Third Crusade Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
  • Goal of the Game
  • Sequence of Play
  • Rules Structure
• Component Anatomy
• Player Setup
• Board Setup
• 2-Player Setup
• 3-Player Setup
• 4-Player Setup
• Variable Setup
• How to Play the Game
• 1. Strategy Phase
• 2. Planning Phase
  • Order Placement Example
• 3. Command Phase
  • Activating an Event Card
  • Executing an Order
  • Activating an Order Out of Turn (Reaction Order)
  • Passing
  • Victory Check
  • Order Examples
• Battle
  • Battle Strength
  • Faith Bonus
  • Reaction Orders
  • Suffering Losses
  • Retreat Rules
  • Gaining Glory
• 4. Diplomacy Phase
  • Diplomacy Board
• 5. Upkeep Phase
• End Game Scoring
• Solo Game
  • General Rules
    • Setup
    • General Changes
  • Sequence of Play (Solo)
    • Strategy Phase
    • Planning Phase
    • Command Phase
    • Diplomacy Phase
    • Upkeep Phase
  • Bot Table
  • Solo Glossary
• Plutorial
  • Setup
  • Goal of the Game
  • How to Play
    • 1. Strategy Phase
    • 2. Planning Phase
    • 3. Command Phase
    • 4. Diplomacy Phase
    • 5. Upkeep Phase
  • 3- and 4-Player Games
  • Plutorial End
    • End Game Scoring (Plutorial)
    • Continue the Game
• Glossary
• Component List
• Component Anatomy (Boards)
• Battle Overview
• Order Overview (Fold-out Leaflet)
  • March Orders
  • Blank Orders
  • Unit Orders
  • Reaction Orders
  • Unique Orders
• Iconography

Overview

Goal of the Game

Third Crusade is a game with two opposing sides, the Muslim Alliance and the Crusader Alliance. A player will always play as 1 of 2 Armies of each Alliance. The Alliance wins by gaining Glory through conquering and Controlling Regions, completing missions and defeating enemy Armies.

• In the 2-player game each player represents one Army from opposing Alliances. The first Alliance to have at least 10 Glory during a victory check wins and the game ends. If no Alliance reaches 10 Glory during 4 rounds the Alliance with the most Glory wins.
• In the 3-player game, 2 players play together in one of the Alliances. The same conditions apply (first to 10 Glory or the most Glory after 4 rounds) but if the winning Alliance is the one with 2 players, the player that has the most Faith (through missions and events), Mercantile Cities (through Control) and points (from Objective Cards) is the winner.
• In a 4-player game both Alliances have 2 players, so the winner is the player in the winning Alliance that has the most Faith, Mercantile Cities and points from Objective Cards.

If there is a tie, whoever Controls Jerusalem wins. If neither player does, then the player with the most gold in the winning Alliance is the winner.

Sequence of Play

A round consists of 5 phases.

1. Strategy Phase
   • A. Each player draws 4 Event Cards into their hand.
   • B. Each player simultaneously places their Event Cards face down, below the bidding board.
   • C. Flip all Event Cards placed by the bidding board face up.
   • D. Players alternate picking Event Cards until all players have chosen 2 cards.
2. Planning Phase
   • A. Players alternate placing Orders until all players have passed.
3. Command Phase
   • A. Players alternate activating an Event Card or an Order until all players have passed.
   • B. Handle all Battles immediately if and when they occur.
   • C. Victory check.
4. Diplomacy Phase
   • A. Players bid for choosing a reward from the Diplomacy Card and the order in which they will advance on the diplomacy board.
   • B. Victory check.
5. Upkeep Phase
   • A. Carry out the steps of the Upkeep Phase.
   • B. Victory check.

After completing all steps in the Upkeep Phase, proceed to the next round.

The Upkeep Phase steps (shown on the Upkeep Phase reminder): 1. Mission Card check; 2. Tithe from Orders; 3. Non executed Orders; 4. Map board; 5. Victory check; 6. Advance round marker; 7. Genoa ships; 8. Crowns & command points; 9. New Mission Card; 10. Initiative track.

Rules Structure

• Words that are Capitalised refers to terms, components or actions in the game. The terms are defined in the Glossary at the end of the rulebook.
• The components and their anatomies, an overview of all Orders and an Iconography are shown on the foldout pages.
• The game has different setups for 2 players (p. 6), 3 players (p. 7) and 4 players (p. 8-9), as well as a variable setup for experienced players (p. 9).
• The Actions are described in the rules (p. 10-18).

Component Anatomy

• Event Card: 1. Army; 2. Title; 3. Year; 4. Presence & Region; 5. Number of Units/tokens; 6. Main effect; 7. Crown effect; 8. Crown requirement.
• Objective Card: 1. Main City; 2. Section of map; 3. Cities; 4. Score if completed.
• Mission Card: 1. Title; 2. Glory Section; 3. Glory requirement; 4. Faith Section; 5. Faith requirement.
• Diplomacy Card: 1. Name; 2. Reward; 3. Order of diplomacy board movement.
• Order: 1. Presence & Region; 2. Command point cost; 3. Effect; 4. Reaction Order; 5. Advanced Order.

Player Setup

1. Give each player a random player board, a box with Orders and all other components matching its Army's color. The Ayyubid Army and the Turkoman Army make up the Muslim Alliance. The Angevin Army and the Holy Roman Empire Army are the Crusader Alliance. (In a 2-player game, make sure the players get opposing Alliances.) Then each player should:
   • A. Place the Event Cards in 4 shuffled face down piles, sorted by the years on the back, next to the player board. In 2- and 3-player games players go through the cards and remove any cards marked for an opponent Army not joining the game. If the Ayyubid Army is not in the game, the Angevin player removes the Event Card "Burning of Haifa", marked in yellow at the top right corner.
   • B. Take 4 gold. (In a 3-player game the lone player gets 6 gold.)
   • C. Place all of the Infantry, Cavalry and Siege Engine tokens of the Army's color onto the matching spaces of the player board.
   • D. Place all Leaders of the Army's color next to the player board.
   • E. Take the 5 track markers of the right color and place them on 0 on their indicated tracks. The base command point marker is used to track command points from Regions on the board and bonuses from cards. The current command point marker is used to track the rounds' command points.
   • F. Take each of the basic Orders (those not marked with an Advanced symbol) and place them inside the Order box.
   • G. Take each of the Advanced Orders (those that are marked with an Advanced symbol) and place them alongside the player board.
   • H. Randomly take 2 Objective Cards. Players keep these secret from all other players, even their Alliance Partner. Players will score points at the end of the game according to how many of the Cities on the Objective Card they Control.

Board Setup

The printed example is a 4-player game, with a detailed view of Unit placement on p. 8-9. For 2- and 3-players, see p. 6-7.

1. In a 2 and 3-player game only the south (A) map board is used, in a 4-player game both the south (A) and north (B) map boards are used. Place them between all players.
2. Populate the map with Units and other components.
   • A. Place Units and Leaders into the Regions according to the player setups on pages 6-9. Avoid blocking any Resources on the map if possible. Units placed onto the board are taken from the leftmost part of the player board that still contains Units of the relevant type.
   • B. Shuffle the Mission Cards and place them face up on the future mission spot. Move the top card to the active mission spot.
   • C. Shuffle the Diplomacy Cards and place them face up on the Diplomacy Card spot.
   • D. Place the Glory track marker on 0 on the Glory track.
   • E. Place the round marker on the year 1190.
   • F. Set up the initiative track. Randomly place an initiative marker on position 1 and its Alliance Partner's initiative marker on position 3. Randomly place an initiative marker from the other Alliance on position 2 and its Alliance Partner on position 4. (In a 3-player game the lone player uses both markers of their Alliance.)
   • G. Place the Faith markers and Mercantile Cities markers on the Faith track of each Alliance. In an Alliance with 2 players both markers start at 0. An Alliance with 1 player only use the Faith marker, starting at 2.
3. Setup Genoa ships. The ships arriving with reinforcements are marked with the 1191 Spring and 1191 Autumn. Add the Units and Leaders from the Armies that are in the game to their allocated Slots.
4. Calculate crowns, command points, supply and gold for each player by looking at the Regions and Leaders they Control. For each command point they Control, they move both their base command point marker and current command point marker up once (A). For each crown they Control, they move their crown marker up once (B). For each supply icon they Control, they move their supply marker up once (C). For each gold icon they Control they move their gold marker up once (D). The icons on the Genoa ship Leaders are not counted in this step. The Ayyubid player counts all command points, crowns, supply and gold icons from Regions they Control and all their Leaders placed on the board.

2-Player Setup

Place the Units in the Regions displayed on the setup map (printed on p. 6). Avoid covering any Resources. The players only place the Units of their own 2 Armies. For each double colored Unit the player places one of their own corresponding Units. Remember the Sabotage tokens and the Genoa ships. After setup, place a Neutral Infantry into each empty City.

Track markers placement (command points / crowns / supply / gold):

• Angevin: 1 / 1 / 5 / 1
• Holy Roman Empire: 2 / 3 / 5 / 1
• Ayyubid: 3 / 2 / 4 / 3
• Turkoman: 2 / 2 / 7 / 3

The per-Region Unit and Leader placement is shown only on the printed setup map (p. 6) and is not reproduced in text.

3-Player Setup

Place the Units in the Regions displayed on the setup map (printed on p. 7). Avoid covering any Resources. The players only place the Units of their own 3 Armies. Remember the Sabotage tokens and the Genoa ships. After setup, place a Neutral Infantry into each empty City. The difficulty for the lone player varies, from easiest to hardest: Holy Roman Empire, Angevin, Ayyubid and Turkoman.

Track markers placement (command points / crowns / supply / gold): In full Alliance: Holy Roman Empire -1 supply, Turkoman -1 supply and -1 gold (as printed).

• Angevin: 0 / 0 / 3 / 1
• Holy Roman Empire: 2 / 2 / 3 / 1
• Ayyubid: 2 / 1 / 4 / 2
• Turkoman: 2 / 0 / 4 / 2

The per-Region Unit and Leader placement is shown only on the printed setup map (p. 7) and is not reproduced in text.

4-Player Setup

Place the Units in the Regions displayed on the setup map (printed on p. 8-9). Avoid covering any Resources. Remember the Sabotage tokens and the Genoa ships.

Track markers placement (command points / crowns / supply / gold):

• Angevin: 1 / 1 / 6 / 1
• Holy Roman Empire: 2 / 2 / 4 / 3
• Ayyubid: 3 / 2 / 4 / 3
• Turkoman: 2 / 2 / 7 / 2

The per-Region Unit and Leader placement (including Selucia on the north board) is shown only on the printed setup map (p. 8-9) and is not reproduced in text.

Variable Setup

This setup is an optional 4-player version for experienced players. It is also possible to use for 2-player games if the cards with the North icon are removed.

Set aside the Famagusta Objective Card, then sort the other Objective Cards, based on the main City, into a Crusader deck and a Muslim deck as follows:

• Crusader deck: Adana, Antioch, Ascalon, Heraclium, Selucia, Sidon, Tartosa, Tripoli and Tyre.
• Muslim deck: Acre, Ahamant, Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Iconium, Jaffa and Kerak.

