Kill the King Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Modes
• 1. Kill the King
  • Object of the Game
  • Setup
  • Playing
• Suggested Army Setup: Kill the King
• 2. Attack and Defense
  • Object of the Game
• Suggested Army Setup: Attack and Defense
• 3. Kill the King Giga Mode
  • Object of the Game
• 4. Attack and Defense Giga Mode
  • Object of the Game
• Unit Rules
  • Leaders
  • Battering Ram
  • Walls
  • Cavalry
  • The King's Door
• Units Overview
  • Infantry Units
  • Cavalry (C)
  • War Elephant (W) (Advanced)
  • Flaming Pigs (F) (Advanced)
  • Siege Engines
  • Leaders

Game Modes

1. Kill the King (main game). The attacking player has 11 rounds to enter the castle and kill the king. If this is not achieved within 11 rounds, the defending player wins the game.
2. Attack and Defense (short version). The attacking player has six rounds to eliminate the opposing player's leader and reach the opposite end of the battlefield with two of his own units. If this is not achieved he will lose the game.
3. Kill the King (giga). Two boards, 2-4 players.
4. Attack and Defense (giga). Two boards, 2-4 players.

1. Kill the King

In this mode, the whole board is used, including the castle spaces.

Object of the Game

The attacking player has 11 rounds to enter the Castle and kill the King. If this is not achieved within 11 rounds, the defending player wins the game.

Setup

Roll one die; whoever rolls the highest number chooses to play as the attacking or defending player. The attacker has the first choice in any part of the game, such as unit purchase, placements, picking a Leader, and moving. The attacking player (black) may buy units for 90 coins while the defender (white) buys for 45 coins. Please refer to the unit overview chart for unit costs.

Each player takes turns to buy one unit each until each player is out of coins. If a player is out of coins before the opponent, he will have to wait while his opponent spends his remaining coins. Finally, each player chooses his preferred leader, and any extra units are added.

When all units have been chosen, they are placed on each player's half of the board, hidden from the opponent, using the game box as a visual barrier. The defending player may only place his units on, or inside the wall. The defending player, in the set up phase, may place a Catapult on top of the wall, but he will be unable to move the Catapult during the rest of the game.

The attacking player may only place his units within the three first rows on his half of the board. (See Image 1, page 2 of the rulebook: the attacking player's three first rows.) When all units are placed on the board, the placement is revealed.

Playing

Movement Phase: To begin, the attacking player moves any number of units he wishes to move, one at a time, and only to orthogonal spaces. No units may move diagonally. All units' movement values are found in the units overview chart, and on the tile itself. For example, Swordsmen may move up to 3 tiles per round as they have a movement value of 3. When the unit has reached its destination, you may turn the unit to face any orthogonal direction. You can rotate any unit, as many times as you want during the player's movement phase. Rotating the unit is a free action, and does not consume movement points, except for catapults which consume movement points when rotated.

Units cannot move through other units. A unit's movement must be fully completed before you move another unit. When the player has completed all his moves, he may advance to the attack phase.

Attack Phase: A unit may only attack in the direction of its arrow (front) and every attack is performed separately. An attacking unit may normally only attack the enemy unit that is adjacent to his front face.

A series of die rolls determine the outcome of the battle. If the attacker scores a hit by rolling equal to or less than the unit's attack value, the defending player must then roll a die depending on which face the unit was attacked from. The defender must roll equal to or lower than the defense value shown on the face that it was attacked from in order to deflect the attack. For example, if a Spearman unit is hit on its side, it will have to roll 2 or lower to survive. If the attack was not defended successfully, the defending unit is killed and removed from the board and considered dead, except for Cavalry units, which are flipped face down and become Swordsmen for the remainder of the game. If a defending unit deflects the attack successfully, it remains on the board and is unaffected. There is no limit to how many individual attacks a defending unit may attempt to deflect.

When the player has moved his units and made his attacks, his turn is finished and the opposing player may then take his turn, moving first and then attacking.

Cavalry reinforcements: If, by the beginning of the defending player's sixth round, the attacking player has not gotten his Leader inside of the castle wall (onto the brown ground spaces), the defending player receives 5 cavalry units as reinforcements. The defending player may place them anywhere on the sides marked with reinforcements arrows (See Image 2, page 3). If there are not enough cavalry units to do this, the defending player must use as many cavalry units as available and may then place any number or combination of units equal or less than the value of the cavalry units. The units do not need to be placed adjacent to one another. The defender begins his sixth turn by placing the cavalry units onto the board and moving them as normal units. The reinforcements come for free.

