Hull Breach: Corporate Wars Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Section 1 - Introduction/Objectives
  • 1.8 Preparing for Play
• Section 2 - Card Types
  • 2.1 Stations
  • 2.2 Modules
  • 2.3 Marines
  • 2.4 Ships
  • 2.6 Events
  • 2.7 Tactics
  • 2.8 Breakthrus
  • 2.9 Upgrades
  • 2.10 Options
  • 2.11 Stockpile Cards
  • 2.12 Special Cards
• Section 3 - Understanding Your Cards
  • 3.1 Attaching Cards
  • 3.2 Capacity
  • 3.3 Faction
  • 3.4 Deploying Cards
  • 3.5 Events and Tactics
  • 3.6 Special Rules for Fighters and Drones
  • 3.7 Drones
  • 3.8 Fighters
  • 3.9 Special Rules for Marines
• Section 4 - Starting a Game
  • 4.1 Initial Deployment
• Section 5 - Turn Anatomy
  • 5.1 Initial Deployment Recap
  • 5.2 Anatomy of Your Turn
  • 5.3 Logistics Phase
  • 5.4 Manufacturing Phase
  • 5.5 Engagement Phase
  • 5.6 Ending Your Turn
  • 5.7 Continuing On With the Game
• Section 6 - Engagements
  • 6.1 Winning a Game of Hull Breach!©
  • 6.2 How Combat Works
  • 6.3 Order of Operations in Combat
  • 6.11 Deciding to Engage an Opposing Commander
  • 6.12 General Rules for Engagements
  • 6.13 Engagements and Combat – A Step by Step Guide
  • 6.14 More on Boarding Actions
  • 6.15 Destruction and the Concept of "Immediately"
• Section 7 - Multiple Commanders
  • 7.1 What's Different, What's Not
  • 7.2 Treaties, Truces, and Alliances
  • 7.3 Multi-Commander Engagements
  • 7.4 The Spoils of War
  • 7.5 Quitting a Game of Hull Breach!©
• Section 8 - Traits
  • 8.1 It's All About the Traits
  • 8.2 The Differences Between Active and Passive Traits
  • 8.3 Passive Traits
  • 8.4 The Active Traits
  • 8.5 The Passive Traits
• Section 9 - Deck Construction
  • 9.1 Your Constructed Deck
  • 9.2 What Should You Include?
  • 9.3 Picking a Theme and Making It Work
• Section 10 - Golden Rules
  • 10.1 We Break Our Own Rules
  • 10.2 Never Ever Perfect
  • 10.3 Always Shuffle
  • 10.4 Never Something From Nothing
  • 10.5 Always Tell Them What You're Doing
  • 10.6 What's Done Is Done
  • 10.7 Solve Your Arguments Fairly
  • 10.8 Special Cards
• Section 11 - Definitions
  • 11.1 Action
  • 11.2 Attached
  • 11.3 Attacker
  • 11.4 Battlefield
  • 11.5 Boarding Action
  • 11.6 Capacity
  • 11.7 Commander
  • 11.8 Compulsory Damage
  • 11.9 Conscription
  • 11.10 Counter
  • 11.11 Currency
  • 11.12 Dead Space

Section 1 - Introduction/Objectives

1.1 Welcome to the Hull Breach!© Commander's Rulebook! Hull Breach is a tactical, operational, and strategic space-combat card game for two or more players. The object of the game is to build up a potent force of Ships and Marines and defeat the other Commanders to claim sovereignty over your corner of the galaxy!

1.2 You'll command a space Station, Ships of various sizes and types, and companies of Marines. You'll have to skillfully manage your economy in order to create your strike force, and you may find yourself influencing Events on a galactic scale, or turning to brilliant Tactics to sway combat in your favor!

1.3 Hull Breach is a turn-based game that can be broken down into several key Phases of gameplay:

1.3.1 The Initial Deployment Phase is when Commanders put their Stations on the battlefield, initialize their economies, and make their initial unit deployments. Once this is done, the game begins!

1.3.2 The Logistics Phase is when Commanders gather the Resources and Currency that they earn with every turn, and tend to other logistical concerns like repairs to their units.

1.3.3 The Manufacturing Phase is when Commanders spend their hard-earned assets on producing new Ships, Marines, Modules, Upgrades, Options, or Breakthrus.

1.3.4 The Engagement Phase is when the armadas of two Commanders meet in deadly combat! The game proceeds through these phases for as long as it takes for a victor to emerge. The specific actions and rules governing each phase will be explained in Section 5.

1.8 Preparing for Play

Here's what you'll need to play a game of Hull Breach!:

• A deck of Hull Breach cards (use a pre-constructed deck, or see Section 9 - Deck Construction to learn how to create your own).
• Several ten-sided dice.
• Tokens to keep track of your economy and damage done to units.
• At least one other player with the same items.
• Time – a short 2-player game can last 10 minutes. A long 4-player game can last 2 hours.
• A rulebook, available in print or online, to reference game mechanics and rules.

Section 2 - Card Types

There are nine card types you'll encounter in a game of Hull Breach: Stations, Ships, Modules, Marines, Events, Tactics, Upgrades, Options and Breakthrus. Here's a quick breakdown on what they are and what they do:

2.1 Stations

This is your home base. If your Station is destroyed by opposing Ships or captured by opposing Marines, you lose the game. Stations can be modified and enhanced through the use of Modules, which contribute to either its economic production or military strength. Each Station provides a specific benefit to its Commander – discounts on deploying certain kinds of cards, for example, or superior firepower compared to its foes. Your choice of Station will determine the general playstyle for your deck.

2.2 Modules

Modules are extra hardware that augment the Station that they are attached to. Each Commander will start a game with two Modules attached to his or her Station for free, and may add more as the game progresses, up to a total of four. Modules provide various benefits to their Commander, ranging from increased per-turn income to specialized abilities, such as ability to more easily repair Ships.

2.3 Marines

Marines are infantrymen specifically trained to board opposing Ships or repel boarding attempts by opposing Marines. Marines must be assigned to either a Ship or a Station, and can only participate in combat during the Boarding Phase of an engagement. During that Phase, Marines can attempt to capture enemy Ships – if they are successful, that Ship is placed under your control. It is always a good idea to keep a Marine or two aboard your Station and your most valuable Ships to prevent this from happening to you. Marines can be improved individually by attaching cards called Options. Most Ships can carry Marines aboard, but be mindful of the printed value on the Ship indicating how much room there is to hold them.

2.4 Ships

Ship cards represent a Commander's naval forces in a game of Hull Breach. Ships come in a variety of sizes and the various types of Ships serve different purposes within a fleet, ranging from small frigates best used for skirmishing and obstructing Marine boarding actions to enormous Battleships with tremendous firepower. Here's a quick breakdown of the various types of Ships, ordered from smallest to largest:

2.4.1 Drones – tiny unmanned spacecraft that can perform a variety of support tasks in combat. Drones can be attached to Ships or Stations with the capacity to hold them.

2.4.2 Fighters – manned spacecraft that contribute some firepower or specialized traits to an engagement in support of larger combatants. Like Drones, Fighters can 'hide' inside some Ships and Stations until they're deployed into space, so they can be saved for just the right moment to strike.

2.4.3 Frigates – fast warships that have the trait Escort, which enables them to disrupt boarding actions that have been declared against other friendly vessels. Cheap and hard to hit, they are also a source of several useful support traits that help larger allies.

2.4.4 Destroyers – primarily used to seek out and destroy Stealth ships, destroyers also bring a respectable amount of firepower to a fight, although their survivability often suffers in order to use it.

2.4.5 Cruisers – the most common type of Ship in Hull Breach, cruisers offer a good mix of firepower, versatility, and affordability. Cruisers can fill almost any role in a fleet, and can be tasked with anything from transporting Marines to neutralizing a hostile Ship's weapons.

2.4.6 Heavy Cruisers – slightly more sturdy than normal Cruisers, these Ships generally perform a more specialized role in a fleet, like detection of Stealth enemies or carriage of Drones.

2.4.7 Battle Cruisers – these Ships are significantly tougher and more deadly than their smaller sisters. They are designed to endure heavy fire and take on the enemy's best Ships.

2.4.8 Battleships – these large Ships are very heavily armed and armored and provide the bulk of the firepower in any fleet they find themselves in. Some carry significant numbers of Fighters or Marines, while others exist only to overpower their foes by brute force.

2.4.9 Capital Ships – the largest Ships humanity has yet managed to build, these Ships are tremendously expensive and incredibly powerful. They are best used to batter down a hostile Station's defences.

Specific rules pertaining to Ship classes will be explained in Sections 3.6-8.

2.6 Events

Events are powerful cards that may be deployed at any time during the game, even during another Commander's turn. A Commander can only have one copy of any Event in his deck, and they are all one-shot cards that are discarded to the Scrapheap upon resolving their effects. Events require a volley die roll to determine a Nominal or Critical effect, and tend to influence economics and production more than combat.