Shuffle the 2 decks and deal each player 4 cards from the deck that matches their loyalty. Each player looks at their cards, then discards 1 card face down. Each player receives the following based on their Army:

• Angevin: William, James and 11 deployment points
• Holy Roman Empire: Frederick I, Diepold, Guido and 11 deployment points
• Ayyubid: Saladin, Al-Adil, Al-Afdal, Ibn Shaddad and 14 deployment points
• Turkoman: Zangi, Qilij Arslan II, Ibn Marwan and 14 deployment points

Deployment points are just used for the variable setup start, and have no specific icon. To keep track of the deployment points, the command point track can be used temporarily.

The players reveal their 3 remaining Objective Cards. Randomly set up the initiative track order as with any other setup. In initiative order players place one of their Leaders/Units onto the board. Placing an Infantry Unit costs 1 deployment point, a Cavalry Unit costs 2 deployment points and a Siege Engine Unit costs 4 deployment points, and can only be placed in a City. Placing a Leader is free. Players may deploy Units and Leaders into the following:

• Any of the 3 main Cities shown in the title of their Objective Cards.
• A single Desert Region Adjacent by Road to at least one of the main Cities shown in the title of their Objective Cards.
• Muslim players may deploy into Jerusalem, but with a maximum of 3 square tokens and 1 hexagonal token.

Once all players have finished deploying, place a Neutral Infantry into each City that contains no Units or Leaders. Shuffle all of the Objective Cards (including the discarded and set aside cards) back together to form the Objective Card deck for the game.

How to Play the Game

A round consists of 5 phases carried out in the following order:

1. Strategy Phase
2. Planning Phase
3. Command Phase
4. Diplomacy Phase
5. Upkeep Phase

The actions in all phases are carried out in 'initiative order'. The player at the top of the initiative track goes first, followed by the other players in descending order along the track. After the last player the turn moves back to the first player again. In a 3-player game the lone player uses both markers of their Alliance, and takes every other turn. In a 2-player game the players only use their own Armies' initiative markers.

1. Strategy Phase

In this phase players choose Event Cards and receive command points.

Each player draws 4 cards from their current round's Events deck, looks at them and chooses to place them face down in each Slot showing a number and a flag icon, below the Bidding board. Once each player has done so, simultaneously reveal all of the placed Event Cards.

In the initiative order, each player selects an Event Card from one of the event rows of the opposing Alliance. The owner of the Event Card takes the card and places it alongside their player board. The player who selected the Event Card receives command points equal to the number shown by the flag above where the Event Card was placed below the bidding board. They adjust their current command points marker up by the number of command points gained.

Players continue selecting Event Cards until each player has selected 2 cards. At this point any cards remaining in the event rows are discarded and the Strategy Phase is over.

Only 2 cards may be selected from each Army. Once 2 cards have been selected from an Army's row, players must select a card from the event row of the other Army in the opposing Alliance.

In a 3-player game the lone player chooses 2 cards from each of the allied players and the allied players choose 1 card each from the lone player, but they get double the command points for the card they choose. All players end up with 2 cards each to play during the Command Phase.

Example (bidding board with 4 players, initiative order: 1. Angevin, 2. Ayyubid, 3. Holy Roman Empire, 4. Turkoman): The Angevin player chooses the card "Greek Fire" from the Turkoman card row. They give the card to the Turkoman player and move their own current command point marker 2 points up. Their base command point marker is staying put.

2. Planning Phase

In this phase players plan by placing Orders.

In the initiative order the players either select 1 Order from behind their screen and place it into an available Order Section (crescent shape) of a Region on the map board, or pass.

Players must place their Orders into an Order Section on their own side of the map board - therefore only one player from each Alliance may place an Order into each Region.

Orders are always placed facing the player who placed the Order. Their Alliance Partner may see the Order, but players in the other Alliance may not.

Once an Order has been placed onto the map board it cannot be removed or moved until it is activated during the Command Phase.

Once a player has passed, they may not place any more Orders during the current Planning Phase. They are skipped when it is their turn to activate.

When all players have passed, proceed to the Command Phase.

NOTE! A player may place an Order in any Region, but be aware that most Orders have activation requirements (see page 13). Check if the placed Order meets the activation requirements, or plan on how to achieve that before the end of the round. Failed Orders will give the player negative Glory.

NOTE! A player may place any number of Orders, but be aware that most Orders have a cost. Check that the sum of the Orders' costs does not exceed the player's command points (as seen on the command point track). The player will not be allowed to execute more Orders than they can pay for during the Command Phase. Each player will lose 1 Glory point for each of their Orders that they cannot execute.

Order Placement Example

Example Orders: one costs 2 command points to execute, in any Holy Roman Empire Region; another can be executed with any type of Presence in a Desert Region.

1. Sidon. The Holy Roman Empire player has Presence and Control of the Region. The Order can be executed during the Command Phase, as long as the Order meets the Presence and Region requirements and the player can pay its cost.
2. Tripoli. The Angevin player has Presence and Control of the Region, including the Neutral Infantry. The Order can be executed as long as the Order meets the Presence and Region requirements and the player can pay its cost.
3. Desert. The Ayyubid player has no Units inside the Region. To execute the Order they must first gain Presence in the Region, unless the Order allows execution regardless of Presence.
4. Desert. The Holy Roman Empire player and the Turkoman player have 1 Order each in the Region. This is the maximum amount of Orders per Region, 1 per Alliance. The players have no Units inside the Region, so neither player is in Control of the Region and the Neutral Unit inside it. To execute an Order either player must first gain Presence in the Region, unless the Order allows execution regardless of Presence.
5. Damascus. The Ayyubid player has Presence and Control of the Region. The Order can be executed as long as the Order meets the Presence and Region requirements and the player can pay its cost.
6. Homs. The Turkoman player has the most Units and therefore Controls the Region. The Ayyubid player has Presence in the Region, and can still execute their Order as long as they meet the Presence and Region requirements and can pay its cost.

3. Command Phase

In this phase the players execute their Event Cards and Orders.

In the initiative order the players activate by either

• Executing 1 Event Card,
• Executing 1 Order on the map board,
• Or pass.

(Example: the Angevin player is first on the initiative track. They can either execute an Event Card or an Order. Then the turn moves to the next player on the initiative track.)

Activating an Event Card

A player executes the main event and/or the crown event. They may execute as much of the event as they want, in any order. The main event is always free. To execute the crown event, the player needs to meet the crown requirement by having an equal or higher number of crowns on their crown track. Executing a crown event does not spend any crowns, and the marker stays in the same place. If a player does not have enough crowns, they can temporarily supplement the crowns needed by paying 2 gold per crown.

When a main event is executed, carry out the actions indicated in any Region that meets the requirements, unless otherwise specified. Icons will indicate the Presence needed. (See the Glossary, p. 32-34, and the Iconography on the foldouts, for descriptions of icons and actions.)

The active player may choose to perform as much or as little of an event as they wish (e.g. if the event shows that 2 Infantry are recruited and a March is made from a Region, the active player may recruit 0, 1 or 2 Infantry in that Region and may choose to March from the Region or not).

If part of an event cannot be applied (for example if a Named Leader is not on the map board or a player does not Control any Regions of the required type) then ignore that part of the event.

If an Event Card shows an OR, the active player chooses to apply the first effect OR the second effect. Crown events marked with 'In same Region' has to be carried out in the same Region as the main event. Crown events marked with 'Instead' exchange the main event to a more beneficial action.

If the effect of a card adds Units to a Region with enemy Units, a Battle immediately takes place (see pages 14-15).

If the effect of an Event Card causes a player to gain or lose crowns, command points, gold icons or supply icons in any Region, they adjust their base command point and/or other track markers immediately.

Examples:

• Main event: The Ayyubid player can add general Tughril and a Cavalry to any Desert Region without Crusader or Muslim Presence.
• Crown event: The player needs 4 crowns to activate, but only has 2 on their track. They pay 4 gold to supplement the crowns needed to execute the crown event. The payment does not add any permanent crowns to their track.
• The Holy Roman Empire player chooses to execute the main event, placing an Infantry Unit and a crown token in any City Regions they Control. They gain 1 crown, and move their crown marker up 1 step on their crown track. They now have 3 crowns, enough to execute the crown event. They move their base command marker up 1 step on their command point track. The current command point marker stays in the same place.

Executing an Order

A player may execute an Order by declaring they are executing the Order and turning it to face their opponent(s).

A player may only execute an Order if they meet the Order's requirements. Generally this will require a player to have Presence in the Region where they are activating the Order. Some Orders require the Region to be of a specified type or to contain a Port. If a player does not meet the requirements of an Order then they cannot execute that Order.

A player may only execute an Order if they can pay the command point cost of the Order, shown alongside the command point icon in the top right corner. The player must adjust their current command point marker down by this amount when they execute the Order.

When an Order is executed, carry out the actions as indicated by the large icons in the centre of the Order (see the Glossary, p. 32-34).

A Blank Order is only used for bluffing and cannot be executed.

Once the Order has been executed, place the Order above the player board, do not return it to the player's pool, this is done during the Upkeep Phase.

The active player may choose to perform as much or as little of an Order as they wish.

If Units March to a Region with enemy Units as the result of an Order, a Battle immediately takes place. (See Battle on p. 14-15.)

If the effect of an Order results in a player Controlling less or more command points, crowns, gold icons or supply icons, they adjust their base command point and/or other track markers immediately.

Activating an Order Out of Turn (Reaction Order)

A player may execute a Reaction Order out of turn if there is a Battle. The Battle can be instigated by any player. A Reaction Order cannot be executed unless there is a Battle. (See Battle on p. 14-15.)

Passing

When a player has passed, they can no longer activate Event Cards or execute Orders (other than Reaction Orders) during the current Command Phase and are skipped when it would be their turn to activate.

A player who has passed in the Command Phase may still execute Reaction Orders during Battles.

Once all players have passed, carry out a victory check.

Victory Check

To carry out a victory check, look at the position of the Glory track marker. If the marker is on space 10 or higher on either side of the track, the Alliance whose side of the track the marker is on is victorious. Immediately proceed to end game scoring. If neither Alliance has won the game, proceed to the Diplomacy Phase.

Order Examples

1. Angevin Order. The Angevin player's Order requires that they have Presence and that it is executed in a Desert Region. They do not fulfill the Presence requirement and cannot execute the Order.
2. Turkoman Order. The Turkoman player's Order can be executed regardless of Presence, in a Desert Region. They meet both requirements and can execute the Order, adding 1 Infantry Unit in the Region. They pay the command point cost by moving their current command point marker down 3 steps. They gain Control of the Region and move up 2 steps on their supply track for the uncovered supply icons in the Region.
3. Ayyubid Order. The Ayyubid player's Order requires that it is executed in a City with Muslim Alliance Presence. The Ayyubid player has no Units and therefore no Presence, but since their Alliance Partner Turkoman has Presence they meet the requirements. They pay the cost of 3 command points and add 2 Infantry Units, becoming the Controlling player. They move their base command point marker up 1 step for the command point token in the Region. They move their gold marker up 1 step on the corresponding track. The Glory icon in Antioch is not counted until the Upkeep Phase.

Battle

At any time there are Units and/or Leaders from opposing Alliances (Crusader / Muslim) in the same Region a Battle occurs.

The active player is the attacker and the player Controlling the Region is the defender. If there is a tie of Control in the defending Region the tie is broken by the initiative order.

Keep the Units and/or Leaders of the attacking Alliance in a separate group on the Road to the Battle Region until the Battle is fully resolved. Neutral Units/Leaders Marching with the active player are under their Control until the Battle is fully resolved. Any Neutral Units/Leaders in the Region under attack are Controlled by the defenders.

