How To Play

Quick Play Rules
If you're just getting started with the game, you may wish to ignore some of the more complicated rules and card types, such as environmental weapons, battalions and counter attacking.

Getting Ready To Play
First of all, you need to choose a deck to play. You must have an affiliation card that details what cards (which country) may be used in that deck. Some figureheads and other cards allow the use of multiple countries.

Once you've chosen which country you wish to play, and have the appropriate affiliation card, you need a 50 card deck. This deck should include a number of cards: units, battalions, figureheads, conditions, actions, weapons, ammunition and strategy cards. Consult the card types below:

Affiliation Cards
If you do not have an affiliation card that represents the country of a card, you cannot play that card.

Action Cards
These cards represent actions you can take in order to gain the upper hand in battle. This includes sending recon planes over your opponent's trench or using messenger pigeons to communicate.

Ammunition
Ammunition cards are purchasable cards, that often have no effects, that are required for certain attacks. Examples of this would be artillery shells. Not all weapons require ammunition cards to use and will specify if they do.

Battalions
These represent multiple units. As such, instead of having a damage value, they have a unit count. The unit count represents how much damage they do in battle. Instead of discarding a battalion when it takes damage, reduce its unit count by the amount of damage taken instead. When the unit count becomes 0, discard it. There are many different special battalions that attack and take damage in individual ways such as flamethrower battalions.

Conditions
These represent naturally occurring events that may or may not hamper either or both players. There may be situations where your own condition cards will not benefit you.

Environmental Weapons
These represent weapons that have been placed into the environment to benefit your struggle such as barbed wire and pill boxes. These can be attacked by troops and often either have a hits value or state that that troop type can destroy it.

Figureheads
These represent the most senior generals and politicians who are influencing the battle from a far via strategy and resource provision.

Generals
These are a type of specialist unit that help command the battle from the battlefield itself. Place them in your trench for hands on effect or in your resource line for protection. Some generals (Douglas Haig, Hans Von Seeckt) can protect themselves from the battle completely though at a cost.

Strategy Cards
These are cards that dictate how you act during that turn in battle. For example, Wave Tactics is a strategy card that allows you to replenish your troops meaning it is easier to throw them at your opponent's guns. Other strategy cards include combat strategy that will assist the actual attack, such as Creeping Barrage providing cover for your troops.

Unit
This represents one soldier.

Weapons
These are cards that are played (from the resource line or hand) by paying their resource cost in order to strengthen your attacks. When a weapon card is bought, place it adjacent to your trench or resource line (wherever you wish those weapons to be) and it is treated as if the entire set of troops in that line has those weapon(s).

The Field
The field is comprised of your prep area and No Man's Land. The first encompasses all of your field. On the left side of the field is your resource line, where you will place cards into due to effects and abilities. Below that is your 5 card sideboard. Finally, you have a reserve trench directly in front of you and a trench in front of that. All of the area around these zones is the prep area. To the right, place your deck and discard pile in the deck and discard pile zones. No Man's Land is the area between your field and your opponent's.

Playing The Game
On a player's turn, they will go through a number of steps

1) Draw a card or add 1 card from your resource line to your hand.

2) Gain 1 resource point.

3) Enter the preparation phase. Play any cards you wish to play before your attack this turn and also purchase any cards from your resource line that you wish to (See Buying). You can do anything in this /phase in any order.

4) Enter the attacking phase. Declare any attacks you want to make. (See Attacking).

5) Enter the wake phase. Here you may prepare for your opponent's turn. The phase itself allows you to do anything you would be able to do in your preparation phase.

6) End your turn.

Playing Cards
In your preparation phase, you can play any cards and use any effects and abilities in any order you wish to. You may place any number of units and battalions, weapons (after paying their resource point cost and revealing them anyway of course!), ammunition, and gear from your hand into your trench and reserve line (face up or face down). The face down option allows you to conceal your plans from your opponent... unless they use reconnaissance of course!

Figurehead cards are played in the five zones that make up your sideboard. You can only play one per turn.

Strategy cards are placed in your prep area and remain there until the end of the turn. You can only play one per turn also.

Condition cards are placed in your prep area and are discarded either immediately or whenever the card itself states. You can play as many as you want per turn.

Environmental Weapons are played wherever you wish them to be, in your trench, resource line or even in No Man's Land! Remember, if your trench is taken with an environmental weapon still within it or behind it, the opponent takes control of it.

Strategy cards, figure heads, conditions, and environmental weapons must be played face up.

Attacking
During your attacking phase, you can choose any number of your generals, units and battalions to attack. Push the cards you wish to attack into No Man's Land (the area between the two playing fields) unless a situation is present where a unit may be involved in the battle from the trench. Your opponent must then respond by accepting the attack or by counter-attacking (see below).

The player declares their attacks by choosing a unit or battalion and designating where their attack(s) go. The attacking unit then rolls a battle D3. If a hit is rolled, the target takes the damage value of the attacking unit or battalion (see battalion attacking). If not, the attack is a miss.

