Dart Wars
Dart Wars Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Important Note
When a player ends up alone against all of the other players (e.g. against a master and his slaves) and all of his own troops are in his homeland, the player must surrender to the master.
General Remarks
- When a dart hits a separating line (black line for a country's border, black dotted line for the water squares), the player chooses one of the zones that the line separates.
- If a dart does not stick to the game board because it has hit a troop magnet, the player is given a second throw.
- A player can request that troop magnets be removed temporarily from the game board to avoid interfering with his throw, when targeting a small island, for example.
- Only darts that stick to the board are taken into account.
Different Versions
Alliances
Temporary alliances can be created among several players, who can enter into a non-aggression pact without being obliged to inform their adversaries. When allied troops are in the same zone, they do not attack each other unless one of the players breaks the pact. There is only one winner in the game, so the pact must be broken before the game can end.
Team Play
Players divide up into teams of allies. Each player has his own homeland, but troops that are allied do not attack each other when they are in the same zone. When a player loses his homeland, all of his troop magnets are taken over (without change of colour) by the player who has conquered the homeland. For his next turns, the conqueror can use either his own troops or the loser's troops, as desired. The player who lost continues to play with his ally, and they share the 3 darts. He can win back his troops if his ally's troops are able to take back his homeland (he can also "steal" other troop magnets by conquering an adversary's homeland). The game ends just as the standard game ends, but with a team winning instead of an individual player.
This version can also be played by 2 players. Each player "teams up" alone by choosing two different armies and homelands instead of one.
Contents
- 1 game board
- 75 troop magnets (15 x 5 colours)
- 5 self-adhesive flags (one in each colour)
- 6 magnetized darts
- 1 set of game rules
Object of the Game
The object of the game is to conquer the homelands of adversaries by eliminating all the adversary's home troops. The player who manages to hold on to his homeland until the end of the game is the victor.
Starting the Game
Each player chooses a troop magnet colour. To determine who goes first, each player throws a dart at the target. The player who throws his dart closest to the centre of the target takes the first turn.
The players choose their homelands by throwing a dart at the map. If a player's dart does not hit a homeland (or island), he forfeits his turn and tries again the next time around. If a player has not succeeded in hitting a homeland after four throws, the player next in line throws in his stead to choose one.
Each player places three troop magnets on their homelands, and the game begins.
Game Rules
A turn consists of throwing three darts at the map. The player taking the turn will be able to move one of his troop magnets as a function of where each dart hits. Following his three throws, the player carries out his "actions".
Actions
Moves
A troop magnet can be moved when a dart hits a zone bordering on the one where the magnet is located.
Possible moves:
- between 2 adjacent countries;
- between 2 adjacent water squares (no diagonal moves are permitted);
- from a country to an adjacent water square and vice versa;
- from one country to another, if the two are linked by one of the light-blue water areas.
[Figure: "Possible moves" map showing the arrows for moves between countries, between water squares, and from land to water.]
A troop magnet can stay in the water.
A player wins an additional troop magnet if he moves one of his magnets to a country or island that has not yet been visited (the new magnet is placed on the country or island in question). Each country or island counts for only one additional magnet: if another player visits that country/island afterwards, he does not win a magnet.
No additional magnet is won when a troop magnet is moved to a water square.
During a turn, the player can use his first troop magnet to win the additional troop magnet for visiting a new country first (blue arrow), and use a second troop magnet to continue on to the next country (red arrows). See drawing below:
[Figure: map showing a first troop magnet moving to a new country (blue arrow) and a second troop magnet continuing to the next country (red arrows).]
An additional troop magnet may not be moved during the turn in which it was won.
If a player's dart lands in a free zone (unoccupied by an adversary), he does not have to put a troop magnet there.
Players do not have to throw all three of their darts.
Players may not put more than 4 of their own troop magnets (their own colour) on their homeland.
A troop magnet can be moved several zones away during the same turn, using more than one dart. But once that troop wins an additional troop magnet or attacks an enemy troop, it cannot be moved again during that turn.
Keeping Track of Countries Already Visited and Homelands
Around the edge of the map are "copies" of all the different countries. At the start of the game, place a troop magnet of any colour on each one. When a player wins a country's additional troop magnet, he removes the troop magnet that is on that country's copy. Each player sticks a self-adhesive flag in his colour on the troop magnet that is on his own homeland "copy".
Attacks
Moving a troop magnet into a land or water zone that is occupied by an enemy troop magnet constitutes an attack on the enemy troop.
Unlike moves in free zones, when a player's dart lands in a zone occupied by the enemy, he must attack by moving in a troop magnet (you can't get away with touching enemy territory with impunity!). There is one exception: when a player has only one troop magnet left on his homeland, he does not have to move it, even if he has thrown a dart into an occupied border zone. This is known as the "last stronghold" privilege.
If a player's throw allows more than one possible attack for the same troop magnet, the player can choose the one he wants.
The combat takes place on the red and white target, with both players throwing a dart. The attacker decides who will throw first. The one whose dart is closest to the target centre is the victor.
[Figure: red and white target with two darts, one close to the centre and one further out.]
If both darts fall outside the target, the players throw again.
The victor turns the adversary's troop magnet into his own (the losing troop magnet is surrendered), unless the combat takes place in the homeland of one of the two players. In this case, the losing player's troop magnet is removed from the map (no surrender, this is a fight to the death!).
Combats are troop against troop. It is possible that, after a combat, troop magnets of different colours remain in the same zone, for example when a player moves into a zone already occupied by several enemy troops. If the players want to attack again, they must throw a dart to hit the zone when it is their turn. However, they can leave their troop magnets in the zone without attacking if they choose, or move them away to another zone.
If a player moves into a zone where there are troops of different colours, the player chooses which one he wants to attack, except if it is a master and slave situation. See "Loss of homeland" section below.
A player may attack a troop magnet using several magnets, if these are located in border zones. This is done by throwing several darts onto the occupied zone, giving several chances to win the combat. (If the player attacks with 3 troop magnets, he can do 3 combats).
Loss of Homeland
You can conquer another player's homeland by eliminating all his troops there. If no troops are there, all you have to do is to go there.
When a player loses his homeland, he becomes the slave of his conqueror. He continues to play with whatever troop magnets he has left, but he becomes the ally of his master.
Master and slave do not attack one another when they are in the same zone. When a player moves to a zone where there is a master and slave, the master decides who fights with the aggressor.
If another player conquers the slave's homeland, he becomes the slave's new master.
Of course, if a master loses against another player, both he and his slave become the slaves of the new master (the slave of my slave is my slave!).
Ending the Game
The winner of the game is the last player to have kept his homeland. He is then declared the Master of the World.