Turning Tides
Turning Tides Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Content of the Game
General (11 in total)
- Ships: 2x
- Destruction Token: 6x
- Hierarchy Cards: 2x
- Initiative pawn: 1x
Units, two sets (20 in total)
- Captain: 1x
- Cannon: 4x
- Sailors: 4x
- Mast: 1x
Playing cards, two decks (24 in total)
- Wait: 1x
- Cannon: 2x
- Sailor: 2x
- Move: 1x
- Navigate: 1x
- Swing: 2x
- Fire: 3x
Game Objective
To win a game of Turning Tides, a player must complete one of the following goals:
- Either destroy three zones on the enemy's ship.
- Or remove the entire crew (captain and sailors) from the enemy's ship.
The moment one of the players succeeds, the game immediately ends and that player is crowned the winner.
Game Setup
The players each take a ship and place it horizontally in front of them such that the first zones of each ship are opposite each other; these form the playing area of the game. The zone at the bow (pointy end) of the ship represents the front and first zone. Each player chooses a colour and takes all corresponding playing cards and units. In addition, each player clears an extra space for themselves next to the playing area; your ship's hold. All units and playing cards that are not active in the playing area during the game are always in your hold.
Starting position of the ships
Each ship consists of seven zones. Each ship has a different starting configuration. Depending on which colour you have chosen, place the following units on your ship:
The silver player
- Zone 4: The mast and a sailor.
- Zone 5: A sailor and a cannon (pointing away from the enemy).
- Zone 6: The captain.
The golden player
- Zone 3: The captain.
- Zone 4: The mast and a sailor.
- Zone 5: A sailor and a cannon (pointing away from the enemy).
Put the rest of your units in your hold. The golden player receives the Initiative pawn.
Distribution of the playing cards
Organise your twelve playing cards as follows:
- Take in your hand: Wait 1x.
- These are your exchange cards. Put face up in your hold: Sailor 1x, Swing 1x, Fire 2x.
- Shuffle the remaining cards and place them face down in front of you. This is your draw pile: Sailor 1x, Cannon 2x, Move 1x, Navigate 1x, Swing 1x, Fire 1x. Make sure to leave some room next to your draw pile for your discard pile.
The playing field is organised as follows: each player has, beside their ship, a discard pile, a draw pile, a hand and a hold (with the initiative pawn between the players' areas).
Units
There are four types of units that can be placed on your ship: The captain, sailors, cannons and a mast.
Sailors
The swashbucklers who keep your ship in battle. They are as brave as they are reckless and will be the ones performing the actions of your playing cards during the game to try and sink the enemy ship. Sailors can perform Move, Swing and Fire.
Cannons
Each zone on your ship has room for two cannons. Two cannons in a single zone means that each of the cannons has to point in a different direction. Cannons in a zone always need a sailor in that same zone in order to be able to perform the Fire action.
Captain
The heart of your ship. The captain puts the sailors and cannons to work using the cards you play. The captain himself is not considered a sailor. This means that the captain can never be used to perform offensive actions such as Swing and Fire. You do have the option to use the captain to the Move. Together, the captain and the sailors make up the crew of your ship. A ship with only a captain is considered to still have a crew and thus has not lost the game.
The mast
Each ship starts the game with a mast in zone 4. It is stationary and may never be moved. The mast protects all other units in zone 4 from an enemy's Fire, but only once. When your enemy fires their first cannon shot at this zone, that shot will remove your mast, but all other units will be spared. A destroyed mast can never be replaced; you only have one per game.
Placing and removing units
Units you place on your ship always come out of your hold. When units are removed from your ship, they always return to your hold. Removed units, excluding the Mast, can therefore always be placed again.
Rounds
The game is played in rounds, in which you and your enemy sail past each other. Once the ships have completely passed each other, or rather no zones of your ship are opposite the enemy ship's zones anymore, a round is over.
Start of a Round
Before a new round starts, always follow the next steps:
Step 1 | Shuffle playing cards
Shuffle all the playing cards in your hand, your discard pile, and any remaining playing cards in your draw pile and place them face down in front of you to make a new draw pile.
Important! Never shuffle the Wait card, or the exchange cards in your hold together with your draw pile.
