The Last Kingdom Board Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Components
• Game Setup
• Component Overview
  • Leader Mats
  • Leader Cards
  • Round Cards
  • Game Board
  • Action Plaques
• Terminology
  • Allegiance
  • Affinity
  • Victory Points for Affinity
  • Conflict/Succession Regions
  • Strength
  • Maxing-Out Affinity
• Gameplay
• Phase 1: Draft
  • Refresh the Round Deck
• Phase 2: Conflict
  • An Overview of the Conflict
  • Conflict and Succession Regions (Round I)
  • Take a Turn
  • Resolve the Conflict
  • Win the Conflict
  • Lose the Conflict
  • Momentum
  • Disband Excess Armies
  • Reset for Next Conflict
• Phase 3: Cleanup (Round I Only)
• Phase 3: Final Scoring (Round II Only)
• Action Plaque Effects
• Credits
• Designer's Note from John D Clair
• Gameplay Example
  • Resolving the Conflict
• Quick Reference Guide

Game Overview

In The Last Kingdom Board Game, you will take the role of a leader in this time of conflict. The game plays over two Rounds, during which players perform actions to command armies in order to shape the course of the war. Your allegiance to the Saxons or the Danes can be firm or fickle, and your score will reflect not just your prowess in battle, but your political skill in maneuvering the competing forces of pre-England. During the War Phase, Players gain Victory Points from winning in Conflict Regions.

At the end of Round II (once the fifth and final Region has Peace), the game immediately ends. Players reveal their Victory Point totals that they have secretly accumulated behind their screens and the player with the most points wins and is the ruler of England. See Final Scoring Phase, pg 13.

Components

• 1 Game board
• 1 Drawbag
• 5 Player screens
• 7 Action plaques (each has a backside for the 2-player game)
• 5 Allegiance markers
• 73 Victory Point tokens (50s, 10s, and 5s)
• 13 Allegiance rings
• 40 Action tokens
• 5 Peace tokens
• 2 Strength markers
• 65 Army tokens: 20 Dane armies, 15 West Saxon armies, 15 Mercian armies, 15 Northumbrian armies

For 2-Player Games Only:

• 1 Momentum marker (see pg 11)

• 1 Locked marker (see pg 15)

• 10 Leader mats

• 20 Leader cards (2 per Leader)

• 18 Character figurines:

  • 11 Leaders — Uhtred, King Alfred, Aelswith, Odda, Aethelwold, Aethelflaed, Brida, Guthrum, Ragnar, Erik & Sigefrid
  • 7 Heroes — Leofric, Skade, Hild, Finan & Sihtric, Haesten, Beocca

• 40 Affinity markers (4 per Leader, same front and back sides)

• 1 Conflict token

• 1 Succession token

• 1 Invasion token

• 70 Round cards: 35 Round I cards, 35 Round II cards

Game Setup

1. Place the Game Board in the center of the table.

2. Shuffle the 7 Action Plaques and place them in a randomized row in the area above the Market Action Track's 7 slots (top of the board). For a 2-player game, plaques should be flipped to their 2-player side.

3. Give each player a Leader Mat. Players may choose a Leader, or be dealt one randomly. For your first game, we recommend using these Season 1 characters:

   • 5-players: Uhtred, King Alfred, Guthrum, Aethelwold, Brida
   • 4-players: Uhtred, King Alfred, Guthrum, Aethelwold
   • 3-players: Uhtred, King Alfred, Guthrum
   • 2-players and Solo: Uhtred, Aethelwold

   Return unused Leader Mats to the box.

4. Players now compare the Initiative Numbers, next to the Starting Region on their Leader Mats. Give the Conflict Token to the player with the lowest initiative. This player will choose which Region to have the first Conflict (see pg 9). Give the Succession Token to the player with the second lowest initiative.

5. Place Leader Mats in each player's Play Area. Then based on that Leader, give each player: 2 Leader Cards, 4 Affinity Markers, Matching Figurine(s), Allegiance Marker and Ring(s), Player Screen.

   • 5A. Place all unused Character Figurines to the side of the game board. Return unused Leader Cards, Affinity Markers, Allegiance Markers, and Player Screens to the box.

6. Based on the information on each Leader Mat, players then:

   • 6A. Place their figure into its Starting Region.
   • 6B. Flip the Allegiance Marker to its Starting Allegiance, and place the Allegiance Ring to that side around the figure's base.
   • 6C. Place Starting Action Tokens behind their Screen.
   • 6D. Place 4 Affinity Markers on the Starting Affinity positions.