2.7 Tactics

Tactics are special cards that may only be deployed during an engagement. They can sometimes be deployed into other Commanders' engagements, even if you are not directly involved - the card will always tell you explicitly when this is a possibility. Like Event cards, you may only have one copy of any specific Tactic in your deck. Tactics affect combat more specifically than Events.

2.8 Breakthrus

A Breakthru is a technological advantage achieved by your scientists and capitalized on by your leaders. Free to play, they stay in play after they are deployed and can provide a variety of bonuses to your fleet or your economy. Like Events and Tactics, you may only have one copy of any Breakthru in your deck.

2.9 Upgrades

Upgrades are cards that are attached to your Ships and improve various aspects of the card, or grant it new abilities.

2.10 Options

Options can be attached to your Marine units to increase their combat performance. Note that some Option cards alter the initiative value of the Marine they are attached to – extra gear is heavy!

2.11 Stockpile Cards

Each deck comes with two special cards, called Stockpile cards. These two cards exist only to keep track of your economy in the forms of Resource and Currency. Use the small tokens provided in the box to keep track of how much of each you have. Do this by placing the token on the appropriate number. Your Resource and Currency Stockpile cards keep track of your on-hand economy. It must remain visible to your opponents at all times.

2.12 Special Cards

Special cards are rare cards which grant a recurring global effect to you and your forces. They are deployed during your Logistics Phase.

Special cards share some similarities with Modules - they must be attached to your station and may not leave it for any reason. Although they are attached like Modules, they cannot be targeted by volley fire or other card effects (such as the Event card "Sabotage"), and do not count against your Station's Module limit. They are also not Marines (although many of them represent notable individuals) and do not participate in boarding actions.

Special cards are always Unique.

Section 3 - Understanding Your Cards

Now that you're familiar with the various card types in Hull Breach!©, let's see how they interact with one another.

Take a look at this example, which will demonstrate the various icons and symbols found on cards.

1. The proper name of the card.
2. Card type and subtype – in this case a Ship, and specifically a Battleship.
3. Faction icon – indicates the faction to which this card belongs (see "Faction" in Section 3.3).
4. Per turn Economy – how much Resource and Currency this card adds to your stockpile each time its your turn.
5. Deployment cost – how much Resource and Currency this card takes to put into play.
6. Regimented-Marines icon – indicates this card deploys with Marines attached (see "Regimented-Marines" in Section 8 - Traits).
7. Regimented-Fighters icon – indicates this card deploys with Fighters attached (see "Regimented-Fighters" in Section 8 - Traits).
8. Regimented-Drones icon – indicates this card deploys with Drones attached (see "Regimented-Drones" in Section 8 - Traits).
9. Card art.
10. Flavor text – text revealing more about its place in the fictional universe of Hull Breach!©.
11. Card text – text that gives additional card instructions.
12. Traits – special abilities, defined elsewhere in this rulebook, that this card possesses.
13. Marine Capacity icon – indicates how much space this unit has to carry Marines.
14. Attack value – indicates how many dice this unit rolls when it fires its weapons.
15. Wounds – how many hit points this card has, indicating how much damage it can take.
16. Defence value – the number that an enemy must meet or exceed on a die roll to injure this unit.
17. Fighter and Drone Capacity – indicates how much space this unit has to carry Fighters or Drones.
18. Initiative value – indicates when this unit acts during combat.

3.1 Attaching Cards

You will frequently be instructed to 'attach' cards to one another. Attaching one card to another happens in several different ways but the end result is linking them together so they function together.

3.1.1 Modules are attached to your Station by placing them alongside your Station card so that they are all oriented the same way. This makes it easier to scan your Station and Modules to determine, for example, what your per-turn income is.

3.1.2 Upgrades are attached to Ships by tucking them underneath the Ship and keeping the stat bar and any relevant text exposed. You can now see what benefit the Upgrade confers to the Ship it is attached to without having to move anything. Options are attached to Marines in the same way. Note that you cannot attach Upgrades to Drones or Fighters.

3.1.3 Marines and Fighters or Drones are attached to Ships by tucking them underneath the Ship card, but at a 90-degree angle pointing in the direction that corresponds with the appropriate icon on the Ship's stat bar. The Marine capacity icon is on the left, and the Fighter or Drone capacity icon is on the right. Therefore the Marine units' names should be visible on the left of the card, and Fighters and Drones should be visible on the right. Fighters and Drones attached in this fashion are said to be Docked with the other card.

Figure: This ship has a Marine (1), a Fighter (2), and an Upgrade (3) attached to it.

3.2 Capacity

Marines, Fighters and Drones require available capacity to be attached to a Ship or Station. This is represented by a gold icon on the card. This same icon appears on the Marine, Fighter or Drone in red-outlined grey to indicate how much space the unit consumes when attached. For example, if your Ship has 1 Marine capacity, you may attach a Marine with capacity 1 to it, at which point it is full and cannot attach any more. Fighters and Drones share the Ship or Station's indicated Fighter capacity pool in the same way.

Figure: Left to right – Marine, Fighter, and Drone capacity icons.

3.2.1 Note that capacity may be expanded by attaching Modules or Upgrades to your Station or Ship, respectively.

3.3 Faction

All Station cards have an icon under the top bar that indicates their Faction. This Faction icon indicates to whom you owe your allegiance as a Commander; the Corporations are a gold coin, the RDF is a red shield, and the Colonials have a blue star.

3.3.1 This is important because some other cards in the Hull Breach!© inventory are restricted by Faction: only a Commander whose Station belongs to a particular faction may use that card. For example, the Xeros Orbital Shipyards Station belongs to the Corporate Faction. A Commander using this Station can legally deploy a Phoenix Dreadnaught (which is a Corporate-only card) if they have one in their deck.

3.3.2 If, for example, a Commander is using the Skyline Defence Headquarters Station, then that Commander is affiliated with the RDF Faction. That Commander cannot legally use a Phoenix Dreadnaught card in their deck. Note that the reverse is true, and the RDF Commander has access to cards that a Corporate Commander cannot use.

3.4 Deploying Cards

Deploying cards is the act of putting them into play. Your Station, for example, deploys on the table in front of you. Your Module cards deploy alongside your Station and are attached to it, forming one large structure in space.

3.4.1 Ship cards are mobile and have the ability to travel away from your Station. So, when they're deployed, they are placed out in front of your Station as if they were actually floating in space. As you deploy more Ships, put them next to each other.

3.4.2 Marines must be deployed aboard something when they enter the game. Marines are attached to either a Ship or a Station and are attached to that card. They can't float around in space, since space is cold and has no oxygen, which Marines enjoy having.

3.4.3 Fighters are Ships, and as such can be deployed into space along their larger sisters; however, they can also attach themselves to a Ship or Station that has room to hold them in order to stay protected until they wish to enter combat. Fighters can emerge from that Ship or Station at any time – this action is called launching, and does not incur any cost or penalty. Drones are deployed much like Fighters but must be attached to a Ship or Station when they enter play. They cannot be deployed into space and can only be launched from their host Ship during an engagement.

Figure: An example of a Commander's deployed forces. Note that the ships are placed above (or in front of) the station, and attached cards are clearly visible to opponents.

3.5 Events and Tactics

Event and Tactic cards both instruct the Commander using them to 'deploy' them as well. However, these two card types function differently. In order to deploy an Event or Tactic card, that Commander needs only to pay the cost of the card and place it down on the battlefield; the location typically does not matter. Then simply read and resolve the card text.

3.5.1 All Event cards require an Event Roll. Simply take one volley die and roll it; a result of a 1 or a 10 is a Critical effect, and any other result is a Nominal. Event die roll results can never be modified in any way. Once you have made the Event Roll, resolve the effect of the card based on whether you got a Nominal or Critical result.

3.5.2 Event cards are discarded to their Commander's Scrapheap when their effect has been resolved.

3.5.3 Tactic cards are usually discarded as soon as their effect has been resolved. There are several Tactics cards whose effects last for an entire engagement; simply discard that Tactic card when the engagement ends.

3.5.4 Some Tactic cards indicate that they are to be attached to another card; simply follow the instructions printed on the card as to how you should treat the card, then attach it as you would a card of the type it is acting as.

3.6 Special Rules for Fighters and Drones

Fighters and Drones are small spacecraft that have the ability to attach to a Ship or Station and 'hide' inside. The Ship or Station it is attached to is referred to as that unit's host. There are a number of special rules that are common to both Drones and Fighters.

