The Duke
The Duke Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
The Duke contains everything you need to play, for 2 players.
Gameboard
The gameboard is where the action of The Duke takes place.
Rules Booklet
The Rules Booklet is what you're reading right now.
Bags
The two bags hold each player's Troop Tiles during game play (and can be used to store the tiles between games).
Troop Tiles (2 Sets)
There are two sets of the following identical tiles, in light and dark wood:
- Duke
- 3 Pikemen
- Wizard
- Seer
- Priest
- Marshall
- 3 Footmen
- Knight
- Ranger
- General
- Champion
- Bowman
Terrain Tiles
These tiles modify game play on the board and how the Troop Tiles interact:
- Mountain
- Fort
- 2 Flags
Set-Up
First, place the gameboard on a smooth surface in the center of the playing area.
Next, each player selects one bag of Troop Tiles. Both players set aside the Duke Tile and two Footman Tiles of their color, and place all of their remaining Troop Tiles into their bags.
Determine which player will set up first. That player chooses a side of the gameboard and places his Duke Tile in one of the two center squares in his edge row (or home edge). He then places his two Footman Tiles in any two squares that share a side with the Duke; their long sides must match (that is, no "kitty-corner").
The second player places his Duke Tile in one of the two center squares on the edge row opposite the first player (his home edge), and places his two Footman Tiles in any two squares that share a side with the Duke. Once again, their long sides must match. The second player does not have to place his Duke Tile exactly opposite his opponent's Duke Tile.
Each player's remaining Troop Tiles are placed back in their bags.
Starting Side: Each Troop Tile has a "starting" icon on its "starting" side, with another icon on the reverse, or "non-starting" side. All tiles placed on the board for the first time, whether at the start of the game or added during the game, must be placed with the starting icon visible.
Orientation: Each Troop Tile must be placed on the gameboard with its name oriented directly toward the player who controls the tile. Regardless of where a tile moves or where on the board new tiles are placed, they must always be oriented toward the controlling player, and remain so throughout the game.
STARTING SIDE ICON / NON-STARTING SIDE ICON
How to Play
The player who placed his Duke and Footman Tiles first during set-up begins the game. Play alternates back and forth between players until one player achieves victory.
Each turn, a player must do one of the following (but not both):
- Move a Troop Tile: Move a Troop Tile on the gameboard using any legal move as shown by its movement pattern.
- Place a New Troop Tile: Pull a random Troop Tile from the player's bag and place it on the gameboard in an unoccupied square sharing a side with the square occupied by the player's Duke.
A player can never pass; he either moves a Troop Tile or places a new one every turn.
See below for a full description of these two options.
Move a Troop Tile
During each player's turn, he may choose to move any single Troop Tile he controls on the gameboard. Each tile has a movement grid; the space in the center of the grid shows the Troop Tile's current square as it corresponds to the gameboard, and the other movement icons show the squares that this Troop Tile may interact with on the board. The icon in a given square in the movement grid determines how the Troop Tile interacts with that location during a move.
Movement Icons
The following rules define what the various movement icons on each Troop Tile's movement grid allow. A player may only choose a single target square in a turn to interact with, and hence a single icon, regardless of how many squares the tile may potentially interact with, or the number of different icons on the movement grid.
In the above movement example, the Seer has many options. It can move one square diagonally or jump two squares forward, left or right. However, it cannot jump off the board or move into the square occupied by its own Duke tile.
Move: This icon allows a Troop Tile to move to the indicated square if there is a clear and straight path to it from the starting square (the square the tile occupies on the gameboard). If there is a friendly or enemy Troop Tile in between the starting and target squares, then the move cannot be made. Likewise, the move cannot be made if there is a friendly Troop Tile in the target square. If there is an enemy in the target square, however, the move can be made and the player captures the enemy tile (see Capturing Tiles, below).
Jump: This icon allows a Troop Tile to move to the square shown, jumping over any Troop Tile (friend or enemy) along the straight path from the starting square to the target square. If there is a friendly Troop Tile in the target square, the move cannot be made. If there is an enemy in the target square, the move can be made and the enemy tile is captured (see Capturing Tiles, at right). Nothing happens to the Troop Tiles that were jumped over.
