Rise of the Amazons

Rise of the Amazons Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Contents

1 Gameboard (55x36 cm)
4 Basic Amazon cards
4 Ancillary Amazon cards
7 Common Amazon cards
4 God cards
15 Divine Intervention cards
20 Event cards
4 Miniatures
4 Playmats
4 Bonus tokens (Might / Cunning)
6 Prohibiting Area tokens
12 Flag tokens
4 Supply tokens
4 Turn tokens
4 Action Point tokens
4 VP tokens
4 Sacrifice tokens
4 Special Ability tokens

Abbreviations used in this rulebook: VP: Victory Points; AP: Action Points; SA: Special Ability; M: Might; C: Cunning; DI cards: Divine Intervention cards.

Game Setup

The printed setup illustration (page 2) is titled "Game Setup for 2 Players". It shows the five Event cards (Hydra, Minotaur, Cyclops, Pegasus, Cerberus) above the board, the Amazonomachy and Supply tracks, and the Common and Ancillary Amazon cards at the sides.

Shuffle the Common Amazon cards and place one Amazon open in the 2 corresponding positions on the board left and right, from the Amazon deck.
Place the Event tokens in the blank positions of the board. Event tokens are then revealed.
Shuffle the DI cards. Each player receives as many cards as her playmat indicates.
Each player selects one Amazon (Warrior, Mystic, Scout or Princess) and picks up his / her own card and card, as well as a random Ancillary Amazon.
Each player receives 1 Amazon miniature, 1 special ability token, 1 Sacrifice token, 1 AP token, 1 supply token, 3 flag tokens, 1 turn token and 1 VP token of their player.
Each player places her Action Point token in position 10 of her playmat and the supply token in the number specified by her playmat. Each player places their VP token on the 0 space of the board's VP track and the special Ability token in the center.
The Warrior places her miniature in a fort in areas A or K, the Mystic in Oracle B or M, the Scout in one of ports B, Z or I while the Princess in the Palace (central Area).
Depending on the god favoring each player, the players' turn tokens are placed in the designated space on the turn track, at the top of the board, as indicated in the playmat.
Shuffle the god cards and open the first one.
All players deduct 1 unit of Supply.

Board Overview

The board reads as follows:

2 common Amazon locations, with different bonuses each (+2 Might on the left, +2 Cunning on the right).
A turn track with friendly gods and their effects, as well as locations for player Sacrifices.
A track for VP.
A table of VP Action rewards.
A table with the conditions and rewards / penalties of each Amazonomachy.
A table with Supply rewards / penalties.
The map of the game, which depicts 13 areas: 12 with the names A, B, Γ, Δ, E, Z, H, Θ, I, K, Λ, M and the central area with no symbol.

The 3 buildings Oracle, Barrack and Port are scattered throughout the board, the urn indicating that in that area you can replenish your supplies, as well as blank positions with the cylix where the Event tokens are initially placed and later can be used for Sacrifice or Flag Actions. The Might (rhombus) and Cunning (circle) symbols in each region have different values and indicate the incremental stats (Might - Cunning) of an Event there. Where there is a border such as a wooden bridge, a stone bridge or a strip of land, the areas are bordered.

Playmats Overview

Each player has a playmat showing the god favoring her in the 1st round (turn position), her 2 Special Abilities, the costs of 8 actions, 6 asymmetric non-completion Event penalties, her starting Supplies, her starting DI cards, as well as an Action Point counter numbered from 0 to 11. This Action Point management is of the utmost importance for meeting the player's personal goals. The initial number of Action Points is 10.

Playing the Game

During her round, each player has a variety of Actions to manage that cost in Action Points, and can only select one of them. After the setup is complete, each player has her Basic Amazon card and an Ancillary Amazon available.

All available actions are explained in the following Player Actions section.

Player Actions

Each player handles either her Basic or Ancillary Amazon, and/or an additional Amazon from the deck of Common Amazons. Each round, they can manipulate their Amazon in an available area of the map to:

Move to a neighboring area.
Complete a Battle Event.
Visit an Oracle.
Visit a Port.
Visit a Barrack.
Make a Sacrifice to the gods.
Take under their control a cleared from events area (Flag).
Replenish Supplies (Supply).
Fulfill the Amazonomachy (included in Battle Action).