3.6.1 Certain cards, when deployed, allow their Commander to immediately get some Fighters or Drones as well. These cards have icons along the right-hand side of the card that indicate this (see Sections 8.5.9 Regimented - Drones and 8.5.10 Regimented - Fighters for more information). When you deploy a card with either of these icons on it, you may immediately search your hand or your Shipyard for Drones or Fighters – as many Regimented icons as indicated by a number that you'll see in the center of the icon – and then attach those units to the host card you just deployed. This is done at no cost. During your Manufacturing Phase (and at the end of your turn) you may reassign the Drones and Fighters that you just retrieved to other legal hosts: they do not have to stay with the card that allowed you to obtain them.

3.6.2 The amount of space a Ship or Station has to hold Fighters and Drones is indicated by the capacity icon on the card. There are two icons – one for Drones and one for Fighters. Ships and Stations will have one or the other, but not both.

3.6.3 If your Ship or Station has a Drone capacity icon on the card, then it can only carry Drones. The icon will show a number indicating how much capacity is available.

3.6.4 If your Ship or Station has a Fighter capacity icon, then that Ship or Station can hold Drones or Fighters up to the printed capacity number on the icon. The Drones and Fighters share the available space. For example, if your Ship has a Fighter capacity of 2, it can carry one Drone and one Fighter, two Drones and zero Fighters, or zero Drones and two Fighters.

3.6.5 While attached in this fashion, Fighters and Drones cannot be targeted by volley fire, Event cards, or Tactic cards.

3.6.6 Neither Fighters nor Drones can travel to or from a Station under their own power; they must be attached to a Ship in order to do so. However, once launched from their host during an engagement, they act in initiative order like any other Ship. During an engagement, both Fighters and Drones can choose to use their action to re-attach themselves to any Ship or Station that they can fit aboard. This action requires that Fighter or Drone to skip its turn to fire or use traits. This action is called docking.

3.6.7 It is possible for a Fighter or Drone to be the last surviving unit during an engagement at an opposing Station. If there are no Ships left that can attach that Fighter or Drone and transport it home, that 'last unit standing' cannot withdraw under its own power and is effectively stuck there. Under these circumstances the engagement continues until that unit is destroyed.

3.6.8 During your Manufacturing Phase, or immediately after your Engagement Phase has ended, Fighters and Drones can be relocated among your Ships or Station at no cost.

3.6.9 Neither Fighters nor Drones can ever be the target of a boarding action.

There are some differences in how these units function:

3.7 Drones

When first deployed out of your hand, Drones must be attached to either a Ship or a Station with capacity to hold them. Outside of an engagement, Drones can never be deployed into open space and must always be attached to a Ship or Station. Drones may never volley fire; instead, they perform a variety of support roles.

3.7.1 Drones can only be launched from their host Ship or Station in two circumstances: either at the start of the Skirmish Phase of an engagement, or on their host unit's turn to act. For example – if a Drone is attached to a Vulture cruiser, the Drone must remain attached to that Vulture until it is the Vulture's turn in the firing order. At that point, the Drone may launch and immediately act. Once launched, the Drones act in their printed initiative order as the engagement continues.

3.7.2 If a Ship is destroyed while Drones are attached, then those Drones are destroyed as well.

3.8 Fighters

Fighters can be deployed directly into open space like other Ships. When carried into an engagement attached to another Ship, a Fighter may choose to launch at any time during that engagement, regardless of its host Ship's place in the firing order.

3.8.1 If a Fighter's host Ship is destroyed or hijacked, then the Fighter immediately launches. This is referred to as Scrambling. Drones cannot Scramble and are destroyed if their host is hijacked or destroyed.

3.8.2 If the Ship is "immediately destroyed" (for example, by card text or Annihilate effects) then the Fighter is also destroyed (see rules on "Immediate" on Page 23).

3.9 Special Rules for Marines

In the section above, it was indicated that some cards enter play with instructions that a Fighter or a Drone be immediately attached to that card at no cost. There is a similar provision for Marines.

3.9.1 Cards that have this special rule are marked with a gray icon in the shape of a Marine along the right-hand side of the card image, in the same area where the Fighter or Drone icon would be. This icon will have a number in its center – that number indicates how many Marines you can retrieve, at no cost, from either your hand or your Shipyard. These Marines are then attached to this host Ship.

3.9.2 Like Fighters and Drones, if Marines are pulled for free from your Shipyard in this fashion, you are free to reassign them to any other legal host during your Manufacturing Phase, if you so desire.

3.9.3 If a Ship carrying Marines is destroyed, all the Marines aboard are destroyed as well – Marines cannot Scramble or be moved to another location if their host is destroyed. Jetpack technology that allows Marines to flee like Fighters does not yet exist.

Section 4 - Starting a Game

4.1 Initial Deployment

During the Initial Deployment you will deploy your Station and initial military forces. This process, and that of taking turns in the game, is explained in greater detail later on in Section 5 - Turn Anatomy.

4.1.1 Roll to Begin – All Commanders in the game will roll a volley die. The Commander who rolls the highest (re-roll any ties) will be the first to take the following steps:

4.1.2 Arraying Your Forces – To start a game of Hull Breach!©, first deploy your Station Card onto the Battlefield in front of you, then pick any two Module cards from your Shipyard and deploy them at no cost. Selecting your first two Module cards is very important for determining the initial disposition of your deck. Some Stations and Module cards have effects on the game that are resolved when they are deployed – read the instructions printed on the cards and resolve the effects.

4.1.3 Resource and Currency Stockpiles – Next, find your Resource and Currency Stockpile cards and place them somewhere visible to both you and your opposing Commander. Add 10 Resource and 10 Currency to your Stockpiles by placing a token on the 10 positions on both cards.

4.1.4 Establish Your Shipyard and Scrapheap – Shuffle your deck of cards and put it face-down off to the side of your Station, where it will be known as your Shipyard. Leave a little space next to your Shipyard to place discarded or destroyed cards into a Scrapheap.

4.1.5 Drawing Cards – Draw 5 cards from the top of your Shipyard.

Mulligan Rules: If during your Setup Phase you are unhappy with the hand of cards you drew, you may discard them onto your Scrapheap and draw five new cards from your Shipyard. This costs 1 Resource and 1 Currency from your Stockpile every time you Mulligan your hand. You may do this as many times as you wish, but only during this Setup Phase.

4.1.6 Collect Your Resources and Currency – Look for the black and gold icons on your Station and Module cards – these denote the amount of Resource and Currency you'll collect at the beginning of your turn after you draw your cards. Add together the total for both Resource (indicated by black) and Currency (indicated by gold), then add them to your respective Stockpiles. Move the tokens on your Stockpile cards to the new values on each. Note that you cannot have more than 20 in either Resources or Currency.

4.1.7 Deploy Your Forces – While you cannot play any Event cards or Tactic cards during your Setup Phase and you cannot attack another Commander, you may deploy as many Ships, Modules, Marines, Options, Breakthrus and Upgrades as you can afford. To do this, deduct the number of Resource and Currency denoted in the downward-pointing arrows on the top of the card, announce the deployment, and place the card face-up on the Battlefield.

4.1.8 Finishing Up – Lastly, you have the option to discard any cards in your hand you do not want or need. They are placed on your discard pile, called the Scrapheap.

4.1.9 Follow Suit – After the Commander who rolled the highest has completed the preceding steps, each Commander will complete them one at a time in clockwise order until all Commanders have finished.

4.1.10 Determine Initiative – Commanders will then determine who will take the first full turn. This is accomplished by adding up the initiative values of all your currently-deployed Ships and your Station. Marines are not counted, nor are any docked Fighters or Drones you have in play. The Commander with the lowest total initiative value goes first. In the event of a tie, the tied Commanders roll a volley die – the Commander with the highest result wins the tiebreaker.

Figure: The Crow's powerful engines allow it to perform devastating attacks against her foes, but leave little room for maneuverability.

Section 5 - Turn Anatomy

5.1 Initial Deployment Recap

1. Deploy one Station card, at no cost, and resolve its effects, if any.
2. Deploy two Module cards, at no cost, and then resolve their effects, if any.
3. Deploy your Resource and Currency Stockpile cards, and use two tokens to add 10 Resource and 10 Currency to them.
4. Logistics – Draw five cards from the top of your Shipyard.
5. Logistics – Gain your per-turn income as indicated by the cards you have deployed.
6. Manufacturing – Deploy cards from your hand, paying the appropriate cost, and resolve their effects, if any.
7. Discard any unwanted cards left in your hand to your Scrapheap, if you wish.
8. All Commanders add up the total initiative value of their Ships and Station. The lowest-scoring Commander will begin turn-based play.

5.2 Anatomy of Your Turn

Your turn is divided into three phases: the Logistics Phase, the Manufacturing Phase, and the Engagement Phase. Certain actions may only be taken during certain phases of your turn, so it is very important to do them in order. The first part of your turn consists of the same steps taken during the Setup Phase, but now Commanders are able to declare engagements against one another, which was not possible during the Setup Phase.