When taking damage, a unit would be defeated (placed in the discard pile) or a battalion would reduce its unit count by the damage taken. It is also possible to attack terrain and weaponry (see environmental attacking).

A player declares attacks with each of their characters that they wish to attack and then it becomes the opponent's turn to return fire. The opponent then makes their attacks as if it was their attacking phase.

The attacking phase includes one single round (unless counter attacking is involved) which includes both players having a turn to attack. When both players have made their attacks this way, the round ends.

The attacking player then must decide to take an opponent's empty trench or to retreat back to their trench. The opposing player may also declare a counter attack at this stage also.

When units are defeated, they are discarded at the end of the attacking round rather than immediately.

If a player's trench is reduced to 0 units during a battle, their opponent may 'take' their trench. In this case, all troops are returned to the owner's trench and the player gets +1 victory, their opponent getting -1 victory.

The player whose trench was taken then moves all cards in their reserve line into the trench.

The player who took the trench takes all cards that were in their opponent's trench at that time and places them in their own trench. Any environmental weapons that were in No Man's Land are moved to that player's resource line.

If a player loses a unit or battalion in a battle, they lose 1 morale.

If they take an opponent's trench, they gain 1 morale.

If a general is defeated in a battle, the player loses 2 morale.

Battalion Attacking
When a battalion would take damage, reduce its unit cost by the damage instead of removing it and, when it becomes 0, it is defeated (unless the card itself states otherwise).

A battalion may make as many 1 damage attacks (unless otherwise stated) as their unit count states.

Counter Attacking
This is the process of an opponent, who has had an attack declared against them, moving their units into No Man's Land to meet the opposition. They may do this, as previously mentioned, whenever an attack is declared or when the opponent decides to retreat at the end of the round. If the attacking player has retreated, the counterattacking player may then take over the attacking phase as if it were their own. In this scenario, a new 'attacking round' begins with your opponent in control (it is still the original player's turn).It also means the player's units are no longer entrenched, which may benefit or hinder them tactically. A counter attacking player must also either retreat to their trench or take an opponent's one at the end of the round.

Any counter attack may also be counter attacked.

Environmental Attacking
Instead of attacking troops, you may wish to shoot or throw a grenade at a pillbox, artillery gun, barbed wire or other environmental weapon. To do this, you target the item with your desired attack and do so. In this instance, only a miss rolled is a miss.

Remember: To target anything in this way with an attack, it must have a hits value OR state 'can be destroyed by....' on its card or be attacked by something that states on its card it can destroy that weapon.

Winning The Game
When a player's morale becomes 0, they immediately lose the game.

When a player surrenders, they immediately lose the game.

When a player reaches Victory 3, they win the game.

Armistice
Players may also agree to end a game as a draw. To do this in a competitive scenario, a judge must be called over to accept the armistice has been made and both players have drawn.

Armistice is also a term used to describe the concept of time in a tournament scenario. In a game, players would have a certain tournament allocated amount of time to play the game before reaching time. When time is called, after the current turn ends, they each have a single turn and then the armistice is signed. The winner is then determined by who has the highest victory. If that is a draw, whoever has the highest morale. If that is a draw then the game ends in a draw.

Buying
You can spend your resource points to buy weapons, ammunition and other cards from your hand and resource line. The resource line is a line of cards on the left hand side of the field and this is ideally where you want your weapons to be, not taking up space in the hand or deck. Instead of drawing a card at the start of your turn, you may add 1 of these cards to your hand. This is useful if, for example, you choose to play German Empire, and a lot of your deck is placed in the resource line randomly. However, it's not so useful for weapon cards which will still need to have their cost paid to play them. It allows you to retrieve cards from the resource line that you don't want in there as you don't always control what cards are placed within it.

Certain cards, such as weapons and ammunition, cost resource points to play. Reduce your resource points by the cost and then either play the card on your trench or reserve line. This represents a resource that can either be used by your troops or against your opponent (IE a gas attack).

Standard Vs Specialist
The term 'standard' refers to a unit, battalion or weapon that is basic and typical to most armies such as riflemen, grenadiers and rifles. Specialist refers to a unit, battalion or weapon itself that is specifically significant. Examples of this would be tanks, flamethrower battalions and artillery.

Remember: Some effects, such as searching effects, require only standard or specialist units.  'Add 1 Standard Unit from your deck to your hand'. This of course means you can only add that kind of card. If it does not specify,  'Add 1 Unit from your deck to your hand.', you can add either.

Generals And Figureheads
Figureheads are senior officers and politicians that are placed in your sideboard completely outside of the battle. Generals on the other hand are specialist units which are placed in your resource line or trench as you see fit.

Allocating
The term 'allocate' is used on a number of gear cards and environmental weapons. This means placing the stated amount of units under the card in question. This can only be done with battalions if the full unit count can be allocated. Allocated cards cannot attack or do other activities while allocated.