Airborne Commander Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Concept
• The Goal
• The Cards
• Card Anatomy
• Set Up
  • The Battleground
  • Support Area
• Turn Sequence
  • 1. Fill the Battleground
  • 2. Fill the Drop Zone
  • 3. Fill Your Hand
  • 4. Deploy
  • 5. Fight!
  • 6. Recruit
  • 7. V for Victory
• Scoring
• Card Effect Reference
• Credits

Game Concept

Geronimo! Your troops are landing in Normandy. Gather your brothers and move out!

In Airborne Commander, you will mobilize your brave men to face a series of firefights in order to seize objectives and complete your mission. You'll build your deck with new troops while dealing with the ever-present threat of chaos in the form of Disorganized cards. The more disorganized your deck becomes, the harder it will be to pave the way for a successful invasion.

The Goal

The goal of the game is to draw through all the cards in the Allied deck or Mission Deck and score as many points as possible. The more points you score, the higher service medal you will earn.

You will score points for destroying enemy units and capturing key objectives. You will lose points for Disorganized cards in your deck.

You can achieve a special victory by earning the Medal of Honor if you collect at least 12 points.

There are two ways to loose the game before you are able to score.

You LOSE if:

The last card is drawn from the Disorganized deck. Your troops have been SCATTERED.

There are ever 4 Static Defenses at the end of your turn in play on the Battleground. Your troops have been CAPTURED.

The Cards

The cards in Airborne Commander are divided into four decks: Allied, Mission, Disorganized and Player.

The Allied deck contains the troops and equipment you hope to add to your fighting force throughout the game.

The Mission deck contains Axis units, objectives, static defenses and terrain cards each of which present challenges to you on the Battleground.

The Disorganized deck is made of a single type of card: Disorganized card. Failing to oppose Axis units in firefights in the Battleground will force you to add Disorganized cards into your deck. These cards represent the chaos of the battle and have no useful purpose. They simply take up valuable space in your deck.

To start, the Player Deck is made up of 11 cards: 8 Allied cards and 3 Disorganized Cards. The Allied cards must be the 4 Paratroopers, 1 Pathfinder, 1 Corporal, 1 Sergeant, and 1 Lieutenant that are marked with the paratrooper patch deck ID.

Card Anatomy

1. Name/Rank
2. Attack Value
3. Anti-Armor Value
4. Defense Value
5. Recruit Cost
6. Unit Type
7. Support and Recruit
8. Deck ID
9. Victory Points
10. Effects

Set Up

1. Prepare the Player Deck with the cards listed above and shuffle.
2. Shuffle the Allied Deck and leave room for 4 cards to be placed face up next to the deck.
3. For your first few games, arrange the Mission Deck in numerical order. Once you are familiar with the game, you may shuffle the Mission Deck to produce a more unpredictable experience.
4. Place the Disorganized Deck on the table near the Allied and Mission Decks.
5. The Recon Area starts empty

The Battleground

Combat in Airborne Commander takes place in an area on the table called the Battleground. There are two sides to the Battleground: an Axis side and an Allied side. There are four slots or columns to the Battleground. Each slot represents a firefight that takes place each turn. Axis cards from the Mission Deck will be played to fill one side of the Battleground each turn. Allied cards may be played to engage or suppress, these Axis cards.

Support Area

Any number of cards may be played to the Support Area. While their Support actions may affect the outcome of combat, these cards are not directly engaged with Axis cards in the Battleground.

Any cards not played to the Battleground or Support Area may be used to Recruit OR kept for use on later turns.

Turn Sequence

Each turn in Airborne Commander has 7 distinct phases. You will step through these phases in order each turn until you reach one of the endgame conditions.

1. Fill the Battleground: place Axis cards from the Mission Deck to fill the Battleground.
2. Fill the Drop Zone: place Allied cards into the Drop Zone to fill it.
3. Fill Your Hand: draw 5 cards from your Player deck.
4. Deploy: play Allied cards from your hand to the Battleground or Support Area.
5. Fight: resolve support actions first; then resolve each firefight in the Battleground.
6. Recruit: remaining unplayed cards can be used to recruit new cards into your deck from the Drop Zone.
7. V for Victory: check endgame and victory conditions.

