Clear the Decks!
Clear the Decks! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Summary
Players each command 3 cannon. Your goal is to sink the Enemy Ship you have encountered while keeping your own ship safe. You fire your own cannon independently but work with the other players by sharing resources and discussing strategy.
Your command consists of three Cannon of different sizes identified by the weight of the cannon ball (known as Round Shot) they use: 18 pounder, 24 pounder, and 36 pounder. Each of these cannon can shoot three different kinds of Ammunition: Round Shot (R), Chain Shot (C), or Grape Shot (G). Different combinations of Cannon size and Ammunition are used to destroy different parts of the enemy ship and crew. On each turn, each cannon's crew can use a Tactics card to enhance attack or defense. You may also use an Officer and a Marine to aid you.
After you attack, the enemy counterattacks using their Guns, Crew and Boarders. Too many Boarders and a crew cannot fire or reload its cannon. Too much damage and your cannon is destroyed.
Game Contents
- Cannon cards: 4 each of 18, 24 and 36 pounders
- Enemy Ship cards: Boarders, Crew, Events, Guns, Structures
- Player cards: Ammunition, Fortune, Officers, Marines, Tactics
- 24 reversible Damage/Boarders Tokens
- 6 Reversible Inactive Tokens (Enemy Cannon or Crew)
- 12 Player Cannon targeting / disabled tokens
Estimated play time: 30-90 minutes
Play Overview
On each turn, a player will examine the cards on the deck of the Enemy ship. Compare the Cannon size / Ammunition type combinations on each card's Attack grid. To destroy the card you must attack using one of these combinations.
When a cannon is fired, it is turned over from Ready to Reloading. Any cannon that was Reloading is turned over to Ready. You may fire as many cannon as you want, but remember that a Reloading cannon will not be available for you on your next turn.
The Enemy ship will launch its counterattacks back at you after each player's attack. The counterattacks can cause damage to your cannon, add Crew to the stacks, repair damage to the ship or send Boarders over to distract your gun crews. Too much damage or too many Boarders and your cannon will be disabled or destroyed.
If you can destroy the Hull card in each stack before all your cannon are disabled or destroyed you are victorious.
Game Component Details
The cards have several symbols and text sections to explain how they work.
Signal Flags
Every card has at least one flag on it. These are taken from the international nautical signal flag system. These flags were used to signal at great distances. Commands, messages and ship identification were most common. Some flags had specific meanings. Countries would create a secret code book to allow them to be sure that they were seeing a friendly ship as opposed to a sneaky enemy.
Icons
The cards have several Icons to indicate at what time their text is active:
- Bicorn – The Strategy and Support part of your turn – Pick your targets, choose your tactics, ask for a card, move a cannon, determine if an Officer or Marine will assist in your attack
- Flying Round Shot – Player Attack Phase – Fire as you bear!
- Blast – Consequences – Follow up actions that result from some other action (Destroying the Gunner's mate means a nearby Cannon does not counterattack)
- Crossed cutlasses – Enemy Counterattack
- Lightning Bolt – An action that happens immediately
- Hourglass – Fortune and Events actions – The card will state when it activates
- Barrel – Draw two cards as you resupply and call up reinforcements
Tokens
The game has 6 types of token icons to use during the game:
- Splintered Wood – Damage to a Player cannon – place on a Player cannon as the result of a cannon counterattack.
- Crossed cutlass / pistol – Boarder Token – place on a Player cannon as the result of an Enemy Boarders counterattack.
- Crossed out Cannon – Inactive Enemy cannon – place this token on a cannon to temporarily indicate it cannot attack or counter attack based on the actions of other cards.
- Arm in Sling – Inactive Enemy Crew or Player Tactic, Officer or Marine (Ex. Knocking down a sail means a nearby enemy crewman cannot counterattack).
- Colored Cannon Number – Use to indicate where you are targeting each cannon you are firing during attack phase.
