Arena: For the Gods!
Arena: For the Gods! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 6 Hero figurines and their plastic stands
- 6 screens
- 1 Arena game board
- 130 Life Point cubes
- 7 dice
- 10 Protection tokens
- 14 Exhaustion tokens
- 48 Equipment cards (12 Weapon cards, 12 Mount cards, 12 Armor cards, 12 Spell cards)
- 7 Pillars to assemble
- 7 Arena tiles (Trap, Fountain of Life)
- Reserve
Overview and Goal of the Game
The gods recognized your feats on Earth and have chosen you: you'll be pitted against the best in a clash of champions!
To avoid having the event turn into a massacre, the game ends as soon as a Hero turns in his weapons (as soon as he has no more life points).
The Hero who put on the best show (who has the most life points) wins the game. He receives the ultimate prize: the title of Champion of the gods.
Game Elements
Heroes
You each play as a mythological Hero during the game. They have no specific starting attributes and each is affixed to a plastic base.
The Heroes are: Cleo, Mafaya, Nakamura, Siggy, Maximus, Tzi-Xican.
Screens
The screens represent sacred places taken from the six mythologies present in the game. The color of the pennant helps you match each Hero to his corresponding screen.
The Arena
The game board represents the Arena in which the Heroes battle to honor the gods.
Life Points
The cubes represent the life points of the Heroes in the Arena. Each cube is worth 1 life point.
Dice
All the dice have the same faces with these different symbols:
- Two faces: sword (attack)
- Two faces: mount paw
- One face: shield
- One face: sun (favor)
These symbols let you take different actions during combat or activate certain Equipment cards.
Pillars
Pillars let you modify the shape and layout of the Arena according to the chosen scenario.
Note: Before your first game, assemble the Pillars as shown in the diagram.
Arena Tiles
Spaces covered by Arena tiles give a bonus or penalty when Heroes move onto or cross them.
- Trap
- Fountain of Life
Equipment Cards
Cards come in four categories: Weapon, Mount, Armor, and Spell. Each type has a different card back. You will find these different elements on each Equipment card:
- Type — the category icon (Weapon/Mount/Armor/Spell)
- Name — the card's name
- Activation cost — the dice symbols required to activate the card's effect
- Effect — what the card does (e.g. "Push adjacent Heroes. Move 1 space.")
The card back also shows the card's Type and its Order of distribution (the number used when dealing Equipment cards).
Protection Tokens
Protection tokens are gained by activating certain Armor cards. Put them on your Hero if you gain them.
Exhaustion Tokens
Exhaustion tokens are used with certain Equipment cards. Put them on your screen if you receive them.
Reserve
This lets you easily gather the Life Point cubes, Exhaustion tokens, and Protection tokens nearby.
Setup
- Place the Arena in the middle of the table.
- According to the number of players and the playtime you want, choose a scenario (see Scenarios) and place the Arena tiles and Pillars in the Arena as shown in the scenario. Note: Once you are familiar with the game, you can create your own scenarios as you see fit.
- Fill the Reserve with Protection tokens, Exhaustion tokens, and Life Points, and place it near the Arena.
- Place 5 Life Points on each Fountain of Life in the Arena.
- Each player chooses a Hero. Put your Hero's figurine and screen in front of you.
- Take 20 Life Points and put them behind your screen.
Gameplay
The game plays over two main phases:
- The Equipment Phase, where you try to gather the best Equipment offered by the gods to prepare for combat.
- The Combat Phase, where you fight the other Heroes in the Arena.
As soon as you arrive in the wings of the Arena, you must face your opponents! Show your determination to the gods to gain the best Equipment. Your devotion and sacrifice will be rewarded!
First game? For your first battle, we recommend that you skip the Equipment Phase. The Instant Combat variant is ideal for learning how to evaluate the Equipment in the Arena. This variant is explained under Variants. You can then keep reading the rules for the Combat Phase.