1. Fill the Battleground

From the Mission deck you will play cards to fill the Battleground, one card per slot, so that all four slots are full. The Battleground may contain a variety of cards but at most only one Objective and one Terrain card. If you draw more than one of these during this phase, set these cards aside, face up, into the Recon Area next to the Mission Deck.

On the first turn, the Battleground starts empty. Once the game is under way, step through this procedure each turn:

1. Consolidate any remaining Static Defense cards from the previous turn into a stack on the right hand slot of the Battleground. These Static Defense cards take up only one slot. (NOTE: if there are ever four Static Defense cards in the Battlefield at the end of a turn, you LOSE)
2. Check the Recon Area for Objective or Terrain cards. If there are cards in the Recon Area, use these cards to fill the Battleground, keeping in mind there can never be more than one Objective and one Terrain card in play on the Battleground.
3. Draw cards from the Mission Deck to fill any remaining slots in the Battleground. If any further Objective or Terrain cards appear, then place these in the Recon area to be used on later turns

NOTE: If the Mission Deck is ever exhausted, reshuffle the deck from discarded Mission cards and draw cards to fill the Battleground. If this occurs, this will be the last turn of the game.

2. Fill the Drop Zone

The Drop Zone has space for four face up Allied cards.

If the Drop Zone begins this phase with 3 or 4 cards, 1 or 2 cards in the Drop Zone must be removed from play leaving at least 2 open spaces for new cards each turn.

Draw cards from the Allied Deck to fill each open space in the Drop Zone.

NOTE: The game will end on the turn the Allied Deck is exhausted. This means the Drop Zone may contain less than four cards on the final turn.

3. Fill Your Hand

Draw five cards from your player deck into your hand.

NOTE: It is possible to save cards from a previous turn and thus have a hand with more than five cards.

4. Deploy

You may play as many, or as few, cards as you wish from your hand to the Allied Battleground or the Support Area.

Playing to the Battleground

When a card is played to the Battleground, it is played directly opposite an Axis card.

Multiple Allied cards may be played to engage a single Axis card in the Battleground. These cards are now engaged in a firefight. Each firefight will be resolved in the Fight phase of the turn.

You may only play Allied cards to an Objective card in the Battleground IF all other non-Terrain Axis cards in the Battleground have been engaged. In order to capture an Objective, the Allied card must have an attack value greater than zero.

NOTE: additional/different conditions may apply depending on the Objective in play.

Playing to the Support Area

Any number of cards may be played to the Support Area. While their Support actions may affect the outcome of combat, these cards are not directly engaged with Axis cards in the Battleground.

Any cards not played during the Deploy phase may be used during the Recruit phase later OR kept for use on later turns.

Command: Draw additional card(s) into your hand which may be immediately used in this fire fight.

Inspire: You may discard a Disorganized Card to the Player Discard Pile and draw the indicated number of cards into your hand. These may be immediately used this firefight.

Rally: You may discard a Disorganized Card to the Disorganized Deck.

5. Fight!

Support Actions

Each fight phase begins by using the support actions on cards in the Support Area. Some cards have multiple Support Actions (indicated by AND between support icons) while others may force you to make a choice between two actions (indicated by OR between support icons).

NOTE: a few cards may be played to the Support Area and may also be used during the Recruit Phase. These cards will have an AND between the Support icon and the Recruit icon.

Suppression: The Suppression value on a card is the number of unarmored Axis Unit and Road Block cards in the Battleground that the card can suppress which may be in more than one slot. Armored Axis Units and Axis Blockhouses cannot be suppressed.

Suppressed Axis cards will not return fire. These Axis cards are considered engaged.

Fire Support: The Fire Support value on a card is an attack value that will be added to the attack value of Allied cards engaged in a specific firefight in the Battleground. Fire Support cannot be used to attack an unengaged Axis card.

Cards providing Fire Support will not suffer the effects of any returned fire from Axis cards since they are in the Support Area.

Firefight

After Support Actions have been declared, resolve each firefight in the Battleground by stepping through this process:

1. Check Objective and Terrain Cards

Some Objective and Terrain cards may impose conditions that modify all firefights this turn. Apply these conditions where appropriate.

