.
IMPORTANT: As with PRE-BATTLE SET UP, there are some actions that are common for all three battles of the war (noted as COMMON), and others are battle-specific, noted as BATTLE 1, BATTLE 2, or BATTLE 3.
RECRUITMENT PHASE
Both players perform this phase simultaneously, as there is no need for turn order.
COMMON: Players add to their Barracks by drawing from the top of the Troop and Tactics pile. Note that the maximum number of allowed cards in your Barracks is 6 (see SPORTSMANSHIP and CHEATING).
Note that cards drawn from the Troop and Tactics piles are not observed until the Barracks reaches 6 cards. (Players must choose all drawn cards before viewing them.)
MUSTERING PHASE
Player 1, then Player 2
COMMON: A single tactics card may be played from your BARRACKS at any time during this phase.
A counter-card may be played from your BARRACKS to directly oppose an effect of an opponent’s tactics card.
NOTE: For the first turn only, each player may perform several additional mustering actions to represent initial deployment. The number of additional mustering actions is equal to 5, modified by the number of victories and losses gathered during the war (see below)
BATTLE 1: Each player may perform a single mustering action each turn.
In the first turn only, each player may perform up to 5 additional mustering actions (as there have been no victories or losses yet in the war).
BATTLE 2: Each player may perform up to 2 mustering actions each turn.
In the first turn only, Player 1 gains 6 additional mustering actions (1 victory) and Player 2 gains 4 (1 loss).
BATTLE 3: Each player may perform up to 3 mustering actions each turn.
In the first turn only, Player 1 gains 7 additional mustering actions if they also won Battle 2, but 6 if they lost Battle 1. Player 2 gains 3 additional mustering actions if they also lost Battle 2, but 4 if they won Battle 2.
MOVEMENT PHASE:
Player 1, then Player 2
All actions in this phase are COMMON
NOTE: Any card in contact with an enemy card can only move if the enemy is destroyed or a disengage tactics card is played (see Disengage Tactics card “Movement Phase”)
A single tactics card may be played from BARRACKS at any time during this phase (exception: HORSE card must be played as the first movement action).
A counter-card may be played from BARRACKS to directly oppose an effect of an opponent’s counter-card.
The player has up to 3 movement actions per turn. A movement action is moving 1 card up to 2 hexes. The same card cannot be the target of more than one movement action in a turn (exception: Horse).
Exception 1: Horse tactics card (playing this card counts as the first movement action).
Grants +2 MOV to a card and all adjacent cards, allowing all adjacent cards to move “with the original”. All moved cards must end movement adjacent to the affected Troop card. This movement, which may involve several cards at once, counts as the “first movement action” (of the allowed 3). Note that the horse card counts as the target of the movement action, so any troop cards affected can therefore be targeted in the subsequent movement actions. (i.e. 2 of the cards could get a total of 4 hexes in a turn in this manner)
Example. Three Foot are in a line. If a player places a Horse card on the central Foot, all three Foot gain +2 MOV as long as all three cards end adjacent to one another. For the second movement action, the player may choose any of these three to move another 2 hexes. For the third movement action, the player could choose a second of these three to move an additional 2 hexes.
Exception 2: Terrain (hexes adjacent to a Landmark Card).
Requires 2 MOV to change terrain (neutral to high or low, or high/low to neutral)
Exception 3: Wall card
Requires 2 MOV to “climb onto” a Wall card, and 2 MOV to “climb off of” a Wall card.
Any Troop card that completely leaves the field of battle (half-hexes count as the battlefield!) is considered to have temporarily retreated and is placed to the side. During RESOLUTION, these cards are returned to their owners’ BARRACKS.
WARNING: Be careful, this can often lead to BARRACK sizes greater than 6 (see SPORTSMANSHIP and ERRORS)
NOTE: Champions and Crowns rescued during the Movement Phase may attack during this turn’s Combat Phase.
COMBAT PHASE
Player 1, then Player 2
All actions in this phase are COMMON.
NOTE: Any ranged troop card attacking an adjacent enemy melee card suffers -1 OFF.
NOTE: If a player lost the previous battle in this war, all friendly troop cards in contact with their Wall cards gain +1 DEF. If a player lost the previous two battles, all troop cards in contact with a friendly Wall card get +1 DEF and +1 OFF.