- Crossed out Cannon Number – Use to designate if a Player Cannon is Inactive on your turn.
Setting Up the Battle
Enemy Ship Set Up
Select the ship you will face from the Enemy Ship Chart below. Use the diagrams on the following pages to assist you in creating the Ship Stacks and Draw Piles.
Gun Deck: Take the correct type of cannon for the class of the Enemy ship, as shown at the top of the table (White and Gray rows). Shuffle them together and deal the number of cannon as indicated in the chart for the class and number of players (GREEN section) into a pile. This will be the Ship Assembly Deck.
Ship Assembly Deck: Shuffle the indicated number of Ship Structure (ORANGE row), Event (PINK row) and Crew (BLUE row) cards and add these to the Guns (Green row) in the Ship Assembly Deck. Shuffle all of these together.
Example: 3 players facing a Schooner. Place 3 Leak cards face down in a row (Bow, Waist, Stern). On top of them put three Hull cards (Bow, Waist, Stern). Your gun deck is made of 15 Light cannon and 10 Medium cannon. You create a Ship assembly deck that has 9 Ship Structure cards, 15 Ship Gun cards, 6 Crew cards and 3 Event cards. Shuffle all of these together and deal out evenly on top of each section of the enemy ship. Including the Leak and Hull – each stack now has 13 total cards.
Ship stacks: Place 2, 3 or 4 Leak cards face down in a line for each section of the ship: Bow on one end (the front), Waist cards in the middle, and Stern at the rear. Put the matching Hull card face down over each Leak card. Deal all of the cards in the Ship Assembly deck evenly onto the stacks of the Enemy ship. Turn the top card of each stack face up. If any card is an Event, exchange it with the card below it.
Shuffle the remaining Cannon, Structure and Event cards all together; this is the Ship Draw Deck. Place the shuffled Crew cards next to that pile, and place the Boarders next to them. You will now have 3 enemy draw piles: Ship, Boarders and Crew.
Player Set Up
Give each player 1 each: 18, 24 and 36 pounder cannon cards, with the READY (Loaded) side facing up.
Put the Tokens in piles easy for all players to reach.
Shuffle the Player cards (Yellow Rope border) together. This is the Player Deck. Deal 6 cards to each player. If a player does not get any Ammunition cards, deal the player a new hand and then shuffle the original hand back into the Player Deck.
Enemy Ship Chart
The chart gives, for each ship class, the number of stacks and the gun deck (Light, Medium and Heavy cannon) to use. For each player count it gives the number of Cannon, Crew, Event and Structure cards that go into the Ship Assembly Deck.
Gun deck and stacks by ship class (a dash means that cannon type is not used for that class):
| Ship class | Stacks | Light | Medium | Heavy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutter | 2 | 15 | – | – |
| Ketch | 2 | 10 | 10 | – |
| Sloop | 3 | 10 | 10 | – |
| Schooner | 3 | 15 | 10 | – |
| Brig | 3 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Corvette |
Ship Assembly Deck cards by number of players (Cannons = Guns; Crew, Event and Structure as added in the Ship Assembly Deck):
1 Player
| Ship class | Cannons | Crew | Event | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutter | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Ketch | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Sloop | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Schooner | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Brig | 11 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Corvette |
2 Players
| Ship class | Cannons | Crew | Event | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutter | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Ketch | 9 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Sloop | 9 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Schooner | 10 | 6 | 3 | 5 |
| Brig | 13 | 6 | 3 | 8 |
| Corvette |
3 Players
| Ship class | Cannons | Crew | Event | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutter | 9 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Ketch | 10 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Sloop | 14 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Schooner | 15 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Brig | 18 | 6 | 4 | 11 |
| Corvette |
4 Players
| Ship class | Cannons | Crew | Event | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutter | 11 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Ketch | 12 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Sloop | 15 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| Schooner | 16 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| Brig | 18 | 6 | 5 | 13 |
| Corvette |
The Enemy Ship Chart also has a "Rank Achieved" track running from Midshipman to Captain. It is a graphic with no rule text attached in the source, so it is not transcribed here.
