Watchmen of Destiny Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Goal
• Components
• Setup
• Game Rules
  • Step 1: Choose an Item for your turn
  • Step 2: Play your turn
    • 2a. Buying Tents
    • 2b. Hiring a Watchman
    • 2c. Carrying out a Watchman's special action
  • End of each round
  • End of the game
• Scoring
  • Scoring example
• Example of a Turn
• Special Rules for 2 Players
• Clarifications
• Bloody Mercenaries Expansion
  • Using mercenary cards
  • Mercenary clarifications

Game Goal

Your aim is to earn the most victory points (VP) by the end of the game. To do this you must choose your Watchmen very carefully. Keep in mind that Watchmen of the same race can be a great strength, but if you hire two Watchmen of the same race AND the same caste, this may hinder your goals! After everyone has assembled their army, the player with the most Watchmen of a given race receives a bonus, while a double (same race and same caste) Watchman brings a penalty.

Components

• 72 Watchman cards and 25 Mercenary cards
• 35 Tent cards
• 13 Item cards
• 5 Reference cards

Watchman cards represent the Watchmen you can hire.

The number in the red circle at the top left of a card is the amount you pay to hire that Watchman, and also the number of victory points (VP) it gives you at the end of the game.

Each Watchman card has 1, 2 or 3 gold coin symbols at the bottom left. This is your money. Every Watchman card also serves as currency for buying Tents and hiring other Watchmen.

Each Watchman card also shows its caste (bottom centre), its race (bottom right), and the number of special actions it can perform during the game (the number in the purple circle).

The example card on the right is a Rabbit Assassin that costs 5 gold (and gives 5 VP at the end of the game). It can supply 2 gold toward a purchase, and can perform its special Assassin action a total of once during the game. Special Watchman actions are described on page 4.

Races: Rabbit, Otter, Owl, Dog, Mouse, Cat.

Castes: Warrior, Assassin, Mage, Hunter, Ninja.

Tent cards are where you house your Watchmen. A Watchman can only be hired into a free Tent you have in front of you. Each Tent costs 1 gold coin, and you may buy at most seven. Watchmen will not work for you unless you provide them with lodging!

Item cards. Each round every player plays one Item card. The Item card you play determines how many Watchman cards you may draw, and how many special Watchman actions you may perform on your turn. Each Item has a special effect written in the text box of the card. If the diamond at the bottom centre of the card is white, using the card's special effect is optional; if it is red, you must carry out the effect!

There are 11 (different) Items in the game (+2 exclusive). Which Items are included depends on the number of players.

Setup

1. Choose, depending on the number of players, which races you will play with. The number of races to use is shown in the table below. You may choose the races you like, or choose them at random. Shuffle the Watchman cards of the chosen races face down and form a Watchman deck, which you place in the middle of the table. Return the unchosen race cards to the box.

Players	Races
2	3
3	4
4	5
5	6

2. Place the Tent cards in a pile, face up, next to the Watchman deck.

3. Each player draws cards from the Watchman deck one at a time until they have at least 5 gold coin symbols in their hand. Cards are drawn one by one, so it is quite possible to end up with more than 5 gold coins in hand.

   Examples: in both cases the player has drawn at least 5 gold value.

   In the example on the right, the player's first card drawn showed 3 gold coins and the second showed 1. As that makes only 4 in total, a third card had to be drawn. The third card showed 3 gold coins, so the player starts the game with 7 gold coins in total.

4. The player who most recently stroked an animal in real life starts the game. They receive the Necklace item card, which marks them as the first player. They place the Necklace card face up in front of them.

5. Look through the remaining Item cards and remove those that do not show the number of players (the number shown at the bottom of each card). With 4 players, remove: Anvil and Target. With 3 players, remove: Anvil. With 2 players, remove: Letter, Cloak, Necklace, Poison and Spook. (Side note in the source, next to this step: an example Item card is used only with 3, 4 or 5 players; if there are only 2 players, return it to the box.) Then shuffle the remaining Item cards face down and deal each player 2 (with 4 or 5 players) or 3 (with 2 or 3 players) cards, again face down.