A single tactics card may be played from BARRACKS at any time during this phase.
A counter-card may be played from BARRACKS to directly oppose an effect of an opponent’s counter-card.
Any opposing troop card within RNG of a Ranged Troop card may be attacked.
A single action token is placed on any troop that attacks. At no point can a troop have more than one action token (cannot attack more than once in a turn).
Damage tokens are placed on any troop that is attacked. The number of damage tokens should be equal to the OFF rating of the attacking troop. An attacked troop may have damage tokens on it from multiple sources.
If a Player has a friendly troop adjacent to an enemy wall card, they may rescue a random card from their opponent’s hostage pile IF THEY DO NOT CHOOSE AN ATTACK OPTION. Foot, Crossbows, and Archers that are rescued are sent to the RESUPPLY pile. Champions and Crowns appear both adjacent to the rescuing card and an opponent’s Wall Card.
NOTE: Champions and Crowns rescued during a Combat Phase may NOT attack this turn.
NOTE: A troop card not choosing an attack option may rescue during this Combat Phase even if they also rescued during the previous Movement Phase.
RESOLUTION
Both players simultaneously (no turn order)
Step 1: COMBAT RESOLUTION: All Troop cards that have damage tokens greater than their DEF are removed and placed in the attacker’s hostage pile face down. Any training cards captured with those troops are placed in their owners' LOST pile. All remaining damage and action tokens are removed.
Step 2: TACTICS CARD RESOLUTION: All tactics cards are returned to their owner's hands, resupply pile, or lost pile (as appropriate).
Step 3: Any troop cards that retreated from battle by leaving the battlespace are now returned to their owner’s BARRACKS.
Step 4: The player may discard any number of cards from their hand into their RESUPPLY pile.
Step 5: Either player may call FORFEIT at this time (forfeits cannot be called outside of the resolution phase).
If a player forfeits the match, the following immediately occurs in the following order:
The victor may choose one of three options: Training Pile, Troop Pile, or Tactics Pile. A card is drawn randomly from the chosen pile and sent directly to its owner’s LOST pile.
Players set up next battle (see Prepping Next Battle).
VICTORY AND STARTING THE NEXT BATTLE
HINTS AND TIPS
In Games 2 and 3, deployment asymmetry between Player 1 and Player 2 becomes less pronounced the longer the game continues. It is recommended that Player 1 push forward sooner rather than later.
In RESOLUTION, be sure to collect your Tactics Cards from the field before you draw new cards. Failure to do so may bring your Barracks to 6+ cards (see Errors and Sportsmanship)
Be aware of the uses of your tactics cards. Some only affect specific troops. Others have different uses in different phases.
Remember that if you use your free tactics card during a phase, your opponent may then respond. Sometimes it is better not to play a tactics card to prevent your opponent from taking an advantage.
Keep track of the training of your opponent’s (and your own!) troops. They are under no obligation to remind you (unless they forget and have to check).
Forfeiting a game is sometimes very wise. Being aware of future losses and forfeiting before you “lose badly”, or even forfeiting while you are temporarily in the lead may be well worth it to solidify your chances in the next game.
Player 1 advantages: In Games 2 and 3, Player 1 starts the game with more troops and training on the field of battle and can control the flow of battle more readily in the movement phase.
Player 1 disadvantages: Must predict Player 2’s actions and play their tactics card in advance. This is particularly important during the COMBAT PHASE.
Player 2 advantages: Has more control of Landmarks (both number and location) at the start of the game, and can react to Player 1’s choices during DEPLOYMENT, MOVEMENT, and COMBAT
Player 2 disadvantages: In Games 2 and 3, they have far fewer troops initially deployed, and can have troops locked down during the movement phase.
A player may, before any battle, voluntarily place any troop or tactics card from their deck into the LOST pile to concentrate preferred cards in their deck for the remainder of the war. USE WITH CAUTION
WINNING A BATTLE
A player wins a battle when:
There are no opponent troop cards on the field of battle at the end of RESOLUTION. i.e. all opponent troop cards are in hostage piles, barracks, or still in their initial troop pile.
An opponent forfeits at the end of RESOLUTION (this is the only time a forfeit can be called)
If Victory points are used (advanced game), the agreed-upon number of victory points is reached.
