Wonderland's War Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Setting Up the Game
• Player Set-up
• Gameplay Overview
• Tea Party
  • Setting the Table
  • Tea Party Turn
  • End of Tea Party
• Tea Party Card Effects
  • Special Card Types
• Ally Card Sets
• Leader Effects
• War Phase
  • Determine Players' Starting Strength
  • Battles
  • Battle Draw Steps
  • Wagers
  • Timing
  • Halting
  • Madness Chips and Busting
  • Chip Effects
• Battle Outcome
  • Region Victory Awards and Castles
  • Quests
  • Faction and Wonderlandian Abilities
  • Forging
  • Resolve Wagers
  • Battle Clean-up
• End of the War Phase
• Final Scoring
• Two-Player Rules
  • Set-Up
  • Remove Wonderlandian Cards
  • Tea For Two
  • Forging Frenzy
  • Local Resistance
  • Castle Construction
• Glossary
• FAQ
• Ability Clarifications
  • Wonderlandians
  • Faction Abilities
  • Ally Chip Abilities
• Credits

Game Components

• 1 Wonderland game board
• 5 Player Faction boards
• 5 Player Faction bags
• 70 Faction Supporters (14 each)
• 25 Castle markers (5 each)
• 30 Faction discs (6 each)
• 6 Region Scoring markers, 2 × 4P/5P markers
• 5 "+50" Score tokens
• 20 Faction starting chips (4 per Faction)
• 30 Faction Artifact chips (6 per Faction)
• 5 Leader standees and 13 Wonderlandian standees
• 20 Wager cards
• 30 Quest cards
• 24 Wonderlandian and 21 Ally cards
• 90 (3 × 30) Tea Party cards
• 5 Faction cubes
• 5 Shield tokens
• 24 Tools of the Wonderlandians chips (12 × 2)
• 25 Forge chips
• 34 Madness chips (29 regular, 5 double)
• 7 Poison chips
• 95 Ally chips (19 per type): Flamingos, Creatures, Red Rooks, Roses, Card Soldiers
• 1 Starting Battle standee
• 40 Madness Shards (30 at 1 value and 10 at 5 value)
• 1 Shard die

Setting Up the Game

1. Place the game board in the center of the play area.
2. Shuffle the Region Scoring markers and place 1 onto each of the 5 Regions.
3. Choose 1 set of Ally cards (A, B, C, or D — see the Ally Card Sets section) and place all cards from that set next to the game board. Place the Forge Ally card next to the chosen set of Ally cards. Place the Ally chips on their respective cards. Return the remaining Ally cards to the game box. (For your first game, use Ally set A.)
4. Shuffle the Wonderlandian cards and place the deck face-down next to the game board. Place the top 3 cards of the deck face-up beside the face-down deck. (There are 2 types of Wonderlandian cards.)
5. Depending on its type (figure or chips), place the matching Wonderlandian standee or 2 chips next to the face-up cards. Place the remaining Wonderlandian standees and chips to the side of the play area.
6. Place the Madness chips, Shards, and Shard die in the center of the Tea Party.
7. Shuffle each of the 3 Tea Party decks. From the Round I deck, deal cards face-up to all of the Tea Party spaces based on player count: 11 in a 2- or 3-player game, 12 in a 4-player game, and 13 in a 5-player game.
8. Place the Round I deck on the tea service tray next to the Head of the Table, and place the Round II and Round III decks aside.
9. Shuffle the Quest cards and place them to the side of the game board.
10. Place the Starting Battle standee in the Red Keep (may not be the case in 2-player games). Roll the Shard die and move the Starting Battle standee clockwise as many Regions as there are Shard symbols on the die roll.

Player Set-up

A. Each player chooses a Faction and gathers:

• 1 Faction board (use the 2-player side for 2-player games)
• 14 Supporters
• 5 Castles
• 1 Faction Leader standee
• 4 Faction Starting chips (1, 1, 1, 2 value)
• 6 Faction Artifact chips (3 value)
• 1 draw bag
• 1 "+50" Scoring token
• 4 Wager cards (not in 2-player games)
• 1 Starting Double Madness chip (dark blue with 2 "remove unit" symbols)
• 2 Single Madness chips (purple with 1 "remove unit" symbol)
• 1 Forge chip
• 6 Faction discs
• 1 Faction cube
• 1 Shield token
• 2 Ally Ability reference cards

B. Place your Supporters and Castles next to your Faction board.

C. Place 4 of your Supporters onto the marked spaces of the 3rd Forge track of your Faction board.

D. Place 4 of your Faction Artifact chips onto the matching symbols at the right side of your Faction board.

E. Place 4 of your Faction discs onto the 4 matching upgrade spaces on the left side of your Faction board, then place another disc on the "1" spot of your Leader Strength track (Sword icon).