Game Rules

In a full round of play, players take their turns in turn order. Your own turn consists of 2 steps. Step 1 is mandatory and must be carried out first. In Step 2 you have 3 options, and it is up to you which of them you choose and in what order. This is the most fun part of your strategy, as you decide how best to use the resources at your disposal. When you have finished your own turn, the turn of the next player in order begins. Once every player has taken one turn, the round ends and a new round begins.

Step 1: Choose an Item for your turn

Choose one of your Item cards and flip it face up in front of you. Carry out the special effect of the flipped Item card (remember that this is optional if the diamond at the bottom centre of the card is white, but mandatory if it is red). Then draw from the Watchman deck as many Watchman cards as the green-background number at the bottom left of the flipped Item card shows. Leave the Item card you used in front of you, face up.

Step 2: Play your turn

You may choose from several options (choices) in this step. You may carry out the following in any order, and may repeat them as often as you like, until you are satisfied.

2a. Buying Tents

You may buy as many Tent cards in your turn as you can afford. Each Tent costs 1 gold coin. You may have at most 7 Tents. Place the purchased Tent card(s) face up in front of you. To buy a Tent card you must discard a Watchman card from your hand that shows at least 1 gold coin symbol. You may buy at most as many Tent cards for the discarded Watchman card as the number of gold coin symbols on it (up to the maximum of 7). For example: if you discard a Watchman card with 3 gold coin symbols from your hand, you may buy 1, 2 or 3 Tents for it.

2b. Hiring a Watchman

You may hire one Watchman in your turn, unless the Item card you played at the start of your turn says otherwise. You may hire a Watchman only if you have an empty Tent card in front of you into which they can move.

Hiring procedure: place the Watchman card from your hand onto the Tent card, so that as many purple circles stick out at the top of the Tent card as the number of special actions shown at the bottom of the Watchman card (the small purple circle). To hire a Watchman you must discard one or more other Watchman cards from your hand, such that the gold coin symbols on them add up to at least the price of the Watchman you want to hire.

You may not hire a Watchman AND buy a Tent in the same step! (For example: if you want to hire a Watchman costing 5 and discard cards with 6 gold coin symbols in total to do so, you may not also buy a Tent with the spare 1 gold coin.)

2c. Carrying out a Watchman's special action

Depending on which Item card you played in Step 1, you may carry out a number of special actions with the Watchmen you have already hired. The number of special actions you may carry out is at most the number shown in the purple-background circle at the bottom right of the flipped Item card. The special actions available depend on the caste of the Watchman in use.

Choose one Watchman you have hired (that is not yet exhausted) and lying in front of you, and carry out the special action given by its caste. Then slide the Watchman card one step further up on the Tent card (one fewer purple circle should be visible). If you cannot slide the Watchman any further up the Tent card, that Watchman has used up all of its special actions (it is exhausted), and it may not be chosen for a special action.

Example for Step 2: you carry out a 2a option (buying a Tent), then a 2c option (one of your hired Watchmen performs its special action), then a 2b option (hiring a Watchman), and then, since the Item card you played in Step 1 allows 2 special Watchman actions, another 2c option.

As long as there is a card in your hand, you may perform the 2a option (buying a Tent) any number of times, up to the limit of 7. You may repeat the options above until you have met the requirements.

If the Watchman deck runs out, because all of its cards have been drawn except the last 5, shuffle the discarded Watchman cards face down and form a new Watchman deck, which you place face down in the middle of the table.