Slide: This icon allows a Troop Tile to move any number of squares in the direction shown, as long as it has a clear path. The Troop Tile may not jump over any pieces. It ends its turn in an opponent's square, the controlling player captures that piece (see Capturing Tiles, at right); it cannot end its movement in a square occupied by a friendly tile.
Strike: This icon allows a Troop Tile to capture from afar. Remove an enemy Troop Tile in one of the squares indicated by this icon (see Capturing Tiles, at right), but leave the Troop Tile in its original place; using this icon does not move the tile. This icon has no effect on a friendly tile.
Command: A Troop Tile with these symbols can move other Troop Tiles around. Instead of moving this Troop Tile, the player moves one of the Troop Tiles he controls from any square indicated by one of these symbols to any other square indicated by one of these symbols. If the Troop Tile that was moved ends its turn in a square occupied by an enemy tile, capture that tile (see Capturing Tiles, at right); a tile cannot end its move in a square occupied by a friendly tile.
Flip the Tile: In all instances above, at the end of a player's turn (after a movement icon has been used), the Troop Tile that used the icon is flipped to the other side. If the Troop Tile moved to a new square, it is turned to the new side after reaching the new square. When Strike and Command icons are used, this still flips the Troop Tile, even though the tile didn't move. When using the Command icon, the Troop Tile that is moved does not flip; only the Troop Tile that initiated the move is flipped (that is, the tile that used the Command icon).
Capturing Tiles: Any time a Troop Tile ends its move in a square occupied by an opponent's Troop Tile, remove the opposing piece from the gameboard (simply place it next to the board).
Putting the Duke Tile in Danger: A player cannot move a Troop Tile if it would allow the opponent to capture his Duke Tile in the next turn.
Looking at Opposite Sides of a Tile: A player can always pick up and review the reverse side of any Troop Tile he controls; he does not have to show his opponent that side when doing so. A player can never pick up and review an opponent's Troop Tiles, however.
Hint: The opposite side of a Troop Tile's movement grid can often be very different from the front. A player may move thinking he's safe from a tile, only to have his opponent move the tile and flip it, putting his own tiles in danger. Part of the strategy and thrill of The Duke is trying to remember all the capabilities of the opponent's Troop Tiles, while maneuvering your own tiles toward victory. However, for those players wishing for more ease of play, pp. 12-13 of this rules booklet shows all of the Troop Tiles for reference during game play.
Place a New Troop Tile
During each player's turn, instead of moving a Troop Tile he controls, he may place a new Troop Tile on the gameboard.
Draw a random Troop Tile from the appropriate bag and place it starting side up (marked with a starting icon) in any empty square that shares a side with your Duke (it cannot be "kitty corner"); remember to place it with the correct orientation (see Orientation, p. 2). If the controlling player's Duke is surrounded (either by the controlling player or the opponent's Troop Tiles, or the edge of the gameboard), a new Troop Tile may not be placed; a player must instead move a tile already on the gameboard (see p. 3).
Once a tile is removed from the bag, it must be placed on the board, even if it is automatically in danger of being captured next turn.
If a player's bag runs out of Troop Tiles, that player can no longer place new troop tiles during this game; the player will have to move a tile every turn.
Stuck Tiles: Tiles can be "stuck" in a position, either moved or placed there, where they can't move there for the rest of the game.
Hint: Because Troop Tiles may become stuck, players should take careful note of where they are moving a tile and especially where their Duke is when they are drawing a new tile.
In the example at right, Tina is playing the lighter tiles and it's her turn. Unfortunately, she's in a bad way as she's managed to get herself trapped on the far side of the board.
If she moves her Footman into the open space, it can be captured by her opponent's Champion Tile. She can't move her Duke to capture the Wizard, as the Marshall Tile would then be able to capture the Duke, so that move isn't allowed. Her best option could be to simply draw a tile from the bag and hope for one that would allow her to move and eliminate the Marshall, thus potentially allowing her to eliminate the Wizard with the Duke in the turn after that.
However, she's only pulled one of her three Pikemen. If she pulls a Pikeman Tile now, as shown in the diagram, the only place she can put it is on the left of her Duke Tile; she can't place it in the open space kitty corner to her Duke, as that's not allowed. Placing the Pikeman to the left of her Duke, however, would trap her Pikeman for the rest of the game and also trap her Duke, forcing her to sacrifice her Footman on the next turn to open up a new space on the right of the Duke and then hopefully draw a tile that will break her out of the position she's in.