2. Allies Attack

Cards have two forms of attack, each with its own icon: small arms fire and anti-armor

Small arms can only damage infantry units, glider units and road blocks.

Anti-armor can damage armor units and block houses

Defense Value

Trooper: represents paratroopers with light equipment.

Glider: represents heavy equipment which was either brought in by glider or storage container.

Armor: represents armored units (both mobile and immobile). The card may only be damaged by anti-armor weapons and is immune to suppression.

Allied Attack Results

Add the attack value of all Allied cards engaged in a firefight. Compare this total to the defense value of the engaged Axis card(s).

If the Allied attack total is higher than the Axis Defense, the Axis card is DESTROYED. At the end of the firefight, after the Axis returns fire, you will place this Axis card into your SCORE PILE.

If the Allied attack is equal to or lower than the Axis Defense, the Axis card SURVIVES. At the end of the firefight, after the Axis returns fire, you will discard this Axis card and it will not be scored.

NOTE: Small arms units may engage Axis armor units but cannot damage them.

3. Axis Returns Fire

Every unsuppressed Axis unit with an attack value will return fire at any Allied cards engaged with it in the Battleground, regardless of whether the Axis unit was DESTROYED or SURVIVED.

Axis Attack Results: With a single Allied card defending

If the Axis attack value is greater than an Allied card's Defense value, the Allied card is DESTROYED. At the end of the firefight, you will remove this Allied card from the game.

If the Axis attack value is equal to or lower than the Allied card's Defense value, the Allied card SURVIVES. At the end of the firefight, you will place this Allied card in your discard pile.

Axis Attack Results: Defending with multiple Allied Units

If more than one Allied unit is engaged in a single slot, choose one of the Allied cards to be the first to receive the attack value of the Axis card. Compare the Axis attack to this card's Defense Value.

If the Axis Attack value is higher, this Allied card is destroyed. It will be removed from the game at the end of the firefight. Since the Axis unit was not defeated, we continue.

Subtract the Defense Value of the first Allied card +1 from the Attack Value of the Axis card.

Compare this adjusted attack value to the Defense Value of another engaged Allied card in the slot.

If the Attack value is still higher, this Allied card will also be destroyed.

Repeat this process until no Allied cards remain in the slot OR the Axis attack value is equal to or lower than the Defense Value of a remaining engaged Allied card in slot. Remaining Allied cards SURVIVE. At the end of the firefight these cards will be placed in the player's discard pile.

Example:

PFC Cockitt and Pvt. Eckhart engage a Block House. Compare the combined Allied Anti-Armor Attack value of 5 against the Block House Defense of 3. The Block House is DESTROYED and will be placed in the Score Pile.

During the Axis Attack, the Block House's Attack value of 3 is chosen to be used against Pvt. Eckhart who has a Defense value of 2. The Axis attack is higher and Pvt Eckhart is DESTROYED. Subtracting Private Eckhart's Defense value + 1 from 3 leaves a score of 0. PFC Cockitt SURVIVES and is placed in the discard pile at the end of the firefight.

4. Unopposed Axis Units

Any Axis unit left unengaged or unsuppressed in the Battleground will wreak havoc on Allied forces.

Each unopposed/unsuppressed unit will force you to take a card from the Disorganized Deck and add it to your discard pile.

These Disorganized cards serve no purpose other than to take up space in your deck. When drawn, they count as a card in your hand, thus limiting the number of effective cards you can play on your turn.

If you ever draw the last Disorganized card from the deck, you lose immediately. Your forces have been SCATTERED.

If you finish the game without losing, Disorganized cards will score negative points at the end of the game.

At the end of the firefight, unopposed/unsuppressed Axis cards will be discarded.

5. Static Defenses

Axis Static Defense cards are not considered units. When Static Defense cards are left unopposed or unsuppressed they do not force you to draw Disorganized cards into your deck.

However, Static Defense cards left unopposed/unsuppressed will remain in play for the next turn.

Surviving Static Defense cards will be consolidated into a single stack at the beginning of every turn, taking up a single slot in the Battleground.

NOTE: If a turn ends with 4 Static Defense cards in play in the Battleground, you LOSE immediately. Your forces have been CAPTURED!