Caste special actions:

• Warrior (harcos): No special action during play. At the end of the game, however, each Warrior-caste Watchman you have hired is worth +1 VP.
• Mage (mágus): On your turn. Draw the top 2 cards of the discard pile, then discard 1 card from your hand onto the top of the discard pile. (It is not necessary that the discarded card be one of the 2 cards you drew.)
• Assassin (orgyilkos): On your turn. Draw the top 5 cards of the Watchman deck, choose one of them and take it into your hand, and return the other 4 cards to the top of the Watchman deck, face down, in any order.
• Hunter (vadász): On your turn. After each action you perform, you receive 2 gold coins, which you may use only for the next Tent purchase or Watchman hire. It is allowed to buy 1 or 2 Tents, or to hire a Watchman, using only the coins from the hunter. (The Clarifications section also describes the Hunter caste.)
• Ninja (nindzsa): On your opponent's turn. When your opponent carries out a purchase and discards one or more Watchman cards, call out "Ninja!", then draw the top card of the discard pile. If several players call out "Ninja!", the player who called out first receives the top card. Your Ninja may carry out its special action several times in a round, or during your opponent's turn, as long as it is not exhausted.
  1. If you carry out a purchase in which you discard several cards, you may, to defend against your opponents' Ninja action, discard your more valuable card beneath the other, less valuable cards (i.e. "under" them). Remember, however, that a Ninja action may be repeated several times in a round, so if your opponent has enough usable Ninjas, they can still get hold of your valuable discarded card.
  2. This action does not count toward the number of actions you are allowed. The number (on a purple-background) shown on the Item card you flipped at the start of your turn limits only the number of special Watchman actions you may carry out during your own turn.

A quick look at the Reference cards can help if you are unsure of the special actions of any caste.

End of each round

When every player has finished their turn, the round ends. Each player now has one (or, together with the Necklace, two) Item cards lying face up in front of them. These are the cards they played at the start of their turn.

Each player used one Item card in their turn. Now every player may choose a new Item card from the cards the others have used, so that in the end each player holds the same number of Item cards as at the start.

The player who has the Necklace chooses first. They may choose any Item card, except the one they used in their own turn (the one lying in front of them).

Then, moving clockwise, the second player takes one Item card from the remaining cards, then the third player chooses one, and so on.

If a player wishes to be the starting player in the next round, they choose the Necklace card instead of another Item card, and lay it in front of them. They must then wait until every player has chosen one Item card each, and then take the last remaining card. This is the only exception in which this player may receive the same Item card they used in the previous round (i.e. they may get their own card back if it is the last one left, because nobody else wanted it).

If nobody chooses the Necklace, it stays with the player who had it, and that player will be the starting player in the next round as well. The Necklace is the only Item card that every player may see.

End of the game

As soon as any player has hired their 7th Watchman, the game ends at the end of the round. After the players who have not yet finished their turn have completed their turns up to the end of the round, the points are counted.

Scoring

First: add up the points of your hired Watchmen (the numbers in the red circles at the top left of the Watchman cards).

Second: add +1 VP for each Warrior-caste Watchman you have hired.

Third: subtract 1 VP for each pair of your hired Watchmen that share both the same caste AND the same race. Translator's note: the source text says "for each ... card" that shares both caste and race, but its scoring example deducts only 1 VP for a single such pair. The example is followed here, so the penalty is per pair.

Fourth: for each race in play, look at which player has hired the most Watchmen of that race. That player receives points equal to the total number of Watchmen of that race on the table (their own plus their opponents' combined). If two players have hired the same number of Watchmen of a given race, neither of them receives points for it. Do this for every race in play!

Neither cards in your hand, nor empty Tents in front of you, nor Item cards lying in front of you count toward scoring.

The player who has scored the most victory points wins the game.

If there is a tie, count the gold coin symbols on the cards in hand of the players who are tied. The player with the most gold coin symbols in their hand receives +1 VP. Remember: gold coins only need to be counted if it is not already clear who has won the game!

Scoring example

(The source shows both players' Watchman tables as illustrations. The figures below are as printed in the text.)