Equipment Phase
Choosing your Equipment happens in four phases: choose your Weapon, choose your Mount, choose your Armor, then choose the Spell with which you will enter the Arena.
To choose each of these types of Equipment, repeat the following steps:
- Reveal the Equipment
- Gain your Equipment
Reveal the Equipment
To choose a Weapon, take all the Weapon cards and shuffle them. Draw as many Weapons as there are players and place them face-up in the middle of the table. Put the remaining cards back in the box. They will not be used in this game.
Example of a 4-player game: four Weapon cards are revealed face-up, with the remaining Weapon deck set aside.
Gain Your Equipment
Each player secretly bids a certain number of Life Points in his hand. When everyone is ready, simultaneously reveal your bids.
The player who bid the most Life Points chooses a Weapon first. The player who bid the second-most Life Points chooses from the remaining Weapon cards, and so on until each player has a Weapon in front of him.
All Life Points bid are spent and returned to the Reserve.
Example of a 4-player game: Mafaya bid the most Life Points and returns the 5 she bid back in the Reserve. She chooses a Weapon card that she places in front of her. Then, it goes to Tzi-Xican, who bid 3 to choose a Weapon from the remaining cards, and so on until Cleo, who bid the fewest Life Points, takes the last available Weapon card.
In Case of Tie
If more than one player bids the same number of Life Points, there are two solutions:
- All tied players discuss, and each takes the card he wants.
- Tied players agree on the Equipment cards they want most. Shuffle and deal them randomly to the tied players.
Note: In the rare case where you cannot agree on the Equipment cards to randomly deal out, shuffle all remaining Equipment cards in the auction. Each tied player is dealt one randomly.
Repeat for Each Type of Equipment
Repeat the two previous steps to equip your Mount, Armor, and Spell. The Equipment cards must be distributed in this order: Weapon, Mount, Armor, Spell.
The player who wins the Spell auction becomes the First Player for the Combat Phase. If there's a tie, randomly choose between the tied players.
At the end of the Equipment Phase, everyone must have an Equipment card of each type face-up in front of his screen. Now you're ready for Combat!
Combat Phase
You now carry the best Equipment possible. It is time to enter the Arena and prove you have what it takes.
Enter the Arena
Starting with the First Player and going clockwise, each player places his Hero on the board. Your Hero must be placed on an empty space (without an Arena tile, Pillar, or another Hero) on the edge of the Arena.
In certain scenarios, a line of Pillars can artificially reduce the size of the Arena. This line isn't considered to be an edge of the Arena and no Hero may be placed in the gray zone depicted in the scenario.
Example: a Hero may not be placed on a space covered by an Arena tile or Pillar (marked with a red X), but may be placed on an empty edge space (marked with a green check).
When all players have placed their Heroes in the Arena, combat can begin.
Begin Combat!
Combat happens over several turns that repeat until one Hero loses all of his Life Points. During the game, you can gain Exhaustion tokens and/or Protection tokens via certain Equipment cards.
Starting with the First Player and going clockwise, each player takes turns following these three steps:
- Prepare your turn
- Roll the dice
- Take your Actions
PREPARE YOUR TURN: Take 7 dice minus the number of Exhaustion tokens you have on your screen. Then return your Exhaustion tokens and Protection tokens to the Reserve.
Note: In the extreme case where a Hero has 7 or more Exhaustion tokens, he passes his turn and returns all of his Exhaustion tokens to the Reserve.
Example: You received 2 Exhaustion tokens during other players' turns. At the beginning of your turn, you take all 7 dice and set two aside. You then return your 2 Exhaustion tokens to the Reserve. You have no Protection tokens on your Hero, so your preparation is over.
ROLL THE DICE: Roll all the dice that are available to you after preparation.
If you want, you can reroll the dice of your choice once (and only once).
Example: You roll your 5 dice (7 dice minus the 2 dice set aside for the Exhaustion tokens you had). You choose to reroll 3 dice you didn't like once. Your dice rolling is now complete.