Step 2 | Rotate the ships 180 degrees
Both you and your enemy now (gently) rotate your ships 180 degrees around their own axis, taking care not to move the pieces. Your ship always starts horizontally and on your side of the playing field. This rotation will have the effect that all cannons that were pointed at the enemy's ship in the previous round, are now aimed away from it. Put the first zones of the ships opposite each other again.
Turns
A round consists of several turns. Players play simultaneously.
Each turn consists of the following steps:
Step 1 | Draw a card
Draw a card from your draw pile and take it into your hand. If your draw pile is empty and you are unable to draw a card, skip this step for the rest of the round. Make sure you never reshuffle your discard pile during a round.
Step 2 | Choose a card
Choose a card from your hand and place it face down in front of you. You can always pick any card in your hand, even if you are unable to perform the card's action.
Step 3 | Turn the cards face up and perform their actions
The chosen cards are flipped face up and their actions are performed. You are always obliged, if possible, to perform the action of your card. The order in which the chosen cards are performed depends on where the cards are placed in the Hierarchy (see image). The card that is highest in the Hierarchy is performed first.
When you and your enemy have chosen the same card, or cards that have a similar level in the Hierarchy, the player in possession of the initiative pawn performs their card first.
The Hierarchy Card
The Hierarchy card shows four levels, in this order from highest (1) to lowest (4):
- Sailor and Cannon (placing)
- Move and Navigate
- Swing
- Fire
(Promoting a sailor to captain is always the lowest step in the Hierarchy; see The Captain.)
Step 4 | Discard the cards you used
Place your performed card face up in your discard pile.
Step 5 | Sail the ships one zone further past each other
The ships sail one zone further past each other. Ships always sail forward in the direction of the front of the ship.
End of a Turn
After these five steps, the turn is over and the players start a new turn from step 1, until the end of the round.
Playing Cards
Wait: Await the tides
No action takes place. You do nothing.
When you and your enemy both play the Wait card during a turn, the ships immediately sail an extra zone further past each other.
Wait: Specifics The Wait card is different from other playing cards. This card starts in your hand at the beginning of the game and always returns to your hand after it has been performed. The Wait card is therefore never discarded to your discard pile (see: Turns - Step 4). Furthermore, Wait can not be used for any other action in the game (see later: Promote, Exchange or Exhaust for damage).
Sailor | Place a sailor
Take a sailor from your hold and place it in an undestroyed zone on your ship. There is no limitation on how many sailors can be in a single zone, although only one sailor is needed to fire either cannon in that zone. If you have no sailor units in your hold, this action cannot be performed.
Cannon | Place a cannon
Take a cannon from your hold and place it in an undestroyed zone on your ship. A cannon is always placed on one side of a zone, where it can only fire in one direction. This makes it possible to have two cannons placed in one zone, each facing an opposite direction. If you have no cannon units in your hold, this action cannot be performed.
Move | Moving a unit
Move the captain, a sailor or a cannon on your ship to a different undestroyed zone. Cannons may also be moved to the other side of the same zone.
Important! The zone the unit is moved to does not need to be adjacent to the zone the unit is moved from.
Navigate | Change your position
Choose one of three options:
- Or the ships immediately sail one zone further past each other.
- Or the ships immediately sail one zone backwards past each other.
- Or claim the initiative pawn if you don't already have it. (see Initiative)
Swing | Attack the crew
Choose a zone on your ship with a sailor. With this sailor, you attack the enemy ship in the zone across from it. You remove an enemy sailor from this attacked zone, if any are placed there. Only if the enemy captain is in the attacked zone without any sailors, are they removed instead. The swinging sailor returns to your ship, to be placed back in the zone they came from.
Important! Captains can never be used for Swing.
Fire | Fire a cannon
Choose a zone on your ship with a sailor and a cannon aimed at the enemy's ship. You attack the enemy ship in the zone across from it. Depending on what is placed on this attacked zone, the outcome of Fire differs.
Important! Captains can never be used for Fire.
Outcome of Firing
- The attacked zone has a mast: The enemy removes their mast and nothing else.
- The attacked zone has units: The enemy removes all units in the attacked zone.
- The attacked zone is empty: The attacked zone is now destroyed. A token of destruction is placed on the attacked zone.