Suggested Army Setup: Kill the King

New to the game? It is recommended that new players only choose from the units listed below for their first copule of games.

Attacking player: 1 Battering Ram, 7 Archers, 6 Swordsmen, 6 Spearmen, 1 Cavalry, 2 Catapults, 1 Leader: Ranger.

Defending player: 6 Archers, 4 Swordsmen, 5 Spearmen, 1 Leader: Knight.

2. Attack and Defense

This game mode only uses the green spaces on the battlefield, and the castle is not used.

Object of the Game

The attacking player has six rounds to eliminate the opposing player's Leader and reach the opposite end of the battlefield with two of his own units. If this is not achieved he loses the game.

This game mode uses the same basic rules as Kill the King mode, with these exceptions:

1. Each player may buy units for 60 coins.
2. When all units have been bought, they are placed on the first three rows of each player's half of the board, hidden from the opponent as before, using the box as a visual barrier. (See Image 4, page 3: each player picks a side of the battlefield, then places their units on the first three rows of their chosen side.)
3. The attacking player cannot use a Battering Ram.

Suggested Army Setup: Attack and Defense

New to the game? It is recommended that new players only choose from the units listed below for their first copule of games.

Attacking player: 4 Archers, 4 Swordsmen, 2 Spearmen, 2 Cavalry, 1 Catapult, 1 Leader: Ranger.

Defending player: 5 Archers, 4 Swordsmen, 4 Spearmen, 1 Cavalry, 1 Catapult, 1 Leader: Knight.

3. Kill the King Giga Mode

(Combine two game boards) (2-4 players)

You need two copies of the game to play this mode, with the boards placed together on the Castle side, to make a completely enclosed Castle (see Image 5, page 5).

Object of the Game

The attacking players have 11 rounds to enter the castle and kill the king. If this is not achieved within 11 rounds, the defending players win the game.

This mode uses the same basic rules as Kill the King mode with these exceptions:

1. The attacking team can buy units for 180 coins, while the defending team can buy for 90 coins. The attacking team buy their units as one and distributes them freely on each side of the Castle during the setup phase. The defenders do the same and place all their troops inside the castle. The attacking team has two Battering Rams.
2. Each team has two Leaders. A team cannot have two Leaders of the same kind. The attackers need to get both their Leaders inside the Castle Walls during round 6, or else 10 reinforcements will arrive, 5 for each defending player. If only one attacker gets a Leader inside, the defenders can put reinforcements on that side (board), but not on the one where the Leader managed to get inside.
3. Only one King is used in this mode, and he can be reached from both doors. The attackers can kill the King by knocking down either of the two King doors.

4. Attack and Defense Giga Mode

(Combine two game boards) (2-4 players)

You need two copies of the game to play this mode, with the boards placed together on the grass side.

Object of the Game

The attacking team has six rounds to eliminate the opposing team's Leader and reach the opposite end of the battlefield with four of their own units. If this is not achieved the defending player wins the game.

This game mode uses the same basic rules as Attack and Defense mode, with these exceptions:

1. Each team may buy units for 90 coins. The two teams buy their units as one and then distribute them freely on their side of battlefield. Each player controls his or her half of the team's combined army. The units can move from one board to another.
2. Each team has only one Leader.

Unit Rules

Leaders

(Unit with a shield in the middle.)

Following each player's unit purchase, players may choose one Leader each. A Leader gives the player different advantages while alive. When killed, the Leader has a negative effect on the player's units. The Leader is not affected by the advantages he gives. If the Leader has been killed, the advantages no longer apply.

Battering Ram

The attacking player always starts with one Battering Ram, and it has no cost. The Ram is placed as a normal unit on the battlefield in the placement phase. The Battering Ram needs to be manned in order to move or attack, and can start the game manned. To man it, any infantry unit, either friendly or enemy, must move on to the same tile as the Ram, stacking it beneath the Battering Ram.

A Battering Ram may also be moved on the same turn that it is manned. Finally, a unit may unman the Battering Ram at the beginning of its movement phase, before any other units are moved.

In the attack phase, a manned Battering Ram may attack only a door or the gate, and serves no other purpose. It has a movement value of 3, and has an attack value of 3. When defending against attacks, the unit manning the Battering Ram uses its defense values to defend, but if there is no unit manning the Battering Ram, it has a defense value of 0 on all faces. If a manned Battering Ram fails its defense roll, the unit manning the Ram is killed, but the Battering Ram remains in play. If an unmanned Battering Ram fails its defense roll, it is destroyed and removed from play.