5.3 Logistics Phase

During the Logistics Phase, you'll restock the cards in your hand, update the amount of Resource and Currency at your disposal and deal with the logistics of managing your forces.

5.3.1 Reinforcements – Draw up to your maximum hand size, generally five cards, from your Shipyard. Simply replace the cards you deployed or discarded last turn with new ones drawn from the top of your Shipyard. If you have no cards left in your Shipyard, you must continue to make do with what you have.

5.3.2 Taxes and Collections – Every Station card has a gain Resource and/or Currency icon on its face, which indicates how much of each you gain per turn during your Logistics Phase. Most Module cards also add Resource or Currency, so be sure to total these numbers up accordingly. Add these totals to your respective Stockpiles.

5.3.3 Space Dock Operations – Repair up to one wound on every Ship, Station, Marine, and Module card you own with damage tokens on it. If a Ship, Station, or Marine has the trait Repair, repair all wounds on that card.

5.3.4 Logistical Events – Resolve any card effects that specifically state, "during your Logistics Phase."

5.4 Manufacturing Phase

This is the part of your turn when you are able to deploy new Ships, Marines, Modules, Upgrades or Options.

5.4.1 Research and Development – You may deploy onto the Battlefield any Breakthru cards that you may have in your hand at no cost.

5.4.2 Deploy Reinforcements – You may deploy any Ship, Upgrade, Option, or Marine card from your hand you may legally deploy at cost. Remember to take into account any discounts or penalties you may gain from your Station and attached Module cards.

5.4.3 Conscription – You may choose to Conscript one Ship or Marine unit during this phase. You may search your Shipyard and choose one Ship or Marine you wish to deploy, pay double its face value (any discounts you may ordinarily get on this unit's deployment cost are ignored) and then deploy it onto the Battlefield. You cannot Conscript a Unique card.

5.4.4 Manufacturing Events – Resolve any card effects that specifically state "during your Manufacturing Phase."

5.4.5 Assign and Reassign Your Assets – You may reassign any Marines or Fighters already in play to a new legal host Ship or Station and attach them accordingly.

5.5 Engagement Phase

This is the phase of your turn where you may send your fleet out to attack another Commander at his or her Station. Combat is explained in the following chapter, but the basic steps are as follows:

5.5.1 Declare an Attack on an Opposing Commander – You may declare an attack on an opposing Commander, or decide not to attack this turn and skip to "ending your turn."

5.5.2 Select Your Attacking Fleet – You may select any number of Ships from your current fleet and proceed to your engagement with an opposing Commander. You may only attack one Commander at a time, and you may only attack once per turn.

5.5.3 Engagement Begins – Enter and resolve the engagement with this opposing Commander.

5.6 Ending Your Turn

When your Engagement Phase is concluded, you may choose to reassign any Marines, Drones or Fighters you have deployed at this time; they may be moved between Ships and Stations and Drones and Fighters may be docked if you wish.

5.6.1 You may choose to discard to your Scrapheap any cards left in your hand that you no longer want or need. Then declare the end of your turn.

5.7 Continuing On With the Game

Once you have declared the end of your turn, play passes clockwise to the next Commander, who takes his or her turn. As a new Commander, be cautious moving from step to step during your turn, as only certain actions can be done legally during certain phases of a turn. If you make a mistake and forget to do something, there is no going back -- being a Commander is stressful so expect to make some mistakes.

Figure: Massive space stations serve as Command and Control Centers for the various factions.

Section 6 - Engagements

6.1 Winning a Game of Hull Breach!©

The object of the game and the win condition for any Commander in Hull Breach!© is to hijack or destroy all opposing Stations. In order to do that, you need a strong and effective fleet of Ships and Marines. During the Engagement Phase of your turn, you may choose to declare an engagement against an opposing Commander. Since all combat takes place at a Station, with only a few exceptions, you'll need to decide which of your Ships are going to be heading out on the attack – it can be wise to leave a few Ships at your Station to defend it in case your attack fails. Once you've decided on your attacking fleet composition, declare your attack aloud to the other Commander and slide the attacking cards towards your opponent.

6.2 How Combat Works

6.2.1 Initiative – A unit's Initiative value determines the order in which it will act during an engagement. Generally, smaller Ships will act first and have the opportunity to use their traits or fire their weapons. Units act in ascending order of Initiative value, from lowest to highest, until all have acted, at which point the initiative order loops back around and cycles through again.

Callout: Initiative always moves from lowest to highest.

6.2.1.a It is important to note that Initiative order operates for all Ships in the engagement at the same time: ALL Destroyers in the engagement will fire, for example, before the Initiative order moves on to the Cruisers. In a case where both Commanders involved in the engagement have Ships of the same size waiting to act, the Attacker's Ships are given priority. So, all the Attacker's Destroyers will fire, then the Defender's Destroyers will fire, then the Attacker's Cruisers, and then the Defender's Cruisers, and so forth through the Initiative order.

6.2.1.b Stations are counted in the Initiative order, and because of their size will always be the last unit to act during the firing order.

6.2.1.c Initiative is used in the same way during the Maneuver phase of the engagement to determine the order in which Ships declare boarding actions against one another.

6.2.2 Volley Fire – Each unit has an attack and defence value marked on its card. The attack value represents the number of volley (ten-sided) dice the unit rolls in its attack during its turn to volley, and the defence value represents the result an opposing Commander must roll equal to, or greater than, to wound the unit. When one unit rolls a volley die against an opposing unit, the opposing unit suffers one wound if the die result is equal to or greater than its defence value. In order to keep track of your units which have fired and which have not, it may be helpful to separate the ones that have fired or angle the cards slightly – whatever helps you remember.

6.2.3 When a unit sustains a number of wounds equal to or greater than the number of wounds printed on the card, it is destroyed. Any shots that are 'overkill' are considered to fly off into space and do not affect any other unit. You must decide where all your unit's volley dice are targeted before you roll them - you may choose to roll all these dice against one target or 'split fire' them among several targets, but you must abide by

your decision no matter what the result of those rolls were. Use the included Wound tokens to keep track of how much damage a unit has sustained. For every point of damage received, add an orange Wound token to the card.

6.2.3.a For example, your Griffin Battleship has an attack value of 5. This means this Ship has five volley dice to target and volley fire with on an opposing unit. You target with all the Griffin's volley fire on the opposing Dragon Battle Cruiser, which has a defence value of 7. You choose to use all of your volley fire on this Ship, so you declare your attack aloud, "this Griffin targets that Dragon with five volley dice," and you roll. The results of this volley fire are 3,6,7,9,10. The 3 and 6 inflict no wounds on the Dragon since her defence value is 7. However, your other volley results score three wounds. The Dragon suffers three wounds due to this volley fire, and is marked with damage tokens, but can sustain four wounds before she is destroyed. She is seriously wounded but not yet destroyed.

6.2.3.b Or, you might decide to split a Ship's available volley dice between multiple targets. Your Phoenix Capital Ship boasts tremendous firepower, with seven volley dice in her normal volley. Since your opponent has a Cockatrice Cruiser and two Zephyr Fighters you decide to split fire between the three targets, so you declare your attack aloud, "this Phoenix targets that Cockatrice with five volley dice and both Zephyrs with one volley die each," and you roll. The volley results are rolled individually so there is no confusion. The first volley of five dice against the Cockatrice results in a 4,5,6,8,8. Since the defence of the Cockatrice is 6 and she only has three wounds, she is destroyed. Your second volley of one die versus the Zephyr results in a 3, and since the Zephyr's defence is a 5 there is no effect. Your third volley of one die against the other Zephyr is an 8. Since the Zephyr's defence is a 5, you score one wound, destroying the Fighter.

6.3 Order of Operations in Combat

Engagements always proceed in a specific order of events and operations. Before you begin an engagement, it is important to know how it will play out, in general terms.

6.3.1 First, both Commanders can choose to deploy Event or Tactic cards with the printed text "Deploy at the start of an engagement." Priority is given to the Attacker.

6.3.2 Next, the Skirmish phase begins. Attacking Ships with the trait Raider and defending Ships with the trait Interceptor may use those traits against targets of their choice ahead of the main battle (in initiative order).

6.3.3 Combat between the bulk of the fleets now begins in the Volley phase. Acting in initiative order, the attacking and defending Ships will exchange fire until all units participating in the engagement have acted.

6.3.4 Next, in initiative order, Ships with attached Marines may declare boarding actions against the enemy in the Maneuver phase. If there are any boarding actions to resolve, resolve them in any order desired after they have all been declared.

6.3.5 If the attacking Commander wishes to try to retreat any of his Ships, he declares that after all boarding actions have been resolved. Ships attempting to retreat will do so on their next turn to act.