Important! If the attacked zone is already destroyed, nothing happens.
Destroyed zones
Not only does a destroyed zone on your ship bring the enemy one step closer to victory, you are also no longer allowed to place any units on the zone for the rest of the game. Units are still allowed to move 'over' the destroyed zone when performing Move.
Initiative Pawn
Owning the initiative pawn is a mark of cunning. The pawn represents the player who has the initiative of action. When, during a turn, you and your enemy are both going to perform the same card or cards that have the same level in the Hierarchy, the player who has the initiative pawn performs their card first.
However, the initiative pawn can change hands quickly. She always moves to the player who was the last to remove a unit from their ship or had to suffer the destruction of a zone. In addition, the Navigate card can be used to claim the initiative pawn if you don't already have it. As such, the initiative pawn can potentially change hands several times in a turn.
Example 1: Lotte has the initiative pawn. Both Lotte and Roset have one sailor on their respective ships. In the current turn, the zones on which the sailors are standing are opposite each other. Both Roset and Lotte have decided to play the Swing card. Since Lotte has the initiative pawn, her Swing action is performed first, removing Roset's only sailor from her ship. After that, Roset immediately gains possession of the initiative pawn, but now that she no longer has any sailors on her ship, her own Swing action can not be performed. The turn ends here.
Introductory game
You may now choose to play an introductory game of Turning Tides. This is a simplified version of the game to get used to the basic rules of the game. It is recommended to finish this introduction game several times in order for both players to have a good understanding of these basic rules. Then continue reading this manual for the complete ruleset. Whenever you decide to read on, make sure you always start a fresh game.
Changes and additions
Play an introductory game with the following adjustments:
Game Objective:
- Destroy one zone on the enemy's ship. (instead of three)
- AND remove the captain from the enemy's ship. (instead of the full crew)
The Hold:
- The Sailor and Swing cards in your hold are not part of this game.
- At the end of the first two rounds, you take one Fire card out of your hold, and shuffle it along with your draw deck.
End of a Round: The Lee
Between rounds, the wind drops temporarily. You now both perform your lee actions.
Lee action 1 | Swap cards with your hold (optional)
You now have the option to swap playing cards in your hand with the exchange cards in your hold (with exception of the Wait card). You can only swap cards that are left in your hand at the end of the round. You and your enemy swap simultaneously and in secret. When you have no cards left in your hand during this lee action, swapping is not an option for you. At the end of swapping, there must always be four exchange cards face up in your hold.
Important! The only way you can have any playing cards left in your hand during this lee action is if you have deliberately chosen not to play those cards during the previous round of play.
Important! Swapped cards are put directly on your discard pile, so they get shuffled into your new draw pile for the next round.
Example 2: When the lee actions begin, Roset has two playing cards in hand. Her Wait card and a Cannon card. She sees that Lotte also has two playing cards in her hand. Both Roset and Lotte take their four exchange cards from their hold. Roset would like to add a second Swing card to her draw pile. Since she is never allowed to swap her Wait card, Roset chooses to swap the Cannon card in her hand for a Swing card from her hold. After the swap, she places her four exchange cards (of which the cannon card is now a part) face down in her hold. She waits until Lotte has finished swapping as well. Then Roset and Lotte both turn over their exchange cards, so that each can deduce what cards their enemy has in her draw deck.
Lee action 2 | Exhaust playing cards due to damage (mandatory)
A damaged ship sails significantly worse. For each destroyed zone on your ship, you must choose to put a playing card face down in your hold (excluding the Wait card). As such, the number of cards in your draw pile at the beginning of a round is always equal to the number of undestroyed zones on your ship. The number of cards in your hold can go up to six (four exchange cards and two exhausted cards due to damage).
Important! During each new lee you are allowed to re-pick the playing cards you exhaust for damage. These cards may be different to the cards you exhausted in earlier rounds.
Example 3: In the last round Lotte destroyed a zone on Roset's ship. This is her first destroyed zone. After the swap she made earlier, Roset will now have to give up a card because of this destroyed zone. Wanting to play the next round with the two Swing cards in her draw deck, she decides to exhaust her Navigate card and puts it face down in her hold. Because this card is face down, Lotte does not know that Roset will not have her Navigate card available next round.