F. Place your 4 Faction starting chips, 2 Faction Artifact chips, 1 Forge chip, 1 starting Double Madness chip, and 2 regular Madness chips into your bag. (For example, the Red Queen places these starting chips into her bag.) If you are playing as the Jabberwock, take a number of Poison chips equal to the number of players + 2. Place these next to your Faction board and return any remaining Poison chips to the game box.

G. Place your Shield token "Active" side up at the top left corner of your board.

H. Place 1 Faction disc at the start of the score track.

I. Place 1 Faction cube at the start of the Battle track as your Battle Strength tracker.

J. Draw 2 Quest cards. Choose 1 to keep and place it face-down next to your Faction board. Shuffle the other back into the Quest deck.

K. Return any Wager cards of Factions not in play to the game box.

L. Find the Ally ability reference for the chip set you are using (A, B, C, D) and place that side up next to your Faction board. Return the unused Ally Ability reference card to the game box.

M. Place your Leader standee onto the Tea Party board at the Head of the Table.

N. The player who has most recently had tea is the first player. Each player then gains a number of starting Shards based on player order and number of players (see the setup chart), and places them next to their Faction board.

Gameplay Overview

In Wonderland's War, each player takes on the role of a famous Wonderlandian leading a Faction to war to right the wrongs that have befallen Wonderland. The game is played over 3 Rounds (I, II, and III). During each Round, there is a Tea Party phase and a War phase.

During the Tea Party phase, the characters rush around the Tea Party making preparations for Battle. You place Supporters into the Regions of Wonderland to gain a foothold, gather the support of other Wonderlandians, recruit Allies in the form of Ally chips to your cause, and find magical Forges that you can use to unlock your Faction's unique abilities.

In the War Phase, the characters go to Battle wherever they have placed their units and use the Allies they have gathered during the Tea Party. During Battle, you draw Ally chips from your Battle bag and add their Strength to the fight. The player with the highest Strength wins the fight, earning Victory awards and building a Castle in that Region. But beware — the tainted Madness that escaped from the broken Looking Glass is spreading throughout the land. The longer you Battle, the more chance your Supporters will be corrupted by the evil Madness and abandon your army.

Winning the Game: Players earn the support of Wonderland by building Castles, completing Quests, and amassing Victory Points (VP). At the end of the 3rd Round, the player with the most points (Castles, Quests, and VP) wins the game and is named the new ruler of Wonderland.

Tea Party

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party is a frantic place, filled with Allies and exciting possibilities. On your turn, you may move clockwise around the table to any chair and gain the resources of the card in that space. Be careful not to move too quickly — each time you pass the Head of the Table, you gain dangerous Shards which can lead you down the path of Madness.

In the Tea Party you have 2 main objectives: place units into the Regions where you would like to Battle, and gather Ally chips and Wonderlandians to help you in your cause.

Setting the Table

Each Round has its own Tea Party deck. Follow these steps to set up the Tea Party for a new Round (already completed for the first Round during setup):

1. Discard any Tea Party cards on the board from the previous Round.
2. Deal 1 card face up to each empty card space on the Tea Party board, starting to the right of the Head of the Table and proceeding clockwise. Some spaces have a player count number on them — only deal to these spaces in games with players equal to or higher than that number.
3. Each player places their Leader figure at the Head of the Table.
4. In the second and third Rounds, the player with the lowest point total goes first. If 2 players are tied, the player with the least total units in all Regions goes first. Players take turns in clockwise order.

Players keep the Tea Party cards they select in front of them throughout the game to help remember which chips they have in their bag and to count for Quest scoring at the end of the game.

Tea Party Turn

Choose a Card: On your turn, if you have fewer than 4 cards from the current Tea Party, move your Leader clockwise any number of spaces to an unoccupied chair with a card, take its rewards, and place any Supporters gained into a single Region.

Visit the Head of the Table: If you reach the Head of the Table, you must stop temporarily to roll the Shard die, take that amount of Shards, and then refill all the Tea Party cards on unoccupied spaces (spaces with no card or Leader). You then continue your turn by moving to any open chair. You cannot pass the Head of the Table more than once per turn.

Venture Into Wonderland: At the start of your turn, if you have 4 cards from the current Tea Party, place your Leader into any of the 5 Regions on the outside of the game board. When the last Leader is placed, the Tea Party ends.

End of Tea Party

The Tea Party ends once all players have taken 4 Tea Party cards and placed their Leader into a Region.

Due to exposure to the Mad Hatter's Tea, all players gain 1 Madness chip from the Supply, placing it into their bag.

Each player with the most Shards gains 1 additional Madness chip to their bag, then discards half of their Shards (rounded up).