6.3.6 Finally, the firing order resets and Ship-to-Ship combat begins again in initiative order.

6.3.7 If you destroy or successfully board an opposing Commander's Station, you eliminate that Commander from the game. If there were only two Commanders playing, the game ends. If there were three or more Commanders playing the game, the eliminated Commander picks up his or her cards (including any that were hijacked by other Commanders) and the victorious Commander receives his or her Spoils of War (See the section on Multiple Commanders) and the game continues until there is only one Commander left standing. See Section 7 - Multiple Commanders for more info.

6.11 Deciding to Engage an Opposing Commander

Keep in mind that engagements are always destructive both for you and the opposing Commander. In a three or more player game of Hull Breach!© it is important to weigh the chances of defeating a Commander in combat against the losses you may suffer in doing so. When your turn is finished, other Commanders may decide to attack you, and your Station will only be defended by whatever units survived the engagement you just concluded (See Section 7 - Multiple Commanders). Another consideration is whether or not the Commander you deciding to attack has cards left in his hand. An opposing Commander could have powerful Event and Tactic cards (See Section 3 - Card Types) which could tip the scales against you during an engagement. Sometimes being a wise Commander means knowing when not to attack your enemy.

6.12 General Rules for Engagements

6.12.1 Declaring and Resolving an Engagement – An engagement begins after a Commander declares his or her intention to attack and ends when one of the sides has been destroyed or the Attacker retreats.

6.12.2 Fleet and Space Travel Logistics on the Attack – If you as the Attacker leave any Ships behind at your own Station they may not join an engagement after it begins.

6.12.3 How to Target, Damage, and Destroy a Station – When volley firing against a Station you must destroy all attached Modules first. Each Module has its own Attack, Defence and Wounds values. Stations and their attached Modules can be attacked by Ships with the trait Raider during the first turn of an engagement, but all other Ships must wait to the second turn of the engagement to attack the Station or Module, unless there are no defending Ships present.

6.12.4 Deploying Cards into an Engagement – The only cards that you may deploy from your hand during an engagement are Event or Tactic cards, unless a card's printed text indicates otherwise.

6.13 Engagements and Combat – A Step by Step Guide

Now that you've declared an engagement, decide which of your forces are attacking and physically move those cards over to your opponent. Here's a step-by-step guide to resolving the engagement:

6.13.1 Step 1 - Event and Tactic Deployment – Commanders may deploy Event or Tactic cards with the printed text "deploy at the start of an engagement," then resolve their effects. The Attacking Commander has priority on deploying any Events or Tactics – if he does not deploy any, the Defending Commander gets the same opportunity. Then, any third-party Commander wishing to deploy applicable Events or Tactics may do so.

6.13.2 Step 2 - The Skirmish Phase – Attacking Ships with the trait Raider and Defending Ships or Station with the trait Interceptor may now use those traits, in initiative order, against legal targets of their choice. This occurs only once at the start of the engagement and requires any unit firing in this phase to skip its first volley in the Volley Phase. Remember that Ships with the trait Raider may fire at your Modules, or Station if they are already all destroyed.

6.13.3 Step 3 – The Volley Phase – In initiative order (lowest number to highest number), all Ships act in turn to either use traits or volley fire. If both Commanders have Ships with the same initiative number participating in this engagement, the Attacker's Ships of that initiative class all act, then the Defender's Ships of that initiative class. When all involved Ships and the Station (which will always be the last unit to fire or use traits during the engagement) have used traits or fired, move to the next step.

6.13.4 Step 4 – The Maneuver Phase – Ships with attached Marines may declare boarding actions against a hostile Ship that is the same size or larger than themselves, or the opposing Station (Stations are larger than all Ships, so any Ship with Marines attached may attempt to board it). For example, a Cruiser may declare a boarding action against a Battleship, but not the other way around. If a Ship has been declared the target of a boarding action, it cannot declare one of its own and must defend itself against the Ship that is targeting it. Declare all desired boarding actions in initiative order, the same as in the Volley Phase. In this Phase, however, if both Commanders have Ships with the same intiative number the Defender's ships will act first.

6.13.4.a If there are any Ships in this engagement with the trait Escort, that trait can be used now. Each Escort Ship you control may cancel one boarding action that has been declared by the opposing Commander. This is a free action. A Ship that has had a boarding action blocked by an Escort suffers no damage but that boarding action simply does not occur. Since all declarations have already been made, that Ship may not declare another one.

6.13.5 Step 5 - The Boarding Phase – Resolve all boarding actions in any order desired, one at a time. Move the Ships closer to one another to better keep track of what's boarding what, and reveal the involved Marines from underneath the Ships and/or Station cards. Marines operate under the same initiative rules as Ships do – the Marine with the lowest initiative value acts first, but in this case initiative tiebreakers go to the defender. All Marines continue to volley fire, in turn, until one or the other boarding party is destroyed. Marines cannot retreat from a boarding action, nor can the Ships involved.

6.13.5.a If an attacking Marine defeats all opposing Marines that it was fighting, then that Marine wins the boarding action and has two options: the victorious Marine can choose to either Hijack the opposing Ship or Scuttle it. If you elect to hijack the Ship, it joins your fleet and falls into the initiative order in the next cycle. You must keep a Marine aboard the Ship in order to maintain control – if you remove your Marines, the Ship immediately defects to its former owner. If you elect to Scuttle the Ship, then it is destroyed and your Marines withdraw to the Ship from which they came.

6.13.5.b If you have successfully boarded a Station, that Commander is immediately eliminated from the game.

6.13.5.c Note that if all Attacking Marines are destroyed by the Defender, those defending Marines may choose to immediately board the attacking ship. If there are no more Marines aboard that ship, it can be hijacked or scuttled immediately.

6.13.6 Step 6 – Retreating – After all boarding actions have been resolved, any attacking Ships that wish to retreat declare their intention to do so now. On their next turn to act, they immediately withdraw to their Station. This can be done individually or as a group, but depending on their initiative order, the defender's units may get the chance to fire at them before they go.

6.13.7 Step 7 – Do It Again – The engagement continues from STEP 3 until either (a) the attacking fleet has been destroyed thereby ending the engagement, (b) the attacking fleet successfully hijacks or destroys the defender's Station, or (c) all the Attacker's Ships successfully retreat. Starting with the second turn of the engagement, the defending Modules and Station are legal targets for attacking Ships.

6.14 More on Boarding Actions

Here are some additional rules and clarifications to keep in mind regarding boarding actions:

1. You must have a Marine attached to a Ship in order to declare a boarding action with it.
2. A Ship can only declare a boarding action against a Ship its own size or bigger (as indicated by the printed initiative values of the Ships). Since Stations are the largest unit in the game, any Ship may declare a boarding action against them.
3. Your Ship may volley fire at and attempt to board different targets, but you may only board one Ship at a time. For example, a Griffin Battleship cannot attempt to board two different Ships because she carries two Marines. All her Marines attack the same opposing Ship simultaneously in the same boarding action.
4. All the Marines on a Ship that has declared a boarding action, unless prohibited by their card text, participate in the boarding action. The Marine capacity of the target Ship or Station is ignored until the boarding action is finished, and if you hijack it, you must abide by her capacity limit when you leave Marines aboard.
5. Only one Ship is allowed to attempt to board one opposing Ship or Station at a time. You may not declare two or more of your own Ships to board against the same target.
6. A Marine unit attempting to board a Ship or Station without Marines aboard automatically succeeds in that boarding action.
7. For the purposes of boarding, a Station and its attached Modules are considered one unit. You may not board individual Modules.
8. Marines attached to a Station may not attempt to board opposing Ships – the Station is a Stationary object and cannot physically get them there. In this situation, defending Marines aboard a Station may only get involved in the action if the Attacker attempts to board the Station.
9. A Ship with 0 Marine capacity may still be boarded by Marines, but since there is no room to keep Marines aboard, that Ship can only be Scuttled.
10. Marines who have Hijacked a Ship must stay garrisoned aboard it or be relieved by other Marines if reassigned either at the end of an engagement or during the end of your Manufacturing Phase. Otherwise the surviving crew revolts and the Ship is immediately returned to its previous owner. You may not Scuttle a Ship after you have Hijacked it.
11. A Ship with the trait Stoic cannot be Hijacked, only Scuttled.

6.15 Destruction and the Concept of "Immediately"

When a unit is destroyed by volley fire, it is important to make the distinction that it is not immediately destroyed – this can be important in several situations. One example is a unit possessing the trait Stoic. The unit is destroyed by the volley dice but the last action it performs before being discarded on your Scrapheap is to fire its Stoic volley fire. Another example is that Fighters garrisoned aboard a Ship that is destroyed, or even hijacked, can deploy out into open space. However, if a card is immediately destroyed, it is discarded onto your Scrapheap and cannot perform any actions whatsoever – and all Marines and Fighters aboard are lost.

Section 7 - Multiple Commanders

7.1 What's Different, What's Not

Very little actually changes in a game involving three or more Commanders. The Initial Deployment Phase is still taken in turn, play always passes clockwise, and engagements still occur between only two Commanders. Remember that some Event and Tactic cards can be played during an engagement that your forces are not involved in.

