Lincoln
Lincoln Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- A. Rules
- B. Board
- C. Union army counters
- D. Union control flags
- E. Confederate army counters
- F. Confederate control flags
- G. Union cards (68 cards)
- H. Confederate cards (51 cards)
- I. Game markers (two black discs)
- J. Fort counters
Starting the Game
Players select which side they will play — Union or Confederate. Place the board so that each player is closest to the side they have chosen.
Each player takes a set of cards and counters. Place the black markers on the start spaces of the Blockade and Europe tracks (marked with an "S").
Each player removes the cards numbered "I" or "II" from their deck. Separate these into two piles, one of "I" cards and one of "II" cards, and place them to one side. They are added to your deck when you shuffle your discard pile, as explained later.
Players shuffle the remainder of their decks and place them face down to form a draw pile.
Hand sizes at the start: the Confederate player draws five cards, the Union player draws six.
Starting Deployment
Army counters are then deployed on the board.
The Union player starts with:
- One "3" strength army in Washington.
- One "2" strength army in each of Harper's Ferry, Kentucky, and Cairo.
The Confederate player starts with:
- One "3" strength army in Manassas.
- One "2" strength army in each of Front Royal, Savannah, and New Orleans.
- One "1" strength army in each of Nashville, Fort Henry & Donelson, and Fort Monroe.
The Union player is the game's first player.
Description of the Cards
Lincoln is a card game with a board, so it helps to understand how the cards work.
Each player draws from their own deck. When a deck is exhausted, the player shuffles their discard pile to make a new deck, so cards cycle. Each time you shuffle, new cards are added to your deck: the Union deck gets stronger over time, while the Confederate deck becomes weaker.
Most cards may be used in more than one way. The majority of cards have a separate area at the top containing a symbol — either an army ("1", "2" or "3" strength), a ship, a fort, or a politician (representing influence in Europe). Next to that symbol is the number of cards you must discard from your hand to deploy that unit.
Important: when a card is used to build one of these units, that card is removed from the game.
The exception is "1" strength armies: these are not removed from the game when built. Instead the card goes to your discard pile (so it is not permanently lost — it will be reshuffled).
Symbols on the left-hand side of a card
- Leadership (a yellow star) — used in combat, added to your army strength.
- Movement (a train) — used to move units.
- Naval movement (a ship) — allows you to move units by sea (Union player only).
Action, Free action, and Benefit
Some cards are marked "Action", "Free action", or "Benefit", explained at the bottom of the card:
- Action — costs one of your actions to play.
- Free action — played in addition to your usual two actions. There is no limit to the number of free actions you can perform in your turn.
- Benefit — modifies an action, which in this game generally means modifying combat strengths.
A card can only ever be used for one purpose when played.
Playing the Game
Players take it in turns to perform actions. The active player performs two actions (plus any free actions).
After completing your actions, refill your hand to your hand size:
- The Confederate hand size depends on the state of the Union blockade — it is the number next to the space occupied by the black marker on the Blockade track.
- The Union hand size is always six cards.
The Blockade track shows the Confederate hand size on one side and the Union VPs on the other.
Reshuffling and adding cards
If a player has exhausted his draw pile and needs to draw cards, he shuffles his discard pile to make a new deck. He also adds cards:
- On the first reshuffle, add the "I" cards.
- On the second reshuffle, add the "II" cards.
One of the end of game conditions is the Union player not being able to add any more cards — i.e. the Union player does not get a third reshuffle.
The Confederate player simply reshuffles his discard pile as many times as required, but adds no more cards after the second reshuffle.
Victory point checks on reshuffle
When the Union player shuffles his cards, he checks his VP score:
- If his VPs are less than 2 VP on his first reshuffle, the Confederate player wins immediately.
- If his VPs are less than 5 VP on his second reshuffle, the Confederate player wins immediately.
VPs are indicated by the numbers shown in hexagons on the board. Only the Union player counts VPs. They are gained for complete control of a location and by the position of the marker on the Blockade track. (For example, Chattanooga is worth 1 VP and Atlanta is worth 2 VP.)
Taking Actions
When you are the active player, there are six actions available:
- Deploy unit
- Move army
- Declare an attack in a contested location
- Discard cards
- Card actions
- Pass
Actions are independent of each other. You must complete one action before performing your second action. Thus you cannot move units into a battle from two different directions in separate actions before fighting.
