Age of Gods
Age of Gods Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Theme
In Age of Gods, you embody a divinity who directs the destiny of several peoples in a fantasy world at war. The winner will be the player whose peoples have prospered the most over the course of time.
Although the game is designed for 3 to 5 players, it is entirely possible to play it with 2 or with 6. The atmosphere will however be greatly altered as a result. You have been warned!
Components
- 1 game board representing the universe of Age of Gods, in which fierce battles take place. At the top, a scale graduated from 1 to 9 tracks the passage of time using the appropriate marker. On the right is the Well of Souls (a space for each people, where you will place both unused population tokens and the markers representing notable events affecting certain peoples, as well as the tokens symbolizing the technology level reached by those peoples). The game board also includes the reference tables that players may need to consult during the game.
- 151 tokens: 123 population tokens, used to determine the extent of the conquests of the peoples they symbolize; 26 markers, used to keep track of various events that punctuate the game; 1 first player marker, used to know the turn order; and 1 turn marker, used to count down the passage of time. The tokens are printed on both sides with different patterns. Choose whichever side you find prettier — it has no effect on how the game unfolds. You're welcome.
- 72 action cards (24 with a red back, 24 with a yellow back, and 24 marked with a number on the back): these let players directly affect the course of the game. 24 of them, also called destiny cards (back marked with a number), tell players which peoples they must protect and help prosper in order to win the game.
- 12 god cards, which tell players how the god they embody will affect the game.
- 1 six-sided die, used to resolve combats and to determine the effects of certain special abilities.
- 50 gray wooden pieces, used to indicate that a territory is fortified or that a people has reached a higher technology level. When one of these wooden pieces is placed in a territory, it represents a fortification. When it is placed in the Well of Souls, in the space reserved for a people, it corresponds to a technology level for that people (see above).
Game Setup
Place a population token on each territory of the game board. At the start of the game, every territory must hold a population token. On the board illustration, each territory bears the color of a people, indicating the nature of the token to place there. Place the remaining population tokens in the spaces provided in the Well of Souls. Each space must hold as many population tokens as the size of the people (indicated to the left of each row).
Example 1: the Barbarians are on the row of peoples of size 4. Their reserved space must therefore hold 4 population tokens.
After doing so, you should have 3 Goblin population tokens left over. They are set aside for the moment and placed next to the game board. The 24 markers are placed in the same spot and will have no effect on the game until they are assigned to a people or a territory during the game, or given to a player (depending on the god they embody).
Separate the destiny cards (back marked with a number from 1 to 4) from the other action cards and place them in a pile beside the game board. They will be distributed, in decreasing order of size (indicated on the back), over the course of the game.
Randomly deal, face down, 4 red-backed action cards (representing peoples of size 1 and 2) to each player. Do the same with the yellow-backed action cards (representing peoples of size 3 and 4), so that each player ends up with a hand of 8 cards. The remaining action cards (when there are fewer than 6 players) are set aside from play, face down, and are not used during the game. No one should look at them.
Example 2: in a 3-player game, there will be 12 red-backed cards and 12 yellow-backed cards left over once the deal is complete. These cards must be placed away from the game, face down, and no one should look at them for the entire game.
Randomly deal, face down, 2 god cards to each player. The remaining god cards (when there are fewer than 6 players) are set aside and are not used during the game. All players choose one of the two gods they were dealt and reveal that card simultaneously. They place it face up on the table in front of them. The special ability shown on it is usable immediately. The love and hatred markers are given to the players embodying the gods of love and vengeance (respectively). The god cards that were not selected are set aside and are not used during the game.
Each player receives 5 wooden pieces representing the fortifications they will be able to build during the game (10 if they embody the god of protectors). Set the remaining wooden pieces aside, away from the game board.
Place the turn marker on turn 1, at the top right of the game board.
Turn Structure
The first player of the first turn is determined at random. They receive the "first player" marker. On subsequent turns, the first player is the one seated to the left of the previous turn's first player.
The turn always proceeds clockwise. The game lasts 9 turns. Each turn is made up of 4 phases, which must always follow one another in this precise order:
- Destiny Phase
- Fortification Phase
- Combat Phase
- Action Phase
Destiny Phase
Distribution of Peoples
At the start of turns 1, 3, 5, and 7, each player receives, at random and face down, one destiny card representing one of the peoples of the game.