After the lee actions, you proceed with the normal actions at the beginning of a round. (see Rounds)
The Captain
Removing and Promoting a Captain
When your enemy manages to remove your captain from your ship during a turn, you have to promote one of your sailors to be the new captain. To promote a sailor to captain you do the following:
Finish the current turn (in which you had to remove your captain) as per usual, so that all remaining action cards are performed normally. However, on the next turn you intend to perform a card other than Wait, that action will be cancelled and replaced by the action of promoting a sailor to be the new captain. Meaning you replace an existing sailor on your ship with the captain unit. The captain is always placed in the same zone where the replaced sailor was placed initially. Promoting is considered an action and is always the lowest step in the Hierarchy.
Important! It is possible that a ship does not have a captain at the end of a round. This has no effect on the actions in the lee or at the beginning of a round.
Important! If you don't have any sailors on your ship left to promote, you've already lost the game.
Example 4: Due to a well-timed Swing card by Roset, Lotte has had to remove her captain this turn. Lotte's own Fire action was still performed to finish the turn as usual. The next turn Lotte decides to play a cannon card. Roset plays her second Swing card. Because Lotte is going to have to promote a sailor to a new captain, Roset's action is performed first. This turn, Roset removes one of the two remaining sailors on Lotte's ship by Swing. After which, Lotte only has one sailor left she can promote. She does not place a Cannon, which is what performing her card would normally be, but instead removes the last sailor from her ship and replaces it with the captain. Although Lotte hasn't lost yet, as her captain counts as crew, she briefly considers her remaining options to then decide to offer Roset her surrender. Roset humbly accepts the surrender and a new game is set up right away.
Rules on Snooping
During the game you can always look at the following cards:
- Your own hand
- Your own discard pile
- All cards in your hold
- The enemy's discard pile
- The exchange cards in the enemy's hold
During the game you may never look at the following cards:
- The enemy's hand
- Your own draw pile (when shuffled and face down)
- The enemy's draw pile
- Any exhausted cards in the enemy's hold, due to damage
These rules are mentioned specifically because Turning Tides is not intended to be a game in which the winner is the one who is best at counting cards. Due to these snoop rules you always have the opportunity to obtain meaningful information about yourself and your enemy in order to estimate what your tactical possibilities are.
Rules on Surrendering
It is always within your rights to admit your defeat during a game and to surrender with your head held high. However, if your enemy chooses to accept your surrender, they are immediately obliged to start a new game with you, if you would request one. No exceptions!
Quick guide
Captain
May not Swing or Fire. May Move. Removed = Promote.
Promoting
Next playing card is not performed. Instead, sailor on ship is replaced by captain.
The Playing Cards and the order in which they are played
- Sailor: Place sailor from hold on ship.
- Cannon: Place cannon from hold on ship.
- Move: Move sailor, cannon or captain on ship to different zone. Or move cannon to other end of same zone.
- Navigate (choose): Ships sail further. Ships sail back. Claim initiative pawn.
- Swing (Sailor): Attack opposite zone. Remove a sailor or captain (when alone).
- Fire (Sailor & Cannon): Sailor and cannon attack opposite zone. Remove Mast, otherwise remove all units, otherwise destroy zone.
- Wait: Do nothing. Card always returns to hand. Ships sail one zone further when both players perform Wait. Don't use Wait for promoting, swapping or exhausting due to damage.
Card counts shown on the quick guide (draw pile / hold): Sailor 1x / 1x, Cannon 2x / 0x, Move 1x / 0x, Navigate 1x / 0x, Swing 1x / 1x, Fire 1x / 2x.
Rounds
- Start of round: 1. Shuffle draw deck. 2. Turn ship 180 degrees. 3. First zones opposite each other.
- End of round: 1. The Lee: Swapping cards. 2. The Lee: Exhaust cards due to damage.
Turns
Play simultaneously.
- Draw Card (if possible)
- Choose card (put in front of you face down)
- Flip cards and perform them (in order of the Hierarchy)
- Sail ships one zone further (direction)
With equal cards first performer is decided by Initiative pawn. Initiative pawn is always with the player that removed something of ship last.