Action: Deploy unit
Each card may have a separate section at the top indicating one of:
- An army (from "1" to "3" strength)
- A fort (Confederate player only)
- A ship
- European influence (politician)
To gain the benefit indicated you must pay from your hand the number of cards shown. If the card played is a "1" strength army, it goes to your discard pile (and is thus recycled). All other cards are permanently removed from play.
If the card symbol shows one card, discard one card from your hand to deploy; if it shows two cards, discard two cards from your hand.
Placing armies and forts. If you play an army or fort card, place the matching counter (if available) in a controlled location of your choice. Place the counter in either half of the location. There is no stacking limit, including forts. The location you place it in must connect to a supply source by a set of rail links (the lines between locations on the board).
You can connect through a contested location if the rail link goes through the half of the location that you occupy.
- The Union's only supply source is Washington.
- The Confederates can trace supply from Richmond or Atlanta.
Control. You control a location if it is your army's colour and no enemy units are there. You also control a location if you have armies or one of your control flags in it, and the location is not contested.
Ship cards. If you play a ship card, move the marker one space in your favour on the Blockade track (which will be away from you).
European influence cards. If you play a European influence card, move the marker one space in your favour on the Europe track (which will be towards you).
You can never move a marker off the end of a track — once it reaches one end or the other it cannot be moved further in that direction.
Action: Move army
To move armies between locations you must discard one card with a Movement symbol on it. The card you play is placed on your discard pile (i.e. eventually you will get it back once it has been reshuffled). You then move either:
- Some or all army counters in one location along one rail link into an adjacent location, OR
- One army counter to a friendly controlled location of your choice; you must be able to trace a set of rail links through friendly controlled locations.
You cannot move a fort. For movement by sea, see Naval movement below.
You may move into an enemy occupied location, which will lead to combat. As soon as you enter a location, combat is instigated.
The Confederate player can never move to the top three locations on the Union side.
Naval movement
Only the Union player may perform naval movements. By playing a card with a naval movement symbol, the Union player may move one army between Washington and either New Orleans, Savannah, or Fort Monroe (armies can move in both directions). If the army moves to an occupied location, combat occurs.
Defence modifiers for naval arrivals:
| Location | Defence modifier |
|---|---|
| Savannah | +1 |
| New Orleans | +1 |
| Fort Monroe | +2 |
Note that ship cards are discarded after use (they are not permanently lost, as they will be reshuffled).
Action: Declare an attack in a contested location
If you already have armies in a location that is contested (i.e. it contains enemy units as well as your own) and you wish to attack those units, you do not pay a rail card to move — you simply declare your intention to attack.
Action: Discard cards
Place one or more cards on your discard pile.
Action: Card actions
Carry out the action stated on the card. See "Explanation of Card Actions" below for details. Discard the card after use (it is not permanently lost, as it will be reshuffled).
Pass
If you choose this action, you do nothing.
Combat
Combat occurs either when a player moves units into an enemy occupied location, or when he declares an attack in a location that is contested (i.e. units from both sides are present there). Combat is then resolved in the following steps.
1. Position the armies. If the attacker moves by rail, his armies are placed in the half of the location entered by the rail link. The defender moves all of his armies to the half of the location under attack — where his armies began in the location is not important, they always move to where the fight is. Forts are stuck where they are, so a fort can only take part in combat if its half of the location is attacked.
2. The attacker plays one card face down. This is compulsory. Some cards have a Leadership value, shown in a yellow star; when the card is revealed, any Leadership value shown is added to that player's army strength.
3. The defender chooses to stand and fight or to withdraw (see Withdrawal). If he decides to stand and fight, he may play a card face down — it is not obligatory.
4. Reveal and total. Each side reveals any face-down cards and sums its strength: the total army strength printed on its counters plus the Leadership values from the cards. (For example, counters of 1 + 2 + 3 total a strength of 6.)
Forts and defence modifiers:
- A fort has a value of "3" for the defender.
- If the attacker advanced by rail and there is a defence modifier on the link (e.g. Manassas gives +1 to the defender), it is added to the defender's total.
- An army can never benefit from a defence modifier of the opponent's colour — e.g. the Union player can never benefit from the defence modifier for Manassas.
- If the attack is happening within an already contested location, no defence modifiers apply.
5. Determine the winner. The highest strength total wins. The defender wins ties.
6. Calculate casualties.
- The winner loses a number of counters equal to half the total number of counters he has in the battle, rounded down (e.g. with three counters he loses one).
- The loser loses a number of counters equal to half the number of counters he has in the battle, rounded up (e.g. with three counters he loses two).