TAKE YOUR ACTIONS: Use the dice to take actions that let you move, protect yourself, and fight in the Arena. Each die can only be used once per turn. You can take your actions in any order and repeat the same action as many times as you'd like, but you must finish one action before you begin another one.
The most common action is activating an Equipment card. To do this action, place dice on an Equipment card that corresponds to its activation cost. Immediately apply the effects of this card.
Clarifications on Activating Equipment
- When activated, you must apply all effects of an Equipment card (or as much as possible). If multiple effects are applied, you must resolve them in the order of the text.
- If a card effect involves movement and/or loss of Life Points, these effects are applied before any other action is taken or any Protection token is triggered.
- Equipment effects override any rules in this book.
- You receive Protection tokens by activating certain Armor cards. They don't have an immediate effect, but are triggered when you lose Life Points during other Heroes' turns.
You may also use two identical dice to take the following actions:
- Two sword dice: Deal −1 Life Point to an adjacent Hero
- Two mount (paw) dice: Move 1 space
- Two shield dice: Push an adjacent Hero
- Two sun dice: Deal −1 Life Point to a Hero of your choice
You are not required to use all your dice. If you don't want to or cannot take any other actions, your turn is over. Give the 7 dice to the next player who begins a new turn, starting with PREPARE YOUR TURN.
End of the Game
After completely resolving the effects of an action or card, if a Hero has no Life Points, the game immediately ends.
The player who has the most Life Points at the end of the game is declared the Champion of the gods. If there's a tie, the Heroes share the victory.
Movement Rules
- Movement must be taken in its entirety (exact number of spaces indicated on the card), respecting the rules for each of the spaces crossed. If a Hero cannot move the total distance, the extra movement is ignored and the player loses 1 Life Point, no matter what the situation is or how many extra spaces there are.
- Each space a Hero moves to must be adjacent to the space he leaves.
- A Hero must always move onto a valid space:
- You cannot move a Hero to a space with a Pillar.
- You cannot move a Hero to a space that already has another Hero.
- You cannot move a Hero outside the limits of the Arena (a Hero can never move into the gray area of the scenario). Any other space is a valid space.
During movement, as soon as a Hero crosses or stops on an Arena tile, you must immediately apply the effect:
-
Fountain of Life: take 1 Life Point from the Fountain of Life and add it to your total, behind your screen. If there are no more Life Points on the Fountain of Life, nothing happens.
Note: If a Hero loses his last Life Point, then gains 1 Life Point by visiting a Fountain of Life while resolving the same Equipment card, the end of the game is not triggered.
-
Trap: return 1 Life Point to the Reserve.
The Arena tile effects are only applied when a Hero crosses or stops on these tiles.
Note: When you move another player's Hero, apply the movement rules as if you were moving your own Hero.
Example: You activate Quetzalcoatl and move your Hero three spaces.
- You enter a Fountain of Life for the first time, and gain 1 Life Point.
- You leave the Fountain of Life.
- You re-enter the Fountain of Life and stop on it. You gain a second Life Point.
Symbols and Keywords
Life Point
The Life Point cubes represent your life points. When you gain/lose Life Points, take them from or return them to the Reserve (unless you gain it from a Fountain of Life).
Adjacent
Two Heroes are adjacent if they occupy spaces sharing a common border.
When an effect impacts adjacent Heroes, each Hero occupying a space sharing a common border with your space is affected.
Faraway
A Hero is considered to be faraway from your Hero if he fulfills two conditions:
- The targeted Hero is not adjacent to your Hero.
- The targeted Hero is within line of sight of your Hero.
Line of Sight
Your Hero has line of sight of all spaces he can move to in a straight line. Line of sight can be interrupted by another Hero or Pillar: you cannot "see" behind them.
As long as these conditions are respected, a Hero is considered to be faraway from your Hero no matter how many spaces separate them.
Of Your Choice
When an effect targets a Hero of your choice, you can apply the effect to any Hero (including your own), regardless of adjacency or line of sight.