Example: The Turkoman player Marches from the Desert and makes an attack on Tripoli, leaving 2 Units behind. The Crusader Alliance is in Control of the Region, but no single Army is in Control. The Holy Roman Empire player is ahead of the Angevin player on the initiative track and will be in charge of the Defence.

Battle Strength

The players calculate the Battle Strength of their Alliance. Leaders with Infantry or Cavalry icons have the Battle Strength of the corresponding Unit(s).

If one Alliance only has Leaders without a Unit symbols and no other Units or Leaders, then those Leaders are lost and the opposing Alliance automatically wins the combat without suffering losses.

Battle Strength per Unit	In a City	In a Desert
Infantry	1	1
Cavalry	1	2
Siege Engine	3	0

Faith Bonus

In 2- and 3-player games, the lone player in an Alliance gets a +1 Battle Strength bonus if they have higher Faith on their Faith track than the opponent. (Illustration: Angevin would have +1 Strength against Ayyubid if playing solo.)

Reaction Orders

The Alliance with the lowest Battle Strength may now execute Reaction Orders. The Controlling Army can execute first and if neither player is in Control they choose in initiative order. If either Alliance Partner executes an Order, calculate the new Battle Strength of each Alliance and repeat this step.

Example:

1. Attack. The Turkoman player attacks Tripoli with 4 Units and 1 Leader. Their Battle Strength is 8; 1 per Cavalry on the Leader, 1 for the Cavalry Unit, 3 for the Siege Engine and 1 each for the 2 Infantry Units. (The 2 Infantry Units left in the Desert are not counted.)
2. Reaction Order. The Crusaders' combined Battle Strength is 4. The Holy Roman Empire player is ahead on the initiative track and in charge of the Defence. They chose to execute the Reaction Order in Tripoli. It adds +2 to the Defence, making a total of 6 in Battle Strength.
3. Reaction Order. The Crusaders still have the lower Battle Strength. The Angevin player chooses to execute a Reaction Order in the Adjacent Desert Region. The Reinforce effect adds +1 in Battle Strength for each Unit in the Desert Region to the Battle in Tripoli, giving a total Battle Strength of 8.
4. Reaction Order. The Alliances are tied which gives the attacking player the lowest Battle Strength. The Turkoman player left Units behind in the Desert Region they attacked from. They still have Presence and can execute the Reaction Order. With this Order they can cancel the previous Reaction Order used by the Angevin player in the Adjacent Region. The Crusaders' Battle Strength is now back to 6.
5. Defeat. The Crusaders have no more Reaction Orders to execute. The Order in Sidon can not be executed because the Region is not Adjacent to the Battle. The Turkoman player wins the Battle with a Battle Strength of 8 against the Crusaders' 6. The executed Reaction Orders are removed to the side of the game board.

Suffering Losses

The Alliance with the highest Battle Strength wins the Battle. In the case of a tie the defending Alliance wins the Battle.

Each Alliance now suffers losses. The winning Alliance always loses 1 Unit or 1 Leader. For every Battle Strength in difference, the defeated Alliance loses 1 Unit/Leader, but always to a minimum 1 Unit/Leader. Lost Units are returned to their owner's player board. Lost Leaders are removed from the game and placed in the game box.

Where Units of both Armies in an Alliance and/or Neutral Units are involved in a Battle, the players can always assign the first casualty to a Neutral Unit. After that the players cannot assign more losses to their Alliance Partners' Units or Neutral Units/Leaders than to their own. Any Neutral Units not killed in the Battle will join the winning Army.

Example: The Crusaders lose 2 Units and the Holy Roman Empire player, in charge of the Defence, first removes the Neutral Infantry. They now have to remove their own Infantry Unit before the Angevin Cavalry or the Neutral Leader. The remaining Neutral Leader joins the Turkoman Army that enters the City. The Glory token is also left behind.

Retreat Rules

If the attacker wins they take Control of the Region. If there are not enough Slots available in the Region the excess Units/Leaders retreat to Adjacent Regions that are either empty or Controlled by their Alliance (retreat rules). If the attacker loses they must retreat into the Region they attacked from.

Example:

1. The Turkoman player loses 1 Unit and chooses to remove 1 Infantry of theirs. The rest of the Units and Leaders move into the conquered Region Tripoli.
2. The 2 Infantry Units not part of the attacking force remain in the Desert Region.
3. Tripoli contains the Neutral Leader Conrad, and there are not enough Slots for the 3 hexagonal Units/Leaders. Turkoman uses the retreat rules and moves their Leader Badr al-Din back to the Desert.

If the defenders win they remain in the Region, taking over any Neutral Units from the attacking Army not killed in the Battle. If there are not enough Slots available they use the retreat rules. If the defenders lose they cannot retreat to the Region the attacker Marched from, even if it is empty now. If it is not possible for the loser to retreat, all Units and Leaders Controlled by the losing Alliance in the Battle Region are killed.

Example:

1. The Crusaders cannot retreat to the Desert Region the Turkoman player attacked from, even if it had been empty.
2. The Crusaders can retreat to the other Adjacent Desert Region that is Controlled by their Alliance. They still could have retreated there if the Region had been empty.

If the Muslim Alliance had Controlled the Region the Angevin Cavalry from Tripoli would have died, since there are no other Adjacent Regions available.

Gaining Glory

A Battle can gain an Alliance up to 4 Glory. The Alliance that wins the Battle gains 1 Glory for each of the following:

• The Alliance is the attacker and the Battle Region is a City
• At least 1 Leader (any color) was part of the attacking force
• At least 1 Leader (any color) was part of the defending force
• At least 1 Leader (any color) in the losing Army was killed as a result of the Battle

Example: The Battle was in a City therefore the Muslim Alliance gains 1 Glory. There was at least one Leader in both sides of the Battle so they gain 2 more Glory. This adds up to a total of 3 Glory for the Muslim Alliance. They adjust the Glory track marker by 3 steps, from the Crusader Alliance side towards the Muslim Alliance side. The Glory token in Tripoli is not counted until the Upkeep Phase.

Any Resources on tokens remain in their Regions. All players immediately adjust their markers for base command points, crowns, gold or supply if relevant. Any Glory tokens or icons in the Region are only counted in the Upkeep Phase. If the Region is a Mercantile City, both Alliances adjust the Mercantile City marker on their Faith track.

Example: The conquered Region Tripoli is a Mercantile City. The Turkoman player moves the Mercantile track marker 1 step towards their side on the Faith track.

4. Diplomacy Phase

In this phase players bid for the Diplomacy Card bonus and the order they move on the diplomacy board.

Players secretly select gold and simultaneously reveal their bid. Starting with the highest bidder (ties are broken by initiative), the players pay their bid to the pool and place their marker on the number (B) on the Diplomacy Card that corresponds with the reward (A) they want. The player in the 4th Slot will get no reward, but still has to pay their bid. When all players have placed their markers and taken their rewards, the numbers on the Diplomacy Card show the order the players will move on the diplomacy board.

In a 2-player game the player who wins the bid chooses between options 1-2, and the losing player will always get reward number 3.

Example: The players simultaneously reveal their secret bids. The Holy Roman Empire player wins the bid, pays the 3 gold to the pool and gets to choose first. They choose bonus nr 2 and immediately move the Glory marker 1 step in their Alliance's direction. The Turkoman and Ayyubid players both bid 2 gold, but the Turkoman player is ahead of Ayyubid on the initiative track and gets to choose first. They pick bonus nr 1, pay and move the Faith track marker 1 step in their direction. The Ayyubid player then chooses bonus nr 3, pays and gains 1 gold. The Angevin player comes last in the bid and receives no bonus.

Diplomacy Board

Players advance up the diplomacy board following the lines to a free space. They can only move forwards or sideways along the lines. In any row with 4 spaces each player must pick one of those spots before advancing to the next row. Place a player marker in the space on the board, take the Units/tokens from the pool and place them in any Regions on the map. Triangular tokens with instant effects are discarded and the Glory or Faith markers are moved immediately on the corresponding tracks.

If the Region is full the player may replace a Unit or Resource. Units are returned to the player board and tokens are discarded. If players Control more command points, crowns, gold icons or supply icons they adjust their tracks accordingly. Glory tokens placed on the map are not counted until the Upkeep Phase.

Example: The players move on the board in the order on the Diplomacy Card. They place a new marker of their color in the space they pick, take the Units/tokens from the pool and place them in any of their Regions. Triangular tokens have instant effects and are then discarded.

1. The Turkoman player can either choose the 2 space row, or pass by it and reach the 4 space row. They pick the Leader in the 2 space row.
2. The Holy Roman Empire player cannot choose the 3 Infantry in the space next to them, since that would mean moving backwards. They need to pick one of the spaces in the 4 space row in front of them before they can advance further up the board. They choose 2 Cavalry.
3. The Ayyubid player can either choose the 2 space row, or pass by it and reach the 4 space row. Since that would make them reach the end of the board, they pick a triangular Glory token from the 2 space row. They immediately move the Glory marker.
4. The Angevin player has the option to move ahead to the Faith token in front of them, but instead chooses to reach a space with 3 supply tokens further up the board. Since the Faith token is not a 4 space row they are allowed to pass by it.

5. Upkeep Phase

The Upkeep Phase consists of 10 steps carried out in the following order.

1. Active Mission Card check. Count the number of Regions each Alliance Controls that match the Glory requirement. If one Alliance Controls more, adjust the Glory marker towards that Alliance the number of steps equal to the difference between the Alliances. Each player also counts the number of Regions they Control that match the Faith requirement. The player within each Alliance that Controls more moves their Alliance's Faith marker to their side the number of steps equal to the difference.
   • Example: 1. The Alliance that Controls most Regions with crown icons moves the Glory marker equal to the difference. 2. Within each Alliance, the player that Controls the most Ports moves the Faith marker equal to the difference on their Alliance's Faith track.
2. Tithe. Each player reveals all of their Orders still on the main board that have a Tithe icon. They may execute these Orders now, as long as they have Presence in the Regions, by paying the cost, removing the Orders from the board and taking 1 gold each.
3. Orders. Reveal and remove all non-executed Orders from the map. For each Order that a player did not execute they move the Glory marker one space away from their Alliance. After this, all Orders from the round are returned to the players' individual Order boxes.
4. Map board.
   • A. Supply check. Each player counts the supply icons in any non fully stacked Unit Sections of their player board, and compares that number against their supply track. If they Control fewer supply icons than those required by their player board, they move the Glory marker away from their Alliance once for each icon they are short. They must also remove Units from the map board and return them to their player board until the supply need is balanced.
     • Example: 1. The Angevin player has 5 Unit Sections that are not fully stacked, with a total of 8 supply icons. When they count the supply icons in Regions they Control on the map board they only have 7. The player moves the Glory marker 1 step away from their Alliance on the Glory track. 2. To correct the supply, they remove 2 Infantry Units from the map board, and fill the Section on their player board. Now they only need 7 supply to support their Units on the map board.

After completing all steps in the Upkeep Phase, remove all Event Cards from this round. All players place their current command point marker on top of their base command point marker. Proceed to the next round. If this was the fourth and last round, proceed to the End Game Scoring.

End Game Scoring

The game ends immediately if any of the following conditions occur:

• The Glory marker is at space 10 or higher on any side of the Glory track during a Victory check. The Alliance that reaches this point wins the game.
• The fourth round is over. In initiative order, the players choose and reveal 1 of their Objective Cards. If they Control any of the Cities shown on the card, they move the Glory marker according to the table on the card. If they Control several of the named Cities they receive a higher score. The Alliance with the most Glory wins the game, if tied the Alliance that Controls Jerusalem wins.