Each Action has a cost in Action Points, different for each Amazon. Players play in the order set up in Step 8 of the Game Setup. When the Action Points of all players reach 0, the round ends.

Move

All players have the same Move cost, 1 AP. Moving is restricted to and from the bordered areas.

Move Example. The player wants to reach the port of area Z, so she moves her miniature from E to Z, deducting the necessary 1 Action Point and finishing her round.

Battle

To resolve an Event, it is sufficient for the player to be able to collect stats (Might - Cunning) equal to or greater than the stats of the Event, increased by what the area in which she is applies.

Example of Battle. Alcippe is in area E, trying to resolve the blue Event Sphinx, a 2M and 4C difficulty Event. Due to E region (3M 0C), the difficulty increases to 5M, 4C. The left common Amazon on the board, Otrera, has 4M 3C stats (+2M due to position), so together with Alcippe 1M 4C stats it reaches a total of 5M 7C. Having 8 Action Points, she spends 2 on Action Battle and 2 on Otrera, moving the Action Points token to 4. She resolves the blue Event, places the token she conquered in one of its playmat slots (eliminating the penalty -3VP), wins the 4VP that the Event gives, closes Alcippe's card (exhausted till the end of the round) and discards Otrera that she used by opening a new one in her place, ending her turn.

Buildings Overview

The buildings of the game are of three types and are scattered on the map. Players can visit them by placing their miniature on the respective building for the corresponding cost and gain a number of benefits:

Port: Moving to another port area. +1VP.
Oracle: The player draws 2 DI cards, from which she chooses one and places the other at the bottom of the stack. It cannot be visited by the player 2 times in a row; she must either leave the area with a Move Action to a neighboring area or take any other action she wishes in the area. +1VP.
Barrack: Special Abilities are recharged. It cannot be visited by a player with both Abilities charged. +1VP.
Palace: Only Oracle and Barrack are located in the Palace area.

Note: in the 2 player game, areas A, Δ, M are not participating, so the available buildings are 6 and not 8.

Example Visit Port. Time to visit the port! In region Z where there is a port, Alcippe spends 2 Action Points and uses it to travel to Region I, earning 1 VP while skipping intermediate areas.

Example of Oracle Visit. In area Γ where she is already located, Penthesilea places her miniature on the Oracle, spending 2 AP. She draws 2 DI cards from which she picks one up and puts the other one at the bottom of the deck and finishes her turn.

Example Visit Barrack. Antianera located in area K, has exhausted all 2 Special Abilities. At a cost of 2 AP she replenishes them. She places her SA token at the center of the 2 Abilities and finishes her turn.

Sacrifice

This action takes place in an area with at least 1 blank Event position. It is done only through common Amazons that have the "Sacrifice" marked at the bottom of their card. Some DI cards exempt this requirement.

For each Sacrifice the player receives 2VP and selects her turn in the next round of available turn positions, so that she can enjoy the deity bonus. Cannot select the turn position she is already in.

Example of Sacrifice. Area I has a blank Event position, so in this gap Alcippe can Sacrifice to Ares god by using the left common Amazon Iphito allowing it, placing her Sacrifice token in 4th place (round token position). She spends no Action Points due to Class for that Action, only Iphito's 1 AP, while earning 2 VP. She discards Iphito that she used by opening a new one in her place, ending her turn. In the next round she will play last but will enjoy 1 extra free Action.

Flag

This action takes place in an area with all Event positions empty. It is done only through common Amazons that have the "Flag" on the bottom of their card. Some DI cards exempt this requirement.

It receives 1 or 2 VP for each Flag (if the region had 1 or 2 Events, respectively). IMPORTANT: It also receives an extra 1VP every time an opponent passes by. The opponent does not give his own VP. Flag tokens are a maximum of 3 per player.

Example of Flag. Alcippe has cleared area E from the Event, so she is allowed to conquer it with the help of Lysippe, which has the corresponding Flag property. She places her Flag token in the empty Event position, spends 2 Action Points, discards Lysippe for another 1AP, puts a new one in her place, gets 1VP (because the Event resolved there was 1) and finishes her turn. By the end of the game, whenever an opponent passes through that area, Alcippe will receive 1VP (the opponent does not lose it).