Protection Token
When you activate an Armor card that gives you a Protection token, take one from the Reserve and place it on your Hero. A Protection token is triggered when your Hero loses one (or more) Life Points during another Hero's turn: you must apply the effect indicated on your Armor card. If you have multiple Protection tokens, the effect is applied multiple times.
The Protection token is only triggered after the last action or current effect is completely resolved. You can only trigger a Protection token once before the active Hero takes his next action.
Example: Cleo activates Shiva's Necklace once during her turn; she therefore has 1 Protection token. Tzi-Xican is adjacent and activates Susanoo's Storm. Cleo loses 1 Life Point, takes 1 Exhaustion token, and is pushed. Cleo then triggers Shiva's Necklace and deals −2 Life Points to Maximus, who is now adjacent to her (Tzi-Xican is no longer adjacent).
Example: Cleo and Siggy are adjacent. They activate Shiva's Necklace and Imperial Shield on their respective turns. They each have 1 Protection token.
- Nakamura deals −1 Life Point to Siggy with Zeus's Thunderbolt.
- Siggy triggers her Protection token, applies the effect of the Imperial Shield, and deals −1 Life Point to Cleo.
- Cleo triggers her Protection token and deals −2 Life Points to Siggy with Shiva's Necklace.
- Siggy cannot retrigger her Protection token (since Nakamura hasn't taken any actions since the first time she triggered it).
All Protection tokens stay on your Hero until the beginning of your next turn when you return them to the Reserve.
Note: If a Protection token is triggered when your Hero loses his last Life Point, the game ends and the effect of the Protection token is not applied.
Exhaustion Token
You may receive Exhaustion tokens from certain Equipment cards. Slide them onto your screen. During your preparation step, take one fewer die for each Exhaustion token on your screen. Then return them to the Reserve.
Reroll
When you reroll, you can choose as many of your unused dice as you want and roll them another time (you can choose not to reroll any).
Push
When you push a Hero in the Arena, always move him in a straight line one space away from your Hero.
If the pushed Hero is blocked by a Pillar or the edge of the Arena, he does not move and loses 1 Life Point. If the Hero is blocked by another Hero, neither one moves and they each lose 1 Life Point.
Scenarios
The rulebook provides a set of pre-drawn scenarios showing where to place the Arena tiles (Trap and Fountain of Life) and Pillars on the Arena board. Each scenario diagram is labeled with the recommended number of players and playtime (shown as icons of horned helmets and hourglasses) so you can pick a layout suited to your group size and how long you want to play. Twelve scenarios are provided in total, ranging from simple layouts for shorter games to more complex Pillar-and-tile arrangements for longer games with more players.
Once you are familiar with the game, you can create your own scenarios as you see fit (see Setup).
Variants
Team Combat
Make teams to have a balanced distribution:
- 2 teams of 2 Heroes,
- 2 teams of 3 Heroes,
- Or 3 teams of 2 Heroes.
Sit around the table alternating teams.
Example: In a game with 2 teams of 2 people, sit around the table alternating Team A and Team B seats around the Arena.
The game plays like a standard game, following the rules explained previously. You can deal damage to members of your own team, voluntarily or not.
When a Hero reaches 0 Life Points, each team adds up the Life Points of their surviving members. The team with the most Life Points wins.
Two-Player Mode
In a two-player game, each player takes two Heroes and their corresponding screens.
Setup
On your left, place your first Hero and screen, and on your right, place your second Hero and screen. Place 20 Life Points behind each screen.
Gameplay
For the Equipment Phase, place your bid in each of your hands: your first Hero's bid in your left hand and your second Hero's bid in your right hand.
For the Combat Phase, take turns activating your Heroes, like in the Team Combat variant. Starting with the First Player, each player takes the actions of their first Hero, then each player takes the actions of their second Hero.
