En Garde
En Garde Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 3D scenery to assemble (see the assembly instructions supplied)
- 2 metal fencers
- 25 cards (five of each value from 1 to 5)
- 2 score markers bearing the likeness of the fencers
- 2 cardboard player aids
- 1 mini artbook by Pierô, the game's illustrator
- the rulebook you are reading
Object of the Game
A game is played over several rounds. The first player to hit his opponent five times is declared the winner.
Setup
At the start of each round:
- Each player places his fencer at one end of the piste (space 1 or space 23). When playing with the 3D scenery assembled, the players sit side by side: the right-handed fencer on the right (space 23), the left-handed fencer on the left (space 1). When playing using only the reverse side of the piste, the players may sit facing each other and each chooses the end of his choice.
- The 25 Fencing cards are shuffled, then each player receives 5 of them, which form his starting hand. The remaining cards form a draw pile, placed face down beside the game board.
By mutual agreement, the players decide who begins; the start player then changes with each new round.
During a round, the players play alternately.
Classic Rules
On his turn, a player plays one or more cards in order to:
- move his fencer (either forwards or backwards); or
- make a direct attack.
All cards played are discarded face up onto a single pile, in such a way that only the top card is visible. It is forbidden to search through the discard pile to find out which cards have already been played.
Players may count the cards of the draw pile at any time.
Moving Your Fencer on the Piste
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The player chooses one of his cards and moves his fencer along the piste exactly the number of spaces shown on the card (see illustration 1). The player may decide:
- to advance his fencer; or
- to retreat his fencer.
Caution: a fencer may neither leave the piste (whether advancing or retreating), nor land on the space occupied by the other fencer, nor move past it.
Illustration 1: the fencer on the right advances three spaces to the left thanks to his 3 card.
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Once he has played his card, the player's turn ends and he refills his hand to 5 cards.
Making a Direct Attack
Rather than playing a card to move his fencer, a player may attack his opponent. In this case the fencer does not move.
1. Play one or more cards
A player makes a direct attack by playing a card whose number corresponds to the exact number of spaces separating the two fencers.
The attacker may also play several cards of identical value for a stronger attack (see illustration 2).
In every case the fencer does not move: this is an attack and not a movement.
Illustration 2: the fencer on the left (space 8) attacks the one on the right (space 13) with two 5 cards.
Once he has played the cards he wants, the player's turn ends and he refills his hand to five cards.
2. The opponent's parry, if there has been an attack
The opponent now has the opportunity to parry the attack: to do so he must play the same number of cards (and of the same value) as his opponent.
Tactical note: it is never possible to parry an attack of three cards, since there are only five cards of each value. (The official German edition renders this line as "an attack of more than three cards"; the French and Dutch originals both say three, which is what the card distribution supports.)
Important: after a parry you never refill your hand. You carry straight on with your own turn. Only at the end of that turn do you refill your hand to five cards.
Example: if the attacker played two 2 cards as an attack, his opponent may parry by playing two 2 cards. He then has only three cards left in hand with which to play his own turn.
If a player cannot parry an attack, he is hit and immediately loses the round.
Go straight to the End of a Round section if you do not wish to use the advanced rules (which we nevertheless recommend).
Advanced Rules (highly recommended)
We have seen that the classic rules allow two possibilities:
- Move your fencer (either advancing or retreating)
- Make a direct attack
Players who want a little more spice may introduce a third possibility, making the game more tactical and more dynamic:
- Make an indirect attack
This means playing several cards:
- one card, and one only, to advance the fencer (and not to retreat); and
- one or more further cards, of identical values, to attack in the same turn (see illustration 3).
This is called an indirect attack (which differs from the direct attack by the movement of the fencer before the attack).
Example: if the two fencers are separated by eight spaces, a player may play a 3 card to advance his fencer three spaces, then two 5 cards in the same turn to attack (the fencer stays where it is for the attack).
Illustration 3: the fencer on the right makes an indirect attack (he moves with the 3 card, then attacks with two 5 cards).
Defending Against an Indirect Attack
The player who has been attacked now has two ways of defending himself:
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i. He may parry the attack according to the classic rules (in the example above, he must play two 5 cards to parry). After a parry, the player takes his normal turn by advancing, retreating, attacking directly or attacking indirectly. His hand is only refilled to 5 cards at the end of his turn (and not immediately after the parry).
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ii. He may beat a retreat by moving backwards along the piste. The player plays a card and retreats the number of spaces shown on it.
Caution: if the defender beats a retreat, his turn is considered to be over. A retreat always ends the turn of the player who retreats, and he therefore draws a card to refill his hand. It is then his opponent's turn to play.
Important: it is possible to parry a direct attack or an indirect attack, whereas a retreat is only allowed in the case of an indirect attack.
End of a Round
A round can end in three different ways:
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As soon as a player succeeds in landing a blow on his opponent and the opponent has been unable to parry it (or to evade it by retreating against an indirect attack — see the advanced rules), he wins the round.
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When a player can no longer make a legal move (the only cards he has would take him off the piste — whether advancing or retreating — or would make him move past the opposing fencer), he loses the round.
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If neither player has managed to win the round as described above, it ends when the last card of the draw pile is taken.
If the last player to have played attacked his opponent, that opponent may still parry the attack (in the case of a direct or an indirect attack), or retreat (in the case of an indirect attack only); otherwise he loses the round instantly.
If the round is not decided at this stage of the game (whether or not there was an attack on the last turn), the winner is determined as follows:
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a) Both players reveal the cards they hold in hand, and you look at which of them holds the most cards that would allow a direct attack. If one player has more cards of the right value than the other, he wins the round.
Example: if the two players are two spaces apart when the last card is drawn, the player who has the greater number of 2 cards in hand wins the round.
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b) If there is still a tie, the round is won by the player whose fencer has advanced furthest towards the opposing camp along the piste (use the red central space, number 12, as the reference point for this).
If both players have advanced the same number of spaces, the round is declared a draw.
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Winning the Game
The player who wins a round advances his marker one space on his score track. The first player to reach space 5 is declared the winner.
Credits
En Garde is a game by Reiner Knizia, for 2 players, published by Ferti — 27 rue François Arago — 33700 Mérignac — France. http://www.ferti-games.com