Supply

Each class has a different starting Supply: Warrior: 3 Supplies, Scout: 4 Supplies, Princess: 3 Supplies, Mystic: 4 Supplies.

From the beginning of Round 1 and in each round, Supplies are reduced by 1. Supplies are necessary for players to travel to victory as they affect their final VP and are required in Amazonomachy (see below). If the Supplies fall to zero, the player cannot claim the victory in the end. In order for a player to make the Supply action, she must be in an area with the icon of the urn, and the common Amazon Alcynoe must be available. Some DI cards make obtaining Supply easier.

Example of Supply. The player uses the right common Amazon Alcynoe with "Supply" labeled to raise their Supplies on the board from 2 to 3, spending 1 AP for the Amazon and 1 AP for the Supply Action, down from 8 to 6 Action Points.

Amazonomachy

Hercules, as part of his "labors", undertook to steal the band of the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. During this campaign Theseus, who accompanied Hercules, stole an Amazon, Antiope. This triggered the Amazon attack on Athens. The so-called "Amazonomachy" that followed is one of the basic founding myths of Athens and Classical Greek antiquity. So important, that the Athenians depicted it on west metopes of the Parthenon temple (Acropolis Athens).

In the game the Amazons do not attack Athens specifically, but they must fulfill one of the 4 conditions of Amazonomachy. It is included in the Battle action, while its non-completion penalty is -5VP. These conditions are illustrated in the table below:

Each player completes one of these available battles, places their respective tokens in the round that they have resolved it, and receive the corresponding VP. Fulfilled Amazonomachies are not available to other players.

Example of Amazonomachy. We are in Round 2, and Alcippe wants to accomplish Amazonomachy. On the left is Otrera, with "Amazonomachy" at the bottom of her card. Her stats are 4M 3C (+2M due to position), which together with Alcippe it reaches 5M 7C. They are enough for the 3rd Amazonomachy and 3VP, but she also has a useful DI card: +2M at a cost of 1 Action Point. She now reaches 7M 7C, completing the 1st Amazonomachy for 4VP, removing 2AP from Battle Action as well as 1 Supply unit, 1AP for DI card use and 2AP for using Otrera to reach from 8 Action Points to 3. Other players can only fulfill the rest of the options now.

Amazonomachy table (as printed on the board). Columns: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place reward. Each row is the Might and Cunning requirement:

Requirement (Might / Cunning)	1st	2nd	3rd
6M / 6C	+3VP	+4VP	+5VP
6M / 5C	+2VP	+3VP	+4VP
5M / 6C	+2VP	+3VP	+4VP
5M / 5C	+1VP	+2VP	+3VP

Amazonomachy has a cost of -1 Supply and a -5VP penalty at the end of the game.

Page 9 also shows a DI card example (scroll-style card reading "GET" with a 2-value Might icon and Battle symbol, "+1 Supply at the end of the game"); this is a Divine Intervention card, not an Amazon card.

Supply table (as printed on the board). Supply value and the end-of-game VP result:

Supply	0	1	2	3	4	5
End-of-game VP	skull (cannot claim victory)	-4VP	-2VP	0	+1VP	+3VP

Alternative Actions

If a player passes, then she tilts her miniature and is the turn of the next player. Other players cannot pass until she plays again. She cannot pass 2 consecutive times.

Players can additionally spend 1AP for +1VP instead of Action.

Finally, it is also possible to discard 2 DI cards and win 1 AP.

Event Cards Overview

In the 3 rounds of the game, there are a total of 20 Events that need resolving. These Events are of 5 categories (colors), 4 of each category. These cards indicate the name, the level of difficulty (Might and Cunning stats), the category (color-symbol) and the winning points.

Turn Track

At the beginning of the game, each Amazon starts from the position determined by the deity that favors it (listed on her playmat).