She'll remember next time to try not to let herself get so trapped.
Winning the Game
The game is won as soon as a player captures the opponent's Duke Tile.
Expanded Play
The following rules provide expanded game play options for additional enjoyment of The Duke.
As any of the expanded game play options can add more complexity, which often means a longer game, both players should agree to using any such rules before game play begins.
Terrain Tiles
The following tiles modify the gameboard as follows.
Mountain Tile
Before play begins, randomly determine the placement of the Mountain Tile after set-up is complete (see p. 2).
The following rules apply to the Mountain Tile:
- The square occupied by a Mountain Tile cannot be moved into with the Move or Slide icons, or jumped over with the Jump icon.
- New Troop Tiles drawn from the bag cannot be placed in this square.
- The Strike icon cannot be used if a straight line between the target square and the center of the square occupied by the Troop Tile crosses any part of a square occupied by the Mountain Tile. If that line directly cuts through a square "kitty corner" to the Mountain Tile, then the icon can still be used.
- The Command icon cannot be used to move a Troop Tile into a square occupied by a Mountain Tile, or to another square if the path of the moving Troop Tile would pass through the square occupied by the Mountain Tile.
In the examples on the previous page, both the Bowman and Pikeman Tiles are showing their non-starting sides.
For the Pikeman, a straight line drawn from the center square occupied by it to either of the squares it could normally target with its Strike icon passes through the square occupied by the Mountain Tile, so it can't use that icon in either square this turn; this means the Knight and Footman Tiles occupying those squares are safe this turn.
However, if a player trades out the Pikeman for the Bowman in this situation, things change. A line drawn from the center of the Bowman's square to the center of the target square on either side of the square occupied by the Mountain Tile passes through a "kitty corner" square. As such, the controlling player can still use the Strike icon in either square to eliminate the Marshall or the Priest; obviously the player cannot use the Strike icon in the third, front square. Since an opponent would be able to eliminate the Bowman next turn by using the Priest's Move icon, using the Bowman this turn to remove that threat by capturing the Priest is likely the best move.
In the example at bottom, the General Tile has its non-starting side showing. The player wishes to use its Command icon to move the Pikeman Tile in Square A to Square E. Since the Pikeman is not flipped when it is moved this way, the player will set himself up to capture the Seer on his next turn, forcing his opponent to move that tile or risk losing it. However, the Mountain Tile in Square D is blocking that move. The controlling player can move the Pikeman Tile into squares B or C, but not D or E.
Fort Tile
Before play begins, randomly determine the placement of the Fort Tile after set-up is complete (see p. 2).
The following rules apply to the Fort Tile:
- The square occupied by a Fort Tile can be moved into with the Move or Slide icon; simply place the Troop Tile on top of the Fort Tile. If an enemy tile already occupies the square, capture it.
- Only a single Troop Tile can be in the same square occupied by a Fort Tile at the end of a turn; if a friendly Troop Tile is already there, then the move cannot be made.
- A Fort Tile cannot be jumped over with the Jump icon.
- New Troop Tiles drawn from a bag cannot be placed in this square.
- The Strike icon cannot be used to capture a Troop Tile in the same square as a Fort Tile.
- The Strike icon cannot be used if a straight line between the target square and the center of the square occupied by the Troop Tile crosses any part of a square occupied by the Troop Tile; if that line directly cuts through a square "kitty corner" to the Troop Tile, the icon can be used (just like the Mountain Tile; see p. 6).
- The Command icon can be used to move a Troop Tile into a square occupied by the Fort Tile, but a moving Troop Tile cannot move past a Fort Tile. In the example of the Command icon and Mountain Tile diagram (see p. 7), if the Mountain Tile were a Fort Tile, the player could move the Troop Tile into Square D occupied by the Fort Tile, but not into Square E. When using the Command icon to move a Troop Tile into a Fort Tile, if an enemy tile occupies the Fort Tile, capture it; if a friendly Troop Tile, the move cannot be made.
Flag Tiles
In some Alternate Objectives games, described starting at right, the players place Flag Tiles on the gameboard before play starts.
Flag Tiles can be picked up and carried by Troop Tiles that end their move in a square occupied by a Flag Tile; simply place the Troop Tile on top of the Flag Tile.
