The Kingdoms of Crusaders
The Kingdoms of Crusaders Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Unit Cards
Each unit is represented in the game by a single card. The composition of units is shown by special symbols. There are five kinds of symbols and they differ in power:
- «Lance» is the symbol of a common crusader and militia (the weakest one).
- «Bow» is the symbol of shooting soldiers armed with bows, slings or crossbows.
- «Swords» is the symbol of hardy trained professional soldiers - the followers of knights.
- «Helmet» is the symbol of knights.
- «Banner» is the symbol of leaders of a crusade (the most powerful one).
The symbols are placed on the top of the cards according to their power from left to right.
Location Card
A Location card has five sectors those represent territories in dispute. Each sector has a name and a number. In a two players' game the players place their Location cards in the «mirror position»: sector 1 of the first player should be in front of sector 1 of the second player. In a three or four players' game the Location cards are placed with sector 1 at the left. The Location cards show the sectors where the players place their cards during a game. Each card must be placed correctly in one of the sectors.
Turn Sequence
The game consists of turns. Who moves first is determined by random. After the first player finishes all his actions the player at the left hand gets turn and so on.
During each turn a player has to:
- Draw a card from the top of the deck
- Place one card from his hand to one of the sectors in the Location card
Preparation for a Game
Before each game you have to shuffle the deck thoroughly. In a case of a three or four players' game you need two decks mixed. In the beginning of the first turn each player draws five cards from the top of the deck. Then each player places a location card in front of him.
Players can place cards in any of the sectors in their Location cards. Each player's sector can contain no more than four cards. So during a game each player can play 20 cards.
Armies and Domination in Territories
Four cards placed in a sector represent a player's army in this territory. The symbols of the same kind on these cards represent the squads differing in power. Any army may consist of up to five squads of the following kinds:
- a Company: two symbols of the same kind (the weakest squad).
- a Battalion: three two symbols of the same kind.
- a Regiment: four two symbols of the same kind (the most powerful one).
[Editor's note: the printed text reads "three two symbols" and "four two symbols"; the wording is transcribed as printed.]
[Figure: example cards — Company (Spear); Battalion (Banner) and Company (Bow); Regiment (Helmet) and Companies (Swords & Helmet).]
To determine who wins a territory you need to compare armies in the sectors with the same numbers.
At first a player checks how many regiments in a territory he's got; if one player has more regiments than the others he wins that territory. If the quantity of regiments is the same a player with the most powerful regiment wins the territory (see kinds if symbols). If the players have the same quantity of regiments of the same kinds then a player who possesses more battalions wins and so on. If necessary, the players compare quantity and quality of their companies.
[Figure: "Victory" — 2 regiments vs. 1 regiment. "Victory" — "Banner" regiment vs. "Bow" regiment. "Victory" — the same regiments: 2 battalions vs. 1 battalion.]
If all squads in a territory are the same a player with the most powerful single symbol wins. If all single symbols are the same the winner is a player who was the first to place the fourth card in the sector.
A player who wins a territory places a «victory marker» in his sector. If this is the first territory won in the game a marker number 1 is placed, if it's the second territory it should be a marker number 2 and so on.
[Figure: "Victory" marker III placed on a sector — the winning army; "Defeat" — the losing army.]
If a player has completed his army in a territory and no other player can gather a better army there, this player wins the territory immediately. Other players still can place cards in that territory.
End of a Game and a Winner
A game ends when the last «victory marker» is placed. A Winner is a player who's got more «victory markers» than the others. If two or more players have the equal quantity of «victory markers» the players whose numbers on the «victory markers» are greater will lose.
Winner by the Points
Before a game players may choose the point system by agreement. In this case each player gains victory points at the end of game. If a player wins a territory he gains 3 points for each territory he wins. If a player has the second army in a territory he gains 2 points for such a territory. If a player has the third army in a territory he gains 1 points for such a territory.