7.2 Treaties, Truces, and Alliances

Commanders may make unofficial alliances or truces if they wish, but there is no in-game mechanism to enforce any such agreement. Moreover, any pooling or sharing of Resources or Currency, cards in hand, and especially Ships, Stations, or Marines is strictly prohibited. Some cards will allow you to pay, trade with, or even take from another Commander; however, these cards say very specifically when and how these transactions take place.

7.3 Multi-Commander Engagements

Engagements still occur only between two Commanders; there is no provision for a three-way fleet fight in the usual course of a game of Hull Breach!©

7.4 The Spoils of War

If you destroy or hijack another Commander's Station in a game with more than two Commanders, you are entitled to some spoils of war.

7.4.1 Your Stockpile is Mine – You may add that Commander's current total stockpile to your own.

7.4.2 To the Victor Go the Spoils – You may search your Shipyard for one card that you may legally deploy and deploy it immediately at no cost.

7.4.3 Get Out of My Galaxy – You may not keep any of that Commander's cards. Ships you have hijacked from that Commander are destroyed, and the Marines that you have aboard them are immediately reassigned to any of your local Ships with available capacity to accommodate them. If you have no more room in your fleet, those Marines must be discarded in your Scrapheap. Likewise, Fighters and Drones must be able to fit aboard a host ship to return home. If there is no room, they must be discarded in your Scrapheap.

7.5 Quitting a Game of Hull Breach!©

A Commander may, if he or she so chooses, voluntarily withdraw from the game at any time. This act of surrender is referred to as 'scooping' or 'folding.' The same Spoils of War rule is in effect if a Commander that you declare an attack against scoops rather than fights back.

Section 8 - Traits

8.1 It's All About the Traits

Traits are special abilities that your units possess, and are listed on the cards in white capitalized text. Some traits have an numerical value immediately following the trait word, indicating the strength at which the unit uses that trait. You gain no additional effects by having two of the same traits on the same card. For example, a Crow destroyer possesses the trait FEARLESS. If you attach the Upgrade card "Battle Seasoned Crew," which grants FEARLESS to the Ship, you get no additional benefit from having FEARLESS twice. Likewise, the numerical traits do not "stack."

8.2 The Differences Between Active and Passive Traits

There are two types of traits: Active and Passive. Active traits are used instead of firing normally; the unit cannot both use an Active trait and fire its volley dice in the same turn. The active traits are: Interceptor, Jammer, Overload, Raider, and Target Painter. When a unit uses an active trait in combat, a Commander rotates the card 180 degrees to face the opposing Commander. Reset the card's facing at the start of its next turn to volley. Units can only use one active trait at a time, even if it has more than one available. On the unit's next turn to volley, the card is reset to its normal facing on the battlefield and the Commander can again chose to volley or use a trait.

8.3 Passive Traits

Passive traits are traits that are always available regardless of what your unit is doing: they are Annihilate, Escort, Fearless, Hidden, Hunter, Regimented, Resistant, Stealth, Stoic, and Unique. These traits, as explained later, do not interrupt your unit's normal volley fire, but in many instances enhance it.

8.4 The Active Traits

8.4.1 Jammer X – Any unit with this trait has special systems that interfere with another unit's targeting and weapons systems. During your volley fire, a unit with the trait Jammer X may, instead of volley firing, Jam one local opposing Ship. The unit being Jammed loses X from its current attack value. Jammer may never be used against an opposing Station or Module card, as they are too large to effectively Jam. Any unit with Jammer cannot be targeted by a Defender's Interceptor fire – this is an innate feature and does not need to be activated to take effect. The Jammer trait cannot be split between multiple targets, and targeted Ships can only be Jammed by one Ship at a time. The effects of Jammer last until the Jamming unit's next turn in the firing order, and are removed immediately if the Ship doing the Jamming is destroyed. Included with the box set are a number of green Jammer tokens. For every point of Jammer targeted on a unit, add one of these tokens to the targeted ship.

8.4.2 Overload X – Any unit with Overload may choose, once per engagement, to use this trait instead of its usual attack value. When using Overload, you may select one target and roll X number of volley dice associated with the trait (this volley cannot be split between multiple targets). A unit that has used its Overload trait may not fire on its next turn to volley - this is called the Overload Drawback. However, this unit may still declare boarding actions, use other traits, or attempt to retreat from combat as normal.

8.4.3 Target Painter X – A unit with this trait can temporarily remove X from the current defence value of a single target by using this trait. This allows for your other units to hit this designated enemy more easily. The unit using Target Painter may not fire as normal during its volley fire phase if it is using this trait. Target Painter may never be used against an opposing Station or Module card and may not be split between multiple targets. For example: your Seagull-class Cruiser with the trait Target Painter 3 target paints an opposing Roc-class Battleship with a defence value of 7. The Roc loses 3 from its defence value, and now all your other Ships only need to roll a 4 or better to wound it. On its next turn, the Seagull can chose to Target Paint the Roc again, another Ship, or volley fire as normal. Only one Ship at a time may Target Paint any one hostile Ship. The effects of Target Painter apply until the Target Painting unit's next turn in the firing order, and are removed immediately if the Ship doing the Target Painting is destroyed. Included with the box set are a number of blue Target Painter tokens. For every point of Target Painter applied to a unit, add one of these tokens to the targeted ship.

8.5 The Passive Traits

8.5.1 Alpha Strike – Any unit with this trait gains +3 to the results of its first volley die roll in an engagement. This trait works in conjunction with Target Painter from other Ships or any other roll-result bonuses in effect. This bonus is in effect only the first time the unit fires.

8.5.2 Annihilate – A unit with this trait inflicts extra damage anytime it rolls a natural 10 (an unmodified result of 10 on a ten-sided volley die) against its target. A 10 always inflicts a wound, but a unit with Annihilate will inflict two extra wounds on this result, for a total of three. Rolling two or more natural 10s in the same volley against one target with an Annihilating unit results in the immediate destruction of the target. This trait is in effect anytime the unit rolls volley dice against a target. A unit with the trait Resistant is immune to the effects of Annihilate.

8.5.3 Escort – A Ship with the trait Escort exists primarily to guard other Ships during the Maneuver Phase of an engagement. During the Maneuver Phase, after all boarding actions have been declared, any Ship with the trait Escort may cancel one opposing Ship's boarding action. Each Ship with the trait Escort may only perform this action once per Maneuver Phase. Escorts are not inherently immune to hostile boarding actions, although an Escort can choose to cancel a board that has been declared against it. This counts as the one opposing boarding action they may cancel during the Escort phase.

8.5.4 Hidden – Some Upgrade cards possess this trait; they function like other Upgrades cards but can only be attached to Heavy Cruisers or larger Ships, are deployed at no cost, and are always deployed face-down on the attached Ship. Upgrades with this trait are kept face-down until their 'trigger' occurs – the trigger is always specified in the card's printed text. Once the trigger occurs, you may choose to flip the card face-up, at which point you immediately perform whatever action the card describes. While face-down the card has no effect on the game. At the end of an engagement you may turn this card face-down again so that you may repeat the process in your next engagement.

8.5.5 Fearless – Any unit with Fearless may choose, once per engagement and at any time during that engagement, to swap its printed attack and defence values. This exchange lasts until the end of the engagement and cannot be reversed for any reason. Note that this 'Fearless Swap' only applies to the card's printed attack and defence values; any other bonuses to this unit provided by other cards are added after this swap.

8.5.6 Hunter – A Ship with the trait Hunter is designed to be the eyes and ears of a fleet against opposing Stealth Ships. Hunters ignore the trait Stealth and may volley fire against Stealth Ships, use other traits against them, or board them without penalty. Ships without Hunter will find it very difficult to hit a Stealth Ship, and cannot declare a boarding action against a Stealth Ship.

8.5.7 Interceptor – A unit with the trait Interceptor is extra-vigilant and always ready for a fight. A defending Ship with this trait may choose to participate in the Skirmish Phase of the engagement – a Ship with Interceptor is essentially moved to the top of the firing order once at the beginning of the engagement. If it elects to fire during the Skirmish Phase, it attacks at the value printed next to the text "Interceptor" - a unit with the trait Interceptor 8 fires 8 dice during the Skirmish Phase rather than its normal attack value. If the unit uses this trait, it must wait for a full round of combat to fire again, at which point it falls back into their normal initiative order. If it elects to not fire during the Skirmish Phase, it acts in normal initiative order and at its normal attack value. Passive traits like Hunter or Annihilate work in conjunction with Interceptor.