On a player's turn, instead of making a normal move as indicated by the movement icons on the Troop Tile's movement grid, the Flag may be moved to another Troop Tile controlled by the player if that Troop Tile occupies a square that shares a side with the current Flag Tile holder; simply move the flag tile from underneath the first tile to underneath the new tile. If there are no other squares occupied by Troop Tiles the player controls that share a side with the Flag Tile holder, the Flag Tile cannot be moved.
Alternate Objectives
As with any military campaign, the objectives of a given battle can change based on circumstances. These rules provide a variety of options for mixing up the style of any The Duke game; players may find that these ideas spawn additional variants they'd like to create themselves.
Unless stated otherwise below, all the standard rules of game play apply.
Counting Coup
When honor is at stake, shaming your opponent with minimal bloodshed can raise your glory high.
The following additional rules apply:
- Each player places a Flag Tile, after set-up, in any space along either edge of the gameboard. The player who finished set-up last (see p. 2) places his Flag Tile first, followed by his opponent.
- Using the rules under Flag Tiles, at left, each player may choose to move his Flag Tile on his turn.
- A player cannot enter the square occupied by an opponent's Flag Tile.
- Score 1 point for ending a move in a square sharing a side with the square occupied by the opponent's Flag Tile (simply write the score down on a piece of paper, or track it in some other fashion); "kitty-corners" do not count. After the point is scored, the owner of the Flag may immediately move that tile to any square sharing a side with one of the Troop Tiles he controls, and then takes his standard turn. If there is no open square that fits this criteria, the Flag Tile cannot be moved.
- No points are scored for Troop Tiles that begin a turn in a square that shares a side with the opponent's Flag Tile square (even if a Troop Tile uses the Strike or Command icon and flips at the end of a move).
- Placing a new Troop Tile on the board in a square that shares a side with the Flag Tile square does score a point.
- If a player's Duke is captured, that player cannot place any new Troop Tiles on the gameboard, players do not win by capturing the Duke, however.
- If a player has all of his pieces captured, he automatically loses (the opponent wins).
- A player wins immediately upon scoring 3 points.
Other Objective
A Duke may be powerful, but he's not always the endgame in the Machiavellian power plays within the king's lands.
The following additional rules apply:
- Each player places a Flag Tile, after set-up, in any open space on the opponent's home edge. The player who finished set-up last (see p. 2) places his Flag Tile first, followed by his opponent.
- A player cannot pick up or move his own Flag Tile; that is, he cannot end his turn with one of his Troop Tiles occupying the square of his Flag Tile.
- Using the rules under Flag Tiles (see p. 8), each player may choose to move his opponent's Flag Tile on his turn.
- If a player's Duke is captured, that player cannot place any new Troop Tiles on the gameboard; players do not win by capturing the Duke, however.
- If a player has all of his pieces captured, he automatically loses (the opponent wins).
- A player wins immediately by moving his opponent's Flag Tile to any square along his own edge of the gameboard.
In the first diagram, Joshua, playing the light-colored tiles, is in a good position. His opponent, Frank, has had a string of bad luck, leaving his Flag exposed. Joshua is going to capitalize on that and try and move it to his gameboard edge.
It's his turn, so in the second diagram on the previous page, the first thing Joshua does is move his Footman Tile into the square occupied by the Flag Tile.
To stop Joshua from moving his Knight next to the Footman Tile, Frank wants to eliminate the Knight Tile. He could use his Pikeman, but that would put it in danger of capture by Joshua's Footman next turn. Instead, in the third diagram, he uses the Strike icon of the Bowman (flipping the tile even though it didn't move) and captures Joshua's Knight Tile.
However, Joshua's got a backup strategy. In the fourth diagram he moves the Wizard adjacent to the Footman.
Frank's not in a position to use a Strike icon against the Footman, nor can he move into the square to capture the Footman while the Flag is there, so in the fifth diagram Frank sets up for the next best option and moves his Pikeman.
Rather than moving any pieces (or placing a new piece), in the sixth diagram Joshua moves the Flag Tile from underneath the Footman Tile to underneath the Wizard Tile.
That's what Frank was hoping for. In the final diagram, he uses the Strike icon from the Pikeman to capture the Wizard (he flips the Pikeman Tile, as normal), leaving Flag Tile by itself in a square.