Walls

Climbing walls. Climbing walls is an exception to the normal phases of the game because it allows for attacks during the movement phase. Infantry units and Leaders who are adjacent to a wall at the beginning of the turn may climb it, followed by an attack on any unit that is placed on top of the wall space, with a -1 attack penalty. If the attack is successful, the attacking unit moves into the space that the defeated unit was on, and then its movement ends. The attacking unit cannot attack again that turn. If the attack fails, the attacking unit is placed back to the ground space where it started this turn. If there are no enemy units on top of the wall when you climb it, you may make a regular move after having climbed it and then attack as normal during the attack phase, with no penalty.

Cavalry units may never climb the walls, but may choose to flip their unit counter to the Swordsmen side, without spending movement points, and then climb the wall; the Cavalry unit will remain Swordsmen for the rest of the game.

Example: A Swordsmen unit intends to climb a wall. He will first have to end his turn adjacent to the wall. On his next turn he may climb the wall and attack the unit on the top of the wall. The attacking unit gets a -1 attack value penalty when attacking while climbing the wall. If he wins the fight, he will automatically move onto the wall where the defending unit was placed, and his turn ends. If the wall is destroyed before the attacking unit manages to climb it, he will have to wait another turn before he is able to attack again. While in the attack phase, if a unit is set to climb a wall as to attack a unit on it, but the defending unit is killed before he performs his attack, the attacking unit is moved directly onto the wall, and is able to attack adjacent units. He cannot make any further moves this round after climbing the wall. A unit on the wall may not leave the wall spaces from any spaces except the stair spaces in the corners of the castle.

Archers and Walls. When an Archer is shooting arrows from outside the wall against units on top of the wall the Archer attacks with a -1 attack value penalty. However if he is on a space directly beneath the wall, he may not attack a unit standing on top of it due to its inability to attack adjacent targets. Archers on top of the wall, however, may attack enemy units on an adjacent space beneath them, and use an attack value of 4 against that target. (See Image 6, page 7.) Archers may attack targets on the other side of the wall by firing over it, and do so with a -1 attack penalty.

Only Archers may attack from the top of the wall towards the ground beneath.

Catapults Attacking Walls, Gates and Units on Walls. A Catapult may attack walls and gates both with or without units on top of it. It can only kill a unit on a wall by destroying the wall space that unit is standing on. When attacking a wall or gate, the Catapult can destroy it, using a -1 attack penalty. If it hits, the wall may make a defense roll with a defense value of 4 in order to survive. If it fails, the wall or gate space is destroyed and treated as a regular grass tile, onto which any unit may move. To indicate a destroyed wall or gate, place a broken wall tile on it. If any unit was standing on the destroyed wall or gate space, it is immediately killed, without making a defense roll. Like Archers, firing over a wall results in a -1 attack penalty.

Outer Gate. This can only be destroyed by Battering Rams, Catapults and War Elephants. Attacking units cannot move onto this space unless it has been destroyed or has been opened. Defending units may move through it as if it was a regular grass tile. Units may be placed on top of the wall space above the outer gate, while units beneath may go through the gate, but no unit on the ground level can end their turn on the outer gate tile. If a Battering Ram or Catapult destroys the outer gate, it will become rubble and be considered a grass tile; place a Broken Wall tile on top of it. Units standing on top of the gate are immediately killed if it is destroyed.

When an outer gate is attacked, it defends itself with a defense value of 3. If an attacking player has a unit standing above the outer gate, it controls the gate, which allows any attacking units to move across the tile. Defending units may recapture the gate if they end a unit's movement on the wall space above the outer gate.

Stairs. Units standing on stair spaces are considered to be on the same level as both units standing on the ground and on walls. Stairs are never considered roads; the road ends at the stairs to the King's Door.

Roads. The road goes across the board, even inside the castle. Catapults and Ballistas get +1 to their movement value if they begin their turn on a road tile.

Cavalry

Dismounting. At any time during a player's movement phase, a Cavalry unit may be flipped face down, converting it into a Swordsmen unit. This is useful to climb walls or man Battering Rams. When a Cavalry unit is successfully hit and fails to defend the attack, it is immediately converted to a Swordsmen unit. Converted Cavalry remain Swordsmen for the rest of the game. If a Cavalry unit is hit by Siege Engines or War Elephants it is killed instantly without converting.