7. Separate the 4 types of Army Tokens: Danes, West Saxons, Mercians, and Northumbrians, into four separate piles next to their matching Army Pools on the right side of the board.

   • 7A. Add armies into each of the 5 Regions on the board by reading the icons under each Region's name and adding the corresponding armies.
   • 7B. For "?" armies: place 5 Danes, 1 West Saxon, 1 Mercian, and 1 Northumbrian into the Drawbag (8 total), draw 1 randomly for each "?". After this, return the Drawbag to the box.

8. Separate the Victory Point Tokens, Action Tokens, 5 Peace Tokens into separate piles nearby.

9. Place the Invasion Token on the Prepare for Invasion spot in the lower right of the board.

10. Place all other Allegiance Rings not being used by players to the side of the game board.

11. Place the 2 Strength Markers on the "zero" space of the Conflict Region Track at the bottom of the board.

12. To set up the 2 Decks of Round Cards:

    • 12A. Gather all the Round Cards into separate decks (with backs marked with 'I' and 'II').
    • 12B. Remove all Hero Cards (marked with the person icon) from each deck.
    • 12C. Of the Hero Cards, remove any that match Leaders that players are using, returning them to the box.
    • 12D. From what is remaining of Hero Cards, without revealing, select 3 random Round I Hero Cards and 3 random Round II Hero Cards and shuffle them into each respective deck. Return the rest to the box.
    • 12E. Finally, place each deck onto their matching spots at the top right of the board.

For a 2-Player Game: Place the Momentum Marker, Locked Marker, and 1 additional Allegiance Marker nearby. Flip the Momentum Marker like a coin to set its side.

Component Overview

Leader Mats

Each player has a Leader Mat for one of the playable characters. A Leader Mat shows: Leader's Name; Figurine Image; Starting Region/Initiative; Starting Allegiance; "Move Your Leader" Action; Special Leader Ability; Figurine's Permanent Effect; Starting Action Tokens; Starting Affinity.

Leader Cards

Each player has 2 Leader Cards specific to their Leader that can be played as an action anytime on their turn, once a Round. A Leader Card shows: Action Title; Action Type (Primary, Secondary: Passive); Iconic Description; Text Description of Action; Leader Starting Card Label.

Round Cards

The game takes place over two Rounds, and there are different cards used in each Round based on their card backs. These cards are drafted at the start of the Round and like Leader Cards can be played as actions. There are several types of Round Cards: Primary Action; Hero with Permanent Effect; Secondary with Instant Action; Secondary with Passive Action.

Game Board

The game board has all the information in the game to track: Affinity Track; Market Action Track; Round Card Decks; Army Pools; Map of Regions (Northumbria, Wales, Mercia, East Anglia, Wessex); Prepare for Invasion; Conflict Region Track.

Action Plaques

There are 7 Action Plaques above the Market Action Track. Descriptions for each plaque is listed on pg 15, and each is double-sided depending on the player count of the game. An Action Plaque shows: Action Title; Action Type (Primary, Secondary: Passive); Iconic Description; Player Count; Action Cost.

Terminology

Allegiance

Each player has Allegiance, either Dane or Saxon, noted by which side their Allegiance Marker is flipped to. This token can only be flipped when a "Change Allegiance" action is performed from a card or Action Plaque. Whichever Allegiance a player has, all of their figurines also have that allegiance too. If ever it changes, flip all of their Allegiance Rings to match.

Affinity

Each player has Affinity for the 4 different factions — they each are marked by one of the player's 4 Affinity Markers on the Affinity Track. The Saxons have 3 different factions' tracks, each with their own Affinity, and the Danes only have one. Throughout the game, players may gain Affinity for each separate faction, advancing their marker up the track.

Listed on Uhtred's Leader Mat are his starting Affinity Levels for all 4 factions, which match his Affinity Tokens on the track: Danes 2, West Saxons 1, Mercians 1, Northumbrians 0.

Victory Points for Affinity

After a Conflict is resolved, if you are aligned with the winning side you score Victory Points based on how many of your side's units are in the Conflict Region. The amount of Victory Points is based your Affinity Level with factions in the Region.

In this example, Uhtred has 2 Dane Affinity, which means he gains 2 Victory Points per Dane unit. There are 3 Dane armies in the Conflict Region, so he gains 6 points.