Example: The Ayyubid player Controls 2 Cities, Kerak and Damascus. If they reveal this card to settle the Alliance Victory, they receive 3 Glory.

If an Alliance that has 2 players wins, the Final Winner among those 2 is decided by winning a majority of the following tiebreakers.

• Faith: Be highest on the Faith track.
• Mercantile Cities: Control the most Mercantile Cities, as seen by the marker on the Faith track.
• Objectives: Each player reveals their remaining Objective Card. The players compare how many of the Cities on their Card they Control. The player Controlling the most wins this tiebreaker.

Example: The Crusader Alliance won the Alliance victory. The Holy Roman Empire player wins the Faith tiebreaker and the Angevin player wins the Mercantile tiebreaker. This gives them 1 tiebreaker point each. The players reveal their remaining Objective Cards, not used in the Alliance victory count. 1. The Holy Roman Empire player is in Control of 3 Cities; Sidon, Ascalon and Heraclium. 2. The Angevin player only has Control of 2 Cities; Homs and Tyre. The Holy Roman Empire player wins this tiebreaker and gets 1 tiebreaker point. They now have 2 points against the Angevin player's 1 point, and is the Final Winner of the game.

If there is a tie (the players win 1 or 0 tiebreakers each), the player in the winning Alliance who Controls Jerusalem wins. If neither player Controls Jerusalem, whichever player has the most gold is the winner.

Still tied? Either share the victory, or determine the victory by positioning the best in a follow up game of Crusader Kings.

Solo Game

In the solo gameplay, you play with 1 or 2 Armies of an Alliance against 1 or 2 Bot Armies in the opposing Alliance. It is also possible to for 2 players to play together against 1 or 2 Bots. Just as in the standard game the Armies' actions and Resources are kept separate if you are playing with 2 Armies on either side.

The goal is the same as in the standard game; the first Alliance to reach 10 Glory wins. Set up the game as usual with the adjustments under Setup below.

General Rules

This Section explains any changes in setup and any general changes to the rules.

Setup

Set up the game as usual, giving the Bot(s) their corresponding player boards and Units, with the following changes:

• Each Bot gets a dice of their color.
• Sort each Army's Orders into 3 groups:
  • All basic Reaction Orders and Blank Orders in a group called Reaction.
  • The remaining basic Orders in a group called Prepared. Add the Advanced March Order, costing 1 command point, to the Prepared group.
  • All Advanced Orders in a group called Advanced.
• Shuffle each group and place them, still separated, next to their player board, with their backs facing you, so that you cannot see them.
• Each Bot gets 3 Objective Cards. If the game progresses to the end game scoring after the fourth round, the Bot will receive Glory for the card with the highest score for a Region they Control.
• The Bots do not use command points, crowns, or supply count, only gold track markers.
• A Bot is always first on the initiative track in the first round.
• The Faith track is always used even if there is just 1 Army in an Alliance. The Faith marker starts at 2 for lone players or Bots, and at 0 for Alliances with 2 Armies. The Mercantile marker is only used if 2 players play together in an Alliance against 1 or 2 Bots.
• Whenever [Phase]: Bot Roll is written in the rules, read the Bot Table and follow the instructions in addition to what is written in the rules.
• You do not use Blank Orders, and the Bot only uses them to randomize Reaction Orders.
• Bot actions are frequently based on weaker or stronger Battle Strength in Regions where the Bot has Presence. Calculate the Strength of all Units, including Leaders, in each Bot Region.
• If 2 Regions have equal Strength but one has a Leader without any Unit(s), that Region will count as stronger.
• Whenever the term Proximity is mentioned, it means that the Bot acts or moves to the Region closest to the player side of the board. If the options are more or less equal, the Bot moves to the closest place near the Glory track.

Example: The Holy Roman Empire Bot executes a March Order. The Bot will always try to move toward the player's side of the board. Since the Desert and the City are of similar closeness the Proximity rule takes effect. The Bot moves towards the Desert, which is closer to the Glory track.

General Changes

• A Final Winner is only awarded in a player Alliance with 2 different players.
• The Faith track is used as a Battle modifier. The Army with the higher Faith will receive a bonus in Battle. If an Army is alone in an Alliance, their Faith marker can only be moved down to 0 on the Faith track. If there are 2 Armies in an Alliance, their Faith marker is moved back and forth as usual. If the marker is higher for one Army, their Alliance Partner counts as having 0.
• At the end of these solo rules, there is a Bot Table that the Bot follows when they make decisions. These involve: picking cards, placing and executing Orders, handling unexecuted Orders, diplomacy bidding and gaining Advanced Orders.

Sequence of Play (Solo)

This Section explains the steps for each round, with any changes to player actions and how the Bot behaves in the different steps.

Strategy Phase

Draw 4 Event Cards from the correct Event Cards deck and place them by the bidding board. This is done randomly without looking at the cards, for every Bot Army and player Army in the game. Use the initiative track to decide the order.

In Initiative order, each player Army chooses 1 card and takes the corresponding command points. But they also have to give the Bot Army the card in the corresponding Slot. In a 4-player game, the top 2 Armies on each side relate to each other, and the Bottom 2 relate to each other. In a 3-player game, all 3 Armies get cards from the same Slot. If the lone player in a 3-player game is a Bot, both player Armies will get command points from both Bot Cards.

Example: The Turkoman player wants to avoid giving the Bot the card in Slots 3 and 4. They first decide to take their card from Slot 5, give the Bot the corresponding card and gain 5 current command points. They compare cards 2 and 3, and since they both want the higher command points and the stronger Events they decide on card 3, even though that means that the Bot can remove one of their Cavalry. They take card nr 3, give the corresponding card to the Bot and gain 3 current command points.

Strategy: Bot Roll. Roll the Bot Army dice, 2 if you are playing against 2 Bots, and place it in the matching column header in the Bot Table. This Army will follow that column during this whole round. Alternative rule: If you want a bit more chaos and potentially a harder game, re-roll the Bot's dice(s) at the start of each Phase.

Planning Phase

Begin by placing all Bot Orders, randomly selected from the Bot's Prepared group without looking at them, following Planning: Bot Roll. If you are playing against 2 Bots, begin by placing all Orders from the Bot that is first on the initiative track, and then all Orders for the second Bot.

First place 1 Order in the Bot Region with the strongest Battle Strength. The Bot may only place an Order in Jerusalem if the Battle Strength is the same or lower than the Jerusalem count in the Bot Table. Then place all the rest of the Bot Orders in Regions from the weakest to the strongest, taking into account the different Strength of Units in specific Regions. Begin by placing as many as possible in the first category, then move on to the second. Place Bot Orders in:

1. All Regions with Bot Control.
2. All Regions with Bot Alliance Presence.
3. All empty Regions Adjacent to a Bot Controlled Region.
4. Player Controlled Regions, from weakest to strongest.

Any multiple choices follow the Proximity tiebreaker. If a Bot does not have as many Orders in their Prepared group as stated in the Bot Table, just place as many as possible. After placing all Bot Orders you proceed to your own Order placement.

Example: Bot nr 5 can place 7 Orders.

1. Sidon and Tripoli both have 6 in Battle Strength. With the Proximity tiebreaker the first Order is placed in Sidon.
2. The Bot's weakest Region is Jerusalem, with 3 in Battle Strength. Bot nr 5 can place an Order here, since the Battle Strength is the same or lower than their maximum Jerusalem Strength of 6.
3. Acre and the Desert both have 4 in Battle Strength. Acre also has a Leader without any Units and therefore counts as stronger. The Bot places an Order in Acre first, and then in the Desert.
4. The Bot places an Order in Tripoli.
5. The Bot has 2 more Orders to place. They have no Alliance Partner, pass over step 2 and move on to step 3. With the Proximity tiebreaker, the empty Regions closest to the player is 3 Desert Regions. The Bot places their last 2 Orders in the 2 Regions closest to the Glory track.

Command Phase

As in the standard game, the Command Phase is played in initiative order. A Bot always starts by choosing to try and execute an Order. Check Command: Bot Roll for the specific set of instructions.

The Bot will execute Orders and Event Cards with the following priorities:

1. Jerusalem if possible, until the Battle Strength there is equal to or higher than the value stated in the Bot Table.
2. The weakest Region where they have Control.
3. A Region where they have Presence and their Alliance Partner is in Control.

Orders. When a Bot executes an Order they ignore command point cost and Region type, except for the Sea Move that has to be made from a Port Region. Presence is needed in the same way as shown on the Order. They cannot execute Orders without Presence, but Presence may be gained during play. Ties are broken by Proximity. If a Region has an Order that cannot be executed at all because of the requirements, follow the Order Fail-instructions in the Bot Table.

Event Cards. If the Bot has 2 Event Cards, shuffle them and select one randomly. Region requirements apply to both main event and crown events as usual. A Bot always tries to execute the crown event, buying temporary crowns if necessary. (Note that some Bot columns let them execute the crown event for free.) The Bot only does this if the crown event is at least partly useful to them. A Bot will not buy crowns with command points or supply.

Example: The Holy Roman Empire Bot's Faith has been lowered to the maximum of 0. The player Turkoman has 2 in Faith, and will receive a +1 bonus in Battle Strength against the Bot. The Bot will not pay for this crown event.

Adding/Removing during Phase

• Adding Units: Follow the priority for Event Cards and Orders. The Bot never covers any Resource icons. If a Region cannot hold any more of a Unit type, add the excess Unit(s) to the weakest Adjacent Region. If none apply, first choose an Adjacent Region with Neutral Unit(s) and then an empty Adjacent Region. If none are available, that part of an Event Card is not played, and if it is an Order follow the Order Fail-instructions. If the Bot plays a card adding Units to a Region without their Alliance's Presence, they will choose an empty Region Adjacent to their weakest Region, with Neutral Units if possible.
• Removing Units: The Bot chooses the Region with the fewest of your Units. They never remove Neutral Units, either with player Units or alone. If the Bot is removing a Leader they choose Cavalry over Infantry.
• Sabotage: The Bot only Sabotages a Region where you have Presence, prioritizing first Glory, followed by command point, crown, supply and last gold. With multiple options, they choose the Unit Slot that holds the stronger Unit for that Region type. When the Bot removes Sabotage chits they follow the priority order, but skips command point chits, in the stronger Region with multiple options.
• Bandits: The Bot ignores placing Bandits. A Bot will only remove a Bandit if you Control Jerusalem and a Bandit blocks a Road with direct access to Jerusalem. Bots still need to lose Units in order to pass by a Bandit.
• Destroyed Port: When adding a Destroyed Port the Bot chooses the Region where you have the highest Battle Strength. When removing a chit they choose the Region where they have the highest Battle Strength.
• Resource chits: The Bot only places Glory, crowns, gold and supply chits. Command points are ignored. The Bot places a Resource in the strongest Region.
• Diplomacy: If the Bot gets to move on the diplomacy board, they follow the priority order in the Diplomacy Phase.

Reaction Orders. At any time during a Battle, if the Bot has the lowest Battle Strength, a random Order is drawn from the Reaction group (if any Orders are left there). If a Blank Order is drawn, there is no Reaction. If a Reaction Order is drawn it is placed according to the rules below, replacing any non-executed Order in the Region. Any Orders played from the Reaction Group are put to the side and added again in the Upkeep Phase.