Double Attack. If a Cavalry unit successfully defeats an enemy unit, it may immediately move into the space that the defeated unit was on and then attack one additional time, but only in the same direction. If the Cavalry unit does so, its second attack is made with a -1 attack penalty. This double attack may not be used against Battering Rams; if a Cavalry unit defeats the unit manning the Battering Ram, its attack immediately ends and it does not enter the space of the Battering Ram.

The King's Door

The King's Door only applies while playing in Kill the King (and Kill the King Giga Mode) mode. All units except Archers, Catapults and Ballistas may attack the door, and all units attack the door with an attack value of 2, regardless of their normal attack value, except the Battering Ram, which always attacks the door with an attack value of 5.

If any units except the Battering Ram are on the stairs adjacent to the attacking unit, the unit attacking the door gain a +1 attack value bonus per adjacent unit, up to a +2 maximum bonus. A Leader bonus may also be used, provided the Leader is in range of the attacking unit, but the +2 maximum bonus still applies to the attack.

Upon a successful hit, the King's Door may make a defense roll with a defense value of 2. If the defender fails his defense roll, the King's Door is destroyed, the game immediately ends with a victory for the attacker(s).

Units Overview

Units and leaders marked with the "A" symbol in the chart are Advanced units.

Defense values are given as the chart shows them: front (top of the counter), left, right, and back (bottom of the counter). A value of "X on all sides" applies to every face.

Infantry Units

Archer (A). Cost 3. Moves 2. Attack: 2, 3, 4 (as listed in the chart's attack column, ending with the Archer symbol). Defense: front 1, left 0, right 0, back 0.

• May shoot over troops and walls.
• There has to be a blank space between the Archer and its target.
• Cannot attack adjacent targets unless attacking from on a wall.
• May only attack one target within its range.
• Cannot attack Catapults.

Spearmen (S). Cost 3. Moves 2. Attack: 2, 2, and the Spearmen symbol. Defense: front 4*, left 2, right 2, back 1.

• *When attacked by Cavalry in the front, Spearmen's defense value is 5, unless manning a Battering Ram.
• No Cavalry bonus when manning a Battering Ram.
• Attacks both spaces in front of it, ignoring any spaces occupied by friendly units.
• Cannot attack a unit on ground level while standing on a wall, but may do so from stairs.

Swordsmen (Sw). Cost 3. Moves 3. Attack: 3, and the Swordsmen symbol. Defense: front 3, left 3, right 3, back 1.

Peasant (P) (Advanced). Cost 3. Moves 3. Attack: 2, and the Peasant symbol. Defense: front 2, left 1, right 1, back 1.

• When you buy a Peasant you get two extra Peasant units for free.
• Can be placed on row 4 during army setup. If you defend the Castle, normal placing rules apply.

Cavalry (C)

Cost 9. Moves 5. Attack: 5. Defense: front 4, left 3, right 3, back 2.

• May move into the space of a defeated enemy unit, and may choose to attack one additional time in the same direction, if possible, with a -1 attack value.
• When killed, the unit is flipped face down and becomes a Swordsmen unit for the rest of the game.
• If hit by Siege Engines, the unit is immediately removed from the game without flipping.

War Elephant (W) (Advanced)

Cost 15. Moves 2. Attack: 6. Defense: front 4, left 5, right 5, back 5.

• Can walk through units in the movement phase. All the units that stood in the way are automatically killed.
• If the War Elephant fails his front defense roll he panics before he dies.
• No defense roll against Siege Engines.

Panic:

• The War Elephant moves three tiles in a random direction and kills any unit it shares a space with during its movement.
• Roll a die to decide which way the War Elephant goes. 1-2 left, 3-4 right, 5-6 backwards.
• If two War Elephants meet head to head, both die.
• No saving throw against Siege Engines.
• The Wall Gate and King's Door get a defense throw if attacked by the War Elephant.

Flaming Pigs (F) (Advanced)

Cost 3. Moves 3. Attack: 6. Defense: 0 on all sides.

• When you buy a Flaming Pig you get two extra pig units for free.
• Can be placed on row 4 during army setup. If you defend the castle, you can place it on the first row outside of the walls. (See Image 8.)
• Can only move in forward direction. Must move minimum 1 tile every turn.
• When any other unit is adjacent, the pig explodes and instantly kills all adjacent units. (See Image 9.) This can occur on any players' turn.
• The pig explodes if it reaches the end of the map, hits a wall or gate or is successfully attacked by any unit.
• If it explodes adjacent a War Elephant the elephant panics.
• The explosion only occurs on the ground level.
• Siege Towers and the King's Door is not affected by the explosion.
• The Wall Gate may be hit by the explosion, but can cast a saving throw (1-3).