Joshua's still got the advantage, but he's several turns from being able to move Frank's Flag Tile the one last square needed to hit his home edge and win the game.
Dark Rider
Sending a lone rider to harass an enemy's flank can be devastating to enemy morale, while showcasing the superiority of your own troops.
The following additional rules apply:
- One player selects 5 Pikemen (he'll need to use Pikeman Tiles from both bags), and places them in any squares of his edge of the gameboard. How the player chooses which squares to place the Pikemen in is completely up to him.
- Once the first player has placed all his Pikemen, the opponent places a single Knight Tile in any square along his edge of the gameboard and then takes the first turn to start the game.
- The Pikeman player immediately wins by capturing the Knight, or by moving three of his Pikeman Tiles into squares on his opponent's edge of the gameboard (if the Knight player captures at least two Pikemen, the Pikeman player cannot win in this second fashion).
- Once a Pikeman Tile reaches the opponent's edge, it is frozen and cannot be moved or captured for the rest of the game.
- The Knight player immediately wins by capturing three or more Pikeman Tiles.
Logistical Nightmare
Logistics can defeat you as quickly as any enemy when you're unable to deploy your troops during a battle, but snatching victory under such conditions is the mark of a true leader!
The following additional rules apply:
- Before the game begins, players set aside their Duke and three Footman Tiles, then place all the rest of their tiles in front of them and then randomly determine who will select first.
- The first player selects a single Troop Tile(s) type and places it in his bag. The second player takes all of the Troop Tile(s) of that type and places them back in the box; they won't be used this game.
- The second player then selects a single Troop Tile(s) type of those remaining in front of him and places it in his bag. The first player then takes all of his Troop Tile(s) of that type and places them back in the box; they won't be used this game.
- This alternates back and forth until all Troop Tiles are either in bags or in the box.
- Each player takes one of his Footman Tiles and places it in his bag.
- The player who picked first, as described above, sets up first; proceed with standard set-up (see p. 2).
- The player who picked second takes the first turn to start the game.
- All other standard rules apply during game play.
Dawson and Kristian are about to play the Logistical Nightmare variant. They've set aside their Duke and Footman Tiles and have all the rest of their Troop Tiles in front of them; they randomly determine that Kristian will choose first.
While it's not the best pick, Kristian likes having the extra three tiles and chooses the Pikeman; Dawson takes his three Pikeman Tiles and places them in the box.
Dawson then has the chance to pick one of the more powerful tiles and chooses the Wizard; Kristian remembers to place his Wizard tile in the box.
Kristian then grabs the Champion; Dawson places his in the box.
Dawson snags the Bowman; Kristian puts his in the box.
Kristian then selects the Seer; Dawson's goes in the box.
Dawson snatches up the Priest; Kristian drops his in the box.
Kristian grabs the Knight; Dawson tosses his in the box.
Kristian then selects the General; Kristian puts his in the box.
Kristian then pulls the Marshall; Dawson places his in the box.
Finally, Dawson takes the last tile, the Ranger, and Kristian drops his in the box.
They each take one of their Footman Tiles and place it in their bag. Then Kristian sets up his Duke and two Footman Tiles first, followed by Dawson, who then starts the game by taking the first turn.
Each Turn
- Move a Troop Tile: Move a Troop Tile on the gameboard using any legal move as shown by its movement pattern.
- Place a New Troop Tile: Pull a random Troop Tile from the player's bag and place it on the gameboard in an unoccupied square sharing a side with the square occupied by the player's Duke.
Symbols
STARTING SIDE ICON — NON-STARTING SIDE ICON — MOVE — JUMP — SLIDE — STRIKE — COMMAND
Credits
Game Design Jeremy Holcomb and Steven McLaughlin
Game Development Randall N. Bills
Editing Diane Piron-Gelman
Logo, Game Graphic Design & Rulebook Layout Matt Heerdt
Published by Catalyst Game Labs, an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC PMB 202 • 303 91st Ave NE • E502 Lake Stevens, WA 98258
©2012 Catalyst Game Labs. All Rights Reserved. The Duke is a trademark of Catalyst Game Labs in the United States and/or other countries. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Copyright Owner, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo is a trademark of InMediaRes Productions, LLC. Made in China.