• If the Bot is the defender the Reaction Order is placed in the Region they are defending.
• If the Bot is the attacker the Reaction Order is placed in the Region they attacked from.
• If the Order is the Reinforce Order, it is always placed in the strongest Adjacent Region available from the Battle Region. If no Adjacent Region with Presence is available the Reaction Order is not used.

Example: The Bot attacks Acre. The Turkoman player plays a Reaction Order and has the higher Battle Strength. The Bot draws the Reinforce Order and places it in the stronger Desert Region Adjacent to Acre.

Battle. Battles are resolved in the same way as in the standard game. The following factors are different:

• In any Battle, if an Army has higher Faith than the opposing Army, they get +1 in Battle Strength. If there are 2 Armies in an Alliance, only the Faith of the attacker and defender will count. (This is not a Unit and cannot be used to account for Battle losses.)

Losses

• The Bot will always remove the 1 Neutral Unit allowed first. In a City they will prioritize: Infantry, Cavalry and last Siege Engines. In a Desert, they will prioritize: Siege Engines, Infantry and Cavalry. The Bot will avoid losing any Leaders if possible.
• If the Reinforce Order is used, the Bot will remove losses from the stronger Region. Ties are broken by Proximity.
• Retreat: The Bot follows the general retreat rules. They will first choose the weakest Region where they have Units, if there are multiple options, the one closest to Jerusalem. Any tie is broken by Proximity.

Marching

With the execution of both Orders and Event Cards, the Bot will try to March into an Adjacent Region where a player Army has Presence, but only if the Bot has enough Battle Strength to win a Battle. In case of multiple options, the Bot chooses the player's strongest Region that they can win against. In case the Bot cannot reach a Region where they can win, they will first choose an empty Region, with one of their non-executed Orders if possible, and second a Region where they or their Alliance Partner has Presence. Ties are broken by Proximity.

When a Bot Marches:

• They will always bring all Leaders if possible.
• They will never March out of Jerusalem.
• The Bot will always prioritize placing Units/Leaders in a Region that makes them the strongest, using Proximity to break ties.
• To a Region where they or their Alliance Partner has Presence they will March to make both Regions have an equal amount of Units/Leaders, with the new Region having more if uneven.
• To a Battle, they will bring the Units that are strongest in the Region they attack and leave one of their weakest Units behind. They will always leave 1 Unit. (Example: The Bot will not attack Turkoman from Sidon, since they would have to bring all Units to beat them.)
• To an empty Region, they will bring half their number of Units/Leaders, with uneven numbers rounded up. (Example: The Bot has 5 Units in Acre. They will bring 3, and prioritize a March to the empty Region. They bring the Leader and since the Cavalry has higher Battle Strength in the Desert, they choose to bring that as one of the Units.)
• A Disperse March splits the number of Units/Leaders in 3, rounding down. The 2 new Regions always get an equal amount, and the origin Region is never left alone. If that is not possible, follow the Order Fail-instructions. (Example: Acre has 5 Units. The Bot will place 2 Units in each new Region. The 2 Desert Regions are of similar closeness to the player side. With Proximity, the Bot places the Cavalry and Leader in the Region closest to the Glory track. If Acre had 4 Units, they would leave 2 and place 1 in each new Region.)

Diplomacy Phase

You place your bid(s) first (for both Armies if you play as an Alliance). Then the Bot does their bidding, Diplomacy: Bot Roll. Roll the Bot's dice and place it in the diplomacy cell in the Bot Table to remember your Bot column for the Upkeep Phase. The Bot only loses any gold added to their dice roll, but not the amount from the dice. The Bot will add Units/chits according to the general placement rules. The Bot will prioritize:

Diplomacy Card

1. Glory
2. Move on the diplomacy board
3. Advanced Order
4. Remove Sabotage
5. Faith
6. Gold

Diplomacy board

1. Glory
2. Hexagon Leader
3. Square Leader
4. Crown
5. Faith
6. Command point - remove chit, gain 3 gold
7. Neutral Unit(s) - the strongest option for a Region
8. Gold
9. Supply

Upkeep Phase

Perform the Upkeep Phase as in the standard game modified by the Bot Table, Upkeep: Bot Roll, and the following changes:

• The Bot does not lose any Glory for non-executed Orders, but you do.
• When adding Units from the Genoa ships, the Bot will prioritize placing Units/Leaders in their weakest Region, with ties broken by Proximity. If a Region is full, they will place the remaining Units/Leaders in the Region that now has the lowest Battle Strength.
• Take all of the Bot's executed Orders and newly acquired Advanced Orders, sort them in the Prepared and Reaction groups, and shuffle them.

Bot Table

(The table has six columns, selected by the Bot's D6 roll, 1 to 6. Icons that the printed table shows only as pictures are described in brackets.)

Rows that apply to all columns

• Planning: Place Orders from the Prepared group; 1 in the strongest Region, then weakest to strongest.
• Command: Jerusalem: Maximum Battle Strength for placing Order (2 Bots = bot Armies). Executing a Bot Order can be a Card Trigger: Randomly play 1 Event Card next turn. Remaining cards are played after all Orders. Bonus takes effect at end of Command Phase.
• Order Fail: Roll D6 for an action the Bot can execute: 1 = +1 Infantry; 2 = +2 Infantry; 3 = March; 4 = +1 Cavalry; 5 = +1 Infantry, March; 6 = +1 Cavalry (in a Desert) / +1 Siege Engine (in a City).
• Diplomacy: Re-roll the D6 - keep same column. Alternative rule - change column.
• Upkeep: Move randomly selected Order from Advanced to Prepared.

Roll	1	2	3	4	5	6
Planning: Place Orders	4	5	6	6	7	8
Jerusalem max Battle Strength	10	9	8	7	6	5
Card Trigger	Adding 1 or more new Units	Any March (also Sea Move and Disperse)	Adding 2 or more new Units	Crusader: adding any new Unit to a City. Muslim: adding any new Unit to a Desert	Crusader: adding any new Unit to a Desert. Muslim: adding any new Unit to a City	Executing a Reaction Order

Solo Glossary

• Advanced: The Bot Army group with all Advanced Orders.
• Bot: An automated opponent.
• Bot Table: The specific instructions for the Bot(s).
• Card Trigger: When executing an Order triggers an Event Card.
• Order Fail-instructions: When a Bot Order Fails, there are specific instructions for what happens in the Bot Table.
• [Phase]: Bot Roll: Read the Bot Table for the corresponding Phase and follow the instructions in addition to what is written in the rules.
• Prepared: The Bot Army group with the basic Orders, except the Reaction Group. The Advanced March Order costing 1 command point is also added to this group.
• Proximity: The Bot acts/moves to the place closest to the player side of the board, and if the options are more or less equally close, the closest to the Glory track.
• Reaction: The group with the basic Reaction Orders and Blank Orders.

Plutorial

This game takes place during the Third Crusade. The fall of Jerusalem to the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187 prompted the Third Crusade, where the Crusaders tried to reconquer the Holy Land. In this playable tutorial, the Angevin Army and the Ayyubid Army will fight for Glory and victory.

Setup

This plutorial shows the start of a 2-player game between Angevin and Ayyubid. A game has 4 rounds, and the players will be guided through the 5 phases of the first round. The players can then either continue playing the following rounds themselves or choose to restart their own game.

The plutorial will explain all the central components and actions to the players as they are needed. Most questions should be answered by finishing the plutorial, and this will be a good foundation to read up on any more complex features explained in other parts of the rulebook.

Follow the general setup on pages 2-5, and place Units for Angevin and Ayyubid according to the map of a 2-player game on page 6. Place all components as indicated, except for the Diplomacy Cards, Mission Cards and Objective Cards. Find the Diplomacy Card 'Bedouin Tribes', shuffle the rest of the cards and place them face up in the Slot on the map, with 'Bedouin Tribes' at the top. Find the Mission Card 'Ensure our supply' and place it in the active mission Slot. Shuffle the rest of the Mission Cards and place them face up in a pile in the future mission Slot. Ignore the Objective Cards for now.

Goal of the Game

The game's goal is to be the first to reach 10 Glory, which is counted on the Glory track on the map. A player gains Glory by moving their Units into enemy Regions and trying to win the Battles. To be able to win Battles, the players need to add more Units to the Regions they Control and spread out by Marching into Adjacent Regions. This is done by playing Orders and Event Cards. There are also different bonus chits with Resources that help the players and other chits that can be used to obstruct opponents.

How to Play

The game starts with a random pick of the starting player. Their marker is placed on the first spot on the initiative track, and they will be first in 'initiative order' this round.

Place Ayyubid in the first spot and Angevin in the second spot on the initiative track.

1. Strategy Phase

The first round is the year 1190, and the players draw 4 random cards from their own Event Cards deck, marked with 1190, to their hand. Before the players place their cards by the bidding board, they need to decide in what order to arrange them. The players will choose 2 of their opponent's cards, gaining between 2 and 5 command points depending on which Slot the opponent has placed the card. The command points are used as payment later. When all players have placed their cards face down, all cards are flipped simultaneously.

Place the following cards in this order next to the bidding board:

• Angevin: 2. Conquests of Cyprus; 3. Guy's Expedition; 4. Ayyubid Servants Loot Their Own Camp; 5. Henry II of Champagne
• Ayyubid: 2. Tughril's Rebellion; 3. Crusader Fleet Suffer Defeats; 4. Forced Slaughter of Horses; 5. Al-Adil's Victory

The players want as many command points as possible. When placing cards the opponent is more likely to pick a card that gives higher command points.

1. Ayyubid is first on the initiative track and will begin by selecting one of Angevin's cards. Card nr 5 can give Angevin good Units in one of their stronger Regions. To avoid this Ayyubid chooses card nr 4.
2. Angevin does not want to give the Ayyubid player card nr 4, since this would remove several of their Units. They still want a high number of command points, so they choose card nr 5.
3. Ayyubid then chooses to give Angevin card nr 3.
4. Angevin gives Ayyubid card nr 3.

For every card they pick for their opponent, the player increases their current command point marker the number of command points they gain from their card selection. The base command point marker is left on the number it was placed during setup. Angevin now have 9 current command points and Ayyubid have 10.

2. Planning Phase

The players prepare by placing Orders in the Regions where they want to take action during the next phase, with the back of the Order facing their opponent. There can only be 1 Order per player in a Region. A player can place an Order in any Region they want, but to be able to execute them they need to consider the requirements.

• Most Orders can only be executed in a specific type of Region.
• The player must be able to pay for the Order's cost with command points.
• The player must meet the Presence requirement, which means that they have to have at least 1 Unit present in the Region.

For any failed Orders the players will lose Glory at the end of the round.

Place the following Orders on the map, with their backs facing the opponent. As beginner players, Angevin and Ayyubid only place Orders where they have Units. Both of them have placed a Blank Order in an empty Region, and Angevin has placed one in Ayyubid's Desert. These are only used to trick the opponent.

3. Command Phase

During this phase, the players take action by either playing an Event Card or executing an Order. Both cards and Orders will have icons showing Region and Presence requirements.

When a player has the most Units in a Region, they are in Control of that Region. They own all visible Resources on the map or chits, as well as any Neutral Units inside the Region.