Conflict/Succession Regions

On the Game Board is a map with 5 Regions. Each round, one Region is marked the Conflict Region by the Conflict Token. Another Region marked by the Succession Token will be the next Conflict Region. Over the course of the game, each Region will be in Conflict twice, once each Round.

Strength

Pieces in a Conflict Region offer a totaled Strength, which is noted by markers on the Conflict Region Track (see below):

Armies in a Region are worth 1 Strength. There are 3 types of Saxon armies: West Saxon, Mercian, Northumbrian. Dane armies only represent the Danes.

Figurines (both Leaders and Heroes) in a Region by default contribute 1 Strength to whichever faction their player is aligned with. Note that some figurines may have different Strength values listed on their cards or mats. For example, Uhtred's Permanent Effect changes his strength.

In any rate, adding or removing armies and figurines from the Conflict Region will require the Strength Markers on the track to be adjusted — move the faction's marker left or right on the track. If Strength ever goes higher than 15, flip the token to its "15+" side and place it at the track's beginning.

Maxing-Out Affinity

Gain 6 Victory Points each time a player's Affinity Marker would move above the '10' space on any track.

In this example, Uhtred gains a Dane Affinity where he is already at 10 Dane Affinity. He instead gains 6 Victory Points.

Gameplay

The game plays over two Rounds. A Round is comprised of three phases, which are drafting cards at the beginning, then resolving five Conflicts, one for each Region, and then the third phase is different for each Round:

Round I:

• Phase 1: Draft (pass cards to the left)
• Phase 2: Conflict
• Phase 3: Cleanup (see pg 12)

Round II:

• Phase 1: Draft (pass cards to the right)
• Phase 2: Conflict
• Phase 3: Cleanup (see pg 12)

Phase 1: Draft

At the start of each Round, each player is dealt cards that they draft amongst themselves, choosing which cards to keep and which to pass.

1. Deal each player 5 Round Cards from the Round's numbered deck. For Round I, deal from "Deck I" and for Round II, deal from "II."
2. Each player looks at the 5 cards, selects one of the cards to keep, placing it face-down in their play area. When all players are ready, in Round I, pass the remaining 4 cards to the player on their left and accept the cards from the player on the right. In Round II, pass the cards to the right instead.
3. Repeat this "keep-one-card-and-pass-cards" step until players would be passing only 1 card. That final card is discarded to the discard pile face-down. Keep a separate discard pile for both Round I and II cards.
4. At this point, each player should now have 4 Round Cards that they drafted, in addition to their 2 Leader Cards which they started the game with. These 6 cards are combined to form each player's hand.
5. If players have any Instant Cards (with a lightning-bolt icon) in their hand after drafting, immediately play those cards face-up onto the table and resolve the actions listed on them.

Instant Secondary Actions — Cards that are played immediately after a Round's Draft Phase or as soon as they enter a player's hand.

Refresh the Round Deck

If Round Cards need to be drawn but the deck is empty, shuffle all the cards from its discard pile and reform the draw deck. Then continue drawing cards.

Phase 2: Conflict

In this phase, players take turns performing actions or passing to resolve Conflicts in all five of the Regions.

An Overview of the Conflict

The Region with the Conflict Token is where the war is happening. The Danes and Saxons fight for control there, and it's the players' actions that can tip the scales of power.

Each player has an Allegiance, noted by which side their Allegiance Marker and Ring are flipped to. This shows whether the player is aligned with the Danes or the Saxons.

The current Strength of both factions are totaled on the Conflict Region Track at the bottom of the board.

Once all players consecutively pass in taking turns, the current Conflict is then resolved and a Peace Token is placed onto the Region, flipped to the side noting if the Danes or the Saxon had won the Conflict. By the end of the Round, all 5 Peace Tokens will have been placed, one in each region.

Players aligned with the winning side (and remember, players can perform actions that change their Allegiance) gain Victory Points based on how much Affinity they have for the individual factions' units in the Conflict Region. Players on the losing side instead gain Action Tokens that they can use to perform actions in the next Conflict.

After being resolved, the Conflict Token moves to the Region with the Succession Token, and the player with the Invasion Token chooses which Region to place the Succession Token. This is the next Region that will have the Conflict.

For a turn-by-turn Conflict example, see the Gameplay Example on pg 14.