For each of the above steps, if there are not enough Madness chips remaining to evenly distribute amongst players, no players gain Madness. If the player(s) with the most Shards do not gain Madness, they do not discard half of their Shards.

Tea Party Card Effects

Each Tea Party card has various benefits (and sometimes penalties) as shown on the card. You gain all of the benefits, in any order you choose.

Units: Place the number of units shown in the top-left corner into a single Region. These will usually be Supporters, but you may also place Wonderlandians if you have previously recruited them. If you have no Supporters left in your supply, you may return a Supporter or Wonderlandian you control from the board and place it into a different Region for each unit you couldn't place. If a Tea Party card has two unit placement icons (one in the top left corner and one in the center), you may place each set of units into a different Region.

Ally Chip: Gain the indicated chip and place it into your bag. There is a weak version and a strong version of each Ally chip except Forge chips, which are always weak. Make sure to take the Ally chip of the matching Strength.

Any Ally: Choose any of the Ally chips and gain 1 at the indicated level: 1 pip indicates a weak Ally chip with lower Strength, 2 pips indicate a strong Ally chip.

Shard Die: This icon appears in the top right corner of some cards. Roll the Shard die and gain that number of Shards, placing them next to your Faction board.

Shield: Flip over your Shield if it was broken when you drafted this card.

Wonderlandians: Choose one of the face-up Wonderlandian cards and place it near your Faction board. You keep this Wonderlandian for the rest of the game. There are 2 types of Wonderlandians:

• Figures: Wonderlandian figure cards are identified with a thumbnail of the figure's standee in the bottom-right corner. When you gain a Wonderlandian figure, you immediately place it into any Region.
• Chips: Wonderlandian chip cards are identified with a thumbnail of the item's chip in the bottom-center. When this card is acquired, place the 2 item chips into your bag.

After gaining a Wonderlandian card, draw a new Wonderlandian and add it to the market.

Faction Abilities: These allow you to unlock 1 of your Faction abilities. Remove the disc from the Faction ability you want to unlock. Faction abilities may be unlocked in any order. Each Faction has 4 abilities: 2 that improve your Faction Artifact chips and 2 passive abilities.

Discard Shards: Discard the number of Shards shown.

Castle: Place a Castle into a Region where you do not already have one. Castles give you 2 Strength at the start of Battle if you have units in that Region. Castles score Victory Points at the end of the game.

Leader Strength: Increase your Leader Strength by 1. If your Leader Strength is maxed out (6), you instead get to discard 1 Shard.

Discard Madness: Search your bag for 1 regular Madness chip and discard it permanently. You may not discard your double Madness chip.

Quests: One version lets you draw 1 Quest card. Another lets you draw 2 Quest cards, then discard any 1 Quest from your hand.

Special Card Types

Split Cards: Some Tea Party cards have a line through the middle separating the icons. When you gain one of these cards, you choose to gain the rewards from either the top or bottom. You always gain the Supporters shown and must roll the Shard die if the icon is in the top-right corner.

Corrupted Cards: Tea Party cards with a grey background and a Shard die icon attached to a reward offer you two options:

• Roll the Shard die and gain the Shards rolled and the reward, in addition to the other rewards on the card.
• Ignore the Shard reward and only take the other rewards.

Limited Components: The Ally chips are a limited supply. If you select a card that would gain you an Ally chip that is no longer in the supply, you may gain any chip of equivalent level (weak or strong).

Ally Card Sets

There are 4 full sets of Ally cards in the game. While mixing and matching is possible, the sets have been balanced for easy selection and to play well together. For new players, play through them in alphabetical order. For experienced players, randomly choose a set to play with.

Each set assigns unique abilities to the five Ally chip types (Flamingo, Creature, Red Rook, Rose, Card Soldier). A summary of the sets:

Set A:

• When played, return 1 Exhausted chip to your Bag OR double this chip's Strength.
• Double the Strength of the next chip you place on your Active track.
• Gain 1 VP at the end of the Battle. Gain 2 VP when you Forge this chip.
• Cannot be affected by your other chip abilities.
• When this chip is Exhausted, return it to the Supply and gain the other value Creature chip to your Exhausted pool.

Set B:

• You may move Supporters equal to this chip's Strength from an adjacent Region to this Battle OR double this chip's Strength.
• If you have one or more Active Flamingos, all Ally chips you play in this Battle have +1 Strength.
• At the end of Battle, place Active Roses into your bag instead of Exhausting them.
• This chip's Strength is reduced to 1 if you already have an Active Red Rook.
• At the end of Battle, if you have the most Active Creatures, place one Supporter into any Region.