Player Turn Actions
Planning and Support: Review the face up cards on the enemy ship – look at the attack grid to see what combination of Cannon size and Ammunition type is required to destroy it.
During a Player's turn, they may:
- use 1 Officer card and/or 1 Marine card.
- Use 1 Tactic per cannon – whether it fires, readies or does nothing.
- Attack the Enemy ship by firing using 1 or 2 Ammunition cards.
- Change from Reloading to Ready.
The order of playing these cards and Cannon actions are up to the player. Any Player may pass one card to the active player. The active player may also choose to Roll one Cannon to another Player to replace one they lost.
"Don't Give up the Ship" – You cannot roll away your last cannon – that will get you courtmartialed!
Attack: Any cannon that does not have 2 Boarders tokens on it may Attack. Any Cannon may use one Tactics card. A cannon cannot Ready and Fire on the same turn. As each cannon attacks, turn the Ammunition face down over the cannon and discard Tactics or Officer used.
Repel Boarders! – Senior Officers and Maries can be used to remove a Boarders token from one of the active player's cannon.
A Player with no remaining cannon may use Officers, Tactics and Marines and draw 2 cards at the end of their turn.
Ready / Reload: A cannon that was reloading at the start of your turn now flips over to the Ready side. Discard the face down Ammunition cards and the cannon that fired is flipped over to Reload status. Note – A cannon that goes to Ready or was Ready and did not fire may still use one Tactics card.
Consequences: Any cards on the Enemy Ship that were destroyed might cause actions based on the text next to the blast icon. Disable Cannon and Crew tokens may be used to help remember what cards (Enemy or Player) cannot act.
Enemy Counterattack: After any consequence actions are resolved, any face-up card with a crossed cutlasses icon can now counterattack. Enemy cannon attacks place Damage tokens on your cannon. The order of attack is heaviest to lightest loaded/ready cannon, then heaviest to lightest reloading cannon. A cannon with a total of 3 tokens (Damage or Boarder) is immediately removed from play. All cannon attacks go down the list of priority – the first attack against highest priority, next against second priority. (If 2 cannon fire they do not hit the same target unless you only have one cannon left!)
Cannon Attack Priority: Ready 36, 24, 18 – Reloading 36, 24, 18
After the Cannon fire, the Boarders attack. Place Boarder tokens on your cannon in the priority of lightest reloading cannon to heaviest, then lightest loaded/ready cannon to heaviest. As soon as a cannon has 3 total tokens, it is removed.
Boarders Attack Priority: Reloading 18, 24, 36 – Ready 18, 24, 36
If the Ship, Boarders or Crew decks run out, reshuffle them and place as a new draw pile.
Resupply: Draw 2 cards from the Player Deck. No player can have more than 8 cards after resupply. A player with more than 8 cards must immediately discard down to 8. If the Player Deck ever runs out, shuffle the discarded player cards and place as a new draw pile.
Events AND new targets: Turn over any face-down cards on the top of the Enemy Ship stacks. If you reveal an Event card, perform the action based on the text and then replace it with the next card in the Enemy Ship Deck.
Play advances clockwise to the next player until…
Glorious Victory…….. If the Enemy Ship is down to a leak in every section (even if covered by a Boarders card) and you still have at least one player with a cannon, the Enemy sinks and your ship is victorious. It is time to return to a safe port to repair your ship, replace any lost crew, and make a quick visit to a tavern before you head back out to sea in search of your next opponent.
Or Crushing Defeat! If all the cannon of all the players are destroyed or inactive due to having 2 Boarders tokens, the Enemy is victorious. Prepare to head for a prison cell until your family can send your ransom or you figure out how to escape.
Next Voyage
Separate out the cards by type and determine the number of players and the type of target ship for the next mission. Reshuffle the Player deck, deal out new cards and prepare for the next favorable tide.