Conflict and Succession Regions (Round I)

At the start of each Round, the first Conflict Region and Succession Region must be marked with tokens (Round I and II each have different ways of doing this. For Round II, see Cleanup Phase on pg 12):

1. The player with the lowest Initiative (the number in the top left of the Leader Mat) chooses any one of the 5 Regions on the board and places the Conflict Token there. This marks where the first Conflict will occur.
2. Immediately set the Strength Markers of the Danes and Saxons on the Conflict Region Track at the bottom of the board, based on each faction's Strength in the Conflict Region (see pg 11). This marks which side is currently winning the Conflict.
3. Then, the player with the second lowest Initiative chooses one of the 4 remaining Regions (not with the Conflict Token) and places the Succession Token there. This marks the next region to have a Conflict.
4. The player with the third lowest Initiative takes the first turn.

Take a Turn

Before resolving the current Conflict, players take turns in clockwise order, choosing one of the options on this page, until ALL players choose the "Pass Turn" option, consecutively. Some of these options involve performing actions, and there are two types:

Primary Actions — You can only perform one Primary Action using the Action Market or by playing a card, and your turn ends after resolving it. Primary Actions change the state-of-the-board in some way, whether it be adding, removing, or moving units, changing your Allegiance, or moving the entire Conflict to another Region.

Passive Secondary Actions — Any number of these can be performed before a Primary Action is performed, or can even be performed and before passing (see Pass Turn).

The 5 options you can choose on your turn are:

1. Perform a Market Action:

There are 7 Market Actions listed on the Action Plaques at the top of the board. To perform these, you must spend Action Tokens from behind your screen — the costs are indicated by where each plaque sits in the Market Track.

For example performing, "I am Dane" costs 3 Action Tokens.

After resolving, move the plaque on the Market Track to the rightmost slot (most expensive), and then slide the other plaques to the left to fill in the gap.

For example, this plaque moves to the back of the row, and all other plaques slide down to fill in.

For explanations of Action Plaque Effects, see pg 15.

2. Play a Card:

Place a card from your hand face-up to your play area and resolve the text listed on the card. There is no cost to play a card.

3. Move Your Leader

Listed on your Leader Mat is a Primary Action to move your Leader figurine(s) to an adjacent Region. Spend the listed amount of Action Tokens to perform this.

4. Pass Turn:

You pass your turn to the next player when not taking an option with a Primary Action. Before passing, you may perform Passive Secondary Actions, such from a Market Action or playing a card, but if you are unable to perform a Primary Action, then you MUST pass. However, you are not out for the remainder of the current Conflict, as on your next turn they may perform an Primary Action if you wish, or pass again. If every player consecutively passes and it is the original passing player's turn, then taking turns for the current Conflict is over and it is time to resolve it (see next page).

5. Prepare for Invasion:

This is a special form of Pass Turn for only one player during each Conflict. Instead of passing like normal, take the Invasion Token from the board, placing it in your play area. You now cannot take another turn for the remainer of this Conflict, but will participate in scoring once the Conflict is resolved. There are two benefits you receive (listed in the Prepare for Invasion space on the game board):

A. Gain Action Tokens equal to how many Peace Tokens are currently on the game board.

B. You place the Succession Token before the start of the next Conflict — the Invasion Token marks this ability (see pg 12).

What if no player Prepares for Invasion?

If after all players have passed and no one has performed Prepare for Invasion, then the last player who passed automatically gains the Invasion Token, however does not gain the Prepare for Invasion Action Tokens.

Resolve the Conflict

Once all players consecutively pass in taking turns:

• The faction with the higher Strength wins: Immediately place a Peace Token in that Region flipped to the side of the victor. Then all players gain benefits for both winning or losing (see below).
• If there is a tie in Strength: Nobody gains benefits for winning or losing and a Peace Token is not placed. Instead, do not disband excess armies and move the Conflict and Succession Tokens like normal (see pg 12).

If there is a tie in the fifth and final Conflict Region of a Round: Nobody gains benefits for winning/losing and a Peace Token is not placed. Then ignore this Region — it will not have a Peace Token for this Round. Instead, proceed to Phase 3: Cleanup or Final Scoring, depending on which Round (see pg 12).

Example: The Saxons' Strength: 6 armies that have Strength. Uhtred in Round I has 2 Strength and his hero, King Alfred, has 1 Strength. The Danes' Strength: 3 armies that have Strength. Guthrum has 1 Strength, and his ability states that up to 3 Dane armies are worth +1, adding an additional 3. When the Conflict in Wessex is resolved, the Saxons have 9 Strength and the Danes have 7. The Saxons win and Wessex has peace!