Example: In a two-player game, you take the actions of your first Hero. Next, your opponent takes the actions of his first Hero. You take the actions of your second Hero, then your opponent takes the actions of his second Hero, and so on.
As soon as a Hero loses his last Life Point, add the Life Points of your two Heroes. The player with the greater number of Life Points wins the game.
Note: The two-player variant has more complex strategy. It is not recommended for your first game.
"Down with the Titan!" (All Against 1)
This variant is designed for 4 or 5 players.
Choose a player who will battle alone against all other players: that player is the Titan. The other players make up the team of Assailants.
Setup
- The Assailants each place 10 Life Points behind their screens.
- The Titan places 10 Life Points per Assailant behind his screen.
Gameplay
For the Equipment Phase, the Titan draws as many Weapons as there are players. He chooses one, then puts the remaining Weapons face-up on the table. The Assailants each choose a Weapon from what's available, reaching an agreement together.
Follow the same steps for the Mount, Armor, and Spell cards.
For the Combat Phase, the Titan is the First Player. Each time it becomes his turn, he takes 2 consecutive turns. Then, the Assailants take turns going clockwise.
If the Titan has Exhaustion tokens at the beginning of either of his turns, they are applied then returned to the Reserve during his preparation step.
Remember that Protection tokens gained during the first turn are lost during the preparation step of the second turn!
The Titan wins the game if he eliminates all the Assailants. The Assailants win the game if the Titan loses his last Life Point.
Instant Combat
In this variant, we provide sets of pre-established Equipment cards.
These give each Hero a unique combat style and balanced Equipment.
Setup
- Randomly determine First Player.
- Starting with the First Player and going clockwise, take a Hero and corresponding screen.
- Put 12 Life Points behind your screen.
Gameplay
For the Equipment Phase, take the 4 Equipment cards that correspond to your Hero, as listed in the Table of Heroes below. Place them in front of your screen face-up.
Begin the Combat Phase. After this point, everything plays like a standard game.
Table of Heroes
| Hero | Weapon | Mount | Armor | Spell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleo | Anubis's Ankh | Sleipnir | Skin of the Nemean Lion | Seth's Fury |
| Siggy | Thor's Hammer | Quetzalcoatl | Yasuke's Equipment | Vishnu's Curse |
| Maximus | Odin's Spear | Cerberus | Athena's Armor | Sacrifice to Tlaloc |
| Mafaya | Ganesh's Axe | Paravani | Shiva's Necklace | Sekhmet's Healing |
| Tzi-Xican | Xiuhcoatl | Ryujin | Tutankhamun's Mask | Freyja's Blessing |
| Nakamura | Cupid's Bow | Ammit | Thor's Iron Gloves | Loki's Illusion |
Credits
Designer: Maxime Rambourg Illustrator: Paul Mafayon Project Manager: Timothée Simonot French Editor: Virginie Gilson English Editor: Jeff Quick Translator: Danni Loe-Sterphone Graphic Designer: Frédéric Derlon Initial Development: Guillaume Gille-Naves and OriGames
"Thanks to all the (more or less voluntary) playtesters at the Feinte de l'Ours who were chosen by the gods. Thanks to Gabriel and Théo who believed in this project. To all my childhood friends who endured the first signs of the Arena 15 years ago: Jérémy Khalfa, Thomas Reyland, Nicolas Sybille, Romain Mersch, William Zackowny, Youri, Vincent, and others I forgot... Thanks Alice Baguet, Samuel Colin, Cédric Boussuge, Bernard Hehn, Doniphan Losa, and Claire Audoire for the friendly, professional, and human support and the wise advice, which let me have time for all of this."
Proofing: Alain Wernert, Arnaud Derlon, Corentin Simonot, and Anne-Laure Tea.
©2017 IELLO USA LLC. IELLO, ARENA: FOR THE GODS!, and their logos are trademarks of IELLO USA LLC and of IELLO in other countries. ©2017 ORIGAMES. ORIGAMES and their logo are trademarks of ORIGAMES.