1. Ayyubid is first on the initiative track. Worried that Angevin will invade their Desert Region, they begin by executing their Order. The requirements for this Order are:

• The Ayyubid Army icon means that they must have at least 1 Unit present in the Region.
• There is no Region icon, so the Order can be executed in any Region.

Ayyubid meets the requirements. They flip the Order and show it to the Angevin player. Ayyubid pays the cost by moving their current command point marker 3 steps down on the corresponding track on their player board. They take 1 Infantry from their player board and add it to the Region. Then they March with all Units, except 1, along a Road into an Adjacent Region.

Battle. They choose to attack Angevin in the Desert to the North. A Battle takes place. Battles are fought by comparing the Battle Strength of the attacking Units and the defending Units. The Units have different Strengths in Cities and Deserts. Each icon on a regular Unit or Leader is counted the same.

Strength per Unit	City	Desert
Infantry	1	1
Cavalry	1	2
Siege Engine	3	0

Ayyubid's attacking Units have 5 in Battle Strength. Angevin's defending Strength is 3, including the Neutral Infantry. Because Angevin has the lowest Battle Strength, they can execute the Reaction Order in the Desert.

A Reaction Order is a special Order that is only executed when a player is losing a Battle. The Order cannot be moved onto the map when it is needed; only Orders placed in Regions during the Planning Phase can be used. The player always needs Presence in the Region, but the Order can be executed in any Region type.

Angevin flips their Reaction Order and pays the cost by moving their current command point marker 1 step down on the command point track. The Order adds +2 in Defence in the Region. Now both players have 5 in Battle Strength.

In case of a tie, the defender is the winner. After every Battle, each player will always lose a minimum of 1 Unit. Angevin removes the Neutral Infantry. Ayyubid retreats back into the Region they attacked from, and removes 1 Infantry, placing it back on their player board in an allotted Slot. Executed Orders are removed and placed next to the map until the end of the round.

A Reaction Order is always part of the action that resulted in the Battle and is not counted as a separate action. A player may execute several Reaction Orders during 1 Battle, as long as they have the lowest Battle Strength and meet the requirements. If the attacker is losing the Battle, they can also execute Reaction Orders.

2. Angevin. Now the turn moves on to Angevin. They choose to activate an Event Card. An Event Card has two parts: the main event and the crown event. The main event is always free. To also activate the crown event, the player needs to have reached the specified number of crowns on their crown track.

Angevin plays the card 'Ayyubid Servants Loot Their Own Camp'. They check the icons on the banner, which states that the main event may be executed in any Region where Ayyubid has Presence. They place a Sabotage chit on top of the Glory icon in Acre, blocking this Resource from Ayyubid. They also remove 1 Ayyubid Infantry from Jerusalem, and Ayyubid places the Unit back on their player board. This leaves only a Neutral Infantry in Jerusalem, and Ayyubid loses Control of the City! Angevin cannot play the crown event, and the turn moves to Ayyubid.

3. Ayyubid wants to reclaim Jerusalem. The Order there cannot be executed, because they no longer have Presence in the Region. They instead choose to play the Event Card 'Al-Adil's Victory'. Ayyubid meets the Presence requirement, and from Leader Al-Adil's Region Ahamant, they can perform a Forced March. They decide to leave Leader Ibn Shaddad behind, to not lose Control and the Resources in the Region. They first March once into the Adjacent Desert Region. Then they March a second time, entering Jerusalem, choosing to leave 1 Cavalry in the Desert. They are now in Control of both Jerusalem and the Desert and gain all Resources. They move their markers for gold and supply 1 step each, but do not gain any gold chits.

Ayyubid also wants to execute the crown event. They only have 2 crowns on their crown track, and they need to have reached 3 to be able to play the crown event for free. However, they can add temporary crowns to the card, by paying 2 gold chits for each crown they are short. They pay 2 of their 4 gold chits to the pool, and can now execute the crown event. The crown and gold track markers stay in their places.

The crown event can be performed in a Region with any Presence. Ayyubid adds a Bandit marker to one of the Roads west of Jerusalem. Any player crossing this Road will lose 2 Units, making the City harder to attack.

4. Angevin plays the Event Card 'Guy's Expedition'. The icons on the banner show that the main event must be executed in a Desert Region where Angevin has Presence. They pick a Cavalry and an Infantry from the Neutral pool next to the map and place them in their only available Desert Region. The Neutral Units will be under their command and count towards their Battle Strength as long as they are in Control of the Region. Angevin does not have enough crowns and gold to be able to execute the crown event.

5. Ayyubid plays the Event Card 'Crusader Fleet Suffer Defeats'. The main event should be executed in a Port Region, with any type of Presence. Ayyubid gets to place a Destroy Port chit on top of a Port icon. Fearing that the Angevin player plans a Sea Move, they place the chit on top of the Port in Tripoli, their Region with most Units, guessing that this might be the Region with a Sea Move Order. Ayyubid also gets to place a Sabotage chit and places this on top of one of the supply icons in Sidon. The Angevin player moves their supply marker down 1 step on the corresponding track on their player board. The Ayyubid player chooses not to spend their last 2 gold on executing the crown event.

The Angevin player had indeed planned a Sea Move, where any number of Units can be moved from one Port Region to another. With the Port icon blocked, the Order in Tripoli cannot be executed!

6. Angevin meets the requirements and executes the Order in Tyre. They pay the command point cost by moving their current command point marker 3 steps down on the corresponding track on their player board. They add 3 Infantry Units to the Region. The last Unit they place will cover one of the supply icons, and they can no longer count that Resource. They move their supply marker 1 step down on the corresponding track on their player board.

7. Ayyubid meets the requirements and executes the Order in Damascus. They can now March 1 step to any Adjacent Region that is connected to Damascus. They want to protect the Desert with a single Cavalry to the South but also gain the crown Resource in the west Desert. They hope that their secret Blank Order will intimidate Angevin, tricking them with the bold move into thinking that this is the Reaction Order that would add Defence if attacked. Ayyubid uses March with the Leader Al-Afdal and 1 Infantry to the Desert. They move their crown marker up 1 step on the corresponding track on their player board.

8. Angevin is unsure if Ayyubid is bluffing. They risk attacking the Desert, by executing the Order in Sidon. They pay for the command point cost, add 1 Infantry and March to the Desert with the Leader James and 2 Infantry. Angevin's Battle Strength is 4, against Ayyubid's 3. The Ayyubid player does not admit that the Order is blank but says that they will not execute a Reaction Order and therefore lose the Battle. (In case of the possibility to reclaim the Region later, they do not want to give away the contents of the Order, and Blank Orders can not be played.)

Ayyubid will lose 1 Unit per difference in Battle Strength, in this case meaning only 1 Unit. They choose to remove the Infantry, returning it to their player board. Now they Retreat with their remaining Leader to any Adjacent Region that is either empty or where they have Units. They choose the weaker Desert Region with 1 Cavalry, blocking the supply and moving their supply marker 1 step down on the corresponding track on the player board. They also move their crown marker down for the crown they lost.

The winner Angevin will lose 1 Unit. They remove 1 Infantry, place it on their player board, and move into the conquered Region with the rest of their Units. They now gain 2 Glory, of a maximum of 4 for each Battle. They move the Glory track marker 2 steps towards their side. They also move their crown marker up 1 step for the crown icon in the conquered Region.

9. Ayyubid executes the Order in Jerusalem. They have Presence in the Region and they meet the City Region requirement. They add 1 Cavalry to Jerusalem.

10. Angevin has no more Cards or Orders that they can execute, since the Sea Move in Tripoli does not meet the requirements. They pass and can take no more actions this round. They leave non-executed Orders on the board.

11. Ayyubid executes the Order in Ahamant and adds 2 Infantry. The different Presence icon means that when both Ayyubid and Turkoman play together in the Muslim Alliance, Ayyubid can execute this Order in a Region where either they themselves or Turkoman has Presence. After that, they also pass.

The printed map shows how the map board should look at the end of the Command Phase, with all remaining Orders and Units. Ayyubid's player board markers are placed at 4 gold, 4 supply, 2 crown, 3 base command points and 1 current command point. Angevin's player board markers are placed at 1 gold, 3 supply, 2 crown, 1 base command point and 2 current command points.

Before moving on to the next phase, do a Victory check. At this point, you ONLY need to check the Glory track to see if either player has reached 10 Glory. Angevin is in the lead with 2 Glory on the Glory track. Proceed to the next phase.

4. Diplomacy Phase

The players bid for a bonus on the Diplomacy Card, which will also determine the order they get to move on the diplomacy board. This board contains Neutral Units and bonus chits that the players can place in their Regions.

Both players secretly choose the number of gold they want to bet. They reveal their bids simultaneously. Since Ayyubid only had 2 gold left, Angevin made a gamble, hoping they would only bet 1 or 0. There is a tie, and the first player on the initiative track, Ayyubid, wins the bid. Both players pay their bid to the pool. Ayyubid chooses bonus nr 2, and gains 1 Glory. The Glory track marker is immediately moved 1 step in their direction, from 2 to 1 on Angevin's side. In 2-player games, the player who lost the bid will always get reward nr 3. Angevin gains 1 gold.

The players advance on the diplomacy board, gaining free bonuses by placing a token of their color. Players can only move forwards or sideways along the lines. In a row with 4 spaces each player must pick one of those spots before advancing to the next row.

Ayyubid is first in order on the Diplomacy Card. They choose the Glory chit, place a player marker, take a hexagon Glory chit from the supply and place this in Ahamant. The Glory track marker is NOT moved at this point. Angevin chooses to bypass the crown token on the first row in order to gain a command point in the next row. They place it in Tripoli and move their base command point marker 1 step up, from 2 to 3.

5. Upkeep Phase

The players finish up this round and check if one of the players has gained 10 Glory and won the game. Otherwise, they prepare for the next round. The Upkeep Phase has 10 steps.

STEP 1. Each round has a Mission Card, visible from the start of the round. The current round's card is placed in the active mission Slot on the map, and the rest of the cards are placed face-up in the future mission Slot. That way the players can prepare for the Mission Card bonus the following round.

The active Mission Card this round is 'Ensure our supply'. The players look at the Glory Section (lefthand side) of the Mission Card. They count the number of Regions they Control that have at least 1 supply icon. Ayyubid has 4 supply icons, but only in 2 Regions. Angevin has 3 supply icons, in 3 Regions. The winner Angevin will gain Glory equal to the difference, in this case, 1 Glory. The Glory track marker is immediately moved 1 step towards Angevin's side. The Faith section is only used in an Alliance with 2 Armies.

STEP 2. Players reveal any Reaction Orders they placed on the map this round, that they did NOT execute. Each non-executed Reaction Order will give the player a Tithe bonus of 1 gold, as long as they have the required Presence and can pay for the Order with command points. Ayyubid reveals their Reaction Order in Acre. They place it to the side, pay the cost of 1 command point and gain 1 gold chit from the pool.

STEP 3. Players reveal any Orders left on the map that they could not execute, either because they could not afford the cost or the Order did not meet the requirements. Blank Orders are just removed. Angevin could not execute their Order in Tripoli because the Port was Destroyed. They will lose 1 Glory, and the Glory marker is immediately moved 1 step towards Ayyubid's side. After counting all non-executed Orders and losing 1 Glory for each one, ALL the Orders used this turn are returned to the players' Order Boxes.

STEP 4.