Set C:

• On your next draw, draw extra chips equal to this chip's Strength. Choose 1 to play and return the rest to your bag.
• After adding Strength from this chip, you may move your Strength tracker to the closest Forge symbol.
• At the end of Battle, if you have 2 or more Active Roses, you may complete an extra Quest Feat without meeting its conditions.
• When you complete the Feat portion of a Quest, you must permanently discard one Active chip.
• If this chip is weak, it gains 2 Strength for each other Active Creature you have when played. If it is strong, it loses 2 Strength for each instead.

Set D:

• If you don't have a Castle in this Region, you may triple this chip's Strength.
• When played, choose an opponent with higher Battle Strength than you to gain a Shard.
• When you Forge a Rose, place a Supporter into a Region.
• If you win this Battle, gain 1 Shard. If this is a strong chip, gain 1 additional Shard.
• If you have more Shards than this chip's Strength, lose 1 Shard. If you have fewer, gain 1 Shard.

Leader Effects

Each Leader has a unique power that can only be used during the Tea Party phase.

Jabberwock: At the start of each of your turns, if there are no Poison chips on the Tea Party board, place 1 Poison chip onto any card. If an opponent takes that card, they gain the Poison. If you take that card, return the Poison to your supply.

• Poison Chips: When drawn, lose 1 unit and return the Poison chip to the Jabberwock. Poison chips may be blocked with a Shield. If a Poison chip is blocked, it has no effect and is returned to your bag. Poison chips do not go to the Madness track. If the Jabberwock takes the Tea Party card they have placed a Poison chip on, it is returned to their supply. The Jabberwock has a limited number of Poison chips (number of players + 2). If all of the Poison chips are in other players' bags, the Jabberwock may not give any out. At the end of each Tea Party, if there is a Poison chip on a Tea Party card, it is returned to the Jabberwock's supply.

Mad Hatter: Once per Tea Party phase, the Mad Hatter may refill all unoccupied card slots around the table with new cards from the Tea Party deck. He may then gain any card without moving.

Red Queen: On each of her turns, the Red Queen may place Supporters from a single card into multiple Regions.

Alice: Alice always moves counter-clockwise around the table instead of clockwise when acquiring Tea Party cards.

Cheshire Cat: During the Tea Party, when you roll a 2 or 3 on the Shard die, you may give 1 of the Shards you gain to any player.

In a 2-player game, some Leaders have different abilities. Use the 2-Player side of the Faction boards when playing with 2 players.

War Phase

In the War phase you Battle in each Region where you have units (Supporters, Wonderlandians, or your Leader) by drawing chips from your Battle bag. To win a Battle and build a Castle, you must have the highest Strength, but you may wish to stop earlier to complete a Quest or work towards Forging your Faction.

Determine Players' Starting Strength

Players gain Strength at the start of Battle for each Leader, Wonderlandian figure, and Castle they have in the Region. Each player adds up the Leader Strength shown on their Faction board, the Strength of any Wonderlandian figures present, and 2 Strength for a Castle, and moves their Strength tracker to that number. Supporters do not grant a Strength bonus in battle.

Battles

Starting in the Region with the Starting Battle standee and proceeding clockwise, resolve Battle in each Region. In the Battle, you draw chips to advance your Strength tracker (cube) on the Battle track.

All players with at least 1 unit (Supporters, Wonderlandians, and Leaders) in the Region participate in the Battle. Castles, while granting a Strength bonus of 2 at the start of Battle, do not count as a unit. If a player only has a Castle in a Region, they will not Battle there.

No Peeking! You may not look at the contents of your bag during the War Phase.

Battle Draw Steps

1. First draw: Players must simultaneously draw and reveal a chip from their bag.
2. Is it a Madness chip? If you didn't draw a Madness chip, proceed to play your chip. If it is a Madness chip, place it onto the leftmost open space of the Madness track and lose the indicated number of units. If you still have units in the Region, continue; if you do not have any remaining units, you have busted and are out of the battle.
3. Play your chip: Resolve any "When Played" chip effects from abilities of chips, Wonderlandians, and Faction abilities.
4. Place: Place the drawn chip onto the leftmost open space in the Active chip track.
5. Advance in Strength: Advance each player's Strength tracker by their drawn chip's Strength on the Battle track.
6. Draw again? Players simultaneously draw, or, if any player wishes to halt, they reach into their bag but bring out an empty hand.
7. Is there a victor? The Battle is over if all players have busted or halted, OR a player has reached 25 on the Battle Track, OR the only active player is in the lead. If not, repeat the draw steps.