Balázs's Watchmen (illustrated)

Anikó's Watchmen (illustrated)

Balázs:

• 33 (3+5+6+5+5+5+4) VP from the Watchmen he has hired.
• He has 3 Warriors, so he gets +3 VP.
• He has one pair with the same race and caste (Dog Assassins), so he loses 1 VP.
• Balázs therefore has 33+3-1 = 35 VP so far.

Anikó:

• 32 (4+6+4+5+4+4+5) VP from the Watchmen she has hired.
• She has 2 Warriors, so she gets +2 VP.
• She has no pair with the same race and caste, so she suffers no penalty.
• Anikó therefore has 32+2 = 34 VP so far.

Balázs and Anikó now go through the Watchmen they have played, race by race.

• First the Cats. Balázs has 2 and Anikó has 3 Cat Watchmen, so Anikó receives 5 (2+3) VP for them.
• Next the Otters. Balázs has 1 and Anikó has 2 Otters, so again Anikó receives points, namely 3 (1+2).
• Then the Dogs. Balázs has 4 and Anikó has 2 Dog Watchmen, so Balázs receives 6 (4+2) VP for them. There are no other races in the game.

In total Balázs has 35+6 = 41 VP, and Anikó has 34+5+3 = 42 VP, so Anikó wins the game by a single point.

Example of a Turn

(The source shows this example with illustrations. Only the text is transcribed. Item cards the player did not play in the turn are not shown in the illustrations.)

Step 1: Balázs plays the Spook Item card as his mandatory first step. He decides not to use its ability (since its diamond is white, using it is optional). He draws one Watchman card from the Watchman deck, and may carry out at most 2 special Watchman actions in his turn.

Step 2, option 2c (1): Balázs has one hired Watchman in front of him, an Assassin Owl, and uses its special ability. He draws the top 5 cards of the Watchman deck, chooses an Owl Mage from among them, and takes it into his hand. He returns the other 4 cards to the top of the Watchman deck in an order of his choosing. He slides the Assassin Owl one step up on its Tent, which exhausts it.

Step 2, option 2a: Balázs needs a new Tent, because he wants to hire a new Watchman later. He discards the Owl Hunter card, which shows 1 gold coin, onto the discard pile, takes a Tent card and places it in front of him. He does not yet have 7 Tents.

Step 2, option 2b: Balázs hires his second Watchman, the Owl Mage, which costs 4 gold coins. To do this he must discard both of his remaining cards, which together show 4 gold coins. He places the Owl Mage on his Tent card so that 1 purple circle sticks out, as the Mage has 1 special action.

Another player, Anikó, now calls out "Ninja!". She slides her own Ninja Watchman one step up on her Tent card, and takes into her hand the last card Balázs discarded, a valuable Rabbit Warrior.

Step 2, option 2c (2): Finally Balázs uses the special ability of the Owl Mage he has just hired, as the second special Watchman action of his turn. He draws the top 2 cards of the discard pile and chooses a Cat Hunter from among them, discarding the other. He then slides the Owl Mage one step up on its Tent card, and it becomes exhausted.

Special Rules for 2 Players

Variant 1: Do not use the Necklace card. Instead, you alternate as the starting player each round. At the end of each round, you swap the Item cards you are currently using with each other, then set them aside for one round. These set-aside Items must "recharge" for one full round, so they cannot be used in your next turns. It is up to you whether you keep the Item cards you hold visible or hidden (in a 2-player game each player knows exactly which Item is held by whom).

Variant 2:

Setup: Prepare everything as in the base game, except place 7 Tent cards face up next to each other, somewhere between the two of you. These belong to an imaginary third player.

Gameplay: When one of you hires the first Watchman of the game, draw the top card of the Watchman deck and place the drawn Watchman on the imaginary player's first Tent. When one of you hires the second Watchman, again draw the top card of the Watchman deck and place it on the imaginary player's second Tent. Repeat this procedure up to and including the seventh Watchman. The imaginary player's Watchmen may not carry out special actions. The imaginary player has no turn and plays no Item cards. This way the imaginary player always has as many Watchmen as the one of you who has more. When the game ends, the imaginary player also has 7 Watchmen.