• A. Supply Check. For every Unit Section on their player board that is not fully stacked, the player needs to Control the corresponding number of supply icons on the map. Angevin needs 4 supply icons to support their Units. They only Control 3. They will lose 1 Glory, and immediately move the Glory marker 1 step towards Ayyubid's side. They also need to correct the short supply. They have to remove Units from the map until they fill a Section on their player board, evening out the supply. However, Angevin has a supply icon available in Tyre, that they uncover by removing only 1 Infantry Unit. They add the Unit to their player board and move their supply marker up 1 step on the corresponding track. They now have the 4 supply needed to support their Units. The supply track marker is not moved to pay for the supply, just to count that there is enough supply.
• B. Advanced Orders. Each player starts with 12 basic Orders in their Order boxes that they can use during the Planning Phase, and 10 Advanced Orders placed alongside the player boards. Players can now buy Advanced Orders in this step of the Upkeep Phase, with any leftover supply after the supply check, to be able to play them the following rounds. Both Angevin and Ayyubid have 4 supply each. They also both need 4 supply to cover their Units. They do not have any supply left to buy Advanced Orders (2 supply per Order).
• C. Jerusalem. The Crusaders gain 2 Glory if they Control Jerusalem.
• D. Gold. Players check their gold track markers and take the same amount of gold chits from the pool. The track markers are not moved. Angevin receives 1 gold chit and now has 4 in total. Ayyubid receives 4 gold and has 4 in total.
• E. Glory count. In this step, the Glory icons in the Regions on the map are counted. This is the only time that Glory chits and printed Glory icons on the map are counted, while all other ways of gaining Glory are counted immediately. Each player moves the Glory marker once towards their Alliance for each uncovered Glory icon they Control. Ayyubid placed a Glory chit from the Diplomacy Board in Ahamant. They now gain that Glory. Angevin also has a Glory icon on the map in the Desert. They also gain 1 Glory. Ayyubid has 2 Glory icons covered by Sabotage chits, in Acre and Ahamant. Angevin has 1 Glory covered in Tyre. Those are not counted. The Glory track marker is on 0.

STEP 5. Perform a victory check, to see if either player has reached 10 Glory and won the game.

STEP 6. The year track marker is moved to the next step. The players move the marker from 1190 to 1191 Spring.

STEP 7. During round 1191 Spring and 1191 Autumn, reinforcements arrive from the Genoa ship to the Crusader Armies Angevin and the Holy Roman Empire. The Units are placed in one Port Region with player Presence. Angevin places Philip II and Richard I in Sidon. The icons on the Leaders will now be counted on the corresponding tracks.

Command points. Any time a command point icon is added with a Leader, from chits or cards, the player moves their base command point marker up the corresponding steps. The current command point marker is moved up for the temporary command points gained when picking Event Cards. It is moved down when paying to execute Orders and can go all the way down to 0. Before the next round, the player will return their current command point marker to the same number as their base marker. The base marker will increase the amount of command points a player can spend for Order payment, so they can afford to place more Orders on the board.

Angevin gained 2 base command points when adding the Leaders to Sidon. They moved their base command marker from 3 to 5. They had 9 current command points to spend this round and used 7 of them. Their current command point marker is on number 2. Now they place their current command point marker on top of the base command marker. They also raise their crown track marker 2 steps. Ayyubid has 4 base command points. They place their current command point marker on top.

Diplomacy and Mission Cards. The plutorial left out the setup of these cards to simplify the beginning for new players. During regular setup, both stacks of cards are shuffled and placed in their corresponding Slots face up. To continue playing the following rounds after the plutorial, instead do this now before the last steps of the Upkeep Phase.

STEP 8. Discard this round's Diplomacy Card to reveal the next card for the following round.

STEP 9. Move the top card in the future Mission Cards deck to the active mission spot. The next round's Mission Card becomes visible in the future Mission Cards deck.

STEP 10. Move all initiative markers 1 step down on the initiative track and the last marker to the top. In a 2-player game, this means switching the places of the markers.

3- and 4-Player Games

The game has 2 Alliances, the Crusaders and the Muslims. Each player will play individually as a specific Army, but always be part of 1 of the Alliances. The 2 players in an Alliance are Alliance Partners, they will cooperate against the other side and gain Glory collectively. The players will do their actions just as they are explained in the plutorial, but a few things are different when there are 2 players in an Alliance.

• When placing Orders, only 1 Order per Alliance can be placed in a Region.
• There can be Units of both players from the same Alliance in a Region.
• The Battle Strength of both players in a Region will count.
• When bidding on the Diplomacy Card, players will move in the number Order their markers are placed. The last player will get no reward.
• An Alliance with 2 players will not gain the +1 Battle Strength bonus from the Faith track.

Plutorial End

This is the end of the plutorial. The players can either set up a new game or continue to the second round and try to finish the plutorial game, after reading about End game scoring and how to continue the game.

Follow the steps of the different phases as they were explained in the plutorial, except that in the Planning Phase, players take turns placing 1 Order each. Further examples of more intricate game situations that can occur are found in the rest of the rulebook.

If a player has reached 10 Glory during a victory check the game ends immediately. If there is no winner after the 4th round, the players proceed to the end game scoring.

End Game Scoring (Plutorial)

At this point, the players look at their 2 Objective Cards, which are usually drawn during setup. Each card names 4 Cities and the amount of Glory that a player will gain if they are in Control of 1-4 of either of those Cities. Each player will choose 1 card to score from. The player who has reached the highest in Glory wins. If there is a tie, the player who Controls Jerusalem wins.

Even though the Alliance Partners are co-operating, the game will still have a Final Winner within the winning Alliance. During the game, the Faith track will be used to score Faith from Event Cards and Mission Cards. The Faith track also includes a Mercantile Cities marker, that will count how many of these specific Cities the players Control. Along with the second Objective Card, these 3 aspects will decide the Final Winner.

Continue the Game

To continue playing the plutorial game, draw the following Objective Cards and try to gain and maintain Control of the named City until the end of the game:

• Angevin: Damascus
• Ayyubid: Sidon

Add the Faith markers to both players' Faith tracks. The markers start at 2, and can only be moved down to 0. The player with higher Faith than their opponent will gain a +1 Battle Strength bonus in each Battle.

Glossary

Adjacent. Regions are Adjacent if they are connected by a Road.

Advanced Order. Any order with the Advanced Order symbol on it. Advanced Orders are purchased with 2 supply per Order during the Upkeep Phase. If the Advanced Order symbol is the main event on an Event Card, the player gets to add the number of Advanced Orders behind their Order screen for free.

Alliance. There are 2 Alliances in the game, and each Alliance consists of 2 Armies. The Ayyubid Army and the Turkoman Army creates the Muslim Alliance. The Angevin Army and the Holy Roman Empire Army creates the Crusader Alliance. When an Army gains Glory, the Glory is gained by the Alliance of that Army. Each Alliance shares a Faith track.

Alliance Partner. The 2 Armies within an Alliance are Alliance Partners. The Angevin and the Holy Roman Empire are Alliance Partners. The Ayyubid and the Turkoman are Alliance Partners.

Army. There are 4 Armies in the game - the Angevin, the Ayyubid, the Holy Roman Empire and the Turkoman.

Assassination. The player may remove a Leader token of the color specified by the event from the main board and return it to the box.

Bandit. Placed on a Road as the result of an Event Card effect. If an Army Marches along a Road with Bandits they lose 2 Units for each Bandit token on the Road. This always happens if a player moves on a Road with a Bandit, even as part of a retreat from a Battle or a Reinforce Reaction Order, unless specifically instructed to ignore Bandits. Any Bandit tokens are then removed from the Road.

Battle. A comparison of Strength between the Units and Leaders of opposing Alliances that share a Region. (See pages 14-15.)

Battle Strength. See Strength.

Blank Orders. These Orders have no effect and cannot be executed. They are included to allow players to bluff as to their actual intentions for the round.

Cavalry. Cavalry is a Unit type, and must be placed onto a hexagonal Slot in a Region. Their Battle Strength varies depending on the Region type.

City. One of the 2 types of Regions on the map board. (See Regions.)

Control. The Army with the most Units in a Region Controls it and all Resources, Neutral Units and Leaders in that Region. If tied, no player Controls the Region.

Coordinated March. The active player can bring Units/Leaders from their Alliance Partner with them when they March.

Defence. A Reaction Order that adds to the defenders Battle Strength. Only in the Region where the Order is placed.

Desert. One of the 2 types of Regions on the map board. (See Regions.)

Destroyed Port. A token placed over the Port icon to indicate that the Port is unusable. If all Ports in a Region are covered, the Region no longer counts as containing a Port. A Destroyed Port token can not be removed.

Diplomacy Cards. During the Diplomacy Phase, players secretly bid for the turn order to choose a bonus from the current round's Diplomacy Card.

Disperse. A player uses March with any number of Units and/or Leaders they Control in a Region into any 2 Adjacent Regions.

Diversion. Cancel a Reaction Order used by another player in an Adjacent Region.

Event Cards. Event Cards are placed next to the bidding board during the Strategy Phase. Each Army receives 2 Event Cards chosen by the opposing Alliance. They are activated during the Command Phase.

Faith. Faith is registered on the Faith track. In 2- and 3-player games, the lone player gets +1 Battle Strength if they have higher Faith than their opponent. Faith is also checked at the end of the game to determine the Final Winner.

Final Winner. If a player is part of an Alliance that includes another player, there will be a Final Winner decided based on how the players do in Faith, Control of Mercantile Cities and Glory from a hidden Objective Card.

Forced March. A player uses March with any number of Units/Leaders they Control in a Region to an Adjacent Region. They cannot move their Alliance Partner's Units unless it is a Coordinated March. They cannot bring any more Units than those that fit into the available Slots in the targeted Region. Then they March with any number of Units/Leaders from the new Region to an Adjacent Region. If a Battle occurs in the first Region the March is over.

Glory. Glory is gained for an Alliance and will determine the winner. Any Glory tokens placed or Glory icons printed in Regions are counted in the Upkeep Phase. All other Glory from Battles and Cards are counted instantly.

Infantry. Infantry is a Unit type, placed into square Slots in a Region. A Region can hold a maximum of 6 Infantry. Their Battle Strength is always 1 each.

Leader. Leaders are special pieces with names, placed into Regions in Slots matching their shape. They March in the same manner as Units. A Leader with any Infantry or Cavalry icons acts as a Unit in Battle, adding the Units' Strength. Otherwise their Strength is always 0. If a Leader without Battle Strength is alone in a Region and is attacked it cannot fight or retreat, instead it is discarded from the game. Leaders are not otherwise Units and cannot be affected by events that only affect Units.

March. A player moves any number of Units and/or Leaders they Control from a Region to an Adjacent Region. They cannot move their Alliance Partner's Units unless it is a Coordinated March.

Mercantile Cities. Some Cities are Mercantile Cities. Control of them are registered on the Faith track, and checked at the end of the game to help determine the Final Winner in the winning Alliance.

Mission Cards. The Mission Card shows 2 bonuses that are counted at the end of the round. The Alliances compete for the Glory mission and the Armies within each Alliance compete for the Faith mission. The next round's Mission Card is always visible.

Muster. Place the type and number of Units of the shown Army in a Region.

Named Leader. If an event calls for a Named Leader to be added to the board, place the Named Leader's piece in a Region where the Army of that Leader has Presence - unless the event specifies otherwise. If an event calls for a Named Leader to be removed from the main board, that Leader must be removed from the main board and returned to the box. If the event calls for a Leader to be flipped, flip that Leader to their opposite side.