The turn track, apart from player order, defines what bonus each player may have. Each place regards a bonus that some Amazon-friendly deity offers. In the first round the bonuses are given by default to each listed god each player has (denoted by an open player token in place), but in the subsequent rounds one has to make the Sacrifice Action in order to enjoy them. If she doesn't make a Sacrifice, she keeps her turn but not the bonus. She cannot make a Sacrifice and secure the position she is already on.

Turn track bonuses (as printed on page 10): Hecate (negate divine conditions, end game 4VP), Cybele (+1 DI card, end game 3VP), Artemis (+1 Action Point, end game 2VP), Ares (+1 free Action, end game 1VP).

If a player has not made a Sacrifice and is affected by changes in the order of the rest, then the player on his right decides where to place them, without naturally enjoying the bonus. If the Sacrifices of the rest do not affect her, she remains in the same position without the bonus.

From first to last, the track gives:

1st: Hecate: Negates Divine Conditions.
2nd: Cybele: +1 DI card.
3rd: Artemis: +1 Action Point.
4th: Ares: +1 free Action.

(More in the Gods Overview section.)

At the end of the third and final round, the player's position gives a different VP bonus according to the track, meaning the last Sacrifice Action results in extra VP.

Amazon Cards Overview

There are 15 Amazon cards in the game: 4 Basic, 4 Ancillary and 7 Common.

Basic Amazons: Each card mentions its name, class, starting building and its stats (Might and Cunning) that serve to fulfill the Events. They are visible to everyone, and close when used.

They have 2 Special Abilities each, which can be done at the same time:

Alcippe (Mystic)

Ignores territory stats: Each area, due to terrain, weather conditions, etc. increases the statistics of an Event. When it comes to Battle action, the Mystic can deal with that Event without increasing the area.

Example: Alcippe is located in area B, wanting to resolve the purple Event Cerberus (4M 3C). Due to territory conditions, it rises to 4M 5C, and she cannot resolve it with the help of neither the common Amazons. By using her SA, the 2C is not added to the difficulty and Cerberus remains at 4M 3C. She moves the SA token to the left and can now fight Cerberus.
Attract a quest token: She can attract a token of Events to her location, from anywhere on the map. The area to be located must have at least one Event position empty. It doesn't count as action.

Example: Our Mystic lies in area Δ, where 1 Event has been resolved. The other one is a red one, which she does not need. There are some around, but she craves for a yellow one. The nearest (and last) yellow Event is at area M, where Hippolyta lies waiting to resolve it on her turn. Using this ability, she attracts the yellow token from area M to area Δ, places it at the blank spot, moves the SA token to the right and she now can spend her Action to resolve it.

Penthesilea (Warrior)

1 extra Battle for free: In addition to the allowed Action, the warrior can wage an extra Battle that does not count as Action and does not cost Action Points.

Example: After making a Move Action from area Z to area H, the Warrior wants to tame Pegasus who lies there. The Action has been made, but her ability allows for an extra Battle Action that does not cost 1AP; however, using a common Amazon has to be compensated. She moves the SA token to the left and the taming begins.
Attack an Adjacent area: The warrior can resolve a neighboring area Event without moving. The terrain difficulty is that of the neighboring area, not the one she is located. It is not affected by the presence of another Amazon. It counts as Action.

Example: Penthesilea is in area Δ, with only yellow and purple Events available. She needs a red one to cover on her playmat, so she makes use of her 2nd SA to attack the red Event Minotaur (2M 4C) at neighboring area E. She is not bothered from Hippolyta being there. The terrain difficulty is of Area E (3M 0C), raising the Event to 5M 4C. Her only Amazon left is Antiope, along with Alcynoe they have a total of 4M 4C; so it is a good chance to spend a DI card, to get another 1M 1C for a total of 5M 5C. The Minotaur now can be defeated, leaving Penthesilea with 4VP, while she spends 1AP for Alcynoe, 1AP for the Battle action and 1AP for the DI card. The DI card is discarded, Alcynoe is discarded and replaced by a fresh common Amazon, Antiope is turned face down and the SA token is moved to the right. The Event card is placed in front of the player and the red Event token onto the playmat, to cover a -4VP penalty, thus ending her turn.

Hippolyta (Princess)

Rearrange available Amazon cards: The Princess has the ability to collect all available Common Amazon cards (the 2 open and those not yet played), place whoever she wants in the 2 positions on the board, and leave the rest to use. It doesn't count as Action.