- On turn 1, they receive the card of a people of size 4.
- On turn 3, they receive the card of a people of size 3.
- On turn 5, they receive the card of a people of size 2.
- On turn 7, they receive the card of a people of size 1.
All the destiny cards (back marked with a number) of the size indicated above must be shuffled, and one of them is dealt at random and face down to each player. The remaining cards (when there are fewer than 6 players) are set aside from play, still face down, and no one should know their identity.
The destiny cards let each player know which peoples they must favor (see the "Victory Conditions" section, page 14). They are added to that player's hand of action cards until they are used and thus revealed. So, by the end of the game, each player will represent 4 peoples: one of size 1, one of size 2, one of size 3, and one of size 4. It is their development that will determine the winner of the game.
Example 3: in a 3-player game, there will always be 3 cards left over after each deal. These cards represent the peoples that will not be supported by any player. They must be placed face down, away from the game, and no one should look at them during the game.
Uprising of Minor Peoples
At the start of turns 2, 4, and 6, each player, in turn order and starting with the first player, must launch an attack from a territory controlled by a people of a size whose destiny card has not yet been dealt. So, on turn 2, each player must launch an attack with a people of size 1, 2, or 3. On turn 4, attacks are launched by peoples of size 1 or 2, and finally, on turn 6, attacks may only be launched by peoples of size 1. The procedure for resolving these attacks is given in the "Combat Phase" section, page 10. There is no other restriction on which territories these attacks come from: it is even possible for several players to launch attacks from the same territory during the same Destiny Phase.
Predictions
At the start of turn 7, after the size-1 peoples have been dealt out, each player may bet on peoples by simultaneously placing, face down in front of them, 2 of their action cards (red or yellow backed). This possibility represents the whimsical side of the gods: although they favor certain peoples, they also like to bet on the fate of other civilizations. It is not advisable to commit in this way an action card representing one of the peoples you already represent (whose destiny card you hold), since it will earn no additional points at the final tally (see the "Victory Conditions" section, page 14). On the other hand, it is possible to commit two action cards representing the same people. Bets are optional, and it is possible to commit only one card, or none at all.
Fortification Phase
Each player, in turn order and starting with the first player, may fortify a territory by placing a wooden piece on it (from the 5 received at the start of the game). You cannot fortify a territory that is not controlled by any people. It is forbidden to fortify the same territory more than once. It is not mandatory to place a wooden piece in a territory controlled by a people you represent (whose destiny card you hold). Careful: you have only 5 fortification pieces for the whole game. Use them wisely.
Combat Phase
Each player, in turn order and starting with the first player, must launch an attack. This phase is not optional: it is mandatory to launch one attack (and only one) during this phase.
To do so, the player chooses an attacking territory (which must contain a population token) and an attacked territory (which may be empty of any population token). These two territories must be adjacent and not controlled by the same people.
During the combat phase proper, it is strictly forbidden to attack from a territory controlled by a people whose destiny card you have revealed (however, it is perfectly possible to attack from a territory controlled by a people whose destiny card has been revealed by another player, or whose destiny card you have not revealed).
Diagram note: Player 1 has revealed the destiny card of the Humans. He may not attack with them during the Combat Phase. Player 2 can attack the High Elves with the Amazons, but not with the Sorcerers, because the target territory is not adjacent.
The player then rolls the die. On a result of 3 or more, the attacking people takes control of the attacked territory: the population token that was there is destroyed (as well as any fortification), and it is replaced by a population token of the attacking people (the one that controlled the attacking territory).
The following 4 modifiers are always applied to the die roll result:
- The attacked territory is fortified: −1
- The attacked territory contains a city (outlined in red): −1
- Technology level of the attacking people: +X
- Technology level of the attacked people: −X
X being the technology level of the people in question.
Example 4: the Humans (technology level 2) attack a fortified territory controlled by the Wood Elves (technology level 1). The result needed is 3 or more (−1 for the fortification, +2 for the Humans' technology level, −1 for the Wood Elves' technology level).