Named Region. All effects directly above a Region name must be applied to that Region. The Region can be defined by the Presence of a Leader. If all valid Leaders are dead then any effects that would affect that Leader do not apply (though Crown events of the card may still apply).

Neutral Units and Leaders. White tokens are Neutral pieces. Some begin on the board and others may be added to the board as a result of events or from diplomacy board rewards. The player that Controls the Region Controls the Units and Leaders in it. If players are tied for Control, Neutral Units and Leaders are Controlled by the Alliance, but not by either player in that Alliance. In Battle, any Neutral Units/Leaders Marching with the attacking Army is counted towards their Battle Strength. Any Neutral Units/Leaders in the defenders Region are counted towards the Defence, even if the Control is tied between the Alliance Partners. If a Region ever contains only Neutral Leaders and Units, those Leaders and Units are no longer under the Control of any player. They remain on the board and will join the next Army to take Control of that Region.

Objective Cards. Each player draws 2 Objective Cards as part of the setup. Each Objective Card shows the name of a City and the Glory a player receives if they Control the City Region when the game ends after the fourth round. One Objective Card is chosen by each player to gain Glory for their Alliance, and the second card is used to determine the Final Winner in the winning Alliance.

Orders. Orders are placed in the Order Sections in the Planning Phase, and executed in the Command Phase. A Region can only hold 1 Order per Alliance.

Port. Sea Move is only possible between Cities with a Port. Port Cities counts as Adjacent to each other.

Presence. An Army has Presence in any Region where it has at least 1 Unit or Leader. The Army icons are used to show Presence requirements; Angevin, Ayyubid, Holy Roman Empire and Turkoman. Alliance Presence is shown by the Alliance icons (Crusader / Muslim). If no specific Presence is needed: Any Presence.

Reaction Order. A specific type of Order that any player may execute out of turn if there is a Battle.

Reinforce Order. Add +1 in Battle Strength for each Unit in the Region to a Battle in an Adjacent Region, regardless of the Unit's own Battle Strength. When a player distributes losses, the Reinforcing Units are also considered part of the Battle.

Region. City Region or Desert Region. An area of the main board that contains Slots. In the Slots there may be icons that give the Controlling player a Resource during the Upkeep Phase. Regions are connected by Roads.

Resources. Tokens that can be placed on spots in Regions. They are shaped as Region-spots (hexagon, square and trapezoid) and show 1 or more icons.

Retreat. The Retreat Order can only be used as Defence, to Retreat from a Battle without suffering losses.

Road. Roads connect Regions on the map. Units/Leaders March via Roads between Regions, by effects on Orders and Cards. Roads may be blocked by Bandits.

Sabotage. Placed with the Sabotage side up on an empty Slot in a Region, the Resource on the Slot is not available for the Controlling player and the Slot can no longer hold a Unit. Sabotaged tokens cannot be placed in Jerusalem.

Sea Move. A player moves any number of the Units and/or Leaders they Control from one Region with a Port to another Region with a Port. If a player uses a Sea Move to attack a Region and lose, they must retreat to the Port Region they attacked from.

Section. Part of the player board that hold a number of Units. For each Section not fully stacked with Units, the player must have the shown supply in the Upkeep Phase.

Siege Engine. Siege Engines are a Unit type. These Units must also be placed onto a trapezoid Slot of a specific type when they are placed into a Region. Their Battle Strength varies depending on the Region type.

Slots. Each Region contains a number of Slots. In each Region there are 6 Slots that can hold Infantry, 2 that can hold Cavalry and 1 that can hold a Siege Engine. This is the limit of each type of Unit or Leader that may be placed into that Region. Players cannot add further Units of a type to a Region if all of the Slots for that Unit type already contain Units or Leaders. If an effect other than a March would add Units or Leaders to a Region that cannot be placed, those Units or Leaders are not placed.

If a Unit is placed covering a Slot with an icon, that icon is hidden and does not contribute to the Controlling player until the Unit is removed.

Units may be placed on top of a Slot that contains an Upgrade token. The Upgrade token is then hidden and does not contribute its Resource icons until the Unit is removed from the Slot.

Strength. The combat ability of Units and Leaders which determines the result of any Battle in which they participate. See Battle Section, p. 14-15.

Tactical Retreat. If a player is attacked they lose 1 Unit and retreat from the Region as though losing a Battle in that Region. The opponent does not win a Battle and does not gain any Glory.

Tithe. Instead of executing an Order with a Tithe icon, a player can save this Order until the Upkeep Phase. The player pays for the cost and will receive 1 gold. The actual effect of the Order is ignored.

Unit. Cavalry, Siege Engine or Infantry. Leaders are not Units, but they may have icons that cause them to count as Units for certain game purposes.

Upgrade. A token showing one or more icons that is placed into a Region, taking up one or more available Slots. Upgrades cannot be moved from the Region they are in.

Component List

General assets:

• South and north map boards
• Diplomacy board
• Bidding board
• 3 Player aids
• 18 Objective Cards
• 7 Mission Cards
• 7 Diplomacy Cards
• 1 Rulebook

General tokens:

• 2 Faith track markers
• 2 Mercantile Cities markers
• 1 Glory track marker
• 1 Round track marker
• Gold
• Neutral Units, Leaders and Resource tokens
• Destroyed Port tokens
• Sabotage/Bandit tokens

One set per player (4 sets):

• Player board
• Order box
• 32 Event Cards, 8 per year
• 30 Infantry, 12 Cavalry and 6 Siege Engines
• 22 Orders with Standees
• Individual set of Leaders
• 12 Diplomacy markers
• 7 Player markers

Component Anatomy (Boards)

• Bidding Board: 1. Command point value; 2. Card placement.
• Player Board: 1. Army; 2. Infantry Section; 3. Cavalry Section; 4. Siege Engine Section; 5. Resource requirement; 6. Gold track; 7. Supply track; 8. Crown track; 9. Command point track.
• Objective Card (fold-out leaflet): 1. Main City; 2. Cities; 3. End game score.
• Upkeep Phase (fold-out leaflet): 1. Mission Card check; 2. Tithe from Orders; 3. Non executed Orders; 4. Map board; 5. Victory check; 6. Advance round marker; 7. Genoa ships; 8. New Diplomacy Card; 9. New Mission Card; 10. Initiative track.
• Mission Card (fold-out leaflet): 1. Title; 2. Glory requirement; 3. Glory Section; 4. Faith requirement; 5. Faith Section.
• Order (fold-out leaflet): 1. Presence & Region; 2. Command point cost; 3. Effect; 4. Reaction Order; 5. Advanced Order; 6. Order from above.

Battle Overview

• Battle Strength per Unit: Infantry 1 (City) / 1 (Desert); Cavalry 1 / 2; Siege Engine 3 / 0.
• A Battle can gain an Alliance up to 4 Glory. The Alliance that wins the Battle gains 1 Glory for each of the following:
  • The Alliance is the attacker and the Battle Region is a City.
  • At least 1 Leader (any color) was part of the attacking force.
  • At least 1 Leader (any color) was part of the defending force.
  • At least 1 Leader (any color) Controlled by the losing Alliance was removed as a result of the Battle (including during Retreat).

Order Overview (Fold-out Leaflet)

The leaflet shows each Order in the colors of the Armies that have it (costs in command points are read from the leaflet's Order pictures; Orders marked (Advanced) carry the Advanced Order symbol). Not every Army has every Order.

March Orders

Cost	Explanation
1	March from any Region with Army Presence.
3	Add 1 Infantry and March from any Region with Army Presence.
2	Make a Sea Move from a Port with Army Presence.
2	Make a Forced March from the indicated Region with Army Presence.
2 (Advanced)	Make a Disperse move from any Region with Army Presence.
1 (Advanced)	March from any Region with Army Presence.
2 (Advanced)	Make a Coordinated March from any Region with Army Presence.
2 (Advanced)	March from any Region with Army Presence and ignore Bandits.

Blank Orders

Each Army has 2 Blank Orders used to trick the opponents.

Unit Orders

Cost	Explanation
2	Place a Cavalry in a City with Army Presence.
3	Place 2 Infantry in a City with Alliance Presence.
2	Place 2 Infantry in a City with Army Presence.
3	Place 3 Infantry in a Port with Army Presence.
3	Place 1 Infantry in a Desert with any Presence.
2	Place 2 Infantry in a Desert with Army Presence.
2 (Advanced)	Place 1 Siege Engine in any Region with Army Presence.
3 (Advanced)	Place 2 Infantry in a Desert with Army Presence.
3 (Advanced)	Remove 1 Crusader Infantry from any Crusader Region.

Reaction Orders

Cost	Explanation
1	Defence: +2 in Strength to any Region with Army Presence.
1	Reinforce: +1 in Strength for each Unit in any Adjacent Region. Needs Army Presence.
1 (Advanced)	Diversion: cancel opponent's Reaction Order in Adjacent Region. Needs Army Presence.
1 (Advanced)	Withdraw: Retreat without suffering losses. Needs Army Presence.
1 (Advanced)	Defence: +3 in Strength to a City Region with Army Presence.

Unique Orders

Cost	Explanation
4 (Advanced)	Add 1 Infantry to a Desert with any Presence.
3 (Advanced)	Add 3 Infantry to a City with Army Presence.
5 (Advanced)	Add 1 Cavalry and March from a Port with Army Presence.
5 (Advanced)	Add 1 Siege Engine and make a Sea Move from a Port with Army Presence.
1 (Advanced)	Remove 1 Sabotage chit in a City and gain 1 gold.
1 (Advanced)	Remove 1 Sabotage chit in a City and gain 1 gold.
2 (Advanced)	Remove 1 Sabotage chit in a City and add 1 Infantry.
4 (Advanced)	Add 2 Cavalry to a Desert with Army Presence.
3 (Advanced)	Remove 1 Muslim Infantry from any Muslim Region.
2 (Advanced)	Add 2 Infantry to a City with Army Presence.

Iconography

• Orders: Advanced Orders: the Order is only available if bought by the player during the Upkeep Phase. Command point cost: the player needs to pay the command point cost to execute the Order. Presence: Orders have Presence icons to indicate the Presence needed to execute an Order (Crusader Alliance, Muslim Alliance, Angevin, Holy Roman Empire, Ayyubid, Turkoman, each also with a "No ... Presence" version; Any Presence; Coordinated Crusader/Muslim March; Disregarding Presence).
• Desert: The Order/Event can only be executed in a Desert Region. City: The Order/Event can only be executed in a City Region.
• Reaction: May be executed outside the player's turn if a Battle takes place in the Region where the Order is or in a Region Adjacent to the Order.
• Tithe: Take gold from the pool during the Upkeep Phase if the Order has not been executed and the player can pay the command point cost.
• General: Presence/No Presence; Place token/chit; Remove token/chit; Gain Resource; Lose Resource.
• Locations: City Region; Desert Region; Jerusalem; Port; Mercantile City; Genoa Ships; North/South.
• Resources and tokens: Glory (gain/lose instant Glory; place/remove Glory token); Base command point; Current command point; Crown; Faith; Gold; Supply; Bandit; Ignore Bandit; Sabotage; Destroyed Port; Diplomacy board (move on diplomacy board); Triangular token with instant effects.
• Actions: Move; Attack; March/Forced March; Disperse; Sea Move.
• Orders: General/Advanced Order; Reaction Order; Defence; Diversion; Reinforce (+1 per Unit); Withdraw (Retreat); +/- March Strength.