Wagers

If you do not have any units in a Battle, you may place a Wager on who you think will win that Battle. Wagers are placed simultaneously by all players not involved in the Battle after starting Strength is determined. To place a Wager, choose the card showing the Faction you think will win and place it face-down in front of you. If you are correct, gain any 1 weak Ally chip to your bag. If you Wagered incorrectly, gain 1 Shard. In the result of a tie, no chips or Shards are gained. Wagers are not used in 2-player games.

Timing

Most chip abilities can be resolved simultaneously. But where order matters, resolve in this order:

• Madness chips and busting are ALWAYS resolved first.
• Each player resolves any abilities which affect themselves or their chips, in the order of their choosing.
• Each player resolves any abilities which affect other players.
• If there is ever a question of the order in which players should resolve actions and abilities, the player with the lowest VP resolves first. If two players are tied for the lowest VP, the player with the most Shards resolves first.

Halting

After the first draw, you may halt and leave the Battle by not drawing a chip from your bag. Once you halt, you may not draw again. You may want to halt to complete a Quest because you are on a Forge symbol, or to preserve your remaining Supporters for the next Round.

When all but one player has halted or busted, if the remaining player is the highest on the Battle track, they must halt. If a player advances to 25 (or above) on the Battle Track, they immediately win the battle — all players must halt and the battle ends. If two or more players reach 25 on the same draw, they tie for victory.

Madness Chips and Busting

When you play a Madness chip, you do not advance on the Battle track. Instead, you lose 1 unit (Supporters, Leaders, or Wonderlandians) for each "lose 1 unit" icon shown. Return the lost units to your reserve and place the Madness chip onto the leftmost empty space of the Madness track (top right of your player board). You may not remove your Leader until all other units have been removed.

Wonderlandians that are lost are returned to your reserve. They can be placed again during a Tea Party as one of your unit placements. You do not lose Strength from Wonderlandians that are lost, but abilities from those Wonderlandians no longer affect the Battle.

Shielding Madness: When you draw a Madness chip, you may block its effect by flipping an unbroken (face-up) Shield token. If a Madness chip is blocked by a Shield, return it to the bag and flip the Shield to its face-down side. Shields block the entire effect of regular and double Madness chips.

Busting: If you have no units left, you bust and are out of the Battle. Your Strength is reduced to 0, all of your Active chips immediately become Exhausted, and you may not draw again. Exhausted chips are moved from your Active chips area to the bottom of your Faction board. When you bust, all special abilities of your Active chips are lost (for example, you can no longer forge with Forge chips). Finally, flip your Shield token to the unbroken side.

Refreshing Your Bag: When you place a Madness chip in the last space on your Madness track (4th space), refresh all Madness and Exhausted chips by placing them into your bag immediately. If you bust and that chip fills your Madness chip area, first move all Active chips to your Exhausted Area, then refresh all Exhausted chips and all Madness chips to your bag. Be cautious to keep from Refreshing your bag when you have a majority of your chips in the Active chip area, as only the chips in your Exhausted area will be refreshed, which can leave you with a higher ratio of Madness chips.

Busting and Refreshing: These two effects can happen simultaneously but are distinct. Flipping a broken Shield to its unbroken side only happens when you bust (or draft the symbol during the Tea Party, or use special abilities), not when you refresh your bag. Refreshing refills your bag, but does not flip your Shield, and does not cause you to lose the battle.

Chip Effects

Each chip that is not a Madness chip adds to your Battle Strength. Some chips (Allies, Wonderlandians, and Artifacts) have abilities that can affect the Battle or take place when the Battle ends. Abilities that change a chip's Strength wear off once the chip is placed; on later draws, the chip reverts to the Strength printed on it.

Chips that Affect Opponents: Chips that refer to opponents only affect the players who have units in the current Battle Region. This includes players who have halted, but not players who have busted.

Chip Effects Do Not Carry Over: Some chips affect future draws. These effects only apply to the current Battle.

Battle Outcome

As long as you did not bust, you may gain various rewards from the Battle. You gain all of the rewards you qualify for. Steps of Battle Outcome: 1) Region Victory Awards and Castles, 2) Complete Quests, 3) Faction and Wonderlandian Abilities, 4) Forge, 5) Resolve Wagers, 6) Battle Clean-up.

Region Victory Awards and Castles

The player with the highest Strength gains the current Round's Victory award for the Region, as shown on the scoring marker. Each scoring marker has 3 scores: the leftmost score is awarded for the first Round, the middle for the second, and the rightmost for the third.

In addition to scoring points equal to the Round's Victory award, the player with the highest Strength places a Castle in the Region. Each player may have a maximum of one Castle per Region. If the winning player already has a Castle in that Region, they only gain the Victory award.

The player with the second highest score gains half the Victory award from the scoring marker for that Round.

