Overview
An area control game for 2-6 players, which randomly uses 6 of the 12 available tribes each game and lasts 3 Ages.
Exception: 2-3 player games use 5 tribes and last 2 Ages.
A New Age
Leave all Control Markers from the previous Age
Discard all bands and reshuffled the deck
Each player receives 1 card
Then a market of cards equal to double the player count is revealed
The Dragons are shuffled into the lower half of the remaining draw deck
Turn
On your turn, you either:
a) Recruit an Ally
OR
b) Play a Band
Recruit an Ally
Take either a visible card, or an unseen card from the deck
Variant: If there are no visible cards, draw 2 unseen cards instead of 1.
If taken seen card, a new card is NOT replaced
If you already have 10 cards in hand, you cannot Recruit an Ally
If you draw a Dragon, set it aside as a countdown, and draw a replacement from the same source
If you draw the Third Dragon, the Age ENDS
Play a Band
A band can either be all the same colour or all the same creature
After you've played it, pick one card in the band to be its leader
Check the Leader's colour against an area on the map, if the band is bigger than your stack there then you may place a single Control Marker. Note: This means: 1, you can play a band of a single card, 2, a big band will still only give you one control marker, no matter how much it beats the current height by* (See End of an Age)
After which, you may use the ability of your leader
Finally, discard all remaining hand cards to the market, i.e. you cannot keep cards for later
End of an Age
As discussed, the Age ends when the Third Dragon is drawn
All players discard remaining hand cards
Score each area independently with the number of award places equal to the age (i.e., 1st place only in the First Age; 1st-2nd places in the Second Age age; 1st-3rd places in the Third Age)
Exception: 2-player games only score 2nd place in the Second (final) Age
If there's a tie, the points are combined and divided equally, then subsequent places remain the same (e.g. on Third Age, if a tie for 1st, 1st & 2nd points would be added and halved, and third place still gets 3rd place points)
After which, the band sizes are scored based on their size:
| Size | Score |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 6+ | 15 |
Discard all Troll and Giant markers present
If this was the final age, the player with the most points wins
Ties are broken by the most control markers on the main board, then by the player with the largest band of allies in the Third Age, then by second-largest and so on until the tie is broken
Tribes
There are 12 Tribes in the game, and each bring with them their own unique special rules, remembering these only apply if you make them the leader of the band
| Centaurs | Play a second band and resolve it during Play a Band action |
|---|---|
| Dwarves | Count as having +1 card for End Age scoring, but not Control Marker placement |
| Elves | Allow you to keep a number of cards still in your hand equal to the band size instead of discarding all |
| Giants | If you have the largest band lead by a Giant, score 2 points and take the Giant marker. (Or score and keep it if you already have it!) End of Age scoring adds a score for holding the marker depending on the age |
| Halflings | You cannot place a control marker, but there are double the number of these cards, meaning in theory you can make larger bands for End Age scoring |
| Merfolk | In addition to placing a Control Marker, move your Merfolk marker the number of spaces equal to the band size. If you cross a Control Marker symbol, add an extra Control Marker anywhere. End of Age gives scoring for how far along you are, this is not reset each round, so you can keep progressing |
| Minotaurs | These let you place a control marker with one less card in the band than needed, with a minimum of 1 |
| Orcs | In addition to the control marker on the board, add a control marker onto your Orc board matching the kingdom you placed the control marker. At end of Age, you can choose to score your orc board, or leave it to fill some more for a later age |
| Skeletons | Cannot be leader, but count as anything you want them to. They have no tribe or colour. They are killed off when the Third Dragon arrives, and as such will not score towards size of bands |
| Trolls | Gain a troll token equal or lower than the size of the band, these tokens break ties for tied control of areas |
| Wingfolk | As long as the band is large enough, you may place a Control Marker anywhere, not just in the matching area |
| Wizards | After discarding your hand cards, draw cards from the deck equal to the band size if you wish, but you don't have to (e.g. maybe you don't want to accidently draw Third Dragon with a big band) |