Siege Engines

Battering Ram (B). Cost 0. Moves 3. Attack: 3, and the Battering Ram symbol. Defense: 0* on all sides. (The chart marks the defense with an asterisk and gives no note for it; the Battering Ram rules under Unit Rules describe how it defends when manned or unmanned.)

• Can only attack gates and the King's Door.
• Must be manned by a unit in order to move or attack.
• Can start the game manned.
• Automatically attacks with an attack value of 5 against the King's Door.
• If a manned Battering Ram is hit by a Catapult or Ballista, the infantry unit manning it is killed, not the Battering Ram itself.
• If an unmanned Battering Ram is hit by any unit, it is killed.

Catapult (Ca). Cost 12. Moves 1 (+1 on roads). Attack: shown in the chart as a cross of spaces, with 4 on each orthogonally adjacent space and 5 on the centre space. Defense: 0 on all sides.

• Hits the target space and all orthogonally adjacent spaces on every attack, rolls to hit for each affected unit, and affected units may not make a defense roll.
• Cannot attack adjacent targets; there must be at least 2 and no more than 5 spaces between the Catapult and its center target.
• May shoot over units and walls.
• Cannot attack the King's Door.
• Cannot be attacked by Archers.
• Cannot move and attack during the same turn.
• Rotating consumes 1 movement point.

Image 10 shows a Catapult firing with 3 spaces between itself and the centre. The player rolls a die for each tile containing a unit. At the centre tile, the attack is successful if he gets 1-5 on the die, while he needs 1-4 on the adjacent tiles.

Ballista (Ba) (Advanced). Cost 9. Moves 2 (+1 on roads). Attack: 3, 3, 3, 3, and the Ballista symbol. Defense: 0 on all sides.

• Always attacks tile 3-6 in front of it.
• Has to choose if it attacks wall tiles or ground level tiles, if they are both in range. Cannot attack both. (See Image 11.)
• May shoot over units and walls.
• When a Ballista is attacking units on top of the wall the Ballista attacks with a -1 attack value penalty.
• Cannot attack the King's Door or destroy walls but can attack the wall gate.
• Cannot be attacked by Archers.
• Cannot move and attack during the same turn.
• Can be placed on the wall during set up (when playing as defending player).

Siege Tower (Si) (Advanced). Cost 3. Moves 2. Defense: 6 on all sides.

• Must be manned by a unit in order to move. Can be manned by up to three units. Place them on top of each other. The unit on top enters the wall first.
• Can start the game manned.
• Can be placed on row 4 during army setup.
• When it is placed adjacent to a wall space it cannot be moved again. It now functions as a staircase.
• Units attacking from a Siege Tower do not get an attack penalty.
• The units inside cannot attack or be attacked until the siege tower is adjacent to the wall.
• When it is placed adjacent to the wall, the units inside can move out onto the walls if there are no enemy units in their way.
• Units can use the ground entrance from all available sides.
• If hit by Catapult, Ballista or War Elephant the Siege Tower is immediately killed. All units inside also dies.

Leaders

"The Ranger" (L). Moves 6. Attack 4. Defense 3 on all sides.

• All friendly units receive a +1 movement value bonus.
• When killed, all friendly units are unable to move next turn, but may rotate freely.
• Will die if he ends the turn as the rearmost friendly unit.

"The Treasurer" (L). Moves 4. Attack 1. Defense 1 on all sides.

• 9 extra coins to purchase units.
• When killed, player must remove all its peasants, as well as units equivalent to 12 coins. Rounded up.
• Must always end his turn adjacent to a friendly unit. If not he will run away and be considered killed.

"The Knight" (L). Moves 5. Attack 4. Defense 4 on all sides.

• All orthogonally adjacent units receive a +1 attack bonus.
• When killed, all friendly units have a -1 defense penalty on all sides for the rest of this turn.

"The Engineer" (L). Moves 4. Attack 1. Defense 1 on all sides.

• Catapults and Ballistas orthogonally adjacent to an Engineer may attack this turn even if it has moved.
• When killed, all friendly siege engines are immediately destroyed and removed from the board.

"The Beastmaster" (L) (Advanced). Moves 5. Attack 6. Defense 4 on all sides.

• War Elephants don't die after panic.
• When killed, all War Elephants panic and die.