Ties and Uncontested Regions:

• If 2 or more players are tied for 1st place, they each choose to gain either the Victory award or place a Castle. There is no 2nd place award in this case.
• If 2 or more players are tied for 2nd place, they split the 2nd place award evenly, rounding up.
• In an uncontested Region, the player may choose to gain the Victory award or a Castle. No Wagers are placed on uncontested Battles, and no chips are drawn (except when playing a 2-player game).
• In case of a tie for 1st place, any Wagers made in that Battle have no effect.
• No Winner: If all players Bust in a Region, there is no winner.

Quests

Each Quest card consists of 2 parts: Feats and Objectives. The Feat portion sets a goal to achieve in Battle in a specific Region. Objectives give you a goal to complete throughout the game, mostly in the Tea Party phase. You can complete either or both portions. At the end of the game, each portion of a Quest grants 3 VP if complete; if you complete both portions, you gain an additional 3 VP (9 VP total).

Feats: Each Quest gives you a Feat to complete in Battle in a specific Region (e.g. "Stop when your final Active chip has a value of 1 in Tulgey Woods"). If you meet the requirement at the end of a Battle, announce that you have completed the Feat portion and place it into your play area face up. You may only complete the Feat portion of one Quest during each Battle.

Objectives: The Objective portion gives you guidance as to what to collect during the Tea Party and how to develop your Faction. Each Objective sets a threshold of something you need to collect or accomplish (for instance, 7 or more Creature and Red Rook chips). Objectives are checked at the end of the game. Objectives that count chips count them everywhere: in your bag, Active, Exhausted, or Forge spaces.

Faction and Wonderlandian Abilities

All players in the Battle who did not bust may activate their Faction and Wonderlandian abilities that trigger at the end of Battle.

Forging

You can Forge your chips into powerful Artifacts. You may Forge once if there is a Forge icon on your final space on the Battle track. You may also Forge once for each Forge chip in your Active chip area.

To Forge:

1. Choose any 1 Active chip (including a Forge chip).
2. Place it onto the leftmost empty space of any of the Forge tracks on your player board.
3. Gain the reward from the space you covered.
4. If you have completed a Forge track, immediately gain the Artifact chip from the end of that track and add it to your bag.

You must have an available Active chip to Forge. Forging is optional — you may choose not to use a Forge icon.

Most of the rewards on the Forge tracks are the same as the icons on the Tea Party cards. However, a few have special meaning:

• Supporters: Increase your maximum number of Supporters. Add the Supporters in that space to your Supply.
• Castle: Increases the endgame VP award for each of your Castles. Castles start with a value of 3 VP and can be advanced to 6 VP (7 VP in the two-player variant).
• Victory Points: The star awards 4 Victory Points when Forged.

Some rewards are between 2 Forge tracks. You must fill the spaces above and below those rewards to unlock them.

Resolve Wagers

• Players who Wagered correctly gain any weak Ally chip.
• Players who Wagered incorrectly gain a Shard.

Battle Clean-up

After claiming rewards:

1. Move all of your chips from your Active chip area to your Exhausted chip area.
2. Return your Strength tracker to the beginning of the Battle track.

Battle then begins in the next Region in clockwise order. Battles continue until all Regions have Battled. Madness chips stay on your Madness track.

End of the War Phase

The War Phase ends after a Battle has been resolved in each Region. If it is the 3rd Round, go to final scoring. If not:

1. Roll the Shard die and move the Starting Battle standee clockwise as many Regions as Shard symbols on the die roll.
2. Return all chips from your Exhausted chip area and your Madness chip track to your bag.
3. All Supporters and Wonderlandians that were not lost in Battle stay in the Regions.
4. Place your Leader at the Head of the Table on the Tea Party board.
5. Shuffle the 3 face-up Wonderlandian cards into the deck, and deal 3 new Wonderlandian cards face-up.
6. Prepare the next Tea Party.

Shields do not automatically flip to the unbroken side at the end of the War Phase. Broken Shields remain broken; unbroken Shields remain unbroken.

Final Scoring

Once the 3rd Round War Phase is complete, the game is over. Each player calculates their final score as follows:

1. Start with the base VP track score.
2. Add 3–6 VP for each Castle (Castle scoring ranges from 3–6 VP per Castle based on the bottom row of your Forge track; 2P games differ, see Two-Player Rules).
3. Add VP from each Quest card: Feat Met = 3 VP, Objective Met = 3 VP, Bonus for Both = 3 VP. (For each Quest card, score 3 VP if either the top or bottom section is complete, and 9 VP if both sections are complete.)
4. Lastly, subtract 1 VP for each Madness Shard.

A Wonderful Winner: The player with the highest total points is the winner and the new ruler of Wonderland. In case of a tie, the player with the fewest Shards wins. If players are still tied, the player with the most units on the board wins.

