Ethnos FAQ
52 questions players ask · Updated Nov 11, 2026 · Full rulebook
Game Components
Playing Through an Age
- Can you play a Band of Allies too small to place a Control marker, just to score its Glory?
- Can you play a band larger than needed for a Control marker and still get its Glory?
- Can you add cards to a band you already played in a Kingdom?
- Can a band mix Tribes and colours, and does the leader count toward its size?
- Can a single band place more than one Control marker?
- What must you do when your hand is at the 10-card limit?
- What happens when no face-up Ally cards are left to take?
- Can you play a band smaller than your markers in a Kingdom just to use its leader's ability?
- If you draw a Dragon card from the Allies Deck, do you have to keep drawing?
- Does a Dragon drawn during a Wizard's draw count toward the cards you may draw?
- What happens if you hold 10 Skeletons and must play a band?
The End of an Age
- At the end of an Age, do players discard the cards left in their hand?
- How is Glory divided when players tie for the most Control markers in a Kingdom?
- How is Glory split when two players tie for second place in a Kingdom?
- If only one player has Control markers in a Kingdom at the end of an Age, what do they score?
- Does a Kingdom with no Control markers score anything at the end of an Age?
- Do Control markers stay on the board between Ages?
- Are bands scored as soon as they are played?
- How is a tie in total Glory broken at the end of the game?
- Does the Dwarf bonus count when breaking a tie in total Glory at the end of the game?
- How many Glory does a band of three Dwarves score at the end of an Age?
- In a Third Age tie broken by Troll tokens, does the losing player take second place?
Playing with 2 or 3 Players
The Tribes of Ethnos
- How does playing a Fairy-led band work?
- Do you have to swap when you play a Fairy-led band?
- If a swapped-in Giant band becomes the largest Giant band, do you get the Giant token?
- When a Fairy swap takes another player's band, do they keep their Troll, Orc and Merfolk progress?
- If Faeries steal an Orc band, does the victim lose the Orc Horde marker they placed?
- Can you chain Centaur leader abilities to play several Bands of Allies in one turn?
- Does a Centaur leader need to place a Control marker to trigger its ability to play another band?
- Is the Halfling restriction optional, since the rules say a leader may use its ability?
- Can a Halfling band be played if it is not larger than the markers already in the leader's Kingdom?
- Do Halfling bands score double Glory because the Tribe has twice as many cards?
- Do Troll tokens break ties on the Merfolk board?
- How do Troll tokens break a tie for control of a Kingdom, and when are they returned?
- When a Troll-led band is too small for a Control marker, can it still take a Troll token, and can one band take two tokens?
- Must you empty your Orc Horde board at the end of an Age?
- Can an Orc leader place a marker on your Orc Horde board when the band cannot place one in the Kingdom?
- Can the Wizard ability draw cards from the face-up market?
- Can a Giant leader still place a Control marker?
- How does the Giant token work, and can it move to a later, larger band?
- Is the Giant token awarded for the largest Giant band in a Kingdom, or for the whole Age?
- For the Giant token, is the largest band measured by number of cards or by Glory value?
- At the end of an Age, do second and third place Giant bands also score the lower Giant token values?
- Can a Merfolk bonus marker go in any Kingdom, regardless of your band's size?
- After playing an Elf-led band, can you keep leftover cards, and must you keep exactly as many as the band size?