Win the Conflict

The winning players revel in the victory! They gain Victory Point Tokens, secretly placing them behind their player screens. To score, each victorious player:

1. Chooses a combination of up to 5 armies and/or hero figurines controlled by the player in the Conflict Region that are aligned to the winning faction. Hero figurines belong to the faction noted on their Hero Cards (for example, Alfred scores as a West Saxon). Leader figurines CANNOT be counted for scoring, however.
2. Notes the level of each Affinity Marker: the marker's row lists how many Victory Points the player gains per each faction's army — ranging from 0 points at the bottom to 5 points at the top.

For example, Uhtred has 2 Affinity for the West Saxons. He gains 2 Victory Points for each West Saxon army chosen.

Example: West Saxons: 2 per army x 2 armies chosen (plus Hero King Alfred scores as West Saxon) = 6 points. Mercians: 1 per army x 2 armies chosen (1 army not chosen) = 2 points. Northumbrians: 0 per army (1 army not chosen) = 0 points. 4 total armies and 1 hero figure scores a total of 8 Victory Points. The crossed-out armies are ones not chosen to be scored.

On-Your-Own Bonus: A player scores an additional 5 Victory Points if they are the only winning player in the Conflict.

Lose the Conflict

If a player's Allegiance is with the losing side, they score no points. Instead, they gain 2 Action Tokens, which are placed behind their player screen.

On-Your-Own Bonus: A player gains an additional 2 Action Tokens if they are the only losing player in the Conflict.

Momentum

In a 2-player game, after a scoring for a Conflict, set the Momentum Marker to that winning side. In the next Conflict, whichever side the marker is showing is considered to have +1 player for determining the On-Your-Own Bonus.

For example, if the marker is set to the Saxon side, and you have Dane Allegiance and your opponent is aligned with the Saxons, then, win-or-lose, you would gain the On-Your-Own Bonus.

Disband Excess Armies

If there are more than 5 armies in the Region after a Conflict then armies must be disbanded until there are 5 or fewer. To do this, follow this rule: "Have one of every army, if possible."

No matter which type of army, start by removing 1 from whichever type has the most. If multiple armies are tied for the most, remove 1 from each of the tied types. If there are now 5 or fewer armies, then disbanding is done. If there are still more than 5, then continue disbanding until there are 5 or fewer.

Reset for Next Conflict

If there are more than 5 armies in the Region after a Conflict then armies:

1. Move the Conflict Token to the Region with the Succession Token — this is the next Conflict Region.
2. The player that currently holds the Invasion Token chooses which Region to place the next Succession Token. The Region cannot already have a Peace Token, and if there is only one Region left without a Peace Token, the Succession Token is not placed and is removed from the board.
3. Place the Invasion Token back onto its space on the board.
4. Proceed to the next Conflict with all players taking turns until they consecutively pass. Once all 5 Conflicts have been resolved, move to Cleanup Phase (Round I only) or Final Scoring Phase (Round II only).

Phase 3: Cleanup (Round I Only)

After Round I is complete, it is time to prepare for Round II:

1. Gain up to the amount of Starting Action Tokens listed on your Leader Mat, placing those behind your player screen.
2. Discard all Round Cards currently played in your play area to the discard pile, except for any Hero and Instant Cards that have a Permanent Effect — those continue providing you with their benefits in Round II.
3. Discard all unplayed Round Cards your hand to their respective discard piles, and gain 1 additional Action Token for each card discarded from your hand.
4. Return the 2 Leader Cards to your hand.
5. Remove all Peace Tokens from the board.
6. Give the Conflict Token to player who last had the Invasion Token, and give the Succession Token to the player left of that player. Place the Invasion Token back on its spot on the board. These players will place the Conflict and Successions Tokens at the start of the next Conflict Phase and the next clockwise player will take the first turn.

Players are now ready to start the Draft Phase for Round II using cards from the Round II deck.

Phase 3: Final Scoring (Round II Only)

After the Conflict Phase of Round II is finished, the war is over and players are ready to see which Leader has gained the most Victory Points. Total all the Victory Point Tokens from behind each player's screen.

The player with the most Victory Points is crowned the ruler of Britain. In the case of a tie, based on the Peace Tokens from the end of Round II, the player aligned to the faction with the most tokens wins. If the tied players are aligned to the same faction, then add their total Affinity Levels and the player with the most wins. If players are still are tied, then the Leader with the highest Initiative number wins.

Action Plaque Effects

Each plaque has two different sides: one regular and one used only in a 2-player game. Note if the side you are using has the "2-player" icon when setting up your game.