Two-Player Rules

Set-Up

1. Reveal 1 Quest at random. The Region shown on that Quest will not be used this game. No units or Castles may be placed into that Region, and no Battle will occur there.
2. Remove all Quests from that Region from the Quest deck.
3. Remove the Region scoring marker from that Region.
4. Place the Starting Battle standee in the Region immediately clockwise from the unused region. Then roll the Shard die and move the standee clockwise as many Regions as there are Shard symbols, skipping the unused region when counting.
5. Flip the player's Faction board to the 2-Player side (identified by gold framework and a "2-PLAYER" label in the bottom-left corner), which features changes to the Forge tracks. Some factions have an alternate Faction ability on the 2-Player side.

Remove Wonderlandian Cards

In a 2-player game, remove the Amulet of the Duchess and March Hare Wonderlandian cards.

Tea For Two

In the Tea Party, each player takes 1 additional card (5 total) before placing their Leader into a Region.

Forging Frenzy

Each player starts with 1 additional Forge chip in their bag.

Local Resistance

Players must pass or match the Strength of the "Local Resistance" to win 1st or 2nd place and gain Region Victory Awards and Castle placements. At the start of the game, take 1 of the Battle Strength markers from a Faction not in the game to use as the "Local Resistance" token. At the start of each War Phase, place the "Local Resistance" token on the appropriate space on the Battle track for that Round (First: 3, Second: 5, Third: 7).

If only 1 player has units in a Region, they still Battle. They must surpass the Local Resistance to win in that region or match it to tie. If you are the only player left in the Battle and you have passed Local Resistance on the Battle Track, the battle immediately ends. If a player ends a battle with less Strength than the Local Resistance, they gain no points from Region Victory awards (neither first nor second place). They may still complete Quests and Forge. No Wagers are placed in a 2-player game. Effects and abilities that target opponents have no effect on Local Resistance. When you win a Battle against Local Resistance, gain the Region Victory award and place a Castle into that Region.

Castle Construction

As you have only 1 opponent, your Castles need to be larger and grander. To build a Castle, you need to win 2 Battles in a Region. After winning your first Battle, place your Castle sideways in that Region. After winning a Battle, if you have a sideways Castle, turn it so it is standing upright. A Tea Party card or ability that lets you place a Castle may place a sideways Castle in a Region or turn a sideways Castle upright. Sideways Castles still give a 2 Strength bonus at the start of Battle. Only Castles that are upright will score at the end of the game.

Glossary

• Unit: A Supporter, Wonderlandian, or Leader.
• Supporters: Units that allow you to battle in a Region but do not add to your Battle Strength.
• Opponent: Any player with units (Supporters, Wonderlandians, Leader) in the Region during Battle. This includes players who have halted.
• Exhaust: After a Battle, your Active chips are Exhausted and moved to the bottom of your Faction board.
• Adjacent: Regions that are next to each other are considered adjacent. The Pool of Tears and Witzend are also considered adjacent.
• Gain: Tea Party cards, Wagers, and Forging allow you to gain chips. When you gain a chip, it is placed directly into your bag, unless specified otherwise.
• Chip Types: Ally (each counts as its own type, including Forge chips); Faction (includes Artifact chips); Wonderlandian (each counts as its own type); Madness; Poison.
• Head of the Table: The top of the Tea Party where all Leaders start. Each time a Leader lands on the Head of the Table, they must stop temporarily to roll the Shard die and refill all Tea Party spaces that do not have a Leader or a card.
• Double Unit Placement: If you gain a Tea Party card with two different Unit placement icons, you may place each set of Units into a different Region.

FAQ

Player Order: If there is ever a question of the order in which players should resolve actions and abilities, the player with the lowest VP resolves first. If two players are tied for the lowest VP, the player with the most Shards resolves first.

Poison Chips: When drawn, lose 1 Supporter and return the Poison chip to the Jabberwock. Poison chips may be blocked with a Shield; if blocked, they have no effect and are returned to your bag. Poison chips do not go to the Madness track. If the Jabberwock takes the Tea Party card they placed a Poison chip on, it is returned to their supply. The Jabberwock has a limited number of Poison chips based on the number of players (4–7). If all Poison chips are in other players' bags, the Jabberwock may not give any out.

Faction Abilities: Ally, Wonderlandian, and Faction abilities unlocked through Forging do not grant their effect in that Battle. (Alice's "Love of Learning" would not let her return an Ally chip from the same Battle where she Forged to unlock that ability.)

Tea Party Card Rewards: You may gain the rewards and penalties from a Tea Party card in any order you choose. Placing your units first lets the next player start their turn.

Empty Bag: In the rare occurrence that you would draw a chip but your bag is empty, immediately return all Exhausted chips and all Madness chips to your bag.