Counter-Attack System
[The source shows a counter-attack diagram here: Medium Cannon and Boarders cards on the left, arrows to the player's cannon cards on the right, with Damage and Boarders tokens and the reloading and ready icons. The picture is not reproduced; the rules are given in the Enemy Counterattack and Boarders Attack text above.]
Card Rule Details
Advanced Tactics: The Officer is not discarded after using an Advanced Tactic.
Alabatross (Fortune) – You can exceed your hand limit until the end of your next turn.
Allied Cutter (Fortune) – This is a bonus attack by a friendly vessel.
Enemy Captain (Crew) – You cannot attack the Enemy Captain Card if there is a cannon adjacent to it at the start of your attack phase. All attacks are considered simultaneous.
Change the Watch (Event) – Only affects the active player.
Cutting Out Attack (Advanced Tactic) – Remove a face-up cannon from the Enemy Ship. If at least one of your cannon has been destroyed, bring one back into action. It starts loaded but does not fire the round it is captured. You cannot have two cannon of the same size.
Repel Boarders: An ability some Marine and Officer cards can only be used to remove Boarders Tokens from the active player's cannon.
Smokey Deck (Event) – Cancels the "draw" power of any card played by next player. Also prevents another player from giving any cards to the active player.
Surgeon (Officer) – Play immediately when another player is discarding a used Officer or Tactics card.
Bow/Stern Chaser (Tactics) – Play during the Attack phase of the player to your left/right. You may fire one of your Ready cannon, provided you have Ammunition to use with it. You must then set your cannon to Reload status.
Alternate formats:
- Deck Crew – 3 Players, each player has 3 of the same weight of cannon. Attack priority for enemy cannon is to fire at player guns with the least damage first. Boarders attack guns with the least number of Boarders tokens first.
- Down a Prize Crew – Randomly select 4 basic tactics, Randomly select one of the Teniente, Leftenant or Lieutenant and select one Midshipman card, remove them from the game.
- Second rate – use 2 extra Waist cards from a second Clear the Decks game. Fill each stack as if using a 2 section and a 3 section ship (of your choice). Use 2 of each Cannon size that all fire on the same turn (1 or 2 players would each have 6 cannon).
- First Rate – Use 4 extra Waist cards. Fill the sections using cards generated by a 2 and a 4 section or two 3 section ships. Each player has 6 cannon.
- Long Boat Attack – When facing a three stack ship, when the first leak is struck on the enemy ship, take the 2 section ship board, add 2 Boarders cards to each box and place the new ship next to the existing one – the battle just got serious.
- Reinforcements – When facing a three stack ship, when the first leak is struck, take the 2 section ship and deal it completely out as a second ship.
Card References
Weather Gauge – Having the wind behind you and the enemy in front – allows you to either chase or veer off to avoid a fight.
Live Oak Hull – This refers to the special wood used to make the hull of the USS Constituion and other American frigates. This tree never loses it leaves. The wood is very dense so it was not damaged by enemy round shot in the Consitution's first battle. Sailors alledgedely remarked that the cannon balls were bouncing off of the hull as if it was made of iron – creating the nickname "Old Ironsides."
Cutting Out Attack – This involved the ship's crew getting in their small boats and sneaking up on an anchored or docked ship, literally cutting the ropes and stealing the entire ship.
Thru and Thru – As the artwork shows – this phrase comes from when round shot would pass through both sides of the hull of a ship.
Card Distribution
| Card | Quantity | Card | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain | 1 | Heavy Cannon | 15 |
| Lojtnant | 1 | Medium Cannon | 15 |
| Lieutenant | 1 | Light Cannon | 15 |
| Teniente | 1 | mizzen mast | 5 |
| Midshipman | 2 | main sail | 5 |
| Surgeon | 1 | bulwark | 5 |
| Jonah | 1 |