To See is to be Wise — Primary Action. You must change your Allegiance. 2-Player Side: You must also lose 1 Action Token (you can still perform this action even if you do not have 1 token to lose).

I Shall Take What is Mine — Primary Action. Move any 2 armies into an adjacent Region. From that Region, move any 1 army to a different adjacent Region. 2-Player Side: Also, the player selects 1 card at random from your opponent's hand, looks at it, and returns it.

No Mercy — Primary Action. Select 2 adjacent Regions and remove 1 army from each Region. Then, gain 2 Victory Points to place behind your player screen. 2-Player Side: Instead of gaining 2 Victory Points, gain 3.

"Destiny is All" — Passive Secondary Action. Look at the top 3 cards of the Round II deck and add one to your hand. Put the other 2 at the bottom of the deck without showing your opponents. This action does not end your turn. 2-Player Side: Same as other side.

I am Dane — Primary Action. Add 2 Danes to any Region.

England is Born — Primary Action. Add 1 Mercian, 1 West Saxon, and 1 Northumbrian, each to separate Regions.

2-Player Sides' Effect: Double Down — To Double Down, you must be aligned to the faction listed on the plaque (either Saxon or Dane). Take the extra Allegiance Marker from nearby and place it on top of your own marker. The other player cannot now Double Down (neither as Saxon or Dane), nor can you change Allegiance, for the remainder of the current Conflict. When the Conflict is resolved, if both you and your opponent share the same Allegiance and your faction wins, only you score Victory Points — the other player has lost the Conflict and they receive 2 Action Tokens. Neither you or your opponent receive the On-Your-Own Bonus, however. After the Conflict resolves, return the Allegiance Marker to its starting location nearby.

Make the Right Choice — Passive Secondary Action. Gain any 1 Affinity (West Saxon, Mercian, Northumbrian, or Dane) of your choice. This action does not end your turn.

2-Player Side's Effect: Locked — After gaining 1 Affinity of your choice, take the Locked Marker, flipping it to your current Allegiance's side. You are no longer able to change Allegiance for the remainder of the current Conflict's duration while holding this marker — you are locked with this Allegiance. If the other player uses the same plaque's action, they then take the Locked Marker from you and set it to their Allegiance. After the Conflict is resolved, return the Locked Marker the its starting location nearby.

Credits

Game Designer: John D Clair Lead Graphic Designer: Benjamin Shulman Graphic Designers: Peter Wocken, Jason Washburn Game Developer: Michael Coe 3D Designer: Chad Hoverter Editor: Dylan D. Phillips

Designer's Note from John D Clair

Very big thanks to the smart and fun folks who helped with all the playtests. This was a different and interesting design challenge and their time and input were invaluable. Thanks to the Gamelyn Games team for their trust in me and their excellent contributions to the game design. I'd also like to highlight a couple of great games that informed and inspired this design. First is Blood Rage, a favorite game of mine which inspired the idea of card draft phases followed by dynamic battle phases. Second is The King is Dead, a brilliantly elegant design that informed some of my design framework around multiple warring factions where players are not locked into one side or the other.

Gameplay Example

Here is an example of the turns for the first Conflict in Round I. This is a 4-player game with the Leaders Uhtred, King Alfred, Guthrum, Aethelwold.

After Phase 1: Draft, all players must play any cards with Instant Secondary Actions that they have in their hands:

• Uhtred plays Brutal Tactics, which gains him 1 Action Token. It also has a Permanent Effect that allows Uhtred to gain 1 Victory Point Token whenever 1 or more armies of his opposing Allegiance are removed for any reason.
• Guthrum plays Friendships which gains him 1 West Saxon Affinity and 1 Action Token.
• Aethelwold plays Empathy for All which gains him 1 Action Token, and then gains him 1 Affinity with the faction he has the least Affinity with. Since he has 0 Northumbrian Affinity, he gains 1 Northumbrian. He also has the Leader Ability, "Aethelwold's Dane Affinity is always equal to his lowest Saxon Affinity." Since 1 is his lowest Saxon Affinity, his Dane Affinity Token is also moved to 1.

Starting the Conflict: Since Uhtred's initiative number is 1, he places the Conflict Token in Wessex. Since Aethelwold's initiative is 2, he places the Succession Token in Northumbria. Since Guthrum's initiative is 5, he takes the first turn of the Conflict in Wessex.

The Starting Strengths in Wessex:

• The Saxons have King Alfred and 3 West Saxon armies, which offer 4 Strength.
• The Danes have 2 Dane armies, which offer 2 Strength.