Battle Abilities: Ally, Wonderlandian, and Faction abilities triggered in one battle do not carry over to any subsequent battles.

Wonderlandian Figures: If a Wonderlandian is lost to a Madness chip, you do not subtract their Strength. Wonderlandians that are lost can be placed during the following Tea Party instead of placing 1 Supporter.

No Supporters to Place: If you have no Supporters left in your supply and have a Tea Party card or ability that would let you place Supporters, you may return a Supporter you control from the board and place it into a different Region. You may also return Wonderlandians you control in the same manner.

Quest Objectives: You may use the same components to complete multiple Quest Objectives (bottom part of the quest card). For example, if you had 5 Rose chips, you could use them to help complete both "Have 7+ Rose and Creatures chips" and "Have 7+ Rose and Red Rook chips."

Shields: Shields are only flipped to the unbroken side when a player busts, drafts the symbol in the Tea Party, or uses special abilities (Alice, Humpty's Gloves).

Halting After the First Draw: Players have the option to halt starting on their second draw, regardless of what type of chip they drew on their first draw.

Ability Clarifications

Wonderlandians

• White Rabbit: Only count the Strength as written on the chips.
• Knave of Hearts: Only count the Strength as written on the chips. Count Madness chips as zero Strength for this ability. If an opponent draws multiple chips, compare to the chip they play.
• March Hare: Players cannot go below zero Strength.
• Amulet of the Duchess: If the chosen player has an empty Madness track, this has no effect.
• Crown of the Knave: This happens before any other effects are applied. If the next chip played by an opponent is a Madness chip, this effect is ignored.
• Card Soldiers: No matter how many extra chips you draw, you only play 1 chip.
• Caterpillar's Hookah: If all Madness chips drawn are returned to the bag with a Shield, you will discard a Shard.
• Duchess: If you lose the Duchess, you do not gain VP from any units lost on the same draw.
• Walrus: If you win in an uncontested Region, you still get the bonus 3 VP and can choose to place your Castle anywhere. If you tie for the highest Strength, the Walrus does not give his bonus.

Faction Abilities

• Royal Temper: This happens when the chip is played, before any players add Strength from chips.
• Twice as Fast: If you pass another Leader and gain a Tea Party card with 0 units, you will place the additional Supporter.
• Claws that Catch & Fearsome Maw: If you have no Poison chips in your supply, you ignore the ability. You may choose not to give a Poison chip to a player if you want to ensure you have one available for the next Tea Party. If multiple opponents trigger Claws that Catch while the player only has one Poison chip, the Jabberwock chooses who to give their chip to.
• Manxome Foe: Compare before any player adds Strength.
• Borogoves: The Tea Party card must show a Creature chip icon to gain the extra unit placement.
• Befriend the Populace: Draw cards from the Wonderlandian deck until you draw a figure card. Shuffle the unused Wonderlandian cards back into the deck. This Wonderlandian may be placed into any Region.
• Everywhere at Once: Alice may be placed from any Region or from your supply.
• It's My Party: This replaces a normal turn.
• Engineer of War: Compare before any player adds Strength. When you draw a double Madness chip, you lose Supporters one at a time. Check your position on the Battle Track after each Supporter is lost.

Ally Chip Abilities

• Card Soldiers: Set B: Adjacent Regions are the previous and next ones in the order of Battle. Set C: You only choose 1 chip to play, even if you have multiple instances of these effects. Set D: In a 2-player game, sideways Castles count as a Castle for this chip.
• Creatures: Set B: In a tie, no player gets the reward.
• Flamingo: Set A: This ability only happens once. It does not apply to abilities that gain you strength (Piping Hot, Wicked Smile) but does work with abilities that directly affect the chip's strength (Manxome Foe, Paint it Red). Set B: This does not apply to chips drawn previously to having an Active Flamingo. Set C: This includes Forge symbols behind you. Set D: This includes players who have halted.
• Red Rook: Set A: This chip cannot be Forged by a Forge chip. It can be Forged by ending on a Forge symbol on the Battle Track or by a Tea Party card effect. Set C: The negative from this chip only applies to battles where you have an Active Red Rook chip. Set D: Each Active Red Rook gives you a Shard if you win, and one additional Shard if it is a strong Red Rook chip.
• Rose: Set A: You only gain the 2 VP bonus from this chip if it is Forged during a battle. Set C: You ignore the Region and the requirement for the Feat portion of this Quest.

Credits

Based on original ideas by Ben Eisner, Tim Eisner, Jon Gilmour, Ian Moss, and James Hudson. Designers: Tim Eisner, Ben Eisner, and Ian Moss. Art: Manny Trembley. Published by Druid City Games / Skybound Games.