Scoring: The imaginary player's Watchmen also count when you count the most Watchmen of a race. Do not forget this during the game! Scoring is similar to 3-player scoring. For example, if you have 3 Cats, your opponent has 2, and the imaginary player has 1, you receive 3+2+1 = 6 VP for them. If the imaginary player has the most Watchmen of a race, they receive no points for it, since their score is not counted anyway. Repeat the procedure for all 3 races.

Clarifications

• Shield (Pajzs): If you played the Shield, you are not affected by Poison, Letter, Cloak or Spook. If someone targets you with an Item's effect before your turn in the round, you may place the Shield in front of you. This counts as the Item card you played in Step 1. You draw cards and may carry out special Watchman actions just as if you had played it at the start of your turn. If you are targeted and decide not to put the Shield out, or after you have already played another Item at the start of your turn, you can no longer play the Shield from your hand to neutralize an effect.

• Moneybag (Pénzeszsák): You may receive 2 free Tents when you hire your first Watchman. If you hire your second Watchman, you no longer receive the 2 free Tents.

• Energy Stone (Erőkő), Kickstarter exclusive: Name a caste! Each player may renew one action of one of their Watchmen of the named caste. (Each player may "recharge" only one action of a single Watchman, and only if that Watchman has already used some of its maximum actions.) Shuffle the Energy Stone into the others in place of another Item card.

• Hunter (vadász caste): You may, using only the Hunter's special action, hire a Watchman or buy 1 or 2 Tents without playing a card from your hand.

• Cloak (Köpeny): When you exchange a Watchman, the new Watchman keeps the number of possible actions the old one had before the exchange. For example: if one of your Watchmen, with a maximum of 2 actions, has already used one action before the exchange, the Watchman that replaces it will also have only 1 action left, not the initial maximum of 2!

• Poison (Méreg): You can use the Item's ability only if the target player has not yet had their turn in this round. If you play the Poison Item and you are the last player of the round, you cannot choose a target, so the Item has no effect.

Bloody Mercenaries Expansion

(Supplement: "Bloody Mercenaries" — 25 mercenary cards. The source heading reads "További szabályok a véres zsoldosok kiegészítőhöz".)

Components: 25 mercenary cards.

Note: unless the card text says otherwise, you play the game by the rules of the base game!

Five races of special mercenary cards are currently available: Rabbit, Cat, Dog, Otter and Owl. Each race contributes 5 cards to the 25-card mercenary deck. Depending on the number of players, select the number of mercenary cards shown in the table below.

Players	Mercenaries
2	10
3	15
4	20
5	25

For example: with 2 players you use 10 mercenary cards: 2 from each race.

Set up the game according to the base rules, except for the Watchman deck. Shuffle the selected mercenary cards thoroughly into the Watchman deck, then place it face down in the middle of the table.

Initial draw: the mercenary cards also show gold coins, which count toward the initial draw of at least 5 gold coins. (The Owl counts as 0, so draw one more card!)

Using mercenary cards

Every mercenary card except the Owl shows a gold coin symbol. Choose one of the following options:

1. You may use the mercenary card for a purchase, as in the base rules. After you have paid with it, discard it onto the discard pile.
2. You may use the mercenary's special ability. Afterwards, discard the card onto the discard pile.

Note: mercenaries are not Watchmen, so you cannot place them on your Tent cards, and you cannot collect them into your army.

Mercenary clarifications

• Dog: With this mercenary you may not hire more than one Watchman. You may also not hire any more Watchmen in this turn, unless you used the Moneybag Item card at the start of your turn.

• Owl: Can convert one or more of your Watchmen's special actions into gold. If you decide to do so, announce aloud to the other players which of your Watchmen's actions you converted, and how many. You may use this gold for any purchase or hire. If you do not convert all of a Watchman's possible special actions into gold, the remaining ones may still be carried out as normal Watchman actions.