If all enemy wall cards are destroyed
The enemy CROWN is captured and not rescued in time (see WINNING THE WAR)
PREPPING THE NEXT BATTLE
Troops in hostage piles are sent to the owner's LOST pile.
Any troop cards that were ROUTED are shuffled. Starting with the LOST pile, these cards are sent alternately to LOST and RESUPPLY.
Landmark cards removed and may be reused in the next game (see PRE-GAME SET UP)
Spire cards (if applicable) are collected.
Cards in RESUPPLY are returned to their respective TROOP and TACTICS piles.
Cards in LOST remain there for the duration of the match and cannot be used again.
WINNING THE WAR
A player wins the entire war when:
They are the victor of battle 3 (regardless of the outcome of the previous 2 battles: “You may have won the battle, but I won the war.”
At RESOLUTION, one player has the only Wall cards on the field (all other players’ Wall cards are in LOST piles. (Note if all Wall cards are in LOST piles, the War is considered to be a draw!
A Crown that has been captured remains in a hostage pile, and ransom conditions are not met (see CROWN Tactics Card)
NOTE: The battle ends immediately upon RESOLUTION if both Crowns are captured and are in hostage piles.. The next game starts with the same person as Player 1, but neither player is considered the victor for battlefield set-up purposes. Both Crown tactics cards are returned to their respective owners. If this happens in battle 3, the war goes to the player with the most wins. If still a tie, then the war is a draw.
SPORTSMANSHIP, ERRORS, and CHEATING
ERRORS AND HONOR
This is a game about respect. Endeavor to follow the rules to the best of your ability, and expect your opponent is also following the rules to the best of their ability. Win and lose with honor.
If a battle-mat nor battle-board is not being used, during play, both players may verify proper placement during movement using their own information/spacing card if desired. Even so, when troop cards meet, the odds are high that they will not completely align. Both players should agree on proper alignment. If there is disagreement, flip a coin and the winner decides.
The max allowed BARRACKS size at any time is 6 cards.
If, at any time, a player recognizes they have more than 6 cards in their own hand, they must immediately ask their opponent to choose cards at random to move to the RESUPPLY pile until the BARRACKS is reduced to 6.
If a player recognizes there are more than 6 cards in their opponent’s hand before the opponent has announced it, the player may choose cards from their opponent’s hand at random to move to the LOST pile until their opponent’s BARRACKS is reduced to 6.
NOTE: The largest cause for having a hand of 6+ cards is forgetting to pick up your tactics cards until after recruitment. RETURN TACTICS CARDS TO THEIR RESPECTIVE LOCATIONS DURING THE RESOLUTION PHASE to avoid this error.
In COMBAT, if the number of damage tokens is incorrect (either too high or too low) due to oversight or miscalculation, both players should come to a friendly decision to allow the change.
It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that an opponent confirms the number of damage tokens that are applied to their own troops. Note that a player need not confirm the level of training under their troops until RESOLUTION.
FORGETTING ACTIONS (“TAKE-BACKSIES”, etc)
It is highly recommended that, after each phase, a player announces the start of the next phase, immediately followed by the other player confirming. Once an opponent has confirmed it is their turn, all actions are locked.
Example: Player 1: “Your turn to move”, then Player 2: “My turn to move.”
In the above example, player 1 can no longer reposition any mustered troops or place any cards for that turn’s MUSTERING phase.
This can be done in any order.
Example: Player 2: “Is it my turn to attack?”, then Player 1: “It is your turn to attack.”
In the above example, Player 1 can no longer play tactics cards, add attacks, or change decisions about attacks.
BATTLEFIELD AWARENESS
It is advantageous for both players to remember the state of training for troops.
A player MUST clearly notify their opponent when adding/flipping training cards under a troop card, but is under no obligation to remind them after this point.
If a player loses track and checks under their own troop card to determine the level of training, they MUST also remind their opponent.
During RESOLUTION, it is normal for both players to agree on the level of training for any troop engaged in the combat and confirm there was, or was not, enough damage to capture another troop.
Under no circumstances shall a player check under an opponent’s troop card for the number of training cards w/o the card-owner’s permission. (NOTE: See SPY Card)