On a "natural" roll of 6 (before any other modifier) and if the attack is a success, the combat results in a breakthrough. The player who just launched their attack may immediately launch a second one, starting from the newly conquered territory (if, for lack of a suitable population token, the territory is not conquered, no breakthrough is possible). A second natural 6 does not allow a third attack to be triggered.
Special Cases
If the attacking people wins the combat but has already reached its maximum extent (double its size number in territories), the attacked territory is destroyed (the population token there is destroyed, but it is not replaced by a population token of the attacking people, since that people no longer has any left). It therefore remains free of any population token. No breakthrough is possible in such a case. However, if the player wishes the attacking people to take control of the attacked territory (and thus possibly benefit from a breakthrough), they may destroy the territory from which the attack was launched, in order to place a population token in the attacked territory instead (see Example 5 opposite).
If the attacked territory contains no population token, taking control is automatic, but the attacker still rolls the die to try to obtain a natural 6 and thus achieve a breakthrough.
Example 5: to take control of the conquered territory, the Hobbits must free up territory A.
Action Phase
Each player, in turn order and starting with the first player, must play one of their action cards (red-backed, yellow-backed, or number-backed). This phase, like the Combat Phase, is not optional: it is mandatory to play one action card (and only one) per Action Phase.
Once played, an action card is discarded if it has a red or yellow back. It is kept face up in front of whoever just played it if it has a number-marked back (so that everyone can see that this player has revealed the identity of one of the peoples they represent). All action cards bear the name of a people in the game. Each action card played can be used in one of the following two ways:
- To increase the technology level of the corresponding people by 1 point. Increasing a people's technology level improves its attack and defense capabilities for the rest of the game. Place a wooden piece on the space corresponding to the people whose technology level is increasing.
- To use the special ability of the corresponding people. Simply follow the procedure described on the action card. You may also consult the player guide for further information on using this ability. When the phrase "launch an attack" is used, there is no restriction on which territory the attack comes from unless stated otherwise (the attack does not have to come from a territory controlled by the people named on the card). It is even entirely possible to attack from a territory controlled by a people whose destiny card you have revealed.
Divine Wrath
If the action card played bears the name of a people that has been entirely wiped off the board (that no longer controls any territory), none of the actions described above are possible. The player must then roll a die and immediately apply the result shown on the divine wrath table (see the game board and the player guide). Unless stated otherwise, all decisions to be made are made by the player who just rolled the die (they choose, for example, the territory affected by the divine wrath).
Victory Conditions
The game ends at the end of turn 9. Each player then places, face up in front of them, the four destiny cards they received during the game and, if applicable, the action cards played face down on turn 7 (their bet or bets).
Each player scores 1 point per territory controlled by each of the peoples they represent (that is, whose destiny card they hold). They score 1 additional point per such controlled territory that contains a city (outlined in red).
Example 6: a player holds the destiny cards of the Humans (4 territories including a city), the Nomads (5 territories), the Hobbits (eliminated from the game), and the Sorcerers (1 territory). They score 11 points.
They score 3 additional points per people symbolized by the action cards placed face down on turn 7, if those peoples control as many territories as their maximum extent. They score no points for a people whose destiny card they hold. They score 6 points if they bet twice on the same people (and if it controls as many territories as its maximum extent).
Example 7: a player bet, on turn 7, one action card bearing the name of the Humans and another bearing the name of the Amazons. The Humans occupy 8 territories and the Amazons 1. They score only 3 points, since the Amazons do not control as many territories as their maximum extent (which is 4).
The player with the highest total number of points is declared the winner. Ties are possible.
Component Reference
The peoples of the game: Winged Folk, Amazons, Barbarians, Centaurs, Chaos, Wood Elves, Dark Elves, Giants, Gnomes, Goblins, High Elves, Hobbits, Lizardmen, Humans, Monks, Dwarves, Necromancers, Nomads, Ogres, Orcs, Fairy Folk, Pirates, Sorcerers, and the Voracious.
Other tokens: Turn, First player, Vortex, Dwarven Fortress, Holy War Attacker, Holy War Victim, Attack Bonus +1, Attack Bonus +2, Defense Bonus +1, Defense Bonus +2, Hatred, Love.