8.5.8 Raider – A unit with the trait Raider specializes in getting off the first shot during an engagement. An attacking Ship with this trait may choose to participate in the Skirmish Phase of the engagement – a Ship with Raider is essentially moved to the top of the firing order once at the beginning of the engagement. If it elects to fire during the Skirmish Phase, it attacks at the value printed next to the text "Raider" - a unit with the trait Raider 8 fires 8 dice during the Skirmish Phase rather than its normal attack value. If the unit uses this trait, it must wait for a full round of combat to fire again, at which point it falls back into its normal initiative order. If it elects to not fire during the Skirmish Phase, it acts in normal initiative order at its normal attack value. Passive traits like Hunter or Annihilate work in conjunction with Raider.

8.5.9 Regimented-Drones – A unit with this icon deploys with Drones attached to it at no additional cost. When a unit with this trait is deployed, search your Shipyard or your hand for an appropriate Drone and immediately attach it to the Regimented card, at no cost. The icon will indicate how many Drones you may retrieve in this way. The Drones that you deploy must begin play attached to this card, but can be reassigned to another legal location, either during your Manufacturing Phase or at the end of your turn, if you wish. If you do not have any more Drones in your hand or your Shipyard, simply ignore this trait.

8.5.10 Regimented-Fighters – A unit with this icon deploys with Fighters attached to it at no additional cost. When a unit with this trait is deployed, search your Shipyard or your hand for an appropriate Fighter and immediately attach it to the Regimented card, at no cost. The icon will indicate how many Fighters you may retrieve in this way. The Fighters that you deploy must begin play attached to this card, but can be reassigned to another legal location, either during your Manufacturing Phase or at the end of your turn, if you wish. If you do not have any more Fighters in your hand or your Shipyard, simply ignore this trait.

8.5.11 Regimented-Marines – A unit with this icon deploys with Marines attached to it at no additional cost. When a unit with this trait is deployed, search your Shipyard or your hand for an appropriate Marine and immediately attach it to the Regimented card, at no cost. The icon will indicate how many Marines you may retrieve in this way. The Marines that you deploy must begin play attached to this card, but can be reassigned to another legal location, either during your Manufacturing Phase or at the end of your turn, if you wish. If you do not have any more Marines in your hand or your Shipyard, simply ignore this trait.

8.5.12 Repair – On its turn to volley fire, a damaged unit possessing Repair removes 1 wound from itself, if it is damaged. This unit does not need to sacrifice its volley fire to do this. Also, during your Logistics Phase, any damaged Ship, Station, Module or Marine with the Repair trait may remove all wounds that it has suffered.

8.5.13 Resistant – A unit with this trait ignores any compulsory wounds – a compulsory wound is any wound that is inflicted on a unit without rolling volley dice (such as by a Tactic card).

Resistant units also ignore the extra damage effects of Annihilate, although they will still be wounded once as normal by a roll result of 10.

8.5.14 Stealth – A unit with the trait Stealth is equipped with technology that renders it nearly impossible to detect by conventional sensors. A Ship with this trait gains 5 to its printed defence value (remember that a volley roll result of 10 will always hit the target). Furthermore, units firing at this Ship may add any other result bonuses if applicable (such as Target Painter) to help cut into this penalty – but the Stealth Ship's defence is calculated at its printed defence plus the Stealth bonus, in addition to whatever other defensive bonuses (from Upgrades, for example) are relevant. For example: a Stealth Ship with a printed defence of 8 has a 'real' defence value of 13. If opposing Ships Target Paint that Ship for 4 points, a volley result of 9 will be sufficient to inflict a wound. Stealth Ships cannot be boarded by an opposing Ship unless that opposing Ship possesses the trait Hunter – Hunters completely ignore all the effects and penalties of Stealth and can volley fire against it or declare boarding actions as normal.

8.5.15 Stoic – A unit with the trait Stoic, when destroyed by volley fire, may immediately respond with one last attack volley of its own against any legal target - not necessarily the unit that destroyed it - before it is discarded onto the scrapheap. This Stoic unit cannot take any other action besides this last volley. A Stoic unit takes this last volley in whatever state it was in when destroyed – all bonuses or traits remain in effect, but none can be activated if they weren't already. For example: a Ship that has already activated its Fearless trait remains Fearless for its last volley. Stoic Ships also cannot be hijacked by opposing Marines, only scuttled.

8.5.16 Unique – Commanders may only deploy one copy of a card with the trait Unique at a time, but Commanders may have multiple copies of cards with this trait in their constructed deck. Multiple copies of a card with this trait may be in play simultaneously provided they were each originally deployed by different Commanders. If your Marines hijack an opposing Commander's Unique Ship, you may keep it even if you have already deployed that same Ship yourself. Note that some Upgrade cards have the trait Unique, and only the Module is treated as Unique - not the Ship to which this Upgrade is attached.

Figure: The Long Spur Super Carrier is one of the largest spacecraft Humanity has yet built.

Section 9 - Deck Construction

9.1 Your Constructed Deck

Decks of Hull Breach cards are sold ready-to-play and consist of 55 cards. Each deck is functional and can be used right out of the box. However, if you wish to mix and match from your collection of Hull Breach cards to create your own unique deck, that's fine too!

9.1.1 In order to be legally playable, a Hull Breach deck must consist of no more or less than 55 cards. Five of those cards are mandatory for all decks: one Station card, at least two Module cards, a Resource Stockpile card, and a Currency Stockpile card.

9.1.2 The 50 other cards in your deck are determined at your discretion. You may choose from a wide array of Event, Tactic, Ship, Marine, Module, Option, Upgrade and Breakthru cards to fill out your deck. When picking cards to include, you must also abide by the following rules:

9.1.3 You may include a maximum of 3 copies of any Ship, Marine, Module, Upgrade or Option card.

9.1.4 You may include only one copy of any Event, Tactic, or Breakthru.

9.2 What Should You Include?

As general guidelines for constructing a deck, we recommend that you include at least 4 Module cards, 15-20 Ships, and at least a few Marines. The remaining card slots can be any combination of Breakthrus, Events, Tactics, Upgrades, Options or additional Ships and Marines.

9.3 Picking a Theme and Making It Work

It's usually best to start with a concept and work from there, rather than picking an interesting Station and seeing what you can do with it. Suppose you want a big fleet of powerful warShips. Your best bet is probably picking the Xeros Orbital Shipyards Station and starting there.

9.3.1 You know you'll want Ships – but what kind? Little ones or big ones? Ships with Marines, Drones or Fighters? Lots of support traits, like Target Painter or Jammer? Or maybe just brute force? Choose Ships that work well together. Ships with lots of firepower are always substantially more effective if there are Target Painting allies around to help them hit their foes, and Marines generally like it when the Ship they're trying to board is Jammed and not firing back at theirs.

9.3.2 Now that you have a fleet, what does your Station need to do to support it? You can generally either outfit your Station for economic gain or military might. In the above example you're probably going to want to maximize your income, so you're better off starting with two economically-oriented Modules in play. If you think you're light on Station defences, include a Module or two in your Shipyard that you can deploy later to increase its firepower or survivability.

9.3.3 Picking Event and Tactics can be very powerful. We recommend not including more than 10 of these two types of cards in order to not dilute your military forces too much, but your mileage may vary. Pick cards that will help your forces do what you want them to do – too many cards dedicated to reacting to your enemy's moves can hinder rather than help.

9.3.4 Breakthrus can either support combat operations or your economy, but are usually a luxury and not a game-breaker. Finally, add Upgrades or Options to allow some avenues to bulk up individual units and you're ready to start taking on your foes!

Section 10 - Golden Rules

10.1 We Break Our Own Rules

Any card with printed text that is in opposition to the basic rules always takes precedence.

10.2 Never Ever Perfect

Any natural roll result of a 1 is always a miss/failure, and any natural roll result of a 10 is always a hit/success during an engagement with volley fire regardless of any other penalties or bonuses.

10.3 Always Shuffle

Anytime you search your Shipyard for any reason, you must reshuffle your deck.

10.4 Never Something From Nothing

Regardless of any reduced cost bonuses, you may never gain Resource or Currency from any card being deployed unless the card says specifically to do so. For example, if you have a card that reduces cost by 2 Resource and you are deploying a card that only costs 1 Resource, it would deploy for 0 Resource.

10.5 Always Tell Them What You're Doing

Always clearly state the effect of a card and what you're specifically doing with it when the card is deployed, and always specify your targets during volley fire. All cards deployed on the battlefield must be exposed and easily seen at all times, you may not 'stack' or 'hide' your cards for any reason.

10.6 What's Done Is Done

A Station Command is stressful - expect to make mistakes. However, if you made a decision in anything that MAY (any optional action) happen there is no going back, once either another card is deployed, destroyed, or volley dice are rolled. Any game rule effect that MUST happen (any card effect or game mechanic that is enforced by the rules) always will, even after the fact.