Example: On her next turn, the Princess was about to make a Supply Action, but Alcynoe has just been discarded by the previous player, using all available Amazons and making the common Amazon deck shuffled and ready again. To try and fix things, Hippolyta uses this ability: she moves the SA token to the left, takes all available common Amazons, places Alcynoe to the right slot on the board and Otrera to the left, and the rest face down. To make things certain, she also spends a DI card for the "Reserve Amazon until your next Action" choice for 1AP, preventing the other players from using her and also blocking the Cunning-bonus space. Alcynoe is placed face down until Hippolyta plays again.
Available Amazon with no cost: Using one of the 2 available common Amazons from the board at no cost. It doesn't count as Action.

Example: On her next turn, Hippolyta places Alcynoe face up and is ready for a Supply Action on area K. Having way too few Action Points, her second SA lets her make the Supply Action spending only 1AP for the Action and no AP for Alcynoe. The Supply token is moved from 1 to 2, the AP token from 2 to 1, The SA token is removed from the playmat; abilities have to be recharged at a Barrack to be used again.

Antianera (Scout)

Rearrange a pile of Event cards: The Scout has the ability to collect all available cards in one color and place whatever she wants in the top position. It doesn't count as Action.

Example: On her next turn, the Scout was about to make a Battle Action for the Green Event, but Cyclops is way to difficult to defeat in area Λ (4M 6C). To make things easier, Antianera uses this ability: she moves the SA token to the left, takes all available green Event cards, places Procrustes on top and the others at a sequence of her choice. To make things certain, she also spends a DI card for the "Reserve Event until your next Action" choice for 1AP, preventing the other players from resolving it and also blocking the green tokens all over the land. Procrustes is placed face down until it's Antianera's turn again.
Up to 2 moves: In addition to the allowed Action, the Scout can make 1 or 2 extra moves that do not count as Action.

Example: After defeating Procrustes, our Scout is on her way to area Z because Poseidon demands being at a Port (the Port in area I is occupied). By using this SA, she can make 2 moves to reach area Z in time, spending 1AP even though she made a Battle Action already. The SA token is removed from the playmat; abilities have to be recharged at a Barrack to be used again.

The Special Abilities can be used at any time during a player's turn, if available. If one is played, the Ability token is placed on it indicating the other is available. If both Abilities are played, the Ability token is removed from the playmat stating that they are exhausted until they are recharged.

Ancillary Amazons

Each card states a name and its stats (Might and Cunning) that serve only to fulfill the Events. They are visible to everyone, and close when used.

Basic and Ancillary Amazon cards are played without the cost of Action Points.

Common Amazons: Each card states a name, the cost in Action Points for her use, and her statistics (Might and Cunning) that serve to fulfill the Events. 2 of the common Amazons can be used for Sacrifice, the other 2 for Flag, 2 for Amazonomachy and 1 for Supply Replenishment. Only these are visible at the designated positions on the board, and are discarded when used.

IMPORTANT: The cards that appear in the top left and right of the board, have an increase in their stats, depending on the position: +2 Might on the left, +2 Cunning on the right. The increase is indicated by the placement of bonus M / C tokens.

DI Cards Overview

There are 15 Divine Intervention Cards in the game. Each card has 3 options, but only one is eligible per card. The cost of using a card is 0, 1 or 2 Action Points. Players can use as many DI cards as they want in each turn.

Each class has different starting DI cards:

Warrior: 2 DI cards
Scout: 2 DI cards
Princess: 2 DI cards
Mystic: 3 DI cards

Each player can visit the Oracle building and draw 2 DI cards, keeping one and the other is placed at the bottom of the deck. When the deck of DI cards runs out, the discarded ones are shuffled and available again.

It is also possible to discard 2 DI cards and get +1AP.

Note: These cards are hidden from other players.