6. Capture Objectives

An Objective card in the Battleground must be engaged by an Allied card in order to be captured. The Allied card must have an attack value greater than zero. An Objective Card cannot be suppressed.

In order to capture an Objective Card, all non-Terrain cards in the Battleground must be engaged by Allied cards, including all Static Defenses.

You cannot capture an Objective if you were forced to take a Disorganized card during a firefight.

You cannot capture an Objective if the special conditions on the Objective card have not been met.

If you choose not to engage an Objective Card, it will not return fire. It will not force you to draw a Disorganized card if left unopposed.

7. Cleanup

You will clean up both sides of the Battleground after all firefights have been resolved.

Axis cards

Place DESTROYED Axis cards in your SCORE PILE.

Place SURVIVING Axis cards in a discard pile.

UNOPPOSED/UNSUPPRESSED Static Defense cards remain in play.

Allied Cards

Remove DESTROYED Allied cards from the game.

Place SURVIVING Allied cards from the Battleground and the Support Area in your discard pile.

6. Recruit

Any cards remaining in your hand with a Recruit Value may be used to "buy" cards in the Drop Zone.

NOTE: Certain cards may be played to the Support Area and can remain to be used for their Recruit Value. This is indicated by the recruit icon on the card.

Every card in the Drop Zone has a Recruit Cost.

You can spend the Recruit Value on your remaining Allied cards to meet or exceed the cost of a card in the Drop Zone.

Normally, you may recruit one card from the Drop Zone per turn.

A Pathfinder card played during the Recruit phase allows an additional card to be recruited. A Pathfinder can spend 2 toward 2 different Allied cards in the Drop Zone.

Note: Two Pathfinders would allow you to recruit up to 3 cards, etc.

Recruited cards are placed in your discard pile. The next time you reach the end of your deck, these new recruits will be shuffled into the deck and be available to you when they are drawn.

Cards spent during the Recruit phase are also placed in your discard pile.

Disorganized cards remaining in your hand must be placed in your discard pile.

Any cards remaining in your hand are kept for the next turn.

7. V for Victory

Check to see if any endgame conditions apply. If they do, proceed to scoring (if necessary). If they do not, begin another turn starting with the first phase: Fill the Battleground.

If there are no cards in the Disorganized Deck, your forces have been SCATTERED, you LOSE.

If there are four or more Static Defenses in play in the Battleground, your forces have been CAPTURED, you LOSE.

If you reach the end of either the Allied Deck or the Mission Deck without being SCATTERED or CAPTURED compute your SCORE by adding the results of your scoring pile.

Scoring

Scoring:

Result	Points
Each Captured Objective	2 VP
Each Destroyed Axis Armored Unit	1 VP
Each Destroyed Axis Blockhouse	1 VP
Each Destroyed Axis Non-Armored Unit	1/2 VP
Each Destroyed Axis Roadblock	1/2 VP
Each Disorganized Card	-1VP

You will be awarded a service medal based on your score.

Score	Medal
Less Than 0	Campaign Ribbon
0-2 VP	Victory Medal
3-5 VP	Bronze Star
6-8 VP	Silver Star
9-11: VP	Distinguished Service Cross

Special Victory Condition: The Medal of Honor

Immediately upon collecting Axis cards and objectives worth 12 or more VP the game ends. You do not have to count Disorganized Cards against your VP total, and you have achieved a Medal of Honor victory.

Card Effect Reference

Medic: The player may choose a number of Allied cards, up to the number identified, which would been destroyed and removed from the game and instead discard them to the Player's Discard Pile.

Credits

Credits:

Game Design: Aaron Lauster

Development: Max Michael, Doug Eckhart Illustration: Lon Brauer Graphics: Calvin Locklear Historical Guide: Thomas Wojcinski Rules Editing: Stephen Conway, Tim Cockitt Play Testing; Nick DeFonde, Zach Lauster, Brian Current, Patrick Olmstead, Denise Patterson Monroe, Kaarin Englemann, Dave Duffield, Luke Ward (Graphics) Special thanks to Rebekah Lauster for all her support

Airborne Commander v1.1 Copyright Stratamax, Inc. 2014. All rights reserved