Turn 1 — Guthrum: Uses his Primary Leader Movement Action listed on his Leader Mat: he spends 3 Action Tokens to move his figurine from East Anglia to Wessex. His figurine also has the Permanent Effect, "Up to 3 Dane armies in Guthrum's Region are +1 Strength." Since there are 2 Dane armies, the Dane Strength is +2.

With the addition of Guthrum and his ability, the Dane's Strength Token on the track moves from 2 to 5. The new Conflict totals are 5-Danes vs. 4-Saxons.

Turn 2 — King Alfred: He first plays the Secondary Passive Action Card, Chaos, which allows him to draw a card from the Round II deck and add it to his hand, which he draws Round II's Maneuver Card. He then decides to play it as a Primary Action, gaining 2 Action Tokens, and then first moving 1 Dane army from Wessex to Mercia, and then moving 2 Mercian armies from Mercia to Wessex.

The new Conflict totals are 6-Saxons vs. 3-Danes.

Turn 3 — Uhtred: Uses his Primary Leader Movement Action, paying 2 Action Tokens to move his figurine from Northumbria to Mercia. He also has the Leader Ability, "After Uhtred moves, he may move 1 additional Region." This allows him to then move from Mercia to Wessex.

Since Uhtred has Dane Allegiance, and his Permanent Effect is that he is 2 Strength in Round I, the new Conflict totals are 6-Saxons vs. 5-Danes.

Turn 4 — Aethelwold: He plays his Leader Card, Playing Both Sides, which he adds 2 Dane armies to Wessex (which each are +1 Strength due to Guthrum's Permanent Effect), and in East Anglia adds 1 West Saxon, 1 Mercian, and 1 Northumbrian army. He then changes his Allegiance to Dane.

The new Conflict totals are 9-Danes vs. 6-Saxons.

Turn 5 — Guthrum: Seeing that the Danes are winning, he passes his turn.

Turn 6 — King Alfred: He first spends 5 Action Tokens at the Action Market to use the Secondary Passive Action, Destiny is All. This allows him to draw 3 Round II Cards, look at them, and then choose one to keep. Destiny is All's plaque then moves to the back of the row. He then spends 3 Action Tokens to use the Primary Action, England is Born, to add 1 West Saxon army to Wessex, 1 Mercian army to Mercia, and 1 Northumbria army to Northumbria.

The new Conflict totals are 9-Danes vs. 7-Saxons.

Turn 7 — Uhtred: Seeing that the Danes are winning, and acknowledging that King Alfred is not ready to quit, he passes his turn.

Turn 8 — Aethelwold: Spends 4 Action Tokens at the Action Market to use the Primary Action, No Mercy, which he removes 1 West Saxon army from Wessex and 1 Mercian army from the adjacent East Anglia, and then he gains 2 Victory Point Tokens. Since Saxon armies are removed, Uhtred's Brutal Tactics Permanent Effect triggers and Uhtred gains 1 Victory Point Token.

The new Conflict totals are 9-Danes vs. 6-Saxons.

Turn 9 — Guthrum: He again passes, lying in wait.

Turn 10 — King Alfred: He plays the card Brida, adding Brida's figurine to Wessex. She is a Hero with an Allegiance Ring flipped to the Saxon side, and she offers 1 Strength to the Saxons. She also has the Permanent Effect, "If your side wins the Conflict in Brida's Region, you may return any one of your face-up Primary Action Cards in play to your hand."

The new Conflict totals are 9-Danes vs. 7-Saxons.

Turn 11 — Uhtred: He decides it is time to move! He plays his Leader Card, Change of Heart, which changes his Allegiance from Dane to Saxon (he flips his Allegiance Marker and Ring, and then he also gains 1 Dane Affinity. Also, since Alfred has the Permanent Effect on his Leader Mat: "If a player changes Allegiance to Saxon and their Leader is in Alfred's Region, they gain 3 Action Tokens," Uhtred gains 3 Action Tokens.

This change massively swings the Conflict total: 9-Saxons vs. 7-Danes.

Turn 12 — Aethelwold: Having failed in his plot to usurp his uncle, being betrayed by Uhtred, and also not trusting Guthrum's Allegiance to the Danes, he decides to Prepare for Invasion, taking the Invasion Token. Since there are no Peace Tokens on the map he does not gain any Action Tokens for doing so. He will place the Succession Token when resetting for the next Conflict, but for now passes for the remainder of this Conflict.