The Active options on DI cards are:

Take xM / xC. Cost 1AP, used in Battle Action.
Reserve a common Amazon until you play again (the card is flipped). Cost 1AP.
Reserve an Event card until you play again (the card is flipped, rest of deck is unavailable). Cost 1AP.
Play in a god-forbidden area. Cost 1AP.
Get 2VP if you are last in the VP track. Cost 1AP.
Change the position of the 2 common Amazons. Cost 1AP, used in Battle Action.
Do 2 Actions in a row. Cost 1AP.
Teleport to any available area on the map. Cost 2AP.
That's my Spot: place your miniature in the position of an opponent's miniature, moving the opponent miniature to a neighboring area of your liking. Cost 1AP, used in Move Action.
Use the Special Ability of an available opponent Amazon. Spends an available Special Ability of the player, the opponent is not affected. Cost 1AP.

Example: Antianera wants to resolve the Event in area E, but territory stats do not allow it. Using this card, she chooses to use Alcippe's 1st Special Ability, thus spending her 2nd Ability. Now, she can cope with the Event without the region's surges.
Action Oracle or Barrack without using AP. Cost 0AP.

Passive Options on DI Cards at the End of the Game

The passive options on the DI cards at the end of the game are:

-1VP
+1VP
+2VP
+1 Supply
Change the color (symbol) of an Event card
Win in the Draw

Gods Overview

There are 4 gods favoring players in the game, while another 4 are hostile towards them.

The friendly gods are:

Hecate: Negates Divine Conditions: Throughout this round, the player's actions are not affected by the restrictions and / or penalties of the chosen hostile god.
Cybele: +1 DI card: At the beginning of the round, the player draws a DI card.
Artemis: +1 Action Point: Throughout the round, the player has the right to increase her Action Points by 1. This means that if she starts at maximum 11, she does not lose the bonus but wins later.
Ares: +1 free Action: In addition to one Allowed Action, the player can in turn do one more Action once, at no Action Points cost.

At the beginning of each round, a hostile god card is opened, listing the conditions required by each god. Anyone who fails to fulfill his will is punished accordingly (see card).

The hostile gods are:

Zeus: Region H is not available for this round. This includes crossing over from there. Place the black token with the X on area H, which remains until the end of the round. At the end of the current round, players must be in the Palace area. For any player who fails to do so, the VP are reduced by 2.
Poseidon: All ports are inactive for this round. Black X tokens are placed in ports and remain there until the end of the round. Other port areas options remain available. At the end of the current round, players must be in a port area (B, Z or I). For any player who fails to do so, the VP are reduced by 3.
Hephaestus: Areas Λ and E are not available for this round. This includes crossing over from there. They are placed with a black X token each and remain there until the end of the round. At the end of the current round, players must be in an Oracle (B, M or Palace) or Barrack (A, K or Palace) area. For any player who fails to do so, the VP are reduced by 4.
Hermes: All players start their round with -2 Action Points.

IMPORTANT: If a player is in a restricted area from a previous round, the first Action she must do is exclusively Move.

Note on the printed text: the Hephaestus paragraph reads "Areas L and E" in the body, while the god card reads "Inactive areas Λ E"; the board letter is Λ (Lambda), and it is transcribed as printed in the body with the board letter.

Winning the Game

The Amazon that reaches the highest amount of Victory Points by the end of the 3rd round is proclaimed Queen of the Amazons and wins the game.

Scoring at the End of the Game

Each available Amazon +1VP
Any unused Special Ability +1VP
Every DI card its passive effect
Any unused Flag token -1VP
Any non-resolved Event from playmat, the corresponding VP penalty
Bonus or penalty, depending on Supplies
For unresolved Amazonomachy -5VP
The corresponding VP from the turn track (only if Sacrifice Action was made)

Tie-Breaker

In the case of a tie, the player with the most difficult Amazonomachy resolved, wins.

Two Players Game

Areas A, Δ, M are not participating.
One from each Event token is removed (5 tokens / color).
The Event cards with the less VP points are removed (5 cards / color).

Beginning of the 2nd and 3rd Round

All players remove 1 Supply unit.
Open a hostile god card; the conditions it requires are in action.
Players' Amazons are again available, Ancillary Amazons move clockwise from player to player.
Action Points are refreshed to 10.
The last player to score gets +1 Action Point, the first -1 Action Point.
Turn changes due to Sacrifices (turn track, if possible).