- Each player chooses which of his own counters are removed. Forts can count as casualties.
- All eliminated counters are returned to the available stock.
- The winner can never lose more counters than the loser — his losses will always be equal or fewer.
- Casualties are based on the number of counters, not overall strength, so having low value counters in an army is useful for taking losses.
7. Conduct retreats.
- If the defender loses, he moves his remaining army counters back to the next connected location (he does not simply retreat to the other half of the location). He may split his forces and retreat to different locations, so long as those locations are friendly controlled or the half of the location moved into contains friendly units.
- If the attacker loses, he retreats to the location he attacked from. If he attacked from within the location, he must retreat to a connected friendly location. He may split his retreat if he wishes.
8. Take control. If a player is the sole occupant of what used to be an enemy controlled area, he now takes control of it and places a control flag counter to show this. The control marker is only lost if the enemy gains control of the area (i.e. becomes the sole occupant).
9. Adjust the Europe track. The marker on the Europe track is moved a number of spaces equal to the number of counters lost by the losing player, moved in favour of the winning player. If the Confederate player captures and controls a blue location, he gains one additional point on the Europe track; this is lost if he subsequently loses the location.
Note that after combat the active player will eventually draw cards to refill his hand, once he has finished his turn. The non-active player does not do so, so fighting a battle means the possibility of starting your next turn with a reduced number of cards in hand.
Withdrawal
The defender may choose not to fight. He makes this decision after the attacker has played a card face down but before it is revealed.
- If he originally controlled the whole location, he withdraws to the half of the location away from the direction of the attack.
- If he was already in one half of the location (i.e. it was already contested), he must withdraw to a connected location.
- He can only withdraw to locations he controls, or half-locations that he has units in.
- He cannot withdraw via a half-location that has enemy units in it — so where the rail links feed into a location is important.
- He may split his forces when withdrawing and withdraw to different locations.
You cannot withdraw a fort; it must remain in the half of the location it is placed in. It will be eliminated if you withdraw from its location.
The Union player may withdraw or retreat from a location reached by naval movement by playing a card with a naval movement symbol; the units are moved back to Washington. If the Union player cannot play the requisite card, the units cannot retreat or withdraw, which may mean they are eliminated.
Ending the Game
The game ends when one of the following conditions is met:
- The Union player fails to score 2 VP before shuffling his cards for the first time — Confederate win.
- The Union player fails to score 5 VP before shuffling his cards for the second time — Confederate win.
- The Union player exhausts his deck for the third time (i.e. he has no more cards to add to his deck). In this case the Union player adds up his VPs: if he has 12 VP or more he wins; otherwise the Confederate player wins. VPs are indicated by the numbers shown in hexagons on the board. The Blockade track awards VPs depending on where the marker is — the Union player scores the VPs shown at the marker's position.
- The Confederate player wins immediately if the marker on the Europe track reaches the Confederate end — it is assumed Europe enters the war.
- The Confederate player automatically wins if he controls Washington.
Explanation of Card Actions
Blockade Runner / Draft
This is a free action, so it does not count towards your limit of two actions. Draw three cards from your deck.
Cavalry Raid
Play as an action. The other player must randomly discard two cards from their hand. The effect of this card can be negated if your opponent immediately plays a Cavalry Raid card in reply, effectively as an interrupt. If he does so, he immediately draws a replacement card.
High Ground
This is marked as a benefit, which means it is played in conjunction with another action. You may play this card when engaged in combat as the defender. Play it after your opponent has played his card face down, but before he reveals it. This card may be played in addition to the card you play for its Leadership value.
Paper Money / Cotton Bonds
Play as an action. You may deploy two units by playing the corresponding two cards from your hand. You do not discard any additional cards to pay for their deployment. However, the two cards are discarded or permanently removed from play in the same manner as the standard rules for deploying units.
Rail Movement
Move two units to any location you are legally connected to. The units may start and end in different locations. You may move them into an enemy controlled location to instigate combat.
Reinforcements
Played in a similar manner to High Ground. This card allows you to move one of your units from a connected location to where the battle is taking place, thus adding its strength to your total. This card may be played as either the defender or the attacker.
Credits
Game design: Martin Wallace. Graphic design team — Artist: Peter Dennis; Board: Amanda Wood; Box front: Sean Cooke; Cards & rulebook: Henri Kermarrec. Project manager: Dan Mersey. Executive producer: Will Townshend. Special thanks to Mike Wylie and Grant Wylie. Published by PSC Games.