Turn 13 — Guthrum: Also seeing victory for the Danes slipping away, but with a secret ploy up his sleeve to put himself on top, he passes.

Turn 14 — King Alfred: He passes, confident in Saxon victory.

Turn 15 — Uhtred: He passes, and with all players consecutively passing, the Conflict is now ready to be resolved.

Resolving the Conflict

With a final Conflict total of 9-Saxons vs. 7-Danes, the Saxons win the Conflict! Place a Peace Token flipped to the blue Saxon-side into Wessex.

Next, for each Leader, resolve their outcomes for either being on the winning or losing side:

Uhtred is aligned with the Saxons so, he wins the Conflict. He scores Victory Points for armies in Wessex: Affinity 1 x 3 West Saxon armies = 3 points; Affinity 1 x 2 Mercian armies = 2 points. Total of 5 Victory Points.

King Alfred is aligned with the Saxons so, he wins the Conflict: Affinity 3 x 3 West Saxon armies = 9 points; Affinity 1 x 2 Mercian armies = 2 points. Total of 11 Victory Points. Brida also has a Permanent Effect that triggers, allowing King Alfred to add the Maneuver card he played back to his hand.

Guthrum is aligned with the Danes, however, he has the Leader Ability, "When Guthrum is in the Conflict Region, and his side loses, he may change Allegiance before scoring." He therefore, changes to Saxon and wins, also gaining 3 Action Tokens for changing in Alfred's Region: Affinity 1 x 3 West Saxon armies = 3 points; Affinity 1 x 2 Mercian armies = 2 points. Total of 5 Victory Points.

Aethelwold is aligned with the Danes so, he loses the Conflict. He does not gain Victory Points, but instead gains 2 Action Tokens, and 2 additional Action Tokens for the On-Your-Own Bonus, being the only Leader aligned with the Danes. He also has the Invasion Token so he will choose the next Region to place the Succession Token in.

After all players have resolved their scoring, disband excess armies and reset for the next Conflict in Northumbria (see pg 12).

Quick Reference Guide

Gain: The plus symbol means that a player gains the listed item, whether it be Victory Points, Action Tokens, or Affinity (see below).

Victory Points: Gained when winning Conflicts or by performing actions, these determine which player wins the game in the Final Scoring Phase.

Action Tokens: Gained at the start of each Round and when performing actions, these can be spent to perform actions in the Market at the top of the board, and to move a Leader.

Allegiance: Change between aligning with the Saxons or with the Danes, the two sides fighting each other in the Conflict.

Affinity — The level of favor a player has with one of the four factions: West Saxon, Mercian, Northumbrian (all Saxon), and Dane. A "?" with a down-arrow icon indicates Affinity of the lowest faction.

Strength — The amount each army and figure in a Conflict Region contributes to winning the Conflict. This is totaled using the Conflict Region Track at the bottom of the board.

Higher Strength — The requirement that the player's faction has the higher Strength in the listed Region. A tie in Strength does not count as being "higher."

Armies — Represents a single unit of one of the 4 factions and contributes 1 Strength to the Conflict Region: West Saxon, Mercian, Northumbrian (Saxon); Danes. For setup: a "?" means a random army from the bag. On a card: a "?" means an army of the player's choice.

Figurines — Represents either a Hero or Leader. Figurines have the Allegiance of the player controlling them and by default, contribute 1 Strength to their faction in a Region.

Primary Action: You must perform one per turn, or else you pass. They change the state-of-the-board in some way.

Passive Secondary Action: Any number of these can be performed before a Primary Action is performed, or can even be performed and before passing a turn.

Instant Secondary Action: Performed immediately when the card enters your hand.

Region: One of the five kingdoms on the board: Northumbria, Mercia, Wales, East Anglia, and Wessex.

Adjacent Region: Two Regions that share a single border.

Non-Adjacent Regions: Two Regions are not connected by a border.

Different Regions: An action that must be performed in different Regions (labeled A / B).

Peace Token: When a faction wins a Conflict, place this token flipped to the winning Faction's side in the Conflict Region.

Add: You may add the listed item to a Region. If there are not enough of a specific army in an Army Pool, then an army cannot be added.

Remove: You may remove the item from a Region, returning it to the supply.

A Specific Region: You may perform an action in a Region, such as adding an item, but it must be adjacent to a Region matching the listed required item.

Move: You may move the item from one Region to an adjacent Region. When moving a "?" you may always choose to move one of your Leaders/Heroes instead of an army.