10.7 Solve Your Arguments Fairly

If the Commanders encounter a game rule or mechanics dispute that cannot be clearly and easily resolved, Commanders may decide among themselves what the most reasonable course of action is. All Commanders in the game will roll a volley die. The Commander who rolled the highest result decides the outcome of the situation – obviously, re-roll ties if necessary.

10.8 Special Cards

These are cards not found in the main game. Any Commander using these cards must tell all other Commanders they have Special card(s) in their deck, and all other Commanders must agree to their use or they are considered illegal.

Section 11 - Definitions

11.1 Action

What a unit chooses to do during its turn in the initiative order of an engagement. The unit's action might be using an Active trait, firing its weapons using its printed attack value, or in the case of a Fighter or Drone, launching from or docking with a host Ship or Station.

11.2 Attached

A card that is linked or committed to another card. If a card with attached card(s) is destroyed, then all other attached card(s) associated with it are all also destroyed. Generally, a Commander partly tucks an attached card underneath the card he or she is attaching it to.

11.3 Attacker

Any Commander who initiates combat by sending his or her Ships to an opposing Commander's Station is known as the Attacker for the duration of that engagement.

11.4 Battlefield

A general term for the area in which all deployed cards are used in play.

11.5 Boarding Action

A special engagement where Marines fight for control of a Ship or Station.

11.6 Capacity

Indicates a Ship or Station's ability to attach Fighters, Drones and Marines. Capacity varies between classes of Ships and per Station. Specific Marine and Fighter/Drone capacity is marked on cards that may attach them, and those numbers represent the maximum number of Marines of Fighters/Drones that may be attached. If, for whatever reason, you suddenly lose capacity in your Ship or Station, check to ensure your Fighters, Drones and/or Marines still have the capacity necessary to hold them. If not, your Fighters must deploy into open space and any Marines that no longer fit aboard are discarded on to your scrapheap as causalities.

11.7 Commander

Any player in the game of Hull Breach!©

11.8 Compulsory Damage

Compulsory damage is any damage that is not inflicted or suffered on a Ship, Station, or Marine by rolling volley dice, but rather by cards. Some card effects deal wounds and damage regardless of the Ship, Station, or Marine's defence value. The trait Resistant ignores this damage altogether.

11.9 Conscription

This refers to the ability to search your deck of cards, or Shipyard, and deploy a Ship or Marine of your choice, provided you pay twice its normal Resource and Currency cost. You may do this once per turn during your Manufacturing Phase. Note that you cannot Conscript any Unique Ships or Marines.

11.10 Counter

A marker that is used as a reminder for certain effects within the game, most commonly your Resources and Currency, or Wounds inflicted on a unit. This includes the orange Wound, blue Jamming, and green Target Painting tokens provided in the box set.

11.11 Currency

The amount of money in your treasury or the tangible influence of you as a Commander. This is vital for deploying Ships, Modules, and Marines – and the powerful, game-altering Event and Tactic cards. Currency is one of two parts of your Stockpile.

11.12 Dead Space

A part of space where no Stations are located. This is only used in special engagements.

11.13 Defender

Any Commander who must protect his or her Station from an Attacker is known as the Defender for the duration of that engagement.

11.14 Deploy

To play a card from your deck or your hand into the game. A card must be deployed to use its effects.

11.15 Destroyed

A unit that has suffered fatal damage or a card that, for whatever reason, must be placed on to your scrapheap with no further effect on the game.

11.16 Dock

A Fighter or Drone may choose to dock (that is, re-attach to a legal host unit) on its turn to volley fire. This counts as the Fighter or Drone's action for this turn. A Fighter or Drone that is attached to a Ship is referred to as being DOCKED.

11.17 Engagement

Fleet or Marine combat within the game of Hull Breach!©

11.18 Faction

Your faction is the sub-type of the Station you have deployed. For example: RDF, Colonial, or Corporate. Some cards may only be used in certain decks by Commanders using a particular Station and faction.

11.19 Faction-Only

A card that can only be used by the named faction – Corporate, Colonial or RDF.

11.20 Fleet

A collective term for all your local Ships. If you have Ships attacking an opposing Station, and Ships currently defending your Station, then you have two separate Fleets.

11.21 Hijacked

Generally as the direct result of winning a boarding action - a Ship has been taken out of the Commander's control and placed under the control of another commander or vice-versa. If you hijack an opposing Ship, you must leave a Marine aboard; otherwise as soon as it is left undefended it immediately reverts to its former Commander.

11.22 Host

When a Fighter or Drone is attached to, or docked with, another Ship, Station or Module, that card is referred to as the Fighter or Drone's HOST.

11.23 Immediately

Anything that must happen directly after a card is played or an action is taken, and before anything else can have an effect on the game. For example, an Event card with the printed text "immediately" has its effects on the game resolved as soon as the Commander announces his or her intent to use it, before absolutely anything else can happen.

11.24 Initiative

A value printed on each Ship, Marine, and Station indicating when it is allowed to act during an engagement. Ships with smaller numbers will act before Ships with larger numbers, and likewise for Marines.

11.25 Launch

To deploy a Fighter or Drone from a Ship or Station to which it is attached/docked, into open space. This is a free action. Fighters can do this at any time, but Drones must do this either at the start of the Skirmish Phase or wait for its host's turn to act in initiative order.

11.26 Local

This term is used to describe a Ship, Marine or Station's physical proximity to others. Local indicates that one Ship is near another, as opposed to being on the other side of the galaxy. For example, two Ships both attacking the opposing Commander's Station are local to one another. A third Ship remaining at your Station and not participating in the attack is not local to those two Ships.

11.27 Natural, Natural 1, Natural 10

The result of any volley die, or dice rolled in an engagement that is unmodified by any other cards or their effects. See Section 8.1 Golden Rules.

11.28 Module

A Module card is attached to a Station and grants a specific bonus or ability to the Station it modifies.

11.29 Opposing

A card that is controlled by another Commander, or a term for your enemy in the game.

11.30 Printed Traits, or Printed Text

The actual physical print on a given card. Attaching certain cards to others can add a trait or ability or even remove it depending on the circumstance.

11.31 Regimented

A trait that indicates that when a unit is deployed, the Commander immediately searches his hand or Shipyard for Drones, Fighters, or Marines as indicated by the icon on the card, and immediately deploys them at no cost.

11.32 Resources

Represents a Commander's accumulated raw materials, such as metal, fuel, electronic components, etc at his or her disposal. Resources make up one part of your Stockpile.

11.33 Result

The rolled number of any volley die, or volley dice rolled.

11.34 Retreat, or Retreating

A term used when an attacking fleet leaves or is attempting to leave an engagement prior to the destruction of one of the involved fleets or Station.

11.35 Sacrifice

To destroy a card under your command; you may not sacrifice a card that is not under your control or that has already been destroyed. You may only sacrifice cards when instructed to do so by a card's printed text; this action is not generally available to you.

11.36 Scrapheap

A pile of discarded cards, whether they have been discarded deliberately or destroyed.

11.37 Scuttle

The act of destroying a Ship your Marines have hijacked from an opposing Commander. You may only scuttle a Ship immediately after you've won that boarding action. If scuttled, that Ship is immediately destroyed. The Marines who scuttled the Ship return to the Ship they boarded from.

11.38 Shipyard

Your constructed deck of cards. This is where you draw the cards in your hand from.

11.39 Station

Your home base, which you must defend at all costs. If your Station is hijacked, scuttled, or destroyed you lose the game immediately.

11.40 Stockpile

Your command's accumulated resources and currency. At the beginning of the game every Commander starts with 10 Resources and 10 Currency in their own stockpiles. Your Station, whichever you choose, gives +X Resource and +X Currency per turn, where X is the number specifically marked on the card itself in the respective black or gold icon. Your Resources and Currency are limited to a maximum of 20 of each, and they both can never fall below 0 for any reason.

11.41 Types

There are several types of cards in the game: Station, Module, Ship, Option, Upgrade, Marine, Breakthru, Event, and Tactic.

11.42 Unit

A generic term for Ships, Stations and Marines, mainly used in this manual.

11.43 Volley, or Volley Fire

A generic term used to describe the action of an attack, or the firing upon of an opposing Ship, Station, or Marine. Volley dice are ten-sided dice used when volley firing, but are occasionally use to determine the effects of certain Event cards.

11.44 Volley Die, or Volley Dice

A ten-sided die, or dice used to determine a result in the game. There are a few situations in Hull Breach!© which call for the rolling of volley dice to determine non-combat results or effects.

11.45 Wound, or Wounds

Represent how much damage a Ship, Station, or Marine can withstand before it is considered destroyed, or how much damage it has already suffered marked with wound tokens. Every time a volley successfully damages a target unit, that unit suffers a wound. Multiple wounds may be inflicted per volley, depending on how many volley dice are rolled successfully in the volley. A Ship, Station, or Marine is destroyed when the number of wounds it has suffered equals or exceeds the number printed on the card.